1) Ben Broussard, 1B, Cleveland Indians: Even though first base is a deep fantasy position, it is hard to ignore his .414 average, five home runs, and 21 RBI's. Playing for the Indians is another plus as they are a team that has plenty of offense.
2) Omar Vizquel, SS, San Francisco Giants: Another aging star in the heart of the order for the Giants who continues to produce. Showing no signs of aging Vizquel is hitting .373 with six stolen bases and 20 runs scored.
3) Corey Patterson, OF, Baltimore Orioles: Patterson has had his struggles lately but was once considered to be a top fantasy prospect. Now he is a good pickup if stolen bases is a need. He is hitting .278 with seven stolen bases and 13 runs scored.
4) Bill Hall, 2B 3B SS, Milwaukee Brewers: I know the BrewCrew is loaded with young talent but this guy needs to be in the lineup every day. For a guy who plays the infield he has a lot of power. So far this season he is hitting .348 with six home runs and 17 runs scored.
5) Nate Robertson, SP, Detroit Tigers: The jury is still out on this guy but so far he has pitched well and has the big time detroit bats to protect him if he slips. On the season he has three wins, 21K's and a 3.77ERA.
Other players to consider include: Jason Repko, Craig Monroe, Joe Crede, Taylor Buckholz.
Five to Boot:
1) Marcus Giles, 2B, Atlanta Braves: This guy just isn't putting up any numbers at all, no matter what his name is you can't have someone in your lineup that is hitting .195 with only one home run and five RBI's.
2) Jason Varitek, C, Boston Red Sox: I know catcher isn't exactly a fantasy hot bed but there has to be a better fantasy option at catcher out there. Varitek may turn it around but it is hard to keep two catchers on the roster at one time. He is hitting .250 with one home run and eight RBI's.
3) Brady Clark, OF, Milwaukee Brewers: Had a good year last year and may still be on the bench of some squads in case he turns it around. It is time to let this guy go as Milwaukee is producing big time fantasy numbers but he is not involved at all. Clark is batting .200 with one home run and eight RBI's.
4) Jon Lieber, SP, Philadelphia Phillies: Not much needs to be said about a guy with a 7.04 ERA and zero wins.
5) Josh Towers, SP, Toronto Blue Jays: Towers pitched pretty well last season and I had hope for him with this new offense behind him. But all hope is lost as he has zero wins and a 10.45 ERA.
Note: These statistics are prior to Tuesday night's games.
After a 6-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday night, the Reds now sit atop the NL Central with a record of 18-8. Riding the arm of Bronson Arroyo the Reds have finally found the pitching they need to help out their big bats.
Bronson Arroyo (5-0) has been dominate since coming over in a trade on March 20th for outfielder Wily Mo Pena. Brandon Phillips is hitting .343 with three home runs and 23 RBI's since arriving on April 7th for cash. Adam Dunn is hitting home runs in the middle of the lineup and the rest of the players are doing what they need to do to win ball games. Baseball is a game of statistics and the Red's stats so far this season prove why they have been so successful.
Avg. Home Runs RBI Runs Stolen Bases
Ryan Freel .272 0 4 17 8
Felipe Lopez .262 3 12 26 9
Rich Aurilia .293 5 13 14 1
Adam Dunn .264 9 18 26 0
Austin Kearns .299 5 19 17 2
Edwin Encarnacion .301 3 24 18 0
Brandon Phillips .343 3 23 11 3
If Bronson Arroyo can continue to become an ace for the Reds, and they can maintain their balanced hitting, this team has a real shot to make the playoffs. What makes this team so dangerous is that batters 1-7 all have the potential to beat you. A lineup that does not include Ken Griffey Jr. who is currently on the 15-day DL. There is speed at the top of the order, power in the middle and big time numbers at the end of the lineup. The NL Central is extremely tough and they will have their work cut out for them. However, If April is any indication of how this team will perform for the remainder of the season then they will prove they are up to the task.
Foxsports.com gave the Redskins the worst possible draft grade, an F, and the Skins were placed down at the bottom in slot 32. I completely disagree with this analysis and It is not just because I am a homer, I have facts to back it up.
Unlike the posters of most Redskins message boards that have personal hatred for certain writers, I try to remain neutral and judge only bodies of work. Because I am trying to enter this profession I understand that what I write will not always make everyone happy. Nevertheless, I feel as the reader, I should be able to voice my opinion as long as I have the facts to present a worthwhile argument.
I understand that the Washington Redskins had few picks because they traded them away. However, when completing a draft grade that should be taken into consideration. Even though the players were not acquired strictly through the draft, the picks were still used to get something in return. It is not as though the Redskins just offered the picks to another team in return for cash and a six-pack. They used the picks to acquire talent that will help the team immediately.
As many draft experts will tell you, the draft is hit or miss. A team can draft a quarterback like Heath Shuler (Redskins) in the first round; or they can take a quarterback like Tom Brady (Patriots) in the sixth round. Although the teams spend a very long time analyzing who they want to take, in the end, these players have yet to play in the NFL and a full analysis of their talent can not be performed.
