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UPPER MANAGEMENT
Fantasy Sports Neighborhood
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Welcome to THE UPPER MANAGEMENT. Fantasy Sports Neighborhood.
You are currently viewing the UM as a guest, which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features.
The UM opened August 17th, 2007 as a handpicked 100 members who were asked to join for their smarts and community involvement. But the word got out that the UM neighborhood is not just your average start up community! .... Members begun jumping in from word of mouth .. and now the UM stands at 300+ members and over 30,000 posts and growing!
The site has it's very own Texas Holdem table which has members playing against each other 24/7! .. MLB Gameday audio only for the community. A live chat room, fantasy leagues with the winner landing up to 100 dollars in prizes. We also have our own FREE Baseball draft kit for our UM members, as well as an upcomming Football draft kit. We run our own monthly MILB prospect list. But most importantly .. The UM has grown into a community of sports friends. So jump in and, join the UM today! |
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Koby Schellenger
Inter-Affiliate
Joined: 08 Sep 2007
Posts: 1471
Location: Madison, WI
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 Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 9:52 pm Post subject: Daisuke Matsuzaka (Non-Red Sox fans only) |
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| Hopefully the title helps keep this rational. What do you make of this guy? HR rate has improved drastically but K- & BB-rates are worse. What does that indicate for the near future & is he going to collapse again in the second half? Was his second half collapse because of being overworked or not good enough or an injury?
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youngbuck8100
Joined: 19 Sep 2007
Posts: 3125
Location: Brookline, MA
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| Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 10:04 pm Post subject: |
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I will be rational, I promise.
I am not too high on Dice-K this season. He has been decent, and is undefated, but still hasnt pitched up to expectations. As you said, he no longer gives up the deadly HR like he used to last season, but he kills himself with walks. And now, unlike last season, he doenst seem to be able to get that big strikeout to get out of a jam. I think that elavated number of walks is a scary thing, and it is only a matter of time before they kill him even worse then they do now. Now, I dont think Dice-K will have as bad of a 2nd half collapse as he did last season. I would say the cause of that collapse last season was fatigue. I still think his production will drop off, but I dont think it will be nearly as drastic as last season. I think overall, Dice-K will have another decent season. He will win 15 or so games, lose probably 10, have an ERA near 4, and strike out around 200.
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Scaps
Joined: 15 Sep 2007
Posts: 599
Location: Boston
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| Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 10:10 pm Post subject: |
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| If you watch Dice-K's starts, the only times he really gets into trouble is when he walks a handful of guys, and that happens because he goes away from his fastball and uses his secondary pitches. He's done more of that this year which is why he's been very good. Last year I got frustrated watching him, his pitch count was always around 100 at the 5 inning mark. That will be why he struggles late in the season. But I do think Dice-K can be one of the best pitchers in baseball. He just needs more consistency.
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Commish
Assistant Admin
Joined: 16 Aug 2007
Posts: 1981
Location: Brooklyn, NY
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| Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 10:12 am Post subject: |
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That is exactly what i think his main problem is. he is not used to being economical in the US. He is used to pitching like 150 pitches with his rubber arm in japan. For some reason that does not translate to here. Here he walks too many guys, throws too many pitches and gets into too much trouble.
I do think he is a smart pitcher and given the time, he can adjust...because when he is on, he is ON
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NDstoverMSU
Joined: 21 Oct 2007
Posts: 460
Location: E.Lansing, MI
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| Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 10:46 am Post subject: |
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I think Dice-K is a beast. Hes a legit number 2 for 2/3 of the majors and number 1 for the other 1/3 IMO. His greatest problem is not something he did. Rather something the media did with all his hype. Remember all that hype about the infamous gyro ball? Also because Boston paid that insane posting fee thats gonna follow him his whole career like a shadow. The best thing for him will be for Yu Daverish to come to the states and get a larger posting fee to take some of the media pressure off him.
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youngbuck8100
Joined: 19 Sep 2007
Posts: 3125
Location: Brookline, MA
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| Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 10:56 am Post subject: |
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| NDstoverMSU wrote: |
| I think Dice-K is a beast. Hes a legit number 2 for 2/3 of the majors and number 1 for the other 1/3 IMO. His greatest problem is not something he did. Rather something the media did with all his hype. Remember all that hype about the infamous gyro ball? Also because Boston paid that insane posting fee thats gonna follow him his whole career like a shadow. The best thing for him will be for Yu Daverish to come to the states and get a larger posting fee to take some of the media pressure off him. |
I disagree that it is too much pressure, but I agree that he was overhyped by the media. When the Red Sox signed him, he was supposed to be the next great Red Sox pitcher. Now, not to say that Dice-K isnt good, but he just isnt as good as the hype was. I dont think he could ever live up to the $52M posting fee, and therefore will always receive some criticizm.
