West Stockbridge Fantasy Baseball Week 17

Banks Yanks beats Fallon Sports

The big winner in week 17 was the Bank!  He had the biggest margin at 15-7 and the biggest significance knocking off the “former” first place team Fallon Sports.  I can’t imagine what is going on in the clubhouse over at Fallon Sports.  After a season long average of winning 15-7 during a 14 week span, the team is now losing by those large margins.  Arguing among players?  Too much drinking on the team bus?

Banks Yanks fell behind early in the week and it looked like it was going to be a week of ‘damage control’ for the Bank.  I thought if he finished 12-12 he would be happy.  But he kept pouring it on to a large Market

of victory.  Did I say large “Market” of victory?  I meant margin.  But the Market is now in first place thanks to Neil and the Bank.  So, from the clean and sober clubhouse at the Market to the Bank.  Thank you.

Quiet Knoll Road is Hot!

Quiet Knoll Road is the next huge comeback story of the week.  It looked like he was going down big, which would have made a shift in the standings bringing My Braun Eye up to certain playoff contention.  Very late in the week QKR made his move and flew past MBEI.  The weird part is that several teams were poised to make a big jump in the standings!  This is a good thing!  But, then like kissing your sister they all tied!  Ugh.

Galumpkies staves off large defeat

But for the Galumpkies it was good news, great news.  That was ‘damage control’ at its finest.  He was losing all week and losing solidly.  But ended it at 12-12.  Keeps him real close to the playoffs.  Another come back this wee happened with Bye Week versus Troy’s Garage.  Troy’s was winning big all week.  Then John of Bye week started rolling.  John was up about 15-7 and may have won 15-7 if it wasn’t for Yankees great, Phil Hughes.  The score ended up 12-11 in favor of Thomas of Troy’s (who is sporting a nice new logo – a real image of Troy’s Garage).

Gordie settles for one point victory

Gordie was the Mohicans was winning big but finished up at 12-11.   Queensborough and the Stockbridge Indians tied at 12-12.  They were close all week, and Bruce needs a 20 point win to get him close.  Heck any of those teams Bye Week or the Mohicans can win by 20 and it’s a different view.  We’re still looking great for the playoffs.  My Braun Eye is within reach.  Stateline and the Galimpkies are within reach. 

Match up of This Week

A hot team in the league winning four weeks in a row is Quiet Knoll Road.  His team matches up against Troy’s Garage this week with a three week winning streak.  This is the matchup of the week.  The two teams are 4th and 5th representing their own 'tier' in the standings.  The other matchup is Queensborough versus Fallon Sports.  Fallon is on their heels falling apart at the seams.  Bruce of Queensborough is playing solid baseball.  Will it be another losing week for Fallon Sports?  Will Queensborough get that 20 point win?  Stay tuned.

Week 16 in West Stockbridge Fantasy Baseball

Wow, great week! The standings tightened up pulling the top 11 teams closer. This, thanks to the big weeks by My Braun Eye Itches and Stockbridge Indians. Those Indians won the Battle of Stockbridge over Gordie. The Indians, who either win real big or lose real big, jumped back into playoff contention. And, of course, MBEI is within an arm's reach. This is good!

A day or two ago, the biggest blowout was Bone digger of Troy's Garage over Galumpkies, but you never, ever count the Galumpkies out. I think it was about 22-2 on Friday or Saturday. Pete implemented some damage control and finished at 13-11. A Matchup of the Week last week had Quiet Knoll Road Quietly rising up the standings. The Dealer of ARods Roids is still solidly in the thick of things. But the Knoll is looking to pass the Bone.

The FIRST PLACE team Fallon Sports has lost two weeks in a row. And they were pretty big losses. Is Jeff's team crumbling? We'll find out this week as he takes on a very hot Banks Yanks team. Banks Yanks has only lost twice in twelve weeks (9-2-1) and that by a total of four points. He's his usual late season hot as a pistol. But what's gonna happen? Is Jeff going to come back? A couple of good offensive teams in this one. The top two teams, so, that is a Matchup of the Week:

Banks Yanks vs

Fallon Sports

Keep an eye on that one. Also,

Galumpkies vs

Up Up & A Hey

Good luck everyone. Have a great week!

