Fantasy Baseball: Junior Redux?
READ MORE: Baseball, Fantasy, Ken Griffey Jr
ESPN’s fantasy capadonna Tristan Cockroft dedicates his column to the rejuvenated studliness of Cincinnati Reds’ centerfielder Ken Griffey, Jr. and how to play him the second half of the season. Should we trade him in anticipation of the seemingly inevitable hamstring busting out the back of his pantleg injury? Or could should we be patient?
If Junior plays 150 games this year, here are his projected stats:
2005 pace: 151 G, .290 AVG, 35 HR, 107 RBI, .911 OPS, 166 H, 41 2B
Amazing. It’s 1994 again. We’re dusting off our Collective Soul records and mashing around in our Doc Martens as we speak.
Fantasy Baseball: Jason Lives
READ MORE: Baseball, Fantasy
In one of the most incomprehensible comebacks so far this year, it appears that New York Yankees’ first baseman and parasite chum Jason Giambi is finally adjusting to his new weight class and finding his stroke again. And now he’s the most added player in fantasy sports when for the past year and a half Giambi has been as valuable as a dung nickel. ESPN’s fantasy mojo rison Tristan Cockroft devoted his Out of the Box column to the Giambi and had these nice things to say about him:
There’s must be something about being a Yankee first baseman. Not two months after fellow pinstriper Tino Martinez hit 10 homers in a 12-game span, Jason Giambi is now in the midst of a similar unexpected hot streak. In the Yankees’ recent six-game homestand, which concluded on Sunday, Giambi batted .556 (10-for-18) with five homers and 10 RBI. Guess who leads the list of Most Added players in the past week? You guessed it; it’s Giambi, who has seen his ownership rise from 16.0 to 85.0 percent (69.0 increase). Maybe it seems like Giambi has only recently turned around what seemed like a lost season just two months ago, right around when Martinez was on such a tear. But keep in mind that it was during that west-coast swing to Oakland and Seattle, when Martinez was in the midst of the streak, that Yankees manager Joe Torre gave a vote of confidence to Giambi, who was practically kicked to the curb by the team’s fans and upper management. Remember that rumored demotion to Triple-A Columbus? What a motivational tool. Giambi has now played 42 games since Torre stood up for the veteran, and has batted .328 (42-for-128) with seven homers, 26 RBI and a .999 OPS during that span. What’s more, his .452 on-base percentage is second-highest since May 13, behind only Travis Hafner (.455).
Jason’s Resurrection [ESPN]
Fantasy Baseball: Should You Marry Zach Duke?
READ MORE: Baseball, Fantasy
Pittsburgh Pirates rookie starting pitcher Zach Duke’s performance this past weekend and subsequent stud-in-the-making reputation has many fantasy owners all atwitter about the possiblity of nabbing him. Many fantasy baseball players are having dirty dreams about low WHIP and high strikeout totals that’ll anchor them the rest of the way. It’s that time of the year in fantasy baseball where you start to reassess if you have any shot at all to win your league’s title. Yep, it’s time to get all longterm girlfriend-y, be aggressive, and ask your team where exactly all this is going. Yahoo’s fantasy sports dorktastic Matt Romig lays out all of Duke’s good points and bad points for us this week and let’s us know that he hopes for the best, but is still uncertain how things will work out. We will be sure to take every bit of his column into consideration and then buy our team flowers and take it on that Caribbean vacation we’ve promised for so long.
The Skinny: The Duke of Pittsburgh [Yahoo Fantasy Sports]
Fantasy News: How to Fix Your Foulke-d Up Team
READ MORE: Baseball, Fantasy
ESPN Fantasy’s nerd-a-riffic expert Eric Karabell takes some time away from his chemistry set and explores the mystery that is Boston Red Sox reliever Keith Foulke. Owners of Foulke have to be plenty frustrated at this point—especially after doinking the 8-7 lead to the Cleveland Indians Tuesday night. Karabell doesn’t flat-out say to give up on the Red Sox round-faced closer, but does suggest making sure middle reliever Mike Timlin (1.64 ERA) is on the waiver wire radar in case Foulke-y commences any more colossal bed-shitting anytime soon:
There remains little indication the Red Sox will replace Foulke…(But…) [W]ill there be a trade? I’ve heard the name Brian Fuentes mentioned, but I doubt he’d close in Boston. He is, after all, a lefty. Danys Baez? Surely Theo Epstein can see that WHIP, or runners per nine innings (Baez’s WHIP is a very high 1.40) is critical to closing. Keep an eye on this situation, but it doesn’t look like Foulke is going to have prolonged success pitching like this. If you can trade him, even now, go for it.
So there you have it. Sadly, unless there are owners desperate for closers, you’re probably not going to get much in return for him. Oddjack says to go the Timlin route and possibly trade for another closer to shore-up your Foulke-friend saves numbers. These are still the Red Sox and beat up closers on first place teams are still more valuable than mortgaging your team for drek.
Closer Report [ESPN Insider (sub. req.)]
Foulke is Moving Closer to the Edge [Boston Herald]
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Fantasy Baseball: The Passion of The Chad Cordero
READ MORE: Baseball, Fantasy
Most fantasy owners lucky enough to have Washington Nationals pitcher Chad Cordero on their team this year have got to be unbelievably giddy about their luck. Who would’ve thought the the roly-poly, crooked-hatted reliever for what is, essentially, an expansion team would have 26 saves so far this season and show no signs of stopping? ESPN’s fantasy razorback Tristan Cockroft spends his Out of the Box column praisinng all things Cordero, showcasing the fact that the Nationals little puggly-wuggly closer is on his way to an Eric Gagne-like season. ESPN currently has Cordero ranked as the number one closer—as he should be treated as such in your leagues where he’s possible trade bait. Don’t settle for anything less than premium power offensive numbers, stud starters, or a date with Jessica Biel if you’re going to give up Cordero.
