Week 5 Power Rankings

1. Grumpy Munchkins – Casten is fourth in the standings but gets the boost here, if for no other reason than his teams is producing very well (top average rank at 4.6) without production from three of his keepers. Pitching has been surprisingly consistent.

2. Clayton & The King – Russ, meanwhile, takes a step back due really to nothing of his own doing, but that stellar pitching was dragged down by some stinkers by Nova and Holland. Cargo is heating up and I bet Trout’s callup ends up being more impactful than Harper’s. Just a guess.

3. One Nut Wonders – Jason had a solid week roughing up Kyle as CJ Wilson came in and immediately paid dividends. That bullpen did not perform well and will eventually be a problem though as all three (Perez, HRod, and Santiago) could be demoted in the near term.

4. Montezuma’s Revenge – No denying it further: I have a good team. The supposed weak spot – pitching – went out and went 12 for 13 in QSs with a 1.88/0.98 (which would have been even better if the GFloyd and Capuano starts were needed), lead by the top rated pitcher in fantasy” Jake Peavy, a 21st rounder (almost makes up for Pineda).

5. Ring of Fire – Dagan used a strategy I don’t believe I’ve ever seen deployed to ravage the Donkey’s 8-2. He used his closers and one start from Latos and one from Wandy, knowing he wasn’t likely to compete with Chris cadre of starters in Ks and QS. It worked and he grabbed three out of the five pitching categories, while posting some impressive offensive numbers not generated entirely by Matt Kemp. The strategy here shows why the qualitative is also important when assessing teams.

6. Moose is Loose – Brian followed up his 9-1 drubbing of yours truly with a 4-6 loss to Russ, and though he fell in the categorical rankings, he’s still top 10 across the board.  The problem is that pitching as Kuroda, ESantana, and Danks have been quite bad and you can’t rely on JSaunders long term.

7. Prestige Worldwide – Lars actually had pretty good pitching last week, but no one was going to compete with my starters this week. He eked out SB and OBP to grab three wins and is now seventh in the standings, he didn’t move on the categorical ranking and he’s not moving here either.

8. Cowhide Joyride – Dave rebounded with a great pitching week and decent offensive numbers that kept it real for Pierce. Good news included Lincy back on track, continued dominance by Johan, Kenley Jensens’ emergence, and ridding himself of Liriano. RZimmerman went on the DL, Prince hit a homer, and Andrus stole four, so all is normal now with Cowhide.

9. Keepin it Real – Pierce’s squad had put up some gaudy numbers in terms of OBP, while R an RBI totals are both in the top five. Interesting that he’s 11th in HR though. Pitching has just been middle of the road and will continue that way until CLee get back.

10. Donkey Punchers – Chris’ overall strategy failed to produce this week as the pitching racked up enough totals, but the rates were not good 4.70/1.28. Meanwhile the offense was pretty lousy and posted a .291

11. Urban Achievers – Dan is still waiting for some guys to come around, but he’s also had some sneaky good pickups with LScott, BLaHair, ABass, TMilone, and JAltuve (ACraig may be another one coming off the DL here soon) leading the way to a .379 OBP for the week. He had a good week and deserved more than a split; could be on the rise.

12. Anal Hershiser – Andrew probably would’ve done better than a 3-7 had he gone against someone other than Casten this week (though he lucked out winning OBP with a .319). Very good pitching even though Verlander struggled in his outing. Actually tops in the league in pitching rate categories.

13. Billy Chapel – Powered by Beltre, Victorino, and CDavis, Troy managed a split. He cut his losses with Jurrjens and has Hudson back with Fister not far behind. Axford was enogh to win saves this week, but that won’t usually be the case.

14. The Angry Pirates – How does a team get 36 RBI and only 4 HR? You’d think a team with Cruz and Stanton would have a bit more sock to it. Again, still issues with pitching here but so far the returns are good for Sale and Bard, now he just need Buchholz and JJ to produce.  Oh, and the 27.00 ERA for HBell and Valverde is not good.

Trade Review: Prestige Worldwide and Angry Pirates

Prestige Worldwide receive:
SP Neftali Feliz
OF Brett Gardner
14th rounder

The Angry Pirates receive:
1B/OF Mark Trumbo
SP Clay Buchholz
12th rounder

Without a higher upgrade in pick for Kyle, I have to put this one squarely in the win column for Commish. Now, it is true that where the player was drafted becomes meaningless after the draft is over; however, I also believe the position at which they were drafted is directly related to how long I wait for them to produce (call a strength of my conviction-o-meter).  Here we have a third and a sixth (Gardner and Feliz, respectively) going for a fifth and a ninth (Buchholz and Trumbo).  The highest pick here was Gardner, who was a keeper a year ago – yes, a questionable one, but there’s no doubting his ability to get on base, score runs, and obviously steal bases. He’s on the DL (expected back when eligible on May 3) and he’s only been mediocre (5/0/3/2/.424), but he’s certainly not someone I’d give up on, especially considering Kyle isn’t experiencing a rash of injuries at the moment that makes it imperative to free a spot. Trumbo has done OK (7/3/6/1/.395) but he’s only playing basically every other day and there’s no opening to clear playing time. In fact, it get more cloudy as mediocrity continues and Trout rips through AAA pitching. Not to mention, there’s the little issue of Trumbo’s sub-.300 obp last year. Gardner is clearly the better player here and, actually, Gaby Sanchez – the guy being dropped to make room – is also better, in my opinion. We’re not even a month into the season, so my basic point is the guys that were drafted high should have a longer leash before judgment is passed for 2012, IMO.

Meanwhile, Feliz (a sixth rounder) not only should be afforded a long leash, he’s produced quite well (14k/3.00/1.00/2qs) certainly considerably better than Buchholz and his 11k/8.87/1.93/0qs line. He looked better on Wednesday, but it was against the hapless Twins. And though he started off poorly last season and turned it around to post decent numbers until his injury, these numbers so far are extraordinarily bad (well, maybe not when compared to the Sox bullpen). It’s possible there’s something still wrong healthwise. So Feliz is the better option right now, and, combined with the more considerable difference between Gardner and Trumbo, the two round upgrade in picks comes about three or four rounds short of making up the difference.

Trade Review: Moose and Cowhide

Cowhide Joyride receive:
RP Grant Balfour OAK
17th rounder

Moose is Loose receive:
SP Edwin Jackson WAS
15th rounder

By far the most even of the trades thus far this season, both teams addressed needs while not significantly weakening their roster. For Dave, who lost ABailey to begin the season, it gives him a third closer, which is around the number most teams are carrying at this point. He’s not great, he doesn’t K a lot, but Balfour has been pretty consistently solid since breaking out with Tampa a few years ago and has 5 saves with a 0.82/0.55 so far. The downside is he is with the A’s, who will no doubt be among the five teams with the lowest number of wins by the end of the season, which limits his opportunities. There is also a very good chance he gets traded, and an even better change that he will not be a closer on whatever team he is traded to. Perhaps by then Bailey will be back, though who knows what shape the Sox will be in at that point. Hopefully for Dave, it’s later rather than sooner. Jackson isn’t a big loss here as Dave’s staff is dealing with enough volatility as it is.

For Brian, he had five closers to begin with and could spare one of his weakest options. Meanwhile, he’s got a staff full of veterans with historically strong ratios, albeit only middle of the road stuff wise, so Jackson slots in quite well as the 6th or 7th best guy. I always tend to avoid EJax because even though he’ll bust out with a string o 8IP/1ER/8K/1BB games on occasion, there is always a bunch of 3IP/6ER/0K/5BBs mixed in there along the way. One of the most frustrating things is when he’s off, he’s off – there’s no toughing his way through an outing.  The bad outings can come against any opponent; he can get lit up by the Pirates one week and no hit the Cardinals the next – so you can try to pick your matchups, but you’re really just rolling the dice every time.  But Brian’s staff is a pretty steady group in terms of volatility and there’s nine starters currently, so this will mitigate somewhat those token EJax blow-ups.

Overall, I’d rather have Balfour, but he’s also a risk to be traded into fantasy obscurity, so the two-round pick upgrade is warranted.

Trade Review: One Nut and Anal

One Nut Wonders receive:
1B Paul Konerko
SP CJ Wilson
14th rounder

Anal Hershieser receive:
3B/SS/OF Emelio Bonafacio
SP Henderson Alvarez
8th rounder

I really don’t understand this one from Andrew’s perspective.  Konerko was a keeper and no one would’ve scoffed at Pierce if he kept Wilson. Fifteen games has not changed that. Meanwhile, Bonefacio is a one-category wonder, who hadn’t displayed a high OBP until last year (career: .331) and certainly is not someone I would consider a clear keeper. His 3B/SS/OF eligibility is nice, but next year he’ll likely just be on OF. Meanwhile, he’s 27, meaning his basically is currently in his prime, meaning he is unlikely to get better and, given past performance, is more likely to get worse. He’s off to a nice start and Andrew should never lose the steals category, but he should’ve gotten much more. Either the pick should’ve been an 8th for a 24th or he should’ve gotten two picks. Based on past trades, the type of upgrade Jason received for both players warrants an 6-8-round upgrade for EACH. I don’t give HAlvarez any credit at this point. He’s a rook and we’ve seen plenty of rookies who have started nice, then sucked later down the road (see Zach Britton last year). He also doesn’t have a history of putting up high K numbers, meaning he’s at best a middle-of-the-road type.

The pick Andrew received is certainly a good one and he’s likely still smarting from the lack of early picks in the draft. Unfortunately, he could’ve had more and it would’ve made sense to announce these two were available to the league because he might’ve received some nice offers. Anyhow, judging by his comments, Jason clearly was disturbed by his lack of picks in the draft, so what did he do? Start trading 2013 picks! Can’t say I blame him in either case, but its funny to see this starting again. It will be interesting to see how people approach draft pick trades this year after having gone through a draft like we did. Looks like Jason is going to take the approach of just trading off future picks, which I suppose you could do into perpetuity.  Regardless, it certainly has helped him for 2012.

Week 4 Power Rankings

(Click on the picture to make it readible)

1. Clayton & The King – Yes, he might’ve just lost his first matchup. And yes, he’s still starting Shelley Duncan at first base, but his pitching staff is still dominating even without Wainright being close to old form and JHamilton is on a mission. Add a full-time Trout, old school CCrawford, and healthy Berkman and watch out.

2. Grumpy Munckins – Don’t look now, but Casten’s hunch on ADunn may prove to be quite fruitful. What should be most scary for the league is that the team, while low in the standings, is second in Categorical Rankings without production from Pujols, Reyes, and McCutchen. His pitching is matching his offense at the moment as well.

3. One Nut Wonders – Huge jump here for Jason after the names on his roster started matching their production. I couldn’t rank him higher 12th last week, despite his 6th Categorical Ranking, because the holes were just so glaring on his team. Well, he filled them by acquiring BPhillips, CWilson, and PKonerko over the course of one week. I also liked the NWalker pick-up; waaay to early to give up on early picks, guys. He sacrificed picks again, which will probably make him whiny after next year’s draft as well, but it also just pushed him into contender status.

