Placido Polanco is heating up.
By Nick Carmichael
May 8, 2008

Sorry I missed the column last week, I'll make up for it this week with multiple pickups at some positions. It will be an Around the Bases Extravaganza!! Let's do it.

Mike Napoli (LAA - C) - Napoli is on a bit of a HR tear right now with 4 in jacks in his last 6 games as well as 7 hits in his last 14 at-bats. The best thing going for him is that Jeff Mathis is mired in a bad slump.

Paul Bako (Cin - C) - Man, what has gotten into Paul Bako? He has already matched his single season career high in homers, at a whopping....4. Ride this hot streak out like Seabiscuit.

Adam LaRoche (Pit - 1B) - He has a history of horrid April's, and is now showing signs of heating it up. He has gone 7 for his last 20 (.350 avg) with 2 bombs and 5 RBI. Right now he is only going to garner consideration in your NL-only or deep mixed league.

Plácido Polanco (Det - 2B) - It was only a matter of time before Polanco and his watermelon sized head started to do work. After his big game last night, he may not be out there on your wire. That game last night might have been just what Polanco and this offense needed.

Conor Jackson, you beastly young man. Photo courtesy MLB.com
By Randy Holt
May 6, 2008

The first month of the MLB season is in the books and it proved to be an exciting month. We had the usual hot starts and disappointments, primarily from the closer position. Here are my fantasy baseball surprises and disappointments of the opening month of action.

Surprises

Derek Lee (ChC — 1B) - We knew the average was there, but his power seems to have returned, thanks to that wrist being at 100%. He already has 8 bombs and a .356 average, and has greatly helped pick up the slack left by Soriano. Don’t expect his numbers to decline either. The Cubs lineup has the ability to get on base and Lee will get plenty of chances to knock in the runs.

Conor Jackson (Ari - 1B) — Sticking with the first base position, Jackson has started off hot, just like the rest of that D-Backs lineup. With 5 homeruns, 25 RBIs, and an average over .340, Jackson is on pace to surpass his career highs in dingers (15) and RBIs (79). Expect the average to dip a bit but he’s never hit under .280. He’s got a solid lineup around him and should keep it going, just not at such a torrid pace.

Alfonso Soriano, $14 million dollar Left Fielder
By Eno Sarris
May 5, 2008

Happy Cinqo De Mayo!

Have some tequila or Dos Equis or an empanada, and celebrate a random victory of the Mexican forces over the French invaders in 1862. And I say random because many Mexicans have no idea what Cinqo de Mayo is.

In any case, the Chicago Cubs are playing well offensively for the first time in what seems like a decade, and I am reminded of an old argument we had here at the Lounge: was Alfonso Soriano worth the money? The updated version of the discussion might be: who gets the credit for this amazing offensive turnaround?

By radar
May 4TH, 2008

In 1967, 22-year-old Tom Seaver was the NL rookie of the year, with 16 wins, 170 K’s and a 2.76 ERA for the New York Mets. His is, of course, a real baseball success story. He would win the first of his three Cy Young awards two years later and would finish with 311 career wins, a slam-dunk Hall of Famer.

But were the voters wrong? Gary Nolan, at age 19, won 14 games but struck out 206 batters, had a superior 2.58 ERA and led the league in strikeout percentage. Yes, he was a flamethrower He didn’t have the reputation of Seaver, a storied athlete coming out of USC, but he was three years younger and pitched better in a park more conducive to hitting than Seaver’s. Nolan probably had the better year and, conceivably, the brighter future.

We all know now that Seaver was a great choice, but the story of Gary Nolan is interesting as applicable to today’s game. For, you see, Nolan trod the path that Francisco Liriano is now heading down.

Ervin Santana should continue to roll.
By Tenacious D-Store
May 4, 2008

Welcome back for week five of Tenacious D-Store's Two Start Pitching Guide. Dice-K got the bump last week losing his two start status, but now with an even more favorable two start week, there is no reason why he would lose his must start status. So, let's talk about Cliff Lee instead. Cliff Lee actually went undrafted in a rather deep 20 team league of mine, and certainly wasn't drafted in an of my 10 team leagues. He is currently owned in 94% of 10 team leagues according to CBS Sportsline. What is more amazing is that a pitcher with a career 4.50 ERA is currently sporting an 0.96 ERA and 0.56 WHIP. I don't believe for a second that he can continue this all season, but you'd be a fool not to ride it out until he crashes. The Cliff Lee that we are all used to seeing has an abysmal record against both the Yankees and Blue Jays, but this isn't the Cliff Lee we are used to seeing.

Has Cliff Lee turned the corner? Photo courtesy mlb.com
By Eno Sarris
April 28, 2008

This week, the Roster Doctor turns his eye to some hot-starting mid-career pitchers around the league.

I will inspect Cliff Lee, Ervin Santana, and Ryan Dempster, and despite the small sample sizes so far this year, will attempt to determine if we've seen a fundamental change out of any these starters. Of course, if they haven't changed, those old numbers will be coming, and it won't be pretty.

Cliff Lee was the inspiration for this article, with a whopping 29 Ks and only 2 BBs in his 31 innings so far this year. While a 0.28 ERA and 0.44 WHIP are not sustainable (of course), has there been a fundamental change that might bring back the Cliff Lee that went 18-5 with a 3.79 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP in 2005?

By radar
April 27TH, 2008

“More e-mails, more trouble for Sonics owners
ERIC D. WILLIAMS; eric.williams@thenewstribune.com

Published: April 25th, 2008 01:00 AM | Updated: April 25th, 2008 06:42 AM

New e-mails released as part of a federal court filing in New York by the city of Seattle on Thursday suggest the NBA may have suspected the Oklahoma City-based Sonics ownership group violated a “good faith best effort” stipulation in its sales agreement when the group purchased the team in July 2006.

According to an e-mail last Aug. 13, Sonics chairman Clay Bennett told partner Aubrey McClendon that NBA president Joel Litvin was “looking into certain documents we signed at closing that may have been breached.”

The e-mail response was a follow-up after McClendon’s comments in a weekly Oklahoma business journal in August, in which he stated, “we didn’t buy the team to keep it in Seattle; we hoped to come here.”
~~~~~~~
I was fortunate enough to spend a few days in Seattle earlier this month, to visit my company headquarters and hang out with friends like Rob S and Rob W and baseball fantasy player Tim P. Perhaps the highlight was going over to Nathan’s house to:
1) Meet his new dog, Jake
2) Hang out with Nathan and his wife, Shannon
3) Eat Nathan’s world-class Lasagna
4) Watch probably the best NCAA basketball championship game of all time!
After eating and talking and experiencing the game, the subject of the Supersonics came up…

Dice-K should be able to chalk up 2 wins this week. Photo courtesy MLB.com
By Tenacious D-Store
April 26, 2008

Welcome back for week five of Tenacious D-Store's Two Start Pitching Guide. Many teams have only a five game schedule this week so the two start options might be a little scarce. As always, there a few decent ones that should be available to you. Let's get started with some no brainers.

Johan Santana and Dan Haren are no brainers regardless of their schedule, but they will face each other towards the end of week five. If you own them both, go ahead and start them both. What can it hurt? Johan has been labeled a slow starter before and struggled a bit in his last two starts. I'm going with Haren and the D'Backs in that second one.

Dice K has a 3-1 career record against the Jays, but it comes with a high ERA of 5.18. Still, much better than Roy Halliday's record against the Red Sox. Tampa Bay has actually been the team that has given Matsuzaka a bit of trouble. Dice has only managed to beat them once, but with Jason Hammel taking the mound for the Rays, I like the odds of Matsuzaka adding a second win to that record.

Can the Cards pass up on another talented running back in this years draft?

16. Arizona Cardinals-Rashard Mendenhall RB (Illinois) The Cardinals passed on Adrian Peterson last year, but they might not be able to pass on a talented RB like Mendenhall this year, especially with Edgerrin James another year older. Mendenhall has all the skills to be an all-pro for the next decade. He has great size, excellent speed, and terrific vision. He would be a hot name in fantasy leagues right off the bat.

17. Minnesota Vikings-Gosder Cherilus OT (Boston College) Minnesota really doesn't have too many holes, except for their right tackle spot, which Cherilus is slated to be at the next level. He's got great size and power, which gives him a great push as a run blocker. Does Adrian Peterson really need any more help?

18. Houston Texans-Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie QB (Boston College) Ever since the teams inaugural year, the Texans have always had problems on their O-Line and going into the 2008 season, it will be no different. However, most of the linemen that they will have their eye will most likely be gone, which makes Rodgers-Cromartie an attractive alternative. Rodgers-Cromartie, the cousin of Antonio Cromartie, would make for a lethal with Dunta Robinson.

There won't be any controversy this year, Long will be the number one pick.
By Kevin Bonneville
April 24, 2008

With the NFL draft just a few days away, I decided to give my own version of what I think the first round is going to look like on Saturday. Here is a brief rundown of each pick.

1. Miami Dolphins-Jake Long OT (Michigan) This years draft isn’t overflowing with top level talent, so the pick of Long makes a lot of sense here. Miami had one of the worse O-Lines in the game last year and with Long having a very successful college career at Michigan, he should be a very solid left tackle right off the bat. Bill Parcells is no dummy, Long has the talent to be a pro bowl-caliber player for years to come and be the main piece to build around on the line. That should make owners of Ronnie Brown very happy.

