So tonight is the last night I'll have before I officially begin law school at the University of Southern California. Sure, for the last week or so we've had orientation days to get us acquainted with the whole process, but tomorrow it truly, truly begins.
Preparing for law school has been an interesting experience, insofar as the thing I've been waiting for hasn't even begun it. The last several weeks have been shrouded in a mist of the last days of summer, including the last weeks of day camp, a long weekend at Disneyland with my hometown friends, and the monumental Olympic games in China. However, not lost amongst these moments was the realization that law school was quickly upon me, that those days of freedom will inevitably come to an end. And soon.
I'm writing with the understanding that in about 3 months I can look back on this blog and realize the naivete and amateurish attitude that I had at this point before law school even started, but here are my thoughts about how the next few months are gonna go: Law school will be tough. There will be lots of work, lots of readings. There will be deadlines to meet, outlines to produce, professors to meet, and pressures to alleviate. I will have my ups and downs, exhilarating highs ( I don't mean the drug kind, or at least i hope not) and depressing lows. However, I will come out of this semester much more prepared for a career in law, but also more complete as a person because I will have mastered a semester of one of the toughest endeavors of anybody anywhere: law school. Well, hopefully, I'll master it. Let me tone that down a bit: I'll have survived, haha.
Anyway, on a lighter note, guess I'm an idiot. The mole was NOT alex. I would most assuredly have been eliminated from the Mole if I had gone 100% for alex at the executions. But the thing is, I woulda never went 100% for someone until the final 4 or 3 because the format of the show makes playing the odds ( a.k.a. targeting everybody so that you at least get some questions right) the best strategy. You just have to AVOID being the worst tester on any given quiz, you don't have to get the best score. I don't understand why the contestants don't understand that. And i'm gonna just hush hush it up from now cuz if I ever DO get on the mole ( fingers crossed) i don't wanna fellow contestants stealing my startegy.
I guess Craig was a good mole. But I feel like Alex would have been so much more deceptive. Craig had a built-in excuse every time he failed. O, and also, I felt like he overestimated his social ability to manipulate other players. Sure, being friends with other players probably brushed off some suspicion, but it's not as if he personally executed every single player through HIS game player. Gotta give other players more credit than that, Craig. But overall, good job.
Olympics are also over. Man, there was some drama this year. Can't remember the games being so exciting. There were a lot of close finishes, anxious moments to wait for judges' scores, etc. It was quite the spectacle. Wish I was there.
sorry for the lack of baseball knowledge trinketts, friends. I'll try to be back w/ more of that, but law school does start, and the first year is the most important of all. But I'll try.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Sunday, July 13, 2008
July Rumblings
Long time no see, friends, long time no see. I've been real busy with this camp business, and every summer it seems I get in a lull with this blog and forget to write for a while, or am just too lazy to do so after a long day of work. But checkin' in now cuz fantasy is getting pretty interesting.
First off, wanna recommend another book. Yea, yea, i kno, i've done that a bunch of times already, but for fantasy owners, nothing hits home as well as "Fantasyland" by Sam Walker, a chronicle of the author's journey through a full season of Tout wars, the premiere fantasy league in all of baseball. The thing is, i'd barely even heard of Tout Wars before reading the book, and there were some references to it in certain media outlets that made it seem like this mysterious, omnicient cult, but now I know what it is. And you will too after reading the book. But anyway, the book totally reflects everything that a fantasy owner goes through, from analysis of certain players to investing heavily in certain favorites to cursing managers for leaving pitchers in games to agonizing losses to the salivating before making a big trade you KNOW is favorable to you. O man, get it, get it.
Another recommendation if you're bored and are flipping through channels waiting for the September premieres of shows ( Btw, heroes: villains from what I hear will be awesome), check out a show called Total Drama Island on Cartoon Network. Very unconventional, I never thought i'd recommend anything on a kids show. But this show was made with adults in mind too, and it's more "Survivor" than "every cartoon show you've ever seen." It follows the reality TV show format, has great character development for a half-hour show, and makes some great jokes. Good entertainment. And you don't have to worry about someone stupid winning like Parvati did winning the last one. ( Urg, i so hated Cirie). Anyway, if you check out that show my favorite storyline is Duncan-Courtney. That budding romance is a great match.
Speaking of match(up)s, the last day of baseball before the all-star break has some marquee ones. Right now I'm following Cole Hamels vs. Brandon Webb in a 1-0 pitcher's duel, which has great fantasy implications, especially when it's ur fantasy pitcher vs. your closest rival's best pitcher. It really transcends into the fantasy world. Brandon Webb, btw, shares my birthday, giving him extra props in my book.
Later, it's Tim Lincecum vs. Ryan Dempster. O man Lincecum is turning out so nicely, it's a pleasure watching him grow into a future Hall-of-Fame pitcher.
At this point in the season, you are OBLIGATED as the manager of a fantasy team to sit down, assess and reasses your teams, come up with unbiased analysis of your team, the strengths and weaknesses, and address them. Have a game plan for the rest of the season. Know what you need. Go for the win. No more haggling along. If you're up 25 homers or more on the rest of the league, it's probably time to trade Ryan Howard for whatever else you need. You'll have to make a decision soon to pull the trigger, cuz half the season is gone. Then again, don't automatically assume if you're leading a category right now you'll just outright win it. Nothing hurts more than trading a guy who was nuts in a certain category, then watching everybody else in the league catch up to you in that cat by September. that's where that solid analysis comes in. Come up with a plan, make amends to it, make a move. Don't be afraid to consider all options, but don't make a desperate one.
