10 Awesome Things That Happened This Weekend (9/13-9/15)

10. NASCAR Adds Jeff Gordon to The Chase Field
            NASCAR has made up enough rules on the fly, so adding another car to the playoffs isn’t really a huge deal.

9. New York Jets Place Mark Sanchez on IR

            Unfortunately for Jets fans, Sanchez wasn’t permanently placed there.

8. Floyd Mayweather Wins Again

            It’s tempting to bet against Mayweather, but you always have to remember that he never loses.

7. Alabama Outlasts Texas A&M
            At least Johnny Football covered the spread.

6. Matt Kenseth Wins 12-Hour Marathon at Chicago

            Kenseth backing up his top-seed is certainly noteworthy, but the bigger deal is Kyle Busch finishing second. Busch has annually crapped his pants in the opening event of the playoffs, so for him to get off to a solid start is huge.

5. Peyton Punks Eli Again
            Tom Brady is Rock, Peyton Manning is Scissors, and Eli is Paper. I swear that makes sense.

4. Rookie Receiver DeAndre Hopkins Lifts Texans to Overtime Victory

            Houston has been looking for a compliment to Andre Johnson for years. When Johnson went down with a concussion, Hopkins had his coming out party.

3. Seahawks Pound 49ers

            There isn’t a more valuable twelfth man in THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE than the home crowd in Seattle. San Francisco never had a chance Sunday night.

2. Boston Red Sox Honor The Hammer of God, Complete Sweep of Yankees
            Say what you want about the Boston Red Sox, but no one handles pre-game ceremonies better than them. Their tribute to Mariano Rivera, complete with a comedic tribute to his blown saves in the 2004 ALCS, was perfect.

1. E.J. Manuel Leads Stunning Buffalo Bills Comeback     

            Not a lot of nice things happen athletically for the people of Buffalo, so we at No Credentials are always happy when something pleasant happens. There’s a chance that E.J. Manuel is the real deal.

No Credentials Summer Recap

            I wish I had a better excuse as to why No Credentials has been less active over the pass six months, but really it boils down to two things.

1.      I was without Playstation 3 for five months.

      2.      I bought a new one, and play a game of my Madden franchise when before I would be writing blog posts.

To make up for our lack of production, we’ll take a quick peak at stories I briefly thought about tackling before deciding playing another game with my son at quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs was more exciting.

MLB

Ryan Braun Surrenders

            There’s no other word for it, as Braun defiantly took on MLB for almost two years before essentially accepting a plea deal. One wonders if Braun backed down partially because his team is terrible, and he’s been nursing a sore thumb the past two months that hasn’t improved. He’ll come back with no marketability in 2014, but he will be healthy, and quite possibly a top-10 fantasy asset next season.

Mariano Rivera Wins the All-Star Game MVP

            Evidently, a scoreless eighth is more valuable than a scoreless ninth. This game was further proof of why an All-Star Game should have nothing to do with determining home-field advantage for it’s championship series.

The Yankees Stink

            That statement is a little strong in realistic terms (they are over .500, and would gave a one game lead in the NL West), but compared to the usual excellence produced by the Yankees, it’s an accurate one. The offense is abysmal, only generating 125 less runs this season than the Red Sox have. C.C. Sabathia looks to be in desperate need of a switch the National League, and Alex Rodriguez still hangs over the club like a black cloud. While not supporters of the Bronx Bombers, we here at No Credentials are always fans of roster building, so here’s our on the fly, not well thought out fix for the New York Yankees that they can begin implementing before the trade deadline.

