Roast

I just joined this madness. I've got the pistons tonight. Not sure how this whole shebang works but it looks easy enough. EDIT: and of course they're down by 12.

That's awesome

I think I've seen that video. :-))

:-s :-#

?? Why is that stupid? Line drives come zipping down past them all the time, and unlike fielders they may not always be completely focused on the ball at all times if they are watching their base runners, timing the pitchers release, or something like that. Why wouldn't you want them wearing helmets? More players get hurt by getting hit in the face with baseballs than coaches get hurt by line drives to the head so if it is that big of a concern I guess you would also be in favor of the face guards. If a coach really wants to wear a helmet he should be able to do it, but to require them like it is some big safety concern is an overreaction. Why not make them wear catcher's gear as well? They can't be completely focused on the ball at all times and they could get hit by a line drive in the shin so they should have necessary protection, right? Come on now, a line drive to the shin and a line drive to the face is a little different. All I'm saying is that I don't see the big problem with requiring them to wear a batting helmet while on the field. Hell, the couple times I've been on the field for games I've had to wear one even though i'm tucked away by the wall, next to the bullpen. It's just a precaution. No one is saying they should go out there in bubble wrap, but having something hard to protect their dome from a line drive shouldn't be a big deal.

?? Why is that stupid? Line drives come zipping down past them all the time, and unlike fielders they may not always be completely focused on the ball at all times if they are watching their base runners, timing the pitchers release, or something like that. Why wouldn't you want them wearing helmets?

Yeah, it's not a keeper so I think i'll just keep Nolasco. Anywho, with such a small bench i hate having too many RP's. That said I know at least two of the guys on that team will start the year on the DL so once I stow them away on the DL spots I may add one more.

If he'd be willing to accept a bench role I would sign him today. I don't know that he would, though.

Maybe that was it.

Yes, you see that alot in fantasy where a guy might be very valuable in the "real world" but not in fantasy. Oh another thing to keep in my mind is how UNvaluable outfielders are. I didn't draft any outfielders until like the 10th round or so. It is my opinion that unless you come across some uber-stud outfielder like Carlos Beltran was a few years ago, then you would be wise not to take an OF high. The reasoning being that outfielders are dime a dozen in that the difference between an elite outfielder and a regular outfielder is slight. For example, look at last year's stats. There were 23 outfielders with 25 or more HR (the most being Dunn with 40) and 25 outfielders with 85+ RBI. First base is similar as well in that there are plenty of guys who can get you 25 HR, 85 RBI, and score 85 runs. Thus, unless a truly elite player at one of those positions falls in your lap in the first round or so, it is wiser (at least in my opinion) to take a stud SP or middle infielder high in the draft. Yeah, that's one thing I did a good job with because that's something I'd do if I was building a real team. I was pretty happy with my early picks of Utley, McCann, and Stephen Drew. But another thing that didn't even really cross my mind during the draft was steals. I think Utley is my top steal guy. But hopefully with the way I drafted, my HR, RBI, R/K, ERA, WHIP will make up for losing the steals and saves every time. I'm always terrible with steals. This year I did a little better - especially with my second draft - but I tend to always forget about steals.

I remember that being talked about a lot when they made the switch. I could be crazy, but I though that's what it was.

well, it would help in large part to actually see your team when answering these questions, but here's what I've got: 1. For me, I always like to grab at least one stud starting pitcher early in the rounds (rarely the first round, personally). This year I grabbed Johan Santana with my second pick. After that, starting pitchers can be kind of fickle. For example any given week Carlos Zambrano has a decent probability of giving you a worse start than, say, Jason Marquis. Obviously, with the better pitcher you are more likely to get a good start, so you do want to try to fill your team with the best pitchers possible while at the same time paying mind to your stats. That is, if you draft someone like Matt Cain who will give you good ERA, Whip, and K numbers, you're still going to lose out on wins because he plays on the freaking Giants. Long story short, it's a balance. Better pitchers always give you the best shot at getting points. That said, if you draft someone like a Johan Santana who gives you a ton of K's and a low ERA you are better able to afford a ted lilly type who won't give you as good of an ERA but is more likely to get wins than say a Matt Cain type, even though he may not be as good of a pitcher, simply because of the team he's on. As for relief pitchers, I rarely keep more relievers than i have spots for them. This allows me the maximum amount of starts from my starters (who log more innings, thus more opportunities for strikeouts - plus they are more likely to get wins). Relievers are really good for keeping your ERA and WHIP down while adding some extra K's, but i don't load my staff with them. 2. This one completely depends on your team. David Price could be a goldmine, but if you don't have the extra bench spots to hold him until he comes up then maybe Gregg would be a better option - especially if your closer situation is poor. 3. Again, depends on the team. If you already have a good closer or two, then take the really good middle reliever (say, marmol) who will add you a bunch of K's and low ERA numbers. But if you need a closer, i'd probably take that.

linkege Apparently after the first inning the game went into a delay. The announcers talked their way through fourty minutes of the delay then sent the radio back to regular programming. After which, they left. Then about an hour later the game started again and they were not around for the final 8 innings. In their defense, they were told to go home. still, lol.

