Jason Bay has a strained intercostal, which is the highway that runs along Florida’s coast. Specifically, by Palm Beach where people are old and this strained whatever-the-shizz-is happens. If you were counting on a bounce back from J-Bay, you might want to count to yourself so you don’t annoy your cubicle neighbor. (Neighboricle? Who might’ve also been the person who lived next to that nice black lady in The Matrix.) These injuries tend to linger — see Braun, Ryan for further reading — and Bay already had Metco and age to deal with. I’m not optimistic about him being at full strength until May and even then I have my doubts about how much we’re gonna see from him. Rudy and I are betting Scott Hairston sees time in our deep leagues, but Duda could, as well. Though I wouldn’t Camptown Race to pick him up. Anyway, here’s what else is going on in fantasy baseball:
Edwin Encarnacion – Will start at 3rd base with Bautista moving to the outfield. Encarnacion is a Latin 28, and I have little faith in him hitting over .260 but he could hit 25 homers with everyday ABs. The only problem he seems to ever have is staying healthy. The way randoms come out of the woodwork to hit bombs in Toronto every year, I wouldn’t be surprised if this year it’s Edwin’s turn. Not saying he’s going to hit 50 homers like some schmohawk, but if he hit 30 homers in 500 ABs it wouldn’t surprise me.
Brian Wilson – Will miss a week. O, Sergio Romo, will see saves in his stead, man. For those who found us Googling “O + Steadman” — you’re at the totally wrong site and your spelling is off.
Juan Rivera – Hotel and Casino gets hurt a little with Bautista moving to right field. Rivera should see time at DH, but I imagine Lind, Snider or Arencibia could also see some time at DH. Frankly, that team has 7 of one player, then 2 of another player (Pods, Rajai).
Ian Stewart – Sounds like Stewart will open the season on DL. Or if Sean Connery is reading this, “Ee-yan Shtewart is hurting. Wigginshton is the man now, dog.”
Mark Trumbo – The Sciosciapath said Trumbo won’t be an everyday player. I’d still own him in most leagues if you have room on your bench. It’s worth a few day flyer to see if he hits his way into the everyday lineup. By next Monday, you drop him if he’s not doing anything. No harm, no foul.
Stephen Drew – Had an MRI for abdominal pain, might land on the DL. Did you know Grey can’t have an MRI because he has metal plates in his head from one of the few amusing anecdotes that didn’t make it into the (e)book? Did you also know Grey likes to talk about himself in third person?
Mike Napoli – I might put a moratorium on Napoli questions. He isn’t going to start every day this year. He hasn’t started the last three years and he has 20 homers in each season. That’s why there’s the Ron Popeil School of Catcher Management. You set him and you forget him.
J.A. Happ – Out with an oblique injury. Vague! You shouldn’t have owned him anyway so maybe that pressure is why he got hurt. You better send him a Get Well card.
Jarrod Dyson – Backup/bench option for the Royals that could have value because of his speed — SAGNOF! — if the Royals are hit by injuries. See, Dyson is specially engineered for speed. Most runners move only one leg at a time when they run but Jarrod Dyson moves both in a centrifugal motion that reduces friction and removes all the dirt from the infield.
Brad Lidge – Out with a partially torn rotator cuff. He’s saying back by June, wouldn’t be surprised if we don’t see him until August. Madson is a Cuddle Boy, and Charlie Manuel don’t like no Cuddle Boys, so he’s saying Contreras will close. I really don’t think it’s going to be this clear cut. Madson will get some saves, but for now Contreras is the main pick up.
Drew Storen – Has all but lost the Nats closer job, but, since Sean Burnett is the favorite for saves, I wouldn’t drop Storen.
Ronny Paulino – May hit the DL with stomach issues. Hey, now the Yanks and Mets both have colon problems.
better bet for saves Farnsworth or Burnett?
Aaaah, much better than my “Dyson sucks” joke.
the only way that you could have known that old song is if your family sang in the car , when going on vacations .
Grey — I already have Morneau and Smoak at 1B but am integued by Trombo. Is he worth a flier even with two 1B already on the roster? I’d drop either Cantu (I’m hoping for another hot April from him) or Casilla (I’m hoping for a couple of saves while Wilson is out).
This is a 20-team roto league, no keepers.
@DrEasy: He’s a rare thing – a Dyson that needs bags to make him worthwhile.
@Grey:
Just drafted, 6×6 (add total bases and quality starts) 8 team H2H money league: ( I asked you about this yesterday but this is how the draft actually came out, thoughts?)
C- Joe Mauer (Fell to 54, had to take him)
1B- Miguel Cabrera
2B- Dustin Pedroia
SS- Nishioka
3B- Mark Reynolds
CI- Mark Teixeria
MI- Brian Roberts
OF- Andre Eitheir
OF- Chris Young
OF- Nick Markakis
OF- Curtis Granderson
OF- Adam Lind
UTL- Prince Fielder
UTL- Adam Dunn
I feel a little weak in runs but then again i have a couple possible 100 run guys in Cabrera, Teix, Pedroia, etc. Do i need to trade for more runs?
SP- Billingsley, Wandy
P- Dempster, Sanchez, Lilly, Perez, Thornton
RP- Marmol, Soria, Perez, Thornton
BN- Kennedy, De La Rosa, Lackey, Lewis, Meyers
My strategy was to dominate HR’s, RBI’s, Total Bases, and Runs while ignoring but not punting average and punting steals.
For pitching i will use my 5 streams per week, and my bench of pitchers to win Wins, K’s, and QS’s while using 4 good to elite closers to nail down saves.
Winning 8-4 every week and occasionally winning average.
Did i pull it off?
Who would your rather roster? Mitch Moreland, Tyler Colvin or Will Venable?
@Grey: Thoughts on Erik Bedard for 2011? Is he worth a flier over Jonathan Niese, Brandon Beachy, or Dice-K?
Grey,
I added Bay late in my draft and now I’m thinking dump him and add Venable. Good move?
@william i’d say beachy is multiple tiers above that crew in terms of upside fliers
@grey, do you think mcgee closes for the rays or will maddon find a way to screw another young player out of PT?
Mike Scioscia would have platooned Ken Griffey Jr. until he “paid his dues” for at least 5 seasons. What an ass. Why yes, I did just draft Trumbo in an auction league, why do you ask?
Would you pick up Z. Braddock as your 5th reliever or Ty Wigginton as your backup 1b/2b?
@Grey, @All – All thoughts are welcome on this team. 10 team H2H with OPS and QS. I felt like I got the ’05 All Stars on the cheap, but how worried should I be about the back end of my hitting? Thanks in advance.
C- Jorge Posada (19)
1B- Joey Votto (1)
2B- Brandon Philips (4)
3B- David Wright (2)
SS- Elvis Andrus (8)
OF- McCutchen (3), Pence (5), Granderson (11)
UTIL – Justin Morneau (6), Vlad Guerrero (14)
Bench – Manny Ramirez (17)
SP – Liriano (7), Haren (10), C-Bill$ (12), Gio Gonzalez (13), Tim Hudson (15), Daniel Hudson (18), Edinson Volquez (20), Ian Kennedy (22), Jordan Zimmermann (23)
RP- Joakim Soria (9), Craig Kimbrel (16), Leo Nunez (21)
Grey : Need to become a save vulture. Who is your most stable pick for the most saves right now with future opportunities considered as well?
