Norm 'Duke' Kent's Fantasy Baseball Blog

Penny Leaves States; Fantasy Owners Rejoice

2012-02-05T09:11:00.002-05:00

Bulletin: Fantasy Baseball Owners everywhere across the country celebrate as Brad Penny announces he will sign with a Japanese League Team.

Karina Smirnoff, the dancer who got engaged to MLB pitcher Brad Penny in October of 2010, has called off her engagement according to E! Online. They were supposed to get married in January.

Don’t weep for Penny, though – he’s cleared $49 million in his career, and previously dated Eliza Dushku and Alyssa Milano. I think he’ll be fine.

On January 18, 2011, Penny agreed to a one-year $3 million contract with the Detroit Tigers.^[13] Being added to the Tigers roster reunited Penny with past teammates in Miguel Cabrera from the Marlins and Victor Martinez from the Red Sox.

Penny started off the season with the Tigers as their number two starter, behind Justin Verlander and in front of Max Scherzer. In exception to May, in which Penny went 3-1 in five starts with an ERA of 3.24, Penny had a sub-par first half of the season, going 6-6 with an 4.50 ERA, and with the Tigers' acquisition of Doug Fister in July, in addition to the success of Scherzer, Penny was moved to the number four spot in the rotation. Penny had a worse second half, going 5-5 with a 6.53 ERA after the All-Star break.

When the Tigers went to the Postseason, he was added to the roster in the bullpen. He appeared in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series against the Texas Rangers, his only appearance in both the Division and Championship series, and pitched 1.2 innings while giving up 5 runs. The Tigers went on to lose that game 15-5, which sent the Rangers to the World Series. The Rangers lost in 7 games to Penny's former club, the St. Louis Cardinals.

On Feburary 5, 2012, Penny agreed to a one-year $3 million contract with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.

National Fantasy Championship Mania Commences

2012-02-04T14:53:00.003-05:00

by Norm Kent

A few weeks into the return of the National Fantasy Baseball Championship leagues online and I have already witnessed manic behavior. It is still snowing in Wisconsin, tarps cover every spring training field, and the Super Bowl is not until this weekend, but the NFBC has already trotted out onto the field 31 slow draft leagues with approximately 450 participants.

The NFBC Administrators probably thought they would get about 10 or 15 leagues, but by the time the season starts there will probably be over 50 at three different price ranges, $150, $375, and $1000. The participants in these leagues, myself included, are either addicted warriors, gypsy fortune tellers, or true men of courage. Here you are, in the winter, rostering a permanent team to win a fantasy crown before a single major league player has showed up at a spring camp and put his jock strap on.

The slow draft phenomenon requires the contestant to choose 50 players that will comprise your team for the entire season. You may be able to move players up and down within your own rostered selections, from active to inactive, but there is no trading and no free agency. What you pick is what you get. You may grab a top flight pick in a top round and find out you are out of the race before the season even starts if the dude blows an Achilles or pops a shoulder in the spring. As an attorney, I represent psychics, but I am not one. How do you call whether a guy is going to go Buster Posey on you? Who is the next five- star athlete that is going to lose a third of a season for testing positive on steroids, relapsing on alcohol, or driving drunk into a tree?

The exciting part of entering a couple of these drafts so far is not only the number of enthusiastic owners, it is their unadulterated enthusiasm. The fantasy buffs might as well be in rehab clinics. They are ‘jonesing’ for baseball. The drafts have started, but they are just not going fast enough for everyone to be happy. Too many of the ‘slow drafts,’ with owners residing on the west and east coast, are going ‘too slow,’ and the owners are complaining on the NFBC message boards about other owners who “lack draft etiquette.”

In one league I am in, an ER doctor who works as a thoracic surgeon found himself defensively explaining to the league why it might take him a few hours in the middle of the afternoon to make some picks. He thought the patient rather than the pick came first. Shame on you, Dr. Sheppherd.

“Pathetic,” one owner referenced my delay on Friday afternoon, while I was in Federal District Court representing a man facing 25 years in jail- mind you, a court where lawyers are not even allowed to carry in cell phones. I will be sure to let a judge in the United States District Court of Appeals know that his tardiness held up my fantasy baseball pick.

Whew, these NFBC’ers are a tough crowd. They remind me of the humorist Dave Barry’s hilarious line that a “woman, given a chance to catch a fly ball or save her infant son’s life, will invariably choose the child without even considering that runners are on base in scoring position.”

The NFBC administrators know how the world of fantasy has gone from a passing fancy to a cult industry. They sponsor everything from one hundred dollar online satellite leagues to the ‘Main Event,’ national auctions every spring in Vegas and five other cities around the nation. It’s our own ‘Thriller in Manila,’ and you can just hear Howard Cossell announcing, from his grave, “Down Goes Posey. Down Goes Posey.” And with those words, your catching slot is left without hits, runs, and rbi’s for four months.

In order to appease the zealous, indeed ravenous, appetite of our participants, NFBC administrators have now launched a ‘Fast Slow Draft,’ so all 50 rounds can be done in one 8 hour window. That sold out, and another will begin soon. The slow draft provides you with an 8 hour window to make your selection, but with options available to queue up your selections, and even limit those to one round, owners who do not do so are still getting berated and abused on their draft message boards. I think they are sent to a Fantasy Flogging Camp. It’s run by a sadist named Berger of Fullerton, who says if you do not make your pick within his mandated minute, you will be severely beaten or lose your first born.

Today, some chat on the NFBC Board is calling for the administrator to create the ‘slow’ drafts based on east or west coast residencies so the time zones are aligned and the picks will be made more quickly. There is no time for leisure with this fast-paced crowd. They want the season to start tomorrow.

I will offer one suggestion if you opt in and your time is limited. The NFBC, using the snake draft concept, offers its owners an opportunity to claim a drafting position. If you are saddled with multiple other responsibilities, a swing slot position might be best for you, so that you can quickly make two choices and have a long break in between. Go for an early or late round slot, so while maybe you get a number 13 or 14 pick, your wrap around time for another choice is limited only by the 14^th or 15^th player. First, you won’t have to keep other owners waiting as long, and the chances are you will have queued up and been able to secure your back to back selections pretty rapidly.

The irony of these slow drafts is that for all the prognosticators picking optimistically in January, there is going to be a player on a major league roster in the middle of 2012 who will become this year’s Ryan Vogelsong- an all-star probably not listed on a single NFBC roster. Maybe I should take Manny Ramirez in Round 25. Wait, let me see, maybe Ken Oberkfell is making a comeback too. There is always an unknown joker in the deck.

The conceptual purpose of a slow draft was to allow us to watch emerging trends and gain insight into average draft positions as the 2012 season unfolds. I thought it would provide some guidance on hot athletes going early, injured athletes moving down the charts, or how NFBC vets would look at veterans. Sure enough, there is a lot to be learned, and some significant points are worth recording. Here are a couple of things that I have preliminarily noticed, and let me wrap up this column talking about the draft instead of the drafters.

First, it’s the riskiest position on the board, but in league after league, star catchers are getting called up early, even though their overall stats don’t warrant it. Teams just want to lock up the category rather than lose it altogether. There is a desperate need to have at least one Matt Wieters on your team and not wind up with Rod Barajas.

Second, there are very few players putting up 40 or more steals, and speedsters, though punch and judy hitters, are getting tapped sooner rather than later. No one wants to make Brett Gardner a 6^th round pick, but if you need to put 50 steals on the board and wait any longer, you have no guarantees. So rookies like Dee Gordon are soaring in their average draft positions, (adp) and if you wait too long, you will have waited… too long.

Third, guys that are veterans are being totally dissed in ADPs, whether it is Ichiro after one ‘bad’ season at age 38, or Chipper, who in a typical injury-riddled year, posted 18 homers, 75 rbis, and a .275 average at the coveted third base slot. With the number of corner guys that got hurt last year and the number of second sackers, like Kipnis and Ackley, emerging, there has been a seismic shift in drafting priorities by NFBC members. No one is panicking if they don’t wind up with a Cano or Pedroia. There are other places to go in the middle infield. It was a point made by NFBC founder Greg Ambrosius in a Baseball HQ column not too long ago, and I think owners are taking it to heart.

Fourth, while no one seems to think Ryan Howard is going to come back strong from his Achilles blow out, people are not discounting Josh Johnson, Ryan Braun, or David Wright. Risking an early pick on players with real questions may be deemed gutsy or foolish, especially this early in January, but teams are rolling the dice on the real rewards a resurgent star might bring, whether it is the guys above or a Jason Heyward who was supposed to become Bo Jackson.

Fifth, as these leagues move into the later rounds, the most sophisticated owners are going to emerge. This is clearly the kind of league where you not only have to know a team’s depth, you had best know not only their prospective lineups, but likely callups and backups. Your team is in a marathon, and because your selections are finite and irreplaceable, I have to believe teams reaching for the stars rather than relying on the veterans are going to hurt more and score less. For every Pablo Sandoval rocking a corner slot, there are ten more Andy Martes that did not. You know that Mark Buehrle is going to throw 150 innings and get a dozen wins. You can’t really say that about most late round starters.

I am already in two slow drafts and about to enter a third ‘fast slow’ draft that will make all our picks on Sunday, February 19, for a team that is going to play through October 1. I represent fortune tellers, but I am not one. Maybe I can use one to be a co-owner, because if I was sure today of what was going to be tomorrow, I would probably be buying Facebook stock instead of stocking up on fantasy players.

10 Make Believe Rules You Need to Win Your Fantasy Draft

2012-01-08T08:26:00.006-05:00

It has been a while since I have blogged about fantasy ball, but I find myself freshening up on players and rules as I plan for the National Fantasy Baseball Championship in Vegas this March, along with my own leagues. Looking at things I have written, leagues I have won, and many that I have lost, I have made a list of my own guidelines to share.

No two leagues are the same, but the following rules will work whether you are going into the draft just for a fill-up to finish off your team or looking to stock an entire squad.

After years and tears with good drafts and bad, I have concluded there are some fundamental rules of rotisserie baseball that must be followed to have a successful season. Some have nothing to do with baseball, but all have to do with winning.

Here they are.

First, make believe you are joining the Boy Scouts. Be prepared. There are now owners going into drafts with laptops armed with statistical histories of all the major leaguers and prospective minor leagues. Do not make the mistake of drafting from the seat of your pants. Have in your mind a grocery list. You don’t want to spend all your money before you get to the third aisle in the supermarket. And you don’t want to be the guy who is being laughed at in the last rounds of the draft scouring through the fantasy baseball guides struggling to find a player to nominate.

Second, make believe you are flying the plane. Be rested and fresh. I am stunned at how many people coming into fantasy drafts that do not realize it is mentally taxing and physically draining. If you are sitting in a chair, selecting players to put on your squad for the next six months, you don’t want to be drafting with a hangover. You do want to be alert, so eat light, hydrate yourself, and find some stretching exercises to do. An auction draft for a new team can easily take as much as 6 to 8 hours without much of a break, as long as it would take to fly to Europe. You are the pilot and your eyes have to remain open.

Third, make believe you are homeless. If you want to win, draft the best player, not necessarily one from your hometown. At the end of the day, the only numbers that count are the statistics an athlete produces, whether he does so for the overlooked Royals or the heralded Yankees. Don’t wear your fan loyalty on your sleeve in an auction, and announce to everyone at the start of the draft you are going to get Miguel Cabrera at any cost. You will. The Melky Cabreras of the world may surprise you too.

Fourth, make believe you are buying a car. Don’t underestimate reliable veterans, do not overspend on rookies, or draft too early on proteges. Go to the top 10 list of any fantasy baseball guide from 10 years ago and for every Evan Longoria you will find 10 Andy Martes. I know everyone wants to discover the next superstar, but Chipper Jones is still limping to the finish line with a good batting average, a high on base percentage and decent numbers at a thin position. I wish I had a dime for every player who overpaid for a guy they claim "they just had a feeling about" only to find out fortune telling is for carnivals.

Fifth, make believe you joined a gym. Select players who tend to stay healthy. There are only so many risks you can take on your premiere stars. Stay away from the injury prone. Spend your first picks or higher salaries on players you can count on taking the field. The fantasy baseball field graveyard is populated by hundreds of players who year after year kept on taking Mark Prior in the top rounds, or ‘took a shot’ on some guy that had a strong September.

Sixth, make believe you have a lease. Select players who have jobs at secure positions. This is why everyone is leary of closers. It is a volatile position, where the lead dog is replaced often. But when drafting, you also must be aware of whether the players you pick are likely to hold that role over the course of the season. If they are overpaid players at the end of a contract, not likely to be re-signed, or playing for a non-competitive team, your starter today could be moved to a bench role on a contender by the All Star break. You have to think about that in April when you draft.

Seventh, make believe you are abandoned on a desert island. Position scarcity matters, but there are limits. While there are only so many premier catchers or closers, don’t sell the farm for them. Whether your league allows trading or not, remember that replacing scarce positions from free agency lists or in deals is tough once the season starts. But stats are stats. If you already have five 30 home run hitters on your team, you can afford to pass on the one catcher who hits 25 homers.

Eighth, make believe you have studied for a final exam. Know your league’s scoring system. Most leagues use collective batting averages and earned run averages for scoring, so too many at bats or too many innings from a bad player can hurt you more than help you. Because those are categories which are averaged, unlike raw statistics, they are more difficult to adjust during the season. Certain power hitters will destroy your obp. If you are in a 4 by 4 league as compared to a 7 by 7, you can’t just ‘punt’ categories. You have to know your game.

Ninth, make believe you are poor. Feast on the left overs. At the end of your auction or draft, teams will get up and walk away, ignoring one dollar players and reserve picks who are a phone call, injury, or trade away from making a difference and impact that season. Having them on your reserve squad enhances your regular team’s ability to deal with injuries and move up a stud prospect into a starting role. Know your league’s rules and prepare as much for the reserve list on draft day as your starting lineup.

Tenth, make believe you are in a marathon, not a sprint. This is the most important rule of all. Stay the course. Watch, guide and caress your team as you would a puppy. Leagues are won not only on draft day but in the middle of the summer when everyone else goes on vacation, or in September when the non-contenders lose interest. When your league’s title is being decided in the ninth inning of the last game of the year, you don’t want to be kicking yourself because you forgot to move a player off the DL for two weeks and lost his homers.

If you want the trophy for real in the Fall, you have to make believe in the Spring.

The Duke of Flatbush

2011-11-14T15:54:00.003-05:00

This is the best column I have read on the life of The Duke, and I wanted to share it with others before I post my own. NK

The Duke of Flatbush, Revered and Remembered

by Tim Dahlberg

He was one of the greats of one of baseball's greatest eras, when the game was America's only real pastime and a trio of players who would later be memorialized in song patrolled center field in New York's iconic ballparks.

Duke Snider died on Sunday, a day before baseball's newest whiz kid got his first official at bat in an exhibition game in Florida. Bryce Harper will probably never have a song written about him, but the 18-year-old's debut for the Washington Nationals was a reminder that even as baseball looks to its past there's always a prospect for the future.

The Duke of Flatbush never really got his due, largely because at the same time he slugged home runs for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Willie Mays was in center field for the New York Giants and Mickey Mantle played for the Yankees. He always seemed to end up third in his own town, and that didn't change when the 1980s song "Talkin' Baseball" paid homage to "Willie, Mickey, and the Duke."

Snider hit at least 40 home runs in five straight seasons, played in six World Series and was an eight-time All-Star. But he never won an MVP, and it took 11 years after he was eligible before he was finally elected into the Hall of Fame.

But it wasn't his stats that endeared him so much to the people of Brooklyn. It was that he was a part of his adopted community in a way that ballplayers of today can never be.

In all the tributes that came pouring in on the news of Snider's death, one from White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf stood out.

"Along with hundreds of thousands of other kids growing up in Brooklyn, Duke Snider was one of my idols. He really was one of us," Reinsdorf said. "As a 21-year-old rookie, he lived on my block and often would join us in games of stickball on his way home from his day job as the Dodgers center fielder."

To understand how big that was is to understand the 1950s, a time before the NFL hit its stride and baseball was everything to a nation. New York was the epicenter of it all with three teams that always seemed to be battling each other either for a pennant or the World Series.

It was a time when winning the MVP award got you a new suit at the local tailor instead of a $500,000 bonus, a time when players worked other jobs in the offseason and Mays and Giants teammate Monte Irvin owned a liquor store to bring in some extra money. Players lived near where they worked, often sharing apartments in the same working-class buildings as their fans.

"I was born in Los Angeles," Snider once said. "Baseball-wise, I was born in Brooklyn. We lived with Brooklyn. We died with Brooklyn."

When Snider hit four home runs in the 1955 World Series to help the Dodgers finally beat the hated Yankees and win their first title, the borough of Brooklyn celebrated like there was no tomorrow - not knowing that just in a few years there wouldn't be when the Dodgers left town.

The year before, the Giants and Dodgers were battling for the pennant in the dog days of summer and both Snider and Mays hit home runs in a Sunday afternoon game at Ebbets Field the Dodgers won 9-4 to complete a three-game sweep and move to within a half game of first. A New York Daily News photo from that game shows Mays leaping high in the air in front of the exit gate in right center field to grab a Snider blast, as the fans behind him stand in excitement.

Look closely and you'll see people dressed in their Sunday best for the game. Look even closer and you'll see that many of them were black, a demographic of fans that baseball has somehow lost over the years as many top athletes gravitate toward football and basketball.

Snider was the last living member of the Dodger starting lineup that day, the last survivor of a box score that included future Hall of Famers Jackie Robinson, Pee Wee Reese and Roy Campanella. For the people of Brooklyn, they were their Boys of Summer long before Roger Kahn immortalized them as that in his book.

Baseball can never recapture those times, much as Bud Selig and company try to sell the nostalgia of the game. Fans today are more cynical, and it's hard to blame them after having being exposed to the money grabbing, amphetamine taking, steroid ingesting players of today's era.

But spring is just around the corner once again and, as always, there's a new awakening in every fan's inner soul. The problems of the game are put aside, at least temporarily, as players take to pristine fields of green grass in Florida and Arizona.

Soon Vin Scully will get back behind the microphone, just like he was 60 years ago when Snider was just beginning to make a name for himself in Brooklyn. And young players like Harper - who struck out twice on seven pitches in his debut - will take their first steps toward becoming the legends of the future.

It's an annual rite that is ingrained in the fabric of our society.

As one era passes, another spring of hope starts anew.

----

Tim Dahlberg is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at tdahlberg(at)ap.org

The Associated Press

Forever a Boy of Summer

2011-11-14T15:49:00.002-05:00

By RALPH BRANCA

I’ll never forget the winter of 1947. Because of the Dodgers’ plan to sign Jackie Robinson as the first African-American in the majors, we avoided Florida and spent training camp in Havana. This was the great postwar Brooklyn team of Pee Wee Reese, Dixie Walker, Pete Reiser and Hugh Casey. Our manager was the indomitable Leo Durocher.

Gil Hodges was back from a long stint in the Marines. He was our second-string catcher. (We were a year away from recruiting Roy Campanella.) It was Gil who introduced me to a rookie from Compton, Calif.

“Ralphie,” Gil said, “meet Duke Snider.”

His handshake was firm and his eyes were clear. He had a smile and an irresistibly upbeat spirit. We were both 21 and eager to make it in the big leagues.

We began talking baseball, but, typical of Duke, he didn’t discuss himself. He wanted to tell me how, back in Los Angeles, he had seen Jackie excel at football, baseball, basketball and track. He trumpeted Jackie’s athleticism and was thrilled at the prospect of playing with him. Duke never even hinted at his own skills.

That winter, we played exhibition games in the Caribbean against the Montreal Royals, the Dodgers farm club to whom Jackie was signed. As it became clear that Branch Rickey, our general manager, was going to make Jackie a Dodger come opening day, a few veterans circulated a petition arguing that an African-American had no place on our team. Duke was outraged and perplexed.

“Are they crazy?” he said to me. “Besides being a great guy, he’s the best thing that’s ever happened to this team.”

Like most of us, Durocher supported Jackie and the petition wound up in the garbage, where it belonged.

In 1948, Duke’s sophomore year, Campy came on board with pitchers Carl Erskine and Preacher Roe. In 1949, when Don Newcombe became a Dodger, Duke came into his own. He hit .292 and had 23 home runs. He commanded center field and was crowned the Duke of Flatbush, a title he will hold forever.

Along with Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays, Duke formed New York’s golden center-field threesome. I’m prejudiced, but of the three, Duke was the most nimble fielder and possessed the most accurate arm.

From 1947 to 1957, the Dodgers won six pennants and one World Series, finally besting the Yankees in 1955 as Duke hit four homers and drove in seven runs. Without Duke, who holds the franchise career records of 1,271 runs batted in and 389 homers, the Brooklyn Dodgers would not be the Brooklyn Dodgers.

On a team of extraordinary individuals, Duke stood out. He had intelligence, integrity and wit. He played hard, and superbly, day in and day out. His long career is a model of athletic excellence.

In 1980 at his Hall of Fame induction, I was there with many of his teammates to cheer him on. We weren’t surprised when he talked about how great we were and failed to mention his own remarkable accomplishments.

The Brooklyn brotherhood never died. We kept up over the years. We would have dinner when, as the broadcaster for the Montreal Expos, Duke came to New York. His knowledge of the game grew over the years. I loved talking baseball with Duke. He had his opinions without being opinionated. He genuinely wanted to hear what you had to say.

In the end, when he was living in a nursing home, we continued to talk. In the last weeks, when I learned he was failing, I contacted his beloved wife, Bev, who was by his side. I wanted to tell Duke just how much I admired him. I wanted him to know what a privilege it was to call him my friend. At that point, all Bev could do was put the phone to his ear. He died last Sunday at 84.

I still see Duke as a young man. I see him out there in center field, racing past the ads for Van Heusen shirts and Gem razors, while executing a brilliant running catch. I see him at the plate, crushing Robin Roberts’s fastball and sending it soaring high over that crazy right-field wall at Ebbets Field. I see him rounding the bases. I see him smiling. I feel the joy of his sweet, happy soul.

Ralph Branca, a right-hander, pitched for the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1944 to 1953, and in 1956.

