fMLB Full Count 10

[Jongkers]

Kelangan ng isa pa.

Para palitan si yanyan.

[denimhead]

i doubt im_on_hd will kick him out

[theNatural]

fMLB Full Count 2011-2012 Season Preview/Review

(Part 1 of 2)

 

Caveats

1. There are 100 ways to skin a cat. At times, I may sound like I'm saying how one team can't possibly win; all I'm really saying is that given the lineup and categories considered, it's going to be an uphill battle.

I'll probably tend to favor hitting in most cases; pitching is an iffy matter at best---it's precisely why we often overpay for the Stephen Strasburgs of the world, hoping they'll have a couple of astounding seasons before that golden arm drops off. All that said, the best thing about baseball is that it has a truckload of talent and a sound pipeline to funnel the kids through so there's always going to be at a dozen guys who can---and often do---bridge the gap.

 

2. I probably won't be talking about closers that much since I'm a stubborn oaf and SV is just one category. I'd be willing to bet, however, that this year, we're going to see even more volatility in terms of job security and roles.

That is to say, this year, more than ever, we're bound to regret taking closers early. It doesn't really help that a whole bunch of bankable middle relief guys have been handed that role out of camp. Even more intriguing is how much of a role the depth---or seeming lack thereof---at middle relief is going to help or hinder a team's season both in real baseball and in fantasy.

 

3. The pop culture references/inside jokes were made all in fun. This is a fun game my friends and if it's taught me anything at all, it's that life ought to be handled the same way. There's about as much romance in baseball as there is heartbreak and there will be a lot of times in life as well as in baseball that we're bound to encounter both. The only constant: humor. Just laugh your ass off and keep it moving.

 

TOP = will keep the team spinning

DICE = iffy props

GLOVES = pitching

 

St. Florida CardLins

C Arenciba

1B Pujols

2B Walker

3B Zimmerman

SS Drew

LF Snider

CF McCutchen

RF Upton

OF Morse

Util Kendrick, Uribe

BN Moreland, Beltran, Utley

 

SP Volquez, Johnson, Latos, Anderson, Zimmerman, Garcia

RP Nathan, Cordero, League

 

TOP: In two words: Sneaky good. Or, if you will, in the Bronx Zoo sense, Snakey Good.

We don't expect Alber Pujols to drop off the map anytime soon but we see three kids with awe-inspiring futures ahead of them:

1) Justin Upton finally putting it all together and becoming the fantasy masher we all hoped he'd become as early as two years ago;

2) Ryan Zimmerman becoming the Nats' affordable version of Evan Longoria; and

3) Andrew McCuthen leading off and leading the Pirates out of their decades-long rut

 

DICE: It's easy to dismiss Carlos Beltran as a has-been but if one can take the anti-Mets view and keep expectations in check, he's got a shot at having a decent season, even if it means having to sit good chunks of the first half. But it's a tough break being with the Mets since they seem keen on channeling the fantasy demon that died in him a few years back.

 

Truth is, if they only went about this the right away, we really don't see why a 22HR/80rbi year is totally out of reach, or for that matter, a notion that's totally out of whack.

 

We'd say the same for Chase Utley but we're bound to get death threats out of the 215. But seriously, if there's one thing about Utz---and even the players who hate him know this---it's that he's a total gamer and it's always tough to bet against those kinds of dudes. The ESPN Fantasy Crew were singing a dirge for his knees last week (to the tune of, "Mothereffin Microfracture"); we don't buy it. It's a long season and we all know Phila's amped to go deep in October again after a disgustipating 2010 season that had the jawn swearing out of every single orifice. So...if we're holding out hope for someone as soft, checkered and old as Beltran, there's gotta be a bit more rope for Utz.

 

GLOVES:

The pitching rotation may seem under-dressed for a cocktail party but the Cardlins have enough to keep them in contention early. Losing Latos for a few games hurts but as long as he can keep healthy, the BubsCrew should have no trouble hanging tough in the arms race. And just a hunch: playing for a team that's always been hard-pressed to manufacture runs, Joe Nathan is poised have a bounceback season for the ages.

