{"id":63,"date":"2010-03-23T05:05:14","date_gmt":"2010-03-23T10:05:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/?p=63"},"modified":"2010-05-09T04:42:39","modified_gmt":"2010-05-09T09:42:39","slug":"r-i-p-ted-denslow-by-daniel-dee-clark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/archives\/63","title":{"rendered":"R.I.P Ted Denslow"},"content":{"rendered":"
March 23 , 2010<\/div>\n

\"baseketball\"<\/p>\n

Ted Denslow, deceased former owner of the Milwaukee Beers baseketball club, fought to prevent unionization, free agency, and corporate tie-ins from contaminating his league.\u00a0 In the process he allowed his players to develop the brotherhood and camaraderie that can only come through shared experiences together on the field of battle, as both friends and foes.<\/p>\n

Every March I am blessed to participate in a fantasy draft with a mixture of childhood friends, ex-college team\/roommates, and a couple of the owner\u2019s girlfriends (they must really love us).\u00a0 This is the league\u2019s 6th season and my 5th year participating.\u00a0 In the last five years, the league has evolved considerably with some owners retiring, others taking their places, and all of our lives evolving with the league.\u00a0 When the league was in its infancy, some of the current owners were underclassmen in high school while others were approaching undergraduate graduation day.\u00a0 A lot has changed since those early days of our league, and most of the owners now are college graduates and embarking on new adventures both professionally and personally.\u00a0 One owner is married.\u00a0 Another has left the country to attend something called the Royal Veterinary Academy, and our newest member recently began a post-baccalaureate pre-med program in St Louis where she lives with one of the league\u2019s original owners.\u00a0 The champions from the past four seasons now reside in London, Washington D.C., Iowa, and Chicago.\u00a0 The Iowan was born and raised in Honolulu, and I suspect he will return there upon his graduation in May.\u00a0 Who wouldn\u2019t want to return to tropical paradise?<\/p>\n

I consider myself incredibly fortunate to have fantasy baseball in my life.\u00a0 When I tried explaining to my fellow student dentists how I could take an afternoon out of a Saturday to drop all of my studies (we had a big physiology test Monday) to play fake sports, I began with how much time and effort goes into preparing for the draft and how important it was that I am comfortable with the draft kit.\u00a0 We use ESPN<\/a><\/strong>, and the folks there seem to alter it annually.\u00a0 My classmates naturally questioned what I win if my team were to come in first.\u00a0 I enthusiastically replied \u201cAlbert Pujols in 2011!\u201d\u00a0 They were expecting some monetary sum.\u00a0 I began telling them that none of the owners actually have any money, which was my default response in yesteryear.\u00a0 That is no longer even the case.\u00a0\u00a0 I had forgotten that some of the owners do indeed have positive income.\u00a0 This dialogue reminded me of what I love the absolute most about fantasy: the opportunity to continue to share something I love with many of the people I love with who I otherwise might lose touch due to jobs, families, or distance.\u00a0 While I may lose track of some of the other league owners from October through February, I have March through September to catch up with them and reinforce the friendships that were built away from the laptop, smartphone, and television.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t get me wrong, I truly do prepare for the draft.\u00a0 I currently own Ron Shandler\u2019s Baseball Forecaster<\/strong><\/span><\/a> for this season as well as the two prior to this one and Rotoworld\u2019s guide.\u00a0 I have a very firm grasp on their discrepancies and reasoning behind their projections.\u00a0 I find Shandler to be very convincing, but I can understand why others might prefer Rotoworld\u2019s<\/a><\/strong> style.\u00a0 I read Hardball Times<\/strong><\/a>, Baseball America<\/a><\/strong>, and espn.com<\/a><\/strong> every day.\u00a0 The point is that I care if I win.\u00a0 A lot.\u00a0 I never have before, but have also never finished outside the top 4.\u00a0 I check my team a minimum of 15 times daily during the season, but I tend to behave compulsively.\u00a0 Five would probably be sufficient.\u00a0 Either way, I believe that some day I will win.\u00a0 Maybe it will happen this fall.<\/p>\n

