Saw a funny political cartoon the other day, comparing Dick Cheney's political agendas with Harry Potter titles: "Dick Cheney and the Torturer's Stone," "Dick Cheney and the Prisoner of Guantanamo," and the simple "Dick Cheney and the Chamber of Secrets."
BB's a play on words on Big Brother, which I've become obsessed with, (not in small part due to me having applied for the show this year), but also on the Blackberry I just got, the Storm. I've heard mixed reviews about this particular device, and I'm still sorting it out a bt, but my main concern is the inability to get to the number pad real fast.......like it's almost become too complicated, going backwards while going forwards by not having a number pad. I bet there's some tech lovers out there calling me a dinosaur right now, but that's honestly how I feel.......It used to be those old-school spin dials for phones, and we came up w/ the numbers FOR A REASON.....now it's gone as well. Sigh. Guess not everything can go my way.
Big brother's driving me crazy. This is the part of the season where I start thinking everybody in the house is annoying....all have major personality flaws, like all humans, I suppose. Here's my assessment:
Ronnie: Pompous guy just got cockier. Plays the "National debate champion" card hard and thinks he can win every argument. He sounds exactly like kids I used to play video games with who would explain in painstakingly exquisite detail how they beat me. The worst part is how his short memory allows him to forget how the whole house turned on him last week and is now back to his old antics of "he said" "she said."
Natalie: Another instigator of the "he said she saids," her leaking the beans typically consists of "A told me that B told her that C told her that D told him who told me that A told E that...." I'm suprised she hasn't confused herself. And Casey's right, that girl STRUTS around.
Jessie: Anytime I need some comfort from the 2nd week of HoH Jessie is watching him getting evicted in BB10 and his epic fail in the hockey POV. He's trying to play like Dan and getting everyone on his good side this year, except he's already been HoH twice and is the biggest target in his alliance. And his guns get noticed.
Russell: One word-description of him would be "enigma." This guy bounces around like a pinball, and I'm mildly entertained. One day he calls out Ronnie, the next he sneaks in and assures him safety, the next he's back to asking Ronnie why he's shaking. Haha. Russell v. Ronnie may be the most entertaining of the year, but Russell is one interesting dude.
Jordan: Exhibit A of why I think BB should put more game players in the house than eye candy.
Chima: The over/under of her winning any competitions is 0. Seriously, she can't even win Have Not competitions. Pretty much a nothing player, the definition of "floater"-person w/ no power who just floats along.
Casey: My fav player this season. Big hand for putting up w/ some idiot houseguests, I wish he woulda detected the Jessie backdoor before, but I mean, he GOT A MARGURITA PARTY FOR THE WHOLE HOUSE. I think in previous seasons when BB hadn't evolved into "get the strongest players out first, the immediate threats to my safety out first" mindset to "who's better for the house?" mentality, he woulda stayed.
Urg. Another BB After Dark session concludes. I got a fortune cookie couple days ago that said, "you will soon witness a miracle." Well, Casey's gonna need a miracle on Thursday. Hope to see him get his redemption.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Friday, July 24, 2009
BB11 update
Ahhhhhh!!!!
Man what a weird, ridiculous week last week that was pretty much made moot by Jesse frickin' lucking his way into another HoH week.
The whole season for me has come to two mishaps that happened to my 2 fav players this season, jeff and casey.
In week 2, Casey, Jeff, Laura, and the rest of the counteralliance had the eliminator challenge wrapped up, leading 4-2 w/ lydia and ronnie left, but after winning one of the questions, casey, unable to eliminate lydia and not knowing ronnie was the stinkin' rat, eliminated jeff instead to make sure an athlete didn't win, which instead of a 4-1 advantage turned into a 3-2 close one and let ronnie win. Urggg!!!!
In week 3, Jeff and Casey went last in the challenge against Jessie's 6........Jeff and Casey, who had been practicing the most and had it down, both shot really well and hit in the 7-10 range, and BOTH got unlucky and had it rattle out, while both of Jessie's shots stuck right in the 6. URGGGG.......I'm watching that part of the show over and over again, imagining what would have happened had either of jeff's and casey's balls went in (sounds a little weird, i know)
Those 2 events, I think, have defined this season.......both times the power would have shifted tremendously to the other side and every floater would have just been sent shifting, whereas now we have the same old same old. How lucky is Jessie? Guy must have the best karma in the world... hits a solid 6 twice in a row, able to play twice in the BB house by 22.
Ronnie getting sold out by his alliance was pretty predictable. It really reminded me of high school where the athletes et al used the brainiac for a week or two and got on their good side, then as soon as they didn't need him (in this case, after Ronnie put up his replacement nominee) they dump him like rancid meat. It's really sad that Ronnie couldn't see that coming. It's also sad that he now is relying on these guys like they're his friends while thye've already proven they're the worst allies and will push him off to the side any chance they get.
Chima's the worst. My god, if I had to hear her laugh in that house I might have to seriously think about getting thrown out of the house. No gameplay, no loyalty to someone who's backed her (Ronnie), and quick to start drama. Not a good formula.
It just frustrates me how Jesse and these guys who are so quick to blame everything on Ronnie and agree to work together to vote Ronnie out are gonna take out Casey or Michele, prolly Casey unless he wins POV tomorrow. I guess it could be a good strategic move, but I think it's just what Jesse's group would do, even in life. So much would have changed if those 2 little changes would have happened in the HoH comps. Alas, that's BB. I just hope I have someone to root for this year. Unlike BB8 (Dick, Daniele, and Zack = puke), BB9 (Ryan, Adam, and Sheila).
Congrats to Mark Buerhle for his perfect game. Obviously, it's good fantasy-wise, but I feel like especially in a head-to-head league it's somewhat trivial in a long season.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
Man what a weird, ridiculous week last week that was pretty much made moot by Jesse frickin' lucking his way into another HoH week.
The whole season for me has come to two mishaps that happened to my 2 fav players this season, jeff and casey.
In week 2, Casey, Jeff, Laura, and the rest of the counteralliance had the eliminator challenge wrapped up, leading 4-2 w/ lydia and ronnie left, but after winning one of the questions, casey, unable to eliminate lydia and not knowing ronnie was the stinkin' rat, eliminated jeff instead to make sure an athlete didn't win, which instead of a 4-1 advantage turned into a 3-2 close one and let ronnie win. Urggg!!!!
In week 3, Jeff and Casey went last in the challenge against Jessie's 6........Jeff and Casey, who had been practicing the most and had it down, both shot really well and hit in the 7-10 range, and BOTH got unlucky and had it rattle out, while both of Jessie's shots stuck right in the 6. URGGGG.......I'm watching that part of the show over and over again, imagining what would have happened had either of jeff's and casey's balls went in (sounds a little weird, i know)
Those 2 events, I think, have defined this season.......both times the power would have shifted tremendously to the other side and every floater would have just been sent shifting, whereas now we have the same old same old. How lucky is Jessie? Guy must have the best karma in the world... hits a solid 6 twice in a row, able to play twice in the BB house by 22.
Ronnie getting sold out by his alliance was pretty predictable. It really reminded me of high school where the athletes et al used the brainiac for a week or two and got on their good side, then as soon as they didn't need him (in this case, after Ronnie put up his replacement nominee) they dump him like rancid meat. It's really sad that Ronnie couldn't see that coming. It's also sad that he now is relying on these guys like they're his friends while thye've already proven they're the worst allies and will push him off to the side any chance they get.
Chima's the worst. My god, if I had to hear her laugh in that house I might have to seriously think about getting thrown out of the house. No gameplay, no loyalty to someone who's backed her (Ronnie), and quick to start drama. Not a good formula.
It just frustrates me how Jesse and these guys who are so quick to blame everything on Ronnie and agree to work together to vote Ronnie out are gonna take out Casey or Michele, prolly Casey unless he wins POV tomorrow. I guess it could be a good strategic move, but I think it's just what Jesse's group would do, even in life. So much would have changed if those 2 little changes would have happened in the HoH comps. Alas, that's BB. I just hope I have someone to root for this year. Unlike BB8 (Dick, Daniele, and Zack = puke), BB9 (Ryan, Adam, and Sheila).
Congrats to Mark Buerhle for his perfect game. Obviously, it's good fantasy-wise, but I feel like especially in a head-to-head league it's somewhat trivial in a long season.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Fantasy about my fantasy team
Looking at my pathetic fantasy baseball team, I am convinced at the (now more than halfway point) of the season that I will not win my league. My ERA and WHIP are astronomical, my avg looks more joey gathright than joe mauer, and no one has the urge to win.
In an ideal world, here's what I need from each of my players for me to actually win the league:
1.) Victor Martinez: Some of his fellow Indians players gotta inject this guy's prostrate with some shark venom for him to get that killer instinct of hitting again.
2.) Robinson Cano: He needs to hit behind murderer's row like Johnny Damon, Alex Rodriguez, and Mark Teixeria so he can get the requisite # of RBI's. O wait, he already does but can't capitalize as well.
3.) Jimmy Rollins: needs to dominate like Rollie Fingers.
4.) Justin Verlander: throw 150 MPH fastballs every pitch instead of a puny 98MPH.
5.) Scott Baker: Locate every pitch to within millimeters of where he wants it to go, make it a movie and call it "8MM"
6.) Brian Fuentes: Angels needs to win 50 of their remaining 65 games and Fuentes needs to save 51 of them.
7.) Nick Markakis: needs to go on acid so that everything slows down, he sees the ball better and instead of hitting .412 in August like most years, hit .850.
