FEATURED QUESTION OF THE DAY

Happy St Pat’s. I got some spring training in this weekend and took care of all my St Pats responsibilities while in Florida so tonight will be very low key in front of the TV.

We should have some big news soon regarding the show and wanted to remind everyone that as of now we will go five days a week starting Monday April 6th the show will be podcast in its entirety and you will also be able to find the on demand links on our landing page and shorter more specific clips from the show on MLB.com. We hope to have a brand new 411 landing page in the coming weeks.

Some quick observations from the two games I saw.

Sunday 3/15 Cardinals @ Phillies: Great to see Utley back in action. He looked a little slow but that is to be expected. I doubt he stays near the end of the first round if he keeps playing every day I can see him getting back in the top 10 by the end of the month should there be no setbacks. Jayson Werth looked great granted it was against lesser pitching but man he crushed the ball. It was the biggest crowd in the history of Bright House Field and as much as I love the Yankees and Cardinals spring training homes the Phillies do it better than anyone. This was also the game where a swarm of bees took over the 3rd base line, pretty wild stuff.

Monday 3/16 Phillies @ Yanks: Phillies had the B squad out except for Howard and Ibanez. Kendrick started and got roughed up and hurt by some very sloppy defense. Joba started for the Yanks and even though I thought he labored a little he came out looking good and pretty much locked up his role as a starter for 09′. I was bummed that Mariano’s debut is tonight instead of yesterday but knowing that and the Yanks up 11-0 in the 7th made me feel guilt free to cut out and get a late lunch. No pun intended but Ransom is soooo much smaller than A-Rod.

Cory and Corey will be shooting the show any second. Lots of injury updates and news on Pudge………Siano

FEATURED QUESTION OF THE DAY

Am I crazy for thinking that with 550+ PAs, Ryan Spilborghs will be
good for a .290+ BA, 15-20 hrs, 10-15 SBs? Does this make him more
valuable than Andre Ethier (who doesn’t steal)? If Spil hits leadoff
for the Rockies, is 90-100 runs likely? Is it better to make a pie with
canned peaches instead of fresh ones?

-Dan in LA

Dan, while it’s not out of the question that Spilborghs puts up those
kinds of numbers, I’d be surprised. The reality is that since
joining the bigs, he’s yet to hold an everyday job, and I think it’s
dangerous to take stats from a limited sample size and just prorate
them for a full season. The Rockies’ outfield is also a crowded one with Spilborghs, Seth Smith, and Carlos Gonzalez competing for two spots, not to mention if Dexter Fowler either starts with the big club or gets called up early in the season.  In other words, Spilborghs will have pressure to perform.  I’d rather have Ethier for the main reason that
I’ve seen him produce while playing 141 games. 5-10 steals doesn’t do
much to change my thinking.

-Zach

______________________________________________________________________________

Zach here,

These next few weeks are undoubtedly the most exciting time of the year for sports fans.  You’ve got March Madness, you’ve got the end of the NBA regular season, the start of the baseball season, and, last but obviously not least, the fantasy baseball draft season is officially underway.  My next three Sundays are booked solid, all due to fantasy drafts.  From now through April 5th, I will spend approximately 16 hours sitting in front of my computer drafting my fantasy teams and countless others thinking about who I’m going to draft along with contingency plans should my guy get taken the pick before I’m up, something I’ve experienced way too many times.  But enough complaining, I know this happens to everyone.  Just got to make the best out of it.  Good luck everyone!

Let’s hear your questions.

FEATURED QUESTION OF THE DAY

Will Carlos Marmol’s poor performance in the World Baseball Classic haunt him as we enter the ’09 season?

Olin

Olin — I’ve done some research on this and found that pitchers who
appeared in the WBC in 2006 did decline somewhat compared to 2005, but
not as much as all other MLB pitchers in general… in other words,
statistically, having a pitcher in the WBC is not a big concern for me.
The psychological issue you point out with Marmol is a cause for
concern, as I’ve become more and more convinced over the years that
there is a little something extra to being a closer, but then again, we
don’t have any reason to think he CAN’T do it. Bottom line is, he is a
far, far superior pitcher to Gregg, so while you might have to worry
about Marmol’s head a little bit for now, his arm makes him a major
favorite for saves in Wrigleyville.

