The Knights who Say "Hah!"

I don't really have much to the whole ARod supposedly yelling "Hah!" as he ran behind Howie Clark of the Toronto Blue Jays. I just thought the title was kind of funny.

Personally, I have no problem with him doing this, I don't really see it as being any different than a shortstop pretending he's gonna turn the double play in order to get the runner to slide. I guess the only difference is that ARod said something, rather than just acting in a certain way, but still.

Binky Update

Inspired by an intervention style post about one owner's continued attachment to his binkies, here's an update on some of the ongoing binkies in our league:

Owner: Dan Opp
Binky: Michael Cuddyer
Binky Qualifications: Weak
This is a weak binky because Mike Cuddyer is a perfectly valid fantasy option at this point. He is certainly worth owning after a .309, 24 HR, 109 RBI season. The only reason he reaches binky status is that Mr. Opp owned Mikey well before he became a viable option, but like I said, a weak case.

Owner: Nick Willnow
Binky: Carl Pavano
Binky Qualifications: Very Strong
Nick drafted Pavano high before the 2005 season and held onto him all season (4-6, 4.77 ERA). He even opted to keep him, and held onto him for his zero appearances in 2006. He kept him AGAIN and still is hanging onto Carl, even though he's about to have his elbow rebuilt and will likely not pitch until 2009.
Dishonorable Mention: Coco Crisp

Owner: Dan Messier
Binky: Zack Greinke
Binky Qualifications: Very Strong
Dan traded Bartolo Colon to get Zack in 2005, and enjoyed his 5-17, 5.88 ERA, 1.56 WHIP season. He kept him, and stuck with him through his lost year of 2006. Dan is still tantalized by Zack's potential, despite his immolation and demotion to the bullpen this year.

Owner: Brad DeMay
Binky: Wily Mo Pena
Binky Qualifications: Moderate
Brad has owned Wily Mo since he came over the AL. He wasn't eligible to be kept this past offseason, so Brad had to go ahead and draft him. Brad continues to hold onto Wily Mo (despite owning 5 other OFs), intrigued by his power, just hoping for him to get some playing time.
Dishonorable Mention: Eric Chavez, Ervin Santana

Owner: Matt Adams (me)
Binky: Jonny Gomes
Binky Qualifications: High
Yes, I can admit my own weakness. Similar to Brad with Wily Mo, I continue holding onto Gomes despite having 5 other OFs. I keep telling myself that Gomes hit 21 HR in 3/4 of a season in 2005, and 12 HR last April before hurting his shoulder. His binky status is enhanced by the fact that Gomes got sent to Triple A today, but I have not plans to drop him.
Dishonorable Mention: Adrian Beltre, Jason Giambi, Johan Santana (kidding)

Owner: Harold Greist
Binky: Jorge Cantu
Binky Qualifications: High
Continuing on a theme, here's another D Ray who had a monster 2005, followed by a disappointing, injury plagued 2006. Harold had Cantu for 2005, so perhaps his devotion is understandable. Cantu is back in the majors after an uninspiring trip to the minors (.677 OPS) He avoided a second trip to the minors, but doesn't look to be getting any playing time any time soon.

Owner: Greg Palmer
Binky: Daniel Cabrera
Binky Qualifications: Extremely High
The king of all binkies in this league, Greg is like a battered wife who keeps making excuses for her abusive husband. Greg has been waiting years for the results to match the stuff. He actually traded him away last season in a trade for Randy Johnson, but once Cabrera was dropped, I must admit, I got a case of Cabrera-fever. After a few positive starts by Cabrera this season, Greg couldn't resist, and traded me Gary Sheffield and Kevin Millwood for Cabrera and Adam Lind.
Dishonorable Mention: Tadahito Iguchi

Owner: Chuck Prezzano
Binky: Andy Marte
Binky Qualifications: High
Chuck's the subject of a recent intervention about his devotion to Craig Hansen, Andy Marte, and Brandon Marte. He did bounce Hansen (finally) but is doggedly attached to Marte, despite having TWO thirdbasemen on his team better than Marte (Alex Gordon, Aki Iwamura)
Dishonorable Mention: Brandon McCarthy, Craig Hansen (cured!)

Alas for what might've been

Joe Posnanski has a great article about the baseball meteor that was Bo Jackson.

