A girl's survival guide to live fantasy football drafts

Here we have another wonderful post by our newest blogger, Elissa Glucksman!  This represents the start of a series of posts featuring a female perspective on the manly world of sports.  Enjoy :-)
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I have always been a sports fan. When I was a little girl I watched Mets and Jets games with my dad, and growing up I always loved talking/debating sports with boyfriends. (Yes, I was that girl.) But there is one aspect of sports that I have never truly experienced until this past year, and that is the world of fantasy sports. I know that this is going to sound absurd to most fantasy sports fans, but in my mind, fantasy anything involved groups of dungeons and dragons players hitting each other with oversized Styrofoam sticks behind the right field fence of our softball field. As far as I was concerned, I wanted nothing to do with fantasy [insert sport here].

Someone got the wear-a-jersey-to-the-draft memo!

That said, I’m not one to miss out on a new sports trend, especially one as popular as fantasy sports. So last year I managed my first fantasy football team. It was an all-girls league with an auto-draft. (I’ve come to learn that auto-drafts are the equivalent of Rosie Ruiz hopping on the subway to finish the New York City Marathon – a cheap way of achieving an end that most other people work for.) For me, it was the perfect entrée into fantasy sports. There was very little pressure (this may come as a surprise, but happiness for most girls does not depend on how their fantasy team performed on any given Sunday) and I didn’t have to do any homework before beginning this extracurricular activity. Which brings me to last week’s draft.

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View From The Seats

Greeting from the big ballpark in the Bronx. In a pretty empty Yankee Stadium (it was a Stubhub special tonight with prices dropping into the $1s and $2s), have moved around, now in Terrace 308, row 3 (where that picture comes from). Curtis Granderson, Mark Teixeira and Nick Swisher have all hit deep (and high) home runs and Jorge Posada had a triple (?!) to give the Yankees a 9-2 lead.

Phil Hughes hasn't been great and has labored on the mound, making Andy Pettitte's recovery even more important. At least Hughes' innings limits won't be tested tonight (though if it's based on pitches, he could be pushing it). The Yankees luckily have knocked around New Jersey native, Vin Mazzaro, which has gotten the A's bullpen going here in the 4th (Boof Bonser?!). With both the Rays and Red Sox currently losing, this could turn out to be a big night for the Yankees.

-Andrew

Summer TV Review: Sorting Through the (6th Season of) Weeds

It's been a long while since I did a TV review, and after watching last night's third episode of Season 6 of Weeds, "A Yippity Sippity", I felt it was time to start back on this road once again. Weeds is a show that I've been considering dropping from the rotation from a while and so far Season 6 hasn't really done much to sway my opinion. It seems that every since Weeds and the Botwins left Agrestic at the end of Season 3--and they did away with the amazingly entertaining "Little Boxes" intros sung by everyone from Elvis Costello, Regina Spektor and Randy Newman (which happens to be Andy's name this season) to The Shins, The Decemberists and Linkin Park--the show's plot has been moving in no apparent direction as the Botwin's do the same.

Even Nancy Botwin seems bored by Weeds (Showtime)

The best part of the show used to be Mary-Louise Parker  but the Nancy Botwin character has been so static and unchanged for so long, she isn't all that fun anymore (though it's still worth a read of the odd Variety interview Parker just did). Her total disregard for her parental responsibilities and her unwavering attitude against leading a straight life have moved her from an intriguing character to downright frustrating. This is a dark show, but this season has been especially dark and unnecessarily so at times (like Silas being paid to read choose-your-own-adventures to the dad on Clarissa Explains It All sans clothes on). And in the end, despite everything that made their lives a living hell, Nancy and the Botwins still return to dealing pot. In some ways, Nancy as the dealer is the biggest addict of them all. She is willing to put her family at risk so many times to get her dealing "fix" and to satisfy her own personal needs that she went from an extremely sympathetic character looking to get her family through the loss of their father to a selfish woman incapable of seeing how she is ruining her children. Even her rant in the past episode of how her kids would have had to go to a worse school and live in a worse house if she didn't deal drugs (and instead worked at the Gap) was so shallow and materialistic that it made me question whether any of the past 5 seasons were even necessary.

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Trivia Tuesday: 100 Win Edition

The Tampa Bay Devils Rays are trying to win 100 games for the first time in franchise history (coolstandings.com have them on pace for exactly 100, PECOTA at exactly 99, and Baseball Prospectus at 98.7) . Currently they are among a group of 8 current Major League franchises who have never reached the century mark according to Baseball-Reference. Can you name the other 7?

