About those point changes...

When I did the goofy point changes for this week, I put notes on each one thinking that everyone could read them. Well, apparently, you guys cannot do that for some reason, so I’m going to copy and past those here and give you a chance to read them.

Smurfs vs. Roid Needles

Smurfs - Plus 10 points for not having Dan Uggla on your roster.

CRN - Added 220 Home Run Derby points to CRN from the production of Justin Morneau (22). Subtracted 220 points for stealing away the title from Josh Hamilton. Added 10 points for not having Dan Uggla on your roster.

Rasmus’ vs. Boom Goes the Dynamite

Rasmus’ - Added 10 points for not have Dan Uggla on your roster. Subtracted 10 points for having Ryan Ludwick on your roster.

BGtD - Added 60 Home Run Derby points to BGD for the performance of Dan Uggla (6). Subtract 160 for Dan Uggla's performance in the All-Star game. Subtract 10 points for having Dan Uggla on your roster. Subtract 10 points for having a terrible fantasy name.

Hancock’s Halos vs. The Zou

Halos – Added 10 points for not having Dan Uggla on your roster. Subtracted 60 points for being a douche and hogging all the luck this season.

The Zou - Added 10 points for not having Dan Uggla on your roster.

Rolorado Cockies vs. KC

Cockies – Added 60 Home Run Derby points to RC from the performance of Grady Sizemore (6). Subtracted 1130 points for being a Cardinals fan and thus being related in some fashion to Joe Buck.

KC - Added 140 Home Run Derby points to KC from the performance of Lance Berkman (14). Subtracted 1140 points for beating BSI by .5 points last week.

Inoculators vs. Phantom Menaces

Inoculators – Added 520 Home Run Derby points to BSI from the performance of Josh Hamilton (35), Ryan Braun (14) and Evan Longoria (3). Added 435.5 points in tribute to last week's hard luck loss. Added 45.5 points for writing worthless blog posts.

Phantom Menaces - Added 50 Home Run Derby points to PM from the performance of Chase Utley (5).

SUB-300 Syndrome and How It Has Affected the First Half

There have been 41 times this season where a team’s opponent has scored under 299 points. The data suggests some of the reasons why certain teams are winning frequently, while others have not. Here is the data followed by some thoughts.

When Opponent Scores Under 299 Points

BSI: 2 times (1-1) – W vs. KS, L vs. Zou
KS: 5X (3-2) – W vs. BSI and KC twice, L vs. PM and BGD
CRN: 5X (4-1) – W vs. Zou, KS, BSI, BGD – L vs. PM
KC: 2X (0-2) – L vs. HH and KS
HH: 7X (7-0) – W vs. KC, RC, CRN, KS, BGD, RC, SPR
SPR: 2X (2-0) – W vs. RC, KS
PM: 7X (7-0) – W vs. KC, CRN, KS, CRN, SPR, BGD, KS
BGD: 3X (3-0) – W vs. HH, KS, RC
RC: 4X (3-1) – W vs. KS, BGD, CRN and L vs. HH
ZOU: 4X (3-1) – W vs. KS, BSI, KS and L vs. CRN

When Scoring Under 299 Points

BSI: 3X – L vs. Zou, Smurfs, CRN
HH: 3X – W vs. KC and RC with L vs. BGD
KS: 11X – Check season schedule
CRN: 5X – W vs. Zou with L vs. PM twice, HH, RC
KC: 4X – L vs. PM, HH, KS twice
SPR: 2X – L vs. PM and HH
PM: 2X – W vs. CRN and KS (Note: CRN and KS two lowest scoring teams)
BGD: 5X – W vs. KS and L vs. RC, CRN, HH, PM
RC: 4X – L vs. SPR, HH twice, BGD
ZOU: 2X – W vs. BSI and L vs. CRN

Let’s focus on the Halos for a moment. The Halos are 7-0 against teams that scored under 299 points against him, but there is another stat that is telling as well. The median average of points scored per game for the league is 336. Three times this season the Halos' opponent has scored between 300 and 325 points, resulting in a 2-1 record for the Halos. This means in two-thirds of the Halos matchups this season, his opponent has scored at least 10 points below league average. Ten times! The Halos have had their opponent score over 350 points four times this season and is 2-2 in those matchups.

Now, Andrew would probably argue that he has scored the most points in the league (by far) so who cares? This is an excellent point, but my purpose is not to say Andrew’s team sucks (because it doesn't). No, the point is luck is a big factor in fantasy. For instance, if Andrew’s opponents were averaging 358 points a game (like what Inoculators opponents are averaging) he would be 9-6. If Inoculators opponents were averaging 288 points (like what Halos opponents are averaging) Ben would be 14-1.

Of course, no one is posting “average points against” every week so this is not to say the Inoculators would be actually be 14-1 or the Halos would be 9-6. There are obviously other factors to consider. The point, again, is the impact of luck in fantasy.

A deeper analysis of the Inoculators is forthcoming (I know you could care less, but I just freaking lost a matchup by .5 points so deal with it!), but I thought I’d post this first.

Links and Stuff

A good video to watch this morning - and every morning - on Deadspin. Very funny, yet, informative. Awful Announcing does the video and is also a good site to check out. As is Fire Joe Morgan, which recently destroyed a Kansas City Star columnist.

Round-Up and Review

Rant coming later. I hate my life.

Sunday Round-Up

KC Hitters
Jermaine Dye = 19 FP
Ian Kinsler = 15 FP
Orlando Cabrera = 11 FP
Lance Berkman = 11 FP
James Loney = 10 FP

Other Hitters
Brian McCann: 3-3, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, 3 runs, BB = 20 FP
Matt Kemp: 3-4, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 runs, BB, K, 2 SB = 19 FP
Troy Glaus: 3-4, 2 2B, HR, 2 RBI, 3 runs, BB = 18 FP

Halos Pitchers
CC Sabathia = 38 FP
Justin Verlander = 36.5 FP
Daisuke Matsuzaka = 32.5 FP

Zou Pitchers
Chad Billingsley = 56.5 FP
Tim Lincecum = 42.5 FP
Cole Hamels = 21 FP

Inoculators Pitchers
Mike Pelfrey = 35 FP
Brandon Webb = 19.5 FP

Week in Review

Halos Monster Sunday Adds to Point Lead

The Halos posted 89.5 points or higher in a day four times en route to a 556.5-248 victory over the Rasmus’. It looked for a while that the Phantom Menaces would be a able to chip away at the total point leader’s cushion after his won 505.5 point performance, but, because Andrew sold his soul to the devil three months ago and pulled a 122 point day out of his butt Sunday, the Halos prevailed. Nonetheless, Andrew now boasts a 5811.5-5489.5 lead over Kimball and appears to be smooth sailing towards a division title and the number one seed.

Six Teams Crack 5000

Four teams cracked 5000 points to add to the two teams who already surpassed the milestone. The Halos lead the way with 5811.5, followed by the Phantom Menaces (5489.5), Zou (5423.5), Inoculators (5405), Cockies (5053) and Rasmus’ (5002.5). Please note that only 84.5 points separate the 6-9 Inoculators from the 12-3 Phantom Menaces, only furthering the speculation that Fantasy Baseball is gay.

Dynamite Upset Cockies; Zou Upended by ‘Roid Needles

A 117 point day by the Zou was only good enough to narrow his losing margin to 50 in a 412.5-362.5 loss to the ‘Roid Needles. CRN had two huge weeks from Hiroki Kuroda and Ervin Santana to pull off the minor upset.

The far from minor upset came when the now 5-10 Dynamite defeated the Cockies soundly, 412-257.5. The Dynamite got 59.5 points from the arm of known fantasy stud Ricky Nolasco (!) and 218 points from his offense to pull off the upset.

In related news, the Cockies have contacted the ‘Roid Needles to let him know that, since he’s basically out of the playoff race, he is open for trades. The Cockies have a one game lead over the ‘Roid Needles for the final playoff spot with nine weeks remaining.

Well, that’s all the news this week – besides that whole “Ben losing by .5 points” thing… #$%@#!!!!!!

Playing for Keeps: New Top 10 BA Prospects

Heading into the second half of the season, some teams will be looking to add players for a late season push and to make a playoff run. Other teams will being trying to figure out how to reconfigure their roster in order to add more keeper prospects. Which ever mode you’ll be in, you’ll want to know these 10 names – the new top 10 prospect list Baseball America posted this past week. Here are those 10 players and their possible impact this season and beyond.

1. Clayton Kershaw, lhp, 20, Dodgers (AA)
Available to Own: Yes
Owned By: ZOU
Career Numbers: 208.1 IP, 268 K, 2.64 ERA, 1.16 WHIP
Season Numbers: 49.1 IP, 51 K, 2.37 ERA, 1.07 WHIP

Quick Shot: Kershaw dominated as a 19-year-old 163 strikeouts in 122 innings pitched last season – mostly in the Midwest League (A). He has been primarily in the Southern League (AA) this season, but has made eight starts in the big leagues this season (38.2 IP, 33 K, 4.42 ERA, 1.62 WHIP).

Future: Kershaw, like anybody on this list, is expected to have an exceptional big league career. His fantasy prospects are also very high given his exceptional strikeout numbers at such a young age. More time in the big leagues will allowing him to gain better control and become a more effective pitcher. Remember, this kid was in only 20.

Season Stock: Kershaw is difficult piece for the Zou to label. Kershaw may be among his five keepers after this season is over, but Kershaw is probably his best trading piece to a non-contending team in order to pick up much needed offensive help. To add to the issue, Kershaw is not likely to be a player that helps The Zou make it into the playoffs and defend his title. Personally, I think Kershaw is a player to be had for a top infielder or right fielder.

