Random Baseball Thoughts

Should you hold on to Carey Hart?  First, you should only be asking this question if you are in a deep league with a CI position.  Hart is not worth rostering in shallow leagues.  But in deeper leagues, yes, you should hold on to him.  Hart averaged 29 long balls per year from 2010 to 2012.  While he doesn't run the way he once did, he’ll still get you 5-6 stolen bases.  Remember he missed an entire year of baseball and it takes a while to get back up to game speed.  My full year prediction:  70/25/80/.260/6.  Good for a Corner Infielder in a deep league.

Now for some (expert of course) quick hits:

• Should you get excited about Ernesto Frieri again?  No.  He’s not all that.
• Will Brian Roberts keep it up?  No.  He’ll get injured.
• Should I pick up Odor?  No.  Cologne maybe.  Odor no.  He’ll have a great career but he needs to prove himself NOW.  Too many fantasy players jump on prospects before they are productive.
• What’s up with Cole Hamels?  He’s been killing his owners.  Will he get it together?  Yes.  His track record is stellar and there are no known lingering physical issues with him.

Now for a little nostalgia:  This year marks the 100 year anniversary of the start of World War I.  One of the greatest ballplayers of all time was wounded in the war and was never the same again.  Christy Mathewson (at age 38) enlisted to fight for his country.  During a chemical training exercise, Mathewson was accidently gassed.  He developed tuberculosis which eventually claimed his life seven years later.

Mathewson, known as ‘Big Six’, ‘The Christian Gentlemen’ and ‘Matty’ was one of the great players and role models in early 20^th century baseball.  He won 373 games losing only 168.  He was one of the initial five entries into the Baseball Hall of Fame (Cobb, Ruth, Johnson, Wagner, and Mathewson in order of vote).  His use of the revolutionary new ‘fadeaway’ (screwball) gave hitters fits his entire career.  In 1905 he threw 3 shutouts in the World Series to bring the World Championship to the New York Giants.  Matty never pitched on Sunday due to his Christian belief that Sunday was a day of rest.

He was a great man and a great ballplayer who influenced the game of baseball for the better.

The Cab Driver

Two years ago I posted the article below regarding my discussion with a cab driver. It's worth another read.

This past Thursday night I took a cab home from the train station. My cabbie was from Guinea, a country in west Africa. He had come to the States years ago and supported his family as a cab driver.

As we talked he indicated that he was going back to Guinea since he could better provide for his family there. His rationale: 
1) The price of gas had gone up so much in the Obama years (national average of $1.68 per gallon when he came into office) that the driver had little fare money left after paying for it. 
2) So many people who had lost their jobs over the last three years had become cabbies in the hopes of supporting themselves --- thus increasing the supply of cabbies and reducing the number of rides he provided daily. 
3) So many people had lost their jobs that the demand for cabs was reduced.

All that said, the thing that put him over the top was the Not So Supreme Court decision to uphold ObamaCare. He stated that the health care law would put many more people out of work since their employees could no longer afford their benefits. In addition, we were becoming like the countries in Africa where the government encroached on all aspects of life and commerce.

So, he was going back to Guinea, Africa, where he would have greater opportunity to provide for his family. I gave him a large tip and wished him well.

Fantasy Baseball: Punting a Category

So it hath been asked: “Great Rich, should I ever 'punt a category' in the hopes of overachieving in other categories?"

The Great Rich should probably be less direct but......... The answer is a firm ‘NO’. No category should ever be punted. Never. The category I hear about the most in the punting discussion is that of saves. Yes, saves are overvalued in fantasy baseball. Yes, having three closers might cut down on your offensive output or hold you back slightly in the win column. But let’s look at the numbers.

In a traditional 12 team 5x5 rotisserie league, you will need 90 points to compete for the league title. This means that the average number of points you need from each category is 9. A tall order but doable. Now let’s say you decide to punt saves and take only 1 point from that category. Result: You now need 10 points from each of the other categories. A much more difficult proposition. Why handicap yourself unnecessarily?

Another ‘punting category’ is stolen bases. Should you punt SB’s? Again the answer is ‘NO’. Don’t forget that players with high stolen base totals also score a lot of runs. By punting SB’s, you guarantee mediocrity in the run category. Not a solid strategy.

Speaking of downstream punting effects, let’s go back to the saves discussion. A closer worthy of your roster will contribute to ERA and WHIP, two categories that are often undervalued by fantasy players. He will also contribute a K per inning. What’s not to like?

Remember, in competitive rotisserie baseball, you need to average 9 points per category to compete for the league championship. For every category you punt, you’ll need to win three other categories just to even up. A good rule of thumb is to do your best to never fall below 6 in any category. You’ll always be in the running.

A More Civil Game

The Rich is happy.  He’s looks out upon the diamond and sees tranquility and civility.  Why, you ask?  Because there is now relief available for bad calls.  Baseball is committed to ‘getting it right’.  Even Angel Hernandez and Joe West seem to be less confrontational.

Count me among those who were skeptical about adding instant replay to baseball.  After all, wouldn’t we be losing the human element?  It turns out we’ve lost only the negative human element and inserted civility into the game.

Now it is true that we won’t have Bobby Cox and Earl Weaver style tirades.  Poor Bobby Cox will forever be the leader in ejections.  BTW, speaking of Cox, he’s a man of excellent character.  Years ago Dick Howser gave Cox his first break in coaching.  Later when Bobby was GM and then Manager of the Braves, he would always take a call from Dick’s brother in Atlanta and provide him with tickets upon request.  Dick’s brother never abused the privilege and it’s nice to see loyalty in the business.

