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ENLARGE
Brian Hamilton
Stuck in sixth place for the better part of the past month, my fantasy baseball team was in dire need of a jolt.
“My Lollygaggers” (and if you don't get the reference, you haven't watched Bull Durham entirely enough) have been somewhat of the surprise in our 12-team keeper league, considering I inherited what was last year's last-place team as a rookie owner.
The Lollygaggers were actually picked to be our league's cellar dweller once again this summer, following our draft.
But despite my shockingly strong showing, the skipper of the Lollygaggers just won't be satisfied until he catches the team sitting a handful of points ahead in fifth place.
“Dark Territory,” after all, is owned by the guy who predicted the Lollygaggers' last-place finish.
So, while searching for some juice this week, I actually ended up looking no further than for one of western Nevada County's own hometown heroes.
That's right. Former Nevada Union Miner Josh Roenicke not only is taking the mound for the Cincinnati Reds, he's also now a member of My Lollygaggers' bullpen.
J-Roe, don't fail me now.
So far, Roenicke has made the most of his second trip to the bigs. In four games over the past two weeks, he's yet to allow a run in 5 1/3 innings. Only two Major Leaguers have collected a hit against him thus far. He's struck out four while walking two.
OK, so the numbers might be a bit modest in terms of fantasy baseball at this point. But his stats still are better than the guy I gave up for him.
When Toronto closer Scott Downs went down with a strained toe, I thought I suddenly had some saves coming my way from what I assumed to be his replacement in B.J. Ryan. The southpaw saved 32 games for the Blue Jays just last year.
But you know what they say happens when you assume things.
Ryan, who got off to rocky start this season, has been almost abysmal. His 5.40 earned run average in 20 innings and his paltry two saves apparently aren't going to look better anytime soon. Toronto manager Cito Gaston has gone with righty Jason Frasor as his closer until Downs is back up and running.
So crunching the numbers in a comparison between Ryan and Roenicke, since Josh jumped back into the Majors on June 18, showed me that I might as well go with the Grass Valley guy.
It's pretty clear who has had the hotter summer so far. Before that first pitch he threw against the Atlanta Braves a little more than two weeks ago, Roenicke was rolling right along as the closer for the Triple-A Louisville Bats, collecting 11 saves in 23 games while compiling a 1-0 record, a 3.00 ERA with 26 strikeouts against a mere three walks.
So why not go with one of our own? I've got to admit it's pretty cool to click on “My Team” and see the name of a “kid” you covered when he took the hill in high school on your roster.
It reminded me of the first time I saw the “likeness” of his former NU football teammate, Spencer Havner, on EA Sports' NCAA College Football series. Though names aren't used in that video game, we all knew who was wearing that baby blue No. 41 for the Bruins, didn't we?
Now I'm playing games with another former UCLA star on my roster. There's really no reason to believe Roenicke, who walked onto the Bruin football team before even deciding to continue his baseball career, won't continue to impress with the Reds. Manager Dusty Baker has brought him along the right way, calling on him in low-pressure situations in the early going.
Why wouldn't I believe he'll stick with Cincy this time around? After all, a feature story on the Reds Web site this week stated he is rumored to be the hardest thrower (97-98 mph) in the entire Reds organization.
So surely he's going to be able to help My Lollygaggers get over that hump in our “Enter Baseball Cliché Here” League.
And if not this year, he might just end up in a closer role down the road, for the Reds or perhaps elsewhere.
I did mention this was a keeper league, right?
Of course, all in all, adding Roenicke to the roster just gives me one more reason for me to “root, root, root for the home (kid).”
But seriously, Josh — no pressure or anything, but — how about throwing me a few more in the strikeouts column sometime soon?
Brian Hamilton is sports editor at The Union. His column is published Saturdays. Contact him via e-mail at bhamilton@theunion.com or by phone at 477-4240.
“My Lollygaggers” (and if you don't get the reference, you haven't watched Bull Durham entirely enough) have been somewhat of the surprise in our 12-team keeper league, considering I inherited what was last year's last-place team as a rookie owner.
The Lollygaggers were actually picked to be our league's cellar dweller once again this summer, following our draft.
But despite my shockingly strong showing, the skipper of the Lollygaggers just won't be satisfied until he catches the team sitting a handful of points ahead in fifth place.
“Dark Territory,” after all, is owned by the guy who predicted the Lollygaggers' last-place finish.
So, while searching for some juice this week, I actually ended up looking no further than for one of western Nevada County's own hometown heroes.
That's right. Former Nevada Union Miner Josh Roenicke not only is taking the mound for the Cincinnati Reds, he's also now a member of My Lollygaggers' bullpen.
J-Roe, don't fail me now.
So far, Roenicke has made the most of his second trip to the bigs. In four games over the past two weeks, he's yet to allow a run in 5 1/3 innings. Only two Major Leaguers have collected a hit against him thus far. He's struck out four while walking two.
OK, so the numbers might be a bit modest in terms of fantasy baseball at this point. But his stats still are better than the guy I gave up for him.
When Toronto closer Scott Downs went down with a strained toe, I thought I suddenly had some saves coming my way from what I assumed to be his replacement in B.J. Ryan. The southpaw saved 32 games for the Blue Jays just last year.
But you know what they say happens when you assume things.
Ryan, who got off to rocky start this season, has been almost abysmal. His 5.40 earned run average in 20 innings and his paltry two saves apparently aren't going to look better anytime soon. Toronto manager Cito Gaston has gone with righty Jason Frasor as his closer until Downs is back up and running.
So crunching the numbers in a comparison between Ryan and Roenicke, since Josh jumped back into the Majors on June 18, showed me that I might as well go with the Grass Valley guy.
It's pretty clear who has had the hotter summer so far. Before that first pitch he threw against the Atlanta Braves a little more than two weeks ago, Roenicke was rolling right along as the closer for the Triple-A Louisville Bats, collecting 11 saves in 23 games while compiling a 1-0 record, a 3.00 ERA with 26 strikeouts against a mere three walks.
So why not go with one of our own? I've got to admit it's pretty cool to click on “My Team” and see the name of a “kid” you covered when he took the hill in high school on your roster.
It reminded me of the first time I saw the “likeness” of his former NU football teammate, Spencer Havner, on EA Sports' NCAA College Football series. Though names aren't used in that video game, we all knew who was wearing that baby blue No. 41 for the Bruins, didn't we?
Now I'm playing games with another former UCLA star on my roster. There's really no reason to believe Roenicke, who walked onto the Bruin football team before even deciding to continue his baseball career, won't continue to impress with the Reds. Manager Dusty Baker has brought him along the right way, calling on him in low-pressure situations in the early going.
Why wouldn't I believe he'll stick with Cincy this time around? After all, a feature story on the Reds Web site this week stated he is rumored to be the hardest thrower (97-98 mph) in the entire Reds organization.
So surely he's going to be able to help My Lollygaggers get over that hump in our “Enter Baseball Cliché Here” League.
And if not this year, he might just end up in a closer role down the road, for the Reds or perhaps elsewhere.
I did mention this was a keeper league, right?
Of course, all in all, adding Roenicke to the roster just gives me one more reason for me to “root, root, root for the home (kid).”
But seriously, Josh — no pressure or anything, but — how about throwing me a few more in the strikeouts column sometime soon?
Brian Hamilton is sports editor at The Union. His column is published Saturdays. Contact him via e-mail at bhamilton@theunion.com or by phone at 477-4240.
