Opening Day 2008-The State of Baseball

The Nationals and Braves open it up tonight in the Nats new ball park with Tim Hudson and Odalis Perez. Goodness, opening with Odalis Perez tells you what the Nats rotation looks like!
I'm excited about tomorrow and probably will stay home from work and check it all out.

I went looking for some Reds tickets on-line recently and it got me thinking about the state of baseball today. Not really all the steroids/HGH crap that I'm tired of, but where the game is heading with the children of this country.

Other than Baseball Tonight, it's become increasingly hard to find baseball on TV. Fox is continually improving their highlight shows and you get that one game a Saturday but not until the middle of the summer. The Foxsports satellites like Foxsports South and Ohio shows games but not all cable companies offer them. If you want to get all the games, you have to pay 15 dollars a month to watch it on MLB.COM but how many people have a computer monitor that you can enjoy the games on or a computer that can handle the streaming?

Less and less kids are playing baseball. I was just thinking last week about where a baseball field kids can get to in my community is even at. I remember playing wiffle ball every Sunday. Most yards are so small now that kids can't even do that. When I was at ESPN the Weekend a few weeks ago, someone asks Peter Gammons about the issue. He was at a loss and said even baseball havens like Sarasota were seeing the same problems.

Fantasy baseball is picking up. Someone needs to develop kid-specific fantasy leagues or a father and son league for kids to participate in. Get your kids involved in your league. My 8 year old is drafting in a league this week.

Baseball card prices continue to rise. When I was a kid in the 80's, 50 cents was the top price you'd pay for a pack and you actually got a bunch of cards in it. Now, for $2.99, you might get 8 cards. There were three brands: Donruss, Fleer, and Topps. Now, there are about 25.

Baseball ticket prices are up 12%. My wife and I are both teachers and I truely can't afford to take my family to a game. That may also say something about teaching salaries. I live about two hours away from Cincy. After tickets, food, and gas, I'm looking at $175 minimum to see a game.

I'm not sure I have any answers but I'd love to see the "genious" that is MLB management come up with some strategies to get kids back involved at an affordable price.

Your Watch List

This might be one of the most important things a good fantasy player will do through out the year. Make and maintain a watch list. Of everything you and I have read this year we havn't got a true crystal ball to how some of these guys will perform. Spring training is just that spring training, not the real season. Well the last week or so might be as close as it gets to the true thing but there is still going to be suprises out there. Find you a few guys that have had a pretty good spring and watch them the first few weeks and compare them to the one or two guys on your roster that you are already asking yourself, why did I even draft this jackass.
Here are a couple I have already targeted to watch as the seaon unfolds:
Chris Snyder, the Diamondbacks catcher went undrafted in our league which is ten teams deep. Check to see if he could be available in yours. With the catcher always the thin spot you are looking for anyone that can hit .260-.270 and get you a few knocks a month, Snyder might be able to fill that need for you. I really like everything I have read on him this spring.
Another guy I think is worth watching is Brandon Inge of the Detroit Tigers. Inge is going to fill in for Granderson until his broken finger heals. Inge is only elgible at 3B, but when Granderson gets back Inge will be one of those guys you can keep on your bench with eligibilty at 3B and the OF. This is going to be the time for him to prove himself, if it works out he could help your fantasy team at more then one spot, we all like that.
And how many leagues drafted this guy, Skip Schumaker of the St. Louis Cardinals. I understand the Cardinals will be down this year, but this guy did have a nice spring. Will it continue as the season starts for real? Schumaker is going to lead off and play RF for a manager that is out of rehab and showing so much man love for Bobby Knight, well that's another story. All that aside, put this guy on your watch list and let's "PLAY BALL"

Two Start Pitchers WK 1

Countdown to the real opening day.................Here are the important two start pitchers for week 1. It's big time important to watch out for two-start pitchers. I try to keep one roster spot open to drop and add a two-start pitcher every week. It could be the difference in winning and losing in head-to-head leagues when you talk about 5 to 15 points per week possible.

