A Half Hour

[DOUGHBOYS]

10:22
I put my local time as a self-experiment.

As most of you know, I don't have a life.
Sure, I have a wife, kids, grand kids, and we put them through school...yada yada yada
I like to say I don't have a life because I'm simplistic. My wife asked me what I wanted for Christmas. Usually, I'll give her the old 'I don't know, whatever you get me will be great' routine.
This time I told her the truth. Another team in the NFBC.
Eyeroll.
Two years ago for Father's Day, she asked if there was anything special she can do for me.
I mustered the courage...
'Yep, a case of diet Pepsi, a couple of bags of Doritos, and my ass making an imprint in the lounger in front of MLB package'....uh, no offense'
Eyeroll.

My poor wife is a Saint. You know the type. She volunteers for charities. She'll take up animal causes. Phones our daughters each day. And more amazing, she puts up with somebody who was thinking about how Wil Myers would hit Major League pitching as I was passing the vegetables to her at dinner.
I write here almost every day because it is an outlet. My wife does not know who Wil Myers is, but I might talk her ear off about him if I couldn't focus that energy here.
I have no life....But I love my life.
The history of baseball is enthralling to me. As of now I'm reading two books. One of them was due to my chance meeting with Steve Garvey. He wrote a book about being the bat boy for the Dodgers and Yankees during the late 1950's.
It reads a little like a kids book, but there is some great stuff in there. I might even have him sign it, if I see him again
I laugh because when he came upstairs to the press box, he entered a room with me, the official scorekeeper, the public address announcer, and scoreboard operator.
I was the third to meet him. Both of the others asked for an autograph. I'm not much for autographs, so upon shaking my hand, he asked if I wanted an autograph, I said, "No, I think I'll remember who you are".
He laughed and sat down beside me for six innings. Awesome.
The other book is the Bill James Handbook. Always great stuff. A few things can be gleaned for fantasy use, but it is mostly just a baseball book.

I just had a friend call me, asking why I hate Dayton Moore so much. I don't hate him. I simply think he is the Yahoo Kid among NFBC General Managers. He's out of his league.
It's not because of the trade yesterday. It is because of almost everything leading up to the forced nature of that trade.
Moore has painted himself in a corner. His prospects have all made/not made the Bigs.
Some hitters made it to the show in Gordon, Hosmer, Perez, and Moustakas.
Some relievers made it to the show in Holland, Crow, and Herrera
No Starters made the show.
Moore has known about no starting pitching for as long as you and I.
He didn't lift a finger. He signed Bruce Chen. When any other team signs Bruce Chen, it would most likely be as a fifth or sixth starter.
An ace for Kansas City.
Sure, Kansas City NEEDED Shields and Wade Davis....but they've needed them for years.

I already have a bet with a friend that Shields does not win 12 games and that at some time during the year, he hits the dl, or sits a couple of starts with 'tired arm'.
I like Shields, I do.
But, it is tough for a pitcher to go from a winning frame of mind to Loserville. And that is what the Royals have become.
Changing the image or persona will take a lot more than James Shields and Wade Davis. They're good for a few more wins.
But Joe Maddon and his shifts and easy to pitch for coaching is gone. The Eastern rivalries between the Yankees and Red Sox are gone.
We think of James Shields as a great peripheral pitcher, forgetting sometimes that he is human.
What is in Shields favor is that Royals have a great fan base.
It's why I get on Dayton Moore so much. They deserve better than stupid and selfish Dayton Moore.
I think that Wade Davis, with something to prove, will prosper in Kansas City. More so than Shields. I'm hoping Davis career takes off AFTER Moore is fired, of course.

As for Myers, Adam Dunn, Brandon Belt, Chris Davis, he's been compared with all of them by Numerish folks. I get it.
He strikes out a lot and has a high batting average that, more than likely, will not transition to the Big Leagues.
I'll compare him with another left handed hitting hitter. Jay Bruce.
Myers is gonna hit for power. He'll strike out a lot and hit the ball hard a lot.
I don't care about BABIP for hitters like Myers, or Dunn, or Bruce. When hitting the ball, which is more difficult for them, they usually hit it hard or foul. Their averages could have some major fluctuations.
Dunn has hit in the .260's, five times in his career. He's hit below .220, three times
That's a large gap. He's had his two worst average years during his last two years. I believe that the shift has taken many points off his average. Dunn's shifts are now constant. And I believe his average will be constant too.

Bruce has a low of .223 and a high of .281
I believe that Myers will be the same way. Like Dunn, Bruce is seeing more and more shifts. He's struggled the last two years to keep his average over .250
I think he'll lose that battle and start a descent to the .240's and then .230's.

Myers hits right handed. Shifts will be less the norm for him.
You know, it's always been said that batting lefty is better than righty because of being close to first and more right handed pitching, but shifts are making it harder for the power, pull hitting guys to maintain a decent average.
Anyways, I think Myers batting average will mirror that of Bruce. He'll have three seasons of hitting between .230 and .28o before leveling off to whatever hitter he chooses to become. Whether it is the all or nothing approach or the give in a little bit in order to get a piece of the ball approach.

