Bleacher Report - Articles by Kip Arney

League of My Own: I'm a Bad Fan

Kip Arney — Fri, 15 May 2009 14:06:31 -0400

A couple years ago I remember hearing someone, somewhere, on some day tell me that the secret to fantasy baseball success was to start whatever pitcher was going against the Seattle Mariners that day when their offense was horrible.

That time has come again my friends.

Two days ago, while searching the waiver wire, I came across Matt Harrison, a starting pitcher for the Texas Rangers. At that time, his previous two starts had amounted to 16 innings pitched, zero earned runs, just one walk while striking out eight.

It was a perfect combination. A hot pitcher plus a bad offense equaled a complete game victory where he gave up just two runs on five hits with seven strikeouts and zero walks.

I can already hear the shouts of people saying that if closer Brandon Morrow hadn't blown his second save opportunity in two days in the ninth inning, he wouldn't have gotten the win.

No he wouldn't have, but the rest of the numbers would've been the same and I'll take that any day out.

So does me grabbing a spot starter for my fantasy team who's pitching against my home town Mariners make me a bad fan?

I say no, but I can see how some people would argue the other side.

It's not that I root for my team to lose, it's just that I know, or expect them to be bad so a loss here and there or in Seattle's case, 11 times in the past two weeks doesn't ruin my day.

I'm your prototypical band-wagon jumper when teams are supposed to be good. I added the second part of that sentence because it's key. When Seattle got off to a hot start this year, and all the national media were debating whether they were for real or not, I was on the no side.

As opposed to last year when they were supposed to be good and sucked, that was hard to swallow.

The pitching has been solid, the defense has gotten a little rocky but still good, but the hitting department is in a whole different category nearing embarrassment.

Since the Mariners are bad, and I don't expect them to make a run, I put my focus in the fantasy world. So Matt Harrison made my squad.

For about a two-week stretch, I had Seattle first baseman Russell Branyan in my starting lineup on a daily basis. And during that time I went to see a Mariner game against the Oakland Athletics where I witnessed Branyan go yard in the fifth inning to make it a one-run ballgame in Oakland's favor at 6-5.

I was excited because Branyan did my fantasy team good. I was not excited that the Mariner's were still losing. Had it been any other player for Seattle that hit the home run in the exact same situation, all I would've given is a simple golf clap.

I can't get excited for something that brings us close but in the big picture still sees us trailing. I'm probably a terrible fan to watch a game with. I'm a big-picture guy in any sport. I can't go nuts for something that is insignificant on the scoreboard.

Ok, so my football team just scored a touchdown in the third quarter to be trailing only 28-21 in the third quarter. How can I be thrilled when I've seen my team's defense get run all over prior to that touchdown? Wake me up when the game is tied and then maybe I'll get excited.

I've been called Mr. Negativity on so many occasions that I can't count them all. But I don't think it's that I'm negative, I think it's just me being realistic and not getting sucked into something that has no track record of being good.

I never expect the upset and hardly predict one, but I root for it all the time. I thought Lakers would win game six last night in Houston, but was rooting for it to be the other way around.

The halfway point of any sporting event for me is when I start to get invested in it. How many times have you turned on the television and saw two random teams going at it in the final period, quarter, inning, or whatever and it was not a blow out so you sat down and watched the end?

I'm raising my hand, who's with me?

But if I turned on a local team and saw them losing by by 12 in the fourth quarter, or down by three in the seventh inning, pssh...it's over.

But hey, that's just me.

Breaking Down the Mariners, Week By Week: Week Two

Kip Arney — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 02:58:15 -0400

This is more of what was to be expected. After two weeks in the books, the Mariners still find themselves above .500 and atop the American League West at 8-5. But some faults began to crack through the surprising start and flaws are being noticed.

The Mariners went 3-3 this week, taking their opening home series against division rival Anaheim two games to one.

Following the Angels, Safeco Field was invaded by the Detroit Tigers who handed Seattle their first series loss of the season taking two out of three.

Biggest reason for the less than stellar play, offense.

Last week I wrote about how the Mariners were fourth in the American League in batting average and were getting clutch two-out RBI along while scoring during all parts of the game. The law of averages balanced themselves out this week.

With the return of Ichiro Suzuki to the lineup, fans were hoping to see more small ball and runs being generated by the handful. But it seems like the Mariner bats were put to sleep minus two occasions on separate nights when for one inning, the M's put on a offensive onslaught.

As a team, Seattle hit .255 this past week, being dragged down by infielders Adrian Beltre and Jose Lopez. The top two RBI men returning from last year's squad combined for just six hits and batted .140 over the two series.

The overall lack of offense dropped the Mariner's ranking to 11th in the AL. Even worse is that the team's on-base percentage is dead last at .308 due in large part to being last in walks with only 31.

Two of the teams with lower batting averages are the before mentioned Angels and the Oakland Athletics, teams the Mariners have already beaten five out of six times, which could be a result of why the Mariner pitching has been so dominant.

After a week of clutch hitting with two outs and producing a third of their RBI in that situation, the Mariners laid an egg this week and produced no two out RBI. And they also had trouble scoring runs out of the gate.

During innings one through three in each of the six games, they only scored a grand total of two runs in 18 innings. During the six game span, they left 46 men on base.

Endy Chavez continued his hot hitting and had hit safely in 12 of the M's first 13 games. On the season, Chavez is sixth in the AL with a .392 average and has more at-bats than anyone whose ranked above him.

He also blasted his first home run of the year in a crucial spot tying the game against Anaheim after the previous half inning the Angels had taken the lead.

I know it's not their style of play but a few more home runs would be nice to see. They've only hit nine of them coming off the bats of seven different players.

The only positive offensive trend I could find was that when the lead off man got on base to start an inning, he ended up scoring. 17 times, the Mariners would get the first batter on and eight of those times, he crossed home plate. That's a .471 percentage.

On the season, M's have done this at a .387 rate (12-for-31), which is a compliment to the small ball style of play.

The pitching is what has allowed them to stay afloat at the top of the division.

The Mariners still hold the top spot in the American League with a team ERA of 3.01. Starters Erik Bedard, Jarrod Washburn, and Chris Jakubauskas in his first major league start all pitched at least five innings and gave up two or less earned runs during the week.

Combine that with a bullpen who on the week had a combined ERA of 2.29 in 19.2 innings equals success. That is if the offense could help them out every once in awhile.

On the year, Mariner pitchers have given up just five home runs. There's already five pitchers alone in the major leagues who have given up at least that many.

Coming into the year, questions surrounded the closer like, who was it going to be? After reliever Brandon Morrow made his announcement that in the bullpen was where he felt more comfortable, he's locked down a position that many fans thought wouldn't be important this season. The M's rank first in saves (five) and save opportunities (seven).

I don't think the Mariner pitching will hold up as well as it has been. I think more than anything, they're a product of a weak division. But in the end, all they really have to be is better than three teams to make the playoffs. Anaheim, Oakland, and the Texas Rangers.

8-5 still gives them the second best record in the league but after an opening week run differential of plus 10, they follow that up with an even run differential against more quality opponents.

The Mariner's host a three game series with the Tampa Bay Rays starting Tuesday, April 21st, before heading to Anaheim for three games. The Anaheim series will begin a stretch of 15 of 20 games being on the road.

Offensive Player of the Week: Endy Chavez - 9 for 22 (.409) while hitting his first home run of the year. This is Chavez second POW.

Pitcher of the Week: Jarrod Washburn - Pitched six innings while giving up only two runs on four hits and walking none in an 11-3 Mariner victory. On the season, Washburn is 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA.

