Top 10 Surprises

Just as there are busts, there are pleasant surprises. Some of them are the real deal, some are a fluke. Every year you can count on there being 3-5 players who just come out of nowhere and become fantasy studs. They can be past flames who withered away, but thanks to some HGH are suddenly alive and kickin' once again.. They can be unproven prospects that take the league by storm.. Or they can simply be players returning from an injury that forced them to miss much of the previous year. Regardless, if you take a chance on them late in a draft or are the first to claim them off the Free Agent list, they can really help you put your team above the rest.

Great fantasy teams aren't made in the first 10 rounds of a draft, that's the easy stuff. Great teams are made in the final 11 rounds, but most of these players went unnoticed..



Are they for real? Or is it just a flicker of light?





My opponent last week had Joe Crede... And Crede.... Of all people.... Lead his team to a 9-0-1 victory over mine with his 5 runs, 3 homeruns (2 grand slams), 9 rbi. My 3B, Miguel Cabrera, finished with 1 run, 0 homeruns, 1 rbi, and a .227 avg. Go figure.


But anyways, onto the list.


10. Alex Gordon (11 runs, 3 homeruns, 7 rbi, 1 sb, .307 avg) - Last year he entered the season as the top prospect in baseball. Fans in Kansas City expected him to turn water to wine. There were high expectations for him, to say the least. He ended last May with only 2 homeruns and 8 rbi. KC fans and fantasy owners had lost all faith in him. But come on, he was shot out of the minors with a cannon. After a horrible 1st half he finished with a solid 2nd half. His first 2 weeks have already been better than his first 2 months as a rookie. Not many people were talking about him coming into this season, they definitely should've been.


9. Johny Cueto (19.1 IP, 1 win, 24 K's, 3.72 ERA, 0.62 WHIP) - Nobody had heard of this guy until Spring Training. In a matter of 2 weeks he became immortal. He has nasty stuff so the strikeouts will be there all season, unfortunately he pitches in one of the biggest hitter-friendly parks so to expect Cueto to finish with an ERA under 4.00 is foolish. Dusty Baker also has a tendancy to ruin pitchers... Sell high if you haven't already.


8. Mark Reynolds (12 runs, 5 homeruns, 15 rbi, 1 sb, .280 avg) - What? You drafted A-Rod over Mark Reynolds? Are you an idiot?? Ok, so obviously Reynolds isn't going to keep this pace up, but Arizona has a talented young offense and play in a good hitters park so 25 homeruns/90 rbi isn't out of the question. But once again, you might as well try to sell high.


7. George Sherrill (5.2 IP, 6 saves, 3.18 ERA, 0.71 WHIP) - Sherril put up great numbers behind Putz last year in Seattle, but only had 4 career saves coming into this year. Not much is expected of Baltimore this season, but they've given Sherril plenty of opportunities and so far he's 6/6, despite a hiccup during his last outing. If you haven't noticed, bullpens have been awful so far this year. Sherril is a good find, hang onto him.


6. Kerry Wood (8 IP, 1 win, 3 saves, 4.50 ERA, 0.88 WHIP) - Wood was getting a lot of hype after a strong spring and was named the Cubs closer. Then came Opening Day and Wood gave up 3 runs in his first appearance. His owners probably felt like donkeys, buying into the hype once again. But since then Wood has only given up 1 run in 7 IP and as long as he can stay healthy he should do a solid job as the Cubs closer.


5. Brian Bannister (21 IP, 3 wins, 13 K's, 0.86 ERA, 0.71 WHIP) - Bannister has been lights out so far this season. Shutting down the Yankees, Twins, and Tigers with ease. He finished with 12 wins and a 3.87 ERA last year for the mediocre Royals, so there's no reason to think he can't improve on that in his second full season in the majors.


4. Joe Crede (7 runs, 4 homeruns, 15 rbi, .311 avg) - I can't really think of a word to describe how bad Crede was last year. And after a weak Spring Training every White Sox fan was praying that Crede would be traded to make room for Josh Fields, but their prayers weren't answered and Fields was optioned to the minors to start the season. Then Crede plays me in fantasy baseball and has a monster week (because all mediocre players get hot for one week against me). The jury is still out on Crede. He is capable of putting up good numbers, based on his 2006 season. So a rebound season makes sense. I don't see him ended the season in Chicago.


