Fantasy Baseball!!!!

[The Former DMiller]

It's fantasy baseball time! Yeah! I expect the same people who have joined my leagues in the past to come as well as A Black Falcon. You must use your knowledge of the sport of baseball ABF! Anyway, the information to join is below:

1. Go to: http://baseball.fantasysports.yahoo.com/b1
2. Click "Sign Up Now!"
3. Choose "Join Private League"
4. Type in League ID# 8648 and password "illini"
5. Create your team and you're done!

This year's league is looking to be as cut-throat and controversial as last year's, so I hope you will join if you like baseball.

[Fittisize]

Awww not this shit again. :) I'm gonna join once more, and hopefully I'll come in better than last place.

[A Black Falcon]

Ok, I'll play... never played fantasy baseball before. What should I call my team...

My team is the Sea Dogs... because the Portland (Maine) Sea Dogs are the Red Sox's new AA affiliate... its great that they're now a Sox minor league team. I liked them before, but seeing their players go to the Marlins was somehow not as intresting... :)

[Fittisize]

Oh, yeah. I'm the 'Spos. As in Expos. But if they suck this year I'll change my name to Trappers. Just 'cause.

[A Black Falcon]

How many teams will there be?

[The Former DMiller]

I put the max at 12 and I'm fairly confident we can get to that number. BTW, the draft will be Sunday night on March 9th at 8pm PST. If you have any problems with that say so at the league home page. The sooner the better because the draft times fill up fast. I think Sunday night should be good for most people, though.

[Laser Link]

I really can't do this again. I can't even enjoy the baseball season because I'm so worried about if my players are doing good. It eats too much time as well. Besides that, I don't want to be at the top of the standings all the time, I want you guys to enjoy winning too. :p

[The Former DMiller]

Boo! You can't talk smack like that and not join the league! Join us LL, join us!

[Italian_Pyro]

I'd join except my knowledge towards baseball dosent extend towards which players are actually good..

[WhiteFleck]

I signed up, but I don't plan on doing anything. I hope I win!

[Dark Jaguar]

Wow, I thought this was about some new game where all sorts of fantasy creatues like elves and wizards play baseball.

[Italian_Pyro]

well I registered... can you help me out with this a bit though...or else I have a feeling Ill end up with an obese Roberto Colon and an old Orlando Cabrera....

[Laser Link]

Yahoo automatically ranks the players based on their expected performance this year and their past performance, so even if you don't know names you can draft by number. The sad truth is that both times I've played there has been someone who blew off the draft completely and just drafted the best ranked player left, and they did better than the rest of us. So don't worry about that.

I really can't play this year. I know you guys will have a lot of fun without me, but thanks for the offer. Just make sure you draft Sean Burroughs for me. This year he's gonna be killer, trust me.

If our resident sports obsessed posters aren't scared, they should join too. I know you guys play a couple fantasy leagues every year. That means you Sandy and ApocX.

[A Black Falcon]

The draft is 10:55pm tonight...

[Italian_Pyro]

isint the 10th tomorrow...?

[The Former DMiller]

Yes the 10th is tomorrow, but the draft is on the 9th. :D 10pm CST, so don't be late.

[Italian_Pyro]

Draft Time: Mar 10, 8:55 am PKT

moo?

[Italian_Pyro]

Your draft is set for Monday, March 10 at 8:55 am PKT. It begins in 1 hour and 11 minutes

ok that makes no since...the thing thinks its monday already

[The Former DMiller]

Well, whatever. The draft is in 10 minutes so I hope you guys show up.

[Fittisize]

Yeah I showed up. It's safe to say I'm gonna take this league. You suck DMiller.

[The Former DMiller]

Trash talk already? Just look at my lineup and tremble with fear.

[Fittisize]

Yeah well, trash talk is pretty much all I do in Fantasy Baseball. :) I decided this year to pick up more pitchers and rookies...like my late pick Fransisco Rodriguez and Hideki Matsui. I hope it all plays out. If not, then more trash talk from me.

[A Black Falcon]

Completely forgot about it... oh well. So I won't get a team as good as it could be...
*checks team* cool, Barry Bonds and Manny Ramirez? :)

[The Former DMiller]

Generally if you don't show up to a draft you get a lot of high-ranked outfielders. Not always a good thing since outfield is the deepest position, but I wouldn't complain about having Barry and Manny.

[A Black Falcon]

In fantasy baseball, how does the position you give a player affect their stats? I mean, if "RP"s are starters in the MLB does it matter? Or what... and same for the "Utility" player...

