NFBC Message Boards

I turned on the computer and really don't have anything specific to say here, so allow me to ramble for a bit. If I get boring or have something you disagree with, tell me shut up and do something else. It's what I do to most reality shows....

I feel sorry for Mike Trout. He has to come to spring training and answer whether he can follow up last season, 100's of times.
If I were him, I'd get a t-shirt that says, 'I'm Gonna Try' and point at it when asked.
Trout is like going to a Norman Greenbaum concert that led off with 'Spirit In the Sky'.
We're all left to wonder what's next.

Sometimes I think that fans should be 'part owners'. Especially season ticket holders. Here's how it would work-
Let's say that the Rangers are interested in Michael Bourn. Rangers owners negotiate a price for Bourn. Lets say three years at 45 million dollars.
Here's where the fans get a say. Rangers ownership asks the fans if they'd like ten free parking days, a reduction of 25 cents on their tickets, and a free garlic fries night each year for the next three years...or sign Michael Bourn to the three year contract.
Since nothing is lost by fans, they want their team to buy or trade for anybody good. Let's put them in a position to lose something and see what the vote is.

I've had PM's and e-mails from some that are hesitant about getting on these Boards.
They see a guy like Gekko or Mike the Mouth or myself and feel more comfortable looking at what we have to say rather than joining in.
You're missing out.
It's all a learning experience. I can learn from you, as well as you can from me. And as much as Gekko or Mike the Mouth like to say 'they know it all', we know it's just their nature. I think of both of them as swell guys. Don't let anybody's persona on the Boards limit the information that you can put on the table.
The more, the better.

More than baseball season itself, this may be the time where our wives and girlfriends understand us the least.
It's the dead of winter and a lot of us are online in drafts, online studying, or have noses planted firmly in the middle of printed out spreadsheets or publications.
It's tough. Without the studying, we know that we will fail in March.
We are like the juggler with a publication, a computer, a cell phone, and a chain saw (the wife) in the air.
The chain saw takes precedence in the handling, but we still want to keep the others aloft.
Yeah, tough.

Just one more jab at 'projections'....
I thought about those that do projections when reading the news about Corey Hart missing at least the first six weeks of the season. Injuries happen. They happen every year, yet we give Corey Hart a projection of close to what he did last year.
Last year, Michael Cuddyer was a sl..slee..Michael Cuddyer moved up in adp as the off season progressed.
He was a Twin, now a Rockie.
He was in the prime of his career. Dual Positions.
'Easier' league.
A year later, he is not rising up draft boards.
He's still a Rockie. Still with dual positions. Still in an easier league.
Nothing has changed except he was hurt last year.
We, as non-projectionists, will penalize him a bit.
Projectionist seem to take it as a personal assault that they were proven wrong and penalize him more.
Stupid projectionists.
They'll do the same to Corey Hart next year, especially if already taken in early 'Championship Drafts'.

Is it me, or do 'Championship Drafts' seem to be going faster than 'Slow Drafts? '

I know a fella predicting a bad year for Robinson Cano. He's a Yankee fan and says Cano can't hit a lick under pressure.
He said there's no way he'll take a guy in the first round who can't hit under pressure.
I didn't wanna tell him that the Yankees may have 'Betty White'd themselves out of many pressure situations this year.

One more ramble and I'll get out of your hair for the weekend...

There are drafts that have trophies.
There are drafts that have baseballs as a reward. I still have my back to back 'Prodigy' baseballs.
There are drafts just for bragging rights.
There are drafts for small cash prizes.
There are drafts for large cash prizes.
If reading this, somewhere along the line, you have won a fantasy draft.
The most important draft is the one we're in.

I say all this because somebody will tell me that 'Touts' is the most important.
Or that some other 'Experts' draft is.
Or that a Diamond League is the most important.
They're all wrong.
Next to our drafts, the ones we're in, the most important is the Main Overall.
Maybe it is being NFBC partial.
Maybe I don't get out much.
But right now, I couldn't tell you who won 'Touts' and I couldn't tell you who won even one Diamond League.
And that's not to belittle their accomplishments.
I can tell you that David Potts won last year and that his name is being bandied around by the Forecaster and other sites.
Not the others.
The winner is defeating 400 competitors with like minds. Not 14.
For my money, the Main Event Overall, is the jewel of the fantasy world.

