While yesterday’s edition was all about having fun while playing MLB DFS, today’s will take on a little bit different of a tone. Not that you shouldn’t be having fun all of a sudden, but more in the framework of seasonal fantasy just being better (read: less frustrating) than DFS. In seasonal play, I pay my entrance fee and we’re off to the races. In daily, it’s an investment every day. While that doesn’t sound too bad, those of us playing on a fixed budget have some tough choices to make regularly and when you have a 15-game slate like we have today where the options are ridiculously abundant, the back-and-forth you have while setting your lineup is nowhere near as aggravating as the “what might have been” thoughts that enter your brain as you watch the games and the box scores.
I try not to do it to myself. Really I try. But it’s been so much more difficult since I took over on the Fantasy Alarm Show on SiriusXM. I study the players more. I study the match-ups even more intently. I know the ins and outs of every guy I recommend. While that’s great for helping you, all it does is make me fall in love with a hell of a lot more lineups than I’m actually going to create.
Take today, for example. Who didn’t love the Cardinals lefties against Wily Peralta? How delicious did that Yankees stack look against Mat Latos? Mets lefties against R.A. Dickey? The Pirates against Scott Feldman? Billy Hamilton’s speed against Tyler Glasnow? Joey Votto? Jose Altuve? Freddie Freeman? Gah!!! Just agonizing?
And that’s not even talking about the pitching! Loved Chris Sale. Loved Ervin Santana. Loved Jose Quintana. I was even eyeballing Tyler Chatwood and Dave Loughran got me to fall in love with Trevor Cahill. Yeesh. How the heck was I going to make a decision?
At least with seasonal, I’ve got my guys and that’s that. If I like them for the day, I’ll move them into my lineup. If I don’t, they ride the pine. The choices are a lot more limited and maybe my addictive personality and OCD just need the breather. Of course, I’m killing it in my cash games right now and if all goes well, I’ll see a nice 4 or 5x return on my investment. Not to jinx myself but I’m riding a bit of a hot streak right now, so maybe I just increase the daily budget soon enough.
In much more relevant MLB news…
Injuries continue to pile up this season. Not sure how many times I have to say ‘uncle’ before the baseball gods get their feet out of my ass, but this is just insane. OK, maybe not insane, but pretty damn awful.
Corey Kluber left Tuesday’s game with tightness in his lower back, so after he douched his owners with five earned runs in three innings, he was gone. No chance to maybe go seven innings and help balance it out. Nope. Just a second time a lower back issue has helped ruin the night of fantasy owners everywhere. We’ll await word from the Indians either later tonight or tomorrow, but considering I own him in two leagues, you can bet a trip to the 10-day DL is in order.
If you weren’t paying attention prior to game time, you may have missed Cole Hamels being a late scratch with oblique tightness. I know I missed it having had Evan Gattis and Jose Altuve in one of my DFS lineups, so now we have to wait and see what his condition is moving forward.
And it wouldn’t be a day in MLB without some pitcher fighting the good fight against blisters, so Edinson Volquez…? COME ON DOWN!!!! You’re the next contestant on The Skin’s Not Tight!
How about Greg Bird landing on the DL earlier this afternoon? He’s probably been dropped by every non-keeper league owner, but if for some reason you still have him, now you don’t! He’s been shut down for 7-to-10 days to give his ankle time to heal.
Is Welington Castillo your catcher? He’s not anymore! How about a trip to the 10-day DL with shoulder tendinitis? Time to hit the waiver wire for the crappiest position out there! Maybe some chucklehead in your league did something stupid like drop Jonathan Lucroy. OK, that’s mean. Some guy asked if he could drop him today and because it was a 10-team, single-catcher league, I said yes. But if you own Castillo in a league of 12 teams or more, maybe some chucklehead stupidly dropped Lucroy.
Ryan Braun is day-to-day still with a trapezius muscle issue.
Jacoby Ellsbury has a bruised nerve in his elbow.
David Peralta is sick.
Matt Wieters is sick.
And how about one where the guy isn’t hurt but you wasted your FAAB dollars on him just two weeks ago…? Dan Vogelbach is back in Triple-A! Whoop-a-dee-doooooo!!!!!!!
I better get out of here before I cause any more damage. My low-cost GPP winnings can’t cover the medical bills!