Week Ten NFL Game Picks and Over Unders

Quick Picks again...

NFL Week Nine Game Picks and Over Unders

Even Quicker Picks this week....

Atlanta -6.5 and Over 44.5

Tampa Bay +9 and Under 51

Houston -10.5 and Over 42.5

Buffalo -2.5 and Over 45

Kansas City -4.5 and Over 41

San Fran -4.5 and Over 38

Dallas -11 and Over 46

Tebows +7 and Over 41.5

Cincinnati +2.5 and Under 41.5

St. Louis +1 and Over 42

NY Giants +9.5 and Under 51.5

San Diego +5.5 and Over 50

Baltimore +3 and Over 42

Chicago +9 and Under 47

-Fred "Big Derf" Tobin

NFL Week Eight Game Picks and Over/Unders

Sorry for the lack of updates lately, just haven't been able to find time to write.  Quick picks again this week.  Hopefully next week I'll be back going full bore here.

Week Six NFL Game Wrap Up - Jets 24 Dolphins 6

Whew, twelve down, one to go here with my game wrap ups for week six.  Finally time for the Monday Night Football game here, Miami at New York.  Like all of the other wrap ups available here on this blog, this post is going to touch on the game from both a fantasy perspective, and a real world perspective.  And like the rest of the wrap ups, there isn't a need for a big introduction...

Week Six NFL Game Wrap Up - Bears 39 Vikings 10

Second to last game to wrap up here from Week Six, the Sunday Night game, Minnesota at Chicago.  You can find all of the other wrap ups here on my blog already, and they are all structured like this one, containing both real life analysis and fantasy information.  Not much to say in the introduction though, so I'm getting right into the wrap up....

Fantasy Football Pickups And Drops Week Seven 2011

It's pickup and drop time here for week seven.  The pickups are a little late to help most of you with your waiver claims, but it should still help you navigate free agency throughout the week.  Not all of these moves need to be made, and you should always consider your team before doing anything, but here is a short list of guys for you to be picking up or dropping this week...

Week Six NFL Game Wrap Up - Buccaneers 26 Saints 20

Just three more games left to get to this evening as I go game by game through everything that happened in week six in the NFL.  The prior entries are available on the blog, and like this one include both real life analysis and fantasy football analysis.  This entry is for the last afternoon game I have to cover, the Buccaneers and the Saints...

Week Six NFL Game Wrap Up - Patriots 20 Cowboys 16

Yesterday, I ran through all of the morning games, and this afternoon I'm running through all the late and night games from week six.  Right now, it's time for the Dallas at New England game.  This wrap up itself is going to have both a look back at the game for real life purposes and is going to explain the fantasy implications of each game.....

Week Six NFL Game Wrap Up - Raiders 24 Browns 17

Yesterday, I ran through all of the morning games, and this afternoon I've been running through all the late and night games from week six.  Right now, it's time for the Cleveland at Oakland game.  This wrap up itself is going to have both a look back at the game for real life purposes and is going to explain the fantasy implications of each game.....

Week Six NFL Game Wrap Up - Ravens 29 Texans 14

Another day, another game recap here on Big Derf Sports.  Yesterday, I ran through all of the morning games, and this afternoon I'm going to run through all the late and night games from week six, as well as post my add/drop column for fantasy purposes.  Right now, it's time for the Houston at Baltimore game.  This wrap up itself is going to have both a look back at the game for real life purposes and is going to explain the fantasy implications of each game.....

Week Six NFL Game Wrap Up - Eagles 20 Redskins 13

I'm halfway through the game reviews here, and am writing about the last morning game, Philadelphia at Washington.  The recap is going to cover both the real-life and fantasy implications of this game, which had interesting results for both.....

Week Six NFL Game Wrap Up - Steelers 17 Jaguars 13

I'm going game by game again this week, and it's time to wrap up the Jacksonville at Pittsburgh match-up from earlier this week.  Each game has it's own post here on the blog where I break down the game from both a real life perspective and fantasy perspective.   There isn't much to say in terms of of introduction though for any of these posts, so I'm just going to start it here right after the jump...

Week Six NFL Game Wrap Up - Giants 27 Bills 24

I'm going game by game again this week, and it's time to wrap up the Buffalo at New York match-up here this week.  Each game has it's own post here on the blog where I break down the game from both a real life perspective and fantasy perspective.   This is one of the games that I got to see this week, so this post is going to be longer than some of the others from this week...

Week Six NFL Game Wrap Up - Packers 24 Rams 3

I'm going game by game again this week, and it's time to wrap up the St. Louis at Green Bay match-up from this week.  Each game has it's own post here on the blog where I break down the game from both a real life perspective and fantasy perspective.   There isn't much to say in terms of of introduction though for any of these posts, especially for this snoozer of a game, so I'm just going to start it here right after the jump...

Week Six NFL Game Wrap Up - 49ers 25 Lions 19

I'm going game by game again this week, and it's time to wrap up the San Francisco at Detroit match-up here this week.  Each game has it's own post here on the blog where I break down the game from both a real life perspective and fantasy perspective.   There isn't much to say in terms of of introduction though for any of these posts, so I'm just going to start it here right after the jump...

Week Six NFL Game Wrap Up - Bengals 27 Colts 17

I'm going game by game again this week, and it's time to wrap up the Indianapolis at Cincinnati match-up here this week.  Each game has it's own post here on the blog where I break down the game from both a real life perspective and fantasy perspective.   There isn't much to say in terms of of introduction though for any of these posts, so I'm just going to jump right into it here after the jump...

Week Six NFL Game Wrap Up - Falcons 31 Panthers 17

I'm finally getting these game reviews in on time this week.  I'm starting here with the Carolina-Atlanta game, and am going to be posting reviews of every game right through Miami-New York all night tonight into tomorrow morning.  Also will have the fantasy pick up column out tomorrow morning to you can get all of your waiver claims in in time.

Not much else to get into here in the introduction, so click through the jump for my game opinion and of course, fantasy advice...

Fantasy Football Start/Sit Answers - Week Six

I've answered a bunch of questions this week on my twitter account, but I know everyone isn't following me there, and it's hard to follow responses on a timeline, so I'm going to run through all of the questions again here with more detailed answers. I'm also going to do my twitter followers a favor and clean up the spelling on the tweets. If anyone is vigilantly following me on twitter, there is still new content here, as I'm going to mix in some start/sit questions from my own teams....

NFL Week Six Game Picks and Over/Unders

Promised wrap ups of every game from last week, but being sick Monday and busy/working Tuesday and Wednesday had me starting them on Thursday, which was just too late for anyone to read them.  Going to be putting them out starting on Sunday evening this week, which should allow me to wrap up all thirteen games by Tuesday's fantasy add/drop column.


Week Five Totals
Straight Up Picks - 6-7
Picks vs Spread - 5-8
Over/Unders - 6-7
"Bankroll" - Down 5.5 Units


Season To Date Totals
Straight Up Picks - 45-32
Picks vs Spread - 36-38-3
Over/Unders - 38-38-1
"Bankroll" - Down 9.6 Units

Week five was not a good week for me.  It looked like it might be catastrophic until some late game picks winning helped pull me out of a huge early game hole I had dug for myself.  Luckily, I was a little over .500 prior to this week, and a slightly bad week just dragged me slightly below .500.  The vigs are still killing me right now, but I'm one or two good weeks away from being profitable again.

Actually, I suspect one of those good weeks will be this week.  There were plenty of games on last week's schedule that I was nervous about picking, but this week has many more games that I'm confidant in....

Week Five NFL Wrap Up - Steelers 38 Titans 17

Doing individual posts for my Week Five wrap up this week, and am on to the Pittsburgh and Tennessee game from this week.  This was supposed to be a coming out game here for the Titans and the nail in the coffin for the Steelers, but it ended up as a bounce back win for the Steelers.  We'll look at the game from both a real life perspective and a fantasy perspective to cover everything...

Week Five NFL Wrap Up - Raiders 25 Texans 20

Wrapping up Week Five before i move onto the Week Six picks for Friday evening. I'm going game by game to make everything easier to read, and am up to the Raiders and the Texans.  Both real-life reactions and fantasy reactions from Sunday's game coming up.....

Week Five NFL Wrap Up - Bills 31 Eagles 24

Last week, I promise that I would recap all of this weeks games, and while it's a bit late in the week, I'm going to wrap them all up over the next 24 hours before making picks for the fresh slate of week six games.  Each post is going to cover the game from both a real life perspective and a fantasy perspective for both teams involved....

NFL Week Five Game Picks and Over/Unders

Before we get into the picks, I wanted to apologize for the lack of the promised game reviews over the last two days.  Had a router issue that shut down internet at the house, and it made writing and posting the game reviews all but impossible.  Will have reviews for all 13 games next week if I have to post them short hand to twitter from my phone.


