(1) Jacoby Ellsbury, Mike Cameron appear on track to return by next week.
(2) Giants to call up Eric Hacker instead of Madison Bumgarner?
(3) Ian Snell into Mariners rotation in place of RRS.
(4) Tommy Hanson allows eight runs – ERA goes from 2.88 to 4.18.
(5) Mike Leake hurls 7th quality start in eight outings.
(6) Jorge Posada to DL. Will be replaced by Francisco Cervelli.
(7) Mike Gonzalez faces batters.
(8) Kerry Wood’s epic struggles.
By Ray Flowers
(1) Ryan Howard backs up the money truck, and it’s fully loaded.
(2) Ian Kinsler to hit 5th upon return.
(3) Red Sox lineup in flux.
(4) Miguel Olivo gaining more looks at expense of Chris Iannetta.
*NOTE: After video was made, the club demoted Iannetta to Triple-A in the hopes that he will relax and rediscover his stroke.
(5) Jeff Suppan out of rotation, replaced by Chris Narveson.
(6) D’backs offense looks good with Johnson-Young-Reynolds.
By Ray Flowers
(1) Carlos Zambrano moved to bullpen for Cubs.
(2) Jacoby Ellsbury has four fractured ribs. What does that mean for is recovery?
(3) Dallas Braden continues great early season work against the Yankees.
(4) Prince Fielder goes deep for first time in 54th at-bats.
(5) Brewers destroy Pirates 20-0.
(6) Scott Baker has rough outing, or did he?
(7) Carlos Quentin demoted to 6th in order. Andruw Jones takes his spot in third hole.
(8) Brian Fuentes still closer in Anaheim.
(9) Mike Lowell gaining on David Ortiz?
(10) Ryan Zimmerman dealing with another hammy issue.
Today is a special day as every player in baseball will be wearing the number 42 as a tribute to Jackie Robinson, the man who broke the color barrier in major league baseball. A year ago I wrote my thoughts down about Jackie Robinson – how special a person he was, and what his lasting legacy would be. It’s still as poignant today as it was then. Here is the link to Here’s to You Mr. Robinson.
Jacoby Ellsbury can’t take deep breaths without having a sharp pain in his side. I’m no doctor, but that sounds like a serious issue with his rib cage. That return date of Friday isn’t going to happen. Ellsbury will go for more tests on Friday to determine what’s going on and if a DL stint is needed.
Jose Guillen is a man on a mission. Whether that mission is to return to relevance on the ball field, to work his way out of Kansas City, or just to be healthy again, Guillen is making noise. He has certainly placed his stamp on the season having gong deep in each of the past four games with a total of five homers and eight RBI. Don’t forget that Guillen has gone deep at least 20 times in each of his last five healthy seasons during which time he has averaged 92 RBI a season (he had only 241 at-bats in 2006 and just 281 last season). As for the last part, he obviously seems healthy, a fact that he no longer takes for granted after he literally feared for his life this offseason because of blood clots. “The doctor started talking about dying,” he said. “I didn’t even know what a blood clot was. It was so bad that I couldn’t feel my legs.” You can read more about the harrowing experience at Guillen Almost Died.
Francisco Liriano looked like the “old” Liriano today. He threw seven shutout innings against the Red Sox striking out eight. If he throws strikes this season, he could have a ton of success given that he has rediscovered about three mph on his fastball and some bite on that once nasty slider.
Bud Norris – that’s a young arm I really like. He may struggle at times since he really doesn’t have a third pitch, but when he is on, he can dominate batters. He did just that on Thursday allowing the Cardinals only a single unearned run in five innings. He whiffed nine in the victory.
I was pleasantly surprised today watching Scott Olsen pitch today. I know he gave up four runs in 5.2 innings to the Phillies, but he actually pitched much better than that – though I still wouldn’t count on him to be effective enough to be a weekly option in NL-only league. At the same time, I wasn’t at all impressed by J.A. Happ who continues to work with a massive rabbit’s foot in his pocket. Somehow he didn’t allow an earned runs despite walking six batters in 5.1 innings. He’s walked eight guys in 10.1 innings this season yet he owns a 1.65 ERA. Just like I said last year, a correction is a coming.
David Ortiz is hitting .154 with 13 Ks in 26 at-bats, and all you hear about is the fact that he could be the worst hitter in the history of baseball, which makes me wonder – why is it that J.D. Drew is basically getting a pass despite being just as awful (.143 with 13 Ks in 28 at-bats)?
