I wish the guy who called this game was in our league

$175,000.  That’s howmuch baseball means to one Red Sox fan, whose winning bid on E-bay captured thethought-to-be-urban-legend Ortiz jersey that had been buried under concrete inthe New Yankee stadium.

This got me thinking about a number of things.  One – some people have way too muchdisposable income, and I’m broke.  Two –what does baseball, or, more specifically the OBFBL, mean to us?

Why do we participate in fantasy baseball?  Is it for the love of the game, where stat watchingis just another way to infuse baseball in the bloodstream of our dailylives?  Is it the thrill of competition,a battle royale of pride and ego to show that my knowledge is more completeyours?  Is it camaraderie, a simplepleasure derived from being in a group of like-minded baseball enthusiasts andgood friends?  Is it simply gambling, away to make some money that depends on something more than simple luck to get apayday? 

My guess is the answer is e: all of the above.  The love of sports, of competition, offriends – old and new.  That’s what makesthe OBFBL stand out from other fantasy leagues, and what makes it so special toall of us.

Weekly Recap

I played host to my in-laws this weekend.  That’s why this morning I found myself tryingto explain to my wife why our TiVo was filled with 16 hours of the NFL draft,the Angels-Tigers Sunday night game, the Suns-Spurs NBA playoff game, and GameTwo of the Pens-Rangers series.  And whyI “accidentally” erased Grey’s Anatomyto make room.  (I’ll be able to tell ifmy explanation was satisfactory when, upon my return from work, I see if she“accidentally” moved my pillow to the couch.)

But, as I explained to her, I wanted a recap of theweekend’s sports action.  It didn’tmatter that I’d already received recaps from the internet, Sportscenter, local news, newspaper, carrier pigeon, etc.  I wanted more.

So maybe you do, too. I don’t normally bother with weekly recaps, but this week saw some goodaction, and maybe – just maybe – there was something you missed.

• It was a tough week to be Jewish.  Or the Mafia.  Besides dealing with Pesach, the Jewish Mafia had to deal with Mike’s Giant Douche Over Macho Grande putting up an astounding 402 points this week.    When Alex Rodriguez is your lowest scorer, you know you’ve had a good week.  (FYI – Mike said the record for a week is 435 points, so he was probably just a healthy A-Rod away from the record.)
• 6 of 9 match-ups from this week were decided by less than 10 points!  Many of these came down to last night’s final game of the week.  Neville the Hut’s Jered Weaver couldn’t quite get the points he needed to overtake Peaches, but it was close.  Sid Bream Voodoo Dolls’ Torii Hunter and Chone Figgins were able to outscore Black Dog’s Miguel Cabrera and Garret Anderson to win the lowest scoring battle of the week.  Madison’s Polanco and Disabled List’s Napoli were battling it out in a close contest.  And Brown’s Kotchman did just enough for the victory over the Droids.
• I’m willing to bet the 676 points scored in the Jew-Douche match-up is a record.  In fact, there were many high scores this week; the league’s 4151 points may be a record for non-triple-header weekly scoring as well.

Crap Stats

• Jason (Tony Montana’s All-Stars) is really hoping Barry Zito can turn things around this year.  His best scoring week was Week 2, when he had 0 points (-12; 0; -6; -23 for a total of -41 points on the year).  Zito’s 0-6 – the last NL pitcher to lose 20 games was Phil Niekro in 1979.
• Other owned, non-injured pitchers failing to put up positive points on the year: Francisco Liriano (The Confluence) -27 points; Kenny Rogers (Tony Montana’s All-Stars) -20 points; Phil Hughes (Giant Douche Over Macho Grande) -16 points; Tom Gorzelanny (The DL: III) -16 points; Ian Kennedy (Putz and Pie) -12 points; Justin Verlander (Tony Montana’s All-Stars) -11 points; Manny Corpas (Mets in 2008) -10 points; Dave Bush (The DL: III) -9 points; Justin Germano (Ish Kabibble) -6 points; and Derrick Turnbow (The Confluence) -4 points
• Strikeouts are usually a good indication of how the Pitching Leader board will shake out.  It’s not totally reliable, however, as two pitchers in the top10 in Ks, Sabathia and Billingsley, have 17 and 16 points respectively on the year.
• Fausto Carmona leads all pitchers in BBs with 22.  That against only 11 Ks.

