Month: April 2008

By Dalton Del Don Manny Ramirez is off to a fantastic start this season, entering Tuesday with a line of .347/.413/.643. All the extra offseason work seems to have really paid off, and it’s apparent his career isn’t in such the decline last year suggested. That said, his .424 BABIP is the second highest in…

By Dalton Del Don Any chance of buying Josh Beckett relatively low vanished with Sunday’s brilliant performance. He doesn’t come without some questions healthwise, but since he’s never had any arm issues, he’s not a huge risk. Beckett now has 29 strikeouts over 26.1 innings and remains my choice to win the Cy Young this…

By Dalton Del Don It’s too late in most leagues, but Felipe Lopez needs to be picked up. Thursday marked the seventh straight start for him, so he’s now entrenched in the lineup. He’s not going to help your batting average, but there’s some solid stolen base and power potential from the middle infielder. RFK…

By Dalton Del Don Josh Hamilton is going to be an absolute force this season if the early returns are any indication. After striking out 22 percent of the time last year, he’s all the way down to 12 percent this season. Moreover, after posting a .222/.296/..292 line against lefties in 2007, he’s mashing southpaws…

By Dalton Del Don Matt Cain has been dropped by 5,899 teams in Yahoo Leagues. Whaaat?! I’m as frustrated with the 23-year-old as anyone, but these leagues are either as shallow as Paris Hilton, or people are acting a bit rash, no? Cain posted a 23:17 K:BB ratio last April and a 5.28 ERA during…

By Dalton Del Don If Felix Hernandez stays healthy, he’s going to finish the year as a top-5 fantasy pitcher. He’s actually been a little lucky so far, walking too many batters and posting an unsustainable strand rate (.912). Still, few can match his strikeout ability and propensity to induce groundballs. It was a minor…

By Dalton Del Don I’m not sure if Joe Torre follows baseball all that closely. Forget the fact he’s playing the supremely inferior Juan Pierre over Matt Kemp, but why does Andre Ethier get automatically penciled into the lineup over Kemp as well? Sure, he’s better than Pierre and the current incarnation of Andruw Jones,…

By Dalton Del Don Tim Hudson has looked flat-out dominant early on. I gambled on him in numerous leagues last year but was afraid he wouldn’t have continued success this season with a 5.3K/9 IP mark. Well, it helps that he’s allowed just 1 homer every 24.5 at-bats since 2006. He simply gives up very…

By Dalton Del Don I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t concerned about Edwin Encarnacion’s dreadfully slow start. Not only did he enter Thursday with an .083 average, but he’s also committed three errors already. He hit .221 with no homers last April, so slow starts are nothing new to him. Still, a day…

By Dalton Del Don In my main league, I drafted Ryan Howard and David Ortiz with the first two picks. They are a combined 8-for-57 (.140), giving me a major leg up in the batting average category early on. Dice-K looks awfully good so far. Nine walks in 18.1 innings are far too many, but…

This week’s segment took place right during overtime of one of the best NCAA Championship games in recent memory. At least the outcome mattered little in my bracket.

By Dalton Del Don I’m not that worried about the Tigers’ dismal start. The fact Miguel Cabrera, Gary Sheffield and Curtis Granderson are all injured is some cause for concern, but I’d still take them over the Indians in the Central at even money. Dontrelle Willis’ recent line of no-hit ball through five innings with…

By Dalton Del Don The more I think about it, the more I like Corey Patterson this season. It’s not ideal that the Reds have plenty of outfield options, but Patterson is a very good defender, and his average should stay afloat starting mostly against righties. Moreover, his relationship with Dusty Baker dating back to…

By Dalton Del Don NL MVP: David Wright – What doesn’t he do well? Wright plays defense, runs the bases and has a terrific batting eye. He had a .364/.465/.596 line after the All-Star break and even if you take away the entire month of April, posted a 30/31 season last year. AL MVP: Miguel…

1. Detroit Tigers Offense: The Tigers enter 2008 competing with only the Yankees as the best lineup in baseball, and they are likely the favorites. Magglio Ordonez isn’t going to hit .363 again, but Gary Sheffield should make more of an impact, and Carlos Guillen is one of the more underrated hitters in the game.…