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Heading into my two industry National League-only drafts this spring – LABR and Tout Wars – I had decided to allocate one reserve roster spot for a "stash and hold" top prospect pitcher. The hopes are for a mid-season bump while recognizing that I could not wait to try to pay FAAB for top talents later. My industry brethren are too knowledgeable for a waiting strategy to work.
My top choices were Lucas Giolito of the Washington Nationals and Tyler Glasnow from the Pittsburgh Pirates. I think both should contribute this season, but I feel Giolito will deliver the greatest value in 2016.
To that end, I spent $4 to roster Giolito in LABR, but had to go $2 higher to get my man in Tout two weeks later. Glasnow went for $4 in both drafts. Along with the two - plus Dodgers lefty Julio Urias - the fourth pitcher in Baseball America's top 11 prospects coming into the 2016 season is a player with some question marks, Alex Reyes of the St. Louis Cardinals.
A lot has changed since those drafts, however, as I will explain. My bottom line is that if you are in an NL League or any format in which you can stash prospects, I urge you to go get Reyes now. Do not wait.
As many reading this already know, Reyes, 21, has been the victim of bad judgment off the field, currently under suspension due to a second failed drug test for marijuana.
I have just returned from St. Louis Cardinals extended spring training camp in Jupiter, Florida. There, Reyes is competing against players his own age, but of a lower ability level. He is prohibited from competing in games for which admission is charged, so he's toiling on the back fields with players yet unable to make a full-season minor league club.
Though I was told he touched 100 mph on his prior outing, the right-hander was primarily working in the 91-94 range, topping out at 96 when he needed a strikeout. Reyes also threw changeups at around 85 mph and a 76 mph curve, both of which he could get over for strikes. He still can at times issue too many walks, however, being one of his few weaknesses.
Though the Cardinals could have dodged Reyes' suspension by simply adding him to their 40-man roster, the organization wisely did not let their talented youngster take the easy way out of his troubles. (Marijuana use is not tested for, nor is it a punishable offense at the Major League level.)
After watching Reyes dominate against these much-less experienced hitters, he looks ready to go when eligible to be activated around May 20. I say "around" because it is unclear at what level Reyes will return. He finished 2015 with eight starts at Double-A before heading to the Arizona Fall League, yet this spring, the Cardinals surprisingly placed him on the Triple-A roster to serve his suspension.
My gut feeling all along has been that Reyes would be given a few starts in the Texas League to get his feet on the ground before being challenged in the Pacific Coast League.
In reality, that matters less given what has happened to starters above him in the Cardinals system over the last 60 days. Soon after Reyes shows he is ready, he could find himself in St. Louis.
This is very different from my reading coming into the year. At that time, I thought Reyes would probably be given a spot start or two in September and maybe a handful of relief appearances, keeping his 2016 fantasy value relatively low.
Here is why that is now out the window. It is that old friend called "opportunity."
This spring, the Cardinals' vaunted depth in their starting pitching took a major hit, opening the door for Reyes to potentially quickly position himself as the unofficial sixth starter in waiting.
Two of the system's three talented left-handed starters, all with MLB experience, are on the shelf. This spring, Marco Gonzales' elbow gave out, leading to Tommy John surgery. Tim Cooney is suffering from shoulder problems that have him on hold indefinitely. Obviously, there is concern. Before the injuries struck, the two were expected to co-anchor the Triple-A rotation, jockeying to be the first call-up.
That leaves Tyler Lyons, who threw seven scoreless innings at Pittsburgh to clinch the division for St. Louis last fall. Out of minor league options, Lyons was moved to relief in 2016 to keep him on the Major League roster, but he has been uneven in that role. Lyons could make a spot start or two in an emergency but does not seem positioned to fill a regular rotation spot, should one open up.
Even before Gonzales and Cooney went down, the Cardinals made the unusual (for them) move this winter to bring in three Triple-A starters from outside the organization for depth. All three are currently in the Memphis rotation – Deck McGuire, J.C. Sulbaran and Jeremy Hefner. You may recognize the latter as a former starter for the Mets whose career was sidetracked by a pair of Tommy John surgeries.
While St. Louis has one of the better starting rotations in MLB from one to five, four have dealt with physical problems in the recent past – Adam Wainwright, Michael Wacha, Carlos Martinez and Jaime Garcia. The fifth, free agent signee Mike Leake, like ace Wainwright, has been surprisingly ineffective in his first season with the Cardinals.
Bottom line, it is unclear who the Cardinals would call upon when they need another starter. The current options are less than compelling. However, Reyes will answer that question – if he can assert himself quickly once off suspension – and he has all the talent to do just that.
Again, my advice to you is to not wait. If you are willing to stash and hold Giolito or Glasnow, you should be doing the same with Reyes – right now. You will thank me later.
Brian Walton was the 2009 National League Tout Wars champion, scoring the most points in the league's 17-year history. He also holds the all-time NL Tout single-season records for wins and saves. His work can also be found daily at TheCardinalNation.com and thecardinalnationblog.com. Follow Brian on Twitter.
One of the most tragic stories of this past off-season was the passing of 29-year-old Tommy Hanson. The former Atlanta Braves pitcher died from "delayed complications of cocaine and alcohol toxicity," per his autopsy report.
I still remember vividly seeing the then-22-year-old pitch in person for the first time as he totally dominated the 2008 Arizona Fall League. Hanson compiled a 5–0 record with a 0.63 ERA while striking out 49 in just 28 2/3 innings. That earned the Oklahoma native the AFL's MVP Award, as the first-ever pitcher to achieve that honor.
