I’d like to take a quick break here from the normal fantasy baseball advice and tell you about my friend Steve. Now don’t just click away because hidden in this little story is a key fantasy baseball tip that you folks might be interested in as you plan your 2010 fantasy baseball strategy.
Steve is one of the greatest guys I know. He’s unbelievably kind, intelligient, witty, and just an all around great person. I first met him about 10 years ago while working at a bar in New York City that he would often frequent after his aggravating and tedious late nights at the law offices of Dewey, Cheatham, & Howe (some names have been changed to protect identities). He’d sneak on in and have himself a glass of cabernet as he decompressed from the daily grind before making his way home to his lovely wife and three beautiful daughters.
We bonded immediately. The ice breaker was that he and my brother had the same alma mater and we both had an affinity for the state of Maine. But the real bonding took place over our love for the game of baseball and the New York Yankees. We traded stories about games we attended, foul balls caught, autographs received, you name it. We talked about different ballparks visited, favorite players of all time and I found that, like myself, Steve’s love for the game of baseball transcended beyond his loyalty to the Yankees. He had a passion for it and over the years, our conversations were one of the highlights of my time spent slinging beers to the masses.
At some point early on in our late night baseball chat sessions, the topic of fantasy baseball came into play. Steve had been doing a league with some old friends from college and I had been playing in one of my own but was hoping to start up a new keeper league with some friends of mine. I knew he was the perfect recruit. Intelligent, competitive, a passion for the sport and an interest so strong that I knew he would never be a dead team. I invited him to join as the 15th team and he gladly accepted.
That first year was the best. What I enjoyed most was that Steve dressed up nicely for the draft and walked into the room wearing his famed baseball tie, a case of beer under one arm and a bottle of cabernet in hand. We did the meet and greet so all owners became familiar with their competitors and off we went. It’s been such a long time since that day that players’ names elude me as to who he and I ended up with , but by the end of the night we both seemed pretty happy with our squads. Of course, it could have just been my buzz and his crimson teeth.
If memory serves, my season that year was spent decimated by injuries with probably atleast one bad trade, if not two. I think I finished in 6th that year, which, in this league is the worst place to end up — one spot away from collecting a prize and a lousy draft pick in next year’s supplemental draft. Steve, on the other hand, had himself a solid year. He hovered around the middle of the pack for most of the season and at the trade deadline, worked a deal or two that pushed him towards the top part of the standings. He was as high as third going into the final two weeks of the season and on the very last day, moved into second. Had the season gone on just one week more, he would have easily taken over first and won the championship. Not only was I impressed with his work as a fantasy baseball GM, but I was genuinely happy for him as the difference in prizes from second to third was substantial and at that point, his first daughter had just been born.
But I didn’t just come here today to talk about how great a guy Steve happens to be. That would be a little boring. What I want to do is talk about Steve’s biggest flaw; his Achilles heel, if you will. The one thing that has been his chronic downfall. Steve has a love for a particular player that has haunted him almost every year for the last 9 years and it has done horrible things to his fantasy baseball career. He would talk about this player as if he were the greatest hitter in game, quoting minor league OBP numbers as if just the mere mention of them would add to his fantasy team’s roto points. Year after year, it became one of the league’s best jokes as we all took bets on how much Steve would bid for this guy and how long it would take for this player to break, tear or sprain something to keep him out for longer than he’d play in a regular season. Yup, that’s right. Steve has a huge man-crush on Nick Johnson.
Good ol’ Nick the Stick; a highly touted prospect in the Yankees farm system that was supposed to be the next great first baseman. He was to be the successor to Tino Martinez and supposedly, the Yankees weren’t going to miss a beat going from Donnie Baseball to Tino to Nick. Well, here we are, nine seasons removed from Johnson’s first major league at bat and only once, in all of that time, has he reached 500 AB and cleared the 20 HR barrier. At first, no one thought much of Steve’s attachment to the injury prone Johnson. He talked him up in 2002 and announced his bid in 2003 with a “full year and his stats are gonna blow you away,” exclamation. But in 2004 when Johnson was sent off to the Montreal Expos after 2 injury plagued seasons in New York and Steve still went after him in the draft, our fellow owners began the good natured ribbing.
In ‘05 the side bets began and by the end of the ‘06 season (Johnson’s best to date), everyone wanted a piece fo the action for 2007. It was never a disappointment as Steve continued to add Johnson to his squad for usually more money than he was worth and complained annually that he was going to need to add “another stupid first baseman” during our free agent draft at the end of April. It’s grown to be one of my favorite parts come draft day.
So why am I bringing this up now? Well, funny you should ask. It seems, according to the rumor mill, that the Yankees are looking to bring Nick the Stick back to the Bronx. With the departure of Hideki Matsui and the unlikely re-signing of Johnny Damon, the Yanks are in the market for a designated hitter and are apparently coming up on closing a deal with Johnson. And that, my friends, is where Steve comes in. Nick Johnson a DH? Well of course now is the time to draft him right? Hitting in that Yankees lineup, no playing in the field, no risk of injury, right? As sure as I am that the sun will rise tomorrow morning, Steve will be bidding on Nick Johnson, and as sure as I am that the sun will set in the evening, Steve will pay too much if he comes to the Yankees.
Now I’m certainly not saying that Johnson will be a total bust, especially if he is, in fact, just going to DH. With a full season, he could repeat his 2006 numbers, and just might even be able to improve on them. But am I going to take that chance? Am I not going to think that Nick won’t tear something while taking practice swings in the cage one day? Hell no! For me, there are plenty of other first basemen that can put up 20+ homers without the perpetual concern of a DL stint that is just a moment away. Plenty. Not to mention, the overpaying that is going to happen in my league if Johnson does don the pinstripes again. Big bucks, I’m sure. You know the excitement will be there for Steve — baseball tie around his neck, cabernet in hand, a big ol’ bid on Jonson, and a list of free agent first basemen that he will need as a replacement. So Steve, if you’re reading…he’s all yours. Merry Christmas!! I can’t afford the bid dollars or the aggravation. May you finally get a full season out of this guy.
Funny thing, though. Johnson going to the Yanks. Would that be the best Christmas gift for you or for me and the other owners in the league?
Happy Holidays to you all!!!
Loading ...