Fantasy For Farmer

2011-11-11T21:26:00.002-05:00

Modest Farmer, Managing Mogul

By DAN FOST

The National Fantasy Baseball Championship, a contest paying a top prize of $100,000, draws an elite collection of contestants: computer geniuses, deep-pocketed stockbrokers and money managers, maybe a young man or woman looking to be the next Billy Beane or Theo Epstein.

But the contest over the years has produced only one two-time champion, Lindy Hinkelman, a 59-year-old pig farmer from Greencreek, Idaho.

Hinkelman, who has won two of the last three titles in one of the country’s most highly regarded contests, does not have a perfect answer for how he has been able to do it, but he is happy to offer his gut take on it all.

“Raising pigs and this baseball thing really go together,” he said. “There are certain things in farming: keeping track of productivity, indexes for your sows, the genetic lines there. To do well, you’ve got to be pretty proficient in numbers. Math has always been my strong suit. I can see things with the numbers.”

He cautioned with modesty: “That’s just my theory. I have no proof.”

What he does have is in excess of $300,000 in prize money earned over the last three years.

Some fantasy football leagues offer bigger prizes, but the National Fantasy Baseball Championship says its payout is tops in fantasy baseball, and the Fantasy Sports Trade Association, which represents more than 100 member companies in the fantasy sports industry, said it was unlikely that anyone had won more prize money than Hinkelman.

Hinkelman, however, is not looking to, oh, get involved in fixing the Baltimore Orioles.

“These guys working in front offices know so much more about this than I would ever dream of,” he said. “These guys grew up in the game. I have no ambitions of doing that.”

Fantasy baseball got its start around 1980 with the development of Rotisserie League Baseball, named for a New York restaurant where a group of people, led by the longtime journalist Daniel Okrent, first played it. In the game, participants draft actual players and follow them throughout a season, earning points based on how those players perform in major league games.

The games exploded in popularity with the rise of the Internet. And although fantasy football has eclipsed baseball in popularity, the fantasy sports association said, roughly 13 million people play fantasy baseball.

Hinkelman looks for undervalued players, as does Beane, the Oakland Athletics general manager, who was played by Brad Pitt in the movie “Moneyball.” Hinkelman volunteered to draft 14th in his 15-team league this year, and he focused on three players who ended up doing significantly better in 2011 than in 2010: Matt Kemp of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers andCurtis Granderson of the Yankees.

His faith was rewarded; Kemp and Granderson turned in seasons worthy of the Most Valuable Player award and Verlander should be a lock for the American League Cy Young Award.

“Those three guys really made up my team there,” Hinkelman said. He had Kemp and Verlander on his 2009 prizewinner, giving him a personal connection of sorts, even though he has never met any of the players. “These guys are like personal friends to you, even though you don’t know them.”

He also got top performances from late-round picks like Cleveland shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera and Tampa Bay relief pitcher Kyle Farnsworth.

But the 2011 season still came down to the final game for Hinkelman, who battled K. J. Duke, a San Diego investment portfolio manager, for most of the season. Duke, who played in a different league, also had Kemp and Verlander, along with Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers, a contender for the Cy Young Award in the National League. But an off-year by his first-round pick, the Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez, held him back.

As in “Moneyball,” in which little-known Scott Hatteberg hits a dramatic game-winning home run, a relative unknown cinched Hinkelman’s victory.

Hinkelman plucked the St. Louis Cardinals’ Allen Craig off the waiver wire late in the season, and when outfielder Matt Holliday went down with an injury, Craig stepped in and went on an offensive tear. In the final game of the season, an 8-0 Cardinals victory over the Houston Astros, Craig hit a ninth-inning solo home run.

“For that baseball game, it was a meaningless hit,” Duke said, “but it cost me $80,000.”

The National Fantasy Baseball Championship attracted 390 players last year, each paying a $1,400 entry fee. Players can enter more than one team. Players have included the film director Nick Cassavetes, the television actor James Roday and the entertainer Meat Loaf.

There were 26 leagues of 15 teams each, and in March, drafts were held in Las Vegas, St. Louis, New York and Atlantic City and online. Each league had a prize of $5,600, and the leaders in each league compete against one another for the overall prize.

In 2009, Hinkelman raked in an astonishing $241,300 in prize money. He won the $100,000 contest, and another for $40,000. The N.F.B.C. had said anyone who could win both would get a $75,000 bonus, which it had insured — and he took that home as well.

In 2011, he paid $8,750 in entry fees for his various teams and took home $116,750 in prizes, according to Greg Ambrosius, who runs the N.F.B.C. as the general manager of consumer fantasy games for Stats LLC.

“You can’t do this twice in three years and have it be luck,” said Paul Charchian, the president of the trade association. “This is somebody who is extremely skilled at what he’s doing.”

Hinkelman’s business suits his fantasy baseball hobby, even though the hobby has eclipsed farming in earnings the past three years. He typically has about 500 pigs on his farm, and he now sells most of them to youths participating in 4-H programs. The pigs are typically born in February and March, and he sells them in April and May so the youngsters can raise them for fairs in August and September.

That means that for most of the summer — baseball season — Hinkelman does not have many pigs on his farm, and he can spend four to six hours a day watching baseball via his package of major league games on DirecTV. He has no employees and only a 300-yard walk to work.

He has four grown children and a wife who does not know much about baseball, although she has learned who Justin Verlander is.

Hinkelman grew up on the farm in Greencreek, population 211, three hours southeast of Spokane, Wash., by car. His father raised cattle and pigs, and his brother still grows wheat on the farm. His youngest son, Gabe, 29, helps him with the team.

He played high school basketball, helping to lead his team to the Idaho state tournament, and sat on the bench at the University of Idaho as a 6-foot guard. He played some slow-pitch softball after that, and now bowls two or three times a week.

He did not play baseball growing up. “There was a Little League in a bigger town,” he said. “None of the farm kids played baseball. I never did.”

At night, he could hear the broadcasts of Vin Scully calling Dodgers games, carrying tales of Maury Wills and Sandy Koufax across the wide-open West. He remains a Dodgers fan to this day, and said he thought the addition of Davey Lopes as a base-running coach would help Kemp realize his potential in 2011.

Hinkelman got on the Internet in the 1990s to feed his fantasy baseball habit, but says he is not too obsessed with technology. At the annual draft in Las Vegas, he said, half the participants have laptops.

“I go down with three pieces of paper, is all I go with,” he added. “I’ve got everything ranked.

“I’m not proficient at computers. I don’t have a smartphone where you can look up stats or anything like that. I just have a cellphone for calls. A lot of people have smartphones so they can look up box scores instantaneously. I’m not at that stage yet. I don’t know if I want to be. You can get married to that stuff.”

Two years ago, he bought a tractor and a livestock trailer with his winnings, and put new windows on the house, paid off a lot of debt and gave some money to his children. “This year, we’ll probably do some remodeling on our house,” he said.

He joked to the N.F.B.C. that he might buy “a boar for my sows,” and the organization put it online, which surprised him. “It makes me sound like a hick, which is O.K.,” he said. It keeps his competitors from taking him too seriously, he said.

“They say: ‘How’s this guy win? All he is is a pig farmer,’ ” Hinkelman said. “I don’t mind that at all.”

The Boss is Gone

2010-07-17T11:41:00.003-04:00

TBS will celebrate the life of George Steinbrenner with a full week of classic Seinfeld episodes featuring Larry David as the legendary New York Yankees owner. The 10-episode collection will air Monday, July 19 – Friday, July 23, at 7 and 7:30 p.m. (ET/PT). The week will kick off with “The Opposite,” the fifth-season finale in which George Costanza (Jason Alexander) lands a job with the Yankees. The tribute will close out with “The Muffin Tops” episode, in which George loses his job when Steinbrenner trades him for new chicken concessions at Yankee Stadium.

Schedule:
Monday, July 19
7 p.m. - “The Opposite” – George convinces Steinbrenner to give him a job.
7:30 p.m. - “The Secretary” – George finds out Steinbrenner’s secretary makes more than he does.

Tuesday, July 20
7 p.m. - “The Race” – George heads to Cuba to recruit baseball players for Steinbrenner.
7:30 p.m. - “The Wink” – Steinbrenner lists all the people he’s fired over the years.

Wednesday, July 21
7 p.m. - “The Hot Tub” – Steinbrenner convinces George that a hot tub is the perfect way to relieve stress.
7:30 p.m. - “The Caddy” – George’s father (Jerry Stiller) confronts Steinbrenner about a traded player.

Thursday, July 22
7 p.m. - “The Calzone” – Steinbrenner gets the idea to put Yankees clothes in a pizza oven.
7:30 p.m. - “The Nap” – George’s napping habits at work lead Steinbrenner to think he has ESP.
Friday, July 23
7 p.m. - “The Millennium” – George does everything he can to get fired, but Steinbrenner loves what he does.
7:30 p.m. - “The Muffin Tops” – George’s relationship with the Yankees finally ends when Steinbrenner trades him

He played to win, and at all costs.

He did not care whose what it took to get there.

He just wanted to be in the winner's circle.

For years, his own arrogance denied him the very things he sought.

More than anything else, I supposed he learned in life money can't buy you everything you wanted. Power did not guarantee you victory. Somewhere along the journey to a destination I think he learned the destination is in the journey.

Five Rules for the Offseason in Keeper Leagues

2009-11-08T19:00:00.002-05:00

As one baseball season comes to an end, the Rotisserie Hot Stove League kicks in big time. And you have to make some early decisions in your keeper leagues. Each is different and the guidelines affect your thinking, but here is what I have been tossing around so far.

Say you play in a keeper league with a $260 salary cap and a $350 in season salary maximum for all your players, which includes 10 reserves.

You spent the season trying to win your league’s pennant, and you traded away star rookie prospects like a Cameron Maybin or Travis Snider, whose salary was a buck, for a Josh Beckett or an AJ Burnett, who went for up to $25. The season has ended, and now your team’s total salary is at $349. You are sitting with guys like Vladimir and Jason Bay and Lance Berkman at 35 bucks plus. No way can you keep or protect all these guys.

What do you do?

Rule Number one: Dump Salary.

If your league’s trading season is open, you had better start biting the bullet and dealing your high priced sluggers and starters for something. Of course, it depends on the number of keepers your league has. If it is a small keeper league, then those guys are horsemeat anyway. But if you play in a deep keeper league and the team in 19th place needs a slugging bat, maybe you can deal a disappointing and high priced Lance Berkman for Carlos Gomez, and the potential of steals he brings to Milwaukee.

Rule Number two: Trade Down.

Every team needs a solid ace in its core of nine or ten pitchers, someone who can stabilize your pitching corps with consistently good outings. I do not mean a Jon Garland. I mean a Dan Haren, some guy you may have to pay 30 bucks for and who will dutifully post a strikeout an inning. I think you go for the strongest arm with the least injury history when it comes to betting the farm on a pitcher. Every pitch is a toss away from TJ surgery, but it seems sensible that if you have to bet, a guy like Josh Beckett, who never misses a start, is a good risk. But if you traded during the season so as to land Beckett and Burnett, and both are 28 bucks each, you had better deal one of them.

So in a league with deep keepers, dealing Josh Beckett at $28 bucks may be worth acquiring Jon Niese, a Met strikeout artist in the minors, at $1. Maybe the last place team is sitting on a $1 dollar 14 game winner in Ric Porcello, who won’t give you strikeouts, but may give you era, whip, and victories. You gotta’ go for it. It may aggravate fellow league owners, but you were going to lose Beckett in the draft, and now you are acquiring a likely starter..

Rule Number Three: Give Up More than You Get.

Another way to play the game in the offseason is to overwhelm your competitor with an offer which in fact helps him and seemingly hurts you. If you need to get down protecting say 15 players at $200, it will not help you having a dozen quality players at $20 bucks each. So don’t be afraid to do a giveaway which benefits your opponent if it gets you a low priced bat. Say you are sitting on a corner bat like Mike Lowell at 15 and Josh Beckett at 28 and there is no way you can pay both $43. Offer them and a rookie to a lower echelon team for a $5 Andy La Roche in the hope he emerges. Is that fair value? Of course not. Still, in a league based on salaries, you have to do that. Would a rebuilding team bite? Only if they need an ace. But you take your shot.

In one league I am in, we do not use salaries, but we really limit the guys you can protect, and we play with a small roster. One dude saw his team was out of the money and he finished last in the league but first in trading. His ingenious method was to steadily improve other teams in trades by offering multiple talents to acquire their best player, hoping to lock them away as part of a protected cast for the following year.

So here, he said, take Brian Roberts, Nate McClouth, and Justin Morneau. Just give me Albert Pujols. Take Roy Halladay, Mark Texeira, Jimmy Rollins. Just give me at all costs Chase Utley.

The season ends and he gets to protect six players next year, and each are the best at their position. Not to mention, he has the first draft pick. Thus, in a keeper league, a two year plan is not out of the question. This guy has a formidable team going into next year’s draft. We only play 17 players in a 16 team league, and his top 6 are in the top 15 in baseball.

Rule Number Four. Score A Solid Veteran

The most fun is being the guy to take the next rookie at 1 buck who delivers 19 dollars worth for you, and becomes a star. So no one wants the 38 year old Casey Blakes and Mike Lowells whose numbers are consistent season after season, but are heartbreaking injury risks. Chances are they will be excellent and cheap late round selections next season. If your league uses toppers, a certain number of guys you get to keep if you bid a buck higher than anyone else, why not trade for one of them as a safety valve for your draft next Spring?

How many teams and owners let Aaron Hill in Toronto escape their eagle eye last season? He was off to a running start in 2008 when he went down with a season ending injury so he was off everyone’s radar, and wound up putting up huge numbers in 09. Trust in medicine. Based on how he started off in 09, you have got to believe a healthy Rickey Weeks can put up the numbers he started to put on the board last April. Remember that an owner seeking to dump a New York Yankees hurler named Wang may be tossing a guy who won 38 games in two seasons.

Rule Number Five. Grab Some Guys in Limbo

A week ago, no one knew if Carlos Gomez had a job. Now he may start in Milwaukee. His value has just soared.

Jeremy Hermida may be a fourth outfielder, but in the Boston lineup with that short rightfield porch and a DH slot available, the guy could blossom in Boston. At Fenway, his value has just soared.

As the season ends, Garrett Atkins has no job, and a team may dump him. Imagine how his value would soar if he was inserted into the Phillies lineup to replace Feliz? Look around for those guys who owners are nervous about keeping and may fool everyone. The Dodgers grabbed George Sherill as an 8th inning guy for their stretch run but no owner may want to pay his salary if he is not a closer. What happens if LA does not keep him and he winds up as a closer in another city? Look for that type of player, like a Hideki Matsui. He is going to hit 25 homers somewhere, but right now you are in a good bargaining position to grab him as the Yankees ponder whether to go with youth or re-sign the World Series Hero. Maybe his value soars if he signs anew and his roster spot gets locked in.

As I said, these rules are not etched in stone because there are numerous variants based on your league’s requirements and salaries and keeper provisions. But it helps to get through the next four months when the only excitement is Rotoworld’s posting of who gets untendered, busted, or traded.

The Artful Dodger: Vin Scully

2009-10-13T12:52:00.002-04:00

That Artful Dodgers Voice -- A great story by a writer for the
By MARK YOST
Los Angeles

The Major League Baseball playoffs begin tonight, and with them will come justifiable criticism of some of the abysmal sports commentary that regularly trudges across the airwaves. For a refreshing change, I would direct listeners to the smooth tenor voice and pithy commentary of Vin Scully. This is Mr. Scully's 60th year in the Los Angeles Dodgers broadcast booth, and he is nothing short of the best play-by-play man working in sports today.

The pregame banter for the first of three recent Rockies-Dodgers games was filled with information you could have gleaned from the morning paper or a blog. The Dodgers needed just one win to clinch the National League West (which they did Saturday night); a Phillies loss helped the Dodgers secure the best record in the National League. When Mr. Scully finally took the mike, he distinguished himself in just one sentence.

"It's a very pleasant Friday night here in Los Angeles," he said, telling radio listeners from Petaluma to Panama City something they couldn't possibly have known unless they were here at the game. More important, Mr. Scully, who's 81, wasn't just setting the atmosphere but building a rapport with his audience. "I don't announce," he told me in an interview before Saturday's game. "I have a conversation."

But once the game starts, Mr. Scully is all business. From the first pitch, you need the skills of a court stenographer to keep up with the facts and figures—all interesting and relevant—that he weaves effortlessly into a dialogue that's nothing short of poetic.

For instance, he noted that the Colorado Rockies had been 15½ games back in June and red hot coming into this series. He then reminded listeners that the Rockies were batting a paltry .168 against left-handed pitchers, like Dodgers starter Randy Wolf. Those aren't off-the-cuff remarks, but indicative of the preparation Mr. Scully puts into every broadcast.

Unlike many of today's commentators, he understands that what has happened is more important than what might happen. Thus, when Ryan Spilborghs came up to bat in the first inning, Mr. Scully said: "Rockies with runners at second and third. Torrealba, the butter-and-egg man, just delivered a double to drive in two runs. Wolf has made 30 pitches so far in the first inning and the Rockies lead two to nothing."

Mr. Scully didn't come out of the womb delivering such eloquent and informative commentary. He was tutored by legendary broadcaster Red Barber. In 1950, when he was only 23, Mr. Scully joined his mentor in the Brooklyn Dodgers broadcast booth and learned to never root for the home team, not to socialize with the ballplayers, not to listen to other broadcasters, and to know when to shut up. "Sometimes, nothing says it better than the roar of the crowd," Mr. Scully said.

Although he spent just four years at Mr. Barber's elbow, they were formative years. "In many ways, I was the son he never had," Mr. Scully recalled fondly.

In 1954, Mr. Scully became the sole Dodgers broadcaster. When the team moved to L.A. in 1958, the native New Yorker went with them. It was in Los Angeles that he forever put his imprint on this team and this city.
Mr. Scully credits the transistor radio with his early popularity. In fact, fans from the era told me that so many people brought radios with them to the team's first West Coast home, the cavernous Los Angeles Coliseum, that broadcast engineers were vexed by feedback from Mr. Scully's own voice.

Ross Miller, a 55-year-old Los Angeles pediatrician and Dodgers season-ticket holder, was one of those fans who grew up with Mr. Scully in his ear. "What's amazing, what really speaks to Vinny's talent, is the fact that he was describing a game we were watching with our own eyes, yet his words painted the picture so much better." Indeed, sitting in the Dodgers press box, I found myself averting my eyes from the field, preferring to let Mr. Scully describe the action.

The broadcaster insists that he never comes to the ballpark with any prepared lines, which makes some of his legendary calls all the more remarkable. In 1956, when Don Larsen went into the last inning of the only perfect game in World Series history, Mr. Scully said: "Let's all take a deep breath as we go to the most dramatic ninth inning in the history of baseball." In 1974, when Hank Aaron stepped to the plate to break Babe Ruth's home run record, Mr. Scully noted: "A black man is getting a standing ovation in the Deep South for breaking a record of an all-time baseball idol." In 1988, when Kirk Gibson hit a walk-off home run to win the first game of the World Series, the broadcaster said: "In a year that has been so improbable, the impossible has happened."

But perhaps his greatest call of all time came during Sandy Koufax's perfect game: "Three times in his sensational career has Sandy Koufax walked out to the mound to pitch a fateful ninth where he turned in a no-hitter. But tonight, September the ninth, nineteen-hundred and sixty-five, he made the toughest walk of his career, I'm sure, because through eight innings he has pitched a perfect game."

Later in the inning, he said, "there's twenty-nine thousand people in the ballpark and a million butterflies." And when Mr. Koufax struck out Harvey Kuenn to end the game, Mr. Scully simply said, "Swung on and missed, a perfect game," then let the crowd speak for 38 seconds. I can't imagine a broadcaster today shutting up for three seconds, much less 38.

The Dodgers host the Cardinals tonight to start the National League Division Series. The game will be broadcast nationally using the latest high-definition television technology. But I'd argue that the clearest picture of the game will come via radio and, as has been the case for the past six decades, it will come from Mr. Scully.

—Mr. Yost is a writer in Chicago.

Living and Dying By the Sword

2009-10-12T23:20:00.003-04:00

Not this time for World Series Hero Jon Papelbon

Francona and Tracy: Live and Die by the Sword

by Norm Kent

Terry Francona is a World Series winner.

Jim Tracy took the Rockies to the mountaintop this season.

Both managers were on the verge of elimination in a key playoff game in the Division Series.

Each team, down at home in the bottom of the 8th, rose to the occasion and saw their team take the lead.

How does not matter, really, does it? Bottom line is that home in the cold Yorvit Torrealba, Mr. Rocktober, drove a shot to the wall that gave the Rockies a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the 8th inning of a decisive game, which led to Tracy handing the ball to Huston Street in the 9th. Huston, 35 of 37 saves, Street. Game in the bag?

At Fenway, a few days before, a similar scene. Faced with elimination and extinction, the Sox rise from the ashes in the home 8th. They go to the 9th and Papelbon is on the mound to protect a two run lead. Game in the bag?

In both instances, one thinks of course. But this is October. This is the playoffs. And this is never say die for all the money. And these are guys who know no defeat. Who will not quit. Who will not yield.

Not even with two strikes two outs and the game on the line in 25 degree Colorado cold. Then Rollins singles. Utley walks. Howard ropes a rocket off the wall. And Werth follows with a game breaker, all off Street.

Two days before, Paps on the mound. Two outs. Two strikes, a pitch away from victory. Aybar slaps one to center. Figgins works a 3-2 pitch walk. Abreu raps it off the left field wall. Hunter is walked. Guerrero lines a game winner to center, all off Paps.

And I am thinking, watching both games, how both closers were off the mark, struggling, not finding home plate. Both outside and high on close pitches they needed to win. As a fan, you said: "God, get that guy out of the game. He is blowing it." But I am the fan and the manager has his guy on the mound and he shall not be moved.

But you got the feeling they were not going to get the last out; that the Angels were too good to be denied, and the Phils were defending World Champs for a reason. What a lineup. Rollins, Victorino, Utley, Howard, Ibanez, and Werth. Not an easy out anywhere. No reason to give up. And Street was clearly on the wrong intersection. Paps was wild high.

The Angelos started their year with their entire pitching staff on the DL, and one dies in an auto accident. On July 4, they lose Guerrero, Hunter, and Rivera for a month and proceed to win 18 of 20. These teams were just not going to lose. And they did not.

