Bloomberg Sports' Front Office 2011

Bloomberg Sports’ Front Office 2011 is the must-have tool for fantasy baseball players. After attending the product’s launch event, I am entirely convinced that this tool will take as much of the guess work as possible out of the fantasy equation.

They have developed a very intricate individual player projection system which is really the basis of the entire operation. Building upon that though, is the ability to sync with Yahoo, ESPN and CBS Sports leagues, and therefore have the entire player ranking system made specifically to the categories used in your league. Why would you want to follow Yahoo’s ranking system when they have a broad system which only focuses on 5x5 leagues, when your league uses OBP, or OPS, or an entirely different set of statistics? The specificity is absolutely invaluable, and is a huge game-changer for fantasy players. However, as great as that feature is, it is only made better by what Bloomberg Sports has built on top of that.

A free agent pick up analyzer will take a look at all of the available free agents, determine who will help you the most in the categories you need the most help in, and recommend players for you to add. Working from that same wavelength is the trade analyzer, which will take a look at your team, the other teams in your league and tell you what trades will be the most beneficial for you to propose, so as long as they are fair for both parties. Anyone can tell you to offer Melky Cabrera for Albert Pujols, but the trade analyzer will tell you who you would need to give up for Albert Pujols, so that the trade works out for you, and is feasible for the other team as well. Additionally, if you have an idea for a specific trade, you can enter that into the system, and it will tell you whether or not it works for you and the other team. As if that was not enough, it explains to you exactly why the trade works for both parties. Finally, the program will make recommendations on who you should start and who you should sit in your lineup on a daily basis.

In summary, the tool helps you draft with the ranking system, improve your team externally with the free agent and trade analyzers and help your team internally with the lineup recommendation system. This tool looks to change the face of fantasy baseball, one championship at a time.

Is the Albert Pujols Sweepstakes going to affect Michael Young?

Upon formally hearing of Michael Young’s trade request today, I took a look at the FanGraphs WAR team leaderboard for second basemen in 2010. Unsurprisingly, I saw Young’s most frequently rumored suitor, the Colorado Rockies, ranked near the bottom, along with a slew of teams not expected to contend in 2011 (the Pirates, Mets, Indians, and Mariners, to name a few). However, I did notice a pair of interesting teams who are certainly looking to contend next season, and could clearly use a significant upgrade at second base: The Cardinals (-0.1 WAR) and the Cubs (1.2). Now neither of these teams has been linked to Young as far as the rumor mill goes, and there are a number of potential reasons for this. They could be on Young’s no-trade list (which covers 22 teams), the Rangers could be asking an exorbitant amount in return, or the teams could simply be tapped out financially for the season. I do wonder, though, if both the Cardinals and the Cubs are staying out of the chase for Young because neither team knows for certain how the Albert Pujols negotiations will go (although the Cardinals have a better idea, one would assume), and may need every extra dime to make a lucrative offer to him this winter. An offer that likely would not mesh particularly well with the $48 million Young is owed over the next three seasons.

Obviously, there is no guarantee that either would have pursued Young regardless of Pujols (or that they still won’t, for that matter), or that the Rangers aren’t willing to eat a significant amount of Young’s salary in order to move him, making the point moot. But it will be interesting to see if the Cubs and Cardinals do not make a move to upgrade the position, and are involved in a tight race for the playoffs late in September, probably with last season’s NL Central Champion Cincinnati Reds. It does seem odd to say, but trading for a slightly above average regular second baseman might be the biggest win-now move either team could make, albeit with potentially extreme consequences beyond this season.

2011 First Base Rankings

2011 is no exception to the rule when it comes to first basemen: quality players are extremely plentiful. There is a tremendous amount of 5x5 production to be had here, with three reigning MVP candidates (Pujols, Votto, Cabrera) fronting the list. Throw in some established studs in new, hitter friendly parks (Dunn and Gonzalez), along with a bevy of other standout performers. All told, landing a top 12 first baseman probably guarantees at least average production for the position, with the potential for even more. Keep an eye on guys like Kevin Youkilis and Justin Morneau, who could fall due to injury concerns, but are still elite hitters playing in good lineups and could give you great middle round value.

Name	Tom	Alex	Overall
Albert Pujols	1	1	1
Joey Votto	2	3	2
Miguel Cabrera	3	2	2
Prince Fielder	5	5	4
Adrian Gonzalez	6	4	5
Adam Dunn	4	7	6
Mark Teixeira	7	6	7
Ryan Howard	8	8	8
Paul Konerko	9	11	9
Justin Morneau	10	10	10
Kevin Youkilis	11	12	11
Kendry Morales	13	9	11
Carlos Pena	12	14	13
Aubrey Huff	17	13	14
Buster Posey	14	17	15
Derrek Lee	18	15	16
Adam Laroche	16	18	17
Mike Napoli	15	21	18
Victor Martinez	21	16	19
Michael Cuddyer	19	20	20
Billy Butler	22	19	21
Lance Berkman	20	22	22