Due to some strange rules that have since been changed for the better, by having finished sixth in the Xperts Fantasy League (or XFL) in 2008, I owned the first pick in the league's auxiliary draft in April 2009.
Though it had been six months since I had been wowed by Hanson's performances in the desert, I felt certain that the 6-foot-6 right-hander could be an anchor for my keeper league roster for the next six to eight seasons at least. (Future salaries of XFL players acquired while still minor leaguers only grow by $3 per season compared to $5 for all other players, increasing their keeper value.)
I had a dilemma, however. The legend of San Diego State pitching phenom Stephen Strasburg - who struck out 23 batters in one game and was hitting 100 mph on scouts' guns – was already growing. At the time of our April 2009 draft, Strasburg was nearly through his junior year, during which he went 13-1 with a 1.32 ERA and 195 strikeouts in 109 innings.
In a few months, the Scott Boras client would become the number one selection in the 2009 First-Year Player Draft. After a very delicate negotiating period that ended less than two minutes before the signing deadline, Strasburg agreed to terms with the Washington Nationals.
But on that day in April, I had to make a decision. Do I take the seemingly surer thing in Hanson and hope he can help power my sixth-place squad in the 15-team league to the top in 2009, or gamble that the college kid Strasburg would really become a "generational talent" in the Major Leagues?
I ended up taking Hanson with the first pick. Surprisingly, Strasburg fell to number three, with the second pick used on Nelson Cruz. Though he was traded twice in the XFL in the seven years since, Strasburg remains on his original contract in our league, currently at just $19.
Fast forward to 2015, when I came in fourth in the XFL. (Strasburg's team was third.) With a revised set of rules that make far more sense, that finish presented me with the third selection in our April auxiliary draft.
I felt I had another Hanson-Strasburg type of looming ahead between two very different players from different continents.
Newly-signed Korean first baseman Byung-ho Park had a solid spring with his new club, the Minnesota Twins, suggesting the difficult-to-predict transition from baseball in the East to baseball in the West would prove to be ok in his case. Because he had no prior MLB experience, Park was even more appealing as a "+3" player in the XFL.
On the downside, Park was still unproven in MLB games that count. His age, 29, was not ideal and with Joe Mauer entrenched at first base for the Twins, Park may end up being a DH-only player for the remainder of his career. Of course, that limits fantasy roster flexibility and value.
The other player most prominently on my radar screen was slugging Cuban third baseman Yulieski Gurriel. Like Strasburg in spring 2009, Gurriel was not even yet under contract with an MLB club. While his hitting pedigree is impeccable, his age (32 in June) is a concern – especially given my intention of continuing to compete for a title in the XFL this season and for the foreseeable future.
When push came to shove, I was willing to give up results this season in return for greater upside, albeit for a potentially shorter period of time. If I had the choice, I decided I would pass on Park and take the elder Gurriel.
As often occurs in drafts, it did not begin as I expected. The first pick was Dodgers rookie starter Kenta Maeda. Pick number two went to a traditional prospect, hurler Blake Snell, soon to be ready to join the Rays. Both are solid picks as +3 players, but not my first choices.
That meant my field was still wide open. I stuck to my plan and took Gurriel while Park remained on the board until nabbed by a delighted but surprised Ron Shandler with the fifth overall pick.
Early returns are clearly in Shandler's favor as Park swatted his seventh long ball of the season Tuesday night, putting him on a full-season pace for 42. Still unsigned, Gurriel has not been in the news for weeks.
Only time will tell if my Gurriel gambit proves to be more successful than my decision to pass on Strasburg in favor of Hanson seven years ago. Either way, here is hoping I don't remember it as vividly, for multiple reasons.
Brian Walton was the 2009 National League Tout Wars champion, scoring the most points in the league's 17-year history. He also holds the all-time NL Tout single-season records for wins and saves. His work can also be found daily at TheCardinalNation.com and thecardinalnationblog.com. Follow Brian on Twitter.
Why in the world at 1:00 a.m. on Saturday morning, April 16 – instead of going to bed after a long week - did I turn over to a game in the eighth inning in which Kansas City was visiting Oakland? In doing so, I switched off the Giants at Dodgers contest.
After all, I am a National League guy, right?
DFS is the reason – specifically a second-year contest called Tout Wars Daily.
If you are a long-time full-season fantasy player but haven't yet committed to daily action, this article is for you. On the other hand, if you are already all-in on daily play, you know where I will be coming from.
Still with me? OK!
Have you ever had a traditional league title come down to the last day of the season? You nervously hammer your remote control and the enter key on your computer or phone, scanning games and monitoring box scores for each player on your and your opponent's rosters while living and dying with the success and failure of each at-bat.
When the last West Coast contests are nearing their end, the intensity increases to an almost unbearable level until the final outcome is clear.
That is what precisely happened to me on an otherwise mundane Friday night in mid-April. In fact, that same final-day excitement can be recreated each and every day with DFS.
In the interest of full disclosure, I have not yet jumped into daily play with both feet, though as you will see, my resistance is becoming weaker and weaker. I have looked at it similarly to golfing (in real life, not fantasy). If I cannot commit the time to become above-average in the game, it is not worth the time and frustration to simply be mediocre.
Tout Wars Daily has pulled me in, though. Not only is it a once-a-week daily contest, taking less time out of my schedule, my competitors are not some random, faceless userids. The players are sourced from all the Tout Wars leagues – some my best friends and most well-known industry players in the world.
How could one not get up for that?
Each Friday, all the Tout warriors select their one best lineup for the evening. The season consists of five four-week segments. The top three finishers in total points in each segment receive a ticket to the final, which will be held on August 26.
