Chase Utley
MLB Tickets - Rays Are Top Team after One Month of the Season
After the first month of the season, there are plenty of surprises in the baseball world, from aging starting pitchers like Jamie Moyer and Livan Hernandez tearing it up to the low payroll San Diego Padres leading the AL West. Surprises are also a theme among the top teams in the league, as well. Here's a look at the top five teams after a month of the season and how they've gotten there. (Note: based off May 10th standings).
5. San Francisco Giants, second place, NL West. A month ago, this would have been insane, but no longer. If Barry Zito is indeed rejuvenated, and it certainly appears he is, the Giants will be incredibly difficult to beat all season long. The Giants won 88 games last year with one of the worst offenses in the league due to the dominance of starting pitchers Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain. Add Zito into the mix with the strong pitching from fourth starter Jonathan Sanchez and the Giants are a legit threat to win the division and make some noise in the playoffs. They should also be in position to add a bat to their lineup before the trade deadline.
4. St. Louis Cardinals, first place, NL Central. With Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright atop their rotation, the Cardinals will almost certainly make the playoffs. They have the best player in the game in Albert Pujols and are seemingly the only real threat to knock out the Phillies in the postseason. With another solid team, they also have no problems helping the Cardinals sell <a href="http://www.stubhub.com/mlb-tickets/">MLB tickets</a>.
3. New York Yankees, second place, AL East. Even with Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira struggling this season, the Yankees still have one of the best offenses in the league. Derek Jeter has been Derek Jeter at the top of the lineup and second baseman Robinson Cano apparently is using the 2010 season to announce that he should be considered a superstar. Phil Hughes has looked great in a starting role and C.C. Sabathia gives the Yankees a legitimate ace atop their rotation. Even A.J. Burnett has been consistent and Brett Gardner is a nice fit for a team that needed some scrappy guys with speed. The Yanks are once again a legit threat to win the World Series.
2. Philadelphia Phillies, first place, NL East. Most would probably place the Yankees here, but the Phillies are all about the big picture. The Yanks appear to be the second best team in their division and also will have to compete all season long with a more competitive schedule than the Phillies. Even though the Phillies haven't played particularly well and have had spotty starting pitching outside of Roy Halladay, they were still two games up in the division on May 10th.
With shortstop Jimmy Rollins slated to come back very soon, the Phillies will only improve, which is a scary thought for the rest of the league. Halladay continues to be nothing short of spectacular and Chase Utley has been a monster out of the three-hole in their lineup. Jayson Werth is playing like a perennial all-star as well and the lineup is filled with solid players like Placido Palanco, Carlos Ruiz and Shane Victorino. Ryan Howard hasn't torn it up yet but his homeruns and RBIs are coming. Because of a relatively weak National League, the Phillies have the easiest road to the World Series and nothing this season has suggested that they won't be the favorites to make it back to the Fall Classic for a third straight season.
1. Tampa Bay Rays, first place, AL East. Most knew that the Tampa Bay Rays were talented going into the season, but this talented? In the toughest division in baseball due to the high payrolls and stacked rosters of the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees, the Rays have been easily the most impressive. It all begins with their starting rotation, as both David Price and Matt Garza are pitching like aces, though their number one starter really is James Shields. As of May 10th, Price, Garza and Shields all have a winning record and a WHIP below 1.40. Other starters Jeff Niemann and Wade Davis have also pitched well enough to keep them in plenty of games.
But the problem for the rest of the league is that the Rays also boast one of the most formidable lineups as well. Led by Evan Longoria, Carl Crawford and Jason Bartlett, the Rays had the third most runs in the entire league as of May 10th. If B.J. Upton and Carlos Pena start hitting the ball as well, look out. The Rays appear to have the starting pitching, lineup and bullpen to get them back to the postseason, where they will be a very tough out.
About the Author
This article about <a href="http://www.stubhub.com/mlb-tickets/">MLB tickets</a> was written by David James in association with <a href="http://www.stubhub.com/">StubHub</a>, a leader in the sports tickets, concert tickets, theatre tickets and special events tickets market.
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Learning from Fantasy Baseball 2009
Before the Major League Baseball (MLB) seasons starts, fantasy baseball players are starting to set up their drafts and leagues. Fantasy baseball is exploding over the years because of the people love the MLB and Fantasy Sports allow them to follow even closer. More and more people are joining the fun of it. In fact, I've read a news article about how women are becoming a part of the sports scene. I love fantasy baseball. I've already won some championships over the past years I've been playing. In fact, I've won a fantasy baseball league in 2009 which I have played with my colleagues at a fantasy baseball site called www.FantasyFactor.com.
I have mastered creating mock drafts. Most of the time, I look for a good fantasy baseball site and I compare and analyze their stats and rankings when making my draft. I am not a fantasy baseball expert but I do have a strategy in playing a fantasy baseball game. And that is the reason why I won my league in 2009. It has worked for me a few times so let me share to you some of my tips to winning a league.
First of all, you should know that Jose Reyes is the most overrated player in fantasy baseball. He is a 5 category fantasy player but his average, power, and RBI potential are not worth for a first round pick. A shortstop position is scarce so I pick Harley Ramirez on the first round pick. In the early draft, I would pick a power hitter that will hit for a tom of average, home runs, and RBIs. Albert Pujols is the most consistent hitter in the major leagues and I would pretty much take him than the other players. However, my absolute favorite spot in a fantasy draft in a 10 team league is the 6-8 spots and in a 12 team league I like the 8-10 picks. Don't worry, you can still get a wonderful player at the top because someone will probably pick on Reyes and I have seen Chase Utley go in the first round or in the early second round.
Last season, I often hear people question the fact I take pitcher so late during mock drafts. For me, pitchers are so much more volatile than position players. People with the last first round pick and the first second round pick have been consistently picking Johan Santana and Tim Lincecum back to back. Of course they are now going to have the best one two punch of any rotation in the league but for me, health among pitchers is much more of a concern than position players.
Like I said before I absolutely love doing fantasy drafts and playing against family and friends or complete strangers. If any of you who read this would be interested in starting a league for fun or to win cash prizes, then www.fantasyfactor.com is the best site for you.
About the Author
Fantasy Factor is a new company founded by fantasy sports experts, that offers one day fantasy sports contests that can be played for free or for guaranteed cash prizes.