Fantasy Baseball is Here Draft tips: don't draft

Baseball is my game...I am all amped up for this new season of drafts and new seasons of hope!
For the next week or two I will give my advice on who to draft and who not to draft in leagues of all variety.

This first post is dedicated to the who not to draft people!
First, catchers! Short of Victor Martinez, and Russell Martin do not touch a catcher in the first 10-12 rounds. Otherwise it is too early and it will kill you in the long run! There are so many good catchers but only two worthy of a top ten round pick. Mauer and McCann might be able to slip into round 9 or ten but do your homework, I higher producer is worth more in the Util spot then a catcher will be. I usually wait til the last round or two to start thinking about grabbing a catcher. Paulino and Napoli are great post round 12 guys who will out produce most anyone and are not leaving the board earlier then that. They can usually be had after round 15.
Please do not draft Pudge Rodriguez, he is a waste of space, take Greg Zaun 10 rounds later I beg you!
Second, do not draft a position just because you don't have anyone yet at that spot. If you draft simply because you have an opening, that will be how you end up with David Eckstein in round ten or Pudge ion round 8. You will not win your league that way! A young stud prospect is a much better pick up or a 3rd or 4th proven starter. Not to mention an extra relief pitcher. DO NOT draft your holes...they will be filled in later in the draft, the good managers aren't taking those guys early. Be patient and watch draft trends.

Third, do not go into the draft without ranking your players. This doesn't have to be written down, but you need to have thought it through. Most likely you won't get the easy task of picking first and taking AROD, only one guys gets that job, if you do thanks the good Lord and then have a strategy in place as to how to get the most out of the second and third round picks you won't get for a long time. Most likely you will pick in the middle to end which means you will be deciding between Vlad Guerrero, Chase Utley, Johan Santana and Ryan Braun. Have a plan BEFORE the draft as to how you want to play that situation out. Don't just rank positions by tiers, also rank the first two or three rounds as to your preference of players. Take the best available guy off of your pre-ranked board in the early rounds, then go from there.

Do not draft injured players in the high rounds. BJ Ryan, Pedro and C Schilling are all coming off injury plagued seasons or off season surgery, don't risk it. Wait for these guys in mid to late rounds and if they don;t make it that's okay grab someone younger and healthier. Kazmir and Lidge are both injured right now, do not overpay for them no matter what the team website says. It will cost you in the long run if they battle injury and not the other teams all year. Also stay away from guys who are hurt chronically. Even if they have put up decent numbers in the past, do your homework before drafting Ken Griffey, Rich Harden or Ben Sheets.

Do not draft personal "homer" picks unless you have some really good information that you have obtained through the local media sources that are reliable. Drafting the backup SS because he is a fan favorite is a definite no-no. Just because you have his jersey, doesn't mean he will help you win your fantasy league!

Hopefully this was some helpful info, stay tuned for upcoming position rankings as well as super sleepers and rookie breakout players!

Super Bowl Wrap Up

It was a shocking night for most football fans. Still quite unbelieveable that the behemoth Patriots were rocked by the pebble that was the NY Giants. The Giants, ironically in the role of David and not the giant, slung there stones and struck the mighty Patriots right between the eyes. The Giants played a masterful game and upset the team many though to be unbeatable at some points during the season.

The old adage that defense wins championships certainly holds true in this case, however it was the offese that came through in the clutch with less then 2 minutes to go. Eli Manning certainly silenced the millions of doubters with his escape act that Evel Knivel is still smiling about in heaven. The circus catch by Tyree is destined to make the plays of the decade films for the 2000's. It was a great game and a wonderful win for the Giants, the NFC and the NFC East. By week 4 most thought this game would be an afterthought to the "real superbowl" that would be played in the AFC championship game. Not so fast my friend! Last I checked all of the NFC players also get paid to play football as well. There are no scab workers, and thus anything can happen. And it did. Nice job Giants. The NFL is smiling large now...