CSBA Season IV Chatter?

[buddycowley]

Looking forward to firing the league back up again. Anyone else got their keepers already?

I've got an easy 9 in
Vlad
Teixiera
Bay
Holliday
Glaus
Santana
Peavy
Webb
Fuentes

Still working on choosing #10. Garza, Pettite, and Lester.

Can't wait to get started.

Buddy

[swerb]

Crowley, I'm going to get an email out to all the guys with details early next week. I'm looking forward to it as well.

Right now, I'm looking at ...

C Brian McCann, Atl
1b Derek Lee, ChiC
3b David Wright, NYM
3b Alex Gordon, KC
of Carlos Beltran, NYM
of Delmon Young, TB

SP Barry Zito, SF
SP Scott Kazmir, TB
SP John Smoltz, Atl
RP Taylor Tankersley, Fla

Other possies ...

2b Rickie Weeks, Mil
of Alex Rios, Tor
SP Brad Penny, LA
SP Brandon McCarthy, Tex
SP Jeremy Sowers, Cle

[brandonln]

Morneau, Justin 1B MIN
Utley, Chase 2B PHI
Abreu, Bobby RF NYY
Berkman, Lance 1B HOU
Dunn, Adam LF CI
Saito, Takashi RP LA
Billingsley, Chad SP LA

others on the bubble:
Hill, Rich SP CHC
Shealy, Ryan 1B KC
Billingsley, Chad SP LA
Gorzelanny, Tom S. SP PIT
Vazquez, Javier SP CHW

I will probably take 3 pitchers from "the bubble", but not sure since there are a lot of questions in that group.

-brandon

[BruceK]

I'm having problems with my keeper list, because I've got way too many average players.

Definite keepers

Miguel Cabrea
Jimmy Rollins
Michael Barret (if he's recovered from the most horrific injury imaginable)
Carlos Zambrano
Chris Ray
JJ Putz

Then a whole bunch of people on the bubble

[sandlot33]

what's up guys and thanks for letting me into the league. i took over a pretty good squad, the hitters are great but the pitching staff is suspect, although would have been great if it was 1997

defenite keepers

Howard
Tejada
Hafner
Pierre
Millwood
Schilling
Posada

Bubble

Rolen
Kent
Upton
Foulke
Clemens
Glavine

[yogi]

what i'm looking at:

1) Arod
2)Thome
3) Papelbon
4)Lackey
5) Cano
6)A. Jones
7) Wang

Last 3 from among Giambi, Lopez or Lugo, Contreras, F.Codero, Hudson

[swerb]

Only 4 Yankees?

You're slippin Yog ...

[sandlot33]

anyone else getting pumped for fantasy baseball??? I have 3 drafts coming up in March, and to me there is not a better sport or opening day....swerb do you want to get back into the metro league...we have 12 and i would like to get back to 16

[swerb]

anyone else getting pumped for fantasy baseball??? I have 3 drafts coming up in March, and to me there is not a better sport or opening day....swerb do you want to get back into the metro league...we have 12 and i would like to get back to 16

Fantasy baseball is by far my favorite of all the sports. I'm fired up. The funnest part is the next month. Rifiing through magazines, making notes, and the drafts themeselves.

And I gotta pass on the Metro league. Already in four leagues.

[swerb]

Here's who I'm going with. Get me a SS and a bullpen and I'm ready to play ball. #1 pick of the draft as well ...

C Brian McCann, Atl
1b Derek Lee, ChiC
2b Rickie Weeks, Mil
3b David Wright, NYM
3b Alex Gordon, KC
OF Carlos Beltran, NYM
OF Delmon Young, TB

SP Barry Zito, SF
SP Scott Kazmir, TB
SP John Smoltz, Atl

[swerb]

The first pick.

Im torn.

Three guys Im seriously considering are guys I had to cut. Alex Rios, Brad Penny, Brandon McCarthy.

Or do I go Figgins and his 50 steals to fill out my outfield?

Maybe The Unit? Daisuke Matsuzaka? Burnett? Arroyo? Anthony Reyes?