1. Give up on the 2013 season – It would be one thing if they were just seven games behind the Red Sox, but they also trail Tampa Bay and Baltimore (by 6.5 and 4 games). The Rangers and Indians are also ahead of them in the Wild Card standings.
2. Trade Robinson Cano – By all accounts, it appears Cano is going to ask for eleventy billion dollars this winter. If George Steinbrenner were still alive, he would never make it to free agency, but unfortunately for Yankees’ fans his kids aren’t as willing to open up the checkbook. Rather than let him walk in free agency (and only soak up draft picks), they should try to push for a blockbuster trade now. Where could he go you ask? My money if he hits free agency is the Washington Nationals, but you could never count out the Detroit Tigers from making an aggressive trade.      
3. Blackmail Mariano Rivera into returning for the 2014 season – Sure it would be awkward after all of the retirement gifts Rivera has been getting all season (my all-time favorite “retiring” person that ended up not retiring was Mark Martin, who swore up and down 2005 would be his last season, only to return in 2006. He’s still racing a part-time schedule today) if he came back next season, but who cares. I think he could throw that ridiculous cutter until he was 65 years old.
4. Frame A-Rod, Sabathia, and Teixeira for a bank robbery – These guys are earning $75 million (!) combined this season, so coming up with some clever scheme to void their contracts would be advantageous.

NFL

Von Miller Potentially Facing a 4-Game Suspension

            It’s a good thing Miller plays a sport where it’s fans don’t give a shit about statistics, because he will not come back with the same stigma as Ryan Braun.

NBA

The Dwightmare Ends…Howard Chooses Houston

            If I weren’t so addicted to playing my Madden franchise I would’ve dropped a 4,000-word piece about Howard shortly after he joined the Rockets, but you’re going to have to settle for bullet points.

-         Shaq was wrong when he accused Howard of not being able to play in a big city. For one, Dwight was working on a way to weasel his way onto the Clippers to play with his buddy Chris Paul. The last time I checked, the Clippers still play in Los Angeles. Howard leaving the Lakers had more to do with him not wanting to put up with Kobe Bryant than him not being able to handle L.A.

-         Of all the teams that were trying to land Howard, the Rockets were the best fit for him. With Howard in the fold, they are fielding a more athletic version of the Orlando team Dwight carried to the 2009 NBA Finals. Even better for the Rockets, they still have a valuable trade asset in Omer Asik that can be used to improve the roster. You can’t make Houston the clear favorites in the ultra-competitive Western Conference, but they’ll have a reasonable chance at playing for a championship the next two or three years.

-         The Lakers are going to suck balls. It would make tons of sense for them to tank the season like the Celtics are going to do (more on that in the next bullet point), but instead, they’ll field a mediocre team based around a physically limited Kobe Bryant. Pau Gasol should be better utilized, but that won’t be enough for them to be better than .500.

Danny Ainge Blows Up the Celtics

            Is it going to suck watching Paul Pierce (a Celtic since 1997) and Kevin Garnett (the catalyst for the 2008 championship winning team) play for the Nets? Yes. Is it going to suck to watch Doc Rivers coach the Clippers? Yes. The “Ubuntu” Era was responsible for the rebirth of Celtic pride in the northeast, but it was wise to turn the page on this group of players. When you have the chance to land one of five potential franchise players in next year’s draft, the most logical thing to do is to suck as much as humanly possible and improve your lottery chances. The team implosion will be complete if they are able to showcase Rajon Rondo for a 10-game tryout after he returns from injury and then ship him off to a contending (hopefully with Gerald Wallace’s horrendous contract, but that’s probably wishful thinking).

NHL

Bruins Give Up On Seguin

            Because you know, any time you can prematurely give up on a 21-year old phenom, you have to do it. This deal will hurt when Tyler Seguin wins a Hart Trophy in Dallas.

NASCAR

Jimmie Johnson is Better at NASCAR Than Any Other Athlete is at any Other Sport Right Now

            It hasn’t been fair this season. If not for some bad luck with pit stops and restarts, Johnson could very well have eight wins right now. Unless Joe Gibbs Racing finds some durability with their Toyota engines, the Chase for the Cup could be over in eight races.

10 Awesome Things That Happened This Weekend (11/2-11/4)

10. NHL Cancels the Winter Classic
            You can kiss the 2012-13 season goodbye with the announcement that their biggest moneymaking event (even more so than the Stanley Cup Finals) has been eliminated.