In Week 1 of the 2016 competition, I finished first among the 41 Touts who participated, with a 56-51 edge over the second-place finisher, Doug Anderson (rotodaddy).
Heading into Week 2, I knew I could again compete. What was key for me was that I had allocated ample time in the late afternoon to study lineups and batter versus pitcher histories - which is over and above basic identification of "hot and cold" players, checking weather forecasts and the like.
Without a couple of hours to really research my lineup options and figure out the tradeoffs on how to best fit them under the salary cap, it is like golfing without having practiced putting and hitting balls at the driving range first. Lacking full preparation means the odds are high that the result will be middling at best.
Last Friday, my efforts helped me identify Dodgers second baseman-outfielder Kike Hernandez' past success against Giants ace Madison Bumgarner. Though it is inexplicable, some average-at-best hitters seem to own superstar pitchers. So it was here. All Hernandez did Friday night was hit two home runs and knock a two-run double in his three Friday at-bats against MadBum. For just $3700, Kike delivered 16 points, highest on my team.
When setting my final lineup that afternoon, I was torn whether or not to take the obvious pitching play – Clayton Kershaw at home against those rival Giants. Coming up with the $9900 to roster Kershaw meant I had to drop my declared top hitter of the day in St. Louis third baseman Matt Carpenter ($5800).
In hindsight, that decision almost sunk me. Kershaw was not dominating, at least for him, with a number of other pitchers delivering higher value on the evening. Yet, the Dodgers ace was throwing a shutout through five innings.
But Kershaw lost points when he gave up two runs in the sixth. Our excellent stats provider, RTSports.com, refreshed the live scoring with Kershaw at 6 2/3 innings. At that point, I was tied for first at 84.66 points with "ThePME". Patrick Mayo is among the toughest competitors, having been the third-place finisher in Week 1.
I had Kershaw and Kike still playing, while Mayo had A's catcher Stephen Vogt live. The latter was already 2-for-2 with a home run.
I was crushed when I saw Dodgers manager Dave Roberts sit down next to Kershaw on the bench, almost certainly telling his ace that his day was done after seven innings and a 7-2 lead. Saving bullets is the right answer for a 162-game season, but not for my evening's hopes. As it turned out, all was not lost. Kershaw's final out of the seventh was worth 0.34 points, breaking my tie with Mayo.
My secret weapon Hernandez had been neutralized, however, as MadBum was already in the showers. When Giants skipper Bruce Bochy went to his pen, Kike's kryptonite was useless as he went 0-for-2 the rest of the way. When Hernandez came to the plate in the eighth, he appeared to be my last hope to open up my 0.34 point lead. Instead, he crushed my irrational hopes for a fourth hit, grounding into a double play.
With my roster done for the night, I turned over to the KC-Oakland game to root against Vogt. At 1:04 a.m., I woke up my entire household with one screamed f-bomb as the catcher singled with two out in the bottom of the eighth.
That base hit, which was meaningless in the context of the game when Vogt was stranded, scored one point for Patrick. In the process, he took over first place, 85.66 to 85.00.
I went to bed defeated, but I could not sleep. No one – and I mean no one - wants to finish a very close second in any endeavor.
When I awoke (later) Saturday morning, I was delighted to see that I had in fact won. I had not noticed that Kershaw's four-point win had yet to be included in the scores. That gave me a roller-coaster 89.00 to 85.66 victory.
The best news is that I have another shot this week and I will again be ready for the excitement of competition against the very best!
To follow along with Tout Wars Daily each Friday, check out the results live at RTSports.com.
If you haven't yet started to play DFS, consider taking your first steps with Mastersball. RealTime Fantasy Sports hosts a Mastersball Daily 50-50 GPP (Guaranteed Prize Pool) contest with $135 in prizes available for just a $5 entry fee. Take our free trial DFS projections on your test drive and compete against the Mastersball staff at RealTime Fantasy Sports here.
Brian Walton was the 2009 National League Tout Wars champion, scoring the most points in the league's 17-year history. He also holds the all-time NL Tout single-season records for wins and saves. His work can also be found daily at TheCardinalNation.com and thecardinalnationblog.com. Follow Brian on Twitter.
When I strictly stay on point with this column - which is increasingly rare – the subject is fantasy baseball rules. I share information about rules I have seen and/or experienced and offer my thoughts to you for possible use in your own leagues.
This week, the topic is the waiver wire, and specifically, the rules associated with filling roster needs. The two leagues I will compare and contrast are both well-known industry competitions – Tout Wars and League of Alternative Baseball Reality (LABR).
I have been a participant in the former for over a decade, but joined the latter for the first time here in 2016.
In Tout Wars, players can be moved from the active roster to the reserves and back at will – at least prior to the weekly transaction deadline of first pitch on Monday. The size of the reserve rosters was dropped from six to four players a few years back to cut down on prospect hoarding in anticipation of call-ups later in the season.
Another consideration is an unlimited disabled list, from which players can be "cashed in" for a FAAB rebate if the owner so chooses.
The Tout approach, which seems fairly standard, means that when an owner is considering a free agent acquisition each week, he has maximum flexibility. When rostering a player after winning the bidding, the owner can release a player from his active roster or from his reserves. In the latter case, an active player would be sent down to make room on the active roster for the new acquisition. (That assumes there were no openings due to a disabled list assignment.)
LABR is very different. Its rules generally do not allow active players to be reserved. The ramifications of winning a FAAB bid on a player is that he is then stuck in your lineup until injured or sent down to the minor leagues – or until the owner releases him. Streaming of pitchers, for example, is not possible.
