I think with August just a couple of days away it's finally time to dive headfirst into fantasy football. I've been doing some research, bought a magazine, listened to Simmons' podcast and feel it's time to throw my two cents into the action.
First of all fantasy football is almost too perfectly set up. The draft doesn't take too long, you only have to set your line-up once a week and you don't have to be a stathead to win. It's pretty easy to see why it is at least ten times bigger than fantasy baseball or basketball. With that said even though I much prefer watching football to baseball, fantasy baseball is the tops. If you're a die hard like me who doesn't mind checking my team everyday then fantasy baseball is the chess to fantasy football's checkers.
So here's a couple of wrinkles to try to make fantasy football a little more exciting.
1) Try an auction draft. Seriously who has had a bad time at an auction? This will allow the ability to get any player you want and not be at the mercy of your draft slot. Plus it guarantees to extend you draft by an hour and draft day is one of the best days of the year.
2) Have a two QB league. Everyone knows running backs dominate fantasy football largely because you have to start at least two of them. So to make it more like real football where the emphasis is on quarterbacks why not start two of them? That way someone is practically forced to start someone like J.P. Losman and can you really put an entertainment value on that?
3) Have at least a twelve team league. If you have any less than twelve teams than everyone's team is two good and kills most of the strategy of drafting.
Anyway here's a couple of strategies that I've come up with for this years draft.
1) There seems to be lots of solid RB so the normal strategy of two running backs in the first two rounds seems unnecessary. I'm seriously considering a RB, WR, QB for the first three rounds or something to that effect.
2) The number three and four draft slots scare me to death. If you're sitting at number three you've got to pray that Stephen Jackson is still there. Larry Johnson just has taken too much of a pounding and Shaun Alexander is getting any younger but I just can't see myself pulling the trigger on Gore, Addai or Manning at that point in the draft.
3) I think too many people try to wait on QB's. Seriously whens the last guy that won a league with Jake Delhomme? You'll put yourself in a much better chance to win with a top five guy not to mention save yourself multiple nervous breakdowns watching the Jeff Garcia's of the world have another terrible game.
With all that said here's some guys I'm targeting and guys I'm avoiding
Targets
QB: Carson Palmer or Marc Bulger
RB: Edgerrin James, Travis Henry
WR: Donald Driver, Chris Chambers, Braylon Edwards
TE: Kellen Winslow, Vernon Davis
Avoid
QB: Vince Young
RB: Larry Johnson, Shaun Alexander, Rudi Johnson
WR: T. J. Houshmandzadeh, Donte Stallworth
TE: Tony Gonzalez
Monday, July 30, 2007
Monday, July 23, 2007
Why we need Bonds
This is a very depressing time in sports. Baseball rules the landscape with no other real challenger and what should be the most celebrated event in sports this year is being tarnished by a bunch of uptight sports writers who want to refuse to acknowledge Bonds accomplishments and a commissioner who might not even show up to watch it happen. Like he has more important things to do.
So instead of being caught up in the chase of the greatest record in sports being broken by arguably the best baseball player ever we instead got to bear witness to the following sports stories in the past month or so.
1) Chris Benoit's Murder Suicide which was just about the most shocking and deplorable thing I've heard. As a former wrestling fan he seemed like one of the good guys. This hurt me more than any event in sports ever did.
2) Mike Vick's Dog Fighting Ring which even if he didn't have knowledge of it is still bad. It happened on your property and something this brutal shouldn't be happening anywhere.
3) Tim Donaghy Betting Scandal which I'm still not sure how big of an effect on the game it will have once it's all said and done.
So those are three major story's from the past month and with football still more than a month away we are stuck with baseball to remind us why we watch sports. That's why we need Bonds. We need to get caught up in something, to marvel at the accomplishment and forget about the previous three events. So I'm begging everyone from Bud Selig to the nation's sportswriters just forget about your undeserved agenda against him and please let's just celebrate something this summer.
So instead of being caught up in the chase of the greatest record in sports being broken by arguably the best baseball player ever we instead got to bear witness to the following sports stories in the past month or so.