I’m totally shocked that Jeff Suppan gave up four runs in five innings in his season debut. Actually the only shock is that it was only four runs.
Carlos Zambrano threw 123 pitches today — and only lasted five innings. Besides the stupidity of allowing anyone to throw that many pitches in just five innings, how could anyone let someone do that in the second week of the regular season? And people say that Dusty Baker abuses his pitchers.
By Ray Flowers
For the second straight year, I was invited to play in an expert’s league by the folks over at KFFL. Nicknamed K-BAD, for Baseball Analysis Draft, the league pits 11 of the top minds in the game against one flunky (that would be me). I thought I would give my analysis of the team I was able to roster in the 12-team, 5×5 mixed league with 28 rounds (I had the ninth pick in the draft which was completed near the start of March).
Note: If you want to read my review of picks 1-10, click on the link to K-BAD – Part I.
ROUND 11: Russell Martin, C, Dodgers
TEAM: BaseballGuys.com
Maybe the extra 20 lbs will allow him to drive the ball deep again. He wasn’t as bad as it looked last year, and is still a top-7 option in my mind – or at least he was until he was injured (this pick was made before his ill health hit). Martin is progressing well and may not miss more than a handful of games to start the year.
ROUND 12: James Shields, SP, Rays
TEAM: BaseballGuys.com
Shields was the last, reliable, top shelf option left on my draft board amongst starting pitchers, so I’m very comfortable with him as my third starter.
ROUND 13: Trevor Hoffman, RP, Brewers
TEAM: BaseballGuys.com
Safe, old and boring, all Hoffman does is rack up 30-saves year after year. In each of his last 14 healthy seasons he has hit that level, so there is no reason to think he will produce anything less this season.
ROUND 14: Ryan Dempster, SP, Cubs
TEAM: BaseballGuys.com
The most skilled starting pitcher left on my board or a middling OF? I decided to roster a fourth solid starter since no one stood out in the outfield.
ROUND 15: Ryan Ludwick
TEAM: BaseballGuys.com
Immediately after making the pick, I slightly regretted it. Not because Ludwick will fail in 2010, he’ll hit behind Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday in the center of a powerful Cardinals’ lineup, but because Mike Gonzalez was taken with the next pick and I need save help.
ROUND 16: Rafael Furcal
TEAM: BaseballGuys.com
A risk since he stopped running last season. Still he is a decent starting option at short, and he will allow me to use Tejada at third base once the season gets underway.
ROUND 17: Brad Lidge, RP, Phillies
TEAM: BaseballGuys.com
What, you think he won’t rebound in 2010? I’m not sure either, but I had only one reliever at this point so I had to take a chance that his elbow and knee will be healthy enough for him to return to a high level of effectiveness if his BABIP returns to normal.
ROUND 18: David Ortiz, DH, Red Sox
TEAM: BaseballGuys.com
I agonized a bit here, but at this point a 25+HR, 90+RBI guy isn’t all that bad, and I needed the pop based on the rest of my lineup.
ROUND 19: Aaron Harang, SP, Reds
TEAM: BaseballGuys.com
The results weren’t there last season for Harang, but he isn’t that far off his 2006-07 form that he should be getting this little respect. He’s a great 5th starter for my club.
ROUND 20: Ryan Madson, RP, Phillies
TEAM: BaseballGuys.com
As talented as any reliever left on the board, he is my handcuff in case Lidge isn’t ready to go because I only had two closers at this point of the draft in Lidge and Hoffman.
By Ray Flowers
Today I will discuss the signing of the biggest bat on the free agent mark, a minor deal for two spare parts, and a player re-upping with his squad after a fine all-around season in 2009.
Holliday Remains with Cardinals
How does he do it? Super agent Scott Boras got the Cardinals to bid against themselves, and the result was a 7-year, $120 million deal for Matt Holliday. The deal is for $17 million a year – slightly better than the $16.5 million Jason Bay’s deal with the Mets is for – and it includes a full no-trade clause. I hate Boras, but I tell you this; if I was a player he would certainly be my agent. I guess the Cardinals determined they could afford to dump more than $40 million a year on Holliday and Albert Pujols to strike fear into opponents from the center of their lineup (Pujols’ contract is coming up), but we’ll have to see if it hampers their ability to construct a team around their dynamic duo. One last note. If Holliday finishes in the top-10 in NL MVP voting in the 7th year of the deal an option for $17 million kicks in for an eighth season. Hopefully the fans in St. Louis can forgive him for trying to use his cup as a glove in the playoffs against the Dodgers. To spare Mr. Holliday I will not post a link to the failed catch, though it certainly isn’t hard to find online. For more on the Holliday signing click on the link to Holliday Signs with Cardinals.