8.) Hideki Matsui: Needs to have the right-field porch in Yankee stadium moved up 30 more yards and then have Daisuke Matsuzaka pitch to him every at-bat.
9.) Max Scherzer: grow another anomalie (like his heterochromatic eyes) like a 3rd arm so he can deceive hitters by making them guess which arm he throws the ball out of.
10.) Randy Johnson: go in the time machine and go back to circa 1991. Strike out 300 in the 2nd half of the season.
11.) Joe Blanton: Develop a screwball, man.
12.) Alfonso Soriano: go to a voodoo specialist and take the "hit homer every game" treatment.
If ALL those things happen, I MIGHT have a chance to win the league. Otherwise, there's always 2010.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
In an ideal world, here's what I need from each of my players for me to actually win the league:
1.) Victor Martinez: Some of his fellow Indians players gotta inject this guy's prostrate with some shark venom for him to get that killer instinct of hitting again.
2.) Robinson Cano: He needs to hit behind murderer's row like Johnny Damon, Alex Rodriguez, and Mark Teixeria so he can get the requisite # of RBI's. O wait, he already does but can't capitalize as well.
3.) Jimmy Rollins: needs to dominate like Rollie Fingers.
4.) Justin Verlander: throw 150 MPH fastballs every pitch instead of a puny 98MPH.
5.) Scott Baker: Locate every pitch to within millimeters of where he wants it to go, make it a movie and call it "8MM"
6.) Brian Fuentes: Angels needs to win 50 of their remaining 65 games and Fuentes needs to save 51 of them.
7.) Nick Markakis: needs to go on acid so that everything slows down, he sees the ball better and instead of hitting .412 in August like most years, hit .850.
8.) Hideki Matsui: Needs to have the right-field porch in Yankee stadium moved up 30 more yards and then have Daisuke Matsuzaka pitch to him every at-bat.
9.) Max Scherzer: grow another anomalie (like his heterochromatic eyes) like a 3rd arm so he can deceive hitters by making them guess which arm he throws the ball out of.
10.) Randy Johnson: go in the time machine and go back to circa 1991. Strike out 300 in the 2nd half of the season.
11.) Joe Blanton: Develop a screwball, man.
12.) Alfonso Soriano: go to a voodoo specialist and take the "hit homer every game" treatment.
If ALL those things happen, I MIGHT have a chance to win the league. Otherwise, there's always 2010.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Big Brother........I'm Baaaaacccckkkk!!!!!!!!!
So a couple posts ago I gave you 10 traditional things to do during the summer and forgot a crucial element: Watching Big Brother!
For those of you who haven't been convinced by my constant references to it to watch, Big Brother is a reality TV show hosted by Julie Chen (ick) that has aired every summer since 2000, when the revolutionary concept of a show that spied on houseguests 24/7 was introduced. For those of you savvy w/ counting, that's one too many seasons for years. Well, last year BB tried to expand and added a second season in the winter, but it just didn't work. Once a year for BB is just enough to keep it exciting every time it comes on, so I hope that's how it stays for a long time.
As I was finally turned 21 last summer, I applied for the show this year, and actually got an email in my inbox of which I was really excited, but all it said was for me to go to the casting call, which is open to everyone anyway, so it wasn't like an interview or anything or a step forward in the process, so I bailed. It was like a little jolt saying, "oo, they noticed me," but I realized it wasn't much. Although, now that BB is on again and once again I feel a desperate urge to be in the house and play the game, I regret not going through the whole process and trying my very hardest to get on the show. Urg. Especially since this year they actually had a brains clique where they accept semi-nerds like me!!!!! Hopefully next year they have an all-fantasysports-blogs team.
Later, I will talk about missing camp. BUT FIRST (classic Julie Chen transition as she turns to the side camera), my impressions on the houseguests so far:
Chima: Totally a diva, I find her really annoying and really poor at strategy in volunteering to be the pawn in week 1.... give her credit for coining the "Strong-Arm Alliance." Heh.
Prediction: Coasts along cuz her alliance is in power now, but evicted around week 7.
Natalie: What annoys me about her: 1. Tells everyone she has never lied to anyone in the house. 2. Lied to everyone in the house on day 1 when she said she was 18. 3. She's on the athletes team and pretended she wasn't an athlete. 4. Goes around trying to find trouble. 5. Spelled "last" in a competition that you win only if you spell the longest word and there was an infinite number of letters.
Prediction: Very flammable, will get mad or make someone else really mad and get everyone to target her, out week 4.
Jesse: Would have much more preferred Brian or Cowboy to be back in the house. Physical threat probably who sucks at most challenges cuz they're either endurance or memory ones.
Prediction: alliances keep him strong until later, possibly a Final 2 candidate for someone to bring w/ them because this is his 2nd chance.
Casey: Like this guy, seems like a really cool uncle. Like to know about his teaching job and his family, CBS yet to oblige.
Prediction: might be backdoored this week, but if his group gets in power he can be strong.
Michele: Thinks she's playing dumb right now, camouflage technique in play trying to fade into the background.
Prediction: Possible winner if she's not actually being dumb instead of just playing dumb.
Laura: impressed by her knowledge of the game, she'd be a gamer if she wasn't the prime target to go this week.
Prediction: Out this week.
Lydia: Thought she was gonna be a cool dude, but definitely made me think twice by cuddling up to Jessie and flipping out over Jordan "not crying for her." Ew.
Prediction: could possibly go a long way, might be final four candidate given the alliances.
Russell: Way too angry for his own good. This year's Jesse.
Prediction: Out very soon.
Ronnie: I feel the worst about this guy because I would have been in his spot had I been cast this year, and like him I would have tried to play a really strategical game, except he's playing all wrong! I don't blame him too much for being the swing vote in week 1, but he shouldn't do that to draw attention to himself, he overplayed his hand and spilled the beans to Braden and Russell pretty much caught him; he saved himself by winning the HoH, except it was TERRIBLE to win HoH when he could have just threw the final question to Michele, who CAN'T put him up this week! Geez, series of mistakes, my man! Most idiotic thing yet: Tried to pretend he wasn't the last vote when EVERYONE in the house knew it was him.
Prediction: Many people in the house have told him he might win it, but I don't see it. Double-dipping is most target-inducing, and he is the master of it.
Who I hope to win: Casey/Laura/Michele
Who I think will win: Lydia/ Jesse.
Ok, now to the 2nd half of my program: I did camp counseling for 3 years before law school, and this is the first summer since 2005 that I'm not at camp having fun + workin at the same time. Some of my favorite activities that I miss:
1. The Look-up Game: one of my favorite activities to pass some time along. Everyone starts with heads down and looks up at same time, people looking at each other are eliminated. Gets some laughs once people realize they're across from each other.
2. The Sleepout: always a fun change-up with camp skits and other things, although it was very draining to watch kids for the whole day and the morning before. My camp skits were terrible in 2006, got better in 2007, saved the best for last in 2008 when my CILT and I did a "dueling violins skit."
3. Foxes and Hounds: Only did it in 2008, wish I did it more. Got half the kids to find the other kids who were hidden somewhere around camp, left "clues" and "false clues" along trails.
4. Home Run Derby: Easily done, kids like it cuz they could whomp the bejesus out of some balls.
5. "Who's in the Box?" Similar to Black Magic, etc., a trick activity where kids gradually figure out the tricks.
Anyway, hard to really describe what we did and make it seem really memorable and exciting, it was the camaraderie, the sharing of fun and the youthful exuberance of it all that made it o so fun.
And then law school happened.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
For those of you who haven't been convinced by my constant references to it to watch, Big Brother is a reality TV show hosted by Julie Chen (ick) that has aired every summer since 2000, when the revolutionary concept of a show that spied on houseguests 24/7 was introduced. For those of you savvy w/ counting, that's one too many seasons for years. Well, last year BB tried to expand and added a second season in the winter, but it just didn't work. Once a year for BB is just enough to keep it exciting every time it comes on, so I hope that's how it stays for a long time.
As I was finally turned 21 last summer, I applied for the show this year, and actually got an email in my inbox of which I was really excited, but all it said was for me to go to the casting call, which is open to everyone anyway, so it wasn't like an interview or anything or a step forward in the process, so I bailed. It was like a little jolt saying, "oo, they noticed me," but I realized it wasn't much. Although, now that BB is on again and once again I feel a desperate urge to be in the house and play the game, I regret not going through the whole process and trying my very hardest to get on the show. Urg. Especially since this year they actually had a brains clique where they accept semi-nerds like me!!!!! Hopefully next year they have an all-fantasysports-blogs team.
Later, I will talk about missing camp. BUT FIRST (classic Julie Chen transition as she turns to the side camera), my impressions on the houseguests so far:
Chima: Totally a diva, I find her really annoying and really poor at strategy in volunteering to be the pawn in week 1.... give her credit for coining the "Strong-Arm Alliance." Heh.
Prediction: Coasts along cuz her alliance is in power now, but evicted around week 7.
Natalie: What annoys me about her: 1. Tells everyone she has never lied to anyone in the house. 2. Lied to everyone in the house on day 1 when she said she was 18. 3. She's on the athletes team and pretended she wasn't an athlete. 4. Goes around trying to find trouble. 5. Spelled "last" in a competition that you win only if you spell the longest word and there was an infinite number of letters.
Prediction: Very flammable, will get mad or make someone else really mad and get everyone to target her, out week 4.
Jesse: Would have much more preferred Brian or Cowboy to be back in the house. Physical threat probably who sucks at most challenges cuz they're either endurance or memory ones.
Prediction: alliances keep him strong until later, possibly a Final 2 candidate for someone to bring w/ them because this is his 2nd chance.
