Hey UPL...winter meetings anyone?

Wow it got dusty in here! Work & Life, you know how it goes.

Anyway, it has been twin heartbreak UPL seasons (second place both times by a whisker and losing the lead on the last day)...and I know that hoops are on the front burner now, but spring training is coming around the bend. Plus, Im bored, so I looked up my final UPL roster and projected my keepers for a little UPL hot stove action!!!

Turns out, it wasnt really that difficult. Of course, this is all subject to change, and more to the point, I am open to wheeling and dealing to the few of you who will actually read this note.

Here goes:

1B Gaby Sanchez -- should benefit from Marlins' spending spree. Lots of men on base we hope.

2B Brandon Phillips

3B Alex Rodriguez

SS Jose Reyes -- who knew I'd have the best SS in Miami??

OF Jose Bautista

OF Jason Heyward -- I'll be sticking with him to the bitter end after what I gave up to get him

OF Emilio Bonifacio -- yeah, those 40 SB and the boppers behind him look pretty enticing

U Ben Zobrist

U Chris Young

B Lance Berkman -- subject of a much ballyhooed deadline deal...I think it would almost be justice to send him back to the draft, because he pretty much shit the bed for me after I got him anyway.

Missed the cut (for now)

* Delmon Young -- his late-season heroics have me seriously doubting this decision. I think in the end I will try to find a way to get him into my required 18.

* JP Arencibia

*Vernon Wells -- his OBP really sagged last year.

On to my soon-to-be dominant pitching staff

P Heath Bell

P Craig Kimbrel

P Carlos Marmol -- can you say 120 saves from 3 guys? Yeah, I think you can.

P Roy Halladay

P Jered Weaver

P Jhoulys Chacin -- my #1 draft pick from last year showed some flashes. Not ready to give up.

P Jaime Garcia -- been very good to me since I picked him off waivers 2 years ago.

P Kenley Jansen -- LAD closer situation is muddled, but he has the stuff.

Missed the cut

So far none of my legit pitchers missed the cut.

****

My thoughts are that I need to make a move for some younger power hitters, which of course is the hardest type of player to get. My team is fast. Really fast. Lots of steals and runs (and hopefully AVG), which has always been my main 5x5 roto philosophy anyway. I would say a package involving some saves and maybe a Berkman can probably net me the type of player I'm looking for.

My team is all growing old together after a few years now, so maybe it's time to shake some things up.

Looking forward to comments and/or trade offers. Everyone's got a price. Happy New Year.

The results are in...

Yes sports fans, two drafts have now been completed by yours truly...including my first NL Only live auction.

Here are the results of the NL auction (keepers are bold with a *). It was a 10-team with $250 budgets:

C- Nick Hundley $1
1B- Ryan Howard $39
2B- Omar Infante $10*
3B- Ian Stewart $10*
SS- Hanley Ramirez $53
CI- Chris Johnson $1*
MI- Bill Hall $7
OF- Mike Stanton $5*
OF- Cody Ross $6*
OF- Cameron Maybin $5*
OF- Alfonso Soriano $19
OF- Chris Coghlan $10
U- Jose Lopez $9
P- Ryan Dempster $6*
P- Johnny Cueto $13*
P- Hiroki Kuroda $19
P- Matt Garza $12
P- Jonanthan Broxton $18
P- Evan Meek $2*
P- Hong-Chih Kuo $2
P- Jason Motte $2
P- Luke Gregerson $1*
B- Homer Bailey $1
B- Rafael Betancourt $1
Minors - Brandon Belt
Minors - Kenley Jansen
Minors - Billy Hamilton
Minors - Chris Marrero
Minors - Zack Wheeler*

Obviously, I favored the top 4 hitters of the Marlins (HOMER!)...but I also have a lot invested in the Cubs and Dodgers. I am using the middle reliever theory, meaning I am likely punting wins for a big increase in WHIP, ERA and saves (I think at least 2 of the MR I have will be closers by the end of the season). 50 saves was enough for fifth place in saves last year in this league, and I have basically locked up every LA Dodger save with this team, which should be in the 45-50 range by itself. Once Heath Bell is traded(?) or Joel Hanrahan is traded or stinks, and Ryan Franklin finally starts to decline, Gregerson, Meek and Motte will be collecting saves as well.

I project to be the No. 1 team in HR (an escape for me), middle of the pack in steals and runs; and near the bottom in average. My goal will obviously be to try and trade for a high-average stolen base guy using my excess power numbers.

I would also love to trade one of my minor league prospects for a better SP. My biggest hope is that Belt opens the season in the minors, and is called up mid-season with a splash, at which point I will probably try to trade him.

I may have been overprepared for this auction. How'd I do? I'll post my mixed league team later.

Looking like a good year in the UPL

As an effort to spur offseason activity in the UPL baseball league, I am posting my roster of potential keepers just to make you guys jealous.

Of course I would love to make a deal or two...

