FBM Presents “Fantasy Baseball for Dummies”
He caters to all fantasy baseball players – young and old! You’ve heard him on the MLB.com Fantasy 411 show. Now, FantasyBaseballMafia.com is proud to present ‘Fantasy Baseball for Dummies’ with host Pete in Jordan.
Each week Pete will explore just what it takes to play and win the game! Catch him every Wednesday on BlogTalkRadio!
SF - MIL
Giants RHP Keiichi Yabu’s status for Monday’s home opener against the Padres is uncertain after he hurt his eyes when the elastic bands he was working out with Saturday became unhooked and snapped across his face. … Giants CF Aaron Rowand (sore ribs) will be re-evaluated Monday. X-rays on Saturday were inconclusive and he’s missed the last two games. … Brewers CF Tony Gwynn Jr. said he thinks he’ll be ready to play Tuesday after missing the series with a tight left hamstring.
SD _ LAD
The home run Young gave up to Ethier equaled the total number of homers he allowed last season in 13 starts at spacious Petco Park covering 85 1-3 innings. … Dodgers third-base coach Larry Bowa returned after serving a three-game suspension. Bowa was ejected Tuesday night after he ignored warnings from umpire crew chief Ed Montague not to leave the third base coaching box during a game against San Francisco. Bowa, who had to be restrained by Torre and bench coach Bob Schaefer, was suspended because he repeatedly bumped Torre into Montague as he argued. … Umpire crew chief Tim Tschida missed the game with an inner ear infection.
CIN - PHI
Myers is the 378th pitcher to give up a homer by Griffey, who was 3-for-9 career off the right-hander before he connected. … It was Griffey’s 100th career homer in his hometown. Of those, 62 have come at Great American Ball Park. … Volquez was 3-11 in 17 starts and three relief appearances for the Rangers. … The Phillies have been held to three or fewer runs three times this season, setting up their 2-4 start. … Lidge made his first appearance since coming off the disabled list on Saturday, pitching a perfect eighth. He struck out Griffey for the second out. … 2B Chase Utley hit his 150th career double.
HOU - CHC
Bourn jogged to first thinking he’d walked on a check swing 3-2 pitch in the eighth. But after Cubs manager Lou Piniella came out of the dugout and asked for an appeal, third-base umpire Kerwin Danley ruled Bourn went around and was out. … Blanco got the start at catcher for the Cubs, who rested Geovany Soto and gave him a chance to practice using his legs to aid his throwing motion. Base stealers are 7-for-7 against Soto this season. … Houston 1B Lance Berkman (neck spasms) and 3B Ty Wigginton (small fracture in his left thumb) did not play. They both left Saturday’s game early. Wigginton will be examined Monday. … Astros 2B Kaz Matsui, on the disabled list after problems with an anal fissure, is scheduled to go on a rehab assignment with Double-A Corpus Christi starting Tuesday.
Tor - BOS
Ellsbury is 4-for-6 with two career homers against Halladay. … Boston made four errors, three by shortstop Julio Lugo. … Boston RHP Kyle Snyder was designated for assignment to make room on the roster for Beckett. … Toronto Raptors guard Jose Calderon threw out the first pitch.
ARI - COL
Helton has hit safely in all six games. … The last time Colorado was swept at home by Arizona was July 7-9, 2006.
SEA - BAL
Bedard is expected to start Tuesday in Tampa Bay. … Seattle’s Adrian Beltre went 0-for-3 against Guthrie and is hitless in nine career at-bats against the right-hander. … Millar has at least one hit in all five games.
KC - MIN
OF David DeJesus left the season opener with an ankle injury in the third inning and hasn’t played since. Hillman isn’t sure if DeJesus will be ready for Tuesday. … Denard Span made his major league debut for the Twins in right field and went 0-for-2 with a walk. … Twins starters have more balks (two) than walks (one) this season.
WAS - STL
Molina caught Milledge at first to end the first and leads major league catchers with 20 pickoffs since his rookie season in 2005. … The Nationals have committed only one error, the best defensive start in franchise history. Last year they had seven errors after seven games. … Cardinals LF Chris Duncan (left hamstring strain) missed his fifth start but La Russa said he could be in the lineup on Monday at Houston. … The Cardinals swept the Nationals/Expos at home for the first time since a three-gamer from May 2-4, 2003.
CWS - DET
Nick Swisher homered on the game’s second pitch, Carlos Quentin had four RBIs and the Chicago White Sox handed the Detroit Tigers their sixth straight loss, 13-2 Sunday night.
Despite the second-highest payroll in baseball, the Tigers, the only winless team in baseball, are off to their worst start since going 0-9 at the beginning 2003, when they lost an AL-record 119 games.
