Out of Leftfield

The 2010 fantasy football regular season is coming to an end. There are only a few more weeks before the playoffs start and leagues around the county will crown their champions.

It’s that time of year when owners look back on all their successes and mistakes.

Alright…mistakes.

I am no exception. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats (yes, I named my team after a Canadian team) sit in third place, and a playoff spot is almost a certainty.

And yet…I am not content.

Why am I not content? Three words.

Baltimore Ravens defense.

(Courtesy of AP)

It was draft day, and an interesting opportunity presented itself. I immediately seized it.

The Pittsburgh Steelers defense AND the Baltimore defense?

If there was a fantasy football version of Penthouse Forum, I’d send that in.

I was made in the shade (like this).

(Pete Atkinson/Getty Images)

All I would have to do would be to wait and see which one did better and flip the other one for a huge gain.

I thought it was to good to be true.

Turns out it was.

The first phase went off without a hitch. I felt like some sort of mastermind, sitting back and watching my brilliant plan unfold.

Then came week two.

I had started the Pittsburgh defense in week one, so I moved to phase two: play the other defense and see who does better.

I quickly got my answer.

Not only did the Ravens D fail to deliver, the Steelers D, sitting on my bench, threw up 26 points.

It was a defense beatdown.

(Guess which one Pittsburgh is.)

Week three yielded similar results, only this time Pittsburgh outscored Baltimore 18-3.

I decided that it was time to move in to phase 3: trade the lesser defense for something awesome.

Unfortunately, I failed to consider three things.

1. Everyone else noticed how poorly the Ravens D was doing.

2. No one else wanted them in the first place.

3. Trying to negotiate a trade with the other people in my league is like trying to convince a group of five-year-olds that the organic fruit snacks are just as good as Fruit by the Foot.

So now, here I am, two months later, and that same Baltimore defense sits on my bench, eating up a roster spot because I’m to proud to drop it.

Fantasy football is a game of pride, and in that aspect, I always win.

I always say that there are three Dodger games that are the best I ever attended, all from 2004.

First, there’s the Steve Finley walk-off grand slam game.

Second, there’s a Dodgers-Yankees game.

And third, there’s Jose Lima’s complete game against St. Louis in the 2004 NLDS.

Lima died of a heart attack early yesterday morning. Here’s the article at MLB.com:

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100523&content_id=10353540&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

Lima spent just one year with the Dodgers, but it was enough for him to leave a lasting impresssion.

Not only was he a great pitcher, he was a fan favorite as well.

And what wasn’t to love?

I remember watching him while he was in the dugout, when he would randomly start throwing baseballs into the stands.

I remember sitting by the Dodger bullpen, where Lima would lean up against the fence and just chat with whoever wanted to talk.

There aren’t a lot of players like him around anymore.

We’ll miss you Jose, and it will always be Lima Time in Los Angeles.

Andre Ethier has been the biggest offensive force in the National League, and possible the entire MLB, so far this season.

He’s hitting .392 (1st in MLB), with 11 home runs (1st in NL, 3rd in MLB), and 38 RBIs (1st in MLB).

And now he’s temporarily sidelined with a broken pinkie.

So the big question on every Dodger fan’s mind right now is “How long will he be out?”

The right answer: At least two weeks.

There’s absolutely no reason for him to rush his return. Take the two-week stint on the DL now instead of risking spending a month there later on.

While there may not be anyone in the Dodger lineup who can pick up the slack on their own, there are two guys who can do it together.

So take some time off, Andre.

Matt Kemp and Manny Ramirez will keep your seat warm.

So add another one to the list of hilarious injuries suffered by MLB players.

Pirates first baseman Garrett Jones missed Saturday’s game against the Dodgers because he had food lodged in his throat.

Apparently, Jones was eating after the game and had trouble swallowing a piece of food on Friday night, and after experiencing pain in his chest the next morning, decided to go to the hospital.

There they were able to dislodge the food, but Jones had to sit the day’s game out, and was not even available to pinch hit.

So what we can learn from this is that Garrett Jones needs to learn how to chew his food, and the Pirates have taken getting hurt to a whole new level.

This is a GREAT piece on Manny Ramirez by Ramona Shelburne from ESPNLosAngeles.com.

Here’s the link: http://sports.espn.go.com/los-angeles/columns/story?id=5042188

Really gets in to who Manny really is. Pretty interesting.

We’re about a week away from Opening Day 2010, as the long winter will finally give way to the Boys of Summer.

