BaseballHQ's Fantasy Baseball Forum - A's Player Discussion
by baseballgirl on Mar 4, 2009 12:31 AM PST
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PrintLast Sunday, I had the privilege of attending the Southern California BaseballHQ's First Pitch Fantasy Baseball Forum, led by Ron Shandler. Ironic, I know, since I don't play fantasy baseball (I objectively think I'm too attached to the A's, and would draft accordingly, leaving me with...well...the A's, and as some of you know, that has not been a good fantasy choice in recent years), but the experience is one-of-a-kind.
I went to the event last year, and it was great. Ron Shandler wasn't able to make the trip last year, but he presented at this year's event, as did Jeff Erickson (Rotowire/Blog Talk Radio, huge Reds fan), Todd Zola (Masterball.com), Nick Minnix (KFFL), and Jock Thompson (Baseball HQ, huge Angels fan).
Fantasy Baseball has not changed in the male-dominant department in the span of a year; I was one of three women at the forum, and the recipient of "Hey, that's a chick!". Love that.
There was great information shared at the forum this year, especially if you want to know the very latest for your fantasy drafts, but I'm sharing a couple of tidbits about the A's because I think it's important to note how these fantasy projections could translate into the season.
Kudos to the panel for a few calls last season, especially those who thought that Rich Harden would pitch at least 60 innings; 10 starts, if not more. Understandably, I was skeptical at this prediction, but obviously Harden well exceeded these numbers. Unfortunately, they weren't all in an A's uniform.
Last season, the panel (and most of AN) all thought that Travis Buck would see an increase in playing time, but he was a) terrible and b) injured. However, his name has been surfacing as somewhat of a wild card; I would say that this prediction is one to make this year as well.
Matt Holliday
Obviously the biggest name of the A's off-season, Holliday has left Coors Field to play in the cavernous Coliseum. Although Holliday's numbers have been outstanding, there are concerns about his transition from the NL to the AL, the Coliseum's effect on right-handed power-hitting, and the lack of a running game in the Oakland franchise. It is unlikely that Holliday will steal even half as many bases as last season.
Justin Duchscherer
Last year, there was a brief mention of Justin Duchscherer:
"Jeff [Erickson] is also is high on Justin Duchscherer as a starter, and feels that barring injury, he could be a legitimate threat in the new role."
That turned out to be a great call. Sadly, Duchscherer was listed this year under "Pitchers you don't want to own at the price they will probably cost" mostly due to his injury history, heavy workload, and stellar season last year.He will be great when he pitches, but he's not doing a lot to shake off the 'injured' label with the recent stories coming out of camp, and you either have to draft him early, or pay for his 2008, which will be hard to repeat.
Mark Ellis
Obviously somewhat tainted by the recent injury news, Ellis was picked in the "Undervalued Vets Over 30 category"; i.e. you might get him for a great price, and he could be worth it. I hope Mark is back and healthy for the team...and for his new double-play partner!
Trevor Cahill
Cahill was mentioned in the category of minor leaguers who may make an appearance to help your team in 2009, and I would say that holds true for the real season as well. I'd be surprised if Cahill isn't at the big league level at some point during the season.
There was a brief debate about the A's center field options, but Ryan Sweeney is probably not going to have an effect on fantasy baseball, and Rajai Davis probably won't see the playing time to help a team, either.
Any arguments with the above? Comments on your own fantasy draft this year? What A's player do you want on your team? Who's going to win the AN League?
Open game thread will be posted before the 12:00 game.
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I'm taking a late flier on Gallagher.
I’m a big fantasy baseball nerd and any true fantasy nerd will tell you that they probably participate in mock drafts. In most of my 12 person drafts, Duke is going late in the draft, like 18th round or later. If you want to take the risk, he can be had without much risk.
I took part in four leagues last year and I took Duke in the last round of all of them (token A’s player). This season I’m taking Gallagher hoping for a similar payoff.
Off the subject, I’m a huge A’s fan and have been since I could pick up a baseball. I grew up in the Central Valley and I’m living in the East Bay now. This is my first post. I’ve read many posts and discussions, but never had the courage to speak up. Until now, so hello.
Welcome
to an excellent sportsfan community.
Hello! Welcome to AN! Pull up a chair...stay a while...
"I know they're the defending World Champs, but they are the whiniest team in baseball" -Rays announcers
Good call on Gallagher
I doubt he’ll be on many drafters’ radars.
Welcome to the party.
Ryan Sweeney: I probably irrationally embraced him before you did.
The Devine-Ziegler combination is a must
I had a chance to draft them both on my last 2 rounds, now I have Papelbon, Soria and both of them.
It’s almost like 3 years ago when I drafted the Larry Johnson and Priest Holmes, whoever has the closer spot promises a lot of saves.
Clear its radiance shine...
I generally stay away from A's players
Ever since I drafted Chavez on every team in every year from 2002-2004 expecting that “MVP Season” – I feel a little personally responsible for derailing his career.
My AL West fantasy picks tend to have a Pascal’s Wager element to them – I won’t draft any A’s so if they play poorly it won’t hurt my team, but I’ll happly take the hit if they play well for opposing managers. Similarly, I’ll draft Angels and if they play well then good for my fantasy team, but if they play terribly I will once again happily take the hit on my own team for their real-world ineffectiveness.
Yeah, I know that makes no rational sense at all.
I like important stuff just as much as the next guy, but please, for a little while, deliver us from meaning, baseball. That's your greatest glory, and we thank you for it very, very much. -- Craig Calcaterra
No, it does...
…but only to A’s fans!
"I know they're the defending World Champs, but they are the whiniest team in baseball" -Rays announcers
The
only Oakland player I might take is Devine. Otherwise, I stay away from drafting players from my favorite team. My very first time playing, I drafted Swisher in the 7th …. big mistake!
They've done studies, you know. 60% of the time it works, every time.
I'm always surprised at how many people play fantasy baseball.
In addition to baseballgirl’s rooting-interest problem, I have no idea how anyone has the time to do the homework necessary to win (or perhaps it’s precisely because many who play don’t do the homework that others are attracted to playing).
by GreenNGoldSooner on Mar 4, 2009 8:19 AM PST reply actions
Agreed. I barely have time to post on AN and watch the games.
It's not the results, it's how you look going about those results -- Tim McCarver
by WaddellCanseco on Mar 4, 2009 8:24 AM PST up reply actions
I had no clue something like this existed...
So do you give the whole experience a thumbs up Cindy? I don’t think I am fantasy crazy, but I do play in about 4 leagues with different formats (Keeper 5×5, 18 man deep 5×5, AL only 6×6, etc.), and this seems like a fun way to head into the season. I have been toying with getting into some more hardcore leagues since I have been experiencing success in these leagues which have fees from 20.00-100.00. Plus I have to do something to keep me focused away from all those Oakland injuries…
#1 Nick Swisher fan...but not in a stalker way.
but i also have nico in my fantasy blog keeper leagie
If you had a lineup of 9 Jack Custs who hit(Cust career average) .239 AVG, .382 OBP, and .475 SLG, then your team would score 6.12 runs per game-totalling to 991runs a season.The 08 rangers lead the majors in runs score with 901.
I used to play fantasy sports but I usually got tired of them by the time the season was over
I also didn’t like basically rooting for someone on my fantasy team to do well when he was playing against my favorite team. It turned into “Well, if he could shut the A’s out for 8 innings and get a bunch of strikeouts but the A’s won against someone else in the 9th then I can handle him not getting the extra points for the win,” or something like that. It was easier to hope a hitter would get a couple homers or a few hits without his team winning.
Aside from all that, playing fantasy sports did make me look more closely at other players I might be considering adding or dropping, but I got busier doing other things and fantasy sports took a back seat.
Last of the Ninth - Photography Site / jamesvenes.com - Blog
This is it, exactly.
I also didn’t like basically rooting for someone on my fantasy team to do well when he was playing against my favorite team. It turned into "Well, if he could shut the A’s out for 8 innings and get a bunch of strikeouts but the A’s won against someone else in the 9th then I can handle him not getting the extra points for the win," or something like that
"I know they're the defending World Champs, but they are the whiniest team in baseball" -Rays announcers
NL only
for those that have a hard time regarding your fantasy players playing the A’s in real life, you can choose a NL-only league. interleague is only a handful of games.
The Not-So-Casual Fan
I hope you either got in for free or enjoyed the company
‘cause that’s some mighty shallow analysis.
I guess it’s just par for the course when it comes to fantasy sports. I’ve found most of that stuff to not be worth the electrons it’s printed on.
Many years from now, when his name's recalled
Everyone will say, "He should have passed the ball"
-- Al Stewart, "Football Hero"
I have been to these before and there is nothing shallow about the analysis
They break down a ton of numbers and give backup for all of their selections. I am sure BBG was just summarizing and also not wanting to give away a ton of info that a bunch of people paid for. Say what you want about Shandler and Fantasy baseball, but there is nothing about his analysis or forums or books that is shallow.
Bring back Hammer.
by OaktownPower on Mar 4, 2009 10:01 AM PST up reply actions
OK, that's your opinion
I do not share it, assuming (reasonably, I would hope) that BBG is accurately reporting their opinions.
Many years from now, when his name's recalled
Everyone will say, "He should have passed the ball"
-- Al Stewart, "Football Hero"
Again...the A's took up about TWO minutes of a THREE HOUR forum...
