News, introspective, insight & opinion from around the Major & Minor Leagues

News, introspective, insight & opinion from around the Major & Minor Leagues

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Rotoinfo was totally unprofessional..........

Yesterday, Rotoinfo published a supposed list of the other 103 steroid users on the list. The list was titled “Rumored steroid list (UNCONFIRMED)”.

I have deliberately waited 24 hours before speaking on this because I felt to put a list out there with names on them that said “Rumored” and “UNCONFIRMED” was about as irresponsible as you can get. I wanted to make certain that I was not one of the first ones bringing this to the public’s attention. But it’s out there now.....

This list includes baseball players who are rumored to have tested positive for steroids in 2003. There were 104 players who tested positive, A-Rod was the one of them.

At this point, seeing any major league baseball player on this list is not at all surprising. Some of these guys we already know about. Manny Ramirez, Andy Pettitte, Roger Clemens, Alex Rodriguez, Rafael Palmeiro, Garry Sheffield and Guillermo Mota are ones that we were already aware of so this is kind of anti climactic.

The list is certainly full of guys whose current career has fallen off a cliff, whose career is over because it fell off a cliff, or who were or are always injured.

I have no idea whether this list is accurate or not. To me, even if it turns out that these guys are on the real list I think the publisher of Rotoinfo did journalism an injustice. They should be ashamed off putting the list out there that way. If they have the legitimate list, then fine, if not then to publish one is disingenuous to say the least.

To me this simply looks like they wanted to attempt to be first to say that they broke a story. The only thing they broke was a professional code of conduct. If you want to see the list you can go to Rotoinfo, because I won’t dignify it here.

Part of me hopes that the list is accurate just so they can’t claim that they broke the story and get any PR out of it – because they have already said that it was “Rumored” and “UNCONFIRMED.” The other part of me says that someone that is mentioned on the list is not really on the list and able to sue them somehow for liable. – Josh Bolan
Josh Bolan is a retired AP baseball reporter and now works as a freelance writer in Fresno California. Josh has been contributing to baseball publications as a writer since 1996.

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To deal, or not to deal... that is the question...

Trade offers are starting to pick up as the trade deadline moves closer. This morning I received an offer from another team owner that I did not like. Through e-mail we countered back and forth a few times until the exchanges died out. Then my phone rang, it was the other team owner doing his best to attempt to convince me that his offer was good for me.

In our league this is known as “doing a Provenz.”

After 5-10 minutes went by, we did not make a deal and concluded the call. After I hung up the phone I thought about the offer some more. And then it hit me. I recalled something a friend told me well over a decade ago. He said the following:

“If you have to explain to me why the trade is good for me then it’s probably not good for me.” His point was that if the reason for making the trade does not hit you right in the face then you shouldn’t make the deal.

Whether you are going for the money or looking to dump you will surly involved in trade talks this coming month. Keep in mind that if you are going to make a trade to improve your roster for this year or next, there should be a compelling reason to make a trade, a reason that is obvious to you.

It was good advice then and it’s good advice now. – Mike Cardano
Mike Cardano is the founder of Around The Horn and Ultimate Franchise Baseball ™.

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Did you have a problem when Manny played for the Green Bay Packers too?

There has been such a to-do about Manny Ramirez and the fact that he is playing baseball during his 50-game suspension. Did you have a problem when Manny played for the Green Bay Packers too?

The rules states that he is suspended from MLB for 50 games. He has been. He does not get paid, he has to be out of the clubhouse a certain amount of time before the each game and he is not allowed to be in uniform or in the dugout during a game. That has all happened.

So he’s playing minor league baseball with Dodgers affiliated teams. The union collectively bargained for that right so that the player would be ready to play on the 51st day. That rule just as much of a rule as the 50 game suspension itself.

If Manny (or any other suspended player) weren’t playing minor league baseball with an affiliated team of the major league club. He could simply sign a ten day contract with an independent league team and get his work in there. The major league club wouldn’t care, they want him to be in baseball shape and the union wouldn’t care (the player could actually make some money while he isn’t getting paid.)

Manny wasn’t playing by the rules and he was called on it. He’s playing by the rules now. So shut up already.

If you were about to write a blog, news paper column or call a radio talk show about why Manny shouldn’t be playing with a minor league team, save it. You just come off as a whining little girlie-man. - Brett Wright, Macon, GA
The above post was submitted by reader Brett Wright who has an issue with girlie-men.

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Monday, June 29, 2009

104mph! ........... for nothin`

Anyone see the Cubs vs. Tigers game on June 23rd? A buddy of mine that has the MLB Network just sent me a clip of the Tigers broadcast.

In the eighth inning with no one on and no one out, Joel Zumaya struck out Milton Bradley with a 104mph pitch!

A 104mph pitch! (see graphic).

Absolutely amazing, especially when you take into account that he has had two major surgeries since 2006. Zumaya in the past has apparently claimed that the surgeries have enabled him to beat Guitar Hero on expert level. Well, that's cute but this, ….. WOW. What did they do in those surgeries, put in a bionic arm type thing?

I know that there are fast radar guns and there are slow ones, but Joel Zumaya threw a pitch that was Sid Finch-like!

As Ron Allen the Detroit Tigers announcer said on the broadcast, “he brings the easy cheese.”

I’ve been poking around and it’s been reported by various outlets that this was the fastest documented pitch in any game, anywhere on any level. Some claim that Billy Koch threw one 106 at some point following his Tommy John surgery, but there isn’t anyone who claims to have documented it.

Here’s the problem with Joel Zumaya. If you continue to watch the game, two batters later, after striking out Milton Bradley on a 104mph fastball, he throws Micah Hoffpauir a change-up for go ahead two run blast.

I see in Chicago where Cubs announcer Bob Brenly said this about the home run Zumaya gave up to Hoffpauir. “That’s one of the stupidest pitches I’ve ever seen. How does a guy that throws a 104mph fastball with a snap curveball think it’s smart to throw a change in any situation?” Bob, you said it. Stupid is, stupid does.

Zumaya can throw as hard as he wants, but you won’t ever find him on my rotisserie team. It’s called pitching, not throwing. - Paul Leume
Paul Leume is a MLB columnist from Montreal, Canada. Paul, a one-time beat writer covering the Montreal Expos for the Montreal Gazette is a proud grandfather of 3 girls and now spends his time offering his thoughts and prospective on Major League Baseball on a variety of blogs and websites throughout Al Gore’s internet.

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Now wait one cotton-pickin minute!!

Ian Snell signs a huge contract with the Buckos for $8.6 million, including $3 million this year, $4.2 million next year and club options for 2011 and 2012 (for the Pittsburgh Pirates it’s huge). He proceeds to go and stink up the joint to the tune of 2 wins, 8 losses with an ERA of 5.36 and a WHIP of 1.62 cementing my rotisserie baseball team in the basement once again.

This coward actually asked to be sent to the minors because “the Pittsburgh environment was getting too negative.” Well if you pitched better you big palooka people wouldn’t have been so “rude” in booing you!

So this guy takes his guaranteed $8.6 million, proceeds to Class AAA Indianapolis (like he’s playing Monopoly) and STRIKES OUT 17 guys yesterday including whiffing 13 in a row!

Major League Baseball's record for consecutive strikeouts is only 10, set by Tom Seaver April 22, 1970!

He struck out 17 guys in only 7 innings! Only 21 came to the plate! I don’t care what level you are pitching at, striking out 80% of the batters you face is amazing! If I were the Buckos I would sue this guy for something. I don’t know what but he’s got to be guilty of something.

It’s not bad enough that Snell is a major contributor to ruining my season. The guy has to add insult to injury and pull this crap!

Ian, why don’t you show up at the local little league field and strike out everyone there? I hope you invested the money you stole from the Pirates with Madoff......

I don’t know if anyone makes an Ian Snell voodoo doll out there, but if they do I’m going to buy it………. and use it. For now, I have this voodoo tooth pick holder and I'll just have to prentend.

I hope your happy striking out your 17 minor leaguers. – Peter Costa
Pete is a serious Rotisserie participant playing the same league with the same guys for 17 years. Not only has Peter never finished in the money; he’s finished last 13 times and no higher than 10th (in a league with 14 guys). Join us in following Peter’s trials, tribulations and frustrations, as he attempts to navigate his way out of the basement in 2009.

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Stock Market Baseball – Ben Zobrist, Buy, Sell or Hold?

