Jarrod Saltalamacchia went fickin’ deep twice in the Red Sox win. That’s 4 HRs on the year. Where the fick did that #*?& come from? Well, he did have 16 HRs in only 386 ABs last year so it shouldn’t be that much of a g***d*mn surprise. Assuming this &*#*head stays healthy, he’s a solid bet for 20 HRs. Now that I’m done blowing smoke up his a$$, here’s the bad part. Salty’s batting average last year was .235 last year (a .288 OBP) driven by a 30% K rate. He’s only K’ing at a 20% rate right now which could get him in the .250 range but I fickin’ doubt he’ll keep that up. Consider him a tomato/tomahto with JP Arencibia and Russell Martin as a low-rung catcher solution in shallow leagues. In other news….
Santiago Casilla – It seems like the Giants closer job has been in auditions since Brian Wilson exited stage left. You’d have to think striking out Cozart-Stubbs-Votto to close out a one-run lead has got to help Casilla’s chances for the part. Now he just needs to grow out the beard.
Heath Bell - There are ugly blown saves where the closer gives up a handful of runs via hits. Those suck. But is there anything more infuriating as a fan or a fantasy owner when a closer does this: BB, Out, BB, BB, BB, Out, GW Single. He should have to pay Carlos Marmol or Mitch Williams royalties for that outing.
Jordan Walden - He finally gets his 2nd save opportunity of the year in the 19th game of the season and……he gets taken deep by BrAAAAndon AAAAllen. Things aren’t going so well in Los Angeheim – maybe Moreno should’ve loosened the purse strings and spent a few bucks in free agency to improve the team.
Huston Street - He finally gets his 2nd save opportunity of the year in the 19th game of the season and…..he gets the save. You can’t beat Huston Street – you can only hope he gets injured before the 3rd out.
Mark Trumbo - Another start in the OF for Trumbo and another good day at the plate with a double, HR and 2 RBI. He also managed no errors as the ground balls tend to be a little slower by the time they get to the outfielder. If you prefer pop music references to sarcasm, he prefers ‘Your Love’ over ‘Pop Goes The Weasel’.
Sean Marshall - Red fans are going to have a hard time forgetting Sean Marshall after being forced to watch the Giants deflower him with 3 earned runs. He’s safe for now because Dusty Baker prefers Chapman pitch between the starter and reliever as it reminds him of Cuban sandwiches.
Ricky Nolasco - Now that Nolasco has been spit out of the sleeper hype machine, he is proving to be a reliable 6th SP in shallow leagues. He’s now at 25 innings with a 3.20 ERA and about a 1.20 WHIP with 17 Ks. Doesn’t hurt he pitches at the Crayola Canyon half the time either.
Jay Bruce - Broke his 15 game HR drought with a 2-run HR as part of a 3-for-4 game. Now if he could only get Votto to switch some of his doubles (7) for HRs (1) – maybe Joey has to just let Bruce finish his advice on how many total bases he should aim for in his ABs – one, two…one, two, three, four!
Gaby Sanchez - HRs on the day after I dropped him from my HR-deprived RCL team for Addison Reed (my team has 5 more HRs than Kemp). He’s barely tolerable in deep leagues but doesn’t warrant ownership in shallow leagues given his home park and combo of middling average and power. Pretty first name though.
Matt Moore - Somewhat promising start at home against the (fallen) Angels – 5 2/3 IP, 2 ER, 6 K, 7 baserunners. His BBs have gone down by one each start from 5 to 2. Bet you he can’t run that streak to seven starts.
Eric Hosmer – Brutal day in the Royals win – 0-for-5 with 6 LOB. His AVG is now down to .211. I say all this not to depress Hosmer owners but to excite the rest of you who might be able to buy low. His BABIP is near .200 (as you may know by looking at our handy tool) – once that rebounds, you’re looking at a near .300 hitter with solid power and great speed for his position.
Danny Duffy - Getting skipped in the rotation due to elbow tightness and as a way to limit his innings this year. So anxious Huff on Wednesday….cautious Duffy on Thursday….I predict nauseous Plouffe on Friday.
Brandon Inge - Bad news for those of you in 36 team mixed leagues…The Tigers release Brandon Inge (didn’t they do that last year too). He’ll now focus his time on auditions for football movies and TV shows.
Edinson Volquez - 7 IP, 7 Ks, 1 ER and…wha?…1 BB? Volquez was an intriguing 5th/6th SP option because of his K potential and new home park. He’s had awful control for recent years and seems to chew through 100 pitches in 5 innings. If you do pick him up, here’s some advice. Don’t watch him. I’d say, “You’ll thank me” but if you watch him, you’ll just say “You were right” and if you don’t, you won’t know enough to thank me. Damn idioms.
Angel Pagan - The Theological Oxymoron delivered the big blow against Cincinnati with a 3-run HR in the 9th. The 3 HRs are nice but where’s the SBs (1 so far). Sometimes I want to hire Joe Pesci to inspire SAGNOFs to steal more – dance Spider dance!