Okay I borrowed a half hour from Dan

Likely because we are both in a draft lull - between "working" on a draft

Posting some random draft thoughts this afternoon is therapy - I just spent a wasted hour dealing with the ineptitude that is cbssportsline. I logged in to one of my leagues where we just finished the draft and one of our participants (last year's winner and a gal that Gekko and the guys are glad is not an NFBC maiden) was going to enter rosters and had a question. So I login and it takes me a while to realize the screen is not as it should be - the commissioner tools are missing. I check another league - one of the advantage of running several, but same problem. I try to ask a question but the page loaded wrong and there is no submit button. I send a different query and reload my browser and settings - same problem with the league page but at least the question mechanism is fixed so I send one explaining the problem and referencing all three of my leagues. I get a response that the problem is my browser. I respond and tell them it's the same one I have been using for the last decade during which using their site I haven't had this problem. This time I shut down the programs running and re-start my laptop. The next reply from them says it is working fine for this nimrod in google chrome and you can imagine how long it didn't take for the replay that with their prices they have no business telling me I have to use another browser - which I download and try by the way and get the same results. So I send another reply and tell them that if they can fix the problem I will take their refund and move all three leagues to another provider. So I log back in and guess what - yeah they are all working now so I send a reply and say BINGO they are all working now ..... wonder why and then open a reply sent before my last was sent telling me that the problems must be my computer since Mr. Nimrod has all of them working when he logs in. And they probably wonder why All Star (the most expensive roto provider btw) shut down and referred all their leagues to another provider who would host for nothing for leagues who migrated.

I agree with Dan that the league we are currently working on is the most important - actually he has that slightly out of date as he and I and several others will start a league on Monday that will not pay the winner a dime yet will have more time and thought put into it than any league before the NFBC main events - and all that information will be shared with everyone else in our "NFBC study group". It will again be the league that is the most fun and most important of the off season.

And sadly Dan and I are "next to each other" in the draft order so there will be more than the usual :thief!: and :finger: and other nice expletives given to each other in respect as we steal a few choices from each other.

But it won't matter it will be the next Important draft .... and it's January

One reason for the earlier start this year is the WBC - World Baseball Classic if you haven't added it to your vocabulary. Another great event and hopefully you get the MLB Network because they will have live coverages of all the games - from "Pool" competition to the finals. Make sure you watch and enjoy (without making any successful player a higher draft choice in Vegas or NYC than they should be). The WBC will be in Phoenix this year and if there is any way in hedoublehockeysticks you can get to AZ for the first weekend in March you can see spring training games, WBC teams praciting against ST teams and watch one of USA Today/Sports Weekly's LABR auctions. The following week/weekend will be the Pool D including the USA team in competition at Salt River Fields and then Chase Field.

It's a wonderful time in my part of the world

People are hesitant about getting on these Boards? Really? I've never seen it so tame. Heck its a regular love fest!
How sick is that! Your all a bunch of wimps!!!!!

I feel better now.

DOUGHBOYS wrote:But right now, I couldn't tell you who won 'Touts' .

Well since you know some of these guys and at least two of them play in the NFBC and since you (sort of) asked

AL TOUT Champion - Larry Schechter

NL TOUT Champion - Tristan Cockroft

Mixed TOUT Champion - Cory Schwartz

Dan- I see I gave you some fodder for todays Daily stuff... Well done!

I'll use this thread once again since I'll veer off into different subjects...

Over the weekend we lost two great guys in baseball.
Earl Weaver was disliked by most Major League umpires. Like Billy Martin, the umpires were usually the targets for rage and passion. Weaver was a master umpire baiter. He may have set some kind of record by getting thrown out twice before a game started and three times he was thrown out of both games of a doubleheader.
Former umpire, Ron Lucciano has a chapter about Weaver in his book.
Weaver's supposed best line was telling an umpire that he had to read the rules book to make sure the ump was right.
The umpire responded, 'Here, read mine'.
To which Weaver said, 'I can't, I don't read braille!"
Although Weaver was like Martin in intensity, their managing styles were different. Martin changed his style to conform to the team.
Weaver wanted good pitching and power hitters.
He believed in the one well timed hit theory.
The 'Grim Reaper' hit a three run homer on Saturday.

Stan Musial also died over the weekend. In all ways, he was 'THE MAN'.
Musial joined Lou Gehrig as the quietest of quality hitters in baseball history.
In a way, Lou Gehrig passed the quiet consistency to Musial who passed it to Musial who passed it to Brooks Robinson who passed it to Cal Ripken who passed it to Derek Jeter.
These were men who didn't need to talk. Just play.
Musial is one of eight players to play in over 3,000 games.
He never got thrown out of one of those games.
For 20 years, Musial was as consistent as the sun rising and setting.
His numbers are mind boggling and I'll probably write something later in regards to them.

