LorfTVP

That's what I was thinking...but I wholeheartedly disagree with your Helton statement. This man batted .320 last year and has a career .337 BA. He still had a robust .445 OBP which was tops in the major leagues, .005 over Jason Giambi. He has a career .374 BA at Coors and a respectable .297 career BA elsewhere. He hit .353 after the break. There's no way he'll hit .270 unless he decides to play the season swinging with one arm.

So yah, I'm coming to you guys for advice in FB, believe it or not. I'm in a keeper league and my top guys are Pujols, Abreu, Cabrera, Wright, Helton, Reyes, V.Martinez, and Halladay. The top four are set as Pujols (2), Abreu (10.67), Wright (11.86), and Cabrera (11.57). The rankings are from averages I made from ESPN, TSN, MLB, FOX, SI, Yahoo, and Funston's Big Board. But yah, I can't decide between Helton, Reyes, and Martinez. I'm not gonna bother with Halladay because pitching is harder to get. Helton will give me a huge boost in BA but he plays at a deep position and my BA will be set with Pujols and Cabrera. Victor Martinez is the best at a weak position but his ability is average when compared to the other names. Reyes is one of the tops at SS and could carry my team in steals...add those to Abreu's steals and there's about 90 right there. I'm leaning towards keeping Reyes as my fifth keeper but I dunno...what do you guys think?

I'm not sure if I really believe you...unless this was a three person league. Judging by your lack of track record, blatant misspellings of superstar names, and the fact that you have on average #1 A-rod, #2 Pujols, #4 Ramirez, #8 Lee, #17 Ichiro. Don't toy with me.

God ol' Wake pitched four scoreless innings with two hits and two walks. I'm quite encouraged by Crisp's .615 BA (8/13) with a couple of walks. I know it's only spring training but I'd like to think the kid was worth Marte.

I'm not saying to go entirely on what I say...know that. Jeff Mathis will probably split time with the defensively superior Jose Molina to start the season but should win the starting job in a month or so. Sportingnews.com: With Bengie Molina gone, the Angels will begin the season with zero catchers among the top 25 in our rankings. That doesn't mean you should turn a cold shoulder to Mathis. He's a career .333 hitter in the majors. OK, so he has only three big-league at-bats. But he'll get 300-something more this year, and his numbers last year at Triple-A (.276-21-73 in 112 games) show he's ready. (Rob Hurtt/TSN) FoxSports: Catcher — The departure of Bengie Molina means that younger brother Jose and prospect Jeff Mathis will be competing for the job. Mike Scioscia will probably favor the veteran hand in the early going, but Mathis' superior bat will eventually hold sway. Expect Mathis to be the regular by June. So I wouldn't go drafting him now, and he won't be anything amazing, but he's a better option than people drafting Jose Molina. As for Josh Willingham, he should start to begin the year but his defense may move him to another position. Regardless, he'll get his ABs...but be prepared for freshman slumps. FoxSports: This is Willingham's age-27 season already, so it's definitely time to see what he can do. The Marlins are planning on letting him compete for the starting job at catcher, though they may prefer to go with Miguel Olivo, who has quite a bit more potential defensively. Willingham's bat would likely play OK in left field, but he might be a problem defensively there, too, depending on how long it takes him to adjust. Either way, the Marlins need to get him at least 400 plate appearances. He might be their second-best hitter, depending on whether Hermida is truly ready or not. With excellent on-base skills and 20-homer power, he should have at least a few quality seasons in him. RotoAuthority: Josh Willingham will play both catcher and left field, which is great for his playing time total. The Marlins absolutely need him in the lineup as much as possible. My current projection for 397 ABs will be rising, and that could mean a good 22 HR. The only question is his batting average. I said .275, PECOTA .247, Bill James .279, and ZiPS .238. Where he falls within that huge range will affect his value greatly. Willingham hit .324 in 219 Triple A at-bats last year. SportingNews: Willingham is a hot hitting prospect who should play plenty for the talent-bare Marlins. In Triple-A last season, he hit .324 with 19 homers and 54 RBIs. His apparent lack of defensive skill could cost him playing time, but Florida might be willing to overlook that in order to inject life into its lineup. He's a value buy for what you'd get from him...meaning you can safely avoid the catcher rush, maybe, and concentrate elsewhere. Either that or he'd make a good backup backstop.