Anyone walk into their 2009 draft with the Tampa Bay Rays Ben Zobrist on their protected roster?

Anyone even walk out of the 2009 draft with Ben Zobrist on their roster?

We are getting close to half way done and Zobrist is on pace to hit .287, with 33HR, 94RBI, 90RS and 16SB.

Here’s the kicker. Ben Zobrist qualifies in most leagues at SS, 2B, OF and in some leagues even 3B!

I’m certain that at this point that he’s on someone’s roster in your league. The question is, how do you deal with him at this juncture? Does this magical ride continue? He’s only 28. Maybe he’s a late bloomer?

This is his 4th year as a MLB player and less than ½ way through, he already has more at bats then his previous year high (206 this year vs. 198 last year). I have been waffling back and for on this for a few weeks now. My gut tells me that he will fade and be a part time player once again. My eyes tell me that he will force himself into the line-up somewhere and get full time at bats. I'm truly 50/50 on him and that doesn't happen often.

There is only one way to resolve this conundrum. Dr. Roto, what say you? Ben Zobrist, Buy, Sell or Hold? – Josh Bolan
Josh Bolan is a retired AP baseball reporter and now works as a freelance writer in Fresno California. Josh has been contributing to baseball publications as a writer since 1996.

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Sunday, June 28, 2009

Roto-Rx

BIG DR. ROTO Update...

Follow Dr. Roto on Twitter as he gives you his daily updates on guys who are/are not performing!

http://twitter.com/DrRoto


Question 1: Below what number is considered a good WHIP? – Andrew, Port Washington, NY

Andrew: Here's Dr. Roto's perfect world for a pitcher: Fewer hits than innings pitched. Two-Three times K's over walks. In terms of actual numbers Dr. Roto prefer to see pitchers with WHIPS 1.20 and under.

Question 2: I was looking at Andrew Miller’s stats and in his last 24 innings he’s struck out 23 and only walked 7. Is it time for him to be moved up to my active roster? – Tim, Rochester, NY

Tim: Here's a tip for you...if a player shows monster stats in the minors and then stops performing when he hits the majors DON'T GIVE UP ON HIM! Remember Brandon Phillips? Phillips was the number #1 hitting prospect in the minors at one time and then disappeared until the Reds gave him his opportunity. That being said, Miller looks like he is on the cusp of figuring it out. It may be this season, but most assuredly, it will be be next.

Question 3: Lots of talk about Garrett Atkins on this site the last few weeks. I’m thinking that with Ian Stewart there and Todd Helton healthy now, he gets moved to the Mets and plays first base. Would your opinion of him change if he had a change of scenery to another team (any contending team?) – Juan, Montreal, Canada

Juan: Dr. Roto didn't realize that there are guys named Juan in Montreal. You sure you're in the right place??? Speaking of the right place, Atkins may benefit from a change in scenery. Colorado is a hitters paradise, but right now he is mired in a slump. A change in scenery may bring Atkins back a bit. But the truth is, he is past his prime in the Doc's book.

Question 4: I have been offered Clay Buchholz in a trade in an exchange of prospects. Do you think they are going to make room for him THIS YEAR? Do you think he is now in the GM’s “dog house” for opening his mouth? – Angelo, Boston, MA

Angelo: My sources in Boston tell me not to worry about Clay's words. The Sox were actually impressed by his desire to be promoted. As for this year, here's a scenario that Dr. Roto sees: (assuming no injuries to the staff or trades till then) Buchholz gets the call up on Sep. 1. He pitches about 3-4 excellent games down the stretch while guys like Penny and Smoltz get a breather before the playoffs start. The Sox put him in the pen for the playoffs. Do those 3-4 games help you? Well, if you are in a keeper league and he looks great, you have all off-season to talk to your fellow owners about him. Plus you KNOW those pundits are going to be calling him a super sleeper for 2010. Too bad, Dr. Roto beat them all to the punch and told you he's a stud (especailly when I have seen his stuff live !).

Question 5: What can you tell me about Fernando Nieve? I never heard of the guy and he’s pitching like Fernando Valenzuela! – Marc, San Diego, CA

Marc: Let's not go crazy here just yet, Marc. Dr. Roto likes Nieve a lot (in fact, he picked him up in a few of his leagues), but he is still closer to Fernando Cabrera than Fernando Valenzuela. Nieve has good stuff and was a big propect before injury. Can he get it back? Dr. Roto thinks so, although he would like to see Nieve stop throwing 100 pitches by the 6th inning!

Remember to join Dr. Roto on Twitter...http://twitter.com/DrRoto

The Doctor is out!
Mark Bloom (aka Dr. Roto) is the former owner of Roto-Rx, a fantasy website featured in a UPN newscast. He has been an active competitor and commissioner in fantasy leagues for close to 20 years winning numerous league titles.
Ask Dr. Roto your rotisserie baseball questions.
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Friday, June 26, 2009

Did he just go handlebar on us?.....DUDE!

Correct me if I’m wrong but I think Clay Zavada of the Diamondbacks is the first person to go “handlebar” on us since Rollie Fingers! That’s like 40 year ago! DUDE!

Remember the June, 10th Tip-o-da-week post? I wonder if they have one of those things for the handlebar?

Lots of players in the 70’s (mostly pitchers) went with the Fu Manchu, Goose Gossage comes to mind. Keith Hernandez sported the classic “bushy” stash for quite a while (really had it going with the Cardinals in the late 70’s early 80’s), and it seems like 50% of the players now go with the goatee.

But Zavada has gone handlebar! Not bad for a rookie. And he seems to be able to pitch a bit too. He’s started off his major league career by throwing 14 2/3 scoreless innings with a WHIP of 1.09. Look, either the guy has been good or the batters has been distracted by his handlebar mustache. Either way, they can't hit him.

I think there is a good chance that this guy will be the closer by year end and should be picked up. And if he’s not, hey, you can always say that you had a guy with a handlebar stash on your fantasy baseball team. Unless you are playing with somone in your league that had a roto team 40 years ago, chances are that you will be the only one- Keith A. Baker
Keith A. Baker is a sports agent in Stamford, Connecticut. His goal is to offer a unique insight to the world of sports and Major League Baseball in particular. Comments in his columns are for entertainment purposes only and do not reflect the views and opinions of his firm or his clients.

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"The Natural"........... NOT

Remember 2005 when Sports Illustrated tagged Jeff Francoeur as “The Natural”???

Just four years later Jeff is on a pace to hit .251 with 11 HR’s, 72 RBI and 67 RS.

Last year he hit .239 with 11HR, 71 RBI and 70 RS. Well at least he’s putting up numbers you can count on.

FRANCOEUR – that sounds like he should be a hockey player right?

Didn’t “Naturally” play for the Abbott and Costello team? That’s as close as Jeff Francoeur will ever come to being “The Natural.”

The Braves can’t trade him because no one wants him and neither can I. – AAAAAHHHHH!!!!! – Peter Costa
Pete is a serious Rotisserie participant playing the same league with the same guys for 17 years. Not only has Peter never finished in the money; he’s finished last 13 times and no higher than 10th (in a league with 14 guys). Join us in following Peter’s trials, tribulations and frustrations, as he attempts to navigate his way out of the basement in 2009.

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Thursday, June 25, 2009

Garrett Atkins..... a second opinion

We’ll, it’s come to this. When Garrett Atkins gets an at-bat, news wires are reporting it.

The thought was that with games against American League clubs this week, Atkins would get plenty of opportunity to straighten himself out, but before yesterday all he got was 1 pinch hitting appearance in the 1st two games of the Angels series.

The good news is that in the last 10 days Atkins has made the most of his playing time and gotten 8 hits in his last 16 at-bats and went 3-4 yesterday with a HR. Perhaps he’s turning it around? Hey, maybe he’s on the Atkins Diet?

I’m with Rob Fairchild on this one. I'm going against popular opinion too. I think Dr. Roto has made a premature diagnosis here and jumped off the boat too quickly. Perhaps he got the patient chart mixed up with someone else. He’s only 29 years old and has hit .305 with 75 HR’s and 330 RBI the past three years. Unless he’s off the juice (I can’t even believe I have to say that – but that’s the world we live in) he should be picked up if he’s a free agent. If he’s on someone’s roster, trade for him for a box of Crackerjacks if that’s all the other guy is asking.