(I said "generally" in the prior paragraph because there is a twist. The LABR reserve list of six players as set on draft day have special privileges. They alone can be shifted between active and reserves as often as needed.)
Let's use a current example to illustrate the differences.
This past Sunday evening, I had interest in the Cincinnati closer situation. My need was especially acute in Tout, because I did not win bids on any established closers on draft day.
The leader in the Reds race to potentially succeed J.J. Hoover – at least the pitcher I perceived to have the best skill – Tony Cingrani, was already owned. That was more a testament to his overall value than a March bet on him becoming the closer. That left Blake Wood and Caleb Cotham, with the slight advantage of both being right-handed. Seeing the former used in the fifth inning the other day moved him out of my consideration.
That left Cotham, for whom I placed a $33 bid. On a basis of $1000, that was not particularly aggressive, but it reflects my shaky confidence level in him. With half the league bidding on him, Cotham went for $83, while Wood remains on the waiver wire, since his conditional-only bids were not met.
I made a conditional bid as well, putting down $12 on David Phelps of Miami, who is moving into late-inning duty, but that offer only brought me second place to the $37 winner.
These bids were placed knowing I could easily lop off my roster an underperformer from among my reserves.
In LABR, I wanted the same two pitchers. However, my decision whether or not to bid was much more difficult. None of my nine regular pitchers could be sent down and kept. The only one who was even a candidate to be released was Brandon Maurer of San Diego, whom I had just watched give up three runs in one inning to St. Louis that very day.
Still, I believe in Maurer's skills and consider his chances of getting a closing job behind Fernando Rodney to be as good or better than Phelps' odds of supplanting A.J. Ramos this season or Cotham becoming the man in Cincinnati.
For those reasons, I stood pat. Others among my peers must have felt similarly as Cotham drew just two bids in LABR (compared to six in Tout). Further, the winning offer was just $3 (on a basis of $100), compared to $8.30 in comparable LABR FAAB.
For Phelps, there were also just two LABR offers compared to four in Tout. Both bids were $1 versus $3.70 in equivalent LABR cash.
Both the lesser quantity of bids and the smaller amounts suggest to me the inherent limitations in weekly bidding driven by the LABR rules.
So in your league, if you would like to tamp down the weekly free agent churn and slow down the quantity of bids and their prices, consider the more limiting approach followed in LABR – specifically by requiring all players taken out of the active lineup from week to week to be released – unless injured or demoted to the minor leagues in real life.
I am still new enough with LABR to have not fully formed my opinion about this rule. My gut tells me I like the more wheeler-dealer style in Tout, but I've only been through three FAAB cycles to date.
In support of the LABR approach, because the inherent costs for everyone to bid are higher, I think I would have better odds of winning – when I really want a player enough to bid aggressively.
This past week, either of my losing reliever bids in Tout would have been enough to win the desired player in LABR (if on the same pricing scale).
In closing, here is the relevant section from the LABR constitution, in case you would like to consider a change to this approach for 2017.
"Teams may reserve players in one of three ways. The first is through the reserve draft on auction day. Six slots are reserved for this purpose. Players that go onto the disabled list may also be reserved on a separate list. There is no limit to the number of disabled list players that can exist on a roster. Players that are sent to the minors or who are drafted as unsigned free agents can be moved from the active roster to the reserve list as long as the reserve list does not exceed six players. A player can be dropped from the reserve list at any time.
"A player from the original reserve list (from reserve draft) can be moved from active status to the reserve list at any point during the season, provided the reserve list does not exceed six players."
Brian Walton was the 2009 National League Tout Wars champion, scoring the most points in the league's 17-year history. He also holds the all-time NL Tout single-season records for wins and saves. His work can also be found daily at TheCardinalNation.com and thecardinalnationblog.com. Follow Brian on Twitter.
Given my day job is covering the St. Louis Cardinals system, I understand why all eyes around the table at any fantasy draft fall on me when a Cardinals player is nominated. Especially in National League Tout Wars, my peers are conditioned to expect my actions could signal that I possess some "insider" information.
Bid aggressively, and I am high on the player. No bidding at all may mean something is up.
In reality, I have found that over time, I had been more negative than not about Cardinals players, focusing more on their weaknesses than strengths. As a result, I have missed out on some nice bargains over the years.
I resolved for 2016 to be more aggressive about those whom I know best. I just wish it was working out better.
I came into the second free agent period this past weekend with six holes in my NL LABR lineup. They occurred due to a combination of injuries (Aaron Altherr, Ender Inciarte, Tyson Ross, which put $47 of my draft-day spend on the DL), minor leaguers drafted to stash for later (Lucas Giolito and Dansby Swanson) and unexpected demotions to the minors (Andrew Susac).
Due to my missed first week of free agent bidding in NL LABR, the subject of this column last week, I felt like I had really missed out on important opportunities. This week, I was especially motivated to take action to recoup my time lost to inaction. Of course, it all depends on which free agents are available.
As fate would have it, I needed a middle infielder and outfielder most of all and the two top free agents this week are both Cardinals – Aledmys Diaz and NL batting leader Jeremy Hazelbaker. I really like their opportunities for the remainder of this season, especially after they ignited a Cardinals offense that had been flat in the club's opening 0-3 series in Pittsburgh.
In LABR, it appeared I won both players after bidding $6 and $11 on the two Cardinals, respectively. However, due to snafus with the waiver process this week, my Hazelbaker bid was ultimately trumped by an $18 offer from Steve Moyer of Inside Edge.
