We are now so close Opening Day that I can taste it.  Cold beer, processed meat, and mustard, it doesn’t get much better than that.  This time next week we’ll all be in a full on panic over why our first round pick hasn’t hit a HR in the first two games and how we can possibly be in last place with THIS team.  We’ll talk you off that ledge when the time comes.  However, this week I want to go over a few last tidbits before you dive into you RCL career.  I have one last note on the draft as well as a loophole you should know about and take advantage of.  These are the last couple of things I couldn’t cram into my other posts but I think are too important to just let go.  I’ll also be sharing the newest week’s worth of draft data with you.  We’ve had so many drafts the past week and we’re up to a total of 57 drafted leagues and counting.  Come check out the latest and greatest numbers as you prepare for the final draft weekend before shizz gets real.  We have RCL drafts going off all during the final weekend.  You can even create a last minute league like VinWins and I and draft over a cup o’ joe and a bowl of Cap’n Crunch at 7 AM EST Saturday morning.  Doesn’t that sound like fun?  So go on, go create a league and/or fill one that needs filling.  This post will still be here when you get back and then we can talk about your upcoming draft.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

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See all of today’s starting lineups

# MLB Starting Lineups For Tue 8/5
ARI | ATH | ATL | BAL | BOS | CHC | CHW | CIN | CLE | COL | DET | HOU | KC | LAA | LAD | MIL | MIN | NYM | NYY | PHI | PIT | SD | SEA | SF | STL | TB | TEX | TOR | WSH | MIA | OAK

Today we’ll take a look at the AL Central. Honestly, this division bores the hell of out of me and provides no pizzazz or oomph. The most fun part about this division is the lack of honor the White Sox have when asking Adam LaRoche to not bring his kid home when he had explained specifically before signing that it was a requirement. So the contract said “Kid A” must be allowed to come to work with me. My motto in life, specifically in any leadership role like coaching is: “Family over everything”. I back LaRoche’s decision and I expect the White Sox organization to fall apart as their players continue to be discontent with management. What was once a promising season ahead with a vastly improved offense, I believe will turn into a huge disappointment comparable to some dumb reality TV show. Good luck to the White Sox. On to the position battles! Snooozee….

Please, blog, may I have some more?

The Rockies made official what seemed inevitable for the last week, Trevor Story will be the starting shortstop in Colorado.  As a visiting dignitary gets a key to the city, Story earned the shortstop job and was handed one of Tulo’s old hamstrings.  “May your hamstrings stay forever young.”  That’s Rod Stewart doing the honors.  No idea why Colorado hired Rod Stewart to handle that ceremony.  I upped Story in my top 20 shortstops, and cranked up his projections.  His Ks have been a problem in the past, but it’s Coors, so how bad could it be?  “Should I answer?”  No, Josh Rutledge, it’s a rhetorical question.  I’m fascinated to see what the Rockies are going to do with Jose Reyes.  He’s owed a lot of money to become a straight bench player.  Maybe the Rockies will just cut him.  Maybe MLB will suspend Reyes for the season.  Maybe the Rockies will hire Mo’nique to throw Reyes threw a glass door.   Maybe if I had dollars instead of maybes I’d be rich.  Anyway, here’s what else I saw in spring training for fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Draft season is almost done. I hope Grey’s voluminous rankings/advice posts, my advice/projections (w/ Steamer), and the rest of the teams’ work has set you up with some solid rosters.

(Or, if you just play DFS, I hope March basketball kept you entertained.)

We’ve been hard at work improving the Razzball MLB tools for 2016 to help manage your team(s) in-season and in the top Daily Fantasy Sports sites. We have updated FAQs on our streaming pitcher (Streamonator), hitter (Hittertron), and DFS (DFSBot) tools. There are even videos for Streamonator and Hittertron if you cannot process screenshots and text.

If you are unfamiliar with our tools and play season-long or daily fantasy baseball, I IMPLORE you to go to our Subscriptions page and read up on them. The tools are easy-to-use (no math skills required) and will help you make quicker and more effective player decisions no matter what format you play. We even have options where you can try it out by the day. You will not find a site out there that delivers a better bang-for-the-buck subscription or is more transparent/accountable than ours.

Click here to see our subscription options. Starts at $4.99/month or $19.99/season. Free or discounted with new account + deposit on select DFS sites.

Below are the kick-ass improvements for 2016:

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It’s been a long offseason, but now that we’re less than a week away from the start of the 2016 MLB regular season, it’s time to dust off the trash/treasure column and take a look at a few of the players who have made fantasy owners take notice in recent weeks. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this series, the concept is pretty straightforward: identify a few of the players who have experienced the largest change in ownership percentage over the previous week and determine which of these players are deserving of their sudden gains or declines respectively. The players who I believe carry limited value moving forward will be deemed TRASH while the potential waiver wire gems will have the coveted TREASURE label bestowed upon them. Dig it? Cool. Now let’s take a look at some of the buzzy Spring Training names as Opening Day approaches…

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Less than a week away!  I’m more excited than that feeling in Grey’s pants when he drafts Delino DeShields…  I think I shaved it down to 3 references today!  I bet if you were reading quickly and saw “in Grey’s pants” and “shaved”, you mighta thought something different was happening!  On today’s show we break down my anti-SP RCL draft from a week-and-a-half ago, and also chat Grey’s draft in the Yahoo F&F (which you can follow along and read more in-depth here).  If you didn’t pick it up from the description, Grey was super pumped about someone who fell in the draft!  We also go over some notables from Spring Training, including a starting OF Grey hit on in his Spring analysis (in that he got it right, not that he shouted catcalls at him!) and a new starter in Seattle.  Here’s our latest edition of the Razzball Baseball Podcast:

Be sure to check out the first Podcast of the Fantasy Football season here! (With a Game of Thrones special Pod coming this Thursday!)

