I've been sitting on a title like that for months!
I still can't believe Grey shat on The Fifth Element a few months ago on the Podcast, then followed it up with he hadn't seen it... Well ya know what?! War and Peace is an awful book!
[player]Patrick Corbin[/player] was an absolute G for me in 2013, as I streamed him in several leagues for a Padres start and decided to never look back. Although looking at his game log again, that certainly seemed like a no-brainer! He came out of absolutely nowhere and was shrugged off, but turned out to be a top-10 pitcher for most of the season. Then he really fell off in his final 7 starts before tearing up his elbow in 2014's Spring Training.
Now back in the rotation, the consensus seems to be pretty low on Corbin doing much this year, treating him like he's a meat popsicle. Maybe my 2013 love for Corbin has biased me, but I was excited to bring him in the ranks over a month before his debut. So with middling numbers thus far despite good velocity, I decided to break down his third start off the DL to see how he's looking pitch-by-pitch:
Monthly Archives: July 2015
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SAGNOF Special, Week 16: Trade Deadline Closers In
July 20, 2015 | Closers, Steals | 30 Commentsby: RotoLance
The week of the trade deadline is one of the most active for SAGNOF (Saves Ain't Got No Face). Occasionally a team in contention will upgrade their closer. More often teams in the running for the playoffs will look to upgrade their bullpens by acquiring a closer from an out of contention team and moving him to an 8th inning role. Time to discuss which closers and next in line players will be affected as the trade deadline closers in. (Ahem) I mean closes in. (Or do I? I like how either way it's a pun.) Because the trade deadline is July 31st this is one of two SAGNOF Specials to come which will do just that.
Second half Podcasts, wooooo! Grey and I catch up after his All-Star Break trip to Seattle to talk the remaining prospects Aaron Nola and Kyle Schwarber getting called up, Grey's hatred of Mitch Moreland, and a surprise pitcher available nearly everywhere in 10 or 12 team leagues that we both like. Shocker! Grey picked him up while I read him the availability %... Pickup number 245! Seriously. We then play a little Price is Right higher/lower, and discuss a few hitters with multi-HR games over the weekend. I'm sorry in advance for this Podcast, residents of Seattle! Here's the latest edition of the Razzball Baseball Podcast:
At least, that's what wise men say. Thankfully for both you and I, I'm not one of those...wait, I mean...dammit, nevermind, you know what I mean. I think? Not good to start a recommendation blog off with trepidation but what can I say as I'm going for the unreliable narrator thing. I mean, it worked for Chuck Palahniuk and who doesn't love the anti-hero Tyler Durden? So while I splice some rated X films into your kids' movie, lemme tell you a little bit about Chris Rusin. Or better, yet let me tell you about his opponent, the Texas Rangers. Or better than better yet, let me start by saying this: it's a tourney only call. I know, I know, anything goes in tourneys but hear me out. The Rangers are an impressive offense overall so far this year, especially with how many projected them but there's one thing they haven't done well: hit left-handed pitching. For the year, the Rangers have K'd 22.9% of the time vs southpaws and just got sat down by Keuchel on Sunday as he went 7 and struck out 13 while only giving up 2 hits. Would I expect that from Rusin on Monday? Hells to the no, children, but I expect the opportunity for at least 5 to 6 innings and perhaps 7 punch outs. Given the low ownership he'll garner and the minimal price tag of $4,800, Chris opens the doors to flood your lineup with all of the best bats in the prime spots...ya know, like Colorado, where he's pitching. It's a gamble but it's not one without its merit and I'll be sure to be the fool that'll Rusin today. But enough about Elvis love songs, let's get a little more country. Here's my ring of fire hot takes for the Monday DK slate...
New to DraftKings? Scared of feeling like a small fish in a big pond? Well try out this 10 teamer of Razzball writers and friends to wet your DK whistle. Just remember to sign up through us before you do. It’s how we know you care! If you still feel helpless and lonely, be sure to subscribe to the DFSBot for your daily baseball plays. 