 

 

Taho Flavored Kisses

C Ruiz

1B Howard

2B Kinsler

3B A. Ramirez

SS Rollins

LF Pagan

CF Sizemore

RF Francisco

OF Bay

Util S. Castro, Fowler, Scott, Borbon, Polanco

 

SP Hamels, Wood, Sabathia, Santana, Cueto, Hudson, Peavy

RP Nunez, Lyon

 

TOP: What's eating Ryan Howard? People keep insisting that he ought to change his approach at the plate (still striking out a full third of his at-bats). Others keep saying that an old JRoll with bad wheels and having Utz out of the picture just doesn't afford him the kind of pitches he used to crush. Still others keep saying that he should try as best he can to keep that weight off and stay fit especially during the offseason.

 

Maybe he's not a first-round fantasy masher---that BA south of 280 has kept him out of the conversation for the past few years. Yet no one can deny the fact that he can jack `em out of the bandbox that is Citizens Bank Park. But hey, name one team that won't take 38/100/.260 any day and we'll show you a team that should be playing competitive piko instead.

 

Once you pair Howard (the ballplayer, not the libidinous, gender-bending, anthropomorphic MTC user) with a resurgent Ian Kinsler and young angry birds like Starlin Castro and Dexter Fowler, it all adds up to a pretty intriguing season for The Ben Afflecks.

 

DICE: Grady Sizemore has been away from baseball for so long that the Grant Hill saga comes to mind. Right now, no one knows how much he's got left in the tank but he's still young enough to turn it around, even if it seems like his body's got its own ideas. Bay's story is similar but we see no silver lining in his case since he plays for a team with a mythincal legacy of dysfunction. Jake Peavy's projected to have a sub-4 ERA year at US Cellular this year. Maybe it happens, maybe it doesn't: a lot of it is out of Peavy's hands as the defense behind him will have their say on how things play out (for what it's worth, we'll take the over 4).

 

GLOVES:

The one-two punch of Sabathia and Hamels is as strong a combo as they come, provided that Cole Hamels stops trying to be AJ Burnett every few games or so.

As good a pitcher Johan Santana is, the jury's still out on the once bankable pitching stud.

Hudson, refreshed and reanimated, will play a pivotal role in the ATL; expect him to have a good year, like a half-blind old lion toying with a bunch of young mice. Either Cueto or Wood will take the next step up the pitching ladder this year and our money's on Wood ("if I wooooooood, could youuuuuuu?").

 

 

Joe's Mauer's

 

C Mauer

1B Gonzalez

2B Figgins

3B Freese

SS Reyes

LF Hamilton

CF Stubbs

RF Cruz

OF Venable

Util Konerko, Butler

 

SP Jimenez, Buccholz, W. Rodriguez, Cahill, Stauffer, Young, Vazquez

RP Papelbon, Putz, Bard, Gregg

 

TOP: This is Joe Mauer's team and where he goes, everyone else follows. We fully expect a typical Mauer year for the native son of `Sota: just enough RBIs and runs on top of eagle-eye BA to help you forget that he probably won't be smacking 25 big ones out of the park anytime soon. Health, as usual is the question but kid's been playing this brutal position for years (and he's been DAMN GOOD at it) so he and Gardenhire have probably figured it out.

 

And just to stir the Yanks-Sawx pot: We'll take Gonzo over Tex any day of the week. He's younger, has a better approach at the plate and still hasn't grown to his full ceiling. It's about freakin' time the rest of the world sees what this kid can do now that he's out of the pitch-choking confines of Petco.

 

DICE: If there's one thing that Josh Hamilton was put on God's green earth to do---it was to play baseball.

But to borrow that line from that PT Anderson flick: we may be done with the past, but the past ain't done with us. All that coke and all those lost years have come back to haunt him in ways unimaginable. Quite frankly, we're surprised that he's even playing at the level he's at but that's a tribute to the human spirit more than anything. Right now, the number stands at 130 games and most are taking the under; it's been hard to argue against that.

 

There was a time when Jose Reyes was hands-down, a no-brainer top 3 pick. Nowadays, we'd be lucky if he had enough juice in those legs to get him 35 bags. Maybe you could say one thing for every single Mets player we're picking on from here on out: inasmuch as we want to be fair, there's just too much bad juju floating around in that clubhouse for anyone to expect a half-decent season out of them.

