7/8/07 post

Bounce Back Candidates

Every season at around this time of the year, we hope for certain players on our rosters to catch fire in the second half and hopefully propel our teams forward towards the league title.

In this week’s blog, I’d like to list these fantasy players on each of our fantasy teams who I predict will soon turn it around and pile on statistics that will make up for his mediocre season so far. I call these our “Bounce Back Candidates for 2007.

Bounce Back Candidates:

1. Upstate NY K9’s: It’s Nick Swisher…. So far his stats are mediocre but he’s too good for that. I predict a power surge at around the time Oakland makes a strong push towards stealing the lead from LAA for just a few weeks…

2. No Shot (ISUK): Easy… it’s Vernon Wells. This guy is already heating up. His swing is looking good and maybe leading off in the lineup was all he needed to change his approach. Expect 30+ homers by the end of the season. Actually, Toronto’s a pretty good team. Watch out Yankees!

3. Team Curran (CURR): Jason Bay. I know he’s really slumping right now, but maybe the All-Star Break is the time he needs to sit back and realize how to revitalize his talent. It’s not like he’s hurt or anything… If he gets traded to a pennant contender, that could also get him going.

4. Lost Causes (LOST): Travis Hafner. What’s up with that batting average. This guy is a little late this year with his surge but maybe he’ll make up for it with a HUGE surge starting NOW…. As divisional race gets tighter, this guy gets going. MVP may not be in the cards but he can be a huge contributor to his team.

5. Crazy Carl (CRCZ): Brian McCann: While everyone is watching Russell Martin, this catcher will help to propel the Atlanta Braves to the wildcard. I just have that feeling… and as the Braves go, so will McCann. He’s too talented.

6. Help Wanted (COOL): I LOVE that new team logo! Okay, the player I’m eyeing on your team is Ryan Zimmerman. This guy has unbelievable hand-eye coordination which means those outs he’s making are soon going to turn into hits and he figures out his mechanics. This guy went on a tear in the second half last year. No different this year.

7. Baseball Ambassadors (MIKE): Rafael Furcal: This guy has great speed and a good batting eye. He SHOULD be getting more steals and more hits. If he gets going, the Dodgers will definitely get going.

8. Southern Sting (SS): Manny Ramirez. Tick… tick… tick… and when he explodes, it’s going to be huge for a nice long stretch. He’s going to need to do this as the Sox head into the playoffs and the World Series.

9. Haymarket Boppa (BOPP): So much talent on this team. The one guy that stands out is JIM THOME. He’s having a decent but mediocre season for his standards. The White Sox may be out of the divisional race, but it doesn’t mean that Thome cashes in… he’ll end up with good stats.

10. Hilo Firebirds (HILO): David Ortiz. His stats are decent, but not Papi-like. I’m not sure if he’s injured or not, but I think he’s due.

6/30/07 post

The Fantasy All-Stars (The Hitters)

The All-Star Game is coming up soon, and not all the players are true FANTASY All-Stars. For us, those fantasy All-Stars produce numbers to help fantasy teams. I was taking a little glance at the stats and certain players just come out.

In this week’s blog, I’d like to list these fantasy players for their particular positions and even give them a ranking I call the “unexpected factor,” which I will use on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the least surprising and 10 being extremely surprising or unexpected.

Fantasy All Stars:

Catcher: Russell Martin… It’s a close call between him and Victor Martinez but I like those speed numbers. He leads all catchers with runs scored and stolen bases and is still projected to have over 100 rbi and 20 home runs. Unexpected Factor (UF – 10)

1st Base: He leads all 1st basemen with 27 home runs and 55 runs. 55 runs? That’s the most surprising part. He gets on base and he gets home to score these runs. He’s not as slow as you might think! Hahaha… I’m not surprised he’s this good, but I am surprised he’s doing in this early in his career. (UF – 7)

