Monday, June 30, 2008

CORRECTION -- FAD Results for JUNE 29

CORRECTION to my earlier post...
 
I got home last night after my weekend in Columbus and was totally zonked from the 6-hour drive (plus, we had to go to Palmyra to feed Rob's cat while he's away, which took another 80-90 minutes). Anyway, to make a long story short, this is the first time I've been on the computer since Thursday of last week. 
 
So anyway... Here are the FAD results from Sunday:
  1. DARYL THOMPSON    SP-CIN  .05  ASSASSINS
  2. DALLAS MCPHERSON  3B-FLA  .05  GRILLERS
  3. ERIC BRUNTLETT    SS-PHI  .05  JOKERS   
  4. COLIN BALESTER    SP-WAS  .05  STAMPEDERS    
Kennesaw Mountain BigHorn
HARL Commissioner


--
Posted By Steve Severino to HARL Baseball at 6/30/2008 09:38:00 AM

HARL -- FAD Results for JUNE 29

Hi Guys,
 
I got home last night after my weekend in Columbus and was totally zonked from the 6-hour drive (plus, we had to go to Palmyra to feed Rob's cat while he's away, which took another 80-90 minutes). Anyway, to make a long story short, this is the first time I've been on the computer since Thursday of last week. 
 
So anyway... Here are the FAD results from Sunday:
  1. DARYL THOMPSON    SP-CIN  .05  ASSASSINS
  2. DALLAS MCPHERSON  3B-FLA  .05  GRILLERS
  3. ERIC BRUNTLETT    SS-PHI  .05  GRILLERS  
  4. COLIN BALESTER    SP-WAS  .05  STAMPEDERS    
Kennesaw Mountain BigHorn
HARL Commissioner

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

It's Alive!



What's alive? The MONSTER packet that is this week's set of PSR reports, that's what.

There are 30 reports in the file-set, including year-to-date HARL player values. So open up that monster and dig in!

Current HARL Dollar Values have also been posted online along with the regular stuff (rosters, team stats, point standings, HARL player stats, free agent list, waiver wire, etc.). You can find everything at HARL Central (www.rhinosoftware.com/harl/harl_main.htm).

Speaking of monsters, sometime next week I'm planning on publishing a survey regarding possible HARL rule changes & new additions.

Keeping the game fresh is a major challenge when you're talking about a rotisserie league that's 22 years old. But I think we really need to do something to spur excitement. While I believe everyone is still having fun, my Spidey Sense has detected a palpable degree of apathy amongst the team owners that concerns me. Joey calls it a general malaise. Perhaps folks are just squeezed for free time in this increasingly hectic world that we live in? Life certainly isn't the same as it was 15 or 20 years ago.

Anyway, my goal is to try and inject some new life into HARL, and spur more interaction among the group. Here's a quick rundown on some of the ideas I'll be sharing with you:

Two Halves of the Season = Play a 13-week mini season and count your Points (the top 5 teams win prize money). Then play another 13-week mini season during the 2nd-half of the major league season (the top 5 teams win money).

At the end of 26 weeks, each team adds its Points together from both halves to determine the Final Order of Finish (the top 5 teams win end-of-year prize money).

Mid-Season Reserve Re-Draft = At midseason (All-Star Break), we all get-together to hold a live draft called the Reserve Re-Draft. Prior to this draft, each HARL team is given the chance to protect 4 bench guys (this total includes both Reserve and DL guys). Everyone else from your Reserve/DL that was not protected gets thrown back into the Free Agent Pool.

The Reserve Re-Draft is then held to restock your bench. Teams get $5 to draft 8 free agents in an auction-style draft. This gives us some midseason draft action, which is nice since everyone really enjoys live drafts.

Trade Meetings = Schedule two (2) Trade Meetings during the regular season. The first one is held around May 15, and the second is held around August 15. The purpose of the meetings is to get-together, eat some munchies, talk trade, and hopefully spur some deals.

Franchise Players = On May 1st, teams may designate up to 2 players with MY2 contracts as "Franchise Players". You may only have 3 Franchise Players on your HARL roster (you could have players leftover from the prior year).

The contracts of these Franchise Players changes to MY3 -- so you are getting an extra keeper year out of them. In exchange for the longer contract, you must keep that player for all 3 years of his contract. If you waive him anytime during those 3 years, his Salary gets deducted from your FAD Balance and you lose 1 Farm Pick next season.

Trader Award = I'm still thinking about the specifics here, but the idea is to award a $50 prize at the end of the year to the team owner who made the most trades or best quality trades (with trades rated on 1 to 3 point scale as determined by a simple formula). The gist of this award is to spur trading since it will pay to deal!

