MVP: Gabe Kapler .291 .310 .582 .892 4-13-12-32 2-10-1
Runner-Up: Mike Cameron .269 .367 .654 1.021 3-7-6-17 4-8-0
Comments: I am using the two as a group. This has been a bright spot for the Brewers to start the season. Together they remind me of John Lowenstein/Gary Roenicke without the 25-game suspension and the fact one of the Brewers is not a left-handed hitter… other than that… I am cool.
LVP: Ryan Braun .268 .304 .465 .768 5-23-13-59 7-28-1
Bottom-Up: Prince Fielder .257 .372 .431 .803 4-20-16-47 19-18-0
Comments: both players do not belong on this list but given where they went in drafts… Their numbers do not add up to their production.
Runner-Up: Carlos Gomez .271 .297 .374 .671 1-8-17-40 3-26-13
Comments: If Morneau played somewhere other than, a state recognized for lakes they have (I am on record here to say that Minnesota does not have 10,000 lakes. Maybe they more or less… but not 10,000 exactly) he would be an All-Star regularly.
LVP: Delmon Young .263 .306 .307 .613 0-9-15-35 7-21-6
Bottom-Up: Jason Kubel .245 .264 .396 .660 4-17-11-42 3-22-0
Comments: Both players came into this season as great sleepers in AL-only leagues… yet both have been big disappointments for Fantasy owners but Minnesota is a top their division as I write tonight. Go figure.
New York Yankees
MVP: Johnny Damon .295 .394 .527 .921 4-14-25-59 19-20-5
Runner-Up: Bobby Abreu .306 .363 .452 .815 4-21-15-56 11-24-2
Comments: Damon is quietly putting up good Fantasy numbers, while Abreu is the glue right now that is holding the lineup together.
Runner-Up: Pat Burrell .330 .459 .687 1.147 9-30-20-73 26-24-0
Comments: Without Chipper Jones in the NL, Utley is the MVP. How do you not like Utley? Pat’s bat is hotter than Fergie in a bikini. Check her out in the May 5th edition of In Touch Weekly.
LVP: Ryan Howard .167 .294 .351 .645 6-14-16-40 21-45-0
Comments: I have officially given up on LaRoche. Pittsburgh fans know what I mean.
San Diego Padres
MVP: Adrian Gonzalez .302 .355 .556 .911 8-23-19-70 10-27-0
Runner-Up: See Above
Comments: In a big home ballpark, Gonzalez is putting up some nice numbers. I have him in a league that I cannot even trade him in because my knuckle-headed friends would rather hold onto David Ortiz or Carlos Pena.
Bottom-Up: Carlos Pena .215 .323 .421 .743 7-17-15-45 13-35-0
Comments: Longoria will eventually hit. I think he is over-matched at times and looks like he has no plan at the plate. He has had some great at-bats (see Roy Holladay) but they are few and far in-between.
Texas Rangers
MVP: Josh Hamilton .300 .347 .531 .878 6-33-16-69 11-19-0
Comments: Talk about getting a second chance in life and taking advantage of it… Hamilton and Bradley both have been solid in the middle of that lineup.
Bottom-Up: Ben Broussard .159 .225 .268 .493 3-8-8-22 5-20-0
Comments: Maybe it is unfair for me to put Blalock on this list, but coming into this season, he insisted he was healthy and proved once again that we should never trust a player’s opinion of himself unless we are in the company of Rickey Henderson.
Toronto Blue Jays
MVP: Alex Rios .310 .379 .474 .853 3-15-20-55 14-25-8
Runner-Up: Vernon Wells .273 .341 .405 .746 4-22-17-49 12-15-1
Comments: I just traded for Wells. What do you think of this trade; Wells and Giambi for Cust and Jenks?
LVP: Frank Thomas .167 .306 .333 .639 3-11-7-20 11-13-0
Bottom-Up: Aaron Hill .264 .323 .388 .712 2-13-11-47 9-16-2
Comments: Why would you want “The Big Attitude” on your team?