So there it is. A half hour of my life shared with you. I had no idea what I'd say before typing. Just the things that came to mind. Now, if you didn't agree with the 'no life' for me, before, I'm sure you do now.

10:52
Let me know if you liked this. And more importantly if you didn't.
I could do it again. Which depending on your outlook, could be taken as a threat.

[Captain Hook]

Always good stuff Dan - keep it up ... it may be therapy for you to write it but more people will relax, read it, have a laugh and learn something about baseball.

[DOUGHBOYS]

9:11
I've got half an hour....

In early drafts, Arod was drafted in the 9th round and 12th round, after the hip news, we are in the 25th round of an ongoing draft and he still hasn't been chosen.
Who wants him?
The guy is going to be out for four to six months and schedules his surgery for January. I sure as Hell, don't want to carry him on a roster.
Kevin Youkilis has gone in the 16th round and 17th round twice in the three drafts I've been involved in.
Being drafted in the 16th or 17th round of fantasy drafts shows little confidence in a player. Especially a player as publicized as Youkilis is.
The Yankees paid 12 million dollars for peanut brittle. Something the old Yankees would do.
A bad signing.

Choo in Cincinnati probably raises him on some lists. It screws Chris Heisey and Billy Hamilton owners in early drafts.
Cincinnati won't be as pressured to bring Hamilton up now. But Zack Cozart didn't exactly wow folks last year. I'm wondering if Cincy may put Hamilton back at shortstop for spring training.
What the Hell did Trevor Bauer do to Arizona?
Since they brought him up last year, it seems they couldn't wait to get rid of him. They got very little in return for a guy still wanted by other teams.
Maybe Arizona knows something we don't.
Drew Stubbs gets a new start in Cleveland. They'll tolerate the strike outs and low obp longer than Cincy would have this year.
The problem being that for fantasy owners, he'll still strike out a lot and have a low obp!
On the field, Cincy really makes out in this deal. Gregorius is blocked and Choo gives them another top of the lineup guy.
This is taking advantage of a prospect in your system.

Which makes me think of the Royals...
Kansas City isn't all perfume and roses on offense. They were only 20th in the Majors in runs and 26th in home runs. Their offense is still full of question marks. Sometimes a deal like the Myers-Shields grows on me after being poo-poo'ed.
This one isn't.

I am currently in a draft. On a corner, yesterday, I had narrowed my choices to three players. Adam Lind, Vinny Pestano, and Dan Straily. I still think that Chris Perez gets traded this off season. He went to the press and dissed the Indians. The Indians may be having a hard time finding a buyer for Perez, but even if it's for peanuts, I think the Indians deal him.
Pestano is probably the better pitcher anyway. He is a lot like Rafael Betancourt who was the best reliever in the Indian pen and they never gave him much of a chance to close either.
If the Indians hang onto Pestano, he becomes the Closer. So I drafted him.

Now, it's between Straily and Lind. Lind has a small window this year. The offense has grown by leaps and bounds around him. If he comes out of the gate slowly, he won't be given much rope. As of now, he and Encarnacion share 1B/DH roles and DH's are easy to replace if they're not hitting. Not to mention that shifts have hurt Lind as well.
Straily looked great in the minors, but only so-so in the Majors.
If he were Trevor Bauer, he'd be gone!
But Billy Beane is a little bit smarter than the average bear, and I'm guessing that Straily will have a place in the rotation.
The problem with drafting good looking A's starters is that next week, he could be pitching for KC....
(I smile at the thought of a Beane-Moore trade)
...or Houston.
Still, Straily would have to be succeeding for those clubs to want him.
The 24th round has a lot more question marks, so neither is a sure thing to be rostered by September.
I picked Straily and Lind was chosen about 10 picks later.
Was I right in picking Straily?
Well, yeah! We're always right in drafts till we're proven wrong.

By the way, Lind was a so-called, ugh, 'value pick'.
He had gone a lot earlier in previous drafts. I don't care.
And I don't think the drafter chose him as a 'value pick'. Just simply, the player that looked best on the board.
Some drafters are smarter. Some drafts are smarter.The fact that Lind went in the 16th round of one draft, could hinge more on what has happened since (the Tor-Mia trade), then 'value'.
I'll say it again. There are no value picks.
Lind is still gonna play like Lind whether he was drafted in the 16th, 20th, or 24th round (as in this case).
If Lind is sent down or benched, he's dropped to faab.
And whether chosen in the 16th, 20th, or 24th rounds, he sucked for everybody.
Value, my ass.

9:40

[Captain Hook]

Well I don't value your ass

But I did think Lind was a good pick at that point in the draft - if he is at 1b or DH for the Blue Jays he can add some power and he gives my team some position flexibility if there is a soft spot once the season starts. .... like you said he is an easy drop if the is not in the lineup every day.