I was a bit too young to fully experience the 4 or 5 year time period when Bo Jackson was one of the two biggest athletes in the world (along with Michael Jordan). I do fondly remember the "Bo Knows" commercials and can recall a few electric runs from his days on the Oakland Raiders. I can also recall him being a great baseball player, and him climbing the wall to make a catch. And of course, Video Bo of Tecmo Bowl fame is the most legendary sports figure in video history. An unstoppable force that perhaps befits the greatest athlete since Jim Thorpe, or at least Danny Ainge.

What might have been?

Well, I don't wanna launch into some Sabermetric endeavor, not because I am opposed to it, moreso because I don't really know how to go about it. However, what if his hip injury in 1990 was less serious, but nevertheless made him decide to just play baseball, due to his ability to play longer and make more?

As the article states, Bo was something of a raw player. While he did walk a fair amount of the time (although not great), he stuck out an ungodly amount. This likely would never have changed, although perhaps a devotion to baseball only might have helped some. A healthy Bo Jackson, given the hyperbole with which speak of him, would likely have been one of, if not the best players in the game.

His OBP increased yearly for three straight years prior to his injury. It was a respectable .342 in 1990, when he 27. Likewise, he increased his slugging percentage all three years, up to .523. With a devotion to baseball, I think he could've put up a .370 OBP year in and year out, maybe he might've even topped .400. Likewise, his slugging percentage might've reached as high as .570, with a few .600 plus seasons. Add in the speed, and you have a hell of a player.

Considering only 5 players topped a 1000 OPS in 2006 (Hafner, ManRam, Papi, Thome, Dye) he would've truly been one of the best. The early 1990's White Sox were a good team, and with a healthy Bo, they may very well have won a few championships.

I think his peak seasons would probably have resembled Alfonso Soriano's 2006 season:

.277, 119 runs, 46 HR, 95 RBI, 41 steals.

This sounds like a decent enough player, but seems to ring a little hollow for the greatest athlete anyone had ever seen. A man who's bat made the sound that only Babe Ruth and Josh Gibson's had made before that. Who knows what the ceiling truly would've been for Bo? Alas, we'll never know now.

Random Thoughts

Sweatball.

Jason Giambi didn’t test positive for amphetamines. That was the medication he takes for his overactive sweat glands. I mean have you SEEN this guy? It can be the first inning of a night game with temps in the 40’s and he’s drenched when he steps to the plate (even though he’s a DH!). It’s like he sits in a sauna between at bats.

It was the Dukes!

I don't want to make light of the despicable things Elijah Dukes supposedly has done (there are few things lower than an abusive husband) . I'm setting the over/under on the number of seasons in the bigs before he self destructs completely at 2 1/2 seasons. (By the way, bonus points to those of you who caught the subtle Trading Places reference in the first line.)

Just call me Samson.

Apparently Samson isn’t the only one who derived his power from his hair. Magglio Ordonez’s magnificent locks, threatening to challenge Oscar Gamble:

for the greatest ‘do in history (well, not really), have propelled him to a dramatic return to his White Sox level performance. As a Tigers fan, I haven’t seen him play this well while wearing the Olde English D, and it’s a bit jarring. Maggs appeared to be headed down the 20 HR, 80 RBI path, but suddenly he’s back on the 35 HR, 110 RBI track.

Kablammo!

That’s the sound of Milton Bradley’s hammy blowing up. Granted, nothing of the sort actually happened, it’s just a continued soreness, but still. I read an article recently that suggested that the A’s new “Moneyballesque” philosophy was to get a bunch of injury prone guys. Well mission accomplished with MB. Bradley has had many problems, both injury and attitude, over the course of his career. So much so that it’s hard to tell what a healthy season might look like for him. Personally, I think a healthy season probably looks something like this: .280 – 25 HR – 85 RBI – 85 Runs – 15 SB.

We've all got them: the guy we hate

So I was perusing the wire today and I saw a name that made my blood boil. Ok, maybe that's a bit strong, but I certainly didn't react positively to the name.

I think most fantasy players, after a while, end up with anti-binkies. I've mentioned the irrational fantasy binky in the past (I myself am a recovering member of the Jose Guillen binky club), well the anti-binky is the opposite, a guy who you irrationally hate.

The anti-binky really needs a good name. How about bonky? That’d be especially appropriate in fantasy hockey if your bonky was Radek Bonk.

