Looking for a Fight: Will You Be Entertained at UFC 153?

Aldo and Rampage's injuries almost dealt another blow to the UFC. But then something different happened...

From the ashes of UFC 151: Never Happened and on the verge of another Popeiian disaster, the UFC was at risk of probably not cancelling UFC 153 in Rio, but rather putting together a shaky card at best. At best because with both the main event and co-main event fights being pulled due to injures to Jose Aldo and Quentin "Rampage" Jackson, even the myth of Glover Teixiera couldn't pull in the PPV buys or fan excitement Dana White would be looking for.

It hasn't been a great year for White or the UFC. With all the hype surrounding the FOX deal, injuries swept through the UFC like a glacier coming out of the ice age.

The two top PPV fighters of 2011 have been gone all year. Georges St-Pierre to an ACL tear, due back in November, and Brock Lesnar is back to being BROCK LESNAR, although he got to keep the gloves.

All the next top PPV fighter did in 2012 was become the youngest, most dominant champion on LHW history, crash his Bentley and get a DUI, sign a Nike sponsorship, get an entire PPV cancelled for the first time in the UFC's 12 year history, and become the most polarizing (as in probably just as many fans hate him as like him at this point) fighter in the UFC, and get publicly roasted by White during a media conference call. So, yeah.

From a business standpoint, sometimes it's good to be Dana White (from a business standpoint because, personally, it must rock to be Dana White). When you have the best fighter ever on speed dial, and the stars align just right, he was able to make some phone calls and save the card. White recruited middleweight kingpin/champ/overlord/God/whatever...Anderson Silva to take a fight with Stephan Bonnar in a 3 round main event fight at 205. Along with finding a replacement for the hyped Teixiera and Antonio "Big Nog" Noguiera hopping on board, this trinity of Brazilians assembled like Voltron to form, not a more powerful PPV, but as entertaining a card as one could have hoped for with a month left to go.


People are already complaining. Comments of "are you serious?" or "why would I pay to see Bonnar get KO'd in a minute" were already flooding message boards. Personally, I have no idea what people could be complaining about.

Let's take a moment to think about what has to take place for this to even come together. First off, if this isn't in Brazil, I'm not so sure these fighters get on board. Silva mentioned fighting someone to save UFC 151, but on 8 days, no one was too eager to face the baddest man on this orb. Big Nog scored a big win his last time in Brazil, so he's eager to get back. For Teixiera, this will be his big coming out party. It's not Rampage, but a lot of eyes will be on him.


Kudos need to go out to all of these fighters, especially Stephan Bonnar who took on the biggest challenge of them all. He will truly earn his "American Psycho" nickname with this one.

Critics of the new UFC 153 will be quick to throw out names, and play matchmaker, but with a month to go, fighters are normally well into training at this time. No one of Silva's quality would come in unprepared to fight a guy like a Rashad Evans. He took this fight because it was in Brazil, he could do 205, and a guy like Bonnar isn't likely to give him issues.

Ah, ha! So you know where I fall on the whole Jon Jones fiasco at 151. Not exactly. Bones had 2 distinctly different things from Silva.

1. Jones was training, healthy, and ready to fight. He was ready to fight Dan Henderson but still ready. Silva was probably training and marginally healthy, but he wasn't supposed to fight again until 2013 (possibly in a super fight against GSP).
2. There have been ups and downs with Silva regarding fans, but for the most part (the whole part if you're asking me) he's must see television. The fans love him. One of the overriding reasons JBJ declined to fight Chael Sonnen was to protect his brand. Which, as rational as I try to be, annoys me to no end. This concept of branding.You know what's a form of branding? How people think of you. Whether it's Dwight Howard, Jones, or LeBron James. Jones wasn't scared of Sonnen, but rather, I think, he hinged his decision on if I lose, then what?

This is still a combat sport, so anything can happen. So it does take on some risk to step into the Octagon with anyone, and as much crap as Bonnar is getting, he's a fighter. The fight will be entertaining no matter what.

