The 2009 Sliders, April wrapup

Nobody cares about your fantasy team. I assume nobody cares about mine. But here are a few observations on my 2009 Sliders squad that are, somehow, in the top third of the Gabe Paul standings.

The Good
This year I tried a new spin on pitching strategy. It's worked for years for Brian Miller's Dover Mathmen. The trick is to just barely reach the minimum innings pitched which, since bad starters are avoided, will keep the team ERA and WHIP low. Since I'm relying on relievers instead of starters I should do well in ERA, WHIP and saves but finish near the bottom in Wins. If I finish 5th out of 20 teams in ERA, WHIP and Saves but 15th in Wins, that would be 50 pitching points. (I expect teams with 100+ points to finish in the money.)

So how has the plan been working? Well, perfectly, so far. The Sliders invested $50 in pitching and have 68 pitching points to show for it. I have 3 starters, 3 closers and 3 relievers. Free agent pickup Jason Frasor vultured 3 wins for me. My closers -- Frank Francisco ($5), Ryan Franklin ($5) and Scott Downs ($8) -- bought at a total of $18, have 15 saves -- second in the league. My ERA and WHIP are both in the top three.

I don't expect to stick around in Wins but I should be near the top in ERA, WHIP and Saves at the end of the year. If starters Tommy Hanson (AAA) or Justin Duchscherer (DL) have decent second halves of the season, it will be Mission Accomplished.

The Bad
Saving my money from pitching allowed me to put it towards catching and man, did I spend on catching. However, my $27 Brian McCann and $22 Russell Martin investments could not have had worse Aprils.

McCann started hot, including an opening day home run but has since developed vision problems resulting in a trip to the DL. Martin needs a similar excuse because something is wrong with him having a homerless April. Combined, my $49 catching duo is hitting .208 with 2 HRs, 18 RBI and 2 SBs. Yes, it could be worse but for $49, I sure banked on much more production.

But it's only April. Hopefully the doctors figure out McCann's eye problems and Martin gets back on track for a .280-12-70-12 season.

The Beyond Ugly
The only thing worse than my catching is my middle infield. At the draft, I fell out of the bidding on the players I wanted (Utley, Uggla, Phillips) and ended up with 2B Mike Fontenot ($10) and SS Orlando Cabrera ($12). Coupled with my keeper SS Jhonny Peralta ($21), I have $43 sunk into my middle infield. And that $43 sunk has terribly stunk.

Peralta (.210-0-6-0), Cabrera (.239-0-4-2) and Fontenot (.227-3-9-1) have all underperformed (although Fontenot has had a strong week, bopping out two homers in his last three games).

I think Peralta will turn it around and Fontenot will be decent but my hopes for Cabrera are not high. An acquisition of a new middle infielder might be necessary. Another option will be to wait for Colorado's Ian Stewart to establish 2B eligibility. He might get the 20 games played there by the All Star break.

The Plan
I only have one trading chip and his name is Ryan Franklin. I'd like to build up a reasonable number of saves then deal the Cardinals closer for an upgraded shortstop. If I can maintain around 60 pitching points and then improve my hitting to around 50 points, the combined 110 points should be enough to compete for the top spots in the standings.