The Atlanta Thrashers, who have never won a playoff game since entering the league in 1999, appear to be finally ready to hold the only GM they’ve ever had accountable.

The word on the street is that the team has reversed its long standing stance of patience and has asked Don Waddell to step down as general manager.

Waddell is currently helping to oversee the American team at the World Hockey Championships, and will apparently postpone any decision until after the tournament.

It really is high time for a change in Atlanta, considering the lack of success the team has seen in this, the second attempt to make the NHL work in this city.

The Thrashers finally made the playoffs for the first time last year, but were quickly dismissed by the Rangers.

This season, they crashed and burned, dropping to 28th overall. After an ugly 0-6 start, Waddell canned coach Bob Hartley and took over behind the bench himself. Atlanta rebounded, but faded badly down the stretch, winning just five of its final 22 games.

Look at the carnage:

• Last season, the club traded for fading veteran Alexei Zhitnik. The price? Young, promising defenceman Braydon Coburn, who is currently helping to anchor the Flyers’ defence corps in their run to the Eastern Conference Finals. The Thrashers are stuck with Zhitnik for another $3.5 million next year – a major albatross since he sat in the press box most nights down the stretch.
• The team was forced to deal star Marian Hossa after he refused to sign an extension. Hossa believed the team wasn’t headed in the right direction. Hard to fault him for that assessment, is it?
• Many believe that the only star left on the team – Ilya Kovalchuk – is headed in the same direction. He can become an unrestricted free agent after the 2009-10 season, and Atlanta may be forced to deal him too, barring a major turnaround.

Key to a Thrasher recovery is this offseason, specifically the upcoming draft, one of the strongest in years. Atlanta holds the third overall pick, but with the draft just six weeks away, getting this Waddell situation resolved and installing a new head honcho as soon as possible is vital.

May 10th, 2008
Categories: HOCKEY, RotoRob . Author: RotoRob . Comments: 1 Comment

The Chicago Bears, seeking to rebound after a very disappointing 2007 season, announced a few moves Wednesday to tweak their roster in anticipation of training camp in a couple of months.

Gone are defensive tackle Babatunde Oshinowo and guard Mike Jones, both released Wednesday, with more promising rookies ready to take their jobs. Third-rounder Marcus Harrison left Oshinowo with almost no chance to make the squad and seventh-round pick Chester Adams was impressive in last weekend’s rookie camp, so Jones became expendable.

Meanwhile, with running back Cedric Benson in trouble after his weekend boating adventure, there may be an opening for Matthew Lawrence to land a spot on the practice squad. Lawrence ran for 1,680 yards and 16 touchdowns for the Minutemen last season.

Benson, by the way, is due in court on May 19 to face his boating while intoxicated and resisting arrest charges. Ahoy, matey!

So will the Bears be able to get back to .500 this season?

Well, they better improve an offense that was among the NFL’s worst last season, thanks to an especially weak rush attack. Even when he was healthy, Benson proved he was not a number one runner last year. And his legal trouble could definitely put a crimp in his situation, further weakening the run game for the Bears.

Adrian Peterson – no, not Purple Jesus, but the other one – could take the lead if Benson can’t start the season, and while he doesn’t excite me either, he might get his chance to show how bad he really is.

Failing that, look for rookie Matt Forte to be handed the starting gig – not a real good idea considering his lack of experience, but this is what will likely happen.

Chicago expects to be competitive this season, but I have a feeling that even with the Packers probably coming back to earth, the Bears have their work cut out for themselves.

May 8th, 2008
Categories: FOOTBALL, RotoRob, Transactional analysis . Author: RotoRob . Comments: 2 Comments

Should Felix Pie continue to struggle and Reed Johnson remain, well…Reed Johnson, the Cubbies might want to explore the option of promoting Andres Torres. Torres is on a serious roll for the Triple-A Iowa Cubs, running his hitting streak to 22 games Wednesday – the fourth-longest in team history. Only Roosevelt Brown (26 games, 1999), Steve Staggs (33, 1977) and Mike Squires (33, 1978) have rung up longer batting streaks as Iowa Cubs. Torres, a fourth-round pick for the Tigers back in 1997, is now in his fifth organization, having appeared in 89 MLB games with Detroit and Texas, but none since 2005. The 30-year-old outfielder was batting .263 when the streak began last month, no big surprise considering in ten minor league seasons his lifetime BA is .268. However, a 31-for-82 run since has him up to .353 for the year. He’s not a power hitter, but with a .525 SLG, Torres is showing more pop than ever before. And I’m impressed with his much improved strike zone judgment (16 BB/19 K). Torres enjoyed his finest Triple-A season in 2007, and appears to have taken the next step so far in 2008. Could we be witnessing a late bloomer?

R.A. Dickey, who was called up last month to fill in for Erik Bedard and predictably took a beating in his couple of appearances with the Mariners, has struggled since his demotion back to Triple-A. He’s lost his last three starts, surrendering 32 hits in 21 innings. Still, his season ERA of 3.25 is impressive, so Dickey could get another look as an injury-fill in, assuming he stops getting tattooed in the minors.

Another pitcher who’s doing pretty well is Iowa starter Randy Keisler. He earned the win Wednesday for his six-inning, six-hit, one-earned run effort that included four Ks against two walks. Keisler wasn’t exactly the tonic the Cardinals needed last year with Chris Carpenter out, and he wasn’t long for the job. But this season his hit rates haven’t been awful, his command has been good, and he’s averaging almost a strikeout per inning with a fine 3.50 ERA for the Cubs. Given Jon Lieber’s rather horrific debut in the rotation, perhaps Keisler, the former Yankee prospect, will get another look in a major league rotation. Of course, he’s never done much with the opportunities that have been presented to him, so maybe this isn’t as juicy a prospect as you think. Still, you never know when lightning will strike, and Keisler’s peripherals do suggest that his improvement may be real, especially given a much higher groundball rate to date.

Should the Cubbies require bullpen help, Jose Ascanio is worth a look. The former Brave farmhand just turned 23, so there’s plenty of upside here. And he’s done a superb job as the Iowa closer, with just 14 hits allowed and 16 strikeouts in 17 1/3 IP. Ascanio, with a 1-0 mark, 2.60 ERA and seven saves, will get another chance in the majors very soon, and he’s got future closer written all over him, although Carlos Marmol looks quite qualified to step up should Kerry Wood falter.

May 8th, 2008
Categories: BASEBALL, Minor Matters, RotoRob . Author: RotoRob . Comments: 2 Comments

Don’t be so quick to discard veteran hurler Jose Contreras. Although the 36-year-old (ya, right) Cuban took the loss Sunday, with just six hits allowed in eight innings he probably deserved a better fate. Contreras looked just about done last season, but so far this season, he’s pitched at his highest level since putting up a career year in 2005. Okay, the Ks are down, but so are the walks, hits and homers allowed. It all translates into making Contreras someone worth targeting in AL-only leagues.

Another Cuban hurler we shouldn’t be so quick to write off is Livan Hernandez. He started the year like gangbusters, but started winding up on the waiver wire after three straight poor outings. However, did you catch the fact that he limited the Tigers, who’s offense has arisen from its funk, to just one run over seven innings en route to his fourth win of the year on Friday? I still think Hernandez will ultimately be battered like the proverbial step child this year, but right now, he’s a decent AL-only option, especially if you need wins.

Let’s keep the Cuban hurler thread going. Orlando Hernandez is desperately needed by the Mets with Oliver Perez getting rocked his past few starts and Mike Pelfrey still not looking like he’s ready to take the next step. Well, El Duque is still in a protective boot, but he’s scheduled to be examined again this week. He’s someone you may want to take a chance on when he finally returns as he was pretty darned good last year when healthy. Of course, it’s that whole ‘when healthy’ thing that’s a bit disconcerting, isn’t it?

