411 Fantasy Baseball

10 things I've Learned in ACC 255

2010-07-13T19:07:00.000-07:00

1. E-Business Models
2. Web Site Planning Process
3. Affiliate Programs
4.Business Continuity Planning
5.Web Site Benchmarking
6. E-business Partnerships
7. Search Engine Optimization
8.Web Analytics
9. Google Adsense, ClickBank Promtions
10. Tracking

Joey Votto – Now that you’re an All-Star, Home-Run Derby?

2010-07-09T13:17:00.000-07:00

Over the past week it looked like Cincinnati first baseman Joey Votto (notes) would be snubbed from the All-Star Lineup but the final fan vote has sent him through to the 2010 All-Star Game. Votto was not shy about promoting his candidacy for the All-Star team with a Vote Votto T-shirt campaign.

Fan vote all-star hopefuls around the league deployed similar campaigns like Chicago White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko and teammates who sported “PaulieWood” t-shirts, and Nick “Swish-ilicious” Swisher used a commercial to seal his spot on the All-Star team.

Votto made a strong case for an All-Star bid in the past two weeks has been playing outstanding. His most recent homer before the announcement was a deep shot that landed on the “Big Apple” in dead centerfield off New York Mets ace pitcher Mike Pelfrey

Regarding the All-Star Selection Votto said,

“I didn’t expect all the attention, I didn’t expect that it would be this big. I appreciate all the votes and everything, but it became a popularity contest, which is not really up my alley.”

When asked about fans who voted many times over he remarked,

“They must really like Cincinnati Redsbaseball and want to see a lot of guys go to the All-Star Game … or they have a lot of e-mail addresses” – Votto didn’t crack a smile. This all was a little overwhelming, particularly a year after the most trying one of his career.” READ MORE

National League All-Star manager Charlie Manuel witnessed Votto’s skills Thursday when he hit his league-leading 22^nd home-run against the Phillies. Votto is currently batting .314 and has an NL-best with.417 on-base percentage and NL-best .595 slugging percentage.

Can we start talking about Joe Johnson? Or do you still think Jimenez Wins 25+ Games

2010-07-08T23:24:00.000-07:00

Over the past few weeks I have had the fortune of catching several of Josh Johnson's (notes) starts and without a doubt he is not getting enough attention. Johnson is the type of pitcher that can lead a rotation, bullpen, and team. The only problem is Johnson pitches for the Florida Marlins, nevertheless, Johnson still holds a record of 9-3 and would be my pick for National League starting pitcher of the 2010 All-Star Game.

Colorado Rockies, pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez (notes) continues to dominate and will start this years All-Star Game for the National League. He has began to stumble as of late but the Rockies have saved him with some come form behind victories.

National League manager Charlie Manuel has a tough decision on his hands, Jimenez or Johnson?

Who should get the ball first for the likely two innings of starting pitching. Neither pitchers will pitch this Sunday so both will be eligible for the start.

Y!Sports Big League Stew post BLS poll: Should Johnson or Jimenez get the NL's All-Star start? Makes a case for both Jimenez and Johnson.

‘The case for Jimenez: He dominated the first two months of the season and his total of 14 wins leads either league. He has posted a 4.34 ERA in seven starts since May 31, but his ERA is still only 2.27 — good for fourth in the NL — and his WHIP weighs in at 1.07. Jimenez also has the early season no-hitter to his name and the hype over his fastball may be something that fans will tune into watch.

The case for Johnson: He's dominating right now. Johnson leads the league in ERA (1.70), ERA+ (246) and WHIP (0.96) and boasts K/9 and K/BB rates (9.1, 4.39) that are superior to Jimenez's rates (8.2, 2.43). In his seven starts since June 3, Johnson has a 1.04 ERA. His stats are much better than his 9-3 record indicate.’

Season-High Home Run Total Set at 47 HRs Wednesday

2010-07-08T22:15:00.000-07:00

This Wednesday’s slugfest was a valiant attempt to break the all-time high major league record of 62 homers hit in a single day across the major leagues. The attempt fell short though, but did set a new season-high amassing 47 homers by the nights end

Helping rack up these home runs were

Washington's Adam Dunn (notes) had a career day hitting three homers on Wednesday

Mike Stanton's (notes) a free agent I have blogged about also homered Wednesday and the ball was caught by an empty catcher's mitt in the bullpen.

So who didn’t take part in Wednesday’s Home-Run Derby Preview?

The Chicago White Sox and Los Angeles Angels was the only game Wednesday that did not see a home run hit.

*On July 2,2002, the day the all-time record was set there was also only one other game that did not to contribute to that day’s home run total (Toronto Blue Jays vs. Boston Red Sox).*

Other notable homers included:

Danny Worth's first career big fly for the Tigers and Matt Stairs' 20th career pinch-hit blast, tying Cliff Johnson's all-time mark.
Chris Iannetta hit the second walk-off homer for the Rockies in as many days.

Evan Longoria’s homer was a deep shot that would have been gone in any ballpark was his first since June 15.
All-star hopeful Nick “Swish-ilicious” Swisher backed his All-Star candidacy with a blast.

Major League leader and Toronto Blue Jay Jose Bautista legged out an inside-the-park homer for his 22nd on the season.

Curious about Major League Home Runs Hit on July 2, 2002
On July 2, 2002, teams combined to hit 62 long balls breaking the one-day Major League record for home runs. The previous record was 57 and it was set on April 7, 2000. Here are the players who contributed to this record setting / historical day: READ MORE

T.I.P.S. for Thome, Barnes, Alvarez, and more…

2010-07-07T19:45:00.000-07:00

Past Week’s top 20 (Yahoo! standard 5 x5 leagues)

1. Albert Pujols (notes)
2. Rafael Furcal (notes)
3. Adam Wainwright (notes)
4. Jim Thome
5. Carlos Gonzalez (notes)
6. Octavio Dotel (notes)
7. Clint Barmes

8. Joey Votto (notes)
9. Vladimir Guerrero (notes)
10. Ricky Nolasco (notes)
11. Torii Hunter (notes)
12. Felix Hernandez (notes)
13. Hanley Ramirez (notes)
14. Michael Bourn (notes)
15. David Wright (notes)
16. Andres Torres (notes)
17. Carl Crawford (notes)
18. Matt Kemp (notes)
19. Dexter Fowler (notes)
20. Sean Rodriguez (notes)

*All stats were up-to-date as of 7/5.

I wanted to highlight two Trends this week, making the 4-spot on the top 20 Jim Thome and the Minnesota Twins and in the 7^th spot Colorado Rockies Clint Barnes.

Jim Thome should be available in most yahoo leagues and could be a nice addition to your lineup as a backup utility player.

