Sometime in 2009 it finally clicked in the collective Pirates brain that they needed to stop playing for now since they weren’t playing well for now anyway. And with that kernel of “ah-ha,” the Pirates sent McLousy off the plank and ushered in Andrew McCutchen, The Dread Pirate. The Dread Pirate proceeded to climb to the top of the sinking Pirate ship’s mast, tore a string from the Jolly Roger and swashbuckled his way into the hearts and minds of his fantasy owners and the seven Pirate season ticket holders. Ahoy, Jonesy, drive me in after I steal this base. Gar. And get me some mead, Ol’ Chumbucket! That’s you, Steven Pearce. You are Ol’ Chumbucket! Argh, don’t make me explain it. Yes, The Dread Pirate brought life where there wasn’t any for 2009, but what about in 2010 fantasy baseball, more of the same booty?
In 433 at-bats last year, McCutchen hit 12 homers with 22 steals while batting .286. Below those numbers, we see a guy who consistently hits the ball on the ground more than in the air in 2009 and 2008 (in Triple-A, his GB vs. FB percentages were 49.4 vs. 32.2). This is good for a guy who relies on his speed to get on base. The power he showed last year may be slightly fluky. After all, he did hit 8 homers in August, which seems extreme for him. I.e., I wouldn’t expect a huge gain in homers in 2010. Maybe 15 homers max. His walk rate was a bit high last year, but he did show a good eye for when he should/should not swing. With his speed and 15 homer power, he’s definitely a 2010 fantasy baseball keeper. Think 80/14/65/.275/35. For redraft leagues, The Dread Pirate can be someone who can provide more value than his draft spot, potentially taking a jump into the top 20 outfielders for 2010… Top 20 outfielders for 2010. Aye, me parrot concurs.
Who would you prefer in Corey Hart vs. Andrew McCutchen?
@Old Reino: i’d go with a pirate over an old 80′s singer anyday…
hart was supposed to improve to 30/30 what 2 years ago? he’s never taken that jump… i think i’d rather have McCutchen, more upside….
Could you rank Hart, Bruce, McCutchen, and Quentin?
@Tom: i dont know how grey would put them or others but i’d say CQ, Bruce, McCutchen, Hart…
CQ is def’ly #1 in that group if healthy he’s a solid potential for 40 HR’s, the other 3 are basically a toss up to me, Bruce has 35 Homer power but he needs to bat for more avg, McCutchen will be the flashy pick the hyped guy the young guy with upside, and then hart to me is washed up, 20/20 guy with poor average….
@Tony re: Hart- its never good news when you’re considered washed up by 27….
Where would you through Elijah Dukes in that mess of OF’s?
@Old Reino: Last…I doubt he will even be drafted in most standard leagues.
@Old Reino: haha ya i guess washed up isnt the best “label” but he was just expected to do more, so i’m sure one of these years he’ll go 30/30 and bat .300 like people expected two years ago…
i’d put dukes at the end….
@Tony
Fair enough. Perhaps he’s waiting for his contract year so he can get as far as possible from Wisconsin.
grey what do you think of that group of OF’ers? ranking them wise….?
2nd annual razzball slow mock draft
@ http://www.couchmanagers.com
tentative start date ….11/23
12 hours / move
5×5 …. 12 teams ….24 rounds
listed in the custom draft section
password …. GABAZ
@Old Reino: McCutchen
@Tom: Quentin, Bruce, McCutchen… Bruce will be getting his own post — already written, just needs a chance to post up.
@Tony: @Old Reino: @GopherDay: @Tom: Don’t forget to sign up with Big O for the mock draft if you want in. You get 12 hours per move so there’s no sitting by the computer.
Ah! For some reason I thought that was a real league you had going there, big o.
Mind if i hop in?
@Grey
Signed up for the mockdraft under the name oldrungo instead of Old Reino- but I am in there. Set my first 5-8 names up in the queue as well.
@brett: Big O doesn’t mind. Go for it.
@Old Reino: Cool, Big O is running it.
@big o: BTW, Freak’s in the forums asking about the mock draft.
If you had the option of keeping one of Carlos Gonzalez or The Dread Pirate, wwgd?
