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 Important key. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Important key. Show all posts
Saturday, February 8, 2014
Friday, February 7, 2014
Perth one game away from Australian title
Here's how I started this blog, before news came down that the Diamondbacks had signed free-agent RHP Bronson Arroyo:
Some fairly small moves could make a larger difference for their teams this year and into the near future.
The Orioles and C Matt Wieters reached agreement on a $7.7-million contract for this season, thus avoiding arbitration. The greater significance is that he can have a better feeling about the team, which could lead to a longer-term contract down the road.
The Athletics signed CF Coco Crisp to a two-year contract extension through 2016 with a vesting option for 2017. He's a keystone in center field and at the top of the lineup -- when he isn't injured. That's why the team took the precaution of a vesting option instead of a guaranteed third year. If it vests, no one would be happier than Oakland's management.
The White Sox agreed to a 1-year, $1.1-million contract with RHP Mitchell Boggs. He was briefly a closer for the Cardinals, and could take over that role with Chicago. Currently penciled in for the job is RHP Nate Jones, but RHP Matt Lindstrom and LHP Scott Downs also have experience locking up games.
Now, on to Arroyo.
Arizona reportedly signed him to a 2-year, $23.5-million contract with an option for 2016 that could bring the total value to $29 million. Could the D-backs be overpaying? Well, he'll be 37 years old this season -- and he's Bronson Arroyo, not Tim Hudson.
Also, though I haven't seen an official acknowledgment from the Mariners, they reportedly signed RHP Fernando Rodney for two years and $14 million. That signing would impact every team that unsuccessfully sought Rodney. For example, I read a report that said the Orioles now would go with RHP Tommy Hunter as their closer.
Speaking of closers or ex-closers, the Brewers are bringing back RHP Francisco Rodriguez on a 1-year contract believed to be for $3.25 million with another $550,000 in incentives. Which reminds me. In a few days, I hope to post another residual fantasybaseballscout.com article about closers for 2014. To make room for K-Rod on the 40-man roster, Milwaukee designated RHP Donovan Hand for assignment.
I have been working on this post off and on for most of the day. It has been interrupted by visitors to the house, taking a battery for one of our cars to be recharged and going to the Jazz-Mavericks game. Some of this I wrote at the American Airlines Center before the game.
As I was about to go courtside, I saw this -- well, probably not bombshell, because in the end he really didn't have a choice, but revelatory item that caught most of us by surprise.
3B Alex Rodriguez has dropped his suit against Major League Baseball, the players association, the commissioner and probably even the batboys. He won't follow through on his threat to show up for spring training. And he won't play this season.
So now I'm writing about that back home.
I wrote the headline for this post several hours ago here. I suspect by the time I get up Saturday morning, we'll already know whether there will be a decisive Game 3 in the Australian Baseball League Championship Series or whether the Perth Heat swept the Canberra Cavalry in two games.
That's because Saturday's Game 2 at 7 p.m. Australia Western Time would begin at 6 a.m. EST.
The Heat overcame a 3-0 deficit in what must have been one of the classic games ever Down Under. Perth then prevailed 4-3 in 14 innings. Joey Wong's double drove in the winning run in the bottom of the 14th. He batted .240 with two homers and 19 RBI at Double-A Tulsa last (Northern Hemisphere) summer, so he's a marginal prospect for the Rockies. I saw him play, and he didn't make a big impression positively or negatively.
If the Heat win, it would be the third championship in the last four years.
By the way, you can watch the ABL Championship Series on ESPN -- if you live in Australia or New Zealand.
* * *
Basketball. Similarly, I started out by seeing that on Thursday my three active players made only one 3-point field goal, so I was still behind by one in that category against an opponent who had no one active. My lead was 7-1, and the second-place team was ahead 8-0, so I stood to lose some of my lead.
Now, literally at the end of the day -- no, early Saturday morning (late afternoon in Perth), I'm looking better. Two of my players -- Jose Calderon, whom I saw in person, and Carmelo Anthony -- threw in four 3s each, helping me to take the lead in that category. Three of my players scored 30-plus points, two had double doubles and my best draft pick, Serge Ibaka, blocked five shots while he wasn't putting in 26 points at the other end. My lead is now 8-0, and the second-place team dropped to 6-2, so I could actually extend my lead. Two days left this week, so I don't want to look ahead too much.
* * *
Hockey. My starting goalies, Steve Mason and Ben Scrivens, both won Thursday, giving up only one goal in 60 minutes, and had a combined .973 save percentage. That improved my stats in all three categories, but not enough to gain any points.
Important key: Don't make the same mistake I did of leaving a problem area unresolved too late into the season. You've heard of small sample sizes. Well, the large sample size of nearly three-quarters of the season means that one or two days of performances won't make a major difference in the standings.
I still hold out hope of being able to overtake the second-place team in my league, but I know it won't be easy.
Hey! There were games Friday night too. Let's see how the Puckin Penguins did. The only active players, Joe Pavelski and Matt Niskanen (one of my best draft picks or early season pickups, I don't remember which), were plus-1 each. That restored some order, but it appears that the team still is eight points behind the second-place team.
Some fairly small moves could make a larger difference for their teams this year and into the near future.
The Orioles and C Matt Wieters reached agreement on a $7.7-million contract for this season, thus avoiding arbitration. The greater significance is that he can have a better feeling about the team, which could lead to a longer-term contract down the road.
The Athletics signed CF Coco Crisp to a two-year contract extension through 2016 with a vesting option for 2017. He's a keystone in center field and at the top of the lineup -- when he isn't injured. That's why the team took the precaution of a vesting option instead of a guaranteed third year. If it vests, no one would be happier than Oakland's management.