Rookies Signed to 3 Year Contracts = This is Rich's idea. Any rookies signed by your club automatically get ML3 contracts.

New Definition of Rookie = To improve the quality of the Farm Draft, the definition of a rookie (Minor Leaguer) is someone who has never exceeded 100 AB or 40 IP during any previous season. In effect, we're doubling the AB and IP from their current values.

Expand the Player Pool with 4 AL Teams = In addition to the National League, players from 4 AL teams are now available to be drafted and used on HARL rosters. The teams would probably be the Yankees, Red Sox, Orioles, and 1 other AL club to be decided. I would like to stick with historically good, high-payroll teams, or teams that are close by (eg: it's easy to go see the Orioles play).

While this is certainly a radical idea for HARL, the free agent pool isn't as interesting when it's comprised mostly of scrubs. So beefing up the available players pool would increase the talent level, but HARL still would not become an "all-star league" -- something I strongly dislike.

Two New Stat Categories = Add 2 additional stat categories: Total Bases (TB) for hitters, and Quality Starts (QS) for pitchers.

These categories are readily available for us to use (they're included in the weekly stats data that I generate for the Rhino Stats Service), and I'm currently showing them on the HARL reports as extra statistics.

Total Bases is a worthy offensive stat because it incorporates 2B and 3B which we currently ignore, represents slugging ability well without being another ratio-style stat, and counter-balances OBA (ie: it's good to have a high OBA, but you also need guys that rack up the bases on a cumulative basis). Quality Starts is a solid way to evaluate Starting Pitching and this helps give good starters their just due (relievers are always a bit overrated in fantasy terms).

So there you have it. Some bold new ideas to chew on and seriously consider. I'll followup on these later. For now, if anyone has any comments, suggestions, or questions about any of these things, feel free to shoot me an email or leave you comments on this blog (just click on the Comment link at the end of this post and write whatever is on your mind).

ONE LAST THING.... Since I'm away at the Origins game convention in Columbus, Ohio this weekend, I won't be home to handle the Waiver Wire process. So please send you waiver claims to Joey this Saturday. Thanks!

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

This Saturday's Waivers

 
Since I'll be in Columbus this weekend with no access to a computer, please send any Waiver Wire claim emails to Joey. 
He's handling the HARL stuff while I'm away. 
 
Thanks!
 
Kennesaw Mountain BigHorn
HARL Commissioner
    

Sunday, June 22, 2008

FAD Results

FAD Results from Sunday (JUNE 22):
  1. SETH MCCLUNG        SP-MIL  .50  LEMMINGS    (HIGH=2.10, OTHER=.45 BREWSKIS)
  2. SEAN MARSHALL       SP-CHC  .05  BREWSKIS    (HIGH=.55)
  3. CHAN HO PARK        SP-LA   .05  BREWSKIS    (HIGH=.45)
  4. RAUL CHAVEZ          C-PIT  .05  MAYGAMERS   (HIGH=.30)
  5. RUNELVYS HERNANDEZ  SP-HOU  .05  STAMPEDERS  (HIGH=.05)
  6. JARED BURTON        RP-CIN  .05  STAMPEDERS  (HIGH=.05)
One thing that I wanted to make note of...
 
A couple of people put in FAD bids for Wily Mo Pena and Jeff Salazar this week. They are still on waivers, so you cannot bid on them. For those of you have forgotten about the rules, whenever a player is dropped by a HARL team and goes on the WAIVER WIRE, he stays there for 2 weeks unless he's claimed during that period (on one of the Saturday Waiver Claim days). 
 
For example, Wily Mo Pena was dropped by the Grillers last week (6/16). Nobody claimed Wily Mo this Saturday. So, that means Wily Mo is still on waivers. If nobody claims him next Saturday (6/28), then he becomes a free agent and you can bid on him during the FAD. Of course the smart thing to do is just claim him in the first place (it's free and costs you zero FAD money). 
 
Kennesaw Mountain BigHorn
HARL Commissioner

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Halfway to the Playoffs!

Eleven weeks of regular season play are in the books. Only 11 more to go. Yep, you read that right; we're halfway to the HARL Playoffs already! 
 