4. Moose is Loose – My butt hole is still bleeding from being anally raped by a moose last week. I actually didn’t have a horrible week, but Brian’s boys came to life in a big way and it wasn’t just one guy, making this three-slot boost warranted. With a productive Morneau and BUpton healthy, that offense is staggering top to bottom. Pitching has some holes, so the Balfour for EJax trade makes sense, but there will be weeks that the staff drags the team record down.

5. Montezuma’s Revenge – Wanted to rank myself lower, but it’s not really warranted despite the 1-9-0 output. The numbers were good enough to at least split with most teams and I was actually a couple SBs, few RBIs, and Brian keeping JDanks in the lineup away from five wins. Still top 10 in all categories, but pitching still needs to be better to compete with the top four.

6. Ring of Fire – Not sure what to do with Dagan here. He’s high in the standings, but 8th in the Categorical Rankings, dropping five spots in one week. He pulled a 6-4 on a much worse One Nut in week 1, then beat up on Urban and Angry, so standings are good and MKemp is a fantasy god, but the questions are many – namely Soto, Youkilis, Goldschmigt, Belt, Werth, Masterson, and Latos. I'm confident most of the other underperformers will come around, and Espinosa was a very good claim, but there’s not enough production to warrant a higher rank.

7. Prestige Worldwide – If it was all about offense, Lars would be much higher, but this team’s production couldn’t be more split. He’s first in R, HR, RBI, accumulating an astounding 2.4 average in offense and he’s 10th or 11th in all pitching categories with the exception of saves, which he’s tops in. And it just got worse with Hudson on the DL. His offensive outputs are oustandings, but I’ll say it right now: A staff lead by LLynn, JHammel, and EBedard cannot win a championship.

8. Donkey Punchers – Holy homers, Batman! 15 in a week – lead by a resurgent Napoli and Teixera gave Chris a remarkable two-point jump in his average Categorical Ranking (8.8 to 6.7), though he only had a 6-4 record to show for it (went up against Russ). Once Joey Bats gets going and if his pitching bets pay off (Matusz, Volquez, Duffy, Gee, Bauer), watch out.

9. Cowhide Joyride – This was not the way Dave drew it up when he decided to give up last season, as he’s averaging 9th out of 14 categories – hurt namely by RBI, ERA, WHIP, and QS. Cespedes has been excellent, but Weeks, Prince, Buster, Lind, and Rasmus need to pace this team in RBI, and the disastrous starts of Lincecum and Liriano, both with ERAs above 10.00 and WHIP over 1.90 is just crushing him there. He’ll get a boost up if those two turn it around, but its really starting to be a trend.

10. Keepin it Real – Production came to a standstill in week 3 after some early progress, as a bad week dropped Pierce four spots to 9th according to Categorical Rankings. There’s still talent left from the championship team, but unfortunately two big contributors are on the DL (Ellsbury and CLee). It’s probably time to cut losses with at least of one of the mediocre DL options (Grady, SDrew, Stauffer) to backfill the rotation.

11. Billy Chapel – I feel sort of sorry for Troy. Like I got his hopes up, then reality came and smashed them to pieces. Really, I expect the offense to be better as there is underperformance across the board on the hitting side. Pitching needs help big time (the 10th place rank in saves is the only category not in the bottom two), even moreso now that Santos is on the DL. Troy has only five active starters and two of them are named Derek Lowe and Bruce Chen, while two others are underperforming Beckett and Jurrjens.

12. Anal Hersheiser – The trades of Konerko and Wilson do not help. I’ll get to the specifics of the trade in my review (probably tomorrow), but much more should have been received in return for this year and future years. The offense features some of the oldest players in the game (Helton, Ibanez, Chipper) and no on with more than three homers. Andrew should run away with steals, but that’s only one category. Meanwhile, the loss of Wilson weakens what was once a bright spot. HAlvarez might be decent, but he’ll never match CJ. Smyly and Colon could turn out quite good, but they also could suddenly start to suck.

13. The Angry Pirates – Again, there’s a lot to like on offense here, particularly ranking 2nd in RBI and 6th in SBs, but the pitching is just dreadful, outdone only by Troy’s squad. If Bard goes back to the bullpen, that could hurt further. Sale, Chen, and Felize have been OK, but the rest are just guys and not very good ones. FFreeman is turning it up and once Giancarlo, GSanchez, NCruz, and Starlin start producing the power numbers they’re capable, he’ll definitely compete in the offensive categories.

14. Urban Achievers – When the bright spot on a team is a pitching staff boasting a 4.34/1.31, and 1 save, there’s a problem. This offense has issues. With the exception of a 3rd place ranking in SB, he’s 11th or lower in all offensive categories. Pitching isn’t much better, with a 5th place ranking in Ks and below 9th in the rest. There’s still hope with Choo, Reynolds, Moose, Jennings, and CC yet to produce as they can, but early indicators are not good.

Trade Review: One Nut and Urban

One Nut Wonders receive: 2B Brandon Phillips SP Jerome Williams 24th rounder Urban Achievers receive: SS Zach Cozart SP Ryan Vogelsong 19th rounder How appropriate, Jason makes the first trade of the year. And it’s another lopsided one. I like Cozart fine, but he’s been up for all of a dozen games; he produced OK (9/1/3/0/.352) and could have a bright future is a tiny ballpark, but it’s not like Dan is getting an uberprospect who is a no doubt keeper for 2013. He’s 27, so let’s not mistake him for a 22 year old who could have a decent year, then blow up next year. What he is this year is more or less what he will always be. He’s actually only three years younger than Phillips. Not to mention, Urban has no need for a SS with Dee Gordon burning up the basepaths. Vogelsong is 34 and had a good first start that was consistent with last year, but I (and many others) have serious doubts about his ability to replicate his stunning 2011 numbers. The trade is all that more curious in that Dan traded for Phillips (and Gio) before the season started and kept him, giving up an 11th rounder (turned out to be Bonfacio) in the process. Yet he received no viable keeper in return and a modest five round upgrade on a late round pick. The difference in the quality of players will not be that substantial between the two rounds (five players from the 19th round of this year’s draft have already been dropped, eight from the 24th). Dan could’ve, should’ve got more. Jason meanwhile gets one of a handful of very good, not great, 2Bs, which makes up partly for keeping Utley. Though not entirely healthy at the moment, he’s hitting in the middle of the order and could put up his best power numbers yet, while perhaps slowing down a bit. Of course, Jason also started the process of trading away picks from 2013—something he lamented during the draft. That said, it certainly helps his team for 2012 and he is the clear winner here.

Week 3 Power Rankings

Part of the reason for the delay this week is my attempt to develop a more quantitative method for assessing teams. So I put together some formulas in Excel that show every team’s rank in each category according totals at that point. Then, I took the average rank for each team. Obviously this hurts teams with no closers, but is reflective of the team’s ability to compete in each category. It’s not perfects, as there’s some weighting issues that could be accounted for, but it’s just an objective tool to help put these together. Certainly “past performance does not indicate future results,” so I’ll factor in my qualitative judgment as well.

1. Clayton & The King (previous: 2) - 4.6 avg (1st), .825
Ladies and gentlemen, you’re new #1. Frankly, Russ and Casten were close in my mind before the season and to this point, Clayton is King. What is most impressive is that this team boasting perhaps the strongest group of starters in the league is tops in R and HR and that’s without typical production from CarGo and Cano. Hamilton has been a force and Freese has picked up where he left off, while pitching is top five in four of the five categories. If Crawford and Trout come up and are productive, watch out. He’s only gone against Urban and Angry, but Donkey this week could be challenging.

2. Grumpy Munckins (previous: 1) – 5.2 avg (4th), .650
There’s still a lot to like here, but Casten’s team hasn’t produced to their capabilities. Weiters is finally producing for his team, providing the type of production he expected when he picked him in the first round two years ago, but Pujols, Cutch, and Reyes have underachieved greatly. While Heyward and Hart have been great, Dunn may indeed be done. Pitching has been inconsistent, which isn’t entirely surprising given some of the volatile starters. Still he’s top 5 in K, ERA, QS, HR, SB, and OBP, so there’s plenty to be happy about. Moose just happened to be equally productive, resulting in three ties.

3. Ring of Fire (previous: 4) – 4.9 (3rd), .700
Matt Kemp is a man among boys and is really pacing Dagan’s production on the offensive side, which includes tops in RBIs, second in HR, and third in OBP. It’s interesting since no one on his roster has more than one home run besides Kemp (6) and Bruce (3). He’s killing in the rate categories: first in WHIP (1.12) and second in ERA (3.07) behind Wandy, Cueto, and Anibal, and is fourth in saves despite Walden still looking for his first. Urban shouldn’t be a problem for him this week, but you have to wonder whether the team will hold up once (or, if) Kemp slows down.

4. Montezuma’s Revenge (previous: 7) – 4.7 (2nd), .800
Nice bump for myself. Tough to judge my own team objectively, but I can’t argue against the numbers so far: I’m the only team not ranking below 8th in any category, tops in K, and top five in R, HR, RBI, OBP, and QS. No way to avoid it, my team is just not that bad. Production from the offense has been basically across the board, with surprisingly JUpton and Hosmer among the underachievers. The Schafer pickup immediately paid dividends, and Drabek looks like he might be for real this time (glad I decided not to drop him and went all out on SCasilla rather than holding on to SRomo). There’s still issues with pitching, but Colby Lewis has been damn near perfect.

5. Moose in Loose (previous: 3) – 6.9 (8th), .500
Brian has a team that’s much better than a .500 record, but he’s only top five in saves and WHIP. BJ Upton’s impending return will help his issues in SB and R (8th and 9th, respectively), while he should see improvements from Uggla, Tulo, Crisp, Ichiro, and Morneau is coming along. Pitching is a question mark though. No problem with his bullpen, with five big league closers, but ESantana and Greinke have been bad, and the rest of the staff just mediocre. He’ll need Ubaldo, Santana, Marcum, Danks, and Kuroda to be solid to be able to compete in the pitching cats week in and week out. He’s got a very tough early season schedule with Cowhide (won 6-3-1), Grumpy (lost 2-5-3), Montezumas, Clayton, and then Ring, so it may take a while for Brian to climb the standings.

6. Cowhide Joyride (previous: 5) – 8.7 (10th) .325
While the stats say drop Dave’s Disappointments further, I’m not going to overreact based on two weeks of games. This is a good team that is just odd statistically as he’s third in R but 14th in RBI, namely because Posey, Fielder, Zimmerman, and Lind have all disappointed here. He’s got some quality fins in Cespedes, the surprising Austin Jackson and KJohnson. Also liked the Reimold pick up. Hard to believe Posey has more steals than Weeks and Andrus combined, but that will fix itself. The offense will be fine, the pitching is worrisome though. Lincecum is obviously not right, Darvish hasn’t exactly set the world on fire, and Liriano has been dreadful. This could turn around quickly, but Dave took some chances on some pitchers and he’s seem quite a mixed bag so far. He better hope it shapes up soon cus he’s got a tough schedule coming weeks 5-8 with his opponents encompassing the entire top four of this list.