Jonny Venters
(Atl – RP)
Koji Uehara
(Bal – RP)
Kyle Farnsworth
(TB – RP)
Jon Rauch
(Tor – RP)
Matt Capps
(Tor – RP)
Also, who do you like as a new starter to fill a DL spot?
Nolasco, Floyd, Cueto, Jurrjens, Lackey, CJ Wilson, D. Holland or Beachy?
Worth dropping a Farnsworth or a Chapman for a Burnett?
@Steve:
Well played.
Brignac or Sean Rodriguez?
Grey, (and anyone else that wants to chime in) Final roster decisions, who’s more valuable to have on a roster (head to head points league):
Daric Barton or Brandon Belt or Mark Trumbo
Jed Lowrie or (any of the above three)
Chris Johnson or Jose Lopez
Johnny Cueto or Javier Vazquez/Erik Bedard/Jorge De La Rosa/Tim Stauffer/Kyle McClellan/Michael Pineda
I bought a Dyson vacuum cleaner two years ago, the top of the line (purple) one. It seemed like a lot of money at the time, but I was sick of buying $200 vacuum cleaners every five years that (ironically) didn’t suck. The Dyson is the best damned vacuum cleaner I’ve ever owned, and I don’t care if James Dyson looks like some Eurotrash Sting wannabe.
Stephen Drew’s MRI came back negative. He’ll probably still go on the D.L. because neither he nor his sick-time abusing brother could play through a cold sore, let alone a legitimate injury. This bothers me because, as a scarcity play I kept that delicate little flower for $11 in my 14 team mixed league. At least I’m not surprised.
On a final note, Grey, I drafted in a ten team mixed league with a strategy based on the lessons I’ve (hopefully) learned from Razzball. The draft started in the 6th round, with owners keeping their top five players. Here’s how it all played out:
C) Kurt Suzuki (round #21)
1B) Adrian Gonzalez (kept)
2B) Dan Uggla (kept)
SS) Jimmy Rollins (round #7)
3B) David Wright (kept)
OF) Matt Kemp (kept)
OF) Jacoby Ellsbury (round #6)
OF) Adam Lind (round #12)
OF) Travis Snider (round #18)
Util) Ryan Zimmerman (kept)
SP) Francisco Liriano (round #8)
SP) Max Scherzer (round #9)
SP) Chad Billingsley (round #10)
SP) Daniel Hudson (round #11)
SP) Ricky Nolasco (round #14)
RP) Chris Perez (round #13)
RP) Jonathon Broxton (round #15)
B) Jordan Zimmerman (round #17)
B) Neil Walker (round #19)
B) Adam Jones (round #21)
B) Joel Hanrahan (round #20)
B) Brandon Beachy (round #22)
B) Adam Jones (round #23)
B) Michael Penada (round #24)
I’d appreciate it if you could critique this, and let me know how it might have veered from your drafting strategies.
Thanks for everything!
2 things…
1) Dyson helped me win my H2H league last year with his late season SAGNOF! So he’ll always have a place in my heart.
2) Would you snag Burnett over Romo, since his O Steadman might only be a week and Burnett’s might be a wee bit longer?
@Mr2Bits:
Burnett is also available for saves if that makes a difference in your preference.
Just drafted in my 8 team AL only league (H2H standard 5×5 cats)
Here is how my team turned out:
C. JP Arencibia
1B Miggy
2B Hill
SS Peralta
3B Bautista
MI SeanRod
CI Moreland
OF Luke Scott
OF Shin-Soo Choo
OF Adam Jones
OF Michael Brantley
UTIL Thome
Bench Alex Gordon
SP Haren
SP Morrow
SP Lewis
RP Feliz
RP McGee
RP Capps
RP Walden
RP Wuertz
P Matusz
Bench Danks
Bench Buehlre
For anyone- Standard what do you think of the team, weaknesses/strengths/general thoughts
Also Burbon and Drew were just dropped and placed on Waivers, should I drop any of these players to pick either of them up?
My ex and I got in a fight over a Dyson vacuum cleaner once. She insisted that it worked by disintergrating dirt. Like, the dust particles would literally dematerialize. I countered with some thermodynamics, can-neither-be-created-nor-destroyed shizz, but she wasn’t having any of it.
The bitch of it is, after insisting for half an hour that the damn thing worked like some sort of cosmic miracle, she wouldn’t let me buy one.
I’m just gonna leave this here…
OK had my main 12 team 5×5 weekly lineup set draft last night. i feel i panicked and made some terrible picks, let me start by saying there is 1 util spot and 2 SP 2RP 3 P. do i need to stand pat and see how this plays out am i overreacting or do i need to make a trade for a position or catagory.
C-V Mart
1B-Fielder
2B-Phillips
SS-Desmond
3B-Wright
OF-stubbs
OF-Victorino
OF-Tabata
UTIL- 1 of pena,raburn, (nishioka who im thinking of dropping for luke scott)
SP- Hamels,Scherzer,D. Hudson, Gio, MAtusz, lackey, zimmerman
RP-Kimbrell,Hanrahan, rodney
thanks for the help
Grey, drafted my first razzball team. Is this team putrid enough to lose?
C-Jason Kendall
1B-Xavier Nady
2B-Luis Castillo
3B-Brent Morel
SS-Paul Janish
CI-Jorge Cantu (later regretted it, forgot about Hawpe)
MI-Alexi Casilla (1st round pick!)
OF-Skip Shumaker
OF-WIll Venable
OF-Scott Hairston
OF-Jay Gibbons (gotta DL him)
OF-Travis Buck
Util-J.P Arencibia
BN-Yuniesky Betancourt
BN-Freddy Sanchez
P-Jeanmar Gomez
P-Charlie Morton
P-Kyle Davies
P-Barry Enright
P-Matt Harrison
P-Carl Pavano
P-Chris Capuano
P-Bruce Chen
P-Randy Wolf
P-Aaron Harang
P-Joel Pineiro
P-Chris Narveson
There is still something I’m confused about. In fantasy razzball, do you reach your IP limit faster than usual? Because since my entire squad is basically SP, they should eat up innings quick, no? Or was it standard to draft RP?
Grey, YTMND!
Assuming Belt makes the team, who do you like more as a CI: Belt or Freese?
@Van Hammersly: There was a report yesterday that the Giants were “leaning” Belt with an announcement to be made today.
Playing in a H2H that uses Opening Day until Sunday the 10th as Week 1. (11 days)
Q: Is there a shot that any of the Opening Day starters pitch 3 times in that period?
@Black Beard: *for the starting 1b job
Happ injury opening the door for Rowland-Smith…RAZZBALL STUD!!!
Could I get some thoughts on my team? My middle infield, is well crap, so is 1B, but I think I can manage.
Standard 5×5 League, Head-to-head
C – Brian McCann
1B – Aubrey Huff
2B – Chone Figgins
SS – Rafael Furcal
3B – Evan Longoria
IF – Ryan Raburn
OF – Matt Holliday
OF – Hunter Pence
OF – Chris Young
Util – Jose Tabata
BN – Travis Snider
BN – Sean Rodriguez
SP – Jon Lester
SP – Justin Verlander
SP – Brett Anderson
SP – Tim Hudson
SP – Javier Vazquez
RP – Neftali Feliz
RP – Chris Perez
BN – Ian Kennedy
BN – Kyle McClellan
BN – Brandon Beachy
BN – Brandon Lyon
Thanks!