2. David Price, lhp, 22, Rays (AA)
Available to Own: Yes
Owned By: BSI
Career Numbers: 8-0, 60.2 IP, 59 K, 1.63 ERA, 1.05 WHIP
Season Numbers: 8-0, 60.2 IP, 59 K, 1.63 ERA, 1.05 WHIP

Quick Shot: Price was the number one overall pick in last year’s June Amateur Draft. He was dominating while at Vanderbilt and hit has carried over into his first full minor league season. While his strikeout rate is not as high as Kershaw’s it is still very strong at nearly one strikeout per inning pitched. Price is expected to be called up to the big leagues in either late-July or August to work out of the Rays bullpen.

Future Stock: Price has the potential to be a one or two starter in a rotation, but will probably not crack the top two for some time with James Shields and Scott Kazmir holding the top two spots in Tampa. The Rays also have starting pitchers Wade Davis, Jeremy Hellickson and Jacob McGee (all three Top 30 prospects) coming up through the system. Still, Price should be a mainstay in the Rays rotation for some time.

Season Stock: Price will carry value as a guy who could pitch on any given day out of the bullpen, strike a lot of people out and not cost sitting relief pitcher due to his starting pitcher eligibility. Price will probably cost more to obtain from the Inoculators because of his current 6-8 record.

3. Matt Wieters, c, 22, Orioles (AA)
Available to Own: No
Owned By: n/a
Career Numbers: .345/.445/.584 with 18 HR in 281 AB
Season Numbers: .345/.445/.584 with 18 HR in 281 AB

Quick Shot: Wieters was drafted by the Orioles last season in the June Draft. He fell to the Orioles because of signability issues and now the Orioles are reaping the benefits. What is impressive about Wieters, ignoring his 1.029 OPS, is he has a 55/52 K/BB ratio. Wieters has also thrown out 25 of 55 would be base stealers and has allowed three passed balls from his catching position.

Future: Wieters is going to be a stud hitter for the Orioles to go along with Adam Jones, Nick Markakis and Brian Roberts. His ability to hit should also see him getting at bats from the DH spot in the order to keep his bat in the order when he needs some rest. While he isn’t going to maintain a 1.029 OPS over the course of a season, he will certainly provide a ton of power and be a tough out.

Season Stock: Wieters has only had 340 minor league plate appearances in his career with most coming in the Carolina League (HiA). But if he keeps hitting like this, it may be tough for the Orioles to ignore him in September, which means he would be added to the ESPN system. If that happens, expect a mad dash to try to pick him up and for the eventual owner to receive a lot of trade offers in the offseason. With this said, I’d be surprised if he made the big league club out of spring training next year. I think the earliest he sees extended time in the big leagues will be midseason next year.

4. Colby Rasmus, of, 21, Cardinals (AAA)
Available to Own: Yes
Owned By: SPR
Career Numbers: .277/.367/.488 with 63 HR and 72 SB, 21 OF Assists – 19 Errors
Season Numbers: .249/.351/.401 with 11 HR and 13 SB

Quick Shot: Rasmus is a five tool player with potential for greater power and hitting ability. At 21 he still has a ton of development left in his game and his body to become a premier player. This is Rasmus first season in AAA and has just recently hit the DL with a leg injury.

Future: I’m not a scout, but Rasmus has similarities to Carlos Beltran. Though that could be just because he has a ton of tools. Whatever. Anyway, Rasmus is going to be a good player, but he is blocked at the moment by a deep Cardinal outfield (Ankiel, Ludwick and Schumaker). It will be interesting to see what the Cardinals decide to do. At any rate, it makes predicting Rasmus call-up to the big leagues a bit more difficult to predict given that Rasmus really isn’t pounding on the doors at the moment.

Season Stock: His stock for this season is next to nothing. I’d suspect that trading for him from a Cardinals fan would likely be out of the question as well.

5. Jason Heyward, of, 19, Braves (LoA)
Available to Own: No
Owned By: n/a
Career Numbers: .326/.391/.478 with 9 HR and 15 SB
Season Numbers: .329/.396/.476 with 8 HR and 14 SB

Quick Shot: Heyward had just 43 at bats last season in two separate rookie leagues before entering this season. In his first season in the South Atlantic League (A) he is putting strong numbers. He ranks 13th in OPS so far this season.

Future: Heyward’s value comes in his age (18) and his body (6’4”, 220). As his body fills out he should develop more power than he already has now to go along with his good feel for the strike zone. He’s probably a few years away from the big leagues.

Season Stock: None until about 2010.

6. Cameron Maybin, of, 21, Marlins (AA)
Available to Own: Yes
Owned By: FA
Career Numbers: .296/.385/.479 with 35 HR, 17 3B and 69 SB
Season Numbers: .265/.357/.461 with 12 HR, 6 3B and 17 SB

Quick Shot: Maybin is a tremendous talent that was rushed to the big leagues last season in Detroit (promoted from A+ to MLB by Detroit). Maybin has a rare combination of power and speed that will make him very valuable. The downside is he has huge strikeout issues (99 K in 306 AB in AA this season). He will have to reduce that before Florida calls him up to the bigs.

Future: Maybin will likely spend all season in the minors. The earliest I see him coming up is midseason next year, but I don’t think that will happen. Maybin is still just 21-years-old.

Season Stock: Maybin will likely not be a September call-up, but it is not entirely out of the question. He probably is a bit of a risk to keep, but he is available to pick up if you are desperate for options.

7. Matt LaPorta, of, 23, Indians (AA)
Available to Own: No
Owned By: n/a
Career Numbers: .296/.393/.607 with 33 HR and 1.000 OPS
Season Numbers: .292/.401/.575 with 21 HR and a 67/45 K/BB ratio

Quick Shot: LaPorta has tons of power and a decent feel for the strike zone. He is an average defender and doesn’t have a lot of speed. Still, the kid can rake.

Future: LaPorta is very close to being big league ready. His numbers dictate he could handle a jump to AAA today if that is what Cleveland decided to do. It would not be surprising of he was given a September call-up given how he’s playing this season. An outfield with both him and Grady Sizemore in it has insane potential. Add in a healthy Victor Martinez and Travis Hafner and things are looking up in Cleveland.

Season Stock: Given LaPorta’s power he could make things interesting for a contending team if he is called up in September. LaPorta is another one of those guys who may not make the club out of Spring Training next year, but I think he has a better shot than Maybin or Wieters.

8. Rick Porcello, rhp, 19, Tigers (HiA)
Available to Own: No
Owned By: n/a
Career Numbers: 90 IP, 49 K, 2.60 ERA, 1.18 WHIP
Season Numbers: 90 IP, 49 K, 2.60 ERA, 1.18 WHIP

Quick Shot: Porcello is very young (19) and has a ton of upside. This is his first full season in pro ball and he’s doing it in the Florida State League (HiA). Porcello will strikeout more batters as his control improves and he gets a better feel for pitching in the pros.

Future: At he age of 19 and standing at 6’5”, 200 the future is very bright for him. He has the ability to develop three “plus” pitches (Fastball, Curveball, Changeup) and has a decent slider. He’s already toping out at 94 mph on his fastball and has good life to it. He’s going to be REALLY good and was a steal for the Tigers at 23 overall in last year’s draft. Put him in with Detroit’s massive stadium and strong lineup and he’s going to be tough to beat.

Season Stock: He won’t see the bigs until 2010 at the earliest.

9. Andrew McCutchen, of, 21, Pirates (AAA)
Available to Own: Yes
Owned By: FA
Career Numbers: .284/.361/.418 with 85 SB
Season Numbers: .282/.371/.405 with 8 HR and 24 SB

Quick Shot: McCutchen is a toolsy player with very good speed. At 5’11”, 175 there is not a lot of room to grow, limiting his power potential. But McCutchen is expected to develop more power than he has now. McCutchen has a decent arm and can cover a lot of ground in centerfield.

Future: McCutchen should bring lots of run production to the Pirate lineup. This is his first full year in AAA but he has more than 400 at bats at the AAA level. Expect a September call up with McCutchen and a possible Opening Day start next season. This plan could be accelerated if Jason Bay is traded by the deadline.

Season Stock: McCutchen probably won’t have a lot of impact this season but he could be a nice player to have next season. He’d be worth trading for if you need keeper prospects and has added value because of his ability to steal bases and score runs.

10. Travis Snider, of, 20, Blue Jays (AA)
Available to Own: Yes
Owned By: FA
Career Numbers:.299/.370/.514 with 45 HR – 296 K, 114 BB
Season Numbers: .266/.336/.471 with 18 HR

Quick Shot: Snider has a tremendous about of power that should translate to the majors. He does have a massive strikeout problem (120 K in 350 AB – 35 BB). This is going to have to be fixed before he can move up to the big leagues.

Future: Snider has a serious shot at being an Opening Day starter next season in either the OF or DH role. There was some talk he may be called up after the All-Star break as a result of Vernon Wells injury. Either way, he is not too far away from the big leagues.

Season Stock: Once he’s called up Snider will provide a lot of pop to a team willing to deal with his strikeouts. Snider is a bit of a risky keeper if he doesn’t fix his strikeout problem soon.

Round-Up and Preview

Saturday Round-Up

Ryan Ludwick SPR: 3/5, 3B, HR, 4 RBI, 2 runs, BB = 20 FP
Troy Glaus ZOU: 4/4, HR, 2 RBI, 2 runs, 2 BB = 17 FP
Kevin Youkilis SPR: 2/4, HR, 6 RBI, run = 17 FP
Jason Bay CRN: 2/5, 3 HR, 5 RBI, 2 runs, K = 17 FP
Ervin Santana CRN: W, 7 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 10 K = 47.5 FP
Edinson Volquez HH: W, 7 IP, 6 H, ER, 2 BB, 10 K = 43.5 FP
Tim Wakefield SPR: W, 7 IP, 2 H, ER, BB, 6 K = 37 FP
Rich Harden ZOU: 5.1 IP, 5 H, 3 BB, 10 K = 28.5 FP

Sunday Preview

Phantom Menaces and Halos Go For 500

In the race for the top overall seed, the Halos and Menaces need every point they can get. Each is looking to turn in the 5th and 6th 500 point weeks of the season. The Menaces needs 28 points this week to turn the trick. With Scott Kazmir starting against Cleveland one it would assume it would be a lock.