The White Sox agreed to a 1-year, $1.1-million contract with RHP Mitchell Boggs. He was briefly a closer for the Cardinals, and could take over that role with Chicago. Currently penciled in for the job is RHP Nate Jones, but RHP Matt Lindstrom and LHP Scott Downs also have experience locking up games.
Now, on to Arroyo.
Arizona reportedly signed him to a 2-year, $23.5-million contract with an option for 2016 that could bring the total value to $29 million. Could the D-backs be overpaying? Well, he'll be 37 years old this season -- and he's Bronson Arroyo, not Tim Hudson.
Also, though I haven't seen an official acknowledgment from the Mariners, they reportedly signed RHP Fernando Rodney for two years and $14 million. That signing would impact every team that unsuccessfully sought Rodney. For example, I read a report that said the Orioles now would go with RHP Tommy Hunter as their closer.
Speaking of closers or ex-closers, the Brewers are bringing back RHP Francisco Rodriguez on a 1-year contract believed to be for $3.25 million with another $550,000 in incentives. Which reminds me. In a few days, I hope to post another residual fantasybaseballscout.com article about closers for 2014. To make room for K-Rod on the 40-man roster, Milwaukee designated RHP Donovan Hand for assignment.
I have been working on this post off and on for most of the day. It has been interrupted by visitors to the house, taking a battery for one of our cars to be recharged and going to the Jazz-Mavericks game. Some of this I wrote at the American Airlines Center before the game.
As I was about to go courtside, I saw this -- well, probably not bombshell, because in the end he really didn't have a choice, but revelatory item that caught most of us by surprise.
3B Alex Rodriguez has dropped his suit against Major League Baseball, the players association, the commissioner and probably even the batboys. He won't follow through on his threat to show up for spring training. And he won't play this season.
So now I'm writing about that back home.
I wrote the headline for this post several hours ago here. I suspect by the time I get up Saturday morning, we'll already know whether there will be a decisive Game 3 in the Australian Baseball League Championship Series or whether the Perth Heat swept the Canberra Cavalry in two games.
That's because Saturday's Game 2 at 7 p.m. Australia Western Time would begin at 6 a.m. EST.
The Heat overcame a 3-0 deficit in what must have been one of the classic games ever Down Under. Perth then prevailed 4-3 in 14 innings. Joey Wong's double drove in the winning run in the bottom of the 14th. He batted .240 with two homers and 19 RBI at Double-A Tulsa last (Northern Hemisphere) summer, so he's a marginal prospect for the Rockies. I saw him play, and he didn't make a big impression positively or negatively.
If the Heat win, it would be the third championship in the last four years.
By the way, you can watch the ABL Championship Series on ESPN -- if you live in Australia or New Zealand.
* * *
Basketball. Similarly, I started out by seeing that on Thursday my three active players made only one 3-point field goal, so I was still behind by one in that category against an opponent who had no one active. My lead was 7-1, and the second-place team was ahead 8-0, so I stood to lose some of my lead.
Now, literally at the end of the day -- no, early Saturday morning (late afternoon in Perth), I'm looking better. Two of my players -- Jose Calderon, whom I saw in person, and Carmelo Anthony -- threw in four 3s each, helping me to take the lead in that category. Three of my players scored 30-plus points, two had double doubles and my best draft pick, Serge Ibaka, blocked five shots while he wasn't putting in 26 points at the other end. My lead is now 8-0, and the second-place team dropped to 6-2, so I could actually extend my lead. Two days left this week, so I don't want to look ahead too much.
* * *
Hockey. My starting goalies, Steve Mason and Ben Scrivens, both won Thursday, giving up only one goal in 60 minutes, and had a combined .973 save percentage. That improved my stats in all three categories, but not enough to gain any points.
Important key: Don't make the same mistake I did of leaving a problem area unresolved too late into the season. You've heard of small sample sizes. Well, the large sample size of nearly three-quarters of the season means that one or two days of performances won't make a major difference in the standings.
I still hold out hope of being able to overtake the second-place team in my league, but I know it won't be easy.
Hey! There were games Friday night too. Let's see how the Puckin Penguins did. The only active players, Joe Pavelski and Matt Niskanen (one of my best draft picks or early season pickups, I don't remember which), were plus-1 each. That restored some order, but it appears that the team still is eight points behind the second-place team.
Thursday, February 6, 2014
Little things could mean a lot in final standings
I have some extra baseball information ready for later today, to commemorate the Diamondbacks pitchers and catchers' reporting today. I'll post that after this usual report.
Today's report is dedicated to the memory of Ralph Kiner. RIP to the Pirates' second-leading career home run hitter.
The Marlins have agreed to terms with RHP Carlos Marmol, but aren't expected to announce that move until they squeeze him into the 40-man roster and move someone else off. More about Marmol in one of what now appear to be two extra posts today.
Signed to minor league contracts:
C Koyie Hill by the Nationals
Infielder Justin Turner by the Dodgers
1B/OF Bryan LaHair by the Indians
The Rangers have picked up some extra revenue by renaming the stadium Globe Life Park in Arlington. Don't expect me to tell someone I'm going to Globe Life Park. I'll also refer to it by that name in writing about as often as I refer to Arlington's football stadium as AT&T Stadium.
* * *
Basketball. After Wednesday's games, Team Fresh Prints' lead increased to 7-1. I trail only in 3-point field goals, 19-17. Six of the guys in my lineup combined for nine 3s. New addition Jose Calderon made only one. Somehow I went ahead in field goal percentage even though Calderon and fellow new Fresh Print Boris Diaw were 4 for 14 combined. They were also the only two players in the full 10-man lineup who didn't score in double figures. Marco Belinelli, on my bench, scored 14 points in his real game for the Spurs despite not hitting any 3s. He'll be one of three players active Thursday; my opponent had no one playing tonight when I last looked at his lineup.
