Baseball has had its mind-boggling issues in the past with drugs, steroids and bench-clearing brawls. But their latest opponent is a manifestation of their own skeptical brilliance. What would you say if someday soon someone were to get hit over the head with a bat, or even impaled by one? Back in the day, you would probably say I’m full of a certain substance and to aim my critique elsewhere. But there is no denying that the use of maple bats to promote home runs is a very dangerous endeavor and should be banned immediately. I mean, the bat snaps and spews shrapnel like a fragmentation grenade across the infield, and this even happens when a player makes contact with the sweet spot. It’s an unneeded spectacle that shouldn’t be happening. The league must go back to the safer bats that are made of ash, because they can’t afford a tragedy due to a love affair with the long ball. It’s not safe, it’s not right and most of all it’s just a game. Wake up Major League Baseball!

Sorry for my rant folks, but after watching games all weekend and seeing a virtual fireworks display of kindling in every contest, I had to say something.

Let me toot my own horn a bit. I really hope you listened to my annoying rhetorical rant about picking up Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Mark Reynolds, because as I type this precious piece of fantasy insight, the 6-foot-1, 220-pound slugger leads Major League Baseball with five home runs and 13 RBIs. He currently possesses an eye-popping 1.109 OPS and has cranked .385 off of left-handed hurlers, which is 107 points higher than his 2007 mark (.278) against southpaws. I saw this coming, the MLB Extra Innings package works wonders for a man’s fantasy insight, so as I witnessed this guy culminate 2007 with a .319 average, nine dingers and 31 RBIs in 166 combined August and September at-bats last season, I knew a star was rising right in front of my almost green eyes. Go out and get him if it’s not too late. Hurry! Oh and don’t worry, Arizona’s other third baseman Chad Tracy (knee) won’t see the light of Arizona’s Chase Field if Reynolds maintains his torrid pace.

I’m thoroughly enjoying my free viewership of Comcast’s Extra Innings package, unfortunately my tour around the country ends tomorrow. Maybe I’ll buy it, hey J.D.; can you lend me some cash so I can continue to watch the guy that I’m about to talk about?

I know you know I love Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Mark Reynolds, so I’m not going to come on here every week and recommend the guy, but I highly suggest you grab him before your fellow owners catch on.

Last season, the 24-year-old third baseman broke onto the scene with a .279 average, 17 dingers, 62 RBIs, 62 runs scored and a .843 OPS in 366 at-bats. Just watch his strikeout totals, he whiffed 129 times in 111 contests during the 2007 campaign.

On April 4, he broke out with a dinger and three RBIs against the Colorado Rockies. He’s young and has a true power stroke that will undoubtedly endorse his rising star. If you have room, take a chance on the University of Virginia alum, he’ll make you look very smart.

Kurt Suzuki (C) Oakland Athletics

The 24-year-old backstop out of Cal State Fullerton is just another hunch in a long line of Billy Beane’s OBP manifestations. Last season, Suzuki hit .249 with seven home runs, 39 RBIs, 27 runs scored and a .735 OPS in 213 at-bats. Although his career OBP
(.331) isn’t up to par with what Beane expects out of his players, his three hits and 1.069 OPS in eight at-bats in Japan could be an indication of what he might be able to accomplish in the near future. However, since his first big league hack in 2007, the 2004 second-round pick has posted an atrocious .145 average against southpaws and a .233 average inside the home confines of McAfee Stadium. Suzuki’s sample size is very small, but with catcher being so scarce, you could do much worse than grabbing Oakland’s backstop of the future.
Phenomenal Prediction: 460 AB, 55 R, 15 HR, 80 RBIs, 1 SB, .280 AVG

Ryan Garko (1B) Cleveland Indians