And I’m not even talking about their trade for Nate Mclouth from the Rates,Pir. I’m talking about their call-up of Tommy Hanson who has a 1.50 era and 90 k’s in 66+ innings. He’ll be successul right away in the MLB.

Fantasy-eers should pick him up immediately. This does definitely worry me as a Mets fan. Not only can the Phillies do what the Mets can’t (sweep a team that they should sweep and rack in the runs), but now the Braves have by far the best rotation in the NL East – they probably did prior to Hanson’s call up, but now they’ll be even better. I’m sure Mclouth will help them a bit as well since their production in the OF has been extremely sub-par.

The Mets need to make a move asap. They need pitching. Livan Hernandez against good teams in big spots and Tim Redding won’t do it. Jon Niese will be better than Redding and Livan, but at this point, he wouldn’t do it as well.

We need a number 2 or 3 pitcher in addition to just Maine and Pelfrey. I don’t think Oliver Perez will get healthy and stay consistent either. Maybe Matt Holliday/lf would help offensively. We’ve already had confirmed that Omar Minaya won’t trade Fernando Martinez/of for him, and therefore probably won’t be trading him at all, which pretty much also confirms we won’t be acquiring a top notch starter. I really can’t believe the Mets are going to attempt to win this division with our number 4 and 5 starters being Livan Hernandez, Tim Redding, Oliver Perez, and or Jon Niese.

I feel as though the Mets can definitely land a top notch starter with their recent performances from ‘2nd tier’ pitching prospects (Brad Holt & Jenrry Mejia) in addition to decent ss prospects (Reese Havens, who just went on the Minor League DL, Ruben Tejada, and Wilmer Flores, who are still so young), and Jon Niese. I’m not only worried about the Phillies now, but also the Braves. I honestly think they need to shake up the team and make some moves:

http://www.majorleagueblogging.com/major-league-baseball/lets-play-gm-mets-crazy-trade-scenarios/

Let’s have some fantasy fun. Here I have my Woulda-Coulda-Shoulda 2009 fantasy team. Obviously there are a sundry of guys you could have drafted in each round (ala Mark Reynolds in rounds 15-17 or Aaron Hill in round 17-20, etc.). I didn’t go crazy though and say Edwin Jackson in round 20, because who would have thought he was going to be so dominant thus far. For the most part, I was fair putting players near their average draft position. I utlized a Late Odd Round/Early Even Round draft (say one of the last 4 picks in the first round and first 4 picks in the 2nd round). You get the point. So Evan Longoria, I liked at 3b late round 1/early round 2. I love seeing Morneau drop to round 3 some times, but I had him as a high 2nd rounder, and so on and so on. The last column for each player is according to Ron Shandler/BaseballHQ.com’s Actual vs. Projected Worth Values via USA Today.The positive values obviously depict that each player has performed more well than expected. A negative value of course means the opposite. So even though Robinson Cano/2b has performed very well – it’s less than expected according to Mr. Shandler, Fantasy Guru. I could have chosen Aaron Hill/2b with a positive value of 14, however this is just one possible Woulda-Coulda-Shoulda Draft round by round.

With this draft, you would probably score top place points in every category other than maybe stolen bases and saves – maybe wins, but obviously, you would overwhelmingly come in first place with this team (approximately 59 pts on offense and 57 pts with your pitching – yeilding 116pts). On average, 90+ points would give you first place, so you can see how dominant such a team would be. The one player i’d utterly scold myself on is Joe Mauer, and of course not many saw this type of a power, and a .400+avg with that much playing time is beyond amazing. I live in Minnesota and he’s the Albert Pujols of St. Louis + the David Wright of New York + the Chase Utley of Philadelphia. Simply, Amazing – at Catcher! The question is will he be a Yankee or Red Sock after 2010? He can potentially command an A-rod contract with consistent health here on out.

Hindsight is 20-20, but it’s always fun to see who you could have had and where. Below the actual team is Ron Shandler’s Players with the Highest Postive Actual vs. Projected Worth Values and Lowest (Negative) Actual vs. Projected Worth Values for some reference.

