N.L. MVP

1) Matt Kemp – Close call between Kemp and Braun, with playing center field and in a tougher hitter’s park being the tiebreaker.

2) Ryan Braun – Great season. Awesome player.

3) Joey Votto – A big drop off after the top two. Could have went Justin Upton here, but Votto had the (slightly) superior season.

A.L. MVP

1) Jacoby Ellsbury – Just like the N.L., a really close call between two players. Again, I treated positional value (and in Ellsbury’s case, strong defense as well) as the difference.

2) Jose Bautista – I have no problem whatsoever if you have Bautista as your MVP. It’s very close, and anyone who says he shouldn’t win because the Blue Jays had a .500 record deserves a punch to the nuts.

3) Justin Verlander – I struggled with this spot. Curtis Granderson is certainly a viable alternative. Anyone who says pitchers shouldn’t win the MVP because they only play once every five games deserves a punch to the nuts.

N.L. Cy Young

1) Roy Halladay – Really, really close call here. I kind of want Clayton Kershaw to win, if only because I predicted he would before the season started, but Halladay’s superior 6.3 K:BB ratio while allowing fewer homers while pitching in the tougher hitter’s park gives him the ever so slight edge.

2) Clayton Kershaw – Kershaw pitches in the weaker division, but his opponents’ aggregate OPS was similar to Halladay’s, and there’s little reason at this point to call his BAA luck. His career BABIP is .273, as he’s the toughest pitcher to hit in baseball. He also won the triple crown, so don’t be surprised if he wins (I have a soft spot for him, since I bet the over on his win totals in Vegas before the year. It was 11.5!) Regardless, the improving Kershaw is certainly the favorite to win this award entering 2012.

3) Cliff Lee – Lee had a 101:13 K:BB ratio after the All-Star break. He’s hardly an unknown, but I’d still say there’s an argument Lee is the most underrated player in baseball.

A.L. Cy Young

1) Justin Verlander – While Verlander’s season was terrific, it’s been a bit overrated in the media, most likely thanks to the 24-5 record. His ERA+ is more or less right in line with all past Cy Young winners. Nevertheless, he had a great season and deserves the hardware.

2) CC Sabathia – Fangraphs WAR actually has Sabathia a fraction higher than Verlander (7.1 vs. 7.0), and while I admit the latter’s .236 BABIP was fortunate, I’m going to give him far more credit for it, especially considering the Yankees’ UZR (23.2) was way, way better than the Tigers’ (-3.7).

3) Jered Weaver – He’s the real deal, especially now locked into Angel Stadium long-term.

N.L. ROY

1) Craig Kimbrel – I’d prefer not to give this award to a reliever, but he just turned in one of the better ones in the history of baseball as a rookie.

2) Brandon Beachy – Freddie Freeman is likely to finish second, which means the Braves’ rookie class was quite impressive. Clearly, I believe Beachy was more valuable, however, as he meant more to the team’s success than a first baseman who posted a sub .800 OPS while playing poor defense.

3) Cory Luebke – Came down to Luebke or Josh Collmenter.

A.L. ROY

1) Jeremy Hellickson – While his 117:72 K:BB ratio over 189.0 innings suggests his ERA will rise in the future, should we give him full credit for posting a 2.95 ERA, or do we credit a strong Rays defense and punish him for being lucky? It’s debatable. But his main competitor (at least in my eyes) Michael Pineda also played in a terrific pitcher’s park and allowed 12 more runs in 18 fewer innings.

2) Michael Pineda – Looked dominant at times. If changeup gets better, he’s a future No. 1.

3) Eric Hosmer – Many options here. Brett Lawrie’s 2.7 WAR was second only to Pineda, which is impressive in just 150 at-bats, while Dustin Ackley, Desmond Jennings and Mark Trumbo (.291 OBP outweighs the 29 homers) are all legit candidates, Hosmer’s solid performance over (in most cases) much longer playing time gives him the edge. Fangraphs hated his defense, but first base is sketchy when it comes to UZR.

Last year I finished 135-117-4, after picking every game ATS over the past four years, I’m 521-475. That’s 52.3% – I’d like to see that number 1-3% higher, but I must say I’m pretty happy about it. I went 12-5 with my “best bets” last season as well. Onto the Week 1 picks: Football is back!

SAINTS +4.5 at Packers

Falcons -3 at BEARS (Best Bet)

COLTS +8.5 at Texans

BILLS +6 at Chiefs

Titans +3 at JAGUARS

BENGALS +6.5 at Browns

Eagles -4.5 at RAMS

Steelers +2 at RAVENS

Lions +1 at BUCCANEERS

VIKINGS +9 at Chargers

GIANTS -3 at Redskins

PANTHERS +7 at Cardinals

Seahawks +5 at 49ers

COWBOYS +4 at Jets

Patriots -7 at DOLPHINS

Raiders +3 at BRONCOS

Comments: This is almost a certain jinx, but I’ve been of the belief for quite some time now that Week 1 presents the best value ATS all season long, and this year looks no different. The three toss-up games for me this week were Ten/Jax, NYG/Was and Oak/Den, but the rest were fairly easy calls – right or wrong. I especially like this slate when it comes to teaser opportunities.

Matt Kemp and Jacoby Ellsbury are two outfielders having terrific seasons who barring injury or complete collapses will be top-10 fantasy picks next season, but Curtis Granderson might be having a better year than them both. Granderson is well behind in batting average, but his counting stats are ridiculous. In fact, he’s on pace to finish the season with 44 homers, 147 runs scored, 128 RBI and 31 steals. That’s right, 147 runs scored. As in, the second most since Ted Williams in 1949 (Jeff Bagwell scored 152 runs in 2000). After struggling mightily against left-handers throughout his career, Granderson has actually fared better versus southpaws (.944 OPS) than righties (.921), and while he no doubt benefits from the new Yankee Stadium, he’s also hit better on the road than at home (.941 OPS v. 916). He’d absolutely be among the top MVP candidates if not for his subpar defense, but Granderson’s fantasy owners have little to complain about. Considering his ADP, he’s easily been the single most valuable fantasy asset.

This spectator took his involvement in an arena league game to the next level.

Not only is “Poop, sing and learn” catchy, but it’s also highly informative.

Those who invested in the Braves’ closing situation and drafted both Craig Kimbrel and Jonny Venters have so far gotten a combined 1.51 ERA and 0.97 WHIP with 40 saves and nine wins with 163 strikeouts over 125.1 innings. Put differently, the most valuable closer in modern day baseball, especially those in innings cap leagues. After getting worked hard as a rookie last season, Venters has been used even more heavily in 2010, as his 64 appearances easily lead the majors (Kimbrel’s 59 are tied for second most), and he’s on pace to throw 93.0 innings. Whether it’s the workloads catching up or plain old regression, neither’s current level of performance should be expected moving forward, but they have been extremely impressive to date and appear to give Atlanta one of the league’s best back ends to a bullpen for years to come. Since June ended, they’ve combined for 33.0 shutout innings. After Neftali Feliz set a rookie record with 40 saves last season, Kimbrel is on pace to finish with 50 this year.

Woman addicted to eating her husband’s dead ashes.

Man acquitted of friend’s murder confesses to police, walks free.

Despite somewhat underwhelming numbers (.830 OPS) as a 24-year-old in Triple-A this season, the fantasy crowd had been clamoring for Desmond Jennings’ call up for quite some time, and he’s not only exceeded expectations but surpassed them so far. Jennings has a .328/.423/.582 line with three homers and eight stolen bases over his first 17 games with the Rays this year. Fantasy owners might be shrewd to actually shop him around in a trade right now, but those who were patient holding him all season will reap the rewards from here on out regardless. There’s a benefit to Tampa Bay holding back its prospects not only for arbitration reasons, but in making sure they are absolutely ready, immediate production at the major league level is more likely.

This hilarious new ABC comedy looks can’t miss.

Ahh, now that makes more sense.

What has gotten into Ervin Santana? Over his last four starts, he’s allowed just three runs over 34.0 innings (0.79 ERA) while posting a 0.68 WHIP and a 25:5 K:BB ratio. He hasn’t allowed more than three runs in a start since June 10 and has served up just one home run over his past seven starts. Santana’s velocity hasn’t returned to what it was during his dominant 2008 season, but his slider remains one of the most effective pitches in all of baseball. In fact, Fangraphs ranks it as 18.3 runs above average, with only Clayton Kershaw’s slider coming in higher (21.8). I still expect Texas to win the A.L. West, but even with a shaky offense, an Angels team with Jered Weaver, Dan Haren and Santana at the front of their rotation wouldn’t be an easy out in a short series in the postseason.

This parallel parker set a Guinness Book of World Records.

This “UFO guy” is the man.

Coming off a disappointing season last year, Justin Upton looks to be fully reaching his massive potential. It’s possible the shoulder injury greatly contributed to his down year in 2009 after posting an .899 OPS as a 21-year-old, but either way, it’s great to see continued growth. Upton has a .309/.353/.702 line since the All-Star break, and if you factor in defense, he’s suddenly looking like a legitimate MVP candidate, especially in an N.L. field that’s wide open. Maybe he was never a real threat to be dealt, but it’s crazy to think the Diamondbacks put him on the trade block this past winter. Since Upton is yet to turn 24 years old, is capable of stealing 25-plus bases and has Chase Field on his side, don’t be surprised if he’s a top-15 fantasy pick next season.

Deep fried butter on a stick.

French bread now available in vending machines.

Don’t look now, but Jarrod Saltalamacchia quietly has a .257/.323/.477 line this season. He still strikes out too much, but an .800 OPS as a catcher in today’s offensive environment is far more than sufficient. It’s a good thing the Red Sox stuck with the former top prospect, as after entering May 15 with a .203/.250/.266 line and zero homers, Salty has clubbed 11 home runs and raised his OPS nearly 300 points over the next 162 at-bats. A switch-hitter in an absolutely loaded Boston lineup with Fenway Park as his home digs, Saltalamacchia is in fine position to make an impact down the stretch. Still just 26 years old, there’s legitimate power here from a position consistently lacking it. He’s even thrown out 24.7 percent of potential base stealers, which ranks seventh-best in baseball. Salty looks like a long-term solution behind the plate for Boston.

Last week I was at an otherwise boring Giants game that quickly became much more exciting when the benches cleared. I wouldn’t exactly call it a “brawl,” and admittedly it certainly didn’t get as out of control as this brouhaha, but it was pretty unexpected to see in person.

An informative read on why S&P’s ratings are substandard and porous.

It’s nice that a recent MRI revealed no structural damage, but it’s a safe bet Tommy Hanson’s shoulder is hurting him. Over his last five starts, he’s allowed 24 runs over 26.2 innings, raising his season ERA from 2.44 all the way up to 3.60. His K rate has remained strong over that stretch, but his velocity has been down, albeit only slightly. After striking out just 5.5 batters per nine innings over the final two months of last season, Hanson’s current 9.83 K/9 ratio ranks third in baseball, although it’s worth noting his 1.18 HR/9 mark is the highest among the top-28 pitchers with the best strikeout rates. In fact, among those top-28 on the K/9 leaderboard, just four others have a HR/9 ratio 1.0 or higher. That’s because pitchers with more strikeouts have lower HR/FB rates and induce weaker contact. Maybe it’s a bad stretch of luck, but most concerning is the true health of Hanson’s shoulder, as his current condition is bringing many fantasy teams, including mine in Yahoo Friends & Family, down with him.

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After posting a fine .308/.361/.438 line as a 24-year-old in 2009 and then a disappointing .673 OPS last season while dealing with injuries, it now seems so obvious Asdrubal Cabrera was a player to target in drafts this year, but few could have predicted just how good he’s been so far. Entering with a career-high of six home runs, Cabrera already has 15 jacks, and he’s also 12-for-13 on stolen base attempts while playing a premium shortstop position. Hitting primarily second in a decent Indians lineup, Cabrera is also on pace to finish with 101 runs scored and more impressively, 95 RBI. The safest bet is expecting Cabrera to regress from here on out, but calling him a sell-high is totally dependent on how your specific league values him (then again, I guess the same could be said about every player and every league), as there’s also no glaring reason to ship him off at anything less than full value as nothing in his peripherals scream fluke (his HR/FB% is well above his previous career rate, but it’s also not crazy at 13.6%, and he’s hitting more fly balls than ever and is now entering his prime at age 26).

Assuming she wasn’t in on it, this tops the list of recent crazy marriage proposals.

I’ve been reluctant to do so, but I now admit, I’ve never been force fed Viagra.

It’s not a stretch to call Justin Verlander the best pitcher in baseball right now. I’d probably take Roy Halladay, and others certainly belong in the discussion, but Verlander has forced himself in the conversation with his dominant 2011 season thus far, and it pains me to admit he’s on exactly zero of my fantasy teams. While elite, his 8.76 K/9 rate ranks “only” 10th in baseball, but it’s worth noting of those ahead of him only two pitch in the American League (Michael Pineda and Gio Gonzalez). Over his last eight starts, Verlander has posted a remarkable 71:8 K:BB ratio while lasting at least 7.0 innings in every outing. There’s no doubt he’s been worked hard, both this year and in the past, but he relies little on the slider (7.6% this year) and often sees his fastball velocity, which averages 95.2 mph – the best in major league baseball, actually increase later in games. Verlander’s hit rate (.232) is almost certain to increase, but the Tigers have been an above average defensive team this season, and his career mark is .289, and it’s unsurprising to see some “luck” factoring into a pitcher with a miniscule 2.15 ERA. His 7.5 HR/FB% is right in line with his career norm, and he’s even cut one full walk per nine innings off last season. Verlander has been flat-out dominant.

This movie looks sooo good.

The first act is one thing, but personally I feel like the garbage disposal took it too far.

Unless you’re in a 10-team league or shallower, might as well take a flier on Brandon Allen (I’d imagine he was already owned in the majority of NL-only formats). While some will be upset it’s not Paul Goldschmidt, who has 26 homers, getting the opportunity, they both have an identical 1.060 OPS. Goldschmidt has done so in Double-A, while Allen has been playing in Triple-A, although admittedly in the hitter-friendly PCL. While Goldschmidt may have a higher ceiling doing so as a 23-year-old, fantasy owners in redraft leagues should prefer someone who’s 25 and more likely to produce now. Not that I have an Allen over Goldschmidt bias (although I was able to nab the former in a couple daily leagues Thursday), but either one would seemingly be an upgrade over Arizona’s current first base situation. Allen held his own in the majors last year with a .393 OBP (in an extremely small sample), and especially against right-handers, could be an asset from here on out with Chase Field on his side.

Pretty incredible “Mario Bros” run.

