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TCB Fantasy League Draft: Who Goes First?

by David Coleman on Mar 17, 2010 1:00 PM CDT in Editorials Comment 9 comments

More photos » Charlie Riedel - AP

Where does Carlos get drafted?

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We are five days away from the TCB Fantasy draft, so let's have an open thread to talk about where guys should be drafted. With a 16-team league, this is going to be one of the deeper drafts that I've hosted, so where should guys like Roy Oswalt and Lance Berkman go?

For that matter, who goes in the first round? As a reminder, our point system does reward defense. Does that push Hanley Ramirez up to the top? Or is Albert Pujols still the unquestioned No. 1?

The other interesting thing about this league is that there are no rate stats. It's purely based on counting stats. Should that change the draft boards?

As a reference, here's the top 10 for our scoring system that was provided by CBSSports.com

All Players Projections MLB Our League Stats
Player	Team	1B	2B	3B	HR	BB	CSC	DPT	E	HP	KO	OFAST	RBI	R	SB-CS	FPTS
Pujols, Albert	Free Agent	102	40	0	43	105	0	0	0	0	60	0	127	110	6	672.0
Fielder, Prince	Free Agent	91	35	4	45	105	0	0	0	0	131	0	120	105	1	618.5
Howard, Ryan	Free Agent	87	35	2	46	94	0	0	0	0	189	0	144	105	0	595.5
Rodriguez, Alex	Free Agent	98	30	0	40	85	0	0	0	0	120	0	125	110	12	590.0
Teixeira, Mark	Free Agent	100	40	2	38	75	0	0	0	0	114	0	125	105	2	588.0
Gonzalez, Adrian	Free Agent	94	35	0	39	115	0	0	0	0	129	0	110	104	1	585.5
Braun, Ryan	Free Agent	109	40	7	37	55	0	0	0	0	131	0	115	110	12	584.5
Utley, Chase	Free Agent	100	40	0	30	80	0	0	0	0	102	0	107	117	20	573.0
Mauer, Joe	Free Agent	132	30	0	30	82	0	0	0	0	62	0	100	100	4	567.0
Cabrera, Miguel	Free Agent	118	38	0	35	72	0	0	0	0	121	0	115	100	2	562.5

This projection system doesn't include any of the fielding stats or HBP. As a comparison, here's the top 10 pitchers (while HBP and holds aren't projected).

All Players Projections MLB Our League Stats
Player	Team	BBI	W	L	K	HA	HB	HD	INN	K	L	S	FPTS
Lincecum, Tim	Free Agent	65	17	6	260	170	0	0	225.0	260	6	0	587.0
Sabathia, CC	Free Agent	65	21	7	201	204	0	0	229.0	201	7	0	544.5
Verlander, Justin	Free Agent	60	17	9	251	209	0	0	230.0	251	9	0	528.5
Halladay, Roy	Free Agent	35	17	9	200	222	0	0	230.0	200	9	0	527.0
Hernandez, Felix	Free Agent	70	18	8	220	215	0	0	230.0	220	8	0	524.0
Wainwright, Adam	Free Agent	67	18	8	200	215	0	0	225.0	200	8	0	500.0
Haren, Dan	Free Agent	42	14	8	201	201	0	0	220.0	201	8	0	494.5
Greinke, Zack	Free Agent	55	14	10	230	205	0	0	220.0	230	10	0	490.0
Lester, Jon	Free Agent	65	16	6	220	200	0	0	215.0	220	6	0	490.0
Beckett, Josh	Free Agent	55	18	8	205	201	0	0	215.0	205	8	0	487.5

We also need to come up with a good way to select draft position. I'm not averse to picking out of a hat, but if someone has a more creative idea, I'm all for it.

Oh, and here's a look at the divisions and team names so far. Some of the teams are still "Team 11," but we've got some creative entries so far.

If you haven't signed up for your league yet and are looking for a site to host it, the Commissioner League is 50 percent off for SBNation users. Just follow this link to get the discount. As an added bonus, any SBNation user who signs up for a league will get a free TCB t-shirt for the league champion. Pretty sweet, huh? We can also run your league standings in our monthly update post during the season and you can keep us updated on how things are going with FanPosts. Reason enough to sign up, right?

