A few weeks ago I selected a new logo for Vintage Baseball Card Display Cases LLC. Scribe from New Zealand was our final winner. We discussed a look that would be retro-Americana circa 1950s and ultimately that's what scribe delivered.
You can check our scribe's work at 99 Designs here - http://99designs.com/users/319143
Be sure to check back at BaseballCardDisplayCase.com later this year for our new site refresh and display case product launch.
After hiatus Bloop Single is back, although mostly focused on launching Vintage Baseball Card Display Cases, LLC
Here are the updates;
I've been doing all of my fantasy baseball writing as a staff member of the Fantasy Pros 911. This season I'll be doing Pitch or Ditch starting on 4/11.
You can also hear me every Wednesday night (or Thursday morning) on the top 10 fantasy baseball podcast, The Fantasy Baseball Roundtable.
www.BaseballCardDisplayCase.com will get a refresh over the next several months and we will look to have our premium display cases available for sale by year end. The new brand will officially be Vintage Baseball Card Display Cases, LLC.
We're currently working on a new logo for Vintage Baseball Card Display Cases, LLC with 99Designs.com. You can view the contest in progress through this Saturday 4/9.
Best,
g
This past weekend the NFBC held its annual draft at Citi Field in New York. As a life long Met fan it was literally the greatest place on earth for a fantasy baseball draft. Here's this year's team competing in NYC League #2.
1) David Wright, 3B - I believe he'll bounce back and 3B is brutally thin this year. 5 categories in the bank.
2) Jose Reyes, SS - The thyroid is find so now I just have to worry about the hammy. My thinking is that he's just too young and talented not to bounce back and he looked 100% earlier in Spring Training. A make or break pick.
3) Justin Morneau, 1B - 1B is loaded this year and I think that means it's critical to grab a top masher so you don't miss the party. I think Target field will greatly help lefties once it heats up a bit so I thinking career year.
4) Nelson Cruz, OF - Finally broke out last season but I still see some upside. In a full season 40+ HRs and a BA closer to .300 is possible. His projection is 'only' 30/20 which is still more than fine at this point.
5) Cole Hamels, SP - Victim of bad luck last season coming off of over work in 2008. Hamels will be this year's Verlander and bounce to be a top 5 pitcher this year.
6) Ricky Nolsaco, SP - Another hard luck pitcher in 2009 who has been unreal all spring, a perfect compliment to back up Hamels.
7) Heath Bell, RP - One of the top closers and still underappreciated.
8) Rafael Soriano, RP - Soriano has the stuff and opportunity to be a top 5 closer. I can’t understand why his ADP never shot up accordingly. Soriano in the 8th round is a key piece to my overall plan.
9) Juan Pierre, OF - Solid in 3 categories Pierre seemed like the most stable fit even though he didn't fill a pressing need.
10) Rickie Weeks, 2B - Weeks was a bit of a reach here but I wanted to pick up some power after the Pierre pick. His injury risk is mitigated by the lack of talent at 2B.
11) Miguel Tejada, SS - Still has a nice BA and will bat in good spot in the order so Tejeda will be productive. All in all I'm now fairly strong at the thin middle infield.
12) Alfonso Soriano, OF - I was shocked to see him here and was close to overlooking him myself. I wanted a power hitting OF and this is great value.
13) Yadier Molina, C - A little banged up at the moment but will hit for a nice BA. Didn't want to wait this long on a catcher but it hadn't worked out until now.
14) Magglio Ordonez, OF - He could still tickle 20 HRs again and the BA will be great. Maggs will still have plenty of chances to drive in and score lots of runs.
15) Nick Swisher, OF/1B - I wanted a pure power guy and had need at CI and OF so Swisher works here.
16) Conor Jackson, OF - The medicine for Swishers garbage BA. I'm a big believer in a Conor Jackson bounce back this year.
17) Buster Posey, C - I was getting panicky for a 2nd catcher. Word is they'll find some time at 1B for Posey so he should have a chance to cobble together a meaningful number of at bats. I like the BA potential but between Pose and Yadier left myself light in the counting stats.
18) Edwin Encarnacion, 3B - I needed another pure CI and still think there are some solid seasons in Encarnacion's future.
19) Aroldis Chapman, SP - This was a shock. Strasburg went in the 12th. I actually wanted to keep loading up on bats but Chapman could be a huge difference maker.
20) Alex Gordon, 3B - This was another extreme value pick that I rescued from free fall. I wanted some bench depth so this is big help.
