Fantasy Bullpen Breakdowns - AL West Closers, Setup Men & Sleeper Middle Relievers

With bullpen breakdowns for the AL East and AL Central complete, we now turn our attention to the American League West taking a look at who will be filling the roles of closer and setup man as well as sleeper middle relievers to keep an eye on.

Los Angeles Angels 

Closer - Francisco Rodriguez

Setup Man - Scot Shields

Top 7th Inning Guys - Justin Speier

Dark Horse Holds Guy - Darren Oliver

FSE's Take - Year in and year out the Angels have one of the strongest bullpens in all of baseball.  Flame thrower Francisco Rodriguez better known as K-Rod has averaged around 40 saves a season over his career and is a clearcut top 3 fantasy closer. Scot Shields and Justin Speier are a devestating setup combination that provide a solid bridge to K-Rod. Shields has been a stalwart setup man for several years and registered 31 holds in 2007 along with 77 strikeouts. Speier flourished in his first season in Anaheim compiling 24 holds as well as a 2.88 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP. Shields will open as the primary 8th inning setup man; however, he struggled at times in 2007 most likely to overuse over the past 5 seasons and posted a career high 3.86 ERA. Speier was the most effective middle reliever in the Angels pen in 2007 and that may hold true again in 2008.

Seattle Mariners

Closer - JJ Putz

Setup Man - Brandon Morrow

Top 7th Inning Guys - Eric O'Flaherty, Ryan Rowland-Smith

Dark Horse Holds Guys - Cesar Jimenez

FSE's Take - JJ Putz is a top 5 fantasy closer with the ability to put up big save and strikeout totals; however, behind him in the Seattle bullpen lies a ton of uncertainty. With George Sherrill now closing in Baltimore, Brandon Morrow should be the primary setup man entering 2008. The highly touted prospect was solid out of the pen for the Mariners last season before tiring down the stretch and getting hit fairly hard late in the year. He had 18 holds and 66 Ks in 63 innings and should be the best source of holds out of the Seattle this year. However, his high WHIP numbers and current shoulder soreness are troubling signs. Other holds candidates out of the pen are Eric O'Flaherty, Ryan Rowland-Smith and Cesar Jimenez who are currently the top conteders for the 7th inning slots.

Texas Rangers

Closer - CJ Wilson

Setup Man - Joaquin Benoit

7th Inning Guys - Frank Francisco & Kazuo Fukumori

Dark Horse Holds Guys - Wes Littleton & Eddie Guardado

FSE's Take - CJ Wilson had a hot finish to the 2007 season saving 12 games in the second half to secure the closer role in Texas entering 2008. An injury-riddled spring training has put Wilson's status as closer in doubt; however, we would bet he will be working the ninth come opening day. Waiting in the wings should Wilson falter is Joaquin Benoit, the Rangers' talented setup man who had 19 holds to go along with a 2.85 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 87 Ks in 82 innings last season. Like Wilson, Benoit also experienced some injury issues early in spring training but following a dominant minor league outing, the team says he will be ready for opening day. The Rangers should offer some solid holds options in their 7th inning pair of Frank Francisco who had 21 holds last year and Japenese import Kazuo Fukumori who had plenty of relief success overseas. Veteran Eddie Guardado and young stud Wes Littleton should also compete for a bullpen role and are guys to keep an eye on should the injury problems in the Rangers' pen continue.

Oakland Athletics 

Closer - Huston Street

Setup Man - Alan Embree 

7th Inning Guy & Rising - Santiago Casilla

Dark Horse Holds Guys - Keith Foulke

FSE's Take - Huston Street while injury prone is an excellent source of saves when he is right. Unfortunately, he will be closing for an A's team that figure to lose over 100+ games in 2008 and may find save opportunities to be few and far between. Veteran Alan Embree was versatile out of the pen accumulating 16 holds as well as 17 saves as a closer with Street out. He should open as the top 8th inning option but I believe Santiago Casilla will take that role before long. Casilla has a great arm and looked strong in winter ball, he could finish the season as the A's closer if Street gets traded. Another guy to watch in A's camp is veteran reliever Keith Foulke who is vying for a 7th inning role and could be a decent source of holds.

Spring Training Hot Or Not

We are about 20 games into Spring Training and are now only 9 days away from Opening Day in Japan. Before we figure out which member of the Red Sox or A's will contract a parasite on that trip let's take a look at who is Hot and who is Not.

HOT

Ivan Rodriguez: White Hot

The man has been batting lead off, he has 6 HR and is batting .429! He has accumulated 15 hits in 13 games!

Alex Rodriguez: A-Rod Hot

Typical A-Rod numbers, in 12 games he has 3 homers and is batting .500. Will he match last seasons numbers? So far so good for Mr. Rodriguez.

