Rebuilding A Franchise: From First to Worst and Back … Hopefully

It started with a poor season.

For better or worse, the 2008 baseball season was a disaster for my squad in the SLO League, causing me to seriously consider blowing up the team that had led me to two titles. I’d entered the 2008 draft with what at the time was considered OK keepers — Chase Utley, Victor Martinez, Justin Verlander, Carlos Lee and CC Sabathia. But then things quickly started to unravel.

Four Bagger: Ramble On

Listen, Newspaperman can’t hang with the hip hop knowledge that TheJon, PoiDog and TheOz bring to TheBaseballStars. While they were listening to the supposed good stuff, I was eating up what MTV was serving: 3rdBass’ Pop Goes The Weasel, Metallica ‘s Enter Sandman, and Warren G and Nate Dogg in Regulate.

But I digress. I’ve come to understand the finer things in life, and I’m not talking about Tchaikovsky or anything like that. I’m talking Zeppelin, baby! Anyhow, as the header video states, it’s time to Ramble On and talk fantasy baseball.

Four Bagger: Live by the Utley, die by the Utley

When is nine hits, nine runs, five homers and 14 RBIs a disappointment? When you own the player who produced them and his output was still not enough to help you win in one league, yet just enough to help your oppoent in another. Chase Utley had a spectacular week, but when it came down to it, he was not enough to keep me afloat in one league, and was the sole reason why I lost in another. What, were you expecting another Jay Bruce headline? Read more in this week’s FOUR BAGGER.

Four Bagger: Let there be light

I knew when I drafted my teams before the season that my squads would be competitive. It was only a matter of time before they would start performing like the stars that they are and lift me into the upper echelon of each of my leagues. Was it because of Clayton Kershaw or Jay Bruce? Nope. Read about this and more in this week’s Four Bagger.

Three-peat starts here (Draft Results)

The road to the three-peat has begun.

On Saturday three of TheBaseballStars got together for the SLO League draft. TheJon took part by Yahoo Instant Messenger while PoiDog and myself hung out with the other owners. I’m not going to run down every bit of the draft, it’s a bit complicated since it’s a keeper league. But I will share my results. Reminder: I entered the draft without a first-round pick, and with these keepers: Victor Martinez, Chase Utley, Carlos Lee, C.C. Sabathia and Justin Verlander; rookie keeper: Cameron Maybin. Here’s what my team looks like today …

Newspaperman’s Top 5 fantasy prospects

So you’re looking for this season’s version of Ryan Braun, huh? I know how it is. Braun, a relative unknown to the casual baseball fan, burst onto the scene last year and manhandled major league pitching. He likely led your arch rival to a league title, or a playoff berth anyway, and now he’s being chosen in the top three rounds of many fantasy drafts. Some publications have even projected Braun to hit 40 homeruns this year and chosen him to supplant David Wright as fantasy’s third best third sacker. (I aint buying that). That said, you’re probably looking for the “next best thing,” the prospect that will be overlooked on draft day because no one knows him. Here is a list of five prospects that should have immediate fantasy impact.