1. I’m surprised to see Rauch as Brain Freeze….. expected to see him in the Donkeycorn group. Are you down on him mainly because of the uncertainty surrounding who’s closing for the Twinkies? Or am I missing something else…….. Thanks!!

2. @simply fred: haha, i’ll trade you blanks & furcal for alicides and you can hoard him from matthole yourself.

   I’m still recovering from the trauma induced when you grabbed alicides right in front of me. Being caught with your queue empty and webb as the #1 rated player on the board still is a horrible way to time out.

3. Why does a guy like Qualls, having a solid spring, rank so much lower than a guy like Gonzales who is getting pounded this March?

   I’ve taken Qualls as a #2 closer for my team and a #1 in NL only and I am just okie doke with it. Handcuffing Gutierrez in both cases…

4. shocked by how far Marmol is buried on ESPN. Grabbed him in the 13th round of my commenter’s draft last night. A closer that could K 100!!! Holy Hard-On!

   FYI both Stewart and Bruce went in the 8th! You are creating monsters!

5. @Euroalien: Uncertainty. He could move up quickly.

   @Fman99: Gonzalez is a K beast. Qualls gave up 6 runs in one inning the other day so it’s not like he’s been lights out.

6. now that Heyward has been named the starting right fielder around what round do you think i’ll have to grab him and is he worth grabbing that early?

7. @billybutler: Non-keeper? Around the 17th or so maybe. He’s still a rookie.

8. @Euroalien: I think it’s entirely the Twins’ bullpen situation that’s got Rauch down there, as any or all of the paranthetical names following his could wind up closing. I just wish they’d decide on Liriano – it’s a win/win for me either way, but if he takes over the ninth suddenly I’ve got five closers in one of my leagues! Talk about trade chips…

9. Do you believe in Aardsma in 2010? I would be fine with a slight/moderate regression from last year’s numbers but it’s hard to believe that with a career whip of 1.5 he will not implode.

10. i thought gregg had the lowest odds in the closer roulette in toronto?

    i really don’t understand the lack of love for qualls – is it a save opportunity thing? home park thing? my man is lights out when his knee cap isn’t rolling off the field.

    man that preamble to the donkeycorns will never get old. slays me every time

11. someone drafted strasburg in my 12-team H2H league but dropped him the first day of free agency. i burned myself last year by picking up weiters when the same exact thing happened and he didn’t light it up…should i pick up strasburg by dropping a bench player and waiting it out until june 1?

12. @Grey Jiminez or Kershaw? Also would you feel good taking Lester in round 4 or feel like you overpaid? Thanks a million this site is awesome.

13. My squad from last night, never done a 5 OF league before. Shocjked by how fast they went! Love my infield and staff’s K potential. Obviously need a some help in the OF and maybe another closer. Any other areas you see the need for improvement?
    One of Razzball’s 2 female readers is in this league, so there is that.

    8 Mark Teixeira, NYY 1B
    17 Troy Tulowitzki, Col SS
    32 Pablo Sandoval, SF 3B
    41 Derek Jeter, NYY SS
    56 Brian Roberts, Bal 2B
    65 Josh Johnson, Fla SP
    80 Torii Hunter, LAA OF
    89 Jake Peavy, CWS SP
    104 Matt Wieters, Bal C
    113 Julio Borbon, Tex OF
    128 Vladimir Guerrero, Tex DH
    137 A.J. Burnett, NYY SP
    152 Carlos Marmol, ChC RP
    161 Brian Fuentes, LAA RP
    176 Todd Helton, Col 1B
    185 Brett Gardner, NYY OF
    200 Chris Young, Ari OF
    209 David Price, TB SP
    224 Brandon Lyon, Hou RP
    233 Juan Rivera, LAA OF
    248 Nick Johnson, NYY 1B
    257 Joba Chamberlain, NYY SP
    272 Andy Pettitte, NYY SP
    281 Luis Castillo, NYM 2B
    296 Kris Medlen, Atl RP

14. I am gagga for Miguel Montero, am I reaching in the ninth round?

15. @Honest Abe: He could regress but I don’t think it ever gets to the point where he loses the job.

    @Critter Nagurski: Gregg’s first in line from what I’ve read.

    @nick m.: Wait until May to see if he’s still around.

    @maddogrusso: Ubaldo

    re: Lester — Slightly overpaid, but if you want him, that’s probably where you need to take him. Thanks for the kind words!

16. @majortommy: Bottom half of the outfield is a bit gnarly. Also, Luis Castillo? Really? 12 team leagues aren’t that deep. Joba’s now a setup man. Bleh. Pettitte? Eh. Do you have the whole Yanks team? I like your first 3 picks, then you took a left turn.

17. @mikeyd: Unless it’s a 15 team league, yeah.

18. As a Cubs fan, I don’t feel comfortable with Marmol closing at all. He gets into jams CONSTANTLY and the last thing I want my closer doing is handing out free passes all the time. He’s been really f-in lucky getting out of his jams, but I have a feeling his luck will run out eventually. He’s just too wild.

    Having said that, he can’t possibly be any worse than Kevin Gregg.

19. Rauch…a seven-footer who can barely touch 90 mph and has never had 20 saves…uncertainty indeed

    Qualls…you said it yourself…you need to handcuff Gutierrez cuz he could take the job again…just like last year

    Gonzo…who’s gonna take his job? Jim Johnson? Cla? Don’t think sa.

