{"id":539455,"date":"2010-04-22T10:13:02","date_gmt":"2010-04-22T14:13:02","guid":{"rendered":"urn:newsml:sports.yahoo,yhoo:20050301:fantasy,article,yhoo-ept_sports_fantasy_experts-235960:1"},"modified":"2010-04-22T10:13:02","modified_gmt":"2010-04-22T14:13:02","slug":"lames-jon-lester-burying-owners-in-era-volcanic-ash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/539455","title":{"rendered":"Lames: Jon Lester, burying owners in ERA, volcanic ash"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

Want to ridicule the Noise for his Billy Butler<\/a><\/span>
\n obsession or misguided
\n projections? Humiliate him in 140 characters or less on Twitter<\/a>. And click here to follow<\/p>\n

Roto Arcade on Facebook<\/a>.<\/em> <\/p>\n

Chaotic feelings in Fantasyland have reached a boiling
\npoint. Planes, losing millions in revenue per day, remain grounded. Hundreds of
\ninconvenienced passengers are stranded. And digital downloads of bizarro songs by alt-rock yodeler Bjork<\/a>
\nhave strangely increased. <\/p>\n

Jon Lester<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> has erupted.<\/p>\n

Blanketing teams in irremovable ash and soot, the treasured Boston pitcher has
\ndevastated ERA and WHIP totals for all who invested heavy coin in him. In three
\nforgettable outings he’s failed to produce a quality start, yielding 15 earned
\nin 16 innings pitched. He’s also issued a disturbing nine walks. Only Mount Marquis
\nhas inflicted more damage.<\/a><\/p>\n

Owners should’ve noticed the signs. Throughout much of the
\nspring the popular early round pick grumbled under the surface spewing small
\nplumes of steam into the Florida
\nair. Geologists and invested followers with a keen eye for historical trends
\npredicted this day would come. <\/p>\n

Becoming increasingly obvious with each passing year, Lester
\napparently doesn’t relish spring. Maybe the southpaw really loathes tulips.
\nOver 153.1 career innings in April\/May, he’s posted a paltry 4.88 ERA and 1.49
\nWHIP. Frustrated by his downtrodden early season consistency, the rotation
\nanchor has had difficulty pinpointing the struggles. From the Boston Globe<\/a>: <\/p>\n

"This year I’ve felt better coming into the
\nseason than I have in the past. I don’t know why this has happened,"
\nLester said. "I’ve thought about it a lot. If there were something I could
\ndo in the offseason or in spring training, I would do it."<\/p>\n

"Obviously you want to start good," he said. "You always want
\nto get on an early run. The key to pitching is getting into a good rhythm every
\nfive days and keeping it going. If you can do that, the more success you’ll
\nhave."<\/p>\n

"When you’re struggling early and struggling and struggling, it’s hard
\nto get in that rhythm. Everything in sports is the final result. That’s the
\nwhole thing."<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Based on the historical record, Lester probably won’t immediately eradicate
\nhis mental demons. Simply, it’s par for the course. Whether physical
\nlimitations or psychological burdens are responsible for the star’s annual
\nout-of-the-gate stumble isn’t important to the fantasy community. However, how
\nhis performance after June 1 is. It’s over that stretch where he’s cashed in tallying
\na career 3.35 ERA and 1.29 WHIP. Last season, he was the 15th-most valuable
\nstarter during that span according to Baseball Monster<\/a>. Due to his
\ngroundball-inducing ways (1.38 GB\/FB in ’09) and strong K\/9 output (9.96), he
\nwill right the ship soon. <\/p>\n

Until Lester’s lava flows cool, the market for his services will continue to
\nfavor the buyer. Impatient owners who’ve discounted him in the past will likely
\ndo it again. Already this week he’s been dished off for Bobby Jenks<\/a>(notes)<\/a>,<\/span> Lance
\nBerkman<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> and Jason
\n Bay<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> in one-for-one Y!
\nleague trades. If someone in your league is shopping the lefty, pounce. <\/p>\n

Mount Lester’s rupture has caused irreversible
\ndamage. But inevitably his turbulent side will once again slip into a state of
\ndormancy.<\/p>\n

Fearless Forecast
\n(full season): <\/strong>201.1 IP, 14 W, 3.67 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 186 K <\/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>Adam Dunn<\/a>(notes)<\/a>,<\/span> Was, 1B, OF
\n(92 percent-owned)<\/strong>:  For the
\nimpatient, Dunn’s woeful April has become unbearable. Sharing a toothbrush with
\nMr. Mendoza, he has notched a mere nine hits over 47 at-bats (.192 BA) with
\nonly one homer. Prolonged cycles of boom
\nand bust are the norm for the slugging first baseman. Any player with a career
\n32.3 strikeout percentage is going to experience an epic drought or three.
\nUnder the surface, the passive-aggressive hitter has been surprisingly patient
\ntotaling 14 walks to 11 strikeouts. He’s also posted an uncharacteristic 77.1
\ncontact percentage. An overly watchful eye and bad timing<\/a> appear to be the
\nculprits for his most recent swoon. Once he adjusts, a statistical bonanza will commence. A repeat of
\nlast year’s totals, including BA, is very likely. Buy on the bear. <\/p>\n

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

<\/a>Max Scherzer<\/a>(notes)<\/a>,<\/span> Det
\n(4\/23 at Tex,
\n66 percent-owned): <\/strong>Our gooey feelings for The Schiznit are well-documented.
\nTwo seasons ago we penned nearly a thousand hyperbolic words<\/a> on the power
\nrighty several weeks before his major league debut. His blazing fastball, high
\nstrikeout potential and cutie patootie dimples were just so lovable. But
\nsometimes love can stray. The Rangers’ have snapped out of their initial
\noffensive funk, totaling 13 runs over two games against the SAWKS. That
\ncombined with the smallish feel of Rangers Ballpark means the whip could crack
\non the Tigers starter. His fly-ball leaning peripheries (0.85 GB\/FB) and
\ngeneral good fortune (.270 BABIP) don’t inspire confidence.
<\/strong><\/p>\n

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

<\/a>Clayton
\nKershaw<\/a>(notes)<\/a>,<\/span> LAD, SP (97 percent-owned)<\/strong>: Watching
\nKershaw vex hitter’s with his nasty 12-to-6 curve is a thing of beauty. The
\ncaptivating pitch is the reason why gross expectations have been placed on the
\n22-year-old for years. However, the unpolished southpaw has resembled Rich
\nHill<\/a>(notes)<\/a>,<\/span> not Sandy Koufax, so far this season. Yes, his ERA (3.18) and K\/9 (10.59)
\nare heart-throbbing, but his auxiliary numbers paint a very dark picture.
\nClasping hands with Lady Luck (.264 BABIP), the youngster has been extremely
\nfortunate. His wildness (7.94 BB\/9) and unsustainable 14.6 line-drive
\nrate arrow to future ERA inflation. Until batters nibble more on his outside
\nofferings, free passes will continue to be an issue. As his 5.03 FIP indicates,
\nthe tide could soon turn.     \n<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

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

Want to ridicule the Noise for his Billy Butler obsession or misguided projections? Humiliate him in 140 characters or less on Twitter. And click here to follow Roto Arcade on Facebook. Chaotic feelings in Fantasyland have reached a boiling point. Planes, losing millions in revenue per day, remain grounded. Hundreds of inconvenienced passengers are stranded. […]<\/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-539455","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/539455","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=539455"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/539455\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=539455"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=539455"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=539455"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}