Tex - LAA
Garland had been impressive in his debut for Los Angeles, holding the Twins to one run and six hits over eight innings of a 9-1 victory during the season-opening series at Minnesota. … Padilla gave up one run on eight hits in six innings in his first start of the season, getting no decision in Texas’ 5-4 win at Seattle. … Angels RHP Scot Shields, who came off the DL a day earlier, pitched the eighth inning and gave up a leadoff single before retiring the next three batters. … The Rangers traditionally have given Garland trouble: He came in with a 4-7 record and 5.50 ERA against them in 17 appearances against them, including 16 starts.
Cin - ARI
Hudson made only five errors last season, when he won his third straight Gold Glove. … According to Elias, Cueto was the first to throw five perfect innings in his debut since Seattle’s Ken Cloude retired the first 16 batters he faced on Aug. 9, 1997, against the White Sox. … The last pitcher to strike out 10 in his big league debut was Daisuke Matsuzaka, who fanned 10 in seven innings for Boston last season.
DET - KC
Detroit set-up man Fernando Rodney was scheduled to throw in the bullpen in Florida on Thursday. He is on the disabled list with shoulder tendinitis … Polanco had four assists, giving him 900 consecutive chances without an error at second base. Polanco’s last error came on July 1, 2006 in Pittsburgh, and he has now broken Luis Castillo’s old major-record by 253.
CWS - CLE
Cleveland’s Victor Martinez flied out as a pinch hitter in the eighth. The catcher left Monday’s opener with a strained left hamstring and didn’t play Wednesday. Wedge hopes Martinez can return to catching duties in the next few days. … Swisher banged into the wall in center field catching Gutierrez’s flyout in the second inning but stayed in the game.
MIL - CHC
Cubs manager Lou Piniella reiterated Thursday that moving Soriano back to the leadoff spot from second in the order was not that big of a deal. “I’m telling you that I don’t need to justify it. I think I know what I’m doing,” Piniella. Soriano feels more comfortable batting first, where he hit last season. He also is not encumbered by leg problems that slowed him last season and were a worry earlier this spring. … Brewers C Jason Kendall batted ninth for a third straight game, one spot below the pitcher. … Gwynn left before the bottom of the sixth with a tight left hamstring.
MIN - LAA
Kubel’s homer was the first of the year by the Twins. The last time it took them this long to hit one was in 1999. … Speaking of holding on, Los Angeles’ Maicer Izturis flung his bat into the first row of seats far down the first-base line after losing his grip in the third. Teammate Howie Kendrick also lost the handle in the fourth, and a fan made a nice one-handed grab of the bat about 10 rows up the third-base line.
WAS - PHI
Nationals C Johnny Estrada began a rehab assignment at Triple-A Columbus. Estrada is on the disabled list with a right elbow injury. … Nationals LF Felipe Lopez played his first game in the outfield after spending his entire career in the infield. … RHP Rudy Seanez pitched a perfect sixth in his first appearance with the Phillies. … Philadelphia’s Tom Gordon, who allowed five runs in the ninth inning of an 11-6 loss in the opener, worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the ninth to preserve the tie.
Notes from the AP:
The Padres repainted the third base coaching box at Petco Park on Wednesday, extending it about 20 feet toward home plate. The move came on the same day Los Angeles Dodgers third base coach Larry Bowa—a former Padres manager—was suspended for three games and fined by the commissioner’s office following a wild argument the night before. Bowa was tossed in the sixth inning against the San Francisco Giants by umpire Ed Montague, who had told him to keep within the boundaries of the coaching box.
Cin-Ari
Haren’s double was his fifth hit in 55 career at-bats. … LH Doug Davis expects to start Thursday. He was diagnosed with thyroid cancer last week and will have surgery on April 10. He wants to keep pitching until then. … Stephen Drew hit a solo homer. The Diamondbacks have four homers in two games, all solo shots. … 1B Conor Jackson was taken to a hospital for treatment after the game. He’s been sick for several days and had trouble breathing.
Det - KC
The Royals will have a 24-man active roster until Saturday, when C Miguel Olivo finishes serving the last four games of a five-game suspension he picked up while playing for Florida last season. … CF Curtis Granderson is scheduled to have X-rays on his broken hand this weekend. Granderson has been out since being hit by a pitch on March 22. … The win was Bannister’s 13th as a Royal, three fewer than his father Floyd won for Kansas City in 1988-89. Overall, Brian trails his father 134-15. … Floyd Bannister and Rogers were teammates with Texas in 1992.
Tor - NYY
Yankees C Jorge Posada was scratched from the lineup because of a stiff right shoulder. He is day to day, Girardi said. … Toronto LF Matt Stairs (sore left hip) was held out of the lineup again. He tested his hip during batting practice and “should be good to go” on Thursday, Gibbons said. … Mussina dropped to 23-12 against Toronto.
