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| Gerrit Ritt Fantasy Baseball Chat | (07/29/2009) |
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| 2:58 | FOX Fantasy: Good afternoon, everyone! Gerrit is watching the Cubs beat up on the Astros and will arrive shortly. For now, feel free to send your questions in early and we'll get the ball rolling in a couple minutes! |
| 2:59 |
Gerrit Ritt: It's always a huge day when you bat around in the first inning! |
| 3:02 | FOX Fantasy: Joe Muller from Bay Shore, NY has a basic question (beginners are welcome): I did a search to find out what WHIP means in the stats for a pitcher. I was led to your site but still do not know. Could you please give the definition for WHIP. Thanks |
| 3:04 |
Gerrit Ritt: I know how you feel Joe. It sounds strange, but it's actually a rather easy stat to grasp. What it's doing is rewarding those pitchers who don't walk 5-6 guys a game. It was invented for guys like Greg Maddux, who don't necessarily strike out 10 batters a night, but who only allow 4-5 hits and only walk 1-2 as well. |
| 3:07 | Gerrit Ritt: The math behind it is - (Walks + Hits) divided by (Innings Pitched) - meaning, that if you pitch eight innings and give up six hits and four walks, you'd divide eight into 10, giving you a WHIP of 1.25. That's a pretty average WHIP. Anything lower than 1.20 is pretty damn solid. Anything above 1.30 is something you'll have to start worrying about. - Hope that made it clear enough for ya, my man! |
| 3:07 | FOX Fantasy: Tom from Costa Mesa asks: Looking at my roster, a few of my guys are on the Indians, Pirates, Nationals, A's, etc. Teams which are basically out of the playoff race. My league's trading deadline is approaching soon. Should I try to dump these guys for players on teams which still have something to play for, even if I might get 60 cents on the dollar? |
| 3:11 |
Gerrit Ritt: Honestly Tom, I'd go the exact opposite route! Guys on these teams are gonna be getting all kinds of playing time, and the majority of owners are gonna be ignoring them completely. Guys like Mike Aviles (Royals) and Paul Maholm (Pirates) and several pitchers on the A's were terrific at the end of last season. They helped teams win titles! And you can have them on the serious cheap. I love these guys. Always have, always will. |
| 3:12 | FOX Fantasy: Franko wants Gerrit to look into his crystal ball: Is Roy Hallday finally going to land in Boston? |
| 3:12 |
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| 3:15 | Gerrit Ritt: I seriously doubt it, Franko. They'd have to give up the farm in order to get him, including someone like Clay Buchholz, who I seriously doubt they wanna dump. If he goes anywhere, I see it being to the Angels, Rangers, White Sox or even an outside shot at going to the Dodgers, although them getting rid of either Chad Billingsley OR Clayton Kershaw would be a terrible idea - much less having to give up both of 'em, which is the rumor. - My belief? I still don't think he goes anywhere - especially Boston or the Bronx. |
| 3:16 | FOX Fantasy: Vince from Ft. Myers: I own Cliff Lee, and I have to think his fantasy value is going to shoot through the roof pitching behind a lineup like Philadelphia's. Will be become one of the top five pitchers in all of baseball for the last few months? |
| 3:20 | Gerrit Ritt: Lee had two great games recently, but outside of that, he's been as average as any middle of the rotation pitcher this season. Sure, he may get some more wins pitching in Philly, but he SURE isn't doing his owners any favors throwing in that ballpark of theirs! His ERA is the only thing that's gonna be shooting through the roof anytime soon! I was just able to trade him three days ago in anticipation of this move. I shipped him, Troy Tulowitzki and Russell Martin away to get Joe Mauer and Chris Volstad in return. Personally, I think I got away with murder here. |
| 3:21 |
Gerrit Ritt: Just to add to that, Lee's allowed three or more runs in five of his last 10 starts. |
| 3:22 | Gerrit Ritt: Not exactly ace of the staff-type stuff, wouldn't ya say?! |
| 3:22 | FOX Fantasy: Nick from Virginia Beach: Felix Hernandez got rocked by the Jays on Monday. Cause for concern or just an inevitable occasional bump in the road? |
| 3:25 | Gerrit Ritt: The guy's been an absolute beast this year, Nick. The Mariners won every one of his last eight starts before that one, and 10 of his last 11. In those 11 starts, the guy allowed just TWELVE RUNS!! That's ridiculous! If I had to trade one seven-run game for 11 games of one-run ball each, I'd do it in a heartbeat. This guy's as "ace" as "ace" can be right now. |
| 3:27 | FOX Fantasy: Sean from Atlanta: Shouldn't Mark Buehrle get some kind of award for 15 straight perfect innings? That was unreal. I was rooting for his back-to-back perfect game yesterday even though I'm playing against him this week. |
| 3:30 |
Gerrit Ritt: Ya know what, Sean? Buehrle's always been one of those guys who ya just don't know what you're gonna get when you play him. Sure, he's an All-Star, but 6 or 7 IP, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 H, 3 K just doesn't excite you, and that's typically his totals most nights. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he was sitting on some of your benches when he threw the perfect game last week! It won't happen anymore, that's for sure. But you can see the dilemma, as he gave up five runs in 6.2 IP last night, even after going 5.2 IP of perfection. |
| 3:30 | FOX Fantasy: Denis from Nashua NH: I am loaded at OF postions (Ludwick, Dye, Rivera, Kubel and Lind) and would you trade any of these guys for SPs. Who do you think I could get in return? |
| 3:34 | Gerrit Ritt: I wouldn't exactly call that "loaded," although it certainly isn't bad for a 12-team league - if that's what you're playing in. Those guys are all above average, but none of them have any real "name" value, so you won't be able to get all that much in return for any of 'em, with the possible exception of Ryan Ludwick. If you dumped him, which would be tough to do, since he's the hottest of the bunch, you may be able to get a No. 2 or 3 starter, like Jason Marquis or Scott Kazmir or some other average dude. I just don't think you get enough in return for any of them, though, honestly. You'd have to package them with something else most likely. |
