Listen up: Fantasy Focus podcast

Our first Fantasy Focus podcast of the year is now posted on Bradenton.com.

Herald staffer Jason Dill and I chatted about some possible buy low and sell high candidates, from Mark Teixeira to David Ortiz to Paul Konerko to Stephen Strasburg. If you've always wondered what my voice sounded like, this is your big chance.

Got a fantasy question? Post a comment here and we may answer it on our next podcast.

Make space for these DHs

Some fantasy players tend to avoid carrying a DH-only player on their roster because it limits their flexibility. If you have one Utility spot, as most leagues do, you can usually fill that with another speedy outfielder or power-hitting corner infielder of your choice.

But this year, there are three guys who currently qualify as DHs only yet demand your attention.

Start with Vladimir Guerrero, acquired by the Texas Rangers this past offseason and freed from the daily punishment on his body as an outfielder in Anaheim. Vlad is off to a stellar start, batting .464 with a homer, three RBIs and a steal - yes, a steal - so far. It's not much of a surprise, given that Guerrerro is a .406 lifetime hitter with a 1.176 career OPS at the Ballpark.

Next up: Hideki Matsui, who also relocated to an AL West team over the winter, signing with the Los Angeles Angels. The 2009 World Series MVP is batting .370 with two homers and five RBIs (including a game-winner) and is already ingratiating himself to his new teammates as a clutch performer. It also appears the Halos are willing to give Godzilla some starts in left field, which means he'll soon regain OF eligibility (he hasn't played there regularly since '08), which makes him even more valuable in fantasy circles.

And finally, David Ortiz, who infamously went off on an expletive-laden rant last week after his 0-for-7 start drew comparisons to last season's slow start from the media. Big Papi is understandibly frustrated after another hideous April (.136, 0 homers), but I have no problem keeping a spot open on my bench who hit a league-high 27 homers after June 5 of last season. Hopefully you weren't counting on big things from him right off the bat and can afford to keep him deactivated until he inevitably hits a hot streak.

A few other DHs of note, Travis Hafner and Pat Burrell, might be worth a look later in the season if they can prove they've still got something left in the tank, but for now they're better left untouched.

It's OK to be mean

If there’s one aspect of fantasy baseball I truly enjoy, it’s kicking a fellow owner while he’s down.

I know it sounds pretty mean-spirited, but this game isn’t for the weak of heart. I’ve been in some leagues with some pretty hardcore guys over the years, and some of them took true pleasure in the misfortunes of other owners. I’ve learned you have to have a bit of a mean streak if you want to be a contender – whether that means making ridiculously one-sided trade offers in the hopes of hosing someone or using your waiver claim to beat someone out for a free agent they covet.

For instance, consider Raul Ibanez’s recent groin injury. Let’s say one of my leaguemates just lost one of this year’s premier hitters to the disabled list. How can I use that to my advantage? Well, the first thing I’m going to do is send him a lowball trade offer in the hopes he’ll panic over missing Ibanez’s stellar average and home run and RBI totals for the next few weeks. How does David Ortiz for Ibanez sound? Maybe it’ll be a slap in the face – or maybe he’ll take it. And then I’ll be the one laughing when Ibanez is healed in a few weeks and resuming his charge toward a .300/45/120 season.

If your league’s Ibanez owner isn’t that gullible and decides to simply ride out the storm with the Philadelphia Phillies slugger on his DL, there’s another way you can still tweak him and make his loss your gain. Go ahead and pick up John Mayberry Jr., the youngster who will replace Ibanez on the Phils’ roster. Mayberry isn’t exactly a super-prospect, but at 6-foot-6 and 234 pounds he certainly passes the “looks” test, and he’s got some pop in his bat – he hit a homer in a nine-at bat cameo in the majors in May and went yard again Thursday in his first game back up from Triple-A. He probably doesn’t have much long-term value, but every homer Mayberry hits from here on out will be a tiny dagger into the heart of an Ibanez owner. What could be more enjoyable?

Big Papi, little results

I sure hope you didn't waste a high pick or a keeper slot on David Ortiz this year.

You've gotten almost no return on your investment this year from Big Papi, who entered the weekend hitting an empty .208/.318/.300 (career: .285/.380/.547).

Ortiz also hasn't homered at all this year and hasn't gone yard in his last 144 at-bats - his longest drought since Sept. 9, 1998, to June 9, 2000, as the Associated Press reports, back when he was a nobody playing partial seasons with the the Minnesota Twins.

Now he's being benched for this weekend's series in Seattle - or taking a mental timeout, as Red Sox manager Terry Francona describes it. But it will be interesting to see what they do with Ortiz once he returns to the lineup: Will he continue to bat third, sapping all the life out of an otherwise potent offense? How long do they stick with Big Papi now that he's beginning to show signs of age and Manny Ramirez withdrawal?

And what the heck do fantasy owners do with him? In my main league, Ortiz was traded a few weeks ago straight up for OF Chris Young ... and then dropped the other day in favor of RP Michael Wuertz. How the mighty have fallen.

In my mind, unless you're in a really shallow eight-team league, you've got to stash Papi on your bench for now. Yes, he's looking washed up at this point, but there's a lot of time to regain his stroke, and the Sox are obviously going to give him multiple opportunities to do so. You could stick Russ Ortiz in the third spot in that lineup and he'd still manage to put up some decent numbers with enough chances. Obviously you're not going to get what you expected out of him this year, even if he goes on a major hot streak, and even if he does, this little episode has to raise a giant red flag for next season.

If you're looking some sort of positive, there's this: With interleague play starting up next week, Ortiz wasn't going to see many at-bats in the coming week anyway, so at least you won't be faced with a tough decision. Bench him until he starts to show a pulse.

Manny being Manny ... and ruining fantasy teams

Manny Ramirez's 50-game suspension after testing positive for a banned substance doesn't just hurt the Dodgers. It's a harsh blow for any fantasy team built around the slugging enigma.

Manny's been on a tear ever since donning Dodger Blue late last year, and he was off to a stellar start in 2009: .348, six homers, 20 RBIs. Those numbers won't easily be replaced; L.A. will probably turn to Juan Pierre as their everyday left fielder, which is the equivalent of canceling American Idol and running some old Bosom Buddies reruns in its place.

Manny's absence from the lineup also creates problems for some other Dodgers hitters, particularly young Andre Ethier (.317, six homers, 27 homers), who's been enjoying a breakout season batting third in front of Ramirez. Think he'll be seeing as many good pitches without Man-Ram on deck? You might expect a bit of a drop in his stats, at least until around the All-Star break when Manny is due to return.

And speaking of bosom buddies, now that the door has been opened to possible steroid use by Ramirez, it's only natural for the spotlight to drift onto Manny's days in Boston, when he and pal David Ortiz were terrorizing the league. (ESPN columnist and resident BoSox diehard Bill Simmons has an excellent take on it.) If this wasn't simply a "personal health issue" or doctor's mistake but rather the deliberate use of a substance often associated with steroid use, one could reasonably assume this isn't the first time Ramirez has used performance enhancing drugs, and thus we could also figure some of his former Red Sox teammates have juiced in the past.

Might that explain the stunning and precipitous drop in Ortiz's stats the past few years? We may never know, and perhaps it's unfair to associate Big Papi with cheating, but I'd definitely be concerned with Ortiz's decline and be looking to deal him if possible, especially in light of Thursday's bombshell.

This week's column: Overdoming injuries

Injuries to Albert Pujols, Alfonso Soriano or David Ortiz got you down? This week's column will help you cope. You can read it in Sunday's Herald sports section or online at Bradenton.com.