I'll admit that there was a little more trading activity than I thought there'd be these past few weeks. Not in the UPL, though, but in the "real" game. Since I noticed that there hasn't been much activity on the blog, I figured I'd throw it out there for discussion and see who the real fantasy winners and losers are.
I'll kick it off by saying that Cliff Lee to the Phillies = WIN for me. After a rough start to the season, Lee's returned to form and is performing like I expected him to at the beginning of the year. Hopefully that will continue to continue, even though he's pitching in Philadelphia's notorious hitters park - and follow a similar (though not as spectacular) arc as CC had in 2008.
Any winners or losers on your teams??
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Thursday, July 16, 2009
The Current (?) and Future (?) King
I think that I've done a reasonably nice job offering insight into my UPL-psyche here, and I sort of wonder if it hasn't hurt me a little bit in the UPL. Perhaps I'm thinking a little too highly of myself (or my postings here), but the thought is that I'm making public my thoughts, analysis etc. Hopefully, it makes for interesting reading, as well as a more interesting and competitive UPL.
In any case, I think that the current incarnation of the O.N. Thugs makes for an interesting case study in how one tries to win now, as well as build for the future. As you may recall from my three-part draft recap (Part I, Part II, and Part III), as well as my commentary on my "slingshot" drafting, that was precisely what I was shooting for. Of course, as the season has progressed, I haven't exactly locked up the win now part of the plan. I suspect that gone are the days where I can just run from wire-to-wire and have people looking forward to the next season by the time we hit the midway point. As of now, I'm sitting in 3rd place, which is actually higher than where I've been sitting in UPL roto leagues the last few years. So it's not really a terrible spot to start a 2nd half run (which I seem to have been doing all too often lately, though with pretty amazing success).
So what's put me in the spot where I need to a) wait for my team to get hot, and/or b) make some moves? Part of it is injuries. Carlos Delgado going down probably took away about 12 HR and maybe 20 R and 25 RBI that I was counting on, as well as 100 points in SLG. Jake Peavy going down has cost me a on the order of 5 W and maybe 50 K's. Part of it is players underachieving. David Wright's playing well, but has shorted me about 12 HR, 15 RBI, and 50 points in SLG. Nick Markakis has put up good R and RBI, but has been off since mid-May, and is about 10 HR, and 50 points in OBP and SLG short of expectations. Russell Martin has been brutal this season, and is short about 7 HR, 8 R and 15 RBI, not to mention 100 points in SLG. Rich Harden has been terrible, as well. I was expecting a little more, maybe 4 W, and lower numbers (about 2 L, 1.75 in ERA and about 0.2 in WHIP.
All told, I'm running a little deficit of about 45 HR, 30R, and 55 RBI, and possibly 30 points in SLG from what I was expecting from these hitters, and maybe 9 or 10 W, about 50K, 0.2 in ERA, 0.05 in WHIP. Now, it's not all doom and gloom. Todd Helton's been a nice band-aid at 1B. Adam Dunn's has more RBI than expected. Shin-Soo Choo has swiped a few more bases than I figured, and Gary Sheffield's been solid when he's played. But my offense has definitely been less than stellar.
The pitching has been pretty good, particularly the bullpen. I think that I manage to consistently get lucky with my closers (save for BJ Ryan this year), in that I seem to avoid getting those closers who get enough saves that you have to keep them in, but are getting lit up and kill your ERA and WHIP (like Matt Capps or Brad Lidge this year). And in fact, K-Rod, Soria, Fuentes, and Sherrill have all been lights out this year and have 140 K's in 134 IP. Tim Lineceum has been his usual phenomenal self, and Chris Carpenter is back to his Cy Young contending self. But 2 reliable starting pitchers is at least 2 less than you want.
So what to do? The big part is that you hope that Wright and Markakis pick it up on offense, and that Harden finds his control. You wait for Delgado to come back in a few more weeks to help the stretch run. Ditto for Peavy. But you have to make some other moves. It used to be that free agency was sort of like an extended roster for me. I could pick up and drop players and not worry about people swooping in. That's no longer the case, and free agency is relatively bare of proven performance. So, the alternative is to try to make trades happen. How do you make trades happen? Make sure that your roster is deep, and then look for ways to trade your excess strengths to shore up needs.
