Trade Deadline Disaster ?

You don't come in last place in two consecutive years because you are the unluckiest player in the league. Roster management is the reason, and this is why Stonehenge will end up in the basement again this season. There is no doubt Marv is a fantasy baseball veteran playing back when they lifted box scores from the newspaper and tallied it up the old fashion way, but clearly the dynasty aspect has threw him for a curve ball he just can't seem to hit.

Lets take a look at his end of the year projected keepers in no particular order.

1. Dan Uggla - actually having a very good year.
2. Jimmy Rollins - older and playing like shit, but have to keep for 2011
3. Nick Markakis - solid OF, not spectacular
4. Marlon Byrd - his #2 OF
5. Ike Davis - really like him
6. Aramis Ramirez - see Rollins
7. Kurt Suzuki - young catcher
8. Adam Laroche - good numbers
9. Shin Soo-Choo - his #1 OF

10. Justin Verlander - obviously his ace
11. Fransisco Cordero - obviously his only closer with value
12. Dice K - almost have to
13. Brandon Webb - will he ever pitch again?
14. Bronson Arroyo - not flashy but decent
15. Joe Saunders - in NL now
16. Ryan Franklin - hope he back as STL closer

Now sure you can argue some of these guys for others including Marvs man crush Cody Ross, but this is still an about list of what 2011 team is looking at.

Trade deadline deals he should have made.

1. Bye-Bye closers. Jon Rauch & Ryan Franklin both should have been traded weeks ago. Saves are at a premium this year and could of netted some solid young pitching which he needs more then anything. Rauch was never going to stick as Minnesota closer in 2011. If Nathan gets healthy, the job is his. Not trading Rauch throughout the year was a mistake. Same really with Franklin although with Franklin he does have a shot that he returns to closer in 2011, but with so much closer turn around and the fact that not everyone is going to keep their closers means he could have loaded up on closer in next year draft. Lets say for argument sakes, drop Ryan Franklin from keeper list and add Madison Bumgarner.

2. Jimmy Rollins - Bill & I both were hot for Rollins. Don't really tell me why considering he has been awful and hurt all year. Not sure if anyone else made him offers for Rollins, but a couple of mine that I did, I am glad they were not accepted looking back at it now. Marvs main beef was not having a quality SS in return for him. Kind of a lame excuse if you ask me. So you don't have a great SS in return who cares, draft one next year.

3. Russell Martin - Not sure if others had offered him anything for him after his hot start in the beginning of the year, but I know I did. Should have jumped all over that one with having Suzuki locked in. Now Martin is garbage and might not even be drafted next year. (this really not deadline disaster, but move he should have made)

4. RA Dickey - Dude is 35, and yes he is a knuckle baller so he may be able to stick around until he is 50 like Tim Wakefield, but he should have been on the market. 2.36 ERA 1.18 WHIP is pretty solid, and I know there was a market for him because plenty of teams up top could have used Dickey for playoff run.

5. Verlander - HUGE difference to me in a team like Marv who is in weak in pitching to a team like J-Fraud who has a few good pitching keepers. Verlander & Cordero are the only 2 pitchers on this entire roster that would warrant a roster spot from the playoff teams as a keeper. maybe someone takes a flier on Webb, who knows. Generally I don't like to be the guy who loses out on the best player in a deal, but sometimes you have to do it if you are in a bad position like this. Bumgarner,Wood & Richard would instantly become 3 keepers, or Gio/Kennedy/SLowey or something like that. I know i would have jumped on a chance to get Verlander because i am deep enough to do so, Jamie being the same way. Don't sell him off short since he is your #1 pitcher, but make a bidding war. The deals never went through last year, but Marc posted he was taking offers for hanley and jamie and I bombarded him with offers. each one getting increasingly better. Obviously they didn't work, but Marc wasn't really in a need position to do it either.

Maybe Marv will be back strong in 2011 and be a contender, maybe he will surpass Haller in the standings and not finish in last. Playing spoiler is sometimes almost as fun as winning, and Marv has the opportunity to do just that down the stretch. Either way, was another fun season and glad you were a lot more active then in years past when you just gave up after the all-star break. with an exceptional draft you could be a contender for the playoffs next season.

Quentin is in

let the fun begin...

It has been a while since my team had a great week offensively, and I hope it continues after the all-star break and give the KungFu Pandas a run for the money this year. I honestly think I have a chance this year to win it all.

