Thoe pitching pieces are beginning to fall into place.
A day after the Diamondbacks signed free-agent RHP Bronson Arroyo, the division-rival Dodgers agreed to terms with free-agent LHP Paul Maholm.
Los Angeles reportedly was one of Arroyo's suitors, and Maholm represented a fall-back position.
I'm here to say that the supposed loss of Arroyo actually will be to the Dodgers' benefit. Arizona is paying $23.5 million over 2 years for Arroyo, who will be 37 this season. Maholm, 31, is an injury risk, but LA is obligated to him only for 1 year and $1.5 million.
There's no way Arroyo can be more than 10 times more valuable than Maholm. I don't expect the former Red Sox/Reds pitcher to be able to make a difference to unseat the Dodgers at the top of the NL West.
To make room for Maholm on the roster, Los Angeles placed LHP Scott Elbert on the 60-day disabled list, which doesn't count against the 40-man limit. Elbert is recovering from Tommy John surgery.
The Cubs avoided arbitration with RHP Jeff Samardzija by signing him to a 1-year, $5.345-million contract.
Elsewhere, arbitration decisions are beginning to be handed down.
Padres RHP Andrew Cashner, who broke through to win 14 games in 2013, won his case and will receive $2.4 million in 2014. Indians RHP Vinnie Pestano won't be a millionaire just yet. He lost in arbitration, and will be paid $975,000.
Perth, Mayaguez win winter titles
The Canberra Cavalry came closer than expected, but still lost the Austalian Baseball League best-of-three Championship Series in two games. Two one-run games. The host Perth Heat took the Claxton Shield -- the ABL's answer to the NFL's Lombardi Trophy -- for the third time in four years.
For Perth, Warwick Saupold (Tigers organization) pitched two hitless innings to save Saturday's 2-1 victory for winning pitcher Brian Baker, who last pitched in the U.S. in the Brewers organization. Catcher Allan de San Miguel (Rockies) singled to give the Heat a 2-0 lead in the sixth inning. Shortstop Joey Wong (Rockies) was the Championship Series MVP.
Los Naranjeros de Mayaguez from the Mexican Winter League won the Caribbean Series final game 7-1 Saturday over Los Indios de Mayaguez, representing Puerto Rico.Catcher Sebastian Valle hit a grand slam in a six-run sixth inning. Chris Roberson hit a solo homer in that inning.
The game had been scoreless until that inning. RHP Joel Pineiro allowed just three hits in five innings for Puerto Rico, but the bullpen gave up eight hits and seven runs over the next three innings. Winning pitcher Juan Delgadillo allowed four hits and struck out five.
Puerto Rico, which hasn't won the series since 2000, defeated Los Navigantes del Magallanes of Venezuela 2-0 Friday to advance to the championship game. The Puerto Rican team's runs both were unearned. Eddie Rosario's two-run bloop single in the seventh inning followed two errors by Venezuela shortstop Eduardo Escobar, a Twins prospect.
* * *
Basketball. It's still 8-0 heading into the final day of this week's competition. On Saturday, Ricky Rubio threw in a surprising 25 points for the Timberwolves and Team Fresh Prints. Just slightly less surprising was Gerald Green's 25-point performance for the Suns and TFP. For Sunday, I have eight players active, and I should do all right unless each of them shoots 3-for-18 or something like that.
* * *
Hockey. I haven't seen the official standings through Saturday yet, but it appears that the second-place team picked up a point to move nine points ahead of my 67 heading into the two-week-plus Olympic hibernation.
My lineup included two goalies whose team was playing, but neither of them were in goal. Thus, they didn't hurt me. But they didn't help me either. It appears that during this break I will be 3 wins, .223 (a huge gap) in goals against average and .034 in save percentage away from picking up a point in each of those categories.
On this surprising night, my former Avalanche players combined for plus-6 of my team's plus-7 performances. There were a few minuses in the lineup, but a player I saw in person, Brenden Dillon, was plus-1 in the Stars' 2-1 victory over the Coyotes.
I'm now 19 assists and 14 PPP behind the second-place team, but his players have a combined 63 games more than mine. So he could have to reduce his lineup by three or four players a day or take a week or two off at the end of the season. The first-place team also now has more games played than mine. I've used skated in seven more than he has, but he has used goalies 13 times more.
Important key: Don't see the Olympic break as a vacation. I've always tried to take stock of my fantasy baseball teams during the All-Star break, when the stats stand still. That used to be three days, now it's four. This Olympic break will be something like 16 days! Take some time to see where you can pick up points and formulate strategies to do just that. Scour the list of free agents. Think about trade scenarios. Note your league's trade deadline; I think my ESPN league's deadline is Feb. 28. Possibly most important, keep track of injuries and which players are likely to come back after the break. You can pick up useful players, possibly even star-caliber players, for little or no investment.
Showing posts with label Brenden Dillon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brenden Dillon. Show all posts
Saturday, February 8, 2014
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Consider the Rays' latest moves as positives
The Rays are having a good week.
They signed RHP Grant Balfour for $12 million to be their closer for the next two years.
That might sound familiar, because he has pitched for Tampa Bay before, but in a setup role. For the last three years, he was a closer -- with the Athletics.
