Update on the Worst Fantasy Team Ever

I ranted earlier about the disaster that was my fantasy team and it has only gotten worse. Players that were performing have stopped or gotten injured and it is a complete disaster. However, I did finally get my first win this week to go to an awesome 1-8. Here is the list of players destroying my life:

C Geovanny Soto: He was on the original list and has not done anything since. .204-2-13 is absolutely terrible for someone coming off a .285-23-86 rookie season. I have been trying to find a replacement all year but catcher is not a very deep position. I have been hoping Matt Wieters can take his place but he is also not off to a good start. It is not a large enough sample for me to rant on him but it is a very slow start for Baseball America's #1 prospect.

SS Jose Reyes: He was also on the original list but the reason has completely changed. Before it was due to a lack of production and now it is a lack of playing. After my post it seemed he had turned the corner and started to produce. He then tore his hamstring and has not played since May 20th. He is still a couple of weeks away from coming back and I doubt he will be the same when he comes back. Of course, Reyes would have a lost year the year I use my 1st round pick on him.

OF Jay Bruce: He is not that frustrating because the expectations were that great. Yes, he has hit 14 home runs this year but he is doing it batting .216. The most frustrating part it is all in spurts. He has had two big weeks that he has produced and has done nothing the rest of the time.

OF B.J. Upton: He has started to produce a little lately but it has still been a terrible season for someone who should be a .300-20-80-30 player. Instead he is currently .220-3-15-17.

OF Josh Hamilton: I have never hated a recovered crackhead more. First he wasn't producing and then he had nagging injuries and now he has torn abdominal muscle and is out for over a month. I will never touch him again because the drugs have destroyed his body so much that he can never stay healthy. In the last 3 years he has played 281 games out of a possible 380 games. That makes Joe Mauer look like Lou Gehrig.

1B Joey Votto: Votto was one of the bright spots in the first couple weeks. He then suddenly came down with bout of dizziness. He played every so often and produced when he did but missed a lot of games. It was first related to an ear infection and he sat for awhile. He then came back but the problem persisted. He then went on the 15 day DL for personal reasons. It is believed to be related to the dizziness (some have speculated that it is vertigo) but it has not been said why he is on the DL. There is no idea of when he will be back or if he will ever be back. I understand you have to respect his privacy but he is killing my fantasy team because I have no idea when he will be back.

P Brandon Webb: Has not pitched since Opening Day and does not appear close to doing so. The most annoying thing is that the site I use since he is supposed to be a Cy Young contender is not able to be dropped so I have had to hold him the entire time.

Players that have also hurt me this year: 3B Garrett Atkins, P Rich Harden, P John Lackey, and P Brian Wilson

Players that have surprisingly done well this year: 1B James Loney, 2B Brandon Phillips, P Cole Hamels, P Erik Bedard, and P Edwin Jackson

#18 Cincinnati Reds

Cincinnati Reds
Last Year: 74-88 5th in NL Central
This Year: 3rd in NL Central



After years of talks of doing so the Reds finally rid themselves of Adam Dunn and Ken Griffey Jr. While both great players the team needed to get away from the defensively inept Dunn and the aging, oft-injured Griffey. They could contribute but they were in the way of the total rebuilding process that needed to be undertaken. This team has a lot of young super prospects and they are ready to bloom this year. There is thought that this team could be the Rays of this year but I think they are still a year away. However I thought the Rays were a year away last year.

Opening Day Lineup w/Projections
CF Willy Taveras .283 1 HR 25 RBI 74 SB
LF Chris Dickerson .275 17 HR 64 RBI 22 SB
1B Joey Votto .307 28 HR 97 RBI
2B Brandon Phillips .267 25 HR 93 RBI 19 SB
RF Jay Bruce .296 33 HR 104 RBI
3B Edwin Encarnacion .264 23 HR 78 RBI
C Ramon Hernandez .263 15 HR 65 RBI
SS Alex Gonzalez .264 9 HR 52 RBI
P Aaron Harang

Rotation
RHP Aaron Harang 14-10 4.14 ERA 192 K
RHP Edinson Volquez 15-10 3.45 ERA 197 K
RHP Bronson Arroyo 11-12 4.79 ERA 157 K
RHP Johnny Cueto 10-11 3.79 ERA 189 K
RHP Micah Owings 6-9 4.45 ERA 117 K

CP RHP Francisco Cordero 3.13 ERA 38 SV 73 K

Best Case Scenario: Bruce and Votto break out and become MVP like hitters hitting .315-40-120 each. Harang returns to form after a subpar year and gives the team a solid 200+ innings. Volquez continues to pitch at a Cy Young level and Cueto becomes consistent and is an All-Star. Taverez gets on base and steals more bases than Jose Reyes. This team finishes above .500 for the 1st time since 2000 and contends for the division title and wild card into September.

Worst Case Scenario: Harang continues to disappoint with an ERA in the 5.00's. Volquez gets humbled and struggles with control. Cueto struggles to keep his ERA under 5.00. Owings fails and then Homer Bailey comes in and officially becomes a bust. Bruce strikes out to much and hits around .270. Taveras hits around .240. This team finishes under .500 again and finishes in 5th place in the division.

Player Most Important to Success: Aaron Harang. It would seem likely to pick one of the major prospects like Bruce, Votto, Cueto or Volquez but Harang is the biggest piece to the puzzle. In 2006 and 2007 he won 16 games each year for a terrible Reds team with an ERA around 3.70. He pitched 230 innings in both years. He followed that up in 2008 by going 6-17 with an ERA of 4.78 in only 184 innings. This team has young outstanding pitching but every staff needs a reliable ace. Harang needs to be that ace. If he can go out every fifth game and give 7-8 quality innings that will take the pressure off the bullpen and Cueto, Owings and Volquez. He is only 30 this year so he should still have a couple more All-Star years left in him. If he returns to form this team will have a very good rotation to go with their powerful middle of the lineup.

Outlook: This team has a lot of young super-talents. Bruce is 21, Votto is 25, Encarnacion is 26, Cueto is 23 and Volquez is 25. Homer Bailey is a borderline flop but he is still only 22. This team is on the road to success. The question is whether it comes this year. I think Votto is ready to break out this year but I think it will still be another year till Bruce truly breaks out the .320-40-130 line he is capable of. That said if Harang comes back and Volquez and Cueto build off of last year this is a very dangerous team. They aren't ready to rocket like the Rays but a 90-win season is not out of the question for this team. They are a young, exciting team that will be really fun to watch this summer.