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| Posted by: Guru
- [330592710] Thu, Mar 20, 2014, 10:02
The draft is complete. All undrafted players are now on waivers, which will clear on Saturday. I don't recall exactly what time that takes place - and with the Saturday game starting at 4am, I don't know whether any claimed player could be started for that first game or not.
The second game is on Sunday in Australia, but starts at 10pm EDT here, so those two games are apparently treated like a doubleheader. As such, if you don't get someone in the lineup for the first game, it seems likely that you can't get them in the 2nd game either.
Please complete submitting the rest of your rationales in the collection thread. |
| | | 1 | JeffG
ID: 15859720
Thu, Mar 20, 2014, 10:11
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I just put a dummy claim in to see. Waivers are processed 3AM ET so you'd get your player an hour before first pitch on 3/22, but would have to be up and online to get that player into your active lineup if it was a Dodger or DBack.
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| | | 2 | Guru
ID: 330592710
Thu, Mar 20, 2014, 10:18
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Also, please check your rosters at ESPN to make sure I entered all players correctly. It's better if I can fix any errors before waivers are processed.
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| | | 3 | Guru
ID: 330592710
Sun, Mar 23, 2014, 14:11
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League summary page is now posted:
http://rotoguru1.com/base/RIBC.html
You can also get there by click in the RIBC icon in the left panel of the RotoGuru home page.
I think the split stats program will work, but I can really test it until after we have multiple game days.
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| | | 4 | Seattle Zen
ID: 3310162612
Tue, Mar 25, 2014, 13:19
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What am I missing? Why do you trade the 40th player drafted for the 87th before the season is underway? Is it the fact that Aaron Hill made it to the plate six times without getting hurt that gave you confidence in him that you didn't have a couple of weeks ago?
This is a very strange trade.
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| | | 5 | Evan
ID: 29181714
Tue, Mar 25, 2014, 13:53
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I'm not one who makes trades but I had to do something. It may look unusual, but I think it helps my team.
I made a big mistake by missing out on closers in our draft and I also think I drafted Kinsler way too early. I shouldn't have drafted him. The only difference I see between Kinsler and Hill are the extra steals I'd get from Kinsler. OBP, HRs, slugging should be very close. I also learned of an interesting nugget regarding Kinsler; he was thrown out attempting steals 11 times last season and is now on a team that was LAST in steals last season (35). I could see Kinsler's steals dropping to around 15. Both are injury prone but all in all, I think will bring my similar stats when the season is done.
This trade speaks more to my closer situation as I was targeting Clippard in the draft. First of all, I give up on Qualls before the season starts. He may rack up a few saves in the beginning but I cannot see him holding that job down all season. I don't want to be chasing saves in Houston. In Washington, they have a new manager who has no ties to current closer Rafael Soriano and I think I have a good lottery ticket for the next closer of the Washington Nationals. Soriano is a poor K% at 18.4% and isn't the most healthy individual. I'm thinking he will lose his job.
This is a gamble but I don't think its outrageous. I sincerely think I wouldn't have had any chance placing in the top 6 without a better closer situation and I already mentioned how I'm down on Kinsler.
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| | | 6 | Seattle Zen
ID: 3310162612
Tue, Mar 25, 2014, 14:00
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I appreciate the explanation.
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| | | 7 | beastiemiked
ID: 5911312710
Tue, Mar 25, 2014, 14:19
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I really like Clippard and almost didn't make the trade. Absolutely think Qualls is a bum and would set his over/under of saves at 5. Also, I think Kinsler is overrated and Hill is underrated. Hill having already played 2 games is kinda what pushed me over the edge.
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| | | 8 | Evan
ID: 29181714
Tue, Mar 25, 2014, 15:28
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Hahaha that's fair. Hill's injury concern is certainly a big one.
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| | | 9 | Evan
ID: 29181714
Fri, Mar 28, 2014, 11:28
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Not that I'm all about Matthew Berry but he strangely highlighted (7) of my team's players in his bold prediction piece. Only two reviews were negative. If any of this comes through, I may be in okay shape! If you are interested in the article, click here.
Positives:
Arizona Diamondbacks: A.J. Pollock goes 20/20. My thinking: He has the pop and speed, he just needs full-time at-bats. If he can learn to hit righties a little better and Cody Ross can't get healthy (both entirely possible), Pollock will get his PT.
Milwaukee Brewers: A .285 average and 25 home runs for Khris Davis, currently going in the 19th round. My thinking: The power is legit (at least 15 home runs in every season of professional ball). All he's needed is playing time. This year, he finally gets it.
Chicago White Sox: Avisail Garcia goes 20/20. My thinking: Toolsy former top prospect who will play every day, he's going to get to 20/20 soon. Why not this year?
Minnesota Twins: Phil Hughes has an ERA better than 4.00, a WHIP better than 1.30 and double-digit wins. You heard me. My thinking: Good pitchers' park, better division to pitch against, he had a sub-4.00 ERA on the road last year, and if ever there was a guy who needed a fresh start, it's him.
Texas Rangers: Leonys Martin is a top-15 fantasy outfielder. My thinking: Tons of speed, enough pop to help a little there, decent enough batting average. They don't have anyone else, really, so he's gonna play every day in a great ballpark surrounded by great hitters.
