Jeff Erickson Will Chat Here Today At 2 PM ET

Tom Kessenich · Post by **Tom Kessenich** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 6:38 am

We're happy to welcome back RotoWire's Jeff Erickson to our "celebrity" chat list. Jeff is one of the sharpest fantasy baseball minds in the industry so bring plenty of good questions and Jeff will tackle all of them for an hour starting at 2 p.m. ET.

headhunters · Post by **headhunters** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 6:47 am

geez- greg got yanked from his chat pretty fast- should have let him have a chance at least. my question is- typical spring traing news from everywhere- most everyone lost weight, has a new swing, has " figured it out" etc. but i noticed 2 guys that i admire- tejada and ichuro had some things to say- tejada basically said i am coming to play. last year he was unhappy. i know he is rumored to be a droid user- but what if anything do you make of that. ichuro says he wants to test free agency- he is in a walk year. move these guys up- or are they so motivated all the time- that it doesn't matter. thanks

Tom Kessenich · Post by **Tom Kessenich** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 6:55 am

I'll bring a question for Jeff as well: Who is the dark horse in LABR this year?

Nutty Scrats · Post by **Nutty Scrats** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 6:55 am

Hi Jeff. Great XM show and web site. Alot of usefull information in both medias. This has been a non-paid compliment. LOL

I was wondering what is your opinion on when to start drafting closers and or starting pitchers? Do you start filling in your team with hitters and wait until the later rounds, i.e. 7,8,9 or later or do you look earlier to get at least one of each? Thanks in advance.

Joe Sambito · Post by **Joe Sambito** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 6:59 am

What do you think abou the D'Rays? Scefically how does Upton fit in? Who is the odd man out if he plays?

DOUGHBOYS · Post by **DOUGHBOYS** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 7:03 am

With all the "spin" being put out there about players, it seems there isn't a player who hasn't either worked out all winter and lost 10 pounds or bulked up and put on a lot of muscle.

My question is how are we to discern what is fact or myth and is there a writer covering spring training that gives us a little more insight(fantasy wise), rather than a team's spin?

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 7:04 am

Jeff, thanks for having me on the show this morning. Great stuff for those who aren't aware of the NFBC.

Here's a question for ya: Will the XM/Sirius merger have any impact on the fantasy baseball show you're doing? I know it's too early to tell, but I wonder if a satellite merger is good for shows like yours or will they get squeezed out. Thanks.

Jeff Erickson · Post by **Jeff Erickson** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 7:04 am

Greetings all, hope everyone is getting psyched for the season. Thanks for having me.

Cooperstown · Post by **Cooperstown** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 7:07 am

There seems to be a lot of reports of pitchers with nagging arm injuries that are forcing them to be held back already. Which pitchers are at the top of the list to worry about?

Quahogs · Post by **Quahogs** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 7:07 am

Giambi, Sexson, Dunn, Glaus, Swisher... how would you rank them and who improves on '06 #'s ?

Jeff Erickson · Post by **Jeff Erickson** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 7:08 am

Originally posted by headhunters:

geez- greg got yanked from his chat pretty fast- should have let him have a chance at least. my question is- typical spring traing news from everywhere- most everyone lost weight, has a new swing, has " figured it out" etc. but i noticed 2 guys that i admire- tejada and ichuro had some things to say- tejada basically said i am coming to play. last year he was unhappy. i know he is rumored to be a droid user- but what if anything do you make of that. ichuro says he wants to test free agency- he is in a walk year. move these guys up- or are they so motivated all the time- that it doesn't matter. thanks I typically ignore most of these factors. Yes, sometimes they are important, but like you said, there's a lot of "... in the best shape of my life..." sort of quotes this time of year. My favorite is the conflict between those who lost weight, saying they wore down after carrying too much weight, and those who "added muscle" to help get through the grind of the season. The Angels are a perfect example of this - Mike Napoli lost weight, Joe Saunders added weight.

As far as specifics go on Tejada and Ichiro, I'm not changing my projection.

Jeff Erickson · Post by **Jeff Erickson** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 7:09 am

Originally posted by Tom Kessenich:

I'll bring a question for Jeff as well: Who is the dark horse in LABR this year?

Steve Moyer.

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 7:11 am

Originally posted by Jeff Erickson:

quote:Originally posted by Tom Kessenich:

I'll bring a question for Jeff as well: Who is the dark horse in LABR this year?

Steve Moyer. [/QUOTE]I'm not so sure about this one Jeff. Last time he was in LABR he went to a spring training game the day before and was so sunburned he lit up the room. There's not much dark about Moyer except his past!!

Jeff Erickson · Post by **Jeff Erickson** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 7:12 am

Originally posted by Nutty Scrat:

Hi Jeff. Great XM show and web site. Alot of usefull information in both medias. This has been a non-paid compliment. LOL

I was wondering what is your opinion on when to start drafting closers and or starting pitchers? Do you start filling in your team with hitters and wait until the later rounds, i.e. 7,8,9 or later or do you look earlier to get at least one of each? Thanks in advance. Thanks for the flattery - it'll get you everywhere.