Casey: Like this guy, seems like a really cool uncle. Like to know about his teaching job and his family, CBS yet to oblige.
Prediction: might be backdoored this week, but if his group gets in power he can be strong.
Michele: Thinks she's playing dumb right now, camouflage technique in play trying to fade into the background.
Prediction: Possible winner if she's not actually being dumb instead of just playing dumb.
Laura: impressed by her knowledge of the game, she'd be a gamer if she wasn't the prime target to go this week.
Prediction: Out this week.
Lydia: Thought she was gonna be a cool dude, but definitely made me think twice by cuddling up to Jessie and flipping out over Jordan "not crying for her." Ew.
Prediction: could possibly go a long way, might be final four candidate given the alliances.
Russell: Way too angry for his own good. This year's Jesse.
Prediction: Out very soon.
Ronnie: I feel the worst about this guy because I would have been in his spot had I been cast this year, and like him I would have tried to play a really strategical game, except he's playing all wrong! I don't blame him too much for being the swing vote in week 1, but he shouldn't do that to draw attention to himself, he overplayed his hand and spilled the beans to Braden and Russell pretty much caught him; he saved himself by winning the HoH, except it was TERRIBLE to win HoH when he could have just threw the final question to Michele, who CAN'T put him up this week! Geez, series of mistakes, my man! Most idiotic thing yet: Tried to pretend he wasn't the last vote when EVERYONE in the house knew it was him.
Prediction: Many people in the house have told him he might win it, but I don't see it. Double-dipping is most target-inducing, and he is the master of it.
Who I hope to win: Casey/Laura/Michele
Who I think will win: Lydia/ Jesse.
Ok, now to the 2nd half of my program: I did camp counseling for 3 years before law school, and this is the first summer since 2005 that I'm not at camp having fun + workin at the same time. Some of my favorite activities that I miss:
1. The Look-up Game: one of my favorite activities to pass some time along. Everyone starts with heads down and looks up at same time, people looking at each other are eliminated. Gets some laughs once people realize they're across from each other.
2. The Sleepout: always a fun change-up with camp skits and other things, although it was very draining to watch kids for the whole day and the morning before. My camp skits were terrible in 2006, got better in 2007, saved the best for last in 2008 when my CILT and I did a "dueling violins skit."
3. Foxes and Hounds: Only did it in 2008, wish I did it more. Got half the kids to find the other kids who were hidden somewhere around camp, left "clues" and "false clues" along trails.
4. Home Run Derby: Easily done, kids like it cuz they could whomp the bejesus out of some balls.
5. "Who's in the Box?" Similar to Black Magic, etc., a trick activity where kids gradually figure out the tricks.
Anyway, hard to really describe what we did and make it seem really memorable and exciting, it was the camaraderie, the sharing of fun and the youthful exuberance of it all that made it o so fun.
And then law school happened.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
The Sotomayor saga
All-star Break: no baseball, no basketball, football still months away, pretty much a dead time in sports. Time to take a brief respite to catch up on the hot news stories of summer, and whether they've been UNDERPLAYED or OVERPLAYED.
1.) The Michael Jackson story is still going strong. His death is probably THE story of 2009.....mark my words, besides the inauguration of President Obama (more of a 2008 story), the Time Review of 2009 will have Michael Jackson on the front cover, barring World War III, nuclear meltdowns acorss the country, or the discovery of an alien race. And maybe not even that. The biggest story line now? The family law issues: Jackson's estate, who gets what, who gets his kids......
OVERPLAYED
On a side note, most overplayed in LA: the battle over who pays for the Michael Jackson memorial services in LA: right now it's the city of LA, and every day I've been in the car it's the same sob story: "Who's gonna pay? Who's gonna pay?" - Another indication that greed and green rule the world.
2.) Obama's first year in office:
UNDERPLAYED.
Sure, plenty of new stories about him going to Africa, his dealings w/ the economic crisis, but I feel like after the "strict scrutiny" he was under after his first 100 days, the media sort of backed off on him, let him do his thing. Probably the most important president this country has ever had, he should be the #1 focus on everyone's mind, every lead story, every main headline.
3.) All-star game-
Way too much coverage of this dull event. The NBA All-star weekend is so interesting because of all the festivities like the dunk contest, 3-point shooting contest, and it thrives despite being in a sports-heavy time of year (February). The Baseball All-star game should be really exciting, not only because it's in the middle of the season of America's pastime but also it's got NO OTHER COMPETITION!!!! What other sports news is there out there these days? The Tour de France? NFL summer workouts? This thing should be very compelling, yet it's as dull as a worked out pencil, and too many sports stations were debating about whether it should decide home field advantage in the World Series, etc., etc. Urg.
OVERPLAYED.
-note: For an event that was way overplayed, the media couldn't even get it right by missing one of the only highlights, the Prez throwing out the first-pitch. It's like, "DUH????!!!!!" You had 60 minutes of pre-game coverage but failed to get that?
4.) The Sotomayor confirmation.
OK, c'mon, let's get real here, barring any dramatic mistakes by Sotomayor at this point (nearly impossible cuz she's AT the Senate hearings already and knows every word she says is scrutinized), she's getting in the Supreme Court. 'Nuff said. Despite the one "wise Latina" hiccup, there is nothing really in her way; she's got the qualifications, got the brainpower, got the circumstances (Obama handpicked her), she's getting in. That takes a lot of the suspense away, for me, and all the other stuff is just fluff. I don't remember John Roberts getting this much attention at his hearings, and he's Chief Justice. Alito was barely more than a formality, a backlog to Roberts. But now w/ Sotomayor, suddenly it's in the news every day, every moment. Today, a senator made reference to Ricky Ricardo of the I love lucy show and the big story was, "Did the senator's comments cross the line?" C'mon, gimme a break. I'm as interested about judicial politics and the personalities on the Supreme Court on the next guy, but I've penciled in Sotomayor weeks ago and learned about most of her issues, there are a lot more important news stories to get to that are not shrouded in a cloud of "OMG let's dwell on one thing she said years ago."
OVERPLAYED
5.) The stock market recovery- every time we get a stock market update I perk up my years and hang on every word, because this is the thing that will have long-term effects. Sotomayor, after she gets confirmed we won't hear of her for years. Michael Jackson, after this year he'll be an afterthought (not trying to devalue his passing, just pointing out the temporal nature of the story. However, what we WILL remember is the big economic recovery of 2009 that revived the world and allowed the country to get back to business as usual. Should that recovery happen, that is. It hasn't yet, but I think every day on Wall Street is crucial to making that happen. Although not directly indicative of the everyday person spending money to help the economy or people getting jobs to lower the unemployment rate, a rise in the stock market indicates willingness to invest, willingness to believe, and is most important for its psychological effect. When people believe things are gonna get better, they invest. When they don't think so, they don't. Every little piece of good news should be embraced as steps to a recovery. At this point, it's a good idea to create false good news, grasp at straws because that little bit of news snowballs into better news once people spend money based on that news, and then it keeps going, and going, and going. It's not false hope if the act of creating hope leads to hope: Just like when the market crashed, the bad compounded because people just were consumed with fear.....it was irrational. Let's combat irrational fear with a little irrational hope: create hope that's not really there but can lead to real hope. Just a modest proposal. Let's start doing it.
UNDERPLAYED.
-Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
1.) The Michael Jackson story is still going strong. His death is probably THE story of 2009.....mark my words, besides the inauguration of President Obama (more of a 2008 story), the Time Review of 2009 will have Michael Jackson on the front cover, barring World War III, nuclear meltdowns acorss the country, or the discovery of an alien race. And maybe not even that. The biggest story line now? The family law issues: Jackson's estate, who gets what, who gets his kids......
OVERPLAYED
On a side note, most overplayed in LA: the battle over who pays for the Michael Jackson memorial services in LA: right now it's the city of LA, and every day I've been in the car it's the same sob story: "Who's gonna pay? Who's gonna pay?" - Another indication that greed and green rule the world.
2.) Obama's first year in office:
UNDERPLAYED.
Sure, plenty of new stories about him going to Africa, his dealings w/ the economic crisis, but I feel like after the "strict scrutiny" he was under after his first 100 days, the media sort of backed off on him, let him do his thing. Probably the most important president this country has ever had, he should be the #1 focus on everyone's mind, every lead story, every main headline.
3.) All-star game-
Way too much coverage of this dull event. The NBA All-star weekend is so interesting because of all the festivities like the dunk contest, 3-point shooting contest, and it thrives despite being in a sports-heavy time of year (February). The Baseball All-star game should be really exciting, not only because it's in the middle of the season of America's pastime but also it's got NO OTHER COMPETITION!!!! What other sports news is there out there these days? The Tour de France? NFL summer workouts? This thing should be very compelling, yet it's as dull as a worked out pencil, and too many sports stations were debating about whether it should decide home field advantage in the World Series, etc., etc. Urg.
OVERPLAYED.
-note: For an event that was way overplayed, the media couldn't even get it right by missing one of the only highlights, the Prez throwing out the first-pitch. It's like, "DUH????!!!!!" You had 60 minutes of pre-game coverage but failed to get that?
4.) The Sotomayor confirmation.