Negatives:
Seattle Mariners: Robinson Cano, who has at least 25 home runs in each of the past five seasons, hits fewer than 20 this time around. My thinking: Much worse ballpark for him, he's traditionally been worse on the road than at Yankee Stadium and he wouldn't be the first guy to flame out after getting a crazy-big deal.
Los Angeles Dodgers: Among Dodgers starting pitchers, Zack Greinke finishes no higher than fourth on the Player Rater. My thinking: Clayton Kershaw is the easy one, but Hyun-Jin Ryu is no joke, and a strong year from Dan Haren in the NL West won't shock anyone. Meanwhile, here's what I wrote about Zack in this year's Love / Hate: "His K/9 dropped under eight for the first time since 2010, he had his lowest ground-ball percentage since 2009, his walk rate was slightly up, and there's no doubt he was helped by the fourth-highest strand rate in baseball." Add to that the fact he has pitched fewer than 180 innings in two of the past three years, and I won't be the one paying the going rate for Mr. Greinke's services this season.
I'm okay with a little false confidence to start the season.
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| | | 10 | holt
Donor
ID: 308491916
Thu, Apr 03, 2014, 15:14
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Is there some way to change the settings in ESPN so game times are shown in CST. Seeing all the times in EST is diving me nuts. I messed with it for quite a while and couldn't find any way to do it.
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| | | 11 | JeffG
ID: 2654157
Fri, Apr 04, 2014, 11:49
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[10] holt - Did you try this:
On the very top of every ESPN fantasy page you should see "Welcome (your name)". Click on your name. That should take you to your SportsNation profile. The click on the 'edit profile' tab and you should see a drop down for your preferred time zone.
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| | | 12 | holt
Donor
ID: 308491916
Fri, Apr 04, 2014, 20:18
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I did try that but it doesn't seem to work. That was the only place I could find that mentioned time zones. Thanks though.
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| | | 13 | holt
Donor
ID: 308491916
Wed, Apr 09, 2014, 21:42
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I almost benched E Santana tonight because he had a crappy warmup start in AAA. Glad I decided against it. 8 IP, 3H, 0BB, 6K. 88 pitches, 65 strikes. That's a hell of performance for someone who skipped spring training. Maybe they should all skip spring training.
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| | | 14 | holt
Donor
ID: 308491916
Wed, Apr 09, 2014, 21:51
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And now the Braves bullpen is doing their best to blow this one. Come on!
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| | | 15 | Seattle Zen
ID: 3310162612
Thu, Apr 10, 2014, 17:00
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Hey, Josh Hamilton has a career high 1.286 OPS...
and while he cannot improve upon that for a few months, Jim Johnson, on the other hand, can make his 18.90 ERA 4.50 WHIP even worse without the possibility of landing one of those annoying saves :(.
If I had just left it like this - 18.90/4.50, I don't think anyone would realize that was his ERA/WHIP.
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| | | 16 | holt
Donor
ID: 308491916
Thu, Apr 10, 2014, 18:14
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Nathan has been almost as bad (12.27 / 2.73), but the Tigers bullpen is so bad and his salary is so high that they'll probably keep letting him work it out. Considering benching him though...
Lots of nasty injuries this year. Like a mine field.
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| | | 17 | JeffG
ID: 2654157
Fri, Apr 11, 2014, 13:22
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We are only 10 games into the season, but reviewing the standings I noticed that many managers teams this season are averaging pitching better than a strikeout per inninng, and many are very close to that mark. I thought that was strange and was wondering if K's are really up significantly this season.
So I looked at the links for historic RIBC results on Guru's RIBC stats pages and quickly computed what the 16 RIBC teams have combined in K's per 9 inning through the years, and tracked the best strikeout count per season.
Season.....K/9....BEST
2014.......8.54.... .... ** through games of 4/10
2013.......7.93....1365
2012.......7.98....1243
2011.......7.75....1257
2010.......7.65....1266
2009.......7.57....1216
2008.......7.32....1220
2007.......7.19....1147
2006.......7.10....1151
2005.......6.79....1137
2004.......7.08....1189
The trend has been rising steady but so far we've taken a big jump from last year.
Last year we had three teams pass 1300, and the 1365 (in 1375.1 innings by Smith and 9th) came the closest for a single team to hitting the K/IP of 1.0 with our league limit of 1350.
Just some random info to soak in.
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| | | 18 | holt
Donor
ID: 308491916
Fri, Apr 11, 2014, 15:06
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I wonder if K/9 is typically higher in April.
My bet is that the jump in K/9 in recent years is primarily due to fewer hitters using performance enhancers.
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| | | 19 | beastiemiked
ID: 5911312710
Fri, Apr 11, 2014, 15:39
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I think league wide k rates have gone up.
The big jump this year is probably due to many opening day starters(presumably higher k rates) having 2 starts already and the 4th and 5th starters only having 1 start.
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| | | 21 | Evan
ID: 29181714
Thu, Apr 17, 2014, 14:46
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I am 1st in wins and last in ERA. Show's what a small sample will do for you.
I'm due for a huge correction.
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| | | 22 | holt
ID: 38338181
Sat, Apr 19, 2014, 01:52
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At east 3 terrible hitting days in a row. How can this many bats all go dead all at once? Pick it up boys!
By the way, I wouldn't mind making a deal for 3B. If anyone has depth there (doubtful), let's talk trade.
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| | | 23 | holt
ID: 38338181
Mon, May 12, 2014, 02:27
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Just curious if anyone is needing a catcher. I've got Rosario and Mesaraco coming back from the DL soon and Norris who is mashing the ball. I don't forsee cutting any of them. Infield or pitcher would interest me the most.
