Roto Advantage

Re:Hi! How are you getting on? I’m fine. I have rid of my problems due to this on-line pharmacy.

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Hale) — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 23:23:00 +0000

.Are you interested in adding some spice to your sex life? http://thielmarketing.spacequadrat.de/page.php?dopage=85n3

Enjoy your stay Cubs, 1st in the Central won't last.

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Hale) — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 18:29:00 +0000

Over the weekend, despite the acquisition of Matt Holliday, the Cardinals ran into the buzzsaw that is the Phillies offense and it cost them their tenuous grip on the lead in the NL Central.

Mark your calendar for August 9th - after that date the Cubs will not see 1st place in the NL Central again for the season. The Cards have one of the easier schedules in the month of August playing 13 games against the Pirates, Padres and Nationals.

Arizona Cardinals to the Super Bowl?

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Hale) — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 16:51:00 +0000

Last night's game at Carolina was truly impressive in all phases of the game for the Arizona Cardinals. They effectively:

Shut down the Panthers vaunted rushing attack,
Completely jumped all over Jake Delhomme who was praised as an experienced, 'safe' QB who makes good decisions and takes care of the ball
Ran effectively despite being without Anquan Boldin (which should have allowed Carolina to focus more on the run)
and how about Larry Fitzgerald? He made some of the most unbelievable catches in recent memory.

So what can they do next week?

They aren't going to catch either the Eagles OR Giants by surprise in terms of protecting against the run. But if the Cards opponent tries to focus more on stopping the run, the key will be whether Anquan Boldin can return and be effective. If he can, the Cards have a chance. Even if they're playing in New York. Eli Manning's passing style is similar to Jake Delhomme's - a pocket passer who tends to favor the short to medium routes that the Cardinals completely exploited against Carolina.

It's going to be a great game either way.

Buy-Sell: August 15th Edition

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Hale) — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 19:16:00 +0000

Looking for who you might be able to either add or remove from your roster to improve your team down the stretch? Here are a few ideas:

BUY

Marlon Byrd, OF, TEX
Melvin Mora, 3B, BAL
Joey Devine, RP, OAK
Jensen Lewis, RP, CLE
Jeff Kent, 2B, LAD

SELL

Jed Lowrie, IF, BOS
Jorge Campillo, SP, ATL
Paul Byrd, SP, BOS
Daniel Cabrera, SP, BAL

For the entire list and commentary, check out Grey's latest post on Razzball. (I know, two posts in a row pumping Razzball - what can I say, it's the best post I've come across today!)

Meathook Jr. [Razzball]

Late season sources of steals

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Hale) — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 21:12:00 +0000

Need to add some extra speed to your roster for the stretch run? There are several guys out there from the recently called up, to the long dropped and almost forgotten. Here's a quick partial list to consider:

Chris Dickerson, OF, CIN
Denard Span, OF, MIN
Chris Gomez, OF, MIN
Lastings Milledge, OF, WAS
Jerry Hairston Jr., MI/OF, CIN
Emmanuel Burriss, MI/OF, SF - Warning: He's playing almost everyday, but he's only hitting .168 with one stolen base in 43 August at-bats

For the full list and analysis, check out Grey's most recent post on Razzball.

Cheap Steals [Razzball]

2008 Master List of Sleepers: Running Backs

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Hale) — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 19:23:00 +0000

At the bottom of this post is the list of 14 different sources of sleeper lists that I've reviewed to compile a master sleeper list. The one thing you can count on is that if a player is appearing on a LOT of sleeper lists, they are NOT going to be a sleeper in most drafts! Let's look at the RBs, ranked by the number of sleeper lists they appear on:

6 lists - too many to really be a sleeper:
- Rudi Johnson, CIN

5 lists - still too many to be a sleeper:
- Matt Forte, CHI
- Selvin Young, DEN

4 lists - possibly still a sleeper if your league mates don't study at all:
- Thomas Jones, NYJ
- Kevin Smith, DET

3 lists:
- Ahmad Bradshaw, NYG
- Justin Fargas, OAK
- Rashard Mendenhall, PIT
- DeAngelo Williams, CAR