*Johan Santana (NYM) will be at Florida and at HotLanta.

*Jake Peavy and Chris Young (SD) will be home versus Houston and LA.

*CC Sabathia (Indians) will be home against the CWSox and at Oakland.

*Harang (Reds) will be at home in Great American against Arizona and Philly.

*Erik Bedard (Ms) will be at his new home against Texas and back at his old home against the Os.

*Carlos Zambrano (Cubs) will have his crazy butt at home vs the BrewCrew and Houston.

*Roy Halladay (Jays) will be at Yankee stadium and home vs Boston. Ugly start for him!

*Brandon Webb (D-Backs) will be at Cincy and at Colorado. He'll be pitching in two big time hitters parks but it'll probably be pretty chilly for both games so it shouldn't matter.

*Justin Verlander (Tigers) will be at home vs. KCity and the White Sox.

*Ben Sheets (Brewers) will be at the Cubbies and at San Fran. He'll probably be on the DL by the end of the week.

*Jared Weaver (Angels) Weaver was selected today to be the opening day starter for the Halos. He'll be at the Twins and home against the Rangers.

MLB Notes 3-27-08

Well Spring Training is winding down and it's time for opening day Monday........oh wait.....Did the A's and Red Sox already play two? Rediculous. For me, opening day is MONDAY which is the way it should be. While the Sox and A's get readjusted to normal time, the rest of the league will open up Monday and Tuesday. Spring Training brought quite a few injuries but to me was rather uneventful. I'm already irritated with Dusty Baker. I was hopeful the Reds were on a road to something positive this year but I've got a bad feeling they will go right in the crapper like ususal. Hurry up Jay Bruce and Homer Bailey and get back where you belong.

Rich Harden has already rang up 9 Ks. Manny is actually playing hard so far and has 5 RBIs. Good luck in your first fantasy week.

Spring Training Notes 3-24-08

**The D-Rays sent Evan Longoria to the minors and the Marlins sent Maybin to double A. These teams join the Reds and Cardinals as the latest idiots in Major League Baseball. Guess what D-Rays and Marlins?? You're going to finish dead last in your divisions. Let them play. You're going to suck either way.

**Jim Edmonds is heading to the DL............big surprise.

**Looks like Brian Roberts is now NOT going to the Cubs. This is big positive news for my Reds. By the way, somebody wake up Dusty Baker.

**Here's my take on the opening series starting tomorrow in Japan...................It's RE-COCK-ULOUS. Continued fantastic leadership from Bud Selig. Send two teams away for a week with a 10 hour time change. It'll take them two weeks to recover. By the way, the game comes on at 6:05 am EST. They'll be tons of people watching that one at 2 am PCT. I've said it a half million times.....Bud Selig is a tool.

**Kerry Wood will be the Cubbies closer.

Spring Training Notes Easter Day 2008

Tons of injuries already in MLB.

**Curtis Granderson will start the season on the DL after breaking his finger.

**Jeff Kent still isn't ready to play. He's old and decrepid.

**Scott Kazmir still isn't throwing well and will be on the DL when the season starts.

**Saltalamaachia could be heading to triple A. That sucks for some of you'll because the catcher position is thin.

**Edwin Encarnacion is still stinking it up. My sleeper of the year is looking like he's going to sleep.

**Miguel Cabrera just signed 8 years for $153 million. Good gracious, that re-cock-ulous. A guy that was 40 pounds overweight just a year ago getting some serious bread. Maybe he'll hire a chef and full-time trainer to keep his fat-butt out of the fridge.

**Long time Brave catcher Javy Lopez announced his retirement. He hasn't been fantasy worthy in 4 or 5 years and I never liked his contact rate as a fantasy player. I don't think he cares what I think b/c he's wicked rich and probably never has to work another day in his life.