Seattle Named Most Miserable Sports City of 2009

Kip Arney — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 16:08:32 -0400

I was not shocked when I heard the news.

It was so obvious, and I would've been stunned if another city had topped us for the dubious honor. Forbes magazine tagged Seattle as "the most miserable sports city" for 2009.

This is non-debatable.

Breaking it down sport-by-sport, the Seattle fans were treated, or should I say punished, to the worst sports year I've ever heard of.

Starting in the spring of 2008, baseball experts were picking the Seattle Mariners to contend in the American League West. With the addition of Erik Bedard to go along with Felix Hernandez, fans had high hopes.

What they weren't expecting was the first ever 100-loss team with a payroll exceeding $100 million. Erik Bedard was a failure, compared to his previous seasons' numbers along with who was given up for him.

The Mariners failed to reach the postseason for the seventh consecutive season. And when you don't get to the postseason, you have no shot at reaching the World Series. The Seattle Mariners remain one of three teams, along with the Washington Nationals/Montreal Expos and the Texas Rangers, to have never appeared in a World Series.

Not even in 2001, when the Mariners tied the major league record with 116 wins before being ousted by the New York Yankees in the championship series in only five games.

In the middle of this terrible baseball season, Seattle was dealt the biggest blow. On July 2, 2008, the Seattle Supersonics were going to Oklahoma.

The Sonics were Seattle's only major franchise to bring a championship to Seattle—in 1979, when they defeated the Washington Bullets.

In the Sonics' final season in Seattle, they posted their worst-ever regular season mark at 20-62. After Nate McMillan left to coach for Portland, the Sonics went through a carousel of three coaches in three years.

Personally, I blame the former owner, Howard Schultz, for selling this team to Clay Bennett. You can't get mad at Bennett for moving the team. He might have said he wanted to keep the team here, but that was never his intention from the start.

He's considered a god in Oklahoma, and us Seattle fans are left with nothing but hope that the NBA will come back one day. But even if that day ever does come, it won't be the same, because it won't be the Sonics.

After dealing with the loss of the Sonics and living through a day-by-day horror-fest called the Seattle Mariners, it was time for some football. Finally, something that would bring smiles to the faces of fans that had endured so much.

I guess the Seahawks didn't want to break the pattern of bad play.

After four straight division titles, including one Super Bowl appearance, and Mike Holmgren announcing that it would be his final year of coaching with the Seahawks, it seemed like destiny for the Seahawks to make a deep run into the playoffs.

Not exactly. Seattle went 4-12, their second-worst mark in franchise history behind the 1992 Seahawks, who went 2-14 under their leading passer Stan Gelbaugh, as he threw for a whopping 1,300 yards in 10 games.

Along with pro football, two college football programs continued the theme of bad play.

The University of Washington, a team that prides itself on Rose Bowls and national championships, went 0-12.

And Washington State University, considered to be the younger brother of the two schools, went 2-11.

The two schools played each other in their second to last game of the season sporting a combined record of 1-20. ESPN.com featured both these teams on a weekly basis in their bottom 10 poll, which showcases the bottom 10 football teams in the country.

When the two squared off for the Apple Cup in Pullman, Washington on Nov. 22, it was the most competitive game either team had been in all year, because they were both equally so bad.

But I guess the Washington Huskies were just a little worse.

When you add the records of the Mariners (61-101), the Seahawks (4-12), the Huskies (0-12), and the Cougars (2-11), it comes out to 67-136, or a winning percentage of .330. Ouch.

And then, top that off with the loss of the city's oldest professional franchise; there's no comparison.

When writing this, I do not take into account the WNBA or soccer, both of which saw Seattle bring a championship. The WNBA Storm won it all in 2004 and the Seattle Sea Dogs of the famous Continental Indoor Soccer League took home the title in 1997, the league's last of its five year existence.

Atlanta and Buffalo came in second and third, respectively.

You can read the Forbes article online, and it comes with a slide show of the top 10 most miserable cities of 2009.

Breaking Down the Mariners, Week By Week: Week One

Kip Arney — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 02:10:08 -0400

I didn't see this coming. Five and two out of the shoot for the Seattle Mariners? Tied for the best record in the American League while ranked No. 2 in run differential at plus 10. How did this happen?

Hitting, pitching, and defense.

I, along with many others, thought the Seattle Mariners would be little if not any better than what they were last year, a 100-plus loss team. No big name additions were brought in to be big time contributors on the field.

The Ken Griffey Jr. signing was more about clubhouse leadership and bringing fans to the ballpark than hoping he puts up numbers that Seattle fans are used to seeing.

However, seven games in, the numbers don't lie and the Mariners are finding themselves atop many categories.

They rank fourth in the American League with a collective .277 batting average which is a little odd since only four players on their team have an individual average above that mark.

New addition Endy Chavez has been filling in very nicely for the injured Ichiro Suzuki at the leadoff spot hitting a team best .379 and stealing three bases thus far. I would expect Chavez to be bumped down to the two-hole in the lineup when Ichiro makes his return this week.

The Mariners have been very consistent with their offense and haven't needed to use the long ball to get production. They've only gone yard five times all season and two of those came on opening day in Minnesota when both Griffey and new center fielder Franklin Gutierrez helped power the Mariners to a 6-1 victory over Francisco Liriano and the Twins.

Another sign of consistency is apparent when you break down when they score their runs. On the year the M's have scored a total of 32 runs.

Here's an inning breakdown of when those runs were scored.

Innings --- Runs
1 - 3 ----- 11
4 - 6 ----- 11
7 - 9 ----- 10

Doesn't get any more consistent than that.

Another stat that is nice to see is that 10 of their 30 RBI are coming with two outs.

But there's always room for improvement as once again the Mariners are ranked near the bottom in walks. I guess for fans it's fun to see a fast paced game but as far as Baseball 101 goes, you want to make the pitcher work and see his repertoire of pitches instead of hacking at the first pitch.

Also alarming is the amount of double plays they've grounded into, 11, the most in the league. Four coming off the bat of Gutierrez including two in today's win over the Oakland Athletics.

But on the other side of coin is the pitching which has been stellar. Already four out of the first seven games have seen the Mariners starting pitcher give up one or less earned runs.

Although one of those performances came from young lefty Ryan Roland-Smith who was wild and thanks to a couple errors was not charged with any runs that he gave up while on the mound.

The starting staff as a whole coming into today has a collective earned run average (ERA) of 3.19 and that includes Carlos Silva's start where he gave up six runs in five innings to his former team, the Twins.

The entire staff has just a 3.42 ERA, which is good enough for second lowest in the American League. These pitching numbers do not include today's shut out win against the A's.

If not for a meltdown in the 9th inning by closer Brandon Morrow in the second game of the season against Minnesota, the Mariners would be the sole owner of the best record in the majors.

Along with passing the numbers test, watching them on television has also allowed fans to see the vast improvement in defense which the numbers don't tell. Franklin Gutierrez has been a vacuum out in center field, and when Ichiro comes back replacing Griffey in right, the trio of Chavez, Gutierrez, and Ichiro will save a lot of balls from falling in the gaps.

Coming into the season, I was definitely a pessimist and I still am as so many things that aren't normal happen in the first week of the season across the league. But I like what I see. And to see it happen on the road is all the more positive.

Now the Mariner's get to go home where they will host a pair of three-game series against more powerful lineups in the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the Detroit Tigers.

Offensive Player of the Week: Endy Chavez - 11 for 29 (.379) with a team high three stolen bases.

Pitcher of the Week: David Aardsma - 4.2 innings pitched, 0.00 ERA, 2-for-2 in save opportunities both in one run ball games.

