| Nasty Nate in 2008 | | Written by Matt Hinzpeter on Monday, August 18, 2008 | Touching on something which I brought up in my last blog post, I constantly struggle when drafting wide receivers in my fantasy leagues. Filling those WR spots on my roster is certainly my Achilles heel. However, the more I think about my last two drafts, the more comfortable I begin to feel. The reason being: Seattle WR Nate Burleson is my sleeper this year. Hear me out…
QB Matt Hasselbeck, in my mind, is very underrated. There is no doubt that he struggled in 2006, but tossing away those numbers (statistically his worst year since 2001), Hasselbeck has thrown for 3,000+ yards in five of the last six seasons. Let’s not forget to mention that he also threw for a career-high 28 TDs last year, which is the fourth time in five seasons that he has thrown for 20+ touchdowns. In 2007, Hasselbeck helped WR Bobby Engram become the oldest NFL player to have his first 1,000-yard receiving season, as well.
Speaking of Engram, the veteran receiver suffered a cracked bone in his shoulder in the Seahawks first preseason game last week. In turn, Engram will most likely miss the first month of the season – in steps Burleson as Seattle’s No. 1 receiver. Who else does Seattle have? How about Courtney Taylor, Ben Obomanu and Logan Payne… or in other words, NOBODY!
Finally, onto Burleson himself. Last season, the former-Viking hauled in 9 TD catches, matching his career-high and leading the team. His 694 receiving yards leaves a little to be desired, but without Engram in the mix for the first few weeks, as well as Deion Branch and D.J. Hackett out of the picture, those numbers will surely rise.
Looking for a solid No. 2 WR on your fantasy team (or a borderline No. 1 in my case)? Then look no further than Nasty Nate. |
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| Last Night's Fantasy Football Mock Draft | | Written by Matt Hinzpeter on Friday, August 15, 2008 | Last night, I participated in a fantasy football experts mock draft for Fantasy Sports Matrix. There were a lot of big-name sites involved, including representatives from Yardbarker, Rotowire, Bruno Boys, Mock Draft Central and RotoNation. How do I think I did? Ehhhhhhh… you be the judge:
QB: Ben Roethlisberger; Jeff Garcia
RB: Brian Westbrook; Ronnie Brown; Jamal Lewis; Andre Hall
WR: Roddy White; Kevin Curtis; Nate Burleson; Patrick Crayton
TE: Antonio Gates; Benjamin Watson
K: Josh Brown
DEF/ST: Indianapolis
(NOTE: This league carries a WR/RB spot, and to me, it’s crucial to have a solid running back in that position.)
I don’t know what my problem is – year in and year out, my receiving corps is typically pretty weak. However, this team’s group of wideouts, with Atlanta’s Roddy White being my first WR taken in Round 6, may be the worst yet in all of my years of fantasy football. There’s some upside there, especially with a player like Burleson, but my initial thoughts are that I got nothing.
I like all of the other aspects of my team – Big Ben is coming off of a career-year and should keep progressing, while I really like my running backs (though a little risky). You can’t go wrong with Antonio Gates, and honestly, he is a must-have on my teams each and every year. Which brings me to my next point – don’t you just end up falling in love with certain players (no matter how good or bad they are) to the point where they have to be on your team? Guys like Gates, Jamal Lewis and Andre Johnson (who I missed out on) are typically on a Matty H. fantasy squad. |
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| Fuel Economy Fast Laps in the Irish Hills | | Written by Charlie Turner on Wednesday, August 13, 2008 | Maybe the only question left for Kyle Busch to answer is whether he and crew chief Steve Addington can win a fuel economy race. They will likely get a chance this week in the hilly cottage country of Southeast Michigan.
Dale Earnhardt Jr won the June race at MIS with what seemed at the time, the ultimate gas gamble. It worked and Junior broke a long winless streak in the Sprint Cup Series. But the win had a “great taste – less filling” feel for many of his fans.
Much as we hope for victories by the bravest and the fastest every week, races at the Michigan track are often decided by the educated guesses of the guys up on the box. Just such a decision by Tony Eury Jr may have cost Earnhardt a win last weekend at Watkins Glen. That decision is actually Steve’s Buzz on Pit Row topic this week. We’ll be kicking that to death ON PIT ROW along with these Fast Lap questions too.
