Mar 30 2009
For those of you that are not into the draft league setups, check out Post-Gazette.com's Salary Cap Baseball league. Pick 9 hitters, one at each position and one DH, then insert them into your batting order. Different spots in the order hold more value in certain categories. For instance, if your leadoff hitter steals a base, its worth 9 points, while the 3rd batter would only get 6 points for a SB. But the 3rd hitter gets more points for hitting a homerun, than the leadoff. You have $72 million to build a well rounded team, so spend your money wisely. It's really a unique and very interesting way to play fantasy baseball, so give it a try.
Mar 26 2009
1996 Pittsburgh Penguins vs 1996 Colorado Avalanche
Welcome to the 1996 Stanley Cup Finals between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Colorado Avalanche. You can't ask for much more star power than this. Lemieux and Jagr versus Sakic and Forsberg. Earlier this season, these two played to a 6-6 tie then in their second meeting the Avs came out victorious, 5-2. These two franchises also met each four times last year when the Avs were known as the Quebec Nordiques and split the series, two games a piece. In the conference finals, the Avalanche upset the favored Detroit Red Wings 4-2, while the Penguins nearly blew a 3-2 series lead before putting away the Panthers in OT of Game 7.
Key to victory for Penguins: Get Lemieux and Jagr going again. They were practically invisible for the entire conference finals, recording points in just Game 2 of that series. The Avs don't play defense like the Panthers, but have a more talented goaltender in Patrick Roy. If Lemieux and Jagr can't solve Roy, it will be very difficult to win this series.
Key to victory for the Avalanche: Attack Pittsburgh's defense. The Pens have a very weak defense and with Ron Francis sidelined with a broken foot, its even worse. Guys like Sakic, Forsberg, Kamensky and Claude Lemieux should be able to take full advantage.
Game 1 at McNichols Sports Arena in Colorado:
The starting netminders for the game are Tom Barrasso for the Penguins and Patrick Roy for the Avalanche. The Pens come out firing and jump out to a 3-0 lead with goals from Jagr, Nedved and Lemieux. The Avs attempt to get back into it with a Valeri Kamensky goal 13 seconds after the Lemieux one. Pittsburgh regains the three goal lead with a Mario Lemieux power play goal. Joe Sakic answers before the end of the period to cut the lead to 4-2. The Pens put it away in the third though. Brad Lauer crashes the net and scores a power play goal, that leads to Roy's removal. Two minutes later, Tomas Sandstrom rips one by Stephane Fiset for the 6th Penguins goal. Sakic scores with just under two minutes left. At the end of the game, Adam Foote starts a scrap with Petr Nedved, that eventually gets everyone on the ice involved. This series of two skill teams is looking a little chippy earlier on. Mario is the first star with 2 goals and 2 assists.
Penguins 6 - Avalanche 3 Pittsburgh leads series 1-0
Game 2 at the McNichols Sports Arena in Colorado:
The Pens come out fast again as Sergei Zubov scores on the first shift of the game to give them the 1-0 lead. But the scoring for this period was far from over. Valeri Kamensky scores to tie it up and Claude Lemieux scores after that to give the Avs their first lead of the series. It's short lived though as Sandstrom ties it 2-2 less than a minute later. With just under 3 minutes left in the period, Scott Young takes a great pass from Peter Forsberg and scores to give Colorado a 3-2 lead. The Avs dominate the second period and tack on a couple more goals, from Claude Lemieux and Joe Sakic, extending their lead to 5-2. Barrasso is pulled in favor of Ken Wregget. Petr Nedved scores a PPG early in the third period, but Roy shut the door the rest of the way, tying up the series 1-1. The other Lemieux in the series, Claude is the first star of Game 2 with 2 goals and an assist.
Penguins 3 - Avalanche 5 Series tied 1-1
Game 3 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh:
The Penguins come out on fire in the first period in front of a raucous Civic Arena crowd. Goals by Sandstrom, Lemieux and Jagr give the Pens a 3-0 in the first period. Joe Sakic scores a PPG with 30 seconds left in the period to give the Avs hope, but Barrasso is wall tonight and makes 37 saves on 38 shots. Mario Lemieux tacks on another goal late in the third period to ice it. Mario Lemieux is once again the first star with 2 goals and an assist.
Penguins 4 - Avalanche 1 Pittsburgh leads the series 2-1
Game 4 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh:
Looking to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the series, the Pens strike first on a Tomas Sandstrom goal. Claude Lemieux scores to tie it up. Pittsburgh responds with a goal by Sergei Zubov, but its answered by Adam Deadmarsh who ties it up. With less than 2 minutes left in the period, Deadmarsh scores again to give the Avs the lead, 3-2. Half way into the second period, Deadmarsh scores the natural hat trick and gives the Avs a two goal lead. The game appears to be over after Joe Sakic scores and Barrasso is pulled, but the Pens battle back. Jagr scores with 13 minutes left cutting the lead to 5-3. JJ Daigneault cuts that in half with a goal with 5 minutes left in regulation. The crowd is on their feet. The momentum has definitely swung in favor of the Penguins. A minute after the Daigneault goal, Zubov fires one to the net that deflects off Adam Foote and into the goal, to tie the game 5-5! The Avalanche bench looks stunned. Ken Wregget makes a big save on Peter Forsberg with just under 30 seconds remaining sending it into overtime.
Despite all the momentum, the Penguins get dominated in overtime. The Avs fire 20 shots on goal to the Pens 2. However, Ken Wregget stands tall and forces a second OT. Pittsburgh has a much better period and get several good scoring chances, but Roy is up to the task and forces the game into a 3rd overtime. The Penguins are no strangers to long overtimes in these playoffs. The hero of the quadruple OT game against the Caps, Petr Nedved, receives a penalty, 40 seconds into the period, for holding. The Avalanche capitalize on it as Claude Lemieux stuffs one home and the Avs tie the series! Despite making 43 saves on 44 shots, Wregget comes away with the loss. Adam Deadmarsh, who scored the natural hat trick earlier in the game, is the first star.
