by: Coolwhip
With the season finished, we can finally look back at the big picture. I sit here watching Shohei Ohtani pitch for the final start of the season and think back on the journey. We witnessed amazing things. Ohtani has done something no one has ever done, again. Is it any less amazing when someone maintains […]
Please, blog, may I have some more?Hey all, after a midseason sabbatical to take care of some family things, I’m back. And I’m seeing the world with a bit more clarity. Call it a furthering need for authenticity. When you are confronted with the mortality of your father—for me the positive visage of what a patriarch looks like: selfless, giving, strong, […]
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by: Hoove
Post-All-Star Break, the major storyline is the trade deadline–what teams are buyers, playing for the playoffs and the coin flip it is, and what teams are sellers, playing for future seasons. There’s another game at play that influences current playoff races and future seasons alike–monitoring pitcher workloads. Whether it’s the rookie without a lot of […]
Please, blog, may I have some more?Hey, Razzball nation! It’s another Wednesday and another MarmosDad DFS writeup to help you build your mid-week DFS lineups! We’ve officially made it to June (well, I guess not all of us – thanks a lot, Adalberto and Franmil). Things are starting to shape up in MLB and those hot and cold starts by both […]
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by: The Itch
Last year around this time, we were all bright-eyed and razzy-tailed youths looking forward to a fresh new season through the lens of a fresh new format: The RazzSlam, a collection of 12-team best ball leagues to determine who is the Razziest baller of them all.
I did what I could to find my way through the field and wrote about it here in Attack on RazzSlam: The Itch’s Final Draft Rundown.
Mistakes were made. I drafted 19 pitchers, which is fine, especially considering the pitchers I got: Logan Webb at pick 447, Alex Reyes at 399, Trevor Rogers at 346, Jake McGee at 327, Dylan Cease at 303 . . . Hey, how come I didn’t win this league?
Well, outfield weakness, for starters. Christian Yelich at 2.15 was not fun. Conforto at pck 63. Teoscar at 82 and Buxton at 134 were fine, but in general, I was short on corner bats (had Dom Smith, Andrew Vaughn, Eric Hosmer at 1B) and short on outfield bats. Was also weak at catcher: Vazquez, Tom Murphy and Torrens oh my.
In most roto leagues, I think you can cover a weak spot with a strong one. That doesn’t seem to be the case in the RazzSlam, so I guess that was our blueprint heading into the draft: have good players at every position. Seems simple enough.
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by: Grey
I’m a big fan of the everyman. I consider myself the everyman. I’m every man’s everyman. A pioneer of normcore. Track pants and a blinking light on my car’s dashboard that either means my seatbelt isn’t on or I need oil. That is me. What better way to elevate the Everyman Culture, then to take part in a tourney where no one is smarter than anyone else. Enter the RazzSlam, a Best Ball tourney. Every everyman likely knows what a Best Ball league is, but, if you don’t, it’s when you draft a team and the computer manages it for you by choosing who are your best players, and you get those stats. It’s basically one fantasy league removed from the robots taking over and killing us all. Well, the last laugh is on you robots, cholesterol is beating you to the punch! Kinda love that Razzball is putting on a tourney (hosted by NFBC — thank you!) that no one really has any clue how to strategize. A true everyman experience. Oh, I’m sure there’s a few people who think they know the correct strategy for Best Ball, and a few of them might be right, but there’s an under 1% chance they know why they’re right, and it isn’t just luck. In some ways, Best Ball leagues are a lot like Best Ball strategies. Throw a ton of them out there and a few good ones will rise to the top through sheer force of players’ performances and nothing you’re actually doing. That’s the fun. Anyway, here’s my RazzSlam, a 42-round, Best Ball 12 team draft recap:
Please, blog, may I have some more? by: Grey
In the late-90s, I worked as an au pair in The Bahamas, one of my favorite gigs post-college. I remember watching an eighteen-month-old Jasrado Prince Hermis Arrington Chisholm Jr. I would put on John Coltrane, on his baby finger, because I didn’t have a record player, and I would spin the record real fast so it made sound, and little Jasrado Prince Hermis Arrington would giggle. One time, while I was balancing the record on his finger, I went by the window to smoke a jay, closing the window so not to lose any of that puff. When I was finished, I returned to Baby Jasrado Prince Hermis Arrington’s finger again to spin the record, and, when I did, he was wearing dark sunglasses, and a beret and I said to his parents, “You should call him Monica Lewinsky,” and they nodded, saying, “They would take it under advisement.” Always felt like they were patronizing me. I wonder what they ended up nicknaming him–Wait a minute! Could that baby have been Jazz Chisholm Jr.? Nah, that would be way too coincidental. Yesterday, Jazz did exactly what makes him so special, going 2-for-4, 3 runs, 3 RBIs with a double slam (16. 17) and legs (22). Jazz is one of my most highly anticipated guys for 2022. His strikeouts (29%) are a little high, but an inflated BABIP (.330-ish) evens out his average at .250 and that feels like it will easily repeat or get better, and I’m counting on better. In 2022, he is a handful of guys who could go 25/25. And that’s a small handful. Like a baby hand that can play a Jazz record. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
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by: everywhereblair
Hey friends! Are you in your imaginary baseball management championship bracket right now? Or at least the consolation bracket? I know we’re winding down and the vast majority of players are just awaiting some solid playoff baseball DFS. But for those of you still in the season-long baseball basket, let’s see if we can’t get you a couple starters that will save your season — or starters you might want to stay away from.