Although, if you're in last place in your league, disregard all that advice you just received. You're probably toast already, my friend.
Who are the guys you should look out for to help your team down the stretch?
Volquez and Lee are the guys everybody sees as breakout pitchers this year, and rightly so, but Ervin Santana is now 11-3, a guy you coulda picked up off the waiver wire in late April. The guy's solid. I would ride him for the rest of the way as he and Lackey are the horses in that Angel pen. Joba Chamberlain is another guy who's fresh ( not too many innings worked) and has devastating stuff. He'll never really disappoint you cuz the strikeout numbers are there even if his peripherals suffer a little bit.
I was pumping francisco liriano before the season started only to see him go into a fantasy coma, but he should be back after the all-star and this time, it should be the real deal. If you need pitching help, you can't really let the chance that liriano has a 2006-like explosion on a good twins team go by the way side. Speaking of the twins, no one speaks of scott baker. He's probably the best pitcher on that staff.
For hitters, I would hang on to Ian Kinsler. That 1st half was no fluke, man can hit, and he's got some offensive juggernauts behind him, to say the least.
Watch the Arizona lineup. They started off all mashing, then went into a long flunk. Watch for them to break out of it w/ guys like Tracy, Reynolds, and Chris Young carrying the load.
No other 1st-round pick this season has disappointed more than Miguel Cabrera. I think he finally adjusts to America's armpit called Detroit and mashes to his usual tune the 2nd half.
Ryan Howard will have more than 45 homers again. That's almost a given in my mind unless he gets hurt.
If you can get Joe Mauer somehow, get him. He's good. He won't disappoint cuz he's just a sick ballplayer.
There will be some young hitter who tears up the league the 2nd half of the season as he rounds into shape. Candidates for that are Billy Butler, Adam Jones, Jay Bruce, and Mike Jacobs. Watch for those guys.
Biggest 2nd-half guy you should watch: Nick the Stick, Nick Markakis. Third-year player, historically good Augusts, this guy will be rewarding you tremendously soon.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
First off, wanna recommend another book. Yea, yea, i kno, i've done that a bunch of times already, but for fantasy owners, nothing hits home as well as "Fantasyland" by Sam Walker, a chronicle of the author's journey through a full season of Tout wars, the premiere fantasy league in all of baseball. The thing is, i'd barely even heard of Tout Wars before reading the book, and there were some references to it in certain media outlets that made it seem like this mysterious, omnicient cult, but now I know what it is. And you will too after reading the book. But anyway, the book totally reflects everything that a fantasy owner goes through, from analysis of certain players to investing heavily in certain favorites to cursing managers for leaving pitchers in games to agonizing losses to the salivating before making a big trade you KNOW is favorable to you. O man, get it, get it.
Another recommendation if you're bored and are flipping through channels waiting for the September premieres of shows ( Btw, heroes: villains from what I hear will be awesome), check out a show called Total Drama Island on Cartoon Network. Very unconventional, I never thought i'd recommend anything on a kids show. But this show was made with adults in mind too, and it's more "Survivor" than "every cartoon show you've ever seen." It follows the reality TV show format, has great character development for a half-hour show, and makes some great jokes. Good entertainment. And you don't have to worry about someone stupid winning like Parvati did winning the last one. ( Urg, i so hated Cirie). Anyway, if you check out that show my favorite storyline is Duncan-Courtney. That budding romance is a great match.
Speaking of match(up)s, the last day of baseball before the all-star break has some marquee ones. Right now I'm following Cole Hamels vs. Brandon Webb in a 1-0 pitcher's duel, which has great fantasy implications, especially when it's ur fantasy pitcher vs. your closest rival's best pitcher. It really transcends into the fantasy world. Brandon Webb, btw, shares my birthday, giving him extra props in my book.
Later, it's Tim Lincecum vs. Ryan Dempster. O man Lincecum is turning out so nicely, it's a pleasure watching him grow into a future Hall-of-Fame pitcher.
At this point in the season, you are OBLIGATED as the manager of a fantasy team to sit down, assess and reasses your teams, come up with unbiased analysis of your team, the strengths and weaknesses, and address them. Have a game plan for the rest of the season. Know what you need. Go for the win. No more haggling along. If you're up 25 homers or more on the rest of the league, it's probably time to trade Ryan Howard for whatever else you need. You'll have to make a decision soon to pull the trigger, cuz half the season is gone. Then again, don't automatically assume if you're leading a category right now you'll just outright win it. Nothing hurts more than trading a guy who was nuts in a certain category, then watching everybody else in the league catch up to you in that cat by September. that's where that solid analysis comes in. Come up with a plan, make amends to it, make a move. Don't be afraid to consider all options, but don't make a desperate one.
Although, if you're in last place in your league, disregard all that advice you just received. You're probably toast already, my friend.
Who are the guys you should look out for to help your team down the stretch?
Volquez and Lee are the guys everybody sees as breakout pitchers this year, and rightly so, but Ervin Santana is now 11-3, a guy you coulda picked up off the waiver wire in late April. The guy's solid. I would ride him for the rest of the way as he and Lackey are the horses in that Angel pen. Joba Chamberlain is another guy who's fresh ( not too many innings worked) and has devastating stuff. He'll never really disappoint you cuz the strikeout numbers are there even if his peripherals suffer a little bit.
