Manny in Fantasyland

Two weeks ago I was in the cellar. Well, not me. My fantasy league team. I entered this year as a sophomore fantasy leaguer. I finished out last year somewhere near the bottom (8th of 12). I chalked it up to inexperience and a bad draft. In fact, last year I didn't even bother ranking players for the draft. I should have done that (by "That" I mean nothing) again this year.

I entered this year with a strategy. I ranked my players. I was going to put an emphasis on pitching. K's and Wins! Then some strong RBI hitters. That was my focus. Then the draft was over. I went through the line-up and I realized I don't have any pop. None. Not one big bat. I NEEDED SOME POP! I panicked.

I had some great starting pitching, Lincecum, Shields, Maine, Garza. Not bad.

I started shopping some starting pitching. Someone was willing to trade for Shields. No Dice.

I met "Big Game" James at the beginning of the 2008 season. Then I saw him pitch (albeit losing) against Boston in Game 6 of the 2008 ALCS. No, Shields is my man. I narrowed it down. I was shopping Lincecum.

Tim had a couple of bad starts but nobody was worried. Then he had some great starts, lots of K's. An offer arrived. Not much of one. Mike Jacobs and someone else. Naw. Then another offer. A blockbuster. Manny for Lincecum! Then the offer went away. Then it reappeared.

I took it.

I'm not a fan of Manny's. The palms down superman routine when he hits a HR bores me. He acts like no one else has ever done it before. I say act like you knew you could do it. You knew you would smash the ball off this guy. It should be no big deal. That's the kinda player I like. Unassuming. Manny is anything but. On the other hand.....look at those numbers!

I'm not making excuses but, maybe I'm just like Manny. I compromised myself because I wanted the glory. I wanted to win. Mike Jacobs is a good ballplayer. I could have had him and got some satisfaction knowing that the players I manage (and root for) are clean. But no. I had to have someone who would really make an impact. Manny wants to win. He wants to be known as a great hitter. So he may have compromised himself. He could have been known as a player who played clean. Like I said, I'm not making excuses but, we're only human.