Fantasy baseball update

I've been inundated with mail asking me to do an update on my fantasy baseball team.

Actually, when I've opened the mail, it's turned out to be mostly sales pitches for pills that will let me expand my roster, if you know what I mean. I deleted those offers, so I'll have to keep this update short.

I've explained before why I give so much attention to WHIP, so I'm pleased to report that until the weekend before the All Star Game, I was leading in the WHIP category in my 12-team league. My argument is that paying attention to WHIP lets you gain points in a tight category, and that good WHIP leads to good ERA and often to good strikeout totals. So how was I doing in those categories? I was third in ERA and fourth in Ks.

I started the season with Johan Santana (my first-round pick) and Jake Peavy (my fourth-round pick). Figuring Peavy had peaked in May, I "sold high" and traded him for Carlos Beltran. Poor move. Beltran has been mediocre since that time. Anyway, I've made up for the loss of Peavy (except his Ks) by using a whole bunch of second-stringer pitchers, like Jeremy Guthrie (who had a horrible start Thursday), Jeff Francis, Jorge Sosa (since dropped), Shaun Marcum, and Sergio Mitre. I haven't been bowled over with wins, but the WHIP and ERA have been good. These guys have their bad days, but overall, their WHIP remains solid.

Now, you might get the idea from this that my team is doing well. Au contraire, mon frère! My hitting has been atrocious and is only now starting to pick up. My second-round pick, David Wright, was basically 0-for-April. My third-round pick, Paul Konerko, who hit 43 HRs last year, was lethargic. I picked up J.J. Hardy and Mike Lowell off the free-agent list in April, and that's probably why I'm not in last place.

Current position: 8th of 12 teams. My goal is realistic: 4th place or bust.