My Blog is Back and Your Gonna be in Trouble...hey la, hey la, My Blog is Back!

User avatar
Edwards Kings
Posts: 5878
Joined: Sun Mar 14, 2004 6:00 pm
Location: Duluth, Georgia

Re: My Blog is Back and Your Gonna be in Trouble...hey la, hey la, My Blog is Back!

Post by Edwards Kings » Mon Jun 20, 2022 2:26 pm

So what do you guys think of Riley Greene? The Detroit phenom was available in my league, one of 12 leagues where he was avaiable. He is now owned in 100% of the leagues, so there is something there worth speculating. This week, he went for big bucks, especially as we are now getting close to mid point. Highest winning bid was $361, the lowest winning $147. My winning bid was an out-of-character $213 (runner up bid $161). The FAAB $$'s spent still leave me mostly in the upper echelon as far as money left (though it burns that the guy who has been pretty much leading my league and at one time even holding the top spot overall has the most money by more than $200 over the next highest).

Anyway, I rolled the bones on this guy even though batting is much stronger than my pitching.

Image

The big question I ask myself is "why"? First reason is I just do not see an impact arm on the horizon. Sure, somebody will pop up, but timing an usage are very questionable. Will they come to do any real good? Not sure, so I acted now as I feel most of the prime "new" arms are up/owned (Baz, Kirby, Hunter Greene), or hurt (Grayson Rodriguez). Some impact DL arms available, but they are weeks if not months away. What good will they do me in mid-August?

So what will Riley do for my bats? Last year, he hit minor league highs of 24 HR and 16 SB. At 21, no one knows how he will hit major league pitching and right now the Tigers, who seem to be committing to their youth movement (too bad Miggy won't be around to see it come to fruition) have hit Greene 5th against the two righthanders he has/will face in his first three games, and 6th against the lefthander, so I am hoping for regular play, in a decent and hopefully ascending spot in the batting order. Can't bank on average, which I desperately need, but some additional speed on my team will also be great.

Slotting him into my OF where Mookie was. When Mookie comes back, and if Bryant can finally prove healthy, I hope Greene will help me on my offensive march while I continue to plug holes in my pitching.
Baseball is a slow, boring, complex, cerebral game that doesn't lend itself to histrionics. You 'take in' a baseball game, something odd to say about a football or basketball game, with the clock running and the bodies flying.
Charles Krauthammer

User avatar
Edwards Kings
Posts: 5878
Joined: Sun Mar 14, 2004 6:00 pm
Location: Duluth, Georgia

Re: My Blog is Back and Your Gonna be in Trouble...hey la, hey la, My Blog is Back!

Post by Edwards Kings » Tue Jun 28, 2022 8:46 am

In these early days of retirement, my routine is still forming. As a matter of fact, I am only now just beginning to feel nearly “retired”. Up until now, it has been more like a working-age vacation. You know what I mean. When working, you take a week or ten days off, but you (or at least I) never fully tune out work. While on vacation, “relaxing”, it feels like something is always chasing you. You had to work twice as hard just to be able to leave, you know when you get back you will work twice as hard to get caught up, even though you may have kept up a bit on work emails or even attended a few conference calls. Work always chasing the fun and you always looking over your shoulder at what was coming at you.

I am now really just able to not look over my shoulder so much. Accepting that nothing is chasing me. Just trying to focus on the fun things (from the wife’s acceptable fun things list, of course).

The fun things (for me) are still out there and vying for time (as available as I manage the final work towards renovating our house) and effort. As of now, in no particular order):

1. Improving my health with walking and swimming (already covered and Sausage Man lives!)
2. Chasing ghosts. My family has been from the State of Georgia since before there was a State of Georgia. I am amazed, however, at how little we know about my antebellum ancestors, but I am putting my anal-retentive CPA skills to work documenting what we can prove and making lists of the many holes in my family’s narrative. The one factor I have noticed is how many were good looking, charming, witty, and urbane. Genetics huh!
3. Reading…mainly history. Deep and comprehensive histories (Barbara Tuchman’s “A Distant Mirror – The Calamitous 14th Century” and William Manchester/Paul Reid’s “The Last Lion – Winston Spencer Churchill – Defender of the Realm, 1940-1965” being my most recent purchases)
4. Baseball – subset “Fantasy Baseball”

I have decided recently to take a break from my heavier bibliography and read a novel series (basic whodunnit). In the latest that I am reading (I like to start with the first book of an established series and read in order…damn CPA-tendencies), a passage referenced a Hagar the Horrible comic that I remember and it brought me back to fantasy baseball.