Zito, Kazmir, Smoltz ... with the Unit or Dice K?

Uh oh.

[ramllov]

I did my first draft last night. I figured I better get in the swing of things.

I was surprised to see Soriano listed in the top four. Well I picked third. He was my pick. It was an interesting draft. I used the competitive group for my preparation.

It was informative.

Eight members are drafting prior to me.

If you look at my keepers you would say, I almost do all the things that are opposite what the publishers recommend.

It should be an interesting year.

I am sorry to see some members go away. I am always happy to see some new members join us.

Swerb, the first pick is pretty easy. You do not have to worry about eight other members making the selection you want.

[sandlot33]

I agree, the first pick is the easiest, at least you have a chance to get a couple of the guys that you mentioned

with the second pick, I will tell you, it is one of the 8 that you have mentioned. i just hope you do not pick the guy I want

can't wait to get started

[swerb]

Below is Buddy Crowley's excellent AS Break league assessment ...

Taking a look at all the teams at the midway point of the
season.

Concord Comets:
Has some strong offensive producers with K. Johnson, M.
Young, Godzilla, and Bib Papi. Swisher and Johnson have
potential, and Shawn Green had it 15 years ago. Pitching a
weak spot with Jamie Moyer as the leading winner on the
staff. Must be livid with Brad Lidge at this point. I would
be too.

Da Infamous:
LOTS of youth on this team could help propel it in the
future. Kotchman, Uggla, Drew, Atkins could be a solid
infield for a long time. Lots of injuries to pitching making
life on this team tough, as Bedard, Lee, Wolf, Capuano,
Harden, and Street have all had injury issues. VMart is the
one mainstay in the lineup and he's paying off big time.

Wes Mantooth:
OBP has been #1 all season long, but lacking HRs and SBs
hurts the overall ranking. All kinds of offense, but not
enough slots to play them every day. Halladay, Duke, Oswalt,
Willis a good 1-4 staff, but the comprise the only starters
on the team, making it tough to make a lot of noise in the
pitching standings. Neshek and his rubber delivery would be
nicer if he got some mop-up saves at the same time.

Herrlibombs:
The resident newbie has a great core of young players that
could be a factor down the road. Howard's slowish start
didn't help, but with Phillips, Upton, Young, Gordon, and
Wood, the future looks bright. Hit paydirt with Dice-K,
Fausto, and a resurgent Guthrie, but losing Colon and
Schilling for an extended period of time hurts, especially
coupled with Schmidt and Patterson on the DL currently.
Could be a force in due time.

Effn Boston Partisans:
Another good offense plagued by injuries and slow starts.
Kendrick, Hall, Furcal, and Lopez did not perform up to
expectations at the open of the season. Good core SPs with
Bonderman, Moose, CC, and Wang, but gets real thin after
that. Losing BJ Ryan to injury hurts. Has the offense to
sustain a run, as ManRam will NOT hit only 11 HRs in the 2nd
half.

SlumpBusters:
Last year's champ has already started that he's headed into
rebuild mode. White Sox really hurting this team and AJ and
Dye has sucked donkey balls all season. Two guy with OBPs
under .300 is not a good sign. Still making other owners
kick themselves after not taking Bonds earlier (you got him
in round 5? I took Jorge Cantu two spots before that. Damn!)
Delgado, Kent, Damon, Wells still the main mashers in this
lineup. Lots of young pitching, but no truly established SPs
after Clemens and Young. Wagner and Nathan a solid closing
duo.

A-10 Warthogs:
Good offense to build around. Fielder, Roberts, H. Ramirez,
Zimmerman a great all-around IF. Hunter Pence is going to be
a good OF as well, nice find. King Felix and Hamels a good
1-2 punch, with Bailey, Germano, and McGowan being good FA
pickups. RPs after Jones are a question mark. Ranked in the
lower portions of all pitching categories, this team could
make a rise with improved pitching performance.

