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Fantasy Baseball: Second Quarter Report Card

2008-07-31T09:08:00.000-07:00

I’m better late than never; here’s your All-Second-Quarter Team for fantasy baseball weeks 7-12. Rankings are based on accumulated stats from May 12, 2008 through June 22, 2008 (For a statistics glossary, click here. In terms of K/BB, anything above .55 is acceptable. In terms of OPS, anything above .790 is adequate).

FIRST TEAM
C-- Brian McCann was the #1 catcher in the first quarter and #1 in the second quarter. The only catcher of the M+M+M+M boys that wasn’t kept in our league. Led all catchers with 8 homeruns and had an OPS of .965

1B—Adrian Gonzalez tied for first with 12 homeruns at the position and was second in RBIs with 36. His batting average, on-base and SLUG are still much better on the road then at home, but the run production is about the same and he’s more patient at home, in terms of BB/K, than on the road.

2B—Ian Kinsler and this shouldn’t be too much of a surprise. We all know Kinsler is good and it was just a matter of time that he would go on a tear like he did in the 2nd quarter. A .925 OPS and a BB/K of .73 made for a successful 2nd quarter. He also swiped 10 bags, as he tied for 2nd with Brian Roberts in that category.

SS—Jose Reyes climbed his way to the top spot in the position. Very familiar territory for this phenomenal offensive juggernaut as his .910 OPS, his 6 homeruns, 18 RBIs, and 14 stolen bases was the model of consistency at the position.

3B—Continuing the theme of players being in familiar territory at the #1 spot in their position, Alex Rodriguez’s 2nd quarter not only reminds people why he’s arguably the best 3B, but also the best player in MLB as well. A .83 BB/K, 10 homers (2nd), 30 RBIs (tied for 1st), 1.166 OPS, but the most surprising stat was his 8 stolen bases (1st). He’s pretty good.

LF—Jose Guillen walked the walk after telling his Royal teammates they were a bunch of babies. He walked once and struck out 25 times, but with a .360 batting average (kind of fluky if you consider his .04 BB/K ratio), and a .997 OPS, Guillen was literally hitting everything in sight. 41 league leading RBIs and 16 doubles (1st) solidified his spot at the top. His year-to-date numbers, however, show a mediocre player and this stretch could be as good as Guillen gets for the rest of the season. Don’t go near him!

CF—Carlos Beltran: .889 OPS with a 1.19 BB/K ratio to go along with 8 homers and 29 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. That’s why he gets paid the big bucks!

RF—J.D. Drew came up big with David Ortiz out for a huge chunk of the quarter. With an OPS of 1.225 and walking as much as he struck out, he was able to hit 11 homeruns and knock in 27. His patience also allowed him to hit .351.

DH—Grady Sizemore finally makes his way to one of my articles. OPS of .894 and a respectable K/BB ratio (.70) produced 11 homeruns and 21 RBIs and even stole 10 bases. Has the best chance to join the 30-30 club as far as OFs go.

SECOND TEAM
C-- Russell Martin and Joe Mauer were only a point away from each other so both players deserve a mention. Both will be making the All-Star game. Special note should be taken to Martin’s .888 OPS and his 3 stolen bases in the quarter (tied for 1st). Mauer walked a whopping 23 times to blow by the competition in that category and his BB/K ratio was a very impressive 2:1.

1B—Ryan Howard tied Gonzalez for the homerun lead at the position with 12 and led all 1B with 45 RBIs. His batting average probably made 5X5 leaguers crazy and he struck out a position high 53 times, but with a .936 OPS and the big time run production he achieved in the quarter, you can live with a “few” whiffs.

2B—Let’s take a quick glance into memory lane; “he is susceptible to long slumps just based on his alarming strikeout rate alone.” Well Dan Uggla’s strikeout totals are UGLY (BB/K of .40 is just bad and he’s on pace to strikeout 150+ times this season after whiffing 47 times in the 2nd quarter), but despite his “philosophy” on hitting (to paraphrase his most recent Sports Illustrated appearance of seeing ball and hitting it as hard as he can), 12 homeruns (#1 at the position) and 30 RBIs (#2) are similar numbers that Adrian Gonzalez attained. His .309 batting average is very surprising and clearly opposite of the prediction that I made for him in the 1st. Most impressive still was his OPS of 1.068. When a 2B is hitting like a big-time power corner infielder or outfielder, a few swing and misses is a small sacrifice you pay for the big reward of a homerun. Plus, I can see him finishing with a .285 batting average. .300+ is definitely wishful thinking.

SS—Jimmy Rollins didn’t do anything spectacular in the 2nd quarter. He wasn’t among the elite in terms of power numbers and his .795 OPS leaves an empty space in your stomach, but he did walk more than he K’d out and had position leading 15 stolen bases, WITHOUT GETTING CAUGHT ONCE!

3B—Ryan Braun, a.k.a. The Hebrew Hammer, might exclusively play LF, but he qualifies at the hot corner. League leading 13 homeruns, 30 RBIs, 28 runs, and 3 triples, along with a .959 OPS adds up to an impressive quarter. However, A-Rod basically took back what was his. Plus when a player has a K/BB of .27 like Braun did in the 2nd quarter, just the fact that he was #2 at the position points to his superior hitting ability. Now imagine how good he would be if he could take some pitches!

LF—Randy Winn only drove in half the runs that Guillen did in the quarter, but a .324 batting average, to go along with a .930 OPS, and a 1.38 BB/K ratio shows that Winn was the more steadier, better long-term selection than Guillen. However, I think Winn hit his peak during this stretch of the season, but can still be a serviceable OF for your fantasy team.

CF—Josh Hamilton had better power numbers than Carlos Beltran, but with a .34 BB/K ratio, he proves to the rest of us once again that he’s only human. He led all CFs with 12 homeruns and 37 RBIs, nevertheless. Not too shabby!

RF—Shane Victorino, qualifies at the position, the “Flying Hawaiian” was a top 2 CF for most of the 2nd quarter until Beltran went on a tear. Regardless, his patience at the plate (1.21 BB/K) and a .375 on-base% allowed him to score 34 runs (led all RFs.), and steal 12 bags (good for 3rd place behind Ellsbury and Ichiro).

DH—Milton Bradley has always had talent, but has had, to put it lightly, “issues” with authority, fans, and most importantly, injuries. Staying relatively healthy for the quarter, he registered an OPS of 1.23 and showed off his hitting eye with a .85 BB/K ratio. 10 homeruns and 28 RBIs is nothing to sneeze at either.

MISSING THE CUT
C—Geovany Soto made the second team last quarter at this position, but a meager .236 batting average and .713 OPS to go along with an embarrassing BB/K ratio add up to the miserable 2nd Quarter Soto had. Despite his struggles, he is your NL starter at catcher.

1B—Lance Berkman and Albert Pujols, as great as they are, couldn’t keep up the pace of their monster 1st Quarters. Berkman “only” hit 8 homeruns for the quarter, but he was the third best 1B in quarter #2. Pujols was battling a calf injury for most of June and only registered 90 at bats, but still hit 9 homeruns and had an OPS of 1.134! Imagine if he were able to reach 130+ at bats that most of the other players attained in the quarter. Should be interesting to see who comes out on top in Quarter #3.

2B—Chase Utley, what happened? Well, his OPS of .857 is still good, but not as good as the OPS posted by Kinsler and Uggla. He was only 4 points from taking the #2 spot from Uggla. Nevertheless, his .714 BB/K, 9 homers and position leading 35 RBIs has him in place to be back at the top spot at least by the time quarter #3 is over and done with.

SS—Hanley Ramirez got off to a hot start, but a BB/K of 1:2 and the lack of contact (resulting in a .255 batting average), and only 12 RBIs despite 8 homers led Rollins and Reyes to take over the top two spots. 42 K’s in the 2nd quarter (2nd in the position) and only 6 stolen bases let a few owners down, but 31 runs scored (2nd), and 8 homeruns (1st) foreshadows an even better 3rd quarter.

3B—Chipper Jones, despite his great batting eye (1.50 BB/K) and his wonderful OPS (1.084), and flirting with a .400 batting average (.385 for the 2nd quarter); he only finished as the #4 slot at the position. 6 homeruns and 17 RBIs was the low mark for this high-powered position and might have explained why he didn’t dominate like he did in the 1st. 30 BBs meant a higher on-base, but less chance that he could do damage with the bat.

As for the overrated “Greek God of Walks,” Kevin Youkilis (or “You Kill Us”) finished with 5 homeruns, 17 RBIs (low for the position), 7 BBs (why even have that nickname in the first place?), a .23 BB/K (very un-God-like), and an .821 OPS, a far cry from his .996 OPS from the 1st quarter. It’s a shame that he was in the All-Star game this year and that is why that game shouldn’t decide who gets home-field advantage for the World Series.

LF—Matt Holliday spent a good portion of his 2nd quarter on the DL with a hamstring injury and only was credited with 94 official at bats. There is no doubt that Holliday would’ve been mentioned in the top 2 of the list had he stayed healthy as he was crushing the ball when he got off the DL in mid June. He should be back in his rightful spot by the end of the 3rd quarter.

Pat Burrell, his batting average dipped down to .244, but it wasn’t because of his strikeouts. A .93 BB/K rate is still pretty good and his .921 OPS was great. Burrell, is a run-producing slugger who didn’t knock in many runs last quarter (16 RBIs). When Burrell isn’t hitting homeruns or driving in runs, he’s not doing much of anything else. He doesn’t hit for much contact (13 singles in the 2nd), and only scored 18 runs. Burrell seems to be going through a stretch of bad luck, but his skill set is good to this author’s surprise. Continue to be patient with him.

CF—Nate McLouth had a decent BB/K ratio (.625), but a huge dip in the OPS (.828 in the 2nd quarter) is a big reason why he was only the 7th best CF in the fantasy world. Hopefully he won’t continue to dip any further.

RF—Xavier Nady saw his OPS dip all the way down to .822 and only drove in 15 RBIs, half of what he did in the 1st quarter. Carlos Quentin also saw his OPS drop all the way down to .857, but he managed to walk as much as struck out, proving once again he has one of the best hitting eyes in baseball. Plus he hit 8 homeruns and drove in 27, similar numbers he posted in the 1st. He’ll be fine.

DH—Derrek Lee had relatively ordinary numbers in the 2nd quarter. Starting with a .271 batting average, he saw his OPS drop to middle infielder levels at .762 while his BB/K ratio was at a very low .42. Conor Jackson, after getting many kudos in the 1st quarter disappointed once again in the 2nd. 2 homeruns and 10 RBIs is just not going to get it done. A .381 on-base% shows some hope and still has a good batting eye that just screams better numbers.

Next up, the pitchers....

As Written By,

Felipe Melecio

2008 NBA Draft Diary - Part VII

2008-07-31T08:32:00.000-07:00

By Felipe Melecio

2008 NBA Draft:

26th PICK—George Hill from IUPUI, who has a 6’9” wingspan. Stu: Hill can score, board, and dish (the Spurs got the next Jason Kidd?)
Bilas: Could be special player (at this point, anything coming out of Bilas’ mouth should be taken with a grain of salt).
Stu: Has 3% body fat (most of it on his wingspan).
Best of all, he has NO WEAKNESS. This guy could be the best guy selected so far! The Spurs did it again!

Interesting Fact: Joe Alexander was the only 20+ year-old player to be selected in the top 10. It’s like the NBA went from drafting high school players to selecting virtual 5th year Seniors—in high school.

Andy Katz: Kansas coach, Bill Self and the University itself said that Arthur tested fine medically at KU and the kidney should be a non-issue.
Well, if the NBA says it’s a problem, then it’s a problem. NBA wins.

27th PICK—Darrell Arthur, gets the pity selection. EVERYONE REJOICE! It took Arthur so long to get selected that there’s a kid who’s already sleeping at his table. Obviously, it was well past his bedtime.
Bilas: “Could really run” and “Move and slide his feet” (he can do the “running man,” “the electric” and “cha-cha slide” and can “moonwalk” with the best of them).
--“Can use both hands around the rim” (why not just say he’s ambidextrous?)
--Has a “little hook” that he uses around the rim and possesses with him the required “good turn around jump shot.”
WEAKNESS: None were mentioned—but we all know that when you have kidney issues, any other weaknesses are meaningless in comparison.

Cut to Stern giving Arthur a pity applause. That’s what this kid needs, huh?
The Hornets, who selected Arthur, don’t even want him as right away, it is reported that he’s being traded to Portland [but at this point, its all irrelevant because he ended up getting traded to Memphis, via Houston. Look it up].

In what could be Stephen A. Smith’s last interview of the night, he frankly asks Arthur what is going with his kidney. Arthur responds by saying that his medical tests came back fine, but NBA must not have gotten the results. Boo-yah, NBA! This kid is mad and has something to prove! (assuming his kidney holds up, of course).

28th PICK—Donte Green as he was projected by some mock drafts to be picked 14th overall. Maybe he has kidney problems too.
Stu: Green was born in Germany, lived in Japan, and now resides in Baltimore (geez, how many schools did he attend?).
Bilas: Not ready for the NBA (doh!) but he does have the tools, nay, lots of tools. However, he needs to find the key to the toolbox first.
It’s like I stopped watching the NBA draft and now I’m getting flashbacks of Home Improvement episodes rushing through my head.

29th PICK—What can the Pistons do to get past the Conference Finals?
Jax: The Pistons need a player that can post-up (that’s one opinion)
Jeff: With all those Eastern Conference finals, that’s a pretty good achievement that should be celebrated (I agree, but no one ever remembers the team that loses in the Conference Finals. And that is why Jeff is not coaching anymore).
Stu: Pistons need to get a little younger (well, it is the NBA draft. You can put a bunch of names on a dart board, blindfold yourself, and shoot three darts and you can unwittingly stumble upon three players who will lower your team’s average age. Stu Scott, a.k.a. “Mr. Obvious.”
D.J. White, your Big 10 player of the year
Stu: He’s full of intensity, huh Bilas?
Bilas: When White came out of high school, he reminded me of James Worthy (my mouth is agape. Interesting note, in September of 2006, http://nbadraft.net was comparing White to Wayne Simien. White was a sophomore by then. So he went from being Worthy to Simien. Sad, but true).
--He’s not the same athlete he used to be (again, he went from Worthy to Simien).
--“Nice turnaround jump shot” (THEY ALL DO!)
Stu just mentioned Isaiah Thomas (whether it was by accident or not is anyone’s guess) and the New York boo machine is rolling. To stop the boos, Stu responds, “Come on, don’t boo Isaiah.” I disagree; boo until your throat can’t boo any longer.
Stu: Do the Pistons trade any of their four best players (wow, how the mighty Pistons have fallen).
Jax: Joe Dumars’ phone is on the hook (because Dumars has trouble keeping the phone on the hook? Because Dumars doesn’t believe in telephones so he never has it on, but has it on now because his team needs to get to the Finals again?)

And now, it is time for the Champion Celtics to make their selection. While they’re on the clock, the fellows who have been broadcasting and analyzing the draft talk some Celtic basketball with the viewers at home.
Jeff: The Celtics must sign Posey. He has tenacity! (I didn’t realize that Posey was the unofficial third member of Tenacious D).
Bilas: The 30th pick is not about the player, but about gaining assets (you know, I’m trying to enjoy the draft without Bilas putting some economic spin to it).
Five minutes have been up. Please, Mr. Stern, announce the pick already!
Bilas: I’m shocked to see how young this draft is (he seriously didn’t see it coming?)
[At this point, 11 freshmen were selected; a new NBA draft record]
Here comes Stern and a lot of boos from the stands as the hated Celtics are comfortable with their selection.

30th PICK—J.R. Giddens, your 2008 Mountain West Conference Player of the Year. You know, many people thought that Chris Douglas-Roberts would be selected by the Celtics with the 30th pick. Perhaps the Celtics wanted a Senior classman on their team. I guess it does pay to stay in school!
Bilas: “Very talented player” and can hit “deep shots” (so the guy can drink, but what about his game?)

And that wraps up the 1st Round of the 2008 NBA draft. But I can’t finish this diary without mentioning Dickey V’s last appearance of the night. You’d think that it would be past his bedtime, but apparently it’s not. Quick highlights:
--Dickey V looks very mad as he goes into his “potential, potential, potential” rant.
--Wants more proven players selected (it’s an amateur draft!)
--Winners of this year’s draft were the New Jersey Nets because they selected Ryan Anderson (guy who can score, but can’t play defense. Nice!) and Brook Lopez (a big man who CAN’T REBOUND!). He also thought the Suns were winners because they picked Robin with their 1st round pick (so Shaq can teach him how to pace himself in the regular season so he can be well rested in time for the NBA playoffs. Although, from a fantasy standpoint, if Shaq is injured all season long, Robin is too young to be injured for an extended period of time. Therefore, Robin becomes a fantasy basketball commodity because he’ll see some time at Center for the Suns. Eureka!).
--Dickey V is sick of kids going to college for one year. He was mad for many years because high school kids were by-passing college to go straight to the pros. Now that these same kids are going to college for one year, he’s still mad. There’s just no pleasing this man!
--How is it that Andre Jordan, Mario Chalmers, and Chris Douglas-Roberts are not drafted yet??? Dickey V is boiling! (by the way, if CDR’s people are smart, they would look for a nice endorsement deal from some CD-R company so he can be their spokesman. Where are my kudos?).
--One final note, Dickey V thinks UNC will be the #1 team in the nation for the upcoming college basketball season, much to the delight of one Stu Scott. Why am I not surprise that Dickey V is picking an ACC team for the #1 spot again?

As written by,

Felipe Melecio
Currently Thankful of: Donny Rodriguez for inviting me to watch the draft at his house. Check him out at http://www.myspace.com/woodsugars
Currently Digging: The band Between the Buried and Me (I swear, everything they touch turns into gold).
Currently Playing: Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift (already have logged in 24 hours game play—and counting!)

2008 NBA Draft Diary - Part VI

2008-07-29T21:55:00.001-07:00

By Felipe Melecio

2008 NBA Draft:

21ST PICK—Ryan Anderson, who Bilas reminds everyone that he “Doesn’t move feet well on D” and he needs more strength (a guy who can’t play defense and is weak and soft? Another guy who’ll fit right in with his new team). Bilas did marvel at Anderson’s offensive game (so he’s another Adam Morrison, except Anderson is not a lottery pick). Bilas went on to compare him to Troy Murphy. Hey, Murphy, when healthy, could hold his own. And I saw a game where Anderson torched DePaul all game long. They couldn’t find an answer for the guy. This pick is not too shabby, except that he can’t play defense, but I think the Nets will give him ample opportunity to succeed.

Orlando is on the clock and Jeff wants to make a prediction; “Orlando needs a backup PG.” Nooooo! They need a PG who can play better than Jameer Nelson, but they’re not going to find anyone this late in the draft to do that. Nelson has been a sort of an enigma in our league as the last two owners who drafted this guy have been disappointed with his play and have been more than happy to trade him away.

22nd PICK—Courtney Lee, your Sun-Belt player of the year and the 2nd leading scorer of that conference.
BILAS: “Tough as nails” (whoa, don’t mess with him!).
--“Developed every year” (or was it the fact that the competition got worse?)
--“Solid player” (I’m thinking that when Bilas has run out of things to say, he just goes ahead and finishes with the very vague “solid”).
--“NBA ready” (yeah, we’ll see).

Jeff just swung and missed on a fat joke that was targeted at his brother, Stan. Jeff’s Joke-O-Meter is also at .000.

Kiki Vandeweghe, part of the Nets front office. is being interviewed. Kiki highlighted the following points:
--They needed a change (you think?)
--He is excited to have big men who can put the ball in the basket (but are soft on defense and have a hard time rebounding. Continue, please).
--He was happy that these same big men have mid- to long-range jumpers (So the plan was to get as many Vladimir Radmanovic-like players as possible?).

The Utah Jazz are on the clock and Jeff lets it be known that “No softies are allowed to play under [coach Jerry] Sloan. Only tough guys need apply.”

23rd PICK—Kosta Koufas as Bilas describes him as a “finesse center” with good hands and a “good turn-around jumper” (oh Bilas, I bet you say that about all the boys!). He’s not a great athlete.
NEEDS TO WORK ON: REBOUNDING, DEFENSE, AND PASSING. This guy is the antithesis of a “Jerry Sloan player.” Jeff, I thought only tough guys can play for Sloan?