[The Former DMiller]

Positions don't affect the stats at all. For example, if last year you had Derek Lowe playing as a relief pitcher, he would still earn stats just like a starting pitcher since he was listed as both a reliver and starter last year, but started all of the games he played.

[Italian_Pyro]

ugh I missed it last night and now my best player is vidro :\

[The Former DMiller]

Yeah, you really got the shaft in that draft. Worst part is Phil Nevin is your only 3rd baseman, but luckily you made a couple trades that fix that.

[Italian_Pyro]

oh well...it goes pretty good with my name

[WhiteFleck]

So, I got, hmm, players. And now someone wants to trade? That must mean I have someone good. I don't think I want to trade.

[Laser Link]

I will officially make myself available as the unbiased trade advisor, but I don't know if I can get into the league to see what is going on. Did anybody draft any Padres besides Phil Nevin? Normally Nevin and Hoffman would get drafted right away, but not this year. I would guess somebody picked Klesko and Brian Lawrence. I would highly suggest Oliver Perez. He's younger than me, but he's good. Although he may not be on the major league roster...

Did anybody get Sean Burroughs? :D

[The Former DMiller]

I drafted Woody Williams. He's an ex-Padre so I guess you could almost count him. I'm pretty sure Brian Lawrence got drafted, though, and Trevor Hoffman was taken late and immediately put on the DL. He's certainly worth waiting for.

[Laser Link]

Everybody is an ex-Padre. :) Yeah, Hoffman is worth waiting for, but now you can't put anybody else on the DL. It's a tough choice.

[The Former DMiller]

I made it sound like I drafted Hoffman, but it wasn't me. I'm fine with Jason Isringhausen, Kazuhiro Sasaki, and Ugeuth Urbina, only 1 of which I drafted. :) I think my team will dominate, but I'm a little worried about Shea Hillenbrand at 3rd. He was awesome last year, but there's talk about him not starting. I might have a trade going to get Eric Chavez, though, and if that goes through nobody will beat me. Nobody! :evil:

[Laser Link]

Wow, nice bullpen. Chavez would be a big help to you as well. Do you think you guys could post your lineups? I don't have time to play this year, but I'm still interested in the fantasy league. And I want to see if Derek's team is really as good as he thinks it is. :)

[The Former DMiller]

C: Jorge Posada
1B: Mike Sweeny
2B: Luis Castillo
3B: Shea Hillenbrand
SS: Derek Jeter
OF: Bernie Williams
OF: Jacque Jones
OF: Juan Gonzalez/J.D. Drew (Whomever isn't injured at the time will start :) )
Utility: Ellis Burks

SP: Randy Johnson
SP: Jason Schmidt
RP: Jason Isringhausen
RP: Kazuhiro Sasaki
RP: Ugueth Urbina
P: Matt Clement
P: Woody Williams
P: John Burkett
P: Jimmy Haynes

Bench: Omar Vizquel
Bench: Derrek Lee

This is one of my favorite teams I've had in fantasy baseball. They are extremely well-rounded. Almost all of them hit close to .300, only a few get a lot of Ks, and most had over 75 RBIs last year. My relievers are obviously good, and my starters averaged 178 Ks last year. I'm liking my chances. The only category I'm going to have trouble with is HRs, but I'm banking on the other categories offsetting my weak HRs.

[Italian_Pyro]

C Varitek, Jason (C-Bos)
1B Nevin, Phil (3B, 1B-SD)
2B Vidro, Jose (2B-Mon)
3B Perry, Herbert (3B-Tex)
SS Cabrera, Orlando (SS-Mon)
OF Erstad, Darin (CF-Ana)
OF Sanders, Reggie (RF-Pit)
OF Jordan, Brian (LF-LA)
Util Simon, Randall (DH, 1B-Pit)
Bench Wilkerson, Brad (CF, LF, 1B-Mon)


SP Vazquez, Javier (SP-Mon)
SP Buehrle, Mark (SP-CWS)
RP Koch, Billy (RP-CWS)
RP Hammond, Chris (RP-NYY)
P Ortiz, Russ (SP-Atl)
P Romero, J.C. (RP-Min)
P Trachsel, Steve (SP-NYM)
Bench Urbina, Ugueth (RP-Tex)
Bench Remlinger, Mike (RP-ChC)
Bench Baez, Danys (SP, RP-Cle)
Bench DeJean, Mike (RP-Mil)

Thats my roster for now, any help would be appreciated...but Ill tell you right now that Urbina and Baez are out for trades

[Laser Link]

Yeah, Derek's team owns. :) Derek, I bet Ellis Burks will be starting more than either JD Drew or Juan Gonzalez. :)

Italian_Pyro, the first thing you need to do is dump Phil Nevin. Normally he's a great player, but he already blew out his shoulder and is out for the year. You should be okay though, because 1B is usually a pretty deep position. I'd suggest John Olerud if he's not already taken, and he's probably not. The guy puts up consistently good numbers every year and yet he gets no respect.