The Halos are looking for 60.5 point to hit 500 total points. Andrew will throw out four pitchers – CC Sabathia, Justin Verlander, Daniel Cabrera and Daisuke Matsuzaka – in an attempt to reach the milestone.

Krunk Smurfs Pass Milestone (For Now)

The Smurfs became the last team yesterday to surpass 4000 total points (4003.5). But with A.J. Burnett taking the mound (13 ER in last 12.1 IP) on just three days rest against the Yankees today, we should probably hold off the celebration for at least a day.

The Smurfs have recently indicated that a loss this week would likely lead to him selling off players. Jason is down by 321.5 points heading into Sunday.

Clemens’ Roid Needles Has Impressive Week

The team with the second fewest total fantasy points scored has a 150 point lead heading into Sunday against the second highest scoring team in the league. CRN is looking to draw within one game of the final playoffs spot – two games out of the three seed. Despite being outscored 4413.5 to 4409 coming into this week, CRN is 7-7 overall. Kyle needs a designated hitter, more production from Miguel Cabrera and B.J. Upton and better health from his team if he is going to stay in the race.

10-Loss Dynamite Upset Cockies

The Cockies took a blow to their playoff stability with a loss to 4-10 Boom Goes the Dynamite. The Dynamite head into Sunday with a 163.5 point lead over the fourth ranked Cockies. The assumed loss along with The Zou’s likely defeat makes the race for the final two playoff spots that much closer. It also expands the Halos division lead to three games. Joel has now lost two of the last three weeks and has matchups against KC, The Zou and Phantom Menaces lined up through the rest of July.

Baring a collapse, Boom Goes the Dynamite will have won three of he last for matchups, including a win over The Zou. His only loss came against the Phantom Menaces. Adam’s 391 points this week are the second most points he has scored the season and is the most he has scored since his week nine loss to KC. His next three matchups are against the Rasmus’, Inoculators and KC.

KC and the Inoculators Go Down to the Wire

A 27.5 point spread separates KC from the Inoculators heading into Sunday. A 14-point Joe Nathan save and a minus 19-point outing from Matt Garza was the difference in yesterday’s scoring. The Inoculators will send out Brandon Webb, Nick Blackburn, Ian Snell and Mike Pelfrey to counter KC’s Andy Pettitte. Here were all five pitcher’s results from earlier starts this week.

Andy Pettitte: W, 8 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 5 K vs TB
Brandon Webb: W, 6 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K vs WASH
Nick Blackburn: 6.2 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 K vs BOS
Ian Snell: 3.2 IP, 4 H, ER, 3 BB, K vs HOU
Mike Pelfrey: W, 7 IP, 0 ER, 5 K vs SF (was not on the Inoculators roster)

The Inoculators have scored 273 offensive points this week, far and away the most in the league through Saturday. The difference has been the pitching, scoring only 75 points this week. Now would be a good time for four good starts for the Inoculators who need a win to move within two games of the playoffs.

Letters to the Editor, Friday Round-Up and Saturday Preview

Dear Editor,

My name is Roy Halladay and I hate Ben Nielsen. Why do I hate Ben Nielsen? Because I love to irrationally hate opposing fantasy owners. Additionally, I have no clue who Ben is – making it easier to hate him. I’m sure he’s a decent person and all, but I couldn’t even tell you what he looks like. It’s a lot easier to hate people when you don’t know who they are as a person. Nielsen has a guy like that: Anquan Boldin.

Anyway, I heard through the grapevine that I was on a team facing Nielsen this week so I decided to go out and two-hit those damned New York Yankees. That’s right, the Yankees. SOB’s. I thought I’d add a little pizazz to my shutout by striking out 8 damn Yankees. I figured this, plus the great start Matt Cain had, would effectively end that SOB Nielsen’s season. Then I found out the team I’m on didn’t start Cain. Fool.

Oh well, I’ve still put Nielsen’s playoff hopes in dire straights (Where that saying came from or how it is correctly spelled I have no idea). That’s all that can be asked of me.

Anyway, have a good day and f**k the damn Yankees!

***

Dear Editor,

Hi. I’m Randy Johnson and I’m here to screw over Ben Nielsen’s playoff chances. Last week , after losing six straight starts on purpose, I decided it was time – with Nielsen down by 2 million points – to have a one and a half million point game. Just a good enough start to force him to not cut me. I noticed early in the week that Nielsen’s been planning on not starting me this week to force me to put back-to-back starts together (Which I can’t do because 41,000-years-old!). Well I could not have that if my sole purpose for being in the Major Leagues is to ruin Nielsen’s fantasy team. So I gave my buddies Mark Buehrle and Roy Halladay a call to tell them I needed them to step up this week. They obliged of course because I'm effing Randy Johnson! They would have put back-to-back shutouts together if it weren’t for that pesky Mike Aviles fellow and his dog too. Anyway, now he’s forced to start me this week so my purpose in the Majors can still be fulfilled and finally retire in peace.

Have a good day and f*** Roger Clemens!

***

Dear Editor,

I’m Matt Cain and I’m trying to figure out why the hell I wasn’t started yesterday.

Have a good day and f*** the guy who traded me this week!

***

Friday Round-Up

Ronnie Belliard FA: 3-for-4, 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 2 runs = 20 FP
Austin Kearns FA: 2-for-2, 2 BB, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, 2 runs = 18 FP
Brian Roberts HH: 3-for-5, K, 2B, 3B, RBI, 2 runs, 2 SB = 17 FP
Jack Hannahan FA: 3-for-4, BB, HR, 3 RBI, 2 runs = 16 FP
Roy Halladay KC: W, 9 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, BB, 2 HBP, 8 K = 62 FP
Jake Peavy BSI: W, 7 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, BB, 7 K = 41 FP
Luis Mendoza FA: W, 6 IP, 3 H, ER, BB, 8 K = 40.5 FP
Cliff Lee PCO: W, 6 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, BB, 7 K = 38.5 FP

Saturday Preview

The Fat Lady Has Sung and Left the Building – Halos over Rasmus’ and Phantom Menaces over Smurfs

The Phantom Menaces have a serious shot at 500 points this week, which should eat into the Halos current 271 overall point lead. (PM leads the Halos 406.5 – 339 this week.)

One Bullet Avoided, One More to Go – ‘Roid Needles over The Zou

CRN avoided a massive point day for the Zou. Roy Oswalt left in the first inning with a hip injury; Joba Chamberlain’s six and two-thirds quality innings, seven strikeout performance turned into a loss because the Yankees couldn’t score; Oliver Perez gave up just one run in six innings and got a no-decision; Felix Hernandez gave up three runs in five innings, but struck out eight in a losing effort; Doug Davis turned in a par outing. All of this and The Zou still posted 49 pitching points for a 77 point day. The Zou sends out Rich Harden today while CRN counters with Hiroki Kuroda, Ervin Santana and Seth McClung.

Sunday will be the real test for CRN when The Zou sends out Tim Lincecum, Cole Hamels, Chad Billingsley, Andrew Miller and possibly Jesus if he is recalled from AAA Pawtucket.

Upset of the Week – Boom Goes the Dynamite over Cockies

The Cockies will send four pitchers to the mound today: Pedro Martinez (vs. COL), Jesse Litsch (vs. the recently shutout Yankees), Todd “Freakin’” Wellemeyer (@ Pit) and Wandy Rodriguez (@ WASH). After typing these names, I feel more confident this upset is going to happen.

(Editor’s Note: I thought I would note the Cockies scored over 500 points last week against the Inoculators and have followed that up with a whopping 223.5 points this week. Yep, the Inoculators are cursed. Additionally, don’t you think it is funny I wrote an “Editor’s Note” even though I am the writer and (exceedingly terrible) editor of this here blog? I did. I’m sorry you didn’t. You should be laughing right now, but you’re not. This makes me sad. And, yes, I know you don’t care.)

Matchup of the Week – KC over Inoculators

The Inoculators scored 99 points yesterday and only managed to shave 5.5 points off of KC’s 20.5 point lead. The Inoculators will attempt to shave the remaining 15 points with help of starts from Matt Garza (@ CLE) and Randy Johnson (@ PHI). All of this will probably be for naught as Greg Maddux will probably throw a 27-strikeout perfect game for KC tonight. Figures.

Undrafted Keepers Thought, a Musical and Draft Results

Kyle and I were talking about some of the league keeper rules when Kyle mentioned he wasn’t all for the rules as it relates to undrafted players noting that owners should be rewarded for pulling the trigger quickly on budding players. Part of me agrees with this idea. Another part of me is concerned about the competitiveness of the league. Overall, though, I do think a tweak could be made, so here is what I came up with.

Undrafted players would cost no less than a 15th round pick and no more than a 10th round pick. A tier system based on the amount of fantasy points scored would determine the round the undrafted player would be worth.

What do you think? Kyle liked the idea and I can sleep at night with this rule. Post your thoughts and comments on the blog.

***

This may be one of the greatest things I have read in quite some time. It was written by Ben Greenman of the New Yorker. Greenman writes a musical depicting the whole Madonna/AROD saga that has been going on. Great read. If you are not aware of such controversy, then read this.

***

After a little more research, I found that the draft results I posted a few days ago is riddled with errors. I also forgot that I posted a much cleaner version of the list in early April. Use that list instead of the recently posted one. I’ll likely re-post the list again as a reminder when the season comes closer to an end.

