Not too long ago the American League had a three headed monster of shortstops. Alex Rodriguez of the Rangers, Derek Jeter of the Yankees and Nomar Garciaparra of the Redsox.

Jeter is still the Yankee shortstop and we all know about the Yankee third baseman, Alex Rodriguez, but what about Nomar? The often injured former all-star shortstop is still floating
around out there as a free-agent. There has been talk about him signing with the Oakland A’s, but nothing has happened yet. Which brings me to the point of this blog; how about Nomar the Yankee?

The reunion of the former big three shortstops makes sense. The news about A-Rods hip has the Yankees in need of a veteran fill in at third. Normar is no longer an all-star but would be perfect for the job. He can be a very good utility infielder and fill in for A-Rod.

This is the second half of my J.A.I.L. league draft that was held on my birthday, February 28. If you want to see the first half before looking at the second half, scroll down to the blog I wrote just below this one.

Lets pick up right where we left off:

R14: Pablo Sandoval, CI, Giants: Sandoval was brought up from the minor leagues last season, played in 41 games, and hit .345. He played 44 games in AA and hit .337 and 68 games in A ball, hitting .359. Those are some really impressive batting averages. He has enough pop in his bat right now to hit around 20 homers, and at only 22 years old, should grow into more power. He is slated to start the season as the Giants third baseman and hit third in their order.

R15: Jorge Posada, C, Yankees: Coming off a season cut short due to shoulder surgery, Posada has looked real good swinging the bat so far in early spring. The problem is throwing and how many games he will be able to catch this season. I am figuring on about 110 games behind the plate, with maybe another 30 games at DH, enough at bats to give him 15+ HR and 65+ RBI, not bad at all for a round 15 catcher.

R16: Jeremy Hermida, OF, Marlins: For the past three season I, along with the entire Marlins organization, have been waiting for Hermida to have his break out season. Once the Marlins top prospect, he has become their top disappointment. Still just 25 years old, there is time for him to turn it around. The last two seasons he has hit 18 and 17 HR, with 63 and 61 RBI. He is the every day left fielder and cleanup hitter heading into this season and needs to improve on those numbers. If he does, he could be a round 16 steal.

R17: Hideki Matsui, OF, Yankees: Matsui had a bad knee last season that bothered him basically all year. He wasn’t himself at the plate because of it and finally shut it down and had surgery to repair the damage. He will see most of his at bats as a DH this season and that is a good thing. A .295 life time who almost always gets the runner in from third with less then 2 outs, could be a very good value pick here.

R18: Oliver Perez, SP, Mets: Before last season he was on everyone’s sleeper list, now he is
being ignored by many. There is only one reason for this; walks. The guy walked 105 batters last season, causing his WHIP to jump from 1.311 in 2007, to 1.402 in 2008, and his ERA to go from 3.56 to 4.22 . Meanwhile his win total dropped from 15 to 10. He did show improvement after the all-star break and totaled 180 strikeouts for the season. I feel a nice bounce back season from him and the strikeouts will always help.

R19: Manny Parra, SP, Brewers: As a rookie last season, Parra was great before the all-star break, going 8-2, with a 3.78 ERA. After the break it all feel apart, as he went 2-6 with a 5.32 ERA. This is nothing uncommon for rookies as they seem to run out of gas as their inning pitch totals begin to rise. He had 168 IP last season after just 106 in the minors the year before and just 86 the season before that. He had 100 IP in the first half last season alone. I look for him to get stronger this season and the Brewers to watch his IP more closely. He also has the ability to average almost a strikeout per inning.

R20: Jeff Clement, C, Mariners: He tore it up in AAA last season, hitting .335 with 14 HR and 43 RBI in 48 games. When he got his chance in 66 major league games, he stumbled, hitting just .227 with 5 HR and 23 RBI. He will share time behind the plate this season with Kenji Johjima and at DH with Ken Griffey Jr. The rebuilding Mariners will be sure to give him plenty of at bats to see exactly what they have here; and what they have is a really good hitting catcher.

