Open Thread: It’s too nice to play inside
ByWhat a wonderful Saturday we got. It felt totally refreshing to walk around Queens today, seeing everyone outside. The summer heat might be a drag in the city, but at this time of year it can’t be beat.
Just in case you were too busy to check, the Yanks dropped a game to the Astros this afternoon. The team did pick up 16 hits, including Robinson Cano‘s first spring home run and a Brett Gardner triple. Al Aceves got knocked around, though, allowing five runs in 4.1 innings. This will surely cause a new round of headlines tomorrow declaring that Aceves’s ascendancy to the fifth starter role is in jeopardy.
(Though, not really. It appears Aceves is the darling of this race and people will gloss over this poor outing, while they’ll continue to scrutinize Joba. So it goes.)
If you’re in this evening, have at it with the open thread.
129 Comments»
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Just finished a live draft, never did one without a computer in front of me. It’s a 12 person league H2H, with all the standard stats + holds.
In order here are my picks
Joe mauer
Justin upton
Mark reynolds
Ben zobrist
Shin-soo choo
Billy butler
Adam dunn
Matt garza
Jered weaver
James shields
Carlos zambrano
Nyjer morgan
Jose lopez
Rajai davis
Mike gonzalez
Jorge de la rosa
Joba chamberlain
Takashi saito
David robertson
Nick swisher
Jd drew
Brian matsuz
Matt Laporta
Brad ziegler
Starting pitching may be a bit weak, hopefully Joba and Garza take that next step forward for ya. Maybe Matsuz will have a nice little rookie year too.
Zobrist, Choo, Butler are really underrated. Pitching looks a bit weak, though (as others have said).
I was just outside and it’s ridiculously nice.
Modern Yankee Heroes, Andy Pettitte:
http://www.nydailynews.com/spo.....titte.html (safe)
KU needs to win or all my brackets explode.
Mine are already in the dumps. I’d love to see Kansas upset just for the fun of it.
I’m a KU fan so I wouldn’t like that.
Also, the Yankees are paying for C.J. Henry to sit on Kansas’ bench. I’m not sure how I feel about that.
Targus Incognito Messenger (http://bit.ly/bYApVP) or Skooba Sidekick Messenger (http://bit.ly/aH37B0)?
Skooba.
Skooba.
Skooba.
What’s this bullshit about MLB asking the Yankees, Sox and Dodgers to hurry their games?
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/ne.....allchanges
Um, maybe we have the longest games because we have the best offenses in baseball and our batters see a ton of pitches.
Bud Selig has stated that he will fine Nick Johnson $5000 if he has an 11-pitch walk during the course of the season.
How stupid. Sorry we score a bunch of runs and have patient hitters that don’t swing at crap. I understand people that get annoyed over the eons it takes Papelbon to pitch or the 1500 mound meetings Posada has, but this is silly.
I disagree that the sentiment is silly. I know people held the mound meetings up as an example of games taking too long, but that’s not really a pattern that’s been going on for years, and not something that teams WANT to be doing. Better than crossing somebody up or throwing the wrong pitch, but not ideal
What’s a problem is that that pitchers exist who consistently take an interminable amount of time between pitches, and that’s the way they want to be executing their game for whatever reason. The mound meetings weren’t happening every inning of every game, season after season. The lengthy delay between pitches problem DOES happen all the time and is more of an endemic problem that should be addressed. And, as I understand it, could be by umps just enforcing rules that are already on the books.
Most starters don’t take that long between pitches.
A thought;
One of the biggest offenders in time between pitches is Papelbum. If you give the average Sox’ game length when Pap pitches, and then the average when he doesn’t pitch, and I’d bet those numbers are pretty damn close.
I mean it’s silly to call out the Yankees, Red Sox, and Dodgers specifically, considering these are teams with high OBPs who take lots of pitches and score lots of runs, not that the sentiment to speed up the game is silly. I don’t really mind but I see where others would.
The only time recently that I can remember being like “OH MY GOD, JUST MOVE ALREADY” was Huston Street pitching during the postseason. I don’t know if Papelbon actually takes a really long time or if he just pisses me off with everything he does, but he’s been fined so I guess it wasn’t just me…
Wang took a long time to get ready too.
Break up the Nationals, then!!!
Petty throwing over to 1B ten million times kind of drove me insane in the ALCS, I forgot.
Posada’s constant back and forth to the mound because he calls a poor game personally bugs the hell out of me.
So is a request to speed up the time between now and Bud’s retirement an adequate counter-offer?
of course they will, joe – it’s ok for Ace to be mediocre as a starter. it’s just not ok for joba to be mediocre as a starter. how can you not see the logic in that?
Yeah, it’s pretty easy to see.
Joba needs to have a better ERA in the starting spot than he did in the bullpen for people to be happy.
and they’d still be going on about his “mentality”
Tom Zig, that’s not really a good team. You hardly have any stars on it.
Reply FAIL.
had my fantasy draft last night. ten teams H-2-H i had the first overall pick. my whole stratedgy was based around taking Pujols first and then praying that one of Tulo, or longo were still available when it got back to me. luckily they both were. i think my team is pretty good. what do you guys think? should i start Asdrubal Cabrera at 2nd over Placido Polanco?
Kurt Suzuki C
Albert Pujols 1B
Placido Polanco
Evan Longoria 3B
Troy Tulowitzki SS
Jason Kubel LF
Shane Victorino OF
Jayson Weth OF
Joey Votto U
Cain, Matt SP
Jorge De La Rosa SP
Yovanni Gallardo SP
Josh Johnson SP
John Lackey SP
Joakim Soria RP
Jose Valverde RP
Reserve Batters:
Asdrubal Cabrera SS 2B
Jose Reyes SS
Jason Heyward OF
Reserve Pitchers:
Mark Buehrle SP
Ben Sheets SP OAK
10 team league
Assuming you were 1st pick (Pujos), how the hell did you get Longoria 20th overall? That must have been one crazy draft!
yea i was the first overall pick, which is a real tough place to be. outside of pujols i had no idea what i was going to do. i took a risk and it paid off. some people were telling me to play it safe and draft hanley first overall and then grab a 1B with my second pick (Adrian Gonzelez was still available and a few others) but i took a chance and it paid off. i was able to get both Longo and Tulo at 2 prime positions. i was so hyped. so what do you think of my team overall?
I think it awesome, I mean, you have Reyes on your Bench, I still can’t believe Longoria fell to 20th. Wow. Still, i foresee a good year for this team.
yea when i was going through mock drafts i used that strategy. out of about 20 times……i got both longo and tulo maybe twice. about ten times i got just tulo, and a few times i got neither and had to draft sp’s early. its tough to win a league when you’re the first overall pick so i took a risk and it seems to have payed off. i was thinking about flipping Jose Reyes to someone for a good 2B. what do you think?
You could try Reyes for Cano, who’s quite underrated in the general baseball community. He’ll get a ton of Rbi’s batting 5th.
yeah i was thinking about that. the problem is that the guy that drafted him is a huge yankee fan. his team name is like BX Ruff Ryders. he drafted Tex, Javy, Cano, Andy, Joba, etc. i don’t think he’ll be happy about giving up a yankee. lol
That sucks. I really like it when some guy who likes an NL team drafts Cano, because they have no idea how good heis. The guy just batted 325 with 25 homers, and he’s just entering his prime. Now that he’s hitting 5th, his value has probably surpassed Pedroia.
he is much better than pedroia right now. i’m shocked he is ranked so low in a lot of sites. i’m currently looking for someone to flip Reyes to.
Well, Pedroia might actually surpass him based on defense, but that isn’t important in fantasy drafts.
I know nothing about fantasy baseball but isn’t Polanco a 3B now?
he has 2B eligibility
Ok, now. Matt Cain is good. Jorge De La Rosa pitches for Colorado and we know what’s up with that. Gallardo won’t get you enough wins since he plays for Milwakue. <— spelled it wrong. John Lackey. Nice pick. Johnson was a nice pick but he plays for Florida. Can you count on them to be good again?
If you're playing me head to head and I'm looking at your pitching staff, this is what I would do. I'd get some ice tea, sit back and relax and get comfy because I know my week will be a little easier than my previous week when I had to face C.C. and Beckett.
everyone knows its not smart to deaft starting pitchers for wins. you draft them for k’s. you can’t judge a pitcher based on wins. Zack Greinke had only 16 wins but was one of the top fantasy pitcher because of his 242 k’s
Not bad. I give you a C+.
For the record, a C+ is bad.
/Nitpicked
please explain your logic or rating system
This is my team as the 11th pick in a 12 team league. What do you think?
1 A. Gonzalez (1B/U)
2 T. Tulowitzki (SS/U)
3 D. Pedroia (2B/U)
4 K. Youkilis (1B/3B/U)
5 B. Zobrist (2B/SS/OF/U)
6 Red Sox (P)
7 N. McLouth (OF/U)
8 D. Span (OF/U)
9 G. Soto (C/U)
10 J. Damon (OF/U)
11 N. Swisher (1B/OF/U)
12 N. Johnson (1B/U)
13 R. Furcal (SS/U)
14 C. Delgado (1B/U)
15 A. Callaspo (2B/3B/U)
16 F. Lopez (2B/U)
mlb.com? thats one horrible fantasy game. i don’t see the fun in drafting a whole pitching staff.
That’s one good hitting team.
Red sox pitching will be good as well.
Why would you draft Carlos Delgado?
Yeah I didn’t take a pitcher until the 8th round. People took pitchers way early than I anticipated. So I’m hoping joba and garza can take that step.
I also have a ton of outfielders (9 of my batters are OF eligible), maybe I’ll be able to make a trade or something.
Garza will be great. i was about to draft him but a guy picked him some picks ahead of me
I agree with many that would love to see Aceves get to start at some point; though I do not want to see him get the chance before Hughes or Joba. His ball really moves and he’s shown, though in limited innings, that he can be of value. This year he should be in the bullpen, along with Joba and Gaudin. If one has to go, I’m rooting for Mitre. Hopefully, Phil will thrive and next year either, or both, Joba and Aceves will get the chance once Pettitte retires and if the Yanks do not bring Javy back. Of course, maybe Joba belongs in the pen but that’s not settled yet. If Robertson continues to develop and Melancon fulfills the promise he has shown then there won’t be as much need for Joba to be in the pen. Unless Mo breaks down…and no Yankee fan wants to see that.
Yeah it’s a little weak. I didn’t pick my first pitcher until round 8. Pitchers started going earlier than I had anticipated. The guy picking after me used his first two picks on lincecum and halladay. I can only hope that garza and joba take that next step.
I do have a ton of outfielders (9 of my players have outfield eligibility). So hopefully I can make a trade to cover my starting pitcher deficiency.
Can you use the reply button, please?
Oh, I’m guilty of this.
http://riveraveblues.com/2010/.....ent-807944
Thinking out loud…
I wonder what the Dodgers, or any other team in need of another starter, would give up for Ace and some change.
Tom, now that I looked at your team again, it’s not as bad as I thought. You’re pitching is pretty good.
Kind of hard to get a bunch of stars when you pick 8th out of 12 and people take pitchers in the first round.
I thought it was a pretty good team, though. Why else do you not like my team.
(I don’t mean to be mean but please use the reply button though, it makes the conversation flow better)
You have some “real” power on your team, Tom. I’m going to have to take back what I said originally. When I first posted, I glanced over your team and didn’t get deep into the “depths” of the psyche.
If you were playing roto, you’d probably come in first in home runs.
So many reply fails in this thread.
Wtf! Why are my replies not getting attached as replies. Wow sorry I look like a dick with the repeat posts and non-replies. My phone is on the fritz.
Aaaand everyone’s brackets just imploded.
Yes. Yes they did.
WOW Mines surely did. I had Kansas winning the championship. Just wow…
Mine didn’t! YEEEEE-HA!
Actually, I have no idea what the hell you people are talking about. Is this that silly March Madness business? Where a bunch of kids who should be studying throw a ball around so that 4% of them can have a shot in the NBA while the other 96% get one last taste of fame before settling in long-term at Wal-Mart?
Never quite been my cup of tea.
KABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
/Rima’d
Wow.
This dude has N. Iowa going to the Final Four. Ballsy.
http://tournament.fantasysport.....t1/1106665
Obviouslytat guyfixed the game. And Wisconsinbeatin Kentucky…Anoter ballsy pick
That’s me.
Most of that might have to do with me being from Iowa, but still.
I also have N. Mexico going to the Final Four. I don’t know if I’m ballsy or stupid.
My final four was Ohio St, New Mexico, Nova, and Butler. I was beating 99% of the country but it blew up with the Nova loss =(
Syracuse – UNI – New Mexico – Texas A&M for me.
The Orange used revenge instead of Onuaku to smash Vermont like a grape.
I finally decided to take the plunge this year and play fantasy baseball. Obviously, I’ve never participated in a fantasy draft before, so I was wondering if anyone has any draft tips that they would be willing to share so I don’t make a total fool of myself.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Try not to draft a pitcher until the 8th-12th round.
what position are you drafting at? that would help me a lot with strategy
I’m doing mock drafts right now. About to start one picking at #11.
H-2-H or roto?
H-2-H.
i did a lot of mock drafts and i noticed Chase Utley falling late in the first round and early in the second. try and grab him and longoria. i think you have a good shot at getting both. don’t draft a 1B too ealry unless his name is Pujols. there are plenty of options at 1B. but elite players like Utley at their prime positions don’t come around often
Yahoo! has Utley’s avg. pick at 4.8 and Longoria’s at 10.7.
I’m understanding this to mean always try to get the elite positions early and save pitching, 1B, and corner OFs until later.
yea definitely. its harder to find a good SS rather than a good 1B. you have to tier your players. don’t buy into the avg draft positions too much. once the real draft starts. stuff gets crazy.
Don’t worry about relievers until real late. There’s always saves in free agency.
bingo
i usually draft closers in pairs in the last few rounds. you can easliy get like 30-35 saves. no need to reach many rounds earlier for an elite closer who will only have a few more saves and k’s. that doesnt mean you shouldn’t draft MO if he falls into your lap around rd 15
The league I’m playing in this year is incorporating runners inherited/runners inherited scored. That should make for interesting moves given the volatility of relievers.
Did I mention I’m in a 6-team AL only with 5 Sox fans?
whenever i’m in a league i always scope out the team names. if there is a guy with a sox logo and name then i will always try and draft a sox player and then flip him for more value. for example, last year i traded pedroia to a sox fan and got Tulowitzki. it was sweet. i always leave out the biases when playing fantasy baseball. but it can get tough
That’s really smart. Just don’t compromise your team in doing so. Only do that if the players are basically the same, and you deciding which guy to draft.
ohh believe me i run every possible outcome when drafting players. but i guess playing fantasy is about taking a risk. the winner of the league usually always takes a big chance on an injured guy or something.
I load up on Sox/Rays players and usually avoid Yankees. On my team this year I got Lackey, Lester, Longoria and Ellsbury. I win either way, if they have awful years then their teams will suffer. If they’re great then my team is on the way to success.
yea i drafted no yankees this year. and got both lackey and longoria. tell me what you think of my team above.
What are your thoughts on Wagner this year. Projected stats?
You should always take the best player available unless it’s a reliever.
i don’t buy into that. i always tier my players. i try to avoid a big name 1B unless he’s pujols in the first round and rather draft a guy at a premium position (Hanley, Utley, Mauer)
Anyone know a decent, cheap place to bowl in Queens or Long Island on a Sunday?
Maybe the one in Whitestone. iirc it’s right next to mcdonalds and across the street from a movie theater. I’m not sure if it’s cheap though so dont quote me on this.
Woooo, I got the most possible points left in the RAB Bracket Busters group. This just means i will lose all my final four teams in the next round somehow.
Kansas lost….that’s what I get for actually going out and enjoying the weather!
Just finished my first mock draft. Please comment/criticize. Especially criticize;; I’d love to learn where to improve.
B.J. Upton (TB – OF)
Brad Lidge (Phi – RP)
Carlos Peña (TB – 1B)
Chad Billingsley (LAD – SP)
Chone Figgins (Sea – 3B)
Denard Span (Min – OF)
Dustin Pedroia (Bos – 2B)
Félix Hernández (Sea – SP)
Hideki Matsui (LAA – Util)
J.P. Howell (TB – RP)
James Loney (LAD – 1B)
James Shields (TB – SP)
Joba Chamberlain (NYY – SP)
Marco Scutaro (Bos – SS)
Matt Garza (TB – SP)
Matt Kemp (LAD – OF)
Miguel Tejada (Bal – SS)
Mike Napoli (LAA – C)
Nick Johnson (NYY – 1B)
Plácido Polanco (Phi – 2B)
Randy Wolf (Mil – SP)
Tim Lincecum (SF – SP)
Yunel Escobar (Atl – SS)
it would really help if you could put the players in the order of which you drafted them. i like the pitching Billingsley, Felix, Shields, Garza. i don’t like your offense though.
Yeah, your offense definitely fails. You could use an upgrade.
I had Kansas over Nova. FML
FYL, indeed.
It was 64 yesterday for the high. Now we have 4 inches of snow. Only in Kansas does this happen.
Nah, it’s worse in Colorado.
pick the 2 best of tex, longoria, braun oand kemp. Quickly, I’m drafting
Nevermind, got longoria and braun. I’m shocked I got Braun going 9th
sry i was late. good picks though. you made the right choice
braun and teix or longo
longo and braun
Just did a fantasy draft in a 10 team H-2-H league with the 8th pick. I think my pitching is good, I am going to be looking for saves in free agency as the year goes on. Any suggestions on how to improve my team.
C Mauer
1B Berkman
2B Cano
3B Michael Young
SS Yunel Escobar
2B/SS Miguel Tejada
1B/3B Chipper
OF Kemp
OF Adam Jones
OF Carlos Quentin
OF Beltran
OF Franklin Gutierrez
Util Nyjer Morgan
Bench Rickie Weeks
Bench Posada
Bench Nick Johnson
Then my pitchers are:
Haren
Verlander
Cliff Lee
Yovani Gallardo
Burnett
Oswalt
Sheets
Octavio Dotel
Jason Frasor
It was late in the draft and about half the teams didn’t have a catcher yet so I took Posada with the intention of trading him. What should I look to get back for him? Thanks guys.
I don’t think Posada will command that much in a 10 team league, as the waiver wire, likely has plenty of decent options at catcher.
with the Kansas loss Marylands path just became so much easier. woohoo go terps!
Ugh, lol. Is there a less likable NCAA player than Greivis Vasquez?
umm the entire Duke team? hahaha but yea his douchiness is hard to defend, but he is one heck of a player
He’s a very good player, but I could do without that shimmy.
Do not diss the chin of Kyle Singler!
Second attempt at a mock draft. Picked twelfth of twelve teams, H-2-H. I think I did better this time.
Comments/criticisms?
1. Troy Tulowitzki (Col – SS)
2. David Wright (NYM – 3B)
3. Robinson Canó (NYY – 2B)
4. Brian McCann (Atl – C)
5. Curtis Granderson (NYY – OF)
6. Adam Dunn (Was – 1B,OF)
7. Ubaldo Jiménez (Col – SP)
8. Adam Jones (Bal – OF)
9. Chad Billingsley (LAD – SP)
10. Jered Weaver (LAA – SP)
11. Brett Anderson (Oak – SP)
12. Jay Bruce (Cin – OF)
13. Randy Wolf (Mil – SP)
14. Ben Sheets (Oak – SP)
15. Jason Heyward (Atl – OF)
16. Nolan Reimold (Bal – OF)
17. Geovany Soto (ChC – C)
18. Colby Rasmus (StL – OF)
19. Plácido Polanco (Phi – 2B)
20. Phil Hughes (NYY – SP,RP)
21. Franklin Gutiérrez (Sea – OF)
22. Daniel Bard (Bos – RP)
23. Clint Barmes (Col – 2B,SS)
It’s ok. I mean, you have no true star on your team, that doesn’t mean anything. I like your first 6 picks. I don’t love your bench or your pitching staff. Drafting Heyward, a guy who might not even play in the majors, is not something you should be doing as you 15th pick. I bet there were a lot of guys like Matsui, Beltre, and Johnson who were still out there in the last few rounds, who would all be better then your last few picks. Still, this is just my opinion. I’m sure there are far more experienced drafters that can weigh in.
Tulowitzi and Wright were the best players left on the board at #12-#13. Not in love with the picks, but most of the superstars were already gone.
The bench sucks. I didn’t put that much thought into the bench before the mock draft so I was picking players as I went. A few of the last picks were because I had no infield backups. I should have had a list of the players I preferred.
I’d love to get Heyward on my team, even if he might not be in the majors right away. Where do you think would be a good spot to draft him?
If a guy isn;t going to play in the majors for alot of of the season, I personnaly wouldn’t sign him at all. I mean, what’s the best case scenario? 10 homers, 10 steals, and a 280 avg over 3 months. Getting a guy like Gardner or Johnson in the 25th will faaar surpase that line. Actually, I strongly reccomend a las pick of Gardner, since he could easily have over 50 steals this season. That type of stat can really help you in fantasy leagues. In y league I just did, a steal is worth 12 points, and a homer is worth 20.
This is my draft at yahoo where I had the 9th pick out of 10 people.
The All StarsPropose Trade
C Matt Wieters (Bal – C)
1B Mark Reynolds (Ari – 1B,3B)
2B Dustin Pedroia (Bos – 2B)
3B Evan Longoria (TB – 3B)
SS Asdrubal Cabrera (Cle – 2B,SS)
CI Derrek Lee (ChC – 1B)
MI Howie Kendrick (LAA – 2B)
OF Ryan Braun (Mil – OF)
OF Nate McLouth (Atl – OF)
OF Chris Coghlan (Fla – OF)
OF Jason Kubel (Min – OF)
Util Jay Bruce (Cin – OF)
SP CC Sabathia (NYY – SP)
SP Jon Lester (Bos – SP)
SP Ubaldo Jiménez (Col – SP)
RP Huston Street (Col – RP)
RP Kenshin Kawakami (Atl – SP,RP)
RP Mike Adams (SD – RP)
P Chad Billingsley (LAD – SP)
P Randy Wells (ChC – SP)
P Joba Chamberlain (NYY – SP)
BN Adrián Béltre (Bos – 3B)
BN Nick Swisher (NYY – 1B,OF)
BN Stephen Drew (Ari – SS)
BN Nick Johnson (NYY – 1B)
BN Brett Gardner (NYY – OF)
BN David DeJesús (KC – OF)
BN Johnny Cueto (Cin – SP)
Relief pitching is a bit weak. But if that’s your only problem, then no big deal. There will always be some random you’ll be able to pluck off the waiver wire.
I like your team.
After I signed street, I signed Joba thinking he could be placed in a relief role, because Hughes is listed as a reliever and a starter, but then it took my until the end of the draft to realize Joba was listed as a stater, so I got Adams.
I with everyone who picked up Jay Bruce in the late rounds. People have forgotten pretty quickly that this guy is capable of big things, and had a terribly unlucky season last year.
This is my draft. I had the 1st pick in a 1 person league. Tell me how I did.
C. – Joe Mauer
1B – Albert Pujols
2b – Chase Utley
3B – Alex Rodriguez
SS – Hanley Ramirez
OF – Ryan Braun
OF – Justin Upton
OF – Matt Kemp
CI – Mark Teixeira
MI – Robinson Cano
SP – Tim Lincecum
SP – Roy Halladay
SP – Felix Hernandez
SP – Zack Grienke
SP – CC Sabathia
RP – Mariano Rivera
RP – Jonathan Broxton
RP – Joakim Soria
RP – Huston Street
BN – Derek Jeter
BN – Prince Fielder
BN – Miguel Cabrera
BN – Carl Crawford
BN – Jorge Posada
BN – Brian McCann
looks like the 2012 yankees to me! you and your damn crystal ball.
Baseball Prospectus still has the Red Sox winning the division by 4 games.
I’d replace Street with Nathan and Posada with Martinez.
/Nitpicked