ASB Update

This all star break update for Cool HWIP is a tough one to write as the team is struggling. Kinda. I have the best offense in the league with 70 points. Unfortunately I also have the worst pitching in the league with only 20 points. So here I sit in 5th place, 33 points out of first place. It could be worse, and the good news is that if I can make a pitching run there are a ton of points for me to gain. How can I do that? Few options. Try and be patient, I still have my opening day staff in tact for the most part - sans Brett Anderson who's been awesome while healthy but only has a few starts under his belt so far, and he's due back off the DL in 2 weeks - I still think guys like Scott Baker and Kevin Slowey and Ian Kennedy can have monster 2nd halves and help me fly up the standings.

Since I have such a good offense, I can trade from strength and improve my pitching while trading away hitting. I currently have a 30+ lead in Runs and a 15 lead in steals. My goal is to pair Denard Span with a pitcher not named Cole Hamels or Anderson, and flip that package for a good, tier 2 pitcher. I offered that package for Francisco Liriano today. Unfortunately nobody seems to interested in Span even though he is so solid all around.

Even with my monster offensive totals, I'm still actually relatively week in Home Runs and RBI's, thanks to 2 DL stints from Nelson Cruz and Aramis Ramirez choosing to have his worst season since little league this year. So I've also tried flipping Runs + Steals for power, but that's been shot down too. Based on all of my trading efforts I have a feeling I'm stuck with my current roster outside of any free agent breakouts I might find.

I also have Edinson Volquez chillin' on my DL. He's due back on Sunday after missing the last year + from Tommy John Surgery. If he can catch the magic from his rookie season and give me 75 solid innings with a 3.5 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 70 K's, that would go a loooong way in helping me get back on track.

So as of now, my 2nd half rotation will look like:

Cole Hamels
Brett Anderson
Jason Hammel
Scott Baker
Edinson Volquez

I like that staff and if we were starting from scratch right now I'd love to go to war with this crew. I just don't have the confidence that these guys can put together a 450 inning run of monster stats that can gain me 20+ pitching points in the 2nd half. That's why I'd love to trade for an almost elite guy. If Hamels has a better 2nd half, Anderson stays healthy, and I add a Liriano type? Watch out, that could be magical - all while keeping my offense intact.

One other thing to keep an eye on is the first place team, Chin Music. They've been comfortably in first place for pretty much the entire season, totally replicating the season I had last year in this league. Right now they sit at 123 points. My league record of 128.5 is in jeopardy. I thought I'd hold that mantle for at least a few years. The good news is that Chin Music is starting to show some cracks in the armor and what was once a consistent 25-30 point lead is down to seven. But, in true Single White Female fashion, last year right before the ASB I hit a little slump, dropped down to 123.5 and had just a 7.5 point lead. Right after the ASB I blew the heck up and absolutely cruised the rest of the way. Once I got back over a 20 point lead I never looked back. It was really tough though and I got super lucky on the injury front - for that to happen to two teams two years in a row would be unheard of. I really hope he fails and I'm the team that takes advantage.

Sorry for the lack of updates on this team but it makes me nauseous to discuss a team of mine when I'm struggling. If I don't improve soon I'll look to get an early jump on football season. That's right, football is right around the corner! HELLOOOOOOOOOOO....


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