CBSSports.com is an SB Nation partner and paying sponsor of the SB Nation baseball communities.
This post is one of a series of sponsor endorsed posts related to the CBSSports.com Fantasy Baseball
Commissioner League.

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ST Game No. 13: Houston Astros vs. Washington Nationals

by David Coleman on Mar 17, 2010 12:00 PM CDT in Events Comment 74 comments

Grapefruit League record (thought meaningless): 6-6

Today's starters: LHP Wandy Rodriguez vs. RHP Jason Marquis

Other pitchers scheduled for today are Tim Byrdak, Gustavo Chacin, Roy Corcoran and Wilton Lopez.

Lineups for today, courtesy of Zach Levine's Twitter:

1) Michael Bourn, CF

2) Kazuo Matsui, 2B

3) Hunter Pence, RF

4) Carlos Lee, LF

5) Chris Shelton, 1B

6) Chris Johnson, 3B

7) Tommy Manzella, SS

8) Humberto Quintero, C

9) Wandy Rodriguez, P

Listen to the game here. If you are in the Houston area, you can listen to the game on 790 KBME.

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Astros Spring Notebook

by David Coleman on Mar 17, 2010 6:00 AM CDT in Editorials Comment 37 comments

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

UPDATE: The Astros cut 12 players from camp Wednesday, reassigning Fernando Abad, Brian Bogusevic, Evan Englebrook, Chia-jen Lo, Matt Nevarez, Yordany Ramirez, Lou Santangelo, Wladimir Sutil, Polin Trinidad, Jose G Valdez and Henry Villar to minor league camp. The team also gave Alex Romero his unconditional release, meaning he becomes a free agent immediately. Any surprises here?

Let's lead this off with another note from Morgan Ensberg's excellent blog. In this one, he responds to a user's question about whether he used steroids with a very well-thought out and insightful answer.

The only thing I saw in the clubhouse was "greenies" which I have done about 10 times. Greenies are basically "uppers" and they didn’t do anything to me. I am not sure if that is a good thing.

I drink a ton of coffee and would drink something like 2 redbulls before a game if I felt sluggish.

I always use this analogy. In Hermosa Beach, where I grew up, there were a bunch of kids who smoked weed. I was asked if I wanted to smoke, but I said no and that was the end of it.

I eventually smoked in college about 30 times and I liked it. But I noticed that it made me eat a lot and I didn’t need any help in that department.

Back to the point, I didn’t smoke so I wasn’t in "that club". If you are not in the group then you have no idea what guys are doing it. The same thing happened in college with cocaine. I have never done cocaine, but some of my buddies did and I had no idea. I just thought that they were really hyper.

My opinion is this. I can’t fault anyone for doing steroids because they are trying to do everything they can to get to the big leagues. I played in the Dominican and Venezuela and nothing you say will change my opinion on a guy making a decision to feed his family. This isn’t apples and apples.

I don’t even think that those guys who did do steroids pushed me out of the game. I had the ability to play the game at the highest level and that is really cool to me.

It's an interesting analogy made about the pot smokers and the non-users. Extrapolating it out further, doesn't it make sense that guys who were 'in the club' like Jose Canseco would want to paint more people with the same brush stroke? What was the real percentage of users in baseball? My guess is that it was lower than the Mitchell Report would have us believe but higher than they admitted at the time.

Another interesting point is made about Latin American players. How many of these guys have been popped for steroids? Miguel Tejada is the only one I can think of off the top of my head. I know there have been some minor leaguers recently hit with 50-game bans for taking controlled substances, but was there anyone from that late 90's era? Just an interesting point to ponder.

The more major leaguers and former major leaguers we can get to talk about these things, the better. This blog by Ensberg is the one thing baseball fans lack lots of time: first-hand interaction with guys playing the game at its highest level. I can't wait for more posts!

