Baseball

The San Francisco Giants have this division in the bag.

Or at least they should.

The Giants won the World Series on the strength of their pitching and timely hitting. With the players still on roster and some other additions, San Francisco should be able to reproduce most of its success from 2010.

I believe in the "Baseball Gods."  No kidding, I really do.

There is just too much baseball karmic history to deny the existence of the baseball higher power, so to speak. 

Having said that, I do not believe that the Philadelphia Phillies or their fans have done anything so terribly wrong so as to anger said Gods. 

What did we do?  Seriously.  We signed a top of the line starting pitcher in the offseason, who wanted to come to Philly.

LOS ANGELES ANGELS 

Last Year: 80-82, 3rd in AL West  

Manager: Mike Scioscia 

PROJECTED LINEUP 

C- Jeff Mathis (R) 

1B- Kendry Morales (S) (Will start season on DL)

2B- Howie Kendrick (R)

3B- Maicer Izturis (S) or Alberto Callaspo (S)

SS- Erick Aybar (S)

LF- Vernon Wells (R)

CF- Peter Bourjos (R)

RF- Torii Hunter (R)

DH- Bobby Abreu (L)

Without question, first base is the deepest position for everyday players, and you should expect the top seven or eight first basemen to be drafted in the first two rounds of your 12-team league.

Some players on our list played 10-19 games at first base in 2010, which means the player may or may not qualify as a first baseman in your league. For example, Yahoo! leagues require a player to appear in at least ten games at that position in the previous year. Whereas for ESPN leagues, the requirement is 20-plus games.

Previously, The Fantasy Fix reviewed and gave projections for the 2011 Chicago White Sox rotation. Now, it's time to dive in and analyze the Sox positional players.

There hasn't been this much anticipation for a Reds season in years, but for anyone who has been paying attention to spring training, the news hasn't been very good and it continues to get worse as starting pitcher Homer Bailey was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a shoulder impingement.

For Bailey, who has shown flashes but is still seeking consistency over the course of an entire season, it's another setback.

With Kendrys Morales still struggling to return to the field, you have to wonder what to expect from him in 2011.  Will he come back in April?  Will it not be until May?  Even once he returns, how many games per week will he be able to play?

So many questions, so few answers at this point.  I have reduced my projection for him down to 475 AB for the upcoming season, clearly dropping him down the rankings.  Let’s take a look at how far:

Joe Saunders, the man who wept when he was traded to the Diamondbacks, has made fans weep this entire spring, and last night was the biggest cry-fest of all.  In a game that Saunders needed to pitch well he fell flat. 

After being inconspicuously omitted when Kirk Gibson was naming the starters earlier in the week the pressure was on Saunders to have a quality outing and show that he deserves to be one of the five.

Carlos Beltran took part in a simulated game on a back field in Port St Lucie, Florida on Thursday. He hit from both sides of the plate, ran the bases without hesitation and fielded his position with what he later described as 100 percent intensity.

Tell me you haven't heard this one before: Philadelphia Phillies' closer Brad Lidge is likely to spend Opening Day and the 14 days thereafter on the Disabled List.

After several offseasons filled with surgeries and rehabilitation for Lidge, he and the Phillies' fan base were overly optimistic of a full, healthy season from the once perfect closer.