Well I think it’s time to shake up the Mets, no? I don’t think Ryan Church, Alex Cora, and even Jose Reyes coming back will throw the Mets into a winning mindset. So let’s play GM and see what we can do with the Mets farm system and available players (not named Wright, Santana, K-rod, Maine, or Pelfrey). I have two proposals to be performed in succession:

The Indians need to realize there’s no way to compete this year and get what they can for Cliff Lee if they don’t plan on extending him. Mark Derosa isn’t worth keeping for them, and a healthy Victor Martinez can help them acquire a sundry of talent.

We all know how much the Red Sox want a stellar short stop and catcher. The Mets would now have Victor Martinez or Jose Reyes to provide them so long as they provide the Mets with both Clay Buchholz and Michael Bowden. We can still give them a SS prospect (Reese Havens/Wilmer Flores/Ruben Tejada) if they choose Victor Martinez over Jose Reyes and I think that would be a no brainer for them. I think Derosa at SS with Victor at C is a little better for the Mets than Reyes at SS and Omir Santos and or Brian Schneider at C, but if the Red Sox would rather Victor Martinez at C over Jose Reyes at SS then I guess it’s moot. I know I’m in fantasy GM land, but why not?

I had a friend text me again. He asked what I thought about the following trade:

He would give up Alex Rodriguez/3b; Kyle Lohse/sp; Stephen Drew/ss and receive Ian Kinsler/2b; Joba Chamberlain/sp>rp; and Mark Derosa/if.

I told him there were a few contingencies:

1) Is it a keeper league? If so, go for it because I’d definitely keep Kinsler + Joba over Arod + Drew. Kinsler’s younger and cheaper than Arod (even in fantasy depending on how your keeper league might work).

2) Is his middle infielders killing him?

3) Does he have a solid 3b/corner infield to back up for A-rod’s absence (hoping Derosa isn’t it)

4) Finally, I told him to attempt to wait it out and see if Joba will become a reliever since the Yankees have Wang back and the young Philip Hughes. My opinion is that he will becuase he was much more dominant there and Wang’s stuff is meant to start and Hughes is a stud.

Therefore, I told him the only player straight up I’d trade A-rod for is Pujols and maybe Hanley. Unless he believes Joba will remain a starter and so long as it’s not a keeper league, I suggested him not to do it. 1+ Months out of baseball, and A-rod is still on pace for 45+ homers.

The Baltimore Orioles. A good offensive fantasy baseball team. But that’s about it, unfortunately. They’re a Pitching Staff and a Bullpen away from a playoff spot – and 3 top MLB teams as well (Red Sox, Yankees, Rays -probably respectively). You have to absolutely love their lineup (i’ll include Matt Wieters of course over Gregg Zaun):

1-Brian Roberts/2b: According to ESPN Player Rater (http://games.espn.go.com/flb/playerrater?) he’s the 3rd best 2b as of now. Probably more like the 5th or 6th best, but still top notch in r;sb;295+avg

2-Adam Jones/cf: ranked 10th overall by ESPN Player Rater. Enough said. HR/SB + R/RBI + 315+Avg?!

3-Nick Markakis/rf: top 45, but Avg should raise and make him top 25

4-Aubrey Huff/1b: i’ll take him and his rbi on the O’s for one more year

5-Melvin Mora/3b: should put up acceptable #5 hitter stats in this lineup

6-Matt Wieters/c: I’m sure you already heard the Evan Longoria at 3b comparisons

7-Luke Scott/dh: 3 hr and 7 rbi in his last 2 games back from shoulder injury

8-Nolan Reimold/lf: top 6 prospect for the O’s (3 hr the past 3 games; 5hr in 53 ab’s)

9-Cesar Izturis/ss: Bleh. Sorry.

Their rotation consists of (for the most part): Jeremy Guthrie; Koji Uehera; Rich Hill; and then a sundry of guys. Their pitching prospects (that rate from B to B-) are David Hernandez; Troy Patton; Chris Tilman; Brian Matusz; Jake Arrieta; Brandon Erbe; and Zach Britton.

So the question is, what should/can they do? Honestly the Red Sox, Yankees, and Rays should be great for years to come with their payroll availability, players, and rotations (minus payroll for the Rays of course). This year (although only 6 games outs), they probably don’t have a chance. Not without a solid rotation or bullpen. They have the third worst ERA in all of baseball.