The only way Darvish coming to the MLB will take away some pressure form Dice-K is if he comes to Boston or goes to NY. Dice-K pitches in Boston, the most baseball crazy town ever. No pressure will be removed, unless there is another distraction. If Dice-K cant handle Boston's media coverage, then he will never be a successful pitcher as a member of the Red Sox
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Grid
Joined: 08 Oct 2007
Posts: 2098
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| Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 2:01 pm Post subject: |
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| youngbuck8100 wrote: |
| ...If Dice-K cant handle Boston's media coverage, then he will never be a successful pitcher as a member of the Red Sox |
That should be easy for him since he can't fucking understand them anyway.
I like Dice-K, I think he's figuring it out and he'll be a solid #2 behind Beckett all season.
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youngbuck8100
Joined: 19 Sep 2007
Posts: 3125
Location: Brookline, MA
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| Posted: Thu May 15, 2008 12:05 am Post subject: |
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| Grid wrote: |
| youngbuck8100 wrote: |
| ...If Dice-K cant handle Boston's media coverage, then he will never be a successful pitcher as a member of the Red Sox |
That should be easy for him since he can't fucking understand them anyway.
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Having been lucky enough to meet Dice-K several times last season, I have to say that he understands English very well. I asked him to get me Papelbon's autograph, and he 100% understood what I was saying to him without any gestures, but couldnt respond to me very well. Dice-K's issue is speaking the language, not understanding it. Again, this was last season, so he could possibly speak the language alot more fluently
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Commish
Assistant Admin
Joined: 16 Aug 2007
Posts: 1981
Location: Brooklyn, NY
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| Posted: Thu May 15, 2008 10:17 am Post subject: |
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| youngbuck8100 wrote: |
| Grid wrote: |
| youngbuck8100 wrote: |
| ...If Dice-K cant handle Boston's media coverage, then he will never be a successful pitcher as a member of the Red Sox |
That should be easy for him since he can't fucking understand them anyway.
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Having been lucky enough to meet Dice-K several times last season, I have to say that he understands English very well. I asked him to get me Papelbon's autograph, and he 100% understood what I was saying to him without any gestures, but couldnt respond to me very well. Dice-K's issue is speaking the language, not understanding it. Again, this was last season, so he could possibly speak the language alot more fluently |
so wait....you met Dice-K and asked him to get another players autograph? thats hilarious! lol
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darko
Joined: 19 Sep 2007
Posts: 5340
Location: Melbourne, AUS
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| Posted: Thu May 15, 2008 10:49 am Post subject: Re: Daisuke Matsuzaka (Non-Red Sox fans only) |
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| Koby Schellenger wrote: |
| Hopefully the title helps keep this rational. What do you make of this guy? HR rate has improved drastically but K- & BB-rates are worse. What does that indicate for the near future & is he going to collapse again in the second half? Was his second half collapse because of being overworked or not good enough or an injury? |
It's only 8 starts in 2008 so far so its hard to compare, however.
HR rate - it has decreased dramatically comparing to last year. He's given up only 3 HRs in 47.2 innings so far this year. It's worth pointing out that last year he gave up 3 HRs in his first 45 innings.
BBs - I'm kinda not surprised that he's walking so many. Last year he had games where he struggled to find the plate. In fact he had 8 games last year where he walked 4 batters or more (twice he walked 5 and once he walked 6). In playoffs he walked 17 batters in only 19.2 innings.
He is 6-0 which is kinda surprising (even though he is backed by 1 of the best offenses in baseball). While he is walking so many, his BAA is .170 compared to .246 last year. His BAA was slightly worse in 2nd half. This year's BAA will go up and if he doesnt improve his BB rate he will see his ERA balloon (2.45 right now which numbers will show is a bit of a fluke).
I think that his collapse last year was partly due to being overworked (no injuries - at least that we know of) but he also failed to make adjustments when facing teams for 2nd or 3rd time. Teams would've found his delivery slightly unusual / deceptive and that's why it took them a while to get to him.
For instance:
1. he gave up 3 runs in 7 in his 1st start against Seattle. He then gave up 7 runs in 5 in 2nd start against them. He did pitch well in 2 more starts against Mariners.
2. he dominated Jays in his first 2 starts before getting shelled in his next 2
3. dominated Tigers in 1st start and got shelled in 2nd
For me he is a sell high candidate and not much of a 4.00 - 4.20 ERA type of a guy and not a 2.45 ERA. Lots of his value comes from picking up W because of Boston's offense...
Yeah anyways you probably fell asleep reading this...