It's been a really weird year. The standings were in extreme flux for the first 8 weeks or so. There are still teams experiencing significant point-swings each week, but the view from the top has settled down of late. Here's the current scoop: 
  1. 98.4 = JOKERS
  2. 93.2 = COBRAS
  3. 87.9 = ASSASSINS 
  4. 85.3 = MUDHENS 
  5. 79.2 = GRILLERS 
  6. 78.2 = RHINOS 
  7. 78.1 = GAMBLERS 
  8. 67.8 = BREWSKIS 
  9. 58.9 = STAMPEDERS
  10. 52.3 = MAYGAMERS 
  11. 42.9 = LEMMINGS
The Jokers and Cobras are currently 1-2, while the Assassins and Mudhens sit roughly 8-10 points behind the leaders and round-out the Top-4 teams in the HARL standings. 
 
Without a doubt, the loss of Alfonso Soriano for 4-6 weeks with a broken hand is going to hurt the Joker's offense. But Jack's club has one-hell of an offense, so he can absorb this blow a lot better than most clubs. Still, the Jesters have to be feeling a wee bit uncomfy with the Snakes striking at their heels.   
 
Can the Cobras catch Joker Jack's team? Well, they've certainly weathered some major injuries already (Tulowitzki, Gallardo, and Dave Roberts have all hit the DL for very long stretches), so it looks like they have the staying power to remain a bonafide contender for 1st Place. If they could just address their holes at SS (Gomez is a bum) and Catcher (Paulino got sent to the minors), they would have a legitimate shot at overtaking the bell-jangling Jesters.
 
The Assassins need to ride out boo-boo's to Ryan ChurchTad Iguchi, and Nick Johnson. So far, so good, as they've still got the 3rd best offensive output in HARL right now. Their pitching is middle-of-the-road, and they could probably use another solid SP and a valuable middle reliever -- but then, can't we all!
 
The Hens seem poised for a big push, especially now that Jake Peavy and Pedro Martinez are healthy, and Jim Edmonds has finally started to put things together and garner more playing time. They look like a team on the rise from where I'm sitting. The only thing that might come back to bite them in the tookus is AGE. Six of their key players (Delgado, Kent, Griffey, Edmonds, Pedro, and Izzy) are 35 years old or older. Guys at that age are more prone to injury and time off. When your team is built like that, you pray a lot.
 
The race for 5th place is WIDE with three teams (Grillers, Rhinos, and Gamblers) all within a gnat's eyelash of each other. Things could change here in a hurry, and you can bet that injuries and trades will play a huge factor in the 2nd-half as these three clubs try to climb up the point standings ladder.
 
Despite Gasser Geoff's griping about how lousy his team has been, the Grillers are still in the hunt. Sure, they've got some infield issues and the bullpen isn't going to blow anyone's socks off, but they're pretty solid elsewhere. A little more run production (Runs and RBI), another power bat in the OF, and a viable Closer would do them a world of good. And we all know Geoff likes to trade, so I'm sure some deals will be coming. I got snookered a bit on my earlier Sean Gallagher / Odalis Perez -for- JR Towles swap with him. Towles has been an utter bust so far this season. Maybe he''l turn it around, but it sure hurts to see Gallagher throwing well for another club when my pitching staff blows more than the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleading squad.
 
I've got to be honest, I'm flummoxed, bedazzled, and stupefied all at the same time. Several short days after analyzing post-draft rosters in early April, I thought my beloved Rhinos were poised to go all the way this year. But a combination of key injuries, underachivement, and unexpectedly god-awful pitching has me stuck in the middle of the pack. Hitting-wise, the Horned Ones are just fine. The 2007 NL MVP, J-Roll, is back. Ryan Doumit, Jayson Werth, and Ty Wigginton have recently returned to action. But just when you think all is well, Rickie Weeks goes down with a knee injury. Weeks wasn't doing as well as I had hoped, but was still a key  contributor in Runs and SB. And Andruw Jones... don't get me started. He flat out stinks and now his fat ass is on the DL. But the #1 problem in Rhinoland has been a horrid starting rotation. My projected top-3 starters (Jeff Francis, Oliver Perez, Tom Gorzelanny) are nowhere close to repeating their successes of 2007. And that has really killed me. Couple that with the absence of Noah Lowry, a fragile Joel Pineiro, and a somewhat mediocre Big Unit who is nearing the end of a great career, and you've got nothing to cheer about. Bottomline, I need to put a sign in the front-yard that says WILL WORK FOR PITCHING.
 
My rascally brother and his Gamblers team is keeping me company in the middle-standings logjam. It's not a spot that he's used to being in most seasons. Much like the Rhinos, the Gamblers bugaboo has been pitching. Edinson Volquez has been lights out (damn, if I just would have gone another few cents at the draft!) and is surefire All-Star. Tim Hudson and Greg Maddux have been reliable, and so was Adam Wainwright before he landed on the DL. Everyone else has either been bad (Snell, Jimenez) or too marginal to make much of a fantasy impact. I'm also not sure why Joey traded a power-hitting, everyday 3B in Kevin Kouzmanoff for a platoon OF in Skip Schumaker. Skip has been surprisingly decent, but I still think Joe got the short-end of that deal. Maybe it's just not the Severino's year this year? 
 
