malamoney

Author: malamoney

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malamoney

Points Leagues, Freddie, Set, Go!

September 13, 2020 | 2020 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Points Leagues | Leave a comment

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I really like to come up with original titles for posts, and even though I did think of this one myself, I knew the moment I did that there was no way someone else hadn’t already done so. I was correct. However, I’m sticking with it. I considered Right Said Freddie and Buy One, Get One Freeman, but clearly they finished second and third in the vote that took place inside my head. Wait, I’ve got a better one. How’s “Freddie, Willing and Able”? Perhaps I should go with that. Oh, who’s kidding, I’m too lazy to change it and then have to rearrange the previous few sentences I’ve already written. “Primed and Freddie To Go”? Don’t rush me, I’ll get the post when I’m “Good and Freddie”?

Don’t look now, but Freddie Freeman is the real National League MVP. Say what??? With all the attention on Fernando Tatis and Juan Soto, Freeman has not so quietly been making his case as the best hitter in the NL. Who are we kidding, he’s been doing that for the last several years. Tatis might be exciting and flashy while Freeman could be the poster boy for boring. However, at the end of the day the only thing that matters are the numbers.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
malamoney

Points Leagues, Party On Dudes!

August 30, 2020 | 2020 Fantasy Baseball, Points Leagues | 10 Comments

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Greetings, my excellent friends. I think it’s time we face the music. This year of fantasy baseball has not been an excellent adventure. Not by any means. As one wise dude once said “strange things are afoot at the Circle K”. Honestly if it’s not COVID-19, it’s a blister, paternity leave, explosive diarrhea, in-climate weather or protest that has derailed my weekly lineups. I pled with my league to switch from weekly lineups to daily for this year, but they huffed and they puffed and they blew the league up. I think I said it last week, the teams that win the championships in their respective leagues this year are not going to be the best teams, they are going to be the ones that got the luckiest when it came to navigating players not playing. I’m glad we got a season in, but this season is in danger of flunking most heinously.

What do Trevor Story, Kyle Seager, David Fletcher, Yuli Gurriel all have in common? I’m guess they probably have a handful of stuff in common, but the thing to which I am referring is the fact they have all scored double digit points every week this season.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
malamoney

Points Leagues, Vladimir Gue-RarinToGo

August 24, 2020 | 2020 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Points Leagues | 7 Comments

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Why does it feel like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has disappeared off the face of the planet? That was mostly a rhetorical question. I realize he isn’t exactly lighting the world on fire the way the hype leading up to his call up last year might have set the stage, but fear not, it’s coming. VGJ has been a superstar at every level and he will be one in the MLB. In case you have forgotten, he’s only 21 years young. Even if it took another year (or two) until he started clicking on all cylinders, he would still be in his very early twenties. But I don’t think it’s going to take that long. Forget this year, it’s a lost cause for many, but 2021 feels like a good bet. In case you haven’t figured out what I’m trying to say, I’ll spell it out for you. This is the best opportunity you are going to have to buy low on Vlad Junior. Vlad’s stock has hit its floor and there’s only one way for it to go.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
malamoney

Points Leagues, Wheelin And Dylan

August 16, 2020 | 2020 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Points Leagues | 4 Comments

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Does anyone know if Dylan is related to King Kong? Any 80s WWF fans in the house? Notice I said WWF and not WWE. We’re going back before they were told to get the “F” out. King Kong Bundy and his big splashes was a classic in old school wrestling. I remember watching him fight Hogan in a steel cage match. But fast forward about thirty-five years and it’s Dylan Bundy who’s making a splash. In 28.2 innings pitched (4 starts) he has 35 strikeouts and just 3 base on balls. In points leagues lingo that translates into just over 27 points per start. I laugh at your small sample size suggestion.