Brandon Morrow Cannot Win in Seattle

Kip Arney — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 02:23:40 -0400

Brandon Morrow. Tim Lincecum.

Those two players will always be put together in the same sentence, whether they like it or not. Maybe not outside the Pacific Northwest, but in the region where the Mariners are the only major league team in town, they can not be separated.

Tim Lincecum was born and raised just outside of Seattle. Morrow in Santa Rosa, CA. Both stayed in state for college and pitched for Pac-10 schools. Lincecum pitched for the University of Washington and Morrow pitched for University of California in Berkley. Then the 2006 draft came along and both pitchers swapped lives.

Brandon Morrow was selected fifth in the draft by the Seattle Mariners where local fans were outraged that the Mariners did not pick up the local product, Tim Lincecum who was still on the board. Six picks later, Lincecum was drafted by the San Francisco Giants.

One player has gone one direction, the other has gone the opposite.

Tim Lincecum, entering this season already had a winning percentage of .714 and a Cy Young attached to his name. Brandon Morrow has only started five games his whole career and this offseason was quoted to saying he wanted to be in the bullpen as that's where he's more comfortable.

Comfortable? Is that another word for scared? Brandon Morrow has been getting ripped by the fans here in Seattle for his decision. And that's including the knowledge that Morrow has diabetes.

But also getting the blame has been former management regime including former general manager Bill Bavasi who from the start never gave Morrow the proper grooming period to become a starter.

Right away he was thrust into the bullpen and once former Seattle closer JJ Putz went down with an injury last season, Morrow found a new role and ran with it. But that's not was the Seattle fans, want. You don't spend the fifth overall pick in the draft on the future closer.

And what's more ridiculous is that in this most recent baseball draft, the Mariners selected Josh Fields out of the University of Georgia to be a closer with the 20th pick in the first round.

The San Francisco Giants have no idea how much thanks they owe to the Mariners for making the mistake that seemed unmakable.

Now this isn't a rip on Brandon Morrow. He could turn out to be a great closer or relief pitcher. But as long as he wears the Seattle uniform, it'll never be enough unless he wins a Cy Young award. And if Lincecum wins another or a couple more, Brandon Morrow must duplicate.

The only way Morrow can achieve success is with another team. Any team. The ghost of Tim Lincecum will haunt Brandon Morrow throughout his days in Seattle.

Just tonight in the second game of the season, the Mariners had a 5-3 lead going into the bottom of the ninth inning against the Minnesota Twins. New manager Don Wakamatsu called for Morrow to seal the deal.

After what looked like the game was in the bag with Morrow getting the first two batters out including striking out Joe Crede, the meltdown ensued. Walk, walk, walk. Walked the bases loaded and Wakamatsu didn't even give his young right-hander the chance to finish the job.

The Mariners ended up losing the game 6-5 and the postgame show on the local radio station was flooded with calls about Morrow.

And it didn't take more than the one caller before Tim Lincecum's name was mentioned. The fans will never forget the 2006 draft and what could've been. Brandon Morrow can do anything and everything but he'll never fill the shoes of the local kid who got away.

Sleepers Slow Out of the Gate: Fantasy Baseball Opening Day

Kip Arney — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 02:38:09 -0400

Please remember that this is an article about a single fantasy team. I'm acting as a beat writer for this one team. Got it? Good.

Finally opening day is here. The green grass, the blue skies. Well in most places excluding Boston and Chicago. Every team in the league comes in with high hopes and expectations. Everyone starts with the same record. And then the first pitch is thrown.

The Sleeper offense got off to a slow start today hitting as a team 5 for 28, a .179 average. The pitching wasn't much better.

Yesterday's lone game saw Sleeper catcher Brian McCann hit his first home run of the season off Brett Myers. The hope that this was a sign of things to come was short lived as productive hitters like Grady Sizemore, Brandon Phillips, and Derrek Lee fell flat on their face out of the shoot.

After McCann's long ball, the only other player to duplicate the power was shortstop Troy Tulowitzki as he took Brandon Webb deep in the 4th inning.

The Roy duo of Oswalt and Halladay were on the hill for Sleeper but they split their decisions. Both went seven strong with two strikeouts and only walking one but thanks to Toronto's offense, Roy Halladay was able to get his first victory of the season.

Oswalt did not have such luck despite his quality start of giving up three earned runs in seven innings of work. The Houston bats didn't tally a run until Oswalt was out of the game.

Sleeper's opponent, Hotlanta, had similar offensive deficiencies. But thanks to a grand slam by fantasy favorite Hanley Ramirez, Hotlanta kept things tight on the first day of this week long battle. Ramirez provided all of Hotlanta's RBI total tonight.

The pitching for Hotlanta came from all over in the both good and bad form. Cy Young contender Johan Santana was strong out of the gate giving up just one run on three hits en route to his first victory of the season.

However, on the opposite side of the spectrum, the Yankees prized off season acquisition, C.C. Sabathia looked anything but what he was paid over the summer. The Baltimore Orioles pounded the lefty six runs in just four and a third innings.

Today was also the first time since July 25, 2005 that Sabathia failed to strike out a single batter.

But the pitching performance of the day should go to Paul Maholm of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Maholm pitched into the seventh inning and gave up only one earned run and one walk which was intentional to Albert Pujols.

Tomorrow, Hotlanta will give the ball to pitcher Josh Johnson as he goes up against the Washington Nationals. Sleeper will counter with Jamie Moyer against Atlanta and the much anticipated return of reigning CY Young winner Tim Lincecum while the Giants host the Milwaukee Brewers.

Grand Slam Fantasy Baseball Second Round Breakdown

Kip Arney — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 22:23:48 -0400

The 2009 Fantasy Draft for the keeper Grand Slam league in its 10th season came and went on Saturday, March 14. After the first seven rounds were completed with keepers being claimed, the real draft began.

Here's how the second free agent round played out:

1. (13 overall) NC Hair Pie Lovers selected David Price (SP, Tampa Bay)

After selecting Rich Harden with the final pick of the first round, Pie came right back with the first pick in the second round and took another pitcher in young phenom David Price. Despite the possibility that Price may start the season in Triple A, his performance in last year's post-season was too good to ignore.

2. (14 overall) Full Count selected Victor Martinez (C, Cleveland)

Martinez was bit by the injury bug last year during a season where he had his worst offensive season by far. Even before the injury, the catcher wasn't putting up his usual production that going into last season was giving him high preseason rankings. However, after nine rounds, Full Count has yet to add a starting pitcher to his roster.

3. (15 overall) Sportin' Lumber selected James Shields (SP, Tampa Bay)

The second Ray pitcher to go in the last three picks as Lumber continue to use his early picks to boost his pitching staff. In each of his past three seasons, Shields wins have gone up, while his era has continued to drop. His 2.88 ERA in 25 post season innings last season also boosts his credentials as a big time pitcher.

4. (16 overall) Sleeper selected Derrek Lee (1B, Chicago Cubs)

Anyone who's paid attention to the Sleeper team over the years knows that first base has always been the Achilles heel of this team. Year after year a new player was brought in but their performance wasn't enough to be kept around. Lee has never been the same since his injury back in 2006 but Sleeper would happily accept another season of .290-20-90 like he put up last year.

5. (17 overall) The Instigators selected Justin Upton (OF, Arizona)

Justin Upton produced 15 home runs and 45 RBI in 108 games in his first full run with the Diamondbacks. But this spring is off to an early hot start hitting an even .400. Look for the production numbers to steadily rise.

6. (18 overall) Rebuilding Cubs selected Scott Kazmir (SP, Tampa Bay)

Tampa Bay's third pitcher to go in the first half of this round with Kazmir joining Josh Beckett as Cubs top two starting pitchers. The lefty has put up three consecutive seasons of sub 3.50 era pitching. However during the past four seasons, he's averaged over eight losses each year.

