I knew as well as anyone that the joyous campaigns of Chipper Jones and Lance Berkman wouldn't continue at quite the same rate. One of my fantasy baseball teams is in a dynasty format, with extra stats like on-base percentage and net stolen bases, and thanks to Jones and Berkman, I was in pretty good shape in June. Now I'm clinging to fourth place. I can't really blame Jones and Berkman, because really, consider how valuable they were for such a long time, and their overall numbers remain quite spiffy. But how much are they helping you now?
I wouldn't cut either of them -- hmmm, or would I? -- but owning players who dominated for months can skew perception. Sometimes the fantasy owner doesn't make the proper moves since he has a false sense of comfort with a team, or in certain stats. Maybe you dealt away the farm to get one of these guys, assuming similar production the rest of the way. Since June 1, for example, Berkman has been OK, but among those with more home runs in that span include Kevin Millar, Willie Harris, Russell Branyan and Jody Gerut. Still, I love Berkman, and he's capable of going off at any time.
Jones isn't hitting .400 anymore, but he's not even hitting .300 since the start of June. In a day he might not even be the leader for the NL batting title. Did you know Jones has actually never led the league in one of the well-known stats? Anyway, my reasonable expectation for him was that he would get hurt at some point, but he would hit when he was on the field. Now it looks like he's going through the motions at the plate. I would've preferred some monster months but more missed playing time, frankly. A .299 batting average since June 1 is hardly special, but among those with more home runs, RBIs and a higher batting average since then are Fernando Tatis, Ronnie Belliard, A.J. Pierzynski, Marlon Byrd and Adam Lind. I'm guessing a few of those players are still available in your leagues, no? Is Jones really capable of going off the final five weeks? He's compensating for any number of injuries right now, barely hitting with authority, running with caution, delivering atypical 1-for-3 nights with no power.
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Eric Karabell
