It was an oppo-shot for the young righty that was hit high and deep, landing in the upper-deck.  It was a no-doubter.  Well, if you think it was a little odd that a Little League field had an “upper deck” you are correct.  Actually, it was a line drive screamer that went between the firstbaseman and the bag and rolled almost all the way to the rightfield fence.  Plenty deep enough for me, as the firstbase coach, to keep him running all the way around the bases.

The whole stadium (probably 15 or so fans — parents and siblings) went wild!  Jacob jumped for joy and his teammates gave him plenty of high-fives as he entered the dugout.  The 3rd-Inning bomb gave the Rockies a 1-0 lead over the Blue Jays, which was also the first lead of the year for the Rox.

As you can imagine, I was very proud of my boy and for a few minutes the Rockies were without a coach because I became merely a teary-eyed father beaming looking at his son.

But as we all know, baseball is a game of highs and lows.  The Rox defense let them down in the bottom of the 3rd and the ‘Jays tallied 3 runs.  In the top of the 4th, we almost had a classic finish as the Rockies, with two outs, loaded the bases for…yep, you guessed it…Jacob “the Thunderstick.”  Unfortunately, after fouling off 2 pitches, the mighty Jacob went down swinging to end the game.

Sure, a rally to win the game would have been amazing, but this was still an extremely big day for the Archive Clan and I am so happy for the achievement of my son.

-Johnny Archive, proud papa

It was definitely not my most focused show, but it felt good to be with you all as I adjust to this time of the year.  Remember with the 11:05am start time on Monday’s game in Boston it’s important to get your lineup set early, especially you weekly-leaguers.

Okay, enjoy your week and check me out on http://twitter.com/johnnyarchive during the week.  Oh yeah, in effort to make sure the “big guys” out there know my status, I am doing what I can to mention that I am indeed still a free-agent and looking to catch on with like-minded fantasy baseball people.

Not too subtle, I know, but hey I am so ready to contribute to the right situation.

-JA

 
That’s right, I was able to spend some time with Matthew Berry at a politcal event for the next Mayor of College Station, TX — who just so happens to be the “Talented Mr. Roto’s” mom!  Nancy Berry is an excellent candidate and I will be pulling for her in the upcoming election, but the highlight of the evening took place when I was afforded the opportunity to interview fantasy sports icon, Berry.  We did the session across the street from the University of Texas A&M Friday night and the college students were out in force.  It was a fun environment to talk fantasy sports and I had an absolutely great time.

Here’s a picture of Matthew and his mother, Nancy.

This was a fun evening and be sure to catch the podcast for the interview.  As always, if you miss the live show, you can always download it at iTunes just search for “Johnny Archive”.

-Johnny Archive

Baseball Season Is Here!  Yippee!

Last year, my first in the NFBC, I finished 3rd in my league — after being in 1st for most of August — and was in top 80 after being in top 50 for most of the final months.  The biggest problem was I got buried in the standings early, spent the first 6-7 weeks in last place, and so when I made my charge I had too much to overcome.

I learned in 2009 just how important it is to utilize the FAAB process to acquire free-agents.  The biggest key to my surge was barely winning the bid for ATL SP Tommy Hansen.  I bid $256, almost 25% of my budget, on him and won the bid by $6 — the next closest team bid $250.  When bidding with your $1000 FAAB remember that most people tend to go with even amounts, so for example going $11 on player instead of $10 can make a difference.

Alot of times owners will go $1 for a two-start pitcher or when taking a flier on a position player.  You may want to go $2 for that $1 player if you really want that player.  Again, that extra $1 can really enable to land those players you want.  One more suggestion, mix up the amount of your bidding every once in awhile.  Most owners will notice your trends if you consistantly bid the same amounts.

Alrighty, let’s move on to my NFBC draft.  This is a 12-team mixed league and I had pick #11 — which is where I like to draft because, as my friend John Zaleski says,”It’s better to drive the draft then have to react to other teams’ picks.”

I have been getting more and more convinced lately that this will be THE year COL SS Troy Tulowitzki breaks out and becomes an elite fantasy player.  This kid is a monster who could easily hit 40+ bombs and drive in 110+ RBI, plus he plays in an extremely good hitters park. In 2011, Tulo could be the #1 overall pick — remember where you heard(read) that first!

So, obviously I was thrilled to get my targeted player, a player I would have taken as high as 5th this year.  Thus, my preference to pick late in round #1, because instead of taking Tulo at 5 and then having to wait a looong time to pick again, at 11 I’m back in action just 2 picks later.

It’s amazing that even when you get the player you want with pick #1, you still have to adjust with your second pick based on who is available. I had my eye on 3 players, Howard, Holliday and Crawford.  Those 3 break down this way; Howard=Major power and no speed/low AVG, Crawford=Major speed and decent AVG/Low power, Holliday=Nice Balance and intrigue to see what a full season batting next to Pujols for a full season looks like?  So, with Howard gone, I went Holliday who I might have taken regardless.