OK, c'mon, let's get real here, barring any dramatic mistakes by Sotomayor at this point (nearly impossible cuz she's AT the Senate hearings already and knows every word she says is scrutinized), she's getting in the Supreme Court. 'Nuff said. Despite the one "wise Latina" hiccup, there is nothing really in her way; she's got the qualifications, got the brainpower, got the circumstances (Obama handpicked her), she's getting in. That takes a lot of the suspense away, for me, and all the other stuff is just fluff. I don't remember John Roberts getting this much attention at his hearings, and he's Chief Justice. Alito was barely more than a formality, a backlog to Roberts. But now w/ Sotomayor, suddenly it's in the news every day, every moment. Today, a senator made reference to Ricky Ricardo of the I love lucy show and the big story was, "Did the senator's comments cross the line?" C'mon, gimme a break. I'm as interested about judicial politics and the personalities on the Supreme Court on the next guy, but I've penciled in Sotomayor weeks ago and learned about most of her issues, there are a lot more important news stories to get to that are not shrouded in a cloud of "OMG let's dwell on one thing she said years ago."
OVERPLAYED
5.) The stock market recovery- every time we get a stock market update I perk up my years and hang on every word, because this is the thing that will have long-term effects. Sotomayor, after she gets confirmed we won't hear of her for years. Michael Jackson, after this year he'll be an afterthought (not trying to devalue his passing, just pointing out the temporal nature of the story. However, what we WILL remember is the big economic recovery of 2009 that revived the world and allowed the country to get back to business as usual. Should that recovery happen, that is. It hasn't yet, but I think every day on Wall Street is crucial to making that happen. Although not directly indicative of the everyday person spending money to help the economy or people getting jobs to lower the unemployment rate, a rise in the stock market indicates willingness to invest, willingness to believe, and is most important for its psychological effect. When people believe things are gonna get better, they invest. When they don't think so, they don't. Every little piece of good news should be embraced as steps to a recovery. At this point, it's a good idea to create false good news, grasp at straws because that little bit of news snowballs into better news once people spend money based on that news, and then it keeps going, and going, and going. It's not false hope if the act of creating hope leads to hope: Just like when the market crashed, the bad compounded because people just were consumed with fear.....it was irrational. Let's combat irrational fear with a little irrational hope: create hope that's not really there but can lead to real hope. Just a modest proposal. Let's start doing it.
UNDERPLAYED.
-Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
Sunday, July 12, 2009
The Slacker's Guide to a Successful Summer
Ah, right in the midst of another summer. This post is dedicated to all the slackers out there who get out of school or take the summer off and just enjoy the dog days of summer.
1. Go swimming. Whether it be the local community pool, the beach if you're on a Coast, the YMCA, the elegant McDonald's Swim Stadium at USC, at a swim camp, or just the swimming hole near your house that periodically fills with water, make sure you go swimming in the summer. Unless you're Michael Phelps, other professional swimmer, or certified fish, summer will be the only time you go swimming. So channel you inner Poseidon/ Aquaman (I've been watching too much Entourage the last few days) and put on your trunks.
2. Eat Hot Dogs, Ice cream and watermelons. Something about the summer, July 4, and screams these foods for me.
3. Baseball. Comes in many forms, skill types, sizes and time commitments, including minor league baseball, your favorite pro team (if you're in LA, the Angeles were recently rated the most fan-friendly franchise in all of sports), rounding up the usual suspects in your neighborhood to go play (a la the Sandbox), sitting at home playing fantasy baseball, collecting baseball cards, or just simply bringing the gloves out and playing catch, baseball is very summer-friendly. Couldn't have imagined my own summer without it.
4. Summer Festivals- Check your newspaper, talk to your friends, go down to the barber shop, just listen around, and you'll hear of your community having a festival/fiesta/fair. Ferris wheels, cotton candy, face painting, sweet corn, dunking contests, carnival games, the aforementioned hot dogs and ice cream, bumper cars, every festival has at least a few or all of these things. Do it to it.
5. Water gun fight: wait for a really hot day around mid-day or so, or 2:00PM (hottest time of the day), when the water will feel like salvation, and it's so hot that the water will dry before you even get home. Perfect.
6. Car washes: easily could turn into a water fight.
7. Summer Romances: lot of the previous stuff had a guy bias to them (consider the author), but this one is on the Venus side of the sex balance (maybe 50-50 cuz most relationships need man and woman). Many summer flings turn into lifelong bonds. But most are just summer flings, and there's nothing wrong with that.
8. Sleeping: When you have all the time in the world, saving some of it for a snooze is warranted; better now than during 3rd period math class in the school year (although being the slacker's guide, some might argue that sleeping in class is better.
9. Summer vacations: The summer vacation is unlike any other time of year: make sure the destination is right. For the sensible travelers, switch it around and go somewhere cool: save LA, Florida, and the hot-temperature countries from when you need a break from the winter blizzards, go to Alaska, or Canada, Greenland, or (gasp) the North Pole!
10. Old television re-runs: with the major networks taking a break from pounding you into submission with new shows and every-week-there's-something-you-gotta-watch-cuz-it's-all-new-and-everyone's-talking-about-it, time to crank up that old show that you never had time to get to, plug it in, and let it wash over you.
10b- Reading: Perfect for kids to do in conjunction with a summer reading program. Voracious readers like myself can devour quite a few books in the months that you get.
Above all, have fun, live your life to the fullest, make sure you enjoy what you're doing, and create some memories. And oh,
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
1. Go swimming. Whether it be the local community pool, the beach if you're on a Coast, the YMCA, the elegant McDonald's Swim Stadium at USC, at a swim camp, or just the swimming hole near your house that periodically fills with water, make sure you go swimming in the summer. Unless you're Michael Phelps, other professional swimmer, or certified fish, summer will be the only time you go swimming. So channel you inner Poseidon/ Aquaman (I've been watching too much Entourage the last few days) and put on your trunks.
2. Eat Hot Dogs, Ice cream and watermelons. Something about the summer, July 4, and screams these foods for me.
3. Baseball. Comes in many forms, skill types, sizes and time commitments, including minor league baseball, your favorite pro team (if you're in LA, the Angeles were recently rated the most fan-friendly franchise in all of sports), rounding up the usual suspects in your neighborhood to go play (a la the Sandbox), sitting at home playing fantasy baseball, collecting baseball cards, or just simply bringing the gloves out and playing catch, baseball is very summer-friendly. Couldn't have imagined my own summer without it.
4. Summer Festivals- Check your newspaper, talk to your friends, go down to the barber shop, just listen around, and you'll hear of your community having a festival/fiesta/fair. Ferris wheels, cotton candy, face painting, sweet corn, dunking contests, carnival games, the aforementioned hot dogs and ice cream, bumper cars, every festival has at least a few or all of these things. Do it to it.
5. Water gun fight: wait for a really hot day around mid-day or so, or 2:00PM (hottest time of the day), when the water will feel like salvation, and it's so hot that the water will dry before you even get home. Perfect.
6. Car washes: easily could turn into a water fight.
7. Summer Romances: lot of the previous stuff had a guy bias to them (consider the author), but this one is on the Venus side of the sex balance (maybe 50-50 cuz most relationships need man and woman). Many summer flings turn into lifelong bonds. But most are just summer flings, and there's nothing wrong with that.
8. Sleeping: When you have all the time in the world, saving some of it for a snooze is warranted; better now than during 3rd period math class in the school year (although being the slacker's guide, some might argue that sleeping in class is better.
9. Summer vacations: The summer vacation is unlike any other time of year: make sure the destination is right. For the sensible travelers, switch it around and go somewhere cool: save LA, Florida, and the hot-temperature countries from when you need a break from the winter blizzards, go to Alaska, or Canada, Greenland, or (gasp) the North Pole!
10. Old television re-runs: with the major networks taking a break from pounding you into submission with new shows and every-week-there's-something-you-gotta-watch-cuz-it's-all-new-and-everyone's-talking-about-it, time to crank up that old show that you never had time to get to, plug it in, and let it wash over you.
10b- Reading: Perfect for kids to do in conjunction with a summer reading program. Voracious readers like myself can devour quite a few books in the months that you get.
Above all, have fun, live your life to the fullest, make sure you enjoy what you're doing, and create some memories. And oh,
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
Friday, July 10, 2009
From the One and Only Hays- rebuke to the "Hays Rebuke"
Hays's comments in Italics:
Gotta write this quick, because unlike in sunny LA, golfing is cheap, accessible, and pleasant. And I have an 11 o’clock tee-time. So here goes. Yes, I do believe I can argue sports with you all day Mr. Fantasy Sports Guru. Unfortunately, I have never placed higher than 2nd in a fantasy league of any sort (except one time I did win a family pool for the NCAA bracket, although I think my mom chose her teams based on mascot cuteness.) So my responses to individual athletes might be more from a fan perspective than a fantasy owner, but anymore, aren’t those perspectives one in the same?
I will respond to your 8 topics, all of which start with “Hays probably thinks…” I want to point out that in every sports related argument I’ve ever had with Bobby Yan, we typically end up on the same side of the coin. But for the sake of proving sheer dominance, I will argue every one of these as if I agree completely. I will try to keep it brief, but Bobby Yan needs to be put in his place!
1. Hays probably thinks the St. Louis Cardinals are gonna win the NL Central. Problem is, they're a Chris Carpenter injury away from having weak pitching, a closer who's due to give up a lot of runs and blow a lot of saves very soon and a lineup that is 7 scrubs, the pitcher, + a machine. Not very balanced.
This is one of the major problems in the game today. Every GM, owner, hot dog vendor, and rabid fan believes that teams need to be chalked full of fantasy names. The fact of the matter is that it is a smarter business and baseball move for smaller market teams to work with what they’ve got. Do you remember when the Cards won the Series in ’06 against a much better Tigers team after they had beaten a much better Mets? I do. I was at Game One in Detroit when Anthony Reyes silenced the mighty Motown bats (is Detroit called Motown?) That was all the momentum they needed to become the “worst” World Series winner in recent memory. Who cares? They still won it all.