Kotchman Traded for Hall
A deal that will reverberate for the next, oh, two days, was completed on Tuesday as the Mariners sent Bill Hall to the Red Sox in exchange for Casey Kotchman. Here is the upside of the deal which, surprisingly, has some extended ramifications.
1- Kotchman, a slick fielder, should make about $5 million in arbitration this year. His addition to the Mariners signals that slugger Russell Branyan won’t be returning to the Pacific Northwest. Kotchman hit .268 with seven homers and 48 RBI last season for the Braves and Red Sox in 385 at-bats. He is a doubles hitter who could push .300 if things broke right, but he doesn’t have the bat of your traditional first baseman.
2- Even with the move of Kotchman out of town, the Red Sox still don’t seem to have any plans for Mike Lowell. The Sox, who acquired Adrian Beltre earlier in the week, you can see me break down that signing in Beltre to Join Red Sox, will go with Beltre at third, Kevin Youkilis at first and David Ortiz at DH. Look for Lowell to be dealt at some point once spring training begins (you can keep up on the latest news at the Baseball Guy’s Twitter Page ).
3- As for Hall… some of us will fondly remember his massive 2006 season (.270-35-85-101-8), but since that time he has regressed, and substantially, the past couple of seasons. Last year he hit a mere .201 with eight homers in 334 at-bats for the Brewers and the Mariners, and that .596 OPS was simply ghastly. Hall is versatile, he can play second, third and the outfield, but he must be on the bench when there is a righty on the on the hill (.186/.261/.328 in 204 at-bats last season). He is a fine 25th man for a club like the Red Sox, just don’t expect him to become fantasy relevant with this move.
Gutierrez Signs 4-Year Deal with Mariners
Franklin Gutierrez parlayed a fine 2008 season into a 4-year, $20.5 million deal with the Mariners. You might be thinking to yourself something akin to ‘really, they gave that guy $20 mil? Where’s my glove?’ but the truth is that Gutierrez is better than you probably think. He finished near the top of many defensive metrics last season flashing great skill on defense, and though he hit a mere .283-18-70-85-16 last season, the totality of those numbers are actually very impressive. Here is a quote lifted directly from my Breaking Down: Franklin Gutierrez piece from October 27th, 2009. “In 2009, Franklin Gutierrez was one of only nine men who managed to hit at least .280 with 18 homers, 70 RBI, 85 runs and 15 steals, and one of just four full-time outfielders to pull off the trick.” Like I said, better than you thought right?
By Ray Flowers
Heading into the weekend of the regular season I thought I would take a quick look around the league and throw out there some interesting tidbits of knowledge, factoids if you will, that would be interesting to read. At least that is the plan.
Jeremy Bonderman was suspended for three games for intentionally throwing at the Twin’s Delmon Young. This is hardly a surprise given the current landscape of the game. However, what was surprising is that the Twins’Jose Mijares, the man who escalated the confrontation between the teams by throwing behind Adam Everett, was only fined. “I don’t know how the person who starts it doesn’t get some sort of penalty too,” Tigers’ GM Dave Dombrowski said. “I’ve expressed that to people in the commissioner’s office.” (1) This is totally ridiculous. If Bonderman is suspended, so must be Mijares. (2) Can you imagine how many times that Bob Gibson would have been sidelined by suspension if he had pitched today? Face it. The game is filled to the brim with wussy’s of all kinds. Yeah, that’s right, I said it. Sometimes guys get hit, that’s the game, and if some moron like Mijares does something inflammatory than the “baseball code” dictates a retaliation. Bonderman did that, and he did it properly by throwing his pitch off of Young’s knee and not at his noggin’. Hell, the Twins even understood what was going on. “Trust me, Delmon wasn’t at all upset with the Tigers,” Denard Span said Thursday. “He knew what was going to happen, and he was angry at our teammate.” So, what good does this suspension do? Exactly – it does nothing. Once again baseball screwed something up. What a shock.
Eric Byrnes and Chris Young both had four hits on Friday. Byrnes went deep twice and had five RBI while Young had four runs scored. Too bad it took six months for the D’backs to get a game like this from both of these guys. Too little too late guys, but still a nice outing for those that took a chance on having either one active. At least Young is hitting .287 with six homers over his last 26 games.
You know the Twins new ballpark, scheduled to be ready to go for the start of next season, is an outdoor stadium right? Yes, they are going with an outdoor stadium in Minnesota. I’m no weather man, but that cannot be a good thing can it? It certainly isn’t if you ask Mike Cameron. “Why in the world would they build an outdoor stadium? That will be the worst new park in the league. They’re going to get no players there.” Too bad the Twins didn’t consult Mr. Cameron because I can’t think there are many players who are going to disagree with that sentiment.
Adam Dunn says that he uses a 34.5 inch, 34 ounce bat most of the year, but inexplicably, when others are moving to lighter bats as their bodies grow weary, he goes to a heavier 35 ounce bat late in the year. “Don’t ask me why…It just feels better going up.” Dunn needs to hit two homers this weekend for 40, a total he has reached exactly in each of the past four seasons. Hopefully that bigger stick ‘o lumber will help.
Anyone out there realize that David Ortiz is, rather remarkably, just two homers and three RBIs away from a 30-100 season? If he is able to reach both marks this weekend it will mark the sixth time in six seasons with the Red Sox that he will be part of that club. For a guy who had one homer run and 18 RBI in his first 46 games, that’s more than a quarter of the season folks, that’s a pretty impressive effort
I was watching Jake Peavy’s start against the Tigers on Friday and I had a thought – how does anyone hit him, ever? When you can rush it up there 92-93 with that much movement on your fastball, I just don’t see how anyone squares it up. Add in 2-3 mph that he has when healthy, and count me as one of those people who is shocked when anyone hits a line drive off him.
By Ray Flowers
Wednesday is kind of a blah day. What happened last weekend is nothing but a memory now, and the plans for the coming weekend are still coming into focus. Of course in the world of baseball there is never a break until the season is completed, so I certainly have a lot of things to keep me occupied until I get the chance to get my groove on this weekend.
What’s the deal with Ronnie Belliard? He has hit .319 since joining the Dodgers (47 ABs), and he has hit .321 over his last 50 appearances. That’s pretty phenomenal production for a guy who hit just .184 over his first 51 games.
Eric Byrnes said that he will be playing winter ball in the Dominican Republic this offseason. “I miss playing baseball,” he said. “The past two years, getting 200 (at-bats), that’s not cutting it. If I can make up for some lost at-bats and get down there and play in a real competitive league, it will be beneficial.” Nicknamed “Captain America” by the faithful in the Dominican, this will be the fifth season he has played there. I wish him all the luck in the world because baseball is a better game when Byrnes and his child-like enthusiasm are flying all over the field.
Don’t worry Fausto Carmona owners, the Indians will leave him in the rotation for the rest of the season (Carmona is 3-11 with a 6.58 ERA, a 1.81 WHIP and a 5.57 BBB.9 mark). And to think, there was actually a chance that the Indians could have gone with a pitcher who could have actually given them a chance to win the game. At least they are loyal.
Bartolo Colon was released by the White Sox on Wednesday, and this could signal the end of the road for the one-time ace. Colon averaged 17 victories a year from 1998-2005, but since 2006 he has only been able to stay healthy long enough to make 48 appearances on his way to earning 14 victories. All told, Colon has won 153 games with a 4.10 ERA in a solid major league career, though we are all left to wonder just how well he could have done if he just dropped some weight and took better care of that body of his.
How good has this Josh Johnson kid been? On Wednesday he held the Cardinals to just one run over six innings to improve his record to 15-4 while dropping his ERA to a terrific 3.01. This was the sixth straight outing in which he didn’t go seven innings, but given that only once in that time he has allowed more than three earned runs, he has still given the Marlins a chance to win every time he has taken the hill. He is now 5.2 innings from his first 200-inning season as well.