Brad Rysz, RotoExperts.com said this week,

Let Thome be your Homie …
With two homers Saturday, Jim Thome(notes) passed Harmon Killebrew for 10th all time on the home run list. The slugger has gotten some extra playing time recently and has earned a regular slot in the lineup now that Michael Cuddyer(notes) has moved to third and Nick Punto(notes) is manning short. Even when J.J. Hardy(notes) returns, it seems that Punto will be the odd man out, not Thome.

And about Clint Barmes (notes),

(He) has done his part in minimizing the damage. Barmes was the seventh-ranked player last week, hitting .400 with two homers, seven RBIs, and eight runs. Barmes, who is shortstop and second-base eligible, now has seven homers and 41 RBIs on the season.”

I have mentioned in many blogs the name, Pedro Alvarez. A young third basemen for the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates have quietly developed a team full of young superstars including fellow teammates: outfielder Andrew McCutchen and catcher Carlos Santana.

In this weeks T.I.P.S., Pedro Alvarez is listed as one of two Suggestions:

Add Pedro Alvarez (notes) …

When Alvarez was called up in mid-June, his ownership skyrocketed as one of baseball’s best prospects and was expected to hit immediately upon arrival. Instead, Alvarez struggled and fantasy teams bailed on him as quickly as they scooped him up…READ MORE

Nearing the All-Star Break: Corey Patterson and Rebuilding the Orioles, Pelfrey, and Quentin

2010-07-07T05:36:00.000-07:00

The Baltimore Orioles have a long-term plan to revamp and reimage the organization falling just short of cleaning house top to bottom.

With Felix Pie (notes) back in the lineup and buzz surrounding a Ty Wigginton (notes) trade starting up, Corey Patterson (notes) may not be in an Orioles uniform for much longer. Patterson however has been on a complete fantasy tear over the last 25 days sporting a .344 AVG., 14 Runs, and 11 Steals. For nervous or considering fantasy owners, Patterson should still get regular at-bats as the DH and will be the first outfielder off the bench to fill for absent starters.

I want to highlight two other players mentioned in Closing Time: Corey Patterson and the rebuilder's dilemma by Scott Pianowski. New York Mets starting pitcher/All-Star Mike Pelfrey and the spirit of the “SouthSide” Chicago White Sox outfielder Carlos Quention.

Mike Pelfrey (notes), has been a strong performer on my fantasy team but a bad trend is setting in and it is time to let him go. After Pelfrey’s start this Sunday I plan to drop him from my lineup, and pickup OF Carlos Beltran who will be returning from the DL following the All-Star break and starting in Thursday and Fridays games next week. On Pelfrey, Closing Time report said, (He) continues to limp to the first-half finish line – the Reds knocked him for seven runs on Monday. He's now allowed 21 runs over his last five turns, with a mediocre nine strikeouts against 11 walks. You probably should rest him on the weekend when he faces the Braves.

And this on a man possessed, Carlos Quentin:

Quentins Catch Monday vs LAA Angels - Tori Hunter in the FIRST INNING!

“If you can figure out Carlos Quentin (notes),maybe it's time to move into more lucrative endeavors, like picking lottery numbers. He's clubbed 10 homers over the past five weeks (including two on Monday) after a horrendous opening quarter, but the homer binge in June was surrounded by a lot of curious stats – his strikeout rate went up, his line-drive rate went down, and his ground-ball rate went up. His HR/FB clip was rich in June, as you'd expect, but Quentin wasn't lucky anywhere else, carrying a mere .231 average on balls in play. Looking at the last two years, Quentin is starting to look more and more like a three-category player, someone that can give us power and runs scored but will be a drain in the other two standard categories. Home runs generally carry clout in trade talks, and with that in mind, now is probably a good time to peddle his recent power surge."

Who moves first – Cliff Lee or Roy Oswalt?

2010-07-06T22:30:00.000-07:00

So what does Seattle Mariners ace Cliff Lee think about the possibility of becoming a Minnesota Twin?

Nothing yet, but you can read the latest news on Cliff Lee and the Twins in,

Report: Twins offer top prospects Ramos and Hicks for Cliff Lee

by David Brown posted for Big League Stew a Y!Sports Blog.

No matter how excited me may get for a Cliff Lee trade as teams gear up for the 2^nd half of the season and their playoff runs we cannot forget what is stated properly in this Big League Stew blog,

“Lee might be the best pitcher in the majors, but even the best can't guarantee a World Series championship. He was great for the Phillies last season and they still finished second to the Yankees.”

However, strengthening their bullpen with another closer and a new ace in their starting rotation could make them the favorites in the AL Central ahead of the Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers.

Mariners would be offering up Cliff Lee and who?

David Aardsma – Twins possibly may also want closer David Aardsma.

For Ramos and Hicks –who are they and what do they offer?

Wilson Ramos – is just 22, and has already has sipped coffee in the majors (earlier this season, when Joe Mauer (notes)was sidelined) and projects to be the best power hitter in the system. With catcher Joe Mauer being a perennial all-star and beloved by Minnesota it is unlikely that Ramos will be able to amount to more than an expendable asset in Minnesota, which works out well for a Cliff Lee trade.

Aaron Hicks – an outfielder is even younger, 20. This young prospect has struggled in Class A Beloit the Past 1 ½ seasons but did have a .900 OPS in rookie ball. “Baseball America says Hicks has the best strike-zone judgment and is the best athlete in the system, and projects him as a big-league right-fielder by 2013.”

*** The real question is how many additional wins can trading for Cliff Lee bring the Minnesota Twins this postseason and World Series.***

Just Wish Braden was Better

2010-07-06T20:30:00.000-07:00

The Dallas Braden and A-Rod story might be one of the greatest and funniest moments in baseball history. I’ve loved every minute of the fiasco, from A-Rods invasion of Bradenia to Braden’s perfect game and now to the “GET OF MY MOUND” t-shirts for sale in Oakland

Before Dallas Braden pitched a perfect game earlier this season he said of the A-rod mound incident,

“He will know who I am” and now printed on tees “Get Off My Mound!” Read More

Just an awesome story, right? I mean we want to root for the tough guy who stood up to one of baseballs biggest and most arrogant superstars.

But Braden apparently isn’t a fan of these new shirts. In response to Braden’s apparent concerns, Jim Leahy, the team’s director of marketing, said in a statement:

"We regret that Dallas has expressed concern in regards to the 'Get Off My Mound' T-shirts that are being sold throughout the stadium. The organization created these shirts in response to numerous fan requests and made them to generate interest in this series. The shirts represent the competitive nature of the team, which Dallas epitomizes, and were intended as a fun way to engage the fans. We will speak privately with Dallas about this to clarify our position and make sure we have a clear line of communication going forward."

