Tuesday, June 15, 2004
The 2004 ITH Fantasy All-Star Teams
It's not quite that time of year yet for the actual boys of summer, but this Sunday will officially mark the halfway point of the "regular season" for those of us in 22-week (H2H) ESPN leagues. That being the case, ITH has taken it upon ourselves to name an AL and NL Fantasy All-Star Team as mid-season approaches. We've selected two 25-man teams specific to league with the exact roster format that ESPN players are familiar with (even the always-filled IR spot!) . We took advantage of multi-position eligibility, just as you would building your fantasy winner. Along with each choice, their 5x5 statistics have been listed (all stats listed are through the end of Week 10, June 13th). In some cases, the stats speak for themselves. However, along with the stats, ITH has listed notes to further exemplify just why we selected who we did for each position. If a player's name has an asterisk (*) next to it, that means he's been selected for the mixed-league All-Star Team. We welcome discussion (and your own lists as well) at insidethehalo@insightbb.com. These are, of course, subjective lists, and were chosen as such, selected by a mere mortal and no fantasy god (although we feel the stats would be hard to beat). Without further delay, here are the 2004 ITH Fantasy All-Star Teams.
AMERICAN LEAGUE:
Hitters:
Pitchers:
C: Ivan Rodriguez, DET: .358 AVG/8 HR/45 RBI/29 R/5 SB
.520 SLG, .514 AVG in June
1B: Frank Thomas, CHW: .299 AVG/16 HR/40 RBI/43 R/0 SB
OPS 1.094; 54 BB, 37 K
2B: Michael Young*, TEX: .332 AVG/9 HR/37 RBI/42 R/6 SB
.381 AVG at home, .281 on road; 1.016 OPS at home, .758 on road
SS: Carlos Guillen*, DET: .325 AVG/10 HR/40 RBI/47 R/3 SB
.783 OPS at home, 1.172 on road
3B: Alex Rodriguez*, NYY: .305 AVG/14 HR/36 RBI/43 R/11 SB
22 RBI, 22 R in May
OF: Melvin Mora*, BAL: .359 AVG/11 HR/41 RBI/57 R/7 SB
.449 OBP overall, .402 AVG in May
OF: Vladimir Guerrero*, ANA: .349 AVG/15 HR/56 RBI/52 R/5 SB
Lowest average month was April. Still hit .326; .403 vs. LHP
OF: Manny Ramirez*, BOS: .342 AVG/17 HR/46 RBI/39 R/1 SB
9 HR in May; OPS above 1.000 every month
OF: Matt Lawton*, CLE: .324 AVG/10 HR/33 RBI/50 R/12 SB
9 SB in May
OF: Carlos Beltran*, KC: .266 AVG/12 HR/43 RBI/42 R/12 SB
These numbers despite hitting .222 in May
1B/3B: David Ortiz, BOS: .286 AVG/13 HR/54 RBI/29 R/0 SB
24 2B overall; 27 RBI in May
2B/SS: Juan Uribe, CHW: .318 AVG/9 HR/25 RBI/37 R/7 SB
21 R in May
Util: Jose Guillen, ANA: .300 AVG/11 HR/46 RBI/40 R/3 SB
.351 AVG, 8 HR, 27 RBI, .517 SLG in May (which earned him ITH's Golden Fantasy Halo for May)
P: Curt Schilling*, BOS: 8 W/81 K/3.03 ERA/1.10 WHIP
Only 14 BB overall; 5-0, .215 OBA (opponent batting average) at home
P: Pedro Martinez*, BOS: 7 W/89 K/3.77 ERA/1.19 WHIP
Only 23 BB overall; 3-0, .213 OBA at home
P: Mark Mulder, OAK: 8 W/64 K/2.97 ERA/1.11 WHIP
.221 OBA overall; 5-0 at home
P: Tim Hudson, OAK: 7 W/45 K/2.80 ERA/1.18 WHIP
4-0, 1.34 ERA at home; 4.20 road ERA
P: Javier Vazquez, NYY: 7 W/66 K/3.43 ERA/0.99 WHIP
.210 OBA overall; only 18 BB; 2.63 ERA at home, 4.50 on road; 2.05 ERA in June
P: Mariano Rivera*, NYY: 26 SV/28 K/1.01 ERA/1.15 WHIP
Only 1 HR allowed in 2004
P: Francisco Cordero*, TEX: 19 SV/30 K/1.82 ERA/1.26 WHIP
1 R allowed since 5/12
P: Joe Nathan, MIN: 16 SV/35 K/1.55 ERA/1.17 WHIP
OBA .186 overall; allowed all 5 runs in only 2 games
P: Keith Foulke, BOS: 13 SV/25 K/1.08 ERA/0.84 WHIP
OBA .169 overall; only 8 BB
Bench: (P) Roy Halladay, TOR: 6 W/61 K/3.55 ERA/1.29 WHIP
4-1 in day games, 2.98 ERA
Bench: (2B, SS, 3B, OF) Chone Figgins, ANA: /312 AVG/2 HR/18 RBI/30 R/18 SB
7 SB in only 37 ABs in April; Call us homers, but we thought this team could use a little more speed on the bench. Plus, argue with that multi-position eligibility!
