Phil Nevin: Bad at the Plate in a Whole New Way

Since Phil Nevin vetoed the deal that would have sent him to Baltimore in exchange for Sidney Ponson*, he's been seeing a bit of work behind the plate as the Padres' catcher. He's available in most leagues - for good reason. He's ranked 40th among firstbasemen, behind notables like Olmeda Saenz and Matt Stairs. In the last month, he's ranked 78th. Ouch.

But as a catcher, he'd be 11th or 12th. That would be considerably lower if ranked within the past month. Regardless, for those in leagues that start two catchers or in much deeper leagues, Phil wouldn't be a bad player to stash on your bench in case he does provide some support. It won't be a dramatic increase in production for your fantasy squad, but you have to start squeezing as much as you can out in these final months.

*Seriously, the Padres were interested in Sidney Ponson? Is there a different Sidney Ponson out there that I'm unaware of, or does someone in the Padres system have stock futures in Grade E beef?

Fantasy Baseball: Freel Bird!

Ryan Freel returned to the Cincinnati Reds' lineup last weekend after some time on the DL. The time off hasn't exactly slowed him down - he stole 5 bases last night. Granted, it was against the hapless Jason Phillips (who has thrown out a mere 12 of 82 runners on the season), but Freel's other numbers are quite solid (unless your league counts errors).

He's eligible at 2B, 3B and the OF in most leagues. At this point, put him in wherever you need the most help with Runs, SBs and AVG. If that's 3B, then so be it. This is the point of the season where you need to start looking at the categories you feel will bear the most fruit with a little bit of investment.

Paul LoDuca Alert: Trade Him Now

This is the first annual plea to all Paul LoDuca owners out there to trade him as soon as possible, or at least before your opponents remember that he's absolutely pathetic in the 2nd half. Check out these Jekyl and Hyde splits:

2004 1st Half: 78 Games, 95 Hits, 9 HRs, 43 RBIs, .313 Avg
2004 2nd Half: 65 Games, 58 Hits, 4 HRs, 37 RBIs, .251 Avg

2003 1st Half: 86 Games, 101 Hits, 6 HRs, 34 RBIs, .307 Avg
2003 2nd Half: 61 Games, 54 Hits, 1 HR, 18 RBIs, .226 Avg

2002 1st Half: 80 Games, 98 Hits, 5 HRs, 38 RBIs, .326 Avg
2002 2nd Half: 69 Games, 65 Hits, 5 HRs, 26 RBIs, .233 Avg

2001 1st Half: 54 Games, 71 Hits, 14 HRs, 45 RBIs, .346 Avg
2001 2nd Half: 71 Games, 76 Hits, 11 HRs, 45 RBIs, .298 Avg

Man, that 2001 season was fantastic, wasn't it? Too bad that season has carried him through 4 seasons of being drafted about 5 rounds too early in nearly every fantasy draft since.

Fantasy Baseball: Just Cut It Off, Josh

Florida Marlins starting pitcher Josh Beckett has been to the disabled list 6 times in the last 4 years because of his blister problems. He's a fireballer with apparent Cy Young potential, but you can't really live up to that potential when you can't stay healthy enough to win 10 games in a season (he went 9-9 last year, starting 26 games).

Josh, it's time to just cut off the offending party. If you remember, during the winter league season before the 2004 season, Kansas City Royal Jeremy Affeldt had a fingernail permanently removed, because he too suffered from blister problems. The result? No more blisters.

I tell ya, if the only thing standing between me and being a dominant MLB strikeout artist was one measly fingernail, I'd pry it out with a pair of pliers. Time to suck it up and yank it, Josh. Until then, I recommend not drafting this DL-cursed disappointment.