Results tagged ‘ MLB Fantasy 411 ’
And Down The Stretch They Come…
Here’s an update as to what’s going on in two important fantasy baseball leagues: the JAIL league and the MLB.com Fantasy 411 Ron Cey listener league. It’s been a very competitive year in the JAIL league, which is full of very active owners. The Ron Cey league has been fun as well, though the owners haven’t been as active.
I have led both leagues for about 4 months. It’s been nice being out front, but I always knew things would tighten up before the end of the season. Sure enough, my leads are down to 12 points in the Ron Cey league and 10 1/2 in the JAIL. I was up by as many as 36 points in the 411 league and 22 in the JAIL.
I am done with pitching in both leagues as I have run out of innings in the Ron Cey and have fallen on the ball in the JAIL. So, hitting will decide the final standings. I like where I’m at in both leagues, but there is definitely multiple scenarios where I could end up losing the lead…which would obviously be very disappointing since I have been in first for so long.
As long as I get decent production from my hitters, I will be fine. However, if my crew slumps in the final days and the second place teams have a monster weekend, I could end up with the silver medal. I don’t think I can finish worse than 2nd, which is cool, I guess. The weather on the east coast could make things very interesting.
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The final MLB.com Fantasy 411 show was today. As most of you know, I have not been a huge fan of most of the changes that were made this year to the show. It wasn’t easy to voice my concerns about the show because nobody is more dedicated to Mike Siano and Cory Schwartz and the entire 411 crew than myself.
I was genuinly disappointed by Casey Stern abandoning his team in the Ron Cey league. I still have not heard exactly why he stopped managing his team within the first few weeks of the season. It was never anything personal from my end against Stern. I just never felt he was a hard-core fantasy baseball fan and the 411 has always been geared towards serious fantasy enthusiasts.
Stern is a Mets fan and in my opinion his devotion to the Mets is really important to him. I think that’s great. Most baseball fans are loyal to their teams and live and die with their success and failures. Fantasy fans, however, really have to remain as neutral as possible to properly evaluate a player’s value.
Stern closed today’s 411 by dedicating the season to me. If he or anybondy else wants to make me out to be the “bad guy,” that’s OK. I think most people know Johnny Archive was always about verifying what was said and done on the 411…whether it was good or bad. I always tried to be fair and most of the time what Mike and Cory said ended up being accurate. But there were plenty of times where they were wrong and they were never afraid to be called out.
In the past, the last few weeks of the season were always a fun time on the 411 with listeners calling in and sharing their stories, most of them successful, about their teams. Even with the live chat session that took place after today’s 411, which ended early because it didn’t seem like many people participated in it, the listener interaction was most definitely missing this year.
The 411 community had always been a place where hardcore fantasy baseball fans converged. New listeners were welcomed, though sometimes you had to somewhat prove yourself. Simply listening and participating for a few weeks was usually enough to earn entry into this exclusive family. The biggest bummer this season, in my opinion, was the loss of that closeness. As the year went on long-time listeners, even Hall of Famers, were prevented from being involved with the show.
Again, this is just my opinion and I say these things in an effort to give feedback to anyone who cares to hear what a dedicated 411 fan has to say. I congratulate Mike, Cory, Zach and Casey on putting forth the effort to make the Fantasy 411, 2008 edition, a reality. I truly appreciate being allowed to be a particpant of the Ron Cey Listener League, as well as Siano coming on my podcast and them linking my blog from their blog.
Hopefully I can win the Ron Cey League and then move into the main 411 league and compete against Mike and Cory directly in 2009!
Have a great weekend everyone!