3. Justin Upton (7 runs, 5 homeruns, 12 rbi, .388 avg) - The 2005 #1 overall pick isn't wasting much time following through on his potential. He has no stolen bases yet, but the speed is there. ESPN only projected 8 homeruns from him this year... It would appear they underestimated him. He's only 20, so you should expect some growing pains with him, but his upside is ridiculous.


2. Nate McLouth (11 runs, 2 homeruns, 14 rbi, 2 sb, .383 avg) - Saito most recently ran into the buzz-saw formerly known as Nate McLouth, as he gave up a walkoff 3-run homerun. McLouth had 66 career RBI coming into this season and had never hit higher than .258, so expect him to come back to earth soon. The theme of this post is "sell high", otherwise ride him down to mediocrity.


1. Gabe Kapler (8 runs, 4 homeruns, 11 rbi, 1 sb, .423 average) - This time last year Kapler was coaching A-ball in the minors. Now he's making Prince Fielder look like a chump. The last time Kapler had double digit homeruns was in 2001. Don't even bother with him because homerun #5 may never come. Mike Cameron will be reclaiming CF once he returns from his suspension, putting Kapler in reserve. None-the-less, it's pretty impressive what he's done so far.

Party Like It's 1999

Yes. As you can see, it's been a while... 9 years to be exact. No Mookie, no Steve Smith, no Dikembe and his finger, and no Omni this time around. I was 13 the last time the Hawks made the playoffs, half the current Hawks probably were as well. I'm not so sure the Hawks belong on the same court with Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen. Oh, and a bench that outscored the Hawks starters by 10 points in the 4th quarter last Saturday. But who knows... Josh Smith, Marvin Williams, Joe Johnson, and Mike Bibby have won just as many championships as KG, Pierce, and Allen. Anything can happen. ESPN gives the Hawks a 0.5% chance to reach the Finals and a 0.1% chance to be the champs. I'll take those odds.



As a Braves fan, I'm used to my team being the favorite, only to watch them lose... And it hurts. So I'm looking forward to watching the Hawks, a team that no one respects, take on the Celtics, the best team in the NBA. If the Hawks lose, who cares.. Everyone expected them to lose. If the Hawks win... Wow, they may have pulled off one of the biggest upsets of all time. I like this situation. It's the equivalent of making a $1 bet with the chance to win $1,000.

The Hawks are 0-3 against the Celtics this year. So I'd be surprised if they manage to steal a game against Boston. The Hawks have a solid team, and Bibby has been a great leader for them down the stretch. Unfortunately, Horford isn't a true center and KG is most likely going to dominate him throughout the series.

But... Could Josh Smith be the NBA version of Tom Brady......?

I guess we'll find out next week.

Top 10 Busts

Well I'm back. I've risen from the ashes of http://vicksbirds.blogspot.com/ like a phoenix. This past season without Vick was a complete disaster. Is there hope in the near future? No. After witnessing the Hawks "rebuild" for the past ten years, I can only expect the same from the Falcons. We have no quarterback, no running back, no offensive line, no defense, and a 45 year old kicker. So it'll be ugly once again next season. But anyways, this will be a general sports blog covering fantasy baseball/football/basketball and recaping sporting events. I will intentionally avoid talking about the Falcons.

Two weeks into the baseball season, the only thing on my mind are the busts so far. I know it's early, but I'm ready to put out a list of the Top 10 busts so far this season, and whether or not they can turn things around anytime soon.

10) Jose Reyes (5 runs, 0 homeruns, 6 rbi, 1 SB, .205 avg) - Reyes was the consensus #3 overall pick this past season, and most of his owners are regretting that. Reyes is currently out with a strained hamstring, which is probably the last injury you want a guy whose value is solely due to his speed. Reyes had a great season 2 years ago, a slight decline last year, and I wouldn't be surprised if his stats dipped a little more this year. He should still end up with around 60 SB though.

9) Troy Tulowitzki (4 runs, 0 homeruns, 0 rbi, 1 SB, .159 avg) - Tulo was taken in the early 4th round this year as most people expected him to improve on his rookie numbers (.291 avg, 24 homeruns, 99 rbi). He got off to a slow April last year as well, and the Rockies offense has been awful so far this season, so Tulo owners shouldn't be too concerned. It doesn't look likely that he'll top last years numbers, but they should end up pretty similar.

8) Alfonso Soriano (7 runs, 2 homeruns, 5 rbi, 2 SB, .175 avg) - Personally, Soriano would drive me crazy if he was on my fantasy team. He has 11 K's and 10 hits so far this season and his On Base Percentage is .230, but he insists on hitting leadoff. His 40/40 days are over because of his bad knees, but he'll still manage 20 stolen bases this year.

