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Fantasy Rankings
28 Jan 2004 Desiring first-mover advantage, MLB.com has released its fantasy rankings earlier than I can recall finding anything in years past. Kudos to them for that. They've retrogressed in their design -- looking to appeal, no doubt, to the average fantasy baseball player (who, according to another MLB.com article, is 41 years old!). |
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Nen Compos Mentis
27 Jan 2004 Doing his best impression of an agent, Giants trainer Stan Conte is quoted as saying, "I'm not going to be upbeat about Robb Nen all the way through until he picks up his 45th save. I don't want to put a lot of pressure on him." |
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Bad Research?
26 Jan 2004 Early word out of Petco Park is that the park's dimensions and winds will probably favor hitters. Colorado has recently proved that when such is the case, groundball pitchers (eg., Oliver, Jennings) are an antidote to hemorrhaging starting staffs. Taking a look at the groundball-to-flyball (gb/fb) ratio of the Padres' incubents (Lawrence, Eaton, Peavy), we see a very respectable 1.44 3-year average (compared to last year's ML average, 1.20). However, compare this to the gb/fb ratios of recent Padres acquisitions Wells (1.14), Valdez (1.08), and Hitchcock (0.90) and there is reason for concern. Still available? Darren Oliver (1.34), Pedro Astacio (1.28), and Andy Ashby (1.46). Greg Maddux's career gb/fb ratio? 2.44. |
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Sammy Said It
25 Jan 2004 According to ESPN's OPRs, Sammy Sosa was recently quoted in the Chicago Sun-Times as saying, "...I'm so pumped, so hyped, that this is the first time I have ever started lifting weights in December." Wow! Who knew one could get so stacked in the course of only 3 months? You'd think it would take at least four... |
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Why Pussyfoot?
24 Jan 2004 It appears that the San Diego discount applies too to the managerial abilities of the Padres' manager. After all, isn't it inevitable that Bruce Bochy is going to move Klesko to left and Giles to right? If, as he implies, Petco Park's dimensions necessitate such a defensive realignment, should it not be he who makes the change? Do the opinions of Klesko and Giles really matter? Sure, it's nice to throw them a bone --allow the players to determine their own fates-- but what if they decide against the shift? |