Washington’s Dominant Closer [ESPN Insider (sub. req.)]
Fantasy Sports’ Bill W.
READ MORE: Fantasy
Angus Lind, a Times-Picayune columnist steps forward and insinuates into the 12-step program:
I’m one of an estimated 15 million U.S. adults who are fantasy sports junkies, fanatical general manager wannabees, would-be talent evaluators, self-styled clairvoyants and — I admit it — delusional, masochistic nut cases.
Thanks for sharing, Angus. There are coffee and donuts in the back.
You Call This A Fantasy? [Times-Picayune]
June 21st is Now The First Day of Autumn
READ MORE: Fantasy, Football
Is it just us or does Fantasy Football season seem to be starting earlier and earlier each year? All this talk about Fantasy Football right now is the equivalent of Macy’s opening Santa’s Workshop on Labor Day. Honestly, fellas, please—wait until August.
Fantasy Football: It’s back [ESPN]
Bigger Board(Football) [Yahoo Sports]
Fantasy Football Signup [Yahoo]
ESPN Fantasy Football [ESPN]
Rejoice! It’s Fantasy Football Television
READ MORE: Fantasy
Fantasy boneheads are dancing in the streets—or their parent’s basement—because ESPN and Fox are blowing out the fantasy sports phenomenon even further and unveiling two new television shows this season for fantasy sputniks everywhere. FOX’s show begins August 28 and ESPN will launch its full-frontal fantasy attack on the universe August 25. The collective TIVOing of these shows by the fantasy dorks everywhere could shut down power on the east coast for months.
Networks to Help Fans Live Out Fantasies [USA Today(via Sports Outlook)]
Newspaper Columnist Gives Verbal Beatdown to Fantasy Geeks
READ MORE: Fantasy
A columnist for the Daily Press in Hampton, Va. named Dave Johnson goes apeshit on fantasy sports participants, going as far as to call them “geeks” and back-handedly bashes the whole concept throughout. And then he pulls out the big guns:
Fantasy Geeks will watch every second of a Royals-Devil Rays game just because Zack Greinke is pitching. Or the Bears vs. 49ers, if they can find a network stupid enough to televise it, because Rex Grossman is starting this week. Who’s their favorite team? Theirs. To be fair, not all Fantasy Geeks are created equal. Many are otherwise-normal individuals who have jobs and relationships. Some even vote, own property and have some semblance of a life.
Mr. Johnson is obviously the free-wheeling, outdoorsy type who uses his time away from the Hampton Daily Press to jet-set with the local townspeople and obsess over the Washington Redskins. He’s a sports writer for a small, daily paper in a town in Virginia with not much going for it besides its proximity to Washington, D.C. So, fret not, fantasy nerds, the stones Mr. Johnson throws are mere pebbles.
Making Peace With Fantasy Nuts [Daily Press]
The Overarching Reach of Fantasy Sports
READ MORE: Fantasy
The Indianapolis Star does a lengthy article about the popularity of Fantasy Sports—its vicarious thrills, its number crunching, its total soul-swallowing addictive nature, the wanness of its participants—and not only tosses out the lofty number of 30 million(!) people involved in fantasy sports(93% male, natch), but also compares the statistical obsession and futures betting aspect of it to the stock market:
In both fantasy sports and the stock market, financial risks are involved, and research is extraordinarily helpful,” they wrote. “Furthermore, in both pastimes, unforeseen events can positively or negatively affect ‘performance,’ and performance consistency is far from certain… . As one fantasy baseball observer recently insightfully opined, with both fantasy play and stocks, a combination of blue chips and undervalued gems in a diversified portfolio is the way to riches.”
Well, we’ve officially found a better use for our skills. It’s time to start spending more time studying commodities markets and pork bellies instead of combing the waiver wire for cheap saves. At least we’ll get more chicks that way. Hopefully.
National Fantasy Pastime [Indy Star]
Fantasy Nerds: The Death of Chief Knock-A-Homa
READ MORE: Fantasy
· ESPN’s Fantasy sports assface Tristan Cockroft laments the struggling Braves and takes time to wonder where all the flowers have gone. [ESPN]
· Yahoo Fantasy Sports’ titfarmer Matt Homing puts together a list of the top 50 fantasy hockey players. There is no fucking hockey, you titfarmer! [Yahoo Sports]
· USA Today fantasy fart hammer gets overly excited about the White Sox starting to swing the bat. [USA Today]
Fantasy Sports Dweeb Confesses, Outs Himself
READ MORE: Fantasy
Pity the poor Fantasy Sports enthusiast who can’t find himself a team name. But after they’ve finished number-crunching OPS to find the perfect back-up second baseman for their fourteenth team, sometimes names become a little tough to come by. Enter this worldly columnist from the Daily Press in Hampton Roads, Va. who joyfully breaks it down for the aspiring fantasy momer so they don’t look silly in front of their two friends:
So you’ve found a Web site and you’ve joined a league, now you need to pick your team’s name. Make it a reflection of you. Don’t use puns or movie characters; they’ve been done to death. My team’s name is - 4815162342 - that weirdo group of numbers from the TV show “Lost,” which is a whole other obsession.
Sigh. Sometimes it’s just too easy.
Confessions of a Fantasy Sports Dependent [The Daily Press]
One day, everything will be a wager, from a hand of poker to the likelihood you'll be struck down by a bioterror attack before the next brain backup. One day. For now, there's Oddjack. It's a sneak peek at the future of gambling.
