The last 2 weeks in Major League Baseball have been extremely busy. As the trade deadline passed, many deals were made that are going to impact the outcome of playoff races from the American League East, to the National League West. Not only do these moves affect your favorite, or even your least favorite, teams, but they also will have a dramatic effect on the performance of your fantasy baseball teams. Let’s look at some of the trades that took place and how they can either improve, or devalue, your fantasy baseball team.

The Boston Red Sox send OF Manny Ramirez to the Los Angelos Dodgers and OF Brandon Moss and RP Craig Hansen to the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pittsburgh Pirates send OF Jason Bay to the Boston Red Sox. The Lost Angelos Dodgers send 3B Andy Laroche and P Bryan Morris to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Obviously, the biggest two players in this deal are Ramirez and Bay. Since both players have been dealt, their production has …

A popular slogan used by coaches and managers throughout history is, “Defense wins championships.” In fantasy football, defense doesn’t make or break your season, but it does play a significant role in helping your team make the playoffs. The better fantasy defenses can be equivalent to even the top RB’s, which shows that they do make an important impact and should not be disregarded. When drafting a defense, there are several things an owner has to be aware of. Schedules, Special Teams Units, and age are 3 things that must be taken into account when drafting a defense.

Here are the top 15 defenses for the 2008 fantasy football season:
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The Tight End position in football is one of the more underrated spots in a fantasy football team. Over the past few years, top tier TE’s have been putting up Wide Receiver type numbers. It may be worth it to draft a top 5 TE over a WR who’s rated in the 20-25 area of his position. It is also important to grab one of the better TE’s because there is a lack of depth at this position. Last year, the number 6 ranked TE had 53 more fantasy points (According to Yahoo! Sports scoring system) than the number 7 ranked TE.

Here are the top 15 TE for the 2008 fantasy season:

As each day goes by, we are getting closer and closer to the rosters expanding and baseball teams calling up players from the minor leagues. August is a crucial month in that teams begin to call up guys with much more potential than their lesser teammates. Josh Hamilton was called up as a member of the Cincinnati Reds and played a big role not only for their team, but for some lucky fantasy owners across the country. Other than guys that I have previously mentioned (Francisco Liriano and David Price), here are 2 guys who should be called up within the month and have a positive fantasy impact.

Gio Gonzalez SP OAK- WIth Oakland seemingly refusing to try and contend this year by trading Joe Blanton and possibly Huston Street, watch Billy Beane call up Gio within the next week or so. In 115 IP, Gio has racked up 119 K’s. While his ERA is a bit high, he struggled at the beginning of the year and has been …

Over the past few football seasons, so many different wide receivers have either come out of nowhere, or had a severe drop in their expected production. While there is a class of wide receivers in the game today that do what they are expected to, there are so many others whose numbers fluctuate from year to year.

Here are the top 50 WR’s in fantasy football …

Running back has been labeled the most important position in the history of fantasy football, and quite frankly, it is. Never have you seen a fantasy football squad with the likes of Travis Minor and J.J. Arrington manning the backfield. This year’s running back class is stacked with both familiar and fresh talent.

Here are the Top 25 Running Backs for the upcoming fantasy football season …

In the past month, Yankees 3rd basemen Alex Rodriguez has had an up and down experience. On the field, A-Rod has enjoyed success, hitting .290, with 7 HR’s, 18 RBI, and even 6 SB’s. However, off the field, A-Rod has been at the apex of a love triangle between him, his ex-wife Cynthia, and pop sensation Madonna. Struggling with divorce proceedings, and being labeled by the media as a cheater and a neglectful parent and husband, A-Rod has signed on with the William Morris agency.

The William Morris agency is a talent and public relations company that deals with singers, actors, directors, and much more. Celebrities such as Mel Gibson, Kanye West, and Britney Spears have confided in the WIlliam Morris family to help them in their time of need. A-Rod is the first baseball player to make this sort of giant leap  and it doesn’t come as a surprise to me.

A-Rod’s manager, Guy Oseary, has been working with the agency for a while and has been a …

It’s late July and that can only mean one thing; People are already signed up for fantasy football. Most drafts run in late August, but many looney fantasy owners start researching well before that. This is the first in a string of articles previewing each position from Quarterback to Team Defense. This week, I am going to take a look at the point men for your fantasy football team, the QB. While most fantasy football leagues lean heavily towards running backs, the value of a solid quarterback can not go unnoticed.

Here are the top 20 Quarterbacks for the 2008 fantasy football season …

Alright, I already know what you’re thinking. You’re in 2nd to last place in your league, about 20 games out of the last playoff spot and you are just waiting for the season to end. Fortunately for you, I am here to help you overcome your deficit in the last 6 weeks of the season and perhaps steal a fantasy baseball championship away from one of your friends.

At this point in the season, the focus on acquiring players via trade and free agency should be on a week to week basis, especially in head to head formatted leagues. Certain categories should be focused on to help you chip away at your deficit until you get within striking distance. For example, if you are weak in the areas of Earned Run Average and Walks and Hits per Innings Pitched, focus on Wins, Losses, and Strikeouts. A way to do this is to find starting pitchers who are starting twice this week, especially against weaker opponents. Scott Kazmir …

What an interesting first half of baseball it’s been in the 2008 season. Roger Clemens is digging himself a deeper grave, Barry Bonds still doesn’t have a team to bother, and the Tampa Bay Rays are near the top of the AL East for some reason. But let’s face it, not a day goes by when us New Yorkers aren’t checking what the Mets and Yankees are up to. As the opening lines in Charles Dickens masterpiece ”A Tale of Two Cities” says, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” This quote can easily describe how both the Mets and Yankees seasons have gone so far.

So what can we expect from the men in the Bronx and Queens? With so much doubt and uncertainty circling around both teams, there are things that both squads can do to try and ensure themselves playoff spots come October 1st.

For the Yankees, it would be a very tough road for them to try and win the AL East …

This year’s all-star break has been a memorable one so far. WIth Josh Hamilton giving the fans a show at the Home Run Derby, the Jonathan Paplebon-Mariano Rivera issue, and the game coming up tonight, it’s hard to say that this all-star experience isn’t going to be satisfying. But what gets me the most about this all-star event is that it is going to be played in Yankee Stadium, and it can perhaps be the last meaningful game played there (Don’t get mad Yankee fans).

Now I despise the Yankees and everything they stand for, but there is nothing like walking into Yankee Stadium and experiencing a game there. For years I have been going to the stadium and saw such momentous occasions as Derek Jeter’s catch going into the first row. I’ve seen U.S. President George W. Bush throw a laser for a strike to open up game 3 of the 2001 World Series after the attacks on 9/11. These are things someone can never erase …

Ahhhh, can you smell it? It’s that time of year where NBA rookies, along with journeymen, undrafted players, and guys just trying to make a paycheck all come together to play pick-up basketball. This smell can mean only one thing, the NBA Summer League.

This year’s summer league has been displaying front line talent with top draft picks Derek Rose, Michael Beasley, O.J. Mayo and Kevin Love. Rose and Beasley were the first to play in Orlando, while Mayo and Love have caught the attention of many in Vegas.

But why should anyone care that much about the games these guys are playing? In the first game of his NBA career, do you think Derek Rose will be facing off against the likes of Antonio Graves and Anthony Morrow?  Will Kevin Love be posting up against Josh Powell and Antwan Scott? I’m going to have to say that they won’t be any time soon, except for their next summer league game.

Some of the games air on NBATV throughout the day …