2. St. Louis Rams-Glenn Dorsey DT (LSU) The Rams can go a number of ways with this pick because of the number of holes that they have currently on the team. They can either trade the pick to move down and stockpile picks or they can keep the pick and take a D-Lineman. Expect St. Louis to do the latter because of teams' lack of overall interest in moving up. With Adam Carriker coming off shoulder surgery and LaRoi Glover turning 34 when training camp rolls around, Dorsey is a must get for the Rams. He won’t turn their defense into one of the best options for fantasy, but at least he’ll make them respectable against the run once again.

Mike Jacobs is rolling. Photo courtesy MLB.com
By Nick Carmichael
April 24, 2008

Plenty of options out there on the wire as we are now 4 weeks into the season. The question is figuring out which guys are playing above their potential and which are the real deal. Big news out of Colorado today as Manny Corpas, who has blown his last 4 saves has been replaced in the closers role by Brian Fuentes. We'll get into that later. Just a side note, look for this column every Thursday.

Ryan Doumit (Pit - C, OF) - Doumit and Ronny Paulino were to split time behind the dish this year. Too bad nobody informed Doumit of these plans. He has gotten off to a hot start and had himself a big game last Sunday, homering twice against the Cubbies. As of right now you cannot argue with the production he will give you at your catcher slot. Just don't expect him to keep up the torrid pace.

Mike Jacobs (Fla - 1B) - He has been killing the ball all month long. The power potential has always been there, now he's flashing it in a big way. 7 bombs already, could it be a breakout season?

Is Prince Fielder eating his way out of his power? Photo courtesy theonion.com
By Eno Sarris
April 21, 2008

Hello Roster Doctor!

My team this week is totally $%#$ offensively. Variance/chance or fundamental flaws?

10 team 5x5 H2H Weekly 5 Bench 1 DL

C AJ Pierzynski
1B Prince "No beef, no HRs" Fielder
2B B. Roberts
SS Renteria
3B Blalock
OF Holliday
OF D Young
OF Hermida
Util Ankiel
BN Y Escobar, Kouzmanoff, Milledge

SPs Webb, Hamels, Vazquez, Sheets, Hudson
RP Nathan
RP J Chamberlain
BN J Cueto

Looks like Chris Paul wins the Lounge MVP.
We know it's not fantasy, but hey, it's mid-April and our playoffs are over. Why not talk about the REAL playoffs?

We got our buddies over at Dropping Dimes to help us out, and they dished us a very pretty assist. Enjoy.

Who is your real-life MVP?

Brandon Haraway: It has to be Kobe for me, with LeBron a close second. Even before the Gasol trade the Lakers were a great basketball team and Kobe is the clear leader. It's not the lifetime achievement award or whatever Charles Barkley is calling it, but the only logical choice. His numbers are off the charts, and he has his team back where he wants it, without Shaq.
Eno Sarris: My real-life MVP this year is Chris Paul. I love stats, and this guy's stats blow everyone else's away. 48.8% from the field? 85% from the line? 11 assists to only 2.5 turnovers? This is a guy that can score and distribute, without hogging the ball, and without being a turnover machine. Perhaps LeBron James has less around him, but that argument has never held with me: why punish a player for having good teammates?

Jake Peavy has started right where he left off in '07. Photo courtesy mlb.com
By Tenacious D-Store
April 12, 2008

As I start my pitching guide for week four, let's reflect on my greatness for a moment, shall we. I know many of you enjoyed a good chuckle over my recommendations of Shawn Chacon last week, but as I have said before; laugh at me now, worship me later. Although, Chacon has not pitched his second start in week three as I begin this weeks column, he gave us eight no hit innings and five punch outs only to have Jose Valverde go out there and **** it all up in a matter of seconds. Now, I know I can't use that word and all you are going to see is four asterisks (use your imagination) but we all know it's the only acceptable term for this situation. Why they couldn't just give Chacon one more inning for his first career shutout, especially when Valverde has been awful all season, I will never understand. Well, we can't dwell on the past or the fact that Astro's manager Cecil Cooper is a moron, so that's get right to our week four no brainers.

Dirk, you gave your owner a championship... off the waiver wire.
By Eno Sarris
April 17, 2008

I won! I won!

Yeah, I won the consolation tourney. Whoo hoo.

I ended up 7th, and Brandon was 4th. It wasn't a bad year for the lounge, we ended up third in the regular season as a board, but we can do better next year, and we will.

It was a good year, free of controversy, kind of. The final matchup was decided by a triplet of late waiver-wire pickups, mostly, of big stars. Dirk Nowitzki was dropped by his owner because he had a high ankle sprain during the H2H playoffs, and ever game counts. Same for Brandon Roy, who was maybe out for the year. Elton Brand? We never knew what he was going to give his fantasy managers.

Oh, but silentJIM went for it. After barely making the playoffs (by a half game over yours truly), he knew he had to make some hay with a big gamble. And it worked out, to the tune of a BOSF championship.