Unlike last season when Eli had locked up the league by the second week in April, the 2006 campaign has seen a greater competitive spirit. While the Gun's baseball brilliance has him in first, there have been several swaps made in an attempt to catch him and to thwart off competitiors. Since June 13, 15 trades have occurred and I'm here to shed some light on what the hell is going on.
Jacque Itch
In:
-Grady Sizemore
-Pedro Martinez
-Todd Coffey
-Kevin Youkilis
-Brad Penny
Out:
-Carlos Lee
-Brandon Webb
-Tom Gordon
-Melvin Mora
-Felix Hernandez
The Gun has never shyed away from the big blockbuster deals, and the names coming and going here are no exception. The team needs starting pitching and most importantly wins. With a "1" in the wins column, deals to bring in Pedro and Penny were needed, and the Pedro deal served a double need in keeping a coveted player out of second place ELENI KAMETAS!'s grasp. However, Pedro has been on the DL and Webb certainly would be beneficial at this point in the season. Hernandez has disappointed after a stellar end to '05 that warranted keepership over Jason Bay. Melvin Mora has somehow ended up on Wolf's squad and Brandon Webb on Radcliffe's after other manuevers. Todd Coffey took his turn has Reds closer for a day and now seems to be relegated back to set-up man. Youkilis is the Greek God of Walks, and Sizemore plays for the "who needs pitching and defense" Indians, further helping Eli's offensive numbers. Carlos Lee's numbers tumbled in the second half last year, and as the subject of trade rumors this year, perhaps he's better off separated from Jacque Itch's roster.
ELENI KAMETAS! (and yes it always needs to be in all caps and with the exclamation point)
In:
-Dave Roberts
-Bronson Arroyo
-Joe Borowski
-Johnny Damon
-Akinori Otsuka
-Joe Crede
-Melvin Mora
Out:
-Jason Isringhausen
-6th rounder in 2007
-7th rounder in 2007
-Jorge Cantu
5 points back at time of writing, ELENI KAMETAS! has gambled with it's future in an attempt to catch The Gun. Losing relatively little in the short term, to gain in the standings is a strategy thus far unemployed by VUFSA members who have rarely gambled so strongly in draft picks for the sake of the now. Desparately seeking third base help since the trade of David Wright earlier in the year, Wolf has dumped Cantu and turned to Joe Crede and former Jacque Itch player Melvin Mora to stop the bleeding. Arroyo helps the ERA and WHIP which are middle of the road, and Otsuka and Borowski bring home the saves. Roberts knocks out the stolen bases, and Damon the runs rounding out the outfield.
Sultan of Suds
In:
-Barry Zito
-Dan Haren
-Brandon Webb
-Ervin Santana
-Nick Swisher
Out:
-Juan Pierre
-John Smoltz
-Andruw Jones
-4th rounder in 2007
-Roy Oswalt
-Noah Lowry
4 new starting pitchers highlight The Sultan of Suds' moves gaining 40% of the Athletics starting rotation, and then later their starting outfielder. Webb and Santana will look to add wins for JR whose team has fallen to a 3.5 and additionally needing help in K's (4). The cost was not cheap as two veteran starters left the team in the form of Oswalt and Smoltz. Andruw Jones is the name that really jumps out as the offense coming from Swisher will only partly make up for Braves' outfielder's departure. The concern from the Suds' camp, however, has to be this most recent development in the standings. The team fell to fourth place overnight, a move in the wrong direction when the club was in second as recently as a week ago. 14 points back of first, the team is actually closer to 7th place than 1st.
But as my VRC colleague so aptly put it's "deadline wheeling and dealing, bitches!"
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Saturday, July 22, 2006
Tired of waiting
I'm trying to do draft preparation and it's difficult to get too deep into it without knowing who some keepers are. So, I thought I'd post a thread where we could list our anticipated keepers and continue the preseason football discussion. Mind you, this will not be your official list of keepers where Ed writes them in stone and them tatoos them on his ass or something; it's purely for prep and chatter.
Prep and chatter? Huh?
Prep and chatter? Huh?
Monday, July 17, 2006
Due that to me one more time
We project to have $250 in revenue flooding in this season. How do we allocate this money? Discuss.
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
From the VUFSA Czar
Changes afoot? Discuss. To review:
Without question, basketball will no longer have weekly lineups. However, I am reminded why the original change was made- and that was to prevent teams from overloading on games, but would reward balanced rosters and strategy more. I looked, and it is not possible to limit games per position (a la baseball) in a head-to-head league. It is possible in a roto league. Questions:
-Would anyone prefer an 10x8 roto league?-If staying h2h, should we remove or add a stat category to stop the 4-4s?
