Month: March 2010 (Page 37 of 59)

      Should Jose Reyes be avoided on draft day?

      March 11, 2010 /

      Jose Reyes’ thyroid condition may have just become public enemy No. 1 for fantasy owners.

      The Mets said that it would be approximately two to eight weeks (quite a large window, we know) before Reyes resumes baseball activity after he was ordered to rest until his thyroid condition normalizes. GM Omar Minaya isn’t optimistic about his shortstop being ready for the start of the season and even when he does return, chances are that Reyes will have plenty of rust to shake off after missing virtually the entire 2009 season and all of spring training this year.

      The problem fantasy owners face is that Reyes is one of 5-6 shortstops that are worth grabbing before the talent level at the position falls off a cliff. Hanley Ramirez is in a category all to his own, while Reyes, Troy Tulowitzki, Jimmy Rollins, Derek Jeter and Ben Zobrist comprise the rest of the top 6 shortstops. Fail to draft one of those players and risk dealing with the inconsistencies of Stephen Drew, Alexei Ramirez or Yunel Esobar.

      So what is a fantasy owner to do? Well for starters, monitor Reyes’ situation leading up to your draft. If the reports are positive and it looks like he’ll be back to full strength in May, then don’t pass on him if he represents good value in your draft. There were tons of owners that avoided Joe Mauer last year because of his lingering back problems and he turned out to be a fantasy superstar. Reyes might not be overly productive in the first half of the season, but if you can grab a fill-in like Marco Scutaro or J.J. Hardy late in your draft to keep your SS position afloat until the All-Star Break, Reyes could be huge in the second half.

      Conversely, if Reyes suffers a setback over the next week or so, then it might be wise to avoid him altogether and target one of the other top 5 available shortstops. Every year Jeter falls in drafts because of his age and every year he produces. Nabbing him instead of taking a risk on Reyes earlier in your draft might pay off in the end.

      But overall, doing your homework and staying on top of latest reports will allow you to make a sound decision on Reyes come draft day.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      Fantasy Baseball, MLB

      #22 G-Town upends #3 Syracuse; Onuaku injured

      March 11, 2010 /

      Georgetown beat Syracuse, 91-84, in the quarterfinals of the Big East Championship. The Hoyas shot almost 58% from the field by attacking Syracuse’s zone in the paint via penetration, the high post and lobs to the rim. The Orange didn’t help themselves by turning the ball over 17 times, either.

      The game turned when Andy Rautins started to struggle. He scored or assisted on six straight buckets early in the second half, giving Syracuse a nine-point lead, but over the next ten minutes, he took two bad threes and turned the ball over twice, and the Orange trailed by five. He reminds me of Kirk Hinrich when he’s playing well, but I don’t remember Hinrich having long stretches of sketchy play when he was at Kansas.

      Chris Wright posted 27-6-6, and Greg Monroe added 15-8-7, making several nice passes from the high post against Syracuse’s zone.

      The Orange lost Arinze Onuaku to a knee injury and it’s not clear how much time he will miss. Syracuse is not deep — the Orange only play seven players — so if Onuaku is going to miss significant time, it’s going to be a big blow to Syracuse’s title hopes.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      College Basketball, March Madness

      How good is Kobe in the clutch?

      March 11, 2010 /

      TrueHoop has a piece that outlines Kobe’s performance in crunch time, which for the purposes of this post is a shot that has a chance to tie or win the game in the last 10 seconds of regulation or overtime.

      – This season, Bryant has made seven of the 12 shots, with a chance to win or tie the game, in the last ten seconds of regulation or overtime.

      – Bryant’s the only player in the last decade who has made seven such shots in a season.

      – Bryant has made 26 of the 89 potential game tying or game-winning field goals he has shot over the last decade. That’s 29.2%, which is slightly above League average.

      Henry Abbott breaks down why Kobe is good in the clutch:

      At that time of the game, there’s value in being able to create scoring opportunities. Bryant may shoot those difficult fallaways that often miss, but he’d be a far worse player if he couldn’t get a shot off at all. And that’s the situation some lesser players would find themselves in.

      In 2008-09, 82games reports that Kobe was the best in the clutch, which, by their definition, is the last five minutes of regulation or overtime, and neither team ahead by more than five points. (I’m not sure why 82games doesn’t provide league-wide clutch stats for the current season since they do have those numbers on the individual player pages.) Last year, Bryant scored at a rate of 56.7 points (per 48 minutes) and this season he is posting 48.1 points. He shot 45.7% last season compared to 43.2% this year.

      Kobe hits a lot of game-winners for a few reasons: 1) he’s really good at getting off a decent shot even though the defense knows he’s getting the ball, 2) he takes a lot of game-winners, and 3) he has supreme confidence in his ability to score when the game is on the line. One thing I’ve noticed over the years is that he doesn’t take the ball to the hole when the game is on the line, probably because refs have a tendency to swallow the whistle and let “the players decide the outcome.” He’s not an “and one” guy on the same level as LeBron, so he’d rather shoot a fadeaway and take his chances.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA

      Report: Seahawks want Kolb, not McNabb

      March 11, 2010 /

      Comcast Sports Net Philadelphia is reporting that the Seahawks are interested in Eagles’ quarterback Kevin Kolb and not Donovan McNabb. This contradicts ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio’s report yesterday that the Seahawks have been calling the Eagles “non-stop” about the availability of both quarterbacks.

      Good luck, Seattle. If (and it’s a big “if” at this point) the Eagles were going to part with either quarterback, it would be McNabb because of his age. Kolb is the future and while Andy Reid may be committed to McNabb now, he knows the veteran can’t play forever and at some point the team will have to make the transition to the younger QB.

      The Seahawks own the No. 6 and No. 14 overall picks in the draft and I highly doubt they would be willing to give up either for Kolb or McNabb. If they found another team to trade with, they may be willing to drop down and then make a deal with Philly, but again, the Eagles seem reluctant to hang onto all three (Michael Vick being the third leg of the triangle) of their quarterbacks at this point.

      This is an interesting development and one that is worth following leading up to the draft, but as it stands right now there is no deal to be had between these two teams. It’s also worth noting that the Seahawks have been linked to receiver Brandon Marshall, who would also have to be acquired via trade.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      NFL, NFL Draft

      Tiger to make his return March 25 at Bay Hill?

      March 11, 2010 /

      According to a report by FOXSports.com, Tiger Woods is targeting the Arnold Palmer Invitational on March 25 at Bill Hill in Orlando to make his return to the PGA Tour.

      Two sources in the golf community told The New York Post that Ari Fleischer, the former press secretary to Pres. George W. Bush and the man who was brought in to help repair the steroid-shattered image of Mark McGwire, has been huddling with Woods, plotting a strategy for his return to golf — at the Arnold Palmer Invitational starting March 25 at Bay Hill in Orlando.

      “They were in his living room this week going over a strategy for how to handle Bay Hill in two weeks,” one source said.

      The other source told The Post, “I would be shocked if he didn’t play the Arnold Palmer .”

      Palmer himself reportedly has told some close confidants that Woods is definitely playing Bay Hill. Quietly, the people running the tournament are preparing for a larger-than-usual media crush.

      Last week I made a prediction that Tiger would make his return at the Masters on April 8th, or play in whatever tournament occurs the week before the Masters. Bay Hill is the last tournament before the Masters.

      It makes sense that Woods would want to knock the rust off his game before he played in a major, so I wouldn’t doubt it if this report were true and his return is at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. It’ll be interesting to see how his team will choose to handle the media when he’s not out on the course.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      Golf

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