"Who is the Dodgers ace?" asks the Fox Sports newscaster in Los Angeles, after the special report on "Where are the stars shopping for their Emmy gowns?" and "Juicing? Is it good for you?" and "A high-speed pursuit ends in an In-N-Out drive-thru," and "Actresses over 24 years old may not be washed up after all," and "Shopkeeper puts up sign to 'Vote Republican' and gets looted." So, who is the Dodgers ace? On Saturday, Clayton Kershaw went 8 IP, 0 ER, 3 baserunners with 14 Ks, ERA down to 2.68. My Magic Eight Ball says this is the year the Dodgers hop on Kershaw's back, march through the playoffs and justify every crackers move Mattingly's done in his managerial career. Sometimes knowing the future really bums me out. Not to be outdone, on Sunday, Zack Greinke went 8 IP, 0 ER, 4 baserunners with 11 Ks, and lowered his ERA to 1.30. Soon he won't be able to lower his ERA anymore (math is my strong suit). I'm totally done doubting Greinke...or am I?! No, not the ellipsis reversal! Ah! As I ranked in the top 100 for the 2nd half, Kershaw is way above Greinke in terms of, well, everything. Greinke is also not a 1.30 ERA pitcher, but no one really is, except maybe Kershaw. Greinke is definitely a number one though; this isn't all luck. He has a 8+ K/9, 1.4 BB/9 and 3.05 xFIP, which is essentially nice, aw sooky, nice. A "nice aw sooky" sandwich, if you will. Then there's the fact that Greinke hasn't allowed a run in 43 2/3 IP. Orel Hershiser doesn't scoff at that, maybe he yawns, then does a small double take when no one is looking. Anyway, here's what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:
I sat down Friday night and started watching Shark Tank for the first time. Wow, have I been missing out on a beautiful reality show. No B.S., I have been binge watching it all weekend. I know, I know, Grey has been pimping this reality masterpiece for years. Grey, you were right and I won't doubt your reality lotharioness ever again. This show got me thinking about how I choose my creeper and how in some ways that I am the shark. I'm looking at numbers and schedules every week to buy the creeper. Based on the arguments in my head, I choose my player to invest in. Pretty easy. Now, what would you guys... and girls think of this new concept I thought of yesterday while chatting with Grey? Each week next season, instead of one contributor picking a creeper, we have several contributors each make one sell for a creeper? Take all those sells and combine them into one post and you peeps can decide what creeper you believe in. Just a thought.
Even with the break thanks to All-Star festivities, injuries happen, and thus, Ambulance Chasers happens. The majority of today's blurbs are positive, which is rare for the Ambulance Chasers. Three cheers for mostly good news! For even more good news, we here at Razzball have partnered up with The Infirmary Report to showcase their lovely and comprehensive spreadsheet of injuries. You can find the full spreadsheet from The Infirmary Report below the player blurbs.
Francisco Liriano, Pirates: The southpaw was a late scratch from yesterday's schedule start with the team citing neck tightness. The Bucs announced Vance Worley would take Liriano's start less than an hour before game time, though no word on whether or not Worley will take Liriano's rotation spot if need be.
We're living in an incredibly scary time. Bill Cosby is a villain, Donald Trump is running for president, and people are playing the "Boys Are Back In Town Again" back to back to back until bars riot. This is the sort of chaos that invades our daily lives and can make just keep, keeping on impossible. Fear not noble reader, DraftKings is here to take over your mundane, meaningless, and sad life. You will now have purpose, and that purpose is to win money from your wealth of useless fantasy sports knowledge. Haha, laugh no longer single long term girlfriend and wildly successful older brother, for I am Ralph, King of Drafts! Sorry guys I smoked way too much nutmeg and now I can't seem to write anything remotely coherent. Hey give me a break, you spend your Saturday nights playing Call of Duty with your roommates and smoking from your penis shaped pipe. I, on the other hand, sort through pages of stats to find you the days best plays while mixing in a little BBW porn viewing when I need a break. So you should take my word for it when I tell you to start Chris Sale. Or that big girls can be sexy. I mean it takes genuine fantasy knowledge and superior intellect to identify these things. It's not like Sale leads the world in K/9 or anything. It's also certainly not true that K's are by far the most important requirement for a DFS starter besides not giving up 10 runs in an innings and a third. Sale costs $13,100 so your going to have to make sacrifices but you know what they say about sacrifices. Actually I don't know what they say so if you figure it out, please share. We have a comments section for such things. I'll just be here keeping busy with Randy Widettes 7.