Important key: Find some time or typical times during each day when you can update and upgrade your lineup for daily league.
For me, that time is late the previous night or early in the morning. My sleep is on an irregular schedule, so sometimes late night and early morning are the same thing. I didn't sleep much Tuesday night, so I went to bed at 8 p.m. Wednesday and got up at 1:30 a.m. to start Thursday.
* * *
Hockey. Watching the schedule and switching Joe Pavelski for Corey Perry was somewhat successful. Pavelski played 22 minutes, with only one shot on goal, and was at 0 in plus/minus. Perry was minus-1, but he did take six shots.
Dustin Penner, Perry's teammate in Anaheim and with the Texas Puckin Penguins. was minus-2. Penner was on my bench. So observing that the Ducks were playing the Blackhawks, while Pavelski's Sharks were going against Dallas, was helpful.
Matt Niskanen was plus-1, with a power-play assist, increasing his season lead for my team to plus-27. He's also averaging better than 20 minutes per game.
Two important keys here: 1. I should have begun monitoring games played earlier in the season. Instead of just throwing every available player on fantasy ice, I should have avoided unfavorable matchups and sat players such as Penner against Chicago. 2. Don't always listen to the "experts." Teams will always find a place for those who are playing well. After I picked up Niskanen, every time a Penguins defenseman was returning from injury, I'd read how much playing time Niskanen would be losing and how I should replace him. I figured I'd wait to see if he actually was playing less. As it turned out, it was never enough time that I should give up his strong performance in other statistical categories.
As it happens, the only owner with more games already played than I have is the owner of the second-place team just ahead of me. His skaters have 30 more games, and his goalies 22.
While my team remained at 67 points, each of the top two teams lost half a point to teams in the lower half of the standings. I trail the second-place team by nine assists and nine power-play points, and it's conceivable that I could catch him by season's end by taking advantage of my extra games (really his fewer games) and judicious selection of players for each day's lineup.
From the Thursday lineup I laid out Monday, I made two changes. I replaced forward Paul Stastny with Clarke MacArthur, in part because MacArthur has been filling up more categories recently and also because Stastny will be playing against my only starting goalie, Steve Mason. I don't want anyone, even Stastny, to score against Mason. Well, OK, if another Avalanche player, Nathan MacKinnon, scores Colorado's only goal, that would work. The other change was Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson for teammate Jan Hejda. Johnson has more shots, penalty minutes and ATOI than Hejda.Who knows? An assist, a penalty, or a few extra seconds could make a difference in the final standings.
Today's report is dedicated to the memory of Ralph Kiner. RIP to the Pirates' second-leading career home run hitter.
The Marlins have agreed to terms with RHP Carlos Marmol, but aren't expected to announce that move until they squeeze him into the 40-man roster and move someone else off. More about Marmol in one of what now appear to be two extra posts today.
Signed to minor league contracts:
C Koyie Hill by the Nationals
Infielder Justin Turner by the Dodgers
1B/OF Bryan LaHair by the Indians
The Rangers have picked up some extra revenue by renaming the stadium Globe Life Park in Arlington. Don't expect me to tell someone I'm going to Globe Life Park. I'll also refer to it by that name in writing about as often as I refer to Arlington's football stadium as AT&T Stadium.
* * *
Basketball. After Wednesday's games, Team Fresh Prints' lead increased to 7-1. I trail only in 3-point field goals, 19-17. Six of the guys in my lineup combined for nine 3s. New addition Jose Calderon made only one. Somehow I went ahead in field goal percentage even though Calderon and fellow new Fresh Print Boris Diaw were 4 for 14 combined. They were also the only two players in the full 10-man lineup who didn't score in double figures. Marco Belinelli, on my bench, scored 14 points in his real game for the Spurs despite not hitting any 3s. He'll be one of three players active Thursday; my opponent had no one playing tonight when I last looked at his lineup.
Important key: Find some time or typical times during each day when you can update and upgrade your lineup for daily league.
For me, that time is late the previous night or early in the morning. My sleep is on an irregular schedule, so sometimes late night and early morning are the same thing. I didn't sleep much Tuesday night, so I went to bed at 8 p.m. Wednesday and got up at 1:30 a.m. to start Thursday.
* * *
Hockey. Watching the schedule and switching Joe Pavelski for Corey Perry was somewhat successful. Pavelski played 22 minutes, with only one shot on goal, and was at 0 in plus/minus. Perry was minus-1, but he did take six shots.
Dustin Penner, Perry's teammate in Anaheim and with the Texas Puckin Penguins. was minus-2. Penner was on my bench. So observing that the Ducks were playing the Blackhawks, while Pavelski's Sharks were going against Dallas, was helpful.
Matt Niskanen was plus-1, with a power-play assist, increasing his season lead for my team to plus-27. He's also averaging better than 20 minutes per game.
Two important keys here: 1. I should have begun monitoring games played earlier in the season. Instead of just throwing every available player on fantasy ice, I should have avoided unfavorable matchups and sat players such as Penner against Chicago. 2. Don't always listen to the "experts." Teams will always find a place for those who are playing well. After I picked up Niskanen, every time a Penguins defenseman was returning from injury, I'd read how much playing time Niskanen would be losing and how I should replace him. I figured I'd wait to see if he actually was playing less. As it turned out, it was never enough time that I should give up his strong performance in other statistical categories.
As it happens, the only owner with more games already played than I have is the owner of the second-place team just ahead of me. His skaters have 30 more games, and his goalies 22.