OFFENSE

C - EMPTY

1B Kendry Morales 56/193 29 11 39 0 .346 .487

2B Brandon Phillips 172/626 100 18 59 16 .332 .430

3B Álex Rodríguez 141/522 74 30 125 4 .341 .506

SS José Reyes 159/563 83 11 54 30 .321 .428

OF Jason Heyward 144/520 83 18 72 11 .393 .456

OF José Bautista 148/569 109 54 124 9 .378 .617

OF Denard Span 166/629 85 3 58 26 .331 .348

Util Aubrey Huff 165/569 100 26 86 7 .385 .506

Util Ben Zobrist 129/541 77 10 75 24 .346 .353

BN Chris Young 150/584 94 27 91 28 .341 .452

BN Desmond Jennings 4/21 5 0 2 2 .292 .333

BN Gaby Sánchez 156/572 72 19 85 5 .341 .448

BN Ryan Doumit 102/406 42 13 45 1 .331 .406

BN

PITCHING

SP Roy Halladay 250.2 21 10 0 219 2.44 1.04

RP Carlos Mármol 77.2 2 3 38 138 2.55 1.18

P Jered Weaver 224.1 13 12 0 233 3.01 1.07

P Heath Bell 70.0 6 1 47 86 1.93 1.20

P Jaime García 163.1 13 8 0 132 2.70 1.32

P Wade Davis 168.0 12 10 0 113 4.07 1.35

P Evan Meek 80.0 5 4 4 70 2.14 1.05

P Jeff Niemann 174.1 12 8 0 131 4.39 1.26

BN Tommy Hunter 128.0 13 4 0 68 3.73 1.24

BN

BN

BN

If you want to pull up your own UPL roster, just go to your yahoo fantasy profile and pull up last year's team. If you need to plug a hole at first base, I might be able to help you out!

You Make the HoF Call

What do the following players have in common?

1. Wilson Alvarez
2. Roberto Alomar
3. Carlos Baerga
4. Jeff Bagwell
5. Harold Baines
6. Bert Blyleven
7. Brett Boone
8. Kevin Brown
9. Cal Eldred
10. John Franco
11. Juan Gonzalez
12. Marquis Grissom
13. Lenny Harris
14. Bobby Higginson
15. Charles Johnson
16. Barry Larkin
17. Al Leiter
18. José Lima* Eligible on “passed away” provision
19. Edgar Martinez
20. Tino Martinez
21. Don Mattingly
22. Fred McGriff
23. Mark McGwire
24. Raul Mondesi
25. Jack Morris
26. Dale Murphy
27. José Offerman
28. John Olerud
29. Rafael Palmeiro
30. Dave Parker
31. Paul Quantrill
32. Tim Raines
33. Steve Reed
34. Kirk Rueter
35. Rey Sánchez
36. Benito Santiago
37. Lee Smith
38. B.J. Surhoff
39. Alan Trammell
40. Ugueth Urbina
41. Ismael Valdez
42. Larry Walker
43. Dan Wilson

That’s right, they will be on the official baseball Hall of Fame Ballot this season.

So let’s make you guys (and me) the electors. Here are the rules, straight from the BBWAA:

A. Electors may vote for as few as zero (0) and as many as ten (10) eligible candidates deemed worthy of election. Write-in votes are not permitted.

B. Any candidate receiving votes on seventy-five percent (75%) of the ballots cast shall be elected to membership in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

So who are you nominating? Here’s my ballot:

1. Roberto Alomar

2. Bert Blyleven

3. Tim Raines

4. Jeff Bagwell

5. Larry Walker

6. Jack Morris

7. Barry Larkin

8. Fred McGriff

No, I did not vote for Edgar Martinez. No I did not vote for Raffy Palmiero or Mark McGwire. And no, I did not vote for other steroid junkies like Bret Boone or Juan Gonzalez. (Discuss…)

If I get enough ballots (more than 2?) I will tally up our HoF selections. So, COME ON COMMITTEE!!

Lots of former Marlins on this list….there are 8 -- can you name them?

I’ll save you the trouble:

• Kevin Brown (Ace pitcher on FLA's first WS winner),
• Lenny Harris (ended his long career with three yrs in FLA),
• Charles Johnson (1^st ever draft pick, on the 97 squad),
• Al Leiter (pitched a no-no for us and won the WS),
• Paul Quantrill (also ended his career with the fish)
  
• Benito Santiago (opening day catcher),
• Ugueth Urbina (saved FLA’s second WS over the Yanks),
• Ismael Valdez (ended his career in FLA)

The new-look Florida Marlins?

It is uncanny. I go ahead and vent my bellyaching for the Marlins trade of Cameron Maybin and what do they do?

Of course, they one-up me.

In case you hadn't heard, the Marlins just traded Dan Uggla for career utility man Omar Infante and LH reliever Mike Dunn.

I think we just found #11 on the list in my previous posting. Holy cannoli!

