Last week we picked apart the American League all-star voting. Well, this week we will look at the National League, and after last night the starters have all been selected (aside from pitchers). You ready?

First base
Leader: Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals
Mike’s pick: Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals. Well, this one is a no-brainer. Is it possible that Albert gets better with age? Yes, and his numbers border on staggering. 81 games in, he’s batting .336 with 31 homers and 82 RBI and a slugging percentage of .748. That projects to 62 homers and 164 runs batted in. What’s more, dude has a .993 fielding percentage. There is little doubt Pujols is the best player in the game, and he gets to flaunt it in front of his hometown crowd a week from Tuesday.

Second base
Leader: Chase Utley, Philadelphia Phillies
Mike’s pick: Chase Utley, Philadelphia Phillies. This one is also a no-brainer that the voters got correct, though as a Mets fan it pains me to say that. Utley has 17 homers, 54 RBI, he’s batting .303 with 16 doubles and a .980 OPS—all unbelievable numbers for a second baseman. This guy is a gamer.

Shortstop
Leader: Hanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins
Mike’s pick: Hanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins. This is getting to be a trend, but the numbers in the National League don’t seem to lie, do they? Hanley is batting .344 with 13 homers and 58 RBI, 26 doubles, 12 stolen bases and a .972 OPS. By comparison, he is hitting 119 points higher than JJ Hardy and 132 points higher than the slumping Jimmy Rollins. Case closed.

Third base
Leader: David Wright, New York Mets
Mike’s pick: Mark Reynolds, Arizona Diamondbacks. Wright was leading the league in batting for quite a while, and he’s currently hitting .333 but with just 5 homers and 42 RBI. By comparison, Reynolds has clubbed 22 home runs with 57 RBI while batting a respectable .271. At a power position, I’m giving the nod to the guy barely anyone gets to see play.

Catcher:
Leader: Yadier Molina, St. Louis Cardinals
Mike’s pick: Brian McCann, Atlanta Braves. This is close, because Yadier’s brother Bengie has 10 homers and 46 RBI for the Giants, but McCann is batting .311 with 8 home runs and 33 driven in, with 15 doubles and a respectable .988 fielding percentage.

Outfield
Leaders: Raul Ibanez, Philadelphia Phillies
Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers
Carlos Beltran, New York Mets
Mike’s picks: Raul Ibanez, Philadelphia Phillies
Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers
Brad Hawpe, Colorado RockiesIbanez is having a career season, batting .312 with 22 homers and 59 RBI, and Braun just continues to rake, with 16 home runs, 58 driven in and a .326 average. But Beltran, while he plays in the biggest media market and makes mega-bucks, is not going to get my all-star nod over Brad Hawpe. Beltran is hitting .336, but has just 8 homers and 40 RBI. Hawpe is hitting .328 with 13 homers and 56 runs batted in, 25 doubles and a stunning .993 OPS. If Manny Ramirez was playing most of the season, he’d probably be on this list, but I can’t consider a guy who’s only played 28 games, regardless of why he missed all that time.

Starting pitcher
As you all know, pitchers are chosen by the managers and will be announced this Sunday.
Mike’s pick: Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants. Last year’s NL Cy Young winner got off to a slow start, but has been mowing hitters down lately, to the tune of 8-2 with a 2.37 ERA and league-leading 132 strikeouts with just 28 walks in 114 innings. Arizona’s Dan Haren is a close runner-up, with a 7-5 record for a crappy D-Backs’ team, and a league low 2.19 ERA with 113 K’s and 0.81 WHIP.

Relief pitcher
Mike’s pick: Heath Bell, San Diego Padres. When this former Met helped christen Citi Field by mowing down his ex-teammates in April, I thought it was just a phase. But dude leads the NL in saves with 22, and is 3-1 with a 1.34 ERA and 36 strikeouts in 33 innings of work. And here’s the best stat of all—Bell has saved or won 74% of his team’s wins. If he keeps that up, Bell will contend for the NL Cy Young and even garner some MVP votes.

The Chicago Tribune is speculating that the Giants could make a push to acquire Cubs first baseball Derrek Lee. The paper notes that San Fran’s pitching is good enough to keep them in contention, but the team desperately needs a big bat and Lee could be a viable option given that Chicago has a couple of replacements for him in Micah Hoffpauir and Jake Fox.

While rumors are definitely fun to discuss, this one looks like it has no teeth. The Cubs haven’t given any indication that they want to deal Lee and even if they have considered it, he’d still have to waive his no-trade clause. (And why would he waive it to go to a team like the Giants?)