9. The Hammer of God Will Return

            It would’ve been a shame for Mariano Rivera’s career to end while shagging foul balls in batting practice.

8. Fear the Beard

            James Harden’s start with the Houston Rockets would’ve been #3 on this list if it weren’t for him running out of gas against Portland Saturday night, mostly because he’s on both of my fantasy teams.

7. Jimmie Johnson Wins Slugfest Over Brad Keselowski at Texas

            Let it be known that Keselowski had this race in the bag if he didn’t slide too far into his pit box with 58 laps to go. Who know that pitting behind Danica Patrick could be so treacherous.

6. Oregon and USC Combine for 113 Points

            For those unfamiliar with the game of football, that’s a lot of fucking points.

5. Ray Allen Completes Game-Winning Four Point Play

            Allen’s game-winning shot was a sum of all fears play for the rest of the NBA. Lebron James drove to the basket, Allen’s man left to help, and James hit him for a wide-open three. Allen doesn’t even need to move on this team.
          
4. Lori and T-Dog Bite the Dust on “The Walking Dead”
            If we can get confirmation that Carol croaked, that’s the three most unlikable characters killed off. The only thing that would've made Sunday's episode better was Lori's fetus being a zombie and eating her from the inside. 

3. Notre Dame Prevails in Triple Overtime
            There isn’t a more compelling team week-to-week in college football than Notre
Dame. Expect the fun to last two more weeks before they get their doors blown off by USC.

2. Down 10 in the Fourth, Steelers Make a Statement Against Giants
            Ben Roethlisberger served Eli Manning a piece of his own medicine, engineering some fourth quarter magic. Pittsburgh has reestablished themselves as legitimate Super Bowl contenders.

1. Alabama Makes Stunning Comeback at LSU

            Les Miles was the unofficial MVP of the game for Alabama. If it wasn’t for multiple horrendous decisions, LSU pulls off the upset.

Better Late Than Never Mailbag (10-27-12)

It's been a while since we emptied the inbox, so here you go. As always, these may or may not be actual messages from real or fake people.

Who would you rather party with, Wade Boggs, Oil Can Boyd, or Josh Beckett? – Tom A., Goffstown, NH

            We’re ruling Beckett out without hesitation because while he likes to drink beer, he’d probably just talk about his ranch in Texas the whole time. Choosing between Boggs and Boyd depends on your tastes. Legend has it that Wade Boggs once drank between 60-70 beers on a cross-country flight, and was famous for eating fried chicken before every game (keep in mind his career lasted 18 years, and baseball teams play 162 games a year). Oil Can Boyd has similar interests, with the added element of cocaine. Booger-sugar has never been something I’ve been interested in, so I’ll party with Boggs. 

Is Dale Earnhardt Jr. a hero or a pansy for seeking out medical help and missing two races? – Floyd P., Mobile, AL

            If the injury had to do with any body part other than his head, I’d say he was taking the easy way out. As it was, if he was in the top-5 in the points, I guaruantee he wouldn’t of visited the doctor after his Talladega crash. There’s too much to lose for a championship contending driver to take a race off. Hopefully Junior will not have further issues (concussions ruined Ricky Craven’s driving career, to name one example) and can be a championship threat in 2013.

What do you think of the NFL playing in London? – Janice L., Brownfield, ME

            I’ve never been a fan of it. It takes a home date away from a team (this Sunday, the Rams are technically the home team, even though the ratio of people that know who Tom Bray is as compared to the number of people who know who Sam Bradford is 150,000-1 in the U.K.), which in the name of fairness, is wrong. If this Sunday’s game was played in St. Louis, Tom Brady and the sputtering Patriots offense (more on that later) would have to play against a defense that has laid it all on the line every week so far this season in a loud dome. Instead, New England essentially gets a ninth home game. I’m all for using preseason to showcase the NFL in other countries, but playing games that actually count overseas is ridiculous.
 