Ironically, in each instance, Francona and Tracy did not budge. They did not remove their ace reliever, though the options were many in the bullpen. Guys like Okajima or Marquis. Loyalty to a fault? What do you think?

Both defeats saw the home team lose leads in the top of the ninth and fail to come back in the bottom half. Both defeats saw crowds lifted into 8th inning ecstasy only to be doomed by 9th inning agony. Only to see their ace closers aced.

Of this, baseball legends and stories are made. Monday morning quarterbacking? Of course. Why not? On the subway home, I am sure that is what all the Rockies fans and Red Sox fans were thinking.

Why did we not make the switch? This was not 2007 anymore. This was a new year. Move with the tide. The managers did not, and the waters sucked them underneath. The Rockies and Red Sox went down to defeat, and so it goes. So it goes.

Back to the Division series. Will the Phils top LA again, to go back to the World Series? Will the Yanks make their first season at their new stadium a World Series endeavor? Can they top the Angels who seem to jinx them? Will their be a first ever Angels-Dodgers crosstown World Series?

Lots of questions, no answers, just some fun baseball ahead.

2002 WS Champs Angels vs 2000 WS Champs Yankees

2008 WS Champs Phillies vs wow its been awhile Dodgers

12 Year Old Homers Off Howard

2009-10-08T12:58:00.002-04:00

Well this story sure has generated controversy but there is no doubt in my mind that young Jennifer got wrongfully taken by the Phillies and the result is just and correct and proper. I will comment some more later, but for now interviews with CNN, NPR, and a few others are taking up the day.

Fantasy Furor: Did I Do Wrong or Right

2009-10-08T12:43:00.004-04:00

The issue today is whether by doing right by me I did wrong by my league.

Here goes.

Pissing Off Your League's Owners

Did I do the right thing, that is the question....

There are 20 teams in a daily league where the stats come down to the last day, the last inning, the last at bat.

Four teams are fighting for second to fifth place.

Myself, I am in a five way battle to finish between seventh and eleventh place.

For the first five teams, their whip is at 1.34 and CBS Sports can only find a winner by carrying it out to not a hundredth of a point, but a thousandth. The winner could be by 1.345 to 1.347 to 1.348. Thus, a walk, a hit, a bunt single can shift the standings. Can decide who gets $500 for finishing second, or $50 for finishing fifth.

That is how tight the league is. My race is over. I am going to finish 8th, 9th or 10th, out of the money. The others can win or lose hundreds of bucks, depending on how some of my players perform in the one game playoff between Minny and Motown. A SB there, a HR here, can move other teams final stats.

The season ends and after a really bad week, I drop from 7th to 9th by a half point. I want to stay there. In the one game playoff, the only guy I have starting is Orlando Cabrera. I would just as soon not play him as add him into a roster, and use his stats, because there is a league loophole I want to take advantage of.

After the season ends, you cannot add or drop. But you can have up to five disabled players. So those teams that have extra disabled players on their team get to keep them and carry them into the offseason, giving them extra players to trade and deal. I do not.

But since the one game playoff for the title counts towards the standings, you can still add and drop players. However, if your lineup is not legal, the league rule is you get no stats for the day. So obviously no one wants illegal lineups. But what have I got to lose from just one player on one day? If I can pick up three rookie prospects for the entire offseason if I do not drop anyone, I would rather be illegal for one day since I am losing the at bats from one sole player. And yet I snare three rookies to deal or reserve, who may or may not pan out.

I could care less about the stats for that day. Again, all I have to sacrifice is the stats from O Cab. He is the only guy I have playing that day, and I would rather have an illegal lineup but pick up three guys to hold over the winter and see how they do in the spring.

The teams from second to fifth are livid. Some other owners too. They say I am altering the league results by having an illegal lineup. They are insisting I make O Cab active and my lineup legit arguing my greed is changing the end results of the league. What if O Cab goes 0 for 4 and I don’t use him, that stat could push me down a fraction in b.a., and that could change the final standings by a thousandth of a point for the third place team. So I should play the guy, everyone argues. And give up my three extra players. I say Why?

I thought I was playing for my team, not others. Should I care how the others finish? Some of these guys are calling me every name in the book and I did not really want to hurt anyone. I just wanted to help myself.

Do I have an obligation to play with a legal lineup when only one or two players is affected? I mean, I could reserve them to begin with.

The point is am I under an obligation to abide by a legal lineup? I am getting penalized for not doing so; I am losing stats for a day. But really, since it is only one player, why should I care? Does my decision impact the others, or the final standings? Who is to say? The league policy does frown on illegal lineups, but on this the last day of the season, isn't it worth the sanction to score the extra players?

Why are the other owners so angry? Do they have a right to be? Am I being unfair to the integrity of the league? It is a competition. I don't want to risk losing the place I am in or the extra players I am socking away

Would you ? Do you think I have a greater moral duty to the league?

You make the call. I chose to keep the players and have an illegal lineup, doing what was right for me and not what others say was good for the league. I don't think it mattered either way, but was I right? Was I wrong?

Was I being unfair to others by being too fair to myself?

Barmes' Catch Lifts Rockies

2009-10-01T00:45:00.004-04:00

If you haven't seen it yet, Clint Barmes' catch Sunday afternoon seemed to be one of those things that makes September baseball great. It was a fantastic catch that preserved a slim lead, keeping the Rockies 2 1/2 games up in the NL wild-card race and preventing the Dodgers from clinching the NL West. The play came at such a dramatic juncture that T.J. Simers' column in the Los Angeles Times hinges on it.

The only problem is that Barmes may not have actually caught the ball. On The Denver Post's Rockies blog today, Nick Groke publishes a picture taken by a Post photographer which shows the ball popping out of Barmes' glove as the second baseman falls to the ground and another picture which makes it appear as if the ball is on the ground.

Watching the replay closely, it's almost impossible to tell if Barmes holds on to the ball or if he scoops it off the ground in one motion as he rolls over. I haven't seen a better angle replay, though if one exists I doubt the Rockies or Major League Baseball would be all that eager to let the public see it. Well, with the Braves losing to the Marlins on Wednesday, and Ianetta launching a late inning HR last nite, it looks like the Rockies are back in the playoffs anyway. Not bad for a team that everyone thought was a one trick pony in 2007.

How could Clint Hurdle have been so bad this year and Jim Tracy so good? Whatever, Tracy now will go against his old team, the Dodgers, in the playoffs.

The Triple Play by Bruntlett

2009-08-24T22:19:00.001-04:00

Baseball sweet Baseball.

Bruntlett screws up two plays in a row and is all set to be a goat.

Then this.

A Game Becomes A Classic

2009-08-08T21:15:00.002-04:00

It was an instant classic, a historic deadlock where time had no jurisdiction over the game's greatest rivalry and pitching reigned supreme, littering zeroes across the scoreboard well past the midnight hour.
The spotlight of a pennant race never gets much brighter than when the Yankees and the Red Sox share a ballfield, and on Friday, it couldn't have been much better. Alex Rodriguez's two-run homer ended an epic 15-inning contest as the Yankees defeated the Red Sox, 2-0.
"It was a big game at the beginning, and it just kept getting bigger and bigger," Rodriguez said. "You don't want to play 15 innings and use up great pitching performances from both sides. We knew the game was very important, and it was good that we won."
Five hours and 33 minutes after A.J. Burnett threw the game's first pitch, Rodriguez launched the final one into the left-center-field bullpen off Boston's Junichi Tazawa, driving in the only runs of the night and lifting New York to its 10th walk-off win of the season.
The good-night rocket allowed the Yankees to expand their lead in the American League East to 4 1/2 games over their blood rivals. For Rodriguez, it snapped a career-high 72-at-bat homerless streak with career shot No. 573, tying Harmon Killebrew for ninth place on baseball's all-time list.

It also authored a final chapter to a contest that -- through seven innings -- featured an epic duel between A.J. Burnett and Josh Beckett. The former Florida Marlins teammates were outstanding, successfully making a pleasant August evening feel an awful lot like October.
"Unbelievable win," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "This was really amazing. There were opportunities, but there weren't a whole lot of hits. Beckett and A.J. pitched great, and everyone in the bullpen pitched well for both teams. We were fortunate to come out on top."
Derek Jeter was on the bases for Rodriguez's blast and could not believe so much of the sellout crowd of 48,262 had remained for the final act, roaring and trying to will a victory in the first Yankees-Red Sox game to progress scorelessly through 14 innings.
"They were outstanding," Jeter said. "I was surprised there were so many fans left there at the end. When I was on first, somebody was yelling at me to steal the base. I was still lucky I was still standing up."
The Yankees' early-morning push brought bleary-eyed relief only after they had their hearts twisted once again in the 14th inning.
Eric Hinske had entered the game in the eighth and was already enjoying his third at-bat when, with two men aboard, he blasted a deep drive to right field, drawing great cries of anticipation.
Red Sox right fielder J.D. Drew used every ounce of his remaining energy to flag the ball with a sensational running grab. Pinch-runner Ramiro Pena ran back to second base, and Hinske was left in disbelief.
In the storied history of the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry, the franchises have played 15 or more innings 13 times. Friday night's nail-biter was the longest game between the two teams since
"I was hoping it was going to fall in, for sure," Hinske said. "I took my helmet off and I was like, 'No way, this is unbelievable.' It's just one of those crazy games that's going to go down in Yankees-Red Sox history."
The most clutch Yankee, Melky Cabrera, then spiked emotions with a bid for what would have been his fourth walk-off hit of the year, drilling a Tawaza offering into right field and galloping down the baseline. It, too, was premature.
The sinking liner smacked turf just a few inches outside the chalk, and first-base umpire Jim Joyce emphatically waved it foul. Cabrera was sent back to strike out swinging, the game went to the 15th inning, and some Yankees looked to the skies in frustration.
"At that point, you figure this game's never going to end," Jeter said. "That's pretty much it. That's one of those long ones. Our pitching staff deserves a lot of credit; theirs as well. We were just fortunate to come up with that home run."
Jeter had been hitless in six trips before singling off Tawaza in the 15th, a run of frustration that included stranding runners in scoring position in the third, fifth and 10th innings. He wasn't alone. The clubs combined to go a staggering 0-for-19 with runners in scoring position.
"It seems like it was a game of missed opportunities on both sides," Jeter said. "I'm sure we feel a lot better over here because we were able to win it."
Rodriguez spent most of his postgame media session deflecting attention to the starting pitchers, and with good reason -- it was the only time, A-Rod said, he had seen that many swings and misses in a single contest.
"It was a great game on both sides," Rodriguez said. "For me, the story of the day is Beckett and Burnett just throwing darts, and both bullpens were pretty much incredible."
Seeking his elusive first victory over the Red Sox since signing a five-year deal with the Yankees, Burnett allowed a single to the first batter he faced, then ensured that was it for Boston.
Snarling behind a bursting fastball and a biting slider, Burnett clamped the Red Sox quiet with 7 2/3 innings of scoreless ball, turning in what arguably plays as his signature performance thus far in pinstripes. After his 118th and final pitch, Burnett walked off the field to a lusty standing ovation.
"It was big for us," Burnett said. "I think I battled early but never got too upset with myself. I had quite a few walks there, four-pitch walks, but we were able to make pitches when I needed to, and luckily I got hold of that curveball late in the game."
Beckett also refused to give. The steely-eyed right-hander showcased his sharpest stuff, limiting the Yankees to four hits in a 115-pitch performance that surprised no one.
"He seems like he's always pitching good against us," Jeter said. "When you get guys on base, that's when he's at his toughest. You figure runs are going to be hard to come by."
Burnett's exit sequenced into the bullpen's hour to shine. Phil Hughes got a big out, Mariano Rivera worked the ninth inning against the heart of the Red Sox's lineup, and Alfredo Aceves was summoned to hurl three scoreless innings that would go rather unheralded in the grander picture.
Red Sox manager Terry Francona got just as much production out of the blacked-out names on his lineup card. All the while, Beckett and Burnett retained their seats, staring across the diamond at the drama playing out.
"We were running out of pitching, so we had to do it pretty quick," Girardi said. "[We had] nobody left. It just shows you the importance of the game and what the game means to everyone involved here."
Brian Bruney recorded six outs, some of them loud, and Phil Coke hurled a hitless 15th to set up Rodriguez's heroics. That sent Burnett dashing back on to the field, carrying with him a whipped cream pie destined for the left side of Rodriguez's face.
Rodriguez briefly allowed himself to taste the mess before toweling it off, and the exhilarating victory must have been indeed as sweet as he'd hoped. It certainly beat the alternative.
"Most of all, it's exhausting," Rodriguez said. "I think we were so excited that the ball went over the fence, not just because we won, but because we had a chance to go home and get some sleep."
Bryan Hoch is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

One Fantasy Player You Won't Draft Right Away

2009-08-04T19:30:00.002-04:00

DAYTON, Ohio -- A judge has convicted a Minor League pitcher of injuring a fan when he threw a baseball during an on-field melee in Dayton last year.

Montgomery County Common Pleas Court Judge Connie Price found Julio Castillo guilty Tuesday of felonious assault causing serious physical injury. He was acquitted on a second charge of felonious assault with a deadly weapon.

Twenty-two-year-old Castillo, of the Dominican Republic, was pitching for the Peoria Chiefs, a Chicago Cubs Class A affiliate, against the Dayton Dragons when the bench-clearing brawl broke out. Castillo threw a ball that gave a fan a concussion.

During last month's trial, Castillo testified that he threw the ball downward toward a dugout to try to keep opposing players from rushing the field. He says he was not aiming at anyone.

Castillo is on the roster of the Boise Hawks, another Class A affiliate of the Cubs, but was not allowed to play. The Cubs were awaiting the outcome of the trial to determine whether his status will change.

Thirtyballparks.com

2009-06-27T17:52:00.003-04:00

http://thirtyballparks.com/

So here is a real cool tour that you might want to put on your calendar; thirty ballparks in the space of thirty or so days for a summer vacation

My Dream Game

2009-06-24T10:32:00.004-04:00

http://www.goldpanners.com/MidnightSunGame/index.html

More than anything else, this is a place I want to go.

Here is a place I want to be.

I wanted to do it last year. I could not arrange it for this year. But for next year, somehow, someway, I would like to schedule things to be in Fairbanks, Alaska. I just did not think having just recovered from a bout of pneumonia that this was the appropriate course of action for me to take in June of 2009. But maybe next year. That's what the Cubs fans always say, right? Maybe next year. And now that I am healthier, maybe a lot more blogging. But at least a trip to the California coast. To the beaches of Laguna, La Jolla, San Diego, and of course, Black's Beach.

Lou Gehrig's 'Bad Break'

2009-06-02T11:05:00.002-04:00

The Iron Man of Baseball passed away on June 2, 1941; almost 70 years ago today. This was a ceremony in his honor on July 4, 1939 I believe. In the face of a career ending injury which would lead to his passing, he gave all of us a perspective on life, noting that his baseball career and life's experience made him 'the luckiest man on the face of the Earth.' I think about those words often when I get taken ill, or have a bad break. He stood up in the face of adversity as so must we all.

Doubt that he was ever suspended under a drug policy for 50 games. One of my heroes, with a legacy of grace and guts and he was so young. I saw that Casey Kotchman this week was out three or four days with a 'contusion.' How many times in his streak of 2,130 games in an era when the fields were not well tended, when the gloves were not as strong, when the medicines not as healing, did Lou Gehrig play with a contusion on his knee?

I think Conor Jackson and Casey Kotchman have a ways to go. Here are some astounding facts of that streak, which ironically also began on June 2, 1925, 84 years ago today.

Yankee manager Miller Huggins started Gehrig in place of regular first baseman Wally Pipp. Pipp was in a slump, as were the Yankees as a team, so Huggins made several lineup changes to boost their performance. Fourteen years later, Gehrig had played 2,130 consecutive games. In a few instances, Gehrig managed to keep the streak intact through pinch hitting appearances and fortuitous timing; in others, the streak continued despite injuries. Locked into the American athletes' professional vernacular today is the phrase, don't get 'Pipped,' aka don't call in sick, you may never get your job back.

AS for Lou, look what he endured:

On April 23, 1933, an errant pitch by Washington Senators hurler struck Gehrig in the head. Although almost knocked unconscious, Gehrig recovered and remained in the game.

On June 14, 1933, Gehrig was ejected from a game, along with manager Joe McCarthy, but he had already been at bat, so he got credit for playing the game. On July 13, 1934, Gehrig suffered a "lumbago attack" and had to be assisted off the field. In th

e next day's away game, he was listed in the lineup as "shortstop", batting lead-off. In his first and only plate appearance, he singled and was promptly replaced by a pinch runner to rest his throbbing back, never taking the field. A&E's Biography speculated that this illness, which he also described as "a cold in his back", might have been the first symptom of his debilitating disease.

In addition, X-rays taken late in his life disclosed that Gehrig had sustained several fractures during his playing career, although he remained in the lineup despite those previously undisclosed injuries.

Gehrig's record of 2,130 consecutive games played stood until September 6, 1995, when Baltimore Orioles shortstop Cal Ripken, Jr. broke it.

I would like to think somewhere in a small ballfield somewhere else in America today, maybe even in Latin America or Japan, some young kid is saying 'I can do that'; and long after this blog and myself are gone, some other blogger will be writing about the guy who surpassed Cal Ripken. It is the way of sport. Records are made today only to be broken tomorrow.

S Rod and Brandon May Be Bashing Wood in LA Soon

2009-06-01T14:35:00.005-04:00

It could be Sean Rodriguez, not Brandon Wood.

Second baseman might get the nod over teammate at triple-A Salt Lake if the Angels promote someone to take over for a slumping Howie Kendrick.

Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times writes today that "Imagine the uproar among Angels fans and bloggers if second baseman Howie Kendrick continues to struggle at the plate, the team makes a move to replace him, and it isn't to call up slugging prospect Brandon Wood.It could happen.

Wood, who is batting .289 with 10 home runs and 21 runs batted in for triple-A Salt Lake, is the player most prominently mentioned when talk turns to in-house options to bolster the offense.Because Wood plays third base and shortstop, his promotion would prompt a move of Chone Figgins from third base to second.But if Kendrick, who is batting .229 with four homers and 20 RBIs, is demoted, Wood isn't the most worthy replacement candidate.Sean Rodriguez is.Fans remember Rodriguez as the slick-fielding but light-hitting second baseman who provided superb defense in place of the injured Kendrick and Maicer Izturis in five stints, and 59 games, with the Angels last season."

But Rodriguez, who also plays shortstop, third and the outfield, has become a legitimate two-way threat. He is batting .280 with 17 homers and 50 RBIs in 46 games for Salt Lake, and don't be surprised if he gets the call before Wood if a move is made."He's really picked it up," Manager Mike Scioscia said. "He's someone we're paying a lot of attention to. The way he's driving the ball, playing all-around, has been very impressive.

As for Kendrick, Scioscia said, "We're not contemplating a move at this point, but it's something we're watching very closely."Kendrick seemed to find his stroke during a six-game stretch from May 18 to 23, when he was eight for 23 with three RBIs, raising his average from .230 to .247.But Kendrick went hitless in his next 11 at-bats and did not start Saturday night against Seattle."At times, he looks like he's getting comfortable in the box, at times he looks a little frustrated, like he's trying to do too much," Scioscia said. "If a couple hits fall in, I think this guy will start to relax and be productive."

The bottom line is that Brandon Wood has been Fantasy's Babe Ruth for four years now, ever since an astounding minor league season, which has never materialized in the majors. Some take years to develop and get a chance. Some just get passed over. Some like Adrian Gonzales, go through Texas and Florida as the number one draft choice in 2000, only to shine in San Diego nearly 8 or 9 years later. But we live in an age and era of hype, and the Angels have fed into that machine, with Dallas McPherson, Kendry Morales, Casey Kotchman, Brandon Wood, and Sean Rodriguez. If only minor league stats counted, these guys would have been a fantasy delight.

So a shrewd fantasy owner may rush to the waiver wire and find Sean Rodriguez on it. He may replace Kendrick. He may or may not do well. Or he may just find time passed him by. The truth is that none of us know for sure whether this is the year the Wood gets to the plate, or S Rod becomes a dominant force. One thing is for certain, if you are in a fantasy pennant race, the time to deal Wood or S Rod is right now. Their value will never be higher. All because fantasy owners are starting to, like Mike Scosia, look at Howie Kendrick's actual numbers and not the hype.

'Go Cubs Go' Will Not Be Heard Enough this Summer

2009-05-30T19:01:00.004-04:00

Nothing is quite as much fun as watching a Cubs game at WRigley Field, and even as a Dodgers fan, it was a spectacular day in the Windy City this afternoon.

Ryan Dempster was dominating, the Boys in Blue were flat, and Larry King, a baseball fan from Miami, sung Take Me Out to the Ball Game. Wish I was there. Wish I could have stopped by Harry Caray's and had a brew.

Celebrated the day with a fantasy trade, dealing D Wayne Wise and an A's prospect for Hideki Okajima and some holds. Big Mike D from Chicago was the taker, and he is a player who plays for fun and trades a lot. I had Dempster in one league and traded him for James Loney, needing obp and b.a. I threw in Griffey, who has had a few HRS but all but established that this is his last year. Dempster has been inconsistent, but shows clear signs that he will win 14=15 games for Chicago. You would think that with the Big Z, Harden, and Dempster, the Cubs should get to the playoffs. Not to mention Lilly is a picture of perfection and consistency. Solid starters through and through.

But times change and so too must the teams. D Lee is not the guy who powered the Marlins to the World Series in 2003. That was years ago. The Cubs search for a CF never worked out, and while other teams have discovered a Markakis and an Adam Jones, the Cubs got stuck with Felix Pie. And A Ram has been hurt, hasn't he? Age catching up with him.

De Rosa had an awesome season but they dealt him, why I don't know. Theriot will be solid, but they need more. Going with Gregg as closer but Wood is gone. Soto's bat has been less than so so at the plate. The Cubs just ain't where they should be. The Cubs just are not as good as they were last year, and they did not win then.

Disappointing. No city deserves to win more. No city wants to win more. But calling upon Bobby Scales and Jake Fox, both journeyman, won't cut it. Friday nite, seeing the game on the line, with two rookies, one 30, one 26, did not make for dreams. Scales did have a pinch hit HR, but where are the Cubs rookies? Who is moving in to excite the crowd?

Teams generate fans and excitement with new blood. The Cubs have a great player in Reed Johnson who will have an occasional great day and make a regular great catch. But Fukodome has been blah, Soriano has not been clutch, and centerfield is lacking. I don't know, but there is something I don't like about the team the way it is set up.

If they could put Soriano at second, land a centerfielder, get youthful strength at the corners, have a pitching staff that was more reliable, maybe I would have more faith. But I think there is going to be a disappointing summer afoot at Wrigley. Doesn't matter, it's one great place to watch a game, fantasy or reality.

Cafardo Says Dealer's Choice on Trades

2009-05-25T11:50:00.003-04:00

Heavy trade action may be in the cards, a good column by Nick Cafardo, who is able to pinch blog while I continue to recover from a lengthy bout with the flu, here is an interesting column from boston.com

By Nick Cafardo May 24, 2009

When Jake Peavy rejected a chance to join the White Sox, teams such as the Cubs, Brewers, Phillies, Mets, and Dodgers breathed sighs of relief, hoping that the prize pitcher will instead hand-pick the National League team that suits him best.

While that deal was vetoed by the former NL Cy Young Award winner, it kicked off what should be an active trading period between now and the July 31 deadline.

Normally, teams are focused on the amateur draft at this time, but major league scouts are out there in full force, inquiring about what teams are willing to part with.

Most baseball people feel a Peavy deal will be made because the Padres need to move the guaranteed $50 million-$60 million remaining on his deal. The big question becomes which team can offer San Diego general manager Kevin Towers a substantial package of prospects - as the White Sox did.

The Brewers took a bold step last season when they threw payroll concerns out the window and traded for CC Sabathia, who led them to a playoff berth. The Brewers left themselves some wiggle room this season by electing not to pursue a big-name pitcher, adding only journeyman Braden Looper.

Getting Peavy is complicated, though, because you have to be willing to come up with the package of players and pay out the salary. In some cases, teams may have to commit to picking up a $22 million option in 2013.

The Red Sox always made the most sense for Peavy because they have the prospects, they have the money, and the righthander likes Boston. But they are the team that needs him the least.

The Cubs' new owner, Ameritrade guru Tom Ricketts, should have the $900 million sale in place within a month. When and if that happens, the Cubs could reenter the picture for Peavy.

While the White Sox and Padres are open to deals (the Padres would love to move Brian Giles), a major league evaluator said last week that the A's and Indians also appear to be "wide open" for business, as could be the Rockies and Mariners.

A fire sale could be in the offing in Cleveland, with attractive players such as last year's Cy Young winner, Cliff Lee, who will be a free agent after next season; Mark DeRosa, who would bring a top reliever and has been coveted by multiple teams; and the big prize, catcher Victor Martinez, who is said to be available for a blockbuster package. The Indians also would surely move underachieving shortstop Jhonny Peralta.

The A's could soon field inquiries on outfielder Matt Holliday, who is picking up his hitting, though he simply hasn't taken to the expanse of McAfee Coliseum. The A's would also move Jason Giambi and/or Orlando Cabrera after June 15, the date when free agents signed during the offseason can be traded.

"It seems like everyone is looking for pitching with the exception of the Red Sox," said an American League evaluator. "If it's true that Brad Penny becomes available, they'll have some interested parties in him as long as he's showing he's over his shoulder problems."

The Mariners got off to a decent start, but as their season turns into what we thought it would be - lousy - they'll make some of their more attractive players available. Guys like the struggling Adrian Beltre, Jarrod Washburn, Erik Bedard, and Miguel Batista, who are all in the final year of their contracts, could be had. Batista may fit in Tampa, which is looking for another bullpen piece.

The Mariners and Pirates reportedly were discussing a Jack Wilson-for-Yuni Betancourt deal last week, until it fell through. Wilson, the slick-fielding Pirates shortstop, would be a viable addition for a contending team needing help at that position. That team could be the Cardinals, who are not pleased with Khalil Greene.

The Dodgers could run away with the West if they land Peavy, and if Manny Ramírez returns as a good citizen and infuses life into the lineup, but many of their "prospects" are in the majors.

The Rockies could be dealing with a new manager soon, but reliever Huston Street, third baseman Garrett Atkins, first baseman Todd Helton (who would have to approve a deal), and outfielder Brad Hawpe could all be available.

The Nationals may move first baseman Nick Johnson, who is in the final year of his three-year deal, and having a very good season. The Orioles could attract suitors for Aubrey Huff and relievers George Sherrill and Danys Baez.

The trade season has just begun.

Rantin and Ravin on Fantasy vs. Reality

2009-05-11T20:56:00.003-04:00

That Time of Year

If your fantasy team is in 15th place in a 20 team league, it is time to take stock.

You protected Brandon Webb and thought you had a Cy Young candidate. You wound up with an arm injury after one start.

You traded for Brad Lidge and thought you got the Mariano Rivera of saves. Instead, you wound up with a river of excuses, from poor mechanics to bad knees.

You thought you had the next Hunter Pence or Corey Hart in Cameron Maybin and you wound up with the next Corey Sullivan.

You thought Gavin Floyd at a buck was the goose with the golden egg and he has done nothing but lay them.

You kept Uggla as a slugging second baseman and he wound up as a slug with an under .200 average.

Your team looked so good on paper. Then baseball happened.

It is time to respond, redact, and redo. No one is sacred. Everyone is dispensable. Rebuild.

You can help plan your fantasy future by anticipating what the real teams are going to do.

You have to understand that in Cleveland they are clamoring for Matt La Porta, in San Francisco for Jesus Guzman or Nate Scherholz, in Baltimore for Nolan Reimold. And in cities that are not winning, the elder statesman, even if like Brian Giles and Randy Winn, they batted 300 last season, they are toast. They will be moved and replaced by younger prospects, and the older guys will be reduced to pinch hitters on pennant contenders.

This year it will be a David Delluchi. Last year it was Brad Wilkerson. But time comes to an end to all the Geoffrey Jenkins and Jhonny Gomeses. They get passed by, by the younger rookie. Cliff Floyd might find himself somewhere other than a DL, but he is no longer a realistic fantasy option. Nor is Jesse Barfield, Andy Marte, or a half dozen other one time can’t miss prospects. Time has passed by the Jason Bottses of the world. It happens fast. Felix Pie was untouchable in fantasy last year. This year he is for another reason. No one wants to touch him. Ian Kennedy, anyone?

Sad, but true. So what do you do as a fantasy player? Project who will get a chance, which team thinks they can win, and don’t be afraid to deal for strength in teams that will need help today. If the Padres are going to move Peavy for a Dodger stud, it is because they are going to give that Dodger stud the ball.

Chad Tracy has been a bust coming back from his year long injury. Tony Clark is a stopgap already disabled. The director of player management has become their new field manager. The team is losing and not scoring. So Josh Whitesell is crushing the ball in triple a, and he will get a chance to do the same in Arizona.

The Reds have had to deal with the streakiness and inconsistency of Edwin Encarnacion in the past. They do not want to again. He goes on the DL, and yes this kid Adam Rosales has a chance to replace him. So too has Kevin Kouzmanoff worn out a welcome in San Diego. It is significant they are talking about promoting their star prospect Kyle Blanks to LF at Triple A, because it opens up third base for Chase Headley, his natural position. It makes Kouzmanoff expendable.

The Indians gave up the franchise to get Matt La Porta. By season’s end, with the Tribe out of the running, La Porta will be in the lineup everyday. Dellucci will be pinch hitting in Anaheim. Same in Milwaukee. Bill Hall will become Bill Hall. The call will be to Matt Gamel.

As a fantasy owner, you may want to avoid a Phil Hughes whose development New York cannot afford to endure if it costs them a pennant. They will trade away the Kazmirs and the Karstens and anyone else that cannot help them win right here right now. They have proved it in the past. They will do it in the present. Both NY franchises. And their guys are always overly hyped. So be careful.

But in Chicago, with a guy who likes vets as Piniella does, don’t expect a bulging disk to take Derek Lee out of the lineup. Not Micah Hoffpauir or anyone else. And Jeff Samardizija or whatever, may never crack the rotation. But they can afford to let a Luke Hochvear get a dozen starts in Kansas City. They can afford to give the Kia Kahluaha kid the bat and deal Ryan Shealy. Mr. Shealy is no longer the young stud who was going to soar in the Rockie Sky. Neither is Joe Koshansky.

The point I am making is that teams are fluid in their movement. Last year, everyone wanted Alejandro De Aza in Marlinville. He is hitting .340 in the minors today. May be better than Cameron Maybin. No one cares. He is yesterday’s news. So the thing to do is if you are rebuilding is to find tomorrow’s news, but be sensible. Time passes guys by right away. I don't care whether the Reds play Laynce Nix or Chris Dickerson in the outfield, neither is the next Eric Davis. Those stars do not shine yearly. They come once in a blue moon, despite the minor league hype.

Yes, Jose Tabata is a prospect, but a young one, hardly dominating, and out for 8 weeks with an injury. Andrew McCutcheon has not torn up triple A either, but he is more of a prospect than Brandon Moss, whose days are numbered. Congratulations to Bobby Cox, who liked so much Jordan Schaffer the Braves dealt Josh Anderson. But Schaffer has not had an rbi in a month, can’t hit a major league fastball, and is striking out at a rate greater than Cameron Maybin. You know what, if the Braves are contending, they can only ride Jordan so much longer. So maybe if you are a fantasy buff, you make a play for Maybin or Schaffer when their stock is low. You deal an outfielder whose numbers are steady but will not help you at all right now, and line up a prospect, who may help you tomorrow. He could become Felix Pie, your league will scream, and no Dexter Fowler is not worth Aubrey Huff but those are the kinds of deals May will bring.

Manny Ramirez could get you a Travis Snider and Nolan Reimold and thirty dollars of next year’s drafting money to pick up Vernon Wells. If you are out of the running, how do you not make the play for the younger high ceiling prospects? Just line up the realities against the fantasies. If your team is in the running, sure go take a flyer on Adrian Beltre and Andruw Jones for Manny today. But if you are not in the running, you have just traded a real blue chip who could land you a young Zack Greinke for a rusted slug.

Look at the market the kid is playing in and the chances he will get to succeed or fail, particularly how long a team can carry him if he sucks, as Schaffer and Maybin have been doing. That won’t play on Broadway. Note how many times in the last week Bret Gardner is sitting in the Bronx; how many starts a Melky Cabrera they did not want is getting. Hey, if Randy Winn or Brian Giles become available, they wind up in the Bronx, and Gardner on the pine. The Mets gave up Mike Carp to win with JJ Putz. Seattle needs a corner guy. Bryan LaHair was not the answer. Carp can be, but only after Branyan reaches Earth and is dealt when Seattle recognizes he is on a little roll.

I can’t believe the Angels struggling rotation has not dealt Brandon Wood to the Pirates for a pitcher yet, but there is a natural fit for a star like Wood to finally get some bats, paired next to Andy La Roche in Pittsburgh. But for some reason Wood never gets a break, and each time he is called up and sent down, his stock falls. Ask Dallas McPherson.

One final note. Notice how Denard Span supplanted Carlos Gomez in Minnesota. How despite offering Gary Matthews a five year deal, the very next season the Angels signed Hunter and were willing to bench Matthews. The Dodgers did the same to Juan Pierre. The White Sox gave Centerfield to everyone but the hot dog vendor, and after going through all of them, wound up with Scott Podsednick back their this week. Don’t be afraid to stack on a competitive team a Juan Pierre type, who when the main star goes down, is bound to come up and play. The Dodgers are sitting on a powder keg of injuries with ODog, Furcal and Blake in the infield. Man, I want to sock away Blake DeWitt.

The best advice is to play the roll, and understand Lance Berkman and BJ Upton and Alexei Ramirez get better. CC started off real slow last year and teams dealt him too quickly. But if you are in 18th place with a $42 dollar pitcher, Go with the flow. But go in the know. You have to learn the market, know the players, and anticipate where the teams are headed. If time and injuries do not catch up with Carl Pavano, the league will. But he gets a chance to start again and again in Cleveland, while he would not in New York. No one would trade Phil Hughes for Pavano, but if you are in the hunt, who is more likely to get you wins in 2009? Think about it.

So here are the rules:

1. Water seeks its own level. If someone wants to deal Grady Sizemore because he is hitting 225, give up the farm to get him.

2. If you have an old vet on a losing team, he will do better and so can you. Cut your losses and let him go.

3. If you have a young prospect in a contending city, understand he is not going to get the same chance a kid in a lesser market gets. If you have a contending team, don't be afraid to add an Aubrey Huff and his 30 HR pop for what Jordan Schaffer may become. If you are not contending, don't be afraid to head the other way.

4. Success in the minors does not mean success in the majors, especially for pitchers, and more importantly for batters in the Pacific Coast Leagues, where your high school coach could hit 25 hrs.

5. If you are in a league with reserves, contracts, and minors, start stacking away arms at double aa and triple aa that teams will hunger for come the Fall. But don't be afraid to deal them right away. If someone is offering you Roy Oswalt for Luke Hochvear, and you are contending, how do you not go for it?

Niese Looked Real Nice for the Mets Tonite

2009-05-08T21:44:00.003-04:00

Oh, this is your classic fantasy blog.

I kept this guy in three leagues this winter. I was positive he would make the Mets rotation.

Then he was shelled all Spring and torched at triple AAA. The Mets said they were going to demote him even. But I held onto Jon Niese, at least until May 4, the day the Mets announced they were calling him up.

Wait a second, I said, impetuously, if they are going to announce that a 41 year old Japanese retread was starting ahead of him, or another version of Casey Fossum, am I going to activate one of these rookie starters for a Jeremy Sowers or Graham Taylor start of 3 innings, 9 runs, and 7 walks. I could not decide what to do. Screw it, I released this guy I protected all winter from two of my four daily leagues.

And I watched him tonite. 6 innings. 7 hits. 5 k's great control, and I am sitting here blogging for the first time in a week saying, ' Damn, how could I have let this guy go?'

No he is not Sandy Koufax but hey it is the Mets, he showed last Fall he can pitch at this level, hurled a shutout in one game, so he is a little inconsistent now and then. Mike Pelfrey will be too. But there is a reason he was number three in the Mets prospect chart by Baseball America, a reason why I kept him, and they all went out the window last week, why? Because I was impetuously dissatisfied with a slow start in Triple AAA?

I see him winning a dozen games for the Mets between now and September. I see him becoming part of their rotation. And I see him on other teams in two of my fantasy leagues where I should have trusted my feelings like Yoda said to Luke Skywalker.

We all make fantasy mistakes. I am making a few this year. But I think the worst mistake we all make is that we are not patient enough to let seeds grow, nurture, and mature. Maybe too it is the same with our own lives.

Look, he could be the next Homer Bailey and fail grandly, though HB has been impressive of late. The point is that sometimes you gotta hold your horses. I knew better. I should have done better. I think I am going to be kicking myself on this one. Of course, one of my curses is that when you are in thirteen leagues, well, hell, I still have him in four more........:-)

The Legal Side of the Manny Wood Mess

2009-05-08T20:51:00.002-04:00

My Thoughts on Manny, Reality, and the Fantasy Play

First of all, it’s good to be back. I have been otherwise engaged the past week and not able to do any blogging on my legal or baseball pages. And there has certainly been news.

Here is my take on Manny the Moronic both in and out of Fantasyland.

First of all, let’s go to the reality. I am a criminal defense lawyer. When a guy gets bonded out on a drug offense, he is told he cannot use drugs. When he is put on probation, he is told he cannot use drugs. But some do, and they get caught and reprimanded, even jailed.

One of the things the courts and jurists have learned is that the drug users cannot help themselves and repeat their violations. So they try to outsmart the system repeatedly by using drugs illegally and then employing ‘masking agents’ which cover up their use in the body afterwards. But forensics and science testing being what it is, the masking agent can be chemically discovered in the bloodstream, thanks to Gary Sinise and CSI NY. So what we know is that when a ‘masking agent’ is found it is a clear indication that he may have been using at an earlier date; presumptive proof that the user may not be testing positive today, but it is only because of what he did improperly yesterday.

As a matter of fact, it is now a violation of your pre trial release or probation to test positive for a ‘masking agent’ because it suggests to the court you are using prohibited substances to begin with. The substance found in Manny’s body, a human fertility drug found in women, HCG, is one of those masking agents. It suggests then that Manny went to a doctor and was given a Hobson’s choice.

“I have been using steroids,” he must have said, and “I either have to admit it, come clean, get suspended, or hope that I can hide it with a masking agent, and scientific analysis being what it is, there is a less chance I will test positive if I use the masking agent.” So either on his own or in consultation with others he rolled the dice and lost. Don't buy into the apology. You are not getting the whole story, anymore than you did with A Rod, who clearly needed a lot more counseling before he spoke to the public.

The chemical analysis of Manny Ramirez revealed not the presence of a steroid, but the masking agent designed to cover up its use. And the Major league drug policy, like the courts, bans the masking agents because they know if they are there now, it is because of what was in your body previously. Manny knew it too, and quickly subscribed to the 50 game suspension. This may also account for the reason Manny chose to avoid signing with a team earlier; may explain that he was not only not trying to avoid Spring Training, but that he was trying to avoid the inevitable testing that would come with a signing.

Yes, he was stupid. But deceptive too. Rules, major league baseball included, have exemptions. If the testosterone he sought was clinically indicated by a physician, he could have noticed MLB in advance and communicated the need for the usage. But the need was less than legit. Somehow I am thinking the Doctor in Miami that Manny visited with knew something about the rules, and that given the number of athletes down here, MLB has a list of suggested ones, just as they have a list of those substances which are prohibited under the policy. Someone sold him a bill of goods that these masking agents worked, and not to worry. So he relied on what worked before.

Cops can't pull everyone over who is speeding either. And you don't catch every fish in the ocean. But they are out there, and sometimes you snare a big one.

So Manny the Fun Queen has done to his name what so many other superstars have done before him, tarnished it. And for such a talent, you gotta wonder why. All I can think is that they are spoiled, foolish, misled, and do not appreciate the gifts they have been given, do not grasp the rules applies to president and paupers. There is just too much of a vacuum where the brain belongs. I have no sympathy for him. I have sympathy for the sport I love, the athletes I admire, and the stain they keep putting on the field.

I think I will write about the baseball impact later. This column kind of ruined what I wanted the blog to be about. I want to write about baseball here, the bats, not the brats; the hits not the empty hats.

The D Train Tries To Get Back on Track

2009-05-02T13:55:00.003-04:00

Well, a week of legal work has prevented me from blogging baseball or fantasy, but this is one of those feel good stories.

D Train had a little bit of Mark Fidrych in him, I think, when he landed in the Marlins dugout in 2003 from Double A. He was magical and marvelous and a fan favorite. Like Brandon Webb, he opened eyes and shook up the crowds.

Both are on the shelf now. But Brandon's trouble is physical. You can operate on that. Dontrelle seems to have lost the ability to stay within himself and his energies and passions have blown up like a balloon letting out air, spinning wildly in all directions.

We are all hoping he comes back, and is worth a fantasy shot again, of course. He can be had cheap. But do not be overly fooled by hearing he threw six innings of two run ball for the 'Harrisburg Senators.' He has a long way to go from this minor league town to a major league arena, to umps all over the strike zone and fans with less patience. But we will be rooting for the train to get back on track.

Odd though, is it not, this World Series hero, this all star, this multi million dollar salaried pitcher, quietly working things out in a small town, apart from the crowds, the awe, and the spotlight of major league baseball. Sometimes a reminder to walk barefoot in your roots is a good way to get replanted.

Angels Will Roll the Dice on a Shaky Ortega

2009-04-24T16:51:00.003-04:00

The Angels have a decimated pitching staff, apart from the tragic death of Nick Adenhart.

In the bullpen, Arreondo and Shields have been shelled. Fuentes has been no K Rod.

On the front lines, Lackey, Escobar, Moseley, and Santana are on the DL. Saunders has been ok, but the door is opening to a tripod of triple a prospects and retreads. A guy named Matt Palmer won with five earned runs yielded yesterdeay.

Now they have to hope they can hit the lotto again Saturday against the Mariners.
Angels manager Mike Scioscia said before Thursday’s game that the decision has been made (Anthony Ortega) on who will start Saturday (Anthony Ortega) but won’t be announced until Friday (Anthony Ortega).

The pluses with Ortega? He is a well-regarded prospect with at least some Triple-A experience (six starts in Triple-A last season and three there this season). He’s already on the 40-man roster (making for less roster juggling) and he would be working on four days’ rest.

The minuses? He reported to spring training with inflammation in his forearm and was set back in his throwing program at a time when he was supposed to be competing for a spot in the Angels’ rotation. He hasn’t pitched particularly well in his first three starts for Triple-A Salt Lake — including nine runs allowed on 12 hits and a walk in four innings Monday at Reno.

The Angels tipped their hand by promoting Double-A right-hander Sean O’Sullivan to Triple-A Thursday and Trevor Reckling from Class-A to Double-A in the trickle-down wake caused by pulling Ortega from Salt Lake’s rotation.

Here is the thing for fantasy players. You may strike lightning and score with a triple A pickup, some guy who did not get past the spring training cuts. A new guy comes up, hurls a gem, and is suddenly a star. But the Brian Bannisters of the world fall down. The one hot start is a fluke. Play this fantasy wire game and it will bloat your fantasy era and whip, causing your good outings by a Billingsley or Lincecum to dog beat because you think you scored big on Chris Jabukakas. You know, he won for Seattle his first time out and then was shelled in his second start.

The better way to play fantasy ball is to lock in a steady pitching staff that you do not have to juggle in daily leagues by the prospective call ups. Most fail. Most will kill you. Yes, a few will become stars, but if you are playing that roll, cause you are sitting with 100 points in hitting and only 50 in pitching and you are in the middle of your league, understand you are gambling, rolling the dice, and letting it all ride not on the 25 mainstays you chose but the one you are desperate to pick up in the hope that he may deliver. Not a winning way to play.

So Anthony Ortega is on his way to the bigs, for better or worse, free and available in most daily leagues. Wanna roll the dice. After all, Angels hitting behind him, weak Mariners in front of him, who knows what the roll will be?