7. Prestige Worldwide (previous: 8) – 6.9 (7th) .700
Lars team is interesting in that the output of the pitching vs. hitting is the second most lopsided in the league (hitting categories: 4.6, pitching: 9.2). This imbalance is further exacerbated by the fact that he’s tops in saves, meaning, yup, he has to be quite dreadful to still have a 9.2 avg in pitching (11th in ERA, WHIP, QS, and 12th in K). The primary sources of underperformance have been CBuchholz and DHudson (eras above 7.00), while DPrice and RRomero have hovered between OK and shitty and no one on the staff is producing in the K department with LLynn your leader (nice pick up though!). Marmol, Holland, and Aceves also sport ERAs above 7.00. I expect this will improve while the offense won’t kick quite this much ass (Trumbo, Jetes and E5 aren’t this good). He’s got some tough matchups for the next four weeks.

8. Keepin it Real (previous: 9) – 5.4 (5th) .525
Pierce is inching his way up the board with surprising totals and equally surprising balance. He’s the only team that is tops in three categories and it happens to be all the rate stats (OBP, ERA, WHIP). But there’s reason for concern. The offense has been solid top to bottom, yet with no real standouts. He just lost his best player, Ellsbury, for six weeks, which is a very tough blow and it makes you wonder if the power numbers will be there when he does return. And his starting pitching is quickly coming back to Earth with the recent Dickey and Lester stinkers. That said, he might have something with Aroldis even if he’s just a setup guys all season and Billingsley looks like the Buzzsaw of old, which nicely compliments the usually good Lester and Lee. Some things need to shape out here, but Pierce could fall quickly.

9. Donkey Punchers (previous: 6) – 8.8 (11th) .325
As Pierce rises, Chris falls again. However, this too could change. Despite the prowess of Ethier thus far, the Donkey offense has been far and away the worse in the league, averaging 11.8 in each category (highest is steals at 8th). The primary culprits were a slow-starting Napoli, Teixera, Bautista, Holliday, and Davis—all of whom I expect to be much better and have already shown sparks this week. Surprisingly, the top base stealer on this squad is Gamel (3). With pitching that has been quite good (5.8 avg), Chris has the most imbalanced team with a 6 point difference. McCarhty, Cain, Dempster, Doc, Gallardo, Volquez, Worley, Hell Boy have all been very good, while Duffy could ultimately be one of the year’s top FA finds if he maintains control. I wouldn’t be surprised if this is lowest Chris is ranked all season.

10. One Nut Wonders (previous: 11) – 6.4 (6th) .625
Jason gets a bump despite the disturbing image of his enlarged testicle, as he’s had a pretty solid team thus far with RBI his worst category at 10th. The addition of Brandon Phillips, while not one of my favorites, was an absolute steal and Hanley, Yadier, and AJones have paced the offense (you don’t get credit for Infante’s flashy stats). Meanwhile, pitching has been pretty good with Shields overcoming a bad start and Weaver producing as usual. HAlvarez only has 4 Ks, but he’s got two QS and a tidy 2.77/0.92 – we’ll see if that holds up. There’s also some upside here as I expect Moore to pitch much better, and Niemann, Nicasio, and Hochevar to be serviceable. A bit of a mirage at this point, in my opinion, but there’s some potential for him to move up further.

11. Anal Hershieser (previous: 13) – 8.4 avg (9th)
The most active manager thus far with 11 moves, Andrew has a solid roster top to bottom, but has had very few big producers outside of ALaRoche (who might be the pickup of the year if he keeps this up). He’s been hurt by Konerko’s slow start, as well as that of Ramos, RRobets, Bourjos, Bourn, Wells… OK, everyone. The roster still has balance issues with three middle relievers, three bench offense guys, and the inactive Oswalt hurting his ability to dominate Ks and QS with Wilson, Strasburg, Verlander, and Haren. Smyly might be a sneaky good pickup, and THunter has pitched well as has Colon with the exception of one start. Decent production so far, but I see it getting worse before it gets considerably better.

12. Billy Chapel (previous: 10) – 10.0 (13th) .200
The stats say to drop Troy even farther, but there’s a lot of underachieving going on here with Beltre, Victorino, Pence, ARod, and Aramis all off to slow starts. Those are his big boppers and they’ve combined for as many homers as Kemp, so its reasonable to expect drastic improvement. Meanwhile, Willingham is showing his power can’t be contained by a big stadium with 5 HR and a nice .457 OBP. I’d be willing to put this team higher if the roster wasn’t all disjointed. Not sure why Karstens sounded like a good pickup on Tuesday as he was placed on the DL Wednesday, joining Fister and Hudson there. Between the DLd guys, Jurrjens, Lowe, and Chen there’s a lot of jelly-armed starters here, which limits Troy’s ability to compete in Ks. He also has give bench players on offense, which is too much. There are pieces here that could either keep Troy competitive or get him set up well for 2013, but its not clear which way that will go.

13. Urban Achievers (previous: 12) – 9.0 (12th) .175
It just got uglier for Dan as CYoung, who accounted for 5 of the team’s 8 homers through the first two weeks, just got put on the DL. Luckily its not serious, but it’ll be a serious pain in the ass for Dan to replace those numbers over the next two weeks. There has just been nothing from the offense thus far and it got worse with the misguided trade of Phillips. He’s got basically nothing so far from Reynolds, Mouse, DJennings, and Choo—guys who really needed to be good this year for Urban to achieve. I like LScott as a sneaky (and streaky) potential three/four category guy. That said, there’s been a lot of good in the pitching department, lead by Gio, CC, and the surprising JArrieta. Cahill has done well, Porcello was a smart high upside pickup, and Vogelsong could potentially help. Burnett might also contribute soon. But that offense is just killing him and needs to improve dramatically.

14. The Angry Pirates (previous: 14) – 10.1 (14th) .150
I like the roster better than this ranking shows, but there’s just no reason to move them up when you pitching averages 12.2 out of 14. The really sad part is: the pitching has actually been better than I thought it would be, as the middle reliever turned starter three some has done quite well. WChen was a good pickup as well. But JJ is obviously not his old self and Bell and Valverde have struggled, while the loss of BWilson turned what should’ve been a strength into a weakness. I’m confident the names on offense will perform much better very soon, but to really compete Kyle is going to have to do a hell of a job finding the sneaky pitchers that pop up or trade.

Manager Profile: Pierce

Biography

· First Name: Pierce Cole

· Team: Keep on Keepin' On

· Location: Wells, ME

· Age: 34

· Years in High & Tight: All of em

· Education: BS Colby College 2001

· Major(s)/Focus: American Studies Minor Administrative Science

· Occupation:High School Science Teacher

· Favorite MLB team: RedSox

· Favorite MLB player currently: Pedroia

· Favorite MLB player as child: Dwight Evans

· Highest level of experience playing baseball: 15 + Under Babe Ruth

· Why did you choose the team name you have? How many times has it changed? Came up with it on the eve of the 1st keeper draft and haven't had a good reason to change it.

Players

1. All-time, who were the top five players that were the most enjoyable to have on your team? Miguel Cabrera, David Wright, Ryan Howard, Jacoby Ellsbury, King Felix

2. Have you grown a deep hatred for any player due to their past fantasy performance? Carlos Quentin

3. What one player do you wish you had on your roster right now? Miggy Cabrera

4. What player will never be on your roster (not due their status as a keeper for another team)? CC Sabbathia

5. Which player on your current roster are you least likely to trade? David Wright

6. What is your all-time best transaction (draft pick/trade/free agent pick-up)? Making the move to trade Cabrera, and make a run at the title last year.

7. What is your all-time worst transaction (draft pick/ trade/free agent pick-up)? Making the move to trade Cabrera, and make a run at the title last year, then having that fat drunk become a 3B in the off season.

8. Any players you find yourself gravitating toward, despite their being largely unpopular? I've had alot of shitty Redsox SS along the way, and much like their production on the field, it has killed my squads.

9. Who is the worst keeper you’ve ever kept? Carlos Quentin

10. Who is the best sleeper on your team currently? Aroldis Chapman

League

11. How were you introduced to the league? How do you know Lars? I grew up in Wells and have known these clowns for years.

12. How many current owners did you know prior to joining the league? Which ones? I knew Troy, Lars, Dave, Leech, Casten.

13. Who would you say is your biggest rival in High & Tight? If none, who would you most enjoy pulverizing? Troy is my biggest rival, but I've owned him for all these years, so its not much of a rivalry.

14. Who is your favorite trade partner? Who is your least favorite? I don't trade very much

15. What is your initial reaction when you see you’ve received a trade offer from Jason? Let's see what collective bag of shit he wants to give me for Wright and Cliff Lee....

16. Anything you’d like other owners to know about your interaction with the league? (examples: “I check my email/league site at lunch time,” “I often travel and don’t have access to the internet,” “Your odds of executing a trade with me go up considerably if you send me a picture of Scarlet Johansson posing provocatively,” etc.)? I don't check trades nearly as much as I should, and it takes me too long to reply..... your best bet is to email me and see if we can come up with some ideas of what each of us would be looking for.

17. How would you describe your pre-draft preparation? I'm a minimalist

18. How often do you go on the H&T website/blog per day? 2

19. What is the weirdest place/situation you’ve checked your lineup? Any number of weddings I can be found checking a lineup or making adjustments

20. If you could make one change to the league, what would it be? Nothing

Manager Profile: Jason

Biography

• First Name: Jason

• Team: One Nut Wonders

• Location: Brookline, MA moving to Waterfront/North End June 1st

• Age: 27

• Years in High & Tight: 5 years I think

• Education: Bachelors University of Southern Maine

• Major(s)/Focus: Business Administration

• Occupation: Car Salesman

• Favorite MLB team: Red Sox

• Favorite MLB player currently: Brauny Braun

• Favorite MLB player as child: Nomar

• Highest level of experience playing baseball: Played through middle school and even tried summer baseball in high school, but got punched out in all three of my at bats and realized I was very afraid of the ball. That was when I turned to race walking…

• Why did you choose the team name you have? How many times has it changed? One Nut Wonders was the team name that brought me my one and only championship a few years back. After a one year hiatus I thought it was time to bring it back in 2011, but unfortunately it didn’t get me the championship I so desired. I chose One Nut Wonders, because I once had a giant nut which I had surgically repaired (drained) a couple of years ago. Casten had the same affliction. My only other team names were Paper Champs and Levant Mavericks. Paper Champs was sort of an ode to a few of my least favorite athletes: Ben Watson (combine baby) and Trot Nixon (dirt dog). Basically guys that fans love even though they really don’t bring a ton to the table. Levant Mavericks was just a combination of my hometown in Maine and my favorite NBA team at the time…

Players

1. All-time, who were the top five players that were the most enjoyable to have on your team? Braun, Braun, Braun, Braun, and Braun

2. Have you grown a deep hatred for any player due to their past fantasy performance? Josh Beckett

3. What one player do you wish you had on your roster right now? Pitcher: Kershaw. Hitter: Bautista

4. What player will never be on your roster (not due their status as a keeper for another team)? Josh Beckett. I think he is a highly overrated piece of garbage.