Thursday Round-up and Weekend Preview

Thursday Round-up

Ken Griffey Jr.: 2-for-5, BB, 2B, HR, 4 RBI, 2 runs = 18 FP
Howie Kendrick: 3-for-5, BB, 2B, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 3 runs, 2 K = 18 FP
Justin Morneau: 5-for-5, 2 2B, HR, RBI, 2 runs, BB = 16 FP
Fernando Tatis: 2-for-3, 2 2B, HR, 4 RBI, run = 16 FP
Dave Bush: W, 8 IP, 4 H, ER, 13 K = 59 FP
Dan Haren: 8 IP, 3 H, ER, 2 BB, 9 K = 35 FP
Zack Greinke: 7 IP, 6 H, ER, BB, 8 K = 29 FP
Jamie Moyer: W, 7 IP, 7 H, ER, 2 BB, 4 K = 23.5 FP

Weekend Preview

The Blowouts - Halos over Rasmus’ and Phantom Menaces over Smurfs

Both of the 11-3 teams are taking care of business against the 4-10 teams. This will be the Smurfs 9th loss in 10 weeks after starting 3-1.

Solid Lock, But… - ‘Roid Needles over The Zou

CRN leads The Zou by 138 points with three days left. Erik still has ten starts left over the next three days, including starts from Tim Lincecum, Cole Hamels, Felix Hernandez, Rich Harden, Roy Oswalt and Chad Billingsley. So anything can still happen in this matchup. Still, 138 points is a lot of ground to cover as long as CRN can post some decent numbers.

Upset of the Week - Boom Goes the Dynamite over Cockies

Boom Goes the Dynamite has an 81.5 point lead over the Cockies. The Cockies have four starts left from Gavin Floyd, Tim Redding, Jesse Litsch and Armando Galarraga. Barring a negative day or some huge starts from the four aforementioned pitchers, Dynamite should pull off the upset.

Anybody’s Game

Two good starts from Zack Greinke and Mark Buehrle and two bad starts from Andy Sonnanstine and Kevin Slowey have given KC the 223.5 to 203 edge heading into the weekend.

The Inoculators will send out Jake Peavy, Clay Buchholz and Manny Parra to try and stop the bleeding while KC will counter with Matt Cain and Roy Halladay. Crossover matchups include Cain versus Geovany Soto and Buchholz versus Adam Jones.

Playoff Implications (assuming scores hold up)

Halo and Menace wins coupled with a Zou loss means both the Halos and Phantom Menaces will have a two game cushion between them and one and two seeds. As of now, the Halos have the one seed because of total points.

A Zou loss makes them more vulnerable at the three seed, but not as vulnerable as the Cockies, who would only have a one game lead over CRN for the fourth and final playoff spot if scores hold up.

An Inoculators come back would put him only two games out of the final playoff spot. A loss means he remains three games back with time quickly running out.

My Love for Mike Aviles

It was the bottom of the eighth inning and my fantasy prospects were doomed. Entering the day I had a 62.5 point lead and two solid pitchers starting. Then all hell broke lose. By the afternoon I was down 21.5 points after a terrible start from Kevin Slowey. This was then countered by 10-win Andy Sonnanstine blowing a 2-0 lead by giving up 6 runs in 5 innings. The loss sent my fantasy pitching total for the day to minus 50.5 and, at the time, my offense had produced a whopping 22 points.

On the other end KC had both Zack Greinke and Mark Buehrle pitching. The two through seven innings had combined for 53.5 points. The only earned run given up in the game was a solo home run by KC starting right fielder Jermaine Dye.

Buehrle came on in the eighth with a shutout still in tact. A shutout win for Buehrle would mean a 25 point net for KC. Greinke would get the loss, but he would also get the quality start. Buehrle would get the quality start, win and shutout. This would mean a 78.5 point pitching day for KC and a negative 50.5 pitching day for me. Throw in that both of our offenses were canceling each other out and suddenly KC is looking at a near 100 point lead heading into the weekend, sending my playoff chances spiraling down the drain. Life was grim.

Then Buehrle gave up a leadoff single to John Buck. Suddenly there was a glimmer of hope. Joey Gathright was going to (and did) pinch run for Buck, steal second and then let the hottest hitter with runners in scoring position drive him home. It was our only chance. Then, for some reason unknown to man, Gathright never attempted to steal. David DeJesus was ordered to bunt – twice. And DeJesus grounded into a double play – almost. A slightly wide throw to first went off of Paul Konerko’s glove and DeJesus was safe.

This brought up Aviles. Aviles was 0-3 with a three pitch strikeout. He wasn’t seeing Buehrle well at all. Nobody was seeing Buehrle well. And if David DeJesus couldn’t hit, nobody would.

Then it happened.

Aviles took the first pitch and ripped it down the left field line all the way to the wall allowing DeJesus to score from first. Aviles stood on second, as he has seemingly the entire time he’s been in the big leagues, clapping for yet another clutch game-tying hit.

I was clapping for a different reason. I feel the winds of change.

Harden Trade Not Good for Zou

Rich Harden and Chad Gaudin traded to Cubs for SP Sean Gallagher, OF Matt Murton, OF/IF Eric Patterson and C Josh Donaldson

The trade of Harden to the Cubs means bad news for the Zou. While Harden is an excellent pitcher (when healthy) Wrigley Field is not a good place for him. I think Harden is bound for another injury this season because he will be overthrowing to keep the ball in the ball park. While this may be good for a start or two, Harden has proven his durability is not something to rely on. On the other hand, Harden could remain healthy and add to his massive strikeout numbers (10.75 K/9).

Chad Gaudin loses a lot of his value for the Phantom Menace’s. Gaudin has been moved the bullpen and has already struggled in Wrigley Field. Gaudin is not a big strikeout guy as it is so the Menace’s need to look for more pitching.

Sean Gallagher is a possible keeper option for the Rasmus’.

Eric Patterson is a free agent in our league who may be a guy someone desperate for keeper prospects picks up because of his speed. Matt Murton is also in the same boat, but for his power and not speed.

Josh Donaldson is a mediocre catching prospect who is in single-A at the moment. He is not in the fantasy picture at the moment.

Contender? Turning Over the Inoculator Roster in 24 Hours

Trade now or forever hold your piece. This seems to be the motto for the “pretty much out of it, but still very much in it” Inoculators. Over the last 24 hours, the Inoculators roster has been almost entirely over-hauled. Here are his moves and analysis of them.

At 6-8, the Inoculators are walking a fine line between trying to get into the playoffs and accumulating keeper prospects. Whether or not he did that is yet to be seen, but early analysis says he did.

Grady Sizemore for Tim Hudson, Nick Blackburn and Dustin Pedroia

Grady Sizemore is the ninth highest scoring fantasy player in the league going to a team who needs some consistency. Sizemore is a career .282 hitter in the first half of the season and a .280 hitter in the second half. His power numbers are similar too, but it is unknown if he can keep up his AL leading home run pace. Sizemore will score runs and steal bases too. This is a good pick up for the Cockies.

The Inoculators probably could have (and should have) gotten more for Sizemore. Putting this trade in the context of all of the Inoculators moves makes the trade look better than what it really is. Tim Hudson is a very good fantasy pitcher, but not a great one. Then again, Hudson could end up being a huge addition for an Inoculators club desperate for big time pitchers. Hudson was 1-3 with a 7.17 ERA in inter-league play this year, masking the success he’s had in the National League this season. So far this season, Tim has posted an 8-3 record with a 1.98 ERA and 1.09 WHIP. Given that interleague is finished, that is good news for the Inoculators.

Dustin Pedroia is a border line keeper pick. He can provide top three second baseman production and wasn’t drafted until the twelfth round. Pedroia’s strength is scoring runs and hitting for extra bases. Because the Red Sox lineup is so deep, Pedroia will also drive in plenty of runs.

Nick Blackburn is a guy who doesn’t walk people and puts up decent strikeout numbers. He’s a spot start guy, though.

Josh Hamilton and Brandon Webb for Jermaine Dye, James Loney, Mark Buehrle and Matt Cain

Losing the third rated centerfielder meant there was a huge gap to fill for the Inoculators. So the Inoculators traded for the top centerfielder in fantasy. Additionally, Hamilton is a great keeper prospect after being drafted in the seventeenth round.

The Inoculators then went out and picked up one of the top rated fantasy pitchers in Brandon Webb.

KC ended up getting two keeper prospects out of this in James Loney and Matt Cain. Loney is a young first baseman who is hitting .300 with 41 runs scored and 47 RBI on a team that can’t score runs. If the Dodgers can add some help around him next season, he’ll be a top five first baseman.

Matt Cain is a strikeout machine who gets zero run support. Cain has 112 strikeouts this season in 119 innings.

Mark Buehrle may also be an interesting keeper prospect despite his poor season.

Added J.J. Hardy, Ian Snell and David Price

J.J. Hardy is on fire and a possible keeper prospect. Hardy has 101 points in his last 15 games played. If the Inoculators are out if it officially at the end of the month, then Hanley Ramirez could be traded to add prospects allowing Hardy to fill in.

Ian Snell just returned from the DL and scouts are saying he is back to his old form (so does Snell). The Inoculators will find out quick as he starts tonight. Snell could provide a boost in the strikeout department and maybe steal a few wins.

David Price is the 10th rated prospect by Baseball America and is expected to be called up later this month or in early July. Many have said Price is the reason why the Rays did not trade for C.C. Sabathia. Price is 7-0 with a 1.68 ERA and 55 strikeouts in 53.2 innings this season in high-A and AA ball. Price was selected in the 25th round making him an excellent keeper prospect.

Activated Clay Buchholtz from DL

Clay Buchholtz will make his highly anticipated return to the big leagues Friday against the Baltimore Orioles. A big second half from him would be huge for the Inoculators.

If things were normalized...

Andrew Wessley crunched some numbers today and found the following...