1. Being the first ever to win three road course races in one Cup season, is Kyle Busch the best Nascar road racer ever?
2. Can the Wood Brothers parlay their third place finish at The Glen into a company turn-around?
3. Should the “The Chase” be a microcosm of the season-with all track types present in the final ten races?
4. Why don’t “The Ringers” do better at the road courses, that they supposedly excel at?
Take your best shot at all four of those fast left handers as you prepare your pit stategy for Sunday’s race. Remember, 100 words or less for the answers but unlimited ability to defend your answers and attack your fellow Fast Lappers. Just be nice, or we’ll have to call you to the trailer. Again.
If you would like to leave your comments and thoughts, please visit the Fast Lap blog at ON PIT ROW. |
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| Donkey Now a D-Back | | Written by Matt Hinzpeter on Monday, August 11, 2008 | First and foremost, let me get this out of the way – I am a huge Adam Dunn fan. I love Donkey and his four (soon to be five) consecutive years of 40+ HR, as well as his lifetime .247 average. Why am I a Dunn fan? I put him in a similar category as Travis Hafner (a.k.a. Pronk) – beastly dudes who might be better suited on a football field, but put on a show with monstrous homeruns and power. Basically, I just like their whole situations (too bad Pronk has had a tough 2008 campaign). Anyway, today, Dunn was dealt to Arizona for minor league pitcher Dallas Buck and two players to be named later – sans Donkey’s current .233 BA, the D-Backs certainly made out in this deal, which will help them keep pace with the Dodgers acquisition of Manny Ramirez.
Part of me wants to be happy for Dunn, who is tied for the major league lead with 32 long balls, because he now moves to a team with a legitimate shot at making the playoffs. However, I liked Donkey in Cincinnati – sure, the Reds aren’t that great of a club, but they have some promising young players who I’d like to see grow with Dunn still in the mix.
The one question that seems to be on the minds of many baseball fans is: How did Dunn get acquired by Arizona after the trade deadline? Well, Donkey was put on waivers last week and the D-Backs had exclusive rights (a 48-hour timeframe) to make a deal for the 28-year-old power hitting outfielder. In the end, the right offer was made, and now Dunn will be heading west to hopefully make an appearance in the playoffs this season. |
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| NASCAR’s Best Turn Watkins Glen Fast Laps | | Written by Charlie Turner on Tuesday, August 05, 2008 | I know that in the land of NASCAR , praying for rain on a race weekend is blasphemous. Condemn me all you want. I loved that race in the wet stuff up at Montreal on Saturday.
I’ve been waiting ever since NASCAR announced, years ago its intention to rain race in the Nationwide Series, for the clouds to open. They did in Canada. The results were a blast to watch. It sound like it was fun to drive in too. I hope NASCAR takes what they learned about wiperss and, maybe tail lights, and lets the guys try again someday.
Carl Edwards is on the march in the Sprint Cup Series. Kyle Busch and Team Gibbs are showing that they may be human afterall. And the Race to the Chase is heating up, bigtime.
The Fast Laps will be right in the middle of that heat too. Take a shot at turning left and right this week.
1. Which of The Chase Bubble Boys; Harvick, Kenseth, Bowyer or Ragan, will make the playoffs?
2. Even though it didn’t work out for them, was the no-pit strategy of the #9, before the rain the right call?
3. Carl Edwards’ post race interview included wondering if the car would pass post race inspection. What motivation could he have had for that statement?
4. Of all the road course ringers available for Watkins Glen, why is Kyle Petty back in the #45 car for this one race?
We have big plans to take this Fast Lap discussion to another level. Now that the site has been upgraded, we are getting close to producing our first ever Fast Lap Show, featuring your comments and opinions on selected weekly Fast Lap questions. So sharpen up your arguments and tear your fellow Fast Lappers new ones. It’s all part of the deal here at OnPitRow.com.
If you would like to leave your comments and thoughts, please visit the Fast Lap blog at ON PIT ROW. |
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| What To Do With Brett Favre | | Written by Rich Lerner on Monday, August 04, 2008 | Well, it looks like there is a quarterback controversy in Green Bay. The Packers brass says that returning-from-retirement Brett Favre will battle it out with quarterback-of-the-future Aaron Rodgers during training camp for the starting job.
A competition? Come on. It’s not even close. Rodgers, the 24th overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft, has one career start. Favre has led the Packers to the highest winning percentage of any NFL team in the time since he arrived at Lambeau Field in 1992. Yes, Favre is 38 and Rodgers is just 24, but last season, Favre led the pack to the NFC Championship Game after one of his best seasons ever. The legend finished with the third-best QB rating of his career at 95.7. He tossed 28 TDs to 15 interceptions (his fewest INT total since 2001), and racked up 4,155 yards through the air (his most since 1998).