Back to Bauer - I said weeks ago that the Diamondbacks should trade Bauer to Cleveland for Asdrubal - apparently (and surprisingly to me) the Indians wanted two of Bauer, Skaggs, Corbin etc for him which the DBacks thought was too much. BUT Bauer was clearly the one they wanted to trade - he didn't make any friends in the clubhouse trying to throw Montero under the bus for some of his crappy pitches in the majors and the Arizona management is divided over his pre-game routine so the combination was a one way ticket to somewhereelseville

[DOUGHBOYS]

Wow, Bauer did burn some bridges, didn't he?
I expect the same for Chris Perez.
Cleveland is trying to whittle payroll anyway, so it all falls in line.
With Hafner, Choo, and Asdrubal gone, it'll be Kipnis, Santana, and filler for 2013.

1. Aviles,SS
2. Kipnis, 2B
3. Santana, C
4. Reynolds, 1B
5. Chisenhall, 3B
6. Canzler, DH
7. Brantley, CF
8. Stubbs, RF
9. Carrera, LF

That may change by what they get back for Cabrera or Perez.
If I have a fantasy pitcher throwing against this lineup, I'm licking my chops at the possibilities of many strike outs.

[Ando]

Dan, great stuff as always; keep it coming!

I drafted Straily yesterday at 25.9 in my present draft. I like the pick and outside of roster management considerations, would have taken him before Lind.

As for Perez - I agree with you in principle. He's a bad apple with a loose cannon for a tongue. However, if they didn't include him in this 3-team doozy yesterday I don't know how they'll move him without just getting a bucket of sand back in return.

Brian Wilson, Valverde, and a few others I can't think of off the top of my head right now can be had with minimal investment without having to give up anything. It'll be tough to trade Perez expecting anything in return from a club when they can go out and shop for bullpen and closing help without too much of an investment at the present time.

[DOUGHBOYS]

I've got half an hour-
9:18

From a totally simplistic approach, I think the Chicago White Sox have the best ownership in baseball. The White Sox always seem to 'go for it'. They're about winning. If they think an expensive guy like Alex Rios will help them, they'll sign him. Now, I'm not talking about Kenny Williams, or Ventura, or the players on the field, I'm talking only ownership who ok's these moves.
The White Sox attendance has dropped a lot. Last year, they were 24th in attendance of the 30 teams. Still, they spend.
I know other variables like tv contracts and local and national advertising and radio come into play, but White Sox ownership should be lauded for putting money into their players and making them competitive.

Who is on the other side of the coin?
The Colorado Rockies. Of the 30 teams, they ranked 13th in attendance. But, they spend like Scrooge McDuck at an NRA convention.
On top of not spending enough money, they've employeed Management that is the laughing stock of baseball.
75 pitches for a starter is a sign that they're waving a white flag when it comes to pitching.
If giving up on pitching, then give the fans a show. Stock up the lineup with sluggers from one to eight in the lineup.
Give them 12-10 games every day. It'd be better than what they got now.

I was asked if somebody, without self-medicating, could break Roger Maris home run record. The answer is yes.
Put Adam Dunn in Yankee Stadium. Or Jay Bruce. Or Josh Hamilton.
Put Giancarlo Stanton in Philly.
It can happen, but the stars have to align. A player not only has to have a lot of power, but the right ball park for that power.
It's no secret that Ruth and Maris were perfectly suited for Yankee Stadium. And even though it's a new ball park, it is still the perfect park for the left handed power hitter. It gives Granderson and Cano extra home runs for fantasy owners every year. Granderson was/is not a power hitter, but he is in Yankee Stadium.
If Granderson gets traded, I could think of no player who would take a worse hit for changing ball parks. His numbers would be Rickie Weaksian.
The mentality has to be right too. Look at Mark Teixeira. Teixeira was a great hitter before Yankee Stadium messed with his head. The shortness of the fence also leaves less ground for a ball to hit grass in right field. With shifts from other teams, Teixeira's average has plummeted and it still seems like he doesn't know whether power or average is of more importance.
By the way, nobody in baseball has a better shocked/pained face than Teixeira when he gets an owwie. It's like he's facing a man with a gun and knows his life is about to end. If he had the presence to put both hands to his face, he'd be doing a 'Home Alone' face.
Gotta do some Christmas shopping and think about who I'll take in the next rounds of a draft. Gotta love fantasy baseball. As I'm going down the toy aisle looking for presents for the grand kids, I'll be reckoning between Closers in waiting, prospect starters, and washed up outfielders for the later stages of a draft.
Thinking about the merits of Jeff Francoeur and Jonny Gomes and how Francoeur will probably get a lot more at bats, and wondering if that is a good thing. Uh, probably not...
And there I go again....

9:45

[DOUGHBOYS]

I've got half an hour

8:11

Each team has their own set of problems. The Angels can keep adding pieces till they beat the Rangers. The Rockies without a real starting pitcher have 75 pitch counts. The Royals have prospects and young players and are just now getting around to getting real starters. The Yankees are caught between a rock and an old piece of granite.

The Yankees can't go young. Their fan base is too used to winning. The option is off the table. They're also not signing free agents to long contracts. They already have enough of those. And, they're trying to cut costs.
They're in the business of recycling old players to short contracts. Andruw Jones, Raul Ibanez, Eric Chavez, Kevin Youkilis, Ichiro.
This churning mollifies Yankee fans for now.