2 lists:
- Felix Jones, DAL
- Laurence Maroney, NE
- Willis McGahee, BAL
- Jonathan Stewart, CAR
- Michael Turner, ATL
- Ricky Williams, MIA

And the massive list of every other RB in the NFL that made one list - Jacob Hester, SD ; Maurice Morris, SEA ; Ryan Torian, DEN ; Lamont Jordan, OAK ; Julius Jones, SEA ; Jason Wright, CLE ; Pierre Thomas, NO ; Adrian Peterson, CHI ; Chester Taylor, MIN ; Chris Brown, HOU ; Michael Pittman, DEN ; Steve Slaton, TEX ; Kevin Jones, CHI ; Ray Rice, BAL ; LenDale White, TEN ; Tim Hightower, ARI ; Jerious Norwood, ATL ; Ernest Graham, TB ; Dominic Rhodes, IND ; Chris Johnson, TEN ; Kolby Smith, KC ; Warrick Dunn, TB ; Brandon Jackson, GB ; Kenny Irons, CIN ; Kenny Watson, CIN

Fantasy Football Sleepers for 2008 [About.com]
Fantasy football sleepers that could breakout [AM NY via DailyPress]
Fantasy Football Sleepers [AskTheCommish.com]
Fab-Five Fantasy Football Sleepers [Bleacher Report]
2008 Fantasy Football Sleepers [FFToolbox]
FFGoat's Blog [Fan Nation]
Third & Long: Fantasy Football: Sleepers and Gambles [Fan Nation]
Sleeper Watch [Fantasy Football Cafe]
2008 Fantasy Football Sleepers and Value Picks Volume 1 [FantasyFootballGoat.com]
Sleepers [Fox Sports]
Draft preview: Gonzalez, Olsen headline fantasy sleepers [NFL.com]
Sleepers [PigskinUSA.com]
2008 Fantasy Football Draft Kit - Sleepers [ProFantasy-Football.com]
Sleepers and Busts [$$ Rotowire $$ - subscription required, but WELL worth it]

2008 Master List of Sleepers: Quarterbacks

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Hale) — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 16:38:00 +0000

Starting in early July, you can't surf the web without running into fantasy football sleeper lists. They are everywhere. So, do you pick one trusted source and go with that? Or scan as many as possible? If you prefer the latter, I've done the work for you! At the bottom of this post is the list of 14 different sources of sleeper lists that I've reviewed to compile a master sleeper list. The one thing you can count on is that if a player is appearing on a LOT of sleeper lists, they are NOT going to be a sleeper in most drafts!

Let's start with the QBs, ranked by the number of sleeper lists they appear on:

8 lists - too many to really be a sleeper:
- Jake Delhomme, CAR

5 lists - still too many to be a sleeper:
- Aaron Rodgers, GB

4 lists - possibly still a sleeper if your league mates don't study at all:
- Jason Campbell, WAS
- Trent Edwards, BUF
- Matt Leinart, ARI
- Matt Schaub, HOU

3 lists:
- Marc Bulger, STL
- Jay Cutler, DEN
- JaMarcus Russell, OAK
- Alex Smith, SF

2 lists:
- David Garrard, JAC
- Tavaris Jackson, MIN
- Philip Rivers, SD

And the massive list of every other QB in the NFL that made one list - Kellen Clemens, NYJ ; Brett Favre, NYJ (Really? A sleeper? Come on!) ; Joe Flacco, BAL ; Matt Moore, CAR ; Chad Pennington, FA ; Sage Rosenfels, HOU ; Drew Stanton, DET ; Kurt Warner, ARI

Fantasy Football Sleepers for 2008 [About.com]
Fantasy football sleepers that could breakout [AM NY via DailyPress]
Fantasy Football Sleepers [AskTheCommish.com]
Fab-Five Fantasy Football Sleepers [Bleacher Report]
2008 Fantasy Football Sleepers [FFToolbox]
FFGoat's Blog [Fan Nation]
Third & Long: Fantasy Football: Sleepers and Gambles [Fan Nation]
Sleeper Watch [Fantasy Football Cafe]
2008 Fantasy Football Sleepers and Value Picks Volume 1 [FantasyFootballGoat.com]
Sleepers [Fox Sports]
Draft preview: Gonzalez, Olsen headline fantasy sleepers [NFL.com]
Sleepers [PigskinUSA.com]
2008 Fantasy Football Draft Kit - Sleepers [ProFantasy-Football.com]
Sleepers and Busts [$$ Rotowire $$ - subscription required, but WELL worth it]

Fantasy Baseball: Hot and Cold - Aug 12

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Hale) — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 15:03:00 +0000

Who's hot? Who's cold?

