April Wrap Up

Its the last day of April, and what an opening month to the 2008 Fantasy Baseball season its been, eh?

April has handed us everything but the kitchen sink. From potential breakout players, to slumping first round picks, to a 22 inning West Coast duel, and as I write this, the Baltimore Orioles and Florida Marlins sitting atop their respective East Divisions; April has had it all.

April gave us everybody with the #1 Waiver Priority using it on Cincinnati Reds hurler Johnny Cueto (May looks to give us the same with Max Scherzer). It's also given us 14,359 Yahoo! owners dropping Cueto this week. What a beautiful train wreck the entire thing has been. The roller-coaster of emotion recorded statistically, as people overreact in both directions.

April gave Closer owners headaches. Tylenol Extra Strength sales went through the roof, as owners of JJ Putz, Rafael Soriano, Chad Cordero, BJ Ryan, and a slough of other 9th inning pitchers wept all over their keyboards as they ran out of Bench and DL roster spots. That sound you heard was your team ERA taking an elevator up a few flights.

April gave us second third fourth fifth chances. Kerry Wood notched the first 4 Saves of his career, Won 2 games, and struck out 12 in 13 innings, finishing games for the Cubbies; Josh Hamilton drove in 28 Runs. It also gave us some stable ground for us to gain comfort with, as Rich Harden found his way onto the DL after just 11.0 IP, joining hospital-mate and former Wood teammate, Mark Prior. I told you not to draft Dicky, didn't I? Maybe next time you'll listen to me...

Speaking of listening to me; so far I couldn't have been more right about Gavin Floyd, or more wrong about Ryan Howard. A man I said "could provide great value late in the draft"; is now making $126 million to pitch out of the bullpen, his record 0 - 6. At least I can say I didn't lead you astray with my analysis of Michael Bourn. The Great Hoff Debate is currently favoring the doubters, but there's still 5 months for Old Man Winter and the Madres to recapture the magic (I'm still doubting it). I lied to you when I said avoid Carl Crawford, as I somehow have him on three teams; but I'm not complaining. I have Albert Pujols and Eric Byrnes on none, and that I am complaining about.

So I'm batting about .500, which would make me the best hitter of all-time. I'll take it.

April has brought us discussions on fantasy team names, HGH, and Dusty-isms. I hope to have been making you feel like a 20-something again, but sorry if I've been clogging up your base paths.

April brought Pope Benedict XVI to Yankee Stadium. It brought Miguel Cabrera across the diamond to first base, and Roger Clemens to alleged pedophilia (couldn't have happened to a nicer guy), but it couldn't bring Carlos Delgado out of the dugout for a curtain call; nor could it bring Barry Bonds to an MLB team.

April was good to Chase Utley, who hit 10 HR for the Phils. It was also good to Josh Hamilton, who, as mentioned earlier, drove in 28 Runs. Michael Bourn stole 13 bags this April, while only reaching first base on 23 occasions. Chipper Jones reminded us that if he ever plays more than 120 games in a season again, nobody will keep him out of the Top 3 MVP vote-getters. He didn't just kill the Mets; he destroyed the entire National League.

April saw former New York Mets thrive all over the place. From Lastings Milledge in Washington, to Carlos Gomez in Minnesota, to Jeff Keppinger in Cinci and Brian Bannister in KC; they all put their work in; just not in Queens. It's a good thing none of them play in Los Angeles, or else they might have fallen victim to the same allergies that Andruw Jones blames his .165 AVG on -- former Met Jeff Kent seems fine there, though, so call me a skeptic.

In April, Roy Halladay threw four (4) Complete Games in a row, earning Losses in the latter 3, consecutively. He lost the final of those in the last pitch of the game to Kevin Youkilis, the only run he surrendered after pitching 8.2 innings.

Yes, April did indeed have it all. It had Alex Rios getting thrown out by a 1st Base Umpire for arguing a third strike call. It had Nelson Figueroa start his first game since 2004, and Win his first since 2003. It even had half a dozen Opening Days, or so it seemed. It had Red Sox Nation vs Yankee World/Galaxy/Universe, and Hank Steinbrenner sound-bytes galore. It even had a curse diverted, as a David Ortiz jersey buried in the concrete at the Yankee's new ballpark was unearthed, and auctioned off for charity. Phew, that was close.

In retrospect, maybe there were a few things April didn't provide us; I don't blame it though. No major steroid allegations surfaced -- a pleasant surprise, as uncommon as it seems anymore. No perfect games or no hitters, though Gavin Floyd came close. No 3-home-run games, though some believe those are just myths to begin with. No home-runs at all, from Victor Martinez or Captain Fist-pump himself, Derek Jeter. No divisional titles, pennants, or champions -- though there never are. Not yet. Why? Because we're not ready.

The marathon has still just begun, folks, and after processing just all that April has provided us, aren't you looking forward to May? I know I am. Because a no hitter will come (maybe). Jeet will inevitably trot around the bases as John Sterling analyzes how his calm eyes and leadership abilities made the baseball leave the park. Slow starters will heat up (Corey Hart, I'm talking to you), and the sprinters will have their pace fall off (Nate McLouth, my bet), and amidst all of it, we'll wipe our tears as another high round pick is placed on the Disabled List, and we scramble for a replacement.

Its beautiful, ain't it? There's nothing like it. It's America's past time. It's a 6 month season for cryin' out loud. And not a day goes by where something worth watching doesn't happen. Every swing, every strike, every single pitch is just another opportunity to watch history unfold. Who knows -- maybe one of those 3-home-run games we keep hearing about will eventually happen one of these days... I doubt it.

Until next time...