I have no doubt Dana opened up the roster to Silva and said, you pick, we'll see if we can get him, and Bonnar was loony enough to say yes. 

Ultimately, what we received yesterday when this news broke, was a chance to see the Spider in the Octagon another time. I'd head to my local bar and pay a $10 cover to see Silva fight a garbage can as the main event, but for a chance to see him let loose? To fight carefree against a soft hitter like Bonnar, who if you gave him 3 clean shots to Silva probably couldn't wobble him, who knows what can happen? Will it be like Silva against Forrest Griffin? Awesome. I watched that fight over and over and over again. Silva's performance was a spectacle. 

Put that along a still strong card, man, if you can't see paying $54.99 for that, I don't know what to tell you.

FAABulous: Fantasy Football Pick-ups Week 2

You win this round, RGIII. (wjla.com)

FAABulous will recap the week of football activity and point fantasy owners where to spend their hard earned (not really) FAAB or waiver priority. Players will be owned in at least 30% of Yahoo! FFL. This is the one time where mo' money probably wouldn't mean mo' problems.

Like most of you, I was eager and more than happy to hunker down on Sunday for the first full slate of NFL games for the 2012-2013 season,* but as one heralded rookie put on a show in New Orleans, I'm pretty sure I had a more unique experience watching this go down. Now, I have Robert Griffin III as my back-up to Tom Brady in my money fantasy league, so I can't say I was bummed I didn't start him, but rather happy to have him on board. Of course, this experience can be shared with hundreds of thousands of other RGIII owners. Where my experience becomes unique is that my initials are R.G. and I also just so happen to be the 3rd.

*Can we all just agree to "Madden" any sports years that aren't all encompassed in one calendar year? When Madden comes out, it's not Madden 12-13, it's Madden 13. This is the 2013 football season. Sorry to all the hyphen lovers out there.

So, not that he hasn't taken the moniker of RGIII more than rightfully over your humble narrator, I was just reflecting on two things.

1. How did I never make better use of the RGIII, RG3 nickname?
2. If I had, man I would have been able to make at least some money off of it.

The answer to the first question is much easier and more palatable. I had a better nickname growing up. Using my last name as the springboard, it initially became G-Lock, which streamlined to Glock (unbeknownst to me or any of my friends at the time a glock is also a pistol, so not trying to be all gangster or anyting). Then another incarnation, the Glockness Monster or just Glockness. To this day, I say much better than RGIII.

The answer to the second question gets to be a bit harder to swallow. For the longest time, at least in the early '00s when rap was exploding everywhere and I had realized that Glock is the name for a handgun, I was solicitous that a rapper would take my coveted nickname. Then from that point on, my nickname, which I liked, would be compared to/inspired by that rapper or it would become obsolete. Little did I know that around that same time, an 8th grader was going to blindside me for the rights to RGIII. 

Needless to say, in an era of 2Chainz, Maino, Tyga, Wiz Khalifa, and any other ridiculous rap names there are, Glock appears to be safe.

Where my RGIII connection comes in is that when Twitter first came out, I had to pick a handle. Glockness Monster was too long, Glock was not allowed due to the aforementioned affiliation to a firearm. So I tried RG3. Too short. Twitter requires 4 characters. Ok, RG_3. Eh, don't like the way it looks. What about...RGIII? Available, works, but eh, I don't know, let's go with TheRealGlockness (or something completely stupid and not funny). For a moment in time, I had Robert Griffin III's Twitter handle, and while I'm no economist I'm pretty sure the rights to that would have netted me a nice chunk of change from the RGIII camp. If only. Not to make matters any better, I've switched my name 2 or 3 times to the current one, which I'm fine with. 

As RGIII laid down after his 88-yd TD pass to Pierre Garcon, he had plenty of things whistling threw his helmet. Me? I only had one. "Shit."

Onto who you should be opening your wallets for.

