| Fantasy Focus: Down on the Farm Friday With John Sickels |
| John Sickels is still hosting every Friday. His guests for this week are:
(All times Eastern):
12:05 p.m.
Guest: Scott Servais, Director, Player Development, Texas Rnagers (Direct)
12:25 p.m.
Guest: Mike Rizzo, Assistant General Manager, Washington Nationals (Direct)
Posted by Jeff Erickson at 2/21/2008 10:32:00 PM |
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| MLB Notes |
I’m still undecided about Daisuke Matsuzaka. On one hand, he flashed a dominant strikeout rate (8.9K/9 IP) and his second half fade can be blamed on fatigue, since his workload was so different from Japan. On the other hand, Dice-K’s control (3.5 BB/9 IP) was a major problem, as was his proneness to the long ball. And maybe the second half fade was because the hitters adjusted to him. Ultimately, there’s upside here, and I’d guess he shows improvement this season – he’s still just 27 years old. However, his price tag is typically higher than I’m willing to spend.
I’m strongly advocating drafting Carlos Marmol this season. Theoretically, he should come rather cheap, since Bobby Howry has been named the early favorite to close in Chicago, and Kerry Wood is around to contend with. The Cubs probably want Wood to emerge as the ninth inning guy, and when healthy, there’s no denying his stuff is filthy, as the kids like to say. Of course, Wood is almost certain to get hurt. And then there’s Marmol, and all he did was strike out 96 batters over 69.1 innings last season. The 1.43 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and .169 batting average against weren’t too bad either. He has the upside of a top-5 fantasy closer.
Randy Johnson is 44 years old and unlikely to throw more than 140 innings this season. Still, with the possibility that back surgery brings improved health, I can’t help but recommend gambling on his upside, which is still apparent. Pitching in the NL West helps, and his numbers from 2007 suggest there’s still something left in the tank. In 17.2 road innings last year, the Big Unit posted an absolutely ridiculous 25:0 K:BB ratio with a 0.51 WHIP. Plus, he’s typically coming very cheap in fantasy leagues right now.
The most frustrating part about the Roger Clemens congress fiasco was the clear partisan lines that were being drawn. I’m not saying either Clemens or Brian McNamee was right, but I am saying the way the republicans attacked only McNamee was wrong.
You’ll have a hard time finding a cheaper source for power than Jim Thome. Sure, he’s injury-prone, only available at DH and 37 years old, but he’s also smacked 72 homers over his last 922 at-bats. He gets to hit in one of the most homer-friendly stadiums in baseball, and the White Sox lineup should be much improved this season as well. He hit 12 bombs during September of last year, so he’s not finished being a major asset in the power department.
Dalton’s bold prediction: Andrew Bynum doesn’t play another NBA basketball game this season.
I’m letting someone else draft Dan Haren. Think about Billy Beane’s track record when it comes to trading starting pitchers to the National League. Other than Tim Hudson’s 2007 campaign, he and fellow former A’s hurlers Mark Mulder and Barry Zito have pitched six combined seasons since leaving Oakland – and every one of them have qualified as worse than any of their previous seasons in Green and Gold, which is pretty remarkable. Zito wasn’t traded, of course, but Beane wore him out before letting him walk all the same. People worry about Haren leaving a pitcher’s park to a hitter’s haven. I worry about why Beane decided to trade him with so many years left before free agency. Actually, I already know the answer.
Posted by Dalton Del Don at 2/19/2008 11:51:00 PM |
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| Fantasy Focus Wednesday: Sam Walker |
| Sam Walker, author of Fantasyland, makes his first appearance of 2008 on the show tomorrow. We'll get his take on his best-selling book becoming a documentary this year, and what he plans to do at Tout Wars.
Once again, the showtime is noon ET, 9:00 a.m. out here on the west coast.
Posted by Jeff Erickson at 2/19/2008 10:38:00 PM |
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| live blogging - mixed staff auction |
Apparently some of us are crazy enough to live blog during a 15-team, mixed-league staff auction. With that, let me open this up and fire when ready, amigos.
Posted by pianow at 2/19/2008 4:34:00 PM |
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| The Righteous Andy Pettitte |
| I've often slagged players and coaches for being "religious nuts" - Tony Dungy for singling out Lovie Smith as a Christian coach in the Super Bowl, or Jon Kitna for asserting that the Lord allowed him to play despite a concussion. But that Andy Pettitte was driven to take responsibility for his HGH use and confirm that Brian McNamee was telling the truth (as least with respect to Pettitte) largely on the basis of his religious faith is refreshing. Instead of seeing religion as a reason to exclude or moralize or fantasize, Pettitte saw it as a basis for doing the honorable thing - telling the truth and coming clean even though it was a difficult choice.
I'm sure everyone has their own views on religion, but for me, this should be the reason anyone would be religious - to act as a foundation for moral and just behavior.
As a Yankee fan, I always liked Pettitte - his enormous 1-0 Game 5 win over John Smoltz in the 1996 World Series (that I watched on broadcast TV in a motel in Missouri while I was driving to California from New York by myself) was one of the best baseball games I've ever seen. And I think the way he acquitted himself over the last week or so only reinforces that.
Posted by Chris Liss at 2/19/2008 8:13:00 AM |
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