Maddon: ‘I’m not running away from Fernando. We’ll get him right’

Source: Roto Arcade by Andy Behrens

So Fernando Rodney was not exactly at his best against the Red Sox on Thursday night.

Asked to protect a two-run ninth-inning lead, Rodney immediately issued a pair of free passes. Nine of the first 11 pitches he threw were non-strikes. He eventually loaded the bases via walk, then gave up a two-out, three-run double to Will Middlebrooks. And then he walked Jarrod Saltalamacchia, just to prove the first three BBs weren't flukes.

Rodney's final fantasy line was a big steaming mess...

Yup, you're reading those ratios correctly: 40.50, 7.50. Some of us are hurting today.

Thursday's blown save was Rodney's third of the season in just 10 chances. In his 15.1 innings so far, he's already issued as

Fantasy Baseball – FAAB Report, Wk.6

Source: Baseball Guys by Ray Flowers

I’ve been sick. So sick that I was in the hospital for three days. I’m feeling better now, but apparently my brain is still a bit scrambled. Just check out some of the crazy bids I placed this week in the free agent pool.

TOUT WARS (15 team mixed): As you know, I’ve been sick for a week now, so sick I was in the hopsital for three days. I’m blaming the residual there for my lack of bid on

Deep fantasy league thoughts -- Chris Iannetta is good, you guys

Source: Fake Teams by Daniel Kelley

Jesus Montero is hitting .224/.250/.306, with one home run.

Alex Avila is hitting .196/.224/.304, with two home runs, and those are his only two RBI.

Victor Martinez, back from injury, is hitting .182/.286/.197. His next home run will be his first.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia is hitting .208/.288/.453. That slugging is perfectly fine, but holy crap Jarrod, do other things.

Salvador Perez is hitting .258/.269/.348. No homers yet, and

Shuffle Up: John Buck, flushing hero

Source: Roto Arcade by Scott Pianowski

You probably know the Shuffle Up rules by now, but we'll go through a refresher course just in case.

The prices below are my catcher rankings for the rest of the season. Don't obsess over the prices in a vacuum; what matters is how the players relate to one another. Commodities at the same dollar figure are considered even.

Assumptions: 5x5 scoring, mixed-league format. Players who are currently disabled or in the minors are not eligible for ranks. The value on that type of player is largely context-driven, anyway; Yasmani Grandal could be a valuable stash in some pools and next-to-worthless in some other groups.

I'll add comments as the day goes along and I reserve the right to tweak this list during the

Empty Wallet: The All-Avoid Team, 2013

Source: Roto Arcade by Scott Pianowski

The good cops have had their say, the optimistic spins are already out there. Today I'm here to play bad cop, throw some red ink around. Let's get ready for the Anti-Value team, the names to avoid.

There's a sneaky industry secret when it comes to target and avoid lists; the second group generally gets the short end of the stick. It's common for many a fantasy pundit to

David Ross (C-BOS)

Source: TG Fantasy Baseball

At least at the start of the season, Red Sox manager John Farrell doesn't plan on pairing any of his pitchers with personal catchers. Loosely, Jarrod Saltalamacchia is Boston's starting catcher and David Ross is the backup. - At least at the start of the season, Red Sox manager John Farrell doesn't plan on pairing any of his pitchers with personal catchers. Loosely, Jarrod Saltalamacchia is Boston's starting catcher and David Ross is the backup. Source: http://mlb.mlb.com

2013 SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio – Experts Draft

Source: Baseball Guys by Ray Flowers

I just keep doing fantasy baseball drafts don’t I? Seems like every time I wake up I get my bowl of cereal, my Red Bull (sometimes there is vodka in it), answer a plethora of tweets and emails, and then I end up being in a draft of some kind. Which draft am I talking about in this article? It’s the SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio draft, populated by the genius minds of the network. How did my team turn out? Before I get to that, here are the rules.

