The sun is shining; a slight breeze going from right to left. Its cool, but comfortable. 2 men on 1 out here in the 4th...And here's the pitch....ITS A HIGH FLY BALL DEEEEEP TO LEFT AND THAT BALL IS OUTTA HERE!
And the devil rays take an 8-2 lead.
"Boy Pavano is really strugglin today Jim"
"No question about it, and here comes Joe out of the dugout, looks like that will be it for Pavano"
"Listen to this crowd really give it to Carl Pavano here." BOOOOOOOOOOOO.
"He just didn't have it today"
"The final line on Pavano today 3 1/3 IP, 8 runs 6 of them earned, 2 strikeouts, 3 walks and 9 hits given up today"
"I tell ya the home crowd hasn't looked this upset since they saw A-rod strikeout 4 times in a game"
Ah, its going to be a marvelous opening day at Yankee Stadium. Nothing like a little Devil Ray magic in April to boost this red sox fans spirits.
-Sean Henn, The Lefty Specialist coming out of the pen for Carl Pavano in the 4th inning on opening day.
Friday, March 30, 2007
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Oh Kei...
Faithful reader(s), I have finally had the ::cringe:: pleasure of watching the Yankees newest Japanese import, Kei Igawa, pitch in a game against the Phillies yesterday.
First impressions? Eh.
His line, 5IP 3H 1ER 2BB 4K, looks excellent, and his spring ERA, 2.65, is also stellar. What scares the shit out of me is how he is going about compiling this ERA. I will only speak of yesterday, since not much data is available on spring training games for me to research. This needs to be changed, btw.
Anyway, yesterday, Igawa was 2-0 and 3-1 on more people than I care to think about. At one point, he got Chase Utley 0-2 only to throw a ball almost to the backstop in the process of getting the count to 3-2. The GOOD news is that Utley struck out in that at-bat. Further BAD news, though, is that the K was rang up on a defensive swing at a slider about shoulder-high.
Height appears to be Igawa's problem. Possessing an above average array of offspeed stuff, including a plus slider and change, Igawa had trouble yesterday (and in starts before that, if other blogs and game summaries are to be believed) getting the ball DOWN. For someone that only throws 88-90 mph at his hardest, anyone will tell you that it will be a problem.
On the plus side, he really has not been beaten up too badly at all this spring. In fact, yesterday, he was extraordinarily clutch, getting several key strikeouts when he needed them, including the aforementioned Utley and big Ryan Howard, on a similarly high slider. I don't know if there is a sabermetric stat for blind luck, but Igawa seems to be the league leader thus far.
In other news, how is Joe Torre going to justify keeping Brian Bruney, the official "Husky Yankee" (and subsequent Rough Justice favorite) off the team? While giving up no hits and no walks in his inning of work yesterday, Bruney struck out the side with an interesting combination of his power fastball, slider and something that looked like a change, or maybe a two-seam fastball. ERA stands at 1.50 on the spring. Come on, Joe, on those days where Farnsworth can't go, you're telling me you don't want to see the bald-headed beast that is Brian Bruney (hello, alliteration) trot in and blow some people away?
I have a theory on the whole Farnsworth last minute back problems. I believe, and I freely admit I have nothing but my own experience watching Yankee games to back this up, but it would SEEM that he comes down with these mysterious back problems when he is due to face the opposing lineup's big bats. Personally, I think he's gunshy.
Editor's Note: Igawa has walked 12 men in 17 innings this spring. Not fucking good. -RJ
-RJ
First impressions? Eh.
His line, 5IP 3H 1ER 2BB 4K, looks excellent, and his spring ERA, 2.65, is also stellar. What scares the shit out of me is how he is going about compiling this ERA. I will only speak of yesterday, since not much data is available on spring training games for me to research. This needs to be changed, btw.
Anyway, yesterday, Igawa was 2-0 and 3-1 on more people than I care to think about. At one point, he got Chase Utley 0-2 only to throw a ball almost to the backstop in the process of getting the count to 3-2. The GOOD news is that Utley struck out in that at-bat. Further BAD news, though, is that the K was rang up on a defensive swing at a slider about shoulder-high.
Height appears to be Igawa's problem. Possessing an above average array of offspeed stuff, including a plus slider and change, Igawa had trouble yesterday (and in starts before that, if other blogs and game summaries are to be believed) getting the ball DOWN. For someone that only throws 88-90 mph at his hardest, anyone will tell you that it will be a problem.
On the plus side, he really has not been beaten up too badly at all this spring. In fact, yesterday, he was extraordinarily clutch, getting several key strikeouts when he needed them, including the aforementioned Utley and big Ryan Howard, on a similarly high slider. I don't know if there is a sabermetric stat for blind luck, but Igawa seems to be the league leader thus far.
In other news, how is Joe Torre going to justify keeping Brian Bruney, the official "Husky Yankee" (and subsequent Rough Justice favorite) off the team? While giving up no hits and no walks in his inning of work yesterday, Bruney struck out the side with an interesting combination of his power fastball, slider and something that looked like a change, or maybe a two-seam fastball. ERA stands at 1.50 on the spring. Come on, Joe, on those days where Farnsworth can't go, you're telling me you don't want to see the bald-headed beast that is Brian Bruney (hello, alliteration) trot in and blow some people away?