Grady Sizemore: He's really hot on and off the field.

Grady has not disappointed his Spring Training groupies so far. He is batting .478 with 5 HR. That is impressive only because he has only played 9 games!

Adam Jones: Living up to the hype!

.379 average and looks to be the main man in Baltimore.

Angel Pagan: Surprisingly hot.

Pagan is taking advantage of his chance to play with the Mets and leads all baseball with 20 spring training hits.

Carlos Zambrano: So hot he's still angry.

Carlos has only allowed one earned run so far this spring and has 14 k in 15 IP.

Manny Parra: He's so hot he doesn't even know it!

I know you are saying, who is Manny Parra? He pitches for the Brewews and he has won both of his spring starts and struck out 15 batters in 14 IP. His ERA of 0.64 catches the eye of people looking for sleepers in their fantasy draft.

Edinson Volquez:

19 k's in 13 IP, he has only walked 3 batters and has a respectable 3.46 ERA. Volquez looks to make the Reds rotation this season. He was acquired in the Josh Hamilton deal.

NOT HOT

Ichiro Suzuki: Uber cold!

.125 Average?

Jacoby Ellsbury: Probably still hungover from the World Series Celebration.

Apparently he thinks that his .189 AVG is good enough to win the center field job in Boston.

Rickie Weeks: Believes his own hype.

5 errors and a .125 batting average. I know a lot of owners who were high on Weeks are getting nervous. Let me remind you it is only the spring and these games do not count. 20 Strikeouts in 40 At Bats!!! Maybe he needs his eyes checked? Speaking of bad eyes...

Noah Lowry: Needs to have Lou Brown buy him some glasses.

12 walks in 2.1 IP? Was he re-enacting the Rick Vaughn debut scene from "Major League"? Did Clue Haywood take part in this as well?

Brandon Webb: Maybe he is doing his best Randy Johnson in NY impersonation?

I know it's only spring training, in 13 IP Webb has allowed 12 ER. One positive is that he has yet to walk a batter.

Barry Zito: The Robert Downey Jr. of MLB, ten years after the fact he still thinks he's a big deal.

He hasn't been hot since 2003, so there really is no surprise that he has an ERA near 15 and 10 walks.

Erik Bedard: Amazed he gets paid for this type of work.

21 hits, 5 BB and 14 ER so far this spring for the big off season prize Seattle acquired.

Josh Beckett and John Lackey: Operation Shutdown

They both have been deemed Derek Bell Status. For those who do not know Derek Bell was famous for his "Operation Shutdown". Both pitchers have been shutdown and may miss time well after opening day.

A Tale of Two Outfielders: Carlos Beltran, Juan Gonzalez

New York Mets outfielder Carlos Beltran saw his first action of the spring in center on Thursday after having surgery on both his knees in the off season. Beltran and the Mets do not want to rush things too much so he was pulled after batting in the fifth inning.

It's always good to see a team and player being responsible and not trying to do too much too soon. The Mets need to be especially careful with Beltran because so much of his game is about speed, both in the outfield and on the base paths.

FANTASY IMPACT

Beltran, when healthy, is a great fantasy player. He has at worst 25/25 potential, ad will probably get closer to the 30/30 relm when healthy. However, this season do not expect the over as far as those numbers go. I can see a few scenarios where Beltran needs a day or two off here and there more so than he did in the past on account of the knee surgery. I also think this could slow him down a bit on the bases, and lower his SB total from the usual twenty to more of the 15 range. Still very fine fantasy numbers, but not what we are used to expecting from him.


Juan Gone?

The Major Leagues comeback trail Juan Gonzalez was on took a Major League hit on Thursday after Cardinal's manager Tony LaRussa had to take the 38-year-old out of the line up with an abdominal strain.

FANTASY IMPACT

An abdominal strain is one of those injuries that can go away in a couple of days or can stick around for a while and make things very difficult for someone who has to swing a bat for a living. Given Juan Gone's checkered injury history this cannot be good news, especially when the major issue with him, was his ability to stay healthy. Don't bother to draft Gonzalez in any league, he is not worth it. Even if he does the major league roster he is 38, with his best years and his health behind him.

Closer Situations - Toronto, Baltimore, Texas and Atlanta *Updated 3/18

Toronto Bluejays

B.J. Ryan had a successful workout on Tuesday, throwing a scoreless inning in a "B" game. Ryan reported no soreness and is on target to get in some more work Friday in an actual Grapefruit league game. Depending on what happens from there Ryan looks to have a good chance at starting the season on the Major League roster.

