Beware of small sample sizes still applies. We are three weeks into a twenty-six week marathon. With that said I am not panicking or feeling good about anything just yet, so here are some thoughts and observations regarding first few weeks of the baseball season.
I was at a bar with a friend last week and we were talking about my boy Nelson Cruz. I said that I did not want to sound greedy, but last year he had 33 homers and 20 steals. At that point he had seven homers (in 14 days) and zero steals. I said, tongue in cheek, that I wish he would hit a few more singles so he can steal some more. And what do you know? One week later Ol' Nelly is sitting on seven homers and FIVE steals. This guy is such a stud it is not even funny. I think 40/20 is looking like a lock with upside for more.
STRUGGLING. A few of my rock steady veterans are struggling big time right now, including Aramis Ramirez, Shane Victorino, and Brandon Phillips. I spent $19, $15, and $27 on them, respectively. Everyone will go through a three week slump at some point during the season, it just happens to be magnified when it is the first three weeks of the season. So this is me not worried. Not one bit. The only thing that bothers me is Ramirez's strikeout rate. He usually makes contact in 85+% of his at bats, however right now he is only in the 60's. Again, small sample size. Not worried yet. If I did not own him I would be trying to buy low on him.
Man, I really hate injuries. My main goal every year is to just stay healthy. I am confident enough in my player evaluation and drafting skills that if my teams were to stay healthy then I will undoubtedly be in the mix for the title at the end of the season. Last year, in the league in which I dominated, my only injury troubles were to Jason Bartlett and Asdrubal Cabrera, two solid middle infielders who each spent about a month on the DL. I was able to overcome their losses pretty easily as their five month contributions were so much more than my preseason expectations that it was not possible for them to hurt me. So, as you could imagine, I freaked out a bit when my co-ace, Brett Anderson, came out of his start on Saturday after throwing six dominant innings and only 80 pitches. The first report was that he had elbow tightness, which is scary as hell, but that has been revised to just a cramp in his elbow muscle and he is not expected to miss his next start. Thank. God. Phew. That would have been killer. I also had Brad Hawpe go on the 15 disabled list yesterday. I'm okay with this, he had been in and out of the lineup with a quad injury so he just needs to sit out and get right. I have a surplus of outfielders so this shouldn't hurt me too badly, I'll just be losing some power and getting some speed in the lineup (I have been juggling Hawpe, Chris Coughlan, and Scott Podsednik for two spots).
Everything else is on schedule, most of my guys are starting to do what I thought they would do. I would love to see Erick Aybar, Anaheim's leadoff hitter, start running more. I believe he is only 2-4 on the base paths so far, very, very unusual for a Mike Scoscia team. Again, I am mostly sitting on my hands and evaluating until around Memorial Day, then I will look at the standings seriously and analyze my strengths, weaknesses, and needs.
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