Week Four Totals
Straight Up Picks - 8-8
Picks vs Spread - 7-9
Over/Unders - 10-6
"Bankroll" - Up 0.5 Units

Season To Date Totals
Straight Up Picks - 39-25
Picks vs Spread - 31-30-3
Over/Unders - 32-31-1
"Bankroll" - Down 4.1 Units

My first week up! Even if it is just half a unit, I've been picking decently so far this year and have just been losing vigs off the "bankroll", so it felt good to end the week up.

I'm going to hold off on including any upset specials for another week, partially because I was up on the week, and partially because I don't have any upset specials in mind on this weeks slate of games.  That means the format stays the same here this week, though feedback is always welcome in the comments...

Week Four NFL Wrap Up - Bengals 23 Bills 20

As I mentioned in the week five fantasy pickup/drop column, I'm doing the week four wrap up differently this week. Rather than have two big posts, one as game reviews and one for fantasy information, I'm going to instead write little posts for each game that include both my game reactions and fantasy football opinions.

I'm writing about the games in the order they are listed in on the schedule at nfl.com, which means I'm going to be discussing the Bengals upset win over the Bills first...

Fantasy Football Pickups And Drops Week Five 2011

Changing things up here this week.  Pickup and drop column coming out today as usual, but the regular wrap up and Reality of Fantasy columns are getting a change this week.  Instead of two big columns, I'm going to go game by game in much smaller posts over the next two days.  This should allow me to write more about each team without the daunting prospect of having to do all sixteen teams at once.

Also, before we get into the pickups and drops, I'm going to talk a bit of fantasy strategy right after the jump...

NFL Week Four Game Picks And Over/Unders

Week Three Totals
Straight Up Picks - 11-5
Picks vs Spread - 7-8-1
Over/Unders - 8-8
"Bankroll" - Down 2.6 Units

Season To Date Totals
Straight Up Picks - 31-17
Picks vs Spread - 24-21-3
Over/Unders - 22-25-1
"Bankroll" - Down 4.6 Units


That season long negative total is very deceiving...its all vigs. I've won 46 and lost 46 games picks against the spread and totals, so that 4.6 units down is just the cost of betting at -110.  It might force me to add in some upset special picks in the future, as I've had a few underdogs come through as winners already (including the Giants at a theoretical +325 last week).

For now though, it's the same format as the first three weeks of the season, just me giving you picks for every game this weekend...

Fantasy Football Pickups And Drops Week Four 2011

Another week in the books means it's time for new pickups for your fantasy team.  While the studs on your team are important (so important that I have a whole weekly column talking about them) it's also very important to optimize your bench every week, and keep yourself in good shape in the case of an injury to a starter.  That's the purpose of this column, to give you the information on the best guys to add to give your fantasy team the depth of a championship team.  Be sure to check out the prior columns in this series, as some guys aren't covered here that might still be available in your league.

This week we have a few speculative plays due to starting running back issues, and a few receivers that could also step up going forward....

The Reality Of Fantasy Football - Week Three 2011 Fantasy Recap

The week four pickup column is live as this posts, but this is the more important weekly fantasy column on Big Derf Sports in my opinion.  The Reality of Fantasy Football takes a look back at last weeks results and what they mean to the players on your roster already, and what you should take away from this week and use to better your team for the rest of the year.  It's a game by game look at what the fantasy-rostered guys did this week.

The week three wrap up is a good companion piece to this, as it includes information about other players and the teams in general that isn't included in this column as it's not directly fantasy analysis, but can still be fantasy relevant.

We start with an explosive fantasy game for multiple players...

The BDS Week Three NFL Wrap Up

Week three was very interesting.  There were comebacks and upsets galore in the early games followed by a bunch of predictable results but close games the rest of the day (well, except Ravens-Rams).  It's been an interesting first three weeks here in the NFL, but I'm going to cover the big picture around the league in my power rankings later this week, so for now I'm just going to get right into the game by game breakdowns...

NFL Week Three 2011 Game Picks and Over/Unders

Week Two Totals
Straight Up Picks - 12-4
Picks vs Spread - 10-4-2
Over/Unders - 5-10-1
"Bankroll" - -0.4 Units

Season To Date Totals
Straight Up Picks - 20-12
Picks vs Spread - 17-13-2
Over/Unders - 14-17-1
"Bankroll" - -2 Units

After helping an otherwise bad picks day in week one, my Over/Under success rate plummeted in week two. That's life sometimes. Hopefully I can bounce back this week and get back up to even on the year. I'm technically 31-30-3 on "bets" but the vigs have taken their toll on the "bankroll".

Week three should be another good week here, the some of my undervalued teams are starting to see the line movement catch up to them, but there are still plenty of good spots for us to get value.

The Reality Of Fantasy Football - Week Two 2011 Fantasy Recap

While people love pickup columns, it's also important to look back at last week's results when evaluating your fantasy roster, and that's what the Reality of Fantasy Football is all about.

Unfortunately, I lost half of this column and it's companion piece about the real life implications of each game to computer problems, so this is going to be a little shorter than usual, and definitely a shorter introduction than I'd like...

The BDS NFL Week Two 2011 Wrap Up

Plenty of action in week two to cover, both here and in the week two fantasy wrap up, and I already wrote half this column and the fantasy column that goes with it and had it lost computer problems, so I'm just going to get right into it....

Fantasy Football Pickups And Drops Week Three 2011

Doing things in a bit of a different order this week, this fantasy pickup column is coming before my week two game reviews because last weeks page views showed this column was most popular.  Have to give the people what they want, and what you all want seems to be my amazing fantasy advice.

Last week in this column, the recommendations included Ryan Fitzpatrick, Ben Tate, and Devery Henderson, who all turned in strong games in week two and are now owned in too many leagues to be recommended in this column.  Hopefully we can hit on a few solid names again this week to keep your rosters in tip top shape moving forwards.

As always, the cut off for available players for the purposes of this column is the 50% owned mark.  While other guys around 70 or 80% owned might be better options, they should be owned in all active leagues already, so I offer only players below the 50% mark...

NFL Week Two 2011 Game Picks and Over/Unders

Season To Date Totals
Straight Up Picks - 8-8
Picks vs Spread - 7-9
Over/Unders - 9-7

Week one wasn't great, but it wasn't awful.  If you played all of my spread picks and my over/unders it came out to an even 16-16, though you lost 1.6 units on vig.  Week one is a bit of a crap shoot though, and the picks should improve this week, now that I've seen more than half the games from last week myself and have results for all sixteen games to help me judge each team....

NFL Game Rewind Notes - Week One - Falcons at Bears

Each week I'm going to be watching a few of the previous week's games on NFL Game Rewind, and learning what happened in the games I didn't get to see.  I'm watching the games to help keep me informed as an NFL writer, but it made sense to post some notes up here as I watch each game and help you all understand what happened beyond the box score.

I chose this game because while I expected the Bears to win this game, I expected the game to be much closer than the 30-12 final score, and expected the Falcons to score more than six offensive points.  Then I looked at the box score, and saw the Falcons ran the ball just 14 times compared to 52 passes, and I had to see this game....

Fantasy Football Pickups and Drops Week Two 2011

You should have already read my Reality of Fantasy week one recap column and if you haven't go do that before you start here in the pickups and drops column.

This column is going to be very straight forward.  I'm simply going to go position by position and offer my pickup recommendations, listed in the order I would pick them up.  Then each position will have a section of guys who are owned in more than 50% of leagues that I would be comfortable cutting for the guys on the pickup list.  At some positions the lists will be longer than other positions, and the lists will vary greatly from week to week.  These fringe players only need a slight uptick or downtick of value to make them rosterable or unrosterable, so some of these players are going to bounce back and forth from rosters to free agency all season long.

All that out of the way, onto the content...

The Reality of Fantasy Football - Week One 2011 Fantasy Recap

Before you can look at a pickup column, you have to evaluate what happened in week one, the effect reality had on your Fantasy team.  Now that we've seen some things from players, we have to figure out which performances we can believe in and which ones we need to throw out as fluke games.  You have to evaluate your roster before you can make changes to it, and that's what this column is for.  This column is going to discuss players that are owned in most fantasy leagues.  The pickup column coming out later today will evaluate the surprise performances from the first week....

The BDS NFL Week One 2011 Sunday Wrap Up

Thank god for football.  How good does it feel to have the NFL really back?

It was a fun week one, even if none of the afternoon week one nationally televised games were amazing.  The outcomes were pretty interesting and there was a solid Sunday night game on a day where we learned plenty and even more changed in the NFL.  I'm going to get right into it and just touch on each of the Sunday games.  I'll be sure to let you know what games I've seen and which I'm judging based on box scored.  I'll also let you know which games I'm going to be taking a look at this week with NFL Game Rewind to really learn about...

Week One Running Game Notes

For those who don't have twitter, running a coveritlive session here that is going to condense all my twitter updates to one place.   Check it out after the jump....