I do think the Cards will win the Central this year because they have 10 up-and-comers that rotate in 6 spots, a God (Pujols), a Machine (Molina) and one of the best rotations in the league. Walt Jocketty put together a perpetual winner when he stole La Russa and Duncan from the A’s. Those guys can win consistently with a Triple-A club. And if you throw Pujols, Molina, Carp, and Wainwright into the mix, they can probably win with a solid college club. Bank it, the Cards will be playing a playoff series in October. Regardless of Carp’s health
2. Hays probably thinks Roy Halladay is the best pitcher in the league. Beg to differ. Before last year's renaissance season, "Doc" wasn't taking his medication and had ERA's well above 3, w/ a low K rate that got him only 130 or so punchouts. Although he's a Taurus like me, he's getting older and will only deteriorate. Hays can get his jollies from watching Halladay all day, I'll take Tim Lincecum.
Were you watching Baseball Tonight when writing this? Big deal, Halladay lost and Lincecum won. You can show me stat lines all you want, but the fact remains, Hallady has consistently won in the toughest division in sports. Period. Lincecum wins with a crappy team, and when he’s on, he dominates. But he’s not pitching against the Red Sox and Yankees. If Halladay switched to the NL, he would be would be top 2 with Lincecum easily. But comparing the two is like comparing Tiger to Nicklaus (a bit of a stretch, but it holds.)
I will say Lincecum is a better fantasy pick now, but wait till Halladay gets to the NL. Then reconsider.
3. Hays probably thinks the Dos Equis guy is more interesting than Chuck Norris. False. Chuck Norris has been around longer, been more of a legend, and roundhouse kicks more people in the face than the Dos Equis guy.
Chuck Norris is an example of a phenomenon that didn’t make sense, got old, then came back because it actually did make perfect sense. Dos Equis guy? New one to me. Maybe you are on to something here. But I think the cooler part of Chuck Norris’ career is the fact that he is a legendary infomercial star. People bought anything he was selling, and he sold some good stuff. But the Dos Equis guy is clearly better. He’s an up-and-comer like Lincecum.
4. Hays probably thinks the Cubs are overrated and are dead in the water with Milton Bradley. For once, Hays is right about that.
Here’s where I will disagree with you. I actually think the Cubbies are gonna be the only thing standing in the way of a postseason birth. The reason? Aramis Ramirez, D. Lee, Soriano, Soto et al. When those guys are healthy and clicking, no pitching staff in the majors can hold them down. Milton Bradley? Bad pick-up. Horrendous actually. But Lou Pineilla is a guy that won’t take his crap, but he won’t make it a club issue either. Pineilla has matured tremendously as a manager since setting foot in Chicago, and I will never count a team out that has a solid core and a few enigmas. But I sure hope they pull the ole Cubby Collapse. Thought it was coming a few weeks ago, but it didn’t. So who knows with them?
5. Hays probably thinks Rick Reilly is god. Although Rick does show godly moments in certain articles, he pales in comparison to what Bobby Yan writes on Fantasy Sports Guru.
Reilly is like Carpenter. When he’s on, he writes some gems. But the thing about Reilly is that he has been overshadowed by a series of young, talented, motivated writers who are piggy-backing on a trend that he brought to the mainstream: human interest sports stories. With all the crap about steroids, drugs, guns, mega-salaries and everything bad about sports, Reilly’s style of writing refreshes the masses and reminds us why we all love sports. It gives people opportunities to make themselves the best they can be, and it entertains us while we’re at it.
But Reilly, he’s on another level. His best stories make Simmons’ writing seem amateur (although Simmons has a completely different style and different experiences.) He will be a legend in the sportswriting industry when all is said and done. Bobby Yan? The jury is still out on him. But he needs to stop watching so much John Kruk commentary…
6. Hays probably thinks USC Football will fall just short again this season and end up with one win. Instead, USC will prove that it didn't need Mark Sanchez, once and for all prove the Big Ten is a conference of the past by whipping Ohio State in Columbus, and go to the BCS Championship Game, if there is one after President Obama ripped it.
USC is like the Yankees, except they play in LA where girls are hot, laws are lax, and people just love to have fun. If I were one of the top 100 prospects in any collegiate sport coming out of high school, I would easily head to USC. So when the Trojans drop one next year to the likes of Oregon State, Stanford, or Cal, everyone in the country will be cheering. Except for those of you living the dream in LA. Personally, I’ll root for the underdog every time. Ohio State in Columbus, now that is a sports phenomenon. Woody Hayes put the program in the upper echelon, and Columbus, Ohio is not that cool of a place. Although Ohio is a hot spot for high school athletes, it still doesn’t make much sense to me why year in and year out they can recruit heavily wherever they want. I guess that goes to show how much of an impact smart leaders can have anywhere (sports, business, education.)
As far as the BCS, whatever Obama says will happen. So see ya championship. Hello playoffs. Hello Boise State being over-ranked and knocked off in the early rounds.
7. Hays probably thought Rod Blagojevich was a good governor.....Clear and convincing evidence, Hays.
All I know about Chicago politics is that Obama is the first black president. So something is going right up there in the Windy City. Blagojevich and the other governors who abused the system are a product of their own greed and the greed of those around them. Not of the system. Saying he was a bad or good governor doesn’t do justice to the mess that he created in Illinois. It is just time for the state and country to move past his tenure and focus on beefing up to kick Arnold’s ass.
8. Hays probably thought the new "Transformers" was a good movie. Uh, Hays, if you can tell me 3 things about the new Transfomers that was different from the last Transformers, I will buy you a drink, like Deron Williams supposedly did back in the day.
Haven’t seen the new Transformers. And I didn’t particularly like the first one. But I will say that Shia and Megan Fox make a nice combo because they are such an unbelievable couple. In reality though, a lot of hot girls go to guys that on the surface seem like complete dweebs. Shia is not a dweeb, but he is no Josh Duhamel or Tyrese Gibson.
The brilliant thing about the Transformers series is that they also piggy-backed on a phenomenon started by Spiderman, X-Men, Superman, Batman et al. Basically, the new wave of film-makers and writers remembered how cool comics, cartoons and actions figures were and they decided to cash in on the tremendous market that is our generation. Brilliant. Why not make 100+ mil with a used out concept? It is undoubtedly an entertaining movie if you take it for face value and don’t dissect “3 things about the new” one that is different for the last. The last one worked, so why change it? Same thing with the Cardinals. Why change what has won them a World Series and has captured millions of fans in the process? Change is good, but only if it’s necessary. At some point (Transformers 3, Cardinals in 2010) changing up a concept that works will be necessary. Good luck, and I hope these 8 things will humble you enough to admit your inferiority.
Thanks for the challenge my man. I just thought of one more thing about LA that I don’t like. It stole my friend Bobby Yan! Let me know if you would like me to further prove my dominance.
Gotta write this quick, because unlike in sunny LA, golfing is cheap, accessible, and pleasant. And I have an 11 o’clock tee-time. So here goes. Yes, I do believe I can argue sports with you all day Mr. Fantasy Sports Guru. Unfortunately, I have never placed higher than 2nd in a fantasy league of any sort (except one time I did win a family pool for the NCAA bracket, although I think my mom chose her teams based on mascot cuteness.) So my responses to individual athletes might be more from a fan perspective than a fantasy owner, but anymore, aren’t those perspectives one in the same?
I will respond to your 8 topics, all of which start with “Hays probably thinks…” I want to point out that in every sports related argument I’ve ever had with Bobby Yan, we typically end up on the same side of the coin. But for the sake of proving sheer dominance, I will argue every one of these as if I agree completely. I will try to keep it brief, but Bobby Yan needs to be put in his place!
1. Hays probably thinks the St. Louis Cardinals are gonna win the NL Central. Problem is, they're a Chris Carpenter injury away from having weak pitching, a closer who's due to give up a lot of runs and blow a lot of saves very soon and a lineup that is 7 scrubs, the pitcher, + a machine. Not very balanced.
This is one of the major problems in the game today. Every GM, owner, hot dog vendor, and rabid fan believes that teams need to be chalked full of fantasy names. The fact of the matter is that it is a smarter business and baseball move for smaller market teams to work with what they’ve got. Do you remember when the Cards won the Series in ’06 against a much better Tigers team after they had beaten a much better Mets? I do. I was at Game One in Detroit when Anthony Reyes silenced the mighty Motown bats (is Detroit called Motown?) That was all the momentum they needed to become the “worst” World Series winner in recent memory. Who cares? They still won it all.
I do think the Cards will win the Central this year because they have 10 up-and-comers that rotate in 6 spots, a God (Pujols), a Machine (Molina) and one of the best rotations in the league. Walt Jocketty put together a perpetual winner when he stole La Russa and Duncan from the A’s. Those guys can win consistently with a Triple-A club. And if you throw Pujols, Molina, Carp, and Wainwright into the mix, they can probably win with a solid college club. Bank it, the Cards will be playing a playoff series in October. Regardless of Carp’s health
2. Hays probably thinks Roy Halladay is the best pitcher in the league. Beg to differ. Before last year's renaissance season, "Doc" wasn't taking his medication and had ERA's well above 3, w/ a low K rate that got him only 130 or so punchouts. Although he's a Taurus like me, he's getting older and will only deteriorate. Hays can get his jollies from watching Halladay all day, I'll take Tim Lincecum.