My team had a bunch of slow starters most notably Mark Teixeira who was awful the first month of the season. Victor Martinez and Carlos Quentin were also some of my slow starting offensive players.

My achilles heel last season was injuries, and I currently find myself with 5 DL guys. I really don't count John Maine because if he wasn't on the DL I would drop him. After the all-star break is over, I am finally getting a payoff hopefully with the return from TJS Edinson Volquez. He has looked good & bad at times in his rehab starts, but this has pretty much always been the case with Volquez at least last season before his injury. He has the stuff to fan 10 at any given night.

The other big injury I have coming back is Carlos Beltran. Don't count Beltran out on the base paths either. Jason Bay has 10 SB's & Jeff Francouer has 7, two guys not really known for their base stealing. I could realistically see Beltran swiping 10 bags in the second half. I think Beltran could be very valuable. .280/.370, 10hr/10 sb, 40r,40 rbi second half while getting routine rest.

One of the other guys I have coming back in the second half include Jason Heyward whose .181 avg in June was due to a nagging thumb injury that he played through, at least this is what a lot of people have said. Obviously rookies are going to go through funks, but I think it did play a big part. I think Heyward will bounce back strong in the 2nd half.

Victor Martinez is a little more away then I was hoping so I am going to have to stick with Ryan Doumit a little longer or just play minus one roster spot in the 2nd half. Hopefully V-Mart is back soon because even with being out the last couple weeks he is still the 4th highest rated catcher, and I would take V-Mart over any other catcher when healthy in the league, this includes Joe Mauer whose 2009 power numbers seem to be a fluke so far. People forget that V-Mart is pretty much a career .300 hitter, and playing in a good hitters park.

Ryan Ludwick isn't the flashiest of players, but at the time of his injury he was actually out producing all-star Matt Holliday. Holliday has caught fire since, but when Ludwick gets off the DL after the all-star break I expect full steam ahead especially if he moves back to the cleanup role where he was thriving.

My biggest surprise this season has to be Aubrey Huff. Huff was pretty much left for dead in the draft this year, and I grabbed him late because I needed a backup 1b to Tex. Huff is actually the 5th best first basemen in the league this year to Teixeira's 14th. Cabrera, Pujols, Votto, Morneau, Huff. Are you serious ? Pretty crazy. I'm not sure if he keeps up this pace, but if he does 30/100/100 .295 out of guy in one of the last rounds would be a great steal.

Speaking of steals, I definitely have the best steals team in the league in my opinion. Marc just trading Bourn, but even with Bourn I still think I have a team that wins it on most weeks. Chone Figgins (24), David Wright(15), Scott Podsednik (25), Jose Reyes (19) & Carl Crawford (31) Out of all of the trades I have made in this league to improve my team I think the Crawford one takes the cake. I love me some Brett Anderson, and I actually am still high on Travis Snider, but when you have a chance to get one of the best OF's in baseball you do it. Carl Crawford has serious MVP like numbers this year.

This leads me to the title of the blog, Carlos Quentin. I was shopping around Quentin like it was my job a few weeks ago. I didn't want to part with him cheaply, because I knew the talent was there, but I could never expect what he has down so far in July. .409, 6 HR 12 RBI so far this month. Quentin isn't going to bat .300, but he could possibly hit in the high 30's in HR's & finish with well over 100 RBI.

The rest of my offense is rounded out by a pair of Reds who have enjoyed great seasons, OF Jonny Gomes 11/60 at the break, and Scott Rolen 17/57 at the break.
They have been a big part of the Reds success this year, and mine as well.

My pitching staff is definitely my weakness, but I think I have enough to win it all with this current staff. My team is led by Josh Johnson who should win the NL Cy Young award this year. He has been absolutely filthy this year. Johsnon's 3 losses this year, opening day vs the Mets which he was recovering from the flu, Halladay's no hitter & a 8 IP, 2ER, 9K performance against the Padres.

My second ace is Cole Hamels. Hamels looks ten times better then he was in 2009. The Phillies have only scored a combined 11 runs in his 7 losses this year, so luck definitely has a little thing to do with it when it comes to W/L. I expect the Phillies to make a strong push in the 2nd half this year, shoot Ryan Howard is probably good for 80 RBI's after the all-star break so Hamels luck should change.

Next comes my NL West bunch, of Chad Billingsely, Jonathan Sanchez & Ian Kennedy. I kind of like them in that order. I like Billingsley the best out of all of them, but I might be keeping all of these guys next year. I am still up in the air on my keepers.

