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0Sure, you can draft Paul Konerko, A-Rod and C.J. Wilson with your 4th through 6th picks in your fantasy baseball draft. Nothing wrong with that. Don’t furrow your brow. There’s no reason to, concerned Razzball reader. We’re friends, you don’t have to hide the last of the milk because you don’t want me to finish it. I will save you some. You can even draft Michael Cuddyer. It’s all good in the ‘hood. I won’t even mock you for making a Sh*t People Somewhere Say video. You’re a Youtuber, which is not related to a potato. That’s cool. Or s’cool, if you’re in a rush. What I’m here to tell you is there’s nothing wrong with reaching for a sexy name. It’s an often accidental draft strategy that I haven’t seen verbalized on virtual paper before. Who do I mean by a sexy name? You know them. Everyone knows them. Everyone wants one. A Desmond Jennings, Brett Lawrie, Starlin Castro or Strasburg, for instance. Or 4 instance, if you’re a 14-year-old girl texting. These players are the earth’s answer to pollution. Congress recently passed a bill calling for every household that earned less than $50,000 to get their very own Brett Lawrie. Why is this a fantasy baseball strategy at all? What an excellent question to clumsily move into the 2nd paragraph!
The answer is hidden in the lede. Everyone wants one. That’s all you need to know. Why follow the herds in this case? Easy, your team may end up deficient in one way or another. If you have Konerko, A-Rod and C.J. Wilson, you may be just fine, but once you leave the draft, no one’s going to be clamoring for any of them. Now if you put Strasburg on the market, you’ll be able to acquire more than his value. Same goes for other sexy names. Right now, Michael Young is being drafted right before Pablo Sandoval. Who’s sexier? Sandoval, with or without a training bra. Mike Stanton or Matt Holliday? Typing Stanton’s name nearly gives me a semi that’s how sexy he is. Doesn’t only go for top guys. I like Vernon Wells this year, but him or Colby Rasmus? It’s not even close who’s sexier. Derek Holland is gaining traction to be sexy. There’s even sexy names amongst relievers. Kenley Jansen is a lot sexier than Chris Perez, even though they have virtually the same ADP and one is guaranteed saves and one is battling Mattingly’s common sense to get saves. (If Mattingly still had his mustache, Jansen would’ve been named the closer while Mattingly slept off a hangover.) Jesus Montero’s sexy for Jews and gentiles. What your team needs may not always be what you draft. If you feel you’re power light, you may draft a flyer in Kenley just because you know his trade value will be higher if he sneaks into saves, than just grabbing a 6th starter in, say, John Danks. Keep in the back of your mind how a sexy name can gloss over your opponents’ eyes in later negotiations. It reminds me of the Beautiful Girls quote, “A beautiful girl can make you dizzy, like you’ve been drinking Jack and Coke all morning. She can make you feel high full of the single greatest commodity known to man – promise. Promise of a better day. Promise of a greater hope. Promise of a new tomorrow. This particular aura can be found in the gait of a beautiful girl. In her smile, in her soul, the way she makes every rotten little thing about life seem like it’s going to be okay. The supermodels, Willy? That’s all they are. Bottled promise. Scenes from a brand new day. Hope dancing in stiletto heels.” Desmond Jennings is hope dancing in stiletto heels.
Grey, been spending the last week digging around in the dark corners of razzball. I agree with you PEDS draft strategy, but after looking at Pointshares and Player Rater doesn’t Roy Halladay deserve to be picked near the top 10? He has Albert Pujols’ consistency. Gamble made a statement about drafting hindsight in 2007 would mean taking Peavy #1 over Arod. Do you agree? If you KNEW Verlander was going to put up the same numbers where would you draft him this year?
@captainpyper, If you draft an SP in the first round of a 12 team draft, you shouldn’t take another pitcher for 100 picks, so all your eggs are in one big basket. If you take Halladay and say Bumgarner, your pitching is gonna be too good and your hitting is gonna be a mess. You don’t need 13′s in pitching, you need around 3.50 ERA.