PS your site is amazing, and I wouldn’t dare look elsewhere, and that’s all the slurping I’ll do at the moment.
@papadawg: Right now it looks like Lowe, Gallardo, Sabathia, and Weaver could start three times.
Recently did a 20 team auction draft with deep bench and extra slots. 6×6 with additional cats holds and TB. Draft was so deep there is nothing on WW other than middle relievers, which I plan to pick up 1 when a DL slot opens up. Was happy with my pace (last pick was 403 out of 700 picks..most of league paced themselves badly). Got a lot of $2-$4 bargains.
-C $14 Soto
1B $37 Howard
2B $29 Kinsler
SS $12 Furcal
3B $10 Stewart
MI $14 Figgins
MI $02 Uribe
CI $02 Smoak
CI $03 Rolen
OF $18 Rasmus
OF $17 Gardner
OF $06 Tabata
OF $02 Willingham
UT $03 Kubel
BN $02 D Espinosa
BN $01 Arenciba
BN $03 Matsui
BN $01 Trumbo
BN $01 Morse
BN $02 Infante
SP $23 Johnson
SP $13 Kuroda
SP $07 Dempster
SP $05 Matusz
SP $04 Zimmermann
SP $04 Gio Gonzales
SP $03 Volquez
RP $03 League
RP $03 Aardsma
RP $03 Venters
RP $08 Hanrahan
RP $02 Soriano
BN $01 Burnett
BN $01 Downs
BN $01 Clippard
@NewBVick:
Oh snap! Pick up of the year!
hey grey – holds are 5 points and saves are 6 points. who has more value while lidge is out, contreras or madson?
Who are the best 2 RP pickups in a league that counts WHIP, K, HLD, W, SV, ERA, and who couldn’t use a chance at 15+ SV?:
O’Day (TX)
Uehara (BAL)
Meek (PIT)
Motte (STL)
Hey Grey, like everyone else on here, I drafted a lot of players you’ve been recommending. Now, I want you to comment on my team. You think it’s solid, right? Thanks!
Grey: Why the constant hate on Happ. When hasn’t he put up reasonable numbers in deeper leagues. He’s outperformed some highly rated pitchers over the last couple years if used correctly.
I love this time of year. I’m so confident in my teams and that’s a good feeling. For example, I’m fully convinced that Kila Ka’aihue will lead the AL in HRs this year.
@Grey – In search of . . . elusive, cheap WW power. Two days ago it was Trumbo, yesterday it was Morse, today it is Belt and tomorrow, who knows? I saw where Larry King loved Belt in his post. What’s your take if he makes the team? Thanks!
@xopchipili: Mother of god, some women are so dumb! (Except for the one girl reader in my Razzball league… she seems aight)
I think the only thing wrong with your story is that you mention that she wouldn’t “let” you buy the Dyson. You needed to tell her “I am a man. I work for my money. I will buy what I want.”
Unless, of course, you were unemployed, playing in 25 different fantasy leagues and totally dependent on her Quick-e-Mart paycheck for survival.
2B is ugly – Who do I go with? Choices are- F. Sanchez, B. Hall, O Hud, Emaus (after 5 games at 2B), or Theriot.
@Ian: Whoops!
Longoria and Thole or M. Reynolds and M. Montero?
I would prefer WAS to use a closer by committee approach actually, so Burnett can gimme saves and holds. Him becoming a fulltimer actually hurts my team as I have too many closers (two of them fill ins) and too few setup guys… LOL.
In a commenter league, is it even worth holding on to Lidge for greener pastures?
Grey, what is your take on my team.
10 team 5×5 H2H Cats
C – Wieters
1B – Pujols
2B – Nishioka
SS – Reyes
3B – Reynolds
IF – Fielder
OF – Holliday, McCutchen, Pence, Rasmus
UT – Tabata, Beltran
SP – Gallardo, Liriano, D. Hudson, Bumgarner, Dempster, Volquez, Kennedy, J. Zimmerman, E. Santana, DLR
RP – Papelbon, Valverde, Gregg, Madson (soon to be Contreras or Burnett)
Seems I am a little light on power and heavy on Ks. All of my 6 bench spots taken up by pitchers. Decent hitters and pitchers are still available (Trumbo, Gordon, Espinosa, Bourjos, Beachy, Pineda etc.
Thanks.
could you put these pitchers in order as of today
Johnny Cueto
Tim Stauffer
Edwin Jackson
@papadawg: Gallardo is scheduled for 3 starts Week 1.
Moreland or Belt
Thanks!
Looking for help with final roster decisions, who would you prefer (player listed first is who I currently have – other options are available on the wire):
Daric Barton or Brandon Belt or Mark Trumbo
Chris Johnson or Jose Lopez
Jed Lowrie or Brandon Belt or Mark Trumbo
Johnny Cueto or Javier Vazquez/Jorge De La Rosa/Erik Bedard/Tim Stauffer/Kyle McClellan/Michael Pineda/James McDonald
The last pitcher spot (Cueto) is a DL spot – once a scoring period starts they must remain out of action for the two week period. So I would basically be holding and observing any of the pitchers above for 2 weeks.
My starting pitchers are:
F. Liriano
Scherzer
Dempster
Lilly
Lackey
Gio Gonzalez
I think all of my current starting pitchers are stronger than the free agent ones I listed above. Let me know if you disagree.
@Ian: And stolen bases….
Grey,
Just drafted for 12 team H2H Keeper League. Thoughts?
C Napoli
1B Howard
2B Hill
SS Furcal
3B Wright
OF Kemp
OF Upton-keeper
OF Bruce
U Pena
Bench: Raburn, Manny, A. Escobar
SP Greinke
SP Price-keeper
SP Anderson-keeper
SP G. Gonzalez
SP de la Rosa
SP Cueto
SP McDonald-keeper
SP Stauffer
RP Feliz-keeper
RP C. Perez
RP Storen
RP Hanrahan
So I was thinking of trading Price and Furcal for D. Hudson and Alexei Ramirez? Worried about Price on the Rays this year… Anyways, I appreciate your thoughts and thank you!
Anyone want to judge my team. 12 teams 5×5 (we have some keepers):
C – Napoli
1b – Cabrera
2b – Pedroia
SS – Hanley
3b – Aramis Ramirez
OF – Mccutchen
OF – Heyward
OF – Travis Snider
OF – Tabata
CI – Kendrys Morales
MI – Cliff Pennington
U – Adam Laroche
SP – Liriano
SP – Gallardo
SP – Marcum
SP – Jhoulys Chacin
SP – Volquez
SP – Cueto
RP – Broxton
RP – Nathan
RP – (Mcgee, Kuo, Francisco) picked up a bunch of guys late
If Belt makes the team out of the gate, what’s his new projection? and is he worth taking over Pena or Loney at 1B in NL-Only 4×4.
Who would you rather roster – colvin, moreland or venable?
Grey, this first week for head to head leagues is extra long, 11 days. Knowing this, what do you do tomorrow with Justin Verlander? Start or Sit at Yankee Stadium?
Grey – 10 Team 5X5 Roto:
This is my bench:
Manny
Ryan Raburn
Carlos Pena
Tabata
Kevin Gregg
Would you drop any of them for:
Farnsworth
Uehara
McGee
Motte
Meek
Contreras
Madson
If so, which one (or more) to drop. I also have Valverde and Lyon on my roster.
Thanks.
Another Belt question: Belt, Gordon, the Hammerin Hawiian (Ka’aihue), Moreland, or Smoak?