R21: Kenshin Kawakami, SP, Braves: A former Rookie of the Year and MVP in Japan, the 34 year old finds himself a MLB rookie this season. How good he will be is anyone’s guess, he has good control, a low 90′s fast ball and a pretty good cutter. I will take a shot on him and hope he pans out.

R22: Randy Winn, OF, Giants: Winn always seems to be under-rated in my book. Last season he hit .306, his second consecutive .300 season, and stole 25 bases while scoring 84 runs. He will be the leadoff hitter for the Giants this season and a very good value here.

R23: Jack Cust, OF, A’s: Just like my pick in round six, Adam Dunn, he strikes out way too much, hits for a low average and has very good power. He won’t hit as many HR as Dunn, but 30 is about right and he could be useful if I see my team is lacking power or when he goes on one of his hot streaks.

R24: Roy Corcoran, RP, Mariners: I know I already drafted 3 closers, and Corcoran is second in line behind Mark Lowe in Seattle to close, but I feel Corcoran or maybe Tyler Walker, will be the closer sooner or later this season. Meanwhile, what the hell, its round 24 in a 14 team league.

R25: Tyler Walker, RP, Mariners: See my last pick. I like his strikeouts also.

*NOTE* I made these last two picks thinking Mark Lowe had already been drafted only to find out he was still available when the draft was completed. I waived Walker and picked up Lowe.

R26: Keeper, Alexei Ramirez, 2B, Whitesox: Maybe the best value keeper in the league this season. The “Cuban Missile” took off when given the chance to play every day and hit 21 HR in just 480 AB last season. He also hit .290 and had 13 SB. He reminds me a lot of Alfonzo Soriano and while he may not be a 40/40 threat, is 30/30 really out of the question? I don’t think so. Moving over to SS this season will make him eligible at both MI spots this season too.

That’s my team. I really think it is a well balanced team that can compete in every category. What do you think? Please leave a comment below and let me know.

My first fantasy baseball draft of the season was held on Saturday, February 28. That date is also my son and my own birthday, making it a busy day to say the least.

My son turned seven this year and I bought him exactly what he wanted, an I-pod nano, he has already down loaded the Beatles Yellow Submarine album and a few of the WWE wrestlers entrance songs to his I-pod, he is very happy with his gift.

I turned 45 this year (geez! 45, already!) and all I wanted was a few free hours to draft my team, and to also have a good draft. My son went over to my dads house for a couple of hours, so I had the time. The draft went well, I think. I am happy with what I got but was wondering what other people would think of my team.

This draft was for Johnny Archives, 14 team, J.A.I.L. league. A league that I have not been able to crack the top 3 in the two years it has been in existence.

For the first time we had keepers this season, with each team keeping three players. One player each from rounds 1-7, 8-14, and 15-26. My three keeper were Justin Morneau in round 3, Johnny Damon in round 10, and Alexei Ramirez in round 26.

Below is my draft and a few comments on each pick; I had the forth pick in a snake draft.

R1: Jimmy Rollins, SS, Phillies: With Alexei Ramirez as my second baseman the addition of Rollins makes my team very strong up the middle. A short stop that should steal around 45 bases and crack about 15 home run is very nice.

R2: Brandon Phillips, 2B, Reds: The plan was to take an outfielder here, but when Phillips
was still on the board I couldn’t pass him up. He is penciled in to bat cleanup for the Reds this season and could drive in 100 runs. Last season he went 20/20 in HR & SB, the season before 30/30. I’ll take 25/25 this season from my middle infielder : )

R3: Keeper, Justin Morneau, 1B, Twins: Because of all the keepers in this draft, Morneau was a pretty good value here. He had 129 RBI last season, 111 and 130 the two seasons before that. A lifetime .280 hitter that should hit more than the 23 HR he had last year, hopefully closer to the 31 and 34 he hit the two previous seasons.

R4: Magglio Ordonez, OF, Tigers: He may be getting a bit long in the tooth at age 35, but .300-20-100 is a bad year for this guy. The Tiger lineup is loaded and as their number 3 hitter, plenty of RBI should come.