Trivia

Tough one: This year there are two pitchers that havestarted at least 5 games and thrown at least 25 innings with a K/9 below3.00.  Can you name them?  Hint: One from each the NL and AL. (Answer below.)

Match-up of theWeek

It’s a double-header week, and this early in the season allthe games really matter.  However, if weat BTL were to pick one, it would probably be the master-protégé match-up inthe NL West, where 3-2 What Can Brown Do for You takes on 3-2 Don Zimmer:Beyond Fukudome.

The OBFBL’sMendoza Line

Last week we took a look at pitching in the early rounds ofthe draft.  This week, we’re going tohighlight some hitters taken early that are really struggling.  Can you say buy low candidates? 

I limited this list to players selected in the first 6rounds, 50 points or less on the season through 4 weeks, and no significanttime spent out of the lineup due to injury. Feel free to leave other names in the comment section if I missed some.

• Round One [0]: None
• Round Two [5]: Robinson Cano (26 pts); Derek Jeter (48 pts); Carlos Pena (49 pts); Travis Hafner (50 pts); Victor Martinez (50 pts)
• Round Three [1]: Troy Tulowitzki (39 pts)
• Round Four [1]: Hunter Pence (41 pts)
• Round Five [6]: Kenjii Johjima (28 pts); Khalil Greene (29 pts); Gary Sheffield (31 pts); Placido Polanco (36 pts); Ryan Zimmerman (43 pts); Jorge Posada (48 pts)
• Round Six [1]: Andruw Jones (20 pts)

This Week in OBFBLHistory

May 2, 2002: Just missing hitting his fifth homer in the15-4 victory over the White Sox, Mariners outfielder Mike Cameron becomes the13th major leaguer to hit four homers in one game. 

May 1, 2004: Frank Catalanotto becomes the first player infranchise history to collect six hits in one game. The Blue Jays left fielder'sfive singles and double helps Torontoto beat the White Sox, 10-6.

Top Performers

Lance Berkman (Jewish Mafia) 57 points

Jayson Werth (Free Agent, now Tony Montana’s All-Stars) 44points

Magglio Ordonez (Putz and Pie) 42 points

Brandon Phillips (No Country for Old Droids) 42 points 

James Shields (Don Zimmer: Beyond Fukudome) 60 points

Edinson Volquez (Don Zimmer: Beyond Fukudome) 51 points

Chien-Ming Wang (Tony Montana’s All-Stars) 47 points

Trash Heap

Carlos Pena (Black Dog’s Back) -4 points

Jason Varitek (Putz and Pie) -2 points

Kevin Kouzmanoff (Tony Montana’s All-Stars) -2 points

Luke Scott (Sid Bream’s Voodoo Dolls) -2 points

Richie Sexson (Benny Smells Like a Bee-otch) -2 points 

Manny Corpas (Mets in 2008) -26 points

Barry Zito (Tony Montana’s All-Stars) -23 points

Francisco Liriano (The Confluence) -14 points

Justin Germano (Ish Kabibble) -14 points

Top Hitting Teams

Giant Douche Over Macho Grande (225 points)

Madison,I am Your Father (209 points)

No Country for Old Droids (206 points) 

Top Pitching Teams

Giant Douche Over Macho Grande (177 points)

Don Zimmer: Beyond Fukudome (163 points)

Neville the Hut (127 points)

Worst HittingTeams

Tony Montana’s All-Stars (71 points)

The Disabled List: Part III (104 points)

Black Dog’s Back (107 points) 

Worst PitchingTeams

Ish Kabibble (-18 points)

Madison,I am Your Father (-7 points)

Sid Bream Voodoo Dolls (20 points)

Trivia Answer

Jon Garland has struck out just 4 batters in 30.1 IPs for aK/9 of 1.19.  Zach Duke has struck out 9in 28.2 IPs for a rate of 2.83.

Conclusion

That’s it for this week. Good luck in the double-header week (except Kurt and Dan).

