Fantasy Season Cometh

http://www.sportsline.com/fantasy

Is it strange that I'm looking forward to the start of the fantasy baseball season more than the start of the actual 2008 baseball season?

Maybe it's an ego thing: the absolute power that comes from ruling my fantasy team's every move and action. I remember as a kid thinking that I could do a much better job of running my favorite team than whoever the yahoo was in the Yankees head office at the time.

Or maybe it's the draft and everything that follows: laughing at my buddy's "worst pick of the night" while secretly wishing I'd held out for the player he just picked up, over-spending for the beat-up veteran catcher just because he's always on my team and my friends know that, and analyzing eachother's teams to death over the next six months.

Whatever it is, it's still baseball isn't it? It's still this great game that keeps us coming back for more, year in and year out. As a life-long fan, taking it to the next level -- fantasy -- brings back the excitement I felt as a kid when the season was opening and a brand new, unpredictable year was about to unfold.

Let's play ball!

Torre Hasn't Changed...

Reading Peter Neyer's blog (http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/print?id=3272235&type=blogEntry) about the Dodgers being interested in Brandon Inge really made me laugh. It still shows that Joe Torre has not learned how to trust his young players, and instead still tries to jam in over-the-hill stars or mediocre players who have been in the league for a while.

Somehow, he seems to view years of service as being just as valuable (or more valuable) than pure talent.

I really don't understand how the Dodgers -- who many people said lost a chance at the playoffs last year because they stuck with their veterans and benched their young players -- could follow along as he does it!

Now, I'm not saying that Brandon Inge can't play, or that he's done. Not so. But, for the $19 Million they'll be paying him, to bench a potential star rookie (19th overall prospect in 2007, Andy LaRoche,) who's making near the league minimum, seems like a bad idea. Especially since LaRoche, if given the chance, can likely post the same or better numbers as Inge.

LET HIM PLAY!!!

Are the Yankees Wising Up?

I enjoyed David Pinto's latest article on overpaying star players. You can check it out here: http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=overpayingaplayeronceiso&prov=tsn&type=lgns

One thing in this article really jumped out at me: My beloved Yankees have a current player on 3 of the 4 lists, and they are all first or second in their respective listings.

This reeks of the early 2000's where New York was repeatedly overpaying over-the-hill people to fill the roster. I'm shocked Jonny Damon doesn't appear on this list!

However, this off-season has witnessed the Yanks refuse to overpay for Torii Hunter, and pass up sacrificing young talent for a superstar. I hope this is the start of a trend for New York where they remain competitive while allowing their young guys to play.

Roger's Disaster

After listening to the debate and considering all the input from Congress, Clemens, McNamee, and every sports media outlet there is, I've formed a very simple opinion.

I finally believe Roger Clemens is guilty.

Clemens spent his time in front of Congress basically saying, "How can I prove a negative?" But the way he did it was very telling: yelling, screaming, kicking, pounding the table, and being generally giving the impression that "you need to listen to me because I'm Roger Clemens, dammit!"

The thing is, despite all the noise and all the distraction, what it came down to is him saying, "I have no proof at all. Just my loud, obnoxious words to hang your belief on."

He did his best David Copperfield, trying to keep us looking at one hand while he pulled a shiny and clean reputation out of his other sleeve. Problem is, yelling and screaming your opinion doesn't make it right. It just makes you loud.

I think a lot of people were hoping this hearing might bring some closure to the whole steroid era despite the fact that the Mitchell Report failed to do so. I'm not sure I buy that, but I do hope the story goes cold after this.

Maybe now we can get back to talking about the reason we're all here:

PLAY BALL!!!!!!

Rocker's Shocker. . . But Who Really Cares?

I've said it before, and I'll probably have to say it again at some point:

Bud Selig is a shady, underhanded guy who HAD TO know what was going on in baseball all those years. He had to.

Now, Major League Doorknob John Rocker has come out with a self-conflicting, silly announcement indicating Selig knew he was on steroids, and must have known about others as well.

I say, it's about time! I just wish someone who's opinion had the hopes of being respected would step forward and say it again, so we could all actually pay attention!

Here's Rocker's blatting: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3241448

Dice K: Worth the Money?

I think the Red Sox made a great investment in Dice K.

A year ago, I was singing a different tune. Probably like many, when I first heard the announcement that the Red Sox were investing over $100 million (including their rediculous posting fee) in this Japanese hurler, I laughed. It looked like another crazy decision made to insure the enemy lost out in the ever-present battle between Boston and the Yanks.

But now, look at some of the pitching deals being made around the league:

• The Devil Rays signed Jaime Shields to (realistically) a seven-year deal worth $38 million.
• The Diamondbacks traded Dana Eveland and (count them) FIVE hot prospects for Dan Haren. (Four of the five were among the top 10 prospects the D-Backs had in their pocket!)
• Carlos Silva (13-14 with a 4.19 ERA last season) pulls down a 4-year, $48 million contract?!?!?! WOW!!!!! I might be able to reach those stats with a favorable trainer who'll keep his flippin' mouth shut!
• and Kyle Losche (9-12 with 4.62 ERA) looking for some love too. . .

It's pretty obvious adequate pitching is going at a premium price these days. So did the Red Sox make a good buy with Dice K, a premium pitcher at a premium price?

Yeah, I think they did. It shows how far ahead of the curve the Red Sox were thinking last year, and their return-on-investment will be measured in years, and maybe in billions.