Random Thoughts

- I just wanted to point out that since the Tossers lost 7 matchups in row earlier this season, they have gone 5-1-1 over their last 7 matchups, beating a few highly ranked teams. Good job, Troost.

- Self Indulgence got to play the role of playoff spoiler last week when they beat the Macafeys 9-0. The Macafeys were tied with the Balls for the final playoff spot prior to the matchup, now they have to dig themselves out of a 5-game hole. Tim's team was let down by poor pitching and by poor hitting from his infield, but mostly he got beat by a team having a good week. Incidentally, the Macafeys are sitting at .500 and I can't remember the last time that's happened this late in the season.

- Things that caught my eye as I looked at the waiver wire:
For anyone looking for help at catcher, Jesus Flores is catching full-time for the Nationals, and he's .304 with 9 RBI over the past week. He's been getting most of his at bats in the 5th spot, so their could be the chance for more RBI production if he keeps hitting, but that depends on people getting on base for him.
Dave Bush has had a few good outings mixed in with some poor ones, but he could be a good pitcher to pick up if the matchup is right. He's pitched much better at home than on the road this year, with a 3.30 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP. That is a ridiculously small WHIP.
Speaking of home/away splits, Greg Maddux has been very good when pitching at Petco. His Batting Average Against is .228 at home compared to .326 on the road, and he has a WHIP of 1.00 at home. Pick your matchups with Maddux, and he'll serve you well.
For all the talk about how Mike Cameron would finally be out of pitchers parks, he's hitting better when playing away from Milwaukee. His OPS is .906 on the road versus .627 at home. He'll flirt with 25 home runs and 15 stolen bases, not bad for player who missed the first month of the season.

- I'd like to thank Raul Ibanez for his stellar play over the last few days; he has 15 RBI in his last four games, and he's the main reason I am beating the Butt Admirals in RBI this week.

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Manny Comes to the Dodgers

ESPN is reporting that Manny Ramirez will be a Dodger for the next two months.

Though the trade has yet to be officially announced, ESPN says that Manny goes to the Dodgers, the Dodgers send Andy LaRoche and Bryan Morris to the Pirates, Boston sends Brandon Moss and Craig Hansen to the Pirates, and the Pirates send Jason Bay to Boston.

Seems like the Pirates got a pretty decent haul of prospects.

I honestly don't know whether to be excited or scared, but my first instinct is leaning towards fear.

Why did the Dodgers get another high-priced outfielder when we can't play all the ones that we already have? I assume that this means Andre Ethier will sit, and I can see them playing Andruw Jones over Juan Pierre now that they have Manny. With a slugger in the middle of the lineup, the Dodgers might feel that they can drop Jones in the order and continue to give him at bats without the pressure of producing runs.

It seems that their best outfield would be Manny, Ethier, and Matt Kemp, but it's hard to say how Jones and Pierre would fit in.

But why give up LaRoche for two months of Manny? I'm assuming it's going to be two months of Manny, since I can't imagine the team would give him the last big contract that he wants to end his career with. Actually, I can imagine Ned Colletti and Frank McCourt giving Manny $25 million a year in a misguided attempt to create headlines. But does he turn the Dodgers from a pretender to a contender?

Manny does not turn the Dodgers into a World Series contender. He gives the team a legitimate shot at winning the NL West, but the Dodgers still have too many injuries and offensive problems to seriously compete in the playoffs.

The Dodgers traded away their third baseman of the future after only giving him 152 at bats over the last two years. Less than a third of a season's worth of at bats is not nearly enough time to figure out what a player is worth, especially a prospect of LaRoche's caliber. The Dodgers weakened themselves for next year for some headlines and a chance to lose to the Phillies, Mets, or Cubs in the playoffs.

Thanks a lot.

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5 Weeks To Go

- We have five weeks left in the regular season before the playoffs starts; let's look at three teams fighting for a playoff spot.

Macafeys - 86-77-7 (tied for final playoff spot)
Balls - 84-75-11 (tied for final playoff spot)
Dinos - 77-84-9 (8 games out of final playoff spot)

With just five weeks to go, there isn't much time left to gain ground, but the Dinos do face the Macafeys once more before the season ends. With a strong showing against the Macafeys, the Dinos could pass them up for 7th place, just outside of a playoff spot. The Balls have the easiest schedule, with three matchups against teams out of contention.

The Balls and the Dinos just made a blockbuster trade, each time trying to fill a need as they head down the final stretch. The Balls traded Albert Pujols, Robinson Cano, and Bobby Abreu for Ryan Howard, Chone Figgins, and Joe Nathan. The Balls are losing a lot on the offensive end, but they do gain back a premier slugger and an elite closer. With Joe Nathan, the Balls have upgraded their bullpen immensely, previously having to rely on Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman for saves. Even without Abreu, Pujols, and Cano, the Balls still have a formidable offense.

The Dinos have nearly gutted their bullpen, with Troy Percival as their only closer, but they have recharged their offense. Even when hurt, Pujols is still one of the best closers in the game, but the Dinos may have hurt themselves next year if Pujols has to miss most of the season because of surgery. Cano looks like he's shaken off his first-half slump, and he's now slugging .554 this month. Abreu gives the Dinos another decent bat in the outfield.

Will this trade help the Dinos overtake the Balls? Well they have more offense, and they should hit for better average, especially since they won't have to carry around Howard's .237 batting average. The Balls are a more well-rounded team with the addition of Figgins' speed and Nathan's saves. I think the trade was pretty even, but I'll say that it's not going to be enough to push the Dinos past the Balls.

- Taking a look at the trading block (which is a nice idea, but I wish Yahoo would make the presentation a little more user-friendly), the Dinos are offering up Corner Infielders and Outfielders for Starting Pitching. The Macafeys have Roy Halladay, Rich Harden, and Shaun Marcum on the trading block, and they are looking for HR and RBI. Let's see what could work for them, maybe J.D. Drew for Rich Harden or Carlos Beltran for Roy Halladay? I don't know, I'm just speculating.

- Carlos Guillen has more walks than strikeouts this month, and it's helping; he scored 12 runs last week and has 19 this month.

- Miguel Cabrera is going off this month; 13 RBI last week and 26 in July.

- Waiver Wire Watch: For those in need of a catcher, Ramon Hernandez has started to produce. He has an OPS of .814 so far in June and July.

For those looking for a pitcher, Bronson Arroyo has a WHIP of 1.12 in his last 33 innings.

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First Half MVP's and Cy Young Winners

Since it's halfway through the season, I thought I'd take a brief look at each team in my Yahoo fantasy league and see who their MVP and Cy Young winners are for the first half. I tried to avoid picking players that were picked up after the first month or who spent significant time on the DL. Teams are listed in order of their record, and the runners-up are listed in parentheses. I won't be providing any commentary on my picks, but feel free to let where I got things right or wrong in the comments.


1. Adrian's Revenge (79-46-5)
MVP - Carlos Lee (Brian McCann)
CY - Kerry Wood (Ervin Santana)

2. Screaming Lemurs (72-50-8)
MVP - Ian Kinsler (Ryan Braun)
CY - Cole Hamels (Brandon Webb)

3. The Balls (70-54-6)
MVP - Hanley Ramirez (Adrian Gonzalez)
CY- Mariano Rivera (Edinson Volquez)

4. Val Kilmer's Asshole (70-55-5)
MVP - Lance Berkman (Josh Hamilton)
CY - Jonathan Papelbon (Scott Kazmir)

5. Naterade (71-57-2)
MVP - Justin Morneau (Kevin Youkilis)
CY - Francisco Rodriguez (Felix Hernandez)

6. Butt Admirals (65-53-12)
MVP - Grady Sizemore (Nate McLouth)
CY - Dan Haren (Josh Beckett)

7. Macafeys (68-58-4)
MVP - Derek Lee (David Wright)
CY - Roy Halladay (Shaun Marcum)

8. Dinos (62-62-6)
MVP - Chase Utley (Carlos Beltran)
CY - Tim Lincecum (Cliff Lee)

9. Dissect Yourself (48-71-11)
MVP - Dan Uggla (Matt Holliday)
CY - Carlos Marmol (C.C. Sabathia)

10. Summer Fox (49-76-5)
MVP - Brandon Phillips (Jason Bay)
CY - John Lackey (Billy Wagner)

11. Tossers (45-78-7)
MVP - Alex Rodriguez (Corey Hart)
CY - Joe Saunders (Takashi Saito)

12. Self Indulgence (42-81-7)
MVP - Chipper Jones (Mark Reynolds)
CY - Johan Santana (Jose Valverde)

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Flapjacks Power Rankings Week 13

Let's dive in and see how the teams in my Yahoo H2H keeper league stack up against each other.

6/24 Flapjacks Power Rankings
(Season record and last week's rankings in parentheses.)


1. Adrian's Revenge (71-44-5) (1)
My team retains the number one ranking after a tough matchup versus one of the preseason favorites, the Dinos. It was a big offensive week with 17 HR from my team, led by Carlos Lee, Brian McCann, and Mark Teixeira. Hopefully Teixeira's 3-home run outburst on Sunday is signalling an offensive turnaround for the first baseman. His .906 June OPS is his highest of the season, and he's been consistently better in the second half of the season for his career. Brad Hawpe continues to hit well, and the team could receive a boost from a recently healthy Josh Willingham, if his back doesn't affect his power. My third basemen have been dropping like flies, with Ryan Zimmerman on the DL for at least another month, and Kevin Kouzmanoff has missed the past six games with back problems, though it looks like he'll avoid the DL.
On the pitching side, Ervin Santana and Justin Duchscherer continue to dominate; for the month of June they've combined for 6 Wins, 43 K's, a 2.41 ERA, and a 1.05 WHIP. The bullpen has also been stellar, shutting out the competition over their last 15.1 innings, but Javier Vazquez has been knocked around a bit the last month, and Ian Snell continues to struggle after a promising couple of starts. Snell has soreness in his pitching elbow, but it seems that he'll only miss a start. Some time off may help him clear his head, but he's been awful for most of the year. In other news, Rich Hill has been sent to the Cubs spring training complex to work on his mechanics; he's been wild in AAA and it's hard to know if the promising pitcher will ever contribute to my fantasy team this season. My pitching staff is in trouble, but so far they've been able to stay competitive.