It's extraordinarily frustrating when you draft what seems to be a great team that goes on to underperform out of the gate. Coming out of the draft, I was extremely excited about my offense with my first three picks of Prince Fielder, Brandon Phillips and Garrett Atkins. If anything, I was a little worried about my pitching staff, with my top three pitchers being Javi Vazquez, James Shields and Ben Sheets.

Through the first three weeks of the season, my offense has been underwhelming with those top three guys all starting extremely cold. My pitching staff, on the other hand, has been awesome with Sheets and Vazquez both having 50+ point weeks. I knew the hitting would come around eventually, and sure enough, this week it's started to: Fielder had a multi-homerun game last night, Atkins has been awesome and Phillips is showing signs of waking up. Surely my team is going to be really dangerous now that the bats are coming alive...

Except that after three days this week, my pitching staff has combined for -9 points and a 9.35 ERA. Oh, and Sheets is missing at least one start and Derek Lowe left his start after only 5 innings with tightness in his arm.

What a fun week. Eight teams battled it out until Sunday, and Ish Kabibble was able toput a W on the board for the first time. Neville the Hut went into Sunday night down by 4 points to Mets in 2008with Chase Utley yet to play.  Thesuspense was ruined when Utley went yard 15 minutes into the game.  Sid Bream Voodoo Dolls fought to within 2points of Peaches before the Sunday night game with only Peaches’ CarlosBeltran to go.  The impossible seemedpossible after Beltran started 0-2 with a K, but in his 3^rd plateappearance Beltran ripped a 2 RBI-single to dash my hopes.

Meanwhile, Bee-otch’s hitting blew up to the tune of 215points, more than 7 teams’ totals for the week. And that with Angel Pagan’s 1 point in his starting lineup.  Putz and Pie wasn’t too shabby with the bats,either, as Joe Crede’s 10 points was the lowest scorer in a lineup that put up186 hitting points and 266 overall.

That’s why we play the games.  Good times.

Crap Stats:

• Who are the highest scoring 3B this year, A-Rod, Cabrera, Braun, Ramirez, Atkins?  Nope.  With the exception of David Wright, the other names might surprise you.  The top 5 are: Chipper Jones (102), David Wright (99), Joe Crede (86), Mark Reynolds (77), and Kevin Youkilis (73).
• Adam LaRoche is making his case for worst fantasy regular in the early season.  He’s scored -3, 7, and 2 points for a total of 6 points through 3 weeks while missing games due to “flu-like symptoms.”  Maybe he’s as nauseous as Dan is about his performance.
• We’ve called out Bill Hall and LaRoche here at BTL for their K tendencies, but how about a mention for Ryan Howard?  His 27 Ks in 70 ABs lead the league, and he has a 5 K lead on the nearest guy on the list, Jack Cust at 22.
• Rick Ankiel had a 17-pitch AB this week against Carlos Villanueva.  That’s pretty amazing.

Trivia

Great question from Jayson Stark’s column this week (sorryif you already read it):

After taking an entire season off last year, Gabe Kapler hasfour home runs already. If he hits 20, he would be just the second activeplayer -- and fifth player in this millennium -- to hit at least 20 homersafter missing the entire season the year before. Can you name the other activeplayer who has done that? Extra credit if you can identify the three others(now out of baseball) who have done it since 2000. (Answer below.)

Power Poll

Check out the Power Poll on CBS’ site if you haven’talready.  They use 3 different criteria –record, points scored, and record vs. all teams each week – to determine thebest teams.  Early returns make the ALCentral the toughest division, with all teams in the top 6 in the power poll.  Go to the “Standings” tab and click “Power”to see the list.

Match-up of theWeek

Neville the Hut at Peaches Ballpark in Arlington: Dan puts his undefeated record on the line against 3-1 Peaches, thethird highest scoring team in the league.

Swing and a Miss:Pitching in the Early Rounds of the Draft

This year’s draft saw 35 pitchers taken in the first 6rounds.  Below, we’ll take a look at justhow risky and unpredictable pitching can be in any given year.  Are guys performing close to expectations,injured, or coming in way below what was expected of them?  Of the 35, I have 17 of them either hurt orunderperforming.  The round in which eachwas drafted follows in ().

Feel free to argue with the placement of any of these, oradd your own from later rounds.