–Cory

________________________________________________________________________________________

Siano in Florida today so it’ll be me and Schwartz with you.  Just three weeks away from the start of the season, Dodgers fans have something to be concerned about.  Manny Ramirez was scratched from the lineup shortly before yesterday’s exhibition game due to a tight hamstring.  While this will probably turn out to be no big deal, I love Manny’s quote of “Maybe age is catching up to me.”  Not exactly what Dodgers’ brass wants to hear after inking him to a 45 million dollar contract! 

Well, enjoy this weekend’s WBC action.  And remember, don’t let a player’s performance influence your judgment of them heading into drafts, unless, of course, it’s an injury.

Keep the questions coming.

-Zach

Good news concerning the recent podcasts. The 411 is featured very nicely on the sports podcasting page in the iTunes store so you should have no problem locating it and subscribing. The season preview show is up and is actually posted under tv shows in iTunes not podcasts so just click on tv shows in the left nav of the itunes store then MLB.com in the right nav of that next page , scroll to bottom and frank viola.

The MLB.com Fantasy Roundtable is back and this weeks topic is all underrated team. All the members of the fantasy team here get a vote and then we get one player to write about. I strongly disagree with catcher but otherwise think it’s a good list.

Me and Corey Gottlieb will host today’s show. We’ll talk Mauer (our Twins writer Kelly Thesier joins us), Morrow, Choo and answer an e-mail or two.

I won’t be too active on the blog for a while. Taking wifey down to Florida tomorrow for a quick vacation that’s pretty much all about me, but then again I turn 34 Sunday and that’s really depressing since I swear I was 28 five minutes ago. It’s gonna be a good time. Golf and Berns steakhouse on Saturday, Phillies game and cocktails in Clearwater on Sunday and the Yanks on Monday. Mariano Rivera is supposed to make his spring debut on Monday so I’m psyched to see that.

Have a great weekend and I’ll talk to you all again on Tuesday or Wednesday……..Siano

FEATURED QUESTION OF THE DAY   

Ed in Chicago

I’m on record as not being a big Soriano fan, but I think 29th pick is
very fair value for him. If he stays healthy he’ll blow that away, and
even if he doesn’t he can put up decent enough numbers that you’re not
getting robbed. Plus he says he wants to steal 30 bags this year, and
while we hear a lot of talk like that each spring, the difference is
that Soriano has actually done it before… it’s not like Matt Kemp
saying he’s going 40-40.

-Cory

Who said the World Baseball Classic wouldn’t be a must watch?  Some great games so far, especially USA vs Canada and of course the two Netherlands vs Dominican Republic games.  What a disaster for the D.R.  A team full of MLB All-Stars falls once again, their offense silenced.

Anyway, how does this relate to fantasy?  I view this upset as good news for owners of Reyes, Hanley, Cano and company.  Now they get to go back to their respective teams and focus on the season.  I never like the idea of my fantasy stud playing all out in an exhibition (no matter how intense it is) in the middle of Spring Training.  I just think it throws their preparation off and could lead to an early injury.

Lastly, I wanted to formally announce that Pitch or Ditch will be found exclusively on the blog this season.  In addition to the daily posts, you’ll find a Pitch or Ditch post each afternoon.  I’ll list my picks and Mike, Cory, and others can chime in and say how much they disagree with me:-)

Let’s get to your questions.

-Zach

FEATURED QUESTION OF THE DAY

Editors Note: The preview show actually won’t show up until Wednesday now since it takes about 24 hours for iTunes to process a submission. Today’s show was just shot. A-Rod, Big Erv and more were discussed. There is a bonus Chase Utley interview at the end. Stay for the credits.

 The 30 minute season preview show should be in iTunes at some point today so keep checking. For those of you who missed it we are now back in the iTunes store. You can get audio or video but it looks like you need to subscribe (free) if you are only getting one format.

Here they are the studs and busts of 09′ as selected by me and Cory. For the analysis of our picks check iTunes for the new show.