-Johnny Archive
Standing Tall
Hello Fantasy Fans,
Today I’m going to post the standings for the 2 main leagues I’m in, the JAIL and MLB.com Fantasy 411 Ron Cey Listener League. As we appraoch 6 weeks to go in the season, I thought it would be good to mark this time and use it as a measuring stick for the final dash for cash! In the JAIL league Im The Usual Suspects and in the Ron Cey I’m the Archivers.
| Period: | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2007 |
| Rank | Team | Batting | Pitching | Total | Dif | Behind |
| 1 |  The Usual Suspects |
48.5 | 68.5 | 117.0 | -0.5 | 0.0 |
| 2 | Licking Co. Lollygaggers | 47.0 | 56.5 | 103.5 | 0.5 | 13.5 |
| 3 | Selling Used Carrillos | 50.0 | 45.0 | 95.0 | -0.5 | 22.0 |
| 4 | Bombo Rivera AllStar Squad | 54.5 | 40.0 | 94.5 | 3.5 | 22.5 |
| 5 | Jersey Hitmen | 39.0 | 45.0 | 84.0 | -7.0 | 33.0 |
| 6 | PBR Streetgang | 40.0 | 43.0 | 83.0 | 0.0 | 34.0 |
| 7 | Florida Fatheads | 30.0 | 51.5 | 81.5 | 4.5 | 35.5 |
| 8 | Folsom Prison Blues | 52.0 | 25.0 | 77.0 | 5.0 | 40.0 |
| 9 | Ramblers in Hell | 37.0 | 39.5 | 76.5 | 2.0 | 40.5 |
| 10 | Encouraging Bear | 53.5 | 21.0 | 74.5 | -0.5 | 42.5 |
| 11 | Green Mountain Boys | 25.5 | 32.0 | 57.5 | -7.5 | 59.5 |
| 12 | Firewyrms Bad Mofos | 25.0 | 29.0 | 54.0 | 0.0 | 63.0 |
| 13 | Big Papi`s Peep`s | 14.0 | 13.5 | 27.5 | -0.5 | 89.5 |
| 14 | Prison Pinstripes | 9.0 | 15.5 | 24.5 | 1.0 | 92.5 |
| Standings Updated as of: 8/14/08 4:36 AM EST | ||||||
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As you can see, I have a 13.5 point lead at this point. Pitching has been a strong point, but I have traded away most of my top starters, plus a lost couple to injury, so I’m kind of in protect mode at this point. Lately, my relievers have been getting hit pretty hard, which has really hurt. I’m hoping that this is just one of times we all have where we take some damage, but this is going to be very tough league to actually win. I’ve been leading the league for almost 3 months so if I lose it at the end it will definitely be a bummer. Maybe I can convince the league to end the season Spetember 1st?! 
Here’s the Ron Cey League, where I have a little more comfortable lead. Again, leading in mid-August is nice but I haven’t won anything yet.
Standings
Overall Points
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Batting
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Pitching
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Rank
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Team
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| 1. | The Archivers | 13 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 6 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 9 | 8.5 | 109.5 |
| 2. | COREMAR | 8 | 10 | 8.5 | 3.5 | 10 | 13 | 9 | 3 | 10 | 10.5 | 85.5 |
| 3. | Giants 2010 | 10.5 | 8.5 | 12 | 6 | 7.5 | 2 | 10 | 10 | 6.5 | 4 | 77 |
| 4. | Ditmars Dimond Kings | 12 | 6 | 10 | 9 | 12 | 3 | 13 | 5 | 2 | 2.5 | 74.5 |
| 5. | ND Blizzard | 6.5 | 5 | 3 | 10.5 | 10 | 10 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 6 | 73 |
| 6. | Round Trippers | 6.5 | 13 | 4.5 | 10.5 | 1 | 7 | 7.5 | 6 | 5 | 10.5 | 71.5 |
| 7. | Donny Baseball | 9 | 8.5 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 8.5 | 7.5 | 11 | 1 | 2.5 | 70 |
| 7. | Avenging Blowfish | 10.5 | 2 | 7 | 13 | 7.5 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 12 | 6 | 70 |
| 9. | Hammer’s Hitters | 5 | 3 | 4.5 | 5 | 10 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 13 | 13 | 61.5 |
| 10. | MillerGold | 1.5 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 13 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 60.5 |
| 11. | Bats Out of Hell 08 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 6.5 | 1 | 58.5 |
| 12. | Gas House Gorillas | 3 | 11 | 8.5 | 1 | 3 | 8.5 | 4 | 8 | 3 | 6 | 56 |
| 13. | Mpls Muelkicks | 1.5 | 7 | 2 | 3.5 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 8.5 | 42.5 |