Adam Jones - HR #6. Matt Temp is still alive. Too bad Nick Markakis is like Josh Hamiltoe.
Brian Matusz - Finally a decent start from Matusz (6 IP, 0 ER, 6 baserunners, 3 Ks). I’d totally pick him up….if he pitched in San Diego or Miami.
Charlie Furbush – Okay, this one is for AL-only and really deep leagues. Stash Furbush like you were picturing Grey in a 70′s porn movie of the same title. Seattle has three starters (Noesi, Beavan, Millwood) that are far from sure things. Furbush has shown 10+ K/9 rates in the minors and I think he gets next shot if/when one gets dropped from the rotation as 1) Eric Wedge doesn’t seem to like Iwakuma and 2) The Mariners don’t have any quality arms in AAA (their AA is AWESOME – you’ll be seeing Danny Hultzen and Tijuan Walker at some point this season.)
Philip Humber - 5 IP, 9 ER, 11 baserunners in a less than perfect follow-up to his perfect game. He was doing fine until he walked the first batter and was rusty pitching out of the stretch.
Kevin Youkilis – 3 for 4 with a grand slam. Valentine – you magnificent inspirer!
And, like Bobby Valentine exclaimed on one fateful day in Stamford, CT…..that’s a wrap!
Salty or pierzinski at C?
@Trick dad, AJ as long as he’s hitting in the first 6 lineup slots. Otherwise, Salty.
@Rudy Gamble, speaking of uninspiring catchers, do you prefer either of those guys over Doumit?
I totally feel your RCL team, I went 7 days without a HR in my cash league. Boy am I excited.
Looks like Ventura is aiming to be that prick manager that sticks his thumb in the eye of convential wisdom because he is just a little bit smarter and cooler than everyone else.
Is anyone more lost at the plate than Ike Davis right now? He is making Pujols’ start to the year look Kempian. Cut your mullet, shave your George Michael beard, become a man or at least something that resembles one. Oh yeah, each game he has homered in he happened to be on my bench. I want to see him engulfed by wasps.
@EmporersMonkey, 7 days w/o a HR – yowza. I don’t have any complaints on Ventura so far. The Santiago selection/devotion is a bit odd, though. His patience has to be running thin on Beckham and Morel too – both of whom probably are competing with Ike Davis for the title of ‘most lost at the plate’.
@Rudy Gamble,
When it comes to looking lost at the plate, Ryan Raburn has them all beat – and by a lot.
“once that rebounds” – about Hosmer. Get off the fence and make a prediction.
Hosmer will break out or sophomore slump.
@The Big Salad, Um, that was a prediction. I didn’t say IF he rebounds.
@Rudy Gamble, fwiw, Hosmer did crush a ball yesterday that died right at the wall. would have been a home run if it weren’t raining/humid.
You could not be more right on BBolKuez
@theguarantee, ha, thanks.
The Chapman as a Cuban sandwich line is gold. Very entertaining write up.
@Jef, gracias!
My catchers got off to god awful starts but suddenly Salty and Hundley have combined for 6 homers, which is the most homers from any one position… to make up for 0 from Stanton, the guy I was hoping for the most power from. He’s tolerable from the left side so if Shoppach will get almost all the ABs vs. LHPs, then Salt’s BA could end up respectable.
If Stanton doesn’t have a good game today vs. shitty Saunders, it’s time to bench him everyday until sign of life.
@papasmurf, i feel you w/ stanton. seems like a matter of time w/ him but i don’t see anything wrong w/ benching him at home until he snaps out of the funk. preferably in a daily change league b/c that could end up being a nasty sonovabench week
Cassilla or Street too much to give for Boesch? I need an OF in my 14 team league. could also try for victorino.
@schlitzy, Victorino would be a great deal. Boesch for Casilla seems like a fair deal.
Is giving Guerra and Cueto for Monterro too much?
@Shelley, i think so.
I should mention it’s Miguel Montero and not Jesus.
I should also mention I’m starting G. Soto at C. Deep bench, 12 teame H2H.
@Shelley, I don’t care much for Saves in H2H – prefer a lot of SPs for matchups. Cueto is an okay SP but nothing great. I could get behind this trade.
I’ll tell you this about Marshall’s blown save.
He was 0-2 on Pagan and threw a strike three fastball to him and nothing. I mean it could not have been more centered in the plate. But because the target was up high and the catcher had to come down for it, the umpire thought it was a low ball. It was incredibly frustrating. The SF broadcasters all conceded that he just got an extra strike.
Really stung when he hit the next breaking ball for the HR.
@Eddy, yep thats just like the foul ball that gets dropped for the 3rd out…. that always seems to turn into a Double off the wall and the inning continues.
