When Manny Being Manny gave way to Manny Being Bannied last season, Manny Ramirez chose to retire from the Tampa Bay Rays after 17 putrid plate appearances rather than face a 100-game suspension for a second PED violation. But, just when it seemed as though we had seen the last of the Green Monster-whizzing slugger with 555 career home runs, Manny is swimming, swinging and showing humility in hopes of getting a Spring Training invite from a club looking for a designated hitter.

Ramirez, 40 in May, still faces a 50-game suspension if a team gives him a chance. We don’t really know what type of shape he’s in or what he has been up to over the past nine months — cutting off outfield throws in Beer League softball games, selling giant grills, pointing at David Ortiz on TV (and wondering why he doesn’t point back)…your guess is as good as mine. And, as Matt Klaassen opined earlier this week, the Manny Market may consist of only Texas, Minnesota, Toronto and Tampa (though I really doubt that last one). But, assuming Manny does get an offer and a chance at playing time come June, what might his batting line be? To get a rough idea, let’s look at his recent performance and the history of greybearded DHs.

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This time of year, I’ll take baseball in almost any way I can find it up to and including writing up indoor whiffleball games. Perhaps a more traditional outlet for catching at least some glimpse of the boys of summer in the winter are the Dominican and Venezuelan winter leagues. There are others, the Australian and Mexican leagues feature some current major leaguers and a few interesting prospects, but the Dominican and Venezuelan leagues have been around for longer and have a great number of players worth watching.

There is a definite incentive for fantasy players to track the winter leagues and see if who is playing well. Prior to Francisco Liriano’s strong 2010 season, he dominated the DWL to the tune of a 3-1 record with a 0.49 ERA and a 0.78 WHIP over the course of 37 innings. While he didn’t exactly replicate that level of success once the MLB season began, owners who gambled on him got 14 wins, 201 strikeouts, a 1.26 WHIP and a 3.62 ERA, which is a strong payoff for a late-round grab. Read the rest of this entry »

Like my ’92 Toyota Camry that ran for three years despite, or in spite of, me not changing the oil, Nick Markakis just goes and goes. Yet, for the first time in his career he runs the risk of missing time due to injury. Ok, technically I’m wrong. He’s missed four games due to injury in his entire six year career, and just one since 2006. That streak may be in jeopardy thanks to the abdominal surgery he underwent last Thursday. He first injured the area sliding into a base in early September but played through the pain for the remainder of the season.

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A little personal exuberance aside, it isn’t likely that Japan’s newest (possible) position player import is an impact fantasy bat this year. His skill set, situation, and even posting fee don’t suggest a breakout is on the way. We can dream — but the realities of the situation are likely to wake us up.

Three years ago, work in my previous incarnation as an educational publisher had me in Japan regularly. The Yakult Swallows played in Tokyo and tickets were much easier to get than Yomiuri Giants tickets, so I was a default fan of the Swallows, as bad as that sounds, and their center fielder Norichika Aoki.

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As Paul Swydan outlined earlier this month, the White Sox are stuck in the middle. The South Siders are in an unenviable kinda-sorta-maybe rebuilding mode, having traded away Sergio Santos and Carlos Quentin but also extending John Danks and being saddled with commitments to the likes of Adam Dunn and Alex Rios that make Disco Demolition Night look like a sage decision by comparison. Unable to totally blow things up, they’re stuck clearing payroll and roster spots for young players where they can.

While the White Sox lack many (any?) blue-chip talents, the man replacing Quentin in right field, Dayan Viciedo, should be on your radar. Viciedo is young, powerful, increasingly selective at the plate and will benefit from taking aim at the U.S. Cellular Field bleachers.

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Sometimes you get excited about a player that seemingly no-one is in on. You even argue publicly that he’s not a fourth outfielder, and start dreamcasting him into production for your fantasy team. Maybe you even take him in an industry mock in the final rounds to signal your intent for the coming year.

Sometimes it’s good to take a step back and check yourself.

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It may seem like a bit of a head-scratcher to see the Padres acquire a power bat in the middle of their perennial rebuilding process — especially one so flawed as Carlos Quentin. Then again, the flaws probably made him acquirable at all, and the Padres sorely lacked what Quentin brings to the table.

In fantasy, we don’t care about any of that. All we care about is how the player will take to his new digs. Before you count Quentin out because of his new home park, the peculiarities of PetCo park demand more attention.

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Here are the 2011 triple slash lines for 4 outfielders and the career split for another player:

0.262/0.309/0.423
0.264/0.323/0.393
0.262/0.336/0.429
0.271/0.327/0.438
0.263/0.312/0.509

All the players are similar. The first player went 14th over all in a recent Fangraphs Dynasty league draft and the others were taken at the following picks: 112th, 234th, 163rd, 62nd.

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For those of you stuck doing nothing at work, here’s a Christmas present. Rankings! Mock Draft! You’re welcome.

Then again, this is not really the mock, nor are they really rankings. So I’m kind of a dick. What we’ve done here is represent the National League outfielders that were taken in the RotoGraphs mock dynasty draft a few weeks back. We’ve got the round, pick, and overall pick number for each, and then we’ve broken them in some tiers for good measure.

In a pleasant surprise, it looks like our keeper tiers held up pretty good, with a few notable exceptions.

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The exodus of former Twins players to the NL West continued on Monday with DH-cum-OF Jason Kubel eschewing the draw of Coors Field with teammates Kevin Slowey and Michael Cuddyer and heading for the warmer confines of Phoenix and the Arizona Diamondbacks. If you’re puzzled about how Kubel fits into Arizona’s plan, you aren’t the only one.

The good news for fantasy owners is that Kubel’s biggest deficiency is his defense, and it plum doesn’t matter unless you’re in the rare league that uses +/- or UZR as a category. It may cost him a few plate appearances at the end of games as the Diamondbacks bring in a defensive replacement for him, but he isn’t grievously terrible in the field and shouldn’t lose too much time. It isn’t as though his defensive prowess is a secret, chances are good that the Snakes are fully aware of his issues out there and have decided his bat is worth it. Read the rest of this entry »