Were you watching Baseball Tonight when writing this? Big deal, Halladay lost and Lincecum won. You can show me stat lines all you want, but the fact remains, Hallady has consistently won in the toughest division in sports. Period. Lincecum wins with a crappy team, and when he’s on, he dominates. But he’s not pitching against the Red Sox and Yankees. If Halladay switched to the NL, he would be would be top 2 with Lincecum easily. But comparing the two is like comparing Tiger to Nicklaus (a bit of a stretch, but it holds.)
I will say Lincecum is a better fantasy pick now, but wait till Halladay gets to the NL. Then reconsider.
3. Hays probably thinks the Dos Equis guy is more interesting than Chuck Norris. False. Chuck Norris has been around longer, been more of a legend, and roundhouse kicks more people in the face than the Dos Equis guy.
Chuck Norris is an example of a phenomenon that didn’t make sense, got old, then came back because it actually did make perfect sense. Dos Equis guy? New one to me. Maybe you are on to something here. But I think the cooler part of Chuck Norris’ career is the fact that he is a legendary infomercial star. People bought anything he was selling, and he sold some good stuff. But the Dos Equis guy is clearly better. He’s an up-and-comer like Lincecum.
4. Hays probably thinks the Cubs are overrated and are dead in the water with Milton Bradley. For once, Hays is right about that.
Here’s where I will disagree with you. I actually think the Cubbies are gonna be the only thing standing in the way of a postseason birth. The reason? Aramis Ramirez, D. Lee, Soriano, Soto et al. When those guys are healthy and clicking, no pitching staff in the majors can hold them down. Milton Bradley? Bad pick-up. Horrendous actually. But Lou Pineilla is a guy that won’t take his crap, but he won’t make it a club issue either. Pineilla has matured tremendously as a manager since setting foot in Chicago, and I will never count a team out that has a solid core and a few enigmas. But I sure hope they pull the ole Cubby Collapse. Thought it was coming a few weeks ago, but it didn’t. So who knows with them?
5. Hays probably thinks Rick Reilly is god. Although Rick does show godly moments in certain articles, he pales in comparison to what Bobby Yan writes on Fantasy Sports Guru.
Reilly is like Carpenter. When he’s on, he writes some gems. But the thing about Reilly is that he has been overshadowed by a series of young, talented, motivated writers who are piggy-backing on a trend that he brought to the mainstream: human interest sports stories. With all the crap about steroids, drugs, guns, mega-salaries and everything bad about sports, Reilly’s style of writing refreshes the masses and reminds us why we all love sports. It gives people opportunities to make themselves the best they can be, and it entertains us while we’re at it.
But Reilly, he’s on another level. His best stories make Simmons’ writing seem amateur (although Simmons has a completely different style and different experiences.) He will be a legend in the sportswriting industry when all is said and done. Bobby Yan? The jury is still out on him. But he needs to stop watching so much John Kruk commentary…
6. Hays probably thinks USC Football will fall just short again this season and end up with one win. Instead, USC will prove that it didn't need Mark Sanchez, once and for all prove the Big Ten is a conference of the past by whipping Ohio State in Columbus, and go to the BCS Championship Game, if there is one after President Obama ripped it.
USC is like the Yankees, except they play in LA where girls are hot, laws are lax, and people just love to have fun. If I were one of the top 100 prospects in any collegiate sport coming out of high school, I would easily head to USC. So when the Trojans drop one next year to the likes of Oregon State, Stanford, or Cal, everyone in the country will be cheering. Except for those of you living the dream in LA. Personally, I’ll root for the underdog every time. Ohio State in Columbus, now that is a sports phenomenon. Woody Hayes put the program in the upper echelon, and Columbus, Ohio is not that cool of a place. Although Ohio is a hot spot for high school athletes, it still doesn’t make much sense to me why year in and year out they can recruit heavily wherever they want. I guess that goes to show how much of an impact smart leaders can have anywhere (sports, business, education.)
As far as the BCS, whatever Obama says will happen. So see ya championship. Hello playoffs. Hello Boise State being over-ranked and knocked off in the early rounds.
7. Hays probably thought Rod Blagojevich was a good governor.....Clear and convincing evidence, Hays.
All I know about Chicago politics is that Obama is the first black president. So something is going right up there in the Windy City. Blagojevich and the other governors who abused the system are a product of their own greed and the greed of those around them. Not of the system. Saying he was a bad or good governor doesn’t do justice to the mess that he created in Illinois. It is just time for the state and country to move past his tenure and focus on beefing up to kick Arnold’s ass.
8. Hays probably thought the new "Transformers" was a good movie. Uh, Hays, if you can tell me 3 things about the new Transfomers that was different from the last Transformers, I will buy you a drink, like Deron Williams supposedly did back in the day.
Haven’t seen the new Transformers. And I didn’t particularly like the first one. But I will say that Shia and Megan Fox make a nice combo because they are such an unbelievable couple. In reality though, a lot of hot girls go to guys that on the surface seem like complete dweebs. Shia is not a dweeb, but he is no Josh Duhamel or Tyrese Gibson.
The brilliant thing about the Transformers series is that they also piggy-backed on a phenomenon started by Spiderman, X-Men, Superman, Batman et al. Basically, the new wave of film-makers and writers remembered how cool comics, cartoons and actions figures were and they decided to cash in on the tremendous market that is our generation. Brilliant. Why not make 100+ mil with a used out concept? It is undoubtedly an entertaining movie if you take it for face value and don’t dissect “3 things about the new” one that is different for the last. The last one worked, so why change it? Same thing with the Cardinals. Why change what has won them a World Series and has captured millions of fans in the process? Change is good, but only if it’s necessary. At some point (Transformers 3, Cardinals in 2010) changing up a concept that works will be necessary. Good luck, and I hope these 8 things will humble you enough to admit your inferiority.
Thanks for the challenge my man. I just thought of one more thing about LA that I don’t like. It stole my friend Bobby Yan! Let me know if you would like me to further prove my dominance.
Watchin' baseball
Second edition of this segment. Friday night baseball is the best time to do it, most number of games, marks the start of the weekend.
Paulie Walnuts Konerko just got robbed by Brendan Harris. Still, Paulie put up enough numbers for a week a couple days ago with 3 HR's and 7 RBI's.
Ellsbury called out at home. Close, but the ideal part of me wants to see ellsbury get called out cuz he shouldn't capitalize on the royals trying to run somebody down.
Ozzie Guillen woulda been a sick fantasy player too....i mean, ozzie smith. Ozzie Guillen was also a player, but only fantasy-relevant if number of profanities was recorded.
Alex Rios, star of "Fantasyland," has never really fulfilled his fantasy potential. Supposed to be 30/30 perennially, he's more of a 20/20, or 15/15, which is serviceable but with a pool as wide as the ocean for good fantasy outfielders, not a defining player (player that will win you leagues) on any team.
Have i mentioned I love Joe Blanton? He was good w/ the A's, now w/ a better team he can really rack up the wins. It's weird, but I sometimes throw balls around pretending I'm Joe Blanton. That's right, not Pedro, not Lincecum, not Maddux, not anybody real good, Joe Blanton.
Call it a quirk.
"Oops, looks like someone just leveled the playing field." Haha.
Carlos Pena is the Baron Davis of fantasy baseball. You get elite stats in 3 of the 5 offensive categories (R's, HR's, and RBI's,) but is less than adequate and actually hurts you in 2 of the other 5. No speed, no average. Urg, very hard player to own, great trade bait, but I haven't been able to get rid of him all year.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
Paulie Walnuts Konerko just got robbed by Brendan Harris. Still, Paulie put up enough numbers for a week a couple days ago with 3 HR's and 7 RBI's.
Ellsbury called out at home. Close, but the ideal part of me wants to see ellsbury get called out cuz he shouldn't capitalize on the royals trying to run somebody down.
Ozzie Guillen woulda been a sick fantasy player too....i mean, ozzie smith. Ozzie Guillen was also a player, but only fantasy-relevant if number of profanities was recorded.
Alex Rios, star of "Fantasyland," has never really fulfilled his fantasy potential. Supposed to be 30/30 perennially, he's more of a 20/20, or 15/15, which is serviceable but with a pool as wide as the ocean for good fantasy outfielders, not a defining player (player that will win you leagues) on any team.
Have i mentioned I love Joe Blanton? He was good w/ the A's, now w/ a better team he can really rack up the wins. It's weird, but I sometimes throw balls around pretending I'm Joe Blanton. That's right, not Pedro, not Lincecum, not Maddux, not anybody real good, Joe Blanton.
Call it a quirk.
"Oops, looks like someone just leveled the playing field." Haha.
Carlos Pena is the Baron Davis of fantasy baseball. You get elite stats in 3 of the 5 offensive categories (R's, HR's, and RBI's,) but is less than adequate and actually hurts you in 2 of the other 5. No speed, no average. Urg, very hard player to own, great trade bait, but I haven't been able to get rid of him all year.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
The Hays Rebuke
This post named for a friend of mine from my University of Illinois days......he thinks he can debate me about sports all day. Here's his chance:
1. Hays probably thinks the St. Louis Cardinals are gonna win the NL Central. Problem is, they're a Chris Carpenter injury away from having weak pitching, a closer who's due to give up a lot of runs and blow a lot of saves very soon and a lineup that is 7 scrubs, the pitcher, + a machine. Not very balanced.
2. Hays probably thinks Roy Halladay is the best pitcher in the league. Beg to differ. Before last year's renaissance season, "Doc" wasn't taking his medication and had ERA's well above 3, w/ a low K rate that got him only 130 or so punchouts. Although he's a Taurus like me, he's getting older and will only deteriorate. Hays can get his jollies from watching Halladay all day, I'll take Tim Lincecum.
