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August 31, 2005
Fantasy Focus Baseball - Week 27
Running a little behind schedule, but here is baseball Fantasy Focus for week 27...
Fantasy Focus Week 27…
Hello again everybody and welcome to Baseball Fantasy Focus were we dissect the world of Fantasy Baseball like a 10th grade biology students dissects his first frog. I'm Bill Powers flying solo with Chris Adams out of town. This week, we will check the gmail bag, tour the majors for trades, deals and injuries. We'll check out the studs and duds of the week…Then wrap everything up with the Pit Bull Hot Sauce Enfuego Player of the Week.
Once again, we ask that you visit fantasyfocuspodcast.com to fill out an informal survery. Just click on the Pit Bull Hot Sauce Icon. We'll then enter you for a special Pit Bull Hot Sauce Prize Pack. We will be announcing the winner in next weeks show. Also While on the website, check out Triple F Fantasy Focus Football where Darren Porterhouse DiPrima check out the world of Fantasy Football. Right now, were getting you ready for your fantasy drafts, but once the season starts we'll dissect the previous weeks action and get you ready for the following weeks games so you can dominate your league and win the Superbowl.
Well we only have about 5 more weeks of baseball action as were now officially in the dog days of summer. If your playing in head to head leagues, you only have one more week until your playoffs begin and the cash will hopefully start flowing for your team. I know I'm get geeked up for my leagues playoffs where right now I sit in second place in my American League Only head to head league which Chris Adams is also a part of…Last weekend, I blew any chance of winning first place overall with a pitful performance against the fifth place team losing 7 – 2…If I could have a least tied the other team, I would be in contention. So now sitting 13.5 games out of first and two games ahead of the third place team, I battle to insure that I at the very least get a bye in the first round of the playoffs. Now Chris has really come for way back in the standings and now sits in fourth place with a chance for third. He has not pitching, but he continues to do well.
Now my 5x5 mixed league has been a major disappointment all season long. I have only made it as high as 5 th place and now sit in sixth. Damn you Jim Thome, Mike Lowell and Victor Martinez. This league has been a front and center case of how two or three bad picks can kill your team. Martinez has picked it up and has been on fire since just before the allstar break, but Mike Lowell and Jim Thome destroyed my season…I finally dropped Lowell around the break…Maybe just before…But if Lowell and Thome had even respectable first halves, I now sit in the hunt for the championship…But two guys have crippled me…The dude in last place in this league was destroyed before the season even began when two of his three keepers were down…Barry Bonds and Kurt Schilling…So as you start to wind down your season and your deciding on who you might keep, pick wisely…We have already started getting keeper questions…With that in mind, lets take a look at our gmail bag…
Our first questions comes from Sam in Manhattan …
Sam Writes…
Dear Bill and Chris,
Heard that there were some questions about keepers, and
I thought I'd throw my 2 cents in.
First question: I'm sitting dead last in my 14 team
Mixed League, which sucks, but means I have the first
pick for the first four rounds in our draft. We keep 7
guys from year to year. We pick in reverse standing
order for rounds 1-4, then snake from then on to
complete the team.
My pitiful team is as follows (I've made some trades to
improve my 7 keepers)
C Ivan Rodriguez
1b Richie Sexson, Prince Fielder, F Thomas
2b Chase Utley, Mark Grudzielanek, Robinson Cano
3b David Wright
ss Rafael Furcal, Cesar Izturis
of Jason Lane, Alex Rios, B Wilkerson, Damien Jackson,
L Matos, C Monroe
SP Buerhle, D Wells, Hudson, Wakefield, Fossum, J Sosa,
J Mays, Pavano,
RP Gagne, Brazoban
I was thinking of keeping Sexson, Utley, Wright,
Furcal, Buehrle, Gagne, and Hudson.
My pitching has been weak overall, so I traded for
Buehrle.
Would you guys keep anyone different, and why?
I agree with your picks…Unfortunately, you don't have any sure fire awesome talent on your team. But work with what you have already picked…Just be careful with Gagne…You don't know what he will give you when he returns from injury…Although, I am thinking of picking him up and seeing what he has in Spring Training to see if he is back…If he is, I might keep him…
Question #2
Same league setup, another league:
Team right now:
C Lopez
1b Thome, Eldred, Gibbons (1b/of)
2b B Roberts, Loretta
3b Blalock, Cano
ss Tejada, Furcal
of Matsui, S Stewart, Matos, L Walker, Winn
SP D Davis, D Wells, Bedard, K rogers, Moyer, Hudson, L
Hernandez, Jaret Wright.
RP C Cordero, C Reitsma, D Weathers
So right now I was planning on keeping Thome, B
Roberts, Blalock, Tejada, Furcal, Matsui and Hudson.
Anyone you would keep instead, and why?
This team did OK, but Thome and a couple of my power
hitters going down early screwed over my chances.
Also, what do you guys think of B Roberts? Is he
really a 15 hr 30 sb guy, or is the power a blip on his
career?
Thanks as always
Sam
NYC
PS Yanks 2 1/2 out in the AL East and the KC Royals
coming to town. Sweet.
Sam…Do not keep Jim Thome…One, there will be power available in the first and second rounds…If you keep Hudson and Cordero, you have a quality starter and top closer (at least this season)….You have already started off with balance to begin next season…So don't keep Thome…Keep Cordero and draft power with your first pick…If you love Thome so much, trust me, he will be around later in the draft…Brian Roberts is for real…He is not as good as his first half and not as bad as his second…He is somewhere in the middle…But 15 homers in Camden yards with 30 stolen bases are nice numbers to expect. Although the stolen bases will be higher…
Next we go down under and get a gmail from Jaimie down under…
Greetings from Melbourne , Australia! Love the podcast, keep it up.
I have a question for you and Chris. I have to drop an outfielder and
pick up a starting pitcher for the stretch to make sure I use all of
my starts. I have narrowed the outfielder I'm going to drop down to
Moises Alou, Jonny Gomes or Garret Anderson. I can't believe I'm
considering dropping Garret for a Tamba Bay rookie! But, if you look
at the stats, Anderson has almost exactly double the number of at bats
as Gomes. If you double Gomes's stats, they are comfortably better
than Garret's. Alou's stats are comparable to Anderson's but I need
Alou's batting average more than I need Anderson's rbis. Is dropping
Anderson the right thing to do here or is all this winter in August
stuff we get in Australia sending me nuts?
Take care,
Jamie Perry
I never thought I would say drop Anderson for Gomes and a Tampa BaY Devil ray, but do it if you need power…Garret Anderson is struggling with back woes once again…You do not know if this is going to be a recurring thing down the stretch. Plus, if the Angels can get a little cushion down the stretch, he is gonna sit…Gomes is on one of the hottest hitting teams in baseball…Plus18 homers from this kid is nothing to sneeze at…If you were to drop anyone, say goodbye to Garret…
Next we here from Nathan who writes…
Hey there,
Coming up on the playoffs and I'm not sure about my relievers.
Ideally, I'd like to have 3 closers and 2 setup guys, since saves and
holds are both categories in my league. Currently, I have the
following:
Billy Wagner, PHI
Armando Benitez, SF
Dustin Hermanson, CWS
Kyle Farnsworth, ATL
Julian Tavarez, STL
Joe Borowski, Bob Howry, Scott Eyre, and Ron Villone are all available
as free agents. Should I drop one of my guys and pick up one of the
available setup men, or should I sit tight and hope that Farnsworth
and Benitez pick up a hold or two to go along with those that Tavarez
will get?
Thanks for your insight. I really appreciate it!
Nathan
8/27/05
Saturday
The Milwaukee Brewers Placed RHP Ben Sheets on the 15-day disabled list with a torn latissimus dorsi muscle; recalled RHP Justin Lehr from Triple-A Nashville. For Fantasy Owners down the stretch, this is a huge loss…
The Pittsburgh Pirates Placed LHP Zach Duke on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained left ankle and purchased the contract of LHP Paul Maholm from Triple-A Indianapolis. I think this is a blessing in disguise…Once Duke gets more exposure and faces teams for a second time, there going to learn his tendencies…So while he has dominated so far, his luck would have run out…
8/26/05
Friday
The Chicago Cubs Placed INF Aramis Ramirez on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to Aug. 25, with a strained left quadricep and recalled INF Ronny Cedeno from Triple-A Iowa. It will be difficult to find someone to make up for Ramirez's 31 homers and 92 RBI's…Could cause someone a fantasy title this late in the season
The Kansas City Royals Placed RHP Runelvys Hernandez on the 15-day disabled list with a lower back strain. Recalled LHP J.P. Howell from Triple-A Omaha. If your depending on Hernandez, then you already lost your league.
The Milwaukee Brewers Activated Brady Clark from the 15-day disabled list; Optioned RHP Justin Lehr to Triple-A Nashville.
8/25/05
Thursday
The Kansas City Royals Placed INF Donnie Murphy on the 15-day disabled list with a fractured right finger; Purchased the contract of OF Aaron Guiel from Triple-A Omaha; Transferred RHP Steve Stemle to the 60-day disabled list.
The LA Dodgers Placed OF Milton Bradley on the 15-day disabled list with a torn patellar tendon in his left knee and recalled OF Mike Edwards from Triple-A Las Vegas. He was tearing apart this team which is already demoralized…With his injuries this season, he has been a fantasy non-entity…
The Washington Nationals Placed OF Ryan Church on the 15-day disabled list with a right fifth toe fracture. Scrappy little player having a solid season…Hurts the Nationals Wild Card Chances
8/24/05
Wednesday
The Baltimore Orioles Placed RHP Jason Grimsley on 15-day disabled list and optioned 1B Alejandro Freire to Double-A Bowie; Activated B.J. Surhoff from 15-day disabled list and added RHP James Baldwin to roster.
8/23/05
Tuesday
The Atlanta Braves Placed LHP Mike Hampton on the 15-day disabled list with a back injury.
A stong start to the season turns out to be wasted…Hampton has struggled after his initial trip to DL early in the season…
Baltimore Orioles Placed RHP Daniel Cabrera on the 15-day disabled list with a lower back strain, retroactive to Aug. 17, and recalled RHP Chris Ray from Double-A Bowie.
The Boston Red Sox Activated OF Trot Nixon from the 15-day disabled list; Optioned LHP Lenny DiNardo to Triple-A Pawtucket. This could be a huge lift for your fantasy team as well as the Red Sox attempt to hold off the bombers…
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Activated INF Robb Quinlan from the 15-day disabled list.
The New York Mets Activated RHP Steve Trachsel from the 60-day disabled list; designated RHP Danny Graves for assignment. Trachsel will not overwhelm your fantasy stats, but could get you some wins down the stretch
The Washington Nationals Placed RHP Ryan Drese on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to Aug. 19 and recalled RHP Travis Hughes from Triple-A New Orleans.
8/22/05
The Atlanta Braves Activated C Johnny Estrada from the 15-day disabled list and optioned C Brayan Pena to Triple-A Richmond.
The Colorado Rockies Placed OF Larry Bigbie on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to Aug. 21 with a strained right Achilles' tendon; Recalled OF Choo Freeman from Triple-A Colorado Springs.
The LA Dodgers Placed LHP Odalis Perez on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to August 18, with a strained right oblique muscle; Recalled RHP Edwin Jackson from Double-A Jacksonville and optioned RHP Jonathan Broxton to Double-A Jacksonville.
The Pirates Placed INF Jose Castillo on the 15-day disabled list with an injury to his left knee and recalled INF Ty Wigginton from Triple-A Indianapolis.
Time to take a peak of the latest news in MLB…
On Saturday, the New York Yankees made a deal with the Chicago Cubs sending Minor League Pitcher Justin Berg to the windy city for Outfielder Matt Lawton. Lawton was traded to Chicago from the Pittsburgh Pirates at the trading deadline in July. In 19 games with the Cubs, Lawton batted 244 with 1 homer and 5 RBI's… Lawton might be able to give you some cheap homers with the short right field porch at Yankee Stadium…
The Philadelphia Phillies got some outfielder help for the stretch run by picking up outfielder Michael Tucker from the San Francisco Giants for minor league pitcher Kelvin Pichardo. Tucker was hitting 242 with 5 homers and 33 RBI
S in 249 at bats with the Giants this season. He will be a power lefthander coming off the bench for the Phillies as they currently sit in the cat seat for the Wild Card Berth in the National League.
The Cubs are planning to get Pitcher Kerry Woods pitching shoulder under the knife to give him enough time to be ready for the 2006 season. The questions is when to have the surgery. While Wood has been pitching relatively effective out of the bullpen for Chicago, the team wants to give him enough recovery time from arthroscopic surgery to be ready to start next season. For the season, Wood was 3 – 3 with a 4.67 ERA as a starter. Out of the bullpen, he is 0-1 with a 2.45 ERA is 10 appearances…
The Rolling Stones left the Sox Needing Grass. In one of the most ridiculous scheduling snafus, the Rolling Stones played concerts at Fenway Park last week, destroying the outfielder turf. The Sox Grounds crew did three days worth of work in 24 hours to prepare the field for play when the Sox returned home after a westcoast road swing. The game against the Detroit Tigers was pushed back by an hour Friday night, but there was no other problems reported during the course of the game…
As we head down the home stretch, there are tremendous races shaping up. The American Wild Card is excruciatingly close and exciting with Oakland and the Yankees neck and neck with the Indians right on their tail and Minnesota not far behind,,,Both the Yanks and the A's have a chance to win their divisions and face each other in Oakland next weekend which will be a huge series…Then the bombers come home to face Boston the following weekend…After the Yankees next weekend, Oakland faces Texas which is not overly exciting…But Cleveland takes on Minnesota next weekend…Philadelphia takes on Washington…Followed by a series against Florida…The Mets play the Marlins and the Braves in the next two weeks…Atlanta against Washington…This is going to be tremendous baseball match-ups heading down the stretch run…Tons of divisional games which means with the exception of the White Sox, no division champ is guaranteed yet…It will be some exciting baseball..Enjoy it…
Posted by billpowers at 03:30 PM
August 30, 2005
Triple F Football - Week 4 - Tight-Ends, kickers and defense
Your ready for your drafts after today...Tight-Ends, Kickers and defense is covered in this weeks show...Plus the players that did not make the cut and lookin for work...Download the show now...
