Everyone has a vice.  If you’re like me, you have multiple vices.  My favorite vice, fantasy baseball, is right around the corner, so I just couldn’t help but look for some interesting angle to write on in January.  Analysis of off-season moves are done by, well everyone.  Rankings and season previews are more of a spring-training time piece.  Writing about the shittiness of any one of my Houston Astros’ players value (except Mr. Bourn and WayRod, duh) is pointless for so many reasons.  So what does that really leave a guy with in January?  How about a little head-to-head action…by position.  I’m not talking about looking at the top guys at each position, but rather the guys in those second – possibly third if you’re in a deep league – tier guys that can really make or break your draft and season.  Over the next week and a half, I will take a look at a couple of guys from each position and see how they match up versus their higher drafted counterparts.  As per usual, any ideas, thoughts, or beliefs (both supporting and opposing) are welcomed.

First base is a rather deep position this year with Joey Votto emerging as the hitter many have seen coming, Adrian Gonzalez getting to trade Petco for Fenway, Prince Fielder heading into free agency after the season (I’m a sucker for a guy playing for a new, mega-sized contract), as well as your standards like Ryan Howard, Miguel Cabrera, and Mark Teixeira.  If you are not fortunate enough to secure one of those guys, then whom do you take a flier on?

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Everyone has a vice.  If you’re like me, you have multiple vices.  My favorite vice, fantasy baseball, is right around the corner, so I just couldn’t help but look for some interesting angle to write on in January.  Analysis of off-season moves are done by, well everyone.  Rankings and season previews are more of a spring-training time piece.  Writing about the shittiness of any one of my Houston Astros’ players value (except Mr. Bourn and WayRod, duh) is pointless for so many reasons.  So what does that really leave a guy with in January?  How about a little head-to-head action…by position.  I’m not talking about looking at the top guys at each position, but rather the guys in those second – possibly third if you’re in a deep league – tier guys that can really make or break your draft and season.  Over the next week and a half, I will be releasing a new position each day.  I will take a look at a couple of guys from each position and see how they match up versus their higher drafted counterparts.  As per usual, any ideas, thoughts, or beliefs (both supporting and opposing) are welcomed.

First base is a rather deep position this year with Joey Votto emerging as the hitter many have seen coming, Adrian Gonzalez getting to trade Petco for Fenway, Prince Fielder heading into free agency after the season (I’m a sucker for a guy playing for a new, mega-sized contract), as well as your standards like Ryan Howard, Miguel Cabrera, and Mark Teixeira.  If you are not fortunate enough to secure one of those guys, then whom do you take a flier on?

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Yesterday I took a look at Jose Bautista and whether his 2010 season was a fluke. Now, let’s move over to the NL and take a look at a guy that many are hoping regains his 2009 form, and forgets about his pathetic 2010 campaign (especially myself considering that I drafted him last year).  He set a career low in batting average.  He nearly tied his career high in strikeouts.  He hit 50% fewer HR’s than he did in 2009.  He is incredibly likable.  He has an awesome nickname.  He is the Kung-Fu Panda.  He is Pablo Sandoval.  So let’s take a look at things and ask, which year was the fluke, 2009 or 2010?

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Merriam-Webster defines a fluke as a stroke of luck. As a self-proclaimed fantasy nerd, I am always on the lookout for guys who I think might have had a fluky season.  It does not matter to me if the season in question was a positive or negative; I just want to know if a player is destined to continue down the same path as the previous year, or if his numbers for the next season are going to regress back toward the norm.  With that being said, let’s take a look at two guys that have left tons of fantasy players wondering, “was last year a fluke?”

He was Major League Baseball’s home run leader in 2010 despite never previously hitting more than 16 home runs in a single season.  He touched up baseballs with the ferocity of an early Mike Tyson.  His name is Jose Bautista and is the most obvious choice for this article.

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So much for it “being in the bag,” I guess.  As some of my readers may know (although most of you may not), I am a lifelong Houston Astros fan.  The first piece of sports memorabilia I ever had as a young child was a Colt .45’s jersey.  Having been born and raised in Houston for 10 years also helps.  I grew up watching baseball in the 8^th wonder of the modern world and learned quickly to despise the Cardinals.  More times than I can count I was fortunate enough to watch The Wizard himself perform on the Astroturf stage.

So what is the point of this rambling?  As an avid Astros fan, I feel that Jeff Bagwell should have been elected into the Hall of Fame.  As a matter of fact, I find it downright offensive to see that he only received 242, or 41.7% of the votes needed.  How could the writers not give one of the original Killer B’s his comeuppance?  I understand that some arguments will be made based on him playing in Houston, for a team that never seemed to find a way past the Braves.  But let’s just take a look at the stats and see what they have to say.

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