A less-successful trade happened earlier in the season when I had to get a band-aid at 2B when Cabrera went down. I ended up moving James Loney (who's still only 25, and was a potential keeper), to rent Orlando Hudson. O-Dog wasn't exactly good, but he helped keep me afloat. But that isn't quite enough to make a run. I needed to figure out how to pick up some power at C. Enter Scott Rolen.
Obviously, I have an affinity for proven quality, and this guy has HOF-type of career numbers. I picked him up right at the start of his hot streak, and he put up .408/.568 for me, despite not having his HR power back. Part of making a trade is to figure out who has needs. Enter SuckMyKunckleballs (formerly IStillSuckCurveballs), who only have Youkilis at 1B, and had two 3B on the DL (Mike Lowell and Mark DeRosa). You can't really afford to surrender a lot of games at a power spot like 3B, so you have to make a move. Given the dearth of options in free agency, a deal has to be made. Rolen for Jorge Posada, and all of a sudden, I'm looking at making up those 8 HR and 100 points in SLG in the 2nd half that I missed from Martin in the 1st half. Plus, I still have Martin on the roster for when he finally gets his act together. This should be a classic win-win, fill-obvious-needs sort of trade.
The other major issue was my lack of starting pitching. I made a couple longshot bets (Contreras and Pedro) who may help. But I needed to move one of my closers to get a legit pitcher. Enter Mike MacDougal. I've always had my eye out for this guys, since he came through for me back in his KC days. I picked him up right after he got his 1st save for the Nationals, and he's rewarded me with 4 SV, and a reasonable ERA (but a bad WHIP and no K's). It's a little scary to run long with him, but it's a great boost for a few extra saves. Essentially, I've stolen a couple extra SV w/out getting hurt too bad elsewhere. Even though MacDougal doesn't have a ton of trade value, the extra few SV have given me a buffer. Now, I can trade one of my older closers, while still having a legit shot at keeping my points in SV (particularly when SuckMyKnuckleballs moved Brad Lidge). So, the next step was to find a good trade partner.
I think that figuring out where to send your excess stats is a subtle art. For example, I've got Westy right on my tail in 4th place. For him, adding a legit closer is worth at least 3 points just from SV. So even though he had some intriguing options, I didn't really want to send him a closer. I was hoping to send SV to Hats for Bats on the off chance that he's make a run, and overtake the teams in 1st and 2nd, the '90 Reds and IAmJabrone (he's currently down 25 saves to those guys). Unfortunately, he wasn't interesting in making a run at those guys. So the next best option was to move SV to a team that could overtake Westy, or at least protect points from Westy. That put JimmyDix, Muddy Mush Heads, and Benver Droncos as potential trade partners. And got a trade accepted (Brian Fuentes for Clayton Kershaw).
I would have preferred to move Sherrill, since he's less proven, but he also had a lot less value than Fuentes (who's leading the majors in SV). If I was going to get quality, I had to give up quality. Why Kershaw? The Mush Heads didn't seem to have much interest in moving Johnny Cueto (my first choice since I'm a homer). Similarly, if I was in 1st place, I would have tried for Edinson Volquez. I figured that Jared Weaver wasn't available. So I send out an offer to Benver for Kershaw, who is still young (21 this season), plays on a good team in a pitcher's park and a weak division, and has filthy stuff (almost a K per IP). He still walks too many guys, but opponents hit under .200 against him. He was only 7-5, and may still hit the wall this year (first full season in majors), but huge future upside, as well as an upgrade for now. Benver instantly picks up 2 points (maybe 3) in SV, and more importantly, protects 1 point from Westy.
So amazingly, I was able to get younger, as well as get help for the 2nd half. Moving forward, my keeper list looks(roughly) like this, with this season's age in parentheses:
C - Jorge Posada (38)
C - Russell Martin (26)
1B - ???
2B - Asdrubal Cabrera (23)
3B - David Wright (26)
SS - Derek Jeter (35)
OF - Adam Dunn (29)
OF - Nick Markakis (25)
OF - Shin-Soo Choo (27)
UTIL - ???
UTIL - ???
SP - Tim Lincecum (25)
SP - Jake Peavy (28)
SP - Chris Carpenter (34)
SP - Clayton Kershaw (21)
SP - Rich Harden (27)
SP - Ben Sheets (31)
RP - Francisco Rodriguez (27)
RP - Joakim Soria (25)
RP - George Sherrill (32)
That's 17 players, so I have to make a decision on Todd Helton (36), Carlos Delgado (37), Jim Thome (39), and Gary Sheffield (40), who are all putting up numbers around the .400/.500 level that I shoot for, and could very well be the core of my power in the 2nd half. I may end up punting on Harden (if he's this awful in the 2nd half) or Sheets (if the rehab doesn't look great), which could open up 1 or 2 spots. But that still leaves one of the guys out (probably Sheff, based on age). I don't think that I can give up on Martin quite yet, and I think that Posada and Jeter have value for a couple more years.