2. The Balls (67-48-5) (2)
The Balls suffered from a bit of a power outage last week, but still managed to beat Summer Fox 8-1. Luckily the Balls have studs like Hanley Ramirez and Adrian Gonzalez to keep them afloat. There's a lot of talent on this team, but they need everyone to step up to their potential if they want to win. Robinson Cano is still struggling, hitting .220 in June after it looked like he had gotten his season back on track when he hit .295 in May. Pat Burrell is still showing power but he's slumped recently. Milton Bradley has hit well this season, but it looks like the bumps and bruises are beginning to take their toll; the Balls have depth to weather injuries, but they need players like Melky Cabrera and Bobby Abreu to be productive. Luckily Albert Pujols should be back this week, giving them a much need offensive boost.
The pitching staff is hurting, but Zack Greinke and Edinson Volquez have pitched well as of late. The Balls need Jake Peavy to pitch like Jake Peavy, otherwise this team could be done in by inconsistent production.

3. Screaming Lemurs (65-47-8) (3)
The Lemurs had a very strong week offensively; Jermaine Dye hit 5 HR last week, and Aramis Ramirez hit 4. There's a lot of offensive talent on this team, and everyone's been performing well over the past month. With Victor Martinez injured for a while, the Lemurs need Jeff Clement to pick up the slack and live up to the hype, and it sounds like Seattle is giving him the chance to do that by making him a starter.
Brandon Webb has been awful in June so far, but Cole Hamels has been lights out. Despite a lack of closers, the bullpen is looking strong and Salomon Torres appears to have really taken to the role of closing for the Brewers. Santiago Casilla should be a good addition, as he was pitching well before he got hurt; he'll help with K's and WHIP/ERA. The Lemurs have a strong squad and they've stayed consistent throughout the year; I believe they'll be competing deep into the playoffs this year.

4. Val Kilmer's Asshole (67-49-4) (6)
The Kilmer's have a good offense, but injuries have plagued this team all year. David Ortiz is out for at least another month, and who knows how Andruw Jones will perform when he comes back at the All Star Break? Incidentally, I'm curious to know why Marky continues to burn a bench spot on Ortiz by not using his second DL spot. Even with the injuries, this team has a good offense; Josh Hamilton, Lance Berkman, and Jose Reyes have been great, and Jeremy Hermida looks like he's starting to turn his season around. One player who's performance has still be disappointing is Jarrod Saltalamacchia. His slump hasn't helped fill the holes at first base and catcher.

For the pitching staff, there's a lot of depth, but the Kilmer's need consistent production from Jeff Francis, Joe Blanton, and A.J. Burnett if they want to succeed. Burnett hasn't pitched well lately, but he has the talent to rebound, and Scott Kazmir and Ryan Dempster have pitched great. Huston Street has struggled, but Jonathan Papelbon has been there to pick up the slack.

5. Dinos (59-55-6) (5)
I picked the Dinos in the preseason to compete for first place, but their record has kept them in the middle of the pack. Despite their mediocre record, they have competed statistically and are in the top three in the league in almost every category. Part of their problem has been poor luck; despite having the league's best ERA and WHIP, their record in those categories is 6-6 and 7-5 respectively. They also have the third-most home runs but only a 5-6-1 record. Things are looking up for the Dinos, as for the first time all season, they have a fully healthy roster. Eric Byrnes is back from the DL, and the Dinos will look for him to regain some of last year's production. J.D. Drew and Carlos Beltran both had great weeks, but the infield has struggled greatly. Miguel Tejada has only 6 RBI in June, and Chase Utley has hit .229 this month. Chase Headley has produced since being called up, with 2 HR in 24 at bats, and he could be the second-half spark that this team needs.
The pitching staff, led by Ben Sheets and Andy Pettitte, has been very strong lately. The bullpen is shallow, but Joe Nathan and Troy Percival have been very productive.

6. Macafeys (62-55-3) (4)

The Macafeys' offense struggled last week, and they fell 7-3 to Naterade. Geovany Soto has hit .200 this month, Ian Stewart was demoted, and Adam Dunn is slugging just .355 in June. Though the team has struggled to hit regularly, they have been productive in both power and speed. Still, it doesn't look like Jeff Francoeur, Alex Gordon, or Alex Rios will have the home run totals that were expected of them this year.

The pitching staff did well last week, but both Shaun Marcum and Carlos Zambrano ended up on the DL. Neither injury should require surgery, but Marcum does seem like he'll be out for a while. A little rest might do Zambrano some good, and maybe it will help his strikeout rates return to their previous levels.

The Macafeys have now lost three series in a row, and it seems a long time since they were in first place, though it was less than a month ago. With 10 games between them and first place, they'll have to start making up some ground soon.

7. Butt Admirals (61-48-11) (7)

The Admirals showed an abundance of power last week; Prince Fielder hit 5 HR and Vlad Guerrero contributed 3 HR.  Both batters appear to have come out of their early season slumps, which is good news for the Admirals as they look to become more competitive on offense.  The offense has talent, but they've tended to underperform, and the team struggles to find consistent RBI production and Average.  The Admirals need their star players such as Fielder, Guerrero, and Grady Sizemore to carry them.  Rickie Weeks is finally healthy again, and we'll see if he's able to produce at the plate as he has on the base paths.  Nate McLouth has slumped this past month, as has Dustin Pedroia.

Bronson Arroyo and Aaron Harang had poor starts last week, but Josh Beckett, Dan Haren, and Joakim Soria were brilliant.  Harang has too much talent to perform this bad, so he should rebound, unless all of those innings over the past few years are catching up with him.

8. Naterade (65-54-1) (8)

This team has really surprised me this year; they were easily the youngest and most inexperienced team coming into the season, but they've really performed well.  Despite their record, I think there are too many under performers and inconsistent players for this team to win it all.  Nick Markakis has had an all-around solid year, Russell Martin has been one of the best catchers, and Justin Morneau has been a solid slugger.  But this team needs better production from its younger prospects such as Delmon Young and Justin Upton, who have both disappointed this year.  Gary Sheffield comes off the DL today, and hopefully he can be the productive bat that he was last year.

Naterade has one of the best bullpens in the league.  Francisco Rodriguez is on pace to break the season saves record, and George Sherrill has been solid for most of the year.  Naterade has helped himself to some saves by picking up Ryan Franklin and Mike Gonzalez.  Felix Hernandez avoided what could have been a derailment to his fine season when the sprained ankle he suffered on Sunday turned out to not be as serious as was feared.  It would be a blow to Naterade if his young hurler were hindered by this sprain all year.  This team has quite a few young pitchers, and quite a few of them are putting together nice stretches all at the same time.

9. Self Indulgence (40-73-7) (9)

Self Indulgence's offense performed well last week, led by Aubrey Huff's 4 HR and Orlando Cabrera's 7 RBI, but they are still near the bottom of offensive productivity when compared to the rest of the league.  They hit for good average, but not much else.  Chipper Jones has been this team's MVP all year, but he's dealing with an injured quad right now.  This team needs Jones to play consistently if they want to compete.  Derek Jeter is starting to hit better, as is Jeff Kent, but Magglio Ordonez has slumped this month.  Mark Reynolds appears to have come out of his May slump, so hopefully he can produce some HR and RBI for this team.

Self Indulgence has a solid bullpen, but the team desperately needs help for their starting pitching.  Johan Santana and Gil Meche can't do it alone.  

What's interesting is that this team has two available bench spots that they're not using.  Pick up some starting pitching while Chien-Ming Wang and Carlos Pena are on the DL.

10. Dissect Yourself (46-64-10) (10)

The offense didn't show much power last week, but they did hit for great average.  Dan Uggla is the man, hitting .278/.384/.639 in June.  Brian Roberts, Matt Holliday, James Loney, and Jeff Baker are all hitting well.  The team has Troy Tulowitzki back, but he's still not hitting.  Neither is Jay Bruce, who's hit .235 this month.  News on Alfonso Soriano's injury is that the bone is healing well; this team could really use his power.

Lot of relief options on this team, but Carlos Marmol has struggled recently, and Brandon Morrow had to deal with back issues over the weekend.  Morrow should be ready this week to fill in for J.J. Putz at closer; Putz doesn't appear ready to come back for another couple of weeks.  C.C. Sabathia and Jon Lester both pitched well last week.

This team has a lot of talent, and it surprises me that they haven't done better this year. They've been consistently getting beat in the RBI and pitching categories, so hopefully their revamped bullpen will help them in the second half.  

11. The Tossers (40-74-6) (12)

The Tossers hit well last week, but like Dissect Yourself, they didn't show much power.  Despite that, the offense has been good lately, and it looks like Nick Swisher might be finally coming around.  It could be time to drop Blake DeWitt for someone more productive; he's hitting .185 in June, and the Dodgers could decide to give more at bats to Andy LaRoche at third.  Bad news about Travis Hafner: he's had a setback of some kind, and it looks like he won't be back any time soon.

Hong-Chih Kuo was a smart pickup; he's given up only 3 ER since the beginning of May, and he's struck out 35 batters in 29 innings over the same time period.  Derek Lowe has looked good recently, as has John Maine, and Manny Parra could be one to hold onto if he can cut down on the walks issued.  The Tossers can compete, but they need stellar pitching from here on out.

12. Summer Fox (42-74-4) (11)

The Fox are in the bottom 3 in every offensive category except for Steals, and they have been merely average on the pitching side.  Their offense has talent, but they can't seem to put it together.  Almost everyone has struggled over the past month except for Jose Guillen, and Manny Ramirez.  Kenji Johjima hasn't displayed the offensive talent that he did in years past, and it might be time to look for another catcher.  

Fausto Carmona suffered a setback, and it's not yet clear when he'll come back from the DL. Both John Lackey and Mark Buehrle have pitched well, but the rest of the staff has pitched erratically.  Daisuke Matsuzaka was disastrous in his first outing off the DL, but he should make his next start.

I'm not certain the best way to help this team, other then to ascertain which players can break out of their slumps and which players can't, and acting accordingly.  You might be able to get good value for a player with name value who is merely doing okay for a player to could be due for a breakout.

Let me hear your opinions and disagreements. 

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Flapjacks Power Rankings Week 12

Let's take a look at the teams in my Yahoo H2H keeper league and see how they're doing. Hopefully I'll be able to do these power rankings more consistently, and provide more original content as well. Doubtful, but one can only hope.