Flac-daddy (http://cdn.stereogum.com)

Joe Flacco, QB - BAL (70% owned)

Perhaps no one took a leap in Week 1 quite like Joe Flacco (Audubon Green Wave, what!). The now unibrowless and fu-man-chuless QB opened up his brand new offense, and the no huddle seams to treat him just fine. With more control over play calls and having play makers like Dennis Pitta, a healthy Anquan Boldin, and burner Torrey Smith, Flacco can utilize Ray Rice as a runner, pass catcher out of the backfield, and most importantly excellent play action threat to open up deep balls that Flacco actually throws extremely well. Flacco has always been a better actual player than fantasy player, but after last night's performance he bumps up a tier to solid fantasy QB2/spot starter. By the end of the year, it could be higher than that.

Owen Daniels/Jared Cook/Kyle Rudolph/Dennis Pitta/Marcedes Lewis, TE (All 65% and under)

If you were pissed you missed on Jimmy Graham, Rob Gronkowski, Antonio Gates, or Aaron Hernandez, maybe you shouldn't be. This appears to be Year II of the Tight End. All those guys (minus Gates who *gasp* got a little dinged up) put up solid Week 1 numbers, but the group of widely available TE's look to be up to the challenge.

Daniels we know about. He's had great success in Houston, and he has been productive. With Schaub back, it appears things are back to normal for him, however, I would still put him in the old school class of TEs. The next couple guys are a new wave.

Rudolph was highlighted in my failed Grantland submission as my sleeper, and when I was researching that position, a lot of what I liked in Rudolph you could say about Dennis Pitta. 

Kyle may not have won me a Grantland gig, but I still like him.(media.scout.com)

The thing that stood out for Jared Cook and Marcedes Lewis was easily how they were utilized on Sunday. @MikeClayNFL tweeted that the Titans called a pass play on 48 of Cook's 60 snaps. Out of those 48 pass plays, the TE stayed back to pass block all of zero times. He was out there running routes and looking for catches. The athletic TE has been a 'sleeper' pick for so many years I'm sure he's burned some bridges, but with Kenny Britt still recovering from his knee surgeries and a young QB in Jake Locker, the Titans certainly look to be turning to Cook.

Lewis did have 10 TDs two years ago, but the mess that Jacksonville was last year and some dropsies by the big man caused an unbelievably horrid year. He too became the apple of Blaine Gabbert's hair eye in Week 1 and was able to get a lot of look as well was haul in a TD.

Alshon Jeffery, WR - CHI (35%)

Titus Young was a popular sleeper pick at WR this year. People saw Calvin Johnson, people saw match-up issues, people saw a lot of one-on-one coverage for the young receiver. Well, things didn't exactly go as planned for Titus in Week 1. When you're the dumb one out of a confrontation with Janoris Jenkins, that's a problem. One Lions head coach Jim Schwartz probably won't tolerate much more of.

Another team in the division though, may have been a quiet sleeper in utilizing the Johnson-Young dilemma, the Chicago Bears. Brandon Marshall looked to be on the same page as Jay Cutler, which is a good thing for each of them, and potentially a great thing for Jeffery. The rookie wideout caught a touch and had 80 yards. If Cutler, Marshall, and Forte/Bush get motoring, it might be wide open spaces for Jeffery.

PENNY SAVED IS A PENNY EARNED

Alfred Morris, RB - WAS (5%)

Well, that didn't take long. The Redskins RB situation has created the first line in the sand moment of fantasy football 2013. Either people are going to be right or wrong in saying claim him or not. For me, I'm staying away. A tiger can't change their stripes and Mike Shanahan hasn't had a steady back in quite some time. If Alfred Morris is Terrell Davis, then I was way, way wrong, but I'll opt and say he isn't. Morris will be decent, maybe an RB4 or decent flex play given the match-up, but with RGIII at the helm, Shanahan will want to keep a back in there that can run, pass block, and pass catch. As far as I can tell, Morris can only do one of those things. That equals a RB shuffle akin to what we've all been known to hate about Shanahan.

Also, let's just say RGIII becomes a better version of Cam Newton last year? It wouldn't surprise me at all to see the run game minimized in that circumstance, along with the times when the 'Skins are trailing in the ball game. If I have a top 5 waiver claim, sure I can see doing that. But unloading half or more of my FAAB? No thanks.

