Player Page Matches
If you want to see the worst video you can imagine, here's Aroldis getting hit in the face by a line drive. I say it's the worst video, not because of the graphic content, but because it looks it was shot by a blind man who has really large fingers. Which has me thinking, does braille come in different sizes? Things that make you go hmm... So, [player]Aroldis Chapman[/player] got hit in the face by a comebacker off of Salvador Perez's bat and needed to get carted off the field and taken straight to the hospital. No amount of weird stories about Aroldis coming home to find women tied to his bed, claiming they were kidnapped, makes what happened to Aroldis right. No amount of stories of him doing 150 MPH in a school zone, drag racing against Puig, makes this right. Aroldis can throw puppies in the air and say he's making it rain for pussycats and it doesn't make it okay. Though, I did rush to the waiver wire looking for [player]J.J. Hoover[/player] just in case Aroldis would be out for a while, then I went looking for [player]Jonathon Broxton[/player]. Fantasy baseball, you make me a bad person! I'd add Hoover and Broxton, just in case Aroldis is out for a while. Right now, I'd guess he misses a month with a fractured nose and a fracture above his eye. Anyway, here's what else I've seen in Spring Training for 2014 fantasy baseball:
I was fortunate enough to be invited to this year in KFFL's Fantasy Baseball Analysis Draft (which leads to a BAD acronym).  It has historically been a 12-team mixed snake draft league but has now been expanded to 15 teams. Some drafts require a lot of prep time - this one had the prep time of a TV dinner.  It came right on the heels of LABR which follows the same format.  Then my pals at KFFL (Nick Minnix and Tim Heaney) were nice enough to 'randomly' assign me the same pick (#8) I had in LABR.  Sweet. My strategy going into the draft was similar to LABR - draft 9+ SPs, be AVG-conscious, get two top 15 closers, try to nab one of the speedy/solid AVG MIs, and anticipate and/or dodge position runs.  There were a couple of post-LABR draft learnings I incorporated:
As spring training takes off, we, the wonderful people of Razzball, thought it would be a good idea to look into some intra-team rivalries.  What positions are a lock?  What positions are being fought over?  What positions will they hire me to fill-in for (second base Blue Jays, I’m looking at you)? Find out as the second part of this series will focus on AL Central… (You can check out the NL East Spring Training Preview here.)
Grey threw this knuckleball: “I have an idea for someone who wants extra credit on their Razzball exam.  Put together, next year, a team of 27-year-olds.  My guess is if you don’t research anything else and only draft 27-year-olds, you’ll have a leg up on the competition.” Fun, yes! A ‘leg up’…on the pool of ALL other ages? Is he serious or just having fun with us? I’ll play along… cull all those ‘lucky-year’ studs.
Today we go over the top 80 outfielders for 2014 fantasy baseball, which comes after we went over the top 60 outfielders for 2014 fantasy baseball, which came after the top 40 outfielders for 2014 fantasy baseball which followed the top 20 outfielders for 2014 fantasy baseball. Link dump! Tomorrow we hit the 80-100 best outfielders then on to the top 100 starters. It's the best day of your life because I'm bestowing on you wonderful like your father never did. Don't ask me to go see you play Little League though, that's not happening. As always, my tiers and projections are noted and all of the 2014 fantasy baseball rankings are there. Where? There. Dur. Anyway, here's the top 80 outfielders for 2014 fantasy baseball:
It's a closerousel! Which is a play on carousel, not arousal. Pick up your pants. Recently, the Cleveland Indians organization talked to the media about moving away from the unfortunate Native American stereotype their team is known for. They said, "We respect the people who came before us. This was their land, and we drove them out. Scalping was a crime on humanity. In other news, we just signed a guy that goes by the Ax Man. Chief Wahoo, can I get a woohoo?!" [player]John Axford[/player] should be perfectly competent as the closer in Cleveland, until he's not. What I mean is he'll be handed the job and will hold it the whole year unless he reverts to his hideous ways. I was burnt by him in more leagues than I care to remember, but I would still draft him again. SAGNOF, after all. Then Theo Cubstein went out and got [player]Jose Veras[/player] to close games. Cubs fans will miss the days when their games went an extra fifty minutes due seven men getting on base in the ninth inning. If you throw out Veras's first five appearances and start his stats on April 13th of last year, he had a 2.48 ERA. Yeah, that'll work just fine. Then the Orioles pulled their best Billy Beane impersonation when they let one high-priced closer go and got [player]Grant Balfour[/player] back. Oddly enough, Billy Beane was the one that took the high-priced one. I scream, what's the world coming to?! Then Billy Beane shoots Spider dead. Then Beane turns to me and says, "Not so fast, amigo. Check Balfour's health. Oh, and amigo is being sarcastic, you dumbass." I knew that! But not about the health. No one did. Except for the Jedi master. Of course, there was more to it. So, now Balfour's deal may fall through with the O's due to health concerns raised in his physical. It's a developing situation as they say in third world countries about their water and cable