The Giants make an easy target in all of this because yes, they do need a bat. Aaron Rowand, Pablo Sandoval, Bengie Molina, Randy Winn and Juan Uribe don’t exactly strike the fear of God into opposing pitchers. But GM Brian Sabean has to be smart here and even though San Fran is playing well, it’s probably not worth it for the Giants to trade young arms (which they’ve got plenty of) so that they can put a band-aid on a deep gash.

Now, if a situation comes up and a club is willing to part with a young bat in order to get a couple of arms, then all bets are off. If the Giants can get a young, productive bat this season that could also add to their rebuilding process, then Sabean would be a fool not to jump on the opportunity. But how often do clubs make young bats available?

The Giants have already been linked to the Marlins’ Dan Uggla and the Nats’ Adam Dunn. Now Lee’s name has been throw into the mix and while it would be tempting for Sabean to add a bat to his weak lineup, none of the aforementioned names are going to help the Giants win a World Series this year so why bother? Why sacrifice the future for half a season?

We’ll see if this rumor grows any legs, but I hardly doubt it will.

1. Nice start for Josh Beckett
This season hasn’t gone the way of the ace so far, with CC Sabathia, Cliff Lee, Justin Verlander and Tim Lincecum all struggling for their respective teams. But one No. 1 that didn’t struggle in his ’09 debut was Boston’s Josh Beckett, who fanned 10 in the BoSox’s 5-3 victory over the Rays on Tuesday. You hate to make claims that a pitcher is already in midseason form after only one outing, but Beckett’s two-hit, one-run effort against Tampa was impressive.

2. Speaking of Tim Lincecum…
Boy did he struggle yesterday for the Giants. But the good news for San Fran and the reining NL Cy Young winner is that his velocity wasn’t down, it just looked like he had a major case of the yips in his Opening Day debut. He looked too pumped up from the start and just never settled down. Fortunately, Aaron Rowand, Bengie Molina, Travis Ishikawa and the rest of the G-Men offense helped Lincecum out as SF romped the Brewers 10-6. Huh, what a concept – the Giants offense bailing out the pitching for once…who would have thought?

3. Dombrowski better be taking heat today in Detroit
In the offseason, Tigers’ GM Dave Dombrowski’s answer to solving the bullpen issues in Detroit was signing former Arizona closer Brandon Lyon instead of pursuing other avenues like J.J. Putz (who is now a setup man for the Mets). At least for one day, the decision backfired as Lyon blew Edwin Jackson’s (7.1, 2 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 4 K) gem in Toronto by giving up three runs on three hits as the Jays knocked off the Tigers 5-4. Granted, Lyon has plenty of time to bounce back but if he doesn’t, the Tigers will be left with mental midget Fernando Rodney to close games, who didn’t necessarily earn the role this spring with a 7.00 ERA. Considering Joel Zumaya may never pitch again due to freak injuries and Nate Robertson (who Dombrowski just gave a 3-year, $21 million deal in January of ’08) is pissed about being taken out of the starting rotation, Dombrowski has quite a mess brewing in Detroit.

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I know this guy (I’ll stop short of calling him a friend but wouldn’t hesitate to pick up the phone if he called) that at the start of all the major sporting seasons will throw out his list of “sleeper teams� to watch out for.

What’s funny about this guy is that he knows if he’s wrong he’ll never be called out because hey, they were just sleeper teams anyways right? But if he’s right, well hell, he’ll look like some kind of sports sleeper team Nostradamus.

This is the same guy that’ll pick a No. 16 seed to beat a No. 1 every year in the March Madness Tournament, so on the rare chance it happens he’ll have the opportunity to say that he called the upset of a lifetime. The funny thing is that he would have been wrong the previous 34 years of predicting 16’s over 1’s, but that would be beside the point.

Anyway, this piece is dedicated to him – the “Sleeper Team Guy.� For fans, there’s nothing like predicting a perennial loser (i.e. the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays) to rise from the ashes and make a postseason run no matter what sport it is. And with Opening Day right around the corner, I think it’s a perfect time to hand out some potential sleeper candidates of my own.

Below are five deep sleepers to make a postseason run this year in baseball. Most pundits assume that none of the five will finish better than third in their respective divisions, which is why I can get away with calling these teams “deep sleepers.� If any of them make the playoffs, I’ll wax poetically about it in my sleeper teams piece next year. If none even sniff a postseason berth, then in honor of “Sleeper Team Guy� don’t expect me to admit I was wrong. Yeah, that’s right – accountability is for losers.

