This week in Razzball Podcast entertainment we were joined by JB “Big Biscuit” Gilpin, who reviewed the film, 42. JB majored in film in college, so he was very excited to get to finally use his degree. Since I hold a Master of Fine Arts, I don’t critique the film. I simply wear an all black spandex suit like I’m on Sprockets and smoke a cigarette from one of those really long cigarette holders. I’m artistic, that’s the picture you should be getting here. Nick emailed me saying, “JB’s mom texted me after to tell me JB only needs 471,902 reviews to pay off those student loans.” Not totally sure how that works, since he wasn’t paid for this one. Does he review 471,901 then is paid $36,000 for his final one? Are the last six worth $6,000 apiece? I’d like to know how this works. Or would at least like to understand Nick’s joke. Smokey also joined the Nickster and looked at some deep waiver wire adds, but since they both forgot to take their Adderall, it just became deep waiver wire ADD. Finally, Rudy and I discuss some underperforming studs and whether Giancarlo will ever see another pitch in the strike zone. Anyone who has abandoned Giancarlo in his time of need will be quarantined until he hits 20 homers in a month and then you will be sacrificed to the Giancarlo God. Y’all have been warned! Nick also told me to link to the Draft Kings contest thing again, so there’s that. Anyway, here’s the Razzball podcast (now with 18% more Giancarlo denial by me):
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More injuries, more closer meltdowns… but let’s focus on some positives. Week 1 top team, Bosch Brothers (in Trout We Trust) still has more points than anyone else at 113.5. Team Balls (No Guts, No Glory) moved from fifth to first with a 30-point gain. Prague Pivo Pounders (Double Platinum Haters) and Tarzana Orange (Is it next year yet) each moved from 10th to second in their leagues. It’s still very early and anything is possible.
The Cardinals said Edward Mujica ‘could be tried as closer.’ That’s obviously after everyone else has been tried and found guilty of sucking. Matheny said, “I’d rather kill a possum in front of La Russa, than have a lead in the 9th inning with the crap we have.” Okay, that was me reading between the lines. He actually said, “See what happens next time we get there. Right now, Mujica’s making good pitches and getting the big outs when we need them.” He never referred to Mujica as the closer. Maybe because he was afraid of spooking him. How do you scare the beejesus out of a Cardinals reliever? Call them closer. *rim shot, triangle, kazoo* I don’t think Mujica is the de facto closer, but I don’t know what de facto means. Is that Spanish? Hernando De Facto was the first to cross the Mississippi, right? Yesterday, Boggs came into the 9th inning, but it was a 4-run lead and when he got into trouble the Cards started warming up Mujica. The writing is on the wall, and it says, “Mujica is next.” I’d grab Mujica and continue to hold Boggs (on my bench). It may just turn out that Edward is The Last of the Mujica’s in the Cards’ pen. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Please, blog, may I have some more?Roy Halladay.
Is he the next Tim Lincecum? Can he pitch at all any more? Should he get sent to the minors?! Is he fantasy ownable in a 10-team league?! Is he really a doctor? Are Phillies fans all really that mean?! Why does being good in baseball mean you have to have the highest WAR!? WAR – what is it good for?! What does all this mean!?!
Roy Halladay has been one of the biggest hot topics heading into the fantasy season and real MLB season alike. After two brutal starts seeing his ERA climb close to the age of consent with a “woman” in France (14.73 – only 0.27 away!), the write-off for Halladay had become as frequent as an Enron tax return.
Curious to me was that debut against the Braves where Halladay got tagged for 5 runs and 9 baserunners in 3.1 innings, but struck out 9! That’s only one out not by the strikeout. All or nothing.
Obviously all the hubbub from Spring Training and entering the season was the lost velocity. I wanna throw fast! If you’re not first, you’re last. I was never big on Halladay because of his hefty price tag in drafts due to name value, but I thought he could be a usable pitcher this season. So I decided to tune into his start yesterday afternoon against those lowly Marlins to see how he looked. After all, if he can’t mow these guys down, he’s gotta be toast, right?
