Mastersball Fantasy Forum

viper

my dyslexia boo-boo. I meant Tyler Flowers, the White Sox catcher. Fowlers was drafted. But thanks for the answer.

viper

I'm in a first year of a 12-team dynasty league. We have 40 man rosters and can keep everyone forever. This is not a salary cap type league. We did a straight draft. My drafted prospects were Hanson, SP, ATL - already called up and looking good Poreda, SP, CHW - called up and working MR this season ...

viper

Patterson optioned back to minors with the return of Willingham

viper

Hanson over Zimmermann for both this year and future years. This is true in both fantasy and real live baseball. This is spoken by a Nats Fan. I do admit I have Hanson in a dynasty league.

viper

The two topics were:
(1) Second Half busts and
(2) Buy Low targets

Ortiz indeed was a first half bust but I'm not sure he is being predicted by anyone as being a second half bust - although you can probably make a case as such.

viper

Todd, I recall something along these lines at the First Pitch forum in Washington. Mike Jacobs was a "darling" of several of the BaseballHQ people. It may have been you or another but I definitely saw eyebrows raising when he was touted as a breakout type player.

viper

I buy the Rotoworld Season pass. I do it primarily so I can set a list of all my fantasy players and see current news on just my players rather than reading through news on all MLB players. When you have ten teams, this can be helpful. Right now they are posting their mid-season awards [a bit early ...

viper

According to what I see, MacDougal is owned by 0% of the NFBC teams. On Friday evening after the loss, he was named as the new Nats closer. Acta even implied that Hanrahan was not being temporarily dropped. In a no-trade league where newly anointed closers command high FAABs, I will be curious to se...

viper

It is normally stated that certain teams draw well on the road because they are good and have great fans who follow them where ever they play. The Cubs, Yankees and Red Sox come to mind. In the world of misleading statistics [according to the ESPN site on attendance], the inept Washington Nationals ...

viper

Trav The Ump wrote:Now lets see...take my 2 saves...multiply by 3...carry the 9 and...oh wait, I traded for Brian Fuentes and get him Monday...ahh! Viper what do I do now?!?

by adding a closer you multiply by 4 but only carry a 2. Math is so easy.

viper

kind of an aside but I drafted all three of my NFBC teams using the Papelbon plan. I was drafting 5th, 10th & 6th so my 6th round pick was about 2/3 way through the round twice and 1/3 once. At 6.11 I took Nathan [3rd closer taken], at 6.6 I took Nathan [3rd closer taken but one was Lidge] and a...

viper

why would anyone deal Hughes, Smoltz or even Buchholz for Pettite? Releasing Pettite for a solid ratio middle man might be your only true option if you feel you cannot stomach his numbers.

viper

The Papelbon Plan is essentially a drafting strategy where you acquire one of four upper elite closers early in a draft. The theory was that these players will not only get a solid number of saves but that their ERA & WHIPs will be so low that they will create a nice positive impact on your rati...

viper

Using games actually played, sometime today the season will reach the 1/3 mark. Another easy day to project your final numbers as you need only to multiply by three.

viper

Trying this again

OK - what is the fantasy impact of the McLouth trade or is this pretty much a wash?

Also, if your league has daily moves, should Hanson be active when he makes his first start or should we adopt a wait & see attitude?

viper

OK - what is the fantasy impact of the McLouth trade or is this pretty much a wash?

Also, if your league has daily moves, should Hanson be active when he makes his first start or should we adopt a wait & see attitude?

viper

Did I misread/misunderstand the current report [Rotoworld from AP article] that Manny will be going to the minors for some rehab starts prior to rejoining the Dodgers on the day his suspension ends? Can a person who is suspended by MLB actually play in minor league games? I would think he could not ...

viper

Another to consider is Scott Baker. Early injury aside, he seems not to be the same pitcher we saw last year. I have Baker on 4 of my 10 teams. Fortunately only one of them are leagues without benches so I have him on the pines for the most part.

viper

This is the definition of arbitration eligible players from the MLBPA FAQ aection A player with three or more years of service, but less than six years, may file for salary arbitration. In addition, a player can be classified as a "Super Two" and be eligible for arbitration with less than ...

viper

ugh! me want big stick

viper

My best guess is that year one will shows high numbers. And I don't feel like I am going out on a ledge with that prediction. Another guess is that in the off season, there will be changes in how the wind impacts this park. My bowling buddy was the main design architect for the Ballpark in Arlington...

viper

I am beginning to think benching starting pitchers in Yankees Stadium, including all Yankees without the initials C.C., is more important than doing the same at Coors.