@Grey, makes sense. from your post on pairings, why are you better off with Bautista and Texiera vs. Cano and HanRam?
@captainpyper, You have 1st base and 3rd base covered, two positions you wanna make sure you have covered vs. two positions that more people will be scrambling at.
Nice post, offering some without the stache a different perspective on a draft strategy.
Im looking to add one of those sexy names:
10 TM Mixed 5×5 Roto, League Voted for 3 Keepers, Trading of picks, children, spouses, etc… leaves me a little behind.
I need a 3rd keeper…I have Tulo & Votto as my 2 guaranteed keepers. (No round penalty)
My other legit choices would be Beltre, Lester
Would you offer another team a 7th Round draft pick to acquire Stanton? (Hes not being kept by the owner)
And whats the maximum round pick you would throw out there if he wanted a higher round pick?
OR would you not give up a round pick at any point to get him?
Thanks in advance.
@JMonte, I’d take Stanton… I’d give up a 5th round pick to get him…
I’m in a 5-keeper league and I have Votto, Kinsler, and Kemp as my top 3. I’m currently talking about two trade in which I give up basically the same players (I have lots of keeper-level players beyond those three) + a 6th round pick. Which of these two would you take:
Adrian Gonzalez + David Wright
or
Carlos Gonzalez + Andrew McCutchen
ps. pretty excited about my team going into this season… thanks for all the help I’ve gotten from your blog over the last few years.
@Sir, A-Gon side… No problem, glad to help!
Grey: I like yer style, dude.
I’ve never, ever posted my whole team for you (10 team dynasty, everyone is kept, year 5) and now maybe you could take a look and give me the ‘ole 5 minute up-and-down just for laughs… maybe you see something I no longer can? Thanks man.
C: Mauer
1B: Votto
2B: Jemile Weeks
3B: Longoria
SS: Dee Gordon
LF: Cargo
CF: Adam Jones
RF: Pence
UTIL: Napoli
BN: Werth
BN: JJ Hardy
BN: Sandoval
BN: Dom Brown
SP: Hanson
SP: Haren
RP: Motte
RP: Putz
P: Beachy
P: Pestano
P: Betancourt
BN: Shields
BN: Garza
BN: Sanchez
BN: Crow
BN: R. Delgado
@CL, Your league is very shallow… With that said, your team looks light on power… Don’t understand the double catchers. Your pitching looks very strong, but lots of risk towards the end considering how shallow the league is.
@Grey, Thanks for the insight.
@Grey, If you’re talking about Napoli, why not? He’s got crazy skills lately and is eligible at 3 positions in my leagues. Looks like an awesome choice. (Dang friggin’ Angels.)
I hate drafting to trade. The other guy inevitably overvalues everyone on his roster, leaving me to hold my sexy thing…and not in a good way.
@CT Old School, Ha! Let Diem hold it.
@Grey, HA!
Hello Grey,
Quick question, doesn’t the ADP already reflect the inherent “sexiness” of a young player? IE his ADP is overinflated already (at least relative to conservative projections) because the upside is so much greater?
@Big C, Not entirely… For instance, Chris Sale is sexier than Wandy… Wandy’s being drafted before him…
speaking of sexy, i hope the razzball podcast’s theme song is called “Moobs Like Butler” to the tune of “Moves Like Jagger.”
@Random Collmenter, Ha! Be awesome if Pablo Sandoval was singing it too… Cause he’s got the moobs like Butler, the moobs like Butler…
Question for all you Razzballers out there:
.
I am building a new league this year, with a local (read “beer drinking”) draft event. But two managers can’t attend in person. Is there any good websites out there that will let one person (the league commish) enter draft picks into the site in real-time for the majority of the league, but have a couple of owners making their own picks elsewhere?
.
Or any other solutions to this problem? It must be a problem for others – so I’m guessing there is a solution.
.
THANKS! (oh, it’s an ESPN league, but draft could be on a different site).