Please, blog, may I have some more?True story: one of my childhood friends had a younger brother who was big into WWF or WWE or whatever that wrestling league was called with the Undertaker and so and so and such and such…yeah, it’s clear I didn’t watch it at any point really but that’s not the point of this story. So it was the summertime and said friend and I along with our regular High School crew went out around our town of 5,000 to see what there was to see and do what there was to do. After 10 seconds, we realized that ‘nothing’ was the answer to the previous ‘see/do’ commentary and headed back to his house. When we opened the door, we were shocked to find his brother putting wrestling moves on a stuffed bear but that wasn’t the only segment that was awkward about this. He was doing all of this with only basketball shorts and a Batman utility belt on with wrestling figures in all the belt pockets. When he realized we were taking in his wrestling kabuki theater of horrors, he turned to us with the look of a man who knows he’ll never live it down and balled ‘what are you doing here?!?’ and girlishly ran to his room. We literally couldn’t move for about 10 seconds as we stood and stared into the open space that once held one of the weirdest moments we wished we’d never seen in our lives. And done, thank you for reading and I’ll see you next week! Oh wait, this isn’t my personal blog I’m here to pick a hitter to roll with as the creeper of the week. Ok, I’ll take Chris Nelson for $1000, Alex. Daily Double! Oh, that pun might actually hold into the next paragraph. Wanna find out? Well read on as we see more about Chris for 2013 fantasy baseball…
Please, blog, may I have some more?Now, if Clay wants to be called Buchholz, Imma call him Cassius. Clay Buchholz took a no-hitter into the 8th inning and ended with the line 8 IP, 0 ER, 6 baserunners, 11 Ks vs. Tampa. The Jewish Journal’s headline read, “Clay Spins Rays Like A Dreidel.” You know why he’s pitching this well, right? Cause I had nothing positive to say about him in the preseason. That’s spiteful, Clay. Spite is one of the seven deadliest sins. Right after that soup the fat guy ate in Se7en and Paltrow’s career after she stopped sleeping with Harvey Weinstein. “Sleep with the gross, sweaty producer, win an Oscar. Sleep with that guy from Coldplay, do movies with Huey Lewis.” Okay, this is a big step for me, but I’m willing to buy into the new and improved Buchholz with his splitter that he learned at the tail-end of last year. I’m not going out and trading for him, but if you went against my wishes and drafted him, you did good. It looks like you might’ve stole a pitcher late that has number two fantasy starter upside. Though I can’t say that I won’t be rooting against him every step of the way, since I don’t own him. My will vs. your will in a steel cage. My will will rake your will’s eyes. My will fights dirty. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Please, blog, may I have some more?Former St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Joaquin Andujar once said, “You can sum up in one word the game of baseball: ‘You never know.'”
Well said Joaquin, well said.
You never know how the season will go and what stars will emerge and what stars will fade to black (someone please cue up Metallica here. I’m tired of boy bands). That’s part of the fun and frustration of fantasy sports. But even if you drafted well, with all your players off to a hot start and you are filled to the brim with confidence and trash talk, you just never know when you are going to hear that one word the game of baseball truly despises: The disabled list. *tips cap to Professor Andujar*
Please, blog, may I have some more?There are always guys that you can grab for some extra speed if you need it, and this week we’ll look at a few more players who are not widely owned but who may be able to contribute some steals to your lineup. After batting .000 last week with my picks of Michael Saunders and Aaron Hicks, we’ll dig a little deeper in the waiver wire pile for some speed. Hicks can’t seem to hit the broad side of a barn, and Saunders, who was off to a great start, decided to play chicken with the right field wall and is now sidelined for about a month. Let’s take a look at this week’s speedsters and let’s hope for some better luck…
Please, blog, may I have some more?Fantasy Razzball is the game where the goal is to manage the worst fantasy baseball team possible. You hope to find terrible players who don’t get sent to the minors. As in the RCL, a team’s points are multiplied by the League Competitive Index. The LCI is based on the total points of the top 8 teams per league. The overall standings will be up later in the season. Points are credited as follows:
Hitters (AB = +2, H = -3, R = -4, HR = -6, RBI = -4, K = +2)
Pitchers (IP = -1, HR = +4, L = +8, K = -1, ER = +1.5, H+BB = +1).
You can find links to the six Fantasy Razzball leagues (along with the 64 RCLs) here.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Jorge Soler was off to a great start at High-A Daytona, batting .435/.519/.739 with 2 homers through his first six games. The was promising news for the Cubs, who inked him to a nine-year, $30 million contract last summer. The 21-year-old Cuban is not a cost-controlled prospect — there’s an opt-out clause that would make him eligible for arbitration after three years service time, but both sides would be thrilled if it came to that. In any case, there’s incentive for the Cubs to develop him quickly in order to make sure the bulk of those nine years are spent at the highest level. Chicago was smart to make such a long-term investment in Soler — it gives them a little developmental cushion — but they’re still trying to avoid unnecessary setbacks. Things were going well in that department up until Wednesday, when Soler decided to brandish a baseball bat as he sprinted toward the opponent’s dugout following a benches-clearing incident. The league suspended him five games, which isn’t a huge setback, but the Cubs are reportedly investigating the matter further and could tack on more time. I doubt it’ll come to that, but the ordeal still raises some major character concerns. Let’s hope this was an isolated incident and that the new regime in Chicago doesn’t enable such behavior as the old group did with headcases like Carlos Zambrano.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Wow, assembling this week’s list of players made me dizzy with enthusiasm. No. I’m lying. To help write this post, I have a hired a shadow writer sorta speak. Readership meet my shadow writer — Vodka. Vodka, meet readership. What did you say? Drink more? Silly you. You’re already empty! Let’s get this thing started before I get prescribed anti-depressants.
Please, blog, may I have some more?The fantasy gods can be a cruel mistress, and after dealing a crushing blow Thursday night in a frustrating (ie stupid) brawl-induced injury, taking Zack Greinke from us, the gods have claimed their next victim, another newly acquired player and top fantasy shortstop, Jose Reyes. The gods work in mysterious Reyes. I know. Let it […]
Please, blog, may I have some more?