Always 72 degrees and grainy

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Down for the Count


Will it be ready for Twinsfest 2011?

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Save the Dome is the Best

If you are reading this (and you're not), perhaps you've clicked out of curiosity on a link from the #1 ranked team in Benchwarmer Baseball, the 2010 Experts League and Benchwarmer Bash Champion Save the Dome Dogs. Rest assured that between now and the new season, I will reveal all my winning secrets here and perhaps elsewhere. Last year's rankings and depth charts, along with relative underemployment, helped me win 4 league championships out of 6 leagues, one of the notable exceptions being the one league I most wanted to win, the new Murderers' Row ($$money$$!!) league. Congrats to Guttenberg Gandolfinis.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Olde Tymers

The Royals celebrated the 25th Anniversary of the 1985 All-MO World Series by fielding a couple of teams for the Willie Wilson Classic, a seven inning softball game for charity. The Cardinals didn't exactly bring out the stars - it was Jack Clark, John Tudor, the rest, and some grocery store executives.

Clark still had his big swing:



Good seats were available and the Royals' camera caught two Benchwarmer Baseball owners taking it in:

Friday, April 9, 2010

Best Reasons to Lose in 2010

My preseason prospect list only included players who were/are available in Benchwarmer. As a BWB admin, I'd say the most frequently asked question (to which I actually know the answer) is when new players become available. The rule:

After the initial load of the master list in December, players will be added to the master list only for these reasons:

  • They are promoted to a major league roster AND earn major league statistics.
  • They are a number one draft pick in the amateur draft. This is only for one of the top 30 picks and does not include any of the supplemental picks. (If supplemental picks are added in the middle of the first round, they will be included...the intent here is to cover all the primary 30 team slots in the first round).

Putting this another way, no players will be added to the list between January and April – despite signings of players from Japan, Korea, Cuba, etc. and despite any expectations that a minor leaguer not currently on the BWB list will make a major league roster. These players must play in a regular season game before they make our list.

So non first-round draft picks who aren't initially on the 40 man roster trickle in throughout the season. Obviously, a few might even be there the first week. It's important to attempt to jump on these $100 players, as they can be signed cheap and kept under control for a good while (just like in MLB) . Moreover, teams doing the worst pick free agents first, so there is always a reason to pay attention. Here's a quick list of guys definitely worth making room for :

Aroldis Chapman - SP - Cin
Jesus Montero - C- NYY
Jenrry Mejia - RP - NYM
Mike Stanton - OF - Fla
Martin Perez - SP - Tex
Michael Taylor - OF - Oak
Domonic Brown - OF - Phi
Starlin Castro - SS - ChC
Logan Morrison - 1B - Fla
Alex Colome - SP - TB
Matt Moore - SP - TB
Todd Frazier - 2B - Cin
Derek Norris - C - Was
Dee Gordon - SS - LAD
Noel Arguelles - SP - KC
Zach Stewart - P - Tor

Monday, March 29, 2010

Ku'oko'a Kila Ka'aihue!


Why even invite Kila to spring training if he can't make the team with a .378/.472/.733 line? Will the first half of the season be an attempt to "showcase" Jose Guillen in order to find someone willing to kick in a million or two of twelve?? If Randy Winn and Brett Gardner should happen to collide with Nick Johnson on the on deck circle....

Monday, March 22, 2010

In the Trenches




A wily veteran in Glendale showed me how to correctly hold out a pen (in the left hand, writing side pointed toward the object to be signed, proffered from the right hand) and said that nearing yourself to a cute kid was no guarantee of success. Sometimes only the kid received the prize.

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Updated 2010 MLB Projected Starters by Position

Bookmark now (Ctrl-D)!

Hitters are sorted by career OPS, pitchers by career K/9. I will be gradually trying to add columns to the tables, probably starting with 2009 SB.

Updated 3/20/10


I believe all transactional updates are accounted for, but not necessarily every spring training position battle or injury is reflected here. Moreover, A Strasburg or Alex Gordon may still be projected for the majority of PT for the year and is thusly still on the list.

Please comment on this post at any time if there are any galling errors, or if you just want to say hi.

Catchers
First Basemen
Second Basemen
Shortstops
Third Basemen
Outfielders
Designated Hitters
Starting Pitchers
Closers

Mexicutioner


Spring Training 2010, Surprise AZ

2010 Royals Season Preview?

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Pablo Sandoval Sighting, Spring Training 2010



Some have questioned the existence of Pablo Sandoval, but while perusing photos upon return from my Cactus League scouting trip, I couldn't help but notice the imposing silhouette in the upper left corner. A quick crop reveals this shocking profile:




Officially weighing in at 245 pounds, this specimen wears it well and hit a grand slam off Carlos Zambrano, who later defended the Panda. Can he repeat .330 with this body?