12 team mixed

Anth's Catcher Rankings

Source: Fake Teams by AnthonyCalanni

1. Buster Posey
2. Carlos Santana
3. Matt Wieters
4. Joe Mauer
5. Yadier Molina
6. Miguel Montero
7. Mike Napoli
8. Brian McCann
9. Wilin Rosario
10. Jesus Montero
11. Jonathon Lucroy
12. Salvador Perez
13. J.P. Arencibia
14. A.J. Pierzynski
15. Ryan Doumit
16. Jarrod Saltalamacchia
17. Carlos Ruiz
18. Alex Avila
19. Russell Martin
20. A.J. Ellis

Jarrod Saltalamacchia: (Back) Returns To Lineup

Source: RotoWire.com MLB

Jarrod Saltalamacchia: Saltalamacchia (back) is in Boston's starting lineup Saturday, WEEI.com reports. Visit RotoWire.com for more analysis on this update.

ADP Analysis of the Mock Draft Army's First Draft -- Part 2

Source: RotoSynthesis

For those of you just joining our program, allow me to re-direct you to the article from Wednesday where we introduced you to the Mock Draft Army, a rotating group of fantasy baseball writers looking to provide you with legitimate mock drafts to help you in your draft prep. The Army had its first draft last Tuesday, a 28-round, standard 5x5 mixed league draft consisting of seven writers and five readers and we started to bring you some ADP analysis as a way to understand some of the rising and falling trends we’ve been witnessing over the last several weeks.

In that piece, we covered most of the first half of the draft – two four-round blocks to be exact. We compared those draft numbers with the ADP

K-BAD – 2013: Part III, BBGuys Team

Source: Baseball Guys by Ray Flowers

The fellas over over at KFFL.com have a fantasy baseball league nicknamed K-BAD, for Baseball Analysis Draft, and for the 5th straight year I’m honored to have been asked to participate (the proceeding link takes you to an analysis by every participant on the league). In Part III of this three part review I’ll break down how my squad turned out.

C:

K-BAD – 2013: Part II, Rounds 15-28

Source: Baseball Guys by Ray Flowers

The peeps over over at KFFL.com have a fantasy baseball league nicknamed K-BAD, for Baseball Analysis Draft, and for the 5th straight year I’m honored to have been asked to participate (to see how others in the league constructed their clubs, click on the link above). In Part II of this three part series I will review selections made in rounds 15-28.

Pressing Questions: The Boston Red Sox

Source: Roto Arcade by Scott Pianowski

The 2011 Red Sox crash landed in the final frames; chicken and beer seldom break anyone's fall. The 2012 Olde Town Team was a beat-the-traffic special, dead in the water before high tide.

Last year's messy results speak for themselves. Boston finished dead last in the AL East (69-93), its first basement tape since 1992. The offense didn't score (734 runs, worst showing in two decades), the pitchers couldn't get people out (4.72 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 190 homers allowed), and too many players couldn't stay healthy. If you came to Fenway Park in the summer, you were there for the park, the atmosphere or the opponent. (I attended one game and spent three innings in the concession area talking Fantasy Football with my buddy Cuozzo.

2013 Rankings: Catchers

Source: Fantasy Baseball 365

Fantasy draft time is just around the corner for many folks. That means it is time to start rolling out the position rankngs for draft prep. I'll be posting the rankings without commentary. Feel free to discuss the rankings in the comments below.

Ranking First Name Last

Jarrod Saltalamacchia: Avoids Arbitration With Red Sox

Source: RotoWire.com MLB

Jarrod Saltalamacchia: Saltalamacchia and the Red Sox avoided arbitration Thursday by agreeing to a one-year, $4.5 million contract, WEEI Boston reports. Visit RotoWire.com for more analysis on this update.

Red Sox avoid arbitration with Saltalamacchia - Jarrod Saltalamacchia | BOS

Source: Rotoworld Baseball

Red Sox and Jarrod Saltalamacchia avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year contract.

Get Discounted Players With MIAMI*TRADE

Source: Razzball by grey@razzball.com (Grey Albright)

I went into TurboTax and entered the Marlins $100 million payroll going into last season, subtracted Jose Reyes, Hanley, Josh Johnson, Buehrle, Bonifacio, Buck, Infante, Gaby, Anibal, Heath Bell and Ozzie Guillen’s salary, then I added in Gorkys, Ruggiano, Giancarlo, Wade LeBlanc, Eovaldi, Jacob Turner, Adeiny Hechavarria and Yunel’s salary and it says the Marlins can get an EBT card for their cash assistance benefits. If the Marlins organization were on Teen Mom, people would be rallying to take away their kids. In fact, I’ll start now — someone take Giancarlo into a loving home! His organization spends money like MC Hammer in the 1990′s.  Jeffrey Loria, “Hey, here’s $100 million dollars for a

Review: Fanball & Sirius Show League

Source: Baseball Guys by Ray Flowers

Two more leagues to review. And yes, the results of these final two leagues was much better than the majority of my efforts that I’ve been detailing over the past week.

