Empty the Bench

Fox Sport’s obnoxious talking head Bill Mass was arrested over the weekend, and it doesn’t look good. I always knew there was something wrong with this guy, outside of being a loudmouth moron, and now we finally have some proof. While not quite in Marv Albert territory, this has to be pretty embarrassing. Maas was apparently set to celebrate the weekend in a big way as he was (wait for it) . . . loaded for bear. Zing!

The 45-year-old Maas and a passenger in his Hummer, Sarah J. Murphy, 27, were arrested late Friday by Illinois State Police. During the stop, police indicated Maas seemed nervous, and he agreed to a search of his vehicle.

Police found a .22-caliber revolver, 5 grams of suspected marijuana, 6 grams of suspected cocaine and 28 pills of Ecstasy. Maas and Murphy were charged with possession of a controlled substance and possession of marijuana. Maas was also booked on a charge of unlawful use of a weapon.

I have no idea what the former Kansas City Chiefs All-Pro intended to do with that young woman in a vehicle loaded with drugs and firearms in the middle of nowhere, but I’m imagining something along the lines of Jacques Renault‘s cabin in Twin Peaks. Creepy. Where are the Bookhouse Boys when you need them? According to officials the former defensive tackle is charged with possession of a controlled substance (the felony variety) as well as unlawful use of a weapon. Suffice it to say, I don’t think we’ll be hearing him profess man-love for Brett Favre any time soon. This is an obvious blow to Maas fans everywhere, but a major coup for everybody else who intended to watch Fox NFL broadcasts this fall.

Writing about Pat Neshek all afternoon inspired me to visit his website again, where I was greeted with some wonderful Midwestern sentiment (“I really have no purpose for this page. I figured hey, why not start a webpage about my life . . . “). He’s really an amazing guy, you have to check out all the auctions and other efforts he does for charity. He also wasn’t too proud to post fan videos about himself campaigning for Neshek to win MLB’s Final Vote contest to secure that last All-Star roster spot. Hey, the guy deserved it. Unfortunately, he lost out to another player mentioned in the fantasy pitchers article below, Hideki Okajima.

That does nothing to diminish the efforts:

But man I need you guys to vote, vote and vote [ . . . ] it’s unlimited voting…tell everyone you know and come together and get creative we have like 5 days or something! We need everyone, all Minnesotan’s, all graphers , fans of baseball and yes everyone in Yankee Nation ( and we know why!) I seriously would like to promise everyone All Star balls or jerseys for voting but it might be a stretch…I will promise this [ . . . ] multiple updates each day letting everyone know what the heck goes on behind closed doors, I will always inscribe anything with All Star 07…dont even have to ask.

The Minnesota attitude and accents (below) really bring me back. Fargo was hyperbole, but it really wasn’t that far off. We are good people and we do sound like that. Joel and Ethan Coen are from St. Louis Park, MN after all.

If you need anything signed or want to trade signed hockey/baseball cards for my cards send items with SASE to:

Pat Neshek C/O Minnesota Twins
Metrodome
34 Kirby Puckett Place
Minneapolis, MN 55415

You have to appreciate a player who’s an emerging star and still just seems like a regular guy who happens to play baseball. For a while he even kept track of every letter fans sent him and posted their names on his site.

Enjoy the no-budget goodness:

With th All-Star break approaching it’s a great opportunity to take the few minutes you would have put into lineup decisions and evaluate the state of your fantasy baseball squad. The most important thing you can do it to look at the overall standings and see where teams are clustered in a certain category. You’ll also want to take a look at where potential trading partners stand so you can make an offer that will get their attention. For example, if there’s only one other team ahead of you in steals and the next guy is 20 back, it might be time to sell off some of those coveted SBs to a team in the middle of the pack who’s desperate for a boost and will value them more than you. And that one guy in front of you? He’s probably not willing to pay a fair price for Brian Roberts. If there are three of four teams within 15 or fewer home runs, then buying low on a power hitter like Paul Konerko, Ryan Howard, Lance Berkman, Troy Glaus, Jim Thome, Nick Swisher, Mark Teixeira or Travis Hafner will serve you well. Given their talent and track records, we know the best part of their season is yet to come.

For today though, we’re going to take a look at pitching. Specifically, buy-low players who may even be on the waiver wire or in your free agent pool that can give your team a boost down the stretch. As the season gets further along WHIP, ERA, K/BB and the other ratio stats you may use for pitching will become more and more difficult to make up ground in so the time to take action is now. Those are also categories where most leagues tend to have logjams in the rankings as well. Here’s a short list of the guys ETB recommends looking at to right your pitching ship, starting with a strategy that can pay immediate dividends: grabbing middle relievers. Obviously, your league size and format greatly impact the value of these hurlers so take that into consideration before doing anything drastic.

Pat Neshek, RP, MN: There’s nothing wrong with stud closer Joe Nathan, but that didn’t stop Twins Manager Ron Gardenhire from saying Wednesday that Mr. Neshek has the mentality to be a closer. Nathan will be the man in Minnesota as long as he’s under contract (through next season), but this could be Gardy’s way of getting us used to the idea of Neshek taking the job in 2009. And of course, if Nathan ever went down for any reason this year Pat would instantly become one of the top five relief pitchers in fantasy baseball. After a stellar rookie season a year ago, it’s more of the same in 2007: a 1.74 ERA, a 0.73 WHIP and a 51/13 K/BB ratio in 41.1 innings pitched. On top of that, he has 4 wins in those 41 innings, making him a must-own in all formats.