Now, the extended wait begins.

This is where a good chunk of elite players begin to disappear and I need to prepare for not only my next pick, but my next 2 picks. I tweeted during the draft that Ian Kinsler, who will begin the season on the DL with a high ankle sprain, was dropping not only out of the 1st round, but the 2nd round as well. I started thinking that I might be able to get him with my 3rd pick and if so, I would definitely snatch him up.  However, he went right in front of me so, oh well, back to normal prep mode. Yankees 2B brings a lot to a fantasy roster and I think coupling him with another high average guy like Holliday would open up flexibility later in the draft if I need to go with a speed/power guy who might ding my average.

I had two players qued for this pick, Adrian Gonzalez and BJ Upton.  Both would bring production and fit into my plan, though I think you have to look at upside if you want to contend for not only the league title, but the overall big money.  This is the mindset that drove the Upton pick.  Again, with Cano and Holliday I can deal with the risk of BJ’s potentially low AVG – I can see .270 this year easily if he’s healthy — and the speed boon was enough to out-weigh the relative safety of A-Gon.

Because of the no-trading rule it can be risky to wait too long on pitching, particularly top-end starting pitching.  Starters were definitely beginning to evaporate as I again settled in for me extended break until pick #5.

I seriously considered NYM Johan Santana though he is coming off an injury and has not looked real sharp this spring.  BAL 2B Brian Roberts, with the back issues, is another player I like more than most people and I felt would be a decent addition, even with Cano already rostered.  Johan went two picks in front of me and I decided I could probably get Roberts 3 picks later so I chose a player I feel is a solid guy and being overlooked this year, HOU OF Carlos Lee.

El Cabayo, as C-Lee is called, didn’t have a massive 2009, but this guy is a proven fantasy stalwart and a great number #3 OF.  Not sexy, but winning fantasy rosters are filled with the un-sexy!

I kinda surprised myself with this pick of TOR 2B Aaron Hill in round #6.  I thought I would go Roberts, but he was gone.  I noticed Hill was still available which surprised me.  I have never drafted Hill nor have I ever had him on any of my rosters, but the prospect of the punch of 30+ HR from my MI was enough to make me put off SP for at least another round.  I was hoping ATL SP Tommy Hanson would somehow still be there when I picked again, but he went at the end of round 6.  Bummer.

I had pretty-much decided it was time to snag a staff ace.  I considered Gallardo, Jimenez, Vazquez, but I went with another player who has lost some luster over the past year or two, CHW SP Jake Peavy.  Health is a concern with the former Padres Ace, but I feel the AL Central is a decent pitchers division and I think he’ll produce a somewhat typical year for him which is plenty to anchor my staff.  I’m “all-in” with Peavy this year as I have him on almost every team.

If I didn’t go SP, McCutchen was a serious factor to consider.

Another player who I am extremely high on this year is CArGo, COL OF Carlos Gonzalez, who will be the lead-off man for a very potent lineup.  I touted this stud last year and feel he is a legit 30-30 guy.  Even the local Fox Sports affiliate promotes his speed/power combo and directly asked him in an interview this past week if 40-40 was possible this year?  After missing out on Hanson, I was not going to watch CarGo rip this year on somebody elses roster.

I seriously considered go SP again, but Vazquez was taken so that left Cain as the next guy I wanted and fear of missing out on CarGo was too much.

New Red Sox SP John Lackey was on my short list with pick #9, but he went right in front of me, so I decided to nab a Closer.  KC CL Joakim Soria is one of the good young clsoers in the game, even though he’s not on a team expected to win a ton of games.  The good news is the Royals don’t blow out many teams either, so Save opportunities are there.

This is a perfect example of where I can drive the draft and my roster.  Coming right back with another top-notch Closer in SF CL Brian Wilson ensures I will contend in the always competitive Saves category.

So, there ya go, my first 10 picks.  I certainly have OF, MI and Closers covered, aye?  Value and upside are all represented in these picks as well as essential building blocks for the remainder of my draft.  Speaking of the rest of the draft, here it is…

Have a great weekend and HAPPY EASTER!  Find lots of eggs!

-JA

A special treat for me was to sit down with old friend and fantasy stalwart, John Zaleski of Ultimate Fantasy Sports, who is a founding member of the FSTA.  John was amazingly candid about his draft strategy and the players he was targeting and where he hoped to get them.  You don’t want to miss this unique opportunity to hear what a true legend in the fantasy industry is thinking just minutes prior to entering a high-dollar fantasy draft, which the $100,000 NFBC definitely is.

See you live at 6PM EDT or on the archived edition at iTunes!

-Johnny Archive