Dark Horses for 2011

With the season quickly winding down, many teams are shifting their focus on preparing for next season. Who should you invest in? I feel that most of the guys that you want to keep are obvious, such as Hanley Ramirez and Albert Pujols. But what about the guys that aren't elite fantasy players, but still worthy of keeper status? What about the guys you took a flyer on and only bid $1? If your not in a keeper league, who are the guys you should target in your draft next season?

Below are some bargains that could make or break your season in 2011. The dollar value was the "projected" 2010 draft day value in an auction style draft, according to ESPN's Draft Kit. If you don't have the option to keep these guys, I would still consider drafting them for cheap.

Brandon Morrow $1 ($2 AL-only)

If you took a flyer on him and only spent $1, you are definitely keeping this 26-year old strikeout master. So far in 2010, he has 151 in 127.1 innings pitched.

Throw out Morrow's amazing 17-strikeout 1-hitter, because if thats why you want to keep him, then you shouldn't be playing competitive fantasy baseball. Morrow has had an incredible strike-out rate all season long, with a respectable WHIP. His major problem is his high ERA, which one could argue is mostly attributed to having to play Boston and New York with frequent regularity.

His home and road splits are startling. 2.83 ERA (7-1 record) at home, but as soon as he leaves the Rogers Centre, the hits start piling up and so does his ERA, posting a 6.44 ERA on the road. There is no explaination for this, except maybe that in his young age, he still get's the gitters on the road.

If I had to bet, I would say he is a strong candidate for a great season next year. The type of season that Morrow is having, hints at future greatness. He is a guy that I would definitely target in drafts next season, if you weren't lucky enough to get him for cheap this season. Sure, it's possible that his 4.45 ERA is actually what it's supposed to be, but for $1, you can afford to take that risk.

Brandon Webb $2 ($10 NL-only)

If were talking dark horses for 2011, how could you not mention Brandon Webb. One upon a time, he was an elite pitcher in the league, but has missed nearly two full seasons because of injuries. Most people have forgotten about him, and some think his career might be over. If your only spending $2, I feel he is definitely worth the risk, and if he doesn't work out, you can drop him and lose minimal draft day value.

Jose Lopez $10 ($16 AL-only)

Boy is he having a down year, so it's risky to keep him at the value you got him this season. I do feel strongly he can turn it around, no matter what team he is on (the Mariners feel that he won't be back in 2011 when his contract expires). If you can get him cheap in the draft, his ceiling is very high. At his best, he's a top 2B/3B in the league, but at his worst, he's not even ownable in a 10-team league.

Year	G	AB	H	R	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	AVG	OPS
2006	151	603	78	170	28	8	10	79	26	80	5	.282	.724
2007	149	524	58	132	17	2	11	62	20	64	2	.252	.639
2008	159	644	80	191	41	1	17	89	27	67	6	.297	.765
2009	153	613	69	167	42	0	25	96	24	69	3	.272	.766
2010	107	425	33	102	21	0	6	45	17	48	3	.240	.603

It's no secret Lopez's numbers are down this season compared to his previous numbers. The average is as low as it's been since his 57 game stint with Seattle in 2004, and the OPS is lower than it's ever been.

The problem is that Lopez peripherals suggest this isn't exactly the product of bad luck. Although his BABIP is at it's lowest point since 2004, it's only .024 points lower than his career average, and .013 points lower than last season. Thats not exactly alarming data, as the nature of statistics allows for fluctuations like this without any reasoning behind it.

Also, Lopez's line-drive percentage (LD%) is nearly identicaly to his 2009 number as well as his career number, so thats certainly not the problem. His strikeout rate (K%) is actually lower than his career average, and identical to last season. His walk rate is the same as his career average, so he has the same approach at the plate as previous seasons.

Considering that all of those stats are exactly the same, it's possible that Lopez has lost a step or two, and also lost some power. His ISO has dropped 100 points from last season, and his steals are down. It's looking more and more like this is the problem, however he's only 26 years old, so how does that happen? It's possible that Lopez is just tired, or maybe there is a lingering injury. Whatever it is, I expect him to work on it in the off season, and correct those problems, leading to a strong comeback season in 2011.