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Offseason Movement: The G-Men added a solid piece to their starting rotation in former Cy Young-winner Randy Johnson. The club also signed free agent Edgar Renteria to play shortstop, and added Jeremy Affeldt and Bob Howry in hopes to strengthen their bullpen. Rich Aurilia and Josh Phelps were given minor league contracts, although Phelps was already reassigned to minor league camp.

Top Prospect: Madison Bumgarner, LHP
Who would have thought that the farm system that produced Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Brian Wilson and Jonathan Sanchez would have a pitcher as its top prospect? While catcher Buster Posey, corner infielder Angel Villalona and starter Tim Alderson deserve mention here, Bumgarner earns the Giants’ top prospect tag for his “ace� potential. While he isn’t expected to take Lincecum’s No. 1 spot any time soon, Bumgarner could turn out to be a San Fran’s No. 2 in the next couple seasons. He dominated his first full year in the minors after being selected in the first round out of high school, posting a 1.46 ERA in A-ball. He has a fastball that reaches 97 mph and once he develops his secondary pitches, Bumgarner should make his first big league appearance in no time.

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The Twins are unsure when catcher Joe Mauer will be able to return to the field, but they know it probably won’t be by Opening Day.

Update: Mauer has pretty much ruled himself out for Opening Day, which has been speculated about but something no one with the club wanted to address. Mauer admitted that it’s, “frustrating,� that it has taken so long to heal and that he’s been unable to learn why he has soreness there in the first place. Will add quotes later.

When asked if it’s doubtful that he would be ready for Opening Day, he said: “Yeah, I just have to get healthy. I don’t think I’m ready to get out there and play any games. I know it’s getting closer. I really don’t know if I’m going to be there or not.�

Smith said the club had reached out to specialists in the Twin Cities a few weeks ago in addition to sending Mauer to see a highly-regarded specialist in Baltimore. A source with knowledge of Mauer’s case said the specialist is based at Johns Hopkins University.

What’s still not known is when Mauer will get back on the field (one week? two? more?). While the Twins haven’t been told that Mauer’s condition is a long-term or chronic problem, no one knows how fast the medication will reduce the inflammation. With Opening Day just over two weeks away, the Twins probably will have to look at prospects Drew Butera or Jose Morales to support veteran Mike Redmond at the position until Mauer is ready to play.

“There’s not a timetable right now to say when he is going to be on the field,� Smith said. “This is the right treatment for now. We have to get the inflammation down before we turn him loose.�

Mauer could be a late round steal in your fantasy draft if other owners are petrified of his injury situation. He would obviously be a risk, but a risk worth taking. He would actually pair up nicely with a guy like Bengie Molina, who you could snag in the final couple of rounds while everyone else is filling out their bench. You could get the most out of Molina (who typically starts well but fades after the All-Star Break) and then once Mauer is healthy (presuming he does eventually get healthy), dump Molina on a desperate owner in need of a catcher.

Just a thought.

The Twins and Giants have emerged as potential candidates for free agent Pudge Rodriguez.

The new possibilities, Minnesota and San Francisco, were identified by a source with a National League team in the bidding.

The Twins’ interest may depend on the health of star catcher Joe Mauer, who’s had a back issue early in camp. The Giants have Bengie Molina to catch, and he’s even penciled in as their cleanup hitter, but Pudge could get games at first base and third base in San Francisco, which is planning to employ youngsters Travis Ishikawa and Pablo Sandoval at those positions, respectively.

The Marlins play only 15 minutes from Rodriguez’s home, but they also like their young catcher, John Baker. The Astros’ catchers are struggling this spring, but they haven’t been very aggressive so far in their pursuit of Pudge, who’s played superbly for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic, hitting .545 with two home runs.

The Twins make sense because Mauer’s health is a concern. But the Giants’ interest in Pudge for anything more than a backup catcher would be asinine. He’s never played third base and has limited experience at first. He obviously can still hit (he went 4 for 4 with two dingers the other night while playing for Puerto Rico in the WBC), but it doesn’t make any sense for the Giants to sign another crusty old vet to take at bats away from Pablo Sandoval, Travis Ishikawa and John Bowker at the corners. They already have one of those in Rich Aurillia.

All 2009 Fantasy Articles | 2009 Position Rankings

There’s an unwritten rule among intelligent fantasy football drafters that goes a little something like this: Don’t draft a quarterback before Round 5. That’s because unless you land Peyton Manning, there’s not a huge difference between the No. 2 rated quarterback and the No. 8.

A similar rule can be applied to catchers in fantasy baseball. Chances are if you selected Victor Martinez (the No. 1 rated catcher in most draft rankings in 2008) early in your draft last year, you punched a whole through one of your walls by the All-Star Break.

