Baseball Blowout

The Major League baseball regular season just came to a close, and with it, the fantasy Iowa Farm League.

I was out of the race early. A number of my players spent significant time healing from injures early in the season (I was in third place in late May). Then, my biggest stars were traded from the National League to the American League, and nothing of value came back in return. This pushed Hags Hawgs down to 11th place in a two month span (July and August). In early September I made a number of moves, essentially giving up on most offensive categories, and focusing on three categories I thought I could win -- saves, holds, and WHIP. The strategy worked, and I gained four places in the standings. In the final tally, I was seventh in the league -- better than 11th, but not nearly as good as I had hoped leaving the draft table. I won the three statistical categories I could, but had little else I could muster.

In the world of real baseball, I have lost some interest this past year. My Cubs lost their studs Derek Lee, Mark Prior, and Kerry Woods early on, and have now fired their manager Dusty Baker. Their record was the worst among National League teams. Beyond the Cubs, the NL almost resembles AAA baseball, compared to the American League. Big budget AL teams in New York, Boston, Toronto, Baltimore, Texas, Chicago and LA have been buying NL talent for several years now. I think this will be reflected in the World Series this year, just as it has shown up in recent playoffs and All-Star games.

In my opinion, baseball needs to inforce a salary cap like the National Football League, thereby allowing smaller market teams to compete on a level playing field. Who are some of the leading teams in the NFL? Kansas City, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Denver, Green Bay (until recently). Those same cities have poor baseball franchises, or none at all, because of the fan base.

Next year's IFL draft is just six months away (the baseball season is a long one). I'll be ready.