Imagine if this year's Home run Derby was held there - actually, it sort of is.

viper

In this marathon of a season, we have officially reach the quarter pole. There are two ways of seeing how far we have gone. The simple one is by days played. The more precise one is by games played. Days played has value in leagues which limit the starts at a position. This limit is generally 162. W...

viper

personal preferences are Jackson & Bush

viper

This "new" piece of wisdom seems to be somewhat a contradiction to the first piece of wisdom in your signature.

viper

This is more of a blog article by Todd but I'm wondering how people and particularly Todd feel about the Papelbon Plan. The plan identified about four primary closers to target and another number of next level guys to consider. The idea is that these closers will provide a solid ratio base. I used t...

viper

is he even available now in CBS? I find it odd that a college player would be on their lists. Odd but I guess he could be.

viper

With the Nats acting GM in attendance, in his last college game Stephen Strasburg threw his very first no-hitter. It should be noted that Rizzo [acting GM] was seeing him live for the first time [nice first impression]. The Washington Post Nats beat writer does the Nats Journal and he had nothing in...

viper

wow! I honestly thought this was a joke headline and then I checked rotoworld and they are quoting the same source. I then saw the MLB had the story as referenced on this main page.

again - wow!

viper

This was copied from a post by "Crazy Like A Fox" on the NFBC board. If you have time, you should periodically check out the board. Albert Pujols has as many stolen bases as Jimmy Rollins and Hanley Ramirez COMBINED. Carlos Pena has as many homeruns combined (11) as David Ortiz, Hanley Ram...

viper

never said I was dropping Ross - only that Ross was my current #6 OF. I actually would have been dropping Zack Miner. I decided to go for LaPorta and bid $363 of my remaining $979 [you start with $1000]. The winning bid was $366. Normally I would be upset but in this case I mostly chuckled. The only...

viper

This sounds like a real baseball response and not a fantasy one. Assuming he gets ABs, would he be a better option to Cody Ross, who is my OF 6th man? I'm crossed between a suspected losing bid of $50 or a $350 bid to maximize my chances to get him as my potential 5th or 6th OF depending on how he h...

viper

Is LaPorta the player to bid the farm on? In two of my three NFBC leagues, he was already rostered. In my most successful league [I'm at 122 and 2nd place is 98], I find he is available. Although I really do not currently have a true need for him, he is just one slump or injury from being used - Cod...

viper

There is a fifth option on handling saves. In the Subscribers league, I just didn't draft any closers. A total 100% dump of saves. Now I would never do this in an NFBC league but in this league I decided to do it. If I didn't draft Mr. Wang, this approach would be working quite well. And I think it ...

viper

Neiman, Maholm & Wakefield would be those I would choose between. I'd probably lean towards Maholm & Wakefield because they are at home.

viper

This is an AL-only league. 5x5 but IP replaces Ks. 1100 minimum IP required. NO bench and players who start the season in the minors cannot be reserved. I drafted Gio Gonzalez and have kept him on my roster so far. Our FAAB is Wednesday evening. I have 5 healthy starters and 3 MR/Closers. I am sligh...

viper

I agree that "better" is subject to each person's personality. But it sure keeps you involved and can be lots of fun.

viper

in the NFBC format, it is definitely a difference maker. Streaming will get you 5-10 extra Wins and some number of additional strikeouts. In the NFBC you stream 2-start pitchers thereby adding one additional start p[er week. Assuming you wait for four or five weeks so that things settle down, you ge...

viper

my only choice would be Wakefield. When streaming, There is something about Sanchez that scares me off. Not sure what but it is there. I look more at matchups and ratios. Good match-ups equal Win opportunities and unlikely terrible starts. Ratios need to be the #1 thing you follow as a bad start is ...

viper

I was at that game today. he boos were pretty loud as the bullpen imploded for the third straight day. Beautiful day for a game but not a good effort by the Nats. I will say that Dunn is impressive. Wish I had him on one of my teams. That said, I would guess his avergae will drop and I am playting i...

viper

On a side note, I am in two AL-only leagues that do not have benches. Unless Wang is placed on the DL list or sent to the minors, he must remain active [if that is the proper word] or be released. If released, I wonder if anyone would pick him up in a week. In the Subscriber's League, I have a bench...

viper

I'm sure happy I selected Wang in the Subscriber's League. I am equally sure that all the other twelve teams feel the same way.