Hiroki Kuroda continues to pitch well, something the Dodgers desperately need from a starting rotation that includes an injured Clayton Kershaw (out another week after hurting his non-pitching shoulder running into a wall during batting practice) and a struggling Chad Billingsley (an ERA of six in his last four appearances which has led to the team skipping his next turn in the rotation). Kuroda held the Pirates to but one run over six innings on Wednesday, the tenth straight start in which he has allowed three or fewer earned runs. Moreover, over his last three starts, he has an ERA of 2.84.
The Red Sox-Angels game just got underway. Glancing at the starting lineup every single one of the top-8 batters in the Angels’ lineup were hitting at least .287 and Juan Rivera was the only batter below .297 in that group. Do you think the players on the club make fun of Mike Napoli and his .269 average?
The Giants face the Rockies tonight with Matt Cain on the hill, and with a victory the Giants would move to within 1.5 games of the Rocks. Let’s hope it happens so that we can have a wild finish for the NL Wild Card.
Who is your AL home run leader since June 5th? I could give you 45 guesses and I bet you still wouldn’t come up with the right answer so I’m just going to tell you – it’s David Ortiz who has hit 23 homers in that time to lead the Junior Circuit. His last home run, on Tuesday night against the Angels, was his 270th as a DH, the all-time record (passing Frank Thomas).
By Ray Flowers
The Pirates are at it again, and by “it” I mean the systematic dismantling of their major league roster as they plan for the mythical “future” when at some point they will be a good club once again. I don’t know when that will happen, hell I don’t know if will ever happen, but they are certainly giving it the old college try. Before I get to that, and is it just me or have the Pirates sucked up and abnormally huge portion of media attention of late, I want to let you all know that I’m not just going to bash the Pirates today, I’ll also bash other figures in the game of baseball as well. Maybe one of your “guys” will be on the list and you can leave a comment for me either agreeing or disagreeing with me on my take on each guy.
Today the Pirates dealt John Grabow and Tom Gorzelanny to the Cubs for Kevin Hart, Jose Ascanio and Josh Harrison. The people in Pittsburgh are going to need to have their players to wear neon signs with their names as they likely have no idea who and the heck the majority of these guys are at this point. I don’t have the list in front of me, and frankly I’m past the point of really caring, but off the top of my head the Pirates have given up the following players recently.
1B: Adam LaRoche
2B: Freddy Sanchez
SS: Jack Wilson
OF:Jason Bay, Nate McLouth, Xavier Nady, Nyjer Morgan
P: Ian Snell, Grabow, Gorzelanny
I’m sure there are guys I’m leaving out, but honestly, can the Pirates really say they are a better organization without those men? They might be a stronger organization, but their major league club is much, much worse. If “they” try to claim otherwise I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see their noses grow like Pinocchio’s.
Oh, and before I leave the Pirates just thought I would point out that Nyjer Morgan is hitting .482 since the All-Star break. I’m just saying.
David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez reportedly tested positive for steroids back in 2003. What a shock. Still, how is this information becoming public? Why did the court bother to make the records secret if people were going to openly flaunt that secrecy ruling and just leak out the info? Speaking of that list, why don’t the powers that be just dump out the whole list rather than one or two names leak out every month? Bottom line for me is that there is no way to verify what happened in 2003 and if players tested “positive” for something that was legal in baseball at the time, why is everyone flipping out? If you look hard enough you can probably find an NFL player who tests positive for steroids every week, yet no one seems to care in that sport do they?
Delusional Player of the Week – Russ Ortiz who still doesn’t get why the Astros weren’t kissing his feet for his work on the hill for them this season was released immediately after his outing on Thursday in which he allowed nine runs while recording just seven outs. With a 5.57 ERA and a 1.67 WHIP I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Russ doesn’t think he deserves a raise.
Brandon Webb had a mysterious “setback” in his attempt to return from a shoulder issue, and at this point he is being sent for more tests. “He’s not probably making the progress we were hoping for, so I think we have to make an assessment about what to do next,” GM Josh Byrnes said. So let me see if I have this straight. Webb’s shoulder has been a concern since last off-season when the club couldn’t get insurance on a potential long-term deal with Webb when the tests raised the issues in his shoulder. No matter, Webb continued to pitch and made all of one start before heading to the DL. It now appears nearly certain that he will require surgery, and if he does it is far from certain that he will be ready to go at the start of 2010. So here is the question – (a) why didn’t Webb undergo surgery last off-season if this was a concern or (b) why didn’t he do something differently, training wise, in order to avoid this outcome (perhaps he did but there was no stopping it)? Furthermore, why hasn’t he just undergone the procedure by this point since it’s clear he is done for the year? I would avoid surgery at all costs too, but that decision may end up costing Webb all of 2009 and some of 2010.
