Yesterday went a little better than the past several contests had gone, but anyone could say that after the two weeks I’ve had. Baseball has been rocked by some bigger news, but we’ll touch on that later. There is nothing like a little action to make you forget your troubles.

Therefore, I’m playing in a Double Up! contest. They range anywhere from a dollar to ten dollars, but each works the same way. If you finish in the top half you get almost twice as much as you put in. Naturally, Draftkings gets their cut because they have to pay their employees, the light bill, and make a little for their trouble. That being said, they are very generous to those that start playing as they will give you a deposit bonus you can access here.

My Lineup

Pitcher: Shelby Miller vs. Arizona Diamondbacks

It’s going to be a difficult race this season in the Rookie of the Year race because there are just so many impact rookies. If you wanted to go with just a rookie Cy Young race it would still be hard. Miller sometimes gets forgotten because he was called up last September, so he is just so old hat. At this point, a sub 2.00 ERA has to be noticed. Alternative: Derek Holland vs. Boston Red Sox

Pitcher: Stephen Strasburg vs. New York Mets

As I mentioned in an earlier article. I divide pitchers into plus and minus categories. The plus pitchers are possible starters and the minus ones are ones I want to start hitters against. The Mets have Shaun Marcum scheduled on the bump so it is one of those rare plus vs. minus opportunities. I like to take advantage of those. Alternative: Max Scherzer vs. Tampa Bay Rays

Catcher: Ryan Doumit vs. Wade Davis

Part of me feels sorry for the Royals and their fans. They are like the baseball version of Hotel California. Go with veterans, rookies, and everything in between and still wind up in the cellar. Doumit qualifies at catcher for some odd reason and as such is a nice cheaper play. The alternative is his more expensive teammate. Alternative: Joe Mauer vs. Wade Davis

First Base: Mark Teixeira vs. Aaron Harang

This is a risky play for a couple of reasons. First, Aaron Harang has been better than his overall numbers suggest lately. More importantly, Teixeira has just returned from injury. You’re getting him cheaper than he normally would be, but he also has two home runs already in his first few games. Alternative: Adam Laroche vs Shaun Marcum

Second Base: Brian Dozier vs. Wade Davis

Yes, I like picking on the struggling pitchers. Davis has actually been worse than his numbers suggest lately because he had a very solid April. Dozier has been decent enough at second base with Jamey Carroll moving to third base for the most part. He won’t do anything spectacular, but we really don’t need him to. Alternative: Chase Utley vs. Wily Peralta

Third Base: Ryan Zimmerman vs. Shaun Marcum

Marcum used to be one of the more solid pitchers in baseball, but started the season on the shelf. He hasn’t been good since he returned. The trick with Marcum is that he has never thrown hard. When you don’t throw hard you have to be more precise than others. Zimmerman has struggled some one his own, but I figure this is a good opportunity for him to bust out. Alternative: Michael Young vs. Wily Peralta

Shortstop: Jimmy Rollins vs. Wily Peralta

I’ve made money betting against Wily Peralta, so I feel good going back to the pot again. Don’t worry, we’ll see more of this guy before the article is done. Rollins continues to be a steady if no longer spectacular performer. The key is here is understanding that there are matchups that favor nearly everyone. Alternative: Ian Desmond vs. Shaun Marcum

Outfield: Josh Willingham vs. Wade Davis

Josh Willingham is off to a fairly slow start this season, but don’t let that slow start fool you. Even if he continues at his current pace, he will hit nearly 30 home runs and drive in nearly 90 runs. That’s still good no matter what position you play. Today, just feels like a day where Willingham is going to go deep. Alternative: Denard Span vs. Shaun Marcum

Outfield: Domonic Brown vs. Wily Peralta

Domonic Brown has gone absolutely ape the last month and I don’t think I can go on much longer without playing him. The truth is that he kind of snuck up on me. I didn’t pay much attention to any of the Phillies really because as a team they weren’t performing consistently. Well, it certainly isn’t this guys fault. Alternative: Ichiro Suzuki vs. Aaron Harang

Outfield: Delmon Young vs. Wily Peralta

It appears as if Charlie Manuel has begun to settle on an outfield rotation. Delmon Young missed his first six weeks, but has returned to hit four home runs in the span of about three weeks. If he continues that pace he will wind up with more than 20 once the season has ended. It may not be Domonic Brown territory, but it’s solid enough. Alternative: Alex Gordon vs. Mike Pelfrey

A History Lesson

All of this biogenenics stuff has exploded the last couple of days after it was reported that the founder would flip on his clients. This is a fantasy site after all, so I really don’t want to get into the rights, wrongs, and what fors on this particular issue here. What I want to do is go over a major historical event that may give us some guidance as to how to treat this scandal.

By comparison, the Black Sox scandal from 1919 is much larger in terms of scope and importance, but in terms of sheer volume the two scandals are actually pretty close. The Black Sox scandal involved eight men while this current crisis could involve as many as two dozen. No one currently faces the prospects of a lifetime ban, but it could end up being a death sentence for Alex Rodriguez.

That being said, I would hesitate to tell anyone to run to the other members of the league to trade any of these guys. The news reports make it sound like suspensions are imminent  but this is where the Black Sox scandal becomes an important guide. The movie Eight Men Out made it seem like the suspensions were handed down following the World Series, but the players in question actually played the entire 1920 season. There are suspicions that they did the same thing late in the season as they mysteriously faded down the stretch. Who knows, maybe that was the last straw for Mountain Landis.

Landis’ landmark statement where he suspended them for life references “in spite of the decisions of juries” to show that he could lord it over the court system. Bud Selig is doing the same with the testing policy and probably deservingly so in Ryan Braun’s case by continuing on with the witch hunt. In Landis’ case, he did not have the MLBPA to deal with. You better believe they will fight this thing every inch of the way.

The long and short of it is that if anything is done during the 2013 season I will be shocked. I suppose those in dynasty or keeper leagues should consider what to do with Ryan Braun in the long-term, but if you are playing in a standard league I would continue business as usual.