Fantasy Baseball Time

Pitchers and catchers are reporting soon. If you aren't on your 3rd complete mock draft by now, it's pretty much over.

Listen, fantasy football is for boys. Boys and women. Women win in fantasy football. No woman has ever won a respectable fantasy baseball league. Fantasy baseball....where you must update your lineup daily, carefully study statistics and trends, and know who's third in line to close for the Pirates....is for men.

I am going to post my mock for rounds 1-3 here today, in a 12 team, AL/NL 5x5 rotisserie league. If you don't know what that means, good luck finding a girlfriend.

Why would I do this you ask, when members of my rotisserie league might be checking this site? Because, I'm that confident. That's why.

Round 1

1. Alexander Rodriguez 3b, New York Yankees

2. David Wright 3b, New York Metropolitans

3. Alberto Pujols 1b, Saint Louis Cardinals

4. Jose Reyes SS, New York Metropolitans

5. Hanley Ramirez SS, Florida Marlins

6. Miguel Cabrera 3b, Detroit Tigers

7. Mathew Holliday OF, Colorado Rockies

8. Chase Utley 2b, Philadelphia Phillies

9. James Rollins SS, Philadelphia Phillies

10. Johan Santana SP, New York Metropolitans

11. Prince Semien Fielder 1b, Milwaukee Brewers

12. Ryan Howard 1b, Philadelphia Phillies

There sure are a lot of Phillies and Mets in the first round this year. I am picking 9th in my league, and am seriously considering Johan Santana. But, the power/speed combo of Jimmy Rollins at the Short Stop position is too much to pass up. Jake Peavy will be there as my ace in round two. I pretty much have to decide, at 9, if I want Johan + Beltran, or Rollins + Peavy. For now, I'm thinking Rollins + Peavy because of the fact there are so many more OF's out there than SS, and Peavy isn't that far of a cry from Johan. And then there's the school of thought that I go Johan + Peavy, then hit offense heavily in the next few rounds. My previous mock drafts have not shown that to be wise, so for now, I'm not planning on going that route. Here's Round 2, remember it snakes back up. If you don't know what that means, you probably cross-stitch.

Round 2

13. Carl Crawford OF, Tampa Bay Rays

14. Grady Sizemore OF, Cleveland Indians

15. Alfonso Soriano OF, Chicago Cubs

16. Jacob Peavy SP, San Diego Padres

17. Carlos Beltran, OF, New York Metropolitans

18. Vladimir Guerrero OF, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

19. Mark Teixeira 1b, Atlanta Braves

20. Suzuki Ichiro OF, Seattle Mariners

21. Ryan Braun 3b, Milwaukee Brewers

22. Carlos Lee OF, Houston Astros

23. Lance Berkman OF/1b, Houston Astros

24. Brandon Phillips 2b, Cincinnati Reds

I know what you are saying. Where is Big Papi? Well, Big Papi isn't getting any younger. And he's only a DH. That's one slot he can be utilized in. He handcuffs your options. There are just better options out there. Guys who aren't getting older, have better position eligibility, and steal bases. I know the second thing you are saying. Where is Juan Pierre? Well, many of you might not realize this, but he hurts you in home runs. Quite a bit. He's sort of like Ichiro, if Ichiro didn't hit .350. Oh and by the way, batting average is overrated. It should be scrapped for OPS. And Wins should be scrapped for Quality Starts.

Round 3

25. Nicholas Markasis OF, Baltimore Orioles

26. Curtis Granderson OF, Detroit Tigers

27. Magglio Ordonez OF, Detroit Tigers

28. Melvin Emmanuel Bossman Junior Upton, OF/2b, Tampa Bay Rays (for now)

29. Brandon Webb SP, Arizona Diamondbacks

30. David Ortiz DH, Boston Red Sox

31. Russell Martin C, Los Angeles Dodgers

32. Alexis Rios OF, Toronto Blue Jays

33. Brian Roberts 2b, Baltimore Orioles

34. Carsten Charles Sabathia SP, Cleveland Indians

35. Joshua Beckett SP, Boston Red Sox

36. Joseph Nathan RP, Minnesota Twins

Some other stats I'd like to see: Command, Expected ERA, Eye, and fly ball-to-ground ball ratio. But, I'm having a lot of trouble drumming up support for those categories. I guess people still prefer playing fantasy baseball like their sisters.