I was pumping francisco liriano before the season started only to see him go into a fantasy coma, but he should be back after the all-star and this time, it should be the real deal. If you need pitching help, you can't really let the chance that liriano has a 2006-like explosion on a good twins team go by the way side. Speaking of the twins, no one speaks of scott baker. He's probably the best pitcher on that staff.
For hitters, I would hang on to Ian Kinsler. That 1st half was no fluke, man can hit, and he's got some offensive juggernauts behind him, to say the least.
Watch the Arizona lineup. They started off all mashing, then went into a long flunk. Watch for them to break out of it w/ guys like Tracy, Reynolds, and Chris Young carrying the load.
No other 1st-round pick this season has disappointed more than Miguel Cabrera. I think he finally adjusts to America's armpit called Detroit and mashes to his usual tune the 2nd half.
Ryan Howard will have more than 45 homers again. That's almost a given in my mind unless he gets hurt.
If you can get Joe Mauer somehow, get him. He's good. He won't disappoint cuz he's just a sick ballplayer.
There will be some young hitter who tears up the league the 2nd half of the season as he rounds into shape. Candidates for that are Billy Butler, Adam Jones, Jay Bruce, and Mike Jacobs. Watch for those guys.
Biggest 2nd-half guy you should watch: Nick the Stick, Nick Markakis. Third-year player, historically good Augusts, this guy will be rewarding you tremendously soon.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Dude, guys, alex is the mole!
First off, I wanna say that I have not read any spoilers on who the mole was, nor will I succumb to that particular temptation before the show wraps up. However, I am just absolutely convinced, with all the conviction that can exist in my 175-pound body, that Alex is the mole. And I love it.
Alex has been on my radar for a while, and I gotta say, he's done a great job being the mole. Very tricky, very tricky. As I mused about in a previous column, he did subtle sabotage in the first episode by going first and losing, attributing it to being the first one to go, and then was absolutely piss poor playing soccer. Well, we'll done w/ 4 episodes now and here are the additions: Alex sabotaged the luge game by putting up 2 apples and getting only 1 fruit correct, but blaming it smoothly on Nicole as she was the one who slipped up.
So many little things throughout have pointed to Alex, without the producers throwing a big sign on the screen that screams, "Alex is the mole!" I just don't get why people are still suspecting the other players, to be frank. Obviously, I could be wrong and just look like an idiot at the end of this, but seriously, and for that reason I've entertained ideas about it being someone else, but the signs just point to alex. If you look at it from a producer's point of view, alex in episode 1 supposedly suspected marcie in order to first establish a prime suspect, and indeed marcie was the prime supsect of the majority of the players, as voted on, until she left. Then, alex supposedly suspects nicole, the next primary suspect, and teams up with her in different challenges ( luge, piggy game) so that he can blame stuff on her. Alex never has to try too hard to sabotage missions, and many times he uses his producer-selected assets ( speaking Spanish to the natives) as a cover for his sabotage ( he gets back quickly w/ the piggies but then drops a bunch of them on the ground in an erroneous attempt to use the slingshot, which the producers probably told him to just absolutely bungle).
I'm soothed by the fact that victoria was eliminated cuz the episode before that it seemed like most boards speculated that she was the mole. Nada. My suspicions are being confirmed every week. Which leaves me to guess on a winner. I'm guessing paul is eliminated as some point cuz he trusts alex too much and is his friend, nicole might finally stop guessing wrong mole candidates like bobby and victoria, but clay and mark seem like the coalition that actually knows what it's doing. I'll go with the sentimental pick of mark, but i'd hate to see kristen win, just cuz she goes to UCLA ( haha, not really) but also cuz she seems like she's done nothing in this whole season. Honestly, very little. And people still think she's the mole? Puh-leez.
Alex has been on my radar for a while, and I gotta say, he's done a great job being the mole. Very tricky, very tricky. As I mused about in a previous column, he did subtle sabotage in the first episode by going first and losing, attributing it to being the first one to go, and then was absolutely piss poor playing soccer. Well, we'll done w/ 4 episodes now and here are the additions: Alex sabotaged the luge game by putting up 2 apples and getting only 1 fruit correct, but blaming it smoothly on Nicole as she was the one who slipped up.
So many little things throughout have pointed to Alex, without the producers throwing a big sign on the screen that screams, "Alex is the mole!" I just don't get why people are still suspecting the other players, to be frank. Obviously, I could be wrong and just look like an idiot at the end of this, but seriously, and for that reason I've entertained ideas about it being someone else, but the signs just point to alex. If you look at it from a producer's point of view, alex in episode 1 supposedly suspected marcie in order to first establish a prime suspect, and indeed marcie was the prime supsect of the majority of the players, as voted on, until she left. Then, alex supposedly suspects nicole, the next primary suspect, and teams up with her in different challenges ( luge, piggy game) so that he can blame stuff on her. Alex never has to try too hard to sabotage missions, and many times he uses his producer-selected assets ( speaking Spanish to the natives) as a cover for his sabotage ( he gets back quickly w/ the piggies but then drops a bunch of them on the ground in an erroneous attempt to use the slingshot, which the producers probably told him to just absolutely bungle).
I'm soothed by the fact that victoria was eliminated cuz the episode before that it seemed like most boards speculated that she was the mole. Nada. My suspicions are being confirmed every week. Which leaves me to guess on a winner. I'm guessing paul is eliminated as some point cuz he trusts alex too much and is his friend, nicole might finally stop guessing wrong mole candidates like bobby and victoria, but clay and mark seem like the coalition that actually knows what it's doing. I'll go with the sentimental pick of mark, but i'd hate to see kristen win, just cuz she goes to UCLA ( haha, not really) but also cuz she seems like she's done nothing in this whole season. Honestly, very little. And people still think she's the mole? Puh-leez.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Why aren't more people watching the mole?