Bench: (P) Scot Shields, ANA: 4 W/3 SV/49 K/2.95 ERA/1.15 WHIP
Managers have been criticized in the past for adding their own players to fill out the bench and maybe we're guilty too, but he went over 20 innings without allowing a run. Plus, 49 K in 42 IP. Nice.
IR: Troy Glaus*, ANA: 11 HR, 28 RBI, 29 R in 98 AB
NATIONAL LEAGUE:
Hitters:
Pitchers:
C: Craig Wilson*, PIT: .330 AVG/14 HR/40 RBI/39 R/2 SB
23 R, 7 HR, 22 RBI in May
1B: Albert Pujols*, STL: .309 AVG/17 HR/41 RBI/55 R/ 2 SB
37 BB, 19 K; .400 AVG in June
2B: Jeff Kent, HOU: .309 AVG/10 HR/44 RBI/43 R/4 SB
.346, 22 R, 28 RBI in May
SS: Jack Wilson, PIT: .344 AVG/5 HR/25 RBI/33 R/5 SB
.369 AVG, .568 SLG in April
3B: Scott Rolen*, STL: .354 AVG/17 HR/67 RBI/42 R/1 SB
67 RBI (!), .795 SLG, 1.273 OPS in June
OF: Barry Bonds (San Francisco OF)*, SF: .376 AVG/18 HR/39 RBI/47 R/3 SB
88 BB, 12 K; .472 AVG, 1.132 SLG in April; .406 AVG in June; this list goes on and on...
OF: Lance Berkman*, HOU: .335 AVG/15 HR/49 RBI/39 R/1 SB
.387 AVG, 9 HR, 20 R, 24 RBI, .785 SLG in May
OF: Bobby Abreu*, PHI: .297 AVG/14 HR/43 RBI/48 R/12 SB
.313 AVG, 6 HR, 21 RBI, 26 R, 10 SB in May
OF: Steve Finley, ARI: .280 AVG/17 HR/35 RBI/42 R/7 SB
9 HR, 1.073 OPS in May
OF: Scott Podsednik, MIL: .261 AVG/8 HR/23 RBI/44 RBI/27 SB
CS only once (!), .290 AVG on road, .230 at home
1B/3B: Sean Casey*, CIN: .369 AVG/11 HR/46 RBI/49 R/1 SB
23 2B in April; .414 AVG in April
2B/SS: Rob Mackowiak, PIT: .269 AVG/11 HR/34 RBI/30 R/7 SB
20 R, 8 HR, 24 RBI in May
Util: Jim Thome, PHI: .318 AVG/18 HR/40 RBI/37 R/0 SB
6 HR already in June, .366 AVG
P: Randy Johnson*, ARI: 9 W/109 K/2.87 ERA/0.86 WHIP
10.4 K/9; only 23 BB; .172 OBA; 1.99 ERA in May
P: Roger Clemens*, HOU: 9 W/88 K/2.08 ERA/1.12 WHIP
.193 OBA; 18 R allowed all season
P: Carlos Zambrano*, CHI: 7 W/77 K/2.27 ERA/1.07 WHIP
4-0, 1.66 ERA at home; May and June ERA below 2.00
P: Matt Clement, CHI: 7 W/90 K/3.15 ERA/1.12 WHIP
6-2, 2.53 ERA at home; .189 OBA
P: Jason Schmidt*, SF: 7 W/82 K/2.49 ERA/0.97 WHIP
Only 25 BB; 1.24 road ERA; 5-0, 1.53 ERA, 54 K in May
P: Armando Benitez*, FLA: 24 SV/28 K/0.58 ERA/0.81 WHIP
2 ER, 27 baserunners all season
P: Jose Mesa, PIT: 14 SV/14 K/2.88 ERA/1.32 WHIP
Only 3 ER allowed until 6/12 (5 on 6/12)