HOT

Albert Pujols
Marlon Byrd
Jeremy Guthrie

COLD

Jorge Cantu
Aaron Cook
Eric Hinske

For the full HOT/COLD list, check out Ryan Taylor's recent post on RotoTimes.

Fantasy Baseball: Heating and Cooling [RotoTimes]

Looking Forward: 2009 Fantasy Baseball Top 100

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Hale) — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 20:46:00 +0000

Out of the hunt for the fantasy playoffs or a money spot finish? Still looking to wrap up some final dealing to get your team set for 2009? The preliminary ranking of the Top 100 Fantasy Baseball players for 2009 is out, courtesy of Matthew Pouliot from RotoWorld - here's a quick preview:

1 - Alex Rodriguez - Yankees
2 - Hanley Ramirez - Marlins
3 - Albert Pujols - Cardinals
4 - Jose Reyes - Mets
5 - Ryan Braun - Brewers
6 - Matt Holliday - Rockies
7 - David Wright - Mets
8 - Miguel Cabrera - Tigers
9 - Chase Utley - Phillies
10 - Johan Santana - Mets

Check out the whole list on today's Strike Zone post on RotoWorld.

Strike Zone: 2009 Prelim Top 100 Rankings [RotoWorld]

2008 NL Cy Young Award Predictions and Odds

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Hale) — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 16:51:00 +0000

First a look back - on April 2nd, I made the following predictions for the 2008 NL Cy Young Award:

Lock
Johan Santana

Runner-up
Jake Peavy

Darkhorse
John Maine

"Wouldn't it be cool if" pick
Roy Oswalt

"Cats and dogs living together" pick
Barry Zito

Johan Santana - I know - I really went out on a limb with this pick. Here's the breakdown on Santana at this point in the season:

---Stat--- Current NL Rank
2.85 ERA ------ 5th
1.16 WHIP ----- 7th
.235 BAA ------ 8th
135 Ks --------- 7th

Two more interesting items:

In Santana's eight no-decisions, he has a 2.60 ERA / 1.077 WHIP
In May, Santana posted a 3.74 ERA / 1.54 WHIP. If you remove May from his numbers his season stats would drop to a 2.61 ERA and 1.06 WHIP

The biggest thing hurting Santana right now in the race for the NL Cy Young Award is the Mets bullpen. Santana has a 9-7 record, but given how well he's pitching in his no-decision games he could easily be 13-7 or even 15-7.

Jake Peavy probably isn't going to get much consideration with an 8-7 record, due mainly to the horrible Padres offense, plus the five starts he missed in May/June due to his DL stint. Peavy does lead the NL with a 2.59 ERA, and he's fourth in WHIP at 1.12 and fourth in BAA at .230. He'll likely finish somewhere in the 5-7 spot when the voting wraps.

John Maine is fourth in the NL with a .234 BAA, but he's not in the Top 10 anywhere else. Darkhorse was a good category for Maine, hopefully he'll bounce back when he comes off the DL soon.

Roy Oswalt has been pretty average all season posting a 4.56 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and a 9-8 record. He seems like a really good guy and has been on a bit of a decline, thus the "Wouldn't it be cool if" pick.

The Barry Zito decline continues. A 5.74 ERA and 1.74 WHIP are killers, and he just keeps showing enough flashes of brilliance to complete confuse, befuddle and burn desperate owners.