24th PICK—Seattle has six picks in this draft, which means we get to see a lot of Kevin Durant. That’s always a good thing. In the meantime, to pass the time, the panelists discuss Seattle’s roster and Jax just made a Ricky Ricardo reference (“they got some ‘splaning’ to do”) that had everybody on the panel laughing (Jeff should hire Jax’s writer). Serge Ibaka from Congo was drafted.
Fraschilla: Likely to stay in Spain for 3-4 years. He’s very athletic.
MUST IMPROVE: EXPERIENCE (how does one improve on experience? And I wasn’t the only one perplexed as I can hear Jeff and Jax baffled on that “attribute.”

Stan Van Gundy is being interviewed and Jeff wants to know why his own brother didn’t tell Jeff that he would draft Courtney Lee. Stan pretty much told Jeff to stop his whining. I must say for a guy who usually looks very fat and bloated, Stan looks pretty thin in this interview. Stan also made a fat joke, about himself no less, which had everyone laughing. Jeff needs to hire his brother’s writer as Stan has been on camera for a few minutes and his Joke-O-Meter is already at 1.000!

The Houston Rockets are on the clock and Stu has something on his mind: How’s Yao’s recovery going?
Jeff: I think he’s healing well (Dr. Jeff?)
Stu: Isn’t he playing for China for the upcoming Olympics
Jeff: He will, healthy or not, because he has great pride in his country (I remember that when the Rockets and the Chinese Government were negotiating Yao’s contract, the Chinese made sure that Yao’s participation with the national team would be mandatory. So I don’t think it’s about pride as it is about obligation. Get it right, Jeff!).

25th PICK—Nicolas Batum, an All-Star in the French League (finally an International player with some credentials).
Fraschilla: He’s just not Athletic, but NBA athletic (insert your own punchline now).
--Doesn’t have great escape ability (last I checked, he’s not a QB and this isn’t the NFL draft. Get it right!)
--Needs to toughen up (surprise!)
--He’s super-duper athletic (I don’t think he mentioned that one before).
--He predicts that Batum will be in the NBA in 2 years. That’s actually better than the 3-4 year waiting period on the other International players. I’m actually starting to buy the hype on this player. Oh, oh.

It gets worse, Ric Buchner is back to slap me across the face: The reason Darrell Arthur is still in the green room and on his third pack of gum is because NBA teams are being scared away by possible kidney problems. WOW, Buchner does it again! My face is numb.
Meanwhile, D’Antoni is now being interviewed as he now has to defend the Gallinari pick:
--“Most talented player”
--“He’ll be tough”
--“Was picked because of talent” and not because of any family affiliations
I don’t think Knick fans are buying it

Next: 26-30

2008 NBA Draft Diary - Part V

2008-07-23T23:07:00.000-07:00

By Felipe Melecio

2008 NBA Draft:

16th PICK—Marreese Speights as for a second, I thought the 76ers were selecting Maurice Cheeks. At 6’10” 245 lbs. Gabe decides to give his two cents; “this guy should be playing football.” Thank you, Gabe.

Bilas: “Good post moves” but MUST IMPROVE: CONDITIONING as Bilas is left to wonder “what kind of motor does he have?” Not much of one if he’s fat is what I think. No one is too excited for this pick I noticed.

17th PICK—Roy Hibbert as Stern proclaims that “Roy is not here.” I’m thinking had Hibbert declared for the NBA draft last season, he would’ve been invited to go to New York and would’ve been taken in the top 10. You see what happens when you stay in school, kids?

Stu: “He’s a BIG man!” Wow, Stu is on fire! Boo-yah! (Kill me!).
Bilas: “Little turn around jump shot in the paint” (probably the only thing that can be considered “little” on this guy. I’m starting to think that if you can spin and shoot without falling on your butt, you can easily impress Bilas).
--“Can’t change hands” (I’m sure Hibbert likes his hands just the way they are).
--Come on Bilas, finish strong! “He’s really, really solid.” I think Hibbert should’ve really, really left school after last season.
Stu: “Nicknamed ‘Big Stiff’ when he first arrived at Georgetown.” So is that what the ladies called him at Georgetown? I’m jealous...

Cut to Brook Lopez being WIRED for ESPN’s draft telecast as he lets it be known that the draft is “so boring.” Someone remind him that he’s in the right kind of draft, please!

While the Wizards decide how they’ll ruin that franchise, Stu is interviewing Phoenix Suns’ coach Terry Porter. How can newly drafted Robin Lopez benefit in Phoenix? Porter replies, “He’ll learn a lot from Shaq.” Is that a good thing?

18th PICK: JaVale McGee out of Nevada, the same school that Nick Fazekas went to. Donny and I weren’t too interested that him and his mom become the first WNBA, NBA mother-son tandem. This is me celebrating—hip, hip, hoorah! (no CAPS needed). At 7 feet, 237 lbs. the Wizards decided that having two big stiffs like Brendan Haywood and Etan Thomas wasn’t enough. A third big stiff was needed on the roster and Hibbert was already gone.

Ric Buchner chimes in (always happy to hear from Ric because every time he has breaking news, its usually something crazy that makes you feel like you have just been slapped across the face). There’s a big trade involving the Pacers and the Blazers as Ike Diogu and Jerryd Bayless (along with Josh McRoberts. Hold for laughter), have been traded from the Pacers for Jarrett Jack and Brandon Rush. WOW, I feel like someone just slapped me across the face (see? I told you!)

And now we have Darrell Arthur, still waiting in the green room for a team to select him, anxiously chomping on a piece of gum. I’m embarrassed for him. Bilas doesn’t understand. He says he “has a good turnaround jumper” (dammit, according to Bilas, everyone has a “good turnaround jumper!”). Jax, a former 18th overall draft pick thinks he best qualifies to talk to Arthur, but I’m betting Arthur doesn’t want to hear from him at this moment. Jax’s best advise “get a new piece of gum and enjoy it.” Again, Jax makes it sound easy, but he forgets how few people in this world are as tough as Jax, much less a young 20 year-old whose ability is being questioned. Calm down, Jax!

19th PICK—J.J. Hickson as Bilas tells us that he “has an NBA body” and “can overpower opponents down low.” Ok, but I bet he will find it very hard to “overpower” in the NBA. MUST WORK ON: WORK-ETHIC. I’m done with this pick.

20th PICK—Michael Jordan has another 1st round pick in this year’s draft and I’m left wondering how he’ll further ruin this team. Remember, in order to get this pick from Denver, they had to give up a “future protected 1st round pick.” Here’s what our experts think:
Jax: They have to go big!
Bilas: (not one to be one-upped) They have to go Center-big (hahahahaha!)
David Stern: Alexis Ajinca, Center from France
Bilas:--“Big AND long... makes basketball look like a Nerf ball.” NEEDS: Strength and weight (of course!)
Fran Fraschilla: Not productive in French league (at least The Rooster was productive in Triple-A Italy last season). There’s also a concern that since the Euro is stronger than the dollar, he might never play with the Bobcats. So Michael picked a guy who might not play in the NBA because he makes too much money in Europe. Sounds like Ajinca has Jordan’s business savvy, but not even a single-digit percentage of Michael’s desire. Do I hear the toilet flush for this franchise? Oh, it’s just Gabe getting out of the bathroom.

Andy Katz interview with Bayless as Katz asks him when did he find out about the trade. Bayless should’ve said, “When Ric Buchner reported it earlier. I was so shocked! Its as if someone had slapped me across the face.”

The New Jersey Nets are on the clock with the 21st pick. Any thoughts, gentlemen?
Jax: “Team is trying to get better” (as opposed to getting worse? Oh wait; I remember when a certain team got worse when they traded away Elton Brand to the Clippers. I don’t want to talk about it).
Stu: How close are they to the elite in the East? (my thoughts? Not very).
Jax: Maybe not an elite team in the East, but they could make the playoffs (shoot, that’s true about any team in the East. Even the Knicks have a chance to make the playoffs out of the East with a losing record).
Stu: The Nets are younger and bigger with Lopez (yes, but apparently they’re still a mediocre team).

Next: 21-25

Taking On The Challenge: RotoBowl '08!

2008-07-22T16:13:00.000-07:00

Welcome Ultimate Fantasy Sports Fans!

EJ Fulbright here, letting you know that I'll be bringing you a new running diary about my newest fantasy experience.

The Ultimate Fantasy Sports Site has been invited to take up the challenge of RotoBowl '08!

Thanks so much to Matthew Falkow over at RotoBowl (http://www.rotobowl.com/).

If you're not familiar with the RotoBowl tournament, here's the rundown:

Rotobowl is a huge fantasy football tournament that starts off each year with some amazing live draft parties (currently in Atlantic City, NJ and Baltimore, MD, but coming soon to a major city near you!). I'm not going to have the pleasure of attending one of these amazing draft parties, but if you get the opportunity, I highly recommend it. These parties are a blast! Live drafts are held at these parties (in addition to bikini contests, after parties, and lots of food, drinks and fun!), and if you can't make a live draft party (like me), you can participate in an online draft. There are groups of 12 teams and you have to win your league then win the championship tournament in order to win the $20,000 grand prize. (entry fees for the tournament are $250 each)

Of course, yours truly is gunning to win (because, why play if you're not playing to win, right?). This will be an interesting journey, and I'll let you guys know what my thought process is as I prepare for the draft and go through each week competing in the tournament. Hopefully, with all my skill (and an INSANE amount of luck ;) The Ultimate Fantasy Site can go down in history as the 2008 Rotobowl Champion!

The draft is scheduled for early September. Look out competitors . . . you better believe The Ultimate Fantasy Site will be ready!

If you have questions about the tournament and want to find out how to participate, go to http://www.rotobowl.com/ and check out Matthew's site.

Enjoy!

EJ Fulbright
Editor-in-Chief, The Ultimate Fantasy Site
C0-Host, The Ultimate Fantasy Sports Show Live!

2008 NBA Draft Diary - Part IV

2008-07-16T20:48:00.000-07:00

By Felipe Melecio

2008 NBA Draft:
12th PICK—Stern comes out and we’ve noticed that he’s stumbling and stammering a lot in this draft. He’s getting too old. Jason Thompson, 6’11” and 250 lbs. Bilas just describes him as “solid.” There’s real trouble brewing when Bilas can’t muster the energy to hype a player up. MUST IMPROVE ON: POST-DEFENSE. Again, just another player that will fit in with his new team (in this case, the Kings).

Stu wants to talk now: Brings up the fact that Thompson wants to be a broadcaster one day and joked that he will be helping out ESPN’s telecast starting in the 2nd round. Talk about a room getting very quiet. That brings Stu’s Joke-O-Meter to .000.

13th PICK—Donny’s guy Brandon Rush gets picked. At 6’6” how’s that for a real “tall guard?” Finally, after all the Combo Guard hype, a real shooting guard is taken. I don’t know how he’ll fit in Portland because they have plenty of guys just like him (Outlaw, Webster, Roy, etc.), but whether Rush is better than most is all for naught at this point [and not just because he’ll get traded soon]. At any rate, for a draft that was supposed to be “deep” a lot of teams are opting to pick up backups. That’s my take so far at least.

Bilas: “A really good prospect. Has smoothness to his game.” Oooh, smoothness, eh? There’s more: “Can guard multiple positions.” Wow, tell me more! NEEDS TO WORK ON: ASSERTIVENESS. Huh? That’s an attribute? I know of “Aggressiveness” in hockey, but I don’t think the NBA wants players to be fighting. There’s no 5 minute majors in basketball. Notch this up to Bilas reaching for criticism here. I turned to Donny, “this guy might be the best player right now.” Donny, of course, agreed.

14th PICK—Anthony Randolph gets selected as Stu was given the green light to say the following: “Golden State goes big and young!” (Brigham Young?). Bilas: In his last 9 games, he averaged 20.1 PPG (that’s a heck of a resume). Oh, but the following is where Bilas shines. Please, read on:
--Has great “Linear Extent in Space.” (He’s either trying to be the next Bill James for aspiring NBA draft gurus or he’s really pulling out terms out of his butt. I’m thinking more of the latter than the former. I’m not impressed).
--Talented young prospect (aren’t they all?)
--Can rebound, can block, he can play (holy moley, he’s Tyrus Thomas, but with some offensive game. I know Randolph has game because he was able to prove it in NINE GAMES!)
--Needs to hit the weights (of course) and learn how to play in the NBA

Ok, I’m confused with that last statement, but there’s no time for me to mull it over because DICKEY V is on the air. Awesome, baby!

Vitale: YOU DON’T NEED A DR. IN HOOPOLOGY TO COME OUT OF HARVARD (I’m sorry?)
--Seattle might regret not getting Love (echoing Donny’s sentiments from earlier in the night)
--Just compared the Knicks selection of The Rooster as being the same incident that the Pistons were a part of when selecting Darko Milicic.
--Surprise Pick: Jason Thompson and demands that Reggie Theus gets a contract extension because of it (is he serious or did Dickey V just pull out the sarcasm on us?).
--Finally, what I was able to decipher from Dickey V. was that he was getting upset because most, if not all, of these picks were purely based on “Potential, potential, potential!” Someone please explain to Vitale what an amateur draft is, please!

Bilas just announced his best available list for the 15th pick as being “mostly big guys.” Thanks for the update, Bilas.

15TH PICK—Robin Lopez. I guess he didn’t have to wait too long. He’s now attempting to find his brother as he really doesn’t like being separated from him for too long.
BILAS: He’s defensive-oriented, has BIG hands, and is learning how to use his left-hand (I turn to Donny and Gabe and tell them “so am I.” That got a nice chuckle going in the room. I must say, I’m proud of my achievement).

Bilas is still talking?: Will bring energy (that’s good because with these gas prices...), will get better, has a chance to improve on offensive end.

That’s some big time hype for a player selected 15th overall. Come on, Bilas! Finish this off right! Bilas: “He’s solid.” That’s it? All that for a “solid” player?
Stu: How will he play without his brother? (Why even ask that, anyway? Who cares?)

Robin’s turn to sit on the hot seat across the Little Man Who Met His Waterloo A Long Time Ago, Stephen A. Smith: THIS MAN IS BOLD as Smith points to Robin. No Stevie A., you’re bold!

Cut to the Lopez mom being interviewed and she’s a pretty tall woman. I turn to Donny and Gabe and proclaim that “the Lopez bros. came out of the womb 7 feet tall!” That got the biggest laugh of the night. It’s pretty much all downhill from here. Cut to a bathroom break.

Next: 16-20

2008 NBA Draft Diary - Part III

2008-07-15T18:49:00.000-07:00

By Felipe Melcio

2008 NBA Draft:
8th PICK—Turns out Joe Alexander was born in Taiwan and can speak Mandarin. Remember in last year’s draft when Yi Jianlian didn’t want to be part of the Bucks’ organization because the Asian population wasn’t as big as it was in L.A., N.Y.C., or Hong Kong? You’d think Yi would’ve felt better about Milwaukee with Alexander on board, but alas, he was shipped to New Jersey before the draft.

Cut to a shot of Alexander in college, SLAMMING IT DOWN. Wow, talk about white men jumping! Cut to the NBA draft audience and there’s a guy holding up a “Vanilla Sky” poster, an obvious reference to Alexander. If it wasn’t for Gallinari’s nickname of The Rooster, Alexander would be ahead in the “best rookie nickname pool.” Cut to another shot of Alexander showing a pretty mediocre turn around jumper, which Bilas points out is, “a nice turnaround shot.” In college it WAS “a nice turnaround shot,” but in the NBA, that shot is going to get blocked every time. At least the dude can jump.

9th PICK—D.J. Augustine is 5’11”. There’s so many things that are wrong with this selection that I don’t even know where to start. You think, I’m confused and upset, you should’ve seen Brook Lopez’s face when Augustine was selected and not him. First of all, Augustine is 5’11”. Not a concern? Ok, how about the fact that the Bobcats already have a “franchise” PG in Raymond Felton. I think Bilas just mentioned that Augustine will make a good back up to Felton. WHAT? Since when do teams start selecting backup players in the top 10 of the NBA draft? Seriously, what is going on here?

10th PICK—Brook Lopez gets selected as Robin looks sad that his brother leaves the family table to get to the podium with Stern. Twins are a mysterious bunch, aren’t they? Here’s some more Bilas facts on Brook:
--Brook “ plays bigger than he really is” (apparently Brook can play as if he were 8 feet tall. The NBA could use another clumsy giant to their roster of players).
--His draft stock dropped because he didn’t test well in the Orlando workouts (as a former Stanford student that was probably the only test he failed all year).
--Needs to work on REBOUNDING (a guy who plays like he’s 8’ can’t board? Breathe-in, breathe-out...)

Quick interview with Robin where he tells the TV audience that he can’t wait for his name to get called. Keep waiting. Stevie A. is now interviewing Brook and I swear, both of these guys sound like cavemen. Absolutely deep grunting noises come out of their mouths when they try to talk.

Jax wants to chime in (let him!): The Nets, a weak team that was soft in the middle last year just fixed their problem by picking Brook. Yep, getting a tall and clumsy center who CAN’T REBOUND fixed the Nets’ problems alright. Although, the Nets did have problems rebounding so Brook will fit right in.

11th PICK—Jerryd Bayless is picked up by the Pacers which is very strange seeing that the Pacers, before the draft, received T.J. Ford in a trade. They also have Jamaal Tinsley, but I figure if the Pacers are as frustrated with Tinsley as his fantasy basketball owners, he’s probably long gone. I figure Indiana have themselves an insurance policy if Ford isn’t healthy for the season. Or maybe the Pacers want Bayless and Ford in the same backcourt. Interesting.

Bilas: “Great work ethic and he really wants to be good” (doesn’t everybody?).
Jax mentions that Bayless can score, and score in bunches (again, a glorified Ben Gordon).
NEEDS TO WORK ON: PASSING. How can a PG/Combo guard have trouble PASSING THE BALL. Are they just reaching for criticism here or is he really this bad? Oh wait, he’s just another Ben Gordon. I guess it makes sense.

Next: 12-15

2008 Preseason Fantasy Football Team Previews: Green Bay Packers

2008-07-15T18:44:00.000-07:00

NFC North (Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings)

Green Bay Packers Fantasy Preview:

Are any other fantasy football owners as sick of Brett Favre as I am? I mean, I loved watching the guys play as much as anyone, but come on! He's been holding this franchise hostage for years now. This has gotten real old real fast. Just release the guy already and let's move on!

(ok. My Favre rant is over. Please, Mr. Goddell, make the Pack trade this guy! Back to the preview)

This team was extremely young last year at many of the skill positions, and somehow it all came together. So much so, that this team was disappointed it missed the Super Bowl game (now that's coming together!). So many things went right for this team last year. Start with a bounce back season from the afore mentioned Brett Favre (who I'd just as soon stop mentioning in relation to this team!), add surprising performances from both WR Greg Jennings (920 yards, 12tds) and RB Ryan Grant (1100+ total yards, 8 tds), and top it off with a stellar defensive showing, and you had the making of a Super Bowl contender.

Then the Brett Favre Show started again. Will he or won't he? Again. Yawn.

Now, (I just can't see any way Favre is under center for this team this year or ever again) Aaron Rodgers is the man. He still has some great offensive weapons in Jennings and WR James Jones, as well as the sure-handed but aging WR Donald Driver. Grant returns to build off his amazing season last year, and this offense is once again primed to be a good one. The major question mark will be how well will Rodgers fill the enormous shoes of Brett Favre? This team will only go as far as Rodgers takes them, and it could be a true boom or bust season for Rodgers in his first chance to lead this team. Expect Rodgers to be hot and cold this season and probably best suited to be a #2 QB as opposed to your #1.

This defensive unit was pretty stout last season, and seems to be coming on as one of the better units in the league, having given up only 18.2 points per game last year. They have a strong secondary with CB Charles Woodson and CB Al Harris returning, and they have DE Aaron Kampman putting pressure on the quarterback up front along with LBs AJ Hawk and Nick Barnett. This defense should again be worthy of a draft pick and starting position in a 12 team or larger league.

Green Bay drafted WR Jordy Nelson and QB Brian Brohm in the second round. Neither should see extended playing time this season. Neither will 3rd round pick TE Jeremichael Finley. Don't look for any standout rookies from the Pack this year.

Fantasy Surprise for 2008: Ryan Grant, RB

I can see this team throwing the ball a little less and running a little more to give Rodgers a chance to get comfortable being the new team leader. That directly benefits Ryan Grant, who should easily top 1000 yards this year and could come close to double digit touchdowns. He's being drafted pretty highly so far this year, but he's one of the few RBs left out there that isn't in a RBBC. If Grant is your #1 RB, you'll probably be in good shape. If he's your #2 (and he stays healthy), you're probably in great shape to make the playoffs.

