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Thursday, August 9, 2007

Priest to LJ: I'll take your money!

Priest Holmes is certainly talking a big game for someone who has been out of the league for almost two years now and had suffered what most all thought to believe a career ending injury. Well, the fantasy star of the early 2000's is bag and talking more than ever!

Seeing an opening on the Chiefs, Holmes has come out of nowhere to suit up and talk trash to LJ. My belief is that the Chiefs are more or less putting him up to this to gain leverage against LJ. While LJ doesn't need the practice, I definitely don't want to see him going into week 1 without any conditioning or contact drills...guys get injured, bad, by doing that.

Continue to draft LJ at the #3-#5 spots in the first round, behind LT and Steven Jackson. But do be cautious while doing so. It might be a good position to trade down from in order to not have to make that decision.

Regardless of Holmes' talking massive amount of crap publicly, he will not be the starting RB and probably not even the backup. If LJ doesn't show, Michael Bennett will get the carries, so if you do in fact draft LJ, handcuff him ASAP with Bennett.

Parker Out of Saturday's Game

In a continuing injury to note, Steelers RB Willie Parker will be held out of Saturday's preseason game due to his knee soreness / swelling. He hopes to be back by exhibition game #3 next week.

I have said it before and will continue to say it; Parker is just too fragile and small to be an every down back. I am not saying he is not talented, but simply buyer beware. If someone wants to reach for him on your draft board, by all means, let him. Parker needs to operate in a dual-back system as he did with Jerome Bettis. I don't think Najeh Davenport is exactly "that guy", but he will have to do.

Expect to see Parker's carries decreased this season; if not due to the team trying to keep him healthy then simply due to the fact that he is not healthy!

Prima Donna Hits Camp

Prima Donna Brady Quinn finally signed a contract and will be in Browns' camp. Charlie Frye is listed as the starting QB on the depth charts; however, Quinn got in with enough time in order to take the snaps away from Frye come week 6 or so.

Quinn has a solid offense around him, and as long as he can keep his ego in check, he will be fine. I am just still trying to figure out how big the Browns locker room is...

...can it really fit the egos of Jamal Lewis, Brady Quinn AND Kellen Winslow? Wow!

Bonds Hits #756!

While this is a day late (sorry, I was busy yesterday), I want to send my congratulations to Barry Bonds on breaking Hank Aaron's career homerun record.

While I am certainly in the minority, I truly believe that Bonds' record is legit, regardless of whether or not we find out he in fact took steroids, HGH, or anything else.

We as baseball fans would be beyond hypocritical to ridicule and punish Bonds for doing what he did. Especially as fantasy baseball fans, we cherish statistics and that is exactly what makes baseball great. There are statistics piled upon statistics, and what Bonds did was simply give us another one, no matter in what form it came to us.

For anyone who thinks that Cal Ripken Jr. did not take amphetamines and greenies to keep his streak going, you are kidding yourself.

Or how about Hank Aaron? Do you mean to tell me he NEVER took a Greenie? I highly doubt that. Steroids and HGH were no more illegal while Bonds was taking them as Greenies were, in regards to MLB policy. As far as MLB's drug policy went, these players did nothing wrong and were completely within the rules. I am not saying that the law governs all -- to me, the "Law" is the least common denominator of how one should behave him/herself. There is no question that what Bonds did was ethically and morally wrong, but c'mon...half of the entire Hall of Fame holds guys that did ethically and morally wrong things during their lives. Why are we going to fault Bonds?

He was a Hall of Fame player prior to steroids and HGH -- those two things don't change that fact in my opinion.

Kudos to Bonds. The new homerun king.

Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Have Your Pie and Eat It Too? Well, Not Quite...

The Chicago Cubs are in the thick of the playoff race...

They reeled in the flounder Brewers and have every opportunity to start throwing daggers at the hearts of the loyal Brew Crew...

Their star hitter Alfonso Soriano, one of the best hitters in the Majors, goes down with a torn quadriceps...

So, what would you do if you were the Chicago Cubs to replace Soriano? Bring up stud prospect Felix Pie of course, right?

Errrr....No.

