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Spring Training games are many things to many people. For Arizona and Florida residents, an excuse to bask in the sun while watching a jersey numbered in the 80's hit a ball that makes them look up his name in the program.
For visitors, an escape from frigid temperatures at home.
For players, time to play against others after having worked out all Winter (Mike Trout) or just plain Wintered (Pablo Sandoval).

For us in the NFBC, it's a time to evaluate or re-evaluate our opinions on players.
Players like Maybin, Altherr, Peralta, and Capps fall in drafts. And there'll be many more.
A post will be made that the poster can't recall this many injuries so early in the year.
But, it happens every year.

Some of us put too much credence into Spring Training. Last year, Kris Bryant struck nine homers during the Spring.
His name soared up draft boards. His drafters cursing the Cubs for sending him down, then got their money's worth when Bryant was brought up and performed well.
It doesn't always happen like that.
The runner-up to Bryant's nine homers, struck seven.
This player also rose up draft boards last year. A lot of experts predicting a breakout year and NFBC drafters hate missing on breakout years.
It wasn't missed.
Mike Zunino hit seven homers during Spring, 11 during the season.
His batting average?
So bad that Zunino would have to lose fifty pounds before saying that he 'hit his weight'.
To put that in perspective, Pablo Sandoval would only have to lose 15 pounds.

Another Catcher had a great Spring as well.
Jonathon Lucroy hit five homers during Spring and went high for drafters in hopes of getting batting average AND power from the Catcher position.
They got neither.
Lucroy would only hit seven homers and bat .260ish.
In fact, Lucroy turns 30 this year.
Only once in his career has he had more than 15 homers.
Only once in his career has he had more than 70 rbi.
And, only once in his career has he scored more than 70 runs.
Last year, 122 batters had 15 homers.
Last year, 80 batters drove in 70 runs.
Last year, 81 batters scored 70 runs.
Lucroy wasn't one of those batters.
Despite this, Lucroy is taken in the 6/7 rounds by NFBC drafters.
In Lucroy, we are drafting a Catcher with a batting average, who does little in proportion to where he hits in his lineup.
Is that worth a 6/7 round pick?
Sometimes, players slot in rounds of our drafts, just because.
I believe it's comfort.
Lucroy has the comfort of Joe Mauer at Catcher.
Giving average and other production.
But the other production is not sixth round worthy, even for a Catcher.
Some like to think of him as 'Posey lite'.
I think of him as 'Cervelli heavy'

Wow, got off subject there, didn't I!
But, that's just another sign of Spring.
Our minds begin wandering.
And whether it is getting 10 rounds more player in Lucroy than Cervelli or deciding on if your team is better suited to begin with Kershaw or Donaldson, it's Spring.
Which means we don't have too much more time to decide.
Spring Training is a warning to NFBC drafters.
A warning that study and evaluations should be nearly complete.
And soon, we'll be playing this game we love for reals.
And maybe, just maybe, Jonathon Lucroy will hit two homers on Opening Day and some bright soul will post that he is on track for 324 homers.
Ugh.

Nice post, Dan. Spring Training results can distort things, that's for sure. Frankly, there are so many reasons not to put stock in hot streaks during Spring Training. Player X had 500 plate appearances last year, hit 6 HR, and now we are going to bump him up because he went yard three times in a week in March? Were those HR off Clayton Kershaw or some pitcher that probably will struggle in AA ball most of the year? If against Kershaw, was he focused on getting the batter out or just working on refining a pitch or his location, not really giving a crap whether a pitch was hit?

Still, for those folks drafting since November, we now have some action, some news, some reason to take another look at our rankings. The temptation is there.

For me, I try to limit my focus on two things. First, injuries. Guy gets hurt, the first thing I think of is "crap, on how many DC teams did I have this player?" (and if the answer is none, I pat myself on the back for being so smart to avoid that player in all my drafts ) and the second thing I think of is how does it impact my rankings? Of course, not all injuries are the same and you roll the dice by relying too heavily on quick blurbs on various websites. Some injuries may be serious - elbow discomfort could lead to TJS. It also could mean that after not throwing much for four months, a guy needs an extra day or two of rest while he builds up his stamina.

