Fantasy Weekend Wrap - Week 2

OK, so I'm really busy with school and house hunting right now. But what else am I finding atleast a little bit of free time for? Fantasy Baseball. Here's some studs and duds as well as some insight behind my own personal management.

Weekend Studs

Bats
Casey Kotchman – 8/12, 1 R, 5 2B, 1 HR, 4 RBI

BJ Upton – 6/11, 3 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 5 RBI

Ryan Ludwick – 5/11, 3 R, 3 HR, 5 RBI

Carlos Pena - 3/9, 3 R, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 4 BB

Jeff Francoeur – 4/11, 3 R, 2 HR, 8 RBI

If any of these players are available in your leages (I would imagine not many would be but theres a chance) you should not hesitate to pick any of them up. They're all really hot right now and would be great additions to any team. I would say in a lot of leagues you would have the best chance of picking up Kotchman off of waivers or FA. I'm a little skeptical of his hitting ability however. I would say I see him batting around .250+ with no more than 25 HRs and 80 RBI this year but he's smokin' hot right now and I would take him if he's there. Also Ludwick should be available in most leagues if you need a quick pick-me-up.

Pitchers

Chien-Ming Wang – 9 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K (CG, W)

Roy Halladay – 9 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K (CG, W)

Tim Hudson – 8 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K (W)

Derek Lowe – 8 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K (W)

Javier Vasquez – 7 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 9 K (W)

Eric Gagne – 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K. 2 Saves

All these guys pitched great this weekend. However, I wouldn't really expect them to be available in many leagues so we'll just leave it at that. As far as Gagne is concerned I am a huge Brewers fan and a giant Gagne skeptic. I still don't trust him but this weekend was definitely a good sign and I'd take a chance on Gagne right now if you can swing a favorable trade somehow.

Weekend Duds

Bats

Adam Jones - 0/8, 5 K

Jose Guillen – 0/12, 4 K

Troy Tulowitzki – 0/8, 3 K

Andruw Jones – 0/9, 4 K

David Murphy – 1/12, 3 K

While a cold spell like this hurts your team and is a cause for concern I wouldn't worry too much with a lot of these gusys. If it continues you may look to trade or to drop one of them but wait them out in this case. We'll see how they're doing after next weekend.

Arms

Kenny Rogers – 4 IP, 7 H, 7 ER, 4 BB, 1 K (L)

Joel Pineiro – 3.2 IP, 10 H, 6 ER, 0 BB, 0 K (L)

Chris Young – 3 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 4 BB, 2 K (L)

Roy Oswalt – 4 IP, 9 H, 8 ER, 0 BB, 6 K (L)

Phil Hughes – 2 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 3 K (L)

Mike Timlin – 2 G, 0-1, 0.1 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

All of these guys were not good at all. With some of the guys, Rogers, Timlin, and maybe Piniero I would consider dropping if this trend continues for about another week or so. However, with the others I would give them almost as much time as they need. I mean, we all know waht Oswalt and Young can do. I'm shaky on Hughes. He's looked awful but we know his upside it huge and he has a great hitting lineup to score runs for him.

As far as my team (Prince's Minions) is concerned right now I'm doing pretty well. I'm currently sitting in second in my league (The cacfruit league). If there's any advice I can offer it is this.

Don't worry about Prince Fielder. He's historically started each season of his incredibly short career slowly (minors included) and hit for power very streakily last season. If you want my opinion I think we are all pending an explosion of power from Mr. Fielder in the near future.

Also I drafted Evan Longoria and held onto him for the first 2 weeks although he was in the minors. Now that he's up he's everything that I was expecting and if there's any chance at all you can pick him up or get him from someone for a reasonable cost I would do so (especially if you're in a keeper league). This kid is going to be a total stud.

Now, I don't want to give away too much of my managerial insight as I continue my quest for a 1st place finish in the Cacfruit League. However, I will be back to offer more next week.

That's about it for this week. I've got a big accounting exam to study for but I'll surely be back with even more for you fantasy readers next week.

