Prior to 2012, the only baseball related thing that created buzz in Oakland was the blockbuster film, "Moneyball," starring Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill. That all changed in 2012 and 2013 when the Athletics became the darling underdogs of Major League Baseball, with only Justin Verlander in the way of them advancing to the ALCS …
As lucky and wondrous as the San Francisco baseball seasons were in 2010 and 2012, were the years 2011 and 2013 askew. Injuries, sub-par performances, and the cosmic giggle caught up with the Giants -- a team built upon pitching the last few years -- contributing to real and virtual chaos for the McGowan family and …
From a Fantasy Baseball perspective, the Mariners exceeded expectations last year. A 41-year-old Raul Ibanez led the team with 29 home runs and their starting rotation boasted two Cy Young candidates in perennial superstar Felix Hernandez and Hisashi Iwakuma. Iwakuma finished the year with a 138 ERA+, besting King Felix’s 121. Seattle also has a …
Welcome to your 2014 Arizona Diamondbacks Fantasy Baseball preview! While 2013 was a down year, from a Fantasy perspective, for many D-backs not named Paul Goldschmidt at least, who finished second in NL MVP voting behind his huge year. But 2014 provides an opportunity for a turnaround for some of their disappointing outputs. It has been …
The Pittsburgh Pirates finally rose from the depths of obscurity in 2013 by making the playoffs for the first time since 1992. "Pirate Fever" ran wild through the Steel City as the organization shared a glimpse of what the future likely holds for a ballclub that has one of the deepest minor league systems in …
For the third straight year, the Detroit Tigers advanced to the ALCS -- this time losing to the Boston Red Sox. They did this with the strength of their rotation, (156 GS by the top five and an AL record 1,428 strikeouts) and some lineup thump from Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder. The Tigers made …
After suffering through baseball’s worst record from 2011–2013, the Astros and their fan base need something to look forward to. During the past three years, they are 118 games worse by record than baseball's best team, the Texas Rangers (280-206). To make matters worse, the Astros are 33 games worse over this time frame than …
The 2014 Cleveland Indians have potential in several areas, although most of their players will come off the draft boards a little later on Draft Day. There are, of course, a few above average players, like Jason Kipnis and Carlos Santana, but for the most part, the remainder of the team will be lineup fillers …
The 2014 Cincinnati Reds had two of the top OBP men in the league in Joey Votto and Shin-Soo Choo, a rotation with no starter’s ERA over 3.80 and a lights-out closer in Aroldis Chapman. However, the Reds did very little in the offseason to change the roster. Their biggest "move" was losing leadoff man …
What a difference a year makes. Last year at this time, the Royals were on a lot of sleeper lists as the team to watch out for. Armed with a young nucleus, whose lineup was potentially lethal, the team seemed to be just a few pitchers away from becoming serious contenders. When the Royals traded …
Before we delve into the 2014 Tampa Bay Rays, let's discuss last year's club. Another year with a Bottom-Five payroll and another year with a Top-10 finish in the standings. Yaaaaawn. This whole "small market" thing has to be getting boring for Rays GM Andrew Friedman. By focusing on building his organization through the draft …
Last week, I got a digital copy of my favorite Fantasy Baseball magazine, “The Fantasy Baseball Guide 2014" and once again, I come away incredibly impressed. As I've mentioned in the past, like an old character actor dropping names at a party, I worked on several Fantasy Baseball magazines in my 14 years writing about …
The Phightin’ Philadelphia Phillies provided some hopeful flickers of optimism in 2013, but it will remain a season marked as a low point in the franchise’s effort to squeeze out one more moment of dominance from the World Series core. The negatives hit hard for fans and Fantasy owners alike as we witnessed a future …
The Mets as a team did not offer much to Fantasy owners last season, but can we expect more of the same in our 2014 NY Mets Preview? Matt Harvey was the lone bright spot in the pitching rotation, but his season was cut short thanks to an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery. …
Before we get into the 2014 Boston Red Sox, let's look back at last season. You don’t win the World Series without ample talent, and the 2013 Boston Red Sox were no exception. Their championship roster was anchored by the only offense to surpass 800 runs (853), and they scored 7.2% more runs than Detroit’s …
Sure, I know what you are thinking when you read 2014 Fantasy Baseball: Second Basemen Rankings. "Seriously? This early?" Well, sure it may seem early, but in many cases it's not. I am personally drafting in three leagues right now! So, last week when I was scraping my car in record time because it was -32 …
