In 2010, the Diamondbacks traded Dan Haren to the Angels for Joe Saunders (and Patrick Corbin and Tyler Skaggs). Turned out in that parenthetical lied the rub. At the time of the trade, ESPN Fantasy said, “…this looks like highway robbery for the Angels, and a salary dump for the Diamondbacks.
Please, blog, may I have some more?DeWayne Wise
You know how when you turn on the lights in my bedroom, the cockroaches scatter? Well, maybe you didn’t know. Okay, say Hodgepadres are the cockroaches and the lights are from any stadium but Petco. You following the analogy? Good, let’s add another layer.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Tim Lincecum has a 6.07 ERA. Seriously, we’re in July and Lincecum’s ERA is six point oh seven. There’s ugly. There’s brutal. There’s murderous. There’s the guy with the goiter down the street from you that you talked to at a red light once and now he wants to hang out.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Yesterday, DeWayne Wise joined other historical footnotes, such as the guy who tried to tackle Hank Aaron as he rounded the bases on 715, Francisco Cabrera and the other 4 guys besides Crispus Attucks that were killed in the Boston Massacre, when he saved Mark Buehrle‘s perfect game. That’s the DeWayne Wise of this video. I look forward to his next video, Stop Cheering Me! Okay, so Buehrle is not just a difficult to spell last name. No, sir. He’s a perfect game pitcher, um, guy.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Chien-Ming Wang – the two-time 19 game winner – is pitching historically bad. How bad? Some TV highlight show quoted some statistical service that the 15 earned runs he’s given up in the past 2 starts are the most ever for a Yankee pitcher’s first two starts of the year. For fantasy purposes, he’s more toxic than Chinese air, waterways, and land combined. As for Ted Lilly, you have to respect a guy who can overcome the ignominy of being traded for Hideki Irabu and Jeff Weaver. He’s been a very underrated late game starter for the past two years with the Cubs.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Who doesn’t love a good comeback story? Mickey Rourke, Jamie Walters, Wilco’s Sky Blue Sky after a very hit or miss, A Ghost is Born… Now there’s Edwin Jackson. Last night, he pitched a gem. 7 2/3 IP, 1 ER with 89 pitches. I love prospects that seem destined for greatness then fail.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Coming to the Braves outfield this summer, Jordan Schafer — The outfielder to have when you’re drafting more than one. I picked him up immediately in my sucky fantasy baseball league. He sounds blahtastic! Maybe 10/15/.250 aka every outfielder that sits on waivers all year that has one good game and you contemplate picking up until you think better of it. Some have compared Schafer to Sizemore, but he’s much greener. Though he does know his way around striking out. He’s jumping straight from Double-A where he K’d 88 times in 297 ABs. CHONE and ZiPS project averages near .240. He may turn into a Sizemore, but for 2009 he’s more of a Sighsmore <– pun! He’s worth a flier in an NL-Only league. But then again, so is Cha-Seung Baek. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in spring training for fantasy baseball:
Dexter Fowler – Razzball was abuzz yesterday with the news Fowler might make the team. He really should, and Helton should retire so Ian Stewart can play, but whatever. Fowler is the total package like Lex Luger. He can run, mash and had the opportunity to go to Harvard. He could go 12/30 and hit .285. Then he’s a 30/30 guy in a year or two. Keeper leagues should be all over him. I have Spilborghs on a few teams, but I’d happily move on from him to see Fowler get the chance. I grabbed Fowler in my Spilborghs leagues for backup until this shakes out. I’ll drop whoever doesn’t get the job. Fowler or Maybin?
Please, blog, may I have some more?Oh, they’re not just bad. Nah, I outdid even myself this time. On this drafternoon, I picked a team that is near-perfectly awful. They simultaneously suck and blow. On a scale of one to ten, they’re a negative seven. I did the math! Somehow I managed to get a team where not one hitter projects for more than twelve home runs. If someone in the Royals brass gets wind of my drafting skills, I may get a job! If you think I’m being facetious (which was recently outlawed in Madagascar), shame on you. And shame on this team! I took part in a fantasy baseball draft this past Saturday to pick the worst fantasy baseball team. And I think I done did it. My co-conspirators in this were:
Roto Rob
Tirico Suave
Drunk Jays Fans
Fantasy Baseball Cafe
Fantasy Pros 911
Hire Jim Essian
Sharapova’s Thigh
Fantasy Baseball Geeks
Beyond the Box Score
Come with me as I take out the trash:
Random thoughts about various rounds of the draft:
ROUND 1 – I had my eye on Ronnie Belliard like only Mrs.
Please, blog, may I have some more?This was, as they say in Italy, an Experto Callaspo AL-Only draft. What AL-Only means to me? Thanks for asking, random italicized voice. It means I probably won’t have one pitcher that I would usually have in a mixed league. I contemplated about how I wanted to go about this draft. It’s good to have a game plan, ya know? So I decided, since I don’t really like AL pitchers, I would get solid pitchers anyway. Zoinks! I figured that solid pitchers would be at a premium and if I got my share, I’d be in good shape. Also, from my knowledge of other ‘pert drafts, no one drafts starters early, so while they’re zigging, I decided to zag. “Knowing your opponents’ weaknesses is half the duel,” Aaron Burr. When you see my pitchers, you’ll see I didn’t really get that many great ones, but for AL-Only I have a top three pitching staff going into the season. Then there’s the strategy I employed for hitters. I decided to punt catchers, of course, and up the middle. Punting the MIs was because I knew who I wanted late and I knew guys like Alexei Ramirez would go way early (He went in the 2nd round.) Okay, before I get to my thoughts I jotted down during the AL-Only draft, here’s my co-conspirators:
Fantasy Baseball Dugout
The Fantasy Man
Fantasy Sports Commissioner Training Institute
Rotohelp
Sporting News
ProFantasy Baseball
Roto Central
Advanced Fantasy Baseball
Fantasy Sports R Us
Fantasy Baseball Sherpa
Fanball
Here’s my team:
C: Taylor Teagarden (19)
1B: Carlos Pena (3)
2B: Asdrubal Cabrera (15)
SS: Jed Lowrie (11)
3B: Brandon Wood (12)
MI: Wilson Betemit (23)
CI: Jason Giambi (10)
OF: Carlos Quentin (1)
OF: Carl Crawford (2)
OF: Vernon Wells (5)
OF: Franklin Gutierrez (14)
OF: Brett Gardner (16)
UT: DeWayne Wise (25)
P: James Shields (4)
P: Joba Chamberlain (6)
P: John Danks (7)
P: Brad Ziegler (8)
P: Brandon Lyon (9)
P: Anthony Reyes (13)
P: Dan Wheeler (17)
P: Kevin Millwood (18)
P: Rafael Betancourt (22)
Bench: Melky Cabrera (20), Wladimir Balentien (21), Matt Thornton (24), Jeremy Sowers (26), Damaso Marte (27)
Notes I jotted down during the draft:
ROUND 1 & 2 – I get Carlos N Carl with my first two picks. Yuck. Seriously, I hate AL-Only. I have no idea where all the good players have gone, but I think it’s into the NL.
Please, blog, may I have some more?