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Tommy Manzella vs. Brendan Ryan

by clack on Mar 16, 2010 1:13 PM CDT Comment 18 comments

More photos » Charlie Riedel - AP

Houston Astros' Tommy Manzella is forced out at second during a spring training baseball game Sunday, March 14, 2010, in Kissimmee, Fla. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

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Let me start off by admitting that I haven't been the most optimistic person about Tommy Manzella, who will be the Astros' starting shortstop. My fear has been that his offense will be very bad in his first year, and that his defense will not be as good as advertised. Manzella is having a nice spring so far. He is hitting and bunting as well as can be expected. I haven't watched a game yet (audio only for me, so far this spring), but based on what I've heard, his defense has looked good.

For a number of reasons that we all know about, spring training performance shouldn't be given a lot of weight. And the sample size at this point of the spring training is ridiculously small. So, I won't lean on Manzella's spring performance to say that he is better than we think. However, in keeping with the optimism that surrounds spring training, I asked myself, "What kind of realistically possible comparable performance would I want from Manzella as a starting shortstop?"

Two of the Astros' rivals in the NL Central, Chicago and St. Louis, have starting shortstops who might be reasonably compared to Manzella. Ryan Theriot of the Cubs and Brendan Ryan of the Cardinals were older minor leaguers with the good defense/weak offense reps whom were handed starting shortstop jobs over the last couple of years. Both have had reasonable success so far. Theriot had a 3.1 WAR season in 08 and a 2.8 WAR season in 09. Ryan had a poor 2008 (0.8 WAR) and a good 2009 (3.1 WAR). CHONE and fans predict Theriot with a 2.2 - 3.1 WAR, and Ryan is projected at 2.7 - 2.8 WAR. Looking at their stats, I view Manzella as more similar to Brendan Ryan than Theriot. Theriot profiles as a player with better plate discipline, a better walk rate, and better OBP than Ryan and Manzella.

Looking into their minor league records, I was surprised at the similarity between Brendan Ryan and Tommy Manzella.

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Astros on MLB Network's 30 in 30

by David Coleman on Mar 16, 2010 1:00 PM CDT in Editorials Comment 17 comments

Here are some tidbits from last night's 30 Clubs in 30 Days:

Mitch Williams claims that if Berkman just had debris cleaned out of his knee, he should be back in no time. In fact, Williams said he had the same procedure when he was with the Astros and was throwing within three days.
Berkman says he's back into baseball activities within a week and a half to two weeks. He downplayed the possibility of starting on Opening Day, saying he'd rather be healthy than rushing back for "one game." Sounds like he might not have even had the surgery if it happened during the season.
It's a good thing too, because I saw on the scroll that Darin Erstad is still unsigned. I just hope Wade doesn't get trigger-happy and call him in if Berkman misses too much time.
Roy Oswalt said the younger guys do come to him for advice, but the real problem is getting "Cudly Budly" to shut up at times. He also said that the important thing about a pitching coach is not to try and change mechanics during games. He said Brad Arnsberg had talked to him about changing a couple things on his hand and glove placement, but they haven't changed anything since then. Sounds like the problem Oswalt may have had with Dewey Robinson was messing with his delivery during the game.
Roy said Wandy has the best curveball in the majors. He even said, "guys sit on his curve and still can't hit it." Surprisingly, he didn't mention any of Brian Moehler's pitches in the same glowing terms.
Both John Hart and Roy said the biggest concern with Bud Norris is his control. Roy mentioned his problems are keeping the ball down in the zone while Hart and Williams both commented that Norris has top-of-the-rotation stuff if his control is good.
The studio guys have been talking a lot about Myers as a reliever. Williams said Myers is in Houston because Wade is a "loyal guy." He also said Myers has "different gears" when on the mound and implied that he might take some effort off at times when he's starting.
Terms used to describe Manzella "not good range," "steady," "fundamentally sound." Why does that not conjure up images of Ozzie Smith? Williams did make the point that he's got to be an improvement over Miguel Tejada, who "was a third baseman by the middle of last season." That made me chuckle.
Also funny: Carlos Lee hitting like Ichiro in batting practice. Because, you know, he can beat out so many infield hits.
The talk about the minor leagues was predictable and what we've heard before. Top ten of note: Jay Austin, Jason Castro, Collin DeLome, Jon Gaston, Chris Johnson, Chia-jen Lo, Jordan Lyles, Tommy Manzella, Jio MIer, Ross Seaton. Hart liked Mier best, saying he's got the best upside in the system. Hart also went out on a limb and said Jason Castro could make an impact this season.
The homegrown all-time team? Craig Biggio at catcher, Ken Caminiti at third, Julio Lugo at short, Joe Morgan at second, Lance Berkman at first, Luis Gonzalez in left, Cesar Cedeno in center, Rusty Staub in right, JR RIchard as a starter, Billy Wagner as reliever. Apparently, Jimmy Wynn wasn't eligible since he came up as Reds property. What do you think of this list?
Hah. Funniest Geoff Blum lines: "Lance who?" while in the cage, "This is the Lance Drill" as he ran to third and then put his hands on his knees to catch his breath. AND HE QUOTED BULL DURHAM! I know I've been down on Blum this offseason, but that's too awesome. Geoff Blum for MVP!
Prime 9 Astros moments: 9) Roger Clemens moves up on strikeout list 8) Craig Biggio gets 3,000th hit 7) MIke Scott's no-hitter clinches NL West 6) Mike Scott strikes out 14 in NLCS 5) Denny Walling sac-fly in 1980 NLCS 4) Jeff Kent home run in 2004 NLCS 3) Chris Burke walk-off in 2005 NLDS (falsely reported as being in 2004) 2) Nolan Ryan throws fifth no-hitter 1) Astros advance to World Series in 2005

