My
schmohawk posts are like the fantasy equivalent of Final Destination. First, A.J. Pollock loses his season, then
Kyle Schwarber is carted off the field after running into Fowler. If I were Miguel Sano, I'd look both ways while carefully crossing to the plate to strikeout. And Tulo, well, I would just stay in the hyperbaric chamber that you sleep in for your hamstrings. I'm not sure if it was the writing of the posts, publishing of the posts or simply thinking about writing the posts that jinxed these players. Where does my kavorka start and end? Is it okay for me to think bad thoughts about Trevor Story? How serious are my premonitions? Oh, and one side note, you never want to see anyone get hurt, but how on earth did Schwarber get hurt and Fowler was fine? Schwarber's got like 200 pounds on him. Damn, Dexter Fowler is one strong bean. So, Schwarber has a sprained ankle and is headed for an MRI today. He could be gone for a while, which could help Jorge Soler see some light, though I'm not sure this won't just mean more playing time for Matt Szczur, Javier Baez (when he returns) or Kris Bryant into the outfield. I'm not even joking; Maddon's playbook is written in hieroglyphics and the Rosetta Stone didn't make it through baggage claim. Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
It's Opening Day, so what better time to start an "I Told You So." Sure, any time is a good time for an "I Told You So," and that doesn't just hold true for So Taguchi. Though, that "I Told You So" rings true, as well. That's if you did indeed tell So something, and he doesn't heed your prescience. Oh, and don't be scared, Carl Everett, prescience isn't science from before science. So (Taguchi),
A.J. Pollock has a fractured elbow. I told you
not to draft him. Of course, I didn't say he'd fracture his elbow; my Magic Eight Ball isn't that precise, but I did say to avoid him in drafts. If you would've just followed that, we'd all be okay. You didn't listen because you know better, and I'm not talking about that Armenian dishwasher you befriended at the bus stop, Better Vardanyian. You might know that Better, but you didn't know better than to draft Pollock. For you drafters of Pollock, I'll pour some of my "I Told You So" juice out that I'm marketing with So Taguchi. By the way, So Taguchi -- retired for seven years, but a major part of the Opening Day roundup. Good for So Taguchi. And great for us, we got baseball! And not great for Pollock, he'll be out for the better part of the year, if not the whole shebang, to quote Ricky Martin. I grabbed Socrates Brito in one league because he'll be facing the majority of pitchers (righties). He was in my
top 80 outfielders. I'm a big fan, though not as a houseguest. Wearing nothing but a toga on a couch is a little gross. He has solid speed and some power, think 10 HRs and 22 SBs. A poor man's Pollock, I will call him Warsaw Ghetto. Anyway, here's what else I saw this weekend for fantasy baseball:
Head-to-head points leagues are a completely different animal than roto leagues. A player's value in one format does not translate to the other. He (or she) that uses roto rankings at a H2H points league draft is like the jackass that brings a knife to a gunfight when he knows he's headed to a gunfight. A prime example would be
[player]Chris Davis[/player] who is much more valuable in roto leagues than he is in points leagues. To further complicate the matter, all points leagues are not created equal. Not even close. Nearly all leagues have their own version of some "standard" scoring system. Perhaps one league awards two points for a stolen base and another gives just one. That subtle difference boosts the value of a base stealer in the two-point stolen base league resulting in a different set of rankings.
[player]Jose Altuve[/player] becomes more valuable than both
[player]Albert Pujols[/player] and
[player]Andrew McCutchen[/player] (based on 2015 stats). Knowing your system is essential to navigating a draft or auction.
Welcome to the 2016 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 mean everything, folks. We’ve got line-ups, charts, Slurpees, lube, a guide for beginner electricians, and even a cactus! Well, that's a lie. That's what Jay had last year sitting in front of him. This year? Um...a little less lube? Take that as you will. But hey, we've got teams to preview and questions to ask, so let's hop to it. We a very special guest for this post...James Fegan, to provide his take on what the team has in store this season. Now enough rambling, let's see what 2016 holds for the Chicago White Sox!