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| | | 24 | Guru
ID: 330592710
Mon, May 12, 2014, 10:55
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Crazy day. My hitters slug .282 on Sunday. My pitchers have an ERA of 10.29 and a WHIP of 2.14.
But I gain three ranking points in total (96->99), moving up from 7th place to 5th.
Go figure.
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| | | 25 | Seattle Zen
ID: 3310162612
Mon, May 12, 2014, 17:10
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Two of the guys I was most disappointed in missing - Daniel Nava, and Brandon Belt - has sucked and gotten hurt, respectively. There are plenty of "be careful of what you wish for": cliches every season.
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| | | 26 | jdrenbarger
Dude
ID: 04035768
Tue, May 13, 2014, 18:57
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I've got seven guys on my roster - six active - hitting cleanup tonight ... don't believe that's ever been the case for me in any league I've ever been in.
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| | | 27 | jdrenbarger
Dude
ID: 04035768
Wed, May 14, 2014, 07:25
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... and my six active cleanup hitters went 2-27, 1 R, 1 RBI, 0 BB. They'll hopefully be moved around in the order from now on ...
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| | | 28 | JeffG
ID: 2654157
Fri, May 16, 2014, 16:25
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Remember that 'win versus quality start' debate.
With Jeff Samardzija on my team, should have voted QS.
Including today's performance he has
8 Starts
8 Quality Starts
0 Wins (He'll be 0-4 after today if the Cubs do not come back)
Not complaining however with his 1.62 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 51Ks (in 61 innings) through today.
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| | | 29 | mjd
Dude
ID: 501381415
Sun, May 18, 2014, 14:49
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PTI for a question.
Which roster option are you guys playing on ESPN?
1. All players lock at the first game of the day
or
2. Each individual player locks when his game starts.
The Yahoo leagues are playing the latter, yes?
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| | | 30 | holt
ID: 38338181
Sun, May 18, 2014, 14:50
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We use #1.
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| | | 31 | Guru
ID: 330592710
Sun, May 18, 2014, 15:16
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Nope, we use #2. The only thing that locks at the first game of the day is the ability to make same-day add/drop transactions.
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| | | 32 | mjd
Dude
ID: 501381415
Sun, May 18, 2014, 16:02
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The ability to make further same day transactions was really my question, so you're both right.
I should have been clearer.
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| | | 33 | holt
ID: 38338181
Sun, May 18, 2014, 16:12
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Yeah I read that wrong. If you want to pick up a player to fill a spot that day, you gotta add him before the first game starts. Once the first game starts, then all adds will be effective for the next day.
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| | | 34 | holt
ID: 38338181
Sun, May 18, 2014, 16:20
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Surely someone could use a good catcher. Wilin Rosario is off the DL today, has a career SLG around .500. Mesoraco is 4/4 today, bringing his average up to .500 now (27/54). Norris has an OPS close to 1.000 in 100 AB. I can't believe no one needs one of these catchers. I could use a CI or an MI. Not looking to fleece anyone. In fact I'd prob discount a C just a tad due to the fact that I have 3 of them.
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| | | 35 | holt
ID: 38338181
Wed, May 21, 2014, 12:53
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My rationale for the Norris/Howard for Craig trade should be pretty clear. I have 2 other catchers so I'm basically "upgrading" from Howard to Craig. Howard is outhitting Craig by a pretty good rate so far but I would guess that Craig will put up the better numbers from here on out. This deal also frees up a roster spot which will help me deal with other roster issues.
Norris and Howard have been great for me and Craig has stunk so far. Hope I didn't shoot myself in the foot. I'm banking on Craig's numbers from the prior 3 years.
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| | | 36 | Seattle Zen
ID: 3310162612
Wed, May 21, 2014, 18:21
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Re 28 - LMAO, Jeff, your Yankees continue to cause you grief :)
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| | | 37 | JeffG
ID: 15859720
Wed, May 21, 2014, 23:17
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Re 36: I'll take a Yankee win over a fantasy stat any day but it did look like he'd get off the schneid today.
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| | | 38 | Seattle Zen
ID: 3310162612
Wed, Jun 04, 2014, 19:26
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I've got arm. lots of arms, multiple high quality arms on the market.
Jordan Zimmerman
Hisahi Iwakuma
Scott Kazmir
Kyle Lohse
Miguel Estrada
I'm looking for a second baseman, steals, or a closer. Willing to trade two. Make me an offer and I know this is unusual around here, I will respond with words.
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| | | 39 | Seattle Zen
ID: 5515911
Mon, Jun 09, 2014, 19:33
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One arm gone, the others still on the market.
Took care of second base. Sure hope Joey Votto returns soon and contributes. Thank you, Adam LaRoche, for your service this season. Will miss Scott Kazmir, having a great year, sold high.
SZ
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| | | 40 | holt
ID: 38338181
Wed, Jun 25, 2014, 17:23
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Can not figure Strasburg out at all. Terrible start today. For as good as his stuff is and as many strikeouts as he gets he sure gives up a lot of hits. At least he's not as bad as Lincecum has been (who incidentally is throwing a no hitter against the terrible Padres at the moment).
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| | | 41 | holt
ID: 38338181
Wed, Jun 25, 2014, 19:24
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Does a no-hitter against the Padres really count?