Fantasy Disappointment for 2008: Greg Jennings, WR

Jennings scored 12 tds last season with Brett Favre throwing him the football. He really came on the scene with a bang, but I just can't see him getting the same amount of production with Aaron Rodgers at the helm. I see the ceiling for Jennings this year at around 1000 yards and 7 tds, which would still be a pretty good season for a WR, but not what owners who saw him last year will expect. Temper your expectations when drafting Jennings this year. . . he's bound to have a drop-off.

Best Fantasy Draft Value for 2008: Brett Favre, QB ?

I know. I'm being a hypocrite. I want the saga over and I wish they'd release him already. However, how can you bet against Favre coming back with another team (Minnesota, maybe?) for one last hurrah? Favre will be a draft afterthought, and if you can snag him late in your draft, it might pay huge dividends. That is, if he actually gets his release. Just about everyone else on the team should be drafted just about where they belong, but Favre has the chance to really outshine whatever draft position he is currently getting. If you can snag him late and stash him, it is highly advised.

Next Up: Detroit Lions

2008 Preseason Fantasy Football Team Previews: Chicago Bears

2008-07-15T18:36:00.000-07:00

NFC North (Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings)

Chicago Bears Fantasy Preview:

The Chicago Bears provided fantasy football owners and Chicago Bears fans with some colossal disappointments last season. From highly touted (and highly drafted) RB Cedric Benson (who was recently released, btw, just in case you were living under a rock) who was a huge fantasy football bust to QB Rex Grossman who temporarily lost his starting job to WR Bernard Berrian (who simply didn't have anyone to consistently get him the ball), there was plenty of disappointment to go around. Even K Robbie Gould had a down season compared to 2006. Only WR/KR Devin Hester and the Bears defense came through last year, and Should do so again this year. The QB situation is still a mess, with strong armed, but grossly (pun intended) inaccurate Rex Grossman the starter and Kyle Orton backing him up. Gone are WR Mushin Muhammad (back to Carolina), RB Cedric Benson (released because he couldn't stay off the sauce) and WR Bernard Berrian (Minnesota). New faces this season include WR Marty Booker (Miami) and WR Brandon Lloyd (Washington). Time will tell if these guys can gel with WR Mark Bradley and TE Greg Olsen. Newly drafted RB Matt Forte takes over for Benson along with RB Adrian Peterson (the other one) and possibly newly signed (but still on the mend) RB Kevin Jones (Detroit). Will any of these guys make this offense perform any better than last year? Again, time will tell. Are any of these guys draftable in this offense with this offensive line? Well, I wouldn't mortgage the farm for any of them, including Forte.

The Bears defense is the strength of this team, and if KR/WR Devin Hester's stats are part of the defense in your league, this should still be a highly sought after unit. The bears should get a healthy LB Brian Urlacher and LB Lance Briggs returning, although they lost S Adam Archuletta, DT Darin Walker and LB Brendon Ayanbadejo. Even with these defections, this is still a top 5 defense, and should be drafted accordingly.

This draft may make or break the Bears, as 2nd rd pick RB Matt Forte has been handed the starting job. As Forte goes, the Bears offense may go, considering this is a run-oriented offense. Forte was a beast at Tulane last year (2,127 yards rushing), and could really spark this offense to great things. However, if the offensive line doesn't open some holes for him, he might as well be Cedric Benson (ok. not really). 3rd Rd pick Earl Bennett (Vanderbilt) has a chance to grab some playing time on this team with the players in front of him, but I think he's still a year or two away from fantasy respectability. Snag Forte in the mid to later rounds of your draft if he's available, but leave Bennett on the waiver wire.

Fantasy Surprise for 2008: Rex Grossman, QB

I'm going out on a limb here, and even though I don't like him very much, I think this might be the year that Rex Grossman gets his act together. The coaching staff has been working on his decision making this offseason, and he has some good (not great, but good) targets that can get open and catch the ball. If these guys come together and Grossman takes just a decent step forward, he will be worthy of at least a bench spot. Since I don't expect much from this offense, that would be a surprise to me!

Fantasy Disappointment for 2008: Matt Forte, RB

Don't get me wrong. I like Forte. I think he has the tools to be a good one. However, I don't like the fact that he's being forced to take the starting role in this offense. It doesn't look much like a recipe for success, and until Rex Grossman proves he can keep defenses honest, it just doesn't bode well for the rookie. I think Forte will be decent to good this season, but I think a good #2 RB is probably his ceiling for this year. Draft him, just don't over draft him because he's now the starter on this team.

Best Fantasy Draft Value for 2008: Bears Defense

On this team, about the only one you can reasonably rely on to produce is the Bears defense, and I'm just not comfortable picking anyone else to produce on this team until I see something. If you're spending a precious draft pick on a Chicago Bear, make sure its the defense. Anyone else will be a crap-shoot at best, and you should proceed with caution. The Bear's defense should again be one of the league's best and a great option for your fantasy team.

Next Up: Green Bay Packers

2008 NBA Draft Diary - Part II

2008-07-15T18:26:00.000-07:00

By Felipe Melecio

2008 NBA Draft:
4TH PICK-- Russell Westbrook

FELIPE: Kevin Durant is happy, so I'm happy (he's on my fantasy basketball keeper NBA team. EJ is jealous, I know he is!)
DONNY: They should've gotten Kevin Love. Love and Durant down on the boards! Are you kidding me?
FELIPE: Guess the Sonics got tired of Earl Watson and Luke Ridnour playing two-headed PG.
DONNY: I'm sure Oklahoma City is going to get sick of triple teams on Durant at the post.
FELIPE: Suddenly, I'm not so happy anymore

The Not-so-Stellar TV Personality known as Stephen A. Smith has an interview with Westbrook. He informs the rookie that Durant was smiling when he was selected (with those types of hard-ball questions and comments, we're kind of perplexed as to why he got demoted). Cut to Durant, with a mike in his face. He is being asked why he was smiling when Westbrook was picked. His reply; He's a great defensive player and he's great on offense (that's the best scouting report of the night thus far. I love Durant!).

5TH PICK—Kevin Love-- Stu let's us know that it is the first time that back-to-back UCLA Bruins are picked since 1969, when “some guy named Lew Alcindor was picked #1 overall.” (Nobody plays the role of dumb-founded sports-anchor better than Stu. People think his bread-and-butter is “Boo-yah!” but making me believe that he is dumber than a brick—it’s as if he wasn’t really acting at all. Vintage Stu. Vintage! He’ll be annoying me all night long).

Bilas has something to say, “Love doesn't run pretty,” but he is an accurate passer (wow, he sounds like a pocket QB. Maybe he should play in the NFL). ESPN shows footage of K-Love draining full court shots and Stu and Bilas are absolutely amazed. Shoot, even I’m starting to believe in the hype. I’m thinking if the Grizzles want to utilize Love to his full potential, they should amend the “3-point shot from full-court” into their playbook for the upcoming season. However, I’m worried that Love can only drain those shots from out-of-bounds AND if he gets a running start. I don’t think baskets made from out-of-bounds count in the NBA and a running start might get him a traveling violation [YES, I’m aware that he would later get traded that same night. We have all summer to discuss this and all other trades].

Bilas adds that Love has potential to be a double-double player. Does Bilas know that he would have to average over 10 rebounds per game (RPG) to be considered a double-double player? I believe he can get 10 points—wait, unless he means 10 assists. With his accurate passing, it just might happen!

The Easily Expendable Stephen A. Smith lets the TV audience know that he met up with Love’s family in the elevator. I’m sure the family felt that they were stuck with Smith in the elevator....

...apparently father, Stan Love, loved to show son, Kevin, the history of the NBA by showing him footage of players he used to play with and against as a player—especially of tall white guys who don’t “run pretty.” Hope springs eternal.

Okay, moving on... where’s Ol’ Dirty when I need him?

Oh, the Knick fans are getting rowdy. Their team (and I do use that term loosely) are getting ready to kick off the Donnie Walsh/Mike D’Antoni era with this selection. Coming to the podium is David Stern and I must say he doesn’t look very “Stern-like.” Usually Stern just walks to the podium like he owns the building and his farts don’t stink. Not this time, though. Stern looks too frightened to read the selection and is already looking for Russ Granik to read the selection for him—except that he’s retired now. Well a Commish has to do what a Commish has to do (just ask Michael Chiklis).

6th PICK—Danilo Gallinari and a cascade of boos come down from the stands. Some Knick fans are surprised at the pick, despite report after report saying that the Knicks would select the Italian player. And they call themselves the most knowledgeable NBA fans in the world. “Basketball Mecca” my.... anyway, Knick fans are very mad at this pick. Someone just mentioned that Gallinari is not even 20 years-old yet, but is a good player to build a program around. Really? What about an NBA team?

Let it be known that this officially marks the first (of many) appearances in tonight’s telecast of one Fran Fraschilla, the International players’ scout. His studies have shown the following (and I will count the number of strikes that Knick fans are tallying in their heads):

--Gallinari will be ready in 2-3 years (Strike 1)
--Can be as big as Tiki Barber or Derek Jeter in New York (Strike 2, that’s near blasphemy and I don’t think Gallinari will play in the NFL or MLB)
--His nickname, get ready ... The Rooster (Strike 3. A riot must have ensued somewhere). The Rooster? That’s way too easy, even for me.
Gallinari gets his first real test as an American pro basketball player as he undergoes his right of passage with the mandatory Stephen A. Smith interview. It really doesn’t matter as the overflow of boos from the Knick fans nearly mutes whatever Gallinari had to say (something about being a basketball player who just plays. At least I know he can put together an English sentence. Better than Stephon Marbury at least).

Jax makes his first appearance in this article and he wants the rookie to just ignore the boos and just play. Well, that’s easier said than done, especially when you’re 2-3 years from being ready and will probably be playing overseas anyway. I think Jax takes his toughness for granted. Nobody can be tough like Jax. That’s why his name is JAX.

ESPN reports before the draft from Chad Ford and the like mentioned that Gallinari was not the next “Darko” because unlike Milicic, who spent most of his time on the bench at the time he was drafted by the Pistons, Gallinari was playing heavy minutes in one of Italy’s toughest leagues. This also from http://nbadraft.net/ “Last year got some minutes in the tough 4th Italian division, this year will play much more against older and tougher players. Next year could go to play in Italy's 1st division and be acquired by a top level team.” So this kid is progressing. Just don’t try to explain to Knick fans. Before the next pick was selected, they have already given the Knicks’ an “F” on their “Draft Grade.” Such a hasty bunch, those Knick fans are.

7th PICK—So there’s this NBA draft going on and it involves other teams who reside outside of New York. Eric Gordon, who spurned the University of Illinois to go to Indiana, spurned the Hoosiers to enter the NBA (good luck Coach Crean indeed)—welcome to NBA purgatory, or as Stern calls them, the L.A. Clippers. Sports Illustrated considered Westbrook, Mayo, Gordon, and Bayless as the best point/combo guards in this year’s draft outside of Rose. Bayless is the last one left from the list. Stu chimes in saying Gordon “is a big guard.” (6’3” is a big guard? I always thought that Ron Harper was a pretty big guard at 6’6”. I just don’t know what represents a “big guard” anymore....).

Bilas has something to say: Gordon has an “elongated wingspan” (whoa, he went from describing every single player to being “long” or just having a “long wingspan” to “elongated wingspan!” The evolution of Bilas is a sight to see. I’m wondering if Gordon can actually fly with an “elongated wingspan.”). He adds that because he played in the Big 10 last season, he can definitely adjust to “grind-out games” (that’s why I don’t watch the Big 10). He can score from anywhere, but turns over the ball too much and he needs to work on his ball-handling skills (basically, he’s a glorified version of Ben Gordon).

Cut to Donnie Walsh, who’s being interviewed—by someone. The question: Why Danilo Gallinari? The response, “he has an unusual package.” Dear lord, how did he get through customs? Isn’t that an Orange to Red Level Terrorist Threat? I just came back from four different airports, and “unusual packages” are supposed to be reported to TSA or some other government authority figure. I asked my buddy Gabe (Donny’s roommate and also in attendance for the NBA draft, despite being in his own little world) if this “unusual package” could very well be a serious terrorist threat (and who better to ask than Gabe; part of the U.S. Marine Corps). He just kept shaking his head and giving me the “Gabe Look of Disapproval.” (Well it was either this or make connections to this “unusual package” and his nickname, The Rooster. After all, this is a family article).

Next: Picks 8-11

2008 NBA Draft Diary - Part 1

2008-07-08T16:09:00.000-07:00

By Felipe Melecio

My buddy Roy and I have had the following argument since the Chicago Bulls were awarded the first pick of the 2008 NBA draft: he would argue that the Bulls need a low-post presence and that Kansas State’s Michael Beasley would be the perfect fit for this team who is already full of guards. I would counter with the impact that Chris Paul and Deron Williams have had on the New Orleans Hornets and Utah Jazz respectively and that the Bulls would vastly benefit to have a true point guard (PG) on the team. Kirk Hinrich is really a shooting guard (SG), Ben Gordon is your typical scorer off the bench, and Chris Duhon should not be starting on any NBA team. I explain that the way the NBA works is as follows: unless you have a Jordan, Kobe, LeBron, etc. on the roster, teams NEED a true PG to have some semblance of success to their season. Look at the playoff teams from the Eastern Conference this season. Only three teams, in my opinion, had star (or semi-star) “pass first” true PGs: The Pistons, Raptors, and 76ers. All other teams depended on guys like Pierce, James, Arenas, and Johnson not only as primary scoring options, but as primary playmakers as well. The Magic were the only team to make the playoffs with a less than adequate backcourt. In the Western Conference, of the nine winning teams in that conference, six had good to great starting “true” PGs. The three teams that didn’t depended on the following players: Kobe, McGrady, and a combination of Anthony and Iverson. Even the three of the top four teams in the WEST were lead by Tony Parker, Williams, and Paul. Lack of true, pass-first, playmaking point guards in the EAST might have explained that Conference’s mediocrity. That’s why I thought the Bulls should draft Derrick Rose. Beasley might be the inside presence the Bulls have been looking for, but someone has to feed him inside. Even if the Bulls don’t get a player to score inside, Rose will still find open teammates the way Paul and Williams do (I’m salivating here!).

The Bulls have drafted “back-to-the-basket” players before. Eddy Curry was one, but I really don’t want to talk about him. They did have Elton Brand for two seasons and his rookie year was painful to watch (for starters--he would constantly get blocked in the paint), but by mid-season, he was very well on his way to averaging 20 points/ 10 rebounds a game. Roy would cite that as a major reason for the Bulls to select Beasley. However, for the sake to feed my ever growing curiosity, let’s investigate how the L.A. Clippers have benefited from having Brand on the team, because of his 20/10 ability. The Clips have only average 36 wins (going back to the 2001-2002 season, but not including this season) since Brand was traded from Chicago. The one year the Clips made the playoffs with Brand, he set a career high of 24.7 points per game (PPG). That was also Sam Cassell’s first season with the Clippers and the last time he would come close to playing a full NBA season. So Brand only made the playoffs because the team had a playmaking threat at PG in Cassell. Funny how that works, huh? The final kicker was that after being measured in an NBA draft camp, Beasley came out to be only 6’7”. First thing I thought to myself was, “Oh no! We have another Danny Fortson!” He somehow went back to being 6’8” but his “lack of height” was enough even to turnoff my buddy Roy. We never had this discussion again.

And with that mentality coming into the NBA draft, I now bring you back to June 26, 2008. I’m at my friend’s Donny Rodriguez’s, home located near the corner of Western and Division here in sweet home Chicago (after six days in Seattle, I dearly missed the old city). He was nice enough to buy pizza, beer, and be my primary audience to my jokes (some would actually make it to this piece).

You have your prologue, the setting, and now on to ESPN’s televised coverage of the 2008 NBA draft:

The following takes place before any selections take place: David Stern comes out, Donny is digging his tie (by the end of the night, I would be amazed at Donny’s fashion sense). The totalitarian leader with the title of NBA Commissioner comes out and informs us that the Bulls—yes!—have five minutes to make their selection--huh? I turned to Donny and we both agreed that the Bulls had weeks to decide on Rose, but Donny put it best by saying that the five minutes were just a formality. So now we have five minutes to put up with the gentlemen who will be delivering the NBA draft all night long (the thought alone makes me want to shudder like Sideshow Bob after he gets hit in the face with a rake). ESPN really went all out to bring you their “A” list of NBA ‘experts” for this one. Hubie Brown? Scoop Jackson? Matt Winer? Michael Wilbon? Mike Tirico? Nope, we get, starring from right to left: Stuart Scott (a.k.a. Stu), Mark Jackson (a.k.a. Jax), Jeff Van Gundy (just Jeff), and Jay Bilas (or Bilas for short). For example, they gave a recap of the Bulls' season (please don't remind us), the fact that they have too many guards (duh!), and Stu's reasoning behind the Vinnie Del Negro coaching hire was due in part because of the latter's “Single-digit handicap golf score.” (breathe-in, breathe-out Felipe. Don’t get angry; breathe-in, breathe-out...)

1ST PICK--Mercifully, Stern comes out to announce that the Bulls have selected Derrick Rose with the first pick.

Cut to a shot of the Bulls' War Room where everybody from GM John Paxson and maybe the equipment manager are clapping and cheering because they just realized they couldn't mess this pick up even if they had tried. The right choice was Rose.

We also noticed that Stephen A. Smith has been relegated to do player interviews in between picks with the new draftees. How the LOUD and obnoxious have fallen! Wasn't Stu doing this last year? I want to say he was because how else would we understand the recently drafted, mostly black players talking without Stu translating for us? Can someone please verify? I also noticed that Stu was promoted to lead anchor of the NBA draft. Barry Melrose becoming the Tampa Bay Lightning’s new head coach got more fanfare than Stu hosting this year’s NBA draft. Who says that the NHL is irrelevant (Tiger Woods doesn’t count)?

2ND PICK-- Michael Beasley, despite talks that Dwyane Wade was getting very close with O.J. Mayo and trying to convince Pat Riley to select him with the #2 pick overall, the Heat went another direction and selected the “big” guy from K-State (they'll survive). ESPN informs us that he went to six different schools from 8th -12th grade (maybe he was an Army brat?).

FELIPE: I swear he looks very slow.
DONNY: He looks pretty quick to me AND he's a scoring machine. Plus his mom is hot. I think Paxson might've dropped the ball.

Paxson is being interviewed and is letting the TV audience know that Rose will not be pressured to step in right away to produce and be a team leader. Nevertheless it's implied that he will—or else Paxson is out of a job.

3RD PICK: O.J. Mayo-- Bilas chimes in, “Mayo was able to shut down Jerryd Bayless last season.” (ummm, that's because he's better than Bayless).

FELIPE: I think he has the best beard in this draft, hands-down.
DONNY: Yeah, dude's dapper. He's wearing a hounds-tooth, button-down. Classy!
FELIPE: It's from all that money he was making at USC. Good for him.

Pat Riley is being interviewed in regards to the Beasley pick. He pretty much just told Dwyane Wade NO on O.J. Mayo. That's why Riley continues to have an NBA job!

Next: Picks 4-7

2008 Preseason Fantasy Football Team Previews: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

2008-07-05T00:55:00.000-07:00

NFC South(Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

Tampa Bay Bucs Fantasy Preview:

Astute fantasy football owners had to appreciate the Bucs last year. Even though injuries and age decimated many of their projected stars (most notably RB Cadillac Williams), there was at least one gem on this team that some owners snatched on their way to the playoffs. Earnest Graham took over in week 6 and never looked back, rushing for 898 yards and 10 tds while starting in only 10 games. He was so impressive that the Bucs recently signed him to a 3 year, 11 million dollar contract extension, so he figures prominently in their current and future plans. As for the rest of the skill positions . . . eh. Jeff Garcia returns from a decent season to again lead the squad (and at age 38, how many good seasons can he have left in him?), Joey Galloway returns as the lead receiver (and at age 37, how many seasons does he have left?) along with (32 year old) Ike Hilliard and chronic underachiever Michael Clayton. The main reason this team won the NFC South and made the playoffs last year was a surprising defensive performance from a veteran group. The team added retread RB Warrick Dunn (who at age 33 probably doesn't have much left either) to back up Graham while Cadillac Williams rehabs, and also brought in veteran WR (and proven knuckle-head) Antonio Bryant, TE Ben Troupe, and S Eugene Wilson. It is doubtful if any of these additions will make any significant fantasy impact for the team this year. This is a team that could gear up for 1 more playoff run, or a team that could really implode as a lot of veteran players ride off into the sunset.