@Mel, Once Steve checks in he can probably help you. He drafts from New Zealand with Americans…
@Mel, Reporting for duty.
I just do it via Gmail chat with one of the guys in the league. It’s a lot of work for him (thanks Hippo!), but he just basically relays the bidding for each player to me and I ask him every so often to update me on who’s spent what.
He’ll also tell me who was sold to who and for how much, although we do miss the odd one. Of course , he tells me when it’s my turn to nominate.
As far as entering the picks, the commish does it all after the draft.
But beware of the connection mysteriously going down when Kershaw or Felix are on the block, as happened to me last year (kidding, Hippo)
@Steve, Thanks!
@Mel, If you have Webex or similar software (there are free options out there too) and an internet connection you can do this and share your screen with the remote participants. Then get them on a speaker phone conference call so they can hear the jeers when they pick Edgar Renteria in the 12th round.
@The Dude, dudes skyped at my 18 man basketball auction, i’d much rather be there live than on a comp for 5 hours but hey I guess sometimes flying across country or prediciting when your child will be born isn’t doable!
@Mel, I would suggest using a Google document. Anyone with a gmail account can see the picks in real time.
Grey, I have one of the sexier keeper lists I’ve had in a while in my money league. I’m looking at keeping Beachy and Lubke at $5, J Zimmerman at $4, Strasburg at $3, Morse at $5 and Stanton at $22; I plan to keep Hamilton at $19 and Hart at $1 who are in the last year of their contracts unless I extend them for an extra $5 which I don’t think I’ll do (although they would probably go for about $35 and $20 apiece).
That leaves two openings and I have Greinke at $28, Victorino at $15, Utley at $8, Hanrahan at $6, Bonafacio at $5 and Gio at $5 (but Gio is in the last year of his contract). Thanks for your help and you have the best site for “fantasy baseballers” on the web.
@WWCorleoneD, Thanks for the kind words! Gio, Utley…
@WWCorleoneD, i think its great to have 1-2 sexy names, but wow your whole keeper list is the sexy variety…. you might wanna try and package a couple of them and acquire something more stable, not as sexy, but you knowwww what you’re getting….
@Tony,
Thanks for the advice Grey and Tony. I made two offers for excellent keepers in a 3 for 1 package, but they won’t take three of my lesser keepers for their best stud. I might be able to upgrade a bit, but there are not a lot of excellent keepers in the league (Strasburg being the best, Morse top 5 and my top 8 probably all in the top 25) and I don’t want to improve a competitors team much more than I improve mine. I had the same problem when making a push for the playoffs last year, everyone wanted my best keepers which would have been fine if I had a good shot at winning it, but I was realistically playing for 3rd place (thank you Liriano and Ubaldo).
I’m gonna hafta stop contributing here because my contribution is always the same. The words may change, but the message is constant: All closers are sexy.
Again, the idea is that only closers will get you saves. (They’ll also help out meaningfully with K’s and ratios). If you’ve locked up 6 or more closers in rounds, say, 9 – 20, YOU WILL be able to get good value for them in trade, and usually that’ll happen by June.
Don’t be surprised if you’re able to deal your 9th and 12th round picks for someone else’s 2nd rounder.
Last year I dealt Valverde and Walden for Verlander. My trade partner was heavy on SP; and I had already locked up the save category (I also had Storen, Axford, Perez, and Cordero).
Grey’s said it a lot too: closers increase in value post-draft.
When it comes down to it, I just ask myself: Who’s gonna provide me with more value over the course of a season – a closer that can get me 35 saves, or Nick Swisher? or Freddie Freeman? Or Derek Jeter? Also… How much are my opponents going to value 50-55 saves if it gives them a lock on 11 points for the category? It might be a stretch, but it wouldn’t be overly surprising if I was able to swing a deal for Mike Stanton (if the partner was power heavy), or Jacoby Ellsbury (if they had speed to burn), or maybe a Bumgarner/Butler package. At the very least, I’d feel confident that I could pick up a BJ Upton or Hunter Pence. I’ll give up a coupla post-10th round picks for a top-6 round pick every day of the week.
