are we not excited about fantasy baseball 2010?

[flosses like fossas]

newsflash: 10 days til pitchers and catchers report.

 

related personal interest story: local man baffled at dearth of on-going dialogue of fantasy baseball talk on his favorite message board.

 

in light of how much lip service we as a community pay to most player transactions, i just find this surprising. i would like to think that the two have an obvious correlation for many people who read this board. and yet, you'll note that the "fantasy baseball: 2008-2009 offseason" thread begun in october 2008 is still stickied on the first page of the 'off topic' forum. was the (2008) world series even over at that point?

 

i'm baffled by this. i'm more excited than i've ever been for the upcoming fantasy season, i'm chomping at the bit, but this forum hasn't shown any signs of life on the topic. are people not as into it this year? distracted? is it becoming overkill?

 

if you answered no to any - or, especially, all - of those questions, then let me hear what you've got cooking! keeper dilemmas? player A vs. player B? league play preferences?

 

forgive me for getting worked up, but i trust bf.net as a friendly and above all reliable social resource where i can come and partake in intelligent, impassioned conversation, recommendation, debate and tomfoolery. oh yeah, and baseball talk. so i'm jonesing for some fantasy talk. help a brother out!

 

here's a topic i've been mulling: mid-round starters, who do you like?

 

i'm talking about guys that are right behind yo gallardo on your list - ubaldo jiminez, ricky nolasco, john lackey, clayton kershaw(?), matt garza, chad billingsley, jair jurrjens. i love ubaldo, he's still under-rated. i'm on the billingsley rebound bandwagon. AND i read some interesting stuff about the numbers behind ricky nolasco's less than aesthetically pleasing 2009. how would you rank them?

 

talk amongst yourselves.

 

Edit: formatting.

[GoudaBrew]

I'm a FBB junkie. I spend entirely too much time on draft prep and am also stoked for the season to start. ESPN is opening up leagues next week and my league's keepers will be coming in shortly after that.

 

I like most of the pitchers you mentioned and am really excited to see you link Razzball. In my opinion, it's hands down the best fantasy baseball website out there. A good mix of fantasy analysis and fantastic wit!

 

Here's how I'd rank those pitchers:

Ubaldo, Nolasco, Billingsley, Kershaw, Lackey, Garza and Jurrjens. I might even have Nolasco a little higher than Ubaldo on draft day. I'm not as high on Kershaw as most just yet. He'll have to cut his walks quite a bit to stay in games longer and earn Ws. I think 2011 is the year he starts dominating.

 

My keeper league is in its 4th year and I'm very fortunate to be keeping ARod, Hanley and Lincecum. Not a bad start. It's a h2h league so unfortunately I ran into some bad luck last year and got knocked out of the playoffs right away. I'll be picking 6th and am leaning towards taking Ellsbury, though Sizemore could be there too.

 

As a Razzball reader, I'm sure you've read all about Julio Borbon. Any opinons of him? I kind of want to pass on Ellsbury and take Borbon who could come close to equaling Ellsbury's stats (at a much later draft pick). What do you think Borbons stats will be if he gets 650 PAs?

[sbrylski]

So if I want to start a league, I suppose I'll put it here.

 

I was only in one league last season (BF.net Keeper, Year 5 on Yahoo!), and I would feel too guilty to play again - I lose interest setting daily lineups and usually miss month's of the season once the summer hits.

 

So I'm going to start a league tailored perfectly for my play style. The two founding concepts of my league will be: (1) No bench spots, many DL spots. (2) NL-only, unless I get a bunch of people who want to play.

 

I think I'd also prefer rotisserie over head-to-head, but I'd be willing to go with what people want to do. But here's the reason for the two rules - no tedious lineup changes, yet to succeed your player knowledge will need to be deeper than in your average league. Put another way, I'm favoring long-term investments in players rather than continually picking up and benching guys on hot streaks.

 

At minimum for starters, I was thinking: C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, CIF, MIF, LF, CF, RF, OF, OF ... 5 SP, 3 RP. I would add more spots if we want to make the player pool even deeper, but remember it will probably be NL-only.

