Starting Nine: National League East

Isn’t it funny how a couple of minutes could change an entire post? As I started writing this post last night, I found out the news that New York Mets’ center fielder, Carlos Beltran will be out of commission for three to four months.

Within five minutes, the Mets went from having a very good lineup to a lineup with a lot of holes in it. So now that Beltran is out for a couple of months, where does the Mets’ lineup stack-up against the rest of the National League East?

Let’s take a look at each lineup in the National League East as presently constructed today. Since the pitcher will hit ninth, I just inserted the team’s top pitcher in the nine-hole.

Philadelphia Phillies

1. Jimmy Rollins, SS

2. Placido Polanco, 3B

3. Chase Utley, 2B

4. Ryan Howard, 1B

5. Jayson Werth, RF

6. Raul Ibanez, LF

7. Shane Victorino, CF

8. Carlos Ruiz, C

9. Roy Halladay, P

Quick Take – One through eight, this is the best lineup in the National League. This lineup has speed and power throughout. This lineup will be hard to shutdown in 2010.

Atlanta Braves

1. Nate McLouth, CF

2. Martin Prado, 2B

3. Chipper Jones, 3B

4. Brian McCann, C

5. Troy Glaus, 1B

6. Yunel Escobar, SS

7. Matt Diaz, RF

8. Melky Cabrera, LF

9. Derek Lowe, P

Quick Take – This lineup will only go as far as Glaus takes them. If he can come back healthy, then the Braves will have a very good lineup in 2010. It could be made even better when super stud prospect Jason Heyward makes his debut.

New York Mets

1. Jose Reyes, SS

2. Luis Castillo, 2B

3. David Wright, 3B

4. Jason Bay, LF

5. Jeff Francouer, RF

6. Daniel Murphy, 1B

7. Omir Santos, C

8. Angel Pagan, CF

9. Johan Santana, P

Quick Take – Not having Beltran will kill this lineup. The Mets could make up for the loss of Beltran by signing Bengie Molina and/or Carlos Delgado. The Mets have been rumored to be interested in both.

Florida Marlins

1. Cameron Maybin, CF

2. Chris Coghlan, LF

3. Hanley Ramirez, SS

4. Jorge Cantu, 3B

5. Dan Uggla, 2B

6. Cody Ross, RF

7. Gabby Sanchez, 1B

8. John Baker, C

9. Josh Johnson, P

Quick Take – If Uggla and Cantu stay, then this lineup becomes a lot better than most people think. This is a big year for Maybin. I think he really needs to show something this year.

Washington Nationals

1. Nyjer Morgan, CF

2. Christian Guzman, 2B

3. Ryan Zimmerman, 3B

4. Adam Dunn, 1B

5. Josh Willingham, LF

6. Elijah Dukes, RF

7. Ivan Rodriguez, C

8. Ian Desmond, SS

9. Jason Marquis, P

Quick Take – This lineup is certainly getting better. I like the one through five, especially Zimmerman. The Nationals are talking to Orlando Hudson, but if he doesn’t sign with them, I don’t mind Desmond as their Opening Day shortstop. I think he can be good.

Tomorrow, we will take a look at the National League Central.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

Fantasy Week In Review, August 10-16…

I can’t believe there is only about a month and a half left in the baseball season. Just as important, most most leagues there is only about 2 weeks left in the regular season.

As always, here are the fantasy studs, the many players who have me concerned, and the potential pickups for the fantasy week of August 10 – 16.

Fantasy Studs

Ryan Howard – .391/4/11/.500. Howard is starting to heat up, but with only 30 homeruns he will be hard pressed to hit 45+ homeruns for the the forth straight year.

Troy Tulowitzki – .407/3/10. At the beginning of the year, I wrote a piece “Can Tulo bounce back?” Yes, he can.

Hunter Pence – .290/4/10. Pence hit a HUGE HR against the Milwaukee Brewers yesterday. The fact that he refuses to walk is concerning (zero walks last week), but as long as he keeps hitting like this, nobody will have a problem.

Jonny Gomes – .400/4/9. Gomes was the latest player to hit three HR’s in a game when he hit three HR’s against the Washington Nationals last week.

Gonzalez raked last week

Gomes could be this year’s version of Nelson Cruz. Cruz helped a lot of fantasy teams down the stretch last year.

Adrian Gonzalez – .633/3/8. I still haven’t figured out why teams (especially ones in contention) pitch to him. Makes no sense to me.

Randy Wolf – 2-0 with a 2.30 ERA and 13 K’s in 15.2 IP. Wolf came up aces yesterday for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Wolf has a .600 lifetime winning percentage in September and October, so expect Wolf to continue his success down the stretch.

Cliff Lee – 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA and 12 K’s in 15 IP. Third straight week Lee has been a fantasy stud. I think Lee really, really, really likes the National League.

Jorge De La Rosa – 2-0 with a 0.68 ERA and 20 K’s in 13.1 IP. You could like to see De La Rosa get his innings up, but he has been one of the main reasons the Colorado Rockies are leading the NL Wild Card race.

Reasons for Concern

Erik Bedard – Bedard is this year’s Ben Sheets. He is a free agent after the season and was in-line for a nice payday in the offseason, but season ending surgery derailed any chance of that happening.

Bedard had surgery on Friday to fix a torn labrum and an inflamed bursa. He might might not be ready for Opening Day in 2010.

Joba Chamberlain – 0-1 with a 6.55 ERA. The New York Yankees are sometimes like the trust fund baby who, if they just played it straight everything would work out. But every now and then, the trust fund baby does some drugs and screws it all up.

This is what the Yankees have done with Chamberlain. Chamberlain came out of the All-Star break firing on all cylinders, he was pitching better than he ever was before, and then the Yankees started screwing around with his rest because of some silly pitch count limit.

Chamberlain now has a 6.75 ERA in August. Keep tabs on this situation. If the Yankees continue to mess with Chamberlain, he might not have as much fantasy value down the stretch.

Penny was terrible on Saturday night

Brad Penny – 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA and 14 hits allowed in 11.2 IP. The Brad Penny experiment is starting to get old in Boston in a hurry.

Penny’s performance on Saturday night was embarrassing. Penny was mentally not into the game and allowed the Texas Rangers to run all over him (six SB’s while Penny was on the mound).

If Tim Wakefield and Daisuke Matsuzaka came back in September, I would imagine Penny would be out of the rotation.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia – Placed on the 15-Day DL with a sore right arm. I was watching the game Friday night between the Boston Red Sox and Texas Rangers and I was wondering what the heck was wrong with Saltalamacchia?

He was having such a hard time throwing the ball back to the pitcher. I guess I now know why. Saltalamacchia was only batting .239 before this injury, so he might not be missed to much on your fantasy team.