I have a theory on the whole Farnsworth last minute back problems. I believe, and I freely admit I have nothing but my own experience watching Yankee games to back this up, but it would SEEM that he comes down with these mysterious back problems when he is due to face the opposing lineup's big bats. Personally, I think he's gunshy.
Editor's Note: Igawa has walked 12 men in 17 innings this spring. Not fucking good. -RJ
-RJ
Friday, March 23, 2007
Impressed, 'nuff said.
Well, Lefty, a more tremendous fantasy team has not been assembled. Except mine. But still, yours isn't too shabby either. I admit, with my somewhat pathological... interest... in pitching, I scrolled immediately down to your staff and was blown away. Just a bit of a comparison between our two teams:
SP 1
Santana v. Zambrano
In a matchup of the cool, collected Santana and the fiery Zambrano, Santana clearly is in a class of his own, particularly with his astounding control. You do yourself no disservice, sir, with Zambrano as your starter, specially since Johotness went for $8 (almost a third of a team's budget) in the auction portion of your draft.
SP2
Oswalt v. Webb
I wanted Oswalt instead of Webb, but both are durable. Oswalt gets the nod in favor of his K rate and winning percentage. If Webb was on a better team, this could almost be a wash. But it isn't, so I'll stop whining.
SP3
Hernandez the Younger v. Sabathia
King Felix or not, the hype surrounding these two big fat guys could not be further apart. I cannot GIVE Sabathia away in my league for bullpen help, whereas I could dictate terms for Mariano Rivera or Joe Nathan with Hernandez, Jr. It's stunning to me how many people undervalue Sabathia. Both his WHIP and K rate were astounding last year, and, with a bit of conditioning, we could be looking at a solid #1 here. Meanwhile, Hernandez eats himself into a coma last offseason and they are still blowing him in Seattle. He's still a year away, and Seattle is about five from being a contender.
SP4-5
Cain and Santana Lite v. Porn Star Chuck James, and the Maine, Padilla, and Blanton Trio
Ugh. Here is where I truly envy you. In my 12 team league, starters were simply flying off the shelves, and it was all I could do to establish my top three as the best in the league. Matt Cain is going to be a STUD, and I am annoyed he went before I could grab him. Ervin Santana is a strong five, but I hate the Angels and would never draft one of their players. It would be funnier if I wasn't serious. Chuck James has been lights out this spring, and pitched very well last year. I could do worse than a poor man's young Tom Glavine. John Maine is the very personification of uevos, but I would like to see him do it over the course of an entire season... btw how terrible is Baltimore for giving him away? Vicente Padilla may be the ugliest major leaguer in the history of Major League Baseball, with competition only from 19th century players Tim "Coffee Cake Face" O'Malley and Red "Half-Aborted" Hendrickson. Finally, Joe Blanton is an Oakland pitcher, so expect flashes of brilliance with a maddening inability to put it all together.
As for your lineup, I enjoy seeing Freddy Sanchez there at 2B, great minds do, in fact, think alike. Fantastic balance of power and speed up and down, with that outfield platoon being a positively inspired bit of managing. I think I will attempt the same with Bonds/Duncan/Byrnes.
All in all, I expect the two of us to be positively dominant as the season begins.
-RJ
SP 1
Santana v. Zambrano
In a matchup of the cool, collected Santana and the fiery Zambrano, Santana clearly is in a class of his own, particularly with his astounding control. You do yourself no disservice, sir, with Zambrano as your starter, specially since Johotness went for $8 (almost a third of a team's budget) in the auction portion of your draft.
SP2
Oswalt v. Webb
I wanted Oswalt instead of Webb, but both are durable. Oswalt gets the nod in favor of his K rate and winning percentage. If Webb was on a better team, this could almost be a wash. But it isn't, so I'll stop whining.
SP3
Hernandez the Younger v. Sabathia
King Felix or not, the hype surrounding these two big fat guys could not be further apart. I cannot GIVE Sabathia away in my league for bullpen help, whereas I could dictate terms for Mariano Rivera or Joe Nathan with Hernandez, Jr. It's stunning to me how many people undervalue Sabathia. Both his WHIP and K rate were astounding last year, and, with a bit of conditioning, we could be looking at a solid #1 here. Meanwhile, Hernandez eats himself into a coma last offseason and they are still blowing him in Seattle. He's still a year away, and Seattle is about five from being a contender.
SP4-5
Cain and Santana Lite v. Porn Star Chuck James, and the Maine, Padilla, and Blanton Trio
Ugh. Here is where I truly envy you. In my 12 team league, starters were simply flying off the shelves, and it was all I could do to establish my top three as the best in the league. Matt Cain is going to be a STUD, and I am annoyed he went before I could grab him. Ervin Santana is a strong five, but I hate the Angels and would never draft one of their players. It would be funnier if I wasn't serious. Chuck James has been lights out this spring, and pitched very well last year. I could do worse than a poor man's young Tom Glavine. John Maine is the very personification of uevos, but I would like to see him do it over the course of an entire season... btw how terrible is Baltimore for giving him away? Vicente Padilla may be the ugliest major leaguer in the history of Major League Baseball, with competition only from 19th century players Tim "Coffee Cake Face" O'Malley and Red "Half-Aborted" Hendrickson. Finally, Joe Blanton is an Oakland pitcher, so expect flashes of brilliance with a maddening inability to put it all together.