Two-headed snake? Two-headed-snake.

After allowing 12 hits while striking out none over seven innings in a home start against the Mets, Derek Holland didn’t get out of the first inning during his next outing despite remaining in interleague play, as he was tattooed for five runs while recording just two outs versus the Marlins. Since then, he’s thrown back-to-back shutouts, and while they have come against the two weakest offenses in the American League, and his inconsistency can be infuriating, there’s no doubting Holland’s upside. He’s posted a 15:3 K:BB ratio with a 0.72 WHIP over that span, and while his overall numbers remain pedestrian, and he has the tough task of pitching in Texas while in the summer heat, Holland’s average fastball velocity (93.6 mph) ranks sixth best in major league baseball (and second-highest as a lefty). He’s someone who could produce a big second half.

An unusual magnetic attraction.

An unusual printer.

I was in Las Vegas over the All-Star break, and as someone who bets primarily on sports and stays away from the tables, I was there at the worst time of year. I lost badly on the Home Run Derby (any port in the storm, right?), won one All-Star prop (over 17.5 pitchers used), lost another (over 14.5 Ks, which came down to the final strike!), and ended up taking the National League run line (+180) as my saving grace, but the line that really stood out was the Angels at 40/1 to win the World Series. As usual, it varied by Casino, but at The Paris, this seemed like terrific value, considering they also had the Mariners at 35-1 (I actually think Seattle would be an extremely dangerous team in the postseason, assuming King Felix, Michael Pineda and Erik Bedard are all available), who are currently 7.5 games out of first place compared to 1.0 for the Angels. I fully expect the Rangers take the division, and maybe even run away with it, but considering there were around 20 teams more favored than the Angels, who have been known to be aggressive at trade deadlines, and if they actually did reach the playoffs would run out Jered Weaver and Dan Haren, making them plenty dangerous when starting pitching matters most in a short series, it certainly seemed like a decent gamble for a good payout.

A (very) brief snippet from a recent interview I had with Rickey Henderson in which I was pretty upset he never spoke in the third person.

There’s being bold, and then there’s this guy.

Ian Kennedy has seen his ERA rise from 2.90 to 3.44 over his past three starts, but he should still be viewed as a highly valuable fantasy asset nevertheless. His 3.1 K:BB ratio is elite, and while his walk rate continues to improve, more importantly, he’s induced more groundballs than fly balls this season for the first time in his career, which is especially important pitching in Chase Field. The former first round pick doesn’t throw that hard and may never live up to his previous hype as a Yankee prospect, but he’s thriving in the N.L. West, and his current .271 BABIP is actually higher than his career .269 mark, and the Diamondbacks have posted a collective 20.2 UZR (sixth best in MLB), so there’s no reason to expect a huge spike there. Most would prefer Daniel Hudson to Kennedy right now (and I probably agree), but the former has a worse ERA despite giving up six fewer homers on the year, and Kennedy’s 106:34 K:BB ratio suggests he’s here to stay.

My favorite show, “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” debuted last week, and it did not disappoint. I strongly recommend everyone should be watching “Curb” and “Louie” right now (and I assume “Breaking Bad,” which I’m still behind on yet am convinced it’s as great as everyone suggests).

Quick hits: If you take away two of Carlos Marmol’s outings this year, his ERA drops from 3.64 to 1.31. Of course, he gave up nine earned runs while recording just one out in those two appearances, and that’s a silly way of evaluating, but it does highlight the volatility of relief pitching, especially one with such shaky command. That said, Marmol appears to be safe in the closing role…As an owner of both, I hope I’m wrong (and have been known to be overly pessimistic in hopes of an optimist outcome), but at this point, I’d be absolutely shocked to see either Josh Johnson or Ike Davis play one more inning combined in 2011…Alex Rodriguez remains productive when on the field (even with a big drop in his career OPS, the Yankees’ lineup helps so much in counting stats), and I was personally a buyer before the year started, but even after entering 2011 feeling better than he has in a while with his previous hip injury in the rearview, Rodriguez’s body is simply breaking down. It’s going to be hard to recommend a 35 (or over) player as a first round pick moving forward, even an inner-circle Hall of Famer. Also, more than ever, I’m going to suggest taking a first baseman early in 2012 (football may be more volatile than baseball, but the latter still has plenty of uncertainty, and defensive positions play a role in predicting health and to a lesser extent, performance at the plate).

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With a .294/.354/.523 line while playing shortstop, J.J. Hardy has been one of the most pleasant surprises of 2011. Despite missing more than a month of action, his 13 homers are the fifth most from the SS position in all of baseball. His .878 OPS is also third best, all while transitioning to a new league and playing in the game’s toughest division. Hardy averaged 25 home runs and 77 RBI from 2007-2008, but he battled injuries over the past two seasons, and it’s important to note he’s still just 28 years old. While the numbers don’t point to it this season, Hardy has also been a fantastic defender throughout his career, and he now looks like a key building block as part of a young Baltimore team moving in the right direction. Camden Yards typically boosts home runs at a significant rate (just ask Mark Reynolds, who has the most homers in MLB since April ended), so he also has that going for him. Batting leadoff while qualifying at a thin position, and someone who came dirt cheap on draft day, Hardy has been one of the biggest fantasy bargains to date.

This story is great to begin with, but it’s even better when you consider one of my closest friend’s “knows” the girl who wrote this epic e-mail.

LeBron James is ruthless!

How to properly troll a dating Web site.

I’m playing in a high stakes AL-only league this year featuring some industry guys as well as some high-roller poker players called Card Runners. Before the auction, someone in the industry, whom I considered a broken man, suggested I buy Melky Cabrera. In 2010, Cabrera posted a -1.0 WAR, which tied with Carlos Lee for the worst in baseball, and there were serious concerns he’d be replaced by one of the Royals’ impressive farm talents by June of 2011. Instead, Cabrera has entered the halfway point of the season hitting .286 with 11 homers, 10 steals, 51 runs scored and 48 RBI. He could pretty much tank from here on out and still be worth far more than his draft day price tag, especially in an AL-only format. Of course, he hasn’t been that much of a better player for Kansas City, posting a -1.5 UZR in center field with a .324 OBP and an almost identical batted ball profile as last season (although he’s recorded an 11.0 HR/FB% this year compared to his career mark of 5.0%). Batting primarily second has helped, and regardless, Cabrera has been plenty valuable in fantasy terms.

Woman dies of heart attack caused by shock of waking up at her own funeral.

Cat gets caught barking by a human and resumes meowing.

Something is clearly wrong with Brian Matusz, and while that may seem like Captain Obvious since he has an 8.77 ERA and 1.99 WHIP, far more troubling is his steep drop in velocity. After averaging 91.5 mph with his fastball as a rookie, Matusz is down to 86.7 this year, which is beyond significant and almost certainly a sign of an injury. He’s also yielded a 52.1 FB% this season. To put that in context, only two batters in MLB have higher fly ball rates (Carlos Quentin and Chris Young). That’s an especially bad combo considering 18.4% of those fly balls are leaving the yard. Of course, anyone with an ERA that high is going to have some ugly underlying stats, and the bigger picture is the drop in velocity. It’s too bad, both for the Orioles and baseball in general, as Matusz entered 2011 looking like one of the brighter pitching prospects in the game.

This dog was crowned “ugliest” in a recent contest, but she’s nowhere close to competing against this all-timer.

This seagull stealing a video camera results in some pretty cool footage.

Well, that’s one way to try to escape prison.

At risk of the small sample police arresting me, I must ask, what do we make of Josh Hamilton’s day/night splits? They have been extremely pronounced in four of his five seasons, including an OPS discrepancy of 1.076 vs. .399 this year. Hamilton recently blamed it on his blue eyes, but that seems specious. There’s an obvious accusation because of his past, but that also seems irresponsible (although probably with more merit than calling Jose Bautista a steroid user, since, you know, he’s passed tests and his body hasn’t changed whatsoever). Anyway, I’m a Hamilton fan, and he’s a highly valuable player even with the splits, which are likely to come back toward the middle soon enough, but there has been a big enough gap throughout his career to at least take note moving forward.

I’m pretty big into reading about crime stories (morbid, I know), and this one ranks as one of the craziest I’ve come across.

Speaking of crimes (and I won’t get into the Casey Anthony verdict here, but if you have any opinions, please feel free to discuss in the comments), this is a terrific overview of the Amanda Knox case that continues to be one of the most noteworthy trials of this generation.

Tim Lincecum entered his June 1 start with a 2.22 ERA. Three outings later, his ERA stood at 3.41, as he allowed 16 runs over 16.0 innings. He’s since settled down, posting a 25:5 K:BB ratio over his last three starts, and despite just six wins on the year, Lincecum currently sports a 3.14 ERA and 1.19 WHIP. His 126 strikeouts rank fourth in the National League, so there remains a chance he records the most punch outs in the Senior Circuit for a fourth straight season. Lincecum remains difficult to homer off (7.4 HR/FB%) and is currently sporting a career-best 50.7 GB%, but after last year’s inconsistencies (7.82 ERA in August, 1.92 ERA in September) followed by his recent blowup, I found it funny he actually has the highest quality start percentage of any pitcher since 1950 (h/t Joe Posnanski). Of course, that percentage will drop when his career winds down, but it’s still pretty staggering since he appears to be something of a streaky pitcher. Another Giants fun fact: More than 20 percent of the rest of their games this season will be against the Padres (h/t Andrew Baggarly).

I’m sad to report, despite giving the most epic interview ever, the end result appears to have been a dud.

This is a pretty crazy video, and while I hope it’s legit, it’s also worth pointing out it begins with the fisherman’s hand inside the water.

I’m the biggest “Curb Your Enthusiasm” fan ever, and Season 8 premieres July 10, and Larry David, who just killed it during his first appearance on Jay Leno, recently wrote about his golf game.

Admittedly, in competitive leagues these guys are likely long gone, but here are some quick hit pickup suggestions: Rich Harden will almost assuredly get hurt soon, but why not use his bullets for the time being? Last year was ugly in Texas, but he posted a 10.91 K/9 ratio the year prior and is in a much better situation now back in Oakland…Conversely, Mark Ellis is in a much better spot now away from Oakland. No, he’s not even close to as good as he’s been so far with the Rockies, but calling Coors Field home and now in an easier league counts for something. With his strong defense, Ellis should get regular playing time, and he had a .358 OBP while playing in the Coliseum last season, so there’s some upside here…I know he’s become tiresome, but Chris Davis has a monstrous .372/.417/.851 line in Triple-A this year, with 20 homers over 148 at-bats. Now an outfielder, don’t be surprised if he gets one last shot with the Rangers soon enough. Davis is worth stashing…Rubby De La Rosa has plenty of work to do regarding his control and is a borderline option in redraft leagues right now, but he sure looks like a valuable keeper. I absolutely despise playing scout, but from my TV, I’ll break my own rule – he passes the eye test with flying colors. Moreover, his current average fastball velocity is 95.9 mph – the best in baseball among qualifying starters are Justin Verlander and Michael Pineda, who both sit at 95.1.

It’s possible Matt Holliday didn’t intentionally drop this fly ball, but the outcome is unquestionably beneficial, and he’s also been one of the better defensive outfielders in baseball for some time now. These announcers are totally clueless.

Destroying a building (fail).

Aramis Ramirez entered June 8 with two homers, which was especially perplexing since he hit 25 long balls last season while battling injuries over just 465 at-bats. Even while posting a .746 OPS that was his lowest since 2000, Ramirez was still hitting homers. The anomaly has since been corrected, as he’s hit a whopping eight home runs over his past 12 games, suddenly giving him 13 for the season. Ramirez will always be a health risk, but Wrigley Field should play as more of a hitter’s park in the summer months, and his K rate remains one of the lowest among all “sluggers.” It’s obviously far too soon to write off the 33-year-old.

I dragged a few friends of mine who aren’t exactly into art type movies to see “The Tree Of Life” last weekend, and despite the warnings, I’d argue it was even more extreme than anticipated. Although the dinosaur fight I was promised never came to fruition, intense discussion afterward is pretty much mandatory, so while I’d never recommend it to anyone, Terrence Malick definitely impressed yet again.

I like how all this footage supposedly took place within an hour, but nothing can beat his pronunciation of “urinal.”

Every year RW makes a trip to Las Vegas during the All-Star break, and while it makes sense as a company to do so during the most down time in the sports calendar, as a degenerate gambler (but only on sports), it’s frustrating. So I consistently bet on the Home Run Derby and All-Star Game (including props), so I can’t sit here and say I hate the spectacle (any port in the storm, right?), but I will state I genuinely no longer get worked up over who did and didn’t make the roster. As a Giants fan, I was later (and unexpectedly) happy to see them have homefield advantage because of it last year, but that rarely matters anyway, and the concept is obviously quite comical. Another joke is not even having Andrew McCutchen on the “Final Fan Vote” ballot. But when I see some of my favorite writers like Jeff Passan arguing “Matt Cain is not an All-Star,” I can’t help but think time and energy could be better spent. My point here isn’t to come across as a Giants’ homer when I state only four N.L. pitchers have thrown more innings and recorded a lower ERA than Cain this year (and he has a strong 95:29 K:BB ratio, and his xFIP means less since he always suppresses homers), as I personally would have picked Tommy Hanson over him, but it’s this type of crazy nitpicking that seems excessive.

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Finally back to full health, Jose Reyes is on pace to finish with 120 runs scored and 58 steals while batting .336. With a 26:23 K:BB ratio over 307 at-bats, he’s shown real growth this season, and while Reyes remains an injury risk, he only recently turned 28 years old and is just now entering his prime. The three homers are disappointing from a fantasy perspective, and Citi Field is partially to blame, but with 20 doubles and 12 triples, Reyes has posted a career-high .508 slugging percentage. Considering that production has been paired with slightly above average defense from the shortstop position, he’s quite the valuable player – both in real life and fantasy terms. If the Giants offered Jonathan Sanchez and Zack Wheeler for Reyes and Carlos Beltran, who says no? Sticking briefly with the Mets, what a devastating blow this Ike Davis injury is turning out to be for his fantasy owners, including myself. He now looks like a long shot to return this season. And he was playing so well too.

This fair makes deep fried Twinkies look like a sustenance for vegans.

Pretty crazy footage of a police chase.

Brandon Beachy impressed during his return to the rotation Wednesday, recording 11 strikeouts while allowing just one run (which was Jose Bautista’s second homer since May 28) over six innings against the Blue Jays. Beachy, who is coming back from an oblique and not an arm injury, continues to impress, as he’s now sporting a 57:14 K:BB ratio over 50.1 innings in 2011. He’s been an extreme fly ball pitcher, so more homers could follow, but Beachy’s WHIP should remain a major asset all year. I thought Atlanta was making a mistake choosing him over Mike Minor entering the year, but clearly, I was the one being foolish.

