2009 Fantasy Baseball Draft

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Braves Gung Ho About Lowe and Kawakami Signings

| 2009 Fantasy Baseball Draft, Hot Stove Rumors | 4 Comments

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Derek Lowe and Kenshin Kawakami sign with the Atlanta Braves after they had already signed Javier Vazquez.  Now all the Braves need is a #1 pitcher and they have a great staff.  I guess the Braves decided if they weren’t going to sign a big name pitcher, they’d try their best to make Vazquez look better.  It was one way to go.  Jar-Jar Jurrjens had this to say, “Yousa signing is otay.” George Lucas wasn’t available to translate.  Anyway, what do these two signings mean for 2009 fantasy baseball:

Derek Lowe -  Lowe leaves the ideal NL West (Dodger, Petco, and AT&T Park plus those inept offenses) for the more offense-minded NL East.  He posted four straight sub-4.000 ERAs for the Dodgers and seven straight years near 200 innings.  His sinker still works — 60% GB% is about as good as anyone other than Brandon Webb.  The move to the NL East will likely move his numbers up a bit but this is much better for his value than a return to the AL.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Grey

2009 Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Top 10

| 2009 Fantasy Baseball Draft | 36 Comments

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Can you believe it’s that time again?  No, not 8:23 AM.  It’s time for the 2009 fantasy baseball rankings.  We begin our 2009 fantasy baseball rankings with the top 10 for 2009 fantasy baseball.  Tomorrow we will cover the rest of the top twenty for 2009 fantasy baseball then we will go around the horn with a top 20 list for every position.  All of these top 20 lists will live in the 2009 fantasy baseball rankings section.

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Grey

Brandon Phillips, 2009 Fantasy Outlook

| 2009 Fantasy Baseball Draft, 2009 Sleepers | 23 Comments

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I hated Brandon Phillips going into last year.  I felt he was overrated.  I thought he was being drafted like his feces smelled like Reese’s Pieces.  Then, as is the case in the game of fantasy baseball, one year changed all of that.  I don’t necessarily think my perception of Brandon Phillips has changed for the 2009 fantasy baseball season.  He still seems like a guy who can’t figure out whether to swing or not.  A .312 OBP isn’t exactly the quantum of solace (sucked!).  He only had 39 walks all of last year in over 600 plate appearances.  His .209 after July 31st gives me the Montezuma’s Revenge shakes (which are great with a side of fries.

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Rudy Gamble

2009 Fantasy Baseball Projections (CHONE)

| 2009 Fantasy Baseball Draft, 2009 Sleepers, Rudy Gamble | 37 Comments

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We now have some more 2009 fantasy baseball projections for you. These are CHONE-based projected Point Shares for 10 and 12 team leagues available in the 2009 Fantasy Baseball Rankings menu at the top of the page.

Razzball Fantasy Baseball Projected Point Shares – MLB 10 Team

Razzball Fantasy Baseball Projected Point Shares – MLB 12 Team

If you want to download the 2009 projections, click here.  CHONE takes more factors into account than Marcel including home ballpark and league (Free agents are based on neutral park and 50/50 AL/NL split).  While we did not alter any CHONE projections, we did remove any player deemed unlikely to get to 300+ ABs (CHONE is admittedly over-optimistic on plate appearances which would distort counting stats).  CHONE does not project saves but we added them in based on expected closing opportunity.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Grey

Geezers Need Excitement

| 2009 Fantasy Baseball Draft, Hot Stove Rumors | 20 Comments

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Remember Wade Boggs as a Devil Ray?  Brett Favre as a Jet?  Sylvester Stallone in the latest Rocky movie?  Today, Trevor Hoffman signed with the Milwaukee Brewers and John Smoltz signed on with the Red Sox.  Maybe Trevor Hoffman just wanted to follow in Salomon Torres’s footsteps and retire a Brewer.  Meanwhile, Smoltz returns to Boston after only spending one year with the then Boston Braves.  John Smoltz’s favorite contemporary artist, Mitzi Gaynor, once sang, “Everything old is new again.” No truer words have been spoken, except maybe, “Old pitchers break down.” — Anonymous.  Anyway, here’s a look at what Hoffman and Smoltz will mean for 2009 fantasy baseball:

