Fantasy Baseball Dugout

Two weeks ago, the Florida Marlins sent seemingly every starter it had on the roster to the Toronto Blue Jays in a blockbuster trade for a package of prospects that has left many Marlins fans wondering what has happened to this franchise that was going to be an annual contender thanks to the snappy new stadium in the Little Havana section of Miami.  Commissioner Bud Selig approved the trade that sent Jose Reyes, Josh Johnson, Mark Buehrle, John Buck, and Emilio Bonifacio to Toronto for Yunel Escobar, Adeiny Hechevaria, Jeff Mathis, and Henderson Alvarez and a bunch of guys you’ve probably never heard of.

What the Marlins Got in the Blue Jays Trade

MARLINS FANS BEANED: Jeff Mathis brings his lifetime .198 average from The Great White North to South Beach.

Escobar, 30, will make $5 million next year.  He struggled at the plate last season with a .253 batting average and 8 homers in 608 AB’s.  Alvarez, 22, made 31 starts for the Blue Jays last season with a 4.85 ERA and 3.8 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9.  Hechevaria, an infielder, hit .254/2/15/0 in 126 AB’s last year.  Mathis was the Angels backup backstop for five seasons before joining the Blue Jays last year.  Mathis’ stats are rather Uecker-esque.  He hit .218 last year in Toronto which is his all-time best so his fantasy baseball value is extremely limited.

Escobar, and his $5 million salary, may never wear a Marlins uniform as he may as well be dealt too.  Ditto for the only other high paid Miami player, Ricky Nolasco, who will make $11.5 million next year.  Owner Jeffrey Loria and the Marlins have already pared $146.5 million in future salaries with the deal.

Of the guys you’ve never heard of, Justin Nicolino cruised through Single-A ball last year, posting a 2.46 ERA with 8.6 K/9 and 1.5 BB/9. Jake Marisnick, an outfielder, is ranked as #35 on the MLB.com Top 100 prospects list.   The 21-year-old batted .249/.321/.399 with eight home runs, 29 doubles, 10 triples and 24 stolen bases in 553 plate appearances this past season between High-A Dunedin and Double-A New Hampshire.  He played in the Arizona Fall League championship game last week and wasn’t sure which uniform he should be wearing, pending Commissioner Selig’s ruling on the controversial trade.  Anthony DeSclafani, taken in the sixth-round of the 2011 draft, posted a 3.37 ERA with 6.7 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9 in his debut season for Single-A Lansing last year.

South Beach Smackdown II

Miami Marlins fans must be wondering what has hit them!  Their fans were told that if they supported the financing of a new stadium that it would allow for Miami to invest in higher paid talent the likes of Buehrle who signed for 4 years and $58 million.

Team President David Samson said the Marlins didn’t lie to Buehrle or their fans, but instead were compelled to make drastic changes after a disastrous season that included a last-place finish and disappointing attendance in a new ballpark.  (Didn’t BallparkBob say last year in his article “South Beach Smackdown” that the new ballpark wasn’t going to work, tropical fish tank and all?)

A King’s Ransom for Stanton

Now, the only drama left for the Marlins is finding out what they’ll do with 23-year-old slugger Giancarlo Stanton whose $440,000 salary for next year is still within the Marlins’ budgetary needs.  There’s no proof that the Marlins are shopping Stanton, but that hasn’t stopped the phones in Miami general manager Larry Beinfest office from ringing.  Stanton, coming off a monster 37 home run season, is rumored to be being discussed with the Yankees, Phillies, Orioles, Red Sox, and Cubs.  All would need to supply a King’s Ransom to pick up this young superstar.

If you want to know what Stanton is thinking, just spin on over to Giancarlo’s Twitter account.  His November 13 Tweet said it all:  “Alright, I’m pissed off!!! Plain & Simple.”  Yeah, I guess so.  If Stanton remains a Marlin, will he be able to get over being pissed off (not to mention having no protection in the lineup) to produce those gaudy numbers again for your 2013 fantasy baseball season?

One thing is for sure: if you are looking to make any MLB Predictions for the 2013 season, you’ll probably want to pencil in the Marlins for the cellar of the National League East.  Now that should make your pissed off!!!  Plain & Simple.

In early 1964, The Beatles recorded the song “Can’t Buy Me Love,” in which they sung about the perks that money can and can’t buy.

In Major League Baseball, money doesn’t always buy championships, either.

Here are five of the lowest-payroll teams in MLB history that went on to greatness.  Read the rest of this entry »

Brooke Sorenson Nix - Baseball's Hottest Wife 2012

In a landslide not seen since the Nixon-McGovern election in 1972, Brooke Sorenson, wife of Philadelphia Phillies’ Laynce Nix, is the 2012 Baseball’s Hottest Wife.

It was Brooke Sorenson Nix’s first year of eligibility in the contest and she certainly made the best of it.  Sorenson Nix received 25.7% of the vote in the 5th Annual Baseball’s Hottest Wives contest.  The second highest vote getter was also an ex-DCC, Ann Lux, wife of Red Sox rookie sensation Will Middlebrooks, who came away with 7.3% of the vote.  Returning champion Diana Roberts was third with 6.0% of the vote.  Another ex-DCC (how do all of these football players let these cheerleaders get away?) Emily Kuchar Greinke, a regular in the Baseball’s Hottest Wives vote since ’09, was sixth with 5.1% of the vote.

Sorenson is an ex-Dallas Cowboys cheerleader.  In fact, she was on the DCC squad for 5 years!  Not sure how well that would go down in football crazy Philadelphia Eagles country.  But, she apparently made a lot of great friends while with DCC.

During the 2010-11 football season, Brooke blogged about her upcoming wedding.  She married the Phillies power hitting outfielder in the Bahamas last Fall.  We have pictures here from the wedding which was in a spectacular beach-front setting.  It sure looks like the guests had a good time, as evidenced by this video.  And, if you are so inclined and weren’t invited to the wedding you can buy the couple a gift from Crate & Barrel; there’s still some stuff on there that they didn’t get.

Brooke formerly dated The Bachelor star Sean Lowe.

You can follow Brooke Sorenson Nix on Twitter here or check out her Facebook page.  Or, it might be more fun to watch Brooke trying on a new bikini during the filming of DCC: Making the Team.

The winning picture.

Baseball's Hottest Wife 2012

Brooke was a member of the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders for 5 seasons.

Wedding picture from The Bahamas.

2013 FANTASY: There's not much left for Wil Meyers to prove in the minors after a 37 homerun, .314 season in 2012.

The baseball season is nearly over and the Kansas City Royals didn’t really accomplish much for the 2012 season. Their record wasn’t that impressive and they didn’t make the playoffs. However, they could be in the picture next year with all the young talented players they already have and can develop throughout the off-season. An example of what baseball fans could see next year comes in the form of the Oakland Athletics.

Both of these teams are very similar as smaller markets plague them. It’s hard to compete in the MLB without a large payroll, but the Athletics proved it’s possible to compete without a large payroll, such as the one of the Texas Rangers or New York Yankees. Going into the 2012 season, Oakland was predicted to finish as one of the worst teams, but won the American League West and made the post season.

Can the Royals Win in 2013?

Kauffman Stadium will be packed in 2013 if the Royals can find a way to win. They were expected to finish better than 72 and 90 in 2012, but they will certainly turn that around in 2013. As long as they can stay healthy, it’s possible they could actually win the division, which also includes the Tigers, White Sox, Indians and Twins.

Players, such as Eric Hosmer, Johnny Giavotella, Salvador Perez, Alcides Escobar and Billy Butler will lead the way, just as they were supposed to in 2012. An addition the Royals might make this year is outfielder Wil Myers. He won the J.G. Taylor Spin Award as the top minor league player of 2012. He’s the top prospect for Kansas City with 37 home runs and a .314 batting average, while splitting time between Double-A Northwest Arkansas and Triple-A Omaha during 2012.

The Biggest Offseason Decision

The Royals have a huge decision to make, which could affect the outcome of the 2013 season. Closer Joakim Soria underwent Tommy John surgery during Spring Training and they hold an $8 million option for his 2013 contract, which also has a $750,000 buyout. They will have to make this decision soon, as this must be done by the third day after the last World Series game. A big part of this decision comes from the success of Greg Holland, the Royals late season closer, during the last part of 2012.

Starting Pitching Will Make the Difference

The biggest weakness for the Kansas City Royals during the 2012 season was starting pitching. They had a strong bullpen, but they were overworked due to bad starting pitching. They need to fill some of these gaps if they want to win the division. This was the key when it came to the Oakland Athletics. They were led by great starting pitching, even from rookies and the bullpen was able to display all their talent without being overworked.

The key for the Royals in 2013 is to start strong. If they can win in the first half of the season, more fans will purchase Kansas City Royals tickets to watch them throughout the season. With the new stadium, giving fans one good reason to show up, the team still has to do their part. The Oakland team did their part and were rewarded with nearly double the fans during the final few months compared to the beginning of the season. The Royals have the talent, but still need to fill a few pitching gaps if they plan to put a competitive team on the field during the 2013 season.