Carlos Santana $1 ($6 AL-only)

If you drafted Carlos Santana in a keeper league, how smart are you feeling right now? Even though this season is lost, the damage looks like it's not as bad as it could have been, and Santana theoretically should make a full recovery and return to form next season.

Santana has shown in his short time in the bigs, that he can hit big league pitching, and he is already one of the Indians best and most feared pitchers.

I think that Santana has more value than other rookie catchers next season, including Buster Posey and J.P. Arencibia. He could easily be the All Star representative for the Indians next season, and is the base to that franchises future. He has the potential to be a top 3 Fantasy Catcher, and I would do whatever it takes to get him on draft day.

I can write more on some other guys in the future, so send in some emails to sillyfantasybaseballgame.blog@gmail.com if you have any suggestions for more Dark Horses.

Starting Lineup: Position Players 8/9/2010

Every week, we go over one player at each position and give some recent news and predictions about them. Last weeks Starting Lineup can be found here.

Catcher J.P. Arencibia

It's quite possible that my article last week cursed a few players, namely last weeks featured catcher, Carlos Santana. Only a few days after my post raving about Santana, he goes down with a serious knee injury that required season-ending surgery.

This week, we'll spotlight J.P. Arencibia. I posted about his background but it doesn't appear many people got the memo. If you would have taken my advice and picked him up, you would have gotten the 4-5, 3 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI stat line that he posted in his debut. Now, not even I could have predicted something that good, but we'll pretend I did.

Going forward, you might want to take caution with him. He will get the majority of the starts until John Buck returns from injury (sitting every 3rd game), that much is clear. What's not clear is what will happen to Arencibia when Buck actually does return. It's likely he will go back to Vegas, so he cal play every day rather than wasting his talent on the bench. I feel he could be Toronto's starting catcher as early as opening day 2011, and his value just skyrocketted in keeper leagues.

1B Justin Morneau

He came out of the gates absolutely on fire in 2010, becoming one of the most valuable first basemen in all of fantasy baseball. It was common knowledge he's had previous issues with back problems, but I don't think anyone was worried about a concussion. Thats exactly what happened, and the problem with concussions, is that we never have a definite time table of recovery.

I think that Morneau will be back in 2-3 weeks, but even when he comes back he might get a rest day rather frequently to aid in the long term recovery. Concussion symptoms can linger for months after the initial injury (Aaron Hill missed an entire season because of one).

Because of this, I feel that unless you're in a keeper league, you should try to sell on Morneau now. You will get much less value out of him then you expect given the stats he's produced this season. Obviously, don't be so quick to pull the trigger in a keeper league, but I would take whatever I could get for him in a yearly league.

2B Orlando Hudson

Last weeks featured second basemen, also went down with an injury. Thankfully for the Twins, Orlando Hudson was ready to come off the DL and resume his regular play at 2B. Great news for his owners, as the Twins are in the heat of a penant race and need all the help they can get.

Hudson can be a good source of runs, while also posting a decent average. Only expect home runs and stolen bases sporadically, and don't count on a ton of RBI's. His value mostly lies in batting in front of Joe Mauer. He is a threat to score a run every single time he gets on base.

3B Chone Figgins

Figgins is another guy that many teams have given up on too early. He is a premier source of steals, and thats about it. Most owners issues with Figgins lie in his inability to hit for a decent average. However, he's already quickly on the way to raising his average, hitting .481 in 7 August games so far. Expect a strong finish out of Figgins, who is on pace for about 15 more steals.

SS Juan Uribe

This is a guy who is owned in way too many leagues. Uribe is owned in 91.1% of standard ESPN leagues, something that really confuses me. He's probably one of the most unpredictable and sporadic hitters in the game today. He'll hit .400 for a week and launch 2 homeruns, and his ownership will skyrocket, then he'll hit .225 for 2 weeks and slowly get dropped. Back and forth back and forth.

Why should you drop him though? Because, Uribe is trending in the wrong direction. The chart below shows Uribe's AVG, OBP and SLG per month (non-cumulative). See if you can spot the trend.

Thats pretty alarming data, and should send up a red flag if you happen to be owning him. He might be a strong sell high candidate, but I doubt anyone will be buying him at this point.