Overrated (Siano’s Picks)
C Mike Napoli
1B Ryan Garko
2B Howie Kendrick
3B Hank Blalock
SS Mike Aviles
OF Vladimir Guerrero

OF Nelson Cruz
OF Denard Span  
SP Cliff Lee
SP AJ Burnett
RP Kerry Wood

Overrated (Cory’s Picks)
C Ryan Doumit
1B Ryan Howard
2B Alexei Ramirez
3B Kevin Youkilis
SS Michael Young
OF Manny Ramirez
OF Jason Bay
OF Andre Ethier
SP Francisco Liriano
SP A.J. Burnett
RP Bobby Jenks 

Underrated (Siano’s Picks)
C   Jeff Clement
1B Kendry Morales
2B Asdrubal Cabrera
3B Josh Fields
SS Elvis Andrus
OF Coco Crisp
OF Carlos Gomez
 
OF Shin-Soo Choo
SP Justin Verlander
SP John Smoltz
RP Joel Zumaya 

Underrated (Cory’s Picks)
C   Kelly Shoppach
1B Adam LaRoche
2B Kelly Johnson
3B Adrian Beltre
SS Derek Jeter
OF Chris Young
OF Jayson Werth
OF Ryan Spilborghs
SP Jered Weaver
SP Wandy Rodriguez
RP Joel Hanrahan  

Happy Monday,

I wanted to let everyone know that the 411 is back in the iTunes store. If you enter 411 in the search you will find our video and audio versions under podcasts. Thanks for being patient while we dealt with some confusing red tape.

Speaking of iTunes our 2009 Season Preview Show of sleepers and busts hits the store later today or early tomorrow. We will post the names in tomorrow’s blog and look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Lastly I will send the Bryan Hoch interview that Paul Devlin conducted on Sunday to the 411 podcast so you can download it and get the latest out of Yankees camp on Alex. Should be there in a few hours.

Lots to do on iTunes this week and I am psyched about it.

With the news about Manny returning to Chavez Ravine I thought I would share my halloween costume with you in celebration…………Siano

 
FEATURED QUESTION OF THE DAY   

1B Questions: What is it fair to expect from Votto this year? How much difference do you predict between him, D.Lee, Atkins or Huff, or the drop down to LaRoche? I am trying to establish at what point it is too much of a reach for Votto given that those are the only other 1B options available in my draft that I trust.

Good question. Going off Votto’s game against Team USA the other day you’d think
he was a first rounder, but in all reality he is still right around
Lee’s value. I’d much rather have Votto than Atkins or Huff and he is a
better player than LaRoche. However, if you want to pass on all of them
and take LaRoche very late it may not be the worst risk in the world.
Votto is at best a 6th rounder but not much worse then an 8th or 9th.
His ADP has him in the 7th. If you are going safe take Lee, but if you are
going ceiling or in a keeper go Votto.

-Siano 

Editor’s Note: We just shot a new show and Will Carroll of Baseball Prospectus joined us. Check out his latest column of Under the Knife on A-Rod.

Could there have been any more news yesterday? Between A-Rod, Manny and even a little NFL shocker with TO it was a wild day. When we shot the show yesterday it was literally 10 minutes after the news had broke on A-Rod’s potential hip surgery. We decided to go on knowing number one that this was just the beginning and number two stories weren’t even posted on the web yet, not even ESPN.com who broke it electronically before editorially. Now that we have some more news since the Yankees have spoke and the experts have weighed in from the medical field Cory and I will jump in the studio this afternoon and shoot a new show just on A-Rod. Look for it around 3pmish ET.

In other news…….

Anyone still looking for a league to join that is recognized by the 411 just head on over to Tony in Hitchin and Jay at the mafia site. Below is the info from Jay.

We are still filling Keeper Leagues for 2009 as Mr. Siano has indicated and they are spawned of the vanilla Fantasy 411 Leagues often referenced on the show. Email Tony and I and we’ll slot you in.

Most Leagues have been going 3 years strong, so you can count on active participation and a high level of competition.

The Mafia Constitution can be found here:

http://www.fantasybaseballmafia.com/fbm/fantasy-baseball-mafia-constitution/

Our contact details are below.