Yea that's the question on my mind right now. Jeez, louise, people, you're missing out on a great show! Get a move on! Yea guess i'm just disappointed in the low ratings for the mole, which are somewhat explained by its out-of-the way 10/9 c time slot.
Man, when I wrote a few posts back that I was a lil disappointed about the first episode of the mole, I didn't expect it to have such an impact! Haha, seriously, watch the mole, give it a chance, it's a quality show. Someone on another blog made a point that the mole is superior to other reality TV shows like survivor or bachelor in that viewers actually have a lot of interaction with the show; they follow along with every move of every player and decide for themselves their own list of the suspects, and the quiz that all the players are take are available online. Trying to guess at the mole is the main premise of the show. And it should be the main premise of your monday night TV viewing habits. C'mon, people!
For what it's worth, after 2 episodes I've changed my pick of mole from Clay as orignially guessed to Alex. Clay has done nothing to indicate whatsoever that he's the mole, which doesn't necessarily mean he isn't, but..........Alex has been craftily making his way through the first 4 tasks. I can easily see how the producers set it up so the first task he goes first off the waterfall ( due to alphabetical order) and misses the bag w/ the built-in excuse of being the first to fall, then does terrible in the soccer game ( seriously, i dunno what soccer league he played in, but when does a soccer player dribble around with the ball on a penalty kick?), and then subtlely messing up the flying piggies game. If I were a contestant in the season, I wouldn't put all my eggs on him, obviously, this early in the game, but the writing's on the wall. It's not a full wall yet, but there's some scribbles.
Anyway, fantasy baseball. I've had plenty of distractions this season from my favoritest game, but now i'm back and more pumped forever. But just to encourage those who've fallen off a bit from the game, I can relate. Sometimes you feel through the long, long season that it doesn't really matter whether Ichiro went 0 for 4 last night, or your top reliever ( say, Heath Bell) got rocked for 2 runs and 4 hits last night. It's such a long season that it all balances out in the end, or you feel that it's just not very significant. They didn't really have that big an impact on the game! O, and you're leading in HR's anyway, so who cares if Justin Morneau got robbed at the wall?
Well, ladies and gentlemen, lemme just tell you a lil' story: Last year, I played in a winners league that I was very passionate about, all the players in the league were active participants, things were tense. I really wanted to win. And there were a few days I felt exactly what I'd just described, a feeling of triviality, that it doesn't really matter, or I'd seen it all before. I even got bored sometimes with Carlos Beltran: I mean, the guy isn't very exciting. Well, last season I lost by 0.5 points in the Yahoo! rotisserie league after making a furious comeback the last day to gain 3.5 pts but still lose by an eyelash. What was more upsetting was the # of categories I could have gained in. Two more runs and I would have gotten another half point. 1 More home run. Couple more points in batting average. That means on any given night, I could have just made another wise move or two, guessed right on somebody getting hot or facing a familiar pitcher and taking him/ her deep. I was sure I could have squeezed another one of those situations out, but I didn't. It hurt. Therefore, fantasy players, I urge you, don't let the season's length take its toll on your participation level. It'll cost ya.
O, and don't forget to watch the mole this monday 10/9 c. It'd make my day.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
Man, when I wrote a few posts back that I was a lil disappointed about the first episode of the mole, I didn't expect it to have such an impact! Haha, seriously, watch the mole, give it a chance, it's a quality show. Someone on another blog made a point that the mole is superior to other reality TV shows like survivor or bachelor in that viewers actually have a lot of interaction with the show; they follow along with every move of every player and decide for themselves their own list of the suspects, and the quiz that all the players are take are available online. Trying to guess at the mole is the main premise of the show. And it should be the main premise of your monday night TV viewing habits. C'mon, people!
For what it's worth, after 2 episodes I've changed my pick of mole from Clay as orignially guessed to Alex. Clay has done nothing to indicate whatsoever that he's the mole, which doesn't necessarily mean he isn't, but..........Alex has been craftily making his way through the first 4 tasks. I can easily see how the producers set it up so the first task he goes first off the waterfall ( due to alphabetical order) and misses the bag w/ the built-in excuse of being the first to fall, then does terrible in the soccer game ( seriously, i dunno what soccer league he played in, but when does a soccer player dribble around with the ball on a penalty kick?), and then subtlely messing up the flying piggies game. If I were a contestant in the season, I wouldn't put all my eggs on him, obviously, this early in the game, but the writing's on the wall. It's not a full wall yet, but there's some scribbles.
Anyway, fantasy baseball. I've had plenty of distractions this season from my favoritest game, but now i'm back and more pumped forever. But just to encourage those who've fallen off a bit from the game, I can relate. Sometimes you feel through the long, long season that it doesn't really matter whether Ichiro went 0 for 4 last night, or your top reliever ( say, Heath Bell) got rocked for 2 runs and 4 hits last night. It's such a long season that it all balances out in the end, or you feel that it's just not very significant. They didn't really have that big an impact on the game! O, and you're leading in HR's anyway, so who cares if Justin Morneau got robbed at the wall?