Way Outside (Really underperforming)

• C.C. Sabathia (2): The poster child for this list.  Sure, he’s going to come around, but how long can Mike keep him in the starting line-up?  This second round pick has scored -3, -8, and -17 points for a total of -28 on the season.  Are the innings taking a toll, is he hurt?
• Justin Verlander (3): 0-3, 7.03 ERA, and -18 points on the season.  Close 2^nd to Sabathia for biggest disappointment thus far.
• Rich Hill (6): Early season struggles saw him bumped to the #5 spot in the Cubs rotation, and bumped from Maury’s team.  19 points on the season.
• A.J. Burnett (6):  Just 15 points to go with an 6.85 ERA and 12 BBs to just 13 Ks.
• Roy Oswalt (4): Just 1 win and a 6.65 ERA translates to just 9 points for this former fantasy stud.
• John Maine (4): We at BTL thought Maine could sneak into a top 10 slot in pitchers’ points this year with his talent and that NYM’s offense.  So far, no good, though, with only 12 points to date and more BBs (12) than Ks (10).
• Takashi Saito (6): Good start to the year, with 25 points in Week 1.  But 0 and -9 point weeks followed, and one of last year’s top closers only has 16 points through 3 weeks.
• Chad Billingsley (6): Peripherals are good, such as 20 Ks in just 14 IPs.  But poor run support and bad luck have cost him in points, leaving him with just 4 on the season.
• Chris Young (6):  One win and 15 BBs in just 21 IPs leave Young with only 19 points on the season.  But at least he’s still healthy.
• Josh Beckett (3): Probably a bit harsh to put him here, but he hasn’t scored more than 19 points in any given week, struck out only 16 in 3 starts, and sports a 5.12 ERA.
• James Shields (6):  Another guy who probably shouldn’t be here.  But he’s already been traded, allowed 28 hits and 14 runs in 23 IPs, and scored only 28 points on the year.  Can the Rays score some runs for him?

Foul Tip (Injured)

• Erik Bedard (2)
• J.J. Putz (3)
• John Lackey (5)
• Scott Kazmir (6)
• Pedro Martinez (6)
• Francisco Rodriguez (4)

Down the Middle (About what was expected)

Johan Santana (1), Jake Peavy (1), Brandon Webb (2), DanHaren (3), Carlos Zambrano (3), Cole Hamels (3), Aaron Harang (3), Jon Papelbon(4), Felix Hernandez (4), Daisuke Matsuzaka (4), Roy Halladay (4), JavierVazquez (4), Francisco Cordero (4), Brett Myers (4), Joe Nathan (5), MarianoRivera (5), John Smoltz (6), Fausto Carmona (6)

This Week in OBFBLHistory

April 26, 2002/2003: Derek Lowe becomes the first pitcher tothrow a no-hit game at Boston's Fenway Parksince Dave Morehead accomplished the feat against the Indians in September of 1965.Facing 28 batters, the former closer of the team throws only 97 pitches in the10-0 rout of the Devil Rays. And in 2003, needing only 108 pitches, KevinMillwood becomes the ninth pitcher in Phillies' history to throw a no-hitter ashe keeps the NL-West leaders Giants hitless.

April 21, 2002: Atlantashortstop Rafael Furcal ties a major league record, which was most previouslydone by White Sox outfielder Lance Johnson in 1995, by hitting three triples ina game.

April 22, 2006: Five Brewers (Bill Hall, Damian Miller,Brady Clark, J.J. Hardy and Prince Fielder) go deep in the fourth making theBrewers the fifth team to hit five home runs in one inning.

Top Performers

Conor Jackson (Don Zimmer: Beyond Fukudome) 56 pts.

David Wright (The Disabled List: Part III) 48 pts.

Chipper Jones (Madison,I Am Your Father) 46 pts.

Ervin Santana (Jewish Mafia) 49 pts.

John Danks (Benny Smells Like a Bee-otch) 48 pts.

Randy Wolf (Sid Bream Voodoo Dolls) 46 pts.

Trash Heap

Ben Broussard (The Disabled List: Part III) -5 pts.

Travis Buck (Jewish Mafia) -3 pts.