FANTASY IMPACT

Draft Ryan as you normally would in your fantasy league. In fact you can get him later than you normally would be able to. Do not, however, expect him to pitch in back to back games for the first month or so, which may cost him 5-6 saves at most. As the season wears on Ryan proves he is more durable ad withstand the daily rigors off the MLB season he will get the cal more and more on back to back days.

Keep An Eye On...

Jeremy Accardo- He filled in more than admirably last year when Ryan went down, and will be in line to get saves when Ryan is unavailable, or being rested.

Baltimore Orioles

Early indication from manager Dave Trembley has George Sherrill tabbed as the team's closer to start the season. While he has not yet made an official announcement, the fact that Sherrill hasn't walked a batter all spring, probably does not hurt his chances to land the closers gig.

*UPDATE: On 3/18 Baltimore Manager Dave Trembley officially named George Sherrill the closer for the 2008 season.

FANTASY IMPACT

Take a flier on Sherrill in your fantasy league when the top closers and second tier closers go. He will be around near the end of the closers run, as he does not yet technically have the gig. He will be decent and barring injury, should be the closer all season. Do not forget Sherrill was apart of the Erik Bedard trade, and you can guarantee, Baltimore management wants to show all the value that they were able to acquire for their former ace.

Keep An Eye On...

Jamie Walker- Signed after the 2006 season away from Detroit as a guy to come out of the bullpen to get lefties out, Walker stumbled into the closers role late season. After Chris Ray and Danys Baez went down with injuries, Walker was the last man standing and did a decent job saving 7 games down the stretch last year for the O's. He would probably get calls if Sherrill gets hurt, or is ineffective.

Texas Rangers

C.J. Wilson threw a pain free bullpen session on Monday and is still the favorite to land the closers job out of spring training.

FANTASY IMPACT

Part of the reason Wilson is the favorite is that he was so successful at the end of last season and Texas did not make bringing in an experienced closer an off season priority, showing they were comfortable with what they had. The other reason is that his main competition is Joaquin Benoit who has yet to throw in a spring training game because of arm fatigue. When he last threw on Monday, he did no show good velocity or look ready to pitch in real game. The lack of game action has more or less ended Benoit's chances of being the team's closer out of spring training. So long as Wilson can keep his progress going consistently through the rest of spring training, he should be a safe bet to start the season as the team's closer. He will be one of the last closers taken in your draft, so wait till that well is almost barren before trying to get him.

Keep An Eye On...

Eddie Guardado?!?!- Can't believe I am saying this, but if Wilson can't get healthy enough to start the season Guardado might be the only guy left to get saves. Once again we see the last man standing syndrome here. Its still not worth it to draft him, as he still needs to 1) make the team and 2) hope for someone else to get hurt in order for him to have a job.

Atlanta Braves

Rafael Soriano threw a bullpen session on Tuesday and reported no pain or discomfort. The Atlanta closer had been sidelined with a sore elbow, an injury that has occured chronically throughout Soriano's career. Soriano is set to make his Grapefruit league debut later this week, and is penciled in to be ready for opening day.

FANTASY IMPACT

Good news for all those fantasy owners who took Soriano in their earlier drafts. It now appears he is a safe bet for owners going forward. Soriano has the type of stuff that can dominate a line up and has the potential to save upwards of 30 games, if he can stay healthy.

Keep An Eye On...

Peter Moylan- Soriano will be dominant when he is healthy. But it would be delusional to think that Soriano can make it through an entire season without havig to take some time off, or landing on the DL for a small stint. Moylan would be in line to be the first guy out of the pen if/when Soriano goes down.

Pujols' Fantasy News

St. Louis Cardinals

Manager Tony La Russa announced that the team would be limiting Albert Pujols' spring training at bats, and his involvement in certain throwing drills to minimize the strain on his right elbow tendon. La Russa also indicated he would like to try to find more off time for the slugger during the regular season to try and help him stay fresh throughout the season.

We reported on Pujol's injury earlier, and this is another clear indication that the Cardinals are worried about the status on Albert's elbow tendon. This is another indication that it might be worth your while to pass on Pujols in the first round of your fantasy draft

Cubs Line Up Shake Up

Cubs Line Up Shake Up

Manager Lou Piniella has announced plans to hit Japanese import right fielder, Kosuke Fukudome in the 3 hole, moving 1B Derrek Lee and 3B Aramis Ramirez down a spot in the line up, into the 4 and 5 holes respectively. The move would accomplish a few things. First, it would allow Fukudome to hit in a spot in the line up where he is most comfortable hitting, and that might help him better transition into the Major Leagues. It also allows Piniella to get a left handed bat in the middle of the line up, some thing the Cubs desperately need to break up the mostly right handed line up. As currently constructed the Cubs line up would look something like this:
LF Alfonso Soriano-R
SS Ryan Theriot- R
RF Kouke Fukudome- L
1B Derrek Lee- R
3B Aramis Ramirez- R
2B Mark DeRosa- R
C Geovany Soto- R
CF Felix Pie (for now)

Looking at the line up the big thing that is missing would be a hard nosed 2B, to hit second in the line up, who is a switch hitter, has plenty speed, and can hit the occasional HR. His name is Brian Roberts and he plays in Baltimore. The Cubs are serious about winning, and need to make a move to get Roberts. He can take their offense over the top, from very good, to one of the elite in baseball.