@MStark, By monopolizing closers, you are taking a risk that the other managers won’t just say “screw this guy” and not give you anything for a closer. Another way of saying this is that if you were in my league and had 6 closers, I would not give you anything valuable for one of them for 3 reasons: 1. They are not very valuable to you to begin with, because they can’t really help you get higher than a 12 in saves; 2. All of the remaining 11 teams are fighting for the remaining available saves, but each team is equally disadvantaged- essentially your scheme has damaged our teams in the same manner; and, 3. I don’t want to reward someone for attempting to monopolize a category. If all of the league’s managers felt the same way as I would, you would have a team with a crappy offense and a lot of saves.
I’m not just posting this as a hypothetical response. I have seen it happen.
@royce!, absolutely agree! There is a bit of a prisoner’s dilemma problem here. Generally speaking though, I feel pretty confident that at least one manager will find they have excess in one category or another and will break with the pack to pick up a bunch points in saves.
For them, the calculation is probably involves figuring out whether or not the extra points I’m gonna get from, say, Hunter Pence, outweigh the points (s)he’s gonna get by moving to 11 in the save category (and helping their K’s and ratios a bit).
BTW: you also point out a reason that you shouldn’t overdo it. If you take 6 closers, you leave 24 on the board, plus whatever turns up on the wires. That’s should be enough to not entirely discourage the rest of the league from trading with you.
@MStark, Invariably, closers value skyrockets post-draft, agreed.
lets draft already,ive been practicing and its costing me a fortune in booze,hehe
@AL KOHOLIC, Feeling a bit edgy?
Haven’t done a single mock yet. Time difference really sucks for doing them.
@Steve, yeah i bet it really does,im working nights alot,see if we cant set one up this week
@AL KOHOLIC, I’ll join you fellas for a mock. keep me in the loop
@The Talented Mr. Dope Man,
i’m in .
@chata, cool,looks like we have a good group,stevo,you have a time that works for you?
@AL KOHOLIC, Best not to rely on me. Either I’m at work when I can’t do it or at home and it’s not til about 2am in the East when I’m in a position to do anything.
Grey, who do you think has more keeper value?
Phillips (can be kept 2 years)
Hommy Tanson (can be kept 2 years)
Hosmer (can be kept 3 years)
Napoli (3 years)
Jennings (3 years)
I have miggy, cruz, weaver, lawrie, and stanton firmly in my keeper column. Need one more…
@jimmy john, Hosmer if you have a CI spot… Otherwise, Jennings…
You’re such a poet, Grey. Now I know what it means to hear doves cry.
@Commish Cauda, Ha!
Love Stanton as 1 of my keepers (along w Agone, Mccann, Panda, CC)… I once made a post on my league page about getting Stanton’s lips tatooed on my hand for lonely nights……
@Barry S., Ha!
Any good team name ideas, incorporating the Ryan Bruan situation?
Braun is basically my only keeper in one league, and I would love to have a funny team name that has to do with this somehow.
.
Synthetic Braun? Herpules? Anyone hear of anything really funny?
@Mel, Braun’s Close Shave?
@Steve, BRILLIANT!
@royce!, Heh – thanks. As soon as I posted it I wondered if I should have kept it for myself!
@Steve, Very nice…
@Mel,
Sham Dis Ay AM
@Mel,
I kinda like TestoserBraun … a Google image search will get you a pic of the Hulk with Braun’s head and a M”s cap!
@Buge Hoobs, the herpy hammer
Grey – I’m not a huge fan of drafting for future trade purposes (which is not exactly what you’re suggesting, I know), but you’d need to be sure your sexy guy is also going to be of use to your team as well as having ‘brand value’ too, right?
@Steve, Yeah, agreed.
