AmateurGm.com

It’s draft day and you find yourself without the first pick. What do you do? If you can’t have Albert Pujols then what is the point of even playing right? Well maybe so, but there are other options and life isn’t over. How do you determine which first basemen to take? Well I put the question to three of our crack (or maybe crackpot) analysts here at AmateurGm.com. If given the choice between Ryan Howard, Prince Fielder or Justin Morneau who do you take as your starting first baseman? Jeff Walter – In fantasy baseball you need power numbers out of your first base position, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a better power hitter in baseball today than Ryan [...]

• 1 Comment
• Category: Fantasy, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals
• Tagged as Albert Pujols, Justin Morneau, Prince Fielder, Ryan Howard

After taking a look at the bounceback candidates in the AL last week, it’s time to take a look at the NL, where some quality names are in line for bounceback seasons in 2010. Brandon Webb (RHP) Arizona Diamondbacks – The former 2006 NL Cy Young winner made only one appearance last season after experiencing shoulder pain during his Opening Day start. After a few months of rest and rehab, Webb finally decided to undergo arthroscopic right shoulder surgery last August, which ended his season. In his last full season in 2008, Webb almost added his second NL Cy Young Award as he finished the season with a 22-7 record to go along with a 3.30 ERA in 226.2 IP. [...]

• 3 Comments
• Category: Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago Cubs, Fantasy, Miami Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers, New York Mets, Teams
• Tagged as Brandon Webb, Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado, Carlos Zambrano, Corey Hart, Dan Haren, David Wright, Jason Bay, Jose Reyes, Ricky Nolasco

The Detroit Tigers and free agent Johnny Damon agreed to a 1 year $8 million dollar deal today.  Damon who has spent the majority of this off season on the sidelines due to his contract demands finally settled for patrolling left field in Motown this season. Damon had originally been seeking a 2 year $14 million dollar deal and wanted to return to the Bronx, but Brian Cashman went another direction and signed outfielder Randy Winn to replace Damon. There was quite a bit of confusion as to what was actually offered to Damon by the Yankees. Scott Boras said that the Yankees never submitted a formal offer to his client.The Chicago White Sox were actually rumored to be involved [...]

• 0 Comments
• Category: Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, Fantasy, Free Agents, New York Yankees, Teams
• Tagged as Brian Cashman, Jeremy Bonderman, Johnny Damon, kenny williams, Magglio Ordonez, Nate Robertson, Randy Winn, Scott Boras

The Houston Astros have extended their general manager Ed Wade for another 2 years. The announcement was made today at their Orlando spring training complex when the pitchers and catchers officially reported. Wade was hired back in September of 2007. Wade is in his 34th season in professional baseball. Prior to his stint with the Astros, he served as the Philadelphia Phillies GM from 1998-2005 and then spent two seasons (2006-07) as a scout for the San Diego Padres. Owner Drayton McLane had a glowing review of Wade’s tenure so far: “Ed is an outstanding baseball man. He’s organized and has surrounded himself with a good, solid staff. Much of the work Ed did in Philadelphia had a lot to [...]

• 0 Comments
• Category: Chicago White Sox, Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, San Diego Padres, Teams
• Tagged as Drayton McLane, Ed Wade

The National League prides themselves on on being more defense oriented. Where pitching and fielding are more highly regarded then with their DH/pound you into submission younger siblings in the AL. The NL East has plethora of different management strategies. The Mets spend money like it is going out of style and the Marlins are such tight wads that both MLB brass and the MLBPA forced them to loosen up the purse strings in the coming seasons. So who is doing it right? Which team has spent their money wisely on their pitching and which ones are just using their dollars as kindling? Philadelphia Phillies: Historically the Phillies are one of the least successful organizations in baseball with dubious honor [...]