@Eddy, Yup, I was listening to it and had Gamecast up, check out the screen shot I grabbed of that pitch: http://tinyurl.com/bvbc4wy
Pretty horendous, it doesn’t get much more down the middle. I was listening to the CIN feed and they flipped out. (You might need to hit refresh to get that pic to show up, FYI)
@MattTruss223, Awesome screenshot. I watched the highlights a couple times and they never showed that 0-2 pitch. That reminds me of the time Tino Martinez hit a playoff grand slam after getting a gift ‘ball’ call against, I think, Mark Langston….
Similar bad break for Walden. Allen hit a monstrous pop-up in RF that Hunter misjudged and couldn’t get there in time. Bourjos or Trout could’ve circled the globe and still got to it.
@MattTruss223, Ugh, just horrible.
@Eddy, tough break, but it happens to everyone. Can’t really blame the ump for Marshall then serving up a dinger to Angel Pagan. I mean, Angel Pagan… really? That’s a bad pitch.
I have been offered the following trade:
Pablo Sandoval Ian Kinsler
Omar Infante for Dee Gordon
Bartolo Colon Henry Rod.
I do not need a SP and save guys are hard a premium so given that, is this a good trade take?
@Chubby, are you getting the Pablo side? If so, take it and run like the damn wind… Otherwise, tell the other guy to F off. The Pablo side wins by a landslide.
@Chubby, Read what Wilsonian wrote. I concur.
@Chubby,
keep Henry Rod ,
and offer him granderson , instead .
@chata, pablo/kinsler side is a monster winner, if you’re that side (since its kind of confusingly worded) then take it, if not do as Wilsonian said…
@Tony,
a) no confusion on my part ,
b) consider the question , as asked by the commenter ,
c) consider the level of expertise of the person offering the trade ,
and ,
d) do what’s right for the league , in order to maximize the enjoyment of all the participants .
unless , of course , the guy offering the trade was , in fact , doing
“d” (see above) .
maybe he , indeed , was just trying to make our commenter’s team
a bit more competitive and increase the enjoyment of HIS experience …. if , in fact , that is the case , then , perhaps , it IS i who is confused .
i just assumed that the guy offering the trade didn’t know what he was doing .
“assumed” being the key word , here .
@Chubby, Agree with everyone else here. Seems like a ridiculous trade as written.
@Rudy Gamble,
And everyone who has responded – thanks! The question did not come out in the format I had written so it is all f’d up.
I have been offered Sandoval, Infante and Colon
I give up Kinsler, Dee Gordon and H Rod.
I guess I should take this offer?
@Chubby,
in that case, i don’t like it for you
@farcus,
Thanks for your reply!
Good stuff, Rudy.
Who to start today? Need 2: Reimold, Cruz, Stanton, Schafer
Start Masterson today vs (Fallen) Angels?
@Turk Wendell, Cruz and Stanton
@Turk Wendell, Reimold and Cruz. I have Stanton sitting on the bench on one of my teams. Might as well wait until he gets going.
@Fuij (Fausto or Roberto? RCL), I’m the stubborn guy that refuses to bench my studs. If I drafted Stanton, I’m still running him out there.
@Turk Wendell, Cruz and Stanton. Stanton’s slumping but facing a weak lefty (Saunders) should help. Yes on Masterson in 14+ team leagues, no in 10-12.
how did I do on this trade? Was it crazy or did I do ok?
10 team roto keeper league. We can keep players for 3 years.
I traded Reyes (I can only keep him through next season) and Ubaldo
for
David Price and Rios
I will move Bonifacio into my SS spot. I can keep Price for the rest of this season and 3 more. Any thoughts?
@wctip, one other thought. I might be able to trade for Dee Gordon as backup SS option.
Should I trade Rasmus or Reimold for Gordon? Or just sit and wait. My OFer’s will be CarGo, Bruce, Heyward, Werth, Rios, Rasmus, and Reimold before the trade. We have 2 UTIL spots and 4 OF spots. I also have Headley and Uggla for UTIL spots
@wctip, i like it, 3 more yrs of price will be worth it, hopefully, reyes is gone after this yr for u, i say good deal, maybe coulda got more, but then again you cant look at straight up value when its keeper lgs.
@Tony, that was my thinking. I tried to trade Reyes straight up for Kershaw or Sabathia, but this guy can’t keep Price next season so he was more willing to make a trade. Any thoughts on my other SS idea?
@wctip, I like the trade. Price for Ubaldo feels like a big upgrade this year. Things are pointing in wrong direction for Reyes – not going to steal 40+ SB and that team isn’t scoring. Bonifacio at least gets you SBs. If you have him, why do you need Gordon?
@Rudy Gamble, good point on Gordon. I just don’t know about Rasmus and Reimold for the ROS. At least with Gordon I replace Reyes SB’s cheap and allow Bonifacio to be flexible for UTIL, 3B, OF, and SS. Can Reimold keep this up for ROS?
Salty or Soto?
LaHair or Laroche?
Youk or Moustakas?
@Mr. Rickey, Salty, LaRoche (by LaHair) , Youk (by a hair)
Votto or Hamitlon?
@anon, If you can guarantee equal health, Hamilton. W/o that guarantee, even for rest of year.
who do like better?
