Tag: Jimmy Rollins (Page 2 of 5)

      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

      Phillies clinch NL East title

      October 1, 2009 /

      With their 10-3 win over the Astros on Wednesday night, the Phillies clinched their third straight division title. Raul Ibanez went 1 for 2 with a two-run homer, two runs scored and three RBI in the victory.

      From the Philadelphia Inquirer:

      On the third time around, the familiar white towels snapped in the seats and the same joyous roar rose high. The Phillies beat the Astros, clinching the division again, and the fireworks and the champagne were the same. The picture that will remain, after everything, was the charge of Phillies players out to the sign on the leftfield wall.

      It is the sign with the microphone and the big red letters, the omnipresent reminder of Harry Kalas, the voice and the soul of the franchise who died in April. They gathered around the sign, all of them, jumping and joyfully pounding against it, showering it and the nearby fans with every available beverage.

      You do not script these kinds of moments. They just happen if the stars are aligned just right. You do not script life, either. And here we all are again.

      What a special moment for the Phillies and a great tribute to Kalas to win the division yet again. He was one of the greatest play-by-play announcers in baseball history and it was cool to see the players gather around the sign in the outfield to honor him.

      The Phillies have the best offense in the National League and the sixth best team ERA. Their lineup consists of five guys who have 20 home runs or more, including Ryan Howard (43), Jayson Werth (35), Raul Ibanez (34), Chase Utley (31) and Jimmy Rollins (21).

      A Dodgers-Phillies matchup would be fun to watch seeing as how L.A. boasts the lowest team ERA in the league and Philly can score runs in bunches.

      MLB

      MLB Power Rankings—Top 5 and Bottom 5

      August 15, 2009 /

      It’s getting down to pennant race times and there are some incredibly tight races and a lot of teams that are at least in contention. Here we’ll take a look at who we think the Top 5 teams are right now and who the Bottom 5 are as well.

      Top 5

      1. New York Yankees (73-43)—Not only did the Yankees sweep the rival Red Sox last weekend and make quite a statement, they’ve won 10 of 11 and are 22-6 (.786) since the all-star break. That is just scorching.

      2. Los Angeles Angels (68-45)—You have to feel for the surging Rangers and even the Mariners, because neither one is going to catch this fundamentally sound team. If Mike Scioscia isn’t the best manager in baseball, he’s surely the most underrated.

      3. St. Louis Cardinals (65-52)—The Cards grabbed Matt Holliday before anyone else could and he’s batting .493 with a slugging percentage of .813 in his first 75 at-bats with St. Louis. Pujols/Holliday has got to be the most fearsome 3-4 tandem in baseball.

      4. Los Angeles Dodgers (69-47)—The Dodgers hung on without Manny for a few months, and then cooled off when he returned. They’ve lost 7 of 11 but still lead their division by 5 games and are 32-14 against NL West opponents.

      5. Philadelphia Phillies (65-48)—Suddenly with Cliff Lee and Pedro Martinez, and Jimmy Rollins finally finding his stroke, the defending champs are poised to make another run deep into October and possibly November.

      Bottom 5

      1. Washington Nationals (41-75)—They recently won eight in a row but still trail the Phillies by 25.5 games and the fourth place Mets by 13.5. So yeah, they’re still the worst team in baseball.

      2. Pittsburgh Pirates (46-69)—The Pirates actually looked half decent early in the season, but they did what they always do in July—made a whole bunch of trades and pretty much surrendered the season as well as the next three seasons, as they’ve lost 11 of their last 13 games.

      3. Kansas City Royals (45-70)—Remember the Royals were 14-12 and everyone started talking about this team being decent for the first time in two-plus decades? We remember, but then they remembered that they were the Royals.

      4. Baltimore Orioles (48-67)—This team has some great young players like Adam Jones and Matt Wieters and Nick Markakis, but playing in that division is almost unfair.

      5. Cleveland Indians (49-66)—Once again, the Indians have disappointed and started selling off players. Cliff Lee, like CC Sabathia last year, is the reigning AL Cy Young winner, and the Tribe also dumped popular catcher Victor Martinez and infielder Ryan Garko. Next year sure has a familiar ring on Lake Erie.

      Bullz-Eye Sports Channel, MLB

      National League All-Star voting–who is leading and who should be

      July 4, 2009 /

      Last week we picked apart the American League all-star voting. Well, this week we will look at the National League, and after last night the starters have all been selected (aside from pitchers). You ready?

      First base
      Leader: Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals
      Mike’s pick: Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals.       Well, this one is a no-brainer. Is it possible that Albert gets better with age? Yes, and his numbers border on staggering. 81 games in, he’s batting .336 with 31 homers and 82 RBI and a slugging percentage of .748. That projects to 62 homers and 164 runs batted in. What’s more, dude has a .993 fielding percentage. There is little doubt Pujols is the best player in the game, and he gets to flaunt it in front of his hometown crowd a week from Tuesday.

