2008 Fantasy Baseball

Aye-aye, cap'n.

BTW, still room in the All-American Idiots League!

 

Nice. Liriano's an interesting call. I'm in one keeper league that the owner kept Liriano and just kept him on the bench all of last year just to be sure to have him back now.

I wouldn't go that far, but he'd be a nice gamble at this point. I'd take him before Chamberlain.

 

As would I.

 

Sorry for bumping for the sake of bumping, but I've got a couple weeks until my league drafts and I'm still seeking managers for a 16-team roto league through yahoo.

If you're interested, the ID is 24979 and the password is awesome. Draft is Sun, March 16 @ 3 p.m.

 

Just a quick question. Who would you rather draft: Erik Bedard or Brandon Webb? I love Bedard's strikeouts and his overall numbers should improve thanks to the new ballpark, better defense and a lights-out closer...

BUT

Webb hasn't broken down and pitches in the NL West, not a hitter's hotbed outside of Denver. I plan on taking my first pitcher in the fourth round (I'm the 9th of 10 teams), so who would be the best choice?

 

I'd go with Webb because, not only is he lights out, but he's durable, too. At least a lot more than Bedard. If you've got a woody for strikeouts, take Bedard. If you like your pitcher throwing in September, go with Webb.

 

Honestly, it could be interchangeable. But, I'd imagine most people are valuing Bedard more because of the change and are likely to take him higher at the top or middle of the second round, depending on format. You have the advantage of probably waiting longer and can take Webb, who should give about the same stats.

 

Well put. Bedard is a trendy pick, but Webb is easily the better choice. And it's not like he won't help you with strikeouts. 2007 was the first season in which Bedard finished with more strikeouts than Webb.

Webb's average season over the last three years is 233 IP, 3.20 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 181 strikeouts. He won a Cy Young Award in '06 and was even better last year. Bedard has never thrown 200 innings in a season and he has had an ERA below 3.76 only once.

Webb isn't just more durable. He's better.

 

Here's a great question:

5x5 league. 15th overall pick.

Do I take Ryan Braun or Grady Sizemore?

 

I'd take Grady Sizemore.

 

I assume that's a 2nd-rounder (or a really deep league). Knowing who the 1st-round pick was would help.

Overall I like Sizemore better. He drew more walks and stole more bases in 2007, but his extra-base hits went down from '06. Maybe this is the year he puts it all together. Even if not, we've already seen the floor with Sizemore, and it's still a pretty high level. I think Braun's going to come back to Earth some. The question is how much.

 

Stepping more into sleeper territory, what do y'all think of Julio Lugo bouncing back? By bouncing back, I'm talking about getting that average back up over .280 with 10-plus homers and 35-plus steals. Pretty much what everybody expected before he stunk up the field in '07.

I read a Boston Globe story today that he is saying he picked up a stomach parasite in Europe before last season and never really got his strength back all season. Now he is supposedly back to normal.