The top starting pitcher in points leagues with about 33 points per starts is Trevor Bauer. Right behind him is Shane Bieber with 28.75 points per start. Bieber, Bauer and Bundy. That sounds like a law firm or a boy band. If you happen to own all three of those guys you have got to be flying high right about now. And considering their ADPs (Bieber 24, Bauer 58, Bundy 178), it was quite possible for you have drafted them. As a point of reference here are the points per start numbers for some known aces.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
malamoney

Points Leagues, The Year of Small Sample Sizes

August 8, 2020 | 2020 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Points Leagues | 19 Comments

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If I’m putting all my cards on the table, I’m not even sure where to begin with advice. This season is just plain crazy. Figuring out who, what, where, when and why almost seems impossible. I’m certainly not the first to say this, but it seems like the best thing we can do is to play the hot hand. As Frank the Tank said, we’re going streaking! Not to show of my math skills, but in a 60-game season a 8-game hot streak is the equivalent of 21 game hot streak in a regular season. That’s one hell of a month of baseball. In years past we’ve looked at small sample sizes and pointed out that they were just that, small samples. No such thing as a small sample size in 2020.

Before I jump into a few players to whom I intend to give a shout out, I’d like to bring up a few points. With all of the game cancellations and postponements, fantasy leagues with weekly lineups just aren’t going to work. For years I’ve always hated when a player hits the IL on a Tuesday in a weekly league and I end up practically taking a zero. It seems senseless. In order for things to work, head-to-head points leagues need to have daily lineups this year. Owners need the ability to adjust to the constantly changing landscape. We need to be able to pivot. Losing a week simply because you had more players have their games canceled is garbage. Especially in a season that has so few weeks. While I realize that at this point in the fantasy season it’s too late to make these kind of changes, I still feel compelled to say so.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
malamoney

Points Leagues, Branting and Raving

July 27, 2020 | 2020 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Points Leagues |

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Man am I glad to have baseball back. Fantasy baseball is my escape from reality. I guess that’s partly why it’s called “fantasy”. I don’t know about you, but every time I turn on a different game on my TV I feel like Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson when they walk into a different wedding in Wedding Crashers. The excitement is real people.

I have a suspicion that Michael Brantley is going to be a very valuable fantasy player this season. In Jay’s Staff Picks post from earlier this week I chose Carlos Santana as the potential MVFH. If I could get in Bill and Ted’s phone booth I would have Rufus help me change my pick to Brantley. First I guess I’d have to go back and get Rufus (RIP). I chose Santana last year and I think I hit the proverbial nine inch nail on the head. But this year I’m leaning towards Brantley. Guess I kinda rushed my selection. I do like me some Carlos Santana, but the big difference between the two is their ADP, which is a significant factor in determining MVFH. Santana had a H2H ADP in the 60s, while Brantley clocked in at around 118. I have Santana projected to score a few more fantasy points, but it’s close. Nothing a big game couldn’t erase. In twelve team leagues Santana is being drafted in the 5th round, while Brantley is going in the 10th. If you can get nearly the same production 5 rounds later I think it’s clear which pick would be more valuable.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
malamoney

Points Leagues: Buster Decides Price Is Right To Take A Leake On 2020 Season

July 13, 2020 | 2020 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Points Leagues | 33 Comments

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I’m going to make this post short and sweet. Even though I said I wasn’t going to update my spreadsheet, I’ve changed my mind. Why, you ask? The answer is mostly simple. In fact it’s one word. Razzball Nation. Ok perhaps that was two words, but who’s counting. I’ve got two more words, Grey and Rudy. Those two SOBs have busted their nuts (did I mean tails) over the last many, many years delivering first class content to the fantasy baseball community. This is my sixth season being part of the Razzball Crew and I just wanted to do my part. And my part is very simple. While I do write a weekly post on points leagues, what everyone wants is my spreadsheet. This one’s for you Razzballers!