Trevor Hoffman -  Somewhere in dairy country a little boy is asking his grandpa why he’s so excited.  “Cause we’re going to be able to hear a whole lotta Hell’s Bells.”  Carrying on the tradition he may have learned firsthand at The Spanish Inquisition, Hoffman did well converting opportunities in 2008.  He went 30 for 34 in save chances and put up 3.77/1.04 ratios.  Miraculously, he also posted more than a K/IP and only nine walks all season.  Frankly, it was a better season than you deserved when you were all ready to drop his remembering-the-eighteen-eighties ass in April.  The one big question mark besides his age is the home runs allowed.  He gave up eight home runs in 45.1 IP with seven of those coming in Petco.  Betcha he’s glad to be out of there!  In the end, SAGNOF.  If Hoffman’s getting the saves, then Hoffman is the one to own.  I’d rank him at the bottom of the Donkey-corn tier of closers.

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Grey

Overrated Players for 2009 Fantasy Baseball

| 2009 Fantasy Baseball Draft, Overrated for 2009 Fantasy Baseball | 24 Comments

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I decided to take a peeksie at Mock Draft Central’s Average Draft Pick board and grab nine players that I thought were overrated from their top 75.  If MDC could talk, I think even it would agree that some of these draft picks make no sense.  I tried to grab at least one overrated player from every round if you were doing a ten team 2009 fantasy draft.   There were more than nine overrated players by my calculations, but I didn’t want to spoil the top 20 lists that are on their way this coming Monday.  Muahahahaha… Anyway, here’s some overrated players for 2009 fantasy baseball:

9) Josh Hamilton -  Why is he in the 1st round?  Cause he kicked crack?  You people need to chillax.

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Grey

Ian Stewart, 2009 Fantasy Sleeper

| 2009 Fantasy Baseball Draft, 2009 Sleepers | 22 Comments

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If Ian Stewart has multiple position eligibility, most importantly 2nd base eligibility, then color me chicken and call me cock-fed in my corn hole.  Skip Pedroia and grab Stewart late, even in shallow leagues.  But with only 12 games played at 2nd base last year, I’m going to assume Stewart’s only eligible at 3rd base for most of you and he probably won’t earn that 2nd eligibility in 2009.  At 3rd base, someone who hit 10 home runs isn’t exactly terrific.

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Grey

Dustin Pedroia, 2009 Fantasy Schmohawk

| 2009 Fantasy Baseball Draft, Overrated for 2009 Fantasy Baseball | 22 Comments

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And then Dustin Pedroia turned my Silver Bullet into a Sam Adams.  I wouldn’t have believed it either, if I didn’t see it with my own eyes.   But Pedroia wasn’t done there.  Noooo…  With a droplet of his sweat, he defrosted Ted Williams so The Splendid Splinter could go to a Southie’s Little League game.  But that’s not it!  Did you know Pedroia single-handedly completed The Big Dig?  Sure, it was fifteen years off schedule, but it would’ve been thirty.

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Grey

Burrell and Bradley, 2009 Fantasy Implications

| 2009 Fantasy Baseball Draft, Hot Stove Rumors | 13 Comments

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Pat Burrell and Milton Bradley, the new members of the Rays and Cubs respectively, are in similar tiers as outfielders for 2009 fantasy baseball, that not-so-coveted thirdish/fourth-kinda outfielder spot.  With their signings, it solidifies in everyone’s mind where Milton Bradley will throw a tantrum next year and where Burrell will be seen going from home to 1st in 12.7 seconds.  Is that a Clydesdale, Pa?

Please, blog, may I have some more?