We're only three weeks into our inaugural season and I'm already feeling a little pressured. Not because I have a team in the league - I don't - but because I haven't been writing posts at a rate that I'm used to.
To be sure, I never intended to produce blog posts in the way I have always done for fantasy football, two per week. My original plan was to be able to contribute a writing each week. After all, baseball is a much longer season than football and it's not like I can realistically preview each matchup for Commish's Picks.
But, I still haven't even been able to meet those lowered expectations. That's gotta change.
As I look through my Commish's calendar over the next few weeks, I can see a few opportunities and I'll do my best to deliver. After that, I fully expect to be able to publish a weekly post.
Since we're on the topic of feeling pressured, I thought I'd highlight a few teams that might be feeling some heat.
First up, the Poke Bananas. The Bananas just lost a heartbreaking one-run contest to the Damn Yankees last week. The Bananas looked to be in a great position early on in taking a 100-run lead after two innings. But their good fortune was short lived as their bats and pitching failed them throughout the rest of the game. In the final five innings, the Yankees outscored the Bananas 191 to 90 leaving the Bananas as the only winless team in the league so far.
But you can't blame the Bananas batters for their team's failings. One look at the current Batting Champion rankings reveals three of the top four players are from the Bananas. Moreover, they have six players in the top 20, more than any other team in the league. Acuna and company are doing their part.
The problem with the Bananas has been their pitching. To date, Logan Gilbert has been their only SP that has consistently produced, averaging 18 pts per outing. And if Max Scherzer's inconsistent play wasn't troubling enough, he's now serving a 10-game suspension leaving this staff even more depleted.
To keep from going brown too early in the season, the Bananas added Mitch Keller to their rotation. Keller has been outstanding over five games this season and, if he can somehow help the Bananas get back on track, he might just prove to be one of the better waiver acquisitions of the season.
The come-from-behind win for the aforementioned Damn Yankees was their first victory of the season - excluding bonuses - and that's troubling. Sure, they won, but only by a run. And the fact that they're the third lowest scoring team in the league certainly means they're feeling pressured to turn things around. With 10 of their next 11 games against opponents with winning records, they don't have the luxury of time to work out their shortcomings.
The early leader for Most Appropriate Moniker appears to be You're Killing Me Smalls. Smalls is the second lowest scoring team in the league right now and, opposite the Bananas, their pitchers are getting no run support.
With a five-man rotation featuring Strider, Greene, Ryan, Eflin, and Steele, you'd expect Smalls to be doing well this season. But with a slew of positional players, like Machado and Judge, struggling to bring runners around, they're currently two games below .500.
Fortunately for smalls, their next 3 contests are against teams with a combined record of 4-14. The 3-week stretch could give Smalls the time they need to get some of their hitting woes figured out.
If you're looking for the team that's probably feeling more pressure than any at this point, look no further than the Green Monstahs. Like the Oakland A's, the Monstahs are in a pretty deep hole just a few weeks into the season and the problems are plentiful.
Sure, the Monstahs have some bats in Devers, Bogaerts, and Verdugo, but until they get Altuve and Arcia back, and see others in their lineup come out of their slumps, I'm not sure how they'll overcome the worst pitching staff in the league.
Led by Cristian Javier, the Monstahs pitchers have the fewest QS (5), W (6), K (104), and IP (113.1) in the league. Combine that with the fact the Monstahs average only 256.0 pts/gm while allowing 333.7 pts/gm and you can see there is ample reason to be worried.
But enough about the teams at the bottom. What about the teams at the top?
If I were playing in this league, there are two teams that I wouldn't want to matchup against right now: Myrtle Beach Mermen and Tallahassee Tator Tots.
The Mermen have it all; solid hitters and a pitching staff that can shutdown just about any team. I'll be the first to admit that when I saw the Mermen draft the aging Clayton Kershaw for $8, I wasn't convinced. But three weeks in, and Kershaw looks as good as ever has, sitting at fourth in our Cy Young challenge. If he keeps it up, I may need some A1 sauce to help me choke this crow down.
Keep your eye on the Mermen. Their upcoming schedule isn't too daunting. They draw a tough matchup this week, but they're looking some favorable games over the coming weeks, culminating with a double-header against the lowly Poke Bananas in weeks 10 and 11.
