2009 NFL Preview: #27 Cleveland Browns

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Offseason Additions: Eric Barton (LB); Kenyon Coleman (DE); Abram Elam (S); Floyd Womack (OT); C.J. Mosley (DE); Robert Royal (TE); John St. Clair (OT); Mike Fuerry (WR); Corey Ivy (CB).

Offseason Losses: Kellen Winslow Jr. (TE); Sean Jones (S); Kevin Shaffer (OT); Andra Davis (LB); Willie McGinest (LB); Joe Jurevicius (WR); Travis Daniels (CB); Daven Holly (CB); Jason Wright (RB); Antwan Peek (LB).

Player to Watch: James Davis, RB.
People outside of Cleveland just said to themselves, “James who?” The rookie sixth round pick out of Clemson wasn’t supposed to challenge Jamal Lewis for the Browns’ starting running back job, but that’s exactly what he has done to this point. Cleveland’s coaching staff has reportedly been impressed by Davis’s speed, elusiveness and aggressive running style. But perhaps most importantly, the Browns are thrilled with the way he’s learned how to pick up the blitz, which is a craft most rookie running backs struggle with. To date, Davis has compiled a 7.8-yard per carry average in preseason, while Lewis has only mustered a paltry 2.6 YPC. If he doesn’t flat out take the starting job away from Lewis, Davis will certainly split carries this season and could emerge as the Browns’ every down back in the very near future.

Team Strength: Just as it was in 2007 when the Browns came up just shy of a playoff berth, the offensive line will be a strength for Cleveland this season. Even though some say that his play fell off last season compared to his dazzling rookie campaign, Joe Thomas anchors a unit that also features one of the league’s best guards in Eric Steinbach. The Browns also selected the top center prospect in this year’s draft in Alex Mack, who has already beaten out Hank Fraley to become a starter. Neither Floyd Womack nor John St. Clair is a superstar at their positions, but both have starting experience and are versatile.

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Five Deep Sleeper Teams for the ’09 MLB Season

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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2009 MLB Preview: #23 Texas Rangers

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Offseason Movement: The Rangers signed a bunch of used-to-be’s to minor league contracts, including OF Andruw Jones, SS Omar Vizquel and pitchers Kris Benson, Derrick Turnbow and Brendan Donnelly. Truth be told, all of these players could wind up helping Texas in some way this season save for Jones, who has had a brutal spring and most likely won’t be kept.

Top Prospect: Derek Holland, LHP
Neftali Feliz, who the Rangers got from the Braves in the Mark Teixeira trade a couple years ago, deserves mention here as well. But Holland’s dazzling 2008 season in the minors (14-2, 2.05 ERA in 29 starts) gives him the nod over the 19-year old Feliz. Holland, who is Texas’s Nolan Ryan Minor League Pitcher of the Year, probably won’t make the Opening Day roster this season, but he could be called up by mid-summer if he continues to dominate the minor league hitters.

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2009 Fantasy Baseball Preview: Third Basemen

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Here is everything you need to know about the depth at the third base position these days: On CBS Sports’ cheat sheet for the top players at each position, they list 41 starting pitchers, 25 relief pitchers, 67 outfielders, 25 first basemen, 25 second basemen, 25 shortstops, 30 catchers…and 15 third basemen. Fif, teen. But wait, it actually gets worse: of those 15 third basemen, two are full-time first basemen (Kevin Youkilis, Miguel Cabrera) one is a full-time catcher (Russell Martin), and one played nearly 100 games at DH (Aubrey Huff). In other words, just over a third of all the teams in Major League Baseball have a third baseman worth drafting. And they include Ryan Zimmerman and Edwin Encarnacion as two of those 11 players, meaning even that number is padded.

What this means for you, gentle reader, is that assuming Jose Reyes, Hanley Ramirez and Albert Pujols are no longer on the board, you are a stone cold fool if you don’t draft either David Wright or Alex Rodriguez at your earliest opportunity, and you could even be excused for drafting Wright or A-Rod ahead of the other three. (Don’t let this whole ‘steroids pariah’ hoopla scare you; A-Rod’s gonna put up crazy numbers this year.) Almost overnight, third base has become a fantasy wasteland, so you’d be wise to snag a stud third baseman if you can, especially now that Ryan Braun has lost his 3B eligibility and Troy Glaus decided to go under the knife at the 11th hour. But even when the big names are off the board, don’t panic; there are some players that can keep your fantasy team from having a smoking hole in the ground where third base used to be.


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2009 Fantasy Baseball Preview: First Basemen

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If you do a detailed search for rankings of first basemen for your 2009 fantasy league, the only consistent thing you’ll see is: 1. Albert Pujols, STL.

After King Albert, first basemen ranked 2 through 7 is a toss up. Some fantasy pundits believe Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera is the next best 1B after Pujols, while others still feel that Philadelphia’s Ryan Howard deserves the No. 2 spot. One of the Yankees’ big offseasons signings, Mark Teixeira, is also getting some love behind Pujols, while Milwaukee’s Prince Fielder, Minnesota’s Justin Morneau and San Diego’s Adrian Gonzalez are floating anywhere from No. 4 to No. 7.

What’s the deal? After Pujols, how do you value the first basemen that fall 2 through 7? By home run totals? By age? In the case of Fielder, by the size of their waistbands? First and foremost, you can’t go wrong with any of the first basemen in the top 7, if not the top 10. They’ll all give you good to great home run and RBI totals and if you’re lucky, a couple will even hit .300 and produce 100 runs.


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