The MLB 2008 Thread (including fantasy baseball leagues)

[Warpticon]

How has this taken so long?

Lots of big moves this offseason, and pretty much no discussion. Fantasy baseball leagues will be opening within the month. Huge trades with Santana going east and Willis/Cabrera coming back to the AL Central. lets get it cracking.

I play on Yahoo yearly, and I got my two accounts ready to make eight teams. But I'm also planning on giving c bssports.com a shot. it has different options and has come recommended to me by some people.

[PopTardO]

i dont mind joining another srk fantasy league, i remember someone started one last yr and that was pretty fun

[Warpticon]

Controversial statement: The Devil Rays could compete in 3 out of 6 divisions this year. Sorry, the RAYS.

Anybody got any preliminary predictions?

[Infernoman]

Controversial statement: The Devil Rays could compete in 3 out of 6 divisions this year. Sorry, the RAYS.

Anybody got any preliminary predictions?

I MUST have been sleeping in way too much...explain this to me man! :confused:

[lamewadd]

I'd be in on that. And yeah, the whole steroids thing has greatly overshadowed the big deals (Santana), the small deals (Affeldt) and bullpen shifts (Joba Chamberlain).

[Warpticon]

I'm picking:

NL East: Mets
NL Central: Cubs
NL West: Rockies
AL East: Sox
AL Central: Indians
AL West: Mariners

[ThePurpleBunny]

It seems like each division is gonna be a two-horse race. Yankees - Red Sox, Indians - Tigers, Angels - Mariners, Mets - Phillies, Cubs - Brewers, Diamondbacks - Rockies. Should make for some interesting races at the end of the season.

I'm wondering who will be the surprise team this year that can change that.

[Warpticon]

It seems like each division is gonna be a two-horse race. Yankees - Red Sox, Indians - Tigers, Angels - Mariners, Mets - Phillies, Cubs - Brewers, Diamondbacks - Rockies. Should make for some interesting races at the end of the season.

I'm wondering who will be the surprise team this year that can change that.

I'd pick the Padres over the Diamondbacks. The D-backs were extremely lucky last year. The Dodgers also made some very significant upgrades. Haren was a great pickup, but that's it, and we're talking about a D-backs team that gave up more runs than it scores. That's INCREDIBLY lucky that they made it as far as they did.

Out of the NL East, I'd expect the Braves to be competitive. In the AL East, it's definitely two-horse. I have no faith in the Jays. In the central, the Twins just bowed out. The Sox made some nice moves, and they might be able to do something without that awful manager of theirs, but they're not at the Tigers or Indians' level.

[Blend]

Life long Yankee fan here! I hear Joba gonna start the season out of the bullpen to keep innings down. What do ya'll think about that move?

[Warpticon]

I guess it's a safe move, as long as they don't fool around and put him in when whoever's in there falls off. The Twins did that same ish with Santana his first couple of years, and he was obviously ready before they put him in the rotation to stay.

[Blend]

Speaking of Santana those bastards on the other side of town talking Rings already.

[Mario Lemieux!]

go jays go!! as long as we stay healthy


...wait. i just had 4 years worth of deja vu

[ELLwarriors]

Can't wait for Fantasy Baseball. Making up funny names and the drafts are easily the funnest parts of the year.

Long time Padres fan here, and I'm a little concerned going into this year. Their pitching is still the best in the NL, but the lack of bats has always been the real issue. The move for Jim Edmonds really makes me cringe, since everyone knows he'll be lucky to play more than 120 games. Even when healthy, his bat sure looked run down last year.

While this may be an unpopular move here in San Diego, I'm hoping that they go after Bonds. It makes too much sense considering LF is currently manned by either Scott Hairston, Chase Headley (rookie), or even Kevin Kouzmanoff. I know the prospect of 2 38+ outfielders roaming the giant PETCO Park OF is scary, but the stats Bonds bat brings to the table are simply unmatched by anyone out there. Even in a down year you could expect 25 homers and a .400 on base from him. If the Padres just bite the bullet and sign him, they'll officially be the front runners for the NL West, which all of a sudden becomes one of the best divisions in baseball.

[DS]

My central pick is iffy. For one, the Indians may lose that steam from last season for all we know. Perhaps '07 was their lucky year. Maybe not. But on the other hand, you have the Cabrera/Willis trade which was the biggest one of the off season(perhaps second to Johan coming to the Mets).

All my other picks are the same as Warp's excluding the West as well. I don't know what kind of uninjured magic Tori Hunter is going to pull out of his ass for the Angels, but their outfield is pretty tight.

[ThePurpleBunny]

we're talking about a D-backs team that gave up more runs than it scores.

Damn. I forgot about that. That changes my outlook on that division. No way you can do that a second time and win the division. Especially when that group of teams has become real competitive.

I see the NL Central being the same clusterfuck it's been the last couple years. I'd like to see the Cubs win it again, but as weak as that division's been, it wouldn't even surprise me if the Reds end up winning it.

And yes, I know that's still nothing to bet on.

[lamewadd]

Speaking of Santana those bastards on the other side of town talking Rings already.

They're in the NL. They'd have to change leagues before they can even consider having a chance at winning it.

As for Joba...can't blame them. He's still a youngin, and the imports in Boston set the precedent that the quick transition to having a lot of innings can take a serious toll down the line.

[ThePurpleBunny]

They're in the NL. They'd have to change leagues before they can even consider having a chance at winning it.

Yeah, because that's what the Cardinals had to do to win theirs. :rolleyes:

I'm still not sure if I'm going to take part in Fantasy this year. I slacked off on it throughout last year. But that was from working and drinking. Now I'm limited to drinking.

When does it open anyway?

[lamewadd]

I'm just sayin, the whole DH thing sure has made the AL seperate from the NL :rolleyes:

[Warpticon]

Yeah, because that's what the Cardinals had to do to win theirs. :rolleyes:

I'm still not sure if I'm going to take part in Fantasy this year. I slacked off on it throughout last year. But that was from working and drinking. Now I'm limited to drinking.

When does it open anyway?

It's already open at cbssports. I'm considering opening an SRK league there, and another on Yahoo when it opens.

[Warpticon]

Okay, too much dillydallying around, we need to kick this off posthaste.

I'm looking over the rules and arrangements for fantasy baseball on cbssports.com and foxsports.com, and considering starting a league on both of these and yahoo.

[matrix9280]

What kind of a league are you starting? Head-to-Head? Roto? Points?

[rsigley]

lol@ angels/mariners fighting it over for the top in the west

mariners gonna be in the basement again

[Warpticon]

What kind of a league are you starting? Head-to-Head? Roto? Points?

Yes. Seriously, I'm evaluating all of them. CBSSports is out, since it costs money to commish a private league. ESPN, Fox Sports, and good ol' Yahoo are still open. I'd like to run a league or two on each site so we can learn what we like and dislike on each, rather than just sticking with Yahoo out of habit. Comparison charts and crap will be coming sometime this afternoon/evening.

[matrix9280]

lol@ angels/mariners fighting it over for the top in the west

mariners gonna be in the basement again

Are you serious? They won 88 games last year without Erik Bedard. With him on the team and Felix Hernandez maturing they should at least that many games this season if not more.

[Warpticon]

ESPN is looking pretty interesting. They offer five different types of leagues. Standard roto; Standard points; and Head to Head using total points for a week (win/lose), head to head by category (win/lose), and head to head by category (# of categories won/# categories lost). The bolded are options offered by Yahoo. I'm intrigued by the different head to head options. I actually like all of these play styles, but strategy changes wildly depending on which league type is being used.

Fox Sports has the same, minus Head to Head by points.

[Chachi]

Let me know when you guys decide on a place to have the SRK league and I'll sign up.

I didn't know Hideo Nomo was turning 40 this year until I saw him in a Royals uniform. :rolleyes:

Mike Maroth and Brett Tomko are also signed to take half the season off while in KC before inevitably traded to an East Coast contender....

[jae hoon]

AL East - Boston/Toronto/New York/Tampa Bay/Baltimore
AL Central - Detroit/Cleveland/Chicago/Minnesota/Kansas City
AL West - Seattle/Angels/Oakland/Texas

NL East - Atlanta/Mets/Philly/Washington/Florida
NL Central - Chicago/St Louis/Milwaukee/Houston/Cincinnati/Pittsburg
NL West - Colorado/Arizona/Dodgers/Padres/Giants


Preseason picks in order that will probably changed 3 months into the season.

[matrix9280]

Head to Head is good. Roto is better. Points leagues I'm not too fond of. ESPN is a good site though.

[Warpticon]

Head to Head is good. Roto is better. Points leagues I'm not too fond of. ESPN is a good site though.

What's your problem with points leagues? I've really played in them much. I think we should at least have one H2H and one roto league, though.

[rsigley]

almost every projection has mariners finishing last and averaging about 73 wins

angels winning the division by about 10 games

pecota has it:

al east: yankees/red sox/rays/blue jays/orioles
al central: indians/tigers/white sox (far behind)/royals/twins
al west: angels/a's/rangers/mariners
nl east: mets (by a lot)/phillies/braves/marlins/nationals
nl cent: cubs/brewers/reds/cards/astros/pirates
nl west: dodgers/diamondbacks/rockies/padres/giants

here's my projections based on statistics (!!!), with # of wins i predict. i rounded to whole #'s, so the totals might not add up to the number of games, but it'll only be a couple off. mine are very close to pecota, the only difference is a game or two there which you can't see cause i didn't publish pecota's #'s

AL East:
New York 97
Boston 89
Tampa Bay 87
Toronto 79
Baltimore 72

AL Central:
Cleveland 92
Detroit 89
Chicago 79
Minnesota 74
Kansas City 74


AL West:
Los Angeles 87
Oakland 79
Texas 75
Seattle 73


NL East:

New York 93
Philadelphia 86
Atlanta 83
Washington 76
Florida 75

NL Central:

Chicago 88
Milwaukee 86
Cincinnati 81
St. Louis 75
Pittsburgh 73
Houston 72

NL West:

Los Angeles 87
Arizona 85
Colorado 80
San Diego 78
San Francisco 71

[rsigley]

Also to expand on my Mariners hate, yes they upgraded on getting one good pitcher, but to win a baseball game you have to score at least one run and the Mariners offense is really bad. The only decent offensive person on their team is Ichiro.