R5: Dan Haren, SP, Diamond Backs: He has been very consistent over the last four seasons, starting over 32 games each year, winning 14,14,15,16 games during those seasons. As his wins keep creeping up, so do his strikeouts; 163, 176, 192, 206. He is 28 years old this season and could contend for the Cy Young award.

R6: Adam Dunn, OF, Nationals: Has hit exactly 40 HR in each of the last 4 seasons. Moving out of the tiny part in Cincinnati may bring that streak to an end, but 35 homers wouldn’t stink. The batting average is always low, but 100 RBI & RS along with the homes is nice. He will also gain 1B eligibility this season, adding to his fantasy value.

R7: Chone Figgins, 3B, Angels: After drafting Dunn and his 40 HR ability, drafting Figgins and his 40 SB ability made sense to me. I like to try and draft a team with the ability to steal about 160 bases, Figgins and Rollins get me half way there. Add in Brandon Phillips and we are looking pretty good.

R8: Matt Capps, RP, Pirates: Closers were going off the board early and often in this draft, and with 14 teams I felt I need to join in. Capps may pitch for a pretty crummy team in Pittsburgh, but I really like this guy. He has saved 39 games and blown only 8 over the last two seasons. His WHIP over that time is 0.995 and the closer job should be his all season. If he stays healthy, 30 saves should come.

 R9: Jon Lester, SP, Redsox: Had a break out season last year, winning 16 games with a very nice 3.21 ERA and 1.274 WHIP while striking out 152 in 210 IP. One thing I really liked about
his 2008 season is that he seemed to get better as the season went on. His ERA before the all-star break was 3.38 and fell to 2.95 after the break.

R10: Keeper, Johnny Damon, OF, Yankees: He put together a pretty good season in 2008, batting .303 with 29 SB and 17 HR. He has stolen at least 25 bases in each of the last three seasons and is always good for about 100 runs scored. Like one of my other two OF at this point, he too is 35 years old, but still seems to have plenty in the tank.

R11: Josh Johnson, SP, Marlins: The Marlins are loaded with some very good young arms and Johnson may just be the best. He came back from Tommy John surgery last season and looked great, going 7-1 with a 3.61 ERA and 77 strikeouts in 87 IP. He was on the fast track to becoming an ace before the injury and seem to be back on track now.

R12: Chad Qualls, RP, Diamond Backs: He was named the teams closer in September last season and responded by throwing 13 shutout innings, giving up only 5 hits and 1 walk while saving 7 games and winning 2, WOW! His season numbers of 71 strikeout in 73 IP and a 1.072 WHIP were very nice too. It really wouldn’t shock me if he ended up with 40 saves.

R13: Joel Hanrahan, RP, Nationals: I always like to come out of a draft with three closers and Hanrahan makes three. Like Qualls, he wasn’t the closer at the start of the season, he was given the job in August and had a great month. He struggled a bit in September but should be the closer this year. His 93 strikeouts in 84 IP were pretty impressive.

That’s the first half of my draft, I will post the second half ASAP, hopefully tomorrow.

 

 

Every year as i prepare for the up coming season drafts, I develope a bit on a man crush on a certin player or players. My current man crush is Colorado Rockie Ian Stewart. I wrote about it on the Fantasy Baseball 911 web site resently. Check it out if you get the chance: www.fantasypros911.com/a-man-crush-on-ian-stewart.html

The Angels have signed Bobby Abreu to a one year contact for $5 million dollars plus incentives and I think it is a steal! The first thought that came to my mind was: The Mets
couldn’t have raised the anti a bit? Maybe $7 million?

Abreu has been a very good, very consistent hitter over his career. A lifetime .300 hitter with streaks of six straight 100 RBI seasons, ten straight 98 run scored seasons, and eleven straight 15 HR and 20 SB seasons. The man is a machine.

He seems to be a perfect fit for the Angles, a left handed hitting outfielder joining a team that is full of right handed hitting outfielders: Vlad Guerriro, Tori Hunter, Juan Rivera and Gary Matthews.