That being said, even without Roberts, Lee and Ramirez are both elite players at their positions, and I like the idea of Fukudome starting off in the 3 hole. He gets good protection, and is in a place to succeed.

Cincy 1B Questions Answered

Dusty Wants to Go To Votto

Dusty Baker has given an early endorsement to 1B Joey Votto to win the 1B job this season for the Cincinnati Reds.

"What's Hatteberg? Thirty-eight?" Baker said. "Votto's the future here. I talked to Hatteberg about Votto. He thinks he's going to be a heck of a player. He's not conceding his position. ... I think he understands to be part of the club that Votto might have to be a major part of it. It might be Votto's time."

The quote makes it sound like Votto is going to have to play poorly enough to lose the job, and won't have to worry about winning it.

I love Votto as a sleeper this season, and the early endorsement from Dusty only strengthens my case for him. Last year in AAA he went 20/20, with a .294AVG and 92RBI in only 133 games. To show it was not just a one season fluke, he has averaged 24HR and 21SB in his last two minor league seasons. He took his success from the minors to the majors in September last season to the tune of a .321AVG, 4HR and 17RBI in only 24 games.

Don't expect the gang busters hotness he had in September to carry over all season in 2008, but expect very good numbers. He showed he can hit the majors and said that that really helped him realize he belongs in the majors and can hack it with the big boys.

"It gives you confidence," Votto said. "If I had done poorly, I don't think I would have doubted myself. But it was good to do well."

Take that quote and run with it on draft day. Enjoy a 20/20 season from a 1B, not something we've seen since Derrek Lee a few season's ago.

Teahan Is All Over the Place

Teahan came up in 2006, and hit like gangbusters, slugging 16HR in 316 at bats. Following the fanfare, Teahan was a sleeper in 2007, and did just that all season, slept. He was a bust, hitting only 7HR in 544 at bats, and striking out an characteristic 127 times.

The good part is Teahan and hitting coach Mike Barnett can both point a variety of reasons for the drop off, and explain why Teahan should be able to bounce back this season.

“Moving to the outfield and running around more … just figuring out how to keep my legs (fresh) throughout the season," was one reason Teahan gave for his drop off. Teahan then pointed to major shoulder surgery he had at the end of 2006 as another reason for his 2007 decline. He was unable to lift weights in the off season, so he lost a bit of power in his upper body and that translated to his swing.

Hitting coach, Mike Barnett added, that the lack of power, caused Teahan to start pressing at the plate, and he began trying to hit homeruns, only furthering his struggles.

The fact that Teahan can point to certain things as reasons for his struggles makes me think he is a good candidate to improve his numbers this season. If he had said, "I can't figure out what is wrong, I'll just keep doing what I am doing," I would be concerned. That is not the case here, he knows why he struggled and is making way to correct the struggles.

Look for Teahan to bounce back this season and hit 2o-25HR, to go along with 85-90RBI. He will also gain multiple position eligibility, as he will be playing leftfield, rightfield, and filling in at times as 1B, and 3B this season, depending on where the Royals need him to play that day.

Scott Baker is Cooking

Baker Ready to Cook

I really love Scott Baker as a sleeper pitcher this season for two reasons. First, I want to look at his month by month numbers:

May-5.94 10K
June-5.64 22K
July- 4.02 27K
August- 2.59 26K
September/ October- 5.16 17K

The numbers show an improvement throughout the season, until September when he probably tired after his first season in the majors leagues.

The second reason I like Baker is this quote I found, that more or less speaks for itself.

"Good is great's worst enemy,'' Baker said. "I could have had a good season and just have gone about my business, but that's not what I want to do. I don't want be just an average pitcher. I want to be a top-of-the-rotation guy. I want to be the very best I can. I feel that my best is being one of those top guys.'' I do not need to further clarify anything.

Washington Mash-onals

Washington Mash-onals


National's GM Jim Bowden looked on with awe as his three young outfield sluggers put on a batting practice performance that left many wondering, "What if?" What if Wilt Mo Pena, Elijah Dukes and Lastings Milledge can put all their past issues behind them and flourish as everyday players? Can Lastings grow as a player and put the immaturity that plagued him with the Mets behind him? Can Elijah Dukes get over various legal problems? Can Wily Mo Pena flourish now hat he is an everyday player, with a home?

