The Blue Workhorse

Earlier this year, we individually previewed each and every MLB team giving you a team’s record from the 2007 season, key additions and key losses in ‘08, projected starting lineups and pitching rotations, an overall outlook, fantasy impact players, and our prediction for this season.

So were we right?

Well, we got some things right like predicting Josh Hamilton’s huge season, but we also got some things way off like saying the Florida Marlins would be the laughing stock of the league.

What did we get right? What did we get wrong? This week we’ll start in the National League with the NL East:

Mets, Phils, or Braves: NL East Preview (March 6, 2008)

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[singlepic=198,320,240,,]C.C. Sabathia throws a pitch in what should have been a no-hitter Sunday against the Pirates. He also should be given the Cy Young Award and be considered for the MVP Award (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar).

C.C. Sabathia has been absolutely remarkable since being traded to the Milwaukee Brewers on July 7.

Not only has he become only the second midseason acquisition to go 9-0 (Doyle Alexander went 9-0 in 11 starts for the Detroit Tigers in 1987 after being traded from the Atlanta Braves for some prospect named John Smoltz), Sabathia has been a complete workhorse (and you know we love those). Sabathia already leads the National League with 6 complete games despite only 11 starts.

On Sunday afternoon, Sabathia tossed his third complete game shutout since joining the Brewers, striking out 11 Pirates batters, and allowing only one controversial hit to Andy LaRoche on a slow roller Sabathia mishandled, which can be seen about 12 seconds into this clip.

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The first step in planning your own sports vacation trip is deciding to go, but then after that you’ve got to try to figure out where you would like to go.

Washington D.C.? Chicago? Boston? Dallas? New York? Detroit? Los Angeles? There are several historic sports cities you could potentially choose.

Our goal through the usage of this 6 part “Planning Your Sports Vacation” series is to help you get the most out of your sports vacation!!

And choosing the right destination is the first step. While this may seem like the easiest choice in your trip planning, there are actually several things to consider.

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As I flipped the channel to FOX at about 8:00 pm, I had no idea that tonight would be one of the most intriguing All-Star Games in recent memory.

With the great opening ceremony linking the former greats with the present stars, I had a feeling this might be a special night and a special game.

The only thing that surprised me about the opening ceremony was the Steinbrenners brought the ceremonial game balls in a brown paper bag. C’mon guys, you’re the Steinbrenners, you can do better.

Before I get to the game:

5 quick reasons I hated the All-Star Game

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Every season there are a handful of players that come out of no where to surprise us and become instant stars. We touched on some players who jumped out to incredible starts after the first couple of weeks of the baseball season.

However, there are also a handful of players that play no where near what was expected of them. At the midway point of the season and in lieu of the recent trend of teams demoting established players (Phillies’ starter Brett Myers, Indians’ closer Joe Borowski, and young Braves’ slugger Jeff Francouer — even though Francouer has scored 40 runs, hit 8 HR, and driven in 41 RBI), we examine those players who have failed to meet expectations and would be well deserving of a demotion:

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Earlier today, Major League Baseball announced the rosters for the 79th All-Star Game being held at Yankee Stadium, which is only appropriate since this is the final season for the historic ballpark.

The starters were determined solely by the fan vote once again, unfortunately.

Nevertheless, we wanted to do what we hadn’t seen anywhere else and break down the selections team-by-team, so that you could easily see who was selected from your favorite team (starters are in bold):

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As we gather with family and friends on Memorial Day weekend, we must remember that nearly a third of the Major League Baseball season has passed us, and for those of you whose fantasy teams are faltering, there is still hope, but it is likely time to make some changes.

One successful method that could get you back in the running for your league title is the “buy low” strategy, in which you nab up or trade for underperforming players. Using split-statistics, in which the players statistics are divided up into each individual month or Pre/Post All-Star Break, here are a few players who might not appear to be overly appealing now, but as the weather heats up, these players seem to follow:

While #2 overall fantasy player Hanley Ramirez’s statistics are impressive, no one is that surprised after he was a top 5 pick in nearly every fantasy draft, but when Nate McLouth puts up similar numbers and is ranked as the #7 fantasy player overall…eyebrows are raised.

The McLouths and Cliff Lees of baseball is exactly what this list celebrates - the players who produce tremendous statistics considering the value they cost their fantasy owners, whether that be a late round pick or a timely pick up off the waiver wire: