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Disclaimer
The opinions expressed herein are my own personal opinions and do not represent anyone else's view in any way, including those of my employer.
© Copyright 2010
The opinions expressed herein are my own personal opinions and do not represent anyone else's view in any way, including those of my employer.
© Copyright 2010
I just finished drafting my fantasy baseball teams for 2010. I use Yahoo Fantasy Baseball. It’s free and I like the way their site works. Last year, I did terrible. I came in dead last in my rotisserie league (I was beat by a guy who didn’t even manage the team after the season started). I think my main problem was that my first draft pick was Jimmy Rollins, a former MVP, but had a horrible year that year. I did better in my head to head league. My team got to the finals and was beaten in the final match, so I got second in that league.
This year, I wanted to do better. I bought a couple of fantasy baseball magazines and watched the fantasy baseball 404 on mlb.tv. I also resided not to pick Cubs players for my team. I always pick them because I think they will do well, and I need to realize that they while maybe good players on the team, are not so great compared to the rest of baseball. The Cubs haven’t won a world series in over 100 years, maybe I should think about that. I also took some advice I read about not relying on rookie potential. It may be cool to land that next star that no one else took, but that won’t win you the league. However, Nelson Cruz worked for me last year, and this year I picked Jason Heyward fairly early on.
This year, I picked two teams again. One rotisserie and one head to head. I also picked another one as an experiment that I will outline later. The leagues are 12 team leagues. Yahoo uses the 5×5 format which keeps track of the following stats.
Batting:
Pitching:
Yahoo fantasy baseball lets you have 10 position player positions and 8 pitcher positions. I also have 5 bench positions.
So for my first team, Splinter_hands, it is a rotisserie league, and my head to head team is blister. Don’t ask me where I got the names of the teams from, I’m horrible with being creative. This year Yahoo added an additional position to the position player group, another util spot. Yahoo also added another pitcher position. I was not aware of this until half way through the draft.
My draft picks are as follows:
Splinter_hands (7th draft position):
Blister (5th draft position)
I feel better about this year’s teams than last year. I plan to rotate through my pitchers more on my head to head team. In previous years I had more luck in being able to hold just a couple of good starters and pick matchups that I liked each day to acquire pitchers each day. However, I just saw where I won’t be able to do that as much as Yahoo has put a 6 player a week acquisition rule in place. That puts a damper in my strategy. I wasn’t expecting to have great starting pitching picks as I would just choose each day who I thought would win. I’m going to have to keep an eye on the free agents and see if I can’t hold down some better pitching and just draft one pitcher a day for match ups.
I’m excited to be doing my fantasy baseball this year. I know I spend way too many hours looking over all the numbers and keeping an eye out for better players to get, but that’s just part of the engineer in me liking to analyze numbers I guess.
So the third team I drafted I am experimenting with pitching. Typically, hitters are picked in the first round, and hitters continue to dominate the picks for the first few rounds. Pitching tends to be picked later on. I thought I would take advantage of this. Since there is no innings pitched limit in head to head, I loaded my team with pitchers and plan to rotate them through on the days of their starts. I did however take hitters on first two rounds as they were top tier hitters, and I need some hitting production to compete at all. I’m not too concerned if I win this one, but I’m curious what kind of position I can get in the end if my picks are focused on only half of my stats (pitching) that I need to win each week. Here’s the results of my draft:
bud_selig_is_evil (7th draft position):
Now if I could only get Yahoo to make an Android app for fantasy baseball like they did for the iPhone
This Spring, Wendy and I decided to go to Phoenix, AZ for a short trip, mostly because I wanted to go see my beloved Cubs at Spring Training. I had never been to Spring Training, but I had wanted to for quite a while now. We were there from 3/28-3/30. It was a great time to go as the weather was on the verge of being too hot, but still nice, and it was towards the end of Spring Training, so the regular season players would be playing more and be taking it more seriously.