Well, ladies and gentlemen, lemme just tell you a lil' story: Last year, I played in a winners league that I was very passionate about, all the players in the league were active participants, things were tense. I really wanted to win. And there were a few days I felt exactly what I'd just described, a feeling of triviality, that it doesn't really matter, or I'd seen it all before. I even got bored sometimes with Carlos Beltran: I mean, the guy isn't very exciting. Well, last season I lost by 0.5 points in the Yahoo! rotisserie league after making a furious comeback the last day to gain 3.5 pts but still lose by an eyelash. What was more upsetting was the # of categories I could have gained in. Two more runs and I would have gotten another half point. 1 More home run. Couple more points in batting average. That means on any given night, I could have just made another wise move or two, guessed right on somebody getting hot or facing a familiar pitcher and taking him/ her deep. I was sure I could have squeezed another one of those situations out, but I didn't. It hurt. Therefore, fantasy players, I urge you, don't let the season's length take its toll on your participation level. It'll cost ya.
O, and don't forget to watch the mole this monday 10/9 c. It'd make my day.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Cubs-Dodgers
Eh. Super. So went to the Sunday Night baseball game at dodgers stadium, not much to report. Cubs win, take a split in Los Angeles, but the game was pretty boring, IMO. Got off to a fun start w/ DeRosa homering immediately and then the Blue Crew answering in the bottom, but it was pretty much downhill from there. Marquis actually had a good outing tonight? Wow. He is the one guy u can rely on to allow 3 ER's or more, and he gives up a measly unearned run tonight. Go figure.
Anyway, the real value was teaching my 11-year-old sister about baseball, a subject in which she actually seemed interested, asked genuine questions, it was a good time. It's definitely a step up from me trying to explain finance to someone; while explaining baseball i don't have to worry about retracting something i said 5 minutes ago after I get asked a rebuking question.
The rundown tonight: ( one piece of fantasy tidbit per game):
1.) NYY beat KC 6-3: People forget how good Jason Giambi once was. He fell off a bit the last few years w/ injuries and such, but in 2006 he hit 37 homers and 110 RBI's in just 484 AB's. He has a lotta opportunity for production.
2.) Det beat Cle 5-2: Maybe the reason both struggle is that neither leadoff hitter is really a leadoff hitter: they hit more home runs than they should, could probably put them in 3 hole or elsewhere ( granderson and sizemore)
3.) Tor beat Bal 5-4: Roy Halladay has to pitch more innings than anyone. Ever.
4.) Fla beat Cin 9-2: Corey Patterson still on that team? He got a pinch-hit HR today, apparently. The man-child HanRam racking up 2.
5.) Pitt def. Ariz 6-4: The Max Scherzer experiment officially over for me. Not starting anymore and not dominating batters enough.
6.) San Fran beat Wash 6-3: Lastings Millege watch: HR ( ding). Brian Wilson impressively w/ 17 saves, on pace for close to 50.
7.) Philly 6-3 over atl: Add Ryan Howard to that list of peeps u need to buy low on. NOW! Before it's too late.
8.) Bos 2-1 over sea: Told u about JD Drew yesterday. Justin Masterson is a good-looking young arm, but again, don't be too enamoured by the good starts so far. It'll normalize.
9.) Two pitchers to look at in St. Louis 5-4 over Houston: Wandy Rodriguez the starter for Houston, Ryan Franklin closer for STL taking over maybe permanently.
10.) CHW over Min 12-2: Joe Crede has a magnet in his bat. Check his bat! Check his bat! He's hitting everything.
11.) MIL 3-2 over Col. I looked at this box score and saw NOTHING really notable. If I had to take anyone in that depleted rockies lineup i'd get atkins.
12.) Oakland 7-3 over angels, on a walkoff grandslam by mark ellis, i believe.
That's one guy who's a great baseball player, not so great fantasy wise. Ervin Santana might make me regret trading him for carlos guillen by the end of the season.
13.) San Diego over NYM 8-6: There goes Jose Reyes on the basepaths. But there might go Willie Randolph's job after a sweep in San Diego.
14.) Texas over Tampa 6-3: Milton Bradley: Wild thing! You make my heart sing!
That's it. It's over. It's all over.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
Anyway, the real value was teaching my 11-year-old sister about baseball, a subject in which she actually seemed interested, asked genuine questions, it was a good time. It's definitely a step up from me trying to explain finance to someone; while explaining baseball i don't have to worry about retracting something i said 5 minutes ago after I get asked a rebuking question.
The rundown tonight: ( one piece of fantasy tidbit per game):
1.) NYY beat KC 6-3: People forget how good Jason Giambi once was. He fell off a bit the last few years w/ injuries and such, but in 2006 he hit 37 homers and 110 RBI's in just 484 AB's. He has a lotta opportunity for production.
2.) Det beat Cle 5-2: Maybe the reason both struggle is that neither leadoff hitter is really a leadoff hitter: they hit more home runs than they should, could probably put them in 3 hole or elsewhere ( granderson and sizemore)
3.) Tor beat Bal 5-4: Roy Halladay has to pitch more innings than anyone. Ever.
4.) Fla beat Cin 9-2: Corey Patterson still on that team? He got a pinch-hit HR today, apparently. The man-child HanRam racking up 2.
5.) Pitt def. Ariz 6-4: The Max Scherzer experiment officially over for me. Not starting anymore and not dominating batters enough.
6.) San Fran beat Wash 6-3: Lastings Millege watch: HR ( ding). Brian Wilson impressively w/ 17 saves, on pace for close to 50.
7.) Philly 6-3 over atl: Add Ryan Howard to that list of peeps u need to buy low on. NOW! Before it's too late.