 

GLOVES: It's right here where all that consigging paid of...we'll take an era closer to 4 for Ubaldo. Dude's a great pitcher, he's just not at the best park to gun for a Cy Young, four busloads of humidor salesmen notwithstanding. Barring any setbacks, we expect Buccholz to bloom this year even as Cahill gets over the hump. Stauffer should get the Chi-Transplants some good innings; we honestly don't think Vazquez has enough innings left in him but hey, stranger things have happened.

 

 

Castoffs and Misfitz

C Posada

1B Votto

2B Beckham

3B Beltre

SS Desmond

LF Soriano

CF Victorino

RF Markakis

OF Bourjos

Util Roberts, Trumbo, Stewart, Johnson

 

SP Lincecum, Kershaw, G. Gonzalez, Hughes, Carrasco,

RP F. Rodriguez, Thornton, Axford, Hanrahan

 

TOP: Just like fellow Canuck Mike Cera, Joey Votto busted on the scene like a young gangbanger looking to make a name for himself. The guy's combo of power + speed + plate instincts + wholesome, family-oriented appeal (kville loves this) make him a veritable face to any franchise needing one. McLovin Victorino has been more off than on lately but with an expanded role in the offing, he's going to have to be the umbrella-brimmed straw that stirs the Phila drink.

 

DICE: This team's got large fuzzy dice that hang like testicles on a rearview mirror. Oh wait, that was a Cake song. All the same, these are decent risks i.e. no pumping scenes, always with condom, pee after every shot etc.

We fully expect Brian Roberts to go back to his reliable old self, even if it means a slight shave in bags. We'd say the same for the previously slumbering Nick Markakis. We may not know enough about baseball to comprehend what the Orioles did over the winter but we know enough to tell you that at the very least, they are going to go down fighting. It's funny how a little pep talk can get to guys viscerally, almost like dusting off old balls that you thought didn't work anymore (uhhh....that's a "Watchmen" reference, sort of).

 

Desmond is another Beltway dude worth 2 cents: a manic MASN tweet had him going bananas (30 HR/.300 on the year). Truthfully? 20/.280 sounds more reasonable...not too shabby sugardaddy.

 

One key thing about the Halos: they got a bunch of guys who do more or less the same thing and work best as interchangeable parts taking turns. We all know Bourjos can run it, what we don't know yet is if he's bound to get lost in the mix. Both James and Marcel are betting against him having a Gardner-lite type of year (fast fact: fwiw, they both balked on Gardner too).

 

GLOVES: We all know the kville <3's Linc like a son so we can't possibly diss a dude that he'd breasfeed if he had to. We also know that he paid a hefty sum to win the Kershaw sweepstakes, the kind of move that would make both Steinbrenner brothers drop a dozen f-bombs between them---if this were real baseball. Peeps have been pushing Cy Youngs on the poor kid from the first day he pulled on those Dodger blues. So to get to the point: will it happen this year? We'd love to see it but he's gonna have a Felix Hernandez-type of year to get it done `coz neither those bats nor that D will help him here.

 

Gio and Phil, Hughes and Gonzalez...the numbers are gonna be close but we'll take Gio. A lot less pressure to perform, park plays well to strengths and the A's have a good handle of how to let him rip. The only thing Hughes has on him is run support which would translate to maybe 2 or 3 wins. Most importantly, in a gruelling, 6-month trek, you want guys who are going to consistently cough up innings and Gio's got Phil's number on that one.

 

 

CharlieHustle

C Jaso

1B Cabrera

2B Pedroia

3B Wright

SS Avilez

LF Davis

CF Kemp

RF Rayburn

OF Granderson

Util Prado, McClouth, Bautista, Sanchez

 

SP Haren, Carpenter, Scherzer, Lilly, Nolasco, Matusz

RP Venters, Meek, Gregerson

 

 

TOP: Pedroia puts the P-E-D in PED. Ok, seriously, how can anyone not expect a great year out of this kid? With Gonzo and Crawford behind him, he doesn't have to leg out for the triple and bust something up while doing it. Now that Theo and John relented and got the Sawx some new shiny toys, it would take a Mets-like collapse for Boston NOT to make it to the postseason---and Yankee diehards might have to sacrifice a few goats for that to happen.

 

Speaking of the Metsies, well, there's David Wright and more than anything, we can only hope he stays healthy this year even if the CitiField-dwellers don't win much.

 

Just for fun: we'll take the over on 35 for Jose Bautista's bombs, the over on 20 for Rayburn's steals and the under on 25/25 on Granderson's HR/SB.