Potentially huge news in the Amanda Knox trial.

Pretty solid prank.

I’ve stubbornly stuck with Juan Pierre in my home league lineup all season long, but he’s been nothing short of a disaster. A .235/.314/.295 (.295!) line won’t play for even the best defensive corner outfielder, so it’s not exactly ideal for one who’s also posted a -7.5 UZR like Pierre has. It’s no surprise his -1.2 WAR is tied for last in major league baseball. Pierre’s batting eye remains fine (21:21 K:BB ratio), and after ending June with a .249 batting average last season, he hit .289 the rest of the way, so he’s shown the ability to improve during the summer months at hitter-friendly U.S. Cellular Field. However, the biggest issue for him as a fantasy player, other than possibly losing his job outright, is his lack of running. Pierre swiped 68 bags as recently as last year, and even as a part time player when he averaged just 378 ABs over 2008-2009, he stole 40 and 30 bases, respectively. He’s been successful on just 10 of his 19 attempts so far in 2011, which leads to the biggest concern, as manager Ozzie Guillen has instructed him to slow down, as he hasn’t even attempted a SB since June 5. If Pierre isn’t running, he’s pretty much worthless in fantasy leagues.

There’s got to be a better way.

Plenty will change between now and then, but what does your preliminary top-five board look like for 2012? Mine would probably look something like this: 1) Adrian Gonzalez 2) Albert Pujols 3) Jose Bautista 4) Matt Kemp 5) Ryan Braun. There are strong arguments for Miguel Cabrera and Troy Tulowitkzi, among others, and I wonder how much Pujols’ down year and injury will affect his draft stock. I can’t see Gonzalez falling out of the top-three, barring a disaster.

Now this is a driver who knows how to multitask.

Cory Luebke posted a 2.68 ERA and 0.98 WHIP between Double and Triple-A last season, and while his 6.9 K/9 rate wasn’t overly impressive, it was accompanied by a 3:1 K:BB ratio and half that time was spent in the hitter-friendly PCL. Luebke’s K rate has jumped significantly since joining San Diego, and while it’s been a small sample and primarily out of the bullpen, he’s an intriguing arm who calls Petco Park home. Now a member of the Padres’ starting rotation – at least while Aaron Harang is out – he’s a fantasy sleeper who should be owned in all but the shallowest of leagues.

Maybe it helped I didn’t have too high expectations despite the intrigue of its marketing campaign, but I thought “Super 8” was fine (certainly not great). I actually really liked the overall concept, but they could have executed it better, especially toward the end. And if “The Tree of Life” doesn’t get released near me soon, I’m going to harm someone.

Not sure what to make of Colby Rasmus right now. As a center fielder who posted a .276/.361/.498 line at age 23 last season, he certainly appeared to be a future star, but he’s taken a step back this year, and especially in fantasy terms, his five steals and five stolen bases leave plenty to be desired. He’s an extreme fly ball hitter, so the lack of home runs is especially perplexing. Have the Cardinals messed with his swing too many times? Moreover, after posting a 9.2 UZR as a rookie, he recorded a -6.7 last season and sits at -4.6 so far in 2011, so he’s really regressed as a fielder too. Still just 24 years old, there’s plenty of time for him to turn it around, and as a blind faith play, maybe he’s someone to target as a buy-low in fantasy leagues.

Meet the Amish Anthony Weiner.

Rarely is it what happens after the motorcycle crash that’s most noteworthy.

Neftali Feliz has been one of the tougher closers to figure out this season. Although he sat with a 1.37 ERA on June 1, he sported a 9:14 K:BB ratio, so something was clearly amiss after he had 71 strikeouts to just 18 walks over 69.1 innings in 2010. He posted a 10:1 K:BB ratio over his next seven appearances (including 6:0 over his past three), showing increased velocity, only to get rocked for four runs while retiring just two batters against a weak Astros team Wednesday. Just when it seemed safe he may finally be feeling back to his old self after getting moved back and forth from starting and relieving, Feliz imploded in spectacular fashion…One other quick closer note: Kevin Gregg has a 23:19 K:BB ratio and a 1.52 WHIP while Koji Uehara has a 42:6 K:BB ratio and a 0.79 WHIP. One (or actually two) of these things is not like the other. Over the last two years, Uehara has a ridiculous 97:11 K:BB ratio over 77.0 innings. – while pitching in the AL East. He’s one of the best relievers in baseball few people talk about.

I’m beginning to question just exactly how the system works.

Only eight million gallons? Is that all?

I fully admit I was high on Travis Wood entering the year. And while he certainly appeared to be unlucky in April, when he flashed a 6.85 ERA despite a 3:1 K:BB ratio, he’s been flat out bad ever since, and I can’t fault Cincinnati for optioning him to Triple-A. Wood settled down nicely after a rough first inning against the Yankees his last time out, but before that, he hadn’t recorded more than four strikeouts in any of his previous seven starts, posting an anemic 4.07 K/9 rate over that span, which is simply unacceptable, especially since it was paired with shaky control. Wood is throwing his changeup (which has been his most effective pitch) more this season and his fastball less compared to last year, and his velocity across the board has been as good if not slightly better, so there’s nothing obvious to pinpoint his massive decline other than maybe the league adjusted to his admittedly not overwhelming stuff.

My favorite part is that he knows 38 beers is his typical cutoff.

I’ve made a point of posting a link whenever a 7-year-old gets in a police car chase, and I’m not making an exception this time.

Since 2009 on a per 162-game basis, Nelson Cruz has averaged 40 homers, 23 steals, 90 runs scored and 107 RBI. Of course, few players appear in a full season, and Cruz especially has proven injury-prone. Health is a skill he’s yet to exhibit, and Cruz’s batting average has also fluctuated greatly, going from .260 to .318 to .241 over that timeframe. Still, it’s clear he’s one of the more productive fantasy assets while not injured, essentially performing as a top-five player when on the field. Despite the 17 homers over 220 at-bats in 2011, he entered Wednesday with a disappointing .236/.289/.514 line. Cruz is capable of far outplaying that from here on out, so if you’re willing to take on some risk, he’s the type of player to trade for who could truly help you win your league.

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Entering the year, Vegas set the line on Ichiro Suzuki finishing with 200 or more hits at even odds, which was interesting considering he had eclipsed the mark all 10 years he’s been in the league. He’s currently on pace to finish with 178 hits, so he’s got a lot of work to do to reach that number again. After seeing his line-drive percentage drop each of the past five seasons, it’s back up to 19.0%, which isn’t that far off Ichiro’s career mark of 20.3%. He’s also sporting his lowest strikeout rate since his rookie season, so there’s no glaring reason for his drop in production, although it’s probably fair to suggest he’s lost some speed, resulting in fewer infield hits. His .290 BABIP is well below his career level of .354, so he qualifies as a nice buy-low target, especially since he’s yet to hit a homer in 2011. Ichiro continues to run, and if you need a batting average boost, it’s probably safe to expect him to hit around .325 from here on out.

Best interview ever.

Entirely possible this is fake and/or you’ve already seen it, but it’s worth passing along nevertheless.

I was high on Mark Teixeira entering the year, even drafting him on my Yahoo Friends & Family team, but I still feel mostly like I blew it, as faced with an opportunity to grab him late in the first round in WCOF, I selected David Wright instead, and the moment of cowardice has haunted me ever since. Teixeira is hitting a modest .251 on the year, but he’s also on pace to finish with 51 home runs, 102 runs scored and 128 RBI – this despite being a notorious slow starter, as his career line in April is .239/.350/.426. If David Wright were giving me 80 percent of that production, it would be one thing, but of course, he hit .226 before a broken back sidelined him indefinitely after averaging 156 games played over the previous six seasons. In such a high stakes league, every Teixeira homer widens a wound in my soul, and it’s been a brutal experience I wouldn’t wish upon my worst enemy. Ultimately, I can only blame myself, as I overrated position scarcity. Wright scored 87 runs last season, and even during a down year when he posted the lowest OPS since his rookie campaign, Teixeira scored 113 runs. This is a mistake I’m not entirely sure of which I can recover.

This is one of the most suspenseful YouTube clips I’ve seen.

Bon Iver’s new album was his first I’ve listened to, and I couldn’t be more impressed. Ridiculously good.

Expanding further upon the idea of position scarcity, while it’s clearly very real, those who play such positions carry extra health risks, so realize you are aiming for ceiling far more than floor. Just ask anyone who spent an early round pick on Buster Posey or Joe Mauer. And even Carlos Santana is batting just .221 while playing the taxing position of catcher, and while Brian McCann is extremely valuable to the Braves, he’s on pace to finish with just 49 runs scored – the upside of catchers, who have to take more days off while also the most likely to be playing less than 100 percent, simply isn’t high enough to truly move the needle to be worth a high draft pick, in a way similar to tight ends in fantasy football. Middle infielders also no doubt carry greater risk for injury (Chase Utley and Troy Tulowitzki are the obvious recent examples), and while admittedly anecdotal (I’m too lazy to research), outfielders are seemingly more volatile than the big hitting first basemen, who are without question the safest early round picks. It’s true some solid 1B are typically available late, but there also won’t be a position off the board at a more rapid pace early on, so you better grab one.

Ever wonder what a shaved bear looks like? Neither did I, and it’s not a pretty sight.

As usual, Anthony Jeselnik absolutely killing it.

After breaking out in 2009, Adam Lind hit just .237 last season, but he’s quickly turning into one of 2011’s biggest draft day steals. He’s on pace to hit 33 homers and rack up 99 RBI despite missing a full month with a back injury. His .341 batting average can’t be expected to continue, but Lind did hit .305 one season ago, and he’s 27 years old just now entering his prime. He’s hitting fewer groundballs than ever with an impressive 25.2 LD%, and batting directly behind someone who’s getting on base 48.9 percent of the time this year should continue to lead to a ton of RBI opportunities. Lind is shaping up to be a fantasy monster.

Pretty sick idea, but admittedly, this could also be terrifying.

Cone-ing is the new planking.

Some quick hits on pitchers: Madison Bumgarner gave up his first homer Wednesday since April 17 – a span of 11 starts. He also picked up just his third victory of the season, despite 10 straight quality starts. MadBum’s run support ranks seventh worst in all of baseball…Livan Hernandez’s stats on the road: 5.66 ERA, 1.70 WHIP, 26:23 K:BB ratio. At home: 1.97, 0.91, 31:5…Over his last 10 starts, Luke Hochevar has struck out more than three batters just once, and it was a four K outing. The former No. 1 overall pick has somehow maintained a respectable 1.28 WHIP despite this. Then again, Carl Pavano (3.63 K/9) makes Hochevar look like Pedro Martinez in his prime…Matt Cain is 17-0 during his career when he gets at least three runs of support.

A slightly embarrassing way to graduate.

Lock this woman up ASAP.

Alcides Escobar has been nothing short of a terrible hitter throughout his brief major league career, but he’s raised his batting average nearly 35 points over the past week and has recorded a steal in four straight games, so fantasy owners in need of middle infield help should give him a look. Since hitting .304 as a rookie with Milwaukee in 2009, Escobar has looked lost at the plate, but he’s still just 24 years old and swiped 42 bags over 109 games as a 22-year-old during his last stint in Triple-A, so there’s some serious speed upside, especially if he can get his on-base percentage somewhere above .300. Escobar’s terrific defense should give him a long leash to stay in the lineup, and someone with an 18.3 LD%, 56.7 GB% and with speed, typically shouldn’t have a BABIP of .274.

Meet Junrey Balawing, who after just turning 18 years old, became the world’s shortest man at 23.6 inches tall.

Michael Cuddyer’s random three stolen bases were a nice surprise to his fantasy owners Wednesday, and his bat has come alive recently as well. In fact, he’s clubbed four homers with 11 RBI over the past 11 games, and he’s currently hitting cleanup, a spot that will look even better once Joe Mauer returns to the lineup. Most importantly, Cuddyer qualifies at second base in Yahoo leagues, which is huge. He’s one year removed from a 32-93-94 campaign, and even during a down year last season, he still produced 14-93-81, which is borderline elite for the ever-thinning second base position. Target Field remains an issue (although he’s hit far better at home than on the road so far this year), but after a slow start, Cuddyer is coming around and looks like a must-start in all formats.

Can you imagine losing on a penalty shot this way?

Josh Beckett has gone from one of the worst pitchers in baseball last year (5.78 ERA, 1.54 WHIP) to one of the best in 2011 (1.86, 0.92), at least on the surface. After he tossed a complete game shutout Wednesday when he allowed just one baserunner, his fantasy owners have to be ecstatic they gambled on him bouncing back. While it’s safe to call his true talent level somewhere in the middle of the two extremes, it’s remarkable just how similar his peripherals look this year compared to last. In fact, his K rate is actually down, and his K:BB ratio from 2010 (2.57) is nearly identical to this season (2.63). Obviously, things generally considered out of his control have gone from one extreme to the other. Last year his hit rate was .338; his current .217 BABIP is the lowest in MLB. Beckett’s HR/FB% was 14.2 in 2010; it’s 3.9% this season, which is the fifth lowest in the league, and his current 84.3 LOB% is the second highest mark in all of baseball. It’s unclear how much blame he deserves for last year and how much credit he should be given for 2011, but it’s been quite an interesting turnaround for Beckett. Regardless, any pitcher with such a modest K:BB ratio combined with such a sterling ERA and WHIP makes for a sell-high candidate, especially while playing in the AL East.

Ya, that’s normal.

While plenty of last year’s bums such as Josh Beckett and Adam Lind have paid off in a big way in 2011, there’s another group featuring Jason Bay and Chone Figgins, who not only have once again disappointed but have actually been even worse than in 2010. Is Bay done? It’s seemingly a ridiculous question at age 32, and I continue to stubbornly leave him in my lineup in my home league (when he’s not benched by the Mets, that is), but this is a guy who’s hit eight homers over his past 504 at-bats since signing a lucrative contract. Citi Field is known as a pitcher’s park, which it generally is, but it’s worth noting it’s played slightly as a hitter’s park so far in 2011, and Bay can’t blame bad luck either, as his LD% is a career-low, while his GB% is a career-high. It’s entirely possible last season’s severe concussion is still affecting him, but whatever the cause, fantasy owners would like to see some semblance of life. And fast. It’s hard to believe Bay was a typical late second, early third round pick as recent as last year.