8.) Bos 2-1 over sea: Told u about JD Drew yesterday. Justin Masterson is a good-looking young arm, but again, don't be too enamoured by the good starts so far. It'll normalize.
9.) Two pitchers to look at in St. Louis 5-4 over Houston: Wandy Rodriguez the starter for Houston, Ryan Franklin closer for STL taking over maybe permanently.
10.) CHW over Min 12-2: Joe Crede has a magnet in his bat. Check his bat! Check his bat! He's hitting everything.
11.) MIL 3-2 over Col. I looked at this box score and saw NOTHING really notable. If I had to take anyone in that depleted rockies lineup i'd get atkins.
12.) Oakland 7-3 over angels, on a walkoff grandslam by mark ellis, i believe.
That's one guy who's a great baseball player, not so great fantasy wise. Ervin Santana might make me regret trading him for carlos guillen by the end of the season.
13.) San Diego over NYM 8-6: There goes Jose Reyes on the basepaths. But there might go Willie Randolph's job after a sweep in San Diego.
14.) Texas over Tampa 6-3: Milton Bradley: Wild thing! You make my heart sing!
That's it. It's over. It's all over.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Josephine Kao
More than a week after the 2008 National Spelling Bee, I have some lingering thoughts about it, especially to a certain "sphendone"-ousted speller.
But first, just wanted all to know I will be at the Chicago Cubs- LA Dodgers game tomorrow. I'm expecting a cubbies win after consecutive losses to the Blue Crew to split the series, but it's Jason Marquis pitching, haven't been too impressed with him all year.
Btw, right now is a great time to be talking about that "buy low" stuff in fantasy baseball. So many great opportunities present themselves, and chances are you have a dude on your team right now who's done quite well that will go into a slump soon that you find saying, "what am i still doing with this guy?"
Anyway, guys I'd target nowadays are Carlos Beltran ( those homers have gotta start coming), Alex Rodriguez ( uh, he's was a monster last year, guys), Jose Reyes ( should be super-thief in 2nd half), Matt Holliday ( while injured), and Jake Peavy on the pitching front ( again, while injured).
Btw, JD Drew is a solid pickup as he will try to be the new David Ortiz of the Boston lineup, which he won't do but he'll have the same number of run-scoring chances.
Okay, so after reading some news on the National Spelling Bee that came across an article that described Josephine Kao as being devastated after being eliminated in the 7th round at the NSB and "having to process all of it" before deciding whether to compete in next year's bee ( She was a 7th grader this year and has one more year of eligibility left). I apologize if these statements were taken out of context by a reporter, Josephine, but here's my message to you if the above was true:
Do the spelling bee next year. I don't purport to know what it feels like to study for the national spelling bee year after year like you have, nor what the pressure is in washington D.C. during competition. However, I do know a little bit about missed opportunities. I would sacrifice a lot to go back in time and be able to compete in the NSB. I, unfortunately, never had a chance to be in the NSB. If this is something that you truly love, that you want to compete, the opportunity won't come again. Never again will you be able to compete in the National Spelling Bee, and if you quit now all your life you'll wonder, if I studied that last year for it, would I have won? It might not seem like a big thing to bypass now at age 13, but being a national spelling champ will carry with you throughout your life, something you can look back on and say, "I achieved that, I succeeded." And that's a mighty thing to be able to say you did. I personally can look back and say, " I achieved straight A's or I won individual awards in state chess," but nothing compares to the prestige of being the ONLY WINNER of THAT YEAR in the COUNTRY. You will truly be, quoting a winning word of a spelling bee, "nonpareil."
Your motivation doesn't even need to be just winning. You've gone 3 times, finished in a better position every time, and ending your spelling career w/ a top 10 finish will be nothing to scoff at, coupled with your 4-year resume of work: A 47th, a 16th, a 13th.
But if winning is your main motivation, you got a good chance. Look at the spelling bees from 2005 on. Every time, the favorite didn't win, but a repeater who was had substantial experience did win. In 2006 and 2007, Samir Patel was the favorite, but got out, and long-time repeaters Kerry Close and Evan Dorney took it home. In 2008 a trio of favorites ( Thomas, Evans, Shivashankar) all fell, but a 4-timer Mishra won. In 2009, Kavya Shivashankar will be the ESPN favorite, the crowd favorite, the odds-on candidate, whatever, but she will get all the attention, and you can quietly operate under all that pressure, knowing full well you're probably just as prepared as she is even though she placed slightly higher the last few years.
Truly, there's a reason why every winning speller in the last decade had at least some experience in the previous years. It takes a lot of time and energy just to GET to bee-ready level, going through the Consolidated Words List of 23,000 gnarly words, as well as learning essential Greek and Latin roots. However, for returners, especially FOUR-TIMERS, you've already done all that. All you have to do is review those words, make sure you don't forget them, then focus on your weaknesses, or new words in the addendums, or anything you want, building on your skill level. It's truly a great advantage, and next year you'll be one of few to have it.
Therefore, don't be afraid of pulling a samir patel or matthew evans and placing worse than you did the year before. That happens very rarely, as the first 5 rounds are jam packed with CWL words, or at least words you can figure out using roots. It'd take something very serious to knock you out, and there's probably one in a thousand words in the first few rounds that can. After that it's all on your own, with a little luck involved. Hey, luck worked against you this year when you got a tough one w/ sphendone while others got some fat pitches to hit. All you need is a little recompensatory luck in 2009.