If you selected a guy like Joe Mauer in the fourth or fifth round, you probably were quite satisfied by his .328-9-85-98 production. But what if we told you that you could have had taken Bengie Molina much later and still wound up with .292-16-95-46 production out of your catcher spot? Sure, you would give up runs and sacrifice average, but you almost doubled your home runs and gave your RBI numbers a boost as well.

What we’re saying is – don’t overvalue the catcher position. Let someone else jump on Brian McCann’s potential or Russel Martin’s stolen base production while you’re concentrating on bolstering the other positions that don’t have the amount of depth that the backstops do.

One of the more underrated and overlooked stories in sports right now is the battle going on with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Manny Ramirez. Manny and his agent Scott Boras want at least a five year contract, while the Dodgers want Manny and his agent Scott Boras to look up “realistic� in the dictionary and get back to them.

The Dodgers’ standoff is admirable; finally a club is willing to stand up to a player that probably won’t be worth what he’s asking for in the long run. Manny is a weakness in the outfield, is known for quitting on plays and even worse, quitting on his team. But the guy is still one of the best hitters in the game and given how weak the NL West should be again, the Dodgers would be instant favorites to win the division if they can re-up with Ramirez.

But another battle brewing under the surface is the one between the Dodgers and Giants. San Fran has shown interest in Ramirez, but has balked at his asking price and reports state that they’re no longer a potential suitor. But does anyone truly believe that the G-Men are taking themselves out of the running and just handing Manny over to their rivals (the frontrunners for Ramirez) at a discounted price? Not a chance.

The Giants are several bats away from competing for a World Series title or even an NLCS berth. But they’re seemingly one big bat away from at least competing in the NL West and the postseason. Their pitching staff is solid and they have enough decent hitters in Bengie Molina, Aaron Rowand, Randy Winn and Edgar Renteria (assuming his bat returns to form now that he’s back in the NL) to be a contender if they can sign Ramirez.

The problem is that after they chose not to re-sign Barry Bonds, Brian Sabean and company pledged to rebuild. Of course Sabean then went out and signed Molina, Dave Roberts and Rich Aurilia – all players well into their 30s – so the Giants can’t use the rebuilding excuse as the only reason not to sign Manny. Still, the team finally has chemistry again and tossing a personality like Ramirez into the mix could ruin an otherwise drama-less atmosphere in the clubhouse. And for what? A shot to maybe contend in the West and then lose in the postseason?

The Manny Ramirez battles have only begun and it’ll be interesting to see who cracks first. Ramirez could get tired of waiting for the Dodgers to offer him a long-term contract and take one of their initial proposals for 2 or 3 years. Worried about the Giants making a move, the Dodgers could also start to get antsy and cave to Boras’s demands. Or the Giants, in fear of wasting good pitching for another year, could seize the moment and put the power hitter smack dab in the middle of their lineup.

I’m sticking with my prediction of a few months ago: Manny will return to the Dodgers. The Giants are too freaked out about another Barry Zito-deal and will stick to their rebuilding plan. I imagine L.A. retains Ramirez with a 3-year contract.

Rumor has it that the San Francisco Giants are quietly making a play for free agent Manny Ramirez.

Acquiring Ramirez would come with a number of headaches — from simply having the mercurial slugger on their roster to likely having to trade one of their incumbent outfielders (Randy Winn, Aaron Rowand, Dave Roberts). But all in all, he’d probably be worth it for a team that isn’t all that far from seriously contending. They play in a soft division where 85 wins could easily equal a playoff berth.

That’s especially true when you consider three factors: (1) the market for Ramirez is severely depressed because of the number of all-hit, no-field corner bats on the market, (2) signing him would simultaneously improve the Giants’ offense and weaken the rival Dodgers and (3) it would save GM Brian Sabean from having to engineer a complex trade for a bat that would cost him one of his top young pitchers like Jonathan Sanchez.

I tossed the idea of the Giants being potential sleepers in the Manny Ramirez sweepstakes in early December and as long as they don’t go ridiculous with the length of the contract, I think it would be a great move for club in desperate need of a bat.

As the article suggests, the Giants aren’t that far away from competing because they have such a solid pitching staff, headed by NL Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum. But their lineup is comprised of roll players and lacks major pop. Adding Manny would instantly make Bengie Molina, Randy Winn (if Manny doesn’t push him out) and Aaron Rowand better, and if younger players Pablo Sandoval, Fred Lewis (if Manny doesn’t push him out) and Travis Ishikawa can continue to develop, the lineup would certainly be good enough to win the NL West.

It’ll be interesting to see if the G-Men can steal the Dodgers’ most coveted free agent.