Bonus Question: According to MLB Park Factors from ESPN (Park Factor compares the rate of stats at home vs. the rate of stats on the road) Coors Field, Yankee Stadium and the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington are the three best hitters parks as far as run scoring is concerned. Which 5 MLB parks currently suppress the most runs according to MLB Park Factors?

Put your answers into the comments below. I'll reveal the correct answers later. Good luck!

An Early Review of the Yankees 2010 Transactions

Yankees fans may have been spoiled by the 2009 season. After missing the 2008 playoffs, Yankees' General Manager Brian Cashman went to work on building the 2009 team and added many important pieces including Sergio Mitre, Damaso Marte (a resigning), Andy Pettitte (ditto) Nick Swisher (for basically nothing), A.J. Burnett, CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira. The mid-season trades worked out as well as they acquired Romulo Sanchez (a possible 2010 September call-up if healthy) for a spare part, Eric Hinske for more spare parts, Jerry Hairston, Jr. for yet more spare parts, and then picked up Chad Gaudin and Freddy Guzman during the waiver wire period. Every one of those players contributed in one way or another (except for Sanchez) to the 2009 World Series winning team and Brian Cashman came away looking like a genius who turned everything he touched into gold.

Thames has been Cashman's best off-season move to date (NYDN)

The Midas Touch didn't translate as well to 2010. The Yankees traded Brian Bruney for a Rule 5 draft pick (Jamie Hoffmann). They traded Phil Coke, Austin Jackson and Ian Kennedy for Curtis Granderson. They signed Nick Johnson, traded and signed a ton of spare outfielders (Reid Gorecki, Greg Golson, Jason Pridie, Chad Huffman, etc.), traded for Javier Vazquez (and Boone Logan), signed Randy Winn, Royce Ring, Dustin Moseley, Marcus Thames, Chad Moeller, and Chan Ho Park. Since the season started they resigned Chad Gaudin, signed Eric Bruntlett and Chad Tracy (the latter which has been released), and traded for Austin Kearns, Lance Berkman and Kerry Wood.

While the 2010 mid-season moves have worked out to date, the off-season moves have not. Hoffmann lasted until March and then they returned him to the Dodgers (despite rumors he would be traded back, he's still with Los Angeles). Phil Coke, Ian Kennedy and Austin Jackson have all excelled for their new teams, and Granderson has been a huge disappointment for the Yankees*. Nick Johnson (injuries) and Javier Vazquez (ineffectiveness) both have been huge disasters in their return to the Yankees, and although Michael Dunn for Boone Logan is a wash and I don't think Melky Cabrera truly had a place on this team, Arodys Vizcaino (the prospect traded in the deal), dominated the Sally League going 9-3 with a 2.34 ERA, a WHIP under 1, and a SO/BB ratio of 7.33 before being promoted (and remains one of Atlanta's best prospects).

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Who Did You Root For This Weekend?

As a Yankee fan, I felt torn this weekend: do I root for the Tampa Bay Rays or the Boston Red Sox? On Twitter and the blogosphere, the question was debated back and forth as well. But as I sat there last night watching Sunday night baseball, I felt conflicted. So besides rooting for a 20-inning game, a tie, or an implosion of Tropicana Field (just kidding on the last one), I figured I had to pick sides. So, I *gulp* picked the Red Sox--but barely. Here's what went into the decision:

Carlos Pena & the Rays bowled over the Red Sox taking 2 of 3 (St. Pete Times)

Although the Yankees and Red Sox have two series left (a home-and-home sort of deal), I'm not sure Boston will be a team the Yankees will have to worry about. Coolstandings.com has the Red Sox at 0.5% to win the division and 5.7% to win the Wild Card (6.2% to make the playoffs). Baseball Prospectus has the Red Sox at 1.3% to win the division and 9.5% to win the Wild Card (10.9% to make the playoffs). That's the best odds of any third place team to make the playoffs and with the Red Sox pitching staff, home park, and memories of 2004, you can never count them out.

And since the goal is just to make the playoffs, the further away the Red Sox are from the Yankees, the better it is for their playoff odds. This is especially important for a veteran team like the Yankees who may want to rest guys like Derek Jeter down the stretch, ease guys like Andy Pettitte and A-Rod back into the lineup, line up a postseason rotation, and limit the amount of regular season innings for Phil Hughes. Clinching a playoff spot early can do that for them.