6/17 Flapjacks Power Rankings
(Season record and last week's rankings in parentheses.)


1. Adrian's Revenge (66-40-4) (3)
Though my team has the best record in the league, I almost didn't give myself the top ranking this week, and it might be a short stay if I suffer a second consecutive losing week. My pitching staff has been very strong, leading in Wins and Saves, and we're also second in Home Runs, but I'm last in Steals and second to last in Batting Average. But then again, almost every team in the league has issues right now. Anyways, let's talk about why my team should be the best.
Despite inconsistent pitching from Ian Snell and Rich Hill, my pitching has been strong; I've had strong performances from Javier Vazquez, Ervin Santana, and Ted Lilly, but my success is mainly to do with a strong bullpen. With Brad Lidge, Kerry Wood, Jon Rauch, and Matt Capps, I can dominate in Saves and compete in WHIP, ERA, and K's. Snell has had a couple good starts recently, so he could be turning a corner.
Injuries have slowed my offense, but Mark Teixeira and Carlos Lee have hit well. Chris B. Young has struggled recently, and I need him to start performing like last year. Kelly Johnson has been disappointing since I traded Brian Roberts for him; I already regret not trying to get a better second baseman. Brad Hawpe has performed well since coming off the DL, and he could be a decent pickup for the second half. There's enough talent on this team to make it a strong performer over the rest of the season.


2. The Balls (59-47-4) (2)
The Balls lead the league in Home Runs, RBI, and WHIP, and they also are very strong in Runs and ERA. Their only weakness is a lack of speed; other than Hanley Ramirez and Shane Victorino, there's really no one else that can steal 30 bases. But this team makes up for it in power. They have six guys on pace for 30 or more home runs. Pat Burrell has been especially good lately, rebounding from a poor April to .333 this month. Losing Albert Pujols for three weeks hurts, but it sounds like he could return ahead of schedule.
The pitching staff has performed well recently after struggling, and Jake Peavy looks to be healthy. Erik Bedard had an encouraging performance against Washington, striking out 8 in six innings. But there's still not a lot of depth to this staff, especially with Adam Wainwright possibly missing a month due to a sprained finger. Even if Eric Gagne regains his closer role when he comes off of the DL, the bullpen is still not very strong.


3. Screaming Lemurs (60-42-8) (4)
The Lemurs are not spectacular offensively, but they are solid enough to be competitive each week. They also have shown a lack of speed so far this year, mostly due to Curtis Granderson not running as much as expected and Rafael Furcal being on the DL. Injuries are a problem on this team, with Victor Martinez and Furcal out for another two months. The Lemurs could slump if overachievers such as Jorge Cantu and David Murphy have rough weeks. Ian Kinsler won't be a 30/30 man this year, but he'll come close.
The pitching staff is very good, and there's no reason why they shouldn't continue to dominate in K's. Clay Buchholz could return from the minor leagues soon and strengthen this staff, and Dustin McGowan has 3 Wins in his last four starts. The bullpen continues to be a weakness, with no pitcher guaranteed save chances, and not much in the way of strikeouts.

4. Macafeys (59-48-3) (1)
The Macafeys have had a rough last couple of weeks; B.J. Upton and David Wright have struggled recently, and Alex Rios hasn't hit a home run in over a month. The good news is that this team arguably has the most talent in the league. Derek Lee is hitting .348 over his last twenty-three at bats, and Jimmy Rollins has scored 8 Runs in the past week. But Jeff Francoeur and Alex Gordon have been a bit of a disappointment for those expecting strong seasons. Despite the Macafeys' flaws, they have hardly any weaknesses.
The bullpen is a little thin, but Tim's starters have been good. Rich Harden has stayed healthy, and Tim will need a healthy Harden if he wants to compete in the pitching categories.


5. The Dinos (55-50-5) (5)
It bodes well for the Dinos championship chances that despite the mediocre record, they still are in the top three of six out of the ten scoring categories. The Dinos have been very productive, they just don't have the wins to show for it. Ryan Howard has been a beast, hitting 2 HR and 13 RBI in the last four games. The Dinos offense is really clicking right now; 2/3 of their team is hitting over .300 for the past week. Eric Byrnes is the only really disappointing player on the roster, with just 4 SB and 6 HR for the season. Chase Headley should be activated this week; time to see what he can do.
The pitching staff has talent, but after Tim Lincecum and Ben Sheets, the talent drops off quickly. With just Troy Percival and Joe Nathan in the bullpen, relief pitching is not a strength. Clayton Kershaw appears to be improving, so he could help in the second half.


6. Val Kilmer's Asshole (62-44-4) (6)
Despite their record, this team does not dominate much in any one category. They have a strong bullpen, and their team has power, but injuries have hurt this team. Lance Berkman and Josh Hamilton have been great, but other than Jose Reyes, there aren't many other standout stars on this team. It's a shame that David Ortiz got injured just as he was starting to come out of his early season slump; now we'll have to see if his wrist will be a hindrance for the rest of the year. I'm not certain why Mark hasn't put Ortiz on the DL, considering he has an open DL spot. Jarrod Saltalamacchia hasn't performed up to preseason expectations.
Jonathan Papelbon and Huston Street have been good out of the bullpen, but the rest of the pitching staff has been inconsistent. Luckily Justin Verlander appears to be turning the corner.


7. The Butt Admirals (57-44-9) (8)
The Admirals offense is speedy, but they lack power. Willy Taveras should steal 50 bases this year, and Grady Sizemore and Ryan Theriot could each have 30. Besides those three, there are at least three others who could steal 20 this year. But when looking at home runs, there are only four players that could hit 30 this year, and I don't think that one of them (Vlad Guerrero) is going to do it. The good news is that Grady Sizemore has gone on a tear over the past week, hitting 5 HR in six games, and Prince Fielder's slugging percentage has rebounded this month.
The Admirals' main strength is their pitching; they have a strong group of starters, and their bullpen, despite consisting of only Bobby Jenks and Joakim Soria, is elite. Bronson Arroyo looks like a smart pickup, but Aaron Harang has struggled in May and June, with an ERA over 5.00. He did look good in his last start, so hopefully he won't wear down over the course of the season.


8. Naterade (58-51-1) (7)
Naterade's offense has been disappointing; if it wasn't for the surprising play of Ryan Ludwick, they'd probably be last in home runs. As it is, there is not a lot of power on this team. Gary Sheffield should return soon, but he's been disappointing so far this season. Mike Cameron should be a good pickup for power and speed, as long as you can survive the low average.
The bullpen has been dominant, with many save opportunities, though Ryan Franklin might not have the closer's role for long. Francisco Liriano has pitched well in the minors, so he could be of help in the second half, though his velocity is not where it was before his surgery.


9. Self Indulgence (35-68-7) (11)
The Self Indulgence has a decent offense, but no speed to speak of and not much in the way of pitching, especially now that Chien-Ming Wang might miss the rest of the year. Chipper Jones has been the man for this team, and he should continue to lead the way offensively. Carlos Pena is a bit of a disappointment; sure, he probably wasn't going to hit .280, but .227 and a DL stint just isn't fair.
Johan Santana is a stud, but he can't do it by himself. This pitching staff is shallow, but a strong bullpen has helped carry the weight. Gil Meche has had two strong outings in a row, and more performances like those would help.


10. Dissect Yourself (42-60-8) (10)
Dissect Yourself doesn't have much in the way of pitching, but they do have a good offense, though it remains to be seen how they'll weather Alfonso Soriano's absence for the next six weeks. Dan Uggla has been a great surprise this year, and Brian Roberts has really done well since being added to this team.
The bullpen is now more of a strength, even with J.J. Putz on the DL. Adding Brandon Morrow gives him four possible closers, and having Carlos Marmol is like getting an extra solid starting pitcher each week. The pitching staff could be turning around after C.C. Sabathia and Roy Oswalt were both lights out in their last two starts.


11. Summer Fox (41-66-3) (12)
The Fox is last in Wins and K's, and their offense hasn't been much to speak of. Adding Manny Ramirez will help, but injuries have set this team back. Paul Konerko has especially been disappointing, but Jason Bay appears to have rebounded from a poor season last year. Now we just have to wait and see when Colby Rasmus will be called up, and whether he'll be more like Adam Lind or Jay Bruce.
Daisuke Matsuzaka and Fausto Carmona should be back in the next week, which is good news for a staff that had been basically relying on John Lackey to carry the load by himself. Billy Wagner has been struggling lately; since the Fox is not going to be winning any Saves categories this year, it might be wise to shop Wagner around while he still has value.


12. The Tossers (35-69-6) (9)
The Tossers have had arguably the worst pitching staff, and their offensive production is in the bottom three. It's hard to imagine where this pitching staff would be without Joe Saunders. With Chris Young sidelined for almost a month, it's fallen upon Saunders and John Maine to carry the team, and Maine has an ERA of 5.40 over the past month. In the bullpen, Takashi Saito hasn't been getting many save opportunities, and Tom Gordon has had two consecutive bad outings.At the plate, Nick Swisher might be finally turning things around, but the Tossers still need Travis Hafner to be healthy and productive.
If Troost were to ask my advice, which he hasn't, I would say that he should shore up his offense by trading away his starting pitching. Put together pitching packages to try and improve the bullpen, making sure to get solid closers. Pick up as many solid middle relievers with high K-rates as you can, and then spot-start nine starters each week. The idea is to improve the offense enough to be competitive each week, and improve your chances to win K's, ERA, Saves, and WHIP with a solid group of relievers. If you're smart and a bit lucky, you can pick and choose your starting pitching matchups, with the hope that they will get you Wins and not hurt your WHIP and ERA.


All right, whether you agree or disagree with anything I've said today, let me hear about it.

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Flapjacks Trade - Manny Ramirez for Jason Isringhausen and Todd Jones

Dissect Yourself (Micah) traded Manny Ramirez to the Summer Fox (Jon) for Jason Isringhausen and Todd Jones. Micah has a season record of 1-9-0 in the Saves category, so it makes sense to add closers to help J.J. Putz and C.J. Wilson.

