The Baseball Chick

The Major League Baseball trade deadline has come and gone and quite a few moves have been made in the last few days that will impact fantasy baseball teams everywhere. I will cover the trades with the greatest fantasy impact, starting with:

• The San Diego Padres traded pitcher Jack Peavy to the Chicago White Sox for lefty starter, Clayton Richard, and 3 other pitching prospects. Jake Peavy is due back sometime in September and could help the White Sox make a playoff push. Clayton Richard becomes an intriguing fantasy starter in NL-only and deeper mixed leagues with this move to the spacious Petco Park.
• The Cleveland Indians traded slugging catcher/first baseman Victor Martinez to the Boston Red Sox for major league ready pitcher Justin Masterson, promising lefty Nick Hagadone, and one other prospect. The move should not impact Martinez’s fantasy value and Masterson could find his way into the Cleveland rotation very soon. Mike Lowell will probably be the biggest loser in this deal as he stands to lose some playing time.
• The Red Sox made another move, sending recently acquired first baseman Adam LaRoche to the Atlanta Braves for first baseman Casey Kotchman. LaRoche’s fantasy value should increase as he will be the Braves’ everyday first baseman. Kotchman’s value will remain largely unchanged, but Boston seems like the winner here as Kotchman is 3 years younger and has slightly better career averages.
• The Cincinatti Reds sent 3 players, including third baseman Edwin Encarnacion, to the Toronto Blue Jays for veteran third baseman Scott Rolen. Encarnacion has the potential to deliver decent offensive numbers, but the Blue Jays will suffer a large drop in defense. If Rolen’s recent power surge is not a fluke, then he will love playing at Great American Ballpark and becomes a must-add in all NL-only leagues.
• The Los Angeles Dodgers picked up lefty reliever George Sherrill from the Baltimore Orioles for prospects. This move greatly improves the Dodgers’ tired bullpen, but greatly reduces any fantasy value Sherrill had as a closer, unless your league counts holds. Early reports are saying that Jim Johnson will get first shot at closing duties in Baltimore, as was predicted by The Baseball Chick a few days ago in the Fantasy Sports Corner.
• The Detroit Tigers traded prospects to the Seattle Mariners for left-handed starter Jarrod Washburn. Washburn may see an increase in his ERA and WHIP since he was aided by a superior Mariners outfield, but he should still be a reliable fantasy starter. The Detroit Tigers now have 3 of the top 7 starting ERAs in baseball in their rotation.
• The Oakland A’s, always active at the trade deadline, dealt second baseman Orlando Cabrera to the Minnesota Twins for a prospect.  Cabrera will immediately bat second and should prove to be a nice upgrade over Nick Punto and Brendan Harriss.  The veteran should get a nice boost in runs scored batting in front of Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau.
• Surprising buyers at the deadline, with a pair of moves, the San Francisco Giants picked up former batting champ and second baseman Freddy Sanchez from the Pittsburgh Pirates for promising pitching prospect Timothy Alderson.  The Giants also added Ryan Garko, courtesy the Cleveland Indians, to replace struggling first baseman Travis Ishikawa.  Garko should see a little more playing time in San Fran and Ishikawa could lose all of his fantasy value.  Sanchez’s value should remain about the same.
• The Chicago Cubs picked up lefty set-up man John Grabow and starter Tom Gorzelanny from the Pittsburgh Pirates for starting pitcher Kevin Hart and 2 other prospects.  Grabow will help to set-up Kevin Gregg in Chicago, leaving his fantasy value largely unchanged.  It appears Matt Capps will stay the Pirates closer for the remainder of this season.
• Finally, the Florida Marlins picked up first baseman Nick Johnson from the Washington Nationals for a prospect.  Johnson’s value may take a hit in Florida unless they decide to bench Emilio Bonafacio and move Jorge Cantu to third base, opening up regular playing time for Johnson at first.

Not only does your baseball team blow, but apparently your entire town sucks a big fat one.  Not that it’s a big surprise…

Hey, it could be worse…at least your superstar basketball player isn’t counting the days till he moves to New York…oh wait…

(Source: stltoday.com)

Colby Rasmus has been trying to grow a mustache since the end of June and this is how far he’s gotten.  It’s disturbing to me.  It looks like he was napping before the game and someone rubbed poop on the corners of his mouth as a joke and he went out to play without looking in the mirror, and hasn’t looked in 4 weeks.