I’m super sexy
http://mlblogskylie.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/smiling20lance1.jpg?w=550&h=362
@Lance Berkman, I like the way you put the bat down so carefully when you hit a dinger batting let-handed.
@Steve, Is that a metaphor?
@Lance Berkman, Not at all. A mere observation.
Hi Grey,
Keeper question. I can keep 6, but I have 7 that are…uh…keepable:
1B Adrian Gonzalez
1B Eric Hosmer
3B Brett Lawrie
OF Carlos Gonzalez
OF Desmond Jennings
SP Cliff Lee
SP Roy Halladay
I’m thinking of leaving off Hosmer. The league has an IF and 2 UTL positions where I could put him. I thinks it’s between Lawrie and Hosmer. What’d ya think?
Thanks!
@Pat, Leave off Hosmer… Good choice to have though.
Ahh… bottled promise, indeed. Stay cool, man. Stay cool forever.
Had a full 12-team mock today (ESPN, auction), no auto-drafters (except when people left), so a bit more realistic results:
C Devin Mesoraco 1
1B Albert Pujols 45
2B Howard Kendrick 11
3B David Wright 26
SS Elvis Andrus 16
2B/SS Danny Espinosa 3
1B/3B Paul Goldschmidt 2
OF Jacoby Ellsbury 38
OF Ryan Braun 42
OF Logan Morrison 6
OF Peter Bourjos 1
OF Yoenis Cespedes 1
UTIL Gordon Beckham 1
P Cole Hamels 20
P Stephen Strasburg 14
P Ubaldo Jimenez 10
P Gio Gonzalez 9
P Jason Motte 7
P Matt Thornton 1
P Vance Worley 1
P Brad Peacock 1
P Jonathon Niese 1
BE Justin Morneau 1
BE Jonny Venters 1
BE Danny Valencia 1
Please note that the ESPN tool was being funky as Rick James joint towards the end, so much so that I never even got to nominate my last two picks. That’s how I ended up with Beckham and Valencia… would not have been my choices, but these things happen.
I’m thoroughly enjoying the iPad spreadsheet app that I’ve made. It has made drafting so much smoother and less hectic. Following the Pitcher Pairings is a breeze, simply jumping to another tab to see who’s left by position is incredibly helpful, and so is being able to do the same with closers. If you have an iPad, I highly recommend dropping the $9.99 for Numbers and getting this spreadsheet from me… especially if you are doing an auction draft (I haven’t tried it with a snake draft yet, but I think I’ll do a mock tonight).
@Awesomus Maximus, Is this Numbers app thing something we should offer in your APPLES post? Not sure how much I love Bourjos and Andrus and Ellsbury. Once you had Ellsbury, I would’ve been fine with guys that only give 10 to 15 steals like Wright and Braun. Do think your pitching is solid and the team would be competitive overall.
@Grey, I agree. I was angling for different OFs to finish with, but I got caught being auction-broke when all the good picks were getting snatched up. By the time I was able to buy someone, there was a pretty big drop off in talent between Bourjos and the next guys. I tend to look at SB the same as Saves… where you can always trade them to teams who forgot to draft them.
Between my… five posts in the comments and my post on the forums, only one person has asked to see the spreadsheet (Steve). I don’t think you have many iPad owners out there. Could be wrong… perhaps a line about the Numbers spreadsheet could be added to the APPLES post to gauge interest. Let me know.
@Awesomus Maximus, I find steals are the opposite of saves after drafting. No one wants to trade for them. Gotcha on the iPad spreadsheet. If you want to send me a line to add, I will otherwise I’ll just let it go…
@Grey, You’re probably right. I know I’ve felt that way about SB forever, but I can’t think of actually making a trade based on them.
@Awesomus Maximus: I think you’re massively short on power.
@McBainus, Massively? We must have differing opinions on how much power certain players are bringing to the plate this season.