Let's end on this. Discuss those moments and anything else from the program.

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ST Games No. 11 & 12: Houston Astros vs. Boston Red Sox and at New York Yankees

by David Coleman on Mar 16, 2010 12:00 PM CDT in Events Comment 19 comments

Grapefruit League Record (essentially meaningless anyways): 5-5

Today's starters: RHP Roy Oswalt vs. LHP Jon Lester; RHP Brian Moehler vs. RHP A.J. Burnett

Per Zach Levine:

Against Boston

1) Michael Bourn, CF

2) Kazuo Matsui, 2B

3) J.R. Towles, C

4) Carlos Lee, LF

5) Chris Johnson, 3B

6) Chris Shelton, 1B

7) Cory Sullivan, RF

8) Humberto Quintero, DH

9) Tommy Manzella, SS

Against New York:

1) Jason Bourgeois, CF

2) Jeff Keppinger, 2B

3) Hunter Pence, RF

4) Geoff Blum, 1B

5) Pedro Feliz, 3B

6) Jason Michaels, LF

7) Jason Castro, C

8) Edwin Maysonet, SS

9) Brian Bogusevic, DH

Farmstros correspondant in Spring Training, Jonathan Fixler is on the roster for the Boston game and could see his first big league action this spring.

Listen to the games here. If you are in the Houston area, listen to the game on 790 KBME.

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Does Denard Span's new contract with Minnesota affect Hunter Pence and the Astros?

by Evan Hochschild on Mar 16, 2010 6:00 AM CDT in Hot Stove Comment 5 comments

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The Astros should take a page out of Minnesota's playbook in dealing with Hunter Pence

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This past Saturday saw the Minnesota Twins make a Minnesota Twins-like move in signing lead off hitter and centerfielder Denard Span to a 5 yr/$16.5 million contract. The details of the contract as you can see (if you clicked on the link) are ridiculous in their reasonableness. The per year salaries increase conservatively, buying out multiple arbitration eligible years for the certainty that goes with a long term contract.

Given that he's only going to be 26 this season, the best is probably yet to come. Even if it doesn't come and 2009 is the high water mark in his career, none of the per season salary values are out of line with what his on field production would be. After playing only part of the 2008 with the Twins, Span broke out in 2009, turning in a 3.9 win season. This deal ends when Span will be the ripe old age of 31. Certainly seems rather low risk/high reward for Minnesota.