I agree Ian Stewart should be playing and if he’s going to be playing 3B then the writing is on the wall. Atkins is going to have a good 2nd half. The question is whether it is for the Rockies or for someone else. -David Fry
David Fry is an independent sports photographer currently covering Major League Baseball. David will be reporting on observations as he sees them in MLB stadiums throughout the year.

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Montero's Chance

With catcher Chris Snyder going on the 15-day disabled list this week with a lower-back strain, Miguel Montero, is expected to see increased playing time, perhaps getting close to everyday at-bats for the first time since he was in the minor leagues three years ago.

Montero already has seen a bump in playing time with the managerial change. Under Bob Melvin, he had 42 plate appearances in 29 games. Since A.J. Hinch took over on May 8, Montero had 110 plate appearances in 42 games before Wednesday night's game.

"I think my timing will get better and I think I'll feel more comfortable behind the plate because I'll get to see the guys more often," said Montero, who entered Wednesday hitting .231 in 130 at-bats.

I scouted Miguel personally a few years ago and I believe that with steady playing time you have a catcher here who is a 25-30HR guy. He’s been around for awhile but he’s still only going to be 26 years old next month. Nagging injuries more than anything else has prevented Montero from pushing Snyder aside in the past, but now he will get a chance to show his stuff.

I point out that the Diamondbacks have not traded Montero over the past three years even though he has not played an integral part in their team. It’s not because of lack of interest. The Red Sox offered Justin Masterson for him when they thought they could not work out a deal with Varitek this past offseason and the Yankee’s came after Montero hard in spring training when they realized that Posada’s health might be a question but were not willing to part with both Ian Kennedy and Jose Molina. Yes that’s right, the Diamondbacks wanted BOTH Kennedy and Jose Molina for their back-up catcher.

Arizona knows that they have some untapped potential and they have been reluctant to see him flourish into a number one guy somewhere else. Guys get their break in sports all the time when the player in front of them gets hurt. I think this is Montero's chance.

This should be an easy one for you guys as I’m virtually certain that you will not have many competing Miguel Montero FAAB bids. I recommend that you pick him up for a buck or two. I think you will be happy you did. - Blake Kearny
Blake Kearny is a retired baseball scout from Los Angeles, California. He currently runs a baseball school for children in Los Angeles.

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Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Roto-Rx.....

The Doctor is now in...

Question 1: We have all been “screwed” by a player’s performance only to trade him away and watch him flourish with someone else. It seems that I can get that same player back, only to get screwed again, trade him and watch him do well again! Is Dr. Roto superstitious? Does he have a “don’t touch” list? – Andrew Miller, Massapequa, NY

Andrew: While Dr. Roto is not necessarily superstitious, he does try to stick with players he trusts. As for the "don't touch" list...Dr. Roto affectionately refers to these players as "Pigs who will never be on my team." This year's top oinkers list includes such players as: Jeff Francoeur, Jason Giambi, Daivd Bush, and David Dejesus. Avoid them all if you value winning.

Question 2: Do you have a particular analyst or writer that you follow when formulating your opinion of a player or you come to your own conclusions by the stats and what you see when you see the player play yourself? – Craig, Iona College

Craig: Dr. Roto has the utmost respect for Peter Gammons, Buster Olney, and Jayson Stark. Those guys do a fantastic job of finding good information. The Doctor also reads as many online local newspapers as possible, and calls his various friends around MLB for their inside scoop. Spring Training is another time where the Doctor usually finds at least one to two stud sleepers a year just by going to a few games.

Question 3: I’m new to a league with guys who have been playing together for quite a while. I only know one guy personally (the guy who brought me in.) What’s the best way to build a working relationship with the rest of the league? I don’t seem to be getting “in” because I haven’t made any trades with anyone yet? But there haven’t been any offers or real opportunities that peaked my interest? - Chris, Sarasota, FL

Chris: Dr. Roto is going old school here...make phone calls. Get to know your other owners on a personal level. Shmooze them for a bit, then talk trade. If a spouse answers the phone, make sure you ask about her and the kids before you talk to the owner. This way if he is not home, she will make sure he gets the message! Another piece of advice is to make a slightly losing deal to get the trade winds blowing. Now, don't go crazy on me and trade Johan Santana for Marcus Thames thinking you need power in your lineup! But a deal where you lose out 52-48 still will get a deal done and get that guy back on the phone with you again. Then, when he least expects it...you nail him!

Question 4: Please give me one example of an “Under-hyped” player and one example of an “Over-hyped” player. I’m new to this and need a reference point to somewhere to start. I need to dump, I have no chance and I want to set myself up the best I can for next year. – Carson, Dallas, TX

Carson: Dr. Roto mentioned Matt Wieters and BJ Upton is his last post as young guys who are on the rise. Other guys who are under-hyped include: Adam Lind, Brad Hawpe, Mark DeRosa, Edwin Jackson, and Matt Kemp. Some over-hyped guys include: JD Drew, Dan Uggla, Chris Young, and Roy Oswalt.

Question 5: I play in an Ultra League with $2,600 (similar to some of the attributes of UFB.) I have reached a tentative trade deal. I would get Albert Pujols in exchange for giving away Phil Hughes $30 and Tommy Hanson $60. Pujols would be $410 for me next year. That would be almost 16% of my team’s salary. Is that too much? – James, Manhasset, NY

James: No brainer here...pay for Pujols. He is the best hitter in baseball. Take him and then go find yourself some super sleepers and you are well on your way to collecting a big check.
Now about those Cleveland Indians...they are NOT DONE just yet. However, they are about 3 more Kerry Wood blown saves (in the month of June) away from receiving the DNR.
The Doctor is out...
Mark Bloom (aka Dr. Roto) is the former owner of Roto-Rx, a fantasy website featured in a UPN newscast. He has been an active competitor and commissioner in fantasy leagues for close to 20 years winning numerous league titles.

Ask Dr. Roto your rotisserie baseball questions.
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The Mets need Bugs Bunny…….

Ok, Carlos Beltran is out at least until the All-Star break – and it sounds like it could be longer to be honest. Immediately almost on queue in synchronous voice, the NY metropolitan area airwaves and print media gravitate to the allure of Matt Holiday. Blogs and baseball publications across America; same thing.

Let’s amuse ourselves for a moment and say that the Mets are actually looking into it. Are the Mets ready to give up Bobby Parnell? How about Fernando Martinez? Mets gonna say bye bye to their baby? Look, you are not going to be able to get the guy for a box of donuts. It ain’t gonna happen.

To complicate matters the Mets (a virtual M*A*S*H unit roster) have additional voids to fill. Jose Reyes (they say All-Star break, sounds more like season to me. They admit they have no clue what’s going on there. Where’s Eddie Van Halen when you need him “Somebody Get me a Doctor…”). Delgado, Maine, Perez, Putz. How do you replace all these guys?

You only have 25 guys! They are without 6 of them that they counted on? They are missing 24% of their team! Try dealing with something in your life minus 24%. Take a look at your paycheck this week and subtract 24% from it. You gonna be able to function ok going forward on that?

What the Mets need is Bugs Bunny…….
"Bugs Bunny first base, Bugs Bunny second base, Bugs Bunny third base, Bugs Bunny short stop, Bugs Bunny left field, Bugs Bunny center field, Bugs Bunny right field, Bugs Bunny pitching, Bugs Bunny catching…………………………………………………………."
– James Morrison
Jim (no relation to the dead Door’s guy) is a self proclaimed rotisserie expert. Jim has been participating in an serious Ultra-Rotisserie league (you can protect some minor leaguers too) at $2,600 per team instead of $260 (similar to Ultimate Franchise Baseball ™) for the past 17 years and has finished in the money 14 times with 8 First place finishes and over $260,000 in total winnings over the 17 year period. While the world is full of institutions and people that come with disclaimers on how past performance is no guarantee of future results, Jim is brazen enough to claim that it will be in your best interest to follow his advice going forward. He’ll write it, we’ll publish it and we shall see………

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Give him credit....

On June 10th reader Charlie Morgan from Detroit, MI sent in the piece on “Hoffman vs. Rivera.”

Earlier today, Josh Bolan posted “Turn out the lights and Let’s go home” on current top closers featuring Joakim Soria.

On the topic of top closers…….. I don’t think that Eric Gagne ever got proper recognition for the run of unparalleled success he put together earlier this decade. In fact, I’m certain of it. We’ve lived in this Mariano Rivera world for so long now that I think our judgment is a bit clouded.