As for your lineup, I enjoy seeing Freddy Sanchez there at 2B, great minds do, in fact, think alike. Fantastic balance of power and speed up and down, with that outfield platoon being a positively inspired bit of managing. I think I will attempt the same with Bonds/Duncan/Byrnes.
All in all, I expect the two of us to be positively dominant as the season begins.
-RJ
Unstoppable?
Well The No-Phun League's draft has came and went. If I could describe this draft in one word it would be : unexpectivity. Yes I know thats not a word but whatever. People seemed to take the keeper aspect of this league to a high level, going so far as to draft kids with dreams of being in the bigs ahead of proven guys with track records, who likely wont be going anywhere for the next five years. A prime example of this was me landing Carlos Delgado somewhere around the 12th-15th round as people were more worried about his age and price tag rather than his production.
Anyway this is how my team shapes up post-draft:
C- Victor Martinez
1b: Carlos Delgado
2b-Freddy Sanchez
3b-Miguel Cabrera
SS-Jose Reyes
IF-Troy Glaus
I have a ton of flexibility in my infield with guys like glaus and sanchez qualifying at 2-3 positions.
RF-Magglio Ordonez
CF-Craig Monroe
LF-Carl Crawford
OF- Jeremy Hermida, Andre Ethier, Ken Griffey Jr. platoon
SP-Carlos Zambrano
SP-Roy Oswalt
SP-"King" Felix Hernandez
SP-Matt Cain
SP-Ervin Santana
RP-Tom Gordon
RP-Jason Isringhausen
RP-Jose Valverde
Bench/AAA (note i havent designated which players will be in my farm system): Cla Meredith, Kerry Wood, Mark Buerhle, James Loney, Macier Izturis, Rick Ankiel, and Ladainian Tomlinson if he ever decides to play baseball, just in case. Note: two of my outfield platooners will be on the bench as well.
Im gonna go ahead and put it in writing here that I think I assembled the best all-around team hands down.
-Lefty
Anyway this is how my team shapes up post-draft:
C- Victor Martinez
1b: Carlos Delgado
2b-Freddy Sanchez
3b-Miguel Cabrera
SS-Jose Reyes
IF-Troy Glaus
I have a ton of flexibility in my infield with guys like glaus and sanchez qualifying at 2-3 positions.
RF-Magglio Ordonez
CF-Craig Monroe
LF-Carl Crawford
OF- Jeremy Hermida, Andre Ethier, Ken Griffey Jr. platoon
SP-Carlos Zambrano
SP-Roy Oswalt
SP-"King" Felix Hernandez
SP-Matt Cain
SP-Ervin Santana
RP-Tom Gordon
RP-Jason Isringhausen
RP-Jose Valverde
Bench/AAA (note i havent designated which players will be in my farm system): Cla Meredith, Kerry Wood, Mark Buerhle, James Loney, Macier Izturis, Rick Ankiel, and Ladainian Tomlinson if he ever decides to play baseball, just in case. Note: two of my outfield platooners will be on the bench as well.
Im gonna go ahead and put it in writing here that I think I assembled the best all-around team hands down.
-Lefty
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Draft Part Deux
Part 2 of my draft gets underway tonite. I have the 8th pick in the standard snake style draft. Due to my constant aggressive bidding alot of teams (including myself) will have to budget their picks which could lead to many higher priced, productive players falling to later rounds in the draft. My main focus with my first few picks in pitching. Only 2 pitchers were chosen in the auction portion of the draft (liriano, santana) so the market is wide open.
A complete wrap-up to come tommorrow.
-Lefty version of Luis Tiant.
A complete wrap-up to come tommorrow.
-Lefty version of Luis Tiant.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Drafting in the Ultimate League
Ok let me first off state that this league is not your ordinary run of the mill fantasy league. Basically it is a salary cap, keeper league where every 5 year span is judged and rewarded. There is also a 5 player Triple A farm system. Now this can be used as extra roster spots to help you during year or you can stock youth here. You are only allowed 10 moves per season from your triple A system so you have to use them wisely. You are allowed 30$ as a salary cap.
Here are the league scoring settings:
Roster Positions:
C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, IF, LF, CF, RF, OF, Util, SP, SP, SP, SP, SP, SP, RP, RP, RP, BN, BN, BN, BN, BN, DL, DL
Stat Categories:
R, 1B, 2B, 3B, HR, RBI, SH, SF, SB, CS, BB, K, GIDP, IP, W, L, CG, SV, H, ER, BB, HBP, K, SVOP, HLD
Stat Modifiers:
R (.75), 1B (.33), 2B (.6), 3B (.9), HR (1.2), RBI (.75), SH (.25), SF (.25), SB (.33), CS (-.3), BB (.3), K (-.03), GIDP (-.3), IP (2.1), W (1.2), L (-.6), CG (3), SV (4.2), H (-.5), ER (-1.2), BB (-.3), HBP (-.3), K (.12), SVOP (-1.2), HLD (1.5)
In short this is a league that values quality innings pitched as well as quality at-bats and all around 5-tool players.
The draft has another interesting twist to your normal draft. This draft is neither a snake nor an auction draft, but rather a combination of both. The first part of the draft is an auction draft and continues until each team has bought at least 1 player at which point we continue to a standard snake. In theory this could have gone on until all rosters were filled if 1 player still had no one, but in his interest it would be unwise to do that. Also, your snake posisiton is determined by the amount of players you pick and when you pick them (ie the manager who has the most players is the last pick and if everyone else has the same amount of players whoever took their first player first would be second to last pick).
