Now Available for 2012 THT Essentials: Now Available The Hardball Times Baseball Annual 2012, an annual "must buy" for all baseball fans, is now shipping. Read this article to learn more about it. 
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Monday, March 29, 2010Heath Bell trade speculationAndy Behrens said something interesting over at Yahoo! this morning that I thought was worth relaying. The Twins are thought to be active in the trade market, so this unwillingness to name a closer makes perfect sense. If they were to acquire, say, Heath Bell(notes), then it could be viewed as a vote of no-confidence in whichever pitcher had been initially awarded closing duties. Obviously just speculation, but it does make sense. If Bell is traded, that'll destroy all mixed league value for Jon Rauch, Matt Guerrier, and crew. It would also lead to a new NL closer in Mike Adams or Luke Gregerson. I own Adams in Tout Wars, so I'm certainly hoping he's the guy. LABR commish Steve Gardner seems to disagree with me, calling Gregerson the best closer-in-waiting in the National League. Leverage Index also gives Gregerson the advantage, as he checked in at a 1.46 gmLI in 2009 compared to Adams's 1.30 gmLI. Still, it's been said that Adams will handle the 8th inning this year, plus he has the seniority and MLB experience. Watch this situation closely, but I've got my money on Adams for now. Posted by Derek Carty at 10:50pm Saturday, March 27, 2010Follow me in the Tout Wars Mixed League draftTomorrow morning I'll be participating in the Tout Wars Mixed League. For those interested in following along, a live blog will be held here. I'll post thoughts on my roster early next week. Posted by Derek Carty at 10:49pm Thursday, March 11, 2010Some notes from my home draftA couple of days ago I completed the snake draft for my shallow, small stakes home league. Its more of a friendly league than a super-competitive one but nevertheless I have a few friends who are not only good at fantasy sports but also highly motivated to take down their expert friend so its not easy by any measure. Instead of boring you with analyzing my roster I thought I'd share a few quick thoughts that I had during or after the draft;
That's all for now. Next week is the draft for the Yahoo Friends & Family league (finished 4th last year) after which I'll share my roster and thoughts on the draft. Posted by Paul Singman at 9:56pm Tuesday, March 09, 2010Amazin’ Avenue AnnualFor those who haven't seen it yet, the guys over at Amazin' Avenue (a New York Mets blog) put out their free Amazin' Avenue Annual on Friday. I have an article in it (completely non-fantasy related), as do fellow THTers Dave Studeman, Harry Pavlidis, and Brian Borawski. I had a great time reading it and was happy to participate, so check it out if you're interested. Even if you're not a Mets fan, there are a few articles that make for a good read universally (like Eric Simon's On Baseball, Numbers, and Randomness). Posted by Derek Carty at 3:42pm Friday, March 05, 2010Kiko Calero Signs With New York MetsEven before the 2009-2010 offseason started, I was a fan of Kiko Calero. Calero returned to the big leagues in 2009 after missing most of the 2008 season (4.2 innings) with a rotator cuff injury. Not only did he return, but he enjoyed in his best season to date. The 35-year-old pitched in 67 games for the Marlins going 2-2 with a 1.97 ERA and a sparkling 2.56 FIP. However, Calero remained unsigned until yesterday when the Mets agreed on a minor league deal with the right-hander. It seems strange that a player with those types of numbers was reduced to a minor league contract, but whispers have floated around about his medical records. Unfortunately, I don’t have access to those records, but we can still look at his numbers. The biggest reason for Calero’s success in 2009 was keeping the ball in the hard. He allowed just one home run in 60 innings which gave him a microscopic 0.15 HR/9. The low HR/9 was a product of a ridiculously low HR/FB rate of 1.4%. If we normalized that rate, we see his xFIP jumped to 3.92 and his LIPS ERA to 3.69. Both are still very good numbers from a middle reliever. Assuming he’s healthy, Calero will experience some regression in the home run department. That said, his career HR/9 of 0.71 and HR/FB of 6.7% show that he has been good at keeping home runs to a minimum throughout his career. In addition to home run regression, he is likely to see a slight BABIP correction (.259 in 2009, .286 career) On top of the wonderful home run rates, Calero was pretty good at making the opposition to swing and miss at his pitches. Working mostly off his slider (54.4%) and fastball (41.4%), Calero struck out more than a batter per nine innings last season (10.35). Unlike the home-run rate, this was pretty close to his 9.63 career K/9 mark. The Mets go into 2010 with Francisco Rodriguez as the unquestioned closer. However, behind K-Rod is a bunch of question marks. The Mets signed another favorite of mine, Kelvim Escobar, this offseason, but Escobar’s injury concerns are even greater than those of Calero’s. Despite the minor-league deal, Calero has a legit chance of becoming the Mets set-up man. If something should happen to Frankie Rodriguez, Calero may steal a few cheap saves. |
Trade RumorsFrom MLB Trade RumorsOutrighted To Triple-A: Mitchell Quick Hits: Oswalt, Renteria, Pirates, Indians Cardinals Sign Scott Linebrink Yankees, Pirates Talking A.J. Burnett Trade Latest At RotoAuthority.com Orioles Designate Matt Angle For Assignment Most Recent Comments on "BoTR" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
