Remember Me: Geovany Soto
Posted by Chris Cwik in Baseball, Fantasy on March 11, 2010
Soto provides great value in 2010
Every season, previously written off players rise from the ashes and tilt the competitive balance of your fantasy league. There are many factors that can lead to these surprise breakouts; including injuries, opportunity, and players finally living up to their promise. The people in your league that drafted Chris Carpenter, Miguel Montero, and Nelson Cruz were handsomely rewarded for doing their homework. Some breakouts, think Marco Scutaro and Ben Zobrist, were nearly impossible to predict; proving that sometimes even the best projection systems can be fooled. With that in mind, I would like to focus on one player that falls into each category in the coming days. First up: players returning from an injury. Today’s candidate: Geovany Soto.
This Stephen Strasburg kid is pretty good
Posted by Chris Cwik in Baseball on March 10, 2010
The term "prospect" does not apply
Less than 24 hours after another Aroldis Chapman nearly stole his thunder, Stephen Strasburg proved that he is the best pitching “prospect” in baseball. Strasburg’s Spring Training debut was nothing short of phenomenal. In two innings, Strasburg managed to accumulate two strikeouts while allowing two measly singles to the Detroit Tigers. Despite the strong effort, his team lost the game 9-4 (a feeling Strasburg should probably get used to). Although it was only two innings of work, analysts are salivating over Strasburg’s enormous potential. While Jim Riggleman still suggests Strasburg will begin 2010 in the minors, he left the possibility of Strasburg making the 25 man roster open.
So the Aroldis Chapman hype begins
Posted by Chris Cwik in Baseball on March 8, 2010
Much was made of the Cincinnati Reds off-season signing of Aroldis Chapman. Like most Cuban defectors, there were no official scouting reports of Chapman’s repertoire. To those of us outside of the scouting community, most Cuban prospects are relatively unknown. Sure, stories exist of their potential dominance, but until a scouting report is released, we can only make assumptions on hearsay. Thankfully, AOL Fanhouse’s Frankie Piliere gave us a full scouting report of Chapman a few days ago. Needless to say, the report is pretty damn positive, and seems to suggest that Chapman could begin the season in the Major Leagues. For the Reds, that is the 30.25 million dollar question.
Bears Make Huge Splash(es) in Free Agency
Posted by Chris Cwik in Football on March 5, 2010
Wow, what a day to be a fan of the Chicago Bears! Just hours after the free-agency period began, the Bears have already made some huge moves. It’s fair to say that the day has gotten progressively better with each signing. With the Julius Peppers’ signing imminent, let’s take a look at how these moves will effect the Bears next season.
Is Spring Training Actually Starting Tomorrow?
Posted by Chris Cwik in Baseball, Fantasy on March 1, 2010
"Time to Nut Up or Shut Up"
Thank goodness, yes! Tomorrow, four MLB teams will see their first game action since early October. For many fans, Spring Training is the first opportunity to start forming opinions about their team. How will ____ fit it with the team? Is ____ going to experience a resurgence? How will ____ recover from last years injury? Is _____ finally ready to break out? Fans of every team ask these questions each year. Take me for example, I would answer the previous questions: Juan Pierre, Andruw Jones or Alex Rios, Jake Peavy, and Tyler Flowers. Each year, however, analysts advise against forming opinions based on Spring Training stats. In some ways, it makes a lot of sense. Players don’t always face the top competition in Spring Training. Often times, context is the key. That said, what can you actually take away from Spring Training?
Fantasy Outfielder Rankings
Posted by Chris Cwik in Baseball on February 13, 2010
We finally move out of the infield, and into the fantasy outfielder rankings. While most infield positions don’t offer too much depth, the outfield offers a lot of bargains to players who wait. If you need speed late in a draft, you can find cheap steals in Michael Bourn or Juan Pierre. If you want power, you can usually find Jason Kubel or Jay Bruce pretty late. Even if you need a little bit of both, you can take a chance with Alex Rios or Nate McLouth. Since most leagues start 3 outfielders per team, Matt and I have each ranked the top 35 outfielders. Let’s jump straight into it.
Super Bowl Thoughts…Fantasy OF Rankings, The Wire and more…
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Here are the topics we used our breath on…
1. Super Bowl Thoughts??? Does it tarnish Manning’s legacy? Is Brees the best QB? Etc etc etc…
2. What’s up with Johnny Damon?
3. Fantasy OF Rankings…thoughts? Sleepers and risers
4. Some top prospect lists are out. Who are some guys you are targeting in drafts? Who do you like short term/long term?
5. Recap of the Wire…talk about some of our favorite shit
6. Cwik’s take on Arctic Monkeys, my thoughts on Talking Heads
Did anyone like the halftime show this year?
Posted by Chris Cwik in Football, Miscellaneous on February 9, 2010
Let’s face it, ever since the Janet Jackon/Justin Timberlake scandal in 2004, the Super Bowl halftime shows have been pretty boring. Since 2004, the NFL has picked aging artists that are still living off their past accomplishments. I don’t mean to take anything away from Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, or the Stones; but this isn’t the 1970s (and in some cases, earlier). Well, last Sunday’s performance by The Who definitely took the cake for lame, sucky halftime show. Like many of the recent Super Bowl halftime vocalists, Roger Daltrey’s pipes aren’t what they used to be. Pete Townshend, on the other hand, looked as if he was incapable of moving on stage. Even though the show was, once again, a big yawn, expect more of the same from the NFL next year. In order to prepare you for disappointment, let’s place the odds on some potential Super Bowl XLV performers.
Monty’s Super Bowl 44 Thoughts
New Orleans Saints Troy Evans (54) celebrates after winning the Super Bowl XLIV
Before the game started here is what I thought would happen…
-The game would cover the 57 points and possibly be the highest scoring Super Bowl ever
-Colts would win, but the won’t cover the five points
-Brees and Manning would have huge games
-It would be a close game with few punts
-Game would come down to final drive/big turnover
Recap: I wasn’t too hot on my predictions, seeing as that it was a lower scoring game than anticipated and the Saints won by double digits. O well, I wasn’t right, but what else is new
During the game here were my thoughts
Colts:
-The Colts 10-0 first quarter lead didn’t concern me about a blow out, due to Brees and Saints O
NBA Allstar Game
Posted by Rene in Basketball on January 31, 2010
The NBA cares about a lot things, especially on giving back to the community. I give the league props for that, and I feel it’s important for a professional sports league to be involved in the community. However, the NBA does not care about the all-star game as it should by leaving too much say in the selection of the starters to the fans. This year, we were on the verge of witnessing one of the most horrific starting line-ups in the history of an all-star game. Fortunately, people realized Tracy McGrady had played in only 6 games this year. I wonder if it was his average of 3.2 PPG, or maybe the 0.8 RPG, that had the voters putting him as a top 2 guard in the West for most of the voting period. In the East, Allen Iverson actually won the race along with Dwyane Wade to start in the 2010 All-Star game. The guy retired a month into the year, then took about three weeks to sign on to a poor 76ers team, and he gets voted into the game as a starter. While Rajon Rondo, the league leader in steals, top 5 in assists/game, and arguably Boston’s MVP this year since Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett have battled some injury, has to sit on the bench and watch Iverson play before he can step on the court. Read the rest of this entry »
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