Ok theres the background. Now this whole drafting process takes a long time so we decided to only do the auction part first last night and we will do the snake portion next week.
Here's how the players and prices broke down and I let RJ make all the comments he wants:
Team: The Asskickin Friars- Joe Mauer $4.25, Grady Sizemore $7, Vernon Wells $2.95 for a total of $14.20
Team: Gathering The Eggs- Albert Pujols for a whopping $9.60, Dice-k $3.15, A-rod $7.09 for a total of $19.84
Team: Killa Beez- Vlad Guerrero $4.50, Chase Utley $6.30, Ryan Howard $5.75 for a total of $16.55
Team: The Lawn Wranglers: David Ortiz $3.75, Lance Berkman $3.20, Jason Bay $2.05 for a total of $9. (Of note: All 3 of these picks were made late in the auction which proved to be very smart as most owners were gunshy about getting stuck with another salary.)
Team: The Pain Train- Johan Santana $8, Carlos Beltran $5 for a total of $13
Team: Stunna Squad- Francisco Liriano $1.30 for a total of $1.30. (Of note, he will have 3 of the first 4 picks in the snake)
Team: Team A.A.R.P- Travis Hafner $5.50, Justin Morneau $3.80, David Wright $4.80, Derek Jeter $1.50 for a total of 16$
Team: Uconn- Alfonso Soriano $6.15, Mark Texiera $4.30, Manny Ramirez $4.30 for a total of $14.75
And Last but Not Least:
Team: Team Death (Me)- Jose Reyes $5, Miguel Cabrera $6.35, Carl Crawford $3.90 for a total of $15.25.
Enjoy my wall of text.
-LS
Here are the league scoring settings:
Roster Positions:
C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, IF, LF, CF, RF, OF, Util, SP, SP, SP, SP, SP, SP, RP, RP, RP, BN, BN, BN, BN, BN, DL, DL
Stat Categories:
R, 1B, 2B, 3B, HR, RBI, SH, SF, SB, CS, BB, K, GIDP, IP, W, L, CG, SV, H, ER, BB, HBP, K, SVOP, HLD
Stat Modifiers:
R (.75), 1B (.33), 2B (.6), 3B (.9), HR (1.2), RBI (.75), SH (.25), SF (.25), SB (.33), CS (-.3), BB (.3), K (-.03), GIDP (-.3), IP (2.1), W (1.2), L (-.6), CG (3), SV (4.2), H (-.5), ER (-1.2), BB (-.3), HBP (-.3), K (.12), SVOP (-1.2), HLD (1.5)
In short this is a league that values quality innings pitched as well as quality at-bats and all around 5-tool players.
The draft has another interesting twist to your normal draft. This draft is neither a snake nor an auction draft, but rather a combination of both. The first part of the draft is an auction draft and continues until each team has bought at least 1 player at which point we continue to a standard snake. In theory this could have gone on until all rosters were filled if 1 player still had no one, but in his interest it would be unwise to do that. Also, your snake posisiton is determined by the amount of players you pick and when you pick them (ie the manager who has the most players is the last pick and if everyone else has the same amount of players whoever took their first player first would be second to last pick).
Ok theres the background. Now this whole drafting process takes a long time so we decided to only do the auction part first last night and we will do the snake portion next week.
Here's how the players and prices broke down and I let RJ make all the comments he wants:
Team: The Asskickin Friars- Joe Mauer $4.25, Grady Sizemore $7, Vernon Wells $2.95 for a total of $14.20
Team: Gathering The Eggs- Albert Pujols for a whopping $9.60, Dice-k $3.15, A-rod $7.09 for a total of $19.84
Team: Killa Beez- Vlad Guerrero $4.50, Chase Utley $6.30, Ryan Howard $5.75 for a total of $16.55
Team: The Lawn Wranglers: David Ortiz $3.75, Lance Berkman $3.20, Jason Bay $2.05 for a total of $9. (Of note: All 3 of these picks were made late in the auction which proved to be very smart as most owners were gunshy about getting stuck with another salary.)
Team: The Pain Train- Johan Santana $8, Carlos Beltran $5 for a total of $13
Team: Stunna Squad- Francisco Liriano $1.30 for a total of $1.30. (Of note, he will have 3 of the first 4 picks in the snake)
Team: Team A.A.R.P- Travis Hafner $5.50, Justin Morneau $3.80, David Wright $4.80, Derek Jeter $1.50 for a total of 16$
Team: Uconn- Alfonso Soriano $6.15, Mark Texiera $4.30, Manny Ramirez $4.30 for a total of $14.75
And Last but Not Least:
Team: Team Death (Me)- Jose Reyes $5, Miguel Cabrera $6.35, Carl Crawford $3.90 for a total of $15.25.
Enjoy my wall of text.
-LS
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Lefty's Fantasy Draft
Southington, Connecticut (RJ NEWSWIRE) - Exciting news out of the sleepy town of Southington, CT today, as Lefty Specialist's 2007 foray into fantasy baseball began in earnest, with his league holding its annual draft today. I know all (four) of you are as excited as I am. We await with baited breath the release of Lefty's new crop of superstars, prospects, has-beens and never-wases. In return for his glowing review of Rough Justice's squad, I shall review his draft in accordance with the rules of man. The floor is yours, sir.
