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      Report: Yankees out of Holliday and Bay sweepstakes

      December 29, 2009 /

      According to a report by the New York Daily News, there is “zero” chance that the Yankees sign free agents Matt Holliday or Jason Bay.

      But missing out on DeRosa does not mean the Yankees will seek an expensive option such as Matt Holliday or Jason Bay for their left-field opening, one Yankee official said before the deal was made. “No chance on Matt Holliday, no chance on Jason Bay,” the official said. “Zero. None. Underline it.”

      The Yankees are thinking of much cheaper free agent options – former Blue Jay and Cub Reed Johnson, Jerry Hairston Jr. from last season’s team or other players for left field, the official said. Brett Gardner could have a chance to compete for a role there. They will also troll the trade market.

      Of course, Yankee GM Brian Cashman once said that he was comfortable with Bubba Crosby being the team’s starting center fielder – mere weeks before the Yankees gave Johnny Damon $52 million over four years to play there instead. The Yankees certainly could afford to stretch their self-imposed budget for a big name, but they also believe that next year’s free agent class – hello, Carl Crawford! – is much more attractive, so they are saving cash for that.

      Until Bay and Holliday are signed, don’t count the Yankees out. I don’t care what any report says: The Bombers have the money and if they want a player, they will spend in order to acquire him.

      MLB

      Waiver Wire Watch: Week 17

      December 29, 2009 /

      For all intents and purposes, the fantasy football season is over. Most leagues (wisely) hold their championships in Week 16 to avoid the kind of debacle situation that happened yesterday in the Colts game.

      So in lieu of our normal list of waiver wire pickups, I’m going to list a few guys that might be able to help a team that has another game to play in Week 17. I’m looking for two things: 1) the player is readily available on the waiver wire and 2) has a good matchup in Week 17.

      Josh Freeman (2.6)
      Freeman has averaged 208 yards and 1.1 TD in eight starts and has a nice matchup with a sketchy Falcons defense in Week 17. He throws a lot of picks (2.0 per game), but if you’re in a league that doesn’t penalize too heavily for INTs, he wouldn’t be a bad Week 17 play. Atlanta’s offense is picking up now that Matt Ryan is back under center so the Bucs will probably have to throw to stay in the game.

      Justin Forsett (54.6)
      Julius Jones re-aggravated his ankle and ribs against the Packers, so expect Forsett to carry the load in Week 17 against a Titans defense that had trouble keeping LaDainian Tomlinson and Darren Sproles in check. Forsett is a Sproles-like back, so he should have success against Tennessee.

      Donald Brown (58.1)
      Brown will probably get the start against the Bills’ league-worst rush defense. Don’t let his numbers (16 carries, 22 yards, TD) against the Jets worry you. He should have a big game against the hapless Bills.

      Sammy Morris (33.0)
      It looks like Laurence Maroney fumbled his way out of the Pats’ RB1 job. He had four carries for 22 yards before fumbling the ball on his fifth carry as he headed into the endzone. Sammy Morris took over and rushed the ball 12 times for 95 yards and a TD. Moreover, he has a pretty good matchup in Week 17 with the Texans.

      Austin Collie (37.6)
      He doesn’t have a great matchup (BUF), but the Bills were torched last week against the Falcons, and with Reggie Wayne, Pierre Garcon and Dallas Clark likely limited or sidelined, Collie could be in for a big day.

      Muhsin Muhammad (17.2)
      Muhammad’s days of consistent domination are long over, but with Steve Smith sidelined with a broken arm, Muhammad figures to get the lion’s share of targets in a very good matchup against the Saints. New Orleans should be able to put some points on the board, so expect the Panthers to throw the ball to try to stay in the game.

      Jermichael Finley (26.7)
      He’s still out there on almost three-quarters of ESPN waiver wires and I have no idea why. He has gone over 70 yards receiving in four consecutive games and has three TD in that span. With a nice matchup against Arizona in Week 17, another nice outing is likely.

      Todd Heap (38.8)
      The four TD that Heap has scored the last two weeks came completely out of nowhere — zero TD in the previous 11 games — but he seems to be rolling now and although the Raiders aren’t a great matchup, he is a big target in the Ravens’ passing game, especially with Mark Clayton sidelined and Derrick Mason banged up.

      David Thomas (1.7)
      As long as Jeremy Shockey is sidelined, Thomas is a starter-caliber TE, at least in PPR leagues. He has 13 catches for 102 yards over the last two weeks, so if Shockey sits again, Thomas should have a solid outing against a Carolina defense that is better against wideouts than it is against tight ends.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Chris Bosh to Miami makes too much sense

      December 28, 2009 /

      In his latest (6900-word?) column, Bill Simmons plays GM and suggests several “fake trade offers” for teams looking to save money this season.