Spring Training Notes 3-21-08

Not much going on in Spring Training the last few days but here's a few notes:

**Rich Hill- what is going on with you. 1 2/3 innings and 6 walks??? You didn't walk one single batter last spring. Get it together man.............I drafted you as my third pitcher!

**The Reds sent Jay Bruce to Louisville. They'll use Patterson and Hopper in center and Freel everywhere on the field. If they're smart, it won't be long until he's back up. Wake up Dusty Baker. The Cardinals also sent Cody Rasmus down to triple A. The Cards suck badly, so he shouldn't be down long.

**Yovani Gallardo and Scott Kazmir will open the season on the DL. Hurry back Kazmir, I need you in my starting lineup.

Spring Training Notes 3-19-08

**Josh Hamilton (OF-Rangers) continues to dominate. He's hitting .594 and 12 RBIs in 12 Spring Training games. He'd look a lot better in a Red's jersey. I have him in my fantasy lineup so hopefully that tear will continue on into the regular season for 162 games!

**Kerry Wood is still an injured wussy. Image that.....back spasms. Kerry, go get your panties out of your mom's purse.

**The Red Sox took up for their coaching staff b/c they weren't getting paid $40,000 stipend like the players to go play the first series in Japan. You're still finishing 2nd or 3rd in the AL East Red Sox Nation.

**Shields will start the opening game for the D-Rays. This will give him 2 starts for week 1. Important stuff you better be looking at.

**Jamie Moyer pitched pretty well for the Phils today. No fantasy value but he's 187 years old today and probably threw some pitches around 55 mph.

**Pujols is still tearing it up. He's got 5 homers and 15 RBI in 15 games this spring and hitting .381. He still scares me b/c two months in, when the Cards are still in dead last in the NL Central, he'll shut it down and get the elbow surgery.

**The D-Rays are thinking about sending Longoria down to the minors for a month or so. The Reds will probably do the same to Bruce and Cueto. I think those are all rediculous moves but at least I'll get to see Bruce and Cueto up close in Louisville for a while.

**Still no movement on the Brian Roberts to the Cubs deal. That's good b/c I didn't get Roberts in my fantasy draft and I don't want to see him in the NL Central to improve that already potent Cubbies lineup.

**On a non-baseball note, good luck to my Kentucky Wildcats tomorrow in Cali vs. Marquette. The Cats need a W for some respect. It's been a long season in Big Blue Nation. LIVE BLUE!

Don't Rest After Draft Day

Ok, so you think you had a pretty good draft day. Where do I go from here? Do I feel comfortable enough to just sit back and go with these guys? IN a word - No! The draft was fun but there's still plenty to do if you want to contend for your league title. One of the first things I like to do after my draft is print out a couple of recent "experts" drafts. There is always a few at the regular places we all visit on a daily basis. Try to find one that was done after or as close to your draft as possible. Just like everyday life things change fast in fantasy baseball also, so stay up to date.
Why you ask do I want to print out an experts draft. Well why do you think they call them experts. I want to know if some expert drafted someone that went undrafted in my draft, you getting the picture here. When you print out an experts draft you can usually start at about round 6-7 to even start looking, nobody misses anyone drafted this fast. These so called experts are doing this for a living and don't think they are maybe not holding back the love for someone that they really think can bust out this year. Like I said they are doing this for a living. If I worked for ESPN or Foxsports or SportingNews or anywhere doing this as my income producer, don't you think me winning the experts league would make my resume look much better than the guy that finished last in an experts league. Trust me these guys become free agents just like the players do. How do you think the Talented Mr. Roto got his job at ESPN in the first place. It wasn't because he has a face for TV. He has come a long way to where he sits on the throne at ESPN with some kind of fancy fantasy head writer title there. And wouldn't you think he wants to win the ESPN experts league to prove his worth.
This is just one example of many writers at many sites you can cross reference your draft results with. You ever heard you only get out of something what you put into it. If this sounds like too much work for you then I invite you to play in our league next year.........GO REDS..........And yes Peter Edward Rose does belong in the Hall of Fame