Sean Connery is not impressed.
-RJ
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Doogie Howdoeshehaveajob-ser
Ladies and gentlemen,
I believe Brian Cashman is an above-average General Manager. I think even without the Yankees John Goodman-sized payroll, he would have a winning team on the field. That being said, the handling of the Yankees first base situation this offseason spring has been nothing short of sickening.
The plan is to have Jason Giambi manning the pine for the defensive innings, where he is definitively not comfortable (check his career splits between DH and 1B, and yes yes, I know that generally, he DH'ed alot early when his legs were shot, so that skews the stats, but fuck you, I'm writing here), and have Doug Mientkiewicz (I swear I didn't have to look the spelling up) and either Andy "Happy to Be Here" Phillips and Josh "Rule 5" Phelps platoon at first. Please let me explain, from the perspective of a rational Yankee fan, why this is a terrible idea. Alot of this has been said, but my therapist says it helps.
Doug Mientkiewicz has never hit like a first baseman should. Career line: .270 .359 .405. Not bad for a middle infielder or catcher, but for a first-bagger he is well below the average. OOH OOH, you might say, ROUGH JUSTICE, HE'LL SAVE AS MANY RUNS A GAME WITH HIS GLOVE AS HE MIGHT NOT SCORE! I'd say, your drinking the fucking Kool-Aid on that. One of the reasons why Doogie hasn't really hit well, or even to his career average, the past few years, is because of major back problems which, as a fellow, albeit non-athletic sufferer, I sympathize with. I don't care if you are George Sisler over there, as a first baseman, unless you drop the routine throws from second, third and short, your fielding does not significantly alter the game. I mean, fuck, Frank Thomas played there in PLAYOFF games. And don't give me the bullshit that he can be somehow "hidden" in the deep Yankee lineup. He'll knock into double play after double play and ruin rallies until Cashman/Torre do something about it. Oh, and his spring training average is sub-.062. One hit. ONE HIT.
Andy Phillips sucks. Next question.
Josh Phelps is a very interesting name. Well not an interesting name, but an interesting player. He hits the shit out of lefties, and as one of those righties (there are alot of them) that does so, he deserves a double and triple look at a platoon position. He's also having a torrid (good word, brah) spring. Here's what the Yanks should do. Platoon Phelps and Giambi at first, playing Phelps or Giambi there based on who is feeling fresh (they are both atrocious enough with the glove to make this a wash, fielding-wise) but sitting Phelps against most righties and DH'ing Matsui or Abreu (both getting creaky) and playing my personal boy, Melky Cabrera, at LEAST four times a week. This way, against lefties, we get to see the Giambino rest his legs and Phelps swing for the moon. The majority of the time, however, give Melky his 350-400 ABs. I submit that this is ultimately what is going to happen. If it doesn't, expect Sexson in pinstripes by July.
-RJ
I believe Brian Cashman is an above-average General Manager. I think even without the Yankees John Goodman-sized payroll, he would have a winning team on the field. That being said, the handling of the Yankees first base situation this offseason spring has been nothing short of sickening.
The plan is to have Jason Giambi manning the pine for the defensive innings, where he is definitively not comfortable (check his career splits between DH and 1B, and yes yes, I know that generally, he DH'ed alot early when his legs were shot, so that skews the stats, but fuck you, I'm writing here), and have Doug Mientkiewicz (I swear I didn't have to look the spelling up) and either Andy "Happy to Be Here" Phillips and Josh "Rule 5" Phelps platoon at first. Please let me explain, from the perspective of a rational Yankee fan, why this is a terrible idea. Alot of this has been said, but my therapist says it helps.
Doug Mientkiewicz has never hit like a first baseman should. Career line: .270 .359 .405. Not bad for a middle infielder or catcher, but for a first-bagger he is well below the average. OOH OOH, you might say, ROUGH JUSTICE, HE'LL SAVE AS MANY RUNS A GAME WITH HIS GLOVE AS HE MIGHT NOT SCORE! I'd say, your drinking the fucking Kool-Aid on that. One of the reasons why Doogie hasn't really hit well, or even to his career average, the past few years, is because of major back problems which, as a fellow, albeit non-athletic sufferer, I sympathize with. I don't care if you are George Sisler over there, as a first baseman, unless you drop the routine throws from second, third and short, your fielding does not significantly alter the game. I mean, fuck, Frank Thomas played there in PLAYOFF games. And don't give me the bullshit that he can be somehow "hidden" in the deep Yankee lineup. He'll knock into double play after double play and ruin rallies until Cashman/Torre do something about it. Oh, and his spring training average is sub-.062. One hit. ONE HIT.
Andy Phillips sucks. Next question.
Josh Phelps is a very interesting name. Well not an interesting name, but an interesting player. He hits the shit out of lefties, and as one of those righties (there are alot of them) that does so, he deserves a double and triple look at a platoon position. He's also having a torrid (good word, brah) spring. Here's what the Yanks should do. Platoon Phelps and Giambi at first, playing Phelps or Giambi there based on who is feeling fresh (they are both atrocious enough with the glove to make this a wash, fielding-wise) but sitting Phelps against most righties and DH'ing Matsui or Abreu (both getting creaky) and playing my personal boy, Melky Cabrera, at LEAST four times a week. This way, against lefties, we get to see the Giambino rest his legs and Phelps swing for the moon. The majority of the time, however, give Melky his 350-400 ABs. I submit that this is ultimately what is going to happen. If it doesn't, expect Sexson in pinstripes by July.