20. Gregg…falling fast…probably comes down to Frasor or Downs

21. so slightly longish post to follow, for which i apologize in advance. i’m trying to mock draft in a cbs AL only league. and trying is the right word, because those rankings are all screwed up. the day elvis andrus goes for 4 bucks in any league, well sign me right up for that.

    so i obviously can’t get a real mock going, here’s the idea i was thinking, and feel free to tell me if this idea sounds good or bad, Grey and commentors!

    It’s an 8 guy league, keeper, C-1-2-3-SS-3 OF-Util- 4 SP – 4 RP – 6 reserve, which i guess is like the CBS bench. ugh, crappy name. also, there’s like no guys with dual eligibility either, cbs is a terrible system. anyways.

    so i figure i’ll punt catcher and pick a guy up for a buck near the end, because better players deserve my money. I’m guessing I’m gonna try to nab longoria and morneau, because both are good to have at the corners. I also want Nelson Cruz, Torii Hunter, and FraGu as my 3 OF. I’d like Beckham and Andrus lining my infield, but would really rather have beckham more. Pitching wise, with the 4 SP and 4 RP, I was going to try to grab 2-3 closers (8 teams, 16 closers, i figure 2-3 puts me good in saves) and a SANTANA plan starter combined with some lesser guys.

    so basically, the skeleton of my team would be:

    1 dollar catcher – morneau – beckham after 20 games (maybe sizemore for the first 20 or something, it’s going to be a 1 dollar 2nd baseman stand-in) – longoria – SS – hunter – cruz – FraGu – lester/verlander/beckett (a “second tier starter” who’s really first tier) – 2-3 closers

    i admit this sounds sort of expensive, and yes, i realize i sort of need to address steals (which is why i’m hoping for andrus) but do you see any other pressing problems with this method? excusing cost of course, as I’ve done a fair amount of research and am confident in my ability to dig some good names when I need to go deep.

    I figure with this method, I win the hitting categories and do decently well in pitching, as I can grab Wade Davis or Matusz or Hughes or Gavin Floyd or James McDonald or Slowey or somebody later than other people. Yes, I know the AL east sandbox is dangerous, but sometimes you need to ride the whirlwind and see if you get out alive.

    As I said, the only sorta pressing need is steals, and I could maybe swap FraGu for Juan Pierre (ugggggggggggggh) or Rajai Davis (preferable, but I have several friends high on him so this probably ain’t gonna happen) FraGu is decent and a 15-15 guy, which is nice to have. Do you think this strategy seems workable? Thanks for the help Grey/everyone, and like I said, sorry it’s so long.

22. frasor, downs, gregg, every single one is taken in my RCL…… lol

23. @Grey: Any guy with any upside was taken after the 15th(this includes Hughes and Ian Kennedy and Sanchez). I will most likely never use Joba or Petite and especially Castillo. I think Nick Johnson in the 21st was a steal. Also as stated my IF bats will help overcome any AVG. deficiencies in my OF.
    Listen to me trying to defend my actions to a guy who claims to have a mustache and meet porn girls while out at sushi!

24. ***Oswalt left Friday’s game with a hamstring injury.****

25. I didnt do a good job of getting closers in my league and am rarely fast enough to get new ones who come up on the wire. If you had to pick a couple of non-closers now to grab to play as MR now and possibly become a closer who would you pick?

    Among the guys you have in parenthesis, the following are already owned in my league. Mike Adams, Zumaya, Darren O’Day, Fernando Rodney, Wuertz, Ziegler, Thornton, KWood, Lidge, and all of the Twins, Bluejays, and Rockies.

    Any others you wouldnt mind owning?

26. @CoreyII: As a bosox fan i hate to say it but Bard COULD be gold. Even without saves he could be a decent arm in your pen.

27. @Grey: He hurt it last weekend working on Charlie Manuel’s tractor.

    From the top 40 SP post comment #68 “Oswalt is no longer top 40″ And that’s me quoting me.

28. @mapwheel:

    Aggree, Marmol is way to wild and goes cold quick. Hate to break it to majortommy but that hot Mormol chick you got a bone over is really a dude with a schlong that is going to teabag you before the break.

29. @Ryan Beariot: in an 8 team league why the hell would you every want fragu as your OF3????

30. I also do not trust K-Rod anymore. He is making a pitchers park a hitters park and then there is the Mets defense…huff said. I think he is top 10-15 but definitely not top 5 anymore.

31. @Ryan Beariot: If that’s how your team ends up, I think it’ll be fine. FraGu occasionally sat for Pierre should work too.

    @CoreyII: Hard to see who’s available when you only list who’s not. Give me three top names you’re thinking about. But agree that Bard could be great.

    @Tom Reale: Why you!

    @ThePoonTycoon: It’s AL-Only.

32. @Mr2Bits: I asked him his name and in a dark brown voice he said Marmol!

33. Jason Heyward officially has the starting job in Atlanta. Officially.

    How is Joakim Soria not an overpriced salad? He’s as reliable as they get, and usually drafted way too early. The only thing that distinguishes him from Pap, Mo and Broxton is the fact that his team sucks out loud – which really just makes him even more overpriced. He’s like a 12 dollar salad with no croutons. And you know damn well that croutons are pretty much the reason you eat salad.

    Also, regarding Lester being overrated – he’s got 5 K’s in 5 innings so far today, with 0 ER and 2 walks. Cust kayin’. Could be I’m a bit defensive, though.