Bud Norris
Tommy Milone
Phil Hughes
Ross Detwiler
Randy Wolf
Carlos Marmol (hes a FA too, and id slide him in RP and switch Luebke to SP)
@moses, Milone
@moses, Sorry didnt see Marmol there. Marmol by far.
@moses, Marmol, assuming your league counts saves.
@Rudy Gamble,
yes. its a points league though, i should say that. saves = 4.5 points.
last years points in my league: marmol – 232.50, Norris – 228
for example.
Have tons of pitching need hitting. Do you like Gaby and Hamels for Prince?
@JustMatt, Absolutely!
@JustMatt, Yes. I’d take Prince.
Thanks, Rudy for an entertaining and informative column.
Question – should I get on the Wandwagon today against the Redlegs?
@Paulie Allnuts, Yw, Paulie! I can’t vote for Wandy @ Great American. Too much potential for a couple HRs.
Grey -
Rest of season:
J Montero vs. Avila
Gio vs. Haren
@Jason, I really, really like Gio ros.
@Jason, Montero, Gio.
Grey/Rudy,
Zack Cozart is someone we haven’t touched base on recently. He’s slowed down quite a bit ever since his hot first week.
Have we turned on him like Espinosa?
@Eddy, He’s Grey’s crush not mine so we’ll have to let Grey chime in once he’s back from mini-vacation. IMO, Cozart was fine as a late-round MI but has only moderate upside. .260/15/15 was his upside going into the year. I like that he’s been hitting 1st/2nd in the lineup as that’ll max his Run potential. I’d say he’s about even with Espinosa. I prefer someone with more AVG/SB upside like Weeks or Altuve (but they tended to get drafted earlier than Cozart)
volquez… sonuvabench. not sure why i did it, cuz he was playing at home. just thought washington was hot.
@The Talented Mr. Dope Man, Yeah, I hate having to make those calls. Try to keep it as simple as possible. Start Hodgepadres at home. If it makes you feel queasy, just drop them altogether.
Any thoughts on Drew Hutchison? What is his upside?
@Ralph, Hard to say. He doesn’t have much of a minor league track record – only three starts in AA (Hi, My name is Drew…) and none in AAA. Has shown really good control in the minors so his upside is something like a Leake or Milone. But it’s a tough transition as rookies who depend on control for success – see Slowey, Kevin. I’d give him a flier in 12-team AL and sit him against NYY, BOS, and TEX.
I’m starting Ike Davis right now at CI despite his low average… would you drop Bourjos for Chris Davis for the time-being, or is that an over-reaction? 10-team H2H keeper. Thanks, Rudy!
@Jon, Either Davis or Bourjos are pretty bad for 10-team. I like Ike more than the other two but giving Chris Davis a one-week run and losing Bourjos is worth a try.
@Rudy Gamble, yeah I’m only going through this because of injuries to Berkman and Zimmerman. I’m starting Hosmer at 1B and Lawrie at 3B right now so I’m not in terrible shape overall.
Bittersweet day for Tiger fans yesterday. Bitter because the team just got swept by the lowly Mariners. Sweet because finally CrInge is gone. No more .125 BA!
@frank rizzo, Ha!
Drop Norris for either Parker or J Hammels?
@Matt, Nope. I want to say Parker but Parker’s upside this year would seemingly be what Norris did last year.
Arrieta, Burnett, or Westbrook today for a streamers delight? Who ya picking?
@MrHappyTime, Arrietta I guess. But I suck at streaming (i’m the one who said “Sure, stream Wilk against Seattle…)
@MrHappyTime,
I’m goin with Arrieta in a few leagues…..his velocity is up, he’s been pitching well, and it’s today’s matchup is against the A’s. Seems like a decent bet for 7 IP, 1 ER, 6 K.
Still makes me a little nervous though. I just feel comfortable starting anyone from teams like BAL, PIT, and KC.
I pulled off the ultimate trade rape, and now the guys in my league are raising a stink saying it should be vetoed…your thoughts, is this trade veto-able?
I sent: Strasburg & Morales
I get: Pujols
@HotRod, If it’s a keeper league, not sure why anyone is raising a stink about it. Seems very fair.
Even if it’s not a keeper league, I think the trade is lopsided, but not veto-able. If you squint hard enough, you could make an argument for the other side. Pujol’s bad numbers aren’t entirely bad luck, as he’s swinging at more pitches outside the strike zone, and making worse contact on pitches he does hit. (There have been numerous articles about this. I think Fangraphs/Rotographs might have had one recently.) Also, if you believe Rizzo’s assertion that Stras. isn’t on an innings limit, the other guy just got a stud pitcher. And, if you believe Kendrys Morales is capable of producing at around 90% of how he did before he was injured (approx. .290 avg, 25 HRs) then the argument could be made for the trade.
I’d prefer the Pujols side, but you could make an argument for the other side. At the very least, I don’t believe it’s vetoable. It’s not like you got Pujols for Chris Davis and Ivan Nova.