Our first stop after getting our rental car was to grab a bite to eat. We drove around downtown Phoenix a bit, but had difficulty finding reasonable parking near the pizza place we wanted to try. Wendy found a soda fountain (thanks to google maps on the cell phone) called MacAlpine’s nearby that we ate at for lunch. It was a nice little place. It was set in the 50′s. The food was good and the strawberry cheesecake milkshake we had for dessert was even better. According to their menu, they are the oldest operating soda fountain.
From there we headed to the Hall of Flame Fire Museum which was located next to the Oakland Athletic’s spring training field where they were playing a game as we drove by. The museum was great. It had a very impressive collection of old fire equipment and history. It had lots of hand drawn and horse drawn wagons as well as old motor driven fire trucks. It was very interesting to learn about the history of firefighting through the years. They had a section dedicated to wildland firefighting as well. I would recommend it to anyone who has the chance to go see it. Pictures
Next we went to the nearby Desert Botanical Garden. Wendy was excited to see wild flowers. I thought it was silly to have a botanical garden in the desert, but they had a lot of cool plants after all. Pictures
After the gardens, we went to check into our hotel. Wendy managed to find a great deal for us at The Hilton Phoenix East. Normally above our price range, but we got it for a great price. It was a nice hotel with large and comfortable rooms. The pillows on the bed were really soft.
While we were out that night we had stopped at a Target so I could get a baseball and sharpies. I hoped to get some autographs at the game. For dinner the first night, we ate at Grimaldi’s Pizzeria. It was some great pizza. You have to build your own pizza, and it was a bit pricey. We got a pizza with pepperoni, Italian sausage, and onions.
Next day, we decided to try to get to the Cubs game early in hopes to get autographs. For breakfast we went to a nearby place called The Good Egg. Really good breakfast with lots of choices.
I was reading through some sites today when I came across a blog mentioning that five of the voters of the Baseball Writers Association did not vote this year. Big deal right?
This isn’t five voters who forgot to vote, they intentionally turned in blank ballots. Why? We don’t know all of the reasons why except for one guy, Jay Mariotti.
I didn’t vote for anybody in the baseball hall of fame this year. Ya know why? To me…the first ballot is sacred. I think Roberto Alomar is an eventual Hall of Famer, not the first time. Edgar Martinez, designated hitter, eventually, but not the first time. Same goes for maybe Fred McGriff. As far as Blyleven and Dawson…if they haven’t gotten in for years and years I cannot vote them in now. Ripken, Rickey Henderson and Gwynn. They are true first ballot Hall of Famers, but I didn’t vote for anybody, throw me out of the Baseball Writers. I don’t care. SOURCE
Wow, I’m sure that was a great reason.
Personally, I can’t believe that five voters who have a pretty big responsibility didn’t have the consideration to at least vote. If they don’t want to vote, they should give the responsibility to someone who does care about the Baseball Hall of Fame. For crying out loud, Jay even asked to be kicked out. Please, someone do it.
Why is this significant, ask Bert Blyleven about how he feels about missing out on the Hall of Fame for the 13th time. Guess how many votes he needed to get in?
I can’t believe that five people don’t think that following baseball players were worthy of the Hall of Fame, at all:
All are All-Star calibre players that any manager would have loved to have on their team. Great players whose names any baseball fan knows. Are they all worthy of the Hall of Fame, no, but you can’t tell me that none of these players deserve to get in. I also don’t think it’s right to leave the ballot blank just because you want to make a statement.
Something needs to be done about the Hall of Fame voting.
From http://www.gettyimages.com/
It’s been 9 years, but former Cub great, Andre Dawson, has finally made it into the Baseball Hall of Fame. I am very happy about the news. Last year, I posted about my disappointment that he didn’t make it.
Dawson’s numbers were not staggering, especially when compared to the juiced ball era that we are coming out of. His lack of any dominating category explains why he wasn’t a first year Hall of Fame player. He got in by how he played.