On the other hand, it seems that the Red Sox, at 6.5 back, are firmly in the Yankees' rear view mirror (PECOTA has them at only 4.6% chance to make the playoffs). With only 6 games remaining against the Yankees, the Red Sox would have to win at least 5 out of 6 and hope for some help from the other teams playing the Yankees. While of course a possibility, it doesn't seem like the team that they should worry about right now. Their bigger concern now may be clinching home-field advantage for the ALDS and ALCS. And although the Yankees have the third best road record in baseball (just behind Tampa and San Diego), they have excelled at home the past two seasons in both the regular season and the playoffs (this year they are best in the AL at home). Right now, the Rays seem like the greatest threat to the Yankees repeat of the American League pennant (though Texas or Minnesota would be really tough too), and an extra home game in a possible ALCS couldn't hurt (especially since anyone the Yankees will play in the playoffs will have a really good home record).

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Ivan Nova Reportedly Under Investigation by Major League Baseball

Put this under the "really, really bad timing" department. According to the New York Post's George A. King III (and Baseball America's Jim Callis), Major League Baseball is currently investigating Yankees pitchers Ivan Nova and Wilkin de la Rosa for "allegedly injecting each other with B-12 shots last season when they were teammates in Trenton."

Yankees' rookie Nova is supposedly under investigation by MLB (WSJ)

Uh oh. As we know from The Roger Clemens Situation, B12 is not always as innocuous as it sounds. To wit, King continues: "MLB wants to make sure that the shots were indeed B-12."

Oy. Nova recently moved into the Yankees starting rotation to take the place of the ineffective (and currently below replacement level) Javier Vazquez and has been somewhat of a big surprise for the Yankees in 2010. It would be quite a shame if it were revealed that he had some, er, "assistance" with that rise in prospect status. If Major League Baseball finds that the shots are anything unkosher, the Yankees could lose Nova (and de la Rosa) for 50 games for violating the league's substance abuse policy.

In the shorter term, this would be devastating for a Yankees' team that needs to find some consistent starting pitching to hold off the Boston Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays. While those two teams battle each other in St. Pete tonight, the Yankees will be at the mercy of the MLB investigators to find out what happens to Nova. Here's hoping that they really just had vitamin deficiencies. Right now all they seem to have is some report that they injected each other with what appeared to be a vitamin. But in this age of performance enhancing drugs, anytime there are needles (and an MLB investigation) involved, you have to be curious.

There's no need to jump to conclusions yet, but in a season where the Yankees don't need to do any more worrying about their starting staff, this is yet another thing for the Yankees and their fans to worry about.

Adding Another to the Team (and a few links)

We're not waiting until September 1st to expand our rosters here at NYaT. I'm happy to announce our newest permanent blogger (and our new Official Mets Blogger), Elissa Glucksman. E recently guest blogged about 5 reasons the Mets could make the playoffs in 2011 and before that had previewed Citi Field 2.0 for NYaT. Elissa even participated in a triathlon with former Mets manager, Bobby Valentine, as a partner. We're excited to see what else she has in store for us (there is some talk of Sarah and Elissa doing a blog series of sports from the feminine point of view). Please join me in welcoming Elissa to the NYaT team.

Omar Minaya will feel the wrath of new blogger, Elissa (NYDN)

Now for a few links:

• Someone else is keeping track of that whole CC Sabathia opt-out (as well as Joe Girardi's contract situation): Ben Kabak of River Ave Blues. Moshe Mandel of TYU tells us why Girardi isn't going anyplace.
• SI's Joe Posnanski nails arm injuries and pitching prospects in this great blog post. Then The Common Man at The Platoon Advantage takes down Rob Dibble.
• NoMass scores another great interview (this time with Yankees' SVP, Mark Newman) and talks about the Yankees farm system. Then Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus writes "just add [Brett Marshall] to the long list of Yankee pitching prospects who have taken a step in the right direction." I like the sound of that.
• Last week Christina Kahrl of Baseball Prospectus handicapped the AL MVP race and the NL MVP race. It will be a close one.
• Rebecca of This Purist Bleeds Pinstripes on Kerry Wood. Sam Borden of LoHud on Tiger Woods and Derek Jeter. Aaron Gleeman of HardballTalk on the Yankees' "phantom disabled list". FanGraphs' Dave Cameron on the Minnesota Twins. Flip Flop Fly Ball on the many Yankees logos. Ben Kabak of River Ave Blues on HOPE week.
• The Big Lead on why Tony LaRussa is an idiot. Wall Street Journal's Brian Costa on why Ivan (Nova) is anything but terrible. ESPN's Jayson Stark with everything you would want to know about Roy Oswalt's night in left field.
• Eastbound and Down Season 2 (I can't wait)

Javier Vazquez is officially below replacement level according to FanGraphs (H/T Jay). More later.