I wonder if ever in baseball history has every player on a team scored at least one run and had at least one hit BY THE END OF THE SECOND INNING.

viper

All concerning FAAB. 1. When are FAAB requests due and when are they processed? 2. How much FAAB money do we have? 3. Can we make $0 bids? 4. Is the DL reserve list unlimited? That is, can we have 20 guys on the DL if needed. 5. Can we FAAB a player directly to the DL? Any other pertinent informatio...

viper

he was late to the ballpark for opening day which didn't set very well in the organization. Aside from that, there are not any non-baseball related issues involved that the Washington Post has uncovered. Now his hitting and outfield routes are another issue. Given the over abundance of mediocre outf...

viper

I selected Dobbs as a $1 player. Nothing invested. Replacement options are Clark, Thurston, Blum & Keppinger. That is my preference order but I really don't know a lot about any of them except they are getting playign time. I am more than open to your thoughts. My FAAB is due about 10pm this eve...

viper

Without any significant callups, it would seem to me that ABs/PAs would be the key to make any moves in deep leagues. I personally feel it is too early to drop a player for a slow start. As long as playing time is solid, then you need to wait a bit before dropping any $5 plus type player. However, y...

viper

Patience is due to the quality of what is provided. Also, there is a degree of openness and helpfulness that is unparalled in this industry. Everyone associated with this site should take a bow.

viper

assuming Sandoval is not Catcher-eligible, this is Peralta/Doumit for Rollins/replacement catcher. Personally I would do it and not think twice. Being short on speed isn't my reason, it's just the upgrade in talent that drives me at this point of the season.

viper

This site's front page is really good. Too many are cluttered with worthless stuff and are difficult to navigate. This one follows the time proven philosophy of KISS. Please be careful as you tinker and don't let some computer person add too many bells and whistles. It does not have to be a piece of...

viper

There are some scouts that say he is the best pitching prospect they have ever seen -so said by several ESPN baseball types. After 34 innings pitched this season for San Diego State, he had something like 74K and 7 Walks. The Nats have the 1st entry daft. Tim K of ESPN commented that he had video ga...

viper

Was there anyone who can honestly say they didn't check out their league's live standings to see where they were. Now checking it out to just see how it looks is one thing but I bet you actually checked them out to see where your team stood. After all, about 50% of the games for the first of 180 day...

viper

Is there a site where you can find lists of players on the DL and those projected to go there before the season begins. Also I would like a site where you can get a good list of players sent to the minors. I'm willing to read through a lot of transactions if the list is pretty much dedicate but I'm ...

viper

I've used it after doing sorts by league by player name. I'm confused on what you did. I didn't remove any players but I did sort all the National League players to the top while sorting by name.

I'm not sure what you did.

viper

Shandler's weekly post addressed this yesterday. He sort of thought Todd was off his rocker when he was saying this at the initial First Pitch forum [may be a bit exaggerated]. After a draft or two, he did a complete 180. At the Washington forum, he all but suggested it as a way to draft. I must adm...

viper

Something has come up for Tuesday night and I will not be able to play if it would have been Tuesday. Bowling keeps me from Wednesday. Hope everyone playing has a good time. I'll be jealous.

viper

Depth charts are seemingly changing about every 20 minutes. I'm trying to figure out a way/place to get all the recent DL situations and minor-league bound players for seven teams - to date. I still have two more "for sure" drafts and also the Subscribers League if the draft is Tuesday. Ev...

viper

true - this is the same group I do three auction leagues with. I know one team [and maybe two] will not take a closer at all. You could probably get a "3" with just a part-time closer which is what I am thinking about. With nothing to go by I guess I was wondering how others had seen close...

viper

For anyone that has done one of these, what is the normal way closers go off the board? I'm drafting in a 10-team league on April 10th. I know the typical flow in NFBC style leagues but not straight draft leagues. Anyone have insights on closers?

viper

I'm good for Tuesday. I bowl Wednesday so that will not work. I assume a weekly lineup league. Yes or no to trading?

viper

When published are the two player lists identical with the same projections? With the first FAAB process about to take place in the NFBC and my "only" leagues, I wanted to see what the latest projected value for available players was. Since most leagues just show last year's numbers and th...

viper

My thought process of the original post was that projections only account for 15-20 $1 players. In fact, every redraft league has a lot more, sometimes upwards to 40. Plus there are a number of $2 players who either had a single offering at $2 or a single $1 bump. If this premise is true, then there...

