Spurs Talk Fantasy Baseball 09

[whottt]

Having only 10 teams means the waiver wire isn't as barren as it might normally be.

This why I had to chuckle at Dan touting Thome on his team in a 10 team league. This guy was off and on the waiver wire for the entire season in a much deeper league last year. I don't think there was a team in the league that didn't own Thome at some point.

He's looking at the 34 home runs, he's not looking at all those 0-4 and 0-5 that come in between them. I think Thome had about 20 good games all of last season in which he put up just about all of his numbers, and the rest of the time he was going 0-fer.

I give it a month tops before Dan puts him on waivers. First time he goes 0-fer for an entire week...

[Thunder Dan]

This why I had to chuckle at Dan touting Thome on his team in a 10 team league. This guy was off and on the waiver wire for the entire season in a much deeper league last year. I don't think there was a team in the league that didn't own Thome at some point.

He's looking at the 34 home runs, he's not looking at all those 0-4 and 0-5 that come in between them. I think Thome had about 20 good games all of last season in which he put up just about all of his numbers, and the rest of the time he was going 0-fer.

I give it a month tops before Dan puts him on waivers. First time he goes 0-fer for an entire week...

He is just a seat filler until I pick up this year's breakout star (one that I don't already have((Gordon,Maybin,Choo)). I have my watch list of 8 guys- all currently on waivers. Watch out. You are about to witness baseball managing gold in the summer

[Thunder Dan]

See ladies and gentlemen, the key to success in any field is to have a plan, build a solid foundation, trust in your plan and most importantly trust in yourself. That is what I bring to the table. I might be a little unorthodox, but I have followed all the keys to success and now I just have to sit back a reap the benefits

[Melmart1]

This why I had to chuckle at Dan touting Thome on his team in a 10 team league. This guy was off and on the waiver wire for the entire season in a much deeper league last year. I don't think there was a team in the league that didn't own Thome at some point.

He's looking at the 34 home runs, he's not looking at all those 0-4 and 0-5 that come in between them. I think Thome had about 20 good games all of last season in which he put up just about all of his numbers, and the rest of the time he was going 0-fer.

I give it a month tops before Dan puts him on waivers. First time he goes 0-fer for an entire week...

Yeah, all players have weaknesses. A guy who gives you a load of homeruns is going to bring your OBP down, and the rest of your team has to be able to make up for it. I don't think Dan is recognizing that. That, and his pitching staff has a few good guys, but its pretty damn thin if you ask me, and come playoff time he will regret that, cus no way in that every good pitcher that might come up will end up in his lap. And even if they do, who do you give up for them. If his entire team is soooo good, he won't want to waive anyone to get another pitcher.

[Thunder Dan]

Yeah, all players have weaknesses. A guy who gives you a load of homeruns is going to bring your OBP down, and the rest of your team has to be able to make up for it. I don't think Dan is recognizing that. That, and his pitching staff has a few good guys, but its pretty damn thin if you ask me, and come playoff time he will regret that, cus no way in that every good pitcher that might come up will end up in his lap. And even if they do, who do you give up for them. If his entire team is soooo good, he won't want to waive anyone to get another pitcher.

Jim Thome is one of the all time leaders in walks!

Where am I thin in my pitching except relievers?! I have 3 #1 starters in Lee, Baker, and Burley. I have Galaraga and Carmona- 2 young guns ready to rock and roll, and I have Lester who plays on one of the best teams which will a)get me innings, b) get me wins

I like my position better than drafting a pitcher high up and hoping he comes through when he pitches once a week, or hoping he doesn't get hurt. Hitters hit everyday so you get consistency, pitchers pitch once a week which means it's a crap shoot. You are more likely to find a flash in the pan pitcher for a couple weeks than you are a hitter. And PLUS, if that isn't enough, I'll be so dominate in my hitting that I will only need to steal one or 2 pitching categories- which can be done with my staff. I'm sorry, but my outfield would beat the lineup of: Satlamachia, Blaylock, Kinsler, Headly, Victorino, Ibanez, and Chris Young

[Melmart1]

Jim Thome is one of the all time leaders in walks!

Where am I thin in my pitching except relievers?! I have 3 #1 starters in Lee, Baker, and Burley. I have Galaraga and Carmona- 2 young guns ready to rock and roll, and I have Lester who plays on one of the best teams which will a)get me innings, b) get me wins

I like my position better than drafting a pitcher high up and hoping he comes through when he pitches once a week, or hoping he doesn't get hurt. Hitters hit everyday so you get consistency, pitchers pitch once a week which means it's a crap shoot. You are more likely to find a flash in the pan pitcher for a couple weeks than you are a hitter. And PLUS, if that isn't enough, I'll be so dominate in my hitting that I will only need to steal one or 2 pitching categories- which can be done with my staff. I'm sorry, but my outfield would beat the lineup of: Satlamachia, Blaylock, Kinsler, Headly, Victorino, Ibanez, and Chris Young

Yeah, cus that is the lineup I will roll with each day. That is just who is in those slots now. And I wasn't specifically talking about Thome, I was talking about players in general. Your team is not very well-balanced, imho. But nothing I can say is going to dissuade you from this, so go ahead and shake your pom-poms. You may even beat me week 1. But you are gonna have problems with that staff down the line.

