Friday, October 26, 2007

New FDH items of note

We have some big, big items popping up on the FantasyDrafthelp.com mothership right now:

^ On our main baseball page, we have added to our first version of our 2008 draft board (our Top 72 regardless of position list). We posted an article detailing statistical trends over the past three seasons and some startling implications for the 2008 fantasy baseball season.

^ We just added, for the first time, a sitemap to help you navigate more smoothly on what is already one of the easiest-to-traverse sites on the 'Net, regardless of subject matter. We're proud to continue to make your fantasy sports experience more user-friendly all the time at FDH.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Mr. Thursday Night (off)

As anyone attempting to listen to THE FANTASYDRAFTHELP.COM INSIDER on SportsTalkNetwork.com tonight already knows this, but we are not producing a first-run show this week. We have some transitional issues relating to the relocation of our Senior Editor Jason Jones to the Denver area. Previously, he has co-hosted the program in-studio. We believe there will be resolution of this issue shortly, hopefully by last week, and we apologize to those of you who tuned in tonight looking for us.

We refer you to our NFL notes for Week 8 right here on the blog and we also want to throw some ideas out to any of you left bereft by the Ronnie Brown injury (such as FDH Managing Partner Rick Morris, sadly enough!). Some of these players will already have been claimed in deeper leagues already, but consider Jesse Chatman, Jason Wright, Dominic Rhodes, Samkon Gado, Chris Henry and Leon Washington.

NFL Week 8 Fantasy Notes

NOTE: Our advice, as it does on our FANTASYDRAFTHELP.COM INSIDER weekly program (Thursdays, 9-11 PM EDT on SportsTalkNetwork.com), is based on helping you determine which of your marginal starters are worth a play this week. Hopefully, your initial draft/auction efforts were successful, because frankly, “playing the matchups” is far from an exact science regardless of what you will be told by other advisory services claiming to possess a crystal ball. But our weekly game notes are designed to try to help you maximize the potential of your situation. We will post this preface to the notes every week to remind you of the context of our advice.

Sunday, Oct. 28
Cleveland at St. Louis 1:00 pm Has there ever been a game involving a winless team where we told you to go “all in” with your marginal starters? Probably not, but this would be it given the heinous play of these defenses, the league’s most improved offense in the Browns and a Ram “O” with Bulger and possibly Jackson back. Monitor Jackson’s health as the week goes on.
Detroit at Chicago 1:00 pm WRs Johnson and Berrian should elbow their way into your lineup this week. The Bears will have to throw to keep up with the Lions and with Griese at the helm, this is at least more plausible.
Indianapolis at Carolina 1:00 pm The Colts are the first team in three years to come off a Monday night facing a team coming off of a bye, so the vastly varying degrees of rest make forecasting outcomes especially difficult. Figure on RBs Foster and Williams running effectively, with no other borderline starters worth a go.
N.Y. Giants at Miami (London) 1:00 pm British footy fans will be choking on their fish and chips at the sight of this sorry matchup. Go all-in on Giants (specifically Ward and Jacobs at RB) and don’t start any Dolphins whatsoever now that Chambers is gone and Brown is done. Eyeball Ginn for future use, though, as he gets more playing time.
Oakland at Tennessee 1:00 pm The “Black Hole” meets “Yee Haw” as the Jordan/Rhodes and White/Henry RB combos each merit lineup consideration. Curry is also showing signs of life and is a good play here.
Philadelphia at Minnesota 1:00 pm No marginal Vikes should be started, as the horrific QB Jackson is tainting everyone on offense except Peterson. For the equally stinky Eagles, WRs Curtis and Brown have a good chance to get on track.
Pittsburgh at Cincinnati 1:00 pm Feel free to go with RB Watson, who gives Rudi Johnson the option of healing slower thanks to great production. Go all-in on the Pittsburgh passing game, which will go wild.
Buffalo at N.Y. Jets 4:05 pm As with Chicago, the Bills are revitalized by a QB change, only in this case rookie Edwards has blown past the hugely overrated Losman. Evans’ value is thus on the rise and he should make his first end zone trip(s) here. Coles and Cotchery merit a play based solely on the terrible Buffalo “D,” but don’t expect much given the miserable Jet passing game.
Houston at San Diego 4:05 pm Chambers should be in your lineup right from the start in San Diego. You probably (hopefully!) have better options than anybody on the Texan offense this week.
Jacksonville at Tampa Bay 4:05 pm The battle of Northern/Mid Florida sees some old faces (Hilliard, Galloway, Taylor) and new faces (Graham, Jones-Drew) worth a spot in the lineup.
New Orleans at San Francisco 4:15 pm What loomed as a great fantasy shootout before the season now is a desperate death-struggle between two teams on the verge of getting reduced to playing for next year. However, the Smith-Jackson battery should revitalize San Fran, with no equivalent borderline Saints justifying a start.
Washington at New England 4:15 pm Stay all-in on the Pats, probably all year long. As has become the norm, go all-in on the passing game players opposing New England, as they will be playing from behind. Campbell, Randle El and (the much lesser) Moss will at least benefit on the stat sheet.