A couple of things remembered about Musial was that in 1952, 'Life Magazine' was one of the larger selling magazines in America. they conducted an interview with Ty Cobb. Cobb went on a rant about the 'modern day players' saying that they couldn't hold a candle to the players of his era. Except for two. Phil Rizzuto and Stan Musial.
Cobb offered that Musial was better than Joe DiMaggio at a time when besides Ted Williams, DiMaggio was thought to have no peer.
If looking at the stats page, Cobb was right. Besides his 56 game hitting streak, DiMaggio pales in comparison to Musial.
Musial later would gently disagree with Cobb's assessment.
At the age of 42, Musial hit .330 for the season. At the All Star break, he met with President Kennedy. Kennedy was the youngest President elected.
Upon greeting Musial, Kennedy said, "They said I was too young. They said you were too old. I'm happy that we're proving all of them wrong!"
Stan Musial is the face of St. Louis Cardinals baseball. Bob Gibson, Lou Brock, Albert Pujols, they all have a place in the organizational history. If looking for THE face though, Stan Musial is 'the Man'.

I peeked in at KJ's contract draft over the weekend. What a great concept. And more important, a wonderful bunch of drafters. These guys knocked out 30 rounds of a draft and a two-three hour auction in less than a week.
The chat was jumping and there was plenty of ribbing for everybody.
KJ never fails at having a quality draft.

Today, a 'tell all' draft begins. A draft where we pick players like it were the NFBC Main and give our reasons for taking that player. There is no money involved and I believe our 'teams' will be played out later by some kind of magic, but where we finish isn't the point.
It educates us in the how and why's a player was taken. I think we only had a turnover of one from last year.
This is much better than a Mock Draft or maybe even a $150 draft. If you can organize one, it could be a large benefit to you before the season begins.
Thanks Perry.

The Rockies signing of Chris Volstad and interest in over the hill innings eaters, Pavano and Lowe signals that they are 'Daytoning' their season.
'Daytoning' is a term for teams that are just looking to get through a season as Dayton Moore has done with the Royals leading up to this year, when his job may finally be in jeopardy.
Innings eaters are on the menu for the Rox....and those innings will be long.
They may as well go after Bruce Chen too.
It's a pity for their fans and baseball when organizations look to get through a year, rather than try to win.

One last thing...I know a lot of you like the Dark Side that is football.
In watching the chat from the MLBC League yesterday, I saw a lot of 'throw it to Gonzo!' and 'Why are they going to Jones so much?'
The comments made me appreciate baseball all the more. These football players are dependent on a coach and then a quarterback to get them the ball.
When we draft Cano or Kemp or Cabrera, we know we're getting those four at bats more or less.
We don't have to rely on the seven degrees of Kevin Bacon in our game.

I will let Dan break down all the numbers Stan the Man put up.
Sadly some of you never got to see him play and there are probably a few that don't realize how high he still is on all time ranks in the hitting categories.

Musial is #2 on the list of hitters behind only Ted Williams on my personal, saw them play list. I can't really compare them to a Cobb or Ruth or Gehrig even if I can see small clips of some of their games - I go by my "Eye Test" and mind's comparison.

One number I will comment on - Musial had 3630 hits in his great career. Great
1815 of those were on the road; yes the other 1815 were at home parks. Unbelievable

Small personal observation. My Mom went to Biggie's in St. Louis (not the one that is there now I think, but one Musial partnered in with Julius "Biggie" Garagnani). While there, Musial autographed an picture for my Mom who brought it to me. I was just a kid at that time and had no idea who Stan Musial was, but somehow I thought the picture was cool. In my own very small way, I began collecting at that time and it made me want to play baseball (for real...on a team) for the first time. I don't play ball any more, but I still have my baseball cards, 8x10's, and a few baseballs even.

I may have fallen in love with baseball later anyway I guess. But I can at least say for sure when it first came on my horizon. All because Stan Musial was approachable by this GRITS (that's Girl Raised in the South to the unimformed) lady with horned rimmed glasses and a beehive hairdue (stylish!). He will always be one of my all time favorites because of it.

Still have the picture, too!

DOUGHBOYS wrote:
Stan Musial also died over the weekend. In all ways, he was 'THE MAN'.
Musial joined Lou Gehrig as the quietest of quality hitters in baseball history.
In a way, Lou Gehrig passed the quiet consistency to Musial who passed it to Musial who passed it to Brooks Robinson who passed it to Cal Ripken who passed it to Derek Jeter.
These were men who didn't need to talk. Just play.
Musial is one of eight players to play in over 3,000 games.
He never got thrown out of one of those games.
For 20 years, Musial was as consistent as the sun rising and setting.
His numbers are mind boggling and I'll probably write something later in regards to them.

this paragraph sparked one of my most vivid baseball memories. i spent part of my youth in green bay wis. my father drove my brother and i to milwaukee a couple times a summer for baseball weekends. one of the first trips down, i remember him leaning in and saying to us, " Watch Molitor. He never turns to look at the ump. No matter what he thinks of the call . Just gets ready for the next pitch. " my dad was setting a standard for us. here was a guy who played the game right.