Anyway, my current bonky is Hank “Mookie” Blalock, aka Hank “Stiff” Blalock. There, you see, my irrational distaste for Mr. Blalock is shining through. As you can probably guess, I once owned Mr. Hank Blalock. In fact, I made intermittent attempts to acquire his services over the course of 2 years before finally acquiring him prior to the 2006 season. I traded a high pick (top 10) and a lower pick for Blalock and a mid-round pick. I don’t want to delve into our league rules too much, suffice it to say, I gave up a fair amount to acquire him.

The thought process at the time went something like this: “He’s only 26, and already has a 32 HR, 110 RBI season under his belt. Nevermind the fact that he can’t hit lefties to save his life (He sports an impressive .225/.278/.351 against lefties in his career). Also nevermind the fact that his OPS had decline for 2 straight seasons, from .872 to .855 to .749. Basically, I was betting on him to turn it around, after all, he was only 26.

Well, what happened? He fell further off the face of the Earth. His OPS lowered again to .726. He hit even more pathetically against lefties. By the end of the season one of his coaches told him “You are a waste of talent.” By our league’s trading deadline I was disgusted with this stiff (who had taken up residence on my bench, having been supplanted by Adrian Beltre, another guy I have a love/hate relationship with) and shipped him out to get some first base help (Kevin Youkilis).

Hank was off to a better start this year before going under the knife. Not up to his previous career standards, but his OPS was at least over .800.

I think one of the main reasons people form fantasy bonkies is because of disappointment. In my case, I worked off and on for a few years in order to get that guy, only to end up saying “Man, this guy friggin sucks!”

We all have our bonkies and I welcome your comments about yours, and the reasons why.

Other bonkies I have/had:

JD Drew - He's well on his way to bonky status with his incredibly weak start. I draft him even though he was my 5^th outfielder and traded Magglio Ordonez (and Joe Borowski, for Jason Giambi) to make room for JD. Not looking so good right now.

Chris Carpenter – This one is more a case of “what might have been.” I drafted him (a steal I thought) in the 12^th round of our inaugural draft, back when he was still in Toronto. I thought he’d be a good one. He got bombed in his first start, then went on the shelf. He came back a few weeks later to get bombed again. Back to the DL he went, eventually having some arm surgery, if I recall correctly. Toronto ended up letting him go, he went to the Cardinals and the rest is history.

Relaunch - Sexy vs Giambino

So where were we?

Obviously, there's a bit of a gap in posts. I was chugging along pretty good and then, not so much.

Anyway, let's relight this thing.

Today's topic is especially appropriate, as both Richie Sexson and Jason Giambi have been getting a fair amount of notice in fantasyland lately, mostly for the wrong reasons. Big Sexy has been getting ferociously booed by the Mariner faithful, while Giambi has been struggling recently with a bruised heel (no truth to the rumor he injured it while putting him foot in his mouth with his recent "MLB should apologize for my steroid use" proclamation). It was reported today that the Angels might have an interest in acquiring the Giambino.

As the owner of Mr. Giambi in a keeper league, I would welcome the move out back west. Obviously, the Angels don't have quite the offensive firepower of the Yanks, but it just doesn't seem to me like Giambi ever was a good fit for New York.

I want to see less of this tool:

And more of this badass:

Of course, part of the A's look was the roid rage, but still.

Now, getting back to Big Sexy, the reason I mention him in this post is that he's involved in a good old fashioned challenge trade I've currently got proposed. I don't plan on being that guy who tells stories about his fantasy league, but I think this is a worthwhile topic of discussion.

Jason Giambi for Richie Sexson, straight up, in a keeper league. Giambi was born 1/8/71, Sexson was born 12/29/74. So clearly, the age factor favors Giambi. Giambi is performing somewhat better this season, mostly in average (.272 vs .172). The two are really quite similar, and have had similar seasons each of the last two years.

Giambi's prime years are probably better than Sexson's, the dude did win the MVP. Giambi's days of hitting over .300 are probably done, but is OBP has been consistently over .400 throughout his career (career .413 versus .348 for Sexson).

Giambi and Sexson have each had one major injury in their career (if I recall correctly). Giambi with his bizarre pituatary gland thing, and Sexson 2 shoulder surgeries. Both of those injuries are in the past and don't seem to have any lingering affects.

Basically, Sexson is a younger version of Giambi, with a little less plate discipline. Giambi's a little older, but is under contract for one more year than Sexson. Sexson's deal is up after next season, Giambi's the season after. Neither player's current team is very likely to resign them once their contract is up (hell, the Yankees have thought about trying to void Giambi's deal)

This one could go either way, which is exactly what makes for a good challenge trade.