7. (19 overall) Sheedmen selected Joey Votto (1B, Cincinnati)

Joey Votto got less attention then first year teammate Jay Bruce but his numbers speak for themselves. Only Albert Pujols, Mark Teixeira, Aubrey Huff, Kevin Youkilis, and Lance Berkman had more more home runs combined with a higher average than Votto's 24 while batting .297.

8. (20 overall) Hotlanta selected Jonathan Broxton (RP Los Angeles Dodgers)

With Takashi Saito gone to Boston, Broxton slides into the closers role where he had 14 saves last year to go along with 88 strikeouts in just 69 innings of work. Jonathan Broxton is the first relief pitcher to get onto Hotlanta's roster.

9. (21 overall) Stealing Home selected Aubrey Huff (1B/3B Baltimore)

Huff hit 32 home runs last year which was only the second time he's ever hit more than 30 and the first 2005 that he hit at least 20 home runs. To call last year a career year would be wrong be cause back in 2003, Huff had better numbers across the board when he was playing for Tampa Bay. But a solid player and a good pick up for Stealing Home who fills the needs for first base and also has the option of using Huff at third while Alex Rodriguez sits out with an injury for the first month of the season.

10. (22 overall) Carolina Mudcats selected Edison Volquez (SP, Cincinnati)

After selecting Matt Weiters in the previous round, Mudcats again went with young talent in Volquez who came out of nowhere with the Reds after spending a few years and putting up less than spectacular numbers with the Texas Rangers. Volquez is Carolina's second starting pitcher along with Ervin Santana.

11. (23 overall) MN Snow Dawgs selected Garrett Atkins (1B/3B Colorado)

Atkins has seen his home run, rbi and batting average drop each of the past three seasons. With the decline of Todd Helton and the off-season trade of Matt Holliday, the Rockies lineup doesn't offer much protection for Atkins who is now the only player along with Brad Hawpe who hit over 20 home runs and batted in over 80 RBI.

12. (24 overall) Screaming Eagles selected Jon Lester (SP, Boston)

After selecting the first player in the free agent draft, Screaming Eagles had to wait through 22 picks before it was their turn to select. Jon Lester joins Red Sox teammate Diasuke Matsuzaka as the second pitcher on Eagles staff. Lester probably isn't as sexy of a name as some of the earlier pitchers taken in this round, but his numbers can be put head to head with of any of them.

Best Value in the second round: Joey Votto

Worst Value in the second round: Garrett Atkins

Grand Slam Fantasy Baseball First Round Breakdown

Kip Arney — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 17:59:51 -0400

Here's how the first free agent round played out.

1) Screaming Eagles selected Adrian Gonzalez (1B, San Diego)

A curious pick here to have the first overall pick and to go with a first baseman when Carlos Pena already fills that hole on the Screaming Eagles roster. Not to mention Adam Dunn and Chris Davis of Texas also are on the team with first base eligibility. With only 17 starting pitchers being unavailable to take, Screaming Eagles missed a prime opportunity to get the likes of a Josh Beckett or James Shields to join Daisuke Matsuzaka as the lone starting pitcher on the staff.

2) MN Snow Dawgs selected Joe Nathan (RP, Minnesota)

Too high to be going after closers. They provide so little in the big picture. Snow Dawgs already had four outfielders which is a little strange in itself since there are only three outfield slots that can be filled at a time. But with those outfielders and Prince Fielder manning down first base, pitching seemed to be the logical choice.

3) Carolina Mudcats selected Matt Wieters (C, Baltimore)

Wow. Extremely high pick for a player likely to start in Triple A. Mudcats only pitcher at the time of this draft pick was Ervin Santana and reports are out that Santana might not be ready for the start of the season. Missed a prime opportunity so get a solid starter or a corner infielder to go along with his already two shortstops.

4) Stealing Home selected Matt Kemp (OF, Los Angeles Dodgers)

Good pick. Matt Kemp comes with breakout potential this season and adds to a nice offense including Vladimir Guerrero, Alex Rodriguez and Brian Roberts.

5) Hotlanta selected Alex Rios (OF, Toronto)

The second outfielder to go. Rios was a keeper going into last season but was traded after a disappointing start to the 2008 season. He seemed to pick it up after the All-Star break and Hotlanta made the smart decision of going after an outfielder after deciding to keep none from last year's squad.

6) Sheedmen selected Stephen Drew (SS, Arizona)

With eight shortstops already gone, Sheedmen decided to get in his opinion the best of the rest with Drew. The young shortstop was one of only five at his position to go over 20 home runs last season and he did it with a .291 average. Look for those numbers to go up slightly.

7) Rebuilding Cubs selected Josh Beckett (SP, Boston)

The first starting pitcher is taken by a team who desperately needed pitching as they had literally no one. Beckett is good place to start. Cubs already had six offensive positions filled so going after pitching was logical and proved to be so as the next two rounds Cubs drafted more pitching.

8) The Instigators selected Geovany Soto (C, Chicago Cubs)

The fourth catcher to be claimed so far goes to a young team with lots of offensive talent such as Teixeira, Pedrioa, and Longoria. With pitchers Cole Hamels and Francisco Liriano already being kept by The Instigators, pitching was not as high of a priority.

9) Sleeper selected Roy Oswalt (SP, Houston)

The hometown team want three established starters and feel that Oswalt joining Roy Halladay and Tim Lincecum gives them an elite 1-2-3 that can match up with any team's top three pitchers. The Sleeper GM later explained that pitching was going to be their first pick because reliable pitching is hard to come by. "By putting Oswalt on the mound, I know exactly what he's going to give me every time out."

10) Sportin' Lumber selected Joakim Soria (RP, Kansas City)

Some teams can get away with drafting a relief pitcher early, some teams can't. Sportin' Lumber can with his already explosive offense. Soria joins Jonathan Papelbon of the Boston Red Sox as Lumber's closers. Although this writer isn't sold on Soria repeating the gaudy numbers he put up last year.

11) Full Count selected Corey Hart (OF, Milwaukee)

Already having three productive outfielders and no starting pitching has fans of this team raising their eyebrows. Not because they think Hart is a bad player, but there are other holes that need to be filled, like starting pitching where after eight rounds they still have none. But Full Count won the championship last season so the fans are little more patient than had their team missed the playoffs altogether.

12) NC Hair Pie Lovers selected Rich Harden (SP, Chicago Cubs)

This might be the steal of the first round. A pitcher who went 10-2 last year with both Oakland and the Cubs with a 2.07 era doesn't usually sink to the 8th round especially in a keeper league. Last season Harden was on the Rebuilding Cubs roster but must've been scared away from Harden's injury plague that seems to bite him every year.

Best Value in the first round - Rich Harden

Worst Value in the first round - Matt Wieters

Round two of the free agent draft will be posted tomorrow.

2009 Fantasy Draft Completed

Kip Arney — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 00:29:34 -0400

Draft day is always exciting as a new group of players come in with high hopes to play for the league title. Today was that day and last year's runner up in the Grand Slam league filled out their roster with proven and unproven talent. Learn to know your 2009 Sleeper team.

The first seven rounds were keeper players from last year. The free agent draft began in the eighth round.