I actually like the two-tone look. Anyway, i thought the reason that baseball (and football) was moving towards airflow helmets was because they were supposed to break LESS. I thought incidents like this: http://sportsmed.starwave.com/media/mlb/2003/0420/photo/sosa_0420_hi.jpg were the reason for going to those helmets all along. Oh well.

Anyone?

If we're 'deleting' lee to clear up salary that's one thing - but are we really going to get on his case about double plays? He DOUBLED the amount of DP's he hit into last year in relation to 2007 - don't you think that's probably somewhat of an aberration?

On yet another fantasy team. Anyway, this is my second fantasy team and unfortunately it's only a ten person league, so the teams are obviously going to be rather stacked. Either way, the stats are as follows: Runs, Hits, HRs, RBI, SB, AVG, OBP & W, L, Sv, K, Hold, ERA, WHIP My team: C Ryan Doumit 1B Albert Pujols 2B Brian Roberts 3B Chone Figgins SS Stephen Drew OF Manny Ramírez OF Adam Dunn OF Raúl Ibañez Util Jhonny Peralta BN Álex Rodríguez BN Kelly Shoppach BN Yunel Escobar BN Jason Giambi SP Johan Santana SP Yovani Gallardo SP Ricky Nolasco SP Hiroki Kuroda RP Kerry Wood RP Matt Capps RP Scot Shields P Ervin Santana P Aaron Cook BN Kevin Slowey BN Joe Saunders I like my team, but at the same time it is only a 10 player league. I'm not a huge fan of my pitching outside of Santana, especially since I was dumb and didn't realize the other Santana won't be back until mid-may, but I'm pretty pumped about my offense - especially come May when Arod is back. ALSO: I just realized someone in the league proposed a trade to me: Ricky Nolasco for Felix Hernandez straight up. Based on last years stats it would seem I should keep Nolasco, but what do you guys think?

It's not that it would offend anybody necessarily, though I'm sure it would some. But like others have pointed to it keeps it safe for work, school, and if you have children around. Beyond that, it makes the site look more professional. I know this board actually has held media credentials with at least one cubs minor league organization and I think still at least receives press releases from the team. It just looks bad to have a site filled with vulgar language.

Oh really? I thought he was supposed to start the year in the majors?

And to be fair, none of those are drastically unrealistic. Bold, certainly, but that's what the thread is calling for.

Apparently Fukudome is supposed to make his debut today. I have no idea who is pitching or if this is on TV so, uh, yeah. That's what I've got for you. Go cubs.

1. Number of Cubs wins, 2009 94 2. Number of Cubs wins, Cardinals season series (16 games) 11 3. Number of runs scored, 2009 860 4. Number of runs allowed, 2009 680 5. Final Placement in the NL Central Division 1st Place Player Stats & Scoring 1. Number of Aramis Ramirez Home Runs 28 2. Number of Soriano Stolen Bases 18 3. Ryan Theriot's Batting Average .295 4. Milton Bradley's RBIs 95 5. Ryan Dempster's Wins 16 6. Sean Marshall's ERA 4.25 7. Carlos Zambrano's Ks 175 8. Rich Harden's Innings Pitched 160 Bonus Questions I (20 points each) 1. Which will be higher: Lee's RBIs or Soto's RBIs? Lee's RBIs 2. Which will be higher: Aaron Heilman's starts or Aaron Heilman's relief appearances? Relief Appearances 3. Which will be higher: Aaron Miles' at-bats or Mike Fontenot's at-bats? Mike Fontenot's at-bats 4. Who will have more HRs: Fontenot or Fukudome? Fontenot 5. Who will have more wins: Harden or Marshall? Harden 6. Who will have a higher SLG: Bradley or Ramirez? Bradley Bonus Questions II (30 points each) 1. Most HRs: Alfonso Soriano 2. Highest OBP (min. 400 ABs): Aramis Ramirez 3. Lowest ERA (min. 150 IPs): Rich Harden 4. Most saves: Carlos Marmol The Annual Tiebreaker: Date of Lou Piniella's First Ejection 7/25

Group A: Ryan Howard Group B: Mark Teixeira, Prince Fielder Group C: Josh Hamilton, Alfonso Soriano, Lance Berkman Group D: Geovany Soto, Brian McCann, Joey Votto, Johnny Peralta, Justin Morneau Wild Card: PM'd to Laura

This is the one that came to mind for me 8/7/2001 Cubs 5 Rockies 4 http://www.fangraphs.com/tgraphs/20010807_Rockies_Cubs_0.png That's the game that ended with the crazy rundown after Ricky Gutierrez tripped rounding third but ended up scoring anyway. Too bad they couldn't update that graph mid-play.

gathright will be to micah hoffpauir this year what ronny cedeno was to daryl ward last year. A guy who plays a different position and has little connection to him?