In opposite world, news that Andrew Bailey hurt himself comes as a complete shock. Here’s what I said in the top 20 closers for 2011 fantasy baseball, “Is it me or is this the news once a month for him, “Andrew Bailey has been cleared to start throwing.” Hey, Bailey, throw already!” And that’s me quoting me! Unfortunately, when Bailey is cleared to start throwing he leaves games with tightness in his forearm. Wouldn’t be surprised to hear Bailey will miss the season for more surgery as he’s off to see Dr. Freeze. Justin Duchscherer, Rich Harden and Andrew Bailey board your cross country flight, do you get off and wait for the next one knowing that something bad is bound to happen? I do. I take no pleasure in watching Bailey go down; less pleasure in watching Balfour or Fuentes take over. In leagues where we had the option, we grabbed Fuentes because he has a lengthier closer resume, assuming the Sciosciapath isn’t listed as a reference. Fuentes could get 35 saves this year. Would surprise me as much as Bailey’s injury. Anyway, here’s some other news for fantasy baseball:
Neftali Feliz – Now he wants to be the starter. And I wanna be the King of Hawaii and wear a coconut bra. Things don’t always work out the way you want them. It’s worth grabbing Ogando or O’Day. Rudy thinks Ogando has better upside; I say O’Day is otay. You can go with this or you can go with that. The choice is yours.
Drew Storen – The Nats keep saying they want to go to a closer by committee. Which is nudge, nudge, wink, wink for, “Storen, pull away with the job!” Unfortunately, Storen’s nudge, nudge, wink, wink translator was locked up for being within 250 feet of a high school. If you have room, Clippard is a decent handcuff.
Casey Blake – What, no more closing news? That’s some bullshizz! Blake has a sore back. He’s old; these things happen. He probably also wakes up 7 times a night to pee. You shouldn’t be drafting Blake anyway, unless your league has a rule that you must own one player with a wife killer surname.
Mike Morse – I write a post about how you should ignore spring training numbers on Friday then people get excited about Morse hitting five homers in nine games on Monday. Chris Shelton called, he wants his home runs back. If there’s any sort of blahtoon in the Nats outfield, Morse is sitting vs. righties. That kills his value. If Morse gets 550 ABs, he could hit 24 homers with no speed and a .280 average. But that ‘if’ has its own zoning project that is currently getting gentrified. In NL-Only leagues, I’d definitely own him. In mixed leagues under 15 teams, you’re taking a flyer that is probably going to bore you.
Jason Heyward – Missed two games with back stiffness. Weird, I get stiffness when I watch him play. What, too much? Oh, sorry, Prudey McPrudestein. I’m not worried about Heyward. It’s spring training, players have nagging shizz that teams want to baby because these games mean nothing. He’s good, you’re good, we’re good.
Ian Stewart – About to return from a strained MCL. (A strained 1150? Doode, get out of the Middle Ages!) Stewart will DH out of the gate and then hit against righties once the season starts. I’m really starting to think Stewart’s not going to be a full-time player, which hurts his and Wigginton’s value. Really need one to get ghost chili hot and make the other obsolete.
Zach Duke – Broken hand, which gives Diamondback fans two months to enjoy a non-Zach Duke rotation. This leaves Armando Galarraga, Uncle Barry Enright and Aaron Heilman set to go into the Octagon for the final rotation spots with Heilman probably getting eye gouged.
Johan Santana – Someone in the always-entertaining Mets organization said Johan won’t pitch this year. Johan said someone in the Mets organization is lying. I believe Johan, but that still doesn’t mean he’s pitching this year. If he has one setback and the Mets do their usual Mr. Bungle in the NL East, there’s no rush to bring him back.
Chris Dickerson – Left the game after running into the now-slimmed down Sandoval. This is like when George “The Animal” Steele used to chew off the turnbuckle. Don’t run into Sandoval without the padding!
Nice to see Braun was back in the lineup today after straining his McRibs™.
