Trout Fishing

If you need a spark to get into your fantasy playoffs, cast the line and catch Mike Trout. This guy is the #2 rated prospect by Baseball America. I didn't want to pick him up because I would have had to drop Carlos Pena who has been tearing the cover off the ball lately. Plus, I am going to make the playoffs so no need to go fishing. Trout is hitting .338 in AA Rancho with 9 Ding Dongs and 28 steals. 28 STEALS? Ya, that's absurd.

The Word: Pick him up if you have a roster spot, but I don't realistically see him catching fire right away in the Majors, too big of an atmosphere change for a kid who can't get into the bars because he IS 19 YEARS OLD.

D-Train Back in the Majors!

This guy fell off the planet faster than the Hanson's. At one point the entire baseball world was enthralled by his high leg-kick, and wondered how he could see with his pulled down over his eyes. Well now, after years of bumping around in the Minors, he is back. D Train will be pitching this Sunday for the Reds.

I actually feel bad for Mr. Willis. He went from being on top of the world winning the NL Rookie of the Year in 2003, to becoming a part of the Lousville Bat's starting rotation for the 2011 Season. I hope he does well, because I can't imagine being awesome at something one second, then having it ripped away the next.

Also, is it me or does D Train look like Paul Pierce?

Crazy Eyes

Going into this year's draft, there was one guy I really wanted. Kid had scholarships to play Baseball at USC and Football at UCLA and UNLV. All I heard/read about him is that he can hit the ball farther than Superman, and will crush National League pitching this year. One thing nobody knew... is that the guy can't see straight. Going to be a long second half if Stanton can't see the 95 MPH fastball's coming at him.

The word: If you have people in your league who still value this guy as one of the best hitter's in baseball, trade him. We haven't seen much history of eye issues in baseball, but to me this is worse than a hamstring injury or something along those lines.

Machine starting tonight?

After watching Prince Albert dance around for a couple minutes after breaking his wrist, all fantasy owners probably pooped their pants. Original reports stated that "The Machine" would be out of the lineup for at least 4-8 weeks. Instead of 4-8 weeks, he is going to be ready to play again after 15 DAYS, this guy can't be human. Hopefully you didn't trade him away at a discount...

Jeter to the DL

I have been patiently waiting to blog about Jeter's 3,000, and now that selfish jerk injured his calf and is making me wait even longer. Only positive, he is now scheduled to do it in inter-league play vs the Mets. So for now, a Jeter ESPN commercial I have never seen before, maybe they are waiting for 3000 too

Somebody screwed up at ESPN....

I wouldn't normally care if Mike Napoli is on the DL, but the fact that ESPN needed to point out his background is pretty interesting. I bet Berman, Van Pelt, and all those other dudes are just fist-pumping like crazy in Bristol. Now watch this Berman rant, it's pretty awesome

Baseball Bitty of the Week

Arguably the hottest baseball bitty out there. I would expect her to be with someone along the Jeter/A-Rod line, but she goes with Kris Benson......

Miss Anna has lived the American Dream.....sort of. She left home in Atlanta at age 16, started stripping, had a baby, and got married. Then she met Kris in 1998 while she was stripping in Nawleans, and they have been hooked ever since. 

WHAT A COUNTRY! USA USA USA!!! 

What's up with Longo?

Going into my fantasy draft this year, I had the 6th pick and was contemplating between Miguel Cabrera (DET) and Evan Longoria. I thought it would be his break-out, MVP year, thank you God for making me choose Miggy, and for boobs. 

A Bit About Longo:

E-Long went to Long Beach State in Cali, a baseball powerhouse that produced major leaguers Jason Giambi and former ESPN Analyst Harold Reynolds, who was fired because he gave a "mis-interpreted hug" to a female colleague. Amazing what a skull-cap can do for one's image...

Longo was overlooked coming out of a high school, most scouts thought he was too thin and wouldn't hit for any power. so he actually attended Rio Hondo CC his Freshmen Year. He earned all conference honors there, and LBS finally gave him a scholarship, but he couldn't play Shortstop (his usual position) because LBS already this guy named Troy Tulowitzki. E-Long also became an All-American Wrestler at Long Beach.

