Vegas, The FSTA & More
January 19th, 2012 | by Ray Flowers |
I normally don’t go provocative with my titles, but I almost put “hookers” in the headline. Why is that? No, it’s not because there’s a charge on my American Express card over the weekend, but I was in Vegas for the past few days and there was a ton that went on. There were radio shows, baseball drafts, networking, booze, the aforementioned hookers, an a plethora of good times. I’ll hit on some of the highlights of the event in this piece. In Part II, I’ll break down the FSTA Experts Baseball Draft that took place and tell you how I felt my team turned out. In Part III, I’ll take a look at how others in the draft evaluated players to give you some insights on what the “experts” are thinking when it comes to a host of other players. Here we go.
I arrived on Saturday and went straight to the UNLV campus where I joined 
Jeff Mans for three hours on the Fantasy Alarm Show on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio. We rocked it for three hours, pulled the same trick on Sunday as well, and let me tell you the studios there rock. Thanks to Fantasy Alarm, and Jeff in particular, for letting me tag along all weekend with them. They certainly classed me up.
Thanks to Matt Deutsch, program director of SiriusXM. Not only did he and Rob Touzet run a tight ship that made all of the on-site broadcasts we did enjoyable, those two also know how to have a good time when the microphones are off.
Thanks to Kyle Elfrink and Kay Adams, my capable co-hosts. Kay was the belle of the ball, who can blame anyone for thinking that way since she is about four levels above the rest of us in attractiveness, and Kyle just did his thing like he always does – smooth my friend.
I’d like to thanks Mike Beacom an everyone at the Fantasy Sports Writers Association for awarding me the 2011 Best Baseball Series Award. I knew I was one of the three finalists but I thought I had no chance to win, so I made a bet. If I won I would have to carry around my trophy all night. You’d be surprised at how many women weren’t that impressed with the striking trophy, but the right ones were and that is all that counts. A special thanks also goes out to Peter Schoenke of Rotowire.com for nominating me for the award. Finally, thanks to Matthew Berry of ESPN. For some reason he keeps talking up my BaseballGuys’ Twitter Account as something you have to be following. If you aren’t following get on it or Matthew will be coming after you.
Thank you all.
Here are some other highlights, in no particular order, that occurred over the weekend (and yes, names have been altered to protect identities, though the stories are 100 percent accurate).
At some point we ended up at 7-Eleven and bought the king of all fruity drinks – the Blue Hawaiian by Boone’s.
I had no idea that I was such a good dancer. A highlight of the time on the dance floor was when I approached a pretty brunette. I was just about ready to get my “grind on” when an older woman barged in to cut off my path to the beauty. Turned out it was her mom. I’m not an ageist or anything, but how did I end up dancing with a 58 year old woman, in Vegas of all places? I didn’t find out if she wanted to be my sugar momma.
A lady stopped by our table at a club and offered us blow. We declined. That same lady also offered to “party” with us all night if you get my drift. We declined. When she asked us to sign her breast and buttocks with a sharpie, we happily accepted.
A certain person, let’s call him “Jeff,” and I were out at Treasure Island at about 3 AM on Wednesday morning. We were approached, not by one, but by two groups of ladies of the night. I particularly liked it when one of them said, stealing my best line, that ‘I look really good naked.’ Apparently “Jeff” an I looked like desperate marks.
When you find a bar that allows you to enter for $20 dollars and then get free drinks for the next two an a half hours you go in, even if there isn’t a single woman in there that you’d want to spend the night with. We took our own advice and probably had about 25 vodka and Red Bull’s between us.
I had no idea that people play spin the bottle after high school, but apparently when you’re in your 30′s, an in Vegas, you do still play, an in clubs no less. Why does that damn glass, no matter how many times I spin it, ever end up pointing me toward the hot gal? Where was my luck Vegas?
By Ray Flowers
Tags: ESPN, FSTA, FSWA, Hookers, Las Vegas, Rotowire, SiriusXM, Treaure Island
By craig on Jan 19, 2012
congratulations! I gotta give you props, I followed your ratings and draft strategy and won my baseball (head to head) league last year. No one else in my league was reading your stuff because I got virtually all of the players I had targeted based on your pre-draft rankings. I
By Ray Flowers on Jan 19, 2012
Craig- Thanks for the support, it’s really appreciated. Glad you had so much success last year. Hopefully we can get you to a point where you have the same success again this year.