THE 1%

Bilal Powell, RB - NYJ (1%)

I'm pretty sure no one is overreacting to the Jets offensive explosion on Sunday. Things would be a lot quieter in Gang Green land if Mark Sanchez could consistently do what he did against either an underprepared or overrated Bills defense. Odds are, they are going to have to turn to the run game, and while Shonn Greene looked to have a good game, he did fumble twice (both were recovered). This isn't great for Greene, who has continued to underwhelm the fantasy community for years. We all know Tim Tebow is lurking in weird packages that probably won't work, or in cases like Sunday, aren't needed, but with Joe McKnight being Joe McKnight, there is an opportunity for Powell to take some carries with the first team offense.

Grantland: Fantasy Island Competition (Loser)

A fantasy writing opportunity? Keep dreaming. (Getty images)

Bill Simmons' site, Grantland, on ESPN launched a contest to find their next fantasy football writer. Now, as a purveyor of sports/fantasy knowledge, aside from the odds being against me, I was forced to enter at the mere shot of getting into the competition.

The rules were simple enough. Pick your top 5 fantasy players and 1 sleepers, keep it to 750 words, and be original. Ok, I can do that. As a matter of fact, I can easily do that.

As I focused in on writing my 750 word essay, I started to think of the implications of what I was doing. The essay would only get me into the contest, where a varied point system would be developed among the 10-12 other contestants in order to pick a winner at the end of the football season.

Would you believe it, but some people took the cynical approach and "thanked" Grantland for offering to get free fantasy football content for a year and then offer up a "meager" contributor contract to write for Grantland for a year (and I guess potentially longer if you're the bee's knees).

I write and maintain Lockration. not because I have some delusion of becoming the next Bill Simmons or that ESPN or Yahoo or CBS will shoot me an email saying they like my stuff and want me to work for them full-time. I know that requires this site to get probably close to 100K hits a day, which this site is currently running behind by about 99,989 hits. I would write about fantasy sports, MMA, major sports, or that sport where the horses dance around with braided manes if I could earn a living off of it. This is fun for me. This is leisure. Each post is basically a first draft I write off the top of my head, do a little research for links and such, and I post it. All-in-all, I can write something up in about 40 minutes. This is my zen.

This takes me back to the implications of entering the contest and wanting to really, truly win. I was having dreams of winning, I felt it in my guts. You'll see in the entry below for my sleeper pick of Kyle Rudolph, I make some very similar comments to a Bill Barnwell (see. Copycat Contract) article posted days later! I was basically writing as a Grantlander already! Now, of course, I'm no where as prolific, good, or anything positive compared to Barnwell, but to me it was a sign.

If I entered this, did my best, and didn't win, then what? Would I sully my zen? Validation is a word I always tied to a weakness. Validation is something a person needed to know they belong. How could they possibly ever know if they were good enough if someone didn't pat them on the back? I thought it was weak, lame, and unnecessary. But as I wrote the article, submitted it, and waited for the results, what I was looking for was...validation. I wanted a pat on the back welcoming me to a new life and career path with unlimited potential and making me probably one of the happiest people on the planet.

In that instance I saw when people say validation, what they meant. Most stories you hear of people needing validation are famous cases. A QB getting the starting gig, a baseball Hall of Famer tabbing a youngster as the future of the sport, a maligned NBA superstar finally getting his first/overdue championship. These are not instances of weak people but people that are seeking to find that cozy spot in life where they know and feel they've always belonged.

That's what getting into this contest would have represented to me. So, now that the  results are out and I'm posting this article, clearly that did not happen. While I was bummed for about 10 minutes, I was happy to realize that this did not mess with my head. I didn't say screw this writing stuff. I was happy to continue on this path that I'm making and come of it what may.

Plus when I saw some of the entries that were posted online for this contest, they were horrible! I mean HORRIBLE! So I know that my entry wasn't the worst, but it wasn't the best either.