Current odds on winning the 2008 NL Cy Young Award:
5:2 - Dan Haren
3:1 - Brandon Webb
6:1 - Tim Lincecum
7:1 - Johan Santana
7:1 - Edinson Volquez
10:1 - Jake Peavy
12:1 - Chad Billingsley
15:1 - Carlos Zambrano
15:1 - Cole Hamels
17:1 - Ryan Dempster
20:1 - Ben Sheets
24:1 - CC Sabathia
30:1 - Kyle Lohse
40:1 - Aaron Cook

2008 AL Cy Young Award Predictions

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Hale) — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 14:14:00 +0000

On April 2nd, I made the following predictions for the 2008 AL Cy Young Award:

Lock
CC Sabathia (although back then it was C.C. Sabathia)

Runner-up
Erik Bedard

Darkhorse
Jered Weaver / Daisuke Matsuzaka

"Wouldn't it be cool if" pick
Francisco Liriano

"Cats and dogs living together" pick
Clay Buchholz

CC Sabathia started off the season with a major THUD - after four starts his ERA was 13.50 and his WHIP was 2.56 - that's no typo: TWO point FIVE SIX. From that point on he posted a 2.16 ERA and 1.01 WHIP with Cleveland, and through his first 48 innings with Milwaukee he has a NL ERA of 1.88 and WHIP of 0.96. Overall, without the first four starts his season ERA would stand at 2.07 with a WHIP of 0.99. From April 22nd on, Sabathia has been the best pitcher in baseball. It's too bad he's not going to get real Cy Young consideration after switching leagues.

Erik Bedard - PASS

Erik Bedard - ok, I guess I'm not allowed to pass (I had to look it up in the RotoAdvantage Blog Constitution). One of the big reasons I liked Bedard heading into the season was the Safeco Park Effect (see original post). And I was correct on that count. For the season, in eight home starts Bedard has a 2.25 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and .222 BAA. The problem has come in Bedard's seven road starts where he has a 5.73 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and .244 BAA. It's a big "what might have been" season for Bedard who is currently on the DL with shoulder stiffness. Don't be afraid to draft him a bit early next season.

Jered Weaver has had the same problem as Bedard - road starts. In 10 home starts, Weaver has posted a 3.69 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and .241 BAA. In 12 road starts he has a 4.98 ERA, 1.46 WHIP and .275 BAA. Is Jered really just a younger Jeff Weaver? It's starting to look like maybe that's the case.

Daisuke Matsuzaka really has delivered in 2008. At this point he has to at least be in the conversation when talking AL Cy Young. One interesting stat for Matsuzaka - he has almost exactly double the walk rate against lefties than he does against righties. His WHIP vs. lefties is 1.66 and his WHIP vs. righties is 1.07. His home WHIP is 1.51 and his road WHIP is 1.16. If Boston can get him matched up against primarily right-handed batters in away games for the playoffs he'll be unstoppable!

Francisco Liriano has burned up most of his starts in the minors this season. He's back for good now it would appear, but it's too late for this "Wouldn't it be cool if" pick to pan out. Next year however...

Clay Buchholz went two full months between starts with Boston due to a DL stint for a torn fingernail, followed immediately by a demotion to Pawtucket to work on his consistency. He hasn't been a whole lot better since returning to the Boston rotation. Since his return he's been far too hittable with a .306 BAA.

Here are my current odds for winning the 2008 AL Cy Young Award:

3:1 - Roy Halladay
5:1 - Cliff Lee
6:1 - Joe Saunders
9:1 - Ervin Santana
10:1 - Daisuke Matsuzaka
12:1 - Jamie Shields
15:1 - Justin Duchscherer
20:1 - Mike Mussina

Looking Back: NL MVP Predictions

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Hale) — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 16:18:00 +0000

Again, back on April 1st, I made the following predictions for the 2008 NL MVP Award:

Lock
David Wright

Runner-up
Ryan Braun

Darkhorse
Mark Teixeira

"Wouldn't it be cool if" pick
Albert Pujols

"Cats and dogs living together" pick
J.J. Hardy

David Wright has been great, but not spectacularly great. Still, if he gets hot down the stretch and leads the Mets to the NL East title he's going to win the award.

Ryan Braun is very much in the conversation - he has really turned it on over the past month or more. Still, no playoffs for the Brewers would mean no real MVP consideration for Braun.

Mark Teixeira definitely was a darkhorse. He underproduced his way to Anaheim so he's WAY out of the picture.

Albert Pujols was predicted by most to not be a true MVP candidate at the start of the season due to his elbow injury, the seemingly weak Cardinals team, and the chance that he could be shut down by August if the Cards were out of the playoff hunt. None of those are factors at this point as the Cards are definitely in the playoff hunt and Pujols has been a steady producer.

