Fantasy Baseball Wolf Hunt: Out With The Old And In With…The Old?

Unless, for some very odd and inexplicable reason, you have lost all contact with the Fantasy or even outside world, you all know by now the scheduled start of Pedro Martinez this Wednesday against the Cubs.

You also are then probably aware of Jamie Moyer being moved to the pen.

At this time of year as I scour the various leagues and teams that are out there, as well as my own leagues and teams, I have been noticing a rampant problem growing in the pitching department—both in starters AND relievers.

Most of these issues for managers have been primarily due to injury, but there has been a good show of hands for those pitchers who just haven’t lived up to the hype (cough, Liriano).

So with the news that Martinez is in fact back in the lineup once again—after a very long hiatus—some of you who are looking for a new arm may find some success into the eventual Hall Of Famer; success that has a bit of risk of course.

Let’s take a look at Martinez’s career in case you guys forgot.

From the blossoming days as a young aspiring pitcher for the Dodgers, to the bitter end that came September 25th against, ironically, the Cubs as a matter of fact, Pedro cemented his place in baseball history hands down.

There are very few pitchers left who can compete with a stat line that looks like this:

214 Wins, 99 Losses, 2.91 ERA, 17 Shutouts, 3 Saves, and a jaw dropping 3117/752  K/BB ratio; there are also very few retired pitchers who can compete with these numbers.

But, alas, we live in the land of Fantasy do we not; just because he has had this type of success doesn’t guarantee a manger that he will have this type of impact on a manager’s roster.

Martinez hasn’t really blown anyone away in his rehab stint—he did a pretty good job posting a 1-1 record with a suspect 5.11 ERA, but he had no explosiveness.

I personally am not one for looking into rehab games and stats as I find them too often to be misleading, but feel free to use such information if it helps.

So what to do, what to do?

Well think of it this way; Martinez’s potential schedule could look a little something like this:

ARI, @ NYM, ATL, SF, @WSH, NYM,@ATL, @MIL, HOU, and possibly the Marlins considering how the Phillies handle their schedule.

Now, I don’t know about you guys, but that seems like a very inviting schedule for a guy who has the type of stuff Pedro has been known to have—I’ll give him six out of nine and those are pretty good odds considering.

All in all, if you take into account where we are in the year, there isn’t very many long-term pitching options out there to consider; a consideration that Pedro seems to fit.

If you are one of those managers looking for a reliable pitcher without having to give up the farm I say go for it—you won’t be limping to the barn with a has-been that’s for sure.

Martinez has a 13% average ownership in Yahoo leagues and an overall average of 22% in various sites and leagues around the net; the point being; he is out there so don’t necessarily be a follower, you could see great rewards in the near future.

Around the League:

Both J.A. Happ and Tom Gorzelanny are safe in the rotation, and are there for the taking. If these two are available, I say take a chance on them and stay away from the shinny rookie arms coming out of San Diego and Oakland; now is not the time of year for experimenting unless you are in a Dynasty or Keeper league.

LaTroy Hawkins is said to be back around the 12th or 13th, Mark DeRosa is battling back issues so keep a very sharp eye out, and very interestingly, Brett Myers is rumored to make a run at a comeback in late August; something that the Phillies did toy with idea-wise. Put him on your waiver list and keep an eye out.

Remember, contending managers need now, more than ever, to stay on the ball with the season and players; one small bad move could kill your season.

Comments are always appreciated and as always good luck to everyone and we’ll see you in the next installment when the focus will be the road to victory.