Monday, Oct. 29
Green Bay at Denver, 8:30 pm While the World Series plays down the street from Mile High, a Super Bowl rematch will be waged. Go all-in on both sides for what should be a fun fantasy shootout.

Bye: Arizona, Atlanta, Baltimore, Dallas, Kansas City, Seattle

Thursday, October 18, 2007

FDH Insider: NFL Week 7 (Thurs. Oct. 18)

EDIT: Please disregard below schedule! STN has decided not to counter-program Game Five of the American League Championship Series with live programming. We feel your pain, as we were not previously apprised and this update is being filed from STN headquarters! We apologize and look forward to resuming our live broadcasts.

We've got a big night as always for you on THE FANTASYDRAFTHELP.COM INSIDER on SportsTalkNetwork.com (Thursdays, 9-11 PM EDT).

9 PM: We begin our game-by-game fantasy coverage of NFL Week 7. Every week, we post our notes here on the blog and for the last couple of weeks, we've been able to get them up here prior to the show. This is the case this week as well; you can read them here.

10:20 PM: How has the baseball postseason affected next year's fantasy outlook? We'll break it down for you.

10:35 PM: We brought you our annual hoops draft last week; tonight we'll review it for lessons learned. You can see the entire mock draft right here. Also, you need to get your hands on our FantasyDrafthelp.com 2007 Fantasy Hoops Draft Guide. It's right here, free of charge!

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

NFL Week 7 Fantasy Notes

Sunday, Oct. 21
Arizona at Washington 1:00 pm Rattay's presence doesn't downgrade the Cardinal weapons enough for them to be benched. Stay out of the Washington WR morass until a consistent picture emerges.
Atlanta at New Orleans 1:00 pm Neither Falcons QB has the weapons to succeed, so don't worry about who has the job. Stecker is still not worth anything.
Baltimore at Buffalo 1:00 pm Notwithstanding the fact that the Bills' O will run better with Edwards, no WRs are worth starting here. Mason is back to being an every-week starter like he was prior to 2006.
Minnesota at Dallas 1:00 pm Crayton is the only marginal player worth a look here. We do not consider either Cowboy RB as marginal at this point with the firepower of the offense.
New England at Miami 1:00 pm When the league's best and worst teams meet on the field, the advice will be predictable: no non-Brown Dolphins and all-in on the Pats.
San Francisco at N.Y. Giants 1:00 pm Beware of Smith and Davis even if they're healthy enough to play. Jacobs will have room to run with the success of the passing game.
Tampa Bay at Detroit 1:00 pm Notwithstanding the great run-blocking in Tampa this year, wait until RB Bennett gets acclimated before he's worth consideration. Kitna's thoughts will probably be heeded, which means a greater role for WR Johnson as we have predicted.
Tennessee at Houston 1:00 pm We've been down on RB Green the whole season, so we told you so! Continue to beware. RB White, however, could run wild.
Kansas City at Oakland 4:05 pm Jordan will have a nice game. Don't buy the hype on Holmes.
N.Y. Jets at Cincinnati 4:05 pm Has there ever been a time in the history of the league when teams at a combined 2-9 merited an all-in recommendation? This is probably the first.
Chicago at Philadelphia 4:15 pm Berrian's pretty close to an every-week starter with a QB who's not great, but not a complete waste of protoplasm. WR Curtis is not yet consistent, but has an opportunity here against a banged-up defense.
St. Louis at Seattle 4:15 pm Go all-in with your 'Hawks in a huge bounce-back game.
Pittsburgh at Denver 8:15 pm All-in on the Steelers and maximum restraint on the circling-the-drain Broncos.

Monday, Oct. 22
Indianapolis at Jacksonville, 8:30 pm For both teams, it's a game like any other: start just about every Colt and only go with Jax RBs.

Bye: Carolina, Cleveland, Green Bay, San Diego


Thursday, October 11, 2007

Hoops draft tonight!!!