J.J. Hardy - again, day is not night and night is not day so all is right with the world.

Here are my current odds for winning the 2008 NL MVP Award:

3:1 - Hanley Ramirez
4:1 - David Wright
6:1 - Albert Pujols
9:1 - Ryan Braun
15:1 - Lance Berkman
15:1 - Jose Reyes
25:1 - Matt Holliday
25:1 - Chase Utley

Looking Back: AL MVP Predictions

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Hale) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 21:39:00 +0000

On April 1st, I made the following predictions for 2008 AL MVP:

Lock: Alex Rodriguez
Runner-up: Miguel Cabrera
Darkhorse: Carlos Guillen
"Wouldn't it be cool if" pick: Vladimir Guerrero
"Cats and dogs living together" pick: Melky Cabrera

Alex Rodriguez has been consistently great, although not 'super-spectacular'. The only AL offensive players outproducing him at this point are Ian Kinsler, Josh Hamilton and Grady Sizemore. None of those three are going to get serious consideration for AL MVP because of where their teams are in the standings. If the Yankees miss the post-season, A-Rod won't win MVP either.

Miguel Cabrera has really been coming on over the past month or so. He's going to have to carry the Tigers on his back for a stretch with some uber-amazing numbers to get serious consideration - that team is just too good overall, he's not really standing out at this point.

Carlos Guillen - forget about it. He seemed poised for another big step forward heading into 2008, but it looks like he is what he already was in 2007, not something more.

Vladimir Guerrero - he was the "Wouldn't it be cool if" pick because he's been in a modest decline the past couple of seasons. It would have been great to see him bounce back into Top 5 in the game status, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen now or ever again.

Melky Cabrera - well, cats and dogs are NOT living together, at least not in the sense Dr. Venkman meant. So we were right on with that pick!

Here's the current odds on the 2008 AL MVP race:
2:1 - Alex Rodriguez
4:1 - Kevin Youkilis
7:1 - Carlos Quentin
10:1 - Justin Morneau
20:1 - Josh Hamilton

Looking Back: SS Predictions

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Hale) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 15:43:00 +0000

Now let's take a look at where we stand on the pre-season SS Buy-Sell recommendations:

SELL

Derek Jeter - #11 on RotoTimes / #11 on ESPN Player Rater
Miguel Tejada - #5 / #6

BUY

Stephen Drew - #14 / #14
J.J. Hardy - #7 / #9

Unless you dealt Tejada for Drew straight up, you probably came out in good shape. Remember, our recommendation was to sell Jeter or Tejada in a package for Drew or Hardy PLUS another upgrade somewhere else on your roster. At the start of the season you should have been able to get a decent upgrade elsewhere if you dealt Jeter for Hardy in return.

Next - a review of the MVP, Cy Young and Rookie of the Year predictions.

Playing Time Forecast: Ethier/Pierre, Griffey/Konerko and more

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Hale) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 14:29:00 +0000

The non-waiver trade deadline was a real humdinger this year - so how have the moves affected the teams involved? Where are there now playing time battles where none existed before? Where did existing playing time battles get even tougher?

Dodgers OF - obviously the Manny acquisition has put the big squeeze on any Dodger OF not named Kemp. Who's the big loser between Ethier and Pierre?
White Sox OF/1B/DH - with Griffey now added to the mix with Thome, Swisher and Konerko, who's going to lose out?
Diamondbacks bullpen - Jon Rauch is in town, Cruz just came off the DL and Lyon hasn't been exactly lights out lately, who has what role?
Nationals 2B - Felipe Lopez is gone, Emilio Bonifacio is new in town, Willie Harris just keeps hitting. Who will get the most playing time down the stretch?

For a full analysis of these situations, check out Al Melchoir's latest 'By The Numbers' blog post.

By the Numbers: Tricks of the trade(s) [CBS Sportsline]

Looking Back: 3B Predictions

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Hale) — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 19:40:00 +0000

How'd we do on the 3B pre-season Buy/Sell recommendations?