The defense was the strength of this team last year, and should once again be a strength. CB Ronde Barber will get some assistance this year with newly drafted 1st rd pick Aqib Talib (if he can get his head on straight), and this unit should still be able to put pressure on the QB with LBs Barrett Ruud and Derrick Brooks. It would not be a stretch for this unit to end up in the top 10 fantasy defenses. This is a great later rounds pick for a fantasy defensive unit.

As mentioned earlier, 1st rd pick CB Aqib Talib should be a good one. If he can get his act together mentally, he can put his immense talent to good use. Also drafted in rd 2 was WR Dexter Jackson, who could push for playing time and kick returning duties. Other than that, there doesn't look to be anyone worthy of fantasy consideration, and neither of these players should have a considerable fantasy impact this year.

Fantasy Surprise for 2008: Earnest Graham, RB

I like Earnest Graham. I think he has a chance to really come on the scene this year, now that he is the undisputed starter. Cadillac Williams may be back sometime later in the year, but he is coming off of a serious knee injury and may not be back to regular form anytime this year. Graham's only competition are Warrick Dunn and 7th rd draft pick Cory Boyd. With an older Jeff Garcia directing the offense and suspect WR talent, look for Graham to be the beneficiary and have a stellar year. He'll make a great #2 RB and a borderline #1.

Fantasy Disappointment for 2008: Jeff Garcia, QB

At age 38, I just can't see Garcia having too many good years left, even in a contract season. He used to be known as an "athletic" QB, and now he is just known as an "intelligent veteran", which means he's gotten old and slow. He has never had the best arm, and he has questionable talent around him at WR (with the possible exception of almost as old Joey Galloway). He was decent last year, but not great, and its not out of the realm of possibility that he is replaced sometime this season with one of the other many QBs on this roster. Leave him on the waiver wire.

Best Fantasy Draft Value for 2008: Bucs Defense

There just aren't many options to choose from here. If you're looking for draft value, look no further than the Bucs defense. There are few options here that will give you any value whatsoever, but the Bucs defense should be a quality choice late in your draft. They have a chance to finish in the top 10 or higher, and they will be around long after the Steelers, Patriots, Vikings, Chargers and Bears are chosen. Pick them late and you should feel good about your defensive position all season long.

Next Up: Chicago Bears

2008 Preseason Fantasy Football Team Previews: New Orleans Saints

2008-06-26T18:18:00.000-07:00

NFC South (Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

New Orleans Saints Fantasy Preview:

After a magical "return to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina" season in 2006, 2007 left fantasy football players who relied on the Saints feeling not so holy. When Deuce McAllister went down, Reggie Bush was exposed as someone who couldn't carry the load. Marques Colston didn't get going until later in the year. Drew Brees still had a banner year, but it didn't translate into wins on the football field. However, this team returns enough fire power to be a good fantasy producer in 2008. If McAllister can return to form, he will take pressure off Reggie Bush and allow Bush to be the effective lightning threat this team needs. They also need to get improved seasons from WR David Patten and TE Eric Johnson. In the weak NFC South, it shouldn't take much for the Saints to get back on track and have another run to the playoffs while putting up a ton of points in coach Sean Payton's offense. From a fantasy perspective, this should be a team that produces some good prospects for your team.

Defense was not a strong point for the Saints last year (or the year before). Even when this offense was scoring tons of points, the defense couldn't consistently stop anyone. There was a heavy emphasis placed on defense in the draft this year, and the team acquired standout linebacker Jonathan Vilma from the NY Jets. However, until this unit actually shows us something consistently, they are better left on the waiver wire.

DT Sedrick Ellis and CB Tracy Porter were this team's 1st and 2nd round draft picks respectively. Neither player will make a significant fantasy impact for your squad this year. However, look for a splash from 2nd year WR Robert Meachem, who missed all of last year with injury and who has looked really good so far this offseason.

Fantasy Surprise for 2008: Robert Meachem, WR

The 2nd year WR out of Tennessee had high promise coming into the season last year, but a knee injury derailed his rookie year completely. He has been getting high praise from both the coaching staff and QB Drew Brees this offseason, and he appears to have learned enough to make a contribution this year. He may not be quite ready for prime time, but could produce enough to become a good complement to Marques Colston and a decent #3 WR for your fantasy team.

Fantasy Disappointment for 2008: Reggie Bush, RB

Reggie Bush has a lot of speed and skill, but I'm just not sure he has what it takes to really be a star in the league. He has been largely underwhelming since joining the league, and proved last year that he can't carry the load by himself. If Deuce McAllister can't return to form from injury, Bush will once again be exposed as someone who is a spot player at best. He should still produce good numbers and be a decent higher round draft pick, but temper your expectations and try to take him after round 4 or 5, or you'll probably regret it.

Best Fantasy Draft Value for 2008: Drew Brees, QB

Even with Marques Colston starting off the season slowly, and losing both WR Robert Meachem and RB Deuce McAllister, Brees had a career season last year, and should only get better in 2008. His numbers should land him in or very near the top 5 overall fantasy QBs next year, and his draft value will be much better than that of QBs such as Tony Romo, Tom Brady or Peyton Manning. If you can snag Brees in rounds 3-5, you should be in a position to build a championship team with great picks at RB or WR in the earlier rounds.

Up Next: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

2008 Preseason Fantasy Football Team Previews: Carolina Panthers

2008-06-17T02:17:00.001-07:00

NFC South (Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

Carolina Panthers Fantasy Preview:

Last season was a fantasy football season to forget for the Panthers. What started out as such as promising season for WR Steve Smith and QB Jake Delhomme quickly turned to disappointment once Delhomme went down. After that, Steve Smith disappeared, and pretty much took everyone else with him. With David Carr, Vinny Testaverde, and undrafted rookie Matt Moore under center, things didn't go as planned for the Panthers for the rest of the season. Injuries shut down a pretty promising defense, and overall, left the season a huge disappointment. Gone are defensive stalwarts DE Mike Rucker, LB Dan Morgan, & DT Kris Jenkins. Gone are offensive contributors RB DeShaun Foster, QBs David Carr and Vinny Testaverde, and WRs Keary Colbert and Drew Carter. The team invested heavily in RB Jonathan Stewart (1st rd, 13 overall), and brought back WR Mushin Muhammad (who had arguably his most fantasy relevant years in Carolina). They brought in WR DJ Hackett from Seattle and RB LaBrandon Toefield from Jacksonville to add offensive depth. However, none of these things will make much of a difference without a healthy Jake Delhomme. If he remains healthy, this team will make another run for the playoffs and many of these guys will again be fantasy relevant. If not, it will be another long year for the Panthers. Look for the former, and for a bounce back season for all-star WR Steve Smith.

There is no question that injuries and a stagnant offense destroyed this defense last year, which is a shame when you consider what they have been over the last few years. They lost a few big names, but the pieces are still there for this to be a good fantasy defense. Julius Peppers should have a much better year this year, and I expect this defense to at least be fantasy relevant. Should you draft them? That remains to be seen. Just keep them on the radar.

There was only 1 draft pick that fantasy owners will care about this year: RB Jonathan Stewart. At 5'11" and 235 lbs, Stewart is the big bruising back this team has missed since Stephen Davis, and his skills (1700+ yards & 11 TDs his senior season at Oregon) should translate into nice fantasy production on this team next year. 1200 yards and 8TDs are not out of reach for Stewart, even in a time share with DeAngelo Williams, and he should make an good #2 RB as a rookie.

Fantasy Surprise for 2008: Jake Delhomme, QB

Not much of a surprise here. When Jake Delhomme went down last year, this team was done. It was Jake that almost single-handedly won this team a Super Bowl in 2004, and his absence was the reason for this team's dreadful performance on the field last season. If Delhomme returns for a full season, this team will thrive. Delhomme was on the verge of a great season last year before injury, and if he picks up where he left off, he will put up #1 QB numbers. You should be able to grab him in the mid to late rounds of your draft as a #2, or as a low end #1 if you wait too long to grab a starting QB. He shouldn't disappoint in 2008.

Fantasy Disappointment for 2008: DeAngelo Williams, RB

Williams just can't seem to catch a break. There was talk of him getting more carries last season when DeShaun Foster didn't seem very effective, but that never really materialized. Now, going into the off season, he seems as if he'd get a chance to be a feature back, but the team drafts Jonathan Stewart to handle the load. He may have speed to burn, but he won't get the opportunities to make the most of it. He is oozing with potential, but unless Stewart goes down, he'll have to settle once again for being a change of pace guy. If he rushes for more than 5 TDs this year, he should consider himself extremely fortunate.

Best Fantasy Draft Value for 2008: Steve Smith, WR

Steve Smith started the season on fire last year, catching 16 passes for 281 yards and 4 TDs. Unfortunately, once Jake Delhomme left, so did his production. As a result, he probably left a bad taste in the mouths of many fantasy owners, which will push his draft value down. However, with Delhomme back under center, and with DJ Hackett and Mushin Muhammad helping take defensive pressure away from him, Smith should again have top 3 WR numbers, and will be a steal if drafted in the 3rd round or later. There's a reason he was being discussed last year as the best WR in the game. Don't forget that on draft day.

Up Next: New Orleans Saints

Micro to Macro: The Jay Bruce Episode

2008-06-14T21:09:00.000-07:00

So I’ve been talking about my fantasy baseball team, the Black Hole Army, which resides in this 12-team, fantasy point, head-2-head keeper league. I have been linking my team so people can see the roster, but have realized that our league might not allow outsiders to look on OR if you don’t have a www.sportsline.com ID, then you can’t get access to my league. So I will quickly rundown my club right now:

C- Victor Martinez
1B- Joey Votto
2B- Chase Utley
SS- Orlando Cabrera
3B- Ryan Braun
LF- Carlos Quentin
CF- Shane Victorino
RF- Jeff Francoeur
DH- Josh Hamilton

P- Jason Bergmann
P- Chad Billingsley
P- John Danks
P- Shaun Marcum
P- Dustin McGowan
P- James Shields
P- Brandon Webb

Bench—Brian Fuentes, Jon Rauch, George Sherrill, Justin Upton, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and Nick Swisher.

YES, the same Nick Swisher who I finally gave up on last week is back with the team almost 7 days later. I was mulling Swisher, Cody Ross, Fred Lewis, Luke Scott, and plenty of others, but after dissecting every possible scenario, it seemed it was best to give Swisher another chance. And of course, I had to cut Kevin Slowey as his two-start performance in week 10 was—well, let’s just say Slowey was the big disappointment in my life this week. YES, it’s that serious! I already gave Slowey his 15 minutes of fame in my column last week so that’s all I want to say about him. So after cutting what’s-his-name, I dig around the waiver wire in search for a new RF as Francoeur is really struggling in the past two weeks. So I’m off to finding a replacement RF and come up with those names mentioned. I started with Fred Lewis and I like his speed (great guy for stolen bases roto-leaguers, in case you missed it. He’s only owned in 23.2% of ESPN leagues and only in 28% of Sportsline leagues), but the guy bats left-handed and doesn’t hit lefties very well (.167 average, .557 OPS) and he’s facing Greg Smith and Dana Eveland this week and those guys are both LHP. So I passed on Lewis. Next comes Ross, who is crushing the ball the past two weeks, but then I saw the scheduled starters he was facing this week against the Phillies and Reds and I had to pass. Then I saw Scott, but after seeing Scott’s best career numbers vs. Swisher’s best career numbers, I saw that they were pretty similar to each other. The final kicker for Swisher was that he had a more favorable schedule than Scott, so I picked him up. However, the whole point was to replace Francoeur for fantasy week #11 and none of these guys made me feel comfortable to insert into the starting lineup. With Swisher, I’m hoping that his batting tear from week #10 finally jump starts his season. I’m afraid that Swisher has become that girl you want to break up with, but had a hard time dumping her, and when you finally did, couple of months later, you were back together again. The way I see it, if Swisher falters, there’s plenty of guys to replace him with.

Moving on, you guys already know that Troy Tulowitzki is on my DL-slot (I can’t wait for him to come back!) and rounding out the roster are minor leaguers Carlos Carrasco, pitcher from the Phillies’ organization and Matt Wieters, catcher from the Orioles farm system. As you can see, Carrasco is striking out a lot of guys, but his walk rate is getting close to that magical number of 3.5 (or as I like to call it, “flirting with disaster”), has a batting average against of .271 and has a WHIP of 1.38. Very disappointing numbers, but I’m hoping that he can turn into, get ready, Edinson Volquez. Looking at Volquez’s numbers, when he started his professional career, Volquez would give up hits in bunches. In an ironic twist, Volquez’s walk rate was very low. It wasn’t until 2006 until his hit rate went down, but his walk rate went up. When he was at Single-A Bakersfield in 2007, he registered a mediocre WHIP of 1.34, which isn’t too far off Carrasco’s WHIP. So here’s hoping Carrasco can cut back on the walks, the hits, and have his K/9 rate soar him into the Phillies’ rotation.

Wieters was the O’s top pick in last year’s draft and has an OPS of 1.018, has a K:BB ratio that’s close to 1, a .344 batting average and has 13 homers with 35 RBIs. I’m hoping Wieters becomes the next Victor Martinez, but I’m aware that young catchers take long to develop their offensive game when they get called up to the Majors as pitching and defense take top priority over hitting. There are plenty of examples of young catchers who are struggling offensively this season so far: J.R Towles, Jeff Clement, Jeff Mathis, heck John Buck was supposed to be a hot-shot catcher 3-4 years ago and is just finally hitting above .250 this season. Remember Toby Hall was the premiere catcher in the minor leagues in the Tampa Rays’ farm system earlier this decade? He was supposed to be the next best catcher as soon as he arrived into the Majors. Well, it’s 2008 and now he’s the White Sox’s backup catcher. That being said, I’m hoping his hot start in the minors does help him develop into the next V-Mart in 2-3 years so this is obviously a long-term project.

However the other reason I’ve settled on Wieters is because there are no big name minor leaguers available in my league. Jay Bruce, Clayton Kershaw, David Price and Homer Bailey were already owned in the off season, while Justin Masterson was picked up way back in April. Even I stuck with Eric Hurley and Gio Gonzalez before replacing those two with Carrasco and Wieters. With the league being so competitive, it has become almost difficult to pick up a top-notch prospect during the season because they’re all gone long before any buzz is generated in the rest of the fantasy world, let alone the regular, non-fantasy baseball world. You almost have to project the next group of top prospects for next year to catch a decent minor leaguer. So Wieters is on my roster until I find that next top-of-the-line prospect, but it is admittedly getting harder to do so and even though Wieters is a catcher, his numbers right now are still impressive, regardless of position. Even Baseball America has Wieters as their #3 prospect in their latest “hot sheet.”

And finally, I will like to end this week with the emergence of Jay Bruce into the foreground of fantasy baseball. When I’m not writing articles, I hit the fantasy forums, most notably, Yahoo! Answers. The controversy surrounding this guy was amusing to read since his call up. There were owners who wanted to trade him while his stock was high as they didn’t think he could keep up his torrid pace. There were owners who were willing to sell their entire team to build their ball club around him—some of those owners were in non-keeper leagues though. Some owners were willing to trade more established players on their team for help in other positions or categories and insert Bruce into their active/starting lineup. And then there were owners who were willing to stash away Bruce on their bench, like money hungry misers in hopes that he becomes a stud by the end of this season. And there were plenty of owners who refused to pick him up as they didn’t believe in the hype that this kid was generating, the recent success was too small of a sample to see if he could provide a consistent performance for the rest of 2008 and took a wait-and-see approach to this kid—some of those owners could use a guy like Bruce for their struggling team, but sometimes, old habits are hard to break. At any rate, if you didn’t have Bruce by May 26, 2008 or so, there was a good chance that you were not going to pick him up in the next few days following that date. As of this writing, Bruce is owned in 96% of Sportsline leagues (in my league, the owner who picked up Bruce stashed him in his minor league slot—LAST SEASON).

Now, I’m not going to explain this guy’s history, background, or pedigree. Let’s face it, this guy has pedigree, he’s not a fluke, he’s not all hype (you want to go after hype, go see Andruw Jones and the big fat contract he was given by the Dodgers). No sir! Gentlemen, what this kid has created since he was drafted in 2005 was “buzz.” Heck, the buzz peaked after spring training, when many baseball “experts” thought that the Reds should have started the season with Bruce as their starting CF. It was just a matter of time when he would be called up by the Reds this season. So we established that Bruce is real. Is he an elite player? No, not yet. Is he the 2008 version of Ryan Braun? Nope, now you’re just comparing apples and oranges. What Braun did in 2007 as a rookie is rare and placing those kinds of expectations on this 21-year-old are just not fair. So what is he? Bruce is a highly touted prospect who got called up in late May and he’s going to have to learn the MLB game as much as any rookie who gets called up during the season. If you can get “a lot” for him in a trade, good for you, but if you’re the one seeking Bruce, don’t go overboard, even if you’re in a keeper league. Trades are supposed to be fair for both sides. One owner at Yahoo! Answers tried to deal Cole Hamels (or Ervin Santana), Takashi Saito and Jose Reyes for Jay Bruce, Mariano Rivera, and Kelly Johnson. Talk about reaching for a player! Even if this were a keeper league, you’re only getting one good, “ideal” keeper player and giving up two elite super studs in Hamels and Reyes? The owner trying to acquire Bruce was no longer sold on the “Bruce Buzz”, but was buying the “hype.” Just because you see one player on ESPN’s SportsCenter 100 times on a given week (because they re-air episodes all morning long of course), doesn’t make him the premiere fantasy player in our fantasy world. Let ESPN try to sell you hype. In the fantasy world, you have to go with the “buzz” that a player creates, wherever he plays. There are a lot of hot-shot prospects that come up every year and its great to pick them up before anybody else in your league, but you have to limit your expectations. Once you start thinking that you have the second coming of Fernando Valenzuela or Ryan Braun, you just bought into your own hype of that player and the hype that was sold to you by outside forces. One should notice buzz and try to control hype (by the way, the buzz vs. hype argument was adapted from a recent Stephen King column in Entertainment Weekly. Here’s a quick synopsis of said article).

So what can you expect from Bruce the rest of this season? As of this writing, Bruce was on pace to reach 154 at bats, score 33 runs, hit 7 home runs, reach 26 RBIs, and steal 4 bases. His projected numbers coming into the 2008 campaign are as follows: 200 at bats, score 25 runs, hit 7 homers, reach 28 RBIs, and steal 6 bases. So even though he’s off to a hot start in his MLB career, he’s still only on pace to reach his projected numbers, not surpass them. And it looks like Bruce has already hit a rookie wall of sorts as his last 6 games, he’s only hit .268, with a laughable .666 OPS. Bruce does have as many walks as strikeouts, but due to a small sample of that ratio, it doesn’t mean he necessarily has a good approach or plate discipline, but it does mean he has a good contact rate (after all, he is hitting .391 thus far). Nevertheless, in the minors, he did put up a dangerous walk/strikeout ratio. He struck out 106 times in 2006 and a combined 135 times at three different stops in 2007. Whatever “rookie wall” or slump he encounters this season will not be short-lived if he continues to strikeout like he did in the minors.

So that’s my rant on Jay Bruce. He’s good, he’s real, he has pedigree, the tools to be a successful Major Leaguer. Is he going to undergo some growing pains? You bet. If I had Bruce, in a non-keeper league, I would keep him around based purely on potential. If somebody is foolish to offer me Cole Hamels, though, I would hit the accept button in record time!

At this point, I must mention that I will not submit an article next week as I will be on vacation in good old Seattle, WA. The highlight of the trip will definitely be visiting gorgeous Safeco Field. Too bad the Mariners are out of town, but the way they’ve been playing, they might as well move to Oklahoma with the Supersonics. Until then, you can catch me at Yahoo! Answers until June 17 and you should consider yourself lucky if you receive my help.

As written by,

Felipe Melecio
Currently Listening To: Red I Flight, “Of Myth and Men”
Looking Forward To: Trip to beautiful Seattle, WA
Really Enjoying: Euro2008 (Go Spain!)