A-Rod seemed to take the shirts better than Braden, saying,

"I hope I get a cut [of the profits]," Rodriguez joked. Or half-joked anyway.

And at least one of A-Rod's Yankees teammates was wearing the T-shirt on Monday.

"I won't mention who it was, but he plays left of [Derek] Jeter," Rodriguez said, meaning Robinson Cano (ntes).”

Somehow out of the loop?

Read “Dallas Braden blasts A-rod for breaking unwritten rule”

Read “Braden and union don’t approve of “Get off my mound T-shirts”

Will Jose Bautista and Corey Hart Keep Slugging after the All-Star Break

2010-07-05T12:34:00.000-07:00

Al Melchior, Data Analyst for CBSSports.com created a rather interestinginteractive tool for you to use. It measures the players ISO. More specifically this interactive table can be used to located MLB players with the Highest Isolated Power Rates.

I’ve been fortunate enough to have some of these sluggers on my team this year.

This first line of “By the Numbers: Can Bautista, Hart keep Mashing?” reads,

"When we posted the Power Leaderboard for the first time last month, it seemed odd to see Jose A. Bautista, Corey C. Hart and Kelly Johnson nestled among other more familiar power sources like Justin Morneau, David Ortiz and Jayson Werth.

Yet here we are heading into the Fourth of July weekend, and two of the three are still hanging around. Johnson continues to hit doubles at a frenzied pace, but with just one home run for the month of June, he couldn't keep pace with the other inhabitants of the leaderboard. Bautista and Hart, though, have not only remained among the leaders in Isolated Power (the rate at which a hitter gets extra bases), but both have climbed further up the charts in the past month. They rank first and third, respectively, among all major leaguers in this category."

Click Here For Interactive Version

Of those I have or have had Bautista, Hart, Johnson, and Morneau.

Jose Bautista 3B,OF – Bautista offers infield/outfield position flexibility and has a High ISO. Meaning Bautista will continue hitting bombs this year, he just needs to continue swinging the bat well and make contact.

Corey Hart OF – Brewers breakout this year had been the subject of trade talks earlier this year, but has taken a stance. Hart is putting up career-high numbers this season, and is among other hitters like CWS Alex Rios who are benefiting from dropping their hands in his batting stance this season.

Kelly Johnson 2B – Diamondbacks secondbasemen was a tremendous free agent pickup for my fantasy team this season when Ian Kinsler started the year off on the DL with a high ankle sprain. Many people forget for the first third of the season Johnson was among the league-leading home run hitters.

Justin Morneau 1B – The Twins first-basemen may be stepping out from behind catcher Joe Mauers shoes this season. Morneau has led all three triple categories for most of the season with Miguel Cabrera right beside him.

Miguel Cabrera 1B Det - fills my regular first basemen slot on my fantasy team, and I use Justin Morneau as a full-time Utility player.

Check to See if your Players are on this Chart

Oakland Athletics and Week 14s Fantasy Hitting Planner and Sleepers

2010-07-05T10:45:00.000-07:00

Check out Week 14s Fantasy Hitting Planner by Eric Mack, a senior fantasy writer for CBS sports!

First take a look at this week’s “Best Five Hitting Schedules”

Best Five Hitting Schedules

Team Schedule

1. Rangers CLE3, BAL4

2. Orioles @DET3, @TEX4

3. Phillies ATL3, CIN4

4. Giants @MIL4, @WAS3

5. Rays BOS3, CLE4

Oakland Athletics

OF Coco Crisp – Since returning from the DL Coco Crisp has gone 10/23 with 2 HRs and three stolen bases. He’s hitting .435 in the last six games, and is returning back to the level of play he had with the Cleveland Indians.

SS Cliff Pennington – Had a strong June performance and looks to be carrying into July. He is hitting .49- over his last 15 games.

3B Kevin Kouzmanoff – has started cooling after starting the month of June hot recording only 2 hits in the last five games.

OF Raji Davis, is no longer an everyday player with the return of red-hot Coco Crisp. Jack Cust, Ryan Sweeney, and Gabe Ross now are fighting for playing time Oakland’s outfield.

Each weeks fantasy planner also includes a list of the top 10 sleepers for that week. A sleeper must be started in less than 70 percent of CBSSports.com fantasy leagues.

Scott's top sleepers for Week 14
	Player	Start %
1.	Miguel Olivo, C, Rockies	58
2.	Gaby Sanchez, 1B, Marlins	45
3.	Buster Posey, C, Giants	60
4.	Erick Aybar, SS, Angels	41
5.	Russell Branyan, 1B, Mariners	16
6.	Miguel Tejada, 3B, Orioles	69
7.	Raul Ibanez, OF, Phillies	48
8.	Pat Burrell, OF, Giants	9
9.	Matt Wieters, C, Orioles	67
10.	Michael Bourn, OF, Astros	46
* Sleepers are players started in less than 70 percent of CBSSports.com leagues

Other notable players:
Cleveland Indians:
o Matt LaPorta
o Carlos Santana
Jose Tabata Pittsburgh Pirates

“The Fantasy Baseball Hitting Planner is the essential guide to setting your lineup for the upcoming week. Every week, we provide you with news and notes for each team, tracking hot and cold players, injuries and lineup changes."
Read More

The Atlanta Braves Bullpen and Week 14s Fantasy Pitching Planner

2010-07-04T23:34:00.000-07:00

Check out Week 14s Fantasy Pitching Planner by Eric Mack, a senior fantasy writer for CBS sports! I want to highlight a sleeper bullpen that has been overshadowed by the San Diego Padres bullpens

The Atlanta Braves who are now rejoined by starting pitcher Jair Jurrjens. All of the Braves starting pitchers matchups look good this week and my new favorite prospect is a “One-Week Sleeper” in this week’s pitching planner.

Atlanta Braves Rotation

RHP Derek Lowe – Faces two aces this week. Philadelphia Phillies ace Roy Halladay and the New York Mets breakout star Mike Pelfrey

RHP Tommy Hanson – Had been a little shaky of late but in his last start was back to getting Ks. Hanson has been a tremendous player for fantasy owners with some stellar outings this season. He does it big though, blowups included.

RHP Tim Hudson – is on the road facing the struggling New York Mets pitcher Takahashi.

RHP Kris Medlen – I’ve been telling you about Oakland Athletics young prospect Trevor Cahill, now its time to tell you about Medlen. In his last eight outings he is 5-0. On the season he is 6-1 with a 3.19ERA, 64Ks, 16BBs, 1.15WHIP.

RHP Jair Jurrjens – Recently rejoined the starting rotation, and had 2 solid outings after missing the last two months with a strained left hamstring. In those outings, he has recorded 1 Win while surrendering only 8 hits and striking out 10K.

