As the Opening Week in Fantasy Baseball 2008 draws to a close, we are left with a week that gave us everything; well, except a Tiger win (Sunday Night Baseball will finish that story) of course.  Some players are red hot (Nate McLouth),  others are struggling mightily (Johnny Damon), while others are performing right on par with expectations.  The story of the week would have to be Cincinnatti Reds hurler Johnny Cueto, who fanned 10 in his Major League debut.  But Cueto wasn't the only young arm to come out firing.  Here's a list of other babies who took the mound successfully; some of which, including Cueto, are barely old enough to enjoy a cold one after striking out Ryan Howard.

Okay, so it's April 3rd.  It's the 4th day of full MLB Regular Season action.  So why, why are so many of my (and probably your) players on the Disabled List?

Here are just a few of the players I am targeting, watching daily on my Yahoo! Watch List across the five leagues I'm participating in this season...

1. Johnny Cueto -- Ever since I saw he was added to the Yahoo! Database, he's had a spot on my Watch List.  I waited, patiently, for the day in which he would take the hill for the first time.  That day was today.

It's early afternoon, EST. As I write this sentence, we're less than four hours from Opening Night 2008 on ESPN (presented by Bank of America). The Washington Nationals will be showcasing their new home against the NL East Division Rival Atlanta Braves. After waiting nearly four entire days since the first official Major League game of 2008 in Japan, at 8:05 PM EST, a pitch that counts will be thrown on American soil. The pitch should be from left-handed, 30 year old Odalis Perez to Braves Second Baseman Kelly Johnson. I'm much more excited than I ought to be.

If you've been following baseball during the latter part of this off-season into Spring Training, you've been given quite the treat.  Newly hired Reds skipper Dusty Baker has been weighing in on a number of issues, and we've been there every step of the way, laughing, crying, and offering Cincinnati fans our condolences and moral support...

You've heard about it.  You must have.  If you've turned on ESPN, read a Sports section of any major newspaper, or followed the game of baseball even loosely at any point over the last half decade, it's been thrown in your face.  You have an opinion on it.  No, you do.  Whether you think it's ruining the game, the next step in modern science, or don't care either way, you know that steroids and HGH are, and have been, in the game of baseball, and they don't appear to be going away.

So with New York behind me, the quest towards overthrowing Chris and his London Knights as H2H World Series Champion took a step further this season; namely, H2HWS USA II; or Stage 2 of the quest. This league full of Eastsiders has representatives from a least, but not limited to, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Ohio, Massachusetts, Florida, Louisiana, New Hampshire, and Delaware. Hey, it could be worse, right? I could be playing in H2HWS Canada...

Everybody's always talking about how unbelievably deep the First Base posiion is in Fantasy Baseball.  There's just such an abundance of serviceable talent, that you don't have to sweat it.  If you don't get it early, no worries, there's studs later.  Well I'm not buyin'.  I put together my own little Primer, sort of, breaking down my feelings on what most believe to be the deepest position in all of Fantasy Baseball.

Today I'd like to take a look at some players who could potentially help you win your deeper league.  We're talking 14+ team mixed leagues with 25-man rosters, a minors system, so on and so forth.  One thing I've noticed this season, more-so than in previous ones, is that the bottom of the barrel of the "talent pool" (and I'm using that term loosely) is pretty disgusting and unfavorable...

Last summer a buddy of mine, Jay Sherwood, or JTWood as he goes by over at the Fantasy Café, approached me about taking over a team in a league he's been running for a few seasons. The gist I got out of that conversation was this: it's a Weekly H2H Points League, contract and cap based, and the team stinks. What's not to love? Well, after some coaxing, and “opening my eyes to what an opportunity it was to test my skills as a fantasy baseball manager”, I agreed to join, and am now documenting the path that has led my team, the N.Y. Hortropolitans, to where it is today; hopefully aiming for a 2008 championship run.

Given how long I've been playing Fantasy Baseball (this is my 11th season), the gross number of leagues I participate in yearly, and the amount of time, effort, and analysis I put into the off-season, not to mention the 6 grueling months that is the baseball regular season, you'd think that naming my team wouldn't rank very high on my list of priorities -- you couldn't be more wrong.

Coming up with a fitting, clever, witty, occasionally inappropriate team name brings me entirely more joy than it probably ought to; but none the less, it does. But, what makes a good name?

As many of our Fantasy Baseball '08 Drafts fast approach (or have already approached), it seems like a good time to go over a few of the Dos and Do Nots that could mean the difference between participating in next year's Master's League or next year's Pond Scum League...

Ok, so what would you say if I told you I was thinking of drafting a right-handed pitcher who doesn’t throw hard, doesn’t strike batters out, doesn’t play for a powerhouse team, and was born during the Lyndon B. Johnson administration?

Ok, and what if I told you aside from one injured season, he’s recorded 40+ Saves in 9 of the last 11 seasons, hasn’t had a WHIP over 1.20 since 1993, and last year allowed 7 more Hits than he recorded Saves?  Looking back further, the Hits to Save ratio would be 2 in ’06, 9 in ’05, 1 in ’04, etc., etc., etc.  Oh, he’s also the all-time MLB Saves leader.

I am constantly seeing 'Players You Must Have in '08', 'Deep Sleepers in '08', 'Late Round '08 Steals', etc., etc., etc.

But what about the players who are staring you in the face as your pick approaches, and you know that deep down, you must pass?  Who are these mystery men of 2008?

Well, here's a few...

A few random, scatterbrained notes about last season, you may or may not have known...

...Brad Lidge recorded 19 Saves from July 17th until the end of he season...

...Ryan Braun bat .450 in 111 AB against Left-Handed Pitchers...

...Despite Coors Field playing more neutral, Matt Holliday hit 25 HR in 327 Home AB, and just 11 HR in 309 Road AB...

A year ago this time, the buzz was on a left-handed, former Cy Young Award winning hurler, switcing from the bat heavy American to the more pitcher friendly National League.  Sound familiar?

Well, as a Mets fan, I can only hope that as far as the upcoming season goes, that's where the comparisons between soon to be 30 year old Barry Zito of the San Francisco Giants, and Mets' new Ace Johan Santana, end.  But that's not what I'm talking about today...

Here is my latest prediction for the 2008 Fantasy Basebal season, and I stand by it...

At the end of the 2008 season, across most scoring formats, Ryan Howard will be the #1 Overall Ranked fantasy baseball player.

There I said it; but why did I say it?

I have a guest blogger today...Jordan Flemer, better known as Mugrila over at the Fantasy Baseball Cafe, and a damn fine fantasy player...

Starting Pitching can wait…unless it's Johan

As a follow up to Brendan's pieces on starting pitching, I’d like to plead my case for Johan Santana as well as follow up on my team in the same draft.

Well, its that time of year again... time for Yahoo!, the world's most popular free fantasy baseball provider, to open its doors for the 2008 season!!!

Over at the Fantasy Baseball Cafe, we got a jump, before the announcement was made, and got some of the first leaguesavailable.  This blogger got League #229.  But enough about me, let's talk about Yahoo!'s new stuff...

Yesterday I pondered the depth of the Starting Pitching pool this year, concluding that you shouldn't have any trouble acquiring more than enough to win your league via draft, even if you wait until late to begin taking arms.
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