10 Awesome Things That Happened This Past Weekend (3/30-4/1)

10. LOGO Plays “Showgirls” All Day Sunday
            My wife tripped over this one (I swear). The movie is apart of LOGO’s “great American cinema” series. Apparently, LOGO has a much different idea of great filmmaking than the majority of the American public.

9. Red Sox Announce Daniel Bard Will Start Year in Rotation

            Because anytime you can screw up your bullpen on the fleeting chance that a guy who hasn’t started a game in 5 years might be decent at the back end of your rotation, you have to do it.

8. Johan Santana Named Mets Opening Day Starter

            It’s really easy to forget that Santana was once the most dominant pitcher in baseball. Even with him, the Mets will struggle to stay out of the NL East basement, but good for him for returning after missing the entire 2011 season.

7. Ubaldo Jimenez Gets Revenge on Troy Tulowitzki With Fastball to the Elbow

            Aside from the fact that Tulowitzki is on one of my 4 fantasy teams (sadly, I couldn’t tell you which one), I love every part of this story. I like that Ubaldo was pissed off about not getting a contract extension when he was still with the Rockies while Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez did. I love that Tulowitzki basically said that Ubaldo needs to shut the hell up and move on with his career. I love that Rockies manager Jim Tracy went on the record after the incident and said that he has lost all respect for Jimenez. It’s a damn shame that the Rockies and Indians won’t play again this season.

6. Notre Dame Knocks Off Lady Huskies in Overtime

            I didn’t watch a second of this game, but I’m 99% sure that this score results in no Geno Auriemma for several months.

5. Kobe Bryant Goes 3-21 in Lakers Victory Over Hornets

            Thankfully, Kobe’s career worst shooting performance wasn’t enough from preventing the Lakers advancing No Credentials in the Sportsbook $20,000 survivor pool.

4. Celtics Thump Heat

            If every Celtics game were played on Sunday afternoon on ABC, Rajon Rondo would be the greatest point guard in NBA history. 

3. David Reutimann Takes Win 200 Away From Hendrick Motorsports

            It’s not fair to be so hard on Reutimann, who was shooting for the best possible finish to keep his car in the top 35 in owner points, so let’s play it safe and blame NASCAR. Let’s say only the top 25 in points were guaranteed a starting spot every week (there’s really only 20 cars that have a realistic shot to win every race). This would prevent an also ran team like Reutimanns from keeping an ailing car on the race track one lap too long and completely altering the complexion of a race in the final laps. While Sunday’s finish was certainly memorable (Ryan Newman won by the way), we were robbed off a classic 4-lap sprint to the finish between Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. I’ll leave it to you to decide if that outcome would be better than the one we got Sunday.   

2. Anthony Davis and His Uni-Brow Take Over Against Louisville

            If I were a fan of the Bobcats, Wizards, Hornets, Raptors, Cavaliers, or Kings, I’d be cheering for my team to lose every game to get some more ping balls for the draft lottery this May. Anthony Davis is that good.

1. Down Big, Kansas Storms Back to Top Ohio St.

            Jared Sullinger didn’t strike me as the sort of player that could shoot his team out of a victory, but that’s what happened Saturday night. Kansas will be heavy underdogs against Kentucky, but they do have the necessary depth in the frontcourt to give the Wildcats problems.

                                                                                                         

2011 Fantasy Baseball Mock Draft Rounds 16-17

16-181 = Curtis Granderson, CF, Yankees – I honestly have no idea how Granderson fell this low in the mock (probably due to me over-emphasizing starting pitching and infielders). Granderson was a disappointment during his first year in the Bronx, but did hit 18 home runs in his final 81 games of 2010. A great buy low candidate you should consider taking as early as the 9^th round if you need to fill an outfield spot.

16-182 = Phil Hughes, SP, Yankees – Hughes’ poor second half is the reason he dropped on my board (along with his job pitching in the sand box that is the new Yankee Stadium). He’s going around the 147^th pick in ESPN leagues. 

16-183 = Francisco Cordero, RP, Reds – Another cardiac closer. If you own Cordero on your fantasy team this season, do yourself a favor and never watch him pitch live. Also be aware that if he struggles, Aroldis Chapman is lurking to take his job.

