ILX Yahoo! Fantasy Baseball League 2003 -- Part 2 . . .

I am in first!

"We had to come together as a team when Jeter went down. I said look guys. this is an oppurtunity for someone else to step up. They really responded. We have a lotta heart in this locker room."

"It is rumored that CDKs starting pitcher David Wells is looking to be traded, following disappointing first-week sales of his book, I'm Not Perfect. When asked about the rumor, Wells' agent said 'David is a team player but he would like to be on a team where his 20+ wins will be appreciated. Sometimes it seems like all the CDK ownership and fans care about are flashy strikeout numbers and who is the hot new flavor-of-the-month hold artist.' CDKs front office personnel would not comment on Wells' grumblings except to say 'Wells is a fine pitcher and an asset to CDKs -- as he would be to any team.'"

I know I'm in Toronto and it's officially hockey season and go Leafs go and all of that but can I just say how happy the Blue Jays are making me lately?

It's all about the "little cat". He needs to be in the lineup everyday.

Now if Halladay can make us happy tomorrow...

i'm sure he will. he needs to remind sturtz who the ace is¡
vernon wells especially is making me happy, i've been a fan of his since his 1st at bat as a j. are you the one who's got him mark¿

Rocco Baldelli - 2 for 4 and two rbi's. Again, ROOKIE OF THE YEAR!

After I got the message across that no one is untradable, the Pockets responded by leaping from 13th to 4th place. It was the greatest one day jump in the history of recorded time and space.

Baez picks up another save.

Thome has broken out his home run slump mit zwei kartoffel.

This concludes the Pocket update for April 10th, 2003.

Wow, lawrence, that is a big leap.

dyson, which is your team?

Tanyon looked cute on highlights I admit. He pitched well.

How about those Royals? MIDWEST PRIDE

All you people without closers, how could you pass up Mike DeJean? I couldn't believe he was a free agent.

My team is slow. It is sad that I am relying on a man named "Pokey" to up my stolen bases.

haha I dumped Pokey in order to pick up MARLON ANDERSON. Where have all the flowers and second basemen gone?

SCOUTING REPORT ON AARON W'S A-OK'S: I'm #1 again and my starting pitching still stinks. 2 wins, 5.41 ERA, 1.71 WHIP, and only 25 Ks... OUCH! Maybe a good outing from Shaun Chacon is just what the rotation needs? I also hope my lineup continues to bat well... or at least, when everybody else cools off that Bonds and Ichiro will take off.

I'm fourteenth but that's pretty much entirely because of my pitching, which I'm expecting to improve.

Trading catchers for closers is very comme il faut in ILB.

Gygax, seriously - Dave Roberts, what would it take?

"Guardado to Have Radical Tommy John Surgery"

Doctors at the Mayo Clinic have confirmed that the Twins ace reliever will have the most radical Tommy John surgery ever performed. "Basically we're removing his arm and replacing it with another one", said one docter. When asked whose arm will be used to replace Guardados busted wing the doctor replied, "Steve Sax".

At least now I know that 'Lawrence Kansas' is Kenny Williams' screen name.

"comme il faut"??? Kenny Williams??? I have no idea what's going on. You cosmopolitan types will be the death of me.

"Comme il faut" = "standard practice"

Kenny Williams = Chisox GM who traded a gimpy Mike Sirotka to an equally gimpy Gord Ash in 2000.

mark p-

i need a pitcher but it seems that we have comparable pitching staffs.

Who would you want for Roberts?

Winning Pitcher AL Levine is now a Devil Ray? I can't keep uyp with him.

he's avoiding you

Lest we forget KWill also signed such luminaries as Sandy Alomar Jr. and Royce Clayton (y'know, for the OPS), traded Ray Durham for ... um ... something, and gave the Pirates 2/3rds of their current rotation (Josh Fogg & Kip Wells) in exchange for current Sausage Race Participant Todd Ritchie. Up until this off-season, KWill did everything in his power to whack the ChiSox behind the knee w/ a lead pipe. It almost makes me wanna wonder just why he got Colon...

Holy crap, I'm bitter.

Felicity, there are plenty of other middle relievers in the sea. Let Al go. You're too good for him.

You flatter me, David, but middle reliever? I prefer set-up man and vulture specialist, hmph. But I am so over him.

I adore how Prior always finishes his follow-though with a little mitt-on-the-hip "attitude," like a runway model striking a pose at the end of the catwalk. He's wonderful.