Would you put money on anyone other than Miami or the Lakers in the Finals? – Ben B., Buford, GA

            If I understand the wording of this question right, we’re asking if any of the other 28 teams could win the championship. The only team I’d logically consider betting would be Oklahoma City. They have the depth and the star-power needed to make a championship run, even if they would have to beat both Los Angeles and Miami to do it. Unfortunately if you’re betting at a casino, you’re only getting 3.5-1 on your money if you place a futures bet on the Thunder. If you don’t mind potentially pissing money away, Boston at 12-1, Philadelphia at 30-1 (would need a healthy Andrew Bynum and an Evan Turner breakout year to make some noise), and Denver at 40-1 (ton of talent, but who’s their crunch-time guy?) are the most logical long-shot bets.

So there’s no hockey right now, and no one gives a shit. Why? – Paul J., Ithaca, NY

            Diehard hockey fans are different than most sports fans. They are more willing too consume lower talent level leagues if the NHL isn’t available. They are watching minor leagues, college, high school, or overseas league games. If MLB were to go on strike again, hardcore seam-heads wouldn’t start watching college games or Triple-A games. Hockey fans enjoy the game itself, regardless of the level of talent they are seeing. There isn’t the outcry from this group like there was during the NFL lockout a year ago.
            As for casual fans, we’re too busy watching NFL games and the World Series. The NBA showed that they could survive without having games until Christmas last year. There’s simply too much going on right now for most casual fans to say, “Hey, why aren’t the Bruins playing?” Casual fans won’t be looking for hockey until it’s the usual time for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Sadly, the owners know they can get away with a lockout, and until the players bend to their wants and needs, there will be no NHL.

What’s going to happen to Tim Tebow? He’s nowhere to be found in a Jets uniform! – Janice L., Brownfield, ME

            Barring a Mark Sanchez injury (it appears there isn’t a level of play bad enough that will force Rex Ryan to bench him), Tebow will continue to fill the role of “interesting hood ornament”. He was brought in to get attention and generate headlines, and I think that’s what the Jets will try to milk out of him for the rest of the season before Jacksonville trades the Jets a third round pick for Tebow next spring. Or even better, maybe he'll get cut and the Patriots will sign him to replace Danny Woodhead (more on that in the next answer).

Lots of finger pointing with the Patriots this year due to their early issues (though they have only lost the 3 games by a combined total of 4 points). Things like Josh McDaniels is too cute/arrogant at times with his playcalling, the secondary if awful, Bill Belichick is not the defensive "genius" he once was, Brady has lost his grip on executing in pressure situations, the offense can't close out games, etc. Obviously its a combination of many things, but what do you think is the most significant factor? – Mike S., Keene, NH

            Mike covered most of the points, but here’s a bullet form list that I will then choose the most significant factor from.

-         Too much Danny Woodhead (I get it that he’s a short white-guy so naturally most people from New England love him, but the dude averages 3.5 yards a carry. The Patriots three other runningbacks average 5.4, 5.0, and 4.4 yards a carry. Let’s bring Woodhead in on 3^rd down passing situations and never hand off to him. EVER)

-         Lack of a dominant pass rusher

-         Lousy secondary

-         Poor offensive playcalling (has there been anything more comical than watching Tom Brady attempted 12 back-shoulder fade passes a game to Brandon Lloyd?)

           To answer the question, we’ll put bullet points one and four together. Josh McDaniels needs to utilize his weapons better with more high percentage plays, and stick with the running game when it is working. If he wants to make sure he doesn’t keep hurting himself, he can hit Woodhead in the knee with a crowbar.

Bobby Valentine rolled David Ortiz under the bus the other day. Shouldn’t he of done that before he was fired? – Rick S., Worcester, MA

            Valentine seems like a guy who likes making headlines, so it could’ve helped him out in that department.

Who has the better chance of coming back, Mariano Rivera or Derek Jeter? – Janice L., Brownfield, ME

            With reports out now that Rivera is having second thoughts about returning next season (remember, he was more than likely going to retire if he didn’t blow out his knee shagging fly balls in batting practice), Jeter has to be the choice. A broken ankle isn’t a picnic, but the rehabilitation needed to fully recover from that injury is much less significant than returning from a torn ACL. 