The A’s could fill an apartment complex in Birmingham with just pitchers that they send to Dr. Freeze each year.
Watching Balfour’s face get more and more purple in high-pressure situations could be one of the highlights of the season.
BTW – if anyone wants the Razzball Tiers (with the Top 300 at no extra charge) as an Excel file, shoot me an email at sglyonatgmaildotcom.
trade help please, h2h 14 team league..
i trade CJ Wilson and Espinosa for Gordon Beckham, Delmon Young and Jesus Montero
Beckham would be my starting 2b i do have Lawrie in my Minors slot, and Young would also help me at OF as I’m weak there…
thanks!
@Grey: Thoughts on Pineda this year? Looks like he’s going to make the big club out of the gate? Could be a real nice pickup with that awesome K/BB rate last year. Do you like him as much as you like Minor this year?
Grey,
Should we be concerned with Wandy’s tendinitis even though it’s not in his throwing shoulder?
@Grey You must be getting tired of all this mock shizz. We do what we do or should I say how did we do? 10 team roto (candy store draft)! Thanks!
C Santana R18 P1
1B A Gonz R1 P10
2B A Hill R11 P10
SS Alexei R9 P10
3B Wright R2 P1
OF McCutcheon R3 P10
OF J Upside R4 P1
OF J Heyward R5 P10
UT J Bruce R7 P10
UT H Pence R8 P1
SP Y Gallardo R6 P1
SP Scherzer R10 P1
P Oswalt R12 P1
P Bumgarner R13 P10
P Sanchez R17 P10
P Chacin R19 P10
RP Axford R15 P10
RP Kimbrel R16 P1
BN Thornton R20 P1
BN Minor R21 P10
BN Stauffer R22 P1
BN Volquez R23 P10
BN B Gardner R14 P1
In addition, would you drop Big Z for Pineda? There are rumblings that they’re going to keep him as the 5th starter assuming he doesn’t bomb the rest of spring training.
Grey, what are your thoughts on Moustakas? Any chance he makes the team out of the gate, or are the Royals set on sending him down until June 1? Do you still think he warrants a valuable bench spot if he’s sent down, given his position and potential?
Moustakas – Royals or AAA to start the year? Worth a valuable bench spot if he starts in AAA, given his position and potential?
Where is the challenge in these 10 team leagues? Every team looks like an all-star squad. That being said, nice team Howard.
@Howard Killer offense! C. Santana in round 18? Typical retarded chimp draft when you see the Pence in round 8 kind of stuff. If only picking lotto numbers could be that easy. I only see Whip issues for you and probably not a team that will compete for the top ERA. I think the Gallardo thing is the only Grey recommendation I 100% disagree with. The reasoning is that nearly all his sleeper SPs are risky whip high-K guys too. How many K-guys do we really need when we’re targeting the Scherzer, Gio, Volquez, Minor types later on? I say, get those sleepers later on, there are tons of them, but grab a whip anchor first. Otherwise, nicely done.
Apparently my boy Matt Cain had an MRI on his elbow about 10 days ago. Only ESPN picked up on it. Elbow discomfort, any reason for concern?
Still a few spots left for some Razzballers in our Yahoo 5×5 12 man.
League Name: The Goobers
League #: 152352
League Password: Rocket
Serious Only Please!
Draft tonight!
Grey-
OBP and XBH added categories to my league – obviously you would do your best to have none of these guys as your starting 1bs, but in a vacuum, who gets the nod and in what order?
