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1. St Louis Cardinals
This should come as no surprise. The class of this division and reigning World Series champs. Chris Carpenter is a legit Cy Young candidate. He will be flat out nasty at times and I suspect he will win it. The rest of the staff is shaping up to include Reyes, Wainright, Braden Looper and Kip Wells. I really like Reyes and Wainright as young and improving pitchers that will end up with solid and respectable numbers. Kip Wells should flourish with a team around him that can score runs. Looper is an unknown as a starter, but has had a good spring. Mulder will be back in mud July. Isringhausen will close provided his health holds. I don’t think this lineup is the best in the NL, but very good. Eckstein will leadoff, and depending on their OF situation, Preston Wilson or Duncan will hit second. Pujols will obviously hit third and dominate. It doesn’t matter who hits behind or in front of him, he is in a league all his own. Edmonds will bat 5th followed by Rolen. Encarcion will most likely begin on the DL, which will shake up the lineup a little. Molina will catch followed by a platoon of Kennedy and Miles. Both are solid guys who will not hurt you. This team is primed to repeat as NL and World Series champs and will be one of the favorites all season.

2. Houston Astros
Houston has an ace of their own who may garner some attention for Mr. Youngs trophy. Oswalt is in his prime and will have another sensational year. I’m real high on Jennings as a number 2 behind Oswalt. He is out of Coors Field, which that in itself rates him higher. But he can pitch. His numbers have gotten better and playing for the Astros,a contender will do wonders for him. Williams and Rodriguez are 3 and 4 and will not dissapoint as mid to end starters. The Astros are hoping Lidge will return to form to be that closer they’re used to. A lot of skeptics though. The lineup is very good in the middle. Biggio and Burke need to ge ton base. Thats all. Let Berkman, Lee and Ensberg do the rest. Berkman can flat out hit. Lee is a great addition. He gives the Astros legitimacy. Ensberg will have a terrific year followed by a platoon of Scott and Jason Lane. Everett will play SS and Ausmus will catch. Does it seem that he has been catching for the Astros forever and looks like a kid? This team will contend for a wild card and with enough breaks(health issues for the Cards) maybe division title.

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1. New York Mets

In fantasy terms, outside of Pujols, there’s no better fantasy contributor than Jose Reyes. This kid, and he still is a kid, has all the tools. He is just now coming into his prime, and that is scary. He bats leadoff and just makes things happen. He is learning how to hit for average which will make him scary good. The rest of the lineup has greatness written all over it. Loduca will bat second, followed by Beltran, Delgado and Wright. Name a weakness, I’ll wait. I don’t have that much time so I’ll move on. A monsters row for sure. Think about it, they arguably have the top 3 out of 5 players at their positions in Reyes, Beltran and Wright. Wow. I think the real sleeper of the pitching staff is John Maine. This is his first full season in the big leagues, but he will be more than capable as a number 3 this year. Pedro won’t be back until the Allstar Break. Glavine has really turned things around from 2 seasons ago, and the Mets will heavily rely on him to produce. Perez and Pelfrey need to be average at best and this teams wins the division.

2. Atlanta Braves

I’m going out on a little limb with this pick. A lot of things need to break the Braves way for this to happen and I’m banking they will. First, Tim Hudson needs to pitch like Tim Hudson. Last year was the exception and he will return to form this season. Smoltz just keeps trucking along. No reason not to produce a great season as always. Chuck James seems to be the flavor of the month for prognosticators and I’m buying it. He is penciled in at number 3 and I believe he will be better than a 3 as the year goes on. Hampton will be out till May, for me no big loss. Redman is a terrific end of rotation starter. The lineup boasts some mainstays and some new cats. Leading off will be Kelly Johnson, fresh from winning the 2nd base job, here you go fella, hit leadoff in Atlanta. Renteria will hit 2nd, a move I love followed by Chipper(please stay healthy) and Andruw. Andruw will go for 40 and 110 at least. McCann is a great contributor, especially coming from a catcher. Francoeur, Thormon and Matt Diaz will round it out. The Braves are very high on Thormon, the reason Laroche is in Pittsburgh. This team needs some breaks, but Wild card contention is a strong possibility.

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Starting Sunday and hopefully everyday during the season, I will be keeping you informed of news, happenings, pitching matchups, other random bits of interest.

I may even throw in a lock of the week feature for all you gamblers out there. As we strive to bring you the best fantasy news there is, I also want to keep you up to speed on baseball happenings that may not hit the fantasy landscape, but we all enjoy.

Take a look starting Sunday. If there’s anything specific you need answered or an opinion on, feel free to post a message on the board and I’ll be all over it.

Till then–

Todd Helton, the face of the Rockies franchise. No one can argue that. He has been that rock during those years they weren’t any good.

It pains me to write this about him, but what can we really expect out of a declining veteran who has seen his numbers drop in the best hitters park in the world?

During a 5 year span in the height of his career, he hit for 100 plus RBI and hit between 30 and 49 HR’s.

That was then, this is now.

We have watched his power and average decline steadily for several years. Now there is talk he may be traded, with his contract, it would be nearly impossible. I say it won’t help. Perhaps look to trade him now while he has some value or if not hope he gets on a hot streak to start the season and get what you can.

Josh Hamilton, the number 1 overall pick in the 1999 draft, has overcome tremendous odds to be in a position to battle for at bats in the Reds outfield.

The 25 year old blue chipper has battled nagging injuries and drug addiction throughout his career. Hamilton has fought and clawed for another opportunity to play baseball and the Reds took him as a Rule 5 pick during the winter meetings. A flier, with loads of upside.

