Sam Sanchez

Haha. Thats exactly what my brother asked me to when I told him about it. I missed my opportunity.

He and his family came into my work today (AT&T). - Seems to be doing well. - His wife was surprised that I knew who he was, which I actually didn't realize it until after I asked for his ID. - He was surprised I knew that he had been traded to us by the Padres and that he ended up with the Rangers. - He said he's done with baseball. - He agreed with me when I mentioned that I thought he should have made the All-Star game when he had 0.00 ERA at the All-Star break that season, but he commented that he knew he had no chance since managers select the pitchers and that Ron Washington would never pick him. - He brought up the Skaggs tragedy and was saddened by it like all of us. - He mentioned he's not keeping with baseball as much as he'd like to and was interested to know how Pujols was doing, and seemed genuinely happy when I told him he was having a bit of an up year. - He was curious what happened with Garrett Richards and took a little bit of a jab at the Padres when I told him he's currently signed with the Padres. - He asked about Ohtani and whether he was pitching again already. - He saw on iPhone case that said "long hair don't care" and commented that Jered Weaver would always say that. - Asked for my card and said he'd ask for me if he ever stops by. All in all was pretty random but cool to encounter an ex-Angel at work.

What does gWAR say though?

Jackie Brown is my favorite Taratino movie. As far as City of God goes, have you guys ever checked out Elite Squad 1 & 2? Written by the same guy who wrote City of God. Takes place in the slums of Rio de Janiero and follows the police force that have to patrol the area. Solid drama with some action and thriller elements. Both Elite Squad and its sequel are worth checking out if you like City of God.

He could maybe still. Immediately after being announced as LaStella's replacement, Brandon Lowe got injured and is also on the IL as well.

I don't. I also don't have a crystal ball.

The podcast Effectively Wild I listen had a full episode interview with a guy that covers this sport not too long ago. Not as entertaining as the video here but was still a interesting listen and sounded equally confusing.

Yup.

I also love The Player but I love Robert Altman in general. I had The Long Goodbye as one of my three, so we both got Altman in common. Short Cuts and Nashville wouldn't be too far down on my list either as favorites go. Actually, we both had an Altman and a Coen Brothers movie as two of our three, though I went with a Carpenter for my other and you with Cimino. I do love Deer Hunter too though.

Could change on a daily basis really The Thing The Long Goodbye Barton Fink

The opener also makes sense in that some starters often start to pitch worse on the third time through the order. If the "starter" is pitching to the 4-6 or 5-7 spots in the line-up in the 2nd inning to start his outing, if he pitches well, he wouldn't face the toughest part of the line-up for the 3rd time until like the final two innings of the game.

So my draft is now tomorrow and have been doing some more of my own projections. It hasn't made my life any easier than Harper could potential be injured now and Lindor has been injured for awhile now. But still, Harper and Lindor are still sure-things for me, and still keep debating between Bauer, Votto, and Sanchez. And after going through tons of pre-draft rankings and see who I'd believe would still be available after the keepers are taken, I think I might go with Votto as my keeper. All three guys would still project to be available come my 1st (4th) pick of the draft. I'm picking 8th out of 12 (snake) If I choose Votto, I wind up in a scenario where I could wind up with Votto, Syndergaard/Carrasco, and JT Realmuto If I choose Bauer, I could wind up with Bauer, Bellinger/Votto, and Realmuto If I choose Sanchez, could wind up with Sanchez, Bellinger/Votto, and Bauer. Of course, this is only if I'm looking go with a combination of SP/C/1B in my 3-5 options. I could always expand to other positions where players like Lorenzo Cain, Edwin Diaz, Vlad Jr. Eugenio Suarez, and Ozzie Albies should be available in that range as well. Yes, a lot has to break a certain way for this, but am I right in thinking the potential combination of having Votto, Syndergaard/Carrasco, and J.T. Realmuto looks the strongest, or does anyone have another opinion. My draft is tomorrow and have set my keeper in a little over an hour. Looking at other teams, I'm kind already hating last year's last place team. It's a new owner of that team this year since the last guy was a shitty player so we booted him. So not only should it be better managed, but he's starting off with J.D. Martinez, Andrew Benintendi, and Nolan Arenando but will also get the first pick. Best players available should be Javier Baez and Gerrit Cole. Either way, pretty solid first 4 picks.