Monday, March 8, 2010

Projected 2010 Starting Pitchers and Their Benchwarmer Salaries

Well, this took me some time. Not many new drafters will be able to utilize, but I am glad I went through with the exercise. I've got at least three "real life" drafts and/or auctions coming up, and it's nice for me to look at all this info. Some of the 5th starters are obviously questionable at this point. As with the other lists, I will try to keep them up to date, even if I'm the only one ever looking at them. My P-Bang1 stat is a secret rudimentary formula indicating Bang for the Benchwarmer Buck.

*These pitchers pitched an insignificant amount of innings in 2009.

**Aroldis Chapman is not yet in the BWB system. For an answer to the FAQ of when he will be, look here.

Team Pitcher 2010 Salary Career K/9 2009 K/9 Career ERA 2009 ERA Career WHIP 2009 WHIP P-Bang1
SF-1 Tim Lincecum 9553 10.2 10.4 2.9 2.48 1.15 1.05 1.07
Det-2 Max Scherzer 2605 9.5 9.2 3.86 4.12 1.32 1.34 3.65
Tex-1 Rich Harden 3592 9.4 10.9 3.39 4.09 1.24 1.34 2.62
SF-4 Jonathan Sanchez 2964 9.3 9.8 4.81 4.24 1.45 1.37 3.14
LAA-2 Scott Kazmir 2950 9.3 7.1 3.83 4.89 1.38 1.42 3.15
Tor-3 Brandon Morrow 868 9.3 8.1 3.96 4.39 1.47 1.58 10.71
NYM-4 Oliver Perez 1492 9.2 8.5 4.54 6.82 1.46 1.92 6.17
Min-5 Francisco Liriano 935 9.2 8 4.16 5.8 1.3 1.55 9.84
LAD-2 Claytom Kershaw 4008 9.2 9.7 3.36 2.79 1.33 1.23 2.3
NYY-5 Joba Chamberlain 2175 9.1 7.6 3.61 4.75 1.37 1.54 4.18
NYM-1 Johan Santana 6046 9.1 7.9 3.12 3.13 1.11 1.21 1.51
Mil-1 Yovani Gallardo 3232 9.1 9.9 3.57 3.73 1.29 1.31 2.82
ChW-1 Jacob Peavy 3129 9 9.7 3.26 3.45 1.18 1.12 2.88
SF-5 Madison Bumgarner* 100 9 9 1.8 1.8 1.1 1.1 90
TB-5 Wade Davis 202 8.9 8.9 3.72 3.72 1.27 1.27 44.06
Tor-4 Marc Rzepczynski 549 8.8 8.8 3.67 3.67 1.32 1.32 16.03
Sea-4 Erik Bedard 1792 8.8 9.8 3.71 2.82 1.32 1.19 4.91
Hou-4 Bud Norris 407 8.7 8.7 4.53 4.53 1.51 1.51 21.38
Bos-1 Josh Beckett 4706 8.5 8.4 3.79 3.86 1.22 1.19 1.81
Bos-4 Daisuke Matsuzaka 1742 8.5 8.2 4 5.76 1.4 1.87 4.88
NYY-3 A.J. Burnett 4230 8.4 8.5 3.84 4.04 1.3 1.4 1.99
Phi-2 Cole Hamels 4426 8.4 7.8 3.67 4.32 1.18 1.29 1.9
Atl-1 Tommy Hanson 1332 8.2 8.2 2.89 2.89 1.18 1.18 6.16
LAD-1 Chad Billingsley 4051 8.2 8.2 3.55 4.03 1.38 1.32 2.02
NYY-2 Javier Vazquez 6867 8.1 9.8 4.19 2.87 1.25 1.03 1.18
Sea-1 Felix Hernandez 8140 8.1 8.2 3.45 2.49 1.27 1.14 1
