First Base - Rankings

First Tier

Albert Pujols - Cardinals - I was one of those guys last year who let Pujols slide because of the boo-boo with his elbow. Mistake. As usual, Pujols was the standard by which all others are judged - .357/37/116 with a 1oo R for icing. While I would still take H-Ram and A-Roid over him due to the depth at 1B, you can't go wrong with A-Puj.

Miguel Cabrera - Tigers - I briefly considered placing Miguel at #1 due to his 1B/3B eligibility in Yahoo leagues, but I defer to the power of St. Albert. Cabrera was more tortoise than hare last season, slowly but surely hitting .292/37/127, including .302/21/70 in the second half. Cabrera's Home/Away numbers were nearly identical last season. As most players put up better numbers at home, I would suggest that Cabrera's numbers get better this season as he continues to get comfortable in his Motown surroundings. If you grab Cabrera, try to pick up another 1B later in the draft and move Cabrera to 3B.

Mark Teixeira - Yankees - Based on statistics only, Texeira should do fine with Yankees. He is in the prime of his career, will be in a lineup with A-Rod, and will play in a ballpark with the same dimensions as old Yankee stadium. The X Factor will be how Teixeira deals with the New York media and the pressure that comes with it. Fortunately for Tex, A-Rod will be taking the brunt of the media's gaze. Look for Texeira to put up the same figures, but with 1B being so deep, don't look past a higher level player (Reyes, Wright, A-Rod, Cabrera, Sizemore) if they drop down to you.

Second Tier

Prince Fielder - Brewers - Fielder's 2008 numbers (.276/34/102) can only be considered underwhelming when compared to his 2007 figures (.288/50/119). As Fielder will only 24 when Opening Day arrives, don't focus on Fielder's 2007 figures when making your choice. Fielder has the ability to hit 50 HRs, a feat which few post-roid players can claim. I am placing him above the others due to his tremendous upside and his large backside.

Ryan Howard - Phillies - How do you turn down a guy who hits 48 HRs with an incredible 146 RBIs? You focus on his crap batting average (.251), backed up his inability to take a walk (.330 OBP) and not to mention the giant hole in his swing (199 Ks). Howard's weaknesses will be exasperated by Pat Burrell's absence in the lineup. I would pass on Howard for a more stable player and pick up Adam Dunn (ADP - 63) three rounds later.

Justin Morneau - Twins - Morneau brings many things to the table that I want to see in a high draft pick - left-handed, plays in AL, young, healthy (played 163 games in 2008), has a name that rhymes with Bordeaux (just kidding - I did not go to college here). I initally had Morneau lower than Berkman based on his 2008 HRs (23); however, I believe that this decline is a fluke (34, 31 HRs in the two previous seasons). Morneau's understated style and Midwest small market stature might allow him to slip to the high 3rd round pick. Don't overpay for him, but I would not look past him, either.

Lance Berkman - Astros - The Big Puma's numbers are not as gaudy as Pujols, but he makes up for his lack of flair with his consistency. You know that Berkman is going to get around .300/30/100+ per season in addition to having that Matthew Fox half-beard thing. I would factor in the half-beard more than his aberration of 18 SBs from last season. On the downside, Berkman's numbers have declined in correlation with his increasing age. My big worry would be his lack of power in the 2nd half (22 HRs - 1st half; seven HRs- 2nd half). However, I would chalk that difference up to the Bell Curve rather than an issue with Berkman. I would pick Fielder ahead of Berkman due to Fielder's potential to hit 50 HRs. At worst, Berkman provides you the consistency you want out of a early round pick.

Other guys

Adrian Gonzalez - Padres - I don't care if he hit 36 HRs last year. AG plays his home games in a black hole, resulting in an inverted Home/Away breakdown (.247/14/49 - Home; .308/22/70 - Away).

Kevin Youkilis - Red Sox - I think that Youk played over his head last year, but that does not mean I believe he will be a bad pick-up this season. However, I would rather have Youkilis as my 3B than a 1B.

