Fantasy Baseball: Positional Rankings - Outfield

By Jim Ingram

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

If you know me, then you know that I have a soft spot for the outfield position. Actually, it's really a soft spot for center fielders, but that really doesn't matter. What matters here are stats, stats and more stats. With that being said, the position is stocked with productive fantasy players of all kinds.

The Top 20:

1. Ryan Braun - Brewers

2. Matt Kemp - Dodgers

3. Carl Crawford - Rays

4. Justin Upton - Diamondbacks

5. Matt Holliday - Cardinals

6. Jacoby Ellsbury - Red Sox

7. Ichiro Suzuki - Mariners

8. Curtis Granderson - Yankees

9. Nick Markakis - Orioles

10. Adam Lind - Blue Jays

11. Adam Jones - Orioles

12. Grady Sizemore - Indians

13. Jason Werth - Phillies

14. Carlos Lee - Astros

15. Josh Hamilton - Rangers

16. B.J. Upton - Rays

17. Manny Ramirez - Dodgers

18. Andre Eithier - Dodgers

19. Carlos Gonzalez - Rockies

20. Alfonso Soriano - Cubs

The Elite:

It's amazing how much different most of the top fantasy outfielders are in the "post" steroid days. Matt Kemp and Carl Crawford, who are now bona fide superstars in my mind have pretty much everything to offer you. Kemp is a 5 tool player who is still so raw it gets me so excited to see how he improves from year to year. Crawford, most likely headed to New York after the season, got his health back last year and really took off. He hit for average (.305), a decent amount of power and RBI (15, 68) and stole a ton of bases (60). The true elite fantasy outfielder has to be Ryan Braun. He's a proven power hitter (32 HR, 112 RBI) who also hits for average (.320), scores (113 runs) and has a career .937 OPS.

The 2nd Tier:

This category brings you a couple of youngster, Jacoby Ellsbury and Justin Upton who have very different styles of play. Upton bring the thunder while Ellsbury steals a ton of bases. Ellsbury really needs to increase his on base percentage a bit more to become an elite fantasy player. I also like Matt Holliday, hitting behind Pujols only, and the very consistent Ichiro to fill out the 2nd tier.

On the Rise:

Adam Jones - will have a season much like Matt Kemp in 09' as long as he stays healthy. Can do pretty much anything.

Carlos Gonzalez - Was lights out in the 2nd half last season. He gets a chance to do it from the start and build off his .284 average and 13 homers in only 289 at bats.

Andrew McCutchen - Much like Gonzalez, McCutchen starting to show his potential during the 2nd half of last season. He will not be hitting in the lead off spot this season, so you should see his RBI total be a bit higher than expected. Look for him to hit about .290 with 20 homers, 80+ RBI and 30+ steals. That is great for a 4th outfielder in fantasy.

Jason Heyward - The biggest buzz in baseball is created by this young phenom. I, for one, bank on him winning the NL Rookie of the year as he bursts on to the scene. He might struggle a bit off the block, but look for him to hit 25 home runs his rookie season.

Travis Snyder - He will have a year very similar to Adam Lind's 2009, when Lind had a breakout season. He may not his 35 homers and 135 RBI, but look for 25+ and 85+ RBI.

On the Slide:

Jason Bay - Don't get me wrong. I like Jason Bay and think he's a fine player, but I just look at what happened to David Wright last year in the first season Citi Field. After hitting 63 home runs combined the previous two seasons, Wright had a measly 10 in 2009. Bay has good power, but not nearly enough to top 20 this season.

Josh Hamilton - The man just can't stay healthy. Unless you can get him late, stay away and take someone potentially less productive who you can count on playing everyday.

Alfonso Soriano - Pretty much the same thing as Hamilton. His average dropped 50 points last season and he only stole 9 bags. Even being dropped in the order will not increase his RBI, so I say watch out.

Vernon Wells - Wells is an absolute waste of a fantasy pick. This is by far the worst contract in baseball now that Barry Zito had a decent year last year.

Sorry about taking so long on this, but sometimes reality sticks itself into Fantasy and Fan Fanatic Sports. Stay tuned on Wednesday for the Starting Pitchers and Friday for the Relievers.

Eagles make Frozen Four, but it's RIT I'll be watching

By Chris Maza
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

The stage is set for the Frozen Four and once again Boston College will be there.

The Eagles earned their seventh trip in the last 11 seasons (2000-2010) with a 9-7 win over Yale Sunday evening. That's right. There were 16 goals between the two sides, which was an NCAA record for a regional game, eclipsing the previous mark of 13.