They began the season at the bottom of the Power Rankings, but they've continued to climb a few spots each week and I won't be surprised to see them in the top 3 very soon.
But as good as the Mermen are, I think the Tator Tots are red hot right now. Do you really want to send your pitcher out to the mound to face down a lineup featuring Hoerner, Alonso, Semien, and Kyle Tucker?
And once their hitters are able to put runs on the board, the Tots have Stroman, Ashcraft, and Webb to help them keep the lead. My only question is: who will they sit when Tyler Glasnow is healthy enough to join the rotation?
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Akes and Pain in the context of teams that are doing well this season. However, I have concerns.
For starters - or lack thereof - they've left holes in their lineup and they paid a price for it this week in losing by 6 points to Team Whitmer. I know I revoked the rule forcing a forfeit if you had empty spots in your lineup, but that doesn't mean I think you should try it. Akes and Pain has the talent to do well but their front office cost them the win in week 3.
Secondly, and this may just be a fluke, their scoring dropped 90 points from week 2 to week 3. That's a major slide and it certainly isn't just because they left their UTIL position open. For the first time this season, their pitchers got roughed up and their hitters just couldn't find the ball. Week 4 should give us a clue which Akes and Pain team is the real deal.
BATTING CHAMPION & CY YOUNG CHALLENGES
Great news: I have posted the first update to this contest. If you were paying attention while you were reading above, you probably already noticed the links.
The early Batting Champion leader might surprise a few of you: Max Muncy of the Poke Bananas. But Gerritt Cole out in front of the race for the Cy Young was predictable.
Because the data for this contest is more complex and takes much longer to process, I will probably only update these every few weeks.
POWER RANKINGS
We have a new #1. With the league's highest score and a solid victory in week 3, the Tallahassee Tator Tots jumped three spots and barely edged out our previous leader, Akes & Pain.
The biggest slide this week was Dude It Was Ringworm who fell three spots to #8 on the heels of terrible week 3 performance, scoring only 211 points.
ALL-STAR LINEUP CHALLENGE
The Mermen claimed the top spot this week, taking a 14-point lead over our previous leader, Akes and Pain thanks to Fujinami's continued struggles. Honestly, it's quite amazing to me that I allowed you to pick any player you wanted from each team and you managed to find one that has total of -18 points this season. Just incredible.
Interestingly, the Tator Tots and Monstahs are sitting at #3 and #4, respectively, despite a few players in their lineup who've yet to play this season. If, and when, those players are healthy enough, will it be enough to push them into contention? Or, will they fall too far off the lead to be able to make a run?
WAIVER WIRE PROCESSING CHANGE
I've been teasing you all over the past few weeks about possible changes to the waiver system. Now that you're all brimming with anticipation, I think it's time for the big reveal.
Instead of waiver claims processing every night, I'd like to change them to process every Saturday and Sunday night.
Why do I want to make this change? I'm glad you asked.
First off, I understand the struggles of owners that aren't able to watch games or highlights and research players on a daily basis. Heck, even I have a hard time watching all of you make foolish choices every week.
Everyone has other responsibilities in their daily lives that cause them to step away and, in those cases, they'll lose out to owners who are able to quickly react when they see someone available. This change would keep all players available Monday through Friday and give everyone more opportunity to research players and bid on ones they want to acquire before they're gobbled up by someone else.
Secondly, because waivers process every night, all available players are essentially free agents. What do I mean? Well, if you're one of the few that can quickly react to waivers, more often than not, you can acquire them for $0. There's almost no bidding for players required and in those few scenarios where players were paid for, their owners probably didn't need to.
If we make this change, you will still have two days, back-to-back, to find players you need to fill your roster. I should also remind you that if you need to fill a specific position, you should always place backup claims. If your original claim doesn't work out, you're backup usually will. And if your original claim is awarded, your backup claim(s) will just disappear into the ether. If both claims fail, you'll still have another day before your next matchup begins.
As soon as you have a minute, click the button below and place your vote. There are also areas where you can share your thoughts...not that they matter. Oh, and if you don't bother to place a vote, I will haunt you until you do.
If enough of you agree and it passes, this rule change would take effect on May 1st at the beginning of week 5.
That's about enough for now. If you're reading this and you stayed with me throughout this whole post, give yourself a hearty pat on the back. Reading is hard, but you did it.
Best of luck in week 4!
-- Commish
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