Three Top Red Sox Players In Fantasy

As the baseball season nears, fans are starting to think about Fantasy Leagues.  Below is a guest article which focuses on Fantasy Baseball Red Sox players:


Most people outside of Boston might be down on the Red Sox in 2013, but there is plenty of talent still in Beantown. Fantasy owners will be eyeing a number of their every day players and pitchers, even if they lack that first or second round star. Here’s a look at when the right time is for a person to take three of their top players.

Dustin Pedroia
The second baseman for the Red Sox has been a steady producer for quite some time, so it is no surprise that he is the top fantasy baseball player heading into 2013. Last season, he posted solid overall numbers of 15 home runs, 65 RBI and 20 stolen bases to go with a .290 average. If he can stay healthy for an entire season, those numbers can go up even more. He is a top 30 overall fantasy baseball player heading into the year, and only Robinson Cano is better amongst second basemen.

Jacoby Ellsbury
When the outfielder is healthy, few provide the type of overall value Jacoby Ellsbury does. What hurts him is that he plays a loaded position where his numbers do not stand out as much. His numbers are pretty insignificant to talk about in 2013 since he missed so much time, but his 14 steals in limited action shows that his wheels are still there. He might be a bit of a risk, but he will probably last until the 35th-40th overall pick in most drafts. Amongst outfielders, he is in the 10th to 15th range.

Jon Lester
A guy who went 9-14 with a 4.82 ERA in 2012 might not seem like much of a reliable fantasy pitcher, but his track record and lack of other options make him the best pick out of the Red Sox. The left-hander had a terrible season by his standards last year, but at 29 years old, most of it could be corrected. Wins are out of his control to a degree, but when an ERA is near five, there is not much that can be done. He still strikes out enough guys that he will make a solid 4th or 5th starter on most fantasy squads.

Come see Goose Gossage or Brent Sutter and support local baseball

Once again, the Calgary Dinos will have a former MLB star who will be joining them at their baseball and fastball teams annual fundraising dinner.  Rich "Goose" Gossage has been announced as this year's keynote speaker.  As well, Brent Sutter will be the featured guest for Badland Baseball Academy's fundraiser.

Gossage is a Hall of Fame reliever, best remembered for his trademark Fu Manchu moustache and a blazing fastball. His resume includes helping the Yankees win a World Series in his first season in New York, and being only the second pitcher (after Rollie Fingers) to amass 300 career saves.  Aside from his time in New York, his storied career also took him through Chicago (both the North and South side), Pittsburgh, San Diego, San Francisco, Texas, Oakland and Seattle on the way to Cooperstown.  After retiring he also wrote his memoirs in his very humorous autobiography "The Goose is Loose" and is sure to be an entertaining speaker at this event.

Brent Sutter is very well known to hockey fans in the area.  A native Albertan (from Viking), he played 18 seasons in the NHL before switching gears and becoming a very well regarded coach. Twice he led Team Canada to the World Junior Hockey Championship, and also won the Memorial Cup with Red Deer, as well as coaching in the NHL with New Jersey and Calgary.

Jeff McIntosh / Associated Press

The Dinos fundraising dinner featuring Goose Gossage will be held on Thursday January 31st at the Red & White Club at McMahon Stadium. To purchase tickets ($175) please call U of C Kinesiology Client Services at (403) 220-7749 and for more information on the event you can contact Mike Boyles at mboyles@ucalgary.ca or (403) 220-4413.

The Badgers Gala evening with Sutter will be on Wednesday January 30th. The reception starts at 5:30 followed by dinner and a silent and live auction.  Tickets are $75 and can be purchased by contacting the Academy Office at (403) 664-2200.

Both of these events promise to be very entertaining and are a great way to support local baseball. 

December 25th - a VERY special day

On December 25th last year, I reflected on how that day made me remember something very special that happened a long time ago. But this year, it has a very special meaning all on its own.  Yes, as I'm sure you've all guessed already, December 25th is the Baseball Solstice.  A big thank you to Dan at The Ball Caps Blog for reminding us all of this.  As fresh as our memories are of the 2012 season, and as distant as next season seems, after the 25th we will be closer to the start of Spring Training than to the end of the World Series. It is the day the furthest away from baseball all year - and although that may be a reason for sadness and despair, we need to realize that just as everyday has already started to get longer, we are also now getting closer to baseball.  I can't wait for the smell of fresh grass, the sound of the crack of the bat, the excitement of watching our Red Sox win games.... well, regardless of what happens, 2 out of 3 ain't bad.


So remember even though the weather outside may be frightful, and with no games on, you have no place to go... it won't be long before you hear the call of "PLAY BALL!".(*)


Happy Holidays everyone :)

(*) As an umpire, I hate to perpetuate the myth that games start with this call.  Umpires only say "PLAY!" to start a game, but this phrase is more popular and traditional in our collective social consciousness so I'm going to go with it.

Another Canadian joins the Red Sox

(Greg M. Cooper / USA TODAY Sports)

British Columbia native Ryan Dempster has been signed by the Red Sox for the next two seasons. Dempster will join a long list of Canadians who have been part of the Crimson Hose in recent memory.  These include Jason Bay, Matt Stairs, Eric Gagne, George Kottaras, Adam Stern, Mike Gardiner, Erik Bedard and Chris Reitsma who was drafted in the 1st round but never played home games at Fenway.

Being Canadian myself, I usually want the Red Sox to acquire as many Canucks as possible. However, I was less then overly enthusiastic when I heard Dempster's name linked to the Red Sox.  With other free agent starting pitchers available, I did not think he was the best choice. What I knew about him, was that he has played most of his career in the National League and that his brief stint in Texas last year resulted in an ERA north of 5. And not being a fastball pitcher, we all know that when pitchers move from the NL to the AL, they get exposed as they can't dominate our hitters like they could in the National League.  Oh year, he's not getting any younger.  Sigh.  But thanks to the good folks at the Sons of Sam Horn, a bunch of very positive points have emerged about this signing:

Take a look at the 2 lines of nearly identical stats below over the past 3 seasons:.

Best Baseball Players not in the Hall of Fame

At the fine "Baseball: Past and Present" website, it is time for their annual project where readers rank the 50 best baseball players not in the Hall of Fame.  This always makes for some interesting reading, so rather than just vote this year, I am helping to spread the word.  If you want to have your say, it's simple.  Just go to this Google form and fill it out!  This reference list has over 400 names that you may want to consider.   Remember when filling out the ballot, to include a Y or N to indicate if you think they should be in the Hall of Fame or not.  For example, you may think players such as Shoeless Joe Jackson or Pete Rose are among the best players not in the Hall, but feel they don't deserve to be in.  The full details are on the original post here.

You can also take a look at The Hall of Nearly Great to read some great stories about several players that are not in Cooperstown.  This book has a compilation of some excellent writers talking about their favourite players including Dale Murphy, Keith Hernandez, Don Mattingly, John Olerud  and Fred McGriff, all of whom are worthy of consideration for top 50 missing from Cooperstown.  As well, as Red Sox fans you can read about Luis Tiant, Dwight Evans and Ellis Burks.