Ask Rotoman

WSOCTV.com – MLB – Diamondbacks Ink Fassero

No fantasy value.

SOME CALZONE FOR DEREK

I haven’t spent enough time on the explosion of baseball blogs the past few years. Part of the problem is that bloggers who post all the time, if they have something interesting to say, are exhausting. And it’s hard to get in the habit of checking in on those that don’t post all the time. Managing blog subscriptions hasn’t clicked for me yet. All of which is to say that I’m not in the blog-reading habit, but I do wade in from time to time.

This site is topped by a gratuitously unappealing photo (tell me the flowered plate was accidental), cheeky attitude and generally smart posts. Like yesterday’s thumbnail of the NL West and Wild Card race (though I think it should be pointed out that Houston’s lead right now comes because they’ve played an extra game, and the situation could be called “a virtual tie,” as well). Because of the schedule they certainly do seem to be in the driver’s seat.

Check it out.

Major League Baseball : Ask Rotoman

Freezing up and coming starters or veteran closers in waiting for $5 is dealt with. An open door policy for all fantasy games is embraced. And we look back at the mlb.com Draft and Hold league, because it offers an unfiltered view of preseason expectations (or could).

Yahoo! Sports – MLB – D.C. official says baseball returning to Washington; announcement Wednesday

If it becomes clear Wednesday that the Expos will finally be leaving Montreal after this season, will more fans or fewer fans show up for the last game that night?

If baseball announces that the Expos are moving, will they have to pay off the extremely limited partners Jeffrey Loria left behind in Montreal, who are presently suing because they believe he ran the franchise he was sheparding into the ground? And if they don’t (or if they have not yet), might not the announcement eventually become yet another embarrasment for the lords of baseball?

We shall see.

There’s a lot of finagling going on behind the scenes, we can be sure. If there wasn’t, this deal would have been done long ago.

ESPN.com – MLB – Bonds randomly tested for steroids Friday

An ESPN SportsNation poll, with 34,000 respondents, and 57 percent say that even if Bonds tests negative they won’t be convinced he’s clean.

There is an issue here. Under the current rules, it won’t be announced if he tests positive. Which I suppose means that when he gets the results he’ll announce the negative results himself. Baseball has done itself no favors by leaving this issue unaddressed for so long, but even after a few years, when the current program has a track record, the public will still know that the tests can be gamed. And they won’t trust the results when they think they know better by what they see with their unaided eyes.

I think that’s too bad, and yet I can’t say I blame the public. But if that’s the way you think I don’t see why you would remain a sports fan.

Baseball Prospectus | Articles | Breaking Balls: A Game of Numbers

Derek Zumsteg does the math that confirms what I already knew: Barry Bonds is the greatest hitter of all time. And he does it gracefully, as he should, without dismissing the awesome spector that is Babe Ruth. Hardly essential reading, but a good job.

Major League Baseball : Ask Rotoman

This one is feeling bad, with the recommended Paul Byrd already taking a hit, but there is much to say about the Marlins’ rotation, hitter keepers for next year, a thought about replacing Alfonso Soriano, and a musical question: Is it really collusion if no one gets hurt?

The Fantasy Huddle’s Message Board

Because of some timing issues and because I’m busy putting the baseball magazine out in October and November and thus have little time for writing about football, I’ve changed the links for the football discussions to point to The Fantasy Huddle.

Jesse, who runs the Huddle, will be posting updated links each week for free football info on the front page of his site, and will host the discussions using the same fine Boards2Go software we’ve been using at Ask Rotoman for baseball.

And speaking about baseball, the usual gang should be checking in at the Ask Rotoman discussion board, where the Cy Young awards are already a subject for debate.

Yahoo! Sports – MLB – Box Score

Great games pitched by Ryan Vogelsong, Chris Young, Aaron Heilman and others are a reminder that late in the season pitching performances generally improve. Pedro Martinez owners will surely disagree, but when the games don’t mean anything the pitchers definitely get the upper hand.

Yahoo! Sports – MLB – Mets’ mess: Howe and why

There are some provocative statements in this story. Black Jack’s conclusion that a team only wins when it builds through the organization stokes some flames. And then it seems wholly reasonable.