BC will face Miami (OH), who survived a double-overtime battle with Michigan, 3-2.

But with all the exciting action going on in the tournament, there is no better story than RIT, which has become this year's Bemidji State. RIT made heavily favored Denver (the No. 2 overall team in the tournament) look just plain bad in the opening round, then made New Hampshire look even worse with a 6-2 win to propell itself to Detriot.

Maybe it was the home-ice feel in Albany. Maybe the stars aligned just right. Maybe they caught Denver in the midst of a badly-timed slump (remember, they lost two games in the conference tournament, too). Maybe they dodged a bullet in having UNH upset Cornell. Or maybe the Tigers are really just that good.

I knew RIT was a balanced team, but the Tigers surprised me in how well they skated, making Denver look slow and how good their transition game is, as was displayed in the UNH game.

Do they have enough to get past Wisconsin and get to the title game? I'm still not sure and I don't know if anyone else can be, either. After all, most of the nation has only seen this team play for 120 minutes so far this year.

But in a tournament that now has three No. 1 seeds and a No. 4 remaining, I'm becoming a Tigers fan.

Here's how my bracket is shaping up (Click on the bracket for a larger view). Check back for analysis on how each Hockey East team has performed in the tournament thus far.

Florida coach is a bully

By Chad Garner

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Florida football coach Urban Meyer needs to be cut down to size. Or cut-blocked, in football terms.

The hot-headed Mr.-Know-It-All coach verbally assaulted a member of the media and actually threatened him while at spring practice.

Apparently, Orlando Sentinel's Jeremy Fowler wrote an article, quoting Florida WR Deonte Thompson who called QB John Brantley a "real quarterback."

I guess it was a shot at former Florida QB Tim Tebow (who I still think is going to be a bust at quarterback in the NFL -- keep reading Fan Fanatic Sports for more opinion on Tebow as the NFL Draft approaches in late April). Remember, Tebow and Meyer had a father-son relationship during Tebow's career with the Gators.

I guess Thompson really didn't take a shot at Tebow, but instead meant that Brantley is more of a prototypical QB that Tebow.

But the written word can be interpreted in so many different ways.

Whatever.

The journalist was doing his job, however. He quoted an athlete. It's not his fault that people that read his article thought Thompson was attacking Tebow.

So for Meyer to confront the reporter on the sideline and try to intimidate him and make his look like a fool in front of everyone, sort of gives you a sneak peek into Meyer's character.

Meyer obviously used his power as the king gator to try to minimize and bully the reporter.

Obviously, Fowler did nothing wrong. He wrote what was said. Yes, he did his job. It's not his fault that people read things different ways.

What really bothers me is that Meyer lashed out and told Fowler, "If that was my son, we'd be going at it right now."

Now that's a threat and totally uncalled for.

But wait. Everything's OK now, Meyer later requested a meeting with Fowler and I guess Fowler said everything is fine between the two now.

Reporter's view: Say everything is fine, considering you have to cover Meyer's team all season and need access to the coach and players throughout the season in order to do your job.

Yes, Meyer flew off the handle. I get it, he was sticking up for his player.

But he went about it the wrong way. He tried to bully a reporter, threaten him mind you.

It's totally uncalled for.

I've never been a fan of Meyer before -- he's always rubbed me the wrong way -- and you can bet he's lost more fans -- maybe not in brainwashed Gatorland -- in the country.

It would be real nice to see Meyer got on ESPN and say sorry to Fowler on national television. But I'm willing to bet that won't happen.

Like most coaches, they like positive press but scurry or try to sweep things under the rug when it's negative.

No hiding from this Urban, what you did was classless, uncalled for and it makes me sick.

Health far more important than a game

By Chad Garner

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

I got a text today from a friend, and he basically said that Boston Bruins star forward Marc Savard was a wimp (actually he called him something else).

I couldn't believe it, calling a guy out because he's got a severe head injury.

Ya, shake it off, it's only a concussion. Right!

Head injuries are serious business, it's not something you can shake off in a blink of an eye. They heal up when they want, some quicker and some take longer. It's scary either way.

So to call out Savard like he should just suit up and play since his club is fighting for their playoff lives, I think that is absolutely a joke.

I'm a Bruins fan, but I don't blame Savard one bit for sitting out.

First, he's battling headaches constantly and he also has had troubles sleeping at night. And secondly, his heath is way more important than playing a game.

Yes, hockey is his job but you need to be healthy in order to play it. If Savard did play, he could take another vicious hit (it doesn't even have to be a big blow) and be a vegetable for life.