-RJ
Friday, March 9, 2007
Hi Mets Fans!
So the other day Im coming home from work listening to Mike and the Mad Dog and they start talking about the Mets-Red Sox spring training game. Turns out the sawx won on a walk off grand slam off Ambiorix Burgos aka Omar Minaya's love child. Mind you this a 20 something reliever who THE KANSAS CITY ROYALS DIDNT WANT, and yet Mr. Minaya sees something he likes. Anyway Doggy was going on and on and basically confirming what I thought all last year when he was pitching saying he's a bum and what not. Then Doggy delivers this gem "The guy is like a lower case Armando Benitez. He looks like another Mel Rojas". Brilliant. Gonna be a long summer at Shea with this guy mopping up after Olivercito, Chan Ho, and John Mayniac.
Meet the Mets! Meet the Mets! Head to the Park and greet the Mets!
-Old Man John Franco, The Lefty Specialist
Meet the Mets! Meet the Mets! Head to the Park and greet the Mets!
-Old Man John Franco, The Lefty Specialist
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
First Impressions
Well Im not going to lie to you, when you told me that you had drafted barry bonds in the 10th round, I thought to myself: "Dear God."
Now looking at your team I think you have yourself a formidable squad. I played one of these head-to-head points leagues for the first time last year and from what I saw you need a solid-to-great pitching staff (unless you are putting the league's best lineup out every week). Im a big advocate of pitching (like yourself) because I feel like I can squeeze alot of sleepers and make the right value picks in the middle rounds for hitters. This strategy doesn't work for everyone, but Ive become comfortable with this over the years.
On to your roster. I actually love the Johan Santana pick right there. The only 2 guys Im taking over Johan are Pujols and Soriano, but after pujols at 1 I can make a case for about 8 guys going in any order for the next picks. Hafner in round 2 was completely necessary to balance your squad, I think he wins the MVP this year if he plays 150 games. The man is a freak of nature.
It's hard to judge a draft without being there as it unfolds but for the next picks Ill give you some benefit of the doubt in that there was a run on infielders and you had to grab some value. The pick I most disagree with is pick 3 and Brandon Webb. To me he's just not that clear cut guy way above the rest of the starters you could pick up a few rounds later. Starting pitching is so deep and once you are past Johan its all the same really. That being said you definitely have a nice 1-2 punch there.
I think McCann, Hall, and Sanchez are solid and the Prince Fielder pick in the 11th round I love. Im pretty high on this guy and if this isnt the breakout year I think '08 will be. As for your relief pitchers, whatever. Just like every other year there will be people who start getting saves who weren't projected to in spring training, just get those guys and you will be fine. Screw relief pitchers.
The best pick of your draft, HANDS DOWN, is your 16th round nabbing of Alex Rios. The guy is a stud in the making and had it not been for some freak leg injury last year this guy was priming himself for a much earlier pick.
As far as your bench goes, I can't knock anything there, you probably won't play alot of your bench pitchers unless their matchups for the week are favorable anyway. If a hitter gets hot for a month you can easily ride that with alot of positional options on your bench.
Overall I like your team. If Bonds stays healthy, he's a mortal lock for 30+ homers and that pick will look genius.
-LS
Now looking at your team I think you have yourself a formidable squad. I played one of these head-to-head points leagues for the first time last year and from what I saw you need a solid-to-great pitching staff (unless you are putting the league's best lineup out every week). Im a big advocate of pitching (like yourself) because I feel like I can squeeze alot of sleepers and make the right value picks in the middle rounds for hitters. This strategy doesn't work for everyone, but Ive become comfortable with this over the years.
On to your roster. I actually love the Johan Santana pick right there. The only 2 guys Im taking over Johan are Pujols and Soriano, but after pujols at 1 I can make a case for about 8 guys going in any order for the next picks. Hafner in round 2 was completely necessary to balance your squad, I think he wins the MVP this year if he plays 150 games. The man is a freak of nature.
It's hard to judge a draft without being there as it unfolds but for the next picks Ill give you some benefit of the doubt in that there was a run on infielders and you had to grab some value. The pick I most disagree with is pick 3 and Brandon Webb. To me he's just not that clear cut guy way above the rest of the starters you could pick up a few rounds later. Starting pitching is so deep and once you are past Johan its all the same really. That being said you definitely have a nice 1-2 punch there.
I think McCann, Hall, and Sanchez are solid and the Prince Fielder pick in the 11th round I love. Im pretty high on this guy and if this isnt the breakout year I think '08 will be. As for your relief pitchers, whatever. Just like every other year there will be people who start getting saves who weren't projected to in spring training, just get those guys and you will be fine. Screw relief pitchers.
The best pick of your draft, HANDS DOWN, is your 16th round nabbing of Alex Rios. The guy is a stud in the making and had it not been for some freak leg injury last year this guy was priming himself for a much earlier pick.
As far as your bench goes, I can't knock anything there, you probably won't play alot of your bench pitchers unless their matchups for the week are favorable anyway. If a hitter gets hot for a month you can easily ride that with alot of positional options on your bench.