In any case, I may not be done trading - if my starting pitching gets hot, I may be able to package a pitcher to upgrade one of my keepers. But right now, I've made two legit moves that will hopefully put me back atop the standings.
-Chairman (aka O.N. Thugs)
In any case, I think that the current incarnation of the O.N. Thugs makes for an interesting case study in how one tries to win now, as well as build for the future. As you may recall from my three-part draft recap (Part I, Part II, and Part III), as well as my commentary on my "slingshot" drafting, that was precisely what I was shooting for. Of course, as the season has progressed, I haven't exactly locked up the win now part of the plan. I suspect that gone are the days where I can just run from wire-to-wire and have people looking forward to the next season by the time we hit the midway point. As of now, I'm sitting in 3rd place, which is actually higher than where I've been sitting in UPL roto leagues the last few years. So it's not really a terrible spot to start a 2nd half run (which I seem to have been doing all too often lately, though with pretty amazing success).
So what's put me in the spot where I need to a) wait for my team to get hot, and/or b) make some moves? Part of it is injuries. Carlos Delgado going down probably took away about 12 HR and maybe 20 R and 25 RBI that I was counting on, as well as 100 points in SLG. Jake Peavy going down has cost me a on the order of 5 W and maybe 50 K's. Part of it is players underachieving. David Wright's playing well, but has shorted me about 12 HR, 15 RBI, and 50 points in SLG. Nick Markakis has put up good R and RBI, but has been off since mid-May, and is about 10 HR, and 50 points in OBP and SLG short of expectations. Russell Martin has been brutal this season, and is short about 7 HR, 8 R and 15 RBI, not to mention 100 points in SLG. Rich Harden has been terrible, as well. I was expecting a little more, maybe 4 W, and lower numbers (about 2 L, 1.75 in ERA and about 0.2 in WHIP.
All told, I'm running a little deficit of about 45 HR, 30R, and 55 RBI, and possibly 30 points in SLG from what I was expecting from these hitters, and maybe 9 or 10 W, about 50K, 0.2 in ERA, 0.05 in WHIP. Now, it's not all doom and gloom. Todd Helton's been a nice band-aid at 1B. Adam Dunn's has more RBI than expected. Shin-Soo Choo has swiped a few more bases than I figured, and Gary Sheffield's been solid when he's played. But my offense has definitely been less than stellar.
The pitching has been pretty good, particularly the bullpen. I think that I manage to consistently get lucky with my closers (save for BJ Ryan this year), in that I seem to avoid getting those closers who get enough saves that you have to keep them in, but are getting lit up and kill your ERA and WHIP (like Matt Capps or Brad Lidge this year). And in fact, K-Rod, Soria, Fuentes, and Sherrill have all been lights out this year and have 140 K's in 134 IP. Tim Lineceum has been his usual phenomenal self, and Chris Carpenter is back to his Cy Young contending self. But 2 reliable starting pitchers is at least 2 less than you want.
So what to do? The big part is that you hope that Wright and Markakis pick it up on offense, and that Harden finds his control. You wait for Delgado to come back in a few more weeks to help the stretch run. Ditto for Peavy. But you have to make some other moves. It used to be that free agency was sort of like an extended roster for me. I could pick up and drop players and not worry about people swooping in. That's no longer the case, and free agency is relatively bare of proven performance. So, the alternative is to try to make trades happen. How do you make trades happen? Make sure that your roster is deep, and then look for ways to trade your excess strengths to shore up needs.
A less-successful trade happened earlier in the season when I had to get a band-aid at 2B when Cabrera went down. I ended up moving James Loney (who's still only 25, and was a potential keeper), to rent Orlando Hudson. O-Dog wasn't exactly good, but he helped keep me afloat. But that isn't quite enough to make a run. I needed to figure out how to pick up some power at C. Enter Scott Rolen.
