Bicycle Frauds Hit the Streets

By Jim Ingram

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

It's the middle of the summer and that means the Tour De France is currently in progress. No one really cares, and but that's not why I bring it up. I am writing a very short blog because the Tour De France brings out the biggest frauds of the year.

Have you noticed all the out of shape guys with skin tight spandex on the road with their bikes the past few weeks? I have, and can't stand having to slow down and move over while their bloated bodies pretend they're bike enthusiasts. This is the ONLY time they dust their bikes off and actually hit the road. As if it's not bad enough we have to pretend Lance Armstrong and every other bicyclist isn't cheating, we have to inconvenienced by these two week wannabes.

Ah, I feel much better for now. My doctor does say I need to express myself and my anger a little better.

Enjoy the race, Frauds!

What I've learned about sports this week!

By Jim Ingram

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

As I was driving into work, listening to to the radio, an idea for an article popped into my mind. This is the resulting brain activity, or fart, so let's see how this goes.

What I learned about Sports this week

1. The Boston Celtics are now a much better team. The addition of Rasheed Wallace is huge for team that had serious depth issues, especially going big. You know what ticks me off though. I can't stand how some people around here are ripping Sheed' for being unprofessional, and impulsive at times when they easily forget about the Paul Pierce ejection and wrapped head a few years ago. Speaking of Paul Pierce, it still get my blood pumping when I remember how he didn't to lose any street cred so he never identified the guy who stabbed him. That is why I don't like Paul Pierce.

2. The Boston Red Sox need Roy Halladay. The Sox are now tied for first place with the New York Yankees, who just happen to have one of the scariest lineups in baseball. In order to win this division the Red Sox still need more pitching. Give up prospects to get a hall of famer.

3. I learned how to break through a full court press in basketball. I am not very knowledgeable when it comes to the x's and o's of bball, so a serious shout out needs to be made to Sarah Palin. At least she knows something about a subject.

4. David Ortiz is not done. Whatever he did, he's turned his dismal season around. He'll never be the Ortiz of a few years ago, but he's hit .291, 8 HR and 20 RBI over the past month. The Red Sox will certainly take that now.

5. Manny Ramirez can still rake. Maybe he never doesn't need PED's or he's not off them. I don't know, but he's looked pretty good since his return. In no way, shape or form am I a Manny fan, but the strike 3 call he got when ejected the other day was a terrible call. Manny just needs to realize you can't throw your equipment near the ump.

Have a great weekend!

Fantasy Baseball: Frozen Ropes

By Jim Ingram

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Welcome to the final Frozen Ropes of the first half. Since the All Star break is next week, I'm going to do something different for this article. I'm going to go over the Top 5 fantasy hitters of the first half, the Top 5 busts of the first half, and finish it off with 5 hitters who are having much better years than I anticipated.

The Best:

1. Albert Pujols - .332, 32 HR, 83 RBI, 68 R, 10 SB

All I really have to say is WOW! This type of first half reminds me of the good ol' steroid years. I'm not stupid enough to allege anything, so don't take that statement the wrong way. FFS is not looking for another Raul Ibanez incident. What he's done is even more amazing considering he hasn't had a consistent hitter behind him all year. He should top 50 homers and 130 RBI easily.

2. Carl Crawford - .313, 8, 38, 58, 44

This is exactly the type of year Crawford can have when he's healthy. His legs are obviously back as his major league leading 44 stolen bases attest to. He'll never hit 30 homers, but around 20, 80+ RBI, 100+ Runs all lead to an amazing year. Watch out for the Rays in the 2nd half.

3. Prince Fielder - .312, 22, 77, 54, 0

Many people think he had a down year last year when he hit only 32 homers and had 102 RBI. That may be true, but now he's hammering the ball once again and is part of one of the best 3-4 combinations with Ryan Braun. He did have a very good 2nd half last year, so look for more of the same.

4. Tori Hunter - .305, 17, 65, 57, 13

I am going to steal a line from someone on ESPN, but I can't remember who said it so I apologize. Tori Hunter is like fine wine. He gets better with age. He's one of the early leaders for AL MVP as he's been huge for the Angels. He's well on his way for career bests in average, home runs, RBI, slugging, OBP, OPS, walks and stolen bases. Not bad for someone who just 34 and is playing in his 13th season.

5. Hanley Ramirez - .348, 14, 60, 51, 12

I've said it many time before, but HanRam is doing exactly what the Marlins wanted him to do when they moved him from leadoff to third in the batting order. He's now in a position to drive in runs, and already have 60 RBI on the season. His career high is 80, so he should smash that. His runs scored are down this year, but that's a simple case of not hitting leadoff. He's one of the most exciting players in baseball so watch him every chance you get.

The Worst:

1. Jimmy Rollins - .227, 7, 34, 49, 13

J-roll is in his 9th full season right now and it's clear that he's on the downside. I know he had a better 2nd half last season, but I don't see a turnaround this season. He's been downright awful so far, and if the Phillies were smart, they would not deal shortstop prospect Jason Donald.

2. Russell Martin - .255, 1, 25, 34, 8

The love muscle is one of my favorite players to don the signature uniform of the LA Dodgers. If you go back and look at my predictions, I actually said he was going to be in the NL MVP discussion. Boy, was I wrong. Really wrong. He only has 1 home run this season. 1 home run! I have no explanation as to what happened to him. He seems to get serious this offseason when it came to his diet and training, but none of that has helped.

3. Geovany Soto - .230, 8, 27, 19, 1

In his defense, he did start of the season with an injury. Unfortunately he hasn't been able to right the ship since. The Cubs hope it's a simple case of the sophomore slump. Soto's season is actually a microcosm of the Cubs season. High expectations and not delivering on them.

4. Magglio Ordonez - .260, 4, 28, 30, 3

I think Maggs is done. He's had a terrible season so far, and has relegated to a platoon. The platoon just may be a device to not allow him enough at bats to vest his option for next season. They're still in the divisional race, so let's see if he can turn it around for the Tigers in the 2nd half.

5. Chris Davis - .202, 15, 33, 31, 0

I was so high, so was everyone else, prior to the season. He had such a great 2nd half last year, that I thought he'd translate that into a full season. Of course he's still hit 15 home runs this year, but his average is awful and he's already struck out 114 times in only 258 at bats. Let me put is this way. He strikes out 44% of the time. Yikes! He may be damaged good this season, but still think he can be a productive power hitter in the majors.

6. Injury Busts - This is just a short list of top players who have struggled with injuries and their return from them. Jose Reyes, Josh Hamilton, Aramis Ramirez, Carlos Quentin and Vlad Guerrero.

Pleasant Surprises:

1. Mark Reynolds - .259, 24, 62, 54, 15

He's can pretty much say he's a proven power hitter now. What I don't get is the 15 stolen bases. Talk about finding ways to increase your fantasy value

2. Raul Ibanez - .312, 22, 59, 54, 1

Before getting injured he was having a fantastic season. It looks like he'll be activated this weekend, so hopefully he can come back and enjoy Citizens Bank Park like the start of the year

3. Justin Upton - .296, 16, 50, 53, 12

J-UP has burst on the scene this year. He has more potential than his older brother, BJ, and has been pounding the ball. He's still so young, so look for him to be one of the better outfielders for the next 10 years.

4. Paul Konerko - .304, 16, 59, 39, 0

As a former Dodger's farmhand, he's always been a favorite of mine, so it brings a smile to my face to see him playing so well. Even before he hit 3 homers and 7 RBI in a game this week he was having a great season. I really thought he was done after last year, but once again I was wrong

5. Juan Rivera - .313, 16, 52, 36, 0

Apparently this is what happens when Rivera is healthy and gets playing time. This is the reason why the Angels have held onto him this long during his many injuries. He's been huge for the Angels during Vlad's injury and lack of power production this year.

Beckett dominant again against Braves

By Jim Ingram

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Josh Beckett has been dealing yet again as the Boston Red Sox beat the Atlanta Braves 4-1 down in Georgia. It doesn't hurt he took to the bump against an organization he's now 6-0 in his last 7 starts. In the past month, Josh Beckett is 5-1 with a 1.48 ERA, 0.84 WHIP and 43 K's. With the exception of that one clunker against the Phillies, he's been extremely dominant and looks like the '07 Josh Beckett. Add in the fact that Jon Lester is 3-1 with a 2.18 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and 44 K's and you have one of the best 1-2 tandems in baseball. Don't forget about Tim Wakefield's 9-3 record on route to what should be his first All Star game.

Realistically, the Boston Red Sox are built around pitching. They have very good starting pitching, with great depth in AAA. They also have the most consistent bullpen in the majors with the likes Jonathon Papelbon, Hideki Okajima, Ramon Ramirez & Manny Delcarmen. All four of those relievers have an ERA under 2.50.

The secondary story of the game was the continued resurgence of David "Big Papi" Ortiz. He hit his 8th homer of the season last night and 7th of the month. While I may not be 100% ready to say he's back to a lesser version of his old self, I will say that I am getting close. His average is still only .269 with a .333 OBP. His slugging is .590 with an OPS of .923. Both are very respectable. He has been able to cut down on his strike outs. He does have 15 K's in 20 games in June, but compare that to May where he struck out 26 times. Big Papi is making me look terribly wrong for saying his career was over, but I don't think it's a coincidence his resurgence starting about the time he started taking those eye drops. Ortiz had been complaining about blinking too much at the plate, and the eye drops seem to have stopped that. Hitting, and confidence at the plate, is such a fragile thing even for a professional. I guess we'll just have to wait and see how he progress throughout the season.

Big Papi finally dropped in the Sox order!

By Jim Ingram

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Terry Francona and Theo Epstein finally decided to drop David Ortiz in the order. About time if you ask me. He's been an automatic out in the 3 hole so far this season.  He's dead last in average, hits, homers, on base percentage and slugging for designated hitters. Ouch! They tried sitting him down, but that didn't help. Neither will dropping him in the order. Of course it's the natural progression to put him down in the order, but what will they do next. I am of the opinion that David Ortiz is done as a productive major league player. I don't think dropping him to the 6th or 7th spot in the order will do any good. He's swinging and missing by at least a foot right now. 

So, what happened to the beloved Big Papi? Is this a result of stopping a regimen of steroids or other performance enhancing drugs? We don't know. Is it because of personal problems? We don't know. Does he have an eye sight condition similar to the one that ended Jim Rice's career? We don't know. What we do know is that his lack of production is hurting the Boston Red Sox. What we do know is that he looks so lost and mechanically wrong at the plate it's almost sad. He's being blown away by 88 mph fastballs and waving at off speed pitches in the dirt. 

When he goes another 2-4 weeks without increasing his production, what can the Red Sox do? They could send him back to Florida to spend time alone with a hitting instructor. That "seemed" to work when the Yankees did that with Jason Giambi. I doubt this will happen, but it could come to the Red Sox granting him his outright release, or looking at potential trades. The Red Sox have such a surplus of good, young pitching. They could dangle a Clay Bucholtz, or Michael Bowden, to the struggling Cleveland Indians and trade for Victor Martinez. He'd solve the immediate problem of a DH, and be the one to replace Varitek behind the plate in a 2010 or 2011. 

Whatever happens, Red Sox fans will be waiting and hoping for a triumphant return of the good ol' David Ortiz. Unfortunately for you Sox fans, you'll be waiting a very, very long time.