Overall Stats
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Batting
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Pitching
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Rank
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Team
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| 1. | The Archivers | 886 | 214 | 882 | 139 | .273 | 75 | 85 | 1018 | 3.83 | 1.29 |
| 2. | COREMAR | 845 | 204 | 790 | 89 | .276 | 76 | 64 | 799 | 3.82 | 1.28 |
| 3. | Giants 2010 | 848 | 199 | 879 | 110 | .275 | 57 | 77 | 949 | 3.89 | 1.31 |
| 4. | Ditmars Dimond Kings | 865 | 183 | 800 | 128 | .279 | 58 | 120 | 833 | 4.16 | 1.32 |
| 5. | ND Blizzard | 817 | 181 | 733 | 131 | .276 | 73 | 34 | 910 | 3.75 | 1.30 |
| 6. | Round Trippers | 817 | 230 | 768 | 131 | .259 | 64 | 59 | 845 | 3.91 | 1.28 |
| 7. | Donny Baseball | 846 | 199 | 807 | 113 | .269 | 72 | 59 | 992 | 4.25 | 1.32 |
| 7. | Avenging Blowfish | 848 | 175 | 786 | 165 | .275 | 59 | 16 | 857 | 3.56 | 1.30 |
| 9. | Hammer’s Hitters | 803 | 176 | 768 | 98 | .276 | 51 | 51 | 691 | 3.51 | 1.24 |
| 10. | MillerGold | 741 | 177 | 775 | 81 | .282 | 61 | 42 | 800 | 3.87 | 1.26 |
| 11. | Bats Out of Hell 08 | 749 | 153 | 692 | 124 | .261 | 74 | 83 | 1028 | 3.89 | 1.36 |
| 12. | Gas House Gorillas | 745 | 210 | 790 | 53 | .267 | 72 | 40 | 909 | 4.03 | 1.30 |
| 13. | Mpls Muelkicks | 741 | 198 | 719 | 89 | .271 | 63 | 38 | 766 | 3.99 | 1.29 |
I know looking at other leagues standings isn’t exactly a thrilling read, but I wanted you all to see just how things are stacking up. I’ll post the final standings at the end of the season so we can compare what went right or wrong for me and other teams. With more reserve spots, it’s a little easier to have backups in case of injuries in this league. *Knock on wood* Alot of bad things will have to happen for me to lose this league, mainly because there is such a tough battle for second and third in this league and they keep flip-flopping positions.
Have a great day!
-Johnny Archive
By the way, do you all like my new logo? Mrs. Archive helped me a ton with it.
Talking Teixeira
Hello Baseball Fans,
Before we get to the meat and potatoes of today’s blog — actually I’ll be back later with Good News, Bad News – let’s kick around the big Mark Teixeira to the Angels trade. First, what does this mean for the Atlanta Braves? The Braves are now putting out a glorified Tripe-A lineup. Brian McCann, Chipper Jones, as well as Teixeira — their 3-4-5 hitters – are all out of the line up. The next toughest out, Jeff Francoeur, is having a dreadful season and will now see even fewer quality pitches — which doesn’t mean he’ll stop swinging.
Chris Carpenter picked a good night to return from major surgery as he gets his first start of the year tonight versus the now punchless Braves. I’m guessing moral in the Braves clubhouse must be at an all-time low.
Now, what about the Angels? I think this trade does more for the players, coaches and fans of the Angels than it does for fantasy owners. Though, I do think the final production numbers for “Tex” at the end of the year are going to be pumped up some by him moving to the west coast. After playing all those years in Texas, he’s certainly more familiar with the AL West ballbarks, and he will have much better team around him. Plus, and I think this is fairly important, he will be playing for a team that will win more and have a much better karma in the clubhouse.
The Angels were beginning to develop a pattern of doing well in the regular season, winning the AL West, then getting stomped in the playoffs. This sort of deal, aimed squarely at the playoff run, could go a long way to break that cycle. Don’t forget, Teixeira is a pretty good defensive 1B and a wonderful clubhouse and community guy. It’s time for the laid-back southern California fans to come out of the woodwork and jump on the Angels’ bandwagon — but please, no silly rally monkey this time!
Going back in time….
