2012 Draft

Well, its another year in BARB, and probably the most exciting moment has already past (that being the draft).  Its easy to see that the Horned Toads are excited for another year to try and bring a 2nd Central Championship home.  And what isn't to be excited about, just look at the 25 man roster compared to last season:

C Geovanney Soto C/1B Mike Napoli 1B/DH Jim Thome 1B/DH Travis Hafner 3B/2B Casey McGehee SS Derek Jeter SS/3B Miguel Tejada 2B/3B Jose Lopez OF Jay Bruce OF Justin Upton OF Carlos Gonzalez RHP Carlos Zambrano RHP RA Dickey RHP Shaun Marcum RHP Chris Young RHP Joe Nathan RHP Ramon Ramirez RHP Mike Adams RHP Sergio Romo RHP Brad Ziegler RHP Darren O'Day RHP Ernesto Frieri RHP Alexi Ogando LHP John Danks LHP JA Happ

C Geovanney Soto C/1B Mike Napoli 2B Brandon Phillips SS Asdrubal Cabrera 3B Edwin Encarnacion 3B/2B Casey McGehee UTL Jed Lowrie OF Jay Bruce OF Justin Upton OF Carlos Gonzalez OF Garrett Jones RHP Josh Beckett RHP Danny Haren RHP Doug Fister RHP Brandon McCarthy RHP RA Dickey RHP Heath Bell RHP Francisco Rodriguez RHP David Robertson RHP Sergio Romo Brad Zeigler RHP Darren O'Day Johan Santana LHP John Danks LHP Glen Perkins

The rotation is probably the easiest thing to point out.  Big Z- Gone.  Marcum- Gone.  JA Happ-Gone.  Danks is reserved for limited duty/depth.  But, Beckett, Haren, Fister, McCarthy, Dickey, and a healthy season from Santana?  Oddly enough, Santana has the highest ERA of the entire bunch, while being historically the most dominant. 

Then there is the middle in-field.  Jeter, Tejada, Lopez all gone.  Hello all-stars Brandon Phillips and Asdrubal Cabrera. 

But what should also be noted isn't the 25-man roster, but the 40-man.  Sure, Mike Moustakas had to depart this offseason, but we truely believe we stacked our minor leagues.  Mike Zunino is tearing up SEC pitching in college ball, Vitters, LaHair, Green, and Adams all have big power.  Lucas Duda demonstrated exceptional skill in the batters box in the 2nd half of last season for the Mets, and Joe Wieland, Nathan Eovaldi, and Drew Hutchinson were probably some of the most impressive players in the minor leagues last season, and yet, they were still available late in this year's draft. 

All in all, we did exactly what we needed to do this offseason/draft.  We retooled our pitching.  We added some bigger bats with defense in mind.  And, we were able to build our future core players.  Its called building a dynasty.

Poseying the Question

I don't know where this league's loyalties lie as far as who the dominant favorite team is, but I'm sure all of you have seen the Buster Posey incident that happened last night. Spurring from the tragic scene of Posey rolling around in pain, as well as the fact that he suffered a broken bone in his leg and torn ligaments in his ankle, everyone has been asking: should MLB change the rules?

Yes.

Let me qualify this a little. Yes, I am a Giants fan, so watching Posey be bulldozed by a 5th outfielder is irritating in itself. Yes, Posey is a former Rookie of the Year, and is a catcher with an above average level of "stardum."

But, the hit he received was malicious. It is well within the rules, so it isn't dirty, but that is why the rule needs to be changed. There is nothing Posey could have done to prevent him from being plowed. He wasn't even blocking the plate, see for yourself:

He is a foot and a half in front of home plate, and Cousins is already lowering his shoulder to take him out. The decision had already been made. If Posey was in the basepath, or even, in front of the plate, I wouldn't consider it malicious... but this isn't the case.

In fact, any rule change should tell catchers to do exactly what Posey is doing, attempting to make a catch in front of the plate so that they can spin and apply the tag. To avoid the runners should make a headfirst slide and tag the plate with their left hand. Cousins would have been safe if he did this, without taking out Posey. Cousins would have been out if Posey caught the ball. The only difference is that Posey wouldn't be facing a major injury this early in his career.

I am writing this post having read many blogs and commenters' take on the situation. But, watching the Rockies broadcast on MLB Network with their fan's submission of opinions was just aggravating. "Keep baseball old school" and "If it wasn't Posey then nobody would care" are not sufficient reasons to ignore the problem. Baseball is a non-contact sport. This isn't football. however, I can think of a rule in football that is caused by their young players getting injured while their focus is on receiving a ball. (That's for you Fresno fans). That being said, I can think of plenty catchers where people would care. I was unaware of Santana's injury last year, because I don't watch Indian's games... but my opinion would be the same. If you don't care because he isn't on your team, then you are only ignoring the problem for selfish, competitive reasons. If you really think that bulldozing at the plate brings something to the game (like a wreck at a Nascar race), then I'd like to hear it. Maybe we should just change the rules and make everyone who enjoys the bulldozing only watch football. Keep that crap over there. Baseball is better than that.

2011: Central Title Defense

The Casselton Horned Toads sprang to life in 2010, after two abismal seasons under GM Landon Bolt, and 2011 is filled with hopes of building on success. The main problem with 2010 was that while the Horned Toads started hot, they limped into the playoffs, losing in the first round Worcester Eliminators. While the Eliminators eventually would go on to win the BARB Championship, it still left a dirty taste in Horned Toads' mouths.

What else can be expected? Many front-line starters ended 2010 on the Disabled List, leaving the Horned Toads shorthanded when it mattered most. Injuries shut down players like Johan Santana, Carlos Zambrano, Geovany Soto, and Justin Upton.

As for 2011, there is nothing but optimism. GM Landon Bolt has some salary cap room to make for extra depth throughout the season. "We didn't realize how thin we were until our players went down," said Bolt. "From now on, we will leave a few million in the tank to begin the year, so we don't pigeon-hole ourselves like that again. Lesson learned."

Coinciding with this trend, GM Bolt is seemingly the most active in the Free Agent market at the beginning of this young season, already handing our major league contracts to Travis Hafner, Miguel Tejada, and Chris Young, while also adding minor leaguers JR Towles, Brandon McCarthy, and Glen Perkins.

This is perhaps the only thing that is going on the Horned Toads side however, as the Disabled List is already filling up, similar to the end of last year. Players who have already served or are serving time:

Kendrys Morales: Broken Leg (lost for the season)
Johan Santana: Shoulder Surgery (2010, hoping for a return in June or July)
Jim Thome: Oblique
JJ Hardy: Left Wrist Contusion
Travis Hafner: Oblique
Brandon McCarthy: Stress reaction in his right scapula
Darren O'Day: Torn Labrum
Geovany Soto: Left Groin Strain
Chris Young: Shoulder Surgery (out for season)

Maybe the Horned Toads should be more selective with their players? "We don't think so," says GM Bolt. "We have been unlucky so far, but look at this team if it was all healthy. It's explosive. We have to keep rolling with the punches, hoping we can keep the ship afloat until our guys come back. Then: watch out."

New to BARB

Hello-

Name is Landon Bolt, and I'm new here to the BARB fantasy league. I've only met one of you before and I'm sure I"ll meet you on draft day. I'm taking over the team previously known as San Jose, but they have been renamed the Casselton Horned Toads. I'm from the small town of Coalinga, so I threw in our old mascot for kicks :P. Anywho, I'm taking over a team with a severe disadvantage looking over the rosters, and I am looking forward to the task of turning them around, even as it may take a few years.

Hope to speak to you soon.

-Landon