Fantasy Island.

Josh Hamilton will officially be out for 6-8 weeks. Those of you looking for a replacement out of Texas can expect David Murphy to get most of the time in left field. Marlon Byrd is another option. He is owned in less than 40% of Yahoo! fantasy leagues and is currently batting .391 for the Cubs. In deeper leagues you may need to look to a Jeff Francoeur or a Melky Cabrera, both owned in less than 10% of Yahoo! leagues and have been relatively productive on a Kansas City offense.

Rafael Furcal suffered a broken thumb on Monday and will miss 4-6 weeks. An integral part of the Dodgers offense and defense, Furcal hasn't been the most productive shortstop in the early 2011 season. Jamey Carrol, available in 95% of Yahoo! leagues and eligible for 2B, 3B, SS and OF, will pick up a majority of the time at short while Furcal is out. Oddly enough, he is a decent option at short if you are looking for on base percentage. He was sporting a .452 OBP going into Tuesday night's game and could be a surprising source of runs. Angel Sanchez of Houston and Orlando Cabrera of Cleveland may be more reliable. Owned in less than 15% and 30% of Yahoo! leagues respectively, Sanchez and Cabrera have been two of the most productive shortstops on the year.

Ryan Zimmerman suffered an abdominal strain and could miss up to 3 weeks. I don't trust the rest of the Washington Nationals offense, but Alex Cora and Jerry Hairston Jr. will split time at third while Zimmerman is out. Owned in less than 30% of Yahoo! leagues Alberto Callaspo, with a .436 OBP and a couple of home runs heading into Tuesday's game, is a better option.

This Week In Baseball.

The second week of the baseball season brought fans the second positive drug test of Manny Ramirez. But instead of sitting through a 100-game suspension and possible investigations, he decided to call it quits. Signing with the Tampa Bay Rays in the off-season, Ramirez went 1-for-17 in his final five games. Was this a smart move for him, or is it just another case of Manny being Manny?

I say it was a smart move. Sure, he probably had some home runs left in the tank, but I highly doubt he would have been the deciding factor in a Tampa Bay championship season (he would only play in 62 games). I'm sure there's a lot of disappointment from fans from Boston to LA, but at nearly 40 years old it was probably for the best. Heck, even I'm disappointed. I never got a chance to buy one of those Manny Ramirez dreads caps. Manny, just keep being Manny.

This Week In Baseball.

On another note, my favorite occurrence this week is the sweep of the Boston Red Sox by the Texas Rangers. Hilarious! They spent millions and millions of dollars on Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez and fans have been boasting since the winter meetings of a potential championship 2011 season, and now this? Hilarious! The Red Sox still have the on-paper-offense to win it all, so stop worrying Red Sox fans! 159 games to go, anything can happen. I just hope their pitching staff implodes on a daily basis. Hilarious!

This Week In Baseball.

In an uncommonly shortened opening week, there have been records broken, sweeps completed and some serious holes created within potent lineups. But the most valuable player in my eyes only played in one of his teams first three games: Ramon Hernandez. He belted a walk-off, three-run home run with two outs in the ninth to rally the Cincinnati Reds to 7-6 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on opening day. Despite not playing in the next two games, you can bet it was his home run that supplied the momentum needed for the Reds to complete a three game sweep of the Brewers. To get a win like that has to be amazing, not only for the team and the fans, but for Hernandez who finished the day with 4 hits, a homer and 3 RBI. The NL Central champion Reds have started their season 3-0 and look to continue their dominance against the current bottom feeding Houston Astros.

mlb.com has the highlight.

Diamond Cuts.

I've been off the grid for quite a while. So first and foremost, let me just sadly say that I was wrong about Brett Favre. But baseball is back! It's opening day for the MLB. Where's the excitement, people?! I'm asking major league baseball the same question. Where have all the games gone? I don't recall an opening day ever having less than a full slate of games to watch. Aside from the Atlanta Braves winning their first game without Bobby Cox in a long, long time, opening day 2011 has been slightly disappointing.

Diamond Cuts.

I haven't posted in a while, but then again I haven't been keeping up with the sports scene lately. So, I'm back and I'm ready to talk baseball! No, it's technically not baseball season, but I feel it's always baseball season.

With the first major move of the off-season, the Atlanta Braves acquire second baseman Dan Uggla for left-hand pitcher Mike Dunn and utility man Omar Infante.

I just want to say, welcome sir.

This is crucial. Trading for a high caliber second basemen shows just how questionable Chipper Jones is. Braves fans do not want him to go, but it looks like the team is prepared for the worst. With Uggla starting at second base, Martin Prado can move permanently to third if needed. If Jones does come back, Prado has the ability to play the outfield. Another option could see Prado at first base if Freddie Freeman doesn't work out as planned.

I'm also not sure why the Florida Marlins would have traded such a valuable player within the division. They received two high caliber players and left a small hole in the bullpen and on the bench of the Braves, but I feel Uggla will have the better return. An exciting move for the Braves, but personally, I hate to see Dunn and Infante go.

Gridiron Gang.

So...last week I talked about how much I love Brett Favre. This week I'm almost ashamed to admit it. Three interceptions, a fumble that was returned for a touchdown and a quarterback rating of 44.3, there was no way I could look a Vikings highlight directly in the eye. With his fourth interception of the season, Favre is more than half way to his total of seven interceptions from last season. But I have to stick with my man for at least one more week. He cant go three and out, can he? He's going up against the Detroit Lions for crying out loud. Certainly he can get me more than negative seven fantasy points this week.

On a more positive note, my all time favorite quarterback is finally getting a chance to turn back the clock and prove to football fans that he still has what it takes to run all over an opposing defense. That's right, Michael Vick is back and he is starting. I finally have a reason to be excited about football again! In his first start since 2006, Vick dominated the Lions defense. Passing for a surprising 284 yards and two touchdowns, Vick appeared to have earned the starting role in Philadelphia. Andy Reid thought otherwise. Until today, Reid was set to stick with Kevin Kolb, an unproven mess whose only successful appearance came against the Kansas City Chiefs last season. Vick is clearly the better option and is no longer fit for the bench. He is hot right now and should continue to be successful against Jacksonville and Washington in the coming weeks. If Reid is smart enough to stick with Vick for the season, look for the week six match-up against the Atlanta Falcons, it will be the game to watch.