Washington Nationals
MVP: Christian Guzman .309 .331 .463 .794 3-14-20-63 5-12-0
Runner-Up: Felipe Lopez .281 .349 .344 .693 1-12-12-33 10-14-4
Comments: I have nothing for this team. New ballpark, same crowds.
LVP: Ryan Zimmerman .217 .252 .333 .585 3-14-12-43 6-23-0
In the blog I will give you, each MLB teams Fantasy MVP and runner-up along with the teams LVP and bottom-up. I actually did some research on this, so please enjoy.
Editor’s note; statistics are retro to May 4, 2008 and are courtesy of ESPN. I will use the following sequence of stats for you to follow AVG, OBP, SLG, OPS, HR, RBI, R, TB, BB, K, and SB.
I will focus solely on offense today and tomorrow. Maybe a pitching column next week?
Here are the first 15 teams in ABC order... I know it sounds like a first-grader but Jackson-Five might be running through your head too... you will hate me later.
Arizona Diamondbacks
MVP: Conor Jackson .343 .421 .590 1.102 5-25-27-62 11-10-2
Runner-Up: J. Upton .342 .402 .559 .960 5-16-19-62 13-30-0
Comments: Jackson has been a beast while Upton needs to up the SB total to get his true value.
LVP: Eric Byrnes .242 .316 .417 .732 3-15-29-50 11-16-3
Bottom-Up: Chris Snyder .243 .375 .414 .789 1-15-17-29 13-21-0
Comments: Snyder’s numbers are not that bad but he came into this season primed to take over the catching duties for this team and with so much offense around him he should be posting better numbers. Byrnes is just off to a slow start.
Atlanta Braves
MVP: Chipper Jones .425 .472 .717 1.189 9-27-22-81 12-10-0
Runner-Up: Brian McCann .291 .358 .555 .912 6-17-17-61 12-9-0
Comments: Jones is MVP of the NL at this point. Who in their right mind would not take McCann’s numbers at the 2 position?
LVP: Mark Teixeira .267 .348 .442 .790 4-18-17-53 14-18-0
Bottom-Up: Jeff Francour .276 .311 .455 .766 3-20-16-56 6-12-0
Comments: Isn’t great to know that some jerk like me thinks the Braves worst two fantasy players are Tex and Francour?
Baltimore Orioles
MVP: Nick Markakis .273 .403 .473 .876 6-14-19-52 23-27-6
Comments: Ellsbury is my choice because he brings more to the table than I anticipated at the beginning of the season. He has been lights-out since day 1.
LVP: David Ortiz .216 .316 .379 .695 5-24-19-44 16-20-0
Bottom-Up: Jason Varitek .267 .315 .453 .769 3-11-7-39 4-22-0
Comments: If you want to throw-up in your own mouth check out Big Papi’s splits on home vs. road. To see V-Tek play this way is sad because I feel he was a true general on the field and a clutch player. Does Boston have another catcher ready in the minors?
Chicago White Sox
MVP: Carlos Quentin .283 .421 .609 1.030 8-22-22-56 15-17-2
Runner-Up: Joe Crede .248 .313 .585 .817 7-22-12-51 9-14-0
Comments: Quentin has been a pleasant surprise for Fantasy owners, while Crede might not have the batting average you want, he has hit big in the clutch (2 grand slams).
LVP: Nick Swisher .210 .354 .324 .678 3-8-20-34 23-29-1
Comments: Did any one else expect bigger things from Swisher? Swisher so far is a big bust! Cabrera has a pass for the same cruise Swisher is on … The S. S. Minnow.
Comments: Ramriez is the best Fantasy player in the NL… easily! Willingham flies so far under the radar. I would take Willingham over Francour any day.
LVP: Cody Ross .164 .186 .273 .459 1-5-2-15 2-8-1
Bottom-Up: Luis Gonzalez .226 .324 .403 .727 3-5-5-25 9-13-1
Comments: I feel I need to apologize to the Cody Ross family for printing his stats. NOT!
