Playing for Keep(er)s

Most people do not understand fantasy baseball. They ask, "How can you spend 27 hours a week managing a fake baseball team?" I just shrug and laugh it off. It is my national pastime, my #1 hobby, and the primary way I spend my non-working and non-sleeping hours. I'm not asking you to understand, but rather only to tolerate my obsession.

In my fantasy league, you are able to designate 3 "keepers", or players that you can roll-over from your previous year's team to your current year's team. This year, I selected Josh Hamilton, my namesake, to be one of my keepers. He is the reigning AL MVP and a 5 tool player, all for a 4th round fantasy value! Today, Josh Hamilton hurt his shoulder, and it turns out that it was a small displaced fracture of the "humerus" bone. Well I don't think there is anything "humorous" about this. He is out 4-8 weeks, and I am going to need to piece together a solution.

Hamilton is the type of player who is fun to watch (or a pleasure to own as I like to say), and it is disappointing to know I won't be seeing him for a few months. It is like a friend going on an extended vacation or moving away- I am going to miss him. So this post goes out to Josh Hamilton- get well soon my man, the Amazin's need you back ASAP.

The Summer of 1998 and My Boycott of Cooperstown

I don't care that Mark McGwire did steroids. I didn't care a year ago. I didn't care when he testified in front of congress, and I didn't care when there were murmurs of suspected steroid use in the Summer of '98. Mark McGwire provided me with one of my most magical baseball memories growing up, and for that I will always be grateful.

The summer of 1998 concluded for me with a last week in August family trip to Smuggler's Notch in Vermont. I was getting ready to enter high school, and had decided that it would be a great idea to try out for cross-country (my glory days as an athlete). I spent the week running and listening to the Rocky IV soundtrack cassette on my Walkman, taking tennis lessons, and giving my parents a hard time for taking me on a family vacation. There was only one thing that distracted me from running that week- Mark McGwire.

I distinctly remember hanging around the cottage we had rented, waiting for TV stations to cut into their scheduled programming to show a Mark McGwire at bat. Most of the games were not televised, but when Big Mac strode to the plate, everyone stopped what they were doing. He was on that historic of a pace. And it wasn't just that he was making history- it literally felt like everytime he came up he was going to hit it out. And he almost always did. I remember yelling to my brother that McGwire was up again and him running into the room just in time to catch Big Mac unleashing one into the upper deck. It was surreal and it was magical. I had never seen anything like it before and knew that I would never see anything like it again.

It is a little bit sad that almost 12 years later, as I sit here unmagically in my office chair, that what we have all known for years has been confirmed. McGwire did steroids. But do I really care? The answer is a confident no. For better or for worse McGwire is part of my childhood and part of the foundation of my life-long love for the game.

To the Hall of Fame voters, I say get a life. You aren't deciding whether or not this guy should go to heaven or hell. For lack of a better alternative, you are deciding whether or not this man should get into a baseball museum. The entire purpose of Cooperstown is to commemorate the game for the fans, who without the game would cease to exist. Well you have an entire generation of fans who grew up watching Mark McGwire and his peers of the steroid era create baseball memories. And now, these players will not have representation in the Hall?

Well, I make my statement today. I will not return to the Hall of Fame until the players I grew up with are represented in the Hall of Fame. I don't care if their plaques have an asterisk, a paragraph describing their steroid use, or a red circle with an X through it over their face. They just need to be there, because this is a baseball museum, and they are a part of history. My history.

What Could Have Been

The following paragraph is a fictional account:

Friday, November 6th, 2009. I'm so excited that I wake up before my alarm clock. I shower and shave, throw on my favorite article of clothing, and rush out of my apartment. A gust of cold, brisk, wind hits me. I'm glad I threw a sweatshirt on under my favorite article of clothing because its going to be cold standing out in the cold today. My Derek Jeter jersey just wouldn't be enough to keep me warm. I jump on the subway, and head down to a ticker tape parade. My favorite team did it. The Yankees are World Series champions.

Now back to reality:

Why couldn't I have made things easy on myself and become a Yankee fan? As a Met fan, I face year after year of torture, depression, and misery (and this is what I like to do for fun in my spare time). Faced with a Yankees vs. Phillies World Series, it was really a lose-lose. I hate the Yankees, but I hate their fans and the concept of the team more. But I could never root for the Phillies, and so the Yankees it was.

When the Yankees won on Wednesday night, I thought I was going to be angry and bitter today when the city would swell with pinstripes, "legends", and and "tradition" for the parade. But being downtown today just made me sad. Seeing swarms of fans, screaming and celebrating in euphoria. Seeing kids holding their dad's hands, waving pennants, excited about the opportunity to see their heroes. They were truly happy. No amount of Yankee bashing could allow me to take that away from them. The Yankees won, and despite how they did it, their fans can call them champions.

Year after year, seasons fly by for the Mets. Players, managers, and GMs come and go. I keep thinking that this is our year. That it is all going to come together. But it doesn't happen. So all I can say to Yankee fans is enjoy number 27. If you are one of my peers, enjoy the 5th championship you've seen since you were 12 years old. I hope you enjoy and appreciate it, because despite what you have been brought up to believe, it doesn't happen very often.