Football Fantasy Focus…Week 4
Hello again everybody and welcome to The Triple F Football show…That’s Fantasy Focus Football…Where we look into the microscope and have no idea what it is we see, but we are two fat guys who like beer and Football…I’m Bill Powers with Darren Porterhouse Diprima as we get you set for your fantasy draft. So far we covered the Runningbacks in Week 1…Quarterbacks in Week 2…Receivers in Week 3 and we wrap up the rest of the positions in Week 4 with the Tight Ends, Kickers and Defense…
Right off the bat big Diesel, you said in week 1 that Kyle Orten would be the starting quarterback in Chicago by week 6…So your stupid already because he will start in Week 1. Maybe you do know a thing or two about football…
Believe it or not, we actually have a feel for whats happening…Although Kyle Orten should not be on your Fantasy Roster, you heard it hear first that he would be starting in the Windy City sooner rather than later…
We have not even drafted yet Porterhouse and already someone chickened out of our Football League…You big puss…I will use no names, but now I must request everyone elses name…We are doing a Fantasy League with our Fantasy Focus listeners…It’s a 10 team league and one team dropped out. Although we have plenty of people who wanted to partake in the league, we only had room for 8, so I threw away the rest of the emails…Now we need another team…If you want to get your ass handed to you by us, please email us at fantasyfocus@gmail.com. We will then send out invites…Whoever jumps in first, gets the spot…This is not a money league…Just for shits and giggles so if you want to participate, there is one spot up for grabs…Send us an email to fantasyfocus@gmail.com
There is a league that were participating in together against fellow sports podcasters and our draft will be tonite when we finish recording the show…I think the winner of this league should take over the podcasting world, and the losers go home…
Well along with joining our fantasy league, if you have any questions or suggestions, send us a gmail and we will get back to you as soon as possible and then discuss the questions on the show…Just like Nathan who asked…
Hey there,
First time I've ever played in a Fantasy Football League. I'm in an 8
person league with the following point settings:
* Passing Yards (20 yards per point), Passing Touchdowns (6), Interceptions (-3)
* Rushing Attempts (2), Rushing Yds (20 yards per point), Rushing Touchdowns (6)
* Receptions (2), Reception Yards (20 yards per point), Reception Touchdowns (6)
* 2-Point Conversions (2), Fumbles Lost (-2)
I drafted the following team:
QB: Drew Brees, Aaron Brooks
RB: LaDainian Tomlinson, Jamal Lewis, Deuce McAllister
WR: Joe Horn, Michael Clayton, Jerry Porter, Donald Driver
W/R: Kevin Jones
TE: Randy McMichael, Eric Johnson
Bench: QB - Byron Leftwich, RB - Cedric Benson & Kevan Barlow, WR -
Lee Evans, TE - Jim Kleinsasser
Please let me know what you think. I would love to have some guidance
from the two of you!
Thanks!
Nathan
Obviously you did not listen when we said Don't take Aaron
Brooks...Seriously, I would assume that he was taken in the later
rounds...When I look at the rest of your squad, you have in my opinion
four of the top 15 Runningbacks in the league...So not only are you
solid, but you have incredible depth...Maybe you can use one of these
guys to trade up at another position later in the season...
Brees...We'll wait and see what he can do...
Your receivers...
Are solid...Horn is a top 10 guy...I'm high on Porter as well...The
Clayton question is who will throw him the ball...Donald Driver is
good at the three hole...
Randy McMichael is top 5 Tight End...If he hits defenders as much as
his wife...He will be a nice pick...
Think about dealing a back for a quarterback if Brees is not similar
to last year...
Bill and Porterhouse - whats up guys? You got me hooked on the baseball Podcast and now I can't get enough of the Triple F either. My question for you guys is how much would you increase/decrease the Fantasy Value of the top 10 RBs based on my scoring system that rewards players for Receptions. We give .5pts for each reception and scoring is 6pt for TD and 1 point for every 10 total yards (Rush & Rec). Do players like Tiki Barber, Domanick Davis, Brian Westbrook, etc get moved up substantially, a little or not really? I'd like to hear your guys thoughts on this. I am picking 7th out of 14 teams in my draft and was wondering what to do at that spot. I know top 3 will be LT, Alexander and Manning. Here's a thought - do I dare grab a WR over a RB because of the points for Receptions? Thanks for taking the time to answer, I really appreciate it.
Loyal Listener
-Todd
Hello my name is Kyle Craft from Boulder, CO. Thanks to iTunes I now
have your show to get me through the drudgery of my school district
computer repair job. Anyway enough with the chatter and on to the
question. I have recently completed my fantasy draft with the same
friends I play with every year. I have now won 3 years in a row, but
I am worried about this team and feel like I need to make a move
before the season starts if possible. It seems that the idiots I
generally play with have finally decided to play fantasy football
rather than draft their entire favorite team....and let me tell you
how that worked out for Mr. Dallas Cowboys last year. We have 10
teams in our head to head league with:
1 QB
3 WR
2 RB
1 TE
1 K
1 DEF
and 6 Bench
I have:
QB - J. Delhomme
T. Green
WR - N. Burleson
S. Smith
Ji. Smith
Ke. Johnson
RB - E. James
A. Green
L. Jordan
K. Barlow
J. Bettis
TE - J. Wiggins
K - M. Vanderjagt
DEF- Baltimore
Tampa Bay
I don't like my TE and think I can bundle and extra back to get one,
or perhaps a QB with a back to get a better QB, but what I am asking
is who should I go for? What can I realistically expect to get for
things that I could possibly trade. Also on the waiver wire are:
M. Faulk
J. Harrington
D. Carr
K. Warner
K. Robinson
M. Pittman
Are any of these players worth my time?
Thanks for all of your help, I love the show.
-Kyle
There’s a lot of material we need to get into this week so lets get right into News from around the NFL thanks to a little help from Rotoworld.com
Jets signed John Abraham to a one-year, $6.67 million.
The total was the 'franchise' tag figure for defensive ends. The Jets have three quality ends, so they can bring Abraham into the fold slowly
Cedric Benson ended his 36-day holdout and agreed to terms with the Bears on a 5-year contract.
''We are happy this process has reached a conclusion and look forward to moving ahead together,'' Bears GM Jerry Angelo said Sunday. Benson will be worked into the offense slowly, but he should displace Thomas Jones as the team's starter before mid-season.
The Eagles have withdrawn their franchise tender offer to DT Corey Simon, making him an unrestricted free agent.
A truly surprising move. The Eagles have quality tackles four deep, including their first-round pick Mike Patterson, so they just decided to move on. Simon should draw interest around the NFL, although few teams have big salary cap room left. Green Bay and Baltimore are two teams that make sense to us
Willie Parker could be Pittsburgh's week one starter.
We hear it's going to happen. Jerome Bettis had an MRI on his sore calf, and the Steelers aren't talking about his injury. They won't look to rush Bettis back, and are probably curious to see if Parker is the best option on the team. Move him up your draft boards. The Steelers sound likely to hold Duce Staley out until week five.
Packers signed TE Bubba Franks to a seven-year, $28 million contract through 2011.
It's probable that the deal is backloaded, with most of the money at the end of the deal. Franks is a quality starting tight end, but the Packers simply haven't used him often enough in the passing game to make him a good fantasy option. Franks caught two or less passes in 14 games last season.
Tim Rattay will be San Francisco's week one starter, according to coach Mike Nolan.
It's not a choice Nolan expected to make, but Alex Smith's miserable preseason made it pretty easy. Rattay has value in leagues that use two quarterbacks and could make a fine week one play versus the Rams. Still, Smith should still take over mid-season.
Coach Marvin Lewis hinted yesterday that WR Peter Warrick (hamstring, knee) is in danger of being cut by the Bengals.
''Over the next week, we get an opportunity to trim some of the fat and some of the complacency around here,'' Lewis said. ''What you did in '03 or '04 doesn't matter. This is a new year, and the bar has been raised
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the Bears are one of four teams that are interested in RB Maurice Clarett, who is expected to be released today by the Broncos.
The other teams reportedly interested are the 49ers, Eagles and Steelers.
Coach Romeo Crennel is leaning towards using a running back by committee.
''Sometimes in coaching, if you've got three guys to play two spots, that's being definitive,'' Crennel said. It looks like Crennel will have William Green and Reuben Droughns split carries, at least until Lee Suggs is healthy.
Falcons waived WR Peerless Price.
''I hate y'all,'' Price said to an Atlanta Journal-Consitution photographer before heading out of town. The Falcons feel the same: They were wiling to eat $5.7 million on next year's cap to get rid of Price. It's unlikely that any team will put in a claim on his onerous contract. But the Eagles, Giants, Titans, and others should have interest. It can't possibly hurt Price's negative fantasy value
Now a quick look at the injury report surrounding a couple of key players thanks again to Rotoworld.com
RB Correll Buckhalter underwent season-ending knee surgery yesterday.
The injury was initially announced as a contusion, but Buckhalter actually had a torn patellar tendon in his right knee. RB Ryan Moats just moved up the depth chart
QB Eli Manning (elbow) threw on the sidelines yesterday for about five minutes.
Manning said his right elbow felt better and he expects to be ready for Week 1 against the Cardinals. ''I've been doing some drills throwing a light medicine ball, and it hasn't hurt,'' Manning said. ''The important thing is to let it get healthy and not reinjure it. I'm just trying to get to where I feel confident in my arm, and I can make all the throws I need to.''
Domanick Davis suffered ankle and and elbow injuries in Houston's preseason game Saturday.
The team says they kept Davis out of the lineup as a precaution. ''All the guys should be able to practice,'' according to coach Dom Capers
Bill Powers Tight Ends…
1) Tony Gonzalez – Kansas City…What out for his foot injury…
2) Jason Whitten – Solid Season Last season…Parcells likes him..
3) Antonio Gates – Worried about sophomore slump / missed camp
4) Alge Crumpler – Dependable
5) Todd Heap – If he can stay healthy
6) Randy McMichael – If he stops hitting his wife…
7) Jeremy Shockey – Has dropped in my book
8) LJ Smith – Eagles – Not a lot of people to throw to in Philly
9) Doug Jolley – Jets – Shows what he’s made of…
10) Dallas Clark – No Marcus Pollard…Must stay healthy
Kickers
1) Adam Vinatieri – Patriots – King of the Hill until unthroned
2) David Akers – Eagles – One of the most accurate Kickers
3) Jason Elam – High elevations makes ball go further
4) Mike Vanderjagt – Peyton Manning hurts his numbers
5) Shayne Graham – Nice 2004…Show me again…
6) Matt Stover – Limited range but deadly accurate
7) Josh Brown – Seattle – Inconsistent Offense hurts…
8) Jeff Reed – Gets a lot of opportunities with this offense
9) John Carney – Saints – 102 pts in 5 of last 6 seasons
10) Ryan Longwell
Defense
1) Baltimore – Ray Lewis still an animal
2) Buffalo – Led the League in takeaways…#1 in TD’s
3) New England – Lose of Crennel and Bruschi drops them down just a notch
4) Pittsburgh – Led them to the promised land last year
5) Philadelphia – Six games against bad offenses
6) Jacksonville – Seventh is points allowed last season
7) Carolina – Improved secondary helps powerful front 7
8) NY Jets – Abraham is in house…Law in the backfield…Another full season with Vilma…
9) Cincinnati – Marvin Lewis has aggressive schemes…High picks on Defense keeps them young…
10) Chicago -
Posted by billpowers at 05:59 PM
August 24, 2005
Repost of Baseball Show 26 - Posting Error
We had a posting error for show 26. Here is the real link.
Sorry
Posted by billpowers at 11:09 PM
August 23, 2005
Fantasy Focus Football - Show 03
Hello again everybody and welcome to Fantasy Focus Football AKA Triple F Football. Week 1 we rated the Runningbacks...Week 2 we rated the Quarterbacks...This week, we will take a look at the Wide Receivers. Plus, we'll take a trip around the league to see whats happening at some NFL camps and the injury report.
Triple F Football Week 3
Hello again everybody and welcome to Fantasy Focus Football AKA Triple F Football. I'm Bill Powers with Darren "Porterhouse" Diprima takin a look at the World of Fantasy Football as you get ready for your fantasy draft. Week 1 we rated the Runningbacks...Week 2 we rated the Quarterbacks...This week, we will take a look at the Wide Receivers. Plus, we'll take a trip around the league to see whats happening at some NFL camps and the injury report.
Todd Heap may be off the PUP list, but as far as podcasting, Triple F Football remains as we are just pups ourselves....just getting started on what should hopefully be an exciting season of Fantasy Football. This season, we have a handful of listeners who will be competing against Porterhouse and I in a league and we will track that leagues progress throughout the season. Plus, we will tell you who you should start in the upcoming weeks games...Tell who might not be playing at all and tons of other information. If you would like to ask any questions, please send us an email at fantasyfocus@gmail.com. Thats Fantasyfocus@gmail.com. If you have a drafting question...If you questions some of our strategies, or you want to let us know that we suck, please send us an email...Along the lines of Bettis last year, is it a good strategy to pick a top RB with my first pick and then follow it up with a goal line guy in the fourth round and on, a guy who can pick up cheap TDs, someone like Jacobs (NYG) or Crockett (OAK)? I'm in a league that rewards yards, yac and TDs.