 

Any critiques? Anyone want to play? I'll probably run it on ESPN, Yahoo, or RotoWire.

[flosses like fossas]

As a Razzball reader, I'm sure you've read all about Julio Borbon. Any opinons of him? I kind of want to pass on Ellsbury and take Borbon who could come close to equaling Ellsbury's stats (at a much later draft pick). What do you think Borbons stats will be if he gets 650 PAs?

that's an interesting question, borbon projects to hit for average and that offense is dangerous. on the assumption that he'll hit near the bottom of the order, i'll wager he'll go .280/5/60/45 and 90 runs scored. i think borbon could steal 70, but with andrus and kinsler also running in that lineup, i doubt he will.

also, while borbon is an eniticing late speed option, he's not alone in that category - pierre, rajai davis, evereth cabrera to name a few

[BrewCrewForever]

Speaking of fantasy baseball. I was at Barnes and Noble the other day and picked up the Rotowire magazine for this season. I have gotten it the past few years and I think its the best for rankings and such. And I have finished top 3 each of the last 3 years.

[sbrylski]

Speaking of fantasy baseball. I was at Barnes and Noble the other day and picked up the Rotowire magazine for this season. I have gotten it the past few years and I think its the best for rankings and such. And I have finished top 3 each of the last 3 years.

Yay! I did some minor editing for it this year, and I work part-time for the website.

[BrewCrewForever]

sbrylski06, that is awesome. I think they have the best fantasy analysis. I will be getting that magazine every year that I play fantasy baseball which should be for a very long time.

[NievesNoNO]

I absolutely love FBB and also spend way to much time on draft prep, but there are worse ways to waste time. I play a 15 team roto/auction/keeper league. The league has been around for about 20 years; I've been teaming with my dad for about 5 years and it's a good time. I'd be awefully disappointed if the league ever fell apart.

 

As for the pitchers in the original post I'd put them into 2 tiers with Nolasco, Jiminez, and Kershaw being in tier 1 and Billingsly, Garza, Jurrjens, and Lackey in tier 2. Kershaw with the biggest upside and potential for a Lincecum like progression and Lacky with the potential for the biggest bust. His innings pitched have been on the decline the last couple years, and he's logged a lot of innings over his career. Probably still a pretty safe pick though.

 

Sbrylski, I might be interested. I also prefer roto over head-to-head and like the DL idea as I don't like the craziness of daily moves.

[Weirdos19]

I'm in a rotisserie 5x5, nl only 12 team league. 10 keepers possible out of 23 players. Auction draft.

 

 

Two key rules set this league apart. 1) It's an all play league. No lineups. All stats count. 2) The only way to cut a player is if they get sent to minors or DL. You drafted Kendall, you were stuck with him all year. Best league I'Ve ever seen.

[TooLiveBrew]

FanGraphs will release its first (fantasy baseball) publication: The FanGraphs Second Opinion: 2010 Fantasy Baseball Companion

The book will first be available for download in PDF format late February for the low price of $7.95. In addition to the PDF, you will have access to all the information in the book on FanGraphs.com when logged in to your FanGraphs account. This information will include the written player profiles which will be integrated into the stats pages and all the articles and team previews in the book.

 

In addition, some of you may have noticed that FanGraphs has been contributing to ESPN Insider (ESPN’s all sports premium content) this past month with more to come. If you purchase the book and are logged in, you’ll also have access to these articles and future articles we publish on ESPN Insider, on FanGraphs.com, through March 1st, 2011.

[Spidey]

I also got the Rotowire magazine today. Impressed. I like Nolasco, Kershaw, and Jurrjens. I'm not sold on Billingsley. My question is about bounce-backs for David Wright and Jose Reyes this year. I play in a 12 team points league with 5 keepers. I've got Utley, Gallardo, Wright, Reyes, V. Martinez, A. Gonzalez, C. Hamels, and S. Victorino. Who would you guys protect and who would you let go? I'm leaning toward keeping Utley, YO, Wright, V. Martinez, and Gonzalez. I just don't know what to do about Reyes. Any help? Thanks.