The real story to me is how little it took to sign him. I was surprised when the Yankees didn’t offer him arbitration which would have made him a Yankee for one more season at or around $17 million. It seemed like a good deal too me, boy was I wrong!

Abreu made $16 million last season and it is hard to tell what led to this pay cut. I know he will be 35 years old this season, but he hasn’t showed signs of slowing down that much, has he?I guess it all comes back to the bad economy. It has effected everyone in every business, including baseball. I think baseball is in for a tuff time this season, just like everyone else. I see attendance, merchandise sales, and television revenue all taking a hit this season.

Disposable cash just isn’t as plentiful right now. When people do have extra cash, they are not so quick too spend it. Corporations don’t have the money to spend like they did in the past earthier. They are cutting advertising and won’t be shelling out the big bucks for luxury boxes as easily as in the past.

I think Manny should seriosly reconsider the one year $25 million offer from the Dodgers. Money seems to matter to the owners this year more than ever. Bobby Abreu will have to get by on $5 million, plus incentives. I should have his problems.

My 2009 fantasy baseball leagues are starting to take shape. I have been invited to, and accepted, invitations too three new leagues so far, signed up to compete in the NFBC main event, and am returning to Johnny Archives J.A.I.L. league for a third season. I will also join a couple of the money leagues being offered at www.fantasypros911.com to give me my usual seven leagues this season.

A few of the draft dates have already been set, with the JAIL league being the earliest, set for February 28. That is also the date I will turn 45 and my son will turn 7, it will be a busy day here to say the least.

The JAIL league has become a real thorn in my side the last two seasons, it has been the only league I haven’t been able to crack the top 3 over that period. The people who play in that league are relentless, they play the game the way it should be played.

JAIL is a 14 team league, with 14 hard core fantasy baseball owners. In 2007 my Jersey Hitmen team finished in 9^th place. It was embarrassing as I was never in the race. I came back to the league last season ready to show everyone, including myself, it was just a fluke. Things started off well and in July I found my team in first place, all was right in the world, for a week or two.

In the end it would be the man who put the JA in JAIL, Johnny Archive, would win it all. My team stumbled to the finish line and ended up in 11^th place. Another season, another embarrassing finish in JAIL.

Looking back at the 2008 JAIL season I can see my draft was horrible, I fact I have no idea how I was in first place in July with this squad. Seven of my first six draft picks were disappointments to say the least.

I had the last pick, number 14, in the draft. It was a snake draft, which means I had the first pick in round two. Below are my first six picks from last season and thier stats in 2007 and 2008.

 

R1, Prince Fielder	Batting Average	Runs Scored	Home Runs	Runs Batted In	Stolen Bases
2007	288	109	50	119	2
2008	.276	86	34	102	3

 

 

The good news is he stole more bases in 2008, the bad news is he slid back in every other
category. I was hopeing for at least 40 HR and 110 RBI and kept waiting for a hot streak that never came. I was also waiting for him to eat a hot steak and that never came earthier.

R2, Carl Crawford	Batting Average	Run Scored	Home Runs	Runs Batted In	Stolen Bases
2007	..315	93	11	80	50
2008	.273	69	8	57	25

 

Drafted him for the 50 stolen bases and .290 batting average he gets every year and he has
the worst season of his six year career.

In an effort to get more power and RBI; I traded Crawford to Fire Wryms Bad Mofos on July 27 for Ryan Ludwick. This trade worked out great for me because two weeks later Crawford was injured and would miss all but the final two games of the season from August 9^th on.

 

R3, Erik Bedard	Wins – Losses	Strike Outs	Earned Run Average	Saves	WHIP
2007	13 -5	221	3.16	0	1.088
2008	6 – 4	72	3.67	0	1.321

 

Looking back, this was the stupidest pick of the entire draft by any team. I have leaned my lesson and won’t be taking a starting pitcher this early ever again!

