Monday, July 13, 2009

Alfonso Soriano - Fantasy Baseball Star if Falling Off a Cliff


In this week's Great Fantasy Debate on the Fantasy Pros 911 I was the away team and had to explain why a second half bounce back was unlikely for former fantasy stud Alfonso Soriano. Even though it's apparent that the decline is on, I really thought this was great year to buy Soriano at a bit of a discount - add that to the list of things I got wrong heading into this year's fantasy baseball season.

Soriano is still a productive player but the speed seems gone. With even 20 stolen bases Alfonso Soriano would be a top 5 OF but now it looks like 10 may be his best case. Moreover, his batting average is horrid and expected batting average (xBA) barely cracks .250.

Read about my take on the decline of Alfonso Soriano at the Fantasy Pros 911 Great Fantasy Debate - and VOTE FOR GREG!!!

If you're a baseball card collector, pick up an autographed Alfonso Soriano baseball card on eBay!

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Satchel: The Life and Times of an American Legend - New Book Available Now


I became a Satchel Paige fan after watching Ken Burns Baseball
this past winter on DVD. I love watching the series to learn about the old time players and the two that stand out the most to me are Walter Johnson and Satchel Paige.

Satchel played all over the country and internationally for Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Mexico. Toward the end of his career he would follow in Jackie Robinsons' footsteps and finally make the majors. The reason I'm a big Satchel Paige fan is that;
1) He may very well have been the greatest pitcher in baseball history - the fact that we'll never know for sure only adds to the mystery
2) Satchel did it with style - not only was he reported to throw 14 pitches but they all had clever, intimidating and very cool names - Midnight Creeper, Midnight Rider, Bee Ball, 4 Day Creeper, Long Tom, the Barber and the feared Trouble Ball (I have no idea what the Trouble Ball was but I'll assume it was aptly named

Recently I found a new biography on Satchel Paige on Amazon - Satchel: The Life and Times of an American Legend. I've promptly added the book to my wish list and will have to write a review once I get a chance to complete it.

In the mean time you can pick up a copy of the new Satchel Paige biography, Satchel: The Life and Times of an American Legend on Amazon.com today - click here to get your copy of the book today.