The gist of what I've gathered regarding the winners submissions they were a little more over the top than my entry. My thought process was, they're asking for the Top 5 Fantasy players and a sleeper not to judge your football acumen (as many Top 5's are the same thing) but rather narrow the scope to judge the best writing. So maybe I should have authored another essay but only made it Game of Throes themed or something more outlandish to really...show...my chops.

But it's also possible the other articles were just vastly superior to mine. It's happened before, it'll happen again. Nonetheless here are my Top 5 Fantasy picks for Football (note: some of the links may not work since I copied and pasted it).

Arian Foster, RB

Last year dramatically shifted the way fantasy football is played. Four of the top six all-time single season passing yardage records were set in 2011, tight ends put up wide receiver numbers, and numerous cable packages geared towards fantasy football revealed to an untold number of significant others how pathetic the person they thought they loved really was.

With all that changed in fantasy, some things stay the same. You take the best running back available with the #1 pick. Foster, the pontificating point-smith of fantasy, has said he doesn’t care for the hobby, but he certainly plays like he does by averaging 140.25 total YPG and 1.03 TD/G. Also, for those nervous about injuries, or Ben Tate, or Ben Tate injuring Foster Showgirls style – don’t play scared.

Aaron Rodgers, QB

Rodgers is fantasy’s cool ocean breeze at the par 4 No. 8 at Pebble Beach, as innovative as a James Murphy track, and as comforting as a guaranteed 20 points a week (which Rodgers did in every week last year but one). He threw all of 6 INTs last year while scrambling for an additional 3 TDs. Also, he’s the only player that has been in the top three in fantasy points the last four years.

His football environment breeds success. He may not get much better, but at his numbers that’s perfectly alright.

Ray Rice, RB

Rice may be the best running back in football, but that doesn’t mean he’s the best fantasy running back. Aside from being healthy (playing the full 16 the past 3 years) and coming off a career year (eclipsing his personal record for total TDs in a season by 7), the concern with Rice has always been his supporting cast. The thing that makes him as valuable as he is – is his greatest weakness: he’s all the Ravens have on offense. Every week the opposing team’s defense focuses on stopping Rice. Now you can file that under ‘E’ for Easier Said Than Done, but accounting for 48% of a team’s offensive touches week by week can lead to inconsistency.

LeSean McCoy, RB

You know you’ve arrived when you’re known by your nickname. Happened with my buddy, Patch (he had a birthmark over his left-eye…kind of like the Target dog). For Shady, scoring 20 total TDs helped him dash and cut his way to the elite RB table and grab the big piece of chicken.

Shady’s fantasy potential is contingent on the exact opposite issue Rice has. “There aren’t enough TDs to go around!”[1] He’s grabbed 40, 78, 48 passes the past 3 years in Philly’s hybrid West Coast offense and led all backs in FootballOutsiders.com’s effective yards. The Eagles have many weapons, but even if Shady loses a couple goal line scampers, he’s still elite…although you might want to discuss that with this blasphemer.

Calvin Johnson, WR

There isn’t a more fun player to watch play football than Johnson. He passes the eye test, science test, and nerd test. He needs to be included in any-and-all, “What if this guy played this other sport” and “who needs their own YouTube channel” conversations.

There are some Optimus Primes sullying the Megatron love-fest. The pesky regression police have increased their jurisdiction from fantasy baseball to fantasy football.  No receiver has caught the number of TDs (16) Megatron did last year and matched/increased that number the following season. But he did score 73 more fantasy points than the next best WR, and that receiver has him or him hurling hog-hind and reading defenses. In a shallow pool, take the elite level wideout.

Kyle Rudolph, TE

Football is a copycat sport. Someone finds a Madden-type-glitch in the game and people follow suit.  Looking at the breakout stars of 2011; all signs pointed to tight end and Kyle Rudolph. He may just be Gronk-incarnate.

