One Borbon, One Scotch and One Beer
In Sunday's win against the Brewers, Julio Borbon was shifted up in the order to fill the spot of a resting Ian Kinsler. Borbon hadn't seen the top half of the order in a while and he definitely put in a solid performance in the two-hole: 2H, 1R and 2RBI on a couple doubles. It's unlikely that Borbon will be able to permanently crack the top-half of the order that consists of Andrus, Young, Kinsler, Hamilton and Guerrero but his left-handed bat would be an asset between the all-righty triumvirate that leads off. When Nelson Cruz returns, almost all of the Rangers' ...
David Hernandez Gets The Save
With all of the recent injury troubles the ass-end of the 17-and-43 Baltimore Orioles bullpen has been encountering, David Hernandez might just be the answer. The pickings will be slim but it appears as though David Hernandez is now the master of saves until Alfredo Simon returns. Hernandez worked a fairly clean ninth inning against the Yankees' 8th, 9th, leadoff and two-hole hitters. After getting Marcus Thames to fly-out on a first pitch 95mph heater, Hernandez walked Kevin Russo. Hernandez started Russo off with two fastballs that painted the black before issuing four consecutive balls. The lack of aggressiveness exhibited is ...
Chris Coghlan’s Heating Up
After last year's Rookie of the Year performance, Coghlan's ownership in Standard Yahoo! Leagues dipped well below 50% in 2010. Even within Coghlan's recent 9-game hit streak, owners have only added to him an extra 5% of leagues and his ownership now sits at exactly 49%. Coghlan's no longer freakishly useful -- a toothless hooker robbed him of his second base eligibility (and dignity) -- but as an outfielder leading off a Marlins line-up that just called up Mike Stanton, he'll provide enough value to maintain Top-45 outfield value for the rest of the season. In 12-team, 3-OF, 1-Util baseball leagues, ...
A Quick Look At Trevor Cahill
Trevor Cahill and Brett Anderson both made splashed in Spring Training last year and ended up making the big-club much sooner than expected. Baseball America had Anderson and Cahill ranked seventh and eleventh respectively last winter and while Anderson had somewhat of a break-out campaign, Cahill sputtered. Cahill's strike-out rate evaporated last year (4.5K/9) after posting a strike-out per inning in the minor leagues. Scouts were tantalized by Cahill's ability to sink the fastball and induce grounders while having a curveball that could put batters away but this rare combination almost disappeared in 2009 as Cahill faced issues with control ...
Luke Hochevar: What a Ride.
Hochevar's had quite the ride in his brief professional career and while this isn't a screw Scott Boras article, it probably should be. Hochevar didn't sign his first big-league contract until he was drafted for the third! time by the Royals first overall in the 2006 draft. Since then, the 6'5" mountain of a man showed promise in the minor leagues before making his big-league debut in 2007. Then the wheels fell off. Hochevar couldn't get his ERA below five at the big league level, but continued to dominate after being optioned to AAA. Fastforward to 2010 and Hochevar has finally ...
Don’t Look Now, but…
Colby Rasmus has already hit six home-runs in June so far and it's only the 17th. Rasmus also hit six in April on a similar 30% HR/FB ratio. More importantly, Colby Rasmus has tempered his free swinging ways after posting a 33.8% and 39.3% K-Rate in April and May respectively. Rasmus has went 13 straight games without a multiple strike-out performance and posted an 18.6% strikeout rate in June. Rasmus' K-Rate still sits at 32.8% which may make stat-savvy owners more likely to give him up at a discounted price. If you think Rasmus has turned the corner, now's the ...
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FTW? Daily Ramblings
Don’t Look Now, but…
Colby Rasmus has already hit six home-runs in June so far and it’s only the 17th. Rasmus also hit six in April on a similar 30% HR/FB ratio. More importantly, Colby Rasmus has tempered his free swinging ways after posting a 33.8% and 39.3% K-Rate in April and May respectively. Rasmus has went 13 straight games without a multiple strike-out performance and posted an 18.6% strikeout rate... [Keep on, Keepin' On]
One Borbon, One Scotch and One Beer
In Sunday’s win against the Brewers, Julio Borbon was shifted up in the order to fill the spot of a resting Ian Kinsler. Borbon hadn’t seen the top half of the order in a while and he definitely put in a solid performance in the two-hole: 2H, 1R and 2RBI on a couple doubles. It’s unlikely that Borbon will be able to permanently crack the top-half of the order that consists of Andrus,... [Keep on, Keepin' On]
Jonathon Niese, Mr. One Hitter.