Earlier in the season, one the first emails I received from a reader asked if I thought OF Michael Bourn or RP Brian Wilson would have more value this season. I am proud to say that I strongly suggested that Wilson would actually have the better season, though Bourn was the guy getting all the hype and at the time 99 out of 100 of the so-called experts out there would have suggested Bourn.
Just a few weeks ago everyone just knew that closer Brian Fuentes of the Colorado Rockies was going to be traded. Well, not everyone. I was the lone voice stating that with the Rock’s being fortunate enough to play in perhaps the weakest division in baseball, the NL West, and last year’s team — that went on that massive win streak at the end of the season – still intact, Fuentes was actually a good buy low player. I traded for Fuentes on June 25th as part of this deal in the JAIL league -
I received – C Jesus Flores, RP Brian Fuentes and SP Dice-K
I gave up – C Jeff Clement, RP Chad Cordero and SP Adam Wainwright
Now, obviously at the time nobody knew Cordero was going to be out the rest of the season, but everyone knew he was an injury risk. This was actually a counter-offer — the other owner offered me this deal – from an inquiry of mine about Fuentes.
This is not a blockbuster type deal, as far as names go, but if you make enough of these type of deals, you can greatly enhance your fantasy team.
I made another fairly controversial decision just last night. You see it was the first start for San Diego pitcher Chris Young, who was returning to the mound after taking a line-drive off of his face. The standard rule of thumb is to wait at least one start before activating a player coming back off of a long DL stint. I looked a little deeper, factored in that his facial injuries were healed – it wasn’t like he was going to be nursing a surgically repaired shoulder – he had made a few minor league starts with no problems, was pitching at home which we all know how nice that is for pitchers and, as a strikeout pitcher, was facing an Arizona team that strikes out alot.
So, I trotted him out there. Whalah! Six batters up, six strikeouts! It wasn’t all good news, he did only go five innings and didn’t get the Win, but hey I’ll take 5IP / 2H / 2BB / 8SO and no ER anytime.
In case you missed it, the Rangers made 5 errors last night – 3 by Ramon Vazquez. Sure, they got the win, but talk about winning ugly. CJ Wilson blew another Save, though he back-doored into a Win. They also placed 3B Hank Blalock back on the DL, who they were actively shopping, and Milton Bradley left the game with a quad injury. Set aside the nice rebound story of Josh Hamilton and GM Jon Daniels has created a mess in big “D”.
Oh and by the way, back to Fuentes for a second, Manny Corpas gave up another run last night to the Pirates raising his ERA to 4.91. I still think Taylor Buchholz should be the next in line to get Saves. Colorado speedy OF Scotty Pods’ (broken pinky) and Pittsburgh 1B Adam LaRoche (ribcage muscle) were put on the DL yesterday.
Don’t forget, I’ll be back a little later with Good News, Bad News.
-Johnny Archive
Tuesday Sunshine 7/08/08
Hello everyone!
It’s Tuesday and that means it’s time to turn the blog over to Tony in Hitchin. Enjoy his latest installment…
I read an entertaining article on the Sports Illustrated website recently about the recruiting of high school football players. The article referenced Bootlegger’s Boy, Barry Switzer’s autobiography, which I read many years ago. It was a well-written article full of anecdotes and historical references, succinctly detailing how the NCAA has compelled colleges to alter their recruiting techniques over the years as well as how technological advances have forced the NCAA to frequently update its rules.
For a Brit the world of recruiting is a strange one. We have nothing like it here in the UK, at least not to any significant degree, since college sports is not a big deal outside of the Boat Race and the Varsity Match (rugby union) both of which are competed for annually by Cambridge and Oxford. There are numerous competitions between colleges and universities but for the most part interest in them is only local. A Brit makes his or her way to the professional ranks by altogether different means.
But it wasn’t so much the article itself that came as a surprise; what surprised me was that there was an interesting article on the Sports Illustrated site. Occasionally I’ll enjoy a few lines from Peter King’s Monday Morning QB column – read that sentence carefully and you’ll see it’s not quite as flattering as it might at first appear – but each week there seem to be fewer reasons to click on any story or link that appears on the site.
