disarcina

We have an 8 team Fantasy Baseball League in the ESPN run FLB...... This is a league that dates back to the ESPN board and we've maintained the league over the years, a number of the team owners date back to the origination of the FLB league. This is an auto-draft league -- the league draft is set for March 21 and it is a KEEPER LEAGUE with the KEEPER deadline approaching (I think it's March 14). One of our team owners has not re-upped for 2014 so we have ONE team owner spot open. This league is designed for those who want to participate in Fantasy League baseball but only have limited time to do so -- that's why we do an auto draft, because there's no way to coordinate our busy team owners' schedules to actually coordinate a live draft........in this league we ask you to participate on a regular basis (preferably daily but at least a few times a week) to change your line up and pitching -- but it's not the all consuming investment of time that some leagues are and want you do to -- this is not us......this is just a group of mostly Angels fans (one Dogs fan snuck in -- a baseball fan I've known for a long time) that want to have fun with FLB but not a lot of time to devote to it. You can spend as little as 5 minutes a day (at your convenience) or even every other day and be considered an active member of this league.... We have ONE SPOT for 2014. If you think this is a league you would like to join, please e-mail me through Angelswin.com and include in your e-mail your e-mail so that I can send out a Owner's Invitation to Join League through ESPN to you. A lot of folks have just criticisms of the ESPN operated ESPN and I agree it certainly has its limitations -- but we've been in this league through ESPN for years now and we're on to the next season..........If you want in, let me know........If I get a response or even more than one, I will likely send out several invitations and the first person to respond is IN. thanks all.

Blanton status has gone from being traded or even being given his outright release to competing for at least the fifth if not the FOURTH rotation spot......... I think I predicted 85 / 86 wins for the Halos in 2014 in the prior prediction thread.........if this trend continues my prediction would be about ten wins less..........

my bad -- Norris was an up and comer with Houston -- I knew he played for them but thought he was also in the Cards organization.......WRONG. He never pitched for St. Louis -- I am thinking of some other young pitcher who came up with St. Louis and pitched a no hitter early on but didn't do much after that --- and for the smart alecks, no, it's not Bobo Newsome, the no-hit wonder with the old St. Louis Browns.........(that would be a few years back......)

why does it seem so long ago that Bud Norris was an up and comer with St. Louis?????? Didn't he pitch a no hitter for the Cards or something like that? that seems a lifetime ago now.........now he's an aging vet trying to hang on to a rotation spot somewhere.

are we still stuck with KCOP -13 as the over the air station? wish we could return to KCAL-9 due to the Dodgers departure.......or will there be some Dodgers games on KCAL?? I thought the new DODGER Station on TIme Warner was an exclusive deal -- so no more KCAL 9 for the Dogs.

Long relief will be needed with what our fourth and fifth spots look like now. interestingly, one of the better long relief guys we had last year was Jerome Williams.......who will likely be Houston's fifth starter this year.

today's Times had a story that 2014 might be it for NHL players in the Olympics....... I think that might be the case......... hard to shut down the season for three weeks every four years.

great story in today's Times........ I'm all for this guy -- Francona's kid -- must have baseball and winning in his blood........ good to see the organization have good people like this guy.........

It kind of is already in California which celebrates Cesar Chavez Day each year on March 30th or so - it's been an official California holiday for a number of years now and each year it seems to fall on the Opening Day of baseball..........

who was taking BP at the time?? Blanton?

Quick played well -- virtually kept them in the game vs. Canada.......that could have easily been 4 to 0 or something. the Finland game was a disaster......Quick and the whole Team USA needs to wipe it from the memory as a let down aberration game and move on. Kings were not playing well or scoring much (so Quick probably felt pretty comfortable the last two Team USA games) before the break so I have to believe they can only go up from the way they were playing the last three weeks to a month before the Olympic break......... Selanne deserves a nice ovation all around the league when he returns to finish out what is final NHL season.........and I expect that TJ Oshie's shootout heroics vs. the Russians will be remembered by USA fans across the country..........much like when Buffalo's Ryan Miller returned from the Vancouver games and was given a warm welcome by hockey fans here.

Carter just killed us last year.....yeah, 3 of the bombs were off Blanton -- but Carter hit some clutch bombs vs. us all season long. he's earned four wide ones for most of his ABs in 2014.........I mean, don't tell me we can't pitch around this one guy in the HOUSTON line up??