| 3:35 | FOX Fantasy: Brad asks: Do you see the Rockies and Yankees doing anything at the deadline?? |
| 3:37 | Gerrit Ritt: Of course, the Yankees are always in play when you talk about the deadline. I would have said bullpen help would be their main concern, but the conversion of Phil Hughes to be their eighth inning guy has been a big-time success, so maybe a lefty to help out there might be an option. However, that won't help your fantasy roster at all, of course. A starter would be the only other option, with Jarrod Washburn the most likely candidate. They aren't getting Halladay, Cliff Lee's already gone and there really isn't anyone else worth anything else out there. |
| 3:39 | Gerrit Ritt: As for the Rockies, I'd LOVE to see them get another starter as well. If they can get ANYTHING at all for Garrett Atkins, that would be genius, but I don't that happens. Anyone they get would be a lower level starter, and he'd be pitching in Coors the rest of the season too, so anything they do probably won't be of any fantasy relevance, either, unfortunately. |
| 3:41 | FOX Fantasy: Stanly Earnhardt wants to know: Any chance the red sox get Adrian Gonzalez.....? |
| 3:41 |  |
| 3:45 | Gerrit Ritt: In a word - no. The Sox certainly don't need any other position players. They just acquired Adam LaRoche, and they really don't have anywhere to play him. He's a platoon guy who's just filling in while Mike Lowell recovers from all his bumps and bruises. If they do anything, it'll be a starting pitcher - one not named Roy Halladay. As for Adrian Gonzalez, I can't imagine he gets moved at all. It would be a smart move baseball-wise for San Diego, but it would be a terrible move organization-wise. Gonzo's a native of the city, he's beloved there, he loves playing there, and if the city's gonna keep any of their remaining fans through this building process, he HAS to be kept, along with fan favorite Heath Bell. It's tough, because they're the team's two most tradable guys, yet they're also the two guys the franchise can't afford to lose. |
| 3:46 | FOX Fantasy: Chris asks: I Dont think it makes sense to trade an arm for an arm. What do you think about the Dodgers trading Juan Pierre and a few prospects, or maybe even Matt Kemp for Roy Halladay? |
| 3:49 | Gerrit Ritt: First of all, I tend to agree with you and your arm-for-arm theory, especially when talking about major league players. Trading them for minor leaguers I can accept, but a Halladay for Billingsley or Kershaw deal is a waste, in my opinion. As for the Dodgers, their prime real estate is all in the minors, and they're loaded there, which is why they keep coming up in trade talks. |
| 3:52 | Gerrit Ritt: As for the guys you mentioned, Juan Pierre can't bring you virtually anything in a trade. He's a journeyman, albeit a solid one, but if he gets you anything more than a middle reliever, it wouldn't be anyone worth more to the Dodgers than Pierre already is. Someone like him is incredibly valuable in the playoffs when it comes to pinch running, filling in as a fourth outfielder and simply being a guy who knows what it takes to win.....As for kemp, he's going absolutely NOWHERE! For ANYBODY! He's a potential MVP candidate down the road. He'll be a Dodger for the next 10-12 years. |
| 3:54 | FOX Fantasy: Kevin would rather see the Phillies keep some things the way they are: Is Drabek, Brown and Happ worth holding onto, not trading for Halladay? Instead, they give up Carrasco, Knapp, Marson, and Donald for Lee and keeping all above. |
| 3:58 |
Gerrit Ritt: Philly's loaded in the minors, at least more than a lot of other teams right now. Catcher Lou Marson looks to be the biggest piece of that puzzle today, as he's widely regarded as one of the best prospects the team has. However, so is Dominic Brown, who's a potential 30-30 guy who was hitting .300 in Single-A with nine HR and 14 SB before breaking a finger earlier this month. Kyle Drabek's the team's top pitching prospect too. Now way they were going to give up both their top catcher AND top pitcher in the same deal. Carlos Carraso's good enough, and he's a Triple-A, ready for the majors guy. Getting Halladay would have been nice, but not for the type of players who are the future of the club. |
| 4:00 | FOX Fantasy: Last question of the afternoon comes from Jeff S: Where do the Tigers stand in the latest trade talks? |
| 4:04 | Gerrit Ritt: They have a couple issues Jeff. They need a big hitter in the outfield, because Magglio Ordonez hasn't been getting it done this year. Carlos Guillen's been a waste of space too. I've heard Adam Dunn's name brought up, but I can't see that happening, evne for a team looking for prospects like Washington. of course, the other name I've heard is also a National, and that's Josh Willingham. That makes more sense, and he'd come at a much cheaper cost.......I also don't like the end of their rotation, but there aren't many guys out there to help them there. Rick Porcello or Armando Galarraga are just gonna have to step it up, or else they're in big trouble come playoff time - if they even get there to begin with......If Jarrod Washburn's your best option to take their place, I really don't think you're upgrading all that much, to tell you the truth. |
| 4:04 |
FOX Fantasy: Thanks for stopping in, everyone! Follow all the up-to-the-minute MLB trade deadline buzz here: http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/9866498/MLB-trade-deadline-buzz:-Wednesday's-edition Be sure to come back tomorrow at the same time for fantasy football chat with Mike Harmon, then next Wednesday at the same time for more fantasy baseball chat! See you then! |
| 4:05 | Gerrit Ritt: Thanks a lot for hangin' out today everyone. Keep checking out myself and John Halpin every Wednesday afternoon at 3pm EST/12pm PST for more baseball chatter! |
| 4:05 |
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