Garrett Atkins - Rockies - Atkins' 1B/3B eligibility plus Coors Field advantage gives him extra value. Like Youkilis, I would rather see him at 3B. Try to grab him in the 6th or 7th round as your 3B.

Adam Dunn - Similiar numbers to Howard, but without the 1st/2nd round price. Ignore the batting average and grab him later for R, HR and RBIs.

On the Rise

Joey Votto - Reds - Joey V will give you similar numbers to Derrick Lee without the higher round premium. Keep an eye on him as you get close to pick #100.

Conor Jackson - D'Backs - I am a sucker for guys who can get on-base (.300 avg, .376 OBP) and have names that sound like characters from a Chuck Norris movie. If you take risks on 3B and OFs in early rounds, keep Jackson in mind as a sleeper for 1B.

On the Decline

Derrick Lee - Cubs - Since hitting 46 HRs in 2005, Lee has only hit 50 in the three following seasons. Lee's advancing years and the Cubs inability to provide their hitters LH protection provides me additional worry. I would rather take another CI and grab Joey Votto than take Lee.

Aubrey Huff - Orioles - While he brings 1B/3B eligibility, Huff also plays for the Orioles. I expect that realization to catch up with him in 2009.

We're Back

Brandt here. After a winter slumber of beer, football and interacting with the people who live in our houses, we are back. Keep posted the next few days as Donny and I provide insight and some novelty concerning the world of fantasy baseball.

Random Lists: Movies, Pitchers and Band Names

I am cheap. I milk free trial subscriptions whenever possible. I gorge myself on the free samples at Costco. I steal hotel shampoo.

As you might imagine, I do not subscribe to HBO. I did, however, receive a phone call from Verizon offering me a free month of HBO and Cinemax, and as long as I cancel before the month is up, I don't pay a dime! But, wait, there's more!!! Actually, there's not more. Of course, I took them up on the deal, and it has been totally worth it thanks to "Hard Knocks". I can't get enough of sports documentaries. My favorite scene so far (I'm only halfway through the first episode) is when the Dallas players arrive for training camp and Adam (Pacman) Jones and Terrell Owens are talking (yelling to each other) about their respective weights. Adam asks Terrell what his current weight is, "Two-what?" (as in two-fifty). Owens' response, "Two-sexy".

On that note, I present to you three lists of ten:

Ten best sports Movies (some of the movie clips are nsfw):

I wanted to include TV shows, as it was "Hard Knocks" that got me on this topic in the first place, but I couldn't really think of any that I am familiar enough with to rank. Also, I'm only including movies that I've seen.

10.) "The Sandlot" - Do you love baseball? Were you ever a kid? If so, this movie will make you feel happy all over.


9.) "The Bad News Bears" - Most sports movies resort to sappiness, but "The Bad News Bears" was filled with kids who you knew from the neighborhood and was coached by your friend's divorcee dad.

8.) "Hoop Dreams" - Best. Documentary. Evar.

7.) "Raging Bull" - De Niro's performance as boxer Jake LaMotta is legendary.


6.) "The Wizard" - How can you not be a fan of a Fred Savage vehicle about a kid who, "...Scores 50,000 points on Double Dragon!!!!1" The product placement was shameless (Power Glove, anyone?). Bonus awesomeness: the movie features Jenny Lewis, of Rilo Kiley. Wait, you're saying video gaming isn't a sport?



5.) "Caddyshack" - The most quoted sports movie ever?


4.) "Happy Gilmore" - Yes, I have "Happy Gilmore" ranked above "Caddyshack". It's my list, so back off.


3.) "Hoosiers" - I want Gene Hackman to be my coach. In life.

2.) "The Big Lebowski" - You didn't think I was going to leave this one off the list did you?


1.) "The Natural" - The holy grail of sports movies for me. I could watch this movie on a loop for a week and still get goosebumps for the scene below.