TSF's 2007 MLB Midseason Awards

Here are my midseason awards. I reserve the right to change these by the end of the season.

MVP

AL: Alex Rodriguez - NYY
Magglio Ordonez is the next best choice but it should be a no-brainer. Without Arod the Yankees would be utterly pathetic. He had arguably the best April in baseball history and has driven in about 20% of the Yankees' runs.

NL: Prince Fielder - MIL
I might be a Brewers fan and I might be a homer but I think Fielder makes a great case for NL MVP thus far. The Brewers are winning and he's carrying them and holding them up in first place. Matt Holliday is a guy a lot of other bloggers might go with but I think because of what the Brewers have done in comparison to the Rockies I gotta go with Prince. PS -can't wait to get me one of these

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

AL: Daisuke Matsuzaka - BOS

Doesn't seem fair that he is so much older and experienced than other rookies but he meets the definition of rookie by the rulebook and therefore he has definitely been the AL ROY thus far I would say
NL: Ryan Braun - MIL

Call me a homer again but Braun came up and bat 3rd in the 1st place Brewers' lineup almost immediately and has done wonderful. The next best bet would be Hunter Pence of Houston but I give Braun the edge because he has more BBs & SBs, equal HRs, only 10 less RBIs, and an average of .350 with 100 less ABs than Pence. Not to mention that the Astros are bad and the Brewers are a first place team (right now).

MANAGER OF THE YEAR

AL: Mike Scioscia - LAA

Our AL Manager of the Year to this year would have been Mike Hargrove for his job with the M's, but being he has resigned, will give it to perennial contender, Mike Scioscia for the great job he's done with the Angels
NL: Ned Yost - MIL

He's been the one leading the way of the turnaround in Milwaukee over the past few years and now I think it is time he gets the recognitions. He's done a great job with all the young players and I really think he deserves this one....even if some sites can be overly critical of him at times!

LVP (Least Valuable Player)

AL: Julio Lugo - BOS

Lugo is trying to make history this season. He has a legit shot at being the first Red Sox Player ever to bat below .200 and have an OBP and SLG both of under .300. He's got a shot...
NL: Pat Burrell - PHI

I'm guessing when they formulated the contract they were expecting Burrell to be a star being as he is getting paid $13 Mil this season to fight for a starting spot. And to think that I wasted a middle pick on him in my fantasy draft!

COMEBACK PLAYER
AL: Carlos Pena - TB

He's hitting .287 with 20 HRs, 52 RBIs, .395 OBP, .609 SLG. Can't say I saw that coming at all!
NL: J.J. Hardy - MIL

He's rebounded tremendously after the gruesome ankle injury he sustained last season which required surgery. I looked for the play-at-the-plate on YouTube but couldn't find it.

CY YOUNG

AL: Dan Haren - OAK

There a lot of great choices for this award (think Sabathia, Beckett, Lackey, Santana, and others) but I'm giving it to Haren. Haren has been lights out with a 10-2 record and a 2.20 ERA. He has been a nightmare for opposing hitters and if the A's were without Haren, they would be behind the cellar dwelling Rangers.
NL: Jake Peavey - SD
This is a pretty easy pick in my opinion I love to watch him pitch and I think this one is relatively indisputable.

My World in Sports: Go Get Your Bulls Jersey

The Kobe Video
I'm sure you've all heard about this video by now. I can't find on on the Internet otherwise I'd have it up on here but I've heard alot about it and Stefan found a sports talk show that features the audio. The video hasn't been released yet but click here to hear the audio. - You can fast forward through some of the banter to get to it- Kobe is pretty explicit in trashing teammate Andrew Bynum. Also he grabs quite a few headlines in saying "Go out and buy you Bulls jerseys". This is pretty interesting obviously there is just no way anymore that Kobe Returns to the Lakers. By now all his teammates hate him (most probably did before anyways). Kobe's no trade clause basically gives him complete and total power. Obviously getting Kobe would be absolutely huge for the Bulls. Honestly is there anyway that LA could possibly win on a trade like that? Bulls maybe they could get Butler, Wallace and Deng with a draftpick or some combination of that for Kobe. That would be some good talent to build on but its no Kobe. Believe me LA will miss Bryant's star power both on the court and off the court with ticket sales, jersey sales, etc. I'm excited to see how it plays out but I'm calling it now: Kobe wont play another game in a Lakers uniform.

Pac Man is Retarded

If this is really true Pac Man Jones is completely and utterly retarded. Just the fact that he is being looked into for something like this is pathetic. If he was really sorry and understood how stupid his actions were then you would think he would do a little better job to keep his name away from words like shooting and stripclub. Looks like he really meant it when he said he'd take his boys over ball anyday. If anything becomes of this it will be interesting to see what Goodell has to do or say about it.

O's Want Girardi but Does Girardi Want the O's?
I'm a little curious/excited to see what becomes of this. The O's are not terrible. They're bad now but they have good starting pitching and when you have that you have the basis for a turnaround. However, if I was Girardi I don't think I would take the job. Even if you can turn things around extremely well you have 2 baseball giants with $200 Mil payrolls sitting above you in the standings. If I was Girardi I would hold tight and wait to see what other jobs become available. I see him as a better fit and wanting to manage more for the Yankees, White Sox, and Cubs. However, we'll just have to see waht happens with Torre and Guillen and if Lou comes back for next season. The Yankees job would be better for obvious reasons (he played there and it's the Yankees) and he lives in Chitown so either of those jobs would seem ideal. Like I said, if I was Girardi I wouldn't take the job. He just doesn't seem like the right fit. As for the O's if they miss on Girardi the rest of their optins look kind of bleak.

Go Anteaters
Man am I rooting for UC Irvine hard. With a name like the anteaters it's hard not to. They've avoided elimination in extra innings two days in a row now. The Anteaters play their 3rd straight elimination game against the well-rested Oregon St. Beavers on Wed. night. I don't know enough to make a good prediction so I won't. All I'll do is tune in for the game and root for UC Irvine to keep on winning.

Prince Fielder Update
I try not to obsess over him too much on the blog but it gets hard for me. I just wanted everybody to know that he is now leading the all-star voting and his statline is as follows:

.291 AVG, 26 HR, 59 RBI, 50 R, .377 OBP, and .646 SLG

Allow me to interpred... Prince is sexy. Prince is all that is man. Prince is way better than Cecil's gambling ass. When proclaiming to a friend that Prince was all that is man he (a Twins fan mind you) replied: "No. Prince is above man. Prince is XYYY." I like that and couldn't agree more. The Brewers better make the playoffs just so that they can gross enough revenue to pay off Prince when his contract expires.

Take Your Pick: Who Can a Fan Like Me Start to Root For?

So, Barry Bonds hit his 748th career homer putting him 7 shy of Hank Aaron for what is probably the most heralded record in all of sports. I hate Barry Bonds and if you are a repeat reader you probably know that already. Anyways, I am starting to come to the realization that this is probably going to happen and instead of killing myself when it does I decided that I need a guy to root for. I need to find the next player who is going to beat Barry's steroid-injected ass (pun intended) in the HR standings. So take your pick and help me figure out who is the going to be the best guy to take the record away from Barry.

Personally Arod is my guy. You have Arod at 492 having hit his 27th HR of the season tonight against the Mets. Arod currently ranks 24th all-time but in my opinion probably has the best foreseeable chance to surpass Bonds of all current players. He is 32 years-old right now and if you disregard this year's 27 HRs he needs 8 seasons with a rough average of 36 dingers a season. Now I think it will take him even less than that because he is obviously going to hi more than 36 this year. So, really at the most I think he would have to play until he was 40. If he can stay healthy and stay with the Yanks so he can DH as he gets older I think he can do it.

