No one likes committees — not in real-life, not in fantasy. Generally speaking, organizations only form committees when it's necessary to create the appearance that a problem is being addressed, even though no practical solution exists. When a manager goes bullpen-by-committee, he's usually telling us that he's fresh out of good ideas, so it's time to spin the wheel of bad ideas.

Bruce Bochy, who are you gonna call in the ninth?Giants manager Bruce Bochy recently formed a committee in San Francisco, because Santiago Casilla gave him little choice. Casilla has been battling blister issues, and he's blown five of his last nine save opportunities, dating back to June 24. In comments following the acquisition of lefty Jose Mijares, Bochy specifically mentioned Jeremy Affeldt as an option for the end-game.

Thus, if you're chasing saves, Casilla, Affeldt and Sergio Romo are all in play. I wish this weren't the case. I'm working hard to acquire all three guys in the NL-only league that I keep whining about around here. (If you get themRead More »from Closer Report: Blown saves by the Bay

Dwayne Bowe, in happier times (Getty Images)

Now that we're entering the fourth year of the Matt Cassel era, Kansas City fans probably don't have an excess of optimism where the quarterback position is concerned. The Chiefs haven't ranked in the top-half of the league in passing since 2005, when Trent Green was lobbing bombs to Eddie Kennison.

But at least we won't have to suffer through another Tyler Palko prime-time massacre, so that's, um ... something.

Cassel is back at the controls of what figures to be a run-heavy offense in KC. He missed the final seven games of the 2011 season, but he's healthy now, ready for his usual 400-something pass attempts. This year, he'll have a new offensive coordinator on the sideline, 37-year-old Brian Daboll, plus he'll have a pair of familiar faces back in the huddle, as Jamaal Charles and Tony Moeaki return from ACL injuries. This franchise had zero luck in terms of health last season, obviously, so we can't expect the offense to be as miserable as it was when last we saw it. The Chiefs averaged just 9.3 points per game over the final nine weeks last year. That can't happen again. If it does, I'm pretty sure they'll be relegated to the Big Ten's Leaders Division.

Read More »from Juggernaut Index No. 18: The Kansas City Chiefs

Jean Segura at the All-Star Futures Game (US Presswire)

When the Brewers dealt away Zack Greinke at the trade deadline this year, they received a decent prospect haul from the Angels in return. (They also ruined the NL-only season for many of us, but let's try to set that aside for now). Milwaukee fans are about to get an up-close look at the key asset acquired in the Greinke deal, as Jean Segura was recalled on Monday. He'll replace Cesar Izturis, who was claimed off waivers by the Nationals.

Segura arrives as a prospect-of-interest in deeper fantasy formats, mixed leagues included. He entered the season ranked among the top-three prospects in the Angels organization, and he cracked the overall MLB top-60 on multiple lists. Baseball America had him at No. 55, Keith Law ranked him No. 44. Segura is a middle infielder with "premium tools" (BA's words), including excellent speed and the ability to hit for average. Two years ago, he swiped 50 bags in the Midwest League. This season, he's stolen another 37 at Double-A. He's a career .313/.367/.439 hitter in the minors and he's batting .304/.358/.413 right now.

Read More »from Call-up alert: Jean Segura promoted to Milwaukee

The athlete-to-fantasy owner transition can be difficult for some (AP Images-Roto Arcade)

Michael Phelps has achieved everything an athlete could ever hope to, what with the record Olympic medal count, the unrivaled dominance of his sport, and endorsement possibilities queuing up. He's been as successful in his chosen field as anyone has ever been, at anything. He's ridiculous.

A guy like that should be completely unrelatable. But Phelps is actually a lot like the rest of us in many ways — except that he's less-ready to draft his fantasy team.

Phelps' league is drafting in a couple weeks — nice of them to work around his schedule — and, for whatever reason, he's not adequately prepared. Check his recent comments via USA Today...

Read More »from What’s next for Michael Phelps? Fantasy football, that’s what

In most conferences, in something like a normal season, we would be hyping a two-time defending champion almost endlessly – particularly if that team was led by the top returning vote-getter from the previous year's Heisman balloting.

But the Big Ten is not your typical conference and 2012 is anything but a standard season.

As a result, the Wisconsin Badgers weren't much more than a peripheral story at the recent Big Ten Media Days event – despite back-to-back Rose Bowl appearances, despite double-digit wins in three consecutive seasons and despite the return of tailback Montee Ball, a player who visited the end zone 39 times last year.

