Site news, the World Series (again)

We were supposed to have the rankings up today, and then the power went out most of the weekend and we haven’t had a chance to do any of them! Anyway sorry we didn’t have the rankings up at some point today but really we are quite a long ways away from most drafts so hopefully it doesn’t have a negative affect on your league. Again if you have any questions, keeper lists, etc. please feel free to email them to me and I will answer quickly and post on the site.

As far as what we have been up to lately, a few thinks. First we are working on the rankings as always but that becomes really difficult when the power is out and you can’t get on your computer. We got a few things done on Friday, but other than that we are still a few days away with the catchers. This is a very busy time for Fantasy Bullpen and when we don’t have power for a long period of time it can set us back so please be patient.

What we are working on is a possible re-working of the site in ways we think will benefit our readers and users. We are going to be adding in more interactivity and user generated content to allow everyone to gather the best possible fantasy information and make the best possible fantasy choices. We hope we can finish working on these changes over the next month or so and get the site working the way it should by the start of the season so stayed tuned for that.

Finally, on the topic of the world series (which I missed by the way due to the power outage) there really isn’t much new going on. The Phillies were able to win last night but so far it’s 2-1 with no team showing a significant talent advantage that could put this series out of reach. It’s going to be close, and it’s going to go a few more games before we know who wins. As much as Bud Selig would have liked to see Dodger-Red Sox I think we are seeing a match-up of a couple good teams that should be good for a long, long time. Then again, the Red Sox aren’t going anywhere and the Dodgers are just getting better so either way this would have turned out well.

All and all we are working really hard to get a few things out to you guys ASAP (or at least in time for your drafts), so although these rankings are taking a while, please don’t be discouraged! We will try to have them up sometime early this week, and hopefully we can unveil our new site sometime soon as well. Keeper, draft, etc. questions can be sent to alex.geshwind@fantasybullpen.com, as can any comments or questions related to the site.

Catchers rankings, world series

I know I haven’t  posted a lot this week but I have been working on Fantasy Bullpen’s catchers rankings and there hasn’t been much news to post about anyway. Over the weekend I will finish the catchers projections, and post the preliminary list here some time on Sunday. It would take to much time and space to post all of the projections so you will have to wait for the draft kit to get those, however I will definitely be using them in my keeper analysis. Please keep sending in keeper questions and I will continue to respond to them.

As far as the world series – it’s going pretty much the way it was always going to go. For two teams to make it to the world series they have to have been both good enough to make it to the playoffs and hot enough to win a couple of series. When a world series isn’t close it represents a massive talent gap, and there is very little talent gap between these two teams.  I still like the Rays, probably in 6 or 7 games, but it’s the world series so anything can and will happen.

World Series game 1: Hamels vs. Kazmir

For the first time in recent memory I am actually looking forward to watching a world series game. I never like watching the playoffs when the Yankees are out, and with the combination of poor broadcasting and extreme lack of sabermetric involvement watching the world series has been even more painful. This is different though because of the two pitchers starting this game. Cole Hamels and Scott Kazmir. High school pitchers drafted the same year, only two picks apart who have both dominated since being brought up to the big leagues. This holds an even bigger significance to me, as a couple years ago I traded Kazmir for Hamels (not straight up though) and so I have been comparing these two guys ever since (even though neither is on my team anymore).

From a fantasy perspective I think Kazmir was a little more valuable coming into the season. The problem for Kazmir has been an early season injury that has limited him to about 150 innings, as apposed to 200 of them last season. Because of this, Kazmir will probably be undervalued on draft day, even though all of his stats in 2008 were virtually identical to 2007. Kazmir is the kind of guy I would look for to lead my staff next year. 

Hamels on the other hand is a little bit of a concern for me. He pitched far more innings this season than he should have, and his bad injury history makes me worry about him. Although he pitched well this season, he was not as good as the previous year and not nearly as good as Kazmir. His K/9 dropped drastically and again he pitched way too many innings. This is the kind of guy I would look to avoid on draft day next season, unless you can get him at a good price. I’m kind of doubting that though after this fabulous post season which will make his value skyrocket as his stats stay relatively the same. 

With these two pitchers the one thing you have to realize is that while both of them are very good, Kazmir is going to put up the higher strikeout numbers and thus be the more valuable pitcher at least from a fantasy perspective. I’m 99% sure that Kazmir will be in my top 10 pitchers for next season, I can’t necassarly say the same for Hamels. I might be doing a live blog tonight of game 1, but I might have to wait until another game if I’m to busy.