David Price posted a 2.72 ERA last season, but because of an accompanying 2.4:1 K:BB ratio, I avoided him at draft tables. So far, it’s certainly been to my detriment. While his ERA has risen to 3.35, he’s posted an 83:14 K:BB ratio over 91.1 innings with a 1.01 WHIP, so he’s clearly improved as a pitcher during his third year in the bigs. His control has gotten dramatically better (3.41 BB/9 last year, 1.38 BB/9 in 2011), so he now truly looks like an ace. Price continues to rely heavily on his fastball, but he has used his changeup more this season, and his performance is all the more impressive when you consider he plays in the AL East. Price has some aspects in his favor, as Tropicana Field continues to act as a major pitcher’s park, and the Rays’ 24.4 UZR ranks as the best in baseball. Both of those factor into his current .278 BABIP, and his career hit rate is actually .269, so he’s not necessarily been overly lucky. Price has a 53:5 K:BB ratio since April ended, and it’s looking like he’ll enter 2012 as a top-10 fantasy starter.

Pretty crazy story about a bank heist.

Ya, that’s normal.

Entering the year, David Ortiz had hit .191 over the previous three Aprils. He improved during the first month of the season this year, but he’s really taken off since then, as he’s clubbed 13 homers since the beginning of May. Ortiz is currently on pace to finish with 40 homers, 98 runs scored and 90 RBI while batting .323. As encouraging as his 25:25 K:BB ratio is – in fact, his K rate is by far a career-low – it’s probably safe to expect a drop in average, but it’s clear he has plenty left to offer at age 35. The lack of position flexibility isn’t ideal, but especially in a time when offense is as down as ever, Ortiz is a major fantasy contributor often overlooked. After struggling against southpaws over the past few years, he’s actually hit lefties even better than right-handers in 2011, a weird trend also seen with Curtis Granderson and Jay Bruce this season. Ortiz is hitting just .167 with RISP and has his historically worst month in the rearview mirror, so he could be a monster from here on out.

A funny shampoo prank.

That’s a lot of piercings.

Prospect watch: Charlie Blackmon was hitting .337 with 10 homers and 12 steals in Triple-A before getting called up to Colorado, where he’ll act as the team’s starting left fielder, at least until Dexter Fowler returns. Fowler has been a major disappointment, so if Blackmon impresses, he may take the job and run with it. Because of the Coors Field factor, he’s a must-add in all fantasy leagues…Anthony Rizzo also needs to be owned thanks to his .365/.444/.715 line, but expectations for the 21-year-old need to be tempered. While strong defensively, his bat still needs development, and he’s going from one of the best hitting environments in the PCL to baseball’s toughest place to hit. Petco Park really hurts Rizzo’s fantasy upside…It’s a shame Brett Lawrie suffered a fractured hand right on the cusp of getting a chance in Toronto. He’ll be shut down at least 2-to-3 weeks, and this is the type of injury that could linger for a hitter, unfortunately…It’s nice to see Jemile Weeks running more this season (he has 10 steals already in Triple-A after recording 16 all of 2010), but you shouldn’t expect much power. His ability to take a walk will likely help Oakland more than your fantasy team…Dee Gordon is almost certainly not ready to help at the big league level, but Los Angeles is going to give him an opportunity anyway, even hitting him leadoff. While his BA and OBP are unlikely to impress, his speed makes him a must-add in fantasy leagues, especially with middle infield so shallow. Gordon swiped 73 bags in 2009 and 53 last season, and he’s 22-for-25 on SB attempts in 2011. Grab him.

Best police sketch ever.

Let’s hope this guy golfs better than he drives.

Zach Britton has pitched well during his rookie campaign, flashing a 3.18 ERA with a 1.23 WHIP. However, that’s come with an unsightly 47:29 K:BB ratio over 82.0 innings. That’s not just mediocre, it’s flat out bad. Not that Britton doesn’t deserve credit, his ability to induce groundballs is legit, and there’s plenty of time for him to improve in other areas of his game. But a 5.16 K/9 rate is dangerous anywhere, let alone in the AL East. ZiPS actually projects a 5.06 ERA from here on out. I doubt you can you sell Britton “high,” but he’s still someone I’d be shopping aggressively, especially coming off a strong start Wednesday against the A’s.

This cat appears to be an addict.

I keep breaking my rule, so here’s another animal video.

Adrian Beltre hasn’t hit that well for the Rangers, posting a .257/.311/.469 line over 241 at-bats, but he’s been plenty valuable to fantasy owners nevertheless, as he’s on pace to hit 31 home runs and produce 116 RBI. The latter number reveals big potential, since Beltre has hit just .220 with runners on base this season, and Josh Hamilton is back in the lineup. It appears Beltre’s days as a base stealer are finished, unfortunately, but with just 23 strikeouts so far, expect his batting average to climb soon. Third base has become an absolute sinkhole this season, giving Beltre extra value. His production should only increase during the summer months in Texas.

It’s hard to argue Trevor Bauer isn’t the most interesting prospect from this year’s MLB draft.

Boy sells kidney to buy iPad.

Love him or hate him, here’s an interesting profile on Bill Simmons (ever notice how Simmons is seemingly incapable of pronouncing the word “women.” He says “woman” instead every single time). I’m definitely intrigued by Grantland.

Alexi Ogando is a tough guy to evaluate right now. There’s nothing not to like about his transition into the starting rotation, but despite his 2.10 ERA and 0.90 WHIP, I doubt he’d bring a ton in return in a trade. Some will point to his .210 BABIP and 88.2 LOB%, but any pitcher with that low of an ERA has experienced some luck. Others will worry about his innings pitched, as Ogando has already reached a career-high, and we are barely into June. It’s uncertain how such an increase will affect him, especially down the stretch, but he’s unlikely to be shut down with Texas in a pennant race. C.J. Wilson underwent a similar situation last year, as he threw 228.1 innings after becoming a starter for the first time in his career – a full 154.2 innings more than ever before. The Rangers have preached long toss and have something of a rare philosophy with pitchers, so while Ogando is risky, at least he’s in an organization that has had success with this issue in the past. He’s probably a “hold” in fantasy terms.

It sounds like Mayweather v. Pacquiao might happen after all. Terrific news.

Sad and scary stuff.

My friend Sean made this music video. Check it out.

Jason Bourgeois has 14 stolen bases over 61 at-bats this year, which is a pace unmatched by any other, even teammate Michael Bourn. Bourgeois has two steals over three games since returning from an oblique injury, which is encouraging, as he looks to be back to 100 percent. There’s no question he’s performing over his head at the plate, but the speed is for real. His spot in Houston’s everyday lineup remains in flux, but before he went on the disabled list, he started seeing some time at second base, which would be huge news for his fantasy value if that were to happen again. Over the last two years, major league baseball teams averaged 99 stolen bases each season (and it was lower before that). This year teams are on pace to finish with an average of 110. That’s more than 300 steals in total. You need more stolen bases than ever to compete in your fantasy league.

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I must say, I’m pretty jealous not owning Michael Pineda in any of my fantasy leagues. While there was some concern his still developing changeup would leave him vulnerable to left-handed hitters, it turns out his fastball is so good, it doesn’t really matter. In fact, Pineda’s average fastball velocity of 95.5 mph easily leads major league baseball. While he’s rarely used his changeup, Pineda’s slider has been much more effective than expected, and after an impressive April, the rookie has recorded a 43:8 K:BB ratio over 39.0 innings. He already looks like one of the best pitchers in baseball, and while there’s some concern he’ll eventually show bigger platoon splits, it’s worth noting 49.5 percent of the batters he’s faced this year have been left-handers.

This guy’s behavior on a flight was clearly crazy, but the passenger’s response was equally remarkable.

Check it out, there was a Bigfoot sighting!

After ending April with a .224/.267/.284 line, Mike Morse posted a 1.196 OPS in May. His .403 batting average last month was especially surprising since it came with a 13:1 K:BB ratio, but Morse has hit five homers over the past nine games and is locked in the middle of Washington’s order. It’s possible the move back to first base has made him more comfortable at the plate, and Adam LaRoche’s prognosis over the rest of the season is questionable at best. Morse quietly posted an .870 OPS with 15 homers over 266 at-bats last season, and while his current 34:6 K:BB ratio is ugly, his career BABIP is .348, so his batting average isn’t necessarily due for a major crash. To give an indication of how I feel about Morse, I spent $160 of my FAAB on him last week in WCOF (second highest bid was $155, love that).

Now this was an unfortunate and embarrassing situation.

Compelling story about the anthrax killings.

I have absolutely no clue what to make of Bartolo Colon right now, but his pitching performance has been as impressive as it’s been surprising. His 3.26 ERA and 1.10 WHIP is matched by a 62:15 K:BB ratio over 66.1 innings, and this coming while pitching in the AL East. Questions surround the surgery that was performed on Colon’s arm, but his average fastball velocity (91.8 mph) is actually below his career mark (albeit 2.7 mph higher than the last time he appeared in the majors in 2009). ZiPs projects a 4.70 ERA over the rest of the year, but that seems high if he keeps his peripherals anywhere close to their current state. More wins should also follow with the help of a Yankees’ offense that leads MLB in runs scored. I have to say, I didn’t quite see this coming.

This is pretty funny. And the reviews are off the charts!

I question whether this driver was really just texting. But either way, this is pretty crazy.

Dexter Fowler has played plus defense in center field while posting a solid .344 OBP, but with zero homers and just two steals on eight attempts, he’s been a disappointment in fantasy leagues. He’s on pace to score 97 runs, so he’s not completely without value, but what happened to the player who posted a .770 OPS with 27 stolen bases as a 23-year-old two seasons ago? While his poor defense precludes guaranteed playing time, Eric Young Jr. is suddenly someone capable of making an impact in fantasy leagues, especially eligible at second base. After averaging 66 steals from 2006-2009, Young had already racked up 17 SBs while getting caught just once over 160 at-bats at Triple-A this year, and he has three swipes over five games since getting recalled to Colorado. Run scoring typically goes way up during the summer months in Coors Field, and it would be nice to see what Young could do if finally given a real opportunity to play every day.

The headline for this story – “Horse herpes outbreak forces rodeo queens to ride stick ponies” sufficiently sums it up.

The world’s first BMX triple backflip.

I’m beginning to think Jonathan Franzen might have a future as a writer.

On May 25, Max Scherzer had a 2.98 ERA. Two starts later, it’s at 4.38. That’s obviously an extreme case, but it also points out that we are still at the point of the season in which even just two outings can dramatically change a pitcher’s overall numbers. Three starts ago Ted Lilly had a 4.83 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. Those numbers are already down to 4.22 and 1.22 – a significant change in the latter over such a brief period of time. While this kind of fluctuation remains evident after a dozen or so starts, the impact is even greater for a reliever for obvious reasons, as Carlos Marmol saw his ERA jump from 1.17 to 3.47 in one outing earlier this week. That type of implosion (six runs, one out) will be felt all season long for a relief pitcher. While Ubaldo Jimenez’s ERA is still an ugly 4.98, his complete game shutout Wednesday brought it down nearly a full run (it was 5.86). Pretty crazy that it was also his first win since September 17.

Now that’s a pretty compelling piece of evidence.

This story reminds me of the joke about a husband coming home to inform his wife to get her suitcases out and start packing because he just won the lottery. When she asks where they are going he responds “I don’t care where you go, just get the hell out of here.”

Johnny Damon has quietly had a pretty good year so far, at least in fantasy terms. His .315 OBP certainly isn’t helping the Rays, but he’s on pace to finish with 21 homers, 18 steals and 88 RBI. Despite approaching 40 years old, he’s 29-for-31 on stolen base attempts dating back to 2009, so while clearly in decline, Damon remains useful in fantasy leagues, although he’s hindered by playing in Tropicana Field, which again ranks as one of the five toughest places to hit in all of baseball according to Park Factors. It ranked as the best pitcher’s park in MLB in 2010 and hasn’t benefitted hitters since 2006. At some point, we may need to factor this into Evan Longoria’s fantasy projections.

Warning: Dancing in public will get you arrested.

Here’s what happened. And here are the repercussions. Definitely curious for opinions on this.

With Michael Young gaining 2B eligibility, there’s now an argument he’s a top-five option at the position. He won’t rack up homers or steals, but he’s currently hitting .335 and is on pace to finish with 106 RBI thanks to regularly hitting third or fourth in Texas’ lineup, a situation that should only improve now with Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz healthy. Young ended last year with 21 homers, 99 runs scored and 91 RBI, and it doesn’t matter to us he’s not nearly as valuable in real life as he is in fantasy leagues. Maybe it’s totally meaningless, but it’s interesting to note Young has hit .429 while playing in the field and just .266 over 124 at-bats at DH. There’s an obvious adjustment period, but don’t forget he was highly reluctant to make the switch to begin with.

Check out who Doug Glanville chose as his franchise player.

Well, this was a close call.

An absolute must-read regarding the Long Island Serial Killer.

I understand the small sample narrative gets beaten to death, and I’m in no way suggesting you shouldn’t let what has happened over the first two months of the season affect your evaluations, but realize so much is going to change over the remainder of 2011. I’d obviously prefer to be in first place in my league than last right now, but I’d also caution letting your current standing both overall and categorically become too definitive. Theoretically, a fantasy team comprised of Hanley Ramirez, Evan Longoria, David Wright, Carl Crawford, Dustin Pedroia, Nelson Cruz, Shin-Soo Choo, Joe Mauer and Alex Rios would almost certainly be dead last in their league in batting average. I’d argue that team would finish first in that category by season’s end.

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Zack Greinke currently has a 5.79 ERA, but you don’t need me to tell you he’s pitched far better than that with an accompanying 39:3 K:BB ratio over 28.0 innings. Entering 2011 and before he suffered broken ribs while playing pickup hoops, I debated having Greinke either fourth or fifth (versus Cliff Lee) on my starting pitcher rankings, and after his start to the season, I see no reason why he shouldn’t be currently viewed as such. It’s one thing to note his peripherals as strong, suggesting a correction in ERA, but it’s another to recognize his component stats as possibly the best in baseball, albeit over just a five-start stretch. His 12.5 K/9 ratio is more than 1.5 strikeouts per nine innings more than any other starter, and that’s combined with a 0.96 BB/9 rate! I’m also not too worried about his high BABIP (.370) and HR/FB% (21.1), since throughout his career the former has been around league average (.308) and the latter has been far better than that (8.7%). One year removed from winning the Cy Young in a truly dominant season, don’t underestimate the impact the move to the National League can have on Greinke. Teammate Shaun Marcum was a nice pitcher for the Blue Jays over the past two years, and he himself is in Cy Young contention with the move to the N.L. so far in 2011, as he’s currently sporting a 2.37 ERA and 1.02 WHIP with a 4.1:1 K:BB ratio. Joe Posnanski, who’s one of the best sports writers alive and knows Greinke from his days covering the Royals, suggested Greinke would actually thrive during a pennant race while playing in meaningful games for once, which is counterintuitive to those who point to the pitchers’ past problems with social anxiety disorder. So far, Posnanski hasn’t exactly been proven wrong. Other than Roy Halladay, there’s a pretty strong argument for Greinke as the No. 2 fantasy pitcher moving forward.