FANBALL LEAGUE

For those of you who haven’t been following my work for years, and shame on you if you haven’t, I used to work at Fanball. When the company was closed I took up my mantle as a Sirius XM Fantasy Sports Radio employee, something that I will discuss further when

Top 20 Catchers, 2012 Fantasy Baseball

Source: Razzball by grey@razzball.com (Grey Albright)

It feels like yesterday the baseball regular season started.  You wrote “I heart baseball” in permanent marker on your arm, then you met a girl who wrote “I heart guys who heart baseball” on her arm, then, during sex in September, you screamed out “I love you, Chris Davis!” and now you don’t have baseball or a girlfriend, unless your girlfriend was Bill James.  C’mon, calendar, make like a soldier and turn to March.  The only cure for the post-baseball season blues — recapping the preseason top twenty lists and being hand-fed Doritos.  First up, Cool Ranch and our preseason 

OPS Fantasy Leagues: Two Out Of Three Ain’t Good

Source: Razzball by grey@razzball.com (Grey Albright)

We’ve all heard about the three true outcomes: walk, strikeout, and home run. This week I looked at players who only have two of the three true outcomes, specifically those that strikeout and homer often but do not walk at a relatively high level. My parameters were guys that have had at least 200 plate appearances this season, strikeout at least 25% of the time, walk no more than 10% of the time, and have a home run to fly ball rate of at least 20%. For reference, some guys who strikeout and homer at that level, but walk more than 10% of the time, include who you’d expect, such as Adam Dunn, Curtis Granderson, Mike Napoli, and Mark Reynolds. The following players are listed from highest to lowest strikeout rate.

Ryan

Harvey Milks 10 Ks

Source: Razzball by grey@razzball.com (Grey Albright)

The Mets went into their minor league system and pulled a giant rabbit out of their hat with Matt Harvey.  *terrible Jimmy Stewart impression*  Mr. Potter, I knew a Harvey once.    Back in 1955, see, and Danny Kaye asked me to sneak this guy named Harvey out of his bedroom at 2 AM.  Nice fella, that Harvey.  He told me a story that involved Ethel Merman and ping pong balls.  Good, salt of the earth guy, that Harvey.  So, yesterday, Harvey went five innings and 10 Ks.  Tomorrow, the world!  Or just icing his arm and joking around with Ruben Tejada.  One of those.   I’m a big fan of Harvey, but he only has one more start this year (you would’ve owned him yesterday if you followed the

Shuffle Up: With Carlos Ruiz down, let’s find you a new catcher

Source: Roto Arcade by Scott Pianowski

As the calendar shifted to August, we had a terrific horserace shaping up for the Best Fantasy Catcher title. Yadier Molina, Carlos Ruiz, Buster Posey and Joe Mauer are all hitting .315 or better, three of them are showing power, all of them have good run-production stats (relative to position), and some of these guys even steal an occasional bag. They're all in the Top 85 in the Yahoo! game.

Sadly, it's shifted into a a three-man race to the finish line. In a roto year riddled with injuries, you can now add Chooch Ruiz to the list. Bad news on the doorstep.

The Phillies announced early Saturday that Ruiz is down for 4-6 weeks. He's dealing with plantar

Closing Time: With Carlos Ruiz down, let’s find you a new catcher

Source: Roto Arcade by Scott Pianowski

As the calendar shifted to August, we had a terrific horserace shaping up for the Best Fantasy Catcher title. Yadier Molina, Carlos Ruiz, Buster Posey and Joe Mauer are all hitting .315 or better, three of them are showing power, all of them have good run-production stats (relative to position), and some of these guys even steal an occasional bag. They're all in the Top 85 in the Yahoo! game.

Sadly, it's shifted into a a three-man race to the finish line. In a roto year riddled with injuries, you can now add Chooch Ruiz to the list. Bad news on the doorstep.