***

League Avg Score per week: 336pts

Record if playing against league average every week:

Would be playoff teams at this point:

COCK: 9-5 (DR = 0, DS = +3)*
Zou: 9-5 (DR = -1, DS = +1)*
HH: 8-6 (DR= -3, DS= -2)#
PCO: 8-6 (DR = -3, DS = -3)#

*Division Winner
#Wild Card

HH and PCO get playoff spots over BSI based on total points scored.
--------------------------------------------
The Rest:

BSI: 8-6 (DR = +2, DS= +2)
BGtD: 7-7 (DR= +3, DS= +1)
SPR: 6-8 (DR = +2, DS= 0)
CRN: 6-8 (DR=-1, DS= -2)
KC: 5-9 (DR= +1, DS= 0)
KS: 3-11 (DR= -1, DS= 0)

DR = Difference in Record
DS = Difference in Standings

Round-by-Round Draft That Will Be Used For Keepers

First Round (These players cannot be kept):
David Wright
David Ortiz
Brandon Webb
Johan Santana
Brandon Phillips
Carlos Beltran
Carlos Zambrano
Alex Rodriguez
Grady Sizemore
Justin Mourneau

Second Round (These players cannot be kept):
Troy Tulowitzki
Hanley Ramirez
Carlos Lee
Michael Young
BJ Upton
Ryan Howard
Ichiro
Vladimir Guerrero
Mark Texiera
Carl Crawford

Round Three
Brian Roberts
Nick Markakis
Travis Hafner
John Lacky
Aramis Ramirez
Miguel Cabrera
Victor Martinez
Alex Rios
Felix Hernandez
Roy Oswalt

Round Four
John Smoltz
Jake Peavy
Derrek Lee
Manny Ramirez
Fausto Carmona
Joe Mauer
Dice K
Lance Berman
Garret Atkins
Derrek Jeter

Round five
Bobby Abreu
JJ Putz
Roy Halladay
Chipper Jones
Jimmy Rollins
Carlos Guillen
Tim Hudson
Alfonso Soriano
Adam Dunn
Yovani Gallardo

Round Six
Hunter Pence
Eric Burns
Jeff Francis
Chase Utley
Hideki Matsui
Chris Young
Adam Wainwright
Alex Gordon
Matt Holliday
Francisco Rodriguez

Round Seven
Carlos Pena
Miguel Tejada
Joe Nathan
Brian McCann
Takashi Saito
Brad Penny
Mike Lowell
Robinson Cano
Chone Figgins
Matt Kemp

Round Eight
Chad Billingsly
Matt Cain
Khalil Greene
Aaron Rowand
Ben Sheets
Brett Meyers
James Shields
Ian Kinsler
Javier Vazquez
Brad Hawp

Round Nine
Mariano Rivera
Torii Hunter
Adrian Gonzalez
Orlando Hudson
Chris B. Young
Francisco Liriano
Conner Jackson
Chien Ming Wang
Placido Polanco
Ryan Zimmerman

Round Ten
Gary Sheffield
Jim Thome
AJ Burnett
Jose Valverde
Pat Burrell
Billy Wagner
Johnny Damon
Adrian Beltre
Jorge Posada
Kelvim Escobar

Round Eleven
Justin Verlander
Pedro Martinez
Kenji Johjima
Gil Meche
John Maine
Francisco Cordero
Jered Weaver
Bobby Jenks
Geovany Soto
Jeremy Bonderman

Round 12
Kyle Kendrick
Phil Hughes
Brad Lidge
Billy Butler
James Loney
Dan Haren
Kevin Youkilis
Joe Blanton
Dustin Pedroia
Rich Hill

Round Thirteen
Todd Helton
Dustin McGowan
Zack Greinke
Jason Isringhausen
Cory Hart
Jarrod Saltalamacchia
Kosuke Fukudome
Jason Varitek
Clay Buchholtz
Ivan Rodriguez

Round Fourteen Ian Snell
Houston Street
Greg Maddux
Al Reyes
Derrek Lowe
Raphael Soriano
Mark Buehrle
Dontrelle Willis
Ubaldo Jimenez
Olivar Perez

Round Fifteen
Rich Harden
Randy Johnson
Trevor Hoffman
Scott Kazmir
Brian Bannister
Jeff Francoeur
Jacoby Ellsbury
Joe Borowski
Jeremy Guthrie
John Lester

Round Sixteen
Vernon Wellls
Josh Beckett
Andy Pettitte
Jacque Jones
Micah Owings
Hiroki Kuroda
Shane Victorino
Juan Pierre
Homer Bailey
Mark Prior

Round Seventeen
Nick Swisher
Joakim Soria
Chad Cordero
Tom Gorzelanny
Magglio Ordonez
Dan Uggla
Edgar Renteria
Josh Hamilton
Coco Crisp
Bronson Arroyo

Round Eighteen
Shawn Marcum
Dave Bush
Andruw Jones
Jason Bay
Michael Bourn
Paul Konerko
JJ Hardy
Ty Wiggington
Evan Longoria
Jay Bruce

Round Nineteen
Joba Chamberlain
Matt Garza
Erik Bedard
Jeremy Accardo
Matt Capps
Delmon Young
Jorge Cantu
JD Drew
Michael Cuddyer
Manny Corpas

Round Twenty
Kelly Johnson
Barry Zito
David DeJesus
Frank Thomas
Todd Jones
Kevin Gregg
Melky Cabrera
Jeff Kent
Kerry Wood
Kevin Gregg
Melky Cabrera
Jeff Kent
Kerry Wood
Kevin Kouzmanoff

Round Twenty-one
Cole Hamels
Rickie Weeks
Johnny Cueto
Yorvit Torrealba
Curtis Granderson
Jack Cust
Chris Duncan
Chad Tracy
Rick Ankiel
Carlos Marmol

Round Twenty-two
Josh Fields
Jake Westbrook
Kevin Corria
Nate Robinson
Kyle Kendrick
Tony Pena
Aaron Cook
Jason Giambi
Jermaine Dye
Raphael Furcal

Round Twenty-three
Cameron Maybin
Andrew Miller
Adam Miller
Freddy Sanchez
Franklin Morales
Benji Molina
Colby Rasmus
Chris Sampson
Jhonny Peralta
Bartolo Colon

Round Twenty-four
Steven Drew
Brandon Lyon
Adam Jones
Hiroki Okajima
Tom Glavine
Ervin Santana
Scott Baker
Chuck James
JR Towels
Joey Votto

Round Twenty Five
David Price
Tim Wakefield
Scott Hatteberg
Ryan Church
Kenny Rogers
Josh Willingham
Braden Looper
Jhonny Estrada
Ramon Hernandez
Daniel Cabrera

Round Twenty Six
Jon Garland
Pat Niechek
Jeff Suppan
Troy Glaus
Aubrey Huff
Lastings Millage
Hank Blaylock
Yunel Escobar
Brandon wood
Clayton Kershaw

Round Twenty Seven
Tim Lincecum*
Jair Jurjens
Andre Either
Cliff Lee
Gustavo Chachin
Ryan Garko
Albert Pujols*
Willie Blumquest*
Paul Byrd
Russell Martin**

Round Twenty Eight
CC Sabathia*
Carlos Delgado
Ted Lily*
Jose Reyes*
Mark Moulder
Shawn Hill
Aaron Harang*
Prince Fielder*
Ryan Braun*

*= player cannot be kept
**= player equals a 9th round keeper

HOT/cold: Second Base

HOT: Second Base

Mark Ellis FA
P15 = 60

Mark Ellis is 1 for his last 15 with one RBI… and he’s still in the Top 10. That’s either really impressive or a really bad sign for the depth of second basemen.

Chase Utley PM
P15 = 61

For as much hype as Utley has been getting, and deservedly so, he is only the second rated second baseman in the league – and a decent margin too.

Ronnie Beliard FA
P15 = 61

Ronnie is riding a recent power surge that includes a walk-off home run on July 1. For the season, Belliard is hitting .215 with 7 home runs and 25 RBI.

Mark DeRosa HH
P15 = 64

DeRosa has 51 runs scored and 49 runs driven in this season. This is helping compensate for his mediocre batting average and power.

Ray Durham FA
P15 = 64

Ray Durham has to be 50-years-old. Durham has scored 40 runs this year, but has been unable to drive runs in and hit with power.

B.J. Upton CRN
P15 = 66

Upton will be an interesting player to watch next season because he will no longer be second base eligible. His 56 runs scored, 44 RBI and 26 stolen bases are very appealing at second base, but not so much in centerfield, which is where he’ll be eligible next season.

Brian Roberts HH
P15 = 77

Roberts has used a series against the Royals and Rangers to build up his run and hit totals. He was 8-for-25 with 8 runs scored. Despite his home run yesterday, hit power numbers are starting to trail off as has his RBI numbers.

Brandon Phillips BGtD
P15 = 86

Brandon is 13-for-27 with 9 RBI in his seven games. Sadly, he only scored 4 runs with one home run in that stretch.

Dustin Pedroia COCK
P15 = 96

Pedroia had 11 hits in six games last week and scored 6 runs.

Ian Kinsler KC
P15 = 108

Ian Kinsler is the number one rated second baseman in the league by about 50 points. Kinsler has scored 79 runs, driven in 53 and stolen 23 bases on the season. His 14 home runs and .332 batting average are nice too. He was 7-for-12 with five runs scored, a homer and three RBI against Baltimore this past weekend.

COLD: Second base

Dan Uggla BGtD
P15 = 8

Yunel Escobar KS
P15 = 10

Erick Aybar KS
P15 = 26

Placido Polanco BSI
P15 = 36

Orlando Hudson SpR
P15 = 37

5 Suggestions for Next Season

The following is a list of five things (in reverse order) of suggestions I have for next season. Let me know what your thoughts are by commenting on the post or on the league page. Whatever you like to do best.