This car escape was pretty epic.

This guy wanted to join the mile-high club all by himself.

After an 0-for-4 Wednesday, Alex Rios is hitting .206/.265/.317 on the year, which is about as ugly as it gets. He’s also been caught on nearly half his stolen base attempts (4-for-7), so he’s been one of fantasy baseball’s biggest busts so far in 2011. Rios has always been a difficult player to evaluate, as he’s generally considered overpaid since he hasn’t reached an OPS of .800 since 2007, although he’s gone from a strong right fielder defensively to an average one in center, which makes his production at the plate over the past couple of years much more acceptable. And in fantasy terms, even during his down year in 2009, he produced 17 homers and 24 steals. But there’s no doubt owners expected much more in 2011 (and they used a much higher draft pick) after Rios hit .284 with 21 home runs, 34 stolen bases, 89 runs and 88 RBI last season. Looking deeper, his walk rate is the second best of his career, and his K rate is actually a career-low by a wide margin. Moreover, his line drive percentage is a healthy 20.6%, yet Rios’ BABIP (.219) is nearly 100 points lower than his career rate (.312). According to The Bill James Handbook, U.S. Cellular Field had a HR park index of 179 for right-handed batters last season, which means it was 79% easier to hit home runs there than the rest of the parks in the league, easily leading MLB; it’s also been the most favorable HR hitting park for RHB over the past three years, if you want a bigger sample. Go ahead and target Rios as a buy low.

Randy Savage’s recent death reminded me of this American Gladiators clip, which is a classic.

Was Dennis Rodman one of the best NBA players ever? The study included in this article argues it’s closer than you think.

Acquired from the Giants as part of the Jason Schmidt deal in 2001, Ryan Vogelsong was once considered a decent prospect, but he suffered injuries, wasn’t effective and was eventually designated for assignment by Pittsburgh in 2006. He pitched in Japan before signing a minor league deal with the Phillies last year, and while all other aspects of his performance were pedestrian, he posted a 10.4 K/9 ratio over 33 starts in Triple-A (after recording a 12.1 K/9 rate in Japan the year before). After the Phillies released him, the Giants, who severely lacked pitching deep in their organization (at the time Jeff Suppan was the team’s No. 6 starter) signed him on a flier, and he proceeded to strike out 17 batters over 11.0 innings in Triple-A, earning him the call when Barry Zito went down with a foot injury. Vogelsong’s control, while improved, was still a poor 4.0/9, so that aspect has been a surprise so far during his stint with his former team in 2011 (it’s down to 2.76/9). While the suddenly newfound control may not be sustainable, it’s hard not to like the way Vogelsong has been throwing this season. We could obviously point to Vogelsong’s fortunate BABIP, LOB% and HR/FB%, but then again, the same would be true for any pitcher with a 1.93 ERA. But as a Giants fan (who’s currently in clinical depression regarding Buster Posey), with Vogelsong’s 8.0 K/9 and 2.9:1 K:BB ratios, I hope Zito doesn’t get another start this season.

Roseanne Barr writing a provocative and informative article about the sexist nature of the TV community in Hollywood.

Crazy sad read about sex trafficking in the United States.

Paying the price at draft tables for Dan Uggla after he came off a season in which he produced career-highs in batting average, on-base percentage, home runs and RBI probably wasn’t the best move, although the only real concern was a fall in BA. That’s come to fruition, but his owners can’t be blamed for not expecting a drop this precipitous. Uggla is actually striking out at a significantly lower rate than at any point of his career since his rookie season, so while his LD% and IFFB% are both up, his .197 BABIP is especially perplexing when you consider his GB% is a career-high, and his FB% and HR/FB% are both career-lows. Put differently, expect all this batted ball noise to even out. He’s another strong buy-low candidate who’s very likely to see an unusual set of eight weeks change in his favor over the rest of 2011.

I had no idea what a “Tiger Mom” was, but this setup is pretty funny.

Interesting story about a man who was cured of HIV.

I have no idea what to make of Jarrod Saltalamacchia, who continues to show poor plate discipline and has ugly overall numbers this season despite it being his fifth in the league. But he now has four homers over his past six games with a 2:3 K:BB ratio over that stretch. It’s probably meaningless, but as a former top prospect playing an extremely shallow fantasy position, he’s worth a flier. Salty hit 11 homers over 308 at-bats as a 22-year-old during his first stint in the minors, but he’s never really validated his worth as a top prospect since then. Still, clearly scouts have seen tools of a future star, and he now has the benefit of hitting in Fenway Park and in Boston’s lineup. Might as well see if this recent outburst is a sign of things to come for the 26-year-old who’s just now surpassing 900 career ABs at a position that typically develops slower.

This first person view of the Joplin tornado features almost zero visual footage, but that makes their ordeal no less terrifying.

A truly inspiring story regarding conjoined twins.

A few thoughts on some closing situations: Frank Francisco is still probably the best pitcher in the Blue Jays’ pen, but with a 6.23 ERA and with plenty of competition, his job as closer is in jeopardy. He should obviously not be dropped, but in deeper leagues, Jon Rauch should also be owned along with Jason Frasor and Octavio Dotel. Frasor has been the team’s best reliever this season and would likely get the next closing opportunity if lefties were due up, while Dotel, who has struck out 17 batters over 12.1 innings, would possibly get the next save chance against a right-handed heavy lineup…The Dodgers’ bullpen situation might be an even bigger crap shoot, since it involves more unknowns. An area that projected as a strength before the season started, Los Angeles has had to place Jonathan Broxton, Hong-Chih Kuo and Vicente Padilla on the disabled list. Kenley Jansen has a ridiculous K rate, but an equally crazy walk rate and is seemingly unready to be trusted in such a role. Mike MacDougal has a career 4.81 BB/9 ratio. Matt Guerrier is an option, but he’s uninspiring and took the loss Wednesday. Enter Javy Guerra and Rubby De La Rosa? My guess is one of those two will have the most value moving forward. No clue which one…Matt Capps is dealing with forearm soreness, which is rarely a good sign, but there doesn’t appear to be a viable alternative in Minnesota. Although I do think Joe Nathan is the Twins’ reliever to own during the second half of the season.

Pretty legit comeback in a race.

I’m a Werner Herzog fan to begin with, and this interview only reinforced that.

Closers continued: Kevin Gregg deserves credit for the career he’s made for himself as a closer over the past five years, but he’s currently sporting a 1.64 WHIP thanks largely to 13 walks over 18.1 innings. That type of control will be especially problematic in the A.L. East, and while Koji Uehara is a very real injury risk, he’s clearly the team’s best reliever (and also best used one inning at a time), so I’d give him about even odds to lead Baltimore in saves from here on out…Francisco Rodriguez has been fantastic this season, and while his crazy contract provisions make him a prime trade candidate for the Mets, it also makes him undesirable to potential buyers, unless they are willing to make him a setup man, which could lead to a poisonous situation. Either way, Jason Isringhausen is an NL-only league stash…The Cardinals’ bullpen has been as volatile as it gets, but Fernando Salas clearly is the guy to own now and from here on out. I dropped him in both Yahoo F&F and my home league, naturally…Aroldis Chapman being a threat to Francisco Cordero’s job seems like such a distant memory…Also, remember when some considered the Rays’ bullpen a weakness before the season? I won’t go into details (you can ask any Tigers fan for verification), but let’s all try to remember this example of just how fickle relief pitching is.

I try to include mostly sophisticated links, but sometimes, a good old-fashioned “fail” deserves a look, especially when the recorder gives us a Mario laugh.

To further my proclamation of only using sophisticated links, I give you a man found chained to a box of sand in a life raft.

Closers, Part 3: What is wrong with Joakim Soria and Neftali Feliz? Both have seen their fastball velocity dip about 1.5 mph, but that hardly explains the sudden lack of control. Dave Cameron mentioned this stat over at Fangraphs last week, and it’s only gotten crazier since then. Feliz has faced 31 right-handed batters this year. He’s posted a 0:11 K:BB ratio against them. Please read that again. This only reinforces just how truly special Mariano Rivera’s career has been. There’s only one fantasy closer who can be compared right now, and that’s Jonathan Papelbon, who has posted an ERA under 2.35 in five of the past six years since he took over closing duties (and his peripherals remained strong during his down year in 2010). With his K rate, there’s an argument he should currently be viewed as the No. 1 fantasy closer. More saves, and likely plenty of them, are sure to follow.

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As a 34-year-old constantly dealing with knee injuries playing half his games in a park tough to homer in, Carlos Beltran wasn’t exactly a target of mine entering 2011. Not only has he managed to stay healthy, he’s hit about as well as any point in his career so far this season. Beltran really is a health risk, so it might be worth shopping him around, but there’s certainly nothing fluky about his performance. In fact, his walk and K rates are both better than his career norms, and his current BABIP is just .288. While no longer close to the same terrific defender he once was, the move to right field may keep Beltran’s legs fresher, and it’s hard to argue with the results. He won’t help as a base stealer like he used to, but after totaling 17 home runs over the past two injury-riddled seasons, Beltran is on pace to finish with 31 homers, 81 runs scored and 91 RBI – not bad for someone with such a low ADP.

Here’s a clip of the Marlins’ announcers making fun of an emotional fan who also happens to be a man baby.

I know I tell myself this every time, but I swear, next time I go to Las Vegas, I’m being more responsible.

Jake Peavy pitched far better than his ERA indicated during his first start of the season last week, and after spinning a complete game shutout Wednesday against an Indians team that leads the American League in runs scored, he’s now sporting a 12:0 K:BB ratio. Peavy, who underwent surgery for an injury never before suffered by a pitcher, says he’s just about 80 percent right now, and we likely won’t see the 100 percent version until 2012 if at all, but his fastball has shown plenty of velocity, and his changeup and slider remain terrific pitches. He’s without question one of the bigger injury risks there are, and he’ll have to deal with a poor White Sox’s defense behind him, but Peavy can pitch like a top-20 fantasy starter while his health permits.

If you’re going to run on the field, at least make it noteworthy like this guy.

Man licking shoes on subway? Man licking shoes on subway.

I was worried about Adrian Gonzalez’s power this season coming off shoulder surgery, but apparently the effects were only a slow April, because he sure looks fully recovered in May. Over his past 15 games, Gonzalez has hit eight homers while racking up 22 RBI – a category in which he leads major league baseball. In fact, he’s on pace to finish with 143 runs batted in. It sure helps switching from an anemic San Diego lineup to Boston’s. Gonzalez’s walks are way down this season, and while that fundamentally makes sense considering opposing pitchers can’t pitch around him the same way they could while he was wearing a Padres’ uniform, it’s interesting to note he’s actually seen just 40.3 percent of pitches inside the strike zone, which is by far a career-low. Nevertheless, Gonzalez’s willingness to be aggressive is a welcome sight to his fantasy owners. He’s easily a top-five fantasy commodity.

While I’d prefer a burger from a legit restaurant, I’m a fan of In-N-Out Burger, but these people and this lady take it to the next level.

Speaking of hamburgers, this guy is a little nutty.

While getting out of Chase Field is generally a good thing for pitchers, I figured the move from the N.L. to A.L. would more than negate that, so I didn’t treat Dan Haren as an elite fantasy starter entering 2011. As a result, one of the best hurlers in baseball isn’t on any of my teams, as Haren has been mighty impressive so far. His 3.9 FB/HR% and .243 BABIP are obviously going to regress, but no one should expect a pitcher to finish with a 1.93 ERA. And as for that hit rate, his career BABIP is .290, and the Angels currently have the second-best UZR in major league baseball, so that number won’t necessarily take a massive jump. Moreover, Haren’s 8.4 K/9 combined with a 1.1 BB/9 is about as good as it gets. He’s actually thrown his cutter more frequently than his four-seam fastball this season for the first time in his career, and it just shows you don’t need extreme velocity (his average fastball velo has been 89.8 mph) to be a successful pitcher. Over Haren’s last three starts, which have come against @BOS, CLE and @TEX, he’s recorded a 23:1 K:BB ratio. The Angels’ top-two starters can match any in baseball.

Through rain, sleet or snow, this guy’s lawn will be mowed.

For the second week in a row, I give you a lacrosse clip, this one a pretty sick trick play.

It’s becoming clear Ben Zobrist’s outlier season was last year and not 2009, as he’s off to a .289/.379/.566 start. After playing as the toughest hitter’s park in baseball last season, Tropicana Field has been the third hardest place to hit so far in 2010 (fun with small sampling with Park Factors: Yankee Stadium has actually played as a pitcher’s park, including home runs, over the first seven weeks of the season), so he has that working against him. While mostly the same hitter, the two glaring differences between Zobrist’s 2009 and 2010 campaigns were BABIP and HR/FB%, and both are back up this year. Since he continues to be a terrific base stealer (80.3 percent success rate in his career) and is also a run producer, few middle infielders are as well rounded as Zobrist. He’s a perfect example of a last year’s bum paying off in a big way.

I’ll let the next two links’ headlines speak for themselves:

Maniac decapitates elderly British tourist on holiday island of Tenerife.

87-year-old Nigerian faith healer has 86 wives.

Rajai Davis is hitting .245 with zero homers and just five RBI on the year and has even been platooned a bit recently, but he’s not a bad target for owners in need of speed. An injury kept him out of action for 20 days, but if you were to prorate his stolen bases on a per game basis, he’d be on pace to finish with 85 steals over a full season. And that’s with just a .284 on-base percentage! Davis is likely to start hitting better, and one hot streak would probably get him back in the leadoff spot. Manager John Farrell’s perpetual green light combined with that speed (he’s been successful on 80.1 percent of his SB attempts since his rookie year), Davis could make a major impact in fantasy leagues over the rest of the year.

I doubt Mentos and Diet Coke really killed this man, but this doesn’t look like it felt good.

I won’t get into any politics behind it, but I’d sure be onboard with this project coming to fruition.

