I hate teams cyclicaly. I have two, Boston and New York. Since Boston has been winning their fans are the most annoying in the world so I am happy, so happy that Big Tex went with The Yanks. Nothing makes me happier then to see The Red Sox nation cry. I hate all you bastards.
ESPN
Fox Sports
Yankees.com
Those two runs were bad, real bad but I give Baltimore credit. Everyone knew they were going to be running the ball to milk the clock, they just blocked better than the Cowboys played D. This loss falls into the lap of Antonio Romo. Last night Deion had the stat that the Cowboys were 16-4 in games that Romo turned the ball over. I bet all four of those loses were in December. The only reason he has huge passing days is because he sets his team behind in every game that matters. He has to throw to get them back in the game. Even though I hate the loss it was probably good for the team not to make the playoffs this year. They don't deserve it. The coaching staff sucks, the players hate each other and Jerry Jones enables a Soap Opera feel to America's Team. Go listen to a press conference after a Pittsburgh game as compared to a Cowboy press conference. That's a real football team. The'Boys are just mentally weak and it starts with Romo. Until his head is right with ball the Cowboys will be a perpetual disappointment.
That's right. It is never too early to think how things are going to play out in the spring. We are only 2 months from the end of the season but also we are only 2 months away from pitchers and catchers reporting. I saw a list of the top 40 closers for the 2009 season. I thought it was interesting. Take a look.
1. Jonathan Papelbon, Red Sox
2. Joe Nathan, Twins
3. Mariano Rivera, Yankees
4. Brad Lidge, Phillies
5. Francisco Rodriguez, Mets
6. Carlos Marmol, Cubs
7. Joakim Soria, Royals
8. Bobby Jenks, White Sox
9. B.J. Ryan, Blue Jays
10. Jose Valverde, Astros
11. Jonathan Broxton, Dodgers
12. Jose Arredondo, Angels
13. Kerry Wood, Indians
14. Francisco Cordero, Reds
15. Matt Capps, Pirates
16. Brian Wilson, Giants
17. Matt Lindstrom, Marlins
18. Heath Bell, Padres
19. Brandon Morrow, Mariners
20. Brian Fuentes, free agent
21. Joey Devine, Athletics
22. Trevor Hoffman, free agent
23. Joel Hanrahan, Nationals
24. Manuel Corpas, Rockies
25. George Sherrill, Orioles
26. Chad Qualls , Diamondbacks
27. Chris Perez, Cardinals
28. Frank Francisco, Rangers
29. Mike Gonzalez, Braves
30. Dan Wheeler, Rays
31. Grant Balfour, Rays
32. David Riske, Brewers
33. Fernando Rodney, Tigers
34. Troy Percival, Rays
35. Tony Pena, Diamondbacks
36. Brad Ziegler, Athletics
37. Joel Zumaya, Tigers
38. Huston Street, Rockies
39. Doug Brocail, Astros
40. Jason Isringhausen, free agent
Looks like Theus is out. He might need to go back to Hangtime and pretend he is coach Bill Fuller again. His teams always won on that show. Story.
That is right, a soccer post. Deal with it. 16 teams are left and the draw happens next friday to see the matchups. My team Chelsea looked horrible in the group stage so hopefully that form will be behind them once the knockout games start. Here is how things ended up. The top two teams from each group move on with the second place finishers going up against the first place finishers from different groups.
Group A
AS Roma
Chelsea
Group B
Panathinaikos
Inter Milan
Group C
Barcelona
Sporting Lisbon
Group D
Liverpool
Atletico Madrid
Group E
Man U
Villareal
Group F
Bayern Munich
Lyon
Group G
Porto
Arsenal
Group H
Juventes
Real Madrid
I am glad this isn't happening. I hate it when the rich get richer. Story.
The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor league affiliate teams when other teams would be willing to have them play in the majors. The Rule 5 Draft is named for its place in the Professional Baseball Collective Bargaining Agreement. The June Rule 4 draft, known as simply "the draft" or the "amateur draft", is a distinctly different process in which teams select high school and college players. Now that we got that out of the way lets see the players we never heard of.