    Lastly, any thoughts on late-round speed? Is there a huge difference between Nyjer Morgan, Rajai Davis, Michael Bourn, Juan Pierre, et al? I mean, they’re all fast, hit around .300 and play for crappy teams. I figured on just taking whichever one was left in round 18-21.

    Thanks Grey. Keep it up, dude – fantasy baseball wouldn’t be half as much fun without this site.

34. @Grey: Sorry – I was just using everyone on your list in parentheses as the pool to pick from. Guys I am considering that remain would be possibly Takashi Saito, 1 of Aardsma’s backups, Jim Johnson, Joey Devine, or Juan Giutierrez.

35. Oops, just noticed that everyone already knew about Heyward. Terribly sorry.

36. @Lines: Cool, thanks!

    @CoreyII: Saito, Gutierrez and Johnson… In that order.

37. Marmol at #6? Are we forgetting what this guy did last season? 7.91 BB/9. SEVEN POINT NINE ONE WALKS PER NINE INNINGS (just to make sure we’re clear). xFIP of 5.13. Only thing that kept his real ERA in check at 3.41 was an absurdly low HR/RB rate of 2.6%, well below the normalized rate of 10%. And he’s a flyball pitcher (52.5% career). If he cuts his walk rate down to pre-2009 levels then he could be ok, but if not….prime candidate to lose his closing gig. He’s closer to the #15+ spot in my opinion.

    I don’t get Qualls in the Brain Freeze section at #23 either. Guy has great skills (good K rate, improving K:BB rate, sub-3 xFIPs in 2008 and 2009. Yeah, he’s coming off of minor knee surgery, but I’d easily take him ahead of Ryan Franklin (talk about a fluke season) at #14.

38. @Lines: That was my plan with the SAGNOF OFs until they all get sniped off my queue and i ended up taking rasmus as my bench OF instead. Ick. Lets go sophomore surge.

39. @Grey: Thanks! Keep up the good work.

40. @grey- how would u compare car go with your other sleepers like ian stewart?

41. one last question, I have my draft today and am deciding possibly between holliday or justin up in the 2nd round. Holliday however, has a nagging rib injury. Who do u like?

42. @J!m Future: I took Rauch in my $$$ league last weekend (16th Rd) and would prefer to see him named the closer. I can see that Liriano might be a solid choice….

43. @grey

    I have the 11th pick in a 12 team 5×5 snake draft. Assuming they are going to be available, should I draft Longo/Tulo or Howard-Cabrera/Wright or Kinsler/Wright. The only thing I’m sure about is I want a 3B before the end of the 3rd round since I don’t want Panda.

    Also, Lester or Vrlander in the 5th round?

44. Franklin Morales is available, and I could drop one of the following to get him: Hughes, Marmol, Jenks, Dotel, Downs, Frasor. It probably comes down to the last two guys, but I smell an imminent trade to the Twins that would make both of those guys closers, and with good ratios to boot. And Morales isn’t exactly Swedish social security either.

    Should I just stay pat?

45. @Martin: Kinda apples and oranges. Stewart’s a little safer.

    @suckingduck: Howard and Wright sounds good. All those choices are fine. You’re not losing your draft in the first few rounds.

    @DrEasy: I’d lose Downs for Morales.

46. @Grey: Make sure you copy and archive this update on Oswalt. I feel like you’re going to need it several times this season.

    But SERIOUSLY, Mr. Grey, when are you going to post your thoughts on your Yahoo! Friends & Family league draft? I HAVE TO KNOW.

47. @Baron Von Vulturewins: Saturday’s a team preview, Monday morning will probably be a roundup, so Monday afternoon.

48. @Euroalien: When I said I wish they’d decide on Liriano, I meant I wish they’d make *a* decision. I too would rather see Rauch take the closer’s job; I drafted Liriano as a high-upside #6 SP in the hopes he’d go back to torching the AL Central. Like I said, it’s a win/win for owning him either way, but if they make him the closer, suddenly I’m *very* RP heavy.

49. You know it’s early season when you have Donkeycorns (Bell, Aardsma and Mike G in my slow draft). But before you know it, a trade here, some SAGNOF there, and it’s Brain Freezes all the way.

50. Qualls moving up.

51. @suckingduck: I doub’t any of those guys make it to the 5th round.

52. @ThePoonTycoon

    8 team AL only. If you have a better idea of an AL OF #3, lemme know. FraGu ain’t magic, but I’ll take a 15-15 from him. Plus if he goes low like I’m hoping, I can spend some more money on pitching. Do you think I’m ranking him too high or low or something?

53. @Mr2Bits: @mapwheel: @noxad: Agree that Marmol has had his moments of “sooner or later”, but… between the two, from June 27 through Sep 11 (that’s 2 1/2 months), he had a 2.70 ERA and 1.27 WHIP–and all those Ks to boot. Maybe he stretches that out, maybe he doesn’t. Cust Kayin’.

54. a three team dela just went down in my league can you help me figure out wtf happened here?

    Team A Gives up: Reynolds, Cueto, Soriano, Chapman
    and Gets: Figgins, Roberts, Leo Nunez

    Team B Gives up: Figgins, Roberts, Leo Nunez, Harden, Weeks
    and Gets: Cano, Reynolds, Cueto

    Team C Gives up: Cano
    and Gets: Chapman, Soriano, Weeks, Harden

    it’s a 12 team H2H league. Who got shafted here? What do you think?

55. Thanks for this last minute “closing look” Grey, it’s going to come especially handy this Sunday when I have my two final drafts. Kind of sucks to see Madson and Lindstrom as the last two as those are half my closers in the RCL!