Closer – Billy Wagner – Having a career year and if he plays one more year could be the all-time saves leader. He’s the greatest left-handed closer of all-time if he is somehow a free agent – make room in your lineup.

All Atlanta Braves matchups in this week’s fantasy pitching planner look

Tommy Hanson at NYM Dickey
Tim Hudson at NYM Takahashi
Derek Lowe at PHI Halladay, at NYM Pelfrey
Jair Jurrjens at PHI Hamels
Kris Medlen at PHI Moyer

Each weekly planner offers insight into every bullpen around the league, so if you’ve been considering an Add or Trade – Take a look!

Get all the news on Week 14s:

- Two-Start pitchers

- Who’s getting skipped

- One-week sleepers

- One-week busts

Stephen Strasburg – Not an All-Star Yet!

2010-07-04T19:45:00.000-07:00

Washington Nationals phenomena Stephen Strasburg will have to wait another year for his 1^st All-Star appearance. Strasburg was a major topic of debate heading into this weekend. It was a tough decision, and I think rather easy to understand both viewpoints.

The Major League Baseball All-Star game should be respected and its integrity needs to be upheld. All other major sports in the U.S. have All-star games that are nothing more than watered down exhibition games. The NBA is the worst at putting players on the All-Star team that don’t deserve to be on the team.

Strasburg may be good enough to make the All-Star team, but he hasn’t earned it yet. Yes, we all know he will but the fact of the matter remains that he doesn’t have a body of work to back up what we all believe to be true.

But we all want to see him! It seems unthinkable we would deny ourselves of the timeless memory of watching Strasburg not only play but start in his rookie season All-Star Game.

The USA Today Daily pitch reported,

The NL staff, as announced Sunday will include Nationals' closer Matt Capps, but not Strasburg.

"He got quite a bit of consideration, I haven't seen the guy pitch live yet," NL manager Charlie Manuel said. "Leave him alone, let him pitch. He's going to be an All-Star for a long time." Read More

Jeff Passan of Yahoo!Sports wrote in a July 4^th post, “One can look at the All-Star Game in two ways.

The first is as a showcase for the fans, which is supported by MLB allowing them to vote the starters. No player drives fan interest today like Strasburg. Bring him on board – or, better yet, allow the fans to vote him in – and watch ratings for the game and interest in it soar.

The second is as a game with real implications: World Series home field. Managers should, then, pick the best players for their teams. Only in Manuel’s world, where Omar Infante deserves an All-Star bid, Arthur Rhodes (notes) andEvan Meek (notes) are better equipped to help the NL win than Strasburg.

Like Manuel said, he’ll make plenty of All-Star teams going forward, and so will …” Read More

Regardless of how Strasburg may feel or what we selfishly may want to see, we are both going to half to wait till next year.

Mauer's not alone on the Lil' Smokies

2010-07-03T22:45:00.000-07:00

You don't want to forget the Rest of the Lil’ Smokes and their Fearless Forecast (rest of season).

1B: Pablo Sandoval(notes), SF

Overall Rank (Preseason, Current): 30, 268

Fearless Forecast (rest of season): 312 at-bats, .301 BA, 8 HR, 44 RBI, 39 R, 1 SB

Pablo is starting to get hot as the season heads into the All-Star Break. Fearless forecast doesn’t look too promising, but keep your eye on the Panda!

2B: Gordon Beckham(notes), ChW

Overall Rank (Preseason, Current): 134, 730

Fearless Forecast (rest of season): .272 BA, 7 HR, 36 RBI, 33 R, 4 SB

Gordon Beckham and Yunel Escobar both make the underachiever list this year. Similar situation, hot team and no production? Read more

SS: Yunel Escobar(notes), Atl

Overall Rank (Preseason, Current): 313, 695

Fearless Forecast (rest of season): 279 at-bats, .288 BA, 6 HR, 37 RBI, 40 R, 5 SB

He should be a free agent in your league but I wouldn’t recommend Escobar for your lineup. Don’t let the Braves record fool you. Read More.

3B: Aramis Ramirez(notes), ChC

Overall Rank (Preseason, Current): 50, 79

Fearless Forecast (rest of season): 288 at-bats, .284 BA, 14 HR, 51 RBI, 42 R, 1 SB

Oh boy! The turmoil in the Windy City. Lou Pinella – I hope your still around to enjoy a Zambrano-less Chicago Cub’s roster. As far as Ramirez goes I would recommend you trade him and if your hanging on to D. Lee just drop him and pick up a free agent.

OF: Adam Lind(notes), Tor

Overall Rank (Preseason, Current): 59, 585

Fearless Forecast (rest of season): 319 at-bats, .246 BA, 11 HR, 39 RBI, 33 R, 1 SB

Lind has been a tremendous letdown for fantasy owners this season. Toronto isn’t a bad idea though, see if Alex Gonzalez, Vernon Wells, or Jose Bautista. This All-Star Break may be just what Bautista needs, as he heads into the break starting to swing the bat well again.

SP: Wandy Rodriguez(notes), Hou

Overall Rank (Preseason, Current): 79, 727

Fearless Forecast (rest of season): 97.0 IP, 6 W, 3.87 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 71 K

An overall rank of 79?!?! Hope you didn’t draft him high and hope you haven’t been holding on to him hoping for Magical Wandy turnaround, because you are out of luck. Doesn’t offer much value in a trade but it may be worth a shot. If you’re stuck with him I would recommend picking up Oak SP Trevor Cahill or Tex SP Tommy Hunter.

RP: Chad Qualls(notes), Ari

Overall Rank (Preseason, Current): 180, 672

Fearless Forecast (rest of season): 32 IP, 2 W, 7 S, 4.65 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 27 K

What a shame the closer role has been for the Arizona Diamondbacks this year, from Qualls to Aaron Heilman. Things aren’t looking good in Arizona.

Honorable Mentions:

C: Matt Wieters (notes); 1B: Derrek Lee (notes); 2B: Aaron Hill (notes), SS: Alexei Ramirez (notes); 3B: Jose Lopez (notes); OF:Nick Markakis (notes), Raul Ibanez (notes); SP: John Lackey (notes), Carlos Zambrano (notes), Rick Porcello (notes), Scott Baker (notes);RP: Frank Francisco (notes), Trevor Hoffman (notes)

*Preseason ranks are from Yahoo! leagues, current from Baseball Monster

Joe Mauer and the Fifth Annual All-Wiener Team

2010-07-03T21:45:00.000-07:00

I found the July 1^st Yahoo! ROTO ARCADE post by Brand Evans titled Lames: Magic-less Wandy leads 2010 All-Wiener team to be quiet interesting. Mainly because one of the players lucky enough to make the 5^th annual All-Weiner Team was Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer. Ironically, Mauer leads all players in the All-Star voting.

