Brew City Fanatic

Rotation is set. Sort-of.

2011-03-10T20:38:00.001-08:00

Today Brewers' Manager Ron Roenicke announced the rotation for the start of the season. To no one's surprise, home-grown ace Yovani Gallardo got the opening day nod. It will be his second opening day start in as many years. Behind him are new comer Shaun Marcum and lefties Randy Wolf and Chris Narveson. With four off days in April, the team will try to go with a four-man rotation until Zack Greinke returns from the DL. Barring any postponements, this should allow for each starter to pitch on a normal 5 days rest. If need be, rookie Mark Rogers has said he would be more than happy to step-up to the 5 spot in the rotation.

Greinke Injured

2011-03-08T19:17:00.000-08:00

Earlier today the Milwaukee Brewers announced that former Cy Young winner and big off-season acquisition, Zack Greinke, has a hair-line fracture between the 7th and 8th ribs on his left-hand side. The injury is said to have occurred in a pick-up basketball game before Greinke pitched his first game this spring. Greinke is expected to miss 4-6 weeks, meaning the Brewer's will probably place him on the 15-day disabled list. As of now, he could miss up to his first three starts of the regular season.
No news yet on what the Brewers will do with the rotation, although a 4-man rotation of Gallardo, Marcum, Wolf and Narveson could work well for the team, they could also explore the option of adding Mark Rodgers to the back-end of the rotation.
As long as he bounces back well and doesn't have any lingering side effects, this shouldn't hurt the Brewer's chances of making the playoffs.

2011 Predictions: Cy Young

2011-03-07T21:19:00.000-08:00

American League Cy Young: Felix Hernandez

Hernandez, the 2010 winner, is poised to have another all-star season. Despite leading the league with a 2.27 ERA, finishing second in strikeouts with 232, and a phenomenal WHIP of 1.06, he finished the season with a 13-12 record and many experts considered this a down-year for Seattle’s young ace. Most of this can be contributed to a vastly underperforming team lacking heavily in run-support, and finishing the season with the AL’s worst record, at 61-101.

Hernandez is only 24 years old and hasn’t even hit his full potential in the big leagues. With an improved team playing well behind him this spring, there’s no reason he can’t hit 18 wins, 240 K’s and an ERA under 2.30 again and repeat as the American League Cy Young Award winner.

National League Cy Young: Zack Greinke

Last year Greinke put up decent numbers, despite playing for one of the worst teams in the league, and admittedly “giving up” towards the end of the season. His 4.17 ERA is proof of this. He managed 181 K’s, and a good WHIP of 1.25. 100% of the blame for his poor 10-14 record can be put on the shoulders of the offense. The royals averaged a meager 4.66 runs per game in his starts, 8^th worst in the MLB.

This year, as long as the team is playing well and he doesn’t give up, Greinke should shine. Last year the Brewers averaged 6.55+ runs per game, and the offensive output should continue without a hitch. Just like Halladay before him, Greinke will benefit from moving to a new (easier) league and should fan batters with ease, mainly because most of the hitters that he will face have never seen him before. Look for Greinke to cruise to 20+ wins, 240+ strike outs and an ERA under 2.40, easily locking up the 2011 National League Cy Young.

Announcement

2011-03-07T11:53:00.001-08:00

Hey guys. I'm really excited to announce that This morning I received word that I will be writing for a new site with a much bigger audience. Thank you so much to Tom over at The Sports Jury for the opportunity. Please check out their website The Sports Jury and follow them on Twitter @Thesportsjury

Fantasy Baseball: Auction Draft Tips

2011-03-06T22:22:00.000-08:00

Auction type drafts are a fun, interesting and strategic way to set up your fantasy team. It adds a more in depth feel, and can help make teams much more even than traditional "snake" drafts. But some key problems can arise quickly if you don't know what you're doing.
I have been doing fantasy sports since my early high school years, and being such a stat junkie I have perfected the art in recent years. I have won at least 50% of my leagues (I average 17 teams a season, spread across ESPN, Yahoo Sports and CBS Sports) the last two years. These are just a few of the tips I have picked up to make sure you field the best team out there.
1. Have Patience
You start the draft with 260 "dollars" and teams take turns nominated a player to be bid on. Players are each assigned a "market value" before the draft starts. The first few picks will always be fantasy all-stars, and it's pretty much a guarantee that some newbie is going to dramatically overspend on them. Resist the urge. I know it can be temping to pick up Hallady or Pujols, but there are just as good players available later for much cheaper. Inexperienced teams will pick up one or two of these guys, and then have to fill the rest of their roster with low-end players and usually finish dead last.
2. DON'T OVER SPEND!!!
I can't stress this enough. I have a couple rules of thumb to help guide this, because some players are worth going a little more over for than others. Early on you should target 2 really good players (usually a power hitting third or first baseman or an outfielder and a pitcher) with a value of $27 or higher. These players, it is okay to bid over market value up to $5 over. Try not to go over $35 on either. After this target some players in the $20-25 range, and only go $3 over market value. The same holds true for players in the $15-20 range(where a ton of all-stars sit, such as Zack Greinke).
3. Draft Based on Need, Not Want
It can be tempting to go after your favorite player, and this is fine, as long as you don't already have someone at that position. You should try to have one established very talented outfielder, at least two amazing infielders and three very good ones, three outstanding 13+ win and two 11+ win pitchers and two relief pitchers with at least 28 saves each. Don't worry about a catcher, as long as you get a younger everyday starter who is decent offensively, you should be fine.
4. Spread Out Your Stats
This is very important when your season starts, especially if you're in a head-to-head points league. If all of your players are power hitters, you may win some categories, but you're not going to win the obs and stolen bases category. Have a good mix of power hitters, contact hitters and base stealers.

If you just follow these simple steps you can have a very balanced, talented team that should make a run for the playoffs.

2011 Predictions: MVP

2011-03-06T19:30:00.000-08:00

My first post in a soon-to-be ongoing series of 2011 predictions. First up; MVP

National League MVP: Ryan Braun

The 2007 NL Rookie of the Year is becoming a perennial all-star and one of the elite outfielders in the game. His defense has only gotten better every year, but we all know the award is based on offensive output, not defensive prowess. Last year could be considered a “down” year for Braun, even though he had 25 homers, 103 RBI’s and hit .304. This year with a brand new, very talented pitching staff, highlighted by Newcomers Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum as well as holdovers Yovoni Gallardo and Randy Wolf, a lot less pressure will be on the hitters to play catch up. Plus, with Prince Fielder and Casey McGehee waiting behind him in the line-up, pitcher's likely won't pitch around him and he could easily hit .326 with 44 homers and 135 RBIs this year.

American League MVP: Miguel Cabrera

I think the most obvious pick here is Cabrera. In all of his seven full seasons he has had at least 103 RBI’s, 30 home runs in six of those seven and a batting average of .320 or better in five seasons. Last year he had a career best with 30 home runs and 127 runs batted in. If he can stay healthy and avoid any more alcohol-fueled incidents, he’s well on his way to a Hall of Fame Career. 2011 could be an even better year than last year, now that teams will have to worry about victor Martinez in the line-up as well.