RotoScoop.com – The Scoop on Fantasy Sports
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The Bonds Quandary
By Robby Wellington – Staff Writer Don’t worry, I’m not going to beat a dead horse here, although I will quickly say two things. First, all things being equal, if he had never taken steroids, Bonds would still have a ton of home runs, maybe 50-70 fewer than he does now (as opposed to the…
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Player Spotlight: Cole Hamels
Francisco Liriano is baseball’s best pitching prospect. He got all the attention in spring training and was drafted in virtually every league out there. With the Twins starting rotation imploding, he is getting his chance to join the rotation and live up to my expectations, as I picked him for ROY in the AL. Hamels…
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News & Notes
In the same game that featured a triple play, Mark Buehrle became the first pitcher since 1900 to win a game after giving up seven runs in the first inning. What is up with Chan Ho Park? Not only is he pitching well, but Park, a career .083 hitter, also went 3-for-3 with two RBI…
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Undervalued Pitchers
By Robby Wellington – Staff Writer Here are three closers and three starting pitchers who may very well be undervalued in your league. We’ll start with the closers. . . 1. Brad Lidge – He’ll be fine and back in the closer’s role in no time once he harnesses his control (his stuff is as…
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Preseason Fantasy RB Rankings
By Jeff Chudnofsky – Staff writer The Elite 1) Larry Johnson– Gram’mama amassed 2,093 all-purpose yards and 21 touchdowns in 2005, despite starting only nine games for the Chiefs after filling in for the injured Priest Holmes. Kansas City’s new bell cow will continue where he left off last year with the offensive line intact…
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News & Notes
In the fourth inning Wednesday night, Bruce Froemming forgot the count and rang up Josh Barfield on a second strike. Is it merely a coincidence that Curt Schilling’s season to this point can be divided into two halves, the four starts before he hurled 133 pitches at Cleveland and the four following that night? Schilling…
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Shortstop Rankings
1. Miguel Tejada (1) – Still the best among a suddenly deeper position. 2. Michael Young (2) – It’s argued that he’s the most underrated player in all of baseball. 3. Jose Reyes (3) – He’s greatly increased his walk rate, something that really figures to benefit him in the long run. He’s still the…
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Updated Second Base Rankings
1. Chase Utley (1) – I had him as my No. 1 ranked middle infielder going into the year, and he’s done nothing to suggest anything different so far. 2. Alfonso Soriano (3) – Well, it has gone much smoother than anticipated. Soriano is on his way to putting up fat numbers in an effort…
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News & Notes
In their first 14 games with Derrek Lee, the Cubs scored 73 runs, and in the following 16 games, they scored 40. Colorado’s bullpen has allowed only five homers, the fewest in the majors. The best the team has ever ranked in this category at the end of a season is 25th, in 1998. The…
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First Base Rankings
1. Albert Pujols (1) – Wow. Not much to say at this point. 2. Mark Teixeira (2) – Off to a slow start but he’ll get it going. 3. Lance Berkman (5) – Plays the outfield, but many fantasy owners use his first base eligibility. He’s off to a MVP caliber season. 4. Jim Thome…
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Evaluating Stolen Bases
By: Robby Wellington – Staff Writer Stolen bases are the rarest of commodities in the fantasy world. Home runs are hit more than twice as much as bases are stolen and, accordingly, stolen bases are more than twice as valuable (discounting a home run’s collateral categorical benefit). However, stolen bases are also one of the…
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Catcher Rankings
Next up is catcher for the updated rankings. This time I added my original preseason rankings in italics. 1. Victor Martinez (1) – Simply the best catcher in the game. V-Mart has followed up his impressive second half last year with a great start this year. 2. Josh Willingham (10) – Playing left field means…
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Third Base Rankings
Buying low and selling high is all well and good, but trading comes down to someone valuing one guy more than the next. The following is an updated version of my rankings. Up first is third base. 1. Alex Rodriguez – How many people are kicking themselves for taking him over Pujols? 2. David Wright…
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News & Notes
After going 0-for-4 on Sunday, Vernon Wells snapped a 29-game streak of reaching base safely. Wells’ hot start set a major league record for consecutive games of reaching base to start the season. Edgar Renteria’s 22-game hitting streak (and counting) is the longest to start a season since 1976. According to Bill Arnold’s Beyond the…
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NBA Round 2 Preview
WESTERN CONFERENCE San Antonio (1) vs. Dallas (4) This series figures to be one of the best in this year’s playoffs. It really could go either way, as the Spurs are vulnerable, and the Mavs field the best squad they’ve had in years. The Spurs are still the favorites here, however. Game one saw a…
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NBA First Round Recap
WESTERN CONFERENCE San Antonio (1) vs. Sacramento (8) My Prediction: Spurs 4-2 Outcome: Spurs 4-2 The Spurs’ coaching really is that much better. While they passed the ball all around the court, the Kings settled for one-on-one basketball nearly every possession. In the end, team play won out. Tony Parker absolutely abused Mike Bibby. …
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Spot Starting Addendum (The Omniscience of Vegas)
By: Robby Wellington – Staff Writer A few days back I discussed strategies to getting the most out of your pitching staff and noted certain factors to consider when making your decisions (opponent, opposing pitcher, home/road, hitters/pitchers park, hot/cold streak, etc.). However, there are many more nuanced issues that affect a pitcher’s projected performance, far too many to process…
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Preseason Fantasy QB Rankings
By: Jeff Chudnofsky – Staff Writer The smoke from the NFL Draft has cleared but Fantasy Football junkies everywhere are starting to prepare for that other draft. These rankings are sure to change as we grow closer to August, but let’s take a stab at it early. We start things off with a preliminary look…
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News & Notes
In addition to his fielding woes, a Sports Illustrated poll of 470 players named Derek Jeter on the most ballots as the most over-rated player in baseball. Keep your eyes on Cole Hamels and Jered Weaver. Both look likely to be called up soon and would be worth picking up even in shallow leagues. Something…
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Selective Starting
By: Robby Wellington – Staff Writer Author’s disclaimer: The following article applies specifically to daily transaction leagues, particularly the last paragraph. The unique one-start, two-start importance of weekly transaction leagues merits its own article. One important goal of any fantasy baseball manager is to isolate their players’ good performances from their bad ones and to…
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