BallHyped.com is hosting a 64-blog tournament and the Sons of Roto are the heavy favorites to win it all (despite our 36th seeding). Even though we are the odds-on-favorite, we still need everyone to lend their support and vote for us. If we win the tournament I will give away a baseball bat that was autographed by the late Harmon Killebrew. First to feel our wrath: the 29th seeded Bay Area Sports Talk. 

Vote here

Photo Credit: Boy27wonder 

At “Stream Pies,” we are serving up gooey loads of knowledge. Here, we’ll provide invaluable streaming advice on kickers and DEF teams who are owned in less than 30-percent of Yahoo! leagues. We list the options in order of best option to “least-best” option (with the strongest recommendations starting at the top).We also include last week’s suggestions and full season results. Points are based on default Yahoo! settings.

Well, we’re down to the last week of the fantasy football season and you know that this is a critical...

All right, I gotta be totally honest with you. I just don’t care that much about football anymore. Now that baseball is on the horizon and basketball is started up, fantasy football has lost its luster. So writing an intro for a fantasy football article? Yeah, you better believe I’m mailing that shit in.

“Stream Pies” streams on after the jump:

Photo Credit: Thom Sheridan

Okay, so your boy Stats All Folks hasn’t even made a rough cheat sheet and the only thing I’ve done so far is rank catchers. Regardless, I’m comfortable saying that Carlos Santana is a first round caliber fantasy option. Crazy? Not really. Position scarcity is a bitch, and Santana provides an incredible advantage at a position that generally produces mediocre-at-best results. Santana’s power potential is tremendous, but the real reason he’s set to be such a diesel option is his playing time. Last year the San-Man had 63 more PAs than Victor Martinez (who mostly DH’d) and came to the plate 225 more times than Mike Napoli, who is widely considered the second best fantasy catcher. That’s a huge advantage to have as a fantasy owner since most backstops have a hard time reaching the 500 PA plateau. The Indians have very little offensive upside and they have no choice but to stick Santana at first or DH just to keep his bat in the lineup everyday.

So Santana clearly gets more PAs than any other catcher, but you need a great bat to go with all those trips to the plate in order to warrant a first round selection. Fortunately for the Cleveland backstop, he’s coming off a season in which he posted a .217 ISO, 16.0 HR/FB, and 14.7 BB% in his first full campaign. Pretty fucking awesome. Yes Santana hit just .239, but his BA should rise to at least the .260 range in 2012. His groundball rates were way up from his minor league numbers while his line drive percentage fell well below his marks in the minors. Couple that with a .263 BABIP and the fact that Santana has been a pretty good contact hitter throughout his pro career, and it’s easy to see why a BA spike is on the horizon. Of course, the real reason we are coverting Santana is the power. Dude rocked 27 HRs last year and at age 25 (26 in April) there is certainly room for his already great power production to grow.

Sure one can make the argument that V-Mart might catch him in PAs this year since he is heading towards strict DH duties in 2012, but keep in mind that he is 32 and has dealt with some nagging injuries the last two years (while also enduring a serious power drop-off last year). Think Napoli poses much of a threat to Santana’s position as the top fantasy catcher? Unless you believe he’s about to make an extra 150-200 PAs appear out of thin air, he’s really no match for Santana. The Rangers are committed to Mitch Moreland as their first baseman and it would be pretty ridiculous for Napoli to improve on his .312 ISO (.249 career) and .320 BA (.2464) from last year. In other words, Napoli peaked in ‘11 and while he is still an elite fantasy backstop, the PA discrepancy between he and Santana and the fact that he is due to come back down to earth in 2012 make Napoli the clearly inferior option.

So let’s review. We have a player still not in his prime who is capable of hitting 30 or more HRs with 100 RBIs and 90-100 runs thanks to his abundant playing time. This same player is coming off a season in which he had more PAs than elite players like Albert Pujols, Jose Bautista, and Ryan Braun. Oh, and they also happen to play a position that generally sees its top 12 players net around 500 PAs (or, over 150 less than what our potential first rounder will net us if healthy). Let us also not forget that this position he plays is one that most people straight-up expect modest stats from. Even the staunchest position scarcity critic can’t front on Santana. If you had a shortstop with Santana’s power potential, they would be seen as at worst a second round target. Catcher is a thinner position in my opinion simply because they don’t play as often as other position players, so when you see a player who mans that position who is being given everyday ABs, you have to seriously boost them up your rankings.

You won’t need to spend a first rounder to net Santana as a late-third round pick should be good enough to secure his services. I’m simply saying that the type of production I’m expecting him to throw up should be good enough to make him a top 12 fantasy player this season. Believe that.

Demaryius Thomas could save your squad
Photo Credit: Jeffrey Beall

Don’t Sleep is back for a Week 15 edition to help your fantasy playoff teams gain that final edge over your opponent. Many of you that have advanced in the playoffs barely squeaked out a victory last week despite dealing with injuries and poor play on your roster. You might have had your eye on some hot waiver wire pickups, just to see the owner you are facing this week grab them before you could. Well, I am here to shed light on some deep sleepers who slipped through the cracks that can get the job done and launch you into the championship. Percentage owned based on ESPN leagues.