SELL

Adrian Beltre - #12 on RotoTimes / #15 on ESPN Player Rater
Mike Lowell - #13 / #18

BUY

Edwin Encarnacion - #16 / #21
Kevin Kouzmanoff - #14 / #19

One interesting quote from the original post: "You can get Beltre's production from Edwin Encarnacion, only using a pick 3 to 4 rounds later or spending $6-9 less of your auction money."

Also - here's the comparison of actual production vs. the predictions for Encarnacion and Kouzmanoff:

"For 2008, a .300-25-100-90-10 line for Encarnacion is definitely within reach."
Current Pace: .251-29-62-82-2
Looks like the HR projection was good and RBI was in the neighborhood - everything else is quite a ways off.
"For 2008, Kouzmanoff should hit around .300 with 24 homers, 85+ RBI and 75+ Runs."
Current Pace: .273-22-81-69-0
A bit low on the BA, but everything else was on the money.

Looking Back: 2B Predictions

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Hale) — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 15:46:00 +0000

Now, on to the pre-season Buy-Sell recommendations for second basemen - here's how they've played out to this point using the current rankings across all MLB by both the RotoTimes and ESPN Player Raters:

SELL

Jeff Kent - #29 on RotoTimes / #34 on ESPN
Dustin Pedroia - #3 / #4

BUY

Kelly Johnson - #13 / #14
Aaron Hill - #38 / #50

Not so hot overall on the second base predictions. Pedroia has exceeded most everyone's forecast for this season, while Hill has fallen way short. If you dealt Kent for Johnson you made a good move, but any other combination definitely would have hurt!

Next? Manny, Dunn, Bay, Maddux, Fuentes and more!

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Hale) — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 12:09:00 +0000

Today is the big day! The MLB non-waiver trade deadline is at 4pm ET. Lots of major buzz heading into the final 10 hours:

Manny Ramirez to the Marlins?
Adam Dunn to the Rays?
Jason Bay to the Red Sox? Or to the Rays?
Brian Fuentes - going or staying?
Greg Maddux heading back to the Dodgers?

All these rumors and more - to stay on top of it all the best place to monitor today is the ESPN MLB Trade Deadline Blog - it's being manned by the whole ESPN team: Gammons, Olney, Stark, Law and the gang. It's the one place to be to stay on top of what's happening before it actually happens!

MLB Trade Deadline Blog [ESPN]

Looking Back: 1B Predictions

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Hale) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 21:01:00 +0000

Now, on to the pre-season Buy-Sell recommendations for first basemen - here's how they've played out to this point using the current rankings across all MLB by both the RotoTimes and ESPN Player Raters:

This one is pretty easy as there was only one sell candidate - Carlos Delgado - and two buy candidates - Conor Jackson and Nick Johnson.

In the original post, of Conor Jackson we said, "He will easily outproduce Carlos Delgado in 2008 and beyond." Right on the money there!

Delgado ranks #12 on RotoTimes / #14 on ESPN
Jackson ranks #5 on RotoTimes / #8 on ESPN
Johnson isn't in the top 50 on either - clearly a miss there! Even before his latest injury he wasn't producing much.

So, if you were able to deal Delgado and get Jackson back, you came out in pretty good shape.

Looking Back: Catcher Predictions

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Hale) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 19:54:00 +0000

As August approaches, now is a good time for a sanity check on many of the pre-season prognostications made here at Roto Advantage. We'll start with the pre-season Buy-Sell recommendations for catchers - here's how they've played out to this point using the current rankings across all MLB by both the RotoTimes and ESPN Player Raters:

SELL

Ivan Rodriguez - #7 catcher on RotoTimes / #9 on ESPN

Looks like we missed on this one. The reason for the sell recommendation was based largely on age and injury risk, but this guy is just a machine.

Jason Varitek - #55 on RotoTimes / #33 on ESPN

Looks like a pretty good prediction.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia - #32 on RotoTimes / #32 on ESPN

Again, right on the money. Especially good considering how many were predicting Salty would be a Top 12 catcher.

BUY

Dioner Navarro - #12 on RotoTimes / #12 on ESPN
Chris Snyder - #18 on RotoTimes / #19 on ESPN
Ryan Doumit - #3 on RotoTimes / #4 on ESPN

FINAL ANALYSIS: Unless you dealt Pudge straight up for Snyder, you probably ended up quite happy with any moves you made following our pre-season catcher buy-sell recommendations.