The only have two good pitchers, the other 4 of their starters (Carlos Silva, Jarrod Washburn, Miguel Batista, and Horacio Ramirezare) are horrible and they are spending over 30 million/year for them. Their bullpen sucks except for JJ Putz

[matrix9280]

What's your problem with points leagues? I've really played in them much. I think we should at least have one H2H and one roto league, though.

With points leagues it seems like instead of trying to build the best, most well rounded baseball team to win you have to build one that abuses the system. Like build with the most home runs or a team that steals the most bases or has the most strikeouts or something.

Unless the scoring system is perfectly balanced in accounting for each stat there always seems to be a loophole to be exploited. Plus you can't use averages in those leagues like team batting average, WHIP, and ERA. I like those aspects of fantasy baseball.

[rsigley]

Also, if anyones interested I will take any amount of action on the following bet:

Mariners finish 1st or 2nd in the AL West you win
Mariners finish 3rd or 4th in the AL west I win

[Warpticon]

With points leagues it seems like instead of trying to build the best, most well rounded baseball team to win you have to build one that abuses the system. Like build with the most home runs or a team that steals the most bases or has the most strikeouts or something.

Unless the scoring system is perfectly balanced in accounting for each stat there always seems to be a loophole to be exploited. Plus you can't use averages in those leagues like team batting average, WHIP, and ERA. I like those aspects of fantasy baseball.

That's been my experience with most roto leagues, though, depending on what stats are in effect. The lack of rate stats is something I hadn't considered, though. Good point.

Why would anybody pick the Cardinals second in the NL Central?

[Warpticon]

Okay, Head-to-Head League on www.foxsports.com has been created.


League name: SRK Fox League
password: essarrkay


Of course, now that the league is created, scoring and rules and draft times and all can be changed as needed. Next, a roto league somewhere.

[Warpticon]

Hellooooo? NOBODY has joined the league yet? What's going on here?

[sterlingtemple]

He looked good in spring training so far but it's do or die for Mr. Hampton this year.

[Chachi]

What's the league ID number Warp?

[Warpticon]

can't pull it up by name? It's 94287.

[PopTardO]

i am in the srk h2h yahoo league already...from last yr

[maxx]

anyone know how to get redsox yankees tickets without selling ur first born. it always seems they get sold out even before its on sale.

[ThePurpleBunny]

You can sell your second born, but that'll only get you upper-deck seats.

[matrix9280]

Albert Pujols has arthritis, a torn ligament, bone spurs, and swelling in his right elbow. Other than that he's doing just fine.

[Chachi]

Signed up for Fox League as Kansas City Tradebait.

[fei long]

im down the some leagues, whats the password for the yahoo league?

[Chaos]

almost every projection has mariners finishing last and averaging about 73 wins

angels winning the division by about 10 games

pecota has it:

al east: yankees/red sox/rays/blue jays/orioles
al central: indians/tigers/white sox (far behind)/royals/twins
al west: angels/a's/rangers/mariners
nl east: mets (by a lot)/phillies/braves/marlins/nationals
nl cent: cubs/brewers/reds/cards/astros/pirates
nl west: dodgers/diamondbacks/rockies/padres/giants

here's my projections based on statistics (!!!), with # of wins i predict. i rounded to whole #'s, so the totals might not add up to the number of games, but it'll only be a couple off. mine are very close to pecota, the only difference is a game or two there which you can't see cause i didn't publish pecota's #'s

AL East:
New York 97
Boston 89
Tampa Bay 87
Toronto 79
Baltimore 72

AL Central:
Cleveland 92
Detroit 89
Chicago 79
Minnesota 74
Kansas City 74


AL West:
Los Angeles 87
Oakland 79
Texas 75
Seattle 73


NL East:

New York 93
Philadelphia 86
Atlanta 83
Washington 76
Florida 75

NL Central:

Chicago 88
Milwaukee 86
Cincinnati 81
St. Louis 75
Pittsburgh 73
Houston 72

NL West:

Los Angeles 87
Arizona 85
Colorado 80
San Diego 78
San Francisco 71

Your predictions suck quite frankly. I don't know how you are extrapolating the Yankees for the most wins in the majors considering that they play in a division that contains the Red Sox, Blue Jays and a loaded with young talent Rays squad. Not to mention interleague with the Mets. They have very little front line pitching and Hughes/Chamberlan must prove they can start and will probably be capped at around 140-150 innings pitched if the team has any interest in their long term careers. Cabrera is a so-so talent, Posada's PECOTA predictions are not good and PECOTA also wonders if Jeter will begin to tale off considerably. Also Matsui sucks and is injured and first base is a nightmare. Abreu also is 34+ and just posted one of his worst seasons ever and his K/BB ratio is headed the wrong way. Still a playoff caliber team but Arod and Cano are the only prime of career players remaining in that lineup.

[ThePurpleBunny]

He just broke off Public Enemy #1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2M0c6DxCMY) :lol:

[Carpet Lint]

PECOTA has the Rays winning like 86+ games and Seattle winning less than 80? I just can't see it...

I'm of the belief that the Mariners overachieved in the first half last year on their way to winning 88 games, but Sexson had a terrible year (he sucks, but I'd expect like at least an .800 OPS from him this year) and they added Bedard.

2007: Felix, Batista, Washburn, Jeff Weaver, Horacio Ramirez
2008: Bedard, Felix, Batista, Washburn, Silva/Ramirez

So essentially it's Bedard replacing Jeff Weaver (6.20 ERA in 27 starts) and Horacio's gotta get better this year (7.16 ERA in 20 starts last year) or Silva will put up better numbers than that.

That's gotta be worth a bunch of wins right there, and I can't imagine them losing that many games even if they were overachieving last year.

[rsigley]

Your predictions suck quite frankly. I don't know how you are extrapolating the Yankees for the most wins in the majors considering that they play in a division that contains the Red Sox, Blue Jays and a loaded with young talent Rays squad. Not to mention interleague with the Mets. They have very little front line pitching and Hughes/Chamberlan must prove they can start and will probably be capped at around 140-150 innings pitched if the team has any interest in their long term careers. Cabrera is a so-so talent, Posada's PECOTA predictions are not good and PECOTA also wonders if Jeter will begin to tale off considerably. Also Matsui sucks and is injured and first base is a nightmare. Abreu also is 34+ and just posted one of his worst seasons ever and his K/BB ratio is headed the wrong way. Still a playoff caliber team but Arod and Cano are the only prime of career players remaining in that lineup.

Posada Pecota - .287 AVG, 70 Runs, 17 HR, 75 RBI, 3 SB, 0.380 OBP, 0.479 SLG, 35.6 VORP

how is that not good?

I predict 97 wins, Pecota predicts 97 wins, ZiPS predicts 96 wins - whats the chance that we're all wrong?

"Your predictions suck quite frankly" - my predictions are correlated with pecotas having a R = 0.98 which means they're almost the same. Pecota is regarded as the best forecasting system, so you think theirs sucks too?

I mean if they suck post what you think and we'll just compare at the end of the season

[rsigley]

PECOTA has the Rays winning like 86+ games and Seattle winning less than 80? I just can't see it...

I'm of the belief that the Mariners overachieved in the first half last year on their way to winning 88 games, but Sexson had a terrible year (he sucks, but I'd expect like at least an .800 OPS from him this year) and they added Bedard.

2007: Felix, Batista, Washburn, Jeff Weaver, Horacio Ramirez
2008: Bedard, Felix, Batista, Washburn, Silva/Ramirez

So essentially it's Bedard replacing Jeff Weaver (6.20 ERA in 27 starts) and Horacio's gotta get better this year (7.16 ERA in 20 starts last year) or Silva will put up better numbers than that.

That's gotta be worth a bunch of wins right there, and I can't imagine them losing that many games even if they were overachieving last year.

Silva will put up bad numbers because he puts a lot of balls into play and the Mariners have horrible defense behind him. If he had a good defensive team behind him then things would be different, but a lot of balls are going to get past the current defense.

Mariners also have no bench literally, past their starting 9 the only bench players with a VORP >1.0 are: Mike Morse (2.5) and Jeff Clement (2.1). If you look at the Mariners WSAB from last year they were one of the worst teams and actually got worse on the bench.

Also they're weak at 2B (Jose Lopez, tho Vidro could play 2B but then they have no DH), RF (Wilkerson), and 1B (Sexson)

Also Betancourt is one of the worst SS defensively in the league in the most important position defense wise.

tampa bay has the best pitching roster in the league IMO and improved on defense greatly. if they ended up signing bonds i could see them almost winning the AL East. trade baldelli for a long reliever or maybe a catcher (Their two weakest spots) or maybe get iwamura out of there, move gomez to RF, and bonds to DH

Oh and Pecota has the Rays up to 89 wins now and Mariners at 73

Yes bedard and felix are good 1-2 combo, but what good can they do when the mariners can't score runs - they can't pitch shut outs every game

[rsigley]

2007: Felix, Batista, Washburn, Jeff Weaver, Horacio Ramirez
2008: Bedard, Felix, Batista, Washburn, Silva/Ramirez

So essentially it's Bedard replacing Jeff Weaver (6.20 ERA in 27 starts) and Horacio's gotta get better this year (7.16 ERA in 20 starts last year) or Silva will put up better numbers than that.

That's gotta be worth a bunch of wins right there, and I can't imagine them losing that many games even if they were overachieving last year.

Couple other things too: I don't think Ramirez is a good starting pitcher because he just throws way too many pitches per AB. The guy walks the ball park and gets pulled out early which ruins the bullpen. He's better as a spot guy IMO.

and Washburn/Batista have the same problem as Silva. They don't strike people out and instead put a lot of balls into play which will get past this defense.

[Carpet Lint]

Well Horacio got waived, so I guess you're right there. What a shitty trade - meanwhile Rafael Soriano's going to be closing for the Braves over the next couple years.

