Doris From Rego Park

I hadn’t commented on Razzball in about a week or so, which actually feels like a long time to me since I started checking out the site on a daily basis back in March. Saying the site’s main voice, Grey Albright, is a great writer baseball writer is like saying Albert Pujols can hit. That he’s just about always connected to the site and giving specific fantasy feedback and advice – for free – is unprecedented in the fantasy baseball world. What makes the site special is in no small part the commenter however, whose comments usually number well into the triple digits for every post. The same names always appear day in and day out: Royce!, Wilsonian, ThePoonTycoon, Howie Met Your Mother, and many more offering wit, wisdom and obsessive comradery during the long and often grueling months of the fantasy baseball season.

Today I dropped a comment on the site, starting it by jokingly channeling Doris From Rego Park with a trade offer of Benny Agbayani and Masato Yoshi for Luis Gonzalez. It got a few laughs and this response from Grey, which I thought I’d share:

I wish I could have met Doris. When she died in 2003, I felt like I lost an aunt, whose raspy voice comforted me on many a sleepless summer night. Here’s to you Doris. Thankfully for your sake, you were spared the horrors of watching those two colossal Met collapses in ’07 and ’08.

Here’s a posthumous fan page on Facebook for Doris Bauer. Check it out and spread the love.

Welcome To Splitsville Part 2

Originally published on Advanced Fantasy Baseball. Stats current as of the All-Star break.

…Continued from Part One

Here’s the rest of my 2010 All-Splits team for players owned by 50% or fewer teams according to Yahoo.

Vs. Righties

C: John Jaso (6% owned) Although he’s cooled considerably since May, the 26 year old catcher came seemingly out of nowhere to perform admirably behind the plate for the Rays. Jaso has put together nice numbers against righties, going .295/.412/.397 in 177 PA, while struggling against lefties in limited action. Interestingly enough, Jaso’s MiLB Splits are pretty even throughout his five years on the farm. With enough plate appearances against big league lefties (since returning from injury, the struggling Kelly Shoppach has been getting a lot of appearances against southpaws), Jaso might be able to prove he’s deserving of a full-time gig.

1B: Lyle Overbay (4% owned) It seems like you could pencil Overbay into this list every year and still somehow he manages to hold down a full-time job in Toronto. The veteran first baseman has always done better against right-handers (.264/.353/.443 in 269 PA so far in 2010) while doing little against lefties, but that split is even more dramatic this season as he’s stunk it up to a tune of .192/.232/.308 so far. With first base so rich in talent, there’s no reason to have to roster Overbay outside of the deepest of leagues. If you do however (maybe you own Kendry Morales and Todd Helton, both shelved with injuries), you’d do well to sit him against lefties or platoon him with a guy like Daric Barton or Adam Rosales.

2B: Omar Infante (9% owned) The man who may forever be known (through no fault of his own) as the worst All-Star selection ever is the only 2010 All-Star to also make my All-Splits team. The jack-of-all-trades has been consistently mediocre from both sides of the plate through out his nine years of mostly part-time, MLB play. This season however, the right-handed Infante has shown infinite prowess if not power against righty hurlers, posting a .364/.384/.447 in 138 PA in while disappearing against lefties in limited time (.262/.303/.311 in 67 PA). If he receives regular playing time, I would expect that gap to close quite a bit before season’s end.

SS: Wilson Valdez (3% owned) Wait, what? Yeah I put Valdez on this list, what of it? That’s how shallow SS is and the 32 year old journeyman plays in a hitter’s paradise. While starting in place of the injured Jimmy Rollins at short and now Chase Utley over at second, Valdez has proved useful against righties (.283/.300/.449 with all 4 of his HR in 133 PA), while doing next to nothing against southpaws. Outside of a hot streak, I don’t think he’s rosterable in 12 team mixed, but I did have him for a cup of coffee on my 15 team mixed league a few weeks ago.