@The Vaporizers – Justin Verlander through the years has not been a good April Pitcher – maybe you should sit him down to May
@ Hypno Toadstool Who would Don Ho take ?
Verlander could pitch a no hitter at any time. I would pitch him.
@JoeC – who are you picking tonight ?
Your thoughts on Belt. Will he break with the team? Does he have a legit shot at N.L. ROY? Is he more of a Gaby Sanchez type, or would you forcast more with 500+ ABs?
I like me some Brandon Allen. Is he worth stashing in one of my ML spots? What can we expect from him this year stat wise?
Grey — would you trade jay Bruce and Carlos Santana to get Justin Upton and Kurt Suzuki?
Grey and Everyone:
So 6 of us at the office are going to be starting a league and I’m looking for input because these guys are new to this format (they’ve only played budge baseball on CDM).
I’m thinking we should do a Roto style, NL only league since its only 6 teams. I’d also like to try an auction. Any reason that’s a bad idea for such a small league? What should the budget be? Should anything change for roster size? Is 9 pitcher slots too many? Any other suggestions? Thanks guys and sorry for all the questions
Brandon Belt- a trending topic on razzball!
@55 Ian – Auction works great for a small league but for first timers the old standard draft would work best – Roto is alot less moves but you really have to know your stuff and a bad draft means the season is over so I think Head to Head would be best for new players – NL only would work – 9 Pitchers in not too much – figure it out if you do NL only it would be like draft 4 1/2 pitchers since its 1/2 the size of a 12 team league
@ elwood blues – Have you ever heard of a wish sandwich? You get two slices of bread and put Bradon Belt in between the two slices and make a wish he hits – Bow bow bow…
@Grey: Which 2 of these 3 two-start pitchers do you like:
D. Hudson – Cin, @Col
S. Marcum – Atl, @Cin
E. Jackson – TB, @Cle
Also, 2 of these 3 closers: Nathan, Nunez & Contreras
Thanks!
@Fletch Says: I was drafting S Marcum on all my teams – I figured he would come cheap in the early drafts but shoulder stiffness freaks me out and I backed off – I am sure all will be well but I draft hitters first so what every pitching I pick has to stay off the DL but if its a choice between E Jackson and S Marcum – I would take the shoulder stiffness
Wade Davis or Stauffer’s Animal Crackers? I’m a big fan of Davis’s 2h splits. I think he could improve alot. Upside is certainly greater than Stauffer.
@Carl Spackler: Farnsworth
@Enrique: Lose Casilla
@Chris Rite: I think so, pitching’s a little light, not terrible though.
@adam: Depends on need.
@William: Dice-K
@Steve Jeltz: Nope
@famous anus: I agree: http://razzball.com/2011-rays-fantasy-baseball-preview/
@Salty Balty: Wiggy
@I-man: I like your team a lot. Well played.
@Mr2Bits: Rauch… Look at my starter rankings.
@Black Beard: Nope
@Stinky Cheese Man: Brignac
@Dickie Thon’s Hairy Forearms: Belt, Johnson, dlR…
@101 MPH: I think you veer down glory lane. Team looks real solid.
@Wilsonian: Sure
@KyleJames: Borbon’s over Brantley, but I wouldn’t drop him for Borbon. Your team looks okay, I think your hitting looks a little weak on power, even though you did draft power guys. Just not sold on those guys. Your pitching looks a little too strong.
@xopchipili: Ha! You wanna be right or happy?
@poop: Stand pat for now.
@Eddy: Looks pretty razztastic.
@Van Hammersly: Belt
@NewBVick: Ha
@Randy BoBandy: Thanks for the kind words! Not sure how many teams.
@Rob: Pretty incredible team considering how deep the league is. Well done.
@trick dad: Contreras
@Nuke LaLoosh: Last two
@Chuckles Tiddlesworth: Ha
@boltok: He’s outperformed himself.
@Ian: Ha
@Jeff: Theriot
@donnie baseball: Longoria
@dsimon: I’d DL him.
@BigBabyJesus: Team looks totally fine to me for now. You can work the waiver wire in a league this shallow.
@Mr Baseball: Jackson, Cueto…
@MVP Night: Belt
@Son of Charlie Hustle: Pitching looks fine, you look light on average.
@Jackson: You’re light on power.
@elwood blues: Sure
@The Vaporizers: Start
@Mr. Rickey: Do you need saves?
@Hypno Toadstool: Moreland
@Dr. Stats: Yeah
@GTS: Sure, depends on ABs, maybe 17 homers.
@Joel: Eh
@Ian: What Mr. Baseball said. $260
@elwood blues: Ha
@Fletch: Hudson, Marcum…. First two closers.
@Swass: Stauffer
mornin’ grey. plz make smokey do pushups, for that post yesterday. at least 50. then make him take a lap and think about what he did.
Hey Grey, who knew S. Drew was such a pansy? (I should’ve) How concerned are you about him? Leave him in my starting lineup for week 1 or p/u either Jhonny Peralta, Lowrie, Bartlett, Emaus or Pennington?
Also, 12-team H2H points…my SPs are Oswalt, Marcum, Gio, Volquez, Ed-Jax and Niese…my OFs are Holliday Kemp J-Up and Tabata…would you try to move one of them for some SP depth?
Hey Grey,
I have Madson right now but since it sounds like he isn’t going to be the man, at least initially, should i dump him for S. Burnett or Maniac Mcgee?
If anyone is in the vicinity of Cincinnati or Toronto, please stop by team HQ and get Cueto and Fracisco on the DL. Thanks.
Does anyone have Yahoo 2011 rankings in an excel file? Please let me know, thanks.
@Grey: thank ya, sir.
Trade offer question:
Would you trade Aaron Hill for Drew Stubbs or Carlos Pena?
My offense:
C – Nap
1B – Dunn
2B – Hill
3B – Wright
SS – Andrus
OF – Hamilton
OF – Heyward
OF – Tabata
UTIL – Raburn
UTIL – Kendrick
BN – Espinosa
Categories: H, R, HR, RBI, SB, AVG., OBP.
Dude has Utley, and apparently I’m a 2B hoarder. A&E just called me, actually.
@DonSlaughtOnslaught: the Cueto DL shit is driving me insane. All of the guys I was looking at picking up for him have been taken because other teams have actually DLed their players.
@Buddo Chezuski: yeah, email me, jared.goodman@hotmail.com
@Grey: in reference to my last question, theriot, alcides, hardy and erick aybar are available too if that makes a difference.
@Wilsonian:
soft toss
stubbs
Grey : Would you lose Farnsworth for Burnette?
@byrone: Ha!
@Exactly: Bartlett… Not yet.
@Nuke LaDouche: Burnett
@DonSlaughtOnslaught: Yeah, no kidding.
@Wilsonian: Nope
@Exactly: With 80+ comments, no idea your last question.
@Mr2Bits: Nope
Probably not a good idea to start:
Verlander @ NYY
Gallardo @ Cin
Right?
Wigginton or Rayburn moving forward?
My bats are Miggy, Youk, McGehee, Dread Pirate, Krispie, 9-5 plus 4 Pence, and Wieters if it makes a difference. 14 Team, H2H.
Or keep both and drop the schwag Chris Young or Pineda?
Big ups Grey.