Bud Norris has always been interesting thanks to a strong K rate, but it looks like he’s taken the leap this season, as he’s really improved his control. His current 3.06 BB/9 rate isn’t great, but it’s significantly better than last year’s 4.51 mark, and it plays just fine with a 10.80 K/9 rate that is the second highest in all of baseball. While his walk rate was one area of concern, another was Norris’ problems with left-handed batters, as he relies heavily on his slider. In fact, he’s thrown the pitch 37.5 percent of the time this year, which is second only to Brett Anderson in major league baseball. It’s a devastating offering to righties, who have hit just .151 off Norris in 2010, but southpaws have batted .316 and have connected on five of the seven homers he’s allowed this year. Looking deeper, Norris’ line drive percentage jumps from 8.9% against right-handers to 23.9% versus lefties, so he’ll typically be more reliant on matchups than most pitchers, meaning teams who can stack their lineup with left-handers pose a problem. Still, there’s a lot to like about the 26-year-old, and his future looks bright, assuming all those sliders don’t tax his arm too much.

Planking? Really?

This lady is having a bit of trouble exiting the ocean.

I was once treated like a criminal for accidentally having a bottled water in my carry on, so I’m not exactly impressed airport security eventually caught this guy, but his ambition was pretty outrageous.

What more can be said about Jose Bautista at this point? You’ve probably heard most of these, but he’s hit five homers in Target Field this year while the Twins as a team have hit six. He’d easily be on pace to shatter the American League record for walks if not for him missing eight games. His current batting line at home is .429/.571/.1.095. According to hittrackeronline, he leads MLB with six “no doubt” homers and just one was deemed “lucky,” and he’s already matched his HR output to right field from all of last season with one. He entered the week with an .868 slugging percentage, which would be the highest in major league history. Also, objects in Bautista’s mirror appear exactly the size they really are, he’s allowed to bring anything he wants through TSA, he knows the contents of Marsellus Wallace’s briefcase, and people with Alzheimer’s remember him. And he’s doing so in an offensive environment that’s significantly down right now. Unsurprisingly, Bautista is seeing just 35.8 percent of pitches thrown to him inside the strike zone, and with his willingness to remain patient, Adam Lind (when he returns from the DL) and Aaron Hill are going to have serious RBI opportunities from here on out. When you consider his third base eligibility and Toronto’s aggressiveness on the base paths, it’s hard not to rank Bautista as the No. 1 fantasy player right now.

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Anibal Sanchez has recorded just two wins and currently sports a 3.46 ERA with a pedestrian 1.34 WHIP, but he’s become quite interesting if you look deeper. After posting an 11:0 K:BB ratio against the Nationals during his last start, he’s now fanned 43 batters over 41.2 innings this season. Like usual, his control has remained shaky (3.67 BB/9), but that’s really the only area he needs to improve to reach ace potential if this K rate is here to stay (that and staying healthy, of course). Sanchez has always been tough to hit (career BABIP .293) and homer against (career 7.2 HR/FB%), and we’ve yet to truly see how effective a fully healthy version can be. His average fastball velocity is a career-high (91.7 mph), but the real eye opener has been his slider, which he’s thrown at an average of 86.1 mph – a full 2.4 mph faster than his career norm. Sanchez remains highly inconsistent, but he’s on the radar at a minimum, and those in daily leagues should feel confident using him at home, where he posted a 2.65 ERA last year and currently boasts a 31:7 K:BB ratio with a 1.69 ERA and 0.79 WHIP over 26.2 innings.

Charles Barkley with the world’s oddest golf swing. Stanky leg!

Minor league watch: Even in standard 12-team mixed leagues, Dominic Brown, Desmond Jennings and Brandon Belt should be stashed right now. Ben Francisco hasn’t been worthless since he’s getting on base at a decent clip, but it’s come with little power. Meanwhile, Brown is back to health and currently hitting .367/.429/.673 with four homers over 49 at-bats in Triple-A. It should only be a matter of time before the Phillies turn to the former top prospect…Jennings is playing much better than last season, as he’s currently posting a .417 OBP while recording eight steals without being caught. His recall isn’t imminent, since the cash-strapped Rays want to keep his service time down and as an organization always want to be 100 percent certain their prospects are ready before giving them a chance in the bigs, but Sam Fuld, sadly, has just three hits over his past 50 at-bats…Belt is hitting .389/.514/.593 since being sent down to Triple-A Fresno, and while it’s unclear what his role would be back in San Francisco (most likely, he’d play left field), he’s going to get another chance sooner rather than later.

I’m beginning to think this guy may have had too much to drink.

There’s legitimate concern Mat Latos is pitching hurt. After dealing with an arm injury in spring training last year, he followed by tossing 184.2 innings, which was 61.2 more than he had ever thrown before. Then he again dealt with an arm issue in spring training entering 2011, and his walk rate has taken a spike since, sometimes a precursor for someone pitching hurt. Moreover, his average fastball velocity is down from 93.7 mph last season to 91.9 mph this year, and the same is true with his slider (down from 84.7 to 83.3). A pessimist could also point to his 4.86 ERA despite a .275 BABIP. However, if you believe he’s healthy (and he and Bud Black state he is, for what it’s worth), or if you are a gambling type, Latos is an excellent buy-low target. After all, he’s now 0-10 over his last 11 starts. While his average velocity is down, he’s hit 96 mph at times, and more importantly, he’s struck out 34 batters over 33.1 innings. Every pitcher in baseball will have a rough 5-6 start stretch from time to time, his just happens to be amplified because it’s occurred at the beginning of the season, a time in which he actually could be expected to start slow since he missed most of spring training. Trading for him now would take a leap of faith, and there are real health concerns, but Latos is a dominant pitcher when right and calls Petco Park home, so a huge reward could be the payoff.

Count me in for self-driving cars.

Mitch Moreland opened the year batting eighth or ninth and sitting against left-handers. He’s currently hitting fifth and even getting some starts against southpaws, including Wednesday, when he hit a grand slam off Gio Gonzalez before the game was postponed (brutal for his fantasy owners and amazing luck for Gonzalez owners). His OPS is now .925 and if the move up in the order sticks, his counting stats will get a big boost as well. Moreland may not truly be that great of a player (current road OPS is .775), but that doesn’t matter to fantasy owners since he plays half his games in Arlington. It looks like he’s going to go down as one of the better corner infield steals in fantasy leagues.

Crazy lacrosse shot.

I hate to say it, and I know some will argue it’s far too soon to declare any such conclusion, but moving forward, I’m treating Jason Heyward as an injury risk until proven otherwise. Maybe it’s just been bad luck, and he’s admittedly only 21 years old, but this is becoming a concern. And it’s always a different part of his body too. The latest is a sore shoulder that will require an MRI and even worse, numbness in his forearm. That doesn’t sound promising. I hope I’m wrong. It’s encouraging he’s been able to play through these injuries, which shows he’s tough, but there is seemingly always some nagging problem sapping his production.

Maybe the 80th time will be the charm.

Homer Bailey has looked dominant over his first two starts since returning from the disabled list, allowing just one run with a 12:1 K:BB ratio over 13.0 innings. Of course, it’s a two-start sample both coming against the Astros. But this dates back to last year, when he recorded a 9.1/9 K rate and a 3.1:1 K:BB ratio after the All-Star break. The real interesting aspect is just how different he’s pitched so far in 2011. After throwing his slider 9.9% of the time throughout his career, he’s used the pitch a staggering 29.8% this season, with terrific results. The downside is the major increase in slider usage doesn’t exactly instill confidence in a pitcher who’s dealt with past arm injuries staying healthy, but remember Bailey was once considered the top pitching prospect in all of baseball. He’s pretty intriguing.

Just when you think Shake Weight jokes are all played out, there’s this gem. I love the local news.

Gaby Sanchez is off to a fantastic start this season, posting a .331/.412/.534 line with a 19:18 K:BB ratio. He’s also on pace to finish with 28 homers, 102 runs scored and 107 RBI. He’s absolutely crushing fastballs, as his 13.9 runs above average leads major league baseball. Sanchez, who did most of his damage against left-handers last year, is actually hitting righties (.967 OPS) better than southpaws (.854) in 2011. He’s shown great strides at the plate and is just now entering his prime at age 27. Sanchez has established himself as the Marlins’ cleanup hitter, and like Ike Davis, these two seemingly good but not great first base prospects suddenly look like elite ones six weeks into the 2011 season.

Speaking for the first time in 20 years, Charles Manson recently gave his views about global warming. And why wouldn’t we want to know this man’s thoughts on the matter?

Tim Lincecum is just 3-3 on the year, but he’s pitching better than ever over his first eight starts of 2011. His 10.73 K/9 rate and 55.0 GB% are both career-bests, the latter by a wide margin. His walk rate (2.93 BB/9) is also the second-lowest mark of his career, and his 2.11 ERA is all the more impressive when you consider five of his eight starts have come on the road, and the Giants have fielded the third worst defense in baseball, according to their -10.7 UZR/150 rating. Among the top-45 starting pitchers on the GB% leaderboard, only three others (Roy Halladay, Ricky Romero and Matt Garza) also sport a K/9 better than 9.0. Lincecum’s 55.0 GB% is better than those three, and only Garza’s 11.69 K/9 rate is superior. In fact, not one pitcher has finished both with a K rate above 9.0 and a GB% above 50.0 since Fangraphs started recording groundball rates in 2002. To reiterate, Lincecum currently sports a 10.73 K/9 and a 55.0 GB%! After an awful August last year, Lincecum dealt with serious adversity for the first time in his career, so instead of letting his dominant September and World Series win satisfy him, he worked harder than ever during the offseason, including an In-N-Out diet that consisted of a single order typically being three double-doubles, two orders of fries and a shake in an effort to bulk up (he now weighs 169 pounds AFTER gaining 11 lbs over winter), and it’s paying off. His velocity is up with his fastball, curveball and especially his slider (up 2.6 mph from his career level), which he has used with much more frequency this season, finally giving him a true out pitch against righties to counter his deadly changeup versus lefties. Roy Halladay is baseball’s best pitcher, but Lincecum is off to a ridiculously fantastic start this season.

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Ubaldo Jimenez is off to a rough start this season, and many are concerned about his drop in velocity (his average fastball is down from 96.1 mph last year to 92.5 mph so far this year), and his control has been downright awful (4.95 BB/9), but I view him as much more of a buy-low candidate than someone to be overly worried about. After ending May last season with a 0.78 ERA, Jimenez has posted a 4.46 ERA since, a span stretching 161.1 innings. Still, just as he wasn’t truly as good as he was over the first two months last year, he’s certainly much better than he’s been over the five months since then. Jimenez’s drop in velocity this season can mostly be blamed on his first start, when he was regularly working in the high 80s thanks to a cut on his thumb. That start still greatly influences his velo numbers since he’s only made four total this year. During his last two outings, he’s been working in the mid 90s, even reaching 100 mph in his last start, so those pointing to that being the main culprit for his struggles are off base. Jimenez’s control is a concern, but his stuff isn’t. His current K rate is a career-best, as is his contact% (percentage of contact made when swinging at all pitches). It would be easy to point to his low LOB% (57.1), but any pitcher with a 7.20 ERA is obviously going to look unlucky in certain areas. He still has Coors Field working against him (a park that plays much more hitter-friendly in the summer months too), but it’s important to remember Jimenez is one of the toughest pitchers to hit in baseball (career .279 BABIP and 7.5 HR/FB%), and you’ll want him on your fantasy team when he gets his mechanics straightened out.

This security guard must have played safety in high school.

Lance Berkman has to be one of the craziest stories so far in 2011. His current line is .402/.477/.773, and just for fun, he’s also on pace to finish with 49 homers, 130 runs scored and 146 RBI. He’s walked more times (14) than he’s struck out (13) – all while playing the outfield for the first time in nearly five years. It’s clear we should have taken his “best shape of career” stories during spring training more seriously (he worked hard over the offseason thinking his career would be over if he repeated such a poor 2010 performance). But in the four years before last season, he posted OPSs of 1.041, .896, .986 and .907, so his bat shouldn’t have been written off at age 35 (not that I realized this, because he ended up on zero of my fantasy teams). Clearly Berkman won’t sustain this pace, and durability, especially while playing the outfield, was his biggest concern entering 2011, so sure, he’s a sell-high candidate if possible. But if he manages to stay healthy, there’s every reason to expect him to continue being a good to great hitter from here on out.

The diverse food options at Nationals’ games are apparently second to none.

The NFL Draft was compelling as usual, although the lockout remains frustrating. As a Beanie Wells and Jahvid Best owner in a dynasty league, things could have gone better for me, although I did trade Pierre Thomas for the former. My immediate fantasy reaction is that Daniel Thomas looks like the clear No. 1 rookie. As for real life ramifications, I’ve lately become the believer that grading drafts truly is a useless exercise. SI’s Peter King agreed during his latest MMQB, but it was quite confusing to see him later criticize the Patriots’ draft in the very same column. A dissonance is here.

Rick Porcello was clearly due to regress last year after posting an ERA south of 4.0 during his rookie campaign despite a 4.69 K/9 ratio no matter how many groundballs he produced unless he seriously changed as a pitcher. He didn’t, and the results were predictable (4.92 ERA), although he did show signs of improvement after the All-Star break (33:22 K:BB ratio beforehand, 51:16 afterward). Still, there’s real reason for optimism so far in 2011. While hardly elite, his K rate is up markedly (6.98 K/9), and he’s actually fanned 17 batters over the past 19.2 innings. That plays plenty well with such strong control, as he’s walked just one batter in three of his four outings and currently sports a terrific 3.3:1 K:BB ratio to go along with the fantastic GB rate (51.0%). Porcello hasn’t had an overly difficult schedule, but three of his four starts have come on the road. He’s not going to have a Justin Verlander type leap in strikeouts, and his fastball velocity will apparently never be what it once was when he was drafted, but he’s throwing his changeup twice as often this season compared to last, and it’s been highly effective. Porcello is intriguing.

This is one of the saddest, most ridiculous stories I’ve read in a while.

Actually, this isn’t exactly uplifting either.

Well, as long as we’re going down the depressing route, there’s also this story, which is also a pretty compelling read.

There’s an argument Mike Adams is the best relief pitcher in baseball. Adams not only posted a 0.73 ERA and 0.59 WHIP in 2009, but he held opposing batters to a .251 OPS while pitching at home, with a .110 slugging percentage. He followed that up with a dominant 2010 season and has been even better so far this year, recording a 14:0 K:BB ratio. He gave up a hit during his last outing, raising his WHIP to 0.27 in the process. Sure Petco Park helps, but he could pitch in the Grand Canyon, and these numbers would still impress. Especially since the Padres are off to such a slow start, Heath Bell looks like a prime trade candidate come July, and if he’s moved, patient owners who stashed Adams will suddenly have a top-three closer on their hands.