…it is ridiculous beyond words to make a judgment call on anything about a Fantasy Baseball Forum based on how they reported the Oakland A’s, who are all but a non-entity in the sport. Unbelievable.
"I know they're the defending World Champs, but they are the whiniest team in baseball" -Rays announcers
by baseballgirl on Mar 4, 2009 11:58 AM PST up reply actions
So...you're annoyed that most of the A's aren't on the fantasy radar?
Last of the Ninth - Photography Site / jamesvenes.com - Blog
Shandler is a great source
With stout hearts, and with enthusiasm for the contest, let us go forward to victory. ----Hero Defector Montgomery
Wow. That's sure a leap.
I would say that 1% of the entire content of the afternoon was about the A’s; obviously we do not come up big on the fantasy radar. I was simply mentioning some points that A’s fans might care about. This was an AMAZING presentation of fantasy sports, and one of the best in the business. And you should know that; they are a big name and completely worth the price of admission.
"I know they're the defending World Champs, but they are the whiniest team in baseball" -Rays announcers
by baseballgirl on Mar 4, 2009 11:22 AM PST up reply actions
Plain and Clear
There isn’t a single top pick in Oakland right now. The best value player is probably Devine, but you’d be risking that he a) has injury history and b) might not close in every save situation.
After that, depends a lot on value, but Matt Holliday will likely not be worth it, Giambi could be if the league values him as declining and you think he will hold steady.
Besides that, the only possibility would be a breakout candidate in the rotation, and even then Id only bite if it was Gio or Mazzaro, assuming they pitched excellently through ST to get the job because then you will get some K’s even when if they perform mediocre.
I miss Chad God
Regarding Devine,
The save issue could be a problem if you’re playing roto-style games but no problem at all if you’re playing a simulation game such as Scoresheet.
Root for the Giants? Not even if they're playing al-Qaeda!
You can play without your A's loyalties hurting you.
Play in a combined major league format and draft A’s and National Leaguers (but no Giants). Assuming you don’t draft out of blind loyalty to the A’s (like picking Mark Ellis when Chase Utley is on the board) you can still assemble a strong team. There might be a few interleague games that will have some of your players going against the A’s but it will be rare. Or one of your NL players could be traded to the AL. In that situation, you can try to trade him for another NLer.
Root for the Giants? Not even if they're playing al-Qaeda!
I hate fantasy baseball.
However, I absolutely love Sim baseball.
Anybody that enjoys fantasy baseball but wondered what it would be like to control a whole team, from contracts to minor leagues to ticket prices to promotions/demotions, AND the in-game management, lineups, pitching staffs, and even more?
Go check out Out Of The Park Baseball
I know there are at least a few OOTPers here, and I’m sure they will all vouch for the game and how much more involved and in-depth it is than fantasy baseball.
"I’m Joey Devine, I’m what Joba Chamberlain would be if he was good and nobody had ever heard of him."
Well, sim games are still fantasy baseball games.
Just a different variety.
Root for the Giants? Not even if they're playing al-Qaeda!
They're not "just" a different variety.
It’s not even close to being the same thing.
Fantasy baseball essentially boils down to picking guys who will rack up the most counting stats. Depending on the size of the league, it pretty much can turn into “my all star team is better than yours” and guys making trades because “I need to get more saves” or “I need more strikeouts”
Sim baseball actually requires you to put together a good team. There is a draft. There is a rule 5 draft. There is free agency. Guys make salary demands, others refuse to sign with you because they want to test the market. There is Hall of Fame voting, and an All Star Game, and yearly award voting, etc. The league that I’m vice commish of is currently in it’s 10th season, and it was formed by combining two other leagues that had a total of about 50 season between them. In real time, we’ve been at it for a little over 5 years.
It’s really got nothing to do with fantasy baseball at all.
"I’m Joey Devine, I’m what Joba Chamberlain would be if he was good and nobody had ever heard of him."
that does sound cool.
Id only be interested if a bunch of people started at once, say from AN perhaps…
I miss Chad God
Come join the GUBA forum and see what it's about.
It’s a 36 team league with full minor leagues and 36 different owners.
"I’m Joey Devine, I’m what Joba Chamberlain would be if he was good and nobody had ever heard of him."
How does one even get started in something like this?
Seems like I’m late to the party.
It has everything to do with fantasy baseball
It’s the fantasy of operating a major league baseball team. Some are games that score points, others play simulated games. But they aren’t REAL. It’s all FANTASY.
Root for the Giants? Not even if they're playing al-Qaeda!
I picked up Jack Cust in the last round
Though our league counts OBP instead of average, and Ks aren’t counted.
Bob Geren and Ken Macha both enjoy jai lai.
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