A Large Regular

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

A sitcom about a relationship between All-State's Mayhem mascot guy and Progressive's crazy girlfriend Flo would actually be pretty fun to watch... Heh heh... Women complain that men don't understand "that time of the month" or remember six months out when their cycle will fall but in defense of men - most guys still don't understand why when we were kids the doctor grabbed our balls and told us to cough... Congratulations to Robinson Cano... Would Jack from the movie Titanic have survived if he knew the Wim Hof breathing method?... Lascivious Banabos would be a good name for a band... Good for them... Flooring store sign that says "We will come to your house and measure your kitchen" always seemed like a Mafia-style threat to me... There was a reason they called him Larry Legend...

Here's what I see as the Top 5 MLB offseason moves - so far!

1. Doug Fister to Nationals and Steve Lombardozzi, Robbie Ray and Ian Krol to Detroit. This wasn't even a five nickels for a quarter deal. This was three nickels for a quarter. Fister would be THE ace on half the teams in baseball and the Tigers got a bench guy, a bullpen guy and a AA guy in return for him. Absolute steal by the Nationals.
2. Robinson Cano - signs 10-year $240 million free agent deal with the Mariners. Cano got PAID!
3. Mark Trumbo to Diamondbacks, Adam Eaton to White Sox while Angels get starters Tyler Scaggs and Hector Santiago. A potential 40-HR guy, a starting centerfielder, and two starting pitchers. Most impactful deal for three teams so far.
4. Yankees trade Robinson Cano for Jacoby Ellsbury and Brian McCann. OK so it wasn't actually a trade but I sure feels like one doesn't it? Question - if someone made this trade in your fantasy baseball league - which side would you say was getting the better deal?
5. Prince Fielder to Rangers for Ian Kinsler and $30 million from Tigers. Too early to tell the impact of this deal but considering that Fielder was signed by Detroit in the first place because Victor Martinez got hurt (and is now healthy) and moving Fielder now opens a spot for rookie Nick Castellanos at third my inclination is that this works for both teams.

I said these were my Top 5 so far. I think there's still a blockbuster waiting to happen.

Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.

- Congratulations to Robinson Cano - brand new US citizen

- Neil Gaiman's 8 rules for writing. You can't argue with the first rule.

- On November 13th Felix Unger was asked to remove himself from his place of residence

- Anthony Bourdain isn't pissed at Cadillac - he's pissed at the Travel Channel.

- 11 notable Doctor Who fans. Neil Gaiman gets two mentions today.

Player Comparison

I was curious about a player comparison this morning:

Player A - 62 R/ 13 HR/ 46 RBI/ 16 SB/ .291 BA/ .862 OPS
Player B - 57 R/ 15 HR/ 57 RBI/ 6 SB/ .296 BA/ .856 OPS

Player A is Dustin Pedroia and Player B is Robinson Cano. I thought about the comparison because Cano is supposed to be the better offensive player and yet the stats are about even (or actually in Pedroia's favor). Pedroia is the much better defensive player.

Right now Dustin Pedroia is the best second baseman in the American League. Yet he didn't even make the All-Star team.

Top 5 - Biggest Fantasy Baseball Disappointments - Hitters

Today I'll take a look at who I see as the 5 biggest disappointments, as far as hitters are concerned, in fantasy baseball so far this season.

1. Lance Berkman - I thought he'd be an NL MVP candidate instead he has a .764 OPS. He was the first pick for many fantasy teams. He's the baseball equivalent to Daunte Culpepper right now.

2. Vernon Wells - just 5 HR and a lousy .691 OPS - did the new contract make him complacent?

3. Garrett Atkins - last year he hit .329 with 29 HR - this year he's hitting .234 with 4 HR

4. Rocco Baldelli - this was supposed to be a big comeback year - not the year of suck

5. Robinson Cano - still time for him to bounce back but he was supposed to be competing for a batting title not hitting .274

Top 5 - AL 2nd Basemen Who Deserve to Start the All-Star Game over Robinson Cano

Right now Robinson Cano is the leading vote-getter for the AL All-Star team at 2nd base - which is a joke because he hasn't earned the right to get the nod based on past performance and he certainly hasn't performed at an All-Star level this season.

Here are five other 2nd basemen in the AL who deserve the honor more than Cano.

1. BJ Upton - Devil Rays - .325 BA / 8 HR / 29 RBI
2. Brian Roberts - Orioles - .310 BA / 34 R / 19 SB
3. Placido Polanco - Tigers - .330 BA / 28 R / 28 RBI
4. Aaron Hill - Blue Jays - .284 BA / 29 R / 28 RBI
5. Ian Kinsler - Rangers - .237 BA / 10 HR / 27 RBI

Kinsler bolted to a hot start in April (.298 BA with 9 HR) but has been ice cold in May. Even still - he deserves the nod more than Cano who has been ice cold all season (.264 BA / 2 HR / 23 RBI).