Penguins 5 - Avalanche 6 (3 OT) Series tied 2-2
Game 5 at the McNichols Sports Arena in Colorado:
Coach Eddie Johnston decides to go with Ken Wregget for the next game after how impressive he was in the loss in Game 4. The McNichols arena is buzzing as their Avalanche take the ice. They use the momentum to take a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals by Adam Deadmarsh and Peter Forsberg. Jagr keeps it close as he blows one by Patrick Roy to cut it to 2-1. But the Avs are too much for the Pens tonight. Stephane Yelle and former Penguin Scott Young score to extend the lead to 4-1. Colorado shows that they learned their lesson from the last game and keep the pressure on in the third period. The Avs out shoot the Pens 20-7 and Adam Deadmarsh scores to make it 5-1. The Avs fans chant "WE WANT THE CUP!" at the end of the game. They are now one win away. The first star went to Peter Forsberg with his goal and 3 assists.
Penguins 1 - Avalanche 5 Colorado leads the series 3-2
Game 6 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh:
With the series on the line Johnston decides to stick with Wregget. One minute into the game, Peter Forsberg scores to give the Avs the 1-0 lead. This goal puts the Pens into desperation mode and they begin to attack harder and get more production from 3rd and 4th liners. Zubov fires one from the point and scores to tie it up. Joe Dziedzic gets a little too physical on one play and accidentally high sticks Claude Lemieux in the face causing him to bleed. During the 4 minute powerplay, the Pens spring an odd man break with Bryan Smolinski and Chris Joseph. Smoke fakes a shot and passes it over to Joseph who blasts it in for the shorthanded goal. The crowd is going crazy! At the end of the 4 minute penalty, Dziedzic comes out of the box and gets fed a perfect pass from Nedved for a break away. Dziedzic fires one up underneath the crossbar for the goal and the Pens take a 3-1 lead. They lose some of their momentum though as Joe Sakic scores with just 3 seconds left in the period.
The second period is back and forth with Wregget and Roy dueling it out. With just under 5 minutes left in the period, Nedved slips a wrist shot past Roy and the Pens regain their two goal lead. In the third period, Jagr comes out like a man possessed. Roy makes a couple tough saves on him, but he just won't be denied tonight. Jagr scores 2 goals in 2:40 to blow it open to a 6-2 lead. With close to 6 minutes left in regulation, Valeri Kamensky beats Wregget to cut the lead to 6-3. Twenty one seconds later Forsberg backhands one into the goal to cut the lead to 6-4. With the Avs pressing to tie the game, the Pens block a shot and come back the other way with a 3-1 odd man break. Zubov dishes to Roche, who throws one to the net, its stopped by Roy, but Glen Murray bangs home the rebound. The final horn sounds and the Pens are headed back to Colorado with a chance to win their 3rd Stanley Cup! Jaromir Jagr, with his two big goals in the third period is the number one star.
Penguins 7 - Avalanche 4 Series tied 3-3
Game 7 at the McNichols Sports Arena in Colorado:
With the Cup on the line both sides look very uneasy going into the game. Claude Lemieux tries to start a pre-game scrap with Dave Roche, but its broken up. The Pens come out and get the first goal from, who else, Jaromir Jagr. The Avs are quick to respond though as Peter Forsberg buries one to tie it up. A few minutes later, Mike Keane shoots one that deflects off Wregget's glove and into the goal. With the home crowd energizing them, the Avs come out harder in the second period. Kamensky fires a one timer past Wregget to give the Avs a 3-1 lead. A minute later, there's a scramble around the Penguin goal and Mike Keane finds the loose puck and buries it to extend the lead to 4-1. Determined to not let this one get away, Jagr undresses a couple Colorado defensemen and slides a backhander past Roy for the goal. Later in the period, there's a breakdown in the Penguins defensive coverage and Sakic is left all alone in the slot. Kamensky feeds him the puck and Wregget has no chance. Wregget is then yanked in favor of Barrasso. The onslaught continues though and Sakic scores a PPG, his second of the game.
The Avs head into the third period with a comfortable 6-2 lead, but they keep pouring it on. Mike Ricci scores to make it 7-2. Three minutes later Valeri Kamensky scores a shorty to make it an 8-2 game. At this point, its pretty much over. Pittsburgh scores two more goals to make it somewhat respectable, but the Colorado Avalanche are the 1996 Stanley Cup champions!!
Penguins 4 - Avalanche 8 Colorado wins series 4-3
Mar 24 2009
Raul Ibanez - Here is a guy I really think will surprise some people this year. Ibanez has been a hitting machine since 2002, but having played most of those years in Seattle, most people haven't taken notice. That will change this year. Playing at Safeco field, Ibanez was hitting 20-30 homers and racking up 100+ RBI with a lineup that didn't have that much offense. Now he's in a lineup with the likes of Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins. Combine that with the fact that he's playing in a hitter friendly park and I see big things Ibanez this year. I don't think a 35 HR, 130 RBI season is out of the question.
(Photo by AP)
Troy Tulowitzki - Just one year removed from his big 24 HR, 99 RBI season, Tulowitzki is the forgotten man at SS. Tulo had an injury plagued 2008 campaign that drastically affected his numbers. Don't give up on him just yet, he still has some pop in his bat and still plays half his games at Coors field. You're more likely to get his 2007 numbers this year, than his 2008 ones.
Nelson Cruz - Probably no one remembers, but when last season ended, Cruz was swinging the hottest bat in baseball. He's looking good this spring too, so I don't think his bat has cooled off any either. He could be this year's Carlos Quentin.
Milton Bradley - I've seen in quite a few mock drafts that Milton Bradley is hanging on till the later rounds, much later. He was an all star in Texas last year and during his brief stint in the NL in 2007, he tore it apart. Despite the good numbers, he's still not getting a lot of attention. That's going to end this year. Playing for the Cubbies, he'll have plenty of offense around him and as long as he can stay healthy, he will have a career year.
Kazuo Matsui - I'm noticing in a lot of fantasy leagues that Kaz is either not getting selected or is sitting on the bench as a backup 2B. Personally, I think that's ridiculous. Kaz produces a ton of runs, steals a lot of bases and keeps his BA high all season. Yeah, he's a little injury prone, but the 2B position can be a black hole for a lot of teams. It doesn't have to be.