[Thunder Dan]

I think my 3rd base platoon could beat that lineup

[Thunder Dan]

Yeah, cus that is the lineup I will roll with each day. That is just who is in those slots now. And I wasn't specifically talking about Thome, I was talking about players in general. Your team is not very well-balanced, imho. But nothing I can say is going to dissuade you from this, so go ahead and shake your pom-poms. You may even beat me week 1. But you are gonna have problems with that staff down the line.

not well balanced if you don't like, speed, average and power

my staff will have one of this year's Cy Young winners on it by years end


I don't see a guy in your position players I would want playing on my team (the Indians) let alone on my fantasy team.

[FromWayDowntown]

Ian Kinsler or Asdrubal Cabrera? Hmmmm. Lemme think about that one.

[Thunder Dan]

Ian Kinsler or Asdrubal Cabrera? Hmmmm. Lemme think about that one.

anyone can put up those numbers in that ballpark


Which brings me to Fantasy Baseball Rule #2: never draft a pitcher that pitches for the Rangers.


you guys are going to love me this season...

[FromWayDowntown]

anyone can put up those numbers in that ballpark

True, perhaps. But in Kinsler's case -- in 2008 at least -- he hit almost 3 times as many homers (14) on the road last year as he did at home (5) [and he played 1 more road game than home game, with 11 more plate appearances in road games than home games], and drove in almost twice as many runs (47) on the road as he did at home (24). He had more doubles in Arlington than he did on the road, but his slugging percentage was better in road games (.530) than in home games (.504).

Just sayin.

I'd take Kinsler over Cabrera in a heartbeat. I suspect most baseball people would, too.

[Thunder Dan]

True, perhaps. But in Kinsler's case -- in 2008 at least -- he hit almost 3 times as many homers (14) on the road last year as he did at home (5) [and he played 1 more road game than home game, with 11 more plate appearances in road games than home games], and drove in almost twice as many runs (47) on the road as he did at home (24). He had more doubles in Arlington than he did on the road, but his slugging percentage was better in road games (.530) than in home games (.504).

Just sayin.

I'd take Kinsler over Cabrera in a heartbeat. I suspect most baseball people would, too.

maybe at 2nd base, but I can't say the same about any of the other positions

[whottt]

Yeah, all players have weaknesses. A guy who gives you a load of homeruns is going to bring your OBP down, and the rest of your team has to be able to make up for it. I don't think Dan is recognizing that. That, and his pitching staff has a few good guys, but its pretty damn thin if you ask me, and come playoff time he will regret that, cus no way in that every good pitcher that might come up will end up in his lap. And even if they do, who do you give up for them. If his entire team is soooo good, he won't want to waive anyone to get another pitcher.

Guys without pitching staffs won't be in the playoffs this year, there are only 4 teams that will make it and it's not going to be ones without pitching staffs.

No team without a pitching staff is going to finish above 4th place in this league.

You think back on the history of this league and there's only one owner that's had any semblance of success without much of a pitching staff and that's timvp...and even he's got a pitching staff this year.


In my case...I prepared for the playoffs wins and k's onslaught in the draft this year. That strategy is not ever going to win a championship IMHO, even if it does do ok early in the playoffs. Pitching is more consistent(just like in the real game) than hitting, it's also much harder to find. There will be 30 HR guys on the waiver wire heading into the playoffs this season, there won't be any 200k pitchers on it.

Bottom line is that HR and RBI(the two macho stats) are only 2 categories, and whether anyone realizes it or not, they are just about the hardest two to predict on a week to week basis. The best hitter in the game can go homerless and RBI less for an entire week at any point...but if you put a Cy Young candidate out there and he's pitching twice in a week, he will put up some K's at the least and usually get a win with a low ERA and WHIP along with it.


Has the team with the most HR or RBI ever won this league? Not that I can remmber...both times it was teams that had just about the best pitching staffs that won it.

[Melmart1]

Guys without pitching staffs won't be in the playoffs this year, there are only 4 teams that will make it and it's not going to be ones without pitching staffs.

I agree totally, and I think that Dan's pitching staff is pretty thin. He is dumb to think that he can just pick pitchers up later -- those are hard to come by, and those that are called up usually have a learning curve. You have to draft a good team, I had a great pitching staff last year and 90% of those guys were my draftees.

I think my pitching staff is very solid, some great starters and five, possibly six closers. That's why I am not worried about the perceived shortcomings in my offense -- offensive players are much easier to pick up and since they play everyday they can make an immediate impact on your team, unlike a pitcher. Also, I think my offense has some real sleepers on it that will improve as the season goes on. Slow and steady wins the race.