***

Suggestion #5: Removing the DH position and adding the Utility Player position.

People seem to want this. I don’t know why. I mean, where else can you find a league where Kevin Millar is valuable? Oh, wait, I see your point.

Suggestion #4: Adding two more active relief pitcher spots, but keeping the roster size at 28.

The idea of this is for these spots not to be filled by closers (though they can be), but to be places where Ron Mahay and Carlos Marmol can thrive (the “hold” statistic would also be added). Additionally, this should reduce the amount of starting pitchers on a team by two, making spot starters more available and reducing starts in general. This is not to say there is not a way to manipulate the system, but I think it is something that will add depth.

Suggestion #3: Write to, call, picket, e-mail, throw things at and kick ESPN in the shins until they allow leagues to separate the point values of a starting pitcher and relief pitchers.

I know there are some complaints about the scoring system for pitchers, but here is the reality: The inability to separate point values for starting and relief pitchers makes if virtually impossible to accurately change the point system. Now, this is not to say the problem isn’t being worked on, but to suggest that until ESPN allows each league to separate the two, it will never be perfect.

Suggestion #2: Allow undrafted players to be kept.

This should be no problem. Here is my current proposal (that is probably going to happen):


A) All keeper prospects will be turned in on a agreed upon date. If an owner sends in a list with an undrafted player on it, they should also send write in a “conditional player” per undrafted player (more on this forthcoming).
B) An undrafted keeper cannot be worth less than a 15th round pick or more than a third round pick.
C) The value will be voted on.
D) The rounds will be determined based on the value of the player, which will be determined by the average ranking the player receives in the ESPN, Yahoo and [yet to be named publication} rankings. That round, plus the round above it and below it will be the three rounds voters have to choose from. (If any of this doesn’t make sense, e-mail me or call me.)
E) All of these votes will be conducted immediately after keepers lists are turned in.
F) After the vote has taken place, the owner who has selected the undrafted keeper has 48 hours to confirm he is keeping said player or choosing instead to keep his corresponding “conditional player.”

Basically the idea is this – we vote on the round the guy is worth, if you don’t like it, you can keep someone else instead assuming you tell me within a couple of days after the vote. Have any questions, additions, subtractions, multiplications or a deeply held grievance? E-mail me.

Suggestion #1: Allow five keeper prospect per team.

Hopefully we can add a keeper slot or two (depending on what we feel is necessary) every year to allow everyone’s team to feel like their own. This also helps make the draft THAT much shorter (which is a good thing).

WIR and Pretender/Contender

Quick Week in Review

Inoculators vs. Cockies:

Well, someone decided to randomly go off for 500+ points. The Cockies scored 280.5 points in a three day span to blow out the Inoculators. Gavin Floyd (?!) led the way for the Cockies with 71.5 points, while Matt Holliday posted 65 points.

Phantom Menaces vs. Boom Goes the Dynamite:

The Phantom Menaces continued their dominance with a victory this week. The Dynamite pitching staff was only able to put up 74 points, which gave PM the victory.

Krunk Smurfs vs. KC:

The Smurfs finally won for the first time since late April. Yikes!

The Zou vs. Rasmus’s:

The Zou was the benefactor of a mere 65 points from the Rasmus’ pitching staff to gain the win this week. In other news, I hate the Zou.

Hancock’s Halos vs. Clemens’ Roid Needles:

The Halos remain in first place with a come from behind win by a mere 15.5 points over CRN. HH got 17 points from Brian Roberts and 38.5 points from John Danks Sunday in the comeback. The Halos won despite even though the pitching staff scoring only 68.5 points.

Contender or Pretender

Hancock’s Halos (11-3)
Points For: 5255
Points Against: 4068
Playoff Chances: 80%

A lot is going right for the Halos. He leads the league in points scored and is tied for the most wins in the league.

There are, however, several kinks in the armor. The Halos are in the bottom half of the league in runs, doubles, home runs and RBI. Two of his top three offensive producers (Russell Martin and Brian Roberts) are poor second half players, hitting under .275 with reduced power and speed numbers. Rumors of a Mark Teixeira deal to the LAAAAAAA may kill Casey Kotchman’s playing time. Derek Jeter and Bobby Abreu are each mired in the worst seasons of their careers. And Vernon Wells has yet to return to he pre-DL form for the last place Blue Jays.

The strength of the Halos team, the pitching, is also becoming a concern. Edison Volquez is setting a career high for innings every time he pitches and it is showing. Volquez last six starts he has a 4.54 ERA with 16 walks and 35 hits and reduced strikeout numbers (25 Ks over six starts with 9 coming in one start) in 35.2 innings pitched. You also have to wonder when the Reds will start shutting him down.

Justin Verlander’s latest success may also be a flash in the pan. His last four starts have been against the @ Padres, @ Giants, vs Rockies and @ Mariners. All teams struggling to score. His walk numbers have also been terrible (3 walks or more in 10 of 18 starts). Verlander has also thrown over 500 innings over the last two and half seasons. When looking at his walk numbers and innings, you’ve got to wonder how long he can hold up for the rest of this season.

His best pitcher of late has been John Danks. Yep. Daisuke Matsuzaka has terrible walk issues and is very inconsistent. Ubaldo Jimenez is a walking fantasy headache (I know, because I owned him for most of the season). Kelvim Escobar will not return off the DL as a starter and you’ve got to wonder what Shaun Marcum will be like when he returns from the DL as well.

Additionally, the Halos have had the fewest points scored against them in the league. Opponents are averaging less than 300 points (290.5 points) per week. At some point the Halos opponents are going to score points. Will the Halos be able to hold up to that?

Phantom Menaces (11-3)
Points For: 4984
Points Against: 4373.5
Playoff Chances: 75%

The Phantom Menaces have scored the third most points and allowed the second fewest points. This leads to some of the same questions the Halos are dealing with when it comes to when opponents start scoring more points.

PM looks to be good on offense. Chase Utley may be this year’s NL MVP. Mark Teixeira is crushing the ball. Manny Ramirez now being eligible as a DH will open up more time for Kosuke Fukudome. Catching is an issue for PM.

Pitching is the major issue for PM. Outside of Cliff Lee, things are shaky in the starting staff. Carlos Zambrano just returned from the DL (and had a very good start), but has been very inconsistent all season. Scott Kazmir strikes out people, but also walks a ton of people and has had issues getting beyond the fifth inning. After that, everything is up for grabs.

What he does have going for him are his closers, who make up one of if not the best tandem in the league.

The Zou (10-4)
Points For: 5061
Points Against: 4747
Playoff Chances: 75%

The Zou needs offense. BADLY. He does have a deep rotation with six starting pitchers with 200 or more points.

What’s going to make or break his season is selectively choosing which pitchers he trades for offense. The wrong combination could spell doom for him quickly, but it could also mean a championship.

Cockies (8-5)
Points For: 4795.5
Points Against: 4502.5
Playoff Chances: 65%

The Cockies list of no-name pitchers has given the fourth best record in the league. There are no pitchers on his roster with more than 200 points, but he does have six pitchers with more than 200. Of course, this does not mean there are plenty of question marks with his rotation.

First there are the list of unknowns: Justin Duchscherer, Armando Galarraga and Gavin Floyd. How these three hold up. Duchscherer has never throw over 100 innings in his career. This is Galarraga’s rookie season as a 26-year-old. This is also the first season Floyd has gone over 100 innings pitched (previous high was 70 innings). Floyd had an ERA of 4.90 in 64 second half innings last year.

Second there are the 200 guys: Javier Vazquez and ERA of 6.38 in his last six starts and has seen an increase in walks. Josh Beckett is coming off his first back-to-back seasons of 200 innings pitched plus the playoffs. Tim Hudson is either shutting people down or giving up six runs in a start. Ryan Dempster hasn’t thrown over 100 innings since 2003.

The Cockies offense is pretty good, but probably needs an upgrade at catcher.

Clemens Roid Needles (7-7)
Points For: 4409
Points Against: 4413.5
Playoff Chances: 55%

The CRN lineup has issues at catcher, right field and designated hitter. His pitching staff, outside of Ben Sheets and Ervin Santana (who is cooling off slightly) has absolutely nothing on it. Who knows what a Francisco Liriano return will bring (he had a good rehab outing yesterday), but he alone isn’t going to be enough.

CRN should consider trading Pat Burrell or Jason Bay for added pitching if he wants to stay in the playoff hunt.

Inoculators (6-8)
Points For: 4969.5
Points Against: 4933
Playoff Chances: 50%

Inoculator opponents are averaging 352.5 points per matchup and have scored fewer than 300 points in a matchup twice. Once was week two when the Zou scored 291 point and the other instance was week 12 when the Smurfs put up 183.5 points. The point being that, at some point, people are going to stop have massive weeks every week they play the Inoculators. If the Inoculators had the points against fortune of CRN, who is in the middle of the pack in points against, the Inoculators would be between 9-5 and 11-3.

The Inocluators biggest roster need is a dominate pitcher. None of the Inoculator pitchers have over 260 points. Jake Peavy’s injury hurt, as has the Phil Hughes and Clay Buchholz injuries and demotions. The Inoculators need one or two pitchers to make a run at the last playoff spot.

Rasmus’s (4-10)
Playoff Chances: 5%

(See: Bottom Feeders)

Boom Goes the Dynamite (4-10)
Playoff Chances: 5%

(See: Bottom Feeders)

KC (4-10)
Playoff Chances: 5%

(See: Bottom Feeders)

Smurfs (4-10)
Playoff Chances: 5%

(See: Bottom Feeders)

Bottom Feeders:

The Smurfs, BGtD, Rasmus’ and KC all have assets the contending teams need to make the playoffs. Smart dealing could land some serious keeper prospects (See: “5 (or 6) Fantasy Players that Ought to be Traded This Week” blog post)and put them as front runners next season. Keep in mind that both the Halos and Cockies were the two worst teams in the league last year and are now serious playoff contenders.