Washburn and Batista still had 4.3 ERA's - did they have insanely low BABIP's or something? They were 7th out of 30 in errors last year too - which isn't really indicative of accurate defense, but they can't be like the worst in the league either, can they?

I think you're over exaggerating some things - you're making Seattle out to be like the White Sox or something. Mariners were 12th in runs scored and 13th in OPS (out of all 30 teams) so while those certainly aren't great numbers, it's fairly middle of the pack (7th of 14 in the AL). Sexson should bounce back in a contract year, and Jeff Clement should improve...Beltre's improved every years since he signed with Seattle (LOL at that signing, by the way) and could win a Gold Glove, Ichiro and Kenji are both good hitters at their positions...I don't know, I don't see them doing THAT badly.

Where do you get your PECOTA figures, by the way? Do you actually have a subscription or are there sites that list them for free?

_______________________

Anyone catch this about Rocco Baldelli?

He has like a weird, rate metabolic/mitochondrial condition that causes extreme fatigue after working out, and is now sidelined indefinitely.

http://blogs.tampabay.com/rays/2008/03/baldelli.html

What is wrong with this guy!?! He is the top Mr. Glass in any professional sport.

[thekidfromLBC]

Finally !! I was waiting for this thread! :woot: , it's time to watch the dodgers! :woot:

[Warpticon]

Anyone catch this about Rocco Baldelli?

He has like a weird, rate metabolic/mitochondrial condition that causes extreme fatigue after working out, and is now sidelined indefinitely.

http://blogs.tampabay.com/rays/2008/03/baldelli.html

What is wrong with this guy!?! He is the top Mr. Glass in any professional sport.

That is...wow.

[rsigley]

Well Horacio got waived, so I guess you're right there. What a shitty trade - meanwhile Rafael Soriano's going to be closing for the Braves over the next couple years.

Washburn and Batista still had 4.3 ERA's - did they have insanely low BABIP's or something? They were 7th out of 30 in errors last year too - which isn't really indicative of accurate defense, but they can't be like the worst in the league either, can they?

I think you're over exaggerating some things - you're making Seattle out to be like the White Sox or something. Mariners were 12th in runs scored and 13th in OPS (out of all 30 teams) so while those certainly aren't great numbers, it's fairly middle of the pack (7th of 14 in the AL). Sexson should bounce back in a contract year, and Jeff Clement should improve...Beltre's improved every years since he signed with Seattle (LOL at that signing, by the way) and could win a Gold Glove, Ichiro and Kenji are both good hitters at their positions...I don't know, I don't see them doing THAT badly.

Where do you get your PECOTA figures, by the way? Do you actually have a subscription or are there sites that list them for free?


i pay for BP subscription, its only $39.99/year. i use it mostly for health reports and the articles because i develop my own projections, but its always good to compare mine to theirs. i do this for sports betting reasons.

according to +/- mariners were towards the bottom of fielding

http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/teams/

average for AL was -6, mariners had -64

tied for 3rd worst with pirates (florida 2nd worst, TB worst)

washburns 07 babip was 0.291, batista was 0.315

average is ~0.290

08 projections washburn - 0.292, batista 0.308

i think one good thing with washburn is safeco field is good for his typing of pitching (fly balls, left handed), so he gets a little boost there.

Do the Mariners still have Baek? If they do, I'd move him up to the 5 spot and move Batista to the bullpen. I know Batista bombed in the pen for the blue jays, but I think he could do less damage to the mariners there, until Bedard gets injured again - then he can return to the rotation

[The Epidemic]

wow..i missed this thread.

any fellow Mets fan up in here?

[BruceLB]

rsigley is right. The Mariners still suck. They weren’t a 88 win team last year. I got them at 78-82 wins. The Angels easily take that division.

Also the Padres do not have the best pitching in the NL. Their home park makes their pitchers look better than they actually are. I'd take the D'backs and Dodgers rotation over the Padres.

[rsigley]

Sexson should bounce back in a contract year,

oh yea, there's also no evidence to suggest that players perform better in a contract year, so if he over performs his expectations its not due to being a contract year

there was a chapter in baseball between the numbers saying the opposite, but the authors didn't use a random sample and only looked at prominent free agents

some studies about contract years:

"The Influence of Free-Agent Filing on MLB Player Performance," Atlantic Economic Journal, Dec. 2005, Evan C. Holden and Paul M. Sommers

"A Test of Additional Effort Expenditure in the "Walk Year" for Major League Baseball Players," Benjamin D. Grad


those are two good ones, but there's a bunch

[Carpet Lint]

Huh. There might not be a perfect correlation between contract years and better performance, but I'd think that'd be another source of motivation for improvement...but the studies say the opposite?

That sounds like cool reading. But if those studies aren't available online via Google, then I'm not doing it.

What stat you like for defense? I see you like +/- for teams, but what about individual players? Would stuff like UZR be better for that, or would each case have to be taken into account individually based on multiple sources?

[BruceLB]

Huh. There might not be a perfect correlation between contract years and better performance, but I'd think that'd be another source of motivation for improvement...but the studies say the opposite?

That sounds like cool reading. But if those studies aren't available online via Google, then I'm not doing it.

What stat you like for defense? I see you like +/- for teams, but what about individual players? Would stuff like UZR be better for that, or would each case have to be taken into account individually based on multiple sources?

There is no perfect stat for defense. You need to take into account multiple sources. UZR is good, I also like Dan Fox's SFR (Simple Fielding Runs). SFR is still being tweaked but Dan knows his shit.

Basically if multiple sources all agree on a certain player you can pretty much take that at face value.

[matrix9280]

According to the Los Angeles Times, John Lackey will be sidelined until at least mid-May after being diagnosed with a strained right triceps.

Lackey has never missed a start during his six-year career, but won't be cleared to begin throwing again until at least mid-April and figures to miss at least 7-8 outings. Dustin Moseley is considered the leading candidate to replace Lackey in the rotation, with top prospect Nick Adenhart another option. "I'm going to do everything I can to get back as soon as I can, but I've got to be a little cautious, and they're probably going to be pulling me back, going a little slower than I want to go," Lackey said.
Source: Los Angeles Times

Kelvim Escobar's hurt and now John Lackey's hurt. The AL West looks to be the Mariners division to win.

[maxx]

i think its funny how the american media really thought dice-k was gonna miss opening day in japan because of his kid being born. haha.

japan would sacrifice his first born if he missed that game.

[donaldducktm]

Should be a fun year in fantasy. Everybody's team looks buff.

[Chachi]

Is there another fantasy league I missed out on? Looks like the Fox league isn't going to fill up in time...

[Warpticon]

This thread doesn't move fast enough, but it's pretty awesome in what's present.

[ThePurpleBunny]

There's mercy rules in Spring Training, right?

Detroit is down 8-0 in the 6th, and they've let Washington bat around the order.

And they walk in a run. 9-0. Leyland's gonna be putting out his cigarette in this pitcher's forehead.

[SunocO]

can anyone help me with fantasy baseball H2H league?

i haven't done fantasy baseball in like 3 years and i've never done a head 2 head league.

what's the basic strategy for H2H leagues? i keep hearing load up on starting pitchers like my first 5 of 9 picks should be pitchers.

any advice at all?

[BruceLB]

can anyone help me with fantasy baseball H2H league?

i haven't done fantasy baseball in like 3 years and i've never done a head 2 head league.

what's the basic strategy for H2H leagues? i keep hearing load up on starting pitchers like my first 5 of 9 picks should be pitchers.

any advice at all?

I don't play fantasy baseball but I do read up on it. Every expert seems to be in agreement that you never use high picks on Pitchers unless it's Santana. Pitchers get hurt all the time. Take the best hitters you can with your first 5 picks.

Also don't overvalue closers.

[matrix9280]

can anyone help me with fantasy baseball H2H league?

i haven't done fantasy baseball in like 3 years and i've never done a head 2 head league.

what's the basic strategy for H2H leagues? i keep hearing load up on starting pitchers like my first 5 of 9 picks should be pitchers.

any advice at all?

If you can draft either Hanley Ramirez, Jose Reyes, or Jimmy Rollins in the 1st round. There's a pretty big drop-off at shortstop after those 3.

Hold off on a 1st basemen in the early rounds.

Try to get guys who hit for power and can steal bases early since they go away pretty quickly. If you draft a pure power hitter, try to get a quality base stealer afterwards to compensate.

Don't overpay for pitching early but don't neglect it either. If you see a top starter or closer hanging around longer than you think they should pick them up.

As long as you maintain proper balance you should be ok.

What kind of league is this? Points or 5x5 or what?

[SunocO]

this is a H2H points system.

Head-to-Head, Points Based System.
Scoring based on total stats each period.
Ties in the standings are resolved in this order: Winning Percentage, Total Points.

Scoring for Batting Categories
1B - Singles 1 point
2B - Doubles 2 points
3B - Triples 3 points
BB - Walks (Batters) 1 point
CS - Caught Stealing -1 point
HP - Hit by Pitch 1 point
HR - Home Runs 4 points
KO - Strikeouts (Batter) -1 point
RBI - Runs Batted In 2 points
SB - Stolen Bases 1 point

Scoring for Pitching Categories
BS - Blown Saves -2 points
ER - Earned Runs -1 point
INN - Innings 1 point
K - Strikeouts (Pitcher) 1 point
L - Losses -5 points
NH - No-Hitters 10 points
PG - Perfect Games 5 points
S - Saves 3 points
SO - Shutouts 10 points
W - Wins 10 points

it seems like hitters do actually get more points because of 2 points per RBIs. I have the 3rd pick in the draft and all H2H points ADP's are saying to grab power hitters first.

[matrix9280]

Oy. Home run hitters and starting pitchers who strike guys out are seriously favored. Speed guys and closers are useless. No offense but those rules are messed up. Some of the best players in the game are not even worth drafting. There's something wrong with that.

[SunocO]

yeah i thought it was odd that there are no points for runs.

we'll see how this goes..i think with the 3rd pick i'll pick david wright.

[donaldducktm]

matrix knows his stuff. GOOD SHIT

[matrix9280]

yeah i thought it was odd that there are no points for runs.

we'll see how this goes..i think with the 3rd pick i'll pick david wright.