If the Yankees are going to do this for the next couple of years, and they have little choice, they may as well do it right.
The Yankees should have signed AJ Pierzynski by now. Pierzynski loves the spotlight and will probably take less money to play in New York, a media capitol.
Pierzynski is good at hitting fly balls. Well hit fly balls that would be caught in most parks, are home runs in Yankee Stadium.
Pierzynski's personality or ANYBODY's personality doesn't matter to the Yankees. They depend on the magic of the pin stripes to turn those with personality disorders into model citizens.

The Yankees lineup would look like this with pierzynski signed.
1. Gardner, lf
2. Jeter, ss
3. Cano, 2b
4. Teixeira, 1b
5. Granderson, cf
6. Youkilis, 3b
7. Pierzynski, C
8. Ichiro, rf
9 The Dh, till ARod

The Yankees would be smart to sign Swisher too, but their spendthrift ways may prevent that.
By next year, the 10 players mentioned will all be at least 30 years old. Not to mention that Sabathia, Kuroda, Pettitte, and Rivera will all be heavily relied on.

The churning has worked so far because the veterans are still performing at a high level. But, there are leaks in the Yankees dam. ARod is is showing slowness and injury tendencies. Jeter had a major injury at the end of last year. Rivera may not be the same. Sabathia is developing arm problems.
Cano and Granderson can play up to their contracts. It's doubtful the others will.
Pierzynski and Swisher could play up to their contracts, but may not get the chance.

The Yankees have no future. They're riding this core of players for as long as they can, then they'll make decisions.
They can't go young, so I'm guessing they'll also churn their long term contracts as well. For instance, if Teixeira's contract is done and Hosmer is a star and a free agent, they sign Hosmer.
It's the way they do things. Until their farm system produces an offensive player that isn't traded, it'll continue to be their way.
It's easy to see things falling fast for the Yankees. They also have few choices.
They join the Red Sox and Phillies as teams that are becoming shells of themselves. Those three teams will continue to pack their stadiums next year, but the real talent is moving west.
And for right now, there is not a damned thing they can do about it.

8:50

[Edwards Kings]

Good as always, Dan!

The Yankees have hamstrung their financial flexability by locking up $70 to $75 million through 2016 on three players (ARod, CC and Tex).

[Captain Hook]

The Yankees are trying to get under the payroll threshhold by 2014 when the heavy penalties come in
And yes they have those three big contracts but they likely will have to add a nice contract for Cano next year although they can backload that.

But there may be a new wave of Yankees coming in 2014 or 2015 - homegrown products.
Once they would have traded them for the piece they needed.
Now they want several of these cheaper players to combine with the expensive contracts.
Players I expect to see in pinstripes in a year or two
Gary Sanchez, C
Mason Williams, OF
Slade Heathcott, OF
Dante Bichette Jr., 3B

and there may be more .....

[DOUGHBOYS]

I suppose anything can happen, Perry.
But these kids aren't much different than other organizational prospects. No better, no worse.
The Yankees have become their own worst enemy. They can't allow kids to blossom at the Major League level. If a kid slumps after getting the call, the most likely scenario is that he is sent down or traded.
Eduardo Nunez showed well in his brief appearances in 2011.
2012 was spent in the minors. The official reason was that he can better himself at shortstop. The truth is, the Yankees prefer veterans.
The Yankees are all about instant results. Their minor leagues have become trading fodder for major league ready players.
It's tough thinking that they'll change that philosophy.

[DOUGHBOYS]

Sorry, but sometimes I just plain don't like our world...

There are at least 20 less children on this earth now than there was a few hours ago. Besides their families and friends, nobody will miss them. They'll be referred to as part of a tragedy. Their legacy will be that they were shot down by a gun man.
These kids will never enjoy romance, or driving a car, or birthdays, or even this Christmas.
As parents, were helpless. These selfish acts are happening in malls, movie theatres, and schools. Primary destinations for our kids. We are their protectors, but if they're going to enjoy life, they have to live it.
We can't stop that.
We have to trust society. Trust society enough to believe that good hearted souls will be surrounding our kids.
In the past, this was not too much to ask.
Now, we send them out knowing the dangers. There's a lump in our throat any time they go through the front door without us.
It shouldn't be that way.
But it is.

There are at least 20 less children on this earth than there were a few hours ago.
When events like this happened before, we would think to ourselves how horrible for somebody else. Never thinking it could happen to us.
Now, it could be us.
Now, it's happening too often. And, it's happening to our children.

There are at least 20 less children on this earth than there were a few hours ago.
All between the ages of five and ten.
All looking forward to the Holidays.
All innocent.
All gone.

[DOUGHBOYS]

I've got half an hour.
9:25

Things are hardly ever as they appear. It seemed like the Mets were going to get a major haul for RA Dickey. RotoWorlders had us thinking that Olt and maybe Cruz, Moreland, or another major prospect was a possibility. Instead, it looks like the Mets will get a below average catcher in John Buck and two prospects in D'Arnaud and Syndergaard. One of those trades that won't have a winner for a few years.
The Mets were thought to try to solve their outfield problem with Dickey, but failed. The Mets aren't losers here though. That recognition goes to the Texas Rangers.
Things are hardly as they appear, but it sure looks like the Rangers have been sitting on their hands during these 'talks'.
They seem to be involved in all trades. They were thought to be on the receiving end of both Dickey and a Toronto catcher, and now it looks like they've been shut out of both.