Sticking with the Padres, San Diego is currently batting .217 with a .320 slugging percentage, both the lowest in MLB. And yet, their 114 walks lead the National League. I’m not sure if this confirms the theory of hitters having more control of walks than pitchers or disputes it. Common sense would suggest pitching in Petco Park would lead to fewer walks (why not attack the zone in the toughest place to hit?), but according to Park Factors, it’s favored the hitter when it comes to base on balls each of the past four years, including this one. In fact, it ranked No. 1 in 2009 and No. 3 in 2010! I’m not sure what to make of this, but it’s interesting nevertheless. Got any theories?

What a terrific MMA card over the weekend. The kick that knocked out and ultimately ended Randy Couture’s career was one of the best you’ll ever see, made even better by Steven Seagal once again taking credit for it. The Jose Aldo v. Mark Hominick fight, which resulted in someone who looked like this dominating the fifth and final round and nearly winning, was an instant classic. And let’s hope Georges St-Pierre’s vision problem isn’t long-term, because his next fight against Anderson Silva might very well be the biggest in UFC history.

Eric Hosmer is currently hitting .430/.518/.581 with 18 walks compared to 15 strikeouts over 93 at-bats in Triple-A. The PCL is a hitter-friendly environment, but the 21 year old’s already high stock continues to climb. Hosmer has officially passed the likes of teammate Mike Moustakas among others as the No. 1 minor leaguer to stash in fantasy leagues. With Kila Ka’aihue struggling mightily (he’s become the poster boy for current Quad-A players), there’s apparently a clear path for playing time as well. The Royals likely won’t call up Hosmer until the end of May or early June thanks to service time issues, but he’s worth stashing until then if you can afford the bench spot. He’s even capable of stealing 10-15 bases, and Kansas City currently leads MLB in that category, as they have been aggressive running. Hosmer is capable of making an impact immediately at the major league level, even at such a young age.

I’ve tried to make a point not to post videos featuring animals, but my wife sent me this, and I must admit, I smirked.

The NBA is usually the most predictable of all the main sports but not so much this year. Could we really be looking at the Mavericks, Grizzlies and Hawks as three of the final four teams? Pretty insane. Almost as crazy as Dirk Nowitzki finishing sixth in MVP voting. I may have looked foolish betting over 64.5 wins for the Heat before the year (and doing so boastfully), but am I vindicated if they ultimately win it all?

I wrote about Gordon Beckham here, but he’s hardly the only player on the White Sox struggling. The team I picked to win the A.L. Central has had its share of bullpen trouble, but the offense deserves plenty of blame as well. Alex Rios, who had a .458 OPS on May 1, has homered in three of his past five games, so the window to buy-low on him is closing fast, but Adam Dunn is hitting .153 and has just three home runs after reaching at least 38 long balls in each of the past seven seasons. Meanwhile, Juan Pierre has been caught stealing more times (eight and he’s also been picked off once) than he’s been successful (six) this year. What a disaster. I’d need odds, not only because the Indians are currently 10.5 games up, but I also am somewhat of a believer in them, but I still expect the White Sox to contend for the division title. I’d be surprised if they finish lower than second.

If you’ve seen a crazier headline than this, I’d like to hear about it. If you’re interested in more depth with this story (and really, who wouldn’t be), click here.

I understand the Cardinals’ closing situation is extremely frustrating in the fantasy community (including to me, as I thought I made a savvy grab of Fernando Salas for about five minutes), but other than us, baseball fans shouldn’t be complaining. Tony LaRussa is playing matchups, and while we can’t really point to him using his best relievers in the highest leverage situations (he did the opposite in fact when he called on Ryan Franklin with the bases loaded during a tie game with two outs in the eighth inning right after removing him from the closer’s role), we also can’t expect to have it both ways. From a fantasy perspective, if forced to choose, I’d probably want to own Eduardo Sanchez most, but he just turned in a dud Wednesday. If I were to rank current murky closer situations, here’s how I’d do so: 1) Sergio Santos 2) Frank Francisco 3) Brandon League 4) Vicente Padilla 5) Mark Melancon 6) Eduardo Sanchez.

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After an 0-for-5 game Wednesday, Hanley Ramirez’s average is down to .197 on the year, and he’s yet to homer and has been caught stealing as often as he’s been successful (three). As someone who was drafted as a top-three pick in almost every fantasy league, I’d be stating the obvious calling him a buy-low candidate, but it’s worth looking at why he’s gotten off to such a terrible start to the season. Ramirez’s current walk rate (13.4%) is a career-best and his K rate (16.9%) is the second lowest of his career. However, when he’s making contact, that’s when things have gone south. His 13.6 LD% is easily the worst of his career, and disturbingly, his groundball rate continues to climb, a trend dating back to last year. After posting a 1.56 GB/FB ratio in 2010, which was his highest ever by far, Ramirez has hit 2.19 grounders to every fly ball this season. That rate improved greatly after the All-Star break last season, and there’s little reason not to believe it won’t get better over the rest of 2011 as well, but it’s an interesting career trend nevertheless. Ramirez’s .254 BABIP is sure to rise, but don’t just point to bad luck when it comes to his highly disappointing start.

Monkey rodeo? Monkey rodeo.

Pretty cool story about a girl who faked being pregnant for 6.5 months for a school project as a senior in high school.

Adrian Gonzalez swears his early lack of power is a mechanical issue and has nothing to do with his surgically repaired shoulder, but at what point do we start worrying? Those types of injuries sometimes can take a full year to recover from. He should compile nice counting stats regardless hitting in the middle of Boston’s lineup and in Fenway, but there’s a good chance Gonzalez’s HR output falls well short of expectations during his first year away from Petco Park. Holder of a career 16.8 FB/HR% during his career, Gonzalez has seen just 4.0% of his fly balls go over the fence so far in 2011.

Funny, I actually went fishing for the first time in years this past weekend. Apparently I was in the wrong lake, as this seems more my style (I’m lazy).

Fascinating idea about someone who was a complete novice at golf testing the Malcolm Gladwell 10,000 hours theory to see if he can become a professional.

Kyle Lohse has now tossed 20.1 straight scoreless innings and has a 1.64 ERA and a ridiculous 0.73 WHIP over five starts this season. His K rate (5.6) isn’t anything special, but his control has been (1.2 BB/9). Lohse has been in the league for more than 10 years now, and he owns a career 4.73 ERA and 1.42 WHIP, so there’s even more reason than normal to call this start a fluke. And even if you want to credit pitching coach Dave Duncan for the transformation, this is his fourth year in St. Louis, so that has its flaws as well. That said, I’m something of a believer. Before the year, I drafted Lohse in the reserve round of NL LABR (a 13-team NL-only format that is as deep as it gets. The reserve rounds consist mostly of fourth outfielders if you’re lucky and middle relievers) and also in WCOF. I say this not to brag, believe me I got plenty wrong during draft season and have no problem admitting as much, but I bring it up only to mention why I was buying Lohse in March, which is because I read a couple of articles with both Duncan and him talking about how he was pitching hurt the last couple of years, and he’s never felt better, something that will allow him to throw a sinking fastball that simply wasn’t in his arsenal last season (this might explain the fact that his average fastball velocity is actually a career-low so far. That or he’s going to start getting hit hard soon). While there are a lot of “best shape of my life” stories every spring training, not all should be ignored (I’d argue this even if Lohse turns into a bum from here on out. Have you seen Pablo Sandoval this year? He lost the equivalent of a 10-year old child over winter). Lohse has admittedly had an easy schedule early on, but Duncan has turned worse pitchers useful, and he keeps the ball on the ground. Also, I find it humorous when someone brings up things like BABIP and strand rate regarding pitchers like Lohse and Jered Weaver who have ERAs south of 1.75. It’s literally impossible (well maybe not literally, I guess you could post a K/9 of like 20.0 or something) to record an ERA that low without a lot of “luck” coming into play. It’s wasted breath.

Fast food lasagna – if nothing else it looks healthy.

I’ve had some messy roommates before, but this takes the cake.

It appears owners of Drew Stubbs are going to be very happy this year. He strikes out too often to hit better than .260-.270, and as a leadoff hitter in the National League, his RBI upside is limited, but he should approach 100 runs scored even with a modest OBP while hitting atop a potent Cincinnati lineup. He’s also on pace to finish with 33 homers and 52 steals. Stubbs has always had good speed, and he’s become a much better base stealer with age, but his power development is the big surprise. He hit just 28 homers over 1,588 at-bats throughout the minors, and while he’s unlikely to keep up his HR pace in 2011, it’s looking more and more like last year’s 22 long balls weren’t a fluke. After averaging one homer every 56.7 ABs in the minors, he’s hit one home run every 22.5 ABs in the majors. Stubbs plays in a favorable home park for hitters and is just now entering his prime at age 26. Few others can match his power/speed combo.

Pretty crazy explosion at a strip mall.

Terrific explanation about the recent poker debacle. Again, how is that illegal with so many poker rooms accessible in any city?

I feel like captain obvious calling Jeff Francoeur someone to sell-high, but it seems like there have been quite a few glowing reports about his improvement so far. Also, Scott Pianowski, whom I respect as much as anyone in the industry, recently offered Brett Gardner straight up for him in the Yahoo Friends & Family league (regardless of my opinion of that specific deal, I think Scott is onto something being willing to “sell-low”). So let’s take a look at Frenchy, who is currently batting .330 and knocked out his fifth homer of the young season Wednesday. He’s even added three steals and has already racked up 19 RBI over 24 games. Maybe it’s anecdotal, but Francoeur has seemingly always been a streaky hitter, so it’s important not to let when that hot streak occurs cloud our judgment, and in this case, it happening over the first month of the season makes it easier to do so. Last year he ended April with an .886 OPS only to finish the season with an OPS of .683. Of course, that really doesn’t mean much, and at age 27, it’s possible his skills have improved. It’s just the numbers don’t show that. He entered Wednesday with a .262/.313/.361 line against right-handers, and while he’s always hit southpaws fairly well, counting on his 1.483 OPS to continue against them this year is probably unrealistic. He’s also hitting more groundballs than ever (1.50 GB/FB), and most telling, his plate discipline, which has always been Francoeur’s biggest issue, has actually taken a step back. While he’s swinging at fewer pitches overall, his swing percentage at pitches in the strike zone is a career-low 63.3%, while his swing percentage at pitches outside the strike zone (38.0%) is actually higher than his career average. Let him turn back into a pumpkin on someone else’s team.

This garage is pretty legit.

Interesting debate (albeit one with a fairly obvious answer) about whether a death row inmate should be able to donate his organs.

Horseplay gone wrong, which is an understatement.

Placido Polanco is currently leading major league baseball with a .389 batting average, thanks in no small part to a ridiculous 5:10 K:BB ratio over 95 at-bats. He doesn’t offer much power or speed (although he is 22-for-25 in SB attempts since 2008, so it wouldn’t shock if he reached double digits), limiting his fantasy potential, but few hitters can help you in batting average like Polanco. And while hitting in front of Chase Utley would be more favorable, his spot in the Phillies’ lineup remains advantageous. In fact, despite having only two homers this season, he’s still on pace to finish with 108 runs and 108 RBI. Polanco remains a pretty big injury risk, considering his lingering elbow problem and age, but he’s also eligible at second base in Yahoo formats and could go down as one of the bigger fantasy steals of the year since he likely came at quite a discount.

Of course he’s a Raiders fan (I kid, but this did happen dangerously close to where I live).

An in depth look and worthwhile read about “selling junk online.”

Is 3D nothing but a total scam?

I have no idea what to make of Sam Fuld, but in my experience, guys like him without a track record are typically looked at with extreme skepticism by those who don’t own him, so I wouldn’t even bother trying to trade him. It’s easy to say he won’t sustain his early pace, but the question is how much will he regress. There have certainly been bigger long shots to come out of nowhere and be a big help to fantasy teams over the course of an entire season. It’s odd to see Fuld already have 10 steals after never eclipsing 23 stolen bases over six seasons in the minors, but that’s a category dealing mainly with effort and decision-making, so it’s not necessarily “luck.” Fuld never hit more than six homers in a season in the minors, and especially while playing in Tropicana Field, his HR upside is low. Still, he’s clearly established himself as a part of the team’s plans, and this is someone who walked more times (302) than he struck out (254) throughout the minors, so he can retain plenty of value batting leadoff in Tampa Bay even when the inevitable regression occurs.

Absolutely loved this true story penned by the writer of “A History of Violence.” I don’t want to give anything away, but I found it because of this recent news regarding the “issue.”

This article is long. Really long. But it’s more than worth it. Funnily, I found out it just won the Pulitzer Prize last week right after I read it. Above any of my other links, I recommend this one the most.

Matt Garza has had, without question, one of the strangest starts to a year you’ll ever see. His 12.03 K/9 ratio leads major league baseball by a wide margin, and his walk rate (2.64 BB/9) and groundball ratio (50.6 GB%) are both strong as well. He’s also been extremely fortunate that zero of his fly balls have gone for homers. Yet his ERA is a pedestrian 4.11 (and it could be much worse thanks to already giving up four unearned runs) and his WHIP is an atrocious 1.47. This is thanks to a .414 BABIP and 60.0 LOB%. Garza’s xFIP is currently an MLB-best 1.94. Last year’s leader in that category was Roy Halladay at 2.80. Garza’s hit rate will obviously come crashing down (his marks over the past three years were .270, .273 and .272, which is well below league average), but it’s also worth noting the Cubs’ current -9.0 UZR ranks fifth worst in baseball, so that area might be a problem throughout 2011. Also, playing in Wrigley, that HR/FB rate correction might come in a drastic way. Still, Garza, who is using his slider, curveball and changeup at much greater frequencies while dramatically cutting back on his fastball usage, has clearly demonstrated the ability to dominate NL hitters. I wouldn’t rule out him leading the National League in strikeouts this season.

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It’s easy to say Jose Tabata is playing over his head and unlikely to finish with his current .303/.410/.500 line, but fantasy owners have to be excited in what they have nevertheless. Maybe the spring training stories about him bulking up over winter should have been taken more seriously, as he’s already hit three homers after totaling just four last season. Tabata’s eight steals are also tied for the major league lead, and he’s only been caught once. His walk rate is more than two times better this year (13.9%) compared to last (6.3%), and he’s also nearly doubled his ISO (.197 compared to .101) in 2011. Tabata isn’t going to rack up the RBI hitting atop Pittsburgh’s lineup (he’s knocked in just one batter other than himself this year despite the scorching start), and there are accompanying red flags a regression is forthcoming, but he’s still just 22 years old and is a candidate to be one of the true breakout fantasy players this season.

