

A baseball fan since age 5, Joe Hettler grew up attending 20-25 Cleveland Indians baseball games each season in the mid-90s to early 2000s. While he witnessed many of the greatest moments in the Tribe’s history, his favorite occurred during Game 1 of the 1995 Division Series between Cleveland and Boston. As a diehard Tony Pena fan, Joe could hardly believe his eyes when Pena drove a 3-0 pitch just over the left-centerfield wall for a game-winning home run off Zane Smith in the bottom of the 13th inning.
July 30, 2010 | article in Player Commentary (1219)
Rich Harden – The Rangers’ right hander, perhaps saved by his impressive final start in AAA, will start today against the Angels, bumping Scott Feldman from the rotation. Prior to his strained glute injury that’s kept him from pitching in
July 11, 2010 | article in Player Commentary (1219)
Wandy Rodriguez – Although he took his 11th loss of the season Sunday, Wandy Rodriguez actually pitched pretty effectively by allowing 3 ER in 6 innings against the Cardinals. All 3 runs came off a Matt Holliday homer and Rodriguez
July 11, 2010 | article in Player Commentary (1219)
Andres Torres – After straining his groin Friday night, Andres Torres did not play Saturday and could be out again today when the Giants wrap up their series against Washington. Prior to the injury, Torres was on a recent hot
July 7, 2010 | article in Player Commentary (1219)
Tommy Hunter – The Rangers’ portly right hander draws yet another weak-hitting lineup when he toes the rubber against the Orioles today. Through his first six starts, Hunter has been lights out, allowing just 8 ER in more than 36
July 3, 2010 | article in Player Commentary (1219)
Tim Hudson – The Braves’ right hander faces the Marlins this afternoon, bringing an impressive 2.37 ERA and 8-3 record into his start. Unfortunately for Hudson’s fantasy owners and the Braves, the crafty veteran is benefiting from a ton of
June 29, 2010 | article in Player Commentary (1219)
Felix Hernandez – The Seattle right hander will try to build off his recent string of strong performances when he faces the Yankees in New York today. Hernandez has worked at least 8 innings and allowed 2 runs or fewer
June 25, 2010 | article in Player Commentary (1219)
Doug Fister – The Seattle right hander will come off the DL today (shoulder fatigue) and face the Brewers in Milwaukee. Fister has been a pleasant surprise for the Mariners and his fantasy owners this season, posting a 2.45 ERA
June 23, 2010 | article in Player Commentary (1219)
Scott Kazmir – You might notice that Scott Kazmir, who takes the hill against the Dodgers tonight, has won 5 of his last 6 starts and lowered his ERA from 6.09 on May 22nd to “just” 5.08 as of today.
June 12, 2010 | article in Player Commentary (1219)
Stephen Strasburg – The Nationals’ phenom draws the Indians this afternoon looking to follow up his major league debut performance when he whiffed 14 Pirates in 7 innings of 2-run ball. The Indians’ offense is putrid this season but comes
June 6, 2010 | article in Player Commentary (1219)
Casey McGehee – After a torrid start to the season, Casey McGehee has cooled off lately, posting just a .205/.222/.472 slash line in the past 14 days with 0 HR and 3 RBI. After recording a .946 OPS in April
June 1, 2010 | article in
Cliff Lee – The Mariners’ lefty toes the rubber later today against Minnesota in search of his 4th Win of the season. Through 6 games in 2010, Lee is actually pitching much better than a season ago. He’s improved his
May 30, 2010 | article in Player Commentary (1219)
Ubaldo Jimenez – How good has Ubaldo Jimenez been in 2010? Well, let’s count the ways. His “worst” start was April 11th against the Padres when he allowed 2 ER in 6 innings of work. He’s yielded 1 HR in
May 26, 2010 | article in Player Commentary (1219)
Francisco Liriano – After allowing just 3 ER in 29 IP in April, Liriano had struggled through his first 4 starts in May by yielding 16 ER in 23 IP. But Wednesday, the left hander stymied the Yankees’ offense surrendering
May 22, 2010 | article in Player Commentary (1219)
Josh Willingham – Willingham crushed his 7th HR of the season Saturday and is now hitting .260/.420/.481 with 25 RBI. A cheap source of power, the outfielder owns a career .212 ISO and has tallied 26, 21 and 24 HRs
