That was the jam back in the day. Yes, I’m an old fart. If your head is bobbing front to back right now, salud. For those of you shaking your head from side to side, with the frown making you look like a clown….I kid. It’s an older song, so many may not have had the pleasure of experiencing it. No prob, but I know everyone is familiar with Will Smith, aka The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, aka Mr. Bad Boy, aka Mr. Independence Day, aka Mr. Man in Black, aka Mr. Enemy of the State, aka….woooo saaaaah, wooooo saaaaah. Mr. I’ve grossed $100 million in eight straight movies, Mr. I’m the most powerful actor in Hollywood…..Translation: Will Smith is/has/and will continue to be straight fire. No different than what Will Smith of the Los Angeles Dodgers is doing. You know we hate talking about catchers here at Razzball, but 12 homers in 28 games needs to be addressed. I was shocked to see that he was 0% owned on the Razzball Player Rater. Can it continue and is he worth the pickup?
Please, blog, may I have some more?
One Man’s Trash: Aquino, the Dominican Bambino
August 21, 2019 | 2019 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Buy/Sell | 4 Commentsby: Son
Every time I’ve opened the Twitter machine this month, there was a particular Cincinnati Reds player hitting a home run. Fine, I lied, as I scroll through Twitter constantly and said player only hit 11 home runs. IN 18 GAMES!!! Babe Ruth began his professional baseball career in 1914. After three seasons, in which he played 166 games and accrued 405 plate appearances, the Bambino hit a total of 9 homers. Let’s just leave him with his candy bar, shall we? Because there’s a new Bambino in town, and his name is Aristides Aquino. He’s obviously not going to maintain this ridiculous pace and hit another 20 homers to finish the year, but how bad will the regression be?
Please, blog, may I have some more? Bear or Bull: Yo, Adrian!
August 15, 2019 | 2019 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Buy/Sell | 14 Commentsby: Son
Commenter Chucky asked for a piece on Adrian Houser of the Milwaukee Brewers. As the Lord told his people to “ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you,” so shall it be at Razzball baseball. We are of the people, by the people, and for the people. Why is Chucky inquiring about Houser? Well, over the past three starts, he’s struck out 21 batters in 16 innings and has a 2.47 xFIP. Okay, then. Let’s get down to it.
Please, blog, may I have some more? One Man’s Trash: Holy Moly, Civale!
August 13, 2019 | 2019 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Buy/Sell | 8 Commentsby: Son
Over the past year, I’ve become friends with a Canadian couple, as both of our children attend the same school. #Parentlife. After going through all the pleasantries and confirming/denying all the stereotypes….yes, they are super nice, but get road rage like normal people who live in LA, there were two events that made me realize how desensitized I’ve become. Fellow Canadian man: Holy shit! The school got locked down because of a shooting a few blocks away. Me: Welcome to LA. Fellow Canadian man: Damn! Did you feel that earthquake yesterday? Me: Welcome to LA. Then I went into deep thought and began pondering the meaning of life. Have I become an emotionless robot? Thank goodness for fantasy baseball, as I remember the anxiety of waiting for my pick during the draft, the feeling of wanting to tilt my face off when I got sniped, and the exhilaration of successfully streaming a no-name off the wire. Well, Aaron Civale of the Cleveland Indians has given me that tingly feeling recently. As a result, he’s been added in 16.4% of ESPN leagues. Trash or treasure?
Please, blog, may I have some more? Bear or Bull: Better Call Duvall
August 1, 2019 | 2019 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Buy/Sell | 10 Commentsby: Son
It took me a few times to get into Breaking Bad, but once I did, it was game over. Loved that show. Anyways, there was a character named Saul Goodman, who was a lawyer who represented the shady segment of the population. When assistance was needed, they called Saul. Well, the Atlanta Braves found themselves […]
Please, blog, may I have some more?Sample size is an important thing in all walks of life. You could have the most wonderful day with someone, but that one day is not indicative of what it’s like to be with that person every day. That alternate route you discovered with no traffic on the morning commute? Was it due to your keen intellect, or maybe it was a result of the armored car hemorrhaging dollar bills from the open door in the back? Really, the only times a false positive doesn’t exist is when you don’t want to be a baby momma or daddy and when a player searches for a second opinion. With that said, Josh VanMeter of the Cincinnati Reds has been added in 41.4% of ESPN leagues. What? I thought those leagues were all ghost. Anyways, VanMeter’s ownership is 0% in Razzball leagues. The Razzballers are a sharp group. I could give you a million reasons why, but I was going to write up Jorge Soler this week, as he was added in 8.1% of ESPN leagues to bring his ownership up to 58.4%, but his ownership in Razzball leagues is 100%. Let’s see if VanMeter is registering a false positive.