2nd Base: Chase Utley. He’s the modern day Rogers Hornsby… He’s not quite Joe Morgan but he’ll still give you 15+ steals for the season. No doubt he’s the best 2nd baseman in the game today. Not even close… (UF – 1)

Shortstop: Jimmy Rollins… but not by much. This position is so deep this year. Any of 6 other guys could arguably be the best SS: Reyes, Ramirez, Cabrera, Guillen, Hardy, and Jeter. You cannot lose by having any of these 7 guys. I chose Rollins because he gives you stats in all the categories… (UF – 5)

3rd Base: Alex Rodriguez. His run-producing stats on an underachieving team is so remarkable. He is the best fantasy 3rd baseman, by far. Cabrera is great, Wright is great, but A-Rod is godly. By the way, like the rest of the civilized world, I’m NOT surprised…. (UF – 1)

Outfield:
1. Vlad Guerrero: The best powerhitter on one of the best teams in the league. 71 RBI shows you produce runs. (UF – 3)
2. Mags Ordonez: Yes, it’s not a typo… he’s hitting .370 and he’s hit 68 rbi (2nd among all outfielders). He was great for several years a while ago when he was with the Chisox, but he’s really turned it around big time. (UF – 7)
3. Grady Sizemore: He’s on pace to be 25 homeruns and 50 steals. That’s unreal. I was debating between Sizemore, Ichiro,Soriano, and Sheffield… but Sizemore has a chance to be the first 30/50 in a long time.

6/23/07 post

Reveal my sources? I’m not sure…. Hmmm… okay!

During the baseball season and during the entire month of March, I spend perhaps 10 to 30 minutes a day looking at various baseball roto websites to get the latest news and updates. I know everyone has their own personal sources, but I’ve found five sources to be my favorites.

Although my latest copy of Baseball Prospectus will always be my roto Bible… I look to these websites as my primary sources for the latest information of who to pick up, who to start, who to sit, and who to let go…

1. Rotoworld: (http://www.rotoworld.com/Content/playernews.aspx?sport=MLB)
*Fast… reliable… and always updated.

2. Rototimes: (http://www.rototimes.com/mlb/index.php)
*Good blogs, good articles, and good writers who are close to the action.

3. USA Today Fantasy: (http://fantasybaseball.usatoday.com/content/homesport.asp?sport=MLB)
*Wide range of articles, works collaboratively with Rotoworld

4. Fanball: (http://www.fanball.com/bb/newsbreakers.cfm)
*Sometimes they beat Rotoworld to the punch with updates, but sometimes you may not get a new update for 8 hours. They have some pretty funny writers though.

5. Rotoauthority: (http://www.rotoauthority.com)
*They may not have new information every day, but their stuff is so insightful. Some of their writers really know how to crunch numbers and stats. Who knew what BABIP stood for? This has become my favorite site in recent years.

5/20/07 post

Sunday Circuit Weekly Blog

*The discussion of keeper players got me thinking… “Who will be the players that will be kept for next year?”

*For entertainment purposes only, I forecasted probable keepers and probable free agents available for next year’s draft… Of course, with possible trades, major injuries and emerging stars, this list will change as the season progress… but hey, just for fun…

Haymarket:
1. Alex Rodriguez
2. Maggio Ordonez
3. Jonathan Papelbon
4. Daisuke Matsuzaka
5. Joe Mauer

Southern Sting:
1. Jose Reyes
2. Justin Morneau
3. Prince Fielder
4. Jake Peavy
5. Joe Nathan

Sleeping with the Fishes
1. Albert Pojols
2. Jimmy Rollins
3. Derek Jeter
4. Adam Dunn
5. Matt Cain or Rich Hill

Lost Bombers
1. Carl Crawford
2. Miguel Cabrera
3. Carlos Lee
4. Derek Lee
5. Francisco Cordero

Crazy Carl
1. Grady Sizemore
2. Vladamir Guerrero
3. Ichiro Suzuki
4. Rafael Furcal
5. Josh Beckett

