Last night my fantasy baseball league finally held its draft. I know, I know, we’re about eight weeks late. Getting us all together at the same time was a project in itself. Some of us are college students, others have work, but the one thing we all have in common is that we write about baseball through one medium or another. I wouldn’t say that any of us have a profound baseball mind, I wasn’t dealing with Bill James or Rob Neyer, although I’d like to believe that each of us have enough common sense to distinguish between a player having a flukish April and someone that is truly legit. [click to continue...]
From the monthly archives:
April 2008
Cliff Lee, the Best Pitcher in Baseball? Hardly
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The Genius of Dave Duncan
Dave Duncan has gained a mysterious reputation over the years. His story is what folklore is made of. If you listen to how the baseball people tell it, he’s a healer, a genius, he breathes life into arms. Simply put, he’s the best pitching coach in the league. Send a struggling pitcher to Duncan who hasn’t been able to find his fastball in ten years, and by the end of the season he’ll be a Cy Young candidate. Find a pitcher whose doctor says his arm is dead, Duncan will have him sitting on the lowest ERA of his career. [click to continue...]
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Give McFadden a Chance
As time ticked down on the Raiders’ draft clock I sat anxiously holding my breath. It wasn’t because I had located a player that I dreamed to watch in the black and silver for the next decade. In fact, I held no stock in who they selected on Saturday. My team was slotted 12 spots lower, and the truth is, I’ve treated the football Cardinals casually over the years, so I didn’t really care who they got either. My whole interest Saturday was that the Raiders didn’t select one man. Then, as time expired, my heart dropped as they selected Darren McFadden with the fourth pick. The only way this could have turned out worst is if the Bengals had selected him. [click to continue...]
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Are the Young Guns Ready?
It’s still early. At this point anything written about the young baseball season of 2008 must be prefaced with that phrase. As Chris Shelton proved to us three years ago, April results are just April results. It doesn’t guarantee success down the line. If that were true, we’d already be getting the MVP trophy engraved with Connor Jackson’s name, and Troy Tulowtizki would be hacking it up in some out of the way minor league town. It’s too soon to close the book on any issue, but when you are talking about a player making his debut, or auditioning for a job, when do you decide enough is enough? [click to continue...]
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