This is so sick and perverted but I'm going to have to start cheering for a Yankee...Arod no less. I've always thought of him as a bit of a sell-out (think of him going to Texas completely for the $$) and is now noticed as a cheating bastard. However, I think he's my guy. Now, I'm not by any means going to go get myself an Arod jersey. I'm just rooting for him to bring Major League Baseball -along with myself- out of a state of misery as fast as he can.

My second choice is Albert Pujols. He's only got 266 right now but is only 27. If he can continue to hit his average of 42 HRs a year he could be at 770 when he is 39. So he's got a good shot, but I'm still taking Arod over him. Some goes for him. If he can get away from the Cardinals and onto a team where he can do some DHing down the road that will increase his chances as well.

Active players ranked above Arod in HRs are Sammy Sosa, Frank Thomas, and Ken Griffey Jr. In my opinion both are just way too old to be considered a serious threat to surpass Bonds someday. No way for those 3.

Also, guys who I think can be overlooked include , Manny Ramirez, Jim Thome, Gary Sheffield, and Chipper Jones. Manny is ranked 25th with 480 but is 3 years older than A-Rod so he's not my pick....plus he doesn't even care. Basically the lowdown on everybody else is that I think they are just too old. They are high on the list but there's just no way they can play long enough with their production to be seriously considered.

If I wouldn't take Arod or Pujols I would rather take my chance with a young kid like Prince Fielder or Miguel Cabrera. They are so young though that it is just a real risky pick. There are too many intangibles to consider to try and accurately project if and when they could be in position to pass Bonds.

My Picks
1. Arod
2. Pujols
3. Someone young like Prince Fielder or Miguel Cabrera

Agree with my Picks? Who is your pick to surpass Bonds on the all-time HR list (however many that may end up being)?

How Good Really Are My Brewers?

So incase you didn't know the Brewers...yes MY LOWLY BREWERS have the best record in the NL. With a record of 21-10 and having won 12 of their last 15 the Brewers are indeed red hot (as I am writing this they are beating the Nats 3-0 top of 7). They've got a 5 game lead on the 2nd place Cubs right now and 8 games on the lowly Cardinals (haha I love it!). But to the average baseball fan who isn't also a Brewers fan like me, how good really are the Brewers? Are they for real or are they in for a plummit? I'm going to try to figure this out as unbiased as I possibly can...GO BREWERS!!!!!!!

Ok, so yea the Brewers have a great record but it could be a fluke right? In my full and honest opinion, no it isn't. This is the Brewers' year. They've been progressively improving over the last 4 seasons and with no injuries and every offseason move strongly bettering the team they're ready. I mean sure they're going to falter. Every team will have a losing streak at some point when you play 162 games. But this team is leagues better than they have been in the last 10+ years and with a weaker NL Central than I can really ever remember I can feel it. We're goin' back to the Playoffs baby!

They're pitching staff is rock solid with:
1. Ben Sheets (2-2 with 4.04 ERA and 21 K's) Looks like he's over the groin pull
2. Chris Capuano (4-0 with 2.90 ERA and 22 K's) - Look for his K totals to jump up
3. Jeff Suppan (5-2 with 2.63 ERA and 27 K's)
4. Dave Bush (2-3 with 6.03 ERA and 31 K's) A lot of K's but he's struggling.
5. Claudio Vargas (3-0 with 2.89 ERA and 33 K's) What a stud in the 5 slot.

I thought they overpayed Suppan coming into the year but he's been a pleasant suprise. Sheets can be an ace again...case and point: Opening Day. Cappy has been good and his K's are unusually low. Bush can and will come around (he was decent for the Crew last year and won 12 games for them) and Vargas has been an even more pleasant surprise than Suppan.

The 'pen has been good too. Wise -> Turnbow -> Cordero make up one of the best 7-8-9 inning combos in the majors. Cordero is 12-12 in save ops and has been amazing. Turnbow (no longer Turnblow) has found his stuff again and has gracefully made the move from a closer to a good setup man. Also Shouse has stranded every single run he has inherited this season...he's been great out of the pen as well.