CWE - CLE
Indians C Victor Martinez (strained hamstring) said his injury isn’t as bad as he first feared. He was replaced by Kelly Shoppach, who doubled in three at-bats. … Just call him Everyday Grady. Sizemore owns the majors’ longest active consecutive games played streak. Sizemore’s streak is the longest by an Indians player since Toby Harrah (473) from 1979-83. … Chicago’s seven-man bullpen entered this season with 1,502 games of experience. The White Sox opened 2007 with relievers who had pitched in 615 games. … Vazquez’s 1,569 strikeouts since 2000 are the second most in the majors behind Randy Johnson’s 1,923.
MIL - CHC
Part of Carlos Zambrano’s problems with cramping is related to a low potassium level, Piniella said. Zambrano had to leave in the seventh Monday with a cramp in his right forearm. He’s had similar problems with cramps in past seasons. Zambrano said he would have to drink more water. Piniella said his ace will have to eat more bananas. And the Cubs also would like Zambrano to cut back on his caffeine intake. … Weeks’ leadoff homer was his seventh.
SEA - TEX
Batista saved 31 games for the Blue Jays in 2005. … Texas still hasn’t won an opening series since 2001. … Betancourt, the No. 9 hitter, is 6-for-11 (.545) through three games.
MIN - LAA
Tolbert singled for his first major league hit, the first runner to reach against Saunders with two outs in the third inning. He was a late fill-in for SS Adam Everett, who left the stadium at the beginning of batting practice to tend to a family situation. … Scioscia said setup man Scot Shields “felt very strong” and will pitch in a rehab assignment Friday for Triple-A Salt Lake.
BOS - OAK
Lester is the first Red Sox left-hander to win a game at the Coliseum since May 29, 1995, when Zane Smith beat Dave Stewart. … Manny Ramirez hit a 399-foot drive to center after Ortiz’s homer, but Chris Denorfia leaped to catch it at the fence. Ramirez went 0-for-4 with a walk and two strikeouts. … Boston RF J.D. Drew made his season debut, going 1-for-5 with two strikeouts. He hadn’t played since his lower back tightened up March 25. … Garvey set the record with San Diego from June 1983-April 1985.
BAL - TB
Roberts was 3-for-3 with two walks before making his first out of the season in the third inning. … Crawford is 2-for-2 in stolen bases after going 6-for-6 in spring training. … Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak threw out the ceremonial first pitch. Sajak lives in Maryland and is a long time Orioles fan.
WAS - PHI
Nationals GM Jim Bowden said there’s no timetable on a return for LF Elijah Dukes, who was put on the DL after straining his right hamstring in the season opener. … INF Felipe Lopez, who has never played in the outfield in the majors, soon could be playing left field. “He’s a great athlete and he has a great attitude,” Acta said. … The Phillies had been 6-0 when Hamels pitched at least six innings against Washington. Hamels is 4-2 with a 2.49 ERA in 10 starts against the Nats. … The last time an opponent one-hit the Phillies was Chicago on July 2, 2003. Cubs starter Matt Clement pitched seven innings in that game.
On March 20th 2008 I participated in the much coveted Fantasy 411 Listener league draft. This is my first year in the 411 league, I was invited to play First in the Paul C Smith league in 06 and against many great competitors was able to squeak out a win. I was advanced to the Klayman league for the 07 and ultimately the “big boy” league (the 411 league) for this, the 08 season.
Many of our members are also in listener leagues organized by the 411 and for all of them and myself I would like to again thank Cory and Mike for all they do, not just for the listeners but for us as a web site and all of us participants in the leagues. Here’s to a great 2008 season.
As you know, or maybe you don’t, I proclaimed to the mafia “if our rankings are good enough for our members, they are good enough for me to use in the 411 league” and that’s what I did. I pre-ranked 420 players into ESPN prior to the draft and deviated from it very rarely.
Everyone won’t agree with my picks, I know this, but time will tell just how effective our Mafia top 420 has been. Below you will find the draft results and my picks (Caveat Emptor) in bold.
Took me a while to getting around to it but here are some notes from the Fantasy 411’s Monday the 03/10/08 season preview special:
Tick tick tick tick… can you hear the start of the 2008 season approaching? I do, so Mock it!
When is it? Saturday, March 15, 2008 at 4:00 PM EDT.
How do you get in? Register at www.mockdraftcentral.com if you already haven’t and then click on Join a Mock Draft under Drafts on the top left of the page. Scroll down to the draft for Saturday, March 15, 2008 at 4:00 PM EDT. (drafts are listed in sequential order by time) and click on the Mock Draft titled www.fantasybaseballmafia.com Mock Draft 018.