Overall I like your team. If Bonds stays healthy, he's a mortal lock for 30+ homers and that pick will look genius.
-LS
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
SBC Fantasy Baseball Update
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you... my first fantasy post of the icy spring.
While the rest of my law school class wastes their time on Contracts and Legal Writing, eleven fellow baseball fanatics and I have banded together to form the best fantasy baseball league in St. John's University history, SBC Baseball. "SBC" of course, is a not-so-inside joke, standing for Space Bar C*&t, the new girl who whacks her keyboard with the all the frustration of a sex-starved law student... which, judging by her general appearance and over-laughter at professor's jokes (I'm talking about you, Parella - she's gunning for ya) she most definitely is.
I will begin by posting the rules of this league:
SBC Baseball
12 Team Head-To-Head, Overall Points System
MLB - All Players available.
C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, OFx3, U, SPx5 and RPx2.
Unlocked Rosters... BUT:
Once a starting pitcher has started a game in a given week, he is locked in to his SP slot (allegedly to cut down on the abuse of innings pitched... but with enough negative stat categories, starting Jered Fernandez and Tim Wakefield just for IP would result in negative points... but I digress).
Scoring:
Scoring for Batting Categories
1B - Singles 1 point
2B - Doubles 2 points
3B - Triples 3 points
BB - Walks (Batters) 1 point
CS - Caught Stealing -1 point
HR - Home Runs 4 points
KO - Strikeouts (Batter) -1 point
R - Runs 1 point
RBI - Runs Batted In 1 point
SB - Stolen Bases 2 points
Scoring for Pitching Categories
BBI - Walks Issued (Pitchers) -.5 points
BS - Blown Saves -4 points
ER - Earned Runs -1 point
HA - Hits Allowed -.5 points
INN - Innings 2 points
K - Strikeouts (Pitcher) 1 point
L - Losses -5 points
S - Saves 8 points
SO - Shutouts 10 points
W - Wins 10 points
My team (conveniently named Rough Justice) had the third overall pick. Here's my roster and draft order (gets a little hazy in the late rounds due to the hot polish bartender and Bud Heavies going down like water, feel free to correct):
First Round
3. Johan Santana, SP
(ed. note: Some might disagree with taking a pitcher this early. This is not a pitcher, this is Johan.)
Second Round
22. Travis Hafner, U
Third Round
27. Brandon Webb, SP
Fourth Round
46. Brian McCann, C
Fifth Round
51. Ryan Zimmerman, 3B
Sixth Round
70. C.C. Sabathia, SP
Seventh Round
75. Bill Hall, SS
Eighth Round
94. Freddy Sanchez, 2B
Ninth Round
99. Barry Bonds (GROAN...), OF
Tenth Round
118. Prince Fielder, 1B
Eleventh Round
123. Rocco Baldelli, OF
Twelfth Round
142. Bob Wickman, RP
Thirteenth Round
147. Joe Borowski, RP
Fourteenth Round
166. Alex(is) Rios, OF
(ed. note: suck it, Trevor)
Fifteenth Round
171. Chris Duncan, OF
Sixteenth Round
190. Joel Zumaya, RP
Seventeenth Round
195. Akinori Otsuka, RP
Eighteenth Round
214. Eric Byrnes, OF
Nineteenth Round
219. Marcus Giles, 2B
Twentieth Round
238. Vincente Padilla, SP
Twenty-First Round
243. Chuck James, SP
Twenty-Second Round
262. Philip "Great White Hope" Hughes, God's Own SP
My strategy, if you can call it that, was to grab three of the best pitchers I could get my hands on, then worry about my outfield and bullpen later by throwing shit at the wall and seeing what sticks. Comments and critiques are not only appreciated, but encouraged... including trade offers from fellow SBC'ers.
-RJ
While the rest of my law school class wastes their time on Contracts and Legal Writing, eleven fellow baseball fanatics and I have banded together to form the best fantasy baseball league in St. John's University history, SBC Baseball. "SBC" of course, is a not-so-inside joke, standing for Space Bar C*&t, the new girl who whacks her keyboard with the all the frustration of a sex-starved law student... which, judging by her general appearance and over-laughter at professor's jokes (I'm talking about you, Parella - she's gunning for ya) she most definitely is.
I will begin by posting the rules of this league:
SBC Baseball
12 Team Head-To-Head, Overall Points System
MLB - All Players available.
C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, OFx3, U, SPx5 and RPx2.
Unlocked Rosters... BUT:
Once a starting pitcher has started a game in a given week, he is locked in to his SP slot (allegedly to cut down on the abuse of innings pitched... but with enough negative stat categories, starting Jered Fernandez and Tim Wakefield just for IP would result in negative points... but I digress).
Scoring:
Scoring for Batting Categories
1B - Singles 1 point
2B - Doubles 2 points
3B - Triples 3 points
BB - Walks (Batters) 1 point
CS - Caught Stealing -1 point
HR - Home Runs 4 points
KO - Strikeouts (Batter) -1 point
R - Runs 1 point
RBI - Runs Batted In 1 point
SB - Stolen Bases 2 points
Scoring for Pitching Categories
BBI - Walks Issued (Pitchers) -.5 points
BS - Blown Saves -4 points
ER - Earned Runs -1 point
HA - Hits Allowed -.5 points
INN - Innings 2 points
K - Strikeouts (Pitcher) 1 point
L - Losses -5 points
S - Saves 8 points
SO - Shutouts 10 points
W - Wins 10 points
My team (conveniently named Rough Justice) had the third overall pick. Here's my roster and draft order (gets a little hazy in the late rounds due to the hot polish bartender and Bud Heavies going down like water, feel free to correct):
First Round
3. Johan Santana, SP
(ed. note: Some might disagree with taking a pitcher this early. This is not a pitcher, this is Johan.)