The second thing is position battles. How are Storen and Osuna doing? Is anyone saying anything about which way that battle will go (and, if they are, how much weight do you put on what is being said, recognizing that one or two bad outings in April can change everything)? Is Hot Shot Rookie doing enough to break camp with the team or is he slated to be sent down irrespective of how he plays?

It's like you want to follow what's going on, and take all relevant pieces of information into effect as you finalize your rankings and strategies, but there is a danger of following too closely, paying too much attention to every little development. Mistakes will be made, and I'm sure I'll probably adjust my rankings based on certain news items in the coming weeks, sometimes to my advantage and sometimes not. Still, after virtually no news during the off-season (other than occasional free agency signings and lots of speculation about those), it is nice to have something to chew on.

Mike

Keep in mind, DFS is threatening the existence of season long games. What was once something that was legal in most states now risks being lumped into DFS gambling by various states. If they start requiring license fees for season long operators, the landscape could change dramatically. Enjoy this season folks for the future is a bit cloudy moving forward. Thanks a lot DFS

Gekko wrote:Keep in mind, DFS is threatening the existence of season long games. What was once something that was legal in most states now risks being lumped into DFS gambling by various states. If they start requiring license fees for season long operators, the landscape could change dramatically. Enjoy this season folks for the future is a bit cloudy moving forward. Thanks a lot DFS

This is like worrying one way or the other over who will be the next President.
All we can do is hope for common sense and the right thing to prevail in both instances.

Dough - it's ready here...

http://us1.campaign-archive2.com/?u=8dd ... 18810a2dbb

And that virgina bill passed

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/vi ... story.html

"One controversial provision requires companies to pay a $50,000 registration fee to the state, which small start-up companies have complained cuts them out of operating in Virginia."

"Virginia’s “Fantasy Contests Act,” which takes effect in July, applies to any online fantasy sports games that charge an entry fee, whether they are season-long contests or the daily ones that have exploded in popularity."

Mark - as far as I can see, this Virginia legislation is GOOD NEWS for the entire fantasy sports world as it clearly makes the DFS games legal.

This may wind up being a state by state thing --- I could definitely see the liberal utopia of New York banning the games completely as time moves on. But most states I believe will take a more balanced and common sense approach, making sure that they get their cut of the money, and are seen as regulating the games in the name of fairness for their citizens.
I really have a difficult time seeing how these states can run lotteries -- the biggest rip off known to man - but ban fantasy sports. That doesn't pass the logic test.

I don't see this as a good thing at all.
Politicians taking our rights in the name of a state money grab is not a good thing at all. The rights of the people are being slowly taken away by the very people we elect to office. Then, they hide behind state lawyers and attorneys while their 'votes' are not tarnished for the next political campaign. When we question their record as being against our fantasy rights, they'll point the finger at somebody else.
Intolerable.

Fantasy sports ARE legal.
Like cigarrettes, alcohol, gasoline, gambling, and even soda pop, legislators are trying to tax Americans in a different way to limit their fun. We may as well have a Boston Tea party, but they stay away from tea now.
Colorado and other states are legalizing marijuana. Sure, some votes are by the folks who want to use it without restrictions, but a lot of voters know the Government doesn't back it, so they vote for it as a "Screw You!"
This is not a good thing when politicians do not do the right thing by their people.
It isn't how America is supposed to work.
Imagine, when America kicked the British ass, with political leaders like Washington, Jefferson, Adams, and Franklin, we were a country of 19 million.
Now, 360 million strong, you'd think we would have even better people running offices.
They're not. They're carpetbaggers.
Look at the folks running for President, and worse, the folks that are already making decisions such as the one in Virginia.
Ugh.
Alright, I'll get down from my own pulpit.


As far as the ramifications, they're brutal.
If a fee of $50,000 or $100,000 moves from state to state, it'll eventually wipe out the season long game. The only two companies that can pay states off the top for the rights to run their games are the two large daily companies.
Monopolization in any industry is not a good thing.
STATS won't give Greg and Tom enough revenue in order to run the game smoothly on line.
Paying states to run the game?
A hurdle too high.

Ken - the way I interpret it is if a company wants to offer online fantasy sports to residents of VIRGINIA, they need to pay $50,000 to the state. Unless I'm reading this wrong, this impacts BOTH DFS AND season long contests.

VEGAS IS CALLING, DAN. I HEAR THERE ARE GOING TO BE TREATS.

http://i.imgur.com/cyUfpJa.gifv