Ganchez (Gaby Sanchez), Freddie Freeman, Matt LaPorta or Garrett Jones
@Grey Here’s my 16-team Keeper auction results. Came in at about 1,030 R/ 260 HR/ 1,030 rbi/ 165 SB/ .273 avg and 3.63 ERA/ 1.23 Whip/ 1,300+ K’s through the War Room. Give it to me straight:
Iannetta $3
Teix $35
Phillips $23
Alvarez (Sandoval’s Biggie-me) (Kept at $1)
Jeter $23
Aviles $4
Adam LaRoche $8
CarGo (Kept at $15)
Krispie (Kept at $2)
JUpside $29
Adam Jones $19
Dom Brown/Ben Francisco $1 each
LCain $1
Verlander $27
Haren $24
Volquez $13
DHudson (Kept at $1)
ESantana $8 (not thrilled about this one)
Minor $1
Putz $7
Benoit $4
Motte $1
(Also have Pineda, Coke, Duensing, RMartin and Daniel Murphy on the bench.)
trade help needed, h2h 14 team league
i trade CJ Wilson and Espinosa for Beckham, Delmon Young and Jesus Montero
Beckham would be my starting 2b i do have Lawrie in my Minors slot, and Young would also help me at OF as I’m weak there…
thanks!
@Grey: As I was telling Rudy yesterday, this site is great stuff– I’ve been playing for a long time and can’t believe I didn’t find you guys until this year.
I had my most competitive 12 team, 5×5 keeper league draft (with 2 starting UTIL and a 1400 IP cap) the other day and below are the results (the draft was a little early this year, unfortunately). Do you think any categories need work and/or any trades/FA pickups are in order?
C: Napoli
1B: Miggy (K)
2B: Cano (K)
SS: Alcides
3B: Wright (K)
OF1: Braun (K)
OF2: Span
OF3: Bay
Util1: Lind
Util2: Tabata
Bench: Man-Ram
SP1: J. Johnson
SP2: Hamels
SP3: Oswalt
SP4: Lilly
SP5: De La Rosa
SP6: Vazquez
Bench SP7: Minor
CL1: Putz
CL2: Axford
CL3: Thornton
Offensively, I worry about my depth behind my stud keepers. Napoli/Lind/Bay all make me feel a little uneasy as my secondary line of power production. Also, Alcides/Span/Tabata are a pretty big power drain, even though I like them all and need their steals.
I love the staff. WHIP is usually very competitive in my league, so I made an effort to focus on it as well as K’s (which should be OK despite the fact that I don’t have a 200+ K guy).
Any and all advice welcomed. Maybe a bat and starter for a bat 2-for-1 deal is something I should look at (providing Minor makes the Bravo’s rotation)? Thanks in advance!
@Grey: O’Day was better against left handers last year than I imagine he’ll be in the future with his stuff. Two pitches fastball slider and the slider not that effective to lefties. They hit him at .250 in ’09 and I see that getting worse. “Show me a guy who can’t pitch a side and I’ll show you a guy who can’t pitch.” Paraphrasing Sandy Koufax. Hard to imagine he can be a regular closer.
Bailey one of my favorite A’s. Great temperment for a closer and four very good pitches. So frustrating to watch the A’s unable to stay healthy year in year out. On the plus side, Chris Carter hit a 1200 foot home run. Or so I hear.
@Grey:
10 team h2h 10×10, in the middle of the draft, here’s my team so far:
C:
1b: Cabrera
2b: Phillips
3b: Longo
SS: Andrus
CI: Fielder
MI:
OF: CarGo
OF: J. Upton
OF: Lind (of,1b)
OF:
UTL:
SP: Lincecum
SP: Jimenez
SP(x3):
RP (x4):
Bench (x7):
Best available with my next pick will be:
Utley, McCann, Krispie, Gallardo, M. Young, Rios, Ethier, Weaver, Hamels, Hill, Furcal, Haren.
What direction do you suggest I go?
Thanks.
Casey Blake is old, but he’s not the one who made a Dixieland pun!
“Music used to be good! Get off my lawn!”
McCann should of been gone by the 5th or 6th round. Gallardo, Weaver and Hammels should of been gone by the 8th round. Hill is going from the 11th through the 15th. I would take one of those pitchers or McCann.
Ogando, O’Day… ole!