3. Hays probably thinks the Dos Equis guy is more interesting than Chuck Norris. False. Chuck Norris has been around longer, been more of a legend, and roundhouse kicks more people in the face than the Dos Equis guy.
4. Hays probably thinks the Cubs are overrated and are dead in the water with Milton Bradley. For once, Hays is right about that.
5. Hays probably thinks Rick Reilly is god. Although Rick does show godly moments in certain articles, he pales in comparison to what Bobby Yan writes on Fantasy Sports Guru.
6. Hays probably thinks USC Football will fall just short again this season and end up with one win. Instead, USC will prove that it didn't need Mark Sanchez, once and for all prove the Big Ten is a conference of the past by whipping Ohio State in Columbus, and go to the BCS Championship Game, if there is one after President Obama ripped it.
7. Hays probably thought Rod Blagojevich was a good governor.....Clear and convincing evidence, Hays.
8. Hays probably thought the new "Transformers" was a good movie. Uh, Hays, if you can tell me 3 things about the new Transfomers that was different from the last Transformers, I will buy you a drink, like Deron Williams supposedly did back in the day.
Good luck, and I hope these 8 things will humble you enough to admit your inferiority.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
1. Hays probably thinks the St. Louis Cardinals are gonna win the NL Central. Problem is, they're a Chris Carpenter injury away from having weak pitching, a closer who's due to give up a lot of runs and blow a lot of saves very soon and a lineup that is 7 scrubs, the pitcher, + a machine. Not very balanced.
2. Hays probably thinks Roy Halladay is the best pitcher in the league. Beg to differ. Before last year's renaissance season, "Doc" wasn't taking his medication and had ERA's well above 3, w/ a low K rate that got him only 130 or so punchouts. Although he's a Taurus like me, he's getting older and will only deteriorate. Hays can get his jollies from watching Halladay all day, I'll take Tim Lincecum.
3. Hays probably thinks the Dos Equis guy is more interesting than Chuck Norris. False. Chuck Norris has been around longer, been more of a legend, and roundhouse kicks more people in the face than the Dos Equis guy.
4. Hays probably thinks the Cubs are overrated and are dead in the water with Milton Bradley. For once, Hays is right about that.
5. Hays probably thinks Rick Reilly is god. Although Rick does show godly moments in certain articles, he pales in comparison to what Bobby Yan writes on Fantasy Sports Guru.
6. Hays probably thinks USC Football will fall just short again this season and end up with one win. Instead, USC will prove that it didn't need Mark Sanchez, once and for all prove the Big Ten is a conference of the past by whipping Ohio State in Columbus, and go to the BCS Championship Game, if there is one after President Obama ripped it.
7. Hays probably thought Rod Blagojevich was a good governor.....Clear and convincing evidence, Hays.
8. Hays probably thought the new "Transformers" was a good movie. Uh, Hays, if you can tell me 3 things about the new Transfomers that was different from the last Transformers, I will buy you a drink, like Deron Williams supposedly did back in the day.
Good luck, and I hope these 8 things will humble you enough to admit your inferiority.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
Sunday, July 5, 2009
The Art of Managing Starting Pitching
When asked about playing fantasy baseball, most knowledgable players and "experts" would agree that it's most similar to being a general manager in fantasy baseball, drafting players on draft day, making personnel moves, adding and dropping players, all for filling out a roster. Being a MANAGER of a baseball squad is less similar to this fine game we call fantasy baseball, because you don't make the in-game decisions required of a Joe Torre or Tony LaRussa, like inserting people into lineups, playing people in different positions, pulling starting pitchers, calling in the closer.......OR DO YOU?????
In this segment, I argue that (How I started my write-on essay, btw) managing starting pitching is a crucial element of fantasy baseball, and I show you want's the secret to starting, sitting, adding, dropping, and basically using your best judgment in your starting pitchers.
1. Always start your aces. If you drafted tim lincecum, johann santana, roy halladay, jake peavy, and other guys of the same caliber, put them in the SP slot and leave them there forever. You might think, "oh, look, he's starting in Yankee stadium today against a sick pinstripe lineup, maybe I should bench them." Nope.......you gotta start your studs, if only for the K's, which I will get to in a second.
2. Know the type of pitcher you want. In roto leagues, it is crucially important that you rack up W's and K's while keeping your ERA and WHIP down. These categories have degrees of "controllability," or variability is another way of putting it. W's is the least controllable of all 4 cats, cuz you might think a team is good and have them be a major flop, or even if the team is good they give no run support to your fantasy pitcher (ahem, Mets, I'm looking squarely at you in regard to Johann). What you want to do is look at the other 3 categories, which are roughly the same in terms of control.
3.) DRAFT THE STRIKEOUT PITCHERS!!!! Seriously, unless there's some strong deficiencies with them like they walk 5 batters a game (Joba 2009) or their career ERA is over 5.00 (Jorge De La Rosa). Not only do K guys rack up the totals for your category, their strikeouts are GUARANTEED outs, instead of balls put into play that may or may not reach a fielder. If Out of the roughly 18 outs a pitcher gets each time out, 8 of them are K's, that's a great percentage cuz u know you're not rolling the dice on every out. Make sense? Lemme continue.
4.) Given two guys w/ the same resume, go w/ the NL guy. AL guys historically get hit more because of facing a DH instead of a pitcher (not just a 9-hole guy vs. a pitcher because guys like David Ortiz are monsters that don't exist in the NL). A good trick is to pick up a hurler who just moved to the NL from the AL last year. Not only have most hitters not seen him in the new league, they have the pitcher batting. Exhibit A: Javier Vazquez 2009. And vice versa, don't pick up new AL pitchers coming from the NL. Exhibit B: Josh Beckett 2004.
5.) Know when to sub-in and sub-out your pitchers. This is most like what a manager does. Before every matchup, see who your pitcher is playing against. Look at the matchup. Make the smart play. If your pitcher has a career 10.00 ERA against a team in 7 starts, tread carefully cuz something is up. If your pitcher is an NL-pitcher pitching during interleague play going to an AL park, be cautious, cuz that's just another hazard right there. If your pitcher is a historic fly-ball pitcher going into a cavern like new Shea Stadium or Pro Player Stadium (Marlins' park), give them the benefit of the doubt. Many people don't even take these things into account and it costs them.
6.) If you make the statistically correct play all the time, it will work out in the long run. We've all been there, we make what we think is an absolutely genius start for a guy, and he gets shelled for 10 Hits, 3 walks, 7 ER in two and a third. Or we notice our guy is facing Boston who's on a 9-game winning streak at Fenway where our pitcher is 0-6 lifetime, and decide to take it easy, but he goes 8 innings of 1-run ball with 4 hits. My head is still dizzy from banging it against walls when those things happen. But every time one of the above happens, there's a smart play or two that worked out that I remember less. We always remember our failures better. However, baseball's a long season. A standard Yahoo! league has 1250 IP available for you, more starts than you can deal with. It balances out, and more to your favor. The worst thing to do is to get thrown off by a setback when we made the smart play, then make stupid plays at random and get off a pattern. Easy to fall into temptation, more rewarding if you lay off.
7.) Stream pitchers. Don't be afraid of signing pitchers to 1-day contracts. Take him in for one start, release the next. (Some leagues don't allow this, so make sure it's available in your league). Very profitable if you play it right and are low on innings due to injuries or just drafted more batters (which IMO is the correct move). Nothing feels better than having a pitcher w/ a 0.00ERA w/ a 0.50 WHIP and a W for the whole season cuz you streamed correctly.
8.) Don't ever start Livan Hernandez ever. This is sort of a cumulation of the lessons, plus the fact Livan is just bad. He's a junk pitcher.....not overpowering stuff, relies on getting people to make weak contact, stays in the game long cuz he eats innings. When you hear any of the above for any pitcher, stay away. The last one may seem weird, and some great pitchers do eat innings, but the last thing you want is a guy who consistently throws 6 or 7 IP, but gives up 6 ER's in the process. O, he's eating innings all right, but he's eating your ERA and WHIP hopes in the process. Guys like Livan walk a lot of batters cuz they nibble at the plate, can't get out of jams cuz they don't strike people out, and are at the mercy of their defense (of which the 2009 Mets coincidentally have none). NEVER have Livan, never. Except in a reverse league (you want the worst stats possible for your team- true story, people actually play it).
Use these lessons wisely.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
In this segment, I argue that (How I started my write-on essay, btw) managing starting pitching is a crucial element of fantasy baseball, and I show you want's the secret to starting, sitting, adding, dropping, and basically using your best judgment in your starting pitchers.
1. Always start your aces. If you drafted tim lincecum, johann santana, roy halladay, jake peavy, and other guys of the same caliber, put them in the SP slot and leave them there forever. You might think, "oh, look, he's starting in Yankee stadium today against a sick pinstripe lineup, maybe I should bench them." Nope.......you gotta start your studs, if only for the K's, which I will get to in a second.
2. Know the type of pitcher you want. In roto leagues, it is crucially important that you rack up W's and K's while keeping your ERA and WHIP down. These categories have degrees of "controllability," or variability is another way of putting it. W's is the least controllable of all 4 cats, cuz you might think a team is good and have them be a major flop, or even if the team is good they give no run support to your fantasy pitcher (ahem, Mets, I'm looking squarely at you in regard to Johann). What you want to do is look at the other 3 categories, which are roughly the same in terms of control.