Nobody else is out of the running yet, but everyone is certainly facing a real uphill battle. 
 
The Brewskis still have hope, but they desperately need their good young prospects (Maybin and Rasmus) to come up in the 2nd-half and boost a moribund offense. Ian Stewart also appears to be getting a shot at the Rox 2B job, so maybe he'll stick and Kev will call him up soon to fill the Utility slot. Where would this club be without Chipper Jones and his .400 batting average? I think it's high time to deal one of the Closers and perhaps a good Starting Pitcher like John Maine in return for some top quality bashers at 1B and OF. Sure that's scary. Sure, people can be unreasonable in their trade demands. But it pays to knock on as many doors as possible when you're dead last in Hitting or Pitching and don't have anywhere to go but up. 
 
As for the Stampeders, their outfield is a total mess. Maybe swapping Ryan Howard could yield 2 pretty good guys? The call-up of phenom Chase Headley should also help. Maybe trading a Closer would also be a good way to bolster the offense? Just sayin...
 
Much as I suspected, it has been a re-learning year for the Maygamers. You just can't step away from rotisserie baseball for a decade, then come back in and be intimately familiar with all the players like you were years ago. That said, Mayer found several surprise performers this year, and for that he can be very proud. Mike Jacobs, Xavier Nady, and Jorge Cantu have been excellent underappreciated power sources. Cantu is a major sleeper that flew beneath most of our radars. I was very high on Nate McLouth prior to the draft, and he has certainly justified that enthusiasm with an All-Star quality 1st-half. As Geoff and I discussed earlier, we figured he would have more SB's than HR's at this point, but the flip-flop isn't anything to be disappointed about. And I simply love Johnny Cueto. His excellent control coupled with a strikeout arm gives him Volquez-like potential to be sure. If I was Mayer, I'd start analyzing the potential core pieces of my 2009 club (Jacobs, Cantu, Ramirez, Kendall, Bay, McLouth, Nady, Cain, and Cueto), and consider trading away anyone else for another inexpensive, good quality keeper. 
 
Richie Lemming, where have you gone? Off a cliff with the rest of your little furry friends perhaps? The last 2 years have not been very kind to the younger of the Hetrick clan. On paper and when healthy, the Lemmings appear to have a solid lineup. But take a look at that Disabled List. It's hard to compete when Furcal, Zimmerman, Alou, Willingham, Freel, Estrada, and Chad Cordero are in the roto infirmary. I won't mention Nomar, because, well you simply expect to see Nomar here. To make matters even worse, Rich has had a Sevy-like experience with his top hurlers. Roy Oswalt, Brad Penny, and Barry Zito have all collapsed into relative suckitude compared to their usual fine selves. At least there's uber-phenom Jay Bruce to make a little lemming smile. That's something.
 
-SEVY-
 

Sunday, June 15, 2008

HARL Free Agent Draft Results = JUNE 15

This Sunday's FAD results:
 
  1. TROT NIXON      OF-NYM  .90  GRILLERS   (TOP=2.00, .85 RHINOS and .75 BREWSKIS)
  2. GREG NORTON     OF-ATL  .05  JOKERS     (TOP=1.10)
  3. CHARLIE MORTON  SP-ATL  .35  BREWSKIS   (TOP= .35, .35 GAMBLERS and .15 MAYGAMERS)
  4. PHIL DUMATRAIT  SP-PIT  .05  GAMBLERS   (TOP= .30)
  5. JOSH JOHNSON    SP-FLA  .05  GRILLERS   (TOP= .25)
  6. ANIBAL SANCHEZ  SP-FLA  .05  GRILLERS   (TOP= .25)
  7. SO TAGUCHI      OF-PHI  .05  JOKERS     (TOP= .10)
     

Waiver Claims from June 14

Hi Guys,
 
Yesterday's Waiver Claims:
  1. FELIX PIE                       OF-CHC    RHINOS
  2. DOUG MIENTKIEWICZ    COR-PIT    ASSASSINS
That's all she wrote.   