Win or lose.\u00a0 First or last.\u00a0 It really matters little in predicting what I will be doing next March.\u00a0 Now that our 2010 draft is finalized and the season is set to begin, I have a six-month roller coaster to ride into October.\u00a0 When I exit the coaster, I will bid farewell to the Denslow Cup 2010 and the other owners for the winter.\u00a0 I will then begin preparing for the upcoming draft, like I have done for the last five years and intend to do for the next fifty.\u00a0 I can\u2019t wait to pick the conversation back up.\u00a0 My bet is it will begin right where it left off five months prior.<\/p>\n

You know, I think to some extent that\u2019s what Mr. Denslow wanted out of his league too.<\/p>\n

Alright.\u00a0 Now let\u2019s discuss some real baseball.\u00a0 One of the biggest question marks of the spring \u2013 and it seems like there are a few more than usual this March \u2013 has been hovering around the campus of the College of Southern Nevada where 17-year old Bryce Harper<\/strong> is leading the school in every meaningful offensive statistic while handing the bulk of the team\u2019s backstop duties and spending a handful innings in the outfield and at third.\u00a0 It took the phenom just two weeks to move himself into the JUCO\u2019s cleanup role on offense.\u00a0 With a line of .413\/.505\/.875 (as of March 13th) to go along with his six stolen bases and sub-2.00 pop-to-pop time, Harper is in the process of justifying the media hype that began when he graced the cover of Sports Illustrated and was touted as little less than a messianic figure soon to be a household name.\u00a0\u00a0 While most players his age are fighting to make their varsity high school teams, Bryce Harper is working to solidify his status as the consensus number one prospect headed into this June\u2019s MLB amateur draft.\u00a0 Is he doing that?<\/p>\n

This is not a question anyone would even have to answer had Harper not dropped out of Las Vegas High School in hopes of beginning his professional career a year early.\u00a0 MLB demands that dropouts sit out a year before they can be drafted.\u00a0 Harper\u2019s route to the draft is unprecedented but indeed justified given his virtual lock on a team\u2019s top pick.\u00a0 The question is whether or not that pick will be the Nationals\u2019 first overall pick.\u00a0 Imagine this: Stephen Strasburg tossing to Bryce Harper in 4 years.\u00a0 Some scouts have voiced concern over Harper\u2019s unorthodox hitting mechanics, which likely leads to his rather large collection of strikeouts.\u00a0 He currently has 19 through 80 AB\u2019s.\u00a0 Scouts may use Harper\u2019s 16 walks to suggest that he has some understanding of the strike zone as well as his justifiable immaturity relative to the 19, 20, and 21-year old pitchers he is facing at Southern Nevada.\u00a0 While the strikeouts are worrisome, his power is jaw-dropping.\u00a0 Already with a HR rate of one in every 10 AB\u2019s, Harper\u2019s power will only grow as his body matures and he spends more time in a gym.\u00a0 He is currently regarded as the number one power option in the draft ahead of UT-Arlington\u2019s Michael Choice<\/strong>, the collegiate junior who led Team USA in slugging percentage last summer.\u00a0 Choice currently outweighs Harper by twenty pounds and is approximately four years older as well.\u00a0 Always with players like Harper, signability questions arise.\u00a0 Given the $15.1 million dollars that Strasburg was awarded in last year\u2019s draft, Harper\u2019s wishes still likely be even greater.\u00a0 Given his age, he probably has more room to bargain than any American born player in history, which only equates to an even higher price tag.\u00a0 Driving up his cost even further is the fact that Harper is represented by Scott Boras.<\/p>\n

