Month: July 2009
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The Scoop
By Dalton Del Don Over his last four starts, Chad Billingsley has a 9.45 ERA with a 1.989 WHIP. He threw 200.2 innings last season and doesn’t rank among the top-10 in Baseball Prospectus’ pitcher abuse points in 2009, so it’s not like he should be wearing down. It’s probably just a blip on the…
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Brian Sabean Strikes Again
By Dalton Del Don When I first heard of my Giants trading Tim Alderson for Freddy Sanchez, my blood immediately started to boil. I let the expletives fly. I then decided to give up on the team until Brian Sabean is gone. I’ve since tried to talk myself into it, and while I’ll acknowledge the…
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Wednesday’s Training Camp Notes
By Dalton Del Don The Cardinals players received their NFC Championship rings Tuesday night – Arizona has the privilege of once again playing in the NFL’s worst division, and it’s not even close. However, with the terrific playoff run fresh in our minds, don’t forget this team entered Week 17 at 8-7 last year and…
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Training Camp Notes
By Dalton Del Don A look around the league with recent news from training camps: Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau wants Plaxico Burress to serve time in prison for gun charges – At this point, Burress is pretty much undraftable in every format, as it looks increasingly unlikely he’ll play a single down in 2009.…
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The Scoop
By Dalton Del Don Over his last nine games, Yunel Escobar is hitting .467 with four home runs, 14 RBI and eight runs scored. While he’s never going to be a big power/speed guy, he’s already eclipsed last year’s HR total in 203 fewer at-bats. Although Escobar has frustrated Braves’ management at times, leading to…
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The LeBron Dunk
Video footage has finally emerged from the infamous facial, and while the quality of this one is much better than TMZ’s version, the dunk itself is hardly worth the hype. LeBron has no one to blame but himself for making this a much bigger deal than it was, as there’s no way the hype would…
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The Scoop
By Dalton Del Don Over his last 10 starts, Felix Hernandez has a 1.30 ERA and a 0.947 WHIP with 73 strikeouts over 76 innings. The schedule hasn’t been particularly tough, but his 1.42 G/F ratio is also fantastic. After Tim Lincecum, Dan Haren and Roy Halladay, Hernandez enters the mix as next best fantasy…
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The Scoop
By Dalton Del Don Let me be clear, I don’t think much of Reggie Bush as an NFL player, as he’s been nothing but a disappointment since getting drafted out of USC. A 3.7 YPC mark over 418 career carries is ugly, and for such an explosive college player, it’s truly surprising he has just…
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Catcher Rankings – Update
1. Joe Mauer 2. Pablo Sandoval 3. Victor Martinez 4. Brian McCann 5. Jorge Posada 6. Bengie Molina 7. Matt Wieters 8. Mike Napoli 9. Chris Iannetta 10. Russell Martin 11. Ryan Doumit 12. Geovany Soto 13. A.J. Pierzynski 14. Jason Varitek 15. Kurt Suzuki
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Second Base Rankings – Update
1. Chase Utley 2. Ian Kinsler 3. Dustin Pedroia 4. Brian Roberts 5. Brandon Phillips 6. Aaron Hill 7. Robinson Cano 8. Dan Uggla 9. Jose Lopez 10. Clint Barmes 11. Ian Stewart 12. Freddy Sanchez 13. Felipe Lopez 14. Orlando Hudson 15. Howie Kendrick 16. Placido Polanco 17. Adam Kennedy 18. Martin Prado 19.…
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Shortstop Rankings – Update
1. Hanley Ramirez 2. Jimmy Rollins 3. Derek Jeter 4. Troy Tulowitzki 5. Alexei Ramirez 6. Ben Zobrist 7. Stephen Drew 8. Jason Bartlett 9. Jose Reyes 10. Rafael Furcal 11. Asdrubal Cabrera 12. Jhonny Peralta 13. J.J. Hardy 14. Yunel Escobar 15. Ryan Theriot 16. Edgar Renteria 17. Elvis Andrus 18. Marco Scutaro 19.…
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Dirty Sanchez
By Dalton Del Don Let’s be clear. Jonathan Sanchez didn’t throw a perfect game Friday. He was better than that, getting 28 outs while walking none, allowing zero hits and striking out 11. The Padres entered the night having scored the fewest runs and with the worst batting average (.234) in baseball, and that was…
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The Scoop
By Dalton Del Don Two weeks ago, I recommended targeting Alex Rodriguez in trades but also acknowledged that his hip injury made it a risky proposition. I didn’t really follow my own advice, failing to land him in two half-hearted trade offers, mainly because I kept reading about how scouts said he looked terrible and…
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The Scoop
By Dalton Del Don Jonathan Broxton gave up three runs while pitching in Petco Park during his last appearance, but there hasn’t been a more dominant reliever in baseball this season. How about 65 strikeouts over 39.2 innings? A 14.75 K/9 is positively astronomical. He still walks too many batters, but when you combine that…
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Fantasy Football Draft
I recently participated in an industry draft and figured I’d share the results (at least the first eight rounds). This wasn’t just a mock, as it will be played out. Starting lineup featured 2RB, 3WR and a flex, so it’s pretty deep. One point-per-reception for wide receivers and 0.5 PPR for running backs. Also, six…
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NBA Mock
Rounds three, four and five now in the books.
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The Scoop
By Dalton Del Don After throwing the most pitches (3,914) in all of baseball last year, I avoided Cole Hamels at the draft table in 2009. And while I’m still concerned with his health moving forward, he’s actually a pretty good trade target right now, especially for teams lower in the standings trying to swing…