 

R4, Jonathan Papelbon	Wins – Loses	Strike Outs	Earned Run Average	Saves	WHIP
2007	1 – 3	84	1.84	37	0.771
2008	5 – 4	77	2.34	41	0.952

 

The only one of the first eight picks that did well for me. My team was doing very well in saves and needed some power and RBI so I traded him to the Licking Co. Lollygaggers for Justin Mornaeu on July 12^th.

The trade helped both teams, but just not enough and even without Papelbon I finished second in saves. The Licking Co moved up in saves but finished just out of the money in forth place.

 

R5, Miguel Tejada	Batting Average	Runs Scored	Home Runs	Runs Batted In	Stolen Bases
2007	.296	72	18	81	2
2008	.283	92	13	66	7

 

 

Tejada is ageing and had some steroid issues that he was and still is dealing with, but I had hoped for numbers better than 2007 in 2008. I felt the Astros lineup was better than the one he left in Baltimore and he would be recharged, I was wrong.

 

 

R6, Jorge Posada	Batting Average	Runs Scored	Home Runs	Runs Batted In	Stolen Bases
2007	.338	91	20	90	2
2008	.268	18	3	22	0

 

I wasn’t expecting a season as good as 2007, but come on!!!

Immediately after the draft I was happy with my team, shows how much I know. Baseball is a long season and the draft is only the beginning.

The draft is the foundation on which you build your team, the moves you make during the coarse of the season will dictate weather it is a mansion or a shack that you are building. I have ended up with two shacks in two JAIL season. This is the season I make like George Jefferson and move on up!

We have keepers this season in JAIL for the first time. To see a list of every teams keepers check out Johnny’s blog at: http://johnnyarchive.mlblogs.com/

I will write about the JAIL draft after it happens and this league as well as my others as the season moves along.

Sports Illustrated has reported that Alex Rodriguez tested positive for steroids back in 2003, the year he won the MVP as a member of the Texas Rangers. This “news” has been a shock
to some, but I can’t understand why.

I don’t find it shocking at all, and if you do, I have just one question for you; Where the hell have you been? Steroid use was everywhere in baseball for years as MLB turned a blind eye.

After the strike of 1994, that saw the World Series cancelled for the first and only time in history, baseball was hurting. Attendance was down, football blew past it as Americas favorite sport, and more importantly to the owners, baseball was losing money.

That all changed in 1998 as two mussel bound sluggers, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, chased Roger Maris’s 37 year old, single season home run record of 61. Baseball was
receiving national attention every night and stadiums began to fill up again. People would arrive early to the ball park to watch Mark McGwire and his Popeye forearms blast moon shot after moon shot in batting practice. Sammy Sosa became a national icon in his home land, the Dominican Republic, but everything seemed a little fishy to many.

These men where huge, even their mussels had mussels and everyone noticed, even Barry Bonds. In the end McGwire would pass the historical number of 61 first, Sosa would pass it a bit later. McGwire ended up hitting 70 in ’98, Sosa 66. After 37 years of no one hitting 60, we now had two hit over 65.

The following season McGwire hit 65 and Sosa 63. Sosa also hit 64 in 2001, the same year Bonds set the current record with 73. Legend has it that Barry Bonds got so annoyed at the
attention McGwire and Sosa were receiving, it led him to steroids in an effort to keep up and keep up he did!

While McGwire and Sosa weren’t the only players suspected of taking steroids in the late ’90′s, they were the most successful. More and more allegations began to surface as players began to get bigger and bigger. The pressure to succeed and keep up in baseball grew. Minor league players were taking steroids to help them get to the major leagues, fringe major league players were doing it to keep their roster spots, mid-level starting players took it to keep their starting job, and all-stars took it to remain all-stars. Mean while MLB looked away.

MLB was doing nothing to stop steroid use. Sure, it was a banned substance in baseball, but there was no testing program in place, and no penalty if a player was caught using it. That all changed in 2003, when MLB decided, under great pressure, to conduct a survey test. This
test was part of a joint agreement by MLB and the players union to determine if mandatory random drug testing was necessary in MLB beginning in the 2004 season.