I think they have some pieces other teams should be interested in that are more than expendable: Felix Pie/of, Ty Wigginton/if, and Gregg Zaun/c. This first tier probably won’t yield many good players in return. The next tier consists of Aubrey Huff/1b, Jeremy Guthrie/sp and maybe Melvin Mora/3b. They have 7 pitching prospects that are generally rated b- or better.

Aubrey Huff + Jeremy Guthrie to maybe the Mets could work out. The Mets should be looking for a 1b/of replacement for Carlos Delgado and an additional SP that can be more consistent than Oliver Perez, Livan Hernandez, Tim Redding, and Jon Niese. I think Huff + Guthrie can net the Orioles a group of Tim Redding (a MLB starter); Jon Niese(sp) or Brad Holt (sp); Reese Havens or Wilmer Flores (ss); Joe Kunz(rp); and Jefrey Marte(3b) or Ike Davis(1b). This deal provides them a young sp for Guthrie plus a needed relief arm along with someone who can at least pitch for them now (Redding). In addition, it provides the Orioles with a 3b and ss for when Mora and Izturis are done/not worth it. As a Mets fan, I think it’s a bit much, but I’m attempting to be realistic. I’d rather the Mets go for Nick Johnson/Nationals for cheap and keep Daniel Murphy in LF. Honestly, I just want the Mets to get another Ace and forget about everything else – especially if the Phillies end up landing another SP.

Unless the Orioles want to trade Wieters+ to Boston, since they would love the Catcher, for Clay Buchholz + Michael Bowden – if the Red Sox or Orioles would even do that, obviously, Wieters should be untouchable. A deal like this, however, may make them a contender this year or next. The Red Sox rotation is probably deep enough: Beckett; Lester; Dicek; Penny; Smoltz; Wakefield; Masterson to maintain pace. A rotation of Guthrie; Ueherea; Buchholz; Bowden; Hill + Prospects looks pretty good.

So in my fantasy land, if I was the Orioles GM, I would perform the following trades:

In about 2-3 years, the team could then potentially compete for the AL East or at least the Wild Card. Else, at least the Orioles should enjoy watching their only 4 current bright spots for years to come (Roberts; Jones; Markakis; Wieters) with hopeful pitching prospects.

http://sports.espn.go.com/fantasy/baseball/flb/story?id=3309092

Matthew Berry claimed 75% of his bold predictions for 2008 would come true…
 
…Unfortunately for him, he was correct on just 14.8%
 
*9 right
 
*52 wrong
 
Most notably “off” predictions:
 
Troy Glaus ends the season with more home runs and RBIs than Albert Pujols
 
Nick Swisher hits 35 home runs and gets more than 120 RBIs
 
Erik Bedard finishes the season as the #1 overall fantasy pitcher
 
Justin Verlander finishes as the second best fantasy pitcher in the American League
 
Chad Billingsley finishes the year with an ERA over 4.00 and is considered one of the fantasy busts of the season
 
Manny Ramirez hits fewer than 30
 
Joe Borowski keeps his closer gig all season long and saves 40-plus games again
 
Richie Sexson bounces back
 
Dan Haren finishes the year with an ERA worse than 4.00
 
Chris Denorfia goes 20 and 10
 
WTF…..???…
 
Miguel Tejada hits 30 home runs and has a resurgence in Houston
 
Ryan Garko hits .300 and 30 home runs
 
Mark Prior wins double digit games this year and strikes out more than 150
 
Pedro Feliz hits 30 home runs
 
Shawn Hill pitches more than 150 innings with a sub 3.30 ERA and wins double-digit games
 
Yorvit Torrealba hits 15 home runs
 
Conclusion: Maybe Mr. Berry should be replaced with Mr. NuttySicilian? Or perhaps a blind, Malaysian autistic dog (just kidding, too harsh!).

Go pick up Mat Gamel! In any format, any league, just do it!

Stop reading this and go do it!

Ok but seriously, if you need a stud 3b, Mat Gamel (Mil – 3B) will be your guy. Although for the moment he will still be coming off the bench to pinch hit (he was 0/1 today) for the moment. Interleague play is coming up and they will be traveling to Minnesota to play the Twins shortly. He will get the DH spot in everyone of these games.  In 119 AB’s Gamel is hitting .336/.428/.647.