When asked for the password type:
MafiaLegal
The Password is case sensitive.
If you’re a Fantasy Baseball Mafia Member, check your emails for a special announcement about the Family Draft.
Mocket yeah, satelite of love!
Resposted from www.protrade.com:
With fantasy baseball drafts in full gear and as fantasy baseball addict I found 10 podcasts that talk fantasy baseball and are updated regularly. Some you all know about while others may be new to you. Most of them give good info though. If you know of others please leave the URL here. I will rank them in the order that I like them, with a couple comments.
1. MLB.com Fantasy 411 - My favorite, with 2 experienced hosts. They take phone calls, e-mails, and IM’s. The show is done M-F, which is one of the reasons I like it the best.
http://mlb/mlb.com/feed/podcast/c1261158.xml
2. Baseball HQ Radio - A great show for stats lovers like us on PT. Very high quality info and knowledgeable experts dig into subjects like “batting eye”, “power index”, and “command ratio”.
A once a week show.
http://feeds.feedburner.com/baseballhqradio
3. Fantasy Baseball mafia Live - Tuesday and Thursday live show at 4:00 ET starting next week. Great info and draft strategies.http://www.blogtalkradio.com/FantasyBaseballMafia
4. Fantasy Baseball Mafia Wire Tap - Another twice a week show with good advice for deeper mixed and A.L./N.L. only leagues as well. http://wiretap.hipcast.com/rss/fbm_wiretap.xml
5. Lenny Melnick - The “Godfather” of fantasy baseball hosts. Very informative and straight shooting guy. I’ve noticed he messes up names slightly sometimes, but you will know who he’s talking about. Very entertaining.
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/lenny-melnick/feed
6. Johnny Archive - An MLB.com fantasy hall of famer. I just listened to his first show from Sunday where he discussed his most recent draft. This show will be twice a week as well. He is very informative and seems to have good strategy.
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/johnny-archive/feed
7. ESPN Fantasy Focus - Matthew Berry and Nate Ravitz host what will be a daily podcast beginning next week. They are entertaining sometimes, but you can get better deeper info in other places.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espnradio/podcast/feeds/itunes/podcast?id=254461
8. The Fantasy Man - Nothing special here. Sounds like something I would sit at home and do. Not bad though.
http://ringers19.blogmatrix.com/index.xml
9. Baseball Geeks - To be honest I have only listened to one show and the rankings they gave were very questionable, that’s why I put them here. I will listen again though.
http://robreed.audioblog.com/rss/bgeeks_podcast.xml
10. CBS Sports.com - The worst of the worst IMO. These 3 guys think they’re funny and well, they’re just not. This is the only one I can’t stomach subscribing to.
http://www.sportsline.com/redir?url=5356
Only listen to this if your other option is watching “Jane Eyre” with your wife/girlfriend.
Draft day is closing in! Prepare with some of the best Owners in Fantasy Baseball!
When is it? Saturday, March 08, 2008 at 1:00 PM EST.
How do you get in? Register at www.mockdraftcentral.com if you already haven’t and then click on Join a Mock Draft under Drafts on the top left of the page. Scroll down to the draft for Saturday, March 08, 2008 at 1:oo PM EST. (drafts are listed in sequential order by time) and click on the Mock Draft titled www.fantasybaseballmafia.com Mock Draft 017.
When asked for the password type:
Mafia179
The Password is case sensitive.
If you’re a Fantasy Baseball Mafia Member, check your emails for a special announcement about the Family Draft.
#4 will Mock forever in my heart!
There’ve been a couple of changes to the format and quantity of Fantasy Baseball Mafia’s Mock Drafts. We’re holding only one Public Mock Draft because of the addition of our Member’s Only Mock Drafts, we’ve decreased the time of the picks from 1:30 to 1:15 after feedback from several participants and we’ve added 5 bench spots for a total of 28 rounds to coincide with the format of Mafia Leagues.
If you’re interested in becoming part of The Family and competing in the Member’s Only Mock Draft, visit http://www.fantasybaseballmafia.com/fbm/join-the-mafia-membership/ for more information and links to join.
When is it? Saturday, March 01, 2008 at 4:00 PM EST.
How do you get in? Register at www.mockdraftcentral.com if you already haven’t and then click on Join a Mock Draft under Drafts on the top left of the page. Scroll down to the draft for Saturday, March 01, 2008 at 4:oo PM EST. (drafts are listed in sequential order by time) and click on the Mock Draft titled www.fantasybaseballmafia.com Mock Draft 016.
When asked for the password type:
Mafia695
The Password is case sensitive.
If you’re a Fantasy Baseball Mafia Member, check your emails for a special announcement about the Family Draft.
Mock til you can’t Mock no more!!!