Dawson began his career in Montreal with the Expos, now the Washington Nationals. Early in his career, Dawson was known for his speed and great hitting. He and Tim Raines were a lethal pair. Unfortunately, the artificial turf in Olympic Statium destroyed his knees, and he was unable to run like he did in his early years. Throughout the rest of his career, his knees bothered him. Dawson’s problems with his knees started from high school football. He added power to his skill set to offset his lack of speed.
After playing on the turf for 11 years in Montreal, he had to move. Montreal was not going to resign him as they were afraid of the condition of his knees. Most teams were unsure of his knees and were hesitant to sign him. Dawson also knew he had to get back onto playing on the grass. He talked with the Cubs to ask if they would sign him, and they did. He just wanted to play, and he told the Cubs he would play for what ever they wanted to pay him. He got paid $500,000 that year, compared to $1.2 M the previous year. That season (1987), he then went on to turn in his MVP season for a Cub team that went on to be last place in their division that year. That year he led the league in Total Bases (353), HR’s (49) and RBI’s (137). MVP’s typically get picked from winning teams, but Dawson played so well, he was able to secure the honor despite his team’s lack of success.
I can remember watching him play on WGN as a kid. He was a great player, a steady clean up hitter. He struck out a lot, but could hit. My favorite thing about Dawson was watching his fielding. He played right field in Wrigley. The winds in Wrigley make it one of the toughest right fields to play. I remember watching him throw runners out with is powerful arm. My favorite was when he would charge a hard hit single and throw out the runner at first because the runner wasn’t hustling. The Wrigley faithful respected him. The bleacher bums in right would bow down as he would take his position.
Dawson’s teammates spoke highly of him. Although his knees hurt constantly and limited his potential, he didn’t complain and he didn’t let his knees stop him from giving 100%.
Dawson played for the Montreal Expos (76-86), the Chicago Cubs (87-92), the Boston Red Sox (93-94), and the Florida Marlins (95-96). His highlights are as follows:
His career numbers:
Batting Average: .279
OPS: .806
HR: 438
RBI: 1591
SB: 314
Fld%: .983
Now, to find out what cap he is going to wear when he is inducted this summer. I’m hoping they chose a Cubs hat. Way to go Hawk!
I recently got to attend all four games of the Rockies vs Cubs series here in Denver. I was quite disappointed with it. Below is a letter I wrote to the Cubs, not that I expect to hear anything back.
Dear Cubs, I have been waiting with anticipation all year for my beloved Cubs to come to Denver to play baseball. I even took time off from work just so I could see all four games of the series. And I paid a lot of money for some of the tickets I got. Imagine to my surprise throughout this four game series, I didn’t get what I paid for. I paid to watch a Major League Baseball team play world class caliber baseball. What I got instead was a bunch of bush league baseball play that certainly was not the product I paid for. I only got to see one major league starting pitcher, Ryan Dempster, pitch well. Zambrano was scratched and the starter for that night only lasted two innings. Randy Wells, a rookie, was beaten up. And Gorzelanny couldn’t get out of the second inning before he got injured. He was then replaced by some minor leaguer. The defense was atrocious. It looked like the bad news bears out there. Do the Cubs even understand that the large brown leather thing on their hand is where the ball is supposed to go when the ball is hit at them? Do they understand that when runners are on base, they are supposed to drive them in? Does Soriano understand that he is paid to hustle, not lollie gag around the outfield chasing butterflies and hopping every time he makes a catch? And if the Cubs are so interested in winning, then why in the top of the 9th inning while the Cubs were rallying did Lee get lifted for Fontenot as a pinch hitter? Seriously, Jeff Baker was the best you could do for 2B? He’s not even hitting above the Mendoza line. I sat behind one of the Rockies executives on Monday night and he just laughed when Baker came up to bat. He said they were glad to get rid of him. So, the purpose of this mail is that I am asking for my money back. You miss advertised and I bought a product that was labeled on thing, and I got something that was of a much worse quality. If the Cubs come back to Denver again, please make sure to inform fans if this is their B team or their A team. If I am going to go to a game to watch minor league baseball, I would rather pay minor league prices to see it.