It's hard to ascertain what the Marlins are doing here. They just traded their CF and 2B for three relievers and a utility infielder for heaven's sake....but there may be a silver lining on this very dark cloud (more on this in a second).

First, I understand the reasons why the Marlins needed to trade Uggla away. Forget the fact that he is the club's all-time home run leader, because he refused a decent $48 million offer from the Marlins earlier this offseason. Yes, Florida had to get some kind of return on investment -- and as a my good friend Adam reminded me yesterday, the Marlins got Uggla for nothing way back in 2005 in the Rule 5 Draft.

But Omar Infante? I'm not a fan. In his last five seasons with Detroit and then Atlanta, he has averaged 88.8 games played per season. Forget his ridiculous all-star selection last season -- this guy is simply a career backup infielder (8 years worth of being one, too) who has played well recently -- although his defense is extremely suspect. In 29 games as a third baseman (the position he projects to play in Florida), he committed 30 errors last season. Yeah -- that's more than one error PER GAME.

Dunn offers the Marlins some much-needed bullpen help; however, did they not just trade away their prospect center fielder for two relief pitchers?

It has been a fast start to the hot stove season for the Marlins. Not only have they made two pretty awful trades, but they also spent $18 million for three years on a middle-of-the-road catcher, John Buck, who probably could have been signed for half that amount. Sure, Buck hit 20 homers last season for the Blue Jays -- but guess what, he isn't going to do that next year in spacious Dolphin Stadium...although I suppose the new ballpark would be more suitable to his power.

The Silver Lining
Everything above has been undoubtedly bad for the Marlins so far. Some people on the message boards are calling for an official intervention! However, there is some good news....

First, assuming Infante is placed at third base, Chris Coghlan will move to his natural position of second base for next season. This is great news for his fantasy owners, because Cogs' production was middling at best for an OF, but should be above average production for a second baseman.

Right now, Florida does not have a center fielder (unless you count the god-awful Emilio Bonifacio).........is it even remotely possible that the Marlins are clearing some payroll and roster space to make a run at Carl Crawford? This is total speculation on may part, but it kind of makes sense. If you are going to trade your power-hitting second baseman to a division rival and dump your center fielder for some bullpen help in the same week....it may be just a setup for a huge maneuver.

Then again, this IS the Marlins I'm talking about.

As of today, here is my projected Marlins lineup (assuming we make the humongous signing):
1 - Carl Crawford (CF)
2- Chris Coghlan (2B)
3- Hanley Ramirez (SS)
4- Mike Stanton (RF)
5- Gaby Sanchez (1B)
6- Logan Morrison (LF)
7- John Buck (C)
8- Omar Infante (3B)

They are definitely depending A LOT on Stanton in this lineup. But once again, the Marlins would have a very young, competitive squad that is just not quite good enough to compete with the Phillies, Mets and Braves.

Worst MLB trades in the last 25 years

Hey all, I know it's been a while.

On the heels of the news that the Florida Marlins have traded Cameron Maybin and Andrew Miller for three minor league relief pitchers in two separate deals, I had to post a comment.

This brings one of the worst trades I can remember full-circle: Miguel Cabrera (best Marlin ever) and Dontrelle Willis (one of the best Marlins pitchers ever) for Maybin and Miller.

For a fervent Marlins fan like me, this is the worst trade in the last 25 years.

So, knowing the boys over at the rotojunkie.com forums, I challenged them to come up with worse trades than this one in the last 25 years. I knew they would come up with some doozies:

My post: “So I'm gonna go ahead and call the Miggy Cabrera/Dontrelle Willis for Andrew Miller/Cameron Maybin the worst trade in the last 25 years in baseball.

Prove me wrong.”

The responses:

1. Bobby Abreu for Kevin Stocker
2. Scott Kazmir for Victor Zambrano
3. A.J. Pierzynski for Joe Nathan, Boof Bonser and Francisco Liriano
4. Jeff Bagwell for Larry Andersen
5. Mark McGwire for Eric Ludwick, T.J. Mathews and Blake Stein
6. Jay Buhner for Ken Phelps
7. Bartolo Colon and Tim Drew for Cliff Lee, Brandon Phillips, Grady Sizemore and Lee Stevens
8. Sammy Sosa, Scott Fletcher & Wilson Alvarez for Harold Baines
9. Curt Schilling, Steve Finley & Pete Harnisch for Glenn Davis
10. Curt Schilling for Jason Grimsley

Personally, I'd say #5 and #7 are the most egregious. Still, no trade breaks my heart more than the Miggy Cabrera deal.

So go ahead baseball fans.....PROVE ME WRONG!

Hands-down MVP

Top 10 Fantasy Players Who Might Get Traded

Top 10 Fantasy Players Who Might Get Traded

Grading the Rookies

Grading the Rookies

First-Half Offensive MVPs, Goats and Waiver Wire Studs

First-Half Offensive MVPs, Goats and Waiver Wire Studs