Bat Hits - Tuesday, August 25th 2009

These are just some quick thoughts on various sports subjects. Sometimes there's links, sometime's there's not. Deal with it people. Lots of fantasy related stuff as normal but we'll bounce around sometimes. Hey, they're bat hits, not full-blow McClainiums.

• DeAngelo Williams is climbing. At this point it looks like even if Jonathan Stewart plays, he'll just be the #2 guy and the handcuff. Sure he'll probably get more than 100 carries but the Panthers are gonna run it a ton. I'd elevate Williams to the 2nd Tier of running backs right now. Which means I'd have no problem taking him #2 overall (behind AP) in standard leagues.
• Chad Ochocinco wants to be a boxer now. I wish we could just stop paying attention but this might actually be good. The opposing boxer might actually be able to shut him up. Of course if Ohco stinks out loud again this year I'm not sure that any non-Bengals fan will give a shit.
• Don't the Yankees look kind of brilliant now for not trading for Santana? Phil Hughes has solidified the bullpen allowing Joba to stay in the rotation with a sense of security. Melky Cabrera has been a solid role player this year. Robinson Cano has had a Renaissance and looks like the borderline All-Star he did 2 seasons ago. Meanwhile Santana is headed for surgery.
  
• The Phillies look just as brilliant for trading Cliff Lee instead of Roy Halladay. Halladay got rocked last night (just ask my Yahoo fantasy team) and Cliff Lee has been basically unhittable. Not to mention Cliff Lee will cost $7 million less next season. That's a lot of money for the Phillies. That's basically enough for the other back of the rotation starter they need, or some bullpen help.
• Got a bad feeling about Brandon Inge. The situation with his knee just seems to be getting worse. Beside, you can replace the production he's given you since the All-Star break with almost any scrub catcher off of the wire in most leagues.
• I don't know if I'm keeping Johan Santana in any league this year. Maybe in a deep dynasty league, but be very, very afraid.
  
• Glenn Coffee is going to be the hot rookie name real soon. He might be a sneaky pickup for Frank Gore owners. Not only will he be the handcuff but he might be useful enough to start with Gore as a bye-week fill in when the matchup is right.
• Felix Jones and Leon Washington are probably going to be regular flex plays this season. Ironically, I don't think either one of them is actually the handcuff to have on that team.
  
• Watch out for Greg Jones, Touchdown Vulture in Jacksonville.
• Again, don't even mess with a New England running back except in deep leagues. Kevin Faulk is draftable in most PPR leagues as a RB3/RB4.
• Seattle looks like a mess too. The scary part is they are going to run the ball a lot. But they now have one over-the-hill running back and one running back who lacks NFL talent. Remember the name Justin Forsett. But if Walter Jones were to miss the season I would avoid all Seattle running backs in all but the deepest of leagues.
• Most NFL teams have something to offer fantasy owners. The Cleveland Browns might be the exception. There will be some IDP value on their defense, but their offense is downright doo-doo. It's kind of sad. They should have an above-average offensive line and Braylon Edwards has elite talent. But neither QB looks ready to do anything and their RB situation makes Seattle's look organized.
• You might want to temper your expectations for Drew Brees just a touch. Don't get me wrong, I love me the Drew Brees but he just lost his Pro Bowl left tackle to surgery for the dreaded sports hernia. He could miss the first month of the season. Brees is still in that elite tier, but this is just one more reason to avoid over-drafting a QB this year.
• I'd continue to avoid T.O. like the Paris Hilton Parasite. He's already got a nagging injury AKA his built-in excuse should something go wrong. If that Bills' offensive line doesn't hold together, Buffalo might get to see the real T.O. earlier than scheduled.
• Watch out for the injury to Nate Washington. He was running red-hot all camp and pre-season and now he's out until Week 1 at the earliest. Gauge the seriousness of the injury. If it looks like their just being cautious try to scoop him up in the draft a round or two later than you could've done recently.
• Grab Eddie Royal in all formats. Avoid Brandon Marshall in all formats. Keep an eye on Jabar Gaffney too. It's hard to get excited about Denver's passing game without Cutler or Marshall but their defense is so reprehensible that they'll be forced to pass constantly. This could also increase Knowshon Moreno's value in PPR leagues. Ditto Tony Scheffler who's value should rise as Marshall's falls.

On some other whatnot, I caught Inglorious Basterds on Sunday. Theater was pretty packed and it was a good crowd. There was quite a bit of laughter at times and applause at the end. I enjoyed the movie very much and thought that it was very well made. But be aware going in, not much of the movie is in English. So bring your reading glasses, old heads. Tarantino fans will love and it's a very deep film with a little something for everybody. Not a perfect film but more than entertaining and far better than 95% of the other crap shoved into theaters with huge marketing blitzes. I recommend going to see it. Don't bring your kids and know that it's about two and a half hours long. I think you could actually bring a date to this though. Might be a good 2nd date. Because you never do dinner and movie as a first date. Seriously, you won't be able to look anymore boring and vanilla than that. Unless the lady suggests it. Then it's on you to decide if you like vanilla.

Late.