Sipping A Cup of Major League Coffee

2009-04-23T11:36:00.003-04:00

It might not make sense to anybody else, but that doesn't really matter.

Left-hander Tony Sipp, promoted from Class AAA Columbus on Tuesday night, said he felt better walking into a big-league locker room Wednesday with a scar on his left elbow from Tommy John surgery than if he'd done it without having the surgery.

"I had a lot of success early," said Sipp before Wednesday's game against Kansas City. "I'm not saying I'm this type of guy, but I didn't want to come into this clubhouse with a chip on my shoulder. Saying I did this, I did that.

"I've had a lot of time to myself to figure out everything when I was injured. To think about what should happen and how I should get back to where I want it to be."

Sipp remembers lifting five-pound weights at the beginning of his rehab from the 2007 surgery. He was still six months away from picking up a baseball.

"I learned how to deal with a different kind of adversity," said Sipp. "I think that helped a lot. . . . Now I actually have a background to how I got here. It wasn't so easy. It wasn't just success, success, success."

One more human interest story in the game of baseball. Tony Sipp fulfilled his dream last nite, one inning, no hits, one strikeout, and a chance to say for the rest of his life he played in the major leagues.

Bernadina's Big Break Leads to a Bad Break

2009-04-20T21:15:00.003-04:00

More on the great catch above in just a moment

Not the Kind of Break Out I Wanted : Lowrie Down

Jed Lowrie may need wrist surgery, one of the guys I handpicked as a breakout candidate for Boston. Why not? Like Dustin Pedroia a year before, he had a soft start on a strong team. But he scored 40 runs and had 40 rbis in half a season for the Bo Sox sluggers. He was destined to score a hundred this year. Not bad for a shortstop at all. So he is hurt and as fate would have it, Julio Lugo is just getting better. Fortuitous for Boston, but do not expect the world out of an older beaten up Julio. No more 38 steals for him.

Speaking of shortstops I said not to bet the farm on, why did the Reds trade Keppinger? Alex Gonzalez is hitting .079, and his backup Paul Janish, a defensive whiz, won’t hit much better. I think A Gon has been gone too long. And those human growth hormones he used to build up his strength after that shoulder surgery a few years ago, well you just can’t use them anymore.

But the worst break of the week belongs to Roger Bernadina of the Washington Nationals. This is a devastating story of hurt. He is in the majors first because the Nats sent down Milledge. Then he gets a start only because Dukes does a Dukes like thing and the bad boy shows up late for a game. So Manny Acta benches him and goes with Bernadina. Roger responds with a game saving catch against the right center field wall with the bases loaded, denying Dan Uggla a clear bases clearing triple.

Later in the game, tied, Uggla is up again with the bases loaded, and he crushes it to center. It is either gone or off the wall. But Bernadina will not be denied. He leaps high, over the fence, and pulls it in. What could have been a two homer seven rbi day for Uggla is going to be an 0 for 6. They show him in the dugout sulking. He is depressed. Meanwhile, Bernadina is on a stretcher. You could see him land on his ankle and then the force of his body made mince meat out of it. They called it a sprain initially but I said no way.

In my Grand Slam Uber League, I claimed him as a free agent at one p.m. By 4:30, I knew he was history. I dropped him. Hours later, he was on the Disabled List with a broken ankle. Talk about bad luck. First day in the Bigs this year. Two awesome catches and a broken ankle.

Reminds me of the dude a few years ago who was beaned in his first at bat and out for the year. Never made it. Can’t remember his name. Just another one of those amazing human interest stories that do not make the boxscore.

Roger Bernadina got his shot for a brief moment in the sun. It rained that day all over his parade.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/18/AR2009041802296.html

One defensive note for Elijah Dukes, who was warned if he was late again he would be returned to the minor leagues. He was apparently at a free unauthorized signing of autographs for a bunch of inner city little leaguers. Don't you cut him some slack for that?

Colonel Sanders Jailed in Japan

2009-04-18T17:17:00.001-04:00

TOKYO - He was covered in mud when pulled from the river, and had lost both legs and hands, not to mention his glasses. But Colonel Sanders still had his trademark smile, 24 years later.

A statue of the KFC mascot has been found in a river in Osaka, a city official said Wednesday, nearly a quarter century after being tossed in by crazed baseball fans who felt the image of restaurant founder Harland Sanders resembled a key team member.

"He was apparently found standing upright, which is fitting, because although he was a nice man he could also be very strict and demanding," said Sumeo Yokakawa, a spokeswoman at the chain's Tokyo headquarters.She said the statue was taken from a nearby KFC restaurant and tossed in the river as part of a celebration by baseball fans in 1985, the year Osaka's baseball team, the Hanshin Tigers, won the national championship.

Local fans thought the Colonel bore a resemblance to Randy Bass, a bearded power hitter and first baseman from the U.S. who played for the team at the time.

Colonel Sanders rises from watery graveMarch 11: Divers searching for World War II bombs in Japan discover a statue of the KFC icon.msnbc.com Fans often jump into the murky river to celebrate the team's successes, but there has been little to celebrate in recent years. Many fans feel the team has been plagued by the "curse of Colonel Sanders" since his effigy was submerged in 1985.

It has failed to win a national championship since, although it did win its division in 2003.

The upper half of the statue was found Tuesday in Osaka's Dotonburi River during construction work to build a new walkway, according to city official Hideo Yuko. His legs and right hand were found Wednesday morning.

Colonel in police custody

The colonel will be kept in police custody for the time being, but Yokakawa said KFC is considering donating him to the home stadium of the Tigers in Osaka. The store where he originally stood has since closed.

The KFC chain currently operates about 1,160 restaurants in Japan, and has about 1,000 Colonel Sanders statues in the country.

Random Roto Thoughts and Some Guys to Think About

2009-04-18T16:32:00.003-04:00

The Red Sox staff is already depleted with Dice K down. Look for Justin Masterson to move into the rotation to replace him.

The injury to Alex Gordon moves Teahen to third base indefinitely. It opens up a slot for Mitch Maier to prove that he can play major league baseball and make it in the KC outfield. He is no Nelson Cruz but has never gotten a fair shot. This could be his time. Many guys like that.

The Red Sox need a SS. Don’t be surprised if they deal. Gil Velazquez and Travis Denker are not the answer. Neither is Julio Lugo anymore but they seem to have a false reliance on him.

Cameron Maybin is showing signs of being overmatched. Looks like super utilityman Alfredo Amezaga may be more useful than originally anticipated. Don’t blame Maybin yet. Batting a free swinger eighth in the order was not bright. But then who can fault the Marlins for anything right now?

No surprise to see ageless Doug Mienkevichski go down for LA, on a base hit no less, but it opens up the door for Blake DeWitt to come back to the majors. Speaking of which, kick myself surely, I had Eric Stults as a reserve in every league, and released him before the season when he was torched in his last Spring start and LA sent him down.

Then Kuroda gets hurt, and Stults shows up on the early morning roto news as his replacement, and is swooped up in every league. He is 2-0 already and a good pickup to grab and deal. His history suggests a lack of dominance and while steady, you might get more for him now then he is actually worth. Or if you need pitching, you scored a free agent steal.

Then there is the entire softball team of outfielders on the Nationals. Someone go get Willingham. He has to wind up playing everyday somewhere. Too good a HR hitter to ride pine all summer. But the way they have been going down, it may be in Washington.
I see Dukes already pissed off the team and Bernadina ran into a wall and Justin Maxwell is beckoning.

Also surprised to see that the Angels went with Izturis at DH last nite over Gary Matthews when Vladdy went down. How does that happen? What does that say about how little the manager likes Matthews? He has got to play more now.These are how one dollar reserve pick stars are born. Doors open up that you would never anticipate.

No one is surprised Glaus is out but everybody assumed that David Freeze would be handed third base by LaRussa. Don’t ever. He is totally unpredictable. The early running suddenly has one time Dodger phenom, Joey Baseball, AKA Thurston, playing everywhere everyday and performing ever so well. And with La Russa, it does not matter if like Ludwick, you hit two homers on Tuesday, he sits you on Wednesday. So is Ryan Franklin the new closer? Yes, until tomorrow.

You see, picking players for your roto teams means knowing who the managers are as well. You pick a player for a Pinella team and you are better off with Reed Johnson then Felix Pie because you knew last season the rookie just was not going to get a fair chance. Same with Dusty Baker, who was fine managing septogenarians in San Francisco. Some managers prefer the vets they can count on for the mental part of the game. They value it more than the physical.

Ronnie Paulino is 8 for 16 to open the season and before you know it this twice traded afterthought who was a fantasy dream two years ago could suddenly become a full time one dollar platoon catcher on a winning team. And you spent fifteen dollars on AJ Persnickety. Playing roto ball means more than drafting the stars. It means playing the waiver wire when the season begins to see who is moving into a 7th inning hold role, and who is the backup behind the closer whose manager has a job on the line when the dude loses two or three saves in a row. So prudent guys hold on to a Corpas or Lyon, but many leagues limit reserves, so your task is to be the quickest with the finger on the add button in first come first serve leagues.

If you are not so intense, and play in weekly leagues, you have time to cruise, pick, select, and drop. The difference is like the guy who plays softball once a week as compared to the guy in three leagues five nites a week. The intense warrior is better for the battle than the couch potato.

So here is some specific advice:

Check out teams off to slow starts who typically do not win. Their patience will be less. Look at their minor leaguers.

Look at the guys who got cut on March 30; like Erich Stults, last cut, first up.

Looking for pitching, don’t be afraid to track Double AA guys with dominance. More teams are using Triple A for retreads and older players without ceilings, and promoting kids from double AA.

Anyone who thinks a part time DH player can’t help a deep league ought to see what Jason Kubel did last nite. Wow, Hudson, Kinsler and Kubel have all hit for the cycle in April. No such thing as pitchers being ahead of the hitters anymore in April.

Do you think the Angels are regretting losing KRod? How many saves have Shields, Arrreondo and Fuentes blown already?

That’s all for now. Gotta go.

Sizemore Steals Away First Day at the House that Steinbrenner Built

2009-04-17T11:05:00.005-04:00

The Opening of Yankee Stadium

A 1-1 game for seven innings and then the Bronx explodes: with nine runs in a single inning- but for the wrong team. The Cleveland Indians and Grady Sizemore steal the day, one that will be etched into New York history forever. The Bronx Bombers bombed at the opening of their new park. This is not the way it played out in 1923 when The House that Ruth Built was greeted by Babe Ruth with its first homer. Of that, legends are made. Instead, for the next fifty years, Yankee fans will now want to forget its first regular season game. I guess they will focus on the game that they won last week against the Cubs in an exhibition contest.

Don't even attempt to say the first game at a new stadium does not matter. For twenty years, it was a trivia question about the first home run ever hit at the Houston Astrodome. Why? Because it was hit by New York Yankee Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle.

And if you are a Dodgers fan as I have been, you have been listening to Vince Scully say for 45 years how Wally Post of the Cincinnati Reds spoiled the debut of the Los Angeles Dodgers in their first game ever at Chavez Ravine by homering them out of the game in the seventh inning with a 6-2 victory.

And while David Wright homered for the Mets at Citi Field in their debut, it was Jody Gerut who hit the third pitch of the game into the right field stands for the first hit and first homer in their new ballpark. And Met fans did not want that to be the trivia answer to the question of who scored the first hits and runs ever in their new yard. But at least the Yanks had the smarts to go with a Cy Young winner in the debut game. How the Mets did not start Johan Santana for that game is beyond my comprehension. I mean 20 years from now Johan Santana will be a Hall of Famer who could have forever been remembered as the man who opened the new world for the Mets. 20 years from now no one will even remember Mike Pelfrey's name.

Oh well, it is what it is. Anyway, I have been swamped and not had a lot of time to blog lately, but as a followup to the story I did a day or two ago on the battle between Jon Papelbon and Howie Kendrick, with twelve consecutive foul balls, in a game ending showdown, how about last nite- with Chris Sampson of the Astros battling Freddy Sanchez for fifteen foul balls before a fly out?

As for the piece about guys on the DL, sorry to see young Alex Gordon wind up there. He was to blossom, not burst this year. He was a cornerstone. And I was even more surprised to see one of my break out candidates, Jed Lowrie go down. The Sox are hurt by this. But I had to laugh at my AL online National Fantasy Championship team. It is a cheap $125 winner take all league for just AL owners, with 15 teams, so most owners are playing with minor leaguers in their active rosters. Can't even tell you how much bad luck I had this week. It is hard to believe that on the same team I have Dice K, Jed Lowrie, and Alex Gordon, all of whom went down in one week. And I already, in the early March draft, had selected Joe Mauer in the draft. So our squad has been relabeled Kent's Disabled Americans.

Paramedic Gets Call from Ambulance to Marlins Bullpen

2009-04-15T17:14:00.002-04:00

This is the kind of human interest story that I love. Found it in the Palm Beach Post.

Imagine the buddy you work with every day, sitting in your office and tell you that he's quitting, in the midst of the worst economic crisis since the Depression, because he just got a new job - as a catcher for the Florida Marlins.

That's just about what happened at Miami-Dade Ambulance last weekend when Jeffrey Urgelles told his fellow firefighter-paramedics that he was trading his medical uniform for a Marlins uniform.

"It definitely came out of the blue," said Urgelles, 26, a former minor-league catcher with the Toronto Blue Jays and Cincinnati Reds.

At first, his co-workers thought he was trying to pull a fast one. Sure, they recalled him talking about his days in Class A and Class AA, including playing in the Florida State League against a rising prospect named Hanley Ramirez.

But now, more than two and a half years after quitting baseball, he finally was getting called up by the Marlins?

"He told me, 'Hey, I know you're not going to believe this, but I got picked up by the Marlins,' " recalled Lazaro Fuentes, who has partnered in an ambulance with Urgelles for the past year. "I said, 'Nah, you're kidding me.' When I finally realized it was true, I got so excited I started sweating."

"They all said I was playing around," Fuentes said. "When they saw him on TV (Monday), they had smiles from ear to ear."

With Urgelles, Marlins relievers know they'll be in good hands. After all, on what turned out to be his last day as a paramedic, he helped revive a woman who nearly went into cardiac arrest.

"That day I saved a lady's life, and a couple of hours later I received a phone call with an offer to become the bullpen catcher for the Marlins," Urgelles said. "The whole day was exciting."

I would say so, wouldn’t you?

Who Woulda' Thunk It? Rays Get Rings!

2009-04-15T07:58:00.003-04:00

The 2008 American League Tampa Bay Rays championship ring is shown before a baseball game against the New York Yankees Tuesday, April 14, 2009 in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

From Evan Longoria to Matt Garza, it was the feel good story of 2008, the Tampa Bay Rays winning the AL pennant. And the NY Yankees were there in Tampa last nite to watch the ceremony where their division rivals collected these beautiful rings.

After years of getting first picks, the Rays won a championship with a youthful, driven squad, and celebrated their home opener by crushing the Yankees with 15 runs. They have it all again this year, young pitching, a solid outfield, good hitters, veterans sprinkled in the mix, and a team placing its fate on youth and health.

BJ Upton has joined the club, and promptly made a Willie Mays like circus catch look like a can of corn. Longoria has torn up the diamond the first week. Kazmir looks strong. Carlos Pena has been rocking the ball. You know Pat the Bat is good for 25 dingers. Jason Bartlett is stroking the ball like the line drive hit machine he used to be. They stole a set up guy from the Marlins.

What is not to like about the Rays again? Well, they could use a closer. Izringhausen and Percival are very short term solutions. See the column below on the DL. But they do have some guy named David Price starting the season in the minors, and if they really need a 100 mph closer to back up Percival when he breaks down next week, they don't have far to go, do they?

Disabled List Contains Few Surprises So Far

2009-04-15T07:36:00.004-04:00

No Surprises as the DL List Stacks Up

A running joke in one league had a pool predicting how soon Milton Bradley would get hurt in a Cubs uniform. The under 7 days card beat the over. But is it real surprising that the list has in less than two weeks expanded to now include Eric Chavez, looking for X Rays for his tendinitis? Too bad, after a slow spring but very hot start in Oakland. Is it Jack Hanrahan time yet? Well, a good fantasy backup and maybe not a bad stash.

Chris Carpenter may win the Cy Young after pitching 13 scoreless innings to start the season but his rib strain last nite caused him to leave the game and may send him to the DL, where he will be joined no doubt soon by Ron Belliard, who seems to be inclined to finish his career hurt. But they will not be alone. I see that Nomar Garciaparra, one nite after homering, and keeping young rookie prospect Daric Barton in the minors, could not play last nite. Calf tightness. Cristian Guzman, as good as he is, won't be far behind.

And I wish the Dodgers went with Blake DeWitt instead of Casey Blake, but I just traded for Blake in one league, cause well, damnit, team after team seems to go with the dead veteran instead of the live prospects. Why, I don’t know. Bring up a young Travis Snider or Dexter Fowler and your team is electric and exciting. Who would rather not see Cameron Maybin in Centerfield for the Marlins over a reincarnation of Mark Kotsay, now recovering from back surgery? And you just wait a few weeks, and those rookies will find their way to the bigs as the GMS find their senses and realize the future is not in lining up a row of Jamie Moyers and Livan Hernandezes to anchor your rotation, but in bringing up the Trevor Cahills and Brett Andersons. Billy Martin tried that with the A’s in the early 1980’s and won a pennant. Blew out a lot of arms, too.

Baseball is a sport for young men, but there are lots of seasoned veterans who know how to play the game that hang on for dear life, because like Roy Campanella once said, ‘you gotta have a lot of little boy in you to play this game.’ Look, last season Melvin Mora had an unreal second half, hitting almost .375 and he was drafted a lot in fantasy ball this spring. But is it a real surprise that after two weeks he too is going on the DL with his newest injury. I knew Wigginton would have value in Baltimore. He is a 25hr/80 RBI guy that signed with a team whose third baseman is always hurt. Hank Blalock is back in the lineup too, after a red hot start, but is it not a caution sign to everyone that he already missed a game or two with a neck strain?

The bottom line is this. When drafting fantasy players, stay with guys you know are healthy. You roll the dice on too many Chris Carpenters, and your team is doomed. Use the older vets as the backups to prime the pump, not the starters to ignite your squad. Come July, the Dodgers will be dying to bring up Blake DeWitt, whose fantasy value will soar, and I will be holding Casey Blake, whose three year contract and salary the Dodgers will be looking to dump on a pennant contending team looking to add a corner guy off the bench. And he will have no trade value. So why did I do that again?

And Geoff Jenkins and Richie Sexson and Jim Edmonds will all be looking for jobs, and their love for the sport will carry them to an Independent League in Minnesota, but most will have to come to recognize their day in the sun has passed.

The saddest DL story thus far has De Wayne Wise going on the shelf with a broken shoulder while making a phenomenal diving catch. Here is a guy who moved into a regular spot in the White Sox lineup last summer when Nick Swisher fell flat on his face. Well now the Sox are forced to go with two guys they don’t want, Jerry Owens and Brian Anderson, the latter a prospect who failed last season.

If you are a forward thinking owner, and you know the way Ozzie Guillen likes to play, this could be the time for the Sox to make a move on Juan Pierre. And since he went for next to no bucks in most fantasy leagues this season, he could turn into one huge steal, thanks to the dive Wise took.

And I would not bet the farm on Julio Lugo coming back and leading the Red Sox. I was very disappointed to hear about Jed Lowrie, who I labeled a break out year candidate in an earlier post. Had no clue about his injury. But I think the Sox may trade for a shortstop, and guys like Michael Young had been available over the winter, so we will see what shakes out there. The Sox once had a great SS prospect, but they won a World Series by trading him away to get Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell. You may remember who that young man was. Goes by the name of Hanley Ramirez.

One Pitch, One Out, One Win for Ed Mujica in Citifield Debut

2009-04-13T23:02:00.003-04:00

Above you are looking at the winning pitcher in the first regular season game ever played at the New York Mets home, Citifield. I was not there and it will bug me forever. I was at the first game ever at Shea Stadium, and I cut junior high school classes to get the Number 7 train to Willets Point in order to be there. Of course, I was 14 at the time. Now I am pushing 60, and I was in United States District Court instead, representing a gentleman charged with trafficking in marijuana. So adulthood goes.

Enough about me. As the announcers were discussing who would get the first hit at the new park, leadoff hitter Jody Gerut became the first guy ever to hit a home run in a brand new stadium in the first at bat at that park. That will become a trivia question forever. On the third pitch of the game, Gerut hit the ball out off Mike Pelfrey, who clearly should not have been starting. That honor should have gone to Johan Santana, who should have been held back a day and not started the day before in Florida. But the Mets do not have a flair for the dramatic. Flushing is not Broadway.

Meanwhile, in Tampa, the Rays opened their home season at an old park crushing the Yankees about 19-5, so bad the Yankees finished the game with first baseman Nick Swisher pitching. And he did okay, even picking up a strikeout. Edward Mujica did not get a strikeout in Citi Field. Ed Mujica will though be forever remembered as the first winning pitcher at Citi Field.

He did not work hard to get it, this refugee from the Cleveland Indians. He game into the game in the bottom of the fifth, with the score tied 5-5. He threw one pitch, got a fly out, and was pinch hit for in the top of the sixth when the Padres went ahead to stay ahead and win the game.

For Mujica, it was a short nite. One pitch. One out. One win. Not bad. Fantasy players though probably do not have Mujica on their team. They are moaning the starting staff did not chalk up the V. I remember Tom Niedenfeur came into a game for the Dodgers in the 80's and picked Ozzie Smith off. LA scored in the bottom half of the inning and he got the win without ever throwing a pitch to home plate. It happens.

You throw a gem and the guy who comes in to save it gets the win. Happened to the Marlins the other day. Annibal Sanchez leaves the game after pitching a six inning shutout. Lindstrom blows the save, gets the win. Someday Mujica will cost someone a win. Today he got it. With one pitch.

The 'Bird,' Mark Fidrych Loses Life in Apparent Accident

2009-04-13T18:22:00.002-04:00

Sometimes I get lazy and let the dishes stack up, but they don't stack too high. I've only got four dishes."

The 1976 Rookie of the Year- Mark Fidrych, The Bird, is Dead.

It was an apparent accident while working at home in Worcester on the trucks that he loved.

He was baseball’s magical star that year, capturing the imagination of fans across the nation with exuberance, energy, and his resemblance to the cartoon character on Sesame Street, The Big Bird.