BTW, great two shows! I've been following your Fantasy Baseball podcast as well since the start of the season. Keep up the great work!
ps - picking a sleeper pick per position would be helpful as well.
Posted by: Islandman at August 22, 2005 08:36 PM
Eagles reserve receiver Justin Jenkins will miss the season with a torn ACL.
Losing a fifth receiver wouldn't normally be big news. But with Todd
Pinkston out for the year and T.O.'s status shaky, the Eagles are
getting awfully shaky at wideout.
David Terrell remains ''day-to-day'' with an undefined injury.
Like every Patriots player, coach Bill Belick says Terrell is
''close''. Some will wonder if Terrell is close to losing his roster
spot after the acquisition of Andre Davis. The move certainly hurts
his fantasy value.
Eli Manning has been diagnosed with only ''a sprain and bruise to the
inside of his right elbow''.
Manning is being termed ''week-to-week'' and will miss this weekend's
preseason game. Overall, it's great news for the Giants: It appears
major damage has been avoided
Michael Bennett is still Minnesota's starting running back, but he won't play this week because of a neck injury.
''You can write whatever you want,'' coach Mike Tice said. ''Michael Bennett is our starting running back. He's got a dinged neck right now, so Mewelde is going to get the nod this week.'' Bennett remains one of the worst injury risks in football
TE Antonio Gates has ended his holdout by signing a $380,000, one-year contract with the Chargers. ANd has now added another 5 years to the deal with dollar amounts not disclosed...Although he was looking for 4 - 5 million dollars per...
Gates is still facing a suspension for the season opener, but Gates'
agent said yesterday that commissioner Paul Tagliabue can shorten the
suspension if requested by the Chargers. NFL spokesman Steve Alic
disagreed, saying, ''He'll be able to suit up for Week 2 of the
regular season.''
Cardinals release RB Troy Hambrick.
The end of Hambo? Currently bothered by a foot injury, it looks
unlikely that another team would bother with the malcontent. He has to
be one of the most famous recent running backs never to rush for
1,000-yards.
According to the Detroit News, QB Joey Harrington's job is safe after
two good preseason performances.
''He's been our starter, he is our starter, and he will be our
starter,'' coach Steve Mariucci said. ''I don't know how else to
explain it.''
Despite a rough outing Saturday and local newspaper columnists calling
for his head, Chad Hutchinson remains the Bears' starting quarterback.
''It's his first start,'' coach Lovie Smith said. ''We have to give
him some time to grow into it.''
Tim Couch met with the Giants for an interview and workout Saturday.
It's somewhat ironic Couch's tryout came before Eli Manning's elbow
injury. If he's close to healthy, a deal is looking probable
Jose Cortez will assume the starting kicker duties for the Cowboys indefinitely.
Billy Cundiff is injured and not a favorite of coach Parcells. Of
Cortez, Parcells said, ''He'll sure get a good look now. ... It's
probably his job to lose.'' Cortez wouldn't be an appealing fantasy
option in redraft leagues. Aug
The Redskins continue to insist that Ladell Betts will be a huge part
of their offense.
We believe them. By any measure, Betts was better than Clinton Portis
last year. We're not saying he'll ever start, but he should get a lot
more than 90 carries this season
Lee Suggs is expected to miss at least two weeks with an ankle sprain.
As preseason injuries go, this one hurts. Suggs hasn't proven he can
stay healthy as a primary running back. With William Green and Reuben
Droughns playing well, Suggs looks likely to share carries
Willie Parker, who has moved up the depth chart, rushed six times for
58 yards Saturday.
He also caught a 20-yard pass. Parker has passed Verron Haynes on the
depth chart and is suddenly in the mix for a major role in Pittsburgh.
He's worth picking up as a flier, especially if you draft Duce Staley
or Jerome Bettis.
LaMont Jordan rushed nine times for 62 yards in week two of the preseason.
He also caught two passes for 20 yards. That's two strong preseason
games for Jordan in a row. He's in our top 15 overall picks
Bill Powers Wide Receiver Picks
1) Marvin Harrison - Peyton Manning...Two other receivers to help...
2) Randy Moss - Gun Slingin Offense...
3) Chad Johnson - Nice Chemistry with Carson Palmer last
year...Explosive Offense
4) Terrel Owens - Will he play nice...If so, up his value...But it
remains to be seen...
5) Torry Holt - Greatest Show on Turf will run some more, but still dangerous...
6) Nate Burleson - Culpepper could sling it...He is the number one option...
7) Reggie Wayne - When Harrison is covered, Wayne is free...1210 Yds 12 TDs 04
8) Hines Ward - The Go to guy...Randle El must step it up...
9) Joe Horn - Almost 1400 yards last year...Quietly Fantasy stud...
10) Laverneous Coles - Pennington Chemistry - #1 receiver...Heimeldinger...
11) Jerry Porter - The Moss Factor...
12) Javon Walker - Favre Decline lowers his value...Plus is he a happy camper?
13) Andre Johnson - Solid receiver...But needs help from Carr
14) Anquan Boldin - Great Rookie Year...Injuries in the
second...Fitzgerald will help...
15) Drew Bennett - Hooked up will Billy Volek big time last
season...Tyrone Calico will step up to get the heat off...
16) Roy Williams - Year number 2...Weapons all around...
17) Plaxico Burress - Chip on his shoulder...Wants to prove himself
again...Big numbers this year...Contract holdout next year...
18) Alshley Lelie - Rod Smith declining...Time to take over...
19) Darrell Jackson
20) Steve Smith...
Sleepers
1) Antwaan Randle El - Pittsburgh
He is the #2 guy...Hines Ward will get double coverage opening
opportunities...Will probably see limited special teams...
2) Charles Rogers - Detroit
First two season were disasterous breaking the same collarbone...He
has Mike Williams looked over his shoulder....Too talented...Will be
awesome if he is healthy...
3) Darius Watts - Denver
Ranked third among AFC Rookies with 31 catches and 385 yards...Rod
Smith is on the other side of his career...He will make Ashley Lelie
better...
4) Tyrone Calico - Tennessee
Played just one game last season before suffering double knee
injury....Young and athletic...It's his job to lose...
5) Marc Boerigter - Kansas City
Injury cost him last season...Trent Green needs a number one receiver
to rely on in a high powered offense...
6) Keary Colbert - Panthers
Mushin Muhammid is gone...Steve Smith jumps to the number 1
receiver...Delhomme is a gunner and will need Colbert with Smith is
double covered...47 catches for 754 yards last season with 5 TD's...
Busts
1) Mushin Muhammad - Chicago
He has not track record of continued success...Moving to Chicago with
no quarterback or solid running game...Comes back to earth big time...
2) Donte Stallworth - New Orleans
Can you really be a bust if you have done nothingt in the past two
seasons...Tons of potential...No hamstrings...With Joe Horn on the
other side numbers should be huge, but there not...If Haslet runs the
ball more, Stallworth will see even less action. Although maybe his
hammy's will be better...
3) Rod Gardner - Washington
Santana Moss will become the go to guy...He wants out of
Washington...Patrick Ramsey is throwing him the ball...Enough said...
4) Eric Moulds - Buffalo
No quarterback with rookies surrounding him...Team will be depending
on the run...
5) Peerless Price - Atlanta
See Donte Stallworth...
Posted by billpowers at 04:00 PM
August 22, 2005
Fantasy Focus Week 26
Week 26 with the dog days of summer kickin in...Very difficult to pick the Pit Bull Hot Sauce Enfuego Player of the Week with weak hitting performances for the most part...So who did we choose...Download the show now...
Fantasy Focus Week 26...
Hello again everybody and welcome to fantasy focus baseball... Where we explore the reason for so many guys annual divorce threats fantasy baseball. I'm Bill Powers
with Chris Adams sitting across the way. With 25 shows in the books this means one thing and one thing only... The grind of 162 games is almost over and we will have to live through another long cold miserable winter.... But have no fear, we have a way to get you through it and we will tell you about it in a little bit.
As usual, this week we'll take a look at our gmail, check the injury
report as well as news from around the league. We'll see who the
studs and duds were in the last 7 days and wrap things up with our Pit
Bull Hot Sauce, Enfuego Player of the Week…
While this season is starting to wrap up, we need to know what you
liked and disliked about the show…What would you do to improve Fantasy
Focus Baseball…For that we ask that you go to fantasyfocuspodcast.com.
Click on the Pit Bull Hot Sauce survey. It will only take you a
minute or two. Just for filling out the survey, we'll put you in the
running for a Pit Bull Hot Sauce prize pack.
Also, new podcast alert. Fantasy Focus Football AKA Triple F Football
is up and running. Go to fantasyfocuspodcast.com to download the show
as Darren Porthouse DiPrima and I get you set for your Fantasy
Football draft. Last weeks show, we covered the Quarterbacks you
need to keep your eye on. This week's show should be online by
Thursday and cover the wide receivers. Please send all questions
regarding the show to fantasyfocus@gmail.com. That's
fantasyfocus@gmail.com. Fantasy Focus Football the cure all to the winter
baseball-less blues. Same deal if you still have some baseball
questions to ask. As usual, we'll answer the questions as soon as
possible then discuss them in our next show…
It's now time to take a look into our gmail bag
CC was just dropped in my league. I've been mulling over picking him
up, because even though his ERA and record are awful, his secondary
numbers are pretty good. Is he worth a pickup? I'm doing well in ERA
and WHIP, so I'm reluctant to risk those categories. I'd only be
dropping a middle reliever.
Thanks,
Clay
New OrleansWhich one of these 3 Braves pitchers do you think will put up the best
stats down the stretch:
Jorge Sosa (the Leo Mazzoni-Miracle)
Mike Hampton
John Thomson
Thanks,
Clay
New Orleans
Bill,
Complements on a great show...hope you have a good time down here in
Houston!
I have two, related questions. This is my first year in a keeper
rotisserie league, 12 teams (4 keepers). I am currently in first,
with a decent lead, although a couple of teams are starting to surge
to make the last few weeks of the season interesting.
Anyway, first, what is a good philosophy for keeping players? Do you
keep guys that are peaking now or do you keep younger players with
potential?
Specifically, here is my current roster:
C M Piazza
1B D Lee
2B J Kent
3B A Beltre
SS R Furcal
OF L Berkman
OF B Abreu
OF W Taveras
Util C Utley
BN P Polanco
BN C Guillen
BN D Johnson
BN G Matthews Jr
SP C Zambrano
SP J Bonderman
SP J Smoltz
SP D Willis
RP D Baez
RP B Wagner
P H Street
BN M Clement
Here's the second question (more like questions): My only 'for sure'
keeper is Abreu. Tentatively I am thinking Abreu, Lee, Berkman,
Bonderman. Tons of questions: will Lee repeat, or be close to what he
has been this year? Bonderman or Willis? I thought this would be easy
when Willis slumped after the All-Star break, but he's been excellent
these last few starts, could he be turning into that rare, perenially
solid fantasy ace? What about Utley and Tavares? Is Street a keeper
reliever?
Hence my original question...If I go youth, my keepers would look
like this: Abreu, Utley, Taveras, Bonderman.
Thanks for considering my question
Rudy F.
Time to take a tour of the emergency rooms and the local newspapers as we take a peak at the injury report and MLB news thanks to MLB.com....
Sunday 8/21/05
New York MetsPlaced catcher Mike Piazza on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to Aug. 17, and recalled catcher Mike DiFelice from Triple-A Norfolk. Also signed catcher Alberto Castillo to a Minor League contract and assigned him to Norfolk.
San Francisco Giants Placed RHP Tyler Walker on the 15-day disabled list (retroactive to Aug. 20) with inflammation in his right shoulder and purchased the contract of RHP Brian Cooper from Triple-A Fresno.
Saturday 8/20/05
Boston Red SoxPlaced OF Adam Stern on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained right thumb; recalled LHP Lenny DiNardo from Triple-A Pawtucket
Seattle Mariners Placed RHP Gil Meche on the 15-day disabled list with patellar tendinitis in his right knee.
St. Louis Cardinals Activated OF Larry Walker from the 15-day disabled list.
Friday 8/19/05
Chicago Cubs Recalled OF Jerry Hairston from his rehab assignment and reinstated him from the disabled list; Optioned OF Matt Murton to Triple-A Iowa.
Oakland Athletics Activated OF Nick Swisher from the bereavement list.
San Francisco Giants Activated OF Moises Alou from the 15-day disabled list and optioned OF Jason Ellison to Triple-A Fresno.
Thursday 8/18/05
St. Louis Cardinals Activated C Yadier Molina from the 15-day disabled list.
Wednesday 8/17/05
Arizona Diamondbacks Activated RHP Mike Koplove from the 15-disabled list and outrighted to Triple-A Tucson.
Detroit Tigers Placed SS Carlos Guillen on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to August 11, with a sore right knee; Recalled 1B Carlos Pena from Triple-A Toledo.
Milwaukee Brewers Recalled 1B Prince Fielder from Triple-A Nashville; Placed OF Brady Clark on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to August 11, with a sore right knee.
Tuesday 8/16/05
Boston Red Sox Activated INF John Olerud from the 15-day disabled list; Recalled RHP Jon Papelbon from Triple-A Pawtucket.
Cincinnati Reds Placed IF/OF Ryan Freel on the 15-day disabled list with torn cartilage in his right knee and selected the contract of IF Aaron Holbert from Triple-A Louisville.
Colorado RockiesActivated C Todd Greene from the 60-day disabled list; Optioned RHP Ryan Speier to Triple-A Colorado Springs.
Pittsburgh Pirates Recalled LHP Mike Gonzalez from a rehab assignment and activated him from the 15-day disabled list and sent RHP Ian Snell to Triple-A Indianapolis.
Monday 8/15/05
Chicago White Sox Placed OF Scott Podsednik on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to Aug. 13, with a strained left adductor and purchased the contract of OF Brian Anderson from Triple-A Charlotte.