C: Joe Mauer(notes), Min

Overall Rank (Preseason, Current): 13, 170
"Mauer's lack of muscle, discussed in length two weeks ago, is shocking only to those who stupidly invested a first-round pick in his services. Though the AL's leading All-Star vote getter may disagree, the power redux is very real. His 1.67 GB/FB, decreased success on fastballs and spacious Target Field surroundings will continue to keep his Killebrewian side hidden – and his value behind Miguel Olivo (notes). He's still a keen-eyed hitter who's invaluable in OBP formats, but in conventional circles, he'll be an above average producer, relative to position, in BA, runs and RBI."

Fearless Forecast (rest of season): 296 at-bats, .316 BA, 6 HR, 36 RBI, 39 R, 1 SB

Earlier in the fantasy season I was offered a trade – Miguel Cabrera and Zach Grienke for Joe Mauer and Stephen Strasburg. I turned the offer away immediately, why? Two Reasons.

The first is really simple, Miguel Cabrera! Right now, no one in Major League Baseball swings a better bat than Miguel Cabrera.

During the offseason he has made tremendous strides towards bettering himself and has straightened out all issues in his personal life that may have bothered him in the past. Simply put, he is a man on a mission, an inspired player with scary talent = clutch production and his 2010 stats don’t lie.

Cabrera also has a total of 61 RUNS compared to Mauer’s 44 RUNS.

I have Morneau batting in a utility slot for me and the idea of that Twin Tandem sounded too good to be true. If at any point I would have seen a drop in Morneau’s production which could be attributed to an increase in Mauer’s production who bats in front of Morneau, I would have considered it. Morneau’s numbers are outstanding and show no signs of slowing down.

Mauer never seemed to get started this season.

The dynamics of the Twins batting lineup and the types of hits Mauer’s getting are simply moving the runners and not scoring them. Justin Morneau fills a utility slot on my team and though he drives in a lot of base runners, he wasn’t driving in and couldn’t drive Mauer in enough for me to consider breaking up my Brennan Boesch-Miguel Cabrera Tiger Tandem.

Today's Starters to Watch

2010-07-01T11:11:00.000-07:00

Fix your Bullpen for the 2^nd Half of Fantasy Baseball!

The All-Star Break is nearing and your bullpen is looking weak going into the second half of the fantasy season.

Two Free Agent Pickups could change your season and Thursday offers the chance to watch to starting pitchers who won’t be free agents much longer:
SP Trevor Cahill– Oak Athletics (owned in 49% yahoo fantasy leagues)

SP Carl Pavano – Minnesota Twins (owned in 57% of yahoo fantasy leagues)

Trevor Cahill is the young right hander you may not have heard about yet, if not, he’s the one who’s been picking up the slack for the disappointing Ben Sheets. In the past month, he’s averaged nearly a 1K/per inning and has held a 2.50 ERA. Cahill holds a record of 7-2 on the season with an ERA of 2.88 in only 12 Starts.

GAME PREVIEW:Facing Baltimore Orioles

Game info: 7:05 pm EDT Thu Jul 1, 2010 vs. Orioles J. Arrieta (2-1, 6.20 ERA)

TV: CSCA, MASN2

Carl Pavano - Don’t forget Pavano was an all-star in 2006, and was a big and expensive acquisition by the Yankees only a few years ago. Pavano was the hampered by injuries but didn’t take his upwards of $40 million from the Yankees and retire. Pavano has battled back and fought hard to regain his fastball and a changeup that looks better than ever. Pavano recently mentioned how being injuried had set the team back while his contract had locked the team up financially. He felt bad for the position it had put his team in but they stuck with him through it all and he is making it worth wait for the Minnesota Twins.

GAME PREVIEW: Facing the Tampa Bay

Game info: 8:10 pm EDT Thu Jul 1, 2010 vs. Tampa Bay Rays J. Niemann (6-2, 2.72 ERA)

· TV: SUN, FSNO

The Ace Up Oakland’s Sleeve - SP Trevor Cahill

2010-07-01T10:48:00.000-07:00

Trevor Cahill

LAST SATURDAYS GAME 26th vs the Pittsburgh Pirates, the 2006 second-rounder Trevor Cahill had 10Ks improving to 7-2 on the season and quickly is becoming the ace in the Oakland Ahtletics bullpen

Trevor Cahill is an young ace, and potentially an all-star. Cahill had a stress reaction in his right shoulder toward the end of spring training and opened the season on the disabled list, and quite frankly wasn't sure if he’d be back in Oakland this year.

Cahill allowed two hits and struck out a career-high 10 in 7 2/3 innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Cahill walked three as the A's won two in a row.

After suffering his first loss of the season on his second start Cahill has gone 6-0 with two no-decisions (ND - W3-2 vs STL; ND - L3-4 vs. MIN). Cahill has been locating his sinker well and going inside and out to both righties and lefties.

Cahill pitched for a season-high 15 swinging strikes, that’s three starts in a row he has either set or matched his career high.

Of 30 off-speed pitches thrown, hitters missed on 11 of 13 swings (84.6 percent), the highest single-start percentage in baseball this season (minimum of 20 off-speed pitches thrown).

104/ 113 pitches were on the inside and outside corners; hitters went a combined 1-for-21.

Cahill retired 19 of 21 hitters until tiring in the eighth when he gave up a leadoff hit to Lastings Milledge. The Pirates lost their 16th consecutive road game, their second-longest streak in the past 25 years, and have lost 17 of 19 overall.

In addition, yahoo fantasy sports, ranks Trevor Cahill as a top-50 player in yahoo fantasy leagues with a 2.50 ERA and nearly a K per inning. In the June 28th article MLB Skinny: Summing it up, discusses Cahill’s rookie to sophomore season improvements, saying:

“He was a miserable strikeout pitcher as a rookie last season, but he had a fantastic minor league track record in that department, thanks in no small way to a nasty curveball. One thing you’ll notice, though, is that Cahill hardly threw his curve as a rookie, but he’s now throwing it nearly nine percent more often. I don’t think it’s a small coincidence that we are seeing his K rate rise as he’s throwing more breaking balls – nor is it a coincidence that he is inducing a higher percentage of swings at pitches outside the strike zone. Coming up in the A’s system, Cahill was always considered on the same level as teammate Brett Anderson(notes). Now that he’s turning the corner on the major league level, he’s moved beyond spot-start territory and warrants a more permanent position with fantasy clubs.”

For the skinny on the rest of the MLB

COCO CRISP IS BACK

2010-06-30T23:01:00.000-07:00

Coco Crisp – Oakland Athletics have been looking for some kind of spark and the return of Coco Crisp from the DL might just have been what they needed. Crisp started the season on the disabled listed with a broken finger and only played two games before returning to the DL with a pulled ribcage muscle. But now he’s back and the question now is can he stay healthy.