Sabathia (possible) Trade Fantasy Ramifications

It has been reported that deal sending C.C. Sabathia to Milwaukee for Brewers prospects –centered around Matt LaPorta – could be done at any second, if it’s not done already.

Since it sounds like this is going to happen, I thought I’d give my thoughts on the fantasy impact this may have on Sabathia and LaPorta.

C.C. Sabathia SP
Line in Milwaukee: 0-1, 4.15 ERA, 13 IP, 4 BB, 16 K
Line vs St. Louis: 1-0, 4.63 ERA, 11.2 IP, 3 BB, 8 K
Line vs Chicago: 0-1, 34.71 ERA, 2.1 IP, 2 BB, 2 K
Line vs Pittsburgh: 2-0, 1.64 ERA, 22 IP, 6 BB, 21 K
Line vs Cincinnati: 3-0, 2.26 ERA, 51.1 IP, 17 BB, 55 K
Line vs Houston: N/A
Line in NL: 12-6, 3.74 ERA, 190 IP, 166 H, 59 BB, 167 K

Obviously, these are very small samples so not too much should be taken from this. What may mean something is what Sabathia did against the NL this season (2-0, 1.57 ERA, 23 IP, 4 BB, 31 K and one 440 foot home run). Sabathia dominated and seemed to get his season back on track after a very slow start.

There is every reason to believe Sabathia will make a smooth transition to the NL and produce at a slightly higher level (facing the pitching spot three times a game should mean added strike outs). His situation is also a lot different from the one Johan Santana entered. Unlike Santana, Sabathia could still be a free agent at the end of the season (Santana already signed a massive contract) and will be playing in a relatively small market (New York ain’t so small). The pressures of winning for the Brewers are not going to be the same as they are with the Mets, noting the media market and the Brewers window is opening – not closing.

The only down side may be all the beer and brauts in Milwaukee, which could add to Sabathia’s weight problems.

Sabathia should be as dominate, if not more, after this trade, which should make the Halos one happy camper.

Matt LaPorta OF
Career Minor League Line: (112 G, 411 AB) .294/.395/.616 SLG – 32 HR, 97 RBI, 32 2B, 2 3B, 52 BB, 92 K

That. Is. Sexy.

Ladies, if you’re looking for a keeper prospect, here you go (but don’t go scurrying for him now because he isn’t in the system). LaPorta has tremendous hitting and power potential. His plate disciple is very good. He has made one error in the 98 games he has played in the outfield which means one of two things: a) he is a really good defender, or b) the ball doesn’t get hit to him very often.

The majority of his 411 AB have come at the AA level (296 AB), where he is hitting a weak .291/.404/.584 with 20 HR and 66 RBI. Let’s just say the guy has serious potential.

What this trade does in speed up the process in which LaPorta will make the big leagues. The Indians are starved for power and have both corner outfield positions available. While LaPorta probably won't come up until September at the earliest, it does give everyone the opportunity to pick him up as a possible keeper candidate at the end of the season.

On a side note, the Royals chose Mike Moustakas (.241/.303/.405) over LaPorta in last year’s draft. Though it should be noted that Moustakas is 19 and LaPorta is 23.

The All-Draft-Day Team

Erik has been kind enough to grace this league's blog with thoughts of his own (how cute!). Erik (of The Zou fame) breaks down his All-Draft Team in his first post of the season. His words (mostly) after the jump.

***

Note: Keepers and free agent pick-ups couldn’t be selected. This accounts for the omission of first-half studs like Volquez, Quentin and McLouth. Also, the exact rounds players were drafted might be off by a round or two as I took them from our league’s draft results page that is slightly skewed because of keepers.

Editors Note: Erik's blog reminds me that I need to post the actual draft transcript so that people are aware of keepers and such. I'll post that later this week.

C – Bengie Molina – BGTD – 22nd Round – Currently the fifth best catcher in our league

1B – Jason Giambi – Krunk Smurfs – 21st – Ranks eighth among first basemen after recent surge

2B – Ian Kinsler – Springfield KC – 9th – Utley is amazing and Kinsler has outscored him by FORTY points … I guess that’s how the Mizzou guys play

3B – Aubrey Huff – BGTD – 25th – Picked in the 25th round and yet he’s in one of the top five third basemen so far

SS – Yunel Escobar – Krunk Smufs – 25th – Only the 11th- best shortstop, but the first not to be a high draft pick or free-agent pick-up

LF – Jason Bay – Springfield Rasmus’s – 20th – Of the four best LF’s, two were undrafted and one (Bay) was taken in the 20th round

CF – Josh Hamilton – Springfield KC – 18th – Possibly the steal of the draft as Hamilton has hit over .300 with 19 HR and 80+ RBI

RF – JD Drew – Springfield KC – 20th – Springfield KC is starting to take over this list and controls three of the top five RF’s. Wanna trade?

SP – Cliff Lee – Phantom Menaces – 28th – Sorry Hamilton, this is the steal of the draft so far SP – Ervin Santana – Clemens’ Roid Needles – 27th – It almost hurts to see what players were there when I passed them up for the likes of Kevin Kouzmanoff, Mark Prior, etc.
SP – Rich Harden – Zou – 17th – He will now proceed to break his pinky finger and be out for the remainder of the year
SP – Shaun Marcum – Hancock’s Halos – 21st – So he’s hurt right now … still wouldn’t mind getting 259 points from my 21st round pick in the first half of the season
SP – John Lester – Hancock’s Halos – 18th – He’s been good, but two amazing starts have propelled him to top-30 status among starting pitchers … why did you drop him again?

RP – Joakim Soria – Inoculators – 18th – An ERA under 1.50, a WHIP under 0.75 and 23 first-half saves on a bad team
RP – Kerry Wood – Inoculators – 21st – Hey Ben, you wanna draft my relief pitchers next year?

Fantasy Ownwer Rips Team in Media (via The Onion)

BROOKLYN, NY—Mark Mendicus, 26-year-old Staples employee and principal owner of the fantasy baseball team Beat With Uggla Stick, blasted his underperforming team in the media Monday, going so far as to single out individual players, criticize their recent play, and question their commitment to winning.

"They all suck," a visibly frustrated Mendicus told reporters following Beat With Uggla Stick's head-to-head 8-2 loss to division rivals The Mark Currys. "[Alex] Rios sucks, Delmon [Young] sucks, Pedro [Martinez] fucking sucks. Everybody on my team sucks."

"The Beat With Uggla Sticks have a proud tradition of winning," continued Mendicus, whose team has made the playoffs the past two years, including a league championship win in 2006. "But apparently that means nothing to this group of players. Apparently they'd rather just lose every single 5x5 category. Apparently my players don't care about winning the 12-team Yahoo! Plus 'Mmm…Fantasy Baseball' league pennant as much as I do."

Mendicus had high expectations for his team coming into the season, but his players have been plagued by injuries and inconsistency, losing six of their first eight matchups en route to a 22-46-14 overall record. The historically temperamental owner did not hold back his opinions after their latest humiliating defeat, telling the New York Post that Prince Fielder "had better start hitting some fucking home runs already" before making several vicious personal attacks on the first baseman, calling him a "fatass," a "fat bastard," and a "fat fuck" in the course of one statement.

"I paid $38 for [Fielder], and this is what I get?" Mendicus said, directing reporters' attention to Fielder's "putrid" Yahoo! Game Log. "Twelve home runs. Twelve goddamn home runs. When you pay $38 for a guy, you had better give them a hell of a lot more than 12 home runs through the first half. I got you for your power, buddy, not your walks. This is a batting average league, anyway, not an on-base percentage league, so walks don't fucking matter. It's like these guys don't understand that."

Mendicus continued his heated rant, calling shortstop Felipe Lopez a "talentless hack whose multiple position eligibility is the only thing saving his ass from waivers," claiming that pitcher Ian Snell is "killing [him] in WHIP, absolutely killing [him]," and encouraging outfielder Brad Hawpe to "go eat shit." He then accused the whole team of not stealing enough bases and "not playing like true Beat With Uggla Sticks."

He did, however, reserve some praise for hot-hitting second baseman Dan Uggla upon learning that Uggla homered twice that day, saying, "That's you, Danny."

With his team already down 9-1 in this week's matchup against Gary Sheffield's Head Vein, Mendicus issued an ultimatum, claiming that unless his team delivers at least a tie, there will "be some changes around here." Mendicus said that "no one is safe," and had particularly strong words for pitcher Chris Young, who three weeks ago was hit in the face with a line drive and has not made a single start since.

"Toughen up, you little baby," Mendicus said. "You don't throw with your face, do you? I already got Phil [Hughes] in the DL slot, so you better get your ass back in action."

Mendicus has a reputation for following his players' performance with intense scrutiny and personal investment, often to a fanatical degree. It is rumored that he monitors their progress on multiple Yahoo! Sports box score windows on his computer screen, and will erupt into obscenity-laden tirades at work after a mere groundout or caught stealing.

"Fuck you Edwin, you good-for-nothing piece of shit," Mendicus was overheard as saying while angrily clicking the "Refresh" button on his web browser 14 times after pitcher Edwin Jackson loaded the bases with three straight walks. "Throw the ball over the goddamn plate. I need a win here, you idiot. I'm getting killed in wins."

For some players on Mendicus' team, the demand for instant results, the constant threats to be released or traded, and the nonstop verbal abuse is too much. Pitcher Jeremy Guthrie has been dropped and picked up by Mendicus seven times already this season, and he says he doesn't like playing under such volatile conditions.

"I wish he'd have a little faith in me," Guthrie said. "I don't like being picked up the night before my start and then simply dropped the next day. It wears on you as a player. And now I have to explain myself to my kids when they read in the papers that their daddy is a 'shit-for-brains asshole who can't even get five strikeouts when that's all we needed to win the category.'"