Pick Player Position Drafted By Drafted From 2008 Club
1 Terrell Young RHP Washington Cincinnati Sarasota
2 Reegie Corona INF Seattle New York (AL) Trenton
3 Everth Cabrera SS San Diego Colorado Asheville
4 Donald Veal LHP Pittsburgh Chicago (NL) Tennessee
5 Lou Palmisano C Baltimore Milwaukee Brevard County
6 Luis Perdomo RHP San Francisco St. Louis Springfield
7 David Patton RHP Cincinnati Colorado Modesto
8 Kyle Bloom LHP Detroit Pittsburgh Altoona
9 Jose Lugo LHP Kansas City Minnesota Ft. Myers
10 Benjamin Copeland CF Oakland San Francisco Fresno
11 James Skelton C Arizona Detroit Erie
12 Zachary Kroenke LHP Florida New York (AL) Scranton/Wilkes-Barre
13 Gilbert De La Vara LHP Houston Kansas City Northwest Arkansas
14 Jason Jones RHP Minnesota New York (AL) Scranton/Wilkes-Barre
15 Darren O'Day RHP New York (NL) Los Angeles (AL) Salt Lake
16 Eddie Morlan RHP Milwaukee Tampa Bay Montgomery
17 Robert Mosebach RHP Philadelphia Los Angeles (AL) Arkansas
18 Miguel Gonzalez RHP Boston Los Angeles (AL) DNP
19 Derek Rodriguez RHP Tampa Bay Chicago (AL) Charlotte
20 Ivan Nova RHP San Diego New York (AL) Tampa
21 Rocky Cherry RHP New York (NL) Baltimore Norfolk
Triple-A Phase
Pick Player Position Drafted By Drafted From 2008 Club
1 Ricardo Nanita OF Syracuse (WAS) Chicago (AL) Birmingham
2 Ryan Patrick RHP Tacoma (SEA) Milwaukee Huntsville
3 Andres Santos LHP Indianapolis (PIT) New York (AL) DSL Yankees
4 Robert Valido SS Norfolk (BAL) Chicago (AL) Charlotte
5 Matt Yourkin LHP Fresno (SF) Florida Carolina
6 Francisco Lizarraga SS Louisville (CIN) Los Angeles (NL) Las Vegas
7 Luis Ortega RHP Omaha (KC) Washington DSL Nationals
8 Yusuf Carter OF Sacramento (OAK) Chicago (NL) Daytona
9 Elio Sarmiento C Oklahoma City (TEX) San Francisco San Jose
10 Anthony Hatch INF Albuquerque (LAD) Toronto New Hamp.
11 Ryan Klosterman SS New Orleans (FLA) Toronto New Hamp.
12 Russ Haltiwanger RHP Memphis (STL) Kansas City NW Arkansas
13 Cody Haerther OF Las Vegas (TOR) St. Louis Memphis
14 Andrew Locke RF Round Rock (HOU) Los Angeles (NL) Inland Empire
15 Henry Arias RHP Rochester (MIN) Cincinnati Dayton
16 Carl Loadenthal OF Buffalo (NYM) Atlanta Richmond
17 Mark Holliman RHP Nashville (MIL) Chicago (NL) Tennessee
18 Kyle Haines 2B Lehigh Valley (PHI) San Francisco Connecticut
19 Jason Rice RHP Pawtucket (BOS) Chicago (AL) Kannapolis
20 Rafael Quintero RHP Indianapolis (PIT) Cleveland DSL Indians
21 Josh Perrault RHP Norfolk (BAL) Washington Harrisburg
22 Richard Suomi C Omaha (KC) Philadelphia Lehigh Valley
23 Josue Selenes RHP Sacramento (OAK) New York (AL) Staten Island
24 Guilder Rodriguez SS Oklahoma (TEX) Milwaukee Huntsville
25 Brett Harker RHP Albuquerque (FLA) Philadelphia Reading
26 David Shinskie RHP Syracuse (TOR) Minnesota New Britain
27 John Madden RHP New Orleans (NYM) San Diego Portland
28 Jonathan Ash 2B Nashville (MIL) Houston Round Rock
29 Javis Diaz OF Lehigh Valley (PHI) San Diego Lake Elsinore
30 Miguel Marquez RHP Pawtucket (BOS) Seattle DNP
31 Gerardo Esparza RHP Indianapolis (PIT) Seattle VSL Mariners
32 Carlos Arias RHP Omaha (KC) Cleveland Mah. Valley
33 Ronald Hill RHP Albuquerque (FLA) Philadelphia Reading
34 Shane Justis SS Nashville (MIL) Los Angeles (NL) Jacksonville
35 Juan Sanchez SS Nashville (MIL) Milwaukee GCL Twins
Double-A Phase
Pick Player Position Drafted By Drafted From 2008 Club
1 Andrew Barb RHP Bowie (BAL) Seattle DNP
Not really sure what the Bobcats were thinking. Read here.