    And Grey, you need to mention SLIGHT hamstring pull! Christ, you gave me a heart attack! I’m still going to try and draft him on both teams this coming Sunday if I get the chance because I’m loving the peripherals he provides. Hopefully he’s still good for opening day.

56. And for those that are stressing Marmol’s bad peripherals, I think it’s time to take a trip back to Baron Von Vulturewin’s article of junky closers and how little they actually damage your overall pitching stats!

57. Word on the streets of Twitterville is that Gaston is “leaning heavily towards giving the primary closing duties to Jason Frasor.”

58. @Steve: Thanks for the update!

59. @Steve: Sorry.

    Not leaning “heavily”. Just leaning.

60. @Dean: It’s not a given that someone has to get “shafted” in a deal. In this case, maybe…

    Team A finds himself woefully short on speed on draft day. He trades excess power and loses no roto ranks. He gains speed which easily could boost him 4 or 5 ranks. He is a WINNER!

    Team B woefully short on power. He has speed to burn. He loses no SB ranks by off-loading excess speed, but picks up several ranks by adding the power. He is a WINNER!

    Team C gives up mainly AVG losing Cano, but potentially gains power and pitching, several ranks. He is a WINNER!

    Cust Kayin’

61. @Dean: I’d prefer to be team B.

    @Eddy: No problem.

62. @Steve: It’ll be a flippin’ mess however it turns out anyway.

63. Grey : Which one of these guys should I drop for Hamilton. I’m in a 12 team keeper league. LaPorta, Morgan, Blanks and Jones are 24 round picks going forward where Span is a 13 and Cuddyer a 14

    Michael Cuddyer
    Denard Span
    Matt LaPorta
    Nyjer Morgan
    Kyle Blanks
    Garrett Jones

64. How far do you recommend I take the SAGNOF approach (I.e., how many brain freezes does it take to commit fantasy suicide).
    My auction is coming up (5×5 $260 keep 5), and I really would prefer to pick up as many cheap closer options as possible, jump out to some early saves then trade them or have them lose their jobs as the season goes. In my league, picking up saves in the middle of the season is not easy (It’s not really Berry’s fault he does play in abandoned ESPN leagues. I’m pretty sure he would have a different view of fantasy if he played in a RCL)
    I’ve been thinking of targeting Dotel, Qualls, Capps, Rauch, maybe Perez. Will this get me close to my 120 save target or should I invest in at least 1 middle of the road RP?

65. Sometimes I think Y! Fantasy writers like to toy with the Fantasy Baseball participants. “Let’s do a write up about a certain pitcher/field player and see how many of these idiots will add the bastard.”

    I mean the shit they write could be attributed to any player and interpreted however you like. AND IT’S ONLY SPRING TRAINING!

    “Ohh he had a string of bad games, but his last outing was great.” Idiots click ‘add’.

    “Ohh he just got blown up, but the two outings before that were sharp.” Clicking ‘add’ furiously.

    “He was 4-27 in spring training, but went 2-for-2 with a home run last night.” Countless ‘add’s.

    “After a great BA and SLG%, that’s two games without a hit and combined 0-for-5.” Everyone dropping him like it’s hot.

    Annoying, but useful, hopefully something nice is dropped.

66. I am thinking about putting in a claim on Chapman, in one of my shallow leagues, however our league is super restrictive on waiver pickups ( only 5 allowed per year with the feeling teams will be more inclined to trade). My SP’s are already pretty strong ( Greinke, Beckett, Lackey, Weaver, Hudson, Hughes) I would end up dropping a bench hitter like Headley who I really don’t need. Should I hold off due to my league restrictions and take the chance someone else picks him up?

67. @Grey Ethier or Cruz? Nolasco or Beckett? Thanks!

68. @Mr2Bits: Drop Morgan.

    @The Hebrew Hammer: That’ll get you around 120. Sure, an MR would work. Why not?

    @KarlJ.: Don’t use it if there’s only 5.

    @maddogrusso: They give you different things. Ethier’s 27/7, Cruz is 30/15 with more risk. Same with the SPs. Safe and very good, risk and great.

69. @Eddy: I’m not debating the value of junky closers when it comes to Marmol – I understand SAGNOF. As long as he’s the closer enjoy the saves. The problem is that junky closers are the first to lose their jobs.

    Rating someone which such awful peripherals last year as #6 on the closer rankings seems extremely high for a guy I consider to be a high risk for losing the job. The ERA/WHIP hits may not be enormous, but once he loses the job, he’s lost all value. There are a whole bunch of guys that are safer and will still get you your saves that I’d rank higher than Marmol.

70. Never played with W-L pitching category. How do I adjust my drafting style? Draft top pitchers earlier and mid and mid-lower tier later?

71. @GTS: Predicting loses is as futile as predicting Wins. I’d avoid too many MRs though, you don’t want to get Vulture Loses.

72. @Grey:

    Crap I just added him as I need steals….second choice?

73. Grey, The sushi story the other day, friggin classic! Im just curious if you have ever worked for any other fantasy site? I cant wait to wake up and start my day with a good laugh. Keep up the good work! Anyway, I need a back up 1st basemen. Chris Davis or Conner Jackson? I would like to think that Crash will turn it around, but I dont know. If CoJack bats in front of J-Up that could be a chance for a lot of runs. 2 yrs ago, he was solid, but not sure if that was a mirage.

