AGRI Biz

One of the easiest mistakes a fantasy baseball player can make is to overreact to a small sample size. When an established star has a slow April or a no-name waiver pickup gets off to a fast start, it's tempting to sacrifice long-term talent to play the hot hand now. In addition to the fact that even the best players go through cold spells, small sample sizes are extremely susceptible to the ...

A casual Cleveland Indians fan flipping through the sports section would let his face fall if he noticed Justin Masterson's numbers so far this year. At 0-3 with a 5.68 ERA, his basic stats are bad enough to make Joe Six-Pack put down his coffee, stare into space, and mumble something about the good old days. After surrendering seven runs in four innings Sunday against Oakland, even diehard Tribe fan Samantha Bunten ...

It shouldn't surprise anyone that Clevelanders love to complain. We certainly have just cause: with rampant unemployment and poverty, miserable weather, and heartbreaking sports teams, Forbes recently named us the most miserable city in America. But as I listened to the increasingly drunk fans sitting behind me at Progressive Field the other night (they were pretty loud, it was kind of hard not to), I realized that some of their beefs really ...

When I was named a Featured Columnist for the Cleveland Indians last year, my fellow FC Samantha Bunten invited me to be a part of Tribe Talk, a weekly roundtable in which the top Indians writers on Bleacher Report talk about recent news and discuss how the team could better itself in the future. Last week, as I was filling out Samantha's latest survey, I had the idea of creating a ...

Last night, I had the great pleasure of going to Progressive Field for the first time this year. I saw a great game from great seats ($17 for front-row bleacher seats, thank you StubHub) with great weather (despite an ominous forecast). However, as I strolled to my seat, I began to notice that many parts of the stadium were not how I remembered them. For those Tribe fans who have not yet made ...

On April 14, 1947, Major League Baseball was a whites-only sport. Not since the expulsion of black players in 1888 had a non-Caucasian man swung a bat or thrown a pitch in the Big Show. That changed on April 15, 1947, when Jackie Robinson suited up for the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field. Today—the 63rd anniversary of this historic event—it is our duty, both as baseball fans and as Americans, to appreciate ...

The arrival of Opening Day inevitably leads to speculation about which players will take home trophies at the end of the season. In the MVP races, many have raised questions about Joe Mauer's ability to replicate his fantastic 2009 numbers and whether Albert Pujols can sustain his god-like pace for another year. There is no consensus pick for the AL Cy Young, but in the NL it looks to be a showdown ...

Winter is not a good time for baseball fans. With nothing to hold our attention but the inferior sports of basketball and football, we are forced to spend our days waiting for pots to boil on the Hot Stove. As the rumor mill grinds away, many (if not most) of the major market developments are somewhat predictable. No one was surprised to see Matt Holliday re-sign with the Cardinals, for example, or ...

All over the country, Opening Day is a time for hope, optimism, and making predictions. Unfortunately, assigning auguries for an all-but-doomed team like the Cleveland Indians can be depressing. The Indians essentially waved the white flag on 2010 with the trades of Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez last July. This a rebuilding year, which is code for "we're not even really going to try." Luckily, we have more to worry about than just ...

Opening Day is fast approaching. The beginning of baseball season has a vast array of consequences. As an Indians fan, it means I will soon become a mere shell of a human being, completely embittered by my hometown team's failings. As a fantasy nut, it begins a six-month stretch of staring at my computer screen and swearing at the players foolish enough to strike out on my watch. And, as a human being, I ...