The Results Are In...

Draft day 2009 (aka my favorite day of the year) came and went.  The draft results are in, the rosters have been studied, the picks have been analyzed, and without further ado I give you the best/worst pick for each team in the league:

Penske Files (Bob)-  Best:  Adam LaRoche (Round 17)  To find power that late in the draft is a steal.  I think he should have gone far earlier in the draft.  Worst:  Brian McCann (Round 3)  Considering solid catchers were still available in the last round, this was way too early.

Debbie Does Odalis (Jason)-  Best:  Matt Holiday (Round 3) To me, this guy is still a borderline first rounder.  Worst:  Justin Verlander (Round 10)  There were a lot of great starters on the board, and I don't think Verlander was in the same league as them.

Long Islanders (Michael)-  Best:  David Wright (Round 1)  This guy is poised for a huge year.  Worst:  Troy Glaus (Round 17)  Out for most of the year with an injury.

Beast is Back (Jon)-  Best:  Chris Iannetta (Round 19)  He is a top catcher and I have seen him go in Round 10.  Worst:  Xavier Nady (Round 13)  He could have been had in Round 20.

High and Tight (Matt G)-  Best:  Matt Cain (Round 13)  By far the best pitcher on the board at that point.  Worst:  Dice K (Round 8)  He is in for a huge drop-off this year- too lucky last year.

Running Cows (Mike P)-  Best:  Jason Motte (Round 18)  Lights out stuff, seems to have one the closer job.  Worst:  Manny Parra (Round 20)  Has potential, but he would have gone undrafted and I think there were more reliable starters on the board at this point.

DHARMA Initiative (John)  Best:  Ubaldo Jimenez (Round 19) Nasty stuff this late in the draft. Worst:  Chipper Jones (Round 5)  Just not reliable enough to be a 5th round pick anymore.

I'm On A Boat! (Teddy)  Best:  Matt Kemp (Round 3)  He is 2nd round talent, in for a huge year.  Worst:  Yovani Gallardo (Round 8).  I think he would have been around 2-3 rounds later, far more reliable guys were still on the board.

Amazin' Mets (Me)  Best:  Jonathan Papelbon (Round 7)  I hate taking top closers, but this guy isn't a 7th round pick- great value here.  Worst:  Carlos Pena (Round 8)  Needed to fill my 1st base slot, but should have just taken another top outfielder and worried about 1B later.

Lifetime Ban (Joe)  Best:  Javier Vasquez (Round 9)  A bit early, but in for a huge year.  Worst:  Alex Rodriguez (Round 1) I don't have a problem with drafting A-Rod, I have a problem with drafting him in Round 1 when he would have lasted until your Round 2 pick.

ROY (Rockoff of the Year)  Best:  Andre Ethier (Round 11)  I like him this year, and he was the best outfielder on the board.  Worst:  Michael Young (Round 4)  He would have been around in Round 10, not a 4th round talent.

Orange and Blue (Seth)  Best:  Jimmy Rollins (Round 1)  Getting him with the 12th pick is an absolute steal, and pairing him with Texiera in Round 2 makes the pick that much nicer.  Worst:  Ervin Santana (Round 10)  He might have a good year, but not worth the risk in Round 10- other surer things were still available.

Good luck to everyone this season...can't wait for things to get underway.  I have a live auction draft next Sunday and will provide an analysis for how things unfolded after the draft.

The Draft Has Arrived

Ladies and Gentleman, draft day 2009 has officially arrived. On Saturday, the Stallions will hold its 6th annual fantasy baseball draft at the Kaplan residence on the Upper West Side. For all of our fans out there, you can follow the results real time on our draft blog as each pick unfolds. We will have bleachers set up for those of you who would like to watch in person instead.

To Lighten Things Up...

It has been a brutal few weeks in the world, and baseball has been no exception. Even the Mets have gotten killed over the past few months, between the CitiTaxpayerField debacle (I wish MetLife had some free dough, but that would make things too easy), the Wilpons appearing about 1,249 times on the Madoff client listing, and the Mets 2009 inaugrual season patch looking like the Domino's symbol.

Just when we thought things couldn't get any worse, they do. A friend sent me this, and I laughed out loud. This has been quite an off-season. Enjoy!

A-Rod Joins the Ranks

Those of you who know me know how much I hate the Yankees. Just the thought of Derek Jeter, Paul O'Neil, and Scott Brosius makes me sick. Alex Rodriguez was never my most despised Yankee, but I still never particularly liked him either. I think my first real distaste for him developed in 2004 after his Bronson Arroyo glove slapping incident in the ALCS. It was the perfect summation of a wimpy prima-donna panicing in the heat of the moment. However, today's news that A-Rod tested positive for steriods in 2003 saddened me. Not because of anything that this news does to him personally, but because of what it does for the game.

I recently posted about my thoughts on steroid use and the hall of fame here. While I think steroid use is wrong, to pretend as if the era never existed only exacerbates the ugliness of the time period. These players and their statistics need to be recognized for what they are and framed by the time period in which the players played the game.