"I'm sorry, but when I have runners on first and third and one out, I'm going to go for the double play to get out of the inning, not the strikeout," Guthrie added. "Even though they don't give out 'points' for double plays."

Some players, however, praised Mendicus for his fiery attitude and desire to win, saying they prefer that to the kind of owners who treat their fantasy teams like nothing more than a fun distraction from their real jobs.

"It's good that he cares," said Beat With Uggla Stick catcher Jorge Posada. "Some owners, like Garrett Baldwin of the Smilin' Joe Randas, or Mike Broberg of Tiny Damon, they just sort of check in every once in a while to see how we're doing, but that's it. In fact, I've been on the Tiny Damon's bench since I went on the DL in April, and they don't even have anyone in the catcher slot. That's just shoddy ownership."

"But there's also a thing called caring too much," Posada added. "You can only be called a worthless shitbag after popping out so many times before it starts to sting. It's at the point where playing for Mendicus is almost as bad as playing for Hank Steinbrenner."

***

You've got to love the genius of The Onion. Beautiful people. Have a good fourth of July.

5 (or 6) Fantasy Players that Ought to be Traded This Week

Dan Haren BGtD

I hate to break it to you Dynamite, but, uh, your season is over. At the moment, Dan Haren doubles as your best player and your only real keeper prospect (will be a 12th round keeper if kept this season). If Adam plays his cards right, he could turn Haren into two or three very good keeper prospects and boost his chances for next season.

Should be Interested Teams: All playoff contenders

Win/Loss for the BGtD: Win is his team could become a much more formidable team in 2009 with the right trade. The loss is that his pitching staff is going to absolutely suck without Haren.

Alex Rodriguez KS

There are several reasons the Smurfs should trade ARDO. First, the Smurfs are flirting with obtaining the first overall pick in next year’s draft. AROD cannot be kept this season because he was a first round pick. If the Smurfs pull of a good trade, he could end up getting three solid keepers plus take AROD with the first overall pick next season – essentially trading AROD in order to get AROD back for 2009 and two or three keepers. Second, as mentioned earlier, the Smurfs suck and are competing for nothing at this point. Third, AROD has tremendous value to teams trying to get into the playoffs and win the league. Who really doesn’t want AROD? Kyle (only because he’s an idiot)?

Should be Interested Teams: All Playoff Contenders

Win/Loss for the Smurfs: Win is that he can gain more potential keepers and still get AROD in the draft next year. Loss is he will lose AROD’s production for the rest of the season.

Rich Harden ZOU

Two teams that need pitching and are in the playoff hunt are the Phantom Menaces and the Inoculators. PM may need it more in that they are in the bottom half of the league in wins, strikeouts and quality starts. Trading some offensive depth to a hitting starved Zou team may be beneficial for both parties.

Should be Interested Teams: Inoculators and Phantom Menaces

Win/Loss for the ZOU: Win is that Harden could get hurt the day he trades him away. The loss is the two teams that need pitching the most are in the same division as him.

Milton Bradley COCK

As has been documented all season, everyone needs a DH. So badly do teams need a DH, they may overspend to obtain the number one DH in fantasy. The Cockies, who are on the edge of playoffs or no playoffs, need added pitching depth badly (whether he knows or feels that way is unknown). What the Cockies have is a very solid lineup that can deal with middle of the road production for the DH slot. If he trades Bradley to a contending team for pitching, he could be helping him self in multiple ways.

Should be Interested Teams: All playoff contenders

Win/Loss for COCK: The win for the Cockies is he can gain the pitching he needs to make a serious playoff run. The loss is he will lose Bradley’s production and the pitching he trades for may not pan out.

Joe Mauer BGtD / Brian McCann SpR

Three teams, two catchers. Let the bidding begin. Both teams are out of the playoff chase and should be looking towards next season. Three teams vying for two catchers should promote good trading conditions for BGtD and SpR.

On a side note, imagine what BGtD could get in return if he packaged Dan Haren and Joe Mauer together. I’d say he could get some solid return on his investment as nearly every team, except maybe the Halos, are in dire need of a catcher and starting pitcher.

Should be Interested Teams: Phantom Menaces, Cockies and Zou

Win/Loss for both teams: The win is the keeper prospects each team can get. The loss is they lose the production of two excellent catchers.

GFSP, Morning After and Daily Preview

Great Fantasy Seasons of the Past - Jimmie Foxx (1932)

Jimmie Foxx is a three-time MVP and two-time World Series Champion. He’s also a Hall of Famer. Foxx also managed to up one heck of a fantasy season in 1932. Here are his numbers:

1B – 113 (113)
2B – 33 (66)
3B – 9 (27)
HR – 58 (116)
R – 151 (302)
RBI – 169 (338)
SB – 3 (9)
CS – 7 (-7)
K – 96 (-96)
BB – 116 (232)
HBP – 0

Fantasy Points: 1100

At the moment, Lance Berkman leads all fantasy players with 527 points. If he keeps that pace up, he’ll still fall short of Foxx’s 1932 season (but still be pretty freaking close).

An additional note about Jimmie Foxx. To put into perspective how good Foxx was, here is Baseball-Reference’s list of 10 statistical comparable players:

Lou Gehrig (871)*
Ted Williams (866)*
Mel Ott (802) *
Mickey Mantle (801) *
Frank Thomas (800)
Ken Griffey (777)
Frank Robinson (769) *
Gary Sheffield (762)
Manny Ramirez (761)
Jeff Bagwell (742)

* = Hall of Famer

I imagine that Thomas, Griffey and Ramirez will all be first ballot Hall of Famers. Bagwell should be, but who knows. Gary Sheffield may have problems because of his alleged use of performance enhancing drugs, but he still deserves to get in. Not too shabby of a comp list, eh?

Wednesday Round-Up

Jason Giambi: 2-for-4, HR, 2B, HBP, 6 RBI, 2 runs = 22 FP
Grady Sizemore: 3-for-4, 2 HR, BB, 2 RBI, 4 runs, SB = 22 FP
Alex Rodriguez: 2-for-3, HR, 2 BB, 3 RBI, 4 runs = 21 FP
Dustin Pedroia: 4-for-5, HR, 2 2B, 3B, 2 RBI, 3 runs = 19 FP
Ricky Nolasco: W, 7 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, HBP, 8 K = 39.5 FP
Nick Blackburn: W, 7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, BB, 4 K = 33 FP

Thursday Preview

In what may be the most pathetic, yet intriguing match-up of the season thus far, the Zou and Rasmi are tied going into play Thursday, 67 all. Now that’s production, baby. Editors note: The score is now 67-59, which makes it less intriguing.

The Cockies lead all teams is scoring this week with 205 points and hold the biggest lead (44 points) going into today. Of course, he’s doing this against the most unlucky team in the league, the Inoculators.

The Smurfs are on the road to breaking their eight week losing streak as they hold a 31 point lead over KC. I smell a comeback from KC.

The Halos did not fall into oblivion, but did not pull away from CRN despite starting four pitchers to CRN’s zero. This match-up, like everyone else this week, could come down to the wire.

Boom Goes the Dynamite is trying to pull off the biggest upset of the year by taking out PM. BGtD is down 28.5 points going into today and has a Dan Haren start against San Diego coming up on the Fourth of July.

Ten Hottest Eligable First Baseman

Carlos Delgado FA
P15 = 63

The nine RBI game really helped him in cracking the top 10, but don’t you think a guy who had a nine RBI game would be a little higher on the top 10? I think this tells you how inconsistent and unproductive Delgado has been this season.

Justin Morneau CRN
P15 = 65

Morneau seems to finally finding his swing that won him an MVP two years ago.

Derrek Lee KS
P15 = 66

Derrek Lee has three triples this season. That stunned me.

Alex Gordon KC
P15 = 67

He’s an everyday third baseman, but he has first base eligibility which is why he is on this list.

Ross Gload FA
P15 = 67

Take note of this Mr. Gload, because you’ll never be here again.

Eric Hinske COCK
P15 = 69

Everybody on the Rays is hot. Even they guy who I remember most for playing with the Blue Jays.

Aubrey Huff BGtD
P15 = 75

It should be noted that Huff was once a Ray. Just saying.

Lance Berkman KC
P15 = 76

Berkman has scored 74 (!) runs this season. Peter Gammons believes he could have a legitement shot at winning the Triple Crown as long as Chipper Jones stays healthy (the assumption being Jones playing everyday hurts his batting average). Oh, and scratch that part from a few posts ago when I said Berkman was cooling off. Oops.

Nick Swisher FA
P15 = 78

He had two grand slams in a week. That will help you “On Fire!” stock.

Mark Teixeira PCO
P15 = 88

Teixeira will be a free agent at the end of this year. How much would you pay him to be on your team? At the moment, PM doesn’t pay anything. I think he should be forced to.

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Feel free to comment on these blogs. I promise they don’t bite.

The Chiefs are Stupid.

This has nothing to do with fantasy baseball, but have you read THIS ARTICLE RIGHT HERE about the Kansas City Chiefs BANNING STANDING at Chiefs games this season???

Now, you can insert some joke about there is nothing much to stand for except to leave when it comes to Chiefs games, but it the principle of the matter. The Chiefs have gone as far as to SET UP A TEXT MESSAGING SYSTEM so that upset fans can ANONYMOUSLY TATTLE ON FANS WHO ARE STANDING AND CHEERING (or breaking other rules). How bogus is this? Unbelievable.

Sinners!!!!

Throw this kid out!!!!

THROW THIS ENTIRE SECTION OUT!!!

What an abomination to the term "human-being." Get my phone so I can text the Chiefs and tell them how retarded they are for allowing this fan in. Standing during a game? Unbelievable!!!