There's been much consternation going on around these parts ever since I ranked [player]Chase Headley[/player] 34th in my Top 100 Keepers for 2013 and Beyond post that came out last week. Wait, is that the correct word? Consternation? Does constipation work better? There's been much constipation... hmmm. Decisions. Let's just go with both. Actually, now that I think about it, no one really cared about that ranking. However, there were some eyebrows raised at not including a second baseman, whose name rhymes with Rick Danklin. But I don't want to talk about him anymore. I already wrote about him here. ARE YOU NOT SATISFIED? And even though I also talked about Chase Headley in the same post, I want to examine him a bit further for a few reasons. And I also want to examine both your consternation and constipation. My friends call me 'H'. As in Preparation H. But not really. Not at all. This will never be mentioned again.
Monthly Archives: July 2013
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Prospect Power Rankings: Week 17
July 31, 2013 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects | 96 Commentsby: Scott Evans
As veteran players are shipped out at the trading deadline, it’s inevitable that opportunities will reveal themselves for several high profile prospects. The Phillies are set to trade away Michael Young, and they’ve already called-up third base prospect Cody Asche to fill the soon-to-be vacant hot corner. Please, blog, may I have some more?
In what will be a wild weekend across the Majors, there will be five Interleague matchups over the weekend, throwing a wrench into a lot of Pitcher v. Batter data. Just imagine if this were last year and everyone was in Interleague at the same time minus two teams... But with even divisions of 15 these days, Interleague happens every day with this weekend amping them up to five Interleague matchups taking over ten teams. Cut to the hitters on the Padres at Yankees Stadium, "Hey, Venable, I can actually see the fences from home plate!" I generally will avoid hitters against new pitchers that are throwing well, and will tend to like pitchers more against line-ups that have never seen them.
This Friday, another RAZZBALL EXCLUSIVE CAN YOU BEAT RUDY GAMBLE contest is back, opening up a few more spots to a 40 person contest, getting you one step closer to the $100,000 Sweet Spot for a shot at a $20,000 top prize. It's the usual game, $5.00 an entry, up to two per person, and you can only get in through our exclusive link. Spots 2-10 double up, and people from last week who finished 1-11 are not invited. I can't believe I got 12th last week! I was winning for a good while there with early pitchers going, but then [player]Edwin Encarnacion[/player] went bonkers off the AAA Astros pitching. But to quote the immortal Maury Ballstein, "what do we do when we fall off the horse?"
Red Sox Boldly Acquire Long-Voweled Starter
July 31, 2013 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 872 Commentsby: Grey
First off, [player]Jose Iglesias[/player] is gone. The less intelligent Red Sox fan screams bloody murder like Schilling's sock, "But Julio Iglesias was batting .400 after ten games about two weeks ago! His name's Julio, right? RIGHT?!" The intelligent Sawx fan screams, "Does this mean Xander Bogaerts is coming up?!" The drunk Sawx fan screams, "We're fine with this trade no mahder what 'cuz Jackie Bradley Jr. wok'd three times in his first game! I need more Sammy A!" The Sawx fan who doesn't play fantasy says, "Um, what about [player]Jake Peavy[/player]?" The Sawx fan who does play fantasy says, "His value doesn't change with this trade, maybe a few more wins." The drunk Sawx fan butts in, "I'm going to the packie, you wahnt anything?" The less intelligent Red Sox fan says, "I'll take a packie of Pahl Mahls." Then the drunk Sawx fan shakes his head, "Yah more stoned than Robert Parrish." Then [player]Will Middlebrooks[/player] says, "Hey, I could get called up instead of Bogaerts." Then all the Sawx fans in unison say, "Shaddup!" So, Iglesias goes to the Tigers, which is a solid landing spot for him. He's known for his defense, which puts his fantasy value at slim to anorexic, unless you have a Web Gems category in your league. He'll act as insurance for when the steroid hammer drops on [player]Jhonny Peralta[/player]. Avisail Garcia goes to the White Sox, and he's a light hitting corner outfielder who will probably take over once Rios is moved. Bogaerts or Middlebrooks will take over shortly (or third basely) and I stashed Bogaerts immediately when I heard this trade go down. Finally, Peavy is who he is as the Sawx fan pointed out above. He doesn't have substantial innings in Fenway in his career, but that doesn't matter because they would've been against the Sawx. He's a terrific addition in real life for Boston, but he's a 3.70-ish, 8+ K-rate starter for fantasy, which is around a fantasy number three. Jake Peavy will definitely do better than Jack Pervy, who Rudy and I went to school with in Boston. He used to hang out with someone we named Tim Wackfield and you can imagine how we mangled Keith Foulke's name. Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Drafting [player]Michael Bourn[/player]? That’s a paddlin’. Focusing on steals in an OPS league? That’s a paddlin’. Drafting a SAGNOF who hurts your OPS and doesn’t steal bases? Oh, you better believe that’s a paddlin’! In all honesty (which implies that I’m rarely honest with you?), I feel sorry for fantasy owners who were counting on him for stolen bases. Don’t you feel that way too, [player]Matt Kemp[/player]? They had their fantasy teams left cold and ashamed, lying naked on the floor. No, let’s not get into Rihanna right now. But I really don’t know where to start with Michael, so I’ll begin at the beginning and go on till I come to the end, then stop. His current .288/.341/.381 line is fine in OBP leagues, but hurts in leagues that use slugging. The fact that he only has 13 steals is puzzling, considering that he’s a guy you would pencil in for 50 a year. Perry Farrell told me to note that Bourn’s been caught stealing seven times, a potential indicator of less speed. To make a not-so-long story short, I wouldn’t count on Bourn turning his season around. Anyway, here are some other guys I’m watching in OPS leagues:
