A-Rod baseball's Tomlinson
Remember during football season how any fantasy owner that had LaDainian Tomlinson was a lock to finish the regular season in first place and make the playoffs?
The Chargers running back totaled over 2,300 rushing/receiving yards and 31 touchdowns.
L.T., meet A-Rod. While this sort of one-player dominance usually doesn't lend itself to fantasy baseball, teams with Alex Rodriguez have had a monstrous advantage so far this season. Think about it. In standard 5x5 leagues, A-Rod leads the majors in four categories -- average (.400), home runs (14), RBIs (34) and runs (26).
Sure, you can make up some ground with other players when playing against teams with A-Rod. But when I faced the Conshy Boys last week, I knew I had no shot in HRs and RBIs as Rodriguez hit five bombs and drove in 13.
Rodriguez's large leads in HRs and RBIs probably won't exist by the end of the season so that's where the similarities between him and L.T. end. That and the fact that Tomlinson is generally liked.
Some other observations:
Don't look now but Barry Bonds is off to a scorching start, batting .348 with six homers, 12 RBIs and 12 runs. Remember a couple weeks ago when Hank Aaron said he wouldn't be in attendance when Bonds breaks the record because he's 72 years old and didn't want to travel? Didn't I see him in Los Angeles for the Jackie Robinson celebration? Hmm...a hidden message from Hank? I like it.
Some stars that got off to slow starts are finally heating up. Manny Ramirez has four hits in his last three games, including a homer, but is still batting .209 overall. Chase Utley is 5-for-12 with two homers, three doubles, seven RBIs and six runs in his last three games. And Albert Pujols went 5-for-12 with a homer, three RBIs and three runs in three games against the Cubs.
A couple of starting pitchers who were off to great starts have landed on the disabled list. Feliz Hernandez is suffering from a left elbow strain and is expected to be out until May 4. King Felix was 2-1 with a 1.56 ERA and 18 strikeouts. His only loss came when he was charged with three runs in 1/3 of an inning before leaving due to injury against the Twins. Meanwhile, Rich Harden is on the DL with shoulder tightness. He's 1-1 with a 1.42 ERA and 20 strikeouts.
Phil Hughes is expected to get the start Thursday for the Yankees. The highly-touted prospect is 2-1 with a 3.94 ERA in Triple-A this season.
Randy Johnson will get his first start of the season tonight against the Padres. The Big Unit won 17 games last year with the Yankees, but posted a 5.00 ERA. Expect the ERA to come down, and the wins too as he returns to Arizona.
Dan Haren tossed another gem against the Orioles. He's 2-2 with a 1.41 ERA. Other impressive pitchers so far: Matt Cain (1.55 ERA, 0.83 WHIP), Ramon Ortiz (3-1, 2.48 ERA), Kyle Lohse (1.91 ERA), Cole Hamels (2-0, 2.57 ERA, 33 K), John Maine (3-0, 1.71 ERA), Rich Hill (3-0, 0.41 ERA)
And final, non-fantasy related thought: Is there a more awkward feeling than filling up a bottle at a water fountain while there is someone behind you waiting to have a drink? I didn't think so.
Comments
Thats just dumb. I had tomlinson on my fantasy team last year and he won it all for me. it didnt matter how bad the rest of my team was- because he broke the touch down record. a-rod wont break the hr record this year, or any year
Posted by: Nick Gleichman | May 14, 2007 12:40 PM