OF Domonic Brown, Carlos Gonzalez, B.J. Upton

When Domonic Brown was called up, your league likely had an immediate bidding war over who was going to own him. Probably, whoever ended up winning the bidding war, paid too much. It's not that Brown isn't an elite prospect, it's that he won't get the opportunity just yet. As soon as Shane Victorino comes back from injury, Brown will lose playing time, and possibly be sent back to AAA. He will likely be an every day starter in 2011, replacing Jason Werth, but until then I don't think he'll have the massive impact owners initially assumed he would.

How could I write this column and not mention Carlos Gonzalez? Over the last week, CarGo vaulted himself to #1 on ESPN's Player Rater, making him the most valuable Fantasy player, overall, this season. An amazing run this kid is having. All I can say is, enjoy the ride if you have him, and do whatever you have to do to own him for the future. This kid is special, and while he might experience a slight drop in stats next season, the power/speed combo threat he owns is dangerous.

B.J. Upton, yet another name that owners have given up on this season. His terrible batting average and lack of all around production was likely the culprit. However, he playing much better lately, stealing 5 bases and launching 2 home runs in the last 2 weeks. The average still isn't there, but you can't complain about the power and speed production.

That raps up this week. If you would like us to write about a specific player, send us an email at sillyfantasybaseballgame.blog@gmail.com.

Preliminary 2011 Catcher Rankings

It's never too early to think about next season, especially in keeper leagues. Catcher has been, in recent years, a hit or miss position. You either get one of the elite catchers, or you wait and cross your fingers. In keeper leagues, it's good to always be thinking about the future.

1. Joe Mauer, Twins

Wouldn't my credibility go out the door if I didn't put Mauer 1st? He's a 3 time batting champ, and 2009 MVP. He's a career .326 hitter who hasn't hit below .293 for a season in his Major League career. The power is finally starting to come around (although took a hit in 2010), the RBI's have been steadily increasing. He should be the top ranked catcher on every list out there.

2. Brian McCann, Braves

This is the safe bet. Sure, you could go with any number of guys in this spot, but McCann consistently produces and rarely disappoints. He's having a bit of a down year in 2010, but I expect him to rebound next season.

3. Matt Wieters, Baltimore

Everybody knows he's having a down year in 2010, thats common knowlegde. This should actually drive his price down next season and you could get him cheaper if you beleive he's worht the risk. Wieters was once considered an elite prospect, one along the lines of "Joe Mauer" type skills. He has all the potential in the world, just needs to work on adjusting to big league pitchers as they adjust to his weaknesses.

4. Victor Martinez, Red Sox

This list is looking a lot like last seasons rankings so far. You can't take Martinez's 2010 numbers too seriously, as he was injured for a large portion of the season. He will play Catcher and 1B, and get regular playing time. His career batting average stands at .298, and maybe has the best power potential of any catcher. He will be 32 years old, however, and you have to start thinking about the wear and tear of the catcher position starting to get to him.

5. Buster Posey, Giants

Finally, a new comer to the list that woulnd't have been here a year earlier. Posey has impressed in his short campaign this season as the Giants Catcher and part time firstbasemen. The Giants must think he's a sure thing, becuase they traded away veteran catcher Benji Molina. You can expect a small regression, as he's hitting well over his head so far in 2010, but the bat is legit.

6. Miguel Montero, Diamondbacks

With Chris Snyder gone, Montero will get all the playing time at catcher. In regular duty, he has shown flashes of an elite catcher, but this is about as high as I would feel comfortable ranking him.

7. Mike Napoli, Angels

Napolis is a tough guy to read. His power is legit, and it's definitely his best asset. The problem is, he's not going to score a ton of runs, and his average might sting a little. He is never a safe bet to get constant playing time either, as Mike Scioscia has shown in the past he will play less talented catchers over Napoli if he struggles.

8. Carlos Santana, Indians

Here's hoping his knee surgery goes well, and his rehab is fast and effective. This kid could be top 5 given the right opportunities, but he's in a bad Cleveland lineup with little protection as he is quite possibly the Indians best hitter. I'm being conservative with this ranking because of the knee, but he has the potential to be great.

9. Geovany Soto, Cubs

Another guy with a down year that I feel will probably bounce back. He was an allstar as a rookie, and deservingly so. He has the skill set, he just needs to impliment it.

10. Kurt Suzuki, Athletics

Suzuki is a guy many had pegged as a sleeper going into 2010, but injuries and generally average play has quited those voices. He has the potential, but I just don't like the ballpark or lineup he's in, as he doesn't have enough in the tank to do it all himself.

11. J.P. Arencibia, Blue Jays

Call me crazy, but this guy looks great. I can't imagine he'll play more than 110 games next season at the big leagues (if that), but the sky is the limit with this kid. He hit 31 homeruns in AAA this season before being called up, leading all of professional baseball in that category. An amazing talent this kid is, but we'll have to see how he responds to major league pitching before we declare him a Top 10 catcher.

12. Russell Martin, Dodgers

Oh how the mighty have fallen. Martin, once considered an elite catcher for his power and speed combo, has definitely lost a step, which is concerning because he's only 27 years old. His value has bottomed out, and he might be a nice sleeper pick if your willing to take the risk of a complete bust.

13. Jorge Posada, Yankees

This guy just doesn't seem to know when to quit. He's getting up their in years (he'll be 39 next season) and at some point his age will catch up with him, and the Yankees will move on to Jesus Montero. I don't expect Posada to lose a ton of playing time next season, but he could lose a significant chunk. Let's not forget that he has been getting injured more regularly in the past couple seasons, and he certainly wont be healthy for the entire 2011 season either.

14. Ryan Doumit, Pirates

This is a tough call, because now with the addition of Chris Snyder and Jeff Clement finally healthy, the catcher situation in Pittsburgh is in flux. I think Doumit is the guy, and Clement will play first, but nothing is a given in Pitt next season.

15. Miguel Olivo, Rockies

It's hard to beleive that for the better part of 2010 he was the top fantasy catcher. No one saw it coming, and no one will predict it again. He is an average catcher in a good situation, and nothing more.

16. Yadier Molina, Cardinals

This is a guy who is constantly overrated in a Fantasy sense. He's a great defensive catcher, and he's in a great lineup, but just take a look at his stats and tell me why is is drafted in the Top 10 catchers? This is about as high as I would rank him, and in most leagues you want nothing to do with him.

17. Tyler Flowers, White Sox

A definite sleeper pick here, as there is no guarantee of playing time, but he is the White Sox catcher of the future with A.J. Pierzynksi getting up there in years. He has the skill set, but he's strugged in AAA in 2010.

18. Ronny Paulino, Marlins

A shot in the dark, so to speak. He has shown short flashes of being a solid fantasy catcher, but nothing hints at long term production. You shouldn't want anything to do with him.

19. Taylor Teagarden, Rangers

With all the catchers they have in Texas, it's hard to see one getting a significant amount of playing time. Benji Molina could very well be in this spot or higher, but he's getting old and running out of talent.

20. Nick Hundley, Padres

For the last catcher on this list, I could have done much worse. He hasn't been terrible, and I've seen him owned in a 12-team league for short periods of time, however avoid if at all possible.

That does it for my early-August Preliminary Catcher Rankings. Expect a more detailed and updated list in the off-season. Any feedback is appreciated.

Instant Replay 8/6/2010

Another solid night for my Spot Start predictions. Let's recap how each player did.

Start Daisuke Matsuzaka, Thursday vs Oakland

This was a no brainer, as so-called "Spot Start connoisseur's" pray on weak teams. Daisuke has been anything but the model of consistency this season, however he performed flawlessly in this one. Daisuke went 8 innings, giving up only 1 earned run on 5 hits and 2 walks, good for a sub-1.00 WHIP, and a 1.12 ERA. He managed to get 6 punch-outs, but you never want to expect to many strikeouts from him. This is about as good a start as you could invision him having all season.

Sit Kevin Slowey, Thursday at Tampa Bay

Slowey has been dominant lately, but this just wasn't a great matchup. Boy did he start out strong though, looking like he was going to prove me wrong. He started the game with 7 scoreless innings, recording 8 K's while only allowing 3 hits. Unfortunately for Slowey (and fortunately for me) everything unraveled in the 8th inning, where Slowey gave up 2 hits (one was a solo homerun), hit a batter and walked a batter. All 3 baserunners came around to score on Jason Bartlett's grand slam off of Ron Mahay. Not a bad outing by any means, as his WHIP was a lowely 0.65, and he did record 9 K's (a season high if I'm not mistaken). However, his ERA stood at 4.69 and he helped blow a 6 run lead, and although the Twins won, he didn't get a decision. Not a terrible outing, just not a great one.