David Price - Probably the most talked about young pitcher in baseball isn't even a lock to make his MLB team this year. Despite playing fantastic for the Rays throughout the playoffs, David Price is fighting for a spot in the Rays rotation. I don't get it. He's playing phenomenal this spring and he's still projected to start the season in Triple A. You may want to pick him up and stash him away or at the very least keep an eye on the Rays pitching staff. If another gets injured or starts to falter, Price will get the call and he'll be up for good.
Mike Aviles - You won't find a whole lot of good fantasy options on the Royals, but in a tough position like SS, the Royals have someone you may want to pay attention to. Aviles only played in 102 games last year, but put up some solid numbers (68 R / 10 HR / 51 RBI / .325). You could do much worse.
Pablo Sandoval - He was a late season call up that really proved his worth when given the chance. Eligible at 1B, 3B and C, he's a great fit for most troubled infields. Pablo should bat 3rd or 4th in the Giants lineup and be given every chance to build off his little bit of success from last season.
Chris Carpenter - Its been awhile since Carpenter pitched over 200 innings in a season. In the last two years combined he's pitched in exactly 21.1 innings. With his arm problems hopefully behind him now, he's looking to regain his form. I doubt he'll get back to the way he was in 2005 with 21 wins, but he's having a great spring and I could see him being a 15 game winner again and throwing for 150 - 180 K's. He would be a nice addition to the back end of most fantasy rotations.
Francisco Liriano - As far as anyone can tell, Liriano is 100% and ready to go. The Johan Santana clone looked pretty good at the end of last year, but his strikeout numbers are a bit down. That's not saying much though, he'll still probably get around 180 by the end if he remains healthy. I saw a lot of people pickup Liriano and have him at their number one or two starter. That much be a bit much at this point. Liriano should be a 3rd or 4th starter for now.
Willy Taveras - People love stolen bases. One year, I saw a guy draft all base stealers. He won the SB category every week, but that was pretty much it. Taveras led the league in SB's last year with 68. There's no reason to think he won't do again this year either, but if you pick him up you have to be aware that he won't contribute to many other categories. He doesn't get on base a lot, his power numbers are very low and despite being a leadoff guy everywhere he's been, he has yet to break the 100 run mark.
Jack Cust - Now this guy just freaks me out. He's a power hitter that strikes out an obscene number of times, but also walks a lot and hits a lot of home runs. Its almost as though every at bat is a homer, walk or strikeout. Cust hit 33 dingers last year and that was with no help around him. Maybe with the addition of Matt Holliday he won't feel the pressure to produce and his strikeout total will go down. If you need homers and don't care about much else, he's not a bad fit.
Joey Votto - Votto had a solid rookie season with the Reds last year and really heated up in the second half after Griffey was traded. He's the big gun on this team now and as long as the pressure of being the best offensive player doesn't get to him, he will have an even bigger sophomore season.
Brad Ziegler - He may not have the closer's job in Oakland yet, but their current closer, Joey Devine, is already having arm trouble. Ziegler came up huge out of bullpen last year and I think its only a matter of time before he's closing games.
Mar 23 2009
If you happened to see the Oilers - Wild game yesterday, you may have thought you were hallucinating. Well I have good news and even better news. The good news, you're not hallucinating, Gabby is back in the Wild lineup. The even better news, he's back just in time to help those patient owners who have held onto him all season in the playoffs. Its almost unfair to have the ability to add an all star caliber winger to your lineup in the final weeks of the season. Gaborik didn't score yesterday, but he did fire 6 shots on goal and played 17 minutes on Minny's top line. Plug him into your lineup and enjoy the extra boost for the final leg of the fantasy hockey season.
(Photo by Getty Images)
Mar 20 2009
This past Monday, the Fantasy Factor held its first ever fantasy baseball draft consisting of myself, Mrs Fantasy Factor Maria (pictured) and a few of my loyal readers. It was a lot of fun to converse and talk baseball with you guys and I'll be sure to set up leagues for football and hockey this fall. For those of you that were in the draft, this will mostly be all old news, but for those of you that were not able to participate here's how it all shook out.
(Photo by Nick Fruscello / Fantasy Factor)
Draft order:
1. Guam Boonie Dogs
2. erieburgher
3. Buc Fever
4. The Winning Team
5. Xtreme Machine
6. Barry's Juice
7. arepooandastaken2
8. Kevin Zuk
First Round:
First up was the Guam Boonie Dogs who was very deserving of the first overall pick considering he actually lives in Guam and it was 3am there while the draft was going on. With the first pick in the draft Hanley Ramirez was gone. Next off the board was Albert Pujols. Buc Fever picks Jose Reyes, which I thought was a little bit of a reach for that early for the first round, but nonetheless a great five tool player. Next up, my wife, Maria with "The Winning Team". As I looked at the draft board and saw her favorite first rounder already gone (Pujols) this was bad news. If she can't have the first round pick she wants, she goes after my projected first rounder. I had not discussed who I was taking in the first round, but somehow she knew. "The Winning Team selects 3B David Wright (NYM)". Ugh! "I knew you would pick Wright" I texted to her.
I was up next. With Wright gone, I now had three players on my mind, Josh Hamilton, Miguel Cabrera and Ryan Howard. I only had 90 seconds to decide. Howard is a monster and plays in a hitters park, but his average has been on the decline. Cabrera is an RBI machine and finished really strong last year, but he plays half his games in Comerica Park. Josh Hamilton made the most sense. Great hitter, playing in a hitters' park and I really think he'll be a top 3 pick in the coming years.
After me, Barry's Juice selected Grady Sizemore, another great 5 tool player. arepooandastaken2 went for Miguel Cabrera and Kevin Zuk drafted Ryan Howard.
Second Round:
Going into the second round, I wasn't too optimistic about the remaining offensive players. Cabrera and Howard were my targets for the second round, but the pitchers were completely ignored in the first round and neither were available going into it. With pitching being ignored, I saw this as a golden opportunity. I picked the first pitcher in this draft and my top ranked fantasy pitcher, Johan Santana with the 4th pick in the second round.
