Friday, May 7, 2010

UPL Update: Where's the Genius Now?

Frankenstein is alive and well. I know this because he can run like a deer and has super-strong hands which are currently strangling my neck...

What a difference a year makes. Last season at this time I was sitting pretty in the UPL, blogging about my plans to win. But this year has gotten off to quite a different start. After losing my best closer (Joe Nathan) to injury for the year, I tried to patch up my bullpen with a "Frankenstein strategy" that consisted of lower-end closers like Octavio Dotel, Matt Capps, Matt Lindstrom, and Franklin Morales. Neither that strategy nor any others that I've tried this year have worked. Here's a look at where my '90 Reds fit into the UPL standings thus far:

1. SuckMyknuckleballs 110
2. TheJimmyDixLongballs 105.5
3. Benver Droncos 103
4. Phatsnapper 100
5. IamJabrone 98.5
6. O.N. Thugs 97
7. Cheeseheads 96.5
8. Black Sox 86
9. Hats for Bats 84.5
10. Westy's Sluggers 58.5
11. '90 Reds 57
12. Big Papi Smear 52.5
13. Muddy Mush Heads 43

It's been frustrating, especially when I was watching the Sox-Royals game earlier this week and saw the Royals' bullpen ERA on the season is the worst in the American League, but still better than my team's ERA. At one point this week I looked at my team's stats for the day and started laughing. (It was either that or cry.)

I'm just going to pretend that my team has finished a tough road trip and is coming home. Kind of like when Michael Jordan and the Bulls in the 1993 Eastern Conference Finals came home for Game 3, down 2-0 to the Knicks, after having just suffered the indignity of John Starks dunking on us at the end of Game 2. It's time to regroup, make some adjustments, get energized, and hopefully catch some breaks.

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