Comments: Most under-rated player in the AL is Casey Kotchman. He has been a better run producer than VLad.
LVP: Garrett Anderson .221 .258 328 .586 2-11-14-40 6-21-1
Bottom-Up: Vladimir Guerrero .256 .336 .402 .738 3-14-15-47 13-21-1
Comments: Be afraid… be very afraid
LA Dodgers
MVP: Rafael Furcal .369 .453 .585 1.038 4-15-33-76 19-15-8
Runner-Up: Matt Kemp .324 .348 .495 .843 2-22-18-52 5-30-7
Comments: Matt Kemp is one of the brightest stars in the NL right now!
LVP: Andruw Jones .163 .274 .255 .539 1-4-14-25 15-34 0
Bottom-Up: See Above…
Comments: I would like to take this opportunity to apologize on the behalf of Mr. Jones for playing like a softball player waiting to get to the bar to get his free pitcher of Miller Fat Me UP!
If you want to count a game played in Japan at 6:05 EST as Opening Day... well you must live in Oakland or Boston. I live in Baltimore and our Opening Day starts Monday... like normal baseball teams. Question: How many people believe that Opening Day Monday should be a Holiday?
I want to share two memories from Oriole Opening Day past. I would love to see comments about a memory of your own.
Opening Day 1989: Cal Ripken hits a three-run bomb in the sixth inning off Clemens to put the Birds up by one and we win in extra innings on a Craig Worthington single. The year of “Why Not?” You felt Memorial Stadium rock that day. I bet you heard the crowd as far as Federal Hill when Rip put that Clemens fastball in the bullpen. I was on a bus trip from a pub in Baltimore. I was the youngest by ten years at least. My Uncle Vernon always made sure I went Opening Day. Yet, he never did that for his own son. Weird? Every one should have an Uncle like him. I am lucky to have remembered that afternoon. Where were the people checking for I.D.? Good thing it was a bus trip.
Interesting fact; the first four hitters in the line up that Opening Day; Brady Anderson, Phil Bradley, Steve Finley and Cal Ripken.
Opening Day 1982: Murray hits a granny, Cal put one over the fence for his first ever, Gary Roenicke, and “Disco” Dan Ford hit bombs that great afternoon as we destroy KC and Dennis Leonard 13-5. I sat in the right field bleachers with my sixth grade classmates. I was lucky enough to be on the cover of the News American the next morning! Remember Dempsey tried switch-hitting that year. Funny season. Weaver’s last one before that ill attempt at a comeback. Cal wins ROY. We take Milwaukee to the final game… and “Cakes “gives up two ####s to future HOF’er himself Robin Yount. We lose 10-2. Weaver cries as Howard Cossell sings praise to the “Earl of Baltimore.” We win the World Series the next season with Joe Altobelli and have not been to the big dance since.
Opening Day line up; Bumbry, Dempsey, Ford, Singleton, Murray, Ripken, Roenicke, Sakata and Dauer. Yes… in that order.
Did you know baseball starts Tuesday… in a foreign country… played in the wee hours of the morning EST? Well if you have no idea that this is taking place, you might as well get used to the idea of the MLB season staring in March… in a country that has $$$.. Moreover, INTEREST! That is right other countries have interest in the game of baseball. Baltimore fans seem to be as interested in this season as if this was a wedding for a couple you knew had no chance… because you are the reason they have no chance.
Well with that said, I am interested in this season for one reason only: Predictions.
Here we go…
AL East: Boston Redsox.
AL Central: Cleveland Indians
AL West: Los Angeles of Anaheim of Orange County of the state of California Angles
AL Wild Card: Detroit Tigers
AL Champion: Detroit Tigers
AL MVP: Miguel Cabrera
AL ROY: Evan Longoria (Clay Buchholz a close second).