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| | | 42 | Khahan
ID: 16341313
Wed, Jun 25, 2014, 23:23
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We should call it a 1 hitter. Dont they have a 1 hit handicap?
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| | | 43 | holt
ID: 38338181
Thu, Jun 26, 2014, 00:19
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More like 2 I'd say.
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| | | 44 | WG
ID: 59552022
Sun, Jun 29, 2014, 12:12
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Looking to move an OF (Bruce, Hamilton, Springer, Polanco, Upton) for help elsewhere (MI, CI, power). Anyone interested in discussing a potential deal?
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| | | 45 | holt
ID: 38338181
Tue, Jul 01, 2014, 03:07
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I don't know if I have what it takes to get a deal done but take a look. I could use a small SB boost. Probably not a Hamiltonian boost.
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| | | 46 | mailedfoot
ID: 128391010
Thu, Jul 03, 2014, 08:01
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I have OF - CI available; looking for help at MI - SP
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| | | 47 | holt
ID: 38338181
Thu, Jul 10, 2014, 13:39
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I'm about to be overloaded at OFwith CarGo & Crawford returning this week. Also, it's looking like Dickerson/Blackmon/CarGo will be the starting 3 in Colo now. Need to move at least one OF for a pitcher or MI. Don't need CI or C.
Carlos Gonzalez - A Jones - B Gardner - Crawford - C Blackmon - Dickerson - David Peralta - A Craig maybe.
If you don't have time to look at it but you are interested, just let me know and I'll take a look. I just don't want to go looking through all 15 other rosters. Just let me know if you're interested.
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| | | 48 | holt
ID: 38338181
Thu, Jul 10, 2014, 16:58
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Evan - I sent you an email. Let me know if you don't receive it. Thanks!
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| | | 49 | holt
ID: 38338181
Fri, Jul 11, 2014, 16:02
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HOLT traded Brett Gardner, NYY to PEAS
HOLT traded Devin Mesoraco, Cin to PEAS
HOLT traded Luis Valbuena, ChC to PEAS
HOLT traded Corey Dickerson, Col to PEAS
PEAS traded Robinson Cano, Sea to HOLT
PEAS traded Khris Davis, Mil to HOLT
PEAS traded Jenrry Mejia, NYM to HOLT
My original discussion with Evan was A Jones, Mesoraco or Rosario, and Valbuena for Cano, Mejia and another player to fill out the trade. Evan countered with the trade above. I tried removing Gardner and K Davis from the deal but that was DOA. I think the deal makes sense for both of us considering our spots in the various category standings. I had depth at C/OF and his moving Cano allows him to fill out his OF, boost SB's, and most of all, replace Yadier Molina with a top 10 catcher.
My first thought on this deal was that I was getting the raw end of it, but after looking it over, saves have more value in RIBC than other leagues (I have been completely unable to pick up a 3rd closer off the wire), and I was overloaded in OF/C to the point where daily lineup and FA claim decisions were sending me into shock.
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| | | 50 | Evan
ID: 29181714
Mon, Jul 14, 2014, 15:38
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Holt was right on with his analysis of the trade. Losing Molina was a big blow, even though my team was essentially out of the running before the injury.
He probably got the better side of the trade because he got the best player (Cano) and a closer (Mejia). Mejia had no real value to me (I was 15th in saves and wayyyy too far behind to catch up). But I needed a catcher with nothing good on the waiver wire. Gardner helps me almost offset the OBP I lost with Molina and will give me a boost in SB where I can realistically catch up.
Not a trade I wanted to make but a trade I feel I HAD to make.
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| | | 51 | holt
ID: 38338181
Wed, Jul 23, 2014, 23:36
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My team has just been dreadful since the all star break. The whole damn team is hitting like Allen Craig now. Think I've dropped .010 in SLG just since Friday.
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| | | 52 | holt
ID: 38338181
Wed, Jul 23, 2014, 23:41
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Last night and so far tonight, my starting lineup is 14/88 with 1 extra base hit, a double. If my whole lineup was pitchers they'd prob have better numbers than that. I'm gonna start tipping water coolers and tossing equipment on the field soon.
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| | | 53 | holt
ID: 38338181
Thu, Jul 24, 2014, 00:42
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Alright, 2 for 4 with a double and a sb since my last post. Sometimes a manager needs to get ejected to wake up his team.
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| | | 55 | holt
ID: 38338181
Wed, Jul 30, 2014, 14:51
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OOF - was going to get Hammel on my bench today but it was a day game and I screwed it up. 6 runs in 1 IP. Way to go buddy! I'm sure Oakland is really pleased with him.
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| | | 56 | JeffG
ID: 2654157
Mon, Aug 04, 2014, 10:00
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Looking for ELITE pitching and in a deal that would send me two SP. No one (Trout) is off the table.
I have one deal proposed, if it is rejected, I'll be scanning your rosters for alternatives.
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| | | 57 | JeffG
ID: 2654157
Tue, Aug 05, 2014, 14:13
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Trade Accepted
Zen traded Madison Bumgarner, SF to JeffG
Zen traded Hisashi Iwakuma, Sea to JeffG
JeffG traded Mike Trout, LAA to Zen
I'm going for it. I'm trying to win this, not finish top-7. I desparately need pitching numbers, it has really taken a dive, and hope my offense does not take too much of a hit losing Trout.
Lets see what happens.