UConn football preview: time for Randy Edsall to shine

Many people know UConn as a basketball school, but did you know they play football too?  Well, they do, and the Huskies are primed for a big season.

Jordan Todman in action.  Photo credit here.

A few minutes ago, ESPN.com ran several UConn football headlines on its front page.  Head coach Randy Edsall is front-and-center, as he should be.  The must-read item is this article discussing how unconventional -- yet refreshing and inspiring -- Edsall's path to success has been at UConn.  Couldn't agree more.  The man does everything right.  He sticks with his assistants.  He never says the wrong thing to the media.  He chairs the NCAA's Football Rules Committee.  He has persevered through tragedy.  He has increased the number of Huskies in the NFL from 1 to 13.  He has negotiated huge road games against teams like Notre Dame, Michigan, and Tennessee, all of which gets the UConn program onto the national stage.

Coach Randy Edsall.  Photo credit here.

Oh, and how Edsall has succeeded on the field at Connecticut.  He brought the team from Division I-AA to Division I-A, then into the Big East, then to a co-Big East championship....all in a span of eleven seasons.  He has put 13 players in the NFL, including 4 in the first two rounds in 2009.  He has produced a 3-1 record in bowl games, including a 20-7 win over South Carolina in 2009.  (He has done all this, by the way, while maintaining an impeccable public image.  He has kept himself and UConn completely scandal-free...unlike certain other college football coaches.)  Last, but certainly not least, he squashed Notre Dame in South Bend on national TV last year.

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Which 1995-2010 Yankees Pitcher Would You Start in Game 7?

It's the World Series, Game 7, season on the line. You have a chance of choosing any Yankee pitcher from 1995-2010 and only have his resume on the Yankees to choose from. You have some great names on there: Coney, Key, El Duque, The Rocket, Andy, CC, etc. But you need to throw one guy out there for one very important game. I've been debating this all morning at work and over Twitter, but now it's time to put it out there on the blog: who would you take? Here are the candidates:

Sabathia dominated the Angels in the ALCS (USA Today)

CC Sabathia (B-R link)

It's a small sample size, but this may be my pick. Very few (if any) Yankee pitchers dominated a whole playoffs over three series. Overall he was 3-1 with a 1.98 ERA, striking out 32 and walking only 9. He dominated in the ALDS and ALCS and was very good in the World Series (though his record was 0-1). Sabathia's ALCS is what really puts him on this list as he absolutely dominated the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, going 2-0 with a 1.13 ERA, striking out 12, limiting the Angels to a .436 OPS against and going 8 innings in both his outings. Remember, though, that Sabathia came into last season with a reputation as a guy who couldn't cut it in October and while we're only going on their New York totals, this weighs quite heavily in a lot of people's minds. CC's total Win Probability Added (WPA) was 0.967 for the 2009 playoffs while FanGraphs clocks his FIP at 3.59 and his xFIP at 3.36.

From Twitter: @NYYEric: depends on if we get to choose the player as he was in that timeframe but I go with CC. (Andy close second)

Andy Pettitte (B-R link)

Certainly the sentimental pick of many (he was the runaway winner in my unofficial Twitter poll), but I'm wondering if he truly is the best pick. He's won the most series clinching games in history, but he also had his share of duds. In 11 ALDS series, Pettitte is 5-3 in 79.2 innings with a 3.73 ERA. In 7 ALCS series, he's 7-1 in 72.1 innings with a 3.73 ERA (and a 2001 ALCS MVP award). In 8 World Series, he's 5-4 in 77.2 innings with a 4.06 ERA. It all seems good, but there were some starts in there where he didn't even give his team a chance. His 1996 ALCS Game 5 and World Series Game 5 were great starts, but his World Series Game 2 in which he lasted only 2.1 innings and gave up 7 runs was not. In 1998, Pettitte was grat in the ALDS and World Series but he got bombed for 4 home runs in Game 3 of the ALCS. 1999 he breezed through the ALDS and ALCS but once again got bombed by Atlanta in the World Series. The problem was that when Pettitte really struggled (1997 ALDS, 2001 World Series, 2002 ALDS), the Yankees lost and he didn't even give them a chance to win. So would you like to have someone who keeps you in every game or one who looks like A.J. Burnett? Tough call. But overall, Pettitte was dominant with a 2.253 WPA in his first run of postseason stint in Pinstripes and a 0.833 WPA after he's returned from Houston. His 2009 postseason run where he won every single clinching game may have sealed this one for Pettitte in many people's minds.

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