Grey, I’m glad that you’re famous AND wealthy now, what with the (e)book and the seemingly thousands of display, pop-up and video ads that are served up on Razzball. Seriously, you deserve all the fame and money. Your “product” is excellent. As with any great American success story, though, the dark cloud moving toward yours is the noticeable slowing of your site. Time to call in the Goldman Sachs boys to put together the Razzball International Corporation IPO to raise the dough for a new server?
Wow, everybody wants a customized Burnett response. Reminds me of when I worked at Morton’s and we did the T-bones to order. Well, no it doesn’t.
Anyway, I have a fanball philosophy question (cognitive disjunction engage!). I have Posada and Martin in a 14-team1-C league; I got them because they’re cheap and the former because he won’t have to make his living on his knees any more (no more Hosada or, for the more literal, Whorge) and so might stay healthier. My thinking was that I could flip one at season’s start (probably Jorge) and get more value than what’s on the waiver wire b/c C is so thin. Or is this kinda dumb as a strategy?
@Grey: wow, I really thought you’d agree with Chata and say Hill for Stubbs.
@bravo: I would.
@Wet Cigarette: Lose Young…
@Long Bawls: I wouldn’t own two catchers.
Grey- what are your thoughts on Freeman vs Moreland? Who’s better in a keeper league and who will be better this year? Both have been given the full time job and play in good lineups. I’ve heard the most about Freeman but no one really talks about Moreland.
@Grey:
With Luis Castillo cut, I need a Razzball replacement. Danny Espinosa or Infante?
Who to slot as my last pitcher for week 1?
Hellickson – vs ANA
Arroyo – vs Mil, @ ARI
Lackey – vs NYY, @TEX
@Eddy:
Also have Freddy Sanchez. Is he worse than those two?
@Mr Baseball: I don’t know. I’m trying to decide whether I should go with the anti-Grey strategy or not. I tried it last year and it was a massive FAIL.
But I have a better idea of how RCL leagues work (and how to manipulate them!), so I might do it again.
We’ll see!
@Jeff: Hellickson, especially if the Sciosciapath insists on having an infield of pea-shooters and sits Trumbo.
@Eddy: Ha. I am glad to see you are putting so much thought into our Razz league, I was worried after all of those auto-drafters last night.
Trade for Brandon Phillips.
@Grey: I’m just curious as to your thoughts…
If I could swap Kendrick or Raburn into the 2B slot, plug Stubbs into the OF or UTIL, why not do the Hill for Stubbs deal?
I’m not trying to get you to convince me to do it, just wanted to know your reasoning for not doing it. Thanks man, and sorry for the continuing questions.
Hey Grey,
would love ur quick input / quip on my team…5×5 11 team mixed, started with 5 keepers. we use 3 Minor league slots that any player with less than 200 ab or 60 ip can go into.
C – Napoli
1b – Fielder (Keeper)
2b – Kinsler (Keeper)
ss – Desmond
3b – Longoria (keeper)
CI – Reynolds
MI – Kendrick
OF – Holliday (keeper)
OF – Kemp (keeper)
OF – Hunter
OF – Stubbs
OF – Pagan
U – Rajai
P – Hamels
P – Liriano
P – Billingsley
P – Marcum
P – Nolasco
P – Gregg
P – Kimbrel
P – Thornton
Bench – Edwin Jackson
Bench – Kuroda
Bench – Crisp
Bench – Chris Young (SP)
Minors – Montero
Minors – Moreland
Minors – Beachy
thanks dude
Drafted another team. 12 team keeper mixed league, standard 5×5 scoring. How’d I do? I’m a little light on saves, so I’ll have to vulture the hell out of them. Thanks!
C: Napoli
1B: Pujols
2B: Phillips
SS: Desmond
3B: Wright
IF: Espinosa
OF: Kemp
OF: Heyward
OF: Stubbs
OF: Swisher
UTIL: Raburn
SP: Gallardo
SP: Oswalt
SP: Lilly
SP: Kuroda
SP: Volquez
SP: Zimmerman
RP: Marmol
RP: Hanrahan
RP: Venters
BE: Stauffer
BE: T. Wood
BE: Rauch
I haven’t seen anything yet about Lidge being out till June, nor have I seen anything about him having a partially torn rotator cuff. You got some inside info on that?
@benny: Moreland…
@Eddy: Sanchez
@Jeff: Hellickson
@Wilsonian: A 2nd baseman is worth more. Stubbs should have better all around stats. Raburn and Hill are not the same, though they can be. If you want to do it, go for it. It’s not terrible.
@Alex: Team looks fine, but there’s way too much speed at the end of your lineup, which hurts your power. Pitching looks great.
@Art Vandelay: Your team looks stacked, nice pitching and hitting.
@JTM: Google Lidge out to June.
@Grey: cool, thanks, I was just wondering why. It seemed to me like it could make my team a little better all around. I do have a slight man crush on Hill, so I’m struggling with it. Thanks again for your opinion, that’s all I was looking for.
@Grey: If you’re save vulturing, would you drop Uehara for Burnett?
@Grey: ive tried to look it up on here with no luck,but what kind of numbers are you thinking for beachy
What do you think of this haul for my sixteen team keeper league which entered its 5th year last night? I joined in the third year and started out with two horrific trades (mauer for furcal straight up being one) but have since recovered somewhat.
C: Montero, Olivo
1B: Votto
2B: Phillips
3B: Reynolds, Valencia
SS: Pennington (I am looking to slot Theriot here for April)
LF: Kubel
CF: Werth
RF: Justin Upton
Util: Grady Sizemore
SP: Josh Johnson
SP: RIcky Nolasco
SP: Ted Lilly
SP: Wandy Rodriguez
SP: Ervin Santana
SP: Brett Cecil
SP: James Mcdonald
SP: bronson Arroyo
RP: Bell
RP: Valverde
RP:Capps
RP: Farnsworth
@Wilsonian: No problem.
@Dad: Yup
@AL KOHOLIC: 3.80, 1.28, 7.50 K/9
@trevor: I’d slot Theriot there for the season probably. Team looks good, little low on speed. Someone like Tabata would look better on your team than Kubel. Pitching looks fine. Back end is a bit of a black hole.
I have Phillips on a 4 year guaranteed contract. Do you think I should look to move him if I can or just sit back and not worry about 2B for a while?
I just traded Latos and got Greinke! Who’s the man now, dog?
@DonSlaughtOnslaught:
Hehe, yeah. I figure that if I set my team up the right way,
I can kind of lay off it and let them lose and focus on my other leagues.
Still worried about reaching the IP limit by the ASB, though.
Grey,
I kept my keepers earlier in the month so I have Prince, Kemp, A-Rod, R Zimmerman, and Utely. The draft is in a few hours and some of the available players you like include B Phillips, Heyward, BJ Upton, Pence, Morneau, Cruz, Gallardo, Liriano, Uggla. I draft 7 in round 6 so I will land with one of these guys and maybe another in the following round. Do I first go with OF (Heyward, Cruz, Pence), 2B (Phillips, then Uggla), P (Gallardo, Liriano), or Morneau based on availability? Who do I go after in round 7? THANKS!
@trevor: Sit back
@GTS: You?
Alright Grey, I call this team the All Razzball All-Stars. Every pick I made was based on your rankings or tiers. Notable Razzball mancrush draftees include Andrus and Marcum. 10 team roto.