Why am I saying all this, you might ask. Well, as a recently-turned 21-year-old, I should be worried about a lot of other things. However, when I see a competition like the NSB bring out the best in spellers, allow their intelligence, skill, and spelling savvy to shine through, I feel a sense of pride and yearning for each of you to do well. Selfishly, I also like the storylines of "who's coming back next year," who's determined this year, basically the journey of one's experience leading him/her to one of the most prestigious awards they can ever receive. O and I'd like a fellow Californian to win it ( and fellow Asian/oriental at that, haha). So, Josephine Kao, I encourage you to pursue your dream of becoming the national spelling bee champion for one more year. You'll have at least one ardent fan here.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
But first, just wanted all to know I will be at the Chicago Cubs- LA Dodgers game tomorrow. I'm expecting a cubbies win after consecutive losses to the Blue Crew to split the series, but it's Jason Marquis pitching, haven't been too impressed with him all year.
Btw, right now is a great time to be talking about that "buy low" stuff in fantasy baseball. So many great opportunities present themselves, and chances are you have a dude on your team right now who's done quite well that will go into a slump soon that you find saying, "what am i still doing with this guy?"
Anyway, guys I'd target nowadays are Carlos Beltran ( those homers have gotta start coming), Alex Rodriguez ( uh, he's was a monster last year, guys), Jose Reyes ( should be super-thief in 2nd half), Matt Holliday ( while injured), and Jake Peavy on the pitching front ( again, while injured).
Btw, JD Drew is a solid pickup as he will try to be the new David Ortiz of the Boston lineup, which he won't do but he'll have the same number of run-scoring chances.
Okay, so after reading some news on the National Spelling Bee that came across an article that described Josephine Kao as being devastated after being eliminated in the 7th round at the NSB and "having to process all of it" before deciding whether to compete in next year's bee ( She was a 7th grader this year and has one more year of eligibility left). I apologize if these statements were taken out of context by a reporter, Josephine, but here's my message to you if the above was true:
Do the spelling bee next year. I don't purport to know what it feels like to study for the national spelling bee year after year like you have, nor what the pressure is in washington D.C. during competition. However, I do know a little bit about missed opportunities. I would sacrifice a lot to go back in time and be able to compete in the NSB. I, unfortunately, never had a chance to be in the NSB. If this is something that you truly love, that you want to compete, the opportunity won't come again. Never again will you be able to compete in the National Spelling Bee, and if you quit now all your life you'll wonder, if I studied that last year for it, would I have won? It might not seem like a big thing to bypass now at age 13, but being a national spelling champ will carry with you throughout your life, something you can look back on and say, "I achieved that, I succeeded." And that's a mighty thing to be able to say you did. I personally can look back and say, " I achieved straight A's or I won individual awards in state chess," but nothing compares to the prestige of being the ONLY WINNER of THAT YEAR in the COUNTRY. You will truly be, quoting a winning word of a spelling bee, "nonpareil."
Your motivation doesn't even need to be just winning. You've gone 3 times, finished in a better position every time, and ending your spelling career w/ a top 10 finish will be nothing to scoff at, coupled with your 4-year resume of work: A 47th, a 16th, a 13th.
But if winning is your main motivation, you got a good chance. Look at the spelling bees from 2005 on. Every time, the favorite didn't win, but a repeater who was had substantial experience did win. In 2006 and 2007, Samir Patel was the favorite, but got out, and long-time repeaters Kerry Close and Evan Dorney took it home. In 2008 a trio of favorites ( Thomas, Evans, Shivashankar) all fell, but a 4-timer Mishra won. In 2009, Kavya Shivashankar will be the ESPN favorite, the crowd favorite, the odds-on candidate, whatever, but she will get all the attention, and you can quietly operate under all that pressure, knowing full well you're probably just as prepared as she is even though she placed slightly higher the last few years.
Truly, there's a reason why every winning speller in the last decade had at least some experience in the previous years. It takes a lot of time and energy just to GET to bee-ready level, going through the Consolidated Words List of 23,000 gnarly words, as well as learning essential Greek and Latin roots. However, for returners, especially FOUR-TIMERS, you've already done all that. All you have to do is review those words, make sure you don't forget them, then focus on your weaknesses, or new words in the addendums, or anything you want, building on your skill level. It's truly a great advantage, and next year you'll be one of few to have it.
Therefore, don't be afraid of pulling a samir patel or matthew evans and placing worse than you did the year before. That happens very rarely, as the first 5 rounds are jam packed with CWL words, or at least words you can figure out using roots. It'd take something very serious to knock you out, and there's probably one in a thousand words in the first few rounds that can. After that it's all on your own, with a little luck involved. Hey, luck worked against you this year when you got a tough one w/ sphendone while others got some fat pitches to hit. All you need is a little recompensatory luck in 2009.
Why am I saying all this, you might ask. Well, as a recently-turned 21-year-old, I should be worried about a lot of other things. However, when I see a competition like the NSB bring out the best in spellers, allow their intelligence, skill, and spelling savvy to shine through, I feel a sense of pride and yearning for each of you to do well. Selfishly, I also like the storylines of "who's coming back next year," who's determined this year, basically the journey of one's experience leading him/her to one of the most prestigious awards they can ever receive. O and I'd like a fellow Californian to win it ( and fellow Asian/oriental at that, haha). So, Josephine Kao, I encourage you to pursue your dream of becoming the national spelling bee champion for one more year. You'll have at least one ardent fan here.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Beast Wars
Back in the late 1990's, when i was just getting through middle school, there was a nice little animated TV series on UPN that aired for three seasons in the morning during school time, and I loved it. It was called Beast Wars, a spin-off of the popular transformers series.