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| | | 58 | WG
ID: 34021519
Tue, Aug 05, 2014, 20:09
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I've got some pitching to move too and am looking for big bats. Can move any SP I've got because I'm way over in innings. Price for 2 solid bats or 1 big one? Gray? Let me know, thanks.
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| | | 59 | Seattle Zen
Leader
ID: 055343019
Thu, Aug 07, 2014, 11:40
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Holy cow! Just hearing that Mike Trout is joining the squad has given the troops a morale shot in the arm. Vaulted from 12th to fifth nearly overnight!
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| | | 60 | Seattle Zen
Leader
ID: 055343019
Thu, Aug 07, 2014, 13:16
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So, I had plans for writing brief retrospectives at monthly intervals this year and posting them thinking I would like to create an active impression in my first year in the Show. Then I thought that maybe I should wait until the actual halfway point, you know, 81 games into the season to look back and guess the future. Nah, maybe the All-Star game…
Introducing my (hopefully) annual: “It’s August, I’m on vacation and staying home, let’s look at the league so far” essay!
There are times when I look at my squad and wondered WTF happened? Today I am playing Tommy Medica and Brad Boxburger, two players I had never heard of in March. I will investigate the “what” in WTF happened round by round.
First round – Joey Votto. Damn poor pick. Not the worst, that was Prince Fielder, but he is currently ranked 30th amongst first baseman. Objectively, this was not hard to forecast, he got injured last season and when healthy his slugging was poor, leading to low RBI numbers. This season is an amplification of those negative trends. Picking Joey shaped this team in a negative fashion, too. I loved Jose Abreu coming into this season as a sleeper pick and have him on other teams. I correctly predicted that Robbie Cano would do just fine this season, albeit with fewer homers. In RIBC he is the 25th best overall, in traditional 5X5, he’s 35th, I should have taken him.
Second Round – Joey Batts. Damn fine pick, one of my best. 12th rated overall, his walk rate is amazing. But… his ISO and HR rate are the lowest in five years. Here’s what I would like, stay healthy, get hot and increase that homer rate which will knock in a bunch of runs. Evan Longoria is ranked #154, and Shin Soo Choo is much worse, I’m grateful others took them before I had the chance. Yasil Puig rewarded Mmikulka for what I thought was a risky pick. Stanton finally has shown what many thought was his destiny, a damn solid season.
As I write this, I realize there are players who I haven’t heard about since April and I wonder, “hey, what is Dustin Pedroia doing?” Well, other than shopping in the Boys section at JCPenny’s, he looking up at Scooter Gennett longingly on the Player Rater. Hey, Jason Kipnis, you aren’t that much bigger and Scooter is kicking your ass, too. Adam Wainwright was a great pick.
Third Round – David Ortiz. Just got lucky, really. How is that? Well, looking at my rationales, I would have picked up Jay Bruce had he been available. I don’t need to be reminded how utterly putrid Bruce has been, I took him with the second overall pick in a keeper league, thanks!!! I was also “intrigued” by Matt Carpenter and Jose Reyes. Reyes would have been a better pick, but he was gone. Ortiz, if he remains healthy, will be a good pick, but his OPS is disappointing, love those RBI, though.
Much praise for Felix Hernandez, he really is the King. His changeup this year is the best pitch in the majors. The numbers that he and Kershaw are producing remind me of Pedro and Randy back at the turn of the century. Matt Holliday and Eric Hosmer are surprising disappointments. Perhaps the amount of sucking out of Allen Craig was the most surprising. I picked him up off waivers a week ago and I see why Meatwads got tired of him. I like Ian Desmond more than Ben Zobrist coming into this year and here is an example of where my naked eye and the Player Rater differ. Does Desmond’s poor OPS outweigh his 11 steals and 100 run/rbi? Zobrist’s OBP is better, but two fewer steals and only 86 runs/rbis? We see with Jose Fernandez and Jean Segura the start of a horrible year for Jasonprof.
Fourth Round – Lots of busts in this round, so I should be happy with the rather pedestrian output I received from Madison Bumgarner. Josh Donaldson has been great, the 50th pick is the 48th player overall. The following six, not so much… Santana, Mauer, Verlander, Will Myers (I had to put “Will” in front of Myers because five years from now we might not remember his first name) Heyward and Lee. If I had written this earlier, I would have been praising the foresight it took to draft Adrian Gonzalez, but I guess I had not noticed how he has cooled off. Great RBI production, surprisingly bad OPS. And looking deeper into Santana’s stats, he of 85 hits and 80 walks, as a catcher, he only behind Lucroy, okay, I take him off the list. Joe Mauer… as a Twins fan it really pains me to see him doing this in pinstripes with a T and a C on his cap and not an N and a Y. How many millions for a .8 WAR? Chris Sale is one of the reasons Holt is right at the top. You draft Elvis Andrus for steals and runs and Mmikulka got ‘em. You draft Ryan Zimmerman because the Talmud goes on and on about suffering and you feel morally bound to suffer alongside this tsart mentch made of gloz. ;)
Fifth Round – Hunter Pence, a life saver. I said in the rationales that I like the fact that he plays every day, in fact, he is the only player that has played everyday for me, well, so has Kyle Seager, but more on him later. Also in that rationale I said that Mark Trumbo would lead the NL in homers. WTF happened to him? As high as I was on him going into the season, I never managed to get him on a team, thank goodness. Worth has been great, Jennings has not, Chapman has the amazing ability to fuse his skull bones back together and continue to pitch lights out, how did he do it? There goes Jose Abreu. I’m pretty sure I thought to myself that Anthony Rizzo was a reach at #74, I was wrong. BMD should have stuck with his first instinct of Martin Prado. Well, Guru, you said you wanted 400 abs out of Kemp, are you satisfied? With the picks of Matt Adams and Starling Marte, Jasonprof… well, you get the picture.