C- Montero
1B – Howard
2B – Kinsler
3B – Wright
SS – Andrus
CI – Morneau
MI – K. Johnson
OF – J. Upton
OF – Pence
OF – B.J. Upton
OF – T. Hunter
OF – Span
Util – Torres
BN – Gaby Sancez, Sizemore
SP – Sabathia
SP – Liriano
RP – Valverde
RP – Kimbrel
P – Marcum
P – Wandy
P – Bumgardner
P – De La Rosa
BN – Rauch, Zimmerman, Vasquez
@Grey: Yes, and you too.
colvin or l.morrison?
@Grey: Sean Burnett or Jonny Venters
In a 16 team league I drafted Encarnacion last night in the 13th round He has lost 13 to 14 pounds, and has had a decent spring. Stud third baseman were gone early in the second round.
Hey, I was wandering if you think Peter Bourjos’s value is comparable to Tabata’s. He should have 40+ steals (as long as he gets on base more which I feel is very likely), 10+ HR’s, and more RBI’s than Tabata no matter where he plays in the Angels lineup.. The only question mark is BA, but he always has had a decent one in the minors.. I know you have him higher than most do, but I would probably put him even higher, maybe in the top 120.. Do you think he might be one of the best values in the draft with numbers equal or better than Tabata’s or am I off base here?
My drafted team in a 10 team head to head points league.
Hitters:
1B = +1, 2B = +2, 3B = +3, HR = +4, RBI = +1
BB are +1, K are -1, runs don’t count, SB +1, caught stealing -1,
Pitchers:
W = +7, L = -5, K = +1, ER = -1, IP = .5, S = +5, BS = -5
C – Santana
1B – Youkilis
2B – K. Johnson (also drafted Utley – 8th round)
3B – Longoria
SS – A. Ramirez
OF – Braun
OF – Kemp
OF – McCutchen
U – Bruce
BN – Utley
BN – M. Ramirez
BN – B. Abreu
BN – Posada
BN – Castro
BN – Kendrick
BN – Loney
BN – Belt
BN – Morse
BN – C. Johnson
BN – Lowrie
SP – Liriano
SP – Scherzer
SP – Dempster
SP – Lilly
SP – G. Gonzalez
SP – Lackey
RP – Bell
DL – Cueto
Lots of high upside pitchers are available on the waiver wire, I’d like to upgrade the Cueto spot but I can’t use the DL player for the first two weeks anyway so I’ll probably just wait and see how Cueto is shaping up by the end of the 2nd week, if he’s not ready I’ll flip him for a hot pickup.
I definitely have the deepest bench in our league (which will also make for some tough lineup decisions)
A couple of draft steals:
Andrew McCutchen (51), Jay Bruce (110), Heath Bell (130), Jorge Posada (211)
Let me know if you see any weaknesses or any bench guys you’d flip.
H2H league – Week 1 covers 1st 11 days
I need to decide on one more SP (locked in for the entire week)
Pelfrey, Stauffer or Masterson?
@papadawg: Stauffer. And it’s not even close.
@Grey: do you see coke being a possible sleeper,ala c.j. wilson as a starter this year
@Gambler: I don’t think it’s BA that’s the problem for Bourjos, but PA. It’s not entirely clear how much the Sciosciapath is gonna let Bourjos play.
My guess would be around 400 PAs, which doesn’t compare favorably to Tabata’s likely 650 PAs.
So Tabata still wins. It’d be a different story if the Angels committed to playing Peter B full-time, but until that happens, go with Tomato-Tabata.
@Gambler: But, ZIPS projects both players to have over 600 PAs, so what do I know?
Still an edge for Tabata though:
Tabata: 671 PAs, .289 BA, 8 HR, 59 RBI, 107 R, 33 SB
Bourjos: 656 PAs, .259 BA, 13 HR, 55 RBI, 89 R, 35 SB
Hey Grey would you do Ad. Gonzalez for Ellsbury and B. Wilson?
Hey Grey/all:
Current 10 team keeper, 5×5 that uses OBP
Current squad
Víctor Martínez
Kevin Youkilis
Robinson Canó
Aramis Ramírez
Stephen Drew
Josh Hamilton
Chris Young
Adam Lind
José Bautista
Just moved Sizemore and Hart to the DL and am stuck on who I should grab for the time being. Who do you like as a 2 good fillers?
Ian Desmond
Mark Trumbo
Rajai Davis
Andrés Torres
Dexter Fowler
Peter Bourjos
Julio Borbón
Logan Morrison
@Donnie Baseball: this early and wilson hurting i wouldnt
@FlyinHawiianPizza: Don’t be drafting CC and calling it a Razzball AS team. It looks a’ight. You’re light on power and high on speed.
@wire: Morrison
@William: Burnett
@Gambler: Well, if he gets the numbers you’re projecting he’s great. http://razzball.com/peter-bourjos-2011-fantasy-sleeper/
@Dickie Thon’s Hairy Forearms: I like your team, but I’d filter the bench bats down to three or four and grab some SPs.
@papadawg: Agree with JoeC.
@AL KOHOLIC: No sleeping with Coke… Oh, the, uh, pitcher. Yeah, nah.
@Donnie Baseball: Nope
@Mr2Bits: Desmond, Fowler…
Grey:
I apologize if you have answered this before. Where does Gardner fit in your OF rankings now that it is confirmed he’ll hit leadoff against righties? Or was that already contemplated in your #22 ranking among all OF?
grey, could you please rank the characters in storage wars, from your favorite to least favorite? and can i get a “yyyyyeeeeeeeeeeeep!”?
Hey Grey, Think you forgot about my post when you got caught up replying to the FlyinHawiianPizza’s “All-Razzball” team. I know you know that I know your know-how on how to proceed with my draft because I know how to read the knowledge you provide on this knowledge-filled blog, but it would be helpful to now have your know-how once again. Thank you!
Any thoughts on which of the following SPs I should start with my final spot for Week 1?
Max Scherzer (@NYY, Hughes)
Joe Blanton (NYM, Pelfrey)
Scott Baker (@NYY, Nova)
Thanks!
Thanks al and grey, what about Adrian for Youk and B. Wilson?
The other day you advised that the team I drafted was light on power b/c my pitching was too good. I ran some numbers and checked the league’s history, turns out you were right I was low. So I took advantage of the SAWX fan in the league and traded Lester for Teixeira, essentially. The new team is listed below, am I balanced now or do you think I should try to trade some middling batting for middling pitching to try to balance moving my best pitcher for elite batting?
Thanks!
C Mike Napoli
1B Albert Pujols
2B Kelly Johnson
3B Ryan Zimmerman
SS Elvis Andrus
CI Justin Morneau
MI Ian Desmond
OF Matt Kemp
OF Jason Heyward
OF Shane Victorino
OF Brett Gardner
Util Mark Teixeira
BN Ryan Raburn
BN Austin Jackson
BN Carlos Beltran
SP Jered Weaver
SP CC Sabathia
RP J.J. Putz
RP Chris Pérez
P Matt Thornton
P Joel Hanrahan
P Brandon League
BN Madison Bumgarner
BN Jonathan Sánchez
BN Jhoulys Chacin
Rank these pitchers: Latos, Scherzer, Greinke
@zzzzzz: The opposite to what you have them.
grey- i have russell martin at C, bleh! should i drop his DTD bum ace for:
Ianetta, Buck, Salty, or Doumit?
also: would you rather have Jose Lopez or jake fox and drop Ogando? or are we waiting to see whats up with ogando, how he’ll be as a starter, and if MAYBE there’s a chance he might still get moved to the closer role if he fails at starting?
or is he just get rid of him now, find someone else (ogando that is)
Belt has officially made the team.