A buddy said he had a Bhut Jolokia then couldn’t taste for like 3 days. That’s like owning a player once he gets that hot, then not wanting to look at how crummy his stat line is for the rest of the week.
@Mike of SCM: Thanks. We keep 7, and most of my keepers were late picks, so we’re only in the 4th right now.
@emporersmonkey: Ha
@Mr. T’s Schmohawk: Ha!
@Bill: Looks good for you.
@The Situation: I’ll write a post on him.
@Eddy: Hopefully it’s nothing.
@Howard: Everything looks fine, but the WHIP could be an issue.
@Eddy: Sure
@Matt: http://razzball.com/mike-moustakas-2011-fantasy-outlook/
@Cain Fan: He just pitched well yesterday, no?
@Dusty Baylor: That order
@Ron: You can see from the War room the results… Team looks okay, I don’t like Ervin, Jeter and Aviles… But they’re not the death of this team.
@The Situation: Thanks for the kind words! I’d worry too. Seems like you took the keepers then drafted all SPs for like three rounds. It hurt your outfield and the hitting after the keepers. Depends what kind of deal you can get to replace Bay or Span.
@OaktownSteve: Thanks for the heads up on Carter… Yeah, O’Day’s not terrific, but the not terrific guy sometimes becomes the closer. I still think it’s Feliz’s job.
@amscalone: McCann, Utley, Rios…
@royce!: Ha!
@Jake in Columbus: Nice
I’ll be taking Hanley #2 (out of 12) in my draft. 3 OF / 1 UTIL / no CI or MI. My worst case scenario – I miss out on the elite 1B and 3B options, and I’m left with guys like Hamilton, Kemp, the Adverb, Cruz, Pedroia, Lester, Upton, Mauer, etc at #23 and #26.
I don’t really want to double-up on OF so early, so do I grab Kemp and then reach for Dunn or Bautista? I’m not a fan of taking SP, C, or 2B that early when I’m confident that a combination of Kinsler/Phillips/Verlander/Haren/Weaver/Ubaldo will be around in the 4/5 round.
Thanks for any help.
@amscalone: i know its 10 teams but still how do you have miggy, longo, fielder, cargo and lincecum? thats 2-4 first rounders and a couple 2nd-3rd rounders depending how you view them. Was this a keeper league?
And how are all those guys still available? what the hell is everyone else drafting!?
Yahoo 12 team 5×5 (yes I grabbed Bailey…Doh!)
1. David Wright (NYM – 3B)
2. Mark Teixeira (NYY – 1B)
3. Justin Upton (Ari – OF)
4. Jason Heyward (Atl – OF)
5. Hunter Pence (Hou – OF)
6. Justin Morneau (Min – 1B)
7. B.J. Upton (TB – OF)
8. Roy Oswalt (Phi – SP)
9. Max Scherzer (Det – SP)
10. Chad Billingsley (LAD – SP)
11. Wandy Rodríguez (Hou – SP)
12. Andrew Bailey (Oak – RP)
13. Aaron Hill (Tor – 2B)
14. John Axford (Mil – RP)
15. Daniel Hudson (Ari – SP)
16. Adam Jones (Bal – OF)
17. Jorge Posada (NYY – C)
18. James Shields (TB – SP)
19. Alcides Escobar (KC – SS)
20. Frank Francisco (Tor – RP)
21. Tim Stauffer (SD – SP,RP)
22. Jonathon Niese (NYM – SP)
23. Edwin Jackson (CWS – SP)
Do you think Minor has the #5 spot wrapped up in Atlanta?
@tony: We keep 7, for 3 years max, improving 1 round each year. I kept CarGo (9th), Lincecum (11), Longoria (13), Upton (14), Lind (20), Jimenez (25). Then drafted Miggy, Fielder and Phillips in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd.
This is the last year I can keep lincecum, upton and longoria.
@tony: and andrus in the 4th.
Grrrrrrey!!