5. Which player on your current roster are you least likely to trade? Braun.

6. What is your all-time best transaction (draft pick/trade/free agent pick-up)? Its hard to keep track, but the trade with Casten where I sent him Heyward (and some other pieces) for Braun (and some other pieces) is hard to beat.

7. What is your all-time worst transaction (draft pick/ trade/free agent pick-up)? Justin Turner.

8. Any players you find yourself gravitating toward, despite their being largely unpopular? Chase Utley, I think he still has something left in the tank. But in general I think I am willing to take chances on injured players more than others in the league.

9. Who is the worst keeper you’ve ever kept? I think I might have kept Phil Hughes as part of the Santan deal with Dagan years ago. I might have also kept Travis Hafner when he decided he wanted to become horrible

10. Who is the best sleeper on your team currently? Adam Jones is tough to qualify as a sleeper, but he is playing unbelievable right now and I didn’t hear many people talking about him prior to the season…

League

11. How were you introduced to the league? How do you know Lars? I worked/work with Lars at UNUM and he asked me to take the place of one of the deadbeat owners from the year prior. My life has never been the same.

12. How many current owners did you know prior to joining the league? Which ones? Everyone except, Adam, Casten, Russ, Dan, Moose, Anal I think… I don’t really remember to be honest.

13. Who would you say is your biggest rival in High & Tight? If none, who would you most enjoy pulverizing? Prior to last year I would say it was Casten. It is now definitely Dagan.

14. Who is your favorite trade partner? Who is your least favorite? Casten and Kyle are both good trade partners. Least favorite is Lars/Dagan. I would rather get berated by Russ then have to deal with the paralysis by analysis of Dagan or the constantly leary Lars.

15. What is your initial reaction when you see you’ve received a trade offer from Jason? That he is interested in improving his team.

16. Anything you’d like other owners to know about your interaction with the league? (examples: “I check my email/league site at lunch time,” “I often travel and don’t have access to the internet,” “Your odds of executing a trade with me go up considerably if you send me a picture of Scarlet Johansson posing provocatively,” etc.)? If people have looked at my roster and are giving me something in a trade proposal that I need in order to improve my team. I check my team constantly, so anytime is a good time for trade talk.

17. How would you describe your pre-draft preparation? Scattered and unorganized. A mirror image of the rest of my life.

18. How often do you go on the H&T website/blog per day? As many times as possible. I would guess 20+

19. What is the weirdest place/situation you’ve checked your lineup? Oh shit this is a tough one. Honeymoon probably…

20. If you could make one change to the league, what would it be? Minor change, but one that I think makes sense would be to do the draft lottery for the non-playoff teams and the teams that made the playoffs automatically get the bottom 6 slots… Two separate lotteries I guess…

Manager Profile: Chris

Biography

• First Name: Chris

• Team: Donkey Punchers

• Location: Milton, MA

• Age: 30

• Years in High & Tight: 5

• Education: Brandeis University – Masters in Finance, Bachelors in Economics

• Major(s)/Focus:

• Occupation: Client Operations - State Street

• Favorite MLB team: Red Sox

• Favorite MLB player currently: Tulo

• Favorite MLB player as child: Nolan Ryan

• Highest level of experience playing baseball: Little League

• Why did you choose the team name you have? How many times has it changed? Lack of creativity – 0 changes.

Players

1. All-time, who were the top five players that were the most enjoyable to have on your team? Bautista, Halladay, Crawford, Kinsler, Greinke

2. Have you grown a deep hatred for any player due to their past fantasy performance? Crawford last year

3. What one player do you wish you had on your roster right now? Tulo

4. What player will never be on your roster (not due their status as a keeper for another team)? None

5. Which player on your current roster are you least likely to trade? Bautista

6. What is your all-time best transaction (draft pick/trade/free agent pick-up)? Drafting/Picking up Bautista – had no idea how good he would be

7. What is your all-time worst transaction (draft pick/ trade/free agent pick-up)? Should not have traded Kinsler

8. Any players you find yourself gravitating toward, despite their being largely unpopular? Not really

9. Who is the worst keeper you’ve ever kept? Adam Jones

10. Who is the best sleeper on your team currently? Bauer

League

11. How were you introduced to the league? How do you know Lars? Lars – know him from college

12. How many current owners did you know prior to joining the league? Which ones? Lars and Russ

13. Who would you say is your biggest rival in High & Tight? If none, who would you most enjoy pulverizing? I enjoy winning in general

14. Who is your favorite trade partner? Who is your least favorite? Adam/Kyle Favorite Casten/Jason Least

15. What is your initial reaction when you see you’ve received a trade offer from Jason? Disgust

16. Anything you’d like other owners to know about your interaction with the league? (examples: “I check my email/league site at lunch time,” “I often travel and don’t have access to the internet,” “Your odds of executing a trade with me go up considerably if you send me a picture of Scarlet Johansson posing provocatively,” etc.)? Similar to my delay in filling out this survey it usually takes me a couple days to review trade offers – be patient.

17. How would you describe your pre-draft preparation? I did not prepare nearly enough

18. How often do you go on the H&T website/blog per day? Try to check it out daily

19. What is the weirdest place/situation you’ve checked your lineup? Shitter

20. If you could make one change to the league, what would it be? Keepers – Lose the draft pick associated with the player kept.

Manager Profile: Troy

Biography

· First Name:Troy Brown

· Team:Billy Chapel

· Location:Wells Maine

· Age:45

· Years in High & Tight:since inception

· Education:wells high school Bachelors from University of New England

· Major(s)/Focus: Buisness Administration

· Occupation: Owner Wells Beach Lobster pound

· Favorite MLB team: Boston Red Sox

· Favorite MLB player currently: Matt Kemp

· Favorite MLB player as child: Fred Lynn

· Highest level of experience playing baseball: High School

· Why did you choose the team name you have? How many times has it changed? it has changed twice- Billy loved the game and so dont I

Players

1. All-time, who were the top five players that were the most enjoyable to have on your team? Jared Weaver--Shane Victrino-King Felix-Mariano Rivera-Ian Kinsler

2. Have you grown a deep hatred for any player due to their past fantasy performance? Alex rios

3. What one player do you wish you had on your roster right now? Matt Kemp

4. What player will never be on your roster (not due their status as a keeper for another team)? Jimmy Rollins

5. Which player on your current roster are you least likely to trade? Victrino or Beltre

6. What is your all-time best transaction (draft pick/trade/free agent pick-up)? yah I dont know if i have had one

7. What is your all-time worst transaction (draft pick/ trade/free agent pick-up)? letting Felix and Weaver go to ONE NUT!!!

8. Any players you find yourself gravitating toward, despite their being largely unpopular? Robinson Cano

9. Who is the worst keeper you’ve ever kept? probably any one of my relievers

10. Who is the best sleeper on your team currently? Josh Willingham

League

11. How were you introduced to the league? How do you know Lars? I was intorduced thru Lars I know him from coaching him in high school b-ball

12. How many current owners did you know prior to joining the league? Which ones? 5 I think--Casten-adam- Lars- dave- pierce

13. Who would you say is your biggest rival in High & Tight? If none, who would you most enjoy pulverizing? Cole and cole with Casten 2nd

14. Who is your favorite trade partner? Who is your least favorite? Adam-- Jason

15. What is your initial reaction when you see you’ve received a trade offer from Jason? always entertaining

16. Anything you’d like other owners to know about your interaction with the league? (examples: “I check my email/league site at lunch time,” “I often travel and don’t have access to the internet,” “Your odds of executing a trade with me go up considerably if you send me a picture of Scarlet Johansson posing provocatively,” etc.)? i check my rosters late at night or early morning-- I am off now, but put in a lot of hours from may 3 - October

17. How would you describe your pre-draft preparation? scale of 1-10 6-- try to find some sleepers hard to do with you guys

18. How often do you go on the H&T website/blog per day? 0-1 each day

19. What is the weirdest place/situation you’ve checked your lineup? on vacation at Disney

20. If you could make one change to the league, what would it be? I would like to start over no keepers!!!

Manager Profile: Kyle

Biography

• First Name: Kyle Baker

• Team: Angry Pirates

• Location: Chelmsford, Ma via Bangor, Me

• Age: 27

• Years in High & Tight: 3

• Education: Masters @ UNH

• Major(s)/Focus: OT/Psych

• Occupation: The Rapist, I mean therapist

• Favorite MLB team: Red Sox

• Favorite MLB player currently: Giancarlo Stanton

• Favorite MLB player as child: Jr. Griffey, Nomar

• Highest level of experience playing baseball: High school

• Why did you choose the team name you have? How many times has it changed? Changed zero times. Spluuuge in girls eye and kick her in shin, she looks like an angry pirate. I found it funny, but have sadly yet to try it.

Players

1. All-time, who were the top five players that were the most enjoyable to have on your team? Giancarlo Stanton, Nelson Cruz are only 2 I think I’ve ever enjoyed. Walden as last round pick last year was fun.

2. Have you grown a deep hatred for any player due to their past fantasy performance? Manny (50 game suspension day after I traded for him), BJ Upton, did he not look amazing in that playoff series against the Sox in ‘08?

3. What one player do you wish you had on your roster right now? the 4 guys Adam mentioned he wouldn’t trade would be nice, or Matt Kemp. He’s a super stud.

4. What player will never be on your roster (not due their status as a keeper for another team)? Nobody comes to mind, but Im sure theres a dozen. The Orioles roster perhaps.

5. Which player on your current roster are you least likely to trade? Nobody is untouchable, big man-crush on Stanton though.

6. What is your all-time best transaction (draft pick/trade/free agent pick-up)? Still waiting.

7. What is your all-time worst transaction (draft pick/ trade/free agent pick-up)? Too many.

8. Any players you find yourself gravitating toward, despite their being largely unpopular? Young, unproven players.

9. Who is the worst keeper you’ve ever kept? Chone Figgins.

10. Who is the best sleeper on your team currently? I think I potentially have a few, maybe Ackley if he can develop a little power? Duda has a nice stroke.

League

11. How were you introduced to the league? How do you know Lars? Had endorsement from Jason, met Lars at bring your friend to work day at UNUM.

12. How many current owners did you know prior to joining the league? Which ones? 2-3 maybe?

13. Who would you say is your biggest rival in High & Tight? If none, who would you most enjoy pulverizing? Just want to sniff the playoffs.

14. Who is your favorite trade partner? Who is your least favorite? Jason and I converse the most while killing villagers on MW3, although I don’t think we’ve made a trade recently. Shannon and I usually have good trade convos. Haven’t had bad trade discussions with anybody.

15. What is your initial reaction when you see you’ve received a trade offer from Jason? Accept immediately, or I give him my password so he can just select the players he wants.