He finished second in the Cy Young voting that year, while winning 19 games, leading the league in ERA, and how ‘bout this modern era baseball, completed 24 games. He electrified the nation by being the starting pitcher in that year’s All Star Game. He was Fernando Valenzuela before Fernandomania. He became an idol and icon by his antics on the field, manicuring his mound, and generating a youthful exuberance that was innocent and non offensive. No insulting fist throwing.

What I liked about him was that in spite of all the fame and notoriety he did not opt, as Manny Ramirez has for a $2,000 a nite penthouse apartment at the Sheraton. Nope, he lived in a small Detroit bachelor pad apartment, saying his league minimum salary of $16,500 was still more then he would make if he had been pumping gas in Northborough, his home town. It was that devil may care manner which landed him on the cover of Rolling Stone, the first athlete ever to reach that pinnacle. Sorry Michael Jordan.

Like Valenzuela years later, Fidrych packed Tiger Stadium in every one of his home starts. How much so? His 18 appearances accounted for half the attendance for all of the Tigers 81 home games that year. Over a million bucks for the Tigers. He wound up signing the next year for less than 10% of that, without an agent, saying he did not want to screw a good thing up.

Amongst the hurlers he beat that first year were Nolan Ryan, Gaylord Perry, Bert Blyleven, Luis Tiant, and Dock Ellis. While his one spectacular season will be etched into the record books forever, he did not pitch long and will not make the Hall of Fame.

Forever, however, Mark Fidrych will be scorched into baseball’s lore as one of its most loving, energetic positive personalities, who brought a youthful zeal and spirit to the game that will be etched forever into America’s soul.

As we get older, the daybreaks pass and sunsets come upon us. We get nearer to the shadows and the shade than to the sunshine and the surf. Let history record that on the diamond Mark Fidrych brought us sun and smiles and sportsmanship, and I for one will never forget it. If you lived it, neither will you. This is another sad day for baseball, losing also the great Phillies announcer Harry Kalas. That for another blog.

A Reprise of 05? The Fluke of Zach Duke!

2009-04-13T17:30:00.005-04:00

It is early in the season and one start does not a season make.

But today I talk about the fluke of Duke. And I do not mean me. I mean Zack.

Here we were, my partner Alvin Entin and I, in the Aventura 5 by 5 Roto Draft last Sunday, with him urging me to take Zach Duke.

"Why," I asked, "because he had a hot spring or because he was 8-2 with a 1.85 era in 2005 when he steamrolled onto the fantasy scene?"

"Why," I asked, "would I take a dude who has been 18-37 since with an era of 5.67 and a whip of 9000 pitching on a lousy team?"

I play safe with pitchers. I like good ones you can count on, and okay ones you can win with. If I get a journeyman, he has got to get me 15 wins. If I am going to suck it up with a 5 era, the man had best win a dozen games and go 150 innings. He has to help in at least one category if he is bringing me down in others. And I take him only if I need innings and I have a Santana type to balance off the rodeo he brings to my whip and era.

Anyway, as I pointed out to my partner, there was no rush in selecting Duke; that he would be available with the last pick of our reserves after 15 teams had drafted 225 players, and then selected another 120 reserves. So there we were, 345 players gone and Duke still available. "See, Alvin, I told you so..."

Nine more players selected in the ninth and final reserve round. We had the tenth pick, number 355, and Zach Duke was still on the board: "Now is your chance, Alvin, if you want him grab him. You have a choice, Kevin Millwood, still available, Zach Duke, or Carlos Carrasco, the hot throwing potential star prospect for the Phillies." He said, okay, go with the kid. And Carrasco is on our reserve list today, still not in the majors. Millwood, already 2-0, spotless with Texas; The Duker, after today's shutout against Houston, 2-0.

And in this league with a free agency budget of $200 for the whole season, I bid mildly on both Millwood and Duke yesterday. A ten spot on each. Did not get either. They went for 30 and 24. Guys no one wanted now going for 15% of their whole season's free agent budget.

So I go into week two with an awesome offensive powerhouse that includes Kemp and Quentin and Kinsler and Utley and McAnn and a pitching staff which features Jason Marquis and Andrew Miller. It is gonna be a long season trying to pull the next Zach Duke out of the bag. But someone may have. His name just might be Zach Duke.

Gameboard's Injury Leads to Game Saving Catch for Reed Johnson

2009-04-13T05:50:00.006-04:00

Chicago Cubs' Milton Bradley leaves the game after he hurt himself running to third base during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers Sunday, April 12, 2009, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Jim Prisching)

Milton (Gameboar) Bradley left Sunday night's game in the fourth inning after straining his groin while running the bases, the Associated Press reports.

Reed Johnson replaced Bradley in the game and later robbed Prince Fielder of a game tying grand slam home run with a spectacular leaping glove-over-the-fence catch. Here it is:

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4ADBF_enUS318US318&q=reed+johnson+game+saving+catch

For now, to steal a line from RotoWire's Herb Ilk, those of you who had April 12 in the Milton Bradley injury pool can now go to the pay window.

In the meantime, roto fans, Dempster gets a win because of Reed Johnson, who was not even supposed to be in the game.

In the meantime, Dempster's line does not read 4 2/3 and 6 earned runs yielded. Fielder does not have 4 rbis, and like Joe Morgan says, even if he ends the season with 96, that catch he will remember. ESPN repeated it often. No wonder. It was awesome, athletic, and shows how a game can turn on inches.

Later on in the game, Kevin Gregg proved why Carlos Marmol will be the closer in a month or less.

Papelbon and Kendrick Meet in Classic Confrontation

2009-04-11T21:19:00.005-04:00

It is what you call earning a save.

Jonathan Papelbon came into a 5-3 game with two out in the bottom of the eighth. Terry Francona just had a hunch he would be better off going with his ace right hander against Vladimir Guerrero. Good call, as Vladdy flied to left.

Papelbon has been next to perfect against the Angels over the past few years. He has gone 18 innings without giving up a run. And now we go to the 9th in Anaheim and the big guy is going to have to earn the save. Hunter leads off. The best of Anaheim is coming to the plate, but Torri electrifies the crowd of 30,000 by leading off the bottom of the ninth with a Home Run off Papelbon. That just does not happen to Paps. It gets worse, as Kendry Morales, a Cuban defector, finally getting a full chance to play at first for the Angels, ropes a line drive double off the right field wall. The tying run is now at second with no one out.

This is what closing is all about. Juan Rivera grounds to shortstop, and the runner holds. But Mike Napoli is now the batter, and he already has two homers this afternoon. The tension builds. Paps has an open base. He pitches around Naps. He walks and Aybar, a light hitting SS is now up. But a slap hit is all he needs to tie the game and ruin Papelbon’s streak of perfection. The big guy fans Aybar, but promptly gets into more trouble by walking Chone Figgins to load the bases.

The game is now on the line. It is 5-4, the bases are loaded, Hit Man Howie Kendrick comes to the plate and Johnathan Papelbon, already 30 pitches into his relief stint, uncorks some 95 mph heat, going ahead of Kendrick 0-2. Papelbon refuses to waste a pitch. He comes back with in zone smoke for the next three pitches and Kendrick fouls them all off. The count remains 0-2. And Paps reaches back, Kendrick reaches in, and he fouls off the next pitch. And the next. And the next. And the next. And you look up and suddenly realize a classic confrontation is unfolding.

With an 0-2 count, Kendrick has now fouled off six consecutive 95 plus mile per hour fastballs. Says the announcer “he wants to win or lose the game on his best stuff.” But surprise, the next pitch is off speed. And it too is topped foul. Paps comes back with heat, and Kendrick sizzles one down the line, just foul. 8 in a row. 8 strikes. 8 fouls. All with the game in the balance. The tension has gone beyond peaking.

Two more times Papelbon reaches back and two more times Kendrick fouls the ball off sharply. On the thirteenth pitch of the at bat, after two strikes and ten foul balls, Kendrick makes fair contact. He scorches a line drive to the right fielder. It is right at him. He catches the ball. The game is over. The fans let out a huge sigh. Papelbon and the Red Sox have prevailed, barely, over the Angels once again. Barely.

If you are a fantasy fan, you go to the play by play, and it will read of this classic confrontation, a battle that earned World Series drama, that captivated thousands of fans, it will read in the play by play that:

“ Kendrick flied to right.”

That is all it will say. And you will understand how reading a box score or a play by play may tell you nothing at all about the game or the battle that Howie Kendrick and Jonathan Papelbon had last night, which they will each remember for years. Baseball players do remember moments like these, and though they may not be a fantasy stat, it’s a memory the athletes treasure.

Emilio 'Who?' Bonafacio Has a Fantasy Opening Week to Remember

2009-04-11T11:16:00.004-04:00

There are great games in baseball every nite and last nite in Miami fans got to see one of them.

It started off with Anibal Sanchez weaving his way in and out of trouble but completing five scoreless innings, behind the Home Run bats of Hanley Ramirez and Dan Uggla. You knew the 2-0 lead would not hold as the Mets bats were not going to remain silent off the Marlins’ pen. And so Carlos Beltran launching a Home Run off Dan Meyer was no big surprise, but it lent drama to the play that was developing.

The Mets tied the game in the top of the 7th when they could have broken it open. Pinch hitting with the bases loaded, Fernando Tatis had to settle for a Sac Fly when he just undercut a Leo Nunez fastball. And Nunez was surely a bullpen star for the Marlins in this game, getting out of a bases-loaded, one out jam in the 7th and then retiring David Wright in the 8th with a runner on second.

Still, the real story of the night for the Marlins was again Emilio Bonafacio, whose multi faceted play this first week is taking this town and the major leagues by storm. Going back to opening day, when he led off the game with a line drive single and stole second, to his inside the park homer, he has been electric. And again last nite. After Bobby Parnell retired two Mets easily on fly balls in the bottom of the seventh, Bonifacio, batting lefty, took the Mets by surprise when he dropped a one hop bunt down the third base line. David Wright was caught flat footed and the Fish had a two out runner. Parnell then threw over to first a half dozen times to hold Emilio.

Did no good. John Baker blooped a short fly into left field, and it found turf in front of Murphy; Bonifacio came speedsliding into third base. Parnell had no chance against the red hot Hanley batting next. Ramirez would line a tie breaking single into center field, but Bonifacio’s surprise bunt is what launched the inning for the Marlins.

As it applies to Fantasy, Bonifacio’s success is killing Cameron Maybin’s expectations, who has been dropped to 8th in the order. First, when Maybin gets on with two out, you can’t have him run because you do not want to start the inning with the pitcher leading off. Second, already known as too much of a free swinger, the impatient Maybin is not getting good pitches but is swinging at them anyway. Third, he is not in the ‘heart’ of the game or the lineup to generate runs scored.

This was not the way it was supposed to play out. Gaby Sanchez was supposed to play first base, He got hurt in the Spring and was in the minors on Opening Day. Jorge Cantu moved to first, and it opened up a slot for the long awaited prospect, Dallas McPherson, 42 homers last season in Albuquerque, a powerful left handed bat the Marlins needed after trading away Mike Jacobs. But Fredi Gonzalez and the Fish surprisingly cut McPherson, announcing to the surprise of everyone that Emilio Bonafacio, second base eligible in roto leagues, would get the nod as the starting third baseman. I, for one, thought it was a fluke; a stop gap. It is not.

Bonifacio is demonstrating the talents you need in a lead off hitter, speed, bat contact, situational hitting. And opponents are woefully underestimating him. One week does not a season make, but I am one roto fan kicking myself in the butt for not seeing the dimensions of the game Bonifacio is bringing to the table. Before long, it may be Cameron Maybin sent to the minors for more seasoning. Who knew?

As for the game, Lindstrom came in and picked up where he left off Wednesday, yielding line drive after line drive and a game tying hit in the top of the 9th. No surprise there. You can’t just throw fastballs. You have to mix it up. He has got to learn that. In the meantime, fantasy friends, if you have Lindstrom, buy Nunez.

So what happens in the ninth, you ask? Brett Carroll lines out. Some guy named Emilio Bonifacio hits a chopper towards shortstop, but the kid beats it out, of course. Moments later, after a walk to Hanley, Jorge Cantu ropes a one hop line drive base hit to left field. With Uggla on deck, maybe you hold Bonifacio at third with only one out and the bases still loaded. But this kid is racing around home and sliding into the plate by the time the Met left fielder throws the ball.

Emilio Bonifacio. Starts the go ahead rally not once, but twice. Wins the game with his speed, with his bat. Wins the fans with his heart. He is on his game. More so than me. I don’t have him in a single league.

Los Angeles Angels' Star Prospect Killed in Car Crash Hours After Season Debut

2009-04-09T12:36:00.004-04:00

Say it ain't so. There is just no fantasy in the sport today.

Angels rookie right-hander Nick Adenhart died early Thursday morning after a car accident in which two others were killed and another was seriously injured. Authorities were blaming the accident on a motorist who ran a red light with his van and then fled the scene on foot. He was later captured and charged with felony hit-and-run.

Adenhart, 22, made his season debut against Oakland on Wednesday night, shutting out the A's for six innings in a game the Angels eventually lost, 6-3.

A 14th-round Draft choice in 2004, Adenhart made his Major League debut on May 1 last season and made three starts, winning one of them.

Hours ago, I was watching this young man on satellite tv, kicking myself for not acquiring him in more leagues. Last year, he was one of my hottest prospects, a hard throwing right hander for a great team. Last nite, I saw him work his way in and out of trouble playing a game in a sport he loved. "This kid," I thought to myself, "is going to be very good." He was denied a win when the bullpen blew the game. That is probably what he was thinking on his way home.

But on the highways of LA, in the road of real life, late at nite, he ran into trouble he could not escape. And there is a void in baseball today, in my heart as well. Once more, a young life is snuffed out by a terrible tragedy that leaves you without words, feeling only an emptiness in your heart. This young man, so much alive on a ballfield just last nite, so very gone today.

What a tragedy.

Hold This, Save This, Win This: How Stats Lie

2009-04-08T18:09:00.004-04:00

Hold This, Save This, Win This

Statistics lie. You have heard it your whole life. No more so than in baseball, where a guy can throw 8 innings of two hit shutout ball, striking out ten, and come out of a game with a loss, 'cause the guy he left on first base came around to score when the reliever gave up a triple.

Today’s Marlin game exemplifies a sample statistical anomaly. Now it was not one of those games where a pitcher came in, picked a guy off, and his team got a run in the bottom of the inning so he won a game without ever throwing to a batter. But you have seen those. We all have.

Today I will turn to Andrew Miller, who comes into a 3-1 game in relief of Chris Volstad in the sixth inning. His first pitch to home plate is to Ryan Zimmerman, who rockets it off the left field wall for a double. The next batter, Adam Dunn, ropes a bullet at 200 mph down the first base line. Somehow, Cantu spears it, turning a triple into a near double play. Then Josh Willingham and Austin Kearn proceed to the plate, promptly walked on a series of pitches nowhere near the plate. Catcher John Baker saves two from reaching the backstop. Miller has loaded the bases in ninety seconds. Out to the mound comes Manager Fredi Gonzalez and out of the game comes the young left hander.

Kiko Calero comes into the game, and is as dominant as he was in Spring Training. He strikes out Belliard, and Bard pops to left. The Marlins hold the lead. Kiko always impressed me as a young Cardinal, and maintained excellence in Oakland. He will be a real find for the Fish this season.

It is now the bottom of the ninth, and the lead is 6-3. Matt Lindstrom comes in for his first save opportunity of the young season, his arm healed from the World Baseball Classic strain. He has a jaw-dropping, eye-popping fastball. We get to see it against Nick Johnson. Unfortunately, none of the pitches are near home plate. He walks on four. Uh-oh.

But Lindy comes back, getting Guzman on a 3-2 pitch to swing and miss. Thank guzness, Christian would swing at the kitchen sink if it were thrown at him. He goes to two strikes on Elijah Dukes and you feel good things happening, until Elijah laces a rocket into left center for a base hit. The ball came into the plate at 98 mph. It was hit back at 125 per. Not looking good. Zimmerman now up, a slow chopper to Uggla on the grassy part of the field, he can’t make the play. Bases now loaded. Uh-oh, twice. How many times this season, I think to myself, will the Marlins be foiled by the weak defense an infield of Cantu, Uggla, and Bonifacio bring. Not gold gloves, any of them. Later on that.

Anyway, the next batter, a backup on the Nats, is Josh Willingham from Alabama, and a hero here in Miami, where he has played his entire career. He is known as The Hammer, and he pummels a shot down the line, but it is just foul. Fouls off a couple more, but I am thinking I will miss this hard nosed young kid who has been hampered by injury the last season and a half. I do not see him riding the pine in Natsville. He is just too good, too consistent, and has too much pop in his bat. But they went out and signed two stronger twins in Kearns and Dunn, and the Hammer can't play center. So he is on the bench, and it makes little sense.

The Nationals have overstocked on outfielders. Forget Willie Harris as a speester backup. They have Elijah Dukes and Lastings Milledge and the athleticism of Justin Maxwell, a real star in the making in the minors. The Nats have overindulged and by so doing from a fantasy standpoint, reduced the statistical value of all six players. So some fantasy owner with patience will score with one of them But on this, the third day of the season, no telling who. Maybe you dump them now and get what you can get. In real life, benching a young active star plays with his head. If you have a power stroke, you need to be in there day after day to keep your timing. I digress, though. Back to the game. Willingham does not get redemption against the Marlins. Lindstrom instead gets his second strikeout.

It is now up to Adam Dunn, the game’s most consistent slugger, 40 HR’s a year five years in a row, the last player to do that probably Hall of Famer Duke Snider in the 1950’s. But Dunn sees nothing near the plate, and is walked on six pitches. A run is in; it is now 6-4, the bases still loaded.

Austin Kearns steps into the box and laces a frozen rope into left field over the shortstop’s head. The crack of the bat made the small crowd wince. Brett Carroll dives, stretches, every limb in his body reaching to catch the sinking liner. The game was about to be tied on a two run single, and if it gets past a diving Brent Carroll, the game is lost.

There is no way he is going to catch this ball. The speed of his body carries him over the top of his glove and the ball. You can't see. Did he hols on? The umpires say yes, he raises the glove, the ball is still in it and the game is over. The fans celebrate in the Miami sun. I am one of them. I do too.

Not a sweet outing for Lindstrom. Every shot hit off him was a rocket. Every other ball thrown was out of the strike zone. Worse for Miller, no control and bullets hit off of him.

Fantasy fans reading the box score tonite will see the game differently tonite. They will see that Andrew Miller chalked up his first hold and Matt Lindstrom his first save. Their coaches and managers may see things in a different light, unless they too, of course, have a fantasy team.

New Closers Can't Shake Rocky Roads

2009-04-07T23:28:00.003-04:00

Minnesota Twins' Alexi Casilla, left, celebrates with bullpen catcher Mike Redmond after Casilla singled in two runs in the ninth inning to give the Twins a 6-5 win over the Seattle Mariners in a baseball game Tuesday, April 7, 2009, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Tom Olmscheid)

One thing fantasy writers have been getting right these past few seasons is not to spend too much of your budget on closers. Matter of fact picking closers this season has been next to impossible because so many teams are so undecided and so many announced closers are going to into the season so new their job is so on the line. So here you go. Two days into the season, and Jason Motte the Superior got torched by the Pirates on Opening Day for four runs and a loss in the 9th inning. And the Cards sent Chris Perez down. My Aventura League saw Motte the Invincible go for as much as Jenks, with 90 saves.

I see that Lyons landed a loss for the Tigers today, wasting an Ed Jackson effort, and Brandon Morrow, the answer to all of Seattle's prayers, just met fate in Minnesota. The picture is of Alexi Casilla celebrating after a game winning hit off Miguel Batista, who came into the game as the almost closer after Morrow loaded the bases.

Closers, can't win with 'em, and can't win with 'em. But let's not forget that talented athletes have a way of rising to the occasion too when the game is on the line. The best meets the best and sometimes we get to see the worst. Welcome to the club, Jason Motte and Brandon Morrow.

No shock here, this is what I said this past weekend.

http://normkentsfantasybaseball.blogspot.com/2009/04/huston-street-wins-permanent-job-as.html

Magical Opening Day For Marlins Turns Cold on Tuesday

2009-04-07T22:04:00.005-04:00

It was Emilio Bonafacio Day in Miami yesterday.

An unheralded utility player with no power electrified a crowd of 35,000 from his first swing in his first at bat on the first pitch of the game with a line drive single in right center field. Before you could blink your eyes, he had stole second and scored, sliding into home as Adam Dunn misplayed a John Baker line drive. By the fifth inning, he had an inside the park homer and another stolen base to add to his debut resume.

Just like that, a new era began for the Marlins, one without Willingham and Jacobs, power hitters they relied on. The kid that everyone on the Marlins had been talking about for years, Cameron Maybin, the one that came over in the Miguel Cabrera deal batted 8th and had a quiet day. In fantasy circles, Maybin is owned in 98% of mixed leagues with 15 teams and had been protected everywhere as a star prospect. Emilio Bonafacio was Robert Andino lite, and no one knew of him, had heard of him, or protected him, until Manager Fredi Gonzalez said a week or two ago he would start at third, Cantu would move to first, and Gaby Sanchez would go to the minors.

In leagues everywhere, in the offseason, when Mike Jacobs got dealt from Florida to Kansas City, fantasy sleuths grabbed up Gaby Sanchez as the new Marlins’ first sacker. He was so hot a team dealt me Dan Haren in a package for him. So it goes with prospects in the offseason. Everyone wants to be the guy who finds the next Evan Longoria.

In Florida yesterday, the sun was shining, and it was close to 93 degrees. Meanwhile, the White Sox opener was snowed out. The second game for the Marlins might as well have been. Same team. Same production. Power and speed and an 8 zip lead against the Nationals by the third inning, off their old teammate Scott Olsen, never the same since his DUI arrest in North Miami in 2007. People forget how personal lives affect a player's performance. Scott has had some problems.