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So, Rudy and I took part in Yahoo’s Friends & Family league hosted by Brandon Funston.  I believe Rudy and I are on the Friends side of equation, but some of the things I find on Ancestor.com could shock you.  I’m only like 12 cousins removed from my wife.  I’m so well-adjusted that doesn’t even make me shudder anymore!  Could Brandon Funston be my uncle?  Unkie Funston?  That would be cool.  I would be like, “Unkie Funston, can I have your old baseball card collection?”  And he’d be like, “Sure, if you trade me Starlin Castro.”  In this league is a few Rotoworld guys, a few Rotowire guys, a few Yahoo guys, a Wall Street Journal guy, a boneheaded Razzball guy and our very own, Rudy Gamble.  Quite the array of talent.  It’s like a Dave Navarro supergroup and I’m Sammy Hagar.  “Have you tried my tequila?  It’ll make you slap your momma and call her daddy.”  That’s me as Sammy Hagar.  This league is a standard Yahoo league with a 1400 max IP for pitchers.  Anyway, here’s my Yahoo 12-team, mixed league draft recap:

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The National League Least has the Marlins, Braves and Phillies to thank for the Least moniker, as none of those teams were able to win 72 games last year. The Braves and Phillies are in rebuild mode. What’s your excuse Marlins? At least, they have an awesome sculpture in the outfield. Why? Thank goodness, for the fanatical few on the East Coast that actually read this, least means smallest and not bereft of everything. The Metropolitans and Nationals are juggernauts and represent the division well. Speaking of representing… RIP Phife Dawg. Now back to your regularly scheduled programming. Chicks dig the long-ball, so it’s a good thing that some of the preeminent boppers reside in this division. Pitching wins championships, though, and some of the most exciting and young arms are on display. With that said, there are plenty of spots open for the taking. I will discuss the major ones below for each team.

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A little about me:

I am old and cranky.

I know way more about baseball than you.

Many people automatically get four college credits simply for reading a single column of mine.

I am the only person to see the rookie years of both Ty Cobb and Bryce Harper.

I can steal signs from the catcher merely from feeling the breeze produced from his fingers.

I am so respected I have two Hall of Fame ballots each year.

I am a switch-hitter, ambidextrous and tri-sexual. Yes, that’s correct. I often have sex with a tricycle.

I am a vegan and will only play ball with a mitt made of cucumbers and lettuce.

I will see you next week…

Please, blog, may I have some more?

So far I have rolled out the entire infield minus shortstop in our OBP series, and it appears there is no avoiding it anymore. As you might have expected, the average “spread” for qualified shortstops in 2015 was the worst of all positions analyzed thus far- sitting at .050. And while that total might not seem too horrible in its own, the names after the top five drafted are what can make a man lose his mind. I mean really, this position is brutal.

How bad is it…be honest? Is it Windows Vista bad? It’s not iPhone 4 bad…is it? Fu**. Don’t tell me this is Zune bad?!

I’m sorry boys…. It’s Apple Maps bad.

And here you have it…my risers, fallers, targets, and sleepers at the shortstop position!

 (Keep in mind, the format is 12-team 5×5 OBP)

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After Jada Pinkett Smith started the #closerssowhite controversy, boycotting SAGNOF until there were more black closers, because her husband, Will Smith, wasn’t immediately anointed closer of the Brewers, the entire MLB began a well-needed discussion about race.  Our Commissioner Manfred said, “I thought about this for a brief second, then I realized the entire league is Dominican.  I mean, before I was chosen as commissioner I had to vacation in Punta Cana for a long weekend just to ‘feel the vibe’ as Selig said.”  Jada Pinkett Smith said she will not sleep until her husband gets saves or Torii Hunter comes out of retirement and is made closer of one of those real white teams, “Maybe Minnesota.”  Closers So White lives on.  Will Smith’s closer season, however, looks about as promising as an After Earth sequel.  On Saturday, it was reported he tore his LCL.  He tore his 150?  That’s like when Pablo Sandoval’s dyslexic cousin saw Pablo tore his 501’s.  My money’s on Jeremy Jeffress getting the most saves in Milwaukee this year.  My money also has Alfred E. Neuman on it.  Jeffress is the top guy from the Brewers pen in my top 500 with Corey Knebel up next.  The fantasy baseball war room has been updated, as well.  (By the way, some rejected titles for this post were Collateral Ligaments of the World Ain’t Nothing But Trouble and Will Smith Gettin’ Limpy With It.)  Anyway, here’s what else I saw in spring training for fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

If you caught the corner edition of this series, then you know what’s going on with the title. If you missed it (shame on you), go and click on that link now… Grey went over his second basemen and shortstops already, so now it’s my turn. Actually, it’s a different turn for a different game… for the most part. These are for the deeper and the desperate. The DDs! Speaking of DDs, have you signed up for an RCL yet? There is still time, so click here to join one or start your own. Okay, now that I got the shameless RCL plug out of the way, are you all ready for 2016? Feeling the burn yet? Selected your draft day spirits? I’ve been stuck in this scout.com for what feels like an eternity with the end still a week away. Anythehoo, let’s get to the players already…

Please, blog, may I have some more?