In an amazingly surprising move, the Cubs brought up all-around talent Eric Patterson to replace Soriano. Patterson leaps Matt Murton and Cliff Floyd on the depth charts and will receive at least 1/2 of the at bats over the next month in left field. The fact that Patterson's bat and speed are in the majors right now is not the surprising part. The surprise is that Patterson doesn't even play the outfield! He is a SS by trade, with the ability to play 2B as well. But, passing over a player in Felix Pie, whom many scouts believes is one of the top-5 OF prospects in the Minors for Patterson seems like an odd move.

I think Patterson is an enormous talent that many people don't know about. So much so that I would make a friendly bet with anyone that Patterson easily surpasses Pie in regards to statistics in the Majors.

It is going to be interesting watching Patterson out there in left, a foreign position to him. I think the Cubs know what they are doing here. It is just a matter of whether everyone else recognizes that.

Monday, August 6, 2007

Season Long Hard Luck Loser

Before you look to see who this player is, I want you to take a second and look at the key statistics of this player. Have a look over these numbers and attempt to estimate just what this players record should be.

IPERAKsBB
137.13.9310766

Couple these numbers with a respectable WHIP of 1.369 and a .241 opponents' batting average.

22 games started into the season, I'd say that these numbers should be good for about 11-wins or so. If this pitchers were on a stud offensive team, maybe 13+ wins so far.

Well, these numbers are Matt Cain's stats, and his San Francisco Giants have done jack-squat to contribute to his record. In fact, they have been so bad that he has been held to a 3 - 12 record!
You have to feel a little bad for the guy, don't you?

Cain remains a must start in all leagues. You have to assume that at some point the law of averages will kick in and he will go on a big win streak.

Question of the Day: Pick a WR...Any WR!

So, I'm sitting here watching "Around the Horn," getting bored to death about more Bud Selig talk and whether his prehistoric face and hands in his pockets upon Bonds' jacking #755 was appropriate...

...I love baseball more than just about anyone, but c'mon. Give it up already.

Anyway, it brought me to this intriguing question; Based on what we know right now, which of the post-Calvin WR's would you want on your keeper league fantasy team?

Ted Ginn, Jr.
Dwayne Bowe
Robert Meachem
Craig Davis

I think it is a damn good question, as each have their pluses and minuses.

Ted Ginn, Jr.: Perhaps the most questionable pick in the draft last April, Ginn has been injured the entire offseason so far. While he may be a phenomenal kick returner during his career, his pass catching abilities still come with major question marks. Ginn is slightly more intriguing now than he was upon being drafted as he has rock solid QB Trent Green running the show now. He does have two phenomenal receivers in front of him in Chris Chambers and Marty Booker, however, thus limiting his potential during his first season.

Dwayne Bowe: Now that he has signed a fresh 6-year deal, Coach Herm Edwards stated that Bowe can come in and take the starting job away from Sammie Parker and start opposite Eddie Kennison. The problem is that he doesn't have a proven QB to get him the ball and LJ is looking more and more like he might be a holdout with each day that passes. Bowe has some major physical talents, second only to Calvin, making him a tremendous keeper prospect.

Robert Meachem: This rookie is a part of the most dynamic offense in the NFL and had a clear shot at securing the #2 WR slot; however, Devery Henderson has risen up the charts to start opposite Marques Colston. Now, Meachem is entrenched in a battle just to stay ahead of Terrance Copper for the #3 spot. The fact is, Meachem is far too big to act as a #3 WR, a position that is typically used as a speedy slot receiver. Henderson is best suited for that role, thus Meachem will at some point win out as the starter. What keeper league owners really need to watch out for is that Meachem doesn't turn into Mike Williams and become a 260+ pounder. Meachem has been known to hit the buffet table almost as hard as he got hit in the Hall of Fame Game yesterday (if you missed that hit, Meachem was flat out obliterated).

Craig Davis: Craig who? Yeah, that is what his mother said too! Davis was almost an afterthought come the completion of the first round in April's draft. But, enter Davis into a very dynamic offense filled with a tremendous amount of young players anchored by perhaps the best RB in NFL history. The Chargers cleared the way for Vincent Jackson to be their #1 WR this season, leaving the #2 spot wide open to be battled between Davis and Eric Parker. Parker recently went down with an injury, leaving a gaping opening for Davis, which he will gladly fill.

So, how do they rank? We will look at both Annual Leagues and Keeper Leagues in regards to ranking them -- a simple 1-4 based on the reasons above;

Annual League:

1) Craig Davis
2) Dwayne Bowe
3) Robert Meachem
4) Ted Ginn, Jr.