New to DraftKings? Scared of feeling like a small fish in a big pond? Well try out this 2o teamer of Razzball writers and friends to wet your DK whistle. Just remember to sign up through us before you do. It’s how we know you care! If you still feel helpless and lonely, be sure to subscribe to the DFSBot for your daily baseball plays.
Every other week Razzball ranks the prospects closest to contributing to your fantasy roster. The list is limited to players who still have rookie eligibility (less than 130 at bats or 50 innings pitched) and who are currently in the minor leagues. It’s not a list based on talent alone, but rather it’s a mixture of talent and opportunity. It will change frequently over the course of the season as prospects graduate to the majors, injuries occur, or service time roadblocks are passed. Here are the top 15 prospects on the cusp of the major leagues for 2015 fantasy baseball…
Two Start Pitchers, Week 16: Pounding On The Lunch Table
July 18, 2015 | Two Start Fantasy Starters | 31 Commentsby: Geoff
Growing up everyone had their favorite school lunch. Didn't matter if your Mom packed you one or if you paid Bertha $1.25 for the crap they served on the foam divided plate. Everybody had a favorite. Maybe you were a lima beans and ravioli guy, a P,B, and J-er, did you crush fluffernutters like a boss? Or did you wait all week for pizza on Friday? I had several favorites and they evolved as I got older, I'm sure that's the same for you too. So this week we compare pitchers to some of my favorite brown bag meals. Excuse me while I go heat up some Dino-shaped chix nuggets. Yummmm weird chicken type meat smoothered in sweet baby rays....Yummmmmm. So anyway we're all starving for some fantasy baseball coming out of the break, and what better way to ring in the second half than a little elementary school nostalgia? Two Start Pitchers week 16 gentlemen and four LADIES.
The Cubs have recalled super catching prospect [player]Kyle Schwarber[/player] to split catching duties while Miguel Montero is out for the next six weeks. Kyle was 3-for-4 with a run scored Friday night. We know the Cubs have a crazy amount of young talent on their roster, but Schwarber could be the final piece. I've seen enough baseball movies to know the hot-shot catching phenom usually comes in half way through the season to unite a bunch of ragtag misfits and lead them to victory, even though the owner wants to move them to Albuquerque. Schwarber is likely no exception. In a brief call up in June to serve as DH, Kyle slashed .364/.391/.591 with a homer and 6 RBI in 22 at bats (6 games). Extrapolate that! Let's see...6 over 22 is equal to, carry the 1, cross-multiply, take the cosine and divide by zero...87 home runs! Whoa! Even I underestimated Schwarber's ceiling, I guess! Or perhaps my math is off? Regardless, Schwarber is an immediate add in all leagues. In the minors, between AA and AAA he combined to hit .323/.430/.591 with 16 homers and 49 RBI. Prospector Mike ranked Kyle 7th on his Midseason Top 50 Prospects list, and Grey told you to BUY. Seventh is in the top 10 you guys. That's right, more math. I'm just saying there is some serious upside here and Kyle Schwarber could be the biggest and smartest pick up you make all season. Now bring on the catcher questions!
Here's what else I saw in fantasy baseball Friday night:
I continue to standby the fact that spending the most money on pitchers is the smartest strategy in DraftKings. It's not necessarily the safest, because your pricey pitcher could get lit up on any given day. It's no secret that DraftKings has priced pitchers higher than any other position. It pretty much forces you to pay the price for a pitcher, unless you catch one on a day where a highly touted prospect gets his first opportunity in the big leagues. At this point, I'm sure we've all tried different strategies, and got various results. Clayton Kershaw is $14,000 today. That number is correct, and not an error. At first glance, I wasn't sure how anyone would fit Kershaw into their lineup at this price, but he's back to being the dominant pitcher like last year. He's had 9 straight Quality Starts, and 87 strikeouts during that streak. I might be one of few to pick Kershaw in a big 'Guaranteed' entry, as it is very easy to scroll down past the most expensive player. Kershaw and the Dodgers are on the road against the Nationals, which should shy away your fantasy opponents.
New to DraftKings? Scared of feeling like a small fish in a big pond? Well try out this 10 teamer of Razzball writers and friends to wet your DK whistle. Just remember to sign up through us before you do. It’s how we know you care! If you still feel helpless and lonely, be sure to subscribe to the DFSBot for your daily baseball plays.