Another question surrounding Harper is what position he will play in the big leagues.\u00a0 Like all players of Harper\u2019s mold, the risk of spending big money on a player likely to accrue less than 500 AB\u2019s per season can scare scouts and front offices, especially given that lower body injuries are much more common with catchers.\u00a0 Additionally confusing is the speed Harper possesses that would ultimately be wasted behind the plate.\u00a0 Harper is not the first talent to face these issues. The Giants have been barraged this spring with questions regarding where Buster Posey<\/strong> will eventually log the most innings as a big leaguer.\u00a0 In an utterly baffling move, the Giants signed the aging Bengie Molina<\/strong> to receive the majority of pitches this season while Posey again proves his worth in the high minors.\u00a0 Fans and media have suggested that Posey should slide over to another position on defense to get his massive bat in the lineup, but the value of a slugging catcher has forced them to deny such possibilities.\u00a0 Harper may follow a similar path to the big leagues full of positional and time-of-arrival question marks.While a great deal of uncertainty remains with Bryce Harper, one thing is certain.\u00a0 It seems impossible that a team like the Nationals would pass on the potential superstardom of a player with Harper\u2019s endless upside.\u00a0 Unfortunately for them, it also seems impossible that an organization that has never finished about .500 could spend in the neighborhood of $20 million on a player so far from big league arrival.\u00a0 Don\u2019t be surprised if Harper falls out of the top few picks in June.\u00a0 When he does, however, realize that he is not falling because he is anything other than the premier offensive prospect ever.\u00a0 Despite the strikeouts, Bryce Harper has the athletic tools and, at least superficially, the drive to win to justify this claim.\u00a0 At his current homerun rate, he may break a number of records at Southern Nevada this spring.\u00a0 Barring injury, come this June, he likely will break another record: that for amateur price tag.<\/p>\n

How about a little fantasy news?\u00a0 Since Joe Nathan<\/strong> is likely out for the year, word around front offices is that the Twins are actively pursuing a number of seasoned late-inning veteran aces.\u00a0 Among those mentioned are Toronto\u2019s Jason Frasor<\/strong>, San Diego\u2019s Heath Bell<\/strong>, and a couple of guys from within including (unfortunately) Francisco Liriano<\/strong>.\u00a0 Let\u2019s address Frasor first.\u00a0 Last season with the Jays, Frasor posted essentially a 1 WHIP and a 1:1 K\/IP.\u00a0 These are very comparable to the Mo Riveras and Joe Nathans of the closing ranks.\u00a0 Bell was also elite, but has more strikeout stuff (not by much).\u00a0 The Blue Jays and Padres are both deeply entrenched in the rebuilding phase, and neither team will be relevant in their respective divisions for the foreseeable future.\u00a0 The Twins, however, absolutely must be relevant and must at the very minimum challenge for their divisional title.\u00a0 The opening of Target Field and the contract negotiations with Mr. Twin, Joe Mauer<\/strong>, mean that games cannot be blown in the 9th this season.\u00a0 So who should fantasy owners be picking up off of free agency or trading for in deep mixed leagues?\u00a0 With Frasor and Bell already atop their current clubs\u2019 bullpen depth charts, these players are likely owned in all leagues.\u00a0 In San Diego, a very intriguing young hurler named Mike Adams<\/strong> deserves some consideration by all owners needing saves.\u00a0 Last season Adams posted a 0.74 WHIP while striking out nearly 3 times as many guys as he walked with a K\/9 of nearly 9.\u00a0 So he pretty much checked off all the categories we care about.\u00a0 Monitor what the Padres do with Bell all season, because as soon as his dealing becomes imminent \u2013 and it will \u2013 Adams needs to be owned.\u00a0 Toronto\u2019s situation is less certain.\u00a0 Yeah, they signed Kevin Gregg <\/strong>this winter, but should we care?\u00a0 Gregg, as flyballer, is often at the mercy of the environment he is throwing in.\u00a0 He had a decent level of success in Miami because the Marlins play on a football field, but Gregg\u2019s subsurface numbers last season were better than a casual glance would suggest.\u00a0 Personally, I anticipate him getting the nod in Toronto if Frasor is traded over Scott Downs<\/strong>.\u00a0 Downs is frankly a better pitcher than Gregg statistically, but his handedness and lack of ninth inning track record make him more of a darkhorse to accumulate any noticeable number of saves this year.\u00a0 I hate that we have to even consider this, because the Twins have other good late inning options in Jon Rauch<\/strong>, Matt Guerrier<\/strong>, and Pat Neshek<\/strong> (if he is healthy and happy), but the idiots in the Twin Cities have actually suggested using Liriano in a bullpen role.\u00a0 Liriano was spectacular this winter and may be the Cy Young of the Grapefruit League.\u00a0 Why not let young pitchers heal from TJS at their own pace?\u00a0 No wonder these guys built a stadium outside in the Arctic.\u00a0 Anyway, just pray this doesn\u2019t come to fruition, not because of fantasy value, but because Liriano is so exciting and Minnesota needs a true ace in a year that Minnesota just needs.<\/p>\n