@HotRod, It’s obviously better to be on the Pujols side. But as long as the other guy traded on good faith, should be fine. If you’re in a veto-happy league, best policy is to let other teams counter-offer for 24 hours after the trade.
@Rudy Gamble, you mean letting teams that aren’t involved in the trade be able to offer up trades for 24 hours after the trade is accepted? I kinda like that idea.
@MattTruss223,
I kinda hate that idea…, yeah, lets invite someone who wasnt involved in the party come in and over bid the original owner who made a proposal good enough to have the impatient Pujols owner pull the trigger…really a slap in the face to the pro-active owner who got a great deal.
Thanks everbody for the input.
@HotRod, Haha, fair enough. But if it’s the difference between the league being ruined by vetoes (which I’ve seen happen, before you know it no trades can go through because everyone is so bitter about the vetoing) or not, it could be worth considering.
For the record, I hate vetoing and would let your trade go through 100 times out of 100.
@MattTruss223, Yup, that’s the point. I’m free market and avoid vetos except in clear cases of collusion. Grey is in a keeper league with some dubious trading that I couldn’t swallow. It’s so easy to get into leagues that I’d just pick up and leave (after the season) any league that was more agita than it’s worth.
@HotRod,
Trade is pretty bogus, but if the other guy really needs an elite SP, I’d let it slide. Depends on his team.
But by your own admission, it was a “trade rape.” That alone makes it veto-considerable.
Dropped Delmon for Newenhuis last night… Delmon seemed to take it awfully hard.
http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/04/27/a-highly-intoxicated-delmon-young-arrested-charged-with-assault/
@royce!, You hurt his feelings!
@royce!, Wow, it was exactly 6 years after he threw a bat at an umpire…
thoughts on scherzer? thinking of swapping C.Lewis for him
@harrrr, I can see that.
@harrrr, I’d take Lewis.
“BB, Out, BB, BB, BB, Out, GW Single. He should have to pay Carlos Marmol or Mitch Williams royalties for that outing.”
A single tear runs cold and bitter down this nodding Cubs fan’s cheek.
@Eddie, *sniff* I just have something in my eye…
@Eddie, I met Mitch Williams when I was 10 years old at a card show. Dude was quite possibly the most personable baseball player I’ve ever seen (next to Thome, whom I also talked to at a card show, and thanked me for coming out to get his autograph – this was in his Indians days). But Wild Thing always holds a special place in this Cub fan’s heart.
@Eddie, Ha. Yeah, Mitch Williams seems like a good guy on the MLB Network. But jeez, amazing he was the focal point in a trade with the Rangers that sent over Palmeiro and Moyer. That’s a whole lotta WAR…
@Rudy Gamble, To be fair, Moyer missed a couple seasons in the early 90′s, so it’s unlikely the Cubs would have retained his rights anyway.
Did they have free agency when Moyer was in his 20′s?
No mention here of Carl Crawford…I have in a 12 team mixed. Ready to drop him as I’ve played this game before of waiting out injuries. Any word of what time span shorter than three months that is the early word here?
Gracias!
@The King is Dead, Can’t DL him?
@The King is Dead, No DL spot, we added one extra regular spot instead.
@The King is Dead, If it’s not a keeper league I’d say you can lose him. I can’t picture him doing much even when he gets back.
@The King is Dead, I’d lose him…
@The King is Dead,
worst baseball contract in history .
you don’t hear sawx fans bitching about jd drew anymore .
hell , they’ve almost forgotten about lackey’s contract .
Matt Moore is a buy low target, right? If I could trade a closer (Walden, League, Casilla, or Santaigo) for him, I should pull the trigger, right?
@Charles, I’d take Moore there…
Hey Rudy great recap! Cuban sandwiches, hehe. To me, it seems just as important to have a solid 8th inning guy as it is to have a solid 9th inning guy.
What do you think of Morales/Motte for Hosmer?? Enough?
@Chunk, I’d take Hosmer… Probably not enough, try it…
Which would you rather.
Weiters and Morneau or McCann and Hosmer?
@ritzer, Hosmer
@ritzer, McCann/Hosmer
Felix Doubront or Luke Hochevar as strikeout sp trade target in al-only league?
Related question: please rank de aza, boesch, torii hunter, colby rasmus
Thanks!
5×5 redraft btw
@Rafi, Luke…. Rasmus, Boesch…
To take the Oxymoron a step further…Angel is pronounced On-Hell…also it is rumored that he has freezer burn…even if he’s not a pimpled-pocked idiot…oxymoron, what a fun word…
@Wake Up, Ha!
3 Questions (semi-related):
1. I have Morse on my DL. Haven’t heard any news on him in a while, what’s his timetable?
2. Also own Crisp (backup OF at this point), who looks DL-bound. Him or Morse on DL?
3. If I keep Morse on DL (that’s what I’m leaning toward), hold Crisp too, or drop him for a different backup OF (Parra, Nieuwenhuis, Ibanez, Sweeney, Presley are the top available OF)?