2011 Playoff and Super Bowl Predictions

There isn't going to be a separate column with explanations for all of my NFC playoff teams like the AFC column,   As you can see this column is posting Sunday morning, just trying to get it squeezed in out there before the Sunday games start here in week one.  Just going to give you the predicted games with winners....

NFL 2011 Week One Picks and Over/Unders

Season Totals
Straight Up - 1-0
vs. Spread - 0-1
Over/Unders - 1-0

Sorry this is late guys.  Had a power outage here that set me back.  No internet meant no ability to research or get up to date lines, nonetheless post this, so it's coming in here Saturday night, which is far later than I'd like it.  Luckily, it still give you plenty of times to get either your pool picks or bets in well in advance of kickoff.  NFC preview/Playoff Predictions are coming later tonight as one column, but should be up before kickoff tomorrow.

And the picks...

2011 AFC Playoff Team Predictions

As promised, here are the AFC predictions.  NFC predictions and playoff predictions will follow as we approach the weekend here.

NFL 2011 Week One Prediction - Thursday Night Game 9/8/11

Just getting in a prediction for the Thursday night game before the full week's slate of games is predicted here on Friday or Saturday....

NFL Week One Fantasy Football Player Rankings

Hey there guys.   AFC and NFC predictions are still works in progress due to some miscommunication between Skillet and myself, so I'm going to get right to posting my fantasy football rankings at each position for this week. It's week one, so obviously this is going to be extremely speculative and based heavily on offseason rankings, but it should still be helpful for those making their last minute lineup changes.  Very little explanation will be offered because of the sheer number of players that require ranking.....

2011 NFL Player Award Predictions

It's prediction week here as we ramp up into week one, and along with NFC and AFC predictions to come from me and Skillet, today I'm going to release my predictions for the player awards this year.  This will include traditional awards MVP,Offensive Player, Comeback Player along with non-traditional awards including things like LVP and of course MVFP, Most Valuable Fantasy Player.

This is an obviously straightforward topic, so I'm just going to dive right into it, mixing in traditional awards with more fun options to keep things interesting....

Fantasy Football 2011 Tight End And Defense Rankings

All the rankings you needed for you draft were released last week.  Quarterback, running back, and wide receiver rankings are all already available, and here comes the last pair of lists, tight ends and defenses.  I'm not going to bother to rank kickers, because it's just stupid.  There is also going to be minimal explanation of the defensive rankings, because you should be taking them in the second to last round.  I'm going to explain in a column this week why streaming defenses is generally the best way to go.

Here come the rankings...

Fantasy Football 2011 Wide Receiver Rankings

Because time is running out before the weekend, the wide receiver, tight end, and defense rankings are all going to have far less explanation than the quarterback or running back rankings.  However, they are just as thought out and prepared as the lists were all made together.  Just don't have time to explain them all and get these rankings out at a good time.

So because of that... right onto the receiver rankings... Keep in mind that these rankings are for standard leagues, not PPR...

Fantasy Football 2011 Running Back Rankings

And we're back.  After the quarterback rankings dropped yesterday, I'm back here today with my running back rankings.

As you may expect after yesterday's quarterback rankings, these running back rankings aren't going to look like your average fantasy draft list.  Don't worry about how to integrate these lists yet.  I'll be releasing a integrated top 200-something list with a guide on how to draft from it, on Friday.

Anyways, right onto today's list...

Fantasy Football 2011 Quarterback Rankings

Been tinkering with these lists over the last week or two, and I'm finally ready to start rolling out my fantasy rankings at each position this year.  I am going to start with the quarterbacks and roll right on through to defenses before I release an overall rankings list/cheat sheet on Friday.

If you have already had your draft, I don't want to hear any complaints.  You are a moron for scheduling it so early in the offseason.  The earliest your draft should be held is the last weekend in August, and in a perfect world you'd do it a few days before the Thursday opener.  There is no reason for drafting earlier than that.  You're just going to see your players get hurt during the season, ruining a league's integrity for no good reason.

Now... Onto the list...

Michael Vick, Fantasy Football Super-Bust

A.K.A Two thousand words on why I won't be drafting Michael Vick this year.

Fantasy Baseball Spot Starter Pickups For Wednesday 8/10/11

Thursday 8/4/11 Starter Stats - James McDonald - 7.0 Innings Pitched - 3 Strikeouts - Loss - 5.14 ERA - 0.57 WHIP
Starter Spreadsheet With Stats Online Here

Just going to update with the previous starters stats here from now on the rest of the baseball season, as I'm way behind on fantasy football as it is.

McDonald would have turned in a fine start here if three of the four hits he gave up didn't go for home runs.  He didn't walk anyone, and three strikeouts wouldn't be a problem if it came with good ERA and a win.

Quick columns for the rest of the year, just like it is here...

Possible Consequences Of The NBA Lockout

Last week we heard from Big Derf Sports' own Alex "Skillet" Scarlett about his ideas for solving the NBA lockout problem. Today we have a column here from guest writer Scott Zimms that does a great job of summing up how we got to this lockout, and the effects it might have if it continues.....

Fantasy Baseball Spot Starter Pickups For Thursday 8/4/11

Tuesday's Starter Stats - Rich Harden - 5.2 Innings Pitched - 7 Strikeouts - Loss - 6.35 ERA - 1.41 WHIP
Cumulative Starter Stats - 676.1 Innings Pitched - 502 Strikeouts - 6.68 K/9 - 46 Wins in 108 Starts - 3.43 ERA - 1.20 WHIP
Cumulative Starter Spreadsheet Viewable Online Here

There were a few player moves in the NFL today, but I'm not going to write an NFL moves article today, as none of them really warrant me writing the column up.

On the subject of this post, Harden marked one of the few bad starts I've had over the last month.  An ERA over 6 is never helping your fantasy team.  The seven strikeouts is nice, but it can't be considered a successful start by any means when you let the Seattle Mariners score four runs on you.

Going to pick it up here today hopefully.  It's a short day of selections because it is a travel day, but I have a good option coming up...

Big Derf Sports Podcast Episode 1

Very first episode of the big derf sports podcast.  We start by talking about MLB and then transition to the NFL about fourty five minutes in.  Any problems with the audio early in the podcast are corrected by the end of it.

8/2/11 Daily NFL News and Notes

The player movement has finally calmed down to a point where that doesn't need to dominate the NFL news for the day.  Can spread out my time and make it more of a general roundup of reactions to the NFL news of the day.  Also letting everyone know that I'm working on plenty of more fantasy features for the next few weeks, so if my Marshall Faulk Strategy post and my Buccaneers post aren't enough for you, there is still plenty more to come.

Of course, I'd also like to point out that Alex "Skillet" Scarlett has been active as my second writer here at Big Derf Sports so be sure to check out all of his work including today's list of best MLB teams.

Today some of the last few gems on the free agent market were finally locked up, and news from camps has finally really started to come in so I'm just going to get into all of that right now...

Best&Worst: Best MLB Teams Post-Deadline

This is the second installment of the "Best&Worst" segment and it details the best teams in the MLB after the deadline. The trade deadline has shaken up baseball, as is standard procedure, so here is where I rank the teams after those deals. I decided to remain consistent and just do a top 5 list (I started with a top 15 but the article got way too long). These teams all have a legitimate chance to win the World Series. This is my unintentional playoff predictions (I made the list first then noticed I had a division winner and 4 teams from each league) so call it what you want.

Fantasy Baseball Spot Starter Pickups For Tuesday 8/2/11

Sunday's Starter Recommendation One - Freddy Garcia - 6.0 Innings Pitched - 6 Strikeouts - Win - 3.00 ERA - 1.17 WHIP
Sunday's Starter Recommendation Two - Brandon McCarthy - 6.0 Innings Pitched - 9 Strikeouts - Win - 4.50 ERA - 1.33 WHIP
ESPN Week 16 Final Starter Stats - 43.2 Innings Pitched - 49 Strikeouts - 10.10 K/9 - 5 Wins in 7 Starts - 3.09 ERA - 1.24 WHIP
Cumulative Starter Stats - 670.2 Innings Pitched - 495 Strikeouts - 6.64 K/9 - 46 Wins in 107 Starts - 3.41 ERA - 1.20 WHIP
Cumulative Starter Spreadsheet Viewable Online Here

Sunday capped off a nearly perfect week on Sunday night.  Both starters picked up wins and plenty of strike outs in the process.  The ERA and WHIP on the week were both very good, and five wins in seven starts is a great rate, especially when you are throwing for more than a strikeout per inning.

Unfortunately, I have to try and follow up that amazing week here in Week 17 as i start on Tuesday.  As always, the recommendation is available in more than 50% of ESPN leagues....

NFL Free Agency Reactions - 8/1/11

The news has calmed finally.  Many of the better players have already made their moves.  We have reached the bargain hunter portion of the free agency period. Before we get to the analysis you can check out my reactions to Tuesday's player moves here (cuts) and here (signings), Wednesday's player moves here, Thursday's moves here, Friday's moves here, Saturday's moves here and Sunday's moves here.