16. Anything you’d like other owners to know about your interaction with the league? (examples: “I check my email/league site at lunch time,” “I often travel and don’t have access to the internet,” “Your odds of executing a trade with me go up considerably if you send me a picture of Scarlet Johansson posing provocatively,” etc.)? I spend majority of time on Fantasy later at night after 9, have hard time checking it during day during the week.

17. How would you describe your pre-draft preparation? I listen to podcasts, try to find sleepers. Don’t get too in depth with tiers. Try to figure out the weak and strong positions of depth.

18. How often do you go on the H&T website/blog per day? 5-6

19. What is the weirdest place/situation you’ve checked your lineup? Its always on my mind, nothing too outrageous comes to mind.

20. If you could make one change to the league, what would it be? Leagues pretty legit, glad to be in it and donate to it annually. An alternate waiver wire system might be nice, like the auction league and an uncomplicated minor league system with only 2-3 spaces.

Manager Profile: Lars

First Name: Lars

· Team: Prestige Worldwide

· Location: Wells, ME

· Age: 30

· Years in High & Tight: 7

· Education: BA from Brandeis University '04

· Major(s)/Focus: Politics

· Occupation: Sales Rep for Unum

· Favorite MLB team: Red Sox

· Favorite MLB player currently: Doug Fister aka Dog Fister

· Favorite MLB player as child: Roger Clemens

· Highest level of experience playing baseball: College

· Why did you choose the team name you have? How many times has it changed? Prestige Worldwide is so damn intimidating that many opponenets don't even show up to the game. It screams excellence, and there is not much you can do about it. I think I have had this team name for 4 or 5 years now.

Players

1. All-time, who were the top five players that were the most enjoyable to have on your team? Adrian Gonzalez, Evan Longoria, Curtis Granderson, Pujols, Josh Hamilton

2. Have you grown a deep hatred for any player due to their past fantasy performance? Josh Beckett

3. What one player do you wish you had on your roster right now? Pujols

4. What player will never be on your roster (not due their status as a keeper for another team)? Josh Beckett

5. Which player on your current roster are you least likely to trade? A-Gon

6. What is your all-time best transaction (draft pick/trade/free agent pick-up)? Josh Hamilton the year he blew up.

7. What is your all-time worst transaction (draft pick/ trade/free agent pick-up)? Howie Kendrick this year. Stupid.

8. Any players you find yourself gravitating toward, despite their being largely unpopular? The random shitty closer that typically hurts my team more the helps.

9. Who is the worst keeper you’ve ever kept? Josh Beckett

10. Who is the best sleeper on your team currently? Edwin Encarnacion

League

11. How were you introduced to the league? How do you know Lars? I started this bitch. I have known Lars for a while. Good guy all-around.

12. How many current owners did you know prior to joining the league? Which ones? The only ones I didn't know are Andrew, Dan, Moose.

13. Who would you say is your biggest rival in High & Tight? If none, who would you most enjoy pulverizing? Casten. He is the evil empire. I live to watch him lose.

14. Who is your favorite trade partner? Who is your least favorite? Favorite is probably Dave, because it's somewhat painless. Least favorite is obviously Jason. It can be excrutiatingly painful. I no longer make trades with him for this reason.

15. What is your initial reaction when you see you’ve received a trade offer from Jason? Reject. Don't even have to look at it.

16. Anything you’d like other owners to know about your interaction with the league? (examples: “I check my email/league site at lunch time,” “I often travel and don’t have access to the internet,” “Your odds of executing a trade with me go up considerably if you send me a picture of Scarlet Johansson posing provocatively,” etc.)? I check my emails/lineup every morning and a few times throughout the day. I typically have Stattracker up on my phone every night. I often take a shit when managing my team.

17. How would you describe your pre-draft preparation? I spend 80% of the time managing the league and making sure everything is in order. I don't get a whole lot of time to draft prep because of this, and the fact that I run another league.

18. How often do you go on the H&T website/blog per day? 3-5 times.

19. What is the weirdest place/situation you’ve checked your lineup? In a business meeting.

20. If you could make one change to the league, what would it be? Kick Jason out of it.

Manager Profile: Dagan

Biography

• First Name: Dagan

• Team: Ring of Fire

• Location: Chicago, IL but soon to be Burlington, VT

• Age: 35

• Years in High & Tight: all of them, was my first fantasy baseball experience

• Education: undergrad at Colby; grad at Duke

• Major(s)/Focus: Biology (Genetics)

• Occupation: Postdoctoral fellow but will be faculty at Saint Michael’s College in the fall

• Favorite MLB team: Red Sox

• Favorite MLB player currently: Pedroia

• Favorite MLB player as child: Wade Boggs/Roger Clemens

• Highest level of experience playing baseball: high school and some adult league fast pitch baseball last summer

• Why did you choose the team name you have? How many times has it changed? I’ve been Ring of Fire for a while because I had many drinks one night and heard a softball teammate sing some Johnny Cash at our sponsor bar and thought I like Johnny Cash, I should name my team after him. But I think I started as Kobra Kai.

Players

1. All-time, who were the top five players that were the most enjoyable to have on your team? Kemp and Votto. Home grown talent. Watched them become stars on my roster.

2. Have you grown a deep hatred for any player due to their past fantasy performance? I hate Mauer. Led me to the championship one year and then screwed me over for the next 2.

3. What one player do you wish you had on your roster right now? Tulo. Was so close to grabbing him off the wire. Been a revolving door at SS since then. Thank god for Boneface last year.

4. What player will never be on your roster (not due their status as a keeper for another team)? The core Yankees: Jeter, Tex, CC, Rivera. I just can’t root for them to do well because it would mean that the Yankees are winning. And real life baseball trumps fantasy for me.

5. Which player on your current roster are you least likely to trade? Matt Kemp. No one else has the speed/power combo like Kemp.

6. What is your all-time best transaction (draft pick/trade/free agent pick-up)? Trading Chase Utley to Jason for Manny Ramirez (while on roids and good), Joe Mauer (28 HR year), Brian Wilson, and Max Scherzer in 2009. Won the championship because of that trade. And Utley began his run of injuries soon after.

7. What is your all-time worst transaction (draft pick/ trade/free agent pick-up)? Drafting Abreu in the 8th round last year. He was totally cooked.

8. Any players you find yourself gravitating toward, despite their being largely unpopular? Old guys with high floors but low ceilings. I’m looking for value and that’s where it is most years.

9. Who is the worst keeper you’ve ever kept? Mauer. For 2010, I kept him over Carlos Gonzalez who I had a sleeper but then missed on in the draft.

10. Who is the best sleeper on your team currently? Brandon Belt was a nice post-hype sleeper but it looks like Bochy is going to screw him over again this year. Once he gets out of San Fran, he could be a star a la Alex Gordon or Matt Wieters.

League

11. How were you introduced to the league? How do you know Lars? I’m Lars’ older brother, in case people don’t know.

12. How many current owners did you know prior to joining the league? Which ones? Prior to joining, I knew Casten and Lars. It that it? Really?

13. Who would you say is your biggest rival in High & Tight? If none, who would you most enjoy pulverizing? Two teams. Adam because I respect this approach to the game, the fact that he never quits, and that he knows his stuff. I would like to see him won a title soon. Casten because he always talks shit, yet never seems to win in the playoffs. It’s fun to beat him and watch him make excuses, like the playoffs are too short.

14. Who is your favorite trade partner? Who is your least favorite? I admit it, I suck at trading. Most of the time I like my team so I don’t see the point of making a trade for the sake of it. The trade negotiation process can also be pretty annoying. That being said, I’m happy to trade value for value. Don’t have a favorite but I hate trying to trade with Lars, we never match up.

15. What is your initial reaction when you see you’ve received a trade offer from Jason? Instant reject. But will remember what he was after and then talk about it in trades later on.

16. Anything you’d like other owners to know about your interaction with the league? (examples: “I check my email/league site at lunch time,” “I often travel and don’t have access to the internet,” “Your odds of executing a trade with me go up considerably if you send me a picture of Scarlet Johansson posing provocatively,” etc.)? I check it often on my phone (when I’m in the elevator, a seminar, the bathroom) but often don’t have time to respond until later (often a day or 2…sorry).

17. How would you describe your pre-draft preparation? Looking at number, numbers, and more numbers. I used to read Gammons for tidbits but now I read Olney.

18. How often do you go on the H&T website/blog per day? Too many while the games are on.

19. What is the weirdest place/situation you’ve checked your lineup? From a sketchy internet café in a tiny farming town in China.

20. If you could make one change to the league, what would it be? Replace the Saves category with something that better reflects real life in that shut down setup men are often more valuable than closers. Some sort of hold/save hybrid category needs to be developed.

Manager Profile: Andrew

· First Name: Andrew

· Team: Anal Hershiser

· Location: Austin, TX

· Age: 31

· Years in High & Tight: 2

· Education: Bachelors from Albion College (like ITT Tech, but more liberal and less tech)

· Major(s)/Focus: Double Major in Math and German - why I work in sales

· Occupation: National Sales Manager - LandsofAmerica.com

· Favorite MLB team: Detroit Tigers

· Favorite MLB player currently: Cabrera - DUIs are just a part of life

· Favorite MLB player as child: Mike Piazza - I think we all remember where we were the moment he got drafted in round 62.

· Highest level of experience playing baseball: Little League - Fear of getting beaned led to my early retirement

· Why did you choose the team name you have? How many times has it changed?: Anal describes both my personality and my wife's nightmare. I don't know what the fuck a Hershiser is .

Players

1. All-time, who were the top five players that were the most enjoyable to have on your team? I was glad to pick up Haren/Verlander in the expansion draft. Avila and Morse were also terrific last year.

2. Have you grown a deep hatred for any player due to their past fantasy performance? Not yet, but pretty sure Carlos Quentin is going to be a bust in the Padres lineup if he ever gets off the DL.

3. What one player do you wish you had on your roster right now? Cabrera, Fielder, Jackson - I'd be happy to take in these Tigers.

4. What player will never be on your roster (not due their status as a keeper for another team)? Rajai Davis and Esix Snead for very personal reasons. Ellsbury and Pedroia because they seem like pricks.

5. Which player on your current roster are you least likely to trade? Verlander.

6. What is your all-time best transaction (draft pick/trade/free agent pick-up)? Picking up Strasburg in the second-to-last round last year and keeping him in the DL slot. If they don't bench him in August, he'll be a top 5 starter.

7. What is your all-time worst transaction (draft pick/ trade/free agent pick-up)? Pretty much every trade I made last year mortgaging my draft picks for a shot at the title. Wouldn't that have been great if an expansion team came in and won the championship first year? Didn't happen.

8. Any players you find yourself gravitating toward, despite their being largely unpopular? Can't think of any.

9. Who is the worst keeper you’ve ever kept? Unfortunately, this may be Morse. Any time you schedule a meeting with Dr. James Andrews, chances are you're getting the scalpel.

10. Who is the best sleeper on your team currently? Not many to pick from. I like Bourjos though. Insane speed and still very young in a scary lineup.

League

11. How were you introduced to the league? How do you know Lars? Dagan called me late one night with the big news about an invite. Who the fuck is Lars?