Obviously, I have an affinity for proven quality, and this guy has HOF-type of career numbers. I picked him up right at the start of his hot streak, and he put up .408/.568 for me, despite not having his HR power back. Part of making a trade is to figure out who has needs. Enter SuckMyKunckleballs (formerly IStillSuckCurveballs), who only have Youkilis at 1B, and had two 3B on the DL (Mike Lowell and Mark DeRosa). You can't really afford to surrender a lot of games at a power spot like 3B, so you have to make a move. Given the dearth of options in free agency, a deal has to be made. Rolen for Jorge Posada, and all of a sudden, I'm looking at making up those 8 HR and 100 points in SLG in the 2nd half that I missed from Martin in the 1st half. Plus, I still have Martin on the roster for when he finally gets his act together. This should be a classic win-win, fill-obvious-needs sort of trade.
The other major issue was my lack of starting pitching. I made a couple longshot bets (Contreras and Pedro) who may help. But I needed to move one of my closers to get a legit pitcher. Enter Mike MacDougal. I've always had my eye out for this guys, since he came through for me back in his KC days. I picked him up right after he got his 1st save for the Nationals, and he's rewarded me with 4 SV, and a reasonable ERA (but a bad WHIP and no K's). It's a little scary to run long with him, but it's a great boost for a few extra saves. Essentially, I've stolen a couple extra SV w/out getting hurt too bad elsewhere. Even though MacDougal doesn't have a ton of trade value, the extra few SV have given me a buffer. Now, I can trade one of my older closers, while still having a legit shot at keeping my points in SV (particularly when SuckMyKnuckleballs moved Brad Lidge). So, the next step was to find a good trade partner.
I think that figuring out where to send your excess stats is a subtle art. For example, I've got Westy right on my tail in 4th place. For him, adding a legit closer is worth at least 3 points just from SV. So even though he had some intriguing options, I didn't really want to send him a closer. I was hoping to send SV to Hats for Bats on the off chance that he's make a run, and overtake the teams in 1st and 2nd, the '90 Reds and IAmJabrone (he's currently down 25 saves to those guys). Unfortunately, he wasn't interesting in making a run at those guys. So the next best option was to move SV to a team that could overtake Westy, or at least protect points from Westy. That put JimmyDix, Muddy Mush Heads, and Benver Droncos as potential trade partners. And got a trade accepted (Brian Fuentes for Clayton Kershaw).
I would have preferred to move Sherrill, since he's less proven, but he also had a lot less value than Fuentes (who's leading the majors in SV). If I was going to get quality, I had to give up quality. Why Kershaw? The Mush Heads didn't seem to have much interest in moving Johnny Cueto (my first choice since I'm a homer). Similarly, if I was in 1st place, I would have tried for Edinson Volquez. I figured that Jared Weaver wasn't available. So I send out an offer to Benver for Kershaw, who is still young (21 this season), plays on a good team in a pitcher's park and a weak division, and has filthy stuff (almost a K per IP). He still walks too many guys, but opponents hit under .200 against him. He was only 7-5, and may still hit the wall this year (first full season in majors), but huge future upside, as well as an upgrade for now. Benver instantly picks up 2 points (maybe 3) in SV, and more importantly, protects 1 point from Westy.
So amazingly, I was able to get younger, as well as get help for the 2nd half. Moving forward, my keeper list looks(roughly) like this, with this season's age in parentheses:
C - Jorge Posada (38)
C - Russell Martin (26)
1B - ???
2B - Asdrubal Cabrera (23)
3B - David Wright (26)
SS - Derek Jeter (35)
OF - Adam Dunn (29)
OF - Nick Markakis (25)
OF - Shin-Soo Choo (27)
UTIL - ???
UTIL - ???
SP - Tim Lincecum (25)
SP - Jake Peavy (28)
SP - Chris Carpenter (34)
SP - Clayton Kershaw (21)
SP - Rich Harden (27)
SP - Ben Sheets (31)
RP - Francisco Rodriguez (27)
RP - Joakim Soria (25)
RP - George Sherrill (32)
That's 17 players, so I have to make a decision on Todd Helton (36), Carlos Delgado (37), Jim Thome (39), and Gary Sheffield (40), who are all putting up numbers around the .400/.500 level that I shoot for, and could very well be the core of my power in the 2nd half. I may end up punting on Harden (if he's this awful in the 2nd half) or Sheets (if the rehab doesn't look great), which could open up 1 or 2 spots. But that still leaves one of the guys out (probably Sheff, based on age). I don't think that I can give up on Martin quite yet, and I think that Posada and Jeter have value for a couple more years.