The results of these test were to remain anonymous and no player would face a penalty if they failed the test. In all 1,198 players were tested in 2003, with 104 failing, one of whom is now said too be Alex Rodriquez. So much for anonymous.

A-Rod will not be suspended from baseball, they knew about this from day one. He will not find himself in court like Barry Bonds or Roger Clemens, because he didn’t lie about his use in front of a grand jury. He only lied about it in front of Katie Couric and to all his fans as well
 as baseball fans in general.

Rodriguez can find himself in court if he decides that’s what he wants. These test results were supposed to be sealed and he can bring charges agenst who ever leaked them. But who leaked them? How can he find out? Selena Roberts and David Epstein wrote the article, and one or both of them know the source, but writers will not reveal their sources. Any move like this by A-Rod would probably only make things worse.

Steroids have given baseball a black eye that will never fully heal. When ever this black eye begins to fade a bit, it takes another shot and the bruise becomes deeper and darker. The man who was going to bring respectability back too the all-time home run record when and if he broke it, is no longer respectable. His numbers will be forever tainted just like all the numbers put up during baseballs sad steroid era.

While Hank Aaron and his family prepare for his big 75^th birthday bash tonight, Barry Bonds will once again be in court. Two completely different days, for two completely different men, who seem to have only one thing in common; the MLB home run crown.

Bonds took the crown from Aaron on August 8, 2007 when he hit career home run number 756. It was a day that should have been celebrated and remembered by MLB and baseball fans across the county. Yet do to the steroid allegations that surrounded Bonds at the time, it was not.

 
Hank Aaron was not there that night, commissioner Bud Selig was also absent. Aaron did have a pre-recorded message for Bonds that played on the big screen at the ball park that night and Selig gave Bonds a call after the game, but it was obvious this was not a moment they wanted to celebrate.

I still remember sitting on the living room floor watching Hank Aaron break Babe Ruth’s record, hitting number 715 on April 8, 1974. I was 10 years old and already a baseball history buff. I knew the significance of the number, but it was my father who taught me the significance of race.

 

That was 35 years ago and racism was still a huge factor in this country, very much so in the south. Atlanta, were Aaron played, was a hot bed for racism. He had finished the 1973 season one home run short of Babe Ruth’s record and had to endure an off season of hatred and death threats. There was even an failed attempt to kidnap his daughter. Mickey Mantle was the man many people wanted to see break the record, but wasn’t going to happen.

35 years ago and I can still remember watching that home run with my dad. August 8, 2007 is just another day to me. If you knew how much I love baseball and the history of the game, you would understand how amazing that is.

The steroid issues ruined the greatest record in sports. In the press conference after the game in which he broke the record, Bonds said, “The record is not tainted at all. Period.” You have to think even he knew it was.

Now today Bonds spends another day in court, as he tries to keep the most damaging evidence agenst him yet from being submitted. Fail drug test results from 2000 and 2001, doping calendars, and a taped conversation in which his trainer, Greg Anderson talks about the steroids he injected Bonds with “all over the place.”

Mean while in Atlanta a big birthday celebration will take place to celebrate year 75 for Hank Aaron. Former president Bill Clinton will be there, hall of famer Dave Winfield too. Even commissioner Bud Selig will attend, something he didn’t do the night Bonds broke the record.

Interestingly, tomorrow will be Babe Ruth’s birthday, 114 years old. Yes, Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth were born 39 years and 1 day apart.But today is Hammerin’ Hanks day. Happy Birthday Mr. Aaron! You are the true home run king in my book.

 

 

So I wake up this morning and make my way over here to MLBlogs.com. I sign in and read a few blogs then go to my site page, I wanted to see if I had any more comments added to my first blog ever on MLBlogs from yesterday. Well not only are there no new comments but there are no old comments, in fact there is no article at all!

IT”S GONE, IT”S ALL GONE!!

I sent an e-mail to message.boards@mlb.com in an effort to find out whats up.

Did I do something wrong? Did I delete it? Can I get it back? Has anything like this ever happened to anyone else?

If anyone out there has had this happen or has an idea what might have happened, please let me know.