More after the jump:

And the lord said let there be light.

Seriously, that reflection, or halo, was not intentionally placed. Tim Tebow shines even when the darkest of shadows looms overhead. On the flip side, it must suck to be in the Jason Witten market. Laurent Robinson is using a pitch fork to poke the poor souls who own a piece of the Cowboys Tight End. Poking away and tweaking his finely groomed mustache. My version of the devil has a mustache. Alright, enough talk. Let's get to the Week 15 positional rankings.

Ryan Shitzpatrick has been making quite a mess of his bed
Photo Credit: Ed Yourdon 

At “Stream Pies,” we are serving up gooey loads of knowledge. Here, we’ll provide invaluable streaming advice on kickers and DEF teams who are owned in less than 30-percent of Yahoo! leagues. We list the options in order of best option to “least-best” option (with the strongest recommendations starting at the top).We also include last week’s suggestions and full season results. Points are based on default Yahoo! settings.

Not much to say this week. Anyone still alive in their respective leagues knows what needs to be done, and I’m just here offering up my recommendations as sleeve aces for your weekly matchups. You’re welcome.

Your Week 14 recommendations after the jump:

Go ahead and climb Jacob's ladder (pause)
Photo Credit: Jeffrey Beall

It’s playoff time and a lot of you are probably shitting your pants because you just found out one of your key players is questionable and you missed out on all the hot waiver-wire pickups. Don’t worry, because I am back with another edition of “Don’t Sleep” to help get you through these tough times. All of these players have cleared waivers and can step in and help you this week. Percentage owned based on ESPN leagues.

More after the jump:

Just like it's counterpart, the NFL, injuries lead to a high turnover rate in the world of fantasy football. The champions of 2009 are the decapitated, ankles-glued-back-together bodies of today. Remember, it's not your fault.

So your team went 5-8. You lost. The fat lady has sung. It's all over... well, kind of. One very important part of the fantasy football season remains: it's time to roll out the excuses. Most people would show weakness at a time like this by posting silly messages like, "Congrats to everyone who made the playoffs", but not me; not MDS. This is the time of the season when you reinforce the notion of your superiority, whether you won or not. I don't know about your losses, but my Big L's are not the fault of my own. I can justify them. I have good reasons to why I didn't win. I have excuses. Make the jump to see the Top Ten Excuses to why you didn't win your fantasy football league.

This crew is more intimidating than the players on St. Louis
Photo Credit: A Roger Davies 

At “Stream Pies,” we are serving up gooey loads of knowledge. Here, we’ll provide invaluable streaming advice on kickers and DEF teams who are owned in less than 30-percent of Yahoo! leagues. We list the options in order of best option to “least-best” option (with the strongest recommendations starting at the top).We also include last week’s suggestions and full season results. Points are based on default Yahoo! settings.

As the fantasy football regular season has come to an end, most fantasy football coverage has quieted. “Stream Pies,” on the other hand, is here to stay. That’s right, we’re carrying your sorry-asses all the way to Week 16, so climb inside ole’ Daddy Starbucks’ creepy minivan, but don’t tailgate. The exhaust fumes billowing out of this championship ride are sure to induce nausea.

More “Stream Pies” after the jump:

Watching rain hit the Browns football team is a form of waterboarding
Photo Credit: d.fauchner

Your boy Cheeks, the world renowned weatherologist, is back once again. I had to cut the weather reports short. I needed time to nurse my frightened weiner back to life after my extensive coverage of Chyna's porn career. For all of you who sent letters: yes Andre (FYI: I nicknamed my ween Andre since he is a giant) is back to 100%. I'm off the injured list just in time for Old Man Winter to potentially start laying the smackdown on the NFL schedule. The last thing you want is for rain, sleet or snow to deter your playoff chances.

Just one quick heads up for this week 13; there is 71% chance of rain all game long in Cleveland.

The Browns have trouble moving the ball, even in perfect conditions, so Baltimore should be the number one ranked Team Defense for the week. Any type of rain would obviously put a damper on the passing game for both teams. I'm not sure Colt McCoy could even throw a TD in the NFL Blitz video game. Hopefully you aren't in a position where you have to consider starting him, or any of the Cleveland wide receivers. Joe Flacco's ceiling will be lower so use other options if you have a QB ranked closely to Flacco in MDS' rankings. A rain filled muddy day may finally be the game where Peyton Hillis finally pays off. Montario Hardesty makes for a decent desperation play as the Cleveland coaching staff said the rehabbing RB will be "more of a factor" in the offense this week. Ray Rice is the type of guy you start every week no matter what, but I think that Ricky Williams may actually be a decent option this week. He is just the kind of downhill runner who could Do Work in a messy game. I'll even go out on a limb and make a classic Cheeks guarantee: Ricky Williams will score a TD this week. Put it in the books. [Editor's Note: but will he do the Sticky Icky Woods Shuffle?] Or maybe I am just high?