During the summers, Longoria came to the Cape Cod League, and earned MVP honors playing for the Chatham A's, the team featured in one of the worst sports movies ever, Summer Catch.

Anyways, Longo is the 442nd ranked player in Yahoo's rankings, hitting .244 in the last month. Hopefully someone has him in your league and has given up on him. 

The Word: Buy Low, get this guy on your team. 

Who Wants a Moust-ache Ride?

If you haven't heard yet, Mike Moustakas (and his mean face, see above)  has been called up and made his major league debut for the KC Royals last week. I am loving how the Royals are giving their top prospects (Hosmer, Mr. Mustache) a chance to break into the majors instead of leaving them to crush minor league pitching. It almost looks as if they are trying to make the playoffs....playoffs?

I can't call him Moose because that name will always belong to Mr. Class Mike Mussina. But, I can call him Mr. Mustache, that's more fun anyways. 

This guy is extremely talented, he hails from Cali where he hit 52 Ding-Dongs in his high school career, A California Prep Record. He was drafted 2nd overall in 2007, and was given a whopping $4 million signing bonus. With Mr. Mustache, Alex Gordon, and Eric Hosmer, the Royals actually have a solid core to their lineup, and if they can stay away from trading the talent, could be in the pennant race for the next 10 years. 

The Word: If you have the roster spot, grab him. He won't be as successful as other call-ups Hosmer and Rizzo (SD), but if I'm wrong, in my face....

H to the Rizzo

If you haven't heard yet, Padres top prospect Anthony Rizzo is being called up and will be batting 5th tonight. Rizzo came over to San Diego in the deal that sent Adrian Gonzalez to the Sox. If you're a Boston fan, you have to be loving the production from A-Gon this year. 

Rizzo hails from Ft. Lauderdale where he was local high-school hero, and attended Florida Atlantic, where his brother also played lineman for the football team. This guy has tons of potential and some scouts say he is a more powerful version of A-Gon...bold statement. 

In his first 15 games at AAA for the Tuscon Padres Rizzo hit .452 with 6 Ding Dongs and 24 RBIs. 

The fans in San Diego are supposedly calling it "Rizzomania" right now, and I am down with the Rizzomaniacs! Just tell me where to sign and I'm in. 

The Word: Pick him up if you have a spot, nobody hits HRs in San Diego but there is way too much hype on this kid to leave him on the wire. If Jay-Z has anything to do with it, H to the Rizzo will become a star. Besides, look at that smile, winner. Are his eyes open?

Uptown Baby

All I know is that this rivalry has gotten way too friendly. Let's get Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz involved and get the intensity back to when Pedro manhandled Zimmer. 

I want to see some hit batters and mound chargers. Even in the pre-game now you see these guys laughing and having a good time. Let's get real

Sox crushed the Yanks in the first series this year, let's see how this one goes. Garcia V Lester tonight, obvious advantage to NY....riiiiight

Prediction- Sox win first game, Yanks win rest

Pap suspended for the Yanks Series

As a Yanks fan I enjoy this news, as I attempt to replicate this masculine pose by the Sox closer. Does anyone in Boston even like this guy? He is like the A-Rod of the Red Sox.  

Everyone says baseball starts after June 1, so if the pennant race is close in September, we will be talking about these games...

Top 51 SP's REST OF SEASON-

Note: Tristan H. Cockcroft's top 125 starting pitchers are ranked for their expected performance -- and projections -- from this point forward, not for statistics that have already been accrued.