2008 Preseason Fantasy Football Team Previews: Atlanta Falcons

2008-06-12T21:54:00.000-07:00

NFC South (Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

Atlanta Falcons Fantasy Preview:

Last season the Falcons were a fantasy football nightmare. They were bad on offense. They were bad on defense. Their quarterbacking was suspect at best, thanks to the incarceration of Michael Vick. Their offensive line was offensive. Their coach quit. Just terrible. If there was one bright spot, it was the emergence of Roddy White at receiver. A new GM showed the door to many of the holdover "stars" on the team: RB Warrick Dunn, QB Byron Leftwich, TE Alge Crumpler and CB DeAngelo Hall . . . all gone. Brought in to change the direction of the team were RB Michael Turner (San Diego), K Jason Elam (Denver) and #3 overall draft pick QB Matt Ryan (Boston College). Only time will tell if or when these guys can turn the fortunes of the franchise around. There are a LOT of questions surrounding this team . . . again. Can Matt Ryan or holdover Chris Redman carry this team this season, and take advantage of another potential breakout season by talented WR Roddy White? Can Michael Turner shoulder the load and be effective behind that offensive line? Will they ever get Jerious Norwood the ball more? Can they replace Crumpler's production at TE? Will the defense stop anyone? You might want to temper your expectations from this team with all these questions yet to be answered.

Once again, the defense wasn't very good. Chances are, it won't be very good again this season, and could spend a LOT of time on the field. Stay away.

Matt Ryan was drafted #3 overall to be the new offensive savior of this franchise. It remains to be seen if he can, in fact, make everyone in Atlanta forget about the Mike Vick era. He has some skills, but I wasn't too impressed with him in college, and wouldn't be surprised if Chris Redman takes the majority of the snaps this year. Still, Ryan could turn into a good dynasty choice. Unfortunately, I don't see him as more than a bye week fill-in this year.

Fantasy Surprise for 2008: Michael Turner, RB

I'm sold. Even though he's an obvious choice, he's also the safest choice given the state of the offense and the commitment that was made to him. Turner has the size and speed to be a great #2 RB, and should be the focal point of the offense. There will again be struggles at QB, but hopefully there will be enough decent play to keep defenses from keying on Turner. WR Roddy White should help keep teams honest, and Turner should have a breakout fantasy season in his first opportunity to be a feature back. Grab him in Round 3 or 4, and you'll be happy you did.

Fantasy Disappointment for 2008: Matt Ryan, QB

Can anyone be a disappointment on a team that no one expects anything from? Maybe not, but I think some people will over value Ryan because he was a high draft pick. Most rookie QBs struggle coming out of the gate, and Ryan should be no different. Temper your expectations greatly for this guy, who sort of reminds me of David Carr coming out of college.

Best Fantasy Draft Value for 2008: Chris Redman, QB

I know Matt Ryan was a high draft pick. I know a lot of money was invested in him. I also know that throwing QBs to the wolves isn't the best way to get a good return on your investment. In a perfect situation, Chris Redman would play most of the season and give Ryan a chance to learn the ropes before he starts running for his life. Redman did a decent job of getting the ball to Roddy White last year, and with a decent running game to fall back on, could surprise this year. He could be a good backup QB this year, and may even have a few surprisingly good games. He'll be dirt cheap in any draft.

Up Next: Carolina Panthers

2008 Preseason Fantasy Football Team Previews: Arizona Cardinals

2008-06-07T20:37:00.001-07:00

NFC West (Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers, St. Louis Rams, Arizona Cardinals)

Arizona Cardinals Fantasy Preview:

The biggest fantasy football question hanging over this team in 2008 is: who will be the starting quarter back? Matt Leinart has been good in spots and dreadful in others, and after bowing out last year with another injury, Kurt Warner stepped in and ignited the offense. There are rumblings that even though Leinart is doing and saying all the right things to get ready to begin the season as the starter, the coaching staff may not think he's best suited for the job. That battle will play itself out in training camp, but it was obvious to most that Warner ran the offense better than Leinart did. If Leinart doesn't make a huge leap forward this year, he may be looking for a job elsewhere soon. Stud duo WRs Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin should once again be electric on the field, and if the offensive line can ever come together, it could be a good season for Edgerrin James. However, offensive line issues have been in Arizona for a while now, so banking on a great season from Edge is dicey. Tight end Leonard Pope started showing his promise last year, and should continue to improve.

The defense returns standout linebacker Karlos Dansby, defensive end Bertrand Berry, cornerback Antrel Rolle, but lost linebacker Calvin Pace to the NY Jets. I don't see much that stands out about this defense that was middle-of-the-road last year at best. They may be decent fill-ins or waiver wire material, but I don't see them improving much from last year.

The Cardinals picked up corner back Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie in the first round this year, and he has the skills to help this defense sooner than later, as does DE Calais Campbell (2nd rd). WR Early Doucet (3rd rd) is an intriguing prospect, but this year will be no better than Bryant Johnson's replacement as a #3 receiver. Leave him on the waiver wire.

Fantasy Surprise for 2008: Leonard Pope, TE

At 6'8", Pope is a huge red zone target, and he really came in his sophomore season last year. If this team finds itself throwing the ball as much as usual, or if injuries again creep into the wide receiving corps, Pope could find himself with another strong year. Remember, its much easier to find your tight end (esp. when he's 6'8") for dump offs when you're running for your life behind a sieve of an offensive line. Pope won't cost you much at all in drafts, and if you don't draft a TE until the later rounds, he's a good choice.

Fantasy Disappointment for 2008: Edgerrin James, RB

It would be easy to pick Matt Leinart, but don't forget about a declining Edgerrin James. The offensive line (and more times than not, it was truly offensive!) and age are catching up with James, and he doesn't hit the hole like he did in Indy. His draft value won't be what it was last year, but neither will his production. Buyer beware!

Best Fantasy Draft Value for 2008: Kurt Warner, QB

Warner has shown he knows how to move this offense, and how to utilize both Fitzgerald and Boldin well. If Leinart doesn't get his act together quickly, his short leash will be pulled and Warner should once again excel under center. He is a great late round gamble.

Next Up: Atlanta Falcons

2008 Preseason Fantasy Football Team Previews: St. Louis Rams

2008-06-07T19:23:00.000-07:00

NFC West (Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers, St. Louis Rams, Arizona Cardinals)

St. Louis Rams Fantasy Preview:

Remember when these guys were the "Greatest Show On Turf"? I know. Think harder. This team used to be such a boon for fantasy football talent, but that isn't necessarily the case anymore. Age started catching up to this team, and free agency, coaching turn over (where is Mike Martz when you need him?) and injuries have taken its toll on this team. Still, there is some hope. Stephen Jackson is still a top 5 running back in any format, and as long as he's around, there is hope. Let's just hope he stays healthy. If he does, he will be worthy of a high first round draft pick. Gone are Jeff Wilkins (retired) and Issac Bruce (released, now with the San Francisco 49ers). Marc Bulger SHOULD be ready to go after injuries forced him to miss time last year, and he will still have stud (though aging) wide receiver Torry Holt to throw to, as well as Randy McMichael at tight end, who should get more offensive attention this year. Drew Bennett has been promoted to #2 WR, so it remains to be seen if he is capable of filling Bruce's shoes. Newly acquired kicker Josh Brown should at least come close to his numbers from last year.

This defense spent much too much time on the field last year, but still has a few impact players in ILB Will Witherspoon, DE Leonard Little, and S Corey Chavous. The drafting of #2 overall pick Chris Long can only help, but this is a defense to leave on the waiver wire.

As mentioned above, DE Chris Long should have an immediate impact on the defense, but that may take a while to translate into strong IDP numbers or team defensive numbers. WR Donny Avery (2nd rd) is a small speedy receiver and seems destined for the slot. Neither is a good draft candidate this year.

Fantasy Surprise for 2008: Drew Bennett, WR

Its time for Bennett to put up or shut up. He has all the tools to make an impact on this team, and he has the confidence of the coaching staff (which is why they let Issac Bruce walk). Torry Holt is on the decline, and this offense desperately needs another receiver to return to the balance it once had and spread the field more for Stephen Jackson. I say this is the year he puts it all together and has a fantasy worthy performance.

Fantasy Disappointment for 2008: Brian Leonard, RB

A lot of people were high on Leonard coming out of college, and with good reason: he's a versatile runner who can do a lot of things with the ball in his hands. He was a good handcuff to Jackson last year, and made the most of his opportunities to start. Unfortunately, that role now belongs to Antonio Pittman, and Leonard will be relegated to mostly blocking duties. If you're looking to draft a handcuff for Jackson, don't make the mistake of taking Leonard.

Best Fantasy Draft Value for 2008: Marc Bulger, QB

Marc Bulger was having a great season before he was derailed by injuries last year. If Drew Bennett & Randy McMichael can pick up some offensive slack (and if Stephen Jackson stays healthy), Bulger should once again be a top producer. He should slide down draft boards based on his production last year, and is a good later round gamble to take with lots of upside.

Next Up: Arizona Cardinals

Fantasy Baseball Season Is 1/4 Over . . . Now What?

2008-06-04T00:32:00.000-07:00

You hear it constantly on Sports Shows/Baseball Broadcasts/ESPN, etc., etc., etc. (It's a long season!!!!!) This goes for all the different types of Fantasy Baseball (Although I favor Head to Head.)

Case #1: Your team is either in last place or near the bottom of your league's standings.

My strategies for baseball, as for any other season, is to divide the season into four quarters. I may have tanked the first quarter due to a poor draft, poor wavier pickups, poor trades, key injuries or all the above. It is not the time to dwell on past mistakes but to learn to avoid them in the next quarter. The immediate goal for the second quarter is to "right the ship!" Quantify where your strengths and weaknesses are. Review the wavier wire daily. Some of my best pickups in a given season come to me via another team's lack of patience with a player. How many teams have all ready dropped J. Giambi (NYY) and Robinson Cano (NYY) due to their poor season starts. On the other hand, you might have carried one or both of these players based upon the knowledge that soon they'll bust out of it (which they are currently doing!). If your roster has two or three players like the aforementioned, this very well could be the reason why you are so low in the standings. With increased productivity on their part you might rise in the standings just by maintaining the same roster that failed you for the first quarter of the season. A classic example of "Patience has it's virtue!" But in fantasy sports, patience of this type is very difficult. Other examples of players that could bust out in the seond quarter could be Prince Fielder (Milw), Roy Oswalt (Hous), Ken Griffey (Cinc), Carlos Beltran (Mets), the entire Seattle Mariner Roster, Frank Thomas (He ain't dead yet!), Joe Borowski (Cleve), and many many more.

Case #2: Your team is on or near the top of the league's standings.

In essence you review your roster in the same way as the lower ranked team but with a increased slant on your above average performing players. Ask yourself, can you expect them to maintain the same level of performance in the second quarter as they did in the first. Many teams fall in the standings because they fail to maintain their roster in the same way as the first quarter. Ask yourself, can Chipper Jones (Atl) maintain his current level of batting (+.400 Bat.Avg.) for the foreseeable future. Chances are there will be a drop off. A slight drop off might not have a negative effect upon your team's weekly performance. But a large drop off, which is mathematically more certain, might be the difference between victory and defeat. If the later occurs do you have a player or players who could carry the load? Usually a good defeat or two will force you to react (don't over react to a defeat!). This where the patience factor comes into play again. Review your weekly strengths and weaknesses. React when appropriate. (Example: Last week one of my Yahoo Fantasy Teams had a pitching staff that came in with a 1 win and 7 Loss weekly performance. Since I have a good deal of confidence in this staff, I didn't feel the need for any major roster moves. This week, Thur Friday, the same staff is 4 & 0 with a sub 2.00 ERA.) Thus don't destroy your roster that got you here due to one poor week.

Review:

Have patience with high performers.
Have a plan if someone drops off or is injured.
Review your league's transaction logs daily.
If you are in multiple leagues, identify players being picked up or dropped more frequently and check their availability in your league.
Remember, it's a long season!

OldJerseyman

Micro to Macro: Bizarro World Fantasy Baseball, More Pitching and SS Woes

2008-06-03T22:47:00.000-07:00

So I haven’t talked about my fantasy baseball team in awhile. Last time I discussed the topic, I was struggling to find a SS when Troy Tulowitzki went down with quad injury? Well the last two weeks, I’ve been working on the 1st Quarter Report Cards and I’m happy to announce that Chase Utley and Carlos Quentin made the first team, while Josh Hamilton made the second team (AND he’s on the cover of SI this week. Go read his remarkable story!). On the pitching side, Brandon Webb and George Sherrill made the cut.

Before I get to my club, I will like to talk about a Sports Illustrated magazine article I read last week and it reads like the last two articles that I wrote for this website. The article mentions that the MLB season is in this state of “Bizarroism” where up-is-down-and-down-is-up—or at least that’s my understanding of how Bizzaro World works in the Superman comics. I hate Superman though so.... but the point of the article was to sum this wacky season of MLB, which includes more parity, an emphasis on giving younger players a chance, and a style of baseball not seen since the 1980s. It’s an entertaining and must read for any baseball fan, both fantasy and non-fantasy leaguers alike.

In that same article, entitled The Bizarro Supermen (the article mainly talks about the Tampa Rays), they have the All-Bizarro Team written by Nate Silver from the highly respected baseball juggernaut that is BASEBALL PROSPECTUS. They categorize players who are having surprising starts to this season as either “Real” or “Fluke.” A quick rundown of the players are as follows:

LF, Carlos Quentin—We both AGREE that his season is for REAL, but for different reasons. Mr. Silver’s explanation of Quentin’s great start was because he finally has a full time spot in the big leagues. My reasoning behind his success was because of pedigree (he’s always been a highly touted prospect), a well-noted high on-base%, and because of a shoulder injury that he didn’t recuperate from—until now. Although playing time has something to do with it, Mr. Silver made it seem that that was the only reason why Quentin is doing great so far this season.

CF, Nate McLouth—WE BOTH AGREE THAT HE’S A FLUKE.

RF, Ryan Ludwick—Though I haven’t given Ludwick an evaluation on this website, I also agree with Mr. Silver’s final assessment that he too is a FLUKE.

3B, Blake DeWitt—DeWitt was available in my league and was putting numbers to replace Justin Upton from my DH slot. But just like Silver, I looked at his minor league numbers and came to the same conclusion that his hot start can be considered a FLUKE.

SS, Ryan Theriot—Mr. Silver slots “The Riot” on the FLUKE list. I will reluctantly agree with Silver, but on a fantasy team, Theriot will find ways to make it on a fantasy roster. Remember, I spoke highly of Theriot a couple of weeks ago and would’ve picked him up if he were available (instead of Felipe Lopez). His true position on a baseball team is that of a utility infielder, but hitting #2 on a potent Cubs’ offense and his approach at the plate won’t hurt you. For you Roto-leaguers, I think he can hit over .285-.290, score 80+ runs, and will steal 25+ stolen bases.

2B, Dan Uggla—I mentioned in my Hitters’ First Quarter Report that Uggla has the ability to be the second best 2B in fantasy baseball, but just like Silver, his strikeout rate is alarming. Silver sums it best by saying that Uggla “has too many holes in his swings.” Nevertheless, based on his power numbers, we both feel Uggla is the REAL deal.

1B, Connor Jackson—We both agree that he’s for REAL.

C, Mike Napoli—Silver believes that Napoli’s power numbers are for REAL, but I think the low batting average (and based on his history, it will be difficult for him to get it higher than .250), his KO rate (strikes out roughly every 3 at-bats), and the fact that backup Angels’ catcher, Jeff Mathis already has 77 at-bats (to Napoli’s 103) and that leads me to conclude that he may not necessarily be a fluke, but he is not the best option at catcher for your fantasy team.

RP, Brian Wilson—Silver has him as a FLUKE because Wilson was saving 71% of the Giants’ victories. I believe, however, that the reason that Wilson is a major FLUKE is because his WHIP is at 1.64. No other RP with 10+ saves has a WHIP that high, except for Jason Isringhausen (1.78) and Eric Gagne (2.02) and they both eventually lost their jobs as closers (almost at the same time, by the way. Both are now on the DL). The 10+ K/9 rate is great, but only Frankie Rodriguez has a higher walk rate than Wilson and the H/9 rate is embarrassing with only the aforementioned Izzie and Gagne having rates higher than Wilson. At this rate, Wilson might end up losing the closer’s role soon (except that the Giants don’t have anybody else that can take the spot away from Wilson).

SP, Edinson Volquez—Silver thinks he’s for REAL. It seems that everybody in this world thinks Volquez is having the greatest breakout party since the i-Phone first became readily available. I’m not questioning the kid’s talent. He certainly has the goods and the right numbers to prove it. However, as I mentioned last week, until the walks go down, I’d be more cautious on Volquez’s hot start. Already, the BB/9 rate has slightly increased, but his H/9 has gone up slightly as well. I think he’s off to a FLUKY start and we’ve been burned by former Texas Rangers’ pitching prospects before (Volquez being an ex-Rangers’ prospect). Look for him to finish with a 1.30+ WHIP. The strikeouts will definitely be there, but the walks are insane for a pitcher who’s supposed to be part of the elite in terms of fantasy pitchers.

Ok, now on to my team. Felipe Lopez was not the SS I was hoping for. So far in the month of May, Lopez hit .226 with a pathetic .599 OPS. Meanwhile, teammate Cristian Guzman, who was available for me in early May, has been the second best hitting SS in our league for the month of May. Doh! Clint Barmes, a guy who I refused to pickup, ended up hitting .391 with a 1.077 OPS. Double Doh!!! All the warning signs were there, but I was blinded by Lopez’s hot streak in April. In my defense, the list of SS available was pretty thin after that first week in May. You guys saw the list in early May, it was very demoralizing. However, since Lopez is deciding to give every Felipe in this world a bad name, I had no choice but to succumb to the fact that I will be playing musical chairs at SS, either until Tulowitzki proves he’s back to his 2007 form or for the rest of the season (which defeats the purpose of keeping Tulowitzki for the 2008 campaign, geez!). There’s plenty of underachieving SS available in my free agent pool and for the next scoring period, Orlando Cabrera gets the first crack to see if he can be a formidable replacement on my roster at short (hey, a guy who is concern about his stats as much as I am is always a good sign! Think Rickey Davis when he was trying to achieve his first triple-double), which is proving to be a curse-filled position for me.

So we turn from my season-long SS saga to the fall of Nick Swisher who was my first pick in this year’s draft (a second rounder as I traded away my 2008 first round pick. Long story). Swisher was a great pick at that time because he qualified at multiple positions. It was a luxury to have a guy who had you covered in 2 OF positions and at 1B as I can concentrate on literally picking the best player available, regardless of position in subsequent rounds. Unfortunately, Swisher was nothing more than dead weight on my club. Final numbers for Swish went like this: .206 BA, .648 OPS, on pace to barely hit over 10+ homers for this season (when he was projected to hit 33), and was having career lows in Iso Power, and in the SECA categories. Worst of all, his Base Hits per Balls in Play (H/BIP) (look all the way to the bottom of this article for explanation of this stat) was at 28%. Combine that with a 3.24 RC/27 and you can’t even conclude that Swisher is just plain unlucky this early in this season, but that he might really be this bad! This is Felipe Lopez bad here! Swisher was replaced by Shane Victorino, who won’t hit for power, but at least he’s more consistent than Swisher at this point and is a threat for stolen bases, already on pace to steal 30. The on-base% is low for my taste, but Juan Pierre who is notoriously known for his low on-base% has proven to be a solid option in the OF for both H2H and ROTO leagues alike as his speed has been his meal ticket to fantasy rosters for years now. Also, you can’t ignore the fact that Victorino, over the last 21 days of play has been the second best CF in our league, with only Josh Hamilton in his way for first. Victorino was also a player that I coveted before the draft and now I finally have room for him in my roster. Here’s hoping he’s a better selection than Felipe Lopez.

I finally had to rid myself of Fausto Carmona. The inconsistency, the low K/9 rate, the walks and finally the hip injury was just too much to overcome for me. His replacement came down to Bronson Arroyo, Glen Perkins, and Brandon Backe—at the beginning of the 9th week in play. I chose Backe, but a new wildcard has entered the mix in Kevin Slowey who is only owned in 33% of Sportsline’s fantasy leagues and only a meager 1.2% at ESPN. He will more than likely be a two-start pitcher in fantasy week #10 and is worth the flier in all fantasy leagues right now. As far as the former three pitchers mentioned, keep a close eye on all of them. Arroyo might still be available in a lot of leagues and has a history of moderate success and has pitched better in his past three starts. Perkins, along with Slowey, and former Twin Matt Garza, has been a top prospect in the organization and was pitching well before he got a heavy dose of Yankee bats this week. And Backe was hyped in the off season as a pitcher with medium risk, medium reward late round selection. Since his World Series debut, he has started only 13 games in the past two seasons and when he does start, he has an extreme home-road splits that might be worth a spot start in daily leagues when he does indeed have a home game to pitch on a given week. The following table shows what these four pitchers have done in their last three starts (GdAO is Groundouts to Air Outs ratio):

INN Kd9 BBd9 Hd9 GdAO ERA WHIP BAA
Backe, Brandon SP HOU 18.7/7.2/1.0 /8.2/ 0.8 /4.34/1.02/0.239
Arroyo, Bronson SP CIN 17.3/9.4/4.2/9.9 /0.9/ 3.12/1.56/0.271
Perkins, Glen RP MIN 18.0/3.5/2.0/11.5/0.6/4.00/1.50/0.315
Slowey, Kevin SP MIN 20.7/5.7/1.7/7.4 /1/1.74/1.02/0.227

Arroyo’s old K/9 rate was back to familiar territory but the walks are unbearable and he is prone to getting lit up based on his H/9. However, his three-year average is a lot lower than the average shown for his last three starts. If you have the roster spot, pick him up now. Continue to monitor Perkins and roll the dice with Slowey for the upcoming week.