The Phillies announced early Saturday that Ruiz is down for 4-6 weeks. He's dealing with

Jarrod Saltalamacchia: Ear Infection

Source: RotoWire.com MLB

Jarrod Saltalamacchia: Saltalamacchia was unavailable to play Friday night due to an ear infection, the Boston Herald reports. Visit RotoWire.com for more analysis on this update.

Yanks Replace Gardner With Bonzai

Source: Razzball by grey@razzball.com (Grey Albright)

Just when you thought the hype for Ichiro Suzuki couldn’t get more unwarranted along comes a trade to the Yankees.  There’s a short porch!  There’s a jet stream!  There’s more media scrutiny which will have him more focused!  Iron Chef Morimoto will be preparing him pre-game meals!  A-Rod’s been learning how to say, “You are a beautiful steel butterfly” in Japanese, so he can pick up female Japanese bodybuilders!  New York has a history of taking fading stars and making them productive like Andruw Jones!  Okay, Andruw Jones is nothing but a platoon player, but whatever, this is Ichiro!  In 2010, a fading superstar went to the Yankees in a trade and everyone started talking about how he was going to

Fantasy Baseball Second Half Players to Watch

Source: Fantasy Baseball Dugout by ballparkbob34

These fantasy baseball players are poised for a strong second half and can help your club down the stretch.

Bounce Back Players

These players are simply too good to not have a better second half than their first half of the 2012 season.  Look to pick them up if they are available in your fantasy baseball league.

Carlos Santana, C-1B, Indians — Carlos Santana belted 27 homeruns last year so having only 6 thus far in 2012 makes one think he’s going to have a big second half of the year in the power category.

Eric Hosmer, 1B, Royals  –

Plouffe, there it is: Meet the 2012 Wiggys

Source: Roto Arcade by Scott Pianowski

The same thing happens in every March draft. You walk away from the computer or the war room and think "we drained the depth pretty well. The waiver wire is going to be skank all year."

And then the unknowns come out of nowhere, the surprise stories, the fun pickups and the lucrative pickups. And on my clipboard, I like to call them The Wiggys.

Ty Wigginton, our patron saint, represents so much that's good and right about fantasy baseball. He had a 24-homer season with Tampa Bay in 2006, a spike pretty much out of nowhere. He routinely qualifies at a bunch of different positions. He's usually out there on the wire, ready to go for free when you need him. And sometimes it's more fun to win your

FS Lineup Card: July 8-14

Source: Sporting News Fantasy Source Baseball

Here's a look at what to expect from the Fantasy Source this week:

Sunday, July 8: First Pitch. Fantasy Source subscribers should be sure to check out First Pitch every weekday morning by 9 a.m. ET and every Saturday and Sunday by 10 a.m. ET. You'll get a look back at the most notable performances from the day before in our 3 Up, 3 Down section, then a look ahead to the upcoming day with splits to exploit, weather watch and a ranking of every SP. Make First Pitch part of your daily fantasy baseball routine.

Monday, July 9:

Sox/Yanks Rivalry Returns, Fans Forgot It Was a Rivalry

Source: Razzball by grey@razzball.com (Grey Albright)

How did baseball survive over two months without a Boston/New York match up? It’s barely a rivalry these days as the Yankees took an 8 1/2 game lead over the Red Sox with the big win last night. It was your typical NY/BOS game, i.e., nearly 4 hours long, 18 runs scored, 28 hits, and plenty of dirty looks and “bad calls.” One thing we can always count on in these match-ups is plenty of fantasy implications; in fact, I was debating even covering the other games. Last night was no exception, so here goes: both pitchers were lit up early with Josh Beckett going 5.0 and Hiroki Kuroda lasting 5.2 innings, each surrendering 6 ER. David Ortiz and Adrian

White Sox Don’t Need Youk Either

Source: Razzball by grey@razzball.com (Grey Albright)

The Chicago White Sox started a three game series with the Yankees last night and came up with a huge win. Jose Quintana pitched 6.0 innings, gave up 8 hits, 6 ER, 5 Ks, and got the win. As far as starts at Yankee Stadium go, this one could have been a lot worse. If you had the cajones to start him at least you got a win and 5 Ks. I still like Quintana a lot, but I’d steer clear of his start vs. Texas next week. Quintana aside, it was the White Sox offense that were the real stars last night and got Jose the win. A.J.  Pierzynski went 3-for-5 with 2 HRs as the White Sox tallied 14 runs on 19 hits against Sabathia’s replacement, errr….whatshisname. The multi-homer game was A.J.’s fifth in his