This draft is different than most with closers, given the lack of trades. I still believe in getting what the draft gives you, but at the same token, I probably go with a closer in the 7-9 range. That probably doesn't get you one of the elite closers (Nathan, Rivera, Ryan, etc...), but it might get you J.J. Putz, who I'm just as high on.

As far as starting pitchers go, unless Santana is available for me after the top five picks, I probably don't get my first pitcher until the 5th or 6th round.

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 7:12 am

Two more LABR Questions:

Who is your $1 Dan Uggla this year (nice snag by the way)?

Have you guys from Northwestern finally given up on Mark Prior?

Quahogs · Post by **Quahogs** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 7:13 am

Do you see Taveras and Freel approaching 50sb this season ?

bjoak · Post by **bjoak** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 7:13 am

Jeff, thanks for the chat. What are your thoughts on Joe Mauer? Is he a good third round pick?

Jeff Erickson · Post by **Jeff Erickson** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 7:15 am

Originally posted by Joe Sambito:

What do you think abou the D'Rays? Scefically how does Upton fit in? Who is the odd man out if he plays? I love all their young talent - it's just a question of whether their pitching can catch up to their hitting. It's their misfortunate to be in the AL East, though. I'd be much more sanguine about their long-term potential if they were in any other division.

Upton is one of the biggest swing players in this draft - I had Greg on the air today, and he was a topic for us to chew on. I think Joe Maddon will use him as a bit of a "super-sub," a la Chone Figgins right when he came up with the Angels. The SB's are tough to ignore, but unless he gets that PT, his value in 2007 will be limited. I like him a lot better as an infielder than as an outfielder.

Chest Rockwell · Post by **Chest Rockwell** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 7:16 am

Jeff

I bought your magazine b/c you impressed me in the chat last year.

Your top 200 is pretty non traditional- when making a list like that is your goal 1) to give the reader your exact cheat sheet 2) Try to help the novice player.

I would assume that is a struggle all along- if you think Albert Belle is going to struggle this year and you have him 75th on your board you are telling the truth. However the casual player may want to take him before then or may not realize that you although probably correct have a drastically different opinion than most.

With all that said not very well- I assume it is quite a balancing act.

Jeff Erickson · Post by **Jeff Erickson** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 7:17 am

Originally posted by Greg Ambrosius:

Jeff, thanks for having me on the show this morning. Great stuff for those who aren't aware of the NFBC.

Here's a question for ya: Will the XM/Sirius merger have any impact on the fantasy baseball show you're doing? I know it's too early to tell, but I wonder if a satellite merger is good for shows like yours or will they get squeezed out. Thanks. I'm guessing it'll have precisely zero effect this year. Long-term, I'm pretty optimistic about the baseball channel - Sirius doesn't have an equivalent. It's going to take awhile for it go through, with all the regulatory hoops.

XM is trying to provide more info off their website - www.xmradio.com. But I'm not terribly worried.

Jeff Erickson · Post by **Jeff Erickson** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 7:19 am

Originally posted by Coop:

There seems to be a lot of reports of pitchers with nagging arm injuries that are forcing them to be held back already. Which pitchers are at the top of the list to worry about? Jered Weaver is towards the top of the list, even though he says it's something that happens every year. I'd also suggest that the Marlins' injuries are worth following closely. Randy Johnson's back injury of course merits some concern, but it's been that case for a couple of years now.

Quahogs · Post by **Quahogs** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 7:21 am

What's the deal with COL and the humidor this season. MLB stated last week that they're looking for conformity as to storage. Does that mean humidors all around but with specific temp settings ? Does anybody know how COL is going to play out this year ? thanks Jeff !

Jeff Erickson · Post by **Jeff Erickson** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 7:23 am

Originally posted by Quahogs:

Giambi, Sexson, Dunn, Glaus, Swisher... how would you rank them and who improves on '06 #'s ? Sexson, Dunn, Swisher, Glaus, Giambi.

Sexson really had a nice second half last season, well after the M's had gone into the tank. Swisher has the best chance to improve, given his age, and Dunn isn't as bad as he was down the stretch last year. Glaus isn't going to be able to play DH much this year, with Frank Thomas aboard, and because of that, he worries me with his health, playing on that turf.

Jeff Erickson · Post by **Jeff Erickson** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 7:26 am

Originally posted by Greg Ambrosius:

Two more LABR Questions:

Who is your $1 Dan Uggla this year (nice snag by the way)?

Have you guys from Northwestern finally given up on Mark Prior?

I don't know about $1, but Akinori Iwamura is my guy that's going to outproduce where he's drafted. Except probably in Tout, NFBC and LABR, where he's a well-known commodity by most drafting. The thing about sleepers is that there really is no such thing these days, with the various touts and the free flow of information.

I think Casey Kotchman has a really good chance to be a bargain, but I've been on his train for a while now.

Mark Prior - thanks to Will Carroll's column on BP last year, I hopped off that train already. Peter Schoenke, on the other hand, well, let's just say there's a 10-step program in place and he's only on Step 2.

Top Dawg · Post by **Top Dawg** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 7:27 am

Hi Jeff - Furcal or Hanley Ramirez mid-late round 2 in the NFBC or pass on them both?

Thanks - Pete