 

Great mix of talent, pieces fit, playoff aspirations and then some...

 

DICE: The thing with alcohol? It's so hard to kick and that's exactly why it takes 12 steps. Anyone who's ever dealt with an addiction---big and small---knows that it's about patterns (what up Lindsay?). Miguel Cabrera needs time off baseball, he needs to sort things out and the only way for that to happen is have him get as far away from the game as possible. We don't know why the MLB doesn't get that and we don't why the Tigers don't get that. All that pontificating aside, he's still a great pickup for the Hustlers, nevermind if it would mean having to let him go down the line to lock a playoff spot.

 

And all those naysayers on Matt Kemp: TAKE A HIKE. Your legs would be dog-tired if you wrapped `em around Rihanna too.

 

Just two words of caution on Carpenter: age and mileage. We'd probably sell high after the first six quality starts.

 

GLOVES: Even if he goes Vince Carter after the break, we already know that Dan Haren can play big even for just half a year. Scherzer on the other hand is going full throttle, easily one of the most affordable buys going later if he ever got close to those projected numbers. Nolasco, Lilly and Matusz round out a solid, SOLID rotation.

[denimhead]

nice review bud .. im thinking by 2nd half rollins will be batting 5th after howard .. wheels shldnt matter as much

[theNatural]

thanks!

 

got no doubt your boys are gonna find a way to make it work...besides, they probably don't need to score as many runs with the pitching doing the heavy lifting early and often...

 

my point was baserunning: it's like college hoops' 3-point shot, it helps erase a lot of mistakes.

 

 

nice review bud .. im thinking by 2nd half rollins will be batting 5th after howard .. wheels shldnt matter as much

 

edit:

dyahe naman itong bagong board, hassle mag-edit grrr

Edited March 30, 2011 by theNatural

[AJBredux]

Another one of a kind review by Doc. Hell, we should pay him to do this kind of stuff year in and year out. Salamat po!

 

My fave line: "Your legs would be dog-tired if you wrapped `em around Rihanna too."

 

 

Cheers Doc!

[denimhead]

next year .. may bayad na daw ...

[AJBredux]

Kayang-kaya ni Jong magpa-Hooters.

[Jongkers]

^^Si MIG bubuy ang alam kong magpapa-Hooters sa July pagdating niya.

Tsaka di ka naman dadating e.

[bubuy]

ang aga namang advertisment nyan.. lol

 

 

btw, i have a couple of proposed amendments/tweaks to our rules (to be implemented by 2013)

 

1. The abolishment of Sandwich Picks

 

2. Creation of the Supplemental Round (during Minor League draft)

a. The Supplemental Round will immediately follow the first round of the Minor League draft.

 

b. teams/team GMs can acquire Supplemental Picks via:

b.1 if a team GM decides not to keep a top 60 Yahoo! ranked player (current season), that team/GM will be awarded a supplemental pick. That player must've been rostered by the team for at least the last month of the previous fantasy regular season.

b.2 the order of the Supplemental picks are to be decided by the Yahoo! rank of the player: the higher the rank, the earlier the pick.

 

c. Supplemental Picks cannot be traded, neither are the players picked using them for the next 2 seasons. If a player picked in the Supplemental Round is promoted by his mother team, then only can that player be traded.

 

d. Players picked in the Supplemental Round are bound by the same rules that currently apply to all minor leaguers as far as AB/IP minimum and limits are concerned.

 

=== === ===

 

i haven't thought of the cons of this yet but a few of the pros

1. you had an old guy who had a terrific year the previous season and decides to retire, there will be some sort of compensation. (eg BIlly Wagner)

2. you have a top tier pitcher who will undergo TJ surgery and a GM decides not to keep him, there is at least a compensation (eg TJ victims)

3. supplemental picks are not limited to the worst teams

 

Edited April 23, 2011 by bubuy

[AJBredux]

Fine with me. Tanggalin ang sandwiches!

[denimhead]

hows the order of the supplemental pick draft going to be determined? current records or previous year record? otherwise im cool

[kingsville]

I'm cool with both proposed amendments/tweaks.

 

Kaya next season, magiipon nako ng picks/sandwich picks

[joshiasi]

fine wiith the prop....

 

 

anyone for trades??

[Juggie]

wow! may FMLB league pala dito?