Cantu? Well...good player, multiple position eligibility, great power for MI...but he strikes out a lot and doesn't walk, much like most young players. Expect his BA to digress a bit but he's still going to hit at least 20 HRs and get maybe 90/90 in an improved Devil Ray lineup.

I'm not too worried about the bullpen...especially when you compare it to last years. With Wells staying, barring a trade, our bullpen will be Foulke-Timlin-Riske-Tavarez-Seanez-Arroyo-Papelbon...which would rank among one of the better bullpens in the game. If Foulke were to falter, Timlin would get the first shot at saves, but they like him in the setup role better.

How did Foulke go undrafted? That is an amazing waiver wire pickup, and if he doesn't produce, eh, won't kill you. As for Prince Fielder, he will produce, that goes without question. Odds are he won't dazzle with average, .270 maybe, but he'll probably hit 30 HRs and with that have at least 90+ rbis. Definitely someone you can safely start at first base but don't expect him to get many runs because he doesn't have much behind him. I like your ideas though, but make sure you can get both done...wouldn't be good to have both Thome and Fielder. As for McCarthy...he's a mega-pitcher type but is blocked by five quality starters in Buehrle, Garcia, Garland, Vazquez, and Contreras. If any goes down definitely consider McCarthy. I think he's exhausted his rookie status but he was near the top of the White Sox list and in the majors should contribute a K per inning and 3.50 era.

You have a well rounded offense with Crawford being a supplier of speed and power from Lee and Beltre. Your BA will be about average, not great. Not the greatest offense in the world though...and your pitching is weak. Pettite won't have much run support, Burnett has great stuff but has never put it together, Duke will be a sophomore, and Chacon and Small had uncharacteristically good years with the Yankees that neither can hope to match again. Chacon won't be as good as last year and I credit the era more to unfamiliarity than anything else. Small won't be starting and he has had a horrible career until ten good starts. Weak team as a whole but it seems like a deep league so don't give up.

Your team is very prospect heavy with the proven veterans being few and far between, but that isn't always a bad thing. Weak catching corp. (and while I do strongly advocate backup catchers, I think at this point, with one bench position, you're better off with a backup OF or MI than a backup catcher who sort of...ahem...sucks), top 1b, decent 2b, top SS, underrated All Star third baseman, and a questionable outfield that will be high on power but low in BA. Your team has no speed whatsoever, but you should get your HRs and RBIs. The prospect love continues with your pitching where you have Wang, Papelbon, Duke, and Chacin. These guys can be good but three have the misfortune in being in the toughest offensive division in baseball. Your SP isn't strikeout heavy and won't get too many wins either but the ERA and WHIP should be fine. I like your failsafe plan with the Dodgers but Baez as MR isn't too good, his WHIP is too high. Farnsworth is Rivera's backup and should do well there, getting his Ks, but he has a problem with the big stage. I don't know, we'll have to see if your prospects perform.

Please don't just copy and paste your teams, it's easier to read in a short concise manner without the unnecessary information. Sorry, minor complaint. This is a decent team for a 12 round league. With Helton leading the team you can make a slight rebound in BA and Abreu will give you 30-40 steals. Decent power, but there are questions of Mench, with the largest head size in the majors, producing over a full season. a sophomore slump from Cantu, and a comeback from Rolen. If all three produce then you have a damn good team, despite the lack of speed. As amazing as King Felix is, it's hard to fully put the burden on him as a number one starter. Schmidt, who is healthy now, should get back to hiss pre-2005 numbers...he's sort of a forgotten man now. You'll make up for the innings lost from King Felix (on a severe pitch count this year) from Livan Hernandez and Radke is a consistent, unheralded type, who won't hurt you. I like your relief corp. of Hoffman and Shields, possibly the best MR/LR pitcher out there. Hoffman is getting older and with only one closer, you'll have to get lucky to win the category, but he'll give you great stats other than just saves. Riske has no chance of closing in Boston and likes giving up the long ball but he is a good consistent relief pitcheer as well. Midseason trades will help, seek speed.