Playing fantasy baseball is one of the most enjoyable activities out there for sports fans. If you like fantasy sports, there are no more involved fantasy games available than fantasy baseball. Once you’ve been through an entire season rooting for your fantasy players, you start to develop relationships with them. You want them to do well and succeed no matter what they’re doing. When the playoffs arrive, going to see them in person can be a pretty exciting experience.

Baseball Playoffs

During the playoffs, your regular fantasy season will probably be over. Most fantasy baseball leagues are setup to finish at the end of the regular season. That’s because only a few teams actually make the playoffs, while the rest of the teams are done for the year. That eliminates the majority of players who would be available to play fantasy baseball.

In some cases, there are fantasy baseball leagues that start up during the playoffs, as players draft their teams right when the playoffs begin. If you’re in one of these leagues, you are rewarded by choosing players that make it longer into the postseason.

If you’re not in a fantasy baseball playoffs league, your fantasy season is most likely done. However, that doesn’t mean that you have to stop rooting for your favorite fantasy players. Instead, you can go check them out in person at the playoff games.

Getting Tickets

Depending on which games you want to see, you may have to act quickly to secure the tickets you want. The playoffs typically start only a day or two after the regular season, and you have to buy tickets right away to ensure that you get to go. The teams that make the playoffs will give first shot at tickets to their season ticket holders. Then they’ll allow the rest of the tickets to be purchased by others. You can buy them online or at the box office in most cases.

If you are strapped for cash, you might want to look at some 0% interest credit card offers to help finance the purchase of your tickets. Once you get the tickets you want, you’ll be able to cheer on your favorite teams and players on the biggest stage in all of baseball. It will even give you a chance to scout out some players for your fantasy baseball team for next year while you’re having a good time.

New York Yankees post-season hero, Raul Ibanez,  looks like Vin Armani of HBO’s Gigolos series.  You can check out some of our other look-alikes here.

Raul Ibanez, New York Yankees

Vin Armani, Gigolos

Editor’s Note: This was a press release sent to us by the good folks at Baseball America. Turns out they love Mike Trout. We don’t blame them.

Baseball America is running out of ways to recognize Mike Trout’s greatness.

Just one year after he was BA’s Minor League Player of the Year, Trout grabbed a place in the Los Angeles Angels’ outfield and showed he’ll be a star there for years to come, winning Baseball America’s 2012 Major League Player of the Year Award as well as its 2013 Rookie of the Year Award.

While Albert Pujols has won both the BA Rookie of the Year and Major League Player of the Year awards, no one else has ever won both awards in the same year. Such were the accomplishments of Trout, who hit .326/.399/.564 and played a stellar center field in 139 games with the Angels, after opening the season at Triple-A Salt Lake.  Read the rest of this entry »

Ike Davis, New York Mets

New York Mets (NYM) fans have a huge choice of fan ware to tell the world how proud they are of their home team. Even though, the Mets fan base is not as large as that of the N.Y. Yankees, both teams have won the World Series and are the pride of N.Y. At every game, baseball lovers hold up their favorite team collectibles as they jump out of their seats and shout, “home-run!”

Fun And Practical Collectibles For Any Mets Fan

Decorating a home with NYM gear is as simple as eating popcorn at a Mets game, thanks to numerous house ware items that display their logo. Clocks, rugs, wastebaskets and loads of other useful items are available at the Mets online gift store. Comforters with pillowcases in the familiar blue and orange color scheme will brighten up any bedroom.

Piggy banks, outdoor BBQ grill covers, several board games, puzzles and even a solid brass door knocker proudly display the team name. Moreover, every Mets buff should have a hotdog Mets logo brander. Be the ultimate team groupie as you sear the word Mets right on those sizzling hot dogs — branding-style.

Additionally, remember to display several whimsical Mets gnomes in the yard, one of which has its own temperature gauge. Another yard decoration features four garden gnomes sporting NYM uniforms and standing on a spectator bench. Your neighbors will not need to ask whom you root for on game day.

Later, drive to work with a Mets steering wheel cover. Once there, listen to your favorite radio channel or iTunes on an iDock speaker emblazoned with the familiar initials, NYM. After work, take your dog for a walk wearing his or her own Mets doggie sweater.

Storage Units Made For New York Mets Fans

All of this memorabilia will take space as you rotate it in and out of your living area. Never fear, because you can stock up on lots of Mets storage containers, bins, boxes and keepsake holders to stash your collection. With storage tins and cubes, your team collectibles are safe and easy to find. If space is at a premium, New York self storage is conveniently located and economical, too.

Baseball bats autographed by team players sell for more than $2,000 through online auctions. Lifetime collections may be worth a fortune, as well. Therefore, always handle gently, and store items when not in use or on display. Also, throughout September, remember to catch the Mets regular home season on television and on the radio.