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Waiver Wire -- with 2 new Gamblers Drops

UPDATED -- Waivers for JUNE 14

Waiver Wire: Jun-11-08
Player Pos Team Date Released Dropped By
ARDOIN, D. C LA Jun-9 Stampede
BENNETT, JEFF RP ATL Jun-2 Rhinos
CASANOVA, R. C NYM Jun-9 Rhinos
EVANS, NICK OF NYM Jun-2 Maygamer
FIGUEROA, NEL. P NYM Jun-2 Stampede
HATTEBERG, S. 1B CIN Jun-9 Maygamer
LEDEZMA, W. RP SD Jun-9 Lemmings
MIENTKIEWICZ, D. 1B PIT Jun-2 Lemmings
MULDER, M. SP STL Jun-9 Gamblers
PIE, F. OF CHC Jun-9 Grillers
PRIOR, M. SP SD Jun-9 Mudhens
RISKE, D. RP MIL Jun-9 Gamblers
SOSA, JORGE RP HOU Jun-2 Stampede
VILLONE, R. RP STL Jun-9 Lemmings
WISE, MATT RP NYM Jun-2 Lemmings
 

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

And Then It Was Ten

Week #10 stats reports have been posted to HARL CENTRAL. Go check them out!

Sunday, June 8, 2008

FAD Results -- June 8

June 8th FAD Results:
  1. KORY CASTO        3B-WAS  1.30  LEMMINGS    (TOP=2.05, 2ND=1.25 GRILLERS) 
  2. BRIAN MOEHLER     SP-HOU   .05  LEMMINGS    (TOP=1.05) 
  3. EDGAR GONZALEZ    2B-SD    .05  ASSASSINS   (TOP=1.05) 
  4. CS. BAEK          SP-SD    .05  RHINOS      (TOP= .95) 
  5. EMMANUEL BURRIS   MI-SF    .05  LEMMINGS    (TOP= .50)
  6. JOSH ANDERSON     OF-ATL   .05  GAMBLERS    (TOP= .35)
  7. RYAN TUCKER       SP-FLA   .05  MAYGAMERS   (TOP= .10)
  8. BRAD AUSMUS        C-HOU   .05  STAMPEDERS  (TOP= .05)
That's all she wrote!
 
             

Waiver Claims from SAT (6/07)

Waiver Claims for June 7:
  1. CARLOS VILLANUEVA        SP-MIL    LEMMINGS
  2. CHRIS BURKE                    OF-ARZ   RHINOS
 

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

JUNE 4 -- Stats Reports Available

Sorry for the slight delay in HARL stats reporting/posting. Today (June 4) is Anna's birthday, and we celebrate birthdays for an entire week in the Sevy household. The celebration began last night. So I don't bother with much else during the week I pamper my wife!! 
 
See you later!
  

Sunday, June 1, 2008

FAD Results -- June 1

FAD Results for the first Sunday in June:
  1. JORGE CAMPILLO    SP-ATL  .70  RHINOS    (TOP=1.65, 2ND=.65 BREWSKIS) 
  2. BRIAN HORWITZ     OF-SF   .05  ASSASSINS (TOP=1.10)
  3. JOSH BANKS        SP-SD   .05  GAMBLERS  (TOP= .65)
  4. MAT GAMELS        3B-MIL  .05  GRILLERS  (TOP= .25)
  5. WES HELMS        COR-FLA  .05  BREWSKIS  (TOP= .05)
  6. DANNY ARDOIN       C-HOU  .05  STAMPEDER (TOP= .05) 
  7. DUANER SANCHEZ    RP-NYM  .05  STAMPEDER (TOP= .05)
                 

HARL Roster Alerts

The following players need to be addressed in this week's (June 2) roster moves:
 
ASSASSINS = Matt Holliday (DL)
 
LEMMINGS = Rafael Furcal (DL)
 
RHINOS = Jayson Werth (DL)
 
COBRAS = Kevin Correia (DL), Doug Davis (off DL), Michael Barrett (off DL)
 
STAMPEDERS = Ronnie Belliard (DL), Josh Bard (DL), Jorge Sosa (Minors w/ Astros)  
 

 
Here's a Heads-up on players who must be handled by next week (June 9):
 
BREWSKIS = Corey Patterson (to Minors), Rafael Soriano (off DL)
 
GRILLERS = Wandy Rodriguez (off DL)
 
JOKERS = Matt Diaz (DL), Jack Wilson (off DL)
 
LEMMINGS = Matt Wise (DL)
 
GAMBLERS = Eric Byrnes (DL)
 
MUDHENS = Mark Kotsay (DL)
 
RHINOS = Joel Pineiro (DL)
 
 
Kennesaw Mountain BigHorn
HARL Commissioner
 

Saturday's Waiver Claims

  1. CRAIG COUNSELL        MID-MIL    LEMMINGS
  2. CLA MEREDITH            RP-SD      GAMBLERS
That's all...