In any case, I may not be done trading - if my starting pitching gets hot, I may be able to package a pitcher to upgrade one of my keepers. But right now, I've made two legit moves that will hopefully put me back atop the standings.
-Chairman (aka O.N. Thugs)
Monday, July 13, 2009
UPL Baseball '09 Mid-Season Awards
Tonight is home run derby night. The stats don't count, but it's a nice time to have the latest round of UPL hardware dispensation.
All-UPL First Team:
C - Joe Mauer, Phatnapper
1B - Albert Pujols, IAmJabrone
2B - Chase Utley, Westy's Sluggers
3B - Mark Reynolds, IAmJabrone
SS - Hanley Ramirez, Black Sox
OF - Carl Crawford, Cheeseheads
OF - Jason Bay, SuckMyKnuckleballs
OF - Raul Ibanez, Westy's Sluggers
UTIL - Justin Morneau, Benver Droncos
UTIL - Justin Upton, '90 Reds
SP - Tim Lincecum, O.N. Thugs
SP - Dan Haren, '90 Reds
SP - Zack Greinke, Phatsnapper
SP - Felix Hernandez, Phatsnapper
SP - Roy Halladay, Hats for Bats
RP - Joe Nathan, '90 Reds
RP - Jonathan Broxton, IAmJabrone
RP - Brian Fuentes, O.N. Thugs
All-UPL Second Team:
C - Brandon Inge, Westy's Sluggers
1B - Prince Fielder, Black Sox
2B - Ian Kinsler, TheJimmyDixLongballs
3B - David Wright, O.N. Thugs
SS - Ben Zobrist, Hats for Bats
OF - Ryan Braun, SuckMyKnuckleballs
OF - Torii Hunter, Westy's Sluggers
OF - Jayson Werth, Black Sox
UTIL - Matt Kemp, Phatsnapper
UTIL - Mark Teixeira, Phatsnapper
SP - Josh Johnson, IAmJabrone
SP - Matt Cain, Cheeseheads
SP - Jared Weaver, TheJimmyDixLongballs
SP - Justin Verlander, Black Sox
SP - Chris Carpenter, O.N. Thugs
RP - Heath Bell, Hats for Bats
RP - Ryan Franklin, SuckMyKnuckleballs
RP - Jonathan Papelbon, Black Sox
All-UPL Team Killers:
C - Tie, Geovany Soto, Cheeseheads and Russell Martin, O.N. Thugs
1B - David Ortiz, Cheeseheads
2B - Howie Kendrick, Cheeseheads
3B - Aramis Ramirez, '90 Reds
SS - Jose Reyes, Hats for Bats
OF - Josh Hamilton, Phatsnapper
OF - Carlos Quentin, Black Sox
OF - Alfonso Soriano, Cheeseheads
UTIL - Jimmy Rollins, Benver Droncos
UTIL - Grady Sizemore, Muddy Mush Heads
SP - Brandon Webb, Westy's Sluggers
SP - Rich Harden, O.N. Thugs
SP - Cole Hamels, IAmJabrone
SP - Scott Kazmir, Black Sox
SP - Francisco Liriano, IAmJabrone
RP - Brad Lidge, TheJimmyDixLongballs
RP - Kerry Wood, Benver Droncos
RP - Matt Capps, IAmJabrone
Team of the Half-Season: '90 Reds
Manager of the Half-Season: Westy
UPL MVP - Dan Haren, '90 Reds
UPL Cy Young - Tim Lincecum, O.N. Thugs
UPL Fireman Award - Joe Nathan, '90 Reds
UPL Rookie Pitcher - tie, J.A. Happ, Benver Droncos and Ricky Romero, IAmJabrone
UPL Rookie Hitter - Pablo Sandoval, '90 Reds
UPL Out of Nowhere Pitcher - Edwin Jackson, '90 Reds
UPL Out of Nowhere Hitter - tie, Aaron Hill, IAmJabrone and Ben Zobrist, Hats for Bats
As usual, comment away.