Third Round:
Going into this round, I had every intention of continuing to draft the top pitchers, but Buc Fever wisely snatched away Tim Lincecum two picks before it was my turn. "Ohhhh man! So close to getting the top two pitchers in baseball.", I texted to Maria. Her next selection was Red Sox DH, David Ortiz. Her selection inspired me select Ortiz's former teammate and protection in the batting order, Manny Ramirez. Manny put up MVP like numbers while on the Dodgers and if he can play anywhere near that level for a full season, he should be in the running for MVP this year.
Fourth Round:
Kevin Zuk started off the round with a big bang, selecting A-Rod who dropped a lot farther than I thought. I'm not sure how well he'll play this year, but he'll be better than most 3B. With A-Rod gone, my attention went back to pitching which has been barely touched at this point. Lots of good ones out there, Hamels, Halladay, Peavy, but I decided to go with Arizona ace Brandon Webb. He's a good bet for 15+ wins and will strikeout quite a few hitters this year. He's as consistent and as reliable as they come.
(Photo by Pat D. Hemlepp)
Fifth Round:
With just Hamels coming off the board before my next pick, the best players available were still pitchers. "It looks like I'm gonna have one heck of a pitching staff this year." I thought to myself. With the 5th pick in the 5th round, I selected Roy Halladay. Another guy that's been consistently good over the years and is a great strikeout pitcher.
Sixth Round:
With the pitching staff built up nicely, it was time to take a look at the hitters again and see what's out there. Justin Morneau was on my scope, but with Mauer questionable this year, it could affect Morneau's numbers, so I wasn't as high on him as I was earlier in the month. It didn't matter anyways as arepooandastaken2 drafted him before it was my turn. I really wanted to get an infielder since I already had 2/3 of my OF built, but I figured, I have 3 UTIL spots and picking the best player available has never failed me in the past. Magglio Ordonez was still available and in this round, I felt he would be an incredible 3rd OF and was too good to pass up.
Seventh Round:
Before Maria's sixth round pick, she asked me if she should take "Jones or Jeter?". I, of course, told her Jones who will put up much better numbers than Jeter, but the fact that Jeter was still available was interesting. I was in desperate need for a good infielder and Jeter would be a solid choice to fill that position. As the draft came back around to me, Derek Jeter was still available and was then chosen to be the Xtreme Machine's SS.
Eighth Round:
I was planning on going the pitching route again, but Barry's Juice picked Franciso Rodriguez, my top closer, before it was my turn again. That pick turned my attention back to hitting. I had wanted Adam Dunn who I think will have a big season in Washington this year, but who else other than Mrs Fantasy Factor scooped him up before me. The next best power hitter was Adrian Gonzalez. I'm not wild about his situation (playing for Padres in Petco Park), but you can't deny that fact that despite being in a bad environment, he still puts up big numbers.
Ninth Round:
Back to the pitching world now. A lot of leagues' top closers were still available and adding great closers to go with the great starters would be a dream. Maria had already picked up Jonathan Papelbon, but Mariano Rivera was still on the board. He let me down a couple years ago when I drafted him, but last season he enjoyed one of his best seasons ever and that's saying a lot for one of the greatest of all time.
Tenth Round:
I was at a crossroads in this round. I wanted to solidify my infield with Dan Uggla, but at the same time one of my personal favorites, Brad Lidge, was still available and I've been doing a great job of stockpiling arms in this draft. Maria texted me:
Maria: "Who is next for you?".
Nick: "Lidge or Uggla. Not sure".
Maria: "Ha! I have Uggla then Lidge on my queue. I need 2B. So Uggla will be a good one for me".
Nick: "Me too. I'll leave Uggla for you."
Maria: "You are so nice :) "
So with that, I selected Brad Lidge and my closers were set.
Eleventh Round:
Unfortunately, the whole Lidge/Uggla thing threw me off and I forgot about my favorite fantasy pitcher, Rich Harden who was selected by erieburgher with the 2nd pick in the 11th round. I took a look at who was available on the board for hitting, with my infield still looking pathetic. Unfortunately, none of the infielders really jumped out at me. The best player available was none other than Bucco Nate McLouth. He should be hitting in the third spot and will have plenty of opportunities for RBI's and runs.
(Photo by AP)
Twelfth Round:
Still looking for power I wasn't sure if I wanted to go with Jim Thome or Carlos Delgado. I did a quick lookup on both. Thome was struggling with back pain yet again, while Delgado had no report. Carlos had a monstrous second half and here's hoping he can do it again.
Thirteenth Round:
With just six picks remaining, now was the time to start taking chances on anyone you feel even lukewarm about. Jose Lopez is a young guy with a lot of promise. He swings a lot, which leads to a lot of strikeouts, but it also leads to a lot of hits. His numbers have steadily climbed over the past few seasons and with him looking to be the best power hitter on the M's this year, this could be his breakout year.
Fourteenth Round:
Hoping to fill my 3B spot, I moved Garrett Atkins to my queue. However, as soon as I did Kevin Zuk, who already had A-Rod, figured Atkins would make a good sub while A-Rod was on the DL. Maybe it was the frustration, but for whatever reason I moved back to pitching and figured I would fill in the remaining gaps. Surprisingly, Cubs all star, Ryan Dempster was still on the board. I'll take a 17 game winner, 180+ K, sub 3.00 ERA pitcher in the 14th round any day.
Fifteenth Round:
One of the players I would holding in my que and just waiting for the right round was Raul Ibanez. He's a big sleeper for me this year. Playing in Safeco field, he had pretty good power numbers. I'm really interested to see what he'll do in Philly with a much better offense around him. It could be a career year for Ibanez.
Sixteenth Round:
An interesting thing happened in this round. Kevin Zuk lost his internet connection and the autopick selected for him. It picked injured all star catcher Joe Mauer. Not exactly what he needed or wanted. I, on the other hand, still had need for a catcher and was more than willing to take a chance on Mauer and hope he comes back. It was my turn and I completed my pitching staff with my 2005 first round pick, Randy Johnson.