Ahem. Drafted Contreras in Round 22 and Romo in Round 25, in my Monday draft. Just saying.
@Eddy, just put in my claim for Mr. Belt (it’s the Beltway or the highway!). I have both Ian Stewart and Adam Laroche (ouch).
@KarlJ.: He’s ranked correctly.
@byrone: Brandi, Dave, Barry, Daryl, the dwarf Barry used, Jarrod…
@SDPete: Scherzer…
@donnie baseball: Nope
@brad: Nice, I’d hold now.
@zzzzzz: Agree with Steve.
@Tony: Iannetta
@Tony: I’d hold Ogando for now.
@Eddy: Nice!
I have an additional question about the Hill deal. I told the guy I couldn’t pull the trigger on it (he has also offered Raburn for Snider) and he said he would possibly offer an upgrade in the Hill deal, so what do you think of any of these:
Hill/Hanrahan for Stubbs/Valverde
Hill/Cecil for Stubbs/J-Zimm
Hill/E. Jackson for Stubbs/DLR
Anything worthwhile, or just say screw it and do the Raburn for Snider deal?
Categories: H, R, HR, RBI, SB, AVG, OBP, W, L, SV, K, ERA, WHIP, Ks/9
@Shmorgie S. Board:
Good stuff! I dropped Peavy for him this morning when I heard the rumors that the Giants were leaning toward Belt.
People seriously underestimate the use of Twitter for breaking news. When Morrow got injured and I told the league, my friend texts me 2 hours later: “I just got the ESPN alert text about Morrow. How’d you find out before ESPN?”
Might as well wait for Funston to break the news for ya’ if you’re counting on ESPN, buddy!
@Grey:
I won’t ask for a Belt line, as I’m assuming you’ll drop one tomorrow. So I’ll ask you something else: You follow @OldHossRadbourn? That feed is a comedy gold mine, imo.
@ Grey :
@ Rudy :
am having trouble with my roster in Razzball 3 .
sent an e-mail to Robot (Razzball Dummy #1) explaining my
difficulties .
my “position” is still frozen , and since sending that e-mail , a player that I tried to pick-up has since been added to the roster of another .
are you in receipt of my original e-mail ?
Mike Morse or Luke Scott?
@Shmorgie S. Board: If you drafted Monday and got Contreras in the 22nd, you are in a weak league by virtue of the fact all the chatter pointed to him taking over last Thursday. Just saying.
grey: miggy/mariano river or MY…..Howard/Liriano….. ?
I know howards been downgraded with the utley debacle, and yes Mo-riv is ONLY a closer, but my league needs 32 innings minimum for pitching, i have lester, hanson, voltron, beachy, and brox, hanrahdhahahn, krimble and fuentes, and would be adding a better stick, better avg in a 10×10 league (miggys avg diff is pretty huge), and a closer who is money…. whatdya think?
@Grey: weekly league pitching decision, who do you like?
kuroda (vs SF, @ SD)
beachy (vs PHI, @ MIL)
madbum (@ SD)
thank you.
@Wilsonian: Is the 8 team league? Then… Hill/Cecil for Stubbs/J-Zimm…
@Eddy: I don’t follow anyone really. I mean, I do, but I don’t look at Twitter.
@chata: I forwarded that to Rudy, he’s the man to ask.
@Schmohawks Bob: Morse
@Tony: Eh
@herschel: Kuroda
@Eng:
i wouldn’t draft contreras in the 22nd round …. and probably not at all .
@Grey: it’s actually a 16 Team H2H, 5 player keeper, no draft penalties, just 1st 5 rounds are your keepers.
@Wilsonian: Then I’m not crazy about them.
@Grey:
thank you
@Grey: ok, thanks. I think Raburn for Snider is a better call.
In a league that doesn’t count HRs but OBP and OPS, does Billy Butler’s moobs suddenly becomes more attractive?
grey, when u put Brandi 1 and jarrod last- behind the dwarf, for emphasis- well that’s quite telling, isn’t it?
I don’t even know what to say about hester at 2… I’m just… stunned.
read ur rankings out loud to my wife, she loved the dwarf pick at 5.
@Grey: This is the team I’m going to war with in my big keeper league.
12 team mixed H2H 6×6 with OBP and QS. Here are you two time defending champion 2011 Donkey Punch Experience
C: Santana
1B: Albert
2B: Infante
SS: Starlin
3B: Panda
CI: Donkey
MI: Asdrubal
OF: Rasmus
OF: Gardner
OF: Morrison
OF: Span
UTL: Bourjos
BN: Rolen
BN: McClouth
SP: Ubaldo
SP: Hamel
SP: Liriano
SP: Kuroda
SP: Richard
SP: Stauffer
SP: Beachy
SP: Peavy
RP: Papelbon
RP: Nunez
RP: Rodney
Would like an upgrade at 2B but I’m not going to trade for one of the top guys. Thinking about offering a guy Span (or Bourjos or McClouth) + Infante and a back end pitcher (Richard, Stauffer or Beachy) in exchange for Brian Roberts and Manny. Does that sound reasonable?
Brandon Allen sent to Reno.
Booo.
@Grey: This kinda relates to Allen’s demotion, but if you are platooning Diaz and Seth Smith, what do you do if each is facing a favourable pitcher?
@SamYo: A bit.
@byrone: Ha… Yeah, Jarrod’s a douchetard.
@3FingersBrown: Threepeat is registered trademark of Pat Riley, you can’t threepeat. You are heavy on speed, light on power — Gardner, Bourjos and Span? Crimey. I like the Roberts/Manny trade. Nice pitching. I think too nice.
@Steve: Boo indeed. Smith at home gets precedence then Diaz.
@Grey: Ah, indeed. IN my 14-team keeper where I have Allen at Util and nothing on the wire (Trumbo just been dropped so hasn’t cleared waivers) I think it’s probably worth a shot.
@Steve: Except neither Smith or Diaz are playing tomorrow (sad trumpet).
@Grey:
I’m in a 16-team H2H league and we’re in the 23rd round of the draft. Do you have any suggestions for any really deep starting pitcher suggestions you think might be surprising or useful in 2011? Right now, I’m kind of looking at Charlie Morton, but I could use some other suggestions. Thanks!
Damn…Tony Reali and Around the Horn representing Razzball on twitter. Check it out lady and gentleman.
@Wilsonian: Whoa, nice!
@Steve: Yup
@Jake: Grab Morton.
@Wilsonian: He’s always been supportive.
Zoinks – just realised I have Gallardo and Volquez *against* each other in my H2H league tomorrow.
Could be a WHIP-ing.
@Grey: Thanks Grey. Damned Riley, first he breaks my heart jumping ship to Miami and now this. How about three-legit-three-quit?
Yeah I’m not sure how I ended up with so much speed. At the end Bourjos and Nate for the most interesting options around. With power at a premium these days, most of the good sluggers were kept and the less glamorous ones I liked (Poppy, Manny, Snider, Kila, Ike) all went way earlier than I thought. I’ll poke around the trade market but I know there’ll be HR to be found on waivers (like Hart or Thome last year)
I’m going to throw that offer out for Ramirez & Roberts. I like Manny this year but I seriously question Roberts ability to give us 400 AB. Nice upside if he does though and there are plenty of shmohawk 2B around if he goes down. I like Bourjos best of my speedy OF not named Gardner. I’ll offer Nate and then Span in that order.
