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!
With less than 72 hours before the first pitch of the 2008 Baseball
season for the Orioles, I wanted to examine the team as well as the
team playing 45 minutes away in Washington.
Many an expert
have predicted the Orioles to finish fifth in their division and lose
close to or more than 100 games. Meanwhile the team in Washington could
be in a similar situation. The Nationals have played to a .463(225-261)
winning percentage since the 2005 season. The Orioles during the same
stretch have played at a .438(213-273) clip. OUCH! I will now stick a
hot poker in my ear.
So I was thinking which team will be
worse this season… or does it really matter? Well I kind of do think it
matters. It matters because in the three seasons that the Expos became
the Nationals they have won more games than the Birds. What in the hell
is going on around here?
If you have Peter Angelos’s email address, please forward that last paragraph to him. Thank you.
I
will now play judge and jury to determine which team will win more
games this season. Let’s admit it… Both teams will suck again this
year… and next. But for the purpose of this blog I will break each
position down to determine an edge in that area.
Catchers:
Ramon Hernandez vs Paul Lo Duca. Hernandez has to stay healthy this
year for the Orioles to produce some runs. Hernandez has the ability to
post .270-18-72 like number. Lo Duca handles pitchers well and get
timely hits. He was one of many players mentioned in the Mitchell
Report. I give the edge to Lo Duca. He has more phone number and
connections to take the edge off than Hernandez. EDGE: Nationals.
First
Baseman: Kevin Millar vs Dmitri Young. “Cowboy Up” vs “The Meathook”.
Classic WWE match. Millar is by far the most fun spirited ball player I
can remember watching. Millar when hot… is a very dangerous hitter. The
problem is he doesn’t stay hot for months. He may have a breakout week
instead of a month. Young might have his playing time reduced if Nick
Johnson is healthy. Young was the Nationals best player last season.
EDGE: Push
Second Baseman: Brian Roberts (for now) vs Ronnie
Belliard. B-Rob is one of the best lead-off hitters in the game and
causes havoc on the base paths like no other Oriole. How long will be
here? My guess… All-Star break. Belliard, a reject from the Indian
organization, is having a great Spring Training to hold off Felipe
Lopez for the job. The Orioles have a big edge here, but that all will
change sometime this Summer. EDGE: Baltimore (for now).
Third
Baseman: Melvin Mora vs Ryan Zimmerman. I might be wrong but I think
Mora has more kids than hits last season. Well that’s the way it felt.
Zimmerman is a ball player plain and simple. He plays the game like it
is suppose to be played. No contest at the position. EDGE: Nationals.
Shortstop:
Luis Hernandez vs Cristian Guzman. If you were to put Guzman up against
every other starting shortstop in MLB, the other team probably has the
edge. The Orioles have no real shortstop at this time. You could see
Freddie Bynum or Brandon Fahey playing there some this year. You could
put all their abilities together and mold them into one shortstop and
Guzman still wins. EDGE: Nationals.
Outfield: Luke Scott, Adam
Jones and Nick Markakis vs Elijah Dukes, Lastings Milledge and Austin
Kearns. I got goose pimples just typing the three Oriole names. If you
take them as a group or try and break them down by outfield position,
the conclusion will be the same. The Birds have the better outfielders
today. I like Scott more than Dukes. I like Jones more than Milledge
and I love Markakis over Kearns. This group of outfielders is the
strongest the Orioles have seen since mid 1990’s. This group of
outfielders will be worth the $9 I will spend on a ticket. EDGE:
Baltimore
Bench: The brightest star bench player for the Orioles
is Scott Moore. You could say Aubrey Huff, but I say HORSESH*T. Take
that Aubrey. The best the Nationals offer come from two players; Nick
Johnson and Willie Harris. Neither teams bench will scare opposing
pitchers or managers. EDGE: Push
Starting Pitchers: Jeremy
Guthrie, Steve Trachsel, Daniel Cabrera and Adam Loewen vs Odalis
Perez, Jason Bergmann, Tim Redding and Matt Chico. I’m only going with
the first four starters because quite frankly each teams number five
starter is not worth the time. Since I’m a homer and not afraid to
admit that, I like the Birds first four better than the Nationals. The
combine record for the four National pitchers 105-127 with an ERA of
4.75. The Birds… 196-214 with an ERA of 4.60. The X factor for the
Orioles this season will be Adam Loewen and Daniel Cabrera. You pretty
much know what to expect from Guthrie and Trachsel. If the Birds are to
win 72 games like I predict, I need Loewen and Cabrera to stay healthy
and win 12-15 each. EDGE: Baltimore
Relief Pitchers: George
Sherrill, Jamie Walker and Chad Bradford vs Chad Cordero, Jon Rauch and
Luis Ayala. If the Orioles bullpen can just be middle of the road good
we have a great chance to compete everyday. If the bullpen pitches the
way it has over the last 9 years… look out below. The Nationals have
Cordero to hold the fort down. There is a chance he will be dealt later
this season to make room for Jon Rauch to become the closer. Sherrill
will be closing games for the first time in his career. He feels like
he can handle the job and so do I. The Birds have way to many good arms
for the Nationals to compete with us. EDGE: Baltimore
So there
you have it. After breaking each position down it becomes clearer who
has the better team this season. The Boston Redsox. Sorry. I meant the
Los Angeles Dodgers. Sorry again. Couldn’t help myself.