And onto Monday's moves...

NFL Player Movement Reactions - 7/31/11

Couldn't even get the day off on a Sunday.  I didn't know it was possible to be on football overload.  Right now, that's where I am.  Either way, still going to write about the signings and cuts and trades of the day. Before we get to that you can check out my reactions to Tuesday's player moves here (cuts) and here (signings), Wednesday's player moves here, Thursday's moves here, Friday's moves here and Saturday's moves here.

Right onto the analysis here....

Fantasy Baseball Spot Starter Pickups For Sunday 7/31/11

Saturday's Starter Recommendation One - Alex Cobb - 6.1 Innings Pitched - 9 Strikeouts - Loss - 4.27 ERA - 1.11 WHIP
Saturday's Starter Recommendation Two - Bartolo Colon - 5.0 Innings Pitched - 6 Strikeouts - Win - 3.60 ERA - 1.40 WHIP
ESPN Week 16 Starter Stats - 31.2 Innings Pitched - 34 Strikeouts - 9.66 K/9 - 3 Wins in 5 Starts - 2.84 ERA - 1.23 WHIP
Cumulative Starter Stats - 658.2 Innings Pitched - 480 Strikeouts - 6.56 K/9 - 44 Wins in 105 Starts - 3.40 ERA - 1.20 WHIP
Cumulative Starter Spreadsheet Viewable Online Here

Saturday wasn't a great day for the spot starters here, but it wasn't bad either.  The ERA and WHIP weren't great, but they were definitely survivable when they also picked up 15 strikeouts and a win.

It's pretty late here on Saturday night, so I'm just going to get right to the recommendations...

NFL Player Movement Reactions - 7/30/11

Whew... It finally calmed down some.  News was probably lighter partially because it's the weekend and partially because the free agent pool has slimmed some.  There were still a few big name moves today, and even though it's the weekend, they still deserve some analysis.  Before we get to that you can check out my reactions to Tuesday's player moves here (cuts) and here (signings), Wednesday's player moves here, Thursday's moves here and Friday's moves here.

All of today's reactions coming up right here...

Best&Worst: Best Divisions in Sports

I like lists. They're neat and organized. So I decided to start doing a Best&Worst segment (nothing set, just as often as I want) which will either count down the 5 Best, 5 Worst, or both of a specific topic. The first one is "Divisions in Sports", in case you couldn't read the title, and this first article is the top 5. Since I find this topic interesting and it's the first of the segment I will be posting a Worst 5 soon. This list takes a look at success/talent/competitiveness in the past decade, with extra emphasis on the most recent season. Enjoy and feel free to tell me how wrong you think I am.

Fantasy Baseball Spot Starter Pickups For Saturday 7/30/11

Friday's Starter Recommendation - Jeff Niemann - 6.2 Innings Pitched - 11 Strikeouts - Win - 0.00 ERA - 0.90 WHIP
ESPN Week 16 Starter Stats - 20.1 Innings Pitched - 19 Strikeouts - 8.41 K/9 - 2 Wins in 3 Starts - 2.21 ERA - 1.23 WHIP
Cumulative Starter Stats - 647.1 Innings Pitched - 465 Strikeouts - 6.46 K/9 - 43 Wins in 103 Starts - 3.39 ERA - 1.20 WHIP
Cumulative Starter Spreadsheet Viewable Online Here

I said yesterday that there was shutout potential on Friday night, and I was right.  I had hoped it would have been a complete game, but 6.2 innings of shutout ball is nothing to sneeze at, especially when you throw in the eleven strikeouts and the win.  It was an amazing all around start that cost you nothing but a free agent pick up to throw out there.  Niemann should be held onto if you picked him up, as he's on a streak of five great starts.

It's Saturday, and that means two recommendations as we reach the end of head-to-head match-ups for the week.  As always, all recommendations are available in more than 50% of ESPN leagues...

NFL Player Movement Reactions - Friday 7/29/11

I had hoped free agency would have slowed down a little today, but it just kept on trucking along at full speed.  You can check out my reactions to Tuesday's player moves here (cuts) and here (signings), Wednesday's player moves here, and Thursday's moves here.

Onto the Friday news quickly here in more or less the order that the news came out.  There is plenty to discuss.......

Fantasy Baseball Spot Starter Pickups For Friday 7/29/11

Wednesday's Starter Recommendation - Phil Hughes - 6.0 Innings Pitched - 3 Strikeouts - Loss - 3.00 ERA - 1.67 WHIP
Cumulative Starter Stats - 640.2 Innings Pitched - 454 Strikeouts - 6.38 K/9 - 43 Wins in 102 Starts - 3.43 ERA - 1.20 WHIP
Cumulative Starter Spreadsheet Viewable Online Here

Not the greatest start out there Wednesday for Hughes, but definitely not the worst.  He pitched well wnough to pick up the win, just the Yankee offense (and his bullpen later) didn't back him up on the day.  The WHIP isn't pretty, but the ERA balances it out.

Friday brings us a handful of choices, including the always interesting situation where there are two playable fantasy pitchers in one game...

NFL Player Movement Reactions - 7/28/11

Not going to waste your time or mine on a long introduction today, as the NFL player moves have been coming in all day even faster than they have been. I'm going through the list of important player moves the way they are listed chronologically over at footballoutsiders.com, so that is the order I'll be listing the players in.

Be sure to check out yesterday's player movement reactions here.

Just going to get right into it...

The Mets are Wheeler-ing and Dealing at the Deadline

Fred likes to only talk about fantasy, so I guess I'm here to talk about what's actually happening. The big trade so far this MLB trade deadline is Carlos Beltran going to the San Francisco Giants with right-handed pitching prospect Zack Wheeler coming to the New York Mets. Everyone is talking about the impact Beltran can have in San Francisco this season, but nobody is talking about how Wheeler could be a household name in 5 years.

Spread The Wealth

This is the first article here by the new writer here at Big Derf Sports, Alex Scarlett. He's going to be the new second writer here and hopefully will be posting more than once a day just like I do.

Rather than overintroduce him, I'll let him be himself when he has posting privileges. For now, right onto his column...

NFL Player Movement Reactions - 7/27/11

Rather than run two separate threads today, I'm just going to put both the cuts and signings into this one post and just update it throughout the day.  Be sure to check back in throughout the day for reactions and analysis both real life and fantasy.

Yesterday's signing reactions are here and cut reactions are here.  Also have a fantasy football article about the Buccaneers that i posted yesterday here.

Still not blowing all of my time tracking down moves and just drawing most of the news from footballoutsiders.com.  They do great work there and I'm going to be using their DVOA advanced stats here in the future, so stop by over there too and check them out.

Anyways,  right onto the moves in no particular order....

Fantasy Baseball Spot Starter Pickups For Wednesday 7/27/11

Monday's Starter - Freddy Garcia - 7.2 Innings Pitched - 5 Strikeouts - Win - 3.52 ERA - 1.17 WHIP
Cumulative Starters' Stats - 634.2 Innings Pitched - 451 Strikeouts - 6.40 K/9 - 43 Wins in 101 Starts - 3.43 ERA - 1.20 WHIP
Starter Spreadsheet Viewable Online Here

Garcia came out on Monday and turned in a very average performance on the way to a win.  The 3.52 ERA and 1.17 WHIP weren't great, but they aren't going to hurt you either and if it gets you a win for free, it's totally worth the start.

Wednesday has plenty of guys available to choose from below the fifty percent owned line, but they are all guys with bad stats or guys who you can't trust right now.  I'd like to pick Cory Luebke, but he's up above the 50% owned line still.  So it's going to be a risky pick here...

NFL "Signings" Reactions - Tuesday 7/26/11

I love the NFL.  Third blog post (of hopefully four) today made possible by the NFL lockout ending.  This is going to be shorter today than my earlier fantasy article about the Buccaneers and today's reactions to NFL cuts, but it's going to become much longer by the end of the week.  This is all about teams that have "signed" players.  I say "signed" in quotes because they can't officially put any deals through until Friday, but all of these players have reportedly agreed to new contracts already.....

NFL Cut Reactions - Tuesday 7/26/11

First real football news of the new year has started pouring in today as teams start making cuts to get themselves in position to be under the salary cap.  Offensive lines have been the hardest hit so far.

I'm using the list they have running here at football outsiders because I am just one man and can't run everything down myself and provide analysis.  Going to be relying on others often in these first few weeks of free agency because I just won't have the time to track down all of the information while also commenting on what goes on.

Anyways, onto the cuts.  They are listed alphabetically by cut team and in no other real order.  Just because he is listed first doesn't mean that I'm in any way saying that Derek Anderson was the most important player cut on the list....

Fantasy Football 2011: Buccaneer Bargains

Football is back.

Thank God.

Football news is going to be coming fast and furious soon, and  I'm going to have opinions on as much of it as possible.