Acks, I've been away for a bit, and now I have to review every single person's team...just because I am me. Anyway, you have an excellent offensive team though it's not much for speed or average. You should expect an incredible amount of HRs and RBIs and Runs aplenty. Consider trading some power for speed or for a 20/20 type guy unless speed isn't part of your game. Run away from Jose Molina, drop him right away, he will NOT help your team. His .239 average won't help you and you'll be better off stashing his competitor, top catching prospect Jeff Mathis who will most likely become the starting catcher after Jose Molina falters. Until then, anybody but Jose, who is by far the worst of the Molina brothers. I don't know how many people are in your league or who is available but there's gotta be someone along the lines of Rod Barajas left or even Josh Willingham, an excellent offensive catcher for the Marlins who will start the season because of his offense but his defense is in question. Good job getting one of the top bench players possible. I look at these to bench guys to be the ones who play multiple positions and play well who would otherwise not be drafted. An ultimate example is one Chone Figgins. This year's class has Pedro Feliz, Ryan Freel, Bill Hall, Rob Mackowiac, and even someone like the possibly undrafted Nomar Garciaparra. Anyway, I'm not sold on your pitching. A good 1-2 punch that will give you a lot of innings and a decent number of strikeouts but after that, a lot of questions. Vazquez in another bandbox with Brandon McCarthy breathing down his next, Duke over a full season, Towers and Chacin in the stacked AL East, and Eaton, after a second half slump, in the AL Coors...eeps. Your closing situation isn't enviable either with Jenks holding onto the job by a thread and Wickman only getting older and fatter.

All are very good players, VG, and I wish I could do the same for the Sox but everybody seems to know our prospects already. Eh, I'll do it anyway. These are players that will make a significant impact THIS season. Jonathon Papelbon: Flame throwing right hander who dazzled from the pen last year. He has the tutelage of Curt Schilling and now Josh Beckett and should be able to eclipse his statistics from last year, despite not starting the year in the rotation. With Wells rescinding his trade request, the Sox rotation will be Schilling-Wakefield-Beckett-Wells-Clement with a pen of Foulke, Timlin, Tavarez, Seanez, Riske, Papelbon, and Arroyo. This is tough news for Dinardo but if a starter goes down or one is traded, Papelbon has the inside track for the fifth starter's job. Jon Lester: Hard throwing left hander who can strike out a hitter per inning. He will start the year in AAA but a trip to the majors come September is a given. He is the top pitching prospect in the Red Sox organization. Craig Hansen: The Red Sox closer of the future will likely start the season in AAA due to the Red Sox bullpen depth (very different from last year). There has been a history of success for college to majors closers (Chad Cordero, Huston Street) but the Red Sox want to give Hansen time to fully develop. Dustin Pedroia: Scrappy 2b/SS should see time if a middle infielder were to fall. He plays top notch defense, can hit for average, and has an incredible eye for walks, similar to Youkilis. Odds are high that he'll start at shortstop next year for the Red Sox. Those are the closest players to the majors right now, not much in terms of offensive players. David Murphy and Brandon Moss should get a look if Trot leaves next year (eeps). Josh Bard is far beyond a prospect but he has the inside track to become Wakefield's personal catcher with the retiring of John Flaherty and the injury to Ken Huckaby. Youkilis will get the lion's share of playing time at first base while "platooning" with lefthander JT Snow. Expect homers hovering around the 10 marker but a great OBP from the Greek God of Walks.

You overpaid for his abilities but it was a good signing. Assholes.

I guess he's trying to counteract the steroids with estrogen therapy. :brooding:

Maybe I'm not considered a person, but I'm a Sox fan here, and I haven't met any opposition. I'm just discussing the good old game of baseball.

Isn't there some sort of moderator integrity when it comes to changing subject titles? I'm not sure I entirely agree with the path this is taking.

Yah, I had Dotel on my mind when I was writing it but got distracted by stats. When healthy, Dotel is arguably the best middle reliever in the league, providing insane strikeouts and an ERA to match. Thing is, Dotel is coming off of surgery. If healthy and if he gets back into shape, Dotel should be a great aid to the Yankees. Note that I was referring to current bullpens though...if the season were to start today.

His head looks like a goomba's in that picture . It also looks like there's a little double chin there. Does this make your blood boil?! We have Enrique Wilson!