After watching St. Louis' home opener on Monday afternoon, I felt even worse about losing out. In the game, in which Hazelbaker started in left field, the 28-year-old went 4-for-4, including a triple, raising his batting average to .526 on the young season.
Of course, Moyer will not receive the benefit of Hazelbaker's initial hot streak preceding Monday and certainly, the rookie will cool off. Yet, it does not seem to be a coincidence that I most often come in second place in my FAAB bidding. But that is a topic for another day.
With his recent success, Hazelbaker's story is being repeated often, so I will just share the basics. The one-time Red Sox draftee was languishing in the Dodgers' system and one month into the 2015 season, he was released. The Cardinals were the only organization who called - with a need for a Double-A outfielder.
Hazelbaker tore up the 2015 Texas League with a .900 OPS and raised that to 1.000 after his promotion to the Pacific Coast League, despite only touching .800 in his minor league past. Again a free agent last fall, he returned to the Cardinals for 2016 in gratitude for the confidence they showed in him in 2015.
Despite a strong spring, Hazelbaker was destined to return to Triple-A until the last possible moment – when shortstop Ruben Tejada was injured in the final Grapefruit League contest - and he bought more time in the bigs when oft-injured Tommy Pham was hurt during the second inning on Opening Day.
Speaking of openings, an opportunity for regular playing time on an extended basis may have presented itself for Hazelbaker, in part due to Matt Holliday's winter experiment to learn how to play first base. Every day Holliday is used at first opens up left field for Hazelbaker. The real losers in this scenario could be Matt Adams and Brandon Moss.
Though Hazelbaker has made a few starts in center ahead of Randal Grichuk, it was due to the latter's poor regular season start after a solid spring. I do not expect Hazelbaker to knock Grichuk out of his starting role. Same with Stephen Piscotty in right.
The stories of Diaz, a 25-year-old Cuban, and regular St. Louis shortstop Jhonny Peralta have been intertwined from the time they joined the organization – each as a free agent prior to the 2014 season. Though both secured four-year Major League contracts, the unproven Diaz began his career at Double-A.
The organization's hope at the time was that after a year or two, Diaz would emerge as Peralta's replacement in St. Louis, freeing the aging, mid-30's version of Peralta to move to third base or left field or become a super-sub.
As it has turned out, Peralta's offense as a Cardinal has been as good or better than expected. In fact, he led the 2015 club in home runs and RBI at the break and was named an NL All-Star. His defense, never his strong suit, has remained steady, dulling any expected need to move him off the position.
From his side of the equation, Diaz did nothing to push his way into the MLB picture for most of his first two professional seasons. The first year was ruined by a sore shoulder, perhaps aggravated by his pre-signing workouts after mostly being out of action for several years after leaving Cuba.
Last July, after languishing for most of two seasons in the Cardinals system, Diaz was outrighted – taken off the Cardinals' 40-man roster. Whether it was motivation or sheer coincidence, shortly after, Diaz caught fire at Double-A Springfield, which continued with Triple-A Memphis and extended into the Arizona Fall League.
When Peralta was injured very early in camp this spring and expected to miss the first half, Diaz was thought to have a chance to fill in. Yet with his checkered history and just 17 games of experience at Triple-A, the Cardinals were more comfortable with a veteran - hence they signed Tejada, who had been released by the Mets a few days prior.
Matters changed quickly with the aforementioned injuries to Tejada and Pham, which led the Cards to revisit Diaz. He made his MLB debut just a few days after Hazelbaker, and like the outfielder, Diaz hit immediately. Unlike the Cardinals' other primary option at the position, Jedd Gyorko, Diaz is a natural shortstop, though his defense has been a bit shaky early on.
Diaz has just a few more days to show he can be an everyday player - until Tejada is ready. As long as Diaz continues to perform, I think the Cards would start him over Tejada. In other words, Diaz is in the driver's seat to earn starters' at-bats until at least the All-Star break. Down the road, Peralta's thumb injury could affect his power upon his return, creating more uncertainly from which Diaz could continue to benefit.
In closing, Tout Wars bidding this past weekend offers an interesting comparison to the prices in LABR. While I wanted both Hazelbaker and Diaz in both leagues, my needs were more pronounced in LABR. In other words, my bids were less in Tout and as a result, I lost out on both free agents there. The outfielder fetched $177 (on a basis of $1000) and the shortstop was acquired for $143 by others.
In the big picture, Hazelbaker's price was almost the same in the two leagues, but Diaz went for more than double in Tout in comparable dollars ($14.3 vs. $6 on a basis of $100).
In both industry leagues, owners are showing they are not afraid to spend early. Hoarding FAAB in hopes of mid-season standouts changing leagues is becoming a less and less prevalent strategy.
These two acquisitions could offer their new owners almost a full season of production as a result, so if this pair of new Redbirds are still available, take a hard look at them - and if you want them, bid aggressively.
Brian Walton was the 2009 National League Tout Wars champion, scoring the most points in the league's 17-year history. He also holds the all-time NL Tout single-season records for wins and saves. His work can also be found daily at TheCardinalNation.com and thecardinalnationblog.com. Follow Brian on Twitter.


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The first inkling that Frank Doubleday might change the book publishing business came in 1872, when he bought a printing press in Brooklyn.
He struggled initially, failing to publish a significant book for years.
But give him credit.
He was 10.
From a boy with a beginner's printing press, he grew up to found the Doubleday publishing house, one of the biggest moneymakers and innovators of the 20th century.
He was a shrewd judge of literary talent, printing classics from Rudyard Kipling, Joseph Conrad, Mark Twain and Sinclair Lewis.
And he was a sharp businessman.
