Open Thread: My 2009 RAB Fantasy Football Team
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The second annual RAB Fantasy Football League drafted yesterday afternoon, although this year we pared down from 20 teams to 16. That’s still pretty deep, but just not as ridiculous. I’m sure you all remember who won the title last year, and trust me, all of us in the league are gunning to bring him down this time around.
Looking back at my team last year, I’d like to think my roster building skills have improved with experience. I mean, Joe Jurevicius? Really? I held the third overall pick yesterday, which sucked because I had to wait a freaking eternity between picks every other round. Here’s the team I drafted:
QB: Chad Pennington (9th round, 131 overall)
RB: Maurice Jones-Drew (1/3)
RB: Willie Parker (4/62)
WR: Anquan Boldin (2/30)
WR: Terrell Owens (3/35)
RB/WR: Knowshon Moreno (5/67)
TE: Zach Miller (6/94)
K: John Carney (14/222)
DEF: Carolina (8/126)
BEN: Admad Bradshaw, RB (7/99)
BEN: Mark Clayton, WR (10/158)
BEN: Devery Henderson, WR (11/163)
BEN: Jerome Harrison, RB (12/190)
BEN: Mark Sanchez, QB (13/195)
BEN: Todd Heap, TE (15/227)
Here’s how the top three rounds played out, if you’re interested. I was torn between MJD and Matt Forte for my top pick, but I felt comfortable with either. I figure maybe Da Bears might get a little cute and not run as much with their flashy new QB. I was planning to use my second pick on a guy like Ronnie Brown or Ryan Grant, but both came off the board right before my pick, so I went with Boldin. I said during the draft that I immediately regretted the Owens pick, but I can live with it. He’s still good for double digit touchdowns.
After last year’s debacle that left me with just two decent RB essentially all season, I made sure to gobble up plenty this time around. I liked my Bradshaw pick in the 7th round, especially since he’s the clear #2 behind Jacobs. If 30-yr old Jamal Lewis slows down, Harrison figures to pick up the extra carries. Not a bad gamble in the 12th round, but I would have preferred Jamaal Charles of the Chiefs. He came off the board between my 11th and 12th rounders.
Yeah, my QB situation is weak, but there’s some okay guys available in free agency that are just an injury away from a starting job. In the 13th round, I’d rather gamble on the kid almost guaranteed to start in Mark Sanchez then some retread. Pennington saved me after Vince Young’s meltdown last year, so hopefully he holds his own again. I like my team, unusual for me following any kind of fantasy draft. What do you guys think?
* * *
With the Yanks celebrating another win over Boston enjoying an off-day, use this as your open thread for the evening. The Mets already lost, so there’s no baseball on regular cable in the Tri-State Area as far as I know. Rex Ryan and the Jets take on his old team in Baltimore on Monday Night Football, so I’ll get a chance to see my 13th round pick in action. Anything goes here, just be nice.
Oh, one more thing. If you’re looking for a fantasy hockey league, Dave at BlueSeat Blogs is hosting one this season. I’ve never played in my life, but I joined figuring it would be fun. I’m not sure how many spots are left, but if you want in just email Dave via that link I provided. He says the winner will get a (small) prize, which is more than those cheapskates at RAB offer.
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Hopefully Bucholz can hack it up tonight.
There are two teams I REALLY don’t want to see in the playoffs: Angels and Red Sox. IF the Rangers win the Wild Card, that knocks one out and the ALDS matchups would be Yankees/Rangers and Angels/Tigers. If the Red Sox win the Wild Card, then the ALDS looks like Angels/Red Sox and Yankees/Tigers. If the second scenario happens, and the Yankees win the ALDS, the Yankees will HAVE to face one of those two teams.
(This is assuming DET holds on to Central)
as long as they don’t play the Angels in the first round and have home field, I’m not scared of anyone in the AL
I’m not too sure about that…
I want to see how the Yankees handle the Angels when they head out there on the road trip coming up. If they can win 2 or sweep I wouldn’t worry too much about facing them.
Santana has had elbow pain since before the break and is going to see the doctor tomorrow, and Francouer tore a ligament in his thumb today.
I never thought I would say this, but I really feel bad for Mets fans
Well, not to be mean, but a lot of them deserve it because some of them are really, really, really, really, and I emphasize really annoying, especially when the Yankees lose and they win and when they don’t they always seem to have some sort of excuse.
I fully agree with your assessment of Mets fans–hence why I never thought I would say that. But this year has been such a complete and total loss on so many levels for that franchise that it’s pretty hard to believe these guys were one game away from the World Series just three years ago.
most of the really annoying types aren’t real baseball fans, they are just blustery idiots. No real fan deserves this from their team
Part of the blame has to go on the Mets management and moves they made or failed to make. Oliver Perez seems like a huge mistake. Not only has he not done much this year, but he costs them a lot of money. They would have been better giving up on him like they planned on. Then they kept Delgado when he’s old.
They have a lot of problems to fix. Next year they need a first baseman, catcher, left fielder, and starting pitching.
Yea, Citi Field is cursed.
I was thinking the same thing recently. I mean… Damn. What a f’ng nightmare for Mets fans.
So it looks like Wagner to the Red Sox is losing steam. Has anybody heard anything else about him? That would be great if the Mets are stuck with him.
I’m not so sure. I think the Mets are doing a lot of posturing to try to extract a decent prospect, but I doubt they will. At the last minute, I think they’ll just let him go for nothing.
He doesn’t want to set up for them, and will only set up for the Sox if they meet certain conditions which I think they will. Declining his option and not offering him arb both cost the Sox nothing and they get his services for this year.
Why would the Mets want to pay his salary?
Don’t forget Wagner still has to feel comfortable going to Boston to waive his no-trade clause. I don’t see how he solves any of the Red Sox’s problems. They already have a pretty solid bullpen. They need starting pitching more than relief help. Wakefield is coming back, but I never viewed him as more than a 4 or 5 starter.
Oh yeah, its a total block move on Theo’s part. The Yanks could have used him much more than the Sox.
You’re absolutely right about Wakefield being only a 4 or 5, but the innings he ate allowed the bullpen guys to stay in their proper roles for another day, each time he pitched. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the bullpen started having it’s problenms right around the same time he went down.
The Red Sox including Masterson in the Martinez deal also contributed to the bullpen problems. Masterson served as a longman/swingman. He was similar to Aceves or Hughes in that he could start or relieve. That trade took an arm from their pen and/or rotation. I think Masterson would have been starting for the Sox now had he not been traded. They would have had Beckett, Lester, Wakefield, Masterson, Tazawa, Buchholtz, Penny.
Wagner just invoked his no-trade, so he’s staying with the Mets for the rest of the year. The Mets probably offer him arbitration since according to Rosenthal he projects as a Type-A FA. Those draft picks attached should make it harder for him to sign to a team.
Don’t forget, Tex will be on Letterman tonight!
I hope Dave makes fun of those goofy faces he makes at the plate.
I especially like the “Thurston Howell III” face he makes with men on base.
http://img268.imageshack.us/im.....azytex.jpg
Hahaha!
That’s a good one, but not his Thurston Howell face. That face he usually makes batting lefty, when he looks like he’s about to say “Lovee, after I smash this silly little ball over the fence, will you be so kind to get me a glass of tea?”
If its a PPR league, Jones-Drew is a phenomenal pick.
Yeah, PPR. We tweaked our scoring settings from Yahoo’s defaults.
0.5 pts per reception
-2 pts for INT
-1 pts for a missed FG from any distance
You got a very good starting duo at WR (especially for a 16 team league) and Miller is a good TE as well. Moreno could be a great pick if he is healthy and gets the majority of the carries in Denver.
Honestly, I would take MJD #1 overall in a ppr league. AP is a hell of a runner, but he couldn’t catch a cold.
Like the Bradshaw pick Mike.
As a Broncos fan, I like the Moreno pick.
So TB is up 3-0 against the BJays. I want the Rays to lose just for more insurance for the Yanks (no matter how unlikely it is for them to catch up to us) or should I root for them to allow them to get closer to the Sox?
I always root against every Yankee opponent unless they are playing another Yankee opponent. Then I usually root against the opponent that is the greatest threat.
Ok, now I’m dizzy.
Who do you vote for when the Rays play the Red Sox? I usually root against the team closest to the Yankees.
So I’m rooting for the BJays against the Rays.
I dont understand Willie Parker in round 4 or Carolina in the 8th round? Otherwise not bad
boldin would be the MAN if he can make it to the G men this year…i keep hoping somehow that works out…send em bradshaw…
What about B-Marsh? He still wants to be trading and still isn’t practicing with the 1st team and said he knows nothing about the playbook and didn’t go on the road game with the team.
you want that guy on your team?
I do but if he doesn’t want to be here, I say get rid of him and don’t let him become a problem. We are rebuilding anyway.
oh you’re a broncos guy…i meant from the giants perspective, as in, he’s got great stats but a clubhouse cancer
i just wouldnt sign a guy that treats his current team that way…
‘clubhouse cancer’ is a label you give a guy who destroys the clubhouse.
dont see where marshall has ever done that?
No he’s not a clubhouse cancer–more like a hairball that wants nothing to do with his team. You’re right; I don’t have a good word for that behavior.
Hey what the hell. Who cares what he does in the locker room all that matters is what he does in fantasy
Does anyone else have nothing else to do and watching the LLWS?
- The Curaçao pitcher has 11 Ks so far, lolwut
- I wanted to root for the MEA team from Dhahran since I was an expat kid myself. But half of the kids said either Dustin Pedroia or Jason Varitek was their favorite player. And they all bleached their hair blonde, as a team building thing I guess. It’s basically Team Mini-Douche. Those poor kids.
And Curaçao’s best hitter just deposited a 2-out, 2-run homer over the centerfield wall with a 1-2 count in the bottom of the 5th to break the tie. Then he styles it out watching the ball leave the park.
Poor Alex Husain.
So, I’ve asked this before, but I still haven’t heard a good reason: Why isn’t Kevin Russo better thought of as a player? Here are his #s:
Team/League/AVG/G/AB/R/H/2B/3B/HR/RBI/TB/BB/S0/SBCS/OBP/SLG/OPS
SWB/INT/.340/75/291/45/99/17/2/3/24/129/38/41/12/6/.418/.443/.861
Born in 84, makes him average for AAA. He’s put up great #s this year, can play second, short, 3 (passably I think) and outfield. Could he be a chone figgins kind of player? no definitive defensive spot, but a good bat that can play anywhere. If not, why is he looked at like a possible fringe major leaguer or utility guy? Please, Mo, answer me!!!
Chone Figgins is a much better fielder, and is a threat to steal bases whenever he is on. I’m not sure that Russo is better than decent at any defensive spot, so he’s likely to be a liability in the field. He’s only played a few games in his career in the outfield (7 games), a few games at short (6), and the majority at second (230) and third (53), His power numbers are low, and he doesn’t walk much either.
Maybe he’ll hit .300 with 5-10 homers, and play decent defense, but I’m not sure Figgins is a good comparison. They’re very different types of players.
Still, I think with the opportunity, he could play 2nd effectively enough that his bat could make him a valuable player. I’m not sure he’d have enough power to play the outfield or third, or the defense to play short. This, I think, is why he’s thought to be a utility guy or fringe player.
All stats were from Baseball reference.
I’d like to see Russo come up in September. His power numbers really aren’t that far from Jeter’s. 23.5% of Jeter’s hits are XB hits, .476 SLG, 22.2% of Russo’s hits are XB hits, .443 SLG. He might not be that different a hitter than Jeter when he matures more.
If the Yankees don’t want him on the MLB roster at some point they should at least think about trading him to get a piece they do need.
Wow Barajas grand salami to take the lead 4-3 against TB
Go Blue Jays! BoSox are down 2-1 against the ChiSox in the top of the third.
Make it 4-1 ChiSox.
Don’t you want the Rays back in the WC mix? They’ll need to win to do so.
Ben Zobrist is having a heck of a year for the Rays. Seems like every time I look at the box scores he’s involved in scoring. Good stats too even in the face of a slump in August (.221avg):
.288avg, .402obp, .546slg, .948ops with 22hrs and 67rbis.
He has never played more than 62 games or hit better than .253avg. Nice deal too at only $415,900.
Yeah, but he was a very highly thought of prospect. He’s just coming into his own now at the MLB level.
http://www.thebaseballcube.com.....rist.shtml
Look at his minor league stats, those project to be someone who’s a very good player for someone at his natural position (SS). He’s just a Xavier Nady late-bloomer type.
It’s odd that it took Zobrist so long to get to the MLs, but he’s been stuck in a pretty well-stocked farm system.
Let’s not kid ourselves, though, Nady’s not a late-bloomer. He’s a little bit better than average hitter that had an exceptional three months last season.
You know what would make my offseason? The Mets’ end up with a protected pick (looks good), and sign Jason Bay. The Sox don’t get 2 first rounders and the Mets are stuck with Jason Bay roaming Metco Park.
I would really love it for Theo to throw a sick contract at Jason Bay. That would make me smile.
I think Theo will have to, not many other good LF options. And before you mention Crawford, he’s a good ‘sign and trade’ candidate with a reasonable club option for next year.
Mike, Trade T.O. for a QB!! He will probably see a lot of Red Zone throws but there is no Kurt Warner or Matt Cassell in FA.
i say go for Rivers or Rodgers if those teams have good back ups and need a WR.
You could add a WR like Bengals’ Chris Henry who is just starting to become a monster in Carson Palmer and Marvin Lewis’ eyes.
Boy, that Beckham kid is good.
Saved my fantasy team after Jimmy Rollins completely sucked.
4-1 Chi Sox. Fuck yeah.
Gordon Beckham 2-run shot off of Buchholz into the Monster seats….White Sox up 4-1 against Bahston
That Beckham kid has been much more than ChiSox ever could have asked for this year.
rookie of the year mayhaps?
Gets my vote.
mine too–earlier this season I would have said Romero, but not anymore
Yeah, Romero looked like a gem, kind of struggling now.
The Blue Jays wanted to rebuild that system with a Halladay trade.
Romero and Rzepczynski seem to be the last good minor leaguers the Blue Jays are going to call up for a while.
Dont forget Travis Snider
Romero and Rzepczynski seem to be the last good minor leaguers the Blue Jays are going to call up for a while.
Is Snider still in the minors?
no he’s up now
About time. He was making the minors his bitch.
i cant wait to see ortiz in boston NEXT YEAR…
Why? Do you know that his special “vitamin” dealer will be arrested by the Feds or something? MLB has a very weak and vulnerable drug policy- Big Sloppy can do whatever he wants, unfortunately.
Wow, McAllister got roughed up with that Homerun.
Replaced after 3 innings, I hope he’s ok.
Yeah, i hope he gets a couple of Triple-A starts toward the end of the year and give him extended rest through the rest of the year starting now.
RAY LEWIS JUST POUNDING THE ROOKIE!!!
AHHHH!!!!
ok…anybody else hate off days during the season? its not so painful outside of the season, but during, man. hate it.
plus, i lost a regal tang (hippo tang) today…got him friday, sick this morning, dead this afternoon. GAH.
please let billy wagner also be claimed by the Yanks and the mets give him to the Yanks just cause…
Hippo tang?
Contreras FAIL
Loads the bases after 2 outs (3 straight guys after 2 outs), goes down 3-0 to Big Papi. However, Ortiz swing at the 3-0 pitch and dribbles a slow grounder to first. Contreras runs over and cant pick up the ball. Run scores. Now walks in Bay to score a run afterwards. Epic FAIL!
I don’t think they have a hit this inning either
never mind, Alex Gonzalez got a hit to start this rally off
Oh no Jose. You hit Youk. Look out for the helmet.
Jose got a gift from Ortiz on 3-0 and messed it up… but i wouldn’t be surprised if maybe a manager like Ozzie Guillen hinted at Jose to hit Youkilis because of the mound charge douchebagness.
That would be too good to be true. I would love to be a fly on the wall when Guillen calls for a “code red” on someone.
Damn, somebody needs to shoot Contreras.
I’ve been wanting to slap that guy ever since he failed to live up to expectations here in New York and then delivers finally for the White Sox in the 2nd half of their championship season in ’05. It’s unbelievable how much of a failure his career has been all except for that one 2nd half in 05. When will Kenny Williams DFA this bum? Better be soon, because Ozzie may lose it on him someday.
Perhaps it’s just the Clemson student in me talking, but I hear James Davis might emerge to be Lewis’ backup.
Yeah, he had a great run the other night, but it was against Lions’ 3rd string.
Whoever the backup is should be prosperous though, Thomas Jones was a top 10 Fantasy Player with Leon Washington falling in as one of the better backups. i think Leon finished #80 Overall in Fantasy.
Pick 6
Sanchez = bust
/kidding
WOW! Wild pitch to tie the game at 4. Contreras is doing everything possible wrong. He’s shitting the bed bad.
what else is new, Salty? This loser better not show up against
us on Saturday. And the scary thing is he has done it in the past and worry it might happen again. Yeah, we’ll kill Mr. Perfect game and get Tomoko’d by Contreras
any news on teh Johan?
man, $man looks smarter every day for not making that trade…
Idk about Johan, but i back Cashman’s theory on why he didn’t make the trade.
Mets stole Johan from teh Twins.
Phillies stole Lee from the Indians. Indians didn’t get Drabek, Taylor or Brown. That’s a trade i would’ve made.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/.....id=4420095
“He has not been throwing between starts for quite awhile. I would say since before the All-Star break. He has been pitching with this problem, but not with the level of discomfort he has now,” New York manager Jerry Manuel said Monday after his team’s 6-2 loss to Philadelphia. “Now, it concerns him.”
I can’t believe the mets were running out their rotation anchor hurt for the minor league team that’s got no shot at the playoffs formerly known as the mets. AND Beltran is trying to come back and play on a bone bruise that has not healed. WHY? Its like they are intentionally trying to ruin their future and the future of 2 all-star and potentially HOF caliber players. wow.
Wild pitch on bases loaded, Puke scores…
Does every team not named the Yankees or Rays just lay down for the fucking Sox?
Rangers maybe?
Yup, that happens when you’re the most divine & beloved franchise in sports.
/NESPN’d
contreras can suck my ass
Mine too.
I don’t want any man sucking my ass. just a preference.
You ever had your salad tossed with syrup or jelly?
peanut butter. only way.
Creamy or Crunchy?
It goes in creamy, but comes out crunchy.
Wow, how did you know? Been on that gravy train before?
It was only once, and I needed the money.
Shite, I’d paid for it.
Why did this even happen…
Why did this happen…
Sorry, just can’t get over it…
Oh, Jose. Still can’t pitch against the Red Sox.
Holy FUCK! 3-run shot by Lowell. BOS up 7-4!
Wow. Someone imploded.
How can anybody trust Contreras? Not even his own parents would pick him for their fantasy team.
Guillen’s press conference might be good.
And don’t forget no matter what offensive stuff he says, he’s not a racist or unprofessional! He just Ozzie being Ozzie!
wow, Jose Contreras really sucks
well, at least now he won’t have to pitch out of the stretch
Maybe Aroldis Chapman is wathcing Contreas and thinking he wants to stay away from this dude.
Yea, he’s probably thinking that he wants to win and beat Boston and the Yanks give him the best chance so he’ll sign with us with some type of discount.
I hope.
LOL
He’s probably going to sign for “just” Strasburg money to be fair to American players.
Well, maybe the White Sox can comeback with the way Buchholz is pitching today.
Oh great, Halladay is letting the Rays abck in the game too.
i’d rather see Rays and Rangers both win, in case one suffers a major collapse.
I’m tellin ya, the Rays are going to win that wildcard. Realize how they own the roid sux, and they have six more with them.
If they win 4 of 6, I think the Rays will be able to move infront of them in mid September because their schedule is not as brutal as the Rangers or even the Red sox {until sept. 17, at least}. It will be neck and neck for the Rays till that last series against you know who. The question is
how will we play them in that last series with our seeding probably sealed up.
Mike, Ben, or Joe…why is the Yankees emblem for new comment indicator so small? It’s harder to see the new comments.
We’re messing around with some settings to see if we can get the site to load faster.
gotcha
Hey its back
my god the white sox blow chunks. who’s their best pitcher? buerle? their rotation stinks which is why I think they should win the division and face us in the playoffs.
please dont overlook peavy, danks, and floyd
How come no one will answer me?:
http://riveraveblues.com/2009/.....ent-549178
I’ve been askin all year broski. He’s just viewed as a utility that hits for average but has no real tools other than getting on base. He doesn’t hit for power, defense isn’t the best, isn’t the quickest, arm isn’t so special, he just hits.
*utility guy
In addition to what Drew wrote, I answered above as well. Didn’t want to leave you hanging, man.
Sorry, hantius, I’ll pick up the slack. The reason I believe why Russo is not being considered over Pena is because defensively poorer and is less verstile, as well. Don’t worry more stat eccentric folks will provide you more info on this topic because of my lack of statistical evidence. Still, I do believe Russo deserves to be called when the rosters expand.
Remember when the Yanks signed Contreres right from under Theo’s nose? That was when he and Lucchino coined the phrase “The Evil Empire”.
How’d that work out? Contreres sucked for the Yanks and the Sox have beat the piss out of him his entire career.
http://www.baseball-reference......;t=p#oppon
Sox have OPS’d .941 against him FOR HIS CAREER. He turns the entire team into elite hitters when he’s on the mound.
Mike let me give you some great fantasy advice from a Panthers fan. Dump the Panthers defense. Do it as fast as you can. They are running a completely new scheme this year that is the complete opposite of what they have been running. The Panthers have players who are built with speed and blitzing and man coverage ability and they are switching to a zone scheme and they have looked horrible in it. The LB’s cant cover because they were drafted to blitz and the corners are too small to play zone coverage and cant tackle if they do. Gamble and Marshall are built for press coverage which allows them to hide their weakness which is their tackling ability. This new D is awful and so take my warning and dump the Panthers D. Like I said Im telling you to dump them and I am a Panthers fan so what does that tell you.
Yeah, but there a lot better than whoever is probably left in a 16 team league.The Bottom 15 Defenses are horrendous. Panthers have guys like John “THE BEAST” Beason, Peppers and Gamble, that’s probably the best Defense left.
I took San Diego in all of my drafts, Merriman is back for blood!!!
didnt he say his knee wont be 100% til october?
he says he gets better every week, he’s an upgrade over anyone the Bolts were playing considerably with the speed and great tackling.
true, but he is coming off knee surgery and hes not 100%. i just think its a gamble for you to pick them in every draft you have, unless its a good value pick.
Yeah, they’re ranked low, and even if he’s not full strength… Cooper, Phillips, Weddle, Jammer, Williams, Castillo, their defense is stacked, just a whole lot better with Merriman, he was the difference between last year and the year before. He should be fine.
Ahmad Bradshaw concurs with your assessment of Chris Gamble’s tackling ability.
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-.....haw-TD-run
well, look at that: konerko just made it a game again.
At least Clay got a pounding. Let’s see that pen implode now.
damn the red sox and their turnaround capabilities
if CC’s the only pitcher to get to 20 wins, can he win the CY? looks like halladay and beckett have slipped a little and Verlander has had a couple of shaky outings in the past few games he has pitched.
Yeah, everyone looks for the good ERA and WHIP, i think CC can get them down considerably. 3.20 ERA isn’t out of reach.
he CAN, but Greinke and Felix deserve to win it
Agreed. While it’s always nice to see a Yankee get an award, the whining if it’s not a slam dunk is ridiculous.
(And unless CC really steps his game up, he hasn’t been as good as either of those two)
True. I’d love for the 2 big FA signings to win MVP and Cy Young (and more importantly a WS) in their first year in NY.
Does anybody know what time gates open at Yankee Stadium? I think they open 3 hours before game time, so 4:00pm for a 7:00pm game, but I’m not positive.
Never mind, I went searching through old RAB archives and found out. I guess I should have done that before.
http://riveraveblues.com/2009/.....lier-9388/
that kellen clemens interception made me want to kill him through the tv
Rooting for the Jets is the closest most of us will come to realizing how fans of the other New York baseball team feel.
agreed
i am a huge jets fan, and it pains me to see them struggle at times
What happened to Halladay? He’s not an ace!
1. (1) Adrian Peterson RB
2. (32) Aaron Rodgers QB
3. (33) Pierre Thomas RB
4. (64) Lee Evans WR
5. (65) Eddie Royal WR
6. (96) Greg Olsen TE
7. (97) Ricky Williams RB
8. (128) New England DEF
9. (129) Nick Folk K
10. (160) Jason Campbell QB
11. (161) Justin Fargas RB
12. (192) Sidney Rice WR
13. (193) Brandon Pettigrew TE
14. (224) Indianapolis DEF
15. (225) Bryant Johnson WR
Watch yourself, Mike. The championship IS MINE!
that is a good team. The one thing is that the colts defense will prolly suck this year. no offense though
Thanks, and I know re: Colts defense, but I drafted it as the bye-week replacement for NE.
and if NE plays the 4-3 they’ve been showing so far than they should rack up more sacks
yeah they should be a sack happy team this year
Holy cow…I don’t know Folk but the rest looks great…how did you outdraft him so
well?!
Who had the best draft?
I’ve always liked Nick Folk…and yeah I was bashed for that. I honestly don’t know who had the best draft.
Mike, read this Klapisch piece and tell me its all Burnett’s fault and he needs to get over it. It’s not that simple. Here’s the money quote:
“But Posada told a different story. With a 1-2 count, he wanted to bury Ortiz with a fastball over the inside corner, keeping the aging slugger from extending his arms. It was the right call, the smart move – straight from the scouting report. But Burnett shook off Posada; he was in love with his curveball, as he so often is, and wanted to use it in this situation.
The battery mates were at an impasse; Burnett stepped off the rubber and collected himself. When he looked again for the sign, he saw that Posada wouldn’t relent: fastball in. Burnett acquiesced but was doubting himself the moment the ball left his fingertips.
Turns out Burnett wasn’t even close to the target, as the ball drifted far enough outside for Ortiz to square up on it. The homer was his 20th of the season, extending the Red Sox’ lead to 9-0, but more importantly it was proof that Burnett and Posada simply don’t agree on what, exactly, makes the right-hander so effective.
Burnett: “I had a good curveball [on Saturday] and I should’ve used it more.””
http://www.northjersey.com/spo....._page.html
A catcher’s job is to help the pitcher work with what he has that day. When a catcher insists over and over on a pitcher throwing a pitch he doesn’t believe in, then he’s part of the problem. Even if it’s ‘the right pitch’ according to the SR. Nobody’s bat is worth that. Jorge doesn’t get charged with the loss or the Runs to his ERA, as the old line goes. Nobody impacts a game more than the guy on the mound, that’s Baseball 101. His battery mate can’t be another obstacle he has to overcome, it’s tough enough getting hitters out.
And very quietly, CC has had 16 of his 28 starts caught by catchers not named Posada, and leads the team with 15 Wins. I doubt that’s an accident of scheduling, CC wasn’t happy with Jorge either earlier in the year. There appears to be one set of rules for CC (250 mil) and one for AJ (80 mil).
People keep saying ‘sit these two down in a room’. That will be what, the 3rd time this year? When do we just accept the fact that these two don’t like working together? With the playoffs coming, I don’t want to risk another blowup that could lose us a short series. These two have had recurring problems all year, just admit it, deal with it and move on.
I wouldn’t mind Molina catching CC and AJ, just need to seperate them from being back to back.
I just want AJ to be effective. He’s set a career high in WP this season, and I think that affects him adversely as well. If he has to compensate by throwing his curve higher, then he’s going to hang more of them and bad results will follow.
These two are just not a match. Jorge is 38 years old and can’t block the plate as well as he used to, and he was never great at it to begin with. The guy with the most electric stuff on the staff and him are just a bad combo, even if they loved each other.
AJ just needs to get over it and throw what he wants to throw. Jose Molina is not starting 50% of the games in the playoffs.
Even when Posada INSISTS on a different pitch?
Are you suggesting he cross him up?
I think maybe AJ wanted the curve a little too much, but if CC and AJ are only giving up 1 maybe 2 or 3 runs with Molina catching, i wouldn’t mind if Jose was catching 50% of the games, we have the best offense and you could DH posada in half the games he doesn’t start this way him and Matsui play 75% of the games.
I agree Posada needs to catch less. He’s 41st (out of 47 catchers) in the AL in Passed Balls, and the Yanks are #2 in the AL in Wild Pitches with him as their starting Catcher. He and Molina have both thrown out 29% of baserunners, so you don’t lose anything there.
As far as the difference in the two bats, if you prevent runs you don’t need to score as many. I never value any bat over my starting pitcher. The whole rationale behind Posada assumed he could be an average defensive catcher with an elite bat. He’s not an average Catcher anymore, so the equation has changed.
None of the recent World Series winners have had great offensive catchers, i like Posada, but he is obviously better this year at home. i don’t see it being a problem with him catching 3 out of 5 games and Molina the other 2 until the playoffs.
Posada, after being hurt pretty much all last year he is doing a lot of catching that before the start of year he wasn’t going to do. a 3-2 split between him and molina now can only help us down the road.
What do recent World Series winners not having catchers as good as Jorge have to do with the Yankees this year?
Posada was hurt pretty much all last year you say. How did the Yankees do last year without him?
When Jose Molina comes up in the 5th inning with the bases loaded in a 2-2 playoff game and strikes out I guarantee you’ll be bitching about Molina’s horrible bat. I can’t believe the overreaction here to one bad game on the road against a pretty good offense. This is the definition of insanity.
What he’s saying is that having Posada in the lineup is not needed to win. Especially with the current lineup. They can afford to make him sit out once in a while. It worked out against Boston sunday.
Comparing him sitting for one day to last year doesn’t make any sense. First of all Posada could pinch hit at any moment such as a playoff game where it’s 2-2.
Missing Posada last year hurt a lot because it was a weaker lineup with Matsui also gone. Put that with Robbie was slumping terribly, Jeter having his second worst season of OPS, Melky was having a terrible year which all hurt the offense.
And FWIW it wasn’t just one bad game on the road. He wasn’t good at all. http://riveraveblues.com/2009/.....two-16105/
He’s a MUCH better home hitter.
No cross up. Keep shaking him off till he puts down the curve. If he doesn’t, call him out to the mound. AJ can throw whatever he wants to throw.
I can’t believe we have more people than that Yankee Scribe suggesting that Molina should be starting multiple games in the playoffs. One bad game and people overreact this much. I think even Pete Abraham was more level headed than some people on here. He had a post with the stats of AJ and Jorge-
“Burnett was 9-3 with a 2.59 ERA and a .220 opponents batting average in his 12 starts prior to today. Posada caught 10 of those games including 7.1 scoreless innings against the Red Sox at Yankees Stadium on Aug. 7. Do those games not count?”
wow david clowney is a preseason hall of famer
My fantasy football team:
1. Ditka
2. Ditka
3. Ditka
4. Ditka
5. Ditka
6. Ditka
7. Ditka
8. Ditka
9. Ditka
10. Ditka
11. Ditka
12. Ditka
13. Ditka
14. Ditka
15. Ditka
Championship. Boom.
wait…you’re benching Ditka?
Ditka scores points from the bench, JGS.
No polish sausage?
hey everyone, daniel bard is coming in!
oh well–I guess he can’t blow it every night
Wow, great pass by clemens and Smith drops that, horrible.
Anyone notice the Cy Predictor today? What an overpaid POS.
http://espn.go.com/mlb/features/cyyoung
Considering that’s based on past CY Young votes, I’d have to say the voters have been pretty terrible throughout history. 5 closers in the top 10 in the NL, and no Danny Haren? Wow.
Yes, yes they have been awful.
I think the CY predictor is a bit off for closers, since so many closers have won inexplicably. (i.e. In non-ludicrous years)
Anyone know why sandoval was taken out of the giants game?
Pablo Sandoval was pulled from Monday’s contest with a tight right calf.
“Kung Fu Panda” suffered the injury on a third-inning at-bat and was replaced at third base by Juan Uribe. It’s not clear if the injury is serious.
Joe Morgan doesn’t use advanced metrics; he watches them play. In a related story, Joe Morgan believes Jesus Christ rode baby dinosaurs.
Science? Never heard of it.
This joke.
_______
My head.
http://iansbrain.com/wp-conten.....osaur1.jpg
And he probably doesn’t even watch that many teams play. How does he really evaluate players then?
great joke
They’re not all winners, Dela. I’ll try harder next time.
good
dont want to sentence you with 1 hour of story time about joe morgan
Hey here’s some important breaking news… Saturday white sox starter against just got a whole lot better:
MLB network is reporting that Ozzie is replacing Saturday’s original starter, Jose Contrares, with Jake Peavy! Don’t know what the Yanks will be facing with Peavy’s 1st start in months but I know it will be better than Contreras.
Also, it seems that evil troll, Ken Rosenthal, is reporting that Billy Wagner has declined the waiver deal between the Mets and Red Sox. Which I guess is a good thing for us.
[...] See the rest here: Open Thread: My 2009 RAB Fantasy Football Team | River Avenue Blues [...]
[...] thread for the off night. The Mets play the Fish at 7pm, but more importantly, my domination of the RAB Fantasy Football League starts tonight. The Steelers and Titans kick off the 2009 NFL Season tonight in Steeltown, so your [...]