When I was young – okay, younger – the latest issue of SI was a treasure rarely found. One newsagent in my hometown would get one copy monthly, and not every month, so before I had the good sense to order it I would go in, hunt around for it and invariably exit disappointed. I’m sure the shop’s owner and the other customers thought that I was sneaking a look at the girlie mags and, although I was past that stage, thinking back now it would have been a more understandable explanation for my behavior.
But when I did manage to get hold of the latest copy I’d pour over every word, every story, learning about the new and exciting worlds of major league baseball, the NFL and the NHL, SI being my only passport to these worlds. (And yes, I enjoyed the swimsuit issue as much as the next guy.) SI was a name that meant something special to me: I learnt more about sports from reading SI than via any other medium, and the quality of the writing meant that I’d willingly read about sports in which I had little interest – the NBA, athletics, horse racing.
Nowadays things are different. It’s a smaller, faster-moving world than it was back then, one that seems increasingly structured for those of us with the time only for instant gratification. To many the idea of sitting down and reading a magazine, of letting the world pass by and taking in the work of a skilled writer talking about a subject in which we’re interested is…well…I guess “quaint” is the word. The need to provide fresh content every five minutes has diluted the product, almost irreparably, and I wish the powers-that-be at SI hadn’t succumbed to the perceived demands of the modern reader. Shorter, headline-driven articles seem to be norm as so many people demand their news in more easily digestible bite-size chunks.
There are two things that upset me about the SI site. The first is the amount of baseless speculation in which many of its writers seem to indulge; so-and-so could win such-and-such if this and that happens, and will struggle if the other happens. So many of these articles read as “if it rains, the grass will get wet, but if it doesn’t rain the grass should stay dry”: in depth stuff.
But worse than that – oh, so much worse – is the site’s increased insistence on subjecting us to its latest Power Rankings. Power Rankings are the worst idea anyone anywhere has ever had in the history of the world, and the height of journalistic laziness, and the very opposite of what SI once stood for. And I don’t care if other sites have their own Power Rankings: just because they do it doesn’t mean that SI has to compete.
The most bizarre aspect of all this is that it’s SI itself that’s proving my point. The step that they took recently to reprint articles from years past is a fabulous one. These articles take me back to my youth and beyond, filling in the many gaps in my knowledge, correcting the memory lapses that the aging process has allowed to develop, revealing anecdotes about stars of the past of whom I know less than I did before reading the articles.
Read the headlines on the SI site if you must, but scroll down to the Vault section and you’ll take a glorious and rewarding trip down memory lane.
-Tony in Hitchin
Good News, Bad News 06/11/08
It’s Wednesday, so we all know what that means – Good News, Bad News!
Good News – The MLB.com Fantasy 411 is not a network program that has to answer to the FCC.
Bad News – Casey Stern dropped an “F-Bomb” on Wednesday’s show. What a pro.
Good News – The MLB.com Fantasy 411 Ron Cey Listener League continues to be a very active and competitive league.
Bad News – Once again there is one owner who hasn’t checked on his team in a couple weeks. Care to guess who?
Good News – The St. Louis Cardinals have been one of the biggest surprises this year.
Bad News – They just lost their Ace pitcher (Wainwright) and Ace hitter (Pujols) to the DL.
Good News – The Los Angeles Dodgers appear to have found a spot in the field for Nomah when he returns from his most recent trip to the DL.
Bad News – It’s SS, the position he has played the most in the majors, but the same position he hasn’t played since 2005.
Good News – The NBA continues to get extra media coverage during the Finals.
Bad News – Unfortunately for NBA commish David Stern, the media insists on covering this rogue referee story and how the league allegedly “fixed” several playoff games a few years ago.
Good News – Mike Siano is one of the most laid back guys I have ever seen. He must be an excellent guy to work for.
Bad News – Did I mention that Casey Stern said the “f-word” on today’s Fantasy 411?!
Good News – I started the first JAIL fantasy football league yesterday and there is a ton of interest.
Bad News – I’ve been so focused on baseball the past several years, I’m probably going to get spanked in football.
Good News – Atlanta baseball fans were very lucky to have 3 Hall of Famers (Glavine, Smoltz and Maddux) pitching for their team for so many years.
Bad News - On the same day Smoltz had surgery and is probably done as a major leaguer, Glavine gets hurt and is put on the DL and the Padres bullpen blows a Win for Maddux.