The Razzball Podcast — The One Where We Discuss Deadline Deals
July 30, 2013 | All Podcasts | 429 Commentsby: Grey
Trade deadline is approaching so we figured, you know, we should talk about it. Nick got Smokey and Tom locked in the Fantasy Octagon (which isn't 99.999999% as dangerous, but don't tell the combatants) and after much prodding got them to fisticuffs over which bullpens will be in flux with the trade deadline looming. "[player]Huston Street[/player] ain't going nowhere!" "Oh yeah? Well I'm gonna armbar you 'til [player]Steve Cishek[/player] gets traded!" They also discussed Tom's recent trip to Bolivia and Smokey's recent trip to Trenton. A women's prison and Pork Roll within a half mile? I'm going Trenton. Rudy was supposed to join us to discuss deadline strategies, but he came down with a case of the family-was-out-of-the-house-all-day-so-I-downloaded-a-boatload-of-porn-itis, so I filled in for a double segment. You, "Can I get an order of moustachioed advice please? Wait, what? I can supersize it! Yes please!" We also talked trading deadline news. In the spirit of the trading season, I went to the Salvation Army and traded a dirty pair of boxers for a pair of parachute pants then was told that wasn't how it worked and I declared war on the Salvation Army. We also discussed my penchant for giving away coveted rookies in keeper leagues to try to win for the current year. When they were all rookies, I had Braun, Prince, Reyes and Hanley in an NL only keeper, but, hey, at least I finished 5th that one year and got my league fee back. Finally, we talked about my trip to Indiana. Anyway, here's the Razzball Podcast (now with July 31st implications):
For the second straight week, we have a new Razzball Commenter League overall leader. MasterofGrond's Waco Night Terrors (Imposing Sea Creatures) moved up from 5th place as they had their best week of the season in steals (13) and saves (9), as well as a fine 2.05 ERA and 1.03 WHIP. They were also among the league-leaders in runs with 54. [player]Norichika Aoki[/player] (7 Runs/4 SB) and[player] Rajai Davis[/player] (6 SB) were key, along with [player]Max Scherzer[/player], [player]Justin Masterson[/player], [player]Madison Bumgarner[/player], and [player]A.J. Burnett[/player].
Check out the Master Standings (you can also access them via the Leagues menu up top) to see where your team ranks in comparison to the other 767 teams through Sunday. The page now includes sortable stats. Astros Have Jose To Spare For Valverde-Less Tigers
July 30, 2013 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 351 Commentsby: Grey
[player]Jose Veras[/player] was traded to the Tigers, which is bad news for Veras and potentially [player]Joaquin Benoit[/player]. It'll likely only be bad news for Veras's owners. My guess is Benoit will hold the job with Veras setting him up, but I would hold Veras until the Tigers confirm that through usage. It's also potentially bad news for anyone who picks up the Lastros potential replacement, [player]Jose Cisnero[/player]. Too bad Jose "Set The Table For The Opposing Team" Mesa retired, it sounds like there's a Jose revival. "I can get someone to cover for me selling scratch-off tickets." That was Jose Mesa, holding a presser at his local 7-11. Since the newest name to get some fantasy value is Cisnero, let's be like a cyclops with a monocle and take a closer look. He's been awful. You'd be hard-pressed like overpriced juice to find someone who has been as bad recently that could be getting saves. Since June 26th (last ten appearances), he's given up eight runs in 8 2/3 IP. In that time, he's allowed nine walks, nine hits and one homer. Only thing he's not allowed is a legitimate reason to be the closer other than he's young and the Asstros might like to try him out for next year. Another option for saves in Houston is the guys the Astros just called up, Josh Zeid and Chia-Jen Lo. Both of which sound like background extras in the cantina scene in Star Wars. Both are unproven, so likely headed for the middle innings or to see Boba Fett. Finally, there's [player]Wesley Wright[/player], who sounds like the third Wright brother -- the one that was scared of heights. "We're gonna need you to put your seat in the upright position." "You know what? You and Wilbur have at it." That was Wesley getting off the plane right before that maiden flight. Wright is more of a lefty specialist, so he might only see a handful of saves. Then again, this is the Lastros, and there may only be a handful of saves for anyone. All in all, or whatever clunky intro you want on this sentence, I'm glad someone else beat me to the punch grabbing Cisnero. I sense a Mitchell Boggs reprise in the works, which isn't the same as The Mitchell Boggs Reprisal that the Geneva Convention commissioned after Boggs attacked fantasy owners ratios earlier this year. Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Pitcher Profile: Time To Erase Erasmo Ramirez?
