[Business Day One] Papi’s Dead
David Ortiz hit a homerun last night. His second of the year. He’s not back, and if you say he’s back, you haven’t been watching your baseball. ??? ???? ?? ??????
Category: Baseball
[Business Day One] A Week Into Fantasy Baseball And…
Fantasy baseball has two different types of league play: rotisserie and head-to-head, where the winning team takes all of the games. But even in the best of rotisserie leagues, some teams don’t win all of the games. In this article, I’d like to address what I believe are the top ten teams for every fantasy baseball season.
One thing that I’ve noticed over the years is that there is a great correlation between how good a team is playing, and how high they will finish in the standings. ?????? ????? With that in mind, I’ll be starting this article by discussing the fantasy-relevant teams in the top ten. ?????? ??? ???? ????
Rank Team League 1 Boston Red Sox AL 2 St. Louis Cardinals NL 3 Los Angeles Dodgers NL 4 Arizona Diamondbacks NL 5 Atlanta Braves NL 6 Texas Rangers AL 7 New York Mets AL 8 New York Yankees AL 9 Pittsburgh Pirates NL 10 Chicago Cubs NL
I personally believe that the Boston Red Sox will win the American League, and that there will be no other team in the game with a better chance at making the playoffs than the Red Sox. The Red Sox have a top-five offense in the league, and a top-three pitching staff that is led by the best pitcher in the game right now in Rick Porcello. I’m betting on him to carry the team on his back as he has done so many times in the past, and when the Boston season comes to an end, the club will be excited to watch a parade of his teammates as they come to terms with the new era.
#2 Red Sox vs. Cardinals (July 24th)
One of the toughest division races to pick in baseball this season, it is tough to even try. St. Louis has been the class of the division in 2016, but they’re going to have to prove they belong if they want to win the division, which means a return to the top of the division or at the very least a first round playoff exit.
The Cardinals have an impressive pitching staff, and if they can get a handle on the hitting and defense, they have a chance to make a deep playoff run. This game pits Boston vs. Arizona, and if the Sox keep winning, it will make for a good time. (NOTE: Arizona has an impressive pitching staff, and if they can get a handle on the hitting and defense, they have a chance to make a deep playoff run. Boston has an exciting rotation with breakout stars Steven Wright, Joe Kelly and Rick Porcello. This game is just about a big deal.)
Thursday, June 6:
Mets at Braves 5:20pm
If you are going to take a chance on a team in a down season, why not do it during a weekend series in a pitcher’s park like Citi Field? The Mets have an offense led by Yoenis Cespedes and David Wright, and a talented rotation led by Matt Harvey and Jacob deGrom. ???? ??? ???? Meanwhile the Braves are in a rebuilding phase, but are still loaded with talent with Freddie Freeman, Freddie Freeman, Freddie Freeman and Freddie Freeman. The series is being played under the best possible conditions for the home team (see above). Friday, June 7: Mets vs. Braves 9:10am Sunday, June 10: Royals vs. Rangers 4:10pm A home game in Arlington, Texas is always exciting, but this time it might not be as great as many of us are expecting. The Rangers have had some injuries at the
Boston Globe Red Sox Commercials
A couple friends of mine are 2 of the 3 stars in these commercials for Boston Globe Red Sox Store that will air during Red Sox games on NESN this year. ??????? ??? ??? Check them out:
Who is the best Connect 4 Player?
These 2 feature a Boston Terrier watching the Boston Red Sox:
I love the ending of this one:
A Ball Thief is on the loose:
[Business Day One] Opening Day, Same As It Ever Was
Good morning, everyone. You’re waking up to baseball today. ?????? ??? ????
I love Opening Day more than any other day in sports for one very simple reason – ridiculous full-season projections. For me, there is no greater joy in sports fandom than extrapolating an entire season’s worth of events based only on one game. It is the height of comedy, and let no one tell you otherwise.
For instance, as of right now, the Red Sox are on pace for 162 consecutive rain-outs. Amazing, right? And Derek Lowe, after his impressive performance last night, is right on track for a stunning 33-0 season with a 0.00 ERA. Give that man an award! See how fun it is? And it’s not even noon!
I downloaded an old game for the PC last night called Escape Velocity. 365 bet You play a pilot that travels the galaxy running cargo and passengers between various ports of call. ?????? ??? ???? ????? You upgrade your ship from time to time, or save up and buy a new one. Mostly, the game is a long slog that consists of resource and energy management, maximizing profits on good trade routes, and enjoying the vastness of space. There are more exciting PC games out there to be sure, but for me, I love the comfort of knowing there’s a nice, comfortable game that you can casually play for a couple hours on a quiet weeknight. I feel the same way about baseball. Welcome back.