Putz is a Met and should lock down the 8th inning. The Mets were horrible in the later stages of games and with Putz and KRod in the Mets might actually live up to their potential.
ESPN Story
Oops, I thought his desire to be on the west coast would lead him to turn down a bigger offer but I was wrong. He was money whipped. I don't blame him though.
ESPN Story
Fox Story
Yankees.com
I guess the Mets haven’t learned that Fantasy championships don’t win real world championships. Story.
Well, the cry for years is let's get some pitching in here. The Rangers did that today by trading Gerald Laird for two minor league pitchers. Here is the story.
Here is the Mavs Payroll roster as of right now:
Jason Kidd-1 year left on contrat at $21,372,000
Dirk Nowitzki-3 years left on contact at $59,387,142-player option in 10/11
Josh Howard-3 years left on contract at $32,670,000-Team option in 10/11
Erick Dampier-3 Years left on contract at $32737500
Jason Terry-4 Years left on contract at $41,025,000
Jerry Stackhouse-2 years left at $14,250,000
Desagana Diop-5 Years left at $32,393,000
JJ Barea-3 Years left at $4,972,500-Team option in 10/11
Antoine Wright-2 Years left at 4,020,550
Shawne Williams-3 Years left at $7,400,511
DJ Mbenga-1 Year left at $1,971,041-Plays with Lakers
Deveon George-1 year at $1,600,000
Brandon Bass-1 Year at $826,269
Gerald Green-1 Year at $862,269
James Singleton-1 Year at $797,581
Nick Fazekas-1 Year-$711,517-Plays with Denver
The total salary for this year 2008/09 is $92,320,541. They have 9 players under contract for next year totalling $70,126,360. (Dirk, Josh, Terry, Damp, Stack, Diop, Wright, Williams, JJ Barea) Let us take a look at who might be someone to build around in the future. Dirk is getting older and only has 2 or 3 years left at the elite level. Josh is nice but is inconsistant and is a 4th quarter no show. Terry is a real nice role player and on a good team can be the third scorer and if need be can carry a team for a night. Diop isn't going anywhere because of his contract. It runs out in 2012/13. Stackhouse wants out, 2 guys we are paying already play on other teams. Devean George is out next year. Jason Kidd is a free agent at the end of this year and if he is to leave I beleive basketball doesn't allow compensation for losing free agents. Even with the with some contracts expiring and dropping the payroll to 70 million we would need to fill the roster with more players. Being conservative lets say next year our payroll is 82 million. Dirk is older, Josh is crazier, Terry is still only a good 6th man. We do have a draft pick this year in the first round but by the looks of it the mavs still might make the playoffs leaving that pick as a mid to lat 1st rounder which is a crap shoot. Also at the end of next year we have a team option on Josh and Dirk has a player option. I would look for him to leave if we are nowhere near competing. In 2010 with those options and having no 1st round draft pick life is bleak for any Mavs fan.
It is bleak but still there is a little hope. With Mark Cuban we know he will pay to win. There is a chance of signing a big FA next summer but so far we have seen that no one is willing to come to Dallas. So this entails Cuban overpaying for for B level talent. That is no way to win. Next, after 2009/2010 season is over with, another 20 mil drops off leaving the payroll at 51 million. This is the Lebron James FA period. I am not suggesting we can get him but there will be one free agent out there that we can atleast get in the door and listen. This is the only chance to help the team and not blow it up. He resides in Toronto right now and is a Dallas product. 
Chris Bosh is the only chance mavs fans have to turn this thing around before Dirk and Josh leave. It has been my experience that guys want to play for the teams they grew up watching, the Mavs are that for Bosh. If the Mavs can get Bosh then the FA pool the next year is better since people would consider coming to a place that Bosh and Dirk play at. If this doesn't happen then we need to blow it up starting now. Kidd needs to be moved at the deadline for bad contracts and draft picks. They need to replenish the pile from letting NJ have 2 picks and Devin Harris for Kidd. Then in the summer Josh has to be traded for either young talent or draft picks. We then have one more year with Dirk and if by the trade deadline we aren't winning then Dirk needs to go too. The Sonics/ Thunder did it with Ray Allen and so did the Timberwolves/ Wolves with KG. They are struggling now but in 5 years they will be on top. These are the options we have and none sound appealing.