Closing Time: Tom Wilhelmsen marks his territory

Source: Roto Arcade by Scott Pianowski

Managers routinely have a plan when they demote their struggling closer from the ninth inning. No one ever wants to look at the change as a permanent thing. Let a few weeks go by, allow the struggling stopper to fix things (or heal up), get back to the pre-season blueprint.

Makes sense on paper, looks nice on a cocktail napkin. But momentum is a valuable part of the saves chase, and it's not unusual to see the Plan B in a bullpen take a job and run with it. If the new closer is untouchable in the pressure role, what incentive is there for the club to shake things up later?

Today's roto takeaway: I'm betting on Tom Wilhelmsen to close for the rest of the season. Tyler Clippard,

Damn Y’all Hudson!

Source: Razzball by grey@razzball.com (Grey Albright)

In a Hudson vs. Hudson battle, Tim won on a technicality as Daniel Hudson left the game with what seemed to be a forearm injury.  To add insult to injury, he left the game after giving up 5 ER on 7 hits in 1 2/3 IP.  With a ghastly 7.35 ERA in 45 IP this year, injury or not, it’s time to cut Daniel Hudson from mixed leagues.  He looked primed to build upon a solid 2011 but so did Kate Hudson after Almost Famous.  Let’s just hope Daniel doesn’t wake up to find Alex Rodriguez in his bed, begging him to go blonder and to tone up his arms.  Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Jason Kubel – 1-for-4 with his 2nd homer in as many games.  Hey, Code Rossi wants

Saltalamacchia belts 14th HR to lead Red Sox - Jarrod Saltalamacchia | BOS

Source: Rotoworld Baseball

Jarrod Saltalamacchia blasted his 14th home run of the season on Tuesday night, leading the Red Sox to a 5-1 victory over the Blue Jays.

Saltalamacchia hits cleanup, homers in win - Jarrod Saltalamacchia | BOS

Source: Rotoworld Baseball

Jarrod Saltalamacchia made his first career start in the cleanup spot in the order, and responded by blasting a two-run homer in a 4-3 victory over the Cubs on Saturday.

Shuffle Up: Don’t mess with Yadier Molina

Source: Roto Arcade by Scott Pianowski

Let's get to work with the tools and hopefully duck on the ignorance; today we rank all the fantasy catchers going forward. Assume a 5x5 scoring system, non-keeper rotisserie format. Anyone on the DL or in the minors is ineligible for this exercise, though I've allowed a one-time exception to Salvador Perez (I've been getting a lot of questions on him). Players listed at the same prices are considered even.

I'll let these prices settle while I seek out a good burrito. Later tonight, I'll return, add commentary, listen to some of your comments. And I reserve the right to tweak this list as the night goes along. Win the debate, win the rank.

All I ask is that you have a line of

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: Gems You Must Grab Immediately

Source: Bleacher Report MLB

With the 2012 baseball season a little more than a third of the way through, the fantasy baseball action is in full swing. With several key players under-performing or going down with injuries, the chance is there for some unknowns to step up and make an impact.

In case you've missed out on the sensational rookie performances of Mike Trout and Bryce Harper or surprise Cy Young candidates R.A. Dickey and James McDonald, there are still some players out there on the waiver wire who could really help your fantasy team.

Here is a look at five players, including a potential rookie star, who you need to pick up before they are gone.

 

C Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Boston Red Sox

Owned in only 53.6

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: Gems You Must Grab Immediately

Source: Bleacher Report MLB

With the 2012 baseball season a little more than a third of the way through, the fantasy baseball action is in full swing. With several key players under-performing or going down with injuries, the chance is there for some unknowns to step up and make an impact.

In case you've missed out on the sensational rookie performances of Mike Trout and Bryce Harper or surprise Cy Young candidates R.A. Dickey and James McDonald, there are still some players out there on the waiver wire who could really help your fantasy team.

Here is a look at five players, including a potential rookie star, who you need to pick up before they are gone.

