Skip to main content

Phantasy Island

By
It's January, and for me that means prep time for fantasy baseball. It's true. I really do start running scenarios and draft strategies in my head this early. January is a good time for that. My fantasy football teams have usually recently made an early exit in the playoffs, and my fantasy basketball teams tend to be struggling at this stage. As I've now just traded away my prized power forward, as a desperation move in my salary cap auction hoops league, just about all that will calm my nerves is looking forward to fantasy baseball. While the other sports tend to stress me out, fantasy baseball soothes me. I don't always win, as my uncle will testify to, but I always enjoy it.

My yearly interest increase in the fantasy game coincides with the releases of various fantasy baseball magazines and guides. The Sporting News annual Fantasy Source guide is on news stands, and Phillies phans should be pleased to know that in the Sporting News experts' mock draft, three Phillies were selected in the first eleven picks. Chase Utley was taken 6th overall, Jimmy Rollins 7th, and Ryan Howard 11th. It is quite odd to see Howard, the league leader in HR and RBI, not in the top 10, but perhaps some of the experts in this draft were voters for the National League MVP award in 2008, since Howard was snubbed there also. Utley is a surprise to go so early, but it seems the news of Ch'Utley's hip surgery broke the day this draft began, so consideration for the injury was not given. J-Roll's drop in numbers in 2008 did not deter one drafter from taking the phormer MVP in the first round. This selecta' is looking for a big rebound year from Rollins.

The Sporting News' first three rounds of selections (top 36 picks) look like this...

1- Hanley Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez, Albert Pujols, David Wright, Matt Holliday, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Grady Sizemore, Jose Reyes, Ryan Braun, Ryan Howard, Josh Hamilton.

2- Miguel Cabrera, Carlos Quentin, Johan Santana, Brandon Phillips, Tim Lincecum, Prince Fielder, Mark Teixeira, Ian Kinsler, Carlos Beltran, Brian McCann, Manny Ramirez, Lance Berkman.

3- CC Sabathia, Jake Peavy, Cole Hamels, Justin Morneau, Alfonso Soriano, Carlos Lee, Josh Beckett, Evan Longoria, Brandon Webb, Dustin Pedroia, Jonathan Papelbon, Roy Halladay.

Other Phillies worth mentioning in this mock draft's top 100...Shane Victorino 67th overall, Brad Lidge 77th overall, Raul Ibanez 99th overall. Lou Marson is also in the Sporting News Bible as the #21 top prospect. They think Marson has a serious shot to win the everyday catcher job by the end of 2009. Carlos Carrasco is also on the prospect list at #37.
If any of you readers out there who don't already play against me in a fantasy league would like to step up, make sure you drop a comment on this post. CHAL-ONJ!
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Lidge Shaky, T-Mac Honored in Trenton

By
TRENTON, NJ- Brad Lidge made his second rehab appearance for the Double A Reading Phillies on Thursday night and it didn't go as well as the veteran reliever or the team had hoped. Lidge struggled with his command and turned in a rather poor outing for the club that entered the night in a playoff race, 1 game behind division rival Trenton for the Wild Card spot in the Eastern Division. On the disabled list since spring training with a strained right rotator cuff, Lidge experienced an elbow strain when he was working back from that issue in late May. In his outing against the Yankees affiliate in Trenton, Lidge displayed difficulty with his control as he threw three wild pitches, hit two batters, walked another and gave up a single, all while letting up two earned runs on 28 pitches in 2/3 of an inning. After the disappointing performance, Lidge was composed and focused on some positive aspects, having reached 89 and 90 MPH on scouts' radar guns, according to some reports. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

A Letter to This Guy

By
Dear Cardinals fan, When a homerun ball is hit in your direction, do not close your eyes and raise both hands far above your head, leaving your face/chest/neck/head defenseless. Jayson Werth long balls to the cranium are probably not very comfortable. Next time, let the guy in the pajama pants behind you take a crack at it. He may not know how to dress well, but he keeps his eyes open in the face of killer shots from World Champion outfielders. Love, PhoulBallz.com PS- Stay hot.
3 comments
Read more

Kendrick & LaGrossa- Second Phils/Survivor Marriage

By
On Saturday, Phillies pitcher Kyle Kendrick married 3-time Survivor contestant and former Flyers employee Stephenie LaGrossa. The couple exchanged vows in front of 105 guests at the Silverado Resort in Napa, California. Their special day featured many personalized aspects, including cocktail hour snacks modeled in the fashion of mini Philly cheesesteaks, as well as the couple's two dogs, Bebe and Champ, serving as flower girl and ring bearer during the ceremony. The pets wore a white dress and a tuxedo, respectively. Kendrick is now the second Phillies pitcher to marry a former contestant of the CBS reality competition program, as lefty Cole Hamels wedded Heidi Strobel, who appeared on the sixth season of Survivor, in 2007. _________________________________________________________________ Be sure to follow PhoulBallz.com on Twitter, for updates, stats and info, by clicking HERE . Photos- People.com
Post a Comment
Read more