Dear RotoRob,

I can only keep three of these four players in a 10-team AL-only league. Which players would you keep at these prices?

Denard Span – $10
Alexei Ramirez – $12
Brett Anderson – $15
Billy Butler – $16

I’m already set on keeping Zack Greinke, Jon Lester, Aaron Hill and Julio Borbon.

Kevin

Kevin,

Thanks for asking us to take a look at your potential keepers for 2010. I think the easiest approach here is a very simple one. The relative dollar values for all four players you are contemplating keeping are all in the same range. I don’t see where they should be considered as big difference makers in the decision making process. In your specific 10-team format there will be a total of 80 players kept based on the information you have forwarded to me.

Let’s take a look at a recently completed AL-only draft and use it as a rough reference. Last week I had the pleasure of partaking in the KFFL AL-only expert league draft. Some of the other participants included representatives from Mastersball, BaseballHQ, RotoWire, Fox Sports, and RotoExperts, so it was a great field. The players that you are contemplating keeping went as follows;
 
Butler $16 (27)
Ramirez $12 (46)
Span $10 (70)
Anderson $15 (98)
 
As much as I love the upside potential of Anderson, I think your best choice is to keep the three bats. You already have a great start on your pitching with Greinke and Lester. Being that your league has an auction format, should you determine that you want to re-acquire Anderson the relative cost should be much more palatable than any of Butler, Span, or Ramirez.

I think you’ll find that your pitching options after all the teams have declared their keepers in this format will be much stronger than the batting options. Now, not being privy to every keeper and their relative costs, this could change, but I highly doubt it.
 
As much as I hate to see a player with Anderson’s upside and potential being tossed back into the pool, in your set of circumstances I see it as your best option in building a winning team for 2010. Thanks for submitting your question and all the best with your Fantasy play in 2010.

I recently lost Chris Paul to injury (picked up Darren Collison) and it now looks like Paul Pierce has gone down with a foot injury. My current roster options to replace him are Mike Conley or Raymond Felton. Or I can drop one of them (or perhaps Andris Biedrins as I also have Kendrick Perkins) to pick up Tony Allen, Pierce’s likely replacement. Should I stick with what I have or go after Allen? Pool categories are FG percentage, 3-pointers made, points, rebounds, steals, assists and blocks. Help!

Grant

Hey Grant,

Good score on Collison; I grabbed him in my league as well, and am already getting trade offers!

As for Pierce, his injury isn’t serious, so I wouldn’t panic. Forget about Allen; he’s a one or two-game solution and not a great one at that.

Assuming this is a daily lineup change league, I’d plug Felton in Wednesday, and then swap him with Conley after the game.

Pierce is a very quick healer; don’t sweat it.

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Dear RotoRob,

I’m in a head to head keeper league that allows you to keep eight players. I have seven solid guys in Ichiro Suzuki, Chone Figgins, Adam Dunn, Ryan Howard, Justin Morneau, Josh Beckett, and Adam Wainwright. I’m stuck as to whether I should keep Aaron Hill or Roy Oswalt. I have two picks in the first round as well. Who should I keep?

Nick

Hey Nick,

I think that Hill has got to be your man. Starting pitching comes and goes, but a 30-homer guy in the middle infield just can’t be passed up. I’ve now done approximately 20 mock drafts this year and have found there to be plenty of options to fill out your pitching, but 2B, SS, and especially 3B, gets a tad thin fairly quickly. Shore up those slots as early as you can. With that great group of keepers and those two first round picks you should be in for a great 2010 season.

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With Nikolai Khabibulin probably done for the season, Fantasy owners are left scrambling for goalies. (AP)

Dear RotoRob,

Re: Goalie help

I am in a single-season, 12-team hockey pool. I have to dump Nikolai Khabibulin and use one of my two remaining waiver moves for the season (so I need it to count).

Who would you take? Jonas Hiller, Pekka Rinne, Jimmy Howard, Jose Theodore, Tuukka Rask, or Jaroslav Halak.

Steve

Hi Steve,

Howard is your first answer, without a doubt. While Chris Osgood is off whining to the Detroit press, Howard’s started the majority of games recently for the Wings (20 of the last 26). Even though the Wings are floating around the playoff bubble, they’ve still got a ton of upside this month with many of their injured players coming back soon.

My second choice would be Rinne. His numbers are ordinary compared to last season, but he’s in a 1A/1B situation with Dan Ellis. Barry Trotz was recently quoted as saying he trusts both guys, but Rinne has more raw talent than Ellis. If Trotz decides to stick with one guy, he might run with Rinne once his game stabilizes a bit. I think this situation is less volatile than the Anaheim goaltending situation, and the Predators are playing better as a team.

Your alternate pick would be Halak, as he played well enough to be recognized as the Habs’ Player of the Month for December despite the fact he is still considered Carey Price’s backup. Halak may generate some trade interest in the coming weeks; if that’s the case, he could wind up getting the majority of starts on his new team, although no one knows where that might be.

Hope that helps.

It may be time to turn your back on Niklas Backstrom.

Dear RotoRob,

I have eight wins and six losses in my 10-team Fantasy hockey league, putting me in fifth place. Categories include goals, assists, plus/minus, PPG, PPA, hits and blocked shots.

Can you please check out my team and tell me any moves you think I should try to make?

Here’s a link to my team.

Jason

Good morning Jason,

I took a good deep look at your team and league and believe you have the framework for a very nice team. The first thing I noticed was that PIMs do not count in this league and that was a very pleasant surprise. I am probably one of the few that think this category does not have that much of a place in Fantasy leagues — much like +/- at times. But enough of that; let’s tackle your issue.

The question is what you can do to tweak your Fantasy hockey team. The good news is that there are no real major overhauls needed here. However, there are some cold realities that need to be addressed: for instance, Niklas Backstrom has been decent, but not spectacular this season for Minnesota. In a league like this, you seem to have wins pretty well covered with a guy like Jonathan Quick, but your highest save percentage is with Cristobal Huet at .911 and that is hurting you a little bit.

