Bill Mauger

Chin Music

History

Exp: 13* Original Member
Titles: 1: 2002
Avg Finish: 6.3 4th
Best: 1st 2002
Worst: 12th 2008
Average Moves: 89
Average Trades: 5.8
2008 Finish: 61 Points 12th
2008 #1: Vlad Guerrero
2008 #20: Justin Duchscherer
2007 #1: Alex Rodriguez
2007 #20: Jason Hirsch

Stats:

Years: 7
Total Runs: 5,812 Total HR: 1,514 Total RBI: 5,609
Total SB: 864 OBP: .358 Total W: 708
Total Sv. 445 Total K: 8,202 ERA: 4.22
WHIP: 1.34
Total Fantasy Points: 731.5

Adjusted Average Season Total*:

ADJ R: 852 ADJ HR: 230 ADJ RBI: 852
ADJ SB: 127 ADJ OBP: .351
ADJ W: 87 ADJ SV: 57 ADJ K: 1,043
ADJ ERA: 4.15 ADJ WhIp: 1.31
Adjusted Point Total: 91.9

Historic Fantasy Score:

220/300 3rd/30 Teams Stats Exist For

Chimp-o-Metrix Rating:

Pick: #2
*’s: 2
Overall Rating/08: 3.02/2.50

Offense: 3.05/2.86
Infield + Catcher: 3.16/2.80
Outfield + Utility: 2.93/2.91

Pitching: 2.98/2.15
Starting: 2.37/2.00
Closing: 4.79/2.58

TDA in a Nutshell:

Keepers: Berkman 5, Longoria 7, Carpenter 14
Blue Chip (4.0+): Albert Pujols
Best Pick: Jack Cust Worst Pick: Tulowitzki
Overrated: Mike Gonzalez Underrated: Abreu
Not on my team: Purcey Not on any team: Cahill
Sleeper: Smoltz Super Sleeper: Cahill
Bust: Carpenter Major Bust: Dye
Rotation: Chris Young, Carpenter, Scherzer, Smoltz, Purcey
Closers: 3.0 Gonzalez, Qualls, Francisco

Overview:

2008 was a forgettable season. A truly bogus journey, an appropriate team name last year. Restocked and reloaded this team is a year older more mature and stands poised to make a return to the glory Bill has grown accustomed to in the past. Thus leaving writers trying to avoid making the obvious “excellent adventure” reference that would be tagged along with said success.

What Went Right?

The draft started easy enough for Bill. With the second overall pick and Pujols on the board it was a tough pick to mess up. What was important was Bill avoided the traps of 2008; drafting injured pitchers and black listed hitters. This was the prototypical Mauger draft. An emphasis on devaluing positions like second, short, catcher and closer. And in spite of this, he still walked out of the draft with three closers to his credit. Albeit none of the top tier arms, but when only one stat has value, he did considerably well. Victor Martinez was on a fast track to be the next Piazza. With an off season in 2008, teams were quick to forget how good he was as Vic Mart fell to a seventh round selection. Rumor has it like Piazza; Victor will have a press conference later this spring to discuss his sexuality. Also in true Mauger style, yet another post draft trade was made. This time acquiring Cole Hamels in exchange for Lance Berkman. Some whispers of an elbow injury have dogged Hamels this spring. When healthy, he may be the premier lefty in all of baseball. Overall Bill had fair keepers. Carpenter was kept as an obligation for 2008 and will be fresh for the new season. Bobby Abreu remains one of the hidden treasures of Fantasy Baseball. No where else will you find a third round pick with the five tools many first rounder’s lack. He will not dominate any one category, instead helping supplement numbers across the board. Konerko and his on again off again trend is poised for a big 2009. Even if he were to taper off, the eleventh round cost is not too high. Jack Cust is an ugly slugger, hitting a very quiet 33 homeruns in 2008. He makes a beautiful pick in round fifteen.

What Went Wrong?

