Cardinals/Braves...and fantasy

Well, the matchup that many consider a possible division series preview came and went with the Cardinals taking 2 of 3 and Albert Pujols going absolutely Barry Bonds all over the place at Turner Field. The Cardinals lineup is special, but I think I'd walk Pujols from now on. Rolen is a superb batter, but Pujols can hit any pitch hard. But was this really a preview? The Braves had Paul Byrd, Russ Ortiz, and Justin Thomson pitching against Woody Williams, Jason Marquis, and Danny Haren, respectively. I can only see 2 pitchers out of that lot who would be in a 5-game series (Ortiz, Williams). The Cardinals did not face Jaret Wright, who has been the best Braves pitcher this year, or Mike Hampton, who has emerged as the second-best (Ortiz' record shows consistency, but man does he drive you crazy with all those damn walks). The Braves did not face Matt Morris or Cris Carpenter. So, take it with a grain of salt, although the Cardinals did hand the Braves their first series loss in 15 attempts.

Fantasy baseball: Attack of the obscure stats. The past two weeks I have been victimized by one opposing pitcher tossing a complete game shutout, which enters two different categories in the league and those are nearly impossible to tie or beat, even if you have a pitcher who has one of the best days of his life. If the week is closely contested, those two stats can make a huge difference. Anyway, having absolutely no luck in fantasy past having the top record, I just want to make the playoffs, since anything can happen there.

By the way, Jonathan set up fantasy football. I know some of you on here like you some fantasy football fierce, so join up. If you need the passwords and the like, just tell me.