Detroit Tigers Placed LF Rondell White on the 15-day disabled list with a dislocated left shoulder and recalled OF Curtis Granderson from Triple-A Toledo.
Minnesota Twins Placed INF Juan Castro on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to Aug. 11, with a strained left knee and recalled INF Brent Abernathy from Triple-A Rochester.
New York Yankees Activated RHP Jaret Wright from the 60-day disabled list and optioned LHP Wayne Franklin to Triple-A Columbus.
San Diego Padres Placed SS Khalil Greene on the 15-day disabled list with a broken left big toe and purchased the contract of SS Wilson Valdez from Triple-A Portland.
San Francisco Giants Activated RHP Armando Benitez from the 60-day disabled list and sent RHP Brian Cooper outright to Triple-A Fresno.
Seattle Mariners Recalled OF Jamal Strong and C Miguel Ojeda from Triple-A Tacoma and optioned C Wiki Gonzalez to Tacoma.
Scott Spiezio on waivers for the purpose of giving him his unconditional release
Cleveland Indians Optioned OF Jason Dubois to Triple-A Buffalo and recalled RHP Andrew Brown from Buffalo.
Philadelphia Phillies Recalled RHP Aquilino Lopez from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and optioned RHP Geoff Geary to Triple-A.
Texas Rangers Purchased the contracts of LHP Justin Thompson from Triple-A Oklahoma and RHP Scott Feldman from Double-A Frisco; Designated RHP James
Baldwin for assignment and optioned RHP Kevin Gryboski to Oklahoma; Released nonroster RHP Aaron Sele from Triple-A Oklahoma. Texas Rangers Recalled INF Adrian Gonzalez from Triple-A Oklahoma and optioned RHP Scott Feldman to Double-A Frisco.
Los Angeles Angels Purchased the contract of RHP Greg Jones from Triple-A Salt Lake; Optioned LHP Joe Saunders to Triple-A Salt Lake.
Washington NationalsOptioned OF Brandon Watson to Triple-A New Orleans and purchased the contract of LHP John Halama from Triple-A New Orleans
Boston Red Sox Designated INF Mark Bellhorn for assignment.
Posted by billpowers at 04:45 PM
August 18, 2005
Triple F Football - Show 2
It's Triple F Fantasy Football and we get you set for your fantasy draft...Show one, which can still be downloaded covered runningbacks...This weeks show, we cover the quarterbacks...
Triple F Fantasy Football…Show 2
Hello again everybody and welcome to Triple F Fantasy Football. I'm Bill Powers with Darren "Porterhouse" DiPrima sitting across the way as we talk Fantasy Football and try to get you set for your fantasy draft. This week, we'll take a look at the Quarterbacks in the NFL and who you should be drafting when the time comes. So far Porterhouse, the love has been incredible from our first show, but when you flash a whore a benny, she'll show you some love…
In all seriousness, we had a ton of support for our first show, but to quote Martin Gecko, "Greed is Good" and we want more…
Please tell a dozen or so friends about the show which you can download by going to Fantasyfocuspodcast.com…You'll not only be able to download the show, but all previous shows as well as the text so you don't have to write down everything we say…If you have any questions, please send us a gmail at Fantasyfocus@gmail.com. That's Fantasyfocus@gmail.com. Porterhouse or I will try to answer your question as soon as possible and then discuss the email in our next show. Also, we ask that you check out the fantasyfocuspodcast.com website, were there is a survey we need you to fillout…Click on the Pitbull Hot Sauce button and tell us what you think of the show…What do you like…What do you hate…What you would like to hear on the show. It would not only help us, but hopefully help our listeners during the Fantasy Football Season…
While I can see the bottom of the bag, there is still a piece of paper on the bottom and it comes to us from Taylor who writes…
Bill - You'll find my draft/lineup below, I was picking 2nd in a 10 team league. My league is only 4pts for passing TDs, and start QB, 1 RB, 2 WR, 1RB/WR, TE, K, D but the wrinkle is that we have an OP (offensive position) that can be filled by anyone, including a second QB.
I'm really comfortable with my RBs and WRs and the depth at QB. I'm trying to make a couple trades, one for a top 5 TE (Gonzo and Gates went in round 4) and I've also got a guy after Julius Jones who is offering crap at the moment, but should I propose something from him like Bulger (4th round) and Shockey (5th round) for Jones (3rd) and Plummer (8th). I
like Jones, but I'm deep at RB. Also, I'm trying to trade up at RB to parlay Martin's injury/age risk, packaging him with either Ronnie Brown or Dunn. Currently I'm after Dominick Davis (with Martin/Brown) who slipped to 16th pick in our draft. Any of your thoughts would be appreciated.
Draft order: [Starters indicated]
Shaun Alexander (RB1)
Curtis Martin (WR/RB)
Julius Jones
Joe Horn (WR)
Reggie Wayne (WR)
Warrick Dunn
Brett Farve (QB)
Jake Plummer (OP)
Carson Palmer
Eddie Kennison
Matt Stover (K)
Indianpolis D (D)
Ronnie Brown
Braylon Edwards
Najeh Davenport
Bubba Franks
Thanks a ton. Been listening to your baseball and now your football
podcasts. Great stuff, keep it coming!
-Taylor
I love Rotoworld.com who has a ton of good info for your fantasy team…So we take a look around the league thanks to Rotoworld.com
Willis McGahee, who limped off the field in Buffalo's preseason
opener, missed practice Monday with a ''leg'' injury.
Bills coach Mike Mularkey is taking a page out of Bill Belichick's
playbook by being purposefully vague. Asked what McGahee injured,
Mularkey said, ''Leg. It's a leg.
The Ravens could ''possibly'' activate Todd Heap from the PUP list next week.
''We want to make sure he's 100 percent,'' coach Brian Billick said
Struggling Chargers kicker Nate Kaeding hit only 2 of 6 kicks at
practice Monday.
''Hey, 33 percent is better than zero. We're making progress,'' joke
coach Marty Schottenheimer. We'd stay away from Kaeding in fantasy
drafts until he turns this slump around.
The Texans are in no hurry to rush Jabar Gaffney back into full-contact work.
He won't play in this weekend's preseason game. ''He's been around
here, he knows the offense. He has made plays for us,'' coach Dom
Capers said. It sounds like Gaffney will be able to recover his
starter's job when he returns.
Dallas Clark, who has been out for two weeks with a hamstring injury,
returned to Colts practice.
Clark is being drafted among the top seven tight ends, but his injury
concerns make him a somewhat risky mid-round pick.
Byron Leftwich expects to start this weekend's game despite a sore arm.
Other than the team's preseason game, Leftwich hasn't thrown the ball
much during the last two weeks. It's something to keep an eye on, but
coach Jack Del Rio said it's ''doubtful'' that David Garrard will
start in Leftwich's place
Jerry Porter (hamstring) could return to practice by the end of this week.
After spending the morning bunny-hopping on one leg with a trainer
watching, Porter commented, ''I guess they want to see my tolerance
for B.S.''
Freddie Mitchell has yet to return to Chiefs practice.
''He's running in a straight line fast," coach Dick Vermeil said. "If
we can run just (fly) patterns all day long, he can play. Right now
he's not ready to come out and run pass routes."
The Bears deny that Cedric Benson is close to signing.
''We really haven't had any progress,'' general manager Jerry Angelo
said. ESPN's Chris Mortensen reported otherwise on Monday.
The Bears are considering placing Rex Grossman on season-ending injured reserve.
After undergoing surgery, the Bears sound unsure about Grossman's
recovery time. They may not be able to hold a roster spot for him just
in case he's ready to play a few games. Grossman may not be at the top
of the depth chart when he returns anyhow.
Drew Rosenhaus was in Tennessee Monday, pushing for a trade for Billy Volek.
The Titans won't give Volek the opportunity to seek a trade this
season, especially considering Gino Guidugli is the number three. But
Volek has made it clear: if Steve McNair plays after this season,
Volek wants out next winter.
David Boston has been moved up Miami's depth chart, to number three receiver.
Derrius Thompson was bumped down to number four. It will be tough for
Boston to pass Marty Booker and win a starter's role. That's what it
will take for him to be attractive in fantasy league.
Coach Nick Saban publicly admitted that Gus Frerotte has the edge in
the QB battle in Miami.
It's over. Frerotte took all first-team snaps Monday, will continue to
do so all week, and will start Friday's game.
Ronnie Brown's contract is for five years and $34 million, including
roughly $20 million guaranteed.
It pays to be a rookie. Veterans like Edgerrin James and Shaun
Alexander couldn't dream of earning that much guaranteed money. This
should help push Cedric Benson in camp
Hines Ward's new contract will reportedly include $19-$20 million in
guaranteed money.
It would be highly surprising if Ward's bonus approach that figure,
which would be in the neighborhood of Randy Moss and Terrell Owens.
It's possible the Steelers guaranteed some of the latter years of the
deal.
The Eagles have sent Terrell Owens a letter outlining behavioral
problems they've perceived over the last two weeks.
The letter is the first step towards a possible suspension of Owens if
his behavior does not change when he returns to the team. Coach Andy
Reid said Owens will only get back on the field if he sees a marked
change in his behavior and attitude
QB Drew Bledsoe underwent an MRI and X-rays on his sore right foot yesterday, and results came back negative.
''It's nothing real serious,'' Bledsoe said. ''It's just one of those things. It kind of started hurting, and we checked it.''
Arizona Cardinals
Marcel Shipp RB Out Aug 13 knee
Eric Edwards TE Out Aug 4 pectorals day-to-day
Troy Hambrick RB PUP Aug 1 foot
Atlanta Falcons
Roddy White WR Out Aug 16 hip day-to-day
Baltimore Ravens
Todd Heap TE PUP Aug 16 -
Buffalo Bills
Willis McGahee RB Out Aug 16 leg day-to-day
Roscoe Parrish WR Out Aug 12 wrist Out indefinitely
Kevin Everett TE Out Aug 10 knee Likely out for season
Carolina Panthers
Stephen Davis RB Out Aug 16 knee day-to-day
Keary Colbert WR Questionable Aug 13 hamstring
Chicago Bears
Cedric Benson RB Holdout Aug 16 -
Rex Grossman QB Out Aug 16 ankle Likely out for season
Eddie Berlin WR Out Aug 11 groin Out 4-6 weeks
Jason McKie RB Out Jul 21 chest Possibly out for season
Airese Currie WR Out Jul 21 foot Likely out for season
Cleveland Browns
Reuben Droughns RB Out Aug 10 hamstring Return 8/15
Kellen Winslow TE Out Jul 31 knee Out for season
Dallas Cowboys
Sean Ryan TE Out Aug 1 foot Return late August
Denver Broncos
Maurice Clarett RB Out Aug 16 groin day-to-day
Detroit Lions
Corey Schlesinger RB Out Aug 12 ankle day-to-day
Green Bay Packers
Bubba Franks TE Holdout Aug 11 -
Houston Texans
B.J. Symons QB Out Aug 15 shoulder Out indefinitely
Billy Miller TE Out Aug 7 ankle day-to-day
Indianapolis Colts
Brandon Stokley WR Out Aug 11 shoulder Questionable for week one
Jacksonville Jaguars
Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala RB Out Aug 13 leg
Kansas City Chiefs
Freddie Mitchell WR Out Aug 16 knee day-to-day
Todd Collins QB Out Aug 15 hand Out 2 weeks
Eddie Kennison WR Out Aug 13 personal
Robert Holcombe RB Out Aug 12 knee
Miami Dolphins
Ricky Williams RB Suspended Aug 14 - Return week five
Minnesota Vikings
Kelly Campbell WR Out Aug 16 quadriceps Return late August
Troy Williamson WR Out Aug 11 foot day-to-day
New England Patriots
Bethel Johnson WR PUP Jul 30 ankle day-to-day
New Orleans Saints
Az-Zahir Hakim WR Out Aug 9 hamstring Out 1-2 weeks
Chase Lyman WR Out Jul 3 knee Likely out for the season
New York Giants
Jamaar Taylor WR Out Aug 4 hip day-to-day
Derrick Ward RB Out Jun 17 knee Ready by training camp
Oakland Raiders
Jerry Porter WR Out Aug 16 hamstring day-to-day
Shane Lechler P Out Aug 14 hamstring day-to-day
Ronald Curry WR Questionable Aug 13 achilles
Philadelphia Eagles
Terrell Owens WR Suspended Aug 15 - Return August 17th
Correll Buckhalter RB Out Aug 10 knee day-to-day
Todd Pinkston WR I.R. Aug 8 achilles Out for season
Pittsburgh Steelers
Marco Battaglia TE I.R. Aug 12 - Out for season
Duce Staley RB Out Aug 11 knee Questionable for week one
San Diego Chargers
Antonio Gates TE Holdout Jul 29 -
Seattle Seahawks
Alex Bannister WR Out Aug 6 -
San Francisco 49ers
Eric Johnson TE – 0ut indefinitely
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Charlie Garner RB PUP Jul 29 knee Out indefinitely
Tennessee Titans
Brandon Jones WR Out Aug 15 knee day-to-day
Chris Brown RB Out Aug 14 hamstring day-to-day
Travis Henry RB Out Aug 14 toe day-to-day
Ben Troupe TE Out Jul 29 foot Return August
Washington Redskins
Taylor Jacobs WR Out Aug 10 toe day-to-day
Bill Powers Top 15 Fantasy Quarterbacks
1) Peyton Manning - No Need to say anything...
4557 Passing Yards 38 Rushing...49 Td's with 10 INT's
2) Daunte Culpepper - Lossing Moss could hurt...
4717 Passing Yds...406 Rushing...39 TD's Pass 2 Rush...11 INT's...
3) Trent Green - lots of yards, but can use some receivers
4591 Passing Yards...85 Rushing...27 TD's...17 INT's...
4) Kerry Collins - This could be the year he distinguishes himself...A
career year...