This season looks to be a good one, so here are the things you should be watching for…

Jason Heyward - There hasn’t been hype like the hype for this kid in a long time. The Braves new right fielder has generated some great expectations, and it will be interesting to see how he responds.

Whatever happens this year, however, it’s pretty clear that Heyward will soon be the face of the Braves franchise.

Dodgers rotation - This could be on of the most intriguing things of 2010. The Dodgers rotation to this point consists of Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley, Hiroki Kuroda, Vincente Padilla, and an unnamed fifth man.

The first point of intrigue will be who the fifth starter is. It seems to come down to Ramon Ortiz, Russ Ortiz or Charlie Haeger, who have all shined in their Spring Training appearances.

The rest of the season will be just as interesting, as Kershaw and Billingsley will attempt to become the aces that so many hope they can be, Kuroda will look for another solid season, and Vicente Padilla will try to show that he’s still got something left.

And speaking of the Dodgers…

Matt Kemp - Kemp is on his way to becoming the Dodgers next big superstar. The definition of a five-tool player, he is looking for his big breakout season.

With his ever improving power and speed, look for him to go 30/30 this year.

Joe Mauer - After signing for what is now the largest contract in Twins history, Joe Mauer has become the franchise player the people of Minnesota always hoped he would be. The question now is how will he respond?

Now that he doesn’t have to showcase in hopes of the great big giant contract he already has, will his numbers fall off at all? Or will he be the same old Mauer, tearing it up and garnering MVP votes like a madman?

San Francisco Giants - While they still don’t have a big impact bat in the middle of their lineup, the Giants made quite a few moves this offseason to improve their mediocre offense.

They locked up Freddy Sanchez, and added Mark DeRosa and Aubrey Huff to try to help out Pablo Sandoval and Benjie Molina in scoring some runs to back up their stellar pitching staff.

Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain and Barry Zito (who is still showing signs of improvement) will lead one of the best rotations in baseball as the Giants look to compete with the rival Dodgers for the top spot in the NL West.

Roy Halladay - The Phillies made on of the most head scratching moves of the offseason, acquiring Roy Halladay from the Blue Jays, while giving up Kyle Drabek and Cliff Lee in the process.

So now the question is how will Halladay do in the National League? Will it be worth it for the Phils, or will they look back on this as a huge mistake?

Stephen Strasburg - While it is already known that Strasburg will start the season in the minor leagues, it seems be a foregone conclusion that he will get some major league at some point this season. It’s just a matter of when.

Will he find himself called up midseason in a desperate effort for the Nationals to contend? Or, more likely, will he be called up in September when rosters expand, just to get some work?

Either way, it’s going to be interesting to watch him, and see how he does in a real major league setting.

While it wasn’t exactly huge news, one of the more interesting stories this offseason was the Dodgers signing of their former Cy Young Award winning closer, Eric Gagne.

Right away, there was speculation as to whether or not he’d be able to make a comeback, whether or not he could even be useful in any way.

Yesterday, we got our answer.

No, he cannot.

It seems like nothing, on the surface. A washed up pitcher gets released before the season starts. It’s not like anyone is surprised.

There’s more here, though.

This was a guy who signed for $500,000 with the team where he had his glory days. He was just making one last shot at one last hurrah.

He tanked in his spring training appearances, and accepted a demotion to the minor leagues.

But the Dodgers wouldn’t even keep him there. They considered him a burden even in their farm system.

How much lower can you get?

This is a guy who was on top of the world, taking baseball by storm. Now he can’t even get a job in his old team’s farm system.

Oh how the mighty have fallen. And hard.

It came out today that Rangers manager Ron Washington tested positive for cocaine during the 2009 season.

Here’s the story on ESPN.com: http://sports.espn.go.com/dallas/mlb/news/story?id=5003261

This is no small matter. Any drug use in sports, whatever the case, is always something to be concerned about.

It is worth noting, however, that the way Washington handled his situation is perhaps the best I’ve seen anyone handle drug allegations.

When he tested positive, he immediately offered to resign his position.

When Rangers president Nolan Ryan decided that he didn’t have to leave, Washington immediately entered the MLB’s drug rehab program.

Now that he has completed that, he is insisting that the MLB continue to drug test him on a regular basis.

See, THIS is how you handle this sort of thing.

You own up immediately, take responsibility, and then take the necessary steps to correct it.

True, the team waited to release this information, but you have to think that it was for the benefit of the team as a whole, and really, that’s something you have to consider.

It’s not a good idea to bring down the whole organization because of the actions of one individual.

Still, Washington has done all the right things.

You don’t wait until you retire. You don’t wait until it’s convenient for you.

You take your lumps and move on.