What Does Playing In Boston Mean For Adrian Gonzalez?

From a Fantasy perspective the contrasts between the NL West and the AL East, as well as those between spacious PETCO Park and the lefty-friendly Fens, make the Adrian Gonzalez move one of the most intriguing in recent years.

Analysis: The automatic assumption is that moving from a pitcher’s park to a place where talented lefties seem to pepper balls off of the Green Monster at will means a significant spike in Gonzalez’s slash line. After crunching the numbers and going over the evidence, I cannot argue with that premise. Most detractors to this theory pull out the “AL East argument” right away and, although A-Gone will be up against some pretty tough opponents in his new division, the NL West has sported some of the best arms in the game as of late. Keep in mind that Gonzalez has also spent the majority of his career in lineups that were nothing short of offensively anemic. Now surrounded by an impressive cast of characters and playing in front of one of the most passionate fan bases in all of baseball, Adrian is poised to take Beantown by storm.

Projection: All signs are positive for A-Gone in Boston. He may get off to a slow start in Spring Training, as he is recovering from offseason shoulder surgery. However, everyone in Boston (including Gonzalez) has been exuding confidence that he’ll be ready for Opening Day. He may also be the center of attention for a few more weeks for contract-related issues, but a multi-year extension seems like a foregone conclusion at this point. All that aside, Adrian and the Red Sox seem like the perfect marriage for Fantasy owners. He may lose a few line drive home runs due to the height of The Monstah, but those can be made up by taking advantage of some of Fenway’s other cozy dimensions. Besides, those lasers off of the wall will just pad his doubles total even more. Take into consideration that 107 of his 168 career dingers have come on the road, and it becomes evident that a change of home venue instantly puts Gonzalez in perennial MVP contention. Look for 40+ home runs, 125+ RBI, and an OBP in the .415-.430 range this season. This is a player with the potential to produce like a top 5 pick, but may be obtainable somewhere within the 10th-15th pick range in some leagues.

Where Does Aroldis Chapman Fit On Your Team?

The flame throwing phenom enters Reds camp with a set position and a level of comfortability. Dusty Baker’s plan is to slot Chapman in a setup role behind closer Francisco Cordero, putting to rest any rumors of Aroldis entering the starting rotation or perhaps supplanting Cordero in 2011.

Analysis: The young Cuban defector set radar guns ablaze in his brief Major League stint in 2010, consistently cracking 100 MPH and peaking at a record-breaking 105 MPH in San Diego. This historical fastball, combined with an above average slider and decent changeup, gives Chapman an enviable arsenal and a potentially limitless future. The key word here for Fantasy owners is future, however, as the 6’4″ lefty’s current spot on the depth chart is the 8th inning and as a lefty specialist, a role he may even share with fellow southpaw Bill Bray.

Projection: While Fantasy owners drool over the prospect of Chapman starting games as he did at AAA, don’t expect it to happen this season. The Reds have no rush to transition their prized arm into the rotation, especially because of a balky back he first experienced last spring. They also have more of a need for him in the bullpen at this point, with the offseason departure of Arthur Rhodes leaving a significant hole.  In addition, Baker has stated on more than one occasion that he’d like to limit Chapman to an inning per appearance. Unless Cordero hits the DL at some point this year, the most you can expect from Chapman are a respectable amount of holds and an above-average number of strikeouts for a setup man. Nevertheless, this is someone who will undoubtedly amass monster numbers one day, whether it be in the 9th inning or every fifth day.

NBA Fantasy Review

We’ve reached the midway point of the 2011-12 NBA season, providing a great opportunity to review where our fantasy teams are (not) headed.

Who has Brandon Roy on their team? show of hands please…. I thought I was in decent shape heading into the auction. We utilize a 15 man roster, 12 players active witth a salary cap of $150. We are allowed to keep four players from the previous season:

–Blake Griffin $8- I bid on him after he was injured last season, hence the cheap price. I thought he was going to be good, but he has far exceeded anyone’s expectations, even Mamma Griffin.

–Brandon Roy $21- My fall guy. I blame all my problems on him, all of them, even those not fantasy related. I should have listened when I heard he had basically no ligaments in either knee.

–Devin Harris $20- Another member of the All-Injury team. VERY inconsistent and, like Roy, misses games randomly.

–Josh Smith $21- No complaints here. Josh does it all.

OK, not a bad group to start with, lets review auction night. Entering the auction, my plans were to spend my money wisely, try and get some good bargains to carry over to next season, and pickup new hometown superstar John Wall. My plan didn’t last long….