3495 Passing Yards...36 Rushing...21 TD's...20 INT's...
5) Donovan McNabb - Unbelievable last season, but how does the Owens
thing play out.
3875 Passing Yds...220 Rushing...31 Rushing TD's...3 Rushing...8 INT's...
6) Michael Vick - Which Michael Vick shows up...Can he pass for a few
more TD's...
2313 Passing YD's...902 Rushing...14 Td's 3 Rushing...Late Second Round Pick...
7) Carson Palmer - Big Second half last season...He is ready to step up...
2897 Passing Yd's...47 Rushing...18 TD's Passing...1 Rushing...18 INT's
8) Marc Bulger - Will the Greatest Show on Turf re-emerge...Will
Bulger remain healthy...
3964 Passing YD's...89 Rushing...21 Pass TD's...3 Rushing...14 INT's
9) Tom Brady...Great Field Soldier....TOP 10 Fantasy Quarterback 3
years Running...
3692 Passing YD's...28 Rushing...28 Passing TD's...14 INT's
10) Chad Pennington...Returning from Injury is a concern...But
Heimerdinger will help...
2673 Passing Yds...126 Rushing...16 TD's Passing...1 Rushing...9 INT
11) Brett Favre...Is this the end of the line...
4088 Passing Yd's...36 Rushing...30 Passing Td's...17 INT's...
12) Matt Hasselback...When will he final show up as a Fantasy Stud...
3382 Passing Yd's...90 Rushing...22 TD's Passing...1 Rushing...15 INT's...
13) David Carr...A little protection can go a long way...
3531 Passing Yd's...299 Rushing...16 Passing Td's...14 INT's...
14) Joey Harrington...If he cannot produce now, he never will...
3047 Passing Yd's...175 Rushing...19 Passing...12 INT's...
15) Jake Delhomme...Nice Fantasy Season Last year, but no Muhammad to pass to...
3886 Passing Yd's...71 Rushing...29 Td's Passing...1 Rushing...15 INT's...
Posted by billpowers at 03:56 PM | Comments (1)
August 15, 2005
Fantasy Focus Baseball - Week 25
Twenty Five Weeks are in the Books, with only three more weeks in head to head leagues before the playoffs. And many races are still close in 5x5 leagues. Once again, we travel around the majors, check the injury report. Plus check on the studs and duds from the last week...Download Fantasy Focus Baseball Week 25 Now...
Hello again everybody and welcome to Baseball Fantasy Focus…Where we
dip into the deep end of the world of Fantasy Baseball…I'm Bill Powers
with Chris Adams sitting across the way and it's hard to believe we've
done 24 shows already.
As usual, this week we'll take a look at our gmail, check the injury
report as well as news from around the league. We'll see who the
studs and duds were in the last 7 days and wrap things up with our Pit
Bull Hot Sauce, Enfuego Player of the Week…
While this season is starting to wrap up, we need to know what you
liked and disliked about the show…What would you do to improve Fantasy
Focus Baseball…For that we ask that you go to fantasyfocuspodcast.com.
Click on the Pit Bull Hot Sauce survey. It will only take you a
minute or two. Just for filling out the survey, we'll put you in the
running for a Pit Bull Hot Sauce prize pack.
Also, new podcast alert. Fantasy Focus Football AKA Triple F Football
is up and running. Go to fantasyfocuspodcast.com to download the show
as Darren Porthouse DiPrima and I get you set for your Fantasy
Football draft. Last weeks show, we covered the Running Backs you
need to keep your eye on. This week's show should be online by
Thursday and cover the Quarterbacks. Please send all questions
regarding the show to fantasyfocus@gmail.com. That's
fantasyfocus@gmail.com. Same deal if you still have some baseball
questions to ask. As usual, we'll answer the questions as soon as
possible then discuss them in our next show…
It's time to take a look into our gmail bag this week were things are
a little light, but Sam from Manhattan checked in with us this week
and he writes…
Just want to say in opening that your show is great and I always look
forward to listening to it every week.
Here's the question… I've been making a bit of a push in one of my
leagues, up from 13 to 8 in a 14 team league, and money starts at 4th
place, 23.5 points away. Here's where I'm running in points:
BA 8 pts ERA 13 pts
HR 3 pts K 1 pts
R 7 pts S 14 pts (easily- 13 saves ahead)
RBI 4 pts W 8 ½ pts
SB 3 pts WHIP 4 pts
Here's my team:
C Javy Lopez
1b Brad Eldred
2b Utley
3b Blalock
Ss M Young
OF Matos, Matsui, Winn
U Furcal, Loretta
SP Bedard, L Hernandez, T Hudson, K Rogers
RP Reitsma, B Wagner, C Cordero
Bench
Nevin, Cano, J Gibbons, L Walker, D Davis, B Halsey, J Mays, D Wells
Injured Reserve- Thome (I love you JIM!)
Anyway, I've been offered the following trade:
Justin Morneau, Ryan Howard, and Coco Crisp for Hideki Matsui and 2
throw in players (I was thinking Mays and Halsey).
This is a keeper league where we get to keep 7 players, so while I
would not be keeping Matsui (who is a borderline keeper right now), I
would be getting younger by keeping either Morneau or Howard.
I just don't know if the trade is an upgrade.
Thoughts?
Sam
PS I'm going to the Yanks-Rangers game on the hottest day of the
summer- today. Heat Index 105+
Stay the course same…Hideki is a keeper and an RBI Machine compared to the other players in the trade…
Once again, if you have any questions or thoughts that you want to
send along, feel free to send us an email at fantasyfocus@gmail.com.
Or you can continue to send it to the old address at
billpowers36@gmail.com
Time to take a peak at the injury report courtesy of MLB.com…
Saturday 8/13/05
Atlanta Braves
Activated RHP John Thomson from the 60-day disabled list; optioned RHP
Kyle Davies to Triple-A Richmond. John Thomson was having a nice
season before he went on the Dl with a 3 – 2 record with a 3.70 ERA
and 1.27 WHIP…This will only help the Atlanta Braves who should win
the National League East…It could also help to give your fantasy team
a little push…
Cincinnati Reds
Activated RHP Ben Weber from 15-day disabled list and optioned him to
Triple-A Louisville.
Cleveland Indians
Placed LHP Arthur Rhodes on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to
Aug. 12, with right knee inflammation and recalled RHP Jeremy Guthrie
from Triple-A Buffalo. Fantasy Wise, Rhodes has not been a huge help
anyway…
Florida Marlins
Activated 1B Carlos Delgado from the 15-day disabled list and
designated LHP Valerio De Los Santos for assignment. Getting Delgado
back for the stretch run is huge…Get him back into your line-up ASAP…
Friday 8/12/05
Cleveland Indians
Activated LHP Arthur Rhodes from the bereavement list and optioned LHP
Brian Tallet to Triple-A Buffalo.
Los Angeles Angels
Activated LHP Jarrod Washburn from the 15-day disabled list; Placed C
Josh Paul on 15-day disabled list (retro to Aug. 8) due to a sprained
right thumb; Recalled C Jeff Mathis from Triple-A Salt Lake. While
Washburn has not been spectacular this season, he has still put
together a nice season with 6 wins and an ERA of 3.33 with a WHIP of
1.38…
San Diego Padres
Activated RHP Rudy Seanez from the 15-day disabled list and optioned
LHP Craig Breslow to Triple-A Portland.
San Francisco Giants
Placed OF Moises Alou on the 15-day disabled list (retroactive to Aug.
3) with a right hamstring strain, placed RHP Scott Munter on the
15-day disabled list with right elbow inflammation and recalled OF
Todd Linden and RHP Jeremy Accardo from Triple-A Fresno. Again,
another rough hit for your offense heading into the stretch run..
While Alou's numbers would have been much better had Bonds played this
season, 13 homers with 43 RBI's and a 328 average is tough to lose
right now…
Thursday 8/11/05
Atlanta Braves
Placed C Johnny Estrada on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to
Aug. 6, with lower back spasms; Recalled C Brayan Pena from Triple-A
Richmond.
Los Angeles Dodgers
Activated OF Jayson Werth from 15-day disabled list; Placed LHP Wilson
Alvarez on 15-day disabled list with a left shoulder impingement.
Jayson Werth could help you down the stretch is he can stay healthy…
New York Mets
Placed OF Mike Cameron on the 15-day disabled list with a broken nose,
multiple fractures of both cheekbones and a slight concussion;
Recalled OF Victor Diaz from Triple-A Norfolk. 12 homers, 39 RBI's
and a 273 average is not spectacular, but with 13 stolen bases,
Cameron had some fantasy value…Make sure you pick up Diaz to pick up
the slack…He was goin strong in Triple A…Cameron was scheduled for
surgery to repair the fractures in his face. Recovery time is a
minimum of 6 weeks and he is probably lost for the season. In this
ugly and scary collision, Carlos Beltran also fractured a bone in his
face, but surgery will not be necessary. He also suffered a
concussion and other minor injuries. Beltran has no recollection of
the collision or speaking with his wife 15 minutes after the incident.
He is traveling with the team and will not play until Tuesday at the
earliest. Another set-back in an extremely disappointing first
season…
Pittsburgh Pirates
Placed OF Jody Gerut on the 15-day disabled list with irritation of
the patella tendon in the right knee and recalled OF Nate McLouth from
Triple-A Indianapolis. A wasted season for a decent player.
Wednesday 8/10/05
Colorado Rockies
Activated 1B Todd Helton from the 15-day disabled list; Optioned 1B
Ryan Shealy to Triple-A Colorado Springs; Signed RHP Gabe Molina to a
Minor League contract and assigned him to Triple-A Colorado Springs.
While Helton has had a disappointing season by Helton standards, he is
still decent and was showing signs of coming out of his season long
struggles prior to his injury…Get him back into your line-up…
New York Mets
Placed 1B Doug Mientkiewicz on the 15-day disabled list and activated
2B Kazuo Matsui from the 15-day disabled list. Both bums…
San Diego Padres
Placed RHP Adam Eaton on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to Aug.
5 and activated LHP Chris Hammond from the 15-day disabled list. Do
to his injury problems, Eaton was supposed to pitch out of the bullpen
totally taking away any value that he had…So this is not that big of a
deal…
Tuesday 8/9/05
Arizona Diamondbacks
Activated C Kelly Stinnett from the 15-day disabled list and optioned
LHP Michael Gosling to Triple-A Tucson.
Baltimore Orioles
Recalled LHP Eric DuBose from Double-A Bowie and RHP Aaron Rakers from
Triple-A Ottawa and purchased the contract of 1B Alejandro Freire from
Ottawa; Optioned RHP Chris Ray to Bowie and placed RHP Sidney Ponson
on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to Aug. 8, with a strained
right calf and OF B.J. Surhoff on the 15-day disabled list,
retroactive to Aug. 8, with strained left groin.
Boston Red Sox
Placed RHP Wade Miller on the 15-day disabled list with stiffness in
his right shoulder and activated LHP Mike Remlinger.
San Francisco Giants
Activated OF Alex Sanchez from the 15-day disabled list and designated
him for assignment.
Texas Rangers
Placed RHP Ricardo Rodriguez on the 15-day disabled list with a right
shoulder contusion and recalled LHP Erasmo Ramirez from Triple-A
Oklahoma.
Monday 8/8/05
Colorado Rockies
Placed RHP Dan Miceli on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to Aug.
5, with a bruised left foot and activated RHP Sun-woo Kim; Recalled
RHP Ryan Speier from Triple-A Colorado Springs; Optioned INF Eddy
Garabito to Colorado Springs.
Florida Marlins
Placed RHP Jim Mecir on the 15-day disabled list with right shoulder
tendinitis and recalled RHP Randy Messenger from Triple-A Albuquerque.
Sunday 8/7/05
Florida Marlins
Selected the contract of C Ryan Jorgensen from Triple-A Albuquerque;
optioned RHP Randy Messenger to Triple-A Albuquerque; transferred RHP
Logan Kensing to the 60-day disabled list.
San Francisco Giants
Placed LHP Kirk Rueter on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to
July 30, with gout in his right big toe.
News…
Boston Red Sox
Traded OF Jose Cruz Jr. to the Los Angeles Dodgers for a player to be
named later. Acquired LHP Mike Remlinger and cash considerations from
the Chicago Cubs for Minor League RHP Olivo Astacio. Recalled INF
Kevin Youkilis from Triple-A Pawtucket
St. Louis Cardinals
Claimed LHP Chris Narverson off waivers from the Red Sox and purchased
the contract of RHP Anthony Reyes from Triple-A Memphis.
Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Optioned RHP Dewon Brazelton to Triple-A Durham and recalled RHP Tim
Corcoran from Durham. It appears that Brazelton is a pitcher with
tons of talent, but no heart. He is a former number one draft pick
who has been given every opportunity to succeed in Tampa and squanders
everyone. It appears he does not care and is quickly losing his
career..
San Francisco Giants
Released OF Marquis Grissom, who had been designated for assignment on Aug. 2.
New York Yankees
Recalled INF Felix Escalona from Triple-A Columbus and optioned INF
Andy Phillips to Columbus. Also this week for the bombers, they
learned that Pitcher Carl Pavano will be shut down for a minimum of 6
more weeks which for all intense and purposes brings his season to an
end. While Pavano has been a huge disappointment so far this season,
he was an arm that would greatly improve the MASH unit currently known
as the Yankees starting rotation. On the flip side, equally
disappointing Jaret Wright is scheduled to pitch Monday nite in Tampa.
This will be his first start since April…The Yankees desperately need
him to be healthy…
Seattle Mariners
Released C Pat Borders. He had been designated for assignment on July 29.
