Baseball Mafia

May 05, 2008: I started week 5 in 96th place overall. Pitching is where I’m having the biggest problems. I have 839 points out of a possible 1950. I’m in 354th in wins with 29 points. More

Quest for the $100,000 by Shawn Childs

April 29, 2008: The wheels are starting to come off the bus. My pitching staff took a nose dive and I’m in 101st place heading into week 4. More

Quest for $100,000

April 22, 2008: I survived week two by only losing two places in the overall standings. I currently rank 24th overall. As I enter this week, I have a couple of issues. More

Quest to $100,000 - by Shawn Childs

April 15, 2008: At the start of week two, I rank 22nd overall out of 390 teams. Monday was a short schedule, but I had my ace Cole Hamels on the mound. I didn’t get a chance to watch the game, More

Quest to 100,000 by Shawn Childs

April 08, 2008: This first week of the year has started off pretty good. Every year you have some players who you like, but you have concerns over. My biggest two concerns are Harden and Bonderman More

Quest for $100,000

April 06, 2008: We have two games in the books and I ranked 7th overall. It sounds good, but I could be in 350th place in a week. My first gamble pick Rich Harden More

Between the Lines with Shawn Childs

March 26, 2008: After months of preparing for the up coming baseball season, I have completed most of my high stakes drafts. I like some of my teams and think More

Quest to $100,000

March 25, 2008: I have just return from Las Vegas competing in five different events in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship or the NFBC. More

Between the Lines, January 26, 2008

March 13, 2008: This question was posted on the NFBC forum by Ron Shandler of Baseball HQ: “My question here, though, is, does the fact that these are high stakes leagues More

Between the Lines

March 09, 2008: As we approach the home stretch for the NFBC in 2008, I was having a discussion about drafting too much pitching early in a draft. There is fine line between pitching and hitting. More

Between The Lines, March 4, 2008

March 09, 2008: Last week I was having a talk with a fellow NFBC member. I asked him if he thought some of the people that were doing mock drafts were trying to have the best mock draf More

Fifth 15 Outfielders

March 09, 2008: There are a lot of question marks on this list. A couple of these players might be first round draft picks in a couple of years. More

2nd fifteen Closers

March 02, 2008: There might be a couple of relievers who could make an impact if they had a closing job, but these are the players who appear to have the first shot. I could see rankings of closers More

Third Base is a Charm

February 20, 2008: As we continue to progress through the CDM infield for 2008, we get the opportunity to look into third base. More

Don't be short-sided

February 20, 2008: Last year this was arguably the easiest position to choose a player from. It was simply insert Reyes and Ramirez and get the hell out of the way. More

Between the Lines with Shawn Childs

February 17, 2008: As a high stakes fantasy baseball player, I’m always looking for the next game or opportunity. As you know I’m a huge fan of the National Fantasy Baseball Championship More

Fourth 15 Starting Pitchers

February 17, 2008: There are some diamonds here for sure. Some might need a chance to show they can sparkle. Other might need to be polished up and they might still have the old shine. More

Between the Lines, February 12th with Shawn Childs

February 12, 2008: As we build our teams for the 2008 National Fantasy Baseball Championship, we have a tough job deciding whether or not some of the upcoming talent is for real. More

Second Tier Catchers

February 08, 2008: There are no sleepers in fantasy baseball anymore! All the hot shot rookie catcher have passed about the half the catching field. More

Top 15 Corners

February 08, 2008: There are a lot of question marks on this list. If you can pick the right player, you might have the inside track to a good hitting season. More

Between the Lines with Shawn Childs

February 03, 2008: When the NFBC draft unfolds a fantasy player comes to a point where they are drafting players out of need. When this happens they need to know why they are making some decisions. More

Between the Lines with Shawn Childs

February 01, 2008: As the 2008 season approaches, many fantasy baseball players are looking for projections. Maybe you are even looking here for them. More

First Things First, by Jesse Herron

January 30, 2008: In the last piece, I explained my methodology to a degree and began to look at the catchers. More

Fourth 15 Outfielders

January 28, 2008: You won’t find too many clean up hitters on this list. There will be a few players who breakout from this group. You might need to have your homeruns and RBI cover before you get here. More

Spring Training CDM Style, by Jesse Herron

January 27, 2008: Similar to the teams preparing for the upcoming season, as a CDM Diamond challenge owner – it is imperative that we do the necessary homework to help us have a productive 2008 season. More

Top 15 Middle Infielders

January 21, 2008: I’d hate to build my team with two players off this list in my starting line-up. They could end up in your line-up because of injury. I’m not even saying two players couldn’t show some growth and put up good numbers. More

Between the Lines

January 21, 2008: I talked about some of the pitching goals last week. This week I would like to discuss some of the hitting targets. When you enter a NFBC 15 team draft, you should have an idea of what numbers you should be shooting for in each category. More

NFBC Mixed Auctions

January 17, 2008: The NFBC offers 15 mixed auctions leagues. Over the last couple of years they have grown in popularity. Many feel there are enough free agents to recover from a few auction mistakes. More

NFBC Early Draft

January 17, 2008: For those of you looking for some early draft results, I did a NFBC draft against 14 top players. The fifteen owners have won 15 main events titles and 10 other event with entry fees over $1000 More

Auction Drafts - Game Plan for Hitting

January 17, 2008: Last week I talked about some of the things that happen during an auction. This week I would like to talk about coming up with a game plan. When you start to game plan, you need separate hitting from pitching. More