 

C Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Boston Red Sox

Owned in only 53.6

AC Bringing The Juice To LA

Source: Razzball by grey@razzball.com (Grey Albright)

Alex Castellanos was called up by the Dodgers to replace the DL’d Kemp, so what’s this guy’s story?  He was found in an orphanage in Crete.  He grew up eating ambrosia, feta and olives.  He spent all of his waking hours either playing baseball or pooping because of his diet.  Oh, you mean what’s his story as in what’s his stats like?  He looks like a product of the PCL, which is more glamorous than a product of Greek economists, but just as dangerous.  As we know, hitting in the PCL is like hitting on the moon with an aluminum bat.  So far in Triple-A this year (21 games), he has 4 homers, 7 steals and a .361 average.  That’s being wholly supported by an inflated BABIP because his K-rate isn’t

Noise: Call it a comeback! Dunn one of several ‘washed up’ veterans fighting back

Source: Roto Arcade by Brad Evans

During the height of the Great Depression boxer James J. Braddock, once a heavyweight title contender in 1928, had, like millions of Americans, hit rock bottom. A string of poor performances along with a devastating hand injury forced him out of the ring and into the bread lines.

Eventually, through a stroke of good fortune, he was gifted one last opportunity to regain a foothold in a sport he truly loved. Triumphantly, he seized the moment. Braddock, brought on to be a punching bag for No. 2 contender Corn Griffin, pulled off the unthinkable, knocking out the belt hopeful in the third round.

After several more wins, the Bulldog received his ultimate shot at redemption, a title fight with Max Baer. Nearly 77 years

Injuries: Lucroy replacements

Source: Sporting News Fantasy Source Baseball

Yet another catcher is on the disabled list, with the strangest injury of the season.

Per MLB.com's Adam McCalvy:

"Jonathan Lucroy was scratched from the lineup Monday with a bruised right hand suffered in a bizarre accident. He was reaching under his hotel room bed Sunday night for a lost sock when his wife shifted a suitcase, which fell on Lucroy's hand."

The phrase "keep your socks on" immediately comes to mind. Lucroy has since been diagnosed with a fractured right hand, and he'll miss four-to-six weeks. He's not the only catcher on the DL. Cleveland's Carlos Santana

Injuries: Lucroy out, catchers available

Source: Sporting News Fantasy Source Baseball

Yet another catcher is on the disabled list, with the strangest injury of the season.

Per MLB.com's Adam McCalvy:

"Jonathan Lucroy was scratched from the lineup Monday with a bruised right hand suffered in a bizarre accident. He was reaching under his hotel room bed Sunday night for a lost sock when his wife shifted a suitcase, which fell on Lucroy's hand."

The phrase "keep your socks on" immediately comes to mind. Lucroy has since been diagnosed with a fractured right hand, and he'll miss four-to-six weeks. He's not the only catcher on the DL. Cleveland's Carlos Santana

Memorial Day Sale At The Big K

Source: Razzball by grey@razzball.com (Grey Albright)

With games like this, who needs healthy elbows?  Certainly not Chris Sale.   Four score and two dozen ‘and that’s me quoting me’s ago, I posted our AL-Only team.  I went on about what a shambles the pitching staff was and how our only bat was Evan Longoria.  Sure, we had high hopes for Brad Peacock, but our starters were cheap tequila bad.  The more you looked at them, the worse The Gas Face you got.  All we had was Jake Peavy and Chris Sale.  ZOINKS!!! (Caps and teenaged-girl punctuation not for emphasis, but because my keyboard is sticky.)  And now that team is in first (with a .237 average

Cards Call Up M. Adams, Hopin’ To Get Lucky

Source: Razzball by grey@razzball.com (Grey Albright)

Hey, I can bench Eric Hosmer!  That was the first thing I thought when I picked up Matt Adams.   First stop for Hosmer is my bench, next stop waivers.  Yesterday, our prospect writer Scott said this about Adams, “Despite the impressive audition (in Spring Training), St. Louis sent him to Triple-A Memphis where he’s hit .338/.373/.597 with 9 HR through his first 150 plate appearances… With an advanced approach, solid on base skills, and plus power, Adams has a chance to do damage in the bigs right away.  He’s worth an add in most formats.  There’s really not much else to say, except Grey is handsome.”  I obviously wouldn’t have copied and pasted all of that if I didn’t agree.  In a 12 team mixed

Shuffle Up: Special “Pick Your Montero” edition

Source: Roto Arcade by Scott Pianowski

Catchers are important. Without them, you're looking at a ridiculous amount of passed balls.