21) Jermaine Dye, OF - I view the fact that Dye not being signed means his free to take a lot of steroids. 4 months of Dye should yield 20 HRs so I love the pick as my 7th OF.
22) Justin Duchscherer, SP - He won't sniff 200 innings but 100-150 really good ones will make Duchsherer a great spot starter.
23) Brad Bergesen, SP - Very underrated. Bergesen has a shot to have a sub-1.3 WHIP and 3/1 K/BB ratio which makes him a solid mid-rotation guy in a deep format like the NFBC.
24) Hank Blalock, 1B - I wanted some more pop on the bench. If you squint really hard you'll see a couple of high 20 HR bounce back seasons too.
25) Kenshin Kawakami, SP - Kawakami starts my end game pitching run. Not great skills but good enough to spot start and expect decent results.
26) Nick Blackburn, SP - Perfectly league average stuff. Blackburn won't help but more importantly he won't hurt.
27) Dallas Braden, SP - More league average stuff.
28) Kyle Lohse, SP - I could see a slight bounce back to 2008 form. He'll only be a spot starter.
29) Jon Niese, SP - It's not saying much but Niese may be the Mets 2nd best starter. He should have solid numbers but unlike my other recent picks has some upside.
30) Gil Meche, SP - Arm trouble this spring and last season have killed Meche's stock. He had 2 very solid seasons in 07 and 08 and is young enough to bounce back.
For help winning your fantasy baseball league, sign up for the Fantasy Pros 911 Premium Site.
If you're into Mets gear be sure to check out eBay for the latest caps, jerseys and t-shirts.
The Fantasy Pros 911 recently launched a FREE Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide for the 2010 season. It's over 100 pages long and better than the ones you find at the news stands. The 911 stat projections went 42-0 last season and I've been using their 2010 projections to model some draft scenarios. Aside from that there's tons of analysis and rankings. It may be the only draft guide that you need for the 2010 fantasy baseball season.
Download a copy of the FREE Fantasy Pros 911 Draft Guide here.
You can also sign up for the Fantasy Pros 911 Premium content for additional draft prep and help throughout the 2010 fantasy baseball season.
In preparation for the 2010 fantasy baseball season I've found 5 interesting outfielders that bare a closer look. Here they are listed in the order of their average draft position.
Matt Kemp, 7 - Kemp has been coming along for a few years and although he may have some upside left 7 overall seems a little too steep for me. He has a shot at 30/30 with a .300 BA but his R+RBI combo only projects out to 200. Really good but a little light at this point in the draft. Definitely someone to grab if he falls out of the top 10 but don't reach assuming there is more upside to be had.
Jason Bay, 23 - 2 seasons ago many speculated that Bay was finished. While he has rebounded it's hard to tell what he'll do in Citi Field. If the Mets lineup can get healthy 225+ R+RBI seems doable. His .280ish BA is nothing to get excited about but he's good for a dozen steals. It's Bay's HRs that will establish his return on investment. If he ends up in the low 20s it could cripple your fantasy baseball season. But if he cracks 30+ HRs he'll easily be worth the 23rd overall pick. In other words, he has a chance to be worth the price, but there are no guarantees.
Nick Markakis, 48 - Markakis was a rising star on a team that offered very little in the way of a supporting cast. At age 26 he's seen his HR and SB totals decline for 3 straight years. 30/30 may never happen but Markakis will bat in the heart of the lineup and is a lock to hit right around .300. As he continues to mature the Os seem intent on improving the team around him. As such I sense a nice bounce back year. His floor is stable but the upside is a BA well above .300, 25+ HRs, and 225+ R+RBIs with a dozen SBs for style points. Grab him with confidence anytime after pick 30.
Carols Lee, 68 - Although the power dropped a little bit the 33 year old still has plenty left and will post a solid .300 BA in the heart of the Astros lineup. Carlos Lee is longer a center piece player but probably still good enough to be a #1 OF on most fantasy baseball teams. He'll post elite numbers in at least 3 categories and is worth a pick anytime after 50.
Alex Rios, 106 - If you're still waiting for the Alex Rios breakout season that ship has sailed. That said I think he's a great buy-low player on draft day. There's a very good chance Rios will top a .290 BA again and make he's usual run at 20/20. Don't pick Rios for what once might have been but take advantage of the fact that most have soured on the once elite prospect. He'll be a decent #2 or great #3 outfielder worth consideration after pick 70.
Pick up a copy of the 2010 Baseball Forecaster (Ron Shandler's Baseball Forecaster)
