Opening weekend of the 2011 baseball season certainly was an eventful one, especially in the late innings. At least three closers put their job in jeopardy with rocky outings, sending fantasy managers scurrying to the waiver wire in search of the most suitable backup...
Friday, April 1, 2011
You’ve worked hard all offseason taking note of player movement, you’ve scouted spring games. You’ve participated in countless mock drafts, and put hours—if not days—of research and preparation into your league’s draft. You go to bed on Opening Day eve feeling good about your team. This will be the year you dominate your fantasy league. And then, in the third game of the new season, your hopes are dreams are seemingly shattered—by a closer. (In this case, it’s John Axford.) I’m here to tell you it’s OK; take a deep breath. Let’s try to evaluate this objectively...
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Closers are the most overrated players in fantasy baseball. The good ones deliver strong contributions to one category, but generally pitch less than five innings per week. During drafts, I usually ignore the position until the late rounds. Despite this strategy, my teams are usually very strong in the saves category. In fact, my teams have finished tied-first, second, first and first in saves over the last four seasons in my 10-team roto keeper league. How is this possible you ask? It’s simple really. Let me run some numbers by you…
Monday, January 3, 2011
Over the last three years, only five closers have recorded at least 30 saves each season (Jonathan Papelbon, Francisco Cordero, Mariano Rivera, Joakim Soria and Brian Wilson). This fact alone illustrates the high turnover rate at this unstable position. With nearly half of baseball's 30 teams likely to start 2011 with a new closer, it's important for fantasy managers to brush up on the bullpens in transition. Every week during the 2011 season, I'll update the Closer's Corner as ninth-inning roles change hands. In the meantime, I'll post updates as free agents continue to sign and spring training battles become more clear...
RT @cardboardgods: @Buster_ESPN My eyewitness opinion: Buster was VT's Danny "Little Red" Lopez of hay-bailing (i.e., the pound-for-pound champ). GM Neal Huntington and I grew up on dairy farms,so after talking Pirates on the podcast, we rated our farming skills. http://t.co/374zOHCiun
Only 242/337/385 at Triple-A so probably not soon. What say you @jasoncollette ? RT @Lou_Guida when do you see wil Myers getting a call up? Psyched for Trout on the Yankees! RT @VorosM Got a trade offer: Bryce Hunter for Matt Jones. Should I do it? http://t.co/uhyHYae2Ls Gausman's night is done. 5 innings, 4 runs, some overpowering strikeouts, some command blips. Pretty special stuff; clocked as high as 99mph Here's the story on the context of the Mattingly comments, from @jaysonst and I. http://t.co/7pr43opnL1 Bad-ass shit-kickin' rock! \m/ RT @EddieSpaghetti4 Now check this out!!! http://t.co/vLtNisygrS Poor kid waving a Pirates flag is going to become an internet sensation and he doesn't know it yet. Anybody who was watching knows why. RT @DannyKnoblerCBS: Kelvin Herrera is another example of how velocity isn't everything. Allowed HRs this year on FBs clocked at 99, 98, 98, 98, 97 and 96 mph.© 2013 Fantasy Baseball Insiders. Powered by Wordpress.
Monday, April 4, 2011
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