AL Manager of the Year: Mike Scioscia
AL CY Young: Justin Verlander
NL East: NY Mets
NL Central: Milwaukee Brewers
NL West: Los Angeles Dodgers of Brooklyn, NY past
NL Wild Card: Atlanta Braves
NL Champion: LA Dodgers
NL MVP: Prince Fielder
NL ROY: Hiroki Kuroda
NL Manager of the Year: Joe Torre
NL CY Young: Johan Santana
World Series Winner: LA Dodgers
World Series MVP: Chad Billingsley
Bonus*** The First Manager Canned: Charlie Manuel (by June 1st).
Bonus 2*** The Orioles will win 72 games this year.
Bonus 3*** The Yankees are in for an awful season. Yet they will just miss the playoffs.
Bonus 4*** Erik Bedard wins 15… yet loses 10+ and the Mariners fall short of the playoffs.
I would like for you to read the following and I can only hope I have some support on what I am writing about. You need to know that I have only loved one baseball team in my 37 years on planet Earth, and that team is the BALTIMORE Orioles. I will get back to the caps in BALTIMORE in a minute.
Just in case you do not know, I want to remind you that free agency starts 10 days after the World Series ends ( and the way our divisional foe has been hitting and pitching, it may be only two weeks away). There are a few great guys that will become available once this frenzy starts. I am writing about one gut in particular that I want to see roaming the green grass of centerfield next year. Ladies and gentleman I like to introduce to you the newest member of the BALTIMORE Orioles................. Torii Hunter!!!!!!!!!!
I don't care how much money this man wants, because as long as we keep throwing guys out there that can't keep the ball down, we need a guy that can go and get it like no other. I know Andruw Jones might be available but I don't like his demeanor when it come to playing the game. Torii Hunter gives it his all day in and day out. Ask any Minnesota Twin fan right now and they would cringe at the thought of someone else in their outfield. This man never stops smiling. He would be great for this town as well as our team.
I want to show you what this man has down in the last seven years. Besides averaging 25 home runs and 90 runs batted in plus 16 stolen bases, he bring hardware like no one other than Brooks himself. As Goldmember said " I like ggoooooollllddddd". Six straight seasons and another one on the way. He is only 32 years old and imagine how happy those knees will be to play on grass for a minimum of 115 games. You want a character guy on this team? You want a leader? You want a blue collar worker ( born on July 18, 1975 Pine Bluff, Arkansas)? You want someone for our community? You want Torii Hunter. Bring him to BALTIMORE, and throw all the crab cakes you can at him. I'm buying!!
Now to the BALTIMORE thing. This is driving me nuts Mr. Angelos. Why oh why are you being so stubborn about putting the BALTIMORE back on our road jerseys. Please man, one stinking little favor. This would actually help your legacy in BALTIMORE. Can you see this now.....October 2010........ game 7.... Eric Bedard on the mound.... ready to put the final nail in the Mets coffin at Shea..... pop up to center....... Hunter under it.......BALTIMORE you are the 2010 World Series Champs. Sweet huh? This is not a pipe dream. If Mr. Angelos submits a BALTIMORE road jersey to MLB by next spring, it could make the field in 2010. Imagine how many of us would run out a buy this jersey. Do something right before Cal Ripken buys the team, this way you can be remembered as the man who put BALTIMORE back on the map.
I have to first state that besides Jamey Eisenberg, Bill Simmons is the best thing going on the web today when it comes to enjoying an article of sports related material. I have followed Mr. Simmons ( that's his name for the rest of the blog ) since 2003. I received his book as a birthday gift and thought it was one of the best presents ever. In fact it took me about 232 days to read the book because I only read while I sat on the toilet. Trust me, that's a compliment to Mr. Simmons. My fiancee and he are the only two people I know alive that still likes the NBA and they both are Celtic fans. That's right I sleep with the enemy. So what, I even have two pets named after HOF Celtics ( McHale and Chief ). Just for the record I have two others named Bella J. Unitas and another is Brooks.
