Cheap seats will arrive weekly throughout the heart of the baseball season. Baseball questions, both fantasy and real life, go to the front of the line, but we can talk about all sports, life, music, food, travel, pets, movies, just about anything. . catch me in @scott_pianowski on X/Twitterand here we go.
Thinking about our salary cap draft in September, am I wrong to hit the table for Breece Hall and Garrett Wilson or am I putting too much faith in an offensive ecosystem?
— Tom in the garden (@schoolgardenguy) May 10, 2024
I know this is primarily a baseball column, but it’s too good a question to ignore and it extends to any fantasy league. When we get into a Salary Cap Draft (also called an Auction Draft), the eternal question arises: should you go after your guys regardless of the flow, or just take what the room offers you? Is it better to be a genius copywriter (“I know the right answers”) or an agnostic copywriter (“I’ll assume the room is wrong”)?
One of my long-time football leagues is a Salary Cap Draft that runs 2 or 3 days before the season starts. By that time of year, my cronies have heard all my ranges, picks, and resellers and know exactly who I want (for what it’s worth), and I usually just accept that I won’t take my guys into that room. Maybe it’s stubbornness on my part. Agnostic teams can feel a little strange outside the club.
One thing I’m sure, if you’re going to “overpay” for something in a Draft Salary Cap, do it with a star or a player you absolutely believe in. Hall, Wilson: would qualify on my clipboard. If you pay a little extra for Christian McCaffrey or Tyreek Hill (or Mookie or Shohei), so what? It’s a lot better than overpaying for the last legitimate WR3 guy at the end because you waited too long to get involved and someone else has the same need as you.
I thought banning infielders from moving was supposed to result in more hits and higher batting averages. Based on these year-over-year statistics, that doesn’t seem to be the case… pic.twitter.com/RmRE4UzzYN
-Paul Popovich (@paulpopo) May 10, 2024
I think it’s probably related to baseball itself. My friend Joe Sheehan recently discussed the lack of offense in its essence baseball bulletin; This is part of what Sheehan wrote on May 5:
As for why pitchers get hurt, this drop in offense likely has several factors. However, with each passing day, it’s hard not to think that some combination of the construction and storage of the baseball is making it difficult for hitters to put runs on the board. Whatever the reasons, we’ve spent about 20% of the season with some really miserable offensive numbers, and last week’s uptick seems more like a blip than a trend.
If Joe tells you it’s raining, grab your umbrella.
Is it too desperate to offer Bichette for Swanson?
— destroy Texas (@double6fries66) May 10, 2024
I do not think. My rule of thumb in trade evaluations: If one side doesn’t jump in and block the “right side,” it’s probably fair. Bichette is obviously younger and probably has his best season ahead of him. Swanson could be a little safer and I like the Cubs lineup better.
However, neither of them are batting at the moment. It’s a challenging exchange and I like challenging exchanges.
When do you cut ties with a struggling veteran player, especially in deeper fantasy baseball leagues?
—Dennis Marasca (@Grenoble28) May 10, 2024
There’s no universal answer to this, it’s one of those “you know it when you see it” things, but I want to remind you of two general concepts. First, while player development is not always linear, player decline often is. Two, be afraid of making a fantasy mistake. is the mistake: you can’t play fear. If you make it through the season without making a regrettable decision, you’re probably playing too conservatively.
Don’t eliminate players just for the sake of eliminating them, but if your instincts lead you to something new, we’re far enough along in 2024 to trust those instincts.
I’m sitting on Gerrit Cole. The news about him is a return in mid-June. What would be the commercial value of it today?
– Mike Parrillo (@parrillo_mike) May 10, 2024
It’s hard enough to evaluate pitchers when they’re healthy. The injured and those in rehabilitation, we are all going blind in those cases. If I included Cole, I’d probably keep him until just before his debut in New York, and then see if anyone in my league would want to pursue the best-case scenario. By the way, that will never be me, but Christmas gifts are never more exciting than on Christmas Eve.
If Cole can pitch half the season and return the value of the SP3 spot, that’s considered a win. It’s somewhere around SP 25-35 on my current board.
Spanning the world
Who are the leaders or vocalists of your favorite band? Types of lead singer.
-Lucas Davenport (@SanFan22) May 10, 2024
Mount Rushmore is pretty standard, kind of like Jagger, Mercury, Plant, Nicks. Bono is not far from that list. Others that came to mind pretty quickly: Chrissie Hynde, David Lee Roth, Roger Daltrey, Paul Westerberg, karen o, baby jeffDebbie Harry, Steven Tyler, David Byrne, David St. Hubbins. Thom Yorke is a different type of frontman, but the perfect man to front Radiohead. janis. Gwen. Sammy. Eddy. Amy.
Please let this series go to seventh. That’s all that matters to me. Hockey as it should be.
Connor McDavid has been the best player in the league for a while; He probably won’t win the Hart Trophy this year (and I’m okay with Nathan McKinnon getting his first), but he would never be a wrong choice. I saw a McDavid game in person for the first time about three months ago and watched him all night. You can only judge players from his own era, but this is the best offensive hockey player I’ve ever seen.
Vancouver is a very fun team. Quinn Hughes is a lock for his first Norris Trophy, and is the starting defenseman for a team I would pick if Cale Makar were unavailable. Hughes rarely makes a bad decision, no matter the speed of the game. How can a family has so much talent?