It seems like Micah could have gotten better closers for Manny Ramirez, or at least closers with better job security. Jason Isringhausen has been on the DL for the past few weeks, recovering from lacerations on his hand suffered from pushing a TV, though it's not hard to imagine the Cardinals wanting to give him some time to get his mojo back. Isringhausen has blown 6 saves this year, and his ERA in 21 appearances is 8.00. His problems are due to a lack of control, an inability to strikeout batters, and a propensity for giving up home runs. There are signs that Isringhausen's luck might change, evidenced by a high BABIP and a low strand rate, but it's not even certain that he'll be the Cardinals' closer for the rest of the season when he comes off of the DL in a week or two. The Cardinals have other options available (Ryan Franklin, Chris Perez) so Isringhausen may not have the luxury of a long leash.

Todd Jones has continued to defy expectations by consistently putting up high save totals with very little in the way of pitch speed. Over the past three seasons, Jones has averaged 38 saves despite an ERA of 3.36, which doesn't tell you how shaky he pitched in 2006 and 2007. Jones doesn't strike anyone out, and he won't help you in WHIP or ERA, but he gets the job done. If Jones holds onto his job, which seems likely as the other Detroit candidates are pitching their way back from injuries, he should post another 30 save season, which is valuable if you can stomach the lack of production in other categories.

By getting Manny Ramirez, Jon upgrades his outfield and gets to move Adam Jones to the bench. Manny's on pace for another 30 HR, 100 RBI season, which should help Jon win a few weeks in those categories. Over the past three years, Manny has tended to heat up after the All-Star break, posting an OPS nearly .100 points higher than in the first half, so there shouldn't be any worry about Manny failing to continue his good start.

By giving up Jones and Isringhause, Jon is left with Billy Wagner as his only closer; unless he makes a move to acquire another closer, it would appear that Jon is punting the saves category. I commend him on his strategy because it enabled him to upgrade his offense significantly. Micah probably could have gotten more value for Manny Ramirez, maybe trading him for a top-ten closer like Matt Capps or Joakim Soria, but he did improve his ability to gain saves. Micah will miss Manny's production, but with Matt Holliday back from the DL, he does have a good outfield.

Vote in the poll which side of the trade you would have wanted.

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Line Drives and Patience

In my mind, if you're hitting line drives you're probably going to stand a good chance of getting on base. It also seems likely in my mind, that if you're hitting line drives you must be getting some extra-base hits. If you're patient and able for a good pitch to drive without striking out often, in my mind you're probably a good hitter. So if you hit line drives often and you're patient and able to make contact, it seems to me that you're getting on base a lot, driving in runs, and scoring runs.

Now I don't have any statistical evidence to back this up; this just seems like the profile of a skilled hitter that I'd like to have. So, with little analysis, here are ten batters this season who've hit line drives over 20% of the time they make contact, walked more than 10%, and struck out less than 25% of the time.

Most of these players are rostered in nearly every league. I've included their stats as of today, so it will be interesting to see how they hit over the next month, and whether or not they still fit the profile of a good hitter.

1. Marco Scutaro (26.8% LD, 11.6% BB, 15.6% K)
.269 BA/.358 OBP/.347 SLG/.705 OPS

2. Orlando Hudson (26.1% LD, 10.0% BB, 13.5% K)

.302 BA/.372 OBP/.495 SLG/.867 OPS

3. Milton Bradley (26.1% LD, 16.7% BB, 24.3% K)

.328 BA/.442 OBP/.608 SLG/1.050 OPS

4. Todd Helton (25.4 % LD, 17.6% BB, 13.9% K)

.292 BA/.418 OBP/.426 SLG/.844 OPS

5. Brian Roberts (22.7% LD, 12.0% BB, 18.2% K)

.268 BA/.353 OBP/.436 SLG/.790 OPS

6. Nick Swisher (22.1% LD, 15.1% BB, 24.4% K)

.203 BA/.325 OBP/.320 SLG/.645 OPS

7. Pat Burrell (21.6% LD, 20.4% BB, 23.6% K)

.283 BA/.426 OBP/.586 SLG/1.012 OPS

8. Mark DeRosa (21.1% LD, 12.4% BB, 22.6% K)

.295 BA/.385 OBP/.458 SLG/.843 OPS

9. Aramis Ramirez (20.5% LD, 14.2% BB, 17.1% K)

.312 BA/.423 OBP/.532 SLG/.954 OPS

10. Troy Glaus (20.1% LD, 14.5% BB, 19.4% K)

.264 BA/.370 OBP/.408 SLG/.778 OPS

I'll be interested to see if the under-performers like Nick Swisher improve on their stats over the next month or if they continue to produce at the same level.   

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Flapjacks Power Rankings Week 10

It's been over a month, but let's check in on my Yahoo H2H keeper league and see where everyone stands.  For those who aren't interested in how each team in my league is doing, check back in a few days and hopefully I'll have something to interesting to talk about.

6/2 Flapjacks Power Rankings

(Season record in parentheses.)

1. Macafeys (55-32-3)

Tim's offense is on fire right now.  Lots of speed - led by Michael Bourn and B.J. Upton - and lots of power - led by Adam Dunn (11 HR in May) and Mike Lowell.  Very balanced offense. Only players not hitting in May were Alex Rios, Jeff Francouer, Derek Lee, and Bourn, and they've all contributed in other areas.  Geovany Soto could be a franchise catcher for the Macafeys.  Carlos Gomez is starting to show that he can hit as well as run.  

The pitching staff is strong, especially since Roy Halladay is striking out batters at a rate of 9.15 per nine innings in the past month.  Not too many saves to be found on the Macafeys; problem could worsen if Brian Wilson loses his job.  Carlos Zambrano is winning, but not striking out as many hitters as we're used too; could signify struggles for him down the road.  This is one of the few times that doesn't not have any injury issues.

2. The Balls (51-35-4)

This could be the best offense in the league.  There are very few weaknesses on this team, especially with Robinson Cano breaking out of his April slump, hitting .302 over the past month.  Albert Pujols is still healthy and raking like his normal self.  Shane Victorino looks like he's completely recovered from his injuries, stealing 10 bases in May and getting caught only once.  Adrian Gonzalez is providing pop at home and on the road.  If Milton Bradley stays healthy and Carlos Quentin stays hot, not many teams will be able to compete with the Balls firepower.  Still waiting for Hanley Ramirez to hit another HR (last HR was May 12th).

Edison Volquez was a great pickup, but the rest of the staff is struggling.  Jake Peavy is out for another week, Erik Bedard is getting strikeouts but has an ERA of 6.04 in the past month, and the bullpen is shaky.  Getting Peavy back will help, but this is not the strongest pitching staff.

3. Adrian's Revenge (53-33-4)

Offense provides steady power, but not much in the way of batting average.  Brian McCann looks like a top-3 catcher, and Carlos Lee and Mark Teixeira have been RBI-machines.  Both Hunter Pence and Kevin Kouzmanoff have overcome their poor starts.  I traded away Brian Roberts for Kelly Johnson in order to punt steals; now I admit, I may have been a bit hasty and might have been able to find better value for Roberts, but I'm comfortable with gaining a possible keeper who could hit 20 HR at a shallow power position.  Injuries have hurt my offense, especially with Ryan Zimmerman and Josh Willingham on the DL, but I was able to stash Brad Hawpe on my DL in hopes that he'll rebound after his poor start.  He could be an immediate upgrade at my Utility position.  

The pitching staff has been great (Javier Vasquez, Ervin Santana, Todd Wellemeyer) and awful (Ian Snell, Rich Hill).  A strong bullpen, led by Brad Lidge, have kept me in most of the pitching categories each week.  I really need Hill to come back and be a top-25 pitcher.

4. Screaming Lemurs (50-33-7)

The Lemurs have helped themselves on offense with some astute waiver wire pickups, picking up Jorge Cantu, Christian Guzman, and David Murphy to help replace some offense on the DL. Ryan Braun and Jermaine Dye have been crushing the ball over the past month, but the Lemurs also need help from Victor Martinez, who is still looking for his first home run.  Having Rafael Furcal on the DL hurts, especially with Curtis Granderson not running very often.  

The pitching staff is anchored with strong middle relievers, but the closers on this team do not have the best job security.  The Lemurs have some aces, but not much in the way of starting pitching depth.

5. The Dinos (43-43-4)

Dinos received a great month from both Jacoby Ellsbury (18 SB) and Chase Utley (8 HR/26 RBI).  Injuries have taken a few preseason top-50 players from his roster, but the Dinos have received good production from Cody Ross and Luis Castillo.  Besides the drains on batting average that Lastings Milledge and Jim Thome have been, the Dinos are still waiting for Miguel Cabrera to break out (only 2 HR in the last month).  

The pitching staff has been dominant, led by a still-healthy Ben Sheets, but besides Sheets, Tim Lincecum and Cliff Lee, there's not much else in the way of talent.  The Dinos lose Troy Percival to the DL, but they replace him with John Smoltz.  With only two healthy closers, the Dinos will struggle to win Saves each week.

6. Val Kilmer's Asshole (50-36-4)

Lance Berkman and Josh Hamilton; that's really all you need to say about the Kilmer's offense. Okay, Jose Reyes has been hitting and running too.  Having those three playing at such an elite level helps carry the load that Vernon Wells and David Ortiz left when they went on the DL. Losing Ortiz's power hurts, as this team has not received much power output from their outfielders (except Hamilton and Berkman of course), or their catcher.  

The pitching staff has been very strong; Scott Kazmir has been elite, A.J. Burnett is still healthy, and Justin Verlander looks to be returning to form.  These three help offset how truly bad Tom Gorzelanny and Jeff Francis have been lately.  The bullpen is very good, with three strong closers.  The Kilmer's will have a great staff as long as it can stay healthy.

7. Naterade (44-45-1)

Ryan Ludwick has been a very good offensive pickup, and Kevin Youkilis is starting to show off his power.  But Delmon Young has shown no power, and many hitters (Justin Upton, Edgar Renteria) have been struggling.  Getting Howie Kendrick back from the DL should help.

On the pitching side, the bullpen has been solid, and Chad Billingsley has been looking like a dominant pitcher lately.  Tim Hudson has also contributed a very low ERA, despite an average WHIP.  But the pitching lacks depth, and it's hard to see them racking up high Win totals.

8. Butt Admirals (45-36-9)

The Admirals' offense is struggling, but Nate McLouth continues to be a bright spot.  Prince Fielder showed some power last month, with 5 home runs, and Grady Sizemore has been contributing both with power and speed.  But he, and a few other Admirals, are struggling to hit for a high average.  The Admirals need offensive studs such as Vladimir Guerrero to step up their game.