Balfour almost had a contract this year with the Orioles, but he failed his physical. That fact and his age (36) could make the Rays' move a bit iffy. However, if you read these posts, you'll quickly learn how much respect I have for the Tampa Bay and Oakland organizations and their decision-making ability. Even more than I have for the Rangers' and ascending Pirates' organizations.
That respect is a reason why I also like the trade the Rays made with the Padres. Tampa Bay sent a couple of viable relievers, LHP Alex Torres and RHP Jesse Hahn, to San Diego for five players who haven't yet or haven't had a chance to prove their major league readiness.
The key player going to the Rays is 3B/2B Logan Forsythe. I saw him play at the University of Arkansas and in the Texas League. You may wonder why, with 3B Evan Longoria already on Tampa Bay's roster, the team would need Forsythe. But have you noticed Longoria's amount of time on the disabled list? And even if he could play every game this year, Forsythe would be around to play some second base, freeing 2B/OF Ben Zobrist (for whom I also have a ridiculous amount of respect) to spend more time in the outfield. That would add even more versatility to a pretty versatile team.
There also could be strength in the numbers of trading two players for five. Four of the five new players going to the Rays organization can be considered at best prospects. We know that not every prospect actually becomes successful in the majors. But what if two of the four among RHPs Brad Boxberger, Matt Lollis and Matt Andriese and 2B Maxx Tissenbaum turn out to be serviceable major leaguers? Or if even one becomes a contributor?
The only player among those four that I have seen much is Lollis, and he wasn't really impressive out of Double-A San Antonio's bullpen. Tissenbaum appears to be on a career track similar to ... Logan Forsythe's.
Which reminds me that the Giants avoided arbitration by agreeing to a two-year deal with 3B/SS Joaquin Arias. I'd rather have Logan Forsythe.
Another former Rays right-hander, Matt Garza, reportedly is close to a four-year, $52-million contract with the Brewers, who apparently didn't observe his work down the stretch with the 2013 Rangers.
The big signing, of course, was RHP Masahiro Tanaka's seven-year, $155-million contract with the Yankees. Again, if you've been reading this blog, you'll know this surprises me only in that he'll be making more than $20 million per season.
If you're really Jonesing for signings, you might even be interested in the fact that two righties found lacking as closers have new minor-league contracts, Jon Rauch with the Royals and David Aardsma with the Indians.
* * *
Basketball. Thursday night, I got 31 points but just six rebounds from Chris Bosh, and very little from Mo Williams. I'm still ahead 7-1 this week, trailing only in field goal percentage.
* * *
Hockey. In the Stars' 7-1 win over the Maple Leafs, even Brenden Dillon from my team picked up one of those good stats that I no longer talk about. I dropped half a point when the next-lowest team in goalie wins moved into a tie. Antti Raanta played in goal for me for the first time, but lost 2-1 to Minnesota. The worst part was that his save percentage was below .900. That's one stat where I could pick up a point or two in the standings by improving by a .001 or .002.
They signed RHP Grant Balfour for $12 million to be their closer for the next two years.
That might sound familiar, because he has pitched for Tampa Bay before, but in a setup role. For the last three years, he was a closer -- with the Athletics.
Balfour almost had a contract this year with the Orioles, but he failed his physical. That fact and his age (36) could make the Rays' move a bit iffy. However, if you read these posts, you'll quickly learn how much respect I have for the Tampa Bay and Oakland organizations and their decision-making ability. Even more than I have for the Rangers' and ascending Pirates' organizations.
That respect is a reason why I also like the trade the Rays made with the Padres. Tampa Bay sent a couple of viable relievers, LHP Alex Torres and RHP Jesse Hahn, to San Diego for five players who haven't yet or haven't had a chance to prove their major league readiness.
The key player going to the Rays is 3B/2B Logan Forsythe. I saw him play at the University of Arkansas and in the Texas League. You may wonder why, with 3B Evan Longoria already on Tampa Bay's roster, the team would need Forsythe. But have you noticed Longoria's amount of time on the disabled list? And even if he could play every game this year, Forsythe would be around to play some second base, freeing 2B/OF Ben Zobrist (for whom I also have a ridiculous amount of respect) to spend more time in the outfield. That would add even more versatility to a pretty versatile team.
There also could be strength in the numbers of trading two players for five. Four of the five new players going to the Rays organization can be considered at best prospects. We know that not every prospect actually becomes successful in the majors. But what if two of the four among RHPs Brad Boxberger, Matt Lollis and Matt Andriese and 2B Maxx Tissenbaum turn out to be serviceable major leaguers? Or if even one becomes a contributor?
The only player among those four that I have seen much is Lollis, and he wasn't really impressive out of Double-A San Antonio's bullpen. Tissenbaum appears to be on a career track similar to ... Logan Forsythe's.
Which reminds me that the Giants avoided arbitration by agreeing to a two-year deal with 3B/SS Joaquin Arias. I'd rather have Logan Forsythe.
Another former Rays right-hander, Matt Garza, reportedly is close to a four-year, $52-million contract with the Brewers, who apparently didn't observe his work down the stretch with the 2013 Rangers.
The big signing, of course, was RHP Masahiro Tanaka's seven-year, $155-million contract with the Yankees. Again, if you've been reading this blog, you'll know this surprises me only in that he'll be making more than $20 million per season.
