Goodbye, Sweet Prince

For the first time since 2005, a fantasy team of mine doesn’t have Grady Sizemore

Tonight I made the biggest deal I’ve made in the past half-decade in fantasy baseball. I am stocked full of closers like Francisco Rodriguez, George Sherrill, Trevor Hoffman, Kevin Gregg, and Brian Wilson. I have only 1 healthy starting pitcher, Fausto Carmona. I have Yovani Gallardo and Francisco Liriano on the DL. Seeing my pitching stats fall behind such as K’s, Wins, and ERA and WHIP fall by the wayside had me in a panic mode. Tonight I pulled the trigger on a deal that will pay big dividends for someone.

I shipped Jonathan Papelbon and the great Grady Sizemore to another team in my keeper league for Justin Upton and Josh Beckett. Sizemore is a player I hold near and dear to my heart, but there was no other way. I’ve had Sizemore since claiming him off waivers in 2005 when he got red hot down the stretch run for the Tribe and scored nearly 120 runs. I know all too well that he may be going 30-30 this season and hit near .300, while playing in nearly every game.

I also remember when a young player took the league by storm early in his career and hasn’t stopped since 2001. His name was Albert Pujols. This deal was heavily made because I believe that Upton can transform into a 30 HR guy while stealing 30 bases right now. I think (and God do I hope) that by year’s end, he’s going to be among the household names of fantasy baseball. I also add a starting pitcher that hopefully can bolster my staff and not force me to punt those pitching statistics I mentioned earlier.

Parting with Sizemore is the toughest decision I’ve made as a fantasy baseball manager yet, but I finished in 6th place last year with Grady Sizemore; I can finish 6th again without him.