–Kobe Bryant $33- Now, by no stretch is this a bad pickup. Kobe does it all and plays for the best team in the NBA. Why is that important? In our league, a portion of the units (nobody plans for money-right?) are applied to our NBA playoff teams. The top four finishers in the regular season also compete in the post season. We (as if I will be one of them) get to retain two players from our regular season roster and then draft to fill the rest of the spots.  That’s my justification for blowing such a large portion of my remaining budget, and I’m sticking with it!

Al Horford $21- I really thought this was a steal, especially  since he qualifies at both forward and center at our site (CBS Sportsline). His scoring is down a bit and has been called out by Amare Stoudamire.

At this point, my money was pretty much gone. I had added my token superstar and a much needed center, but for the most part, guys like Wall and other sexy stars were now too rich for my budget.

Hedo Turkoglu $4- I was very fortunate that Hedo found his way back to the Magic Kingdom. Horrible for a season in Toronto, he had been just as useless in Phoenix. Has struggled of late, but seems a perfect fit in the Orlando offense.

Tyson Chandler $3- I am quite proud of this selection. Chandler has long been a favorite of mine. There was concern about having to compete with Brendan Haywood, but two magic words……. Contract year!

Ben Gordon $2- Took a chance that he could rekindle his game. Guess the price tag was about right.

Andrei Kirilenko $1- Has been on a long slide since the days when he was one of THE most valuable fantasy players in the land. Has exceeded expecations and cannot be to blame for my incompetence.

Robin Lopez $1- His brother is so good and Brook was on my roster the two previous seasons. With the “good” Lopez far too rich for my budget, I took a chance that he might improve. Somebody had to take up the slack on the Nash pick and roll,right? wrong

Four players I picked up at the auction have been unceremoniously cut by me during the season.

Tracy McGrady– what was I thinking? seriously….

Jason Thompson– like Horford, had dual position eligibility, I should have saved money for DeMarcus Cousins.

TJ Ford– had neglected to note that Darren Collison had migrated north from the Big Easy.

Greg Monroe– I fell victim to the home town DC media hype.

Many others, not worthy of mention, have passed through our roster, the waiver wire fodder now gracing my roster follows:

Mike Bibby– I needed assists and three pointers- seemed like a perfect fit.  Key word-seemed.

Kirk Hinrich– My favorite player in the NBA, along with Chandler. Has exceeded expectations, Gilbert’s trade helped immensely!

Glen Davis– Big baby was a nice waiver pickup. Dual position eligibily. Kendrick Perkins return hasn’t helped.

Shawn Marion– Has helped me across most categories. Not the fantasy stud he once was, but neither am I.

OJ Mayo– My latest pickup. Was pondering for awhile as he served 10 game suspension. Rudy Gay’s injury sealed the deal!

How is your team doing? Let us know, and for fantasy help, check out FantasySP forums.

Dirk Nowitzki Puts Up 35 Points In Win Over Suns

Dirk Nowitzki scored 35 points on 13-for-18 shooting in a 112-106 win over the Phoenix Suns on Thursday night, while also grabbing one rebound and dishing out four assists.

Analysis: Just another day at the office for Nowitzki, who topped 30 points in scoring for the 10th time in his last 16 games against the Suns. Nowitzki, a possible MVP candidate earlier in the year, woke from a bit of a slumber, as he had failed to top 20 points in scoring in four of his previous five games.

Projection: Nowitzki looks to be out of his slump and gets a few days to rest up. He’s still good for over 22 points and around seven boards per game.

Donald Driver’s Plans Could Impact Jordy Nelson’s Future

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Donald Driver spoke up again this week about his desire to play until age 40, claiming that he feels great at age 36, and doesn’t feel he has lost a step.

Analysis: Its debatable if Driver has lot anything, but even if he hasn’t, the Packers need to start thinking about how good Nelson could be if he was offered the chance to do what he did in the Super Bowl (9 rec, 140 yds, 1 TD) on a full-time basis. If Driver is serious about sticking around for another four years, fantasy owners need to be worried that Nelson may never realize his potential.

Projection: If Brett Favre can be driven out of town, so too, can Donald Driver. If the Packers are smart, they’ll start Nelson in 2011, as he has proven to be far too good of an option to let rot behind the regressing Driver. If Nelson gets that opportunity, 70 catches and 1,000 yards are within reach.