Jimmy Howard (yes, that Jimmy Howard) is very quietly putting up a sweet .923 save percentage and he is on the waiver wire. Now, I know he does not have Backstrom’s 18 wins and does not face quite as many shots, but that .016 difference is a pretty glaring one to pass up. You can always trade for a goalie that racks up wins later if that category become a bit of a problem again. But I think once Detroit gets healthy, Howard will start earning more wins.

I also saw that you only have one player (Dennis Seidenberg) who has 100+ hits and 100+ blocks. There are a couple ways to go here. You could pick up a guy like Andy Sutton (108 hits, 107 blocks); honestly, why trade too much for a guy proficient at these categories when you can go to the waiver wire? 

To me, the other categories seem to be just a question of players getting hot at the right time. Trading now would not really solve anything as you currently seem to be kind of entrenched around the fourth or fifth spot. Now is the time for small tweaks and not major shakeups. Besides, something tells me that come February or March, Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby will come around (even on the man advantage). Hang in there, Jason.

If you have any other questions, do not hesitate to ask. The best part of Fantasy hockey for me is comparing teams and stats with other Fantasy hockey owners. I hope this helps and good luck with your Fantasy league.

Chris Wassel
RotoRob.com

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World Junior Update

Chris will be live blogging the Canada-US Gold Medal game Tuesday at 8 p.m. EST at Fantasypros911.com. Drop in for some live chat while you watch what will be a true classic. The chat opens at 7:45 p.m.

Dear RotoRob,

I’m in a 14-team, H2H 6×6 (OPS and holds) keeper league. The keepers can only be kept three years after being drafted and each team is allotted five keepers. I would estimate that I have seven legitimate keepers. This is the fifth year of the league, which means all the big stars go back into the draft (Albert Pujols, Hanley Ramirez, Chase Utley, Alex Rodriguez, etc.).

I am picking seventh. It would appear one of these three will be available when I pick: Miguel Cabrera, Ryan Howard or Mark Teixeira. Here’s my roster with years left in parentheses.

Tim Lincecum (2); Evan Longoria (2); Mark Reynolds (3); Adam Lind (3); Ben Zobrist (3); Pablo Sandoval (3); Jayson Werth (3); Jason Kubel (3); B.J. Upton (1); Josh Hamilton (2); and Yovani Gallardo (3).

I could make a trade, but the available talent is limited: Ryan Braun (1); Joe Mauer (3); Matt Kemp (2); Troy Tulowitzki (3); Robinson Cano (3); and Justin Upton (3).

As it stands, I’m torn about keeping Reynolds over Sandoval/Longoria/Lind and Zobrist (just love his OBP and 2B eligibility). I’m nearly certain to keep Lincecum even though most experts say don’t keep the SPs. If I bypass one of the three first basemen who fall to me, I’d be reaching for a Matt Holliday/Grady Sizemore at No. 7. Any advice would be appreciated.

Chuck

Hi Chuck,

Okay, let’s see if we can make some sense out of your conundrum. I think the easiest way to tackle this one is through the process of elimination with the sheer number of players we have to evaluate.

My first thought is let’s get the no brainers out of the way and there are two names that leap out at me. You have to keep both Lincecum and Longoria. The best SP in the game and Longoria form a great core to work from. Two down, three to go!
 
I think we can eliminate the following players from the list, not because they aren’t worthy, but simply because of the depth of talent you’ve manage to assemble on your roster. Kubel, Hamilton and Gallardo must, unfortunately, hit the streets or could be part of a package in a trade to upgrade your keepers.
 
Keeper No. 3 would be Lind. This kid is a monster with the bat and gives you great numbers across the board at a position other than at the corner, your key area of excess.
 
This leaves two keeper slots for Reynolds, Zobrist, Sandoval, Werth and Upton. As you mentioned, you are currently looking at picking in the No. 7 slot in your draft for 2010. This should net you a power bat at first or an OF and I really like Sizemore to bounce back. Great options, but I’d be looking, as you are, at those options in conjunction with your final two keepers.
 
As much as the extreme strikeouts and potentially poor BA scares me, I think Reynolds has to be kept. The numbers he posted in both power and speed in 2009 are very real. Heading into 2010, one area that should be of concern to all is the veritable wasteland at third base. After the top-tier guys go off the board it gets a tad thin at this position and shortening the available pool at the hot corner is, I believe, very advantageous from your perspective.
 
And now for that last and final pick. I like your train of thought as far as trading to upgrade. The pool at second base this year is deeper then we’ve seen in years so Zobrist goes back. Upton is a great player and one that should be on the rise, but you’d only have one year left and is 2010 going to be the year? I like Sandoval, but there are a slew of first base types that are better producers that will be available. Werth had a great year in 2009, but was that an outlier or what we can expect to be the norm moving forward? Personally, I’m thinking it was a career year, so I expect regression in 2010. By packaging these guys in conjunction with Kubel, Hamilton and Gallardo you should be able to upgrade that fifth keeper.
 
You mentioned three players that you are targeting in Kemp, Tulowitzki and Mauer. All are great players and in early mocks all three have gone in the first two rounds. I have ranked them in my order of preference but all three are very close. Kemp has the potential to be a 30-30 guy, 100+ RBI, and hit for a good, if not great average. What’s not to like there? And he would address a soft spot on your roster — stolen bases. You have the players at your disposal to make that deal so I’d pursue that option and move quickly if you can.
 
You mentioned that you had some issues about overpaying in a trade, but I wouldn’t be overly concerned. The guys that you are trading are surplus and not a part of your plans moving forward so sometimes giving up a bit more to secure what you really want is a good plan of attack.
 