Felix Pie (Putz & Pie) -2 pts.

Scott Hairston (Don Zimmer: Beyond Fukudome) -2 pts.

Rickie Weeks (Sid Bream Voodoo Dolls) -2 pts.

Gabe Kapler (The Disabled List: Part III) -2 pts.

C.C. Sabathia (Giant Douche Over Macho Grande) -17 pts.

Boof Bonser (Benny Smells Like a Bee-otch) -13 pts.

Joe Borowski (Madison,I Am Your Father) -13 pts.

Top Hitting Teams

Benny Smells Like a Bee-otch 215 pts.

Don Zimmer: Beyond Fukudome 189 pts.

Putz and Pie 186 pts.

Top Pitching Teams

Jewish Mafia 150 pts.

The Confluence 113 pts.

Sid Bream Voodoo Dolls 99 pts.

Worst HittingTeams

Tony Montana’s All Stars 96 pts.

Jewish Mafia 109 pts.

Tanana Cream Pie 113 pts.*

Worst PitchingTeams

Tony Montana’s All Stars -4 pts.

Giant Douche Over Macho Grande -2 pts.

Tanana Cream Pie 14 pts.*

* Tanana Cream Pie’s team appeared, at least on mycomputer, as having its entire roster active. So I made my best guess as to who the starters and reserves may havebeen for Paul’s team.

Trivia Answer

The other "active" player to hit 20-plus homersafter missing a full year: Moises Alou in 2000.

The three other players who have done it in this millennium,according to the Sultan of Swat Stats, David Vincent: Andres Galarraga (2000),Mo Vaughn (2002) and Sammy Sosa (2007).

Conclusion

So, will the Hut each Peaches this week?  Will Zim end up with Cream Pie in the face?  Will Madisonbecome more than Hanley and Chipper and everyone else? Stop back next week forthe recap.

Huge meeting in the morning at 8:00 a.m.  I open the meeting with 25 minute presentation.  It's 12:15 a.m.  But my pitching is throwing a no-no.

Screw it.  I'll go to bed when Randy Wolf gives up a hit...

or his old-ass arm falls off.

UPDATE: It's 12:16.  He gave up a hit.  I guess you can't write about it either.  Voodoo Doll jinxed it.  Bream's curse lives on.

I want to begin by talking about something about which I know nothing: Good luck.  Rest assured, my goal is not to simply complain about my own bad luck, but to look at the bigger picture using my experiences and others in the league as examples.  Whether I meet that goal is another question…

There are many kinds of “luck” – a catch-all term that is often used to explain everything from a player’s emergency appendectomy to the late-night keg stands that kept you from getting out of bed to post your transactions.  Ron Shandler, the grand-daddy of the sabermetrics movement in fantasy baseball, claims that 70% of your team’s success can be traced to preparation and diligence.  That last 30%?  You guessed it – luck.  Here are a few sources of luck – good or bad.

Injuries: Some say they have bad luck because their players always get injured.  Injuries are part of the game, but you can’t predict them.  Sure, you can avoid guys like Rich Harden, Kerry Wood, El Duque or Prior.  That’s easy.  But what of Rollins, or D-Train, or other guys who have a history of being iron men and staying healthy?  Sometimes, you just have some bad luck.

Statistical Variations:  This is the term I’ll use to try and explain how a player with an excellent track record can suddenly tank.  Take my first year in the league, when I drafted one of the steadiest players in the game with the first pick of Round Two – Roberto Alomar.  His stats dropped faster Mike’s pants at an Olsen twins’ orgy.  Or my choice of A-Rod as the second overall pick two years ago, the one year in his career when he failed to top 30 HRs and wasn’t even in the top 20 in OBFBL scoring.  There’s no real way to explain it, these players just have an off year, or get old REAL fast, or stop the juice.  But you can’t prepare for it.

These variations, for those of us in points leagues, can also be the cause of some bad luck from week to week.  In Roto leagues, it doesn’t really matter if Carlos Lee goes three weeks without a dinger.  All that matters is that he finishes with this 35+ HRs.  But in points leagues, we need consistency.  Ask Annamarie, the top scorer from last week, with over 300 points, who saw her team lose to The Confluence (ugh) with a meager 186 output this week.