For now I'm just going to talk about fantasy drafts.  I've already written about The Marshall Faulk Strategy this year, and I'm going to write more draft strategy pieces soon.  I will also release rankings as soon as free agency shakes out.  Today I'm going to write about a group of players that are currently being drafted too low.  They all just happen to play for the same team...

Fantasy Baseball Spot Starter Pickups For Monday 7/25/11

Sunday Starter One's Stats - Bartolo Colon - 7.0 Innings Pitched - 4 Strikeouts - Win - 2.57 ERA - 1.29 WHIP
Sunday Starter Two's Stats - Rick Porcello - 6.0 Innings Pitched - 4 Strikeouts - Win - 3.00 ERA - 1.17 WHIP
ESPN "Week 15" Final Starters' Stats - 44.1 Innings Pitched - 33 Strikeouts - 6.70 K/9 - 5 Wins in 7 Starts - 3.86 ERA - 1.22 WHIP
Cumulative Starters' Stats - 627 Innings Pitched - 446 Strikeouts - 6.40 K/9 - 42 Wins in 100 Starts - 3.43 ERA - 1.20 WHIP
Starter Spreadsheet Viewable Online Here

Pair of starts on Sunday and a pair of solid wins.  They were essentially the same start, just Colon went an inning further into his game than Porcello.  Boh guys picked up a win and four strikeouts while letting up just two runs.  It was as advertised here on Sunday, as both guys were picked for their win chances and delivered.

Monday starts a new week here and hopefully a new streak will continue here.  I may seem like a homer here, but the schedule says what the schedule says...

Fantasy Baseball Spot Starter Pickups For Sunday 7/24/11

Friday's Starter's Stats - Phil Hughes - 4.1 Innings Pitched - 3 Strikeouts - Loss - 14.55 ERA -3.00 WHIP
"Week 15" Starters' Stats - 31.1 Innings Pitched - 25 Strikeouts - 7.18 K/9 - 3 Wins in 5 Starts - 4.31 ERA - 1.21 WHIP
Cumulative Starters' Stats - 614 Innings Pitched - 438 Strikeouts - 6.42 K/9 - 40 Wins in 98 Starts - 3.44 ERA - 1.20 WHIP
Cumulative Starter Spreadsheet Viewable Online Here

A second total dud in the row made me just duck and hide from picking starters on Saturday.  Trusting Javy and Phil on back to back days was a bad idea in retrospect.  Luckily it's still not that bad of a week in ERA and WHIP considering those last two horrible starts.

Sunday we have a pair of starters coming in who probably aren't going to make the ERA and WHIP much better, but will rack up some strikeouts and have the best shots at the wins you need on Sundays...

Top Ten NFL Quarterbacks 2011 - #5 - #1

The lockout looks to be wrapping up here, so football coverage is about to start ramping up here at Big Derf Sports.  Reactions to all the news and player movement along with fantasy football draft strategies and rankings all coming fast and furious once the league starts moving again.

Until then, finishing off my top ten NFL quarterbacks list.  The notable players that missed the list are here, and numbers 10-6 are here.  This list takes into account past performance and what I expect from these guys this year.  This top five section took me longest to get around to writing because it's going to be a bit of a love fest that's going to have to be interrupted with nitpicking to separate them.  It's hard to talk bad about any of these top five guys...

Fantasy Baseball Spot Starter Pickups For Friday 7/22/11

Thursday's Starter's Stats - Javier Vazquez - 4.1 Innings Pitched - 6 Strikeouts - Loss - 10.39 ERA - 2.54 WHIP

"Week 15" Starters' Stats - 27 Innings Pitched - 22 Strikeouts - 7.33 K/9 - 3 Wins in 4 Starts - 2.67 ERA - 0.93 WHIP

Cumulative Starters' Stats - 609.2 Innings Pitched - 435 Strikeouts - 6.42 K/9 - 40 Wins in 98 Starts - 3.37 ERA - 1.18 WHIP

Cumulative Starter Spreadsheet Viewable Online Here

All good things must come to an end... and this isn't the first good thing to end because of Javy Vazquez.  It was a weak day, and I got sucked in.  I don't have any real excuses here.  Luckily there was such a string of good starts leading up to him that it didn't destroy my ERA and WHIP too badly.  

Also I'd like to note here that Cory Luebke is still my favorite available play, but he is just slightly above the 50% owned line that I use for this column, so I won't be selecting him as my play today.  If he's available in your league though, I'm rolling him out there.

Hopefully, if you just joined me yesterday,  I can make up for it for you with Friday's starter...

Fantasy Baseball Spot Starter Pickups For Thursday 7/21/11

Monday's Starter's Stats - Josh Collmenter - 8.0 Innings Pitched - 7 Strikeouts - Win - 0.00 ERA - 0.38 WHIP
"Week 15" Starters' Stats - 22.2 Innings Pitched - 16 Strikeouts - 6.35 K/9 - 3 Wins in 3 Starts - 1.19 ERA - 0.62 WHIP
Cumulative Starters' Stats - 605.1 Innings Pitched - 429 Strikeouts - 6.38 K/9 - 40 Wins in 97 Starts - 3.32 ERA - 1.17 WHIP
Cumulative Starter Spreadsheet Viewable Online Here

At a point where I didn't write a column the last two days because I just didn't want to ruin my streak.  15 Straight starts all two earned runs or less.  I can't keep this up. Heh.

Collmenter looked excellent against the Brewers on Monday, and honestly I would hang onto him here.  Sub-3.00 ERA and Sub-1.00 WHIP means he should be earned even though he doesn't rack up a bunch of strikeouts.  He's better at home than on the road, and will be there (and likely here in this column) his next time out.

A bunch of aces are starting and it's a travel day tomorrow, so there are only six pitchers available under the 50% owned line.  Luckily, there is a good option here....

Fantasy Baseball Spot Starter Pickups For Monday 7/18/11

Saturday's Starter's Stats - Cory Luebke - 7.0 Innings Pitched - 5 Strikeouts - Win - 2.57 ERA - 0.71 WHIP
Sunday's Starter's Stats - Matt Harrison - 7.2 Innings Pitched - 4 Strikeouts - Win - 1.17 ERA - 0.78 WHIP
Cumulative Starters' Stats - 597.1 Innings Pitched - 422 Strikeouts - 6.36 K/9 - 39 Wins in 96 Starts - 3.36 ERA - 1.18 WHIP
Cumulative Starter Spreadsheet Viewable Online Here

Continued to roll over the weekend.  Picking up another 14.2 good innings with a pair of wins.  Luebke's only mistake was a two run home run, and Harrison just let up a double and a single in the eighth to ruin his shut out.

Now up two fourteen straight starter choices that have let up at most two runs.  Fourteen straight better than "quality starts" from players that were owned in less that 50% of ESPN leagues at the time.  Going to roll along here Monday with another good choice...

Fantasy Baseball Spot Starter Pickups For Sunday 7/17/11

Saturday's Recommended Starter Stats - Cory Luebke - Results Not In Yet

Cumulative Starters' Stats - 582.2 Innings Pitched - 413 Strikeouts - 6.38 K/9 - 37 Wins in 94 Starts - 3.40 ERA - 1.19 WHIP

Cumulative Starter Spreadsheet Viewable Online Here

First, sorry for labeling yesterday's post as Friday, just brainfarted.  

Luebke is just starting to pitch as i write this, so it's right on to the Sunday starter...

Fantasy Baseball Spot Starter Pickups For Saturday 7/16/11

/8/11 Starter's Stats - R.A. Dickey - 7.0 Innings Pitched - 4 Strikeouts - No Decision - 2.57 ERA - 1.00 WHIP
Week 14 Final Stats - 35 Innings Pitched - 27 Strikeouts - 6.94 K/9 - 2 Wins in 5 Starts - 1.80 ERA - 0.86 WHIP
Cumulative Starters' Stats - 582.2 Innings Pitched - 413 Strikeouts - 6.38 K/9 - 37 Wins in 94 Starts - 3.40 ERA - 1.19 WHIP
Cumulative Starter Spreadsheet Viewable Online Here

Took some time off for the All-Star break, but I'm gonna call it start limiting myself.  ESPN Standard Roto leagues cap at 200 starts, and I'm still on pace to blow past that number.  Might announce and take another week off of start recommendations come Football ramp up.

Last start was last Friday, and Dickey continued a long hot streak of starters.  Up to twelve starts in a row of two earned runs or less.

This Saturdayday we have a pitcher likely making his second and last appearance in this column, as he'll be over the 50% owned line by his next go around in the rotation...

Fantasy Baseball Spot Starter Pickups For Friday 7/8/11

Thursday's Starter Stats - Cory Luebke - 6.0 Innings Pitched - 8 Strikeouts - Loss - 3.00 ERA - 1.00 WHIP

Week 14 Starter Stats - 28 IP - 23 Strikeouts - 7.39 K/9 - 2 Wins in 4 Starts - 1.61 ERA - 0.82 WHIP

Cumulative Starter Stats - 575.2 IP - 409 Strikeouts - 6.39 K/9 - 37 Wins in 93 Starts - 3.41 ERA - 1.20 WHIP

Starter Spreadsheet Viewable Online Here

Riding a nine game hot streak here into Friday, with the worst of any of the starts having come today.