On THE FANTASYDRAFTHELP.COM INSIDER tonight (9-11 PM EDT on SportsTalkNetwork.com), we bring you our fourth annual hoops mock draft! The experts from FDH and STN will come together to deliver the wisdom about who should be going where and why. Due to time constraints, the entire program will be given over to this event – but just prior, halfway through (about 10 PM EDT) and just afterwards, we’ll bring you an abbreviated version of our Week 6 NFL fantasy notes. If you check right here on the blog, you’ll see them also and as usual with links to all of the statistical information and extra analysis you’ll ever need. Join us on the fantasy show tonight for a spin on the hardwood!

NFL Week 6 Fantasy Notes

Sunday, Oct. 14
Cincinnati at Kansas City 1:00 pm Bowe will thrive as KC should be playing from behind. Watch a returning Kenny Perry for potential use later in the season.
Houston at Jacksonville 1:00 pm The prototypical “no marginal players” game.
Miami at Cleveland 1:00 pm With Jamal Lewis’ shaky foot, Jason Wright is a good dark horse candidate for production here. Edwards is a marginal WR worth starting, Chambers is not due to the QB chaos.
Minnesota at Chicago 1:00 pm Don’t start any marginal players here – and contrary to what anybody at “The Worldwide Leader” may tell you, there’s only one Adrian Peterson worth your time here.
Philadelphia at N.Y. Jets 1:00 pm In the battle of green unis, say yes to WRs Curtis, Brown and Coles. Say no to Thomas Jones if you possibly can.
St. Louis at Baltimore 1:00 pm The McNair/Mason battery should be recharged here. Beware of Leonard, who will not have another big game against the Ravens.
Tennessee at Tampa Bay 1:00 pm Another “no marginal players” game – and this includes RB Graham, who doesn’t have anything beyond his starting status to even begin to recommend him.
Washington at Green Bay 1:00 pm Greg Jennings is the borderline play worth making in this one.
Carolina at Arizona 4:05 pm After a week of telling you to bench RBs Foster and Williams, we say turn them loose again.
New England at Dallas 4:15 pm Duh! All in!
Oakland at San Diego 4:15 pm Don’t get sucked in by the admittedly improved Raider offense here and go with WR Jackson only if you have few other good options.
New Orleans at Seattle 8:15 pm NBC’s most horrible game of the year will actually be a very good fantasy matchup, earning another “all in” call in terms of your marginal players.

Monday, Oct. 15
N.Y. Giants at Atlanta, 8:30 pm It’s almost a broken record at this point, but no non-gimme (i.e. non-Crumpler) Falcons and definitely play Jacobs and Manning in the leagues where they might be at all marginal (8-team leagues and potentially 10-team leagues).

Bye: Buffalo, Denver, Detroit, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh, San Francisco


Wednesday, October 03, 2007

FDH Insider: NFL 5 (Thurs. Oct. 4)

Thursday night's edition of THE FANTASYDRAFTHELP.COM INSIDER on SportsTalkNetwork.com (9-11 PM EDT) has a little bit of many things: football, baseball and hoops.

9 PM EDT: We begin our game-by-game NFL Week 5 preview (notes for all games just below).

10:10 PM EDT: With the regular season having ended, we can take our first real look at fantasy baseball for 2008. Here's our initial draft board.

10:40 PM EDT: Next week we'll be having our 2007 hoops mock draft on the program -- we'll preview it here.

10:50 PM EDT: We take our first look back at our college football team draft after one of the most shocking Saturdays in recent memory.