Just one year ahead of Span, in terms of ML experience, is Hunter Pence. The Astros chose to go to arbitration with Hunter in lieu of attempting to sign him to a long term contract. He will earn $3.5 million this season after rebounding well in 2009 after a disappointing sophomore slump campaign in 2008.

Of course when a player of similar age and position signs a new contract, I get interested in what the Astros are going to do with Pence. Does Ed Wade wait and see how Hunter does to start the season in 2010 and begin to think beyond the one year increments that has been the approach with not only him but Michael Bourn? At this juncture, with potentially so much payroll coming off the books after this season, I think this is the prudent approach to take.

Perhaps with a player like Span, the Twins see less room for either great improvement or great regression in terms of skills and overall performance. Denard is a high contact rate, high walk guy whose career numbers indicate that he isn't likely to deviate from that trajectory. Defensively Span wasn't all that well thought of in centerfield, which should be interesting this season since Carlos Gomez now plays across the Mississippi River in Wisconsin for Milwaukee. That shouldn't take away from the positives of this contract for the Twins, as they showed faith in a player whose performance in 2009 looks very repeatable in the years going forward.

As for Pence, we know that he will most likely never be a .400 OBP player, but he should make up for this short coming by hitting the ball harder and farther much more than Denard Span. I would tend to believe that with his skill set Hunter offers the Astros much more room for both success and failure (relatively speaking). Without the sort of plate discipline and contact skills as Span, our Right Fielder can fall into greater slumps at the plate, but his power bat can push Pence past Span offensively all things being equal.

2010 hasn't even started for our Astros, but if you'll allow me to look ahead to 2011, you will see a team that looks much different than this season's. The only guarantees to be here (barring trades) among those players currently under multi year contracts are Brandon Lyon, Carlos Lee and Roy Oswalt. Option seasons are available for Brett Myers, Lance Berkman and Geoff Blum, but it's entirely possible that none of those players return...even Lance. Raises will be due to Pence, Bourn and Wandy Rodriguez in some form or fashion, whether it be via arbitration or a longer term contract. The Astros will have payroll flexibility, something that has not been the case since before the Clemens/Kent/Pettitte years. If Hunter Pence performs as well as we think he can, it will be exciting to see if the Astros heed the lessons learned from Denard Span's new contract with Minnesota.

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TCB Players of the Week and Astros Stock Watch

by David Coleman on Mar 15, 2010 4:07 PM CDT in Editorials Comment 5 comments

Former President George H.W. Bush tips his hat for a photo as he watches a spring training baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Houston Astros Sunday, March 14, 2010 in Kissimmee, Fla. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

More photos » Charlie Riedel - AP

3 days ago: Former President George H.W. Bush tips his hat for a photo as he watches a spring training baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Houston Astros Sunday, March 14, 2010 in Kissimmee, Fla. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

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That's right, TCB's (soon to be sponsored) Players of the Week is back. Who are this week's honorees?

Hitter of the Week: 3B Pedro Feliz - Continuing a hot streak, Feliz was 7 for 13 last week with three runs scored, two RBIs, three strikeouts, two doubles and a home run. His slash line of .538/.538/.923 helped him to a team-high 6.46 runs created, a .667 BABiP and a .618 wOBA. He, like many of the Astros this spring, hasn't walked much at all. In fact, Feliz doesn't have a walk yet in 21 at-bats. However, his defense has been sparkling. If he can keep hitting with a little average and keeps his average up around .260, he'll do very nicely in the sixth hole.

Pitcher of the Week: RHP Matt Lindstrom - Two scoreless appearances this week saw Lindstrom throw three perfect innings with two strikeouts. He also had a 2/5 GO/FO ratio and an FIP of 1.87. Lyon will start throwing in live, though 'controlled,' games Wednesday. Is that too much time for him to unseat Lindstrom as the closer? Evan brought up the salient points about the battle earlier today, but this may become more about time and innings pitched than stuff.

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