Ten pitchers to target for next year's draft:

I'm not including Santana, Sabathia, Peavy, Halladay or Webb, because they are too obvious. Also, they will probably get taken too early. There are far too many pitchers available later in the draft to take these guys in the first two rounds. The following list is of pitchers you should be able to get later in the draft - at least after the 5th round in a 12-team league.

10.) Johnny Cueto - I think he'll be better than Volquez next year, as he has comparable stuff and better control.

9.) Clayton Kershaw - Lefty stud of the future in the NL Weak should have a strong 2009.

8.) Max Scherzer - The D-backs rotation is going to be sick next year, and Scherzer should be a big part of it. Again, let someone else take Webb or Haren in the 3rd round and grab Scherzer much later.

7.) Joba Chamberlain - Don't forget about Joba. He still strikes people out and plays for the Yankees.

6.) Brandon Morrow - Seattle's version of Joba throws 100 mph when he needs to and his slider and changeup are improving.

5.) Matt Garza - Garza is still maturing, but he's got a great offense behind him, and I think next year will be a step forward.

4.) Chad Billingsley - Strikeout machine in a pitcher's park? Yes, please.

3.) Rich Harden - He'll be available longer than he should because of the injury risk.

2.) Brett Myers - I really believe that he can still be a dominate pitcher. If he doesn't have too great a finish to the year, he'll be a great bargain.

1.) Tim Lincecum - Tiny Tim is all kinds of filthy, and I'd much rather have him in the 5th round than Peavy or Santana in the 2nd round. Actually, I might rather have him over those guys period.


Ten worst band names of all time:

10.) The Dave Matthews Band - Imagine how much more popular they would've been had they named their band "Suede Foreskin" or "Plaid Rattail".

9.) Live - "Live in concert, Live!!!" Really, it's not cute.

8.) Coldplay - You know how I know you're gay? You named your kid Apple. Also, you named your band Coldplay.

7.) Limp Bizkit - I picture a turd. You?

6.) Blink 182 - I'm all for having a mysterious band name, but after awhile it gets really tedious listening to all of the hilarious fake stories about its origins.

5.) Widespread Panic - Actually your music puts me to sleep. I'm panicking from boredom. I don't care how many college kids think you are cool. You suck.

4.) Panic! At the Disco - The exclamation point seems misplaced. (Clearly, I don't like band names with the word "Panic" in them.)

3.) Barenaked Ladies - Talk about disappointment. :(

2.) Hoobastank - Such a repulsive band name could only finish second to...

1.) Audioslave - If I was in 4th grade and had a band, I would name it Audioslave. Then I'd write Audioslave all over my Trapper Keeper in big, block letters.

Wordle

I stumbled upon this website called Wordle.

You put in your blog URL (or a bunch of words) and it spits out a "beautiful word cloud". Curiosity got the best of me, so I plugged in our blog and got this.

I didn't know we used the word "still" that often.

Still, I love that one of the biggest words is "Ibanez".

Achievers/Bums - 8/19 - 8/21/08

ACHIEVERS
Grady Sizemore - OF - Cleveland Indians - 4/5, HR, 3b, 7 RBI, SB (Thursday) - Sizemore's power has slowed just a bit in the second half, but he's still got a shot at 40/40, and I think he'll get it. Sizemore is getting better every year, and is an obvious keeper in all formats. Also, he's sexy.

Rich Harden - SP - Chicago Cubs - (Tuesday) Win, 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 10 K - I'm always looking for a reason to talk about Rich Harden, and on Tuesday he definitely gave an Achiever-worthy performance, so I get my chance. Since the Cubs acquired Harden in July, he has gone 3-1 with an ERA of 1.50, a WHIP of .95 and a redonkulous 59 K's in 42 IP. In short, he's made Sandy Koufax look like Jose Lima. If you held on to him through the injuries, you are now being rewarded. Piniella and the Cubs are handling him just right by giving him extra days of rest and keeping his pitch-count down.

Raul Ibanez - OF - Seattle Mariners - 7 HR, 27 RBI in the last month - I gave Ibanez love in my first edition of "This Ain't 'Nam" back on July 10th, and you didn't listen. Brandt has been giving Ibanez crazy props for weeks, but you still haven't picked him up. Now it's too late. You're still starting Jay Bruce, and Ibanez is still raking. More Ibanez updates will be forthcoming as he continues to mash. Stay tuned.

A.J. Burnett - SP - Toronto Blue Jays - (Tuesday) Win, 8.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 13 K - This is what Burnett can do when healthy. I thought he'd have a good second half, and so far, so good. His stats after the all-star break are: 6-1, 3.22 ERA, 52 K in 42 IP.

BUMS

Ryan Howard - 1B - Philadelphia Phillies - Howard is going to shatter his record of 199 strikeouts in a season this year, as he's on pace for 213. He's also 3 for his last 35 with a whiff-tastic 18 strikeouts in that span. But at least he hits homers, right? Not lately. He's only got 5 since the break. If your league penalizes for K's, then bench him immediately. If not, you can probably keep him in there and hope for a power surge. Look and see if Delgado is still available, as it appears he may be getting ready to go on a hot streak.

Jimmy Rollins - SS - Philadelphia Phillies - So here's what not to do in Philly: (a) Call out the fans, (b) then go 3 for 33 immediately after that. J-Roll is losing fans almost as quickly as he's losing his fantasy value. The fact that he was basically correct in his statements about Philly fans being front-runners is completely irrelevant.

Jake Peavy - SP - San Diego Padres - Loss, 5.0 IP, 5 ER, 5 H, 4 BB, 2 K (Wednesday) - Peavy has showed this year why I don't like taking pitchers in the first few rounds of the draft. Peavy was a second-round pick in most leagues this year (Yahoo! ADP 18.2), but he has not lived up to his past greatness. The most concerning thing to me about Peavy is that his strikeouts are down from the last few years. His K/9 is below 9 for the first time since 2003. Not that at a K/9 of 8.7 is bad by any stretch, but with Peavy, you knew wins were going to be hard to come by with the offense he has behind him, so you are counting on the K's. The fact that he barely ranks in the top 25 in that category is a disappointment for those that drafted him so early this year.

Random Thoughts

I am bored.

The trade deadline has passed in all of my leagues. My money league, which normally has one keeper related blockbuster, fizzled. (The second to last trade of the year - Mike Aviles for Jason Isringhausen). Football is still a few weeks away, and the Olympics are wrapping up.

Accordingly, I think that the baseball season is too long. The regular season should end with August, turning the dog days of summer into end of the pennant race. Think about the MLB playoffs coinciding with the beginning of college football and the NFL. Just sayin'.

In a previous column, I extolled the virtues of Netflix's "Watch Instantly" function. I recently became aware of Hulu.com. Hulu falls somewhere in between YouTube and Netflix. Like YouTube, it is free. Unlike YouTube, the videos are not copied from an old VHS tape. Unlike "Netflix," Hulu is free with some conditions. Your "price" for admission are several advertisements embedded in the vidoes, but nothing too distracting. Hulu carries an odd variety of movies and TV shows/clips. You can watch entire episodes NBC/Universal shows like "30 Rock" (also on Netflix) and "Psych," plus old classics like "Knight Rider" and the "A-Team." (Also, they have a bunch of "WKRP in Cincinatti" episodes, including the Best. One. Ever.) Don't be fooled by the appearance of "The Simpsons," as most of files are just brief clips. For movies, there is random selection of films in their entirety- ranging from "Enter the Ninja" and "Lone Wolf McQuade" to "Fiddler on the Roof" and "Xanadu." I have a sample of one of Hulu's better films listed below. It will be interested to see if Hulu is the end result of competition from YouTube, or if it is the begginning of another Internet shift in technology.

Raul Ibanez. Sorry, I am obligated to mention him at least once a column.