Sixth Round – This is the year that picking one of the top closers was a really, really good strategy. The first six were all great picks, Joe Nathan stopped that streak. I love Jose Altuve, drafted him in RIBC the last two years, but I would never have guessed he could produce a season like this one, he is the number one player on standard 5X5 player raters! The next four MIs, Bogaerts, A Hill, B Phillips, and that Jerk Jedd, ugh! Yadier Molina and Tanaka-san were cruising along until they got hurt, hell, Tanaka pitched so well in his half season that I consider that pick a win. Congrats to Dead Air All Night for Billy Hamilton, your gamble paid off, though I think most of us imagined that with over 400 PA he would have more than 43 steals, I guess he is getting caught more often than we thought.
Oh, who did I take? Kyle Seager. He started off so bad that I probably would have traded him for a six pack of beer and a bag of chips in April. I was lucky enough to pick up Trevor Plouf off waivers. I sat Seager for 11 games and his OBP for my squad is .355, those 11 games killed him so that his season OBP is .342. Only missed out on 5 RBI. Happy with this pick.
Seventh Round – Jordan Zimmerman. Ah, yes, my first cursing of the fantasy gods came about when Mailedfoot took Brandon Belt. Belt looked pretty good until he was injured, but since he has come back he has been awful. Is he worth targeting next year or is he simply a tease in the Matt Wieters sense?
Zimmerman was a decent pick, about the same as Shields and much better than teammate Gio and Matt Cain. The only other pick I like this round is Daniel Murphy, liked it so much I traded for him later.
Eight and Ninth rounds – Saddam Hussain and Benito Mussolini. I was proud of my two closers I drafted in these rounds, the 15th and 22nd closers off the board. Both Jim Johnson and Grant Balfour stunk. Street, Soriano and Cishek have all performed much, much better. I liked Fernando Rodney in other leagues. Had I gone with Cishek and Rodney rather than my two, I would have 47 more saves, that’s worth nearly 10 points alone. Well, Johnson did manage to give me 3 wins in his 22 horrible innings pitched, making him 7th on my team in wins :0! Closers are a crap shoot and I got that crap, alright. Jonathan Lucroy is having a great season, nice pick. Chase Utley is giving Father Time the middle finger. Coco Crisp is doing what he does, taunts you with exceptional talent, hurts his neck, back, epidermis just being awesome.
Tenth Round – Hisashi Iwakuma. I love it when a plan comes together. Iwakuma is having another outstanding season. He has one of the best WHIPs of any pitcher the last two years. Nine wins and 12 quality starts out of 18. Decent K/9. So I traded him and the Mad Bum for Trout. Well, I have almost always have a plan in leagues with innings pitched caps, grab a bunch of undervalued arms, get a big lead in the four SP categories and then trade those arms for a bat and… profit. Doesn’t always work as I find it difficult to convince teams to give up a decent bat for SPs, but I did it twice this season. The arms taken in this round were hit and miss. Teheran, Fister, Samardzija, Weaver, Hamels and Gray were all solid, Cole, Latos, Cashner, Moore, Shelby Miller, Michael Waca, and especially Danny Salazar were all poor. Best pick of the round so far was Brett Gardner, seriously, WTF?
Eleventh round – Jonathan Villar. Villar is Spanish for “can’t hit”. This round was rather crappy for everyone except John Lester, but he is just a KFC bucket and a six pack of Anchor Steam away from ruining the A’s post season chances, so…
Twelfth Round – A Simmons. His older brother Richard could do more in the batters box with a bat than Andrelton. To think that me, a Twins fan, took him the pick before Brian Dozier, hey, why am I spending hours reliving these awful picks? Damn it, I could have taken Jimmy Rollins and watched him polish his HOF resume. There are some awesome picks in this round – Vmart, Todd Fraiser!, J Cuetto, Dozier, and Jeff’s Morneau and Rendon picks on the turn were stellar.
13th Round – Michael Bourn Identity-less. Where are my STEALS, Michael? Yeah, let’s not take Nelson Cruz. Lots of bad pciks this round, I’m not alone.
14th Round – Adam LaRoche. One of the best picks of this round, traded him high along with Kazmir to get a second baseman in Murphy who I am stating with near certainty will have a great end of the season, damn it! Lance Lynn was a good pick.
15th round – Marco Estrada. Boy, all that upside, such terrible results. Dee Gordon was one of the best picks of the entire draft, who knew? I didn’t have a second baseman, yet. Why didn’t I think of this?The rest of the round was pretty poor, really.
16th Round – Kelly Johnson. Why take Gordon in the 15th when you can land the hidden gem that is Kelly Johnson in the 16th. Thought he would be the Yanks third baseman until Brian Roberts snapped in half, then he would play second the rest of the year. Didn’t happen. Needed to trade for a second baseman, I think that turned out okay. I got a bizarre .286/.483 slash line out of Johnson in the 20 games he played for me and one steal. That’s better than Javier Baez, Kolten Wong, and Dan Uggla but nowhere near as good as Yan Gomes.