12 Team, 5×5 scoring, 4 OF and CI. We’re allowed 6 keepers, no penalties.
Keepers:
Tulowitzki
Pedroia
Kershaw
Bruce
I need two more from:
Napoli
Alex Gordon
Morse
Shin Soo-Choo
I’m worried about not having a good 1B/3B/CI spot in my top six players, so I was leaning towards Morse as one. I am also worried about Napoli’s health, Gordon not living up to last year’s performance, and Choo not bouncing back from a terrible year. Any advice? Thanks
@Steve, Morse, Gordon….
^ Hopes Desmond Jennings breaks both ankles in a sack racing accident.
sexy names grey, whats a max on your team you’d draft? ONE? til the later rounds anyways….
My thing is you take too many sexy names, lets say 4, and 2 don’t pan out…. even if 2 do, you’re screwed? I mean if you love Brett Lawrie, GO FOR IT, if you think STRAS k’s 15 per game, TAKE HIM! but drafting, lawrie, jennings, stras and matt moore? You might be setting yourself up for an epic fail….
Don’t get caught up in all the hype?
@Tony, One or two, depends on who they are though… No, don’t get caught in the hype, for sure.
@Grey, Can I get a little caught up in they hype? Please . . .
Does this advice change for Keeper leagues? What if I want Harper, Trout, Jennings, Hosmer, and Lawrie on my team? (Unrealistic, I know, but I can dream, right?).
I love these MLB Network top 10 lists at each position – they just did right fielders and put Beltran at #4 and Swish at #7. I guess Bruce isn’t a “sexy” name to them cause he didn’t make the list.
@Big Magoo, Maybe you were watching MLB Classic…
@Grey, Ha! Nope – 2012 rankings. Ichiro goes from #1 last year to unranked and they leave Bruce off too. I guess the MLB guys are just as knee-jerk with their rankings as the ESPN fantasy staff.
@Big Magoo, Ichiro was number one last year? Wow…
@Grey,
ichiro was projected as the #1 right-fielder , at the start of the
2011 season .
they also consider defense in their calculations , as it is strictly
a WAR based assessment .
bautista topped the list , at season’s end with a WAR of 8.5 games ,
i believe .
@chata, Yeah, they factor in defensive range, arm strength, ability to hit for power and average, base running ability, etc. I just found it funny that guys like Beltran and Swisher were deemed more valuable than Bruce and Ichiro in either fantasy or reality.
@Grey, I should clarify, these aren’t fantasy rankings, just overall player rankings…
@Big Magoo, Ah… Gotcha
@grey
Roto league:
5 keeper league: I have Miggy, Beltre, Hanley, Berkman and Lincecum as my keepers.
With my first pick overall should I take Votto, Tulo or Upton?
@MdC, Upton
@MdC,
not Grey , here .
take tulo .
you’re going to need a SS ,
and will probably be dropping berkman .
Napoli or Jennings as my 5th keeper? Already have J. Upton, Bautista, Longoria, and Fielder.
@chuck96, Jennings
Heyward, Choo and an 8th round pick for
McCutchen
who wins?
@royce?, McCutchen
@royce?, royce!
haha this article is hilarious! nice work!
I am in a 12 team, 10 keeper, head to head league
my roster is sexy and i know it
Hosmer
Cano
Castro
R.Zimmerman
McCutchen
Stanton, ohhh yeahhhh
Bryce (Is he gonna make the roster?)
Lincecum
Matt Moore
King Felix
So I need to draft a Catcher, a UTIL, 2 Sp’s and 2 Rp’s to fill out my starting roster. Made some deals last year and I have the first 2 picks of the draft. These are the players I’m thinking of drafting: Weiters, Jesus Montero, Michael Young, Matt Latos, Yu Darviish, Garza, also pretty much every closer except kimbrel will be available. What do you think do I grab young pitching or lock up my Catcher and UTIL spots? Is Jesus better than Matt??
Appreciate any insight! Thanks!
@begs, Thanks! Bryce: http://razzball.com/bryce-harper-2012-fantasy-sleeper/ I’d take a hitter… Wieters… Your pitching’s pretty strong already.