Thanks to the research provided by ESPN’s Jayson Stark and published in 2004, here are some notable facts that help put his performance into perspective.

• In the 23-month period in which Gagne was blowing no saves, all other slightly more human, relievers combined to blow 969 saves. In fact, there were 28 blown saves just against the Dodgers during the streak.

• The five closers with the next-most saves during the streak -- John Smoltz, Billy Wagner, Eddie Guardado, Mariano Rivera and Keith Foulke -- blew a combined 34 saves while Gagne was blowing zero. That breaks down this way:

Smoltz 69 of 74
Wagner 63 of 68
Rivera 70 of 77
Foulke 58 of 66
Guardado 65 of 74

• So if the best relievers on earth were blowing 34 saves during this streak, just imagine how many some of the more mortal relievers were blowing. These guys blew the most saves during Gagne's streak:

14 Danys Baez
12 Francisco Cordero
12 Jason Grimsley
11 Armando Benitez
11 Damaso Marte
11 Tim Worrell

• How overpowering was Gagne during this streak? Incredibly, he totaled more saves (84) than he allowed hits (71). (See the recent post on Joakim Soria.) Next-best on Planet Closer (but not even close) during the same stretch were Smoltz (83 H - 69 SV), Wagner (77-63) and Guardado (79-65).

• This guy was so unhittable, a hitter was three times more likely to strike out against Gagne during the streak than he was to get a hit. (Strikeout-to-hit ratio: 207 whiffs, 71 hits). The only other closer with even twice as many whiffs as hits in that span was Wagner (158 strikeouts, 77 hits).

• Speaking of unhittable, Gagne had one stretch during the streak (July 27’03-Aug. 14’03) in which he made 10 straight appearances without giving up even one hit. He made another (May 31’03-June 12’03) in which he made eight straight appearances without giving up a hit.

He steamrollered 25 consecutive hitters without a baserunner in the July-August streak, and 24 in a row in the May-June streak. Ridiculous.

• Even though almost half of Gagne's saves came in games the Dodgers won by a run (40 of 84), he was so untouchable that just once did he come within 90 feet of blowing a save. The only time during the streak that the other team even got the tying run to third base was Sept. 18’03, when Arizona did it.

• Gagne faced the minimum number of hitters in nearly half of his 84 saves (40 of 84, 48 percent).

• Gagne allowed one hit or none in 92 percent of his saves (77 of 84) -- and gave up zero hits in an amazing 60 percent of them (50 of 84).

• Strikeout machine that he was, Gagne punched out at least one hitter in 77 of the 84 saves.

He whiffed three hitters or more in 16 of them (19 percent).
He recorded every out on a strikeout in 14 of them (17 percent).
He struck out every hitter he faced in seven of them (8 percent).
And ohbytheway, in one stretch, he struck out at least one hitter in 35 straight trips to the mound.

• But in the meantime, his strikeout-walk ratio was an insane 207-34. And only once (April 17’03, vs. LA) did he walk more than one hitter in any appearance.

• Not many strikeout pitchers in the history of baseball were also as pitch-efficient as this guy. Gagne got through nine saves in the streak (11 percent) in 10 pitches or fewer. And only twice did he throw more than 25 pitches in a save.

• Think this guy got a little stoked when the game was on the line? During just the save opportunities in the streak ...

His ERA was 0.82.
He struck out 14.3 hitters per nine innings.
He gave up only 4.1 hits per nine innings.

He allowed just three homers (to Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi and Pedro Feliz).
He totaled many more saves (84) than baserunners (61).
He racked up almost 100 more strikeouts (139) than hits (43).
And of the 23 runners he inherited in those games, none of them scored.

Stark recited even more unbelievable Gagne statistics but I think by now you get the point. - Blake Kearny
Blake Kearny is a retired baseball scout from Los Angeles, California. He currently runs a baseball school for children in Los Angeles.

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Turn out the lights and let's go home...

I was watching Zack Greinke pitch last night and WOW does he have it going on. Another stellar performance. 8 innings, 8 hits, 5ks, 0 walks 1ER. We are creeping close to the halfway point and the guy still has a sub 2.00 ERA (1.90). He’s got 111k’s and only 18 walks! That’s Pedro or Shilling in their prime-like.

So the 9th inning comes along and in comes Joakim Soria. How is this guy NOT on everyone’s radar? The guy gets the cover of the video game “MLB 09 The Show” and their are kids across America going, “who’s that?”

I know he’s in KC, but still! Yeah, he's been nicked up a bit this year, but he doesn’t have a history of that. The guy is lights out. For my money he’s the best closer in the AL (Broxton in the NL).

Watching the game last night I found out that last year he was only the 14th pitcher in MLB history to have more saves than hits allowed. Not too shabby for a guy virtually no one talks about.

It seems like forever, the number one closer ranking belonged to Mariano. No more, there are some new young guns out there. For my money, if I need three outs, I’m calling on one of these 5 guys.

1) Jonathan Broxton
2) Joakim Soria
3) Joe Nathan
4) Jonathan Papelbon
5) Francisco Rodriguez
6) Josh Bolan (oh sorry, that’s me….)
Josh Bolan is a retired AP baseball reporter and now works as a freelance writer in Fresno California. Josh has been contributing to baseball publications as a writer since 1996.

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Tuesday, June 23, 2009

You are actively driving fans away......

I know it's great sport to make fun of announcers, and it's even more fun to try to out-funny one another when we do it. But when I say this, please understand that there is no sarcasm intended. There is no joke to follow. I do not offer this as a means of piling on. Really, I am being very, very serious, and I hope this is taken seriously by someone in a position to do something about it: Rick Sutcliffe and Steve Phillips -- who were together on the same ESPN broadcast team for some reason -- are truly wretched and should not be allowed in a broadcast booth.

I am among the biggest baseball fans on the planet. I am among those who will watch baseball under almost any circumstances. Scandal. National emergency. Family emergency. You name it, and I'm still wondering when the game starts. Yet after only an inning or two of listening to these men do their best to distract me from the game with their pointless, showy commentary, I changed the channel. I watched a nine year-old "Family Guy" rerun because I could not bear to listen to these disgraces argue about how they'd pitch to Albert Pujols in such a way as to actually interfere in an Albert Pujols at bat. I could not bear to listen to them talk about the legacy of Donald Fehr with an incoherence that was surprising, even for them. I could not stand the cascading cliches, the super-hyped, super-throaty wannabe radio announcer voices, and the seeming unwillingness to let a moment pass without their voices drowning out the sounds of the ballpark and even, on occasion, the play-by-play itself. And before you say "well, I guess we won't pair them up again," know that they do it on their own respective broadcasts too. If these men were next to you at the ballpark or sitting on the next bar stool over going on like they do, you'd yell at them to shut up, and if they didn't, you'd ask them to be shown the door.

ESPN, for all of your faults, you remain the premier venue of broadcast sports. How, then, you allow Major League Baseball, one of your most valuable properties, to be massacred so thoroughly by the likes of Sutcliffe and Phillips I will never know. You are actively driving fans away, ESPN. You are turning off an entire generation to a product that should, by all rights, be bulletproof. Having Sutcliffe and Phillips broadcasting baseball is the equivalent of giving away water in the desert via infomercial. Why bother? People are begging for your product, yet you seem to almost revel in assaulting them in order to get it. The only possible explanation is sadism.

I know many people who work for ESPN. Every single one of them is bright, amiable, and above all else, passionate about sports. How, then, you allow guys like Sutcliffe and Phillips to sully their efforts with their terrible, terrible work is beyond me.

ESPN: dare to give your sport, your viewers, and your employees the respect they deserve. Remove Sutcliffe and Phillips from the booth. Replace them with someone who understands that the game, and not their own mindless prattle, is the product people tune in to see and hear.

Oh, and memo to the producers of the broadcasts – the dueling goatee’s don’t work either.
The above post was sent in by Anthony Belli of Macon, GA

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Good riddance Matt Clement...

Did anyone see the reports that Matt Clement has been hired as the boys’ varsity coach at Butler High School in Pittsburgh? My thoughts about his career change are the following:

Too bad for me that Matt didn’t choose coaching boys basketball before 1998 when I picked him up as a prospect! This guy was touted by the scouts as a CAN’T MISS prospect. Like Oliver Perez, the San Diego Padres thought that they had hit the jackpot (at least Ollie put together one stellar year for Pittsburgh in 2004 with a 2.99 ERA, 239K’s and a WHIP of 1.15 before he became a basket case.)

