Over at www.chinstrapninjas.com I posted a few things you should do to get ready for your draft and a few things to remember while drafting.
Here’s an excerpt from each, followed by a link to each. We’ll start with 7 great steps to prep for your fantasy draft:
2. You research, you research your butt off
Just read. You don’t have to spend hours a day, but go to a respected Web site, like www.chinstrapninjas.com — our team previews are a couple quick hits about the more mention-worthy layers on major league rosters — or any of the other more well-known sports outlets out there. Read up, see what people are saying. Has someone busted onto the spring training scene and earned a roster spot. Maybe that talented young player hasn’t won his spot yet and was banished to the minors (Wieters!) for a little while. You need to know as much as you possibly can before moving on to the next step.
Read the full article by clicking here.
And, today 10 ways to kill like a Ninja at your fantasy baseball draft:
5. Don’t pick a catcher until you can’t stand not having one… then wait a little longer
Seriously, there’s no need to take a catcher early. Brian McCann and Russell Martin are going to go too early. Joe Mauer might be the most overrated hitter in baseball. Will Geovany Soto grind to a sophomore slump? Meanwhile the end of deep drafts will leave you with guys like Jeff Clement, Chris Snyder, Kelly Shoppach and Ramon Hernandez. Check their projections. Not bad for the end of the draft.
Read the full article by clicking here.
Tags: fantasy baseball, Fantasy sports, Sports
Over at Chinstrap Ninjas, I beat down — cut up, if you will — the standard 5×5 that sits on the counter of fantasy baseball like a stale loaf of bread.
Time for a change and I’ve got some suggestions. Here’s an excerpt:
While innovation in baseball moves along at the pace of a dead snail — the designated hitter was a good idea. Shut up — fantasy players don’t need to fall into the same pattern. In fact, I think the standard 5×5 should be assassinated. That’s right. Get rid of it. We don’t need homers and runs and RBIs and stolen bases or average. They are old numbers from ancient times.
Yes, these are the numbers the Baseball Writer’s Association looks at when they are thinking of electing people to the Hall of Fame. Then again, this is the same group of jackasses that haven’t allowed Pete Rose or Mark McGwire into the Hall. (Steroids were not illegal during McGwire’s career, and apparently everybody including Mickey Morandini used them. And Rose racked up all his best-in-MLB-history hits before getting caught betting on baseball).
To read the whole column, click here.
Tags: fantasy baseball
If you came here looking for fantasy baseball news — and judging by my site stats, you’ probably did not — you are in luck. I just posted a big ol’ hunk of value at www.chinstrapninjas.com. Want to know five fantasy baseball players to avoid in your 2009 draft/auction? Of course you do.
Here’s an excerpt:
David Ortiz, DH, Red Sox
Key ‘08 stats
109 games
.264 AVG
.507 SLG
.876 OPS
Like Derek Jeter and Atkins above, when you pay for Ortiz you’re paying for what he did in the past. Ortiz is 33 and his numbers have declined incrementally in each of the last two years. The one sure thing with Ortiz in recent season were his sterling percentages, but his batting average and OPS numbers were both 3-year lows last year. He hit just .264 with a .507 slugging. From 2004 to 2007 he had a .600+ Slugging percentage and hit over .300 in three of the four years. You could blame some of his other numbers on missing 50 games, but not the percentages. I look for his numbers to be solid — 20+ homers, 100+ RBIs, .290 average — but because of his name and team you’ll have to overpay. And don’t forget, he is only a DH, so in most leagues he can only play at the UTIL spot.
Click this link to read the whole list.
Tags: fantasy baseball, list
Over at Chinstrap Ninjas I just posted a look at a couple fantasy football players that improved their standing greatly from 2008 to 2009.
Here’s an excerpt:
Wide Receiver
Lance Moore, New Orleans Saints
Quick, who was the leading fantasy receiver for the high-octane Saints? Yep, Moore. Moore was a top-14 receiver. Point to his 10 TDs and say he’s going to be overvalued all you want. He had 3 100-yard games and 3 two TD games.
Yes a lot of those numbers point to him being a potentially overvalued player next year. But i like his level of opportunity in the offense. Moore had 5 or more catches in 10 of his team’s 16 games. He was a late-round sleeper last year. He won’t be available so cheap in 2009.
To read the whole post, follow this link.
Tags: Fantasy Football
Jay-Mo, who provided Sloppy Potatoes with an excellent post about a playoff system in NCAA football last week, has done it again. This time he takes a look at some of the skill players that will be available in the 2009 NFL draft over at Chinstrap Ninjas.
Here’s an excerpt:
I’m starting to like Pat White, of West Virginia, and Josh Freeman, of Kansas State. White’s recent performance in the Senior Bowl opened a lot of NFL eyes, as it should for fantasy owners watching who takes a chance on him. Just the potential for touchdowns makes him worth a late fantasy pick. I foresee Wildcats quarterbacks overtaking the old goal line hogs of former days, Jerome Bettis, Marion Butts and Mike Alstott.
My take: White has the biggest fantasy impact.
Click this link to read the full post.
I’m no college football expert, but Jay-Mo is one of the most knowledgeable fans I know. I asked him to craft an opinion piece regarding Utah’s win and what it means for the BCS, playoffs, etc., and he penned this gem of a guest post. Enjoy. — EP
It took less than 12 minutes into the Sugar Bowl for the Utah Utes to prove a point, a message most of Division I college football insiders refuse to acknowledge.
Three touchdowns against one of the statistically best defenses in the country, not just in the so-called defense dominant Southeastern Conference, but the entire nation. A nation of 117 Division I teams the Alabama Crimson Tide once stood atop of for several weeks.
Utah played just as fast as Alabama , and in the end, physically outplayed the Nick $aban-led Tide. Nearly 350 total yards of offense proves that. The Utes also held Bama’s vaunted running game to just 31 yards.
So why not let Utah have a chance at the Texas Longhorns, which looked very vulnerable against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Fiesta Bowl? Or, how about a Utah versus USC Trojans match up?
Continue reading ‘Playoffs? Yes, we need playoffs’
Tags: Alabama, BCS, College Football, college football playoff, Crimson Tide, Hurricanes, Miami, NCAA, Penn State, Playoff, Sugar Bowl, USC, Utah, Utes