While my team remained at 67 points, each of the top two teams lost half a point to teams in the lower half of the standings. I trail the second-place team by nine assists and nine power-play points, and it's conceivable that I could catch him by season's end by taking advantage of my extra games (really his fewer games) and judicious selection of players for each day's lineup.
From the Thursday lineup I laid out Monday, I made two changes. I replaced forward Paul Stastny with Clarke MacArthur, in part because MacArthur has been filling up more categories recently and also because Stastny will be playing against my only starting goalie, Steve Mason. I don't want anyone, even Stastny, to score against Mason. Well, OK, if another Avalanche player, Nathan MacKinnon, scores Colorado's only goal, that would work. The other change was Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson for teammate Jan Hejda. Johnson has more shots, penalty minutes and ATOI than Hejda.Who knows? An assist, a penalty, or a few extra seconds could make a difference in the final standings.
Monday, January 27, 2014
Garza contract could set a bar too high
The baseline has been set for contracts for the remaining veteran free-agent pitchers. If I were a general manager, that baseline would frighten me.
$50 million for four seasons for RHP Matt Garza? What did he do last season to earn that kind of money? He also has $4 million in incentives, and a $15 option for 2018 that would be vested by a number of innings pitched.
Prediction (and please come back in four years to taunt me or tell me I was right): Garza not only would be with a new team by 2017, but also would not see that option vested.
The other weekend news concerned veterans who might retire. The Dodgers reported have made an offer to 3B+ Michael Young, who is contemplating retirement. And the Pirates are waiting to hear whether RHP A.J. Burnett would retire.
Another prediction: Garza's contract could tell Burnett that he can make a lot of money in 2014. He'll sign a contract with provisions for his family to travel with him at times. That family time seems to be a sticking point.
* * *
Hockey. I had just three players active Sunday, but still gained a point to 67, moving me within eight points of second place. The half-point I gained was in goalie wins, with Tim Thomas pulling it out in overtime even though he didn't play very well and allowed four goals. The other two goalie categories took additional hits from his performance.
I made some moves to try to improve, picking up essentially backup goalies from good teams. Their decimal categories of goals against average and save percentage should be helped by the defense in front of them. And their teams should score enough goals when they play to give them wins. So Jonas Gustavsson and Frederik Andersen are in, and Antti Raanta (who hardly ever plays) and Steve Mason are out. Mason hasn't seemed to recover from that rapid-fire three-goal barrage I saw in Dallas a month or so ago.
I also picked up Vancouver D Kevin Bieksa to replace the minus-14 Keith Yandle. In addition to being plus-4, Bieksa could help in shots and penalty minutes, and marginally in power-play points and ATOI.
Important key: In addition, I finally addressed my league's games limits. With roughly nine weeks remaining (a couple slightly truncated by the Olympics break), I can fall within the limits with games from 26 forwards, 14 defenseman, two either/or utility skaters and eight goalies. So I scheduled a plan for this week that knocked off a total of seven games from what I would have used with no limit. The tricky part is the days when almost every team plays. There are just four spots for skaters on the bench, so I have either to play more skaters than I want or to waive some to add players who aren't actually playing. Let's see how my method goes; I'll keep you posted.
With this plan, I wouldn't come up to the last week or two with no games remaining. But if I had implemented something like it at the beginning of the season, I could have gotten by with maybe one or two players per week sitting out.
* * *
Basketball. I might have outsmarted myself on this one. Playing my strongest (field-goal) shooting percentage lineup may have carried me to a narrow win in FG% by .0012, but could have cost me a point in free throw percentage.
I benched Victor Oladipo, who was 6 for 12 from the field and 6 for 6 at the foul line. The thinking was that bigger men closer to the basket would have higher percentages than outside shooters such as Oladipo.
The thinking was partially correct. Inconsistent G Joe Johnson was 2 for 7 from the field and missed 1 of 2 free throws. But Anderson Varejao was 1 for 9 from the field, and Jared Sullinger went 1 for 7. Carmelo Anthony's 35 points didn't help because he was 14 for 31 from the field. Can't really complain, though, because his 23 for 35 in Friday's 62-point effort was the biggest difference for me in FG%.
Even more damaging, big man Varejao also was 0 for 3 at the foul line. His knee could have been bothering him after he fell to the floor hard in a collision with Markieff Morris, but still ...
I can't find the team totals for the week, but substituting Oladipo's perfect free throw shooting for Varejao's perfectly awful night could have made up the difference in my .7664-.7582 loss. On Sunday, my team was 17 for 23 (just .7391) with Varejao, and would have been 23 for 26 (.8846). My opponent's players were on fire at 20 for 23 (.870).
The 7-1 week still increased my lead over two teams tied for second place to 8 1/2 games. I'm surprised, after it took so many weeks to make up the last few games to get into first place that I have built such a big lead in just two weeks. Can't let up, though.
Also made a player move at guard, with the Lakers' Jodie Meeks replacing Mo Williams.
$50 million for four seasons for RHP Matt Garza? What did he do last season to earn that kind of money? He also has $4 million in incentives, and a $15 option for 2018 that would be vested by a number of innings pitched.
Prediction (and please come back in four years to taunt me or tell me I was right): Garza not only would be with a new team by 2017, but also would not see that option vested.
The other weekend news concerned veterans who might retire. The Dodgers reported have made an offer to 3B+ Michael Young, who is contemplating retirement. And the Pirates are waiting to hear whether RHP A.J. Burnett would retire.
Another prediction: Garza's contract could tell Burnett that he can make a lot of money in 2014. He'll sign a contract with provisions for his family to travel with him at times. That family time seems to be a sticking point.