If you're really Jonesing for signings, you might even be interested in the fact that two righties found lacking as closers have new minor-league contracts, Jon Rauch with the Royals and David Aardsma with the Indians.
* * *
Basketball. Thursday night, I got 31 points but just six rebounds from Chris Bosh, and very little from Mo Williams. I'm still ahead 7-1 this week, trailing only in field goal percentage.
* * *
Hockey. In the Stars' 7-1 win over the Maple Leafs, even Brenden Dillon from my team picked up one of those good stats that I no longer talk about. I dropped half a point when the next-lowest team in goalie wins moved into a tie. Antti Raanta played in goal for me for the first time, but lost 2-1 to Minnesota. The worst part was that his save percentage was below .900. That's one stat where I could pick up a point or two in the standings by improving by a .001 or .002.
Thursday, January 16, 2014
Mamas, let your babies grow up to be pitchers
It looks like a good week to be a major league pitcher. Almost as good is being agent Casey Close.
The Rays and LHP David Price announced a $14-million contract for 2014, the largest in franchise history. This tells me that they're all in for this season, and that Price wouldn't be available in trade unless Tampa Bay is out of the race near the trade deadline. It's also conceivable that if the team looks strong going forward, the Rays might even try to sign him to some sort of rewarding contract of medium-range length -- maybe $75 for three years, with options for additional years and reachable incentive clauses.
That might not be enough, because there are reports that the Dodgers and LHP Clayton Kershaw have agreed on a 7-year, $215-million deal that would be a record for a pitcher anywhere.
Waiting in the wings, for a contract that could be escalating by the day, is free-agent Japanese RHP Masahiro Tanaka, who also is represented by Close.
Even the remaining free-agent starting pitchers such as RHPs Matt Garza and Bronson Arroyo could see their contracts bumped up a few hundred thousand by the pitching sellers' market. You never know when a starting pitcher might fall down the stairs.
Continuing another recent trend of oldtimers/has-beens/previously enjoyed players contemplating a return to the bigs, LHP Dontrelle Willis signed a minor league contract with the Giants.
Other big news from San Francisco, via Venezuela, is that 3B Pablo "Kung Fu Panda" Sandoval has lost 42 pounds (19 kilos) while playing in the Venezuelan Winter League. It's a contract year for the gifted hitter. How much he makes might depend on how much he weighs as the 2014-15 off-season becomes a reality.
* * *
Hockey. A couple of things, one of them not funny at all, have happened during the past few days. When I turned on my computer at the Oilers-Stars game Tuesday night, I couldn't see the screen. After a while, I could vaguely make out my sign-on prompt. Eventually, if I swirled my finger around the touch pad enough, I could find the cursor and guess whether I was clicking on the right icon. I was able to write about 300 words about the first two periods. Then I realized I would have to open AOL to send in the article to The Associated Press after I'd written.
Could not find the cursor, nor the Firefox icon. I realized I would have to write the article on my phone. It's a three-part sequence. First, write 150 words or so with the basic information and send that in. Second, add enough on to that for about 500 words and send. Third, ideally, interview some players and coaches, and add their quotes and a catchy lead for an article of about 900 words.
By the time the game ended, I hadn't even finished my 150 words. Those little keys on the Galaxy 4 are way smaller than my fingers. Got that done, but missed any interview opportunities, while I was writing the rest of the 500-worder. The Stars provided me with audio of their post-game interviews, and another freelancer sent me quotes from the Oilers' side. By the time I sent the new material and indicated where it should go, it was well past the time the article was expected in New York. I must say, though, that the editors there were very understanding.
Did some research Wednesday and discovered that it's not uncommon for the backlight on HP laptops to go out. Too bad, because generally I like the computer, but I'd never had a problem with backlighting in any of the -- I don't know, half-dozen? dozen? -- computers I've had before. I visited the Geek Squad and was preparing to have the geeks send away my computer for a couple of weeks for not-inexpensive repairs when the technician casually mentioned that they might have to wipe my computer. Wipe? Yes, as in clearing everything from the hard drive. That screech you hear is me putting the brakes on. I can't have everything erased. I have some projects and databases there that I've worked on literally for months. So the alternative, I was told was getting a VGA cable and hooking my laptop up to a TV. Next stop, Target, for a VGA cable. When I got home, that cable didn't really work, but fortunately the HDMI cable (which before seemed to have no apparent purpose) did. Thus, I'm writing this now from my dark laptop to a bright screen on our new bedroom TV. That's in part because I still find it very cumbersome to use the MacBook Pro at home, which I will be taking to tonight's Bruins-Stars game. Wish me luck.
BTW, I still have some things to clear from my HP laptop before I send it away. So by Friday, I expect to be doing all of my work on the MacBook.
Aside: if anyone from Samsung, HP or Apple wants to sponsor this blog, be my guest. You're welcome for the product placements.
Also on Wednesday, I interviewed the Stars' Brenden Dillon and Alex Goligoski about skate/foot protectors and whether those facilitate blocking shots for an article another AP writer is doing. Didn't sound like a very interesting idea to me at first, but the conversations I had with the players were very informative, dare I say enlightening, on the topic. That article is supposed to be on the wire sometime next week.
Dillon happens to be on my fantasy team, about which I have two things to say. 1) I will not write anything more about plus/minus. In the first two nights after I pointed out that I had skyrocketed within 4 of the next-higher team in plus/minus, my players combined to go minus-5 each night. I saw a note from Wednesday's game that Keith Yandle was only minus-1 or minus-2, which was an improvement because he had been minus-3 in each of the previous two games. 2) I will not write anything more about goalies until I figure them out. Don't hold your breath. With Eddie Lack giving up something like 200 goals Wednesday, I'm now at the bottom of the league in both goals against and save percentage. It helps that Steve Mason has won his last two starts, but didn't help at all that he essentially sucked in both games while the Flyers scored a bunch of goals at the other end.
* * *
Basketball. I'm just now taking a look at Team Fresh Prints' performance Wednesday night. Be right back. ... While the teams ahead of me in the standings are playing each other, I'm leading this week 6-1-1, tied in 3-pointers and trailing in field goal percentage.
Hmmm. The Nets and Hawks are playing a Thursday afternoon game in Atlanta. How quaint. And, look, Joe Johnson has 15 of Brooklyn's first 31 points, shooting 6 for 8 from the field. Too bad, because I hadn't adjusted my roster yet today and he's on my bench. I did move my other two bench players, whose teams are playing tonight, back into the starting lineup.
The Rays and LHP David Price announced a $14-million contract for 2014, the largest in franchise history. This tells me that they're all in for this season, and that Price wouldn't be available in trade unless Tampa Bay is out of the race near the trade deadline. It's also conceivable that if the team looks strong going forward, the Rays might even try to sign him to some sort of rewarding contract of medium-range length -- maybe $75 for three years, with options for additional years and reachable incentive clauses.
That might not be enough, because there are reports that the Dodgers and LHP Clayton Kershaw have agreed on a 7-year, $215-million deal that would be a record for a pitcher anywhere.
Waiting in the wings, for a contract that could be escalating by the day, is free-agent Japanese RHP Masahiro Tanaka, who also is represented by Close.
Even the remaining free-agent starting pitchers such as RHPs Matt Garza and Bronson Arroyo could see their contracts bumped up a few hundred thousand by the pitching sellers' market. You never know when a starting pitcher might fall down the stairs.
Continuing another recent trend of oldtimers/has-beens/previously enjoyed players contemplating a return to the bigs, LHP Dontrelle Willis signed a minor league contract with the Giants.
Other big news from San Francisco, via Venezuela, is that 3B Pablo "Kung Fu Panda" Sandoval has lost 42 pounds (19 kilos) while playing in the Venezuelan Winter League. It's a contract year for the gifted hitter. How much he makes might depend on how much he weighs as the 2014-15 off-season becomes a reality.
* * *
Hockey. A couple of things, one of them not funny at all, have happened during the past few days. When I turned on my computer at the Oilers-Stars game Tuesday night, I couldn't see the screen. After a while, I could vaguely make out my sign-on prompt. Eventually, if I swirled my finger around the touch pad enough, I could find the cursor and guess whether I was clicking on the right icon. I was able to write about 300 words about the first two periods. Then I realized I would have to open AOL to send in the article to The Associated Press after I'd written.
Could not find the cursor, nor the Firefox icon. I realized I would have to write the article on my phone. It's a three-part sequence. First, write 150 words or so with the basic information and send that in. Second, add enough on to that for about 500 words and send. Third, ideally, interview some players and coaches, and add their quotes and a catchy lead for an article of about 900 words.
By the time the game ended, I hadn't even finished my 150 words. Those little keys on the Galaxy 4 are way smaller than my fingers. Got that done, but missed any interview opportunities, while I was writing the rest of the 500-worder. The Stars provided me with audio of their post-game interviews, and another freelancer sent me quotes from the Oilers' side. By the time I sent the new material and indicated where it should go, it was well past the time the article was expected in New York. I must say, though, that the editors there were very understanding.
Did some research Wednesday and discovered that it's not uncommon for the backlight on HP laptops to go out. Too bad, because generally I like the computer, but I'd never had a problem with backlighting in any of the -- I don't know, half-dozen? dozen? -- computers I've had before. I visited the Geek Squad and was preparing to have the geeks send away my computer for a couple of weeks for not-inexpensive repairs when the technician casually mentioned that they might have to wipe my computer. Wipe? Yes, as in clearing everything from the hard drive. That screech you hear is me putting the brakes on. I can't have everything erased. I have some projects and databases there that I've worked on literally for months. So the alternative, I was told was getting a VGA cable and hooking my laptop up to a TV. Next stop, Target, for a VGA cable. When I got home, that cable didn't really work, but fortunately the HDMI cable (which before seemed to have no apparent purpose) did. Thus, I'm writing this now from my dark laptop to a bright screen on our new bedroom TV. That's in part because I still find it very cumbersome to use the MacBook Pro at home, which I will be taking to tonight's Bruins-Stars game. Wish me luck.
BTW, I still have some things to clear from my HP laptop before I send it away. So by Friday, I expect to be doing all of my work on the MacBook.
Aside: if anyone from Samsung, HP or Apple wants to sponsor this blog, be my guest. You're welcome for the product placements.
Also on Wednesday, I interviewed the Stars' Brenden Dillon and Alex Goligoski about skate/foot protectors and whether those facilitate blocking shots for an article another AP writer is doing. Didn't sound like a very interesting idea to me at first, but the conversations I had with the players were very informative, dare I say enlightening, on the topic. That article is supposed to be on the wire sometime next week.
Dillon happens to be on my fantasy team, about which I have two things to say. 1) I will not write anything more about plus/minus. In the first two nights after I pointed out that I had skyrocketed within 4 of the next-higher team in plus/minus, my players combined to go minus-5 each night. I saw a note from Wednesday's game that Keith Yandle was only minus-1 or minus-2, which was an improvement because he had been minus-3 in each of the previous two games. 2) I will not write anything more about goalies until I figure them out. Don't hold your breath. With Eddie Lack giving up something like 200 goals Wednesday, I'm now at the bottom of the league in both goals against and save percentage. It helps that Steve Mason has won his last two starts, but didn't help at all that he essentially sucked in both games while the Flyers scored a bunch of goals at the other end.
* * *
Basketball. I'm just now taking a look at Team Fresh Prints' performance Wednesday night. Be right back. ... While the teams ahead of me in the standings are playing each other, I'm leading this week 6-1-1, tied in 3-pointers and trailing in field goal percentage.
Hmmm. The Nets and Hawks are playing a Thursday afternoon game in Atlanta. How quaint. And, look, Joe Johnson has 15 of Brooklyn's first 31 points, shooting 6 for 8 from the field. Too bad, because I hadn't adjusted my roster yet today and he's on my bench. I did move my other two bench players, whose teams are playing tonight, back into the starting lineup.
Sunday, January 5, 2014
Let's see the NBA at Yankee Stadium in April 2015
Still not much going on in off-season baseball. Unless you count the guys who are retiring but you thought they were already retired. Yes, I mean you, RHP Jeff Suppan and 1B/OF Aubrey Huff. Both had their days in the sun without really catching fire or gaining widespread acclaim. Suppan seemed to have the potential to be very good when I saw him in the minors. That potential became the ability to win 10-12 games a year seemingly forever. Huff was instrumental in bringing the first World Series championship to San Francisco, as well as being part of the Rays' growth into a contending team.
The other big baseball news seems to be that Rangers -- New York Rangers, that is -- goalie Henrik Lundqvist will be wearing a mask featuring the likenesses of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio for the Stadium Series hockey at Yankee Stadium.
The NHL will be coming out of its shutdown for next month's Olympics with a series of outdoor games, like the one that drew 105,000 people to Michigan Stadium on New Year's Day. The most exotic locale will be Dodger Stadium, which last saw ice in a cocktail glass inside a luxury suite.
Yankee Stadium just had the Pinstripe Bowl football game. Hockey is next.
Let's get with it, NBA! Schedule at game at the new House That Ruth Built. Try to make it The House That Carmelo Brought Down. A Saturday or Sunday afternoon game in April (while the Yanks are out of town) should due. That's April 2015, and not a day later.
* * *
Basketball. I'm ahead 5-3 going into the last day of this week's competition. That would keep me in fourth place. But I'm down by just two assists, so I could pick up another game and possibly move into third.
With Ricky Rubio not playing today, I decided to pick up free-agent PG Mario Chalmers. I contemplated dropping up-and-down SG Joe Johnson, but I might need him to boost my 3-point total, so I waived Taj Gibson for the second time this season. I may try to pick him up again.
Eight of my 10 roster spots are filled tonight. I figure Chalmers at least has plenty of options of people to pass to who are likely to shoot and even make some shots. If I'm really lucky, he'll be getting assists for Chris Bosh.
* * *
Hockey. Still at 66 points, and sliding slowly farther behind the second-place team, currently at 73.
The biggest chances for me to gain ground are in assists, where I'm just 8 behind the team in second; power-play points, 4 behind both teams ahead of me in the standings, and save percentage, .027 behind No. 2.
Last night's game before my very eyes was a mixed blessing. Henrik Zetterberg scored two goals and was plus-2, but Brenden Dillon was minus-2. The goals weren't terribly important, because I already lead the league. Last night's plus/minus was up and down, but finished plus-1, boosting my season total to plus-19. That's still 21 points away from catching the next higher team.
My lineup for Sunday will have six skaters and possibly goalie Eddie Lack (Roberto Luongo was in goal for Vancouver Saturday).
* * *
Football. It seemed weird Saturday when I got up thinking I needed to make an 11th-hour check of my fantasy roster, then realized that I didn't have a team playing. Then as I listened to the first half of Kansas City-Indianapolis on the way to the Red Wings-Stars game, I was wondering whether I could retain RB Jamaal Charles on my playoff roster even if he wouldn't be able to play in the Divisional round.
I don't think it was just because I had the Colts in both of my playoff pools, but I found the KC radio crew very annoying. I just looked up the name of the Chiefs' play-by-play guy. He's Mitch Holthus, and he must have some following in Kansas and Missouri because he's been on the job for 20 years. The annoying part was when the Chiefs were tearing it up, he kept repeating a mantra that the Chiefs would be doing it "all day," which apparently included saying "all day" all day. He also seemed very impressed with himself for knowing the small town in Kansas where the head linesman lived, and the location of Mary Hardin Baylor University in Texas.