17th, 18th, and 19th rounds. Marlon Byrd, Kyle Lohse, and Scott Kazmir. My best stretch and it was nearly even better as I had Michael Brantley queued up until he was taken one pick before Byrd. There are some great picks here and it is no coincidence that the teams at the top of the standings are well represented on that list – Foot with Brantley, Porcello, Holt with E Santana, Corey Dickerson, Guru with Corey Kluber, Smith and 9th with Tyson Ross, BMD with Denard Span.
But that is it for me. The rest of my draft was a bust. I drafted both Jaso and Norris and cut them both because those f’ing A’s would switch them back and forth and neither of them got enough at bats, it was so frustrating. So now I have… an Oakland A at catcher, Steven Vogt.
Waiver Wire – my best bat pick up has been Trevor Plouffe, he has the seventh most Abs on this squad. I would like to think that my best pitching wire pick up is yet to come, I have snagged all of two saves off the wire, piss poor. I would have to say that I am well below average this season in waiver wire acquisitions, am I not paying enough attention? Just unlucky? Not sure.
Last night as I was drafting this, I watched my team have a monster night, flying up from ninth to fifth. That was very exciting. I want to stay in the bigs more than you can imagine, I am hoping that all y’all have your noses stuck in your football cheat sheets giving me just enough breathing space to sneak out a sixth place finish. Good luck for the rest of the season.
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| | | 61 | holt
ID: 38338181
Sat, Aug 09, 2014, 14:30
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Just looking over my draft picks. Overall it looks like a poor draft. Thankfully guys like Abreu, Cueto, and Sale have been so good that they make up for a lot of bad picks. I've also had a lot of helpful FA pickups.
My top 9 picks have been on my roster all season. Only 1 of my next 16 picks has been on my roster all year (Cueto). Granted, I got trade value from guys like Gardner, Howard, Dickerson. But still. only 10 of my original 25 still remain.
1.07 Gonzalez, Carlos
.731 OPS with 3 steals. visits to the DL. Terrible.
2.10 Jones, Adam
He's been pretty much what I expected. A drag on OBP but a top run producer. I'd prob draft someone else here if I could get a re-do.
3.07 39 Strasburg, Stephen
Unbelievable K numbers but way too erratic and not enough wins.
4.10 58 Sale, Chris
Awesome. His stint on the DL was unpleasant though.
5.07 71 Abreu, Jose
Possible RoY & MVP?
6.10 90 Nathan, Joe
Has 24 saves. Even with the shoddy ERA/WHIP, I'll take it.
7.07 103 Robertson, David
Been great. Again, his DL stint was unpleasant.
8.10 122 Rosario, Wilin C COL
Occasionally seems to come to life but overall disappointing. Kind of wish I hadn't traded off both Norris and Mesoraco.
9.07 135 Utley, Chase
No complaints. He's got his hot and cold streaks but that's baseball.
10.10 154 Gardner, Brett
I didn't want to trade him. Of course he turns into Babe Ruth right after. Great player this year.
11.07 167 Veras, Jose
FLUSHHHHH
12.10 186 Cueto, Johnny
Fantasy Gold.
13.07 199 Aybar, Erick
Streaky. Looked like he had stepped up his game earlier in the year but his slumps have dragged him back to his career averages which basically stink. I finally cut him.
14.10 218 Crawford, Carl
Pretty worthless so far. He still has speed, but not much else.
15.07 231 Freese, David
What an incredible drag his 0/4's were. I believe he's picked it up a bit but it's no concern of mine.
16.10 250 Howard, Ryan
Traded him and Norris for A Craig. Pretty irrelevant trade. Craig was terrible for me and I don't think Howard or Norris have been a great help for the Nighty Meatwads.
17.07 263 Santana, Ervin
I got some good starts from him but he went into a pretty bad stretch in mid to late May and I had to bail. Too bad.
18.10 282 Dickerson, Corey
One of my favorite players. Was part of the trade I made for Cano/Mejia. Curious to see where he gets drafted next season.
19.07 295 Mercer, Jordy
He didn't start hitting like I thought he would until June. Long gone from my squad by then.
20.10 314 Nava, Daniel
Thanks for the terrible 16 AB's you had for my team.
21.07 327 LeMahieu, DJ
Same old LeMahieu. Better than some. Worse than most.
22.10 346 Asche, Cody
meh
23.07 359 Almonte, Abraham
starting for the padres now? did not pan out.
24.10 378 Griffin, A.J.
tommy john
25.07 391 Franco, Maikel
never expected him to make the phillies roster.
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| | | 62 | holt
ID: 38338181
Sat, Aug 09, 2014, 14:46
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Forgot to mention my FA adds that have helped to save my ass so far: Blackmon, Chisenhall, Mesoraco, and J Hahn/C Anderson on the pitcher side. Got some helpful innings from Eovaldi & Hammel before they faltered. I've also gotten some help from guys like Valbuena, Gillaspie, David Peralta, Norris.
Cano, K Davis, and Mejia have been good adds from trades. Allen Craig though. Wow.
Running an RIBC team is like being the captain of a sinking ship. Constantly bailing water and plugging holes just to keep from sinking.
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| | | 63 | Evan
ID: 29181714
Wed, Aug 13, 2014, 08:54
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I'm very proud of my recent accent and I owe it all to my trade with Holt.