TV. Finally, [player]Addison Reed[/player] went from the Chicago White Sox to Arizona. Now the Diamondbacks won't have to worry about what happens when J.J. Putz hurts himself opening a tin of Band-Aids. Irony only takes you so far, Putz. This leaves a vacuum in the South Side of Chicago in the ninth inning, but I guess they don't plan on winning any games. White Sox GM Rick Hahn named [player]Nate Jones[/player], [player]Matt Lindstrom[/player], [player]Scott Downs[/player] and [player]Daniel Webb[/player] as possible replacements. Due to Scott Downs' Syndrome, Downs is out of the mix. Jones will be a favorite by fantasy baseballers (<--my mom's term!) due to his ability to strike guys out, but I'm guessing Lindstrom will end up with the job due to that hard-to-put-your-finger-on-it closer experience quality. Anyway, here's some more offseason moves for 2014 fantasy baseball:
*sings Kelis song in head for five minutes before starting post* Okay, now that that's out of the way, I can teach you, but I have to charge. Stupid brain! [player]Denard Span[/player] has been hotter than something that's hot in a situation that's even hotter. I'm thinking he's hotter than a stolen wallet that fell into the crack of the world's fattest man. You can fill in a better allusion if you'd like. I'm empowering you, my prematurely balding men readers. Let's go back to the beginning of the season, March Grey drafted Denard Span in his last draft of the year, an NL-Only league. I, Grey Albright, Fantasy Master Lothario, was happy to get him, figured he could give me solid counting stats and 20-25 steals. Five months later, I was benching him for Eric Young, Garrett Jones, Reymond Fuentes, really anyone. Then Span decided to reach my projections in the final month. He's hitting over .400 in September and has stolen more bases this month than all of August (yes, he only stole one base in August, so it's not that spectacular of an achievement). If you're struggling for runs, steals and average, I'd grab Span in every league. The only way he could get hotter is if the world's fattest man farts. Allusion callback! Anyway, here's some more players to buy or sell this week in fantasy baseball:
Damn, the planets had all lined up for [player]Jacoby Ellsbury[/player] to be overrated for 2014 fantasy baseball. 50+ bases and only four times caught (!). Some power (8 homers) and solid counting stats (89 runs; 52 RBIs). Seemingly repeatable numbers for 2014. All he needed to do was get through this season healthy so people would forget how he can't get through a season healthy. Then, he goes and injuring himself. Now when I say to avoid him next year, people are gonna think I actually have a point rather than being the cracked out of his mind guy who invented something this weekend that I will only share with you. It's really for our four girl readers, but since guys are likely to buy it for their women, here it is: a Segway vacuum cleaner. Think of it as a ride-along Roomba! Brilliant, I know. So, as of right now, Ellsbury's in a walking boot. That sounds terrific. Almost as good as Salvador Perez when a loved one is on their death bed. Ellsbury headed off to the Steadman Clinic for a second opinion -- 'bout time he started bringing in some money for Oprah! -- and Ellsbury was diagnosed with a compression fracture. Ellsbury's not going to be back until the playoffs, in the best case scenario. I'd absolutely drop him. In his place has been Jackie Bradley Jr., who can walk multiple times in one game! Anyway, here's what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:
Well, I keep going deep on these calls and keep digging a bigger hole so I figure why stop? Let's dig straight to Italy. Why didn't I say China you ask? Because that little boot of a country had the player I'm talking about this week on its National team this year. Which is really weird when you consider his wiki page says he's an American. Um, don't you have to be of said nationality to play for said nationality? Sounds like the standards for playing for a National team are pretty loose. I'd love to see the fill-out sheet to join. Wonder if it looks like this. Well, never mind, these things matter not. What DOES matter is [player]Chris Colabello[/player] looks like a nice power pickup for week 24 of our 2013 Fantasy Baseball season...
This year was a big year for [player]Christian Yelich[/player]. He got his driver's permit, went to the Junior Prom with a senior (!), his parents got a divorce, went on an adventure with his friends where they discovered a dead body in the forest and stumbled on the killers, solved that murder and got his braces off. Even with all of that, there was one thing that stood out as the most important part of his summer -- his call-up to the majors. He's the Doogie Howser of major league baseball. At the age of sixteen, he shouldn't be playing this well. He should need some time to adjust. His head should be preoccupied with new responsibilities. Like memorizing emergency phone numbers, writing his last name in all of his tighty-whiteys or getting Jimmy Lunkin to secure him a fake ID so he can sneak into R-rated films. Still, with all of this, he's managed to hit for a solid average with three homers and six steals in forty games. On top of that, he's got the hottest bat in the majors right now, hitting near .500 in the last week with three of those steals and one of those dingers. I'd grab him in every league. Hurry before homework from the new school year bogs him down. Anyway, here's some players to buy or sell this week in fantasy baseball: