Fantasy Playoffs: Post your Lineup Conundrums Here!

Today is the first day of the fantasy baseball playoffs in my league....and before you go all Jim Mora on me -- this is a 14-team H2H league. We are playing the first round this week, and 4 teams will advance to face the 4 teams that earned byes through their regular season performance. Next week begins a traditional 8-team playoff, with the World Series being (fittingly) a three-week series.

Needless to say, lineup choices in this league are second only to having great players in its importance. You must set your lineup for the week on Monday, and you are set in stone until Sunday and you advance or are vanquished. Thus, since everything is riding on these lineup choices (for me, anyway), I figure there are plenty more of you out there in the same situation.

So here is your forum. Got a tough lineup choice? Not sure if you should go with a two-start Tommy Hunter or a one-start Jake Westbrook? Jon, Andre and I are here to help. Just post your difficult playoff lineup decisions in the comments section below and one of us (probably me) will give you some "expert" advice. I will check this post regularly, and hey, it's a lot less hectic than trying to get one of those ESPN hacks to read one of your fantasy questions and actually answer it.

Good luck to all of you you fellow playoff teams this week. If you are curious, I'm the fifth seed this season, meaning I am the best team to not get a bye, which kinda sucks :)

Looking forward to helping you out! -Pauly

Down the Stretch: The Top Third Basemen of 2010

There is some great talent at third base these days. Two of the better names are having sub-par years. But the position is still loaded.

Name	Team	BB%	K%	AVG	OBP	SLG	ISO	BABIP	wOBA
Wilson Betemit	Royals	12.10%	25.00%	0.34	0.418	0.542	0.201	0.417	0.418
Jose Bautista	Blue Jays	14.30%	22.10%	0.254	0.367	0.592	0.338	0.235	0.407
Ryan Zimmerman	Nationals	12.50%	19.70%	0.305	0.391	0.545	0.241	0.325	0.401
Adrian Beltre	Red Sox	5.70%	15.50%	0.325	0.366	0.563	0.238	0.341	0.397
Scott Rolen	Reds	9.60%	16.90%	0.299	0.371	0.53	0.231	0.31	0.384
Chris Johnson	Astros	4.30%	22.30%	0.34	0.367	0.523	0.183	0.407	0.383
Evan Longoria	Rays	11.20%	21.40%	0.293	0.374	0.506	0.214	0.336	0.38
David Wright	Mets	10.50%	28.70%	0.293	0.364	0.489	0.196	0.364	0.366
Danny Valencia	Twins	7.10%	15.30%	0.335	0.38	0.435	0.1	0.389	0.362
Miguel Cairo	Reds	7.90%	13.40%	0.299	0.364	0.439	0.14	0.321	0.359
Chipper Jones	Braves	16.00%	14.80%	0.265	0.381	0.426	0.161	0.281	0.358
Omar Infante	Braves	5.00%	14.20%	0.344	0.375	0.437	0.093	0.389	0.357
Casey McGehee	Brewers	8.20%	17.40%	0.287	0.345	0.483	0.196	0.305	0.356
Alex Rodriguez	Yankees	9.30%	18.30%	0.265	0.333	0.485	0.22	0.274	0.352
Michael Young	Rangers	7.60%	18.20%	0.286	0.338	0.471	0.186	0.312	0.349
Ian Stewart	Rockies	10.40%	28.00%	0.266	0.347	0.459	0.193	0.32	0.347
Mark Reynolds	Diamondbacks	13.40%	41.90%	0.214	0.332	0.466	0.252	0.28	0.346
David Freese	Cardinals	7.80%	24.60%	0.296	0.361	0.404	0.108	0.376	0.341
Placido Polanco	Phillies	4.40%	8.80%	0.316	0.35	0.419	0.103	0.33	0.339
Edwin Encarnacion	Blue Jays	9.10%	18.00%	0.243	0.312	0.459	0.216	0.246	0.335
Mark Teahen	White Sox	10.40%	22.90%	0.268	0.343	0.425	0.157	0.322	0.332
Pedro Alvarez	Pirates	10.90%	37.30%	0.24	0.322	0.426	0.186	0.328	0.33
Chase Headley	Padres	8.10%	20.30%	0.278	0.337	0.4	0.122	0.329	0.33
Jayson Nix	- - -	7.20%	25.00%	0.25	0.314	0.44	0.19	0.284	0.328
Brandon Inge	Tigers	9.90%	25.10%	0.262	0.337	0.415	0.153	0.326	0.326
Melvin Mora	Rockies	9.70%	12.50%	0.264	0.349	0.375	0.111	0.291	0.325
Kevin Frandsen	Angels	6.00%	4.30%	0.288	0.336	0.367	0.079	0.301	0.318
Alberto Callaspo	- - -	5.60%	7.40%	0.283	0.319	0.407	0.124	0.285	0.318
Casey Blake	Dodgers	8.70%	26.20%	0.247	0.325	0.397	0.151	0.302	0.315
Pablo Sandoval	Giants	8.00%	14.30%	0.268	0.325	0.408	0.14	0.291	0.314
Omar Vizquel	White Sox	8.70%	12.10%	0.289	0.352	0.345	0.056	0.319	0.313
Aramis Ramirez	Cubs	7.00%	19.90%	0.233	0.288	0.435	0.202	0.238	0.311
Jorge Cantu	- - -	5.70%	20.50%	0.261	0.309	0.399	0.138	0.301	0.31
Felipe Lopez	Cardinals	9.80%	19.70%	0.245	0.321	0.358	0.112	0.288	0.306
Maicer Izturis	Angels	8.20%	13.30%	0.245	0.312	0.367	0.122	0.266	0.306