[Melmart1]

BTW -- I just realized I haven't paid my fee for the league FWD, will you kindly PM me payment details?

[whottt]

I'm still waiting on that info too FWDT...

[timvp]

Like two years ago, I'll consider it a success if I make the playoffs. Making the playoffs last time I had an all Dominican team was one of my better fantasy accomplishments. Even though I was closer to a championship last year playing like everyone else, I didn't have nearly as much fun.

It's going to be damn hard because so much Dominican pitching came off the board higher than expected. Combine a rush for Dominican closers and Dominican strikeout heavy starting pitchers ... and it's going to be tough because I was banking on the Franciscos, Corderos, Volquezes, Cuertos, Jimenezes, etc. in the middle rounds but they were gone far above their ADP.

[timvp]

Oh and thanks FWD for that preview. I would think I'd be last on paper considering I was forced to draft the likes of Willy Aybar at the end.

[whottt]

Oh and thanks FWD for that preview. I would think I'd be last on paper considering I was forced to draft the likes of Willy Aybar at the end.

Thnat is why you're close to last..and I'm next to last because I drafted a guy like Brandon Wood.

Makes a difference.

Coulda drafted Jim Thome instead or something and increased the HR ranking.

[timvp]

Thnat is why you're close to last..and I'm next to last because I drafted a guy like Brandon Wood.

Makes a difference.

Coulda drafted Jim Thome instead or something and increased the HR ranking.

Yeah, the main problem with projections, as I found out when doing them for the dynasty basketball leagues, is it doesn't accurately weigh the superstars. Come money time, having the big guns is much more valuable than having a lot of mediocrity. In fantasy baseball, those pitching aces are deadly in the playoffs (as I know too well ). And those top ten or so bats can carry you for an entire week.

Looking more at my team, I think I can be alright if I can stay .500 until ARod returns. But to do that, Vlad and Ortiz can't fall off the cliff this year. I'll also either need a really healthy season from my pitching staff or a few quality Dominican pitchers to arrive on the waiver wire at some point.

Last time I did this, I was lucky to get like four or five solid waiver wire Dominicans including C. Pena, U. Jimenez, Al Reyes and a few others. I need that luck this year.

Oh and regarding the waiver wire rule, I think we should set something up ASAP. The way that makes sense to me is to give a total number to cap for the regular season and the playoffs. Say like 40 transactions. Then it'll add strategy to the waiver wire all year long.

I've done it that way in fantasy football leagues and it's always pretty interesting. Some people use up their transactions early on trying to get all the "sleepers" and others save them up for use late in the season.

But I'm fine with whatever the majority wants. And I do want to warn ATRAIN that I will do all I can to win within the confines of the rules and if he needs to cry he'll need to wipe away his own tears.

[whottt]

Oh and regarding the waiver wire rule, I think we should set something up ASAP. The way that makes sense to me is to give a total number to cap for the regular season and the playoffs. Say like 40 transactions. Then it'll add strategy to the waiver wire all year long.

I've done it that way in fantasy football leagues and it's always pretty interesting. Some people use up their transactions early on trying to get all the "sleepers" and others save them up for use late in the season.

I'm ok with limits during the regular season, but I'd still want separate limits for the post season so that you can't just win pitching stats with sheer volume...

Ya can't do that in fantasy football even with no limits, they don't play games on enough days of the week to just overwhelm with sheer volume and in most leagues the only backs availavbe are 3rd stringers etc. Pitching is a totally different animal.

The reason I am for limits in the post season is to keep owners from taking the talent judging aspects out of the pitching stats.


I'm not even worried about it on the hitting side, those transactions could remain limitless in the post season as far as I am concerned because it's just not possible to win on nothing but volume like it is with pitching...due to the sort of more or less inevitable nature of the W and K stats in pitching...

[slayermin]

Nice preview, FWD.

The CI/MI positions makes this league a little different from the last couple of years. I hope my strategy of drafting Alexei Ramirez early works out for me.

Trying to pickup closers or any other quality player is tough in this league. Everyone here watches the game like a hawk. It makes it fun and challenging.

I'm all for a limit on transactions for the playoffs and/or the regular season since I drafted my team with that in mind.

[whottt]

Here's a group of folks having the exact same discussion:

http://www.rotoauthority.com/2009/01...ction-lim.html


Personally I like what that one keeper league does, 40 during the regular season and 2 per week during the playoffs.


Anorther alternative is just to eliminate the w and k stat categories entirely...I mean if they are meaningless then let's make them meaningless and end the charade.


Or one other alternative..and expand the rosters for the post season and you go with what you have for that expansion.

[slayermin]

Personally I like what that one keeper league does, 40 during the regular season and 2 per week during the playoffs.

This sounds pretty good to me.

[whottt]

This sounds pretty good to me.

I love working the waiver wire but since I'll usually only have one or two spots that I am looking to fill and will rotate about 60 guys out of those two spots, I can learn to cope.