My pair of Twins starters has disappointed this season, Carl Pavano & Fransisco Liriano have been the best Twins pitchers going into this year, and most would have taken Baker & Slowey over them. I like both for future still, they may not be keepers for me, but I will try pretty hard to draft them next year.

My middle relievers have been very strong this year led by all-star Matt Thornton. Thornton is a couple Bobby Jenks blowups from potentially grabbing that closer role in Chicago, and if it wasn't for a hot start from the Padres, Mike Adams might be looking at the closer job there with Heath Bell on the market at the beginning of the season. Sean Marshall of the Cubs has also pitched great since I acquired him in a trade from Bill. Still there low ERA/WHIP & high K/9 will help me push for the playoffs.

One of my early season middle relievers has turned into a starter. Kris Medlen who actually got the call up into the majors last year before Tommy Hanson did is actually pitching better then Hanson is this year. Go figure.

I was happy to get Brian Wilson in the trade from Marv, but I really really like Ike Davis. I guess for this season, it is a no brainer that Wilson holds more value especially on my team, but being a mets fan it is tough to let him go. Kerry Wood was pitching well until this past sunday where he picked up the loss, and Jose Valverde might be one of the best closers in the AL.

I have made a bunch of mistakes this year, a lot to do with strategy which I am not going to go over, and some to do with roster management. Protecting Russell Martin over Martin Prado was a huge mistake, and then trading Martin & my 1st round pick to move up and draft Jose Lopez. Yikes, by the way Lopez is currently a FA in this league. There were a ton of pretty mediocre picks in the 1st round this year. Having a multi position player like Prado would benefit my team a lot more than a catcher who I was hoping would have a bounce back year. I should have also kept Gavin Floyd over Kevin Slowey, it was a coin flip for me, but I went with Slowey who I thought would get more wins playing for a better team.

I like my chances, and I am hoping to break out that milk carton again at the end of the year.

Luck of the Draw ?

You can't argue against the Pandas being the best team in the league. If this were a roto league, he would be winning the league as well, what I find interesting is I am getting shallacked each week against teams who just decide to have their best weeks of the year verus me. Pretty funny. Jamie belongs at the top of the leader board, but I should be in contention as well, just a lot of bad breaks IMO with matchups.

Xtreme Dynasty Avg opponent stats

40.7 runs
7.2 HR
125.5 TB
39.2 RBI
52.8 K's
6.2 SB
.293 AVG
.359 OBP

6 of 10 weeks opponents hit over .300 against me, 7 of 11 after this week. : (

Kung Fu Pandas opponent stats

39.4 runs
7.2 HR
114.9 TB
34.5 RBI
49 K's
5.6 SB
.272 AVG
.349 OBP

1 of 10 weeks opponents hit over .300 against him.

(note averages/obp are not 100% accurate, just added total averages & divided by 10, not looking at AB's, you get good idea though)

Midseason Report Card - Pandas

After games conclude this Sunday we will be at the mid point in the season. I think I have done a fairly good job in predicting how teams would be this year, of course there has been some surprises like Josh's team. I'm going to go through and do a team by team breakdown, and of course spend more time on mine. : ) Lets start from the top.

Kung Fu Pandas A

It is not a shock to see the Pandas a top the leaderboard. I thought going into the season he had the best team on paper, and I still think he arguably does, although I wouldn't trade my whole team for his. The most surprising thing to me about the Pandas is you can make an argument that 3 of his 4 top hitters have been disappointments this year. Prince Fielder .259, 26 RBI much lower then expected. Pablo Sandoval is only batting .282, and only has 6 HR, 27 RBI. Matt Kemp is hitting a measily .263, has whiffed 74 times and has been caught stealing almost half of the time. (10 SB, 9 CS) Just imagine what his team will be like in the 2nd half when these guys get going.

The success this year for Jamie has been in his next bunch of players. Robinson Cano in my opinion is the AL MVP and its not even close. Will he hit .372 for the season? Probably not, but even if he ends up at .330 30/100/100, that is damn good enough to crush all other 2b in the league. Adrian Beltre was another great grab who has been on fire so far. I doubt he continues at a .330 pace all year, but it is a contract year for him, so you never know. A couple of Rangers round out this list Michael Young & Elvis Andrus. Young isn't that flashy kind of guy, doesn't have a ton of power, but he is a hitter for sure and should be close to 100 runs & 100 rbi this year. Andrus has had a great 1st half as well with 19 SB & a respectable .286 AVG, but like Kemp he has been caught stealing a few times and they may put the brakes on him a little bit this summer.