74. @Mr2Bits: Blanks

    @Carl Spackler: re: another fantasy site — Well, there was this site, CougarLife.com…

    Davis for risk but upside. Jackson for boring, but dependable.

75. Ahhh yes…..I am sure you still have your VIP membership. Thanks for answering

76. Those 2 holds posts by Smokey, are they in order of rankings?

77. @Cheese: Nope

78. @Cheese: very much random

79. @Smokey: Cool. So are these guys to target for holds, to target for peripherals, or both? (my main question is, should all of these guys put up decent hold numbers?)

80. @Cheese: those are my choices for leagues that would consider hold guys. Are you considering anyone?

81. @Smokey: Just finished re-reading the AL guys, and of those, I really like Neshek, Wuertz, Bard, League, Lowe, Thornton, Robertson, Cruz… My holds draft is this Sunday, and I plan on passing on saves altogether, and drafting 4 holds guys (saves are only 1/8 pitching categories, and 1/16 total categories, so to me its a waste of a pick). Also, I’m active enough to pick up guys that take over closing duties. Any specific order I should be targeting those guys, or will they all be good value?

82. @Cheese: Thornton, Bard, League and Neshek all have the ability to get you some saves. As well as great holds guys. Robertson takes a hit now that Joba moves to the pen. If i had a gun to my head I would go:

    Thornton
    Bard
    Wuertz
    League/Lowe
    Neshek
    Robertson
    Cruz

    NL is a different story.

83. @Smokey: Re-read the NL guys, and I’ll probably own them over AL guys. Interested in Masset, Romo, Affeldt, Saito, Igarashi (would like to know more about him), Motte, Adams, Gregerson, Kuo and Gutierrez

84. @Smokey: speaking of holds guys; wtf are the mets doing penciling in Jenrry Mejia as their setup man. I heard hes supposed to be the ace of the future. Wouldnt this put his arm in jeopardy?

85. @Cheese: NL has more gys that i would target as well. Ranking them together, based off the ability to snipe saves and still get holds, i would go
    Thornton
    Gregerson
    Gutierrez
    Massett
    Affeldt
    Bard
    Saito
    Motte
    Wuertz

    Igarashi is kind of a wild card, NY media is all over Mejia right now. From what i have seen of the video of Igarashi he is reminds me alot of Saito i know its cliche, both Japenese, but wind up, movement on pitches all very similar.

86. @matthole: Im not a fan at all of pitchers going 100 mph than asked to go slow, Joba, Morrow, examples. Mejia has the goods tho. Mets need help in the rotation they should have been stretching him out during ST, than unleashed him when Maine, Perez or Niese crap the bad.

87. Grey, 12 team league that drafted last night. H2H, sort of odd points-based scoring that I posted about a few days ago.

    Any thoughts on this team? Note: We can only start 2 RP each day.

    Also, would you drop anyone from this roster for Marcum, Reimold, Rauch, or Rzep?

    C-Mike Napoli (18)
    1B-Albert Pujols (1)
    2B-Aaron Hill (6)
    SS-Alexei Ramirez (11)
    3B-Ian Stewart (12)
    OF-Grady Sizemore (2)
    OF-Curtis Granderson (4)
    OF-Nick Markakis (5)
    Util-Adam Jones (9)
    SP-Zack Greinke (3)
    SP-Cole Hamels (7)
    SP-Clayton Kershaw (8)
    SP-David Price (13)
    SP-Kevin Slowey (15)
    RP-Jose Valverde (10)
    RP-Billy Wagner (16)
    Bench-Jay Bruce (14)
    Bench-Chris Davis (17)
    Bench-Dexter Fowler (20)
    Bench-Stephen Strasburg (19)
    Bench-Chris Perez (21)
    Bench-Brian Matusz (22)
    Bench-Aroldis Chapman (23)

88. @Smokey: Thanks a lot! I am high on League (not sure if I’m just a biased Blue Jays fan), but I wouldn’t doubt to see Aardsma lose his closing job and return to how he used to pitch (5.29 ERA with 90 walks in 145 innings prior to 2009).

89. @Cheese: not a fan of Aardsma, Lowe i think gets first shot at closing

90. Grey, in a standard 10 man 5X5 league that starts 7 pitchers, do you advise making room for a Middle Reliever? We only draft 4 bench spots and there are unlimited trannys (ew!) Typically, I roster my best 5 matchups of starters and the only 2 relievers drafted each week. Do ya’ think that’s a good approach?

91. Matt Wieters for Jay Bruce in a vacuum?

92. @Chris: I have no idea what your scoring is.

    @Buge Hoobs: Nice username. 5 SPs and 2 closers makes sense, don’t think you have room for an MR.

    @WarHammer: It’s fair. Wieters is above Bruce though, but then there’s the whole punting catcher thing. Tough call. I’d probably go with Wieters.

93. Scoring for the aforementioned team:

    Batting Categories
    1B – Singles 1 point
    2B – Doubles 2 points
    3B – Triples 3 points
    BB – Walks (Batters) 1 point
    CS – Caught Stealing -1 point
    GDP – Ground Into Double Plays -1 point
    HP – Hit by Pitch 1 point
    HR – Home Runs 4 points
    KO – Strikeouts (Batter) -0.5 points
    R – Runs 1 point
    RBI – Runs Batted In 1 point
    SB – Stolen Bases 2 points

    Pitching Categories
    BBI – Walks Issued (Pitchers) -1 point
    ER – Earned Runs -1 point
    HA – Hits Allowed -1 point
    HB – Hit Batsmen -1 point
    INN – Innings 3 points
    K – Strikeouts (Pitcher) .5 points
    L – Losses -5 points
    NH – No-Hitters 5 points
    PG – Perfect Games 5 points
    S – Saves 7 points
    SO – Shutouts 5 points
    W – Wins 7 points

94. Manny for Bourne, yay or nay ?

95. Oh and another question, standard league scoring, which one do you like better, Chase Headley, Brandon Wood or Chris Davis ? Thank you.