If you have any strong feelings about the rules for basketball next season, email me. Otherwise you're stuck with whatever Eli and I discuss online (because the VUFSA is literally all we talk about ever since the Cubs got contracted).
While we're at it, I had a question about future baseball leagues. Would there be support for lowering the innings pitched limit from 1500 to something like 1200-1300? It would limit your rosters, but improve depth. Just something else that my mind wanders to while at work. Any feelings welcome as well. But again, if you don't talk, you can't complain.
Please use this thread to relay your thoughts, or to provide good dates/bad dates for the football draft. You are all my bitches.
Without question, basketball will no longer have weekly lineups. However, I am reminded why the original change was made- and that was to prevent teams from overloading on games, but would reward balanced rosters and strategy more. I looked, and it is not possible to limit games per position (a la baseball) in a head-to-head league. It is possible in a roto league. Questions:
-Would anyone prefer an 10x8 roto league?-If staying h2h, should we remove or add a stat category to stop the 4-4s?
If you have any strong feelings about the rules for basketball next season, email me. Otherwise you're stuck with whatever Eli and I discuss online (because the VUFSA is literally all we talk about ever since the Cubs got contracted).
While we're at it, I had a question about future baseball leagues. Would there be support for lowering the innings pitched limit from 1500 to something like 1200-1300? It would limit your rosters, but improve depth. Just something else that my mind wanders to while at work. Any feelings welcome as well. But again, if you don't talk, you can't complain.
Please use this thread to relay your thoughts, or to provide good dates/bad dates for the football draft. You are all my bitches.
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Pick Up Men
Well, while I'm at it, how about the top waiver wire/free agent pick ups of the season thus far?
15. Jose Contreras (Andy Viano), April 12. Numbers that are very high quality, though if he starts the All-Star game over Johan Santana, I will personally call Ozzie Guillen out on Flotsam. I'm sure this will bring about his immediate demise.
14. Brad Hawpe (Andrew Stem), April 13. A consistent slugger who reaches at better than .400 and has a solid 15 homers and 48 RBIs, Hawpe was pawned off for saves by Stem when he acquired Chad Cordero from Tadano's Fluffer.
13. Joel Zumaya (Lincoln Souzek), June 2. More of a keeper-value-type choice here, with Todd Jones struggling (but still getting the saves) in Detroit and Zumaya throwing triple digits like it's easy. He could wind up as a keeper, even if he doesn't boast ultimate value this season.
12. Garrett Atkins (Brent Whitlock), April 8. Atkins has stepped up his game in Colorado, joining the 50-50 club in runs and RBIs at the midway point.
11. Josh Johnson (Lincoln Souzek), May 30. It isn't as sexy a pickup as most, and it came late in the year after the stats were apparent, but Johnson was fluttering under the radar until Lincoln grabbed ahold. Quietly, he's having a superb rookie season, with 7 wins and a 2.34 ERA.
10. Nomar Garciaparra (Dave Tomke), April 13. Reaching at a .429 clip and standing as the second-best hitter in the National League, Garciaparra will probably have 50 runs and 50 RBIs at the All-Star break, even if his 10 home runs is weak for a first baseman.
9. Brad Penny (Andy Viano), April 5. Nine wins and a 2.94 ERA are quite nice features for a player that figured to be a serious injury risk before the season. Kudos for Viano for taking the risk.
8. Bronson Arroyo (Lincoln Souzek), April 22. Enjoying a renaissance season in Cincinnati, the sparkly-haired one has nine wins and an ERA in the 2.60 territory, with a WHIP of 1.12. He was a key part of a deal that brought Jason Isringhausen over from ELENI KAMETAS.
7. Tom Glavine (Ed Schillinger), April 10. Eleven wins and a 3.34 ERA is quite a bit better than even the most optimistic of projections for the old fart. He was moved to Baron along with an entire village of pitchers for Jason Bay.
6. Carlos Guillen (JR Radcliffe), April 29. About the only good move I've made all year that wasn't a trade, Guillen is a player with very complete numbers, including 10 homers, 47 runs, 49 RBIs, 10 stolen bases and a .382 OBP.
5. Chris Young (Drew Wolf), June 3. The All-Star hopeful has three wins in the last month and 1.93 ERA, with better than a strikeout per inning and 0.96 WHIP. So far, so good.
4. Justin Verlander (Dave Tomke), April 2 and April 10. Tomke couldn't make up his mind about the young Detroit hurler, but 10 wins and an All-Star season later, there's no doubt that Bondo and the Asians will retain his services.
3. Aaron Harang (Eli Gieryna), March 30. A very good get for Eli, as Harang looked like little more than an above-average pitcher with good strikeout totals for a shit team before the season. Nine wins, 112 strikeouts and 3.65 ERA later, Harang looks like a bona fide steal.
2. Mike Mussina (Brent Whitlock), March 22. Champ made a deft move by acquiring the veteran, whose numbers have been flat out spectacular this season.
1. Jonathan Papelbon (Eli Gieryna), April 6. God I hate this stupid, overrated, one-year wonder, oogled-over piece of shit. But getting 25 saves, a 0.43 ERA and 0.70 WHIP for free doesn't really grow on trees.
15. Jose Contreras (Andy Viano), April 12. Numbers that are very high quality, though if he starts the All-Star game over Johan Santana, I will personally call Ozzie Guillen out on Flotsam. I'm sure this will bring about his immediate demise.
14. Brad Hawpe (Andrew Stem), April 13. A consistent slugger who reaches at better than .400 and has a solid 15 homers and 48 RBIs, Hawpe was pawned off for saves by Stem when he acquired Chad Cordero from Tadano's Fluffer.
13. Joel Zumaya (Lincoln Souzek), June 2. More of a keeper-value-type choice here, with Todd Jones struggling (but still getting the saves) in Detroit and Zumaya throwing triple digits like it's easy. He could wind up as a keeper, even if he doesn't boast ultimate value this season.
12. Garrett Atkins (Brent Whitlock), April 8. Atkins has stepped up his game in Colorado, joining the 50-50 club in runs and RBIs at the midway point.
11. Josh Johnson (Lincoln Souzek), May 30. It isn't as sexy a pickup as most, and it came late in the year after the stats were apparent, but Johnson was fluttering under the radar until Lincoln grabbed ahold. Quietly, he's having a superb rookie season, with 7 wins and a 2.34 ERA.
10. Nomar Garciaparra (Dave Tomke), April 13. Reaching at a .429 clip and standing as the second-best hitter in the National League, Garciaparra will probably have 50 runs and 50 RBIs at the All-Star break, even if his 10 home runs is weak for a first baseman.
9. Brad Penny (Andy Viano), April 5. Nine wins and a 2.94 ERA are quite nice features for a player that figured to be a serious injury risk before the season. Kudos for Viano for taking the risk.
8. Bronson Arroyo (Lincoln Souzek), April 22. Enjoying a renaissance season in Cincinnati, the sparkly-haired one has nine wins and an ERA in the 2.60 territory, with a WHIP of 1.12. He was a key part of a deal that brought Jason Isringhausen over from ELENI KAMETAS.
7. Tom Glavine (Ed Schillinger), April 10. Eleven wins and a 3.34 ERA is quite a bit better than even the most optimistic of projections for the old fart. He was moved to Baron along with an entire village of pitchers for Jason Bay.
6. Carlos Guillen (JR Radcliffe), April 29. About the only good move I've made all year that wasn't a trade, Guillen is a player with very complete numbers, including 10 homers, 47 runs, 49 RBIs, 10 stolen bases and a .382 OBP.
5. Chris Young (Drew Wolf), June 3. The All-Star hopeful has three wins in the last month and 1.93 ERA, with better than a strikeout per inning and 0.96 WHIP. So far, so good.
4. Justin Verlander (Dave Tomke), April 2 and April 10. Tomke couldn't make up his mind about the young Detroit hurler, but 10 wins and an All-Star season later, there's no doubt that Bondo and the Asians will retain his services.
3. Aaron Harang (Eli Gieryna), March 30. A very good get for Eli, as Harang looked like little more than an above-average pitcher with good strikeout totals for a shit team before the season. Nine wins, 112 strikeouts and 3.65 ERA later, Harang looks like a bona fide steal.
2. Mike Mussina (Brent Whitlock), March 22. Champ made a deft move by acquiring the veteran, whose numbers have been flat out spectacular this season.
1. Jonathan Papelbon (Eli Gieryna), April 6. God I hate this stupid, overrated, one-year wonder, oogled-over piece of shit. But getting 25 saves, a 0.43 ERA and 0.70 WHIP for free doesn't really grow on trees.
Steal City
While everyone gets ready for the Steel City Midsummer Classic, I figured it would be a good time to present the Steal City list and the First Half STEALS OF THE DRAFT, at least as I see it. Feel free to add any you think I missed.
Even in a keeper league such as this one, the first five rounds of the draft are loaded with talent, so I tried to look at some later round selections that have panned out nicely for the owners in question.
10. Scott Kazmir (Baron Brendel), Round 7. Brendel went with an unusual strategy by taking pitchers later than most, and though his staff lacks the decor that other teams may boast, he does have one bona fide keeper who just shut out the Red Sox on a glorious two-hitter, just hours after being named to his first All-Star Game. In 18 starts, Kazmir is a 10-game winner with a 3.29 ERA, 118 beautiful strikeouts and a 1.29 WHIP.
9. Nomar Garciaparra (Eli Gieryna), Round 15. Bondo and the Asians now controls Nomah, but the resurgent infielder nearly has 50 RBIs and runs scored, and though his power totals are low for a first baseman (10 dingers), he makes up for it by hitting better than .360.
8. Magglio Ordonez (Dave Tomke), round 7. I'm pretty sure only a loony Tiger fan would see the value of a player like Ordonez in the seventh round, but he turned out to have an All-Star first half, omitted from the team only because Ozzie Guillen is a turd. Ordonez has 15 homers and almost 60 RBIs for the Tigers, batting well over .300.
7. Kenny Rogers (Drew Wolf), Round 14. This round turned out to be a busy one, and I can't imagine anyone saw 10 wins by the All-Star break coming from the 109-year-old anti-camera activist. A 3.72 ERA and 1.17 WHIP have been nice additions for the Tigers and ELENI KAMETAS!.
6. Scott Rolen (Ed Schillinger), Round 8. Rolen slipped quite a bit because of an injury-riddled 2005, but Skillz was finally the guy to pull the trigger on the typically-stellar Cardinal third baseman. He's an All-Star again, even though he was playing on Andy Viano's team for much of the year. His 12-53-53 numbers are nice, but his OBP over .400 is particularly lucscious.
5. Mike Mussina (Drew Wolf), Round 12. Wolf went with elderly pitchers nearly back to back and came away looking good ... except he wound up dropping the current 67th best player in baseball (according to yahoo rankings...keep in mind each team keeps six and theoretically the best 60) and Champ wound up with the Moose. He's an All-Star snub with his 9-3 record, 3.17 ERA, 104 strikeouts and 1.04 WHIP.
4. Nick Swisher (Ed Schillinger), Round 14. I'm not entirely sure how Brent Whitlock liberated not only Swisher, but Hanley Ramirez from Ed Schillinger for Geoff Jenkins and Bobby Crosby in mid-April. I think at the time I tried to reassure Ed that it wasn't that bad of a trade, but I'm pretty sure I was wrong. Not easy to get 19 homers, 48 RBIs and a svelte 58 runs out of the 14th round -- and all this despite a recent slump -- plus the exciting keeper potential that Swisher provides.
3. Francisco Liriano (Andrew Stem), Round 14. In all reality, Liriano is probably a better selection than either of the following two choices, but there's still plenty of time for him to fall off his torrid pace, and he wasn't around all season for Stem to reap the rewards. Perhaps that makes Stem's desire to hang on to him all the more remarkable. 9-1. 1.99 ERA. 94 strikeouts, ahem, in TEN STARTS. He is Jesus. I just trembled with jealous rage.
2. Justin Verlander (Dave Tomke), supplemental round 3. He was very nearly the last pick in the draft, and a homer one at that, pretty much. Tomke's love for him was stronger than all others, even though he dropped the young Tigers stud twice before picking him back up and keeping him. Ten wins, 3.13 ERA and 65 K's -- a number very likely to rise as he becomes more proficient with secondary pitches in future years. He's obvious keeper potential and has been a great pickup, three times over.
1. Jim Thome (Eli Gieryna), 10th round. The Eli Gieryna genius rises to the top, where Eli grabbed the eighth best player on yahoo's fantasy ratings in the 10th round. What a fucking slut. To this point, Thome has 27 homers, 68 RBIs and 63 runs scored, all values that rank the slugger in the top three of American League hitters. Throw in the fact that Gieryna has also jumped upon two of the best free agents signings (Jon Papelbon, Aaron Harang), and it is sufficiently allowable to hate him. Fuck you, Gun.
Others of note: Jason Giambi in the 7the round (Drew), Tom Gordon in the 8th round (Eli), Chris Young in the 8th round (Viano), Chad Tracy in the 9th round (Eli), Chris Capuano in the 10th round (Viano), Aaron Harang in the 14th round (Baron), Garrett Atkins in the 14th round (Brent), Greg Maddux in the 16th round (Souzek), Jermaine Dye in the 17th round (Brent), Ryan Zimmermann in hte 18th round (JR).
Even in a keeper league such as this one, the first five rounds of the draft are loaded with talent, so I tried to look at some later round selections that have panned out nicely for the owners in question.
10. Scott Kazmir (Baron Brendel), Round 7. Brendel went with an unusual strategy by taking pitchers later than most, and though his staff lacks the decor that other teams may boast, he does have one bona fide keeper who just shut out the Red Sox on a glorious two-hitter, just hours after being named to his first All-Star Game. In 18 starts, Kazmir is a 10-game winner with a 3.29 ERA, 118 beautiful strikeouts and a 1.29 WHIP.
9. Nomar Garciaparra (Eli Gieryna), Round 15. Bondo and the Asians now controls Nomah, but the resurgent infielder nearly has 50 RBIs and runs scored, and though his power totals are low for a first baseman (10 dingers), he makes up for it by hitting better than .360.
8. Magglio Ordonez (Dave Tomke), round 7. I'm pretty sure only a loony Tiger fan would see the value of a player like Ordonez in the seventh round, but he turned out to have an All-Star first half, omitted from the team only because Ozzie Guillen is a turd. Ordonez has 15 homers and almost 60 RBIs for the Tigers, batting well over .300.
7. Kenny Rogers (Drew Wolf), Round 14. This round turned out to be a busy one, and I can't imagine anyone saw 10 wins by the All-Star break coming from the 109-year-old anti-camera activist. A 3.72 ERA and 1.17 WHIP have been nice additions for the Tigers and ELENI KAMETAS!.
6. Scott Rolen (Ed Schillinger), Round 8. Rolen slipped quite a bit because of an injury-riddled 2005, but Skillz was finally the guy to pull the trigger on the typically-stellar Cardinal third baseman. He's an All-Star again, even though he was playing on Andy Viano's team for much of the year. His 12-53-53 numbers are nice, but his OBP over .400 is particularly lucscious.
5. Mike Mussina (Drew Wolf), Round 12. Wolf went with elderly pitchers nearly back to back and came away looking good ... except he wound up dropping the current 67th best player in baseball (according to yahoo rankings...keep in mind each team keeps six and theoretically the best 60) and Champ wound up with the Moose. He's an All-Star snub with his 9-3 record, 3.17 ERA, 104 strikeouts and 1.04 WHIP.
4. Nick Swisher (Ed Schillinger), Round 14. I'm not entirely sure how Brent Whitlock liberated not only Swisher, but Hanley Ramirez from Ed Schillinger for Geoff Jenkins and Bobby Crosby in mid-April. I think at the time I tried to reassure Ed that it wasn't that bad of a trade, but I'm pretty sure I was wrong. Not easy to get 19 homers, 48 RBIs and a svelte 58 runs out of the 14th round -- and all this despite a recent slump -- plus the exciting keeper potential that Swisher provides.
3. Francisco Liriano (Andrew Stem), Round 14. In all reality, Liriano is probably a better selection than either of the following two choices, but there's still plenty of time for him to fall off his torrid pace, and he wasn't around all season for Stem to reap the rewards. Perhaps that makes Stem's desire to hang on to him all the more remarkable. 9-1. 1.99 ERA. 94 strikeouts, ahem, in TEN STARTS. He is Jesus. I just trembled with jealous rage.
2. Justin Verlander (Dave Tomke), supplemental round 3. He was very nearly the last pick in the draft, and a homer one at that, pretty much. Tomke's love for him was stronger than all others, even though he dropped the young Tigers stud twice before picking him back up and keeping him. Ten wins, 3.13 ERA and 65 K's -- a number very likely to rise as he becomes more proficient with secondary pitches in future years. He's obvious keeper potential and has been a great pickup, three times over.
1. Jim Thome (Eli Gieryna), 10th round. The Eli Gieryna genius rises to the top, where Eli grabbed the eighth best player on yahoo's fantasy ratings in the 10th round. What a fucking slut. To this point, Thome has 27 homers, 68 RBIs and 63 runs scored, all values that rank the slugger in the top three of American League hitters. Throw in the fact that Gieryna has also jumped upon two of the best free agents signings (Jon Papelbon, Aaron Harang), and it is sufficiently allowable to hate him. Fuck you, Gun.
Others of note: Jason Giambi in the 7the round (Drew), Tom Gordon in the 8th round (Eli), Chris Young in the 8th round (Viano), Chad Tracy in the 9th round (Eli), Chris Capuano in the 10th round (Viano), Aaron Harang in the 14th round (Baron), Garrett Atkins in the 14th round (Brent), Greg Maddux in the 16th round (Souzek), Jermaine Dye in the 17th round (Brent), Ryan Zimmermann in hte 18th round (JR).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)