Down the Stretch: The Top Shortstops of 2010

Shortstop isn't the deepest position but at least there is some young talent to look forward to. Starlin Castro may be the cream of the crop. Ian Desmond has been better lately and could be a force next season if he can hold off the advancing Danny Espinoza in the Nationals farm system.

Name	Team	BB%	K%	AVG	OBP	SLG	ISO	BABIP	wOBA
Troy Tulowitzki	Rockies	9.00%	17.00%	0.318	0.379	0.506	0.189	0.348	0.387
Rafael Furcal	Dodgers	9.30%	15.30%	0.316	0.38	0.492	0.176	0.35	0.383
Hanley Ramirez	Marlins	10.40%	16.10%	0.283	0.363	0.448	0.166	0.303	0.353
Starlin Castro	Cubs	6.30%	14.40%	0.312	0.359	0.432	0.12	0.354	0.338
Alex Gonzalez	- - -	5.00%	18.90%	0.259	0.303	0.477	0.218	0.276	0.335
Stephen Drew	Diamondbacks	10.30%	18.70%	0.263	0.343	0.414	0.151	0.306	0.335
Jamey Carroll	Dodgers	13.80%	17.50%	0.286	0.384	0.335	0.048	0.339	0.332
Jimmy Rollins	Phillies	11.70%	9.80%	0.249	0.338	0.38	0.131	0.257	0.332
Jose Reyes	Mets	5.20%	11.70%	0.285	0.324	0.425	0.139	0.307	0.331
Alexei Ramirez	White Sox	3.90%	13.80%	0.293	0.32	0.447	0.154	0.311	0.33
Derek Jeter	Yankees	7.90%	15.40%	0.276	0.339	0.387	0.11	0.311	0.326
Cliff Pennington	Athletics	9.70%	20.50%	0.261	0.336	0.378	0.117	0.318	0.325
Asdrubal Cabrera	Indians	7.00%	16.20%	0.29	0.345	0.378	0.087	0.337	0.321
Juan Uribe	Giants	7.80%	18.20%	0.253	0.313	0.429	0.177	0.271	0.32
Ian Desmond	Nationals	4.90%	20.10%	0.268	0.308	0.41	0.142	0.31	0.316
Edgar Renteria	Giants	9.00%	17.20%	0.278	0.342	0.364	0.086	0.326	0.316
Ramon Santiago	Tigers	8.90%	16.70%	0.273	0.35	0.33	0.057	0.32	0.313
Elvis Andrus	Rangers	10.40%	17.40%	0.275	0.36	0.317	0.042	0.333	0.312
Marco Scutaro	Red Sox	8.10%	11.60%	0.27	0.332	0.372	0.102	0.292	0.312
Jason Donald	Indians	6.90%	21.00%	0.256	0.314	0.391	0.134	0.314	0.31
Yuniesky Betancourt	Royals	2.80%	11.10%	0.267	0.287	0.422	0.156	0.274	0.306
J.J. Hardy	Twins	6.00%	16.90%	0.261	0.305	0.39	0.129	0.296	0.305
Jason Bartlett	Rays	9.20%	17.00%	0.25	0.327	0.342	0.092	0.291	0.304
Yunel Escobar	- - -	10.40%	12.40%	0.255	0.339	0.323	0.067	0.285	0.304
Erick Aybar	Angels	6.40%	15.40%	0.265	0.321	0.356	0.091	0.303	0.304
Angel Sanchez	- - -	3.80%	16.90%	0.284	0.316	0.358	0.074	0.341	0.3
Jerry Hairston	Padres	6.80%	12.70%	0.252	0.307	0.364	0.112	0.264	0.295
Reid Brignac	Rays	5.80%	27.60%	0.252	0.303	0.378	0.126	0.324	0.295
Ryan Theriot	- - -	5.30%	12.70%	0.286	0.327	0.327	0.042	0.324	0.294
Geoff Blum	Astros	7.20%	13.20%	0.263	0.32	0.341	0.078	0.299	0.294
Nick Punto	Twins	9.70%	20.20%	0.253	0.327	0.318	0.064	0.309	0.293
Clint Barmes	Rockies	7.60%	16.80%	0.241	0.305	0.361	0.12	0.268	0.29
Josh Wilson	Mariners	4.60%	18.60%	0.252	0.305	0.326	0.074	0.305	0.29
Ronny Cedeno	Pirates	5.10%	24.80%	0.245	0.287	0.367	0.122	0.307	0.29
Orlando Cabrera	Reds	5.50%	11.30%	0.26	0.302	0.339	0.079	0.282	0.289