Heath and family are more important that sports. Yes, I said it.

Sometimes people get too wrapped up in the game and forget that these players are also human.

Yes, we all wish Savard was back on the ice scoring and being the top playmaker for the Bruins, but it isn't going to happen this year. He's done for the season, and we all must accept it.

Don't hate Savard because he can't play.

Trust me, I bet he'd do anything to be with his teammates and wearing the Bruins jersey right about now.

Actually, Savard isn't a wimp -- he's a very smart hockey player.

I'm impressed with underdog Butler and its coach

By Chad Garner

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

I know, I don't like the underdog in the NCAA Tournament.

But does a No. 5 seed count as an underdog?

It sure does, especially when talking about little-known Butler.

The mid-major monster is picking teams off at a rapid clip, including No. 1 Syracuse and most recently No. 2 Kansas State to advance to their first Final Four in school history.

Yes, they are no-namers on this Bulldogs squad, but they are obviously making a name for themselves now. They've definitely put Butler (from Indianapolis) on the map.

This club might be a mid-major, but their coach is a major superstar.

His name is Brad Stevens and I hope he's making a boatload of cash, which he probably isn't because he's a mid-major coach. But there's no doubt in my mind that he could lead a power conference program, and perhaps he'll get a shot at a big time school and make big time money after showcasing to the world that he can take a virtually unknown bunch of players from a small school and beat down some of the finer basketball programs in the country.

Stevens, you're legit in my book.

While I'm still not all tingly about a Cinderella story like Butler, I'm buying coach Stevens and I'm actually going to put aside my dislike for the underdog and root for these Butler Bulldogs in the Final Four.

They are fun to watch, they actually play defense, they've got an outstanding young coach, and they play as a team, play for each other and the name of their jersey.

Seriously, what's not to like about Butler?

No Fan of Calipari Here

By Dan Shouse
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

On ESPN recently, college basketball analyst Steve Lavin lauded University of Kentucky head coach John Calipari for being one of the best coaches in the NCAA.

For Lavin, the reason Calipari deserved this much credit was simple - Calipari was about to lead his third different basketball program to an NCAA Final Four.

This is where Lavin was dead wrong however. Yes, UMass and the Memphis both played in the Final Four under Calipari, but according to the history books, the appearances for UMass and Memphis never happened. They were both wiped out due to violations of NCAA rules - violations that occurred under the watch of Calipari.

So technically, Lavin was incorrect. Lavin should have said that Calipari was ready to appear in his first Final Four.

I realize that Calipari was never cited for any wrong doings at UMass or Memphis, but I have to agree, for the most part, with what Bob Knight said earlier in the season. Knight stated a few months back that he was surprised that Calipari was able to waltz into one of best jobs in college sports, after leaving his two previous stops in the NCAA in ruins. UMass and Memphis had to pay for the violations, while Calipari got a promotion.

I will not go as far as Bob Knight and say that Calipari should not be allowed to coach, but it seems only fair that he should have been forced to sit out a year, or have to rebuild his resume at a smaller school and work his way back. The fans of UMass and Memphis at least deserve that much.

Sorry Kentucky, but I fear that once there is the slightest hint of possible violations in your basketball program, Calipari will walk away from the table and stick you with the bill. He has done it before, and lets hope for the sake of the Wildcats, he doesn't do it again.

March Madness, Frozen Style

By Chris Maza
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

So here it is, my bracket for the 2010 NCAA Division I hockey tournament.
(Click on the bracket for a bigger view)

As you can see, there are not many surprises in the regionals, with one notable exception. I think in the East, Denver is vulnerable. Not only did they falter down the stretch, but they also go up against an RIT team that has all the momentum in the world and a fanbase that almost instantly sold out of its allotment of tickets, giving the Tigers a distinct home-ice feel with over 1,000 orange-clad maniacs in the stands.
Michigan over Bemidji State is somewhat of an upset, but given how well Michigan has played over the last month, I'm not going to call it one.
I think it will be Miami, Boston College, Wisonsin and Cornell in the Frozen Four with Wisconsin and Miami moving on for a CCHA-WCHA title game.
Sure, I think Wisconsin is the softest of the No. 1 seeds, but I think they also have the softest regional bracket overall and I can see Cornell suffering a letdown after what is sure to be an emotion-filled slugfest between the Big Red and the Tigers in Albany.
Boston College and Miami should be a clinic on goaltending, but I just think BC lacks the star power this year to go back to the title game.