Keeper League:

1) Dwayne Bowe
2) Robert Meachem
3) Craig Davis
4) Ted Ginn, Jr.

Sorry, Ted. I just don't think you are very good!

Dwayne Bowe Signs; May Still Start

Chiefs' rookie WR Dwayne Bowe signed with enough time left in training camp to where Head Coach Herm Edwards has publicly stated that Bowe still has the opportunity to win a starting role opposite Eddie Kennison.

This is great news for keeper leaguers; however, be wary of Herm Edwards. The New York Jets organization told Edwards for two years following the drafting of WR Jerricho Cotchery that Cotchery was perhaps the most talented WR on the roster, but Herm chose not to listen.

He has stated that not playing Cotchery in his first two seasons is one of his biggest coaching regrets; therefore, there is a chance that he has learned from his mistakes. Regardless, the Chiefs have so many offensive question marks (will LJ hold out? Who is their QB?) that Bowe is an extremely risky, yet talented, draft pick. You are better off ignoring him in annual leagues and opting for Eddie Kennison, as Kennison is the only WR guaranteed a year-long starting job.

T.O.'s MRI Comes Back Negative

On a positive note, TO's MRI on his aching back showed no damage of any kind. TO may participate in practice as early as this afternoon.

Feel free to keep TO where he is on your draft boards. While he is beginning to age, shown last year by leading the league in drops, he is still productive enough to be a #1 WR on your roster. He is obviously less of an intriguing pick in keeper leagues given that most WR's see significant dropoffs during the ages that TO is approaching.

JaMarcus Russell Holdout Continues

Jason Cole of Yahoo! Sports reports that the Oakland Raiders and #1 overall pick JaMarcus Russell are no closer today than they were at any point since negotiations began, and Russell has every intention of sitting out should he not get the deal he wants.

Raiders owner Al Davis, Russell and his agents all have pointed fingers in different directions as to why no progress is being made. In the end, as we all know, it simply comes down to cold hard $. The sticking point appears to be that Russell wants $29 million in a full "skill" guarantee, while the Raiders are not willing to offer anything remotely close to that.

Cole writes, "there have been 15 players drafted No. 1 overall since 1993. According to an NFL Players Association source, none of them has received a contract that did not include the skill and injury guarantees."

While I have no doubts Russell is probably going a little over the top in regards to money, Calvin Johnson DID just sign a contract with $64 million, $27 of which falls under a "skill" guarantee. So, what Russell is asking for is not without precedent. Especially considering Russell was indeed the #1 overall pick, thus he should be more valuable to his franchise.

The question here is not whether Russell and the Raiders eventually agree to terms...they will. But bigger question is just how will this effect Russell's playing time. At this point, I view it the same way as I do the Prima Donna Quinn situation over in Cleveland -- if either one of these two QB's are not in camp by the 2nd pre-season game, you might as well write them off for the entire season, as they will not know the plays nor have any connection with the players.

Russell is still a fairly safe bet in keeper leagues; however, I do worry about his weight situation. He has the "opportunity" (for lack of a better word) to blow up -- either in statistics or in pant size. The former would be a lot more beneficial to us fantasy owners out there. If the latter comes, you might want to invest in whoever the Oakland Raiders catering service is.

Yankees Surging

The once "left-for-dead" New York Yankees are right back in the thick of things...well, even more than "in" the thick of things. They enter today's game vs. the Toronto Blue Jays only 0.5 games back of the Wild-Card leading Detroit Tigers, having pulled up into a tie with the Seattle Mariners. While the Red Sox continue to win, the Yanks are still only 7-games back in the East.

This team has been ridiculous this year. Their offense is now showing what we expected it to do all year long. In the month of July, the Yankees led the Majors with 201 runs scored. The #2 run producing team in July? The Philadelphia Phillies with 160 runs scored...a full 41 run differential! That means that the Yankees scored 20% more runs than even the next closest team in the entire Majors. That is just downright frightening.

With big-game pitcher Andy Pettitte on the mound this afternoon, look for the Yankees to continue their push for the playoffs, perhaps taking the lead outright tonight. Truly an amazing story.

Big Ben Looking Solid

Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger lead an impressive first drive downfield during the annual Hall of Fame Game, looking as good if not better than he did at any point during his forgettable 2006 campaign.

