Category Archives: c.c. sabathia

Sweetbob’s Fantasy Baseball F/M/K – July 22nd

We are now officially in the second-half of 2018 fantasy baseball season.

I hope you’re still in playoff contention in your league(s) this season. The trade deadline is fast approaching real-life MLB and in your fantasy leagues. If you’re out of the race in a dynasty league, it could be time to dump a couple starters for some young studs.

Which hot pitchers are we suggesting to pick up this week?

We look at some players who started out hot, some who are struggling and maybe a couple young guys who should be targeted in your free agent pool on July 22nd, 2018.

I’ll be posting a weekly fantasy baseball F/M/K every Sunday this baseball season…so keep coming back!

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Sweetbob’s Fantasy Baseball F/M/K – May 27th

We are now eight weeks into the 2018 baseball season.

Catcher was already very thin and we lost Welington Castillo to an 80-game PED suspension this week. Which catcher should you target? Is streaming catchers a better option?

There are a few teams that could look to change closers soon. The Phillies, Rays and Blue Jays all have questions at that position.

We look at some players who started out hot, some who are struggling and maybe a couple young guys who should be targeted in your free agent pool on May 27th, 2018.

I’ll be posting a weekly fantasy baseball F/M/K every Sunday this baseball season…so keep coming back!

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2017 MLB Season Preview: New York Yankees

Before last season, I proclaimed, “The Yankees championship window is closing shut.” Well, thanks to the Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller trades, they jammed a crowbar in that window and swung it wide open. They made out like bandits in both trades.

There are rumors that the Yankees are stockpiling prospects to make a move on Angels outfielder Mike Trout, but I doubt any team will have enough talent to swap for the perennial MVP candidate.

I like the Yankees this season, but think they could run into some issues with their starting rotation. Will they try to make some moves early in the year to improve it?

Here is the 2017 MLB season preview for the New York Yankees.

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2016 MLB Season Preview: New York Yankees

The New York Yankees championship window is closing shut. They were quiet this offseason when it came to free agents, but they made two important trades to acquire shortstop Starlin Castro and closer Aroldis Chapman.

The AL East is expected to be one of the most contested divisions in Major League Baseball. Boston added some big free agents, Toronto’s offense is a beast, Baltimore is always dangerous and Tampa Bay is on the rise.

Does A-Rod, Carlos Beltran and Mark Teixeira have one more championship run left in them?

Here is the 2016 MLB season preview for the New York Yankees.

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2015 MLB Team Preview: New York Yankees

Derek Jeter? Nope. Hiroki Kuroda? Nope. Alex Rodriguez? Ugh…yes.

The Yankees will have issues this season with age, but they do have some young players to help keep them competitive. It will be interesting how GM Brian Cashman deals with the older players going forward. They are on the hook for a lot of money. I doubt they will get much in return for some of their high-priced veterans.

The AL East is expected to be very competitive. Toronto and Boston were very active this offseason with trades and free agent signings. Can the Yankees keep up with them?

Here is the 2015 MLB season preview for the New York Yankees.

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2014 MLB Un-All-Star Team

It has become a yearly tradition that we look at all the former MLB All-Stars that aren’t having stellar years.

The season is a little more than half over and it’s not too late for some of these players to bounce back and turn their seasons around.

Since I’m an active fantasy baseball owner, it didn’t take me long to make this list. A few of these guys were on my teams early this season, but were quickly dropped after a few weeks of bad numbers. I spent most of my time just baffled that some of these guys were actually All-Stars at one point.

The old benchmark for an All-Star was thrown out with the bathwater when Bud Selig decided each team must have one representative in the All-Star Game.

I omitted all the former All-Star pitchers that are currently out recovering from Tommy John surgery. I tried not to add position players who suffered a major injury, but decided to include them if they had over 100 at-bats this season (sorry, Prince Fielder).

Here is our 2014 MLB Un-All-Star team.

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2014 MLB Team Preview: New York Yankees

The Yankees made the biggest splash this offseason by signing Japanese ace Masahiro Tanaka. A dozen teams were vying for his services and the Yankees had to pay through the nose to get him. They definitely need him since the rest of their rotation leaves a lot to be desired.

Since Boston won the World Series last season, the “we’re trying to cut payroll’ excuse they’ve been using, well, it went out the window. They opened up their deep pockets and signed Jacoby Ellsbury, Brian McCann and Carlos Beltran. If the Red Sox didn’t win, who knows if they would have spent as much.

The AL East is expected to be great and the race will be competitive until the end. Will the Yankees send Derek Jeter out a winner?

Here is the 2014 MLB season preview for the New York Yankees.

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2013 MLB Team Preview: New York Yankees

It is impossible for the New York Yankees to have a scandal-free offseason.

First, you have a New York Post picture of an overweight Derek Jeter. Second, you have a report linking Alex Rodriguez to BioGenesis PED scandal.

