Just finished up a 12-team, slow mock draft at 7:45... or was it quarter to 8:00? Anyway, the multi-day extravaganza was hosted at CouchManagers.com, by @BaseballPress. I'm not sure who all the participants were, but we did have someone from Fangraphs in the crowd, Zach... Swim? Swammi? Slippy? Slappy? Swenson? Sanders? We don't usually post mock drafts... but I'm-a gonna go with my instincts on this one. Saddle up partner!

After the 2007 baseball season (19 HR, 21 SB), Russell Martin was overvalued in fantasy circles and suave managers didn't like him. Then after 2009 (7 HR, 11 SB), only a small handful of managers thought he was being underrated when the majority of the fantasy community paid him no attention. Now that he signed with the Yankees and cockblocked Jesus Montero, nobody likes Russell Martin. I may have him ranked 11th among all Catchers, but I'm still upset with him and the Yankees.

2011 Projection .262 AVG, 11 HR, 67 Runs, 61 RBI, 11 SB (500 AB)

Could Montero be traded for Starting Pitching? Could he be called up if Jorge Posada hits the DL? Do the Yankees really think he'll stick at Catcher? Who knows. All I know is that I need to schedule a meeting with Dr. Buddy Rydell. Now that we know Nipsey Russell is roasting Montero's value in the Big Apple, I can work out some projections for the remaining AL East backstops and post some Catcher rankings soon.

I'm sure some people will be upset over my 2011 projection for Austin Jackson. Detroit's rookie Outfielder finished second to Neftali Feliz in the Rookie of the Year voting after hitting .293, scoring 103 Runs and stealing 27 bases. Jackson hit .300 in AAA and .285 in AA, so why am I going all Grumpy Old Men on the 23-year old? There are conspiracy theorists who say that I am a closet Boston Red Sox homer who hates all Yankees past and present, but they couldn't be more wrong. I'll tell you why I'm hating on Austin Jackson, all you have to do is make the jump.

Do you smell what the Hot Stove is cooking? Plenty of action lately, it's getting hard to keep up with it all trading, signings and "heard this" tweets while working on 2011 projections, mock drafting and bossing around Virgil. Let's tackle six moves in one post before getting into more Hot Stove action with Starbonell tomorrow. Make the jump my little pretties.

STARBONELL STATION
Thursday, December 9th 7:30 PM Central
Call-in Number (347) 324-3827

No matter what the people say, I'm gonna draft you anyway
You are my Outfielder, I can't let go
Even if Virgil starts a fight, try 'til I set him right
You are my Outfielder, I can't let go
Even if you're out for weeks, you can put it all on me
You are my Outfielder, I can't let go
I can't, I can't let you go

This past Sunday, Grady Sizemore passed a checkup and is on target to be ready for Opening Day after undergoing microfracture surgery in June. Unstable cartilage was found in Sizemore's left knee and small holes were drilled into his knee cap to stimulate cartilage growth. This is a major operation and I do not recommend that you draft Grady Sizemore. I repeat, do not draft Grady Sizemore. I probably will though.

Sizemore has burned me two years in a row, but I've never been one to take advice from George W. Bush. I've sworn off Sizemore too many times to count after what he did to me last year, but I can already sense my fond feelings for him rushing back to me. I didn't learn from history so I'm doomed to repeat it. Don't follow me into the dark abyss of injury and frustration.

Tony LaRussa loves him some veteran players. Enter "Fat Elvis" and his sore back, strained groin, hyper-extended knee and the 24 other Day-to-Day injuries listed on his Injury Tool page. I did not embellish or exaggerate, there are 27 listings for DTD injuries. I think I just heard Justin Morneau laughing in the background. Lance Berkman couldn't stay healthy while standing on First Base for the Houston Astros. This is the Cardinals Left Fielder.

The "Big Puma" will get most of the starts against Righties and will platoon against Lefties. The switch-hitting Berkman hasn't hit LHP well the past two seasons: .208 AVG with 8 HR in 216 At Bats. Last season was the first time, since the year 2000, that Lance didn't hit at least 21 HR. He hit 14 round-trippers between 85 games with the Astros and 37 games with the Yankees. It's fair to say the soon-to-be 35-year old is in decline mode.

2011 Projection .251 AVG, 12 HR, 53 Runs, 59 RBI, 1 SB (400 AB)

400 At Bats is an optimistic projection. I'd rather project stats for a player based on potential, rather than take a stab at guessing how many fly balls he can shag before his leg falls off. If I were to guess, I'd say he logs 358 At Bats. That single Stolen Base was borne out of pity. I don't think the Cardinals should be sending him off to the races. That's just asking for trouble. The kind of trouble you'll be asking for if you draft "Fat Elvis".

Is this about fantasy baseball or just an excuse for me to post one of my all-time favorite songs to play when I enter a bar? Both! Torii Hunter was caught stealing so much in 2010 they stopped sending him. The days of Hunter stealing 18 to 23 bases have passed us by. Check out the edited screen grab, four steals in the last four months of the season and zero in the last two. Ouch. Remember that when trying to collect five or six 20-SB players in your auction drafts.

It's finally official. The Boston Red Sox have traded for Adrian Gonzalez. The deal sends Casey Kelly (RHP), Anthony Rizzo (1B) and Reymond Fuentes (OF) to the Padres. Some reports have a player-to-be-named-later included in the trade. The biggest news here is that I can no longer call Adrian, "Gonz Solo", because he's actually going to have people on base when he hits moon shots. I'm kind of bummed out, Kevin Youkilis would have made a good "Youkbacca" to Adrian's "Gonz Solo". Gonzalez has already won over the hearts of millions with his quote aimed at the Evil Empire, “I’m very excited to be in Boston and ready to beat the Yanks”. Alright, enough Star Wars reference, let's take a look at Adrian's potential for the 2011 fantasy baseball season.