Go forward to more recent blurbs.

7/30 - The MLB trade deadline is fast approaching. Roy Oswalt is the biggest name to move so far. Matt Capps was sent to Minnesota, leaving the Nats bullpen without an obvious closer. Unless I’ve already forgotten something, nothing else seems to have the likelihood of much impact so far. But there’s still a day to go.

I loaded up the 2010 NFL schedule yesterday. The season is still 6 weeks away, but the time for preparation has begun. At least this season will start on time. Next year could be a nasty one in several sports, with collective bargaining agreements expiring in both the NFL and the NBA after the upcoming season. Baseball gets to wait until after the 2011 season. I can hardly wait.

         Comment on this blurb

7/29 - The PGA Tour’s Greenbrier Classic is up and running. Matt Kuchar is the popular GuruGolf favorite, appearing on about one-third of all active foursomes.

If you are interested in fantasy football, here are the latest developments:

• The RIFC (RotoGuru Invitational Football Challenge) qualifying leagues are now being filled. If you qualify for a spot in a AAA league (see the priority list), then you need to make sure you are signed up for one of the two AAA leagues. Sign up threads are here. If you are not prequalified for a AAA league, then try out a AA league. Regardless of the league, the time to act is now.

• Several have recently emailed to ask about the TSN salary cap football game. TSN is no longer in the business of producing fantasy sports games. However, RotoHog has launched salary cap football games which are virtual clones of the TSN format, and I will be providing the usual RotoGuru statistical support for those games. You can review and register for those games here. I haven’t yet loaded up the player data for 2010, but will get to that sometime in early August.

7/28 - Although he’s generally behaved himself in his first year with a new team, the tandem of Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco just sounds like a train wreck waiting to happen. How long until the league’s top two self-promoters start focusing on how to outshine each other? For example, just who is Batman and who is Robin? If nothing else, there will be no lack of attention paid to the duo in August and September. I’m sure that suits them both just fine.

The Greenbrier Classic tees off in West Virginia at 7am tomorrow morning. Before moving on to this tournament, I guess I should backtrack and note that vacation agreed with my GuruGolf management, as my team Jose Maria ILostMyBall posted the top best ball score (-49) last weekend, in spite of having three golfers below the theoretical cut line after the opening round. Worst ball honors were claimed by Duffers #3 (+37). Curiously, Matt Kuchar was on both foursomes, even though he only contributed 7 bogeys over the entire four rounds. Six were unique bogeys for Duffers #3, however.

         Comment on this blurb

7/20 - It wasn’t so long ago that Ubaldo Jimenez was a virtual lock to throw a strong game every time he took the mound. But over the last month – not so much. In fact, using RotoHog points as a benchmark, he ranks about 45th among pitchers in total points over the past 30 days. His June ERA was 4.41, and in three July starts, his ERA is 5.59. Nonetheless, he’s still 5-0 since the end of May – although the Rockies have lost his last two no-decisions.

Are you ready for some football? I’ve started to organize the RotoGuru Invitational Football Challenge qualifying leagues. Good performance in these leagues can earn you a shot to play in the top level RIFC next year. To compete in a AAA league, you need to have placed high enough in one of the 2009 qualifying leagues, but AA leagues are open to anyone. To express your interest in joining a league, please post in the Football Forum. In particular, I still need a volunteer to commish one of these leagues.

As I noted yesterday, I’ll be vacationing for another week starting tomorrow, this time on Long Beach Island in NJ. Blurbs will be suspended for that period, but everything else should be updated and running throughout. In particular, don’t forget to reset your GuruGolf rosters for Thursday. There’s a fair amount of turnover in the field this week.

         Comment on this blurb

7/19 - I’m back at RotoGuru World Headquarters today, but don’t get used to it, as I’ll be gone again on Wednesday. I’ve got two days to take care of some business.

Two GuruGolf contests were completed while I was in Ohio:
British Open prize winners:
SANFORDORS2 (best ball, -46)
louky 4 (worst ball, +51)
Interestingly, only one GuruGolf team had Louis Oosthuizen, but that team still finished six strokes behind in best ball. Meanwhile, 51 GuruGolf teams started the tournament with 4 active golfers yet failed to post a four-round team score better than Oosthuizen’s -16.

By the way, in today’s quote, the British use the word bottle to describe the combination of nerve, unflappability and resolve needed to win at any endeavor.

"Open Faced Sandwich contest" prize winners:
shankopotomus7 (best ball – 6 stroke margin of victory)
Battlefield Rex (worst ball – 4 stroke margin of victory)
This contest covered the three weeks in between the U.S. and British Opens.

         Comment on this blurb

7/7 - The 5 Ks in 9 innings wasn’t quite vintage Santana. And the home run that he hit certainly wasn’t. But the 3-hit shutout was, even more impressive because it came against Cincinnati, the highest scoring team in the N.L.

The John Deere Classic tees off tomorrow morning with a field that, in spite of its schedule disadvantage vis à vis the British Open, isn’t totally devoid of top golfers. A lot of that owes to the tournament’s provision of a charter jet to fly directly to St. Andrews on Sunday night. For a number of golfers, I’m sure that’s a better option than taking the week off and traveling on a public flight. If you’re looking for John Deere golfers who expect to be on that flight, compare the field with the current British Open entry list.

This will be my last blurb for the next week-and-a-half, as I’ll be back in Ohio vacationing through July 18. Behave while I’m away!

         Comment on this blurb

7/6 - Roy Halladay pitched his 7th complete game of the season last night. In those seven outings, he has given up a total of only 7 earned runs, although curiously, his record in those 7 games is only 5-2, as he twice lost by one run. He’s got two more CGs this season than his closest pursuer, Cliff Lee (5). Last year, Halladay lead the majors with 9 CGs, while Lee was tied for second with 6. If you’re playing in a format that rewards complete games, those two guys might be the über-studs.

I know that some of you make use of the daily analysis tools available at the RotoGuru-affiliated site, DailyBaseballData.com. The most heavily accessed tool at that site is the Batter vs. Pitcher report, a listing of all of the BvP data for a game day on a single page. This morning, I added an indicator after each batter’s name showing if he bats left, right, or switch. Pitcher “handedness” is also shown. I suspect some of you will find that to be convenient info in assessing potential matchups.

         Comment on this blurb

7/5 - Tiger Woods is still obviously off his “A” game. He barely made the cut this week, and failed to shoot under par for any of the four rounds. For the season, he ranks 34th in birdies per round (3.76). Only once in the last five years did he rank less than first in that category, and that year (2008) he ranked second. He’s not even the priciest golfer in GuruGolf anymore; Lee Westwood currently has that spot.

Congrats to pork barrel savings for posting the top best ball score (-45) in GuruGolf this weekend. Worst ball honors were earned by Old Bogies with a +49.

As a national holiday in the U.S., you’d think there would be more afternoon games on today’s baseball slate. But there’s only one game in the early afternoon (Balt at Det), and two others in the late afternoon. Four teams aren’t even scheduled to play today. That just doesn’t seem right.

         Comment on this blurb

7/2 - The Pirates had the worst record in interleague play, 2-13. Since returning to N.L competition, they’ve gone 3-1. Then again, two of those wins were against the Cubs, against whom the Buccos are 9-3. Throw out the Cubs, and Pittsburgh’s record would be 19-48, a winning percentage of less than .300. Sadly for the Pirates, they face the Cubs only three more times this year.

Now that it’s approximately the mid-point of the MLB season, I took a look at the top five hitters for the first half using several different fantasy point systems. Two of the top five are no surprise at all: Miguel Cabrera and Albert Pujols. But the other three are not names you would have guessed at the start of the season: Vlad Guerrero, Robinson Cano, and Josh Hamilton. Guerrero has to be the biggest surprise. In the RIBC drafts in March, he was taken in the 12th round on average. As it turns out, even the team that “stretched” and took him in the 7th round got a good deal.

         Comment on this blurb

7/1 - Wow, July! I’m going to have to start thinking about football before long.

Don’t look now, but the Texas Rangers have moved into a tie for the best record in the majors, now 47-30. In the N.L., the top record belongs to the San Diego Padres, a half-game ahead of Atlanta. You all saw those coming, right?

The AT&T National golf tournament is underway, and the most widely owned GuruGolfer is 43-year old Jerry Kelly, on roughly 25% of all foursomes. Kelly has played quite well this season, missing only one cut – and that was in early February. Since then, he’s made 13 straight cuts. He’s not been among the tour birdie leaders – his 3.14 birdies per round ranks only 157th. But there’s a lot for be said for playing on the weekends. And of course, now that he’s the popular favorite, his chances of surviving into this weekend are significantly diminished.

         Comment on this blurb

2010: June . . . May . . . April . . . March . . . February . . . January

2009: December . . . November . . . October . . . September . . . August . . . July . . . June . . . May . . . April . . . March . . . February . . . January