Actually, in the long run, the Yankees lost out on that deal and they've regretted it. The front office will admit to that mistake itself. Guerrero is younger and an insanely good player who would have outperformed Gary Sheffield without a doubt. I'm not saying the Yankees dug themselves a hole with Sheffield but Guerrero would have been a better buy.

I disagree. I don't deny that the Yankees have a good bullpen but "best bullpen in the division by far" and "one of the best in all of baseball" is an outright lie. Let's just do a comparison between Sox and Yankees even. Red Sox ---- Yankees Foulke --- Rivera Timlin --- Farnsworth Seanez --- Villone Riske --- Myers Papelbon --- Sturtze Arroyo --- Small This is how it's working out so far with Wells not traded yet and Pavano hitting the DL. Rivera is obviously better than Foulke, but if Foulke is back to form, he can close games. Timlin is steadier than Farnsworth, who has questions around his ability to pitch in big games. Seanez has pitched a career best his last two years after starting martial arts to keep himself in shape. Villone, on the other hand has a 4.75 career era and a 1.49 career WHIP which will hurt the pen. Despite giving up the long ball, David Riske is a solid 3 era. Myers on the other hand is a left handed specialist and only that. Papelbon is an up and coming star, and barring his return to the rotation, will dominate while Sturtze has always been an average pitcher and tailed off at the end of last year. Arroyo is versatile and can have a solid 4 era in the pen while Aaron Small had an incredible year but it doesn't hide his career 4.90 era and 1.57 WHIP. I don't know, I think the Sox have the better bullpen.

What are the categories? It's not worth winning all the hitting categories if you get 1s in all the pitching ones.

Okay, this is a format I can deal with...**wipes brow** now let's get to it. You have a really strong infield (I'm sensing a pattern here), especially for an eleven team league. Your outfield will hit you about 100 HRs between the three, which I think is a good marker for how good an outfield is (HRs + SBs = at least 100) but the average is going to destroy you. Andruw Jones and Adam Dunn will be lucky to average out at .250 and Pat Burrell may has a .258 career average. I suggest you try spinning one of the three off for average and speed, sacrificing a little bit of power. Wright is a good second pick, all things considered, especially since some lists have him ranked above Miguel Cabrera. Your pitching is your weak spot though...Webb is a good pick, he'll surprise everybody, but he's not #1 starter material. Jon Garland is okay, Weaver is usually a league leader in quality starts...but he doesn't surpass much more than the 3 in 6 rule. Dempster and his 1.40 WHIP, I hope you got him with your last pick. Chris Young will do very well, good pick there, and Heilman is a coin flip. I assume that's a little favoritism pick right there? Decent team, very weak pitching, good relief corp....though Tom Gordon is not a safe pick at all, try packaging him with a SP for a stronger one or something. Lead someone to believe he's a safe pick while in actuality he's a year older, coming off of 80 innings pitched in back to back seasons, and pitching in a hitter's ballpark. Work on improving SP and team BA.

I feel like you drafted infield depth before drafting anything else. There is no reason to have gone after it so early...it's depth because it gives you depth...can't draft ten starting third basemen and expect to have a team. Anyway, you can play Dunn in the outfield which gives you some flexibility. Brian Roberts should miss the beginning of the season so Robinson Cano should make an adequate replacement for a bit. Orlando Hudson is a textbook case of great real player but poor fantasy player. Oh, wait, is this a league with eighteen starting players? That's outrageous? I take back what I said about your drafting, you have a great infield, but that is an insane format that I don't honestly support too much. In that case, yah, your outfield was neglected for a long time. You'll need another outfield because Baldelli may miss the beginning of the season but when he does come back expect 15/15 at least. Your outfield may surprise you with an average of 15/15 per player and at least 30-40 steals from Willy Taveras. It wouldn't hurt you to have an impact player there though. Good starting pitching but not spectacular. Your WHIP may be on the high side.

It is hard to place Mark Teixeira. The first two are an inarguable A-rod and Pujols followed by Vladimir Guerrero in all four major ranking sites. Fourth and fifth are between Manny, Teixeira, and Santana pretty much. Teixeira definitely deserves consideration between 3rd and 6th in anybody's draft. Personally, I'm not a big Vlad fan and I'd much rather take the 10-15 extra HRs from Teixeira and get the 10-15 steals elsewhere. Vlad will help in average though. In my mind, Teixeira's third...but eh. To each his own.