Seventeenth Round:
After I had selected Johnson I made a deal with Kevin in the draft chat room. I said I would draft whomever he wanted with my next pick in exchange for Joe Mauer. He was all for it and with his direction I selected Justin Upton. Meanwhile, Maria was having computer problems as well. Her computer locked up after selecting Vernon Wells and was worried she may miss out on her last pick.
Maria: "The stupid auto picker will draft for me if I don't get back in time."
Maria: "Log in as me in another browser"
Maria: "Who's next on the ranking? Cory Hart?"
Maria: "Is he the one that dates Pink?"
Hart was drafted just two picks before her and ultimately, she ended up with David Price in the 18th round, who is actually a really good pick, except there's doubt about him starting the season with the Rays, which personally I don't understand. This kid was great during the season and in the playoffs. I think the Rays are making a mistake if they do move him down to Triple A.
Eighteenth Round:
Time for the extreme fun gamble pick. Lots of final round draft picks have worked out very well for me in the past in all sports. This year it was the versatile 1B / 3B / C Pablo Sandoval. I had just read a scouting report on him the day before and sounds as though he could be a sleeper. He's a switch hitter that makes good contact with the ball. With the lack of offense the Giants have, he could be batting 3rd or 4th.
After the draft, Maria calls me, "I'm pretty happy with my team. I think I have a really good infield". I just rolled my eyes, "Yeah, you have David Wright and I have Pablo whatshisname." I'm really unhappy with the infield and for that I give myself a B. The outfield is great, the pitching staff is the best in the league (and it better be after using all those high picks), but the holes at catcher, 3B, possibly 2B and not to mention Jeter is coming off a bad year, kind of makes me nervous. But as I say every year after the league's draft, "There's a gold mine of great players sitting on waivers right now.". Its all of matter of knowing which ones are gold and which ones are fools gold. Thankfully, you have this really good fantasy sports guy to lean on and help you pick out the good from the bad ;-)
So how do you think I did? For those of you that participated, how well would you grade yourself? What were your thoughts on the draft?
Mar 18 2009
Kari Lehtonen - Here's a stat that I bet will shock you. Heck, you may even get mad over it. Over the past 30 days, Kari Lehtonen has been the best goalie in fantasy hockey. I know! Its crazy. How could an Atlanta goaltender be more valuable than Luongo or Brodeur? In just the month of March alone, he's posted a 5-1 record with a 1.65 GAA, a .952 save percentage that included an incredible 49 save performance against the high powered Capitals. I know of one RFA that's looking for a big offseason contract.
(Photo by Getty Images)
Olli Jokinen - Well the Flames can't say they didn't make the right trade. Jokinen has 8 goals and 2 assists in his first 6 games with the Flamers, but the team is 2-4 in that span. At least he's helping his fantasy teams win with this kind of production. Olli is a strong candidate to be this years fantasy playoff MVP.
Sidney Crosby - Those of you that drafted Sid in the first round were probably second guessing yourself until about a couple weeks ago when Ray Shero finally gave Crosby a pair of competent wingers to play alongside. Since then, Crosby has been on fire and looks every bit like the greatest player in the world. Since the trade deadline, Crosby has put up 4 goals and 9 assists in just 7 games. Crosby, Kunitz, Guerin... the more of them you own, the more likely you are to win your league as this is the hottest line in hockey.
Rick Nash - For those of you that were panicking over Nash's lack of goals in early February, he's back on another hot streak and currently has 7 goals in his last 8 games. Nash is a 30 - 30 player right now and will probably finish as a 40-40 player. I was told that I reached for Nash when I drafted him in the 5th round. If Nash goes that late again, he'll be a steal.
Steve Sullivan - After missing the first half of the season, Sullivan has helped pick up the Preds off the mat and got them back into playoffs contention. The speedy, offensively gifted winger has 8 goals and 10 assists in his last 24 games and 4 of those 8 goals have been scored this month. Not a bad late waiver wire pickup.
Evgeni Nabokov - After missing 7 straight games, Nabby returned last Saturday to beat the Kings and then went on to shutout the Ducks. He was chased last night in Phoenix, but even the best have off nights. If you own him, you'll be a force to be reckoned with in the playoffs.
Marc-Andre Fleury - The MAF that took the Pens to the Finals has re-emerged at just the right time. With the Pens playing their best hockey of the year and Fleury getting the bulk of the starts, let him loose no matter who they play and ride the hot goalie to the end.
David Krejci - After enjoying a monstrous first half, Krejci appears to have run out of gas. Before the all star break, Krejci had 52 in 47 games. Since then he has 11 points in his last 24 games. I hope you traded this sinking ship before your league's trading deadline. If not, you may have to do the unthinkable and look the waiver wire to replace a top point producer.
Chris Osgood - Aside from getting routed by Columbus, Osgood has played pretty well since returning from his "10 day break". I still don't consider him to be a high end goalie anymore, but their is reason to be optimistic that he'll be a valuable contributor down the stretch especially since he'll be playing for a starting role in the playoffs.
Mar 17 2009
1. Francisco Rodriguez - I noticed that not a single "expert" made K-Rod their number one reliever going into this season. Is this a joke? Is there some kind of conspiracy? The guy not only led the league in saves, but compiled more saves in a single season than anyone in baseball history. He's a strikeout machine, he racks up saves like no one else, what more does this guy have to do to get a one number ranking? Geeez.
(Photo by Getty Images)
2. Jonathan Papelbon - In 2006, the Red Sox appeared to be heading into the season without a closer as then current closer, Keith Foulke, was injured. They and I, myself, took a chance on a young pitcher whose name always makes me think of chocolate candy. He posted a 0.92 ERA and picks up 35 saves. The Red Sox have never looked back and he has been one of baseball's best closers since. His numbers are good... scary good. He's by far the best closer in the AL and that's not a knock on the other closers in that league, its a testament to Papelbon.
3. Joe Nathan - Another closer that has been consistently very good over the years is Nathan. A sub 2.00 ERA, around 75-95 K's and always close to 40 saves. Nothing not to like here, except he plays for the Twins, so he may not get as many save opportunities as you would like.
