Player Page Matches

Position Eligibility for 2014 Fantasy Baseball

by: Grey

On Dancer! On Prancer! On–Oh, I didn’t hear you come in. Welcome, reader! Grab some egg nog and brandy it up to the fire. You look festive. I love that Rudolph tongue ring, though not as much as I love reading discussion about the new iPhone commercial, Misunderstood. When I first saw it, the first thing I thought was, "How sweet, a baby-faced lesbian has made a video for her much older lesbian girlfriend's family." Only later did I realize it's a teenaged boy and his mom. That's the great thing about Christmas, no matter what your interpretation is, it's all about commercialism. The 2014 fantasy baseball rankings are not far away. Right now, January Grey is throwing darts at a board to figure out where to rank Coco Crisp. Exciting! In the meantime, let’s look at the players who have multiple position eligibility for this upcoming 2014 fantasy baseball season. This took me far longer than it probably should’ve. Can’t someone write me a program that sorts all the players by games played at a position? Why do I need to go through every player on every roster? It totally harshes my buzz. I did this list of multi-position eligible players because I figured it would help for your 2014 fantasy baseball drafts. I’m a giver, snitches! Happy Holidays! I only listed players that have multiple position eligibility of ten games or more played outside of their primary position. Not FIVE games at a position, not six, definitely not seven. Ten games. 10, the Laurel & Hardy of numbers. So this should cover Yahoo, ESPN, CBS, et al (not the Israeli airline). Yes, Christmas came a day early this year. Players with multiple position eligibility are listed once alphabetically under their primary position. On a different post, I’ll make some comments about some of the players. In the mean’s while, you make comments in these comments. Say that fast 117 times! Anyway, here’s all the players with multiple position eligibility for the 2014 fantasy baseball season and the positions they are eligible at:

Diamondbacks To Play Rusty Trumbo In OF

by: Grey

Unlike McCarthy-era Hollywood, the Diamondbacks seem to put everyone on their blacklist except Trumbo (see Bauer, Scherzer, Eaton, Skaggs, Upton). Remember when they traded Reynolds and J-Up because they hated being the Diamondhacks? It's back (sad Trumbo). BTW, Scherzer, Bauer and Skaggs: the hypothetical law firm where Alan Dershowitz would feel least comfortable. Then again, he represented that Claus Von Bulow guy. I wonder if Kevin Towers would've been torn if [player]Mark Trumbo[/player] had the name Mark Trumboschnitzel. Probably. I'm not sure what Kevin Towers hates more, Krauts or pitching prospects. I think it's still too early to evaluate the Didi Gregorious-Trevor Bauer trade and a year has past since then, so it's way too early to dissect the Trumbo, Skaggs and Eaton dealings for real baseball, which is fine since we only care about fantasy implications. Mark Trumbo in Arizona is a plus for him. In the city of Los Angeles That's Not Really Los Angeles of Anaheim, the Sciosciapath would bench Trumbo if he farted in the wrong direction. "Did you just fart north by northeast? Hit the pine, meat!" That's the Sciosciapath. Also, Trumbo moves to a better park. He's still never going to win a batting title, but Michael Cuddyer won last year's NL batting title and no one even cared, so do we care? No, no we don't. Trumbo goes to a relatively similar lineup, perhaps a tad lighter, but not enough to factor in. Trumbo would be a thirty homer guy in Petco, and in Arizona he could reach 35+ homers. For 2014, I'll give him the line of 74/33/89/.244/5. Anyway, here's some more offseason moves and what they mean for 2014 fantasy baseball:

When All Ells Fails, Yanks Spend Money

December 5, 2013 | 2014 Fantasy Baseball Draft, Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 150 Comments

by: Grey

You take a guy fresh off a boat -- let's call him Sailor -- and Sailor's boat left a country that didn't have baseball. After explaining what baseball is, you tell Sailor that one baseball team, the Yankees, throws dollars at free agents. After a lengthy explanation that dollars are our currency and why presidents are on low denominations and a non-president is on the hundred and what the hell a free agent is, you then list the top free agent bats for this year: [player]Robinson Cano[/player], [player]Jacoby Ellsbury[/player], [player]Shin-Soo Choo[/player] and [player]Carlos Beltran[/player]. You then ask Sailor which of those guys the Yankees will get. He'll probably say one of the first couple of players. Or maybe he'll say Robinson or Cano Jacoby because he won't know their names and confuse where commas are when spoken. It's such an obvious Yankee move to get Ellsbury that even Sailor figured it out. It reeks of throwing money at the team. Or maybe the Yankees just figured if they can't work with Jay-Z, they'll work with J-E. The short porch in right won't hurt Ellsbury. What could hurt him is just about everything else that seems to hurt him every other year. Since 2009, his games played has been 153, 18, 158, 74 and 134. Saberhagenmetricans shudder at the thought of drafting Ellsbury following a big year. I'm with them. I won't be drafting him anywhere, especially not after he gets bumped up in drafts from his newly adjusted Yankee tax. For 2014, I'll give him the line of 98/13/57/.279/32. Anyway, here's some more offseason moves for 2014 fantasy baseball:

A Ridiculously Early 2014 Fantasy Baseball Mock Draft, Rounds 6-10 Recap

November 29, 2013 | Fantasy Baseball Draft Strategy | 10 Comments

by: Jay

Before we get this post-Turkey celebration of When Fantasy Baseball Writers Have Nothing To Do In The Offseason up and running, I’d like to pass along a special thanks to our very own Grey Albright and Bryan Curley of Baseball Professor for setting up this multi-site super exposition of the aforementioned When Fantasy Baseball Writers Have Nothing To Do In The Offseason, or WFBWHNTDITO, if you're into the whole brevity thing. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, then you can find the Round 1-5 Recap by clicking on this conveniently placed hyperlink right... about... now. And for the full results, you can check them out here. (If nineties website design is your crème de jour, enjoy that layout bro.) Anyhow, let's get this going after the jump so I can go make some turkey sammiches.

Top 20 Outfielders, 2013 Fantasy Baseball

October 11, 2013 | Fantasy Baseball Rankings | 323 Comments

by: Grey

Went over the catchers, 1st basemen, 2nd basemen and shortstops and top 20 3rd basemen for 2013 fantasy baseball. Guess what’s next! No, not pitchers. Read the title, man. In 2010, there were only 5 outfielders that hit 30 homers, in 2011 there were 9, 14 in 2012 and this year: 3. Someone find a bleached Sammy Sosa so he can stick a needle in some motherf**kers! We are only a few years away from someone leading the league with 25 homers. Steals were still around, though they fell off a bit too. There were 14 outfielders who stole 30 bases in 2012 and this year there were 10. As before, these rankings are from our Fantasy Baseball Player Rater with my comments. Anyway, here’s the top 20 outfielders for 2013 fantasy baseball and how they compare to where I originally ranked them:

Top 20 1st Basemen, 2013 Fantasy Baseball

October 3, 2013 | Fantasy Baseball Rankings | 174 Comments

by: Grey

After drudging through an Andy Dufresne-type tunnel for the top 20 catchers for 2013 fantasy baseball, I find myself with a group that actually really hurt or helped your team depending on how you drafted. If you went wrong with your 1st baseman, it could kill your season. Hey, [player]Ike Davis[/player], no hard feelings from me. We are totally fine. Please enjoy these cyanide pills I made special for you. If you went right, you might’ve won your league. For the first time in as long as I've been writing this blog, this is the sorriest group of 1st basemen I've ever seen at the end of the season, but more about that in the body of the post. To recap, this final ranking is from our Fantasy Baseball Player Rater with my comments. Anyway, here’s the top 20 1st basemen for 2013 fantasy baseball and how they compared to where I originally ranked them:

Your 2013 RCL Champions: Josh Hamilton’s Fake Stache

September 30, 2013 | Our Leagues | 48 Comments

by: VinWins

Mauledbypandas' team gained 3 points the final week in our league, Cracking The WHIP, to finish 4.6 ahead of three teams - Waco Night Terrors (Imposing Sea Creatures), the remains of the bay (Beef SAGNOF!), and Retro Vertigo (ECFBL). Josh Hamilton's Fake Stache led the overall standings early, but stumbled in the middle of the season, dropping as low as 15th on July 22nd. They then started the climb back to the top, gaining 12 spots in 3 weeks to reach third place on August 12th. They moved up to second the next week, and were either first or 2nd the rest of the way. Congratulations on an outstanding season!

Jam it or Cram it: Last Call in the Razzball Lounge

September 22, 2013 | Fantasy Baseball Buy/Sell | 54 Comments

by: The Guru

As the Fantasy Baseball season comes to end, it’s time for one more visit to the Razzball Fantasy Lounge where we fake baseball scribes are collectively licking our wounds, sticking pins in our [player]Ryan Braun [/player]voodoo doll and drowning our sorrows in $1 beers and cheap whiskey shots. On this last lazy Sunday of the Fantasy Baseball season we find Sky in a dark corner slowly rocking back and forth muttering the words, “Colabello, Colabello, Colabello.” Bellying up to the bar is our resident podcaster Nick, disheveled and demanding another Canadian Club, cursing his last place Blue Jays and wondering, “Is there a CFL Fantasy League?” Dropping his last quarter in the jukebox, JayWrong selects The Doors “The End” and simply asks, “Anyone think [player]Mike Trout [/player]is the number 1 pick next year?” *bottle smashes above head* Meanwhile, in the parking lot we find Tehol in the backseat of his 1977 Impala locking lips with this sweet “lady” he’ll soon discover has more hair on her back than George “The Animal” Steele -“NOT AGAIN!!” Here at the pool table is your humble-but-nonetheless-handsome Guru contemplating his final list of fantasy ballers that’ll score you the championship, bragging rights and maybe a little cash in your FBB league. *closes eye, takes aim, sinks eight ball off two rails, drops shot glass into pint, downs boilermaker, throws up on Grey’s snakeskin boots* “Sorry, boss.” Here's one more for the road, it’s time to jam it or cram it.

