(The following is the Introduction to my new (e)book, Pigeons on a Table! To purchase, click here. It’s $15. I will be donating a portion to my growing stomach. After you buy it, I’ll email you the (e)book. It is available in ePub, MOBI and PDF formats, i.e., it’ll open on your computer or mobile device.)
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On Tuesday March 7th, I took part for the 3rd straight year in the 15-team Tout Wars Mixed Draft. Fueled by good fortune (and perhaps the 5×5 OBP format), I have fielded championship-level teams in both years only to finish in 2nd place to Adam Ronis of Scout & SiriusXM. It is like I am the Patriots but, unfortunately, he is being coached by Tom Coughlin.
I picked 1st last year and had an insane Trout/Scherzer/Sale start to my draft when the room drafted an unfathomable 28 hitters in the first 29 picks. The rest of the draft turned out fairly well and my in-season pickups were strong. Looking back, not coming out of the draft with enough speed (damn you Magoo and Grey talking me into DeShields) or Saves (Boxberger/Storen was brutal, half-salvaged with a Colome handcuff) hurt me in the end.
One reward for top teams is that the previous year’s order is used for determining draft pick. With second choice, I just had to rank my two preferred spots. By reflex, I chose 1st than 2nd since I have found those are the two most valuable spots (followed by 3, 4, etc.). Once Ronis wisely chose 1st, I realized I should have spent a little more time thinking about it as there is not much consensus on a #2 pick in 5×5 OBP this year.
Here are the full results of the 2017 Tout Mixed League Draft. Below are my picks and my analysis:
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Please, blog, may I have some more?HDMH is a motivational phrase created by Blue Jays starter Marcus Stroman. It stands for ‘Height Doesn’t Measure Heart’.
On Saturday night, Marcus Stroman twirled a 4.2 inning gem against the Dominican Republic, striking out four batters, walking none, and allowing only three ground ball singles. When Stroman was removed before his 65th pitch – the limit for starters in the pool round of the WBC – Tanner Roark, David Robertson, and Andrew Miller proceeded to give up seven earned runs on seven hits. Combined, that trio recorded only nine outs and threw 19 more pitches than Stroman, producing substantially less impressive results. Needless to say, I was thoroughly impressed with how the Blue Jays starter carved through the Dominican Republic’s lineup.
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Please, blog, may I have some more?I hate early drafts. There’s absolutely no skill involved in drafting on March 3rd and avoiding Ian Desmond due to a broken hand that hasn’t happened yet. It’s like not getting on a subway car and you end up marrying a Cougar vs. Coldplay’s Chris Martin and you keep forgetting your Apple ID so you can’t download a song you really want to hear vs. getting free iPhones hand-delivered by Bono. Admittedly, I never saw the movie, Sliding Doors, but I picture the plot being something like that. I want to marry Chris Martin and get iBonos! Man, this effin’ sucks. Looks like I’m going to have to battle just a wee bit harder in Yahoo’s Friends & Family draft where I took Desmond. *cries uncontrollably* But I don’t want to battle harder! The tears running down my face have fallen onto my desk and are spelling out, “Why can’t you have anything mice?” Mice? What the hell are you talking about tears? I’ve updated my top 20 overall, top 100 and my top 60 outfielders. The Fantasy Baseball War Room is updated, and, since Mark Reynolds will be the Rockies’ 1st baseman, I’ve updated the top 20 1st basemen. Anyway, here’s what else I saw in spring training for fantasy baseball:
Please, blog, may I have some more?Welcome to the 2017 Razzball Team Previews! You’ll find everything you need to know about each team to get yourself ready for the upcoming fantasy baseball season. And I do mean everything, everybody. We’ve got line-ups, charts, numbers, projections, questionable questions, smarter answer, potent potables and well, that’s a lie. No potables here, but plenty of potent fantasy names brimming with potential. Now’s the time to be an eternal optimist for the next six weeks. So, we’ve got a team to preview and questions to ask. Let’s get after it!
A quick note on the format. Each preview will feature six questions to a team’s blog writer. Are there only six great fantasy questions for each team? Of course not, but THAT’S WHAT THE COMMENTS ARE FOR! So, enjoy the thoughts of another writer, the dialogue on each team, and then continue the conversation in the comments!