To put that in perspective, if a starting pitcher totals 20 wins and over 200 Ks in his 200 innings pitched he’s on the short list of Cy Young candidates. If he does it with a 0.73 WHIP he’s had one of the best seasons in the history of fantasy baseball. There isn’t a fantasy squad in existence that couldn’t use a Pat Neshek. Now he probably won’t go over 85 innings this season, but that just means you need to have two of three of these types to make up for it instead of one stud starter and one or two mediocre ones.

Neshek is representative of a whole class of middle relievers who may have dominant numbers and a low ranking and trade value simply because their limited innings lead to low W and K totals relative to starters. Don’t let the rank throw you, these are quality players who can make a major contribution in your ratios. Target guys like Hideki Okajima (0.88 ERA, 0.78 WHIP, 2 Ws, 4 SVs, 37 Ks in 41 innings), Heath Bell (1.45 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, 51 Ks in 49.2 innings), Rafael Betancourt (1.19 ERA, 0.66 WHIP, 34 Ks and a K/BB of 11.33 in 37.2 innings), Scot Shields (1.81 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 2 Ws, 2 SVs, 42 Ks in 44.2 innings), Carlos Villanueva (2.75 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 6 Ws, 54 Ks in 59 innings) and Jonathan Broxton (2.86 ERA, 1.20WHIP, 3 Ws, 54 Ks in 50 innings).

If they aren’t available as free agents, trade for them. They’re often easy guys to convince another manager to ‘throw in’ as part of a package because the manager doesn’t think he’ll miss them too much. Three other super subs in this category that also have a good shot at taking over closer duties this season are Zack Greinke, Carlos Mármol and Rafael Soriano . . .

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Every borderline team in the Eastern Conference smells blood in the water. The once-mighty Pistons are in a state of flux, seemingly abdicating the conference throne in the midst of their prime, and everybody is taking notice. “If a truly mediocre team like the Cleveland Cavaliers can go all the way to the NBA Finals, then surely we can be a playoff team” is the popular sentiment. That mindset has caused a flurry of moves this offseason.

The Orlando Magic have signed Rashard Lewis to team with Dwight Howard, making them playoff contenders. The Charlotte Bobcats traded this year’s 8th overall pick Brandan Wright for Jason Richardson, making them playoff contenders. The Boston Celtics have traded Delonte West, Wally Szczerbiak and this year’s 5th overall pick for Ray Allen, making them playoff contenders. The thing is, many of these teams are right. We know the Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons (assuming Chauncey re-signs) will make the playoffs in the coming season. The Toronto Raptors and New Jersey Nets (assuming Vince Carter re-signs) are also very likely to make it. After those teams though, there is a gaping dearth of quality squads and all four of the remaining playoff spots up for grabs.

Boston has been in a state of perpetual rebuilding since the “glory” years for Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker, stockpiling draft picks and talented youngsters. They took a huge step toward a Win Today mentality on draft night in acquiring perennial All-Star Ray Allen. Allen is getting on in years and his ankles are starting to break down (thank you very much, Bruce Bowen), but for my money he’s still a first-team player and the NBA’s premier outside shooter. He’s a guy that has averaged 21.5 points, 4.6 boards, 3.9 assists, 2.4 3-pointers and 1.3 steals on 44.6% FGs and 88.8% FTs over his 12-year career and threatens a 25-5-5 season each year. He certainly got game. Here’s the big concern though: will Paul Pierce and Ray Allen be able to mesh?

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Happy 4th everybody, here’s hoping you all have a great day with the family and wake up with all ten fingers tomorrow morning. ETB is celebrating by taking a look at the firework-makers of football, the NFL’s top quarterbacks. While every pick of your league’s first round should be a running back, in the second round Peyton Manning will likely poke his equine face in somewhere. After that, it’s an elaborate game of cat and mouse between you and your league mates. Who’s the best QB left on the board? What’s the drop off between him and the next guy? Can you really afford to wait another round to pick your every-week starter? ETB ranks the top signal callers out there so you can be like a cucumber during the QB runs of your draft (as in ‘cool as a’).

I hate to force a pick based on positional need, so depending on the way my drafts pan out I’m targeting five QBs this season: Caron Palmer (Early 3rd round), Marc Bulger (Early-to-mid 4th Round), Jon Kitna (7th round and after), Philip Rivers (9th Round) and Matt Leinert (Consolation Prize). Here are the official rankings on the QBs to this point, but keep in mind that ETB reserves the right to make significant adjustments as the season draws nigh and we will also be releasing a composite set of fantasy rankings that will give you a good idea where exactly to target each of these signal callers.

1. Peyton Manning: Similar to the situation with Tomlinson at RB, Peyton is so clearly the best option at QB that there really isn’t an argument for taking anybody else. Peyton has a track record of incredible consistency and health to go along with huge production and there’s no reason that should change this year. In fact, with the significant losses the Colts suffered on defense during the offseason there’s a good chance this offense will be involved in even more shootouts this year.

1A. Carson Palmer: It may sound like blasphemy to some, but I think Carson Palmer is a good bet to approach or surpass Manning’s fantasy production this year. He finished with just 3 fewer TD passes and and 300 fewer yards a year ago, all while his surgically rebuilt knee was still affecting his accuracy through the bulk of the campaign. He put to rest concerns about his knee as the year went on and this offseason he’s been practicing without a brace. Chad Johnson and TJ Houshmandzadeh are one of the better receiving duos in the league and Rudi Johnson is more than capable, so the supporting cast is there. Here’s the kicker though: during the fantasy championships in weeks 14, 15 and 16 the Bengals play St. Louis, San Francisco and Cleveland.

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