Another note on the playoff race - interesting if My Braun Eye, State Line and Galumkies win (the 11th, 10th and 9th place teams) that really tightens up the standings. Of course, I am hoping Stateline doesn't win because that team is playing me. But, those wins would make the standings tight! AND... it's possible that Queensborough, Bye Week and Mohicans could win also. Let's see what happens and see how the playoff race tightens up.

Troy's Garage Avatar for TBone's Fantasy Baseball Team

These are a couple of options for TBone's Troy's Garage Avatar.

Winning Money at Fan Duel Daily Fantasy Baseball

So, I tried an experiment for the last two days with Fan Duel.  I made some adjustments.  The results were very good.

As I said, I won $100 my first night.  After that, my winnings were sporadic.  It was either stop playing or understand something.  I chose to at least attempt the latter.  Here is a running total.  On April 29th I entered five contests and won 4 of those 5.  My experiment began with smaller contests and smaller dollar amounts.  Here is a screenshot taken a bit earlier in the night.

First place in several contests

The next night, I entered eight contests and won 7 of 8.  This, of course, is just the beginning of the experiment.  I am looking for positive cash flow.  Let's see what happens.

In the past, I could go for three days and 24 contests winning ZERO.  But, now, I have won 11 of 13 contests.  So, I hope something is working excellently!  Check out FAN DUEL HERE.

Fantasy Baseball Challenge with Fan Duel Wins Money

Do you think you know baseball?  You can prove it every day with Fan Duel which has daily fantasy baseball games.  You can risk $1 to $500 and win money.

The very first night I tried it I won $100.  It was my very first game.  The next game, I won $3.60.  A couple of games later, I won again.  But is it that easy?  I found out that you cannot take things for granted or your winnings will dissolve.  I got careless and lost a bunch of games in a row.  I had to retool.

Over the last month I have won about 25 times.  I have learned a few things. Some of those I will write about here in this blog.  For now, Check Out Fan Duel!

Senior Citizen Keeps Score at the Ballpark

Walking around the Diamondbacks spring training stadium today, I noticed a woman keeping score!  When I was growing up, I loved keeping score.  Many of my friends knew how to keep the book and all the nuances of keeping score.  We had to do it for our little league through high school games.  Listening to Yankee games, I would keep a book.  True, I very rarely make it all the way through the game - but the thought was always there.

I loved the excitement of a fresh game starting entering the lineups in the book.  From my Massachusetts home, I could listen to a Cleveland radio station (wwwe) broadcasting live, "from the shores of Lake Erie."  And, I could listen to stations in Baltimore and Washington, D.C while keeping a score card!  But, keeping score is a less common practice now.  Maybe it's a different generational thing.  After my generation, the practice seemed to decline.

Senior Citizen Keeps Score at the Ballpark

Non-baseball fans can't appreciate it.  Casual baseball fans might wonder why we would do it?  Even serious baseball fans may not spend the time.
That is why I really appreciated seeing a senior citizen with a pencil and a score book.  It was about the eighth inning and I stuck up conversation from over her shoulder.

She turned around, smiled and said she had been keeping score since she was young. Her father brought her to her first game when she was five years old.  A pitcher for the Cleveland Indians was pitching is first game.  His name?  Bob Feller.  Her dad had tickets two rows back on the first base side.  She said she has been going to games ever since.

She actually flew to Arizona for ten days worth of spring training games.  Today's game was the Diamondbacks vs. the Royals.  She's a Cleveland Indian fan, but enjoys the game so here she was at this game.  It gets better.  In 1949 she told me that a book came out by Cleveland Indian announcer, Jimmy Dudley.  The book was a 'how to' book on score keeping.

Jimmy Dudley's  Baseball Score Book

Today there was a double header with the second game being Team USA vs. the Rockies.  She left the park with her small steps and waited for 75 minutes to re-enter the park.  Where would she go?  Her small steps would take 40 minutes to get to her car and back.  So, she must have just sat outside the gate!

I happened to see her come back in. I said hello.  She asked about the lineups so we walked over to the booth that had programs for sale.  These programs were the same as the day game, but the clerk said she had "tonight's lineups" coming out soon!  My senior citizen friend was so happy.  But, it was till 90 minutes before first pitch!