Dukes and Pena exchanged bombs all of the ballpark, while Milledge was hammering line drives all over the outfield. "I felt sorry for Lastings," teammate Dmitri Young said. "He was tagging the ball, too, but his balls were just scraping the wall. The other two were hitting cars."

It looks like Milledge and Pena will begin the season as everyday players in center and left respectively, with Austin Kearns in right. If Kearns continues to struggle, it wouldn't be uncharacteristic of GM Jim Bowden to deal Kearns for pitching and hand the rightfielder's job to Dukes. There are various reasons to draft any of the three. Pena probably has the greatest power potential, while Milledge will be a better power/ speed combo. Dukes would be a high power, low batting average pick, who must first get over his legal issues and then earn playing time.

Brad Lidge Injures Leg

Brad Lidge had to leave the batting practice session he was throwing after he caught his spike in the mound while throwing his first pitch. The extent of the knee injury is  unknown, but it was serious enough for Lidge to limp off the field, after trying to throw one more pitch.

"It was my push off leg," Lidge said. "I caught my spike in the mound. I threw the pitch but it felt like I pulled something in the knee. ... It swelled up a little, but I'm optimistic that I just pulled some scar tissue loose."

Ligde had surgery on the same knee in October to remove torn cartilage, that had plagued him throughout the 2007 season.

Fantasy Impact

Lidge was Phillies' biggest off season acquisition, and was supposed to be the one lock in a mostly uncertain bullpen. If this is anything more than just some pulled scar tissue, it could be disastrous for the Phillies. After Lidge the next candidate to close would be Tom Gordon, and then Ryan Madson, who have each battled injury over the last few seasons.

We will monitor this situation and see what comes of it over the next few days. Try to avoid drafting Lidge until more is known about his injury.

Hunter Pence "Crash" Translated

Hunter Pence crashed through a sliding glass door in the bathroom of his spring training home Monday night and ended up in the emergency room with multiple cuts all over his body. The injury will sideline him for a week. We found some quotes from Hunter Pence regarding the accident and will do our best to translate them from Athlete into English.

HP - "It's pretty silly that this kind of a freak accident happened"

FSE Translation - "This is something that only happens to people in horror movies, or drunk people" (FSE Editorial- While I have never been the former, I have been the latter, so can posit as to which Mr. Pence was experiencing when this occured.)

HP - "I just didn't see the door and jumped through it,"

FSE Translation - "Those pesky doors come out of no where sometimes. I couldn't avoid jumping through glass."

HP - "I have small cuts everywhere."

FSE Translation - "Small body parts generally have small cuts."

HP - "I didn't really think I'd go through a glass door,"

FSE Translation- "No one ever does anticipate going through a glass door, I thought that only happens in action movies featuring Wesley Snipes or Stephen Seagal. Boy I wish I had Under Siege 2 on DVD." (FSE Editorial- What a moron. How many people ever crash through a glass door, expecting it to happen.)

Pence said that a "friend" had closed the door behind them, and that is why he did not expect it to be closed when he went through it. We are sure by "friend" he meant piece of tail he scored, after a night out on the town.

Fantasy Impact

As long as Pence opens the clubhouse door the old-fashioned way, by turning the handle and pulling/pushing the door, rather than trying to project himself through it when going onto the field, he should have a fine 2008 season.

Ozzie Guillen Declares Josh Fields the Starter

Ozzie Guillen has declared Josh Fields his starting 3B to start the season, until at least incumbent 3B Joe Crede can prove himself healthy. Crede is coming off an injury plagued 2007 season, which ended early as he was forced to have back surgery. Guillen went on to say that Crede has looked good during the first two days of spring training, but would need to remain healthy and stay on the field consistently before he would consider moving back in as the starter.

Fantasy Implications

Fields is younger, can hit for more power and is healthier than Crede. In only 373 ABs in 2007, Fields put up 23 HRs and 67 RBIs. The additions of Swisher and Orlando Cabrera should improve the OBP at the front-end of the White Sox lineup, giving guys like Fields, Konerko and Dye added RBI opportunities.

Look for the White Sox to showcase Crede in spring training, then trade him before the season begins. The most likely destination is San Francisco, where he has been rumored to be going all winter long. A move to San Fran and to a spacious, pitcher's ball park would kill any semblance of fantasy value Crede had left.

Joba To Stay In The Pen - Fantasy Fallout

The New York Post reported Tuesday that New York Yankees phenom Joba Chamberlain will begin the season as Mariano Rivera's setup man, then be sent down to the minors in June to stretch out his arm so he can be part of New York's rotation for the second half. .