Posted by billpowers at 04:54 PM
August 09, 2005
Triple F Football
It's the debut of Fantasy Focus Football A.K.A Triple F Football...Bill Powers is joined by Porterhouse DiPrima who is extremely passionate and educated in the world of Fantasy Football. This week, we give you a tour of the NFL and tell you our top Running Backs to choose in your Fantasy Draft.
Triple F Football…
Hello again everybody and welcome to the world of Fantasy Football…I'm
Bill Powers with Porterhouse Darren Diprima sitting across the way as
we get you all set for your fantasy football drafts. This week, we
will give our opinions of which running backs you should draft when
your number comes up. We'll take a tour around the NFL training camps
to see what's happening as well as check the injury report. Plus
we'll reach into our g-mail bag to answer some football questions that
have already started to trickle in.
If you have any questions about the show…Maybe you have a trade
question or want to question our draft order, please feel free to fire
off a gmail to billpowers36@gmail.com. That's billpowers36@gmail.com.
Darren or I will try to answer your questions as quickly as possible.
Then Darren and I will discuss the gmail in our next show. Also,
this season, in a little different twist from our baseball show which
continues to air fresh shows through the end of the season by going to
fantasyfocuspodcast.com, Porterhouse and I will be participating in a
league with 8 listeners with our draft taking place on Labor day. So
we'll be keeping an eye on our league once the season gets underway.
Now D train, you're a huge football fan, but you know how to deal with
heartbreak being a Jets fan…
Darren: Talks a little about being a Jets fan, how he became a fan and
talks about this years team briefly…
Well D, this show might be a bit more biting than Fantasy Focus
Baseball. Chris and I were both Yankee fans and unfortunately agreed
on a lot of things. But when you hit the gridiron, Big Blue is my
team. My uncles were Big Blue and recruited me. Now I must stay true
to the blue. Although this will be another long season. This team
will entertain the fans on a weekly basis. But there is not enough
experience to get this team over the hump. The offensive line has
been ridiculously horrible for the past two seasons. This year, I
don't see a tremendous amount of promise to change the results from
the past two years.
Luke Petitgout has never played a down during a crucial drive where he
did not commit a holding penalty to kill the drive. David Diehl is
young and has potential, but after only 1 season, still has so much to
learn. Chris Snee is developing, but not ready for prime time.Plus
Rich Seubert is coming back from a serious leg injury. Now obviously
Kareen McKenzie who came over from your beloved J-E-T-S Jets, Jets
Jets is a major upgrade for this line. But there is not enough solid
experience to stop the Eagles and what will be a much improved Dallas
Cowboy defensive front.
Now with these youngster at the helm, can they cover the mistakes that
Eli Manning will make in his sophomore season? If you're a giant fan,
you know you were scared still last season. Especially after the
Ravens game, where he made Kyle Boller look like a quality QB in
comparison. Fortunately, he played better in the Pittsburgh game and
Bengals game before finally winning the season finale against the
Cowboys 28-24. How much better will the giants and Eli Manning be?
Ernie Acorsi went out and got a brand new weapon in Plaxico Burress to
take the heat off of Amani Toomer who was also atrocious last season
although he did play with a hamstring injury all season long. But
with a real playmaker in the mix, Manning will have some opportunities
to succeed. Will Tiki Barber be able to continue on this torrid pace
as a 30 year old? Will Jeremy Shockey be able to shut his mouth and
catch a damn ball once in a blue moon?
There are still plenty of question marks on this team. And the
biggest difference that could help this team have a successful
campaign could be their 4th round draft pick.
Jacobs is a bruising back who will or should be able to get that one
yard on third and 1. Or get into the end zone from the 1 yard line
unlike that steaming pile of elephant dung once known as Ron Dayne.
If Jacobs can get the job done and turn into a Mike Alstott, this team
might make some noise and possibly finish over 500…But will he hurt
the Tiki Barber owners?
Jeremy Shockey touched off a melee between the Giants and Jets during
a scrimmage today. Shockey and Jets secondary members Erik Coleman and Oliver Celestin reportedly were throwing wild punches. ''You might as well do it now, when you don't get fined and Paul Tagliabue can't take any money out
of your pocket,'' Shockey remarked.
Time to take a peak into our G-mail bag where we hear from Phil Pappas
who writes:
hey bill i'm am big fan and love the show. i'm also in the triple f
fantasy football league with u(whizzinators). anyways in a different
league that i'm in that already had our draft i have been offered
brian westbrook, darell jackson. and michael bennet for duece
mcallister and nate burelson. my team is: QB's: Marc Bulger, Ben
Rothelisberger; WR's: Torry Holt, Issac Bruce, Nate Burelson, Plaxico
Buress, T.J Houshmandzadeh, Roy Williams; HB's: Priest Holmes, Duece
Mcallister, Ricky Williams, Caddilac Williams, Duce Staley; TE: Todd
Heap; Kickers: Lawrence Tynes, John Carney; Defense's: Tampa Bay,
Dallas, New York Jets. I dont think its a good trade because of
burelson's role this year in the vikings offense but i would like your
opinion
NFL News...
The New York Jets
Ty Law can look forward to playing against the New England Patriots
twice this season. The New York Jets, an AFC East rival of the
Patriots, agreed to terms with the four-time Pro Bowl cornerback on
Monday. The New York Daily News reported that Law agreed to a
four-year deal which includes $7 million in guaranteed money. Forced
to make room under the salary cap for Law, the Jets released veteran
nickel back Ray Mickens, who was due to make $1.2 million in 2005.
Oakland Raiders
Already hired by CBS as a football analyst, veteran quarterback Rich
Gannon announced his retirement on Saturday. The NFL's Most Valuable
Player in 2002 when he led the Oakland Raiders to the Super Bowl,
Gannon missed most of last season with a broken vertabra in his neck.
He suffered the injury on a helmet-to-helmet hit by linebacker Derrick
Brooks in a September 26 game against Tampa Bay. "I just couldn't
continue my career physically," Gannon said at an afternoon news
conference at the Raiders' training camp facility. "I gave it
everything I had on the field and I have nothing left to give."
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles were without wide receiver Terrell Owens at
practice Friday. They are going to be without Todd Pinkston much
longer. Pinkston will miss the entire season after rupturing his
Achilles tendon during Friday's morning practice. Pinkston got
entangled with cornerback Matt Ware while attempting to catch a pass
down the left sideline. He rose briefly, but then laid down and
awaited medical attention. He will undergo season-ending surgery with
a recovery time of six months, according to athletic trainer Rick
Burkholder.
Running Back News...
Jerome Bettis' 2005 fantasy value inches up following Duce Staley's surgery.
Bettis insists he can't take the pounding of an every-down back
anymore. That’s gives limited value to Verron Haynes and possibly Willie Parker will play big roles.
Duce Staley will need arthroscopic knee surgery, sidelining him indefinitely.
No timetable has been set for Staley's return.
Fred Taylor did his most extensive work of training camp Monday.
According to the Jaguars website, Taylor appeared to run with
''quickness and shiftiness''. "He's progressing like we've hoped he
would," coach Jack Del Rio said.
Brian Westbrook was effective in his return to Eagles practice Monday.
He had one long run and caught several passes from Donovan McNabb.
With Correll Buckhalter banged-up, the Eagles are very happy to see
Westbrook back.
Shaun Alexander continues to be held out of practice because of a sore
hamstring.
''He has a little bit of a nagging hamstring,'' coach Holmgren said.
''He'll be fine.
Mike Anderson may not hold off Tatum Bell for the Broncos' starting
running back job, but he is expected to get plenty of action in the
red zone.
''Mike is a big, strong guy, and he's good near the goal line,'' coach
Mike Shanahan said. ''We missed that last year. He gives us that
option.''
A re-dedicated Kevan Barlow has been a dominant story out of 49ers camp. Barlow has now received glowing notesfrom local writers and national
reporters.
Stephen Davis (knee) still believes he'll play during the preseason.
The Panthers have given no indication when Davis may return. There are
reports that he may not be close to full strength until mid-season.
Texans re-signed Domanick Davis to a four-year contract extension,
through 2009, worth $22 million. The deal includes $8 million in guarantees.
NFL Injuries from Rotoworld.com
Player Pos Status Date Injury Expected Return
Arizona Cardinals
Anquan Boldin WR Out Aug 7 - Out 2-3 weeks
Eric Edwards TE Out Aug 4 pectorals day-to-day
Troy Hambrick RB PUP Aug 1 foot
Atlanta Falcons
Brady Smith DL Out Jul 19 neck Out 6-12 weeks
Baltimore Ravens
Todd Heap TE PUP Aug 4 shoulder Return August 20th
Buffalo Bills
Ross Tucker T PUP Jul 31 back day-to-day
Kevin Everett TE Out May 2 knee Out 4-6 months
Carolina Panthers
Stephen Davis RB Out Aug 7 knee Out indefinitely
Mike Minter DB Out Aug 5 knee day-to-day
Keary Colbert WR Out Aug 3 hamstring day-to-day
Chicago Bears
Brad Maynard P Out Jul 31 calf Out 1-2 weeks
Desmond Clark TE Out Jul 21 ankle Doubtful for training camp
Jason McKie RB Out Jul 21 chest Possibly out for season
Bryan Johnson RB PUP Jul 21 foot Return mid-August
Airese Currie WR Out Jul 21 foot Likely out for season
Cincinnati Bengals
Cleveland Browns
Reuben Droughns RB Out Aug 8 hamstring Day-to-day
Braylon Edwards WR Holdout Aug 2 -
Kellen Winslow TE Out Jul 31 knee Out for season
Keith Heinrich TE I.R. Jul 28 -
Dallas Cowboys
Sean Ryan TE Out Aug 1 foot Return late August
Daniel Campbell TE Out Jul 29 abdomen Return mid-August
Denver Broncos
Champ Bailey DB Out Aug 7 hamstring day-to-day
Courtney Brown DL Out Aug 4 elbow Out 3-6 weeks
Green Bay Packers
Javon Walker WR Out Aug 8 hamstring Day-to-day
Najeh Davenport RB Out Aug 5 ankle day-to-day
Houston Texans
Billy Miller TE Out Aug 7 ankle day-to-day
Indianapolis Colts
Brandon Stokley WR Out Aug 3 shoulder Out 3-4 weeks
Jacksonville Jaguars
Kansas City Chiefs
Tony Gonzalez TE Out Aug 8 foot Day-to-day
Freddie Mitchell WR Out Aug 2 knee day-to-day
Miami Dolphins
Ricky Williams RB Suspended Aug 1 -
Minnesota Vikings
Onterrio Smith RB Suspended Jun 10 - Suspended for the 2005 season
New England Patriots
Willie McGinest LB PUP Aug 2 - day-to-day
Bethel Johnson WR PUP Jul 30 ankle day-to-day
Tedy Bruschi LB PUP Jul 29 -
New Orleans Saints
Chase Lyman WR Out Jul 3 knee Likely out for the season
New York Giants
Jamaar Taylor WR Out Aug 4 hip day-to-day
Derrick Ward RB Out Jun 17 knee Ready by training camp
New York Jets
John Abraham DL Holdout Aug 6 -
Oakland Raiders
Jerry Porter WR Out Aug 7 hamstring day-to-day
Philadelphia Eagles
Todd Pinkston WR I.R. Aug 8 achilles Out for season
Terrell Owens WR Out Aug 8 groin day-to-day
Corey Simon DL Holdout Aug 6 -
Jerome McDougle DL Out Aug 2 abdomen Return September
Pittsburgh Steelers
Duce Staley RB Out Aug 8 knee Out indefinitely
Hines Ward WR Holdout Aug 6 -
San Diego Chargers
Antonio Gates TE Holdout Jul 29 -
Seattle Seahawks
Shaun Alexander RB Out Aug 8 hamstring Day-to-day
Alex Bannister WR Out Aug 6 -
San Francisco 49ers
P.J. Fleck WR Out Aug 5 -
St. Louis Rams
Torry Holt WR Out Aug 7 back day-to-day
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Charlie Garner RB PUP Jul 29 knee Out indefinitely
Tennessee Titans
Ben Troupe TE Out Jul 29 foot Return August
Washington Redskins
Taylor Jacobs WR Out Aug 8 toe Day-to-day
LaVar Arrington LB Out Aug 1 -
Bill Powers Top Runningbacks
1) LaDanian Tomlinson - at least 1 TD last 12 games in 04
2004 - Rushing 1335 YDs 17 TD's...Rec. 53 Catches 441 Yds 1 TD
2) Shaun Alexander - Lost rushing Title by 1 Yd to Curtis Martin...
2004 Rushing 1696 Yds 16 TDs, Rec 23 170 Yds 1 TD
3) Corey Dillon - Third in the NFL in Rushing
2004 Rushing 1635 TD's 12 Rec 15 103 Yds 1 TD
4) Edgerrin James - Played all 16 games 1st time since 2000
2004 Rushing 1548 9 TD's....Rec...51...483 Yd's
5) Priest Holmes - Missed entire second half knee injury
2004 - 892 Yds 14 TD's...Rec 19 187 Yds 1 TD
6) Deuce McCallister - Haslet committed to the Run...
2004 Rushing 1074 Yds 9 TD's...Rec 34 228 Yds
7) Jamal Lewis - No Jail...No Distractions...Other Offensive Weapons
2004 - Rush 1006 7 TD's...Rec. 10 116 Yds in 11 games
8) Tiki Barber - Career Year...More Tools to open offense this year
2004 Rush - 1518 Yds, 13 TD's...Rec 52 578 Yds 2 Td's
9) Rudi Johnson - 6th in Rushing Last Year...Offense should break...
2004 Rush - 1454 Yds, 12 Td's...Rec 15 84 Yds...2 Td's
10) Willis McGahee - New QB this season concerning...Dynamite WR
2004 - 1128 Yds, 13 TD's...Rec...22 for 169 Yds...11 games
11) Clinton Portis - Horrible O Line last season 1st for Gibbs...