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youngbuck8100
Joined: 19 Sep 2007
Posts: 3125
Location: Brookline, MA
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| Posted: Thu May 15, 2008 11:26 pm Post subject: |
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| Commish wrote: |
| youngbuck8100 wrote: |
| Grid wrote: |
| youngbuck8100 wrote: |
| ...If Dice-K cant handle Boston's media coverage, then he will never be a successful pitcher as a member of the Red Sox |
That should be easy for him since he can't fucking understand them anyway.
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Having been lucky enough to meet Dice-K several times last season, I have to say that he understands English very well. I asked him to get me Papelbon's autograph, and he 100% understood what I was saying to him without any gestures, but couldnt respond to me very well. Dice-K's issue is speaking the language, not understanding it. Again, this was last season, so he could possibly speak the language alot more fluently |
so wait....you met Dice-K and asked him to get another players autograph? thats hilarious! lol |
Dice-K and Okajima were autograph whores last season. I have enough Dice-K autographs to give away to all my family members for their birthdays, christmas and any other holiday. Of course, I got Dice-K's autograph before asking him to call over Papelbon, but the point is that he understands english perfectly, and cant really speak it.
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NDstoverMSU
Joined: 21 Oct 2007
Posts: 460
Location: E.Lansing, MI
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| Posted: Thu May 15, 2008 11:50 pm Post subject: |
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| youngbuck8100 wrote: |
| Commish wrote: |
| youngbuck8100 wrote: |
| Grid wrote: |
| youngbuck8100 wrote: |
| ...If Dice-K cant handle Boston's media coverage, then he will never be a successful pitcher as a member of the Red Sox |
That should be easy for him since he can't fucking understand them anyway.
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Having been lucky enough to meet Dice-K several times last season, I have to say that he understands English very well. I asked him to get me Papelbon's autograph, and he 100% understood what I was saying to him without any gestures, but couldnt respond to me very well. Dice-K's issue is speaking the language, not understanding it. Again, this was last season, so he could possibly speak the language alot more fluently |
so wait....you met Dice-K and asked him to get another players autograph? thats hilarious! lol |
Dice-K and Okajima were autograph whores last season. I have enough Dice-K autographs to give away to all my family members for their birthdays, christmas and any other holiday. Of course, I got Dice-K's autograph before asking him to call over Papelbon, but the point is that he understands english perfectly, and cant really speak it. |
So uhh you wanna hook me up with one of those Dice-K Autographs?
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Commish
Assistant Admin
Joined: 16 Aug 2007
Posts: 1981
Location: Brooklyn, NY
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| Posted: Fri May 16, 2008 12:02 pm Post subject: |
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| NDstoverMSU wrote: |
| youngbuck8100 wrote: |
| Commish wrote: |
| youngbuck8100 wrote: |
| Grid wrote: |
| youngbuck8100 wrote: |
| ...If Dice-K cant handle Boston's media coverage, then he will never be a successful pitcher as a member of the Red Sox |
That should be easy for him since he can't fucking understand them anyway.
|
Having been lucky enough to meet Dice-K several times last season, I have to say that he understands English very well. I asked him to get me Papelbon's autograph, and he 100% understood what I was saying to him without any gestures, but couldnt respond to me very well. Dice-K's issue is speaking the language, not understanding it. Again, this was last season, so he could possibly speak the language alot more fluently |
so wait....you met Dice-K and asked him to get another players autograph? thats hilarious! lol |
Dice-K and Okajima were autograph whores last season. I have enough Dice-K autographs to give away to all my family members for their birthdays, christmas and any other holiday. Of course, I got Dice-K's autograph before asking him to call over Papelbon, but the point is that he understands english perfectly, and cant really speak it. |
So uhh you wanna hook me up with one of those Dice-K Autographs? |
yeah, dont bring it up if you dont plan on sharing it with the rest of the class =)
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Derek Jeter 02
Joined: 15 Sep 2007
Posts: 746
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| Posted: Sun May 18, 2008 9:23 am Post subject: |
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| He is a perfect 7-0 with a 2.15 ERA.
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vdogk9
Joined: 14 Sep 2007
Posts: 918
Location: Mars Cheese Castle
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| Posted: Sun May 18, 2008 4:40 pm Post subject: |
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| Derek Jeter 02 wrote: |
| He is a perfect 7-0 with a 2.15 ERA. |
He's pitching with a horseshoe in his back pocket. His strand rate is over 85% - last year it was 69.5%. I don't know what his career norm should be but this is why the walks aren't hurting him - yet. And I don't believe his high strand rate is sustainable because his BABIP (opponents batting average on balls in play) sits at an incredible .224. Last year it was .306 and the major league norm is around .300. When this normalizes - and given his elevated BB/9 - look for an ERA between 4.50 and 5.00. I think he can eventually find success in the US, but no way is he really as good as his record indicates.
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