viper

The standard ESPN league is just 10 teams. Their ADPs are based on 10-team leagues. I've always wondered if they mixed in the H2H drafts with the roto drafts. H2H drafts in ESPN are in a world of their own. I used to live in that world. Quoth the Raven, "nevermore".

viper

To be honest, I was not aiming at any specific players at all. My thoughts were that I would get, by definition, more than $8 of value for the $8 I spent. I feel the key it to target those positions that have the best possibility to generate maximum value. To that end, I ran CRVC with all non-catche...

viper

My guess is that one of them [or Sizemore] will be the #5 pick. If you have both to pick from, I might go for Cabrera even though I took Braun twice when I had that same option earlier. It's not like there is all that much difference in Braun, Cabrera and Sizemore who would be another option. The #5...

viper

Never thought about this that much but clearly you have to be able to accept the fact that you can always be outbid. Talking after today's draft, two people said they just had to have the ability to make a second bid on a player they nominated or make a $2 bid when a $1 player was nominated. It was ...

viper

easy to add them. I think Todd posted that he messed up on Hanley and was putting out a newer version.

viper

ROUND 2: 10-team AL-only with 7 of same 10 owners. The league only allows you to reserve players on the DL or sent to the minors after the season starts. Price and likely Wieters will either have to be dropped or hold down a roster spot gathering no stats. There is no bench. I can reserve McGowen an...

viper

Would you have done the same in a league of Todd Zola types? viper, Have you seen some of the trades in LABR over the years? :D I think these types of trades and strategies happen often enough. My intent was some league consist of difficult people to trade with and other don't. I accept the fact yo...

viper

For me personally, I dislike drafting a player with the intent to trade. Trading requires a trading partner and that does not always happen the way you wish. Of course, three of my nine leagues are the no-trade NFBC and another three are leagues where tradings in limited to about 6-8 total per year....

viper

An excellent question is how did I get to the $10 for 10 players. Yes, I did overplay for several higher quality players. I planned it and did it. Here are my $20+ players Hanley bid $47 projected at $44 Lee bid $33 projected $31 Victorino bid $24 projected $28 McLouth bid $26 projected $24 Webb bid...

viper

Another point in your league does not have a limit on games played by position. MRs are all interchangeable. On Mondays & Thursday, fill every possible open batting hole with people actually playing. We are looking at replacement players so there is a "buyer beware" consideration but t...

viper

So much depends on the league size and player pool. I was a huge ESPN player for year and considered myself a H2H specialist before they put in the severe starts limits. I was hooked on daily move leagues. Now I only do weekly leagues and love the no-trade NFBC leagues. For pitchers think K/9 and no...

viper

hard to say. My $250 league from the 5-hole started off Braun, Markakis, Youkilis. The earliest league I draft in the NFBC satellites always seems to do the best. I think I am less risk taking and end up with good playable players from the middle of the draft down. My worst are always those held aft...

viper

There are many myths that need to be debunked. Targets may be one of the hardest to eliminate. After an MDC draft, we all check out how we did in the 4 available sets of projections before the draft even ends. Disappointment sets in whenever we are not loved in even one of them. Currently in my stra...

viper

couple quickies before I board my red-eye hone from Vegas and seeing the results of over 15 drafts... If you have pick 10-15, you might be shocked at who is available. most figured there was a consensus top-9 with Rollins and Tex as 8/9, but I almost can promise someone jumps in and pushes someone ...

viper

What happens to the tab showing IP and PA changes for pitchers and catchers?

viper

It was at the First pitch forum in Washington that I decided to go this way. Previously, there was one player in these leagues that always seemed to end up with 4-6 $1 player selections after everyone else was through. He typically did well with those picks as a few decent players always slipped. He...

viper

I just completed my first tewo of four auction league drafts. My plan going in was to have $8 left with 8 players to go. Because the leagues have no bench, you have to get $1 or higher players in the end game. For those like like value for their picks, it is really bulit in. Anyway here are the actu...

viper

There really isn't such a thing as a bump up. Of course, this is assuming a deep league. It does provide flexibility and that is what may provide the bump.

viper

Scarcity is normally defied by the replacement pool. What does exist are gaps in certain positions. Still, if you are just looking at value and not where that it comes from, this doesn't make a difference as a $20 MI and a $5 OF should yield the same total value as a $20 OF and a $5 MI. The value is...