Good News – It’s almost Fathers Day!
Bad News – I’ve already got everything I could ever want in life!
Good News – I’m thinking about getting a new phone, probably a fancy-smancy Blackberry.
Bad News – I hate being overly trendy and in this case I’m about 2 years behind the trend anyway.
Btw, if you weren’t watching/listening to the Fantasy 411 live, you won’t hear Casey’s potty mouth. They have yanked the replays of the show and I’m betting they’ll edit the podcast. I’m sure Casey feels horrible about the slip up, but holy Moses how could he do that? Maybe the Fab 5 – the segment during which Casey spewed the profanity – and subjects that have completely nothing to do with baseball wasn’t such a good idea after all?
Join me tonight at Midnight Eastern for the latest edition of The Johnny Archive Fantasy Baseball Show. I really enjoy doing the show and as other podcasts are cutting back, it’s full steam ahead for Johnny Archive!!!
Have a great day!
-Johnny Archive
Shame on Sterno, PETFBT Investigation Launched
Okay, let’s do some rambling, shall we? If you want to jump to my hatchet job on Casey Stern, it’s at the bottom of the post.
I think Bob Davidson, MLB umpire, is by far the worst umpire in baseball. Known as “Balking Bob” a few years ago when he went on rampage calling balks at a ridiculous rate. He did a horrible job in World Baseball Classic a few years ago, and as he proved on Sunday night when he blew the Carlos Delgado HR agianst the Yankees, he has not improved. He is a throwback umpire, instead of huddling together with the other umpires and trying to call the right, he would rather be adamant about a call and expect everyone to bow down to his authority. Blech.
Jake Peavy is hurt and this is the last thing the Padres needed. The Friars play in a ballpark where hitting homers is difficult, but at least they could count on their pitching to keep them in games. Now, their “stopper” is out and they continue to struggle to score runs, so the rest of the 2008 season could see a lot of changes in San Diego.
As I wrote about yesterday, C.J. Wilson of the Texas Rangers is continuing to get himself in hot water with his erratic pitching. He blew the Save yesterday in Minnesota, a game in which the Rangers went on to lose in extra innings. If you listened to me and picked up Eddie Guardado, then you’re happy that Wilson struggled because it may expedite his removal from the closer’s role, though you lost out on a Vulture Win for “Steady Eddy.”
Get Cory Hart on your team asap. This guy is being perceived as a player under-performing when he is actually playing pretty-good with only his HR numbers being down. As we’ve seen with several players over the course of the last week or so that homers come in streaks and Hart is capable of going on a launching spree any time now. Hart was a 5th rounder or there-abouts, and I’m guessing that you can get him for someone drafted much lower. Do it! Stop reading this blog and go make an offer for Hart — unless you are in my leagues and I own Hart, ’cause I ain’t dealing him (well unless it’s for something I like =)).
As I stated on my podcast Sunday morning, the temperature is rising across the nation and so will the ERA and WHIP of pitch-or-ditch style pitchers. I suggest becoming much more selective when scowering the free-agent starting pitching probables. I am not saying abandoning looking for quality starts from guys in situations with likely positive results, but remember my rule of 3 – it takes 3 good starts to undue the damage to your ERA and WHIP of 1 bad start. For example, as well as Daniel Cabrera has pitched this year, I passed on picking him up against the Yankees in New York.
Warning Warning! Mark Teixeira is beginning to warm up. It is time to make that final push to acquire “Tex” with his value on the low side. I’m still concerned about Chipper Jones staying healthy all year, but once Teixeira gets locked in he can absolutely explode. Don’t be too aggressive when making a play for him, but don’t expect to get him for Adam Jones straight up, either.
School is almost out and people are beginning to go outside and play. Typically, people leave their computer inside and thus begin to ignore their fantasy team, even if just slightly. That translates into opportunities for us active, aggressive fantasy owners to improve our teams through the free agent list picking up those hot bats. Even so-called experts are not putting as much time into their teams. Want some proof? Check this out.