If you can manage to make a deal, that player then becomes your fifth keeper and I’d focus on a power bat at first base with your first draft choice in 2010. I have found that stolen bases are rather plentiful looking down the road, and with Reynolds and say, Kemp, on your roster you should be able to procure what you need in the middle rounds of your draft.
 
Let us know how the wheeling and dealing works out for you.

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Dear RotoRob,

I was wondering what you thought about B.J. Upton and Nelson Cruz because they’re currently “on the table” in deals for Prince Fielder; one owner is offering me Upton and Brandon Phillips for Fielder and Howie Kendrick. That one is very tempting because it would address my two worst offensive positions, but I’m a bit unsure about the “potential vs. reality” on Upton, and for some reason I don’t “love” Phillips (and conversely think a lot of the yet-to-stick Kendrick).

Hence I’m not sure the return is quite right; I’m trying to get him to sweeten the pot a little bit more, but as you might imagine, he’s sticking pretty firm to the offer at present. Meanwhile, another owner seems willing to pony up Cruz and Javier Vazquez in return for Fielder and “a pick” — don’t know what the “pick” is, but I definitely wouldn’t pay more than a third round minor, and I’m not sure that I should have to give up a pick at all since I’m still surrendering the best player in the deal.

Let’s face it, Fielder’s about as good as they come at the position. So, any assessment of these players would be welcome, if something comes to mind. Am I nuts not to accept either of these offers?

How do I stack up in the steals category? Fairly badly. I have Hanley Ramirez, and almost nothing else; here is my current starting roster:
 
C – Bengie Molina (now there’s a slow guy!)
1B – Miguel Cabrera
2B — Kendrick
SS — Ramirez
3B — Ryan Zimmerman
OF1 — Hunter Pence
OF2 — Brad Hawpe
OF3 — Corey Hart
DH — Fielder
 
My offensive reserves are Kevin Kouzmanoff, Placido Polanco, Kelly Shoppach and Jeff Francoeur. Not much bench, I know…
 
Any insight you can offer would be much appreciated — thanks!

Brian

Hey Brian,

Without a doubt, Molina is a crawler. Even one-legged Hideki Matsui looks like a speedster in comparison. When looking at your roster, finding speed should be a priority. Miggy, Hanley and Zimmerman (who I really like moving forward) are a good power base so you can probably look at moving Prince. Power will be in a bit shorter supply this year based on a series of early mocks I’ve done, but a player with 40 SB potential and HR potential is few and far between.

As far as Upton goes, now is definitely the time to move. I’ve seen him live three times now in the Twinkie Dome and without a doubt he stands out from a crowd. He just oozes talent. I own him in my auction keeper league and have received several offers, but have no interest in moving him, at least not yet.

Prince is one of the top four or five homer guys available, but I personally am not a big fan of players that are as wide as they are tall. When his bat speed drops even a fraction, there is going to be trouble. I don’t know what your working relationship is with the guy you’re dealing with, but if you could find a way to get Upton and Phillips by moving Prince and maybe Polanco and a pick it would give you a very nice chip in either Phillips or Kendrick (assuming Howie finally starts playing up to that unlimited potential) that you could then look at flipping one of them to further address your needs or build in some depth.

I would do the Upton/Phillips deal as it stands, but would look at trying to shift from Kendrick to a lesser talent or draft picks emphasizing that the power he is getting is top-tier and very proven and will be in short supply, while all the risk in this deal is on your side of the fence. You will certainly find out very quickly how badly he covets Prince and at the same time leave the door open for you to backpeddle and toss the original deal back at him.

A combination of Phillips, Ramirez and Upton should be good for 80-to-90 thefts, so that’s a good start. Look to either Julio Borbon or Rajai Davis in your next draft if either is out there to further help you in the speed numbers.

As far as the second deal involving Cruz and Vazquez, I’d steer clear. Both are decent players, but for a player with Prince’s proven homer potential, this is simply not enough return, in my opinion.

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Joe Flacco will surprise people this year, but we’d still start Matt Schaub over him this week.

Dear RotoRob,

Re: QB Selection in Week Three

Matt Schuab or Joe Flacco? I am in a head-to-head pool and have started the wrong guy in both weeks thus far. Now that they have each had a stellar week, I am unsure as to whom to plug in for Week Three. Can you help?

Grant

Hi Grant,

I think Flacco is really going to sneak up on some people this season, and there will be weeks when he could start over a lot of “regular” Fantasy starters. That being said, I don’t think this is one of those weeks: Cleveland has been terrible against the run so far (205 YPG against).

I think the Ravens will pound the rock all day Sunday, and I don’t see big numbers from Flacco as a result.

Andre Johnson has struggled against the Jags lately, and Rashean Mathis is a tough cover corner (look at Larry Fitzgerald’s numbers from last week). As a team, though, J-Ville is soft against the pass, and Houston’s lack of a running game (at least so far) and crummy defense leads me to believe that this game could be a shootout. Schaub probably won’t go off like last week, but he should put up solid numbers against the Jags.

I’d go with Schaub.

Dear RotoRob,

Team 1 sends Matt Cain and Ryan Zimmerman to Team 2 for Dan Haren and Troy Tulowitzki.

Which team gets the better deal?

Taylor

Hi Taylor,

Not having all the specifics, I have to assume this is a redraft league and not a keeper format. I’ve also assumed even though all four player are playing in the NL that it is a mixed league.
 
Let’s take a quick look at the numbers for the two pitchers involved.
 
Haren: 155 IP, 11 W, 6 L, 149 K, 23 BB, 2.38 ERA, 0.88 WHIP
Cain: 148 IP, 12 W, 3 L, 117 K, 54 BB, 2.25 ERA, 1.16 WHIP
 
At first glance, it appears that Haren has the edge, but we all know that he has a history when it comes to fading down the stretch. Cain is pitching in a situation where, although his offense is a bit weaker than the Diamondbacks, he has the support of a far superior pen heading down the stretch. I see some regression for Haren in every category except strikeouts where he should maintain an edge over the balance of the year. Straight up I give Cain a slight edge.
 
