New York Mets refinancing Citi Field, ruining return on Johan Santana
The discomforts of home?
The New York Mets haven't officially announced their intentions to change the dimensions of Citi Field, but, unofficially, work has already begun. The club is shrinking the distance between home plate and the outfield wall to create a neutral setting. A little more than a month ago, general manager Sandy Alderson all but confirmed that these alterations would take place.
The focus has been the improvements with respect to offense. It's no secret that multiple Metropolitans were unhappy with the distance to the fence (as well, no doubt, the height of said fence). As a result of this project, fantasy baseball gamers might - might - renew their interest in players like the formerly displeased David Wright (if he sticks around) and Jason Bay.
Did anybody ask Johan Santana - or any Mets pitcher, for that matter - for some input?
Increasing interest, passing principle Tap your mouse here for more »
Matt Kemp’s 2012 fantasy baseball value already doubtable
Counting on Kemp as a cash crop?
Last week, Baseball America revealed its 2011 Major League Player of the Year: Matt Kemp.
Seven months ago, scorned fantasy baseball players were still cursing the son of a benchwarmer's .249 batting average, 82 runs, 28 ding dongs, 89 RBIs and 19 stolen bases (in 34 attempts!) of 2010. They'd paid damn good money for or spent too valuable a pick on the Los Angeles Dodgers' center fielder, and they weren't about to repeat that mistake.
Members of the rotisserie rejected hurled obscenities at him (for a different reason) all season. They had some not-so-nice words for his 2011 owners, too, while they were at it. But, as the two factions put the past aside, they must have similar feelings about one thing: their price point for Kemp in 2012.
Are you in the Kemp kamp? Tap your mouse here for more »
Concussed Canadians Justin Morneau, Jason Bay headed in opposite directions
No more Morneau, please, for now
The last few days have been uncomfortable for Minnesota Twins fans. Their chattering teeth aren't a result of temperatures that dipped below 0 degrees; the weather hasn't helped, but Midwesterners are tough. What's really making them nervous: The latest news on their star slugger, Justin Morneau, was supposed to be encouraging ... but it really wasn't.
The empathy will trickle down to fantasy baseball players and mock drafts and columns any day now. Or, at any rate, it should. It's interesting that the optimism surrounding Morneau's fantasy outlook not long ago didn't seem suitable for Jason Bay. In fact, the latter is a considerably more attractive fantasy choice.
Bay breezes by Morneau on draft board Tap your mouse here for more »
Fantasy baseball's Magic 8-Ball, and Fall Classic fortunes for first-timers
Did you know that ...
- Jose Bautista's average on balls in play in 2010 was only .233?
- Cliff Lee stranded only 67.9 percent of the base runners he allowed?
- Carlos Gonzalez reached base at a .376 clip but walked in only 6.3 percent of his plate appearances?
- James Shields' opponents hit .354 on balls in play?
Are these players good and only getting better? Or are they good but not that good? Or are they bad but maybe not that bad? Or are they bad and only getting worse?
Fans of Phils, Yankees won't need their hankies Tap your mouse here for more »
Fantasy baseball's future temptations, and a tight Tout tangle
If I have to beg and plead for your sanity, I don't mind, 'cause you mean that much to me.
Don't hold Johnson too tightly
Sweet dahlin'.
Please, please, please don't begin next year in the frame of mind that 2011's fantasy baseball blockbuster will simply be a sequel filled with rehashed one-liners and unoriginal themes. This year's rendition kept you on the edge of your seat, just like 2009's bended your mind and 2008's mesmerized you.
Weekend Tout Wars Tap your mouse here for more »
How much is a CC Sabathia-note worth? And will Jake Peavy please put a Sox in it?
A slow start for my Tout Wars ace, CC Sabathia? Happens that way for him every year, right? He's turning it around, slowly but surely, isn't he? Back-to-back W's, 15 K's and four walks in 14 innings... It's a snap.
Four of CC's six wins (including that last pair) have come against the Baltimore Orioles. He has a 2.73 ERA and 1.25 WHIP against them.
Sabathia's average fastball velocity has been up and down. The burly southpaw has yet to experience injurious fallout (as in, an injury) from his buildup of seasons of 230-plus innings, at least. Is he hiding one? Is he fatigued?
Vote on CC! Plus Peavy, Masterson... Tap your mouse here for more »
Happy Stinco de Mayo, Aramis Ramirez
In March, at the hot corner, the Chicago Cubs' Aramis Ramirez looked like a pretty fat 3 Musketeers bar freed from the confines of a Willy Wonka-weighted pinata.
After the top seven jumbo-sized joy bars - Alex Rodriguez, Evan Longoria, David Wright, Kevin Youkilis, Ryan Zimmerman, Mark Reynolds and Pablo Sandoval - no third baseman clearly offered the potentially plentiful production that Ramirez did.
On Cinco de Mayo, A-Ram (.149/.214/.267, three homers, 14 RBIs) is stinco de gallo. All the good stuff is gone. He's a Tootsie Roll wrapper with a tiny sliver of the nectarous, plastic-fortified candy stuck to the inside.
Tap your mouse here for more »
"Fantasyland": The world of fantasy baseball, and more from KFFL Baseball
I mentioned in my blog on Wednesday that SnagFilms is releasing, on March 19 at its Web site, "Fantasyland." It's documentary film based on the book by Sam Walker that recounts the trials and tribulations of a fantasy baseball player in the revered Tout Wars fantasy baseball league.
The studio has given advanced access to the film to select members of the media. That includes KFFL, thanks no doubt in part to our initial foray into Tout Wars, where I'll be representing the company on March 28. It's a huge honor to be involved and to be able to share the film with our readers.
You can check out "Fantasyland" here: Tap your mouse here for more »
Friday Night Fish Fights: Josh Johnson vs. Ricky Nolasco, Florida Marlins
This bout is scheduled for one fall.
In this corner ... standing 6-foot-7, weighing in ... at two hundred thirty pounds, aaaand boasting a 15-5 record, a 3.23 ERA and 191 knockouts in 33 barnyard brawls, the reigning ace of the Flo-rida Marrrrrr-lins ... from Minneapolis, Minn-uh-sooooo-taaaaa ... ! ... Josh M. Johnson!
And in this corner, standing 6-foot-2, tipping the scales at ... two hundred twenty pounds, and carrying a 13-9 record, a five zero six ERA and dispatching one hundred ninety-five victims by way of knockout, in 31 rough-and-tumble rum-blahs, your challenger, on these same Florida Marlins ... from Corona, Kah-lee-forn-yuh ... Ricky Nolasco. Tap your mouse here for more »
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