The woman stood at the booth waiting for the lineup card.  I told her if I was staying at the park, I would bring the lineup card to her seat.  Before I left the park, I got involved with one of my projects.  I looked back over at the program booth.  There she was still standing there waiting for tonight's lineup.  How sweet.  How cute she was.  Earlier she had asked me where she could get one of those BIG PRETZELS as she had a hot dog for lunch.  This would be her dinner.

From my view, I saw her buy the pretzel.

Later, I saw her sitting, still waiting for the lineup card!  She flashed me her pretzel with a smile as if she had done something sneaky.  It's a beautiful thing that people appreciate baseball the way she does.  It's a beautiful thing to be able to sit calmly, relaxed, doing anything these days (without multi-tasking and over stimulating).  There is a sweetness in keeping score that does go back to another time of Phil Rizzuto, Mel Allen and all the rest.  I will check on my friend tomorrow.  She will be there for Italy vs. Mexico!

NOTE: Update from 3/07/13.  She was one of the first ones into the ball park.  I saw her coming through the gate and had a small chat.  The next time I saw her was 11:30am when she told me she already ate her hot dog and was now looking for popcorn so she could enjoy the game of Mexico versus Italy.  Now, with the excitement of the Mexico fans, there's another story!

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Diamondbacks Spring Training Baseball at Salt River Fields

Spring training baseball only comes once per year.  That's why when asked if I would work at the ballpark for a month, I said, "yes"!

Why not?  When working, I need to be busy and I need to be challenged.  It is a very active month of work because there are games every day with the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Colorado Rockies playing at Salt  River Fields.  Also this year there is the World Baseball Classic.  So, for four days there will be extra games.  Mexico, Canada, Italy and the United States will be playing games for four days in March.

Thursday at Salt River Fields

So, here we go.  But it wasn't baseball as usual at Salt River Fields on the first day in which I showed up.  No sir.  It looked like a baseball field in Montana.  The day before we had large size hail stones falling from the sky.  I have never seen snow in Phoenix and didn't expect it.  Occasionally we will look far away and see some snow on a mountain top.  We'll ooh and ah.  Most of the day on Wednesday it was raining.  That was followed by Thunder.  I wondered why the people were screaming outside my window on Wednesday?  They were playing in the 'snow'!!

So, picture this.  The following day is Thursday.  The season starts Saturday.  They are looking for a concessions supervisor.  Okay.  I'll check it out.  I stopped in and was hired on the spot.  That is the way I like it.  No muss, no fuss.  Let's get rolling.  The first person to whom I spoke at the field was grounds crew supervisor.  He was extremely concerned about getting the field ready for next month, never mind a day and a half.

Friday at Salt River Fields

Today, by the way is Friday.  I stopped in to visit the field to say hello.  This is what I saw.  The grounds crew has done a tremendous job getting the field ready to go in ONE DAY!

So, the grounds crew is pretty impressive.  As I was walking out of the park, I saw some ballplayers practicing.

Friday at Salt River Fields

The Diamondbacks were on their practice field with red sweatshirts getting ready to play ball.  Saturday is the big day.

I should actually make my first post along with a few photos on Monday 2/25/13 about the pre-season at Salt River Field in Arizona.  

Joe Garagiola Retires

When I grew up, Joe Garagiola worked with Tony Kubek doing the Game of the Week on Saturday.  I remember that as a youngster, I liked him.  Sure, why not?  It was a baseball game.  Joe, a fine speaker, was doing the announcing. What was not to like?  

But, I didn't know how good he was.  What a personality, what a character and what a wonderful man he is.  He is genuine.  

Let's see.  My first years of watching The Game of the Week were the seventies - that would have to go back forty years.  If Joe is 87 now, then I knew him first when he was in his forties.  He's the type of guy that you could listen to all day.  I would have to say that the reason is that he has such passion for his profession.  

Garagiola grew up on St. Louis and played for the Cardinals.  He spent 8 or 9 years in the big leagues. One year he said he played for four teams (of the eight teams in the league).  He said he was modeling uniforms.  Joe never claimed to be the caliber of Stan Musial or anyone other than himself, says he was always, 'the player to be named later."

Joe Garagiola

Joe had a couple of stints on the Today show.  Anywhere that he could be speaking in the public eye was good for him.  I didn't get enough of Joe on Saturday's for the Game of the Week.  Nor, did I get enough of Joe and all his goodness in Arizona.  It's said that other than Jerry Colangelo, Garagiola had the most influence in getting a baseball team to Phoenix.