Trades have always been one of the Panda's biggest strength, especially with the Baby Pandas CT Crush. Had to throw in at least one quick jab haha. I think the Greinke for McCutchen trade was genius especially in a league where losses come into play. I would have made the deal too if I were Josh considering the lack of pitching he had, but even better for Jamie. I always want to be on the end where I get a hitter as I value them more in this league.

Pitching wise, Jamie's team leads the league in ERA. Wainwright has been great and so has Gallardo. It will be interesting to see if he has enough down the stretch to win it. Gallardo had a pretty bad 2nd half last year after an all-star caliber 1st half.

The Pandas have no weakness pretty much, and the only way I see them falling out of first is if he gets hit with the injury bug, something he has yet to experience in this leagues short history.

Taking a look at the veterans this season

We are almost at the half way point this year, and there definitely have been some shocking stories, and of course there is some not so shocking news, jamie in first place & marv in last. I think Marv is content on his quantity over quality approach when it comes to his starting pitching.

One lesson I learned from this draft is to never count out the old guys, these guys won't crack most teams top 16 keepers, so why not take a chance. I personally passed on too many of them thinking oh its dynasty, i need youth. I whiffed big time in the first round, I am praying Aroldis Chapman is a bust. I dropped Jose Lopez when Chone Figgins became available. Figgins gives me higher avg/obp, runs, sbs, Lopez would have given me HR/RBI/TB, but comes with a pretty low OBP as he never walks. He could be a very solid add for stretch time for the pandas though.
So I passed on the young and went with a vet, lets take a look at some hot and not vets this year, and view some pics of my favorite 80's movies, movies that these players grew up watching.


1.21 gigawatts

1. Vladimir Guerrero - Vlad (35) can hit, that isn't a question but he had a very disappointing 2009 season finishing with only 15 hrs & 50 rbi. Many thought he was done, but moving Texas has rejuvenated his career. Vlad is currently 2nd in the majors with 47 RBI. Just imagine what these numbers will look like if he stays healthy in Arlington this summer.

2. Scott Rolen - Another 35 year old player enjoying a great season. Rolen currently leads the National league with 14 Hrs & is 9th in RBI. Rolen like Guerrero plays on a pretty solid offensive team. Anyone who gets to hit behind Joey Votto will have a ton of RBI opportunities.

3. Troy Glaus - Glaus is only 33, but I consider him in this tier of older players. Glaus currently leads the NL in RBI with 44, and has 11 HR which puts him in 7th in that category. Glaus,Heyward & Martin Prado have carried the Braves offensively this year.

4. Rod Barajas - Not too many people were happy with the Mets front office when they failed to sign Benjie Molina this year, but the combination of Barajas (34) & Blanco has been great for them. Barajas leads all major league catchers in HR/RBI this year. Take that Mauer & V-mart !

5. Magglio Ordonez - Ordonez (36) had a similar season to Vlad last year in terms of GP,HR & RBI, and like Scott Rolen with Votto, you have Cabrera for Ordonez in Detroit, plus Johnny Damon now in the top of the lineup.

There are some other surprises this year that just don't fit into this age bracket like Adrian Beltre & Vernon Wells who are having great years.


These guys blow

1. Raul Ibanez - Ibanez has been probably the biggest disappointment to me. He was in MVP considerations in my opinion with the numbers he was putting up last year in the 1st half, then he got hurt and hasn't been the same. .220 3hr 22rbi in dangerous phillies lineup is pretty bad.

2. Derrek Lee - Another guy who had a MVP type season last year. .306, 35hr, 111rbi are you kidding me. This year his numbers have been awful. Andy actual traded K-rod for him straight up. That hasn't worked out to good for him.

3. Bengie Molina - Molina was 2nd in the NL in RBI's & 3rd in HR's last year among catchers. I think the Buster Posey call up rumors have effected him a little this year. He isn't even on a roster anymore he has been so brutal.

4. Brandon Inge - Inge was actually 3rd in HR among AL 3rd basemen last year. I think he is done. He was not a great fantasy player last year but he at least he had that pop to help in the power categories. I see under 20 hrs this season and that isn't worth a roster spot considering his avg is so bad.

5. Randy Wolf - Wolf statistically was the Dodgers best pitcher last year. 6th in NL in WHIP, 10th in IP, 15th in ERA he was signed by the Brewers to be there #2 guy behind Gallardo and he has failed so far.