Down the Stretch: The Top Second Basemen of 2010

The second base position was thin this season thanks to under achievers and injuries. Kelly Johnson has had a great season but you'd think he'd be behind guys like Chase Utley, Ian Kinsler, Aaron Hill, Dustin Pedroia, and others who were not their usual selves this season for a variety of reasons.

Name	Team	BB%	K%	AVG	OBP	SLG	ISO	BABIP	wOBA
Robinson Cano	Yankees	8.60%	11.70%	0.322	0.385	0.557	0.235	0.323	0.398
Dan Uggla	Marlins	12.50%	25.20%	0.294	0.381	0.532	0.239	0.331	0.396
Kelly Johnson	Diamondbacks	12.50%	24.00%	0.281	0.373	0.499	0.217	0.33	0.379
Dustin Pedroia	Red Sox	10.50%	12.60%	0.288	0.367	0.493	0.205	0.291	0.377
Rickie Weeks	Brewers	9.80%	27.60%	0.276	0.371	0.483	0.207	0.336	0.375
Chase Utley	Phillies	12.30%	13.60%	0.275	0.378	0.462	0.187	0.279	0.373
Martin Prado	Braves	6.40%	13.90%	0.321	0.363	0.491	0.17	0.345	0.369
Ian Kinsler	Rangers	12.00%	15.80%	0.298	0.387	0.418	0.12	0.332	0.359
Bill Hall	Red Sox	9.30%	30.70%	0.247	0.319	0.478	0.231	0.289	0.349
Omar Infante	Braves	4.80%	14.20%	0.339	0.369	0.42	0.081	0.385	0.347
Orlando Hudson	Twins	9.40%	16.30%	0.287	0.358	0.404	0.118	0.327	0.342
Brandon Phillips	Reds	6.50%	12.70%	0.282	0.336	0.448	0.166	0.3	0.342
Neil Walker	Pirates	6.30%	22.10%	0.298	0.346	0.431	0.134	0.361	0.339
Jamey Carroll	Dodgers	13.70%	17.20%	0.288	0.385	0.337	0.049	0.341	0.333
Jeff Keppinger	Astros	8.70%	7.10%	0.285	0.348	0.395	0.11	0.296	0.331
Ty Wigginton	Orioles	8.40%	19.10%	0.254	0.325	0.435	0.181	0.272	0.33
Jayson Nix	- - -	7.40%	25.40%	0.244	0.31	0.435	0.192	0.274	0.325
Blake DeWitt	- - -	10.20%	19.60%	0.272	0.352	0.381	0.109	0.329	0.325
Carlos Guillen	Tigers	7.60%	16.20%	0.273	0.327	0.419	0.146	0.304	0.323
Sean Rodriguez	Rays	3.00%	28.50%	0.263	0.305	0.409	0.146	0.342	0.317
Adam Rosales	Athletics	6.80%	25.50%	0.271	0.321	0.4	0.129	0.335	0.317
Mike Fontenot	- - -	5.10%	17.10%	0.282	0.327	0.398	0.116	0.331	0.315
Adam Kennedy	Nationals	9.30%	14.00%	0.261	0.33	0.346	0.086	0.29	0.312
Howie Kendrick	Angels	3.90%	15.60%	0.269	0.302	0.403	0.134	0.301	0.311
Jason Donald	Indians	7.00%	21.40%	0.256	0.315	0.393	0.137	0.315	0.31
David Eckstein	Padres	4.80%	4.90%	0.279	0.326	0.354	0.075	0.29	0.308
Maicer Izturis	Angels	7.90%	13.50%	0.245	0.31	0.365	0.12	0.267	0.304
Gordon Beckham	White Sox	7.20%	19.30%	0.252	0.313	0.378	0.126	0.292	0.302
Skip Schumaker	Cardinals	8.20%	14.90%	0.263	0.329	0.34	0.077	0.296	0.301
Mike Aviles	Royals	4.30%	12.10%	0.291	0.321	0.36	0.069	0.323	0.3
Chone Figgins	Mariners	11.90%	20.30%	0.248	0.337	0.295	0.047	0.304	0.299
Reid Brignac	Rays	5.90%	27.50%	0.255	0.306	0.382	0.127	0.328	0.298
Jerry Hairston	Padres	6.70%	12.80%	0.254	0.309	0.368	0.114	0.267	0.297
Aaron Hill	Blue Jays	7.30%	13.90%	0.214	0.282	0.393	0.179	0.206	0.295
Jonathan Herrera	Rockies	8.20%	16.00%	0.278	0.335	0.327	0.049	0.321	0.294

