MLB CHEAT SHEET.......SECOND BASE

By FANTASY BOYZ Editor in Chief Corey Bugenhagen              

Cano is a top 5 option

When looking at your lineups after your yearly draft may owners scratch their head with what they are going to do at Second Base.  There is not a long line of guys that you plug into your lineup and not worry if they will produce or not.  Outside of Robinson Cano and Dustin Pedroia there are questions surrounding almost every option.  Brandon Phillips is mad about his contract.  Ian Kinsler has had ankle problems, which he has supposedly had fixed with some kind of blood platelet injection.  Rickie Weeks has had ankle problems of his own.  The list of questions goes on and on, which is why we feel the value of Cano and Pedroia is so high is this years draft.  Sure they will not produce like the big time sluggers at first base, third base or outfield but those positions are much deeper in talent.  We have no issue with Cano going in the top 5 or Pedroia in the top 10.  For example if you are to grab Cano at 2 or 3 and then come back around with Teixeira in round two you are much better off than with a combo of Adrian Gonzales and Rickie Weeks or Dan Uggla.  Again that is just my opinion and you know what they same about those.   The fact does remain though that getting a Second Baseman that will contribute consistent numbers in 2012 is not an easy task.

MLB CHEAT SHEET.... FIRST BASE

Prince and Miguel in Motown......WOW

By Fantasy Boyz Editor in Chief Corey Bugenhagen

As we get closer and closer to our favorite time of the year in Spring training we are going to focus today on the first base position.  First base is general one of your lynch pin offensive potitions on any championship fantasy baseball roster. We feel this years crop is 10 deep with legit MASHERS.  After that there is a definite drop off.  In that 10 there is also a clear top 5 of Albert Pujols, Miguel Cabrera, Adrian Gonzalez, Prince Fielder and Joey Votto.  Those guys are super studs that will most certainly be gone mid way through your second round.  Our second 5 of Paul Konerko, Mike Napoli, Mark Teixera, Eric Hosmer, and Carlos Santana contains some old dogs and a couple young guns.  Father time will catch up to Konerko someday but we don't think it will be this year.  Mike Napoli is an interesting option, coming off an amazing season and having dual position eligibility.  Teixera will continue to put up HRs, and RBIs in that powerful Yankee lineup.  We absolutely love Eric Hosmer this season, and think he will only build on his fantastic rookie season.  To round out the top 10 we bring you Carlos Santana.  Carlos moving to first base is the best thing that could have happened to the young slugger.  We love his increase power late in the season, with 12 bombs over his final 2 months.  Sky is the limit for the sweet swinging Santana.

Our advice is to get one of the above mentioned top 10.  Waiting on this position and trying to go the sleeper rout is a risky proposition in our opinion.  Let the other guys pin their hopes on the likes of Mark Reynolds, Ryan Howard, or Lance Berkman.

The BIG GAME

By Fantasy Boys Editor in Chief Corey Bugenhagen                                  

We feel Eli will win this "SUPER" rematch

So it is the eve of the Big dance.  You are probably busy at work preparing your spreads to gorge your faces while you wait to see if Ferris Bueller really does need another day off(I know I will be).   Well we wanted to throw out a prediction and run down of the game for your reading pleasure.

The Patriots will win if:
It is no secret that the Pats have one of the greatest QBs ever to lace up the cleats in Tom Brady so of course he is a big key to victory but he WON'T Be the reason the Patriots win tomorrow.  The reason they win will be because of a big Defensive effort.  They need Big Vince Wilfork to be a major force in the middle.  He will need to disrupt the pocket and get major push to blow up the running game.  Another huge key will the Pats secondary.  They need to slow somewhat Hakeem Nicks and company.  Kyle Arrington and Devin McCourty don't need to be lockdown but they do need tight to the line and physical with Nicks and Cruz.  Another huge key will be Wes Welker.  With Gronk injured Brady will need Welker to be open early and often.  Finally the last key will be the Pats being able to generate any running game.  Green-Ellis, and Woodhead will need to run as hard as they ever had and gain tough yards.  If all of the above come to fruition we see the Pats hoisting the Lombardi over their heads.

The Giants will win if:
With the Giant's improbable run to championship game we have learned a few things.  Eli Manning is an Elite Quarterback, and the Giants have a relentless defensive line, oh and Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks are pretty good too.  The keys to a Giant victory will be the same as when they beat the defending champ Packers, GET TO THE QB.  They need to get in Brady's face, hit him, make him throw before he wants to.  If they knock Brady around they are going to be looking good in our opinion.  The second key will be Manning continuing his elite play.  With weapons like Cruz, Nicks, and Manningham we think this shouldn't be an issue, especially verse the Pats Piss Poor secondary.

Our prediction:
We feel our second scenario will be what happens tomorrow.  Never have we seen such a terrible defense win it all.  Sure when a team has Tom Brady they are going to have a great chance but we don't think tomorrow will be Pretty Boy Tom's day.  Our prediction is 24 to 14 Giants

Prince Fielder to the Tigers.....

By Fantasy Boyz Editor in Chief Corey Bugenhagen

Look for more Explosions like this in Motown in 2012

When the news broke today about Prince Fielder's mega contract my first thought was TO WHERE?  I had no inkling that the Tigers were players in the Fielder derby.  Teams like Seattle and Texas were the only names I had heard as serious players.  When Victor Martinez went down with a knee injury a few weeks back I wondered how the Tigers would ever replace that bat.  Well they did and in a MAJOR way.  I absolutely love this signing for two reasons.  For one as I had mentioned it replaces the huge loss of Martinez(who could possibly be back late in the season).  Secondly it adds some added swagger and intimidation to the middle of the Tigers lineup.  Martinez was a good all around hitter but he didn't strike fear in the hearts of opposing pitchers like Prince will soon be doing in Motown.  I would argue that Fielder/Cabrera duo is every bit as good as the Fielder/Braun duo was in Milwaukee.  Needless to say Detroit became a favorite to win not only their division but the whole damn thing.  I give them credit for making this bold move.  I don't have much to say about fantasy implications since Fielder is in just as good a situation as he was last year. 

We at Fantasy Boyz Sports want to thank you for the support our readers showed us during the football seasons.  It was a blast to put out our weekly rankings, and waiver wire reports.  We look forward to being every bit as active for the upcoming baseball season.  Remember Pitchers and catchers report in less than a month!!!


Look for our Preseason Baseball rankings coming soon.  We also want to get more involved with Twitter and will be creating specific Twitter accounts that point towards this site.

Fantasy Football Playoff pools

By Fantasy Boyz Editor in Chief Corey Bugenhagen

So the NFL regular season has come and gone.  Doesn’t it just seem like yesterday we were putting together cheat sheets in preparation for upcoming league drafts.   Wow time flies, but as you are in the midst of cashing in on your league championship winnings, we are sure you are yearning for more.  Well get into a fantasy playoff pool people!  What you ask?  Come on all you need to do is nose around your company water cooler to find some guy running one of these pools.  What they consist of generally is you submitting a roster of players from the current playoff teams.  While you generally get to pick a list of NFL elite players there is some strategy to it, which we will discuss below in a few helpful steps.

STEP 1 Choose players on favored teams:

This step seems self-explanatory but there are definitely going to be those out there that don’t take this into account.  Players like Calvin Johnson and Mathew Stafford may seem too good to pass up, but when you realize it is likely they will lose to the Saints and only get one game in it makes them much less tantalizing.

STEP 2 Choose QBs on teams that will most likely go deep in the playoffs

Another obvious point but there will be people that take guys like Matt Ryan who likely will be sitting on the sidelines after wildcard weekend.

STEP 3 Go off the board with your picks

We all are going to take Rodgers, Brees and Brady but where you will really win this you’re behind the scenes guys like Ahmed Bradshaw and Darren Sproles.

All in all just like Fantasy football does to the regular season it makes the playoffs just that much better.  Especially for those like myself who are unlucky enough to root for a hopeless NFL franchise like the Bills.