Rank	Player	Team	Prev. Rank	W	ERA	GS	IP	H	ER	BB	K	WHIP
1	Roy Halladay	PHI	1	13	2.58	22	164	151	47	23	147	1.06
2	Tim Lincecum	SF	2	10	2.74	22	148	120	45	51	165	1.16
3	Felix Hernandez	SEA	3	9	2.67	22	155	129	46	47	144	1.14
4	Cliff Lee	PHI	4	10	3.10	21	148	144	51	22	130	1.12
5	Jered Weaver	LAA	6	10	3.21	22	140	121	50	37	131	1.13
6	Jon Lester	BOS	5	13	3.17	22	139	120	49	48	140	1.21
7	Dan Haren	LAA	8	9	3.26	22	149	135	54	29	139	1.10
8	Tommy Hanson	ATL	9	9	3.20	22	138	114	49	43	125	1.14
9	CC Sabathia	NYY	11	12	3.23	23	159	147	57	46	137	1.21
10	Justin Verlander	DET	7	10	3.66	22	150	128	61	47	146	1.17
11	Cole Hamels	PHI	10	9	3.37	22	139	125	52	35	132	1.15
12	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	12	9	3.07	22	138	111	47	57	142	1.22
13	Shaun Marcum	MIL	17	9	3.27	20	124	108	45	30	107	1.11
14	David Price	TB	13	11	3.49	22	142	126	55	48	118	1.23
15	Zack Greinke	MIL	15	8	3.57	21	136	130	54	32	130	1.19
16	Matt Cain	SF	14	8	3.27	22	146	125	53	47	117	1.18
17	Josh Johnson	FLA	20	7	2.62	17	110	93	32	31	103	1.13
18	Ubaldo Jimenez	COL	16	10	3.60	23	145	117	58	66	134	1.26
19	Yovani Gallardo	MIL	29	9	3.65	22	138	121	56	55	141	1.28
20	Josh Beckett	BOS	21	9	3.64	20	126	114	51	36	117	1.19
21	Roy Oswalt	PHI	23	8	3.23	21	128	113	46	31	105	1.13
22	Chad Billingsley	LAD	24	9	3.41	22	140	123	53	56	136	1.28
23	Jhoulys Chacin	COL	22	9	3.53	22	130	110	51	51	119	1.24
24	Trevor Cahill	OAK	18	9	3.33	22	135	116	50	48	102	1.21
25	James Shields	TB	28	9	3.83	23	148	149	63	33	135	1.23
26	Ricky Nolasco	FLA	25	9	3.79	21	133	132	56	28	121	1.20
27	Mat Latos	SD	33	6	3.50	21	126	109	49	39	116	1.17
28	Daniel Hudson	ARI	27	8	3.70	22	129	116	53	39	115	1.20
29	Jaime Garcia	STL	26	9	3.12	21	121	110	42	42	97	1.26
30	Anibal Sanchez	FLA	32	9	3.40	22	135	123	51	52	124	1.30
31	Jonathan Sanchez	SF	30	9	3.60	21	130	105	52	66	141	1.32
32	Chris Carpenter	STL	35	8	3.37	21	139	137	52	34	101	1.23
33	Max Scherzer	DET	19	8	3.59	22	133	121	53	49	131	1.28
34	Michael Pineda	SEA	40	7	3.55	18	114	100	45	33	108	1.17
35	Matt Garza	CHC	31	8	3.70	22	141	132	58	46	128	1.26
36	Gio Gonzalez	OAK	34	9	3.57	22	136	121	54	56	129	1.30
37	Tim Hudson	ATL	42	8	3.28	18	118	104	43	35	69	1.18
38	Brett Anderson	OAK	36	7	3.11	18	110	103	38	28	83	1.19
39	Colby Lewis	TEX	39	9	3.74	21	137	127	57	44	114	1.25
40	Ian Kennedy	ARI	37	7	3.69	22	134	114	55	45	109	1.19
41	Jair Jurrjens	ATL	46	9	3.22	19	123	118	44	39	85	1.28
42	Ted Lilly	LAD	47	8	3.90	20	127	119	55	29	98	1.17
43	Ricky Romero	TOR	43	9	3.96	23	150	143	66	57	134	1.33
44	Brandon Morrow	TOR	41	7	3.89	20	111	94	48	47	130	1.27
45	C.J. Wilson	TEX	51	8	3.44	21	123	105	47	52	109	1.28
46	Jeremy Hellickson	TB	52	7	3.38	20	125	114	47	43	100	1.26
47	Hiroki Kuroda	LAD	48	7	3.47	20	122	116	47	29	91	1.19
48	Clay Buchholz	BOS	50	9	3.45	21	120	109	46	47	86	1.30
49	Ervin Santana	LAA	53	9	4.04	21	136	135	61	39	112	1.28
50	Gavin Floyd	CHW	45	8	3.91	20	129	123	56	39	103	1.26
51	Scott Baker	MIN	54	8	4.08	22	130	128	59	35	112	1.25