Now let’s move on to the two bats involved in this deal.
 
Tulowitzki: 341 AB, 61 R, 20 HR, 52 RBI, 51 BB, 76 K, 14 SB, .270
Zimmerman: 412 AB, 77 R, 21 HR, 70 RBI, 46 BB, 81 K, 0 SB, .294

This is another tough call. Currently, Tulo is leading all shortstops in homers with 20, he’s fourth in RBI and eighth in stolen bases with 14. At the hot corner, Zimmerman is second in homers, third in RBI, and carries a solid .294 BA. It appears that Zimmerman is the better choice looking at the numbers with homers being a draw and steals being the only category that Tulowitzki has the edge in.

The one intangible here would be the replacement factor. The replacement options at third base/corner infield are far deeper than at shortstop. Kyle Blanks, Adrian Beltre and Kevin Kouzmanoff — just to mention a few – are all possibly available on your league waiver wire. What is currently out there for shortstops? My guess would be nothing that will contribute significantly over the balance of the year. I’ll give the edge to Tulowitzki for that reason alone. Tulowitzki plus replacement at 3B is likely to outperform Zimmerman plus replacement at SS over the balance of 2009.

Overall, this is a great trade. Both parties are getting solid value in all the players involved and it would boil down to the specific needs of your team heading down the stretch. If you need the strikeouts and stolen base numbers and are looking to fill a short position at shortstop, with ERA/WHIP not a concern go with Haren and Tulowitzki. If your needs fall into the BA/RBI categories and ERA/WHIP/W from a pitching perspective I’d go with Cain and Zimmerman. The key from my perspective would be the unknown replacement players that are available to fill in the blanks at both shortstop and third base after this deal has been completed.

How does Juaquin Iglesias stack up against some of the other rookie receivers?

Dear RotoRob.com,

Do you think Juaquin Iglesias is worth a look at pick 176 in a dynasty draft? The best remaining rookie wide outs include Mohammed Massaquoi, Ramses Barden, Brandon Tate and Jarett Dilliard, and Jordy Nelson is getting heavy consideration from me. Nate Washington, Lee Higgins and Sidney Rice are left as well. Let me know via e-mail if you get this…thanks.

Hitchcock

Hey man,
 
Here are my thoughts on your options…
 
Rookies

Iglesias — All the buzz has centred on Johnny Knox, though things are wide open there, which is good. I’m not sold, though.

Massaquoi — Browns have no one outside of Braylon Edwards, but I think Brian Robiskie gets that job. Meh. 

Tate – You’ve got Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Joey Galloway and Greg Lewis…and we know Bill Belichick loves veterans. What’s more likely — that Tate breaks through or that he’s the second coming of Chad Jackson? I say option two.

Dillard – David Garrard does nothing for me and Jacksonville doesn’t have much of a track record with WRs not named Jimmy Smith.
 
Others

Nelson – He’s very interesting to me. Donald Driver is 34, and Nelson is the kind of tough possession receiver that excels in a West Coast offense. He’s a pick for 2010, but if you’re in a point-per-reception league I’d consider it even more strongly.

Higgins – He finished strong and has the most chemistry with JaMarcus Russell outside of Zach Miller. You could do worse.

Washington – He’s a third banana trying to be a first or second banana on a team that likes to run and rarely stretches the field, which is his strength. Move along.

Rice – I’m not sure what to make of him. He makes some spectacular plays, and should get a better effort from the QB position this year, but he’s also a little girl, which is a problem. To me he’s the top risk/reward guy of the eight you listed in that he could blow up with Brett Favre (assuming he does come to Minny) or just blow up when a DB bumps him and his knee shatters.
 
That’s all I got. Good luck.

Dear RotoRob,

Who do you think will hit the homers this year? And can you give me your own All-Star teams for the National and American Leagues?

Reggie Bush

Hi Reggie,

First off, how the hell is Kim?

I’m going to attempt to answer this one in two parts. Your first inquiry relates to who is going to smack the big flies this year and my answer is undoubtedly me. You see I live in the middle of nowhere, or should I say “God’s” country and we have more flies per square inch than pretty much anywhere on the face of the earth so undoubtedly I have to come up at the top of the charts on this one.

On a bit more of a serious note, I’d have to say that if I was forced into choosing one player that I’d want on my Fantasy team this year from a power perspective it would have to be Albert Pujols. The guy is a hitting machine and the best pure hitter in the game today. He’s currently second in the National League in homers with 13, leading in RBI with 37, and is sporting a mind boggling 1109 OPS. Hey, Hey, Hey, it’s gotta be “Phat” Albert.

Moving on to your second question, below are my choices for All-Stars from early on in the 2009 campaign. I’m going to take a look at this question from a Fantasy perspective and take into consideration not only the relative production, but also the relative draft position of these players for 2009. Without further ado, the All-Stars that would be leading your Fantasy squad onto victory this year:
 
Catcher: Bengie Molina (NL), Victor Martinez (AL)
First Base: Pujols (NL), Carlos Pena (AL)
Second Base: Rickie Weeks (NL), Aaron Hill (AL)
Third Base: Ryan Zimmerman (NL), Evan Longoria (AL)
Shortstop: Hanley Ramirez (NL), Jason Bartlett (AL)
Outfield: Raul Ibanez, Carlos Beltran, Alfonso Soriano (NL), Jason Bay, Johnny Damon, Carl Crawford (AL)
Designated Hitter: Brad Hawpe (NL), Adam Lind (AL)
Starting Pitcher (right): Dan Haren, Johnny Cueto (NL), Zack Greinke, Roy Halladay (AL)
Starting Pitcher (left): Johan Santana, Wandy Rodriguez (NL), Mark Buehrle, Erik Bedard (AL)
Closer: Trevor Hoffman, Ryan Franklin (NL), Frank Francisco, Bobby Jenks (AL)

I hope this helps, and continued good fortunes in all your Fantasy endeavours!