Tis the most wonderful time of the year… draft time!! I am so glad my wife and I chose NOT to get married in March….. I might be divorced….
Need a solid from you – starting in dynasty league that is drafting for the first time this year (I am sad to see you dont cover keeper ranks much here, and I am forced to read Tristan H Cock…roft’s post on keepers -man his parents hated him with that name-)
Not gonna bore you with all the particulars, but I believe the winning strategy in this league will be to utilize a handful of roster spots (stars n scrubs) for players on the cheap (under $10) with BIG upside over the next 3-5 years…. any suggestions?
More of a housekeeping question here –
What font does Razzball use? I love it, but Word tells me it’s Cambria and I thought that wasn’t “web-safe”.
Also, any chance we see an Alex Gordon post before Opening Day?
@Charles: http://razzball.com/2011-fantasy-baseball-draft-prep-pairings/
@Wake Up: Your team looks rock solid. I like your pitching, but I could see there being some issues with WHIP and some of your back end starters, though hopefully not.
@Bristol: Yup
@Dirty Jersey: Ha… I don’t agree. I’d draft the team just like I drafted any other league. Try to win this year and if you do you’ll automatically have keepers for next year.
@HldOnMgnolia: No on Gordon, not sure on the font. If you use Firebug for Firefox you should be able to figure it out.
Not sure how crazy I am about trading before the season starts….but I was offered a tempting deal.
I get: Jose tabata and Stephen drew
I give: dexter fowler and Rafael furcal and a 9th round pick
thoughts?
@cruisinkc: id do that…. fowler isn’t guaranteed pt, furcal will get hurt, whats a 9th round pick worth? are there keeps? i’d probably take it.
@Grey: I took Utley. Just felt like the place to take a chance. The thing that pushed me over the edge was the thought of him thriving on my one buddy’s team that I know would have taken him with one of his picks before it gets back to me. Just wouldn’t be able to live with that!
@cruisinkc: Agree with Tony.
@amscalone: That’s fine, could be a steal for you.
@Grey: I’m really getting tempted to draft Kershaw in the 3rd or 4th round in a 12 team head to head league. Is that going to completely throw off my team? I would likely end up with
Round 1 and 2: 1B and 3B
Round 3 and 4: OF and SP
Round 5 and 6: 2B
My core could be Votto, Zimmy, Heyward, Kershaw, Aaron Hill
Compared to Votto, Zimmy, Heyward, Kinsler, Liriano/YoGa
@Grey: That’s exactly what happened. I kept those 4 bats and then went on an SP run. I know SP is deep and power is not, but I liked JJ, Hamels and Oswalt more than Granderson and Chris Young (the only bats that I really would’ve considered because bats went fast and I didn’t pick until the 5th). What do you think about pursuing a BJ Upton deal? Maybe for Span and a starter? Don’t love BJ at all but he would be a power and steal upgrade over Span. Would my BA be able to withstand Napoli, Lind, Alcides, Upton? Any other ideas? What SP Out of those 3 plus Lilly, Vazquez, dlR, and Minor is most expendable in your opinion?
@SwaggerJackers: i’m contemplating the same thing, although i have a crew of guys i’m thinking of taking at my 3rd or 4th round pick. You’re thinking of taking HILL in the 5th or 6th? way to early imo…. wait til at least the 8th or 9th….. there’s much more safe, valuable options at that point!
Would you trade Lester for Howard? It seems like a no-brainer, but I’m worried it would hurt my pitching too much. My other starters are Kershaw, Marcum, Gio, Jhoulys, Dan Hudson, Volquez, and Kennedy. Thanks.
Hey y’all, what happened to the Disabled List Informer? He always gave great info on injuries and expert perspective. Is there anyone else that deserves to breath his air? I want to get a real perspective on the Utley injury
@Tony: Not necessarily Hill in the 5th but someone from the Hill/McGehee talent range would be my 2B drafted in the next couple rounds.