It wasn't until after the hockey game that I learned the Chiefs had blown their big lead and lost. All day apparently had a second half.
It didn't help the broadcast that color man Len -- turned out to be the one-time great Len Dawson -- was one of the type who pretty much agree with and parrot what the play-by-play guy says. Dawson has seen better days, and I think those are in the past. (All day.)
Anyway, in my pick-'em pool, both the Colts and Saints advanced, as I predicted, but by the skin of their teeth.
Fortunately, in my $1,000-bankroll, pick-with-the-spread pool, I "wagered" $200 on the Saints and just $100 on the Colts, who didn't cover as 2.5-point favorites. So my hypothetical bankroll is up to $1,100.
In my college pools, I don't expect I'll win anything despite picking up 28 points from Vanderbilt in the pick-winners confidence pool. I have 1 point on Ball State tonight and 5 on Florida State Monday. I'm not even sure Vanderbilt covered the spread, but going into that game I was just 11-16 in my point-spread pool.
The other big baseball news seems to be that Rangers -- New York Rangers, that is -- goalie Henrik Lundqvist will be wearing a mask featuring the likenesses of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio for the Stadium Series hockey at Yankee Stadium.
The NHL will be coming out of its shutdown for next month's Olympics with a series of outdoor games, like the one that drew 105,000 people to Michigan Stadium on New Year's Day. The most exotic locale will be Dodger Stadium, which last saw ice in a cocktail glass inside a luxury suite.
Yankee Stadium just had the Pinstripe Bowl football game. Hockey is next.
Let's get with it, NBA! Schedule at game at the new House That Ruth Built. Try to make it The House That Carmelo Brought Down. A Saturday or Sunday afternoon game in April (while the Yanks are out of town) should due. That's April 2015, and not a day later.
* * *
Basketball. I'm ahead 5-3 going into the last day of this week's competition. That would keep me in fourth place. But I'm down by just two assists, so I could pick up another game and possibly move into third.
With Ricky Rubio not playing today, I decided to pick up free-agent PG Mario Chalmers. I contemplated dropping up-and-down SG Joe Johnson, but I might need him to boost my 3-point total, so I waived Taj Gibson for the second time this season. I may try to pick him up again.
Eight of my 10 roster spots are filled tonight. I figure Chalmers at least has plenty of options of people to pass to who are likely to shoot and even make some shots. If I'm really lucky, he'll be getting assists for Chris Bosh.
* * *
Hockey. Still at 66 points, and sliding slowly farther behind the second-place team, currently at 73.
The biggest chances for me to gain ground are in assists, where I'm just 8 behind the team in second; power-play points, 4 behind both teams ahead of me in the standings, and save percentage, .027 behind No. 2.
Last night's game before my very eyes was a mixed blessing. Henrik Zetterberg scored two goals and was plus-2, but Brenden Dillon was minus-2. The goals weren't terribly important, because I already lead the league. Last night's plus/minus was up and down, but finished plus-1, boosting my season total to plus-19. That's still 21 points away from catching the next higher team.
My lineup for Sunday will have six skaters and possibly goalie Eddie Lack (Roberto Luongo was in goal for Vancouver Saturday).
* * *
Football. It seemed weird Saturday when I got up thinking I needed to make an 11th-hour check of my fantasy roster, then realized that I didn't have a team playing. Then as I listened to the first half of Kansas City-Indianapolis on the way to the Red Wings-Stars game, I was wondering whether I could retain RB Jamaal Charles on my playoff roster even if he wouldn't be able to play in the Divisional round.
I don't think it was just because I had the Colts in both of my playoff pools, but I found the KC radio crew very annoying. I just looked up the name of the Chiefs' play-by-play guy. He's Mitch Holthus, and he must have some following in Kansas and Missouri because he's been on the job for 20 years. The annoying part was when the Chiefs were tearing it up, he kept repeating a mantra that the Chiefs would be doing it "all day," which apparently included saying "all day" all day. He also seemed very impressed with himself for knowing the small town in Kansas where the head linesman lived, and the location of Mary Hardin Baylor University in Texas.
It wasn't until after the hockey game that I learned the Chiefs had blown their big lead and lost. All day apparently had a second half.
It didn't help the broadcast that color man Len -- turned out to be the one-time great Len Dawson -- was one of the type who pretty much agree with and parrot what the play-by-play guy says. Dawson has seen better days, and I think those are in the past. (All day.)
Anyway, in my pick-'em pool, both the Colts and Saints advanced, as I predicted, but by the skin of their teeth.
Fortunately, in my $1,000-bankroll, pick-with-the-spread pool, I "wagered" $200 on the Saints and just $100 on the Colts, who didn't cover as 2.5-point favorites. So my hypothetical bankroll is up to $1,100.
In my college pools, I don't expect I'll win anything despite picking up 28 points from Vanderbilt in the pick-winners confidence pool. I have 1 point on Ball State tonight and 5 on Florida State Monday. I'm not even sure Vanderbilt covered the spread, but going into that game I was just 11-16 in my point-spread pool.
Saturday, December 28, 2013
No big deals -- Ibanez and Veras
There's not much new that's concrete in baseball right now.
The Angels finalized a 1-year contract with former ancient Mariner Raul Ibanez, who could DH and play a little bit of outfield.