12. How many current owners did you know prior to joining the league? Which ones? Just Moose and Dagan. I midwifed both of Moose's children and helped Dagan set up all his online dating profiles back in the day.

13. Who would you say is your biggest rival in High & Tight? If none, who would you most enjoy pulverizing? My team is like the Royals - not exciting enough to deserve a rival. But I do like beating Dagan most of all which seems to be a common sentiment.

14. Who is your favorite trade partner? Who is your least favorite? Based on how my offense looks this year, I hate everyone that took my draft picks. Did someone roofie me?

15. What is your initial reaction when you see you’ve received a trade offer from Jason? I'm always excited whenever someone shows interest in my team and then I very carefully hit the reject button.

16. Anything you’d like other owners to know about your interaction with the league? (examples: “I check my email/league site at lunch time,” “I often travel and don’t have access to the internet,” “Your odds of executing a trade with me go up considerably if you send me a picture of Scarlet Johansson posing provocatively,” etc.)? I'd be more interested in trading two middle-tier players for one top 50 guy. 2013 will be my year.

17. How would you describe your pre-draft preparation? With no picks in rounds 8-13, my preparation was lacking in both effort and enthusiasm. Next year it'll be a different story.

18. How often do you go on the H&T website/blog per day? 5-6 times. I have MLB At Bat rolling on the iPad on my desk all day. Nothing like watching day games at work.

19. What is the weirdest place/situation you’ve checked your lineup? In the butt. I may have misunderstood the question.

20. If you could make one change to the league, what would it be? I would also love to go 6x6, adding Holds for sure and perhaps Slugging. 14 teams fighting for closers is no bueno. There are so many great setup pitchers with very little fantasy value.

Manager Profile: Brian

· First Name: Brian

· Team: Moose is Loose

· Location: Chicago, IL

· Age: 32

· Years in High & Tight: Goddamn. Has it really been 5 years?

· Education: University of Virginia / Duke University

· Major(s)/Focus: Biochemistry / Molecular Genetics and Microbiology - yeah, I just puked a little in my mouth too.

· Occupation: Regulatory Compliance Officer, University of Chicago

· Favorite MLB team: Atlanta Braves

· Favorite MLB player currently: Chipper Jones. Thinking about what he did against the Mets in September 1999 still makes me all tingly inside (read: tingly down there).

· Favorite MLB player as child: Dale Murphy. Still have my signed cap from when he visited my high school. Runner up: Greg Maddux. HOF 2013! Put them both in!

· Highest level of experience playing baseball: Little League - Stupid high school baseball politics. It couldn't have been that I sucked.

· Why did you choose the team name you have? How many times has it changed? Stick with what works. My nickname throughout grad school was Moose. Some professors there still don't know otherwise.

Players

1. All-time, who were the top five players that were the most enjoyable to have on your team? Tulo, Justin Morneau (pre-concussion), Brian McCann, Adam Wainwright, Dustin Pedroia

2. Have you grown a deep hatred for any player due to their past fantasy performance? Carlos Zambrano and Milton Bradley. Such tantalizing ability. So totally bat shit crazy. And I would always give them a second/third/fourth chance.

3. What one player do you wish you had on your roster right now? Miggy Cabrera / Prince Fielder. Never had a sexy HR/RBI guy and think it would be nice for a fling.

4. What player will never be on your roster (not due their status as a keeper for another team)? Pretty much any Yankee or Red Sox. You guys really overvalue these guys. I'm surprised that Kuroda wasn't kept.

5. Which player on your current roster are you least likely to trade? Tulo.

6. What is your all-time best transaction (draft pick/trade/free agent pick-up)? Well, it has to be picking Tulo up on waivers after Dave freaked the shit out and dropped him 3 weeks into the season. Dagan still tells me this story every time we meet up about how I picked him up 30 minutes before Dagan did.

7. What is your all-time worst transaction (draft pick/ trade/free agent pick-up)? Trading for Dice K

8. Any players you find yourself gravitating toward, despite their being largely unpopular? My entire team. Let's see... Ichiro, Jermaine Dye, Casey McGehee, John Danks, Ryan Ludwick, Dave Ortiz (post-PEDs), Morneau, Melvin Mora - all completely unsexy guys who helped me cash out in this league.

9. Who is the worst keeper you’ve ever kept? Dice K, hands down.

10. Who is the best sleeper on your team currently? Seriously, I don't draft sleepers. I guess Mayberry qualifies.

League

11. How were you introduced to the league? How do you know Lars? Dagan and I went to grad school together down at Duke, but he didn't invite me to join until we both had migrated to Chicago back in 2008. I think I best know Lars from his pants-less draft lottery - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8A2T1QafOb4

12. How many current owners did you know prior to joining the league? Which ones? Dagan and Andy. Both from down in Durham, NC. Andy was in my wedding party. Dagan's a dick, so you know...he wasn't invited.

13. Who would you say is your biggest rival in High & Tight? If none, who would you most enjoy pulverizing? I enjoy taking out that Ring of Fire because he talks about his 3 championships waaaaaaaaaay too much. I'll enjoy beating the super teams this year.

14. Who is your favorite trade partner? Who is your least favorite? I would have to say Dave and Andy as favorites because they'll actually talk through a trade. Plus, Dave said me as his fav (BFF!). The three of us will always have Mark Reynolds. As for least favorite, you'd think Jason who dealt me Dice K back in the day, but I'd say Dagan. It's seriously like pulling teeth. I would have killed myself if he hemmed and hawed and ummmmed one more time. And that was over Brandon League for a 15th rounder!!!

15. What is your initial reaction when you see you’ve received a trade offer from Jason? I've learned to decline immediately. I've never like a single trade I've done with him.

16. Anything you’d like other owners to know about your interaction with the league? (examples: “I check my email/league site at lunch time,” “I often travel and don’t have access to the internet,” “Your odds of executing a trade with me go up considerably if you send me a picture of Scarlet Johansson posing provocatively,” etc.)? Work is not a place for non authorized internet access, especially since I work in an open space and the person who sits behind me has a folder where she keeps notes on everyone's mistakes. In case (when) she gets fired, she'll go out with guns blazing. Seriously.

17. How would you describe your pre-draft preparation? A week of listening to podcasts and printing out ESPN's Draft Kit. Scrambling.

18. How often do you go on the H&T website/blog per day? On my phone, probably 10. On the computer, maybe 2. My son has discovered DisneyJr.com. Sigh.

19. What is the weirdest place/situation you’ve checked your lineup? I know this is horrible, but I checked driving down the Dan Ryan. Probably going 70. I think I might have a death wish.

20. If you could make one change to the league, what would it be? Putting an end to the dump trades for keepers / draft picks. At least in the past you could get keeper value for your best roster filler. Now all you'll get is a 7-9th rounder. And I think that the skewed draft will really make this a 3-4 team race this year. Not good for league.

Manager Profile: Dan

Biography

• First Name: Dan

• Team: Urban Achievers

• Location: Boston (proper)

• Age: 31 going on 25

• Years in High & Tight: 2nd Year

• Education: Bachelors from ECSU (UConn for ¾)

• Major(s)/Focus: Accounting (chicks dig it)

• Occupation: Financial Reporting JPMorgan

• Favorite MLB team: Yankees

• Favorite MLB player currently: Mo

• Favorite MLB player as child: Donnie Baseball

• Highest level of experience playing baseball: Little League

• Why did you choose the team name you have? How many times has it changed? Representing the Little Lebowski Urban Achievers (I abide)

Players

1. All-time, who were the top five players that were the most enjoyable to have on your team? Only one year but Carsten Charles and Desmond Jennings

2. Have you grown a deep hatred for any player due to their past fantasy performance? Pedro Alvarez, will he ever be good again?

3. What one player do you wish you had on your roster right now? Justin Upton (didn’t get enough for him when traded away)

4. What player will never be on your roster (not due their status as a keeper for another team)? Papelbon/Beckett because they are huge douchebags.

5. Which player on your current roster are you least likely to trade? Desmond Jennings

6. What is your all-time best transaction (draft pick/trade/free agent pick-up)? Flipping Cahill for CC

7. What is your all-time worst transaction (draft pick/ trade/free agent pick-up)? Francisco Liriano over Curtis Granderson last year.

8. Any players you find yourself gravitating toward, despite their being largely unpopular? Nope

9. Who is the worst keeper you’ve ever kept? Jury is out…

10. Who is the best sleeper on your team currently? Soriano and his return to relevance this year.

League

11. How were you introduced to the league? How do you know Lars? Haven’t met anyone but Chris Shannon, judging by his character, you are all bad people.

12. How many current owners did you know prior to joining the league? Which ones? 1 Chris Shannon

13. Who would you say is your biggest rival in High & Tight? If none, who would you most enjoy pulverizing? Haven’t pulverized yet, you hate everyone when you’re the punching bag.

14. Who is your favorite trade partner? Who is your least favorite? No favorites. But some are a tad overbearing with the abundance of ridiculous proposals. I apologize that the new app this year only lets me reject and there is no comment section available.

15. What is your initial reaction when you see you’ve received a trade offer from Jason? If I like it I must not be reading enough…

16. Anything you’d like other owners to know about your interaction with the league? (examples: “I check my email/league site at lunch time,” “I often travel and don’t have access to the internet,” “Your odds of executing a trade with me go up considerably if you send me a picture of Scarlet Johansson posing provocatively,” etc.)? My GF isn’t around on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday…. Best time to get my full attention.

17. How would you describe your pre-draft preparation? Manic, and unorganized. Too many sources too many articles read and I wind up confused.

18. How often do you go on the H&T website/blog per day? Too many

19. What is the weirdest place/situation you’ve checked your lineup? Leave phone in bathroom keep condoms in bathroom… nuff said. (Opportunity has since been unfortunately remedied)

20. If you could make one change to the league, what would it be? Expanded roster, 6x6 category league, add slugging and holds.

Manager Profile: Brandon

Biography

· First Name: Brandon

· Team: The Grumpy Munchkins

· Location: Brookline, MA

· Age: 30

· Years in High & Tight: Since the start

· Education: Bowdoin College, class of 2004

· Major(s)/Focus: Government

· Occupation: Sales

· Favorite MLB team: Red Sox

· Favorite MLB player currently: Dustin Pedroia

· Favorite MLB player as child: Pedro Martinez (was I technically a child when he came to Boston?)

· Highest level of experience playing baseball: Legendary little league right fielder

· Why did you choose the team name you have? How many times has it changed? The grumpy munchkin is my favorite sexual move. It is when a girl is taking a shit and blows your penis. Not to be confused with a Blumpkin, which is when YOU take the shit and a girl blows your penis. My team name has changed 3 times I think.

