Slip Sliding Away

Dontrelle's ERA is
going through the roof

At the end of April, I gave Pedro my "First Month Fantasy Cy Young Award" over Dontrelle Willis. Part of the reason was D-Train's track record of falling apart late in the season; the tie-breaker went to Pedro. I took quite a bit of heat for that one. I went on a radio show and predicted that Willis would crumble after the calendar flipped to July and was chided for "assuming the worst." Well, unfortunately for Willis, it looks like I may have been right on this one. Just as he has in his first two major league seasons, Dontrelle is getting lit up in the second half of the season.

To read the rest of this thread, click on the link titled "Slip Sliding Away" on the right side.

Launch Sequence

Ensberg has been
leading the charge

A few days ago a wrote a column for WhatifSports detailing why I think the Astros will continue their winning ways and land the NL Wild Card spot in the playoffs. Since that time they got swept in St. Louis and then took three straight from the Pirates, and I remain convinced that they are going to "get it done" (I'm getting back to showing some love for Digger Phelps) down the stretch. Posted as the first comment to this thread is the column in its entirety. I forgot to get it to my editor before he went on vacation, so we'll have to house it here. Enjoy.

Vegas Summer League

The new fan favorite

I'm a big believer in the idea that the NBA needs to put a team in Las Vegas as soon as possible. But since it is not going to happen in the immediate future, I will have to take comfort in the fact that the city is hosting a sweet 16-team summer league. Given that I am obsessed with the NBA and eager to see how some of the recent draft picks are working out, I thought I would investigate. Read on to find out who is hot and who is stinking up the strip through the first three days of action.

The Gerald Green Draft

The Celtics are "lovin' it"

This is your one-stop shopping location for all discussion of the NBA Draft. The review of the Eastern Conference picks is up over at the mothership (www.whatifsports.com/insider) and the Western Conference breakdown will be up shortly. For now, feel free to use the comment option to leave scathing criticism for Isiah Thomas, Rob Babcock, or The Guru. Don't take any shots at me though, or I'll delete your post. Enjoy.

Get Your All-Stars!

Ortiz will be there

Lost in the NBA Draft excitement is the fact that the All-Star teams will be announced in a matter of days. Here are my versions of the team, taking into account the fan voting (controversial), representation rules (ridiculous), and all of the other weird twists and turns in the selection process. Be sure to weigh in with your own choices.