Before the late 19th century, publishing was considered a literary avocation of rich men, not a business.
Doubleday made it so, revolutionizing a staid trade by targeting a mass commercial audience.
A marketing wizard, he developed distribution channels that took books into millions of homes.
He organized some of the industry's first national advertising and promotional campaigns.
He came up with innovations such as collected sets of author's works, subscription packages, reprint editions and book clubs.
More Money
One of the first publishers to grasp the importance of literary agents, Doubleday worked to secure better royalties for authors at a time when Henry Holt — who ran a mainstay book firm — summed up most publishers' view: "Royalties exceeding 10% are immoral."
"All of these things mark him as a good forecaster of where 20th century book publishing would go in the U.S.," James West, professor of English at Penn State, told IBD.
"I would certainly use the word visionary with him. To us today it all looks obvious. But back then it took a visionary to analyze book publishing and see how it might be changed for the better."
Doubleday (1862-1934) was born in New York City, son of William Doubleday, a hatter, and Ellen.
After saving up enough money to buy a printing press, he started printing ads and news circulars for local businesses.
When his father's firm failed in 1876, Frank went to work as a copy boy at Scribner & Co. at a weekly salary of $3 — worth $66 now.
He stayed there 18 years, working his way up to business manager for Scribner's Magazine and manager of the subscription department.
By the late 1890s, his relationship with Charles Scribner had soured, so Doubleday quit.
"I gathered that he left Scribner's because my grandfather was too cantankerous," wrote Charles Scribner Jr. in his 1990 memoir, "In the Company of Writers." "He would go to my grandfather and say, 'Don't you think this is a good idea for a book?' My grandfather would cheerfully reply that it was a terrible idea. That happened once too often."
Doubleday hoped to start his own publishing company, but lacked an important asset — money. Still, he figured prominently in American society, counting among his friends Andrew Carnegie. So he turned to the rich financier.
"Pick out the best bank in New York, walk in ... and make them understand that you are doing them a favor by borrowing money from them," Carnegie told him, according to Al Silverman's book "The Time of Their Lives: The Golden Age of Great American Book Publishers, Their Editors and Authors."
"But what if they wouldn't lend me the money?" Doubleday asked.
"You could say," replied his pal, "that Andrew Carnegie would."
Doubleday got the loan. With the $25,000 — worth $714,000 now — he left Scribner's in 1897 and cast his lot with Samuel McClure, forming the publishing company Doubleday & McClure. During its three-year existence, the firm published "The Day's Work" by Kipling, the renowned British novelist.
In the early 1890s, while still working for Scribner's, Doubleday visited Kipling's home in Vermont. The author liked him immediately, and Doubleday became his American publisher, coming out with "The Jungle Book" in 1894.
"Doubleday had a gift for friendship in general, but Kipling was the writer with whom he was closest," West said. "He was probably straightforward and honest with Kipling and laid the situation out as it existed, rather than try to throw out a lot of smokescreens and subterfuges a lot of other American publishers tried to use. He was able to show Kipling how his writings could receive payments from the American markets."
He didn't mind that Kipling had an agent, a deal killer with most publishers in those days.
"He was among the first publishers to welcome the advent of the literary agent," said West. "He knew that agents understood the business side of things better than writers did, and that they put things on a good business relationship. That served him well in the long run and helped tie him with writers."
While Doubleday and Kipling were forming a lasting friendship, the Doubleday-McClure relationship was unraveling.
On The Same Page
On Jan. 1, 1900, Doubleday formed a new partnership with Walter Page, former editor of the Atlantic. The new company — Doubleday, Page & Co. — would publish the works of Conrad, Kipling, Lewis, Booth Tarkington, Edna Ferber, Frank Norris and T. E. Lawrence.
"Doubleday was not a passive publisher," West said. "He went out and found authors and he got his editorial staff to think of book ideas and found authors to write and books and identify markets for the books."
Doubleday took a different tack with Upton Sinclair's 1906 novel, "The Jungle," an expose of the Chicago meatpacking industry. Five publishers rejected the book before it hit Doubleday's desk.
According to Doubleday's "Memoirs of a Publisher," agents for the meatpacking industry threatened to sue him for $1 million — worth $26 million today — if he published "The Jungle."
Doubleday Didn't Yield
His company advertised the book widely and encouraged newspapers to print excerpts in advance of the February 1906 release.
"The Jungle" turned into an international hit that was translated into 17 languages within months. Sales topped 5,000 books in one day alone; they reached the 100,000 mark by the end of 1906.
"He was not afraid to use modern advertising methods to sell books," West said. "The idea of his predecessors was to ... advertise sparingly because it cost, of course, to advertise."
When Doubleday died at age 72, his son, Nelson Doubleday Sr., became chairman, and remained so until his death in 1949.
He had resigned as president in 1946, the year the board changed the name to Doubleday & Co.
Nelson Doubleday Jr. was chairman when the company was sold to the German communications firm Bertelsmann for $475 million in 1986. Doubleday merged with other publishers in 1988 to form Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing and was made part of Random House in 1998. Knopf Doubleday continues today as a publishing group under Random House, with Doubleday operating commercial fiction under a separate imprint.
In July 2013 Random House and Penguin merged, forming Penguin Random House, with estimated annual revenue of nearly $4 billion.
Frank Doubleday could probably sum up the new company's purpose. In 1929, when his firm merged with George H. Doran Co. to form the largest publishing company in the English-speaking world, he spelled out the reason for the merger: "To sell more books."

