Chicago Fantasy Baseball Week in Review 7/23

By Jerome Cusson

With the trading deadline looming and the stretch run coming all too quickly for fantasy owners, it’s only right that stats get crunched even more. Keeping this in mind, we’ll begin a weekly look at the local Chicago teams. The first column will give a general overview of the season to this point with some players to watch and also to avoid. Here’s a hint. Don’t even think about anyone from the Sox bullpen.

Chicago White Sox

The Chicago White Sox have been one of the biggest disappointments this season. Their offense has generally been poor, with batting averages being very low. None of the Sox regular are hitting above .300. Injuries, also decimating this team, have forced back-ups and rookies to take their places. The starting pitching, with an exception here and there, has been a bright spot for the team. A no-hitter may be the highlight of the 2007 campaign while the emergence of a rookie and forgotten veteran has made the starting staff the only strength. The bullpen is one of the worst, maybe in the history of baseball. There hasn’t been a single pitcher who has experienced a good season except for the closer, Bobby Jenks. And because of a lack of consistent work has seen struggles of his own.

Offense

A struggling offense has seen very few highlights so far. Paul Konerko recently
came out of his season long slump, but is still only batting .265. Even with that, Konerko still leads the team in most offensive categories, and should be considered a player to watch since he seems to be heating up. His average has steadily gone up since a .198 average. While he doesn’t have blazing speed and only has an average team, Konerko could give a struggling offensive fantasy team a boost. So could Jim Thome. His issues this season have been a lack of protection as well as some injury problems. He is still batting .281 with 16 home runs and 52 RBI’s. If he’s available, he might be worth an extra roster spot.

Rob Mackowiak is one of the only other reliable players Ozzie Guillen has had this season. Because of this, he will see a lot of action in the outfield and in the infield. Otherwise, the other position players on the team are having below average seasons. A.J. Pyerzynski is hitting .260. Tadahito Iguchi is hitting .248. Scott Podsednik and Darin Erstad’s seasons were ruined by injuries. Juan Uribe seems disinterested and out-of-shape.

Then there is Jermaine Dye who may or not be with the White Sox by the time you read this. From World Series MVP to MVP candidate to barely hitting .220. As one of the quieter players on the team, a potential extension for him was put on the wayside even as pitcher Mark Buehrle gave the Sox a hometown discount. Dye could be an option for a fantasy team if he is traded to a contending team and finds new life. Otherwise, don’t look for this team to give you a lot in the way of firepower.

Pitching

Unfortunately, while guys like Jon Garland, Mark Buehrle, and even Javier Vasquez have good ERAs, the offense’s inability to start rallies and put crooked numbers on the board has killed much of the value these three could bring. John Danks is someone to keep an eye on for the future as the biggest story of his season has been he hasn’t been a story. Maintaining a decent ERA and only sparsing in an occasional bad start kept Danks up the whole year. For right now, Danks is still a rookie making mistakes. Jose Contreras may also get traded, but with an ugly record and ERA shouldn’t be seen by fantasy owners as anything more than batting practice for hitters.

As far as the bullpen goes, to call them a disaster would actually be a compliment. Changing pitchers hasn’t helped. Giving them rest hasn’t worked. Sending some to triple-A hasn’t worked. What this leads up to is an ERA over 6.00 and a lost season for a team who looks increasingly old and needing to be rebuilt.

Chicago Cubs

If nothing else, the Cubs are the most interesting team in baseball whether they win or lose. They’ll always be a fight, a crushing loss, a Piniella tantrum, and exhuberance from a big comeback. The offense has been a mixed bag, but the young infielders have put this team in contention. The starting rotation has also been up and down, but the two free agent signings who may have looked questionable in March, have been worth their value for fantasy owners and the Cubs. A bullpen that looked so bad in April has picked up its’ game also, led by inspired efforts from Ryan Dempster and Bob Howry.

Offense

Derreck Lee’s power numbers aren’t there, but his batting average still leads the team and he plays some of the best defense of any first basemen in baseball. Aramis Ramirez might get some MVP votes for the season he’s having. He’s tied for the lead in home runs and leading in RBI’s by himself. Alfonso Soriano completes the right-handed hitting trio with a .314 average and 16 home runs. While there will always be questions about whether he actually deserves all the money he got, no one can question how he has changed the dynamic of the team. He has provided good outfield defense, power in the lead-off position, and speed.
The next group are what Ozzie Guillen would call grinders. While the stars are putting up some very good numbers, the Cubs only began playing well when Ryan Theriot and Mike Fontenot were put in the line-up together consistently. An injury to Ramirez and the struggles of Ronny Cedeno ironically gave these two a chance to play every day, and also made Cesar Izturis expendable. Mark DeRosa is another grinder type player who’s been asked to play a variety of different positions. He’s even become a solid RBI man as he’s third on the team and also hitting .285.

Guys like Jacque Jones, Cliff Floyd, Angel Pagan, Koyie Hill, and Jason Kendall will probably be used to platoon for each other and shouldn’t really be looked as good options to fill out your fantasy roster. In the two catcher’s case it’s because of their inability to hit consistently. Floyd is a decent bat off the bench while Jones has only gotten more chances because Felix Pie was sent down to the minors.

Pitching

Carlos Zambrano has been the workhorse of the staff for the last couple years and this year has been no different. Even after a horrible start and a fight with his own catcher, Big Z has turned what was a bad season into a potential Cy Young campaign. Ted Lilly is on a six game winning streak and there is a chance for some fantasy owners to pick him up. But hurry up because he could be heavily coveted if Lilly continues his winning ways. Rich Hill is someone who might be burning some fantasy owners. He was considered the next Barry Zito and ended the year so well last season. And to top things off, his April and May were also very good. Ever since June though, it’s been a struggle. He is now .500 but still has a good ERA and has looked good in his last couple of starts. Between a decent 2006 and his effort so far in 2007, Sean Marshall could also be a good late season pick-up. And for keeper leagues might be an even greater option since he looks to be the real deal. Jason Marquis might not be the best option, but he’s been much better than his 2006 effort which left him off the world champion Cardinals playoff roster.

Other than Scott Eyre, the bullpen recovered from a rough start to becoming one of the team’s biggest assets. Carlos Marmol has become a strikeout machine and will see a lot of key innings in the last two months. Bob Howry, an excellent closer in Ryan Dempster’s absence, looks to be the main set-up guy for the Cubs for the next couple seasons. While Piniella was almost ready to put Dempster back into the rotation, realistically there was no way Dempster could be removed this season. He’s been good, and his upbeat attitude even in the worst of situations has made everyone forget Mel Rojas and Rick Aguilera.

Next week, we’ll look at the week that was for the Cubs and Sox week that was. We’ll also look at which players were on fire and others who fantasy owners should consider benching for the time being.