16-184 = Brandon Lyon, RP, Astros – Lyon is essentially the same pitcher as Cordero, but he pitches on a poorer team and has more job security.

16-185 = Michael Cuddyer, 1B-3B-RF, Twins – You won’t get much more than 15 homers and 80 RBIs, but he’s a solid bench player with corner infield and outfield eligibility.

16-186 = Jhoulys Chacin, SP-RP, Rockies – Chacin delivered a strike out per inning during his rookie year with Colorado at the age of 22. For those of you that plan on punting saves, this is a guy you want to get to fill your RP spot.

16-187 = Joel Hanrahan, RP, Pirates – Hanrahan is competing with Evan Meek for the closer job, but his high strikeout rate should give him the edge in that battle. Hanrahan was fourth in strikeouts by relief pitchers last season.

16-188 = Jorge Posada, C, Yankees – This is probably the last season Posada will ever be owned in a fantasy league, as he will lose his catcher eligibility after this season.

16-189 = Ike Davis, 1B, Mets – Davis hit 19 home runs in his first season in the majors, and at age 24, has potential to hit more.

16-190 = Carlos Quentin, RF, White Sox – Health is a concern, but at any point from round 10 on it’s appropriate to take a chance on a guy who could deliver over 30 home runs.

16-191 = Johnny Cueto, SP, Reds – Don’t expect him to turn into a top-10 starter, but Cueto is a solid option to anchor the middle of your fantasy rotation.

16-192 = Johan Santana, SP, Mets – Santana could miss as much as half the season recovering from shoulder surgery last September. It’s important to know if your league has DL spots before adding him to your roster.

17-193 = Andres Torres, LF-CF-RF, Giants – Torres’ numbers would’ve been much stronger if his appendix didn’t explode. It isn’t unreasonable to expect between 10-15 home runs and 20-30 steals.

17-194 = Fernando Rodney, RP, Angels – No matter how bad I need a closer, I will not draft Fernando Rodney. Someone desperate for saves will though.

17-195 = Matt Garza, SP, Cubs – I’m not as high on Garza as others because I feel Chicago is a mess. He’ll be a great buy-low candidate in 2012 when Pujols is playing first base for the Cubs.

17-196 = Juan Uribe, 2B-3B-SS, Dodgers – Uribe should not be targeted as a potential starter, but can be a valuable member of your bench.

17-197 = Jaime Garcia, SP, Cardinals – Garcia’s 2.70 ERA was helped greatly by opponents only hitting .243 against him. Expect it to be at least 3.85 or higher in 2011.

17-198 = Ryan Raburn, 2B-LF-CF-RF, Tigers – Similar to Uribe, Raburn’s multi-position eligibility (in Yahoo leagues only, not ESPN) makes him an attractive option for your bench. A .270 batting average with 20 home runs is not out of the question as he enters the season as Detroit’s starting left fielder.

17-199 = Kevin Gregg, RP, Orioles – You can count on three things in life. Death, taxes, and Kevin Gregg somehow finishing the year with 30 saves.

17-200 = Jorge De La Rosa, SP, Rockies – It’s often not pretty, but he’ll give you close to a strikeout per inning.

17-201 = Nick Swisher, RF, Yankees – There’s no way Swisher (a career .253 hitter) matches his .288 batting average from last year. Still, he’s a great bet to net you 25 home runs by seasons end. You could take him 50 picks earlier and get no complaints from me.

17-202 = Ervin Santana, SP, Angels – Santana was on my fantasy team for all of 2010, and I honestly have no idea how he won 17 games last year. We’ll probably never see him put up a season close to his production of 2008 (16-7, 214 Ks, 3.49 ERA, 1.12 WHIP), but you’ll happy with 170 strikeouts from your 17^th round pick.

17-203 = Frank Francisco, RP, Blue Jays – Francisco is the favorite to win the closing gig for Toronto.

17-204 = Bronson Arroyo, SP, Reds – Arroyo doesn’t have the talent to be a top-25 pitcher, but he’s going to give you a solid 200 innings. He also has a good chance at racking up 15 wins.