Wait, what was I writing about?  Oh, yeah.  Instant replay.  Has it slowed the game down?  No.  Has it sped the game up?  Not yet.  Has it improved the level of discourse between players/managers and the umpires.  Absolutely.  And indeed, MLB is getting the calls right – just like the NFL.

To me there is a greater issue at work:  Think of the heartbreak that will be avoided in the future.  There will be no more calls like Jim Joyce’s ‘safe’ call which took away a perfect game.  There will be no more World Series calls that affect the outcome of a game and a series like Don Denkinger’s ‘safe’ call in the 1985 World Series.  Not only did the calls hurt the teams and their fans, they are errors in judgment carried by some of the finest umpires in the game’s history.  Now umpires know that their calls on not life and death.  They seem far more relaxed and professional.

The Rich hath spoken.

Woodrow Wilson

You cannot become thorough Americans if you think of yourselves in groups. America does not consist of groups. A man who thinks of himself as belonging to a particular national group in America has not yet become an American.

Rotoprofessor

The Rich is now writing weekly articles for rotoprofessor.com.  Check out my latest article on the role of the Commissioner.

Minor League Draft 2014

Round 1

1) Brooklyn DL’s	Rafael Montero	SP, NYM
2) Project33	C.J. Edwards	SP, CHC
3) Hockey Nation	Mark Appel	SP, HOU
4) The Holy Handgrenade	Robert Stephenson	SP, CIN
5) Skip Caray’s Ghost	Raul Mondesi, Jr.	SS, KC
6) Planet 10	Clint Frazier	OF, CLE
7) Clown City	Joc Pederson	OF, LAD
8) stangnut	Henry Owens	SP, BOS
9) Outlaws – All in WDW	Maikel Franco	3B, PHI
10) Hammering Fastballs	Joey Gallo	3B, TEX
11) puerto rican perfume	Kevin Gausman	SP, BAL
12) Tri-State Turmoil	Rougned Odor	2B, TEX
13) Milwaukee Braves	Lucas Giolito	SP, WAS
14) San Diego Chickens	Marcus Stroman	SP, TOR

Round 2

1) Brooklyn DL’s	Kohl Stewart	SP, MIN
2) Project33	Eddie Butler	SP, COL
3) Hockey Nation	Mookie Betts	2B, BOS
4) The Holy Handgrenade	Tyler Glasnow	SP, PIT
5) Skip Caray’s Ghost	Austin Hedges	C, SD
6) Planet 10	Jorge Soler	OF, CHC
7) Clown City	Mike Zunino	C, SEA
8) stangnut	Aaron Sanchez	SP, TOR
9) Outlaws – All in WDW	Lucas Sims	SP, ATL
10) Hammering Fastballs	Corey Seager	SS, LAD
11) puerto rican perfume	Allen Webster	SP, BOS
12) Tri-State Turmoil	Jonathan Singleton	1B, HOU
13) Milwaukee Braves	Austin Meadows	OF, PIT
14) San Diego Chickens	Matt Wisler	SP, SD

Round 3

1) Brooklyn DL’s	Colin Moran	3B, MIA
2) Project33	J.P. Crawford	SS, PHI
3) Hockey Nation	Brian Buxton	OF, MIN
4) The Holy Handgrenade	D.J. Peterson	OF, SEA
5) Skip Caray’s Ghost	Carlos Correa	SS, HOU
6) Planet 10	Bubba Starling	OF, KC
7) Clown City	Miguel Sano	3B, MIN
8) stangnut	Albert Almora	OF, CHC
9) Outlaws – All in WDW	Hunter Harvey	SP, BAL
10) Hammering Fastballs	Courtney Hawkins	OF, CWS
11) puerto rican perfume	Kyle Crick	SP, SF
12) Tri-State Turmoil	David Dahl	OF, COL
13) Milwaukee Braves	Matt Davidson	3B, CWS
14) San Diego Chickens	Kyle Zimmer	SP, KC

Round 4

1) Brooklyn DL’s	Tyler Austin	OF, NYY
2) Project 33	Addison Russell	SS, OAK
3) Hockey Nation	Max Fried	SP, SD
4) The Holy Handgrenade	Delino DeShields, Jr	2B, HOU
5) Skip Caray’s Ghost	Mike Montgomery	SP, TB
6) Planet 10	Robbie Erlin	SP, SD
7) Clown City	Carlos Martinez	SP, STL
8) stangnut	George Springer	OF, HOU
9) Outlaws – All in WDW	Gregory Polanco	OF, PIT
10) Hammering Fastballs	J.R. Graham	SP, ATL
11) puerto rican perfume	Hak Ju Lee	SS, TB
12) Tri-State Turmoil	Dylan Bundy	SP, BAL
13) Milwaukee Braves	Archie Bradley	SP, ARZ
14) San Diego Chickens	Alen Hanson	SS, PIT

Round 5

1) Brooklyn DL’s	Brian Goodwin	OF, WAS
2) Project33	Oscar Taveras	OF, STL
3) Hockey Nation	Travis D'Arnaud	C, NYM
4) The Holy Handgrenade	Alex Meyer	SP, MIN
5) Skip Caray’s Ghost	Mike Olt	3B, CHC
6) Planet 10	Francisco Lindor	SS, CLE
7) Clown City	Jake Odorizzi	SP, TB
8) stangnut	Jameson Taillon	SP, PIT
9) Outlaws – All in WDW	Noah Syndergaard	SP, NYM
10) Hammering Fastballs	James Paxton	SP, SEA
11) puerto rican perfume	Michael Ynoa	SP, OAK
12) Tri-State Turmoil	Nick Castellanos	OF, DET
13) Milwaukee Braves	Kris Medlen	SP, ATL
14) San Diego Chickens	Jurickson Profar	2B, TEX