The following pitchers are owned in less than 50% of baseball leagues at Sportsline or ESPN:
Dan Wheeler—With Troy Percival shelved on the DL for the Tampa Rays, Wheeler is the leading candidate to close games on an interim basis.
Jake Westbrook—As Carmona goes on the DL, Westbrook becomes Cleveland’s #3 starting pitcher. A possible 2-start pitcher in Week 10.
Pedro Martinez—Is expected to make his first start since coming off the DL June 3 against San Francisco.
Jason Bergmann—A fantasy dark horse in the off season (and being drafted by yours truly), Bergmann was sent down to the minors after struggling in his first three starts (I, in turn, dropped him from my roster), and after finding himself in the minors, has been lights out for the Washington Nationals (I picked him up in fantasy week 8, but have yet to start him though). He is more than likely available in your league. Forget the fact that he pitches for a horrible team, a good pitcher, is a good pitcher and this guy is a good pitcher.
Justin Masterson—As far as MLB transactions go, when a team calls up one of their top pitching prospects, fans and fantasy leaguers alike are highly excited and filled with anticipation to see if they can live up to the hype. Dice-K is on the DL and Masterson is rumored to take his turn in the rotation. In the off season, Sportsline mentioned that he doesn’t strikeout a lot of batters, but he induces a lot of ground outs. Well, in 2007, his K/9 rate was at a respectable 6.7. This minor league season, it’s at a whopping 8.9! Not bad for a groundball pitcher, huh? One big concern is that he also gives up a lot of walks. The BB/9 rate is almost at 3.5 in ’08 and in his two starts for the BoSox this season, his rate is at 5 already. He is a possible two-start pitcher for week 10. If you believe in the hype, go and grab him while he’s still available because odds are, he’s going by fast.

As written by,

Felipe Melecio
Currently Listening To: Against Me! “As the Eternal Cowboy”
Currently Playing: TimeSplitters: Future Perfect
Currently Digging: Metalocalypse: Season 1

2008 Preseason Fantasy Football Team Previews: San Francisco 49ers

2008-05-31T11:23:00.001-07:00

NFC West (Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers, St. Louis Rams, Arizona Cardinals)

San Francisco 49ers Fantasy Preview:

This was a team chock full of disappointment last year. Pick a fantasy football player . . . any fantasy football player, and there was disappointment to share. Alex Smith? check. Frank Gore? check. Darrell Jackson? check. Vernon Davis? check. Ashley Lelie? ouch. Odds are if you had to rely on 49ers last year, you didn't do very well. Therefore, Mike Nolan and the 49ers brass made some major changes. Adios Darrell Jackson. So long Trend Dilfer. Please welcome Mike Martz to run the new and (hopefully) improved offense (and maybe make something fantasy relevant out of Alex Smith). Enter new wide receivers Bryant Johnson (from Arizona) and Issac Bruce (from St. Louis), new (backup) running back DeShaun Foster (from Carolina), and new return man Allen Rossum (from Pittsburgh). If these guys can gel with the incumbents, and Martz can get the most out of them, then this team could be fantasy relevant again. That's a lot of ifs, though. Still, we saw what Martz did with a Detroit team that arguably had less talent to work with, especially at QB, so that at least bodes well for Alex Smith. This could also be the opportunity Bryant Johnson has needed to become fantasy relevant.

The defense was good, but not great last year (and even that is debatable). However, the really bright spot was rookie Patrick Willis, who was simply amazing at inside linebacker. The team is looking to add another player to give him some assistance on the inside, such as Takeo Spikes. The team also signed DE Justin Smith (from Cincinnati) to give them an impact pass rusher (because, he was just soooo good in Cincinnati, right? Still wondering why they gave HIM so much money since he was a colossal bust in Cinci). Avoid this defense in your draft.

The 49ers didn't draft anyone who will make a fantasy impact this year.

Fantasy Surprise for 2008: Bryant Johnson, WR

Johnson was signed away from Arizona to be the team's new #1 WR (replacing Darrell Jackson). Bryant has the size and speed to be a really good #2 WR on your fantasy team, and could really excel in Mike Martz's system. If Alex Smith can do a Jon Kitna impersonation, Bryant's fantasy value will soar in 2008.

Fantasy Disappointment for 2008: Frank Gore, RB

I'm still not sold on Gore. He's going to again be drafted in the mid to early first round, and he does have great skills. However, he's always been injury prone (even in college, which is why his draft stock fell), and he's a complainer. He could have a bounce back year, but the offense won't be built entirely around him, and I wonder if his touches will be reduced by both the addition of DeShaun Foster and the system of Mike Martz. I think he'll be good, but not worthy of his lofty draft status, which means he will again be a disappointment.

Best Fantasy Draft Value for 2008: Vernon Davis, TE

Davis has a disappointing year last year. However, he (like Bryant Johnson) stands to benefit most from the new Mike Martz system. He could really blossom this year, as he has the skills to be a great receiving tight end in this league (like Antonio Gates and Jason Witten). I can see him being a great value pick in the mid to late rounds, and should finish as a top 5 TE.

Next Up: St. Louis Rams

2008 Preseason Fantasy Football Team Previews: Seattle Seahawks

2008-05-28T23:11:00.000-07:00

For the next 32 straight days, I'll be going through the entire NFL and previewing each team from a fantasy perspective. Let's face it: what those of us who are really (and I mean REALLY) serious about our fantasy football championships want to know is who we can start keeping tabs on to make the most out of our fantasy football draft (which is right around the corner).

Many of us are ready for some FOOTBALL! (sorry . . . couldn't help myself; the NFL royalty fee is in the mail). So, here's a stroll down NFL fantasy lane to see what we can expect from each team this season.

NFC West (Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers, St. Louis Rams, Arizona Cardinals)

Seattle Seahawks Fantasy Preview:

The biggest thing you will notice this year is the absence of Shawn Alexander. Just a few years ago, this guy was your NFL MVP. A few offensive line defections, a bad foot injury, and too many carries have led Mr. Alexander to the scrap heap today, as he was released in the offseason and replaced with (hold your breath here) Julius Jones from the Dallas Cowboys and TJ Duckett from Detroit. With a retooled offensive line and a new line coach, the Seahawks look to completely rework their running game. That could be interesting. This looks like it could be yet another running back by committee, with Maurice Morris still in the mix. Matt Hasselbeck should once again be a top 10 QB, and hopefully this will be the year that Deion Branch stays healthy for the entire year. With the loss of DJ Hackett, this could also be the opportunity Nate Burleson needs to step up and be a key fantasy contributor. Also, gone is long time fantasy mainstay kicker Josh Brown, who was replaced by Olindo Mare from New Orleans.

The defense again looks solid after returning standout linebackers Lofa Tatupu and Julian Peterson, and cornerback Marcus Trufant. This defense could be a value pick late in your fantasy football draft.

There were no rookies drafted that should make much of a fantasy impact this year, although John Carlson (TE, Notre Dame 6'6", 255lbs, 2nd rd pick) could be a good one down the road.

Fantasy Surprise for 2008: Julius Jones, RB

If he gets enough carries and the revamped offensive line comes together, he could have a breakout season and be a strong #2 RB. However, when he got the chance in Dallas last year to show what he could do, he was pretty underwhelming even behind a good offensive line. Still, if he is ever going to show that he has what it takes to carry a team's running game, this is the year.

Fantasy Disappointment for 2008: Olindo Mare, K

I had high hopes for Mare in the New Orleans offense last year, but not only did the offense not meet its 2006-2007 level of production, Olindo Mare just wasn't very good. Maybe a change of scenery will help this year, but I think he's on the downside of his career, and kicking conditions don't get much better than they were in New Orleans.

Best Fantasy Draft Value for 2008: Matt Hasselbeck, QB

Matt Hasselbeck is consistently in the top 10 in production each year, but he is always a mid round draft pick or lower. You could do much worse than Hasselbeck as your #1 QB if you don't snag Peyton Manning or Tom Brady, and the draft value he carries will allow you to load up on top tier wide receivers or running backs.

Tomorrow: San Francisco 49ers

Fantasy Baseball: First Quarter Report Card Part II

2008-05-22T14:33:00.000-07:00

The following is a list of pitchers who passed the first quarter (or the first six weeks) of the MLB season with flying colors. Their performances were based on the point-value system of this league, and are based on the stats that were accumulated after all of the 05/11/08 games had ended. For a list of stats and their meanings, click here.

You will be reading about the Top 7 pitchers after six weeks of the season. I will summarize their outstanding start and will also determine what to expect in the second quarter of play.

1. Brandon Webb—WHAT TO LIKE? Webb is 8-0 with a WHIP of exactly 1 (I’m not even going to bother with decimal points!), a batting average against of .197, and an ERC of 1.85.
WHAT NOT TO LIKE? A 6.59 K/9 is just a little low for my regular standards (by the way, it is my personal opinion that starting pitchers should be able to meet the following criteria: 7.5+ K9 and golf scores from the following: 3.5 BB/9, 8.5 H/9, and a WHIP of under 1.30. If these pitchers don’t meet most, if not all of the criteria, then there’s no use for them in the fantasy world). Not only does Webb not meet my K/9 standard (however, he is my fantasy ace. How’s that for a paradox?), but his rate is dragging behind his rate from last season, from his 3-year average, and even his career mark. This drop in the rate could be considered a slight concern as Webb’s strikeout totals have been somewhat inconsistent for most of his career.
ANALYSIS: Webb is having a career year in terms of ERA and WHIP. He is on pace to meet his 3-year average in Innings Pitched, strikeouts, and walks allowed. The one category in question is the hits allowed, which he’s on pace to finish at 169. He’s not going to shut down opposing batters every single game. He’s at 6.43 H/9 right now, but his 3-year average is around 8.40. Couple that with his low K/9 and you have a guy who can finish the season giving up 215 hits. He’s just not dominant enough to shut down opponents and as a sinkerball pitcher; he relies on hitters laying some wood on the ball. Sometimes, those balls put in play fall in for singles. Other than that, Webb is as consistent as you can get in the game and if you look up the word ACE in the dictionary, his picture would appear under the definition.

2. Cliff Lee—WHAT TO LIKE? Where to start is the better question. His ERC is at .54, a .60 WHIP, 7.86 K/9, and a 19.5 K/BB ratio! Wow, just wow!
WHAT NOT TO LIKE? See stats above. Those numbers are so ridiculous, they’re almost alien. I’m not going to accuse the guy of steroid use, but those Kurt Warner conspiracy theorists should take a look at this guy as well (for those who don’t know, Gregg Easterbrook, one of my favorite columnists and a big influence in my writing had a running gag, nay, a conviction, that former NFL MVP QB, Kurt Warner was indeed an alien from another planet, playing football in human form. He probably wasn’t the only one with that thought, but he did have his own column). Warner—err Lee, has a BIPA of .202. Now you can take that in two ways: Lee is pitching so great, that he’s absolutely unhittable and is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Or you can be like me and believe that all pitchers eventually hit the BIPA norm of .300 sooner or later and that his numbers are going to skyrocket (in the wrong way) when hitters start figuring out what he’s doing differently this year, as opposed to years past.
ANALYSIS: See above. Lee was described to start the 2008 season as having “a trend of an increasing WHIP with a decreasing strikeout rate.” I do believe that is still true of this guy. You can look at his career numbers and judge for yourself, but his H/9 in the last three years is at 9.5 so he is not invincible. He should not be your team’s ace. He has the ability to be a good pitcher, but not someone you want carrying your fantasy pitching staff. You’re in a world of hurt if you do.

3. Ervin Santana—WHAT TO LIKE? .97 WHIP, 7.41 K/9, 1.97 ERC. He has shown, heretofore, that his September performance from last season was no fluke.
WHAT NOT TO LIKE? Has a history of control problems and the inability to pitch on the road. His 3-year average WHIP is a concern.
ANALYSIS: It’s hard to tell with Santana because he is so young at 25 and it looks like his numbers from the first three years are not good indicators as to how he will do this season simply because he’s not the same pitcher or person from the last three years. He is very similar to Lee in the fact that both were demoted to the minors last season. The difference between him and Lee is that Lee is a veteran pitcher and we know what to expect from him. Santana still has a lot of untapped potential. The demotion from last season really did wonders for him and it has shown in his performance thus far. I’ll admit, I’m puzzled, but I do know that the .97 WHIP is a fluke, but more evidence from this year will be needed to make a complete analysis on this guy. Keep monitoring him and continue to use him as long as he’s pitching this well. He’s not an ace though and is not to be trusted with that role—yet.

4. Tim Lincecum—WHAT TO LIKE? 9.48 K/9 (Kerry Wood anyone?), 3.19 ERC, 5-1 pitching for the lowly Giants
WHAT NOT TO LIKE? That 1.25 WHIP is making me queasy and uncomfortable as his track record shows that he sometimes loses control of his stuff (Kerry Wood anyone?). His ERA is at 1.61. The ERC is still respectable, but something is just not adding up and the only conclusion I can come up is that his walks are going to drive you Lincecum owners completely crazy. Last season, his BB/9 was at exactly 4, he was projected by sportsline.com to hit the walk rate at 3.70+ and even if he finishes at 193 Innings Pitched (the average of the “on pace” and “projected” total of innings pitched), he’s still on pace to finish with a 3.5+BB/9. It is a major concern and Lincecum owners might want to trade him while his stock is still high. Keeper league owners might, MIGHT want to do the same as well, but the potential is there for Lincecum to be a dominant pitcher in the bigs.
ANALYSIS: As mentioned, Lincecum reminds me a lot Kerry Wood, except that Wood, in his best years, would be near unhittable. Lincecum’s H/9 is already at 8+ to start the season. Add to the fact that he can give up walks in bunches and fantasy baseball owners are in for a real roller coaster of a season. However, all hope is not lost for the season as the BIPA is already at .300, which means that there’s a good chance that he might finish the season with these numbers. The ERA will rise, but it won’t rise to ridiculous proportions. The WHIP should hover around 1.30 throughout the season. There’s still a good chance he might finish with a winning record just because he is so talented, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he hits the .500 mark before the season ends. If you have the patience and immense pitching depth, Lincecum’s strikeouts alone should make him a good choice to start every week. You have been warned about the walks, nevertheless.

5. Roy Halladay—WHAT TO LIKE? 1.03 WHIP, 2.48 ERC, 4 CG!
WHAT NOT TO LIKE? Just like Webb, his K/9 is below 7. Halladay’s current 6.71 K/9 is actually above his 3-year average. The H/9 is also below his 3-year average, but he was projected to finish above the dreaded 8.5 based on his 8.6 H/9 from the past three years. Also has a disappointing 3-5 record pitching for the offensively anemic Toronto Blue Jays by 05/11/08.
ANALYSIS: Yes, Halladay is a very hittable pitcher! Halladay, however, pitches near perfect as he might scatter hits, but NOBODY is getting on base with a cheap walk. He has the ability to finish the season with a 1.5 BB/9! There is this thought among fantasy experts that pitchers who can’t get the K/9 between 7-7.5 are vulnerable to give up a lot of hits (as Halladay has shown already, unfortunately) because they’re not going to overpower hitters, meaning they’re going to give up a lot of earned runs and so rises the ERA. These pitchers have to be near perfect to be effective in this fantasy world of ours that we live. Even though Halladay has been categorized in that class of pitchers who can be described by that previous statement, Halladay is proving he’s not Brian Bannister. No, Halladay is a horse who will eat up a lot of innings and not give up walks at an alarming rate. He has shown he can pitch this way for years now so don’t worry about the lack of wins. They will come as they have before, and the low WHIP and ERA are good indicators that they will come in bunches like in years past.

6. Jake Peavey—WHAT TO LIKE? 8.56 K/9, 2.47 ERA; 1.08 WHIP
WHAT NOT TO LIKE? The fact that he pitches for the San Diego Padres. Oh, and that pesky sore elbow on the pitching arm. Yeah, that’s a big red flag if I ever saw one.
ANALYSIS: Peavy’s numbers were incredible as always and was off to a great start with the lowly Padres. The latest report showed no structural damage on his elbow after he had gone through an MRI. No timetable has been set for his comeback. It is a heavy blow for Peavy owners as pitchers like these don’t grow on trees. Don’t drop him just yet, but keep a very keen eye on his situation.

7. Chien-Ming Wang—WHAT TO LIKE? 1.13 WHIP, 2.39 ERC; 6-1 RECORD.
WHAT NOT TO LIKE? He has the lowest strikeout rate among the top 7 at 6.23, however, he’s exceeding his projections and his K/9 from the last two seasons. Playing for a struggling Yankees team might affect his wins total, but was a healthy 6-1 by the end of the first quarter.
ANALYSIS: Wang is pitching very well thus far, but let’s not forget about his past. He usually gets a WHIP at about 1.25-1.30. Not bad, but that certainly doesn’t put you in the elite. Other pitchers who fall within this WHIP rate range are Braden Looper (ordinary 2:1 BB/K rate and the hit rate is well above 9+), Dana Eveland (.500 pitcher with a slightly higher K/9 ratio and sometimes has issues with control with a BB/9 of 3.80), and Mark Hendrickson (a ridiculously low K/9 of 3.75 and the H/9 is at 8.62). Those pitchers are top 60, but nowhere near the elite status that Wang is in, but all three have some similar weaknesses as Wang. Wang will give up hits and it’s doubtful he can keep his K/9 this high. What differentiates Wang from the Loopers of the fantasy world is that he does pitch for the Yankees, who might be struggling now, but by the end of the year, they should be one of the top teams in terms of W-L record AND he maintains the BB/9 rate at a very low rate (not as low as Halladay though). Wang must keep pitching this way in order to stay at the top with the elite.

THE NEXT 7

8. Jonathan Papelbon—THE GOOD: 11 Saves, .91 WHIP, 11.09 K/9, 1.75 ERC
THE BAD: He’s giving up a lot more hits than usual.
ANALYSIS: Let’s face it, he’s the best reliever in baseball, playing with arguably the best team in baseball. He’s simply the best.

9. Francisco Rodriguez—THE GOOD: 14 saves, a 2.64 ERC, and a H/9 of 6.14
THE BAD: A ridiculously low 6.14 (his 3-year average is at 12.07!) and a walk rate of 5.52 (3-year average of 4.02), and a high WHIP for a closer of 1.30 (1.15 is his 3-year average).
ANALYSIS: The ERA is the highest its been since 2003 and he’s on pace to not reach 90 K’s for the first time in his career, but he’s on pace to meet his projected goals in the walks, hits, and saves department and his WHIP from 2007 was at 1.25 and he’s capable of lowering the WHIP before the year is over. A solid reliever.

10. Carlos Zambrano—THE GOOD: 1.11 WHIP, 5-1 RECORD, 1.80 ERA
THE BAD: ERC is at 2.63 (still good, but almost a run higher than his actual ERA), K/9 is at 6.22 (3-year average is above 8+).
ANALYSIS: WHIP is at its lowest since 2005, but he’s on pace to not strikeout 170+ since 2003. Perhaps less strikeouts means less pitches thrown per game, which equals more durability. At any rate, pitching for the Chicago Cubs will almost guarantee he finishes with 15+ wins. A questionable ace, but definitely a stud.

11. George Sherrill—THE GOOD: 13 saves, 7.16 K/9, 3.42 ERC, 6.06 H/9 (lowest among the BIG FOUR relievers, with Joe Nathan being the other top save getter on the list).
THE BAD: 1.29 WHIP, which is a product of a 5.51 BB/9. The next RP with a similar WHIP is Jose Valverde who has a higher K/9 rate and a lower BB/9 than Sherrill gives up a lot of hits (the most hittable RP in the top 30 list based on his 8.84 H/9).
ANALYSIS: The reason Sherrill is racking up the saves is because the Orioles are winning and winning a lot of close games. The walk rate is unacceptably high even if its similar to K-Rod—Sherrill is not K-Rod! We don’t know if the O’s can keep winning at this rate, but so far it’s all good. Continue to ride the Sherrill hot streak, nay trade Sherrill while his value is this high.