Feel free to move Big Ben up your draft boards. Despite what everyone perceived as a poor year in 2006, Roethlisberger still found a way to throw for over 3,500 yards. While his Interception total was too high, much of that was due to missing the pre-season after his motorcycle accident. I would not be the least bit surprised to see Roethlisberger surpass 3,800 yards passing and 25 TD's thrown...numbers worthy of a Top-10 QB.

Glavine Finally Gets #300!

We heard it all week long, but it won't really sink in for quite some time. Tom Glavine won career victory number 300 last night against the Chicago Cubs, pitching 6 1/3 strong innings. Glavine very well may be the last pitcher to win 300 games over the course of his career, at least for the near future. Randy Johnson is 16 wins shy; however, given his recent back surgery and age, those 16 wins seems quite out of reach.

Glavine is still a serviceable starting pitcher in all fantasy leagues, although he isn't ever going to dominate a game like he used to be able to do. During a post-game interview with ESPN, Glavine further hinted at what many of us speculate; that this may be his final year in baseball. If it is, he has been a wonderful talent to watch. I don't think any pitcher ever got quite so much production out of his natural talents, or lack thereof.

Lowry Has Forearm Troubles

Never a good thing for a frontline fantasy starter, Noah Lowry only made it through 3 innings pitched last night before his forearm tightened up. He is questionable for his next start.

I would be very surprised if the Giants allowed Lowry to head right out there for his next start. Forearm tightness is often a sign that the ligaments in the throwing elbow are beginning to weaken a bit. Many a pitcher has gone down with "forearm tightness" only to find that the ligaments were damaged and needed Tommy John Surgery. I'm not saying this is the case with Lowry, but this is a time when it is better to be cautious than it is to just throw the kid right back out there.

Soriano Pulls Up Lame

Following a single, Soriano attempted to sprint from 1st to 3rd; however, while rounding 2nd base he pulled up lame and was clearly in pain. Word is he has a strained quadriceps and will be out for 2-4 weeks.

Bad, bad news for the Cubbies given their recent run. And even worse news for Fantasy Owners trying to ride Soriano during the stretch run. Obviously, bench Soriano in all leagues for the next few weeks, but even upon his return, do not expect much base stealing from him given this injury. If your league's trading deadline has not passed, this might be a good time to scout the rosters and see if you can pick up someone else's solid reserve OF to fill in as best he can in the meanwhile.

Sunday, August 5, 2007

Saltalamacchia Starts at Catcher

That heavy wind you felt around 1:30 p.m. today was due to the collective exhaling of all keeper league owners of Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Salty strapped on the gear and played his first game behind the plate for the Rangers, assuring owners around the world that he would continue to gain catcher eligibility in the future.

Good move by the Rangers as he is a far more valuable commodity (::cough:: to fantasy owners ::cough::) while behind the plate. Even if he only starts once every 5 games behind the plate, that still equates to 32 games caught per season, which is more than enough to gain eligibility in any league.

Feel safe to acquire / keep Salty from here on out, despite his hitting woes of late. The Rangers have no intentions of ever letting this power-switch hitting talent ever see the minors again.

Robinson Cano Making Up for Early Season Woes

Robinson Cano is without question the hottest hitter in baseball right now. Cano has two-or-more hits in 15 of his last 20 games, raising his average to .311. In addition, he now has 20 RBI's in his last 21 games!

As of July 15th, Cano's numbers;

Avg.
.273
OBP
.313
Slug
.430
OPS
.743


Since July 15th, Cano's numbers have risen to;

Avg.
.311
OBP
.352
Slug
.494
OPS
.846

Those are increases of (in just 20 games, mind you!);

Avg.
+.038
OBP
+.039
Slug
+.064
OPS
+.103




Also, keep in mind that this is not the beginning of the season, where a couple of at bats can be the difference between a .100 and a .400 batting average. Cano is already at 421 at bats on the year, thus making this all the more impressive.

If you don't have Cano on your team, then you had no shot at getting him via trade because his stock is simply too high right now. In keeper leagues, this kid is a gem being only 24 years old and still growing as a hitter. In yearly leagues, move him up your draft board a few rounds next season, as he is quickly becoming the "Rod Carew-like" hitter many pegged him to be. 25 to 30 homeruns a year is in his near future.