      Second base
      Leader: Chase Utley, Philadelphia Phillies
      Mike’s pick: Chase Utley, Philadelphia Phillies.       This one is also a no-brainer that the voters got correct, though as a Mets fan it pains me to say that. Utley has 17 homers, 54 RBI, he’s batting .303 with 16 doubles and a .980 OPS—all unbelievable numbers for a second baseman. This guy is a gamer.

      Shortstop
      Leader: Hanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins
      Mike’s pick: Hanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins.       This is getting to be a trend, but the numbers in the National League don’t seem to lie, do they? Hanley is batting .344 with 13 homers and 58 RBI, 26 doubles, 12 stolen bases and a .972 OPS. By comparison, he is hitting 119 points higher than JJ Hardy and 132 points higher than the slumping Jimmy Rollins. Case closed.

      Third base
      Leader: David Wright, New York Mets
      Mike’s pick: Mark Reynolds, Arizona Diamondbacks      . Wright was leading the league in batting for quite a while, and he’s currently hitting .333 but with just 5 homers and 42 RBI. By comparison, Reynolds has clubbed 22 home runs with 57 RBI while batting a respectable .271. At a power position, I’m giving the nod to the guy barely anyone gets to see play.

      Catcher:
      Leader: Yadier Molina, St. Louis Cardinals
      Mike’s pick: Brian McCann, Atlanta Braves.       This is close, because Yadier’s brother Bengie has 10 homers and 46 RBI for the Giants, but McCann is batting .311 with 8 home runs and 33 driven in, with 15 doubles and a respectable .988 fielding percentage.

      Outfield
      Leaders: Raul Ibanez, Philadelphia Phillies
      Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers
      Carlos Beltran, New York Mets
      Mike’s picks: Raul Ibanez, Philadelphia Phillies
      Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers
      Brad Hawpe, Colorado Rockies      Ibanez is having a career season, batting .312 with 22 homers and 59 RBI, and Braun just continues to rake, with 16 home runs, 58 driven in and a .326 average. But Beltran, while he plays in the biggest media market and makes mega-bucks, is not going to get my all-star nod over Brad Hawpe. Beltran is hitting .336, but has just 8 homers and 40 RBI. Hawpe is hitting .328 with 13 homers and 56 runs batted in, 25 doubles and a stunning .993 OPS. If Manny Ramirez was playing most of the season, he’d probably be on this list, but I can’t consider a guy who’s only played 28 games, regardless of why he missed all that time.

      Starting pitcher
      As you all know, pitchers are chosen by the managers and will be announced this Sunday.
      Mike’s pick: Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants. Last year’s NL Cy Young winner got off to a slow start, but has been mowing hitters down lately, to the tune of 8-2 with a 2.37 ERA and league-leading 132 strikeouts with just 28 walks in 114 innings. Arizona’s Dan Haren is a close runner-up, with a 7-5 record for a crappy D-Backs’ team, and a league low 2.19 ERA with 113 K’s and 0.81 WHIP.

      Relief pitcher
      Mike’s pick: Heath Bell, San Diego Padres. When this former Met helped christen Citi Field by mowing down his ex-teammates in April, I thought it was just a phase. But dude leads the NL in saves with 22, and is 3-1 with a 1.34 ERA and 36 strikeouts in 33 innings of work. And here’s the best stat of all—Bell has saved or won 74% of his team’s wins. If he keeps that up, Bell will contend for the NL Cy Young and even garner some MVP votes.

      Barstool Debates, Bullz-Eye Sports Channel, Fantasy Baseball, Happy Hour, MLB

      Top 5 MLB surprises and Top 5 busts in 2009 so far

      May 23, 2009 /

      We’re approaching Memorial Day and are already about a quarter of the way through the baseball regular season. Some players historically take a while to get going, and some start off blazing hot and then cool off. Here we take a look at five pleasant surprises, and five busts through the first 40 or so games of the 2009 season.

      Top 5 Suprises

      1. Zack Greinke, SP, Kansas City Royals—One of the reasons the Royals are off to a great start is that Greinke has found his rhythm, to the tune of 7-1 with a 0.82 ERA, as well as 73 strikeouts and 12 walks in just 66 innings. Greinke has given up a microscopic six earned runs so far. Six! It’s not like the kid wasn’t talented, but his career record before 2009 was 34-45 and his ERA 3.96.

      2. Jason Bartlett, SS, Tampa Bay Rays—Before this season, Bartlett was a career .285 hitter with 16 career home runs. So far this season, he’s off to a wicked start–.376 batting average, 6 homers, 23 RBI, 9 doubles, 12 stolen bases and an OPS of 1.004.

      3. Raul Ibanez, OF, Philadelphia Phillies—This is looking like the free agent signing of the off-season. Or maybe coming over to the world champs from soggy Seattle was a good move. Ibanez was a respectable .288 hitter and was averaging 22 homers and 95 RBI, but so far in 2009 he’s hit 15 home runs and driven in 40 runs, while hitting .349 with 10 doubles, 4 stolen bases and a .724 slugging percentage. You think the Mets should have made a run at the guy instead of wasting all that money on P Ollie Perez?

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      Bullz-Eye Sports Channel, Fantasy Baseball, Happy Hour, MLB

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