Thursday Grab Bag: Fantasy Baseball

I went up to Durango today to get in another training hike for the now-imminent 14ers season and found something to rant about -- the signs on U.S. 550.

Is it necessary to flank both sides of the road with 'Wrong Way, Do Not Enter' signs? Sure, put one of these signs on the far shoulder of the road facing the incorrect direction, but don't put them near the median.

Every time I'm driving up to Durango I see one of these out of the corner of my eye. The way they've placed the signs near the median, it appears that they're directed at drivers on the correct side of the road.

Aren't they supposed to prevent accidents for older drivers/tired drivers/impaired drivers? Anyone that fits into those categories is more likely to get confused by the signs how they are now, veer onto the wrong side of the road and hit somebody head-on. And are they honestly going to see the signs and correct themselves if they don't have the sense to drive on the correct side of the road?

Makes as much sense as Nike investing tens of thousands into a marketing campaign centered around Kobe/LeBron in the NBA Finals before their respective teams actually made the finals.

Fantasy Baseball Tip: Speaking of basketball, Kobe has his fourth ring, Phil Jackson has his record 10th and we have no more hoops.

Time to throw ourselves into the dog days of summer. Might as well embrace baseball, as tarnished as it's become in recent years. I'll admit doing a poor managerial job with the Farmington Fungos, my fantasy baseball team. I'm -- gulp -- 3-7 and in seventh place in my Summer Classic league.

Every Thursday through the summer I'll be passing along a fantasy baseball tip or two to help out your team and hopefully pull myself back into playoff contention at the same time.

Tip 1 -- Pronk Power

Travis Hafner returned to the Indians on June 5 after a stint on the DL with a shoulder injury. While Hafner's shoulder will limit him some, his power stroke seems to be back -- he's hit three home runs in eight games since returning.

Of concern is the fact that his shoulder will still keep him benched some -- he's missed four games since being activated -- but keep in mind we're going through a stretch of interleague games where Cleveland might not have the option of DHing him.

If you're looking for power, particularly in a roto league, he's a good pickup -- he was available in 50 percent of ESPN.com leagues today. Hafner hit just five home runs last year in 198 at bats, but he's 32 years old and still at the tail of his prime. He hit 28, 33, 42 and 24 home runs from 2004-2007.

Tip 2 -- Young Stud

I was surprised to find San Francisco infielder Pablo Sandoval available in my league.

Sandoval would be a bigger commodity if he'd accumulated enough games to qualify at catcher, which was expected going into the season, but 34-year-old Bengie Molina is a freak of nature that never misses games. Sandoval's numbers aren't as impressive from first or third base, but he's hitting better than expected -- he's on pace for 17 HRs and 85 RBIs and he's batting .325.

Sandoval is in his first full season in the majors at 22. That's good in the sense that somebody with his numbers rarely gets overlooked, but he might toiling away for a mediocre Giants team. On the other hand, watch out toward the end of the season as he might get fatigued -- although he's listed at a burly 5-11, 246.

Countdown: The year's biggest events are fast approaching. Here's a countdown as of Thursday:

San Juan Open -- Six days
National High School Finals Rodeo -- 31 days
Connie Mack World Series -- 50 days

Connie Mack Rankings: I don't have a complete picture of the Connie Mack league because I haven't been to a ton of games -- something like eight -- but from what I've seen and from the players and coaches I've talked to, here's how the top four stack up.

1. Thunder -- They beat the Cardinals early in the year and have played well consistently more than the other teams.

2. Cardinals -- The defending champs did fall to the Bandits recently. The consensus is they're not playing as well as last year's team, but they have six returnees and have the talent to play better.

3. Yankees -- Their only loss came when they blew a late seven-run lead to the Panthers. I like the enthusiasm of their young coaching staff and have been impressed by their attention to detail.

4. Bandits -- Beat the Cards before dropping a 5-3 game to the Yankees on Monday.

Link of the Week: Watching Tiger and the rest of the U.S. Open field take on Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, New York got you jonesing for golf, but don't want to head out to a local course?

Check out this mini golf game on ESPN. I usually don't like the online games -- they're either too hard or two simple, but this one's fun. See if you can beat my best score of 15.

Stay true and keep pounding,
Christopher