"Vulture specialist"? Like Mark Grace & Jose Canseco?

Dave R, don't forget Kenny's spectacular "David Wells as a White Sox Player" experiment.

vulture specialist = a relief pitcher with more decisions than some of the starters! He's the master of that. He's also actually prety effective, so it's not all sarcastic for me to call him "WInning Pitcher" Levine.

Surely the "Vulture" is a classic roto archetype? e.g., the Angels have a tie or a small lead in late innings, the previous pitcher gets in a jam, Bud Black brings in sinker-slider specialist Al Levine to induce the double play, Levine walks the other guy's baserunner in or somehow lets him score, erasing the lead, and then proceeds to close the inning, Glaus or Garrett Anderson either rally for a couple or don't but if they do the the next thing you know the line looks like Levine (W, 8-6), Percival (S, 35). Not bad for 15 to 35 pitches.

The Canseco pitching story makes me sad. But I liked the inning of perfect relief Steve Finley threw in the D-backs championship year one game when they were getting blown out by the Roxx.

mark p:

snow and roberts for mulder
check your mail.

I've got zero use for Snow. And if you want Mulder, I'd definitely need more than those two...

Can't a team get more than one hold in a game? What're the qualifications for a hold? Just keeping a lead, but for how many innings?

gygax! if you need pitching I am hurt you would go anywhere else!

I'm beginning to think mark p's comparison of me to Kenny Williams wasn't a compliment.

Obviously I'm trying to become the felicity of holds.

Aaron, what do you want for your Alex Gonzalez? I am trying to corner the market on shortstops named Alex Gonzalez. I am completely serious.

HOLDS WIN CHAMPIONSHIPS
STATS ARE FOR LOSERS
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY

I am pleased that Prior is the #1 "Undroppable" pitcher on ESPN. If you try to release an undroppable player you get an error message. We shall become THE UNDROPPABLES.

Leee, just don't become the felicity of baserunning. Doh!

felecity is the Nelson Baker Hunt of cornering the Alex Gonzalez market

Felicity-- make me an offer!

I can't find a definition of what a Hold actually is?!? My interweb research skills are FAILLLLLLING.

Hold = same as a save. Except it's not.

Yeah, I mean, I know what it is... but like what exactly the conditions are before a pitcher gets a hold. Like, a save is that the tying run must be at the plate (???!?... the 13-year-old stat geek in me is crying that I don't remember this for sure).

Yeah, the criteria is the same as a save in terms of the team's lead - actually I think it is tying run "in the hole"? In other words you can get a save/hold if your team is up by six but you come in with the bases loaded? I think?! Anyway, the criteria for saves and holds is the same.

for a save the tying run doesn't have to be at the plate. Beyond that I'm not sure what the criteria is. I still don't know what WHIP is. Or a hold.

WHIP is easy... it's Walks + Hits per Inning Pitched. I searched the MLBA rules but couldn't find an exact definition of a save or hold. Bummer!

SAVES FOR RELIEF PITCHERS
10.20
Credit a pitcher with a save when he meets all three of the following conditions: (1) He is the finishing pitcher in a game won by his club; and (2) He is not the winning pitcher; and (3) He qualifies under one of the following conditions: (a) He enters the game with a lead of no more than three runs and pitches for at least one inning; or (b) He enters the game, regardless of the count, with the potential tying run either on base, or at bat, or on deck (that is, the potential tying run is either already on base or is one of the first two batsmen he faces); or (c) He pitches effectively for at least three innings. No more than one save may be credited in each game.

ah, I was wondering why there wasn't a BB category for pitching.

The thing is, "Hold" is not an official stat so there won't be an entry for it in the rulebook. But just substitute "hold" for "save" in the above.

Bingo! (heh) I found a history/definition of holds:

http://espn.go.com/mlb/s/2000/0523/546788.html

The thing I love is that (c) definition for saves: "he pitches effectively for at least three innings"!

There was some crazy game involving the Red Sox last year where they won by like ten runs, but some dude got a save. I think they were up by like 15 in like the sixth inning, and they brought in a bullpen guy who mopped up the last three innings. He gave up five runs or something. And he got credited with a save!

My sleeper is Danny Baez (closer- Indians).

-- lawrence kansas (lawrence_kansa...), March 14th, 2003.

ooh lawrence.

Meanwhile, the Expos are the Reality League ChicksDigKs. Armas is 2-hitting the Cubs after 5 with 9Ks. Ouch.