Clement ended his career with an unfulfilling 87-86 record, a 4.47 ERA and a WHIP of 1.4. He did in fact have electric stuff, and his ball moved quite a bit (he averaged 8.6 strikeouts per 9 innings.) But his WHIP is what constantly killed my chances of winning a title (or even finishing above last place for that matter.)

I’m always mesmerized by these guys that have electric stuff and I HAVE TO HAVE THEM. But I can tell you that having guys that strike out 12 one game and pitching a 7 inning shutout followed by walking 5 guys and getting pulled in the 4th inning of your next start is no way to succeed in Fantasy Baseball.

I’ve learned quite a bit from getting my ass kicked over the years. I can tell you this. If you have a rookie pitcher that you like who has talent and is very successful one outing and walks the ballpark and gets shelled the next, that is expected from a rookie and you can justify sticking with him to see if he pans out.

However, if you have a veteran pitcher that exhibits those traits and has not figured out how to keep his team in the game when he doesn’t have his best stuff, no matter how good his stuff his cut him because he will screw you in the end.

Good riddance Matt Clement. I sincerely hope that you stay in your new profession and not attempt a lame comeback. I hope you coach a really talented kid who puts up 40 points for you one night, having you design a specific play for him that you pull out at crunch time only to have the kid throw up an air-ball in the big spot. I want you to feel the pain of counting on a player to live up to his potential and having that dependency cause you many sleepless nights.

Also, I hope you are not mad at me for cheering in July of 2005 when you were struck by that line drive. It was a heat of the moment thing and I was upset with you after years of depending on you and you almost never coming through.

If I had it to do over I certainly would not have wished that you got hit in the head with the ball. That’s just plain mean and I’m not like that. I WOULD HAVE WISHED THAT YOU HAD TAKEN ONE ON THE KNEE CAP!

Oh Matt, I almost forgot - I wish you the best of luck in your endeavor…………….. – Peter Costa
Pete is a serious Rotisserie participant playing the same league with the same guys for 17 years. Not only has Peter never finished in the money; he’s finished last 13 times and no higher than 10th (in a league with 14 guys). Join us in following Peter’s trials, tribulations and frustrations, as he attempts to navigate his way out of the basement in 2009.

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Monday, June 22, 2009

Prospect Watch

On June 6th I posted "BLAST FROM THE PAST" where I pointed out the amazing season that Shelly Duncan was having in AAA. Today I would like to bring to your attention another player who has had a cup of coffee in MLB that I think will make a splash if / when he returns (there is almost no question that he will - if not with the Giants, then with someone else.)

John Bowker: He'll turn 26 soon, and got into 111 games for the Giants last year. He's got 10 HR and 10 SB in 213 ABs at Triple A, and sports an absolutely monstrous .343/.451/.573 line. He can play both outfield and 1st base.

The Giants' are all pitching and no offense and their outfield is anything but stacked; he deserves another look. – Gregory Shapiro
Greg is an orthopedic surgeon that has a number of professional athletes including MLB players as patients. He’s an avid MLB fan and rotisserie player with some unique insight into the world of professional athletes.

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Sunday, June 21, 2009

Concern for the health of the Tribe

Apparently on this site, no team or player is “Done” until Dr. Roto says so. (So we’ll wait with bated breath to see if Dr. Roto will be pulling the plug on The Tribe or if he thinks that they still have a pulse.)

But I have a very simple rule when it comes to giving up on a team. So long as it's not yet September, they need to be either 10 games under .500 or 10 games out of a playoff spot before it's all over.

Back in March, I predicted Cleveland would win the division. Holy crap, was I wrong. Presently, Cleveland is 29-42, after having been swept by the Cubs (that's 13 games under .500) and they are now 12 games out of the Wild Card and 10 games behind Detroit in the Central. So let's just call it what it is, Indian fans: a bust. And let's just call me what I am: a crack head playing a guessing game, just like everybody else.

But hey, Indians fans, chin up. Maybe your team will play a big role in the trade deadline. That's always fun, right? - Robert Fairchild
Robert Fairchild is a professional sports gaming professional. He legally wages on professional and collegiate sporting events for a living. Robert is NOT suggesting that you quit your day job and try to wager on sports for a living. He is contributing his thoughts and experience to assist you in a recreational activity that you as an informed adult may choose to take part in. Robert will NOT give specific wagering advice on any particular proposition in this forum.

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Welcome to the game of “Spin the Closer!”

The Blue Jays found a new way for a pitcher to end up on the DL when Scott Downs — that noted slugger — sprained his toe in an effort to prove that AL pitchers can be a force at the dish.

So welcome to the game of “Spin the Closer!” This week’s contestants from north of the border are Jason Frasor, B.J. Ryan and Jeremy Accardo.

Downs has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt why AL pitchers shouldn’t be subjected to ever holding a bat in their hands, let alone approaching the batter’s box. His injury has created a void in the closer role for the next several weeks and I’m giving the edge to Frasor at this time, but all three have a history in the role so don’t be surprised to see the dreaded closer-by-committee situation until Downs returns from the DL.

P.S. I’m still laughing at Peter Costa’s June, 5th "B.J." post. That bobble-head with the commentary was precious. You tell me that you're not rooting for B.J. to get another shot just for entertainment purposes so we can here Costa speak on th etopic again.... - David Fry
David Fry is an independent sports photographer currently covering Major League Baseball. David will be reporting on observations as he sees them in MLB stadiums throughout the year.

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Padres Management - Do your job.....

So I’m looking through the list of available free agents for a hitter to place a FAAB bid on tonight. The first thing I did was sort the players by at bats. I wanted to see what full time players were out there.

At the top of the free agent list in my league with 225 at bats was Brian Giles. At first I didn’t think anything of it, but then I looked at the stats. Brian has had no injuries to speak of this year and is clearly (from a performance standpoint) the worst everyday player in MLB this year.

From 1999 through 2002 Brain was one of the better all around player in baseball. He was definitely an All-Star. If you owned him on your rotisserie team during that time, you can’t possibly have had any complaints.

He’s no longer that All-Star player and until this year, had drifted into a nice complimentary veteran player to have on a MLB roster to help the younger players and to fit in among All-Stars of today that may be on his team.

Brian is now 38 year old. He’s had a significant chance opportunity to show that he can still play this game. He faltered at the start (it happens to the best of them) and he’s had ample opportunity to get his season back on track. He couldn’t. He can’t. He won’t.

I’m sure Brian is a nice guy, (never any reports to the contrary that I know if) but he needs to be removed from the everyday line-up. It’s not fair to his teammates, the Padre fans or even the competitive balance of the league.

Brian now has more than 250 plate appearance this year and is hitting .191 with 2 HR’s, 23 RBI, 1 SB and 18 runs scores. There is no way that you can tell me that the San Diego Padres can’t fill the right field position with someone who can perform better. It could be someone that is currently a reserve player on the Padre roster, someone in their minor league system, or someone currently belonging to another MLB team.
Memo to Kevin Towers – You are the General Manager. You need to do your job and remove Brian Giles from your 40 man roster. If you want to be polite (he probably deserves it), make him a coach, offer him a cushy executive or scouting job or let him be the ball boy (if he still wants to fraternize with the guys).

Memo to Bud Black – If Kevin Towers doesn’t do his job, you need to do yours and make Giles strictly a reserve player from here on out.
On June 1st I penned a post “Adrian does it himself.” It talks about how Adrian Gonzalez is a one man show and the lack of production around him. It was that way then, it 3 weeks later nothing’s changed. Brian Giles is probably the biggest reason for the anemic support that Adrian gets.

This is got to stop. Everyone needs to do their job. It’s time for Padre’s management to do theirs. - Josh Bolan
Josh Bolan is a retired AP baseball reporter and now works as a freelance writer in Fresno California. Josh has been contributing to baseball publications as a writer since 1996.

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Saturday, June 20, 2009

2 Points!

2 points for Dr. Roto for using "Parenthetically" in a baseball sentence!

Tim McCarver would be jealous if he read your piece.

Near as I can tell, Howard Cosell (RIP) was the last person to use that word in the context of sport. Great job Doc! – Josh Bolan
Josh Bolan is a retired AP baseball reporter and now works as a freelance writer in Fresno California. Josh has been contributing to baseball publications as a writer since 1996.

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Dice-K Removed From Red Sox Rotation!