David Wright – Placed on the 15-Day DL with post-concussion symptoms. I saw David Wright get hit in the head with a Matt Cain 94 mph fastball as it happened, and didn’t think Wright would make it back to his feet.

The ball hit him flush in the helmet. Though Wright was placed on the only the 15-Day DL, don’t expect Wright back in 2009. There is no reason for him to play with the New York Mets so far our of the playoff race.

Potential Pickups

Any pitcher vs. the New York Mets – With now David Wright out of the lineup, the Mets might have the worst lineup in baseball. Their best hitter might be Jeff Franouer and he has a .296 OBP for the season.

Here are the pitchers who will face the Mets this week:

Joe Martinez, Derek Lowe, Jair Jurrjens, Kenshin Kawakami, Cole Hamels, JA Happ, Pedro Martinez

Live Blog: MLB All-Star Game…

It’s been awhile since I have done a live blog, so what better time to do one than the 80th All-Star game in St. Louis. I have always been a big fan of the All-Star game, so this should be fun. I am just praying this game does not go deep into extra innings like last year’s game.

Game – American League vs. National League

Date – 7/14/09

Starting Lineups

American League

1. Ichiro Suzuki, RF

2. Derek Jeter, SS

3. Joe Mauer, C

4. Mark Teixeira, 1B

5. Jason Bay, LF

6. Josh Hamilton, CF

7. Michael Young, 3B

8. Aaron Hill, 2B

9. Roy Halladay, P

National League

1. Hanley Ramirez, SS

2. Chase Utley, 2B

3. Albert Pujols, 1B

4. Ryan Braun, RF

5. Raul Ibanez, LF

6. David Wright, 3B

7. Shane Victorino, CF

8. Yadier Molina, C

9. Tim Lincecum, P

Top 1st

Tim Lincecum deals the first pitch of the 80th All-Star game at 8:50 est time and it is ripped by Ichiro down the rightfield line, but foul.

Starting this game at 8:50 est. pretty much eliminates anyone under the age of 15 who lives on the east coast from seeing the end of this game – good job Bud Selig

Ichiro rips a single to right. He is such a good hitter. Being down 0-2 in the count didn’t phase Ichiro one bit.

OUCH!!! With two strikes, Derek Jeter gets hit in the hand with a changeup. Every Yankee fan just took a deep breath. Jeter appears okay.

Lincecumis really all over the place in this inning. He quickly falls behind Mauer 3-1.

Wow, what a quick play by Molina. Mauer hits a ball a foot infront of home plate, Molina pounced on it, and got Ichiro at third. Wright made a terrible throw to first, which pulled Pujols off the bag. Mauer would have been out with a good throw.

Teixeira hits a slow groundball that hits off of Pujols’ glove and goes into short rightfield. Jeter scores to make 1-0 American League.

That was a potential double play ball that Pujols mishandled. Some bad defense by the NL in the first inning. They should be out of this inning.

First and second with one out for Jason Bay.

Bay singles to center. Bases loaded.

Boy, the NL is really asleep on defense. Hamilton gets a hard groundball to first, Pujols gets Bay at second, but Lincecum is late covering first, and the run scores.

2-0 American League. We can eliminate Tim Lincecum from winning the MVP award tonight.

Michael Young grounds to Wright for the third out.

Not a very good start for the NL.

Bottom 1st

Hanley Ramirez leading off for the NL, hits a rope, but right to Aaron Hill. One out.

How many recruiting talks do you think Roy Halladay has gotten in the past two days? 40? 50?

Halladay gets Chase Utley to ground out to Teixeira. Two quick outs here in the bottom of the first.

Now here comes Pujols. Maybe he will make up for that terrible error he made in the top of the first.

Pujols hitting, Mauer catching, and Halladay pitching – it doesn’t get any better than that.

Michael Young is the man. Pujols hits a frozen rope to third. I mean a real screamer. Young snags it and casually throws to first to get Pujols. Now that is how you play defense.

After one it’s 2-0 American League

Top 2nd

Hill grounds to Ramirez for the first out.

Roy Halladay is hitting. I don’t think he planned on this happening. With the luck the Blue Jays have been having with injuries, Halladay will get clocked in the hand here.

He doesn’t and Halladay K’s for the second out.

A much better start to the second inning for Lincecum.

Ichiro hits a linedrive, but right at Braun in rightfield for the third out.

Bottom 2nd

Braun flies out to center for the first out.

President Obama is in the booth with McCarver and Buck. Obama is neck and neck with Bill Clinton as the president you would most want to hang out with.

Ibanez grounds to Hill for the second out. Halladay is making this look easy.

Even when Halladay gives up hits, he splinters bats. Wright bloops one to rightcenter for a hit. His bat shattered in a 100 pieces.

Victorino singles to right. First and second with two outs for Molina.

How about this. Molina singles to center, Wright scores, and Hamilton trying to throw out Victorino at third – hits him in the back and the ball rolls into foul territory.

Victorino scores andwe are tied at two. Molina goes to second on the throw.

Last night’s HR Derby champion Prince Fielder will hit for Lincecum.

Amazing how quickly things change in an inning. Halladay was crusing and a broken bat got a rally started.

Fielder smokes one down the leftfield line for a ground rule double. Molina scores and it is now 3-2 NL.

Ramirez grounds to Hill for the third out.

What an inning for the NL. Three runs with two outs.

After two complete in St. Louis, it’s 3-2 National League

Top 3rd

This is odd, Cardinals’ closer Ryan Franklin is in the game for the NL. I don’t think I have ever seen a closer come into an All-Star game this early before.

Jeter grounds to Utley for the first out.

Mauer lines to Pujolsfor the second out.

Teixeira grounds weakly to Pujols for the third out.

Well that was easy for Franklin. A very impressive inning.

Bottom 4th

Chicago White Sox lefty, Mark Buehrle into the game for the AL. With Buehrle pitching, this inning might last five minutes.

Utley hits a can of corn to center. One down.

Man, does Buerhle work quickly.

Pujols grounds to Teixeira for the second out. Teixeira showed his range on that groundball, as he played that way off the bag at first.

Braun grounds to Jeter at short and in less than five minutes the inning is over.

I wish more pitchers worked like Buerhle.

It’s still 3-2 NL after three.

Top 4th

We start the fourth and McCarver and Buck have been very tolerable tonight. It must be a full moon.

Dan Haren from the Arizona Diamondbacks is now in the game for the NL.

One pitch, one out. Bay flies out to Braun in right.

Hamilton flies out to semi-deep center.

Young singles to left. Michael Young loves playing in All-Star games.

Aaron Hill up. Every kid outside of Toronto just asked their dad “who is that?”

Hill grounds hard to Hanley Ramirez, but Ramirez gobbles it up, and gets Hill to end the inning.

Bottom 4th

Just saw a commercial for the new GI Joe movie. It looks terrible. I was a HUGE GI Joe fan growing up, so I hope the movie is better than it looks. I am not optimistic.

The Kansas City Royals’ Zack Greinke is in for the AL.

One pitch, one out. Ibanez pops up to Young at third.

I hope Greinke goes two innings tonight. It will let the world see who he is.

And this is why – Greinke throws a wicked slider to Wright to strike him out. That was nasty.

Greinke just toyed with Victorino. Got him to swing at a pitch in the dirt and two feet out of the strike zone.

One-two-three for Greinke

This game is moving rather quickly. Still 3-2

Top 5th

The next pitcher for the NL is the Dodgers’ Chad Billingsley.

Carl Crawford hitting for Greinke.

Crawford hits a single to center. With Crawford at first and Molina behind the plate, this should be interesting.

What a great play by Chase Utley. Ichiro hits a ball between first and second, Utley gets the ball, pivots, andgets the lead runner in Crawford at second.

What a great play. Ichiro now at first with one out and Jeter up.

My roommate from college Odie just sent me a text “Ichiro is a dope, let crawford steal.” I agree. The fastest man in baseball is on first and Ichiro is up there hacking.

The NL is flashing some leather. Jeter hits on his classic inside-out balls to the right side, but Pujols dives andgets the lead runner at second.

The first inning must have been a wake up call for the NL.

This brings up Mauer with Jeter on first and now two outs.

Is Joe Mauer the best hitter in the game right now or what? Billingsley throws a curve on the outer half and instead of trying to pull the ball, Mauer goes with the pitch and laces it down the leftfield line.

Jeter running all the way, scores from first. We are now tied at three.

Pujols really wants to make up for that first inning error. He makes another diving stop off of a Teixeira groundball and flips to Billingsley for the third out.

Pujols saves a run, but the AL ties the game heading into the bottom of the 5th.

Bottom 5th

Edwin Jackson the new pitcher for the AL

What is the story with hitters swinging at the first pitch when there is a new pitcher in the game?

Molina on the first pitch grounds to short for out No. one.

Ryan Zimmerman up at the plate. Zimmerman replaced Wright in the top half of the inning and is batting in the pitchers spot.

Zimmerman just missed one. He flies out to deep centerfield.

Ramirez on the first pitch grounds out to Young at third.

Wow what an inning for Jackson. Four pitches and three outs. Not a bad day’s work.

3-3 still as we head to the bottom of the sixth

Bottom 6th

The all-time saves leader, Trevor Hoffman into the game

The first batter he will face is the Orioles’ Adam Jones. Right now every Mariners’ fan is saying “I can’t believe we got rid of this guy.” Jones is hitting in Jason Bay’s spot in the lineup.

Jones hits a rocket to right, but Hawpe tracks it down at the warning track. One out.

Hoffman is not fooling anyone. Hamilton jumps all over the first pitch and singles to right.

Young hits a hard groundball, but right at Utley. After a brief bobble, Utley and Tejada are able to turn the four-six-three double play.

I was a little surprised Hoffman was used so early. I would have thought because he is the all-time saves leader, he would have been used to close out the game.

Bottom 6th

The Seattle Mariners’ ace Felix Hernandez has been called upon to pitch for the AL.

Orlando Hudson will hit for Utley andmost likely come into the game to play second.

Okay, once again we are first pitch swinging. This game counts right Bud?

Hudson hits one deep to right but Adam Jones is there for the first out.

Pujolsgrounds to short for the second out.

Not too many people on the east coast get to see “King Felix” pitch, but he is a dandy. He really can become a legit ace. He has no-hit stuff every time he goes to the mound.

Justin Upton is now hitting for Ryan Braun. A great matchup here of two of the best young players in the game.

Another groundball to short. The sure-handed Jason Bartlett gets Upton to end the inning.

We are getting down to the nitty gritty as Gorilla Monsoon used to say.

Top 7th

Classy move by Charlie Manuel as he lets Pujols go out to take warmups andthen replaces him with Gonzalez so he can get a standing ovation from the Cardinal fans.

Francisco Cordero is the new pitcher in the game for the NL. He is the Cincinnati Reds’ lone representative for tonight.

Aaron Hill up for the third time and he flies out to Upton in in left.

Crawford up for the second time. On the first pitch he grounds to Tejada at short. Two outs.

Justin Morneau up for the AL. He replaced Teixeira at first and is hitting Ichiro’s spot.

That was a quick inning for Cordero. He gets Morneau to line weakly to Zimmerman at third.

Bottom 8th

My buddy Tom just sent me a text “Close game and these idiot managers are using pitchers for one inning each.” Kind of agree. With a lot of the pitchers having pitched on Sunday and after last year’s marathon, I am surprised pitchers aren’t going more than one inning.

A new inning, a new pitcher for the AL. Jonathan Papelbon is in the game for the AL.

OH WOW!!! Carl Crawford makes the play of the game so far. Brad Hawpe on Papelbon’s first pitch (of course) hit a fly ball deep to left and Crawford leaped over the wall to make the catch and rob Hawpe of a HR. Great catch.

Two pitches and two bombs off of Papelbon. Miguel Tejada flies out to deep right but Adam Jones is there to make the catch.

Papelbon is pitching to Victor Martinez. A sign of the future?

Papelbon is throwing his fastball at 89 mph. Someone should tell him this game counts.

Papelbon strikes out Jayson Werth to end the inning. That fastball was 94 mph, so Papelbon got into the groove towards the end of the AB.

It’s still 3-3 heading into the eigth and this game has extra innings written all over it. Lovely

Top 8th

Heath Bell is into the game for the National League.

The first pitch he throws is over the head of Jason Bartlett. Nice pitch.

Bell does better on his second pitch as he gets Bartlett to ground to short.

Curtis Granderson up for the AL. He crushes one to left and the ball  hits off the base of the wall. Granderson digs for third and he makes it.

Grandersonat third with one out and the infield comes in.

Victor Martinez is up and he is getting intentionally walked. That stinks for Martinez. Manuel is walking Martinez to get to Adam Jones.

HeathBell looks like his heart is racing a million beats per second.

Well, Manuel’s strategy backfires as Jones hits one to the warning track in right. Granderson scores to make it 4-3.

Kevin Youkilis is up for the first time and he promptly singles to center.

First and second with two outs for the Rays’ Ben Zobrist.

Bell gets Zobrist swinging, but the damage was done. One run on two hits and two runners left on base.

At the end of seven and a half, it’s the American League four and the National League three

Bottom 8th

New York native Joe Nathan in the game for the American League. The AL is going to go with Nathan for the eighth andthen Mariano Rivera for the ninth. The NL is in trouble.

The Braves and Ron Kittle impersonator, Brian McCann up at the plate to face Nathan.

McCannon a 2-1 pitch pops up to Martinez behindthe plate. One down here in the bottom of the eighth.