The Razzball Pod is back! On today's show we blitz through some minimal news from last week including the
Mat Latos signing, but we spend the majority of our show wrapping up Grey's infield ranks. We start with 2B and both really like
Rougned Odor, Grey buries some vets, and then there's nothing like digging deep into the SS pool! Maybe we should re-title the SS pool the Deadpool. We then wrap up with some 3B discussion and a new dynasty league announcement. If that's not a reason to listen the whole way, then I dunno what is! Here's our latest edition of the Razzball Baseball Podcast:
Download from
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If I told you this post ends our position
2016 fantasy baseball rankings, would you believe me? What if I told you it while holding your mom's hand while calling you son, would you believe it more or less? Man, you got issues! So, yes, this is the end of our positional rankings, but I'll be along tomorrow with a top 100 and then a top 500. That's right, 500! Like a baller! There's also our Steamer projections for all
hitters and
pitchers. All of the
fantasy baseball auction values are also up for over 1500 players. There's a ton of different formats located there too, like the
5x5 OBP rankings,
6x6 OBP rankings,
6x6 Holds and a ton more. All of my
2016 fantasy baseball rankings are there. My tiers and projections are noted in this post. Anyway, here's the top 100 starters for 2016 fantasy baseball:
Baseball is over! Wait, um, what World Series? My Brewers aren't in it, so I'm not watching... i.e. I never watch the World Series...
2015 was a very interesting year for pitchers with a lot of unique things - guys coming out of nowhere, a lot of TJ surgeries, a crazy amount of Ks... Wait, OK, never mind, it was about the same! Hopefully with the doldrums of winter upon us for fantasy baseball, you hopped into some
fantasy basketball leagues and can join us for an indoor fantasy sport!
Recapping February ranks can be pretty eye-opening. As in, seeing my
[player]Chris Archer[/player] rank makes me want to gouge my eye out! Maybe that would be eye-closing then... Anywho,
for the second straight season I went through my top 100 from Spring to see what went right and what went
[player]Chien-Ming Wang[/player]. I think I did a little better than last year, especially when you consider
[player]James Paxton[/player] was easy to drop and didn't just pitch bad all year...
You'll find below in this
War and Peace-esque recap
SP sorted by my initial SP ranks in February,
Grey's SP pre-ranks in the top-400 sortable ranks post, ESPN's
SP pre-ranks based on whenever that list came out (I tried to find their most standardized ranks), then compared them to their
Razzball Player Rater finish amongst SP. I also mention a few times
my ranks edit right before the season, since it's not really fair to grill me on Yu Darvish. No, Yu're injury prone! With all those numbers thrust together to showcase best and worst calls, I review each pitcher and include which top-40 pitchers I failed to rank. I cut it off at 40 to make me look better, there were like 7 I didn't rank between 40-50 and I'm lazy! Haha. And I promise, no more hyperlinks in the open! Here's the recap to 2015's starting pitching ranks:
So much of life comes down to perspective. There are super successful people that are filled with bitterness and anger while others scrape by and are happy. I constantly have to remind myself how lucky I am - great wife & kids, healthy, have money in bank, love where I live - to avoid getting sucked into the craphole of the daily grind.
It is easy for people that do not play fantasy sports to dismiss our joy or anger at our fantasy baseball teams by saying 'it is just a game.' You can reduce just about everything people get passionate about with 'it is just _____'. But that isn't productive. Reveling in your successes and dismissing your failures only means you ensure less success because you do not fully learn from your failures. And it takes a healthy perspective to isolate the 'fault' from the 'bad luck' in one's failures.
I write all this because my first year in
Tout Wars was an excrutiating test to keep perspective. Let's see how good a job I can do....