2004 - Rush 1315 5 TD's...Rec...40 for 235 Yds...2 TD's...
12) Julius Jones - Bill Parcells will make a difference...He's Healthy
2004 - 819 Yds 7 Td's...Rec...17 for 109 Yds...8 Games...
13) Curtis Martin....Oldest Man to lead NFL in Rushing
2004 Rush 1697..12 Td's...Rec. 41 for 245 Yds 2 Td's...
14) Steven Jackson - Martz says commitment to running game...
2004 - Rush 673 Yds with 4 Td's...Rec...19 for 189 Yds
15) Kevin Jones - 3 number 1 WR's...Topped all rookies last year
2004 - Rush 1133 with 5 Td's...Rec...28 for 180 1 TD...
Porterhouse Picks...
Running Back ranks
1) LT - Phenom
2) Alexander - contract year
3) McCallister - Consistent and solid (can catch and run)
4) Holmes - How many carries will he split w/Johnson
5) Barber - He is the Giants offense
6) Jackson - The greatest show on turf could be back and dangerous this year
7) McGahee - He will cvarry the full load for Buffalo
8) Martin - Does he ever get old
9) Green - As long as he doesn't fumble
10) Dillon - They have traditionally passed more than they run...we'll
see this year
11) J. Jones - This kid is explosive...Bleddoe doen't check down well
12) R. Johnson - The Bengals could be this years Colts
13) E. James - He just doesn't get touchdowns
14) Taylor - When healthy he's dangerous
15) K. Jones - The Lions should be explosive on offense...if
Harrington or Gracia give them anything
16) Portis - Washington is anemic offensively
17) D. Davis - Could be higher...he catches and runs
18) J. Lewis - How will prison affect him
19) Westbrook - He'll sign..but will he stay healthy
20) Jordan - Will the Raiders try to establish the run
Other thoughts.....who wins job in Tennesse (Brown or Henry) Is
Arrington a sleeper in 'zona or does someone else emerge (Shipp), Will
Bennett win and hold onto job in Minny, Ronnie Brown/Ricky Williams
saga, Will Benson establish himself in time in Chicago or does Jones
hold on for one more year. Is this teh year for Tatum Bell in Denver?
If Lee Suggs is the answer...what's the question, Will Gore take over
early in SF for Barlow??? Is DeShaun Foster healty. Will Tampa ride
teh Cadillac? Who gets the ball more Duckett or Dunn.
Posted by billpowers at 06:05 PM
August 08, 2005
Fantasy Focus Week 24
The Dog Days of summer have hit and we are heading into the home stretch. On this weeks show, we discuss the steroid issue with a new posterboy Rafael Palmiero (do you think Giambi is breathing a sigh of relief?). Plus we go around the majors, check the injury report and the studs and duds from the last week. Don't forget the Pit Bull Hot Sauce Enfuego Player of the Week...Who will it be? Give show 24 a listen.
Fantasy Focus – Week 24
Hello again everybody and welcome to the Fantasy Focus where we head
into the dog days of summer in pursuit of all the lowdown in Major
League Baseball that could make you a fantasy wizard. I'm Bill Powers
with Chris Adams across the way as we get set to bring you all the
info you'll need to prepare for your upcoming Fantasy Baseball week.
As usual, we will take a look at our G-mail,, tour the majors with any
breaking news…We'll check the injury report and of course take a look
at the Studs and Duds from the past week. We'll also wrap up the show
with the Pit Bull Hot Sauce Enfuego Player of the Week.
It's very exciting to see the way the show continues to add listeners
every week, but of course were greedy. We have about six more weeks
of the show and I would love to add 100 downloads a week. So tell
your friends, your relatives and even the people you hate….Instead of
saying something like your mother is a whore, just say oh yeah, well
your mother listens to the fantasy focus podcast.
We'll give our opinions about Raphael Palmiero in just a few minutes,
but if you would like to weigh in on the subject or anything else
regarding the show, feel free to email us at billpowers36@gmail.com.
That's billpowers36@gmail.com. If you have questions, I try to answer
them as quickly as possible and then discuss them on the following
show. Also, we have to thank our sponsor pit bull hot sauce who's
helping to pay some of the expenses. If you go to
fantasyfocuspodcast.com, click on the pit bull hot sauce icon and take
a quick survey to qualify for some pit bull hot sauce prize packs.
It's just a quick survey to see who is listening and how you would
improve fantasy focus. Coming up later this week, be on the lookout
for the Triple F fantasy focus football show with Porterhouse DiPrima
and I bringing you all info you will need as you prepare for your
fantasy draft and coming soon, fantasy focus hockey with Chris Adams.
We'll give you the details when we get closer to air. Finally, don't
forget to stop by the vegan cooking school to hear delicious recipes
prepared in a healthy fashion with Tracy Jorg. Just go to
vegancookingschool.com to download her show. This week Chris, she
prepared sausage and peppers Vegan style…It tasted awesome goin in,
but when your used to Big Mac and Fries, it comes out pretty fast….
Time to take a dip into the gmail bag with our first note from Daniel
who writes:
I'm in a points only league.
So would you trade j Pierre (291 points)
M Piazza(207)
for
J Damon(347)
and then pick B Inge (217 but in a slump) up off the waivers
thanks Daniel
Daniel, I probably would not make the deal…Juan Pierre is over 50
points behind Damon, but that's only because he played so poorly in
the first half with limited playing time. Pierre is playing very
well. Damon has been consistent all season. He has more of a chance
to trail off a bit. I would stay the course.
Hello guys. I have 2 questions for you - first is surrounding a trade
in one of my head to head leagues where I am the commissioner. I
offered Derek Jeter and Kevin Mench for Bobby Abreu which was
accepted. Now some background, my team at the time was 8-9 and kind of
in the middle of the pack for the last Wild Card spot and the team I
was trading was 12-4 and the best team in the league so you know none
of us were mailing it in. Out of 10 owners eligible to vote 5 of them
Disapproved of this trade. I honestly do not see anything wrong with
this trade to warrant half the owners to attempt to veto it so I used
my commissioner powers and pushed it through. Your thoughts on this
trade - is is so unbalanced to warrant 5 vetos? I kind of feel bad
after the fact pushing through a trade that was vetoed, especially one
involving myself.
Secondly, is Kyle Farnsworth still worth a roster spot? Do you see him
ever becoming the closer in ATL?
Love the show and have been pushing it on all my friends involved in
my fantasy leagues, keep up the good work.
-Todd
First off Todd, I must tell you I am a Bobby Abreu fan...He is a
bonafide five tool guy. Although he has struggled mightly since his
allstar performance (2 homers in just under a month), he is still a
premiere player that does not equate to Jeter and Mench...But it's not
like it was Abreu for Jason Kendall....If getting Abreu is a 10, the
other team has a 6.5...
Unless your desperate, don't bother holding a roster spot...Farnsworth
will have to wait until Reitisma screws up royally...How about
Fernando Rodney from the TIgers? He definately has the closers job.
Although not many opportunities will arise...
It's my first time playing fantasy baseball and I made the following
deal that didn't make it through the review period:
I get Vlad and F. A. Garcia
I give Street, Taveras, and Giambi
The other guy is at the bottom of the rankings and desperate for saves
and speed and I'm in second place and could use a bump in RBI's.
I've been telling people that if you look into the stats, it's not as
unbalanced as it looks. There have been a number of incredibly
unbalanced deals in this league and at the very least, I don't think
this is the most unbalanced trade this year. Two of the people who
objected to my trade were on the good side of the following two trades:
Lew Ford for Luis Gonzales and Michael Young for Posada. I knew at the
time those trades were ripoffs, but I didn't say anything. I think
they're being hypocrites. Also, this guy has been shopping Vlad for a
while, so I think they're the dumb ones for not going after him.
Since this is my first year playing fantasy baseball, what do you
believe the proper use of a veto is? Is it only to prevent dumps and
collusion, or do you also use it to prevent people from earning the
fantasy baseball equivalent of Darwin Awards?
In need of wisdom,
Clay
New Orleans
Dumps and collusions only...
Anytime you are getting the MVP, questions
will arise...Who is FA Garcia...Is that Freddie Garcia...
If so, I would not approve this deal either...
While Raffy and Ryan Franklin dominated the headlines this week, there
were other teams and players that made some news. With that in minds,
its time to take a tour of the Majors thanks to MLB.Com…
Texas Rangers
Signed RHP Aaron Sele to a Minor League contract and assigned him to
Triple-A Oklahoma. Sele was released by the Mariners earlier in the
week. If he was unsuccessful in Pitcher Friendly Safeco, forget about
pitching in Arlington. The Rangers also purchased the contract of RHP
Steve Karsay from Double-A Frisco and designated LHP Ron Mahay for
assignment. No Fantasy impact here.
Arizona Diamondbacks
Signed 1B Tony Clark to a two-year contract extension.
New York Mets
The New York Mets have recalled RHP Jae Seo from Triple-A Norfolk and
optioned LHP Kazuhisa Ishii to Norfolk. Ishi has been a train wreck
this season and Seo came up big on Saturday shutting out the Cubs 2 –
0. But don't go running to pick up Seo for your fantasy team.
Los Angeles Angels
Recalled INF Casey Kotchman from Triple-A Salt Lake. His power
numbers increased in Triple A. The only questions will be the amount
of playing time he will received down the stretch.
Los Angeles Dodgers
Sent RHP Scott Erickson outright to Triple-A Las Vegas. He had been
designated for assignment on July 29.
Colorado Rockies
Released INF Desi Relaford and sent INF Anderson Machado outright to
Triple-A Colorado Springs.
Baltimore Orioles
Suspended 1B Rafael Palmeiro 10 days for a drug violation.
Purchased the contract of OF Midre Cummings from Triple-A Ottawa.
Boston Red Sox
Activated OF Jose Cruz Jr. and optioned RHP Jon Papelbon to Triple-A
Pawtucket. He probably will be splitting limited time with Gabe
Kapler. He could not perform in Arizona. Don't expect much in
Beantown.
New York Yankees
Signed LHP Dennys Reyes to a Minor League contract and assigned him to
Triple-A Columbus as the bombers continue to stockpile mediocre to
putrid talent to try and get through the rash of injuries to the
pitching staff. On the positive side, Righthander Jaret Wright
pitched well in a Single A rehab start and could be back in two weeks.
Carl Pavano was scheduled to start a rehab game tonite in Trenton or Columbus, but is now on his way to see the doctor with continued pain in his shoulder…He could be gone for the season….
Philadelphia Phillies
Claimed RHP Aquilino Lopez on waivers from the Colorado Rockies.
San Francisco Giants
Recalled C Justin Knoedler from Triple-A Fresno. Designated OF
Marquis Grissom for assignment.
Seattle Mariners
Suspended RHP Ryan Franklin 10 days for a drug violation and selected
RHP Masao Kida from Triple-A Tacoma; placed RHP Jeff Nelson on the
bereavement list and selected the contract of RHP Jeff Harris from
Tacoma.
Chicago White Sox
Requested waivers on RHP Shingo Takatsu for the purpose of granting
his unconditional release.
Milwaukee Brewers
Exercised the club option on manager Ned Yost's contract for the 2006 season.
Minnesota Twins
Released 2B Bret Boone and recalled SS Jason Bartlett from Triple-A Rochester.
Injury Report courtesy of MLB.Com..
Saturday 8/6
Florida Marlins
Placed 1B Carlos Delgado on the 15-day disabled list with a sore left
hand and recalled RHP Randy Messenger from Triple-A Albuquerque. Huge
loss of a power guy heading into the dog days of summer…Although
Delgado has not had a monster year, losing 21 homers with 77 RBI could
be difference maker between finishing in or out of the money. You
might want to consider Oakland First Baseman Dan Johnson who has 10
homers with 31 RBI with a 324 average if he is still available in your
league. Chris Shelton from the Tigers could help as well…
Texas Rangers
Signed RHP Aaron Sele to a Minor League contract and assigned him to
Triple-A Oklahoma.
Placed OF Richard Hidalgo on the 15-day disabled list with a left
wrist injury and recalled IF Marshall McDougall from Triple-A
Oklahoma.
Friday 8/5/05
Chicago Cubs
Activated SS Nomar Garciaparra from the 60-day disabled list;
Activated RHP Scott Williamson from the 60-day disabled list; Placed
Jerry Hairston on the 15-day disabled list (torn ligament left elbow);
Optioned RHP Sergio Mitre to Triple-A Iowa and designated LHP Mike
Remlinger for assignment.
Cleveland Indians
Placed LHP Arthur Rhodes on the bereavement list and recalled RHP
Fernando Cabrera from Triple-A Buffalo.
Seattle Mariners
Activated RHP Jeff Nelson from the bereavement list and optioned RHP
Masao Kida to Triple-A Tacoma; Recalled OF Chris Snelling and optioned
OF Jamal Strong to Tacoma.
Washington Nationals
Announced RHP Sun-Woo Kim was claimed off waivers by the Colorado
Rockies; Reinstated OF Tony Blanco and INF Henry Mateo from the 15-day
disabled list, then outrighted Mateo to Double-A Harrisburg.
Thursday 8/4/05
Boston Red Sox
Placed 1B John Olerud on the 15-day disabled listed, retroactive to
Aug. 1, with a left hamstring strain; recalled 1B Roberto Petagine
from Triple-A Pawtucket and LHP Chris Narveson was designated for
assignment
Cleveland Indians
Activated DH Travis Hafner from the 15-day disabled list and optioned
OF Jason Dubois to Triple-A Buffalo.
San Francisco Giants
Activated C Mike Matheny from the bereavement list.
Wednesday 8/3/05
Los Angeles Angels
Placed LHP Jarrod Washburn on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to
July 25, with inflammation in his elbow.