This car thief isn’t going to let oncoming traffic or a speeding train get in his way. But he is cautious enough to have his flashers on.

This made me laugh. Someone posted the first page of David Foster Wallace’s “Infinite Jest” asking for feedback. The responses are priceless.

Josh Johnson is off to a ridiculous start, recording a 1.00 ERA, 0.59 WHIP and .112 BAA over four outings. Guys who can combine his current 9.0 K/9 ratio with a 57.4 GB% who also limit homers to such a degree (5.9 HR/FB%) are as rare of a deadly combination as you’ll find. While the latter may be a bit unsustainable, realize Johnson’s career HR/FB% is 7.1, as he’s about as tough to homer off as any pitcher in baseball. And while Chris Coghlan’s surprisingly strong defensive showing in center field so far is probably just sample size noise, it appears Florida is fielding a better defense overall than in years past. Johnson, who has even added a curveball this season, remains something of a health risk, as he’s surpassed 185.0 innings just once during his career, but he’s also perfectly capable of winning the Cy Young in 2011.

The location of this market may not be ideal.

Best resume ever.

Jose Bautista may not quite be on pace to match last season’s 54 homers, but he’s actually played even better in 2011. He entered Wednesday with a stellar .308/.455/.558 line while walking more often (14) than he’s struck out (13). Bautista has now hit 68 home runs over his past 719 at-bats. Despite being a slugger, his K rate isn’t so bad, so a .260-.280 BA should be expected. And with Toronto running like crazy this season (second-most SB in MLB) under new manager John Farrell, even 15 steals aren’t out of the question. When it came to Bautista, I was agnostic entering the year, but I’m now officially a believer. I’d currently consider him a top-15 player.

This gymnast is not messing around.

Interesting article about the possible advancement in pitcher evaluation.

Thanks to Ryan Franklin’s epic collapse to start the year (four blown saves over his first six appearances), Mitchell Boggs is an obvious add in all fantasy leagues, although he’s surely long gone by the time you read this. Still, as impressive as Boggs’ start has been (13:3 K:BB ratio over 10 innings), it’s worth noting his extreme splits could be problematic if he’s going to be used strictly in the ninth inning. For his career, Boggs has posted a 34:46 K:BB ratio over 64.0 innings against left-handers, resulting in a .328 BAA and an ugly 2.09 WHIP. He’s still developing and could improve in this area, so this isn’t necessarily a death knell, but opposing managers are going to load up on lefties when Boggs is being used in the closer’s role. Still, it’s not like the Cardinals have some great alternative right now anyway. Speaking of speculative closers, I recently spent $536 of my FAAB in WCOF on Kyle Farnsworth. Wish me luck, I’ll surely need it.

The craziest balk of all-time.

Fastest soccer goal ever.

What has gotten into Jonny Gomes? After walking just 39 times over 511 at-bats last season, he’s already taken 15 free passes over just 53 ABs so far this year. He’ll always be a batting average risk as a high strikeout, extreme fly ball hitter, but the power has always been there. Last year he actually slipped in that department, finishing with just 18 homers. The year prior, he hit 20 bombs over just 281 at-bats. Gomes has even already added three steals this year. As such a poor defender, he’s no guarantee to last as a regular, but the newfound ability to take a walk is pretty eye opening, even if it’s come in a small sample. Gomes is an interesting player right now.

An officer told him he’d never seen anyone fight someone with “a pitchfork and a pan of potatoes.”

Mouthless methhead? Mouthless methhead.

Two middle infielders who look like they can be major contributors this year who likely went undrafted in many leagues are Jed Lowrie and Jonathan Herrera. Lowrie might be the hottest hitter in all of baseball, as he’s batting .462 with three homers, nine runs scored and 11 RBI despite starting just eight games this season. The middle infielder posted a .907 OPS with a 25:25 K:BB ratio last year, and it sure helps playing in Fenway Park and in Boston’s lineup. The upside here is immense. Lowrie, who is a switch-hitter, has always fared better against southpaws, and it’s worth noting his early season production has come against a disproportionate amount of left-handers, but there’s little doubt he’s a superior hitter to Marco Scutaro. Lowrie has been injury prone throughout his career, and it should be interesting to see if he can remain a regular once his first slump strikes with Scutaro’s presence, but he has the potential to finish as a top-10 fantasy middle infielder. As for Herrera, his strong spring training has carried over into the regular season, resulting in him becoming Colorado’s everyday second baseman. With his defense and ability to take walks (he has a 4:12 K:BB ratio), it’s a job he just might keep all year. Herrera stole only two bags over 222 at-bats with the Rockies last season, but he’s got speed, so it’s encouraging to see him already have four stolen bases without getting caught in 2011. The benefits of Coors Field remain, making Herrera a legitimate option at MI even in shallow mixed leagues.

For those of you in search of a good backscratcher, this man has the answer for you.

If this doesn’t convince you of extraterrestrial life, nothing will.

Brett Anderson sure looks impressive in the early going. It’s tempting to say this is what a fully healthy Anderson can do, but strangely, he’s posted a 1.63 ERA and 1.05 WHIP despite his average fastball velocity dipping from 92.1 mph last year to 90.5 mph this season. His slider has seen an even bigger decrease (83.6 mph compared to 80.8 mph). However, Anderson has thrown his curveball with much greater frequency, as he’s tossed it 20.9% of the time versus just 9.3% last season, and it’s been his most effective offering so far in 2011. His groundball rate is way up (65.0%), and while his early pace is obviously unsustainable, there’s a real benefit to playing home games in the Coliseum. Oakland’s defense has struggled so far (-10.1 UZR/150), but they project to be a strong unit moving forward (they had a 4.8 UZR/150 last season), which should lead to a downtick in his BABIP. Teammate Trevor Cahill is also fascinating, as he’s somehow gone from a poor strikeout pitcher (5.4 K/9) last year to an elite one (9.59 K/9) this season while maintaining a terrific groundball rate. I’m far less interested in his sparkling ERA than I am his sudden ability to miss bats. What do we make of it over four starts?

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WESTERN CONFERENCE

SPURS over Grizzlies 4-1.

NUGGETS over Thunder 4-2.

MAVERICKS over Trail Blazers 4-3.

LAKERS over Hornets 4-1.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

BULLS over Pacers 4-0.

MAGIC over Hawks 4-0.

CELTICS over Knicks 4-1.

HEAT over 76ers 4-0.

ROUND TWO

SPURS over Nuggets 4-3.

LAKERS over Mavericks 4-1.

BULLS over Magic 4-3.

HEAT over Celtcis 4-3.

WEST FINALS

LAKERS over Spurs 4-2.

EAST FINALS

HEAT over Bulls 4-2.

NBA FINALS

LAKERS over Heat 4-3.

It sure was nice to see Tommy Hanson deliver seven scoreless innings Tuesday, because his start to the season was becoming a bit worrisome. Not so much the 6.00 ERA but the continued downward trend with his strikeout rate. After posting a 9.2 K/9 through July last year, Hanson fanned just 5.5 batters per nine innings over the final two months of the season. He recorded a 2.51 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP after the All-Star break, so it didn’t affect his performance, but it was an alarming drop regardless, only enhanced by the fact he totaled just three strikeouts over his first two starts in 2011. Hanson is clearly one of the game’s brightest young pitchers, but his velocity is average, and he’s now recorded more than five strikeouts just once over his past 17 starts, and he only struck out six during that outing. It’s something to keep your eye on moving forward.

This guy will laugh at getting tased multiple times, but that combined with a billy club to the face/neck is a line in which he won’t let crossed.

Josh Hamilton’s injury is obviously quite unfortunate, and it was interesting to hear him throw his third base coach under the bus afterward, although no one can blame him for being upset with the prospect of missing the next eight weeks. Hamilton’s on field game has become as volatile as his life off it once was, with his talent good enough to easily win the AL MVP despite missing an entire month last year. Forget the prodigious power, the guy hit .359 last season! He’s also a plus baserunner and very good defensively. But there’s no doubting Hamilton is also probably the single biggest health risk compared to what he’ll cost in fantasy terms. David Murphy is the obvious beneficiary, but he’s likely already rostered in your league. Despite no clear path to at-bats, Chris Davis should be grabbed in deeper formats. There remains legitimate power potential there.

This vacation didn’t go quite as planned.

I recently bet my friend, let’s call him Adam (because that’s his name) $100 that Tiger Woods wouldn’t finish with more majors than Jack Nicklaus. I don’t follow golf, but at even odds, I felt like he was being his usual clueless self. But after my buddy Scott Pianowski later gave Tiger 70/30 odds to do so (not to mention his Master’s performance), I’m now more than a little hesitant. Your guys’ thoughts?

I wrote a long paragraph recommending Brian Wilson as a buy-low Wednesday afternoon, which only looks lame now after two straight perfect innings. The gist? His horrible start (MLB-worst 33.75 ERA and a moderately subpar 5.25 WHIP at the time) could be partially blamed on missing the final couple of weeks of spring training, and while down a tick, his average fastball velocity has been fine (95.0 mph), and although it’s interesting he’s thrown his cutter (64.9%) far more often than his heater (35.1%), essentially the opposite of his career usage, that’s probably nothing to look into long-term. As a Giants fan I can tell you Wilson had been squeezed on a couple of close calls that turned an otherwise clean inning into a disaster, and while that doesn’t excuse his poor pitching after the questionable call, it reveals just how fickle relief pitching can be. After his first two appearances this year (totaling 1.1 innings), Wilson needed to toss 24 consecutive scoreless innings to match his ERA from last season. And seriously, dude looks like a completely different human being in his Yahoo photo.

Pretty good timing by the security guard when he finally reaches the cockpit of this runaway tractor.

Sticking with the Walmart theme, there’s also this.

With the season just underway, and nothing to talk about regarding upcoming drafts, yet barely any data to effectively discuss what’s happened so far in the season, this time of year is without question the toughest to write. It’s worthless discussing a player’s hot or cold start, but looking over how they got there is at least somewhat interesting, if not still possibly meaningless moving forward. For instance, Derek Jeter, Buster Posey, Carlos Gonzalez and Joe Mauer’s groundball tendencies. These four are all off to extremely disappointing starts, and we need not look further than their GB/FB ratios as to see why. Jeter “leads” MLB with a stunning 7.67 GB/FB ratio. For comparison, the highest GB/FB rate last season was 3.60 (also Jeter). Posey is currently sporting a 7.33 mark, so it’s no surprise he has just one extra-base hit on the season. With a 3.80 GB/FB ratio, it’s no secret why Carlos Gonzalez is still searching for his first homer of 2011, and Mauer’s 3.50 mark (combined with a 6.9 LD%!) is a big reason for his slow start. No doubt these are extremes that will all normalize, but it does help explain their poor performance thus far.

The cops clearly assessed this situation correctly before leaving the scene.

Toddler drinking alcohol at Applebee’s? Toddler drinking alcohol at Applebee’s.

I’m intrigued by Chris Young (the pitcher). Sure, he remains one of the league’s biggest injury risk and is already dealing with a biceps issue, but he may very well prove to be one of the bigger bargains, as he was a mere pittance on draft day. There’s no denying Petco Park helped him, but Young has been respectable on the road throughout his career, with a 4.12 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and a .221 BAA. An extreme fly ball pitcher (which really helps his WHIP), Young no doubt benefitted from Petco when it came to homers, but his career HR/FB% on the road is a still strong 8.3%, as he’s simply difficult to hit. Besides, Citi Field actually ranked as a harder place to homer than Petco last season according to park factors, and while that’s obviously got some sample size problems, the new Mets’ stadium clearly benefits the pitcher. Young isn’t going to post elite K:BB ratios, and it’s also worth noting his fastball velocity remains down (84.7 mph) compared to the past, but he hasn’t averaged as high as 89.0 mph since 2006, and at 6-10, his release point makes his pitches deceptive, and he can be plenty effective even at modest speeds. Don’t get me wrong, he hasn’t thrown 105.0 innings in a season since 2007 and has never reached 180.0 during his career and is also sure to regress from his hot start, but Young can be useful even in shallow mixed leagues while healthy.

I’m going to go ahead and call the new Foo Fighters my favorite “rock” album over the last decade (and I don’t mean bands like The White Stripes, which right or wrong, I’d call more indie. Think Soundgarden mainstream). Really impressed.

In this lady’s defense, she was probably better than the mohel Elaine hired.

I’ve always been a big Howie Kendrick fan, so it’s going to frustrate me to no end if this is the year he truly breaks out when he’s somehow not on a single fantasy roster of mine. After matching his career-high with 10 home runs over 616 at-bats last season, Kendrick has clubbed four long balls over 12 games so far in 2011. And while it’s probably safe to say his 40.0 HR/FB% will drop, it took him only 374 ABs to hit 10 homers in 2009, and he’s just now entering his power prime at age 27. While his current .355 BABIP is on the high side, it’s not that far off his career rate of .339, and his 11.5 BB% is a career-best by a wide margin. In fact, Kendrick is showing real signs of improvement in the early going, as his O-Swing% (percentage of pitches swung at outside the strike zone) is 24.5%, which is about 10% better than his career average. His power/speed combo is limited, but as I’ve said too many times before, Kendrick is capable of winning a batting title one of these years.

This is a bit dated now, but I can appreciate a good April Fool’s joke. I like how she licked the iPad three seconds after she says “I’m not licking an iPad.”

It’s possible this is the worst article I’ve ever read.

I’m beginning to grow concerned about Francisco Liriano. After regaining velocity last season, his fastball has averaged just 91.6 mph so far this year compared to 93.7 mph in 2010, a significant drop, especially since that pitch has been a whopping 34.5 runs below average throughout his career, according to Fangraphs. He simply can’t be successful while throwing at that speed since he’s never had pinpoint command to begin with. His slider, which can be one of the best pitches in baseball, is also down 1.2 mph compared to last season. Pitchers typically pick up velocity as the year goes on, and that might absolutely be the case here, but after he dealt with an arm injury in spring training, we simply have no idea how close to full health he is. Anyone who throws a slider at that frequency is always at greater risk for injury anyway. I’m a big fan of Liriano, but while his 2.95 xFIP, which was the second lowest in all of baseball last year, suggests he could have won the Cy Young in 2010 had more luck gone his way, Minnesota currently fields what appears to be one of the worst defenses in the league (which makes this ridiculous comment by Ron Gardenhire even crazier), so his hit rate may not see the expected regression. Having Target Field as his home certainly helps, but Liriano’s nine walks over 13.0 innings this season combined with his decreased velocity may be a sign he’s dealing with yet another arm injury.

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