The NBA is dropping the center spot from the All-Star ballot. Why is this news? – Marcus S., Irvine, CA

            David Stern has made it a habit of putting out odd press releases in the fall to try to steal headlines from the NFL. Chalk this up as another attempt at a fun headline. It’s a shame we’ll only get to enjoy them for two more years.

A pound of gold and one of feathers weighs the same. (But carrying one or the other is very different)
Pitcher "A" can through a ball @ 100 MPH. And so can pitcher "B". (Very differently)
Don't even get me started on terminal velocity, apples, and gravitational pull. (122 MPH versus Red Bull)
Anyone can look through a scope and see the target. (100 meters - to calculating the curvature of the earth @ 1.5 miles)
Hell, I was under the impression that having one testicle gave you an advantage. (One nut, two nut, three nut, dope)
Eat eggs, don't eat eggs. (Eat or be eaten...trust me those nasty birds would start w/ your eyes)
Men. Don't carry cellular devices in your front pocket and turn them off while in flight. (Like dodging a bullet is a bad thing)
Girl- "I don't care how big it is"
Guys translation- "I have a small penis"
Girl " you are huge!"
Guys translation- "she is lying" (self explanatory)
I'm going to get another Tattoo. (If I didn't have one, I wouldn't have any)
My question? What passed through your mind in the last 10 minutes dick? – Ryan B., Kearsarge, NH

            I’d love to share it, but would be embarrassed to reveal how much of those 10 minutes would be filled up by children’s television programming.

No Credentials "Mailbag" 5-18-12

            As usual, these may or may not be actual messages from real or fake people.

Assuming that the Mayans are on to something, what are the best signs that the end of days will be upon us soon? – Edgar, Lynn, MA

            Here’s two clear events that might lead you to plan you finances so you have $0 in your bank account on December 21^st, 2012.

2. Kanye West dating Kim Kardashian – If these two create offspring, we’re dead. We’re all DEAD.

1. Dick Clark died – Assuming that the Mayans are right, I’m guessing this conversation happened shortly before Clark passed away.

God: It’s your time.

Clark: I can’t leave yet! That’ll leave Seacrest all alone on New Year’s Eve. He’ll ruin the show!
God: The world is going to explode 10 days before New Year’s Eve this year. You won’t have to worry about that.
Clark: Well if that’s the case, can I listen to Robert Johnson in Heaven?
God: You can download him on Lord-Tunes, but you can’t see him live. He went straight to Hell.

So Mariano Rivera is indestructable for parts of 3 decades, but his replacement can’t even stay upright for two weeks? Tony, Riverhead, NY

            Whenever an unusually durable athlete does down to an injury, the replacement always goes down with an ailment of his own shortly after. A similar thing happened when Brett Favre’s consecutive games streak came to an end in 2010. Tavaris “The Virus” Jackson tore a knee ligament the next week.

(EDITORS NOTE: In a year that MLB instituted a second wildcard in an attempt to insure that the Yankees and Red Sox make the playoffs, isn’t it funny that the odds of both squads making it this year are very low? Both team's bullpens are suspect. Boston’s starting pitching has been inconsistent, while New York’s aging offense has been sputtering (with the exception of Derek Jeter, who figured out that ditching Minka Kelly was the key to restoring his power stroke). The only saving grace for both teams has been the struggles of the Angels, who No Credentials predicted would be a shoe-in for one of the two Wildcard spots (I’m not giving up on them yet. It’s still way to early to count out any team, assuming they don’t play in Kansas City, Minnesota, Seattle, Oakland, Houston, Chicago, or San Diego), are five games under .500 at the time of this writing.

Justin Bieber says he has “had a beer”. What brand do you think it was? Tasha, Harrison, ME

            What a great question. Let’s rank the top-5 candidates in reverse order.

