Predicate Fantasy Baseball, Week One

Aaaand they're off! Major League Baseball begins its yearly summer-long climb to the Fall Classic, and Fantasy Baseball follows quite shortly behind. Predicate.org (and associated chat room #predicate) is not to be left out: This year 12 managers are guiding or ignoring their team towards the coveted title of Totally Kick Ass Fantasy Baseball Team Winner Thingy And Whatnot.

The season started off with a bang for some and a whimper for others, as John's Cubs soundly defeated your Commissioner's Los Angeles Devils 10-3-1, led by the devasting infield attack of Derek Lee, Todd Walker, Morgan Ensberg, and utility third baseman Eric Chavez, who combined for 26 hits, 8 homers, and 16 RBIs; leaving the Devils languishing in last, 7 games behind first place.

Irish's Hooligans were able to hand a 9-5 defeat to The Show, skippered by Jbou; narrowly edging out the Show in homers, stolen bases, and strikeouts per innings pitched.

In the Battle of the Absent Managers Who Claim To Have Signed Up Only To Fill Out The Roster, Collier's Sparkly Knee Sox proved themselves sparkly indeed, almost literally beating Ludwig's Monkey Grinders with a baseball bat by taking every single batting category by a wide margin, and adding a few pitching victories as well to claim a 9-5 victory.

Football fan and reluctant baseball watcher Ajax saw his team do well in the first week as his Headbangers overcame Dlayiga's Mind Killer, banging heads with two excellent performances at first base from Mark Teixeira and Todd Helton and two strong outings by Florida pitcher Dontrelle Willis, to win 8-5-1.

Rounding out the middle of the standings, byrne's Infield Flies held their ground against Scottydont's Plutocrats (or possibly vice versa), tying 7-7 despite great weeks on both sides by New Yorkers Derek Jeter, Hideki Matsui, Jose Reyes, and David Wright; while Smash Hit Tom's Middletown Mediocres narrowly "squeezed" out mvelinder's Suicide Squeezes, 7-6-1. Watch this space for future squeeze-related puns, while both Tom and Matt will be watching their respective short stops (Edgar Renteria and Felipe Lopez) to keep up the great play. We'll all be watching to see if Mediocres relievers Brad Lidge and Jonathan Papelbon can continue racking up saves and strikeouts, as well as keeping an eye on the Squeezes' surprise breakout pitcher Jake Westbrook.