Alright, Hot Stove is officially up and running. The start to free agency in baseball always starts at baseball’s winter meetings. Guess what, that is today. I am only going to stick to the top 3 free agents today, but promise to update as Free Agency picks up. There are 3 top free agents on the market this year with 2 of the 3having at least 6-9 good years left while the other is only around 2-3. 
First up is the Overweight Lover, CC Sabathia. The lefty who started off dreadfully slow last year finished the season with a 2.70ERA, 1.11 WHIP, a record of 17-10, 251 K’s and single handedly got the Brewers to the playoffs. From all indications he wants to go-to the West Coast, with the Angels, Dodgers and Giants all vying for his services. There is one other team the Yankees that are involved but only to get the price up so those other teams have to compete with the Yanks money. The Brewers want him back but come on, let’s get serious. The Fantasy impact on him going to any of those west coast teams is good. The Angels are good offensively and always have a great bullpen and are in a division with two pitchers parks in Seattle and Oakland. Dodgers Stadium has been historically a good pitchers park, just ask Chan Ho Park, he swindled 75 million out of them because of the good years he had there. Last but not least is the San Francisco Giants. Also a great place for pitchers with the water by the bay killing HR balls. Look for him in the third round of the upcoming fantasy baseball drafts. Anything below that will be a steal. 18-7 with a 2.59 ERA is easily attainable. He should have a great year.
Next up is the most Conceded Guy in the World, Mark Teixeira. This guy is so arrogant but you can’t really knock him for it. He backs it all up with his play on the field. He is also one of the few guys whose body is rock solid but has a double chin, I cant figure that on out. His defense is great and so is his offense. His only knock is that he doesn’t start playing until after the all-star break. His stats back that up with him hitting .268 and .287 in May and June, then hitting .307, .386 and .333 in July, August and September. He finished last year over .300 with 33 HR and 121 RBI. No matter where he goes expect more of the same. The Angels want him back but hate dealing with The Baseball Anti-Christ Scott Boras. The Red Sox are interested in him and so are his hometown team the Orioles. If he could get his first half stats up to his second half stats he would be a top 5 pick year in and year out for your fantasy team but chances are he wont so take him late second, early third.
Last but not least is Manny Ramirez. When he isn’t Manny being Manny he is the best hitter is baseball. He hit .332 with 37 HR and 121 RBI last year while doing most of that in a pitchers ballpark. His defense is a huge liability but in standard fantasy leagues defense doesn’t matter. He is getting up there in age and he is looking for one last big contract. He might have 3 good years left and 2 average ones after that. If you are in a keeper, wait on him and take him in the 4th, but if you are playing year to year there is no reason to think he wont put up big numbers again. I would mind spending a late 2nd round pick on him. As long as the team lets him be Manny then he will produce.
Those are some of the big free agents, there are a lot more out there that you will need to win, I will try to get to those sometime next week.
So I was watching the cowboy pre-game all fired up to see how the Cowboys could handle the dreaded Pittsburgh D and if the Cowboy D could step up to the challenge of making Big Ben make a mistake or two. I turn it to Fox ready for big-time sports action. Joe Buck and Troy Aikman are giving us, the viewer, some serious inside information that only players know and media members pretend to know. I am fired up. A defensive battle with the potential for snow flurries, it is time to put this December losing the cowboys do in the past. I had my popcorn ready, if you will. Then the first quarter starts and my friend, who is a girl, walks in the TV room and says lets go the Benihana’s for an early dinner. I then turned the TV off, took a shower and drove to Benihana’s for the best dinner ever. They just opened a new one in Plano and I have been dying to try it. It was a Sunday afternoon so we were able to slip right in and get seated. I got a DP to drink and then Oscar came out to cook our food on the Hibachi Grill. I found it weird that OSCAR was cooking our food instead of someone with a U and an X in their name but he was great. He threw the knives around just as good as Mr Miyagi could and he even made a volcano out of onions. I was having a great time eating some chicken fried rice not caring one bit about if TO was going to get off the line of scrimmage without getting jammed or how dumb Romo was for not wearing sleeves. I got home around 6:30 and turned on the cowboy game expecting a 37-10 beat down. I was pleasantly surprised to find out we really dominated the game until the final 5 minutes. Remember that game last year when the Giants lost to New England but gave the Patriots the game of their life and then went on a run to win the super bowl, mark my words, this game wasn’t that. It was a loss where Romo showed us what he truly is, a liability. He has 39 starts in the NFL and has 49 INT’s. Not good. I blame Brett Favre. Romo even tried a left handed pass while on the run to a wide open Roy Williams in the end-zone that flew over his head. I am not sure since I am not a QB in the NFL but I know I have seen guys roll to the left and throw with their right. People might say that is Romo, you get the good with the bad. If that is the case look for early playoff exits for the next 6 years. He is good enough to get you to the play-offs but until he stops turning the ball over the ‘Boys will never get back to the bowl.
