SB Nation User Blog: PosterNutbag44

Free Yahoo Fantasy with a Unique twist....

PosterNutbag44 — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 18:53:11 -0000

Sorry to clog up the board with another Fantasy League posting, however my old one got buried after the switch. It's free, standard 5x5 roto. All members of the league will be active. 5 spots of 12 have been filled already with members of AN, BBTF, and What If Sports. The draft will be held live and at couchmanagers.com, which will allow a great deal of flexibility and a chance for everyone to draft well. Please contact me if interested at posternutbag44@mindless.com Thanks for the interest and thanks for allowing me the space to find a few more cats for the league.

The Post-Thomas-Signing 2006 A's 'Pen

PosterNutbag44 — Wed, 25 Jan 2006 21:44:16 -0000

I have been mulling this over for quite some time, and have come to the following conclusion:

We may be able to get by with 11 pitchers to start the season. Think of it this way, we have good, durable pitchers and don't really need to waste a spot on the 12th pitcher. Injuries, of course, would change that. As for now though, we don't need anything more than:

Zito, Harden, Haren, Loaiza, Blanton. Your starting 5.

Street, your closer deluxe, courtesy of Billy Beane and his pimp-tacular ways. (Apologies for use of the non-word "pimptacular".)

Witasick, Saars, Kennedy, Calero, Duke. You could, essentially, have three Dukes, a set-up monster and an above average mid-reliever. Great pen that can go deep. Especially with a starting 5 that can and should go pretty deep themselves.

Of course, we already ASSUME the other 14 spots are sewn up:
Kendall, Swisher, Ellis, Crosby, Chavez, Payton, Kotsay, Bradley. More than likely, your starting postion players. Johnson and Thomas DH'ing, also splitting time at first with Swish, who's able to shift to the OF and offer flexibility, days off, etc. Dead horse there, we all know about the flexibility.

Oh, and then the bench: Melhuse, Perez, Scoot, Kielty, and whoever is being rotated for rest (Swish, Johnson, Thomas, Kotsay, Bradley, Payton).

The way I see it, 25 spots are done being handed out. The pen, my point was, is super deep, and will be the best by far (I think)in the AL. Billy Beane's theory on relievers may finally pay off. Think about it, every single option out of the 'pen, except the closer himself, has started games at the Major League level, or at the very least, AAA. Barring injury, I think this will be the deepest, best bullpen seen in ages. Just like every year when they talk about the "keys to the World Series", it'll be all about the A's bullpen after the '06 season. Not too mention the stellar starting staff they'll have. Honestly, I'd be stoked to manage a team and have that bullpen at my disposal. Such a 'pen, that even Macha can't screw up! Anyhow, I'll quit rambling on about it, what are your thoughts on the A's current bullpen, what it may look like come opening day, and who might come up after an injury/trade? As for the last question, I'll bet Komine and/or Garcia get to see time, perhaps Rheinecker as well. What do you folks think?

A Call For Action!!!

PosterNutbag44 — Thu, 08 Dec 2005 21:09:58 -0000

Ok, I didn't see this anywhere on AN yet, not even in the Daily Link Dump. Perhaps I missed it, but this seems very important to me:

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2005/12/08/SPGAEG4O4K1.DTL

(BTW, I'll save the "I told you so's" for later. lol) Granted, what I am about to say has only a little to do with the article, but it's what I got from it. I'll keep this short, but it's up to us A's fans not to drop the ball this time. Read the article, and do your part! Wolff is doing his part, unlike ownership before him, to generate enough interest to raise attendance. I respect that at least he's taking the stance, and being completely honest and up front about it. Now, I realize not everyone can make it to the games, and some here already make it to plenty. This is a call for those in-between. If you can, by any and all means neccesary, make it to as many A's games as possible this year. We HAVE to do our part. Wolff seems to be gauging interest to see if his product will be a wise investment here. Let's show him it is. I, for one, will be making as many trips possible to see the A's this year. I, for one, will spend more money on frivilous merchandise this year. Do I have a lot of money? Nope, not at all. But now is the time for the A's fans to do thier part. Let's show Mr. Wolff that we will support our A's unlike the years before. We have one of the best franchises over the last 5-6 years or so. Our attendance was 8th highest in the league. We probably won't draw more than the Yanks, Sox, etc. That is a given. But we really, really need to do our part to support this team, give Wolff a reason to keep them here and give them a new park to play in. Anyone with me?