Round 1 - Grady Sizemore (OF)

Round 2 - Roy Halladay (SP)

Round 3 - Carlos Quentin (OF)

Round 4 - Tim Lincecum (SP)

Round 5 - Brian McCann (C)

Round 6 - Brandon Phillips (2B)

Round 7 Troy Tulowitzki (SS)

Round 8 - Roy Oswalt (SP)

Round 9 - Derrek Lee (1B)

Round 10 - Scott Baker (SP)

Round 11 - Pat Burrell (OF)

Round 12- Jose Lopez (1B, 2B)

Round 13 - Cameron Maybin (OF)

Round 14 - Kevin Kouzmanoff (3B)

Round 15 - Kevin Slowey (SP)

Round 16 - Shin-Soo Choo (OF)

Round 17 - Hideki Okajima (RP)

Round 18 - Jose Arredondo* (RP)

Round 19 - Ryan Theriot (SS)

Round 20 - Brad Ziegler (RP)

Round 21 - Sergio Romo (RP)

Round 22 - Takashi Saito (RP)

Round 23 - Ryan Roland-Smith (SP)

Round 24 - Jesse Litsch (SP)

Round 25 - Jamie Moyer (SP)

*Was on the 2008 roster

More Keepers Fill the Inbox (Fantasy Style)

Kip Arney — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 02:33:20 -0500

Just a reminder that this article is a series of articles covering the team Sleeper in a fantasy baseball keeper league that is going into it's 10th season.

Keepers are flooding into the league front office as the Friday Feb. 28 deadline nears. The following are more teams in the Grand Slam league that have released their keeper rosters.

NC Pie Hair Lovers

C - Ryan Doumit (.318 - 15 - 69)

1B - Albert Pujols (.357 - 37 - 116)

OF - Josh Hamilton (.304 - 32 - 130)

SP - Cliff Lee (22-3, 2.54, 170 K's)

SP - Dan Haren (16-8, 3.33, 206 K's)

SP - Yovani Gallardo (0-0, 1.88 ERA, 20 K's) *4 games started

SP/RP - Joba Chamberlain (4-3, 2.60 ERA, 118 K's)

Players that will become available on the March 14th draft include Victor Martinez, Ryan Ludwick, Jermaine Dye, Joe Nathan, and B.J. Ryan.

Going deep with starting pitching seems to be the direction NC Pie is going. Chamberlain will be interesting to watch all season as his role is not cemented and was injured a bit last year.

Rebuilding Cubs

2B - Ian Kinsler (.319 - 18 - 71)

OF - BJ Upton (.273 - 9 - 67)

OF - Nate McLouth (.276 - 26 - 94)

OF - Curtis Granderson (.280 - 22 - 66)

OF - Magglio Ordonez (.317 - 21 - 103)

RP - Brad Lidge (1.95 ERA, 41 Saves, 91 K's)

RP - George Sherrill (4.72 ERA, 31 Saves, 51 K's)

This has potential disaster written all over it. Keeping four outfielders when you can only play three at a time? And two relievers? Something suggests that there is a trade coming soon or else the Rebuilding Cubs will spend a lot of time at the bottom of the league where they've been the past couple seasons.

Players not being kept are Rich Harden, Ben Sheets, and Skip Schumaker among others.

Sportin' Lumber

1B - Miguel Cabrera (.292 - 37 - 127)

2B - Brian Roberts (.296 - 9 - 57)

SS - Jose Reyes (.297 - 16 - 68)

3B - David Wright (.302 - 33 - 124)

OF - Nick Markakis (.306 - 20 - 87)

SP - Brandon Webb (22-7, 3.30 ERA, 183)

RP - Jonathan Papelbon (2.34 ERA - 41 Saves, 77 K's)

An offensive juggernaut no doubt. Sportin' Lumber is going into it's third season with their new GM and he's taken a mediocre ball club and turned it into an serious contender and always a preseason favorite.

The GM also is a huge fan of wheelin' and dealin' as his final roster last year did not have a single player from the roster of two years ago. He recognizes this team as a business and no one is a lock to be on the team for the entire year.

Even though Sportin' Lumber kept some premium players, that also allows other players such as John Lackey, Matt Cain, Huston Street, and James Loney to be open for the the taking in next month's draft.

MN Snow Dawgs

1B - Prince Fielder (.276 - 34 - 102)

OF - Jason Bay (.286 - 31 101)

OF - Ryan Braun (.285 - 37 - 106)

OF - Alfonso Soriano (.280 - 29 - 75)

OF - Carlos Beltran (.284 - 27 - 112)

SP - Felix Hernandez (9-11, 3.45 ERA 175 K's)

SP - Chad Billingsley (16-10, 3.14, 201 K's)

Was there a memo sent out that it was a smart move to keep four outfielders? MN Snow Dawgs using the same strategy as the Rebuilding Cubs, but I believe these four outfielders are better than the core that Cubs put together. Players becoming available are Josh Beckett, James Shields, JJ Hardy, and Clayton Kershaw.

Teams yet to input their keepers are: Hotlanta, Sleeper, Stealing Home, and the Carolina Mudcats.

Unveiling of Keepers (Fantasy Style)

Kip Arney — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 15:07:14 -0500

Despite the deadline of Feb. 28 as the day keepers are due in the Grand Slam league, teams are already starting to release their tentative rosters. Here are the few that have.

Screaming Eagles

UTL - David Ortiz (.264 - 23 - 89) *109 games played

1B - Carlos Pena (.247 - 31 - 102)

1B/3B - Chris Davis (.285 - 17 - 55) *80 games played

OF - Adam Dunn (.236 - 40 - 100)

SP - Daisuke Matsuzaka (18-3, 2.90 ERA, 154 K's)

RP - Mariano Rivera (1.40 ERA, 39 Saves, 77 K's)

RP - Trevor Hoffman (3.77 ERA, 30 Saves, 46 K's)

Ouch. Keeping two relievers? David Ortiz may be the only exception, but having a player who can only be used in the valuable utility slot really hamstrings teams for options. Screaming Eagles will really need to have a good draft to go anywhere in this league. By naming these keepers, Ryan Zimmerman, Hideki Matsui, Brad Penny, and Vernon Wells have all been dropped into the draft.

Sheedmen

C - Joe Mauer (.328 - 9 - 85)

C - Geovany Soto (.285 - 23 - 86)

2B - Chase Utley (.292 - 33 - 104)

3B - Aramis Ramirez (.289 - 27 - 111)

OF - Ichiro Suzuki (.310 - 6 - 42)

SP - Jake Peavy (10-11, 2.85 ERA, 166 K's)

RP - Carlos Marmol (2.68, 7 Saves, 114 K's)

Before Full Count took the title last season, Sheedmen was holder of the title for two years running but got knocked off in the semifinals last year. While it is almost unheard of to keep two catchers, it's hard to question the only team to have won multiple titles.

Having the Sheedmen keeper list be released gives way for such talent as Michael Young, Milton Bradley, Joakim Soria, Erik Bedard, and Scott Kazmir to be available for other teams to snatch up in the draft in March. Sheedmen has however made public that he's open to trading one of his catchers along with Utley, but for the right price.

Instigators

1B - Mark Teixeira (.308 - 33 - 121)

2B - Dustin Pedroia (.326 - 17 - 83)

3B - Evan Longoria (.272 - 27 - 85)

OF - Jay Bruce (.254 - 21 - 52) *108 games played

OF - Carl Crawford (.273 - 8 - 57)

SP - Cole Hamels (14-10, 3.09, 196)

SP - Francisco Liriano (6-4, 3.91, 67) *14 games started

The Instigators' second-year GM is definitely going with a youth movement. It's quite risky keeping youngsters, but the benefits could be huge if the talent stays on par with what they did last year. Available players coming off the Instigators roster include Hunter Pence, Justin Upton, Alex Rios, and David Price.

Defending Champ Full Count Names His Keepers (Fantasy Style)

Kip Arney — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 13:03:06 -0500

Hot off the wire, news has come out on who the Full Count organization has decided to keep from last years squad.

