“I’m not an athlete, I’m a first baseman!!”- John Kruk

The wise words of one of the finest first basemen in the game, in my opinion. I believe his words are in reference to the defensive tasks of the first baseman as opposed to the offensive assignment of hitting.   As we take a look at the premier first slackers this season, we find a mix of familiar and not so familiar names.

Starting with the familiar, but off to a surprising start is Paul Konerko (1B CHISOX),in his 13th year, at age 34, Paul finds himself among the league leaders in avg .273, HR at 13, and RBI at 27. At 100% ownership, you will have to trade for Konerko , but may be a wise move if your roster is outfield heavy. Just be careful, He is injury prone, so keep a close eye on the DL reports.

Of course Albert Pujols (1B STCARDS)  is off to a Pujolsegue start, .314/7/25 even a stolen base!! Not much more can be said about Albert, his numbers are always consistently high. Either you were fortunate enough to draft him, or you will be chasing his numbers the rest of the season.

Miguel Cabrera (1B DETIGERS) is also off to great start, hitting .370/7/33.  At 6 foot 4 and 240 lbs, it is easy to see the potential for power numbers here, and at only age 27, is near the prime of his athletic career. The bonus with Cabrera is a .465 OBP, which has allowed him to score 20 on top  of his other offensive stats.

The one new name on the scene is Ike Davis (1B NYMETS).The 6 foot 4, 215 lb lefty was drafted 1st round by the Mets in 2008. Recently brought in to fill a gap in the line up, Davis has opened some eyes in the earliest stages of his career. Hitting .314/3/9 with an OBP of .419, in just 57 major league at bats. It is predicted that Davis will be starting first baseman for the Mets, so will see plenty more at bats. At an ownership %age of just 26.5, it would be wise to pick up Davis off the wire at least as a bench player.

On a more somber note, we mourn the passing of  baseball broadcasting great Ernie Harwell. After a 55 year career in broadcasting, primarily for the Detroit Tigers, Ernie passed on May 4th. A great loss to the Tigers and the baseball community.

On a brighter note, a tip of the cap to Oakland A’s Pitcher Dallas Braden for pitching a perfect game against one of the top offensive line ups in the game, the Tampa Bay Rays. Only the 19th perfect game in MLB history, and only the 9th by a left hander. His location and mix of speeds were brilliant as he baffled batter after batter. No historic defensive plays to save him, just a perfectly pitched game. Now if he could just control his grandmothers mouth as well as he controls his pitches!!

Hope you all scored well this week, I had a less than impressive showing, dropping my head to head 3-7-0, and dropping into second (ESPN) with a scant 79 roto points, as well as (Yahoo) with an impressive 85, but falling to an outstanding 94.5.  Have a great week, keep on researching, and most of all have fun!!

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