My team continues to drop like a rock. Not necessarily pitching, which had already hit rock bottom and started to dig, but my bats have gone cold too (only four HR last week). So as I reside comfortably in the third division (though it is nice to see a nice guy like Mark Bendar doing so well), I looked at what has been yet another installment of “Wayne’s Curse”. See, I have been doing this since 2004, Charter Member, and I have this unique ability to take solid to star players, and as soon as I draft them, it is almost a given that they will have their worst year. If you look at Chipper Jones career, you will notice his BA for 2001 - .330; 2002 - .327; 2003 - .305; 2004- .248; 2005 - .296; 2006 - .324; 2007 - .337. Can you guess which year in that string I drafted him? Yup…2004! As a matter of fact, Chipper never hit that low again.

This year it is more of the same. Nearly every player is underachieving. Hard contact, good barrel rates, but BA and results not coming. Jorge Polanco, Mr. Reliable, on the DL. Coming into this week, 17 AB from Kris Bryant. Heaney’s Cy Young, three start but two DL stint year. Pitchers going 4 2/3, leaving with a three-run lead. Pitchers making it through six or seven, but going out for one more inning, giving up some hits, relieved but all base runners come around to score. Seven innings of one run ball, losing 1-0. Yup, the same old crapola!

Image

So I wonder if someone has something against me or at least a warped sense of humor. Back to Hagar (boy, that took a long time):

Image

It is just baseball, right, so to fall back on one of my all time favorites:

Image

So, we keep moving on. Getting Bryant back (or getting Bryant’s back back) will help. Scheduling this week is weird with some teams with eight games and some with only five. In batting going for quantity (only 253 AB last week and still haven’t cracked 300 in any week). The Twinkies did not activate Polanco for the Monday game, so I am still sitting him though the odds are he will be activated during the Cleveland series. Losing Mookie hurts and especially this week with three games in Colorado. I bid and won on Rockies prospect Elehuris Montero, a lefty killer who Colorado called up. With the Dodgers throwing three left-handers in a row, I thought he would play. Just drinking the Koolaide I guess and he was riding the pine on Monday. $3 down the tubes.

On pitching, I am so far in the tank on K’s I am chasing saves more. Bid and won on Trivino. Also have Giles in. Small help maybe in ERA/WHIP with maybe some saves. Waiting to hear more on Heaney before cutting bait there. Would like to get Whitlock back too, but the Bosox over the next couple of weeks going into the ASB have inter-division games coming up and none of them are fun ones like against Baltimore.

Image
Baseball is a slow, boring, complex, cerebral game that doesn't lend itself to histrionics. You 'take in' a baseball game, something odd to say about a football or basketball game, with the clock running and the bodies flying.
Charles Krauthammer

User avatar
Edwards Kings
Posts: 5878
Joined: Sun Mar 14, 2004 6:00 pm
Location: Duluth, Georgia

Re: My Blog is Back and Your Gonna be in Trouble...hey la, hey la, My Blog is Back!

Post by Edwards Kings » Tue Jul 05, 2022 7:47 am

Mid-point. You know your team. You’ve spent most if not all of your free agent budget chasing starting pitcher match-ups, closers du-jour, “hot” rooking call-ups. So where are you?

Nailing it, just waiting for Greg and Tom to cut the check?

Image

Gotta chance as long as you don’t screw up?

Image

Gotten hung up in a bad situation putting the season in doubt?

Image

Screwed up and clueless?

Image

I am guessing no one is comfortable nor should they be. Many see a real chance if they play their cards right….

Image

And many of us, if we held our tongues right, the wind blew in the right direction, the dice were rolling right, might have had two chances, though by now one of those two just left town. Still, we can move up from the third division to challenge, right?

Image

Ah well. At least I can be a pest to the leaders. Hats off to Bob Mazur who has rode a couple of hot weeks to take a nice lead in my league and moved up into the top couple of dozen teams in the overall.

My bats have started to wake up a bit after a few off weeks. No longer in last place with BA, aided primarily by a 0.2934 BA week on the shoulders of six guys who hit 0.3333 or better. HR and Runs also good (15/47 respectively) though down on RBI (28) which is surprising given the strong HR week. Still haven’t gotten 300 AB in a week. SB (4) respectable especially given I have lost Jazz to a sore back.

Sore back…lost Bryant (now back thankfully and one of those nice BA guys over his last 21 AB) to a sore back. Jazz. Ranger Suarez….bad backs are my most consistent injury this year. Not like getting over a bad back can impact how you play the rest of the year, right?

