J-Up Goes Down; Josh Fields of Dreams

J-Up Goes Down

Given that I'm in the midst of a furious charge to the top in my ESPN league standings, and given that we're not doing keepers this year due to a glitch in the draft this spring, I had no choice but to cut ties with the Justin Upton phenomenon. Of course, my league mates had to make fun, since I made a big deal about winning the waiver wire lottery to get him in the first place. But he's not playing every day, and after that initial splash, he hasn't been producing anything but outs. So long J-Up. I'll be keeping an eye on you though!

Speaking of young D-Backs, in my other league I just picked up Chris B. Young, the year's most surprising 20-20 guy, where he was unfathomably still on the waiver wire. I'm out of contention in that league, but I can still play spoiler and maybe it'll piss off one of the playoff teams. ;-) It's a shallow league... One where I can drop a J.D. Drew or even Corey Hart if he slumps and not worry about it. Weird, I know.

Staying in Arizona, their "can't-miss" shortstop is still missing in action since I dropped him. Of course we all know the sting of painful irony where the player you finally give up on starts tearing up the league the next day. (Yes, Saltalamacchia's big 2 hr, 7 RBI day was the day after I dropped him.) But even my dropping him didn't jump-start Drew's season. It's just been a bad year for Drews, both Stephen and J.D. Makes you wonder how Tim's doing. Maybe he was the smart one and retired just in time.

Josh Fields of Dreams

But the big news is I've finally found a 3B to replace Mike Lowell. I experimented for a while with Kevin Kouzmanoff (who got me 6 homers his short stint, can't complain too much), Alex Gordon (4 hrs, 3 steals), and (yet another D-back) Mark Reynolds. But Fields has homered 3 times in the past week, now has 8 since I picked him up, and leads all AL rookies in homers with 17. Even better, Fields is now manning left for the hapless Bleach Sox, so he'll get the flexibility of OF eligibility in a week or two. Joe Crede, who is a lot like Fields when you think about it, won't be back til next year, at which time Chicago will have a decision to make. With the left-field experiment, it looks like they want to keep both big young bats in the lineup.

Berkman-Lowell Trade Update

In 58 games for me, Lowell hit .312 with 11 HRs, 46 RBI, 30 Runs, and 2 steals.
In 65 games for me since then, Berkman has hit .292 with 16 HRs, 45 RBI, 49 Runs, and 2 steals.

For my trading partner, in 59 games since the deal Lowell has hit a blistering .343, but with only 6 HRs, 44 RBI, and 28 runs.

As a die-hard Sox fan, I'm glad Lowell hasn't had the 2nd half slump many predicted. As a fantasy manager, I feel badly I missed out on that batting average, but Lowell's RBI are identical to Berkman's, his homers are way fewer, and Berkman scores a ton more runs. When you consider that my partner was stuck with a putrid .250 average and only 8 of his 24 homers to begin the year, I think I'm winning the deal at this point.

If further evidence is needed, I also traded places with him in the standings. Now I'm in 2nd and he's in 4th!

Christmas in August?

I awoke to the morning, an ordinary morning like any other, and flipped open my laptop. I hit refresh on my ESPN league tab and what to my wondering eyes did appear...

Aug 6 4:35 AM

SKWL dropped Dave Roberts, SF to W SKWL added Justin Upton, Ari from W to BE

I was stunned. I did a double-take, just like a cartoon character. My head was shaking and my eyes were popping out further than is optometrist recommended. Somehow the waiver wire prize of the season had fallen to #5 in the claim queue!

Great, I thought. Now what?! Clearly, coffee was in order.

Properly caffeinated, I noticed J-Up was 2-4 again last night, making him 4 for his last 8. He very well could be "for real." Now I need to figure out how to juggle Jonny Gomes, Corey Patterson, and Upton. Strategically, I need homers in this league right now if I want to move up from 4th place. And it's not decided yet, but the league is leaning against keepers of any kind next year. Stay tuned... This could get intersting!

For more on the Upton phenomenon, and some excellent insight on the subject of adding rookies sooner rather than later, check out Andy Behrens on Yahoo! Coincidentally enough, he figures a Dave Roberts type will be available if J-Up is a bust out of the gate.

Uptons

Here in New England, when we sportsfans hear the name Upton, we tend to think Bell, as in Upton Bell, the longtime sportswriter/broadcaster and early 70s Patriots GM. He also sports perhaps the most obvious toupe I've ever seen anywhere -- so obvious, in fact, that I'm convinced it is his actual hair. If that makes any sense. Click the link and see for yourself. Someone, please tug on it and clear this up for me! It's been bugging me for years. Anyway...

Of course, most savvy fantasy baseballers would've said B.J. when asked to name an Upton. With 14 homers, 13 steals, and a .325 average, he's at least 3 kinds of fantasy fabulousness.

Now we have another Upton. Called up yesterday by Arizona. B.J.'s "little" brother. (Check out the size of this kid.) 19 years old. #1 overall draft pick in 2005. He's got phenom written all over him. No pressure though Justin!

Now, the D-Backs have had worse production from right field than the Red Sox, if you can believe such a thing, and he's already out there playing. He logged an 0-fer in his debut, but don't let that disuade you from trying to pick him up. Notice, I said trying. In ESPN, he wasn't able to be added as a free agent; instead, the powers that be made him a waiver claim pickup. That's not a bad thing, actually... Too many hot rookies have snuck by even the most diligent daily players, too often going to night-owls and early-birds quick with the hair-trigger-waiver-finger. This might be more fair. Anyway, I've got my claim in. With Manny, Ichiro, Maggio, Markakis, and Patterson in the OF, and Dave Roberts in my Util slot, I decided to drop Roberts in favor of the superstar-to-be. But I'm only #5 in the claim queue, so I'm not holding my breath til Monday when he clears. Assuming I lose out, Roberts was 4-5 last night and his 21 steals suit me just fine otherwise.

I also added Jonny Gomes, he of the 4 homers last week, so I've got a bit of a log-jam and need to play match-ups to juggle the OFs.

Statistically, you'll have to expect it'll take Upton a while to get used to big league pitching. Strategically, you've gotta put your claim in. He's got that much potential. Don't believe me? Check out the ooohs and aaahs from this guy!

BTW, here's a great story about the Upton brothers from USA Today a few years ago. Reminds me of myself and my brother. Without the signing bonuses.