Seattle Mariners
Placed RHP Jorge Campillo on the 15-day disabled list with a strained
right elbow and recalled RHP Clint Nageotte from Triple-A Tacoma.
Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Activated INF Eric Munson from the 15-day disabled list and sent him
outright to Triple-A Durham.
Tuesday 8/2/05
Seattle Mariners
Suspended RHP Ryan Franklin 10 days for a drug violation and selected
RHP Masao Kida from Triple-A Tacoma; placed RHP Jeff Nelson on the
bereavement list and selected the contract of RHP Jeff Harris from
Tacoma.
Monday 8/1/05
Baltimore Orioles
Suspended 1B Rafael Palmeiro 10 days for a drug violation.
Cleveland Indians
Activated LHP Jason Stanford from the 60-day disabled list and
optioned him to Double-A Akron; Transferred OF Juan Gonzalez from the
15-day to the 60-day disabled list; Optioned INF Brandon Phillips to
Triple-A Buffalo.
San Francisco Giants
Placed C Mike Matheny on the bereavement list.
Time to take a look at the Fantasy Studs and Duds from the past week…
One player really stood out in my mind this week. So I will make him
my Pit Bull Hot Sauce Enfuego Player of the week, brought to you by
pit bull hot sauce with three different varieties of hot. Regular,
Revenge and Renegade. How hot do you like it. Go to pit bull hot
sauce .com and tell them Bill Powers from the Fantasy Focus Podcast
sent ya…
Posted by billpowers at 05:01 PM
August 01, 2005
Fantasy Focus Week 23
The trade deadline has passed and we are heading for the stretch run. Who was dealt and how will this effect your team? We will soon find out...We have our first sponsor, Pit Bull Hot Sauce who brings you the En Fuego player of the week. Who will it be? Download the show now...
Hello again everybody and welcome to the Fantasy Focus where we talk about the world of Fantasy Baseball and this week cover the real thing when we discuss the trading deadline which has now come and gone. I'm
Bill Powers with Chris Adams once again sitting across the way. Along with trading deadline discussions, we'll also take a look at the injury report, what's up with our fantasy teams and of course who are
the studs and duds from the past week. And we want to welcome our very first sponsor Pit Bull Hot Sauce who will be bringing you the Pit Bull Hot Sauce En Fuego Player of the Week…
Before we dive into the baseball talk, we need to thank everyone who has been downloading the show. We now have over 1000 listeners to the show, but that's not good enough. Tell your friends…Tell your
neighbors…Tell your mistress to download Fantasy Focus. Just go to Fantasy Focus Podcast.com where you can get the show every week. Plus, during the course of the week, we will put updated blogs of whats happening around the world of Major League Baseball and how it might effect your team. Also, coming shortly will be Triple F Football with Porthouse DiPrima and I navigating the waters of Fantasy
Football. The first show should be happening in just over a week where we will start getting you ready for your Fantasy Draft. Also on the horizon will the Fantasy Hockey which will be hosted by Chris
Adams.
If have any questions about the show or possible trading opportunities that you would like another opinion, please feel free to send me an email at billpowers36@gmail.com. I will answer your questions as soon as possible and then we will try to discuss it on the show the following week. Again, the email address is billpowers36@gmail.com. We will reach into the gmail bag in just a few minutes, but first off,
we need to touch base on the trading deadline that passed yesterday at 4pm.
One of the biggest deals that was discussed was Manny Ramirez, who has been a headache pretty much his entire time in Boston requesting a trade. Similar to last season when Sox GM Theo Epstein got rid of the
cancer that was Nomar Garciappara, attempts to drop Manny. Different circumstances here. Nomar had been injury prone and appeared that his best days were already behind him. Manny is one of the top 5 hitters
in all of baseball. How do you trade that kind of production? One mega deal that was on the table was Manny heading to the Mets in a three way deal that would have brought the amazins Danys Baez and
Julio Lugo from the Devil Rays. The Sox would receive Mike Cameron and prospect Lasting Milledge from the Mets and Aubrey Huff from the Rays. Tampa would get the Mets number one pitching prospect Yusmeiro
Petit and various other prospects. According to the New York Post, the Mets held up the deal with an unwillingness to give up Milledge and the amount of cash owed Manny.
Are they serious? Manny is still owed $64 million through 2008, but your shedding $13 million next season when Piazza's contract expires. And now your hitting is secured for the next few seasons. You can
live with the weak offense you've been getting at first base with Doug Mienkavitch. You can look for more pitching in the off-season. You have a chance to win this season with this type of deal. And if not,
your gonna make a ton of cash filling Shea this year. Plus the new TV network is more appealing with such a cache name on board to go along with Pedro and Beltran. And now you can concentrate on a defensive
backstop that might be able to throw out more than 5 guys in a season. Big and shortsighted mistake by the New York Mets…
The deals that did happen this week:
The Colorado Rockies traded OF Eric Byrnes to the Baltimore Orioles for OF Larry Bigbie; Designated INF Anderson Machado for assignment.
New York Yankees
Traded RHP Shawn Chacon to the Yankees in exchange for Minor League RHP Ramon Ramirez and RHP Eduardo Sierra, both of whom were assigned to Double-A Tulsa.
San Francisco Giants
Acquired OF Randy Winn from Seattle in exchange for C Yorvit Torrealba and RHP Jesse Foppert. Purchased the contract of C Yamid Haad from Triple-A Fresno.
Texas Rangers
Acquired 1B/DH Phil Nevin from the San Diego Padres for RHP Chan Ho Park and cash.
Pittsburgh Pirates
Acquired Minor League INF J.J. Furmaniak from the San Diego Padres in exchange for C David Ross.
7/31/05 Arizona Diamondbacks
Acquired RHP Kyle Bono and INF Kenny Perez from the Red Sox for OF Jose Cruz Jr. and cash.
Atlanta Braves
Acquired RHP Kyle Farnsworth from the Detroit Tigers, in exchange for pitchers Zach Miner and Roman Colon.
Chicago Cubs
Traded OF Jody Gerut to the Pirates for OF Matt Lawton and cash.
Chicago White Sox
Acquired INF Geoff Blum from the San Diego Padres in exchange for P Ryan Meaux.
Florida Marlins
Acquired LHP Ron Villone from the Mariners for RHP Yorman Bazardo and RHP Michael Flannery. Optioned RHP John Riedling to Triple-A Albuquerque.
New York Yankees
Traded LHP Buddy Groom to the Arizona Diamondbacks for a player to be named or cash considerations.
Pittsburgh Pirates
Acquired OF Jody Gerut and cash considerations from the Chicago Cubs in exchange for OF Matt Lawton.
San Diego Padres
Acquired C Miguel Olivo from the Mariners for C Miguel Ojeda and RHP Nathanel Mateo.
Seattle Mariners
Acquired C Miguel Ojeda and RHP Nathanael Mateo from the Padres for C Miguel Olivo.
Acquired RHP Jesse Foppert and C Yorvit Torrealba from the Giants for OF Randy Winn.
Boston Red Sox
Acquired OF Jose Cruz Jr. and cash considerations from the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for Minor League INF Kenny Perez and Minor League RHP Kyle Bono.
Assorted Baseball News
New York Mets
Signed IF Wil Cordero to a Minor League contract and assigned him to Triple-A Norfolk.
New York Yankees
Signed LHP Alan Embree; designated LHP Buddy Groom for assignment. Signed RHP Hideo Nomo to a Minor League contract.
Time to dive into the mail bag where we hear from Mike Howell who writes:
Hey Bill
Sosa has hit a few home runs this past week - you think he might pull
a Giambi in the second half or is he done for good?
cheers
-mike
He's been a bum for two years...I don't expect that to change...
Remember, along with the drop in weight from no steroids, Giambi also had the tumor...So he had more than one problem. Not to mention, Giambi came back this year just as big as he used to be, except that
hopefully he did it naturally...I don't see the same size on Sosa...
Next up is Uncle Schmool…
i need a boost in pretty much all offensive stats. the key is though, if i get that boost, a few points here and there and im really in the race. im thinking about offernig hideki matsui or carlos lee for bobby
abreu, whom, i had traded after the draft (he was my #1 D.C @ #11 of 12) i traded bobby abreu, casey blake and latroy hawkins for juan pierre, hideki matsui and melvin mora..ive since dropped pierre due to
my impatients. i need average,home runs, and steals more than anything. do you think this would be a wise move? hideki or carlos for bobby?
by the way i kept willy even though i have a reall log jam for the outfields and lone utl spot. (grady sizemore, brady clark, carlos lee,
chris shelton/lyle overbay, willy tavares and hideki matsui)
do you think this would be a wise move? hideki or carlos for bobby?
-matt
You bet your ass regarding abreu...If you can trade Carlos Lee for him...I think Lee is playing over his head...And if it takes Hideki, Abreu helps with steals...It is probably safe to drop Sizemore...I
think his hot streak is over...
Again, if you have any questions or thoughts about the show…Maybe a trade possibility with everyones trade deadline scattered about, fire off an email to billpowers36@gmail.com.
In my 9 team mixed 5x5 league, everyone sucks donkey balls…There is NO Trade action to be had. It is utterly ridiculous. If you read Mike Harmon's fantasy notes on Yahoo, he discuss these trades that have
been going down in Fantasy Baseball…One deal has Kris Benson being traded for the likes of Jim Edmonds, Chad Tracey, Luis Castillo and Shea Hillenbrand
Another player he has being dealt is Zack Duke of the Pirates for players like Dontrelle Willis. Or paired with Mark Texiera, Miguel Cabrera and Carlos Beltran to return closers like Chad Cordero and
Billy Wagner…
Who are making these outrages trades and can I get into these leagues.
Saturday 7/30/05
Atlanta Braves
Recalled RHP Kyle Davies and RHP Roman Colon from Triple-A Richmond.
Placed RHP Jay Powell on the 15-day disabled list.
Boston Red Sox
Activated OF Gabe Kapler from the 15-day disabled list and designated
OF Adam Hyzdu for assignment. Kapler is a solid role player with
speed and some pop and could be very useful with the injury to Trot
Nixon. Although with the acquisition of Jose Cruz Jr, he will lose
some playing time.
Colorado Rockies
Placed 1B Todd Helton on the 15-day disabled list (left calf strain).
Recalled INF Eddy Garabito from Triple-A Colorado Springs. Returned
RHP Aaron Cook from his Minor League rehab assignment and reinstated
him from the 60-day disabled list. Just when it appeared that Helton
was going to break out, he breaks down. Chalk this up as a lost
season for Helton.
Toronto Blue Jays
Recalled RHP Dustin McGowan from Triple-A Syracuse; Placed LHP Ted
Lilly on the 15-day disabled list. Lilly has been extremely
inconsistent this season. If your league lacks pitching depth this
hurts…
Minnesota Twins
Placed OF Torii Hunter on the 15-day disabled list. Hunter has been
disappointing Fantasy Owners all season…Not a killer…
Thursday
7/28/05
New York Yankees
Placed RHP Kevin Brown on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to
July 24, with a lumbar strain; While I don't like to push ill will…It
looks like his career might be in jeopardy which is good for fantasy
owners and Yankee fans. He has been horrible with his pitching as
well as his attitude since he arrived to the big apple. Suddenly we
all wish Jeff Weaver was still in pinstripes.
Wednesday 7/27/05
Baltimore Orioles
Placed OF Eli Marrero on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained
right thumb and recalled OF David Newhan from Triple-A Ottawa.
Marrero was not playing consistently and should not hurt your fantasy
squad.
Boston Red Sox
Placed OF Trot Nixon on the 15-day disabled list with a left oblique
strain and recalled LHP Lenny DiNardo from Triple-A Pawtucket. Nixon
was just getting to play almost everyday and this injury will side
track him…Nixon could be a huge fantasy player with every day action
which he was starting to get…This hurts as much as Nixons Oblique…
Detroit Tigers
Activated INF Placido Polanco from the 15-day disabled list; Optioned
OF Curtis Granderson to Triple-A Toledo. Granderson has a future
which is just not now. Polanco is back and continues on the torrid
pace he started when he came over from Philly… Get him back into your
line-up.
Houston Astros
Placed RHP Brandon Backe on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to
July 25, with a strained muscle near his rib cage and recalled RHP
Ezequiel Astacio from Triple-A Round Rock. Backe has not really
distinguished himself in the eyes of fantasy owners….
Tuesday 7/26/05
Atlanta Braves
Placed LHP Mike Hampton on the disabled list, retroactive to July 18,
with a backache. When he was healthy this year, he was awesome.
Unfortunately, he has not been healthy much this season.
Cleveland Indians
Placed DH Travis Hafner on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to
July 17, with post-concussive symptoms and purchased the contract of
INF/OF Jeff Liefer from Triple-A Buffalo; Recalled LHP Brian Tallet
from Triple-A Buffalo and optioned RHP Fernando Cabrera to Buffalo.
Hafner has been on fire prior to the all-star break. The Indians
offense has struggled during his absence. But he is expected back
early this week…
Florida Marlins
Activated RHP Antonio Alfonseca from the 60-day disabled list and
optioned RHP Randy Messenger to Triple-A Albuquerque; Transferred RHP
Nate Bump from the 15-day to the 60-day disabled list. Another
reliever option for Jack McKeon. But not a fantasy story.
Seattle Mariners
Activated INF Dave Hansen from the 15-day disabled list and optioned
OF Chris Snelling to Triple-A Tacoma.
St. Louis Cardinals
Placed OF Larry Walker on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to
July 23, with a stiff neck and recalled OF John Gall from Triple-A
Memphis. The on-again off again injuries and rendered Walker an only
if your desperate for power option all season. If this injury hurts
your fantasy team, your team had no chance in the first place.
Toronto Blue Jays