There’s a final kind of luck that is also unique to those of us in head-to-head leagues.  That’s the luck of the draw – namely, the team that you happen to be playing this week.  For example, only four teams scored more points than my team this week, and I happened to be playing one of them.  So I get the “L”, while 6 or 7 teams with less points than me get the “W.”  It’s luck, plain and simple.  Last year, many teams in the AL would have been #1 seeds in the NL, and some of them (yes, me included) missed the playoffs because of this fluke.

It’s just bad luck.  This is part of the reason I chose to try and exorcise some of this bad luck in my sport and fantasy past with the Voodoo Doll team name.  So far, no good.

Crap Stats:

• Mets in 2008 (Jordan) went from the worst pitching team last week (-2) to the best, scoring 122 points behind Haren (46) and Maddux (33).  Ish Kabibble is struggling without production from David Ortiz (or anyone else for that matter).  As a result, they’ve been the worst hitting team two weeks running, with a total for the year of only 160 points (87 and 73).
• Joe Crede currently leads all hitters in points scored with 76.  We hope this will earn him a spot in manager Craig’s lineup, especially since Lowell is now on the DL.  Note to all owners: REMEMBER THE DL SUBSTITUTION RULE.  If Craig had used this new rule and subbed out Lowell for Crede, he would have won the week.
• Also in the top 5: Nate McClouth with 67 points.
• Quick! Who’s the top point-getter in the league right now?  Don’t look!  If you’re not Brian and you knew it was Ben Sheets with 77 points, maybe it’s time to get outside for a while. Walk the dog, read a book, pick some flowers.  Anything.
• The HR leader is crazy here in the early going.  Some names in the top 15: Pena, Ibanez, Hall, Jacobs, Reynolds, J. Upton, Gabe Kapler, Ankiel, Corey Patterson, and Nady.
• Pujols, Figgins, and Burrell all have OBP over .500 for their first 40+ ABs.
• Of all MLB players with at least 35 ABs, only Paul LoDuca and Mike Sweeney have yet to strike out.

Trivia

Who is this year’s leader in BBs as a batter?  There are two players tied at 13, one of which is Albert Pujols.

Top Performers

Raul Ibanez (Neville the Hut) 56

Joe Crede (Putz and Pie) 53 while warming the bench

Albert Pujols (Mets in 2008) 45

Lance Berkman (Jewish Mafia) 45

Matt Holliday (Benny Smells Like a Bee-otch) 43

Eric Byrnes (Putz and Pie) 40

Javier Vazquez (No Country for Old Droids) 56

Tim Lincecum (The Disabled List: Part III) 47

Dan Haren (Mets in 2008) 46

Wandy Rodriguez (The Disabled List: Part III) 40

Trash Heap

Jeremy Accardo (No Country for Old Droids) -18

Kenny Rogers (Tony Montana’s All-Stars) -18

Phil Hughes (Giant Douche Over Macho Grande) -16

Jose Guillen (No Country for Old Droids) -3

Andruw Jones (Tony Montana’s All-Stars) 0

David Ortiz (Ish Kabibble) 1

Prince Fielder (No Country for Old Droids) 2

Troy Tulowitzki (What Can Brown Do For You) 3

Ryan Braun (Tanana Cream Pie) 3

Top Hitting Teams

Jewish Mafia (Randy) 198 points

Benny Smells Like a Bee-otch (Marc) 195 points

Madison, I Am Your Father (Abe) 192 points

Top Pitching Teams

Mets in 2008 (Jordan) 122 points

The Disabled List: Part III (Ari) 102 points

No Country for Old Droids (Brian) 79 points

Worst Hitting Teams

Ish Kabibble (Maury) 73 points

Tony Montana’s All-Stars (Jason) 99 points

Black Dog’s Back (Bennie) 107 points

Worst Pitching Teams

Black Dog’s Back (Bennie) 14 points

Madison, I Am Your Father (Abe) 20 points

What Can Brown Do For You (Dhavani) 26 points

Giant Douche Over Macho Grande (Mike) 26 points

Trivia Answer

Adam freakin-Dunn.  And Pat Burrell is right behind at 12.  And Richie Sexson is right behind at 11.  UN-BE-LIVE-ABLE.

