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Fantasy Rankings - Catchers
Fantasy players shouldn't spend too much time worrying about the catcher position. Second-tier options at several other positions will put up better numbers than even the elite backstops, so your best bet is to let others in your league scramble for the McCanns, Martins and Mauers and focus on filling out the rest of your lineup card. Once the better fantasy catchers are off the board, there's a large group of guys who will all offer about the same production and can get the job done for you. Some of them will still be there near the tail end of your draft.
2009 Fantasy Baseball Preview
They start crunching numbers and reviewing injury reports in January in hopes of getting a leg up on draft day. They spend countless hours scouring the waiver wire and keeping tabs on promising minor leaguers in search of any advantage that might net them the bragging rights - and cash prize - they're after. Every conversation with a fellow league member is liable to end up in trade negotiations. Lineup decisions are often agonizing. Each victory brings great satisfaction, and they need their space after a tough loss. Fantasy fanatics, this preview is for you.
Orioles headed in right direction
The Baltimore Sun reported Friday morning that the Orioles and second baseman Brian Roberts have agreed to a four-year, $40 million contract extension that will keep the two-time All-Star in Baltimore through the 2013 season. "I don't think I would've made the commitment to even begin negotiations if I didn't think that at some point in this process of the next four or five years that we [would] have a chance to win," Roberts said yesterday as he waited for the deal to be finalized. The sentiment Roberts expresses is correct - the O's are headed in the right direction.
Report links A-Rod, shady trainer
The New York Daily News reported Friday morning that Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez has had a long association with steroid-linked trainer Angel Presinal, who is banned from all major league clubhouses. The Daily News further reported that A-Rod has known Presinal since his Rangers days and that Presinal accompanied A-Rod during the entire 2007 season, staying in the same hotel when the Yankees were on the road and sharing a room with Yuri Sucart, the cousin from whom A-Rod says he got performance-enhancing drugs from 2001 to 2003.
Braves, Glavine reach agreement
A day after losing out to the Mariners in the Ken Griffey Jr. sweepstakes, the Braves secured the services of their own home-grown future Hall of Famer. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Thursday night that Tom Glavine, Major League Baseball's only active 300-game winner, had agreed to a one-year, $1 million deal. The soon-to-be 43-year-old left-hander can also reportedly earn up to $3.5 million in incentives. He will likely serve as the team's No. 5 starter, allowing more time for 22-year-old top prospect Tommy Hanson to develop in the minors.
Griffey burns Braves, returns to M's
MLB.com reported Wednesday night that 12-time All-Star and 600-home run club member Ken Griffey Jr. has agreed to a one-year deal with his original team, the Mariners, that will pay him $2 million plus incentives tied to at bats and attendance. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution had reported on Tuesday that an agreement between Griffey and the Braves was imminent, but a person with knowledge of the negotiations said the 39-year-old changed his mind after that deal fell through.
Nats need to fire GM Bowden now
The Nationals have yet to finish above .500 during Jim Bowden's four-plus years as general manager. Instead of making progress, they have regressed significantly. The Nats went 81-81 in 2005, their first season in D.C., and followed that up with a 71-91 record in 2006 and a 73-89 mark in 2007. They staggered to the worst record in baseball last season at 59-102. Tuesday's report that $1.4 million bonus baby Esmailyn Gonzalez - a switch-hitting shortstop believed to be 19 - is actually 23-year-old Carlos Alvarez Daniel Lugo should be the final straw. Bowden has screwed up in every way a GM can and it's time for the Nats to fire him.
Report: Nats duped by top prospect
SI.com, citing four sources, reported late Tuesday night that the Nationals minor leaguer known as Esmailyn Gonzalez and thought to be just 19 years old is in fact 23-year-old Carlos Alvarez Daniel Lugo. The switch-hitting shortstop hit .343 to win the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League's MVP award in 2008 and was recently ranked by Baseball America as Washington's No. 10 prospect entering the 2009 season. He signed on July 2, 2006, for a $1.4 million bonus, which remains the largest sum ever given by the Nationals to an international player.
A-Rod fills in the blanks
Alex Rodriguez revealed Tuesday afternoon that he and his cousin obtained in the Dominican Republic a substance known on the streets as "boli" and injected each other twice a month over six-month periods in 2001, 2002 and 2003. He said the substance was intended to provide an "energy boost" and that he wasn't sure how much it helped his performance. He referred to his actions as a "stupid mistake" and reiterated his claims of ignorance and naivety. "We consulted no one. It was pretty evident that we didn't know what we were doing," he said.
Sports coverage needs perspective
If we can learn anything from the coverage of the Alex Rodriguez steroid scandal, it's that we've fallen into an ever-repeating cycle of spouting hate and casting blame onto others to elevate our own self-righteousness. Perhaps instead of gossiping about celebrities for their ill-advised and embarrassing but ultimately unimportant in the grand scheme of things indiscretions, ESPN should be bombarding kids with the tragic story of Ken Caminiti, who fell as hard as one can to the Steroid Era and died of an apparent heart attack in October 2004. By SEAN RAPOSA.
Wieters likely ticketed for triple-A
It appears Orioles fans are going to have to wait at least a little longer for top prospect Matt Wieters' eagerly anticipated big league debut. In an interview published Friday by the Baltimore Sun, Orioles President of Baseball Operations Andy MacPhail said Wieters - Baseball America's 2008 Minor League Player of the Year - would "in all likelihood" begin the season with Baltimore's triple-A affiliate, the Norfolk Tides.
Nats' Dunn deal a shortsighted move
The Nationals have reportedly agreed to a two-year, $20 million contract with free agent slugger Adam Dunn. The 29-year-old has smashed 40 or more homers in each of the past five seasons and knocked in 100 or more runs four times during that stretch, and though he hits for low averages and annually ranks among the league leaders in K's, he is the owner of an impressive .381 career OBP. But while Dunn brings power to a Nats lineup that sorely lacks it, this is an ill-advised, shortsighted move.
Alomar AIDS lawsuit sad, shocking
The New York Post reported Wednesday that an ex-girlfriend is suing 12-time All-Star second baseman Roberto Alomar for $15 millon because, she claims, he had unprotected sex with her despite the fact that he had AIDS. In the lawsuit filed in Brooklyn District Court, Ilya Dall of Queens alleges that Alomar, who played in the majors for 17 years before retiring after the 2004 season, tested positive for HIV in January 2006 and learned soon thereafter that he had full-blown AIDS.
Alomar AIDS lawsuit sad, shocking*
The New York Post reported Wednesday that an ex-girlfriend is suing 12-time All-Star second baseman Roberto Alomar for $15 millon because, she claims, he had unprotected sex with her despite the fact that he had AIDS. In the lawsuit filed in Brooklyn District Court, Ilya Dall of Queens alleges that Alomar, who played in the majors for 17 years before retiring after the 2004 season, tested positive for HIV in January 2006 and learned soon thereafter that he had full-blown AIDS.
Abreu a terrific bargain for Angels
Everyone has been negatively affected by the sagging economy - everyone, that is, except the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. SI.com reports that the Halos have taken advantage of the collective unwillingness of teams not named the Yankees to shell out big money for free agents this offseason by signing former Bomber Bobby Abreu to a one-year deal worth $5 million, plus incentives. The addition of Abreu won't completely make up for the defection of $180 million man Mark Teixeira to the Bronx, but it will come a lot closer to doing so than some people probably realize, at a much lower cost.