The Cubs agreed to a 1-year contract with RHP Jose Veras, who would be their 2014 closer. Now there's not a lot to close on the North Side, and Veras seems likely to blow a number of the opportunities he gets. Expect him to join RHP Carlos Marmol and the ranks of other failed closers for the Cubs.
I'm working on some projects to produce some quantitative fantasy baseball information. I hope you can see at least one piece before the year ends.
* * *
Basketball. Carmelo Anthony didn't play Friday night, and isn't going to play Saturday. I still can fill all 10 spots in my lineup.
I had set up my lineup for Thursday, and neglected to change it for Friday. Thus, I left on my bench Victor Oladipo and his 16 points and 11 assists.
Through Thursday, I had been tied in blocked shots as part of a 5-2-1 lead. I figured Serge Ibaka would help me in that area, and sure enough, he blocked three Friday and helped me take the lead in that category. However, my lead is down to 5-3, partly because Anthony didn't play. But my 16-point deficit coincides exactly with Oladipo's 16 points that didn't count for me. We'll see what happens Saturday.
* * *
Hockey. I was buried under an Avalanche tonight. Colorado lost 7-2 to the Blackhawks. Jan Hejda and Erik Johnson were both -4, and Nathan MacKinnon was -3. That was 11 of my minus-15 for the night. That dropped me down to sixth in plus/minus at plus-19. Somehow, the Avalanche's and my, Paul Stastny broke even. Now I have four individuals on my team with season plus/minuses of 19 or more, but I haven't had those players in my lineup at the right time. Mikko Koivu also has been killing me; he was -3 tonight. In addition, Jean-Sebastien Giguere gave up seven goals in two periods. That's a 10.50 goals against average. And the only thing I can say about his save percentage is that at least it isn't less than 0.
My plan is to divest myself of some Colorado players, and Koivu if I can. I'm a little light in forwards. Despite the debacle with Hejda and Johnson, my defense is pretty good. I'm even using a defenseman as a utility player. But I had Dallas' Brenden Dillon on my bench. He was plus-2 Friday, and he took a minor penalty. Another problem with my lineup was that my lineup totaled 0 penalty minutes. How is that even possible? I probably need a fighter.
Somehow I escaped the night losing a mere two points in the standings.
It's too late to make coherent moves tonight. I got home from the Predators-Stars game at about 1.
The Angels finalized a 1-year contract with former ancient Mariner Raul Ibanez, who could DH and play a little bit of outfield.
The Cubs agreed to a 1-year contract with RHP Jose Veras, who would be their 2014 closer. Now there's not a lot to close on the North Side, and Veras seems likely to blow a number of the opportunities he gets. Expect him to join RHP Carlos Marmol and the ranks of other failed closers for the Cubs.
I'm working on some projects to produce some quantitative fantasy baseball information. I hope you can see at least one piece before the year ends.
* * *
Basketball. Carmelo Anthony didn't play Friday night, and isn't going to play Saturday. I still can fill all 10 spots in my lineup.
I had set up my lineup for Thursday, and neglected to change it for Friday. Thus, I left on my bench Victor Oladipo and his 16 points and 11 assists.
Through Thursday, I had been tied in blocked shots as part of a 5-2-1 lead. I figured Serge Ibaka would help me in that area, and sure enough, he blocked three Friday and helped me take the lead in that category. However, my lead is down to 5-3, partly because Anthony didn't play. But my 16-point deficit coincides exactly with Oladipo's 16 points that didn't count for me. We'll see what happens Saturday.
* * *
Hockey. I was buried under an Avalanche tonight. Colorado lost 7-2 to the Blackhawks. Jan Hejda and Erik Johnson were both -4, and Nathan MacKinnon was -3. That was 11 of my minus-15 for the night. That dropped me down to sixth in plus/minus at plus-19. Somehow, the Avalanche's and my, Paul Stastny broke even. Now I have four individuals on my team with season plus/minuses of 19 or more, but I haven't had those players in my lineup at the right time. Mikko Koivu also has been killing me; he was -3 tonight. In addition, Jean-Sebastien Giguere gave up seven goals in two periods. That's a 10.50 goals against average. And the only thing I can say about his save percentage is that at least it isn't less than 0.
My plan is to divest myself of some Colorado players, and Koivu if I can. I'm a little light in forwards. Despite the debacle with Hejda and Johnson, my defense is pretty good. I'm even using a defenseman as a utility player. But I had Dallas' Brenden Dillon on my bench. He was plus-2 Friday, and he took a minor penalty. Another problem with my lineup was that my lineup totaled 0 penalty minutes. How is that even possible? I probably need a fighter.
Somehow I escaped the night losing a mere two points in the standings.
It's too late to make coherent moves tonight. I got home from the Predators-Stars game at about 1.
Monday, December 16, 2013
Ellis looks like better pickup than Axford
Two baseball deals were set over the weekend, another was finalized and two others were reported.
The Dodgers confirmed that 3B Jose Uribe would return on a 2-year, $15-million deal and the Twins re-upped RHP Mike Pelfrey for 2014 and '15.
The Mets completed their 2-year contract with free-agent RHP Bartolo Colon.
The reported free-agent signings were by the Indians for RHP John Axford -- who could become their closer, at least until he loses the job -- and the Cardinals with 2B Mark Ellis. He could take some pressure off left-handed-hitting 2B Kolten Wong.