If he's there he's a good choice. I don't know though. Hanley Ramirez normally goes 2nd but in this format he's not nearly as productive so it makes little sense to draft him. He isn't that good. I never in my life thought that I'd actually say that.

[Carpet Lint]

For the third pick, maybe look at Jimmy Rollins. Lots of doubles and triples that are ignored in a normal 5x5 league.

If doubles and triples are rewarded like that, then you might want to look at drafting guys like Curtis Granderson earlier than in normal leagues. It's kinda like the real MLB where high doubles/low HR hitters are undervalued a bit, and it's not just about the HR totals like in 5x5 leagues.

If triples are only worth one point less than home runs in this league versus not worth anything at all (except another 1 for 1 in terms of batting average) in a normal 5x5 league...gobble up high triples hitters because in theory they should be really undervalued in this wacky league.

For example, Curtis Granderson hit 23 homers last year, which is okay for a 5x5 league, but nothing that special. Those leagues don't care how many doubles or triples he hits - they're worth the same as a single, just another 1 for 1 in terms of batting average.

But in this league...he's worth so much more because he also hit 38 doubles and 23 triples, which aren't counted AT ALL in other leagues.

That's like...38 x 2 + 23 x 3 = 145 points right there. Factor in the 23 x 4 = 96 points for homers, and you have 241 points for 2B, 3B, and HR's. Compare that to Ryan Howard, who is generally considered a far superior fantasy player...who hit 26 2B, 0 3B, and 47 HR's...240 points. Less points.

Obviously, there's other things to consider like BA, walks, RBI's and whatnot...but already you look how much Curtis Granderson's doubles and triples inflates his value in a league that actually cares about them. Throw in the steals and the huge amount of K's Ryan Howard racks up (lead the league last year) which are penalized in this league...and I might even draft Curtis Granderson above him.

So take a look at low HR, but high 2B and 3B hitters that might be undervalued that you can pick up in later rounds. For example...

Jimmy Rollins (2B-3B-HR-RBI-SB = 38-20-30-94-41...that's nuts, and I think that ranks him above Hanley or Reyes)
Lyle Overbay (about an average 20 HR 1B, but could lead the league in doubles if he's healthy)
Aaron Hill (fairly unsexy 17 HR and 4 SB as a 2B in normal 5x5...but was 7th in the league last year with 47 doubles)
Kelly Johnson (16 HR pretty good for a 2B, but 26 2B's and 10 3B's ups his value)
Carl Crawford (high doubles and triples will offset his pedestrian HR totals)

...whatever, tons of guys.

I also notice that they don't penalize walks for pitchers...so get in on those wild, power pitchers, son! Who cares about walks!?!

Kazmir and Zambrano are two guys off the top of my head that are beneficiaries of the Who Cares About Walks idea...and Daniel Cabrera would be another guy too. Lets a ton of baserunners on base, but this league doesn't care about that at all, and instead it rewards him because he strikes out a ton of guys.

On the flip side, contact guys with low WHIP's but low K's like...Halladay, Wang, Fausto Carmona, or Buehrle (I wanted to say Webb as well, but I forgot he K's a ton of guys) aren't worth quite as much because they aren't rewarded for low WHIP's and don't get much points in K's.

That's nuts - it rewards hitters for actual good, non-fantasy stats that are actually helpful in real life...but it does the opposite for pitchers.

Kinda cool league though.

EDIT: Also notice that hit by pitches are worth just as much as SB's! Chase Utley league the league last year with 25 and had 14 the year before that - those are just free points! Aaron Rowand's another guy who's up there every year, and A-Rod too because I guess everyone loves hitting him.

Finally, the crappy, gritty, scrappy fantasy losers are rewarded! Reed Johnson, David Eckstein, AJ Piereeniereierzzezzynynyzynski (sp?), Kevin Millar...this is your day!

[matrix9280]

Triples are random as hell. Sure Granderson had 23 last season but the year before he had 9. Rollins had 9 a couple of seasons ago also. That's not something you can rely on from year to year.

[SunocO]

i asked the commissioner about RUNs and he said he forgot to put it in. It's 2 points per RUN so it seems like it's a basic points league and hitters definitely dominated.

actually now i have to consider between hanley and rollins, but i still think power is the way to go.

[Carpet Lint]

:u: That would make more sense, yeah.

That's true, triples are largely a measure of random luck and speed rather than actual skill, yeah. So much so that they shouldn't even be counted in SLG, since it gives an inaccurate weight to the stat - no big fat bruisers get triples, it's always the doubles hitting speedy guys that get them. Thus they artificially inflate slugging percentage.

But the idea is just look at high doubles hitters more, as there's value in them in this league versus normal 5x5 ones. And high doubles and speed should work out to a couple of triples a year, although it's acknowledged that they're more about luck than anything else. But that's another thing to factor in, if all other things are largely equal - it's just another upside to a player that isn't available or relevant in other leagues. I guess a quick rule of thumb would be to just take a guy's doubles, halve them, and add them to homers - you'd get AT LEAST that much more points from it.

[Warpticon]

triples are no more lucky than pitching wins are--less so? in fact. you shouldn't draft for either.

[Carpet Lint]

But you should consider the fact that you might get lucky with more triples from a guy who hits for a lot of doubles and is fast.

And also that you might get lucky with more wins from a guy who pitches on a good team, particularly with a loaded offense that puts up runs consistently every night.

[BruceLB]

It blows my mind how there are people on my teams message board who are for starting Juan Pierre over Andre Eithier!

How can anyone not see what a terrible ball player Pierre is, I don't know.

I just hope Torre knows what he is doing, and starts the better player.

[ThePurpleBunny]

Can't ESPN like, tape the A's - Sox games and show them at a normal time?

6AM for season-opening games is bull.

[matrix9280]

It blows my mind how there are people on my teams message board who are for starting Juan Pierre over Andre Eithier!

How can anyone not see what a terrible ball player Pierre is, I don't know.

I just hope Torre knows what he is doing, and starts the better player.

Screw both of them. They need to start Matt Holliday. I mean Matt Kemp. I guess that was a freudian slip.

[matrix9280]

i asked the commissioner about RUNs and he said he forgot to put it in. It's 2 points per RUN so it seems like it's a basic points league and hitters definitely dominated.

actually now i have to consider between hanley and rollins, but i still think power is the way to go.

Ramirez hit 29 home runs last year and Rollins hit 30. Ramirez is 5 years younger and will most likely steal more bases but Rollins is in a better lineup and plays half his games in a offense-friendly stadium. Decisions decisions. Most people would rather have Ramirez this season but I'm not most people. I'd personally rather have Rollins.

[lamewadd]

In a points setup, you've gotta go with Rollins, IMHO. If it was roto, Hanley, no question. But I dunno...I'd just have to go with Rollins in his current setup.

[BruceLB]

Screw both of them. They need to start Matt Holliday. I mean Matt Kemp. I guess that was a freudian slip.

I thought it was a given that Kemp is starting in right, there is no way Torre can be so blind as to not see the super star talent that kid posses.

[matrix9280]

You would think so but Pierre and Jones make a ton of money so I don't see them getting benched. It's down to either Ethier or Kemp. Hopefully he keeps that decision under wraps until after the season starts. That way he's still a nice fantasy sleeper.

[Carpet Lint]

There could be orders from the front office to keep Pierre starting too, just because it's hard to swallow your pride and pay a bench player $9 million a year, even in baseball. They could also want to showcase him for a trade, though I don't think any team would be silly enough to trade for Pierre even if LA ate like half his salary.

[lamewadd]

I've got a fantasy baseball league, head to head, 10 category scoring (non-points), 10 or 12 teams (preferrably 12), all MLB (that is, not AL/NL only) and am looking for members. If you want in, just send me a PM. Draft is tomorrow night.

[SunocO]

thanks for all the help guys. this is how my team looks like. pick 3/10.

Hernandez, Ramon C BAL
Lee, Derrek 1B CHC
Roberts, Brian 2B BAL
Wright, David 3B NYM
Young, Michael SS TEX
Crawford, Carl LF TB
Sizemore, Grady CF CLE
Young, Chris B. CF ARI
Pena, Carlos 1B TB
Beckett, Josh SP BOS
Harang, Aaron SP CIN
Hill, Rich SP CHC
Smoltz, John SP ATL
Jones, Todd RP DET
Putz, J.J. RP SEA

Bench
Kent, Jeff 2B LA
Encarnacion, Edwin 3B CIN
Cabrera, Orlando SS CHW
McLouth, Nate CF PIT
Teahen, Mark RF KC
Billingsley, Chad SP LA
Buchholz, Clay SP BOS
McGowan, Dustin SP TOR
Sheets, Ben SP MIL
Shields, James SP TB

i'm about to trade Chad Billingsley for Takashi Saito since saito is an upgrade from todd jones.

[lamewadd]

Wow. I love me some closers, so that's a great deal.

[matrix9280]

thanks for all the help guys. this is how my team looks like. pick 3/10.

Hernandez, Ramon C BAL
Lee, Derrek 1B CHC
Roberts, Brian 2B BAL
Wright, David 3B NYM
Young, Michael SS TEX
Crawford, Carl LF TB
Sizemore, Grady CF CLE
Young, Chris B. CF ARI
Pena, Carlos 1B TB
Beckett, Josh SP BOS
Harang, Aaron SP CIN
Hill, Rich SP CHC
Smoltz, John SP ATL
Jones, Todd RP DET
Putz, J.J. RP SEA

Bench
Kent, Jeff 2B LA
Encarnacion, Edwin 3B CIN
Cabrera, Orlando SS CHW
McLouth, Nate CF PIT
Teahen, Mark RF KC
Billingsley, Chad SP LA
Buchholz, Clay SP BOS
McGowan, Dustin SP TOR
Sheets, Ben SP MIL
Shields, James SP TB

i'm about to trade Chad Billingsley for Takashi Saito since saito is an upgrade from todd jones.

Championship.

Edit: I'm not so sure that I'd make the Billingsley trade just yet. If I remember correctly the points system favors starters more than relievers so you might be better off with the starting pitcher. In most leagues he's retained relief pitcher eligiblity from last season so even if you have to start relief pitchers chances are you're still able to slot him in there.