Spring Training stuff.\u00a0 Strasburg<\/strong> was sent down.\u00a0 No surprise here.\u00a0 Just wait, though.\u00a0 From what we saw from him this March, he is the real deal and will immediately become the ace the Nats need.\u00a0 The Braves have mentioned the possibility of using newly acquired Melky Cabrera<\/strong> at the top of the order occasionally while moving Nate McLouth out of the role and into something resembling a weighted platoon situation.\u00a0 Melky has proven one thing since becoming a big leaguer: he has a great chance to hit fungo grounders once his career as a AAAA player ends.\u00a0 Literally half the balls he hit last season were GB\u2019s.\u00a0 This guy sucks.\u00a0 That being said, I have to give some love to the Braves for the deal that sent the harmless hitter to Atlanta because it also brought lefty bullpen arm, Mike Dunn, over.\u00a0 Mike Dunn<\/strong> went to high school about 3 minutes from where I live, and I always have love for clubs that give my old teammates\/rivals opportunities.\u00a0 Dunn would have stood a tougher chance of making the big squad with the Yanks.\u00a0 Now the Braves have two young New Mexicans throwing for them (the other being 24-year old 4th rounder, James Parr<\/strong>).\u00a0 Other New Mexicans standing a chance to make some noise this season are Moriarty High grad, Kyle Blanks<\/strong>, and Carlsbad High grad, Cody Ross<\/strong>.\u00a0 Both of these players have already had varying degrees of success at the big league level, and both look like they may have some nice careers ahead of them, especially if they can both make contact a little more frequently.<\/p>\n

I got to visit a new venue last night.\u00a0 I was able to catch a game between Dallas Baptist and Lafayette at Patriot Field in Dallas.\u00a0 The venue was very sweet, especially for a smaller college.\u00a0 Baptist thumped Lafayette, but that was to be expected from the perennial D2 powers.<\/p>\n

Back home in Farmington a potential meeting between rivals and annual state title front-runners FHS and Piedra Vista was thwarted when PV was unable to top Monument. Colorado\u2019s Fruita High.\u00a0 This is disappointing.\u00a0 Neither Farmington squad \u2013 both of which are under new management \u2013 has looked terribly sharp this spring.\u00a0 Expect that to change come April and May as both squads return a lot of talent and experience.<\/p>\n

Grinnell College<\/strong> is on their way to Vero Beach for their annual spring break trip.\u00a0 We all wish them luck.\u00a0 They will suit up against Amherst tomorrow in what\u2019s sure to be an all-out nerdfest.\u00a0 Maybe afterward the two teams can go toe to toe in a spelling bee or science fair.\u00a0 Sophomore and reigning co-Midwest Conference player of the year, Mike Nodzenski<\/strong>, has been a little banged up this March.\u00a0 Word on the street is that he may have been injured during a team-building exercise that may or may not have involved combat.\u00a0 Here\u2019s to Nodz\u2019s speedy recovery and another great season for him and the Pioneers.
\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

March 23 , 2010 Ted Denslow, deceased former owner of the Milwaukee Beers baseketball club, fought to prevent unionization, free agency, and corporate tie-ins from contaminating his league.\u00a0 In the process he allowed his players to develop the brotherhood and camaraderie that can only come through shared experiences together on the field of battle, as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7,15,8,6,9,11,13,10,14],"tags":[21,25,30,26,29,47,48,34,49,24,33,45,32,35,31,39,37,46,3456,40,43,27,36,44,50,41,22,23,28,38,42],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":307,"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63\/revisions\/307"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}