The Blue Jays and Rays improved their rosters with big trades and the Yankees, besides signing Kevin Youkilis, they did not sign any top free agents.

Can the Yankees win another AL East crown?

Here is the 2013 MLB season preview for the New York Yankees. Continue reading →

Who Will Win American League Cy Young?

The American League Cy Young race is full of the usual suspects. You usually have a dominant picther from the Yankees and Red Sox (check), one from the AL Central division leader (check), and a few dark horses that are no longer in the divisional race (check). Check out who are the favorites and who could come from behind over their last 7 or 8 starts of the season.

Leading Candidates

Justin Verlander – He is tha anchor of a nice pitching staff in Detroit. He currently 14-7 with a 3.38 ERA and has an alarming 211 strikeouts in only 181 innings of work this season. He had a dismal 2008 season and it is nice that he bounced back. The Tigers are currently winning their division, but it could hurt him that he won’t get as much exposure as pitchers on the Red Sox and Yankees. I think he will at least finish in the top three in voting and could take the award.

C.C. Sabathia – He had a rough start to the season, but over the last two months, he has been great. It helps him that he gets a lot of run support from the modern-day “Murder’s Row” the Yankees have assembled. He has a fairly high ERA to be up for the Cy Young, he’s currently at 3.59. He is leading the league in wins (15-7) and his WHIP is 1.13, which is great. It will help him that he’s on the Yankees and that he probably should have won the award last season, but he switched leagues mid-season.

Roy Halladay – His season has been marred with “Am I getting traded?…okay, how about now?” banter all season. He has had a great year despite all of the distractions, he’s 13-7 with a 3.03 ERA. He has been a workhorse with five complete games and will easily get to 200 innings this year. He’s still a leading candidate for the Cy Young, even if his chances aren’t as great as Verlander or Sabathia’s at getting another Cy Young.

Zack Greinke – If the season ended at the beginning of June, then Greinke would have been the unanimous winner, but the Royals hit bottom and Greinke had a few bad starts. He still had a great year and is still leading the AL in ERA with a 2.43, a full .3 a head of the next guy on the list, Seattle’s Felix Hernandez at 2.73. Greinke has a 12-8 record with 5 complete games, if he were on a contender, I am confident that he would be a 20-game winner. He is also currently 2nd in the AL in strikeouts with 197. If he had run support, Greinke would be in stronger position to win the AL Cy Young.

Dark Horses

Josh Beckett – The Red Sox may not win the AL East this year, but they are fighting for their Wild Card life. Beckett has helped them by pitching well, but he has been erratic at times. He has a 3.65 ERA, but is 14-5 this year. He had a month-long stretch that he barely gave up any hits, but that streak has ended and he’s hittable again. I would say that he’s a dark horse to win it, unless he can pull out a perfect game between now and the end of the season.

Scott Feldman – The young ace of the Texas Rangers isn’t used to being considered for end of the year awards, but he deserves a little recognition. He’s currently 13-4 with a 3.87 ERA for the Rangers, but only has 84 strikeouts, but that isn’t his expertise. He has helped the Rangers contend for the AL Wild Card and with Kevin Milwood, Dexter Holland, and Tommy Hunter has transformed the Rangers starting rotation. He has too high of an ERA to win, but should garner some votes.

Jared Weaver – Weaver had a horrible first couple weeks of the season. At one point his ERA was nearing double digits. Over the last few months, he has trimmed his ERA down to 4.03. He is 13-5 with 143 strikeouts for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Over the course of his dominance, they have bolted all the way to the best record in the American League. Weaver also has a high ERA to win this award, but the way he has pitched lately could change some minds.

Jeff Niemann – At the beginning of the year, The Tampa Bay Rays were needing to trim down their starting rotation and Niemann was almost the odd man out. He has pitched great this year and especially at home in Tropicana Field, he has a 2.67 ERA at home. This season, Niemann is 12-5 with a 3.87 ERA, something that the Rays didn’t expect from him, those numbers were expected out of David Price, Scott Kazmir, or Andy Sonnanstine. He’s not a sexy pick for the Cy Young, but if can get the Rays into the playoffs and dominantly pitch the rest of the way, there’s a slim chance.

I would say that award is Justin Verlander’s to lose. He just has to stay the course and pitch consistently and he should take it home. C.C. Sabathia should finish second, but as much press that the Yankees garner, he could leapfrog Verlander if they keep winning and getting ample run support for their pitchers. At this point it’s too close to call, but when it’s all said and done, Verlander should finally win the AL Cy Young.

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.

Teixeira Will Be In Pinstripes

It took long enough, but the Yankees got their man. Mark Teixeira will sign an 8-year deal worth $180 million dollars. That is $22.5 million a year for a man who has been the last two years’ trading deadline prize. This deal will shore up the 28-year old for the prime of his career. With the signings of C.C. Sabathia and A.J. Burnett, it looks like the Yankees are back to buying their way to the World Series.