96. @Grey: Thanks Grey. I have
    OF Sizemore
    OF Grandy
    OF Quentin
    DH Vlad
    OF Fowler
    OF Bruce

    and really had my eye on Conor Jackson… but league only has 3 OF and 2 DH, so needed to shift value from OF to C, which I was punting per your advice… There is so much more value to be had in OF on the wire, that positional-scarcity came into play.

    Another question, rank the following in a vacuum
    EveCab, Furcal, Hardy (FA)

    I’m going to pick one and one backup to carry all year for my SS position. standard roto 5×5

97. @Chris: I like the strong pitching staff there. I think Aroldis is fine for now, but even if he gets a starting spot, he might be a nightmare for your team because he’s wild. Sorta the same with Matusz. Not as wild, but you don’t want risk in your pitching staff in a league like that one. Re: Hitting — Real solid. I worry a bit about Stewart in that league, but it’s not terrible. Honestly, when I look at pitching that solid I expect weak hitting or vice versa and that’s not the case here, so well done.

    @SamYo: I’d want Manny.

98. @SamYo: Davis

    @WarHammer: The order you have him the SSs is fine. Yeah, go with Wieters there.

99. Grey, thanks for the positive feedback. Would you swap anyone from that roster for Marcum, Reimold, Rauch, Snider, or Austin Jackson?

100. So first picks of 12 team mixed roto go like this:
     Pujols
     Zimmerman
     Upton
     Reyes
     Morneau (util)…

     Who are you aiming for in the next say..4 rounds?

101. Grey how concerned are you about oswalt?

102. Soria or Lind? 16 team h2h points league. Also have r. Soriano/Wagner/Morales.

103. Assuming you only draft donkeycorns, how many closers should a team come out with in a 12 team standard league?

104. I posted this in the forums, but I figure to get a few more responses here.

     This is our league’s first year as a keeper league where you keep a player 2 rounds ahead of where they were drafted the year before, where pick ups are assigned a last round pick.

     Its a ROTO league, and the discussion came up about how to keep people at the bottom of the standings from dropping players they don’t plan on keeping for prospects for next year.

     For example, say Erick Young Jr was on the FA list, and the team in last place doesn’t plan on keeping Brandon Phillips, so he drops him for EYJ. Not fair for the league. Any ways to limit this or prevent it? I need suggestions.

     Everyone’s opinions are very much appreciated!

     Thanks!!
     Gopher

105. @Chris: I’d go with Marcum over one of the two rookies at the end. Dealer’s choice.

     @Mikey boy324: Well, I don’t like to hear injury news about any of my guys, but it does sound minor right now.

     @King Elvis: Lind

     @Cheese: 2 to 3 Donkeycorns and 1 to 2 Brain Freezes. Only Donkeycorns, I’d go 3.

106. @Kazmere: You need another outfielder, two pitchers and a wild card. Preferably outfielders that will get power and speed. Say Nelson Cruz, for example.

107. @Grey: Is Joba a good buy low right now in a holds league? Yanks say he isn’t guaranteed a bull pen spot, but I think he’ll be the 8th inning man.

108. Ya i really liked the way oswalt was pitching so far this spring he looked like the old oswalt I think If he can stay healthy he could put up top 10 numbers I’m drafting this weekend how should I go about drafting him should I push him back a couple slots or stay the same?

109. @GopherDay: Like would you trade Bucholze straight up for him? I already have 8 starters, and there are some decent upside guys on waivers….both could be kept at roughly the same price. Joba could be the closer once Mariano goes down….

110. @GopherDay: If the last rounds, sure. I wouldn’t go crazy for him though.

     @Mikey boy324: You gotta drop him a little, yeah.

     @GopherDay: No, I wouldn’t make that trade.

111. @grey- just drafted my team in a 12 team league. We use the traditional categories plus K/bb, L, OPS, TB. What do you think?

     1. (7) Prince Fielder 1B
     2. (18) Troy Tulowitzki SS
     3. (31) Kevin Youkilis 1B,3B
     4. (42) Jayson Werth OF
     5. (55) Curtis Granderson OF
     6. (66) Andre Ethier OF
     7. (79) Wandy Rodríguez SP
     8. (90) Josh Beckett SP
     9. (103) Scott Baker SP
     10. (114) Ian Stewart 2B,3B
     11. (127) José López 1B,2B
     12. (138) Kevin Slowey SP
     13. (151) Nolan Reimold OF
     14. (162) Billy Wagner RP
     15. (175) Geovany Soto C
     16. (186) Jonathan Sánchez SP
     17. (199) Jorge De La Rosa SP
     18. (210) Johnny Cueto SP
     19. (223) Dexter Fowler OF
     20. (234) Travis Snider OF
     21. (247) Ryan Madson RP
     22. (258) Matt Capps RP

112. @Martin: That’s a good team overall. Good late picks made up for weak top order pitching. Why the heck are you guys using Ls and TBs? Too many categories to keep track of and some of those pitchers could hurt you in losses.