Det-1 Justin Verlander 6345 8 10.1 3.92 3.45 1.29 1.18 1.26
Was-5 Garrett Mock 496 8 7.1 5.17 5.62 1.65 1.73 16.13
Bos-2 Jon Lester 4869 7.9 10 3.66 3.41 1.33 1.23 1.62
Col-3 Jorge De La Rosa 2823 7.9 9.4 5.18 4.38 1.57 1.38 2.8
Fla-2 Ricky Nolasco 3336 7.9 9.5 4.43 5.06 1.25 1.25 2.37
Fla-1 Josh Johnson 4034 7.9 8.2 3.4 3.23 1.29 1.16 1.96
SD-2 Chris Young 1158 7.8 5.9 3.87 5.21 1.21 1.45 6.74
Col-1 Ubaldo Jimenez 4633 7.8 8.2 3.8 3.47 1.32 1.23 1.68
ChC-1 Carlos Zambrano 3912 7.7 8.1 3.51 3.77 1.3 1.38 1.97
ChC-3 Ted Lilly 4639 7.7 7.7 4.25 3.1 1.29 1.06 1.66
Cle-2 Justin Masterson 1078 7.7 8.3 3.97 4.52 1.36 1.45 7.14
Bal-3 Brian Matusz 200 7.7 7.7 4.63 4.63 1.48 1.48 38.5
Tor-5 David Purcey 248 7.7 7.3 5.81 6.19 1.59 1.75 31.05
Oak-2 Brett Anderson 2378 7.7 7.7 4.06 4.06 1.28 1.28 3.24
Ari-1 Danny Haren 7163 7.6 8.8 3.61 3.14 1.18 1 1.06
KC-1 Zack Greinke 9077 7.6 9.5 3.73 2.16 1.27 1.07 0.84
Oak-1 Ben Sheets* 1395 7.6 -- 3.72 -- 1.2 -- 5.45
NYY-1 C.C. Sabathia 7875 7.6 7.7 3.62 3.37 1.23 1.15 0.97
Bos-5 Clay Buchholz 712 7.6 6.7 4.91 4.21 1.5 1.38 10.67
ChC-2 Ryan Dempster 4534 7.6 7.7 4.44 3.64 1.47 1.31 1.68
Cin-2 Johnny Cueto 2664 7.6 6.9 4.61 4.41 1.39 1.36 2.85
Hou-3 Brett Myers 1324 7.5 6.4 4.4 4.84 1.36 1.37 5.66
Hou-2 Wandy Rodriguez 4996 7.5 8.4 4.33 3.02 1.37 1.24 1.5
SF-2 Matt Cain 5770 7.5 7.1 3.53 2.89 1.25 1.18 1.3
NYM-2 John Maine 1424 7.5 6.1 4.22 4.43 1.3 1.29 5.27
Cin-1 Aaron Harang 3477 7.5 7.9 4.24 4.21 1.33 1.41 2.16
Hou-1 Roy Oswalt 4080 7.4 6.8 3.23 4.12 1.2 1.24 1.81
Mil-2 Randy Wolf 4573 7.4 7.5 4.13 3.23 1.32 1.1 1.62
Sea-5 Ian Snell 2389 7.3 5.5 4.71 4.84 1.53 1.59 3.06
Ari-2 Brandon Webb* 2468 7.3 4.5 3.27 13.5 1.24 2 2.96
TB-2 Matt Garza 3805 7.3 8.4 3.99 3.95 1.34 1.26 1.92
Det-5 Jeremy Bonderman* 570 7.3 4.4 4.78 8.71 1.4 2.32 12.81
LAA-1 Jered Weaver 4185 7.3 7.4 3.73 3.75 1.25 1.24 1.74
LAA-3 Ervin Santana 2328 7.3 6.9 4.52 5.03 1.32 1.48 3.14
TB-3 David Price 839 7.2 7.2 4.17 4.42 1.31 1.35 8.58
Bos-3 John Lackey 3603 7.2 7.1 3.81 3.83 1.31 1.27 2
Fla-5 Andrew Miller 641 7.2 6.6 5.5 4.84 1.66 1.6 11.23
StL-2 Adam Wainwright 6754 7.1 8.2 3.17 2.63 1.26 1.21 1.05
Tor-1 Shaun Marcum* 1063 7.1 -- 3.95 -- 1.28 -- 6.68
Tor-2 Ricky Romero 2207 7.1 7.1 4.3 4.3 1.52 1.52 3.22
TB-1 Jamie Shields 4312 7.1 6.8 4.01 4.14 1.24 1.33 1.65
ChW-3 John Danks 3889 7 6.7 4.06 3.77 1.33 1.28 1.8