They're young hitters have been outstanding. Fielder (9 HRs .298 AVG and 26 RBIs) and Hardy (8 HRs .339 AVG and 26 RBIs) (highly underrated and on a 17...no wait 18 game hitting streak) have been stellar and are red hot right now. Weeks has been hitting fairly decent as a lead-off hitter (could and will raise his AVG) and Estrada has been a great acquisition. Hall has struggled in CF a bit this season but need not worry because Tony Gwynn Jr. is a great young player who is definitely making the most of his opportunities this season. Jenkins (.349 6 HRs and 16 RBIs) has seemingly rejuvenated his career and Mench (.299 2 HRs 12 RBIs)has figured out how to hit and play in MIL.

I could go on and on but this is supposed to be a short post. The Brewers are for real. Don't believe me? Check out their bullpen, rotation, starters, and bench. They're pretty strong and deep in all categories and as previously stated the NL Central is much weaker....I've watched every possible game on TV and Gamecast and I'm convinced. This is at the very least a Wild Card team, although I think they have a better chance at winning their division.

I know it's early, but is it too early to think that I might be in Milwaukee watching baseball in September? How good do you think the Brewers really are?

For all non-Brewer followers and baseball fans in general: I want you to read this. As for me I'm off to take a picture of the standings and have it framed...later!

TSF's Super Sophs

I just got done giving you my all-rookie team selections. Now, without further delay I'd like to give you my team of the bets rookies from LAST year. Last year's rookie class was pretty deep so this should be fun.

C- Russell Martin - LAD
Had an outstandingly quiet year last year hitting .282 10 HRs and 65 RBIs in 415 ABs. Although his stats last year weren't quite that of Paulino I'm taking Martin because of his performance thus far this season. He's off to a good start and I think he'll drive in substantially more runs that Paulino just because the Pirates don't have the same firepower as the Dodgers. This was a tough decision but Martin has played his way into the spot through the first 5 weeks of this season.

1B - Prince Fielder - MIL
He's the man and he's my favorite player on my favorite team so this isn't very tough for me to put him here. He had 28 HRs last year and I think his power numbers will only continue to go up and up. Also look for him to definitely collect more than 80 RBIs this season. The thing that really impresses me and that I like about him though, is his K's are down. He's showing that he can hit for singles and doubles, not just HRs and take the ball the other way.

2B - Ian Kinsler - TEX
I really want Rickie Weeks here but technically he's not a soph. and also I don't wanna be too pro-Brewers. He hit .286 with 14 HRs, 55 RBIs, and had 11 SBs as a rookie. He's showing us thus far this season he's the real deal (.290 9 HRs, 24 RBIs, 4 SB with a .364) I see much of the same with a power increase coming this year.

3B - Ryan Zimmerman - DC
Hasn't had a great start to this season but he's on a horrible team with little to no supporting cast, and there is no doubt in my mind that this kid is/will be a star. He drove in 100+ runs last season and I think that it will be tough for him to repeat that with the team that is around him. However I think he'll climb up over 20 HRs this year and he's solid defensively. At 3B this is one of those no-brainers.

SS- Hanley Ramirez - FL
This was a little tougher of a pick because I really like both Ramirez and Drew (ARI). Really I think Ramirez is a better player right now and is having a significantly better season thus far. Also love what he can do on D and his speed is a definite asset to the team.

LF- Josh Willingham - FL
Another one of those great Marlins sophs. He's hitting .299 right now (I'll call it .300 for good measure) 4 HRs, and 23 RBIs. He can hit for power and contact and I think you can look for him to have a pretty good year this year driving in a lot of runs. Plus, the kid can be my backup catcher too!

CF- Kelly Johnson - ATL
There is no clear-cut CF to put out here. Almost all sophs (Quientin, Cabrera, Markakis, Herminda, and Kemp) play corner OF. Johnson has CF eligibility in Fantasy Baseball so I'm plugging him in here. I know, it's a risky move but I'm the skipper and I make the calls.