The question basically comes down to which is a bigger drop off:
Kershaw to Liriano
or
Kinsler to Hill
Knowing that I can grab a couple other picks before picking up Hill.
I really like the idea of a staff lead by Kershaw rather than Liriano or Gallardo.
@SwaggerJackers: don’t take hill in the 5th or 6th
@SwaggerJackers: Agree with Tony, that’s early for Hill. Unless it’s a 15 team league.
@The Situation: I’d do Span and a SP for Upton. Vazquez…
@Timequake: Yup
@cubbies299: He folded. I asked him to write for Razzball and he said he would, but we haven’t figured out what yet.
@SwaggerJackers: tbh i wouldn’t take kinsler either…too much injury risk. just take another OF bat or a 2nd stud SP if there is value there and wiat awhile on 2B. hill will be there around round 9 or 10 or maybe a little later, or you can just basically punt 2B (if you don’t have a MI spot) and just take beckham or walker or sean rod or kelly johnson or something way late.
@Grey: It’s only a 12 team league. But if I can get Hill a couple rounds later, would Kershaw in the 4th be an OK move?
@SwaggerJackers: depends on what other pitching is gone. if no other SPs have come off the board, you can wait if you want kershaw as your #1. if SPs are going fast, then jump on him if he’s your guy. in my drafts thus far, usually halladay goes in the 2nd round, then there is no more SPs taken until the end of the 3rd/early 4th, so you might be able to wait for the 5th round to take kershaw?
@SwaggerJackers: It’s only a round early, so it’s not terrible.
Great, what are your thoughts on Joel Peralta? Do you see him as second in line behind Farnsworth?
I currenlty have Octavio Dotel as one of my MR guys, but I’ve been hearing some good things about Peralta.
My league does count holds and saves. Knowing that, which guy would you prefer on your roster right now (to fill my 10th bench position)?
@The Vaporizers: Prefer Dotel.
@Grey: Haha. How about a medical analysis of Chase Utley’s knee, so I know if I can buy low! I don’t know much about runner’s knee, just that it doesn’t sound that bad. I’m kidding, but if he could, I’d be smitten
I’ve been offered a trade I think I should jump all over. 5X5 16 team league. That was a long ass draft! I would trade Tulo, Storen, and Stubbs for Marmol, Desmond and Bruce. My other RP would be Hanrahan who I have in the swing spot right now. Tons of K’s at RP. Like I said, I thonk I should jump before he changes his mind but a little feedback is always appreciated. Thanks guys.
Re: M. Morse — Does anyone remember how highly overrated S. Rod was last year? I think he and Morse may actually have simmer Springs (S. Rod’s 2010 v. Morse’s 2011).
@cubbies299: He’s going to do it.
@BEASTDOG: Don’t like it for you.
@bfadds: Yeah…
Got a couple small maneuvers I can make in my 12 team h2h 5×5. My lineup seems stacked but is lacking stolen bases, and Tabata just went on waivers. I am thinking of claiming him, but would have to drop Fernando Rodney or Fuentes. Do you like the swap, and which (potential) closer would you drop?
Also, am loving Mike Minor, thinking about dropping Ed Jax for the kid, just to see what he’s made of. I know your lovin Jackson, but this kid seems for real.
@Jared: Fuentes for Tabata… Do it. Go with Minor, it’s fine for upside purposes.
Grey’s response above kinda suggests it, but Bailey looks as though he might be OK. Dr Andrews says only a forearm strain, can throw when symptom-free.
No timetable for his return, however.
@Grey: Thanks for your input. I like the way you talk, ummh.
PS Beware the Hanson…mmmbop…
Billy Wagner – they are still drafting him in deep leagues and he just was traded for a good player in my 20 team dynasty league
what is up with this
@Steve: Thanks for the heads up!
@Wake Up: No problem.
@mr baseball: People not up on the 411.
The Black Sheep reference is prime example of why I keep hitting up Razzball this time of year.