5.  Mike’s Hard Lemonade

4.  Molson Canadian (he's from Canada after all)
3. Smirnoff Triple Raspberry Lemon Shake w/hint of Pineapple (guessing this is a custom beverage Smirnoff made for the Bieb)
2. Skyy Blue
1. Labatt Blue

Who do you have winning the Preakness? – Abigail, Red Rock, TX

            I want to stay loyal to I’ll Have Another, but facing a small field with very few sprinters, Bodemiester should have an easier go of it. He won’t need to try to set a land-speed record in the first half of the race, and should have plenty left in the tank coming down the stretch. 

Still trying to wrap my head around how Chris Bosh makes such a huge difference for the Miami Heat. Sam, Epping, NH

            Anyone that knows anything about basketball would never argue that Chris Bosh is the second best player on the Miami Heat. However, one could make a case that he’s the second most valuable player the Heat have. The similar skill sets of Lebron James and Dwyane Wade make it hard for them to function together in the same play (unless it’s a fast break). More often than not, one of them gets the ball at the top of the key and runs a pick-and-roll with a Miami big (when healthy, that big would be Bosh) while the other stands on the side and watches from the 3-point line. With Bosh out, whoever is setting the screen for James/Wade is not a consistent threat to score in a pick-and-roll. This allows the opposing big men to clog the lane and shut down drives to the basket. Miami’s half-court offense has morphed into the basketball equivalent of a poop sandwich without Bosh.
            The secret to solving this problem? Run James and Wade in the pick and roll together (if Lebron bitches about playing the 4, tell him to shut the fuck up), surround them with Chalmers and whichever stiff you want to plug in at small forward (I’ll vote for Shane Battier over Mike Miller and James Jones) on the wings, with Joel Anthony on the backside to hit the offensive glass (not that he could catch an offensive rebound, he’s much more likely to fumble it out of bounds). The most likely outcomes of running this offense would be a drive to the basket or a wide open 3. Let’s make sure Coach Spo doesn’t see this paragraph until the Heat are eliminated by the Pacers.      

How much do you have to like hockey to give a shit about Kings-Coyotes? – Ed, Manchester, VT

            I’ll grade myself a slightly above average fan of hockey (I play fantasy hockey, that earns me the above average tag), and I’m struggling to care about this one. Anything involving Phoenix makes it hard to take seriously, espeically when you have a throwback match-up in the Eastern Conference.

Who wins a fight, Axl Rose or a pissed off Kurt Busch? – George, Hickory, NC

            This one would definitly be a lightweight division battle. Kurt is certainly a volitale personality, but all of his abuse has been verbal. Axl’s willingness to throw a fist or two gives him the edge.

"Its black and white". Translation - its obvious, crystal clear, incontrovertible, fact. I understand the statement. I often use it.

           So now I give you my problem (question). Why is it black and white? Is it because they are equal and exact opposites? If that were the case why would we not say "its positive and negative" IE battery terminals? And if we are basing this on black and white being equal and exact opposites we must take into consideration that black isn't a color and as we all know white is. ( We could debate that statement until I was blue and you were red in the face) Or is it because we look at it like words on a page? Something written in a "matter of fact" way? If this is the case, could we say "blue (ink) and yellow (paper)"? Walk into any Staples and shop around the Post It and Sharpie section and we might be saying "Its pecker pink and pumpkin orange". But maybe that wouldn't have the impact the user was looking for.
          And what if your colorblind? I guess in that case white, blue, black or yellow don't apply. Ultimately Wrench, what I'm asking is why is it "black and white". And please don't tell me its obvious, crystal clear, incontrovertible or fact. – Ryan B., Kearsarge, NH
          I think there were 16 questions in the previous two paragraphs. For fear of drifting too far into a gray area, we’ll let the question stand on it’s own. Until next time…

Sunday Draft (2-27-11) Fantasy Baseball Mock Draft Rounds 6 and 7

6-61 = Carlos Marmol, RP, Cubs – I hate using any pick before the 10^th round on a closer. Saves always pop up during the season, so it seems pointless to use such a high pick on a guy who will pitch only 80 innings over an everyday player or a starter that can give you 200 innings. However, for the integrity of the mock, I’ll select Marmol here. At least Marmol has a shot to give you over 100 strikeouts, so this makes him the only reliever that I would realistically take at this point in the draft.