RF- Andre Ethier - LAD
His .308 last year with a modest 11 HRs and 55 RBIs. I know the power numbers aren't great but what I really like here was his BA. He puts the ball in play and gets on base. That's the most important part. The power and the runs will come. Gives me a good contact hitting lefty bat in my lineup and can play adequate D.

Starting Rotation
1. Justin Verlander (DET)- Naturally....
2. Cole Hamels (PHI)- Has electric stuff and will be rackin' up the K's all season. He's 3-1 right now and I think you can look for him to win 13+ games this season rather comfortably
3.Matt Cain (SF)- Has good stuff. Record is just 1-2 right now but he was 13-12 last year and I think he'll win at least that many again this year. Just needs to keep his walks down.
4.Jered Weaver (LAA)- We all saw what he could do last season...he'll snap back to his old self.
5.Chad Billingsley (LAD)- Is a good pitcher but wouldn't be here if Liriano's arm hadn't exploded.

If Liriano was healthy my rotation would be even more dominant with:
1. Verlander 2. Liriano 3. Hamels 4. Cain 5. Weaver.

Batting Order
1. Hanley Ramirez (FL)- SS
2. Kelly Johnson (ATL) - CF
3. Ian Kinsler (TEX) - 2B
4. Prince Fielder (MIL) - 1B
5. Ryan Zimmerman (DC) - 3B
6. Josh Willingham (FL) - LF
7. Andre Ethier (LAD) - RF
8. Russell Martin (LAD) - C
9. Pitcher - P

Once again It's all just personal opinion. This is my squad of super sophs, what's yours look like?

Happy Youtube Tuesday

NFL draft is coming up and most of my blogging time is being spent researching and preparing some sort of a Mock draft for the readers...so for today, out of utter sloth, I'm going to give you some of my favorite and most recently viewed videos from the Blogosphere.... enjoy em'.

The Joys of a College Education

This video never really gets old for me...I've seen it on a few other blogs out there and just had to add it...it's truly impressive. Also love the music...Rockey can inspire all.

Extreme Mountain Unicycling

Despite being relatively unknown Extreme Mountain Unicycling has apparently starting to catch on..

Foul Ball(s)!

I saw the ball boy in the Padres vs. Dodgers game get hit last night and it got me searching for foul ball videos. I actually remember this from last year, and so yea, for obvious reasons it had to be posted.

Royals OF Joey Gathright can jump a little

This video is so amazingly beautiful in the most idiotic way that it cannot go unnoticed...I've seen this video at The Big Picture and the Sports Videos Blog and it blows my mind. I suppose being able to jump like that makes you a pretty good athlete? PS- Joey Gathright isn't very fast either.

Gotta Love the old SC Commercials

This is my all-time favorite Sportscenter commercial (although there are a lot of greats). You can see a lot of the classics at the Sports Videos Blog as done by Complete Sports' Jon Reed. "Follow me! Follow me to freedom!"

My Pick for the Pack

Yea, so i really wouldn't mind the Packers taking him in the 1st round. In fact, I fully support and here's your Mock Draft preview: I'm picking them to and he probably starts right away.

Prince is a big boy

Video from a game against the Giants last season...I would have to imagine that felt like being tackled by a Refrigerator. As I watch I find my self wondering what is going through Todd Greene's mind as the 260 lb. Fielder comes rumbling around third.

Tim Duncan loses in MYL

So anybody out there who needs clarification MYL stands for Make You Laugh and it's a terribly addicting game that involves being it and trying to get people to laugh and then they have to go. But anyways....Don't mess with Joe Crawford I guess. I don't know I would say let them play the game, to kick a guy out of a game that sitting on the bench is kind of ridiculous. Especially since i view Tim Duncan to be one of the most reserved, soft-spoken, and respectful guys in the NBA. I can't imagine what was so extreme that this ejection, in a pretty important game mind you, was warranted. Apparently Joe asked Tim if wanted to fight?