[Business Day One] The Monster
I spent 4 hours at my computer on Saturday, drafting a fantasy baseball team. The Monster League, populated by NoS posters Willis and RJ and frequent commenter Angry Ed, is a beautiful mix of friendly and competitive. During our Winter Meetings (a once-yearly gathering for pizza and rules adjustments) and our Live Online Draft, we throw playful jabs between orders of business, mocking our own fantasy management inability as often as we make fun of the skills of others. It’s not a bad situation; in fact, it’s been the best league I’ve ever been in.
Sixteen teams, twenty-five rounds, twenty-five roster spots (including minor leaguers). Roto league with five offensive and five pitching stats. Thousands and thousands of players to choose from. The Monster League is big compared to other fantasy baseball leagues, but not that much bigger. All fantasy baseball is that unwieldy. Compared to fantasy football, basketball or golf, putting together a baseball team is a bear. Too many combinations of players, too many positions, too many scenarios in which you are suddenly without a viable starting catcher. It’s a rough game, and it’s a complicated one, and therein lies the joy of it.
Fantasy baseball drafts are big enough that you can’t plan for it all. You have to draft based on instinct and knowledge. ???? ????? You get better with experience – eventually you begin to understand the opportunity cost of waiting to draft certain positions in favor of others – but in the end it is complex enough that it really does tend to separate out those that manage well from those than don’t. ????? ??????? In fantasy sports, luck becomes less important as the roster size goes up. You may hit the jackpot in fantasy hockey and have two hot hands carry you into the playoffs. But it takes a thoroughly deep team to survive a roto baseball league. And teams like that come together when you have encyclopedic knowledge and a good sense of value.
The season, the real season, is days away. ?????? ??????? Right now, all the fantasy baseball owners are undefeated. Enjoy it while you can, because we’ll soon discover how good we are at all of this.
Zombie editor RJ sez…
- …Nope, still don’t give a shit about basketball – professional, college or otherwise.
- …I wish I could get more into the WBC, but the fact that The Netherlands beat the Dominican Republic twice has me taking it less, not more, seriously.
- …I now have a Jason Varitek shirt and (courtesy one of my friends, promise) shrine, with votive candle. I am drifting in between the territory of “amusingly obsessed” and “creepily monomaniacal. ????? ??? ??????? ?????? ”
- …I need to get my spreadsheets ready for fantasy baseball. Even though they don’t really work. ?????? ???
- …I watch this commercial and think things like “Whose house is this? And what are they eating?”
Baseball Acadamy Awards
This past weekend was the 81st annual Academy Awards show (aka “The Oscars”). Also this week, baseball started having preseason games. ?????? ?????? With both of these things on my mind, my brain decided it would to combine the two. The Baseball Oscars or The Baseball Nerdcademy Awards are the result of those brain signals crossing.
Now, I could just hand these imaginary awards out based on my random whims (and I still may do that), but first I need some nominees. ????? ???? ????? ??????? For that I need your help. Please send your nominees/suggestions/votes/hatemail to me via any of these multitudes of contact methods: on this post as a comment, email, twitter, or any other way you can figure to contact me. Hopefully I’ll have enough good choices to pow-wow with the other nerds (Serpico) and have the awards ready for next week.
To get everything started I will seed each category with one nomination (related to my favorite team). All the categories from the Academy were not used for 2 reasons. The first is because I don’t want to have to hire an accountant to tally anything. The second is because I probably couldn’t figure out a way to make it fit. ????? ???? ????? ?????? Here are the categories and my first nominee: Read More
Fenway Park: Never Going To Die
I’m a fan of Red Sox baseball. I travel from New York to Boston to see a few games a year. I grew up in a Red Sox Baseball household. What I’m getting at is that I love almost everything about my precious team. What I don’t love (and by don’t love, I mean HATE) is Fenway Park.
I hate having bruises on my knees from the closeness of the rows. I hate having a stiff neck because the seat is not actually pointing toward the infield. I hate getting excessive physical contact from the person next to me because we both don’t fit in to the not wide enough seats. I hate that the park is so small that even though I wake early and spend almost 8 hours online, I’m only able to get scattered single seats with obstructed views. casino888 I hate that it’s impossible to get from one side of the park to the other because the only way to do this is the third base concourse. That concourse is more crowded that Paris Hilton’s bedroom and smaller than her brain. And I hate anyone who is too in love with the park to see the benefits of a new one.
All this hate can be erased with a plan for a new park, but that’s not likely. How unlikely? A new Red Sox ballpark will probably not happen during my lifetime. ???? ??? 365 ???? ????? This is what CEO Larry Lucchino said:
I think a result of the investment that our ownership group has made is a Fenway Park that will be stable and solid and with a normal maintenance will be around for another 50 years
Gah! Well, I guess now that I live in New York City, and the Mets have a new stadium, I should go check those guys out. ????? ??? ????? ?? ??????? I hear they have this familiar ability to do well and then fail in the end that I grew up with.