The night was… humid. In the hospital hallway, Guillen was calling doctors, nurses and a janitor putas. I was by his bedside early in the day. We talked for a long time before he went under the knife. Talked about life, name changing and fantasy baseball.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Ben Sheets
Yasmani Grandal is starring in an off-off Broadway production of OBPwulf. Since everyone was supposed to read Beowulf, but no one has actually ever read it, the play starts with Grandal standing on first after a walk, and then he stands there and stands there and stands there, waiting for another Padre hitter to get him to 2nd base.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Dan Haren was traded to the Angels for a terrible pitcher and some prospects. On a real baseball note, the Diamondhacks got had like they were taking cards from Ricky Jay. I think the desert sun’s baked their brains. To make a deal in the major leagues, you see what the Yankees will give you then you dangle that deal in front of all other clubs.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Alex Trebek, “Nelson Cruz, Josh Hamilton and Ian Kinsler.” What’s the deal with all of these Rangers having all the upside in the world but not being able to stay healthy? Alex, “Um, okay, we would’ve also accepted, ‘Who are some Ranger players?’ Oh, and nice mustache.” Nelson Cruz has hit the DL five times in his short career. Always with these little niggling injuries. Shoulder fatigue this, ankle sprain that. Someone get this guy some HGH. I’d like to see a rule put into place that every player who has an injury needs to make two phone calls before they’re able to go on the DL. One phone call to discuss their injury with Cal Ripken. Another phone call to a Holocaust survivor. If they can handle the guilt and still think their injury should force them out of action, then so be it. Nelson Cruz will be out at least two weeks. Nothing you can do but DL him and try to find a decent replacement. David Murphy’s a good in-house one. Though he needs to benched by you and the Rangers vs.
Please, blog, may I have some more?I’m beginning to think with Billy Beane that the emperor’s wearing no clothes. Moneyball is still a great book, Joe Morgan is still a moron and Chad Bradford is still an underhander. Those things are true. But the A’s were 4th in the Majors last year in steals — what happened to steals cost outs? Not to mention, Beane’s team hasn’t been competitive in three seasons. Was Moneyball just a symptom of the era? Was it simply fortuitous that Beane’s coronation came during the era of the three run homer? Was Moneyball a by-product of steroids? Would Moneyball be written today? Hard to imagine Michael Lewis sitting down with a GM of a sub-.500 club and polishing his pedestal, right? And none of this has to do with fantasy baseball or Ben Sheets. (I wrote the preceding the other day, then right before I posted this I saw Sky Andrecheck wrote an SI piece in the similar ballpark. Literally.)
If Sheets can stay healthy, he’s liable to return more than his ADP. That “if” is ginormous. That “if” sits next to you on a plane and you can’t put down the armrest. You show up at a party of 500 Tongans and that “if” is the second biggest thing in the room after the buffet table. You hook up with that “if” at a bar and people will think you’re beer goggling. Okay, I think I made my point. The other issue with Sheets is his falling K-rate. Back in 2005, if Sheets was healthy, he was a Cy Young-type performer. Regularly posting 200+ Ks and next to no walks.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Chris Davis was sent to the minors last night to make room for Josh Hamilton. In the preseason, Bill James’s projections for Chris Davis were 107/40/118/.302/8. I thought that was a tad optimistic. And “tad optimistic” there is like saying, “Hey, this Ben Affleck movie might be okay.” Those predictions and the proceeding hype sent Davis’s ADP through the roof. To the point where I decided to punt 3rd base in all of my drafts and take Mark Reynolds. I went over why in this preseason post. Now I’m not saying I wasn’t at fault either. Back in December, I said Davis was a sleeper when he was going after Zimmerman, Huff and Atkins. When the hype picked up, I backed off. Though I did give Davis pretty generous preseason numbers too at 75/30/95/.275/3. But I have a fantasy baseball blog; I’m not Bill James. I think someone should ping Bill James (the kids say ping, ask one what it means) and say, “Hey, Bill, big fan. Lots of great stuff through the years. Sorry to ping you this late, but a few quick rhetorical questions. Chris Davis? Seriously? Did you not follow the ruler across the paper correctly on Pujols’s name?” In the Better News Dept., David Murphy should get more time now that Davis is gone as Blalock moves to first. Though I’m not sure how long Blalock can stay healthy playing that demanding of a position. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Psyche!
Please, blog, may I have some more?In our seemingly interminable lists of 2009 fantasy baseball rankings, we’re covering the last of the top 40 starters for 2009 fantasy baseball. ¡Muy excitemento! The other day we did the top 20 starters for 2009. Check them out, you know you wanna. This list could go another sixty deep and maybe I’ll go through the next sixty without all the hazarai. I talked about how I don’t draft many guys from the very top starters, instead I wait. Well, the starters on this list are the ones I choose from. I wouldn’t mind Vazquez, Cain and Wainwright on my fantasy team. Or Garza, Weaver and Young. Or… Well, you get the picture. I like just about all of the guys on the bottom of this top 40 list. For a more general idea of where people are falling, look at this 2009 Fantasy Baseball Player Rater. Also, to help with drafting, here’s a list of players with multiple position eligibility. Or read how previous year’s pitch counts make for risky pitchers. Anyway, here’s the rest of the top 40 starters for 2009 fantasy baseball:
21.
Please, blog, may I have some more?
With visions of a goat, Bartman and a fat man, the Cubs traded for Rich Harden. The Cubs are so my neighbor that bought a Prius after I bought my Saab. Seriously, Cubbies, why don’t you build a bigger extension onto the side of your house too?
Please, blog, may I have some more?A few innings before Felix Hernandez was spiked pretty bad by Ricky from My So Called Life, he hit a grand slam off Johan Santana. (Grey, insert profound comment on how you can be on top of the world one moment and the next moment you’re limping off the field.
Please, blog, may I have some more?undefined
Please, blog, may I have some more?