It was obvious that eventually the Red Sox would have to make a change in their rotation. With John Smoltz healthy and ready to go and every other starter currently outperforming him, Daisuke Matsuzaka was the odd man out.

The anncouncement to reomve Dice-K from the rotation was made today by manager Terry Francona at his afternoon press conference before todays game agaist the Atlanta Braves.
Francona on Dice-K "We need to get him looked at physically. He's gonna get looked at by (Red Sox trainer) Tom Gill. He's going to get tests done. There's a potential for MRIs. All of that information will be coming very soon."
Terry Francona and the Red Sox seem to be blaming Dice-K's appearances in the World Baseball Classic for leaving him unprepared for the regular season. While he is currently only assured of missing one start I believe that the Red Sox intend to see his velocity returned to its former level and an improvement in his control before he will pitch in the major leagues again.

This also takes some of the heat off the Red Sox to trade one of their rotation starters. Brad Penny has been a competent starter for the Red Sox and should continue to be as long as he stays healthy. Unfortunately this will do nothing to release Clay Buchholz and Michael Bowden from their minor league purgatory.

Dice-K owners should thank their lucky stars that they won't be punished with his poor statistics for a while. I know I will. – Peter Costa
Pete is a serious Rotisserie participant playing the same league with the same guys for 17 years. Not only has Peter never finished in the money; he’s finished last 13 times and no higher than 10th (in a league with 14 guys). Join us in following Peter’s trials, tribulations and frustrations, as he attempts to navigate his way out of the basement in 2009.

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Roto-Rx

The Doctor is once again in....

Question 1: I thought I had a quality starting catcher in Russell Martin. I had to get Yadier Molina as a free agent and reserve Martin because I couldn’t take it anymore. Do you think he will come back in the second half or are you putting the Garrett Atkins “He’s Done” on him? – Scott, Cupertino, CA

Scott: Has it really come to this for Russell Martin? Are people actually reserving him and picking up Yad Molina? Man, Dr. Roto is nauseous just hearing that. So Russell has no HR...he still has 7 SB. He still plays on a good team and can score runs, can't he? Dr. Roto has not lost hope...although admittedly, his patience is wearing thin. Take the 15 SB at a thin position and be somewhat happy.

Question 2: What’s YOUR opinion on Mark Reynolds? Same as Kearny? I’ve been offered him for Elvis Andrus straight up. Andrus is on my reserve roster. I’m looking to go for it, the other guy is dumping. – Michael, Sarasota, FL

Michael: Dr. Roto has been very impressed with Mark Reynolds this season. The power has always been there although the speed seems to be an anomaly. However, how you even have to ask whether to trade Andrus for him has Dr. Roto confused. Andrus is a rookie with upside potential, yes, but is he Mark Reynolds? So Michael, Dr. Roto would like to have a little private conversation with you. Please, all others do not read this note: ARE YOU NUTS!!! ELVIS HASN'T GOTTEN A HIT IN A WEEK AND REYNOLDS' VALUE ALONE SHOULD NET YOU THREE BETTER PLAYERS THAN ANDRUS!!! MAKE THE DEAL ASAP OR LOSE ALL DR. ROTO VIEWING PRIVILEGES FOR ONE WEEK!!

Question 3: Is it worth using a roster spot to carry the set-up guy to your closer? I had Brid Lidge and didn’t have Ryan Madson, then when I went to get him someone out bid me. – Chris, Phoenix, AZ

Chris: Not sure if you play fantasy football (BTW Dr. Roto's expertise there is enormous), but getting your backup to your star players is called a handcuff. So, for example, if you had Edge James on your team, you would try to get Tim Hightower (a little Phoenix reference for you there). Same thing in baseball for closers. If I had Lidge, you better believe I would have Ryan Madson. The only caveat is if the backup clearly sucks. So if I had Mariano Rivera, I would NOT have Alfredo Aceves.

Question 4: When you draft, do you have an allocation of money that you specifically use for hitting and an allocation that you specifically use for pitching? If so, what are the percentages? – James, Oakland, CA

James: This answer all depends on your league and how it values those categories. I will tell you that a 50-50 split is rare. Most people do some sort of 65-35 or 70-30 split.

Question 5: You said that wins were the hardest to predict. What’s the easiest to predict? There are so many things to think about on draft day, I’m looking for something that I can bank on so I can just worry about the other categories. – Patricia, Allentown, PA

Patricia: The safest categories to predict are saves and stolen bases. You should know that a good closer (who is healthy) should put up about 40 saves per year. And while a few guys get replaced each year (i.e. Joel Hanrahan and Brad Ziegler), for the most part, closers hold their job. Parenthetically, speed guys get their bags regardless. Michael Bourn may never hit 10 HR in a year, but you can write down 30-40 bags for him if he hits .260.

Dr. Roto would like to wish all the fathers out there a very Happy Father's Day!

The Doctor is out...
Mark Bloom (aka Dr. Roto) is the former owner of Roto-Rx, a fantasy website featured in a UPN newscast. He has been an active competitor and commissioner in fantasy leagues for close to 20 years winning numerous league titles.

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Pujols scores 1,000th career run of Career

Albert Pujols, who does not turn 30 until January, is now hitting .320 with 23 homers and 60 RBIs.

Albert is now on pace for 54 HR/142 RBI/.319 BA/126 RS/21 SB this year

On May 23rd I Keith A. Baker put up a post about how Albert Pujols was better than Joe DiMaggio. I saw the numbers but for some reason didn’t take it seriously.

After looking back at it again, Joe DiMaggio vs. Albert Pujols I can now see the light.

What a career, what an unbelievable career. Let’s just hope it turns out that he’s clean. I’m just saying……. - Paul Leume
Paul Leume is a MLB columnist from Montreal, Canada. Paul, a one-time beat writer covering the Montreal Expos for the Montreal Gazette is a proud grandfather of 3 girls and now spends his time offering his thoughts and prospective on Major League Baseball on a variety of blogs and websites throughout Al Gore’s internet.

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Please Everyone, Stop Using Catcher ERA

The Nichols Law of catcher defense states the inverse relationship that exists between offensive abilities and perceived defensive performance. Take Paul Bako. More than 2,300 plate appearances with an OPS in the .620s. He is not, nor has he ever, been a good offensive player. Bako's longevity reigns from, uh, well...Greg Maddux. After Eddie Perez, Maddux's personal catcher, went down in 2000, the Braves acquired Bako from Florida. Maddux absolutely loved Bako, probably because Bako was the bottom in the relationship and easily manipulated to calling whatever it is Maddux wanted to throw.

So after a season and a half as Maddux's personal caddy, Milwaukee scooped Bako up and gave him nearly 260 plate appearances. The Brewers saw their pitching staff benefit greatly from Bako's game calling and presence. They improved their FIP from 4.9 to 4.86. Woo. If every 10 runs is worth 4.5 million, and Bako was worth 0.04 runs per nine, well, you get the point. Bako wasn't very valuable, but teams kept giving him shots.

Fans seem to fall in with reserve catchers. I don't know why. I suspect it has to do with the mystique of being a defensive stalwart, one immeasurable by metrics known to man. Perhaps having to sit in the bullpen and warm pitchers up is something worthwhile. These guys are usually horrible hitters, the worst bats on the team that actually get paid to hit. Why? Because if they hit well, they would be playing.

So, you have a player on each team who has writers, fans, and television folk talking up his game calling abilities and whatnot because saying that his entire value comes from squatting for four hours a week isn't something you take pride in. Eventually it melts in. People start looking for things that feed this confirmation bias of Johnny McBackstop being a human computer. It becomes mainstay knowledge, and now every team in the league needs one of these veteran catchers, good at absolutely nothing outside of history lessons.

People have tried measuring the defensive contributions of catchers and it usually goes nowhere. The most common being Catcher's ERA. Perhaps even more flawed than pitcher ERA. Consider all of the variables thrown in:

1. Ballpark

2. Pitcher

3. Defense

You get the point, but let's take it a step further. Jason Varitek is the role model for catcher's defense. Creating a list of compliments and flattering comparisons for Varitek's apparent savvy would take a while. Michael Barrett has almost never been praised for his defensive ability. He's been known to get into fights with his pitchers, so un-Varitek-like, he's never lead his team to the title, and he's not wired like a computer.