Players

1. All-time, who were the top five players that were the most enjoyable to have on your team? Pujols, Hanley (the early days), Jake Peavy, Jose Reyes, Jack Cust (crowd pleaser)

2. Have you grown a deep hatred for any player due to their past fantasy performance? Kevin Slowey, Jay Bruce, Stephen Drew

3. What one player do you wish you had on your roster right now? Jose Bautista. He's the balls.

4. What player will never be on your roster (not due their status as a keeper for another team)? Trevor Cahill, RA Dickey, Delmon Young, Melky Cabrera

5. Which player on your current roster are you least likely to trade? Pujols, Cabrera

6. What is your all-time best transaction (draft pick/trade/free agent pick-up)? Drafting Hanley in his rookie year. Picking up Chris Shelton a few years back. Drafting Kelly Johnson in the last round of his breakout year

7. What is your all-time worst transaction (draft pick/ trade/free agent pick-up)? Overdrafting Weiters a couple years ago...

8. Any players you find yourself gravitating toward, despite their being largely unpopular? I made Jack Cust's fantasy career.

9. Who is the worst keeper you’ve ever kept? Delmon Young. I hate him passionately

10. Who is the best sleeper on your team currently? Corey Luebke. Not so much a sleeper, but he's going to be an ace.

League

11. How were you introduced to the league? How do you know Lars? Pretty sure Lars called me. Lars and I used to look at each other's penises in the high school locker room. Weirdly, we never exchanged words until 3 years after graduation. It was an awkward conversation.

12. How many current owners did you know prior to joining the league? Which ones? Lars, Adam, Dave, Pierce, Troy, Dagan. Pretty sure I had met CS and Russ while visiting Lars at Brandeis

13. Who would you say is your biggest rival in High & Tight? If none, who would you most enjoy pulverizing? I root against Dagan because he got lucky and beat me on a bullshit tie-breaker when I had the greatest team in league history...until this
year. Also, Dagan likes science, which should be reserved for gooks and communists.

14. Who is your favorite trade partner? Who is your least favorite? Favorite is Adam because he doesn't bullshit and waste my time. My least favorite is a tie between Lars and CS because they don't agree to anything unless they think they're ripping you off.

15. What is your initial reaction when you see you’ve received a trade offer from Jason? I just get paranoid that I'll accidentally accept it.

16. Anything you’d like other owners to know about your interaction with the league? (examples: “I check my email/league site at lunch time,” “I often travel and don’t have access to the internet,” “Your odds of executing a trade with me go up considerably if you send me a picture of Scarlet Johansson posing provocatively,” etc.)? I don't believe in executing trades on any Jewish holidays. I am not Jewish I just find it to be a beautiful religion and I try to honor it.

17. How would you describe your pre-draft preparation? I try to masturbate to pictures of various players. Whichever one makes me come fastest gets selected.

18. How often do you go on the H&T website/blog per day? 5 times or so.

19. What is the weirdest place/situation you’ve checked your lineup? While taking a shit.

20. If you could make one change to the league, what would it be? Two week championship with the season ending a week before the actual MLB season

Manager Profile: Russ

Biography
• First Name:Russ
• Team: Clayton & The King
• Location: Naugatuck, CT
• Age: 29.4
• Years in High & Tight: I believe since it started
• Education: B.A.’s in Economics and American Studies from Brandeis, J.D. from Quinnipiac Law
• Major(s)/Focus:
• Occupation: Attorney / Degenerate Gambler
• Favorite MLB team:Yankees
• Favorite MLB player currently: Derek Jeter
• Favorite MLB player as child: I don’t know, Griffey or The Big Hurt probably
• Highest level of experience playing baseball: D3 NCAA at Brandeis, I sucked though
• Why did you choose the team name you have? How many times has it changed? Because I love stud pitchers and I think I have the best pitcher in both the AL and the NL. Team name has changed a million times, amongst my favorites are Blow up Fenway, Lincecum on Some Ts and Colon No Like Salad

Players

1. All-time, who were the top five players that were the most enjoyable to have on your team? Cano, Cargo in his breakout year, Pujols before I traded him to Casten, Lincecum, Kershaw – I can’t remember any of the guys from the earlier years because I have short term memory loss

2. Have you grown a deep hatred for any player due to their past fantasy performance? No, if somebody sucks its my own fault for not putting them in a position to succeed

3. What one player do you wish you had on your roster right now? Eric Hosmer

4. What player will never be on your roster (not due their status as a keeper for another team)? Josh Becket

5. Which player on your current roster are you least likely to trade? Cano

6. What is your all-time best transaction (draft pick/trade/free agent pick-up)? Picking up Kershaw off the waiver wire (pretty sure that’s where I got him)

7. What is your all-time worst transaction (draft pick/ trade/free agent pick-up)? I traded Cliff Lee to Lars for Chase Headley the year Lee went like 22-3

8. Any players you find yourself gravitating toward, despite their being largely unpopular? No I pretty much follow the crowd

9. Who is the worst keeper you’ve ever kept? I’ve never
had a bad keeper

10. Who is the best sleeper on your team currently? Alejandro De Aza

League

11. How were you introduced to the league? How do you know Lars? Lars asked me in – I met him in college where we played baseball together and shared a love for alcohol and pot

12. How many current owners did you know prior to joining the league? Which ones? Just Larry, but I think I might have played cards with Casten once in college

13. Who would you say is your biggest rival in High & Tight? If none, who would you most enjoy pulverizing? I don’t think I have one but definitely want to beat Casten the most because he seems really arrogant

14. Who is your favorite trade partner? Who is your least favorite? I don’t think I have a favorite but I hate dealing with Lars because I’ve been trying to get Longoria for 4 years now and he won’t budge, I hate dealing with Jason for obvious reasons and I hate dealing with Casten because he overvalues the shit out of his players (see Ramirez, Hanley, who by the way stinks again this year)

15. What is your initial reaction when you see you’ve received a trade offer from Jason? Why is this penis insulting my intelligence?

16. Anything you’d like other owners to know about your interaction with the league? (examples: “I check my email/league site at lunch time,” “I often travel and don’t have access to the internet,” “Your odds of executing a trade with me go up considerably if you send me a picture of Scarlet Johansson posing provocatively,” etc.)? I value pitching

17. How would you describe your pre-draft preparation? I highlighted the keepers and some potential targets and then just went by feel

18. How often do you go on the H&T website/blog per day? Morning to set lineup, maybe once in middle of day if I see a headline that affects my team, leave stat tracker up most nights except during masturbation because it slows the old Dell down

19. What is the weirdest place/situation you’ve checked your lineup? funeral

20. If you could make one change to the league, what would it be? None I think its splendid

Manager Profile: Dave

Biography

· First Name: Dave
· Team: Cowhide Joyride
· Location: South Berwick, ME
· Age: Thirty Duece
· Years in High & Tight: 8? Since the start
· Education: Associates Degree in Digital Media - Returning to finish my bachelors in History @ SNHU
· Major(s)/Focus:
· Occupation: Production Manager at Infinite Imaging
· Favorite MLB team: Boston Red Sox
· Favorite MLB player currently: Lester
· Favorite MLB player as child: The Big Hurt
· Highest level of experience playing baseball: Men's Slow Pitch Softball! - Senior League
· Why did you choose the team name you have? How many times has it changed? Heard it on SportsCenter ... 3-4 name changes. Teddy Ballgame, City of Champions (followed by City of Chumpions after my team sucked), The Big Schill, No Glove No Love (was that in this league?)

Players

1. All-time, who were the top five players that were the most enjoyable to have on your team? Grady Sizemore (before he got hurt), Pedro Martinez, Morgan Ensberg (that played a big part in my championship year!), Pedroia, Prince Fielder!

2. Have you grown a deep hatred for any player due to their past fantasy performance? Jason ... oh wait ... you mean baseball player ... only yankees

3. What one player do you wish you had on your roster right now? Babe Ruth

4. What player will never be on your roster (not due their status as a keeper for another team)? none

5. Which player on your current roster are you least likely to trade? Prince

6. What is your all-time best transaction (draft pick/trade/free agent pick-up)? Morgan Ensberg off of waivers!

7. What is your all-time worst transaction (draft pick/ trade/free agent pick-up)? I should have drafted Markakis this year the round I drafted Carpenter ... odds are I could have had them both!

8. Any players you find yourself gravitating toward, despite their being largely unpopular? Rickie Weeks

9. Who is the worst keeper you’ve ever kept? Whichever closer I had to keep that one year.

10. Who is the best sleeper on your team currently? Yeonis

League

11. How were you introduced to the league? How do you know Lars? I'm guessing Adam/Casten had told Lars I would probably be interested ... didn't really know Lars other then we both went to WHS.

12. How many current owners did you know prior to joining the league? Which ones? Casten, Cole, Troy, Lars, Adam (I think that's it)

13. Who would you say is your biggest rival in High & Tight? If none, who would you most enjoy pulverizing? Jason ... his trade offers piss me right the fuck off

14. Who is your favorite trade partner? Who is your least favorite? Favorite - Brian (Moose) ... Least - Jason

15. What is your initial reaction when you see you’ve received a trade offer from Jason? FUUUUUUUUUUUUCK NO

16. Anything you’d like other owners to know about your interaction with the league? (examples: “I check my email/league site at lunch time,” “I often travel and don’t have access to the internet,” “Your odds of executing a trade with me go up considerably if you send me a picture of Scarlet Johansson posing provocatively,” etc.)? Everybody at work thinks I am adding shit to the print queue right now ... but I'm filling this out and checking out my stats

17. How would you describe your pre-draft preparation? on a scale of 1 - ADAM ... I am at a 4-5.

18. How often do you go on the H&T website/blog per day? too much

19. What is the weirdest place/situation you’ve checked your lineup? church ... what ... I forgot to start a guy!

20. If you could make one change to the league, what would it be? draft pick trades limited

Manager Profile: Adam

Biography
• Name: Adam

• Team: Montezuma’s Revenge

• Location: North Berwick, ME

• Age: 30

• Years in High & Tight: Seven

• Education: Bachelors - UConn

• Major(s)/Focus: English and Journalism

• Occupation: Marketing Specialist for an investment consultant

• Favorite MLB team: Red Sox

• Favorite MLB player currently: Dustin Pedroia

• Favorite MLB player as child: Frank Thomas

• Highest level of experience playing baseball: Varsity High School (backup 1B)

• Why did you choose the team name you have? How many times has it changed? It was originally “Baby on Board” because my first son AJ was on the way. Then it changed to AJ’s Revenge after I lost to Dagan in the championship by way of the ERA tiebreaker. After a rather crappy season, I changed it to Montezuma’s Revenge at the end of the year as a joke because my team was so shitty. But it grew on me and stuck.

Players

1. Which player was the all-time most enjoyable to have on your team? I’d say it was probably Hanley before I traded him back to Casten. I had him in most of his really good years. Close second was Manny, who was my first pick ever taken and stayed on my team for four years--additional appeal for being on the Sox, then probably Halladay.

2. Have you grown a deep hatred for any player due to their past fantasy performance? I tend not to hold grudges, but Adam Dunn tested my patience last year. Gordon Beckham was another former keeper I thought would be good.

3. What one player do you wish you had on your roster right now? Tulo. You just don’t get that type of production from the SS position anymore.

4. What player will never be on your roster (not due their status as a keeper for another team)? I wouldn’t rule out anyone, but Ichiro is pretty close. Just don’t see the value in an OBP league.