Conclusion

That’s all for now.  Check back next week to see if Crede can take Craig Higher in the rankings (ugh).

Whether you're using MLB.tv or catching a game on the boob tube, it can be interesting and potentially dangerous to see guys on your fantasy team perform in game action. Case in point: the Mets/Brewers game today, where three guys in my starting lineup -- all off to somewhat unexpected starts -- were in action.

Prince Fielder and J.J. Hardy are both off to slow starts. Hardy went 0-3 with a walk and a strikeout (0 fantasy points), but he looked good at the plate. He had a quality at bat, fouling off a bunch of pitches when he ultimately worked the walk and didn't miss a homer by much in his final at bat. And, of course, this was all against Santana. I'd still like to see Ned Yost get his head out of his posterior and stop batting the pitcher eighth so Hardy can have some protection, but I don't see a reason to push the panic button yet.

Fielder, on the other hand, confuses me. Sometimes guys slump in such a way where it looks like they have no approach at the plate... and Fielder looks like he's doing that right now (David Ortiz, who just grounded into a double play in the Yanks/Sox game, is another guy who looks like this at the moment). He's not having very smart at bats: too much first pitch swinging and consistently taking the best pitch he'll see. With his power largely non-existent as well, it would be really easy to overact to today's 1-4 with a strikeout performance... and that's where the danger comes in. Slumps are slumps and he's too good a hitter. He'll come around... especially if he breaks down and eats a damn cheeseburger.

The third guy, one who has performed beyond my expectations, is Ben Sheets. I really didn't know what to make of Sheets when I drafted him, but he seemed like a good value pick at the time. He had a terrible spring, and I didn't start him in fantasy week 1 when he went 1-0 with a complete game shutout, 15 strikeouts and 59 fantasy points. Of course, the complete game shutout came against San Francisco's AA affiliate the Giants, so it was hard to read too much into it. But starting against Santana today, he cruised after a rocky first inning, at one point retiring 18 in a row. He ended the day with 5 K, 3 ER and a win over the best pitcher in baseball. Now, of course you can see that line on the stats site, but watching the performance, I was also impressed with his intensity and body language. Is there a place for intangibles like these in fantasy baseball? We'll see.

Can I just put a promo out there for this amazing service?  I'm not sure how many of us subscribe to this product, but MLB.TV has taken their broadcasts to another level this year.  Provided you have a fast enough internet connection, you can watch every game on your laptop in television quality.  It isn't pixelated, it isn't choppy, it is just perfect.

I just purchased a wireless N1 router in order to accomedate my viewing needs and it's amazing.  I've been watching one game on tv, one game on my desktop, and one game on my laptop.  Looks like American Idol and Lipstick Jungle are going to have to be TIVOed and watched at a later date.  Did I say American Idol and Lipstick Jungle?  I meant... um... nevermind...

We’ve officially started.  The OBFBL season has begun.  Like last year, we have a couple of bugs to iron out along the way – with stats, protocol, etc. – but that will happen in time and then we can turn our full attention to the GAMES.

Here, to help with that, are some nuggets of information from Week 1:

• Is it too early to start getting worried? Yes, but there are some owners expecting bounce-back years from players who may be sweating a bit after Week 1 performances by the likes of: Andruw Jones (1 pt.), Johnny Damon (6 pts.), Barry Zito (-12 pts.), Jason Bay (9 pts.), Jeremy Bonderman (-9 pts.), Pedro Martinez (-3 pts.), Juan Pierre (-1 pts.), and Mike Mussina (-6 pts.).
• Xavier Nady is tied for the league lead in HRs (3) and leads the league in RBI’s (9).  Check back next week when his totals are still 3 and 9, and the Pirates have lost 5 straight.
• In unrelated Pirates’ news, the season has begun in typically fashion for Adam LaRoche, who struck out 10 times this week, second only to Bill Hall’s 11.  This after striking out an incredible 30 times in 83 April ABs last year.