Please, blog, may I have some more? Bear or Bull: Enter Santander
July 25, 2019 | 2019 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Buy/Sell | 12 Commentsby: Son
I’m more a hip-hop and jazz kind of guy now, but I used to listen to some heavy metal back in the day. Metallica was one of my favorite bands. So, when I decided on who to write about in this week’s post, my mind immediately went to the song, Enter Sandman. Most of you are probably familiar with the song because of Mariano Rivera. And what a perfect entrance song it was, as Rivera would snuff out any light of optimism for the opposition and bring darkness to their world. Well, the same could be said for Anthony Santander. The last few Spring Trainings, there was hype and optimism that Santander would crack the lineup. As a result, I always took a flyer on him in my NFBC teams. I am not a smart man. I’d curl up into the fetal position and Nancy Kerrigan myself to sleep. Why? Whhhhyyyyy? Whhhhhhyyyyyyyyy? Well, a funny thing happened on the way to never-never land, as Santander has been playing, and playing well. Exit light, enter night?
Please, blog, may I have some more?The oceans cover 71 percent of the Earth’s surface. And contain 99 percent of the living space. Shoutout to Google for that info. Humans have only explored 5% of the ocean floor, though. We can send spacecraft hundreds of millions of miles into space, discover planets like Mars, and beam back HD-quality pictures and videos, yet we don’t know what the F is living in our oceans or what is even down there? You know those times when you lose your keys and frantically run around like a headless chicken looking for them? Often times they are right under your nose. Not literally of course, but like in the bowl on the table near the front door, except there was a piece of paper covering it. Something like that. Now that I think about it, I know where the aliens are: residing in our oceans. Brilliant! The greatest trick ever played on mankind wasn’t that the Devil didn’t exist. It is that the aliens are “out there”, when they’ve been here all along. I kid, I kid. I hope. Anyways, the ocean realm is the land of unknown, a place that Jacques Cousteau tried to uncover. Michael Brosseau of the Tampa Bay Rays may be heading to that exact place. Here’s why:
Please, blog, may I have some more?Recently, my wife’s grandmother passed away, so we flew out to NYC. Shoutout to grandma. 98 years old and her mind was still as sharp as a tack. Anyways, while it was a somber time, I was fascinated by all the traditions and rituals (wife’s family is Chinese). Can’t look at the coffin while it’s […]
Please, blog, may I have some more? One Man’s Trash: Did Ponce de Leon Find the Fountain of Youth?
July 16, 2019 | 2019 Fantasy Baseball | 18 Commentsby: Son
In 1513, Juan Ponce de Leon decided to forgo paella and siestas for………………….? It better be epic because there are not many things I’d leave for paella and siestas. Does the Fountain of Youth count? Because that’s the story. Historians call it a myth, but what else could it have been? Anyways, after setting sail on a more-than-three-hour-tour, Ponce de Leon and his merry band of men ended in Florida, where they encountered the natives, a wrinkly group of leather-faced men and women carrying golf clubs. Repulsed at the sight, the Spaniards scurried back to their boats and made their way west, until they met the Mississippi River and eventually settled up-river in St. Louis, where they obviously found the Fountain of Youth because Daniel Ponce de Leon is a 27-year-old pitcher for the Cardinals and has a 10.8 K/9 in 31.2 major league innings this season. I don’t usually write up pitchers in this column because most of the add/drop activity is due to streaming and two-start weeks, but Ponce de Leon intrigured me, so here we are. Plus, I delved into catchers last week and the Mrs. says I have to change it up from time to time.
Please, blog, may I have some more? Bear or Bull: Have Faith in this White Walker?
July 13, 2019 | 2019 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Buy/Sell | 12 Commentsby: Son
George R. R. Martin described the White Walkers (the Others) in Game of Thrones as “tall…and gaunt and hard as old bones, with flesh pale as milk.” They were intimidating, powerful, and ruthless. Oh, how I miss thee, Game of Thrones! Except for the last season. That was trash, especially how the Night King in particular died. Anyways, Christian Walker of the Arizona Diamondbacks is 6′ 0″ 220 pounds, white, and is among the league leaders in hard hit rate and barrel percentage. He had a great week before the All-Star festivities but is only owned in 22.1% of ESPN leagues. Should we put our faith in this Christian?
Please, blog, may I have some more?At Razzball, we eschew paying for catchers. As Grey so eloquently wrote in his Top 20 catchers, the numero uno catcher was “The cream of the crap.” They are more susceptible to injury, take days off, and the best are not even top 50 hitters for fantasy. With that said, leagues require you to roster one, while some are sadomasochistic and dedicate two roster spots to the position. Sure, you can say F it and leave those spots empty if you so choose, but then you’d be the modern day T-Rex, whose arms and hands shrunk due to hubris. At least that’s my non-scientific conclusion. If there are any paleontolgists in the house, comment below. Anyways, over the past seven days, Danny Jansen of the Toronto Blue Jays has been the #5 hitter and added in 6.4% of ESPN leagues. Trash or treasure?
Please, blog, may I have some more?