The next three teams in my rankings are all very close to each other. One of the teams listed today is obviously in the bottom 4 but I don't see them in the lottery. Checking in at
#14---Arizona Desert Swarm
Strengths--Saves
Weaknesses--HR/RBI/Runs/Holds/WHIP
Price Wright and Kimbrel were certainly solid additions to the Swarm lineup and will be great contracts heading forward. I like Cueto and thing Romero has a nice bounce back season ahead of him. Beltran is real good when playing but I think Rios may have shot his wad (don't get excited Berg, just a figure of speech) last season so I see regression there. I really like the Carter pick. Josh happened to be in the right place at the right time to snag him after the trade...and Simmons could be a star in the making. I really like this team moving forward just not this season. Swarm contracts will be very interesting to see who gets what. Only three guys with 20+ HR power although Longoria could exceed 30 and Carter could as well, huge power there but will the Swarm put him out there with his 240 average? Longo will probably reach the 100 RBI plateau but will be the only one. On the pitching side I see 3 10+ winners along with 1 great closer and two good ones. Fujikawa should close in Chicago and we will see about Broxton. Weave his way through this year and 2014 looks really good especially if Josh ends up in the lottery again which is where I foresee him.
#13---Oviedo Knights
Strengths--SB/Holds
Weaknesses--K's/Saves/Wins
I can just see Mike getting wound up like a clock reading this but it is what it is. Being as active as he is will allow the Knights to not be in the lottery...but this team is not nearly as good as he thinks it is, at least right now. Last year he got a major bump from the fact that his division was so bad. Out of his division he got his ass handed to him most weeks. But that was last year. This year--I've never been a fan of E5 but his numbers last year were off the chart and I still see solid numbers for him this year. 30+ HR and 100 RBI should be in the cards for him. Reynolds and Gomez will drag his average down as will Maxwell and Machado when/if they are in the lineup. Lots of speed with 4 guy getting 20+ SB's. Crisp probably grabs 40 or so on his own. 5 guys getting 20 or more HR's along with some solid power on the bench. McCutchen is the star here and the offense is middle of the road in most categories. On the pitching side is where I believe the Knights fall short. Perkins gets 20+ saves and is underrated as a closer. Anderson and Hamels get him 10+ wins but that's it. Hamels probably fans 200 or so but none of the others even approach 150. Ogando could nab 10 wins or so and will be in the starting lineup most of the time. MRP is a strength of this team. I really like Henderson and Burton. We will see how long Marmol is on this team if he doesn't close somewhere. Please Detroit, do not trade for this guy.
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Reynolds was 71-73 outside of his division last year.... I don't think that counts as "getting his ass handed to him".
ReplyDeleteEven with Reynolds being ranked as the #13 team, I could see him winning this division because the East is so bad.
For a third of the season he had 4 or fewer points. May not be getting his ass handed to him but that's not good, at least for a team that was suppose to be so good. This year may be different but he will have to do much better outside of the East.
ReplyDeleteRenner is in the same mode as Doyel. Wants to see me fail and sometimes wishing it might make it true. I also showed on Doyels prediction that because I face 2 potential lottery teams if I avg just 8 wins against them I can make playoffs with a 500 record outside of division. I don't plan on being that bad but my worst case is a wild card IMO. Then again Renner with your ability to draft horribly its no wonder you have me near the bottom. I don't draft household names so much but go after breakouts who look to be on the verge. People thought nothing of Altuve but I told Berg I thought he was the best Astro last year. This year I am really big on Ogando and Iwakuma and Milone is Hudson like. I just don't understand how you don't see the balance. I have more spend then last year. More power then last year and my SP is more sound. My only issue is Closers. I can work on that though.. Oh well another year to prove you wrong.
ReplyDeleteIt's not that I want you to fail Reynolds, I just don't agree with your assessment of your players is all. At this point in the season everyone thinks their team is really good, I just think that your team this year is not nearly as good as it has been in years past. When I thought your teams were good I said that...so now just because I don't think your team is that good I am hoping you will lose? Sounds a little paranoid to me. I also don't constantly try and tear others down to make myself look better, that's your strategy, not mine. I just offered my opinions. But it's ok, unlike some other owners, I take no offense.
ReplyDeleteSaying Altuve is the best player on the Astros is like saying that Renner is the smartest one in the room when he hangs out with Sankey and Femmel. Both statements might be true, but when compared against a larger population they both are below average.
ReplyDeleteAltuve will steal above average, and hit for a higher average than the mean, but he has little pop, no RBI opps, below average BB total, and won't score anymore than an average player in the league.
Well Berg I am not considering Altuve best long term but last year he was. I even told you that after I took him. I see Maxwell growing at some point this year. Altuve will struggle to grow past what he did last year only because his team is weak. Power will never be his game but his ball park will allow him to get 10+ soon. Also 40SB is possible which should bring his runs between 90-100.
ReplyDeleteI love how you think you discovered Altuve off a farm in Venezuela. The first eMLB uniform he ever put on was Hackensack's in 2011. In that first stint (57 games), he did just about what he did last season. Yeah, it was a little better, as expected Christopher Columbus, but I got a news flash...You didn't discover shit! You keep beating your chest about this guy, he performed exactly in line with what he did the season before (when you didn't own him).
ReplyDeleteThen why didn't you draft him? Thats my point. Anybody can pick people off ww.
ReplyDelete"Thats my point." When were you trying to make that point before? I am just glad you think you have one.
ReplyDeleteWhy didn't I draft him? I had Pedroia. You picked Altuve at 14.9. If you were so confident in him, why did you wait so long? Everybody is gambling on potential in those rounds. He didn't come from out the Mike Reynolds Venezuelan Baseball Academy, you just decided to bet on him before others did. Everybody else knew what he did in 2011. I also don't understand the difference between anybody picking up a player off the WW and anybody taking a flier in the 14th and repeatedly patting themselves on the back?
I haven't heard Renner suggesting he is a genius for picking R.A. Dickey at 15.3, a player you passed up for the kid you found on a farm in South America.
I figured it was a given that everyone already knew I was a genius. I could be wrong. :)
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