Joe was president of the Baseball Assistance Team (B.A.T.) which helped former ballplayers who had come on hard times.  The Major Leagues, Minor Leagues, Negro Leagues, and Umpires have been guided with the principles of teamwork, caring and sharing.  

Thanks to Joe Garagiola for all you have done for baseball.  Thanks for your passion.  Thanks for your smile.

American League East 2013 Lineups

by Bernie Fallon

These are the starting lineups for the American League East. Each team is looking strong. Initially, I looked to check out the Yankees roster. For me, seeing the Yankees roster came on the heels of writing about the Diamondbacks roster.   Thus, the Yankees is looking pretty good! It does show me how average the DBacks roster is. 

Speaking of good rosters, the Red Sox are looking good too!  With that decent roster and new management, I think the Sox will have more pep in their step.  And the Blue Jays look great. From top to bottom that is the best offense in the division.

Potential Opening Day Lineups

	Yankees	Blue Jays	Rays	Red Sox	Orioles
1	Ichiro Suzuki	Jose Reyes	Desmond Jennings	Jacoby Ellsbury	Nate McCluth
2	Derek Jeter	Melky Cabrera	Yunel Escobar	Shane Victorino	J.J. Hardy
3	Robinson Cano	Jose Bautista	Ben Zobrist	Dustin Pedroia	Nick Markakis
4	Mark Teixeira	Edwin Encarnacion	Evan Longoria	David Ortiz	Adam Jones
5	Curtis Granderson	Brett Lawrie	Matt Joyce	Mike Napoli	Matt Wieters
6	Kevin Youkilis	Colby Rasmus	Luke Scott	Will Middlebrooks	Chris Davis
7	Eduardo Nunez	Adam Lind	James Loney	Stephen Drew	Wilson Betemit
8	Austin Romine	J.P. Arencibia	Sam Fuld	Jonny Gomes	Manny Machado
9	Brett Gardner	Emilio Bonifacio	Jose Molina	Jarrod Saltalamacchia	Brian Roberts

I would probably pick the division like this.

1. Yankees
2. Red Sox
3. Blue Jays
4. Rays
5. Orioles

The Red Sox beat out the Blue Jays because of that pep in their step.  I know that, on paper, the Blue Jays are the best. They are so talented. Brett Lawrie should have a year which puts him as a top 15 player. Melky is a nice number 2 hitter. Reyes can do a lot. Bonifacio is a wonderful 9 hitter. And, who knows? This could be the year that Rasmus does something. The Blue Jay pitching staff is probably the best, on paper. The Yankees have some serious "ifs". Will Phil Hughes pitch average? They can't have average.

For now, check out the starting rotations.  Again, the Blue Jays look good! 

Potential Starting Rotations

	Yankees	Blue Jays	Rays	Red Sox	Orioles
1	CC Sabathia	R.A. Dickey	David Price	Jon Lester	Jason Hammel
2	Hiroki Kuroda	Josh Johnson	Jeremy Hellickson	Ryan Dempster	Wei-Yin Chen
3	Andy Pettitte	Brandon Morrow	Matt Moore	Clay Buchholz	Chris Tillman
4	Phil Hughes	Mark Buehrle	Jeff Niemann	Felix Doubront	Miguel Gonzalez
5	Ivan Nova	Ricky Romero	Alex Cobb	John Lackey	Jair Jurrjens

Serviceable Options For Diamondbacks. Ho Hum (or Not)?

by Apple Goodthree

Trading a star player for a bunch of average players rarely works.  Justin Upton is potentially a legitimate star, a top ten player.  But, would he reach that potential in Phoenix?  Would his presence add to team synergy or take away from it?

I am okay with the trade which sent Justin Upton (and Chris Johnson) to Atlanta for Martin Prado, Randall Delgado, Nick Ahmed and Zeke Spruill.  Most comments I have seen suggest the Diamondbacks are a little mental for making this trade.  Prado doesn’t have the star potential that Upton does.  But Prado is good.  In my opinion they will not regret this trade in the long run even if Upton fills some of his potential.