The Rangers went into the off season as the lion. The club that had the most to gain. It looks like Toronto has stolen their thunder and the Angels swiped their soul. Now, they go after consolation prizes like Michael Bourn or Kyle Lohse. Lohse looks to need a big ballpark and the National League wouldn't hurt either.
Bourn is a judy and the Rangers already have Leonys Martin if they want to go that way.
The Rangers have to do SOMETHING in regards to their outfield though. Martin is on his way, but they've lost Hamilton and next year, David Murphy and Nellie Cruz are free agents.
Edwin Jackson may be their best fit. He's thrown in the American League and a smaller park (White Sox) before. And he gives the Rangers a chance to break my Rockies rule.
My Rockies rule is that every contending club's fifth starter should be clearly better than the Rockies 'Ace'. Which would be Francis, Pomeranz, DeLaRosa, or Chacin, take your pick. Right now, the Rangers fifth starter is Robby Ross or Martin Perez. That does not meet the criteria of my Rockies rule.

The Rangers and Yankees, both, should be trying to court AJ Pierzynski. His swing is conducive for both parks. It seems nobody is beating down his door because he's a jerk. In the end, that'll be overlooked.
Nick Swisher is still out there. I get the feeling that he is unbelieving that the Yankees aren't after him more. I think he would even give them a sweetheart deal. His wife is a television star. And I think that being in a large media area like New York or L.A would be preferable. Cleveland just doesn't fit that bill.

Has there ever been a lingering free agent deal like Mike Napoli's. I picture the Red Sox looking at his x-rays after his physical, and saying, 'Holy shit, this guy is messed up!'
I'm guessing they are making language in their contract that covers their ass, and Napoli or his agent isn't receptive to the changes.
I've moved Napoli down my lists.

The Red Sox have signed Stephen Drew. The Drew family continues sucking at the teat of Red Sox owners. If healthy, Drew is a bridge till Xander Bogaerts is ready.
Did you really think the Red Sox would have a defensive only shortstop starting for them in Iglesias?
Iglesias will eventually take the Brendan Ryan route and play great defense for a lesser team.
If/when Napoli is signed, the Red Sox would have Napoli, Saltylablahblah, and Lavarnway all catcher eligible.
If they played for the Angels a couple of years ago, they'd all be losing playing time to Jeff Mathis.

9:52

[ToddZ]

Hey, we were shorted three minutes!!!

[DOUGHBOYS]

I've got another half hour.

1:45

I like Mike Ilitch. He seems to have good intentions with the Detroit Tigers and the surrounding Detroit area.
As an owner, he gets it.
Dave Dombrowski and Jim Leyland are tough to top as baseball men. Ilitch made good hires here.
Last year, when Victor Martinez went down, Scott Boras 'reminded' Ilitch that Prince Fielder was on the Market and that his rbi could replace the missing VMart ribbies.
It's said that Ilitch and Boras have a good relationship. Ilitch is impressed with how prepared Boras is when discussing his clients. Boras is impressed with, well, Ilitch's wealth.

The Tigers just signed Anibal Sanchez to a five year contract of 80 million dollars. He'll be their fourth starter.
FOURTH STARTER!
A fourth starter making 80 million dollars is like being the fourth slowest antelope being chased by three tigers.
Sanchez should feel very fortunate.
And, so should Scott Boras.
Boras represents Rafael Soriano. Soriano is, for the most part, an under appreciated Closer. He's closed in Atlanta, Tampa, and for the Yankees, and done it well. But, Soriano is not one of the first Closers we think about in terms of good closers.
Boras knows how Jose Valverde torpedoed some excellent starts by Tigers starters last year.
We just know that Boras argument is that sooo much money is spent on starters, why not insure those starters wins, by signing his man, Soriano.
He'll ask Ilitch if he wants a 2-1 game in the hands of a rookie Rondon or from a lesser Closer acquired in a trade.
Or, would he want those games Saved by the guy who closed in the toughest environment of all, Yankee Stadium, for an injured sure to be Hall of Famer.
And, Boras will have a point.
And, I'm guessing after this logic soaks in for awhile, that Soriano will get signed to a nice deal by Detroit.

The Anibal Sanchez deal made me think of something dastardly, and I'm wondering if it is 'legal' by MLB standards.
Go back to the last day of bargaining for Sanchez.
The Tigers offer 75 million.
The Cubs 78 million.
The Tigers 80 million and we have a winner!
Lets say that the Diamondbacks want Sanchez, but Sanchez has told them that Arizona has immigration laws that he doesn't agree with and will not play for them.
The Diamondbacks call the Texas Rangers. They say, 'Rangers, you can have Justin Upton. We want Mike Olt, Elvis Andrus, and Anibal Sanchez'.
The Rangers respond, 'Diamondbacks, we don't have Anibal Sanchez'.
The Diamondbacks respond, 'Rangers, offer him 95 million for six years with no 'no trade clauses', sign him, and we'll do the trade in a month'.
Done deal.