Thanks!
@Mike, 1. Few weeks 2. Morse 3. Drop Crisp… Nieuwenhuis
“Stash Furbush like you were picturing Grey in a 70?s porn movie of the same title.”
Nice.
Hi Rudy,
Jose Altuve! Now that I have your attention … In a deep one-year roto league, who’d you rather have as a UTIL/1B/OF backup type between streaky Luke Scott and the resurgent Brandon Belt?
Same league, for a fifth starter, who’s best between Cahill, Detwiler, and Milone.
And the last one: for an infield plug in (the limits in this league create an incentive to have every position manned as often as possible), who do you like between Jed Lowrie, Eduardo Nunez, or Andino (who I assume will be back soon).
Unfortunately, the aforementioned Jose Altuve is taken.
Luke Scott. Tom Milone. Jed Lowrie.
When you have two of your SP’s facing each other should you start them both? Or just start the favorite? I’m in a points league 10 win, -10 loss, 1.5IP, 1 K, 1 GIDP, -.5 Walk or Hit allowed, -1 earned run.
@Stealing Jobu’s Rum, Both, but depends on who they are…
A guy in my roto league offered me A-Gon for J Upton yesterday. I turned him down because I already have Hosmer at 1B and want to see what Upton and Hosmer can do yet… was that dumb? Its a 5 OF league.
@zach, Nah, it’s fine…
JD Martinez or Cespedes?
5 x 5 roto
@EK, Cespedes
Well done Rudy. Who do you like more for a UTIL/Bench spot bat:
Reimold, Moose, Rios, JD, Choo, Lind, Reynolds, Aviles (while he’s hot), Encarnacion, Trumbo?
H, R, HR, RBI, SB, Avg., OBPS
*Currently have the Reimold.
@Wilsonian, Good question. I’d like to hear both G and R rank them.
@Wilsonian, OBPS? I like Choo – just wait until they decide if he has to be DL’d or not. Grey’s already pissed at me for investing so much in Choo on our teams – he’s not far removed from being a great 2nd OF – 20/20 with solid AVG/R/RBI.
@Rudy Gamble, OBPS = On Base Plus Sluggling Percentage. Yeah, I don’t mind the Choo-ster, but he hasn’t done a damn thing yet. And he actually cleared waivers and is an FA right now. I’m thinking about packaging Reimold and a pitcher for an upgrade and then I might snag him. Thanks!
Oh, that OPS.
Hey God!
Thanks for shouting out my town, Stamford CT!! I’ve met Bobby a bunch of times and he’s really not as big of a douche as he plays on TV! Actually a nice guy that enjoys getting wasted at fundraisers!
Side note,
Start Nova vs. Verlander?
–Weiters vs McCarthy or Aviles vs. Danks??
–Keep Tabata on the bench vs. Hanson or bench Schierholtz vs. Luebke after the 0for yesterday?
Should I even own Tabata? My outfield blows.
Thanks,
Adam
@Adam from Stamford, I’d sit Nova in most leagues… Wieters… Drop Tabata…
@Adam from Stamford, NP…i worked in Stamford for 9 months. Went to his sports bar there – it wasn’t bad. It competed at the time with one that Calhoun owned. Spotted him once at a Benihana-like restaurant there. It was pre-blog b/c now i’d totally say hi and ask him to do our podcast.
Reed, Robbie Ross, Pestano or Strop
I am trying to get good K’s some Saves and hopefully some W’s
Any thoughts on best 2 for ROS?
@wctip, Reed, Pestano…
@Grey, What about Juan Cruz? Still Reed and Pestano?
Yeah, same…
20-team H2H-POINTS keeper league w/$70 cap
Trade CC $8 and Duda $2 FOR MadBum $3 and CJ Wilson $4
Right now, my pitchers (start 5) are:
CC
Beachy
Matt Moore
Luebke
Nicasio
Samardzjia
Wade Miley
I give up a stud arm, but I save cap space and take on two potential studs with upside
@Commish Cauda, Looks solid.
You see anything wrong with Morrow? K-rate is way down…any reason to sell now while his ERA is in the 3′s?
@Chuck Norris, Depends what you’re selling him for… Seems to be pitching to contact more, which might not be a bad thing if he reduces his BBs.
Hey guys, just wanted to say first that I’m digging the podcast. Are we ever going to get the actual lyrics posted after people butchered them in your contest?
As for baseball, would you drop Goldschmidt or Espinosa for Boesch in a 12-team 5×5 mixed league? We have an IF slot rather than a CI/MI slot, which weighs in favor of not dropping them plus I’m not hurting at OF. On the other hand, both have been sucking badly, and I’ve also been using them interchangeably in the UTIL slot hoping for a turn-around.
@Art Vandelay, Ha… Thanks! I think we can release the lyrics at some point. Goldy…
@Grey, That’s be great, I always sing along and there’s just one line that I have to do the ‘ol hum through cuz I can’t make out for the life of me what the lyrics are. Such a kick ass intro tune.