Why?  I think the Diamondbacks are sick of a star player striking out in key situations.  They are sick of a star player getting hurt.  What management wants is reliability and consistency.  Why else?  Because the Diamondbacks can win.  But, I have noticed something with this Dbacks club that goes against my taste in players.

It’s the “average” player – the serviceable option at this base, that base or the outfield.  Cody Ross is the prototype.  He’s good, but he’s not a star.  Jason Kubel is another – good but I don’t consider him a star.  Cliff Pennington.  Good grief.  Talk about average.  I hope that Paul Goldschmidt doesn't fall into this category either.

I definitely like Martin Prado.  But I always considered him simply a real nice player at second, third or the outfield.  I really would like my third baseman to be the Evan Longoria type.  But, there we go with injury issues again.  So what the hell’s my point?

My point is that maybe these players are growing on me.  Maybe they are players that Kirk Gibson can work with.  Are they serviceable options plus one?  Maybe we're onto something.  Gibby Ball?  Take young center fielder Adam Eaton, for example.  Who knows?  He might make the team.  He’s tough.  He’s got pretty good speed and a little pop. If a guy like that starts in center field, it could be a good thing.  It seems what he had going against him is that he’s short (only 4 inches taller than Freddie Patek).

Losing Chris Young?  He started off last year wonderfully.  Was he going to fulfill his potential?  Let him fulfill it somewhere else.  He’s always injured.  So, I am liking this reliability with the Diamondbacks.  I am liking this potential of hustle.  Sure, it's "potential" reliability and hustle.  But it's like being a Jet fan.  The management sucks so it's hard to put a good team on the field.  Fans are frustrated because of something that is out of control.

Here the groundwork is being laid for reliability and talent.  Montero behind the plate, Goldschmidt at first, Aaron Hill at second, (maybe) Didi Gregorius at short, and Prado at third.  I am okay with that.  I would love to have Geraldo Parra start in left field because his great defense will change games.  Then we have a choice between two very serviceable options in right field, Jason Kubel and Cody Ross.

This team is going to hustle.  I would like to see a big base stealer (the hope of Didi).  But there is decent speed here.  And here’s a statement.  You knew it was coming.  And, you won’t agree because the Los Angeles Dodgers are stacked and the Giants are defending champs.  The Diamondbacks will win their division.  If you re-read this and compare the Diamondbacks with other teams, I probably have not made my case.  

But, there are wins in the intangibles.  There are wins in base running.  There are wins in defense.   There are wins in attitude.  One of my favorite average players is Nick Swisher. When Nick first started playing right field for the Yankees, I was sure a ball would bounce off his head and land in the stands.  What an adventure he was defensively.  Yes, he had a good year last year in 2012.  But he's average.

Ask any Yankee if he's a good teammate and good for morale?  They'll probably say yes.  Does Swisher see the strike zone well?  Yes.  And since we are talking about last year, ask Buck Showalter if you can win a division with good team play and positive attitude.  Close enough.  Bye Justin.  Hello hustle and intensity. Hello Gibby Ball.

2013 Final MLB Division Standings Predictions

Here is a list of MLB teams and divisions.  After I do some reading and thinking, I'll jostle this around a bit and make my predictions soon.  What do you predict?

AL East
1. New York Yankees
2. Baltimore Orioles 
3. Toronto Blue Jays
4. Tampa Bay Rays
5. Boston Red Sox

Great division - any team could finish in any spot.  I think the Red Sox are going to be better than everyone thinks.  It’s hard to bet against the Rays.  Toronto has a lot of talent. The Orioles are well managed, which will give them some games.  The Yankees are the Yankees.

AL Central
1. Detroit Tigers
2. Chicago White Sox
3. Kansas City Royals
4. Cleveland Indians
5. Minnesota Twins

AL West
1. Los Angeles Angels
2. Seattle Mariners
3. Oakland Athletics
4. Texas Rangers
5. Houston Astros

NL East
1. Washington Nationals
2. Atlanta Braves
3. Philadelphia Phillies
4. New York Mets
5. Miami Marlins

NL Central
1. Cincinnati Reds 
2. St. Louis Cardinals
3. Pittsburgh Pirates
4. Milwaukee Brewers
5. Chicago Cubs

NL West
1. Arizona Diamondbacks
2. Los Angeles Dodgers
3. San Francisco Giants
4. San Diego Padres
5. Colorado Rockies