Category: BASEBALL

By Dalton Del Don Before we get started, check out my latest attempt at hosting a podcast, featuring Jeff Erickson and Yahoo’s Scott Pianowski. What more can be said about Stephen Strasburg’s dominant debut? Sure, the Pirates have scored the fewest runs in baseball this season, but I’m pretty sure Strasburg’s stuff will translate well…

By Dalton Del Don The crazy thing about the Braves now being in first place by 2.5 games is if anything, they are underperforming. Jair Jurrjens and Kenshin Kawakami have combined for zero wins, while Yunel Escobar, Chipper Jones, Brian McCann, Nate McLouth and Melky Cabrera are all playing poorly. Troy Glaus has been a…

By Dalton Del Don Fantasy owners who went with a “last year’s bums” strategy and held their nose when drafting Alex Rios are certainly not complaining. After disappointing in Toronto last season, resulting in the Blue Jays giving away his contract to the White Sox, Rios was even worse in Chicago, posting a .199/.229/.301 line…

By Dalton Del Don I apologize for the lack of articles recently, but the RW RB magazine column has dominated my time of late. I posted my preliminary top-12 rankings here, so let me know your thoughts. Anyway, that task is finished, so expect more frequent baseball posts in the future. It’s hard to complain…

Recorded a podcast Wednesday, so check it out. Also, I’ve been buried in writing the RB section for the RW Fantasy Football mag, but I promise I’ll pick up the content soon, starting with an article Thursday. Also, if you haven’t already, start following me on Twitter. I’ve found it to be quite cathartic when…

By Dalton Del Don What’s the deal with Grady Sizemore? He looked like baseball’s biggest threat to be the next 40/40 guy as recently as 2008, and while he was a huge bust last year, injuries could mostly explain it, and 18 homers with 13 steals over 436 at-bats wasn’t the end of the world…

By Dalton Del Don I’d try to buy low on Gavin Floyd, if possible. Of course, no one is giving him away after just three starts, but he’s not some established star, either. The 14 strikeouts over 13.0 innings are encouraging, but there’s no doubt his control has been way off. Still, Floyd has now…

By Dalton Del Don The first couple weeks of the season are my least favorite time to write about baseball. During March, it’s easy to speculate on any player and how they’ll perform in the upcoming year. And in May, there’s at least some information worth using to examine how the season is going. But…

By Dalton Del Don What an awful feeling for Carlos Zambrano owners. Talk about starting with a handicap. I personally don’t own in him any leagues, but I can sympathize, having Peter Moylan in my LABR lineup last year, when he opened the year allowing five runs before retiring a single batter. Zambrano showed up…

By Dalton Del Don NL MVP: Albert Pujols – I know, a no-brainer. Runner up: Troy Tulowitzki – Chase Utley and Hanley Ramirez are better players in real life, but Tulo also plays a premium position, should hit cleanup, and I’m predicting the Rockies to win the NL West Long shot: Brian McCann – It’s…

By Dalton Del Don The season begins imminently, and I’m aware no one wants to hear about yet another draft done by someone else, but I really should talk about my “World Championship of Fantasy Baseball” experience in Las Vegas last weekend, if for no other reason so others know about it next year. WCOF…

1. Atlanta Braves If the Braves didn’t trade Javier Vazquez, they’d be the clear favorites to win the National League. As is, they are still plenty good, with one of the best starting rotations in baseball. Maybe this projection proves to be overly optimistic, relying too heavily on the raw talent of youngsters Tommy Hanson…

I’ll be on Sirius #125/XM #241 on Friday at 9:30 am (PST). Check it out if possible.

1. St. Louis Cardinals The Cardinals aren’t exactly a juggernaut, but because of the NL Central, they might be the most likely team in all of baseball to win their division this season. Adam Wainwright is a bona fide ace, and Chris Carpenter is dominant, but he also remains a pretty significant injury risk. Should…

By Dalton Del Don 1. Albert Pujols 2. Hanley Ramirez 3. Alex Rodriguez 4. Evan Longoria 5. Ryan Braun 6. Miguel Cabrera 7. Ryan Howard 8. Chase Utley 9. Prince Fielder 10. Troy Tulowitzki 11. Mark Teixeira 12. Joe Mauer 13. Matt Kemp 14. Justin Upton 15. David Wright 16. Roy Halladay 17. Tim Lincecum…

By Dalton Del Don Although Matt Garza’s ERA and WHIP both increased last year compared to 2008, he became a whole lot more interesting since his K rate jumped from 6.24/9 to 8.38/9. His control regressed some last year, but that just means a potential ace can be had cheaper at draft tables. Garza has…

1. Colorado Rockies The Rockies have flaws, but they look like the class of a division filled with mediocrity. Ubaldo Jimenez is a dominant ace. Jorge De La Rosa isn’t far from being a strong No. 2, and while Aaron Cook and Jason Hammel don’t make great fantasy options, both induce so many groundballs, they…

1. New York Yankees When deciding whether Joba Chamberlain or Phil Hughes should be your No. 5 starter is your biggest spring training worry, you know you have a good team. Of course, everyone knows the Yankees are good, and while I guess there’s a slight worry some of the aging vets regress, this is…