5th round of a 10 team H2H league…no SS or 2B drafted yet…both Andrus and Uggla are still available…I know you have Uggla ranked higher but, with position depth in consideration, who would you take there, or would you hold off for someone else on those positions at that point? Thanks Grey!
@B.o.B., Andrus for speed and Uggla for power… I have no idea who you’d be holding off for…
In my keeper league I’m not bisexy (2 keepers) but trisexy with Hosmer, Lawrie and Beachy. Could I be Quadsexy by adding Hudson or is not sexy anymore.
@WallyCleaver, He’s sexy, not as sexy as those other guys.
Just saw Salvatore Perez got a huge extension from the Royals. 5 years. Apparently, they think he is sexy as in Ben Kingsley Sexy Beast sexy.
@WallyCleaver, That was their huge announcement? Yawn.
@Grey,
“Desmond Jennings is hope dancing in stiletto heels.”
Yeah, but what is Desmond Tutu?…………
@BigFatHippo, Not sure if he can get his size 15′s in stilettos…
@Grey,
But can Desmond Jennings fit in a tutu?
Man, I’m just ready for baseball………….
@BigFatHippo, The World Series team usually has a ton of expectations, but I feel like your Cards weren’t expected to win it and still got dismantled so now really no one is picking them…
@Grey, That’s just the way we like it Grey. And the only dismantling going on is that one guy leaving for that other team out your way……………Go west young Dominican?
@BigFatHippo, Yeah, pretty big one guy. Though you have Waino returning, supposedly. Any word out of The Bootheel about him?
@Grey, Word out of St Louis is he’s ahead of schedule, though they will limit his work early on.
Word out of the bootheel is “Hay ya’ll, watch this!”
@BigFatHippo, That’s a rednecks dying words btw.
@BigFatHippo, Ha!
@BigFatHippo, Hey, Chet’s got an app for football, why no app for you?
@BigFatHippo, I had someone making one for us at one point but they flaked. I’m on it for this year.
@Grey, Sweet, let me know
Drew Stubbs is the Jennings before pic…
Drew Stubbs is the Jennings before pic…
@Wake Up, I’d take that after pic too then…
@Grey, sorry about the up q…the after pic is always much more sexy isn’t it?
@Wake Up, Invariably sexier…
@Grey, True. But Stubbs has her masters.
Point Shares not so hot on Longo and McCutch, eh?
But, big on BJs and Johnson…and closers and Javier Vazquez?
@Wake Up, Yeah, I told Rudy to remove Vazquez but he doesn’t listen sometimes. Will remind him. The closers thing always trips me up too, but it’s how the numbers play out.
Hey Grey, off topic to this article, but i have my draft tomorrow, and from what I’ve gathered from my leaguemates it looks like Longoria will be available to me 10th pick in 10 team league.. Love your site and im trusting your opinion and picking him.. my question is who would you pair him with? Seems like five 1st baseman are going to go so i won’t even be left with Prince.. im looking at Ellsbury, Hanley, Justin Upton.. Whatcha think?
@Vin, Upton
“Desmond Jennings is hope dancing in stiletto heels.”
Weird, I could have sworn that was Mike Stanton.
@Fugate, It could be.
Hey Grey, just wondering if I could get your input on my keepers.
12 team league, 6×6 with OBP and QS added. 6 keepers allowed, no penalties.
I’m keeping Jusin Upton, CarGo, McCutchen, Pedroia, and Wright.
I have Bumgarner and Konerko. Would it be worth keeping Bumgarner as my one pitcher keeper or should I go all out and just keep Konerko?
@Swanky, Bum
First real draft this year. 11 teams (didn’t fill) 2 catchers. At the turn:
Votto
Cargo
Zimm
Cruz
McCann
Hosmer
Latos
Kendrick
Hudson
Stubbs
Zimm
J Montero
LoMo
Madson
Anibal
Espinosa
Street
Cozart
Chacin
Perez
Fister
Cain
Minor
Baker
Peacock
Reed
DLR
Ianetta
@Terrence Mann, Overall it looks solid, a little scattered at the end. Not sure I like the idea of two Rockie pitchers, especially not one coming back from TJ surgery.