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Dear RotoRob,

I have been offered a trade in a keeper league. I have Delmon Young and am being offered Brandon Wood. Is either going to be any good or play?
 
Thank you.

Stephen

Hey Stephen,

I just got back from a trip to Minny to catch the Rays and Twins, which is rather appropriate considering your question. Let’s first take a quick spy at the results for both to date.

Young is 23 and now has in excess of 1,300 major league at bats. His strike zone judgment is limited as demonstrated by the strikeout-to-walk ratio. He does hit for a decent average and has shown flashes of both power and speed.

Wood is 24 and has demonstrated huge power potential at the Triple-A level. His strike zone judgment falls into much the same category as Young’s, albeit has been almost exclusively in the minors (so that’s not a good sign). He got called up mid-April and has only been given five at bats since the promotion. As I mentioned in The Wire Troll last week, why did the Angels even bother calling him up if they aren’t going to give him the opportunity to play?

I’d keep Young. He has at least a track record at the MLB level. Unless the Halos make a move to free up a position, it doesn’t appear that playing time is even going to be remotely considered with Wood. Young is at least splitting time with Carlos Gomez and any sort of slump on Gomez’s part – or someone else in the crowded Minny OF/DH situation — could ensure even more at bats. Long term, I prefer Young as he has at least offered some hope at the big league level. Both players are risks but at this time at least Young, with that solid 2007 season, has shown the ability to play at the MLB level, something Wood hasn’t demonstrated to date.

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The Detroit Pistons failed to get back to .500 for the first time since late-March as they lost 106-102 in Indiana Saturday, ending a three-game winning streak, the team’s best run in over a month.

The eighth-place Pistons’ recent surge has gone for naught, with the Chicago Bulls surging of late, and soaring over Detroit and into seventh place with their win over the Bobcats Saturday. Saturday’s loss not only ensures Detroit’s first non-winning season since 2000-01, but also seriously damages the Pistons’ chances of regaining the seventh seed and avoiding Cleveland in the opening round. How much do you think the Pacers – a team with an ugly recent history with Detroit – enjoyed hurting the Pistons chances?

Of course, Detroit still has a golden opportunity with the Bulls coming to town on Monday night – a game that will likely seal both teams’ fates.

Clearly, the Pistons’ days of being a power in the East are over. They won 59 games last season – a seventh straight year of at least 50 Ws – but have yet to even reach the 40-win mark this season, with just two games to go. The Allen Iverson trade was a fiasco, making it obvious that it’s time to blow this thing up. Fortunately, there’s been some pleasant developments among some of the team’s younger players, specifically in the backcourt.

Rodney Stuckey has maintained his starting job despite some recent competition from Will Bynum. However, his minutes are down lately (he spent the entire fourth quarter on the bench Saturday) and he hasn’t exactly been lighting up the scoreboard. Of course, 5-for-17 shooting over the past two games will do that. On the plus side, Stuckey continues to facilitate, dropping almost seven dimes per game over the past three contests. And his less than normal workload will keep him fresh come playoff time. Stuckey isn’t getting the same number of touches he did last month, but his owners have to be pleased with the fact that his perimeter game is showing signs of life with five treys in six April games so far. While Stuckey hasn’t exploded like many of us predicted heading into the season, he has made significant progress, becoming a much bigger part of the Detroit offense and showing glimpses of being an outside threat.

Speaking of Bynum, he’s emerged as one of the team’s best players over the past month, gaining nice traction in fantasy leagues as a result. In fact, if you need a last-gasp push, Bynum could provide it for your team. He turned in another fine outing Saturday, scoring 16 points in 21 minutes with six assists, four boards and a key steal late in the game. He was on the floor at crunch time – scoring or assisting on 18 of Detroit’s last 22 points – so it’s obvious he’s truly ingrained himself as a key component of the team. Could you use 15 points and 4.5 assists per game? That’s what Bynum is providing his owners so far in April, and he’s even starting to hoist up the occasional long bomb, averaging one attempt per game from beyond the arc. After spending the past two seasons playing in Israel, Bynum has followed the Anthony Parker model, and like the Raptor guard, looks like he’s back in the NBA for good.

Veteran Richard Hamilton said Saturday’s loss didn’t matter because the Pistons are already in the playoffs and apparently don’t care who they play — according to Rip anyways. Hamilton’s been inconsistent of late, but he brought his game Saturday, scoring a team-high 23 points with five assists, four rebounds and two 3-pointers. Rip only sunk 10-of-23 (missing a key shot with about a minute and a half to play that would have put Detroit up by three), but owners can’t complain, as he’s shot the ball well lately (46 per cent in April). Hamilton also seems to have calmed down from his barrage of long distance shots; last week, he put up 14 treys in a two-game span, but has attempted a much more reasonable seven 3-pointers in the three games since. Although it’s been a strange season for Hamilton, spending some time as the sixth man after having been a full-time starter his entire run in Detroit, he still has managed to get starter-type minutes, with 34 per game. And with 15.5 FGA per game, any thought that AI’s presence would cut into Rip’s touches has also been unfounded; in fact, he’s gotten enough plays to be the team’s leading scorer – something he’s done every single season since landing in MoTown seven years ago. Unfortunately, after enjoying an excellent season shooting the ball in 2007-08, Hamilton has struggled this year.