Jay
Technical Advisor
Commissioner League 4
Fantasy Baseball Mafia
http://www.fantasybaseballmafia.com
FantasyBaseballMafia@hotmail.com

also

tomorrow is the FantasyPros911.com telethon on blogtalkradio.com starting tomorrow. Click here to find out all the info you need. Cory will join the show at 2:40pm ET. I will be on during the 411 sponsored 6pm ET hour. Looking forward to it.

lastly

some sad news out of Connecticut. The Connecticut School of Broadcasting has shut down due to financial issues. I was a CSB grad in 1997 and I owe much of the success I have today to the place. It gave me a chance to hone my producer skills and meet the people that eventually brought me over to MLB.com. I’ll be celebrating my 9 yr anniversary at MLB.com this June 5th and it all started at CSB.

-Siano

FEATURED QUESTION OF THE DAY

How are things going to iron out in the Minnesota OF/DH with Span, Young, Cuddyer, Gomez and Kubel?

I agree with Siano on this one… Gardy is very resourceful about getting all of his bats into the lineup. Kubel does not hit lefties particularly well, so he’ll share DH AB’s
with Young and Cuddyer, and of course Gomez could stink his way out of
the lineup at any point and leave CF to Span. Plus Span overachieved
last year compared to his minor league stats, and is also a lefty, so
he could lose AB’s to Young or Cuddyer. Or someone could get traded or
hurt. These things have a way of working themselves out, so I expect
plenty of AB’s for everyone.

–Cory

Alex Cushing – MLB.com

Joe Sheehan – Baseball Prospectus
Jeff Erickson – Rotowire.com
Mike Siano – MLB.com
Jeffrey Ma – Citizen Sports                                                                                                                           
Jason Collette – Fanball.com
Nando Di Fino / Tom Herrera  - WSJ.com / AOL.com
Will Carroll – Baseball Prospectus
Cory Schwartz – MLB.com
Lawr Michaels – CREATiVESPORTS.com
Zach Steinhorn – MLB.com
Tony Cincotta – Fantasypros911.com

R1 P1    Alex Cushing      Ramirez, Hanley
R1 P2    Joe Sheehan      Reyes, Jose
R1 P3    Jeff Erickson       Rodriguez, Alex
R1 P4    Mike Siano         Pujols, Albert
R1 P5    Jeffrey Ma         Wright, David
R1 P6    Jason Collette   Sizemore, Grady
R1 P7    Nando Di Fino    Howard, Ryan
R1 P8    Will Carroll         Upton, B.J.
R1 P9    Cory Schwartz   Braun, Ryan
R1 P10  Lawr Michaels    Utley, Chase
R1 P11  Zach Steinhorn  Rollins, Jimmy
R1 P12  Tony Cincotta    Cabrera, Miguel

R2 P1   Tony Cincotta    Hamilton, Josh
R2 P2   Zach Steinhorn  Teixeira, Mark
R2 P3   Lawr Michaels    Morneau, Justin
R2 P4   Cory Schwartz   Kinsler, Ian
R2 P5   Will Carroll         Santana, Johan
R2 P6   Nando Di Fino    Hamels, Cole
R2 P7   Jason Collette   Longoria, Evan
R2 P8   Jeffrey Ma         Lincecum, Tim
R2 P9   Mike Siano        Beltran, Carlos
R2 P10  Jeff Erickson    Holliday, Matt
R2 P11  Joe Sheehan   Soriano, Alfonso
R2 P12  Alex Cushing   Lee, Carlos

R3 P1    Alex Cushing     Ramirez, Manny                                                     
R3 P2    Joe Sheehan     Kemp, Matt
R3 P3    Jeff Erickson      Suzuki, Ichiro
R3 P4    Mike Siano        Pedroia, Dustin
R3 P5    Jeffrey Ma         Sabathia, CC
R3 P6    Jason Collette  Crawford, Carl
R3 P7    Nando Di Fino   Markakis, Nick
R3 P8    Will Carroll        Berkman, Lance
R3 P9    Cory Schwartz  Roberts, Brian
R3 P10  Lawr Michaels   Youkilis, Kevin
R3 P11  Zach Steinhorn  Phillips, Brandon
R3 P12  Tony Cincotta    Ramirez, Aramis

R4 P1    Tony Cincotta      Ramirez, Alexei
R4 P2    Zach Steinhorn    Bay, Jason
R4 P3    Lawr Michaels     Drew, Stephen
R4 P4    Cory Schwartz    Fielder, Prince
R4 P5    Will Carroll          McCann, Brian
R4 P6    Nando Di Fino     Rios, Alex
R4 P7    Jason Collette    Martin, Russell
R4 P8    Jeffrey Ma          Ellsbury, Jacoby
R4 P9    Mike Siano         Quentin, Carlos
R4 P10  Jeff Erickson      Webb, Brandon
R4 P11  Joe Sheehan     Peavy, Jake
R4 P12  Alex Cushing     Ortiz, David

R5 P1     Alex Cushing      Granderson, Curtis
R5 P2     Joe Sheehan      Mauer, Joe
R5 P3     Jeff Erickson       Soto, Geovany
R5 P4     Mike Siano         Papelbon, Jonathan
R5 P5     Jeffrey Ma          Hart, Corey
R5 P6     Jason Collette   Gonzalez, Adrian
R5 P7     Nando Di Fino   Guerrero, Vladimir
R5 P8     Will Carroll        Jones, Chipper
R5 P9     Cory Schwartz  Victorino, Shane
R5 P10   Lawr Michaels   Haren, Dan
R5 P11   Zach Steinhorn Dunn, Adam
R5 P12   Tony Cincotta   McLouth, Nate

R6 P1    Tony Cincotta      Rodriguez, Francisco
R6 P2    Zach Steinhorn    Nathan, Joe
R6 P3    Lawr Michaels      Billingsley, Chad
R6 P4    Cory Schwartz     Rivera, Mariano
R6 P5    Will Carroll           Halladay, Roy
R6 P6    Nando Di Fino      Furcal, Rafael
R6 P7    Jason Collette     Oswalt, Roy
R6 P8    Jeffrey Ma           Lidge, Brad
R6 P9    Mike Siano         Abreu, Bobby
R6 P10  Jeff Erickson      Davis, Chris
R6 P11  Joe Sheehan     Hernandez, Felix
R6 P12  Alex Cushing     Soria, Joakim

R7 P1      Alex Cushing       Martinez, Victor           
R7 P2     Joe Sheehan        Lackey, John    
R7 P3     Jeff Erickson         Tulowitzki, Troy
R7 P4     Mike Siano           Young, Michael         
R7 P5     Jeffrey Ma            Liriano, Francisco    
R7 P6   
  Jason Collette     Shields, James    
R7 P7     Nando Di Fino     Beckett, Josh
R7 P8     Will Carroll          Uggla, Dan    
R7 P9     Cory Schwartz    Pence, Hunter
R7 P10    Lawr Michaels    Napoli, Mike    
R7 P11    Zach Steinhorn  Matsuzaka, Daisuke         
R7 P12    Tony Cincotta     Hardy, J.J.
    
R8 P1     Tony Cincotta      Santana, Ervin    
R8 P2     Zach Steinhorn    Young, Chris      
R8 P3     Lawr Michaels     Ordonez, Magglio      
R8 P4     Cory Schwartz    Votto, Joey    
R8 P5     Will Carroll          Bruce, Jay    
R8 P6     Nando Di Fino     Kazmir, Scott    
R8 P7     Jason Collette    Valverde, Jose    
R8 P8     Jeffrey Ma           Iannetta, Chris
R8 P9     Mike Siano          Doumit, Ryan    
R8 P10   Jeff Erickson       Cano, Robinson    
R8 P11   Joe Sheehan      Pena, Carlos    
R8 P12   Alex Cushing      Lee, Derrek