Zimmerman swinging at the first pitch, flies to right for the second out.

Here is the best player that nobody knows about – Adrian Gonzalez

FOX just showed Bud Selig with George Will. And there is your reason for a baseball team in Washington.

Good AB by Gonzalez. Down in the count 1-2 and he works a walk.

Another two out rally by the NL. Hudson singles up the middle and now we have first andthird with two outs.

Ryan Howard is coming up to pinch hit. Manuel was picking his spot for Howard and this is it. Very similar to the 2003 All-Star game in Chicago where Mike Scioscia was picking his spot for Hank Blalock in the late innings.

Blalock hit a pinch hit two-run HR off of Eric Gagne to give the AL the win.

They just showed Brian Fuentes warming up. Well, if he is not in the game to face Howard why on earth is he warming up?

Howard is swinging for the downs. Two fastballs, two Ruthian cuts, and now it is 0-2.

Hudson steals second. That’s kind of a good and bad move. Good in that it eliminates the double play and now a single scores two runs. Bad in that this might take the bat out of Howard’s hands.

No 2003 moment here as Howard swings at a pitch in the dirt for strike three.

We head to the ninth with the AL still clinging to a 4-3 lead

Top 9th

The next pitcher up for the National League is the New York Mets’ Francisco Rodriguez.

His first batter will be the Tigers’ Brandon Inge. Of course Inge swings at the first pitch and grounds to short.

Carl Crawford up. He is 1-2. With his catch and with nobody else really standing out tonight, he might win the MVP.

Striking out won’t help his cause. That was a great changeup by Krod.

Morneau rips one into the left-centerfield gap, Werth tracks it down, and makes the catch. What a catch by a guy who is normally not a centerfielder.

This is it. We head to the bottom of the ninth with the AL leading 4-3

Bottom 9th

If the NL is going to come back, they are going to have to do it against the best in the business in Mariano Rivera

Justin Upton will try to get things started for the National League.

Barlettis silky smooth at short. He made a tough, back-handed play look very easy. He gets Upton for the first out

Brad Hawpe, who was robbed of a HR by Carl Crawford will try to hit one a little further against Rivera.

Joe Buck just said Brad Hawpe is a very good defensive rightfielder. I am guessing Buck hasn’t seen Hawpe’s UZR lately.

Hawpe goes down looking on a perfect pitch on the outside corner.

Now it’s up to Miguel Tejada to keep it alive. He doesn’t.

Tejada pops up to Zobrist at second to end the game.

That’s a wrap. The American League wins again 4-3. The American League will have homefield advantage in the World Series.

Like I suspected, Carl Crawford wins the MVP award. This might be the first time in All-Star game history that a guy won the award for a catch.

It was a good game, well played, and it only took 2:31 to play. A little disappointed that Tim Wakefield didn’t get to pitch, but what can you do.

Over 3,000 words later, I am calling it a night. Good night everyone!!!

Picking My 2009 National League All Star Team…

One of my favorite events of the year is the major league baseball All Star Game. Do I think that home field advantage in the World Series should be decided by the winner of the All Star game? No, I don’t. But I still the event regardless.

The mid-summer classic offers fans the opportunity for fans to see the best players in the game all on the field at the same time. It’s quite a scene.

With the All Star game exactly one month away from yesterday, I am going to put together my All Star game roster. Today I will do the National League and tomorrow, I will pick the American League All Stars.

Of course I will follow the same rules that this year’s National League manager, Charlie Manuel has to go by. A roster of 33 players and each team in the National League has to be represented.

With out any further adieu, here is my National League All Star Team:

Starters

C. Brian McCann, Atlanta Braves

1B. Albert Pujols, St Louis Cardinals

2B. Chase Utley, Philadelphia Phillies

SS. Hanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins

3B. David Wright, New York Mets

OF. Raul Ibanez, Philadelphia Phillies

OF. Carlos Beltran, New York Mets

OF. Brad Hawpe, Colorado Rockies

SP. Matt Cain, San Francisco Giants

There were six selections that were pretty obvious. The three players that are worth debating are Hanley Ramirez at SS, Brad Hawpe in the OF and Matt Cain as the starting pitcher.

I gave the slight edge to Ramirez over Tejeda at SS based on Ramirez having a higher OPS and more SB’s. Does anyone realize what a graet year Brad Hawpe is having? .337/9/47 is mighty impressive. I gave him the slight edge over Ryan Braun.

Cain is 9-1 and in my opinion, has been the most consistent NL starter, so he gets the nod over Santana and Billingsley.

Reserves – Pitchers

Johan Santana, New York Mets

Chad Billingsley, Los Angeles Dodgers

Dan Haren, Arizona Diamondbacks

Josh Johnson, Florida Marlins

Ted Lilly, Chicago Cubs

Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants

Johnny Cueto, Cincinnati Reds

Francisco Rodriguez, New York Mets

Trevor Hoffman, Milwaukee Brewers

Heath Bell, San Diego Padres

Jonathon Broxton, Los Angeles Dodgers

Ryan Franklin, St Louis Cardinals

After last year’s marathon, I decided to go with 13 pitchers instead of 12. I also went with more starters because of what happened last year. The toughest ommissions were Jason Marquis (8 wins), Zach Duke (7-4 3.10 ERA), Yovanni Gallardo (2.88 ERA) and Brian Wilson (17 saves)

Reserves – Position Players

C. Yadier Molina, St Louis Cardinals

C. Carlos Ruiz, Philadelphia Phillies

1B. Adrian Gonzalez, San Diego Padres

1B. Prince Fielder, Milwaukee Brewers

2B. Freddy Sanchez, Pittsburgh Pirates

2B. Orlando Hudson, Los Angeles Dodgers

SS. Miguel Tejada, Houston Astros

3B. Ryan Zimmerman, Washington Nationals

OF. Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers

OF. Justin Upton, Arizona Diamondbacks

OF. Matt Kemp, Los Angeles Dodgers

OF. Carlos Lee, Houston Astros

Some of the notable position players I had to leave off the roster were Chipper Jones, Adam Dunn (couldn’t have two Nationals on the roster), Hunter Pence (hard call between him and Lee) and Ryan Howard.

Here is the player by team breakdown:

4. New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers

3. Philadelphia Phillies, Milwaukee Brewers, St Louis Cardinals

2. Florida Marlins, Arizona Diamondbacks, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Houston Astros

1. Atlanta Braves, Washington Nationals, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Pittsburgh Pirates, Colorado Rockies

What do you think? Anyone I leave off who you feel was deserving?

Fantasy Week In Review, 6/8-6/14…

It was a really interesting second week of June. It seemed there was no in between. Either the performance was really great or really terrible.

As always here were the studs, the players who have me concerned and the potential pickups from the week of 6/8 – 6/14.