I am impressed with Kevin Youkilis' strong second half. I had him pegged as a second half bum (on that note, my apologies to Ryan Ludwick - you rock). In past seasons, Youkilis has faded as the season has continued. Entering tonight's games, Youkilis post-All Star line was .327/8/21 with a 1.036 OPS. Youkilis will start the 2009 season as a 30-year old, and it might be hard for him to duplicate his numbers from this season. However, his dual 1B/3B eligibility will offset any slight decrease in numbers.

I don't like to mention anything remotely political on this site, but this article at The Onion just cracks me up.

I was going through my pre-season notes, and I came across the name of Travis Hafner. How far the might have fallen. I had almost forgotten about his existence.

It's a shame about Ian Kinsler's injury. I expected for Kinsler to have a pretty good season, but nothing of this magnitude (.319/17/81 with 26 SB and 102 R in just 121 games). In my points league, Kinsler is the still #1 batter with more total points than Lance Berkman. Kinsler has been diagnosed with the dreaded sports hernia (whatever you do, don't look up "sports hernia" on Google. Moderate Safe Search, my big toe.) I had never heard of this injury until Donovan McNabb got a few years ago, and it seems that everyone gets it now.

Sometimes, a good headline says it all. Case in point - Mexican woman fights off lion with machete.

Achievers/Bums - 8/18/08

I've got to make this quick because the season premiere of "The Hills" is starting (if you click on the link, the ads will tell you all you need to know about the show). "The Hills" is one of those shows that I don't watch, but my wife watches. Which basically means that I complain about the show, but secretly watch it when she's not home. Tonight "my wife" is watching a double-feature of "Jon and Kate Plus 8" and "The Hills". I've already learned so many things tonight: the sextuplets like the beach, Audrina's family keeps her grounded, Miss Lippy's car... is green ("Billy Madison" has been playing continuously in my head since 1994 - I'm aware that the movie didn't come out until 1995, which makes it even weirder). I thought I would share all of this with you. Why? What's the significance? I don't know.

Light schedule, but there were some Achievers and, of course, worthless, pathetic Bums tonight.

ACHIEVERS

Gary Sheffield - OF - Detroit Tigers - 3/5, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R - Sheff is still very, very angry. Keep him in your lineup.

Jermaine Dye - OF - Chicago White Sox - 2/5, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R - I still haven't forgiven myself for not picking Dye a couple of months ago. He was available and I needed to fill an outfield spot, but I picked Hawpe instead. Hawpe had a bad game and was dropped the next day. Dye hit two home runs and hasn't looked back since then. He just keeps producing.

Aubrey Huff - 2/4, HR, 2B, 3 RBI - In my points league, Huff ranks between Carlos Lee and Hanley Ramirez. I was not aware of that until just now. Huh. I still won't draft him next year. But hey, if you picked him up early in the year, you deserve a big cookie.

Jason Bay - OF - Boston Red Sox - 3/5, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 3 R, 1 SB - Just Jason being Jason.

The Dodgers - Great move to pick up Greg Maddux. He's not a great pitcher anymore, but he basically gives the Dodgers another pitching coach and he will be a great example for the rest of the pitching staff.

BUMS

Randy Wolf - SP - Houston Astros - Loss, 5.0 IP, 6 ER, 5 H, 3 BB, 1 HBP, 4 K - Ed Wade traded for Wolf because he was "a competitor". Perhaps he was referring to Wolf's Connect Four skillz, because the pitching has not been competitive. At all. Hey, at least the Astros have their, "foot in the door" for signing Wolf next year.

Spencer - D-bag - "The Hills" - If you've seen his act for at least ten seconds, you will concur. In a way, his D-baggery is so breathtaking that you almost have to admire it. But at the end of the day, if you saw him in person, you'd want to punch him in the throat.

Achievers/Bums - 8/17/08

Sorry for the lack of posts. Donny and I have actually been busy with real life for once. Anyway, this isn't the Lifetime Network - let's talk baseball

Achievers
Melvin Mora - 3B - Baltimore Orioles - 3/4, 1 HR, 4 RBIS - Friday; 5/6, 2 HRs, 6 RBIs - Sunday. Baltimore hasn't seen anything this hot since Babs Johnson walked down the street. With 20 HRs and 91 RBIS, Mora has a chance to match his 2004 career highs (27 HRs, 104 RBIs). Mora is probably not available in your league, but if he is, stick him in your Utility or CI spot until he cools off.

Alex Rios - OF - Toronto Blue Jays - 5/6, 3 Rs, 2 RBIs - Yes, he had five hits. Rios also has only 9 HRs and 54 RBIs. Not exactly the figures for which managers were hoping when they drafted him.

Raul Ibanez - OF - Seattle Mariners - 5/5, 1 RBI - I can't leave out the other guy with 5 hits. Looking over my posts, I am sure that Fantasy Achievers mentions Raul Ibanez more than any other website. Tell your friends.

Andre Ethier - OF - Los Angeles Dodgers - 3/5, 2 HRS, 3 RBIs - Ethier smacked two HRs, including the GW HR in the bottom of the 9th. Ethier is deservedly getting more ABs than Juan Pierre, but Ethier is sitting down enough to make you think twice about leaving him in your line-up. Stay away from Ethier if you have to set your roster weekly, but maybe consider pairing him with Juan Pierre if you have the roster space (and time to sit by your computer 10 minutes before every game, fatty).

Johan Santana - W, 7Ks, CG SHO - Santana goes to 3-0 since the All Star break. You expected more than 11 wins and 148 Ks, but at least Santana is turning it on for the stretch. Santana is still solid, and you might be able to pick him up at a discount next season.

Bums

Josh Beckett - SP - Boston Red Sox - L, 2.1 IP, 8 ERs - The Red Sox have been dealing with injuries to their starting pitching, and it was time for Beckett to stand up and be the stopper for his team. No, not really. Beckett was smacked at home by a Blue Jays' team that is only ahead of the Mariners, Royals and A's in AL runs scored. After going 20-7 with a 3.92 ERA last season, Beckett falls to a paltry 11-9 with a 4.34 ERA. If the Red Sox are going to catch the Blank Rays, they better hope that Beckett was just having an off day.


Washington Nationals - No one cares about the Washington Nationals. Frankly, I don't think that I even do. However, Nationals GM Jim Bowden's desire to acquire as many middle IFs as possible drives me crazy. The Nats traded Luis Ayala to the Mets for SS Anderson Hernandez. Hernandez, who has the name of a Mexican accountant, owns a career MLB batting average of .138, which somehow makes his 2008 AAA batting average of .202 look respectable. While Ayala has frankly stunk this season (1-8, 5.77 ERA), his career numbers entering this season (26-24 with a 2.82 ERA) are pretty decent, on top of the fact that the Mets are a division rival. I don't expect the Mets to give up their top prospect (even though the Mets are the team that traded Scott Kazmir for Victor "I'm Not Carlos" Zambrano), but do the Nationals need another weak hitting 2B/SS? Are the Nats one switch-hitting Dominican away from enacting Bowden's master plan?

Hernandez is now battling other renown sluggers such as of Cristian Guzman, Pete Orr, Ronnie Belliard, Emilo Bonifacio (hitting .239 and 2 SBs with 22Ks in 16 games since being acquired for closer Jon Rauch) for the positions of SS and 2B. Perhaps it is not fair to call Ronnie Belliard a middle IF, as he (and his career .753 OPS) has played 20 games at 1B, splitting time with other sluggers Kory Casto (.495 OPS) and Aaron "Bleeping" Boone (125 HRs in 1,111 games).

Achievers/Bums - 8/12/08

Man, it's weird to see Adam Dunn on a winning team. So, we take a couple of days off, and all hades breaks loose. Carlos Lee and Carl Crawford out for the year? Evan Longoria out three to four weeks? Hey, at least no one was counting on production from those guys in the second half. The Big Donkey to the Diamondbacks? (He'll still hit his 40). USA Swimming is sweeping the nation? Aaron Harang gets rocked in his return to action? OK, I should've seen the last one coming become Aaron Harang hates me and wants to ruin my life.

ACHIEVERS

Michael Phelps/USA Swimming - 4 Gold Medals and counting - I never thought I'd give a crap about swimming and I had Michael Phelps fatigue before the Olympics started, but now I'm eating it up. That bitch-slap our boys put on the French was one of the coolest things I've seen in sports ever. Oh, and in case you missed it - Michael Phelps gets his food on in an epic way.

David Ortiz/Kevin Youkilis - Boston Red Sox - combined 5/9, 4 HR, 11 RBI, 6 R, 3 BB - In a game versus the Rangers that was packed with offensive goodness, these guys were the biggest studs. Honorable mention to Dustin Pedroia, Ian Kinsler and Marlon Byrd.

Gary Sheffield - OF/DH - Detroit Tigers - 2/4, 2 HR - Gary Sheffield hits better when he's angry, which is pretty much always. The Tigers placed him on waivers Tuesday, which will probably make him even angrier, so expect lots of violently struck baseballs off the bat of angry Sheff.

Javier Vazquez - SP - Chicago White Sox - Win, 8.0 IP, 0 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 10 K - Vazquez has been rocky so far in the second half, but I still think he can be a hidden gem if you need another SP to help you in the stretch run. He doesn't always get to face the Royals, unfortunately, but he'll rack up strikeouts and get you some wins because he's on a good team.

Nick Markakis - OF - Baltimore Orioles - 2/3, 2B, 2 RBI, SF - Ladies and gentleman, I give you: the new Bobby Abreu. Granted, he's not Bobby Abreu in his prime, but he's the current Bobby Abreu, which is still pretty darn good. He's had a great season so far and he should be a top-15 outfielder next year.

BUMS

Joel Zumaya - RP - Loss, BS, 2 ER, 2 H, 3 BB - Detroit Tigers - Seriously, I miss Todd Jones.

Achievers/Bums - 08/8/08

ACHIEVERS

CC Sabathia - SP - Milwaukee Brewers - CG Shutout, 5 H, BB, 9 K's - In seven starts with the Brew Crew, Sabathia has four complete games and two shutouts. While this is very impressive, Ned Yost may want to consider saving CC's arm for the stretch run. But if you're in a league that gives bonuses for complete games or shutouts, you gotta hope Ned continues to go Dusty for the rest of the season.

Carlos Lee - OF - Houston Astros - 4/5, HR, 2B, 3 RBI, 3 R, BB - After Carlos Lee hit a two-run double in the 10th off of Francisco Cordero to beat the Reds last night, manager Cecil Cooper called him the best player in baseball over the last couple of months. Carlos Quentin owners might disagree, but Carlos Lee has been a top five outfielder all year and he's definitely still a keeper.

Chipper Jones - 3B - 2/4, HR, 2 RBI, 3 R, BB - Chipper is back and doing what he does, i.e., mashing. He hit a loooong HR last night. If your trading deadline hasn't passed, see if you can snag him from an owner who thinks he's selling high.

BUMS

Adam Dunn - OF - Cincinnati Reds - 0/4, 3 K's - Adam Dunn has been awesome this year. The average is up a little bit and the home runs are there, but he has gone cold, and it looks like a strikeout binge has begun. If you're in a league that penalizes for K's, I'd keep him on your bench until another home run tear begins. Otherwise, you gotta keep him in there.

Dan Uggla - 2B - Florida Marlins - Remember when you picked Uggla off of the free-agent pile for a spot start since your everyday second baseman had the day off, and then hit a couple home runs, so you left him there? Then, he just kept hitting them...and hitting them? It's time to forget about that and drop him. 2nd half numbers are as follows: .162 BA, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 23 K, 8 BB.

Alex Rios - OF - Toronto Blue Jays - 0/5, 3 K's - I challenge someone to give me a good reason for anyone to own Alex Rios at this point. At least he wasn't drafted above Josh Hamilton, Bobby Abreu and Nick Markakis in most leagues this year. (See, it's funny because he was!!!)