NFL Week 4 Fantasy Notes

Sunday, Oct. 7
Arizona at St. Louis 1:00 pm Just say “No” to the QBs on both sides: Leinart until he proves he’ll be allowed to play an entire game by himself and Frerotte, who, Holt notwithstanding, has no running game to keep the D honest or any semblance of offensive line protection whatsoever.
Atlanta at Tennessee 1:00 pm No marginal Falcons are worth starting, as always (White has far to go to prove he’s not teasing again), while White should be good for a vulture TD at the least and nice yardage through good use at the most.
Carolina at New Orleans 1:00 pm Don’t start marginal Panthers (i.e. anyone not named Steve Smith) until the team’s inexplicable funk ends – and that won’t be this week or possibly anytime soon depending on how long the team is stuck with Carr behind center. Go all-in with your Saints with the exception of Stecker, who has much to prove as the McAllister replacement.
Cleveland at New England 1:00 pm Edwards is nearing “every week start” status for the Browns and could rack up points once the Pats pull away and the Browns are in “chuck and duck” mode. Lewis hasn’t run for much against the better defenses this year, so sit him if you can. Keep going all-in with your Pats until we say otherwise.
Detroit at Washington 1:00 pm WR Johnson should play and is a good option. Campbell may have to throw a lot to keep the Skins in it and is worth your consideration.
Jacksonville at Kansas City 1:00 pm Neither Jag RB is a strong option until the WRs assert themselves and the defenses have to treat them more honestly. Don’t be a “rear-view mirror” fantasy owner and gleefully start Bowe this week.
Miami at Houston 1:00 pm Chambers rates a look as the crumbling Dolphin D may put the Fish O behind even without many Texan weapons. WR Davis is a dark horse for Houston – he is a very talented receiver who is big and fast and it’s been a mystery as to why he hasn’t succeeded yet. He has the opportunity now.
N.Y. Jets at N.Y. Giants 1:00 pm RB Jones could be singing “New York, New York,” with a chance to get on track against a mediocre run defense. If Manning and Burress were marginal starters for you going into the season (i.e. probably only if you’re in an 8-team league), they’re not anymore.
Seattle at Pittsburgh 1:00 pm This game might be the toughest-to-forecast fantasy matchup of the week after Pittsburgh crumbled in the face of Arizona blitzes last week. Leading WRs Branch and Holmes look like decent bets to start as each team should look to establish offensive balance.
Tampa Bay at Indianapolis 4:05 pm Pittman has looked good in limited use and shapes up as a decent #2 RB option with Williams gone. Along with Houston WR Davis, your biggest dark horse for the week is WR Gonzalez in this game with Harrison gone – he has 17.8 yards per catch in limited use and will still be somewhat under the radar with the multiplicity of Colt weapons.
Baltimore at San Francisco 4:15 pm The elevation of Dilfer to starter downgrades Jackson’s value sharply, at least this week and probably beyond (notwithstanding their history together). Mason continues to reassert himself at Clayton’s expense, as we forecasted, and should put up at least as much as he did last week.
San Diego at Denver 4:15 pm Even through the tough times, Rivers has been fairly efficient in terms of completion percentage (64%), which bodes well for the continued development of WR Jackson and accordingly, his production this week. Young and Marshall should take advantage of injuries to produce well for the Broncos this week.
Chicago at Green Bay, 8:15 pm With a Bear D that should bounce back at least somewhat and a Packer counterpart playing at a high level, marginal players worth starting are pretty much limited to WR Jennings.

Monday, Oct. 8
Dallas at Buffalo, 8:30 pm With the efficient-beyond-his-years (although certainly not worth a start here) rook Edwards at the helm, Evans is suddenly a starting fantasy WR again. As much as we caution against the rear-view-mirror mentality, Crayton seems a good bet to carry over his momentum against a weak Bill secondary.

Bye: Cincinnati, Minnesota, Oakland, Philadelphia

Postseason baseball draft board/guidelines

It's October and it's time for ... FANTASY BASEBALL??? Darn skippy it is. Utilize these suggested guidelines and this draft board and school your friends for fun and profit!

GUIDELINES: With 4 owners, conduct a 16-round serpentine draft with 10 hitters (from any positions), 5 starting pitchers and 1 relief pitcher rounding out each roster. Points should be allocated in the following manner: 10 points per win, 5 points per save, 1 point for each inning pitched greater than earned run per game (rounding up or down by thirds of innings), 1 point per strikeout pitched, 1 point per single, 1 point per run scored, 1 point per RBI, 2 points per double, 3 points per triple, 4 points per home run, 1 point subtracted per hitter's strikeout.

HITTERS

  1. Soriano
  2. Howard
  3. A. Ramirez
  4. D. Ortiz
  5. Holliday
  6. V. Guerrero
  7. Utley
  8. Rollins
  9. Jeter
  10. M. Ramirez
  11. A. Rodriguez
  12. D. Lee
  13. Sizemore
  14. Byrnes
  15. Hafner
  16. Atkins
  17. Tulowitzki
  18. V. Martinez
  19. Abreu
  20. G. Anderson
  21. Helton
  22. Lowell
  23. Posada
  24. Rowand
  25. Cano
  26. Hawpe
  27. Youkilis
  28. Burrell
  29. Garko
  30. H. Matsui
  31. Matthews, Jr.
  32. Kendrick
  33. Varitek
  34. Figgins
  35. C. Young
  36. Victorino
  37. M. Reynolds
  38. Kotchman
  39. Peralta
  40. Pedroia

STARTING PITCHERS

  1. C. Zambrano
  2. Sabathia
  3. Hamels
  4. Beckett
  5. Carmona
  6. Webb
  7. Lackey
  8. Mastuzaka
  9. Escobar
  10. Lilly
  11. Schilling
  12. Kendrick
  13. Clemens
  14. R. Hill
  15. Wang
  16. U. Jiminez
  17. J. Weaver
  18. Pettitte
  19. Francis
  20. L. Hernandez

RELIEF PITCHERS

  1. F. Rodriguez
  2. Papelbon
  3. Rivera
  4. Myers