P: Eric Gagne*, LA: 13 SV/39 K/1.78 ERA/0.83 WHIP
1.49 OBA; 0.79 ERA, 20 K in 11.1 IP in May; Then there's that little string of 76 consecutive saves...
P: Tom Glavine, NYM: 7 W/48 K/2.03 ERA/0.92 WHIP
.184 OBA; 6-1, 1.88 ERA on road
Bench: (P) Danny Kolb, MIL: 17 SV/7 K/1.14 ERA/0.85 ERA
3 R, 20 baserunners allowed all season
Bench: (P) Ben Sheets, MIL: 5 W/89 K/2.06 ERA/0.90 WHIP
79 baserunners allowed all year; only 3.4 RS/9 in 2004
Bench: (3B, OF) Miguel Cabrera, FLA: .293 AVG/16 HR/43 RBI/45 R/2 SB
9 HR, 22 RBI, 20 R in April
IR: Richie Sexson, ARI: 9 HR, 23 RBI, 20 R in 90 AB
Wrapup:
There you go. Who would've though there'd be 4 Pirates and 3 Brewers along with the expected 5 Red Sox and 3 Yankees? The Angels are the other big selection with 5 (4 active) and I can already hear the non-Angel fans yellin' "Homer!". The Phillies, Diamondbacks and Astros also posted 3 each (ARI only 2 active). We didn't bother to represent every team because you wouldn't bother to do that with your fantasy team. Besides, that's what those 7 extra spots are for on the actual All-Star team--getting someone from every team. We didn't have that luxury. Oh, and in case you didn't want to count, the mixed-league team came out 13 AL, 13 NL. And we didn't plan that either.
Obviously, there were some stellar performances left off the teams. In the AL, Gary Sheffield, Carl Crawford, Hank Blalock, Brian Roberts, Roy Halladay, and Kenny Rogers (the AL wins leader!) come to mind immediately. In the NL, Juan Pierre, Ken Griffey Jr., Luis Castillo, Mark Loretta, Aramis Ramirez, Jeremy Burnitz, Brad Penny, and Danny Graves (the NL saves leader!) would all deserve consideration to be included. Alas, as we pointed out, there are only 25 spots to be filled. Plus, it makes for great debate.
Again, let us know what you think of the 2004 ITH Fantasy All-Star Teams at insidethehalo@insightbb.com.
AMERICAN LEAGUE:
Hitters:
Pitchers:
C: Ivan Rodriguez, DET: .358 AVG/8 HR/45 RBI/29 R/5 SB
.520 SLG, .514 AVG in June
1B: Frank Thomas, CHW: .299 AVG/16 HR/40 RBI/43 R/0 SB
OPS 1.094; 54 BB, 37 K
2B: Michael Young*, TEX: .332 AVG/9 HR/37 RBI/42 R/6 SB
.381 AVG at home, .281 on road; 1.016 OPS at home, .758 on road
SS: Carlos Guillen*, DET: .325 AVG/10 HR/40 RBI/47 R/3 SB
.783 OPS at home, 1.172 on road
3B: Alex Rodriguez*, NYY: .305 AVG/14 HR/36 RBI/43 R/11 SB