Why am I writing about Mr. Simmons today? Well it has to do with his article this week on how the rest of the NFL will bow to his team ( Patriots ) before his Pats will bow to anyone else. Loved the article, in fact I recommend everyone to read his articles on Page2 at ESPN.com, they are good. No doubt and funny. But yesterday was a little different. I agree the Patriots are the class of the league and I also believe they have a 70 point game in them before the season is over. See I am agreeing with everything he is saying until the last part of his article, he starts writing about the ALCS.
As you might know the Redsox ( Mr. Simmons' team ) are down now 3 games to 1 to Cleveland. As I read this article yesterday the series was 2-1 Cleveland. Here are some of the things he wrote. I never knew the move to LA would make him a whiner, but judge for yourself.
Mr Simmons' writes that you really can't judge a playoff team until you go up against them. What? Did you not follow this team all year,the Indians. He says only Victor Martinez scared him before the series. Did he not see Grady Sizemore take the wind out of the sails of the Yankee ship leading off game 4? What about Pronk? C.C.? Carmona? Does he not know Jhonny ( yes people that's the way he spells his name ) Peralta was the league leader in homeruns by a shortstop? Casey Blake has been clutch all year. This my friend is someone who really doesn't care if the Redsox win or not because he is drinking Patriotaide right now.
Now his next thought will not only show you evidence that this man is bailing, but also now it's excuse time. I thought only Yankee fans made excuses. He writes that because of the cold weather, the start time of game 3 ( 8:21 est ), and the length of the game ( which ended sometime around 1:30 est ) the Redsox lost. His point was that because of those elements the " fans " got cold, worried they miss their ride home and lost interest in the game. LOST INTEREST IN THE GAME? This is the #### playoffs. How do you not make noise for Papi and Manny in the tenth to win the game. Stand up and cheer, maybe you will warm up. Are those your fans? I bet the Yankee fans right now are laughing at that statement. Do you think for one minute Mr. Simmons that Yankee fans would sit on their hands and not make noise. What's up with " REDSOX NATION ?" For heaven sakes it's Boston, Mass. it's October, any other fan would of brought not their blackberries but a bottle of blackberry brandy to keep them warm. Such idiots in Boston. Everybody know when it's cold, and you attend a sporting event, MR. BOSTON'S BLACKBERRY BRANDY is the trick. Hell look at the name of the stuff.
His next thought I have a problem with is him saying it's killed the Redsox in game 2 that Clay ( I no hit your Baltimore Orioles, hahahaha ) Buckholz had to be shut down for pitching too many innings. Are you serious? What were you expecting him to throw this poast season, 80 more innings. He would have been lucky to throw 80 pitches over a three week span. That's really putting a great weapon that you need out of the bullpen in jeopardy? Come on Bill, blame management for that dumb move. Doesn't every team carry an extra pitcher in a seven game series? His arm isn't tired, they just don't trust him right now. That's it, plain and simple.
Again I love Mr. Simmons. Seriously I do. Maybe LA and his two kids plus watching kid programs all day have scrambled his mind. Maybe this is his way of saying, screw the Sox, I have Kevin Garnett coming in 2 weeks plus the Pats are playing like as he says the 1989 SF 49ers. Which by the way is so true, it down right scary. Has the Sox Nation given up, I don't think so, but after reading Mr. Simmons' column I have to start to wonder. And if he is waiting for Joe Borowski to blow a game ( which he will ) it might not happen until game 4 of the World Series.
Yes Boston, this is your Sports Guy. Let me chime in with a point or two on why Boston is losing this series. One they do not have a true leadoff hitter. You can get away with this during the regular season, but it's a glaring weakness for Boston when you play in a series. Another is the bullpen. Francona is worried to death about bring anyone in except Papelbon. Their bullpen is worse than the Yankees now. You got who, Lopez, Gagne and Lacey, sorry I meant Gagne and right, who? Nobody is worried about your bullpen. And last if you can't get 5 or more innings from your 2, 3 and 4 starters, well than my friend, game over.
P.S. Best wishes to my Uncle Vernon who is recovering from prostate cancer surgery. Love ya Uncle!
