Scooter Gennett owns a .300 lifetime batting average. To be fair, that line is a bit misleading as his lifetime of major league hitting consists of 704 plate appearances spread out over parts of two seasons. The left-handed hitting second baseman has been used in a platoon fashion with the probable free-agent-to-be Rickie Weeks since Gennett was called up in 2013. Read the rest of this entry »
On a weird level, there are certain baseball players I consider “my guys.” No real rhyme or reason to it. Of course the most known and poked at guy of mine is easily Andrew Cashner, but I also love Neil Walker, Xavier Avery (don’t ask) and of course Adam LaRoche. Read the rest of this entry »
For the four seasons spanning 2009-12, Miguel Montero was a very useful fantasy catcher. The lowest triple slash he posted over that time frame was a useful .266/.332/.438 line, still good for a 100 wRC+. His decline has been rapid, as for the second year in a row Montero has hit below .250 and over his past 1,035 plate appearances he’s managed a mere 86 wRC+. Read the rest of this entry »
The word “bold” here reminds me of the interpretation for MVP. Where is the perfect bold line between too cautious and sheer lunacy? Clearly I tend to lean more towards lunacy as once again my predictions were way off. Sigh, oh well. In order to avoid any interpretation issues, I’ll be using Baseball Monster for comparison and ranking related predictions. My league settings will be Yahoo! with LF/CF/RF designations rather than the generic OF.
1. Drew Smyly will be more valuable than Doug Fister
Nope! Smyly is great against lefties, but right-handed hitters torch him. Even with his platoon struggles, Smyly posted a very useful 3.24 ERA in 153 innings pitched. Fister countered with an even better 2.41 ERA in 164 IP. Smyly did have more strikeouts, 133 to 98 and a better FIP/xFIP, but Fister’s 16 wins carried the day. 0-1
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Welcome to the final scheduled day of the regular season. Best of luck to all teams fighting for the division title or at least a wild card berth. It should be a grand day for baseball.
On today’s agenda:
1. Rusney Castillo is flashing his tools
2. Thoughts on Daniel Nava
3. The daily five
On September 30th, the film “Serenity” will celebrate its 9th anniversary. The continuation of the TV series “Firefly,” Serenity is another Joss Whedon creation and both are well worth watching.
On today’s agenda:
1. A big day from Yasmani Grandal
2. Jason Hammel’s solid start and season
3. The daily five
Admittedly we’ll be looking at arbitrary endpoints, specifically first half vs second half splits. I’m generally not one to split up a season like this, however with Josh Reddick, looking at his pre and post-All Star break numbers are worth it.
In total, Reddick has posted a decent albeit not great year. He’s sporting a .254/.310/.430 line, equating to a 111 wRC+. Two separate stints on the disabled list — both due to knee issues — have limited him to 375 plate appearances. Only 11 home runs and sub 50 RBIs and runs isn’t something you’d like to see from a corner outfielder, but there is good reason to hope for him. Read the rest of this entry »
Yesterday marked the 15th anniversary of “The West Wing” debuting on NBC. How I overlooked that is a terrible mistake and I ask your forgiveness.
On today’s agenda:
1. Tyson Ross is done for the season
2. Gregor Blanco’s quiet production
3. A strong start from Tyler Matzek
4. The daily five
Welcome to the final Monday of the 2014 regular season! It’s been a wild ride and I wish you all the best here in these final days.
On today’s agenda:
1. Masahiro Tanaka’s return
2. Thoughts on Eric Hosmer
3. The daily five
Today’s Roto Riteup is being brought to you in heartbreak central, aka Oakland, California. I saw the events of the game unfold…I don’t really want to talk about it anymore.
On today’s agenda:
1. Carlos Carrasco does it again
2. Thoughts on the Colorado Rockies catchers
3. Norichika Aoki is on fire
4. The daily five