St. Louis Cardinals Acquire 3B Pedro Feliz

Pedro Feliz has been awful this season. But the St. Louis Cardinals have reached the point of desperation at third base. Feliz has hit just .221 with four homers and 31 RBIs in 97 games for the Astros. He's been dropped even in deep NL-only leagues. However he should now be in the lineup regularly until the end if the season. He has also batted .288 in his career at Busch Stadium.

Feliz is probably of very little use to fantasy owners. David Carpenter, who was sent to the Astros, is probably far from helping as well. Carpenter was converted from catcher to relief pitcher recently. This year, the 25-year-old right-hander was 5-3 with a 2.36 ERA and 20 saves in 49 games at Class A Palm Beach.

Down the Stretch: The Top First Basemen of 2010

Justin Morneau comes in the winner despite injuries ruining his second half. This list is riddled with injuries, though. Morneau, Kevin Youkilis, Ryan Howard, and Kendry Morales all suffered major injuries. I'll spare you re-living the slow starts of Mark Teixeira and Derrek Lee...

Name	Team	BB%	K%	AVG	OBP	SLG	ISO	BABIP	wOBA
Justin Morneau	Twins	14.40%	20.90%	0.345	0.437	0.618	0.274	0.385	0.447
Miguel Cabrera	Tigers	14.20%	17.30%	0.337	0.431	0.629	0.292	0.351	0.439
Joey Votto	Reds	14.10%	22.50%	0.324	0.423	0.593	0.27	0.359	0.436
Kevin Youkilis	Red Sox	13.30%	18.50%	0.307	0.411	0.564	0.257	0.327	0.419
Albert Pujols	Cardinals	14.00%	12.30%	0.315	0.41	0.591	0.276	0.3	0.417
Paul Konerko	White Sox	11.40%	20.10%	0.301	0.381	0.575	0.274	0.308	0.404
Aubrey Huff	Giants	12.30%	13.90%	0.292	0.384	0.519	0.226	0.296	0.391
Adam Dunn	Nationals	10.40%	34.60%	0.269	0.355	0.565	0.297	0.333	0.389
Prince Fielder	Brewers	14.80%	25.90%	0.266	0.402	0.483	0.217	0.304	0.388
Buster Posey	Giants	6.40%	12.10%	0.34	0.388	0.516	0.176	0.356	0.388
Ryan Howard	Phillies	7.50%	26.30%	0.292	0.356	0.528	0.236	0.343	0.377
Adrian Gonzalez	Padres	12.50%	19.90%	0.295	0.385	0.5	0.205	0.322	0.373
Mark Teixeira	Yankees	12.80%	19.40%	0.252	0.358	0.483	0.232	0.258	0.366
Billy Butler	Royals	10.20%	12.70%	0.309	0.379	0.461	0.152	0.329	0.365
Adam LaRoche	Dbacks	8.70%	29.60%	0.272	0.339	0.489	0.217	0.339	0.357
Jason Giambi	Rockies	16.90%	23.30%	0.271	0.407	0.391	0.12	0.317	0.357
Kendry Morales	Angels	5.70%	16.10%	0.29	0.346	0.487	0.197	0.296	0.357
Gaby Sanchez	Marlins	8.60%	17.30%	0.287	0.352	0.453	0.166	0.324	0.356
Russell Branyan	- - -	11.30%	33.10%	0.241	0.331	0.468	0.227	0.298	0.347
Daric Barton	Athletics	14.20%	18.30%	0.27	0.379	0.39	0.12	0.317	0.346
Mike Napoli	Angels	6.80%	28.60%	0.254	0.322	0.478	0.224	0.297	0.345
Lance Berkman	- - -	16.20%	22.60%	0.237	0.361	0.418	0.181	0.27	0.345
Eric Hinske	Braves	10.50%	26.60%	0.258	0.338	0.464	0.206	0.309	0.343
Carlos Pena	Rays	14.40%	31.30%	0.213	0.334	0.44	0.227	0.237	0.343
Ty Wigginton	Orioles	8.40%	19.00%	0.257	0.328	0.439	0.183	0.274	0.333
Troy Glaus	Braves	13.10%	23.90%	0.239	0.343	0.406	0.166	0.272	0.333