4. Mariano Rivera - After an off year in 2007, Rivera plays like his normal self in 2008 with 1.40 ERA and 39 saves (plus a 77K : 6BB ratio). Rivera is one of the greatest closers in the history of the game and he plays for a team that will probably win a lot of games. Unless he gets hurt or old age catches up with him, you can't go wrong with Mariano.
5. Brad Lidge - I don't care much for the Phillies personally, but I do like their closer. I've won a couple fantasy championships with him as my top closer when he was with the Astros. Lidge is a hard thrower that will strike out a ton of batters, but he'll walk more than the some of the other top guys and I'm not 100% sure he's past his dark years (06 and 07) when he still racked up strikeouts and saves, but had a horrendous ERA.
6. Jose Valverde - You don't hear a lot about Valverde, but you should considering the guy has led the NL in saves in each of the past two years. He brings a lot of heat to the plate and strikes out a lot of hitters, but does have lapses where he'll lose control. He's good for another 40 saves this season.
7. Joakim Soria - In his first full season as a closer for the lowly Royals, Soria delivered in a big way. He finished second in the AL with 42 saves and posted a 1.60 ERA. I know, a Royal with good numbers. He'll be playing for someone else in August. Soria is a gamble simply because the Royals won't win many games.
8. Carlos Marmol - Marmol will finally get his shot at the closers' role this season. Hopefully, for his sake and for his owners, it'll stick. They've tried him in the past at close and he's been less than spectacular. Maybe this is the year he finally puts it together. He has all the tools to be the closer, but until he actually does it, he's a risk.
9. Jonathan Broxton - After years of being the setup guy, Broxton is putting the big boy pants and will now close games for the Dodgers. He brings the heat, but that's pretty much it. He doesn't have an arsenal of pitches and has trouble when pitching on back to back days, but he should be a decent closer for the Dodgers this season and post 30+ saves.
10. Brian Fuentes - Probably the best left handed closer in the business. Maybe the only, actually. His move from Colorado to Anaheim can only help his numbers. He's been a pretty consistent 30 save closer despite losing his closing job a couple of times.
Mar 16 2009
1. Johan Santana - Over the span of the last five years, no one has been better on the mound than Johan Santana. When the Mets acquired him in the off season last year, they figured it was the missing piece to get them back into the World Series. He wasn't, but it was not because of him. Santana went 8-0 after the all star break with a 2.17 ERA and a 92 K / 28 BB ratio. Santana's strong finish suggests he's comfortable with his new team and will be just as effective in the NL as he was in the AL. A lot of people may pick Lincecum ahead of Santana, but with Johan you know you're getting consistent greatness.
(Photo by Jeff Roberson / AP)
2. Tim Lincecum - Coming into just his third season, second full, Lincecum is considered by many to be the best. He led the league is strikeouts last year with 265 and won the Cy Young. One concern with him is that he is still pretty young and his durability is in question. Plus, he plays for the Giants which hurts his chances for wins, although he did finish 18-5 last year. Just imagine how well he would have done on a good team.
3. Brandon Webb - Probably the best sinker ball pitcher in the game today, Webb has been a very good and consistent ace for the Diamondbacks. Webb's wins have increased every year since 2005 and last year he finished with 22. I think most owners would just be happy with another 20 game win season and there's little doubt he'll do it. He's a great, young, durable pitcher that will be in the top 5 for pitcher rankings for years to come.
4. Jake Peavy - Coming off a 19-6 season in 2007, Peavy dropped to 10-11 in 2008. If this is scares you, it shouldn't. Peavy hasn't really lost anything, but the Padres have. The team is self destructing and throughout the off season the Padres tried to do Peavy and his owners a favor by moving him to a more competitive team, but it didn't happen. I don't for see Peavy staying with San Diego all season, so don't let his lack of wins scare you off. He's a great strikeout pitcher with a pretty good ERA.
5. Cole Hamels - It should be noted that each year since 2006, Hamels numbers have just gotten better and better and as a result helped bring a world championship to the city of Philadelphia. If you can do that, you must be doing something right. Hamels is a dangerous left handed strikeout pitcher that has a great lineup to get him a lot of run support. A 20 win, 200 K season is almost a given for this young ace.
6. Roy Halladay - The pitcher known as "Doc" has only won the Cy Young once despite having the best pitching numbers in the AL since 2002. Playing for a bad team in a division with the Yankees, Red Sox and Rays, Halladay still picked up 20 wins, struck out over 200 batters (206) and finished with an ERA under 3.00 (2.78). Its a shame his talents are going to waste for the Blue Jays, but fantasy owners already have him in the Hall of Fame.
7. Rich Harden - Since breaking into the league in 2003, Harden has been a member of my fantasy team (Xtreme Machine) every year since. Lots of good, some bads and a lot of moving him to the DL. Harden throws everything. He has a great heater, a great slider, but he also has a fantastic change up, making him very difficult to hit. He's the best pitcher in baseball... when he's healthy and speaking from experience that's not very often. I hate to draft or not draft someone based on a history of injuries, but when it comes to pitchers and arm problems its going to re-occur. Even knowing he'll probably he injured again, I can't pass up the spectacular numbers he'll produce while he's healthy.
8. C.C. Sabathia - The 2007 AL Cy Young award winner was struggling for the Indians last year before getting traded to the Brewers and helping them get into the playoffs. Sabathia was pretty much unhittable in the NL, but now he's headed back to the AL where he was getting knocked around pretty well. Owners should expect to see high strikeout numbers and a lot of wins playing for the Yankees, but I don't like the fact that he's back in the AL or that he's a $161 million pitcher playing for the most over analyzed team in baseball.
(Photo by Getty Images)
9. Daisuke Matsuzaka - After all the hype around Dice K leading into the 2007 season, I expected a new pitching phenom. I accidentally drafted him in the second round (stupid auto picker) and the phenomenon that was Daisuke Matsuzaka made me want to scream and not for joy. He finished with over 200 K's, but was 15-12 and had an 4.40 ERA. Totally soured on him, I completely avoided him in last year's draft and he put together a much better performance. He's strikeout numbers were way down, but he finished 18-3 and finished with a 2.90 ERA. This year, we'll figure out which Dice K is the real one.