Please, blog, may I have some more?This Sunday I wanted to sort of shoot from the hip about no particular subject, but sort of just share some things I’ve been thinking, and other I’ve observed. Baseball is back in full tilt and there’s lots of prospects vying for major league gigs, while others hope to leave an impression. Regardless, there’s a ton of players that they could fill a major league role at some point in the season. There’s plenty to talk about, so why not get into some of it. I love this time of year because you get to see prospects playing against major leaguers. Allows you to get a read on who’s the goods and who still has work to do. Not that spring training is the be all and end all, it’s obviously not, but it’s fun to take a look at who’s doing what, and what it might mean for their 2017 Fantasy Baseball values.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Not wasting any time, coming at cha faster than a cheetah on speed straight out of the LBC, it’s Part Duece of the OPS Outfielder Ranks! Part One can be found here, which covered the Top three tiers. We’re starting today with Tier four.
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Please, blog, may I have some more?The team previews are over and done with, and it’s time to let loose. What better way to ring in our newly found content freedom then to put together a team of our favorite sleepers. Maybe not so much sleepers, as Prospects we see as underrated, or under appreciated by the masses. We go through a few dozen players, position by position, until we’ve given you a cornucopia of under the radar goodness. There’s big news on all fronts, as I join Reddit. Which may be the death of me, as I’m gobbled by the dark web. Who knows? Any the who, if you’re in a deep dynasty or just get down on learning some new prospects, then this is the episode for you. It’s the latest from the Razzball Prospect Podcast.
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Please, blog, may I have some more?Razzball Nation! After typically complaining about how many moves Grey will make in the Perty Perts RCL league, I decided to branch out into the other expert league-space this year and hop in a couple of leagues with our fantasy compadres. Thanks to the CBS guys for letting one of us Razzball schmohawks crash their league. Then dominate with sheer fiscal responsibility! I’m like Alexander Hamilton out there, makin’ banks! Overall I liked how I did, but I shall let you – esteemed Razzball Commenters – let me know how you think I did in this auction-extravaganza (league is 12-team roto, daily FAAB, weekly line-ups):
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Please, blog, may I have some more?Surprise. Huston Street is already injured and being replaced by someone who isn’t the full measure or picture of health in Cam Bedrosian. Cam is the goods, it is just a matter of him grabbing that role, remaining healthy, and then riding off into the sunset like the end of the movie Shane. Minus the slumped-over presumably a dead thing. The thing that I love about Cam is that he is growing as a pitcher. He always had the K/9 rate (9.3 in 2014, 9.2 in 2015, and 11.4 in 2016), but the thing that says that he is legit is that his walk rate was basically halved last year. To extrapolate on that further, in his last 26 appearances of last year he faced 92 batters, walked 8, and allowed 12 hits. Good for a slash line of .146/.239/.159 for a .398 OPS. That is approaching reliever stalwarts like Bush and Barraclough. And we know how much they are coveted right now, and they don’t have a sniff of savedom. Oh… and add in only one earned run during that time. Stats sound great because they are basically forgotten about, because his season ended the first week of August. He was basically licking the closer bait, and then poof. Til now. If you are looking to invest in him for the season, he is basically going to give you Kelvin Herrera type production, and by his ever rising ADP (last week 200, this week 140) the secret is out for the save chase in La La Grey. Let’s see what else is going down in the realm of closers as we get ever closer to draft days…
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Please, blog, may I have some more?Before I begin, I want to pay homage to Big Magoo, who is one of the more respected writers at Razzball and previous author of this weekly article. I imagine that he is walking the earth like Ryu, contemplating the dopeness of his existence.
With that said, I want to introduce myself…
I’m Son. My initials are SS, just like Slim Shady! Mind blown! I’ve mostly done stuff over on the football side, but have been pumping out more baseball content, primarily Bear or Bull.
If you’re not familiar with the One Man’s Trash article, it’s time to get existential y’all!!! This should get you in the mood.
Please, blog, may I have some more?I don’t think I’ve ever done this post before. My prior, uber, hard-line stance has been that you with that one hair wrapped around your head acting as a hairstyle don’t want to draft a sleeper 1st baseman. By the by, I tried to replace Uber with Lyft in the previous sentence, but it didn’t make sense. Previously, I’d tell you to go to my top 20 1st basemen for 2017 fantasy baseball (not clickbait at all) and draft some top guys and stop fooling around with sleepers at this position. Of course, I’m malleable like Gumby and this year I could see drafting a sleeper first baseman, though at my corner infidel or utility slot. Yes, I still want a top 1st baseman. No, utility slot doesn’t have multiple meanings. Yes, even for fantasy. As with other positions like the catchers to target (again, not clickbait), these are 1st basemen that are being drafted after the top 100 overall. I love Wil Myers, but he’s not going to appear here. Kapeesh? And, no, Kapeesh isn’t the Indian guy who works at the corner store. Anyway, here’s some 1st basemen to target for 2017 fantasy baseball:
Please, blog, may I have some more?