Luebke was solid on Thursday and gave us six innings with just two earned runs and a flat 1.00 WHIP.  Not as good as the last few days, but still a very fine start when you add in the eight strikeouts.  Luebke is still striking out more than a batter per inning and gets to pitch in the friendly confines of Petco when he is home.  He's definitely worth a pickup if you need pitching help in your league.

Andrew Miller was the alternate option for Thursday, and he wasn't very good.  Three runs over five innings without any strikeouts isn't what you want out of a starter, but he did give you a win and that's why he was the alternate choice for the day.  Getting the win makes the start salvageable.

Friday is a good spot starter day, featuring many former recommendations.  We're going to go with a pitcher we've spot started for each of his last two rotation turns...

Fantasy Baseball Spot Starter Pickups For Thursday 7/7/11

Wednesday's Starter Stats - Jason Vargas - 8.0 Innings Pitched - 6 Strikeouts - Loss - 2.25 ERA - 0.75 WHIP

Week 14 Starter Stats - 22 IP - 15 Strikeouts - 6.14 K/9 - 2 Wins in 3 Starts - 1.23 ERA - 0.77 WHIP

Cumulative Starter Stats - 569.2 IP - 401 Strikeouts - 6.34 K/9 - 37 Wins in 92 Starts - 3.41 ERA - 1.20 WHIP

Starter Spreadsheet Viewable Online Here

I picked the wrong starter yesterday.  Recommended Vargas with Guillermo Moscoso as an alternate, but had the two backwards in this particular pitchers' duel.  Moscoso pitched seven scoreless innings of just two hit ball on his way to a win.  Vargas wasn't no slouch himself, but he got hit up by Scott Sizemore on a solo shot and an RBI single, and that was his downfall on the day.  Still, short of picking up the win Vargas did deliver spendidly with an 8 inning complete game of low ERA and WHIP ball.  Can't complain about that.

A bunch of starters are under the line on Thursday, but most of them aren't very good.  Luckily there are a few gems available....

Fantasy Baseball Spot Starter Pickups For Wednesday 7/6/11

Monday's Starter Stats - Vance Worley - 7.0 Innings Pitched - 6 Strikeouts - Win - 0.00 ERA - 0.57 WHIP
Tuesday's Starter Stats - Jeff Karstens - 7.0 Innings Pitched - 3 Strikeouts - Win - 1.29 ERA - 1.00 WHIP
Cumulative Starter Stats - 561.2 IP - 395 Strikeouts - 6.33 K/9 - 37 Wins in 91 Starts - 3.43 ERA - 1.21 WHIP
Starter Spreadsheet Viewable Online Here

Late small post today because I fell asleep at my computer last night and never wrote this up.  Want to get it out as quick as possible so people do have a chance to see it and update their rosters before games start at 1:10.

Both Worley and Karstens have been great to start this Week 14.  14 Innings in the book already with just a solo home run keeping them from being scoreless.  Two wins in two starts also never hurt anyone.

Wednesday starter coming up....

Fantasy Baseball Spot Starter Pickups For Tuesday 7/5/11

Monday's Starter Stats - Vance Worley - Results Not In As Of Posting.

Cumulative Starter Stats - 547.2 Innings Pitched - 386 Strikeouts - 6.34 K/9 - 35 Wins in 89 Starts - 3.50 ERA - 1.22 WHIP

Cumulative Starter Spreadsheet Viewable Here

Posting this early between getting out of work and heading out for the night here Monday night.  Will update with Worley's results later tonight most likely, but for now I'm just going to get right into Tuesday's starters to maximize my 4th of July BBQ time....

Fantasy Baseball Spot Starter Pickups For Monday 7/4/11

Sunday's Starter One - Freddy Garcia - 7.0 Innings Pitched - 1 Strikeouts - No Decision - 1.29 ERA - 0.86 WHIP
Sunday's Starter Two - Ervin Santana - 7.2 Innings Pitched - 8 Strikeouts - Win - 1.17 ERA - 0.91 WHIP
Week 13 Starter Stats - 50 Innings Pitched - 32 Strikeouts - 5.76 K/9 - 4 Wins in 8 Starts - 2.34 ERA - 1.14 WHIP
Cumulative Starter Stats - 547.2 Innings Pitched - 386 Strikeouts - 6.34 K/9 - 35 Wins in 89 Starts - 3.50 ERA - 1.22 WHIP
Cumulative Starter Spreadsheet Viewable Here

Closed out a great week here Sunday night. It started off ugly, but the spot starter choices over the weekend got the ERA and WHIP down to fantastic levels.  Could use more strikeouts, but an otherwise solid spot starting week.

Freddy Garcia turned in another great start here Sunday.  His strikeout totals will never be high, but as long as he turns in these one run outings, he'll do great things for your fantasy team.  He would have picked up a win here Sunday too, but a rare blown save by Mariano lost the game for them.

It's a full slate of games here on a holiday Monday, but only half the starters are available under the 50% owned line, and the two most owned options under the line have been scratched from their Monday starts.  Still, I found a pair of strong options from the thirteen available starters....

Fantasy Baseball Spot Starter Pickups For Sunday 7/3/11

Saturday's Starter One - Bartolo Colon - 6.0 Innings Pitched - 6 Strikeouts - Win - 0.00 ERA - 0.83 WHIP
Saturday's Starter Two - Doug Fister - 9.0 Innings Pitched - 7 Strikeouts - Loss - 1.00 ERA - 0.78 WHIP
Week 13 Starter Stats - 35.1 Innings Pitched - 23 Strikeouts - 5.86 K/9 - 3 Wins in 6 Starts - 2.80 ERA - 1.25 WHIP
Cumulative Starter Stats - 533 Innings Pitched - 377 Strikeouts - 6.37 K/9 - 34 Wins in 87 Starts - 3.56 ERA - 1.23 WHIP
Cumulative Starter Spreadsheet Viewable Here

Another solid day to help clean up a week that started off poorly.  Fifteen innings of one run ball will help out any ERA or WHIP.

Colon came out in his first start off the DL and turned in a strong six innings against a decent Mets lineup before being taken out after 80 pitches.  He's picked right back up where he left off before he went on  the DL and should be allowed to go deeper into his next start.  Pick him up if he's available in whatever league you are in.

Fister was robbed by his offense of a win, as the complete game of one run ball should have gotten the job done.  That's the drawback with a Mariners pitcher, can't rely on any sort of run support.  Even when Fister is great like Saturday night, he still will lose more than he wins.

Onto Sunday's starters.  Two recommendations coming right up...

Fantasy Baseball Spot Starter Pickups For Saturday 7/2/11

Thursday's Starter Stats - Carlos Zambrano - 1.0 Innings Pitched - 1 Strikeout - No Decision- 9.00 ERA - 4.00 WHIP

Friday's Starter Stats - Jason Vargas - 9.0 Innings Pitched - 7 Strikeouts - Win - 0.00 ERA - 0.67 WHIP

Cumulative Starters' Stats - 518 Innings Pitched - 364 Strikeouts - 6.32 K/9 - 33 Wins in 85 Starts - 3.65 ERA - 1.24 WHIP

Starter Stats Spreadsheet Viewable Online Here

Sorry this post is so late, but better late then never.  Should still have an hour to get your moves in here on Saturday.

Thursday night didn't go well, with Carlos Zambrano lasting an inning before being removed with a back injury and placed on the disabled list.  As always, can't predict injuries here... So just forced to take the bad inning of stats and move on.

Luckily Friday night went amazing to make up for Thursday.  Jason Vargas went the distance for his third complete game shut out of the year.  I alluded to the possibility in yesterday's column, and I turned out to be right.  Doesn't get any better really.  Nine innings of shut out ball off the waiver wire is as good as it gets, especially with a solid seven strikeouts.

Onto Saturday's starters.  It's the weekend, so that means a pair of starter recommendations for you all...

Fantasy Baseball Spot Starter Pickups For Friday 7/1/11

Tuesday's Starter Stats - Freddy Garcia - 6.0 Innings Pitched - 1 Strikeout - Win - 3.00 ERA - 1.33 WHIP
Thursday's Starter Stats - Carlos Zambrano - Stats Not Available As Of Posting. Will Update.
Cumulative Starters' Stats - 508 Innings Pitched - 356 Strikeouts - 6.31 K/9 - 32 Wins in 83 Starts - 3.70 ERA - 1.24 WHIP
Starter Stats Spreadsheet Viewable Online Here

Apologies for the lack of a recommendation on Wednesday and the shorted recommendation for Thursday.  I was still recovering from my overnight work and was exhausted but couldn't sleep.  I seem to have straightened myself out now, so hopefully I'll be able to work uninterrupted moving forwards.