The fans and the feel of the game was different by Tuesday nite. The sun was gone. A cold front moved in. The electricity of Monday’s sold out opener faded to the reality of a sparse crowd on a frigid Tuesday, maybe 8,000 fans spread across a stadium that seats 60,000. It was like being in a minor league park, where the angry fan on the third base line could shout out to the umpire in the box, who would wince at the words he would hear like it or not. I sat in my new seats on the first base line Box 145, Row 30, Seats 1 and 2 in a 24 seat row. I was the only person in the entire row. None in the row behind me. None in the row in front of me. Surrounded by a sea of lonely orange seats. Just the way I like it. Alone to enjoy the game. I get my wish to often in Marlinville.

I won’t be at the game tomorrow. To compensate for the Jewish Holiday Passover, the game is at noon. I suspect less than 6,000 will show up on a sunny day to watch a major league team play to minor league crowds. Have a special noon game at Wrigley and 50,000 people would try to figure out a way to get off work and squeeze into the stands. Not in Miami. The picture you see above is of a real Marlins/Nationals game on the afternoon of September 13, 2007. The smallest crowd in the history of the game: 913 fans. Won't be that many more paying fans tomorrow, though if past practice is an indicator, there could be lots of freebies for school kids and the girl scouts. But you get the idea. It is not the way it should be at a major league ballyard.

In Left Field, the team's new banner celebrates their founding year, and two world series championships in 1997 and 2003. The Cubbies have not had such a banner since 1908, 101 years ago. They came close in '03, but the Marlins and some kid in their left field stands did them in.

The flashy Marlins' banner also notes the year 2012, when their new stadium on the old Orange Bowl site will be ready. I think the difference is it will not only be packed on Opening Day, but early into the season, mid week crowds of excited Latinos filling the ballpark with an energy and enthusiasm you do not capture in the suburban air of Northern Miami, where no buses, trains, tri rails, trams, or downtown thrives. I think the Miami Marlins will be successful in selling seats.

But will Hanley still be there? Will Maybin? Or will the Marlins again sell their soul for the promise of tomorrow’s youth? They have not done bad with the process, but a lot of the guys they dealt wound up in the playoffs and on championship teams. In the meantime, everyone is buying up a guy named Emilio Bonafacio, a light hitting utility player no one had ever heard of, who was supposed to be a back up, who was not supposed to start. And Hanley, with a grand slam homer is already paying dividends. In one 5 by 5 league I play in, with a $260 cap, an owner paid more for him than any player ever bought in that 16 year old league, an astounding $58. One fourth of your 23 person team on one player. Wow.

Can’t wait til Friday. Mets will be in town. Lots of fans in the stands, too. Unfortunately, though it is likely there will be more Mets fans than Marlins fans, and that is not the way a hometown ballpark is supposed to play out. In 2012, that will change.

As for the team, they won again large on Tuesday. Once again, they open the season with a solid team. Once again, management produces. If only the fans would respond. If they don't know what they have been missing, let me tell them. It's major league baseball in a minor league town.

'King Felix' Shows Flashes of Brilliance in First Start

2009-04-07T17:37:00.005-04:00

Watching Felix Hernandez on television last nite, I saw some great pitching. Throwing curves with Sandy Koufax-like snaps. Incredible dominance. Amazing movement. Flashes of brilliance which make you think this has got to be the year he blossoms and wins big time.

One warning. The guy is doing this, ever so obviously, on a very bad, sore ankle, and that is a very bad, sore thing for a pitcher to go lame with. You have to push off, throw off, and move hard on that ankle. Look at his wind up. The follow through. Everybody knows how good he can be; how many times he has shown himself to be this stellar. He played through lots of pain last nite.

You can win softly like Joe Saunders, Jamie Moyer, and you can win with awe and lightning. King Felix is the latter. And even in Seattle, even in the AL West, he is a pitcher you enjoy watching on the mound whether or not it is for a fantasy team. But if you are going to land an ace this year, he might be one whose numbers blossom. Just barely above .500 for his career, with about 600 strikeouts in 700 innings, he is clearly a rising star who has yet to crest. Hardly unknown to fantasy leaguers, and for good reason.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iTzUHNIipw3BTYIuFJNfJf7d2_YAD97DC3U81

Photograph of the Day

2009-04-06T23:40:00.001-04:00

Well we call Milton Bradley 'Gameboard.' We know he is a problem child. We know he gets injured too often. We know that he wears out his welcome wherever he goes. Today we see why.

Chicago Cubs right fielder Milton Bradley goes on his head after failing to make a sliding catch on a ball hit by Houston Astros' Geoff Blum in the ninth inning of a baseball game Monday, April 6, 2009, in Houston.

He should be back in a month or so, right?

(AP Photo/Houston Chronicle, Julio Cortez)

The Improbable Story of Peter Moylan Takes a New Turn

2009-04-05T22:32:00.004-04:00

When I last blogged about Peter Michael Moylan, I thought his career was over. It was a year ago last April, he was 30 years old, and there was a nasty bone spur in his ulnar collateral ligament. He was transferred to the 60 day DL and scheduled for Tommy John surgery.

His trip to the majors though was totally improbable to begin with. He drew the attention of major league scouts in the World Baseball Classic in 2006, when he was already way past his prime, at 28 years old. He had been pitching for the Australian team and entered a game with a blazing 98 mile per hour fastball. He proceeded to strike out Bobby Abreu, Ramon Hernandez, and Magglio Ordonez.

Who was this sidearm guy, everyone wanted to know?

Ten years before, in 1997, when he was 21, he had tried out for the Major Leagues. But he failed to find a team to sign him. So like many whose dreams were not fulfilled, he returned to Australia and his family, and took a full time job with a modest salary as a pharmaceutical salesman. For nine years.

With the advent of the World Baseball Classic, a decade later, he gave baseball another shot, and made the Australian team, not expecting to do too much more other than showcase his talents for his country. But he so impressed the scouts that he was given a chance by the Braves, invited to jump from the WBC tourney to the Braves spring training squad in 2006. They signed him.

He toiled for a year in the Braves minor league system, with a couple of cups of coffee in 2006, up and down with the team. Then in 2007 he hooked on permanently, pitching so dominantly he won a few ballot nominations for Rookie of the Year. He finished the season with a 5-3 record with a 1.80 ERA. He won his first major league game at the age of 29 in April of 2007 in Miami against the Marlins.

After getting hurt last year, he wondered whether his ‘dream ride’ was over, and whether he could come back and ever pitch again. Tonite, in the cold of Philadelphia, after a year of rehab, and maintaining the belief that modern medicine could bring him back, Peter Moylan is in a major league uniform again.

If you watched tonite's game, Moylan was in the bullpen warming up in the 8th inning. His improbable dream has come full circle once again, and a guy who could have been selling you Advil was instead tossing 95 mph pills in the bullpen.

Shot of the Day

2009-04-05T00:47:00.003-04:00

A Yankee fan makes his way to the Upper Deck in the new stadium in its first day game ever, an exhibition game against the Chicago Cubs. The Yankees crushed the Cubbies and go to Baltimore to open the season Monday............

Rotoworld's Line of the Day

2009-04-04T20:08:00.005-04:00

Shin-Soo Choo had two hits and two runs scored Saturday in the Indians' 4-3 victory over the Astros.

Then Rotoworld wrote:
'We'll highlight Choo, but the big story here is that Carl Pavano and Mike Hampton started the game and the stretcher didn't have to be brought onto the field even once.'

Mike Hampton, a heart condition two days into Spring Training. Pavano has not won in the four years since the Yankees stole him away from the Marlins.

But Hampton owns a piece of history. Remember after pitching the Mets to the Series against the Yankees in 2000 he signed with the Rockies to be traded to the Marlins to be traded to the Braves, and each team wound up dividing part of his $122 million dollar contract?

So now he has four separate teams paying for his salary?

He should get a job with AIG.

Should Your League Switch to OPS from OBP?

2009-04-04T18:37:00.001-04:00

Ted Williams Territory: one of the best in OPS and OBP

There is a growing debate in fantasy baseball over a new statistical category.

Many of the more intense fantasy leagues have already added a category of on base percentage as a measure to gauge a performer’s real life utility to a team. So a Todd Helton who may not hit homers anymore still becomes golden because he walks often and strikes out rarely. A number of leagues though are now waiving OBP in favor of OPS.

On Base Percentage (OBP) is a very important indication of a player or team's value. The statistic takes batting average, which is the percentage of at bats in which a batter gets a hit, and expands upon it, adding in the batter's ability to draw a walk or otherwise get on base, as well. On base percentage is basically the percentage of all times a batter goes to the plate that he gets on base.

To on base percentage, take the total number of hits a player has, and add the total number of walks and hit by pitch to that number. Next, add that total by the total number of at bats, walks, hit-by-pitch, and sacrifice flies.

To understand what this means, you can always think about OBP as a percentage or a ratio. In other words, a hitter with a .406 on base percentage reached base in 40.6% of his trips to the plate. We are talking Ted Williams Territory.

I was in the stands at the World Baseball Classic and one of the stats on the board was not OBP, but OPS. Nine of ten fans I talked to had any clue what it was. I was explaining it to everyone. But no one cared; it was too complicated. They wanted to just watch the game.

OPS is the evolution of OBP. On base percentage plus slugging percentage equals what is now known as OPS.

Slugging percentage measures the number of types of hits that a batter gets- like singles, doubles and triples, divided by the times at bat. TB stands for total bases and the total formula for calculating OPS goes like this:
AB (H + BB + HBP) + TB (AB + BB + SF + HBP)/ AB(AB +BB + SF + HBP) = OPS

Generally the OPS of a good player is considered to be around .900 to .950. An OPS of 1.000 is generally the high standard for an exceptional player. An OPS of 1.000 or higher is scored by the baseball greats. For example, Babe Ruth has the highest career OPS at 1.1636. He is followed by Ted Williams and Lou Gehrig. Barry Bonds stands fourth in the rankings for career OPS with a 1.0533 measurement. He has the two top-rated seasons for OPS.

Wonder how he would do today. Reminds me of a great Ty Cobb line when he was asked-30 years after he retired- how he would hit in the new modern ball era.
He replied: "only about .320"
The reporter asked, "Why so low?"
Cobb, the Georgia Peach, responded: "You have to realize, I am 73 years old."

Some critics feel that the OPS is not a great formula for measuring performance. They feel that the on base percentage is nearer to the mark than the combination of on base percentage and slugging percentage. On base percentage tends to more accurately indicate the likelihood that a player will actually make it to the home plate and score a run. If you are in a keeper league thinking of making a switch from OBP to OPS, it won’t dramatically impact your squad.

One of my favorite and more enthusiastic leagues is the 20 team Grand Slam Uber Society, where owners are a zealously competitive lot. They use a variation of OBP and OPS which is called BBKO, or a player’s ratio of walks to strikeouts. You get an Ivan Rodriguez or Russell Branyan and they will decimate your team’s stats by striking out and never walking. You think that new kid on Texas, Chris Davis is helping you with homers, or Corey Hart is helping you with steals, but damn, then you apply this category and you see you these guys are like playing with a pitcher who wins 15 games with a 5.8 ERA.

The key is balance. Finding it opens the doors to victory

Breakout Season Pick of the Day: Jed Lowrie

2009-04-04T14:54:00.007-04:00

Ryan Spilborghs had a homer and an RBI groundout Friday in the Rockies' 6-3 win over the Mariners. He's hitting .328/.397/.734 with five homers and six steals. He should be owned in mixed leagues. I think he is going to produce this season, but what pressure. Look at Corey Sullivan. Not a big window for Ryan with Dexter Fowler in the wings. It is even tougher in major markets. Look at what LA did with Ethier and Kemp waiting in the wings last season. They went out and signed Andruw Jones. Foolish or what?

I also just like this kid Murphy on the Mets. Good swing, natural hitter, lots of contact. Like him a lot. Traded him over the winter for a front line starter thinking the Mets would bring in a bat like Burrell and make him sit. Now they hook Sheffield, a waste I think as I say in my last post. Truth is that some of these young kids make for the excitement you want on your fantasy team.

Curtis Granderson breaks out big time with 20/20 plus electricity in Detroit. People forget he started off last season on the DL and never recovered. Decimated the Detroit team as they played with IRod 'I never take a pitch' at lead off and Miguel the Cavernous starting the season oafish and sluggish. Not this year. Granderson is grand.

My next surprise pick is Jed Lowrie, pictured above at Stanford. Hey, 46 rbis in 260 at bats for the Bo Sox? Play that out over a season in Beantown. Homers? Don't expect lots of those from a SS but think what Pedroia did in his second season. And in middle infield, if Emanuel Burris hits, and SF lets him run, this is a guy who put up 70 steal numbers in the minors. And there is not a lot of power left in the SF lineup. They have to run if they get on. Only way they will score.

Shin Soo Choo. Sneaky power. Under the radar in Cleveland. But so once was Crispy Coco. If his second half was real and can be replicated, you get 25/100/15 numbers from an unheralded outfielder. Without the pressure of someone breathing down his neck. Same way that Jayson Werth will do that playing full time in Philly. But he never has played over 130. Maybe managers know something we do not. People are talking about Nelson Cruz again, but isn't he like 29 already? How many years can you have potential before you wind up like Jason Botts, Jeremy Reed, and Chris Snelling?

For teams playing under the radar, a young rookie might make it. But you come to the Big Apple, if you are Melky Cabrera or Brett Gardner, and don't cut it, you are gone in a New York minute. That is why Phil Hughes has such a short leash.Why the Mets once foolishly traded Scott Kazmir for a one year fix that did not, Victor Zambrano. In the NY lights, you better shine in a hurry.

Just dawned on me that Livan is a Met. Sheff is a Met. Castillo is at second. Too bad they did not sign Renteria and Floyd again to pinch hit. Then they could have had five guys from the 1997 Florida Marlins championship team. Note I said 1997. We are talking 12 years ago.

Don't Bet the Farm on the Return of Sheffield to the Big Apple

2009-04-04T14:14:00.006-04:00

“You can’t take for granted that just
because you’ve got all this talent, that
everything will just come together
because it’s supposed to.”

Gary Sheffield when the Tigers signed him

This is one apple the Big Apple did not need. For now, though, score one for the Mets. For the salary of Jeremy Reed, they have landed the 'Sheff.' He may not be good at paying child support. He may not be good at being a role model. But he fits right in on a team that once hosted Dwight Gooden and Darrell Strawberry.

If he has a remnant touch of his past power and glimpses of gold, in that marvelous swing, he can hit number 500 for fantasy enthusiasts at Citi Field. The Tigers could care less. The nine time All Star was hitting .178 in the Grapefruit League after a .225 BA in 2008. Not the way to build with the future when you can acquire Josh Anderson and have Curtis Granderson in center.

The real play here is can Sheff come back from injuries, a year at DH, and be the stunning slugger he once was? The guy is now 40. He is no longer the five tool player who started his career with the Brewers, Padres, and Marlins. He is past his prime, lingering in the yard perhaps too long. But he was once a terror in the lineup, more than just for fantasy ball.

But how does it effect the balance of your squad if you have made a play on Daniel Murphy or Ryan Church? Sheff, if he plays, has to bat and play the field. One of those three will sit. My take is this, a couple of weeks in the minors and the Mets give Sheff a full time run at a stint in left field.

There is always time to let Murphy develop. No reason why they can’t platoon him now with Ryan Church, still recovering from that concussion last year. The Mets play Sheff, see he is this year’s Andruw Jones, and they call it quits by June, when they see his shoulder and swing ain’t what it used to be.

Hanging ‘em up is never easy. Not for Willie Mays, Steve Carlton, Warren Spahn or countless others. But Sheff’s glamour days are gone. And returning him to the Big Apple for the occasional blast might be more rewarding if they told him up front he was going to be a pinch hitter. I know this, I would not bet the farm on him. I don't think the Mets need to sell tickets at the new park. But having Sheff in the lineup, even off the bench, brings an awe to the crowd in a close game. Might end with an aww, shucks, but when his name is broadcast to the fans by a PA announcer, it justs gives you more hope than hearing his name than say, oh that Marlon Anderson is coming up to hit with the game on the line.

Jeremy Reed hung on only because of a strong spring and is likely no more than a defensive late inning replacement. Nick Evans takes a hit with Sheffield on board. So does Fernando Tatis, a surprise and fluke last season who the Mets cannot count on for 2009 except off the bench as a pinch hitter. And that is where I see Sheffield winding up.

Hard to believe, for sure, but this is baseball, and it is a sport of changing generations. Sheffield may have played Hall of Fame baseball in 1999 and we will remember him that way. Don’t see that happening in 2009.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/2009/04/04/2009-04-04_mets_and_yankees_fans_go_gaga_over_new_y.html

Fantasy Auction for Madoff Tickets at Citi Field?

2009-04-04T13:42:00.003-04:00

Mets season tickets, just behind home plate, will likely be resold by the trustee for Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC. Wonder if the National Fantasy Baseball Championship can sell them off to Greg Ambrosius for the winners?

"We have no intention of not monetizing them and letting them go unused," trustee Irving H. Picard said Saturday in an e-mail to The Associated Press. "When we have something to announce, we will do so." Monetizing? That is a new word invented for bloggers trying to sell ads. Means: 'how can we make some money on this?'

Mets executive vice president David Howard said the seats were paid for and were in either the first or second row behind home plate, a section known as Delta Club Platinum. They list for $695 each for opening day on April 13 and June interleague games against the Yankees, all classified as platinum by the Mets.

They cost $595 for gold games, $495 for silver games, $395 for bronze games and $295 for value games. Overall, the season ticket comes to $40,095 per seat, an average of $495."They're paid for. They can do with them what they want to," Howard said.

Mets owners Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz were close to Madoff, who pleaded guilty March 12 in federal court to 11 counts, including securities fraud and perjury, stemming from a Ponzi scheme prosecutors said was worth $64.8 billion. The 70-year-old Madoff could get up to 150 years in prison at sentencing June 16.

Wilpon, Katz and many entities of their company, Sterling Equities, and various affiliated foundations are among the swindled creditors. It will bring a new dimension to the team when the first base is stolen at the new stadium. It won't have been by an athlete. It will have been by Bernie.

What I really want to know is why are we still calling it Citi Field after Citi Bank? I am thinking it should be:

a) Taxpayer's Park

b) Bailout Ballyard or

c) People's Stadium

Or do something different. Let's name it after a hero. Let's call it Jackie Robinson Park.

Yankees 2009 Fantasy Team Won't Win a Pennant

2009-04-03T22:22:00.005-04:00

If fantasy becomes reality this year, we will see a repeat of 2000, and the Mets will play the Yankees in the World Series, in their new ballparks, and I will be there.

Is that asking too much? Yes, probably. Here is why. The Yankees, for one, won't make it.

I sat home tonite, after a day as traffic judge, and reminisced how as a kid I would take the subway back and forth between the games in the Bronx and Queens, for the Yankees and Mets.

On satellite tonite, flipping back and forth between direct tv channels, I saw games at the Yankee's new Stadium and the Mets' Citi Field. I flashed back 47 years to my first days at the old parks, entrenched in my mind forever.

I remember my seats in Uncle Herb's Box 24J at Yankee Stadium in 1964 when Mel Stottlemeyer, who finished 9-3 that year, made his major league debut. But I virtually lived at Shea as a kid, cutting school and taking the number 7 train to Willets Point to catch the Mets, a Brooklyn boy's replacement for the Dodgers who went west. I remember the World's Fair, the Unisphere, and the Newsday logos above the left field club level, where I saw my first game from. Memories, good memories of days when we were younger.

As the Yankees enter this year, I am not optimistic for them from a fantasy standpoint. And in the Green Diamonds League I am part of, I foolishly bet the world on them, and will have to spend most of the year rebuilding. So here is why I think the Yankees go bust this year. Start with their catcher. Jorge is too old and too injury prone and no matter how good he once was, his best years are behind him. He can't throw people out anymore. And behind the backstop for the Yankees, they have no backup.

At third base, A Rod is hurt, bombed by allegations of steroids, and the hip hurting him today won't be cured swiftly swinging a bat regularly all summer. Hip injuries do not a batter make. Next to him, the consistent Mr. Jeter has numbers going down each year. Like Mike Young of the Rangers, he is a picture of consistency in games played and batting average, but the numbers which were once there are no longer going to come. He cannot cover the field the way he once did, and the Yankees have no game plan if he gets injured, no Gordon Beckham in the wings.

Robinson Cano blossomed in 2007, surrounded by a hitting jugernaut, but the sophomore slump leaves you asking which year was real. Of course having Tex at the corner playing off A Rod is awesome, and there you have the Yankees only real and established rising star in the lineup. But will teams simply pitch around him?

I drafted Matsui and Swisher and regret both choices. If Swish could not hit higher than .219 in Chicago surrounded by bats like Carlos Quentin, Jim Thome, and Paul Konerko, why should I expect more from him in the Bronx? He failed to meet expectations in Oakland and outright failed on the South Side of Chicago, and has been so unimpressive Joe Girardi has journeyman Xavier Nady playing right field ahead of him.

There is nothing not to like about Hideki, who homered tonite in the new Yankee Stadium but has been hurt for two of the past three years, and is likely to get injured again over the course of six grueling months. Already this spring it's been a hammie. We know how good he was just a couple of years ago, but we forget how long he played in Japan before he came to NY. His better days are behind him too. He has crested. The Sox signed Bay. The Rays, Burrell. The Yankees have Melky? Please.

Brett Gardner? Please, again. This is a sport that has developing outfield stars in Jacoby Ellsbury, Carlos Gomez, Jordan Schaffer, Dexter Fowler, Cameron Maybin, and Andrew McCuthen. In the past two years, we have seen Hunter Spence, Matt Kemp, Corey Hart, Nate McClouth, and Nick Markakis emege. Brett Gardner is not even mentioned in their breath. The guy barely beat out Melky Cabrera. Sure, the Yanks still have Johnny Damon, but his World Series star was worn five years ago. He too is older and prone to injuries. And Abreu is gone.

The Yankees may play to their peak and will be good but they will never be great with this lineup. Too much happens along the way to make them a picture of consistency. Only if they remain entirely injury free will these stars shine. There is much too worry about, especially in a depleted and overhyped farm system.

Great pitching may make their good lineup good enough to win more games then they lose. But Boston is more balanced and Tampa Bay is younger and hungrier. Only the arms could save the Yankees this year. AJ Burnett struck out 230 last year. CC is awesome. Rivera is still spectacular. But know this. CC has lost time to injury. Rivera had his shoulder operated on over the winter. With AJ, 200 plus k's last year notwithstanding, you are always holding your breath. Phil Hughes had a freak injury. Ian Kennedy is not god. There are weaknesses in the armor, chinks that suggests if you bet on the Yankees you will be burned.