But the good news is we know he isn’t roiding up.  Everyone knows that high testosterone levels will cause excessive body hair growth.  It’s sad, because you know he’s thinking, “Sweet, I’m a pro baseball player now and I’m going to get laid!”  Then his a-hole teammates decided to screw him over by making him grow the most ridiculous facial hair since Dustin Hermanson.

In fantasy baseball and fantasy sports, trades are a fast way to improve your team, but they can also be difficult to pull off.  The Fantasy Sports Corner at thebaseballchick.com is here to help.  The following are 5 tips that will allow you to complete the fantasy trades that could be the difference between a long, disappointing off-season and a fantasy league title.

• Know Your League

The best way to get a trade accepted is to know the people in your league.  Most of us are in leagues with friends and coworkers and chances are this is not the first season.  If this is the case, then you know your competitor’s favorite teams and players and also their usual fantasy sports strategy.  Use this to your advantage.  If Chad Billingsley is struggling but you have a Dodgers fan in your league, why not make him an offer? 

• Know Their Needs

Before making an offer, take a good look at the detailed league standings.  If you need stolen bases, don’t make an offer to another team that also needs stolen bases, it’s never gonna happen.  Need for need trades are the most likely to be accepted.

• Do Not Low-Ball

It is always a good idea to try to get a little more than you are giving, but if you offer too little you may anger the other manager.  This goes hand-in-hand with knowing your league.  Some managers will be fine if you come in too low with the first offer, they know you are just starting a conversation.  However, there are some managers that will just refuse to even listen if they feel they are being low-balled (although I’ve found that if you make a good enough offer, even someone that has said they won’t deal with you will at least take a look).

• Pay Attention To Counter-Offers

Counter-offers are a great way to see what players of yours the other manager is high on.  Once you know this, you can use those players to get the ones you want from their team.

• Timing

The majority of trades are all about timing, so always be ready to pounce.  A team lower in the standings may lose a big name player to the 15-day DL and cannot afford to go 2 weeks without the stats.  If you are in a position to wait, you should immediately try to get the big name at a discount.  If you are in a keeper league and you see a team that seems about ready to throw in the towel and start rebuilding for next season, then you want to be the first one to make an offer for the free agents and big contract players.

Today, Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi informed the media that the likelihood of a deal for Roy Halladay was “very slim.”  According to Ricciardi:

“We’ve said that we would listen, but that we would have to be motivated and wowed.  Right now we haven’t been.  I’ve said all along my gut tells me I won’t be.  I still stand by that.”

Earlier today, it was reported that the Blue Jays rejected the Phillies’ trade offer of J.A. Happ, Michael Taylor, Carlos Carrasco and Jason Donald.  The Jays apparently want the promising pitcher Kyle Drabek to be part of the deal.

It sounds like a lot of people are getting “sticker shock” regarding the Jays high asking price for Halladay.  But this isn’t my first rodeo and I think 1) the statement was all posturing by Ricciardi and 2) some team is going to realize that a healthy Halladay could mean the difference between going to the playoffs or spending October at home.  That team will eventually offer up the goods.  He should definitely miss those awesome baby blue uniforms though…

Well, I give it 4 weeks until he’s dealt to a real team.  I mean, let’s face it, the Pirates have turned themselves into simply another farm team for major league baseball teams.

Well besides the fact that he likes ponies and long walks on the beach, he was drafted in the 14th round by the Atlanta Braves all the way back in 1999.  After being released by the Braves, he spent the last 3 years with the Twins’ AAA affiliate.  Jones was signed by the Pirates after last season, didn’t make the opening day roster and was called up on June 30th.  He batted .307 at AAA Indianapolis with 12 HRs and 49 RBIs in 72 games.

Since then?  He’s already hit 10 homeruns, his OBP is .402, his average is .350, his OPS is 1.227 and he is slugging .825.  Additionally, he has 3 stolen bases.

The major question is whether this guy is the real deal.  After all, he’s already 28, which is a bit old for the typical promising major leaguer to make it up to the show.  It’s also a shame that he’s so freaking ugly.