@peter: The Dread Pirate
@Grey: really you’d keep the dread pirate over Carlos Gonzalez? I dont know maybe i’m bias’ed because i owned Cargo and didn’t own dread during the season, but Cargo in COL on a better team would be a tough call. I’d say in drafts they’ll go VERY CLOSE to each other.
What kind of power do you think CARGO has? could he hit 25-30?
@Tony: It’s close, but I don’t think CarGo has 25-30 power just yet. I’d give him around 20/20 upside, give or take.
@grey: Quick off topic question. Due to heavy lobbying on here I grabbed Carrasco. I’m having trouble finding a post on him, but I believe I remember you saying you liked him for 2010. From what I’ve seen from him so far I don’t think I will keep him. If you had to make a 2-3 sentence argument for him what would you say?
@eltoo: Two sentences — Awe. Some.
Joking.
I liked him last year, but he’s a mess right now — not trusting his stuff, relying of fastballs, now in the American League for a non-contender, etc. He could still be a top of the rotation guy, but not worth keeping right now.
@Grey:
thanks for the heads-up on freak .
once he registers , the draft will be half-filled .
haven’t heard from b.f. Hip , yet , but ,
steve’s in ,
so there will be some late night conversation , for sure .
even though everyone enjoys all the comments you have on our picks/teams (me too) ,
one of the nicest things about this is ==> it’s really just one big conversation , wrapped around a draft .
i look forward to the inter-change of opinion and player analysis , links to breaking news , as well as discussions on almost any topic imaginable .
although i not the most up-to-date on music , movies , pop culture ,
i DO enjoy a good demolition video , every now and then .
@Grey: gotya so basically you’re thinking is Dread could steal an extra 15 bases so go for him….
haha. just glad I didn’t get the hard sell. Would’ve made it tougher to cut him.
@Grey:
so , from your projections for the dread pirate , i take it you’re favoring him over nyjer morgan . how does raja davis fit in with these 2 ?
been looking at andre eithier …. from what i see , he’s carlos beltran minus the steals ??
also , for the 1st time since he played for the tribe , i’m starting to look favorably on manny being clowny .
are you going to talk me down off this ledge ???
as always , thanking you , in advance .
@Tony: Yeah, and speed is more consistent.
@eltoo: Ha, yeah, no hard sell. He’s fine for a super late flier in deep leagues, but no reason to keep him.
@big o: Davis and Nyjer are the same guy. SAGNOF!
@big o: Ethier seems like he’s around 30/100/.270 with 5-7 steals.
@big o: If you throw out an insane half season Manny had with the Dodgers, he hasn’t had a great full season since 2004 and he’s going to be 38 next year. Not sure what there is to be excited about.
@Grey: whats up….which rd would you take him in 12 team roto……is he the sleeper version of victorino/damon?
@matthole: He is a cheaper Victorino. Figure Victorino’s near round 6-7, McCutchen would be near round 11-12.
@Grey: Might not get so lucky with Mcutchen dropping that far. He went 9-2 the early 12-rounder I spotted. Am having trouble finding room for him at that level. (Bruce went 11-8).
@Simply Fred: 9 seems a bit high, but not terrible, 10 seems okay, 11-12 seems ideal. As the hype picks up, he may go into the 8th round.
@big o: Signed up for the Mock Draft, looking foward to it. Is there going to be an official start of the draft so we can get through the first few roundsquickly?
@GopherDay: see #10 comment. Big O tentative start 11/23. I’m sure he will keep us advised. This from the site (if you click on the draft #2198):
chata (3:08:30): welcome to the 2nd annual razzball slow mock draft
chata (3:09:41): the draft order will be “random”
chata (3:11:13): as the specific start date is yet to be finalized , you are encourage to queue your top 3 or 4 choices
chata (3:12:49): this will allow for the draft to get off to a smooth start , in case you’re late to the party
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbCZYBGApnI
Don’t worry guys, I’m OK.
anybody got a napkin, or a moist towelette????????
@BigFatHippo: Is that a preview of your mock draft fate?
@Simply Fred: Thanks, I missed that!
@Grey: I know there isn’t anything to work off of for Fantasy value, but what do you think?
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=jp-chapman111209&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
@GopherDay:
currently there are 5 draft spots open
i’d like to start asap ,
but will try and pick an exact time/date that suits most peoples wishes .
you can leave a comment in the draft room
to voice your opinion about the “specifics” … 10 am , noon , 6pm , 9pm , etc
my 1st objective is to get 12 people signed up .
we can draft with fewer than 12 , but playing against computer picks is not as much fun ,
@Simply Fred:
it appears as if you have with-drawn from the mock .
if that was not your intention ,
please re-register .