In the years that I’ve been in this league, I usually have a lot of power and end up trading for speed, saves and starting pitching. I figured this time, I’d go pitching early since otherwise it was guys like Phillips, Young, VMart, Werth around. As of now, I feel like I have a good shot at dominating pitching plus SB/R and consistantly winning BA/OBP but a little pop would be nice.
@Grey: I just thought it was really cool. Good to know it’s not just me and my small little world that’s addicted to this shizz.
Keep up the good work, man. This site is nothing short of incredible.
Grey, strategy Q:
6×6 h2h league. pitchers dont get a minus for losses or anything else (except the 6th category is least homers allowed). The only restriction is that we have to have a minimum of 38 innings pitched for the week, and we have 9 pitchers including 3 relievers active. I loaded up on starters, CC, Hamels, Billingsley, Brett anderson, Dan Hudson, Tim Stauffer and Pineda. My question is: in this head to head format with no minus for losses, would it be too cute to bench Stauffer tomorrow on the road at STL? I’d lose the K’s, but worry about whip and era. Thanks!!!
Grey:
Help me pick my one final SP to start this week:
I.Kennedy: @Col (Jiminez), @ChC (Dempster)
Vazquez: NYM (Dickey), @Hou (Happ)
Stauffer: @Stl (Carpenter), SF (Lincecum)
Beachy: @Mil (?), Phi (Hamels)
NL only 10 team 5×5 roto.
C: Kottaras/Lucroy
1B: P. Fielder
2B: D. Espinosa
3B: A. Ramirez
SS: R. Theriot
CI: G. Jones
MI: J. Carroll
OF: M. Kemp
OF: H. Pence
OF: D. Stubbs
OF: L. Morrison
OF: K. Fukodome
SP: M. Cain
SP: D. Hudson
SP: E. Volquez
SP: J. Zimmermann
SP: T. Stauffer
SP: M. Minor
RP: J. Broxton
RP: J. Putz
RP: H. Kuo
RP: L. Gregerson
RP: J. Contraras
Never played NL only before so I don’t know what a good team looks like.
@Steve: Yikes
@3FingersBrown: In the years you’ve been in this league that you won and you changed it up?
@Wilsonian: Thanks for the kind words!
@Joel: Nope, not too cute.
@Busta: Vazquez
@Cole: Wow, really nice NL-Only team. Really don’t have much to add. You’re gonna wanna work on your MI (obviously).
@Grey: Gotta start ‘em both in H2H though, right?
Already sitting Kennedy on Friday.
So we’re back to my 2B dealings. We killed the idea of Hill going anywhere (you told me to keep Hill and my man crush followed your advice). So I sent him my Raburn/Cecil for his Snider/J-Z.
He turned it down and countered with my Raburn/Beachy for his Snider/J-Z.
Gotta do it, right?
Grey,
Just drafted my first head-to-head team (10 tm league, I had 4th pick in snake draft), what do you think?
C – Miguel Montero
1B – Miguel Cabrera
2B – Aaron Hill
SS – Elvis Andrus
3B – A-Rod
IF – Carlso Pena
OF – Justin Upton
OF – Krispie Young
OF – Matt Holliday
OF – Shane Victorino
UT – Brett Gardner
SP – CC Sabathia
SP – Francisco Liriano
RP – Neftali Feliz
RP – John Axford
P – Leo Nunez
P – Brandon Lyon
P – Brian Fuentes
P – Brandon League
BN – Gio Gonzalez
BN – Edinson Volquez
BN – Edwin Jackson
BN – Jhoulys Chacin
BN – Jake McGee
BN – Grady Sizemore
@Wilsonian – for what it’s worth, I’d still make that trade. Jordan Zimmerman should be better than Beachy
Last draft… I promise to leave you alone after this! I left the draft feeling pretty good. What do I need to improve on?
3rd pick, 12-team mixed, weekly h2h categories:
C – buck (23)
1B – miggy (1)
2B – hill (10)
3B – reynolds (8)
SS – reyes (3)
OF – kemp (2)
OF – justin upton (4)
OF – drew stubbs (6)
UTIL – tabata (14)
UTIL – torres (20)
SP – hamels (5)
SP – weaver (7)
RP – perez (12)
RP – j.j. putz (13)
P – hanrahan (15)
P – marcum (9)
P – billingsley (11)
P – chacin (16)
bn – hellickson (17)
bn – vasquez (18)
bn – edwin jackson (19)
bn – jon niese (22)
bn – peavy (21)
minor league draft question…
nl keeper league, who would you take?
B.Allen, Minor, EY2??
@Grey: Wasn’t something I meant to do, just how things developed. The draft order was all types of crazy after all the keepers and trades – we keep guys in exchange for picks as well as trade picks. I also got beat to a couple of cheap power guys (Morse & Kila) late.
So I’ve got Peavy on the DL now. Who do you add off waivers?
Carmona vs. ChiSox
Buerhle vs. Cle
Carasco vs. ChiSox
Drabek vs. Minn
Or do you take an RP when we can only field 3 per day? Romo is available. Walden is too and I’m already anticipating the Rodney 9th inning meltdown.
One of the guys in my 10 team league has, amongst a few others, A-Gon on his trading block. Given my roster, who would be reasonable to give up for him? What is too much, in general? Morneau is golden, but he always gets himself taken out of action mid-season so I would like to acquire A-Gon for similar production and security. He also has Joey Votto, Brandon Phillips and Jeter on the block, too. I know I am weak at SS but Furcal was the best available by time my draft turn came around again. If there are other moves I should make with those players with who I have, please give any advice. I have no idea how much is too much or too little to acquire at least A-Gon and don’t want to give away everything. Thanks, Grey and anyone else with advice.
My roster is:
C Joe Mauer
1B Justin Morneau
2B Dan Uggla
3B Adrian Beltre
SS Rafael Furcal
OF Nick Swisher
OF Jason Heyward
OF Andres Torres
Util Brett Garnder
BN Aubrey Huff
BN Casey McGehee
BN Freddie Freeman
SP Chris Carpenter
SP Cole Hamels
SP Roy Oswalt
RP Brian Wilson
RP Andrew Bailey
P C.J. Wilson
P. Tim Hudson
BN Jaime Garcia
@Wilsonian: A link? (for those of us who are Twitter-averse!
@chata: Why not, chata? Lidge is notorious for always being hurt here and there. I think Contreras is a perfect handcuff and could get you a pretty cheap 20 saves this year.
Who doesn’t like a 50 year old closer?
@elwood blues I would go for Minor. Typically I prefer bats over pitchers for my minor leaguers, but I see Minor as having the highest ceiling of those 3 by quite a bit. It won’t be long before he is the Braves 2nd starter behind Hanson.
@ViagraFalls – Depends what he needs. If he needs pitching, offer Morneau and Hudson (or Garcia at first and upgrade to Hudson)
@elwood blues – I agree with the Minor suggestion. He should help you this season. Although EY2 makes a great cheap keeper for steals, but it’s unclear when he’ll get his shot.
@Charlie Batch – I like your team, you had a similar strategy to me when drafting for H2H. You may want to try to get another closer or potential closer by DL-ing Peavy
@JoeC – Twitter is a great place to get fantasy baseball info. Grey is at: @Razzball and another great source that I use is: @TheFantasyDick (he has a website too), thefantasydick.com