We aint found shit

So what do you do with these vets is the big question. You won't get equal trade value for these guys right now if you trade the hot bats. Is anybody really going to give up a semi good young prospect for Rod Barajas? Doubtful, so if you have one of these 5 strong old players you need to hold on to them at least to the trade deadline and then move them for whatever you can if not in the playoff race.

With these other players it is still too early to dump one of them, but if I am out of the playoff race in a couple of weeks I am getting rid of them. Is a 35 year old under performing Derrek Lee a keeper next year? I think the teams who know that don't have a shot this year are doing it right for next year. Right now is Brett Anderson, Starlin Castro & Travis Snider worth Carl Crawford who was a 1st rounder in many peoples mock drafts this year? Definitely not, but Brett Anderson enjoyed a good rookie season and both Snider & Castro were top prospects so if 1 of those guys pan out then the deal was successful. That is why it is so hard to judge trades. I commend both brian h & marv for making moves for the future and getting players they like. In a couple of weeks, others should do the same.

It is going to be a fun next couple of weeks for sure, i think i am a buyer but you never know in this league. i went from 9th to 5th this past week, and could end up back in 9th next week.

Get em a body bag!

Week 1 Review - 20 thoughts

Thank god week 1 is over.

Some interesting thoughts from week 1...

1. Not having internet access throughout the week sucks. I left a couple big games on the bench, and was not able to make a couple of roster moves I would have liked. It ended up costing me two stats.

2. Two teams did not record a save (Beantown & Pandas). The 4 teams who have the closers battled it out. 17 saves in one matchup & 13 saves in the other. The other 8 teams combined for only 15 saves.

3. Croatia actually had the best ERA in week 1. So much for the expansion teams not being able to compete in pitching.

4. Speaking of pitching, two teams that preseason had some of the best pitching in the league (Pandas & Wagners) had miserable weeks. 5.72 ERA for Marc & 5.13 ERA for Jamie.

5. J-Fraud in first place, and with a second best 12 HR's. I didn't expect the power from his team this year.



6. Might as well give Jason Heyward NL ROY right now. He definitely impressed this week. On a side note, it is nice to see everyone utilizing their minor leaguers this year. I have seen that video like 20 times. Isn't it great? Heyward-Heyward-Heyward. BOMB!

7. A couple of trades went down this week. Charlie Morton for David Robertson. It was nice to see that one fall right back into Jamie's face, although it did serve its purpose with IP & K's. The other deal Derrick Lee for Francisco Rodriguez was a great even deal. Closers are at a premium this year. NCU needed some more bats, and Josh needs pitching.

8. If Ryan Howard is hitting this good in the spring, just imagine how good he will be this summer?

9. Milton Bradley off to a fantastic start. 1-21 & 9 K's. That 1 hit was a HR.

10. Denard Span over Nelson Cruz, OUCH. Cruz has struck out twice, Span three times. (reasoning for Bill passing on Cruz)

11. Chan Ho Park was just claimed from waiver wire. Yep

12. Casey Jannsen leads the majors in wins with 3, and is available !!! I bet ya only half of the league knows what team he plays for.

13. It has been only 1 week, and three closers may be possibly out. Jason Frasor in Toronto looks like he is out. Frank Francisco will be relieved by Netfali Feliz this week, and Mike Gonzalez has blown 2 saves this week for the O's and will probably be on a short leash.

14. Some veterans played great this week. Edgar Renteria, Magglio Ordonez & Vladimir Guerrero. All were over-looked basically on draft day.

15. My quest for HR/RBI/TB team backfired big time this week. 2nd least amount of HR's, 4th worst in RBI & 3rd worst in TB. Thank you Jose Lopez.

16. Julio Borbon yikes. Talk about a disappointment thus far.

17. I am glad I didn't make the mistake in taking Vincente Padilla in the draft. Two start pitcher in week 1. 11 ER.

18. Team Croatia had Brad Lidge (DL) and Rick Vandenhurk (minors) on his active squad all week. Those 2 roster spots could have resulted in another win or two in a category. Rookie mistake I guess.

19. Jimmy Rollins off to a hot start which is good news for Marv. Maybe he stays interested all year and makes a good playoff push?

20. I was searching for a team to route for this year. It couldn't be either the Yanks or Sox, so I went with the Mets. Good lord am I in for a rough season.