Fantasy Studs

Torii Hunter – .368/4/8. Any player who hits three HR’s in one game is definitely a stud.

Jason Kubel – .381/4/6/.480. While Mauer and Morneau get all the attention, Kubel has been a force for the Twins this season.

David Wright – .520/1/2. The power isn’t there for Wright, but the average certainly is. Wright also stole three bases last week.

Pablo Sandoval – .480/2/5. Yes, the Giants actually have hitters on their team.

Jim Thome – .400/3/7/.609. Year after year, Thome produces. Thome will be one of the most fascinating Hall of Fame debates in the next 10 years

Brad Bergesen – 2-0 with a 1.06 ERA and just 10 hits allowed in 17 IP. The Orioles have a bright future and Bergesen is a big part of that future.

Jose Contreras – 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA and just three hits allowed in 16 IP. Where is this coming from? It’s like 2005 all over again for Contreras.

Jered Weaver – 2-0 with a 1.20 and 11 K’s in 15 IP. Weaver has really stepped up for the Angels this year and is throwing his name in the hat for the Cy Young award.

Reasons for Concern

Roy Halladay – Halladay left Friday night’s game with a groin injury. It doesn’t appear to be to serious and Halladay might start against the Nationals on Saturday.

The concern I have is that groin injuries are like hamstring injuries. They just linger and never really seem to fully go away. This is an injury that I will be following closely.

Jake Peavy – Peavy was placed on the 15 Day DL with a strained tendon in his right ankle. Padres trainer, Todd Hutcheson thinks Peavy could miss as many as 12 weeks with this injury.

Peavy is 6-6 with a 3.97 ERA on the season, so it’s not a typical Peavy season. Perhaps Peavy will stop pitching in the WBC. I am just sayin’.

Howie Kendrick – Kendrick was demoted to Triple A Salt Lake over the weekend. Ouch!!! Kendrick had a hitting line of .231/4/22 with a pathetic .281 OBP in 186 AB’s for the Angels.

I think now we can officially put an end to the “Howie Kendrick will win a batting title” nonsense that we have been hearing for the last five years.

BJ Upton – Upton hit .200 with no HR’s, no RBI and 12 K’s last week. He is now has a hitting line for the season of .218/3/15. If he didn’t have 24 SB’s, he would be completely useless at the plate.

I think it’s pretty clear at this point that Upton is still affected by the offseason shoulder surgery that he had.

Potential Pickup

Rick Ankiel – Ankiel has been a huge disappointment so far this year. I even drafted him over Johnny Damon in my draft based on Ankiel having a breakout year. Good one Adam.

However, Ankiel had a nice week last week. He hit .360 with one HR and four RBI. I still think he can have a big second half, so it might be a good time to pick him up now before he goes on a tear.

10 Things We Learned In April….

The first month of the baseball season is in the books and even though most teams played only 22 or 23 games we have learned a lot in a very short period of time. Here are the top 10 things we learned in April.

10. There will be no 84′ Tigers this year. The 1984 Tigers got off to a 35-5 start and essentially clinched the division the first week of May. The Cardinals and Dodgers are tied with the largest division lead with a 3.5 game lead in their division. This is because….

9. There is parity in baseball. It seems like revenue sharing is working. Out of 30 teams in baseball, 13 teams are either 2 games over, 1 game over, 1 game under or at .500. Speaking of parity… 

8. The AL Central might be a coin flip. The Royals, Tigers, White Sox and Twins are all separated by 1 game. All 4 teams are flawed and this division again should go down to the final week of the season. The Indians, who many predicted to win this division are 4 games out in last place. Which reminds me…

7. The Nationals are really bad. The Nationals are a mess and really the only team in baseball that is out of it in April. I won’t put the Astros in that class because they have a track record of making serious runs in the 2nd half of the season. The Nationals are 5-16 and one of the worst defensive teams I have ever seen. They lead the majors currently with 22 errors. Things are so bad for the Nationals, even when they have a lead they can’t hold it. The Nationals have blown 7 out of 10 save opportunities. Staying in the NL East….

6. Things haven’t changed for the Mets. Even the opening of Citi Field home of the ? hasn’t made Mets fans forget the last 2 years. Forget that the Mets have a 9-12 record, there’s a negativity that surrounds this team and all the players can feel it. Just ask David Wright who right now looks to be trying to hit the ball 600 ft on every pitch just to get the fans off his back. This team reminds me of a lot of those Red Sox teams from 1995-2002. The Mets needed a Kevin Millar or Eric Byrnes. Sticking with the New York market….

Coors East?

5. The Yankees built Coors East. The Yankees spent $1.5 billion on a new stadium and somehow didn’t factor in wind currents. Amazing. The new Yankee Stadium has turned into Coors Field East. 28 HR’s have been hit in only 7 games at the new stadium. 20 of those HR’s have been hit to RF where the wind current resides. Unfortunately because of the Yankees astronomical ticket prices there haven’t been as many fans at the stadium as the Yankee’s brass had hoped to see those HR’s. Speaking of the fans….

4. The economy hasn’t affected baseball as much as people thought….yet. It was feared that because of our dreadful economy that fans wouldn’t fill the ballparks this year. But thanks to a wonderful article by ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark, we have seen that attendance is the same this year as it was last year. I think the real test for baseball will be in August and September when teams start falling out of the pennant race. Did someone say pennant race?….

Bedard has led the M's in April

3. The Mariners could win the division. The Mariners lost 101 games last year and many, including myself thought they would repeat that performance this year. But with solid pitching from Bedard, F. Hernandez and Washburn the Mariners find themselves with a 13-9 record anda 2.5 game lead over the Rangers. In a very weak AL West, the Mariners might be able to steal the division. The Mariners are going it with pitching and so is Kansas City. That is because….

2. Zack Greinke is a stud. How good has Greinke been? Here is one scout’s take on Greinke “It’s hard to think of another power guy withthis kind of command andfeel with four different pitches. He’s Greg Maddux — with a much better fastball.” Pretty impressive. Greinke went 5-0 with a 0.50 era, 44 K’s in just 36 IP. Greinke is not a secret anymore as he was on the cover of Sports Illustrated. When was the last time a Royal’s pitcher was on the cover of SI? I am serious. Who was it? David Cone? Bret Saberhagen?

I think the #1 thing we all learned this April was….

1. Don’t take life for granted. Even if you don’t follow baseball you know about the tragedy of Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart. Adenhart was just 22 years old when he was killed in a car accident on April 9th after pitching 6 solid innings against the Detroit Tigers earlier in the night. I think everyone took a step back and realized how precious life is when they found out the news of Adenhart.

So there you have the top 10 things we learned in April. I can’t wait to see what happens in May and what we will learn about that month.