Upstate NY K9’s
1. David Wright
2. Carlos Beltran
3. JJ Jardy
4. Roy Oswalt
5. Francisco Rodriguez

Baseball Ambassadors
1. Travis Hafner
2. Aramis Ramirez
3. Ryan Howard
4. CC Sabathia
5. Mariano Rivera

Team Curran
1. Mark Teixeira
2. Alfonso Soriano
3. Carlos Zambano
4. Brett Myers
5. Cole Hamels

Mud Suckerz
1. Chase Utley
2. Lance Berkman
3. Vernon Wells
4. Michael Young
5. Billy Wagner

Hilo Firebirds
1. Johan Santana
2. Felix Hernandez
3. JJ Putz
4. Matt Holliday
5. Hanley Ramirez

Possible Free Agents
1. David Ortiz
2. Manny Ramirez
3. Miguel Tejada
4. Bobby Abreu
5. Juan Pierre
6. Paul Konerko
7. Rickie Weeks
8. Brian Roberts
9. Jim Thome
10. Jason Bay
11. Roy Halladay
12. Bill Hall
13. Jermaine Dye
14. Adrian Gonzalez
15. Victor Martinez
16. Brian McCann
17. Andruw Jones
18. Todd Helton
19. Chone Figgins
20. Troy Glaus
21. Carlos Delgado
22. Mark Teahen
23. Carlos Guillen
24. John Lackey
25. Jason Bay
26. Ken Griffey
27. Jeremy Bonderman
28. Tim Lincecum
29. Ben Sheets
30. Torii Hunter

6/17/07 post

So many pitchers… so little….

It seems that there are so many pitchers there on the waiver that are available and perhaps they get picked up for just a start… but if I had extra bench space, I would pick these guys up….

Starters:

1. Joe Blanton: Every time I look at the waiver wire, he’s there. He’s got a nice WHIP, he’s got a nice ERA, and he does have more wins than losses.
2. Ervin Santana: When he starts at home, he usually gets the win… 95% of the time. Just start him at home and there’s a free win right there… but don’t ever start him outside of Anaheim… not even Dodger Stadium…
3. Dave Bush: His WHIP is still good… and his team wins… he’s gonna be good I think… for the rest of the season…. Last year he proved what he can do… for the rest of the season he gets better run support.
4. Gil Meche: If you need a good WHIP and a good ERA and a guy you can get you some K’s… he’s your man… he doesn’t win because he plays for KC but his overall stats are pretty good.
5. Sean Marshall: This guy is your hidden gem… trust me, if you need a starter, I like this guy the best. Rotowire raves about this guy… I rave about this guy. This guy will be as good as Rich Hill, I think.

Next week I talk about relievers and WHIP… so sorry it’s a little short but today’s a little busy for me…

Take care and good luck!

6/10/07 post

If I had more room on my team, I would pick up…

Here is a few hitters who I have been watching the last few days but haven’t had the chance to put them on my roster due to lack of room, but darn… if only we had more bench spots…

Next week, pitchers get a look…

Catcher:

1. Jarrod Saltalamacchia: This guy has so much talent and can just hit. If he ever starts playing first base, I’ll just snatch him and and drop my current catcher.
2. John Buck: Actually a pretty good hitter for a catcher… he was highly touted a few years ago.

1st base:

1. Ryan Klesko: If you can figure out when his team faces right-handed pitching, stick him in the lineup. If he faces a lefty, you may definitely want to sit him.
2. Greg Dobbs: Similar to Klesko… but he can sure whack that ball.
3. Ryan Doumit: The day he plays every day is the day you have to have him. He can play three positions (1b, of, c)

2nd base:

1. Brendan Harris: Wow… I didn’t realize he was hitting .300…… and besides, he also plays shortstop.
2. Luis Castillo: He gets no respect… he hits .300, scores runs, and steals a few bases yet no one wants him…