My Fantasy Draft

One of my favorite days of the year, right along with opening day, is draft day. I always go into the draft feeling I can own it. This year was no different....then why am I not feeling as good this year as I usually do with my team. We finally got ten guys willing to lose their hard earned money and they all showed up ready and willing to do so. If I sound a little like Pete Rose here it's all in fun. But again like Pete always said if you can back it up it's not bragging, only kidding guys. I had a great time drafting as I always do. The chilli was so good and the cookies, well let's just say that I might have had one or two.
Let's get to the draft.......I wanted Matt Holiday bad enough that I would have taken him where he went, number two overall. Yes A-Rod went first. I had seventh pick and took another favorite of mine in David Wright and on the way back up I got Jimmy Rollins. At this point I was feeling pretty good about getting two players I consider first round picks heading into the third round. Well like I said we had ten players this year and it gets thin fast, but hey that's what makes it more fun. In the third round I got Justin Verlander as the third pitcher taken after Santana and Peavy. I think he has a great chance to put up ace fantasy numbers this year. Does anyone have a more potent lineup behind him than Verlander.
I don't have the draft board in front of me but it went pretty much like the mock drafts I have done online. With the exception of Victor Martinez, going as the third pick overall it was a normal draft. I think my biggest suprise was how thin the OF spot was, this only made me want Holliday more. All this said, move Holliday up your board a few spots and everyone have a great draft.

Fanatsy Drafts in full-swing and MY DRAFT

Fantasy drafts are happening on-line and in basements all over the United States this week. We had our draft on Sunday. I always think the draft is the most fun day of fantasy baseball right next to collecting the cash. There were some interesting picks in our 10 team foxsports.com league. The first two picks went as I expected with A-Rod and Matt Holliday going 1/2. The third was a big shocker as Victor Martinez left the board. That's right, I just said Victor Martinez was our 3rd pick!!!! I picked Utley 4th. Some people will never read this again after reading that tidbit. No, I wasn't drunk. I actually had him ranked 5th on my board and then I remembered that girly outfit and man-purse that Jose Reyes had on at the Pittsburg All-Star Parade and just couldn't take him. The 1st round finished out with Puljos, Hanley Rameriz, David Wright, Jose Reyes, Johan Santana, and Miguel Cabrera.

Round-2

Carl Crawford
Ryan Howard
Jimmy Rollins
Prince Fielder
David Ortiz
Vlad
Magglio Ordonez
Russell Martin
Carlos Lee

The two catchers going early was surprising and prompted me to take Mauer in the 4th round after McCann got snatched up too in that round.

Spring Training Notes 3-13-08

**Ichiro finally got a hit after going 0-21. Nice job. I'm still not drafting him in the first 6 rounds.

**Cross Curt Schilling off your list. He just got placed on the 60 day DL. He is my least favorite player anyway. I'd love to see Clemen's HGH butt smack Schilling in the mouth. The Yanks will own the Red Sox this year.

**Great night for me today on a personal note. My two least favorite college basketball teams got bounced today from their conference tourneys.............so long Loserville and Florida GAYtors.

**Billy Crystal struck out today for the Yanks. He almost got a hit, but it just bounced foul.

The Year The Reds Contend ?????