[Italian_Pyro]

Just for the wiser people.. should I dump orlando cabrerra and take Melvin Mora, or should I keep my SS as it is

[A Black Falcon]

I think my position players are decent, but my pitching staff needs help... I have no relievers at all! I need a closer or two at least... for a team drawn from the computer its pretty good, I'd say.

C - Brad Ausmus (Houston)
1B - Rafael Palmiero (Texas)
2B - Ray Durham (SF)
3B - Troy Glaus (Anahiem)
SS - Rafael Furcal (Atlanta)
OF - Barry Bonds (SF)
OF - Lance Burkman (Houston)
OF - Manny Ramirez (Boston)
Util - Brian Giles (Pittsburgh)
Bench - Vernon Wells (Toronto)
Bench - Tino Martinez (St. Louis)

Oh, and it hasn't gone through yet but I may have just traded Ray Durham for Todd Walker and Paul Lo Duca... and dropped Ausmu as a result. Only 21 players allowed. I'm not sure if its a improvement, but it could be when you compare those 2 to the 2 they replace together...

SP - Jamie Moyer (Seattle)
SP - Hideo Nomo (LA)
RP - Tim Wakefield (Boston)
RP - Kevin Brown (LA)
P - Jeff Weaver (NYY)
P - Kevin Appier (Anaheim)
P - Brian Lawrence (SD)
Bench - Ben Sheets (Milwaukee)
Bench - Pedro Astasio (NYM) (injured...)
Bench - Johan Santana (Minnesota)

See what I mean? They're all starters...

Oh, and position doesn't affect anything, so bench players count just as much as normal ones?

Oh, and I think my pitching lineup needs help... I just don't really know what to do...

[Fittisize]

Alright losers, my team owns.

C-A.J. Pierzynski
1B-Brad Fullmer
2B-Adam Kennedy
3B-Cory Koskie
SS-Miguel Tejada
OF-Torii Hunter
OF-Cliff Floyd
OF-Hideki Matsui
Util-Juan Pierre
Bench-Jose Cruze
Bench-Orlando Hudson
Bench-Josh Phelps

SP-Barry Zito
SP-Bartolo Colon (ex 'Spo, he had a good ten wins in half a season in Montreal)
RP-Mariano Rivera
RP-Kelvim Escobar
P-Roy Halladay
P-Tony Armas Jr.
P-Orlando Hernandez (had him all three years now)
Bench-Fransico Rodriguez (I'll put him in if he plays as good as he did in the Series last year)
Bench-Josh Beckett

[The Former DMiller]

Oh, well bench players don't count, it's only players that you have in your active lineup that get you stats. And if you need a closer I might be able to help you out. I very much like some of your outfielders. :D

[Fittisize]

I know bench players do not count. I'm just saying that that is my team. I'm hoping for Rodriguez to do really really good this year. I'm surprised I got him in the 18th round...I wanted to wait awhile. Also, Matsui? How could all of you forget about him! I got him in round 10. I was thinking maybe 8, but there were other players I wanted.

:) Naw, DMiller. I like my outfielders to much to give any of them away. Perhaps....naw, I hate all of your players.

[LukeIsTerrified]

14-team, 8x8 roto league (standard categories, plus Total Bases, OPS, and K's for hitting, Losses, Complete Games, and Holds for pitching):

C Lo Duca, Paul (C, 1B-LA)
1B Sexson, Richie (1B-Mil)
2B Alomar, Roberto (2B-NYM)
3B Alfonzo, Edgardo (3B-SF)
SS Aurilia, Rich (SS-SF)
OF Pujols, Albert (LF, 3B, 1B-StL)
OF Giles, Brian (LF-Pit)
OF Cedeno, Roger (LF-NYM)
OF Kielty, Bobby (RF, CF-Min)
Util Phelps, Josh (DH-Tor)
Bench Catalanotto, Frank (LF, 2B, 1B-Tor)
Bench Blalock, Hank (3B-Tex)