FANTASY FALLOUT

There are several things that need to be dicsussed before drafting Chamberlain this season. Last year he was lights out in 19 regular season games. In 24 IP, Chmaberlain allowed one earned run and struck out 34 batters. The stuff this guy possesses is elecetric. Starting him in the bullpen would lead me to believe he will be staying in the bullpen for the duration of the season.

Things to think about:

1) Remember, the Red Sox tried to do this with Papelbon a few years ago and realized he was too important to the bullpen to move him.

2) Chamberlain is the future of the Yankees pitching staff and could be the man to replace Rivera. Why would they risk any type of injury by stretching him out during the season after starting the season in the bullpen. This isn't Tanyon Sturtze here people.

3) The Yankees appear to have settled on the following rotation:

Starting Rotation Wins in 2007

Wang - 19 wins
Pettitte - 15 wins
Hughes - 5 Wins
Kennedy - 1 Win
Mussina - 11 WIns

It's a questionable rotation, but would you move your best reliever to see if he can become a starter?

4) Rivera is getting older and sooner or later he will break down. Chamberlain, in his short time, appears to be the only member of the Yankees bullpen that can handle the role of closer if it became available.

5) The Yankees bullpen without Chamberlain does not impress anyone:

Bullpen's 2007 ERA

Latroy Hawkins 3.42
Kyle Farnsworth 4.80
Brian Bruney 4.68
Jose Veras 5.79
Edwar Ramirez 8.14

... Does that look like a bridge to the 9th inning to you?

In conclusion, I think the Yankees are almost forced to put Chamberlain in the bullpen and keep him there. If one of the starters doesn't fair well, they can always call up an arm or find someone in a trade.

Draft status

Chamberlain looks to be one of the top "Holds Guys" in the league. He will be a part of a team that will win 90+ games and an offense that will score runs. His strikeout totals last year makes him a lock for over 100 as a reliever this season. He should easily tally 30 holds this season in the bullpen. Remember, Rivera isn't getting any younger and if he gets hurt, Chamberlain will be the man to fill that void.

Who Is Adam Jones?

First off, this Adam Jones you can take to a strip joint and feel safe. Secondly, this Adam Jones will last the entire season and not be suspended. Finally, this Adam Jones will one day be a fantasy stud.

Now that he is a part of the Baltimore Orioles, Jones will be thrust into the mainstream. He will face the Yankees and Red sox over 30 times this season. If he does anything positive against those teams, ESPN will be all over him.

Jones should make the Orioles out of Spring Training as their centerfielder and shouldn't have much competition as the Baltimore outfield currently consists of guys like Jay Payton and Luke Scott. Expect Jones to be a draft day sleeper, just like Cameron Maybin. Even if he doesn't make the team right away, which I doubt, keep an eye on his AAA stats and pick him up as soon as he gets the call up.

Jones dominated the minor leagues in 2007, batting .314 with 25 HR with 84 RBI. He is a pure talent and has had two cups of coffee in the big leagues over the past two years. Jones is very young and very raw; however, the talent is there and the Mariners were very hesitant to give him up in a trade.

Watch his progress very carefully this spring!

Caribbean World Series News & Player Notes

Locally in New York, the SNY Network has been showing the Caribbean World Series. The Caribbean World Series consists of four teams playing in a double round robin tournament. Basically, which ever team has the most wins after the 6 games wins. Competing in the Caribbean World Series are four teams, Mexico, Venezuela, and two teams from the Dominican Republic. This tournament is one of my favorites and captured my attention last year when I was watching a game and saw that Luis Polonia was still active and playing for his Dominican Republic squad. The World Baseball Classic exposed the world to the teams from the Caribbean World Series. Many Major Leaguers are taking part in this tournament as a precursor to spring training. Many of them are borderline Major Leaguers, but Miguel Tejada, and Rafael Furcal are probably the two most famous players in the tourney.

The Caribbean World Series also shed some light as to why many of these players are not in the Major Leagues.

Apparently many players belong to a Major League roster, but are on a RESTRICTED list. The reason they are on this list is because they are not allowed to enter the country and apply for a working Visa. The reason behind this is that many of the players were rushed into the United States and were married to gain citizenship. They were soon found out and sent back to their Original countries. Many of these players dominate leagues like the Caribbean League, because they are facing very raw and very young talent.

Restricted List

A player who fails to report or fails to sign a contract with the Club to which the player is reserved may be placed on the Restricted List. There is no minimum number of days the player must remain on the Restricted List before the player can be reinstated to the Active List. A player on the Restricted List does not count against a Club's Active List limits or its Reserve List limits.

Now we shouldn't be looking at the stats from this tourney to gain any fantasy advantage, but you must think that a player heading into spring training at full speed will have the edge over the ones who did not play in the winter.

