We always talk in fantasy baseball about upside, potential, selling high, blahblahblah. Even more time is spent discussing these things than the hours we spend each preseason yapping about how Daniel Cabrera is finally going to turn things around and become a fantasy ace and freakish strikeout monster.Until this season, when, after Leo Mazzone's inability to help D-Cab cut down on his walks, people were relatively quiet. We gave up. And why not? There was no need to burn an early-mid round pick on a guy that would shatter your WHIP and consistently befuddle your lineup with his, um, inconsistency.
But is this season any different? And am I required by fantasy writer law to address him this week? "Yes, kind of" on both counts.
Note that his BB/9 of 3.21 is substantially down from his previous best season in the majors (4.76 last year), but his K/9 has also seen a dip, although not as steep, down to it's lowest point in his career at 5.48. This means he is pitching much more to contact than he has in the past.
And this has led to, in conjunction with a 57.5 GB%, Cabs averaging over 6 and two thirds innings pitched per start.
On the positive side of things, there is the obvious decrease in walks, as well as increase in HR/FB, up to 14.5%. That is "positive", only because it should, in theory, come back down. But if D-Cab is pitching to more contact, as he appears to be, we really have to readjust what we think we know about how many yardballs he's going to give up.
Everyone outside of Houston has gotten a chuckle out of Brad Lidge's demise over the past few years, but what of the poor fantasy owners? Many may have had to choose between Lidge, Jason "Thank God Blown Saves Don't Count In My League" Isringhausen, and Eric Gagne, who's making a very solid bid at having some sort of surgery named after him this season. Bad news for those who chose Lidge (tisk tisk) as his inability to get through an already forfeited 9th inning last night was the final straw, 