Auction Drafts - Game Plan for Pitching

January 13, 2008: Pitching is the most difficult part of fantasy baseball. It would be easy if you could spend a ton of money on it. You could build a strong base and leave yourself room for a mistake or two. More

Between the Lines, 1/10/08

January 10, 2008: Last week I said my goal was to get 4 wins and 48 K’s a week. You might ask… What about saves? In a perfect situation I would like to have three closers from the start of the year as I’m sure everyone would. More

Auction Leagues

January 10, 2008: When you do an auction league with no trading, you have a small margin for error. There is no other owner who is going to be knocking on your door looking to take your third closer off your hands. More

Between the Lines

January 03, 2008: During the baseball season, there are 26 weeks to set your line-up. My goal in the NFBC main event is to get 4 wins and 48 strikeouts a week. If I did that, I would have 104 wins and about 1250 K’s at the end of the year. More

Top 15 Closers

December 24, 2007: The ideal closer has a great whip and era. He gets a ton of strikeouts and pitches in tie games. Yes, tie games!! If your closer can get 6 or 7 wins, it is a huge bonus. Joe Nathan of 2005 was a great mix. More

Between the Lines

December 21, 2007: By now, you should have taken my advice and started researching all the players. As you build your baseball knowledge, you need to start to come up with a plan to draft. More

Third Tier Starting Pitchers in 2008

December 15, 2007: There is some top talent on this list. Some are developing and others are recovering from injuries. If you are a gambler, you might stick your neck out and be reward with a player who could put up top 10 numbers. More

Third Tier of Outfielders for 2008

December 15, 2007: There are a few nice players in this group of outfielders. The problem is the players you like might get drafted earlier than you would like to take them. There are some you would rather not have. More

Between the Lines with Shawn Childs

December 14, 2007: Want to know how to win the National Fantasy Baseball Contest? It’s easy… just give up most of your available free time for the whole baseball season. How about root against you home team every time your pitcher faces them. More

Second Tier Pitchers in 2008

December 13, 2007: There is a lot of talent on this list. Some may be on the up swing and other might be on the down swing. I’m sure a few should have one good year left in them and a couple might be another year away. More

Top 15 Starting Pitchers

December 10, 2007: The key to you winning your league in 2008 will be deciding who you want to build your pitching staff around. Unlike hitting, every team should have a shot at all of these pitchers except for Santana. More

Between the Lines with Shawn Childs

December 06, 2007: There are more and more Japanese players coming over to the major leagues now. Most of the players are coming over later in their career. This year it looks like Kosuke Fukudome will have the most impact. More

Between the Lines with Shawn Childs

December 02, 2007: I want to step back from the NFBC for a week and talk about fantasy baseball trades. I think it is common for fantasy baseball players to get taken to the cleaners in the famous three for one trades in smaller 10 and 12 team leagues. More

Second Tier Outfielders in 2008

December 01, 2007: When you are looking at the second group of outfielders, I think it compares to handicapping a horse race. There are some who look like they could be studs. There are others who have a quick first step and some who looks like they have power. More

Top 15 Outfielders in 2008

November 25, 2007: At most positions you draft the best player, but in the outfield you have many more options. They come in all different packages. Depending how you want to build your team, you might want a different style of player to fit your goals. Everyone will have a different idea on who is better More

Between the Lines with Shawn Childs

November 23, 2007: During the NFBC main event draft I think a lot of players have a lot trouble deciding when to take a risk/reward pick. A rookie player most likely makes a move for a young player with upside too early. A seasoned player might chose to play it safe and avoid any rookies or players coming off an injury early in the draft. More

I don't draft Judy's

November 08, 2007: I’m not a big fan of drafting “Judy” base stealers. I call a base stealer who can’t hit homeruns Judy. If a player hits less than 5 homeruns and steals bases, I put him in my Judy group of players. At the draft, many fantasy players will take a pure base stealer too early. More

Top Third Basemen in 2008

November 08, 2007: Shawn Childs give you his top third basemen in 2008 More

When to draft a Closer?

November 08, 2007: When do I draft a closer? This is a tough question. It really comes down to how you want to structure you team. If you want a closer with a solid resume, he is going to be drafted early. If you are willing to take one who doesn’t have all the bells and whistles, you can find one later in the draft. More

Top Shortstops in 2008

November 04, 2007: The top shortstops are moving their way up the draft board. I think this year Ramirez, Rollins, and Reyes are all top 5 picks. More

Should the best pitcher be taken in the first round?

October 28, 2007: Should the best pitcher be taken in the first round? Shawn Childs of the Baseball Mafia will tell you what defines a "clear edge" and when it is ok to draft the best pitcher early. More

Top 2nd Basemen in 2008

October 28, 2007: Last year there seem to be a huge drop off at 2nd base after Chase Utley. This year Brandon Phillips, BJ Upton, Robinson Cano, and Ian Kinsler have closed the gap. Does that mean Utley shouldn’t be a first round pick? More

Top 15 First Basemen in 2008

October 18, 2007: With a decline in homers overall in 2007, a stud first baseman might have more value in 2008. A Ryan Howard owner could have a huge edge over an owner who plays a Todd Helton type at first. Many teams could get beat by at least 20 homers at first base. More

Oh Barry

July 15, 2007: Shawn Childs on Barry Bonds More