Men behind the curtain

Here is a quick look at the contributors to The Baseball Stars:

THE JON is many things -- arrogant, conniving, unstable -- but first and foremost, he's legit. As much as it pains me, he knows what he is doing. No matter what sport, the man has a knack for finding hidden gems -- he still reminds us about "discovering" Johan Santana -- and knowing when players are about to peak or valley.
I don't know how he does it.
While I tend to rely on statistical analysis and research, Jon at least gives the impression he goes on gut instinct. I'm sure that's not entirely accurate, but you'll never see him carting around something like Baseball Prospectus. Heck, I'm not even sure he knows what that is. Here's an example of a conversation I would expect he and I to have:
FreeSanJose: Have picked up the latest Bill James baseball extract?
The Jon: Dude, you know I don't swing that way.
FSJ: Oh, that's right, you don't like books because there "All facts, no heart."
TJ: Books? Oh, I thought you were talking about man juice. Now that that's established, I suppose I think Bill James is an old white guy with a beard and glasses. Am I close?
FSJ: Actually, that's almost exactly what he LOOKS like. But do you know who he IS?
TJ: You always have to be right, don't you? No, I don't know who he is.

And that's my point. I know who Bill James is and will probably use his book and others like it to help me pick my team. The Jon will look at everyone, read the hype and somehow determine if he believes it or not. Somehow, he manages to be right more often than not.
Of course, his team will always look similar (a few Latin studs, maybe a Japanese guy and couple young white pitchers and middle infielders and some up-and-coming types). But I think most of us have teams that always LOOK similar....
So that's The Jon. As far as WHO he is ... that's another story, and one I really can't do justice now. By FreeSanJose

FREESANJOSE
I hate FreeSanJose. I hate his posts. I hate his trade offers. And I hate how I usually have to go through him whenever I win one of my numerous titles. FreeSanJose is a gauge to see how well you will do in fantasy baseball. If you have a comparable team to his (you will hardly ever have a better squad then the one he drafts, trades and uses astute waiver wire pickups for) you will pretty much have a season where a top three finish is a given. Always quick for a fight, FreeSanJose can ramble off a post like the one you just read. Arguing with him is a chore, trying to get a deal done with him becomes a two-week affair. And The Jon wouldn't have it any other way. He is the polar opposite of me in terms of baseball strategy and execution. Who's the better player? It really depends on the alignment of the planets. He is the Joe Frazier to my Ali. He is the Red Sox to my Yankees.
He always shoots for young pitchers, picks them too high and then produces our league's best pitching staff. When our league was first starting, I went offense, offense, offense. He went pitching, got some lucky up and coming bats, pulled off ridiculous trades where the other party bent over backwards for him, and won a title. Six years later, I have the two best pitchers in baseball as keepers to counteract anything FreeSanJose does with his hurlers. On the other side, FreeSanJose has great offensive keepers to counteract anything I do. I wouldn't be the most successful player in our leagues without FreeSanJose. And he wouldn't be the bitter loudmouth if it wasn't for me. FreeSanJose ... bring it. By The Jon

NEWSPAPERMAN
To get this blog rolling, I was given the task of talking about Newspaper Man's fantasy baseball exploits. After being in leagues with this guy for about 6 years, I think I am up to the task. There are two things you need to know about this guy. One, you won't like him in your league. Two, you want him in your league. NPM is that guy in your league that is constantly throwing out garbage trade offers hoping somebody who doesn't know better accepts them. NPM has the so little game in the area of smack talk that it's borderline criminal. NPM is the guy doing all of the picking up and dropping on the waiver wire. Beneath all these vagisil-ian fantasy traits, however, is a guy who knows what the hell he is doing. This guy knows how to draft. He doesn't waste picks. He hits on his sleepers and he knows how to construct a team with balance across his offense and staff. His only weakness is his man-crush on Roger Clemens. Bottom line, to have a competitive fantasy league, you need a couple Newspaper Mans. What he lacks in gonads, he more than makes up for in knowledge of how the game is played. By PoiDog

POIDOG
Dreamer. Overly confident. Bridesmaid.
These words best describe PoiDog, who each year seems to make some bold move at the draft by gambling on sleepers and then proclaiming that he’s just taken“the steal of the draft.”
Sure he’s had the likes of Johan Santana, Manny Ramirez and Miguel Cabrera in our keeper league. But he’s also traded the first two, and spent mid- to high-round picks on duds like Juan Uribe, Jody Gerut and Jorge Cantu.
Nonetheless, he remains competitive every season because he’s a relentless waiver wire shopper and dealmaker, and often tweaks his strategy.
But one problem still remains: He’s never won a baseball league. Two-time runner-up, zero-time champion. He is essentially the Oakland Athletics (post-Bash Bros.) of our leagues: consistent, always in the playoffs, but never a champion. By NewsPaperMan