Switching speeds for a moment, Todd Helton, who had a nice bounce back season in 2007, has never looked this bad. He showed signs of life Monday, with a 2-for-4 performance, including an RBI and a walk, but had gone 4-for-22 prior to that, taking his OPS lower than it’s ever been. Of greater concern is that Helton has been a fast starter the past couple of years, enjoying excellent Aprils, but generally doing his worst in May, June and July. That doesn’t bode well for a turnaround. Yes, Helton is only 34, but he’s an old 34, given all the back woes, etc., he’s endured over the years. If someone’s been sniffing around Helton, looking to buy low, you may want to give the offer some consideration.

May 6th, 2008
Categories: BASEBALL, Fantasy Notes, RotoRob . Author: RotoRob . Comments: 1 Comment

The Cubs got a much needed victory Saturday, just their third in nine games, when they hammered St. Louis 9-3 to pull within a half-game of the NL Central leading Cards. This sets up a huge rubber match Sunday night, as Chicago will seek to take over the division lead before traveling to Cincy for three games next week.

Noteworthy from a fantasy perspective:

• Ted Lilly turned in his third straight quality outing to earn the win. It definitely looks like the veteran southpaw has turned the corner, making him an attractive pick up after he was dumped early in the season following a horrendous start to the campaign. While Lilly yielded a pair of dingers Saturday, he walked just one – the first time since his season debut that he didn’t issue at least two walks in a start. He fanned four in seven innings, including the 1,000th strikeout of his career, and even pitched in at the plate with a double – just the second extra-base hit of his career. If you need starting pitching – and whoever doesn’t? – now is the time to snatch up Lilly.
• Kerry Wood is scuffling, with three blown saves in his last four tries, but manager Lou Piniella says he’s sticking with him. Wood really hasn’t pitched horribly, so I believe that he’ll keep the job for the foreseeable future, but if you drafted Carlos Marmol, you must be licking your chops. Not only has Marmol been absolutely filthy, but now he’s just a hop, skip and blown save away from having serious value. A word of caution: Marmol has been worked hard this year, and I’m a wee bit concerned how he’ll hold up over the course of the season at this rate, especially given his injury history.
• Okay, Mark DeRosa has been very productive, but doesn’t it seem like Mike Fontenot deserves more PT? The dude is riding a five-game hit streak, which isn’t easy given that he only gets one or two plate appearances per game. He’s on a 6-for-9 run with a double, homer, seven RBI and four walks during this stretch. Saturday, he smoked a three-run homer and drove in a career-high four runs. Fontenot has no fantasy value except in a seriously deep NL-only league, but damn, he needs to get his licks. If DeRosa suffers another injury this year, get ready to pounce on Fontenot.
• The Cubs’ offense keeps raking. They had 12 hits Saturday, and rank first in the NL in BA (.286), runs (186), OBP (.375) and OPS. The pitching, however, has been middling for the most part.
• Rich Hill’s wildness cost him his job, as he was sent back to the minors. This was quite a shock after Hill showed very fine development in 2007, but now he’ll have to get his act together at Triple-A. In his place, Sean Gallagher, who had his own bouts of wildness last year, has been recalled. But it will be Jon Lieber who takes over Hill’s rotation spot. Smart fantasy owners will make a bee-line for their wires and grab Lieber, who has been strong out of the pen so far this season. Lieber won’t get you many strikeouts, but he won’t hurt your WHIP, should post a decent ERA, and will get you Ws with that great Cub offense.
• Geovany Soto continues to live up to the hype in the early going. He stroked a two-run double Saturday to run his current hit streak to five games. Soto already has 17 extra-base hits and 23 RBI in just 27 games. After another pair of walks Saturday, he’s now drawn 17 free passes too. Power and OBP skills? Uh, yeah. Give him a 1044 OPS. That’ll do. In fact, I’d say only Ryan Doumit has been a more valuable fantasy catcher so far in 2008.

May 3rd, 2008
Categories: BASEBALL, RotoRob, Team report . Author: RotoRob . Comments: 1 Comment