Joel Zumaya will head under the knife at some point in August to fix his shoulder, and his 2009 campaign is over after just 31 innings. Zumaya can still rush it up there with anyone in the game, his average heater this year was an astounding 99.3 mph, but dude simply cannot stay healthy. Is all of this the result of a bad body, poor luck or too much Guitar Hero? Beats me.
By Ray Flowers
There continue to be a bevy of news stories each day pertaining to a host of injured players on the diamond. Today, I’ll deal with a few of the more intriguing issues that were in the news on Monday.
Carlos Beltran is visiting the same clinic that A-Rod used for his hip surgery. The problem for Beltran is his knee, obviously nothing to do with his hip, but the doctor that he is seeing is a micro-fracture surgery specialist. Still, the Mets are downplaying the visit saying that Dr. Richard Steadman is merely going to review Beltran’s test to make sure everything is progressing as it should. I don’t know about you, but this injury has me mighty nervous. First it was nothing. Then something minor. Then something he could play through. Then it was something that sent him to the DL. And now he is visiting specialists? I get the sneaking feeling that someone isn’t being honest here, and that would make me ready to hit the bottle if I was a Beltran owner.
Raul Ibanez, currently on the DL with a groin injury, was said to be on track to return as soon as his 15 day stint on the sidelines was up. Oh well, that’s apparently out the window now. Ibanez will most likely not be ready to go on Friday despite the fact that the groin has improved. “One day he can be doing great, and another day not as great,” GM Ruben Amaro Jr. said. “We have to keep our minds open there. We’ll reevaluate him and see whether he’s physically able to start some type of rehab.” Given his time on the shelf he will likely need at least a couple of games in the minors to get his timing back, so don’t plan on seeing him in a Phillies uni until at least next week (that last part was Ray Flowers talking, not anyone with the Phillies organization). To read just how effective Ibanez has been this year when compared to every other major league player, make sure you give the MLB Player Rater a read.
Mike Lowell is another case of a mysterious injury situation. We know that it’s his surgically repaired hip that was giving him problems, but as in the case of Beltran, the condition has seemingly grown worse as the days have passed. First Lowell just needed some time off after playing virtually every game in the early going. Then it was noted that he has some pain, so the club was going to give him some time off in interleague play with Kevin Youkilis sliding over to third with David Ortiz playing first. Now we get word that Lowell might end on up on the DL if he doesn’t respond to some Dr. Frankenstein type of injection he just received in his hip. OK, that might not quite be were we are at, but the injection of Synvisc sure seems pretty out there to me. Apparently the material is meant to lube up the joint, kind of like oil for your car, though even Lowell seems a bit mystified at the procedure. “They took the bad stuff out and put the good stuff in. I’m a little bruised from the injection itself but I do feel I have a lot more mobility. I think I’ll be able to tell more tomorrow when I get stretched out and stuff.” The best case scenario at this point appears to be a mid-week return, though as I mentioned a DL stint is still a possibility. Too bad to since Lowell was humming along pretty well with 41 RBI and 10 home runs in just 68 games to make him one of just seven third baseman to reach both of those levels in the early going.
Jake Peavy says that he will be ready to return to the hill in three weeks as he continues to recover from an ankle injury. You can read more about Peavy, and what the rest of the Padres are up to in my most recent National League Review.
By Ray Flowers
The FSWA winner of the Best Baseball Series of 2011, BaseballGuys.com is the only source you will need for your fantasy baseball knowledge. OK, you might need other sources, but BaseballGuys.com should be on your daily list of must reads for the insights an analysis it provides on the world of baseball.
The co-host of The Drive on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio (Sirius 210, XM 87: M-F at 5-8 PM EDT), Ray has spent years squirreled away studying the inner workings of the fantasy game to the detriment of his personal life. Specializing in baseball, football and hockey, some consider him an expert in all three. Ray's work can also be found as feature writer for: Fantasy Alarm, Rotoinfo, Rotowire and Sports Illustrated.
You can contact Ray through e-mail at fantasyfandom@yahoo(dot)com or on Twitter.