@big o: Thanks. Re-upped. Maybe I can successfully withdraw bad picks?!
@Grey:
things you find on youtube :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vUhSYLRw14
@BigFatHippo: Hope that video isn’t an omen of anything to come.
@GopherDay: I went over Aroldis at one point towards the end of the season — razzball.com/the-great-defector His stuff’s incredible, will talk about him more when he signs somewhere.
@big o: Nice video.
Hey guys, I joined the slow draft.
I haven’t commented regularly yet, but I do love the site and will be hanging around. Sort of wish the draft was 1 pick per 6 hours, but I guess the current settings are better suited to bridge the gap to April. Regardless, I’m looking forward to getting started.
Just joined the slow draft. Looking forward to it.
@NF:
don’t be surprised if we’re finished by new year’s day .
last year , we finished on christmas ,
but we may have started a week earlier .
@big o: Draft is full now, I’m all for starting!
@GopherDay: if someone cancells let me know
@big o: Now that the draft is full, I can’t figure out how to navigate to it and the comments??
@Simply Fred: Found it.
the 2nd Annual Razzball Slow Mock Draft will start on sunday nov. 22nd @ 10 pm .
the draft is a mix of new players and some returning veterans .
new players are encouraged to explore the site , learn the nuances of the queue system , and ask questions , if necessary .
to find the draft (#2198) , click on MY DRAFTS at the top of the page , and then click on your name .
don’t get all confused , just ‘cuz the tournament is no longer listed on couchmanagers’ homepage .
@big o: Great, looking forward to it!
Is it Random draft order or the order we are in now?
@GopherDay:
order will change when the draft starts
@big o: Thanks, so people were needlessly avoiding the #1 spot I guess. Oh well.
@Grey:
this off-season sucks .
how many more days until pitchers and catchers report ?
i suppose you hollywood-types are going out to the movies
and plays and such .
http://razzball.com/stephen-strasburg-2010-fantasy-outlook/#comments
see comment #4
http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/story/12513717/giants-official-troubled-dr-prospect-loses-visa-cant-join-team
question asked
and answered .
@big o: Too bad they didn’t trade him instead for Freddy Sanchez.
Dock Ellis & The LSD No-No
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vUhSYLRw14
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jBKKV2V8eU&feature=youtube_gdata
He he…
@Doug Ault: Yeah, Big O posted that link earlier in the comments. Pretty incredible.
@GopherDay: Ha!
If you ever want a game to make you curse your luck more than fantasy baseball, y’all want to give fantasy football a try.
@Steve: I’ve never done fantasy football before, but this year I somehow got into a 4 man fantasy football league. Someone gets injured, just drop him for another top tier player. Not much trading going on in the league…not much of a league either.
@Steve: Are you in the playoffs? Seems to be similar to H2H in that respect.
@Grey: The whole season feels like the playoffs. I’ve had a couple of vicious sonavabenchings the last couple of weeks.
@Doug Ault: That video is amazing! Thanks for posting it.
@Steve: Yeah, that’s what it seems like. Not the best team winning, but the best matchups.
@Grey: Well, if I had the best team, I’d jump aboard that particular high horse…
@Grey:
Alright I needed to come out of hiding and chime in on a couple of things.
Ugh to Fantasy Football – when is spring training? Between injuries, coach idiosyncracies, the whole lot of players available to be picked up are on waiver until Thursday, and no clue how to put a trade together. I would have to say I am like a One Hit Wonder – One and Done.
I was reading this latest on our favorite panda’s off season routine and needed to laugh and share – “Operation Panda.”?!
@BSA: Oh, I thought you were into fantasy football.
@Grey: He was until I gave him a beating in Week 1.
We’ve gone in opposite directions since, however.
@Steve: What? 3 points isn’t a beating?
@Grey: I would give my first born for a complete video of that game
@Doug Ault: Is there any video of it? Online, that is.
@Grey:
IT’S A TRICK …. DON’T DO IT , GREY .
Doug’s kid is a TEENAGER !!!
@Grey: Doing it to try something different.