(piece originally ran on MinorLeagueBall.com)
The New York Yankees and Houston Astros finally struck a deal after more than a week of rumors flying around about Brian McCann. The Astros got their second former Atlanta Braves catcher, acquiring McCann to play alongside Evan Gattis. In exchange, the Yankees (who also sent some money) acquired two young fireballing prospects in Albert Abreu and Jorge Guzman.
Keep reading for my thoughts on the prospects the Yankees acquired.
Back again with you for our weekly Fantasy Football analysis. It is Week 11. You should have a feel of whether your team is playoff bound or not. If you are on the fence, sitting at .500 or maybe one game under, your playoffs have already started. That makes the correctness of every move imperative.
That’s what we are here for. Check out our experts Starts and Sits.
Keep reading for more of this week’s Starts and Sits for Fantasy Football.
Special guest writer, new to Wayniac Nation —
We’re more than halfway through the season and that’s long enough to talk about what some of the biggest surprises have been so far. Last year saw a franchise-best season from the Carolina Panthers, but the team is looking like a shell of its former self. The squad boasting last year’s MVP at quarterback is struggling on both sides of the ball and has failed to develop any momentum.
Last week, Dunton and I released the first ever Wayniac Nation Power Rankings. Some of the teams betrayed us this week. Other teams surprised us and entered the charts. Remember, we are doing an AFC and NFC Power Rankings separately until the playoffs commence, at which point it will become a comprehensive power rankings.
So, who made the cut?
Dunton text me asking why we have never done power rankings for the NFL here at Wayniac Nation. It was a good question that I had no answer to, so I asked him who he thought were the best teams. We went back and forth a bit, but narrowed it down to the first ever Wayniac Nation NFL Power Rankings.
(Note from the editor: Over the past season and a half, SBJ has put money in your pockets. His numbers speak for themselves. He has, however, done it behind a veil of mystery. This series has opened the door to the inner mind of SBJ, who he is football-wise and why he is that way. It is the endearing story of fandom lost, but found yet again. Be sure you catch up with the series if you haven’t here in Part I and here in Part II. Then, go make yourself some money.)
Mandeville, Louisiana was now home number four in just under my tenth year of existence. Of all the sociological transitions we made over those early years this would by far be the hardest to adjust to academically.
I can still remember the knot in my stomach growing tighter like a constrictor, once I could hear the high pitched squeal of the school bus brakes grinding to a depressing halt at the corner of my street.
Welcome to Week 9 of the NFL season. There are a ton of byes this week so we have to dig deep to come up with the unique lineups for GPP play. For Cash games, there seems to be an agreement of paying up for RBs and finding value at WRs this week. Picks are for Main Slate only unless otherwise noted. Let’s get to it:
My very first organized sports experience was playing T-Ball, at the age of seven in Flower Mound, Texas. We were the Cubs, despite the fact that our uniforms were yellow. I played first base, and chose number three in honor of the current Texas Ranger first baseman at the time Pete O’Brien. He played first, like me, and he had an Irish surname, so I was sold on my favorite number from the get go.
Six more byes this week. The teams resting Week 9 are pretty big time as well when it comes to fantasy. Ready for who you are without this week?
Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, LaGarrette Blount, Julian Edelman, Lamar Miller, DeAndre Hopkins, Jeremy Hill, Giovani Bernard, A.J. Green, Carson Palmer, David Johnson, Larry Fitzgerald, Jordan Howard, Alshon Jeffrey, Jamison Crowder, Kirk Cousins, Jordan Reed.
Got all that? Don’t worry, we got you covered.
Keep reading for this week’s starts and sits in Fantasy Football.
There’s a lot that can be said about last night’s World Series victory by the Chicago Cubs, some of which will be discussed right here in the upcoming days. We saw Theo Epstein cement his legacy as own of the greatest masterminds in MLB history, and for all those that thought Joe Maddon was the best skipper in baseball, even in a losing effort Terry Francona proved otherwise.
Ben Zobrist showed once again that he may in fact be the most under appreciated hitter of his generation. We saw two dynasties form, as both the Indians and Cubs have even more talent coming up the pipeline that neither should go away. And we saw for all the hype, for all the commotion over service time and Kris Bryant, he was worth the wait and everything advertised. He has surpassed Bryce Harper as the best young player in the National League in my eyes.
Last night wasn’t about Theo showing the world he was right in his rebuild. It wasn’t about the young Cubbies rising victorious. It was about Ernie Banks, Billy Williams, Ron Santo and Ryne Sandberg getting their due. And it was about Cubs fans, finally hearing the call they had long been waiting for from one of the most beloved voices in the history of the game.
Thank you Budweiser and the Cubs and Indians for showing Harper that he’s clueless. Baseball is fun again.
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