3B: Chase Headley (45% owned) The Padres every day third baseman started off like a ball of fire in April, only to come back down to earth with a thud in May and June. He’s been picking it up again lately however, and remains solid against right-handed pitching going .306/.351/.427 with 5 of his 6 homers in 251 PA. His weakness against left-handers remains glaring however, as he’s been shut down to the tune of .197/.258/.248 in 129 PA. His sneaky speed makes you want to pencil him in every day in case he swipes a bag, but his ineptitude while facing lefties removes that option unless you like zeros. Cavernous Petco Park saps his power and that weak Padre lineup does him no favors either, so unless you’ve got another 3B eligible guy to platoon him with, I’d stay away from Headley in all but deep leagues.

OF: Hideki Matsui (37% owned) Godzilla is a shell of the player he was a few years ago with the Yankees and he’s been absolutely dreadful against lefties this year – .188/.224/.366 in 107 PA. Against righties however, Matsui can still hit and he’s put up a useful .281/.381/.408 line in 231 PA. Consider him rosterable in deeper leagues, when platooned with an outfielder who can rake lefties like Matt Diaz, Jeff Francoeur or Cody Ross.

OF: J.D. Drew (44% owned) The captain of my all-splits team, J.D. Drew is the epitome of a platoon player – when healthy, of course. Drew demolishes right-handers with a .315/.400/.586 line, along with 9 of his 10 home runs in 210 PA. Conversely, he’s atrocious against lefties, going .185/.265/.235 in 91 PA. If you’ve got Drew on your team, platoon him or else!

OF: David DeJesus (50% owned) The Royals outfielder is quietly having a very nice year all around – 45 R/5 HR/ 36 RBI .326/.395/.460 and his career splits aren’t that far apart, however this season he’s really shined against right-handers, going .344/.403/.478 in 275 PA. I’ve currently got him in my 12 team mixed league and I sit him against lefties in favor of Dexter Fowler, since his .272/.372/.407 line with little pop or speed in 95 PA doesn’t offer much in that format. DeJesus has been mentioned in trade talks with the Red Sox, where I see him in a platoon with Mike Cameron, once Jacoby Ellsbury gets back, which would certainly help his counting numbers against righties.

UTL: Angel Pagan (50% owned) Currently the Mets leader in batting average (.315), Pagan will get the bulk of the playing time in a platoon with Jeff Francoeur, once Carlos Beltran gets back. His speed makes him playable every day right now, but if you can afford to, it’s best to platoon him to take advantage of his splits. Against lefties Pagan has been pretty underwhelming with a .273/.309/.386 line in 96 PA. Facing righties though, Angel has been heavenly, belting out it out at a .335/.398/.512 clip. Platooned with a lefty killer and you’re looking at steady production in the second half.

I’m ending my list here, but there are lots of other players around, who if platooned properly can provide your fantasy team with a nice lift. Who do you think are some other players who could have made the Splitsville All-Stars?

Hawk Reads Hanley The Riot Act

“I’m not going to say a lot, because if you say the wrong the thing to me, then you might wind up on the floor on your rear end,” Andre Dawson said to Hanley Ramirez, with Tony Perez standing by his side in a coach’s office at Sun Life Stadium.

That about sums up what the Florida Marlins brass think of their star shortstop, Hanley Ramirez‘ antics, stemming from his costly non-play that got him yanked from Monday’s game. His galling, non-apology to manager Fredi Gonzalez and his teammates only made matters worse as he rode the bench the following day. I hope The Hawk’s coming out to the media further humiliated Ramirez, as he should fully understand that a lot of ordinary people actually spend their limited funds watching guys like him play a game. Well according to Rob Neyer at ESPN, The Marlins shouldn’t have gone there and should have let the whole thing blow over. I don’t agree. It’s not too much to ask for a little hustle from a guy getting paid $70 million to play baseball, is it? If he doesn’t perform like a professional and he wasn’t embarrassed enough (which apparently he wasn’t) by the awful play, than he should be held accountable by his superiors in some way. You’re not going to keep your best player on the bench and you have to continue to pay him, so what better way than to let everyone one know what kind of an immature prick the guy is? Sorry Rob. Numbers only go so far. I gotta cry bullshit on this.