Chauncey St. Racoons:
A favorite team of mine since Chauncey was a dog I used to
own. Regardless, this team has the names on offense to carry
it all year. A-Rod, Griffey, and Thome all great producers,
but being betrayed by tough seasons from A. Jones, R.
Hernandez, Lugo, and Crisp. SPs a little rough after Lackey
and Hudson, though Garza and Owings could become very good
2nd half performers. Great closers with K-Rod, Papelbon, and
Accardo. Needs pitching to step up to make noise.

Shock & Awe:
A really good lineup of guys that have been a little streaky
this year. McCann, Weeks, Hafner, and D. Lee not putting up
their customary numbers hurts this offense right now.
tulowitski looks like the real deal. SPs have potential, but
so did Harold Miner. Kazmir, Glavine, and Zito not pitching
up to standards (or contract numbers) and losing Smoltz
doesn't help either. Valverde a find at closer, but Cordero
not being himself, or just not getting the chances to close.
Has the "O" to make some noise again after leading during
the beginning of the season.

The Rams:
Lots of solid FA pickups have helped to keep this offense
afloat. Harris, Cust, Willits, and C. Hart all playing great
ball in the first half and all went undrafted. A. Gonzales
not playing up to last year's numbers not helping, but at
least Jeter is always Jeter. Good SPs in HAren, Maine, and
Harang, but Cain and his 3 wins not helping matters. Losing
Carpenter early hurt this team as well, but he's on the road
to recovery. Borowski, Jenks, Rivera probably the best
closing 3-some in the league.

Brandon's Newbs:
All kinds of offense on this team, led my Morneau, Utley,
Berkman, Dunn, and J. Guillen and his 52(!) RBIs. a surprise
performer as well. Injuries and inconsistency hurting the
pitching staff with Mulder and Liriano not pitching an
inning this season along with yo-yo AJ Burnett. E. Santana,
C. James, and Benitez all WHIP killers right now. A
bounce-back by the pitching staff could signal a jump in the
standings for this team.

Max's Fargin' Iceholes:
The best outfield in the league with Grady, Crawford, Lee,
and Sheffield. Getting production from every position, even
by J. Buck and his 15 HRs. Barfield and Youkilis on the
bench shows how deep this team really is. Solid 1-4 pitching
with Verlander, Escobar, Sheets, and Wainwright, but there's
no one else after Washburn. Losing B. Myers hurts the staff
as well, and the same goes for Al Reyes. Gagne staying
healthy could be a boost, and an ever bigger one if he's
dealt to a contender. A legit threat if some depth in SPs is
found.

The Bugs:
Solid offense led by stat-producers and not name players.
Byrnes, Willingham, and Wigginton all making good
contributions to Helton, Cabrera, and Rollins. Some good
youth as well with Salty, Francisco, and LaRoche. Pitching
is the key to this team, building on Beckett, Lowe, and
Zambrano. Lilly, Morris, and Westbrook are also good
pitchers, and the first two have had great 1st halves.
Another solid 3 RPs with Putz, Ray, and David Weathers
coming out of nowhere.

Orange County Riot:
Probably the 2nd best OF in the league with Vlad, Holliday,
and Bay. Great pickups in Martin, JJ Hardy, and R. Braun
really help to solidify this offense. K. Matsui stealing
some bases really helping in that category as well. SPs are
second to none with Santana, Peavy, and Webb, though Brandon
hasn't been his Cy Young self. Pettite has put up some
clunkers lately, but J. Shields and K. Rogers have both been
very good FA pickups as well. Fuentes fell off the map, but
Isringhausen, the only other draft pick still on the team
besides R. Martin, has been better than expected. Has held
the top spot for many weeks now, and doesn't look to be
slowing down.

Good luck in the second half!

Buddy

[buddycowley]

Thanks Swerb.

Would be nice if my pitching would stop:

A. Giving up 11 hits a game.

B. Walking 5 guys a game.

C. Sucking balls (Pettite)

Buddy

[swerb]

Crowley, I'm fine with it. Your reign of terror must end in this league. It's starting to get out of hand.

P.S. Hafner is about to start losing his mind.