Using both of their top 10 catching time seasons, we get these CERA:

The averages over these 10 seasons are pretty minimal in difference, same with career averages. This is ignoring that Barrett played on worst teams and that Varitek caught in Fenway, and so on. These results would make Tim McCarver go into convulsions. There's not a member of the BBWAA who would accept the idea that Michael Barrett and Jason Varitek handle pitchers on a similar level. That's good, because sometimes it takes an extreme case to get a point across.

Don't use Catcher's ERA. It's useless. We know this from studies in the past, not just from anecdotal comparisons.
The above post was submitted by reader R.J. Anderson, Not Sure Where, Didn't Say

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Friday, June 19, 2009

MLB Uniforms

When I first started visiting the Around The Horn sites I was told that I could find or get to information on just about anything baseball related from right here on the Around The Horn. That was not an exaggeration.

As I was going through the beat writer coverage I came across a Minnesota reporter that wrote an article on who gets to pick the Twins uniform for the day. That's something different. Not an injury report, not a steroid scandal, not a controversial play review, just a simple interesting tidbit on who picks what MLB players where.

Anyone ever wonder who chooses the uniforms that MLB teams wear on game day? For the Yankees, Dodgers, Cardinals and Tigers (only ones I think?) they have just a 1 home and 1 away uniform, so the answer is no one. The ones you saw as kid or on highlights or pictures from before you were born are the same ones they are using now. They exhibits class and tradition.

At some point in the 80’s teams occasionally wore their batting practice jerseys as uniform tops (they used to wear one type of jersey in pre-game activities and another for the game). They still do that quite a bit in spring training games (it must be cooler).

Then we had expansion and the Arizona Diamondbacks with their endless combinations and permutations of uniform accessory changes, hats, socks, belts, undershirt (showing), long sleeve, short sleeve, pin-stripe, etc; and that started off a marketing frenzy among the majority of MLB teams. Look at the Mets 10 different combinations in the picture ……. After a while it gets silly.

Nowadays, most teams have a few different uniform versions when they take the field. It’s a marketing thing. Now even if you have your favorite player’s jersey, there are two or three other “authentic” ones that they can sell you as well.

So who chooses which one to wear on any given day? We’ll for the Minnesota Twins; apparently it’s the starting pitcher that day. As Michael Cuddyer put it, "The chances are that the starting pitcher is not going to play all nine innings, yet, he gets to pick what wear for all nine innings. It doesn't make sense to me."

I guess that’s a kind of corny tradition that the Twins have, but it’s cute and it’s their own. That said, I still like the traditional uniforms that exhibit class and tradition……….

Here’s the article I was referring to. “Fashion police: Who decides what Twins uniform to wear?”
The above article was submitted by Richard Swenson of Baltimore, MD.

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Roto Rocket Science-101

DISCLAIMER - If you have absolutely nothing going on in your life and want to wade through this, you might learn something. If you have anyone that loves you, even a dog or a goldfish, I suggest that you do not let them see you reading this post. They may think differently about you if they do.

This past Tuesday, in response to the New Zealand rocket scientist, we ran “Break out your abacus- FIP.” My thoughts when I posted that were that since George Zale of Qeenstown, New Zealand was interested in it, that some more of you rather intelligent fellows might be as well. So we rolled up our sleeves and went into it.

Never in my wildest dreams did I think that posting that would actually cause more problems and questions than it solved! For those of you whose brains still hurt from last time, feel free to take a pass on this one. However, for all you nerds out there, here we go. There are three FIP related calculations that can be made and they are the following.

FIP
FIP, or Fielding Independent Pitching. It's a simple estimate of how well a pitcher has pitched, given his walk, strikeout and home run rates. It follows the formula (HR*13+(BB+HBP-IBB)*3-K*2)/IP, with the addition of a constant, generally 3.2. For the purposes of this test, the constant has been figured separately for each season.

xFIP
xFIP is FIP with the home runs replaced by their fly balls allowed times the average number of home runs per fly ball (in the sample I used for the test, .13). Again, constants were computed separately for each season.

tRA
tRA is a stat similar to FIP, with two key changes: it accounts for the type of batted ball allowed, and it estimates a pitcher's outs as well as his runs allowed from the data at hand. What is in use is not tRA as originally calculated but my reimplementation of tRA. Values were computed for each season. tRA was then scaled to make it fit on the scale of ERA, instead of runs per game.

This is pretty boring stuff if you ask me and I would prefer to not write on it again, so I am going to attempt to satisfy / prevent questions that I think are coming on all kinds of things.

There are plenty of sites on the internet that provide glossaries of terms used in sophisticated rotisserie baseball analysis. While we do not have any intention on posting a searchable glossary (I’m certain that one of our sponsor sites has one), here is one that you can use that was given to me by a serious player a while ago. It’s not the most comprehensive one, but it will provide you with enough acronyms and statistical formulas to make hurt yourself if that’s what you are into.

I apologize for the length as I am just going to cut and paste what I have. I completely understand that the intent of a blog is to be short and consice however I couldn't figure out any other way to do this. I think it’s better than editing it, this way it should be basic enough for those of you that just want to learn some rotisserie lingo so you can feel comfortable carrying a conversation, yet thorough enough to make you look like a complete pompous know-it-all ass if that’s your thing and you want to actually know how to calculate some of these bad boys. - Robert Fairchild
Robert Fairchild is a professional sports gaming professional. He legally wages on professional and collegiate sporting events for a living. Robert is NOT suggesting that you quit your day job and try to wager on sports for a living. He is contributing his thoughts and experience to assist you in a recreational activity that you as an informed adult may choose to take part in. Robert will NOT give specific wagering advice on any particular proposition in this forum.
ROTISSERIE GLOSSAY FOR NERDS (for anal Rotisserie glossaries with even more terms, formulas and acronyms, go to another website)

A
Assists. The number of times a fielder makes a throw that results in an out.

AB
At Bats

AB/RSP
At Bats with Runners in Scoring Position (second and/or third base).

BA
Batting Average, Hits divided by At Bats.

BA/RSP
Batting Average with Runners in Scoring Position (second and/or third base).

BABIP
Batting Average on Balls in Play. This is a measure of the number of batted balls that safely fall in for a hit (not including home runs). The exact formula we use is (H-HR)/(AB-K-HR+SF) This is similar to DER, but from the batter's perspective.

BB
Bases on Balls, otherwise known as walks.

BB/G
Walks Allowed per games pitched. This stat is based on the number of walks allowed divided by total number of batters faced, times the average number of batters per game in that specific league (generally around 38 batters a game).

BFP
Batters Faced by Pitcher. The pitching equivalent of Plate Appearances for batters.

BIZ
Balls in Zone, a fielding stat that represents the total number of balls that were batted into a fielder's zone while he was in the field.

BR, or Base Runs
A run contribution formula which quantifies the number of runs contributed by a batter. The fundamental formula for Base Runs is (base runners times scoring rate) plus home runs. It’s widely viewed that Base Runs is the best run contribution formula.

Clutch
"Clutch" is the name given to the impact of a batter's batting average with runners in scoring position and the number of home runs with runners on. The specific formula is Hits with RISP minus overall BA times at bats with RISP, plus HR with runners on minus (all HR/AB) times at bats with runners on. This stat is not a definitive description of "clutch hitting," just one way of looking at it.

CS
Caught Stealing

DER
Defense Efficiency Ratio. The percent of times a batted ball is turned into an out by the teams’ fielders, not including home runs. The exact formula we use is (BFP-H-K-BB-HBP-Errors)/(BFP-HR-K-BB-HBP). This is similar to BABIP, but from the defensive team's perspective. Please note that errors include only errors on batted balls.

DP
Double Plays

DPS
Double Plays Started, in which the fielder typically gets only an assist.

DPT
Double Plays Turned, in which the fielder records both an assist and an out.

ERA
Earned Run Average. Number of earned runs allowed divided by innings pitched multiplied by nine.

ERA+
ERA measured against the league average, and adjusted for ballpark factors. An ERA+ over 100 is better than average, less than 100 is below average.

FE
Fielding Errors, as opposed to Throwing Errors (TE)

FIP
Fielding Independent Pitching, a measure of all those things for which a pitcher is specifically responsible. The formula is (HR*13+(BB+HBP-IBB)*3-K*2)/IP, plus a league-specific factor (usually around 3.2) to round out the number to an equivalent ERA number. FIP helps you understand how well a pitcher pitched, regardless of how well his fielders fielded.

FPct
Fielding Percentage, or the number of fielding chances handled without an error. The formula is (A+PO)/(A+PO+E).