1) Chris Benoit's Murder Suicide which was just about the most shocking and deplorable thing I've heard. As a former wrestling fan he seemed like one of the good guys. This hurt me more than any event in sports ever did.
2) Mike Vick's Dog Fighting Ring which even if he didn't have knowledge of it is still bad. It happened on your property and something this brutal shouldn't be happening anywhere.
3) Tim Donaghy Betting Scandal which I'm still not sure how big of an effect on the game it will have once it's all said and done.
So those are three major story's from the past month and with football still more than a month away we are stuck with baseball to remind us why we watch sports. That's why we need Bonds. We need to get caught up in something, to marvel at the accomplishment and forget about the previous three events. So I'm begging everyone from Bud Selig to the nation's sportswriters just forget about your undeserved agenda against him and please let's just celebrate something this summer.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Best Year of Your Life
Things are pretty slow on the sports front. Baseball is back in full swing after the all-star break and it's still a little early to fully divulge into fantasy football. So with that being said it's time to break into the old bag of trick columns. It's time to decide what really is the best year of your life.
Here are the candidates:
1) Four years old
2) Senior year of high school
3) Freshman year of college
4) Second year of college
5) First year of retirement
Four years old is a good age because school hasn't started yet, you're young enough to have everyone do everything for you, your parents don't really get mad at you for doing anything. But you're a little too young to comprehend everything and life's just a little too simple to qualify as the best year of your life.
For you first year of retirement hopefully you're still young enough to do the things you enjoy. Obviously you don't have to work anymore and you should be financially secure enough to enjoy life. But as good as retirement seems I just can't see it comparing to your youth so that to is out for the best year of your life.
The first year of college is off the charts fun. You're away from home for the first time, there's more girls there then you have ever seen in your life but there the huge adjustment you have to make. You have to make new friends, learn new surroundings, handle a much bigger workload without flunking out. It's fun but it's also tough. So that too is not going to qualify as the best year of your life.
So that leaves two. Your senior year of high school and your second year of university.
Let's break it down
Senior Year of High School
Pros: You're young so you have no real responsibilities, School's free so there is no monetary pressure on you. You can now drive, everything is familiar to you and you run the school, your a big fish in a small pond and everyone knows and respects you. You get to chill with your friends who you've known for way too long and you guys all talk and think the same. Plus after you get accepted into college school becomes a joke. All you have to do is pass so there is basically no work being done. Plus if you played high school sports like I did you know there is nothing like it. You get to walk around school like a big wheel and play in front of the whole school, it's sheer fun the way sports should be, nothing beats high school sports. You also know all of the good looking girls in the school and you're comfortable talking to them. Plus the most underrated part of high school is when the weather turns warm around May and early June and the girls start to wear short skirts and everything just turns very chilled out and nostalgic because you know you probably won't see most of the people again.
Cons: You still live with your parents and your ready to bust out so there's tension there. At the start of the year there's big time pressure to get into college. Even though you are comfortable with all the girls at school you get a little too comfortable and could use some new blood. At school they don't give you much freedom. They call home if you skip class and you still have to get your parents to sign your report card.
Second Year of College
Pros: Your familiar with your surroundings and you've made new friends but are still fairly tight with some people from high school, You're away from home and have all the freedom you could imagine. There's girls everywhere plus you got first dibs on the incoming frosh because they like more mature guys like you. The real world is still a few years away so you don't feel that pressure. There's non stop parties and thousands of people just like you. You get some major holiday breaks like three weeks for Christmas and close to five months for summer. They don't make you do monotonous things for school work and you don't have to go if you don't want to. Playing on a varsity athletic team brings big time prestige.
Cons: You never get that feeling like your a big deal. Playing varsity sports takes up huge amounts of time and it's way tougher competition than high school. Lots of times when you see a good looking girl walking down the hall of a building you'll never see her again. School costs a lot of money so there's pressure to make money in the summer and perform in school. School's over before it gets really warm so you never get to experience the thrill of when the short skirts come out.