7) Roy Oswalt (16 IP, 0 wins, 12 K's, 9.00 ERA, 2.00 WHIP) - Pitching is a crapshoot, but Oswalt has been as consistant as they come. He has pitched 200+ innings in 5 of the past 6 seasons, averaging 17.6 wins during those 5 years, and has a career 3.14 ERA. He's off to the worst start of his career this season, already giving up 5 homeruns in 3 starts (4 homeruns in 4 innings against the Marlins). It looks like he's hit a wall and I'd be really concerned if he was on my team. All those years of 200+ innings may finally be catching up to him.

6) Prince Fielder (5 runs, 0 homeruns, 6 rbi, .222 avg) - 12 games without a homerun most likely has his owners sweating. As long as Fielder doesn't start panicking himself, he should end up with 40+ homeruns, he's too strong. But I also think he needs to man up and stop being a vegetarian.

5) Russell Martin (4 runs, 0 homeruns, 4 rbi, 1 SB, .146 avg) - Well, this is why you don't take catchers in the 3rd round... Wouldn't it make sense to draft Cole Hamels in the 3rd round instead, and draft someone like Geovany Soto in the 14th round or J.R. Towles in the 17th round? Martin will end up having a decent season based on Catcher standards, due to his stolen bases. But ouch, what a waste of a 3rd round pick.

4) C.C. Sabathia (14 IP, 0 wins, 13 K, 11.57 ERA, 2.56 WHIP) - 9 walks and 24 hits allowed in 14 IP.. That's really ugly. He only walked 37 batters in 34 starts last year, so his command is obviously off. It's not uncommon for players to crumble on the eve of a big pay day, and that may be the case with Sabathia. He's only had 3 starts, so don't panic just yet. But two of those starts were against that Oakland A's juggernaut of an offense...

3) Andruw Jones (3 runs, 0 homeruns, 1 rbi, 0 SB, .100 avg) - Good riddance. Just wanted to go ahead and say that as a Braves fan. Andruw has 14 K's and 4 hits so far this season. His last 8 games he is 1/25 with 12 K's. If you own him, sucks for you. If Andruw wants to hit above the Mendoza line, he better stop trying to pull everything. Yes Andruw.. Even if it's a foot outside.

2) David Ortiz (6 runs, 1 homerun, 3 rbi, .070 avg) - Ortiz got a hit tonight! This is cause for celebration, as a result he has upped his average to .089. Come on Big Papi, you're .011 points away from Andruw, you can do it! Wade Boggs thinks Ortiz is jet lagged from the trip to Japan... That's a pretty weak excuse, I'm not buying it. My theory is that by burying Ortiz's jersey under the Yankee's new stadium in an attempt to curse the Yankees, it actually backfired and cursed Ortiz.. Actually, I just think his days of putting up monster numbers are over. He's 33 and fat, Yahoo just made me laugh by claiming that he's only 230 lbs. He went from 54 homeruns in 2006, to 35 homeruns last year, to this. Who knows, he could surprise me, but I don't expect him to end up with more than 30 homeruns this year.

1) The Detroit Tigers (2-10) - I guess they never learned from the Yankees that you can't buy a championship or chemistry. If I listed each player individually, it would've taken up my Top 10 list. They have a potent lineup, so I expect the offense to come around. But their pitching is horrible and will drag them down even if their hitting lives up to it's potential. Detroit went from ESPN's 2nd favorite team (they're fascinated by the Braves) during Spring Training to the biggest joke in MLB in a matter of 2 weeks.

- Ivan Rodriguez (5 runs, 0 homeruns, 2 rbi, .195 avg) hit 8 homeruns in Spring Training.
- Miguel Cabrera (3 runs, 1 homerun, 2 rbi, .175 avg)
- Gary Sheffield (0 runs, 0 homeruns, 1 rbi, 2 SB, .179 avg) and a torn tendon in his finger.
- Magglio Ordonez (1 run, 1 homerun, 3 rbi, .234 avg)
- Justin Verlander (0-2, 19 IP, 13 K's, 6.52 ERA, 1.19 WHIP)
- Dontrelle Willis (5 IP, 9 walks, 0 K's, 7.20 ERA, 2.00 WHIP) atleast he's only given up 1 hit.



Next post: Top 10 Surprises.