Rudy wrote the lyrics…
@Art Vandelay, Here are the lyrics. Is it the Moises line you can’t pick up? I like how he prononces it like “you may pay yourself vs. pee yourself”…
If you like fantasy sports and sarcasm
Then this show might make your muscles start to spasm
It may even cause some of you to orgasm
It’s the Razzball podcast
You need fantasy help well you have several choices
Only one jokes and yelps in awful radio voices
You may pee yourself like your name was Moises
It’s the Razzball podcast
It’s the Razzball podcast
Get it while supplies’ll last
It’s the Razzball podcast
Get it soon, it’s going fast
It’s the Razzball podcast
@Rudy Gamble, Awesome, thanks Rudy! Yeah, the “awful radio voices” line and the “moises” lines I couldn’t pick up. Which is strange given the amount of time I’ve spent listening to punk rock singers trying to do the faux-nasal vocal style. Also, I can’t believe I totally forgot about that Moises Alou thing, which would’ve possibly made it easier. Shame on me.
Also, FWIW, I thought your joke about Ellsbury’s “batting shoulder” was hilarious. Grey was off-base on that one.
yeah, i was tempted not to reveal the lyrics to allow for interpretation but i was afraid of what our readers’ subconsciouses would fill in. One of the contestants in our ‘cover our theme’ contest had something akin to mouth rape in the lyrics. Yowzas.
Thanks on batting shoulder. Was a rare time I pulled the ‘Letterman’ and called back a joke that didn’t go over well the first time. I’ll probably keep doing it just to annoy Grey and Nick.
@Rudy Gamble, If I recall correctly, I think they said “Gonna shove it your mouth, still you start to spasm,” or something like that.
I also like the Canadian-centric turn the podcast has taken. Not that I’m Canadian (New Yorker), I just find the idea of Razzball taking Canada by storm amusing. I guess I just find Canadians amusing in general.
@Rudy Gamble, oooooh, “Only one jokes and yelps in awful radio voices”. Now it makes sense.
For the record I like your radio voices.
We’ve sounded better than we expected. Must be that our studio guys are better than those on podcasts we’ve guested. Glad my 2-week stay at the James Earl Jones voiceover sleepaway camp worked out.
God,
Sorry, last one.
Aviles is HOT right now, or so it seems… Would you start:
Aviles @ CWS (Danks)?
Ian Desmond @ LAD (Kershaw)?
Thanks
@Adam from Stamford, Aviles
Good god. Pianowski traded Andrus for Aviles, and he’s one of the better ones amongst a mostly clueless bunch of analysts. World gone mad. (just a quick shout out that the anorexic dork that is Salfino strikes bitter blow to a fantasy world striving to shed its nerd tag!)
Ha… Maybe he needed six extra homers… Not sure…
@Eng, Pianowski is decisive on trades. I see his line of thinking b/c Andrus doesn’t seem to be stealing much. He trades us Gardner for Seth Smith last year which worked out in our favor…
12 team h2h mixed
konerko for d. gordon & schafer, which side?
Depends what you’re doing for 1B when Konerko is gone…
@Grey, got hosmer, panda, swisher to cover that position, but I am stuck with the shit production of peralta right now and no great stolen base guys
Shields and Morrison for Bruce in a 10 team keeper. Sounds fair to me, no? His outfield is loaded and all I have is Hamilton and Pence, with Lomo and Presley sharing the third OF spot.
I’d want Bruce but fair…
Angel Pagan – The Theological Oxymoron
hahahaah !!
@and1mcgee,
Grey/Rudy/Razznation-
who wins or which side would you rather have if you think its fairly even?
A) Brandon Phillips, Cargo, Roy Halladay
B) Kinsler, Wainwright, Rios, Balfour
CarGo side
Hey Grey or Rudy. Would you please rank the following doo doo sandwich for me? I’m pretty desperate for a number 5. Buchholz, Milone or Nolasco? Thanks.
@Zeke, Milone
You’ll like this one Grey…
Morales or Trumbo ROS?
@Chunk, Kendrys
@Rudy Gamble / Grey
and everyone who has responded – thanks! The question did not come out in the format I had written so it is all f’d up.
I have been offered Sandoval, Infante and Colon
I give up Kinsler, Dee Gordon and H Rod.
I guess I should take this offer?
@Chubby, I don’t like it.
@Grey,
Thanks for the quick b’atcha!
I was/am kinda shakey on this trade too and don’t think I should make this deal.
Thanks!
MATT TEMP RETURNS. Looked like Krispie might steal the Matt Temp tag, but he’s already got a good nickname. He’s Krispie.
Which trade do you like better:
Give Altuve, get Boesch
or
Give B Phillips/M Montero, get Wieters/Boesch (keep Altuve)
@Baron Von Vulturewins, Wieters one…
H2H League (10 teams – RCL Roster Type)
Bat Stats: R,H,HR,RBI,SB,AVG,OBP,SLG
Bruce is 1/26 – yes, that’s 1 for 26 – vs. Wandy Rodriguez… with 13Ks!