Season Preview - Odds to win it all

Will Andrew repeat this year? Will Marc receive 100 offers for Hanley Ramirez? Will either expansion team make the playoffs? Will Josh make more bad trades? Will Bill complain about those trades? Will Marv actually make a pick? The odds on some of these are good, and some not so good. Below are odds on who I think has the best chance of winning it all.

3-1
Kung Fu Pandas are the favorite to win it all this season. It was obvious that Jamie had a plan come draft day, and that was to draft best player available who will help out this season regardless of the players age. That was a small shocker considering this is the same guy who was infatuated with date of birth's last year. Jamie has the best lineup on paper, I don't think this can be argued.

Strength
I am not going to go over position or player strengths here, I am going to go over Jamie's #1 strength and that is trading. Jamie knows when to make a move, and more importantly what owners to target in a trade. Let's just say with all of the trading that Jamie made last year, I did not receive 1 offer from him. Jamie has already started off 2010 with a bang going back to old trading buddy Josh and grabbing Matt Wieters who many say will be a top 3 fantasy catcher for the next 10+ years. Dustin Ackley is one of the top prospects in baseball, and Wandy Rodriguez definitely helps Josh's inept pitching staff, but if he shopped Wieters around, I am 100% positive he could have received a better deal. I set the over/under at 6 for deals with Josh & Bruce this year. If it goes over, I think Jamie will have an even better chance to win it all. The Jones for Reynolds deal was a great one too. I am not a Reynolds fan at all.

Weakness
There really is no glaring weakness. Jamie's draft strategy could come back and bite him in the ass. Raul Ibanez, Adrian Beltre & Andy Pettitte are all pretty old and could break down this season. Also as noted in previous blog 55% of the top 20 starting pitchers didn't live up to expectations either through poor performance or because of injury. I think Jamie failed to try and grab the next Adam Wainwright or Zack Greinke in this draft, electing to go with proven vets instead. It was definitely a safe approach.

9-2
I think I (Xtreme Dynasty) have the second best chance to win it all this year. If you look at some of the other contending teams, you don't see a lot of balance. I think I did a fairly good job in building my team this offseason. My team is full of question marks, but isn't everyones really?

Strength
I think my strength is within my depth and my young players. Jason Heyward & Alcides Escobar were two huge minor league pickups I made last year and I think they will be battling it out this year for NL ROY honors. Everyone knows about Heyward but Escobar if he can get in the #1 or #2 slot in the Brewers offense this season, he could score a ton of runs. My pitching staff I think is going to have a breakout season. My pair of Twins pitchers Kevin Slowey & Scott Baker (minus last start) have looked great this spring. I think Cole Hamels & Chad Billingsley both have rebound years.

Weakness
My achilles heel last year was injuries, and it looks like 2010 is starting out the same way with 5 guys slated for the DL to open up the year. I think if I stay healthy I can challenge anyone this season. My other problem I had last year was not having enough patience with people. I dropped Miguel Tejada early on in the season and he ended up having a great year. I also dropped Kendry Morales as well, and this was because of my #1 weakness and that was my strategy. Spamming innings are great against the right opponent, the one that you have a distinct disadvantage against, but is there any need to spam against a team who you have far better players then? It doesn't make sense, and that is how I ended up missing out on some players like Morales.





5-1
Little Honus Wagners comes in third here. I really liked Marc's draft this year as he drafted a bunch of players right when I was ready to draft them like Justin Masterson, Nick Swisher (dual-eligibilty)& Scott Sizemore.

Strength
Marc's strength is definitely his pitching staff. He is kind of the opposite of Kevin. Marc's lineup is solid, but nowhere near as dangerous as it was last year in my opinion. 4 solid veteran closers who shouldn't lose their job unless injured is very nice. I like Kershaw & Jimenez alot in dynasty setting.

Weakness
I think Marc's weakness was not being more active on the WW and through trading last year. I know there was like 10 guys that were all pretty much the same on the wire last year, but take a shot on one of them, Also if Jamie was telling the truth, then it definitely would have been tough to turn down a Fielder/Greinke/Reynolds for Hanley/Gonzo/whoever deal. It was something like that, remember talking about it last year.

11-2
If we could actually place a wager on someone for real, I would put some cash on Team Hanson. Kevin was definitely hit hard with the injury bug last year, probably even harder then I was. He probably would have struggled with the 45 inning minimum last year.

