This article has been submitted by Erik Arnold. A day late, a buck short Erik. This is a weekly feature.

Fantasy baseball is a lot like the stock market. Success lies in finding value on draft day, on the waiver wire and through trades. Today I take a look at a few sources of value to be had through the trade market with my top candidates to buy low and sell high, focusing on hitters.
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This article is a weekly feature submitted by “2nd Place” Erik Arnold.

Sir, please step back from the ledge…

It’s that time of year again. The birds are chirping, the snow is melting and we’re seeing prematurely crowned champions and knee jerk reactions across the fantasy world. Listen dudes, it’s only been ONE WEEK and with each MLB team having played an average of 6 games, we have completed exactly 3.72% of the season. In the leagues that I play in, the waiver wires are on fire! (Blake? Sam?) Guys are being tossed around all over the place, some not even holding a roster spot for more than a few hours.

Before you become the league’s “Waiver Wire Slut”, think long and hard about what you’re trying to accomplish. I urge all fantasy players to relax. Ask yourself why you drafted some guys and why you didn’t draft others. With zero home runs in Week 1, does your opinion of Albert Pujols change? Do Marco Scutaro’s 3 stolen bags make him the next Jose Reyes? Give your team a few weeks before you start to make any conclusions about your strengths and weaknesses. I would argue that we won’t get a good idea of the fantasy “pretenders” and “contenders” until late May when all the hot and cold starts have time to balance out.

To honor this exciting time of the year, I give you, straight from the ODC Fantasy Baseball League, the top embarrassing adds and drops of week 1.
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This article has been submitted by Erik Arnold and is a regular Tuesday feature.

My eyes are tired and my work unfinished. I have been up since 6AM watching Boston and Oakland kick off the 2008 season live in Tokyo. It was a fantastic game handed on a silver player to Boston on account of some poor plate discipline, terrible base running and a blown save from Huston Street. In other news, Julio Lugo goes 2-4 and Dice-K goes 5 innings with 6 K’s. I have settled atop my lofty perch in the ODC standings, not to be disturbed for another 5 months. To celebrate my ascent to first in the standings, I give you the synthesis of my thinking this week on what I would call the greatest fantasy seasons ever in the four “major” sports. Enjoy!
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On Sunday night, we held our ODC Writer’s League draft for fantasy baseball. With 15 teams and 24-man rosters, it was an intense two and a half hours filled with a lot of laughs, a lot of chatter, and of course, a lot of chirping. There were some steals and some dud picks, some good strategies and some teams best suited for MVP 2001 on your Sony PlayStation game console. I am filling in for the most part for Erik today (Fantasy Tip Tuesday), though he has provided me with his input on the teams.

With all of that said, I present to you the first (and perhaps only) installment of the ODC Writer’s League Power Rankings. The rankings are accompanied by comments from both Erik and I and, since this is a weekly tips column, a fantasy lesson you can draw from each person’s draft. If I could guess anything about the league, It would be that the league will look a lot like last year with a clear top tier, middle tier, and lower tier.
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This article has been submitted by lightning quick Erik Arnold.

A quick update from the ODC Baseball Bunker…

If you haven’t heard already, the news is pretty grim out of Dunedin – Casey Janssen is out for the entire season with a torn Labrum. First of all, props to JP for being a man this time and telling the media straight up what’s happened. We all remember his beat-around-the-bush approach to the BJ Ryan injury that left a bad taste in the mouths of Jay’s fans for the entire season. So good on you, JP, though Janssen’s injury probably won’t have the effect on ticket sales that Ryan’s would have.
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Tuesday Fantasy Tips is a weekly feature submitted by “Batting 8th…” Erik Arnold.

He goes by many names: Phat Albert, El Hombre, the Machine… but many know him as just “Pujols.”

He is, without doubt, the most complete hitter in Major League Baseball. He owns a career average of .332, four 40HR seasons (none with less than 32) and not a single Major League season with less than 100RBI. He is “Triple Crown” defined, the most consistent fantasy hitter EVER.
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What’s good world! Bringing you the 4th installment of the Podcast right now and, as with the last few volumes, it is, we think, improving over time (sound quality, editing/transitions, etc). It’s pretty sick quality today.