Yep, that's right: 39 touchdowns. Thirty-nine. Just wrap your head around that number. Ball ran for 33 scores and caught six TD passes; he also had a two-point conversion. That's 236 points … for one guy. Ball himself averaged 16.9 points per game last season, which topped the scoring output of 10 teams. He led the nation in rushing with 1,923

Read More »from Wisconsin has eye on Ball as Heisman candidate

If you owned Alex Smith in a playoff league, no complaints (US Presswire)

Before we begin our preview of the San Francisco 49ers, let me remind you that the Juggernaut Index is entirely about fantasy potential. Repeat: FANTASY.

The Niners had an outstanding season under head coach Jim Harbaugh in 2011, going 13-3 and dominating their division, then knocking off the Saints in a gloriously entertaining playoff game. This was a terrific team, a group that featured a punishing defense and an offense that rarely gave away the ball. That's a winning formula.

However, from a fantasy perspective, there really wasn't much to get excited about. San Francisco delivered the No. 18 quarterback in our game, the No. 13 running back, the No. 33 wide receiver and the No. 8 tight end. That's not terrible, obviously, though it hardly makes 'em a fantasy buffet.

The Niners added a few buzzy names during the offseason, but, after finishing as a runner-up in the Peyton Manning pageant, this franchise chained itself to quarterback Alex Smith for another three years. Smith is coming off the best year by far of his NFL career, yet he didn't help fantasy owners in any significant way (unless you owned him in a playoff league. He accounted for six postseason TDs, which was 3-4 more than anyone expected). Since arriving in the league in 2005, Smith has never had a 20-touchdown campaign, he's never averaged 220 yards per game, and he's never attempted 450 passes in any season — and none of those numbers are especially good. He has reliably been a poor-to-average fantasy QB, a guy with a slow trigger and less-than-ideal improvisational skills.

In a year where the middle tiers at quarterback really seem loaded with potential, Smith is tough to draft. Sure, he'll have a few interesting weapons at his disposal, but he's never demonstrated that he's the sort of quarterback who can maximize the potential of his receivers.

Read More »from Juggernaut Index No. 19: The San Francisco 49ers

Yup, that is exactly what you think it is (photo via US Presswire)

I'm not sure where "Get an Al Davis tattoo" ranks on the list of things that I will never, ever EVER do to myself, but it's up there. Definitely top-10. Probably top-five.

Still, I appreciate the fact that there are Oakland Raiders fans out there doing it — true zealots, like the dude in the image above. Tip of the cap to you, sir. Here's hoping the Dennis Allen era treats you well.

Back in January, Allen was named the 18th head coach in Raiders history, the fifth since we began producing the Juggernaut Index in 2006. If it seems as if we're always re-learning this team for fantasy purposes, well ... that's because we are. Greg Knapp is back in Oakland as offensive coordinator, a position he also held in 2007 and 2008 (first under Lane Kiffin, then Tom Cable). In this tour of duty, it sounds as if Knapp will draw heavily on his experience in Houston's offense, where he served on Gary Kubiak's staff for two seasons. This should mean, among other things, that 32-year-old Carson Palmer will be asked to get mobile in 2012, running a fair number of bootlegs and outside-the-pocket pass plays. So we'll see how that goes.

If nothing else, the Raiders are going to entertain us this season, per their usual.

Read More »from Juggernaut Index No. 20: The Oakland Raiders

Jonathan Broxton owners, you really couldn't have asked for more. If you invested in the gigantic reliever back in March, you've already turned a filthy profit. Broxton delivered 23 saves over his four months in Kansas City, somehow maintaining a 2.27 ERA despite a 1.40 WHIP. He was one of the great don't-pay-for-saves success stories of 2012.

Jonathan Broxton's closer run in KC was short and sweet. (AP)But today, you have to let Broxton go. He's been flipped to Cincinnati, where he'll join Sean Marshall in the setup parade for closer Aroldis Chapman. The Royals could certainly afford to move a reliever or two, as they have a pile of talent in the bullpen already (plus more on the way, since this kid is now on his way to KC).

If you can only make one save-chasing pickup today, Greg Holland is the priority add. He'll reportedly get the first crack at the ninth, post-Broxton. Holland has been pitching the eighth inning for the Royals this season, so the context clues were leading to him prior to the deadline. He's been terrific this month — Read More »from Closer Report: Paradise lost