So far, I've been spot on my spot starts and hit or miss with my sits. My Start pitchers own the following stats: 3-0, 30 IP, 0.60 ERA, 0.70 WHIP and 25 K's. That is rather remarkable if I do say so myself, and if you took my advice in a Head-2-Head league, you likely will win 4 of 5 pitching categories based on those stats alone. My Sit pitchers actually turned out to be not so bad, just not as good as my Starts. The Sit guys posted a 2-1 record, with a 4.44 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 23 K's in 26.1 IP. Not bad, but it did hurt your ERA, and it's obvious that the Starts are having a better week than the Sits.

J.P. Arencibia to make Major League Debut

Arencibia, called up to take John Bucks spot on the Blue Jays roster, will get regular playing time for the next two weeks until Buck returns from injury. He's got some power potential and if your in need of a quick fix in the HR department, you could do worse. It's likely Arencibia will be Toronto's opening day catcher next season, but for now they are just trying to get him some experience in the big leagues. He's a good add if you just lost Carlos Santana for the season, but it's only a temporary fix.

*Update* The Blue Jays released their lineup today, and for the second straight day Jose Molina will be behind the plate. I don't see this happening much longer, as they didn't call up Arencibia to sit on the bench. Expect him to make his major league debut on Saturday.

Royals designate Jose Guillen for assignment

Basically, the Royals are cutting their losses and seeing what they can get for the journeyman. They have 10 days to either cut him, or trade him. The Royals will look to get some prospects in return, but there is no news yet if any team is seriously interesting.

Youkilis, Santana newest players out for season

Kevin Youkilis will have season ending thumb surgery, while Carlos Santana joins the same club with season ending knee surgery. Both of these injuries ironically occured in the same game. With the loss of Youkilis, it will be interesting to see if the Red Sox pack it in and try to deal some veteran players, or if they truely believe they can catch the Yankees or Rays. Youkilis was arguably the Red Sox most consistent player all season, and his loss will mean big changes in the Red Sox lineup.

Losing Carlos Santana doesn't mean much for the Indians, as they are planning for the future. The Indians are more concerned with Santana's long term health, and if that means season ending surgery, they are more than happy to do it. From a Fantasy perspective, all Santana owners are now scrambling for replacements, and Shin-Soo Choo just took a hit, as he no longer has Austin Kearns or Santana in the lineup to protect him. Choo is far and away the best Indians hitter now, and he likely won't see many good pitchers for the remainder of the season.

Strasburg to return to rotation on Tuesday

Stephen Strasburg made it through his simulated game without any problems, and appears ready to rejoin the rotation. This is good news for Nationals fans, as the injury proved to be fatigue. This is even better news for Strasburg's owners, as they missed his strikeout rate this past week.

Kila Ka'aihue gets playing time in Kansas City

However you pronounce his name, the "Kila-monster" appears to be finally given a chance to perform with the Royals. He's a guy with lots of potential, who has been in the minors too long. He probably won't have a major impact this season, although he will get playing time, but most of his value is in next season. If you can get him as a late round keeper, he might be worth the risk. He projects as an opening day starter next season, as a high risk high reward type guy.

How to deal with Injuries

I know I've posted on this multiple times, but my fantasy team just can't seem to avoid the injury bug. Today is Day 2 in life without Carlos Santana and Kevin Youkilis, both anchors of my team in the last month or two. I feel that many owners have had trouble with injuries this year, and rather than try to avoid them (next to impossible, by the way) why not learn how to deal with them?

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. When you lose a superstar, your going to lose value at that spot in your roster, no matter what. Your mission should be damage control until that player returns. If you lose Albert Pujols tomorrow, Lyle Overbay just isn't going to cut it, capeesh?

The first thing you need to do, is move around your lineup so find positions you can fill. What I mean by that, is if you lose a 1B, but have Adam Dunn in your outfield (he's 1B eligible) you know you don't need specifically a 1B, but rather a 1B or OF. This makes things a lot easier on you, and widens the player pool you have to choose from. If you have multiple players with multiple position eligibilities, you might find you could add just about any position and still be ok. Shuffle things around, and open more options up.

