Glove, Reign O'er Me
Prelude to a Championship: The 2014 Otto-man Empire
Record: 84-29 (league-best)
Points: 7895.65 (2nd place; 23.25 behind 1st)
2013 Finish: Semifinals Loss
Star Wars Episode V References Below: ZERO
With a 10-game Global Division lead over the defending champion Royal Giants, a #1 seed appears likely come September 3. Going a step further, that potential 1-4 semifinal matchup between teams nearly 700 points clear of the field might be the only roadblock to adding a fourth star to the Empire crest. Injuries, attrition and peculiar late-season managerial decisions are beyond the control of even the most gifted fantasy manager, though it might take a mixture of all three rolled into a Category 5 hurricane to waylay this mainstay in the the semifinals since -- [Ed: possibly the beginning of time. Our archive isn't exactly Appledore.] Let's take a peek into the championship sausage factory.
Batsmen
Robinson Cano, he of EBTs and newly-adorned facial hair, is Otto's lone position player entry in the top 25 [point getters]. With 477.1 points, he currently ranks 5th among all ML 2B (45.7 points behind the familiar face of Ian Kinsler). In real life, Robbie's stats measure up to the Jigga-sized 10-yr, $240MM contract he inked in December. His .334 BA places 4th in all of baseball, he's second in hits (118), tied for seventh in OBP (.393) and also top-10 in IBB.
Also carrying water for Otto's stretch run are newly acquired causer-of-global-warming Yasiel MANBEARPUIG (465 points, 7th among OF), Evan Longoria (399.7 points, 10th among 3B, the one Ray not sucking) and the reanimation of Curtis Granderson (.300/.411/.522 in June with 8 HR, 20 RBI and a 24/27 BB/K rate since kissing May goodbye and claiming the leadoff spot in Terry Collins' lineup of sadness).
Bowlers
While the bats haven't been as All-World as in previous seasons, there are more than enough sexy arms to carry this team back to the promised land.
All conversations about the Empire staff begin and end with NL Wins (12) and ERA (1.83) leader Adam Wainwright. Before serving up "a couple pipe shots" to morning-after-gift-basket-leaver Derek Jeter, Waino was doing everything possible--short of kneecapping Clayton Kershaw--to wrangle in his first Cy Young award. Over in Candyland, his 535.25 points, 115 K over 138 IP and 3 CG (2 of the SHO variety) place him 4th among all pitchers (35.5 points behind top dog Felix Hernandez).
2014 breakout star Garrett Richards (471 points, 8th among P) was recently traded for Puig's snazzy ASG hairdo; Phil Hughes (384 points, 23rd pitcher) left the Bronx, stopped worrying and learned how to stop loving the bomb; and All...Star... Alfredo Simon (397 points, 19th among pitchers, tied for first in MLB with 12 wins) is clearly not rotting in a Dominican jail on murder charges. He was also a savvy free agent acquistion back in April. Then there's the first three names you see when you click 'Next 25': Porcello, Weaver, Zimmermann.
Adding to this embarrassment of starting riches, Gio Gonzalez was heating up (0 ER over 21 IP) before serving up 3 to BAL in his last start before the break. There's also Cuban defector-turned Orange-turned Crawfish-(re)turned Orange Odrisamer Despaigne with 4 ER allowed over his first 26.2 IP and the possibility that Andrew Cashner and his mullet resume kicking ass and taking names down the stretch.
Relievers, much like Old Gray Mare, ain't what they used to be in the Defectors. However, KC flamethrower Greg Holland (278.5 points, 4th among RP, 1.82 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 13.8 K/9, 25 saves) and not-Mariano Rivera pinstriped fireman David Robertson (256.5 points, 14th among RP, 16.3 K/9, 23 saves) are two pretty nice pieces to hold.
As far as team stats go, Otto leads the league in IP (1481.1, +96.1), Wins (96, +7), CG (10) and SHO (6), while placing second in K (1229) and SV (70) and sass [Ed: chart TK].
Farm to Table
As far as potential reinforcements summoned from the minors, Arismendy Alcantara's Chicago cup of coffee might turn into a reserved table at Boka, Jake McGee might very well be the third closer in Otto's stable (what's that, we're not allowed to ignore Joe Nathan?) and Eugenio Suarez's first name is fun to say out loud. Plus, um, Trevor Cahill?
Last Call
There's no such thing as a sure thing in fantasy sports but the season's first 3 1/2 months point to the Empire securing a record fourth Defectors Cup this fall.