[lamewadd]

He's set for SPs, though. Beckett and Harang are money, and he's got some good depth in McGowan, Sheets and Shields. But can you only start 2 RPs per day? If so, I'd be reluctant to trade for a high-profile closer rather than waiting for this year's Kevin Gregg or Matt Capps.

[SunocO]

yeah i have to strat 2 rp's a day. i'm still not sure if i can use billingsley as an rp when he's a sp..it allows me to do it though.

thanks for the help guys. i thought the draft went great for my first time in a long while.

[lamewadd]

yeah i have to strat 2 rp's a day. i'm still not sure if i can use billingsley as an rp when he's a sp..it allows me to do it though.

thanks for the help guys. i thought the draft went great for my first time in a long while.

Can you ONLY start 2 RPs a day? Are there any P slots? Or do you only have SP and RP slots?

[SunocO]

we must start 4 sp and 2 rp. no P slots at all.

[lamewadd]

In which case I wouldn't do that Billingsley trade if I were you.

[matrix9280]

yeah i have to strat 2 rp's a day. i'm still not sure if i can use billingsley as an rp when he's a sp..it allows me to do it though.

thanks for the help guys. i thought the draft went great for my first time in a long while.

Yeah that shouldn't be a problem. Players don't lose position eligibility during the season. They only gain it.

[ThePurpleBunny]

I didn't get to see all of the Game in Japan. It was nice to see Dice-K get himself together. It was 40 pitches too late though.

It's always good to see Manny being Manny. "I have hit the ball. It will leave. Fenway's center field looks different. OMFG it's still in! Run, nigga, RUN! People are cheering in Japanese! I WILL RUN LIKE BUSHIN!"

Crazy bastard.

[epp1e]

Can't ESPN like, tape the A's - Sox games and show them at a normal time?

6AM for season-opening games is bull.They don't show them again for you on the east coast? I had one at 3 AM & then they showed it again at 11 AM.


P.S. I know nothing.

[ThePurpleBunny]

They said during the game that it would be on again at 2, but I was asleep.

That was also the first time they made any mention of a repeat. ESPN didn't say shit about it before.

[matrix9280]

Rich Harden shut down the Red Sox offense today (6 IP, 1ER, 9K). Talent has never been the question about him. If he can stay reasonably healthy I see very good things from him.

[epp1e]

God, someone needs to explain to me what half these stats mean. I am indeed "I Know Nothing". Anyone on AIM and feeling nice enough to explain shit to me? :D

[ThePurpleBunny]

^ Yeah, I'm on AIM. Hit me up. I'll tell you stuff.

But I swear to God, you give one hint that you're hitting on me and I'm blocking you from life. Forever.

[Morphiend]

half the stats are hitting and half are pitching
you just set your team to get as much (or as little) of the stats as you can.

hitting, you want MORE (or higher)
runs
batting average
home runs
steals
walks
and LESS of k's (strikeouts)

pitching, you want more
innings pitched (meaning your pitchers went deeper into games)
wins
saves
k's (strikeouts)
and LESS or LOWER earned run average (era for short), walks (which are abbreviated as bb's), and losses

its like basketball where your team just accumulates the stats for the week and they're compared to your opponents. at the end of the week your stats are compared to your opponent's and your score for that week is figured out. each stat category counts as either a win or loss for that category. so if your pitchers accumulate 6 wins and your opponent has 7 wins then you've lost the wins stat and your opponent gets a "win" for that category.

so it goes back to the 7 hitting and 7 pitching stats for a combined total of 14. so at the end of the week (sunday night) all your wins and losses are totaled and you have your "record" for the week.

hope that helps.

[Mr.Noodle]

I've been offered a trade.

I get Albert Pujols,Jeremy Hermida, and Chad Billingsley

and I give up Adrian Gonzalez, Carlos Lee, and James Shields

[BruceLB]

You would think so but Pierre and Jones make a ton of money so I don't see them getting benched. It's down to either Ethier or Kemp. Hopefully he keeps that decision under wraps until after the season starts. That way he's still a nice fantasy sleeper.

Believe! (http://www.insidesocal.com/dodgers)

[Carpet Lint]

I've been offered a trade.

I get Albert Pujols,Jeremy Hermida, and Chad Billingsley

and I give up Adrian Gonzalez, Carlos Lee, and James Shields
I give this trade a thumbs up. :tup:

[Warpticon]

If Pujols wasn't hurt, I'd be on it A+. I'm still a bit concerned about him.

[matrix9280]

Even with Pujols healthy that's a bad trade. Now that he has an injury which could end his season at any time the trade would be absolutely awful.

You're basically giving up 2 very good players in James Shields (who's a potential ace) and Adrian Gonzalez and a great player in Carlos Lee for an injured Pujols and little more than filler. Frankly there's no way in hell that I'd make that trade.

[matrix9280]

He's set for SPs, though. Beckett and Harang are money, and he's got some good depth in McGowan, Sheets and Shields. But can you only start 2 RPs per day? If so, I'd be reluctant to trade for a high-profile closer rather than waiting for this year's Kevin Gregg or Matt Capps.

That didn't take long. First game of the season Chad Cordero can't pitch. In comes Jon Rauch for a save (Which he blew but it wasn't really his fault) and then the win. How long he'll actually be the closer remains to be seen.

[Warpticon]

Even with Pujols healthy that's a bad trade. Now that he has an injury which could end his season at any time the trade would be absolutely awful.

You're basically giving up 2 very good players in James Shields (who's a potential ace) and Adrian Gonzalez and a great player in Carlos Lee for an injured Pujols and little more than filler. Frankly there's no way in hell that I'd make that trade.

I thinki Hermida's a wee bit better than filler. Maybe I'm just high on him, I don't know.

[lamewadd]

That didn't take long. First game of the season Chad Cordero can't pitch. In comes Jon Rauch for a save (Which he blew but it wasn't really his fault) and then the win. How long he'll actually be the closer remains to be seen.

Not only that, but we've got George Sherrill and Kerry Wood swiping closing duties in Baltimore and Chicago.

[epp1e]

I truly desire to join in on the discussion, but I have no idea what the fuck is going on. Enjoy your free wins from me this season, my friends.

[matrix9280]

I think Hermida's a wee bit better than filler. Maybe I'm just high on him, I don't know.

He had a good second half last season so he might finally reach his potential this season. I like Hermida and Billingsley too for that matter. I just happen to like Carlos Lee and James Shields a lot more.

[Carpet Lint]

You're swinging for the fences in that trade, so it's risky, but the potential payoff is pretty good.

Just like in the real world, the value and worth of a trade often rests with the best player involved. Pujols does have an injury risk this year, but he could also bounce back from a bad year (for his standards at least) and mash 40-50 again. The injury hasn't really bothered him so far either - he's been killing it all spring.

Also in the context of this fantasy league that counts BB's and K's for hitters as well...Pujols is a very high walk, low strike out guy. Adrian Gonzalez strikes out almost as much as Adam Dunn, so there's more than juts the conventional 5x5 categories to consider here too.

And I love Chad Billingsley, the kid's going to eventually be an ace, and it might be this year or it might take another season, but I also like the Dodgers a lot this year and I figure there's some wins in there. I like Hermida too, and at the very least, he'll be an average third fantasy OF.

It's a gutsy, high risk, high yield move. I like it!

(For the record, I'm the guy with Pujols who offered the trade to Noodle.)

[matrix9280]

If Pujols' elbow doesn't give out on him and if the Cardinals somehow stay in contention long enough for him to delay surgery until the offeseason(with a starting rotation of Wainright, Looper, Pineiro, Reyes, Mulder, and maybe Carpenter i'm not sure if that's possible.) then he should have a great season. That's one too many ifs for me. Especially when the price to pay for receiving said risk also includes Carlos Lee and James Shields.

Carlos Lee is a stud. He gets .300/30hr/100rbi/90r almost every season and he steals double-digit bases. I can't call him underrated because he's not but people don't talk about him nearly as much as they should.

James Shields had a k/bb ratio last seasonof more than 5 to 1. That's insane. He had over 20 quality starts last season easily among the highest in baseball. He had a whip slightly over 1.1 and an ERA under 4 last season playing behind one of the worst defenses in baseball. If the Rays team can make as much of a turnaround as many people say I think he has a chance to win the Cy Young award this season.

Adrian Gonzalez is good in his own right but he's not Pujols so even with the risk I'd probably give him up in a dea (with others)l for Albert Pujols without much hesitation. But Lee and Shields also? No sir I cannot do that.

It's not up to me though. People can run their team however they see fit. It's certainly not the worst trade ever made but I think there's a clear winner in that deal. If I can get Adrian Gonzalez, Carlos Lee, and James Shields and all I had to give up was Albert Pujols (Hermida and Billingsley are nice but they just don't compare to Lee and Shields) I'm doing backflips.

[Carpet Lint]

It's a good trade! Many benefits for all parties involved!

Noodle, I congratulate you on improving your team as I have done as well. I'm cheering for Pujols all season even if I traded him away.

Now quiet and let us never speak of this ever again.

______________

MLB.com's Gameday looks a lot cleaner this year, and I love the way they chart the pitches and what type it is and everything. I can't even really tell the difference between different types of fastballs or whatever when I'm watching the game on television.

[Night]

Bush booed on opening night at the new Nationals ballpark when he threw out the first pitch lol.

[ThePurpleBunny]

Yanks-Jays postponed. Great. Of all the games ESPN could show in its place, they pick the one with the Royals involved.

[Carpet Lint]

That's the only other game on right now. Arizona/Cincy and Milwaukee/Cubs have rain delays too.

And the Tigers are hot! Why wouldn't you want to watch the new look Tigers? Miggy with his first homer of the year too, should be a fun season.

[ThePurpleBunny]

I would like to watch the Tigers, but I would more rather not watch the Royals.

[rsigley]

i hope the tigers blow this

got a lot of money on the royals!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!

[BruceLB]

I think the Tigers aren't going to be as good as people think. The Indians still take the central.

KC just tied it up.