When people bring up Justin Upton, Asdrubal Cabrera, and Chris Perez, players that are 'on the trade block', I wonder what that does to their psyche. More important for us, I wonder how they'll play next year, if not traded.
Michael Young seemed to be playing with a 'Dead Man Walking' tattoo across his forehead last year. He had the worst year of his career. It could be age or it could be that he didn't care for Rangers Management at all.
I feared the same for RA Dickey if the Mets had kept him and not re-signed him.
By the way, does a knuckler knuckle as much in foreign countries?
In roofed Stadiums?
Wouls PED's help a knuckler?
A knuckler on steroids just sounds plain wrong.
And that, is my half hour....

2:13

[DOUGHBOYS]

Hey, we were shorted three minutes!!!

[DOUGHBOYS]

I've got half an hour

7:37

We all do it. We draft a guy we're not especially fond of. This player may have screwed us in the past. He may play for a team we hate. He may be one of those injury prone players that we swore we would never take. We do this for the same reason that Viagra is taken without listening about the side effects. We do it because at that time,we feel that player is the best option for our team.
I haven't drafted Gavin Floyd since his rookie season. Or Jayson Werth since he signed with Washington. I've never drafted Hunter Pence.
They're all ok players, but I have a bias towards them being on a team of mine. Usually when we have a bias, we are relieved when somebody else drafts one of these players. In a recent draft I was in, all three of these players were dropping like rocks. I even contemplated taking Werth. If I were a true 'value' drafter, I'd have snapped him up. He was drafted in the 15th round.
But I don't draft players just because they're falling. Especially players I have a bias towards.

My bias sometimes, even extends to a players personality. This is a flaw that I have to overcome. Jerks play just as well as players with good manners.
Still, players like Youkilis, Pierzynski, and Carlos Zambrano are hard for me to draft. I knew this was a flaw of mine long before now. One year, as a way of overcoming this flaw, I drafted Milton Bradley. That only made matters worse when Bradley got hurt, pouted, and did stuff that we would spank our child for doing.
Since, I've figured that it is just a flaw. One that I can live with.

We don't know how many of the roto reports are true and which are figments of writers imaginations. If they were all true, I give the Texas Rangers a great big Stupid. They've approached trades with the safeguarding of Profar at all costs. They're thinking about moving Kinsler to first base to accommodate Profar.
In some way, we think of the unknown as better than the known.
Wil Myers is that way too. Until he plays at the Major League level, he's a Star in some minds. We forget that some kids master English at AAA, only to find that Major Leaguers speak Latin.
Maybe it's because of Trout and Harper having banner years. Maybe they think that Profar is indeed, a can't miss player.
The reality is, that they are moving a top hitting 2B and moving him to first, where as a 1B, his stats are average. Not only that, he is replaced by a guy with question marks, no matter how 'can't miss' he is.
But, that is real baseball.
For fantasy, we think about Kinsler being extra positialicious. And maybe even lessening his chance of being injured.
And in the meantime, Mitch Moreland is chopped liver again.

Vernon Wells on a 'shopping list'....
I really did lol at that one and everybody knows that we hardly ever lol, no matter how many times somebody says they're lol, they're really not lol. But this time, I lol

Aramis Ramirez, Ryan Braun, and Albert Pujols all had 80 extra base hits last year.
Funny in that it was same ol', same ol' year for Braun.
Surprising for Ramirez.
Disappointing for Pujols.
We hold players up to too high of standards sometimes.

Ever notice how players never say, "I'd play for nothing" any more?
Growing up, it was said by a lot of players. I think some even meant it.
Now, it just wouldn't ring true.
I thought about this as my mind wrapped around Nick Swisher. Swisher has a very pretty wife who is an actress.
New York or L.A. would be the places of choice for him.
Living in a media hub is perfect for him, and them.
But, the Yankees outwardly haven't gravitated to him. The Mets can't afford him. And the two L.A. teams are full of outfielders.
It'll be interesting to see if he goes back to the Yankees, hat in hand, and play for significantly less money than elsewhere.
Maybe that is the modern day equivalent of 'playing for nothing'.

Some players play to their park and team. Some, we just perceive that way.
Kyle Lohse is in a can't win situation as far as fantasy drafters are concerned. It is almost impossible thinking of him as getting more wins than he did in St. Louis. And we think his peripherals will suffer, when being signed by almost any other team that has the money to afford him.
Like Curtis Granderson at Yankee Stadium, St. Louis was perfect for Lohse.
And, other teams may realize this too.
They're not beating down the Lohse door to sign him.
For different reasons, Lohse and Rafael Soriano may be the two last free agents to sign a contract.

8:08

[DOUGHBOYS]

I've got half an hour

9:35

The AB's team....only in this case AB stands for 'All Balls' team in terms of drafting them...

