NFBC Message Boards

Desmond Jennings. Desmond Freakin' Jennings.
A fellow who took Desmond Jennings in the 40ish round of a Draft Championship stated that he "got value" AND that Jennings was a 'sleeper'.
Woo hoo.
There is a reason why Jennings goes in the 40ish rounds. And it's neither that he has value or is a sleeper.
If a sleeper is a player who catches up on naps while on the dl, then yes, Desmond Jennings is, indeed, a sleeper.

Desmond Jennings is a fantasy 'blamer'. A fantasy blamer is a player who blames injury....alot.
A fantasy blamer is usually highly regarded by the fantasy drafters. Afterall, they have talent.
And when drafting 'blamers', we think about what could be, not about what will probably happen.
Josh Hamilton, Tulo, Mesoraco, Lorenzo Cain, and others are blamers.
It's a chronic blame. It happens year after year.
If that meant 30 days of health, then 30 days on the dl, those forecasts would be more correct.
Year after year, they display their chief skill...not playing.
In the last five years, Lorenzo has missed 252 games. 50 per year.
Jennings?
He has never played 140 games. And played 83 games over the last two years. Missing 241 games in that span.

Talent?
Sure, they have talent.
Jennings and Cain were thought to have 30-30 talent.
As for hitting 30 homers, well, Cain hit 16 once and Jennings has never hit over 15.
Cain has stolen 28 bases twice twice, but never more than 20 in any other season.
Jennings stole 31 bases once, never more than 20 any other season.
Cain and Jennings have the talent.
But, there has never been a hitter in history who has had a 30-30 season while dl'ed.

As fantasy players, we don't care if Jennings, Cain, or any other player is truly hurt or not.
They may have best intentions of playing every day.
We don't care.
Actions and numbers speak louder than good intentions.
As drafters, we want 'Gamers', not 'Blamers'.
In real baseball, a 'Gamer' is somebody who wants to play every day. Not caring about an ailment or injury.
In fantasy baseball, a 'Gamer' is a player we trust to play almost every day.
In real baseball, Dustin Pedroia is considered a 'Gamer'.
In fantasy baseball, Robinson Cano is a Gamer.
11 straight seasons of 150 games or more.
Fantasy bliss.

Desmond Jennings is a playground ball with a hole in it.
The bounce will not last.
The ball can blame a rock or sharp object for it's demise.
It doesn't matter.
The kid playing with the ball will throw it away once it has gone flat.
For some reason, some of us are not as smart as that kid.

'Colby Rasmus (hip, core muscle) said Tuesday that he's "not close" to playing in Grapefruit League games.
Rasmus has been taking things slow this spring after undergoing surgery in October to repair his core muscle and to repair his left hip labrum. Batting practice sessions are going well, so it doesn't sound like he's too far off, but Rasmus said he's "listening" to his body for the time being. The 30-year-old signed a one-year, $5 million deal with the Rays over the winter.'

And five days later, Rasmus was playing.

And now this...

'Colby Rasmus (hip) said Saturday that he expects to open the season on the disabled list.'

It's almost as if Rasmus does NOT want to play.
In real baseball, he would be far from a gamer. In fantasy, he has become 'a Blamer'.
Rasmus skill has become that of missing games.
This overrides all baseball skills.

From my previous post, Rasmus falls into line with Cain and Jennings.
All three, 30 years old.
Jennings and Rasmus are not much of a thought in 'important drafts.
Cain is.
It'll be interesting to see if his adp drops for these important drafts.
Adp's didn't drop for Tulo for the longest time. The thought that he could actually play, more in the drafters head than not playing.
Cain is still at that stage. A stage that he could still go unhurt. Although deep inside, we know better.