113. @Grey: Can’t find it. Do you have a line for Connor Jackson?

114. I had to take a jap at the person I am playing in week one – he just picked up Padilla

     Dodgers Opening Day starter Vicente Padilla gave up five runs in 4 1/3 innings Friday in a loss to the Royals. its almost like from the christmas carol the ghost of things yet to come has arrived to show you your future Blaze

115. @Simply Fred: Just this:

     http://razzball.com/who-loves-ya-cojack-we-do/

     No line. Off the top of my head, I’d say 85/12/75/.290/10

116. @mrbaseball: He’s desperate already?

117. @Grey: Thank you!

118. Would you rather have Heath Bell at pick 111 or K-Rod at 127?

     …or neither?

119. @Mini Doughnuts: K-Rod

120. @Grey: drafted for one of my deep leagues. draft went very well. we start C, 1B, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, MI, CI, OF, OF, OF, OF, OF, UTIL. in a 12 man league.

     i feel my team MI is iffy with 2B, Stewart, SS Everth, MI, S Sizemore
     and i want to pick up Ian Desmond while I still have a chance. how he is on FA at this point is beyond me because the league is very competitive and deep.

     on my BN i have B. Wood, Freese, C Jackson. and I’m holding a flyer on Lyon incase he backdoors the closer role. who would you drop for Desmond?

     Also, any idea when Bedard will be on the DL in yahoo leagues.
     thanks!

121. @chrispartlow: I’d lose Freese for Desmond. Teams don’t DL players until right before the season.

122. Travis Hafner – comeback player of the year

     you heard it here first folks!

123. @Grey: Martin or Clement?

124. @Grey: I have Sean Rodriguez on my bench. Know he might not even break camp, but if he does, what do I do? Stewart is my 2B, Crapolanco at MI. Do I bench him until he is getting solid playing time? Does he have trade value and should I try to package him at the start of the season? Else?

125. @Simply Fred: S-Rod has 2B and OF eligibility.

126. Finished up my latest mock draft. 12 team mixed roto, traditional R,HR,RBI,AVG,SB… W,ERA,WHIP,K,SV.

     I was hoping to stock up on some middle relief for my bench, but the other drafters had the same idea. Decided to go for a couple offensive wild cards instead. Think I’m weak in any areas?

     Posada
     Pujols
     Jose Lopez
     Zimmerman
     Reyes
     Justin Upton
     Granderson
     Sparkakis
     Morneau-Utility

     Bench
     Quentin
     Fowler
     Iannetta (I always like to go with a backup catcher, esp with an oldie like Posada)

     Hamels
     Nolasco
     Peavy
     Oswalt
     Slowey
     Marmol
     Aardsma
     Frank Francisco
     Mike Gonzalez

     Grey– can you tell me where I can find that great post you did on the average numbers/totals for your team, to stay in the running for categories. Like “You’ll need around X amount of HR to be in 1-3rd place for that category…” Thanks. Went with the PEDS strategy on this draft. I think it worked well.

127. You up for a drink after the Bridge Run this morning?

128. last minute closer look print off, drafts at 11am, thanks grey….

129. My 1st baseman are prince and youk and my 3rd basemen are youk, ian stewart and jose lopez (but one of them has to play 2nd base). Would you offer Youk for Votto if you were in my shoes, and try to get a smaller upgrade, or is the position eligibility too nice on my team?

130. Who gets more saves the 1st half of the season: Brian Bruney or Danny Baez?

131. @Denys: Ha!

     @Simply Fred: Clement

     @Simply Fred: Sean-Rod will have trade value if he gets a job. And if he does, and you want to try him out, then you trade one of the others.

     @Kazmere: Go to Google and search Razzball + winning it.

     @Spamcakes: Are you following me?

     @TY: No problem!

     @Martin: I’m confused. You have an extra 1st baseman so you want to trade a 1st baseman for another 1st baseman? Sorry, please explain.

132. @david: Baez

133. Grey… I need your sage advice on my 10 team H2H roster.

     C B.McCann
     1B J.Votto
     2B R.Cano
     3B A.Rodriguez
     SS Y.Escobar
     CI B.Butler
     MI P.Polanco
     OF M.Holliday
     OF A.McCutchen
     OF D.Span
     OF J.Borbon
     UT H.Pence
     BN R.Ludwick
     BN R. Theriot

     SP J.Johnson
     SP C.Hamels
     SP C.Billingsley
     RP H.Bell
     RP F.Cordero
     P O.Dotel
     P J.Weaver
     P T.Hudson
     BN J.Sanchez
     BN T.Lilly
     BN E.Bedard (DL)

     My questions are thrice: Any glaring weaknesses on my team? I realized afterwards that I have quite a bit of upside guys on my team.

     Should I drop Theriot and add EverCab? I think I can handle his low average and love that he could steal 40+ if I need steals in place of Yunel or Crapolanco from week to week.

     Since Frasor is being hinted at as closer for the Blue Jays by Cito Gaston, should I scoop him up or should I nab Mike Adams as a handcuff to when Bell gets traded? Will it be Adams or Gregerson in your opinion?

134. My post is gone… where oh where could it be???

135. @Joe B: You’re heavier on speed and lighter on speed than I’d prefer for an H2H team, but your hitting doesn’t look bad. It’ll be competitive. And you can see your pitching, you have 3 aces and good fliers. Go for EverCab. Grab Frasor for now.