viper

like my post said, my league is 10 teams at 2 catchers each. My guess is that once you leave the starting 16 catchers to fill requirements, the stats of the top replacement level players become only slightly worse than those from the other positions. The key seems to be how do the stats of replaceme...

viper

only a half hour until the Main Event - good luck Todd. Closer plan in the 5th or do you wait until the 6th??

viper

I just ran CVRC for my AL-only and NL-only leagues. These are 10 team leagues. I was using the latest MB projections. I used two models. The first was 20 catchers and 120 OFs. The seconds was 140 OFs. I wanted to see if there was scarcity at all and how much scarcity value existed for catchers. The ...

viper

agree on the steals. My teams historically are in the 4-8 category point range in steals - on the 15 top in the NFBC. I push for power. The one thing you can find on the free agent market is steals. There are always some Raja Davis types there. That said, if you told me all these starters would neve...

viper

Simple comment - this is about as good as it gets. Not technical but loaded with things to think about. Articles like this are why I really love Mastersball. May I ask who is the author?

viper

I ended with Weeks (11), Guzman (17), Bartlett (14) with Ellis (28) in reserve. I'm not unhappy with the overall etam and that is really what counts. Here are the starting hitters: C: Pierzynski (19), Olivo (22) CO/UT: Youkilis (3), Pena (5), Beltre (8), Jacobs (12) MI: Weeks (11), Bartlett (14), Gu...

viper

I realize the satellite leagues are somewhat different but many of the same people draft both and I feel the overall trends will remain the same. Here are observations from my three satellite drafts. Do what you wish with them but don't say you were surprised if they happen. 1. Starting off with a s...

viper

I took Braun. The next two were Markakis [Kemp already taken] and Youkilis. Because I just refuse to reach for a 2B/SS [we are talking a $8+ reach], I am finding that after ten rounds I have filled my corners and have four outfielders. two of those last three top ten picks are pitchers [a closer in ...

viper

I may have mis-stated my question. In my auction drafts, I am planning to try the $9 left/9 players left way of drafting [it could go as low as $6/6]. I am curious as to the dollar values for players this way. Possibly I should just run the numbers as normal and figure the $25 dollar those last 9 gu...

viper

My guess is that the number of teams and the percentage of the 260 dollars used for hitting is only to establish the pool of money to be spent. In a 10 team AL-only draft, using 70% for hitting the pool would be $1820. Is this assumption correct? If I wanted to "force' additional $1/$0 players,...

viper

When I got this pick, I said great, now I will get one of the Fab Five. That was before ARod went down a tier or two. I had the #6 pick earlier and took Braun. To me, he is the best available at this point but do you want two teams drafting from essentially the same place and staring off the same wa...

viper

My three auction leagues have had consistency in dollars paid for closers over three years. Because IP replaces Ks, there are very few middle men bid on. When they are put up, about $3 is the absolute high with more going for $1 than $3. The leagues have ten teams with no reserves. I plan to run CVR...

viper

quit beating around the bush - tell us what you really think

viper

I fully understand that ABs is as important as any category. Unless I feel strongly [like I do on ARod], my averaging these two sites, I am essentially splitting the difference. I am willing to let sites I trust make judgments on ABs. They have lots more sources of information than I do and this is ...

viper

Oh, the wonders of projections. It is so clear why everyone can feel their team is the best after a draft. We all draft to our own projections and when you check your team against someone else's projections things change. I average BBHQ and MB. Now both site use very similar methodologies but they w...

viper

was it Visacalc?

viper

And here is Viper's team. I draft generally towards the Papelbon plan with emphasis on WHIP/ERA for pitching. i like to stream 2-start pitchers when match-ups are favorable. For hitting, I emphasize HRs but try to be solid in all categories but will shortchange speed a bit. C: Mauer (7), Schneider (...

viper

Started in 1996 on ESPN so I guess this will make 14 years. I have done more baseball, basketball & football than I would like to admit to. Now after my single final basketball team, I will just be doing baseball. Of course, it will be 8 teams this year.

viper

Do something different and make the selection about 2 seconds after the starting bell rings. I have never understood why first rounds take so long. They should be the fastest round of the day or at least until about the 13/14 picks. Given you have a week to decide, how hard can it take for the #1 sl...

viper

Anyone besides Todd going to be there? If so, I plan on having a light meal in their coffee shop - assuming they have a coffee shop - before the forum. I'll be in an orange golf shirt and may be there as early as 5:30. Anyone in the area understands how bad beltway traffic can get on Friday so I pla...

Search found 878 matches