-Chairman (aka O.N. Thugs)
All-UPL First Team:
C - Joe Mauer, Phatnapper
1B - Albert Pujols, IAmJabrone
2B - Chase Utley, Westy's Sluggers
3B - Mark Reynolds, IAmJabrone
SS - Hanley Ramirez, Black Sox
OF - Carl Crawford, Cheeseheads
OF - Jason Bay, SuckMyKnuckleballs
OF - Raul Ibanez, Westy's Sluggers
UTIL - Justin Morneau, Benver Droncos
UTIL - Justin Upton, '90 Reds
SP - Tim Lincecum, O.N. Thugs
SP - Dan Haren, '90 Reds
SP - Zack Greinke, Phatsnapper
SP - Felix Hernandez, Phatsnapper
SP - Roy Halladay, Hats for Bats
RP - Joe Nathan, '90 Reds
RP - Jonathan Broxton, IAmJabrone
RP - Brian Fuentes, O.N. Thugs
All-UPL Second Team:
C - Brandon Inge, Westy's Sluggers
1B - Prince Fielder, Black Sox
2B - Ian Kinsler, TheJimmyDixLongballs
3B - David Wright, O.N. Thugs
SS - Ben Zobrist, Hats for Bats
OF - Ryan Braun, SuckMyKnuckleballs
OF - Torii Hunter, Westy's Sluggers
OF - Jayson Werth, Black Sox
UTIL - Matt Kemp, Phatsnapper
UTIL - Mark Teixeira, Phatsnapper
SP - Josh Johnson, IAmJabrone
SP - Matt Cain, Cheeseheads
SP - Jared Weaver, TheJimmyDixLongballs
SP - Justin Verlander, Black Sox
SP - Chris Carpenter, O.N. Thugs
RP - Heath Bell, Hats for Bats
RP - Ryan Franklin, SuckMyKnuckleballs
RP - Jonathan Papelbon, Black Sox
All-UPL Team Killers:
C - Tie, Geovany Soto, Cheeseheads and Russell Martin, O.N. Thugs
1B - David Ortiz, Cheeseheads
2B - Howie Kendrick, Cheeseheads
3B - Aramis Ramirez, '90 Reds
SS - Jose Reyes, Hats for Bats
OF - Josh Hamilton, Phatsnapper
OF - Carlos Quentin, Black Sox
OF - Alfonso Soriano, Cheeseheads
UTIL - Jimmy Rollins, Benver Droncos
UTIL - Grady Sizemore, Muddy Mush Heads
SP - Brandon Webb, Westy's Sluggers
SP - Rich Harden, O.N. Thugs
SP - Cole Hamels, IAmJabrone
SP - Scott Kazmir, Black Sox
SP - Francisco Liriano, IAmJabrone
RP - Brad Lidge, TheJimmyDixLongballs
RP - Kerry Wood, Benver Droncos
RP - Matt Capps, IAmJabrone
Team of the Half-Season: '90 Reds
Manager of the Half-Season: Westy
UPL MVP - Dan Haren, '90 Reds
UPL Cy Young - Tim Lincecum, O.N. Thugs
UPL Fireman Award - Joe Nathan, '90 Reds
UPL Rookie Pitcher - tie, J.A. Happ, Benver Droncos and Ricky Romero, IAmJabrone
UPL Rookie Hitter - Pablo Sandoval, '90 Reds
UPL Out of Nowhere Pitcher - Edwin Jackson, '90 Reds
UPL Out of Nowhere Hitter - tie, Aaron Hill, IAmJabrone and Ben Zobrist, Hats for Bats
As usual, comment away.
-Chairman (aka O.N. Thugs)
Thursday, July 9, 2009
NBA Rumors
I had commented on the potential impact that real-life NBA moves have on our UPL environment before, and there's a major trade that could impact the O.N. Thugs in a major way. The rumor is Boozer to Chicago, Tyrus Thomas to Utah, and Kirk Hinrich to Portland. And considering that I not only own Boozer and Thomas, I also own D-Will, Roy, and Aldridge. From my perspective, there are some individual components to look at.
Impact on Utah: D-Will's going to make plays, no matter who's around him, it seems. They lose out an a legit low block scorer, but get to put AK-47 back into the starting PF role (where he was thriving a few years ago), and get to put Tyrus Thomas/Paul Millsap into the hustle man off the bench, which is what Tyrus Thomas was doing, anyway. The benefit is that Thomas would be, at worst the 4th big on the roster (whereas his playing time in Chicago was just confusing, with not only Brad Miller, Joakim Noah, and Luol Deng taking minutes, but also John Salmons taking minutes at the 3). Plus, having D-Will set up Tyrus in an offensive system (rather than just waiting for a rebound after Gordon or Salmons jack up a shot) should improve his scoring numbers as he'll get one or two more cheap dunks off of D-Will's work.