Image

Anyway, with Chisholm out, I am losing ground in SB, offsetting my BA gains. Baseball gives…baseball takes away. Hopefully get him back soon, he is healthy, and keep moving up my BA and making up ground in the other hitting counting stats.

Pitching is not really moving, even with picking up a second closer. Still lagging in all categories though I did finally get over 50 k’s in a week despite using three relievers. As such, I only ended up with seven starts this week and three wins. Disappointed Severino didn’t win in his one start and Montgomery didn’t win his excellent second start. Can’t predict wins but do feel I have had abnormal bad luck in that regard.

Image

With four pitchers on the DL (one of which is Whitlock…Boston closer soon?), and not much in the FA pool (though six starters were picked up), I picked up Yusei Kikuchi for $22 (and a matching $22 2nd place bid). Not many innings on his arm because he has been lit up like a gas can so much this year. Has had about a third of his starts be good and most of the rest pretty bad. Not big odds here though the two road starts (@OAK and @SEA) could be positive…or not. Also picked up my originally drafted 2nd catcher (21st round) Carson Kelly which might get me some decent AB out of the position since Arizona will be facing at least four lefthanders.

Getting Bryant and Betts back will help, but just getting back to mid-pack is going to take some hot weeks. So anyway, teams in the third division have three things they can do….1) bitch; 2) bitch; 3) bitch. Maybe it is bad luck, the last (worthless) excuse for a team not performing. In any regard, I will just have to wait to see what is gonna happen next….

Image
Baseball is a slow, boring, complex, cerebral game that doesn't lend itself to histrionics. You 'take in' a baseball game, something odd to say about a football or basketball game, with the clock running and the bodies flying.
Charles Krauthammer

User avatar
Edwards Kings
Posts: 5878
Joined: Sun Mar 14, 2004 6:00 pm
Location: Duluth, Georgia

Re: My Blog is Back and Your Gonna be in Trouble...hey la, hey la, My Blog is Back!

Post by Edwards Kings » Sun Jul 10, 2022 7:43 pm

Braves acquired 2B Robinson Canó from the Padres for cash considerations.
Canó re-signed a minor league deal with the Padres back on June 10, but didn't earn a promotion to the big leagues. He hit just .094/.121/.094 with 10 strikeouts in 33 plate appearances with the Padres at the big league level. It's unclear if the Braves plan to immediately add him to the big league level or if he'll report to Triple-A Gwinnett instead.

Image

Why? Someone want to explain this one to me?
Baseball is a slow, boring, complex, cerebral game that doesn't lend itself to histrionics. You 'take in' a baseball game, something odd to say about a football or basketball game, with the clock running and the bodies flying.
Charles Krauthammer

User avatar
Edwards Kings
Posts: 5878
Joined: Sun Mar 14, 2004 6:00 pm
Location: Duluth, Georgia

Re: My Blog is Back and Your Gonna be in Trouble...hey la, hey la, My Blog is Back!

Post by Edwards Kings » Tue Aug 02, 2022 2:42 pm

Haven't written in a while since my team is bascially entrenched in the third division and if I am real good and eat my vegetables, I can make it into the second division...no pitching, et al. Yeah!

Image

But with today being the baseball version of Halloween, a few thoughts:

1) If I am a Baltimore fan, I am pissed. Yeah, yeah...not much chance really of making the wild card but they are surprisingly in it...so the "smart" thing to do is trade the teams heart, Mancini, and their closer. Brilliant.

Image

2) Padres acquired OF Juan Soto and 1B Josh Bell from the Nationals for Eric Hosmer, LHP MacKenzie Gore, SS C.J. Abrams, OF's Robert Hassell III and James Wood and RHP Jarlin Susana. OOPS! Wait a minute. Hosmer goes "I am traded WHERE! No FREAKIN" Way!" Enter Voit and Hosmer to Boston with the Pads swallowing most of Hosmer's shit-sandwich contract. Mmmmm! Anyone think the Pads will offer up $500 million to keep Soto? Bell a free agent after this year too. Pads already have a $210+ million payroll.

Image

3) OK...raise your hand...who saw Brandon Drury coming? Rumor he may go to the Pads too. Soooo, he would play over Cronenworth?