Yahoo leagues have a feature that allows you to see which owners are active and which are neglecting their teams. Surely, someone who hosts a fantasy baseball show would not ignore their team, right? Buzzzz. Wrong.
| MillerGold |  kcstengel2003 |
10 | 23 | 1 |
Thu May 8 9:23am CDT |
The date/time listed is the last time the team had any activity. The team MillerGold is owned by Casey Stern of the MLB.com Fantasy 411. So, yeah, it’s been almost 2 weeks since he even logged in to check on his team. He currently has Jeff Keppinger and Paul Lo Duca, who are both on the DL and out for a while, in his active lineup.
I suggested Stern be added to our MLB.com listener league when he joined the Fantasy 411, and he immediately took some razzing about not being qualified enough, but he declared he had plenty of experience and was added to the Ron Cey League.
So, I’m throwing Sterno off the train (“under the bus” is old) for missing the draft, mis-stating my trade offers and now neglecting his fantasy team. I have already notified PETFBT (PETA-ish organization) People for the Ethical Treatment of their Fantasy Baseball Teams. I’m not calling for an all out boycott against Stern and his products (hair care), but if you happen to spill some paint on one his fancy-smancy suits, perhaps it will serve as a wake-up call for Mr. Stern.
Carry on.
-Johnny Archive
P.S. Just to be clear, this is intended as good-natured fantasy baseball razzing. The Fantasy Baseball Gods know full well about my disasterous 2007 season in which real life issues caused me to break just about every fantasy baseball etiquette rule.
Wagner Power Insulter
It’s Friday and the start of another round of interleague play, highlighted by the Mets vs. Yankees. And what’s a better way to kickoff a subway series then another edition of the media vs the Mets players.
Billy Wagner exploded in a tirade after it dawned on him that he, the Mets Closer, was being interviewed after a game in which not only did he not get a Save, but he didn’t even pitch. As he walked away from the press, you could here him take a little jab at his teammates who had seemingly bailed.
Uh-oh.
There’s are several teams who were favored to win a lot of teams this year who are not living up to expectations (Tigers, Mariners, Yankees etc…) but none of those teams is coming off of a year with a colossal colapse like the Mets had in 2007.
The last thing the Metropolitans need is clubhouse turmoil. Wagner has pitched great so far in 2008, but at some point there will be a bad outing. When that happens, he’s not going to want his ‘mates getting some revenge through the media.
I did a guest spot last night on the WireTap podcast. It was a roundtable type show hosted by Tony Cincotta. We talked about players who were either good buy low or sell high guys. Now, in fairness to me, I was out with the Archive family and had to call into the show from the exclusive fine shopping establishment, Tar’get’. But no excuses, I came up with a few guys who I felt filled the requirements.
Here’s who I tossed out there for buy low guys:
Travis Hafner Indians – I think his value is extremely low right now. Not only were there concerns entering the ’08 season after he “slumped” in ’07 with 24 HR / 99 RBI, but with a slow start this year most people are very down on “Pronk”. I got him in a deal I did last week, almost as a throw in. I’m not saying he’ll be the AL MVP, but considering the entire Indians’ lineup is under-performing and Victor Martinez was hurt for a few weeks, I think Haf’ has plenty to offer for fantasy owners in 2008.
Eric Chavez Athletics – I know, I know, he’s been fading for the past years and he’ll probably never be the player he was 5 years ago. But, again, let’s talk about value and what it would take to get Chavez, who swears he’ll be back before June 1st. He’s more then likely on your free agent list and can be had for nothing more then a roster spot. For taking a flier on Chavez, you give up almost nothing and potentially be rewarded with 20+ HR and 80+ RBI. Not a bad CI guy, IMO.
Masahide Kobayashi Indians – He has 2 Saves so far this year, the second came on Thursday when he bailed out Raphael Betancourt who loaded the bases while recording only 1 out, before being yanked. All “Yashi” did was strikeout the final two batters to nail the Save, though he did allow one run to score on a wild pitch. This recent import from Japan had 200+ Saves so, again for a free agent pick up, you can snag some Vulture Saves.