[rsigley]

tigers bullpen is a little below average and royals are a little above average, but gobble and joakim are one of the best setup/closer combos so i hope kc goes up here and pulls it out

WHERES MY BOY GOBBLE FOR THE 7th and 8th then bring in JOAKIM AND ITS A WRAP

[ThePurpleBunny]

The ESPN analysts say the Tigers have problems with their bullpen.

These are the same analysts that picked the Mets to win the NL East after the Santana trade, then switched their picks to the Braves after spring training.

All of them. I am not kidding.

[rsigley]

well the thing is, the tigers bullpen issues are pretty well known, plus you can't be wrong all the time

fernando rodney is nice, so is lopez and seay

but yea the rest are pretty bad and they have all 5 inning/6 inning pitchers

thats whats gonna fuck the royals soon

they have some good guys, but their pitchers won't eat up innings besides bannister and meche, so they'll get overused

[BruceLB]

tigers bullpen is a little below average and royals are a little above average, but gobble and joakim are one of the best setup/closer combos so i hope kc goes up here and pulls it out

WHERES MY BOY GOBBLE FOR THE 7th and 8th then bring in JOAKIM AND ITS A WRAP

It's crazy that Joakim might not the best rule 5 pick last year.

[rsigley]

omg and the royals put their worst bullpen guy in the game

THE FIX IS I N

[BruceLB]

I'm just glad Bombko won't be blowing any more games for the Dodgers this year.

...and then he gets the dp.

Also if anyone has ESPN insider Neyer is doing a 12 hour chat following every opening day game.

[rsigley]

yea royals got lucky with joakim, guys a beast

royals were actually planning on using tomko as their 4th starter, guess that plan is out

they only have 3 starting pitchers right now (bannister, meche, greinke)

i guess they're going to use john bale who is a long relief guy who came back last year after not pitching for 4 years as their 4th starter

friggin ridiculous, they have talent on the team, but so many problems

and wow tomko got the dp then strike out

[BruceLB]

Hey, Bale is above replacement level....barely.

It's funny my first thought is that Tomko is clreay the better choice than Bale because at least with Tomko you know he's capable of not sucking ass.

....and then he gives up a homerun.

But Pecota has Bale favorable to Tomko.

[Carpet Lint]

Detroit using their 6th pitcher already in the first game of the season. Not exactly a shining example of bullpen management here.

[rsigley]

friggin teahan out at homee

YES ROYALS BABY

[Carpet Lint]

KANSAS CITY!!!

LET'S GO ROY-ALS, CLAP CLAP CLAPCLAP CLAP

How could you have bet on the Royals against Detroit and Verlander? God, rsigley you are some sort of brilliant madman.

[rsigley]

well i had the game at 43% for the royals, 57% for the tigers

getting +190 thats a no brainer

also had nats last night, so running good so far

also on:

florida (big), florida +1.5, cleveland, d'backs (big), o's, st louis (semi big), texas (semi big), and twins

the balt bet was an accident so luckily it was small

had a problem in my spreadsheet and mixed up the two teams

[rsigley]

oh no a double, joakim why have you forsaken me

[rsigley]

phew polanco ruined my fantasy team last year cause i added him once he started tanking, at least he made u pfor it now :D

[lamewadd]

Joakim totally locked that shit DOWN. SVs for all (Joakim owners, cuz Todd Jones owners like me got jack).

[rsigley]

wow bedard is throwing a lot of pitches 54 through 2, only thing working for him is his fastball too

everything else is missing or getting hit hard

[.Free.]

anyone watch the cubs game? that game had to much hype.... crowed yelling FU-KO-DO-ME and he comes through with a 3-run homerun in the bottom of the ninth...what an awesome game. glad the cubs lost though

[Mr.Noodle]

It's a good trade! Many benefits for all parties involved!

Noodle, I congratulate you on improving your team as I have done as well. I'm cheering for Pujols all season even if I traded him away.

Now quiet and let us never speak of this ever again.


That last sentence is suspicious:mad: J/ks

Yeah I know this trade is risky for me but I figure to have a little fun. I learned over the years, baseball fantasy is so random. I had Hafner last year and he sucked(by his standards).

Anyways anyone know much about Fukodome?

[epp1e]

Sooo, how serious is a hamstring injury for a baseball player? Just read that my catcher got one today.

[The Epidemic]

Im just gonna spam Mets in this thread every few weeks and bounce.

[ckrazy]

Finally Seattle won something I am so sick of seeing the Sonics lose thank god baseball season is here let just hope we don't suck at this to.

[Carpet Lint]

That last sentence is suspicious:mad: J/ks

Yeah I know this trade is risky for me but I figure to have a little fun. I learned over the years, baseball fantasy is so random. I had Hafner last year and he sucked(by his standards).
Pujols is undervalued this year - he's going to kill. Already a home run too - IT HAS BEGUN!

That's my mentality for fantasy leagues, you have to swing for the fences to win it. I'm kinda tired of always finishing second or third - the guy with the top team is always the one with the best stars and a bunch of flukey waiver wire guys anyway.

Were you the guy I traded with in that basketball league like a year ago for T-Mac? He had just missed like two weeks with a back injury and there was talk of him potentially missing the season, so I took a gamble, and he ended up playing through it, and it paid off.

I'm diversifying my risk into two lesser guys, but if he's fully healthy Pujols is going to be worth twice as much as either guy.

Sooo, how serious is a hamstring injury for a baseball player? Just read that my catcher got one today.
A game or two at the most? I doubt it a big deal, and your guy is too good to trade or swap for a waiver guy, so you can't even really do anything anyway.

Unless you want to trade him to me for Ramon. EH!?!

[Warpticon]

Finally Seattle won something I am so sick of seeing the Sonics lose thank god baseball season is here let just hope we don't suck at this to.

Maybe they'll win you some punctuation.

[ThePurpleBunny]

anyone watch the cubs game? that game had to much hype.... crowed yelling FU-KO-DO-ME and he comes through with a 3-run homerun in the bottom of the ninth...what an awesome game. glad the cubs lost though

I did see that. It was awesome.

Gagne got cockslapped. By an asian.

[epp1e]

Gagne got cockslapped. By an asian.Actually, we Asians prefer to call it cocktapping.

[Mr.Noodle]

Pujols is undervalued this year - he's going to kill. Already a home run too - IT HAS BEGUN!

That's my mentality for fantasy leagues, you have to swing for the fences to win it. I'm kinda tired of always finishing second or third - the guy with the top team is always the one with the best stars and a bunch of flukey waiver wire guys anyway.

Were you the guy I traded with in that basketball league like a year ago for T-Mac? He had just missed like two weeks with a back injury and there was talk of him potentially missing the season, so I took a gamble, and he ended up playing through it, and it paid off.

I'm diversifying my risk into two lesser guys, but if he's fully healthy Pujols is going to be worth twice as much as either guy.


Don't hate cause I beat you last year :wgrin: Well last year was just bad luck for you. You traded for schimdt and he was gone for the season right after. Also traded Burnett and Cordero for Chris Young. Young was a beast in the beginning but didn't do as well at the end of the season.

Nah I didn't trade T-Mac to you. I don't think I've ever been in a basketball league with you.

[matrix9280]

Pedro Martinez is pitching for the Mets tonight. Yesterday they had Johan Santana going. Up until now I never really thought about it like that. The Mets have Johan Santana and Pedro Martinez. Even with Pedro's injury woes (he's healthy right now) that still has to be the best 1-2 starting pitcher combination in the league.

[rsigley]

van der hurk is a beast though

i think it will be close, personally i bet marlins at +190

[Carpet Lint]

Don't hate cause I beat you last year :wgrin: Well last year was just bad luck for you. You traded for schimdt and he was gone for the season right after. Also traded Burnett and Cordero for Chris Young. Young was a beast in the beginning but didn't do as well at the end of the season.

Nah I didn't trade T-Mac to you. I don't think I've ever been in a basketball league with you.
Chris Young was awesome, and I was on track for victory until he got hurt, and he never got quite back on track afterwards. I had to trade Burnett though, because I violated my policy of drafting home team players. I have a fantasy curse.

I had to draft BJ this year though, he had just dropped way too low. It'd be insane for me not to do it!

I traded John Lackey and someone for Schimdt and Joe Nathan or something, and that trade got vetoed by the league too. And then I had to throw in more so that the trade wouldn't be vetoed (even though I thought it was more than fair already before I had to throw in more) and by the time we got the second one going, Schimdt was out for the season.

And then no one listened when I wanted to veto the trade when the news broke. Assholes!

And now another trade gets vetoed AGAIN, and I have to change it up again. Evil bastards.

[Carpet Lint]

I honestly don't know about Pedro anymore, he's lost a ton of velocity on his fastball. Look what happened to Randy Johnson.

That said, there's not a ton of 1-2 combinations I would take over that, if just because Johan is so good.

Jake Peavy/Chris Young in San Diego is right up there, I'm biased towards Halladay/Burnett if they're both healthy, and Webb/Haren in Arizona is killer too. Sabathia/Carmona both won 19 games last year in Cleveland as well.

And then Bedard/Felix should be really good in a couple years.

[Warpticon]

ake Peavy/Chris Young in San Diego is right up there, I'm biased towards Halladay/Burnett if they're both healthy, and Webb/Haren in Arizona is killer too. Sabathia/Carmona both won 19 games last year in Cleveland as well.


Which means absolutely nothing. You know this. Peavy/Young gets BOD for me, though if Pedro is within 70% of his best performance, the Mets get it easily. Though, Beckett/Matsuzaka could also be great if Daisuke makes the standard Japan-to-US sophomore jump.

[Carpet Lint]

Oh come on. Yeah yeah, wins and losses are meaningless in baseball but there's still something to be said about quickly summarizing the worth of a pitcher by calling him a 19 or 20 game winner.

CC's a top five SP (league leading 241 innings last year...wowzers), and Carmona is really good for a #2. 5th in the league last year with a 3.06 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, .248 BAA, .661 OPS against...blah blah blah very good, it's not his fault he won 19 games last year. He'd be the top ace of like 20 other teams by a significant margin.