Trivia

What former Indian-turned coach had the nickname "The Human Rain Delay"?  (Answer at Bottom) 

The Draft

Continuing the "too early" theme, is it too early to start analyzing the draft?  Nonsense, I say!  The league’s longest tenured players swear by the fact that early round picks should minimize risk as much as possible, as evidenced by the fact that Albert Pujols slipped to #12 this year.  So, after one week, who’s first three rounds were the most successful?  Check it out:

• Neville the Hut (Utley, Hafner, Rios) 88 points
• Peaches Ballpark in Arlington (Beltran, Webb, Morneau) 85 points
• Jewish Mafia (Sizemore, Berkman, Zambrano) 83 points
• What Can Brown Do For You (Peavy, Suzuki, Tulowitzki) 70 points
• Madison, I am Your Father (H. Ramirez, Markakis, Jones) 68 points
• Tanana Cream Pie (Teixeira, Braun, Hamels) 58 points
• Giant Douche Over Macho Grande (Rodriguez, Sabathia, D. Lee) 55 points
• Sid Bream Voodoo Dolls (Rollins, Bedard, Hunter) 52 points
• No Country for Old Droids (Fielder, Phillips, Atkins) 48 points
• The Confluence (Guerrero, C. Lee, Harang) 48 points
• Don Zimmer: Beyond Fukudome (Santana, Cano, A. Ramirez) 48 points
• The Disabled List: Part III Wright, V. Martinez, Upton) 47 points
• Mets in 2008 (Pujols, Crawford, Haren) 45 points
• Ish Kabibble (Ortiz, Jeter, Roberts) 43 points
• Black Dog’s Back (Cabrera, Pena, Granderson) 25 points
• Tony Montana’s All-Stars (Howard, Soriano, Verlander) 23 points
• Putz & Pie (Reyes, Ordonez, Putz) 21 points
• Benny Smells Like a Bee-otch (Holliday, M. Ramirez, Beckett) 10 points

Top Performers

Jake Peavy (What Can Brown Do for You) 50 points

Brandon Webb (Peaches Ballpark in Arlington) 40 points

Carlos Zambrano (Jewish Mafia) 37 points

Chase Utley (Neville the Hut) 46 points

A.J. Pierzynski (Tony Montana’s All-Stars) 42 points

Xavier Nady (Peaches Ballpark in Arlington) 40 points

Trash Heap

Barry Zito (Tony Montana’s All-Stars) -12 points

Ian Kennedy (Putz & Pie) -11 points

Dontrelle Willis (Tanana Cream Pie) -10 points

Paul Byrd (Ish Kabibble) -10 points

Matt Kemp (Putz & Pie) -3 points

Chris Snyder (Neville the Hut) -2 points

Adam LaRoche (Neville the Hut) -2 points

Top Hitting Teams

Tanana Cream Pie (Paul) 197 points

Peaches Ballpark in Arlington (Annamarie) 179 points

Neville the Hut (Dan) 179 points

Top Pitching Teams

Jewish Mafia (Randy) 135 points

Peaches Ballpark in Arlington (Annamarie) 125 points

What Can Brown Do For You (Dhvani) 94 points

Worst Hitting Teams

Ish Kabibble (Maury) 87 points

Benny Smells Like a Bee-otch (Marc) 103 points

Putz & Pie (Craig) 107 points

Worst Pitching Teams

Mets in 2008 (Jordan) -2 points

Ish Kabibble (Maury) 23 points

Madison, I Am Your Father (Abe) 33 points

Today in OBFBL History

April 8, 2003 By going went 4-for-4 along with three walks, Rockies' first baseman Todd Helton sets a club record by reaching base in all seven plate appearances.

Trivia Answer

Mike Hargrove, who obtained the name "for his deliberate routine at the plate before each at-bat and before each pitch. He drove pitchers crazy by stepping out of the batter's box after each pitch and starting his routine, which consisted of (1) adjusting his helmet, (2) adjusting his batting glove, making sure it was tight on his hand and especially the thumb, (3) pulling each sleeve on his uniform up about an inch, and (4) wiping each hand on his uniform pants before finally settling in the box. Towards the end of his career this trait was very well known and often commented upon by broadcasters." - Wikipedia

The sample size is a bit too small right now to draw any real comparisons, but this should get us started and excited for a new season of OBFBL, “alive and kickin’ for 10 amazing seasons.” Enjoy!