subset: commoncrawl


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I Massini
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- Swimming pool
- Free parking
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... city, hands down, in the world that I have seen yet. I was in such a bad place yesterday I didn't take in a thing but during my 10 minute walk to the train station this morning I basically had my mouth open in awe the whole time. And my camera was most definitely out - proper tourist style. Last night, in the grand scheme of things, should have been a pretty good night. I got to the hostel and had to wait 4 hours to check in (I am on the final season of Breaking ...
Florentine Family
... center of the snail to make our way back up the way we came. We stop for more shopping and a gelato. Liz takes a break, and since we have time and Liz needs to stop, we take Marcia to see the Duomo (St. Catherine's).
There are two ways to get to the Duomo….one is flat and easy, the other involves about 100-thousand stairs. We took the wrong way. After we finished climbing the stairs, the look on Marcia's face ...
The Day Tegz Fell For An Older Man!
... maybe our day out can start!
It took us about 45 minutes to go in to Florence on the shuttle bus from the campsite, which cost us E13 each. Lyn and I had loved our few days there last summer and were eager to show it to Tegz. The bus dropped us off at the back of the train station at 9.45am and was picking us up again at 5pm.
We walked into the centre and showed Tegz the outdoor and indoor market with all the stalls smelling ...
Who Moved My Cheese
... I was so happy with her work! So, my advice ladies and gents- next time you are travelling abroad, get a new haircut! Trust the locals. I know can say I received an European style haircut:) AND I LOVE IT! Day 11: Sienna Soyoung and I ventured to Sienna for the day. Sarah stayed back to have a personal day, much like I did the day before. We took a train to Sienna and explored it for the afternoon. It was a very beautiful and old city. We lost ourselves in between tall buildings ...
Leaning tower of Pizza :-)
... and it was surprisingly empty around the Leaning Tower as well (empty for a major tourist site, anyway). We took the obligatory pics of us in front of the tower, and chilled out in the sun with the other tourists as well. We managed to find a local bar to have some panini for lunch, rather than eat at the touristy trattoria in the main square which we were happy with. As it was lunchtime and cappuccinos are not allowed at this time in Italy, we both had macchiatos - a bit ...


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L Residence
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Greetings from Singapore!
... we were expecting most things to be expensive. If you love shopping, you will love Singapore! Pretty much every tube station is under a shopping mall of at least 4 stories! As soon as we got to Peter's we went straight for a nap as we had been awake for over 24 hours..! I think we are now on Singapore time but we still wake up in the mornings feeling extremely tired and odd, but it's nothing a coffee from our favourite Singapore cafe The Coffee Bean ...
... let him know how much she is enjoying herself. We have met Barbara twice at dinner so far – and travelling alone after her husband passed away 3 months ago. Brave lady.
The Swedes we helped invited us to Club Fusion for Happy Hour drinks and bought us a couple of rounds of wine – very civilised !! Anna does not drink a lot of alcohol and after two glasses of NZ Sauvignon Blanc, she was whizzy as a wheel !! But we had a good chat ...
Day 13 & 14
... full of buzzing nightlife). We met karum and kaivan there and spent sometime chilling, walking around and ended up chilling by kaivans pool. He has a sick place in central marina and seems to be living the life - Im honestly considering a career or atleast a few years working in singapore. It's clean, pays well, low tax, safe, multi cultural and has good food! What else can you ask for? The following morning we had breakfast at home - again it ...
I was impressed with Singapore from the moment we landed in Changi Airport! What a nice and huge airport. There are orchids everywhere since it's their national flower and lots of other flowers too. Singapore means Lions City because the first person to sail to Singapore from Indonesia in the 13th century thought he saw a lion-most likely a tiger since they roamed the land until the 1900's. The area went back and forth between the ...
10 August (Monkeys and Tourists)
... drink, made of rose water and
basically sugar water. It was very aromatic and colourful. The
bandung was to cool me down from the super-tasty teh alia, or ginger
tea. It is a popular malay/Muslim drink. I tasted mee siam, a dish of
egg noodles in a sweet peanut curry with an egg, cubes of tofu, and a
generous garnish of burning hot chilis! There was also tauhu goreng,
which is a block of fried tofu swimming in peanut sauce and cucumber


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web design inspiration
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Welcome to PlowSite. Notice a fresh look and new features? It's now easier to share photos and videos, find popular topics fast, and enjoy expanded user profiles. If you have any questions, click HELP at the top or bottom of any page, or send an email to firstname.lastname@example.com. We welcome your feedback.
My first job of the year (rejection)
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Cause Marketing Outside Its Credo?
Earlier this year
Outside Magazine
offered a challenging cause marketing promotion that I only just came across. For the April 'Green Issue,' when you bought the magazine at newsstands,
made a $1 donation to the Conservation Alliance up to $50,000.
According to a press release issued in January, the issue would:
"… explore and deliver the concept of 'green' in a proactive, relevant, bold and humorous package. The unparalleled edit lineup in this philanthropic issue… focuses on solutions rather than documenting the world's environmental ills.
… introduces readers to new, sustainable products and technology including wave powered electricity, a zero emission SUV, sustainable clothing and green gear, the future of solar power, and how to navigate the emerging carbon market."
… now in its thirtieth year… has won more than its fair share of peer awards. At its best the writing fairly throws off sparks from its pages and the editing is consistently keen; as good and usually better than any other consumer magazine in the United States. I've read it for years. I still keep in my files a wry, sexy essay written 15 years ago that (I hope) inspires my own writing.
Long before the 'Green Issue,'
carved out its own place in the green ethos. For me its very name evokes images of those photos taken from space of our sparkling blue planet.