It would be great if you spread the word… most people try to keep me secret.
My rankings should be out in about two weeks. Look for them then.
By Ben on Jan 19, 2012
Love the website but have been away for a while. Did I hear that you are coming out with a 2012 fantasy baseball magazine/book soon? Sign me up!
By Ray Flowers on Jan 19, 2012
Ben – why would you have ever left???
yeah, the BaseballGuys 2012 Fantasy Guide will be out in about two weeks. Look for updates with it. Will be available for a nominal cost.
By John on Jan 19, 2012
Sharpie best way to go!
By Jason on Jan 20, 2012
Ray, League Rules question. I’ve been running a standard 5×5 roto league for some time and i’m getting requests to change some of the standard categories for scoring. i want to try to gauge the scoring more towards players real value rather than using the “standard” scoring most leagues use. I’m debating on replacing AVG with on base % as an option, but truly don’t know other areas i can tweak.
Do you have any suggestions or even a specific league scoring setup you would recommend or prefer?
Any input would be appreciated.
By Ray Flowers on Jan 20, 2012
Jason – My “home” league, jeez 15 years ago now, we replaced batting average with OBP. Much truer look at players. Could also used OPS. Answer to your question really depends on how in depth you want to go. If you want to keep the league like five or six categories, there really isn’t much wiggle room. If you want to expand, you can add OBP, SLG, OPS, RC, Troubles, etc etc. Really depends on how much effort/categories you want to use. The sky is the limit.
By Chris on Jan 20, 2012
Ray,
Thought this would be a good time to ask a long question. I play in a Yahoo 5X5 head to head league. We have 11 keepers, this is the first year we are keeping anyone. We will have 14 rounds in the draft and 25 total roster slots.
I am planning on keeping these players:
Granderson Mauer Pedroia Pence
Pujols Hamels Haren Jordan Zimmerman
Bruce Asdrubal Cabrera League
Dropping:
Dickey Fister Wolf Marmol Javy Guerra
Francouer Chipper Jones Jemile Weeks
Edwin Jackson Felipe Paulino Francisco Cordero
Is there anyone you would keep from those drops? League is the one I am really unsure about. Think he could be the best closer I have but the Mariners won’t give him as many chances.
Thanks for the comments.
And when are you guys on XM? I only have it in the car and haven’t heard you guys during rush hour in quite a while. Maybe I am just missing it.
By Ray Flowers on Jan 20, 2012
Chris – our show is on Sirius 210, XM 87 five days a week right now. M-W 7-10 EDT, Friday 9-12 PM EDT, Sunday 8-11 PM EDT. I also host the hockey show Sat 304 PM EDT.
Closers – doesnt really matter what team they are on, that’s a common misnomer:
http://baseballguys.com/2011/03/29/where-do-saves-come-from/
As for your keepers – I dont have a problem with anyone you’re dropping. League isn’t an elite option and he COULD get traded which might mean a setup role, but keeping him over Marmol is decent enough.
By wesley on Jan 21, 2012
Hey Ray,
I have a fantasy playoff question, if you don’t mind. I’m in the ESPN fantasy playoff league. And im in 1st place by 3 pts. I have to set my lineup by dollar values and whatever lineup i set i have to keep it threw superbowl. I can pick any guys from the 4 teams but that’s it for the year. So my question is should i just throw all my eggs in 1 basket and go with patriot guys and 49er guys or should i mix it up with some giant and raven guys just in case . I would of called the show and asked but i had a polyp removed from vocal cord so i cant talk.
Its 2QBS, 2 WRS ,2RBS AND TE , KICKER , DEF . I was thinking Brady and Flacco just incase if the ravens win i have atleast 1 qb for SB.
By Ray Flowers on Jan 21, 2012
Wesley – I think Pats and Niners win this weekend, but its not a lock. I’d go Brady-Gronkowski for certain. Then I’d probably go Smith. 4th option? Tough call. I’d probably go Nicks or might be tempted by Rice.
If you want to go nuts, add guys from just 2 teams. If you want to play it a bit safer, spread the risk. I dont think there really is just one answer for leagues like this.