First things first:  To my colleagues at GSI, I haven’t posted as frequently lately because my wife gave birth on Jan. 5th to our first child—a daughter named Grace Elizabeth.  If anyone wants to view pictures of her you can click on the link here:  http://www.our365.com/webnursery/webnursery/Baby/BabyPageDirect.aspx?CID=0018554313

But like the USPS, neither rain, nor sleet, nor snow, nor 9-day old newborns can keep me from my posts.

Not to rip off my colleague, Dan “The Man” Clasgens, but I figure if he can start looking forward to next year’s fantasy football draft, then certainly I, host of Fantasy Fastball on GetSports Radio, can start looking at this year’s fantasy baseball draft.

We will assume that it is a 12-team, 5x5 roto league with snake draft, and that the owners playing with you are not fantasy retarded.  I’ll post the first three rounds in the next few days, beginning with Round 1 now.

A couple of quick notes.  First, I am ranking them as of now.  Things my change between the time Spring Training begins and your draft day.  Second, just like I want to get a couple of studs to anchor my squad in fantasy football, I do the same in the first two rounds of fantasy baseball.  By “studs”, I mean a five-category player—can be either a dominant position player or dominant pitcher.  Third, and I learned my lesson the hard way last season, forget about position scarcity.  Talent is all that matters.

Here we go:
1. A-Rod:  Even on a down year (2 seasons ago) his numbers are mind boggling

2. Jose Reyes:  Speed is the hardest thing to find.  70+ SB’s and 20 HR potential is too good to pass up.

3. Hanley Ramirez:  I worry about his runs scored with the lineup the Fish are going to put out there.  But he could easily give you a 30+ HR/40+ SB season.

4. Johan Santana:  Some might say that this is entirely too high to take a pitcher.  But I’m evoking the Antonio Gates rule.  Santana is so much better than every other pitcher right now it’s ridiculous.  And he’ll be traded to a team that will be able to field a better lineup than the Twinkies, which will result in more wins.

5. Miguel Cabrera:  Trade to Comerica will send his HR totals skyrocketing.  Rumor has it that he’s working out and getting into shape more so than ever.  Will also have a much better lineup in front of him to drive in runs.

6. Matt Holliday:  .340/36/137/120 last season.  Still has same lineup—minus a worthless Kaz Matsui.  Still plays majority of games in Coors Field.  Any questions?

7. Man-Ram:  After a disappointing season last year (and I use that term loosely), rumor has it that Ramirez has taken a house in Phoenix to work out religiously at API (Athletes Performance Institute).  If he shows up in better shape than ever, he gets a bump in the ranks.  He also is in a contract year.

8. David “Big Papi” Ortiz:  Papi put up his worst power numbers since 2003 last year.  But it was largely due to the fact that he was playing on only one good leg due to a cartilage issue in his right knee.  Even on one leg, he managed 35 HR/117RBI/116R.  If the repaired knee looks good in Spring Training he, like Man-Ram, moves up the ranks.

9. David Wright:  This guy is in his prime right now.  He still has Reyes getting on base ahead of him to drive in runs, and unless something drastic changes soon with the Mets rotation, they will have to continue to outslug their opponents.  He’s as big a lock for 30HR/100RBI/100R as there is next season.

10. Albert Pujols:  I know, I know.  It has to be sacrilege to put one of the greatest, non-juiced, hitters of our era this low.  But it’s not due to Alberto.  It is his team.  Look at the putrid, with a P, lineup they are going to field next season.  Albert will still have his HR totals, don’t worry, but who the hell is he going to drive in?

11. Jimmy Rollins:  NL MVP only 11th?  Yep.  His speed makes him a late first-rounder.  But he never crossed the 30 HR plateau until last year.  I see him dropping back down into the 25-28 range this season.  That’s not shabby, don’t get me wrong.  But it doesn’t make him a high first round selection.