6-62 = Mat Latos, SP, Padres – Latos will have no innings limitations this season. The ballpark gives him a chance to be a dark horse candidate for the NL Cy Young.

6-63 = Alexei Ramirez, SS, White Sox – I would hate drafting a guy who at best will give you 20 home runs and 15 steals with a 6^th round pick, but the shortstop position falls of a cliff from this point. Depending on where Ramirez ends up in the lineup, he could have a shot at cracking 100 runs for the first time in his career.

6-64 = Mariano Rivera, RP, Yankees – “The Hammer of God” (as named by Tony Kornheiser) is still rolling at age 41. He’s shown no signs of decline.

6-65 = Tommy Hanson, SP, Braves – Hanson struggled during the first half of the season in 2010, but rallied to finish the year with a 1.17 WHIP.

6-66 = Andre Ethier, OF-RF, Dodgers – Ethier was superman during the first two months of last season until a stint on the DL robbed him of his mojo. With a bounce back season from Matt Kemp, Ethier’s RBI totals could increase.

6-67 = Joakim Soria, RP, Royals – A guy who has gone by the nickname “The Mexicutioner” deserves to be the 3^rd closer taken in the mock (sadly, he wants to give up this nickname, which is a damn shame, because before looking him up to make sure he wasn’t undergoing season-ending surgery or something, I did not know he was called The Mexicutioner. Apparently I’ve missed out on three years of using a quality nickname).

6-68 = Jered Weaver, SP, Angels – Weaver has improved his ERA and WHIP each of the last three seasons. While it’s unrealistic to expect him to improve on a 1.07 WHIP, Weaver is a great option to anchor your fantasy rotation as either your ace or number two.

6-69 = Kendry Morales, 1B, Angels – Morales is best known for blowing his knee out while celebrating a walk-off homerun (click here for a fantastic home video of this event. Good times). If you get a repeat of his 2009 season (.306 BA, 34 HRs, 108 RBIs) from a dude you draft in the 6^th round, this is the sort of pick that can win your league.

6-70 = Billy Butler, 1B, Royals – Butler has smacked 96 doubles between 2009 and 2010. Let’s say he can turn 15 of those doubles into home runs (which is optimistic, but hey, we can dream), we could be looking at a .315-30-100 line.

6-71 = Jay Bruce, OF-RF, Reds – Bruce is only 23 years old, but already has three 20+ homer seasons. It’s not out of the realm of possibility for Bruce to crack the 30-homer club this season.

6-72 = Hunter Pence, OF-RF, Astros – Pence is the Honda Civic of fantasy baseball. He’s not very sexy, but he’s reliable. Pence has hit 25 home runs each of the last three seasons. Even creepier, he hit .282 each of the last two seasons. Don’t expect a ton of upside here, but he’s a safe pick.

7-73 = Brian Wilson, RP, Giants – I was concerned when I read a few days ago that Wilson had spent some time with Charlie Sheen (yikes!), but I’ll bank on Wilson’s craziness not messing with his pitching for at least another season or two.

            Team 1 Roster = Albert Pujols, Dustin Pedroia, Clayton Kershaw, Justin Verlander, Ichiro, Hunter Pence, Brian Wilson

7-74 = Roy Oswalt, SP, Phillies – With this pick, the “Philtastic Four” is now completely off the board. To put it in perspective, no other team has more than one starting pitcher taken at this point. If Oswalt repeats his 2010 ERA and WHIP (2.76 and 1.03), expect his win total to be much higher than 13.

            Team 2 Roster = Miguel Cabrera, Tim Lincecum, Jose Reyes, Brandon Phillips, Adrian Beltre, Jay Bruce, Roy Oswalt

7-75 = Shane Victorino, OF-CF, Phillies – Call me crazy, but I want to buy stock in Victorino this year. His batting average in 2010 was 22 points lower than it was in any of his previous full season in the major leagues. If he bumps that average back to .280, expect 15 home runs, 40 steals, and over 100 runs scored.

