+0.5 Points: And into First

One of the reasons that real baseball is more fun than fantasy baseball is that an individual player's quirks don't matter in fantasy baseball. You don't get extra points if your player high-fives a fan mid-play, or if he grows an unsightly moustache. Last night, I saw Mike Gonzalez pitch for the first time since he's added a wrinkle to his windup and even though he's on two of my teams, I wasn't so much rooting for him as laughing at his windup.
While he awaits the sign from his catcher, Gonzalez stands with his legs spread wide and his knees bent, rocking his hips back and forth between 4 and 8 times before beginning the more traditional part of his delivery. It's quite a sight.

Gonzalez told mlb.com that his windup makes him "feel more intense," which is fair enough, since, as he says, facing the Marlins in Miami for a day game isn't exactly high pressure. I hope he doesn't abandon it though- it's one of the few reasons to watch the Braves for the rest of 2008.