Fantasy Week In Review 4/20-4/26…

As the first month of the season closes, we should be getting a better feel for our fantasy teams and what our needs are. Do I need pitching? Do I need another bat? These are the questions we should start asking ourselves heading into May.

Here are the players who are hot, the players who are giving reasons for concern and some injury news for the week of 4/20-4/26.

Fantasy Studs

Ryan Braun – .565/3/8. Braun really hit the cover off the baseball this week and has officially started his push towards an MVP season.

Albert Pujols – .450/3/11. Single handily beat the Mets and Cubs in 1 week. Pujols was so dominate he even stole a couple of bases jsut for fun. You know that Dos Equis commercial where they feature the “Most Interesting Man In The World?” I think Pujols has an awkward moment on the baseball field just to see what it feels like.

Jay Bruce – .455/4/8. Bruce and Votto might make the best 1-2 punch in the NL in a couple of years.

Mike Lowell – .435/2/11. Some of the best moves are the ones you don’t make. Lowell has come back better than the Sox ever expected from hip surgery.

Carlos Beltran – .542/1/7. With Citi Field being bigger than Yellowstone, if Beltran keeps hitting linedrives he could lead the league in hitting.

Ross Ohlendorf – 2-0 with a 1.93 era and 7 K’s in 14 IP. Time to start giving some love to the Pirates. Ohlendorf pitched 7 quality innings against the Padres yesterday and has a 3.24 era for the season.

Rich Harden – 2-0 with a 3.00 era and 17 K’s in 12 IP. If only this guy could stay healthy he would be a Cy Young candidate every year. Right now he is just a 5 or 6 inning pitcher but if he keeps striking out more than a batter per inning he is worth starting on your fantasy team every time out.

Armando Galarraga – 1-0 with a 3.27 era and 11 K’s in 11 IP. Galarraga has really come into his own this year. With the improved Tigers D and O, Galarraga could win 15+ games this year.

Reasons for concern

David Wright – .240/2/8. 2 HR’s and 8 RBI isn’t bad for a week but Wright is striking out a ton. 2 things concern me about Wright.

Wright has me concerned

1. I am starting to wonder if the pressure is starting to get this guy. He looks so tight right now
2. Wright’s power is to right field. With right field in Citi Field being a place where HR’s go to die (415 ft in some parts), I am concerned Wright’s power #’s will be down.

Mike Aviles – .111/1/1. Aviles came on the scene last year but it is starting to look like pitchers are starting to figure out Aviles who hasn’t seen a pitch he hasn’t liked all season.

Oliver Perez – 0-1 with an 11.00 era, 8 BB and 15 H in 9 IP. I am not going to sugar coat it…Perez stinks. He is a .500 pitcher in his career. I am still trying to figure out A. Why it is was a given he would resign with the Mets? and B. Why the Mets gave him a 3 year $36MM contract when nobody else was bidding on him? Perez might even be sent down to the minors so bench him or release him.

Jake Peavy – 0-2 with a 9.00 and 13 H in 11 IP. I know Peavy is perhaps the biggest advocate of the WBC and that is good for the game. However, it is not good for fantasy owners who suffer through the season after Peavy pitches in this event. The numbers don’t lie. In 2006 Peavy was 11-14 with a 4.09 era and so far this year Peavy is 2-3 with a 5.74 era.

Injury Updates

Brian McCann – Was placed on the 15 Day DL with blurred vision in his left eye. This is a big loss to the Braves and a big loss if McCann was on your fantasy team. The Braves have nobody worthy of picking up at the catcher position.

Stephen Drew – Placed on the 15 Day DL with a strained hamstring. Any time a top SS goes down with an injury it hurts your fantasy team because there are so few good hitting SS. Drew should be back in a couple of weeks. But this isn’t the worst news for the DiamondBacks…..

Brandon Webb – Webb will be shut down for 6 weeks. Ouch!! Webb is one of the best 10 pitchers in baseball so losing him hurts. Keep him stashed away on your fantasy and hopefully he can contribute in the 2nd half.

Chien-Ming Wang – Placed on the 15 Day DL. I told you this would happen last week and that Phil Hughes will replace Wang in the rotation. Hughes might get 2-3 starts so he is worth the pickup, especially in keeper leagues.

Jose Guillen – Activated from the 15 Day DL over the weekend. This move will move Teahan back to 3rd on a full time basis until Gordon comes back.

Trevor Hoffman – Activated from the 15 Day DL. He will start closing ASAP. Charlie Villanueva will moved back to a setup role.

Joe Mauer – The target date for Mauer was supposed to be May 1 but Mauer may come back this week. Mauer is a stud and should be put in your lineup as soon as he comes back.

The Real 10 Most Hated Players In Baseball List

One of the great things about the internet is that any idiot like myself can pick up a laptop, start a blog or a website and give an opinion. Someone can formulate an opinion on anything from the best looking women, celebrities, recipes to who is going to be selected with the 1st pick in this coming NFL Draft. I choose to write and give my opinion about baseball. Now the things I write and give my opinions on are not gospel. Sometimes I am right, sometimes I am wrong and there are always going to be people who disagree with what I write. That is one of the drawbacks of starting a blog, you open yourself up for criticism. If you have noticed I have not commented on other people’s blogs or sites because I feel everyone is entitled to an opinion. At the end of the day it’s just someone’s thoughts, no big deal. However, I came across an article yesterday that really has me confused and I feel I need to comment on.

I was on Ballhype.com, which a site that gives you the ability to view posts from sports blogs from across the web (yes, my blog is on there). One of the posts I came across was Askmen.com’s “Top 10: Major League Baseball Players To Hate.” Interesting topic and was something I was anxious to read. After I read the article, I am wondering if the person who wrote this article knows anything about baseball or has even watched a game in their life?

On this list was Josh Hamilton?? The reason? “It’s a feel good story only Disney could concont” and “The only issue with Hamilton is that he makes a normal guy who can’t go into the office after a few too many scotch and sodas at happy hour look like a p#*sy..” Words can’t even describe how rediculous this is. Hamilton is hated so much that 50,000+ New Yorkers gave him a standing ovation during last year’s Home Run Derby. But wait, it gets better.

Also on this list is Ryan Braun. Ryan Braun? Why would anyone hate Ryan Braun? The reason…”He seems impossible to hate, which is good enough reason to hate him.” I am really starting to wonder if Askmen.com did any research prior to writing this article.

#7 on the list is Joel Zumaya. Nobody cares enough about Joel Zumaya to hate him. Really? Joel Zumaya one of the top 10 most hated players in baseball?

#5 on the list is David Wright. Now I can understand if you are a Phillies, Braves or even a Yankees fan that you might have a dislike for the Mets 3B. But here is one of the reasons that Askmen.com gave…”He collects double goody-two-shoes bonus points for his David Wright Foundation, which provides aid and assistance toward the health, emotional development and education for children in need.” Wow, the guy does charity work. What a bastard!!!