* * *
Hockey. I had just three players active Sunday, but still gained a point to 67, moving me within eight points of second place. The half-point I gained was in goalie wins, with Tim Thomas pulling it out in overtime even though he didn't play very well and allowed four goals. The other two goalie categories took additional hits from his performance.
I made some moves to try to improve, picking up essentially backup goalies from good teams. Their decimal categories of goals against average and save percentage should be helped by the defense in front of them. And their teams should score enough goals when they play to give them wins. So Jonas Gustavsson and Frederik Andersen are in, and Antti Raanta (who hardly ever plays) and Steve Mason are out. Mason hasn't seemed to recover from that rapid-fire three-goal barrage I saw in Dallas a month or so ago.
I also picked up Vancouver D Kevin Bieksa to replace the minus-14 Keith Yandle. In addition to being plus-4, Bieksa could help in shots and penalty minutes, and marginally in power-play points and ATOI.
Important key: In addition, I finally addressed my league's games limits. With roughly nine weeks remaining (a couple slightly truncated by the Olympics break), I can fall within the limits with games from 26 forwards, 14 defenseman, two either/or utility skaters and eight goalies. So I scheduled a plan for this week that knocked off a total of seven games from what I would have used with no limit. The tricky part is the days when almost every team plays. There are just four spots for skaters on the bench, so I have either to play more skaters than I want or to waive some to add players who aren't actually playing. Let's see how my method goes; I'll keep you posted.
With this plan, I wouldn't come up to the last week or two with no games remaining. But if I had implemented something like it at the beginning of the season, I could have gotten by with maybe one or two players per week sitting out.
* * *
Basketball. I might have outsmarted myself on this one. Playing my strongest (field-goal) shooting percentage lineup may have carried me to a narrow win in FG% by .0012, but could have cost me a point in free throw percentage.
I benched Victor Oladipo, who was 6 for 12 from the field and 6 for 6 at the foul line. The thinking was that bigger men closer to the basket would have higher percentages than outside shooters such as Oladipo.
The thinking was partially correct. Inconsistent G Joe Johnson was 2 for 7 from the field and missed 1 of 2 free throws. But Anderson Varejao was 1 for 9 from the field, and Jared Sullinger went 1 for 7. Carmelo Anthony's 35 points didn't help because he was 14 for 31 from the field. Can't really complain, though, because his 23 for 35 in Friday's 62-point effort was the biggest difference for me in FG%.
Even more damaging, big man Varejao also was 0 for 3 at the foul line. His knee could have been bothering him after he fell to the floor hard in a collision with Markieff Morris, but still ...
I can't find the team totals for the week, but substituting Oladipo's perfect free throw shooting for Varejao's perfectly awful night could have made up the difference in my .7664-.7582 loss. On Sunday, my team was 17 for 23 (just .7391) with Varejao, and would have been 23 for 26 (.8846). My opponent's players were on fire at 20 for 23 (.870).
The 7-1 week still increased my lead over two teams tied for second place to 8 1/2 games. I'm surprised, after it took so many weeks to make up the last few games to get into first place that I have built such a big lead in just two weeks. Can't let up, though.
Also made a player move at guard, with the Lakers' Jodie Meeks replacing Mo Williams.
Monday, December 23, 2013
Balfour still in demand
Now that the Shin-soo Choo thoughts are off my chest, I'll catch up some on other baseball Hot Stove activity and update my running-in-place, if not futile, efforts in other fantasy sports.
RHP Grant Balfour's deal with the Orioles fell through because of something Baltimore didn't like about his physical exam, but other teams looking for a closer supposedly still are interested in him.
OF Carlos Beltran and the Yankees made his 3-year, $45-million contract official. No problems with his physical, but he did fade at the end of last season.That's not a good sign for a 36-year-old.
My recent posts have had a number of references to age. It's a huge factor in assessing player performance. I hope to write more about the topic, and hope to resurrect something I've done in the past, an age chart that will help you tell at a glance which players should be in optimum stages of their career, and which could be in danger zones.
RHP Brad Ziegler re-signed with the Diamondbacks with a contract that guarantees 2 years and $10.5 million.
The Twins signed C Kurt Suzuki for a year at $2.75 million. That makes it easier for them to use C Joe Mauer at first base and DH.
The Athletics avoided arbitration with 1B Daric Barton by signing him to a 1-year contract.
LHP Mark Mulder, whom you've probably seen wearing a business suit on ESPN, is attempting a comeback. He hasn't pitched in the majors since 2008. Comebacks after such a long absence rarely, if ever, work out.
Aside from Balfour, the most significant current story is Japanese RHP Masahiro Tanaka. According to Baseball America, his team, the Rakuten Golden Eagles, is expected to decide by Christmas Day whether to post him and enable him to sign with a North American team. Tanaka was 24-0 (not a typo) with a 1.37 ERA in 27 starts this year. If he is posted, that will mean a lot of baseball writers sitting by the tree tweeting from their cell phones.
The Golden Eagles, by the way, also signed 1B/3B Kevin Youkilis to a 1-year contract.
Former Giants OF/1B Brett Pill has signed a 1-year contract to play in Korea next season.
* * *
Football.
In case you haven't been keeping up with your playoff scenarios ... An NFC team with at least 10 wins will not make the playoffs. It's possible that an 11-win team won't get in. At least every division winner will have a winning record. Every AFC division champ will have at least 10 wins, but it's conceivable that an 8-8 team would get the second wild card.
Important key: These are the teams with something to play for, either a playoff berth or better postseason seeding: Eagles, Cowboys, Bears, Packers, Panthers, Saints, Seahawks, 49ers, Cardinals, Dolphins, Ravens, Chargers and I think Jets. This information is important to know for your fantasy lineup so that you can be aware of which players might be in action and not resting for the playoffs. The biggest problem is that you might not know for late games which teams have been eliminated or assured of playoff position.