* * *
Football. The problem with having more than one fantasy team is that a guy who gives you a win in one league could beat you in another. That appears likely to be the case in my two football leagues.
Chiefs RB Jamaal Charles' 5 touchdowns gave me 30 points in my scoring-only league. That helped me to a 63-20 lead with RB Ray Rice and the Lions' quarterbacks still to play. My opponent's starting lineup has all played already. In a league that has been going since 1987, I haven't scored more than 70. And that was when we got double points for 50-plus-yard scoring plays and I had Jerry Rice on my roster. I'll still be two games out of first place with two to play.
In my scoring-plus-yardage, I'm on the verge of blowing a 25-point lead after the first week of a two-game consolation semifinal playoff. Playing against me, Charles scored 51 points. That helped my opponent pulled within 183-181 with my roster exhausted and Lions RB Reggie Bush still available for him Monday night.
* * *
Hockey. With only one player from my roster actually playing, I dropped a point in ATOI. Valtteri Flippula gave me an assist and plus-1. Fortunately, I didn't make a change to put Flyers G Steve Mason in my lineup. He again gave up four goals, and lost in overtime. But I might have been able to use my two Ducks skaters, Corey Perry and Dustin Penner, each plus-1. I apparently didn't make lineup changes after Saturday night's Bucks-Mavericks game. Got up this morning at 5 to go to Bonham for two church services, took a nap when I returned and didn't wake up until the Packers were scoring to pull within 29-24 of the Cowboys.
Made another move to get more minutes as well as some penalty minutes and shots and a positive plus/minus on my backline. Welcome, Stars D Brenden Dillon to replace the Bruins' Torey Krug.
* * *
Basketball. Late Sunday afternoon, after Gerald Greene made a 3-pointer, I was leading 8-0 as this week's head-to-head matchup neared its end. However, I knew my lead of 1 3-pointer wasn't safe with Stephen Curry still playing for my opponent.
So I wasn't surprised when Curry made 4 treys and no one on my roster had another. However, it was a surprise that my opponents' hustling team made 13 steals and 32 of 35 free throws (while my guys were missing 5 of 17). That left me with a 5-3 win for the week (22-10 over the last 4 weeks after a 5-18-1 start).
I moved up to seventh place, 2 1/2 games out of fifth. I'm also 4 1/2 games behind the third-place team, my opponent for the next week, and 7 1/2 out of first.
The Dodgers confirmed that 3B Jose Uribe would return on a 2-year, $15-million deal and the Twins re-upped RHP Mike Pelfrey for 2014 and '15.
The Mets completed their 2-year contract with free-agent RHP Bartolo Colon.
The reported free-agent signings were by the Indians for RHP John Axford -- who could become their closer, at least until he loses the job -- and the Cardinals with 2B Mark Ellis. He could take some pressure off left-handed-hitting 2B Kolten Wong.
* * *
Football. The problem with having more than one fantasy team is that a guy who gives you a win in one league could beat you in another. That appears likely to be the case in my two football leagues.
Chiefs RB Jamaal Charles' 5 touchdowns gave me 30 points in my scoring-only league. That helped me to a 63-20 lead with RB Ray Rice and the Lions' quarterbacks still to play. My opponent's starting lineup has all played already. In a league that has been going since 1987, I haven't scored more than 70. And that was when we got double points for 50-plus-yard scoring plays and I had Jerry Rice on my roster. I'll still be two games out of first place with two to play.
In my scoring-plus-yardage, I'm on the verge of blowing a 25-point lead after the first week of a two-game consolation semifinal playoff. Playing against me, Charles scored 51 points. That helped my opponent pulled within 183-181 with my roster exhausted and Lions RB Reggie Bush still available for him Monday night.
* * *
Hockey. With only one player from my roster actually playing, I dropped a point in ATOI. Valtteri Flippula gave me an assist and plus-1. Fortunately, I didn't make a change to put Flyers G Steve Mason in my lineup. He again gave up four goals, and lost in overtime. But I might have been able to use my two Ducks skaters, Corey Perry and Dustin Penner, each plus-1. I apparently didn't make lineup changes after Saturday night's Bucks-Mavericks game. Got up this morning at 5 to go to Bonham for two church services, took a nap when I returned and didn't wake up until the Packers were scoring to pull within 29-24 of the Cowboys.
Made another move to get more minutes as well as some penalty minutes and shots and a positive plus/minus on my backline. Welcome, Stars D Brenden Dillon to replace the Bruins' Torey Krug.
* * *
Basketball. Late Sunday afternoon, after Gerald Greene made a 3-pointer, I was leading 8-0 as this week's head-to-head matchup neared its end. However, I knew my lead of 1 3-pointer wasn't safe with Stephen Curry still playing for my opponent.
So I wasn't surprised when Curry made 4 treys and no one on my roster had another. However, it was a surprise that my opponents' hustling team made 13 steals and 32 of 35 free throws (while my guys were missing 5 of 17). That left me with a 5-3 win for the week (22-10 over the last 4 weeks after a 5-18-1 start).
I moved up to seventh place, 2 1/2 games out of fifth. I'm also 4 1/2 games behind the third-place team, my opponent for the next week, and 7 1/2 out of first.
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