The Redskins have decided to bypass the hit our miss draft, and build with players who have already proven they can play at the NFL level. Instead of drafting 10-12 players and giving them all contracts, they will give bigger contracts to free agents who have proven they can play. The way the Redskins spend is decidedly different from the time Synder took over as owner compared to now with Gibbs at the helm. Instead of signing aging big names, Washington signs players who are fresh off of their rookie contracts, and entering their prime. Although the majority of the Redskins were signed via free agency or acquired by trade, the team is still very young as a whole, and the players have all been signed for long term. Gibbs was previously a head coach before the days of salary cap and free agency. He does not build a team that can win for a year or two, he plans for the future and tries to build a team that will contend for the next 5-10 years. Anyone who wants to doubt him go ahead, but his track record is proven, and it is something that can not be argued. Arguing the decision of a Super Bowl champion, Hall of Famer, NASCAR champion and the current head coach of a playoff football team is like trying to argue the world is flat. The argument for Gibbs' player personnel decisions could continue, but I feel that I should not have to do that for a team that just came off of a 10-6 season. What Gibbs and co. are doing is obviously working, so I will move on to something else.
In the analysis it stated that Gibbs claimed the Redskins drafted Rocky McIntosh because they liked his name. That was obviously a joke by Gibbs and has no business being in the analysis of the draft pick. Joe Gibbs is a head coach known for sleeping on a cot in his office because he works so hard. So it is safe to say that the pick had nothing to do with his name and the coaching staff have watched more film and done more research on McIntosh than humanly possible. Trading up in the draft is something the Redskins do, not to be flashly, but to get the player they think will work well on the team. Chris Cooley was a player the Redskins traded up for and has proven well worth the picks they gave up to get him. This years first round pick was given up so that the Redskins could draft Jason Campbell last year. The Redskins decided they would rather take a quarterback last year, as opposed to this year, and give him an extra year to develop. When it comes to quarterbacks, nothing is more crucial than development, and Joe Gibbs does not believe in playing a quarterback as a rookie.
My disagreement with the grade does not mean that I feel the Redskins should receive an A. I feel they deserve a C. The Redskins filled a need at Outside Linebacker and drafted a player they are comfortable can do that. Other than some minor depth issues that were filled later on in the draft, the Redskins have few holes. Having 12 draft picks would not benefit the Redskins because some of the players would not even be able to make the final roster. How a team can receive an F in a draft because they have few holes to fill boggles my mind. McIntosh was a player they needed so they went after them.
Quantity of draft picks should not have an affect on the overall grade. The Redskins drafted the player they needed to fill an opening, and then used their remaining picks to fill depth at positions that required it. On a defense filled with playmakers and a talented coordinator leading the way, McIntosh could flourish in his new role.
My argument for this is simple. His defense is atrocious. Smush Parker is scoring at will on Steve Nash and making him look worse than a Kobe dunk ever could. Getting dunked on by Kobe is one thing, but getting man-handled by Parker is a whole different ball game. This time last year Nash was MVP, and no one outside of inner city New York had even heard of Smush, now he is causing big time problems for the NBA's "Most Valuable Player."
I know that Nash is the general of that team and makes amazing plays on the offensive side of the ball. But if you can't play a lick of defense, then you can't get out an run as often you want. Smush is creating on offense, and playing solid defense as well. Nash has no defensive ability at all.
The Phoenix Suns continually preach get out and run, but they can't get a stop on defense, so their opportunties have become limited. If Nash, or anyone on the Suns for that matter, could play defense then maybe they'd be able to get out in transition more. Odom, Brown, Parker, and Walton are scoring often and making the game easy for Kobe. In my opinion, Nash as MVP is a joke.
Lebron James and Kobe Bryant are the two best players in the NBA by far. They are dominate in all areas of the game and have taken over in the playoffs. Kobe may be scoring less, but he is creating for everyone, and making EVERYONE AROUND HIM BETTER. Supposedly, that was Kobe's weakness, something he could not do. Now he is proving doubters wrong once again, and deserves to be CO-MVP. What Lebron is doing is simply amazing and I have a feeling for the next 10-15 years he will have a legitimate shot at MVP every single season.
Hey Nash that was a great pass, BUT WILL YOU PLEASE PLAY SOME DEFENSE?
Just a little while ago I posted an article stating the Texans will take Mario Williams instead of Reggie Bush. It was just announced that the Texans have reached an agreement with Mario Williams and will select him number one overall. THIS IS A HUGE MISTAKE. I don't care if Bush lived in a mansion for one dollar a year, he is still arguably the best college football player ever and a player the Texans needed. Mario Williams will be good, but he is no Reggie Bush. Bush could have changed the way teams have to defend against the Texans and made Carr's life so much easier. This could turn out to be one of the biggest mistakes in draft history and I can't believe it is actually going to go down.
Maybe this will be good for the Saints, getting a player like Reggie Bush will be good for this team, and city, after the year they had last year. If they pass on him, well then, that is just getting rediculous.
The New Orleans Saints select.................RB, Reggie Bush, USC
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