What is the deal with Tampa?

PosterNutbag44 — Wed, 07 Dec 2005 21:24:15 -0000

Admittedly, a team I follow a bit closer than I probably should, is Tampa Bay. As I already said in a nother thread, I love Crawford. He is without a doubt, including former A's (Huddy was ALWAYS my fave from day 1 too), my favorite non-A's baseball player. On top of that, they have guys like Cantu, Gomes, Huff, Baldelli, Lugo, Young, Upton, etc. Needless to say, the core is there to be built around. How, how, how in the world do you pass up Marte from the Braves for Lugo??? If that deal was truly offered, and nobody in Tampa said "Yes!!!" right away, I am 100% convinced they have no future until a better ownership group/front office takes over.

Imagine....
Upton, Young, Marte, Cantu, Gomes, Baldelli, Crawford, Orvella all coming up together, that would be a starting point most teams would die for. Heed my warning, with the right minds to guide the ship, they'll be dangerous eventually. But for now, the apparent lack of a decent decision making process is going to kill that team.

Anybody else see that the way I do? Anyone else see what kind of opportunity that team has to become something special? I'd like to know what other AN'ers think, because you folk are rather intelligent baseball-wise (usually).

All Time Top 5....

PosterNutbag44 — Fri, 02 Dec 2005 01:23:52 -0000

If any of you are familiar with the book/movie High Fidelity, there is a little thing involving all time top 5, desert island favorites. Usually involving something like Side 1, Track 1's on albums, Monday Morning songs, etc. It's sort of a music thing, but I am sure you get the idea. Me and my buddy do that quite often, however, I wanted to post my first diary and figured it would be fitting if I did a All Time, Top 5 things I like about AN or reasons why AN is the best A's site out there. So, here goes:

#5. Pop-Culture References.
I absolutley love how people always find applicable refrences that can be used in correlation with current A's events. I have seen everything from The Simpsons, to The Family Guy, and even The Big Lebowski a few days back. It takes some intelligence to properly pull off a good refrence and it's often quite hilarious as well.

#4. Knowledgeable Fans.
What would a good sports site be with only opinions and speculaiton? Most of what is said around here can be backed up reasonably well, and very few people shoot off about topics when they have no idea what they are talking about. This is certainly an undervalued commodity these day.

#3. The Ladies.
Yep, the Ladies of AN. We are quite blessed to have Ladies here that don't just talk about how hot guys are. Sure, they do, and that's thier right. Yet, these Ladies have a love and respect for the game that can't be matched. Most chicks dig the long ball. AN Ladies dig the pitching, the defense, the front-office, and everything in between. Sure, they like a good HR too, but that's not all. These Ladies know thier baseball. I'd take them over most male fans of other teams anyday.

#2 Blez.
Not sucking up here at all, as I am sure Blez is as infallible as the rest of us. This guy comes up with the greatest interviews. Slusser, Beane, Korach, an endless amount of players. He has enough respect within the A's organization that he can bring us that much closer to our beloved A's. Hat's off, and kudos to you Blez. Without you, there would be no AN.

#1. When You Are Here, You Are Family!
Ok, I kinda stole that one from work, but it really fits. The thing I like most about this place is that it seems like a family more than just a community. I read here a lot (for over a year) before I started posting frequently. Mutual respect goes a long way, and you don't get that on many other boards/blogs. Unlike other A's sites (that shall remain nameless), it is rare here that people look down on one another. I post elsewhere, and as if I am surronded by politicians and media, my words get spun and twisted. It happens to a lot of people, I'm sure, making the family aspect of this site much more valuable. I can't stand attempting conversation with closed-minded people. You don't have to worry about that too much here.

Honorable Mention: "<Throws Chair>".
Never has there been a more comical way to convey anger. Ever.

In short, thanks for bearing with me on my first diary. I hope to read anything anyone has to add to all this. If at least one person cracks a smile or gets a warm and fuzzy feeling reading this, my goal will have been accomplished. Thanks to all of you for making me feel like one of the family. You all deserve credit for making this place what it is. Go AN and go A's!

P.S. Unfortunately, my first attempt to post this was thwarted by my damn computer dis-connecting itself, and thus I lost my original posting. I hope I could convey the same ideas/feelings in this one than in my previous one. I feel my first one was better, but what can you do?