The 6’6 2^nd-year pro started only 1 game (played 8), but he managed to haul in 3 TDs. Along with a nose for the end zone, it’s also important to show that Rudolph can utilize his size to catch the ball and stretch the field. Looking at advanced stats, he was able to do this with an above-average catch rate of 66.7% and 20% of pass attempts his way being beyond 15 yards from the line of scrimmage.  While he has been injured during the preseason, the Vikings have the offense to make Rudolph a fantasy factor and continue the TE trend.

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[1] Quote: Scared Fantasy Owner

Fun with MMA Headlines

I find it humorous that subsequent headlines on ESPN.com discuss whether current UFC light heavyweight champ Jonny "Bones" Jones could use some humility in his game, along side an article about Chris Weidman discussing how he can beat middleweight honcho Anderson Silva.

These are different writers discussing different fighters in different situations, but the script should be flipped on this. In reality, it is, but for the sake of writing something interesting, not so.

Anyone that honestly assesses the situation without bias it's amazing Bones isn't more arrogant. He comes across as wildly confident, and I think to myself, if I was his age, beating up the toughest guys on the planet, having money thrown at me...man, I'd probably get drunk and crash my $200,000 Bentley into a telephone pole. Ok, that happened to JBJ, and it was his most egregious mistake as a young UFC champ. But still, there is a difference between humility and embarrassment. From what I gather about Bones, is that he does have humility about him. Some of the stuff he says comes off as too planned, leaving a taste of fake humility in some people's mouths, but at least he acknowledges what humility is. People are looking for him to not be humble, but to be embarrassed. To be unsure. To lack confidence. Those things are taught through experience. Maybe in his past, he learned those things talking to girls or singing in the choir or playing defensive lineman in pee-wee football, but he hasn't experienced that in the Octagon.

Meanwhile, Chris Weidman is talking about how he can give Anderson Silva something no one else has. While I have no doubt Weidman believes he can win, that doesn't amount for much. Chael Sonnen believed he could beat Silva, and he almost did once and got crushed the other time. I wouldn't pick Weidman to beat Chael at this point, let alone go take down the greatest MMA fighter that ever lived. Certainly all this talk is to draw attention to Weidman, makes some noise for a potential opponent that Anderson Silva probably has little to no idea of who he is.

The purpose of these articles is clear, but the scope might need adjusting a bit.

Fantasy Funkhouser: Deadline Passing Doesn't Mean You're Dead

Carlos Gomez apparently needs to hire a fantasy baseball PR firm. (Getty images)

Most fantasy trade deadlines have passed, so the only resource you have is what's out on the waiver wire. Before trades went the way of Brett Gardner's fantasy value, managers should have fortified their team. Top teams should have looked for proven players to make that run through the playoffs, where fringe playoff teams will be looking for more lightning in a bottle (Manny Machado, if you please). Either way, both are in the same boat...the lone bastion of fantasy value available outside of your squad is on the waiver wire.

This doesn't have to be a death sentence, nor a reason to stand pat. This time, above all else, is a time to ride streaks, ditch the "names", and be on the constant look out for players that can have the greatest impact on your team for the rest of the year. Flags fly forever, this is not the time to be stubborn and wait for Mike Napoli to make it back from the DL and turn things around. Where you drafted a player, his perceived value are all irrelevant. All that matters are hot streakers, category stackers, and toe tappers.

I made note of some value plays earlier in the year, so let's see if we can find some treasures. Here are some players to target that are available in half of Yahoo! leagues.

HOT STREAKERS

These are guys that are and have been on a tear for at least a couple of weeks. They contribute across the board, and while their star power may be limited, it should be around long enough to help your squad. This isn't uncommon throughout the year to find a guy on a streak, but finding a player that finishes the season strong is a major win.

Jon Jay, STL - OF (21%)

Did you know Jon Jay played in 159 games for the Cardinals last year? Maybe if you're Jon Jay you did, but for those of you new to baseball, that's almost a full season worth of games. Aside from hitting .297 last year, there wasn't much to write home about for Jay. In the past week, however, he's been placed atop the Red Birds' line-up and responded accordingly. He is 15 for his last 28 (.538), and he's been walking at a higher rate than he ever has.