For a site that claims they get over 7MM readers a month, I would think they would have a better baseball person writing for them. Any way you slice it, this Top 10 is just not cutting it. So it got me thinking. Who are the most hated players in baseball?

Here is my Top 10 Most Hated Players In Baseball list. Teams and fans hate playing against these guys because they are the grinders, the guys who do the little things, they will always get the big hit and they will do anything for their team to win. Not because they are a great comeback story. I will do my list position by position. Of course, this is just my opinion. Disagree if you like…. 

C – AJ Pierzynski, White Sox – Just a bad-ass. He’ll fight you as Michael Barrett will point out and a noted wrestling fan, would suplex anyone on the Twins if he got a chance. Teams hate him while his teammates love him.

1B – Kevin Youkilis, Red Sox – Youkilis is so intense that he is sweating like Patrick Ewing in the 4th quarter before the 1st pitch of the game. Makes fans and players of opposing teams crazy with the way he grinds out ab’s. The modern day Paul O’Neill.

2B – Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox – Nobody likes a guy who is 5’7″ who acts like he is 6’4″. He is pesky, does all the little things and is just a winner. As small as he is, he always comes up big in the clutch. And oh yeah, he was the MVP last year.

Jeter will always be hated

SS – Derek Jeter, Yankees – The starting SS for the Yankees will always make a “Most Hated” list (unless you are writing for Askmen.com). Say what you want about Jeter, but when the game is on the line you can put it in the bank that he will come up with a clutch hit. I feel silly saying that Garciaparra was better than Jeter back in the day. Kind of how Yankee fans feel now when they said Cano was better than Pedroia.

3B – Chipper Jones, Braves – His real name is Larry, he goes by Chipper and he is enemy #1 amongst Mets fans. Jones has killed the Mets during his career, but he has killed most teams as well during his great career. The face of those great Braves teams in the 90’s and nobody likes someone who is this good and wins all the time.

LF – Eric Byrnes, Diamondbacks – The “Crash Test Dummy” has to be on this list. He is always hurt because he plays so hard. He would literally run into a wall to win the game. 

CF – Shane Victorino, Phillies – Was a key cog in the Phillies postseason run last year. The “Flyin Hawaiian” does all the little things to win a game. Plays great defense, steals a base, hit a clutch HR, get under the other team’s skin and as the Dodgers found out in the NLCS…all of the above.

RF – Denard Span, Twins – There has to be a Twins player on this list. Teams hate playing against the Twins because they do everything right. As a fan, it’s infuriating because you know they will never beat themselves. Span fits perfectly into the Twins system of solid baseball and a guy who teams and fans hate to play against.

SP – Roy Halladay, Blue Jays – Why is Halladay on this list? Because there is a 66% chance your team is going to lose when he pitches. If he ever played on a good team it would be closer to 90%. He is the best pitcher in baseball and he makes it look so easy.

Util – David Eckstein, Padres – The pure definition of overachiever, Eckstein looks more like your accountant rather than a World Series MVP. Eckstein is famous for fouling off pitches, which drives fans and opposing pitchers crazy.

Hope you enjoyed this list and ENJOY OPENING DAY!!!

Predicting The MVP’s….

Now it is time to predict the big boys of baseball…the MVP’s. There are 2 ways to look at who will win this award. 1. The player that means the most to his team, puts up good stats and brings the intangibles (Pedroia in 08, Larkin in 95 & Gibson in 88) or 2. The player that puts numbers so much better than everyone else, you have to give him the award (Dawson in 87, Walker in 97, Bonds in 04 or 01).

Here are the candidates in the NL & NL along with the winners…

Another MVP for Pujols

NL

Candidates – David Wright, Ryan Howard, Manny Ramirez, Albert Pujols, Ryan Braun & Hanley Ramirez

Winner – Albert Pujols

WHY – I was debating between Manny Ramirez and Pujols but sometimes you just have to go with the safe bet. Pujols will have the numbers and I think the Cardinals will be competitive in 09. Those 2 factors equal another MVP for Pujols

AL

Candidates – Kevin Youkilis, Justin Morneau, Evan Longoria, Miguel Cabrera, Grady Sizemore & Josh Hamilton

Winner – Grady Sizemore

WHY – This will be a battle of stats (Cabrera) vs team performance and intangibles (Sizemore). In the end, I think this is Sizemore’s year to breakout. The Indians will be very competitive in the AL Central and Sizemore’s offense AND defense will win him this award.

Looking At Fantasy 3rd Basemen In 2009..

In honor of March Madness, I am going to do a tournament to determine who is the best fantasy 3B in 2009. This is a 36 player tournament and seeds are broken down from 1-8 in 4 regions. The 4 regions are the Mike Schmidt Region, George Brett Region, Eddie Mathews Region and the Brooks Robinson Region.

Since there are 36 players who will be participating in this tournament, the last 2 seeds in each bracket (8 players total) will play in a play-in game to determine who advances to the actual tournament. Let the tournament begin….

Mike Schmidt Region

Play In Game

Bill Hall vs Andy LaRoche. Winner – Andy LaRoche

Longoria is a #1 seed

1st Round

#1 Evan Longoria vs #8 Andy LaRoche

#2 Garrett Atkins vs #7 Scott Rolen

#3 Ryan Zimmerman vs #6 Mark Reynolds

#4 Chone Figgins vs #5 Mike Lowell

Winners – Longoria, Atkins, Zimmerman, Lowell

Analysis – Longoria hit 27 hr’s and drove in 85 runs in only 122 games in 08. Baring injury Longoria should put up 35+ hr, drive in 120+ runs and even swipe double digit steals in 09. He is the #1 seed in this region and should be one of the 1st 3B on your draft board.

Mark Reynold’s K’s (204 last year) were too much to overcome against Zimmerman, who should have a nice bounce back year. Figgins has been injury prone the last 2 years (hasn’t played in more than 116 games) and I believe his 07 season was a fluke. Lowell looks good this spring and that enables him to pull off the upset against Figgins.

Brooks Robinson Region

Play In Game

Eric Chavez vs Russell Branyan. Winner – Russell Branyan. It is pretty amazing how far Chavez has fallen in such a short period of time. Branyan qualifies as a 3B but will get 1st crack at being the Mariners everyday 1B. Maybe Branyan will be the Mariners version of Carlos Pena?

1st Round

#1 Alex Rodriguez vs #8 Russell Branyan

#2 Chipper Jones vs #7 Casey Blake

#3 Aubrey Huff vs #6 Pablo Sandoval

#4 Mark DeRosa vs #5 Carlos Guillen

Winners – Rodriguez, Jones, Huff, DeRosa

Analysis – Despite probably missing the 1st month of the season, Rodriguez still remains 1 of the 4 best fantasy 3B in baseball. He still should be able to put up 30 hr’s and 90 rbi, which is better than most.