Any team can be nitpicked in order to find some flaws. For the most part the draft was solid, but there are a few open sores that need to be dissected. Troy Tulowitzki in round four is an obvious one. Hope that he returns to his impressive 2007 numbers after an injury plagued off season last year. Regardless, he should have drifted much farther down the draft board than he was allowed to. Not to go off on a Dye-a-tribe, but Jermaine Dye was once the model of unfulfilled potential. Now with several highly productive seasons behind him, he has at last earned top of the draft selection. Buyer be wary with Dye, freak serious injuries have dogged him since his Royal days. Purcey and Snider scratched the Blue Jays rash Bill ails from. Even with a great season from Purcey, he remains buried in a deep rotation for the 2010 campaign.

Hitting Analysis

With Berkman, the term that jumps to mind when describing the offense was epic. Even without his bat and spare tire around his waist the offense remains formidable. Little more needs to be said about Pujols. You know what he has done. You know what he can do. You know what he will do, end of story. Longoria continues to progress into the best young power third basemen since Braun moved to the outfield. A modern day David Wright with less speed. Having once again earned an everyday spot in the lineup, as he did last spring as well, Longoria will not have to concern himself with the Rays dicking him around in AAA and focus his attention on hitting homeruns and avoiding injury. Over the past two seasons, Dye has hit 62 homeruns and driven in 174. Once and always injury prone, Bill hopes for one last healthy season in the tank. Konerko has been a great power hitter for years. Hoping for the one last jump, Paul has seen a steady decline in his homerun numbers since 2004. Rounding out the offense are Bobby Abreu and Victor Martinez. Abreu seems to be the only outlet of speed. He stole 22 in 2008 while the rest of this team combined for 20. It will be interesting to see how his stats will move now that he is at long last out of the Bronx and back into relative obscurity, even on the Angels. Snider simply needs to play well enough to stay on the roster and earn 2010 keeper consideration. Top to bottom there are no OBP cancers in the lineup. This team is loaded with power number and devoid of steals. The second basemen carrousel has begun turning early, from Getz to Polanco to an empty roster spot. Look for numerous transactions to be spent on temporary fill ins.

Pitching Analysis

Without exhausting a high draft pick on an elite closer, Bill is left with an iffy pen, but one that be should enough to finish in the top quarter in saves. Qualls will finally get the opportunity to finish games in Arizona. The D’Backs have a considerable list of other options should he not get the job done. Francisco should be fine in Texas, who has significantly fewer options to fall back on. Mike Gonzalez seems to be the weak link. It is only a matter of time before he gets hurt. Even if one of the three should fail, Bill will be left with the two closers that are projected per team in a fifteen team league. The starting rotation is filled with potential liabilities but is sexy on paper. Hamels has already taken some time off this spring to rest from the extended 2008 season. Fresh arm Max Scherzer was squeezed from the D’Backs rotation last year, but projects as a solid pitcher with more strikeouts than innings pitched. Young suffered from numerous bizarre injuries last season, but when healthy is among the most talented and underrated pitchers in the game. Smoltz is slated to start the season on the DL and will likely have company once Cris Carpenter cycles through the rotation a few times. Purcey, an upgraded whore in 2008 will see starting duties this year. Cahill has earned a spot in the Oakland rotation and remains an enigma on potential. For comparisons sake, a number of managers in this league could make it to the final pitching cuts in Oakland.

Overall/Prediction

History has shown Bill to be a very competent and able manager. His record of a single, double-digit finish in the league’s recorded history is further proof of this. The 2009 version stands to be another strong competitor but like most teams is not without holes. Bill will have to address the stolen base situation that is non existent and avoid giving up six to ten points in this category. With a few key pickups and a trade working out in his favor, Mauger projects to once again vault into the competitive part of the league. Hopes are high that 2009 will be an end to the longest drought between championships in Fantasy history, but the smart money is on Bill competing, but not winning yet again.

On Deck: Steve