12. Josh Beckett:  This might be a bit off the board for some at this point.  But here’s the thing.  If you have this pick, then you get the next immediate one as well (snake draft, remember?).  So you can either take a dominant 20-game winner who has the same team next season like Beckett now, then a power hitting position player next.  Or vice-versa.  I always err on the side of pitching.

Let me know what you think.  And be sure to dial in The Fantasy Fastball program on Get Sports Radio as the season approaches.

Now that that's out of the way, could the Jags have made any more mistakes to help out the Pats (who don't need much help)?  Were you as convinced as I was that the Garrard TD pass video was going to be analyzed more than the Zapruder film if the Pats lost?  Was last night the last time we'll see Shaun Alexander in the playoffs?  Do the Chargers have a chance if Antonio Gates doesn't play today?  Can the Cowboys hold off the Giants with a semi-healthy T.O.?

It's all about you, make your calls.

For me and the other two diehard tennis fans in the world, here's a quick preview of the men's draw for the first grand slam of 2008 (quicker women's preview: Serena over Justine Henin in the finals, Sharapova to lose in the 2nd round to Lindsay Davenport, Ana Ivanovic to pose a serious threat to Sharapova as the resident hot chick tennis player):

First quarter of the draw

Since Roger Federer is something like 245-1 against the rest of the players in this quarter, he should get to the semis with no problem.  Fernando Gonzalez, last year's runner up who also beat him in Shanghai last year, is capable of some great tennis, but could easily flame out early.  Australian Chris Guccione, who already has a title in 2008, will have a serious home court advantage over him if they meet in the 2nd round.  American James Blake has a pretty favorable draw, but in recent years he hasn't shown anything against Federer, so his ceiling is only so high.  An intriguing first round matchup to watch will be when 5'6" Fabrice Santoro goes against 6'7" John Isner.  Young power hitters Juan Monaco, Tomas Berdych, and Marin Cilic could impress for a couple rounds.

Second quarter of the draw

The high seed in this quarter, Novak Djokovic, really needs to get off to a good start this year to justify his #3 world ranking.  Unfortunately for him, he's also in the most loaded quarter of the draw.  If he can get through likely 3rd & 4th round matches against Dmitry Tursunov and hometown boy Lleyton Hewitt, he'll have had a good tournament.  David Ferrer had a great finish to 2007, and if he gets past Argentinian upstart Juan Marin Del Potro in the 2nd round, he could make a deep run.  Anything's possible with David Nalbandian; after winning two Masters Series tourneys to end 2007, he injured his back, so no one really knows what to expect.  The marquis first round match pits young Latvian Ernests Gulbis against Russian veteran Marat Safin, who's equally likely to play a masterpiece as he is to drop his shorts at midcourt.

Third quarter of the draw

Everyone's favorite rumored match fixer, Nikolay Davydenko, seemed to be worn down by all the attention to the story last year.  He's got a difficult enough draw that he's a prime candidate for an early upset.  If he slips, journeyman Swiss player Stanislas Wawrinka should make it through to the final 16.  The rest of this quarter is filled with players itching for a breakout Slam.  Richard Gasquet and Mikhail Youzhny, both of which have been to a Slam semi before, would be considered the favorites to get through.  Brit Andy Murray could pose a threat as well, but no one really knows how healthy he is mentally and physically, plus he has a tough first round match against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.R

Fourth quarter of the draw

Rafael Nadal looked broken down at the end of last year, but he was a finalist at last week's final warmup tournament, and his road to the quarters is Charmin soft.  Andy Roddick has a real opportunity to erase doubts about his game with a deep run.  The American tennis media will go nuts over his probable 2nd round match against prodigy Donald Young.  Mardy Fish could break out if he gets his head together, but a 2nd round match against Tommy Robredo is going to bring back memories of his disastrous match against him at the U.S. Open.

Predicted final four: Federer vs. Ferrer, Youzhny vs. Roddick

Predicted champion: Federer over Roddick