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Rasheed Wallace Round 2, Pick 9: Rasheed Wallace, PF/C, Detroit Pistons

While jumping on a run of player positions isn’t exactly the smartest thing to do in fantasy sports, ‘Sheed isn’t your average big man.  He doesn’t crash the boards like a Kevin Garnett, he doesn’t dominate in the post like a Shaquille O’Neal, and doesn’t throw down two-handers like an Amare Stoudemire.  What he does do is play in at least 79 games a season in each of the last two years and rack up stats that very few seven-footers can provide.

Click to continue reading Dropping Dimes Draft Blog: Round 2, Pick 9


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TEXAS RANGERS

With Rod Barajas nursing a sore back, look for Gerald Laird to get the bulk of the time behind the plate the rest of the way.  Laird’s .330 batting average is way above his skill set of a poor batting eye of .26 and average contact rate of 80%.  He has shown legitimate growth in his power skills and even provides a little speed bonus with 3 stolen bases in 4 tries.

Akinori Otsuka has proven to be up to the task of closing games with 34 saves in 37 tries and a 2.07 ERA.  His K/9 of 7.0 is on the low side for a closer, but he makes up for it with pinpoint control, a 1.6 BB/9, and a high G/F ratio of 1.77.  The latter two skills are needed to close games in homer happy Ameriquest Field.  He will be the closer going into 2007.

In his 5 starts, Edison Volquez is not getting the job done, with a 1-4 record and a 6.75 ERA.  A K/9 of 4.6 and a BB/9 of 5.9 will usually do that.  He should be avoided in all formats.

Click to continue reading American League Fantasy Notes:  A.L. West


Getting antsy to playWell, we got lucky.  Really lucky.  How?  We actually got eight great basketball minds to agree to come play with this reckless band of basketball buffoons, otherwise known as the DroppingDimes.com crew in a fantasy basketball experts league.  More details are to come, but I can tell you who will be throwing down with us on the fantasy hardwood:

1. Neil Tardy (Talented Mr. Roto/NBA.com)
2. Evan Silva (Rotoworld/USAToday.com)
3. Matt Satten (Pro Fantasy Sports)
4. Nels Wadycki (Give Me The Rock)
5. Mike Slane (ElevationMag.com)
6. J.E. Skeets (The Basketball Jones)
7. Richard Christ (Fantasy Sports R Us)
8. Brandon Haraway (The Fantasy Lounge)

And of course, US:

9. Alvin Lai
10. Dennis Velasco
11. Scott Sargent
12. Ron Chow

I know that I can speak for the four of us here in saying that, WE CAN’T WAIT TO GET IN THE GAME!!!


Anibal Sanchez and the MarlinsFlorida Marlins’ rookie pitcher, Anibal Sanchez, pitched a no-hitter against the Arizona Diamondbacks, giving up four walks and striking out six hitters.  While, it may not match the enormity of the Majors’ last no-no - Randy Johnson’s perfect game on May 18, 2004 against the Atlanta Braves while Johnson was with the Arizona Diamondbacks (karma’s a biznitch, ain’t it?), the impressive thing about Sanchez’ no-hitter is that he is only the 19th rookie pitcher to throw one… since 1900!  More impressive is the fact that this was only Sanchez’s 13th career start.

Click to continue reading Anibal Sanchez’s No-No Has The Marlins Saying Yes-Yes


CHICAGO WHITE SOX

Left-handed swinging Scott Podsednik is now platooning.  Looking at his average split against right-handed and left-handed pitching, .272 vs. .223, it is not hard to see why.
Maybe not having to face southpaws will allow him to improve on his post All-Star break batting average of .224.

Podsednik’s leftfield platoon partner is Pablo Ozuna.  After hitting an unsustainable .413 in the first-half of the season, Ozuna has cooled down considerably in the second-half with a .238 average.  With his poor batting eye and declining speed, the second-half number is closer to his skill level.  He probably shouldn’t be trying to steal bases, as he has been caught 6 times in 11 tries.

Since August 1st, Paul Konerko has just 4 home runs in 122 AB.  The 11 doubles in that same period show that he is still generating power.  Expect the pace of home runs to pick up for Konerko this month.

Click to continue reading American League Fantasy Notes:  A.L. Central


Jason Kidd Round 2, Pick 8: Jason Kidd, PG, New Jersey Nets

YO, WHAT UP, KIDD?

Jason Frederick Kidd… yeah, get past the middle name, which we all know may as well be “Is One Bad Mother On The Court.”  Seriously, is there any bigger of a triple-threat in the NBA the past several seasons?  This 33 year old “kid” is fourth all-time (76 games) on the Triple Double list behind Oscar Robertson (181), Magic Johnson (138), and Wilt Chamberlain (78).  And, as any good fantasy player knows, getting stats spread out through several categories is always a good thing.

Click to continue reading Dropping Dimes Draft Blog: Round 2, Pick 8


BOSTON RED SOX
Relief is coming for the run-starved Red Sox.  Wily Mo Pena and Alex Gonzalez started on Sunday.  Trot Nixon and Jason Varitek have been activated and should return to the lineup today.  There is also some talk that Manny Ramirez will start today. It sounds like David Ortiz is at least a few days away from coming back.
Kyle Snyder now has a regular spot in the rotation.  After years of inconsistency, the 7th overall pick in the 1999 draft is showing some nice skills growth.  With an 8.3 K/9 and a 2.9 BB/9, his ERA should be better than his current 5.94 mark.  With the heavy lumber returning to the lineup and a few breaks, Snyder could be a good play in AL-only leagues.
Jonathan Papelbon is having an MRI on his right shoulder today.  If all goes well he could be back in 5 to 7 days.  With the team out of the playoff hunt, the Red Sox will probably limit his workload for the rest of the season.  In the interim, Keith Foulke and Mike Timlin are the favorites for save chances.  Injuries and age have taken a toll on Foulk’s skills.  His K/9 is in a four-year downfall to a now barely acceptable 6.2 and he has gone from merely a fly ball pitcher to the most extreme possible.  This has led to a gopheritis problem, as he has allowed 9 home runs in just 39.1 innings in 2006.  The 40-year old Timlin has seen his K/9 drop to a below average 4.15, which would be fine if he were still a groundball pitcher.  However his G/F ratio is at a career low .94.  Neither is a good option to close for the Red Sox or for a fantasy team.

Click to continue reading American League Fantasy Notes: A.L. East


Javon WalkerPredicted Order Of Finish:
1. Denver Broncos
2. San Diego Chargers
3. Kansas City Chiefs
4. Oakland Raiders

Best Offensive Player: Larry Johnson, RB, Kansas City Chiefs
Best Defensive Player: Shawne Merriman, LB, San Diego Chargers

Best Offensive Rookie: Mike Bell, RB, Denver Broncos
Best Defensive Rookie: Tamba Hali, DE, Kansas City Chiefs

Comeback Player: Javon Walker, WR, Denver Broncos
Breakout Player: LaMont Jordan, RB, Oakland Raiders
Will Be A Bust Player: Aaron Brooks, QB, Oakland Raiders


LaMont JordanFormer head coach, now current head coach, Art Shell is back in the building, after being unceremoniously kicked out the first go around with the Raiders.  But, let bygones be bygones.  Shell will bring some discipline back into Oakland and it will be his way or the highway.  The Raiders in recent years have been prone to stupid penalties and that should change with Shell back.  But there are other more important changes happening.

Last season, owner, Al Davis was hoping to beat teams offensively by airing it out to newly-acquired, Randy Moss, who would team up with another burner in Jerry Porter.  Unfortunately, that never happened for whatever reason.  It’s not like they didn’t have a QB with a strong arm (current Tennessee Titan, Kerry Collins), they just didn’t get it done. 

Click to continue reading AFC West Preview: Oakland Raiders


Larry JohnsonThis is the year that RB Larry Johnson finally starts for the whole season and gets down with his bad self.  BUT WAIT!  The offensive line isn’t the same with the losses of Willie Roaf and John Welbourn and a slimmed down Kyle Turley trying to come back after taking a few years off to, umm, I don’t know what – which is pretty much what we can all expect from Turley as the season approaches.  So, how badly will this affect Johnson?

It won’t.

Click to continue reading AFC West Preview: Kansas City Chiefs


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