Bal-1 Kevin Millwood 3582 7 5.6 4.02 3.67 1.31 1.34 1.95
StL-5 Kyle McClellan 1334 7 6.9 3.73 3.38 1.37 1.35 5.25
Tex-5 Derek Holland 642 7 7 6.12 6.12 1.5 1.5 10.9
Oak-5 Justin Duchscherer* 569 6.9 -- 3.14 -- 1.12 -- 12.13
Min-2 Kevin Slowey 1254 6.9 7.4 4.39 4.86 1.28 1.41 5.5
Min-1 Scott Baker 3496 6.9 7.3 4.27 4.36 1.26 1.19 1.97
SD-4 Mat Latos 344 6.9 6.9 4.62 4.62 1.3 1.3 20.06
SF-3 Barry Zito 3527 6.8 7.2 3.84 4.03 1.3 1.35 1.93
Sea-2 Cliff Lee 6112 6.8 7 3.97 3.22 1.3 1.24 1.11
StL-1 Chris Carpenter 5545 6.8 6.7 3.88 2.24 1.29 1.01 1.23
ChW-4 Gavin Floyd 3478 6.7 7.6 4.67 4.06 1.37 1.23 1.93
Was-3 Scott Olsen 1253 6.7 6 4.77 6.03 1.48 1.72 5.35
Mil-3 Doug Davis 3615 6.7 6.5 4.31 4.12 1.49 1.51 1.85
Phi-4 J.A. Happ 1621 6.7 6.5 3.21 2.93 1.27 1.24 4.13
Pit-5 Kevin Hart 401 6.6 6.6 5.26 6.92 1.75 1.88 16.46
Phi-1 Roy Halladay 8377 6.6 7.8 3.43 2.79 1.2 1.13 0.79
NYY-4 Andy Pettitte 3684 6.6 6.8 3.91 4.16 1.36 1.38 1.79
ChW-5 Freddy A. Garcia 415 6.6 5.9 4.08 4.34 1.29 1.21 15.9
Fla-3 Anibal Sanchez 754 6.6 7.4 3.86 3.87 1.45 1.51 8.75
Ari-5 Billy Buckner 377 6.6 7.4 5.74 6.4 1.56 1.59 17.51
KC-2 Gil Meche 2107 6.6 6.6 4.43 5.09 1.41 1.57 3.13
NYM-5 Fernando Nieve 219 6.6 5.6 4.2 2.95 1.41 1.5 30.14
SD-3 Kevin Correia 2860 6.5 6.5 4.36 3.91 1.43 1.3 2.27
Ari-4 Ian Kennedy* 111 6.5 9 6.03 0 1.68 2 58.56
TB-4 Jeff Niemann 2401 6.4 6.2 4.03 3.94 1.37 1.35 2.67
SD-5 Clayton Richard 1865 6.4 6.7 4.8 4.41 1.49 1.47 3.43
Col-5 Jason Hammel 2304 6.4 6.8 5.18 4.33 1.52 1.39 2.78
StL-4 Brad Penny 2452 6.3 5.7 4.14 4.88 1.34 1.4 2.57
Ari-3 Edwin Jackson 3901 6.3 6.8 4.66 3.62 1.51 1.26 1.61
KC-3 Kyle Davies 977 6.3 6.3 5.54 5.27 1.62 1.53 6.45
Atl-2 Jair Jurrjens 5336 6.3 6.4 3.21 2.6 1.28 1.21 1.18
LAD-4 Vicente Padilla 2398 6.2 5.9 4.33 4.46 1.39 1.43 2.59
Col-4 Jeff Francis* 764 6.2 -- 4.74 -- 1.44 -- 8.12
ChC-5 Tom Gorzelanny 624 6.2 9 4.87 5.55 1.49 1.32 9.94
Mil-5 David Bush 1516 6.2 7 4.69 6.38 1.26 1.47 4.09
Det-4 Armando Galarraga 2023 6.2 6 4.62 5.64 1.37 1.57 3.06
Tex-4 Brandon McCarthy 665 6.1 6 4.56 4.62 1.36 1.36 9.17
LAD-3 Hiroki Kuroda 1625 6.1 6.7 3.74 3.76 1.19 1.14 3.75
Sea-3 Ryan Rowland-Smith 927 6.1 4.9 3.62 3.74 1.18 1.18 6.58
Atl-4 Tim Hudson 1085 6.1 6.4 3.49 3.61 1.26 1.47 5.62
Cin-4 Homer Bailey 719 6.1 6.8 5.45 4.53 1.61 1.47 8.48