Bronson Arroyo was a good pickup, as he should have some good starts the rest of the way. This pitching staff gets a lot of strikeouts, but their ERA has been less than average.  Their closers are good, but few, and won't beat many teams in saves each week.

9. The Tossers (29-55-6)

The Tossers have been running well lately, with four players with four or more stolen bases in the past month.  Bengie Molina has turned in a career year so far, and Alex Rodriguez is back from the DL being his usual self.  But Travis Hafner and Nick Swisher have yet to show up this year, and Torii Hunter has struggled as of late.  This team needs some offense, as there is a lack of power being shown.  

The bullpen will be strong if Joe Borowski can maintain his job, but Takashi Saito hasn't received many save opportunities.  Chris Young was supposed to be the ace of this staff, but he's on the DL, leaving Jason Bergmann and John Maine to carry the team.  The Tossers could use some help on the pitching side as well.

10. Dissect Yourself (31-52-7)

Dan Uggla and Alfonso Soriano have had monster power surges at the plate in the past month; they've each hit 10 HR.  This team's been hitting well, and they've added some speed with Brian Roberts.  Having Roberts and Pierre should help make them more competitive in the SB category each week.  Jay Bruce was finally called up, and he's playing like he should be in Cooperstown already.  

Though the offense has been solid so far, the pitching staff has struggled some.  The bullpen has been erratic and a lot of good pitchers have been awful.  Brad Penny and Roy Oswalt should pitch better, but they probably can't be counted on as aces any more.  C.C. Sabathia is left holding down the fort by himself.

11. Self Indulgence (28-57-5)

Chipper Jones has carried the offense, but other than Matt Kemp and Joe Mauer, there aren't too many young stars on this team that can improve.  This leaves most of the heavy lifting to older veterans like Jeff Kent, Garrett Anderson, and Johnny Damon.  At least Jack Cust is starting to hit for average, which is apparently something that Carlos Pena cannot.

The pitching staff has been average; they basically need Johan Santana to throw a gem every week if they want to compete in ERA and WHIP.  The bullpen seems to be hurting this team (poor ERA and WHIP) as much as it helps (Saves).

12. Summer Fox (33-55-2)

The Fox is finally getting some offensive production; Brandon Phillips is a 5-cat contributor and Jason Bay is looking like his old self.  But Paul Konerko is a shell of his former self, and though Adrian Beltre is hitting for power, he's hurting the team in Average.  This team has offensive talent, but they've not been able to turn that talent into success.

The problem is that their pitching staff has been one of the worst due to injuries.  First John Lackey and Randy Johnson were on the DL, now Fausto Carmona and Jason Isringhausen are. Billy Wagner has been dominant in the bullpen, but Todd Jones hasn't been helping.  The Fox needs to counterbalance his weak staff with smart spot-starts and good waiver-wire scouting.  

Agree or disagree with my thoughts, just let me hear about it.

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How Did I Get Here: Taking Stock a Third of the Way Through

In my Yahoo H2H keeper league, I find myself in second place, 1.5 games behind the Macafeys with nearly a third of the season in the books.  How did I get here and what do I do to stay competitive?  No matter how good your team looks at the end of the draft, there are always things that go right and things that go wrong.

What Went Wrong

1. Pitching

With my keepers and my first draft pick, I focused entirely on offense.  I figured that I'd build my offense and then fill in my pitching staff with a solid core of under-appreciated starters and closers.  The second and third starters I drafted were Rich Hill and Ian Snell, both of whom I was counting on taking the next step in their development.  Snell has taken a step backwards with 19 ER and 17 walks in the past month.  Hill's in AAA on the DL, trying to figure out what's wrong with his control.   Neither pitcher has performed even close to preseason expectations. 

I drafted Matt Garza in one of the final rounds of the draft, banking on his upside.  Though he has pitched well with an ERA of 2.52 this month, he pitched horribly in April.  With my starting rotation struggling to carry the underperforming Hill and Snell, I had to make cuts somewhere, so I dropped Garza before his recent resurgence.  The only reason I still feel glad about cutting Garza is the fact that up until his 10 K performance in his last game, he had a BB-to-K ratio of 20/19.  This last start is promising for him and his owners, but it did come against the Rangers who've struck out 4th most in the majors, so we need to see how Garza performs in his next start, which is against Boston, a team that's a bit more patient than Texas.  Garza's talented, but until he can consistently strikeout more guys than he walks, I don't believe in him for this year.

2. Hitting

I have a lot of hitters who've underperformed.  Mark Teixeira is behaving like his old self, waiting for the second half to unleash his talent.  Brian Roberts is running, but he's hitting more like he did in 2004, rather than he did the last few years.  Both Ryan Zimmerman and Jhonny Peralta are hitting for power, but neither is hitting close to the average that I had hoped.  Carlos Guillen has been hitting for good average, but he's not showing the power that I had hoped.  Kevin Kouzmanoff was horrible for a little over a month, but he does appear to be turning it around.  Josh Willingham was hitting great in all areas, but who knows when he'll be healthy to play.  I traded Xavier Nady for Austin Kearns before the season started in hopes that Kearns would thrive in the new stadium, but I had to cut him about a month into the season because he was doing so poorly.

What's Gone Right

1.  By working the waiver wire and not reaching for anyone, I was able to assemble a strong group of closers for very cheap.  I drafted Matt Capps and Brad Lidge as closers, and took a flier on Kerry Wood winning the closer's job in Chicago.  I picked up Jon Rauch off the waiver wire right before Chad Cordero went on the DL.  With four closers, I can usually win saves, and because we have a 9-start limit for pitchers each week, having a strong bullpen can help me in strikeouts, ERA, and WHIP.  I'm especially happy that I drafted Lidge, as he's performed far beyond where I drafted him.

2. Though my starting pitching has taken some hits, I've been able to stay competitive in the pitching categories by taking chances on pitchers that struggled early and were dropped.  I was able to grab Ted Lilly off the waiver wire after he was dropped for posting an ERA over 9 in his first four starts (I think I dropped Garza for him).  I also took a chance on Ervin Santana, remembering what he was able to do for my team a few years ago.  Both those pickups, along with the underrated Javier Vasquez (drafted) and Todd Wellemeyer and Justin Duchscherer (both off waivers) have helped me weather my early pitching problems.

3. After a poor start, Hunter Pence has been amazing, Brian McCann is looking more like the 2006 version, Carlos Lee is racking up RBI despite a low BA, Rick Ankiel is hitting better than I thought he would, and I was able to pick up Joe Crede for nothing during his hot streak.  

4. Of course in H2H, it's all about luck.  I haven't been dominating in any one category this season, except for HR and Saves.  But I've only lost one week so far and that was against one of the strongest teams in the league.  In H2H, you need consistency from your players, and for things to go right for you each week.  I've been lucky in that when some players on my team have struggled, other players have gotten hot just at the right time to help carry the load.

Where Do I Go From Here

I've been trying to move Brian Roberts because he's my only stolen base-threat and I'm near the bottom of the league in steals.  He's not going to help me win that category each week by himself.  My team just isn't built around speed.  If I can move him for a second baseman with some pop, I could better compete in the other four categories.  Yes, that does mean punting SB's, but I guess I was already doing that without meaning to.

I was thinking about moving one of my closers, someone like Wood or Capps while they still look better than they actually were.  Maybe moving Roberts and Wood for to a team that needed steals and saves for a good second baseman like Dan Uggla or Brandon Phillips.  But I think I'll hang onto Wood; there's no telling what could happen to any of my closers, and I may need all the saves that I can get as the year progresses.

Otherwise, I'm going to keep my eye on emerging players, especially hitters, and hope that Hill and Snell can figure things out.  Anyone got any tips?

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Why it's called "I Hate Matt Berry".

If you're stumbling across this blog for the first time, you may be wondering why I decided to title it "I Hate Matt Berry".

Short answer: I hate naming things and "I Hate Matt Berry" was one of the first things that popped into my head. (This does not bode well for any future children or pets I may or may not have; they'll most likely have names such as "It's too hot" or "I like pizza".) My thinking at the time was influenced by the spirit of the title of Dick Hyacinth's comic-related blog, "Dick Hates Your Blog".

Long answer: The spirit of my blog's title may be tongue-in-cheek, but while I have nothing against Matt Berry as a person, I can't stand his style of writing. He knows what he's talking about when it comes to fantasy sports, definitely more so than I do considering he's been playing fantasy sports since before I had internet, but I can't stand skimming through his ramblings to get to any serious nuggets of fantasy advice they might contain.

Now I know that his humor and his stories about his personal life work for some people (a lot of people in fact, considering it was the huge popularity of Berry's web site that got him the gig at ESPN.com), but reading tales about crazy girlfriends and discussing which Hollywood starlet is the hottest just doesn't work for me when I'm trying to get my fantasy fix. To strain a metaphor, I don't want all the garnish and fat that comes with my dinner, just the juicy steak that I crave.

I feel that there's a place for writing that takes into account the convergence between sports and pop culture, where we can discuss their similarities and relationship together; Bill Simmons does this very well for the same site. But as the Senior Director of Fantasy for ESPN.com, doesn't Matt Berry set the tone with the articles that he writes for the whole of the web site's fantasy content? When he contributes content that feels like more of a fit for Page 2, does that mean that Matt Berry is an odd fit for the Fantasy section at ESPN.com, or is this how ESPN.com feels that their Fantasy commentary should sound like?

Now the easy answer is that fantasy addicts like myself who prefer other writers to Matt Berry should just avoid his articles and take advantage of the wide variety of fantasy pundits featured on the site. And there are a lot of talented fantasy experts on ESPN.com, with a wide range of opinions. It's important for a premiere sports site such as ESPN.com to offer a variety in the opinions expressed because they are trying to reach the widest audience possible. Having writers like Matt Berry is important because they appeal to a large audience of fantasy-participants.

But it can be hard to ignore the effect that Matt Berry's personality has on the site, especially in the chats.  During his chats, Matt Berry tends to reward certain types of questions with his attention due to the chatters' ability to humor him or connect with his interests.  This tends to engender a chat where everyone is trying to sound like Matt Berry, to make jokes like Berry, to become a Berry clone.  It can make it frustrating for someone like myself, who just wants to read Matt Berry's answers to fantasy questions, to have to dig through running jokes about stalkers, Megan Fox vs. Anne Hathaway, or favorite TV shows.  It's all a lot of noise.  Sure it's entertaining to some, but not everyone.  