That ability to get on base has paired nicely with a dramatic turnaround in Jay's stolen base percentage. Prior to this year, Jay was 8-19 in stolen base opportunities. This year: 13-15.

Ryan Ludwick, CIN - OF (45%)

To balance the force in the year of Josh Willingham, the NL has their own version of the Hammer, Ryan Ludwick. Both former power hitting corner outfield prospects have had some success in the bigs, but inconsistent play and injuries have gotten them off track to this point. Now, at 33 and 34 respectively, Willingham and Ludwick have come into their own. While Willingham is long gone in your league, Ludwick has only hit .344 with 8 homers in the last 30 days. Those 8 homers in that span puts him on par with Buster Posey, Carlos Beltran, and, of course, Willingham.

Now, Joey Votto has been out for much of this time, but when he does saunter his way back, Dusty Baker has no choice but to keep Ludwick in the line-up. Now, we all know Dusty can make some interesting decisions (Mark Prior was asked for an interview, but did not return Lockration.'s calls), but to bench or spot start a guy with 21 homers would be a stretch. Also, keep in mind that while Votto will gobble up RBI opportunities like Tim Tebow as Jesus gobbles up web hits, but Votto is an on base machine. Ludwick will still get his chances.


Carlos Gomez, MIL - OF (30%)

The ying to Willingham's yang (sb.mlb.com)

Initially touted by the Piano-man himself, Gomez has come on as of late for the Suds (sorry, Minny). Owned in ONLY 30% OF LEAGUES, this is perhaps the biggest head-scratcher we'll probably find on this list. There is no reports of Carlos Gomez doing something directly reprehensible to 70% of the fake hardball community, but it must be something. Even historically, Gomez may be a bit of a post-hyper, but he's not Alex Rios for god sake! Don't think that name change fooled us victims, Alexi Rios.

Gomez certainly strikes out a lot and doesn't walk. Typical WARNING signs, but in spite of that and Brewers' manager Ron Roenicke curiously dropping Gomez to 7th in the line-up the past couple of games instead of batting him ahead of formerly magnificently quaffed Ryan Braun (maybe that high testosterone test just comes from having a great head of hair?), Gomez over the last month has only [deep breath]: scored more runs (22) than Miguel Cabrera, Albert Pujols, and Andrew McCutchen; out homered (6) Prince Fielder, Edwin Encarnacion, and Curtis Granderson; out RBI'd (14) Braun, Mark Trumbo, Adam Jones, Adam Dunn, and Robinson Cano; stolen more bases than anyone not named Rajai Davis (who we will get to). [Big exhale]. But, yeah, that's all. Could his run be coming to an end? Possibly, but the owners who have had him aren't regretting their decision like you may be.

Erick Aybar - LAA, SS (37%)

Started off horribly, good team, scoring runs, premium position. Could also go for Josh Rutledge or Machado. I'm still winded and annoyed that more people don't own Gomez...

CATEGORY STACKERS

If you're coming up short in one category, these guys will help push you along. Whereas the hot streakers are more overall contributors, the value for these players comes with the potential to win you a category by themselves, or provide a major boost.

Salvador Perez, KC - C (35%)

At the catcher position, Perez can flat hit. Since coming back from a knee injury that took away most of his 2012, the young catcher has already clocked 8 home runs. That's already more than pre-season faves Joe Mauer and Alex Avila. Granted the amount of people that drafted Mauer for power should be gently told it's not 2009 anymore. His hot finish to the season can provide an upgrade right now for those teams looking for power, but Perez should also be noted for 2013 as a sleeper.

Rajai Davis, TOR - OF (22%)

If the question is, "Where do I get steals from?" Rajai Davis is the answer. He clearly has the green light to do as he pleases on the base paths for the best stealing situation this side of Miami. Now, Davis is notoriously streaky. Getting hot enough at times to melt the hockey rinks in Toronto and can get cold enough, no not to zamboni those rinks to a smooth hockey playing surface, but to play himself out of a job. At the very least, if he can keep it going for a couple more weeks, he's not at risk of losing his job with the likes of Anthony Gose playing everyday.