12. Edinson Volquez—THE GOOD: 11.06 K/9, 1.23 WHIP, 1.06 ERA, 5-1 RECORD, 5.95 H/9
THE BAD: When I saw he only had a 2.17 K/BB ratio, I was puzzled as to why it was so low. Then I saw his BB/9 ratio and almost fainted. It’s at 5+! Worse, his ERC is at 2.53.
ANALYSIS: Volquez has become a national favorite among fantasy and non-fantasy fans of baseball. However, as you can see from the ridiculously high walk rate, he’s not as good as his ERA will indicate (that’s why ERA is no longer a viable way to measure a pitcher’s performance in fantasy—oddly enough, it is still used as THE stat to measure pitching performance in many roto leagues. And that is why I don’t like playing in roto-leagues), and unless he starts showing some control out there, I can’t buy the fact that he is a future ace for fantasy owners by 2010 (which would be the start of his third year as a full time starting pitcher). I firmly believe that as soon as hitters start figuring out this kid’s fastball, that hit rate will go up and all those guys Volquez is walking will finally come home. WHERE’S THAT PRECIOUS LOW ERA NOW? It will be up there matching his BB/9 at 5.00+.

13. Joe Nathan—THE GOOD: 12 saves, 1.14 WHIP, 9 K/9, 1.93 ERA
THE BAD: The ERC is at 2.80, 8.36 H/9 is a concern
ANALYSIS: The ERA will find its way to get over 2-2.10. As far as walks and hits go, he’s on pace to meet his 2008 projections. The K/9 rate is low, but he’s on pace to finish with his lowest K-total since becoming the Twins’ closer. Regardless, Nathan is a legit closer and a cornerstone in any fantasy pitching staff.

14. Aaron Cook—THE GOOD: 1.13 WHIP, 2.26 ERA, 6-1 RECORD
THE BAD: A 3.72 K/9 rate, .230 BIPA
ANALYSIS: It’s seems that every year, we get a really good stretch from Aaron Cook before the low K/9 rate catches up to him and drags him down the rest of the season. I have seen flashes from Cook like this before, but facts is facts, when a pitcher can’t strikeout batters, he has to be near perfect to eat up innings and be effective. Obviously, Cook is pitching as best he can as shown on the WHIP. However, the fact that the BIPA is only at .230 tells me that his great start to the season has been all luck and low skill. I don’t trust him and you should trust him either. Again, ride him out until its time for him to get dropped again or if you yourself are lucky enough, trade him at peak value and make out like a thief.

That ends Part II of this 2-part series. Last week, we talked about the top hitters who had the best first quarter of the season. This time, we talked about the pitchers. Of the 14, I say at least seven are the real deal, the other half are flukes and there’s a good chance that they might not show up on this list for the 2nd quarter. PLAY BALL!

Fantasy Baseball: First Quarter Report Card Part I

2008-05-13T21:43:00.000-07:00

By Felipe Melecio

There are approximately 24 weeks in a fantasy baseball season. Approximate because not all leagues use up all 26 weeks of the season to come to a conclusion as to who they’re league champion is by the time October comes. Using simple arithmetic (4 weeks in a month; multiply by 6 months (6X4=24 weeks!), we can clearly see that a quarter of the season (six weeks already!) are up. I thought I’d take the liberty to give you a 1st quarter report of who the best ballplayers are as of May 12, 2008. The top two ballplayers at each hitting position were determined based on the point values that are used in this league, which if you have read last week’s article, you would know that it is a head-2-head, keeper league that I participate in. So let’s look at the players who passed the 1st quarter of the season with flying colors.

(For a statistics glossary, click here).

CATCHERS

First Team: BRIAN MCCAN-- .928 OPS; 7.24 RC/27; .366 SECA
Second Team: GEOVANY SOTO-- 1.003 OPS; 9.24 RC/27; .455 SECA
Analysis: Soto has the better numbers, but what gives the slight edge to McCann is that Soto has already struck out 32 TIMES! Mind you, Soto is still a rookie catcher and is still getting used to MLB pitching. Other than that, Soto has been everything a Cub fan (including yours truly) could ever want at that position. Soto batting avg will probably dip down to .275 and expect an on-base% of .350. Other than that, he’s shaping up to be a top 5 catcher and possibly a valuable commodity in keeper leagues. McCann, unlike Soto, is a 24 year-old veteran catcher and you should already know what type of player he is. He is also a top 5 catcher (along with Joe Mauer, Russell Martin, and Victor Martinez), and should post up relatively similar numbers as Soto, with McCann’s batting avg hovering around .285-.290. All in all, great start by both these players.

FIRST BASE
1st: LANCE BERKMAN—1.235 OPS; 12HRs, 36RBIs; 13.09 RC/27
2nd: ALBERT PUJOLS—1.003 OPS; 2.92 BB/K; 11.26 RC/27
Analysis: Berkman leads all qualified hitters in OPS right now and is having another MVP-type year, ‘nuff said. Pujols leads all qualified hitters with a walk/strikeout ratio of almost 3! No other MLB hitter comes close to that number. Looks like that pesky elbow isn’t affecting Fat Albert’s ability to get on base, huh? Once again, ‘nuff said!

SECOND BASE
1st: CHASE UTLEY—1.089 OPS; 10.09 RC/27; 13HRs, 28RBIs
2nd: DAN UGGLA-- .977 OPS; .463 SECA; 11 HRs, 27RBIs
Analysis: The home run and RBI totals are pretty similar, but don’t let that fact deceive you from figuring out who the best 2B in the league is. It’s all about Utley, it is his world and he reigns supreme. Unlike Uggla, Utley finds ways to get on base and is not necessarily looking to hack the ball. He has more singles than Uggla (which leads to a higher batting avg. Take note you roto leaguers.), has scored 5 more runs than Uggla, and most importantly, is not wasting swings. Uggla has struck out an astonishing 39 TIMES already. He is on pace to KO about 170 times this year. Yikes! Despite the good stats for Uggla and he could arguably be the 2nd best 2B for the rest of the year, he is susceptible to long slumps just based on his alarming strikeout rate alone.

THIRD BASE
1st: CHIPPER JONES—1.161 OPS; 12.35 RC/27; .410 BA
2nd: KEVIN YOUKILIS--.996 OPS; .418 SECA; 8.73 RC/27
Analysis: I am a huge fan of Chipper Jones. Too bad for a good portion of his time he was on my keeper team; he was shelved on the DL. It’s a shame because Jones has always had the ability to terrorize opposing pitchers. Also, pay attention to the batting avg. He’s the only hitter batting over .400. However, as much as my heart believes he has the ability to hit .400 in a season, my head reminds me that he will probably hit around .300-.320, which isn’t shabby, but that also means that the OPS will dip anywhere between .970-.990, again those are great numbers but don’t expect Jones to carry your ball club all year long. He has to cool down sometimes, right? But then again, who would want him to? And everybody knows how I feel about Youkilis (and other fantasy leaguers would agree so this isn’t anything new so you BoSox fans, back off!), he’s annually the first-half MVP of any league, but by the time the second-half starts, his numbers begin to dip back to normal, which usually look like this: .285 BA; .385 on-base; .445 slugging%. Youkilis owners, enjoy it while it lasts.

SHORT STOP
1st: HANLEY RAMIREZ-- .985 OPS; 13 SB; .420 SECA
2nd:RAFAEL FURCAL—1.045 OPS; 5HRs!; 10.21 RC/27
Analysis: Ramirez is doing all he can to beat out the streaking Furcal for the title of best SS in fantasy leagues. Ramirez has the ability to steal 50 bases on any given year. Furcal’s high is 46 and has had trouble shaking off the injury bug (he already is down with a back problem). Furcal is motivated to play though as it is his contract year. Ramirez, just like his teammate Uggla, strikes out a lot already registering 28 early on in this season. Should be interesting to see if these two continue to go neck-in-neck for this title, but the smart money is on Ramirez as he is a young, elite talent, while Furcal is on the wrong side of 30.

The one common factor among the ten players mentioned is that all 10 players are in the top two in the OPS category in their respective position. Example, Furcal does actually lead all SS in OPS with a 1.045 mark. Ramirez is second in the position at .985. I hate to state the obvious, but anytime you want to fill out your roster, please, please, please always take into consideration the power of the OPS.

Next up is the OF. In my league, we split the OF position into three (LF, CF, RF). I’m aware that splitting the OF position like this is very rare in fantasy baseball, but that is the way I have listed the top OFs.

LEFT FIELD
1st: MATT HOLLIDAY--.945 OPS; 8.2 RC/27; .406 SECA
2nd:PAT BURRELL—1.042 OPS; 9HRs, 31RBIs; 9.70 RC/27
Analysis: Holliday is on a hitting holiday. We in the fantasy world have come to expect this type of production from him. He’s not even on pace to meet his 2008 projections and he’s still putting up numbers. That’s what they call talent. Pat Burrell, on the other hand, is a fantasy leaguer’s nuisance. His low batting average (career .259 hitter) and his high strikeout rate (he’ll fan anywhere between 130-160 times/year. He’s already on pace to K’out 140 times) makes him frustrating to own. He’s a slugger and you got him because of his run-producing ability. When he’s not hitting homeruns though, he’s probable to strikeout more times than not, usually prolonging his slumps. The reason he’s on a hot streak is because his OPS rate is above 1.000. Don’t, however, think that he’s undergoing a career year. The strikeouts should warn you that all his averages will dip back to normal. Expect his OPS to go back down to his 3-year average of roughly .900 (not bad, but that rate easily takes out Burrell from the elite).

CENTER FIELD
1st: NATE MCLOUTH—1.002 OPS; 9HRs, 29 RBIs; 8.46 RC/27
2nd: JOSH HAMILTON--.903 OPS; 7HRs, 39RBIs
Analysis: McLouth has come out of nowhere to become a legit NL All-Star. He has never had a full-time role in his young MLB career with the Pirates. He is on pace to amass 600+ at bats, something he’s never done even in the minor leagues. I am not sure if he’ll be able to keep his spot as an elite OF, but his minor league numbers show that he has the ability to his .290 and his current on-base of .396 is not too far off from his average .376 on-base (based on his 4 best seasons in the minors). The homerun and slugging are bound to go down as he’s never been able to hit homeruns at his current rate before (currently, he’s hitting 1 dinger for every 16 at bats and is on pace to hit 40 this year) and McLouth has always struggled to hit for a .450 slugging% in the past. The only thing going for McLouth is that he is only 26 and might be entering his prime. But with no gradual improvement in the past, this could be a case of lightning being caught in a bottle for anybody who is involved with McLouth, including McLouth himself. Hamilton is another type of beast. He’s a former #1 overall pick (1999) who was evaluated as someone with loads of talent and huge upside. Unfortunately, a reported heroin addiction, forced him to leave the game. He’s back now and has been a great addition to any fantasy team. He showed glimpses of his untapped potential last season, before his year was cut short due to a season-ending injury. He already has 39 RBIs, but don’t expect him to continue his current 166 RBIs pace. Do consider him a better player than McLouth however. He’s always had the reputation of a hitter and should be able to record an OPS of .900+

RIGHT FIELD
1st CARLOS QUENTIN—1.001; 9HRs, 29 RBIs; 8.42 RC/27
2nd XAVIER NADY-- .936 OPS; 5HRs, 34 RBIs; 7.94 RC/27
Analysis: Quentin was a highly touted prospect in the D’backs farm system, but lack of opportunity and a shoulder injury prevented him from reaching his full potential—until now. It seems that Quentin is finally healthy and proving all the scouts correct. Even when he was hitting around .220, his on-base was always hovering around .350. Quentin has always been an on-base machine and it looks like he’s matching it with his power. Continue to start him with confidence. Nady, throughout his pro career has always been able to slug for .450+. It’s the on-base that’s been a problem. Right now, he’s working on a career high .396 on-base rate, but odds are it won’t stay as high for the rest of the year. Nor will he continue to knock in runs at the current rate he’s going (on pace for 153RBIs). Don’t be surprised if he suddenly begins to struggle. Continue to start him if you must, but a strongly suggest you have a reliable backup in place.

DESIGNATED HITTER
1st: DERREK LEE-- .981 OPS; 10HRs, 26RBIs; 7.95 RC/27
2nd:CONOR JACKSON-- .978 OPS; 5HRs, 30RBIs; 8.57 RC/27
Analysis: Finally, we’re getting the season that we expect to get from Lee. He already has 10 homers. His career high is 46 and he’s on pace to perhaps match that number, but a conservative range of 30-35 homers is more realistic. He is setting a career high for on-base right now (.392) and his three-year OPS average (.975) shows that his 2008 .981OPS is not a fluke. Lee is finally fully healthy and is back to his old self again. CoJack is another D’back farmhand whose growth was delayed due to inconsistency and injury, but looks like he’s finally putting it together. He had a great 2nd half last season so a 2nd half meltdown in 2008 is not expect and best of all, his current numbers are comparable to what he was hitting in the minors. The knock on him is that he doesn’t hit enough homeruns, but the D’backs think that the power will come as he continues to develop. Continue to use him at 1B/DH/UTILITY with confidence.

Next week, we’ll take a look at the pitchers who have made the most noise in the 1st quarter of the season. Until then, remember that the baseball season is a marathon. Continue to keep tabs on your team, the waiver wire, and your rivals’ rosters to look for that player that will give you an advantage. PLAY BALL!!!

Micro to Macro: The Fantasy Baseball Short Stop Famine

2008-05-06T21:33:00.001-07:00

My name is Felipe Melecio. I’ve been playing fantasy baseball since 2001. I’ve played all sorts of fantasy baseball games from salary cap to traditional 5x5, have won league titles at Sandbox, Yahoo, and Sportsline and have finally settled to concentrate all of my attention on a keeper league, fantasy-point style, head-2-head league, playing against competitive, knowledgeable people from all over the country. I’m a big fan of the game and I’m always open to learn more and more about the nuances of the game of baseball. For the next several weeks, this weekly article will focus on my fantasy baseball team and in my quick synopsis of my team, I’m hoping that I can delve into concerning matters regarding my team that more than likely you, the reader, will definitely be able to relate. Along with bad, I will also be discussing the positives that are occurring in this MLB season as well. Look at it as a focus in the micro to make sense of the macro baseball world around us.

As mentioned, I am in a keeper league and because of that I had to keep some players from last year’s roster. First off, Brandon Webb, starting the season 7-0 with an ERA of 2.48 and the WHIP is great at 1.06. The strikeout rate isn’t as high as I wanted, but with a batting average against (BAA) of .197 and a Component ERA (ERC) of 2.01 (ERC is a pitcher's ERA based on the hits and walks he allowed, rather than actual runs), he is proving why he’s one of the elite starting pitchers in all of baseball. Next, Fausto Carmona, who has been very bi-polar in his starts this year. One week he will look amazing, while the next he will have you pulling out your hair. Proving once again that ERA is overrated (he has it at 2.60), the ERC (stands at 5.27) and the WHIP is a horrible 1.70. I’m not even going to talk about his ridiculous strikeout rate (not that there’s anything to talk about anyway). It has been an unacceptable early performance from a guy who was a Cy Young candidate last season. Carmona was a lot of people’s keeper or early to mid round selection and is too early to release him, especially based on his breakout performance from last season and he does have a win-loss record of 3-1 so his team will help him get some wins. If you have him, you should be like me and continue to ride it out until he (hopefully) finds his groove again. Continue to insert other pitchers in the meantime. And my final pitching keeper was Chad Billingsley, who was always the odd man out in the Dodger rotation as the unofficial 6th or 7th starter in the bullpen when he was first called up to the team and has turn into a bonafide starting pitcher. The ERC at 4.88 and the WHP at 1.59 should worry some owners, but you have to remember that his first start was interrupted by a rain delay, then he would twice come out of the bullpen in the first week of the season, throwing his numbers out of orbit. One should consider that in his last 4 starts, he’s pitched deeper and deeper into games. The final proof that he should be improving as the season moves along is his year-to-date (ytd) strikeout rate of 13.01 (leads the Majors in that category with pitchers who have at minimum of 20 innings pitched) and 14.5 in his last four starts. If you have him on your roster, continue to start him with confidence as I think this kid can dominate hitters soon. If you think you can trade for him, he has been getting dealt for players like Raul Ibanez, Gil Meche, Zach Duke, and Michael Bourn. And those trades were done in the last 24-48 hours! Jump on him while you can still get him cheap!

As far as hitters go, Chase Utley was recently named a HERO for the month of April on this website. No further explanation needed on this player. He is awesome! Victor Martinez gave me the scare of a lifetime when on opening day, in an attempt to stretch a single into a double, he pulls up lame and holding his hamstring. Luckily, not only did he not go into the DL because of it, but he was playing at 100% less than a week later and hasn’t missed much action since the first week. V-Mart has yet to hit a homerun this season, but at this point, it’s not a matter of how, but of when, as in “when is he going to start going on a power streak in order to reach the 25 homeruns he was projected to hit this season?” He is one of the best catchers in the game and if you have him, just ignore him and get back to me by mid-June. You shall not be disappointed when he starts putting up big numbers. Besides, who else are you going to insert at your backstop position? Popular pick ups from waivers in the last 7 days include Jeff Clement, Paul Bako (an obvious Dusty Baker favorite), Jarrod Saltalamacchia (seems to only be playing every other day as of this writing), and Kurt Suzuki, Dioner Navarro, and Jose Molina who are respectable alternatives, but nowhere near the caliber that Martinez is. Trust me, continue to show patience on this guy. If you do indeed don’t have the patience for V-Mart AND have extra roster spots to fill, then immediately pick up Ryan Doumit (who is posting better numbers than Martinez, in case you haven’t noticed). We all know Doumit’s life story: impressed in 2005, lost the catching spot to Ronny Paulino in 2006, showed he could hit in 2007 as a part time hitter, and coming into 2008, he was a man with no position for the lowly Pirates. Well, it looks like the Pirates are finally giving him a chance to get some at bats together (on pace to reach over 450 at bats for the first time in his career) and could really produce this season. Nevertheless, he is no V-Mart. Ryan Braun was in my minor league slot (we get two minor league slots) and he wound up winning NL rookie of the year. He was magnificent last season and was a no-brainer to be kept for this year. He went into a slump in mid-April and missed a few games due to a minor shoulder injury and to take a break from said slump. After that, he’s been a monster. Matter of fact, in his last 7 games, he’s had 2 homers and 9 RBIs. Don’t worry much about Braun and continue to have him on cruise control.

Which brings us to the 7th and last keeper and the subject matter for the rest of this article—Troy Tulowitzki. Tulo got off to a horrendous start this season. I’m talking about the type of start that validates such fallacies as the “sophomore jinx” but it happened to Tulo. By the end of the third week of the season, it looked like Tulowitzki was on the verge of breaking away from his early season slump, he had a mediocre 4th week, and then was forced to leave the 04/29/08 game against the Giants due to a quad injury. Before the injury, Tulowitzki was stuck in a three-game hitless streak. Tulowitzki will return by the All-Star break—by the earliest. Which brings us Tulowitzki owners to a dilemma: Who do I/we replace him with?

We first look at teammate Clint Barmes who first became a known commodity in 2005 when he was given 350 at-bats that season. He was a very popular waiver pick up that year, but aside from the decent .288 batting average, his OPS were very low, even for a shortstop and in 2006, when he had 478 at bats, his overall numbers were just putrid. Right now, his Slugging% is a good looking .480, but only a .307 On-base%. He’s a really popular pickup this week, but I say there’s other SS out there who are worth a roster spot on your team.

Erick Aybar is hitting .298 for the season and has picked up regular playing time since Howie Kendrick went down with an injury for the Angels. He doesn’t hit for much power, his RC/27 (which estimates how many runs per game a team made up of nine of the same player would score) score is in the low 4s and doesn’t walk much. I have no idea how this guy is able to score so many points in our fantasy points league seeing how he has only 5 doubles all year long. Roto-leaguers might want to have him because he’s on pace to steal 25 bases. I’m just baffled that 99% of ESPN fantasy baseball league owners have Aybar on their roster. I’m sorry but I like my SS/MIs to put up bigger numbers than the ones that are provided by Aybar. I’ll pass, thank you much.