PLAYER NOTES & OBSERVATIONS

Guys Who Are Impressing

Rangers Outfielder Nelson Cruz has been on fire this entire tournament. As of 2/6/08 he is batting .429 and has been on every pitch.

Ronnie Belliard actually looks somewhat like an athlete. He appears to be in better shape, his .235 AVG. in the tournament isn't impressive, but his physique is.

Omar Beltre who plays for one of the Dominican Republic teams has been lights out and dominated today's game. Apparently Beltre is one of those players who was on the Restriced List. He m,ay have looked dominant today, but in the real world he is stuck in the low levels of the Ranger Minor League system.

Fantasy owners, who have no idea who Carlos Marmol is, missed a great opportunity to scout him out during this tournament. He may be a top of the line set up man or closer one day.

Guys Who Take away From The Caribbean World Series' Credibility:

Timo Perez- Career went down the tubes after his performance running the bases in the 2000 World Series. So far this tourney, Timo is 0-2.

Jose Offerman- .200 batting Average, I'm not wasting anymore ink on this guy.

Luis Polonia- .091 batting average, Way to go Luis!

Carlos Perez- 2/3 IP and 3 ER. If he can’t get these guys out he has no chance of a comeback.

Randy Choate- This man owns a World Series ring!! This former Yankee has been in 3 games and has retired 4 batters without giving up a run. Maybe there is a job out there waiting for Mr. Choate.

Of course the superstars’ stats are going to be blown up when playing against a talent pool like this. You have to give some of these guys credit though for showing up. Luis Polonia? Are you serious?

Guys who give the CWS credibility:

Miguel Tejada - .267 AVG. and 2 Home Runs. Nothing too crazy coming from the newest Astro.

Rafael Furcal- Batting .412 heading into the final two games of the tourney.

Carlos Marmol- I'm watching him get lit up as we speak, so far he has let up 3 runs and has blown the lead.

Tony Pena (the shortstop)- He may be batting .429 after 4 games, but he has made 3 errors already!!

The fact that I can come home from work and watch some form of baseball tells me that Spring is right around the corner and my life is getting better by the day. Tune in tonight and check out a game if you get a chance. If you love baseball you will enjoy what you see.

Francisco Liriano Fantasy Update

He blew into the major leagues in 2006. A pitcher putting up numbers that made him looks more like his rotation mate Johan Santana than a young rookie fresh into the majors. Just look these numbers:

Innings Pitched 121.0
Starts 16
Wins 12
Losses 3
Strikeouts 144
Era 2.157
Whip 1.00

Then Francisco Liriano started to break down. He made one start in August, and then one more in September and was done. He would need Jommy John surgery on his left throwing arm, and miss all of the 2007 season rehabbing.

Recently Liriano comeback stories have been popping up, like this one today in the St.Paul Pioneer Press. In the story Liriano says that his endurance, and pitch selection are all fine and back to what they were before surgery. He says he is throwing all of his pitches well, and pain free. Another revelation is Liriano saying, that with in the last 2 weeks he has gotten some good velocity back on his fastball, and it throwing 94,95mph. He also claims that all of his pitches have the dominant movement back that helped made him so solid.

FANTASY IMPACT

WOW! LIRIANO IS BACK 100% GO GET HIM! I'll hold off on this reaction for a bit. I do think that Liriano is recovered and took well over a season to rehab and get healthy. I hate it when players rush back from Tommy John surgery, and they are good, and then bad, and up and down and miss a start. A few things Liriano has going against him, is that he could enter the season as the Minnesota ace. The Johan Santana trade rumors look to be nearing an end and Liriano could be looked upon to fill his spot in the rotation. That is a tall order for anyone, let alone a young pitcher, coming back from massive surgery. I also think Liriano will miss the occasional start, with fatigue, but he does have a few things going for him. The first is that he is young, at 24 he still has a lot of life in that arm. Another is that his stuff is so good, he can win with less than his best stuff.

Personally I would take him in the middle rounds around like Joe Blanton and Brad Penny. I would pencil him in for about 13 wins, and 180 strikeouts, even if he does miss a few starts.

I recently posted a blog about Rich Harden and how he s being viewed in his comeback from a variety of injuries. I really like Liriano coming back from his injury more than I do Harden, because Liriano had one thing wrong and it was fixed. Now it is a matter of him making sure he is all the way back and can withstand the rigors of a full season. With Harden it seems like there is always something going wrong, and its not just one thing. He breaks down all over his body and you never know what will go wrong with him next.

Both are young flamethrowers with dynamite stuff, but Liriano is a much better calculated risk.

Hot Harden Fantasy

Oakland A's manager, Bob Geren, recently declared that Rich Harden would be his number two starter when the season begins. This is interesting for a few reasons.