Strength
There is no doubt Kevin's strength is with his lineup. I think he has one of the best lineups in the game. He has 3 players who would be in the top 10 of a new dynasty draft. (Upton,Braun & Cabrera) A-rod is going to put up MVP numbers until he retires. Joey Votto is one of my favorite up and comers, and I think he could break into that top 5 area for first basemen this year. I was targeting Colby Rasmus this year, and Kevin nabbed him from me. He could surplant Ludwick and move into the 5th spot in lineup this year. This lineup is just nasty.

Weakness
Kevin's weakness is not his pitching, although it was last year. Peavy, and hopefully Liriano pull through for him this year. Kevin's weakness last year besides the injury bug was that he just didn't seem to make enough moves during the year, maybe it had something to do with the 100 websites he has, or maybe just too many leagues, and just lost interest when his team was getting hurt. If Kevin is active this year, I think he could be the dark horse to win it all. Just judging from other leagues though that we are in together, he is more of a stand by your draft kind of guy then a go out and make a move guy.

6-1
Seems like pretty high odds for the defending champs North Country United. Pitching definitely won Andrew the championship last year, but pitching can only get you so far.

Strength
This is pretty clear cut with Andrew. His strength is his pitching. He has 3 great top notch starters in Sabathia, Santana & Lester. His bullpen is very deep, and he has a few young pitchers who could be sleepers this year.

Weakness
The weakness is definitely the bats. His top 4 keepers of Jayson Werth, Jacoby Ellsbury, Aaron Hill & Jason Bay aren't exactly Pujols,Fielder,KFP & Kemp. Ellsbury is the only player of the bunch i would rank in my top 20 position players. I loved the picks of Big Papi & Todd Helton in the draft this year, but I don't think it is enough to compete with some of the top teams. Andrew will need to have a lights out pitching week to be successful in the playoffs again this year.




10-1
The Beantown Brawlers come in at 10-1. I see a top 5, and then I see a race for the 6th seed. I was not a big fan of some of the moves Bill made this offseason. His expansion keepers, Granderson over Zobrist, Span over Cruz, and some of the draft choices he made.

Strength
Bill doesn't think he can compete, but looking at his team it is very good. Lincecum, Beckett & Hanson are 3 great top of the line starters. Jonathan Broxton is one of the best young closers in baseball. His lineup is filled with some young budding stars like Gordon Beckham & Billy Butler. If Bill can fix his weakness this year, he could be a contender.

Weakness
Bill's weakness last year was definitely holding on to players too long, and waiting too long for guys on the waiver wire. Bill missed out on a ton of players last year because he was waiting for someone to break out of a funk. I think also he wasn't used to this type of scoring, and was familiar with a certain style of owners which this league clearly didn't have. This league was filled with mostly new fantasy baseball players and those guys jumped more often on players then Bill was used to.
I also think he over values some of his players. I fall victim to this sometimes in football, and really makes other owners think if you really like someone this much and think of him that much, why would you shop him?

21-2
I actually like both of the expansion teams next, but rate Montreal Expos a tad higher then Croatia. I think Brian H. had a very solid draft. He has a lot of young talent, but also a lot of vets who will give him a shot at the playoffs this year.

Strength
It is tough to judge a new owner on strengths without being in a league with them before, but from what I have seen from Brian in expansion draft and regular draft I think he will be a tough owner for years to come. Top to bottom Brian's lineup is pretty good. He has speed, power and a fairly decent average. I think Carl Crawford is going to put up MVP type numbers this year.

Weakness
It is not as weak as some others pitching staff, but when Brian struggles this year it will be with his pitching. Ricky Nolasco is really his only true ace. What is nice about the team is that he has a lot of breakout candidate type players like Romero, Buchholz, Sherzer & Sanchez...not to mention Aroldis Chapman who will probably be up this summer. Leo Nunez is his only true closer, and yikes.




11-1
This one was a little tough to figure out. I like Croatia's roster a bit more then Expos, but I am not sure what type of owner Brian B. is going to be. This is his first go at fantasy baseball I guess in a while.

Strength
I think Brian's lineup is actually his strength. 7 players projected at double digit steals, and 11 players projected over 20 HR's. compare that to KFP who has only 10 players projected over 20 HR's or Kevin's team who only has 8 players projected over 20 HR's.

Weakness
The lack of good starting pitching really hurts Brian's chances this year. He has some very good relievers that he could potentially move and get some good starting pitchers, but until then I don't think he has enough to really compete. Also, the new factor might hurt him this year, he might be victim to getting burned in a couple of deals.

16-1
J-Fraud clearly lost his identity. Last year his offense put up some huge numbers. This year I think it will struggle.