Full Count, people may remember, won an 11-10 battle in the championship against Sleeper to take their first title in program history.

This is a tentative list, but the Full Count GM believes that this is the group he's going to go into battle with at the start of next year.

2B - Dan Uggla (.260 - 32 - 92)

1B/3B - Kevin Youkilis (.311 - 29 - 115)

OF - Manny Ramirez (.332 - 37 - 121)

OF - Bobby Abreu (.296 - 20 - 100)

OF - Carlos Lee (.314 - 28 - 100)

3B - Chipper Jones (.364 - 22 - 75)

RP - Francisco Rodriguez (2.24 ERA 62 Saves, 77 K's)

Full Count is putting a lot of stock into hitting and will have to rely on the draft to build his pitching staff. By naming the previous seven players as keepers, pitchers such as Chien-Ming Wang and Roy Oswalt are to be taken in the draft. Both will probably go in the first two rounds after keepers have been selected.

The only question is whether or not keeping a relief pitcher is a smart move.

Speaking from experience, the Sleeper GM said "It's hard to argue with keeping a guy who set a record last season, but saves can be found at the bottom of the barrel. Also last year, we kept JJ Putz and that flamed out because of injury, not to mention he was on a bad team that wasn't going to produce a lot of opportunities.

The way to look at a keeper draft and this one in particular with keeping seven players, is to ask yourself, in a regular draft, would this player go in the first seven rounds?"

There are always variables though because some teams might not have worthy enough players who would fit into the mold of being drafted in a regular draft in the first seven rounds. Therefore they have to select from the best players on their team regardless of overall ranking.

When asked what he would do if Manny Ramirez didn't sign with a team by opening day, the Full Count GM laughed and responded, "That's not even a possibility."

We'll see.

Possible Keepers for Sleeper (Fantasy Style): Pitchers

Kip Arney — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 15:39:56 -0500

The following players were on the Sleeper roster at season's end and all have a chance to make the squad in 2009. Starting pitching is more valuable for this quad and has an array of up and coming hurlers to choose from. However a couple pitchers did not make the list because they're not worthy of being kept. Unless you can convince me that Russ Springer or Odalis Perez deserves consideration.

Begin Slideshow

2009 Sleeper Preview (Fantasy Style)

Kip Arney — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 14:20:51 -0500

This piece is the first installment of a major project as I'm going to cover my fantasy baseball team as a beat writer and provide nightly recaps (once the season starts) of my players and how they're doing. I don't expect much of an audience, but this is more for me than anyone else. However if you feel like the need to comment, go ahead and do so.

The 2009 Sleeper organization looks to rebound from a loss in the championship game last year and return to 2007 form, when they took the title themselves for the first time in league history. In a 12-team head-to-head keeper league where seven players are kept from year to year, Sleeper has proven to be a force to be reckoned with as year after year they finish in the top half of the league with a chance to take the title.

The Sleeper GM will have to make some decisions on who to keep before the March 14 draft. Here are some of the players that Sleeper has to choose from who are under consideration to make the squad.

C—Brian McCann

1B—Garrett Atkins

1B/3B—Aubrey Huff

2B—Brandon Phillips

SS—Troy Tulowitzki

SS—Miguel Tejada

SS—Yunel Escobar

OF—Grady Sizemore

OF—Carlos Quentin

SP—Tim Lincecum

SP—Roy Halladay

SP—Brandon Morrow

SP—Matt Garza

Some players seem like locks to make the squad next year such as reigning NL CY Young winner Lincecum, and overwhelming top fantasy outfielder Sizemore. But no one has been given the thumbs up to their future.

I was able to pull the Sleeper GM aside for a few questions during the winter meetings.

Kip Arney: How would you describe your team's style of play?

GM: On the offensive side it's a little bit of speed mixed in with some power. Last year down the stretch, losing Quentin and Phillips to injuries really hurt us. On the pitching side, I don't regard closers as highly as others to. Saves is just one category in a league where 21 categories are tallied. Our pitching is strong. If we can grab three front of the rotation guys and sprinkle in a few inning eaters behind them, we'll be OK.

KA: You mentioned 21 categories you're playing for each week. What are those?

GM: On the offensive side we have, Runs, Hits, Home Runs, RBIs, Stolen Bases, Walks, K's, Total Bases, Fielding Percentage, Batting Average, and On-Base Percentage. Pitching-wise we've got Innings Pitched, Wins, Losses, Saves, Walks, K's, Holds, Total Bases, ERA, and WHIP.

KA: If you could pick one or two categories that you focus on building your team around in both hitting and pitching, what would it be?

GM: On the hitting side, I think average is a big key because it means you're getting on base and either scoring or driving in runs. Home runs don't define us and I don't go for the heavy hitters because they tend to strike out more often and that slows a team down.

Pitching is all about the holds category. I'm a big believer of having top line set up men because they can provide you with more appearances and opportunities for wins along with holding down the lead for our closer to end it. And the great thing about holds is that you only have to record one out or just face one batter on some occasions to get the statistic. As a closer, you're required to get three outs, which is obviously more difficult.

KA: Anybody not on your team that you're hoping to snag in the draft in March?

GM: Hard to say, other teams haven't released their rosters yet which they must do two weeks before the draft so once that deadline hits and I see who's out there, then I'll begin to work my strategy. Not to say though, there are young prospects we have our scouts looking at.

KA: With Miguel Tejada pleading guilty to lying to Congress, will that impact your decision on bringing him back?

GM: Miguel was a great player for us last year and we'll just wait and see how this whole deal sorts out before making any decisions.

With just over a month before the draft, the Sleeper GM has some tough decisions to make with his roster and believes that those who come back will be the core of another team poised to make a run at the championship.

The Seattle Mariners' Five Biggest Questions for 2009

Kip Arney — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 02:53:25 -0500

First off, let's just get this out there: The 2009 Seattle Mariners will not reach the postseason. Got it? Good. Let's move on.

With first year manager Don Wakamatsu, and new GM Jack Zduriencik (pronounced zur-EN-sik) coming over from Milwaukee, a new look team will take the field, but results will probably remain the same. Here are some of the top questions going into the 2009 season for this young ballclub.

1. Name That Pitcher

Pop quiz: How many pitchers won at least 10 games for the Mariners last season? Answer: zero. 23-year-old Felix Hernandez led the team in wins (nine), innings pitched (200.2), and strikeouts (175). But other than him, no one performed to his capabilities, which allows Spring Training to be an open forum for those who want to be in the rotation.

Erik Bedard is going to have to bounce back from an injury-plagued 2008 season and is claiming to be 100 percent healthy, but it's a wait and see game.

Pitchers to watch during Spring Training: Brandon Morrow, Ryan Rowland-Smith, Carlos Silva, Garrett Olson, Miguel Batista, and Jarrod Washburn.

2. Where's the Beef?

Pop quiz: Who led the team in home runs last year? Answer: Adrian Beltre, who finished with 25 homers but only 77 RBI to go along with it. Beltre was the only American League player, along with Oakland's Jack Cust and Detroit's Marcus Thames, to have at least 25 home runs and fewer than 80 RBI.

Seattle lost their most productive offensive weapon in Raul Ibanez when he signed as a free agent with the world champion Philadelphia Phillies. Youngsters Jeff Clement and Wladimir Balentien need to step up and provide some pop to a ballclub that finished 12th in the A.L. in home runs, and brought back only two players who surpassed the double-digit mark in long balls. Second baseman Jose Lopez went yard 17 times last season.