Here’s the player I think is good sell high candidate (ran out of time so I only got to do one):
Chipper Jones Braves – He’s playing as well as anyone could have hoped thus far, so I suggest cashing in those chips now, so you don’t have to worry about him staying healthy as the weather gets warmer and players begin to wear down. Nomar, Pedro, Nick Johnson, Rich Harden and Moises Alou have all spent, or are currently spending, time on the DL. Anyone surprised? Absolutely not. Would anyone be really shocked if Chipper was added to that list of names? Exactly. So, play it smart and move Chipper, if you can, for a safer top-tier player.
It was not surprising to me that just about everyone else on the show disagreed with me on my player analysis. I much prefer to be in the minority because that’s how I get the extra value out of my transactions. That’s also why I do my blog and my podcast, because I am typically going to be talking about and suggesting contrary opinions then what people will hear/read out there in the fantasy world. I am certainly not always right, but I will definitely provide against-the-grain insight on player evaluations, which is one of my goals.
I want to thank Tony for inviting me on the show as rather enjoyed the experience. The other guests (Lenny Melnick and Todd the Guru to name a couple) were quite entertaining as well. If you want to check out the archive version, you can go to this link - The Wiretap May 15 show.
Speaking of podcasts, don’t forget to check out The Johnny Archive Fantasy Baseball Show live Sunday Morning at 11:30AM Eastern for the full hour extravaganza! You can always catch the replay at iTunes, BlogTalkRadio.com, MLBFrontOffice.com or at the Johnny Archive mothership, JohnnyArchive.com. When in doubt, just google “Johnny Archive” and you will find me.
Have a Great Weekend!
-Johnny Archive
Good News, Bad News 04/23/08
Okay, we’re back in the swing of things. It’s Wednesday, so you know what that means!
Good News – I did my first song dedication on my podcast this past Sunday.
Bad News – The song, Blink 182′s What’s My Age Again? went out to Astros SS Miggy Tejada — or Tejeda according to his birth certificate.
Good News – The world of sports continues to expand.
Bad News – All kinds of activities are now considered sports. For instance: playing cards, fishing, spelling and even eating are all grueling tests of one’s determination, strength and endurance.
Good News – The world of sports continues to expand part #2.
Bad News – What’s next? The USBL — the United States Breathing Leagues?!? NSA — National Sleep Association (Wait, we already have that, it’s called the NBA regular season).
Good News – After Hillary won PA, the democratic party gets to continue its marathon of choosing a candidate for 2008 presidential election.
Bad News – Clinton and Obama are going to be so worn out and torn to shreds by each other that by the time either one faces McCain the America people will be sick of both of them. Where’s Michael Dukakis when we need him?!
Good News – New York Yankees baseball fans don’t have to worry that the team will not be getting as much press now that George Steinbrenner is getting older and calmer.
Bad News – Hank “the Tank” is off to a great start spewing nonsense and keeping the clubhouse filled with reporters asking the players and coaches for reactions to his statements.
Good News – Joe Torre dosn’t seem to be having any issues transitioning back to NL-style baseball.
Bad News – Well, except for trying to put 4 outfielders in his lineup everyday. He just can’t wait for interleague play to start!
Good News – With the NBA playoffs under way we get to see more of the analysts who specialize on basketball.
Bad News – Yippee! More Stephen A. Smith and his smooth, gracious basketball breakdowns. Quite Frankly, I think he is a little angry about something.
Good News – Alfonso Soriano is due back to the Cubbies on May 1st.
Bad News – Chicago is playing better without “so-So” in the lineup.
Good News – Brewers 1B Prince Fielder continues to pass on meat when it’s put in front of him, even though some have speculated that his new diet is to blame for his lack of power in ’08.
Bad News – White Sox RP Bobby Jenks apparently is following Fielder around gobbling up all the leftovers as he continues to get bigger and bigger.
Good News – My JAIL league team is NOT in last place!
Bad News – I’m closer to last than I am to first place. But hey, considering my top 5 draft picks have been off to slow starts or hurt (Soriano, Braun, Roberts, Atkins, Mauer) I’m actually hanging in there.
Don’t forget The Johnny Archive Fantasy Baseball Show tonight (Weds) at Midnight Eastern Time / 11PM Central.
Be Cool!
-Johnny Archive
John Marzano Tribute Video
I put together a little video tribute to former MLB.com host and professional baseball player, John Marzano, who passed away on 4/19/08.
-Johnny Archive
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