Rookie Roundup

On Yankee centerfielder Brett Gardner-"That," Swisher said, "is the fastest white dude I've ever seen."

White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen commented on 19 year old rookie sensation Dayan Viciedo after slugging an oppo dong off former White Sox pitcher Jon Garland-''The Cuban Tank has looked very good, and he played better third base [against Arizona],'' Guillen said. ''It will take a little time to get him better [defensively].''

Kenshin Kawakami has been trying to tap into his inner Greg Maddux after throwing 18 strikes in 29 pitches and notched one strikeout with no walks. "I was a big fan of his,” Kawakami said through an interpreter Friday. “I really wanted to become a pitcher like him. I tried to emulate his pitches, but realized it was almost impossible.”

Fantasy Fees

Between now and the draft, I'm going to do some posts that will inform everyone on rules and features of the league. And orientation of sorts. Today I'll cover the league fees.

The league entry fee is a standard $50. After you have drafted your team (and starting on Opening Day), you will be assessed a $0.50 fee for every player that you drop and a $0.50 fee for every player that you add. For example, if you have 3B Carney Lansford and you would like to replace him with free agent Matt Williams, that's gonna cost you $1.00.

Yes, you will be charged when a player of yours gets injured (so you may wanna think twice when you draft that slugger that seems to go on the DL a lot). So when Rondell White gets turf toe, it's gonna cost you $0.50 to put him on the injured list and another $0.50 when he comes off. Keep in mind, you don't have to put him on the injured list if you don't want to. But if you want/need roster space, the injured list is the way to go.

With any trade you make, you'll incur a $1.00 flat fee.

The "minors" option is a fun little feature this year in our fantasy league. I'm looking into this in more detail to see exactly what the deal is. As of now, it is my understanding that the players must be in the minor league. I expanded the rosters to allow for 5 minor league players AND will add the caveat that your minor league players will be automatic keepers after this season (if you so choose to keep them-that'll give you a little extra incentive to research who's on their way up). As of now, it'll cost $1 to move a player from the minors to your roster and will cost $1 to move a player from your roster back to "minors" status.

I'm sure you guys will have some questions so fire away.

Will Yu Be Watching

A great sub-plot to follow during the WBC is if Japanese phenom Yu Darvish will live up to the hype that follows him. Found an interesting quote online today-

“Darvish has better control than Matsuzaka,” Yoshii said. “You’d be hard-pressed to find an example over the course of a season where he got knocked out on walks. He has exceptional control of every pitch known to man except a knuckleball. Simple economics suggest that the Fighters, if they consented to the posting, would improve on the record $51 million fee collected by Matsuzaka’s former team, the Seibu Lions.

Also very interesting that Johnny Cueto agreed to pitch for the Dominican Republic in the WBC. Cincinnati cannot be too happy with that decision. Has anyone read about any other so-called phenoms that are getting the hype that Darvish is getting? I feel like the WBC is going to bore me so I need some reasons to stay focused on it.

Tricks Of The Trade

Just wanted to point out a few cool things about our new fantasy website (as I told Yankee Mike yesterday, it's pretty robust). When you get to the main fantasy page, scroll down and look on your right. There is an entire section dedicated to draft preperation (including a 119 page downloadable draft kit). I checked it out and it's really cool. There is also a "mock draft" option where you can actually practice your drafting skills with other CBS Sportsline fantasy players. If you haven't looked at it yet, take a few minutes (especially you, Ger, you need all of the help you can get).

Draft Order

I was playing around on the league page and I inadvertantly hit the "ok" button on the draft order (which triggered an e-mail to everyone notifying them of the draft order). I just wanted to re-iterate to everyone that the draft order has NOT been picked yet. I will do it (with several witnesses) a few weeks before the draft.

Draft Venue

Ger has been working on securing the venue for our 2009 PG Sportsworld Fantasy Baseball draft. As I mentioned yesterday, it seems like the Jefferson Tap is the best place to do it. Ger talked to someone at The Tap and we can reserve the upstairs complete with our own waitress.The reason for reserving a space is that March 21st is the first day of the second round of the NCAA basketball tourney, so bars may be crowded. As part of the deal, the server is guranteed a $75 gratuity for a 3 hour time period. So I wanted to run it by you guys before we booked it. So essentially, you would be paying for whatever you eat and/or drink and your share of the $75 tip. How does that sound to everyone?

Draft Chatter

Ok, this is a reminder to everyone that the live draft will be Saturday, March 21st at 1PM CST. You have hereby been notified over a monthy in advance, so be sure to put it on your calender. This date is set in stone and will not be changed.

For all of those in the Chicago area, I think we're gonna hold the draft at a bar downtown called Jefferson Tap (hopefully Chicago police will not beat the shit out of us and leave us for dead in the gutter). To those who haven't been there before, it's a nice little bar with free Wi-Fi, great food, and ice cold beer.

So if you can make it, be sure to leave a comment.

Market Watch

It's no secret that the market bottomed out for free agents as the offseason progressed. There's no better example than Bobby Abreu's $5M deal. So we turn to Manny, as the Dodgers enter camp without the slugger. All signs point to Manny eventually inking a deal with the Dodgers, but the question of how much still lingers. Who has the advantage here? Is it the Dodgers, who understand that Manny isn't going to get the money (or years) he wants in the open market? Or is it Manny, who understands that the Dodgers need an impact bat badly?

Surplus

3K and I were talking about Bobby Abreu signing with the California Angels yesterday so I thought I would bring up the subject. As 3K aptly pointed out, this deal makes little to no sense. The Angels have a plethora of outfield talent, and it's going to be interesting to see how all of these guys are used. Now, I understand that the Angels lost a left-handed bat in Garret Anderson, and Abreu certainly fills that void (and at $5M, at a very good price). But the Angels have a lot of money tied up with their outfielders, and it seems as if Arte Moreno is hording.

It's clear that Reggie Willits is the odd-man out here. Torri Hunter has center locked up, Vlad in right, and Juan Rivera in left field, with Gary Matthews, Jr at DH (obviously Hunter and Vlad will see some at-bats in the DH spot). Now, with Abreu in the mix, it seems to me there's gonna be a roving substitute situation here (although watching a guy like Matthews, Jr. with his $9M salary sitting every 3rd day seems like a waste, doesn't it?).

Any thoughts on how the Angels handle this?

Very Funny

A-Roid

Ok, Yankee haters, have at it. Let's hear it.

A few things here-A-Rod was part of a list of 104 players that reportedly tested positive for steroids. I'm curious to know who the other 103 players are. Big Papi? Curt Schilling? Jorge Posada? Pedro Martinez? Let's hear those suggestions! Amazing that union hack Gene Orza was running around warning players when testing was going to happen.

Through all of this, I keep thinking about Greg Maddux. Let's face it, the guy never used steroids (he looks like your out of shape uncle who eats all of the macaroni salad at the family BBQ every year). This guy simply dominated during the steroid era. That speaks volumes.

For all who doubt the MLB Network, this is their coming out party. They were right on top of this, and are providing up to the minute coverage. I am officially boycotting ESPN (because quite frankly, they don't give baseball it's due).

Will this change your strategy of drafting A-Rod to your fantasy team come draft day??

I'm liking Jose Canseco more and more every day. Who's with me?