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• Category: Atlanta Braves, Fantasy, Free Agents, Miami Marlins, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Teams, Washington Nationals
• Tagged as Anibal Sanchez, Chien-Ming Wang, Chris Volstad, Cole Hamels, Derek Lowe, Fernando Nieve, Garrett Mock, Greg Maddux, Hisanori Takahashi, J.A. Happ, J.D. Martin, Jair Jurrjens, Jamie Moyer, Jason Marquis, Joe Blanton, Johan Santana, John Lannan, John Maine, Jon Niese, Jordan Zimmermann, Josh Johnson, Kenshin Kawakami, Mike Pelfrey, Oliver Perez, Phil Neikro, Ricky Nolasco, roy halladay, Scott Olsen, Sean West, Steven Strasburg, Tim Hudson, Tommy Hanson, Warren Spahn

Mark Shapiro will be moving up to assume the role of club president after the 2010 campaign. Chris Antonetti is rumored to be the replacement for Shapiro. Currently Antonetti is Shapiro’s assistant. Shapiro has had the role of general manager for the Indians going on nine seasons. He started with the Indians back in 1992 and has worked his way up to the top. Shapiro earn the “Executive of the Year” award in 2005 and 2007. Bud Selig also named him to the recently established “On-Field Matters” committee. Antonetti first job in major league baseball was with the Montreal Expos. As assistant to Shapiro, Antonetti has worked very closely with the contract negotiations and he also oversees the farm system, [...]

• 1 Comment
• Category: Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Royals, Rumors, Teams
• Tagged as Bud Selig, Chris Antonetti, Eric Wedge, Grady Sizemore, Mark Shapiro, Shin-Soo Choo

After taking a look at some potential breakout candidates from both leagues, I want to shift gears a little and take a look at some potential bounceback candidates from each league. Bounceback candidates are players that are poised to rebound from unsuccessful 2009 seasons due to injuries or lack of production. Today, I want to take a look at some candidates from the American League. Daisuke Matsuzaka (RHP) Boston Red Sox – Last season was a miserable season for the former Japanese ace. Matsuzaka revealed this off season that he hid a groin injury, that he sustained in the World Baseball Classic, from the Red Sox last season. To compensate for his groin injury, Matsuzaka’s mechanics were altered which led [...]

• 5 Comments
• Category: Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Fantasy, Oakland Athletics, San Diego Padres, Tampa Bay Rays, Teams, Texas Rangers
• Tagged as B.J. Upton, Ben Sheets, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Grady Sizemore, Jake Peavy, Josh Hamilton

“Well to all teams that didn’t make the playoffs, the Yankees have set the precedent on how to bounce back and win the World Series… Spend $500 million on the best Free Agents available…. Wait.. Your team cant do that???  Sorry, thanks for playing.” I found this post the other day as I was browsing through the 2009 World Series stories at MLB.com.  It instantly got me thinking, do MLB general managers really buy teams or is this some ticked off Pirates fan?  Could this possibly be a disgruntled New York Mets fan that isn’t happy because his team didn’t buy the “right” players?  Can teams and championships simply be bought by just shelling out enough money, with a nice [...]

• 6 Comments
• Category: Free Agents, Miami Marlins, Minnesota Twins, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates, Tampa Bay Rays, Teams
• Tagged as Bud Selig

Tim Lincecum and the San Francisco Giants have reach an agreement on a 2 year deal at $23 million just narrowly avoiding an arbitration case. Originally the Giants offered 2 years $21 million and Lincecum’s people countered at 2years $25million so it seems as though they split the difference. Lincecum is arguably the most talented pitcher in the major league’s at the moment. He has a career record of 40-17 with a 2.90 career ERA. He has won the Cy Young in both of his first 2 years in the league.  The Giants really need to consider locking him up for longer then 2 years. With Felix Hernandez, Zach Greinke and Justin Verlander receiving lucrative multi-year deals this off season [...]

• 0 Comments
• Category: San Francisco Giants, Teams
• Tagged as Felix Hernandez, Justin Verlander, Tim Lincecum

Yesterday, I took a look at some potential breakout candidates in the American League for 2010. Today, I want to focus on the National League, where the chances for some breakout performances are great. Last season, such names as Jayson Werth, Matt Kemp, Justin Upton, Mark Reynolds, and Adam Wainwright had breakout seasons that have their future fantasy owners excited for what they might bring to their teams this year. Here are some players who have the chance to breakout this season in the NL. Joey Votto (1B) Cincinnati Reds – The player who has arguably had the most success of any player on this list is the most likely candidate to have a breakthrough performance this season. Despite missing [...]

• 1 Comment
• Category: Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, Colorado Rockies, Fantasy, Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals, Teams
• Tagged as Adam Wainwright, Andrew McCutchen, Carlos Gonzalez, Clayton Kershaw, Grady Sizemore, Jay Bruce, Jayson Werth, Joey Votto, Justin Upton, Mark Reynolds, Matt Kemp, Tommy Hanson, Yovani Gallardo