Right now, I'd say Peavy and Young would be my pick for top two as well. I'm still not sold on Pedro being able to come back and contribute like he usually does, and I have a vested interest as a Jays fan for Dice-K (or should I say...Dice...GAY! LOLLERSKATEZ) to suck it up.

Then again, he is on my fantasy team...

[Mr.Noodle]

Think Brett Myers and Hamels could be up there? I know Myers struggled last year but before that he was pretty solid.

[rsigley]

webb/haran for me

or odalis perez/matt chico

[DaFlipMastaXV]

Odalis PEARRRRRRRRRRRRRRez, I was ready to head down to Washington and kill Jon Miller. It's Perez goddamnit.

Need another rookie for my keeper league (since we get to keep 2 rookies). I have Longoria. Most of the top rookies are taken already, Bucholz, Joba, Kennedy etc. Clayton Kershaw isn't on Yahoo yet, neither is Cueto.

[lamewadd]

Pedro Martinez is pitching for the Mets tonight. Yesterday they had Johan Santana going. Up until now I never really thought about it like that. The Mets have Johan Santana and Pedro Martinez. Even with Pedro's injury woes (he's healthy right now) that still has to be the best 1-2 starting pitcher combination in the league.

Ehhhhh...I think that's going a bit far.

Though I've gotta be honest, people. I do love me some Kazmir-Shields.

[DaFlipMastaXV]

Uhm...Bedard/Hernandez anyone?

[ThePurpleBunny]

I have Longoria.

I hope you don't mean Evan Longoria, because he's not on anyone's active roster.

Unless they're counting minor-league player's stats.

I don't know of anyone else named Longoria.

[lamewadd]

I hope you don't mean Evan Longoria, because he's not on anyone's active roster.

Unless they're counting minor-league player's stats.

I don't know of anyone else named Longoria.

He's still got DAT UPSIDE!

[DaFlipMastaXV]

I hope you don't mean Evan Longoria, because he's not on anyone's active roster.

Unless they're counting minor-league player's stats.

I don't know of anyone else named Longoria.

I do, and he'll be in the lineup by May. I have no problems giving him a seat on the bench.

It's a keeper league so more reason to keep him, although I think that keeping him even in a regular league would be good.

[ThePurpleBunny]

Oh, ok.

Surprised me that he was even available for a draft with the Rays demoting him a good while before the season started.

Also surprised they even demoted him.

[DaFlipMastaXV]

Him and Saltamacchia should've been on their respective teams, dunno what happened to Salty (I think he just flat out sucked in spring), but I read somewhere that if they shipped Longoria to the minors they get to delay his free agency.

I also pitched saves in my league (12 team h2h), pretty much as soon as I decided to draft Percy and Wilson and a couple others, they were all taken. So i was stuck with the following staff.

Matt Cain
Erik Bedard
Roy Oswalt
Brad Penny
Rich Hill
Rafael Betancourt (Borowski's on borrowed time)
Jonathan Broxton (Saito has been injured a bit)
Derrick Turnbow (If Gagne didnt get such a fat contract he'd be the closer by now)
Okajima (Uhm no chance he becomes a closer unless Pap falls down some stairs)

Pretty weak imo, I need to get lucky on the wire or hope that my setup guys get promoted, can't wait for Kershaw though.

[lamewadd]

Him and Saltamacchia should've been on their respective teams, dunno what happened to Salty (I think he just flat out sucked in spring), but I read somewhere that if they shipped Longoria to the minors they get to delay his free agency.

I also pitched saves in my league (12 team h2h), pretty much as soon as I decided to draft Percy and Wilson and a couple others, they were all taken. So i was stuck with the following staff.

Matt Cain
Erik Bedard
Roy Oswalt
Brad Penny
Rich Hill
Rafael Betancourt (Borowski's on borrowed time)
Jonathan Broxton (Saito has been injured a bit)
Derrick Turnbow (If Gagne didnt get such a fat contract he'd be the closer by now)
Okajima (Uhm no chance he becomes a closer unless Pap falls down some stairs)
If I were you, I'd take Pat Neshek and/or that other reliever in Minnesota over Okajima. Neshek is backing up Joe Nathan, and there's a fair amount of talk that Joe might get shipped out at the trade deadline or earlier.

Neshek, the other guy and Okajima are all relievers right now, a closing role is more likely for the other two than Okajima, and the other guys put up similar stats.

[ThePurpleBunny]

Okajima (Uhm no chance he becomes a closer unless Pap falls down some stairs)

Knowing Papelbon, he'll do that while dancing a jig after getting out of the shower.

[BruceLB]

Even if Pedro is healthy he's only a 5 inning pitcher now. So theres now way Santana/Pedro is best 1-2.

Neither is Peavy/Young.

Web/Haren is the best 1-2 in the league.

Dodgers have the best 1-4.

I'm talking just NL.

[JAMSMASTERP]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080401/ap_on_sp_ba_ne/bbo_salaries

dont know if has been posted yet but arod makes more than the marlins roster. not really a surprise imo.

also i think the mets 3rd and 4th starters are better than there 1 and 2. i also need to point out that i am a oliver perez fanboy. lol

[matrix9280]

If I were you, I'd take Pat Neshek and/or that other reliever in Minnesota over Okajima. Neshek is backing up Joe Nathan, and there's a fair amount of talk that Joe might get shipped out at the trade deadline or earlier.

Neshek, the other guy and Okajima are all relievers right now, a closing role is more likely for the other two than Okajima, and the other guys put up similar stats.

:shake: He signed an extension with the Twins. He's going nowhere.

[lamewadd]

also i think the mets 3rd and 4th starters are better than there 1 and 2. i also need to point out that i am a oliver perez fanboy. lol

Hahahaha...but no, really now. Johan eats Oliver for breakfast.

[matrix9280]

Oh come on. Yeah yeah, wins and losses are meaningless in baseball but there's still something to be said about quickly summarizing the worth of a pitcher by calling him a 19 or 20 game winner.

CC's a top five SP (league leading 241 innings last year...wowzers), and Carmona is really good for a #2. 5th in the league last year with a 3.06 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, .248 BAA, .661 OPS against...blah blah blah very good, it's not his fault he won 19 games last year. He'd be the top ace of like 20 other teams by a significant margin.

Right now, I'd say Peavy and Young would be my pick for top two as well. I'm still not sold on Pedro being able to come back and contribute like he usually does, and I have a vested interest as a Jays fan for Dice-K (or should I say...Dice...GAY! LOLLERSKATEZ) to suck it up.

Then again, he is on my fantasy team...

Sure Pedro lost some speed on his fastball but he still has a couple more pitches to fall back on. Not many pitchers can say that. In limited time last season he was pretty good. His Whip was kinda high but he had an ERA under 3, a K/9 of over 9 and a K/BB ratio of over 4 to 1. Just like Pedro of old.

As long as the shoulder doesn't become a problem I fully expect he and Santana to dominate the National League. Both pitchers have something to prove this season and I think they'll be up to the task.

[lamewadd]

Sure Pedro lost some speed on his fastball but he still has a couple more pitches to fall back on. Not many pitchers can say that. In limited time last season he was pretty good. His Whip was kinda high but he had an ERA under 3, a K/9 of over 9 and a K/BB ratio of over 4 to 1. Just like Pedro of old.

The Marlins disagree.

[rsigley]

well pedro is out for the season now

[DaFlipMastaXV]

As long as the shoulder doesn't become a problem I fully expect he and Santana to dominate the National League. Both pitchers have something to prove this season and I think they'll be up to the task.

What about the leg?

[ThePurpleBunny]

Even with Pedro's injury woes (he's healthy right now)

Nice going, jinx.

[lamewadd]

I've gotta say, great work by both the Mets and Marlins bullpens. Both went at least 6 innings and let only one run in.

[rsigley]

putz blows the game and hopefully makes me money

23 left on base in 8 innings lol

carpet lint in suicide mode

[ckrazy]

putz blows the game and hopefully makes me money

23 left on base in 8 innings lol

carpet lint in suicide mode

This game is whack

Seattle pretty much gave the game to the Rangers who decided to GIVE it back in the bottom of the 8th then Seattle like no no we don't want the WIN here take it back in the top of the 9th.

[rsigley]

This game is whack

Seattle pretty much gave the game to the Rangers who decided to GIVE it back in the bottom of the 8th then Seattle like no no we don't want the WIN here take it back in the top of the 9th.

what happens when you got 2 scrub teams going at it

all the errors in the 8th by the rangers were unbelievable

this game was the deciding factor between great day or small losing day, luckily rangers pulled it out

[DaFlipMastaXV]

Man my opponent this week must be so pissed off.

He has Albert Pujols (Cranks a HR 1st at bat, gets rained out, then goes like 1-3)
Pedro (Gets owned then cripples himself)
JJ Putz (Decides to serve up a fatty to Josh Hamilton)

[Debaser]

Dodgers + all you can eat seats + ejected Giants fans = win.

[Chachi]

Royals have a winning record. Probably the last time I'm going to say that.

[matrix9280]

Nice going, jinx.

:rofl: He'll be back eventually. I'm more worried about those 84 mph fastballs. Yikes. That's a problem.

[.Free.]

:rofl: He'll be back eventually. I'm more worried about those 84 mph fastballs. Yikes. That's a problem.i guess Martinez is off the juice now....and his body is falling apart.

GO ANGELS Vlad is gonna tear it up this year

and :rofl: at Larry Bowa getting ejected in the Dodgers game, he's the third base coach and he's just a hot head. Joe Torre prolly felt like this :mad: when bowa made a mess of the dugout. Torre almost choke slammed him to keep him from arguing with the umpire.

[Carpet Lint]

Oh man, I'm gonna be sick.

[maxx]

sooo how bout dem sox:badboy:

[rsigley]

must suck to be a tigers fan

kc coming through again for me

where is gobble tho, why the nunez love

[matrix9280]

Pedro Martinez on the 15-day DL.

J.J Putz on the 15-day DL.