      He made an interesting point about Chris Bosh.

      As I wrote in July, there’s nothing more dangerous than a GM worried about his job who dumps the team’s long-term interests to protect the short term. Everything Bryan Colangelo did this past summer screamed, “I need to keep my job!!!” Now the Raptors are hamstrung with an overpaid, below-.500 roster that doubles as the worst defensive team of this decade — seriously, what did they think would happen when Jose Calderon, Hedo Turkoglu and Andrea Bargnani were three of the team’s best four guys? — and Chris Bosh seems like a mortal lock to leave. You can’t do the Frank Drebin Memorial “Please disperse, nothing to see here, please disperse” routine. Raptors fans are too smart. They get it.

      By dealing Bosh, Colangelo would be effectively saying, “I made some mistakes, we need to press the RESET button and start over.” Translation: “Fire me, I deserve it.” Because nobody would ever sabotage his job like that, he probably will keep Bosh, make a smaller trade and pray things turn around. If they don’t, the Raptors will get nothing for him. Not fair to the Raptor Truthers. At all.

      If Colangelo is feeling the heat, then it is unlikely that he’ll move Bosh before the February deadline. He’s going to have a tough time getting equal value because the whole league knows that since the Raptors are losing, Bosh is likely to bolt. Why would other teams trade for a guy that they can sign in six months?

      Well, one reason to believe that Bosh may indeed be on the move is that a team out there (like, say, the Miami Heat, who have their own superstar to worry about) might want to acquire Bosh now and not wait until the summer to try to sign him. In the case of the Heat, it would be doubly important because trading for Bosh would almost certainly convince Wade to stay in sunny Miami next summer. (Unless, of course, he already has other plans.)

      Doesn’t a deal that would send Bosh and the bad contracts of Marcus Banks and Reggie Evans to Miami for Michael Beasley and Jermaine O’Neal’s expiring contract make a lot of sense for both teams? Yes, it’s not equal value for Bosh, but the Raptors would get a good young player (Beasley) and would save almost $10 million next season. In fact, they’d have $8 million of cap space to spend if they so choose. All of this for a guy they have almost no chance of re-signing anyway.

      I know Heat fans would want to do this. What about Raptor fans?


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      NBA, Rumors & Gossip

      Ravens’ Troy Smith requests a trade

      December 28, 2009 /

      According to Troy Smith’s agent, the Ravens’ backup quarterback has notified the team that he wants to be traded.

      From Rotoworld.com:

      Smith “wants playing time” Cindrich writes, and plans to “seek (a) trade” after the Ravens’ playoff run. The timing here is hardly impeccable with just six days left before Baltimore attempts to clinch a postseason berth against the Raiders. Smith has rushed eight times for 38 yards and a touchdown this year, and completed 5-of-9 passes for 24 yards and an interception.

      I agree with Rotoworld – the timing of this is horrible by Smith and his agent. Whether or not it was the agent’s idea or Smith’s, this looks bad for the quarterback that he would be thinking selfishly while his team is fighting for a playoff spot. I think he deserves a shot to compete for a starting job, but this was hardly the way to go about it.

      NFL

      NBA ticket revenues fall 7.4 percent

      December 28, 2009 /

      Per Ken Berger of CBSSports.com…

      Average paid attendance is down 3.7 percent in the NBA through the first quarter of the regular season, sending gate receipts plummeting 7.4 percent, according to league documents obtained by CBSSports.com.

      Why are gate receipts important? Bill Simmons explains…

      The attendance number doesn’t matter because it’s so easy to manipulate; teams either fib or boost the total by giving tickets away for absurdly low prices, hoping to recoup some of it through concessions and merchandise sales.

      Berger goes further…

      They’re also important because ticket revenue factors into the overall basketball-related income (BRI) figure that is used to set the salary cap and luxury tax thresholds for next season. The NBA has stood by its projection of a decline in overall revenue this season between 2.5 percent and 5 percent, which would result in the salary cap declining from its current $57.7 million to between $50.4 million and $53.6 million. But a bigger than expected decline in BRI would seriously hamper certain teams’ plans to be big spenders in the 2010 free-agent market.

      The article also has a statement from the NBA saying that the gate receipts are down less than the league’s projections, due to creative marketing campaigns used to boost attendance (i.e. lowering prices and hoping increase revenue from concessions, parking, etc.).

      The NBA’s statement suggests that the salary cap may not fall as far as the lower end of the aforementioned range (~$50.4 million). This is important to teams looking to spend next summer. For example, the Knicks would have $23.1 million to spend under a $50.4 million cap (not enough for two max contracts), but would have $26.3 million to spend under a $53.6 million cap (almost enough for two max contracts — Brandon Roy’s extension starts at $13.5 million next season).


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      NBA

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