10. Erik Bedard - Coming off a bad season and off season shoulder surgery, you wouldn't think Bedard would be in anyone's top ten. Okay, so he has a bad year. I'm willing to give him a free pass. His shoulder is strong again and he's been looking good in spring training. Plus, let's not forget all of the years of high strikeouts and relatively low ERA's before last year. Bedard is a good strikeout pitcher playing in a pitcher friendly park, that's usually a recipe for good results.
11. Dan Haren - I was never really high on Haren in Oakland and didn't think much of his move to Arizona, but he ended up with some pretty solid numbers when it was all said and done (16 wins, 206 K's). He ended up being the best number two starter in baseball, but it should be noted that despite finishing with an 8-3 record after the All Star Break, his ERA ballooned to 4.18.
12. Edinson Volquez - Volquez had a very impressive rookie season for the Reds striking out over 200 batters and compiling a 17-6 record. A lot of people are going to stay away from him remembering that he had a horrendous second half where his ERA jumped to 4.60, but let's not forget, this kid was in his first full season in the majors. He wasn't used to playing in that many games. This year should be a different story and we should see more performances from him like we did in the first half.
13. Cliff Lee - The biggest surprise in the pitching ranks last season was Lee's rise to glory. After finishing with an ERA over 6.00 in 2007, Lee came back in 2008 and won the Cy Young. Lee has never really been that good in the past and this looks and smells a fluke to me, but I suppose there is a chance he just learned something new and it could be the start of something big. But I doubt it.
14. Chad Billingsley - The 24 year old power pitcher finally got a chance at the big league level and made the most of it with 201 K's and a 16 wins. I expect Billingsley's numbers to only get better and he should be in the top ten after this season.
15. Josh Beckett - He's a great strikeout pitcher, on a very good Red Sox team, but I'm worried about the history of arm injuries he's gone through is starting to catch up with him. After having a stellar 2007, Beckett struggled in 2008 arms problems that bothered him all season. If he doesn't have to battle injuries, he's one of the best out there and should be strong early on, but he's a risk if you're counting on him to produce all season for you. He might be a great player to draft and trade after the first couple months while his value is really high.
16. Roy Oswalt - Taking a bit of a tumble down the rankings is Oswalt. He's been consistently good for a number of years, piling up good strikeout numbers and winning a lot of games, but he appears to be slowing down a bit. His un-Oswalt like performance last year though could be the product of him battling several injuries as well. As long as you're not drafting Oswalt to be your ace, he'll be fine for you staff.
17. A.J. Burnett - He's not a great ERA pitcher, but he sure can strikeout batters as good as, if not better than, anyone else in the league. Burnett led the AL in K's last year and won 18 games. Now playing for the Yankees, he should easily be able to duplicate those kind of numbers, although his ERA will still probably be pretty high.
18. Felix Hernandez - There a lot to like about the young Venezuelan pitcher, but one thing you can't like, if you owned him in the past few seasons, are his numbers. Despite having a great command of all different types of pitches, Hernandez has struggled. At times he's spectacular, then other times he's a disaster. If he could get a pitching coach that knows what he's doing, this kid would easily be a top 5 pitcher. For now, you're just going to have to take a chance on him and hope you put him in on just the good days.
19. John Lackey - A great inning eating pitcher and racks up a ton of wins playing for the Angels. He gets his fair share of strikeouts and keep his ERA around 3.00.
20. Matt Cain - He's not quite there yet, but he'll get there. Cain struck out 186 batters last year and kept his ERA respectable. The Giants lack of run support earned him an 8-14 record. He has all the tools to become a big time starter in the majors. He and Lincecum could make the best one two pitching punch in baseball.
Mar 15 2009
Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of talking to David Geller, the Director of Fantasy Games for Yahoo! Sports, while he gave me a walk through of their new mock draft system for fantasy baseball. Keeping in stride with other fantasy sports sites, a mock draft feature has been deployed to practice your draft strategies. This feature will help prevent users from joining "throw away" leagues just to test their drafting abilities.
New rooms become available every 15 minutes but as I saw during the walk through, these rooms fill up extremely fast. One of the nice features in the setup of the mock draft is you can choose what position you want to start at. Test out how well you can build a team starting at the first overall spot or the last. Again, these rooms fill up kind of fast, so sometimes this is tough, but you do have that option. The draft rooms range from 8-12 teams and each room has different league settings. For instance, the draft room I jumped into during the walk through was a Roto league that only recorded offensive stats, no pitchers. So each mock draft room basically has its own theme. Once your mock draft has concluded, the results get emailed to you and that is the only report of the mock draft. So if you delete the email by accident, they have no way to recover those results.
Mr. Geller said that we can expect to see the mock draft system implemented in fantasy football, hockey and basketball for their upcoming seasons as well and they're looking to expand the number of mock draft rooms especially for football since its easily the most popular of the fantasy sports. Since I had the director of fantasy games' ear, I took the opportunity to vent inquire about a few things that I've wondered about since I started playing Yahoo Fantasy Sports back in 2001.
First, I asked about why Yahoo charges for live scoring stats, while other fantasy sports games do it for free. Mr. Geller said that maybe they have to pay a higher rate for the stats than other places or maybe its because they're an internet company and they have to pay the developers for the different features Yahoo provides like the Stat Tracker application (which is very nice for baseball). Its a $10 fee and all of your fantasy teams get it for the entire season. Not a bad price, but I made the argument that even if it was just $1, people will always take the free over anything they have to pay for. Hopefully in the coming years, Yahoo will be in a position where they can offer live scoring for free because right now I seriously believe that is the only thing keeping it back in the pack with the other fantasy sports games.
Next, I asked a question that I'm sure a lot of you fantasy hockey fans have been asking over the years, could you please fix the forward positions? To me, it doesn't make sense to have the forward positions broken up into C, RW, and LW. Especially when the positions they're assigned are not always correct. While Mr. Geller said that its not practical to update the roster positions just because a player plays a shift at a position, they will have a meeting with the NHL to discuss how they are doing things and if they're doing it right as far as how positions are broken up and how often positions should be updated. I suggested that the positions either be changed to C and W, that way it won't matter if they're a LW or a RW and will cause them less hassle in updating. Or just switch all forward positions to F and eliminate pretty much all roster position updates. Mr. Geller said that Yahoo fantasy hockey games are capable of being setup like this now in customized leagues.