The ranks to follow illustrate how I'd attack the attack the catcher position if I entered a fresh draft today. To be clear, "attack" is probably the wrong word: I normally go cheap at this spot, especially in one-catcher league. But there are 1,000 ways to get to where we want to go.

Normal rules and disclaimers apply. Assume a 5x5 scoring rotisserie system. Anyone on the DL is ineligible for this list: the value of injured

Sawx Liking Jarrod’s Salty Language

Source: Razzball by grey@razzball.com (Grey Albright)

Jarrod Saltalamacchia went fickin’ deep twice in the Red Sox win.  That’s 4 HRs on the year.  Where the fick did that #*?& come from?  Well, he did have 16 HRs in only 386 ABs last year so it shouldn’t be that much of a g***d*mn surprise.  Assuming this &*#*head stays healthy, he’s a solid bet for 20 HRs.  Now that I’m done blowing smoke up his a$$, here’s the bad part.  Salty’s batting average last year was .235 last year (a .288 OBP) driven by a 30% K rate.  He’s only K’ing at a 20% rate right now which could get him in the .250 range but I fickin’ doubt he’ll keep that up.  Consider him a tomato/tomahto with JP Arencibia and Russell Martin as a low-rung catcher solution in shallow leagues.  In

Jarrod Saltalamacchia homers twice in win - Jarrod Saltalamacchia | BOS

Source: Rotoworld Baseball

Jarrod Saltalamacchia clubbed a pair of homers in a 10-3 victory over the White Sox on Thursday.

Saltalamacchia’s 2 HR power Red Sox in win - Jarrod Saltalamacchia | BOS

Source: Rotoworld Baseball

Jarrod Saltalamacchia had a very strong night including a pair of home runs in the 10-3 victory over the White Sox on Thursday.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia (C-BOS)

Source: TG Fantasy Baseball

Bobby Valentine files wrong lineup after researching opposing pitcher on cell phone (Big League Stew) - When planning his team's lineup for Wednesday night, Boston Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine whipped out his mobile phone to look up Minnesota Twins pitcher Liam Hendriks. He filled out a lineup card accordingly and posted it, perhaps 3 1/2 hours before the first pitch. A few minutes later, Valentine re-posted Boston's lineup and it included several changes. Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Ryan Sweeney were in, Kelly Shoppach and Darnell McDonald were out. And a few other guys had been moved around. So, what changed his mind? Valentine finally realized that Hendriks pitched with his right hand — and not his left. Granted that Hendriks

Farm Report: Revisiting Anthony Rizzo

Source: Roto Arcade by Andy Behrens

The Chicago Cubs, as you might have heard, are struggling in a few areas. The club is now 3-10, losers of five straight, recently swept by the Marlins. Chicago ranks 26th in team ERA (4.90), 24th in runs scored (46), and dead-last in home runs (5).

No one expected this bunch to contend for a playoff berth in 2012, but a fan can always hope that his or her team won't be intolerably bad. And yet here we are. The Cubs are weapons-grade bad. Almost unwatchable.

As often happens when a team reaches such a low point, calls have begun for minor league reinforcements. First base prospect Anthony Rizzo, 22, is off to another torrid start at Triple-A, hitting .393/.433/.786 with seven homers through 14 games, so his name has

Shuffle Up and Catch: The Joe Mauer dilemma

Source: Roto Arcade by Scott Pianowski

Some fantasy leagues require one catcher, some pools require two. It's been a position with respectable depth of late; if you hold off in a one-backstop league, you can probably land a solid option in the late rounds. I almost never spring for a designer catcher, but all roto strategy is situational and context-driven to begin with.

The usual Shuffle Up rules apply. Assume a 5x5 scoring system, because we're civilized men and women. Players at the same price are considered even. I reserve the right to move players up and down on the day this list debuts. Next week, we'll go back to the mound, look at the starting pitchers. Don't stress over the actual prices, focus on how the players relate to one another. That's the crux