The Fantasy Baseball Roundtable Offers Free Weekly Podcas

I was checking out Blog Talk Radio in search of some fantasy baseball podcasts and came across the Fantasy Baseball Roundtable. They have anywhere from 3-5 experts and cover the latest breaking news, discuss fantasy baseball strategy and breakdown and compare tons of players. Personally I like the format because everyone has a slightly different take so it's helpful in allowing me to formulate my own opinion.

They also have a blog dedicated to fantasy baseball, Fantasy Pros 911, FantasyPros911.com. I believe they just relaunched it and they have lots of content as well as money leagues to join. It's definitely worth checking out if you're looking to prep for the upcoming fantasy baseball season.

Order The Hardball Times Season Preview 2009 from Amazon.com

Rickie Weeks - Breakout Coming in 2009!

With 4 partial disappointing seasons under his belt most fantasy baseball owners have all but given up on Rickie Weeks (pictured in 2003 Leaf rookie baseball card), the former #2 overall pick. I got off his bandwagon prior to last season but now that Rickie Week's value is at an all time low I'm back on. I think he makes a tremendous middle infield option in all leagues but especially deep leagues like the NFBC.

Over the past 4 years Rickie Weeks has battled injury and inconsistency. If you prorate his last three season averages you end up with a 20/30 guy. By no means am I guaranteeing that Rickie Weeks will finally turn in a 600 at bat season but if he can 20/30 with some serious upside from there is worth a late round pick. Weeks also turns 27 in September so he's at the right age too.

If Weeks puts it all together I think Brandon Philips is a great comp but at 120 picks later. And what about Howie Kendrick? He has yet to turn in a full season but after the nice batting average he only projects at about 10 home runs and stolen bases. In the mock drafts I've seen Weeks is coming in some 70 picks later. I'd rather assume the risk of Rickie Weeks on a speculative pick in later drafts.

Get autographed Rickie Weeks baseball cards on eBay - click here!

Big Papi Offers Huge Upside in Fantasy Baseball

Disclosure - I hate jamming my utility spot early in fantasy baseball drafts. It really can hurt some opportunities to maximize value later in the draft or during the fantasy baseball season.

That said I think David Ortiz (pictured in 1997 Fleer Ultra rookie card) has huge upside this season. Mock Draft Central currently has him going 49th which is a late 5th round pick in 10 team leagues and an early 4th in the NFBC format.

Ortiz struggled through a wrist injury for most of last season which killed his stats across the board. He just turned 33 in November so many believe that this is the beginning of the end for Big Papi. The prognosis through the winter is that the wrist is feeling fine and he's expected to be 100% for the start of the season. Also, since he only DH's I like his chance to stay moderately healthy.

I think it's obvious that David Ortiz's best days are behind him but even if we look at 2007 and revise his stats down slightly we could be looking at a stat line of ~35 HRs, 200 runs+RBIs and a batting average of 290+. These are basically Mark Teixeira numbers more than 30 picks later. I think Big Papi is a great buy low for fantasy baseball in 2009.

To add a David Ortiz baseball card to you collection click here get one on eBay!

Super Mario Sluggers is a Great Baseball Game for the Wii

My family got a Wii this Christmas from Visa Clause and Super Mario Sluggers is a blast if you're looking for a baseball video game.

The basic plan is to go through different baseball stadiums that Bowser's army has taken over and unlock secrets, chase out the bad guys and sign up new players for your all star baseball team. You'll need to pass a special baseball challenge at each interaction but these focus on helping you to develop your in game skills. So the video game has a great built in way to help you work up the learning curve.

The arcade feel and special moves in the actual games make it a blast. Players have special moves like Donkey Kong climbing the outfield walls and special pitches like Luigi's tornado ball. Many baseball purists that are more accustomed to EA Sports type baseball games won't care for Mario's take on America's pass time. I think it depends what people want in sports games, realism or entertainment - I prefer the later.

Aside from the campaign mode and the individual baseball games you can play at any time, there are loads of extras. There are tons of mini games, practice modes and a toy stadium game.

You can find a copy of Super Mario Sluggers on eBay by clicking here!

2009 Baseball Approaches

Some quick updates on Bloop Single as the 2009 baseball season approaches.

First, no new T206 baseball cards lately - due primarily to lack of winning my fantasy baseball and football leagues this year - bummer.

Second, I had started to log eBay results for T206 rare backed cards - American Beauty, Hindu, Cycle, etc. I found it to be a significant amount of work for the value that it was providing to Bloop Single's audience. I still think it's neat to track over time so I'll probably just report on the super rare backs from time to time - Drum, Broad Leaf, Carolina Brights, and Lenox.

I plan on doing 3 fantasy baseball leagues this year - my beer league for the 12th straight year, the NFBC for my third year, and a satellite NFBC league with a $125 buy in. Start looking for player updates and fantasy baseball analysis soon!

I will also continue to do work on my website www.BaseballCardDisplayCase.com and wiki Safe at Home - safeathome.wikidot.com. I have a lot of great content for Safe at Home and think it will really add a lot of value. Safe at Home's focus is on how best to safely display vintage and valuable baseball cards like T206s.

Get ready for the 2009 Season with Baseball Prospectus 2009 from Amazon.com

The Girl’s Guide to Sports – ‘Girly’ Sports Take

I friend of mine created a new site, The Girl’s Guide to Sports. The basic premise is to give female type people enough sports background info to be moderately fluent and therefore able to communicate with men (presumably husbands and boyfriends but this could clearly extend to the workplace and other areas). I think general coping skills are also discussed.

Check out her post on the baseball playoffs - Now that the MLB Playoffs Have Started, I Only Have a Few Weeks Until They’re Over….

Yeah, that’s some sass.

Pictured above is Ila Borders rearing back with a two seam heater. She’s credited with being the first woman to win a professional men’s baseball game - just an FYI that tied in.

If you’re a woman and looking to get more into sports and/or are looking for ways to get your man’s attention – check out eBay, they have women’s jersey’s for baseball and every team sport!

T206 McCormick Stamp Found!

Back in July I received an incredible email. Ed was in search of T206 baseball cards once owned by Howe McCormick. The baseball cards have McCormick’s distinctive Gainsville Florida stamp. Check out my original post for more detail on Ed’s incredible quest.

I was excited to do a post to help Ed recreate McCormick’s T206 collection. Since this blog is part emarketing experiment I was curious to see if we could make a connection. I’m happy to announce that just last month thanks to the power of blogs, search engines and all kinds of other cool gizmos Rodrigo found me. I put him in contact with Ed and the McCormick T206 baseball card collection is one step closer to completion.

You can find great T206 baseball cards on eBay!