3. Who's Running the Show?

This is manager Don Wakamatsu's first go around as a big league manager and he's been dealt a young group of ball players with a few veterans mixed in. But overall, what is Wakamatsu's coaching style?

With nonexistent power taking up most of the spots on the lineup card, the fans in Seattle are going to be in for a lot of small ball. Lucky for them, Safeco is built for that type of play. But playing small ball requires knowing what buttons to push and when to push them. How long will the starters go? This season isn't going to just be an audition for the players; Wakamatsu will also be on display.

4. Chem. Is. Try.

Sorry, my high school chemistry teacher buried that saying into my head. Anyone remember the story that broke out last year where it was revealed that there were various players who were talking about going after Ichiro in a violent fashion? While that particular story was all speculation, the tension and friction in the clubhouse was obvious.

Veterans like Russell Branyan and Mike Sweeney, who may no longer be at the peak of their careers, are clubhouse guys who were brought in to hopefully build some much-needed camaraderie.

5. Again?

Seattle fans have been patient, but when is enough going to be enough? Unfortunately, the turnaround won't come this season with such a vast amount of young hitters and either aging or unproven pitchers. Seattle hasn't been to the postseason since 2001, when they won 116 games, and last year became the first team in history to lose at least 100 games with a roster whose salary tops $100 million. Ouch.

Players to Watch

Erik Bedard

Can he bounce back from a disappointing first season in Seattle?

Carlos Silva

What's bigger: his contract or waistline?

Ryan Rowland-Smith

The 26-year-old Aussie southpaw finished the season strong and has strong upside.

Adrian Beltre

Sure bet to be trade bait midway through the season. Will his numbers be good enough to get value in return?

Yuniesky Betancourt

A slow but steady decline in this young shortstop's offensive and defensive game has fans questioning his ability.

Brandon Morrow

After coming four outs short of throwing a no-hitter in his first career major league start last September, he crashed back down to Earth, going 1-2 with an ERA over 10.00.

Receivers You Shouldn't Give Up On

Kip Arney — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 06:56:36 -0500

"Don't give up. Don't ever give up." - Jimmy Valvano.

That can be said for fantasy football owners who are always looking for the next hot thing and dropping players because they haven't done squat for them in the past two weeks. I love playing in leagues with those type of people because I reap the benefits of those players helping me down the road.

Here are some receivers that have been down right now but will bounce back this week.

Plaxico Burress

You see the name and you might wonder why anyone would consider benching Plaxico Burress. Look at the facts. In the past three weeks, he's combined for seven catches, 66 yards, and one touchdown.

On the year as a whole, he's only on pace for 60, 800, and eight TDs, which would be his lowest since 2004 when he was still a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

This week, he's going up against the Baltimore Ravens. Baltimore is has the No. 1 run defense, and the Giants have the No. 1 rushing offense in yards per game. While the big uglies up front battle it out, look for Burress to return to form against a team he's traditionally played well against having almost 700 yards and five TDs in 10 career games against the Ravens.

Donnie Avery

After an early four-games stretch involving 300 yards and three TDs, Donnie Avery has fallen back to earth, having not surpassed 30 yards receiving in each of the past two weeks. Look for that to change as the St. Louis Rams travel to San Francisco to take on the 49ers, who are coming off a short week after a Monday night loss to Arizona.

The 49ers, in their last six games, have allowed a total of 12 TDs through the air and in seven of nine games the leading receiver for their opponent has had more than 78 yards receiving, four of those topping 100. Avery has big play potential with already four catches going for 40 yards or more, fourth in the league.

Bobby Engram

Matt Hasselbeck is scheduled to return this Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals and that means big things for Bobby Engram. Hasselbeck and Engram have only played together in one game this season, and there he caught eight balls for 61 yards.

It's been all downhill since then until last weekend, when he caught five for 63 from back up quarterback Seneca Wallace. Last year, Engram was Hasselbeck's security blanket in the West Coast offense, allowing him to set career highs in catches, yards, and touchdowns (94, 1147, 6), and there's nothing to say that Hasselbeck won't look for him on Sunday.

The Cardinals, with their No. 1 scoring offense won't be kept out of the end zone, so, for the Seahawks to keep up, it will need to be done through the air against the Arizona secondary, giving up on average 216 yards a game.

The Day the Sports World Stands Still

Kip Arney — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 10:18:16 -0400

Every year, it's the exact same day. No, not July 16. I'm talking about the day after the MLB All-Star game. The day where the sports-world stands still.

I hate today.

Nothing happens. No basketball, baseball, football, golf, or auto racing. Nothing.

I hate today because I don't know what to do with myself. Sports make the world go round. On-field sports that is. I don't want to hear more about Brett Favre. I don't care about the latest free-agent signings in the NBA or injuries in the NFL. How does that entertain me on this day?

All media outlets talk about on this day is what's going to happen in the future. The future? Yeah that's great for discussion, but it gets old and you can have that any day. But where's the action? Where's the excitement? Where's the drama?

Top-five stories on espn.com:

1. Brett Favre saying he won't apply for reinstatement right away

2. Steroid distributor Kirk Radomski finding receipts about Roger Clemens

3. Padraig Harrington and the chances he'll play at the British Open

4. James Posey signing with the Hornets

5. Double-amputee sprinter, Oscar Pistorius, failing to qualify for the Olympics.

I'm sorry. Did I put you to sleep? I almost did just writing the list.

I heard the following topic thrown out on a local radio station and it made me question myself.

"Why do you follow sports?"

Some of the responses from the listeners revolved around answers containing the words and phrases such as:

"Camaraderie between fans."

"Watching people perform with unbelievable athletic ability."

"Having something to follow."

Me, personally? It gives me excitement.

Waking up every morning knowing something crazy is going happen that will have people talking at the water cooler in the office. During football season, there is never a weekend when you call up a friend and ask, "What do you want to do today?"

And if you do ask your self that question on a Saturday or a Sunday between August and February, just stop reading because you don't understand the passion that sports brings to millions.

Even looking at this from a local angle; I know the Mariners are terrible right now, but through the miracle of TV, Internet, and radio, there's other games that I can latch onto and get my ya-ya's from.

This crosses over to the fantasy sports world where people are forced to know more players on a bigger scale. This causes residents of Arizona who have Ryan Braun on their team to check the box score of the Brewers games every night because they have a little invested in that game, along with many others.

I firmly believe that fantasy players know more about the games all over the country. They know more about who did what on which night than those that choose not to participate in the ever-popular addiction. The key is to not get too involved and have more invested in your fantasy team than your team on the field.

I love sports because nothing else excites me and makes me rush home to find out who's done what. I can't do that with academics. I can't run home because I want to see what's new with the Civil War in my history textbook.

Newsflash: nothing's changed.

Politics are way too corrupt and full of lying hypocrites, at least locally here in Seattle, to make me want to give any of my energy towards them.

Reading, it'll always be there.

But sports, sports are the only subject where if you missed it, then you missed it.

Except for those who DVR the games or the game is shown on ESPN Classic. It's not like any team's '94 NBA season will be released on DVD with special audio commentary and a gag reel, like they do with pretty much every TV show or movie.

Sports bring people together, and it lets those who only have a favorite team in common be united for a brief period of time. Today, that won't happen.

Brandon Morrow: The West Coast Joba Chamberlain

Kip Arney — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 20:52:52 -0400

I seriously question how many people know who Brandon Morrow is?

Or Brad Lincoln?

Lincoln is a right handed pitcher drafted number four overall out of the University of Houston by the Pittsburgh Pirates during the 2006 draft. Currently he is pitching in Single-A for the Hickory Crawdads with a 4-4 record and an era of 4.50.