My brother sent me a link this week relating to the insane deal that C.C. Sabathia got for signing with the New York Yankees. C.C. is a starting pitcher that went from Cleveland to Milwaukee last year and is now a free agent. He just signed with the Yankees in a record deal of 7 years and aproximately $160 million. It is rediculous how much people are getting paid to play a game. Anyway, the link he sent me lets you enter your anual salary and how long it takes for him to make your salary. At $21,000 a year that I make, he only has to throw 2 strikes, not even one out. I don’t understand how on Earth anyone could ever be worth that kind of money for a game. How about teachers, EMT’s, Police officers, military folk, or anyone who actually makes a difference in people’s lives and have some real value for what their efforts provide. Entertainment should not be that lucrative, but that is what our society has decided is important.
Once again, Ron Santo was denied entry into the Hall of Fame. I’m not quite the die hard fan of Santo, but as a Cubs fan, I still think he was a great player and would be deserving of a spot in the Hall of Fame. There certainly is a following of people who are wanting to see Santo inducted in. He was the Cubs’ 3B from 1960-1973. His career numbers are:
I imagine the majority of the people who are pulling for him to get in are Cub fans. His numbers are good, but they aren’t astounding. Maybe that’s why he isn’t getting voted in.
Another player that I would really like to see get in from the Cubs is Andre Dawson. Also known as “The Hawk”. Dawson spent most of his career between the Montreal Expos and the Chicago Cubs. His last years were with the Florida Marlins and the Boston Red Sox. Dawson was old school. When Ryne Sandberg was elected into the HoF, he mentioned Dawson in his induction speech saying how he believes Dawson should be in the HoF as well.
Andre Dawson, the Hawk. No player in baseball history worked harder, suffered more or did it better than Andre Dawson. He’s the best I’ve ever seen. Stand up Hawk. The Hawk. I watched him win MVP for a last place team in 1987 and it was the most unbelievable thing I’ve ever seen in baseball. He did it the right way, the natural way and he did it in the field and on the bases and in every way, and I hope he will stand up here someday. We didn’t get to a World Series together but we almost got there, Hawk.
Dawson had a quirky batting stance where he placed all his weight on his back foot and then pushed off with it as he swung. He struck out a lot, but he was a power hitter. His defense was outstanding. Unfortunately, his knees were shot from the years of playing on the turf in Montreal. This slowed him down in the second half of his career limiting his range in RF. But his arm was unmatched. The Hawk would routinely take away singles from guys who didn’t hustle to first base when the ball was hit in front of him. Plays at the plate, I saw numerous times when he’d throw out a runner at home plate from RF on the fly. Ryno made a great point about him in his induction speech, Dawson won an MVP for a last place team one year. That says a lot about how much he contributed to the team.
A future Hall of Famer, Greg Maddux, retired this week as well. He started his career with the Cubs where he won his first Cy Young award. He was then let go and went to Atlanta where he had the best years of his career. The Cubs’s GM Larry Himes, an idiot, was responsible for letting him go. Maddux wanted to come back to the Cubs after getting a deal from the Braves, asking the Cubs to match it. Himes told him the money was already spent. Himes was eventually run out of town.
Maddux was a brilliant pitcher. He knew more about pitching, location, and how hitters think than anyone. He didn’t have overpowering stuff, but he could put the ball exactly where he wanted it and make the player hit his pitches. There’s even a story where a bet was made that Maddux’s catcher had the easiest job. They blindfolded his catcher one day in the bullpen to test a theory. All he had to do was hold his glove up there and Maddux would hit it. It happened. Maddux will be voted in his first year for sure. He’ll be an invaluable asset to any club who wants a pitching coach.
There is talk of the triumvirate of Maddux, Smotlz, and Glavine all retiring and all being voted in on the same day for the Hall of Fame. Those three were solid pitchers for several years in the Braves organization. When they left Atlanta, it was definitely an end of an era.
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