The Athletics lost 9-6 to the Baltimore Orioles in the last game of June. For a brief moment, the thousands of new Coco Crisp fantasy owners held their breath as Crisp laid on the warning track for several minutes after colliding with the wall on an outstanding catch in centerfield. Crisp continued to play and continued to make his return known, hitting another home run tonight.

In eight games this season, Crisp has an OPS of 1.216/ .759 SLG/ .457 OBP/ .414 AVG.

Before tonight, had one homerun with six runs batted in and nine runs scored. In addition, Crisp has already stolen three bases and has a solid career steal percentage.

The only concern for those looking to pick up Coco Crisp is his previous injury history, let’s hope he stays healthy for the 2^nd half of the season. Crisp has only averaged 104 games played since 2006, and he has never played more than 145 games in a season. For those who own Rajai Davis, keep a watchful eye because Coco’s stellar return has put Davis in danger of losing playing time.

Rajai Davis currently ranks third this year in stolen bases and this could be an issue for those of you counting on Davis for your stolen bases.

If you need the same stolen base production as Rajai, veteran Chicago White Sox OF Juan Pierre is available in most yahoo fantasy leagues. Juan Pierre had struggled early in the year, but has been swinging the bat well as of late and is getting the green light from manager Ozzie Guillen.

GAME RECAP: Baltimore Orioles WIN 9-6 vs Oakland Athletics

*RELATED: Baltimore Orioles OF Adam Jones early season struggles seem to be old news, and with another home run last night has his 13^th of the season. Jones is available in many fantasy leagues, his slow start was too much for many fantasy owners to bear.

Carl Pavano – Behind the Mustache! Back to Back Complete-Games - Beat Santana, Beat Halladay

2010-06-30T22:30:00.000-07:00

Behind the Mustache! Back to Back Complete-Games - Beat Santana, Beat Halladay

June 26^th at Citi Field the Minninesota Twins beat the New York Mets 6-0 in a 3-hit complete-game shutout thrown by Carl Pavano. Facing Pavano for the Mets was veteran lefty Johan Santana.

"I knew I was going against a pitcher who just had a great outing. There's not much room for mistakes," Santana said. "It's just they were better in the first inning and took advantage right away and I think that's the difference."

Pavano (9-6) gave up three hits in his second consecutive complete game, both of which have come against an NL East ace. The well-traveled right-hander tossed a four-hitter Sunday to beat Roy Halladay and the NL champion Phillies 4-1.

He only walked one Saturday while striking out four and never allowed a runner to reach third base. Of his last 12 starts, Pavano has pitched into at least the seventh inning in 11 of those contests.

In his last two games he has give up only one run, and now has his sixth career shutout. Pavano had two hits and a sacrifice at the plate for Minnesota, which ended a four-game skid. The Twins began the day a half-game up on Detroit in the AL Central.

Game Recap: Twins vs Mets

Game Recap: Twins vs. Phillies
Read more on Pavano’s complete-game win against the Phillies on June 20^th

Recent Fantasy Baseball News - Injuries, Updates, and Meltdowns

2010-06-29T10:29:00.000-07:00

DUSTIN PEDROIA BOS – Went on DL after fouling a ball of against his left foot. Likely to miss six weeks. READ MORE...
JASON HEYWARD ATL, Retroactive DL, Heyward injured the thumb on May 14 and played in 38 of the next 39 games, further aggravating the injury. Heyward will be eligible to return from the DL on July 15 -- the day Atlanta begins play after the All-Star break -- and is likely to be back as soon as eligible. If Heyward makes the All-Star team, he could still play in the game. READ MORE ON HEYWARDS INJURY
JOEL ZUMAYA DET – Zumaya has had previous issues with his bad right shoulder, and has worked hard to get back to where his, but last night he blew his arm on a 99mph fastball. Read More On Zumaya and Watch Pitch
CARLOS ZAMBRANO CHC– Zambrano gone until after All-Star break: Cubs SP Carlos Zambrano was placed on the restricted list on Tuesday, according to The Chicago Tribune, and will start anger management treatment Wednesday. The report also said that Zambrano will not return to the team until after the All-Star break. His indefinite suspension, will be three games with Monday's game being the last.

"He will not meet formally or travel with the team before the (All-Star) break." GM Jim Hendry READ MORE...
CLAY BUCHOLZ BOS - Will not starting in Week 13: Boston SP Clay Buchholz (hamstring) had an MRI on Monday and was diagnosed with a left hamstring strain. Buchholz will not start during Week 13 (June 28-July 4) and the Red Sox will not need another starter until July 6 at Tampa Bay. Read More on Pedroia and how Bocholz may avoid the DL
BRENNAN BOESCH DET – On pace to be a likely candidate for AL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR, 45 RBIS tied with Heyward from Atlanta with most by a rookie, will likely pass Heyward as he has been listed on the DL. READ MORE ON how BOESCH and the Detroit Tigers.

CARLOS QUENTIN, White Sox: With four home runs in his past six games, Quentin is finally getting hot, so watch out when he steps into the batters' box versus Brian Bannister. He's already taken Bannister deep twice in just 10 at-bats, and with his three other hits (all singles), he's actually hitting .500 off the righty. READ MORE on QUENTIN and the red hot CHICAGO WHITE SOX.

Injury list: News and Links

Injury list: Out

Bobby Jenks, RP, White Sox (Family medical emergency list): Jenks will have to be sidelined for a minimum of three days up to a maximum of seven.

Dustin Pedroia, 2B, Red Sox (15-day DL, foot)

Injury list: Day-to-day

Carl Crawford, OF, Rays (shoulder): Crawford came into Sunday's game as a pinch runner and says his shoulder feels good enough to aim for a Tuesday return.

Brett Gardner, OF, Yankees (wrist)

Cristian Guzman, 2B/SS, Nationals (neck)

Brad Hawpe, OF, Rockies (ribs)

Jason Heyward, OF, Braves (thumb): Heyward is confirmed out for Monday and he's also scheduled to undergo an MRI on his thumb. We'll know more Tuesday.

Derrek Lee, 1B, Cubs (back)

Ryan Ludwick, OF, Cardinals (calf)

Victor Martinez, 1B/C, Red Sox (thumb): Martinez fractured his left thumb Sunday night on a foul tip and he will be examined Monday. It's unknown if he will be forced to the disabled list.