Next, examine the player pool your dealing with. Filter out all available players that don't have the position eligibility that you need. You still have too many names to choose from. There are 3 types of players available to you at this point. Type 1, guys that were drafted (often highly) but due to slow starts or injuries, have been dropped by their original owners (ex. Jose Lopez), Type 2, young guys who haven't gotten their names out there yet (ex. Brett Wallace), and Type 3, your average (most of the time below-average) run-of-the-mill guy, who rarely is owned (ex. Lyle Overbay).

Type 3 guys should be avoided no matter what. I don't care if Casey Kotchman hit 3 HR's this week, he's not going to hit higher than .250 for any length of time, and you want no part of him. What you do want, is to try and catch lightning in a bottle, before it happens. Type 1 guys generally work out better in the long run then Type 2 guys do, but either or could work.

The problem you might run into is few options of Type 1 or Type 2 guys. If this is the case, try to find the hot hand of the Type 3 guys, and switch often. When a Type 1 or 2 guy finally comes along, grab him.

Here is a solid, real life example. When Troy Tulowitzki went down with a broken arm, I lost the cornerstone to my team in an instant. How could I possibly make up for this with the players in the free agent pool? I ran into the situation in the paragraph above, lack of Type 1 or Type 2 options, so I tried to find the hot hand of the Type 3 guys. I played Cliff Pennington, Omar Infante, and Ian Desmond for a couple days each, so some success. Then, as if a gift from god was dropped into my free agent pool, owners in my league dropped Alexei Ramirez, Alcides Escobar and Yunel Escobar. I was giddy with joy and picked up Alexei Ramirez off waiver based purely on his power/speed potential. Ramirez's original owner was fed up with his slow start and bailed. Since I picked him up, here is his stat line: .369, 21 Runs, 5 HR's, 15 RBI's and 4 SB's in 30 games. Not too shabby a replacement if I do say so myself.

So let's say you're like me, and just lost Carlos Santana or Kevin Youkilis (or both). Who should you target. I'll give one option for both, and both are Type 1 guys (although debateable Type 1/2 hybrids).

Jose Lopez, 3B (2B eligibility) - Just came off a hamstring injury, so temper your expectations, but lets not forget the potential this guy has. Last season he hit .272 with 25 HR and 96 RBI's. He's been miserable this season so far, but thats not to say it's too late to turn it around.

Matt Wieters, C - The prospect once compared to Joe Mauer has been largely a disappointment this season, and because of it he is likely dropped in your league. Pick him up while you can, as he is a traditional second-half hitter and should post some solid numbers from here on out.

Instant Replay 8/3/10

I intended this post to analyze a few of my suedo-predictions in my last few posts, but I'll expand it to include news from games last night.

My fantasy team took some big blows last night, as I'm sure most of yours did. Carlos Santana suffered a horrific injury that appeared to be season ending. During a collision at home plate with Ryan Kalish, Santana's knee buckled and hyper extended backwards, as well as his ankle twisting sideways before his shoe popped off under the pressure. It was nasty anyway you look at it, and scary for his owners (let alone the Indians). In the same game Kevin Youkilis "jammed" his thumb on a swing and eventually came out of the game. MRI's are scheduled for today, and he likely will be out for a few days. Hopefully he can avoid a DL stint, as thats the last thing the Red Sox need at this point.

Alright, enough depressing injury news. Let's see how I did with the spot start predictions.

Started Travis Wood Cin, Monday at Pittsburgh

This was just about the perfect spot start. 7 scoreless innings, with 4 K's and a 0.43 WHIP, while recording the dominant win. It doesn't get much better than this when plucking pitchers from your free agent pool, and truth be told, Wood might not be a free agent in your league for much longer.

Sat Jeremey Hellickson

I whiffed on this one, as Hellickson also posted a very good spot start. 7 IP, 2 ER and 6 K's, good for a 2.57 ERA and 0.71 WHIP while also recording the win (over a very good Minnesota team). This start was arguably more impressive than Wood's, given the level of competition. I may have overlooked one thing when predicting this in the "Sit" column, that being the fact that this was only a one game stint and Hellickson had a chip on his shoulder with something to prove.

Going forward, I'm still holding strong with my Start Vin Mazzaro and Sit Scott Olson. For the rest of the day I'll hold my breath as Santana and Youkilis go in for MRI's on their respective injuries. Here's hoping for the best.