So since my last post Yahoo! decided to update their app. They didn’t tell me it was coming (I sent them emails for months asking for an update I guess [email protected] isn’t their email) but I like to think that I had a direct cause of the outcome (since I didn’t) as I did talk about it a few weeks ago, and now that we have an updated app it’s time to talk about it again.
First off, appearance: the drastic change in contrast from black to white (first thought: Michael Jackson, second thought: Seinfeld and the black & white cookie). I am decidedly not a fan. I have to turn down the screen brightness, and that’s just silly. Why can’t I choose what color I want the background to be? I’d like a light green personally but since we are all unique snowflakes we should all get the color we choose. This is America dammit!
I had some hopes, mainly stat-tracker, as part of the new app. Sadly, no stat-tracker. If you play in Head-to-Head leagues you already had updated, real-time stats (which I assume is carryover from football, which is starting sooner than you think), but the roto players want some live updates to the standings on their phones. I don’t want to go to the computer, pull up the slow-to-load, memory sucking, outdated Flash stat-tracker; I want to see it on my phone.
Also messed up; changing future lineups. It’s clearly there at the top of the app; the current date stares you in the face in glorious orange. But instead of giving future days, it gives us past days and we have to scroll to get to the next day. And then, if you want to set the next day, same thing. I don’t need to know the stats on Tue, Jul 12 Yahoo!; it’s in the past, I don’t care.
Furthermore why-o-why can’t I counter offer a trade? That should not be difficult at all. I feel it would more conducive for trades to just be able to counter instead of having to reject their trade, go to league, go to there team, find the guy(s) you want, and then offer. I’d like to see anything that makes facilitating trades easier; you guys all know how much I like trades. I think I’m going to offer some right now. BRB.
Okay, I’m back. Not to be all gloom and doom though; if you wanted to see what every player on your team looks like as you scroll through your roster you can. I know that’s what I was really wanting but I just didn’t know it and now Grey doesn’t have to click on Giancarlo’s name to see his handsome mug.
Another nice improvement is the ease of looking at the standings under the League heading. It’s been cleaned up nicely and makes it a bit easier to see who you should trade with based on where you are on each stat.
However b*tching about Yahoo!’s free app seems spoiled (Although I was under the impression that the internet was created so people could b*tch about any and everything). I have supported Yahoo! for years (not really, I haven’t purchased any of Yahoo!’s sweet sweet tangible goods…oh wait, they don’t sell anything real? How are they worth $5 Billion?) by playing fantasy sports for free on their website.
I get there is more money to be made by Yahoo! by providing free services, and I realize who the new app is for (or at least who I think its for): daily fantasy players. Any DFS players want to weigh in on the new app? If it doesn’t improve their experience (because it hasn’t improved mine) then why update the app at all? Why waste the money? No wonder their company is in the pooper and being purchased by Verizon for the Silicon Valley real estate and for hosting everyone over age 50’s email account. Now Verizon owns AOL and Yahoo! making it seem like they are just a bit behind the times; did Verizon just get back from 1999?
Enough about Yahoo! but I’d like to hear from any of you about the updated app: Roto, H2H, and DFS included.
And now you’re saying “this is an OPS post, right? What do I care about my mom’s email host?” True, I haven’t mentioned OPS once! Or even one player! That’s not right. I agree, let’s rectify. First and foremost, I want to call attention to two of my better calls this season (there’s been some bad ones too, Ben Paulsen I’m looking at you) Trevor Story and Adam Duvall. When everyone was saying sell high on Story I said hold on, he’s worth keeping the whole season. What’s he done in the past two weeks? Six homers, two steals 14 RBIs and a 1.303 OPS. Razzballers and Razzballettes those guys in Colorado will hit. Always (Way back when they were an expansion team they even made stars out of Andres Galarraga and Dante Bichette).
Story’s ISO is .320 which is stellar, he’s chipped in seven steals thus far (and had two seasons of 23 in the minors) and while that K rate is too high at 31.5% but his walk rate is currently at 8.8% and can climb to his minor league number of 12%. If you can acquire him from a guy who still doesn’t believe, you need to get on that like brown on brown rice.
Adam Duvall has cooled a bit, with only two home runs (in the same game) in the past two weeks but a solid .795 OPS, and I think the time is right to pounce on him, especially if you are a cat (or a furry). Duvall’s K% is 27.9% which is well higher than his minor league 20% so that has room to improve. His walk rate can still improve, albeit slightly (5.8% in majors this season versus minor league 8% BB) So he is what he is, which is a slugger. A current and future OPS star; he’s worth trading for (and shouldn’t cost an arm and a leg, probably an arm only) if you need power.
A guy I can’t wait to join the majors is Hunter Renfroe and while I’m not Ralph the prospector (Ralph ranked him 37th in his midseason top 100 prospects) I’m still going to tout him for OPS leagues especially. Renfroe should join the Padres soon as he already has 25 homers and a .954 OPS at AAA this season; not much left to prove there. He hit 27 homers in the minors in 2014, 20 in 2015, was the 13th overall pick in the 2013 draft out of Mississippi State; so he’s got the pedigree. 3% owned in Yahoo and 4.9% in ESPN, get in on him now, and reap the benefits later.
Alex Dickerson may stand in his way for a bit as he hit homers in four straight games (I get the feeling he’s going to cool off once he leaves the Rodgers Centre and returns to the States) but nothing in his history makes him seem like any more than a seat warmer for Renfroe. Unless he takes the nickname of Buttercup (Buttercup Dickerson was an outfielder who was a rookie in 1878 and would be 157 years old if he were alive today) then this is the last time you’ll see me mention him. But if he does, wouldn’t that be awesome?
That’s all for me folks until next week. I’ll be here to be your Yahoo! App sounding board (I’ll probably find at least two more things that annoy me about it by the time this goes up). Remember to get those trades in before the deadline, don’t think about football yet (although if you’re in 10th place or lower your time might be better spent reading the football side of Razzball) and always remember, you got this.
