In case you’re missing it, we are living in a baseball world where the following two tweets can pop up in succession, as they just did in my feed:
Baseball Hot Stove Report: Pujols Gone, Prince Fielder and Yu Darvish Next
December 9, 2011 By 1 Comment
Do not confuse Albert Pujols with LeBron James.
Albert wound up as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals for 11 years and helped lead his team to two World Championships, the most recent being just six weeks ago.
By comparison, Prince Fielder is likely walking away from the Milwaukee Brewers after the minimum six years.
Albert Pujols’ Act of Betrayal Against the St. Louis Cardinals Should Not be Defended
December 9, 2011 By 4 Comments
I knew the whole Albert Pujols re-signing situation was doomed from the very start.
Once Pujols started to tell the press he was open to looking at other options besides the St. Louis Cardinals I knew, in the back of my head, that Pujols was going to go against the words he spoke not that long ago.
Flipping Channels Between the World Series and LA Galaxy’s Champions League Run
October 21, 2011 By 2 Comments
Excitement for sports fans ran deep Thursday night as two thrilling events were unfolding at the same time.
The St. Louis Cardinals and LA Galaxy both took a 1-0 lead in their respective contests, but the teams went separate ways soon after their scores. The Cardinals lost their slim lead, and the game, 2-1 in the ninth and now have their series even at one game a piece. The Galaxy held on to their tight margin and made it a victory to advance to the quarterfinals in the CONCACAF Champions League.
Philadelphia Phillies v St. Louis Cardinals NLDS Preview: Analysis, TV Schedule, and Pitching Matchups
October 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Lost in all the hoopla of the Red Sox losing a 9-game lead to the Rays was the Cardinals overcoming an 8.5 game deficit to the Atlanta Braves. It was not long ago that the Cardinals seemed to have no shot at the postseason. Just ask Nyjer Morgan back on September 7th:
“Where still n 1st and I hope those crying birds injoy watching tha Crew in tha Playoffs!!! Aaaaahhhhh!!!”
I can’t be the only person who wouldn’t mind seeing the Brewers have to get through the Cardinals setting up a Morgan vs. Pujols confrontation.
How drunk was former MLB pitcher Curtis Leskanic? His BAL was equal to Albert Pujols’ career batting average
September 14, 2011 By 5 Comments
Former MLB pitcher Curtis Leskanic was pulled over recently with an astounding blood alcohol level of .331.
.331!
After Tony Plush’s parting shot for “Alberta” is it time to worry about Nyjer Morgan’s impact come playoff time?
September 8, 2011 By 2 Comments
The mercurial Nyjer Morgan has fast become Major League Baseball’s answer to Dennis Rodman, Ron Artest, or Chad Ochocinco.
As it pertains to the Milwaukee Brewers over the next several weeks, this could prove to be a good or a bad thing.
Fantasy Baseball Hitting Planner for Week of September 5th, 2011
September 4, 2011 By Leave a Comment
So it’s officially September. That means our favorite month of the year, October, is on its way and will be here soon.
Unlike any other sport, baseball is the one where failing 7 out of 10 times can make you a Hall of Fame caliber player. This is why it is so important to recognize who’s hot, who’s not, and catch guys when it benefits you the most. And as always, that’s what we are going to point out to you in this week’s hitting planner.
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Fantasy Baseball Hitting Planner for Week of August 22, 2011
August 22, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Late August means one thing in fantasy baseball: the playoffs are here in just a couple of weeks. For the “real” teams there are less than 40 games on the schedule, and there are going to be two different styles of play that baseball fans will see. There will be teams who are trying to win every game they play, and then there will be teams who don’t care as much about Ws and Ls as they do seeing what they have on the roster. How will this influence your lineups? Help is here with this week’s hitting planner.
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Cardinals need to be angry birds in Milwaukee
August 1, 2011 By 3 Comments
Over the next 38 days, the National League Central Division will go a long ways toward being decided. During that time-frame, the Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals will each play 35 games…including 12 against each other, beginning Monday night at Miller Park. By the time the team have their 18th and final head-to-head matchup on September 7, there will be a mere three weeks remaining in the regular season.
And based upon events of the last week, the Cardinals better make sure they are still within striking distance.
Fantasy Baseball Weekly Hitting Planner for Week of August 1st
July 30, 2011 By Leave a Comment
With about two months left in the season, some managers are starting to separate themselves away from the rest of the pack while others may have to call this season a wash.
As we are entering the hottest point of the year, expect some bats to heat up. This is usually a time when pitchers begin to feel the effects of the long season and hitters start to see the ball better than ever, and we have outlined a few of them in this week’s hitting planner.
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Albert Pujols, Others Unfairly Dubbed the “Un-Naturals”
July 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Back in the day — well 1995, which I guess wasn’t too far back in the day — there was a tale regarding NFL legend Reggie White late one season. An MRI had diagnosed White with a hole in his hamstring, and the Green Bay Packers announced that he would be ruled out for the remainder of the season.
But just one day after rubbing some dirt on the injury, White was in the Louisiana Superdome competing at a high level in a game versus the New Orleans Saints, and he would go one to play the remainder of that season including the playoffs.
At the time Reggie credited his religious faith along with divine intervention for being able to return to the football field. A more secular view would have Reggie as an absolutely freakish physical specimen who was able to withstand a tremendously high pain threshold. In these parts here in Wisconsin, most took Reggie White at his word, attributing his staying on the field to a combination of the two possibilities.
The Black Swan Theory
July 5, 2011 By 1 Comment
My friend’s father once spent an afternoon explaining to me the Black Swan theory, and how it relates to sports. Surprisingly, it has little to do with Natalie Portman and much more to do with Roger Maris.
Maris was a decent hitter, he explained, but never a great one and certainly not the person you would peg for an all-time power-hitting season. His 61 homers in 1961 was an aberration in the same way Brady Anderson hit 50 homers in 1996 or even Barry Bonds hit 73 in 2001. Those home run totals were so out of whack that they have almost nothing to do with the player’s past or future performance.
Think of it this way: if you see a black swan swimming amidst a flock of white swans, does that mean that there are more black swans on the way? Or is he the only one of his kind?
Deep stuff.
With that brain buster in mind, I wanted to take a look at some MLB players who are having black swan seasons either heading into free agency or right after earning a big contract.
Should MLB executives pay the guys who are about to hit the open market based on how they have done in the past, or how they will do in the future, or a blend of both? And which guys are rewarding or punishing the GMs who paid them the big bucks last winter?
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Fantasy Baseball Hitting Planner: Napoli and Craig looking good; Pena and Ichiro not so much
June 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Mother Nature has been kind to the baseball world as of late and that tends to favor the hitters. Swinging the bat is all about warm weather and consistent play, and some players have taken advantage of the trend.
This scoring period marks the second full week off from interleague play before the circus gets started back up. There are many unknown players who are going to have some breakout games and give you the leg up on the competition, as outlined in this week’s hitting planner.
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Fantasy Baseball Weekly Hitting Primer: What do with Pujols?
May 30, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Last weekend saw the first installment of interleague play this year with a few teams faring better than others. Everything is back to normal, at least for now…except for Buster Posey’s foot causing you to scramble for a replacement.
This week offers some new questions. Will an old flame spark again? Is everything going to be ok in St. Louis? What should you do now that Adam LaRoche is going to be out indefinitely and other injuries are starting to pile up?
Well worry not because we are going to take care of all that with this week’s hitting planner.