So there you have it when you break it down logically it comes down to personal preference. Do you prefer the freedom of college or the ability to be a big fish in a small pond in high school? I think college is more universally liked because being cool in college doesn't matter whereas in high school being unpopular can be miserable but my personal preference is the last year of high school to me nothing beats those care free days. Man I miss them.
Here are the candidates:
1) Four years old
2) Senior year of high school
3) Freshman year of college
4) Second year of college
5) First year of retirement
Four years old is a good age because school hasn't started yet, you're young enough to have everyone do everything for you, your parents don't really get mad at you for doing anything. But you're a little too young to comprehend everything and life's just a little too simple to qualify as the best year of your life.
For you first year of retirement hopefully you're still young enough to do the things you enjoy. Obviously you don't have to work anymore and you should be financially secure enough to enjoy life. But as good as retirement seems I just can't see it comparing to your youth so that to is out for the best year of your life.
The first year of college is off the charts fun. You're away from home for the first time, there's more girls there then you have ever seen in your life but there the huge adjustment you have to make. You have to make new friends, learn new surroundings, handle a much bigger workload without flunking out. It's fun but it's also tough. So that too is not going to qualify as the best year of your life.
So that leaves two. Your senior year of high school and your second year of university.
Let's break it down
Senior Year of High School
Pros: You're young so you have no real responsibilities, School's free so there is no monetary pressure on you. You can now drive, everything is familiar to you and you run the school, your a big fish in a small pond and everyone knows and respects you. You get to chill with your friends who you've known for way too long and you guys all talk and think the same. Plus after you get accepted into college school becomes a joke. All you have to do is pass so there is basically no work being done. Plus if you played high school sports like I did you know there is nothing like it. You get to walk around school like a big wheel and play in front of the whole school, it's sheer fun the way sports should be, nothing beats high school sports. You also know all of the good looking girls in the school and you're comfortable talking to them. Plus the most underrated part of high school is when the weather turns warm around May and early June and the girls start to wear short skirts and everything just turns very chilled out and nostalgic because you know you probably won't see most of the people again.
Cons: You still live with your parents and your ready to bust out so there's tension there. At the start of the year there's big time pressure to get into college. Even though you are comfortable with all the girls at school you get a little too comfortable and could use some new blood. At school they don't give you much freedom. They call home if you skip class and you still have to get your parents to sign your report card.
Second Year of College
Pros: Your familiar with your surroundings and you've made new friends but are still fairly tight with some people from high school, You're away from home and have all the freedom you could imagine. There's girls everywhere plus you got first dibs on the incoming frosh because they like more mature guys like you. The real world is still a few years away so you don't feel that pressure. There's non stop parties and thousands of people just like you. You get some major holiday breaks like three weeks for Christmas and close to five months for summer. They don't make you do monotonous things for school work and you don't have to go if you don't want to. Playing on a varsity athletic team brings big time prestige.
Cons: You never get that feeling like your a big deal. Playing varsity sports takes up huge amounts of time and it's way tougher competition than high school. Lots of times when you see a good looking girl walking down the hall of a building you'll never see her again. School costs a lot of money so there's pressure to make money in the summer and perform in school. School's over before it gets really warm so you never get to experience the thrill of when the short skirts come out.
So there you have it when you break it down logically it comes down to personal preference. Do you prefer the freedom of college or the ability to be a big fish in a small pond in high school? I think college is more universally liked because being cool in college doesn't matter whereas in high school being unpopular can be miserable but my personal preference is the last year of high school to me nothing beats those care free days. Man I miss them.
Monday, July 9, 2007
Midseason Awards
Alright baseball's at the unofficial midway part of the season and what better time than to hand out the much cliched midseason awards. Can you feel the excitement? No well anyway here goes. (oh yeah in my last column I mistakenly had John Maine in the American League instead of correctly putting him in the National League. Pretty much inexcusable but that's what you get when you don't do any research.)