Dallas Papers
Pittsburgh Papers
The best 2 SF's in the league matched up tonight in Lebron James and Danny Granger. Fireworks ensued, wait LBJ ended up with 11 and Granger had 4. But they did almost get into a fight so read here to find out about the almost fight and game.
For those of you that thinks Camby is done look at his stat line tonight. Kaman might be out but Camby is making a case for the up in the air JRich trade.
Josh Smith appears to be back with 35 minutes, 16 points, 8 boards, 5 assissts and 2 blocks. Even with Brand out Dalembert still can't make an impact.
For all you Deron Williams fans out there the Jazz are up big right now on Toronto so look for him to not play much in the second half. The knicks finally had a 9 man rotation tonight unlike the past couple games with Nate Robinson out where they only had 7 guys the whole game. They Knicks are a joke as usual. For their sake I hope they get LBJ, Bosh or Wade. If not look for another 20 years of tears in NYC. Atleast the murder rate is down from the 80's, so they have got that going for them.
Overall just your average NBA night.
Number 10---Al Jefferson
21 points 10 boards and 2 blocks and great %'s makes this Jefferson living in the penthouse already.
Number 9---Chauncey Billups
Since making his return to Denver he has been ranked in the top 10 in everyone's player ranker.
Number 8---Danny Granger
2 trey's a game 25 points per and 1.5 blocks a game makes him the second best SF in fantasy.
Number 7---Amare Stoudemire
Should be ranked higher but a slow start and a disagreement with his coach has lead him to drop a few spots from the preseason top 3. Still a strong play though.
Number 6---Dirk Nowitzki
GUTTENTACH-Dirk is back and better than ever. It helps that Jason Terry has been great so far. Ride the German Express until he goes up in flames like the Hindenburgh.
Number 5---Chris Bosh
Skeletor reborn in Chris Bosh. The coked out runway model looking guy tearing up Canada is named Chris Bosh. Look for him not to slow down as long as Jose Calderon is ruuning the show.
Number 4---Kobe Bryant
Slow start but injuries will soon happen and this will shoot his value thru the roof. Once that happens he will look as nice as a blonde Denver co-ed.
Number 3---LeBron James
There is no one more important to the success of their team than LBJ. You can almost say the same in fantasy. I hope he stays in Cleveland after the show NY is putting on for him.
Number 2---Dwyane Wade
Now that he is healthy he is a fantasy force. Enough said.
Number 1---Chris Paul
Already ranked 1 in yahoo and ESPN this hornet will sting you everytime. Lightning quick, can hit from anywhere and thread the needle with the best of them. Fantasy force for the next 10 years.
There shouldn't be a debate of who is the number one player in the world of fantasy basketball. Chris Paul is the best and won't be giving that posistion up soon. 20 points 10 assists in over half of his games along with a steal in every game makes him the best fantasy player out there. Last year he had a triple double with points, assists and steals. That is a very difficult thing to accomplish but could happen on any night with CP3. Coming in second is Dwyane Wade. He is finally healthy and the only scoring option on the very average Heat squad. His only weakness is that he is shooting 26% from behind the arc. He is leading the league in scoring at 28.4 points per game. He is also at 7.7 assists, 2.5 steals and 1.7 blocks a game. If he can stay healthy he will compete for the number one slot in fantasy basketball all year and deserve it.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