Even With Eyepatch, McCutchen Sees 20/20

September 19, 2013 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 340 Comments

by: Grey

Yesterday, [player]Andrew McCutchen[/player] nailed down his 3rd straight 20/20 season. He's once again a top ten on our Player Rater. So, is it The Dread Pirate or [player]Paul Goldschmidt[/player] (who notched a slam (34) and legs (15) last night -- Au Shizz!) as the 3rd player off the board next year? Miggy and Trout are locked into the ones and twos like you in high school when you briefly thought DJ was a career choice. A case could be made for either of them, and I haven't decided yet. It's my, and every fantasy baseball 'pert's prerogative, to wait. You can't just say I'm the handsomest, most musatchioed 'pert and expect me to drop my pants and get into bed with you. That might work for AJ Mass when you want him to rank Carl Crawford third. Rub my shoulders, they're sore from 6 months of blurb writing. There, that's nice... Wait, what were we talking about? Oh, yeah! McCutchen is an easy number three because you're going to get steals, power, average, RBIs and runs....But Au Shizz gets you all of that with less speed, more power and 1st base eligibility...But McCutchen has a longer track record...But Au Shizz has a higher ceiling...But does he? But-but-but! I got more butts than Leyland's ashtray. It might come down to a game time decision in January when I release the 2014 rankings...Assuming I don't ride off into the sunset on a horse like I'm Julia Roberts when it's time for me to get married this offseason. Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Encarncidone

September 12, 2013 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 346 Comments

by: Grey

Say it's not so News Report! News Report, "I'm sorry, Grey, your handsomeness and mustache make me want to lie to you, but [player]Edwin Encarnacion[/player] is probably being shut down for the year." Is it because anything I did? "No, you've gone above and beyond anything I could've hoped for. Thanks for the $10 marathon donation too. A real mensch, you are!" I could've done without the second reminder to donate on Facebook. "Can we discuss this privately?" So, players are dropping like flies. Not those African tsetse flies that have been known to live for six months after they burrow into your skull. They're dropping like fruit flies near your backyard bug zapper. In most leagues, I'd lose Encarnacion immediately. Blue Jays Manager said Edwin's probably done for the year, and even if he returns, he's dealing with a sore wrist, which is, ya know, not good for hitting. Comatose Blue Jays Fan, "At least he'll be ready for the playoffs! Right?" Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

It’s Never Too Late To Say You’re Soriano

September 11, 2013 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 385 Comments

by: Grey

In the summer of 1937, a woman went into labor. This woman's name was Alfonsa Soriano. She was 78 years old at the time and the doctors worried she wouldn't be able to deliver a healthy baby and she risked her own safety. The baby and the mother made it through. Unfortunately, due to her age, her skin wasn't as elastic as a woman half her age and she walked the rest of her life like she was just jumping hurdles. Her son, [player]Alfonso Soriano[/player], adopted her long gait -- a way to pay homage? -- and it helped him later in life. He said because of his long strides, he made sneakers last twice as long because he used half the number of steps as most people. Heartwarming. Also, heartwarming is his insane season. Yesterday, he hit two more homers to bring his season total up to 32 and he now sits at 98 RBIs and 79 runs. Yeah, you were counting on that when you drafted him in the last round of your drafts, or as a late $1 flyer. Look away for the next moment if you don't own him: on our Player Rater, he's the 6th best outfielder! In front of him, Chris Davis, Mike Trout, Adam Jones, Andrew McCutchen and Jacoby Ellsbury. Right after Soriano? Carlos Gonzalez! Absolute-Lee-Eff-In-Cray-Zee. Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Teams Pour Some Into Their Forty, Man, For The Brothers Who Are Here

September 2, 2013 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 413 Comments

by: Grey

Nick Castellanos a ti, Nick Castellanos a ti, Nick Castellanos a ti... Oh, sorry, I didn't here you walk in. I was just singing Happy Birthday in Spanish with a Greek player's name to anyone that was born on September 2nd. I'm glad you're here. Sit down. You just sat down on the birthday cake. Okay, forget that now. This weekend rosters expanded, and with it the promise of a greater tomorrow. Yay, Billy Hamilton is going to steal 78 bases in September. Nick Castellanos will hit 12 homers and fix this gaping hole in my lineup I call, "Josh Hamilton Sucks." All of the guys called up will be great (no, they won't, but some may). It doesn't mean they will be great immediately or even have the playing time to succeed this year. In keepers, obviously you pursue these players hard and fast like you're Gosh Johnson, Josh's porn star brother. In redraft leagues where you are desperate for SAGNOF, I'd grab Billy Hamilton now. If you have an open spot in your lineup and Hamilton isn't playing, I'd still insert him and watch him get a steal in a pinch running appearance. Nick Castellanos is another ball of fruit -- a melon ball, if you will. If he doesn't have playing time, he adds nothing for redraft leagues. I will reiterate what Prospect Scott said yesterday, "I like his former teammate, [player]Avisail Garcia[/player], better and Grey is an idiot." Okay, I will only reiterate the first part of that. In redraft leagues, you don't want someone who will be great next year, you want someone who is swinging a hot bat right now. Now, go clean the cake off your ass. Anyway, here's what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball: