I wrote a couple of weeks ago that Mike Napoli may be a good add, mainly because he wasn't as bad as he had been for the first six weeks of the season, and because playing time siphon Jeff Mathis had gone down with an injury.
Well, Mike Napoli apparently wants me to look good.
After going 3-for-3 with a jack (and a steal!) on Monday, Nap has connected six times in his lat 12 games. More important, he's playing nearly every day behind the plate, and he even filled in at first for the tragically yet comically injured Kendry Morales.
Napoli has always had the power, as his 40 HR in 2008-09 in just over 600 ABs would clearly indicate. If he continues getting the playing time at catcher and first he has been getting for the last three weeks, he is actaully a great guy to target in a deal. Try and catch an owner who thinks he's selling high, then reap the benefits.
Cheers,
TFAM
Monday, May 31, 2010
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Analyzing the dried paint
"I know everything there is to know about the greatest game ever invented."
I suspect many of you may think that's an egotistical staement referring to my knowledge and success in the world of fantasy baseball, but it's actually referring to basketball, and was spoken by Wilbur "Shooter" Flatch. RIP Shooter.
It's time for a grab bag of Sunday thoughts as I come back from some time away. I suspect you're having a Memorial Day weekend better than David Huff, but slightly worse than Roy Halladay. What has happened over the past few days that's fantasy relevant?
Buster Posey has been called up by the Giants. He promptly went 3-for-4 last night in his 2010 debut, and was playing first base. It's an interesting development that he's at first, as he's a catcher by trade. If the plan is for him to split time between catcher and first, or play first all the time, you want him, now. He's been a .900+ OPS guy his whole careeer in the minors and was batting .349 down there this season. If he is only going to be a part time guy, his bat probably isn't good enough in limited at bats to help right now. The next few days should be telling. If he does get time at catcher, Bengie Molina, the anti Posey with his .691 OPS, is probably droppable.
Staying with the younger guys, the June 1-June 15 window is when many sharps think we'll see guys like Carlos Santana, Mike Stanton, and Stephen Strasburg called up. It's a service time thing, but if you have room to stash guys, now would be the time on these three. It would be wise to monitor the minor league call ups for the next two weeks.
In Oakland, Brett Anderson returned from his DL stint over the weekend and threw 5+ scoreless innings. Anderson is a great option for the rest of the season given good health.
Also, Anderson's teammate Trevor Cahill, once thought by some to be the better of the two prospects, has quietly put together a nice little season. After another solid performance in Baltimore this week Cahill is 3-2 with a 3.31 ERA and 1.10 WHIP. His K/9 is too low for my tastes right now, but he's interesting.
It appears as if John Axford is the new closer in Milwaukee.
CJ Wilson finished with 5 ER in the box score, but he was better than that. The Twins had one hit yesterday through five innings.
Interesting statistical note, the Brewers have the NL leader in average, home runs and RBI on their team. Three different guys hold thpse positions, and none of them are Prince Fielder. Braun (.325), Hart (12), and McGehee (41) are currently holding down those posts.
Another day another 1-0 loss for Zack Greinke. He's 1-6 and remains a great buy low candidate if his owners are growing tired of his W-L record. Not sure if Betancourt played a crucial role in the run scoring...can we assume?
Cheers,
TFAM
I suspect many of you may think that's an egotistical staement referring to my knowledge and success in the world of fantasy baseball, but it's actually referring to basketball, and was spoken by Wilbur "Shooter" Flatch. RIP Shooter.
It's time for a grab bag of Sunday thoughts as I come back from some time away. I suspect you're having a Memorial Day weekend better than David Huff, but slightly worse than Roy Halladay. What has happened over the past few days that's fantasy relevant?
Buster Posey has been called up by the Giants. He promptly went 3-for-4 last night in his 2010 debut, and was playing first base. It's an interesting development that he's at first, as he's a catcher by trade. If the plan is for him to split time between catcher and first, or play first all the time, you want him, now. He's been a .900+ OPS guy his whole careeer in the minors and was batting .349 down there this season. If he is only going to be a part time guy, his bat probably isn't good enough in limited at bats to help right now. The next few days should be telling. If he does get time at catcher, Bengie Molina, the anti Posey with his .691 OPS, is probably droppable.
Staying with the younger guys, the June 1-June 15 window is when many sharps think we'll see guys like Carlos Santana, Mike Stanton, and Stephen Strasburg called up. It's a service time thing, but if you have room to stash guys, now would be the time on these three. It would be wise to monitor the minor league call ups for the next two weeks.
In Oakland, Brett Anderson returned from his DL stint over the weekend and threw 5+ scoreless innings. Anderson is a great option for the rest of the season given good health.
Also, Anderson's teammate Trevor Cahill, once thought by some to be the better of the two prospects, has quietly put together a nice little season. After another solid performance in Baltimore this week Cahill is 3-2 with a 3.31 ERA and 1.10 WHIP. His K/9 is too low for my tastes right now, but he's interesting.
It appears as if John Axford is the new closer in Milwaukee.
CJ Wilson finished with 5 ER in the box score, but he was better than that. The Twins had one hit yesterday through five innings.
Interesting statistical note, the Brewers have the NL leader in average, home runs and RBI on their team. Three different guys hold thpse positions, and none of them are Prince Fielder. Braun (.325), Hart (12), and McGehee (41) are currently holding down those posts.
Another day another 1-0 loss for Zack Greinke. He's 1-6 and remains a great buy low candidate if his owners are growing tired of his W-L record. Not sure if Betancourt played a crucial role in the run scoring...can we assume?
Cheers,
TFAM
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Colonial
Lots of good options this week at Colonial, where the field is much deeper than the Nelson from last week which was contested just across the metroplex. Let's get right to it.
Phil is playing this week, and, although Colonial can favor the short knockers due to its lack of length, he's the favorite. He's won twice here and finished in a tie for second. Everyone else is chasing the soon-to-be world #1. Four of his chasers are also ranked in the top 10 in the world, as Steve Stricker (the defender), Paul Casey, Ian Poulter and Jim Furyk are all in Ft. Worth. Furyk has been his usual self here, with two seconds and six top 10s in 14 tries. Stricker would be a great pick, but I'm a little worried about the lingering injury. This week should tell us a story in that regard. Both englishmen player Colonial last year...Casey finished fifth, Poulter eighth.
As I said earlier, it's a deep field, and plenty of guys outside the top 10 can win here. Tim Clark finished second last year and is coming off his payoff win. Steve Marino lost in the playoff last year too. Ben Crane has two top 10s in a row and has played well here too. Brian Gay has also played well here and showed well in Dallas last week with a top five. Among others who are playing well...O'Hair, Kuchar, Choi, Glover, Jacobsen and last week's winner Jason Day.
I'm pretty sure I named the winner in there somewhere. Or not. Seriously...lots of options this week.
Most Talent
Mickelson
Poulter
Casey
Stricker
Furyk
Course History
Mickelson
Stricker
Clark
Furyk
Sabbatini
Who's Hot
Mickelson
Clark
Day
Crane
Van Pelt
Who's Not
Singh
Leonard
Toms
Snedeker
Ogilvy
My Picks
Mickelson
Clark
Poulter
Gay
O'Hair
Cheers,
TFAM
Phil is playing this week, and, although Colonial can favor the short knockers due to its lack of length, he's the favorite. He's won twice here and finished in a tie for second. Everyone else is chasing the soon-to-be world #1. Four of his chasers are also ranked in the top 10 in the world, as Steve Stricker (the defender), Paul Casey, Ian Poulter and Jim Furyk are all in Ft. Worth. Furyk has been his usual self here, with two seconds and six top 10s in 14 tries. Stricker would be a great pick, but I'm a little worried about the lingering injury. This week should tell us a story in that regard. Both englishmen player Colonial last year...Casey finished fifth, Poulter eighth.
As I said earlier, it's a deep field, and plenty of guys outside the top 10 can win here. Tim Clark finished second last year and is coming off his payoff win. Steve Marino lost in the playoff last year too. Ben Crane has two top 10s in a row and has played well here too. Brian Gay has also played well here and showed well in Dallas last week with a top five. Among others who are playing well...O'Hair, Kuchar, Choi, Glover, Jacobsen and last week's winner Jason Day.
I'm pretty sure I named the winner in there somewhere. Or not. Seriously...lots of options this week.
Most Talent
Mickelson
Poulter
Casey
Stricker
Furyk
Course History
Mickelson
Stricker
Clark
Furyk
Sabbatini
Who's Hot
Mickelson
Clark
Day
Crane
Van Pelt
Who's Not
Singh
Leonard
Toms
Snedeker
Ogilvy
My Picks
Mickelson
Clark
Poulter
Gay
O'Hair
Cheers,
TFAM
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Yunieskyed
Zack Greinke is feeling the pain.
Royals shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt has long been touted by statheads as the worst player in the majors. As a Zack Greinke owner, I concur.
Two separate times this season, including Sunday, Betancourt has contributed to a Greinke meltdown that has cost his owners huge. Earlier in the season, Betancourt dropped a pop up, just dropped it (trust me, it was terrible) with one out. After that, the floodgates opened. Sunday was much worse. Our favorite shortstop tried to underhand a throw to second to start what would have been an easy twin killing, and literally rolled the ball to second. It slipped and rolled...and, it was too late to get the runner. Zack ends up ceding four runs in the inning, seven overall (and they were earned since a double play is not assumed), and his ERA takes a big hit.
Now, Greinke has to take some responsibility for not regaining composure, but his ERA is falsely inflated right now. Of course, the counter would be....well, Betancourt is going to keep screwing his ERA all year then. Yes, yes, you may be right. Still, I believe in talent and skills, and I will not tolerate Greinke being called a second tier starter. He isn't. If his owner wants to bail, I'm buying. He'll come around...let's just hope the shortstop does too.
Cheers (golf tomorrow),
TFAM
Royals shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt has long been touted by statheads as the worst player in the majors. As a Zack Greinke owner, I concur.
Two separate times this season, including Sunday, Betancourt has contributed to a Greinke meltdown that has cost his owners huge. Earlier in the season, Betancourt dropped a pop up, just dropped it (trust me, it was terrible) with one out. After that, the floodgates opened. Sunday was much worse. Our favorite shortstop tried to underhand a throw to second to start what would have been an easy twin killing, and literally rolled the ball to second. It slipped and rolled...and, it was too late to get the runner. Zack ends up ceding four runs in the inning, seven overall (and they were earned since a double play is not assumed), and his ERA takes a big hit.
Now, Greinke has to take some responsibility for not regaining composure, but his ERA is falsely inflated right now. Of course, the counter would be....well, Betancourt is going to keep screwing his ERA all year then. Yes, yes, you may be right. Still, I believe in talent and skills, and I will not tolerate Greinke being called a second tier starter. He isn't. If his owner wants to bail, I'm buying. He'll come around...let's just hope the shortstop does too.
Cheers (golf tomorrow),
TFAM
Sunday, May 23, 2010
As Seen On TV
Random thoughts from watching games and checking stats in the fantasy baseball world...
How far have we come from the steroid era? I'm not saying the game is clean, but we may not have a 40 HR guys this year in the majors. Of the 15 guys who are currently in double digits, only Mark Reynolds, Chase Utley, Andre Ethier (and he's hurt), Dan Uggla, Paul Konerko, Vlad Guerrero, Jose Guillen, and Justin Morneau have even reached 30 in a season. The rest of the guys include a few (Alex Gonzalez, Kelly Johnson, Ty Wigginton, Jose Bautista) who will be lucky to get to 20. Paging, Mr. Howard, Mr. Ryan Howard. It's time to giddyup.
Jose Contreras, Manny Corpas, and Carlos Villanueva are your new closers du jour. I think all of them have a chance to hold the job for over a month.
Leading the league in stolen base attempts is.....Elvis Andrus, with 24 (17 successful).
It's also worth noting that both Matt Kemp (6-for-14) and Nyjer Morgan (8-for-16) have been caught as much as they have been successful.
Sticking with stolen bases, one guy people thought would run this year was Alcides Escobar in Milwaukee, yet he's just 1-for-2. I attribute this to teams letting young players just try and learn one skill at a time. We know Escobar has the wheels and the glove, the team is probably just trying to keep it simple. Arizona did the same a couple of years ago with Justin Upton, and now he's a 25 steal threat. Escobar will get there next year.
Luke Scott has five homers and 19 hits in his last 11 games.
Adam Jones, also in Baltimore is coming around too. He did have an inside the paker last night, but it was hit well and he has homers in two straight. I smell a hot streak, good time to buy low on him.
That's 12 RBI for Nelson Cruz in his last six games. Gotta love that Ranger lineup.
Good time to get Mike Napoli. He's got three HR in three games and Mathis is hurt, leaving Nap most of the PT.
Milton Bradley is back.
I'm off to watch a full slate this afternoon. I'll report tomorrow.
Cheers,
TFAM
How far have we come from the steroid era? I'm not saying the game is clean, but we may not have a 40 HR guys this year in the majors. Of the 15 guys who are currently in double digits, only Mark Reynolds, Chase Utley, Andre Ethier (and he's hurt), Dan Uggla, Paul Konerko, Vlad Guerrero, Jose Guillen, and Justin Morneau have even reached 30 in a season. The rest of the guys include a few (Alex Gonzalez, Kelly Johnson, Ty Wigginton, Jose Bautista) who will be lucky to get to 20. Paging, Mr. Howard, Mr. Ryan Howard. It's time to giddyup.
Jose Contreras, Manny Corpas, and Carlos Villanueva are your new closers du jour. I think all of them have a chance to hold the job for over a month.
Leading the league in stolen base attempts is.....Elvis Andrus, with 24 (17 successful).
It's also worth noting that both Matt Kemp (6-for-14) and Nyjer Morgan (8-for-16) have been caught as much as they have been successful.
Sticking with stolen bases, one guy people thought would run this year was Alcides Escobar in Milwaukee, yet he's just 1-for-2. I attribute this to teams letting young players just try and learn one skill at a time. We know Escobar has the wheels and the glove, the team is probably just trying to keep it simple. Arizona did the same a couple of years ago with Justin Upton, and now he's a 25 steal threat. Escobar will get there next year.
Luke Scott has five homers and 19 hits in his last 11 games.
Adam Jones, also in Baltimore is coming around too. He did have an inside the paker last night, but it was hit well and he has homers in two straight. I smell a hot streak, good time to buy low on him.
That's 12 RBI for Nelson Cruz in his last six games. Gotta love that Ranger lineup.
Good time to get Mike Napoli. He's got three HR in three games and Mathis is hurt, leaving Nap most of the PT.
Milton Bradley is back.
I'm off to watch a full slate this afternoon. I'll report tomorrow.
Cheers,
TFAM
Friday, May 21, 2010
The Vultures Circle
Two football posts in a row!
Check out this quote from Steelers offensive coordinator Bruce Arians, courtesy of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
"I think the critical runs, short-yardage, goal line, have been a problem," Arians said. "They got addressed (in 2008) with Gary Russell. Now is it going to be Rashard? It could be Isaac Redman, it could be by a bunch of guys. Is it a back or is it by committee? This time of year you get your running game going, but in training camp you find out that short-yardage stuff. You win the job that way."
Well, well, well. It appears a guy who seems to be built perfectly for the goal line will need to impress in that area in camp to avoid a vulture situation in Pittsburgh. This is really huge news, as Mendenhall already is going to lose some touches on third downs. If he doesn't get the goal line touches, he goes from borderline first round to borderline third round or later in my book. Stay tuned.
Cheers,
TFAM
Check out this quote from Steelers offensive coordinator Bruce Arians, courtesy of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
"I think the critical runs, short-yardage, goal line, have been a problem," Arians said. "They got addressed (in 2008) with Gary Russell. Now is it going to be Rashard? It could be Isaac Redman, it could be by a bunch of guys. Is it a back or is it by committee? This time of year you get your running game going, but in training camp you find out that short-yardage stuff. You win the job that way."
Well, well, well. It appears a guy who seems to be built perfectly for the goal line will need to impress in that area in camp to avoid a vulture situation in Pittsburgh. This is really huge news, as Mendenhall already is going to lose some touches on third downs. If he doesn't get the goal line touches, he goes from borderline first round to borderline third round or later in my book. Stay tuned.
Cheers,
TFAM
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Lightning in a Bottle
Some of my loyal readers have been telling me they are jonesing for a football fix. I keep saying that there will be plenty of time for fantasy football, starting in July, BUT....I'll throw the bone.
I wrote a bit around the time of the draft that whoever San Diego selects at running back will be a major fantasy contributor next year. They have all the components you need to be a very fantasy friendly offense for a running back. They have a great quarterback, a good passing game, an offense that scores a lot, and a system that runs the ball more often than not in short yardage. The only thing missing to be a great rushing attack is a better offensive line. Still, this is a team that led LaDainian Tomlinson to 12 rushing touchdowns last year and almost 900 total yards in 14 games...and Tomlinson was, by many accounts, the worst starting running back in the NFL in 2009.
Enter Ryan Mathews. Yes, all signs point to positive for the Fresno State product, starting with the fact that the Chargers moved up 16 spots in the first round to get this guy. They really like him. Need more proof? Norv Turner was quoted shortly after the draft as saying that Mathews will have 250 carries and 40 catches this season. That's 40 more touches than LT got last year. With his fresh legs and 220 pound frame, I'd say that translates into major fantasy upside. If I had to guess right now, I'd say Mathews falls right in at the end of the top ten running backs in your fantasy draft. I'd take him ahead of guys like Felix Jones, Ryan Grant, Matt Forte, Knowshon Moreno, and Ronnie Brown.
Last, but not least, let's not forget he gets two games against the Raiders!
Cheers,
TFAM
I wrote a bit around the time of the draft that whoever San Diego selects at running back will be a major fantasy contributor next year. They have all the components you need to be a very fantasy friendly offense for a running back. They have a great quarterback, a good passing game, an offense that scores a lot, and a system that runs the ball more often than not in short yardage. The only thing missing to be a great rushing attack is a better offensive line. Still, this is a team that led LaDainian Tomlinson to 12 rushing touchdowns last year and almost 900 total yards in 14 games...and Tomlinson was, by many accounts, the worst starting running back in the NFL in 2009.
Enter Ryan Mathews. Yes, all signs point to positive for the Fresno State product, starting with the fact that the Chargers moved up 16 spots in the first round to get this guy. They really like him. Need more proof? Norv Turner was quoted shortly after the draft as saying that Mathews will have 250 carries and 40 catches this season. That's 40 more touches than LT got last year. With his fresh legs and 220 pound frame, I'd say that translates into major fantasy upside. If I had to guess right now, I'd say Mathews falls right in at the end of the top ten running backs in your fantasy draft. I'd take him ahead of guys like Felix Jones, Ryan Grant, Matt Forte, Knowshon Moreno, and Ronnie Brown.
Last, but not least, let's not forget he gets two games against the Raiders!
Cheers,
TFAM
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