I tend to feel that way about pitchers. Case in point with the pitchers I got last year. The ones I drafted earlier didnt really pan out for me: Bumgarner, Darvish, Jon Gray and Ohtani. But I got solid bargains on Bauer (drafted way at the end), Patrick Corbin, (undrafted picked up off the free agent list before the season started ), Jameson Taillon (picked up in week 2 after someone dropped him). And it could have been even better if I had room to get Blake Snell who went undrafted, and instead I recommended him to my brother before the season started and he was quite happy. Unless the pitcher is in the Scherzer elite type class, I tend to be pretty scared drafting pitchers early

Other teams seem like they have better options than I do to be honest. 1 team, I would keep Trout, Jose Ramirez and Juan Soto, though he also has Syndergaard. Another team would be a tough choice between Goldschmidt, Baez, Bryant and Yelich. Another guy gets to start with Arenado and JD Martinez, and I think he's electing Benintendi for his 3rd. I just dont think I have as strong as a 3rd pick as some other teams.

Harper and Lindor are no brainers for me too. I just dont see another clear cut no brainer 3rd round pick which is essentially what I'm looking for. Im now leaning Bauer more than I was. I guess Im the only one still holding out hope for Votto to bounce back. He's in a pretty solid lineup, still walks a ton and doesn't strike out. Just needs to get his power back. I'll probably go with Bauer and if Votto falls to later rounds, maybe get a potential bargain. I'm also in the camp expecting Harper to be more or a monster in Philly in that stadium in that lineup.

A few answers to some questions. It's a 12 person league, I believe 22 players per team. Scored head-to-head, in 16 categories (R, HR, RBI, SB, XBH, BB, AVG, OPS / W, CG, Saves, Ks, WHIP, QS, K/9, ERA). Category differential matters. Had a ton of 13+ category win weeks last year that helped get the #1 seed last year.

So...apparently we are able to keep three players from our existing team for the 2019 season but I can't really decide who to keep. I finished 1st place last season but lost in the playoffs, though despite having a decent team, I don't have as many no-brainer picks as a lot of the other teams in my league do. Just curious who most of you would pick. Notable players on my team: C - Gary Sanchez 1B - Joey Votto 3B - Miguel Andujar SS - Francisco Lindor OF - Justin Upton OF - Bryce Harper OF - Nick Castellanos SP - Trevor Bauer SP - Madison Bumgarner Closer - Edwin Diaz I drafted pretty well last year. In contrast to the year before where I finished 1st but the majority of my team were waiver pick ups or trades. I also had drafted Tommy Pham and Matt Carpenter but ended up dropping them due to performance or injury. I would think my sure picks are Harper and Lindor but Im debating what to do with my 3rd choice. I would lean Joey Votto but he would have to get his power back as I don't want to waste a third pick on 12 Hrs. Justin Upton and Castellanos are interesting just not sure if they would merit a 3rd round pick. Bauer, if he repeats last year is worth it, just not sure he will. Gary Sanchez was horrible last year but he's still projected as a #2 catcher which seems hard to pass up considering the overall weakness at that position. Any input??

Final post by Jeff Sullivan before announcing him being hired by the Tampa Bay Rays. Very fitting it was a Trout post but sucks he won't be on Effectively Wild anymore. Wouldn't have minded Him working for the Angels if they ever considered it.

I really don't hate any NL outside of the Dodgers and would be happy rooting for any of them if it came to it. That said: - Any of the other NL West teams - Reds - the Lorenzens were family friends, so will root for Michael Lorenzen's team as long as hes in the NL and not a Dodger. - Brewers - This a current pick. Thought they were exciting to watch last year.

But he hit 2 HRs against lefties all season, which I believe may have both come late in the season, possibly September. Showing his improvement against lefties compared to the rest of the season. Looking it up, looks like he homered off both Mike Minor and Carlos Rodon in September, so he was definitely showing a lot better at bats against lefties late in the season, hopefully something he could carry over into this season.

And I believe both of his HRs against lefties also. Recall at least one against the Rangers late in the season.

Not a sexy pick, and wasnt great last year but he was solid in Hell or High Water.

I am on the pro-Anna Kendrick side of the fence. Coincidentally just watched A Simple Favor last night and find her dorkiness attractive.

Y'all forgot Willians Astudillo

Not unless Pujols comes to the rescue with 1 on and 1 out.