Brandon Morrow is the righty from the University of California the Mariners selected with the 5th pick overall right after Lincoln became unavailable. His numbers this season with the big club, seven for seven in save opportunities with an eye popping era of 0.65 in 27.2 innings of work.

And to think people say that the east coast bias doesn't exist...HA!

Brandon Morrow was groomed as a starter at Cal going 7-4 with a 2.05 era during his senior season, and that's what the Mariners drafted him for. Coming out of spring training, they saw that his stuff was so electric that he was awarded a spot on the major league roster but was stuck in the bullpen.

And he's still there.

I'm not here to deny Joba Chamberlain of his accolades, or say that Brandon Morrow is better. But it's very clear that because Chamberlain is a part of the New York Yankees, he gets more publicized.

Brandon Morrow this season has been unhitable...literally. Ever since J.J. Putz went down with arm issues, Brandon Morrow has stepped up and showed the moxy of a Mariano Rivera, letting nothing phase him.

This being exhibited when he struck out Manny Ramirez with a 100 mph fastball in the 8th inning back on May 27th of this year, when he came into a tie ball game with runners on first and second and nobody out.

He finished the inning by striking out Mike Lowell and getting JD Drew to fly out to left, leaving the runners stranded and allowing the Mariners win the ballgame in the 9th inning, 4-3.

Ever since that May 27th appearance, Morrow's ERA and WHIP continues to drop while the strikeouts and hype (in the Northwest) steadily climb. The stats since and including the game against Boston on May 27 are as follows.

Innings Pitched: 16.2

Saves/Save Opportunities 7/7

Earned Runs: 0

Unearned Runs: 0

Hits Allowed: 2

Walks: 2

Strikeouts: 22

His season numbers aren't too shabby either.

1-1 with a 0.65 era, 0.77 whip and 37 strikeouts in 27.2 innings of work.

The buzz on the streets of Seattle surrounds the question of what to do with this hard throwing right hander who turns 24 later this month. JJ Putz still remains on the DL, and while he probably won't be given closer duties immediately upon his return, it's hard to ignore the man who was 40 for 42 in save chances with a 1.38 ERA last season.

Since the Mariners are not in any position to make a post season run this season, the chants have begun to have Morrow sent down to the minors to get him ready to be a starter in time for spring training 2009.

However, Morrow is about one of the only bright spots the M's have going for them and the front office would like him to remain in Seattle to keep the fans coming out to Safeco Field.

What do I think the Mariners should do? I'm not going to answer that. I just hope they don't trade him away like they did two years ago sending former bullpen flame thrower-Rafael Soriano to Atlanta for a bag of balls who goes by the name of Horacio Ramirez.

Erik Bedard an Ace? I Don't Think So

Kip Arney — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 12:48:43 -0400

Along with everyone else who thought Erik Bedard was this supernatural lefty who would become the rock steady ace of this "on-paper" soild rotation the Mariners have thrown out this season.

Boy was I wrong.

Yes, I wanted Bedard from the get-go. As soon as those rumors floated about him possibly coming to Seattle in exchange for George Sherrill, Adam Jones and a couple minor leaguers, I was all for it.

How could you not be?

With Seattle, Sherrill was nothing more than a lefty set up man. He wasn't going to get the 27 saves he currently has with the Orioles and Adam Jones wasn't going to crack the outfield even if he deserved it. So yeah, ship 'em off.

Whoops.

Erik Bedard hasn't been an ace, he's been a cry baby with no guts, no spine, and he doesn't even care. With his win today over the Detroit Tigers, he improved to 6-4 with a 3.67 ERA while pitching just 81 innings in 15 starts. That's an average of less than 6 innings every day he's scheduled to start.

How can someone be praised as an ace when they don't even qualify for a quality start for seven of their 15 starts?

For his career, Bedard has never exceeded 200 innings pitched and after last year's low 3.16 era, he's floated back to reality this year hovering around his career average era of 3.83. An ERA near four isn't the worst statistic around but an ace is more than just numbers.

He's supposed to be a stopper. When Bedard pitches the game after the Mariners lose, he's 4-4 with three no decisions and in two of those no decisions, the Mariners lost.

Another thing Erik Bedard has failed to do is save the bullpen. Last year the Mariners were staying up with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim until the late summer months when the bullpen began to break down from being overworked.

Please Erik! Be our savior! The word savior in Canada must mean do the bare minimum because the Canadian out of Ontario is doing just that. His pitch count is low when he repeatedly takes himself out of ball games.

July 4, 2008 - 5.0 IP, 1 ER 99 pitches thrown

June 29, 2008 - 5.2 IP, 1 ER 94 pitches thrown

June 20, 2008 - 3.0 IP, 0 ER 36 pitches thrown (reportedly left with back spasms)

June 14, 2008 - 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 100 pitches thrown

June 8, 2008 - 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 99 pitches thrown

June 3, 2008 - 3.1 IP 4 ER, 75 pitches thrown

Notice the trend? Erik Bedard has a year left on his contract with the Mariners. Whether or not the Mariners resign him remains to be seen, but until then, you can expect from him a solid five to six innings keeping you in the ballgame and hope your bullpen saves the day.

Seattle Sonics Gone: What's a Fan to Do?

Kip Arney — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 19:55:47 -0400

People say a picture speaks a thousand words. Weird how this picture show 41 years of history being carefully deconstructed into a thousand pieces.

I haven't really gotten hit with the team being taken away. Or is taken away too harsh of a word? The more appropriate word would be given away, as that's exactly what local owner Howard Schultz did two years ago, when he sold the team to Clayton Bennett and his group from Oklahoma City.

Now Schultz has put together a lawsuit that will try and get the team back. Will it work? I don't know. Do I care? Not really. Like I said earlier, it hasn't hit me yet that the NBA no longer exists in Seattle, and it probably won't hit me until Opening Day, when the Oklahoma Whatevers play their first game.

So now what? What do I do?

A basketball enthusiast who's just lost the only NBA team he's ever followed.

Root for the next-closest team? The Blazers? That's a hard sell, especially when they're not even located in my own state.

I don't want to make the comparison of a Sonics fan rooting for the Blazers being equal to a Yankees fan rooting for the Red Sox, or Ohio State fans cheering on Michigan. But maybe in our own little world up here in the Northwest, where the rest of the country thinks we aren't even a part of these continental 48 states, the I-5 rivalry between the two cities is just as big. I never personally felt it, but maybe because I wasn't as interested during the Blazers and Sonics championship runs.

The Blazers do have some serious Seattle ties, though, with former Mr. Sonic himself Nate McMillan coaching the squad, which is led by local Seattle product Brandon Roy (who just so happened to be in my graduating class of 2002 from Garfield High in Seattle). They also have Martell Webster, another local kid from the Emerald City, but I never really knew of him because he came straight out of high school to the NBA.

A big thing for me when being a fan of a particular team is knowing that, if I really wanted to cough up the money, I could go see them in person. Is there ever going to be a time where I want to take the three-hour trip down to Portland just to see a basketball game?

The last and only time I did that was to see LeBron James during his rookie season. Unfortunately, he had one of his worst statistical games ever that night: eight points on 3-of-12 shooting with four rebounds and six assists. (Just so you know, this is a precursor to an article I'll write about how LeBron James will never win a championship.)

I need immediate access to a team to be a fan. I need to be surrounded by the fans to be a fan. I can't follow the Houston Texans up here, because I have no one to talk about them with.

Will that be the case with Portland? Possibly. How long do I have to wait before the NBA comes back? Maybe forever. Am I going to stop following the NBA? No, but it sure is enticing.

I dunno, the Canucks are only two hours away in Vancouver...maybe I'll just become a hockey fan.