Accountability and accuracy are the two of the most important aspects of a fantasy writer’s credibility.
With that in mind, and this being the final installment of By the Numbers for the 2010 season, we’ll be looking back at my pre-draft Target and Avoid series to see how well I did directing your draft selections.
I’ve highlighted10 of the big ones below, but feel free to go back and assess them all, and hopefully the results will keep you coming back here for your fantasy baseball advice.
Let’s do the final round-up…
33: Games played this season by Grady Sizemore, probably the best Avoid selection of the series
Not only did Sizemore sustain a season-ending injury extremely early in the season, he was awful in the 33 games he actually played. He batted .211 while only crossing home plate 15 times, putting him on pace for a career-low 74 runs. He was so bad the injury probably saved his owners the headache of figuring out what to do with him.
Some may see this as an excellent steal in 2011 drafts, but it’s pretty clear at this point that he will never be the player he was in 2006 and 2007 again.
17/11: Home runs/steals for Curtis Granderson so far this season
After Granderson’s 30/20 All-Star campaign last season for Detroit, many were expecting big things due to the move to the home run-friendly Yankee Stadium and far superior roster in New York. The low batting average figured to stick around, but the fantasy community was hoping for something in the range of 40/30 by the end of season, not scraping for a 20/15 finish.
He did miss nearly all of May with hamstring problems, but he never really hit a stride at any point in the season, so to imagine things would have been different is wishful thinking at best. His draft stock will be interesting to watch as we approach the 2011 season.
.253: Batting average for Lance Berkman this season
Before the season I said, “His numbers in ‘08 were buoyed by a ridiculous .341 BaBIP, and his 2007 stats look more like his 2009 stats, so I’m thinking he’ll be in range of those two years than 2008.”
That actually ended up being a generous projection for the former Houston Astros first baseman, as .253 is the worst batting average he has posted in a decade, way back to his rookie season in 1999. He has played a bit better with the Yankees, but he’s old and just doesn’t have it anymore. He is no longer fantasy relevant.
Gauge the rest of my preseason picks here.
Lane Rizzardini has been playing fantasy sports for over 10 years. His earliest memory was drafting Fred Lane in 2003, only to find out Fred’s wife had shot him in the offseason. You can find more of Lane’s writing over at BrunoBoys.net.
You can contact him at Lanerizz@gmail.com or through his Twitter page.
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