C- Yasmani Grandal
C- Carlos Ruiz
1B- Kevin Youkilis
2B- Chase Utley
3B- Alex Rodriguez
SS- Troy Tulowitzki
CI- Evan Longoria
MI- Stephen Drew
OF- Jacoby Ellsbury
OF- Carl Crawford
OF- Melky Cabrera
OF- Lorenzo Cain
OF- Coco Crisp
U- - Logan Morrison

SP- Tommy Hanson
SP- Brandon Beachy
SP- Chris Carpenter
SP- John Lackey
SP- Any Rockies Starter
SP- Any Astros Starter
SP- Ted Lilly
CL- Kenley Jansen
CL- Carlos Marmol

This, is a whole team of players that have history. For the most part, bad history.
For early drafters, take a look at your roster.
If you have five of these players on your roster, you're going to a fist fight with five broken fingers.
Four, four broken fingers, etc

I know, I know, some of these players will escape the bugaboo and do well this year.
But, we know the odds.
If three girls work at a coffee shop, two of them are pretty and one is overweight. I know, since I am heavy as well, that if I'm coming out of that coffee shop with a girl's phone number, it'll be from the girl who shares my affection for Doritos.
It's the odds.
Sometimes, we try to beat the odds and most of the time. the odds beat the crap out of us.

Name Game-
These are just what there names sound like. Nothing to do with what they do on the field...

Madison Bumgarner- Harverd Snob
Juan Pierre- Pepe LePew's gay partner
Manny Machado- Boxer
Chien-Ming Wang- Asian Porn star
Max Scherzer- Hairdresser
Vinnie Pestano- Mob Leader

The New Year is almost here. For me, it's a signal that half the off season is over.
The worst half.
Spring training is soooo far away in October, November, and December. But once January comes, and we're at the height of winter, we know that spring is coming soon. CC Sabathia will have lost his annual poundage.
I'll bet ARod will still feel the best he has ever felt in his career, even though he is rehabbing.
Spring is hope. Everything is new. Everybody has a clean slate.
We're all going to win our fantasy leagues and we're all gonna pick all the right players.
Sleepers are back.
Projections are back.
Value is back.
'What do you think of this team' is back.
For a week, I'll soak it in.

When April hits, we'll know the sleepers, projections, value, and how others feel about our teams won't matter.
And for the next six months, it's a little slice of Heaven.

10:08

[slopshot]

The name game ........that is funny stuff. Nice read so far Dan

[DOUGHBOYS]

Thanks Chris
And I've got a half hour

7:43

Every team in Major League Baseball that has a good third baseman has the best fielding third baseman in baseball.
Just ask their announcers. Third basemen are reactionaries. When they make a great play, those hometown announcers can't wait to anoint them as the best in the business.
Bob Gibson once said, "Great fielding plays are like watching women, the last one seen was the prettiest". These announcers fall into that trap all the time.
Scott Rolen (who also has the best home run trot in baseball) and Ryan Zimmerman are the best at LOOKING like the best third basemen. When they make a dive and clutch the ball, they hesitate before throwing to first base. That moment of hesitation isn't to right themselves, or gather themselves. It's a moment of hesitation that says, 'Did you see that? I couldn't believe I made that play either!'
And their announcers go crazy and again, they are the best third basemen in the game.
I love it.
Frankie Frisch played baseball in the 30's. An integral part of the 'Gashouse Gang' that were the 1934 St. Louis Cardinals, Frisch boiled down playing third base to this-
"Third base is easy. All you need is two things. A strong arm, and a strong chest".
Then again, 50 years later, Tim Flannery was having an awful time with the position. He was getting boo'ed by Padres fans for his ineptitude there. After a particularly bad game Flannery said, "I can't blame them. They pay to see me look like Brooks Robinson. And I'm giving them Mel Brooks."

'Baseball America' pointed out that since the Angels have been in existence, they have brought up two All-Star 3B.
Dave Chalk and Troy Glaus.

The trade between the Angels and Mariners felt like an old school trade. My player for yours. No money changing hands. No prospects. I miss these type of trades. I thought that the Angels did well to get Vargas. Morales is damaged goods and had no place to play in the Angels lineup.
I may be the slowest person in the world, but put a bag of Doritos at the finish line of a 100 foot dash, and I may have a chance to beat Morales.

Torii Hunter gets to go to Detroit to torment rookies there. Hunter has a trick that he pulled on both Peter Bourjos and Mike Trout.
He'll sidle up to them while working out on the field and instigate them.
"Say, a lot of people are telling me how fast you are!
I'm old, but I've still got my speed.
I'll tell you what, for a hundred bucks, I'll race you to the fence.
Are we on?"
Bourjos and Trout both took the bait. After winning their races, they both asked Hunter to cough up.
Hunter broke it to them that HE was the one to be paid. That nothing was said about winning or losing, merely that for a hundred bucks, he would race them.
And he makes sure they pay up.

The Rockies signed Jeff Francis.
That should tell us all we need to know about possible improvements for them in 2013.

With the Canadian-American exchange rate, does RA Dickey's knuckleball get thrown slower in 2013?

Speaking of Toronto, I'd love to be a fly on the wall when the guilty PED user, Melky Cabrera, meets with accused PED player, Jose Bautista behind closed doors. So many ways that conversation could go.

