Maybe it’s time for Jim Vaughn to fire up that old diesel-powered computer and give it a big kiss.
It may have saved him; he just didn’t know it.
At the time of The Great Freeze, when panic set in hard — so hard that JV didn’t think to dial up the commish — he thought he had lost out.
He really wanted to draft Nathan Eovaldi, he said on Slack where the commish had typed earlier, “OK, I’m moving to the chatroom.”
But several picks went by as his laptop chugged diesel.
By the time it was realized that the Steaks' computer was taking a mental break, it was too late, and the Crox Sox snagged Eovaldi.
Cheese was stuck with his auto-pick of Max Fried — because for some reason, he didn’t have the player he wanted at the top of his queue.
Lesson 1, when drafting in fantasy, make sure to have players you want at the top.
Nevertheless, here we are, two Eovaldi starts in and the Red Sox starter is staring at an 8.10 ERA in 10 innings. He’s struck out only six and given up nine runs on 12 hits and six walks.
It has not been good.
Max Fried, on the other hand, was throwing a perfect game when I started writing this blog post.
He has since given up a hit and been pulled from the game, so I accept that I jinxed it by getting a head start on this column.
That said, he logged a quality start, giving up just the single hit while striking out five. He should be well on his way to a 1-0 start given the 6-0 lead and the fact that the Cubs bullpen is likely to make it 12-0 by the time this is done.
OK, the Braves bullpen has struggled, too, so let’s change that to 12-5.
This was Fried’s first start as his first appearance was in relief, so in total, he’s logged 7.2 innings with a 0.00 ERA and a 0.391 WHIP.
He has certainly earned himself a chance at another start, so we could easily see some more of that soon.
I know it’s a little early to declare this a happy draft kerfuffle, but I like the chances early on.
I just hope JV’s computer made it through this post to get to this point.
If it did, he can also look up that the final score was 9-4. I was somewhat right.
E-ROD? E-CHOO
The Cubs may have made six errors the other day, but the biggest error of 2019 may be the one Choo made when he decided to trade for Eduardo Rodriguez right before the keeper deadline.
The once highly touted prospect, who was traded for Andrew Miller, has never truly reached the ceiling he was believed to have had many years ago.
Two starts in, he’s sporting a 12.38 ERA. He has allowed 12 runs — 11 earned — on 16 hits and six walks in 8 innings of work.
Like Eovaldi, it has not been pretty.
He’s not the only keeper that is struggling for the Choo.
Gary Sanchez, Josh Bell and Trevor Story are all batting in the low .200s. Ronald Acuna and Ramon Laureano are in the .100s, and reigning MVP Mookie Betts is batting .235.
Yes, it’s the first matchup, but it has to be a bit disconcerting to see these numbers. Even Nolan Arenado is batting .250 with no homers and two RBIs seven games in.
ONE-HIT WONDER
Trevor Bauer has started 2019 on fire. In his first start, he went 7 innings and allowed just one run on one hit and one walk to the Twins and got the no-decision.
In his second start Thursday, he took advantage of what has been a very poor Blue Jays offense and threw 7 no-hit innings. He had to leave after 7 because he walked six and hit another batter to run his pitch count up to 117.
It is quite the start for him, and even though we have to take Thursday’s start with a grain of salt — I mean, Jordan Zimmermann no-hit the Jays through 7 on Opening Day, and David Hess threw 6 no-hit innings a few days ago.
Even Matt Moore no-hit the Jays through five innings.
So, as impressed I am with Bauer’s combined start to the season, the six walks in a no-hit bid against the Jays is less impressive.
Still, end of the day, Bauer is a Cy Young candidate right out of the gates of the 2019 season.
STEROID.S.A.V.E.
Felipe Vázquez, Kirby Yates, Ken Giles and Shane Greene.
Raise your hand if you had that as the best bullpen of closers in the JLB.
Anyone? … Anyone? … Walker Buehler?
Eleven saves. That’s what Steroid has eight days in. Shane Greene is your MLB-leader in saves with five, which is mind-boggling because that means the Tigers have won at least five games.
Yates has three, Giles two, and the keeper, Vázquez, has one — that one finally came on Thursday night.
Their combined 15.2 innings and 0.00 ERA has Steroid posting a 2.23 ERA for the week, which ranks second in the JLB.
If he can hold on to that, he will pull off a big win to start the 2019 season.
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