May 19, 2010 | article in Player Commentary (1219)
Josh Beckett – Josh Beckett couldn’t escape the 5th inning against the Yankees on Tuesday, allowing 5 Runs (3 ER) on 5 Hits and 3 Walks in just 4 2/3 innings. Beckett now owns an ugly 7.29 ERA and 1.66
May 18, 2010 | article in Player Commentary (1219)
Daisuke Matsuzaka – Dice-K continues to be one of the biggest free agent signing busts in recent memory. The right hander took the hill against the Yankees on Monday and proceeded to allow 7 ER in just 4 2/3 innings
May 2, 2010 | article in Player Commentary (1219)
Jason Heyward – Heyward picked up the hat trick on Saturday by homering in his third straight game to give the rookie phenom 7 already in 2010. What else can you say about the Say Hey Kid? He’s walking in
May 1, 2010 | article in Player Commentary (1219)
Fausto Carmona - After starting the season with a 3-0 record and 2.96 ERA (despite a 13/12 K/BB mark), Fausto Carmona struggled against the Twins on Friday by allowing 6 ER in 6 innings of work. While he didn’t get
April 25, 2010 | article in Player Commentary (1219)
Chase Headley - The Padres’ third baseman continued his hot start to the season by collecting 3 Hits against the Reds Saturday afternoon. After struggling in the first half last season, Chase Headley’s production significantly increased after the All-Star break
April 23, 2010 | article in Player Commentary (1219)
Justin Smoak - The Smoak Monster made his major league debut Friday against the Tigers and finished 0-for-2 with 2 Walks. With Chris Davis in the minors after striking out in 35% of his ABs and hitting .188 with a
April 20, 2010 | article in Player Commentary (1219)
Nelson Cruz - Nelson Cruz continued his torrid start to the season by going 2-for-4 with 3 Steals and 1 RBI on Tuesday against the Red Sox. Now hitting .333 with 7 HRs and 16 RBI, Cruz has an OPS
April 18, 2010 | article in Player Commentary (1219)
Ubaldo Jimenez – Despite 6 walks through the first 5 innings, Ubaldo Jimenez buckled down and threw the first no-hitter in Rockies history by shutting down the Braves in Atlanta on Saturday evening. Jimenez finished the game with 7 strikeouts
April 7, 2010 | article in Player Commentary (1219)
Dallas Braden – Where did THIS come from? In his first start of the season, Braden struck out 10 Mariners in 7 innings while yielding just 1 ER on 4 Hits. With a career K/9 of 5.68 and a fastball
April 4, 2010 | article in Player Commentary (1219)
Happy Opening Night! Hunter Pence -- With Lance Berkman on the disabled list to begin the season, Pence will hit third in Houston’s lineup instead of his usual fifth spot. The change could provide short-term gains in RBI and Runs.
April 1, 2010 | article in Preseason Prep (163)
Seattle Mariners Right Fielder – At age 36, will this be the year that Ichiro Suzuki finally shows signs of decline? Last season, Suzuki hummed along as he always does with a .352 average, 225 hits and a career-high .465
March 25, 2010 | article in Preseason Prep (163)
Cleveland Indians Right Fielder – After hitting .300/.394/.489 with 20 HRs and 20 steals in 2009, Shin-Soo Choo will once again roam right field for the Indians in 2010. Choo has an excellent eye (career OBP of .386), above average
March 18, 2010 | article in Preseason Prep (163)
Cleveland Indians First Base - Given regular at-bats for the first time since 2002, Russell Branyan provided Seattle with an excellent first half last season, posting a .280/.382/.573 line while clobbering 22 HRs. He struggled in the second half (.193/.274/.414
March 11, 2010 | article in Preseason Prep (163)
Cleveland Indians Rotation: Do the Indians have one starter worthy of a roster spot in a 10-team fantasy baseball league? The fact that a post-Tommy John surgery Jake Westbrook or the horrendously wild Fausto Carmona could potentially battle for the

Joe began his fantasy baseball career in 2003 by joining his friends’ league, the 7th Street Coaches’ Association. He won his first league championship the following season and has utilized sabemetrics and advanced statistical analysis to finish each season at or near the top of the league standings. Joe looks forward to providing fantasy baseball insight at Fantistics and interacting with readers throughout the season.

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