It’s time again to re-visit the catcher tiers as the calendar flips to July. I’ve taken both current and expected performance into account, some thoughts and expectations of my own and a few comments from you, my very own Peanut Gallery. Things are looking a little different than they did back in June, so without further ado… Read the rest of this entry »
To say that the closing situation in baseball has been a disaster this season would be a grave understatement. Of the 30 teams this year, 18 teams have had to make changes and/or adjustments due to injury or an outright lack of success. Some of the changes have been temporary while others have seen multiple relievers moved in and out of the role causing fantasy owners to spend far too much time playing the waiver wire in search of consistent saves. But what happens once the dust settles and there’s almost no more turnover? What happens when you can’t find saves on the waiver wire and you’re in need? The trade market can be a very unforgiving place to shop. Read the rest of this entry »
At this time last year, well actually about a week earlier, we did a series of Bullish/Bearish articles where we each picked one side or the other on a particular player of note. My Bearish on Carlos Santana piece wasn’t convincing anyone and some even pointed out that perhaps yours truly was just taking one for the team here and picking a side he may not wholeheartedly believe in. But here we are a little more than a year later and while I still have hope for confidence in another second half surge, I look back on that article and can sympathize with the guy who wrote it. Read the rest of this entry »
For the most part, the catcher position has been a pretty big disappointment this season. Some have performed as expected, but by and large, there are more downs than ups. Hopefully, things will pick up in the second half when we get a serious influx of players coming back from injuries who might be better options than the Nick Hundley, Miguel Olivo, or Jason Castro that you have sitting in your catcher slot right now. They’re not all precious gems coming back, but some are definitely better than others and likely better than what’s out on your waiver wire as well. Read the rest of this entry »
Watch out, keeper league owners. It’s that time of year again. The hot starts have cooled down, the cold starts have heated up, your waiver wire has been picked clean, and you’re seeing a separation in your standings between the haves and the have nots. The haves are trying to make deals to solidify their roster for a championship run while the have nots are already looking towards next year. It doesn’t matter that there’s still almost four months left in the season and plenty of time to mount a comeback, there are those that accept defeat a little too easily and all they care about is which stud protect they can pick up just by unloading their roster to someone in the hunt for a title. It’s time for the dump deal.
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Currently, I am playing in seven different roto leagues and if there is a common thread to be found in each one, it’s that just a handful of stolen bases can vault a number of teams up in the standings by an average of five points. Unless you’re sitting at the top of the stolen base category or sitting in last by a ridiculously large margin, a boost in steals could mean the difference between languishing in the bottom third of your league standings and competing for the championship. Here are a pair of outfielders who just might be able to help… Read the rest of this entry »
One of the biggest criticisms of saber-enthusiasts is their tendency to ignore the human element of the game. Their breakdown and analysis of the game is all about the numbers, statistical trends, replacement values, etc. These aren’t robots here on the field playing the game, yet often during a study of it, they are, in a way, treated as such. And for me, I have to agree with the critics. You simply can’t ignore the human element. It must be accounted for in some way. Why? Because humans are inherently stupid and common sense is the least common thing in this world. Read the rest of this entry »
If you’re a little light in the speed department, then a couple of situations have opened up that might interest you. If you’re in an NL-only league, then my apologies. Feel free to move along. Nothing left to see here. But if you’re in an AL-only or mixed league, then these guys just might be able to help you out. Read the rest of this entry »
The release of the monthly positional rankings and subsequent position tiers always spurs a lot of discussion here on the site. Some people like them, some people hate them and some people just have questions as to why they are the way they are. So while Eno and the boys get ready to compile the rankings for the month of June, I figured I’d open up the catchers discussion early and see if we can’t help influence some of the decisions. Read the rest of this entry »
When an organization decides to give a player an opportunity to play every day and take over a starting position, fantasy owners need to stand up and take notice. Especially if the player qualifies at a position that is either thing to begin with or has been decimated by injuries through these first two months of the season. Here are two prime examples that are likely sitting on your waiver wire just waiting to be claimed.
Josh Bell, ARI |3B| Ownership: ESPN – 0.5% Yahoo – 1.0%
Right on the heels of my last Kicking Rocks piece which clamored for Bell’s call-up, the Diamondbacks finally said enough to the Cody Ransom/Ryan Roberts platoon they had working the hot corner this season. With little or no legitimate production at the position, it made perfect sense for the team to give Bell a shot, if not for anything but to at least just kick the tires and see what they had. It’s not like things could get worse, right?