American League
Rookie of the Year: Daisuke Matsuzaka
With all do respect to Hideki Okajima (non closer relievers don't win rookie of the year) and Reggie Willits (who has a good average and on base percentage but is lacking any power numbers. Daisuke has lived up to the hype. Ten wins and 123 strikeouts at the break are off the charts for a rookie.
Cy Young: Dan Haren
Although Johan Santana is closing the gap each and every start. Just look at there numbers
Wins: Haren 10, Santana 10
Strikeouts: Haren 101, Santana 125
ERA: Haren 2.30, Santana 2.75
WHIP: Haren 1.00, Santana 1.03
Losses: Haren 3, Santana 6
HR's Allowed: Haren 11, Santana 17
MVP: Alex Rodriguez
This is the only choice. He's almost single handily keeping the Yankees in the Wild Card hunt and leads the league in runs, RBI, and HRs. The only player who comes close to A-Rod is Magglio Ordonez but other than a higher batting average he pails in comparison. He has lower runs, RBI's, HR, SB, Slugging and OPS. Even though the Tigers are possibly the best team in baseball that has more to do with pitching than hitting plus they have another MVP candidate in Sheffield so don't give Magglio all the credit.
National League
Rookie of the Year: Ryan Braun
It's pretty much a toss up between him and Hunter Pence but I'd give the advantage to Braun who has a better average, on base percentage, and slugging.
Cy Young: Jake Peavy
Pretty easy choice. The only pitcher close is his teammate Chris Young but other than ERA where Young has a 0.19 edge, Peavy beats him in every category. Hands down Peavy is the best pitcher in baseball this year.
MVP: Hanley Ramirez
I know it's a little out there but here me out on this one. The other two top notch candidates are Prince Fielder and Matt Holliday so let's break down the candidates.
Runs: Ramirez 70, Fielder 62, Holliday 56
HR: Ramirez 14, Fielder 29, Holliday 15
RBI: Ramirez 35, Fielder 70, Holliday 69
Stolen Bases: Ramirez 27, Fielder 0, Holliday 4
AVG: Ramirez .331, Fielder .284, Holliday .341
On Base Percentage: Ramirez .388, Fielder .376, Holliday .392
if you look at the numbers it's pretty much a toss up. Ramirez is way behind in RBI but dominates in stolen ,leads in runs is right there with Holliday in HR, average and on base percentage. He's behind Fielder in Home runs but beats him in average and on base percentage. So of the three I'd say right now offensively it's a toss up but you also have to take into account defence. Ramirez plays shortstop, the most demanding defensive position except for catcher, while Holliday plays a much easier outfield position and Fielder plays the very easy first base. With everything taken into account I'd say Hanley Ramirez is the best player in the National League (Well except maybe for Barry Bonds but he probably won't have enough at bats to capture the voters minds)
American League
Rookie of the Year: Daisuke Matsuzaka
With all do respect to Hideki Okajima (non closer relievers don't win rookie of the year) and Reggie Willits (who has a good average and on base percentage but is lacking any power numbers. Daisuke has lived up to the hype. Ten wins and 123 strikeouts at the break are off the charts for a rookie.
Cy Young: Dan Haren
Although Johan Santana is closing the gap each and every start. Just look at there numbers
Wins: Haren 10, Santana 10
Strikeouts: Haren 101, Santana 125
ERA: Haren 2.30, Santana 2.75
WHIP: Haren 1.00, Santana 1.03
Losses: Haren 3, Santana 6
HR's Allowed: Haren 11, Santana 17
MVP: Alex Rodriguez
This is the only choice. He's almost single handily keeping the Yankees in the Wild Card hunt and leads the league in runs, RBI, and HRs. The only player who comes close to A-Rod is Magglio Ordonez but other than a higher batting average he pails in comparison. He has lower runs, RBI's, HR, SB, Slugging and OPS. Even though the Tigers are possibly the best team in baseball that has more to do with pitching than hitting plus they have another MVP candidate in Sheffield so don't give Magglio all the credit.
National League
Rookie of the Year: Ryan Braun
It's pretty much a toss up between him and Hunter Pence but I'd give the advantage to Braun who has a better average, on base percentage, and slugging.