I still love it. The entire series is posted on YouTube by some magnanimous soul, and I applaude him/her. Anyway, it's a great watch even for a cartoon, as there's great battling, good story lines, funny voices, CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT, even a love story ( better than the soaps, eh?), and popular media references. In 3 different scenes, Dinobot quotes Hamlet. Ex: when dying, Dinobot quotes, " The rest is silence." Found courtesy of Ali Godil. Check it out if you're like me and have a bit of free time in the summer.
Chien- Ming Wang is like the spark of the Yankees rotation: Can't live without him ( The Beast wars bots had sparks as hearts). Anyway, the guy is just so steady especially for a team that always has problems with pitching, injuries, and so forth. 19 wins the last 2 seasons, ERA under 4, pitches in one of the most stressful sports markets in America, gotta love'em. Again, i think i mentioned it before, he was 2nd in voting for AL Cy Young a couple years ago. And he's only 28. He's got a bright future. He's Taiwanese, btw, not Chinese, altho some would argue that those are the same nationality.
Mike Mussina and Greg Maddux might be on the verge of bounceback years, while John Smoltz on the verge of retiring. Sad about Smoltz, as he's had an illustrious career but might end it on a BS, blown save. Maddux's peripherals are so far really awesome, while Mussina's 8 wins lead the AL, i think.
Whatever happened to Alex Rios? I just looked at his stats and he'd be like a 4th outfielder in fantasy leagues. 3 hr's? .266? Not gonna get the job done, man.
Jorge Posada back in the Yankees lineup today, or as my friend Justin calls him, George Posada. He woulda had 20 Hr's in a full season, I'll say 15 as a rough estimate for this year. Still real good for a catcher.
Ryan Howard 2006 NL MVP, Jimmy Rollins 2007 NL MVP, Chase Utley 2008 NL MVP?? Sure looks like it. After his big tear in april, thought he'd regress a little bit, but he's still hammering homers all over the ballpark, to the tune of a major-league leading 21. We're in early June.
May be the last time i ever talk about a washington national: I think Lastings Milleage is in the right place. Go out to a low-market team, no pressure to succeed, get your game developed, bat in the prime hitting spots in the lineup, live up to 1st round draft pick hype, become future star. Or be a bust. Either way.
Milleage could follow in the prototype of Adrian Gonzalez, former overall #1 pick: Sweet swing, man.
As I write this Milleage gets picked off of first. Great!
My friend Arsalaan and I applied for the Amazing Race 14, long shot if any but the only sure thing is if you DON't apply you have ZERO shot of making it, so we did under a "Harold and Kumar" theme. Btw, if you haven't seen H+K 2, i'd still recommend it although people didn't think it was as good as the first one? Where'd they get that idea?
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
I still love it. The entire series is posted on YouTube by some magnanimous soul, and I applaude him/her. Anyway, it's a great watch even for a cartoon, as there's great battling, good story lines, funny voices, CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT, even a love story ( better than the soaps, eh?), and popular media references. In 3 different scenes, Dinobot quotes Hamlet. Ex: when dying, Dinobot quotes, " The rest is silence." Found courtesy of Ali Godil. Check it out if you're like me and have a bit of free time in the summer.
Chien- Ming Wang is like the spark of the Yankees rotation: Can't live without him ( The Beast wars bots had sparks as hearts). Anyway, the guy is just so steady especially for a team that always has problems with pitching, injuries, and so forth. 19 wins the last 2 seasons, ERA under 4, pitches in one of the most stressful sports markets in America, gotta love'em. Again, i think i mentioned it before, he was 2nd in voting for AL Cy Young a couple years ago. And he's only 28. He's got a bright future. He's Taiwanese, btw, not Chinese, altho some would argue that those are the same nationality.
Mike Mussina and Greg Maddux might be on the verge of bounceback years, while John Smoltz on the verge of retiring. Sad about Smoltz, as he's had an illustrious career but might end it on a BS, blown save. Maddux's peripherals are so far really awesome, while Mussina's 8 wins lead the AL, i think.
Whatever happened to Alex Rios? I just looked at his stats and he'd be like a 4th outfielder in fantasy leagues. 3 hr's? .266? Not gonna get the job done, man.
Jorge Posada back in the Yankees lineup today, or as my friend Justin calls him, George Posada. He woulda had 20 Hr's in a full season, I'll say 15 as a rough estimate for this year. Still real good for a catcher.
Ryan Howard 2006 NL MVP, Jimmy Rollins 2007 NL MVP, Chase Utley 2008 NL MVP?? Sure looks like it. After his big tear in april, thought he'd regress a little bit, but he's still hammering homers all over the ballpark, to the tune of a major-league leading 21. We're in early June.
May be the last time i ever talk about a washington national: I think Lastings Milleage is in the right place. Go out to a low-market team, no pressure to succeed, get your game developed, bat in the prime hitting spots in the lineup, live up to 1st round draft pick hype, become future star. Or be a bust. Either way.
Milleage could follow in the prototype of Adrian Gonzalez, former overall #1 pick: Sweet swing, man.
As I write this Milleage gets picked off of first. Great!
My friend Arsalaan and I applied for the Amazing Race 14, long shot if any but the only sure thing is if you DON't apply you have ZERO shot of making it, so we did under a "Harold and Kumar" theme. Btw, if you haven't seen H+K 2, i'd still recommend it although people didn't think it was as good as the first one? Where'd they get that idea?
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
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