G
Games played.

GB%
The percent of all batted balls (not just outs) that are groundballs.

G/F
G/F stands for Groundball to Flyball Ratio. It is the number of groundballs divided by the number of flyballs (but not line drives) hit by the batter or allowed by the pitcher. It includes all batted balls, not just outs.

GIDP (or GDP)
The number of times a batter Grounded Into Double Plays.

GPA
Gross Production Average, a variation of OPS, but more accurate and easier to interpret. The exact formula is (OBP*1.8+SLG)/4, adjusted for ballpark factor. The scale of GPA is similar to BA: .200 is lousy, .265 is around average and .300 is a star. A simple formula for converting GPA to runs is PA*1.356*(GPA^1.77).

GS
Games Started, a pitching stat.

HRA
Home Runs Allowed, also a pitching stat.

HR/Fly or HR/F
Home Runs as a percent of outfield flyballs. The home run totals are adjusted by the home ballpark's historic home run rates. Research has shown that about 11% to 12% of outfield flies are hit for home runs. For pitchers, significant variations from 11% are probably the result of "luck," but for hitters this stat is more indicative of a true skill (hitting the ball hard!).

HR/G
Home Runs Allowed per games pitched. This stat is based on the number of home runs allowed divided by total number of batters faced, times the average number of batters per game in that specific league (generally around 38 batters a game).

IBB
Intentional Base on Balls.

IF/Fly or IF/F
The percent of flyballs that are infield flies. For some pitchers, inducing infield flies may be a repeatable skill.

ISO
Isolated Power, which measures the “true power” of a batter. The formula is SLG-BA.

K
Strikeouts

K/G
Strikeouts per games pitched. This stat is based on the number of strikeouts divided by total number of batters faced, times the average number of batters per game in that specific league (generally around 38 batters a game).

L
Losses

LD%
Line Drive Percentage. Baseball Info Solutions tracks the trajectory of each batted ball and categorizes it as a groundball, fly ball or line drive. LD% is the percent of batted balls that are line drives. Line drives are not necessarily the hardest hit balls, but they do fall for a hit around 75% of the time.

Leverage Index
A measure of how critical a specific batting situation is. One (1) is average, anything above one is more critical and anything less than 1 is less critical.

LOB and LOB%
LOB stands for Left On Base. It is the number of runners that are left on base at the end of an inning. LOB% is slightly different; it is the percentage of baserunners allowed that didn't score a run. LOB% is used to track pitcher's luck or effectiveness (depending on your point of view). The exact formula is (H+BB+HBP-R)/(H+BB+HBP-(1.4*HR)).

Marcels
The Marcels are a simple way of calculating a player forecast. Named after the monkey from Friends (so simple a monkey could do them), they simply consist of averaging a player's previous experience (with greatest weight on the most recent years) and regressing to the major league average depending on the number of years the player has been in the majors. This is done for each component (home runs, doubles, walks, etc.) A simple aging factor is applied, but no park factor.

OBP
On Base Percentage, the proportion of plate appearances in which a batter reached base successfully, including hits, walks and hit by pitches. OBP is also a powerful performance metric when interpreted as the percentage of times the batter didn't make an out.

OOZ
Out Of Zone, or the total number of outs made by a fielder on balls hit outside of his zone.

Op
Save Opportunities

OPS
On Base plus Slugging Percentage, a crude but quick measure of a batter’s true contribution to his team’s offense. See GPA for a better approach.

OPS+
OPS measured against the league average, and adjusted for ballpark factors. An OPS+ over 100 is better than average, less than 100 is below average.

P
P measures the criticality of a reliever's appearance. It is computed by estimating the impact a successful relief appearance would have on a team's WPA.

P/GS
Pitches per Game Started (only shown for pitchers who have started in 100% of their appearances).

P/PA
Pitches per Plate Appearance.

PA
Plate Appearances, or AB+BB+HBP+SF+SH.

PO
Putouts, the number of times a fielder recorded an out in the field. First basemen and outfielders get lots of these. From a pitching perspective, PO stands for pick offs -- the number of times a pitcher picks a baserunner off a base.

POS
Position played in the field.

PR (Pitching Runs)
A measure of the number of runs a pitcher saved compared to average. The formula is league-average RA/IP minus park-adjusted RA/IP, times total innings pitched. This is the same formula as RSAA (see below).

PRC (Pitching Runs Created)
The notion behind Pitching Runs Created is that a run saved is worth more than a run scored, and PRC puts runs saved on the same scale as runs scored. You can directly compare PRC to a batter's Runs Created to gauge each player's relative value to his team.

PrOPS
PrOPS stands for "Predicted OPS." It's a formula for predicting what a player's OPS is likely to be in the future based on his batted balls, strikeouts, home runs and walks.

Pythagorean Record
A formula for converting a team’s Run Differential into a projected Won/Loss record. The formula is RS^2/(RS^2+RA^2). Teams’ actual won/loss records tend to mirror their Pythagorean records, and variances can usually be attributed to luck.

You can improve the accuracy of the Pythagorean formula by using a different exponent (the 2 in the formula). In particular, a sabermetrician named US Patriot discovered that the best exponent can be calculated this way: (RS/G+RA/G)^.287, where RS/G is Runs Scored per game and RA/G is Runs Allowed per game. This is called the PythagoPat formula.

R
Runs Scored and/or Allowed.

R/G
Runs Scored Per Game. Literally, R divided by games played.

RA
Runs Allowed Per Nine Innings. Just like ERA, but with unearned runs, too.

RBI
Runs Batted In

RC
Runs Created. A very good measure of the number of runs a batter truly contributed to his team’s offense. The basic formula for RC is OBP*TB, but it has evolved into over fourteen different versions. The most comprehensive version is the most complicated version, which includes the impact of hitting well with runners in scoring position, and is adjusted for ballpark impact. RC/G refers to Runs Created Per Game, which Runs Created divided by the number of outs made by the batter, times 27.

RCAA
Runs Created Above Average. Calculates each player’s Runs Created, and then compares it to the league average, given that player’s number of plate appearances.

RF
Range Factor, a measure of the total chances fielded in a player’s playing time. The formula we use is 9*(PO+A)/Innings in Field.

RS
Runs Scored

RSAA
Runs Saved Above Average. A measure of a pitcher’s effectiveness and contribution. The formula is RA/IP minus league-average RA/IP, times total innings pitched.

Run Differential
Runs Scored minus Runs Allowed.

RZR (or ZR)
Revised Zone Rating is the proportion of balls hit into a fielder's zone that he successfully converted into an out. To get a full picture of a player's range, you should evaluate both his Revised Zone Rating and his plays made out of zone (OOZ).

SB
Stolen Bases

SB%
The percent of time a runner stole a base successfully. The formula is SB/SBA.

SBA
Stolen Bases Attempted.

SBA/G
Stolen Base Attempts per 9 innings played.

ShO
Shutouts

SLG and SLGA
Slugging Percentage. Total Bases divided by At Bats. SLGA stands for Slugging Percentage Against. It represents SLG from the pitcher's perspective.

SO
Strikeouts

Sv
Saves

Sv%
Saves divided by Save Opportunities

TB
Total Bases, calculated as 1B+2B*2+3B*3+HR*4.

TBA
Total Bases Allowed. A pitching stat.

TE
Throwing Errors, as opposed to Fielding Errors (FE).

UER
Unearned Runs

UERA
Unearned Run Average, or the number of unearned runs allowed for each nine innings pitched.

W
Wins

WHIP
Walks and Hits Per Inning Pitched, a variant of OBP for pitchers. This is a popular stat in rotisserie baseball circles.

WPA
Win Probability Added. A system in which each player is given credit toward helping his team win, based on play-by-play data and the impact each specific play has on the team's probability of winning.

WP+PB/G
Wild Pitches and Passed Balls per Nine Innings played. A fielding stat for catchers.

xFIP
Expected Fielding Independent Pitching. This is an experimental stat that adjusts FIP and "normalizes" the home run component. Research has shown that home runs allowed are pretty much a function of flyballs allowed and home park, so xFIP is based on the average number of home runs allowed per outfield fly. Theoretically, this should be a better predicter of a pitcher's future ERA.

Zone
The areas on a ballfield in which at least 50% of batted balls are handled for outs. Zones are standardized and defined separately for each position.
Ok now class, memorize the subject material and we'll havd a quiz next week........

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