First, Geren expects Harden to be healthy enough to start the season. Harden's career began with huge expectations, electric stuff and a full speed ahead attitude. However, he has never taken off the way A's management or their fan base hoped. They were expecting a pitcher who could fill the void left when Tim Hudson and Mark Mulder were traded. Instead, they got a player who is quickly becoming a Mark Prior type pitcher; lots of stuff but never healthy enough to stay on the mound for an extended time. Here are his innings pitched since 2004:

2004- 189.2
2005- 128.0
2006- 46.2
2007- 25.2

Harden bottomed out in 2007, that is clear. During this time period he's had a variety of injuries including an inflamed shoulder, strained muscle in his back, oblique strain, and strained lat. Yet, over this time he still boasts a record of 26-14, with 364 strikeouts in 390 innings pitched. It is these results that have become a tease not only to the A's organization, but to fantasy baseball owners everywhere. I found this article from the San Fransisco Chronicle that does a good job of explaining Harden's injuries while discussing the cause and how the organization might try to prevent further injury. (Note: the article is from early in the 2006 season, so apparently their ideas to prevent further injury didn't work.)

Another reason this announcement is interesting is because Harden as the #2 means Joe Blanton enters the season as the number one starter. Blanton is good at what he does, throw 200 innings, have an era in the mid to high 3s and win about 15 games. However, he is not the true ace of a pitching staff and could wind up having some hard luck outings against the aces of other teams.

This development also indicates that Oakland plans to hold onto Blanton, eliminating the possibility of an offseason trade. They could enter the season with Blanton and see what teams would be willing to give up the most for him at the trade deadline; when he might actually have more value. Teams like the Yankees, Mets, Phillies, Reds, Dodgers, Rangers and White Sox could all be looking to add a starter at the deadline to help remain in the wildcard/playoff mix.

FANTASY IMPACT

Harden is a stud, in Mark Prior clothing. The bad thing about Harden is that every time out, you will worry if he'll get hurt and miss 2 months. The good thing is that he might become an afterthought in your draft and be a decent sleeper pick late. His injuries and lack of stats might make people forget about him, turning him into one of those guys taken in the last 5 rounds causing others to say things like "Oh, I totally forgot about him."

Blanton, is a workhorse but be weary of drafting him too early as an "ace." He is a good pitcher, and should make a good selection in the middle rounds with guys like Andy Pettitte and Gil Meche.

Check the Fantasy Sports Experience frequently for more fantasy updates, player news and sports analysis as the stories break.

Duaner Sanchez Ready For 2008 Season

Duaner Sanchez's is nearly fully recovered from a gruesome shoulder injury suffered in a cab accident in 2006 and will be ready for spring training. All reports from Port St. Lucie, where Sanchez has been rehabbing this winter, have been positive. Sanchez has been throwing comfortably off of a mound and has touched 94 mph on the radar gun. Contrary to prior rumblings that Sanchez was out of shape, two eye witnesses told MetsBlog that Sanchez looks good and is throwing well.

Fantasy Impact

Before his injury, Sanchez was enjoying a dominant 2006 campaign which began with a 21 inning scoreless streak. He posted career highs in ERA (2.61), WHIP (1.21), wins (5) and holds (14) while striking out 44 batters in only 55 innings of work. A healthy Sanchez will be an integral part of a relatively thin Mets bullpen that should get a lot of work. Although he will more than likely start off pitching in the 7th inning, Sanchez should get plenty of work as a setup man as the season goes along.

Sanchez has good fantasy value in leagues that use the hold statistic, although he can contribute a bit in non-hold leagues by lowering a staff's ERA and WHIP. A healthy Sanchez who survives the 2008 season unscathed should register around 70-75 innings and 20+ holds easily. I project his ERA to be in the mid 2's while his WHIP might be higher than 2006 outputs as he returns to form after a layoff of over a year.

Managers in leagues that include holds should take a late round flier on Sanchez who appears to be under the radar as of now. He has the potential to finish 2008 as a top 15 middle reliever if healthy.

Clemens Files Defamation Law Suit

Several news outlets are reporting that before Roger Clemens' interview on "60 Minutes" last night that the former Cy Young Award winner filed a defamation of character lawsuit in a Texas State court against former trainer Brian McNamee. This looks to be the Rocket's first step in trying to vindicate himself againt the steroid alligations made popular in the Mitchell Report.

Clemens' fantasy value is now near nill. The former Red Sox, Blue Jays, Yankees, and Astros star will probably spend next season more concerned with clearing the good name of his Hall of Fame career than getting batters out. The Rocket said during the interview that the alligations of steroid use and proceeding firestorm has turned him off to yet another comeback. If you want to take a last round flier on the Rocket, go ahead. But I am not sure it is even worth it this season.