Despite battling shin splints early on Hamilton is quietly have a nice spring, batting at a .400 clip, and has certainly caught the eye of Reds skipper Jerry Narron. Considering his tremendous natural ability and factoring in the fragility of Ken Griffey Jr. and Ryan Freel (Freel injured in Spring Training Collision), Hamilton stands a legitimate shot at getting a solid number of at bats.

NL only leagues…grab him. Mixed league participants will be able to hold off to see how the Reds roster shakes out and to also see if Griffey will be available on Opening Day.

1. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

This is a team that is capable of winning not only now, but in the future as well. I love their rotation, they have guys that can flat out pitch. Colon, who was the workhorse and ace, has some issues to start the season, but is expected to be ready by May. How long he will hold up, we don’t know. Lackey if not now will be an ace for several years. Who wouldn’t want Santana, a legit 15 game winner now and is getting better. Jered Weaver and Escobar are nice end of the rotation starters, these guys are better than some 2s around the league. Just about a solid a staff as you can get. FRod is one of if not the most dominant closer in baseball, unhittable at times. Their lineup is more scary than their staff. Figgins will be out a month and they’ll miss his bat, but Izturis is more than capable of filling in defensively. Matthews, Jr is not your typical leadoff man, but I like his ability to get on base and with Cabrera playing small ball to set it up for Vlad, Anderson and Hillebrandt, should be exciting in LA. The young guys need to produce, but there’s no pressure to do so, which leads me to believe they will. Kendrick and Kotchman look very promising. This team will win the division and make things interesting in October.

2. Seattle Mariners

May come as somewhat of a surprise, but I really like this team this year. King Felix has been through a full season to learn and should turn the corner into a number 1. The rest of the rotation is where the destiny of this team lies. If Washburn, Weaver, Bastita, and Ramirez can put up decent numbers and not be liabilities, this team will contend for a wild card. JJ Putz will close, but watch, he is a candidate to be replaced if ineffective. The lineup boasts the best leadoff man in baseball, Ichiro. Beltre thrived in the 2 hole last year, they’re hoping he’ll do the same. Vidro has won the right to hit 3rd in front of Ibanez and Sexson. This lineup wont strike fear in your hearts like others, but very capable.

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1. Albert Pujols just hit his first HR today, 5 days before the season starts.

2. Scott Hairston had 3 HR’s today. Many people will pick him up based on this fact. He had 13 HR’s in 339 AB’s in 2004. Expect 18-22 HR’s this season… IF he can get the at-bats. Today was an anomole.

3. Brad Eldred, Scott Hairston, and Terrmel Suldge are 3 of 5 players with 6 HR’s this spring. Draft them like they’ll continue this power barrage, and congratulate your buddy on the league championship.

Dear Don-
I have been offered Chris B. Young for Ian Kinsler in a keeper league format.

I have Rocco Baldelli in CF (league is position specific not simply OF) and Brian Roberts already in my 2B slot. Rocco is a great talent, but his fragility scares me.

Should I take a deal or try to get just bit more, say a Homer Bailey type ‘throw in’?

Steve-

Thanks for the question. You have every right to be concerned about Baldelli’s health. He’s played a total of 92 games over the past 2 seasons due to injuries, and he’s already experiencing hamstring issues this spring. If healthy, I see a very nice fantasy season for him. But there’s the rub. Will he actually play over 150 games? I’d say those odds are about equal to the odds of Eva Longoria leaving San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker to be with me.

It seems you’ve got second base pretty well situated with Brian Roberts. You need insurance at CF, and by all indications, Chris B. Young should have a very nice rookie season in Arizona. If you can get future Ace Homer Bailey thrown in, pull the trigger ASAP. If the other guy won’t throw him in, considering your needs, you should strongly consider taking his offer even without Bailey.

Good luck this season!

This is going to be a great race–for 2nd place. After the defending AL Champs, it’s wide open to be the team that almost makes the Wild Card. Our second installment, here we go!

1. Detroit Tigers

Clearly in my mind, the best team in this division. I really like Bonderman to come into this own this season and be the number 1 now and for the future. The rotation appears to be set with the Gambler, Verlander, Robertson and Maroth rounding out the staff. What I see here is just solid starters, no superstars, but a collection of inning eaters who will quietly put up quality start after quality start. Keep an eye on Verlander though, Leyland wasn’t very pleased with the fact he was really overextending himself in the Spring, putting too much on his arm too early, hopefully that will not be a problem late in the season. What gets lost is how Jim Leyland manages a ballgame. The best game manager in baseball. He has a dynamic bullpen and uses it to perfection. A terrific intangible. The lineup doesn’t have that marquee guy, superstar, but very solid team guys who go about their job very businesslike. The addition of Sheffield in the 3 hole will improve Ordonez immediately. The only question mark is 1st base. Will Casey hold up? Probably not, and Shelton is not the answer. Keep an eye on that. There’s no reason this team cannot compete for a World Series berth again.

2. Cleveland Indians

That’s right. I think this team is ready to make the jump from average to contending for the Wild Card. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ll be posting my predictions every day leading up to Opening Day starting today with the AL East. Please comment, tell me how wrong I am why I’m way off base with these. Here we go……………

1. Boston Red Sox
It is my belief they have one of the top 3 rotations in baseball. Pitching pitching pitching and their lineup ain’t too shabby either. With Schilling, Beckett, Matsuzaka and Wakefield making about as strong a top 4 as there is, their mess of a bullpen just cleared themselves up with Papelbon returning to the closers role. Add Timlin, Donnely and Romero in relief, you have a great pitching staff. Their lineup will be better with Julio Lugo leading off instead of Coco Crisp. He should set the table for Manny and Ortiz. I love Youkilis in the 2 hole. Lowell should have a better year this year as well with Crisp(if healthy) in the 8 hole.

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