So the chatters who find themselves being rewarded for acting like Berry clones, they take it into other chats to try and make it work there.  They try to figure out what the chat host likes to talk about, they try to make jokes to get themselves noticed, and it can turn into a pathetic display of attention-seeking boorishness with everyone doing their best to be seen and heard.

This can be annoying if you are only interested in hearing a fantasy analyst's opinion about fantasy baseball.

Look, I don't want to excoriate Matt Berry for the style of writing that he's developed over the past decade.  I know how important it is to set yourself apart with a singular and unique voice, especially in the broad landscape of fantasy writing and analysis.  As The Talented Mr. Roto, Matt Berry has cultivated a brand that has helped him to rise to the elite levels of fantasy punditry.  This is ultimately not a bad thing, not in the grand scheme of things.

I just feel that so much of the fantasy analysis available on the web is flawed, not in the content per se, but in the presentation.  There is a lot of fluff out there, a lot of analysis that lacks depth, a lot of writers making their reputation by tearing down the opinions of other writers in order to build up their own.  I'm not accusing Matt Berry of any of these things; as far as I can tell, he is very professional.  But I wish that he would be more in-depth in his articles, and less broad.  I wish that when he makes grand and bold predictions, that he would take more time to back them up with solid reasoning other than just hunches.  Anyone can make predictions, but Matt Berry is supposed to be one of the best, so when he makes a prediction that differs with the opinions of others, I want to know why he feels he's right.  I wish he would take the time to write insightfully about 5 subjects, as opposed to generally about 50 subjects.

Again, I know that he's probably busy with his position as Senior Director of Fantasy, and he probably can't write the way that he wants to, but I'd like some fantasy analysis with a little more meat.  Less garnish and fat, more meat and potatoes.

So, I really don't hate Matt Berry, and I hope that he doesn't take my blog title personally because I know he gets a lot of flack from louder voices than mine.  It's just the kind of title you come up with when you're feeling cheeky and you don't think anyone's going to notice anyways, because who really reads this other than the 11 other guys in my fantasy league.  Who knew that it would lead to this?

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Flapjacks Power Rankings Week 5

Let's take a quick look at how the teams in my Yahoo H2H keeper league stack up. I'm pretty busy this week, and there's only a couple of teams changing spots, so no commentary right now. We do have a number one and two, so I'll probably have to add in some comments later.

4/22/08 Flapjacks Power Rankings
(Season record and last week's rankings in parentheses. )

1. Dinos (21-17-2) (2)
2. The Balls (27-12-1) (3)
3. Macafeys (23-16-1) (1)
4. Butt Admirals (25-10-5) (4)
5. Screaming Lemurs (18-18-4) (5)
6. Adrian's Revenge (26-14-0) (6)
7. Summer Fox (16-22-2) (7)
8. Tossers (17-20-3) (8)
9. Naterade (13-27-0) (9)
10. Val Kilmer's Asshole (17-20-3) (10)
11. Dissect Yourself (9-27-4) (11)
12. Self Indulgence (14-23-3) (12)

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Flapjacks Power Rankings Week 4

Here we are with another look at the teams in my Yahoo H2H keeper league. This week's power rankings will be somewhat brief. Feel free to provide your bonus commentary in the comments section.



4/22/08 Flapjacks Power Rankings
(Season record and last week's rankings in parentheses. )

1. Macafeys (21-9-0) (1)
Tim's hold on the top spot is starting to look a little tenous. He continues to dominate almost every category, and almost every batter on his roster is hitting over .300 for the past week. Reasons to worry: Jimmy Rollins will miss two weeks with an ankle injury, and the pitching staff has a thin margin of error with Roy Halladay, Carlos Zambrano, and Brett Myers the only established stars. Reasons to be hopeful: Despite hitting a combined .230 over the last week, Carlos Gomez and Michael Bourn are stealing every chance they get, with 10 SB's over the same period.


2. Dinos (18-10-2) (2)
I was this close to moving the Dinos into the top spot based on their incredible offensive performance last week. 18 HR and 67 RBI? I'd like some of that. Chase Utley is trying to complete the MVP-trio in Philly, with 6 HR in the past week. Old man Miguel Tejada is hitting like he's 31, and Joey Votto is really coming alive with 4 HR and 10 RBI in the last seven games. The rotation was almost as incredible, with 5 starters throwing shutouts for 31 innings. Why couldn't I rank the Dinos first? Their offense was amazing, but not as solid from top to bottom as Tim's was. And while the pitching staff has been very good, they share a lot of the same questions about depth with Tim, especially if Ben Sheets' triceps injury lingers throughout the season. Homer Bailey should be called up in a week or two; his arrival could answer those questions.


3. The Balls (20-9-1) (3)
The Balls' pitching staff took a hit when Erik Bedard joined Pedro Martinez on the DL, but Jake Peavy continues to amaze, and Adam Wainwright pitched like an ace in his last two starts with 12 K's in 14.2 innings. The bullpen should be okay, despite Eric Gagne's blowup over the weekend, though age could be catching up to Trevor Hoffman. Both Hanley Ramirez and Garrett Atkins are showing their power, with 3 HR each in the past week, and Carlos Quentin is making the case for more playing time, also hitting 3 HR. Gaining Mike Cameron back from suspension next week should add some much needed speed to the team.


4. Butt Admirals (18-7-5) (6)
With three straight weeks of winning records, the Admirals vault up two spots. Both the offense and the pitching have been solid; Edwin Encarnacion is surging, and Dustin Pedroia is showing some power with 6 extra-base hits and 8 RBI in seven games. Both the rotation and the bullpen continue to be dominant, though Bobby Jenks did blow a save pitching in his third game in a row. The bad news: Prince Fielder is still hitting less than his weight, and Grady Sizemore hasn't homered since Opening Day.


5. Screaming Lemurs (13-14-3) (5)
The Lemurs remain in the fifth spot after tying Adrian's Revenge (my team) 5-5 in last week's matchup. The matchup could have easily been 7-3 in the Lemurs favor, so they move above the Adrian's in the rankings. Even though Ryan Braun and Placido Polanco have performed below expectations, the offense has been productive, though they could use some power. Brandon Webb continues to be the ace of the staff, which is leading the league in overall K's. This team is continuing to punt saves, so they need solid production in WHIP and ERA in order to stay competitive.


6. Adrian's Revenge (20-10-0) (4)
My team underperformed last week, with five regulars hitting .200 or worse. Josh Willingham and Mark Teixeira have been bright spots, and Hunter Pence is finally starting to hit, but Brian Roberts, Ryan Zimmerman and Rick Ankiel have hit a combined .170 over the past week. Encouraging starts from the rotation: Rich Hill pitched well in his last start, Ervin Santana has proven to be a decent pickup, with 8 K's in his last start, and the bullpen hasn't allowed a run in 9.1 innings. Still waiting for Ted Lilly to come around.


7. Summer Fox (10-18-2) (8)
The Fox moves up a spot due to good pitching and a good bullpen. Both Todd Jones and Billy Wagner are perfect in save opportunities so far, and Jason Isringhausen is tied for the lead in saves. The rest of the rotation needs a resurgence, as only Fausto Carmona pitched well last week. Beyond Adrian Beltre and Aaron Rowand, the offense has been struggling, though Ichiro is starting to run, with 2 of his 3 steals coming in the last week.

8. The Tossers (10-18-2) (7)
The Tossers have started to come alive offensively, with good weeks by Conor Jackson and Alex Rodriguez. Brad Hawpe looks to be coming out of his early season slump; since his BA dropped below .200, he's had six hits in the past three games. The bad news: Gary Sheffield is still dealing with shoulder issues, and Travis Hafner has had only 6 extra-base hits all year. The good news: Kaz Matsui is hitting .313 with 5 runs since being activated from the DL. Get that guy in the lineup, Troost.

9. Naterade (9-21-0) (10)
Naterade's continues to get great offensive production from almost everyone on his roster. Russell Martin has started to heat up after a putrid start to the season, hitting 2 HR in the past week. Justin Morneau, Nick Markakis, and Edgar Renteria are hitting a combined .350 with 7 HR and 18 RBI in the last week. The injury to Rafael Soriano leaves Nate a bit shorthanded in the bullpen, but he was able to pick up Manny Acosta, who should see some save opportunities in Soriano's place.

10. Val Kilmer's Asshole (11-18-1) (9)
The Kilmer's offense is staying afloat, despite not being able to field a complete roster due to injuries. Jose Reyes and David Ortiz have finall come alive; Reyes hit his first two homers of the year last week, and Ortiz has 12 RBI in his last six games. Andruw Jones is still struggling, though he did hit his first home run of the year over the weekend. Scott Rolen could be back in a week, so at least Mark will be able to roster a full squad. The pitching staff had a horrible week, with almost everyone getting shelled. The good news is that it looks like B.J. Ryan will get the majority of save opportunitiesfor the Blue Jays as long as he can stay healthy.

11. Dissect Yourself (7-21-2) (11)
Micah's team had a decent last week, though they had the unfortunate task of facing the Macafeys. Manny Ramirez has been tearing it up, Xavier Nady continues to hit, and Juan Pierre is finding a way to steal bases despite limited at bats, but the infield is struggling. Losing Alfsono Soriano last week to a calf injury doesn't help, but the Cubs hope to have him back in a week. Even though he's not closing, Carlos Marmol has been very valuable to Micah's team, striking out nine in five innings with a 1.80 ERA. Trading for Roy Oswalt and Oliver Perez is paying off in dividends so far; they combined for 3 Wins, 17 K's and a 2.20 ERA. Add Yovani Gallardo coming off the DL and picking up where he left off last year, and two solid starts from Brad Penny, and this pitching staff looks like it's turning around.

12. Self Indulgence (10-18-2) (12)
Self Indulgence had a tough matchup against the Admirals that could have gone either way; the offense was very solid, but the team was let down by poor pitching. Chipper Jones has been on a tear, hitting .538 with 4 HR in the past week; hopefully his hot streak won't be hampered by a sore quadriceps. Despite a poor BA, the team is finding ways to score runs and knock guys in. For the most part, the bullpen has struggled recently, and the bullpen may be down a closer if Jeremy Accardo starts losing saves to B.J. Ryan. Chien-Ming Wang had a poor start, but at least Johan Santana is pitching well with 10 K's in seven innings.