Is it finally time that my Reds become contenders instead of pretenders again. I find a lot things to be excited about this year. I also find a few things that tells me not to get too excited, so let's see what happens this year. First, I am excited about all the young players that could make the twenty five man roster when the Reds break camp at the end of the month. Where do we start, Joey Votto has nothing left to prove about being a solid major league first baseman. Votto might not be tearing it up this spring but trust me he has talent, with a great command of the strike zone. The hits and average will be there as they have been at every stop in the minors. Now as to what I am not real excited about in Votto. New Reds manager Dusty Baker seems to not trust the youngsters as he does the veterans so don't be surprised to see Scott Hatteberg getting plenty of starts at 1B as well. I do have mixed feeling here as Hatteberg had a pretty solid year last season, I guess I just want to see what Votto can do given the everyday job. Next thing I am excited about is OF Jay Bruce who is everybody's minor league player of the year. Now again, does Baker go with the veteran or give the "Minor League Player of the Year" a real chance to prove himself at Great American Ballpark. This next young guy that I think everyone already knows is Homer bailey and the 90+ fast ball he throws. He had some limited success last season before the injury bug hit him and was sent back to triple A Louisville for an extended period of time. This year Bailey will get a fresh start GAB and if you can pitch there you can pitch anywhere. Bailey hasn't been having the greatest of springs as of yet and he might get some competion form a couple of other guys trying to make the rotation. Johnny Cueto and Edinson Volquez, are having a pretty good spring so far. Speaking of Pitching, Aaron Harang puts up league leaders stats year in and year out but gets no love when the Cy Young is awarded....could this be his year to capture this award. Yes Harang can feel a little more confident when he leaves the game with a lead now. And speaking of leaving, if you want Harrang you better get ready to spend an early pick on draft day or he will leave the board along with the top tier K's he will put up. The Reds filled one of their biggest holes in the off season by adding a proven closer in Francisco Cordero. How many times did the bullpen blow a lead in the eighth or ninth ining last season. I think adding Cordero means at least 10-12 more wins. After Harang the pitching does get a little average with Bronson Arroyo the number two and followed by Matt Belisle, and whoever wins the last spot in the rotation.

We have already talked about 1B so let's move over to 2B and another of the leagues most underrated player in Brandon Philips. You will want to grab this guy early in your fantasy drafts. Philips is a top five 2B with 187 hits and 30 HR's to go with 94 RBI's and enough speed to steal 32 bases last season you can see why he will leave the board early.

The Reds also have a pretty solid OF with Dunn and Griffey manning the corners and probably the center field spot being shared by a number of players that might not get enough AB's to matter a lot in fantasy terms.

And last will this be the year that Edwin Encarnacion becomes the player everyone thinks he can become. The Reds also will start the season with SS Alex Gonzalez and C David Ross fighting nagging injuries. All in all the Cubbies better not order the Central Division title trophy yet. The Brewers will also be in the mix but being the homer I am I say: Yes this could be the Reds year to contend.

Ichiro is on fire?

NOPE. Ichiro Suzuki is now 0-21 for the spring. He's not exactly tearing it up after batting .353 last year. He'll come on once the lights come on. I still don't think he's anything more than the 30th plus pick in any fantasy draft. Even batting .353 last year, he scored less points than players like Corey Hart and Shane Victorino. I did get a chance to see Ichiro take batting practice during the American League All-Star practice day before the Home Run Derby in Pittsburgh two years ago and that dude is unbelievable. I still say at 165 pounds, he could hit 40 homers any season if that's what he wanted to do. In that batting practice, he put numerous balls in the river and was hitting the ball as far as Ryan Howard. I was pretty intoxicated, but I'm pretty sure I didn't dream that!

Great article on draft strategy

I normally dog the foxsports.com fantasy writers b/c I think they either don't study or might be smokin crack while they are writing but Roger Rotter has an excellent article today on foxsports.com about draft strategy. It's pretty much right on the money regardless of what kind of a league you play in.

http://msn.foxsports.com/fantasy/story/7848640

Spring Training Notes 3-10-08

**The Big Unit looked like crap in his opening game trying to come back from a very disappointing 2007. Looks like 1 1/3 and 3 earned runs and a strikeout.

**Josh Beckett looks like he'll start the regular season on the DL after his back spasms worsened today. I have them from time to time and they're no fun and I don't get my butt off the couch most of the time. I can't imagine pitching with them.

**Reds and Yanks today with pretty much their best lineups on the field and a great pitching matchup between Homer Bailey and Joba Chamberlain. Jay Bruce is starting in center for the Reds along with Votto at first. That is exciting!

