The Morning Offering - March 18, 2005
Written by Dr Furious on March 18, 2005
Guess what time it is? I would let you guess, but you should already know. If it is Friday, then you know that Furious is in the house to bless ya’ll with the morning cup d’jour. After getting two days of NCAA analysis from me, we are going in a different direction. My bracket is already blown up, with Pitt losing in the first round. The issue is not that I thought that Pacific had a shot to beat the Panthers, because the teams are pretty evenly matched. The issue really is that I had Pitt beating Washington in the next round. Washington looks poised to make a trip to the at least the Sweet 16, but Furious is convinced that Pitt would have beaten the one seed if the two teams did meet. Oh well, that is the Tournament for you. So my advice is to get the coffee brewing, and chill with a brother as he works through some straight fantasy knowledge.
Basketball
Fantasy basketball has broken Furious’ heart this season. Coming down the stretch, Furious had a second place team in the ultra-competitive Road 2 17 fantasy basketball league. The Junky, fellow rotogod and self-proclaimed “El Matador,” is in first place and has dominated the league all year long. So a second place finish in the 14 team league is very respectable, especially for a player with a history such as mine. The other shoe eventually dropped for me when Brad Miller, Grant Hill, and Steve Nash were all injured at some point coming down the stretch. Needless to say, my team has dropped to fourth place and I will be lucky to finish in the top five. In case you did not know, Brad Miller is done for the season. If he is on your team, drop him promptly. He is just a waste of a good roster spot at this point.
Are Starting Pitchers Overrated?
The Furious baseball squad will prove whether this theory is sound or not. My starting pitching staff is weaker than a five-year-old girl doing one-arm pushups. I know that I have mentioned this in a previous offering, but I feel like discussing it again. Call it my right as a hung over American this morning. Just to remind you all, my ace at the moment is Javier Vazquez. All reports from spring training are positive, but it is hard to trust a guy that put up the numbers he did last year. The oft-injured Beckett is my number 2, and Rodrigo Lopez is third on the Furious depth chart. Furious is forced to hope that one of reclamation projects pays off (i.e. Esteban Loaiza, Jose Contreras) and does work this season. Otherwise my ass is S.O.L. All I can say is Go Nationals!
Baseball Success
One of the keys to being a successful rotisserie baseball manger is having updated information. Those who devote more time to roto usually find themselves higher in the standings. A great example of this is fellow rotogod Junky. He picked up Albert Pujols his first season in the bigs, after reading reports on how dude was smashing the ball. If you want to snatch up the next Pujols, then you want to make sure you have the most current information. For serious roto players, I recommend a visit to The Sporting News. You can customize your team and, more importantly, receive updates about promising young players in the minors who are likely to be called up. If you are lucky, you might be able to acquire the next Pujols for free.
Shout Outs
I have to send a couple of shout out. Big up to fellow Rotogod Tivo. The brother gave me a shout out for my NCAA analysis, and I felt it necessary to return the favor. Not to make it racial, but us brothers got to stick together. On the same note, another shout out goes to El Amin. He recognized the attention paid to defensive players in the NCAA. When I play ball, I always bring defense to the table. I have to recognize others who do the same. One last shout out goes out to all the girls I loved before. I see your work…I’m feeling that.
Alright folks, that’s it for me. I’m tired, hung over, and now I get to go to work. As usual, you get another hate-free offering this morning. Follow my example and keep your day the same. I mean, shit, it is Friday. You are one workday away from happy hour. I did enough drinking last night, but that should not stop you from shooting some Tequila tonight. Let’s be honest, it probably won’t stop me either.
Five things:
1) I'm glad your staff is bad, that way I can look forward to at least a 2 in most pitching categories this year.
2) That weak staff (ha, weak staff) is one of the roots of my contention that you are in the running for the Matrix lowsman award. No hate, just anal-ysis.
3) I was the one that nutured Prince Albert through his rookie campaign. I saw that he was playing multiple positions and that he looked like a greek god. Since he qualified at LF, 3B, 1B, I picked him up.
4) I was thinking of you guy with Defensive baller awards and at the time I was impressed that you managed to hold off from alluding to your miserly tendencies in the shadow of your own goal. I guess I didn't have to wait long for that shoe to drop.
5) Since I'm going through my own basketball contendership issues, I'm glad I only have to worry about Ape and Don Everestt now. Stupid Jermaine O'Neal, stupid Antawn Jamison.
I can't believe I'm saying this, but Tim Thomas will be counted on for production down the stretch at the 4 on what will hopefully be your R217 championship squad. Gosh hope is cool.
Posted by: El Amin at March 18, 2005 08:43 AM