Impact on Chicago: They finally get a legit low post scorer. And having Boozer as a complement to Brad Miller (who's comfortable in the high post as a shooter/passer) will be nice. Noah silps into a clear role as the "hustle big" that every contender seems to had/have (Chris Andersen in Denver, Varejao in Cleveland, Leon Powe in Boston, etc.). Boozer can get his numbers anywhere, I think, and should still put up 18 points and 10 boards, at the low end (and if the Bulls play faster, maybe more).
Impact on Portland: They get an upgrade from Steve Blake, but also someone who can play some pretty solid D, shoot reasonably well from outside. But more importantly for me, he lets Brandon Roy have the ball in his hands more and doesn't take shots from Aldridge.
I think that I am rooting for this trade to go through, although this just doubly confirms that I botched the Boozer pick last year. I had picked Boozer because I thought that it would be cool to watch D-Will to Boozer for the foreseeable future, and passed up Dwight Howard. Whoops. Oh well. We'll see how things shake out, but it's looking more and more interesting, and it'll be fun to see what moves people make with their keepers.
-Chairman (aka O.N. Thugs)
Impact on Utah: D-Will's going to make plays, no matter who's around him, it seems. They lose out an a legit low block scorer, but get to put AK-47 back into the starting PF role (where he was thriving a few years ago), and get to put Tyrus Thomas/Paul Millsap into the hustle man off the bench, which is what Tyrus Thomas was doing, anyway. The benefit is that Thomas would be, at worst the 4th big on the roster (whereas his playing time in Chicago was just confusing, with not only Brad Miller, Joakim Noah, and Luol Deng taking minutes, but also John Salmons taking minutes at the 3). Plus, having D-Will set up Tyrus in an offensive system (rather than just waiting for a rebound after Gordon or Salmons jack up a shot) should improve his scoring numbers as he'll get one or two more cheap dunks off of D-Will's work.
Impact on Chicago: They finally get a legit low post scorer. And having Boozer as a complement to Brad Miller (who's comfortable in the high post as a shooter/passer) will be nice. Noah silps into a clear role as the "hustle big" that every contender seems to had/have (Chris Andersen in Denver, Varejao in Cleveland, Leon Powe in Boston, etc.). Boozer can get his numbers anywhere, I think, and should still put up 18 points and 10 boards, at the low end (and if the Bulls play faster, maybe more).
Impact on Portland: They get an upgrade from Steve Blake, but also someone who can play some pretty solid D, shoot reasonably well from outside. But more importantly for me, he lets Brandon Roy have the ball in his hands more and doesn't take shots from Aldridge.
I think that I am rooting for this trade to go through, although this just doubly confirms that I botched the Boozer pick last year. I had picked Boozer because I thought that it would be cool to watch D-Will to Boozer for the foreseeable future, and passed up Dwight Howard. Whoops. Oh well. We'll see how things shake out, but it's looking more and more interesting, and it'll be fun to see what moves people make with their keepers.
-Chairman (aka O.N. Thugs)
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Throwing The Game... The Baseball Edition
In my other baseball league we've got a few stat categories that can play differently than the UPL's, mainly because its a weekly heads-up league. Our pitching is ranked by 9 stats, all worth 1 point each...
1. Innings Pitched
2. Wins
3. Complete Games
4. Saves
5. Walks (least wins pt)
6. K
7. ERA
8. WHIP
9. K/9
Well, I'm in a situation where my starting pitching kicked ass in the beginning of the week and I'm thinking that I'd be ok with winning most of the categories but benching all but my closers. I like and trust my closers, who have done well for me over there, but I'd almost certainly be punting Innings Pitched, Wins and Strikeouts. But 30 innings with no walks and a K/9 of 11 is something to be cherished and protected, I think.
1. Innings Pitched
2. Wins
3. Complete Games
4. Saves
5. Walks (least wins pt)
6. K
7. ERA
8. WHIP
9. K/9
Well, I'm in a situation where my starting pitching kicked ass in the beginning of the week and I'm thinking that I'd be ok with winning most of the categories but benching all but my closers. I like and trust my closers, who have done well for me over there, but I'd almost certainly be punting Innings Pitched, Wins and Strikeouts. But 30 innings with no walks and a K/9 of 11 is something to be cherished and protected, I think.
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