Freddy Garcia delivered six innings of average ERA and WHIP ball on the way to picking up a win.  Nothing to write home about, but still a quality outing from a spot started pitcher.  Yankee starters are always good for wins, so keep an eye on Phil Hughes when he comes back to the rotation.  If he returns to form he'll be ownable in basically all leagues.

Onto Friday's pickups.  We've reached July and you would think that the good pitchers would all be owned by now and yet there are still quality options available to us every day that are owned in less than 50% of leagues...

Top Ten NFL Quarterbacks 2011 - #10 - #6

With the lockout still going, I can't give my opinion on the NFL teams at this point, but it's getting to be that time of year where football writing should be going on. So I've decided to start evaluating the NFL players.  I'm starting naturally with the most important position in the league, quarterback, and will move on to the other positions as necessary until this lockout is over.

I have plenty to say about the quarterbacks, so I've broken down the list into multiple parts rather than wait and release just one large list.  I started with the notable omissions earlier in the week, and am moving on to numbers 10 through 6 here....

Spot Starter For 6/30/11

Sorry all. Haven't slept still.  Just wanted to offer Carlos Zambrano for Thursday for everyone.  He's easily the best available choice.

Top Ten NFL Quarterbacks 2011 - The Not Quite Top Ten Edition

With the lockout on the verge of ending, It's time to start discussing the NFL more.  Unfortunately, it's hard to evaluate how teams are going to look this season until after the lockout ends.  However, I can discuss players.  I'm a man of my own opinions here at Big Derf Sports, and I don't want people to be too surprised when we get into the season and I've got a low opinion on a guy like Michael Vick.  Everyone should know what they are getting into.  It's also important to note that these are my opinions of the real world talents of these quarterbacks and should no way be confused with my fantasy football rankings, which will come after the free agency period.

Also, rather than blowing my whole load at once, I realized as I was writing the list that I have quite a bit to say about each player.  So, I'm going to release this list in three different posts over next few days.  The first post here is about the biggest name players to not make my top ten list.  Then I'll release the #10-#6 segment of my list, and then #5-#1 after that.

For now, onto to big name omissions...

Fantasy Baseball Spot Starter Pickups For Tuesday 6/28/11

Monday's Starter Stats- Nick Blackburn - 4.1 Innings Pitched - 1 Strikeout - Loss - 14.55 ERA - 3.23 WHIP
Cumulative Starters' Stats - 502 Innings Pitched - 355 Strikeouts - 6.36 K/9 - 31 Wins in 81 Starts - 3.71 ERA - 1.24 WHIP
Starter Spreadsheet Viewable Online Here

My return to daily writing was the opposite of triumphant.  Hoped to return to a great game from Blackburn to help build my credit back up with my readers, but instead got a poor performance from a guy who had been great over his last ten starts.  Rather than dwell on Blackburn's bad start, I'm going to mention that alternate recommendation John Lannan was great yesterday, and move right on to Tuesday's recommendation.  As always, the following player is the one I recommend most that is available in more than fifty percent of ESPN leagues...

Fantasy Baseball Spot Starter Pickups For Monday 6/27/11

I'm back. I'm going to update the spreadsheet with the full stats from while I was gone later today, but for now I wanted to get everyone my recommendation for a starter here on Monday night.  It's a decent travel day here Monday, but there are still quality options available in more than fifty percent of leagues for you to add to your team...

Programming Note

Ladies and Gentlemen... your regularly scheduled programming will be returning to the blog starting next Monday, June 27th.  Will be off overnights by then.  Back to daily fantasy baseball posts, and when the lockout ends, hopefully more than daily football and fantasy football posts.

Fantasy Baseball Spot Starter Pickups For Sunday 6/12/11

Still working overnights but will be off them and returning to a normal schedule soon.  A week or two.  Until then it's going to be short posts like this.  Sorry.  Anywho, Sunday's spot starter is a good one.

Fantasy Baseball Spot Starter Pickups For Friday 6/10/11

Still on a short posting schedule here for Friday adjusting to my overnight work, but wanted to keep updating you guys with spot starters...

Spot Starters For 6/8/11 and 6/9/11

Too tired from adjusting to working overnights to pound out the full column, but didn't want to leave any loyal readers hanging any longer.  Will update the spreadsheet and everything at some future point, but just a pair of quick recommendations...

6/8/11 Starter - Jason Vargas - He is coming off a complete game shut out of the Rays and his matchup with the White Sox is the best of some bad draws for other good pitchers.

6/9/11 Starter - Aaron Harang - Harang has been good over his last four starts and draws a solid matchup here home against the Nationals.  He is unowned because of his past performances, but as a Padre now, it's going to be all gravy for Harang.

Fantasy Baseball Spot Starter Pickups For Friday 6/3/11

Thursday's Recommended Starter - Bud Norris - Results Not In Yet

Cumulative Starters' Stats - 460.1 Innings Pitched - 330 Strikeouts - 6.45 K/9 - 28 Wins in 73 Starts - 3.56 ERA - 1.22 WHIP

Cumulative Starter Spreadsheet Viewable Online Here

Posting this earlier than usual because I have things to do later Thursday night.  Friday is my Birthday so going to be celebrating early at midnight.  May not be another update until Saturday depending on what I end up doing tomorrow.

As always, all recommendations are available in more than 50% of ESPN Leagues.  Friday's recommended starter coming up.....

Fantasy Baseball Spot Starter Pickups For Thursday 6/2/11

Wednesday's Recommended Starter - Rick Porcello - 6.2 Innings Pitched - 4 Strikeouts - Win - 2.70 ERA - 1.35 WHIP

Cumulative Starters' Stats - 460.1 Innings Pitched - 330 Strikeouts - 6.45 K/9 - 28 Wins in 73 Starts - 3.56 ERA - 1.22 WHIP

Cumulative Starter Spreadsheet Viewable Online Here

Porcello picked right back up where he left off before the Red Sox beat him up, delivering 6.2 innings of strong ERA and WHIP and picking up a win.  The strikeout numbers weren't great, but they were solid enough.  Strikeouts in general have been harder to come by than they were at the beginning of the year, as most of the strong strikeout pitchers have been rostered at this stage of the year.  The ERA and WHIP have been solid for a while, so going to look to pick up extra strikeouts going forward.

If you went with alternate recommendation Brian Matusz off the DL on Wednesday, you didn't pick up a win, but you had even better ERA and WHIP.  Matusz should be good to go from here on out and is worth rostering in mixed leagues.  If you went with Chris Capuano in your deep league, you would have had a strong start if they didn't leave him in to start the seventh inning.  When they did, Capuano let up five straight singles, and all of them made it across home plate, ruining an otherwise awesome start.

As always, looking to do better today than I did yesterday.  Recommendations are, as always, available in more than 50% of leagues.  Travel Thursday recommendations coming up...

Fantasy Baseball Spot Starter Pickups For Wednesday 6/1/11

Tuesday's Recommended Starter - Mike Minor - 6.0 Innings Pitched - 4 Strikeouts - Loss - 4.50 ERA - 1.83 WHIP
Cumulative Starters' Stats - 453.2 Innings Pitched - 326 Strikeouts - 6.47 K/9 - 27 Wins in 72 Starts - 3.57 ERA - 1.22 WHIP
Cumulative Starter Spreadsheet Viewable Online Here

With no starter offered on Memorial Day, we started off the week with a disappointment out of Mike Minor.  It wasn't an awful blowup your stats start, but it wasn't good either.  He was left in the start the seventh inning and walked a man on before being pulled from the game. That batter made it home and turned a 3.00 ERA day into a 4.50 ERA and a no decision into a loss.  Luckily, it wasn't embarrassing and we can make up for it easily the rest of the week. Freddy Garcia is still playing as i write this on Tuesday night, but has cruised through four innings so far against the As.  He should deliver for deep league players.

Before I move on, just a programming note for the week.  It's my birthday on Friday and I'm working out the details on a promotion in my actual job, so the other daily pickup column is going to be taking the week off.  I'm going to miss a second day of this column later in the week (likely the Saturday edition), but will at least provide you with my recommendations either here or via twitter.

Wednesday's recommendation coming up right now...

Fantasy Baseball Spot Starter Pickups For Tuesday 5/31/11

Sunday Starter One's Stats - Vance Worley - 3.0 Innings Pitched - 1 Strikeout - Loss - 15.00 ERA - 4.00 WHIP

Sunday Starter Two's Stats - Ryan Dempster - 6.0 Innings Pitched - 5 Strikeouts - Win - 3.00 ERA - 1.17 WHIP

Week Eight Starters' Stats - 51.2 Innings Pitched - 31 Strikeouts - 5.40 K/9 - 2 Wins in 9 Starts - 3.14 ERA - 1.30 WHIP

Cumulative Starters' Stats - 447.2 Innings Pitched - 322 Strikeouts - 6.47 K/9 - 27 Wins in 71 Starts - 3.56 ERA - 1.21 WHIP

Starter Spreadsheet Viewable Online Here

Starting this one off with multiple apologies.  One apology for the lack of a Monday column.  Decided to hang out late at a Memorial Day BBQ on Sunday night, so took Memorial Day off.  This is probably going to be something I do with holidays most of the time, though with more notice in the future.  Usually going to miss the day after the holiday, as I write my columns the night before.