Cause-related marketing is typically a promotion. And like any promotion it's meant to give your customer base incentive to do something you want it to do. Given
's green branding it seems odd to me that they want to incentivize people to buy more issues on the newsstands. Think of the paper, the trucks that deliver issues, the issues that don't sell and are shipped back or just trashed.
In fairness it may be that
doesn't have the same emerald view of itself that I have of it.
's online media kit says that its readership is:
67 percent male
Average age 40
65 percent managerial/professional
Has a household income of $135,841(!)
The kit makes no mention of their reader's outlook on the earth.
online says it's "dedicated to covering the people, activities, gear, art, and politics of the world outside." Hardly a green manifesto.
Still for me this promotion cuts against
's branding as I perceive it.
What do you think? Have I got
's green credo wrong? Should they be cause marketing around sales of newsstand issues? Feel free to comment.
Conservation Alliance
Green Cause Marketing
Outside Magazine


text: GREENSBORO, N.C. and LAWRENCE, Mass., July 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Unifi, Inc. (NYSE: UFI) continues to drive innovation in the world of recycled textiles with the launch of the REPREVE® Textile Takeback Program. Millions of pounds of textile manufacturing scraps end up in landfills every year and the REPREVE Textile Takeback Program will give fabrics a second chance by recycling them back into REPREVE recycled fibers. Polartec, LLC will partner with Unifi to launch this innovative new program. The Textile Takeback Program is a first of its kind recycling program that recycles various polyester based fabrics; including supply chain waste and post-consumer fabrics that have reached their end of life. This waste is collected, and recycled back into a new REPREVE product offering- the REPREVE Takeback fiber. "The industry continues to focus on ways to reduce textile fabric waste throughout the supply chain, however as a bi-product of manufacturing, waste is still created," said Roger Berrier, president and COO for Unifi. "The Textile Takeback Program provides the industry with a responsible and sustainable outlet for this waste, while expanding the growth and reach of the REPREVE brand." Both Unifi and Polartec have worked with military apparel manufacturer, Peckham Inc. of Lansing, Michigan, to define a process allowing for Polartec polyester cut-waste to be recycled back into Polartec's exclusive REPREVE 100 branded yarn. This new yarn will now include a blend of recycled bottles and recycled fabrics and will be used to produce performance Polartec fabrics for the outdoor apparel market. "In typical garment manufacturing, 10 to 20 percent of all fabric produced becomes cut-waste left over after panels are cut," says Andy Vecchione, president and CEO of Polartec. "This fabric has historically been down cycled into batting or simply sent to the landfill. We can now use this waste stream to create new, first-quality performance Polartec fabrics. Polartec has pioneered the recycled fabric category and we continue our commitment to reducing our overall footprint. In 2011, over 40% of our total production will utilize REPREVE 100 recycled yarns and we expect that number to grow in 2012 and beyond." The REPREVE Textile Takeback Program will be expanding to include other qualified partners in the near future.


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Dog Walkers in Lake Waccamaw, NC
Book a dog walker to give your dog a 30-minute walk around your neighborhood.
Experience exceptional service and a personalized match
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We've been there: rushing home during every lunch break to take the dog for a quick walk around the block. Good news: You can easily find and book Lake Waccamaw dog walking services on Rover. Whether you need a one-time dog walker or someone to take your dog for a stroll every day, we've got you covered. Exercise for your dog and peace of mind for you are just a few clicks away. Every walk is covered by premium pet insurance, at no extra cost to you. You can even ask your dog walker to send you a photo update. Whether you already have a favorite pet sitter on Rover or you're new to the site, we'd love to connect you with a dog walker in Lake Waccamaw the next time you're unavailable. We're confident you and your dog will love it.
Wondering what you should be paying for a walk? Check out our standard dog walking rates for a comparison.


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Installation Problem with ParaView 3.12.0 on Scientific Linux 5.7
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Dear All,
Being a newbie in Linux I am trying to install Openfoam-ParaView on Scientific Linux 5.7. I would be grateful to a forum member who could provide me with a hint to solve a problem with ParaView 3.12.0 installation.
I have to compile OpenFOAM and ParaView from source packages. After downloading OpenFOAM-2.1.1.tgz and ThirdParty-2.1.1.tgz, unpacking them I have finally succeeded in compiling OpenFOAM (after installing gcc-4.7.1).
Now, however, I am struggling with the compilation process of ParaView. First, I installed cmake (version 2.8.9) and Qt (version 4.7.3). Nevertheless, something is still wrong with the installation process of ParaView. I attach the make.log file and would be very grateful if someone could tell me what the problem is and how I can manage it.
Thank you!
perhaps this is no the answer you expected and I think there are others who can help you here.
But if you can´t manage it to install Paraview, you can download the binaries from the homepage and work with these.
Greetings to all!
@Wley: I've been testing and writing instructions on how to build OpenFOAM and ParaView in several Linux Distributions. Last night I finished writing instructions for CentOS 5.8 + OpenFOAM 2.1.1 and ParaView 3.12.0: http://openfoamwiki.net/index.php/In...HEL#CentOS_5.8
But there are big differences in versions, at least related to Gcc and Qt. Since you're trying to build with Gcc 4.7.1, ParaView needs a small fix:
cd $WM_THIRD_PARTY_DIR
As for Qt: it's better to use Qt 4.6.4, because there is a very annoying bug in Qt 4.7.3: https://bugreports.qt-project.org/browse/QTBUG-18910
You'll find on the first link on this post instructions for easily getting and building Qt 4.6.4 and ParaView with. Along with the fix I mentioned afterwards, you should get a working installation after a few hours of compiling ;)
Best regards,
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