Second Round
22. Travis Hafner, U
Third Round
27. Brandon Webb, SP
Fourth Round
46. Brian McCann, C
Fifth Round
51. Ryan Zimmerman, 3B
Sixth Round
70. C.C. Sabathia, SP
Seventh Round
75. Bill Hall, SS
Eighth Round
94. Freddy Sanchez, 2B
Ninth Round
99. Barry Bonds (GROAN...), OF
Tenth Round
118. Prince Fielder, 1B
Eleventh Round
123. Rocco Baldelli, OF
Twelfth Round
142. Bob Wickman, RP
Thirteenth Round
147. Joe Borowski, RP
Fourteenth Round
166. Alex(is) Rios, OF
(ed. note: suck it, Trevor)
Fifteenth Round
171. Chris Duncan, OF
Sixteenth Round
190. Joel Zumaya, RP
Seventeenth Round
195. Akinori Otsuka, RP
Eighteenth Round
214. Eric Byrnes, OF
Nineteenth Round
219. Marcus Giles, 2B
Twentieth Round
238. Vincente Padilla, SP
Twenty-First Round
243. Chuck James, SP
Twenty-Second Round
262. Philip "Great White Hope" Hughes, God's Own SP
My strategy, if you can call it that, was to grab three of the best pitchers I could get my hands on, then worry about my outfield and bullpen later by throwing shit at the wall and seeing what sticks. Comments and critiques are not only appreciated, but encouraged... including trade offers from fellow SBC'ers.
-RJ
Gyroball this!
Alrite well I just got back from vacation (a carribbean cruise in which I might have gained 20-30 pounds), and I figured Id touch on some things I read recently (in this blog and not).
1) I didn't see it first hand, but from what I hear (my sources are secret) Dice-K looked impressive against boston college in his first time out. Like I said I didn't see it, but if the clips on youtube about his gyroball are any indication then Im already in love. For those who haven't seen the clips of his supposed gyroball, it essentially moves from left to right (looks like its going to bean the batter) then takes a sharp drop like the bottom fell out. I dont know if he's still throwing this pitch but I wet myself everytime I watch those youtube clips, and I watch them every 5 minutes for hours at a time.
2) I've made no secret about my infatuation with The Artist Formerly Known As Oliver Perez as upside in fantasy baseball is either my success or my downfall from year to year. Ive been known to draft this maddening "pitcher" in the late rounds every year. Ill get sucked in again this year and drop him after 2 weeks. Im that guy. Damnit.
3) I recently read an article aboout how Curt Schilling has been experimenting with a changeup for the last two years and finally feels confident enough to use it regularly. Don't think Pedro Martinez type changeup with this one, Curt's version is more designed to shorten swings and get weak grounders than strikeouts. Either way, I'm intrigued.
4) Recently heard someone talking about Kei Igawa. Now I had heard nothing about the guy but apparently he has zero velocity on his fastball and is just a junkball throwing lefty. Wouldn't that make him Randy Myers for 6 innings? Wouldn't it make sense that by the 3rd trip through the order teams would have him figured out? More importantly, in the second half of the season isn't there a distinct possibility he could have his ass kicked every game since the league would have him surely figured out by then. Great pickup for the yankees I say.
And with that Im off to practice my gyroball.
-Pedro Feliciano The Lefty Specialist.
1) I didn't see it first hand, but from what I hear (my sources are secret) Dice-K looked impressive against boston college in his first time out. Like I said I didn't see it, but if the clips on youtube about his gyroball are any indication then Im already in love. For those who haven't seen the clips of his supposed gyroball, it essentially moves from left to right (looks like its going to bean the batter) then takes a sharp drop like the bottom fell out. I dont know if he's still throwing this pitch but I wet myself everytime I watch those youtube clips, and I watch them every 5 minutes for hours at a time.
2) I've made no secret about my infatuation with The Artist Formerly Known As Oliver Perez as upside in fantasy baseball is either my success or my downfall from year to year. Ive been known to draft this maddening "pitcher" in the late rounds every year. Ill get sucked in again this year and drop him after 2 weeks. Im that guy. Damnit.
3) I recently read an article aboout how Curt Schilling has been experimenting with a changeup for the last two years and finally feels confident enough to use it regularly. Don't think Pedro Martinez type changeup with this one, Curt's version is more designed to shorten swings and get weak grounders than strikeouts. Either way, I'm intrigued.
4) Recently heard someone talking about Kei Igawa. Now I had heard nothing about the guy but apparently he has zero velocity on his fastball and is just a junkball throwing lefty. Wouldn't that make him Randy Myers for 6 innings? Wouldn't it make sense that by the 3rd trip through the order teams would have him figured out? More importantly, in the second half of the season isn't there a distinct possibility he could have his ass kicked every game since the league would have him surely figured out by then. Great pickup for the yankees I say.
And with that Im off to practice my gyroball.
-Pedro Feliciano The Lefty Specialist.
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