Questions, comments, disagreements? Let me know in the commentary.

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Flapjacks Trade - Jim Thome and Clay Buchholz for Roy Oswalt and Oliver Perez

Let's take a look at the latest trade in my Yahoo H2H keeper league.

1. Dinos (Jonathan) trade Roy Oswalt and Oliver Perez to Dissect Yourself (Micah) for Jim Thome and Clay Buchholz.

The Dinos received Roy Oswalt two weeks ago in a 7-player trade with Naterade. Since then, Oswalt has gone 0-3 with an ERA of 9.00 in three starts. There hasn't been any news of injury regarding Oswalt, but has not been the same pitcher that had back-to-back 20-win seasons just a few years ago. Though his control is still elite, with only two walks issued in 16 innings, he's been more prone this year to giving up home runs and his K/9 rate is still little better than average.

Oliver Perez has always given fantasy owners fits with his inconsistency, but at least you know he'll give you lots of strikeouts to accompany a high WHIP. He's pitched well to start the season, but he's probably due for a letdown, as his percentage of runners stranded has been quite high for his normal range. He should be good for double-digit wins and 170 strikeouts with the Mets.

Jim Thome has long been a fantasy beast with nine seasons of 35 HR or more, including 77 HR in his last two seasons. Thome has started the season slow this year, hitting .176 with a .573 OPS through twelve games. He's had trouble hitting lefties the past couple of years, but this year it's the right-handers that have been giving him problems. I think he'll recover once he starts to hit righties again. One hopeful stat is his poor Batting Average on Balls In Play; his BABIP should rise to its historical levels over the course of the season. He has been hitting a greater percentage of groundballs than normal, so he might just need to make some corrections at the plate. I still think he's good for 25 more home runs during the season.

Clay Buchholz has been tantalizing fantasy owners since his no-hitter during his rookie season last year. He has the talent the succeed, but the Red Sox are in no hurry to push him too hard, and it appears that they will be carefull with his pitch count during games. Buchholz has labored in his first two starts, and he might not see that many wins if he can't pitch past the sixth inning. The more he builds his arm strength during the season, the more innings he'll pitch, but he needs to cut down on his walks (4.09 BB/9). Buchholz will struggle some, but his K/9 rate is good enough to give him value even if he has control problems.

On paper, I think Micah's team got the better end of the deal, even though I'm not a Roy Oswalt fan. Micah strengthens his pitching staff by adding Oswalt and Perez; they step in right behind C.C. Sabathia and Brad Penny, giving the rotation some much-needed depth. Oswalt doesn't strike out enough players anymore to be considered an elite pitcher, but he's got more talent than what he's shown so far and he should rebound, as long as his problems are with his mechanics and not injury related. Micah will probably miss Thome's bat later on in the season, but Thome wasn't contributing much of anything to begin with.

I'm not certain that this move helps Jonathan's team very much; his offense was already one of the best in the league and the subtractions of Oswalt and Perez thins out a rotation that has some question marks. I think it's good that he got rid of Oswalt, but I think he might have gotten better value due to Oswalt's reputation as an elite pitcher. If Ben Sheets and John Smoltz get injured and Buchholz struggles, Jonathan will miss Oswalt and Perez. Buchholz could be good all year, but he hasn't shown dominance as a pitcher yet, despite only giving up four runs in two starts. The most favorable projections give him 9 Wins, 124 K's, a 3.53 ERA, and a 1.23 WHIP. Good numbers, but Perez should match the wins and better the strikeouts by quite a few. If Jonathan's looking to buy low on Thome and trade him away later on during the season when he starts hitting, then more power to him, but I don't see how this trade makes his team better.

I'll have a poll up in a couple of days; let me know which team you think got the better end of the deal, or if they both came out looking good.

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Flapjacks Power Rankings Week 3

It's time for to take another look at the power rankings for my Yahoo H2H keeper league. This is probably only interesting for the 12 owners in the league, so feel free to move on to another article if this isn't something you want to read. We have a more movement this week than ever before, so click the link to read more.


4/14/08 Flapjacks Power Rankings
(Season record and last week's rankings in parentheses. )

1. Macafey (12-8-0) (1)
Tim retains the number one spot in the rankings with another strong offensive output this week. His team is leading the league in RBI, SB and Saves. Alex Gordon is really coming along, hitting .409 over the past week, and overall the offense is really clicking, but there are some issues with this team. The bullpen could be in trouble with Brian Wilson struggling and Jeremy Accardo giving up his closer role to a reactivated B.J. Ryan. Losing Rich Harden to injury hurts a pitching staff that lacks experience. Jimmy Rollins has missed a few games due to an injured ankle; hopefully this doesn't adversely affect his stolen base output for the year. Even with those problems, this team matches up well with almost everyone in the league.

2. Dinos (11-7-2) (2)
Another team that stayed put, the Dinos are leading the league in average, due to hot starts by Miguel Tejada, Chone Figgins, and Eric Byrnes. Once Miguel Cabrera and Ryan Howard start to produce like we know they can, this could be the best offense in the league, even with the recent injury to Jorge Posada. For the pitching staff Ben Sheets continues to pitch well, and Tim Lincecum dominated last week with 18 K's in two starts. On a down note, Chad Cordero did not pitch well his first appearance since being reactivated from the DL. And on a bright note, Joey Votto is making the case for more playing time with a .429 average in his last 14 at bats.

3. The Balls (11-8-1) (3)
The Balls' strength is in their pitching staff; they are leading the league in ERA and WHIP, and tied for first in Wins. Though the staff had some trouble last week, specifically the outings of Jake Peavy, Adam Wainwright, and Erik Bedard, they were helped out with strong outings by Greg Maddux and Zack Greinke. At the plate, Albert Pujols is looking like his old self, with three HR last week, and Hanley Ramirez is really hitting well. Losing Shane Victorino to the DL is not comforting, especially if his calf injury limits his ability to run; the Balls are second to last in SB.

4. Adrian's Revenge (15-5-0) (6)
Leading the league in HR and Runs, my team was paced by strong weeks from Raul Ibanez and Peralta. The offense is looking solid in every category but BA. I need better production from Ryan Zimmerman and Hunter Pence if I want to compete, but the pickup of Joe Crede could help a lot if he can stay healthy and produce like he did in 2006. A great pitching week by Javier Vasquez was overshadowed by the injury to Matt Garza (who could be out for a month), the Cubs skipping Rich Hill's next start due to his control issues, and the struggles of Jon Rauch to prove that he is worthy of the closer role. The addition of Ted Lilly could solidify the staff if he can overcome his rough start.

5. Screaming Lemurs (8-9-3) (4)
Other than Billy Butler, Ian Kinsler, and Rafael Furcal, the Lemurs really struggled for offense last week. Adding Mark Reynolds to the squad helps, but a lot of high draft picks are struggling to start the season, and Curtis Granderson has yet to swing a bat since he was injured during spring training. The Lemurs have been carried by their pitching staff, which is leading in K's and tied for the lead in Wins. Brandon Webb and Cole Hamels have anchored a very solid rotation, which is 6-3-1 in pitching categories over the first two weeks.

6. Butt Admirals (13-4-3) (8)
The Admirals' offense struggled a little on at the plate, but dominated on the basepaths last week with 12 SB's; they're second in the league with 20 SB's overall. Vladimir Guerrero is looking good, and Nate McLouth's hot start continues, but Prince Fielder has yet to perform like a first-round pick. The rotation's Big 3 of Josh Beckett, Dan Haren, and Aaron Harang combined for 4 Wins last week, and the pitching staff is 2nd in the league in WHIP.

7. The Tossers (5-13-2) (5)
The Tossers have lost their first two matchups due to a lack of production from some key figures, but none more notable than Alex Rodriguez who has yet to perform like the number-one overall player in fantasy baseball. Brad Hawpe, Michael Young, and Gary Sheffield have all underperformed as well, though Bengie Molina and Casey Kotchman have been bright spots so far. On the pitching side, Chris Young was expected to be an ace, but he was shelled last week by an underwhelming Dodgers' team. The lack of save opportunities for Takashi Saito must be frustrating for The Tossers. If Joe Saunders can continue his success, he could be a nice addition to a staff that is near the bottom of the league in terms of ERA and WHIP.

8. Summer Fox (8-10-2) (10)
Summer Fox had a solid offensive showing, which was aided by the waiver-wire pickup of Jason Kubel right before his 6-RBI game. Jason Bay is starting to show signs of life with 3 HR and 5 RBI in the past week, though the team still needs Kenji Johjima, Ichiro Suzuki, and Jose Guillen to step up. Despite having a decent rotation, the pitching staff is last in the league in K's. Having Randy Johnson back from the DL should help, as long as he can stay healthy.

9. Val Kilmer's Asshole (10-9-1) (7)
Mark's pitching staff was shelled last week, and AJ Burnett, Tom Gorzelanny, and Jeff Francis have not had good starts to the season, leading to a a league-worst ERA.. The staff should be better than it is, and it will help to have Scott Kazmir back in a week or two. Mark's gotten good offensive production, though the team is last in BA. Jeremy Hermida has hit well since comign off the DL.

10. Naterade (6-14-0) (12)
Rising from the league's cellar, Natarade has been sparked by Justin Upton (who Natarade received from me for Hunter Pence in a trade last year), who is hitting .400 for the season with five home runs, though he has yet to steal a base. This team needs Justin Morneau and Russell Martin to produce if they want to make the playoffs, though Andre Ethier has been a bright spot to begin the season. Injuries to Francisco Rodriguez and Dontrelle Willis weaken the rotation, but the addition of Tim Hudson helps a lot, and Johnny Cueto was a great pickup. Natarade will need more outings like the one Chad Billingsley had on Sunday and less outings like the one Francisco Liriano had.

11. Dissect Yourself (6-12-2) (11)
Dissect Yourself showed a lot of power last week with 11 HR, but his squad is second-to-last in BA. Matt Holliday is playing like an MVP, but Troy Tulowitzki appears to have forgotten how to hit. With C.C. Sabathia struggling and J.J. Putz on the DL, Micah's staff is near the bottom in almost every pitching category. Yovani Gallardo's return from the DL can't come quickly enough.

