Sleeper of the Week

Matt Morris was one of this year’s most frustrating pitchers, with disastrous implosions alternating with dominant performances. Now that the season is over, is he a good start in playoff leagues?

Flashback to July 15: Morris allowed just one earned run in six strong innings to pick up the win in Cincinnati. Following that solid outing, his fantasy owners didn’t hesitate to start him on…

July 20, when he was shelled to the tune of seven earned runs in 1.2 IP at Wrigley Field. Hmm … maybe it would be safer, many owners thought, to leave Morris on the bench on…

July 25, the day he shut out San Francisco, scattering seven hits. Back in the lineup he went for…

July 31, when he also gave up seven hits to those same Giants. Unfortunately, this time those hits weren’t scattered across nine innings, but all came in the first inning. By the time Morris had been lifted after recording only two outs, eight San Francisco batters had scored.

And so on. Two runs allowed in a win against the Mets. Eight runs allowed in a loss to Florida. Just two in seven innings against the Reds. If Major League Baseball handed out a Most Inconsistent Player award, the former 22-game winner would be a shoe-in.

So now what? In his last regular-season start of the year, Morris was hit hard, allowing six runs on seven hits, including two home runs, to Milwaukee, a team he had beaten handily ten days earlier. Thanks to this loss, his season ERA wound up at a very uncharacteristic 4.72, nearly a full point more than his previous high. Now, he’s set to take the mound on Saturday in Game 3 of the Cardinals’ series with Los Angeles. He’ll face a lineup he dominated on September 3, when he went the distance for his second shutout of 2004, allowing just two baserunners and recording a season-high 11 strikeouts.

Unfortunately, past success against a team has meant little in predicting Morris’ future performance. In light of his Jekyll and Hyde act, he’s the ultimate high-risk/high-reward player in this year’s playoffs, but if you need to take a gamble to climb out of an early hole, his upside makes him very tempting. Just be aware that bust is as likely as boom, and your team could find itself in an even deeper hole on Sunday morning. If you do decide to take a chance on Matt Morris … good luck!