Would you bench him tonight in favor of the likes of Rasmus and Dunn in a UTIL slot? Or have faith in his performance yesterday and roll with him tonight anyway?
@J-Birdis, I’d just play Bruce.
I give Votto and I get Hamels and Konerko. Yay or nay? My pitching is pretty wonky:
Romero, Wainwright, Zimermann, Latos, Cueto, Vogelsong, J.Parker
@Howie Met Your Mother, Not crazy about it, but it’s fair…
@Howie Met Your Mother, Not bad, I’d probably do it. Just know that Votto will go 3-5 with 2 HRs on the day the trade goes through.
Hola Grey -
Thoughts on this trade? 14 team, 6×6 (ops, holds) non-keeper league.
trade my: Pujols, Delmon Young, Scherzer and Ubaldo
receive his: Votto, Maybin, Lester
* I never over-react to slow starts (Votto isn’t really lighting the world on fire either), but I think its a pretty decent return given the circumstances. Think the key piece could be Lester. I’d probably pick up a 3b to fill for Zimm in short term and then turn that into another SP assuming Zimm returns soon thereafter.
Rest of my offense looks like this:
c – wieters
1b – pujols
2b – kipnis
3b – zimmerman
ss – alcides escobar
mi – aaron hill
ci- lind
of (4) – mccutchen, jennings, reimold, rios
util (2) – delmon young, ike davis
bench – mike morse
appreciate your take.
gracias.
@El Burro, I’d take Votto…
@Grey, good. validates my thinking too. thx
Howdy Grey and Rudy. What side of this trade do you like in our 12 Team 6X6 H2H Yahoo League with OPS and Holds:
Teixera, Jeter and Shields
or
Greinke, Haren and Perralta
Some pain in the ass in our league continues to hound certain Managers until they give in.
Thanks much guys.
hmm, seems kind of even. I prefer Tex-Jeter-Shields b/c I’m bearish on Haren this year (see risky pitcher post) and permanently bearish on Peralta.
Is Jeff Samardzija or Milone worth adding over: Duffy, Hochevar, Nicasio, or Floyd long term?
@Jobu’s Rum, I think they’re all around the same for long-term potential with Floyd having the longest track record. I think Duffy and Nicasio are the only ones with top 20 pitcher potential.
@Rudy Gamble, Thanks Rudy. I’m a big Cubs & Notre Dame fan so I picked up Samardzija and dropped Hochevar. I agree that they are both pretty similar but I feel Samardzija has more upside & more downside depending if he can get his splitfinger over.
Samardzjia looks great so far. My reservation on him is he’ll tire as the season goes on and hasn’t made it through the young pitcher gauntlet. But with that arm, maybe he should’ve QB’d instead of Brady Quinn. Reminds me of the story where Fighting Irish alumni Joe Theismann and Drew Pearson went to the same high school. Pearson was a Junior, Theismann a senior. Theismann broke the school record for passing throwing to Pearson. Pearson moved to QB the next year and broke Theismann’s record…
Soto just dropped in my 15 team league. Upgrade over Hundley?
@nightpandas, Nope.
Hello again gents. One more question for you.
I just added Kuble but should I drop him for one of the following:
Parra
Newenwhatthehell (Mets)
Joyce
Wells
Scheirholtz
Thanks again guys.
@Grey/Rudy: salty worth starting next week in weekly roto league over avila? avila is facing 4 lefties plus peavy. salty has 6 home games vs oak and bmore. make the move or ron pompeii that ish?
Eh, I’d just play Avila. I don’t like rostering two catchers. Prefer to take fliers on an OF, SP, or RP that might break out.
Have a crappy dilemma in my OF with Torres returning on Monday.
Stanton, Ethier, Bruce, Nieuwenhuis, Parra, Campana with Torres (DL)
Do I drop someone to bring back Torres or stick with this crew for now?
(12-Team NL Only Roto 5×5)
What kind of fantasy potential are we looking at for Kyle Drabek, assuming he really has put things together this year?
Drop Belt to claim K.Morales?
Try to buy low on Stanton by offering Boesch or hold?
howie K and ted lilly for Hosmer/Sale?
Which side?
Hosmer
I still hate joe Pesci for that…
ROSS OR CAMPANA?
WHICH PITCHER SHOULD I DROP? LILLY OR SCHERZER FOR WHICH ONE OF THESE FA. VOLQUEZ, MINOR, MILONE, NALOSCO, OR HARRISON.
THANKS!
NOW IM OFF TO HHH HOMERFREE PARK TO WATCH TWINKS V.S. ROYALS
easy there, Al Capps. Campana. I’d hold tight on SPs – no clear upgrade there. Have fun at HH Homerfree Retrodome!
Different things… If you need steals, Campana… Hold on the SPs…
Sending Matt Garza and Lucas Duda for Corey Hart and Coco Crisp. Do I make the deal?