http://www.wcofs.com/en-usCopyright 2010info@wcofs.com.comWed Mar. 3, 2010 3:33:01 CSTThu Mar. 3, 2010 8:56:01 CSThttp://www.wcofs.com/site/baseballmafia/article/shawnchilds/freeagentspendingOne thing that bothered me about this past baseball season is the amount teams that went broke mid summer. I canĀ't understand it. Most top players will never run out of money. I donĀ't know if it is lack of game plan or they panic over a particular player that paints some teams in a corner. On the other side of the fence, I see too many teams that never spend enough money. Every team has different needs and there will be time to make some aggressive moves.

]]>Fri Feb. 2, 2010 9:44:23 CSThttp://www.wcofs.com/site/baseballmafia/article/shawnchilds/wcfbmock22310It's been awhile since I've been in the batter's box. Well sort of....I did my first ever WCFB mock draft. I actually had some butterflies when the gate opened. The clock for the draft was set at one minute. For a online draft, a minute is very fast and you didn't have a lot time to search the player cue. The draft was made up of players who are in the fantasy baseball industry and a few high stakes players.

]]>Wed Feb. 2, 2010 1:32:43 CSThttp://www.wcofs.com/site/baseballmafia/article/shawnchilds/redsox10The Red Sox don't look like the offensive power house of past years, but they will be loaded at starting pitching. The starting lineup has a chance to put up some runs, but David Ortiz has to find a way to be the elite hitter he once was.

]]>Wed Feb. 2, 2010 1:28:26 CSThttp://www.wcofs.com/site/baseballmafia/article/shawnchilds/yankees10The Yankees will be the favorites to win the World Series again this year. They traded for Curtis Granderson and Javier Vazquez in the off season. Granderson will enjoy the short right field porch as he hit 28 homers against righted handed pitching last season. He's a pull hitter and Yankee stadium will be the perfect park for him. They signed Nick Johnson to play DH. Johnny Damon is still a free agent, but he could end up play in New York again this season if he's willing to take less money.

]]>Wed Feb. 2, 2010 1:23:40 CSThttp://www.wcofs.com/site/baseballmafia/article/shawnchilds/padres10I spent last summer in San Diego. I remember sitting in the stands behind home plate. There was a lady sitting behind me that was so excited about Tony Gwynn Jr. and David Eckstein being on the team. I told her both players were stiffs and the Padres were wasting time putting them in their lineup. They were better off giving at bat to younger players and let them develop at the major league level. She gave me the old story of we only have a $35 million dollar payroll and we can't compete with the big boys with deep pockets. I pretty much told her that was horseshit. I thought the Padres had some nice young players and I liked some of their midsummer trades. I thought they had some key pieces and they were an improving team. We had some fun banter back and forth, but she kept beating me over my head with her program every time Gwynn and Eckstein got a hit. Of course I went to one of the highest scoring games of the year. Coming from Boston, I was really surprised the San Diego fans were happy to have two below average major leaguers on their team.

]]>Wed Feb. 2, 2010 1:19:22 CSThttp://www.wcofs.com/site/baseballmafia/article/shawnchilds/dodgers10The Dodgers have a rising super star in Matt Kemp. Last year Joe Torre didn't have a lot of faith in Kemp as he was batting way down the Dodgers lineup early in the year. For Kemp to be a 1st round selection this season, he really needs to hit in the top of LA's lineup. Los Angelos will score runs. James Loney and Andre Ethier are professional bats that haven't peaked yet. The Russell Martin decline last season is a concern. You hope steroids weren't the reason for his success in the past. Manny Ramirez's suspension last season has depressed his value this season. With Orlando Hudson leaving town, Ronnie Belliard resigned with LA. He will compete with Blake Dewitt for the 2B job. The Dodgers resigned Vincent Padilla. Jamey Carroll was added for infield depth. In looks like LA will sign Reed Johnson.

]]>Wed Feb. 2, 2010 1:15:19 CSThttp://www.wcofs.com/site/baseballmafia/article/shawnchilds/tigers10The Tigers look to be changing gears after signing Miguel Cabrera last season. Detroit made a big trade trying to get a younger talented pitching staff. They acquired Max Scherzer and Dan Schlereth from Arizona for Edwin Jackson. The starting lineup has a lot of question marks. They are too right handed. Magglio Ordonez and Carlos Guillen are in their mid 30's and starting to show a steep decline in their performance. Other than Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer, this team doesn't have a lot of juice going into the season. Rookie Scott Sizemore should be given the lead off job just based on lack of qualified candidates.

]]>Wed Feb. 2, 2010 1:09:35 CSThttp://www.wcofs.com/site/baseballmafia/article/shawnchilds/indians10If the Indians starting lineup is healthy, it might be able to score some runs. Grady Sizemore is returning from an elbow problem and surgery to repair an unstable abdominal wall. Travis Hafner hasn't been great since 2006. He's had shoulder surgery in 2008 and it appears he wasn't a 100% last season. Matt LaPorta had arthroscopic hip surgery in October. The recovery time is four to six months. He probably won't be ready to start the season. Cleveland's stud catching prospect Carlos Santana broke his hamate bone in his right hand in early December. He will miss 8 to 10 weeks. This injury will probably push his major league debut back a month or so. The only player the Indians have signed this off season is Austin Kearns. They signed him to a minor league contract.

]]>Wed Feb. 2, 2010 8:09:12 CSThttp://www.wcofs.com/site/baseballmafia/article/eddiegillis/eddie_gillis_mock_1On February 18th I completed my second draft of the year. The format was fifteen teams and picking thirty players. I got the 8th pick; a good spot should any runs start. My strategy going in was to get a balanced team, with at least one closer or maybe two depending on how the draft goes. I also like to keep an eye on my batting average, especially early in the draft. My plan is to get at least two or three stud pitchers in the first eight rounds. A stud pitcher in my mind is defined as a guy who can get 200 strike outs with good ERA and WHIP. I did this draft with my good friend Steve Head, who is coming with me to Vegas to be at the WCOFB Main Event.

]]>Sat Feb. 2, 2010 2:28:08 CSThttp://www.wcofs.com/site/baseballmafia/article/shawnchilds/mets10The Mets might have more question entering the season than Alex Trebek in a night of Jeopardy. Carlos Beltran had a mysterious knee surgery in early January. The Mets are claiming they didn't approve of the procedure. Beltran will miss 8 to 12 weeks. Jose Reyes had surgery to repair a torn hamstring tendon in October. Just the sound of the surgery will make you question his ability to steal bases in the future. Reyes needs no negative news in spring training and he has to be stealing bases with success. Johan Santana had bone chips removed from his left elbow in September. He had a similar surgery in 2003. Oliver Perez had scar tissue removed from his right knee in early September. John Maine had shoulder weakness which was caused by a nerve being pinched by scar tissue. Jeff Francoeur had surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left thumb. The Mets signed Jason Bay and Alex Cora. As of today, they still need a 1B and starting C. They had their eyes on Jose Molina and offered him a two year deal, but he decided to take less money and return to San Francisco. They added another question mark in Kelvin Escobar. Escobar had surgery to repair a torn labrum in July 2008. He's made one start in two years. New York signed Japanese power pitcher Ryota Igarashi. He will pitch out of the bullpen. They also signed two backup C's-Henry Blanco and Chris Coste.

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