P Martinez, Pedro (SP-Bos)
P Halladay, Roy (SP-Tor)
P Mussina, Mike (SP-NYY)
P Miller, Wade (SP-Hou)
P Foulke, Keith (RP-Oak)
P Santana, Johan (SP, RP-Min)
P Williams, Woody (SP-StL)
P Embree, Alan (RP-Bos)
Bench Benson, Kris (SP-Pit)
Bench Romero, J.C. (RP-Min)
Bench Vizcaino, Luis (RP-Mil)
Bench Politte, Cliff (RP-Tor)
Bench Hoffman, Trevor (RP-SD)

Would you look at those starting pitchers.

[A Black Falcon]

Fittisize, he's talking to me there... you have closers. I have only starters... and not great starters either... but I don't know if I'd give up my starting outfielders. I mean, Barry Bonds, Manny Ramirez, and Lance Burkman is a very, very good outfield... the other outfielders (Brian Giles and Vernon Wells) I wouldn't mind losing that much, but I doubt I'd get a good closer for that...

[Italian_Pyro]

umm for my third base who should I keep there? Joe Randa or Herbert Perry

[Laser Link]

umm for my third base who should I keep there? Joe Randa or Herbert Perry.

I have no idea. Sorry.

Yeah ABF I was going to suggest you trade one of your outfielders for a closer as well. However, you may want to write off saves completely. It's only one category, and half of the time your closers will blow your team ERA to the roof by giving up a couple runs in 1/3 of an inning of work. Even if you have a closer, there will be teams with 2 or 3 and you won't stand a chance anyway. So it may be more important to you to focus on your HR, RBI and R stats that your outfielders will give you.

Your pitching staff is actually pretty decent ABF. You don't have any superstars (unlike Luke's loaded rotation), but most of your guys could have break out years. I especially like Lawrence and Weaver- both should be even better than last year.

I want somebody to go pick up Oliver Perez or Adam Eaton for me. Everybody says the Padre's rotation could match Oakland's in a few years, and those are the guys who will make it happen if it's going to. Trust me, you won't be sorry.

[Fittisize]

My team's loaded. I have a feeling I'm gonna take this league...maybe even do better than I did in my Fantasy Football league (I had only one loss in the regular season weeks. But...I lost every single playoff game after that. Shame) There are absolutely no players that I do not have total confidence in. 'Cept for maybe Fransico. That pick could go either way.


Edit-Trash talk and b.s is all I ever do in Fantasy sports. :)

[A Black Falcon]

Decent pitching rotation? I don't know... it seems to trust a bit too much that players will have breakout or comeback years -- especially Kevin Brown... I'd say that its not too good compared to other peoples' rotations. Sure I have some good fielders who can make a bunch of runs... but the Texas Rangers aren't exactly a good team to want to emulate... :)

OK, so its not that bad... but I don't have a real #1 starter. Moyer, Nomo, Wakefield, Brown, Weaver... alright #2 or #3 pitchers (assuming Brown can be a decent pitcher this season and not fall apart like the last few years...), but Lawrence, Appier, Sheets, Astasio, and Santana? I'm not so sure about them... 4 or 5 at best. Not that great...

But at this point a legitimate #1 starter is too much to hope for... so I do wish I had one closer. Its not like I have a great bottom of the rotation that I can't bear to remove from the team... though what I could trade to get such a pitcher without giving up my starting outfield is a problem.

[The Former DMiller]

Football was weird this year. The lower seed one every one of the opening round playoff games. I was the #2 seed, and I guess I was just looking ahead too much to a rematch with my nemisis Fittisize in the Super Bowl.

And fantasy baseball has it's first controversy already. I traded Italian_Pyro Joe Randa for Ugeuth Urbina, which I admit is in my favor but he really needed a 3rd baseman, and Urbina certainly won't get 40 saves playing for the Rangers. No one complained while the trade went through the waiting period, but now that's it's cleared the bitching has begun, led by everyone's favorite team, Al Sharpton Sucks aka George.

Anyway, Italian_Pyro, I'd suggest starting Perry at first, but Joe Randa is only 2 years removed from a really good year and I think last year was just a fluke. If he starts playing well put him in immediately. He has less power potential than Perry, but he is much better hitting for average, gets less strikeouts, and can create and drive in more runs. Actually, I might even start out with Randa. He plays for a team with some good players that get on base, which could mean better stats for you.