136. @grey- Its not that I need another 1st baseman, its just that I rather have votto probably then youk. However, since Youk has 1st and 3rd eligability in yahoo leagues, I would have to (for not at least) make jose lopez and ian Stewart everyday starters. Therefore, I was wondering if this hassle would still make the trade for votto worth it.

137. @Martin: Why do you have Stewart or Lopez if you’re not going to start them?

138. @grey- as of now I will, but say they get off to a cold start, I could bench them while if I had no other replacement for 3rd and 2nd base, I would have to constantly play them. Is it easier to understand now?

139. @Martin: What if Votto starts the year cold? You’re trading apples for apples, doesn’t work for me.

140. Ninth/last starter (H2H): E. Santana, Sheets, Correia, or W. Davis?

141. @Dim: Ervin

142. Someone want to give me a reason to like Adam Jones this year? I drafted him because he fell to me, and I know he’s on Grey’s players to own list, but why and where is he going to improve?

143. @supermets:

     Even if he just stayed level and went like 20 HR 90 RBI 10 SB 80 Runs .275 he’d be a solid player in my eyes. The upside is just bonus.

144. Hey Grey – just drafted in a 10 team rotisserie league – our categories include OPS and K/BB (which thankfully makes Slowey way more valuable).

     C Mike Napoli
     1B Miguel Cabrera
     2B Ian Steward
     3B Ryan Zimmerman
     SS Elvis Andrus
     OF Curtis Granderson
     OF Adam Lind
     OF B.J. Upton
     UTIL Prince Fielder
     UTIL Jay Bruce
     BN Dexter Fowler

     SP C.C. Sabathia
     SP Cole Hamels
     RP Carlos Marmol
     RP Rafael Soriano
     P Ricky Nolasco
     P Matt Thornton
     P Kevin Slowey
     P David Aardsma
     BN Ervin Santana
     BN Jason Frasor
     BN Jon Rauch
     BN Phil Hughes

     I feel that there are too many question marks on my team – do you think if I kept my team the way it was that I would be counting on too many unreliable players?
     Thanks, this site is awesome by the way.

145. @Honest Abe: Slowey and Nolasco. Those two alone might make your pitching staff. Marmol definitely won’t. But that’s okay, the rest of your staff looks very strong. I like the Hughes flier at the end too. Your hitting looks great, nice balance of power speed guys with an emphasis on power for OPS. Overall, nice team.

146. Hey Grey,

     What do you think of my team? Which areas do I need improvement?

     C Bengie Molina
     1B Albert Pujols
     2B A. Hill
     3B Youkilis
     SS Evereth Cabrera
     OF Sizemore
     OF Ethier
     OF Ibanez
     Util Berkman
     BN Rasmus

     SP Verlander
     SP Kershaw
     RP R. Soriano
     RP Street
     P Hamels
     P Sheets
     P Kazmir
     BN R. Franklin
     BN R. Wolf
     BN M. Gonzalez
     BN Lilly
     BN W. Davis

147. @Grey: Just my 12-Team H2H yahoo! league draft.

     C Geovany Soto (14th)
     1B Joey Votto (2nd)
     2B José López (13th)
     3B Ryan Zimmerman (3rd)
     SS Alcides Escobar (19)
     OF Ryan Braun (1st)
     OF Hunter Pence (9th)
     OF Julio Borbón (11th)
     UTIL Aramis Ramírez (4th)
     BN Jay Bruce (16th)

     SP Adam Wainwright (5th)
     SP Ubaldo Jiménez (7th)
     RP Mariano Rivera (6th)
     RP Carlos Mármol (10th)
     P Wandy Rodríguez (8th)
     P Brett Anderson (12th)
     P Roy Oswalt (15th)
     P Chris Pérez (17th)
     BN Johnny Cueto (18)
     BN Clay Buchholz (20)
     BN Joe Blanton (21)
     BN Phil Hughes (22)

     I know your big on upside but I feel like I may have focused a little too much on upside. I’m not sure about my $12 dollar salad decision but the two guys I was targeting there got taken. I’m nervous about Buchholz he had a terrible spring. I’m in the same league as Danny above…who’s team do you like better? What do you think of my team?

148. Just had a 12 team H2H draft (took the last 2 years off), and looking any suggestions on what I need to do to improve.

     C: A.J. Pierzynski
     1b: Derrick Lee
     2b: Jose Lopez
     3b: Gordon Beckham
     SS: Elvis Andrus
     OF: Matt Holliday
     OF: Matt Kemp
     OF: Nyjer Morgan
     UTIL: Adrian Beltre
     SP: Felix Hernandez
     SP: Justin Verlander
     SP: Jon Lester
     SP: John Lackey
     SP: Brandon Webb
     SP: Clay Bucholtz
     RP: Jon Broxton
     RP: Frank Francisco
     RP: Bobby Jenks
     RP: Chris Perez
     Bench: Alicides Escobar, Todd Helton, Kyle Blanks, Jason Heyward

     Bench:

149. @Howie Met Your Mother: Don’t think you needed Felix, Verlander and Lester – it’s too much, especially for H2H.

     Maybe should have used one of those picks on a better 1B or 3B. Having all those bench hitters will drive you crazy, trying to decide how to fit them into your lineup.

150. @Steve

     I completely agree. The 3 pitchers are to be blamed on a combination of a spotty wireless connection and Autopick. I’m trying to deal Verlander.

151. I was looking to deal Verlander for some corner IF power, ended up getting Mark Reynolds for D. Lee and Lackey.

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