Week 5 v. Gotta Have Faith Steve

Remember all that gnashing of teeth about my team's identity last week?
On Saturday I tried to change that. I began a conversation to trade for notoriously slow-starter Mark Teixeira, who is sure to improve his average and provide much needed power all while playing in the super-homer-friendly New Yankee Stadium. A classic buy-low situation, and I was ready to pounce. Problem was, my trading 'buddy' Weaseling Brian wanted Pedroia. I was willing to give up Pedroia, but not leave a gaping hole in my middle infield. He only wanted to deal them straight-up. At that rate, I didn't feel like I was buying low on Teixeira anymore, I felt like I was paying full value. The difference between Pedroia and a replacement player (Augie Ojeda, ick) was greater than Tex and my current 1Bs Conor Jackson/Russell Branyan. So Mr. Mistoffeles snuck in and bought REALLY low, getting Tex for Stephen Drew and Tommy Hanson. It stinks to lose out on a player, but it stinks worse to lose out when you were giving a better offer.

So what of this team's identity, eh? Well it turned out just like Denny Green would say.
My pitching remained strong, as I won all but K's. Steve streamed pitchers, had 13 starts on the week, and leads the entire league in that category, so I wasn't going to win that one anyway. On offense, all categories were closely contested, although I led runs & RBI for almost the entire week. I had the lead in HR until Sunday. We went back and forth on average, with the Sawx-Rays game deciding it after Pedroia pulled his groin to finish hitless. I made a furious comeback late in the week on steals, with Mr. Castillo nabbing me two on the final day, but we still fell short and had to settle for a 6-4 victory.

So I thought I might beat Steve 8-2 or 7-2-1 and leap past him into first place. Alas, Steve's quality lineup put an end to that AND Put it on the Boooooooooaaaard! Tim took down Little Black Dress Dave by a large enough margin to put him in a tie for first. So I sit in third, again facing the team directly in front of me. I think I know more about this Tim guy that most of the people in the league. He seems willing to put himself out there, anyway. He is currently working on a comedy podcast and also has tried his hand at stand up. You can sample his work on stage (NSFW) here. You have been warned.
Banter Boys Blog

He seems to be a decent enough guy and he really likes Disney stuff. I can find flaws in his fantasy play so far, but I think he's a good player overall. The numbers say he should beat me, especially with Pedroia and Luke Scott out for me. But I've watched Tim fall down hard before (thank you, Interwebs), and he could do it again. Fingers crossed...