Eric Young, Jr., COL - 2B, OF (17%)

You waited. Oh, you were complacent. You had Jason Kipnis on his way to a 30/30 year and surefire keeper status, and hey, you drafted him late, but if he got injured or whatever, ultra utility man Michael Young; owner of numerous 200 hit .300 AVG seasons to back him as well as anyone else at 1B or 3B. Yes, life was good back on June 1st.

Kipnis had you sitting pretty in June. (cleveland.sbnation.com)

Since then, not so much. Kipnis hit the wall, and I mean THE WALL for his second straight Summer derailing his momentum into future star this year and raising questions as to what the hell happens to him once the mercury rises in the thermometer. Too many Bud Light limes? He hasn't hit a homerun since June 17th, and his average has dropped 30 points. It's been dark days in Kipnisville.

MY has been more of a year long disaster. Some people, including your humble narrator, bought in to MY's early struggles as a buy low candidate. I didn't buy low enough. Young has batted .257 over the past month with zero homers and 10 RBI. That really takes away from his average for the year of .269 and 45 RBI. Young has always been consistent, the only difference is this year he is consistently bad. The Rangers have done everything outside of cut the brakes on the car he drives to the ballpark everyday to get him out of the line-up. Top prospect Mike Olt has been called up to little fanfare, and there are even rumors tippity-top prospect Jurickson Profar may make an appearance as early as Monday to challenge Young for playing time.

So after the rubble clears, there's EY. Eric Young has too been anointed the everyday lead-off man in Colorado. His speed, and recent power streak, along with 2B eligibility make him an ideal play. Of course, this recent hot streak has coincided with a Colorado homestand at Coors, but high altitude doesn't cure speed. EY can run with the best, and can help stack that category.

TOE TAPPERS

The absolute best strategy down the stretch is playing match-ups and streaming. Some teams, just by the nature of their schedule, will have better match-ups, pitchers can wear down or spring forward this time of year. This might as well be the Doug Fister Memorial because last year and this year he has basically turned into a Cy Young candidate the last 2 months of the season. It's just those other couple months of the season he needs to work on.

Lucas Harrell, SP - HOU (12%)

Buried on the worst team in baseball is a 10 game winning pitcher. Lucas Harrell has been an ace for Houston. Now, that's a little different than being an ace in Houston, where that was Wandy Rodriguez until he was shipped to the Steel City. But Harrell has been on a streak as of late. Since the All-Star break, he carries a 2.06 ERA and 38 K's in 43 2/3 IP. Now, assuming management is still paying attention in Houston, Harrell's late season explosion may be cut short due to an innings cap. He's over 140 as of now and threw a grand total of 68 innings the past two.

Mike Minor/Kris Medlen, SP - ATL (42%/34%)

The Braves have a deep staff with vets and young guys with live arms. Minor and Medlen fit into the latter category. The staff is so deep that with Tommy Hanson's imminent return from the DL and new acquisition Paul Maholm pitching very un-Paul Maholm like, the Bravos are moving to a 6-man rotation battle royale over the next 2 weeks where the best and healthiest will emerge. I'd say Minor has a bit of a lead on Medlen, since Medlen was on bullpen duty before he got thrown in, but Medlen has been pitching better than Minor over the past month. Also, don't sleep on another top prospect, Julio Teheran. He put together some strong outings in AAA, and could see a September call-up. Nothing is guaranteed, but such is life in a post deadline world.

Brett Anderson, SP - OAK (5%)

Anderson is currently on the DL recovering from Tommy John surgery. Recovery isn't pretty for many pitchers, even great one's like Adam Wainwright, but Anderson was an up and coming ace in Oakland. His rehab starts have gotten progressively better and his velocity is where it needs to be, but control is always the last thing to come back from TJ. He's worth a flier because he has the pedigree and plays in that ballpark. Make a note if you have an open DL spot (and if you do shame on you!), Anderson should be back within 2 weeks.

The Funk-man says: "You know, I thought Ryan Ludwick needs more support."(screenrant.com)