Canada owns Olympic hockey -- perhaps as it should be. Congrats to Finland -- nice bronze. Anyone else on these Olympics re this: seems like they're here and gone -- the hockey stuff that I care the most about just seemed to be poorly covered compared to Vancouver. Maybe it's the time difference and all -- and I am not complaining about the announcers or the pre and post game panels -- I just thought there was less emphasis on it and if you really had to stay on top of the schedule to figure out who was playing and when....... I enjoyed the Vancouver competition so much -- this year seemed like a let down (and that's not just because the USA team wasn't in the medal hunt -- I guess that Canada-USA final at Vancouver is tough to beat -- what a great game that was and great finish to the competition with the host country winning their signature event in sudden death OT). I don't know -- in Vancouver, I felt that the Olympic competition really gave a huge platform and stage for the NHL, the competition was great, the games were good, the coverage worked well and I felt that NHL and hockey in general received a boost from the Olympic coverage and world wide exposure. I don't feel the same way about these games.......not sure why. Felt Team Canada (men and women's teams) played well. Was pleased to see Finland win a medal. Was pretty much disappointed with almost everything else.

Have him stay home???? Have him benefit from his dumb statement (even if it's the way he feels). NO. Don't do that. Make him go and make his do the team caravans where the players meet and greet the fans there. Look, this guy is being paid really well to do what the ball club asks him to do --primarily pitch effectively and win games........but there's also a PR element to this and for some reason the Dodgers agreed with MLB to do this opening day season gig (which does seem like a logistics nightmare at the start of a season)....... so the last thing he should be doing is bashing the host country.......

GEEZ. USA squad looked spent and talk about a let down game -- FINLAND crushed us. Nice to see Selanne with a nice two goal game win for his final Olympic appearance, though. But USA beats Russia and then everything after that is anti-climatic. Championship game at 4 AM Sunday --

yes. he had decent numbers in 2012 with an NL team (the Dodgers) in a pitcher's park (Chavez Ravine)........ I don't think those numbers translate to an AL team and certainly not at Fenway Park..........we'll see.

Yankees games probably sold out by now -- especially Jeetz's final game in Anaheim.

Hamiltown -- perhaps the Halos should play that video you posted above during the pre-game warm ups....... I am sure it would get a reaction from the Anaheim crowd. Of course, Blanton's had been getting the sort of reaction that would be expected from the crowd anyway (without viewing the video) just based on his record and, with Butcher's performance as pitching coach the past few years, the reaction to him is becoming about the same....... but if the crowd saw this video posted on the big screen...........WHOA -- the reaction from an normally complacent Anaheim crowd would be anything but complacent.......

Not sure why there's all this commotion about NOT signing a guy like Capuano..... Capuano was once a very good pitcher, back when he was with Milwuakee -- but he's several arm injuries later, had major surgery and is really pretty questionable as a rotation guy. Now he signs with Boston??? I can see him getting hit pretty hard at Fenway. Capuano, IMO, is an option for an NL team in a pitcher's park -- he pitched OK post-Brewers with the Dodgers and could probably do well in San Diego. I'm not shedding any tears over the Halos not signing him even at the $2.25 million price.

10 to 15 -- I see no way around it. perhaps more if the Halos can figure out a way to have Blanton start, pitch four innings and then have a scheduled rotation of pen guys behind him. the Halos have spent some money for pen depth and if these guys stay healthy you could have Blanton for four innings, a pen guy for two, another pen guy for one or two, etc.

first week of May.

Cable companies have fought a la carte options for years..... their reward for doing so is fueling the 'unplugged' population which no longer has traditional TV in their homes but watching everything on computers and hand held electronic devices. the TV and cable folks are fighting a war of attrition (much of their own making) that they can't win. technology is catching up with them and the public they've 'served' are actively looking to escape from their clutches. As for the Dodgers Network -- the vision of years ago by Al Davis is about to become reality soon --- smaller crowds, fewer TV viewers.......but a lot more revenue as the telecasts get beamed to high end view viewers who can shell out the high subscription cost. in the short run, it may work well, Fewer fans, more revenue -- heaven!! But over time, the fan base disappears without replenishment. I've still got cable (won't pay extra for Time Warner and the Dogs) but am very tempted to just live with my MLB.com audio feed........best deal of all -- $14.95 for the entire season all MLB game radio broadcasts home and away ----- my automatic renewal just came in this week........ who needs the cable games? baseball is better on the radio anyway.

ukyah -- yeah. good point. he sort of flew a little bit under the radar on that issue -- but you're right.

today's LA Times has a story on the new Dodgers network -- no more over the air televised games, apparently. so if this is Vinny's final season, it means he's go out with a lot less viewers........apparently, the only way to get Dogs' games is a paid subscription to Dodger TV network. there might be some pay per view (game) options. this also means the Dogs are leaving KCAL-9 -- I hope that means the Halos can go back there for their over-the-air non-cable channel games.

saw this headline and story in today's LA Times -- and geez.......pitchers and catchers just reported........first ST games are next week......and WOW, that headline makes the season seem like a long one already........OUCH.