After enduring his first single-digit scoring night of April on Friday, Tayshaun Prince bounced back Saturday, sinking 7-of-9 from the field and all three of his attempts from the charity stripe for 18 points in 42 minutes. He even had a play called for him by coach Michael Curry out of a timeout with less than a minute to play, however, he had it stolen from him – one of four TOs — and he managed just three boards and one assist with no blocks or steals. Then again, as we observed last month, a lack of steals is nothing new for Prince. It’s a damn good thing Prince was shooting the lights out Saturday, because he’s not getting many touches lately. His 10.5 FGA in April is the lowest it’s been this season, as Prince is being affected by the emergence of Bynum. He’s only scoring 13.5 PPG in April, and unfortunately the rest of his numbers are suffering as well. The durable Prince has enjoyed a fine year – his best since 2004-05 – setting a career high in MPG and FGA, but he’s been generally ineffective when owners need him the most as they battle in their fantasy playoffs.

Hello faithful readers. I just wanted to remind you that as a courtesy to you all, we have experts for baseball, basketball, football and hockey available to answer your fantasy questions here at RotoRob.

See that handy “Got a Fantasy Question?” link in the left column? Just click the damn thing, submit your question, and bingo! We’ll do our best to get you a complete and enlightening answer as soon as possible.

Better yet, if your question is deemed useful and intelligent enough, we’ll even post it on the site in an upcoming Dear RotoRob column. How much better does it get without beer?

Don’t be shy…go ahead and do your worst! Ask us a fantasy question.

Dear RotoRob,
 
I have read what you’ve written in the Fantasy Baseball Guide (the Peter Kreutzer one) over the past few years, and also have read your site. I have two questions concerning keepers.
 
I play in a 5×5 Standard Roto League on Yahoo! We have 30-man rosters (C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, 5x OF, 2x UTIL — can be from any position — 9x P, and nine bench spots). We keep eight players every season.
 
My roster for the last year:
 
C: Kelly Shoppach
1B: Kevin Youkilis, Carlos Delgado
2B: Dustin Pedroia, Brian Roberts
3B: Garrett Atkins
SS: Jhonny Peralta, Troy Tulowitzki (Worst keeper decision that I ever made!)
OF: Jay Bruce, Pat Burrell, Jermaine Dye, Brad Hawpe, Lastings Milledge, Carlos Quentin, Ichiro Suzuki, Shane Victorino
SP: Dave Bush, Matt Garza, Randy Johnson, Jair Jurrjens, Jesse Litsch, Kyle Lohse, Jason Marquis, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Brandon Webb
RP: Joba Chamberlain, Joe Nathan, B.J. Ryan, Joakim Soria, Brad Ziegler
 
My two questions:
 
1. I have heard a lot of hype for Victorino so far. I love him, but I don’t know if he is worth keeping, especially considering the glut of outfielders on this team. Is he worth it?
 
2. Outside of Webb, are there any starting pitchers worth keeping?
 
I hope you get back to me, but if you don’t I understand…I’m sure you get hundreds of e-mails like this every day!
 
Thanks a lot,
 
Brian

Brian,

Well hundreds of e-mails is a bit of a stretch, but we’re always willing to help faithful readers.

The fact that you can’t wheel and deal before you declare who you are protecting does cause this analysis to be a bit of a challenge. You simply have too many solid players (and my hats off to you for acquiring them) for the number of protection slots in your league.
 
I’m a huge proponent of building in a solid core of speed into my fantasy squads, and in particular in a league format such as yours where (I’m assuming) you have a total of 12 teams x eight = 96 keepers. If you don’t protect the speed my guess is it simply won’t be there come draft day. You really don’t want to be chasing the Juan Pierres of the world if at all avoidable. I’ll list the no-brainers first, and then try to pare this one down to a final eight.
 
1. Youkilis, 1B (1B/3B eligibility is a big plus)
2. Pedroia 2B
3. Quentin OF
4. Webb SP
5. Nathan RP
 
All five of these guys are must keepers, in my opinion. They all represent top tier production at their respective positions. I’ve found this year that both middle-infield and first base tend to be top heavy and shorten themselves very quickly and Youk becomes a must keep as a result. As mentioned, the multi-position eligibility is also a nice bonus. Now the fun part…the other guys that should be considered: Roberts, Hawpe, Suzuki, Victorino, Matsuzaka and Soria.

I’d cut:

Dice-K – The WBC participation and the high walks concern me and the pool of starting pitching is rather deep this year, allowing you to get away by keeping just one SP. Just looking at your cuts alone leads me to believe the middle tier of SP in your league should allow you solid options.

Soria – I love the guy, but not at the expense of the offense you’d have to cut to keep him. Closers traditionally have a 25 per cent turnover, and between your draft and the waiver wire you should be able to find saves to add to the 40 or so Nathan gives you.

Hawpe – Another guy I love, but with Quentin and Youk, you already have a decent power base and to keep him you have to be looking at cutting the stolen bases, which are probably not going to be available in your draft. Power will be available in your draft way before speed is my guess. Take the lesser of two evils and keep whatever is going to be easier to replace later on.

That then leaves you with Ichiro, Roberts, and Victorino as your last three keepers. Combined, they represent 100+ stolen bases, an excellent BA, and a slew of runs scored. By keeping Roberts, it also forces someone to be a tad thin at the 2B slot, and that’s a good thing as finding a replacement there would be tough. Someone in your league is going to have to start a 2B that is not going to be an asset. I also think that Victorino has the potential to hit 15-18 homers, which is sweet. Add in Pedroia and it gives you a pretty good shot at a top four finish or better in stolen bases. Let your league mates chase the Juan Pierre types.

You certainly have some tough choices to make and I wish you well with them. My approach, and I believe it’s a solid one, is to identify both quality players, and players with skill sets that will be a challenge to acquire on draft day. You have a slew of other players that in most leagues would be considered keepers such as Burrell, Bruce, Dye, Ryan, Peralta, Garza, Delgado, and Atkins. I’d be strongly lobbying to increase the keepers to about 20 if I owned your team!

Have a fantasy question for our team of experts? Use the handy “Fantasy Question? Ask RotoRob” link in the left hand column.

I am being offered Tayshaun Prince for Devin Harris. Do you think Prince can continue his amazing lines? I am not sure if this trade is worthy or not.