Cy Young: Jake Peavy
Pretty easy choice. The only pitcher close is his teammate Chris Young but other than ERA where Young has a 0.19 edge, Peavy beats him in every category. Hands down Peavy is the best pitcher in baseball this year.
MVP: Hanley Ramirez
I know it's a little out there but here me out on this one. The other two top notch candidates are Prince Fielder and Matt Holliday so let's break down the candidates.
Runs: Ramirez 70, Fielder 62, Holliday 56
HR: Ramirez 14, Fielder 29, Holliday 15
RBI: Ramirez 35, Fielder 70, Holliday 69
Stolen Bases: Ramirez 27, Fielder 0, Holliday 4
AVG: Ramirez .331, Fielder .284, Holliday .341
On Base Percentage: Ramirez .388, Fielder .376, Holliday .392
if you look at the numbers it's pretty much a toss up. Ramirez is way behind in RBI but dominates in stolen ,leads in runs is right there with Holliday in HR, average and on base percentage. He's behind Fielder in Home runs but beats him in average and on base percentage. So of the three I'd say right now offensively it's a toss up but you also have to take into account defence. Ramirez plays shortstop, the most demanding defensive position except for catcher, while Holliday plays a much easier outfield position and Fielder plays the very easy first base. With everything taken into account I'd say Hanley Ramirez is the best player in the National League (Well except maybe for Barry Bonds but he probably won't have enough at bats to capture the voters minds)
Monday, July 2, 2007
All Star Game
First I'll clean up a couple of things about the NBA draft. Number one I got an impressive five of 14 lottery picks correct and it would have been way more if the Celtics decided to not be retarded and trade for an aging shooting guard whose had surgery on both of his ankles. But that was Danny Ainge and the NBA I guess I should have known. Also the suits didn't disappoint. From Noah's bow tie to Nick Young's all white the fashion show didn't disappoint.
Now on to the MLB allstar game. This is definitely the best allstar game of the bunch and the only one I actually watch. However with the MLB's insistence that it actually count for something (home field advantage in the World Series) I think we really need to evaluate things.
1. Should the fans decide the starting line-ups where you get players like Carlos Beltran starting or should it be the best players this season?
2. Do you need to have a representative form every team or is ensuring there is one player from the team that is hosting it enough?
My personal opinion is that since it counts we should take the starting line-ups out of the fans hand and give it to the managers or a benevolent dictator type who would pick the best players regardless of whether they are big stars or not. I would however keep the rule that every team should be represented which I know seems like a direct contradiction to my previous point but, if the benefit to winning the game is home field advantage for your respected league then I feel all teams in the league should be present to either win or lose that distinction.
Anyways with those restrictions in place here's how my allstar line-up would look like.
American League Starters
1B: Justin Morneau
2B: Brian Roberts
3B: Alex Rodriguez
SS: Carlos Guillen
OF: Magglio Ordonez
OF: Gary Sheffield
OF: Vladimir Guerrero
C: Victor Martinez
SP: Dan Haren
American League Reserves
1B: David Ortiz
2B: Placido Planco
2B B.J. Upton
3B: Mike Lowell
SS: Orlando Cabrera
SS: Derek Jeter
OF: Ichiro Suzuki
OF: Grady Sizemore
OF: Torri Hunter
OF: Alex Rios
OF: Kenny Lofton
C: Jorge Posada
P: Johan Santana
P: C.C. Sabathia
P: Jeremy Guthrie
P: Josh Beckett
P: John Lackey
P: Justin Verlander
P: John Maine
P: J.J. Putz
P: Francisco Rodriguez
P: Bobby Jenks
P: Gil Meche
The only hitters with a legitimate beef is Youkilis from Boston and Peralta from Cleveland. But I had to make room for a Texas player hence the Kenny Lofton selection. Pitching wise the only player who doesn't belong is Meche but his numbers are actually pretty decent.
National League Starters
1B: Prince Fielder
2B: Chase Utley
3B: Miguel Cabrera
SS: Hanley Ramirez
OF: Matt Holliday
OF: Ken Griffey Jr.