"Hello, and welcome to the Izod Center in downtown East Rutherford, New Jersey! We're only 35 minutes from New York! On tonight's fight card, we have everyone vs. George Zimmerman and, our main event, Bryce Harper vs. Jonathan Papelbon! Harper has him on height by a good six inches, if you count his mohawk. They're both tipping the scales like heavyweights, if you count their egos, but Papelbon has the reach by three and a quarter inches since Harper will be fighting off his heels, as he's been known to do his whole career. The Loafer vs. The Soft Shoe! The Cock vs. The Guy With A Haircut That Makes Him Look Like A Cock! The Veteran Who Plays The Game The Right Way vs. The Upstart Who Just Plays The Game Better Than Anyone Else. Hosting this event is Donald Trump. Making this country great again like he did in Atlantic City!" Yesterday, I said, these two mix like vinegar and douche, and then the Nationals made sure they wouldn't have to mix at all. Papelbon was suspended for the rest of the regular season, which opens the door for Blake Treinen, Matt Thornton and/or Casey Janssen. That's the order I'd grab them for saves, but like a carrot in minestrone, it's real dicey. Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Yesterday, Chris Coghlan went full Ivan Drago on Jung-ho Kang's knee, taking him out in a hard slide. Kang is now done for the year, and could miss a month of next season, with a torn MCL. That's not the year 1150, if any Romans are reading this. He also has a fractured fibia. Coghlan should not be allowed to wear that Iron Mike Sharpe knee pad. Things couldn't be much worse for the Pirates, who will now rely on Jordache Mercer (full name). Kang's agent said, "It is unfortunate that what would be considered heads up baseball would cause such a serious injury. That said, Coghlan was playing the game the way it should be played." Doesn't that sound backhanded? Like, "It's a shame we allow 85-year-old people to drive, but that's the law and thanks for crashing into my car." Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
You wanna know what's on my mind? "If the Nationals wouldn't have shut down Stephen Strasburg three years ago, would they have been eliminated a day earlier this year?" No, that's not on my mind. "Is there anything to your business idea of selling 500-foot rulers outside the courthouse to people who just got restraining orders?" That's been on my mind, but that wasn't what I was thinking about now. "What does Strasburg offer us for 2016?" Yes, that was what I was thinking. How did you read my mind? "I'm you." Shh, you're ruining the illusion. Yesterday, he went 7 1/3 IP, 3 ER, 6 baserunners, 13 Ks. Prettttay, pretttay good. Of course, Effin Stressbird has been an ulcer all year with his 4.30 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and continual injuries that have left him with only 98 1/3 IP. When digging deeper -- and it hurts me soul, Lupe Fiasco, to say this -- he doesn't look bad. His velocity went up this year to 95.3 MPH from 94.8; his K/9 is down 10.1 to 9.7, but I think that's just due to his control, and a 9.7 K/9 isn't bad. He hasn't been as sharp with command, but couldn't that be due to the back problems he's fighting? I hate him as much as anyone that is making hashtags by combining MLK and the dipshit in Kentucky, but if I'm looking at his stats with impartial eyes, he doesn't look terrible for 2016. For this year, just give me three more effin starts like last night, you Effin Stressbird. Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Hashtag, oh em gee. Hashtag, my hashtag is an honors student. Hashtag, back again, check it to wreck it, let's begin. Corey Seager was called up. I just got goosepimplies on the butterflies that are in my stomach. I just can't. *puts handkerchief to forehead, falls back and Giancarlo catches me, wakes to Giancarlo holding me, faints again and every time I reawaken and see Giancarlo, I faint once more* I just had a fainting fit thinking about Seager. Okay, now that we got the histrionics out of our systems. What's the best Seager does this year? A few homers, a few steals and marries your sister? What's the worst? Nothing. Of course, I'd pick him up in all leagues. I'm not goddamn goofy. I just wouldn't hold out hope that he's going to do anything that incredible this year. For the very short-term, Seager will fill in for Jose Peraza who is out with a sore hamstring. Yesterday, Seager hit eighth going 2-for-4 with 2 runs, 2 RBIs. When Peraza returns, Seager will play a few games a week, and maybe hint at the insane ability he possess, but saving the bulk of his wonderful until next year. Remember, Mike Trout did nothing in his first trip through the majors. Clayton Kershaw looked awful in his first trip through the majors. Right now, Buxton looks awful, and he will be great. Seager can go 5-for-35 with 20 Ks in September and it means nothing. Sorry to sober up your rookie nookie. You were wet-kissing your fantasy team and it was weird. Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
