The All-Underrated Team - American League

By Chris Maza
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Well, the MLB All-Star teams have been announced and looking at the fan voting, it's clear a lot of fans haven't been paying attention. So here's my 2010 MLB All-Underrated list. Mind you, these are not all guys who I think should necessarily be winning the voting, but guys who seemed to be totally overlooked.

Let's begin with the American League.

C - Mike Napoli. Napoli isn't the sexiest catcher out there, but he's got more homers than any other American League catcher and the highest OPS among those qualified for the batting title at that position, in front of Victor Martinez and Joe Mauer. Taylor Teagarden (currently in AAA after batting .037) and Gerald Laird (.190-2-13) are in the top-5, but Napoli isn't even considered.

1B - Paul Konerko. Konerko is currently outside of the top-5 in fan voting despite hitting 20 homers (tied for first in the AL) and 57 RBI (second). Mark Teixiera and his 13 homers, 51 RBI, .790 OPS and .230 batting average are in second place in fan voting, yet this guy's not even in the conversation? Oh, by the way, he's also a good fielder with a zone rating better than Justin Morneau and a range factor better than Teixiera (all three have one error this season).

2B - Mike Aviles. This was a tough one because the voters have this one pretty much spot on in my opinion. If anyone does deserve to be in the top-5 in voting, it should be Mike Aviles and that's simply because Ben Zobrist has been playing the outfield primarily this season. Since his return to Kansas City Aviles is batting .319 and is once again starting to look like the spark plug the Royals thought they found in 2008.

3B - Jose Bautista. He's batting just .229, but he STILL has a better OPS than leader Evan Longoria, Michael Young and Alex Rodriguez. With 21 homers, he's just two shy of tying the total of the guys sitting in second and third combined. He's not just up there hacking, either. His 50 walks are tops among AL third basemen as well.

SS - Marco Scutaro. Ok, this is where people start calling me a homer. But hey, the guy stepped into the shoes of one of the best leadoff hitters around these days in Jacoby Ellsbury and everyone shuddered, including me. But he's been impressive, batting .284 with the third-best OPS amongst AL shortstops as a catalyst for a Red Sox offense that is scoring more runs than anybody, despite a makeshift lineup.

OF - Alex Rios. Rios is on pace to steal close to 50 bases while hitting between 25 and 30 homers and you're telling me he's not deserving of being even one of the top-15? He's fourth among AL outfielders in OPS and has been one of the best fielding center fielders in the league.

DH - Jose Guillen. Vlad deserved to run away with the votes in this category, but the fact that Ken Griffey, Jr. got more votes than Guillen is just ridiculous. Sure, Guillen's a head case, but you can't deny that he's on pace to knock in 100 runs for one of the worst teams in the league.

National League coming soon...

Fantasy Baseball Friday: First Half All Stars

By Jim Ingram

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

This weekend will mark the half way point in the MLB 162 game season. Rather than wait for the All Star game, I like to name my all star fantasy team at the actual half way point in the season. So, here we go

2010 First Half All Star Fantasy Team:

Catcher: Miguel Oliva - really? .312 average and a .921 OPS

First Base: Miguel Cabrera - legitimate triple clown candidate

Second Base: Robinson Cano- may be the first half MVP

Third Base: David Wright - good to see his power numbers start to bounce back

Short Stop: Hanley Ramirez - the only SS in the top 50 fantasy players

Outfield: Vlad Guerrero - nice to see the old dog keep slamming

Outfield: Josh Hamilton - see what he can do when healthy

Outfield: Carl Crawford - let the Yankees rumors begin

Starting Pitcher: Ubaldo Jiminez - can he keep it up for the entire year?

Starting Pitcher: Josh Johnson - he's still grossly underpaid even after the extension

Starting Pitcher: Adam Wainright - all he does is pitch well and win

Relief Pitcher: Billy Wagner - finally gives the Braves the lock down closer

Relief Pitcher: Mariano Rivera - it's just a given he's on this team

2010 First Half All Star Fantasy 2nd Team:

Catcher: Victor Martinez - it's been a bad fantasy year for the catching position

First Base: Joey Votto - he will begin to garner some MVP votes if he keeps it up

Second Base: Martin Prado - I hope you picked him up earlier in the year as he keeps raking

Third Base: Kevin Youkilis - should get his first .300, 30 HR, 100 RBI season

Short Stop: Jose Reyes - man it's been a terrible year at this position too

Outfield: Alex Rios - proving me wrong all year long

Outfield: Carlos Gonzalez - the youngster is a five tool threat and a super star in the making

Outfield: Ryan Braun - the hebrew hammer makes the 2nd team in a sub par year for him

Starting Pitcher: Roy Halladay - surprised he's not having a better year

Starting Pitcher: Jered Weaver - he's putting up great stats so far

Starting Pitcher: Cliff Lee - look for his value to skyrocket with a trade to a contender

Relief Pitcher: Jose Valverde - locking down games for the surprising Tigers

Relief Pitcher: Rafael Soriano - can he stay healthy for an entire year?

That's all for this week. We'll be back the usual format next Friday.

Enjoy the 4th of July weekend!

A-Fraud up to his old tricks

By Chad Garner
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff
Man, Alex Rodriguez is a great guy.
Yeah, right.
A-Rod, after blowing off former Yankees manager and current Dodgers main man Joe Torre days ago during batting practice – not even offering a wave or a hand shake – finally went up to Torre after a couple days to look like a good guy.
Don’t buy that for one minute.
A-Rod care about his image, and the latest hit to his image was how he couldn’t even go up to shake his former manager’s hand.
But after a couple days – more like a couple days of bad press – he decided the time was right to bury the hatchet.
Are you taking the bait?
Not here, not even from a big Yankees fan.
Listen, maybe A-Rod’s a real nice guy, but his constant calculated moves are a tired act.
Obviously, he doesn’t like Torre for the way the manager spoke of him in a book and dropped him to 8th in the batter order when the slugger was scuffling. Yes, that would tick me off, too.
I would have been more happy with A-Rod coming out in the media and saying he dislikes Torre and won’t shake, hug or even wave at his former manager. That would be an honest and real emotion, and one that I could respect.
I thought A-Rod stopped caring about what other people say about him?
We know that’s not the case, at all.
It’s too bad that A-Rod will never be able to shake off that bad nickname of A-Fraud?
But, I guess, he brings it on himself.

Busy week for the Bruins continues

By Jim Ingram

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

I can now take a sigh of relief. No, that is not sarcasm you detect from me at all. Peter Chiarelli continues his strong off season by re-signing Johnny Boychuk to a two year deal. The deal gives Boychuk between $3.5 & $3.75 million dollars over the two years, and is a great deal for both the player and the club. Normally Boychuk wouldn't even be an unrestricted free agent at this point in his career, but the NHL has a rule that mandates a player, 25 years of age, who hasn't played the equivalent of an entire NHL season (82 games) over his entire career gets the unrestricted tag. Boychuk turned 26 in January

If you watched the B's during the 2nd half of the season, you know the physical defenseman seemed to put it all together. He was outstanding in the playoffs as he averaged 26 minutes per game, a huge increase on his regular season PT. He really stepped up in the playoffs when the Bruins needed help on the blue line the most as they were missing Dennis Seidenberg and Mark Stuart. He now will enter just his second full season (he played 55 games last season) with a ton of confidence built from his playoff experience.

The move now pretty much solidifies the Bruins defense before the draft even takes place. Mark Stuart is still an impending free agent, but I've no doubt Chiarelli will bring him back as well. He's a talented player, but can't stay healthy. Honestly, I couldn't care less what happens with him. The first defensive pairing will obviously be Chara and Seidenberg. My best guess is Boychuk along with Andrew Ferrence, and then Matt Hunwick along with Stuart. That is a solid NHL blue line if you ask me.

On a side note, I forgot to mention that Bobby Orr is the agent for Nathan Horton. I have no doubt now that he'll be a huge success here in Boston. It's June and I already can't wait for hockey season.

Bruins hit jackpot in Wideman trade

By Jim Ingram

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

I don't know how Chiarelli did it, but he actually got another team to take Dennis Wideman. Not only was he able to get rid of one of the worst defenseman in the NHL, but he was able to get amazing value in return. Nathan Horton, the 3rd overall pick in the 2003 draft, has scored at least 20 goals each of the past 5 seasons, and scored 31 in 2007. He had 57 points in 65 games last season. By the way, that would have lead the Bruins in points!

While some people may say Horton has been an underachiever thus far in his career, I am not worried about his production at all. In 6 seasons, he's played for five different coaches and has been a part of a terrible organization. He's also a great fit for the Boston Bruins. He's big, powerful and can score. That's exactly the type of player the B's need right now. I am going to go on the record and say he scores 35 goals next season.

In addition to Horton, the Bruins also received 4th line forward Gregory Campbell. Campbell, son of NHL disciplinarian Colin Campbell, may not even suit up for the Bruins as he is a pending free agent this off season. The sticking point for Bruins fans may be the addition of their other fist round pick, 15th overall, in the 2010 draft. I have absolutely no problem with them using this as part of the package, and here's why. It's very rare a mid first round pick will make an immediate impact in his first two seasons. I know it's a small sample size, but look at Zach Hamil. Hamil was drafted 8th overall by the Bruins in the 2007 draft. In his first two pro seasons, he played a grand total 1 game. There is no guarantee the young 21 year old center will make the team this year with the depth at the position. The Bruins were able to get a proven goal scoring Right Winger who is under contract for the next three seasons. That is a much better use of the #15 pick in the draft.

Make sure to check back to the site for all of your Boston Bruins off season and draft news and analysis. It looks like it's going to be a busy few days leading up to the draft. There are a ton of rumors flying around, and it would be ideal if they could also unload Tim Thomas.

Are you ready for the NHL Draft?

By Jim Ingram

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Well, it's almost here. Yes, I'm talking about the NHL draft. In case you didn't notice, the draft takes place this Friday night at the Staples Center in LA. Sorry Celtics fans. As of right now I haven't seen, read, or heard of a mock draft that doesn't have the Edmonton Oilers selecting Taylor Hall first overall. That means the Bruins are "stuck" with talented center Tyler Seguin. I have no doubt Seguin is going to be a franchise player, but personally I will feel disappointed without Taylor Hall.

Why? The Bruins don't need another center. What they need is a top notch goal scorer that plays the wing. I feel like the Bruins are left with no choice but to trade Savard or Bergeron. There are rumors that include Savard in a package being sent to Columbus in return for the 4th overall pick. I'd have no problem with this if it were true, but from what I've heard it isn't. I'd love to leave the draft with Seguin and Cam Fowler, a solid young defender being compared to Brian Leetch. I just don't see it happening. I guess what you have to do is understand that no matter what, the Boston Bruins are going to get a game changing player they can insert into the lineup from day one.

What do you think? Am I crazy?

Fantasy Baseball Friday: June 18th

By Jim Ingram

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Well, it's time to make a change of format for this weeks' blog. In case you've been living under a rock, you're well aware of the in flux of blue chip prospects making their MLB debuts over the past few weeks. What I'll do today is look at each player and let you know whether or not they are fantasy worthy for the rest of the season.

1. Steven Strasburg - Washington Nationals

We all know everything there is to know about the young phenom. He's certainly looked amazing in his first two starts, but those were against the Pirates and Indians. He gets his 3rd start today against the White Sox, so you can easily say he hasn't faced the 27' Yankees. In fact, the Indians are ranked 24th in average & 23rd in runs. The Pirates are 29th in average & last in runs, and the White Sox are 25th in average & 21st in runs. I have him on one of my teams, so I think he'll do just fine this season, but you can expect him to struggle after he makes his first trip through the NL. I think his command will help him greatly as he doesn't put himself into bad situations with free passes. Overall, I'd absolute want him on my team, but need to understand he's better suited to a #3 fantasy starter.

2. Buster Posey - San Fransisco Giants

Let's just say it's a good think catchers don't get fantasy points for their defense. While he's not ready yet to be in charge of a pitching staff, he is more than ready to hit at the major league level. The kid can flat out rake, and that's why the Giants brought him up. My guess is he'll struggle a bit, but will still end up as a top 5 fantasy catcher for the 2nd half of this season.

3. Mike Stanton - Florida Marlins

He was a beast at AAA, and the Marlins had no choice but to bring him up and replace Cameron Maybin. After a quick start in his first 4 games, he's gone hit less in the past three and is 0 for his last 12. I picked him up right away as depth for my outfield, but am already about to drop him. It scares me a bit looking at 13 strike outs in just 31 at bats, which is a whopping 42% K rate. He has all the earmarks of a great player, but he comes with such high expectations. The OF position is so deep this year with more than serviceable players, that he may be a reach and waste of a roster spot.

4. Pedro Alvarez - Pittsburgh Pirates

2 games, 0 hits, 6 at bats, 4 k's. Not a great start, but he's a great prospect for a reason. Despite the hype, the Pirates have done the right thing and slotted him in the 6th spot instead of smack dab in the middle of the order. He's a definite grab in deep leagues, as well as NL only. Look for him to wade through a few struggles before he finds himself later on in the season.

5. Carlos Santana - Cleveland Indians

As a Dodgers fan, it's hard to see Santana start so strongly for the tribe as Russell Martin stays stuck in neutral. I'd much rather have Santana behind the plate. While he's not going to be the offensive force Posey will be, he's won't be too far behind. He's a very solid hitter that will be a top 10 fantasy catcher the rest of the way. He's on a team that will allow him to play through some struggles, but also has another good young backstop in Lou Marson. Talk about an embarrassment of riches.