Dice-K continues to be placed on a pedestal. Sell high!

AL Burners and Turners: The Power of Video

For all of my fellow nerds, pictures are more convincing than pencils.

I grow sick of getting trade proposals from owners where they load emails with rambling sentences full of numbers and projections. If you want to sell players to other owners, don’t tell them, show them.

Streaming video and media sharing sites like Youtube.com have allowed for people to share video easier than ever before. I’m sure at some point most have visited one or more of the risqué sites of this type and have them saved as a “favorites” like a catalog of indecency. I began using sports related video as trade bait during the 2005 fantasy baseball season.  If I want to sell someone in my league on Daisuke Matsuzaka in order to get a big price for him I will post a video clip on the league message board. (http://youtube.com/watch?v=1UL7cb699f8)

Leaving this impressive video on the league Web site for a week can do nothing but increase Matsuzaka's value in any format. One can almost control league perception of a player by utilizing the information at hand.  I have also put a player on the trading block without making it overly obvious. But seeing is believing and it's easily the best method to sell.

You all know I’m right.  

All of you know exactly what I’m talking about. 

I’m not from Missouri, but the “Show Me” state has had it right for over two centuries.    

The problem with statistics is that they’re too subjective and easily disputed.  If I bring up Matsuzaka’s ERA someone can come back with a game-by-game breakdown of his performance showing various holes in that stat. No matter how staged or altered a video may be it’s just an easier sell.   

There is little argument just how impressive a professional athlete can be. Show highlights of his one-hitter or his 98 yard-tackle-breaking touchdown run and the evidence is more persuasive.  It’s the ultimate trade tool.

“Well he was pitching in Japan!”

“But did you see the gyro-movement on that ball?!”

End of conversation.

BURNERS -- A mixture of infield and outfield, power and consistency.

Curtis Granderson, OF, DET – The Tigers center-fielder might be the best

Granderson is more patient this year and he's a distraction to the pitcher while on first base. Need evidence, ask Zack Greinke and his first inning exit on Monday night

  outfielder no one talks about. He is available in 60% of mixed leagues and currently has a .875 OPS. Granderson still strikes out too much leaving an undesirable taste in the category of batting average (career .261 hitter), but last year he scored 90 runs and went deep 19 times.  Granderson has been successful so far this season registering 2 HR, 8 RBIs, and seven runs scored.  It’s reasonable to expect if he stays healthy he will join the 20-20 club this year, score 90 runs and drive in as many.

Lyle Overbay, 1B, TOR – Overbay is struggling early so it’s time to reach out and make an offer for the consistent Toronto first baseman.  Overbay is a career .291 hitter -- with a current .220. mark.  He's yet to go yard and has but 5 RBIs over the first two weeks. The Blue Jays have a solid offense so the opportunity for RBIs and runs scored will come. The loss of Troy Glaus could result in another week of meek numbers from Overbay leaving owners frustrated over his early season slump. He is a quality hitter and a consistent producer that’s guilty of nothing more than starting slow. If you can find a way to acquire the services of this .300-20-90 player – do it.

Joe Crede, 3B – The White Sox third baseman had a breakout season in ’06, hammering 30 home runs while recording 94 RBIs.  So far this year he's yet to go deep, has only 2 RBIs and is hitting.231 with a .512 OPS. If you need power make a move for Crede now while his cost is low.  He hasn’t hit less than 20 home runs the last three seasons and from 2004-2006 Crede has steadily brought his average up from .239 to .283 while lowering his strikeouts from 81 in 2004 to 58 in 2006.

TURNERS- Ditch the second baseman and cash in on an overvalued import.

Brian Roberts, 2B – Roberts represents the Orioles’ offensive concept to a tee, speed over power.  He was drafted in the early rounds of mixed league formats for his ability to steal bases and score runs. While he can and likely will produce in those categories, AL-only owners hoping to see the return of  his 2005 numbers (.902 OPS with 18 HR) will likely be disappointed this year.  Currently Roberts is batting .182, but with second basemen across the board starting slow this season Roberts’ pre-season value is still there. If you move Roberts now you might take a small ROI hit, but as the season moves forward his stock could dip to a three-year low.

Daisuke Matsuzaka, SP – Dice-K might be tough to let go of, especially in Keeper formats, but he’s currently well overvalued and owners can reap the rewards.  After Matsuzaka’s second start this spring it’s obvious that he's human. The Japanese import gave up three runs on eight hits over six innings of work in his last start. Matsuzaka’s average draft position in mixed leagues this winter was 66 but as March concluded he was being taken as early as the 36 pick overall. To put his overblown value into perspective Felix Hernandez’s average position in mixed league drafts was 88. Hernandez has more American major league experience and more upside as a prospect. He might be the second best pitcher in the AL this season behind Johan Santana.  Take advantage of Matsuzaka’s first two starts, the hype surrounding his Red Sox uniform -- and score big. .