Image

More of course...love the Braves picking up Grossman for a High A pitcher who is basically the equivalent of a two-day old bag of popcord. Less happy with OdorEaters...adequate back end of the rotation, but Braves have a lot of games with the Mutts left. Gave up Will Smith, but at this stage was the third (fourth?) lefthander out of the bullpen and there was no way the Braves were going to exercise their option next year. If Odorizzi plays well, no way he exercises his $6.5 million player option next year. Still, not much given up.
Baseball is a slow, boring, complex, cerebral game that doesn't lend itself to histrionics. You 'take in' a baseball game, something odd to say about a football or basketball game, with the clock running and the bodies flying.
Charles Krauthammer

User avatar
Edwards Kings
Posts: 5878
Joined: Sun Mar 14, 2004 6:00 pm
Location: Duluth, Georgia

Re: My Blog is Back and Your Gonna be in Trouble...hey la, hey la, My Blog is Back!

Post by Edwards Kings » Tue Aug 02, 2022 5:37 pm

And the Braves suprise me again. Raisel Iglesias....now you have both him and Jansen holding up the 8th/9th innings. Minter has had a great year and Dylan Lee has shown back-end stuff enough for the Braves to send Will Smith away, so LH is good. Matzek (LHP) and McHough (RHP) in the middle.

Don't know if the Braves can catch the Mets...tough to do against Scherzer, Carrasco, now deGrom back (1st pitch back...fastball at 99 mph), plus Walker and Bassitt. Givens pick-up gives another arm beside Lugo to get to Diaz. Just got to hand it to the Mets this year.

BUT...Fried, Morton, Wright, Strider are not chopped liver and Ian Andersom may yet figure it out with Odorizzi being a...let's call him an innings eater...arm to bridge to the playoffs. Nod to the Braves on the bullpen over NY. I also like the Braves offense position to position except 1B though Olson is not far behind Alonso, and SS where it is hard to bet against Lindor, though Swanson is making noise.

So, for 2023-2025, Braves have gotten their closer. If they can lock up Swanson (why not yet?), the Braves are set for a half-decade at least.

What about this year? Mets. Dodgers. Padres. Braves. No disrespect indended towards the Phillies, Brewers and Cardinals meant, but this years playoffs are going to be one for the books and any one of the four could be the team to take out the Yankees or Astros. Braves repeat?

Image
Baseball is a slow, boring, complex, cerebral game that doesn't lend itself to histrionics. You 'take in' a baseball game, something odd to say about a football or basketball game, with the clock running and the bodies flying.
Charles Krauthammer

User avatar
Edwards Kings
Posts: 5878
Joined: Sun Mar 14, 2004 6:00 pm
Location: Duluth, Georgia

Re: My Blog is Back and Your Gonna be in Trouble...hey la, hey la, My Blog is Back!

Post by Edwards Kings » Sat Sep 03, 2022 7:16 am

Haven't posted in a while becasue my team went from draft epiphany, to early season hopes and dreams, to the last fat kid picked for the team so very long ago...

Image
Baseball is a slow, boring, complex, cerebral game that doesn't lend itself to histrionics. You 'take in' a baseball game, something odd to say about a football or basketball game, with the clock running and the bodies flying.
Charles Krauthammer

User avatar
Edwards Kings
Posts: 5878
Joined: Sun Mar 14, 2004 6:00 pm
Location: Duluth, Georgia

Re: My Blog is Back and Your Gonna be in Trouble...hey la, hey la, My Blog is Back!

Post by Edwards Kings » Sat Sep 03, 2022 7:18 am

Disregard
Baseball is a slow, boring, complex, cerebral game that doesn't lend itself to histrionics. You 'take in' a baseball game, something odd to say about a football or basketball game, with the clock running and the bodies flying.
Charles Krauthammer

User avatar
Edwards Kings
Posts: 5878
Joined: Sun Mar 14, 2004 6:00 pm
Location: Duluth, Georgia

Re: My Blog is Back and Your Gonna be in Trouble...hey la, hey la, My Blog is Back!

Post by Edwards Kings » Sat Sep 03, 2022 7:36 am

Haven't posted in a while becasue my team went from draft epiphany, to early season hopes and dreams, to the last fat kid picked for the team so very long ago...

Image

Did go see Mike Sorka pitch last night, four innings before, as we say in the South, it came up a CLOUD! Only 61 pitches and only one solid single against him, with five K's and no walks. Pretty sweet huh! Well....

Image

Soroka may have been cruising, not giving a max effort because the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp are not "loaded" with talent. Avaisal Garcia is on rehab, but did not play last night, and the only other guy with any form of major league chops would Wilins Astudillo, who went 0-2, though one of those was solid line drive right at the right fielder. Overall contact was not the issue with Soroka. Was also ahead of most counts, but still had quite a few 2-2 and 3-2 counts running his pitch count up.