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by: NateMarcum
The Fantasy Baseball Head to Head season is coming to an end. We can all hope that it goes the way of some other amazing finishes, like MASH, Breaking Bad, and Parks and Rec. I feel it is my sole responsibility to deliver the goods this week so that your Head to Head finish isn’t reminiscent of the final episode of Game of Thrones or Quantum Leap. So Sam Beckett could have always lept back home, and he ultimately never did? Huh? That is the equivalent of Vlad Jr being forced to jump into the body of Matt Carpenter to get his batting average over the Mendoza mark, and never choose to return to his glorious MVP self. Oh well.
Contrary to other weeks, depending on your league format and assuming it isn’t a keeper-based league, you can now just drop any player that can’t help you, or won’t hurt you by your opponent adding them. If you have a starter pitching on Wednesday or later, you can drop him after their start and move on to the next guy. This weeks’ schedule is filled with tricks and treats that should help you gain an edge over your competitor if you can strike while the iron is hot. And I am not using that reference as an homage to that garbage fest of a finale in Game of Thrones. Don’t get me wrong, the show had to end, but it was as if the MLB condensed the entire playoffs into a game of Strat-O-Matic.
So what can we look for in this final week?
9-Game Week: Cleveland (2-Double Headers)
8-Game Week: St. Louis & Chicago White Sox
5-Game Week: New York Mets & Boston
Interleague Matchups
MIA @ TB. (MIA gains DH)
BAL @ PHI (BAL loses DH) – Monitor Anthony Santander
NYM @ BOS (NYM gains DH)
MINN @ CHC (MINN loses DH) – Monitor Josh Donaldson
Please, blog, may I have some more? by: Grey
We hear, “Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels…” as the Think Different commercial plays. The middle of a black onyx stage opens, and slowly someone rises. First, we see their Yankees cap, then the glorious sheen, black-as-night mustache, which blinds us, it’s so beautiful. Finally, we see it’s Nestor Cortes Jr. in a black turtleneck and dad jeans. Nestor clicks on the microphone that is around his ear. “Thank you, Ashton Kutcher, for that lovely intro. Now, as many of you are wondering, how am I on the Yankees, and their no facial policy, with this gorgeous mustache. That answer is quite simple, actually. It’s due to my incredibly fast-growing facial hair. I shave every morning. I want to direct you now to my 500-slide Powerpoint explaining how my mustache grows in so fast.” Not only does Nestor Cortes Jr. have a fast-growing mustache like he’s out of the 1970s, he also has a 1970s vibe to his pitching. His release point changes with just about every pitch. Is his father, Nestor Orlando El Duque Hernandez Cortes Sr.? Last night, Cortes went 6 1/3, 1 ER, 5 baserunners, 11 Ks, ERA at 2.60 in just under 80 IP, which is nothing to sneeze out, unless you’re allergic to quality fantasy starters. The worry with Cortes, much like it was with El Duque, he throws about 89 MPH. It’s a precarious game trying to keep MLB hitters off balance all the time. So far, Cortes has done it, and I’d try him for the rest of this year. For 2022 fantasy, Nestor Cortes Jr. feels like a guy who could be exposed as a gimmick. Now, excuse me, I want to get back to watching his mustache PowerPoint. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Please, blog, may I have some more? by: Grey
“Ranger Suarez is the greatest Suarez in the history of this country.” That’s me leaning into a store microphone in the freezer department at Costco before getting chased from the store. It’s drama, guys and five girls, and I like drama. *pushes bangs off forehead, turns to mirror* I’m ready for Close-Up. No, don’t zoom […]
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