68 ABs and Stephen Strasburg

I have 17 active hitters on my roster. Here is what they did yesterday:

Omar Infante 3 for 5
Hanley Ramirez 2 for 5
David Eckstein 1 for 5
Ryan Howard 2 for 4
Randy Winn 2 for 4
Justin Upton 1 for 4
Bengie Molina 1 for 4
Placido Polanco 1 for 4
Nyjer Morgan 1 for 4
Laynce Nix 1 for 4
Rod Barajas 0 for 4
Ryan Braun 0 for 4
Roger Bernadina 0 for 4
Albert Pujols 0 for 4
Troy Glaus 1 for 3
Matt Kemp 0 for 3
George Kottaras 0 for 3
16 for 68 (.235 batting average)

All 17 batters started... which is an all-time record for me. Of course, in the early days of playing fantasy baseball (back in the 1980s) rosters only had 13 or 14 hitters. Then for 20+ years it was 14 or 15. Roster size was expanded to allow for 17 or 18 hitter this season... to cover for a couple of owners bailing out of the league.

Still, getting all 17 hitters in the starting lineup is pretty cool. A few lucky breaks helped that happen. Randy Winn... the newest member of my team... was playing because of an injury to Colby Rasmus. Rasmus has a calf injury and is likely out until at least Friday. Winn is the 4th OF and has played well since joining the Cardinals (6 for 12 with a SB).

Omar Infante got the start at 2B. He was giving Martin Prado the night off. No one is beating Prado out of his job... but Infante has now started 6 games in a row (and is 13 for 34 with 5rbi, 5r, 1 sb and 4 walks). So, he has been earning playing time. There well might be more in the OF too (where he has now started a couple of times).

Laynce Nix also got a start. He probably is my least likely player to start. He gets into the lineup once or maybe twice a week... he's mainly a power hitting pinch-hitter. Last night he was giving Johnny Gomes a rest.

Roger Bernadina got the start against a RHP... both my catchers started... and then my other 11 hitters are slam-dunk 150 starts a year type players. The 68 At-Bats netted me 3hr, 8rbi, 6r and 3sb.

I have gotten more than 68 ABs in a day. I recall a Dodgers-Astros game in the late 80s that went 20+ innings... in which John Shelby went 0 for 10 and Mike Davis went 0 for 8 for me. Had a few other hitters in that game too and ended up with something like 45 ABs in a single game. Sure I had 70+ ABs in that day. Cool thing about the game though was... I got 10 shutout innings of relief pitching (8 from Orel Hershiser).

Anyway... 17 stats in a day... nice!

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Watched Stephen Strasburg last night, as I am sure many did. And... wow! I'd seen him pitch a few times before, but didn't pay very close attention. Knew he threw the ball hard. Pretty much watched every pitch last night on the big screen though... and, again... WOW. Great-great movement and control.

He actually was squeezed a bit by the ump. Several more pitches could have been... and should have been... called strikes. Now, it was just against the Pirates and it was at home. Have to wonder how he'll do on the road against a good team... especially when he doesn't have his best stuff. But, from what I saw the dude looks totally 100% for real. He's an elite pitcher right now. And in a rotis format that counts Ks... seriously... who would you take over him right now?

U Jimenez, R Halladay, T Lincecum and C Carpenter are the only no-doubters in my mind. I think there are about a half dozen more that would be tough decisions. Right here and now though... after a single start... Stephen Strasburg is at least a top 10 Starting Pitcher.

That helps me because I have Matt Capps (and Tyler Clippard). The National replacing their worst starting pitcher with a top 10 guy has to mean more save chances. However, Stephen Strasburg is on the first place teams roster (the Fantasy Tools). My slim-slim chance of beating him likely depends on passing him in ERA... and, yea... that just got way slimmer. Plus, he is now only 5 wins behind me and closing fast. I imagine Matt Capps will blow at least a few Strasburg wins though, so at least I have that going for me... lol.