In the meantime, Rodgers has handled the situation with the utmost of class. He has a few slight advantages here, including a 9-day edge in practice days over Favre. He’s obviously younger, but that doesn’t seem to matter to Favre. He seems to have the front office behind him, and perhaps some pent-up rage over the whole situation will give him an adrenaline edge, but realistically, there’s no way Rodgers legitimately beats out Favre unless the returnee breaks a hip.
So, what is Green Bay to do? There are some options: 1) Go through with the QB competition as announced. Rodgers already seems rattled, though, as he looked shaky in an intrasquad scrimmage Sunday. The truth is that Favre is the best option for the Green Bay Packers in 2008. In allowing Favre to start, however, the Packers risk alienating Rodgers, a potential future star who has waited patiently in the wings. Meanwhile, Favre says being relegated to a backup role is unacceptable. 2) Release Favre, although this now seems highly unlikely. Minnesota and Chicago, two division rivals, would be poised to strike a deal with the veteran with Green Bay getting nothing but headaches in return. 3) Trade him to whatever team offers the best compensation, regardless of division.
If I’m in charge, I’m taking option #3. Send Favre to Minnesota, if that’s the best option. Here’s why: When Favre leaves, Rodgers once again becomes the team’s starter, which is a good thing. After two seasons of development, the Pack doesn’t want to risk losing him. He is talented and he will be a great player in this league. Even if Green Bay sends Favre to a division rival, he won’t be there long. Let’s say two years at most in Minnesota. OK, so maybe he will haunt the Packers and lead the Vikings to two wins this year and maybe a head-to-head playoff win. That would sting, I’m sure, but it’s a temporary thing. It’s quite possible that the team could land a good draft pick in the trade and snag a player who would contribute at the Frozen Tundra for 10 years. That would be worth it.
The Packers should send Favre out of town. Play him and Rodgers is gone. Bench him and things get ugly. Keeping Favre is a lose/lose situation for this club, even if he leads it deep into the playoffs in ’08.
Of course, there are those who don’t want to see Favre’s legacy in Green Bay tarnished, and a trade out of town would do just that. Something’s gotta give here, and it should be the organization, which has a lot more to gain at this point in trading him, that should step up and make the phone call. |
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| ModernBoxing.com Has Gone LIVE!!! | | Written by Matt Hinzpeter on Monday, August 04, 2008 | You may have noticed that the Boxing/MMA section here at FIO disappeared over the weekend. The reason being – ModernBoxing.com, a spinoff site of FIO, has just gone LIVE! Former FIO writer Jim Cawkwell will be heading up Modern Boxing, bringing fans all of the latest news and commentary concerning the sport. Cawkwell is also joined by a new member of the Fantasy Insider Online, LLC family, Sergio Martinez. Keep a lookout for more things to come from Modern Boxing as the site gets under way, including KO Radio (the site’s podcast) and The Punch Line Blog.
To give you an idea of what Modern Boxing is all about, please take a minute to read MB’s Mission Statement, provided by Jim Cawkwell:
Thank you for visiting Modern Boxing. It is our goal to ensure that this site is one of the most reliable resources available for quality boxing articles and multimedia features that are insightful, provocative, and entertaining.
Boxing is one of the world’s most beloved sports for many good reasons. Its history is full of fantastic events and memorable characters; pioneers whom were responsible for making the sport we enjoy today possible.
But the mainstream media seems unable to see beyond its fascination with the past, sometimes at the expense of today’s fighters whose courage and skill deserves recognition. At Modern Boxing, we pay homage to the legends of the past, but are focused on the greatness surrounding us now.
And of greatness, there is plenty. Far from being a dying sport, boxing is thriving. Its reputation always suffered through accusations of corruption, and has had to survive too many controversies and tragedies. But aside from that which we cannot change, we aim to present to you the boxing world beyond the narrow mainstream viewpoint; to highlight the complex and unique characters whose sacrifices and strengths transcend the harsh and sometimes cruel nature of the business, and become true inspirations.
Thank you for your support.
Jim Cawkwell
Head Writer
Modern Boxing
And there you have it – Modern Boxing is up and running. If you liked the boxing material on FIO before, then you’ll love what’s going on at ModernBoxing.com! |
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| FIO Loves David Price | | Written by Matt Hinzpeter on Monday, August 04, 2008 | It’s time again for another David Price update – in his last start on Saturday (Aug. 2), the former Vanderbilt superstar went 7 innings, allowing 1 ER on 4 hits (no walks) while striking out 10 batters. In his 14 games started in the minors (six with Vero Beach and eight with Montgomery), Price has posted a perfect 10-0 record and currently sits with a 2.08 ERA in Double-A. Could this kid be any better? Probably not. Sure, it’s the minors, but Price has been nearly untouchable so far in 2008.
