Fantasy

There has been talk in the past few weeks about what the Cincinnati Reds will do with Orlando Cabrera, who they hold a $4 million mutual option on for 2011.  Will they exercise that option or will they let him walk, turning the keys over to Paul Janish?

The Arizona Fall League is where a lot of top prospects are sent to get some experience, but it also is a place where guys who have struggled can try and regain some confidence.  Only a handful of games have been played, but let’s take a look at two hitters who have already begun to rebuild their value for 2011:

In the first half of the season, Corey Hart could do no wrong.  He was one of the biggest surprises in the league, hitting .288 with 21 HR and 65 RBI.  Owners who took the gamble on drafting him were on cloud nine…

Unfortunately, the euphoria did not last forever.

Hart’s production in the second half was much more inline with what we would have expected.  He hit .278 with 10 HR and 37 RBI.

Are you new to fantasy basketball? Maybe you have played fantasy sports before but have been hesitant to try out fantasy basketball for one reason or another.

Well, here are five good reasons why you should take the leap and give fantasy basketball a chance if you’ve never played before:

1) Like any other sport, it takes time to learn.

It’s never too early to start looking towards Draft Day 2011, is it? 

Let’s kick off our offseason rankings taking a look at my Top 15 catchers for 2011.

Keep in mind that these will be updated throughout the offseason, depending on player movement and finalizing my projections:

Josh Beckett suffered through one of the worst seasons of his career.  All you have to do is look at the numbers to understand just how bad it was:

6 Wins
127.2 Innings
5.78 ERA
1.54 WHIP
116 Strikeouts (8.2 K/9)
45 Walks (3.2 BB/9)
.349 BABIP

Before we get into specifics, Beckett has coincidentally alternated good and bad years dating back to 2005.  It’s odd, for sure, but it actually is a fact.  Just look at his ERAs:

As we approach the second week of the fantasy baseball playoffs and the second round of the playoff games, it’s critical to take note of those players who are white-hot and how they can help your fantasy baseball lineup from here on out.

The Tampa Bay Rays' catching situation was a questionable one when the season started.  Once they acquired Kelly Shoppach, fantasy owners in two-catcher formats were scurrying for any information they could get on who was going to get the bulk of the playing time.  Was it going to be Shoppach?  Was it going to be the incumbent, Dioner Navarro?

No one could argue with the Indians' decision to trade Chris Archer as part of the deal sending Mark DeRosa to the Indians prior to the 2009 season.  Look at the ERAs he has posted through his first three years:

Trevor Cahill enjoyed a breakout season in 2010, his second full season in the Major Leagues.  At the surface the numbers are certainly impressive, but there certainly are reasons to be concerned.

Before we get to the reservations, let’s take a look at his statistics:

18 Wins
196.2 Innings
2.97 ERA
1.11 WHIP
118 Strikeouts (5.4 K/9)
63 Walks (2.9 BB/9)
.238 BABIP