Strength
There are solid building blocks in place, but I think J-Fraud definitely needs to make some moves this year. Roy Halladay is my pick for NL Cy Young. John Lackey, Cliff Lee & AJ Burnett round out a pretty strong top 4. I think Halladay will be a good trade piece come deadline time if J-Fraud finds himself out of it. He definitely isn't afraid to deal which can be a good thing.

Weakness
It is definitely the identity thing. He went from HR/RBI/TB team to pretty much just strong at SB's. He has a crazy amount of stolen bases on his team and only 6 players who project for more than 20 hrs. That really isn't going to cut it on most weeks. If you need steals, look no further as there are plenty of players on this team who should be made available.

20-1
CT Crush falls in here at 15-1. I like bits and pieces of Bruce's team but as a whole don't think he has enough this season to compete. Plenty of young players in pipeline though which is nice.

Strength
LOL, one strength Bruce has is his buddy Jamie. Jamie really pitched in and gave Bruce some solid advice on some players last year down the stretch, some advice that some of the other owners Marv should have taken as well. I liked Bruce's draft a lot this year despite all the Rays he drafted. Solid team, needs to keep building for future.

Weakness
This is a pretty easy one for me, and that is way too many Rays on his team. There is one thing to be a fan and have players on your team that you like, but he has gone overboard here. 5 Ray pitchers going against the best division of bats in baseball hands down. That isn't a recipe for success.

40-1
Are you shocked that I don't have Stonehenge last? Marv definitely had his share of injuries and bad luck last year, hopefully it won't bite him in the ass again this year.

Strength
Unfortunately I really don't see too many strengths with his lineup. I just think Duffs weakness outweighs Marv's hence the rating. I like Markakis a lot. I think he will develop a little more power this year. I think Rollins is underrated going into this year. Shin-Soo Choo is one of those guys who people forget about, but I like him this year.

Weakness
Marv's big weakness last year was that he basically gave up and quit paying attention to his team. Instead of taking constructive criticism and good suggestions from one owner, he elected to ignore it and not build for the future. I think Marv got caught up in seasonal league mentality and not dynasty league. How active will Marv be this year is the big question. If the draft is the blue print then I don't expect Marv to be a contender this year. I hope he proves me and everyone else wrong though.

Any O's fan shouldn't be too happy with this pic. LOL

50-1
The Duffs have the worst odds to win it all this year in my opinion, and not because of the talent.

Strength
Duffs actually has a lot of talent on his team. The #1 catcher Joe Mauer, the #1 2nd basemen Chase Utley. He has some young talent like Andrew McCutchen & Carlos Gonzalez. If this were a roto league and we couldn't make roster moves, I think Josh would have a middle of the pack team, unfortunately this isn't.

Weakness
The main weakness with Josh, and the same issue J-Fraud will have this year is not having a clear identity. The trades he made last year were absolutely horrible if you look at it from a whole. Lets look at some of the players Josh had on his team last year that he currently doesn't have now. Grady Sizemore traded for Corey Hart & Melky Cabrera. Absolutely brutal deal. Cole Hamels, he received Javier Vazquez in a trade for him, but then traded Vazquez later. Joakim Soria was drafted by Duffs. I forgot about this deal. Wish I remember the details on this one, but I remember at the time it wasn't great. Ricky Nolasco might have also been involved in that deal with Soria, because Jamie got them both in trade last year. Nolasco of course was pretty bad at times last year, but a case of giving up on a player too soon, just like he did with Hamels & Sizemore. Adam Wainwright was on Duffs team as well. Josh wanted to help his ERA out, so he traded him for Zach Duke who at the time was pitching real well, then after the deal was made, he decided he wanted more strikeout guys weird. Michael Young, another guy sent over to KFP in trade. Huston Street, was released by Josh, and then I picked him up. Look at all that talent that left Duffs team, and look at the current state of his team now. He then just lost Matt Wieters this year who I mentioned above by many will be top catcher in baseball for next 10+ years. Just how valuable Matt Wieters was last year? He was drafted with the 2nd pick in the 7th round, and that is with no big league experience. This year in a new dynasty league, i bet ya he is taken before the 5th round. Shopping around before making a deal is definitely a good idea, not just for Josh, but for anyone who is making a deal. Josh's draft minus the trade this year was pretty good, and he does have a good nucleus of young players, but until he gets those trades in check, I can't seriously consider him a player in this league. Maybe he will get lucky on a few this year, who knows. I do gotta give him some credit for at least trying though.