Author: Anthony Stalter (Page 501 of 1503)

      Browns sign Fujita, Pashos – is Troy Smith on the way?

      March 8, 2010 /

      The Browns signed a pair of free agents over the weekend, inking deals with linebacker Scott Fujita (three years, $16 million) and right tackle Tony Pashos (three years, $10.3 million).

      The signing of Fujita probably signals the end of Eric Barton’s short tenure in Cleveland. The former New Orleans outside linebacker will play inside in Eric Mangini’s 3-4 defense and should do well at that position. While he’s an unspectacular player (i.e. he’s not going to make a ton of highlight reel plays), Fujita is fundamentally sound and plays the run extremely well.

      Pashos will replace John St. Clair, who struggled mightily last year. With the Browns ready to transition to a power running game under Mike Holmgren, Pashos is a good fit because he’s a mauler in the run game. He is coming off an injury-plagued 2009 season, but has been durable over his career and should be healthy by the time camp opens.

      Another interesting Browns-related nugget is that Troy Smith’s agent said on Monday that his client “would crawl from Baltimore right now to be able to play in Cleveland.” The Browns are looking for quarterbacks and Smith was tendered at the low level, which means he could be had for a fifth round pick. But is he a fit for the West Coast offense? It might be worth it for Holmgren to part with a fifth rounder to find out.


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      NFL

      Bengals show interest in Marshall, but is it just a smokescreen?

      March 8, 2010 /

      Via his Twitter page, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the Bengals have contemplated pursuing restricted free agent Brandon Marshall, although no visit has been arranged yet.

      Despite that report, Bengals’ beat writer Joe Reedy of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes that the rumors on Marshall to the Bengals are mostly a smoke screen meant to drive up the price for the Seahawks, who hosted Marshall over the weekend.

      Not to discredit Reedy’s reporting, but why would the Bengals want to drive up the price for the Seahawks? Seattle plays in a completely different conference than Cincinnati and one would think that the Bengals would be concentrating on signing their own free agents instead of faking interest in Marshall just to tease the Seahawks. But who knows at this point.

      Schefter also writes that his ESPN collegue Mike Tirico recently bumped into Marshall in Denver and the receiver said the visit to Seattle was “great.” Marshall apparently also told Tirico that he is still very open to saying in Denver.


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      2010 Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Third Basemen

      March 7, 2010 /

      All 2010 Fantasy Articles | 2010 Position Rankings

      Savvy fantasy drafters realize that the pool for third basemen this year isn’t as shallow as catchers and shortstops, but it isn’t as deep as second basemen either (which may sound surprising to some owners).

      What does that mean to you? Well, if you don’t grab one of the top seven or eight third basemen in your draft, then good luck trying to figure out which player after that will exceed expectations.

      Drafting third basemen is pretty cut and dry. If you don’t land one of the top 3 (Alex Rodriguez, Evan Longoria or David Wright), then focus on drafting one of the next five 3B’s available or you better hope that Gordon Beckham or Ian Stewart are the ultimate sleepers this season. We don’t need to sell you on why you should take A-Rod, Longoria or Wright, so we’re going to concentrate on the next five rated players on our list, which we’ve highlighted for you below.

      Ryan Zimmerman, Nationals
      There’s a good chance that Zimmerman will plateau at around 30 home runs (which is nothing to scoff at), but it’s hard to argue with what he’ll bring to the table in terms of production across the board. He should hit around .300 (or maybe a little south of that number), with 100-plus runs and RBI, all while stealing 5-10 bases and hitting the aforementioned 25-30 home runs. That’s solid production for your third base position if you happen to miss out on one of the top three guys.

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      Fantasy Baseball, MLB

      Brandon Marshall in Seattle for a visit, but who else is interested?

      March 7, 2010 /

      Things could be heating up on the Brandon Marshall trade front. Here’s what we know so far:

      – On Saturday, Marshall was reportedly in Seattle doing a meet-and-greet with the Seahawks. While they didn’t sign the restricted free agent to an offer sheet, the Seattle Times speculates that the Seahawks would send the No. 6 overall pick in April’s draft to the Broncos for Marshall.

      If that sounds far-fetched, it’s probably because it is. In fact, ESPN NFC West beat writer Mike Sando says that he would be shocked if the Hawks parted with their top pick, although that doesn’t mean the two sides can’t work out another trade if Marshall is signed to an offer sheet.

      – Mike Lombardi of the National Football Post writes that the Seahawks could have competition for Marshall shortly, although he doesn’t say which teams could be interested. The very reliable Rotoworld.com speculates that the Patriots, Falcons and Bengals make sense.

      Out of the three teams Rotoworld mentions, I think the Patriots and Bengals do make sense, although I highly doubt the Falcons would join the party. While they would love to add another big time playmaker opposite Roddy White, I doubt they’ll part with their first round pick (19th overall) to address the offensive side of the ball with holes at outside linebacker and defensive end. GM Thomas Dimitroff would like to continue his rebuilding project on defense and it makes it harder for him to do that without a first round pick. I think Dunta Robinson was the only big splash the Falcons will make this offseason.

      We’ll monitor this situation next week and see if a) the Seahawks eventually sign Marshall to an offer sheet and/or b) another team joins the race.


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      NFL

      2010 Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Shortstops

      March 6, 2010 /

      All 2010 Fantasy Articles | 2010 Position Rankings

      Sometimes it pays to be patient when it comes to drafting certain positions in fantasy baseball. For example, waiting to snag your starting catcher until late in your draft makes sense. Landing a couple star players at weaker positions in the early rounds while waiting to select someone in a deep pool of first basemen can also be adventurous.

      But choosing not to grab an elite shortstop in one of the first two rounds is about as smart as bringing a knife to a gunfight. You’ll be at a serious disadvantage because the talent pool after the top five players doesn’t level off – it drops off a mountain.

      If you weren’t lucky enough to land one of the top picks in the draft, then you’ll probably miss out on Hanley Ramirez. Don’t sweat it – there are four other shortstops that you can target in one of the first two rounds in order to set yourself up with a great player at shortstop. Just make sure you snag one of the top five or else you could wind up pulling your hair out because you just can’t get enough consistent production out of your starting shortstop position.

      Hanley Ramirez, Marlins
      Ramirez is in a class all his own. He’s a five-tool superstar that will give you 25-plus home run power, 90-plus RBI and 100-plus runs, all while stealing 25-plus bases and hitting anywhere from .320 to .340. The problem is, if you don’t have one of the top 2 spots in your draft you won’t have him on your roster this season.

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      Fantasy Baseball, MLB

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