12. Self Indulgence (7-13-0) (9)
Self Indulgence also showed a lot of power, as Carlos Pena bashed four last week, but they have struggled to hit and steal bases. Derek Jeter missed six games due to injury, and Magglio Ordonez and Joe Mauer have both been pitiful at the plate. A lack of playing time for Matt Kemp is frustrating, because he hit .500 last week in 12 at bats. For the pitching staff, the two-headed attack of Chien-Ming Wang and Johan Santana has been lights-out (though Santana had an uncharacteristically bad start last week), but the bullpen hasn't been pretty. This can be a good team, if the offense can get it together.

Agree or disagree, let me hear you.

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Flapjacks Trade - Tim Hudson for Adam Jones/Hiroki Kuroda

As I like to do, let's look at the most recent trade in my Yahoo H2H keeper league.

1. Summer Fox (Rogstad) trades Tim Hudson to Naterade (Nate) for Adam Jones and Hiroki Kuroda.

Adam Jones was part of the haul that Baltimore received from Seattle for Erik Bedard. Jones is a highly-touted prospect who has been compared to Torii Hunter and Mike Cameron, both for his defense and his bat. Last year in AAA at the fairly young age of 21, Jones hit .314 with 25 HR and a .968 OPS. Fantasy projections for his first full year in the big leagues have him hitting any where from .255 to .284, 6 to 22 HR, and 6 to 12 SB. Jones is currently hitting .211 with no HR in eleven games.

Hiroki Kuroda is a groundball pitcher from Japan, playing his first season in the majors. He currently has a 1-1 record with a 2.13 ERA and is holding opponents to a .240 BA over 12.2 innings. He's been doing a good job of keeping the ball on the ground, with a 1.46 GB/FB ratio. Most projections have him finishing the season with an ERA around 4.00 with limited upside for strikeouts.

Tim Hudson was one of the league's better pitchers in his early days with Oakland, though he has had some struggles since coming over to Atlanta. He's more of a control pitcher these days, and with his declining K/9 rate, he's less likely to post solid strikeout numbers any more. He's been dominant in his first three starts this season, with only two walks and an opponents' batting average of .167. Hudson is a reliable pitcher, averaging 32 starts a year since 2000, and he should be a top-30 pitcher for the year.

Rogstad will have a decent pitching staff once John Lackey comes off the DL, anchored by a strong bullpen and by solid starters like Daisuke Matsuzaka and Fausto Carmona. By trading away Hudson, he gets a decent pitcher in Kuroda and a possible future All Star to build his team around in Jones. Though Hudson is the best player in the deal, it is extremely unlikely that Hudson can continue his current success in limiting hits; he has a below-average strikeout rate and his Batting Average on Balls In Play (BABIP) of .203 is unsustainable. BABIP tends to revert to a mean of around .300; Hudson's career BABIP average is .289. Hudson will still finish the year as a top-30 pitcher, but he'll probably struggle a bit once batted balls start to find their way through the defense. For Nate, Tim Hudson helps bolster a pitching staff that could lack depth if young pitchers Francisco Liriano, Johnny Cueto, and Chad Billingsley struggle.

Though not as extreme of a groundball-pitcher as Hudson, Kuroda has been striking out batters at a slightly better rate. The fear with Japanese pitchers is that they will tire over the course of a longer season, such as Kaz Ishii, who had an impressive win streak with the Dodgers over the first half of the 2002 season before imploding over the last three months. Kuroda has limited upside; at his best, he should provide numbers slightly behind Hudson's.

The main appeal of this deal for Rogstad would be the upside of Jones. Most of Rogstad's established stars are starting to enter their declining years, and with Brandon Phillips the only All-Star on Rogstad's squad entering his prime, Rogstad is looking to acquire some young potential All-Stars to build around. Jones will not be that player this year - his walk rate is horribly low and he's been hitting the ball on the ground too often to take advantage of his power - but he could be very good in a couple of years once he learns how to be patient at the plate. Rogstad can afford to stash Jones on the bench for a while until he starts to figure things out.

In a year or two this trade could swing father into Rogstad's favor, but for right now I think it is a pretty fair trade. Both team's get something they want, with Rogstad playing for the future and Nate building pitching depth for this season.

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Flapjacks Power Rankings 4/7

For those playing in our Yahoo H2H league, here is a look at the power rankings as we head into the second week. Not much movement yet since it's only been one week, but we do have a new #1. Click the link to read more.

4/7/08 Flapjacks Power Rankings
(Season record and last week's rankings in parentheses. )


1. The Macafeys (7-3-0) (2)
The Macafeys move into the top spot with a solid offense, sparked by an impressive display of speed, led by Michael Bourn and Carlos Gomez with 4 steals each. Derek Lee provided the power with 3 HR. Rich Harden has helped by staying healthy and striking out 15 in his first two starts. Tim's bullpen is a little shaky, but Jeremy Accardo recorded 3 saves last week, and the rotation should be good enough to career any reliever missteps. Keep an eye on Alex Gordon, as he could be starting to heat up.

2. The Dinos (5-5-0) (3)
Jonathan received a great week from Ben Sheets, who will carry The Dino's pitching staff as long as he stays healthy. Also important to the rotation's success was John Smoltz's first start back from injury, where he struck out 6 in 5 innings, and Joe Nathan's 3 saves. The offense was a bit sluggish last week, batting .264, but the power is there, led by Chase Utley's 3 HR. Watch out once Ryan Howard and Miguel Cabrera start to hit. A bright spot is the early success of J.D. Drew, hitting .375 with 2 HR to start the season.

3. The Balls (6-3-1) (1)
The Balls drop a couple of spots this week, despite the great starts of Jake Peavy and Pat Burrell. Losing Pedro Martinez hurts, and the bullpen imploded a bit the first week, but the strong first start by Edison Volquez give hope for future success. The offense is starting to look weak on the bench, with poor starts by Milton Bradley and Dave Roberts. Brubaker needs players like Robinson Cano and Garrett Atkins to start raking.

4. Screaming Lemurs (6-3-1) (4)
Lemurs remain in the 4th spot for the second week in a row. Strong starts by Ian Kinsler, Ryan Braun, and Rafael Furcal have help offset last week's injury to Victor Martinez, and Carl Crawford's inability to hit so far this season. Lemurs have a strong staff, led by Brandon Webb and Cole Hamels, though it looks like their lack of closers will keep them from winning the saves category each week.

5. The Tossers (3-7-0) (5)
The offense is looking strong, led by Alex Rodriguez, Torii Hunter and Corey Hart, but Troost needs a healthy Gary Sheffield and a productive Brad Hawpe to be able to move up in the rankings. Troost's staff pitched poorly, despite great starts by Chris Young and Derek Lowe. Takashi Saito and Francisco Cordero helped out by both picking up a win and a save last week. Disappointing to see that Jason Bartlett has not stolen a base yet.

6. Adrian's Revenge (5-5-0) (7)
The whole rotation kind of fell on its face last week, but my team gets a boost with the return of Brad Lidge. Despite an early failure, Kerry Wood went on the save 3 games. Ian Snell had a very promising second start, striking out 10 in 6 innings. The offense hasn't looked good at the plate, but they did hit a league high 17 HR last week, led by Rick Ankiel and Chris Young with 3 each. If Mark Teixiera would wake up, this offense could be quite good. The rotation still needs some work, though.

7. Val Kilmer's Asshole (3-6-1) (6)
Mark's team drops a spot because of poor weeks from Justin Verlander, Hustin Street, Lance Berkman and Andruw Jones. Mark adds Michael Cuddyer, out for at least two weeks, to a growing list of injured players. Not much offense here if his stars don't hit. Joe Blanton has been pretty solid to begin the season, and Vernon Wells has been swinging the bat well.

8. Butt Admirals (7-2-1) (10)
The Admirals move up two spots based on his solid, balanced offense, and the solid relief work by Bobby Jenks and Joakim Soria. The strong starts by Kosuke Fukodome and Nate McLouth have really helped this team out. Those two will probably fade after a while, so the Admirals success will depend on whether their infield can heat up and whether Josh Beckett can stay healthy. Aaron Harang has been a bright spot on the pitching staff. The Admirals could use another decent closer if they want to stay competitive.

9. Self Indulgence (7-3-0) (8)
Self Indulgence got good first weeks out of Chipper Jones and Carlos Delgado, but the rest of the offense has been pretty anemic. His rotation has been a bright spot, with great starts by Johan Santana, Chien-Ming Wang and Jered Weaver, but his relief pitching has been less than stellar. This team could move up quickly if their offense can put together a couple solid weeks in a row.

10. Summer Fox (3-6-1) (9)
Summer Fox has been hurt by slow starts by Jason Bay and Ichiro, but he's getting a lot of production from his middle infielders, such as Aaron Hill, Yunel Escobar, and Brandon Phillips. Tim Hudson and Daisuke Matsuzaka have both pitched well in their first couple of starts. Summer Fox is waiting for John Lackey and Randy Johnson to come off the DL, and for Colby Rasmus and Brandon Wood to come up from the minors, but until that happens, this team will be in the lower part of the rankings. Having Billy Wagner and Jason Isringhausen as closers is the team's strength.

11. Dissect Yourself (2-7-1) (11)
Some good offensive production but hot starters like Xavier Nady and Corey Patterson, but this team is going to be hurting until guys like Alfonso Soriano, Matt Holliday and Troy Tulowitzki can hit above the Mendoza Line. Losing J.J. Putz to the DL is a tough break, as C.J. Wilson is the only other pitcher on this team getting save opportunities. Some good starts by Brad Penny and Jon Lester.

12. Naterade (3-7-0) (12)
This team has the potential to move up because of the high upside of its youngsters, but it's going to be hard, as younger players tend to be streaky early on. Howie Kendrick is on fire, hitting .444 with 2 stolen bases, and Justin Upton is showing his power early, with 3 HR. But Justin Morneau, Edgar Renteria, and Russell Martin have all hit poorly so far. Felix Hernadez has been an ace, and rookie pitchers Johnny Cueto and Hiroki Kuroda both had solid debuts. The bullpen is solid, but watch out that Francisco Rodriguez doesn't end up on the DL soon. This team has talent, but it might take a few weeks to put it together.

Thoughts or opinions? Let me know in the comments section.

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