I've been very impressed with Yahoo Sports fantasy games over the years and have seen a lot of improvement. The draft room received a much needed overhaul last year and I'm anxious to see what additions they make down the line to make following your players even more enjoyable and exciting.
Mar 13 2009
1. Josh Hamilton - After getting off to a tremendous start and looking as though he may break Hack Wilson's RBI record, Hamilton cooled off in the second half, but I don't think that is enough to change his status as baseball's top outfielder. Before last season, he had never played in more than 96 games in a season at any level. He probably just burned out at the end, I don't expect that to happen again and he should be at the top of the RBI list again this year. Hamilton will be the AL MVP either this year or next.
(Photo by Getty Images)
2. Ryan Braun - You have got to love this guy. Great power numbers, batting average and hit numbers. He steals bases, scores runs... the guy does it all. He's the best of the best 5 tool outfielders in baseball. I expect to see big numbers out of Brauny again this season.
3. Grady Sizemore - Lots of experts love Sizemore, but serving as the leadoff hitter for the Indians, he doesn't get a lot of RBI opportunities. If he gets moved to the third spot in the lineup, I would place him right alongside Braun as one of the best 5 tool players in the league. His power numbers are good and he's a pretty good base stealer too.
4. Carlos Beltran - Staying on the topic of 5 tool players, here's a guy that was without question the best in the league for a number of years. Beltran's stolen base numbers have been declining as have his homerun numbers, but they usually bottom out at 20 in both cases. As long as he has a great spot in the Mets lineup, he should put up solid numbers and make contributions in each category.
5. Manny Ramirez - What Manny did in LA in after the trade was incredible (.396 / 17 HR / 53 RBI in 53 games). His move to the National League rejuvenated his career and makes him one of the most dangerous power hitting outfielders in baseball. He is an RBI hitting machine and will put up monster numbers for the Dodgers this year. He will definitely be an NL MVP candidate. The only thing standing in Manny's way... is himself.
6. Carlos Lee - Lee was on his way to another big season before getting injured and missing 47 games. Don't let last year's deflated numbers fool you, he's still a monster at the plate, plays most of his games in the NL Comedy Central and has almost all of his games in hitter friendly parks. He's not flashy, but he'll put up big numbers for you and is pretty consistent.
7. Magglio Ordonez - I think its amazing how quickly people forget about Mags when talking about elite outfielders. His overall numbers at the end don't look that impressive, although still pretty good (.317 / 21 HR / 103 RBI), but when you rate a player you need to look at their last two seasons, not just last year. In 2007, Ordonez hit .363 with 28 HR and 139 RBI. He did show signs of returning to that form too in the second half of last year (.330 / 9 HR / 53 RBI in 66 games).
8. Jason Bay - After a rough 2007 with the Pirates, he came back strong in 2008. His numbers were starting to get back to where they had been, then the Buccos traded him to the Red Sox for a pitcher that couldn't see the plate if it was glued to his face and a hitter that will probably be traded elsewhere once he starts to show any talent. But enough with the rant, Bay excelled in Boston and put up Manny type numbers while playing in his spot. I will go as far as to say this will be a career year for J-Bay and his memories of losing with the Pirates will be a distant memory.
9. B.J. Upton - One of the big reasons for the Rays turnaround. He didn't have a great season, but was a pretty good 5 tool player. I'd like to see his power numbers climb back to where they were in 2007, but he'd be a great fit as your second or third outfielder. If his power returns, he's a top 5 outfielder.
10. Ryan Ludwick - Ludwick's breakout season couldn't have come at a better time. He was exactly what Pujols needed and exactly what a lot of fantasy owners needed, but didn't expect to get. Ludwick put up some surprising power numbers last year and is hoping to follow suit again this year. I would be careful not to reach for him, it was just one year, but I think batting ahead of Pujols, he should be able to keep his numbers high.
11. Nate McLouth - I would actually have the N-Dawg ranked higher if it wasn't for the fact that he's a Pirate. McLouth shocked the world last year and became a very valuable 5 tool player. He's talented enough to repeat, but my only concerns are, can he duplicate this without Bay and Nady behind him in the lineup. He really struggled in August right after they were traded away, but he did have a nice bounce back month of September. So he should be on track for another 20 HR / 20 SB season with a strong BA and over 100 runs.
12. Carlos Quentin - Despite all of Ludwick's and McLouth's accomplishments, no one was a bigger surprise than Carlos Quentin who seemed to be just a guy on a hot streak, but it ended up last all season. That is until he slammed his right hand into his bat and broke his wrist causing him to miss the rest of the season. He went from being a reserve outfielder to a power hitting monster seemingly overnight (.288 / 36 HR / 100 RBI / 96 runs in 130 games). His numbers seem a little too good to be true, so have a backup plan in place if Quentin starts to slump.
13. Alfonso Soriano - There has been some talk about the Cubs possibly moving Soriano back to second base, which would do wonders for him in the world of fantasy baseball, but I don't see that move happening as of right now. He's only two years removed from a 40 HR / 40 SB season. He has that potential, but he'll only reach it if he can stay healthy and that's been a problem for him in the past couple seasons.
14. Ichiro Suzuki - If you're just looking for consistency, runs and steals, then Ichiro is your best option. His numbers are incredibly consistent for year to year and he's a good bet to have another stellar season as the Mariners right fielder, even with the team not having as much talent as its had in the past.
15. Vladimir Guerrero - Talk about your falls from grace, Vlad's numbers aren't bad, but they are declining a little bit after each year and its causing some concern. Vlad went without 30+ HR's for the second straight year and last year he finished with less than 100 RBI. This is throwing up a lot of red flags in people's minds, but I think numbers will bounce back up a little bit. He's only 33 and if health issues become a problem like last year, the Angels will just make him DH, which is probably the best place for him now anyways.
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