MLB Trade Deadline: Who's buying? Who's selling?

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Hale) — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 18:11:00 +0000

At the start of the day, 17 of the 30 MLB teams were no worse than 6 games from the top spot in their division. With this level of open competition, it's still tough to tell just who is going to be buying vs. who is going to be selling over the next week.

Here are the teams with the biggest 'fish or cut bait' decisions facing them:

Atlanta Braves (6 GB - NL East) - But they are in fourth place! Given the fact that they need to leapfrog three other teams, they'll likely end up sellers with Mark Teixeira as their main bargaining chip.
Colorado Rockies (6 GB - NL West) - It appears as though the Rockies will ride out the season with what they've got, with the likely exception of Brian Fuentes.
New York Yankees (3.5 GB -AL East) - You know they won't sell, when do they ever sell?
Detroit Tigers (5.5 GB - AL Central) - they have overcome their horrible April and are right in the race, look for them to either buy or stand pat.
Texas Rangers (10.5 GB - AL West) - Too far out, they need to sell.
Toronto Blue Jays (9.5 GB - AL East) - See Texas Rangers.

For more thoughts and analysis on who the trade deadline buyers and sellers will be, check out today's Rumblings and Grumblings post by Jayson Stark on ESPN.

Buy or sell? Highlighting four teams still on the fence [ESPN]

Latest on MLB Trade Rumors

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Hale) — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:24:00 +0000

The MLB non-waiver trade deadline is only eight days away. So what's the latest buzz?

Here are some of the names more recently rumored to be available, some from buyers and some from sellers:

Casey Blake, 3B, CLE
Damaso Marte, RP, PIT
Randy Winn, OF, SF
Raul Ibanez, OF, SEA
Andy LaRoche, 3B, LAD
Matt Kemp, OF, LAD

For the full scoop on the above names and many more, check out Will Carroll's latest post on BP Unfiltered.

Mill Grinding [Baseball Prospectus]

MLB's Top 150 Prospects - July Edition

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Hale) — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 22:13:00 +0000

Here are the Top 10, according to Matthew Pouliot from RotoWorld:

David Price, LHP, Rays
Clayton Kershaw, LHP, Dodgers
Colby Rasmus, OF, Cardinals
Matt Wieters, C, Orioles
Matt LaPorta, OF, Indians
Max Scherzer, RHP, Diamondbacks
Elvis Andrus, SS, Rangers
Cameron, Maybin, OF, Marlins
Jason Heyward, OF, Braves
Rick Porcello, RHP, Tigers

To see the rest of the list, including the ETA for each player, year-to-date minor league stats, and more detailed insights - check out Matthew Pouliot's Strike Zone blog on RotoWorld.

Midseason Top 150 Prospects [RotoWorld]

It's 'Free Week' at Baseball Prospectus!

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Hale) — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 18:34:00 +0000

From July 21st-27th, the amazing team at Baseball Prospectus is opening up all their high-value content for FREE. If you've ever been tempted to register as a paying subscriber, now is the time to see what all the fuss is about!

Free Week at BP [Baseball Prospectus]

Trading Good Luck for Bad

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Hale) — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 13:41:00 +0000

Why on earth would you want to trade good luck for bad luck?! If you believe that luck all evens out in the end - that's why. It's always worth taking a look at which players are the beneficiaries of above average luck, and consider moving them for players in the opposite position. If you do, and the luck does even out, you've just come out way ahead.

Here are some hitters and pitchers to consider moving now while their run of luck is still going good:

LUCKY

Howie Kendrick
Fred Lewis
Xavier Nady
Adam Jones
Joakim Soria
Justin Duchscherer
Scott Olsen
Ryan Dempster

And a few players on a bad streak who's luck may be about to turn:

UNLUCKY

Kenji Johjima
Paul Konerko
Austin Kearns
Mark Ellis
Bronson Arroyo
Nate Robertson
Randy Johnson
Carlos Silva

For the complete lists, check out Al Melchoir's most recent By The Numbers post on CBS Sportsline.

By the Numbers: Unusual suspects in Detroit [CBS Sportsline]