The second apology, is to all those who went with Vance Worley on Sunday night.  He cost me ERA and WHIP in my week eight matchup on Sunday night, and I'm sure some of you readers got bit as well.  I had no reason to think he'd be bad here but he just didn't have his control on Sunday night.  Hopefully you had also played Dempster, who delivered a fully solid start in all aspects while grabbing a win.  If you were in a deep league and went with Guillermo Moscoso, the ERA wasn't pretty, but the WHIP was good and he picked up a win for you.  

Starting week nine here late on Tuesday.  Today's recommended pitcher that's available in at least fifty percent of leagues is coming up...

Fantasy Baseball Spot Starter Pickups For Sunday 5/29/11

Saturday Starter One's Stats - Randy Wolf - 7.1 Innings Pitched - 5 Strikeouts - No Decision - 1.23 ERA - 0.68 WHIP

Saturday Starter Two's Stats - Ivan Nova - 3.2 Innings Pitched - 1 Strikeout - No Decision - 9.81 ERA - 2.18 WHIP

Week Eight Starters' Stats - 42.2 Innings Pitched - 25 Strikeouts - 5.27 K/9 - 1 Win in 7 Starts - 2.32 ERA - 1.12 WHIP

Cumulative Starters' Stats - 438.2 Innings Pitched - 316 Strikeouts - 6.48 K/9 - 26 Wins in 69 Starts - 3.49 ERA - 1.19 WHIP

Starter Spreadsheet Viewable Online Here

Posting real late tonight so don't have time for the full rundown.  Perils of being a one man show every day.  Wolf delivered a good start, and Nova got beat up.  It shouldn't have been as bad as it was with Nova, but Jeter committed an error that was changed to a hit for some strange reason. 

Two more guys coming up here.  Even with Nova's bad start, the weekly stats are still hot.  Keep riding it here Sunday night...

Fantasy Baseball Spot Starter Pickups For Saturday 5/28/11

Friday Starter's Stats - Scott Baker - 7.0 Innings Pitched - 6 Strikeouts - No Decision - 0.00 ERA - 0.83 WHIP
Week Eight Starters' Stats - 31.2 Innings Pitched - 19 Strikeouts - 5.40 K/9 - 1 Win in 5 Starts - 1.71 ERA - 1.11 WHIP
Cumulative Starters' Stats - 4.27.2 Innings Pitched - 310 Strikeouts - 6.52 K/9 - 26 Wins in 67 Starts - 3.47 ERA - 1.19 WHIP
Starter Spreadsheet Viewable Online Here

On a great roll right now with four straight great starts, including three of four scoreless.  Baker was one of those scoreless starts today, striking out six over seven without letting up a run.  He would have picked up the win too, as he exited with a five run lead after seven, but three relievers each let up two runs a pop over the eighth and ninth innings and the Twins ended up losing the game.  Wins are crazy. If you went with my alternate recommendation, Rick Porcello, you ended up getting beat up by the super hot Boston offense.  Tyler Chatwood didn't take advantage of his matchup with the Twins either, for those in deep leagues.  Hopefully, you got Baker in and added the seven scoreless to your numbers.

Saturday means it's the weekend, and that means two starters for those of you trying to catch up in your head to head matchups.  Hopefully can keep up the sparkling ERA and WHIP.  Saturday's guys coming up...

Fantasy Baseball Hitter Pickup And Drop Ideas For Friday 5/27/11

5/13/11 Recommendation - Drop Jonathan Broxton and Pickup Eduardo Sanchez / St. Louis Cardinals Closer

I told you to cut your losses on the DLed Broxton, and they still have no timetable for his return.  I told you to pick up Sanchez to replace him for now, but to stay on top of the situation going forward.  If you did, you would have let go of Sanchez and picked up Fernando Salas.  Salas looks to finally be the guy to grab onto the job long term and to have earned Tony La Russa's confidence.  Salas is going to be very valuable going forwards and should be a decent trade chip in the long term once everyone is sure he is going to hold on to his job.  If he's still available in your league, go get Salas now.

No recommendation last week, so jumping right into this week's drop and pickup now.  A second baseman from a horrible offense to drop, and another from a better offense that is heating up....

Fantasy Baseball Spot Starter Pickups For Friday 5/27/11

Thursday Starter's Stats - Ryan Vogelsong - 8.0 Innings Pitched - 3 Strikeouts - Loss - 1.13 ERA - 1.13 WHIP

Week Eight Starter Stats - 24.2 Innings Pitched - 13 Strikeouts - 4.74 K/9 - 1 Win in 3 Starts - 2.19 ERA - 1.18 WHIP

Cumulative Starters' Stats - 420.2 Innings Pitched - 304 Strikeouts - 6.50 K/9 - 26 Wins in 66 Starts - 3.53 ERA - 1.20 WHIP

Starter Spreadsheet Viewable Online Here

Vogelsong makes three straight days of very good starts.  Kyle McClellan and Erik Bedard each went six innings with no earned runs over the last two days, and Vogelsong went eight innings here on Thursday and let up just one earned run.  The strikeout numbers haven't been there this week, but the ERA and WHIP have been great, and sometimes you have to be careful with the spot starters to avoid getting beat up chasing strikeouts.  The deep league players WHIP didn't get hurt too bad by Dickey's 2.2 scoreless innings before he left the game with a heel injury covering first base, but it wasn't a great use of a start for those in start limit leagues.

Friday's recommendations coming up right here...

Fantasy Baseball Spot Starter Pickups For Thursday 5/26/11

Tuesday Starter's Stats - Kyle McClellan - 6.0 Innings Pitched - 4 Strikeouts - No Decision - 0.00 ERA - 0.33 WHIP
Wednesday Starter's Stats - Erik Bedard - 6.0 Innings Pitched - 4 Strikeouts - Win - 0.00 ERA - 1.17 WHIP
Week Eight Starter Stats - 16.2 Innings Pitched - 10 Strikeouts - 5.40 K/9 - 1 Win in 3 Starts - 2.70 ERA - 1.20 WHIP
Cumulative Starters' Stats - 412.2 Innings Pitched - 301 Strikeouts - 6.56 K/9 - 26 Wins in 65 Starts - 3.58 ERA - 1.20 WHIP
Starter Spreadsheet Viewable Online Here

Was never able to re-update yesterday's post, so I'm going to just talk about McClellan's stats on Tuesday here.  And it was a great start.  He let up a two run home run, but it was in an inning extended by an error, and wasn't charged to his ERA.  Other than that he only let up just one hit over the six innings he was in there.  He didn't catch a win, but it was an otherwise great six innings to add to your team.

On Wednesday, I had a good day with everyone i talked about.  Bedard delivered six innings of actual shut out ball (even though that doesn't matter in fantasy) but scattered six hits in a walk over that time so the WHIP was just good, not amazing like McClellan's Tuesday.  Luckily he did pick up the win that McClellan didn't.  If you couldn't get Bedard and went with Ervin Santana, you still got a win in six innings, but he let up an earned run over that time.  Deep league players got good ERA and WHIP from Mike Minor, but he didn't pick up the win in a game that went to extra innings.

No Pickup/Drop column today, as I have work early tomorrow and it's four AM as i write this.  I'm not just dodging Denard Span's hot week, as Brantley has been nearly as good.  Just very late at night.  Thursday's travel day starter coming up....

Fantasy Baseball Pitcher Pickup And Drop Ideas For Wednesday 5/25/11

Two Weeks Ago's Recommendation - Drop Jose Lopez and Pickup Scott Rolen

Lopez has been hitting .353 over the last two weeks, but has picked up just two runs and a single stolen base.  Rolen has hit for a similarly solid average at .342 but has been much better in the counting stats, picking up six runs and five RBIs with a stolen base.  This is going to continue to go this way.  Rolen plays in a better offense so he'll pick up more counting stats, and he will hit for a better average as well.

Last Week's Recommendation - Drop Josh Tomlin and Pickup Madison Bumgarner

It's harder to evaluate a pair of pitchers after just one week because generally they will only have one start each, and that's what happened here.  Both guys did turn solid starts in wins.  Bumgarner went a little deeper into the start so he had a better ERA, but Tomlin let up less hits and walks so he grabbed a better WHIP.  That was the only difference between the two through one week.  We'll keep an eye on this for a while, but I have to insist that you drop Tomlin.  He's going to blow up soon.  He's not this good of a pitcher.

This Wednesday we are also going to look at a pair of starting pitchers.  I write about spot starter recommendations every day, but that doesn't help you evaluate pitchers that are owned in more than fifty percent of leagues.  One to drop and one to pickup coming up...