Sorry for the short post. Hit me up in the comments with questions.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
malamoney

Points Leagues, Who Gives A Ship

July 4, 2020 | 2020 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Points Leagues | 19 Comments

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I’ve got to be honest, I’m not even that excited for the 2020 fantasy baseball season. It almost feels dirty to actually say that. I started playing fantasy baseball back in 1990. For those not so quick with that math, this would be my 30th year playing this great game. So why am I not pumped for the start of the season. Well, I think it’s mostly hesitation. I just do not believe that we will actually see a full season. And by “full season” I mean sixty games. How long is it going to be until a couple of players test positive and things get shut down? I wonder if a player would rather test positive for PEDs or Coronavirus? I asked my buddy if he’d rather have Coronavirus or Syphilis. Any guesses how he answered? He chose Coronavirus because it would be easier to explain to his wife. We are already facing an extremely shorted season, any interruptions would exponentially compound the problem.

A shortened season is much less disruptive to the roto format, but when it comes to head-to-head points leagues, a nine week season practically cripples the season. In roto it’s just less time to accrue stats, but in a 12-team head-to-head league, you’ll play each team once, and some twice if you have two opponents each week. If you play one team each week you won’t even play every team in the league over those nine weeks. And what about playoffs? Why does Jim Mora’s reaction to the topic of playoffs immediately come to mind? For every week of playoffs that’s one less week of regular season. Can playoffs even be afforded? Do you just award the championship to the team that finishes the regular season in first place? I can see it already, the team that finishes first will be the team that got to play the shitty team twice. Can you blame the second place team for feeling slighted?

Please, blog, may I have some more?
malamoney

Points Leagues: I’m Too Sexy For Your Rules

June 15, 2020 | 2020 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Points Leagues | 2 Comments

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The word on the street is that there will definitely be a 2020 season. In fact, Rob Right Said manFred said he guarantees that there will be a season. In its worst form it will be a 48-game season. The players want 89 games and the owners want 76 games. Or something along those lines. As most of you might know, the sticking point is, of course, salaries.

The salary dispute is mostly irrelevant to us. All we care about is if there will be a season. Both the NHL and NBA are returning. MLB will follow suit. MLB actually has the authority to impose a 48-game season if a deal cannot be reached. The timeline on this is not clear yet, but I’ve got to think by next week a decision has got to be made. With that in mind, we’ve got to start being proactive about what a 2020 fantasy season might look like.

After a bit of soul searching, here is what I am proposing to my primary head-to-head points league. Just to set the context our league is a ten-team league where we play two matchups each week. Our season consists of 22 weeks of regular season followed by two rounds of two-week playoff matchups. Our roster size is 30 and we can keep six players for as many years as we want. For the sake of this discussion our scoring system is irrelevant, but I do believe that it’s a bit skewed towards starting pitchers. Nonetheless it does not impact my proposal.

First order of business is the draft. Fortunately we did not hold our draft before the season was shutdown. Truth be told, no league should have held a draft. I’m a firm believer that a draft should not be held more than ten days prior to opening day. I actually prefer the seven day threshold, but ten is the max. And let’s face it, it’s 2020 and just about every draft is hosted online. There’s little to no excuse to not being able to find a day that works for everyone. We’re all busy, I know. Yadda freaking yadda.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
malamoney

Points Leagues, What’s The Point?

May 18, 2020 | 2020 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Points Leagues | 4 Comments

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Hello? Are any of you still out there? Blink once if you can hear me. Blink twice if you need help. Blink three times if you want to blink three times. I had finally worked my reader count up from nine to fifteen (my math’s a little rusty these days but me thinks that’s about a 67 percent increase) and then this whole COVID-19 has to come along and derail my momentum. I had broken double digits and was on my way to twenty. Once I got to 19 I was going to call that group the MALAMONEY-19. This virus has certainly stolen my thunder. It has also stolen one of my favorite past times. Fantasy baseball. Not to be insensitive as I know this POS-19 has taken much more from people, but man do I miss the daily monotony of fun we call fantasy baseball. I’m really glad I busted my ass back in the first week of March to get my spreadsheet done. I’m sure it’s helped about as many of you as the virus has. At least it’s done, right? Or is it? If and when baseball returns I am clearly going to have to make some modifications. Playing time and projections are obviously going to be altered. I guess I’ll cross that bridge when we get there.

Please, blog, may I have some more?