Embrace Kyle Farnsworth, ditch your bias
Farnsie deserves more credit
Look, we appreciate all fantasy baseball commenters on every avenue of KFFL Baseball. You are the reason we do this.
OK, we enjoy inhale hardball, too, but helping our viewers win keeps us going, especially when we're begrudgingly returning from a three-day weekend.
But comments like this just ... well, here, it explains itself:
Merlin, at 08:02 on 06/29/11, says:
Not a surprise really. The surprise is that he hasn't blown more. As the season heads into crunch time Joe Madden will learn what other managers have before; in the clutch Farnsworth will choke.
This shows me a few things:
- Merlin loathes Kyle Farnsworth.
- All of our readers haven't read everything we've pumped out on Farnsie's potential.
- Most importantly, and saddening: Merlin is burdened with a bias that refuses to go away.
I'm not sure if Merlin plays the fantasy game or just happened to find our Hot off the Wire post about Farnsworth, but the lesson remains the same. Bias clouds judgment and suppresses success, whether it be at fantasy baseball or arguing at the bar with your buddies.
Heck, when Farnsie was a New York Yankees reliever, I couldn't stand the sight of him. But he was an erratic mess back then and showed few signs of improvement in a non-fantasy role.
I'm not saying Merlin is wrong to recall the past; it's good to know the history of players because it helps the analysis process. But he might've changed his mind knowing that Farnsworth's cutter has changed his game for the better since '09. His K/9 is down this year, but his diverse arsenal and triple-digit heat was calibrated when he tried to enter the Kansas City Royals' rotation in 2010. It helped teach him how to pitch.
He still has velocity and could rear back when needed, but it's nice to see maturity, even if it took him until age 35. The Rays are good at reclamation projects, too, and as talented as Jake McGee has been in the minors, the Rays probably don't believe he's ready for this gig yet.
Merlin isn't unlike many fantasy owners out there during draft season. They were too blinded by the young, supple McGee to even acknowledge improvements to the veteran right-hander's game that might bump him ahead of a talented but inexperienced arm that had a dash of MLB success in 2010.
Plus, it isn't like Farnsworth is going to get the boot unless he hits a horrific skid. The righty has only "choked" twice in 19 attempts this season for a team that's still very much in the AL East race. That isn't clutch?
Please, loyal fans: Read up as much as possible on every player. Don't fall on preconceived notions. Players change some aspect of their game constantly; even the simplest improvement can alter your perspective on a commodity ... as long as you digest the info.
Merlin, this isn't an attack. It's the door opening for a discussion on Farnsworth, for the betterment of both of us and the readers. After all, that's why we're here.
Back up your comments. Say I'm wrong. But come with a valid reason.
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Buck