Cin-3 Bronson Arroyo 4190 6.1 5.2 4.23 3.84 1.33 1.27 1.46
Pit-3 Ross Ohlendorf 2301 6.1 5.6 4.54 3.92 1.39 1.23 2.65
LAD-5 Eric Stults 343 6.1 5.9 4.84 4.86 1.51 1.54 17.78
Atl-5 Kenshin Kawakami 2094 6 6 3.86 3.86 1.34 1.34 2.87
Min-4 Carl Pavano 2120 5.9 6.6 4.44 5.1 1.36 1.38 2.78
Fla-4 Chris Volstad 1785 5.9 6.1 4.4 5.21 1.4 1.43 3.31
Pit-4 Charlie Morton 649 5.8 5.8 5.24 4.55 1.53 1.46 8.94
KC-4 Luke Hochevar 1331 5.8 6.7 5.88 6.55 1.47 1.49 4.36
Atl-3 Derek Lowe 3622 5.8 5.1 3.84 4.67 1.29 1.52 1.6
Pit-1 Paul Maholm 3247 5.7 5.5 4.33 4.44 1.42 1.44 1.76
Oak-3 Dallas Braden 1035 5.7 5.3 4.68 3.89 1.44 1.36 5.51
Phi-3 Joseph Blanton 3695 5.6 7.5 4.21 4.05 1.33 1.32 1.52
Cle-1 Fausto Carmona 1138 5.6 5 4.69 6.32 1.49 1.76 4.92
Bal-2 Jeremy Guthrie 2996 5.6 5 4.27 5.04 1.32 1.42 1.87
StL-3 Kyle Lohse 1761 5.6 5.9 4.68 4.74 1.41 1.37 3.18
LAA-5 Joel Pineiro 3530 5.6 4.4 4.39 3.49 1.34 1.15 1.59
ChC-4 Randy Wells 2625 5.5 5.7 2.95 3.05 1.25 1.28 2.1
Bal-4 Chris Tillman 330 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.4 1.55 1.55 16.36
Phi-5 Jamie Moyer 2755 5.4 5.2 4.22 4.94 1.32 1.36 1.96
Tex-3 Tommy Hunter 702 5.3 5.1 5.2 4.1 1.4 1.3 7.55
Was-2 Jason Marquis 3465 5.3 4.8 4.48 4.04 1.42 1.38 1.53
ChW-2 Mark Buerhle 4248 5.2 4.4 3.8 3.84 1.27 1.25 1.22
LAA-4 Joe Saunders 2863 5.2 4.9 4.22 4.6 1.37 1.43 1.82
NYM-3 Mike Pelfrey 2584 5.2 5.2 4.58 5.03 1.49 1.51 2.01
KC-5 Brian Bannister 2333 5.1 5.7 4.79 4.73 1.37 1.37 2.19
Tex-2 Scott Feldman 2653 5 5.4 4.58 4.08 1.39 1.28 1.88
Hou-5 Brian Moehler 1924 5 5.3 4.8 5.47 1.45 1.54 2.6
Mil-4 Jeff Suppan 2055 5 4.5 4.68 5.29 1.45 1.7 2.43
Cle-5 Jake Westbrook* 462 4.9 -- 4.31 -- 1.38 -- 10.61
Det-3 Rick Porcello 2053 4.7 4.7 3.96 3.96 1.34 1.34 2.29
Bal-5 Brad Bergeson 883 4.7 4.7 3.43 3.43 1.28 1.28 5.32
SD-1 Jon Garland 3425 4.7 4.8 4.42 4.01 1.39 1.4 1.37
Was-1 John Lannan 3157 4.6 3.9 3.91 3.88 1.36 1.35 1.46
Cle-3 David Huff 563 4.6 4.6 5.61 5.61 1.56 1.56 8.17
Pit-2 Zach Duke 3174 4.6 4.5 4.3 4.06 1.45 1.32 1.45
Oak-4 Trevor Cahill 1817 4.5 4.5 4.63 4.63 1.44 1.44 2.48
Min-3 Nick Blackburn 3088 4.4 4.3 4.14 4.03 1.38 1.37 1.42
Cle-4 Aaron Laffey 790 4.3 4.4 4.39 4.44 1.5 1.62 5.44
Was-4 J.D. Martin 435 4.3 4.3 4.44 4.44 1.42 1.42 9.89
Col-2 Aaron Cook 2839 3.7 4.4 4.33 4.16 1.44 1.41 1.3
Cin-5 Aroldis Chapman**
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#DIV/0!