8:14

[DOUGHBOYS]

I've got half an hour

9:13

Some teams seemed cursed. The Cubs, the Pirates, the Royals, the Rockies, the Mets, etc. These teams have excelled in being mediocre. Some of these teams settle for mediocrity. Believe me, when the Rockies sign Jeff Francis and are 'going after' Jeff Karstens, they are settling for mediocrity. The Rockies are secure in their fan base. They know that CarGo and Tulo are the gate attractions. They're signed for years. Rockies fans hope for a winning team, but don't really expect one. They're a lot like the Royals fans.
Sometimes the fans show more character and heart than the folks that run teams.

The Mets are a lot like the LaCourt Dodgers. They are hamstrung because their owner does not want to admit that his finances are in dire straits. And like LaCourt, he hates letting go of his favorite toy, a baseball franchise. It hurts the franchise and disheartens the fan base.
The Mets still, and will have Bobby Bonilla on their books until 2036. Part of a deferred agreement that Bonilla made with the Mets in 2000. Bonilla will be paid over a million dollars each year until 2036. I thought about that as the Mets were trying to out-hometown the hometown deal offered by RA Dickey.

Besides the fans, I feel most sorry for David Wright. The Mets will have to build mostly from within. They have fine, young pitching prospects, but pitching prospects get hurt or fail easily.
Building from within takes time. By the time the Mets can fashion a formidable team on the field, Wright is sure to be past his prime. The Mets organization is a fickle one. Two years ago near the end of the season, it seemed like it was of utmost importance to get Jose Reyes the batting title. A few months later, Reyes was gone.
This year, it seemed like the thing of utmost importance to the Mets, was to get RA Dickey his 20th win. A few months later, he was gone.
Maybe if Wright is chasing a milestone at the end of a season, the Mets will see fit to let him go as well.

Reyes and Dickey are both with Toronto now. They don't know how the coming year will turn out.
They both have something that David Wright wants. They have hope in winning their division, their league, and the World Series.
That is all players and their fans want from a franchise.

9:38

Ah heck, I've got a little more time....

It's been a year since Greg handed me this subject line. I am grateful. It's the perfect outlet for me and hopefully you fellas have enjoyed it as well.
Some answers to some of the questions that I've had over the year....

Nacho Cheese and Cool Ranch is a close second.
Dr. Pepper 10.
At least a six pack a day.
Nope, still have never spent over $15 on a meal for myself.
Never go an hour without at least some form of baseball thought.
Kent Stermon and Andy Nolan.
Andy Nolan.
MastersBall.
Because I was him once and you may have been too.

There's the answers. It's up to you to get the questions. E-mails and PM'S are fine...

Again, a big THANKS to Greg for the subject line.

[Captain Hook]

Continued good stuff Dan

I was going to say "see you" after the holidays but I know you are as addicted as I am so I am sure there will be some half hours even with taking care of all the younger doughkids.

Merry Christmas and a Great 2013 for Manny Machado

[DOUGHBOYS]

Continued good stuff Dan

I was going to say "see you" after the holidays but I know you are as addicted as I am so I am sure there will be some half hours even with taking care of all the younger doughkids.

Merry Christmas and a Great 2013 for Manny Machado

Spoken like the true Machado thief that you are!

Merry Christmas to you and yours, Perry!

[DOUGHBOYS]

I've got half an hour

9:25

Just as an experiment, I'd like to see a phantom '16th team' in each of our leagues. This team would not be eligible for cash and would be run by somebody at STATS who is more into numbers than fantasy baseball. We'll call him STATS MAN.
My contention is that even though we are NFBC'ers, the best fantasy players in the world, we still are not all that and a bag of Doritos.

This fantasy team would not draft. While we sit around big 'ol tables, drinking beer and firing off names of the top 450 players, this fantasy team waits to see who will be on its team. Going into the first week of play, this team still has no idea who to root for.
This team has a 'field bet'.
While we have the advantage of picking the first 450 players AND trying to hook bigger fish from faab, while throwing back the little fish, this team waits.

After the first week, this team is comprised of the best players that were not on the 15 other teams. The job for STATS MAN is to pick the best numbers from players that were not used each given week.
One week, his team could have Greg Dobbs at 3b or Joe Saunders starting. Another week it would be Nolan Arenado just called up from the Rockies who had a good week at 3b, while David Bush surprised with a good start.
It'll be sort of like the 'Paint Your Wagon' of teams. In the movie, Paint Your Wagon, the two main characters realize that a lot of gold dust falls between the cracks of the floors of the saloon, so they dig under the saloon and start 'mining the gold'.
In a way, that's what this team would do.
At the least it would be embarrassing to see where this team would finish in most of our leagues.
At most, it would be damned enlightening to see if this sort of team could actually win an NFBC league.

For the last month, STATS MAN would have a lot of decisions to make. While we are positioning our players to eke out any last point we can muster, STATS MAN has the advantage of KNOWING how many wins, k's, home runs, etc are at his disposal.
A little like the historic team that was run on the Message Boards last year.

Anyway, I think it would be of tremendous interest and would like to see the progress of these teams each week.
Not to mention, which leagues gave STATS MAN the best and worst of it each week

9:58

[Bob Enzyte]

Dan, this last half hour was just one too many half hours.