July 29, 2013 | Pitcher Profiles | 113 Commentsby: JB Gilpin
When he was called up just before the All-Star Break, the exclamation for the long-awaited arrival for [player]Erasmo Ramirez[/player] was perhaps hyperbolic. I'll admit, I thought he'd be a big fantasy help too. Sure he was dynamite last year with a decent 3.36 ERA but dazzling 1.00 WHIP and 7.32 Ks per 9 in his debut 59 innings. His walk rate was under 2 per 9, pitches in Safeco - this was going to be a fantastic season.
But a triceps injury kept him from making the Opening Day rotation, forcing him to rehab his way back up. After two nice starts in single A and double AA, Erasmo spent most of his time in AAA with a solid 3.09 ERA and 42 Ks in 43.2 innings. However, red flags did arise with a WHIP at 1.31 and a walk rate at 2.89. Not exactly too scary, and he was certainly shaking some rust off.
[player]Norichika Aoki[/player] is one of those guys that has come up a lot in the comments on these posts, and for good reason. After posting a really impressive 10 homer/30 steal season in 2012, his steals numbers have been pretty worrisome in 2013. Through the first half of this season, Aoki had only stolen 10 bases and had been caught 10 times. I'm no mathematician, but that's a pretty lousy 50% CS% and not what you want to see from a guy you drafted for wheels. I had begun to think that Aoki's first MLB season may have been a blip on the radar when I looked back on his numbers from Japan. Starting with his 2011 season, his steals numbers from his last five years there were 8, 19, 18, 31, and 17. Hence my thinking that last year's 30 may have been just another blip. Well, Aoki changed some of that thinking this past week with a 9-game hit streak and 4 steals. More importantly, he wasn't caught in any of those attempts. He's not somebody that is readily available to pick up of course, but he may have found his way to your bench before his recent hot streak. Get him starting for the coming week because he gets two fantastic match-ups against the Cubs and Nationals, two teams that are terrible against the stolen base this year, and Aoki is looking like he's ready to run.
[player]Albert Pujols[/player] and his owners are not not not gonna have a good time the rest of 2013 thanks to a partially torn plantar fascia ligament in his foot. It must be hard to stamp out fasciasm when it affects one's foot - especially when the leader of the movement is so menacing. Pujols has clearly been a shadow of his former self but he still has been the 6th most valuable 1B (not counting guys with other position eligibility) according to our Season-to-Date Player Rater. For those of you without a built-in replacement at 1B like the Angels (Mark Trumbo), I recommmend just playing matchups via the Hitter-tron and hope you luck into a few hot streaks. Or, if you've got surplus at a position, trade for a dependable 1B to save yourself the joy of deciding between the Yonder Alonsos on the waiver wire.
Anyway, here are some other notes from the weekend. (And a shout-out to Grey 'Iron Man' Albright who is taking a night off with the Cougar's family whom, I assume, live in a pink house somewhere in Indiana)...
Bob Seger, Chevrolet’s poet laureate, once wrote, “Who wants to play those eights and aces/Who wants a raise/Who needs a stake/Who wants to take that long shot gamble?” The tune was “Fire Lake” and while not his best, (Give me “The Famous Final Scene”) or the best thing out of Detroit (give me The Stooges any day), I do like the line on taking a long shot. I’m a ramblin’ gamblin’ man. Recently we rolled the dice on [player]Marlon Byrd [/player]and hit it like a hard ten/a woman’s best friend (For all our Mormon readers, that’s a good thing). Sometimes taking a chance pays off big and it’s Cristal and caviar, sometimes you’re busted and it’s Pabst and pork rinds. We have taken our chances this season, often throwing stats and logic aside. I got a feelin’! Oh, it’s just gas. Stupid pork rinds. Yes indeed, fellow Razzballer’s, we had jammer/crammers that we hit on like [player]Raul Ibanez[/player], [player]Nick Franklin[/player] and [player]Koji Uehara[/player]. Others left us bankrupt. Damn you [player]Ike Davis[/player]! I’m crying real tears over my fake baseball team here. It’s time to take some risks and find us a longshot. Time to put on some Seger, don the Ray-Ban’s and slide across the living room floor in our underwear. It’s time to jam it or cram it.