22 RBI, 22 R in May
OF: Melvin Mora*, BAL: .359 AVG/11 HR/41 RBI/57 R/7 SB
.449 OBP overall, .402 AVG in May
OF: Vladimir Guerrero*, ANA: .349 AVG/15 HR/56 RBI/52 R/5 SB
Lowest average month was April. Still hit .326; .403 vs. LHP
OF: Manny Ramirez*, BOS: .342 AVG/17 HR/46 RBI/39 R/1 SB
9 HR in May; OPS above 1.000 every month
OF: Matt Lawton*, CLE: .324 AVG/10 HR/33 RBI/50 R/12 SB
9 SB in May
OF: Carlos Beltran*, KC: .266 AVG/12 HR/43 RBI/42 R/12 SB
These numbers despite hitting .222 in May
1B/3B: David Ortiz, BOS: .286 AVG/13 HR/54 RBI/29 R/0 SB
24 2B overall; 27 RBI in May
2B/SS: Juan Uribe, CHW: .318 AVG/9 HR/25 RBI/37 R/7 SB
21 R in May
Util: Jose Guillen, ANA: .300 AVG/11 HR/46 RBI/40 R/3 SB
.351 AVG, 8 HR, 27 RBI, .517 SLG in May (which earned him ITH's Golden Fantasy Halo for May)
P: Curt Schilling*, BOS: 8 W/81 K/3.03 ERA/1.10 WHIP
Only 14 BB overall; 5-0, .215 OBA (opponent batting average) at home
P: Pedro Martinez*, BOS: 7 W/89 K/3.77 ERA/1.19 WHIP
Only 23 BB overall; 3-0, .213 OBA at home
P: Mark Mulder, OAK: 8 W/64 K/2.97 ERA/1.11 WHIP
.221 OBA overall; 5-0 at home
P: Tim Hudson, OAK: 7 W/45 K/2.80 ERA/1.18 WHIP
4-0, 1.34 ERA at home; 4.20 road ERA
P: Javier Vazquez, NYY: 7 W/66 K/3.43 ERA/0.99 WHIP
.210 OBA overall; only 18 BB; 2.63 ERA at home, 4.50 on road; 2.05 ERA in June
P: Mariano Rivera*, NYY: 26 SV/28 K/1.01 ERA/1.15 WHIP
Only 1 HR allowed in 2004
P: Francisco Cordero*, TEX: 19 SV/30 K/1.82 ERA/1.26 WHIP
1 R allowed since 5/12
P: Joe Nathan, MIN: 16 SV/35 K/1.55 ERA/1.17 WHIP
OBA .186 overall; allowed all 5 runs in only 2 games
P: Keith Foulke, BOS: 13 SV/25 K/1.08 ERA/0.84 WHIP
OBA .169 overall; only 8 BB
Bench: (P) Roy Halladay, TOR: 6 W/61 K/3.55 ERA/1.29 WHIP
4-1 in day games, 2.98 ERA
Bench: (2B, SS, 3B, OF) Chone Figgins, ANA: /312 AVG/2 HR/18 RBI/30 R/18 SB
7 SB in only 37 ABs in April; Call us homers, but we thought this team could use a little more speed on the bench. Plus, argue with that multi-position eligibility!
Bench: (P) Scot Shields, ANA: 4 W/3 SV/49 K/2.95 ERA/1.15 WHIP
Managers have been criticized in the past for adding their own players to fill out the bench and maybe we're guilty too, but he went over 20 innings without allowing a run. Plus, 49 K in 42 IP. Nice.
IR: Troy Glaus*, ANA: 11 HR, 28 RBI, 29 R in 98 AB
NATIONAL LEAGUE:
Hitters:
Pitchers:
C: Craig Wilson*, PIT: .330 AVG/14 HR/40 RBI/39 R/2 SB
23 R, 7 HR, 22 RBI in May
1B: Albert Pujols*, STL: .309 AVG/17 HR/41 RBI/55 R/ 2 SB
37 BB, 19 K; .400 AVG in June
2B: Jeff Kent, HOU: .309 AVG/10 HR/44 RBI/43 R/4 SB
.346, 22 R, 28 RBI in May
SS: Jack Wilson, PIT: .344 AVG/5 HR/25 RBI/33 R/5 SB
.369 AVG, .568 SLG in April
3B: Scott Rolen*, STL: .354 AVG/17 HR/67 RBI/42 R/1 SB
67 RBI (!), .795 SLG, 1.273 OPS in June
OF: Barry Bonds (San Francisco OF)*, SF: .376 AVG/18 HR/39 RBI/47 R/3 SB
88 BB, 12 K; .472 AVG, 1.132 SLG in April; .406 AVG in June; this list goes on and on...
OF: Lance Berkman*, HOU: .335 AVG/15 HR/49 RBI/39 R/1 SB
.387 AVG, 9 HR, 20 R, 24 RBI, .785 SLG in May
OF: Bobby Abreu*, PHI: .297 AVG/14 HR/43 RBI/48 R/12 SB
.313 AVG, 6 HR, 21 RBI, 26 R, 10 SB in May
OF: Steve Finley, ARI: .280 AVG/17 HR/35 RBI/42 R/7 SB
9 HR, 1.073 OPS in May
OF: Scott Podsednik, MIL: .261 AVG/8 HR/23 RBI/44 RBI/27 SB
CS only once (!), .290 AVG on road, .230 at home
1B/3B: Sean Casey*, CIN: .369 AVG/11 HR/46 RBI/49 R/1 SB
23 2B in April; .414 AVG in April
2B/SS: Rob Mackowiak, PIT: .269 AVG/11 HR/34 RBI/30 R/7 SB
20 R, 8 HR, 24 RBI in May
Util: Jim Thome, PHI: .318 AVG/18 HR/40 RBI/37 R/0 SB
6 HR already in June, .366 AVG
P: Randy Johnson*, ARI: 9 W/109 K/2.87 ERA/0.86 WHIP
10.4 K/9; only 23 BB; .172 OBA; 1.99 ERA in May
P: Roger Clemens*, HOU: 9 W/88 K/2.08 ERA/1.12 WHIP
.193 OBA; 18 R allowed all season
P: Carlos Zambrano*, CHI: 7 W/77 K/2.27 ERA/1.07 WHIP
4-0, 1.66 ERA at home; May and June ERA below 2.00
P: Matt Clement, CHI: 7 W/90 K/3.15 ERA/1.12 WHIP
6-2, 2.53 ERA at home; .189 OBA
P: Jason Schmidt*, SF: 7 W/82 K/2.49 ERA/0.97 WHIP
Only 25 BB; 1.24 road ERA; 5-0, 1.53 ERA, 54 K in May
P: Armando Benitez*, FLA: 24 SV/28 K/0.58 ERA/0.81 WHIP
2 ER, 27 baserunners all season
P: Jose Mesa, PIT: 14 SV/14 K/2.88 ERA/1.32 WHIP
Only 3 ER allowed until 6/12 (5 on 6/12)
P: Eric Gagne*, LA: 13 SV/39 K/1.78 ERA/0.83 WHIP
1.49 OBA; 0.79 ERA, 20 K in 11.1 IP in May; Then there's that little string of 76 consecutive saves...
P: Tom Glavine, NYM: 7 W/48 K/2.03 ERA/0.92 WHIP
.184 OBA; 6-1, 1.88 ERA on road
Bench: (P) Danny Kolb, MIL: 17 SV/7 K/1.14 ERA/0.85 ERA
3 R, 20 baserunners allowed all season
Bench: (P) Ben Sheets, MIL: 5 W/89 K/2.06 ERA/0.90 WHIP
79 baserunners allowed all year; only 3.4 RS/9 in 2004
Bench: (3B, OF) Miguel Cabrera, FLA: .293 AVG/16 HR/43 RBI/45 R/2 SB
9 HR, 22 RBI, 20 R in April
IR: Richie Sexson, ARI: 9 HR, 23 RBI, 20 R in 90 AB
Wrapup:
There you go. Who would've though there'd be 4 Pirates and 3 Brewers along with the expected 5 Red Sox and 3 Yankees? The Angels are the other big selection with 5 (4 active) and I can already hear the non-Angel fans yellin' "Homer!". The Phillies, Diamondbacks and Astros also posted 3 each (ARI only 2 active). We didn't bother to represent every team because you wouldn't bother to do that with your fantasy team. Besides, that's what those 7 extra spots are for on the actual All-Star team--getting someone from every team. We didn't have that luxury. Oh, and in case you didn't want to count, the mixed-league team came out 13 AL, 13 NL. And we didn't plan that either.
Obviously, there were some stellar performances left off the teams. In the AL, Gary Sheffield, Carl Crawford, Hank Blalock, Brian Roberts, Roy Halladay, and Kenny Rogers (the AL wins leader!) come to mind immediately. In the NL, Juan Pierre, Ken Griffey Jr., Luis Castillo, Mark Loretta, Aramis Ramirez, Jeremy Burnitz, Brad Penny, and Danny Graves (the NL saves leader!) would all deserve consideration to be included. Alas, as we pointed out, there are only 25 spots to be filled. Plus, it makes for great debate.
Again, let us know what you think of the 2004 ITH Fantasy All-Star Teams at insidethehalo@insightbb.com.