            Team 3 Roster = Robinson Cano, Matt Kemp, Kevin Youkilis, Jimmy Rollins, David Price, Billy Butler, Shane Victorino

7-76 = Yovani Gallardo, SP, Brewers – Gallardo’s career WHIP of 1.32 is a littler higher than I would like from a pitcher I would spend a 7^th round pick on, but the quality of the team he’s pitching for and his strikeout totals justify Gallardo being picked at this juncture.

            Team 4 Roster = Troy Tulowitzki, Ryan Zimmerman, Shin Soo Choo, Josh Johnson, Rickie Weeks, Kendry Morales, Yovani Gallardo

7-77 = Mike Stanton, OF-RF, Marlins – Stanton has as much pure power as any hitter in baseball. As soon as he gets a better grip of the strike zone (which could take a few years since he’s only 21 years old), he could be a real threat for 50 home runs at some point down the line. Expect someone to reach on Stanton much earlier than this in your draft.

            Team 5 Roster = Hanley Ramirez, Felix Hernandez, Ian Kinsler, Jose Bautista, Justin Morneau, Jered Weaver, Mike Stanton

7-78 = Alex Rios, OF-CF, White Sox – This pick isn’t as good if Rios is hitting lower in the lineup like he has been in Spring Training so far. If he’s hitting 2^nd, he has a shot at 20 homers and 30 steals.

            Team 6 Roster = Evan Longoria, Ryan Howard, Zack Greinke, Justin Upton, Derek Jeter, Joakim Soria, Alex Rios

7-79 = Matt Cain, SP, Giants – If Hunter Pence is a Honda Civic, than Cain is a Ford F-150. If innings is a stat category in your league, do yourself a favor and grab Cain 10 picks higher than this.

            Team 7 Roster = Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Hamilton, Cliff Lee, Victor Martinez, Jayson Werth, Andre Ethier, Matt Cain

7-80 = Pedro Alvarez, 3B, Pirates – Alvarez is essentially the same player as Mike Stanton, except he plays third base.

            Team 8 Roster = Joey Votto, Carlos Gonzalez, Matt Holiday, Dan Uggla, Cole Hamels, Tommy Hanson, Pedro Alvarez

7-81 = Delmon Young, OF-LF, Twins – It feels like Delmon Young has been around for years, but amazingly he’s only 25 years old. I wouldn’t be shocked if Young ups his power numbers in 2011.

            Team 9 Roster = Roy Halladay, Mark Teixeira, Andrew McCutchen, Ubaldo Jimenez, Brian McCann, Mariano Rivera, Delmon Young

7-82 = Martin Prado, 2B-3B, Braves – Prado is a solid fall-back option if you miss out on Robinson Cano and Chase Utley at the top of the draft. 3B eligibility is also a nice bonus to have for roster flexibility.

            Team 10 Roster = Carl Crawford, Prince Fielder, Joe Mauer, Jason Heyward, Aramis Ramirez, Alexei Ramirez, Martin Prado

7-83 = B.J. Upton, CF, Rays – Even if Upton’s batting average is stuck around .240 like he has been the past two seasons, he’s a lock for 40 steals. If Upton can up the batting average to .270, you could be looking at a top-10 player at the end of the season.

            Team 11 Roster = Ryan Braun, Alex Rodriguez, Jon Lester, Buster Posey, Adam Dunn, Mat Latos, B.J. Upton

7-84 = Paul Konerko, 1B, White Sox – For those of you patient enough to wait on a first basemen, this could be your reward. I don’t expect Konerko to duplicate his 2010 production (.312 BA, 39 HRs, 111 RBIs, .977 OPS), but even if he settles in at .265-28-100, you’re getting a great bargain at the end of the 7^th round.

            Team 12 Roster = David Wright, Chase Utley, Nelson Cruz, C.C. Sabathia, Carlos Santana, Carlos Marmol, Paul Konerko