Coming back from a stint to the disabled list, Jon Niese has allowed one earned run over the course of his last two starts. Last night against the Padres, Niese was absolutely dealing. Niese surrendered a lead-off double to Chris Denorfia in the third for his only mistake of the night. Niese’s Thursday Night Line: 1H, 0R, 0BB and 6K. Niese’s 7.06 Ks-per-9 and 2.98 BB-per-9 give him... [Keep on, Keepin' On]
...View All Posts in For The WinWelcome To The Hype Machine
Sacks Juiced: May 26
Dallas Braden left the Oakland loss in the fourth inning with a sore ankle. Braden had issued an unearned run and three hits in four innings before allowing a couple walks and being pulled. Braden believes that he’ll make his next scheduled start. Braden’s counterpart, Jeremy Guthrie, pitched six innings allowing one earned run for the quality start. Guthrie walked three batters while... [Keep on, Keepin' On]
...View All Posts in The Hype MachineRatings & Rankings
2010 Adjusted ESPN Shortstop Rankings
Shortstop isn’t exactly shallow this year, but one thing stands out more than anything else: At-Bats. It’s all about ABs. In fantasy baseball, plate appearances and walks aren’t counted as primary statistics. The importance of a players batting average has everything to do with his at-bats. After that, we’re dealing with some speedsters that deal with hammy and quad... [Keep on, Keepin' On]
...View All Posts in Rating & RankingsGame Theory: Tips and Tricks To Win Your League
ESPN Player Universe: Depth, Averages and Visualization
The staff at ESPN generally puts together a solid ratings set, but because they only give us batting average rather than hits and at-bats; it’s hard to gauge the actual batting average value. I ended up using the ESPN rankings along with the AB that CHONE projects to come up with a value for each batting average category. Ie. ESPN-HITS = CHONE-AB x ESPN-Batting-Average. Same thing went... [Keep on, Keepin' On]
Football Rants...and Advice
How Drew Rosenhaus Killed The WildCat Formation
The NFL is a league based on paradox and nowhere is it more apparent than the league’s salary structure. The highest paid position on the field is also the target for all 11 players on defense and thus the most likely to get injured. The National Football League along with the independent franchises understand that they will only be as successful as their franchise quarterbacks. Thus, the... [Keep on, Keepin' On]
Darwin Had It Right: A Mini Football Essay for 2009.
The schizophrenic market of the NFL casts free agency and the salary cap against each other to form a league of parody and profit — market intervention at it’s finest. Everybody wins yet alternative revenue streams provide adequate incentive for teams to strive for success rather than mediocrity. The NFL Draft levels the playing field further as entrants are often well seasoned college... [Keep on, Keepin' On]
...View All Posts in FTW FootballBaseball Cards
Chad Jenkins: Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects
BDPP85, Chad Jenkins of the Toronto Blue Jays, Bowman Chrome Autograph Buy or Sell: Probably Sitting on It Projected Value: Medium- As someone who attends most of the Blue Jays’ games, I didn’t mind this selection. All things considered, this was probably a great pick for the Blue Jays. Jenkins appears to have put it together through dedication and a bulldog mentality. Jenkins is built... [Keep on, Keepin' On]
Zack Wheeler: Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects, BDPP86
BDPP86, Zack Wheeler of the San Francisco Giants, Bowman Chrome Autograph Buy or Sell: Buying Projected Value: Great This year’s Bowman’s absolutely loaded with pitching — High School Pitching, to be exact. If you haven’t had the pleasure of losing a bunch of money, let me paraphrase the first rule of prospecting for you: HIGHLY TOUTED HIGH SCHOOL PITCHERS ARE A GREAT WAY TO... [Keep on, Keepin' On]
Mike Trout: Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects, BDPP89
BDPP89, Mike Trout of the Anaheim Angels, Bowman Chrome Autograph Buy or Sell: Probably Sell Based on AFL Projected Value: Medium+ to High It seems as though almost every prospect hails from Florida, California or Texas and that’s why I end up lovin’ kids from the North East. Trout’s a Jersey kid with all sorts of tools at his disposal. There are a few things about Trout that... [Keep on, Keepin' On]