We now move to Ryan Theriot who might be the best option so far and is owned by 84% of http://www.sportsline.com/ fantasy baseball owners. He’ll steal more bases than Aybar and has an overall better season than him as well (.316 avg.; .800 OPS; 5.52 RC/27). Other popular SS that might still be available are Orlando Cabrera (who you might want to pick up with the hopes he picks up the hitting really soon. I wouldn’t count on it though), Cristian Guzman (who’s having a career year so far this season, but we’ve all been hurt by Guzman before. Never again!), Jhonny Peralta (aside from his 25 homerun potential, has really done nothing since his breakout 2005 season), J.J. Hardy (who is described as a streaky hitter. Right now, he’s going through the wrong kind of streak at this moment), Bobby Crosby (low batting average, low OPS, but the RBIs are coming in real handy at the moment), Yuniesky Betancourt (real ordinary player, but .290 average is his one saving grace). As you can see, Theriot would be the logical choice and a fairly good chance he might still be available in your league. Also, be sure to look out for Yunel Escobar from the Atlanta Braves who is having a very good season. You might just be lucky enough to pick him up (who is at 96% ownership at Sportsline). If you’re like me and you HAVE to choose a player between Theriot and Escobar, you can continue to ride the Guzman hot streak until it runs out of fuel....

... or you could be like me and go with personal favorite, Felipe Lopez. Lopez, who just knocked in his 300th career RBI over the weekend, is currently on a six game winning streak, was relegated to a part time player from April 10-17. Since April 18, Lopez has hit .323 and has registered an OPS of .804 (by the way, I believe that a reliable baseball player should be able to post a minimum of a .790 OPS percentage). He has struck out as much as he walked, has 11 RBIs (only Miguel Tejada has more RBIs than Lopez during that same time span among SS), plays in the supposed hitters’ park that is Nationals Park, and best of all, he’s finally getting regular playing time after losing the everyday job at SS and 2B during spring training. The last time he’s hit 20+ homers was in 2005 when he was jacking them out of Cincinnati. Perhaps the new ballpark in Washington will lead him to return to his 2005 form. He also has a recent history of reaching an on-base percentage of over .350 (unlike Barmes, Cabrera, etc). He is eligible at 2B, SS, OF (or LF for those who split the OF positions into three). You can either get a big name like Hardy or Crosby, but why not go with the hot hand who might prove to be the most consistent player as the season progresses?

Fantasy Baseball - April's Heroes & Goats

2008-05-01T10:35:00.000-07:00

April 2008 is now history. After one month there are a large number of players whose April's performance has either added to or taken away from your Fantasy Baseball Team's Performance. Whether you're playing Rotisserie, Head To Head, Salary Cap or any other type of fantasy baseball, the performances of these players have caused hours of roster reevaluation. The following highlights several of the Hero Hitters & Pitchers, followed by the Goats of the pitching class.

***Some of the Leading Hitting Performances

1: CHASE UTLEY - 2nd base - Philadelphia: 11 HR's, 23 RBI's, .360 Bat.Avg. & .430 On Base %: What a stud! Not really a surprise based on his prior season's performances. But at his current pace we may see another National League MVP coming out of Philadelphia (Howard 2006) & (Rollins 2007).

2: NATE MCLOUTH - Outfield - Pittsburgh: 7 HR's, 25 RBI, .342 Bat. Avg., & .425 On Base %: When was the last time we saw numbers like this coming out of Pittsburgh? He could be the steal of the season for anyone who was fortunate to draft him. His 22 steals in 2007 indicate that he has some speed to go along with his impressive April Stats. Could be the X Factor in many successful fantasy teams this year.

3: JOSH HAMILTON - Outfield - Texas: 6 HR's, 32 RBI's, .330 Bat. Avg., & .379 On Base%: Came to Texas in the deal that sent Edinson Volquez to Cincinnati, a deal that's helped both clubs. Hamilton, whose start to his baseball career was delayed to his reported drug addiction that resulted in eight different rehab programs, began to show his potential last season with 19 HR's, 47 RBI's & a .292 Avg. in a injury shortened 90 game season . He's a Keeper!

4: CARLOS QUENTIN - Outfield - Chicago White Soxs: 7 HR's, 21 RBI's, .298 Bat. Avg., & .433 On Base%: Carlos came to Chicago via a trade with Arizona during the off season. He's making GSM, Ken Williams look brilliant again with his fast start. It's extremely doubtful that any fantasy managers has Quentin on their draft radar this spring, but it's doubtful that you'll find him available in your league today.

5: NICK MARKAKIS - Outfielder - Baltimore: 4 HR's, 11 RBI's, 22 Walks, 6 Stolen Bases, .287 Bat. Avg. & .427 On Base%: Came into his own last season with 23 HR's, 112 RBI's & .300 Bat. Avg. Nick is a Five Tool Player with his batting ability, his speed and defensive skills. Add to this, the ball park he plays in (Hitter Friendly Camden Yards) and you have a foundation to build a team upon.

Other Leading April Hitting Performers: Derrick Lee (Cubs); Lance Berkman (Astros); Hanley Ramirez (Cubs); Rafael Furcal (Dodgers); Chipper Jones (Braves); Conor Jackson (Padres); Aramis Ramirez (Cubs) to name a few.......

***Leading April Pitching Performers.

1: CLIFF LEE - Cleveland: 5 Wins/0 Loses, 1 Complete game, 32 K's, 2 W's, 19 Hits in 37+ Innings & 0.96 ERA: Easily the Pitcher of Month for the major leagues. Not bad for a pitcher that was designated as the 5Th Starter for the Indians the day before the season started. It's extremely doubtful that he'll keep up this pace in the future months (after all he gave up a run last night!), but he's going to be a great pickup for the remainder of the season.

2: BRANDON WEBB - Arizona: 6 Wins/0 Loses, 34 K's, 29 Hits in 41 Innings & 1.98 ERA: Webb, the Diamondbacks Annual Cy Young contender, is the bedrock of the young Arizona pitching staff that has gotten off quickly this season. A Pitching keeper!

3: ERVIN SANTANA - LA Angels: 5 Wins/ 0 Loses, 29 K's, 30 Hits in 40 Innings & 2.48 ERA: Another preseason sleeper, who has put it together for the Angels. Ervin was 7 & 14 with a 5.76 ERA in 2007, but was also viewed by the club as a potential winning pitcher. Well, he's off to a great start and if he's on your roster, see how far you can ride him.

4: JOE SAUNDERS - LA Angels: 5 Wins/ 0 Loses, 20 K's, 31 Hits in 43+ Innings & 2.08 ERA: A mid-Season call up last season, Saunders achieved a solid 8 & 5 record with a 4.44 ERA. With injuries to both John Lackey and Kevin Escobar this season, Saunders got the opportunity to hold down a Starting Position in April. It might be a while before he gives his up.

5: FELIX HERNANDEZ - Seattle: 2 wins/1Loss, 1 Complete game, 41 K's, 39 Hits in 44+ Innings & 2.22 ERA: People forget that Felix is only 22 years old. Probably brought up several seasons too early by the Seattle Franchise, Felix is getting comfortable as a starter.

Other Leading April Pitching Performers: Brandon Lyons (Diamondbacks); Jake Peavy (Padres); Roy Halladay (Blue Jays); Chien-Ming Wang (Yankees); Tim Lincecum (Giants); Johan Santana (Mets); Cole Hamels (Phillies); Edinson Volquez (Reds); Dan Haren (Diamondbacks) to name a few.....

***April Hitting Disappointments***

1: RYAN HOWARD - Phillies: 5 HR's, 12 RBI's, .172 Bat.Avg., 38 K's, .297 OB%: Second Year in a row that Ryan has started off slowly. Team owners must have a lot of patience with Howard because as he indicated last year that once he finds his hitting eye he'll pay dividends daily, because 47 HR's and 137 RBI's can't be ignored. But in the meantime you'll have to put up with his strike outs which numbered 199 last year.

2: TRAVIS HAFNER - Cleveland: 3 HR's, 16 RBI's, .210 Bat.Avg., 27 K's, .302 OB% & .340 Slug%; This future Hall of Famer has reached 41 years old. Put this together with a slow start and one begins to wonder if it's a slump that he'll come out of.

3: JASON GIAMBI - Yankees: 5 HR's, 13 RBI's, .169 Bat. Avg., 11 K's, .345 OB% and a .411 Slug%; It's been Home Run or bust so far this season for Jason whose playing time at first Base has been increased this season. Still has not regained the opposite field punch that used to beat the shifts that the American League place against him on the field. Will remain in the batting order at least until Posada and Rodriguez come off the IR's.

4: TROY TULOWITZKI - Colorado: 1 HR, 11 RBI's, .152 Bat. Avg., 17 K's, .226 OB% and a .238 Slug%: A real surprise after one month. Recently when on IR after a very sub par performance particularly in lea of last year's performance. Both Colorado and the Fantasy Owners holding him on their roster hope he gets healthy quick and finds the stroke.

5: FRANK THOMAS - Oakland: 3 HR's, 14 RBI's, .180 Bat. Avg., 17 K's, .327 OB% and a .337 Slug%: Near the end? Thomas refused to sit on the pines in Toronto and now it's time for him to either regain his status as a premier hitter or face retirement. The question will be whether Oakland and his fantasy Owners have to patience to wait?

***April Pitching Disappointments***

1: BARRY ZITO - San Francisco: 0 wins/6 Loses, 7.43 ERA & 1.95 Whip: Has there been a bigger bust? Pitching is a pitcher's ballpark, Zito has just about lost it. Fantasy Owners have long dropped him and the question is how long with the Giants hold him despite the worst big contract in major league history.

2: C.C. SABATHIA - Cleveland: 1 Win/4 Loses, 7.88 ERA & 1.78 Whip: He's been a shock to Fantasy Owners, many who may have picked him up in the first round. Coming off a 19 & 7 Cy Young Award season, this start was a complete surprise. However, his last two appearances in the month seem to indicate that he's found the strike zone again.

3: JUSTIN VERLANDER - Detroit: 1 Win/4 loses, 6.50 ERA., 1.47 Whip: Like his team he has gotten off to a very slow start. But also like his team he possesses too much talent to remain at this level of performance for too long.

4: TED LILLY: 1 Win/4 Loses, 6.46 ERA, 1.50 Whip: Off to a slow start with Lou Pinellas' Cubs. Now a predominately finesse type pitcher, warmer weather should help him turn his season around.

5: PHIL HUGHES & IAN KENNEDY - Yankees: Combined these two rookies have been a train wreck for the Yankee pitching staff. After showing some promise in 2007, both were slated to start for the Bombers for the 08 season. This pressure, along with the pressure that the team refused to part with either of them in a trade with Minnesota for Johan Santana, has resulted in a combined 0 wins & 6 loses with a approx. 8.75 ERA. Hughes is currently on the IR for a strained Oblique Muscle (Sore Side). It remains to be seen how long either will remain on the staff.

Lastly, Congratulations to the Tampa Bay Rays for their first winning April in team history!
GHD

What Rookies Should I Consider In My 2008 Fantasy Football Draft?

2008-04-29T19:11:00.000-07:00

The NFL Draft has just concluded. Lots of analysts take time out at this time of the year (usually because other than the Arena League, there just isn't any football to talk about!) to give grades to each team based on their drafts. However, for us fantasy enthusiasts, we really don't care about how well each team drafted. We want to know what's important: who can help me win my fantasy football league championship next year?

Therefore, I've gone through all the draft picks, team-by-team, to bring you the draft worthy players for next year. If you're a serious fantasy football player, you probably won't be drafting any defenses too early, nor will you be taking any tight ends too early, so I won't focus on either of those. Below are a list of the noteworthy offensive skill players who were drafted who could have an impact on your quest for a championship next season.

Grades:
A - This is a player that should DEFINITELY be drafted in every fantasy league
B - This is a potential late round gamble or early season free agent pickup
C - This is a player who should make his way onto a fantasy roster before season's end

If I don't list 'em, you shouldn't consider 'em. There's always the chance that we'll see some late round draft choice or free agent player come out of nowhere in training camp or get an opportunity due to injury, but for my money, these are the players who should be relevant next year. (listed in alphabetical order)

Quarterbacks (remember, guys: these are 1st year QBs, so don't expect much):

Erik Ainge (NY Jets): 6'6", 225. Coming out of Tennessee, Ainge has great size and skills, and received excellent coaching. He also lands in a city that really doesn't have a true established #1 QB. Ainge could emerge as the best of the Jets' bunch before the end of the season. Grade: C+
John David Booty (Minnesota): 6'3", 213. Booty (gotta love the name) was simply a winner, although you might argue that he was surrounded with the best talent in the game over his college career. He heads to Minnesota where the incumbent (Tavarius Jackson) is not only incompetent, but injury prone. Great opportunity here that could shake out early in the season if Booty is a quick learner. Grade: C+
Brian Brohm (Green Bay): 6'3", 227. Brohm was rated as the #1 can't miss QB prospect before last season, then it all came crumbling down. He didn't play the best against top competition, but this guy has size and skills. If Aaron Rogers doesn't do his best Brett Favre impersonation, Brohm could be waiting in the wings before season's end to take his place. Grade: C
Joe Flacco (Baltimore): 6'7", 236. Tallest QB in the group, and though he went to a small school (Delaware), the guy can flat out play. Not the most athletic QB, but how athletic does he have to be to beat out Kyle Boller? Exactly. This battle may not last past training camp, as the Ravens are going no where this season and have little to lose. Grade: C+
Chad Henne (Miami): 6'2", 225. This is a Parcels pick. A smart guy with good skills who can manage a game. Great arm, which is good because he'll need to be getting rid of the ball quickly in Miami. Great chance that he'll be under center before year's end, but who knows how good he can be on this team next year. Might be worth a late season spot start. Grade: C
Matt Ryan (Atlanta): 6'5", 224. I watched this guy play at BC, and just wasn't too impressed. Looks like he could be the next David Carr to me. However, he'll get the chance to prove he belongs in the league while exorcising the ghosts of Michael Vick in Atlanta. Too bad he doesn't have much of a line or receiving core to throw to. He may get the most snaps next year under center of all the guys listed here, so if you're looking for quantity, he's your guy. As for quality . . . don't expect much. Should be decent at best. Grade: C+

Running Backs (uh oh . . . more platoons are on the way!):

Matt Forte (Chicago): 6'2", 222. Thanks, Mr. Benson. We hardly knew you. Matt Forte was built to play in Chicago, and Benson will have a tough time keeping him off the field next year. Smart money is on Forte at least forcing a platoon before mid-season, and possibly taking Benson's job for good before the end of the year. Grade: B+
Chris Johnson (Tennessee): 5'11", 197. Johnson will now form the ultimate "thunder and lightning" backfield with LenDale White in Tennessee. Johnson has speed to burn, and should get a chance to be a legit home-run threat in the Titans backfield. Grade: C
Felix Jones (Dallas): 6'0", 200. Jones is the perfect compliment to Marion Barber in the Cowboys backfield. He had a tremendous yards per carry average in college, and is lightning quick in the open field. He'll spell Barber for at least 10-12 carries a game, and should have some exciting fantasy games this year. Grade: B+
Darren McFadden (Oakland): 6'2", 210. Is there any doubt that this guy won't produce this year? He has only Justin Fargas to beat out (sorry Lamont Jordon, but your time in Oaktown is done), and he's a high 1st round pick. He is being compared to Adrian Peterson in terms of skill level, and should not disappoint next year. Grade: A+
Rashard Mendenhall (Pittsburgh): 5'11", 210. Move over, Fast Willie! Here comes another running back split! With Parker nursing injuries over the offseason, he may find himself looking at the supporting role instead of the lead when he returns. Many rated Mendenhall as the best of the draft, and he has the talent and the opportunity to make an impact next year in Pittsburgh. Grade: A
Ray Rice (Baltimore): 5'8", 199. If you saw any Scarlet Knight games, you'd know that this guy can flat out play. Willis McGahee is always just an injury away from giving this kid a huge opportunity, and he, too, may turn this backfield into yet another committee. Should see at least 10-12 carries a game as a change of pace, and could become fantasy worthy later in the year. Grade: C+
Steve Slaton (Houston): 5'9", 197. Who knows how much better that OL will be in Houston, but someone has to emerge in that backfield, so Slaton will get his chance. He's too small to be an every down back, but should get his chances before the season is over. Grade: C-
Kevin Smith (Detroit): 6'1", 217. Perfect situation for Kevin Smith, where the offensive will become more traditional with the absence of Mike Martz, and no real competition, since Tatum Bell has proven he's more of a change of pace guy. Not sure about that sieve of an OL, but Smith could surprise next year. Grade: B+
Jonathan Stewart (Carolina): 5'11", 235. This guy is a load, and is perfect for what Carolina wants to do: pound the football. Just when you thought (again) that DeAngelo Williams would be fantasy relevant, you get yet another running back committee. Expect Stewart to get the bulk of the carries and be a serviceable #2 back next year in this offense that has to be better with a healthy Delhomme back. Grade: A
These guys are only fantasy worthy next year as handcuffs to your studs: Jamal Charles (Kansas City - Larry Johnson), Tashard Choice (Dallas - Marion Barber), Marcus Thomas (San Diego - LaDainian Tomlinson), & Mike Hart (Indianapolis - Joseph Addai) Grades: C

Wide Receivers (like with 1st year QBs, temper your expectations with this class . . . greatly!):

Earl Bennett (Chicago): 6'0", 209. The sure-handed former Commadore landed in a great position in Chi-town, where they are desperate for guys who can catch the ball. Great opportunity for fantasy production here (for a 1st year receiver, that is). Grade: C+
Early Doucet (Arizona): 6'0", 212. Doucet flashed big-time skills at LSU, and should get at least limited opportunities to make Leinert or Warner look good. Grade: C-
DeSean Jackson (Philadelphia): 6'0", 178. Mind you, Jackson HIMSELF said he is UP TO 178 pounds! Everyone knows that for some reason, receivers go to Philadelphia to die, but Jackson is a burner, and if he can just avoid getting hit, he might be able to excel in the slot. He doesn't have much competition ahead of him, so he might produce next year. Grade: C-
Malcolm Kelly (Washington): 6'4", 218. Big, talented guy with issues, which is why he fell to the 2nd round. He has a great opportunity in Washington to stand out where they desperately need a receiver, and has the size to be a great red-zone threat. Toss up between he and Devin Thomas as to who the best receiver with the best opportunity might be next year. Grade: B+
Mario Manningham (NY Giants): 6'0", 181. Another skilled guy with issues, which also caused his stock to drop on draft day. If he gets his head on right, he could excel opposite Plaxico Burress in NY. Grade: C
Limas Sweed (Pittsburgh): 6'4, 212. Love this guy (Hook 'em Horns!). He has size, speed, and great hands. Doesn't always have the best concentration, and time will tell what sort of chemistry he develops with Roethlisberger, but he could end up being the best out of this class. Just not next year. Grade: B-
Devin Thomas (Washington): 6'2", 215. Another big, productive guy out of Michigan. #1 rated receiver in the draft, and he has a great opportunity to produce in Washington (with Kelly). One of these guys may break out next year in a big way for a 1st year receiver (just not sure which). Grade: B

Man, is it time for training camps yet? Make sure you watch how these guys perform in training camp, as some of them will either win or lose positions outright and make your draft decisions a lot easier.

See you in the winner's circle.

EJ

Welcome to the Ultimate Fantasy Site Blog!

2008-04-27T21:35:00.000-07:00

Welcome fantasy sports fanatics! It is my pleasure to welcome you to the Ultimate Fantasy Sports Site blog.

My name is EJ, and I've been an avid fantasy enthusiast for over a decade now. If you're anything like me, you absolutely HATE TO LOSE!!! The name of this game is . . . information! If you can get information quicker than the next guy, then you have a great chance of winning.

I've put together a great group of guys here who have a load of fantasy experience under their belt. Our goal is to bring you the best FREE fantasy sports information we can find. I've combed the Internet looking for great FREE fantasy sports information, and it just isn't out there. Whether you're looking for fantasy baseball, fantasy football, fantasy basketball, or fantasy hockey information, you'll find a lot of people trying to SELL you their research, but very few offering the free information that will really help you win your fantasy league year in and year out and crush the competition.

If you're as serious about winning in fantasy sports as I am, and you are constantly craving the fantasy sports informational edge, this is the place for you. Check back with us throughout the week as our fantasy sports experts comb the globe to bring you the absolute best FREE fantasy sports information available on the net.

Thank you for joining us. We look forward to helping you dominate your fantasy sports leagues for years to come.

See you in the winner's circle!

EJ