@Grey, Thank you, sir. I’m kinda worried about average with Stubbs, Cozart, and Espinosa.
By the time the 27th round came along, I was hammered. DLR was at the top of the queue and it was him or Livan Hernandez.
@Grey, ten team league, three keepers, mostly savvy owners. i’m keeping cargo and bruce for a 9th and 10th round penalty respectively; i’m waffling over jennings, pence at the 11th round or weaver at the 6th… its a snake draft, and i expect i will be able to get jennings in the 8th if all goes right. thoughts?
@ivebeenupthreedaysstraight, Weaver, unless it’s a 5 OF league. Then Jennings…
@Grey, what’d the leper say to the prostitute? keep the tip! hahaha. the joke doesn’t exactly encompass my sentiments here, because i do actually appreciate the advice. and i’ll be the one keeping that tip, thank you very much. the next question is whether that makes me a leper… bah! looking forward to another season of hilarity at razzball, tip or no tip.*
* in phoenix, arizona, ryan braun quietly whimpers to himself as he gazes at at an exotic collection of topical cremes…
@ivebeenupthreedaysstraight, Ha! Nice…
My Granderson for his Lawrie, keeper, nobrainer, correct?
@bazzrall, Sounds good…
20 team keeper league.
something like 7×7 (obp, slug) (holds, QS,)
my keepers are reyes, mccutchen, stanton, verlander.
i have to keep 1 of these 2, Eric Hosmer or Yovanni Gallardo
help me out please
@Hans Hedamon, Hosmer
@Grey – can we make it a fantasy man-crush Mike Stanton gangbang? Many of us want in on that. Who’s with me?
@Hats For Bats, I’m in.
@Grey, My trapper keeper got Stanton in the 7th last year. Do I have any chance of getting him in the 3rd or later in a 12 team redraft league? And I’m assuming if I do grab him, I pair him with a top 3 3B or top 5 1B? Basically – Mike Stanton . . . discuss!
Grey or anyone else,
Having a tough time deciding who to keep. Would you keep Ellsbury for $26 or Lawrie for $6? At first I though Ellsbury, no brainer but as I think more about value, I think it might be better to hold onto Lawrie and just pay more for Ellsbury in the draft. What do you think? Already keeping Napoli for $2, Matt Moore for $2 and Ian Kennedy for $2. Thanks.
@jimmy, Lawrie
@Grey, Got a chub from hearing you say that. Lawrie is indeed oh so fine
Oh yea, OBP instead of AVG and QS instead of W
Grey, stop pretending you didn’t take that quote from the Taking Back Sunday demo. Beautiful Girls my arse.
@Grey, I’m in a 5×5 OPS league, 12 teams. Am I crazy to rank Stanton at around $30-32, about 12th overall? Basically one of the three or four most likely guys to hit 40 HRs and to match it with a .900 OPS instead of a .260 BA, plus non-zero SBs, makes him pretty damn sexy. Not to mention how having Reyes and Hanley ahead of him and a better LoMo behind him could jack up those R and RBI…
I’m in a 12 team ESPN format league with 2 keepers. I’ve got kemp, but my other one is either A-Rod, Holliday, or Weaver. Not much choice. I’ll have one of the first picks in the first round of the snake draft with some very sexy names on the board, but most are OF and none of them are 1b or 3b. Any suggestions?
So in my 3keeper league, im keeping Braun and Miggy …. for my 3rd, are you saying instead of keeping Uggla, I should keep Jennings? (10 team H2H points KEEPER league).
@Grey, with Brett Myers moving to the closer role, he’ll b the only closer with SP eligibility. With being able to slot him as a starter yet get saves from him, where do you value him?
**Take follow-ups for me to my newest post.