Interesting Player Comparisons

In looking over and comparing some players a little farther in the draft, it's interesting to see just how close some players in fantasy points........Based on 2007 numbers:

**(Outfield) Most sites have Ichiro Suzuki in their overall top 20, but Ichiro averaged 2.70 fantasy points per game last year which computes to roughly 16 fantasy points per week. As compared to somenoe like Soriano who averaged 3.13 pionts per game, Ichiro only scored about 2 to 3 less points per week but over a season, it adds up. You can get Ichiro early, or wait around and get Shane Victorino in the 10th round and get the same production. I can't really see Ichiro better a .353 batting average. Here are some other outfielders and their averages:
Soriano-3.13
Nick Markakis-3.1
Cory Hart-3.00
Shane Victorino-2.71
Carl Crawford-3.18 (in almost everyone's top 15)
Tori Hunter-2.9 (monster year last year)

Top 15 overall revisited

A lot of my top 15 is based on my points per game system from the point system I like to to use the most. You get 1 point per base, a point for a walk, RBI, run, and two for a steal. You get a negative point for a strikeout or caught stealing. For pitchers: 6 for wins, 1 per inning pitched and strikeouts, and a negative point for earned runs and 2 negative points for losses. We also use 3 points for saves. Here are the points per game for last year in my top 15. Obviously, you have to base much of it on drafting by position too. A number over 4.00 for a batter is rediculous and anything over 3.00 is good. By the way, Pujols is not here because of elbow issues and he still showed a 3.58 point per/game average last year. For pitchers, anything over 11 is really good. I'm also starting to re-think not putting Braun into this list with a 3.72 as well as Carlos Lee's 3.38. It sounds like Carlos Beltran is having trouble with both of his knees that he had surgury on in the off-season.

1-Alex Rodriguez 3B (Yankees) ========4.39
2-Johan Santana P (Mets) ======13.5
3-Matt Holiday OF (Rockies)=======3.78
4-Jose Reyes SS (Mets) ========3.73
5-Chase Utley 2B (Phillies)=====3.73
6-David Ortiz DH (Red Sox) =======3.93
7-David Wright 3B (Mets) =========3.70
8-Jimmy Rollins SS (Phillies) =======4.03
9-Jake Peavy P (Padres) ======14.8
10-Hanley Rameriz SS (Marlins)=====3.83
11-Vlad Guerrero OF (Angels) ======3.58
12-Prince Fielder 1B (Brewers) =====3.49
13-Magglio Ordonez (Tigers) =======3.90
14-Carlos Beltran OF (Mets)=======3.47
15-Miguel Cabrera 3b (Tigers) ========3.17

Young Catchers to watch Towles and Soto

Two good young catchers you might want to snag in your draft are Geovany Soto from the Cubs and J.R. Towles from the Astros. Soto came up for the Cubbies at the end of 2007 and looked great batting .389 with 3 homers and 8 RBIs in just 18 games after being named the Pacific Coast League MVP. His on-base was also impressive at .433. I got a chance to watch Towles in the opening spring training game and he looked brutal at the plate. Since then, he's looked really good. Towles put up similar numbers to Soto in 2007. He came up from the minors and posted a .375 average and .432 on-base in just 14 games. Towles began 2007 in single A ball and finished in the majors. Both are expected to start and should be nice options at a catching position that looks dismal for fantasy owners this year.

More Troubling Pujols news

Albert Pujols continues to scare me with all of the elbow talk. News today says that Pujols has a torn ligament in his throwing elbow, bone spurs, inflamation, and arthritis in the elbow joint. At some point, he will have total reconstruction surgury on the elbow. He wants to wait until the end of the year but it'll have to hold up all year for that to happen. Look for him to DH in all interleague play games. I can't see Albert going in the top rounds of fantasy drafts this year but I might be wrong. He did go 2-3 yesterday with a homer and a single in spring training. The elbow problem led to 17 fewer homers, 34 few RBIs, and a lower slugging percentage but his average and on-base stayed pretty much the same last year as compared to the previous few.