[fei long]

nationals 3-0 to start
hoffman still declining
d-rays bullpen still blowing leads like noones business
and what about that sick detroit kittens...i mean tigers lineup?

great to have baseball back, at least the sox are 3-1 but i have to admit the blue jays are looking good with halladay-burnett-mcgowan-marcum combined with a good bullpen and wells looking like hes healthy. that shot burnett took off the wrist musta scared all you bluejay fans though huh?

[Carpet Lint]

And then when he looked like he strained something after that throwing error to first.

God, I went from a soul crushing low Tuesday after they went 1 for 12 with RISP to a sudden euphoric high after they scored 5 last night. Though I shouldn't, because you should probably score more runs on 12 hits (especially considering that one was a two run homer) and they still grounded into like 15 double plays.

I fucking hate baseball.

"Ribcage inflammation?" WHAT THE FUCK, PUTZ!?!

[rsigley]

i read that game against the rangers was the first loss after leading in the 8th that the mariners had since 2006, pretty sick

i hate silva and of course he owns it up last night go figure

seattle already has 26 LOB, 15 from that one game

its actually pretty good cause then when silva plays the rays next week seattle might be overvalued and get some good bets in on tampa

and plus after this seattle goes to baltimore, so its good that their first 6 games are vs 2 of the 3 teams worse than them (giants being the other)

oh and go brewers, KC and the nationals for a sweep

nationals/arizona/brewers are my 3 big bets today

kc/tampa/tor small

angels/cards/white sox really small

[The Epidemic]

Pedro Martinez on the 15-day DL.

its all good tho...

[matrix9280]

Johan Santana, Oliver Perez, and John Maine are still as good as any 3 starters in the National League. The Mets will be be fine. Then when Pedro comes back in 4-6 weeks they'll be that much better.

[Lantis]

Wow...never knew Frank Thomas was now playing for the Blue Jays. Goes to show how mighty idols can fall...or how much I don't care about the Jays. :bgrin:

BTW, speaking of Frank Thomas, I found this hilarious bit about him:

In 2007, he appeared in a promotional advertisement for the Toronto Blue Jays, in which he engages in a pillow fight with children. This ad drew the criticism of the Television Bureau of Canada, who requested a "Dramatization. Do not try this at home." disclaimer be placed on the ad.

LAWL! You Kanadians are such pussies.... NIGGA KNOW BETTER THAN TO BE FUCKIN' UP 'EM KIDS WITH DEM PILLOWS!

Seriously, Kanadian kids, never pillow fight with a big black man. BIG HURTIN' YO SORRY ASSES!

[rsigley]

i would of thought the do not try this at home was directed at not letting black people near your children, especially alone and in a bedroom

[BunnyHead]

its all good tho...

Word up!

The Mets are gonna be alright, even though we effed up at the last minute last year
we held first place without Pedro for majority of the season.

[Carpet Lint]

It's true, it's just Canadians being terrified of black people. And for good reason too. They're black.
Wow...never knew Frank Thomas was now playing for the Blue Jays. Goes to show how mighty idols can fall...or how much I don't care about the Jays. :bgrin:
I guess I wouldn't care about baseball too if my home team was the biggest collection of losers in all of professional sports history.

100 years of suckage would warp anyone's brain.

That's why I don't blame you for being an entire year late with that breaking news as well. I'm pretty sure we already got all our jokes in about that last season, when the ad first came out, but I'll extend you the courtesy here and laugh with you anyway.

HAHAHAHA YOU ARE WAY TOO FUNNY LANTIS WITH THE APPROPRIATELY TIMELY POP CULTURE FUNNINESS

[epp1e]

Time for another question from I Know Nothing!

What do walks count as in an ERA... does it count as a hit, no hit, or just not count at all in the ERA?

[ThePurpleBunny]

Walks don't count in ERA, unless it's a bases-loaded walk that scores a run. In that case it's 1 earned run.

[epp1e]

Walks don't count in ERA, unless it's a bases-loaded walk that scores a run. In that case it's 1 earned run.Oh wait I meant batting average :sweat:

[Warpticon]

Batting average is just hits/at-bats. at-bats are plate appearances not including hit by pitches, walks, sacrifices, or errors.

[ThePurpleBunny]

Oh. The batter is not credited with an at-bat if he draws a walk.

That is, if a batter is 1-3 when he comes up, and draws a walk, he stays at 1-3.

^ All that stuff too.

[BruceLB]

Batting average is just hits/at-bats. at-bats are plate appearances not including hit by pitches, walks, sacrifices, or errors.

Which is exactly why batting average is fucking retarded.

[Warpticon]

Nah, it's pretty much roughly hits/times putting the ball in play or recording an out. It's not really useful for projection or anything, but "fucking retarded" is a bit strong. Now, if you want to talk fucking retarded stats...pitcher's wins.

[ThePurpleBunny]

Now, if you want to talk fucking retarded stats...Eric Gagne blowing a save, not pitching the 10th, and still getting the win.

Damn straight.

[epp1e]

That was one of the questions I was saving for later, so I don't pile on my horrible knowledge of baseball on you at once.. but since it's been brought up... how does one earn a W, L or Save?

Also, when are you allowed to steal a base? I was watching a game today & saw a guy run all the way to 2nd, then decide to run all the way back to 1st... so I figure there are times when you can't and times when you can.

Sorry, all this baseball stuff is new to me... I went to a couple games when I was like 5, but I basically just wanted to see some dude hit some shit out of the park at that age so never bothered to learn the rules.

[thekidfromLBC]

Royals sweep the Tigers! :wtf:

[ThePurpleBunny]

That was one of the questions I was saving for later, so I don't pile on my horrible knowledge of baseball on you at once.. but since it's been brought up... how does one earn a W, L or Save?

A pitcher gets the win if his team takes the lead during his time on the mound and does not lose it. A pitcher gets the loss when he gives up the lead and his team does not get it back.

A pitcher gets a save either by pitching more than 3 innings regardless of his team's lead, or pitches 3 or less innings with his team leading 3 runs or less. If he gives up that lead, it's a blown save. He's also the last pitcher that team uses in the game.

(I may be wrong about that first part, because I can't remember if that's a save condition or not).

Also, when are you allowed to steal a base? I was watching a game today & saw a guy run all the way to 2nd, then decide to run all the way back to 1st... so I figure there are times when you can't and times when you can.Once you're on base, you can steal a base at any time, provided the batter doesn't hit the ball, and if you touch base before you can be thrown and tagged out, you're safe.

Now, if the batter hits the ball when you try to steal, and hits it foul, you have to go back. Also, if the batter hits a fair ball that's caught for an out, you can't advance unless you "tag-up", meaning you can't leave the base until the ball is caught. If you're off the base when it's caught, you have to go back. You're out if the baseman gets the ball and touches base before you do in that case.

Since you can still be thrown and tagged out, you won't see runners tag-up that way unless they're on 2nd or 3rd, because it's easier to advance to 3rd and home when a fly ball is caught in the outfield.

[fei long]

break up the royals!

[Warpticon]

A save occurs if a relief pitcher records the final out of a game his team wins by 3 or fewer runs, or if he pitches the last three innings of a game his team wins by any score.

[ThePurpleBunny]

I know I shouldn't laugh at this, because it happened to a child, but look at her name:

Once again, an A-Rod got an unfriendly welcome from the home of Red Sox Nation. This time, it was 13-year-old Alexa Rodriguez and not the Yankees All-Star third baseman Alex Rodriguez (http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/5275/;_ylt=Alu_kFknq4DQ6heKWJ3XJHOpu7YF).

She was touring Fenway Park on a school trip Thursday and was attacked by a resident red-tailed hawk that drew blood from her scalp. Rodriguez wasn’t seriously hurt.

Vince Jennetta, a teacher who chaperoned her class trip from Memorial Boulevard Middle School in Bristol, Conn., told The Boston Globe that Alexa is “a little shaken, but OK.”

The hawk was perched on a railing in the upper deck behind home plate while the group toured the stadium. The hawk flew at the girl and swooped with its talons extended, scratching her scalp.

A single egg lay in the hawk’s nearby nest in an overhang near the stadium’s press booth.

The nest and egg were removed at the direction of state wildlife officials.

This has to be the worst coincidence EVER.

[maxx]

I know I shouldn't laugh at this, because it happened to a child, but look at her name:



This has to be the worst coincidence EVER.

damn you i was just about to post this. :rofl::rofl::rofl:

even hawks get into the rivalry.

[epp1e]

I was cracking up when I saw that story on ESPN :)

Thanks for answering my questions guys. I have many more left in the tank, but I'm going to deal out my lack of baseball knowledge a little at a time.

[Carpet Lint]

Just list them out here, pussy.

ALSO, another wrinkle to the definition of a save (it's a wacky overrated stat)...

I believe it's also a save when you come in to the pitch at least an inning to end the game, and the tying run is on-deck, right? So if your team is up 5, but the bases are loaded and you come in and end the inning...that's a save, right?

Batting average is obviously an overrated stat if it's used as like the primary gauge of a hitter's worth (along with home runs and RBI's) but at the very least it shows how often a player hits safely, and puts a ball into play without recording an out. It obviously has it's faults and you can look at stuff like contact rate or BABIP any whatnot instead...but it's not a completely stupid stat.

[lamewadd]

It's annoying...A save is when a pitcher:

1) Comes into a game after the 5th inning with his team leading by 3 or fewer runs.
2) Is the last pitcher to throw the ball.

OR

3) Comes in when his team is up by 4 with the bases loaded or have two men on.

OR

4) Comes in and pitches at least three innings after the 5th.

The vast, VAST majority of saves will be a pitcher coming in at the start of the 9th with a 1-3 run lead, though. The others occur so rarely that you don't really have to worry.

The batting average isn't overrated because nobody who actually knows baseball actually points to the average as THE one thing that decides the quality of a hitter. OBP is far more important than AVG.

Anyway, here's something all should memorize (though serious baseball fans probably already have it commited to memory):

http://sports.yahoo.com/fantasy/mlb/news;_ylt=Atltyd7J_4TI4LSXC6QEEIJvTNAF?slug=ys-saberglossary-mlb

[epp1e]

http://sports.yahoo.com/fantasy/mlb/news;_ylt=Atltyd7J_4TI4LSXC6QEEIJvTNAF?slug=ys