Thanks for any help.

Amalia

Amalia,

I am certain Prince will continue to flourish with Allen Iverson in and Chauncey Billups out. In fact, he snapped a mini slump Sunday with 20 points, two treys, two steals and a block. Having said that, I wouldn’t take the trade, especially if you’re in a league that doesn’t count turnovers. To give you an idea, in a 9-cat league, I just offered Andrei Kirilenko and Rudy Fernandez for Harris. If you’re looking at players that would be good value for Harris straight up, I’d want Josh Smith, or maybe even Al Jefferson in return.

It’s that time of year again and I could use your sage advice. I just had my fantasy basketball draft. The format is 12 teams, H2H with FG percentage, FT percentage, 3-pointers made, Points, Rebounds, Assists, Steals, Blocks and Turnovers. We start: G, G, F, F, C and two utility spots (with four bench players). I drafted 10th overall and we have since decided to add another bench spot (five in total), so I would have the third pick off the waiver wire.

I need help evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of my team, and picking from the waiver wire.

1st Kevin Garnett
2nd Josh Smith
3rd Rudy Gay
4th Jason Kidd
5th Mike Miller
6th Tyson Chandler
7th Leandro Barbosa
8th Raymond Felton
9th Marcus Williams
10th Nene Hilario
11th Thaddeus Young

Players available on the wire include Monta Ellis (I shouldered the Gilbert Arenas load all last year and it crippled my team), Ronnie Brewer, Matt Barnes, Wilson Chandler, Tyrus Thomas, Jordan Farmar, Chris Duhon, Mickael Pietrus, Rodney Stuckey, Bobby Simmons, Andray Blatche, Paul Millsap, Sean May, (Ricky Davis?), etc.

Thanks for your help.

Jordan

Jordan,

Well, I see a lack of assists outside of Kidd. Felton has lost the Bobcats confidence (and could be overtaken by D.J. Augustin) and Williams was supposed to take over for Baron Davis in Golden State, but hasn’t even played yet, and is clearly not fitting in with Don Nelson. Nene is off to a great start, but is going to be a bust if he can’t stay healthy for more than one straight game, so I would want the bench player to be a big man. From what you listed, I’d pick up Thomas, Blatche followed by May. Millsap is a season away from getting his minutes (he is waiting for Carlos Boozer to bolt or possibly be dealt).

Do any of you have one available or can you offer a written rule on when to veto a trade?

I’m the commissioner of a custom Yahoo! basketball league where most of us are in our second year together and we switched from a voting format to a situation where the commissioner decides on vetoing deals.

Last year, when I solicited input and votes we would get five or six strong opinions, but not enough votes in a 20-team format to overturn trades that many of us thought were unfair.

Now that I am the dictator, I’m trying to come up with an impartial rule (after the fact). My sense is that a trade should be vetoed for one of three reasons: (a) If it appears that the two teams are the same person or colluding together to make another team obviously better; (b) If one of the owners appeared to have been lacking important information such as a recent injury/actual NBA trade that should be considered; or (c) If an owner is extremely novice, and unfamiliar with the scoring system of the league.

This last one is the fuzziest – any help on cleaning it up?

This might be good column to write on – perhaps?

Regards,

Matt

Matt,

I can’t go into your league because I am not a member of it. But, a trade should only be vetoed when collusion is involved or the trade is so lopsided that it is in the best interest of the league to protect an owner from himself. I don’t like the idea of telling someone how to run their team unless it is absolutely necessary.

Now, with that being said, if team A trades, say, Larry Hughes to team B for T.J. Ford and Team B didn’t know Hughes was going to miss four-to-six weeks, that is Team B’s call. Ask him if he knew about the injury and if he still wants to do it. I am the Commish of a league and if I see something like that I will give all the insider info I have on injuries to both teams and ask if they still want to do it or not. Sometimes they do and sometimes they don’t.

What I will also do if I think a trade is lopsided is I will ask for reasoning for the trade before I veto it. And, I say it just like that so they know my position and I want to know why trades are made before I decline them. If they make a strong case, fine. If they don’t, veto! Saying some stupid crap like “Ya, I traded Jose Calderon for Ford because now that Ford is running the offense in Indiana, he is going to bust out with Danny Granger and Mike Dunleavy.” Uh, I am a writer for the Pacers and I am with the team all the time, and I say no he won’t! Jarrett Jack will steal minutes from him. Ford is a top 20-ish PG, but his injury history is too much of a concern to deal him for a viable top 10 PG. Veto!

Basically, you can’t make everyone run their team as you run yours. The veto button is only to be used for collusion or extremely lopsided trades. Just because you don’t agree with it doesn’t mean it isn’t a fair deal. You may take a hit at PG because you have depth there to pick up a C because you are weak there. Most people will look at those stupid Yahoo! rankings and say “No. 102 ranked for No. 68, that ain’t fair!” But, centres generally get lower overall rankings because their stats are rebounds, blocks, and FG% mostly. Use it sparingly, grasshopper! Hope that helps clear it up for you.

Chauncey Billups, Lamar Odom, Udonis Haslem and Chris Andersen for Russell Westbrook, Robin Lopez, Andrea Bargnani and Manu Ginobili.

And James’ response to this proposed trade:

I just got the actual trade e-mail now. Based on what I see, I’d veto it. What he gets back is really just Manu and he is ranked around the lower end of the top 20 for SGs. Bargnani is coming off the bench behind Jermaine O’Neal and Chris Bosh. Lopez isn’t even in the rotation now, so you can’t count on anything from him. Westbrook isn’t a true PG and couldn’t win the job from Earl Watson! Maybe he overtakes him at some point in the season, but not to start.