Alex Remington at Fangraphs asks if Dawson’s doings were counterproductive as well. What do you think?

Other interesting happenings around the league…

Angel Pagan hit an inside the park home run and started off a triple play in the same game, the first time anyone’s accomplished the strange feat since Ted Kazanski pulled it off for The Phils back in 1955. The Mets still found a way to lose in D.C. last night 5-3. Pagan is an interesting speedy outfielder play in deep leagues.

The Braves completed the largest comeback in franchise history today, overcoming an 8-0 deficit on their way to defeating the Reds 10-9. The winning blow came in one of strangest ways you’ll ever see a game end: Journeyman infielder Brooks Conrad hit a pinch-hit, walk-off grand salami that bounced out of the extended glove of left fielder Laynce Nix, only to have it deflect over the wall for the game winning homer. My sympathies to Mike Leake owners who changed the channel thinking they had a W in the bag.

Speaking of comebacks, Kevin Gregg blew a Save today in horribly spectacular fashion today and in the process, inflated the pitching ratios on my Head To Head team like Macy’s Thanksgiving float. That was three hits and two walks, while only retiring one Mariners bat in the 4-3 loss. Thanks asshole. Grey at Razzball rubs it in telling everyone he just grabbed Jason Frasor. I subsequently ask how all the fantasy writers always have these empty roster spots with which to grab setup guys for speculative saves. It’s something you always read from the experts if you follow fantasy baseball. “Pick up middle man X in case slumping closer Y fails,” but with my hitting categories close and this being a keeper league, I can’t bring myself to grab Frasor at the expense of young stud catching prospect, Carlos Santana or back-up outfielder Andres Torres. It was only Gregg’s second blown save, so I wouldn’t hit the ‘drop’ button yet.

Ryan Howard Says, “I’m Rich Bee-yotch!”

Interesting happenings from around baseball blogdom…

• Nice week for those Metropolitans, completing their first 9-1 home stand since 1988, with a sweep of the frostbitten Trolley Dodgers. We like Ike a lot. We like good pitching even more and that’s what the Mets have been showing in the early going. With a weekend match up with the fightin’ Philistines looming, win or lose we can rejoice in knowing that Philly has just dished out the worst contract in baseball. Ryan Howard just bagged $125 million for a five year extension, that won’t kick in until he’s 32. The consensus says that the Phils are phucked and you can add my voice to the choir. The Philly ownership should look forward to paying a good portion of that money to a player that resembles David Ortiz. Unfortunately they won’t have a DH slot to hide his defense. Let the good times roll…

• Who’s rolling the most grounders in the game right now? Not Derek Lowe, Tim Hudson or Joel Pinero. The man’s name is Jaime. Dave Cameron of Fangraphs, on why Jamie Garcia may end the season with National League Rookie Of The Year honors.

• A peek into the psyches of fantasy baseball owners. The 200 most popular fantasy baseball team names. “Evil Empire” edges out “Springfield Isotopes.

• The Rotoprofessor lists some of the high strikeout guys that you might find lurking on waivers. Figuring out which high K hurler to roster often feels like figuring out The Mystery Of Chess Boxing. Proceed with caution and protect your neck son!

• I really like Jason’s Baseball Blog. This week Jason Hunt breaks down Weighted On Base Percentage and Runs Created for those with a Sabermetric bent.

• Chris Tillman put his new cut-fastball to work while tossing a AAA no-hitter last night and Marc Hulet at Fangraphs breaks him down. Derailed by a slow spring, the once top prospect is making a claim for a job in the Baltimore rotation. Sounds good until he leaves a game with a 2-0 lead in the seventh.