by: Ricky Olshansky
We are now eight weeks into the season, so who’s ready for the current roto category leaders? A few slight changes between the AL and NL, and trade season coming up could have a major effect on leaders. So get out your scoop and let’s dig in to the kitty litter box!
Please, blog, may I have some more?
Last year some fellow co-workers and I decided it would be fun to join a flag football league. Seemed like a solid idea. Do some ‘team building’, get some running in, and enjoy a little competition. Well, by the end of the season we had gone through 4 QBs, one broken thumb, multiple pulled hammies and quads, and a grand total of 2 wins to show for all of our pain, so, safe to say, we made the right choice to be auditors and not professional athletes.
With the NFL draft ongoing, I thought it would be interesting to see what the best backyard football squad we could put together of current MLB players would look like. As this is a backyard/adult sport league type of team build, we’ll forego the offensive and defensive line. By NFL standards, there aren’t many guys that could play the line anyway. David Ortiz, Big Papi, is by all accounts a mountain of a man for a baseball player at 6’4” and listed at 250 lbs. (I’m not sure I buy the weight, but that’s neither here nor there) would still be an inch short and 60 pounds light of the average offensive tackle in the NFL…
Please, blog, may I have some more?
by: Big Magoo
David Ortiz has been a dominant offensive force since joining the Red Sox in 2003. During the time period from ’03 to present day, he’s one of only three MLB players to hit at least 400 home runs (Albert Pujols and Adam Dunn are the others); one of three players to knock in at least 1300 runs (Miguel Cabrera and Pujols); he’s 11 walks shy of 1000 which would make him just the 2nd player to reach that mark (Dunn); he’s also produced the 6th highest OPS as well as the 2nd highest ISO (behind only Barry Bonds) during this span. Basically, Big Papi has been an extremely patient hitter with massive power who’s been really good for a really long time. He certainly hasn’t been sloppy like this Poppie. But no player can elude Father Time forever. Except for Julio Franco. I think he was around 60 when he retired. However, most players begin to see their production drop off by their mid-30s at the latest. While Ortiz still appears to be going strong, how much gas does he have left in the tank in his age 39 season?
Please, blog, may I have some more?
by: Rudy Gamble
Razzball is psyched to being taking part in the BBWAA Hall of Fame vote. As the chief stat geek at Razzball, I take this responsibility very seriously. I admit there are obstacles – e.g., determining the right paper size and stock for fashioning a ballot (ours always gets lost in the mail), writing all the eligible players’ names, tracking down the BBWAA address, buying a stamp, ignoring the ‘return to sender’ and ‘cease and desist’ letters from BBWAA, etc – but how best to honor the nominees’ perseverance than to show a little of my own, right?
Below is my 2014 Hall of Fame ballot as well as some commentary on the Veterans ballot. As you can surmise by my votes, I’m a PED realist (vs. moralist) with a slight bias towards hitters (particularly well-rounded 2B/SS/CF) vs pitchers.
Please, blog, may I have some more?You read the title right. So, I guess I might have some splainin’ to do at the end of the year, but I’m proud to throw out the wildest, aka BOLDEST predictions out there. Trust me, these will all be two-drink minimum statements I’ll be laying down. But we ain’t calling this bold because I have a grudge against italics. And I’m not just spouting crazy for crazy’s sake… which I know, brace yourselves, is much different than you’re used to. I’m also going to be sharing evidence to support my claims. And everyone does 10-lists, so I’m going to be one better, cause that’s how I roll. Right down that hill over there. Hey, you want to punch that guy 10 times? Here I am, pushing you out of the way to hit him 11 times. Then I’m quickly running, cause those be sirens I hear. So, you’re going to eat 10 of those hot dogs? Well then, challenge accepted, I’ll eat 11 hot dogs, and then eat 11 Tums to wash it all down. You ain’t got nothing on me!
Please, blog, may I have some more? by: Rudy Gamble
This is the 4th post in a series on the 2011 Hall of Fame ballot. My first post on Jeff Bagwell covered the criteria I am using for analyzing HOF players. The second and third posts covered Bert Blyleven and the middle infielder trio of Alan Trammell, Barry Larkin, and Roberto Alomar. The next player I’d […]
Please, blog, may I have some more? by: Rudy Gamble
This is the first in a series of posts reviewing players on the 2011 Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot. Here is some background on how I analyze players for the HOF: Much like the Earth and many a good joke, the views on Hall of Fame worthiness have two poles. The first pole is the […]
Please, blog, may I have some more?
by: Lou Poulas
The Fantasy Baseball Hall of Fame (in conjunction with Razzball.com) is a new website dedicated to recognizing the accomplishments of Major League ballplayers during the “fantasy era” (1980-present). The greatest of these players will be elected to the Fantasy Baseball Hall of Fame. Six first basemen are enshrined today, a position that is arguably the […]
Please, blog, may I have some more?ESPN’s top “analyst,” Eric Karabell, lit a flame nugget under me when he decided to tout Frank Thomas as a big 2008 sleeper. That’s right, the soon-to-be 40 year-old, Toronto DH who limps around the bases. Seems to me that Karabell has been sleeping for the last ten years. You need to be an ESPN […]
Please, blog, may I have some more?