[flosses like fossas]

I play in a 12 team points league with 5 keepers. I've got Utley, Gallardo, Wright, Reyes, V. Martinez, A. Gonzalez, C. Hamels, and S. Victorino. Who would you guys protect and who would you let go? I'm leaning toward keeping Utley, YO, Wright, V. Martinez, and Gonzalez. I just don't know what to do about Reyes. Any help? Thanks.

i like your approach to your keepers. what to do about reyes? deal him! maybe you can package him with another of your keepers for a blue chip piece (reyes and YO for a top tier ace?).

[flosses like fossas]

razzball is having a free fantasy contest. 5x5 mixed roto, espn leagues.

(link button not working: http://...ball.com/2010-...ball-commenter-leagues/)

[BrewCrewForever]

If you like to use Yahoo, you can now sign up your leagues.

[sbrylski]

Cold Bench League

 

Yup, I'm starting it. I've set it up on ESPN. The details:

 

Up to 15 teams: NL Players Only

More than 15 teams: All MLB Players

*I'm pooling interest elsewhere than BF.net as well

 

Hitting Categories: OBP, R, HR, RBI, SB

Pitching Categories: W, ERA, K, WHIP, SV

 

Rosters: C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, CIF, MIF, LF, CF, RF, OF, OF, SP, SP, SP, SP, SP, RP, RP, P - 8 DL spots

 

Scoring: Rotisserie

 

Draft: Online Auction

 

To Sign Up: State your interest here or via PM, and send me your email address.

[Houlie24x]

Reyes was a top 3 fantasy player a year ago and has one injury plagued season and he's now ranked in the 20s or lower. I don't understand that. I don't see any reason why Reyes can't put up his numbers from 2 seasons ago.

[flosses like fossas]

are there many on this board who use auctions? i've got my first auction this year, and i've been trying to get into a good mock auction, but the ones on cbs are never full. any advice on this? would a group of bf.netters want to plan to get together for a/some mock auctions?

[Houlie24x]

Yahoo has mock auctions as well with plenty of openings.

[GoudaBrew]

razzball is having a free fantasy contest. 5x5 mixed roto, espn leagues.

(link button not working: http://...ball.com/2010-...ball-commenter-leagues/)

Did you get in one? I'm in league 7. Can't believe there are 18 full leagues already.

[flosses like fossas]

razzball is having a free fantasy contest. 5x5 mixed roto, espn leagues.

(link button not working: http://...ball.com/2010-...ball-commenter-leagues/)

Did you get in one? I'm in league 7. Can't believe there are 18 full leagues already.

yes, i'm hosting league #15. good luck.

[pogokat]

sbryl...i'm interested

 

also...ae we keeping the bf.net keeper league alive? this would be year 6

[sbrylski]

sbryl...i'm interested

 

also...ae we keeping the bf.net keeper league alive? this would be year 6

I wouldn't want to see it fold, but like I said above I kind of dead-beated on it because I hate the tedium of necessary daily lineup changes.

 

I'll invite you.

[Viva La Grinch]

I would like another invite too, so I can defend my championship in the bf.net keeper league. Last year was my first year in the league, but had a blast in the league, and have been planning my keepers this offseason. I thought I had kept my account open, but must have deleted the league from my fantasy options in yahoo sometime during football season.

[sbrylski]

I would like another invite too, so I can defend my championship in the bf.net keeper league. Last year was my first year in the league, but had a blast in the league, and have been planning my keepers this offseason. I thought I had kept my account open, but must have deleted the league from my fantasy options in yahoo sometime during football season.

To be clear, I'm currently doing invites for a new league, not the keeper league.

[Nader Raider Tim]

Hopefully a quick question here.

 

I ran a Fantasy Baseball League with my friends last year, casual / competitive. The only issue was teams that were "out" of it early in the season stopped logging in. This year should be more hardcore and active but I am still trying to find ways to keep people interested over the course of the season.

 

One of the ways that I thought I could get the desired results was to have a monthly payout. Is there a Fantasy site that would be able to break 5 x 5 Points into a month by month tally?

 

Or does anyone have any other ways to promote activity throughout a long baseball season?