Shortstop:

1. Christian Guzman: Another wow… this guy is hot right now… hitting .350…. even when Lopez comes back I think Guzman still must play somewhere.
2. Troy Tulowitzki: I think he’ll have nice power stats when the season is over… my guess he’ll hit close to 20 homers and get 75+ RBI…

OF:

1. Pat Burrell: I have a feeling he’ll get hot sometime soon. Besides, he is taking a lot of walks and shown some patience at the plate. I just have a good feeling about him.
2. Joey Gathright: You need steals? I got someone for you… his name is Joey and he plays for Kansas City… He will have 30+ steals before the season is done.
3. Juan Encarnacion: A decent power hitter who is slowly starting to hit well again. Shhhhh….

6/3/07 post

Wow… Almost halfway through the season. I can’t believe it.

Although it looks like Firebirds are starting to slip back down to the pack again and the Sting is making an early run at first. You don’t usually see the Sting start their spurt till after the All-Star Game but things are definitely tightening up. It’s still anyways race.

Last week, we looked at which team looked the strongest in the categories of power, speed, bullpen, and starters.

This week, we go a little deeper and look at hidden categories… run production and strikeouts

1. Run Production: The Haymarket Boppa: Haymarket is a team with a nice blend of power hitters and hitters who get on base and score a lot of runs. It’s not just the power of A-Rod , Mags and Thome…. It’s the ability of Roberts and Youkilis to get on base and score runs.

*Did you know? Crazy Carl quietly leads the league in runs scored. Once the RBI’s start to happen, watch out. The Baseball Ambassadors have quietly rushed towards the lead in RBI’s… even with the loss of Hafner they still have enough firepower to become one of the leads best offenses.

2. Strikeout group: Southern Sting: The Sting, with a combination of strikeout starters and the best bullpen in the league have (by far) the best strikeout pitching group in the league. They average 8.39 strikeouts per start. The Slumpers and the Firebirds are a distant second with 7.02

*Did you know? The Sting’s bullpen accounts for 1/3 of their total strikeouts? That’s impressive. On the other hand, they rank 10th in strikeouts because they still only have 40 starts compared to the league average of 65… which means the Sting will have only 120 starts at this pace, below the 180 allowed…. But there will definitely be a mad rush at the end.

5/27 post

The season is moving very quickly and we are approaching the end of the first 1/3 of the season. I can still remember our league draft almost 3 months ago… though it feels like just yesterday.

As I looked at the teams and where we each stand, I saw little trends and patterns that reveal strengths of each team. Though we all try to aim for balance, each team has developed its own individual strength. For some teams, this strength has made them stand out amongst the rest of the teams.

In this Sunday’s blog, I discuss which team has the best strength in different categories.

1. Best Power: The Haymarket Boppa:

*Mags is having a career season, Torii Hunter is having a career season, A-Rod is… well, A-Rod again… and Thome is BACK… This team (Haymarket) has the power to stay in the top 3 the whole season… probably the most stable team in the league at this stage.

2. Best Speed: Sleeping with the Fishes:

*This team is literally “running away” with the stolen bases title. Rollins, Coco, Taveras, Lugo, Jeter, Damon… they ALL run… and even Pujols runs too… Speaking of Pujols, he leads a group of underachieving power hitters in that lineup… I predict that this team has the potential to really take off starting in July…

3. Best Bullpen: Southern Sting:

*By far… by far… the best collection of closers in the league. Four of the best closers in the game… all on one fantasy team…. No one will catch them in this category…

4. Best Starters: Hilo Firebirds:

*Sting and Lost Bombers come close… but I have to give a slight edge to my Birds so far… but anything can happen at this stage…What I like about the Lost Bombers’ pitching staff is how Snell, Harang, and Haren have really proven tha last year wasn’t a fluke…. I like this team’s pitching…. And… The Sting have this guy named Jake Peavy, who is FINALLY pitching to his potential.