My advice is to grab comparable ballplayers on lesser teams that give you better stats without the hype or the hurt.

Let's Just Play Ball

2009-04-03T00:31:00.001-04:00

No story Necessary. Time to play for real.

5 Spring Training Fantasy Baseball Surprises

2009-04-02T23:59:00.004-04:00

Written By Scout C.P. Staley

http://www.profantasybaseball.com/

Few things are harder to make sense of than spring training stats.

Case in point: last season Cliff Lee posted an Spring era over 8, but went on to win the AL CY Young award.

However, some players are able to turn strong spring performances into full time jobs. Here are 5 players that have had great springs, and could be in line for big things in 2009:

1. Jason Motte RP St. Louis Motte has emerged as the most likely candidate to close games for St. Louis this season. He was terrific at AAA Memphis last year, striking out 110 in 66.7 innings. So far this spring, Motte has 4 saves and a 13/1 K:BB ratio. Motteâ€™s ADP in Yahoo leagues is 17.2, but his stock is quickly rising. Look to steal him in the 14th/15th round and enjoy 25-30 saves with great K numbers.

2. Colby Rasmus OF St. Louis- Rasmus is a talented youngster whom many thought could have won a starting job last year. He has played very well so far this spring, sporting an average over .300 with good power. Rasmus looks to be the choice to man either LF or CF for St. Louis this season, making him a nice late round gamble, and a great target in keeper leagues.

3. Jordan Shaffer, OF Atlanta-Like Rasmus, Schaffer battled for a spot in Atlanta's OF as a 21 year old last year. This year his spring averages .396/.429/.585 and terrific defense make it almost certain that heâ€™ll win the job. Schaffer, 22, is best known for for violating the leagueâ€™s substance abuse policy last season, but with those problems are behind him, he could be in store for big things. Scaffer's a nice late round gamble in mixed leagues, and a definite target in keeper leagues.

4. Trevor Cahill SP Oakland Cahill rocketed through the A's farm system, dominating 2 different levels. Question marks in Oaklandâ€™s starting rotation opened the door for Cahill, and seized the opportunity by pitching well throughout the spring. He is currently projected as number 4 or 5 starter in Oakland, and is a great late round target in mixed leagues, and keeper leagues alike.

5. Kendry Morales 1B Anaheim Morales has been terrific this spring, posting a .397 average with 3 HR and 8 doubles. He wont make anyone forget the man he is replacing (Mark Teixiera) but he's got the first base job locked up. Morales makes for a great late round pick and could put up numbers similar to James Loney or Connor Jackson: .290-15-85.

Final Fantasy Drafts This Weekend as Season Starts

2009-04-02T23:21:00.003-04:00

The following is a free sample of a column from Baseball HQ, one of hundreds readers receive during the course of their subscription.

In my view, it contains the most authentic research to master fantasy ball. Sometimes, though, it requires a masters to understand it. I almost wish Ron Shandler would start a fantasy baseball hq for dummies.

Anyway, for about $99 bucks a year at www.baseballhq.com, Ron can even set you up with a draft strategies designed to fit your league's unique categories. This free column promotes a healthy way to approach auctions.

My theory on auctions is different than most. I say go get who you want when you want while you got the money to get him. I hate winding up short on a guy I would have gone long for because in the midst of a bid I got hot for a guy I never intended to go short for.

If you want to come out of a draft feeling good, go into it knowing what you want and make sure you come out of it with a few of those players on your lineup. Do not hesitate to spend a few bucks extra to get him today so you can have him tomorrow, especially if it is a keeper league.

Once you have topped your team with as many stars as you like, keep in mind that unheralded mid ranged players who have topped out by mediocre seasons can still help your team with everyday stats. Because so many teams have drained themselves with superstar salaries at the front of the club, there are always going to be a few jason bartletts who can pick you up 20 steals at the end of the draft for two or three bucks. More teams will spend $20 bucks on Gordon Beckham and they may never get a major league at bat.

I guess my moral is never underestimate the Tim Wakefields and Jamie Moyers, the Mark Buehrles of the baseball world. Nobody wants 'em anymore, but if you have laid a foundation with a CC or AJ and socked away 500 k's, you can take a flier on a guy who gets you wins on a winning team.

http://www.baseballhq.com/free/free090320.shtml

Huston Street Wins a Permanent Job as Temporary Closer

2009-04-02T22:51:00.006-04:00

Huston Street was officially named the Rockies' closer on Thursday afternoon. So what, is there such a thing as an official closer anymore if you are not K Rod or Mariano?

Whether it is Jason Isringhausen or Troy Percival or Eric Gagne, though, it does not matter how good you once were. Baseball is a sport where they measure you by what you can do now, not what you did yesterday. Which explains why Gary Sheffield, problem child, is looking for a job.

Bottom line is what fantasy writers tell you is correct. Closers are the riskiest of bids. I have won 5 by 5 leagues without them, but punting a category is always risky. Trouble with closers is you could start off with a guy who looks like Brad Lidge in 2008 and winds up like Derrick Turnbow.

Huston Street captured the job over Manny Corpas, who had captured the job a year before from the invincible all star Brian Fuentes, who will now go to Anaheim to work his magic. Corpas will go to a set up role, but if Todd Jones could close for two years in Detroit and Brandon Lyon was successful for a season in Arizona, there is no telling that Ryan Tucker won't be a star closer for the Marlins by May. I rolled a lot of fantasy dollars on Matt Lindstrom this year, and just even dealt him for Yankee outfielder Hideki Matsui because I got tired of the red stars next to his name. But Lindstrom is going in drafts like Bobby Jenks because of a one month run last September. There is no loyalty for closers. I think it is a poker game, and the more jittery the manager, the less chance they stay with one guy.

Fantasy owners who have the most time off real work and instead can work the waiver wires will find the next Joel Hanrahan and pick up 25 saves this year from an unheralded, unknown closer. It happened to me one season with Tyler Walker when Rob Nen went down. It can happen to you tomorrow if you are sitting on Cory Wade and something happens to John Broxton who only got his job cause something happened to Mr. Saito. If you are in a league with a deep reserve list, stocking set up men may be a prudent use of your stash.

I can't think of a riskier way to waste fantasy dollars than spending them on closers.

Said Huston Street today "This is what I came to camp to accomplish and it's a role I feel comfortable with. There is a lot of responsibility that goes along with it," Street said. "My teammates should expect me to not only get the job done but be prepared to get the job done."

He's a safe bet to rack up a good amount of saves, if he can stay healthy, which he was not always in Oakland. And it is not Corpas breathing down his neck, it is every manager who has to go to the media and explain after the game how a closer blew it. But it happens every nite. Baseball is perfect at being imperfect. To replicate a season like Lidge had last year or Gagne a few years ago is a fantasy in itself. And how did Lidge even wind up in Philly after being so great in Houston? Only, with a little help from Albert Pujols, he had lost it there.

A Tall Man's Tale: Chuck Connors

2009-04-02T22:25:00.007-04:00

He was born Kevin Joseph Connors, on April 10, 1921, in Brooklyn, and grew to 6'5". He began his career as a professional basketball player with the Boston Celtics and switched to baseball for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, and the Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League.

But breaking into the majors when there were so few teams was so very tough, and Connors would only play in one game for Brooklyn in 1949, going hitless in one at-bat. Some guy named Gil Hodges blocked his way. He then played in 66 games for the Cubs in 1951, hitting .239 with 2 home runs and 18 RBI, but never appeared in a baseball card set as a major leaguer.

Handsome and well spoken, he went to Hollywood and switched careers, picking up occasional roles in films with some major stars. But in 1958, as his Dodgers were moving to LA, he moved to ‘New Mexico’ as Lucas McCain, ‘The Rifleman.’ And starred in the popular TV series until 1963.

Connors once said, "I owe baseball all that I have and much of what I hope to have. Baseball made my entrance to the film industry immeasurably easier than I could have made it alone. To the greatest game in the world I shall be eternally in debt."

In the late 1980’s Connors could be seen at national baseball card shows, signing autographs and shaking hands. That is where I met him, at the National Sports Card Collection show in Anaheim around 1985. He would sign an autographed picture for ten dollars, and I remember kidding him how I was a big fan of his till I learned he was a big fan of Richard Nixon and Republicans. And I kidded him about it. I still loved his show as a kid. I still went out and bought all the DVDs last year when 'The Rifleman' was released. Those shows will be remembered longer than his baseball career.

He died unexpectedly in 1992 of pneumonia from lung cancer. He has a website though if you are intrigued, http://www.chuckconnors.com/.

If you were a fan of that show, and you were wondering whatever became of his television son, Mark, played by Johnny Crawford, once a ‘mouseketeer’, he is a popular band conductor in Southern California.

Aaron Boone's Doctors Hit a Home Run

2009-04-02T21:49:00.002-04:00

"He had wires everywhere -- it was a little more serious than they kind of expected," Bob Boone said. "The surgeon told us it's good he did it now."
He is no longer the 20/20 second baseman you want as a fixture on your baseball team. His memory will be etched into history for the home run off Tim Wakefield in 2003 that sent the Yankees to their 39th World Series, only to be humiliated by my Marlins here in South Florida.

But Aaron Boone, drafted in 24th and 25th rounds this year, if at all, will not be spending his 36th year in a baseball uniform for the Washington Nationals. Looks like Rafael Belliard will get his at bats, and Belliard, though hurt often last year again, does not hurt you. He hits a dozen homers for a second sacker and is probably available in almost any league without lots of depth.

The surgery involved replacing a section of the aorta and fixing his valve -- "just tightened it up really, so it works perfect," according to the elder Boone. "They rebuilt his valve, which they were hoping to do. The alternative was putting a mechanical valve in there. They really didn't want to do that."

Boone said because his son's heart had grown, the aorta stretched, like a balloon. While the procedure to fix the problem is relatively simple, the consequences if not detected are grave. Actor John Ritter died of a similar affliction -- an aortic dissection.

John Ritter loved baseball. We met at a fantasy baseball camp for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He brought life and enthusiasm every nite to the camp, with a marvelous energy and love for the game. Maybe I will post the picture of the two of us together. Aaron Boone's family of baseball players, sons and fathers and grandfathers have brought generations of love to the game of baseball.

The most important home run his family may have seen was not the one hit in 2003 by their son. It may have been the one by the doctors who diagnosed the condition and operated successfully to save his life. I may save a spot for Aaron on my team this season just for the hell of it.

Five Tool Stars Dominate 2009 Drafts

2009-04-01T23:56:00.005-04:00

Multi Tasking Makes for Fast Fantasy Drafting

Well, as I commence this year's baseball blogging, the one sure thing in fantasy drafts, from the NFBC, is the premium again given to hitting, youth, and ballplayers who can do it all.

Yes, there is the KRod good for a gazillion saves. Everyone loves that Jacoby Ellsbury is the next Juan Pierre who can steal 75 bases. And it is great to land the next Randy Johnson in Tim Lincecum and round up 250 strikeouts. But single category stars just do not have the lust and lure of an Alex Rios, Matt Kemp, or Nick Markakis.

The runs in the drafts this year go the moment someone hits the Nate McClouth, Jayson Werth, Hunter Spence button. Owners want pop and power combined with speed and runs. They would rather have a young Corey Hart then a slugging Adam Dunn, and the whole fantasy world is enchanted with the 30/30 of Grady Sizemore.

Call it the security of knowing what you want to get, a comfort zone which enables you to secure a little bit of a lot. Teams want as their staples the five tool masters, and in grasping for them they want young rather than old, popular rather than unknown. So sit back a bit and an older and established and more consistent Johnny Damon will auction for less and fall lower than a young and upcoming Nick Markakis.

There are some other stars out there being played too softly. No, Matt Holliday probably won't hit as many homers in Oakland as Colorado, and he won't run as much, but if Frank Thomas can pop homers in the Alameda County Coliseum, so can the Holliday Hunkster. And with that power comes 20 plus stolen bases. Going to American league parks. He is a star in either league.

So as you try to find athletes to fit that mold, look at whether they ran in the minors and can hit in the majors. It is what some owners are hoping from Jordan Schafer of the Braves and Cameron Maybin of the Marlins. Ian Kinsler stats. From oblivion to stardom. You won't get those five category numbers from a Chris Davis or Evan Longoria. David Wright is the exception for corner guys who run, just like Russell Martin is that exception behind the plate.

But Andrew McCuthen is in that blood chain. Nyjer Morgan is not. So if you are looking for power and rbis as well as steals and runs, you can't roll the dice on a pop hitting Brett Garder. You have to find the power which Chris Young brought to the table in Arizona. Just be careful. In those leagues where teams play OBP these free swinging youngsters will cost you as much adversely with their strikeouts and impatience as they make up with their speed and power.

You have to find the team where the owners give them a chance. Coco Crisp in Kansas City. He once had 17 dingers in Cleveland. Goes back to the midwest, plays out of the spotlight and gives you 20/20 numbers. So look at minor league numbers and major league opportunities to find the next Matt Kemp.

Field of Dreams Returns With Start of Season

2009-04-01T23:27:00.000-04:00

DYERSVILLE, Iowa -- More than 18 years after Ray Kinsella built it, people still come to the Field of Dreams. Just like Shoeless Joe Jackson, throngs of baseball fans -- 65,000 a year -- are drawn to Dyersville, Iowa, to see the ball park Kevin Costner's character built in a cornfield in the 1989 movie "Field of Dreams."

The field reopens for the season April 1, two days before the first major league baseball game takes place. Visitors come from all 50 states and dozens of countries. "There's not a day goes by that a car doesn't come down the lane," Boeckenstedt said. "...Mainly, they've seen the movie, love the movie and want to come to some quiet little place and that's what this is." There's often a game going on, but the lineup is never written down.

"It's just a pickup game from morning to night," Boeckenstedt said. "A family from California meets a family from New York and they all play together." Denny Grall made the six-hour trip from Escanaba, Michigan, where he works as a sports editor for the local paper, The Daily Press, with his family to see a fantasy game sponsored by Upper Deck, the sports trading card company. "We had a chance to see (former Cleveland Indian) Bob Feller pitch for two innings, which was a big thrill," he said. "That's what Field of Dreams is all about -- living out a fantasy, living out a dream." Feller is a native Iowan.

"I really believe the Field of Dreams, over this length of time, has become a part of American culture," said Keith Rahe, who manages the Ghost Players, a community team made up from some of the ball players from the movie. The team shows up at the park each Sunday from June to September, emerging from the corn to host an hour-long baseball game with visitors. "At noon, the guys appear out of the corn like they did in the movie," Rahe said. "I've seen it a thousand times and it still sends a shiver down my back."

Families wander around the outfield, playing catch or posing for pictures as they step in and out of the corn. There's a shaded area in right field where fans take a break from the game and watch the action with a cool drink at the picnic tables. There's no admission, and the field owners get no city revenue for upkeep.

Ron Boeckenstedt says it's just nice to watch visitors play ball in what once was a cornfield. "We see people enjoy coming and thank us for keeping it," Boeckenstedt. "There aren't too many little places like this that operate in the world."

The Cubs Fan and Bud Man Harry Caray

2009-04-01T23:03:00.000-04:00

Just gotta be one of the best commercials ever.

Merkle's Boner Outlived His Years

2009-04-01T22:48:00.001-04:00

It happened in September of 1908, in NY City. The Cubs were facing the Giants with the pennant on the line. Each and every game was a must-win situation. The score was tied 1-1, in the bottom of the 9th, the Giants had runners on the corners with two outs. Fred Merkle, a 19 year-old rookie, was the runner on first. The next batter lined a single. The runner at third came home. It appeared to be a Giants victory, they had taken the lead for the pennant, the cheering fans swarmed the field. Merkle looked toward home plate and saw his teammate cross the plate.

Merkle, startled as the crowd swarmed out of the bleachers onto the field, stopped. Thinking the game was over, Merkle sprinted off the field. But, he had forgotten an important rule of baseball, he did not go touch second. The Cubs retrieved the ball, went and touched second. Merkle was forced out.

The game was declared at tie because order could not be restored because the fans could not be removed from the field. The two teams went on to finish the season in a dead tie for the pennant. They had to play a one-game playoff. The Cubs won and went to the World Series. One loss, the loss, that day knocked the Giants out.

Merkle was never forgiven by the NY fans for that blunder. He went on to have a solid career of 14 years and a lifetime average of 273. However, everywhere he went he always was reminded by fans of his terrible mistake on that day of his rookie season. A mistake that will always be called, Merkle’s Boner. It probably would not have effected his fantasy value. Fielding does not count.

Dallas Dusted by The Fish

2009-04-01T08:48:00.002-04:00

He was supposed to be great. He had the name of a star. He had the background of a champion. He was a pedigree, a military cadet at the Citadel from 1998 to 2001, and a second round draft pick by the Anaheim Angels in 2001. And when he stroked 42 homers last year for the Marlins, even in Albuquerque, I thought his time had finally come.

The Fish desperately needed a left handed power bat to replace Mike Jacobs, who they dealt to Kansas City. In fact, I thought one of the reasons they felt comfortable dealing Jake was to move Cantu to first, since he can't field, and move Dallas McPherson to the hot spot. So I thought this was his time. I was wrong. The Marlins let him go yesterday, following one more spring of unsubtle injuries.

He shot up the ranks from Double-A minor league affiliate Arkansas Travelers to the Triple-A Salt Lake Stingers. After garnering several minor league Player of the Year honors, Dallas McPherson was a September call-up by the Angels to fill their 40-man expanded roster. He made his Major League debut on September 10, 2004, against the Chicago White Sox. He was a fantasy player's dream.

With third baseman Troy Glaus limited to the designated hitter role due to a shoulder injury, McPherson started 11 games down the stretch beginning on September 20 and was the Angels' starting third baseman in their playoff series versus the Boston Red Sox.

Due to Glaus becoming a free agent and the bright future of McPherson, the Angels declined to re-sign their All-Star third baseman for the high salary he would have commanded and instead gave the job to McPherson for the 2005 season. In fantasy baseball books, he was deemed the next Mike Schmidt. He went like Matt Weiters this year, in some drafts for 20 bucks, in the top five rounds.

His rookie season in 2005 started out sluggishly, with his batting average usually around or below the Mendoza Line in April. Approximately one-third into the season, McPherson's bat heated up and he began hitting like he had been projected to do, including knocking in a pair of game-winning home runs in a series against the Kansas City Royals. His season was truncated by a hip injury, however. He underwent surgery in August 2005 to remove bone spurs.

Entering spring training in 2006, McPherson was expected to compete to be the Angels' starting third baseman. However, he did not hit well during the exhibition season, and that job fell to Chone Figgins, leaving no role on the team for McPherson. As a result, McPherson began the 2006 campaign in the minor leagues. After re-discovering his home run stroke at Triple-A Salt Lake, the Angels called McPherson back to the active roster in May.

McPherson spent the entirety of the 2007 season on the disabled list after choosing to have back surgery to fuse two vertebrate in his back. [1] [2] McPherson was not offered a new contract by the Angels and became a free agent on December 12, 2007.

He signed a one-year deal with the Florida Marlins on January 31, 2008. Playing for the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes, he batted .275 with 42 home runs and 98 RBI. His 42 home runs led the minor leagues in 2008. He was called up on September 1, 2008.

Dallas is 29 this year, and this cut has to hurt the most. Will the young military cadet who was once such a great prospect ever be given another chance? 42 homers last season. Not too shabby in any league.

Aaron vs. Snider in Home Run Derby

2009-03-30T23:05:00.000-04:00

This is the 1950's show Home Run Derby, with Duke Snider competing with Hank Aaron for the grand prize of $2,000. Not bad back then. Just an intro to the past to kick off the blog.

In this game, a precursor to today's battle at the All Star Game, you had the stars go one on one against each other, while being interviewed. What upsets me about this is that the people who saved this on You Tube incorrectly spelled The Duke's last name, it was Snider, not Snyder.

This was filmed in 1959, just after the Duke of Flatbush moved to Los Angeles, and just before the Milwaukee Braves moved over to Atlanta.

'Growing Up Brooklyn Baseball'

2009-03-30T20:04:00.003-04:00

Billy Joel's NY 'State of Mind' and
You Tube Video Tribute to the Brooklyn Dodgers

The Duke of Flatbush
I come to these pages approaching my 60th year on this planet in a life that is too short.

But if there has been one constant that has trespassed my life it is Baseball, from Little League in Little Neck, Long Island to National Fantasy Baseball Championships in Las Vegas.

I started playing Calico's All Star Baseball with a spinner and cardboard cards at the same time I was playing kick the can on the streets of Kew Gardens, New York.

I played stickball in concrete yards and softball in summer camps in Rock Hill, New York.

I have hurt every bone in my body diving for balls, sliding into bases, and crashing into fences to 'make the play' and win the game.

Baseball has been my addiction. Thank goodness I chose one that was healthy. As a criminal defense attorney, I have seen too many that destroyed people. Mine enhanced my life, from my days at Los Angeles Dodger Baseball fantasy camps to my days as a radio sports reporter and announcer.

I have got to play the game and interview the stars. I have got to live the passion of the life that I have loved. Even owned a baseball card shop for a while, trading and selling cards I kept and collected as a kid. Would have made more money if I was more a seller and investor than a collector. But hey, I got a 1952 Bowman Mickey Mantle in a safety deposit box somewhere.

So I bring to these pages baseball and its history, my passion for the game, and my enthusiasm for the sport. That knowledge has enabled me to live the life vicariously on the computer as a general manager, drafting teams and selecting players. I wish I had been as successful running some of my businesses as I have been at playing fantasy baseball :-)

Anyway, hopefully this blog will be an insight into my thinking on baseball as the 2009 season commences. I would have applied to the MLB network but who the hell wants to spend the baseball season at a studio in Connecticut? Though I think Al Leiter will be successful at it.

So with some fantasy baseball analysis, and a collection of some old columns I dig up and put online for posterity, here is the new blog for 2009. Let's get it started. My enemies are waiting to make fun of my predictions, now recorded forever.

That is not me in the picture. It is Duke Snider. He was my hero. Still is. That is how I grew up with the nickname Duke, which I am claiming again for this blog.