R9 P1     Alex Cushing      Vazquez, Javier     
R9 P2     Joe Sheehan      Chamberlain, Joba        
R9 P3     Jeff Erickson       Lee, Cliff    
R9 P4     Mike Siano         Huff, Aubrey    
R9 P5     Jeffrey Ma          Marmol, Carlos    
R9 P6     Jason Collette    Jeter, Derek    
R9 P7     Nando Di Fino    Ludwick, Ryan    
R9 P8     Will Carroll        Maybin, Cameron
R9 P9     Cory Schwartz  Peralta, Jhonny
R9 P10   Lawr Michaels   Figgins, Chone    
R9 P11   Zach Steinhorn Damon, Johnny    
R9 P12   Tony Cincotta   Molina, Bengie    

R10 P1   Tony Cincotta    Burnett, A.J.    
R10 P2   Zach Steinhorn  Fuentes, Brian    
R10 P3   Lawr Michaels   Ryan, B.J.    
R10 P4   Cory Schwartz  Encarnacion, Edwin
R10 P5   Will Carroll        Milledge, Lastings
R10 P6   Nando Di Fino   Volquez, Edinson    
R10 P7   Jason Collette  Gordon, Alex    
R10 P8   Jeffrey Ma        Atkins, Garrett    
R10 P9   Mike Siano       Lester, Jon    
R10 P10 Jeff Erickson     Wood, Kerry    
R10 P11 Joe Sheehan    Kendrick, Howie
R10 P12 Alex Cushing    Zimmerman, Ryan

R11 P1  Alex Cushing       Greinke, Zack     
R11 P2  Joe Sheehan       Broxton, Jonathan
R11 P3  Jeff Erickson        Gallardo, Yovani
R11 P4  Mike Siano          Cordero, Francisco    
R11 P5  Jeffrey Ma           Wieters, Matt    
R11 P6  Jason Collette    Cruz, Nelson    
R11 P7  Nando Di Fino    Hoffman, Trevor
R11 P8  Will Carroll         Jenks, Bobby    
R11 P9  Cory Schwartz   Bell, Heath    
R11 P10 Lawr Michaels   Ethier, Andre    
R11 P11 Zach Steinhorn Zambrano, Carlos
R11 P12 Tony Cincotta   Lindstrom, Matt
 
R12 P1   Tony Cincotta    Matsui, Kaz    
R12 P2   Zach Steinhorn  Beltre, Adrian    
R12 P3   Lawr Michaels   Werth, Jayson    
R12 P4   Cory Schwartz   Nolasco, Ricky    
R12 P5   Will Carroll        Harden, Rich    
R12 P6   Nando Di Fino   Blalock, Hank    
R12 P7   Jason Collette   Lopez, Jose
R12 P8   Jeffrey Ma         Aviles, Mike
R12 P9   Mike Siano        Verlander, Justin    
R12 P10 Jeff Erickson     Loney, James    
R12 P11 Joe Sheehan    Upton, Justin    
R12 P12 Alex Cushing    Capps, Matt

R13 P1   Alex Cushing     Gonzalez, Mike       
R13 P2   Joe Sheehan     Hawpe, Brad    
R13 P3   Jeff Erickson      Ibanez, Raul    
R13 P4   Mike Siano        Cain, Matt
R13 P5   Jeffrey Ma         Bradley, Milton
R13 P6   Jason Collette  Devine, Joey    
R13 P7   Nando Di Fino   Sheets, Ben    
R13 P8   Will Carroll        Guzman, Cristian    
R13 P9   Cory Schwartz  Wainwright, Adam    
R13 P10 Lawr Michaels   Span, Denard    
R13 P11 Zach Steinhorn Myers, Brett    
R13 P12 Tony Cincotta   Hunter, Torii
    
R14 P1   Tony Cincotta     Taveras, Willy    
R14 P2   Zach Steinhorn   Johnson, Kelly    
R14 P3    Lawr Michaels   Navarro, Dioner    
R14 P4    Cory Schwartz  Wells, Vernon    
R14 P5    Will Carroll        Wilson, Brian    
R14 P6    Nando Di Fino    Iwamura, Akinori    
R14 P7    Jason Collette   Dye, Jermaine    
R14 P8    Jeffrey Ma         Jackson, Conor    
R14 P9    Mike Siano       Delgado, Carlos    
R14 P10  Jeff Erickson    DeRosa, Mark         
R14 P11  Joe Sheehan   Price, David    
R14 P12  Alex Cushing   Polanco, Placido
    
R15 P1     Alex Cushing    Danks, John    
R15 P2     Joe Sheehan    Scherzer, Max    
R15 P3     Jeff Ericks
on     Garza, Matt
R15 P4     Mike Siano        Dempster, Ryan    
R15 P5     Jeffrey Ma         Escobar, Yunel    
R15 P6     Jason Collette   Lowe, Derek    
R15 P7     Nando Di Fino   Tejada, Miguel    
R15 P8     Will Carroll        Kershaw, Clayton    
R15 P9     Cory Schwartz  Lilly, Ted    
R15 P10   Lawr Michaels   Baker, Scott    
R15 P11   Zach Steinhorn LaRoche, Adam    
R15 P12   Tony Cincotta   Burrell, Pat

R16 P1     Tony Cincotta    Suzuki, Kurt        
R16 P2     Zach Steinhorn  Posada, Jorge     
R16 P3     Lawr Michaels    Sanchez, Jonathan     
R16 P4     Cory Schwartz   Hanrahan, Joel     
R16 P5     Will Carroll         Reynolds, Mark
R16 P6     Nando Di Fino    Bedard, Erik     
R16 P7     Jason Collette   Slowey, Kevin     
R16 P8     Jeffrey Ma         Weeks, Rickie     
R16 P9     Mike Siano        Cabrera, Orlando     
R16 P10   Jeff Erickson      Qualls, Chad
R16 P11   Joe Sheehan     Stewart, Ian     
R16 P12   Alex Cushing     Weaver, Jered 

R17 P1    Alex Cushing      Nady, Xavier      
R17 P2    Joe Sheehan      Dukes, Elijah
R17 P3     Jeff Erickson      Jones, Adam     
R17 P4     Mike Siano        Cantu, Jorge     
R17 P5     Jeffrey Ma         Gomez, Carlos     
R17 P6     Jason Collette  Guillen, Carlos     
R17 P7     Nando Di Fino   Konerko, Paul     
R17 P8     Will Carroll        Johnson, Randy
R17 P9     Cory Schwartz  Pierzynski, A.J.     
R17 P10   Lawr Michaels   Saunders, Joe     
R17 P11   Zach Steinhorn Harang, Aaron     
R17 P12   Tony Cincotta   Sandoval, Pablo
 
R18 P1     Tony Cincotta    Johnson, Josh     
R18 P2     Zach Steinhorn Hernandez, Ramon     
R18 P3     Lawr Michaels   Sherrill, George     
R18 P4     Cory Schwartz  Young, Chris     
R18 P5     Will Carroll        Francisco, Frank     
R18 P6     Nando Di Fino   Byrnes, Eric     
R18 P7     Jason Collette   Lewis, Fred     
R18 P8     Jeffrey Ma         Balfour, Grant     
R18 P9     Mike Siano        Morrow, Brandon     
R18 P10   Jeff Erickson     Matsui, Hideki     
R18 P11   Joe Sheehan    Renteria, Edgar     
R18 P12   Alex Cushing    Lopez, Felipe
   
R19 P1     Alex Cushing     Crisp, Coco     
R19 P2     Joe Sheehan     Saltalamaccia, Jarrod     
R19 P3     Jeff Erickson      Lind, Adam     
R19 P4     Mike Siano        Young, Delmon     
R19 P5     Jeffrey Ma         Hermida, Jeremy     
R19 P6     Jason Collette  Clement, Jeff     
R19 P7     Nando Di Fino   Kendall, Jason     
R19 P8     Will Carroll        Theriot, Ryan     
R19 P9     Cory Schwartz  Cameron, Mike     
R19 P10   Lawr Michaels   Jurrjens, Jair     
R19 P11   Zach Steinhorn Maine, John     
R19 P12   Tony Cincotta   Street, Huston

R20 P1     Tony Cincotta    Wang, Chien-Ming
R20 P2     Zach Steinhorn  Pettitte, Andy
R20 P3     Lawr Michaels   Drew, J.D.
R20 P4     Cory Schwartz  Shoppach, Kelly 
R20 P5     Will Carroll        Ankiel, Rick
R20 P6     Nando Di Fino   Perez, Oliver 
R20 P7     Jason Collette  Parra, Manny 
R20 P8     Jeffrey Ma        Hafner, Travis
R20 P9     Mike Siano       Pierre, Juan
R20 P10   Jeff Erickson    Duchscherer, Justin 
R20 P11   Joe Sheehan   Butler, Billy
R20 P12   Alex Cushing   Kotchman, Casey

R21 P1     Alex Cushing    Cueto, Johnny 
R21 P2     Joe Sheehan    Lyon, Brandon
R21 P3     Jeff Erickson     Hanson, Tommy
R21 P4     Mike Siano       Laird, Gerald
R21 P5     Jeffrey Ma        Penny, Brad 
R21 P6     Jason Collette Rodriguez, Wandy
R21 P7     Nando Di Fino  Varitek, Jason
R21 P8     Will Carroll       Floyd, Gavin 
R21 P9     Cory Schwartz Meche, Gil
R21 P10   Lawr Michaels  Blake, Casey
R21 P11   Zach Steinhorn Putz, J.J. 
R21 P12   Tony Cincotta   Jacobs, Mike

R22 P1     Tony Cincotta    Jimenez, Ubaldo
R22 P2     Zach Steinhorn Francoeur, Jeff 
R22 P3     Lawr Michaels  Hudson, Orlando
R22 P4     Cory Schwartz Kuo, Hong-Chih
R22 P5     Will Carroll       Snider, Travis
R22 P6     Nando Di Fino  Giambi, Jason 
R22 P7     Jason Collette  Wheeler, Dan 
R22 P8     Jeffrey Ma         Pelfrey, Mike
R22 P9     Mike Siano        Ziegler, Brad 
R22 P10   Jeff Erickson     Baker, John 
R22 P11   Joe Sheehan   DeJesus,
David 
R22 P12   Alex Cushing   Johjima, Kenji 
 
R23 P1     Alex Cushing      Kawakami, Kenshin 
R23 P2     Joe Sheehan      Volstad, Chris
R23 P3     Jeff Erickson       Kuroda, Hiroki 
R23 P4     Mike Siano         Zumaya, Joel 
R23 P5     Jeffrey Ma          Escobar, Kelvim
R23 P6     Jason Collette   Hill, Aaron
R23 P7     Nando Di Fino   Buchholz, Clay 
R23 P8     Will Carroll        Snyder, Chris 
R23 P9     Cory Schwartz  Choo, Shin-Soo 
R23 P10   Lawr Michaels   Ray, Chris 
R23 P11   Zach Steinhorn Helton, Todd 
R23 P12   Tony Cincotta   Guthrie, Jeremy

(Editor’s Note: There will be a show on Friday to delve even deeper into this A-Rod news. There is a ton of dust to settle and a surgery to be had so I wouldn’t panic if I have A-Rod in a keeper league just yet, but I just don’t know what the ramifications in a straight draft and auction will be yet. Cory and I will discuss tomorrow so check out today’s show with me and Petey Mac and look out for a special show tomorrow…………Siano)

Well, Alex Rodriguez just can’t get himself out of the headlines.  The latest bombshell has Rodriguez missing about 10 weeks as he’ll undergo surgery to remove a cyst on his right hip.  Is A-Rod still a top five pick now?  Not so sure.

Check out today’s 411 podcast which will be up on the site later this afternoon.  The guys will discuss the A-Rod news and Manny signing among other topics.

Also, our two month long mock draft is finally over!  I’ll post the complete results shortly.

Lots to discuss, so let’s get this thing started.

-Zach

FEATURED QUESTION OF THE DAY

Thanks again, Matthew in Southern California

I’d wait. #1 waiver can also be used for a backup position player who takes over or gets traded and becomes a starter or a new closer. I’m not saying hang onto it forever since the quicker you use it the quicker you get back up to the top. I definitely agree on Hanson, but right now Scherzer is banged up and the 5th starter so he will just sit on your bench for at least two weeks. If he starts the season on the DL and you can wait on him to clear waivers that’s cool. But I will almost guarantee that anyone who picks him up will cut him and he will clear waivers at some point early on.

-Siano