If you have been keeping track, you know that we here at FIO have been talking Price up for some time now… however, it seems that every other major site (not mentioning any names) out there is beginning to jump on the David Price bandwagon. Why all of a sudden? It comes down to this – FIO is projecting that if Tampa Bay SP Edwin Jackson struggles in his next start on Tuesday against Cleveland, then moves may be made to allow Price to join the Rays starting rotation. Jackson to the pen? Possibly in a long relief role. Jackson optioned to Triple-A? Doubtful. In some way, shape or form, whether or not Price gets brought up in the coming week will greatly hinge on Jackson’s performance against The Tribe.
Either way – be prepared to jump on Price when he becomes available in your fantasy leagues. He is the ideal keeper, especially on a young and successful Rays club, and should carry his dominance over into the big leagues. |
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| The Enigma That Is Carlos Silva | | Written by Matt Hinzpeter on Tuesday, July 29, 2008 | So, tonight I finally sat down behind the trusty ol’ computer at about 9pm after another long day. Automatically, I went to check the scores around the world of Major League Baseball. BAM! Texas was up 7-0 on Seattle at the end of the third inning. WOW! What happened? Did Josh Hamilton put on a homerun display? Did Ian Kinsler keep producing like he has been all season? Or maybe David Murphy was getting into the mix. Nope. I went to the box score to see what the deal was and found out just why the Rangers were pummeling the M’s after three – Carlos Silva was pitching. And wouldn’t you know, he was pulled after giving up 6 ER over 2-1/3 innings
In turn, I felt compelled to write a little blog entry about Mr. Silva because I actually have a lot of strong feelings about this guy. Plain and simple – anytime that I see that any of my fantasy batters or pitchers will be opposite Silva in a contest, they then get an automatic start. I don’t care if it’s the biggest scrub on my fantasy roster… he’s playing if Silva is pitching. Honestly, he may be the only pitcher who I do this against – in my mind, Silva is just really that bad. His season stat line (not including tonight’s abominable performance of showmanship) supports my feelings, as Silva has gone 4-12 on the season with a 5.62 ERA (which jumped up to 5.95 after tonight) over 21 games. The man has won only one game since April 17… ONE GAME!!! He doesn’t strike anyone out (53 K), and in nearly half of his games started this season, Silva has allowed 4+ ER.
I mean, some of his starts haven’t been entirely awful, but just the idea of Silva being on the mound should send fantasy owners into a frenzy. Is he the worst pitcher in baseball? I’ll let you be the judge of that. Yet, every time that Silva is on the hill for the Mariners, you can bet the bank that I will be starting any batters and/or pitchers going against Seattle that day… and you should too. |
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| Rays Trades Unlikely | | Written by Tim Hays on Tuesday, July 29, 2008 |
The 1st place Tampa Bay Rays have been mulling over the thought of an addition at the trade deadline to keep them in contention through the remainder of the season. The most talked about possible addition was that of Colorado closer Brian Fuentes… however the Rockies have been hot lately and now sit only 6 games out of the division lead, so Fuentes’ price has risen quite a bit. The most likely scenario for Tampa Bay at this point lies in the golden arm of David Price. Price bolsters a 2.03 minor league ERA this season in 13 starts, along with a tremendous 9-0 record. Price has a 75:19 K:BB ratio over his 79.2 innings, and seems very close to being big league ready, despite this being his 1st minor league season. With Price joining the Rays rotation, that would mean that, most likely, Edwin Jackson would be moved to the bullpen, which would help solve the issue of a thin relief group. Andy Sonnanstine could be the other option to be moved to the pen, but I see Jackson thriving more, as his stuff is far nastier in the short term than is Sonnanstine’s.
The only other thing the Rays may consider in the trade market is another outfield bat, as their offense has been dreadful over the past few weeks, but the likelihood of GM Andrew Freidman sacrificing one of his many talented prospects for a temporary fix is unlikely. Eric Hinske will continue to get the bulk of the ABs in right field, even with both the Yankees and Angels upgrading their hitting in the past few days. The pitching is what has made the Rays one of baseball’s best all season, and that should only become more and more evident as the season progresses, without anything but some homegrown help.
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