On the other side, Odom is a legit top 15 SF and Billups is a top 6-8 fantasy PG. Okay, Haslem isn’t much, but right now he’s starting at C for the Heat with Michael Beasley at PF and he’s playing very well. Andersen shouldn’t have even been drafted! Nene is the starter and Steven Hunter (when healthy) is in the mix. Every star in the sky would have to align for Anderson to have fantasy value in your draft.

Basically, I’d say the guy who gets Odom and Billups get twice the deal as the other GM.

Haslem = Bargnani or Lopez
Manu = Odom
Westbrook = Anderson
Billups is supposed to be worth Bargnani or Lopez? Heck no!

I’d veto it.

I need some advice about some trade offers in my NBA dynasty league. Again, we have a 20-man roster and only draft rookies. I have the No. 2 pick in my draft and with the big two (Derrick Rose and Michael Beasley) available, I have a number of scenarios given to me from my league mates inquiring about the availability of the pick.

My guards right now are: Jose Calderon, Beno Udrih, Randy Foye, Kirk Hinrich, Rajon Rondo, Joe Johnson, Jameer Nelson and Monta Ellis.

My power forwards and centres are: Chris Bosh, LaMarcus Aldridge, Charlie Villanueva, Linas Kleiza and Andrew Bogut.

And Greg Oden will be added to my 20-man list before the draft.

I have been offered Brandon Roy and Rodney Stuckey for the chance to draft Beasley or Rose. Other picks involved would be my No. 10 and his No. 19.

I have also been offered No. 6, No. 12, No. 14 and a player to be considered for the No. 2 and No. 10 picks.

A third offer is Andrew Bynum or Thaddeus Young for the No. 2 pick. This offer comes from the guy that has the No. 1 pick in the draft.

I really like Rose and would love to add him to my group, but Beasley is also an intriguing prospect to add to my bigs.

Any thoughts on what might be the best avenue?

My other good players are Kevin Durant, Danny Granger, Luol Deng and Mike Dunleavy, Jr.

My PG situation is up in the air with Calderon asking either to be the starter or be moved. Will Foye be the PG for Minnesota? Can Udrih stay at the point for Sacramento? And can Hinrich come back from what was possibly his worse season ever?

Thanks.

Daryl

Daryl,

If I had your team I would want Rose more than Beasley. You have the forwards and centre in Bosh, Aldridge and Bogut and a crap load of so-so PGs to follow. Beasley would get lost in your shuffle, but Rose would fill the glaring weakness that I see.

Roy and Stuckey for Rose doesn’t help. Roy is more of a two-guard that can get assists and Stuckey has yet to really show us what he can do.

Three picks for two means you get deeper, but not really better as you drop out of the top five and only gain two guys in the middle of the top 10-15. So, two so-so guys and a possible impact player at six for Rose? No thanks. If he was that good he would have went top five, so No. 6 doesn’t impress me too much.

Bynum should be okay after his surgery, so if you’re sold on his recovery, then he’s an option. Do note that the Lakers haven’t slowed down offensively at all without him. As for Young, he isn’t very good and there ain’t no way in hell I let the guy picking No. 1 also get the No. 2 anyway!

From the sounds of it, the PG job in Minny is Foye’s, unless of course, the team opts to move him and pick up Jarred Bayless in the draft, something that’s being discussed as a possibility.

I wouldn’t count on Udrih, however. There’s talk the Kings are targeting Texas PG D.J. Augustin in the draft. Another possibility is they make a deal with the Raptors for T.J. Ford. Either way, many believe Udrih, as good a job as he did this year, is ticketed for the bench in 2008-09.

I can’t imagine Captain Kirk not bouncing back, but the question is where will this recovery take place? One rumour had Hinrich being included in a deal to Miami for Dwyane Wade. I doubt that will happen, but it’s quite likely Hinrich will get moved, and that actually may be a very good thing. A change of scenery could do wonders for him after such an awful season.

The question is: How to I stay in first throughout the season?

Here’s my roster:

C Geovany Soto
1B Prince Fielder
2B Ian Kinsler
3B Garrett Atkins
SS Orlando Cabrera
OF Carl Crawford
OF Jeff Francoeur
OF Josh Hamilton
UT Ryan Zimmerman
UT Edwin Encarnacion
BN Ryan Church

P Joakim Soria
P Bobby Jenks
P Ervin Santana
P Max Scherzer
P Dustin McGowan
P Tim Lincecum
P Josh Beckett
BN Jair Jurrjens

DL Wandy Rodriguez
DL Noah Lowry

Rocknfunk

Rocknfunk,

Have the best team. Don’t ride the waiver wire like it is the city bus. Too many stops on and off usually means you pick someone up after they are hot and they will cool off the second you get them. The waiver wire is like the stock market — and most people don’t make good day traders because they buy when it is doing good which means they missed the buy low point and bought it on a high.

Look to trade someone that is overvalued like Church or Santana. They are doing great — in May. But, their three-year splits show they are most likely going to slump back down to Earth pretty quickly. But low, sell high. Pick up the break-out guy, but don’t jump on everything that looks good over the past week. Look at the past month and see what the difference is between the week and month totals.

Francisco Garcia has been dropped in my dynasty league. I have some candidates for dropping to pick him up:

Kirk Hinrich
Nate Robinson
Jameer Nelson
Jordan Farmar (I hesitate to drop him, because I think he is talented enough when given the chance)
Thabo Sefolosha
Linas Kleiza
Charlie Villanueva

Do you think any of these guys are worth keeping at all?

Daryl

Daryl,

I worry about Robinson and Hinrich the most out of those guys. N-Rob is just so small and the Knicks don’t seem to have enough faith in him to play him constantly. Hinrich may be about as good as he is going to get right now. I’m not sold on Robinson as a PG because all he does is score. He doesn’t get numbers in assists or steals and that is what makes a PG. I don’t care if he’s a former Slam Dunk Champ – dunk him off your team. As for Captain Kirk, he was a massive disappointment and he did a great job of dragging the Bulls down with him this season.