Speaking of playoffs, it's official now that I'll be in the top division of the postseason playoffs for the AMFL, my scoring-only fantasy league. I'm still in third place, and possibly could move up to second by winning this week. A loss also could put me in fourth, but I have a two-game lead over the teams tied for fifth.
I'm ahead in the first week of my two-week consolation consolation playoff for seventh place in my scoring-plus-yardage ESPN league. I have a 65-47 lead with Frank Gore and the Niners' defense playing tonight. My opponent has K Phil Dawson going. In addition to being for seventh place in a 10-team league, this playoff is unsatisfying because my opponent's lineup includes two players who aren't even playing.
Another Important key: You can improve your position just by staying active longer than others who give up on your team. You also owe it to the other team owners to continue making an effort.
* * *
Hockey.Third place with 63 points, 8 1/2 out of second, 12 ahead of the fourth-place team. I have a full lineup going tonight. Even my bench players' teams are playing tonight. It appears that the NHL is taking Christmas Eve off. Henrik Zetterberg and Alexander Steen are injured. Dustin Penner, Brenden Dillon and Jean-Sebastien Giguere are my healthy scratches. The skaters are sitting primarily to keep my ATOI up. It's a very close competition for points in that category. My only defenseman with a negative plus/minus is Keith Yandle, but he also is averaging more than 23 minutes a game and had 13 power play points. Thomas Vanek is minus-2 but he's moving up. Somehow, I can't get my team plus/minus out of its rut. My goalies' season averages all are better than average, but they have been sliding lately. I'm hoping I can figure out an answer to this problem. Trade a defenseman for a goalie?
* * *
Basketball. Wrapped up a 5-3 victory last night. I was hoping for a good shooting night that could pick me up another win in field goal percentage, but that wasn't happening. I'm starting the new week with seven of my 10 lineup spots filled. I'm not going with Joe Johnson, who missed Friday's game because of a personal issue. If I have time -- there is Christmas shopping to do, you know -- I'll check before the Nets' game to see whether he's playing and if the personal matter has been resolved.
The good news is that I'm over .500 (32-31-1) after coming out of the draft, three weeks into the season, already 13 games under .500. I even moved up out of last place to fourth in the my division, but remained seventh overall in the 10-team league because a team from the other division passed me.
This week's opponent is the team directly ahead of me in my division. By winning 6-2, I could move into third place.
RHP Grant Balfour's deal with the Orioles fell through because of something Baltimore didn't like about his physical exam, but other teams looking for a closer supposedly still are interested in him.
OF Carlos Beltran and the Yankees made his 3-year, $45-million contract official. No problems with his physical, but he did fade at the end of last season.That's not a good sign for a 36-year-old.
My recent posts have had a number of references to age. It's a huge factor in assessing player performance. I hope to write more about the topic, and hope to resurrect something I've done in the past, an age chart that will help you tell at a glance which players should be in optimum stages of their career, and which could be in danger zones.
RHP Brad Ziegler re-signed with the Diamondbacks with a contract that guarantees 2 years and $10.5 million.
The Twins signed C Kurt Suzuki for a year at $2.75 million. That makes it easier for them to use C Joe Mauer at first base and DH.
The Athletics avoided arbitration with 1B Daric Barton by signing him to a 1-year contract.
LHP Mark Mulder, whom you've probably seen wearing a business suit on ESPN, is attempting a comeback. He hasn't pitched in the majors since 2008. Comebacks after such a long absence rarely, if ever, work out.
Aside from Balfour, the most significant current story is Japanese RHP Masahiro Tanaka. According to Baseball America, his team, the Rakuten Golden Eagles, is expected to decide by Christmas Day whether to post him and enable him to sign with a North American team. Tanaka was 24-0 (not a typo) with a 1.37 ERA in 27 starts this year. If he is posted, that will mean a lot of baseball writers sitting by the tree tweeting from their cell phones.
The Golden Eagles, by the way, also signed 1B/3B Kevin Youkilis to a 1-year contract.
Former Giants OF/1B Brett Pill has signed a 1-year contract to play in Korea next season.
* * *
Football.
In case you haven't been keeping up with your playoff scenarios ... An NFC team with at least 10 wins will not make the playoffs. It's possible that an 11-win team won't get in. At least every division winner will have a winning record. Every AFC division champ will have at least 10 wins, but it's conceivable that an 8-8 team would get the second wild card.
Important key: These are the teams with something to play for, either a playoff berth or better postseason seeding: Eagles, Cowboys, Bears, Packers, Panthers, Saints, Seahawks, 49ers, Cardinals, Dolphins, Ravens, Chargers and I think Jets. This information is important to know for your fantasy lineup so that you can be aware of which players might be in action and not resting for the playoffs. The biggest problem is that you might not know for late games which teams have been eliminated or assured of playoff position.
Speaking of playoffs, it's official now that I'll be in the top division of the postseason playoffs for the AMFL, my scoring-only fantasy league. I'm still in third place, and possibly could move up to second by winning this week. A loss also could put me in fourth, but I have a two-game lead over the teams tied for fifth.
I'm ahead in the first week of my two-week consolation consolation playoff for seventh place in my scoring-plus-yardage ESPN league. I have a 65-47 lead with Frank Gore and the Niners' defense playing tonight. My opponent has K Phil Dawson going. In addition to being for seventh place in a 10-team league, this playoff is unsatisfying because my opponent's lineup includes two players who aren't even playing.
Another Important key: You can improve your position just by staying active longer than others who give up on your team. You also owe it to the other team owners to continue making an effort.
* * *
Hockey.Third place with 63 points, 8 1/2 out of second, 12 ahead of the fourth-place team. I have a full lineup going tonight. Even my bench players' teams are playing tonight. It appears that the NHL is taking Christmas Eve off. Henrik Zetterberg and Alexander Steen are injured. Dustin Penner, Brenden Dillon and Jean-Sebastien Giguere are my healthy scratches. The skaters are sitting primarily to keep my ATOI up. It's a very close competition for points in that category. My only defenseman with a negative plus/minus is Keith Yandle, but he also is averaging more than 23 minutes a game and had 13 power play points. Thomas Vanek is minus-2 but he's moving up. Somehow, I can't get my team plus/minus out of its rut. My goalies' season averages all are better than average, but they have been sliding lately. I'm hoping I can figure out an answer to this problem. Trade a defenseman for a goalie?
* * *
Basketball. Wrapped up a 5-3 victory last night. I was hoping for a good shooting night that could pick me up another win in field goal percentage, but that wasn't happening. I'm starting the new week with seven of my 10 lineup spots filled. I'm not going with Joe Johnson, who missed Friday's game because of a personal issue. If I have time -- there is Christmas shopping to do, you know -- I'll check before the Nets' game to see whether he's playing and if the personal matter has been resolved.
The good news is that I'm over .500 (32-31-1) after coming out of the draft, three weeks into the season, already 13 games under .500. I even moved up out of last place to fourth in the my division, but remained seventh overall in the 10-team league because a team from the other division passed me.
This week's opponent is the team directly ahead of me in my division. By winning 6-2, I could move into third place.
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Will McCann turn out better than Martin for Yankees?
The big baseball news is the same item, but in two or three different ways. 1) The Yankees signed C Brian McCann to a 5-year, $85-million contract. 2) The news was not broken by one of the horde of writers on the Yankees beat, but by the Dallas Morning News' estimable Evan Grant. No doubt his source was close to the Rangers, who lost out in the bidding. We could have seen that coming, because talk in Texas was about McCann as a DH/backup to C Geovany Soto. 3) The last time the Yankees signed a free-agent catcher, Russell Martin, that didn't work out well for New York. But when Martin then signed with Pittsburgh, he received a lot of credit for his work with a young pitching staff and helping the team to its first playoff berth -- first winning season, even -- in 21 years. That leads to the question of whether Yankees manager Joe Girardi, a former catcher valued for his defense, isn't a good judge of his younger counterparts, or is too demanding of them -- as Angels manager Mike Scioscia might have been with Mike Napoli -- or perhaps there was conflict between Girardi and Martin. (Just googled Girardi Martin; it the only apparent possibility above was the "too demanding" part, but more likely misplaced relative frugality played a bigger role. Still, it's difficult to believe New York couldn't afford $15 million over 2 years for Martin.) Anyway, the Yankees never seem to have a shortage of DHs (unless their third baseman isn't let off the hook), so we can expect McCann to catch a lot.
Received a text from Michael -- a Cardinals fan, but a friend anyway -- about how St. Louis will be even stronger this year. Before he told me about the reported imminent signing of SS Jhonny Peralta, I replied that their infield could be a concern. I was thinking in terms of losing David Freese's bat, and shifting Matt Carpenter's shaky defense to third base. Peralta is by no means a defensive upgrade It's a good thing the Cards won't have a lot of lefties giving up ground-ball singles through the left side of that infield. Peralta does make their lineup even more formidable. But for an example of how important defense is in the postseason, we can look past the Cardinals to the Tigers' recent history.
Another reported signing would have the Angels continuing to retool their bullpen by signing RHP Joe Smith. He's a useful piece and an improvement. But 3 years and $15 million for just another guy named Joe Smith?
The Rangers quietly resigned RHP Colby Lewis to a minor league contract. He hasn't pitched in a year and a half because of a succession of injuries. I saw some of his rehab starts last year and can't report a lot more than he looked quite a bit better than RHP Brandon Webb in his tragically ill-fated comeback attempt. Lewis was a valuable part of the team's rise to contender status, and an easy guy to root for. However, after coming into the off-season talking about LHP David Price, Texas will need more than a successful return by Lewis in the middle or bottom of its rotation.
* * *
Basketball -- My full-court press with 9 of the 10 positions in my lineup filled Saturday worked well. They combined for enough assists, led by Ricky Rubio's 8, to move me from 6 behind to 6 ahead. That meant that I'm now ahead in all eight categories. Just two players from my Saturday lineup are playing again today, but I've moved up all three players from my bench.
Tuned in the Mavericks-Nuggets game on my TV in time to see Dallas complete a comeback from being 12 down at the end of three quarters, then lose that lead and end up with a 102-100 loss as Dirk Nowitzki's 20-footer at the buzzer went off the iron. Samuel Dalembert, one of my fantasy centers, didn't miss a shot from the field in his two weekend games. Unfortunately, he had no official attempts Saturday.
* * *
Hockey Night in My House was a good one. All but one of my 15 spots for skaters was filled, and they reversed the current trend by finishing the night plus-4. They also averaged enough minutes to pull me past the former third-place team in ATOI. Even better, both of the goalies in my lineup won their games, allowing me to pick up another half-point on the team I was pursuing. Even better, James Reimer and Steve Mason gave up a total of three goals. Their efforts added a point in wins, another for GAA and 2 for save percentage. In total, I gained 6 1/2 points and had an 8-point swing to move into third place with a 7 1/2-point cushion. Another night like that could put me close to second place. That's more than I can hope for, but steady progress over the next couple of weeks could get me there. It's still close in a number of categories; I could easily drop back a point or two in some of those.
On Sunday, none of my goalies will be playing. Just five of the skaters on my roster will be in action. I have all of them in my lineup. Even though three of them are from Ottawa and have hefty minus ratings this season, they're going against the struggling Hurricanes. But if some of them come up negative again, I'll be searching the waiver wire. You're on notice, Jason Spezza, Clarke MacArthur and Milan Michalek.
I did make one move this morning. With Francois Beauchemin on IR, I claimed free-agent D Jan Hejda. He's able to help primarily in ATOI (he averages more minutes than Beauchemin) and plus/minus (at plus-14 he would replace Beauchemin as my highest-rated player).
Important key in any daily fantasy league: Keep up with it.
* * *
Football. I resist the urge to look at my lineup multiple times during the week. At most, I'll do that three times: 1) Monday night/Tuesday morning, when all the games are finished and waiver claims might be needed. 2) Thursday morning, to make sure I'm set with anyone who would be playing that night and pretty much to get my lineup in order (make waiver claims, make sure I'm covered for anyone on a bye week). 3) As late as possible Sunday morning, so I can have the latest updates on who's not playing or hurting. It makes no sense for me to look -- say, now at 7:20 a.m. -- when I might have to change things again in a few hours. Besides, I'm not always awake at this time.
Another important key: I have struggled during bye weeks over the last few years. I'm resolving to avoid any player during the week when six teams are on a bye. I'd make an exception for someone like Peyton Manning or Calvin Johnson, but if you have to replace three or four players from your bench or among available free agents, you're almost certain to be in trouble.
Received a text from Michael -- a Cardinals fan, but a friend anyway -- about how St. Louis will be even stronger this year. Before he told me about the reported imminent signing of SS Jhonny Peralta, I replied that their infield could be a concern. I was thinking in terms of losing David Freese's bat, and shifting Matt Carpenter's shaky defense to third base. Peralta is by no means a defensive upgrade It's a good thing the Cards won't have a lot of lefties giving up ground-ball singles through the left side of that infield. Peralta does make their lineup even more formidable. But for an example of how important defense is in the postseason, we can look past the Cardinals to the Tigers' recent history.
Another reported signing would have the Angels continuing to retool their bullpen by signing RHP Joe Smith. He's a useful piece and an improvement. But 3 years and $15 million for just another guy named Joe Smith?
The Rangers quietly resigned RHP Colby Lewis to a minor league contract. He hasn't pitched in a year and a half because of a succession of injuries. I saw some of his rehab starts last year and can't report a lot more than he looked quite a bit better than RHP Brandon Webb in his tragically ill-fated comeback attempt. Lewis was a valuable part of the team's rise to contender status, and an easy guy to root for. However, after coming into the off-season talking about LHP David Price, Texas will need more than a successful return by Lewis in the middle or bottom of its rotation.
* * *
Basketball -- My full-court press with 9 of the 10 positions in my lineup filled Saturday worked well. They combined for enough assists, led by Ricky Rubio's 8, to move me from 6 behind to 6 ahead. That meant that I'm now ahead in all eight categories. Just two players from my Saturday lineup are playing again today, but I've moved up all three players from my bench.
Tuned in the Mavericks-Nuggets game on my TV in time to see Dallas complete a comeback from being 12 down at the end of three quarters, then lose that lead and end up with a 102-100 loss as Dirk Nowitzki's 20-footer at the buzzer went off the iron. Samuel Dalembert, one of my fantasy centers, didn't miss a shot from the field in his two weekend games. Unfortunately, he had no official attempts Saturday.
* * *
Hockey Night in My House was a good one. All but one of my 15 spots for skaters was filled, and they reversed the current trend by finishing the night plus-4. They also averaged enough minutes to pull me past the former third-place team in ATOI. Even better, both of the goalies in my lineup won their games, allowing me to pick up another half-point on the team I was pursuing. Even better, James Reimer and Steve Mason gave up a total of three goals. Their efforts added a point in wins, another for GAA and 2 for save percentage. In total, I gained 6 1/2 points and had an 8-point swing to move into third place with a 7 1/2-point cushion. Another night like that could put me close to second place. That's more than I can hope for, but steady progress over the next couple of weeks could get me there. It's still close in a number of categories; I could easily drop back a point or two in some of those.
On Sunday, none of my goalies will be playing. Just five of the skaters on my roster will be in action. I have all of them in my lineup. Even though three of them are from Ottawa and have hefty minus ratings this season, they're going against the struggling Hurricanes. But if some of them come up negative again, I'll be searching the waiver wire. You're on notice, Jason Spezza, Clarke MacArthur and Milan Michalek.
I did make one move this morning. With Francois Beauchemin on IR, I claimed free-agent D Jan Hejda. He's able to help primarily in ATOI (he averages more minutes than Beauchemin) and plus/minus (at plus-14 he would replace Beauchemin as my highest-rated player).
Important key in any daily fantasy league: Keep up with it.
* * *
Football. I resist the urge to look at my lineup multiple times during the week. At most, I'll do that three times: 1) Monday night/Tuesday morning, when all the games are finished and waiver claims might be needed. 2) Thursday morning, to make sure I'm set with anyone who would be playing that night and pretty much to get my lineup in order (make waiver claims, make sure I'm covered for anyone on a bye week). 3) As late as possible Sunday morning, so I can have the latest updates on who's not playing or hurting. It makes no sense for me to look -- say, now at 7:20 a.m. -- when I might have to change things again in a few hours. Besides, I'm not always awake at this time.
Another important key: I have struggled during bye weeks over the last few years. I'm resolving to avoid any player during the week when six teams are on a bye. I'd make an exception for someone like Peyton Manning or Calvin Johnson, but if you have to replace three or four players from your bench or among available free agents, you're almost certain to be in trouble.
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