Chipper Jones, headed into his 16th season still has a lot to offer fantasy owners. His batting avg. has increased each of the last 3 years and he can single handily win you OBP in a head to head league.

Aubrey Huff is often over looked in fantasy drafts but all he did last year was smack 32 hr’s, drive in 108 runs and hit .304. Expect the same from Huff this year, as the Orioles will have a solid lineup in 2009.

George Brett Region

Play In Game

Jed Lowrie vs Chris Johnson. Winner – Jed Lowrie

1st Round

#1 David Wright vs #8 Jed Lowrie

#2 Chris Davis vs #7 Troy Glaus

#3 Adrian Beltre vs #6 Melvin Mora

#4 Alex Gordon vs #5 Jorge Cantu

Winners – Wright, Davis, Beltre, Gordon

Analysis – David Wright goes into 2009 as the #1 fantasy 3B. Wright has finished in the top 10 in MVP voting the last 3 years and that trend should continue in 2009. What separates Wright is 1. His durability (160 games played in 3 of the last 4 years) and 2. His ability to steal a base. Wright was a 30/30 man just 2 years ago. I don’t think he will go 30/30 again but 20 sb’s can be expected.

A lot has been expected from Alex Gordon ever since the Royals drafted him the 2nd pick overall in the 2005 draft. Gordon showed some progress last season by raising his avg. 13 points and his OBP by 37 points. If he can continue this trend maybe a .275/20/80 is doable in 2009.

Chris Davis has been the hot name going into fantasy drafts due to his 17 hr and 55 rbi performance in just 60 games last year. Is he another Kevin Maas or will he break out in 2009? I think hitting is contagious in that Rangers lineup and Davis will put up a nice .282/33/101 in 2009. Davis also qualifies as a 1B as well

One last note on this bracket. Jed Lowrie is probably the best #8 seed in this tournament. With Julio Lugo going down with a knee injury, Lowrie becomes the starting SS in a powerful Red Sox lineup. Lowrie qualifies as a 3B but has more value as a SS.

Eddie Mathews Region

Play In Game

Brandon Inge vs Josh Fields. Winner – Josh Fields. Fields wins based on his sleeper potential. You know what you are going to get with Inge…which isn’t very good

1st Round

#1 Aramis Ramirez vs #8 Josh Fields

#2 Kevin Youkilis vs #7 Joe Crede

#3 Kevin Kouzmanoff vs #6 Edwin Encarnacion

#4 Michael Young vs #5 Hank Blalock

Winners – Ramirez, Youkilis, Kouzmanoff, Blalock

Analysis – Aramis Ramirez has been one of the most productive 3B in the league since joining the Cubs in 2003. You can pretty much lock Ramirez in for 25+ hr’s and 100+ rbi every year.

Youkilis is the strongest #2 seed in this tournament and if Arod was out longer, would move into a #1 seed. Youkilis also qualifies at 1B but has more fantasy value at 3B. If your league has OBP as a category, then Youkilis (.380 or better 4 years in a row) is a must grab.

Blalock upsets Young in the first round because I believe Blalock will have a year similar to is .276/32/110 of 2004 season.

Mike Schmidt Region – Sweet 16

#1 Evan Longoria vs #5 Mike Lowell

#2 Garrett Atkins vs #3 Ryan Zimmerman

Winners – Longoria and Zimmerman

Analysis – Atkins batting avg, OBP, hr’s and rbi have dropped each of the last 3 years. That is not a good sign and to make matters worse, Atkins will be hitting in a lineup without Matt Holliday and has Ian Stewart breathing down his neck. Zimmerman will revert back to his 06 and 07 seasons when he averaged 22 hr’s and 100 rbi.

Brooks Robinson Region – Sweet 16

#1 Alex Rodriguez vs #4 Mark DeRosa

#2 Chipper Jones vs #3 Aubrey Huff

Winners – Rodriguez and Jones

Analysis – I will bet a lot of money that DeRosa will not have 21 hr and 87 rbi again in 2009. Last year is what we call a “career year.” I look for more DeRosa like 15 hr and 65 rbi in 2009 and thus ending DeRosa’s tournament run.

Even knowing that Jones is going to miss at least 20 games, I would still take him over Aubrey Huff and that is the reason he advances.

Wright is a top 4 3B

George Brett Region – Sweet 16

#1 David Wright vs #4 Alex Gordon

#2 Chris Davis vs #3 Adrian Beltre

Winners – Wright and Davis

Analysis – Gordon might be improving but he is no match for Wright. Davis vs Beltre is an interesting matchup because Beltre is a free agent at the end of the year and you know what happened last time Beltre was a free agent. Beltre lit up baseball with a .334/48/121. I don’t think Beltre will put up those numbers but I think Beltre will be better than he was last year. However, Davis edges Beltre in the end due to his age (keeper consideration) and his potential for a great year.

Eddie Mathews Region

#1 Aramis Ramirez vs #5 Hank Blalock

#2 Kevin Youkilis vs #3 Kevin Kouzmanoff

Winners – Aramis Ramirez and Kevin Youkilis

Analysis – Ramirez and Youkilis advance pretty easily to the Elite 8. What hurts Kouzmanoff is his OBP. Last year it was a pretty pathetic .299. If Kouzmanoff can learn a little plate discipline, he would be more highly regarded in fantasy drafts.

Elite 8

#1 Evan Longoria vs #3 Ryan Zimmerman

#1 Alex Rodriguez vs #2 Chipper Jones

#1 David Wright vs #3 Chris Davis

#1 Aramis Ramirez vs #2 Kevin Youkilis

Winners – Rodriguez, Longoria, Wright, Youkilis

Analysis – Youkilis pulls off the upset due to him hitting in a better lineup than Ramirez and Youkilis’ ability to play 1B. Having players who can play multiple positions is a bonus to any fantasy roster. So the Final 4 is set with the 4 best fantasy 3B in baseball. Longoria, Rodriguez, Wright and Youkilis. These are the 4 guys who should on the top of your list come draft day.

Final 4

#1 Evan Longoria vs #1 Alex Rodriguez

#1 David Wright vs #2 Kevin Youkilis

Winners – Longoria and Wright

Analysis – Due to Arod’s injury Longoria gets the nod on draft day. In the other matchup in the Final 4, David Wright gets the edge on draft over Youkilis. Wright’s sb potential sets Wright apart.

Finals

#1 Evan Longoria vs #1 David Wright

Winner – Wright

Analysis – Wright went into this tournament as the #1 3B and comes out of this tournament the #1 3B. If Wright is available to you on draft day, don’t hesitate to grab him.

I hope you enjoyed this fantasy 3B tournament and good luck in your NCAA Basketball bracket.