3.) DRAFT THE STRIKEOUT PITCHERS!!!! Seriously, unless there's some strong deficiencies with them like they walk 5 batters a game (Joba 2009) or their career ERA is over 5.00 (Jorge De La Rosa). Not only do K guys rack up the totals for your category, their strikeouts are GUARANTEED outs, instead of balls put into play that may or may not reach a fielder. If Out of the roughly 18 outs a pitcher gets each time out, 8 of them are K's, that's a great percentage cuz u know you're not rolling the dice on every out. Make sense? Lemme continue.
4.) Given two guys w/ the same resume, go w/ the NL guy. AL guys historically get hit more because of facing a DH instead of a pitcher (not just a 9-hole guy vs. a pitcher because guys like David Ortiz are monsters that don't exist in the NL). A good trick is to pick up a hurler who just moved to the NL from the AL last year. Not only have most hitters not seen him in the new league, they have the pitcher batting. Exhibit A: Javier Vazquez 2009. And vice versa, don't pick up new AL pitchers coming from the NL. Exhibit B: Josh Beckett 2004.
5.) Know when to sub-in and sub-out your pitchers. This is most like what a manager does. Before every matchup, see who your pitcher is playing against. Look at the matchup. Make the smart play. If your pitcher has a career 10.00 ERA against a team in 7 starts, tread carefully cuz something is up. If your pitcher is an NL-pitcher pitching during interleague play going to an AL park, be cautious, cuz that's just another hazard right there. If your pitcher is a historic fly-ball pitcher going into a cavern like new Shea Stadium or Pro Player Stadium (Marlins' park), give them the benefit of the doubt. Many people don't even take these things into account and it costs them.
6.) If you make the statistically correct play all the time, it will work out in the long run. We've all been there, we make what we think is an absolutely genius start for a guy, and he gets shelled for 10 Hits, 3 walks, 7 ER in two and a third. Or we notice our guy is facing Boston who's on a 9-game winning streak at Fenway where our pitcher is 0-6 lifetime, and decide to take it easy, but he goes 8 innings of 1-run ball with 4 hits. My head is still dizzy from banging it against walls when those things happen. But every time one of the above happens, there's a smart play or two that worked out that I remember less. We always remember our failures better. However, baseball's a long season. A standard Yahoo! league has 1250 IP available for you, more starts than you can deal with. It balances out, and more to your favor. The worst thing to do is to get thrown off by a setback when we made the smart play, then make stupid plays at random and get off a pattern. Easy to fall into temptation, more rewarding if you lay off.
7.) Stream pitchers. Don't be afraid of signing pitchers to 1-day contracts. Take him in for one start, release the next. (Some leagues don't allow this, so make sure it's available in your league). Very profitable if you play it right and are low on innings due to injuries or just drafted more batters (which IMO is the correct move). Nothing feels better than having a pitcher w/ a 0.00ERA w/ a 0.50 WHIP and a W for the whole season cuz you streamed correctly.
8.) Don't ever start Livan Hernandez ever. This is sort of a cumulation of the lessons, plus the fact Livan is just bad. He's a junk pitcher.....not overpowering stuff, relies on getting people to make weak contact, stays in the game long cuz he eats innings. When you hear any of the above for any pitcher, stay away. The last one may seem weird, and some great pitchers do eat innings, but the last thing you want is a guy who consistently throws 6 or 7 IP, but gives up 6 ER's in the process. O, he's eating innings all right, but he's eating your ERA and WHIP hopes in the process. Guys like Livan walk a lot of batters cuz they nibble at the plate, can't get out of jams cuz they don't strike people out, and are at the mercy of their defense (of which the 2009 Mets coincidentally have none). NEVER have Livan, never. Except in a reverse league (you want the worst stats possible for your team- true story, people actually play it).
Use these lessons wisely.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
Friday, July 3, 2009
Watchin' baseball
Welcome to the brand new addition to the fantasy sports guru page, "watchin' baseball"- a segment where I comment on everything that happens on "MLB Tonight," the show that captures MLB coverage from across the league. Consider this the fantasy perspective part of that.
5:52 PM PT:
AJ Pierzynski's a hard name to spell, but maybe even harder to get out.........not a flashy name to own, but catchers are still essential to have.
Zack Greinke coming back to earth.......the question is whih Greinke we see in the 2nd half, the "I can tell you what I'm sending you and you still can't hit it" Greinke or the "I'm just as average as anybody else" Greinke. I'm thinking about a 3.00 ERA Greinke the rest of the way, and not that great of a W or K pitcher as he's on a sucky team and his arm tires.
5:56PM:
JD Drew goes deep for his 11th......I'm still rather have Stephen w/ the SS, but I think him hitting leadoff is as stupid as hitting a gimpy soriano first.
5:57PM:
I wonder what it woulda been like to have al leiter on my fantasy team......never had the pleasure. I imagine sold WHIP and ERA, good W's when the mets were good, but being a finesse pitcher, much more Brad Radke (less K's) than Jorge De La Rosa (9+K's/9IP)
5:58PM
Emilio Bonifacio's still fantasy relevant, folks! he deserves a look if only for R's and SB's. I'm always amazed how undervalued marlins players are.......Jorge Cantu, Cody Ross, Josh Johnson, Ricky Nolasco........it seems like any pitcher with an arm in that stadium has a chance at a good season.
6:00PM
BTW, how sweet is it that Andy Roddick has reinvented himself into the Renaissance man and gotten back to the Wimbledon final? Too bad he's gonna have to lose to Roger the Ridiculous.
6:02PM
When did Ian Stewart turn into Adam Dunn? 15th HR catching up to the aforementioned's 21. Also, hitting it off Max Scherzer......impressive.
6:03PM
Last time I saw Jose Lopez, he was hitting a 3-run, game-tying 9th-inning 3-run shot off Brian Fuentes against the Angels....wow, he hit a knuckleball that was neck-high onto the top of the green monster.
6:04PM
Leiter claims he hit a double on a knuckleball. Don't buy it, need video evidence.
6:05PM
Lineup card posted for San Diego v. Los Angeles......Manny hitting 3rd........shoudl be interesting, I really need him to start hitting right away for my fantasy team, let's hope he didn't eat too many cheeseburgers during his 8-week vacation.
6:09PM
Back from the fantasy graveyard.....Rodrigo Lopez is about to win his first career game in about 1000 days. Mets are so, so, dead without Reyes and Delgado. It's catch-22........the longer they wait, the more they look like idiots in the field, flail at bad pitches at the plate, and be a sub-.500 team. But if they rush them back, they risk doing further damage, not having them at 100% and losing them for the whole season.
6:12PM
Mets are relying on guys like Nick Evans to score runs........sign of a poor to middling team.
I hope you enjoyed this inaugural segment. Consider it a holiday 4th-of-July trial edition that might be renewed contingent on sufficient support.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
5:52 PM PT:
AJ Pierzynski's a hard name to spell, but maybe even harder to get out.........not a flashy name to own, but catchers are still essential to have.
Zack Greinke coming back to earth.......the question is whih Greinke we see in the 2nd half, the "I can tell you what I'm sending you and you still can't hit it" Greinke or the "I'm just as average as anybody else" Greinke. I'm thinking about a 3.00 ERA Greinke the rest of the way, and not that great of a W or K pitcher as he's on a sucky team and his arm tires.
5:56PM:
JD Drew goes deep for his 11th......I'm still rather have Stephen w/ the SS, but I think him hitting leadoff is as stupid as hitting a gimpy soriano first.
5:57PM:
I wonder what it woulda been like to have al leiter on my fantasy team......never had the pleasure. I imagine sold WHIP and ERA, good W's when the mets were good, but being a finesse pitcher, much more Brad Radke (less K's) than Jorge De La Rosa (9+K's/9IP)
5:58PM
Emilio Bonifacio's still fantasy relevant, folks! he deserves a look if only for R's and SB's. I'm always amazed how undervalued marlins players are.......Jorge Cantu, Cody Ross, Josh Johnson, Ricky Nolasco........it seems like any pitcher with an arm in that stadium has a chance at a good season.
6:00PM
BTW, how sweet is it that Andy Roddick has reinvented himself into the Renaissance man and gotten back to the Wimbledon final? Too bad he's gonna have to lose to Roger the Ridiculous.
6:02PM
When did Ian Stewart turn into Adam Dunn? 15th HR catching up to the aforementioned's 21. Also, hitting it off Max Scherzer......impressive.
6:03PM
Last time I saw Jose Lopez, he was hitting a 3-run, game-tying 9th-inning 3-run shot off Brian Fuentes against the Angels....wow, he hit a knuckleball that was neck-high onto the top of the green monster.
6:04PM
Leiter claims he hit a double on a knuckleball. Don't buy it, need video evidence.
6:05PM
Lineup card posted for San Diego v. Los Angeles......Manny hitting 3rd........shoudl be interesting, I really need him to start hitting right away for my fantasy team, let's hope he didn't eat too many cheeseburgers during his 8-week vacation.
6:09PM
Back from the fantasy graveyard.....Rodrigo Lopez is about to win his first career game in about 1000 days. Mets are so, so, dead without Reyes and Delgado. It's catch-22........the longer they wait, the more they look like idiots in the field, flail at bad pitches at the plate, and be a sub-.500 team. But if they rush them back, they risk doing further damage, not having them at 100% and losing them for the whole season.
6:12PM
Mets are relying on guys like Nick Evans to score runs........sign of a poor to middling team.
I hope you enjoyed this inaugural segment. Consider it a holiday 4th-of-July trial edition that might be renewed contingent on sufficient support.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
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