Angel Pagan, OF, Mets (side)

Placido Polanco, 2B/3B, Phillies (elbow; doubtful)

Billy Wagner, RP, Braves (ankle)

WHO'S HOT AND WHO'S NOT for WEEK 13

2010-06-29T10:10:00.000-07:00

WHO’S HOT - Batters

1. CHASE UTLEY Phi - .367 AVG, 11 RBI , 9R over the last 14 days, owned in 99% percent of leagues – if your looking for a trade( INJURED THUMB. star Chase Utley tried to stretch a single into a double against Cincinnati, but all he got was a lousy injured thumb that forced him from the game a few innings later. Phillies Nation is holding its breath as Utley will have a MRI later today. READ MORE on Utley's Injury

2. RYAN RABURN DET – .391 AVG, 8 RBIs, 6Rs and is only owned in 1% of yahoo fantasy leagues(2^nd,OF) Had not been a fantasy factor because of limited playing time and a low batting average. His batting average on the season has jumpred from .165 on June 13^th to .213 on June 28^th.Raburn is starting to feel a little more comfortable in the batters box now the has surprassed the 100 At-Bat mark and is likely responsible for the .048 rise in batting average.

3. CLIFF PENNINGTON Oak - .471 AVG, 4RBIS, 9Rs – Numbers have peaked, but production is still good.

WHO’S NOT – Batters
1. ROBINSON CANO NYY - .298 with 6RBIs, 5Rs – 98% owned
2. BRANDON PHILLIPS Cin - .302 AVG, 0 stolen bases, 10 Runs – 97% owned

3. TROY GLAUS ATL – 1B has been sensational and cheap pickup from the Atlanta Braves this year but he hasn’t been hitting the ball well in the last 2 weeks, driving in only seven (7 RBIs) with one home run (1HR) while only batting .146. He’s only owned in 70% of leagues

WHO’S HOT – Pitchers
1. JOE BLANTON Phi – 3.95 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 2 Wins owned in 14% of yahoo fantasy leagues

2. RICKY NOLASCO Fla – 1.05 WHIP, 4.05 ERA, 21Ks in the last 14 days. Owned in 82% of yahoo fantasy leagues

3. JAMIE MOYER Phi – He may hold the record for most home runs hit against a pitcher, but over the the past 14days and really this season, Moyer has been hot. Pitching for a 1.98 ERA, .57 WHIP, while recording 3Ws.

a. "Maybe I'll let the dog play with it." – Moyer on what he plans to do with the record setting 506^th home run Jamie Moyer gave up to Vernon Wells Monday vs Toronto.

WHO’S NOT – Pitchers

1. MATT CAIN SF – 8.71 ERA, 1.84 WHIP, 0W

2. BRETT CECIL TOR – 9.19 ERA, 1.85 WHIP, with 0Ws

3. UBALDO JIMENEZ Col – 5.03 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 2 Ws. Those numbers aren’t terrible but Jimenez has given up 10 earned runs in his last two outings and only 9 earned runs in his previous 8 outings. Jimenez also walked four batters in Mondays outing against the Sand Diego Padres.

SCHOOL IS IN SESSION in the SOUTHSIDE

2010-06-28T21:30:00.000-07:00

For your entertainment, during the crosstown series between the Chicago Cubs and Chicago veteran show up the Chicago Cubs young SS Starlin Castro.

June 12th - Go ahead and Pitch Out
Watch Castro as he ATTEMPTS To Tag Pierre, and Lou Has Got Something to Say

12 DAYS LATER
June 26th – Castro Forgot He Was in the Big Leagues
Castro Doesn’t Swipe Tag and Veteran Juan Pierre Takes Advantage

Doug Fister and "When Looking for Free Agents"

2010-06-25T21:21:00.000-07:00

**UPDATE* FIster will be returning to the mound this Saturday for the red-hot Mariners who have just won their 6^th straight game.

Being in the “prospect” slot made it easy to drop him from my team because my core pitchers had been set with Francisco Liriano, Mike Pelfrey, Phil Hughes and strikeout men Zach Grienke (used to be a win guy too) and Tommy Hanson (who is racking up wins in ATL but has had two blowup starts.

Plus Fister would not show up as a top ranked pitcher on the free agents list because he hadn’t recorded many wins. And I’m right as it stands today he is still on the free agents list in my fantasy league and I plan to pick him up today for Saturdays start. To make room for Fister I plan on dropping Trevor Cahill , young ace for the Oakland Athletics.

**Cahill has been strong in all of his latest outings, however, before Fister hit the DL had the league- leading WHIP (Walks plus Hits/ Innings Pitched) and sported strong ERA. With the Mariners getting hot I want Fister on the mound for my fantasy team. **

Wagner gets 400th save in Braves 3-1 win over Detroit Tigers

2010-06-25T21:18:00.000-07:00

Wagner gets 400th save in Braves 3-1 win - MLB - Yahoo! Sports

Billy Wagner added a big milestone on his road to retirement.

Wagner earned his 400th save, as the Braves end a three-game losing streak in a 3-1 Win over the Detroit Tigers in tonight's game.

Catcher Brian McCann gave Atlanta the lead with a fourth-inning homer and the Braves ended a three-game losing streak by beating the Detroit Tigers 3-1 on Friday night.

Wagner struck out the side in the ninth in his 16th consecutive appearance without allowing a run. He has 15 saves this season, including a string of 11 straight since his last blown opportunity.

"I don't think you draw it up quite like that," Wagner said. "It's a fantasy-type situation. I got them swinging at some high pitches. I'll take it because it doesn't happen very often."

"He's been dominating all season long, and maybe we can talk him out of retirement," Cox said. "He's been great."

"No chance," Wagner said.

Wagner plans to retire even though he has a $6.5 million option to play next season. He said he wants to spend more time with his family, who traveled to Atlanta from Virginia for the game.

Baseball InfoGraphics

2010-06-25T21:10:00.000-07:00

This is an illustration of the infamous A-Rod - Braden mound fiasco. The A-Rod incident happen just weeks before Dallas Braden went on to pitch a perfect game for the Oakland Atheletics. **Too bad there weren't fans in the stands to watch it**

Here's an excerpt from a recent article that reviewed flipflyball.com

"These Baseball Infographics were created by Craig Robinson of www.flipflyball.com . When you visit the site it will open to a wide selection of his previous baseball related illustrations. I’m going to highlight a few here now in the hopes you might explore these a little further for yourselfs. I have seen these graphics on the internet before and passed right over them. When I actually stopped and appreciated not only the quality and thoroughness but also the uniqueness and creativity. These aren’t your run of the mill illustrations. When you look a little closer you’ll find some are hilarious and others are though provoking. Either way you want to learn something new everyday and have something to talk about – check a new one out each day. I’m going to continue to review this blog and highlight illustrations over the course of the next few weeks. "

RELATED LINKS:

Check out Visual Baseball for a visual exploration of America's Past time

When Looking at Free Agents

2010-06-25T20:16:00.000-07:00

An example and strategy you can use to make players switches mid - week

- I recently dropped BAUTISTA and JOSH WILLINGHAM in favor of BRENNAN BOESCH (OF) and Aubrey Huff (1B,OF).