After losing Molina I knew I had to make some sort of move. Giving up Cano hurt, but I seemed to have grabbed Gardner and Mosoraco at the right time.
I think I hit rock bottom (16th place) a little past the first month and have now ascended to 4th. In reality, I was lucky to hit 9th or 10th. Let's hope I can maintain this position!
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| | | 64 | holt
ID: 38338181
Fri, Aug 29, 2014, 17:21
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Mailedfoot, I'd like to be wrong but I think you've got this one. Early congratulations. My team hasn't shown much indication of kicking into a higher gear, and your team won't stop hitting.
Looks like about 9 teams are competing for 4th-7th place. Pretty tight. Just 11 points separating those 9 teams. Glad I'm not a part of that! Hell, the way my team is going I may end up in that mess yet. 4 weeks to go.
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| | | 65 | mailedfoot
ID: 531322718
Sat, Aug 30, 2014, 07:05
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While I appreciate the sentiment, there's still a long way to go.
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| | | 66 | holt
ID: 38338181
Thu, Sep 11, 2014, 10:15
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Something weird going on with ESPN. I just added a player for use in today's games. Got this:
Your league uses a roster locktime setting of Daily - Lock at First Game of Day. Player adds and drops will be reflected on your roster for Sep 12.
It's only 9 am. No games have started yet.
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| | | 67 | holt
ID: 38338181
Thu, Sep 11, 2014, 10:18
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I see Doug added Willingham just 20 minutes earlier and Willingham is in his lineup today. Guess I need to try to navigate their website and message them.
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| | | 68 | Toral
ID: 3817119
Thu, Sep 11, 2014, 10:20
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They have the Cleveland game as starting (having started?) at 12:00 AM.
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| | | 69 | holt
ID: 38338181
Thu, Sep 11, 2014, 10:23
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Yeah just saw that.
Lonnie Chisenhall, Cle 3B, 1B, DH
Min
Min
12:05 PM (Gibson)
12:00 AM (Nolasco)
The 12 am start time has jacked everything up. And all the CLE/MIN guys are locked.
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| | | 70 | kdl212
ID: 231211918
Thu, Sep 11, 2014, 11:41
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If I can't add Omar Infante and get full credit for his 0-4 today with a walk, I'm playing the rest of the season under protest.
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| | | 71 | holt
ID: 38338181
Thu, Sep 11, 2014, 12:19
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It's pretty lame that they didn't get it fixed before the Cleveland game started. Too late now. I saw some people in the ESPN forum freaking out because they are in head to head leagues where the playoffs have started. Really, don't they have at least one person on duty who monitors this stuff?
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| | | 72 | beastiemiked
ID: 5911312710
Wed, Sep 17, 2014, 21:53
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So who is given a birth to next year's RIBC? I saw last year it was top 6 + Guru(so 7 teams from last year). What happens if Guru is in the top 6?
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| | | 73 | JeffG
ID: 2654157
Thu, Sep 18, 2014, 14:07
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If Guru finishes in the top-6 then 7 gets the berth I beleive.
A couple of weeks left. Looks like we have a few pennant races of our own. We have a nice little battle for the top spot, and for the "top-6 + Guru"
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| | | 74 | blue hen
ID: 4739168
Thu, Sep 18, 2014, 16:54
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AAA PCL has a pretty good four team race for third place going on. And some idiot hen ran out of innings in early September, so Verlander, Weaver, Jansen, and others were all distributed among the rest of the league.
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| | | 75 | holt
ID: 38338181
Thu, Sep 18, 2014, 17:59
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Yeah Guru finished 4th last year so 7th place should qualify for next season. The number of teams that have been in the running for 7th place has been pretty crazy. Still seeing teams lose or gain more than 3 points in a single day.
I managed to climb into 1st place briefly a few days ago but I'm still expecting to finish second. I'm doing whatever I can to grab 1st but every day I look at the standings and Mailed Foot's stupid team has had another good day. Just slump for a few days man.
I've also been monitoring Jasonprof's climb out of the cellar. He's had a lot of bad breaks this season but has kept clawing all the way and I like that a lot. JKaye has been MIA for two months and Ma Reeb still has Brian Roberts in his lineup and trails the league leader by about 1,500 at bats, so I'm not sure what's going on there.
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| | | 76 | Seattle Zen
ID: 576301411
Sun, Sep 28, 2014, 18:38
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I think my entire season was encapsulated in this one fact today - I missed The Jordan Zimmerman's no hitter because I ran out of innings yesterday.
FMSeason!!!!
Judy, keep a seat warm for me, see you in 2015.
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| | | 77 | JeffG
ID: 15859720
Sun, Sep 28, 2014, 20:09
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What a close finish! Looks like when all the tallying is official MailedFoot will hold off Holt's late surge by 1.5 points. Great season and congrats Foot! I'll post my recap later but thank you everyone for a fun season. Only 6 months until the 2015 draft.
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| | | 78 | mailedfoot
ID: 531322718
Sun, Sep 28, 2014, 20:47
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Holt, I salute you!
You've been a relentless pursuer in this little cat and mouse game we've had going on the last few months. More than a few times I thought you had me.
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| | | 79 | holt
ID: 38338181
Mon, Sep 29, 2014, 13:45
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Thanks MailedFoot, you had a great season. Very well done. I rooted against your team since July but of course it did no good. Now we can all kick back and enjoy some post season baseball without thinking about how each at bat impacts our fantasy teams.
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