OF: Barry Bonds
C: Russell Martin
SP: Jake Peavy
National League Reserves
1B: Albert Pujols
1B: Dmitri Young
2B: Brandon Phillips
3B: David Wright
3B: Chipper Jones
SS: Jose Reyes
SS: Jimmy Rollins
OF: Eric Byrnes
OF: Carlos Lee
OF: Alfonso Soriano
OF: Carlos Beltran
C: Bengie Molina
P: Brad Penny
P: Chris Young
P: Ben Sheets
P: Ian Snell
P: Cole Hamels
P: John Smoltz
P: Brandon Webb
P: Derek Lowe
P: Francisco Cordero
P: Trevor Hoffman
P: Takshi Saito
The only undeserving player here is Dmitri Young and his numbers aren't that bad. Anyone who thinks Bonds doesn't deserve to start has lost there mind. He has the highest on base percentage and OPS in the league.
Now on to the MLB allstar game. This is definitely the best allstar game of the bunch and the only one I actually watch. However with the MLB's insistence that it actually count for something (home field advantage in the World Series) I think we really need to evaluate things.
1. Should the fans decide the starting line-ups where you get players like Carlos Beltran starting or should it be the best players this season?
2. Do you need to have a representative form every team or is ensuring there is one player from the team that is hosting it enough?
My personal opinion is that since it counts we should take the starting line-ups out of the fans hand and give it to the managers or a benevolent dictator type who would pick the best players regardless of whether they are big stars or not. I would however keep the rule that every team should be represented which I know seems like a direct contradiction to my previous point but, if the benefit to winning the game is home field advantage for your respected league then I feel all teams in the league should be present to either win or lose that distinction.
Anyways with those restrictions in place here's how my allstar line-up would look like.
American League Starters
1B: Justin Morneau
2B: Brian Roberts
3B: Alex Rodriguez
SS: Carlos Guillen
OF: Magglio Ordonez
OF: Gary Sheffield
OF: Vladimir Guerrero
C: Victor Martinez
SP: Dan Haren
American League Reserves
1B: David Ortiz
2B: Placido Planco
2B B.J. Upton
3B: Mike Lowell
SS: Orlando Cabrera
SS: Derek Jeter
OF: Ichiro Suzuki
OF: Grady Sizemore
OF: Torri Hunter
OF: Alex Rios
OF: Kenny Lofton
C: Jorge Posada
P: Johan Santana
P: C.C. Sabathia
P: Jeremy Guthrie
P: Josh Beckett
P: John Lackey
P: Justin Verlander
P: John Maine
P: J.J. Putz
P: Francisco Rodriguez
P: Bobby Jenks
P: Gil Meche
The only hitters with a legitimate beef is Youkilis from Boston and Peralta from Cleveland. But I had to make room for a Texas player hence the Kenny Lofton selection. Pitching wise the only player who doesn't belong is Meche but his numbers are actually pretty decent.
National League Starters
1B: Prince Fielder
2B: Chase Utley
3B: Miguel Cabrera
SS: Hanley Ramirez
OF: Matt Holliday
OF: Ken Griffey Jr.
OF: Barry Bonds
C: Russell Martin
SP: Jake Peavy
National League Reserves
1B: Albert Pujols
1B: Dmitri Young
2B: Brandon Phillips
3B: David Wright
3B: Chipper Jones
SS: Jose Reyes
SS: Jimmy Rollins
OF: Eric Byrnes
OF: Carlos Lee
OF: Alfonso Soriano
OF: Carlos Beltran
C: Bengie Molina
P: Brad Penny
P: Chris Young
P: Ben Sheets
P: Ian Snell
P: Cole Hamels
P: John Smoltz
P: Brandon Webb
P: Derek Lowe
P: Francisco Cordero
P: Trevor Hoffman
P: Takshi Saito
The only undeserving player here is Dmitri Young and his numbers aren't that bad. Anyone who thinks Bonds doesn't deserve to start has lost there mind. He has the highest on base percentage and OPS in the league.
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