Today's news on A-Rod simply shows that everyone that played baseball over the past three decades is guilty until proven innocent. Simply put, players' words don't matter anymore- they have lost their meaning. Player after player has looked us in the eye and blatantly lied. I am tired of going back and rehashing things that happened 6 years ago. I really just want to move on.

The bottom line is that A-Rod's failed steroid test took place in 2003, and really means nothing in terms of the validity of today's game. But if A-Rod is guilty, then everyone is guilty. If anything, this provides more proof that the hall of fame needs to recognize all of these guys as excellent baseball players, and let the fans decide for themselves in the public court of opinion whether or not they are actually good people. The hall of fame is a museum- a place to celebrate history. Today's events are historical, for better or for worse.

I don't like A-Rod, but I hope to see him enshrined in Cooperstown in the future.

First Day of Spring

Spring begins for different people at different times. Some might go by the calendar, a noticable change in the weather, or even the first sight of blossoming flowers. For me, spring begins on the day that I obtain the Fantasy Baseball Index (FBI here). There is no definitive date that this event occurs on. Oftentimes, it is just an instance of chance- walking past a cluttered newsstand and the bold yellow title catches my eye. Other times, it has been calculated, whether it was an order placed online or a planned trip to the bookstore. All I know is, for me, spring began yesterday, and yes I know its only February.

To me, the Fantasy Baseball Index is the best fantasy baseball magazine out there. I have bought every annual issue that has been published for over a decade, and I even save them, creating a Fantasy Baseball Index library. I believe the first issue I got was 1997 (that is 12 years for those of you counting at home). With the rise of the internet, fantasy magazines are outdated- its information is stale by the time spring training arrives. However, it is my first taste of fantasy for the season and signals that pitchers and catchers reporting is on the horizon. Was it just me, or did it feel a little bit warmer out yesterday...until it snowed this morning. Ok, so maybe it isn't spring yet, but it isn't too far off- I now have the 2009 Fantasy Baseball Index.

Why I'm Protesting the HoF

Who the hell are these Hall of Fame (HoF) voters that say their childhood heroes have more of a right to be in the Hall of Fame (HoF) than my heroes? I have been meaning to write about this for awhile, and today I'm finally going to get my thoughts down on the subject.

For those of you who don't know, players are currently inducted into the HoF through election by the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA). (Veterans Committee too, but that is neither here nor there). Being inducted into the BBWAA is fairly arbitrary, and is for established sports writers. In order to vote for the HoF, you must be a member of this organization for ten years. So basically, no one under 35 years old votes for the HoF, with probably the bulk of voters 50+.

The heart of this controversey is whether or not players who have been linked to steroid use should be admitted into the HoF. Voters initially ruled in on this by striking down Mark McGwire's induction a couple of years ago. Now I understand that other than maybe Jose Conseco and Barry Bonds, McGwire is the worst offender of them all. But how do you differentiate between players? There just isn't enough proof out there to start putting the scarlett letter on these guys (unless you were actually suspended by MLB, which is another story).

So these crusty old writers don't like that the guys I grew up watching have shattered the records of the guys they grew up watching. It is a bunch of jealous kids on the playground. They say that by inducting these steroid-tainted players, we will be destroying the sanctity of baseball statistics and records.

The sanctity of the records? Well who is looking at baseball records that doesn't know about the history of the game? If you are looking up who is 7th on the all time RBI list at 3pm on a Wednesday (don't ask), I think you probably know a bit about baseball. And if you know anything about the game, ANYTHING, you know which players played during the steroid era and that you need to view them with a bit of skepticism.

Guess what? Players have lied and cheated in the past (pine tar, scuffing, throwing games), just using different methods. A generation of white players never had to face black players, diluting the quality of play. The equipment has changed over the years. We still elect guys that played in these distinct eras into the HoF. It is part of history, and people know that you need to view the numbers in the perspective of the time in which they were generated. Just look at the dead ball era! Think of the steroid era is the opposite of the dead ball era, and it makes sense.

The point is, anyone who cares about these records understands that what happened was a part of baseball history. We can't pretend that it didn't happen, because it did, and it was wrong, and tremendous strides are being taken to prevent it from happening again. But it is history, and to turn your back on it is sickening.

These guys played. I know, because I was there- Bonds, Sosa, Maddux, Bagwell, Piazza, Clemens, McGwire, Pedro, Thome. They played with heart, and watching them has shaped my life. I used my allowance to buy baseball cards. My family used money to take me to games. Baseball as a business boomed during the steroid era for these reasons. The league wouldn't be where it is today if it wasn't for the revenue that the home run chases generated. Hey Bud, give me back my revenues and then you can pretend like none of this ever happened.

My generation is the future of baseball. Not these old writers who are deciding which memories need to be celebrated and which need to be stricken from the record book. I am one of the biggest fans of the game I know, and I will not be visiting the HoF if the players I grew up watching aren't there. If they don't go, I don't go. Call it a protest, a boycott, whatever. I'm not going until this is made right.