Note* WAS OF JOSH Willingham has been a good player for my team throughout the year. Picked him up both times Nelson Cruz has been on the DL I have frequently used him for a quick pickup when the Washington Nationals are hot and he has consecutive favorable matchups.

*Note* Bautista is leading the league in homeruns and it may have seemed like an odd move to drop the league leading home run hitter I did. At the time Bautista’s 0 for 23 and counting slump was to eerily similar to last years 0 for 21 drought. After which Baustista’s numbers never truly recovered. Bautista has not recovered yet this year either, I do however have faith in Bautista for the 2^nd half of this year as well as several other Toronoto Blue Jays sluggers.

- I feel players with infield and outfield eligibility provide your team with greater flexibility and production potential. Remember this when looking for free agents to not replace an existing player in your lineup that may be in a slump, hold on to these players they will turn it around at some point this season and get their numbers. And if your are still holding on to them now, the all-star break is just around the corner and expect your slumping stars to turn it on shortly after. look to add free agents who not only can replace the slumping players but free agents who will also properly compliment the team for your current matchup. Remember there is three outfielder slots available.

For example, early this year I picked up Jose Bautista (3B,0F), Nelson Cruz had just gone on the DL list and A. Rodriguez was having a very slow start. Josh Willingham was on fire and the Nats were rolling along, as were the Toronoto Blue Jays who not only top their division but led the league in home runs by 15, behind Jose Bautista’s bat (Vernon Wells had not gotten hot at this point).

In that matchup, my team was behind in power numbers RBIS and HRS but leading in all pitching categories.

My bullpen was very strong. My focus is 4 core Winning-pitchers, a strikeout pitcher, and a young prospect which changes often as do callups. The remainder of the bullpen is filled with strictly closers.

When I moved Nelson Cruz into the DL slot and picked up red hot JOSE BAUTISTA, I didn’t have any faith in Bautista’s sustainability at this point but he was red hot, and I only needed him for 15days. Plus, the Blue Jays as a team were on fire so if Bautista were just to get on base he would likely be driven in.

That only helped with filling my Cruz spot though, Bautista’s pickup wasn’t able to additionally compliment my team until I dropped Texas Rangers young left-hander C.J. Wilson. Wilson gave me three solid starts to start the year only giving up 3 earned runs. My confidence resided in Texas’ ability to score runs and pad a wins for Wilson. In addition, the left hander had shown promise in the strikeout department. Wilson was not part of the core pitchers in my fantasy bullpen and only was there to compliment the core starters pitching statistics. So the decision to drop Wilson from my team was easy because he could be replaced by a comparable pitcher fairly quickly if needed.

Dropping Wilson allowed me to pick up Josh Willingham from the Washington Nationals at the beginning of May. Willingham played on my fantasy for two matchups while Nelson Cruz was on the DL. During that time he had three home runs, 9 RBIS, and 7 Runs. Also, picking up a Filler (OF for OF) and a compliment filler (3B,OF) to supplement A-Rods slow start. And it paid off.

By picking up Willingham(FILLER), dropping Wilson(prospect), picking up Jose Bautista(Infield/outfield) I patched a hole in my lineup and set my team up for a win. To make room for Cruz I dropped Willingham and returned Cruz to the starting lineup. Bautista continued to stay thereafter for a couple weeks until he entered a nasty slump. During which time the current matchup was calling for another starting pitcher. So with Bautista’s similar slump as last year I feared the worst, and I felt comfortable putting out on free agency on such a bad slump and no previous history of this kind of power. If he were to get hot, he would likely still be there. However, at the time it may have been better to trade Bautista but I needed to make a change right away and Doug Fister was sitting on free agency. So I used the same idea of complimenting to help my bullpen. Fister would likely drive down my ERA, WHIP, and give me the occasional win since he’s on the Seattle Mariners. Once again proved to be a great move as I lowered both categories and picked up wins in both on his next start.

**Shortly after, Fister, who is significantly better than a “prospect”, hit the DL list shortly after.

**UPDATE* FIster will be returning to the mound this Saturday for the red-hot Mariners who have just won their 6^th straight game.

I use this three step process all the time to fix specific offensive categories where I am lacking. With so many closers on my team, every week I am guaranteed to win saves and WHIP, my core starters and strikeout man secure my Ks and give me a shot at ERA. (depending on closers week - They can post 1.0 inning ERAs in the double digits and record a save.)

When I realized I could afford to go one starter leaner in the bullpen, at the time I had two prospects, it made all the difference and gave me the ability to actually manage my team. So, I drop my single prospect who is only on the team to provide K’s and complimentary wins. If I lose the W category, oh well, on the bullpen side my team has now gone 4-1 and the holes in my lineup were filled.

Relief, handcuff, setup pitchers are useless. Immediately drop them from your team. No arguments are worthy of consideration, they do not offer you enough opportunities for contribution. They will not get you a Win or a Save. Closers compliment or drive down the key starters performances and the strikeout pitchers performances.

-Tips for closers:

- Winning or hot teams! They will give you more opportunities for saves

- Big Name or Big Investment, You do not want a Diamondbacks situation going on in your bullpen. ( Chad Quails, Aaraon Heilman, and now Sam Demel)

- If possible, pick up closers for your top 2 starting pitchers.

A (1B, 3B) or usually aren’t as beneficial as you would expect because these key positions for fantasy players.

The players you have drafted in your infield most likely are premier players. i.e. (1B Miguel Cabrera, 3B Alex Rodriguez) or( 1B Justin Morneau, 3B Adrian Beltre) These players don’t need any back up or even a full week to produce the numbers as your catcher.

Pick up free agents that will compliment some of the weaker links in your lineup. Many catchers don’t actually catch everyday and unless are batting as well as Jorge Posada they may not DH that day.

As far as 1B basemen goes I only suggest a C,1B like Buster Posey, C,1B Mike Napoli or 1B,OF Aubrey Huff. Huff has started 10+ games in both left and right while tagging on some outfield assists from right. In addition, Huffs durability is not an issue as he has missed only missed a handful of days this season. Reason being, will give you a 1^st baseman that can fill in for your catcher on his off days and/or your starting first basemen when the matchup is unfavorable. An infield/outfield position means the player will be eligible in 6 different team slots (2 Utilities, 3OF, 1 Position) giving that player tremendous flexibility and adds value to your team.

*** Remember to keep making moves as you need to! Watch the matchup..*** Don't be afraid to use free agency!

Best Five Hitting Schedules
	Team	Schedule
1.	Rangers	CLE3, BAL4
2.	Orioles	@DET3, @TEX4
3.	Phillies	ATL3, CIN4
4.	Giants	@MIL4, @WAS3
5.	Rays	BOS3, CLE4