{"id":528518,"date":"2010-04-15T11:01:09","date_gmt":"2010-04-15T15:01:09","guid":{"rendered":"urn:newsml:sports.yahoo,yhoo:20050301:fantasy,article,yhoo-ept_sports_fantasy_experts-234478:1"},"modified":"2010-04-15T11:01:09","modified_gmt":"2010-04-15T15:01:09","slug":"lames-carlos-lee-ruptures-oxygen-tank-destroys-team-bas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/528518","title":{"rendered":"Lames: Carlos Lee ruptures oxygen tank, destroys team BAs"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>
<\/p>\n

Want to ridicule the Noise for his Billy Butler<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> obsession or misguided
\n projections? Humiliate him in 140 characters or less on Twitter<\/a><\/em>. <\/p>\n

It’s fitting in the same week Americans recognized the 40th
\nanniversary of the space industry’s most "successful failure"
\nmission, Apollo 13<\/a>, the Houston Astros<\/a> were faced with an equally daunting
\nproblem.\n<\/p>\n

The difference: This year’s deplorable band of Dickie Thon
\nAll-Stars<\/a> doesn’t have the luxury of consulting rocket scientists to reach a
\nresolution. Where’s Glenn Davis’ beautifully parted lip raccoon<\/a> when you need it most?<\/a><\/p>\n

Still winless on the season, the ‘Stros are a Texas-sized
\nembarrassment. Dead last in just about every offensive category imaginable and
\nidentically horrific in pitching, they’re on a fast-track to Chico’s Bail Bonds immortality. With an aging
\nlineup, laughable farm system and unreliable pitching outside Roy Oswalt<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> and
\nWandy Rodriguez<\/a>(notes)<\/a>,<\/span> Houston’s
\ntroubles are glaring. Unsurprisingly, normally dependable options, Hunter
\nPence<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> and Carlos Lee<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> have stumbled out of the gates. <\/p>\n

Lee’s early season swoon in particular is worrisome. That
\nis, to the cursory fantasy player.  <\/p>\n

Currently hitting the equivalent weight of one Olsen twin
\n(.097), El Caballo appears to be one step away from the glue factory. His
\nunsightly strikeout percentage (29.0) and abnormally high volume of fly-outs
\nhas severely deflated his early season worth. Most remarkable, he’s failed to
\nrecord a line-drive in 31 at-bats. The 33-year-old blames his turbulent start
\non swing flaws. From the Houston
\nChronicle<\/a>: <\/p>\n

"I’m not pressing at all," Lee said. "I think
\nthat something’s going on mechanically, but I have to keep going because I have
\n156 more games and 580 more at-bats." <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Undoubtedly, the absence of Lance Berkman<\/a>(notes)<\/a>,<\/span> who is targeting
\nan April 20 return<\/a>, hasn’t helped.  <\/p>\n

Before impatient owners start shopping the proven outfielder
\nfor the white-hot likes of Scott Podsednik<\/a>(notes)<\/a>,<\/span> Jorge Cantu<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> and Vernon Wells<\/a>(notes)<\/a>,<\/span> it’s
\nimperative to study Lee’s past. <\/p>\n

The three-time All-Star is a textbook consistency king.
\nSince 2006, he’s blasted at least 26 homers, driven in 100-plus runs and
\nnotched a .300 BA every year. Due to his advancing age stolen base production has diminished,
\na typical decline. Still, his stellar contact rates (career 85.3 CT%), RBI-friendly
\nspot in the order and steady peripherals suggest a sharp statistical regression
\nis unlikely. Keep in mind, Lee is just a career .261 hitter in April and has
\nplayed against squads with superb pitching staffs (St.
\n Louis, Philadelphia and San Francisco). Similar
\nto Mark Teixiera, he’s a notorious snail out of the gates. Excluding runs and
\nsteals, the numbers will eventually come. <\/p>\n

Unlike the heroic Apollo 13 crew, the ‘Stros collectively
\nwon’t be able to avoid disaster. Triple-digit futility is very possible. <\/p>\n

But to
\nthe thrifty, C-Lee could be a galactic bargain. <\/p>\n

Fearless Forecast
\n(full season): <\/strong>603 at-bats, .296 BA, 25 HR, 100 RBI, 64 R, 5 SB <\/p>\n

— <\/p>\n

CATEGORY KILLER<\/strong>
\nVampiristic commodity sucking
\nthe life out of your team owned in more than 75 percent of Yahoo! leagues<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/a>Javier Vazquez<\/a>(notes)<\/a>,<\/span> NYY,
\nSP (96 percent-owned)<\/strong>:  The
\nhigh-priced offseason acquisition has been anything but Senor Smooth in his
\nfirst two starts. In those fruitless endeavors he’s allowed a staggering 12
\nruns (9:5 K:BB split) over 11 innings or the same number of runs he yielded in
\nthe entire month of April last year. Historically, the transition from the NL
\nto the AL
\ntacks on roughly 0.50-1.00 points to a pitcher’s ERA. In Vazquez’ case it could
\nbe significantly greater. He has a career 4.59 ERA on the junior circuit.
\nBetter days are on the horizon, but until he hones his command additional rough
\noutings are in the forecast.<\/p>\n

3…2…1…IMPLOSION!<\/strong>
Widely owned starter
\nwho will soon maim an innocent Gatorade cooler<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/a>Johan Santana<\/a>(notes)<\/a>,<\/span> NYM
\n(4\/17 at StL, 98 percent-owned): <\/strong>Can we mutually agree some of Johan’s ace
\nluster has worn off? Erratic in his last start against the Nationals, Santana
\nsurrendered five runs (3:3 K:BB split) in five innings, taking the loss. The NL
\nCentral pacesetters boast a deadly lineup. As usual, Pujols is locked in his
\nown universe and complementary players Matt Holliday<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> and Ryan Ludwick<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> are also
\ncurrently scorching. The Cardinals are averaging 5.5 runs per game. Santana’s
\nsinister side revealed itself on the road last season (4.09 ERA). In the Lou,
\nMr. Hyde will again replace Dr. Jekyll.<\/p>\n

SABER SLEUTH <\/strong>
\nUncovering fantasy’s
\nlucky bastards one decimal place at a time<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/a>Austin Jackson<\/a>(notes)<\/a>,<\/span> Det,
\nOF (25 percent-owned)<\/strong>: The "action" atop the Tigers’ lineup, Jackson has opened eyes
\nover the season’s first two weeks. In eight games, he’s registered four
\nmulti-hit performances. He’s failed to record a hit in a contest only once.
\nSuffice it to say, former Curtis Granderson<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> supporters have confidently
\nswitched their allegiance. But despite his stirring start, the former Yankees
\ntop prospect is a master in the art of deception. His uncomfortable strikeout
\nrate (30.6 K%) combined with an inflated BABIP (.440) arrows to a BA downfall.
\nSimply, he has the profile of a .260 not a .300 hitter. Jim Leyland loves the
\nkid and his 25-30 steals potential is enticing, but a major slump or three seems
\ninevitable. <\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

Images courtesy of US Presswire, MLB.com <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Want to ridicule the Noise for his Billy Butler(notes) obsession or misguided projections? Humiliate him in 140 characters or less on Twitter. It’s fitting in the same week Americans recognized the 40th anniversary of the space industry’s most "successful failure" mission, Apollo 13, the Houston Astros were faced with an equally daunting problem. The difference: […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5446,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-528518","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/528518","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5446"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=528518"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/528518\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=528518"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=528518"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=528518"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}