Watch out for Keppinger!

Watch out for the new Big Red Machine's Jeff Keppinger. Now that it looks like Gonzalez may miss a substantial amount of time, if not the season, the starting SS job should belong to Keppinger. Thank goodness because I don't care to see Gonzalez on the field. He came on at the end of 2007 and tore the baseball up. He came in and batted .322 with 32 extra base hits and 32 RBI in just 67 games and posted a .400 OBP. The stat I love is that he only struck out 12 times and walked 24 times in 265 plate apperances. He can play any position on the diamond. This could be a big time sleeper that will qualify for SS and 3B.

American and National League Early Picks 2008

Spring Training has barely begun but here are my early picks to head to the playoffs from the American and National leagues.

AL East-Wide open between the Yanks, Red Sox, and I'd watch out for the Blue Jays. I think they're going to give the Yanks and Red Sox a run if their pitching stays healthy. I really think the Yanks will be the one.

AL Central-Tigers

AL West-Angels

Wild Card-Indians

NL East-It's another wide open race between the Mets, Phillies, and Braves. I'm not sure how anyone in his right mind could pick against the Mets with that rotation, a solid bullpen, and that lineup, but after seeing the Braves on stage at ESPN the Weekend, I'm going out on a limb and saying the Braves could get it done.......but they won't-METS.

NL Central-My heart tells me the Reds can get it done in a close race with the Cubs and the Brew-Crew. If the young pitching comes through in the starting rotation, the bullpen is finally strong enough to get it done. This is a wide open division with the exception of the Cardinals. I think 5 of the 6 teams could come through and win this division.

NL West-This one is all Dodgers and D-Backs. The Dodgers have a better lineup and bullpen. The D-Backs have a really strong starting rotations. This one will go down to the wire with the Dodgers finally getting it done.

NL Wild Card-Here's where the Braves will come in and get back to the playoffs after a big 1 year drought.

Brian Roberts to the Cubs????

It sounds likely that Brian Roberts will be heading to Chicago to play for the Cubbies. This is a huge move for the Cubs if it happens. This will give them a ligit leadoff hitter with a ton of speed and I think it moves Roberts up the ladder at 2B. If it happens, the Cubs lineup becomes brutal.

1-Roberts
2-Fukodome
3-Soriano
4-Derek Lee
5-Aramis Rameriz
6-Pie/Theriot
7-Pie/Theriot
8-Soto
9-Pitcher's spot

ESPN the Weekend at Disney

ESPN the weekend at Disney was pretty cool. We got a front row seat to the commercial for Baseball Tonight that will air on Sunday March 2nd with the crew and the Disney characters. John Kruk sort of looked like one of the Disney characters up close. We also got to see Inside Baseball Tonight with Ravich and the crew with Berkman, Oswalt, McCann, Tim Hudson, Francour, and Texeria. That was great. Berkman is a funny dude. Francour and Texeria were great too. After seeing that, I think the chemistry of the Braves may put them right there in the fight for the NL East. As a side note, Carl Ravich comes off to me as a complete turd off camera. My son and I also got a up-close look at Cal Ripkin Jr, Gary Carter, John Franco, and Jim Palmer being interviewed on the big stage and taking questions from the audience. Ripkin is a good fella.
So long from sunny Florida.

Grapefruit League opening weekend

We made it to the first spring training game of the year. The Indians and Astros Spring Training Opener wasn't much of a spectacle. The Astros didn't bring much of a lineup and started Wandy Rodriguez on the hill. The Indians opened with a minor leaguer on the hill and the normal starting lineup except Johnny Perralta. Nothing big to see b/c the Astros didn't get their first hit until the sixth. It was sort of like watching paint dry. The Tribe will be moving to Arizona next year for Spring Training. The stadium in Winter Haven will be turned into houses and condos. I have no doubt, it's time for that place to be bulldozed. It looked like the stadium in Major League for sure! My son did catch two homers in batting practice and the experience was pretty cool as a whole.