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 just read something that seems interesting to mention. It looks like Bedard is really not happy with our organization and wants t oknow where he stands by spring training... if not the Super Bowl.
The GM for the Mariners announced they would have a deal in place for a #1 starter soon. Are they in the Santana derby? NO! Bedard Stakes? Photo finish...
My gut says he is gone by Feb 3... my heart says he gone tomorrow morning... if Seattle has Adam Jones on the table... centerpiece for the future... dynamic duo... the A.J and M.K. show...
Just updating the blog.
Are the Mariners ready? (N/A) (72.81.181.131)MoveDeleteEditQuoteReply In case you have been sleeping under a rock the past 24 hours, Dan Haren ( a stud ) starting pitcher of the Oakland Athletics was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks in a eight player deal.
Dan Haren is my opinion is a more polished pitcher at this point than Erik Bedard. The Oakland Athletics recieved 6 players in return for Haren and a minor leaguer. By all accounts the A's got some pretty good players in return.
But I'm not here to talk about Dan Haren and the A's or Diamondbacks. I want to talk about the aftershock of the deal involving Haren.
I was so happy to see this deal done, that at first I thought of writing a letter to the Los Angeles Dodgers on behalf of Andy MacPhail to reiterate how important having Bedard on their staff would mean to them winning the division in the NL West.
Than I thought, wait....... ( that's me waiting )....... what team NOW needs a number one starter to win their division? Plus, what team NOW has the players we want in return to sell the deal?
See the whole idea is to make the playoffs, and you first do that by winning your division. The A's just got a little weaker in the rotation, so that means they probably are looking to compete in about 2 to 3 years.
The Angels won the west last year ( 94-68 ) finishing six games ahead of the Mariners. Six games. That's how close the Mariners came to taking their division last year.
It's the Mariners, not the Dodgers who need Bedard more than any other team. With Bedard in their rotating, they easily have a one-two combination with Felix Hernandez that will match up with any other one-two.
Mariners have the player(s) we want. Adam Jones will not be missed in Seattle. Take a look at their lineup. Sexson, Vidro, Betancourt, Beltre ( who had a great year in 2007 ), Ibanez, Ichiro, Johjima. I'll take that lineup for two hundred, Alex.
The Angels went out an obtained John Garland for Orlando Cabrera earlier this off season. They also signed in my opinion the best free agent available Torii Hunter to secure a bat behind Vlad and a Spider-Man like skills to protrol the outfield.
One great move, one so-so move. Now it's time for the Mariners to ante up.
We would be so glad to send Bedard and Huff ( to play right field ) to you for a package of players centerd around Adam Jones ( Ken Rosenthal called him potentially the greatest African American to wear the Baltimore jersey since Eddie Murray ) and Brandon Morrow.
Why wouldn't we or they do this deal? Seattle is primed to win their division this year and they need one more big arm in their rotation to compete for that title.
( Phone rings ) " Mr. Bill Bavasi, the Orioles are holding on line 2 ". Yeah baby yeah!
Who's ready? I know I am, but " Are the Mariners ready?".
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!
My name is Chip and I reside in Baltimore, Maryland. I have lived in Baltimore all my life and really love the city. I am the biggest Oriole and Maryland Terrapin fan I know. I'm also a huge Ravens fan but I miss my Baltimore Colts. Some of my favorite players I enjoyed watching as a child include Rickey Henderson, Cal Ripken Jr, Bert Jones, Dr. J, Ken Singleton, Roger Carr, Len Bias, Sugar Ray Leonard and Earl Campbell. Though we do not have a NBA or NHL team, I still follow both sports just as much as the others.
Currently you can find me at www.wnst.net and www.thomasgeo rgebaseball.c om and www.thebirdso fprey2.com
Fantasy sports manager sine 1991.
Pleasures include my family and Italian cuisine.
My son, Matthew, is nine and thinks Duke, NYY , Redsox and the Steelers stink!