Michael Cuddyer	Twins	9.40%	15.00%	0.272	0.341	0.424	0.152	0.298	0.333
Derrek Lee	Cubs	10.90%	24.20%	0.251	0.335	0.416	0.165	0.293	0.33
James Loney	Dodgers	7.30%	15.70%	0.285	0.339	0.416	0.131	0.321	0.328
Melvin Mora	Rockies	9.50%	12.20%	0.268	0.351	0.38	0.112	0.294	0.327
Lyle Overbay	Blue Jays	10.30%	23.80%	0.248	0.328	0.417	0.17	0.294	0.325
Rusty Ryal	Dbacks	4.70%	29.50%	0.288	0.347	0.391	0.103	0.393	0.325
Ike Davis	Mets	10.20%	28.10%	0.243	0.321	0.42	0.176	0.297	0.325
Garrett Jones	Pirates	8.30%	19.60%	0.257	0.317	0.426	0.169	0.28	0.324
Jorge Cantu	- - -	5.80%	20.40%	0.265	0.314	0.405	0.14	0.305	0.315

Derrek Lee to the Braves

Twitter and the blogosphere are buzzing -- Derrek Lee is going to be an Atlanta Brave within hours. According to Dave O'Brien's blog on ajc.com, the deal is expected to involve "some lower tier minor league prospects."

So, let's see how this deal will potentially shake out for fantasy owners.

It's easy to see where Lee fits in with the Braves. He will immediately step in as the everyday first baseman. He has been killing the ball lately -- in August, he has posted a .306 average and has slugged .694 -- giving the Braves what the desperately need (with or without Chipper), a power bat in the middle of the lineup. The question is Lee's health. He is dealing with a nagging back injury -- one that seems to have been nagging him for a few years now. The only other "bad" thing I see about this deal are Lee's career numbers at Turner Field, where he has only hit 8 homers and slugged just .388 in 66 games (his career SLG is .499).

This trade also spells the end of any of Troy Glaus' fantasy value. From everything I have read and heard, Glaus is heading to the bench while Martin Prado, Omar Infante and Alex Gonzalez see regular infield time. As you Glaus owners know, this is a good thing for the Braves. He definitely gives credence to the old saying: "one month does not a season make" (who said that? Confucius? Yoda?)

If my sources are correct, and no Major League-ready players are headed to Chicago, it definitely muddles their lineup. The safest call would be that Xavier Nady takes over the first base duties
-- and considering he only has 175 ABs this season, I would call him fresh. He's going to need to be plenty fresh to raise his .234 average.

I would also venture a guess that Jeff Baker will also see more extended playing time. The former Rockies prospect has played first base 49 times in his six-year Major League career. He did show some promise back in 2008, and this trade may be just the chance he needed to make a real contribution. Of course, he is only batting .236 in 157 ABs this season. Both Baker and Nady are right-handed batters, so a straight platoon would be tough to predict.

Once the trade is finalized and announced, I'm sure Jon can shed some light on the prospects involved. Check the comments section. --Pauly