Going by a
nickname that has stuck since his High School times over 15 years ago, Mojo has
been playing fantasy baseball and football since 1989 in various online and
local leagues. Over that time he built a reputation as an opinionated, sometimes
loud-mouthed, owner that often built websites for his leagues just to have a
vent for all his ideas about players and teams. Mojo's work has also been
featured in such places as FOXSports.com, and it has only
made his ego and mouth that much bigger.
Your Weekly Stop By The Fantasy Baseball Water Cooler...
THIS image makes Mojo have a rather unpleasant physical reaction.
Howdy buckaroos! I am back from my one week hiatus as I turned the ripe, young age of 36 years old last week. Thank you, thank you! The birthday wishes I received were wonderful. You like me, you really, really like me!
This week I will dive into the New York Yankees wallet and come out with my feelings on the entire Roger Clemens signing. I will sum it up right here first and then get into it more below.
PUKE!
Yes I know you can never count the Yankees out with the offense they have, but give me a break. Does EVERY pro sports athlete have to become a sell out?! I hope he enjoys pitching for a team that will hate him unless he is a stud, for fans that will boo him unless he throws a shut out every night and for an owner that will pay him anything he wants just to show u…..ok, that last one isn’t so bad.
Weekly Mojo: Sell Out
So, as I pointed out above Clemens is a Yankee again. After all his talk about wanting to take some time and see how teams pan out to start the year he picks a team 1 game out of last place with virtually no bullpen to support him. He picked them for one reason and one reason only – MONEY. He could have gone to the first place Red Sox and become a hero. Even a half way descent year would have been appreciated. Heck, just picking them over George Steinbrenner’s bottomless wallet would have been enough for Sox fans.
So what does he get for selling his soul? He gets $28 million for the year, prorated. If he is in uniform by the end of May, he will earn almost $20 million for the season. The Sox offered him about $12 million to finish the year. So thereby making the price to sell your soul equal $8 million. Now, to you or me, that seems like a bargain. But Clemens is already a millionaire, several times over. He is just being greedy now.
I took the time to check out a few things online to see what exactly he might “need” that extra $8 million for.
1. He could buy everyone on the team one of Donald Trump’s Steak Connoisseur Collections valued at a messily $1000 each. Maybe the club house could use a new Sopranos pinball machine so the season never has to end. That would only dent him for some spare change to the tune of $5000.
2. Maybe he is wondering what it feels like to fly in space but can’t yet afford a trip with a Russian space program. Fear not though, for only about $4000 he can enroll in the ZERO-G Weightless Experience program and float around a couple times a week.
3. If getting to and from the game becomes a hassle he could pony up $15,000 for his own Badonkadonk Land Cruiser & Tank. It is built with an armored shell and even includes a 400 watt premium sound system.
4. If he is in the mood to just blow his entire salary for the year, then I see eBay is selling one of the only US Print $1,000 bills left in the world for $20,995,000.
5. He could throw a game next week if he doesn’t want to pay the extra $995,000 out of his own pocket.
Can you think of anything else he could spend his extra $8 million on that might fill the empty black hole that has most assuredly started to form in his heart? Send me your ideas and I will add them to my list.
Is there a better second baseman right now in the game than B.J. Upton?
Jocks & Jokes
JOCKS
Is there a second baseman in the league playing better today than Upton?
B.J. Upton, (3B, TB) – With 37 strikeouts on the year, Upton leads the American League in whiffs. But he gets my top Jock spot this week because he is also blistering the ball the rest of the time and leading the league in batting average at .371, and for that I love him. He is showing some pop in his bat and has the speed to rack up a few steals. After a few years of waiting for him to appear on the scene, I finally feel as if Upton is for real.
Alex Gonzalez (SS, CIN) – I let him go in a FAAB auction earlier this week for dirt cheap because I had Jeff Kent already in my Middle Infielder spot. I regret that now as he appears to be turning things around in his new home. With two home runs last night he is up to seven on the year. I doubt he will keep his average up all year, but the power could last, especially in the park his home games are in.
Closers (RP, SEA, SD, MIL) – JJ Putz, Trevor Hoffman and Francisco Cordero are all experiencing a nice little run on Saves. Hoffman and Putz got off to slow starts, but have since been on fire. The opportunities are flowing for them and they keep living up to the task set in front of them. I am a firm believer in Closers being a one trick pony, but if you got them, congrats, you are most likely getting the most out of that trick.
JOKES
Alex Gordon (3B, KC) - The Kansas City Royals may continue to carry this young up and comer on their squad, but you should NOT follow suit. Unless you are in a keeper league and have him on the cheap, it is time to cut ties with the dream of Gordon coming on the scene like Ryan Howard did. At this point in time, with a .175 batting average and only two home runs, he is not even any better than Ron Howard would be.
Kei Igawa (SP, NYY) – Igawa was sent to Single-A Tampa on Monday to work with the pitching coaches down there. It is not known yet where he will pitch next, be it Double-A or Triple-A, but it is not going to be in The Show. After paying about $46 million to get him on their squad it seems they would have had a little more patience with him. Are you reading this Clemens?
Julio Lugo (SS, BOS) – Just so the Yankee fans don’t think I am just browbeating their team to death, let me turn some angst towards a Red Sox player. Lugo will get some runs as a product of playing on an offensive powerhouse of a team and he may steal a few more bags than he did last year. But his batting average and lack of power will drag you down in most fantasy formats. His versatility is nice, but don’t look to him to be the foundation of anything unless you plan on rebuilding real soon.
Have a question or comment for Mojo, or want to just give him a shout-out about how great he is? Drop him an email at mojo@sportsgrumblings.com