His stuff was...ok...lived mainly off his fastball which sat mostly in the 88-91 mph range, especially early in the innings. I had to move around a bit to see the pitches well as at first I though the high 80's stuff might be slider (ish), but he appeared to be taking a bit off the heat. Later in the innings or when needed on certain counts, he did run it up there 93-94. Again, not sure if he was treating this like a workout more than a game. His slider was sitting 80-81 mph mainly low in the zone. Worked best to get a second strike after his fastball set it up. Good two plane break. Seemed to be thowing an occasional 78-79 MPH change up as well that didn't get much swing and miss, but did get a few called strikes on it.

All in all a good, but not dominating "stuff" outing. Results were good. If he was just holding back...fine. If not, not sure how it will play against better MLB teams.

Image

Oh yeah...saw Albies first two games back. A couple of solid ground ball singles as the DH. As long as Grissom is playing well, it is clear Albies will be given as much time as he needs...two weeks maybe?
Baseball is a slow, boring, complex, cerebral game that doesn't lend itself to histrionics. You 'take in' a baseball game, something odd to say about a football or basketball game, with the clock running and the bodies flying.
Charles Krauthammer

User avatar
Edwards Kings
Posts: 5878
Joined: Sun Mar 14, 2004 6:00 pm
Location: Duluth, Georgia

Re: My Blog is Back and Your Gonna be in Trouble...hey la, hey la, My Blog is Back!

Post by Edwards Kings » Mon Sep 19, 2022 12:15 pm

This post will neither be funny or fun to do. Dave Clum has been in contact with the wife of a long time NFBC participant, Bill Strickler. Bill, to the great sadness of all who met him and competed against him, unexpectedly passed away September 15th. While Bill had contracted COVID recently, his wife talked with him on her lunch break and he seemed in good spirits. That evening, upon returning home, Bill's wife found he had passed away at 57.

I had to pleasure to meet Bill years ago when we had NFBC events in Orlando. Super nice guy and "one-of-us" when it came to fantasy sports.

Too soon Bill. Rest in Peace.


https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituar ... r-10931580
Last edited by Edwards Kings on Mon Sep 19, 2022 12:22 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Baseball is a slow, boring, complex, cerebral game that doesn't lend itself to histrionics. You 'take in' a baseball game, something odd to say about a football or basketball game, with the clock running and the bodies flying.
Charles Krauthammer

User avatar
Edwards Kings
Posts: 5878
Joined: Sun Mar 14, 2004 6:00 pm
Location: Duluth, Georgia

Re: My Blog is Back and Your Gonna be in Trouble...hey la, hey la, My Blog is Back!

Post by Edwards Kings » Mon Sep 19, 2022 12:16 pm

oops
Last edited by Edwards Kings on Mon Sep 19, 2022 12:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Baseball is a slow, boring, complex, cerebral game that doesn't lend itself to histrionics. You 'take in' a baseball game, something odd to say about a football or basketball game, with the clock running and the bodies flying.
Charles Krauthammer

User avatar
Edwards Kings
Posts: 5878
Joined: Sun Mar 14, 2004 6:00 pm
Location: Duluth, Georgia

Re: My Blog is Back and Your Gonna be in Trouble...hey la, hey la, My Blog is Back!

Post by Edwards Kings » Mon Sep 19, 2022 12:17 pm

OOps
Baseball is a slow, boring, complex, cerebral game that doesn't lend itself to histrionics. You 'take in' a baseball game, something odd to say about a football or basketball game, with the clock running and the bodies flying.
Charles Krauthammer

Bronx Yankees
Posts: 1238
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2012 6:16 pm

Re: My Blog is Back and Your Gonna be in Trouble...hey la, hey la, My Blog is Back!

Post by Bronx Yankees » Tue Sep 20, 2022 8:20 am

That's really sad news, Wayne. I never met Bill personally but recall doing some online DCs with him in prior years and chatting with him in those.

Quick suggestion: Maybe copy your post in a separate thread so more folks see this? Very sad. I also see that he was a having a great season and among the leads in several overall contests.

Mike
Mike Mager
"Bronx Yankees"

DOUGHBOYS
Posts: 13088
Joined: Sat Feb 05, 2005 6:00 pm

Re: My Blog is Back and Your Gonna be in Trouble...hey la, hey la, My Blog is Back!

Post by DOUGHBOYS » Tue Sep 20, 2022 9:25 am

Tragic. Damn.
Thanks for the info, Wayne.
On my tombstone-
Wait! I never had the perfect draft!

Post Reply