5. Which player on your current roster are you least likely to trade? Everyone has a price, but probably Hosmer because his ceiling is so high but he’s not there yet. CSantana, JUpton and Lawrie would be difficult to get too because they haven’t quite met their potential.

6. What is your all-time best transaction (draft pick/trade/free agent pick-up)? I always like mentioning how I traded Casten JReyes for Hanley and a very effective at the time Brandon Webb. Dropping IStewart for Hosmer last year was good too. But the best was probably trading Manny to Kyle in 2009 two weeks before he got suspended for PEDs. Ended up getting a bunch of guys who helped me, including Raul Ibanez’s incredible year.

7. What is your all-time worst transaction (draft pick/ trade/free agent pick-up)? There’s been a lot, but PAlvarez in the first round last year was quite bad.

8. Any players you find yourself gravitating toward, despite their being largely unpopular? I always seem to forgive Chone Figgins.

9. Who is the worst keeper you’ve ever kept? Ultimately GBeckham is probably the winner here. I kept Mark Buehrle once too; he was good then, but it’s still embarrassing.

10. Who is the best sleeper on your team currently? I liked Samardzija before the season started and picked him up before his first start. Think he has high K upside. Scutaro could also be valuable.

League

11. How were you introduced to the league? How do you know Lars? I was one of the originals. Knew Lars from high school.

12. How many current owners did you know prior to joining the league? Which ones? Dave was in my wedding party, so he’s a long-time friend. Casten and Lars were in the grade below me, and Casten foolishly always thought he knew more about sports than I did. Pierce was a couple grades above. I knew of Troy since he and my dad are local businessmen, but hadn’t really interacted with him until the league.

13. Who would you say is your biggest rival in High & Tight? If none, who would you most enjoy pulverizing? Probably Dagan, since I’ve lost to him a couple times in the championships. I may not be his biggest rival since he beats me every time, but I still own the top all-time record! I also thoroughly enjoy beating Dave. Jason is my rival as far as total transactions in a given year.

14. Who is your favorite trade partner? Who is your least favorite? Chris and Dave are pretty level-headed and to the point when we discuss trades, so I’d go with them for favorite. Jason is probably the least because he low balls and tries to convince me they’re good. Casten may be most frustrating, but I think that’s because we value the same types of players.

15. What is your initial reaction when you see you’ve received a trade offer from Jason? Reject - I pretty much always know I’m not going to accept the first rendition.

16. Anything you’d like other owners to know about your interaction with the league (examples: “I check my email/league site at lunch time,” “I often travel and don’t have access to the internet,” “Your odds of executing a trade with me go up considerably if you send me a picture of Scarlet Johansson posing provocatively,” etc.)? I will almost always counter a trade offer. If I don’t, you know it was really off base.

17. How would you describe your pre-draft preparation? Intricate, possible overboard. Lots of Excel spreadsheets and data.

18. How often do you go on the H&T website/blog per day? Six or so. Set the lineup in the morning, check the transactions mid-day. Monitor the box scores constantly at night.

19. What is the weirdest place/situation you’ve checked your lineup? The shitter.

20. If you could make one change to the league, what would it be? I would require all managers to respond to trade offers within 24 hours or they get fined $300, which is then dedicated to a separate fund for the league scribe.

Week 2 Power Ranking

1. Grumpy Munchkins -- .650 (previous week: 1)
Despite the 6-3-1, Casten maintains the top position with a smashing week (9 HR, .400 OBP), sweeping the offensive categories from Donkey. He also had an excellent pitching week, tied for the most QS, 2nd most Ks and a 3.83 ERA and 1.28 WHIP, but he couldn’t beat out Chris’s impressive pitching line and the final record doesn’t quite reflect how well his team did. A few stinkers from the pitching staff spoiled his party, but the starts of Dunn, Niese, and Hart should be encouraging.

2. Clayton & The King -- .900 (previous: 2)
When you look at the totals for the week and compare to Grumpy, this is a good example of how records are not exactly representative of quality. Russ didn’t really have a good week; offense was mediocre (18/6/19/0/.319) and pitching was just OK (4.67 ERA won’t get you a win most weeks). But Kyle’s team was just awful, so Russ escapes with a blowout despite Clayton’s sickness and the King’s underperformance.

3. Moose is Loose -- .650 (previous: 3)
Solid week all around for Brian, with some heartening starts from Beltran and Markakis fueling the offense. He also gets credit for cutting losses with VMart and gaining a fifth closer now that it appears Rodney will take it for TB. The news doesn’t sound good on Baker coming off the DL soon and Kuroda and ESantana stunk it up, but good to see Danks and Ubaldo with good outings. After bouncing Dave, he’s got another tough matchup with Brandon this week.

4. Ring of Fire -- .600 (previous: 4)
Without Kemp and Bruce (combined 9/5/13), this would’ve been a much worse start for Dagan, who took out Jason 6-4. Pitching was a strong point with a sparkling 1.41/0.94, lead by Cueto, Masterson, and Wandy. That said, his seven starters only made four starts, so he couldn’t get the cumulative categories. A few potential concerns here with Youk, Latos, Soto and the Moreland/Belt/Doumit spots, but we’ll see where this is in a week.

5. Cowhide Joyride -- .350 (previous: 6)
Like Donkey, Dave could only muster a 3-6-1 week, but this time it was his pitching staff letting him down with a 5.57 ERA and only one QS and SV. Losing ABailey hurts, but the Motte/Kimbrel combo will keep him competitive in saves most weeks. While he awaits outings from the much anticipated Darvish, as well as EJax, the lackluster starts of Lincecum, Liriano, and Bumgarner are a bit worrisome. But I still expect good production from the staff and the offense, which had a good week lead by Yoenis and Prince. There’s not much fluctuation in the ranks here, but Dave’s roster seems to be more balanced than Chris’ at the moment, so he gets a bump.

6. Donkey Punchers -- .350 (previous: 5)
Really bad showing from the offense here (0-5), with only 11 runs and a .305 OBP, as Napoli, Teixera, Ike, Tabata, LoMo, and Gamel all struggled out of the gate and Cliff Pennington is manning a starting position. There’s still some serious fire power here, but I notice now a lot of it is “upside” in much of the offensive roster rather than past success—all guys I like, but something to consider as the season goes on. If they don’t produce as expected, Donkey could struggle. Pitching was quite good with a league-leading 48 Ks and 5 QS to go along with sub 3.50/1.15 ratios. But with 12 starters and no closers, the pitching staff can only do so much.

7. Montezuma’s Revenge -- .900 (previous: 7)
As much as I’d like to overreact and put me up top based on my 9-1 start, there are still a lot of question marks on the pitching staff that must be sorted out. I am encouraged that the outcome was good despite losing Pineda and Hamels not starting a game yet. FFrancisco put his injuries behind him quickly and won me saves, while Pena and Hosmer (big man crush there) paced my offense. Full week versus Donkey will help show where this team should go.

8. Prestige Worldwide -- .700 (previous: 8)
Nice record at 7-3, but there’s some pretty poor production in three categories in particular (10 RBI –- paced by Edwin Encarnacion, yikes -- 5.88 ERA, 1.45 WHIP). I expect more production from AGon, Grandy, and Stubbs, while Longo and Maybin have played well, but there are some question marks. Romero and Buchholz stinkers, assisted by Aceves, Marmol, and Holland flops, shot that ERA up beyond acceptable levels. I think this team is solid at the top, but the middle-of-the-road guys are going to have to produce to keep the team afloat.

9. Keepin it Real -- .650 (previous: 10)
Pierce has to be pretty happy with the 6-3-1 start, with Sandoval, Wright, Peralta, and Joyce leading the way to a .397 OBP and 23 RBIs. The pitching, however, is what made the difference here with a very tidy 40K, 2.47/1.10/, and 5QS start. If he can get this type of production from his starters the rest of the way (particulary JSanchez, Billingsley, and Zambrano), he will shoot up this rankings in short order. That’s a big “if” though. Might’ve just been a lucky week.

10. Billy Chapel -- .350 (previous: 9)
Troy got off to a disappointing 3-6-1 start due largely to some extraordinarily shitty pitching, which produced a remarkable 6.83/1.84, with just 1 QS, no saves, and 23 Ks. Part of the problem is he has just five active starters, one of whom is on the DL (Fister) but hasn’t found his way to the DL slot, thus there is no replacement. I can assure you no team with four starts will ever win QS or Ks. Beckett’s start was troubling, while Jurrjens wasn’t so hot either and the Axford/Salas/Santos threesome was a first week flop. The offense looked pretty good though and will get better.

11. One Nut Wonders -- .400 (previous: 11)
Jason escaped with a 4-6 record in an odd fashion. While his ERA and WHIP were worthy of a W, he lost both categories. But he managed to get wins in OBP with a .286 (above Dagan’s .268) and 29 Ks (vs. 26). I still have a hard time believing a team that is trotting out Jesus Guzman and Kyle Blanks at the critical position of 1B and starting GBeckham will have an offensive force that can make the playoffs. His starters looked good outside of Shields and he’s got HAlvarez and MMoore who have yet to start, but it’s going to take some consistent production for Jason to move up.

12. Urban Achievers -- .100 (previous: 12)
Tough week for Dan, who rosters four guys with an on-base clip below .150. and managed only three home runs. Guys like Reynolds, Choo, Jennings, and CYoung will ultimately pace offensive production and they just haven’t shown up yet. He got some bad luck with Farnsworth and has a number of back rotation types who haven’t started yet, so that 5.24/1.61 (thanks largely to CC’s stinker) could smooth out here soon. Arrietta was a nice pickup after a good first start; this team needs high upside waiver pickups during the year to have a chance.

13. Anal Hershiser -- .300 (previous: 13)
Andy made a couple moves that helped balance the roster a bit (Colon and Tomlin), but it is still considerably out of whack with five offensive bench players. Any team that doesn’t have a closer, really should have a starting staff that can dominate the counting stats. The Haren, Verlander, Strasburg, Wilson foursome should be consistent and give Anal an edge most weeks, but there needs to be more around them. He ended the four-day week only two QS and seven Ks away from a 5-5 week, which is perfectly acceptable during a week when your offense produces an atrocious 10/3/18/0/.234 line. A team lacking offensive pop and pitching depth with a surplus of great top-of-the-line starters sounds like a good candidate for an early season trade.

14. The Angry Pirates -- .100 (previous: 14)
While quite sad overall with an 0 SV, 11K, 5.50 ERA, 1.61 WHIP, and 2 QS, it wasn’t that far off the outputs of Urban, Anal, Billy, and Prestige, so it was a bit of bad luck to have to go against Russ’ firing squad the first week. (It doesn’t get much easier this week with Dagan.) Unfortunately for Kyle, he’s got Josh Johnson and a lot of back-of-the-rotation types, so the short week did not work in his favor. He’s got a bunch of interesting guys (Bard, Feliz, Sale, WChen, Doubront) who would make a big difference if they can start strong. There’s still a lot to like on offense here, so Kyle could move up a few spots in the next week.