This time, Erik Arnold is on the show and we discuss juuuust about everything baseball related. We hit you with some ODC news first and last, including a plug for Queen’s upcoming G.M.I.L. event. Then we move into the hearty stuff: we go over some Jays ticket purchasing options, the overall season outlook, the key position battles going on in spring training, and I explain my theory on the Curse of the Billy Goat Goatee. Finally, we talk fantasy baseball, explaining how rotisserie baseball works, providing you with some sleepers (including one we get into a heated argument about), and we generally talk smack to get ready for The On Deck Circle Writers’ League. Lots of good stuff!

Guest: Erik Arnold
Topics: ODC News, Toronto Blue Jays Season Outlook, Jays Position Battles, Billygoat Curse, Rotisserie Baseball Explained, Fantasy Sleepers, and more!

This week, I bring you the gift of choice. Play it: HERE

Or, download it: The On Deck Circle Podcast 4 March 7

This article has been submitted by Fantasy Master Erik Arnold, as it will be every Tuesday. Normally the piece will be lengthier with more great nuggets of fantasy gold, but since there’s only one true fantasy sport going on right now and we haven’t done our Baseball draft yet, Erik’s playing his cards close to his chest. Today, he gives you the two biggest rebound candidates for your MLB draft.

Andruw Jones, OF – Los Angeles Dodgers
Andruw Jones has been a fairly consistent commodity for fantasy owners throughout his career – a classic 30+HR, 100RBI, 90R guy. Mind you, his approach at the plate has always been somewhat suspect – he’s a free swinger who strikes out a lot. Still, he has always found his way to a .260 average and given fantasy owners what they signed up for. In 2007, things got UGLY – Mendoza line ugly (.222 BA). His 29HR, 94RBI and 83R were well below expectations. Many are quick to say his move from Atlanta to Los Angeles will further depress his power numbers given the effect of Dodgers Stadium, a notoriously pitcher-friendly park. However, Dodger stadium is actually not bad for right handed hitters and has the best “pitcher’s eye” in baseball, statistically proven to increase walks and reduce strikeouts. Can you see where I’m going with this? It couldn’t be a better fit for Andruw, who needs to show more patience at the plate. Jones still has a solid skill set and I’m confident he’ll make adjustments. If he can manage to make even small improvements (more walks, less K’s), we’ll see much better counting numbers – after all, he managed 29HRs and 94RBI in a season where he batted .222. If this guy gets back on track, exceeding 30 HRs will only be the starting point. In 2008, you can probably draft him late and expect “Adam Dunn Lite” production.
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This article has been submitted by “Easy Yi” Erik Arnold.

12:29 – It’s March 2nd on a cool winter day in Toronto, but there’s Blue Jays baseball on TV and spring is in the air!

12:30 – Today’s game is broadcast on CityTV which is certainly a first. We should get our first look at the new infield duo of Eckstein and Rolen, plus Burnett will start his first ST game. Maybe we’ll even get a chance to see Reds uber-prospects Jay Bruce and Joey Votto (a native of T-dot and former high school star at Richview High).

12:31 PM – Cito Gaston throws out the opening pitch and it’s a strike! Cito’s still got it!

12:35 – Lineups are in and we get to see Jay Bruce lead off for the Reds! Jays put out basically their Opening Day lineup minus Alex Rios. Matt Stairs plays in left, Reed in right. Goldie Locks Bronson Arroyo starts for the Reds.
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This article has been submitted by the painted face of Erik Arnold.

Dear Ted Rogers and Ralph Wilson,

Go Fuck Yourselves.

Never have I seen such arrogant, disrespectful bullshit from a couple of senior citizens in my entire life.
I am a Bills Fan; I love the Bills and have done so with passion for nearly 10 years.

Maybe not the biggest Bills fan, but a big one still.

I also happen to live in Toronto. Am I happy about the Bills coming north of the border? No.
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