Enjoy the 3B eligibility too. I have to imagine the Milwaukee Brewers are trying to find somewhere else to play this guy, since DH is not an option.

Who has the most home runs on the Brewers?

Ryan Braun?

Prince Fielder?

Mike Cameron?

Corey Hart?

JJ Hardy?

Nope… It’s 2b, Rickie Weeks – the Perennial 20hr/30sb candidate, however his sub .240 avg keeps him out of the top 10 rounds and out of the top 5 2b’s. He’s a solid 25/20 candidate this year now. His sb’s need to pick up a little though and they should.

Free Agent Watch: 2 Guys I’m somewhat passionate about -

*Chris Coghlan/3b (and maybe 2b/of) -Florida Marlins. If anything happens to Uggla/Hermida/Ross/Bonifacio this kid could stud it up. They want him in the lineup bad. He just hit his first career homerun. Keep watch!

*Philip Hughes/sp-Yankees. I know he had a horrendous start against the Orioles and not a great start against the Red Sox, but this guy is an aboslute stud and could be better than Joba for the rest of this year. His fastball moves and his curveball is sick. If he’s dropped in your league, pick him up and at least stash away until he keeps hot. I understand Wang may be back up – hopefully the Yankees understand they need Joba in the bullpen so Hughes can start. I’m assuming he’d have to string together 3 solid starts before that happens, but if it does – Jump.

Oh Manny Acta why is your bullpen so bad? The Washington Nationals bullpen is bad, that we know, but t is so bad it is on pace to obliterate the record for blown saves (34 is the record the “Natinals” are on pace to record 52 BS’s).

Acta sums up his problems with this hilarious quote: “We have tried everyone and their cousins…”. 

Going forward I’m sure you figure out who’s the guy in DC to right this ship? The answer will be either Joe Beimel (He did blow the most recent save last night however) or Joel Hanrahan (Who has been surprisingly better as of late). I recommend staying away from the National pen. In fact even in the deepest of leagues I would rather get a set up guy on another team (Like Ramon Ramirez of the Red Sox who has more wins (4) than Beckett or Lester), then let the Nationals’ pen ruin my fantasy day.

But if you’re an ER chaser, add Beimel, he has more strike out potential, as well as the current faith of the manager.

Now that the Mannyroids talk is dying down a little bit, it’s time to get down to business! This is going to be a weekly column about typical fantasy diamonds in the rough. These are players you can look to add to give your team a little boost that are available in 50% or plus of most common fantasy formats.

Koji Uehara (Bal – SP) – I’m not jumping up and down about Koji yet, but if you’re in a deep league, you could do worse than adding him. My colleague Bush10623 does a great job talking about why to add him here. I personally would put him on your watch list wait one more start to see if he’s for real. He’s availble in about 93% of most leagues, so no rush yet.

Freddy Sanchez (Pit – 2B) – Freddy is an interesting guy to be on this list. A former batting champ, who had an injury plagued 2008 is about 57% available in all Fantasy formats. The depth at second base is really good this year, but this guy is for real. He will get 170-190 hits, bat .300+ and knock in 60-80 runs. Sanchez is the real deal who should be owned in most formats.

Chris Duncan (Stl – 1B/OF) – Chris Duncan’s power is real. He’s definitely a threat to hit 20HR’s and drive in 70+. His average is not however. Duncan is a career .268 hitter, but becomes valuable in leagues that carry OBP and SLG. He’s available in almost 75% of all fantasy formats. If your power numbers are lacking, or you drafted Adam LaRoche (sucks doesn’t he), he can help you in the power and OBP departments.

Jesus Flores (Was – C) – Flores will not wow you with his career .261 BA. However Flores is only 24 years old and is only in his third year in the major leagues. Flores will not keep up the power hitting, but he has the potential to hit around .300 and slg close to .450. Fantasy owners looking to stop the bleeding after the Ryan Doumit injury, look no further an Flores. He’s available in over 80% of fantasy leagues and could be a nice replacement over the next 6-8 weeks.

Remember don’t expect the world with these finds, I’m only showcasing a handful of players who could be interesting additions in the short term to your line up. Always add or drop players at your own risk!