The Red Sox, Orioles, and the Nationals were the only other teams left in the bidding war after the Angels pulled out earlier this week. As of yesterday, it didn’t even look like the Yankees were in the mix for Teixeira, but money talks and the Yankees threw too much on the table for anyone to resist. New York will now try to move either Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui, Xavier Nady, or the newly acquired, Nick Swisher.

The Yankees are opening up a new stadium and look like they are wanting to bless the new ground with not one World Series championship, but a string of championships with the years attached to these monster deals this off-season. I’m waiting for the Red Sox to make their move, I don’t know what could trump these moves the Evil Empire has made the last month. The Red Sox will have to sign Jesus of Nazareth.

As a consolation prize for not signing Teixeira, the Nationals signed Corey Patterson. I can’t even imagine trying to explain that move to their fanbase.

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.

It’s Been Too Long My Friends…

I just wanted to post a picture of Katy Perry, I still have a crush. Anyways, it’s been too long since I last posted, I’m in the middle of a lot of things and I have had zero time to work on it. I’m in the middle of moving the national headquarters of America’s White Boy to another apartment, plus one of my roommates had to pay her court fines (don’t drink and drive, folks) and she isn’t going to pay the internet bill. So until mid-July, I am stuck using very inconsistent wireless internet. Instead of posting a thousand new posts about things that I would like to talk about, I am going the cheap route and throwing you some bullet-points.

– The Cubs are still awesome
– Whoever the Bulls pick #1, they will wish they had picked the other guy
– Apparently Asian pitchers are never taught to run the bases (Yankees are finding out the hard way)
– If Chris Lofton goes undrafted, it’s a shame
– Rajon Rondo is a beast
– Glen Davis should always keep his shirt on
– Rocco Mediate isn’t a pool cleaner
– Kobe knows how Shaq’s ass tastes
– Carlos Zambrano can feel pain
– Lou Pinella and Ozzie Guillen will put out a rap album and it will be better than the last Jay-Z album (not hard to do)
– Katy Perry shouldn’t marry the guy from Gym Class Heroes, she must not have gotten the memo of my availability
– The new Alkaline Trio album is very good
– ESPN Fantasy Focus Podcast is my new addiction (they read an email of mine last week)
– I did not receive a million dollars from Vince McMahon of the WWE
– Jay Bruce isn’t curing cancer
– Jermaine O’Neal will be traded before the NBA Draft, Pacers will still be bad
– During the NBA Draft you will hear multiple comparisons of European prospects are the next A) Dirk Nowitzki B) Pau Gasol C) Tony Parker, but in fact none will be.
– No one watches the NHL Draft (I actually attended last year’s, so sad)
– Price Fielder, Bartolo Colon, C.C. Sabathia, and Sidney Ponson can win a tug-of-war contest against the entire Tampa Bay Rays 40-man roster
– Gemma Atkinson is a one-percenter
– Kevin Garnett either thanked ‘Sota, as in Minnesota, or he thanked ‘soda,’ which would lead me to believe that he loves Barq’s Root Beer, A LOT!
– Frisky Dingo is hilarious (Boosh!)
– I still don’t know why Soulja Boy and Ice T are yelling at each other, it’s like watching Dustin Diamond yell at one of kids on “Josh & Drake”
– The Josh Hamilton for Edinson Volquez trade will go down as one of the most evenly balanced trades this decade

On a personal note, please let me give everyone a word of advice. Never sign a year lease with two females, they will hate each other within 6-months, the last 6 months will leave you scared of women, annoyed, and without internet.

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.

Indians Starters Close In On My Scoreless Streak

My own personal “scoreless” streak is tad longer than 43 1/3 innings, but I count my streak in terms of months rather than innings. I don’t want to seem like an Ohio homer (I’m originally from Indiana, so I don’t want to convey falsehoods), but Cleveland seems to be a hotbed of sports topics lately. You have the Cavs in the playoffs, Cabrera’s triple play, and 23 cent pizza.

I think this 43 1/3 scoreless streak is more impressive than Orel Hershiser’s 59 inning scoreless streak, because the Indians’ streak have used their entire 5-man starting rotation. The Indians needed strong pitching from their starters, especially since Joe Borowski is on the DL and Rafael Betancourt isn’t doing a great job filling in as closer. C.C. Sabathia has clearly rebounded since his first two starts were horrible. Cliff Lee is pitching like Sandy Koufax, which is something the Indians didn’t count on. Lee was sent to the minors for a portion of last season and was a risky 5th starter coming into this season.

The AL Central has taken around 100 wins to win the last few season, but looks like you could take the division at a discounted rate this year. If the Indians get a consistent output from their starters and don’t fade away, looks like they are setting themselves up for a fun summer.

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.