Chase Utley has produced more in April than many second basemen do over a whole season.

What the fudge is going on with the Boston Celtics?  The Celts finished the season 29 games ahead of the Atlanta Hawks and yet they are struggling to eliminate a team that managed to lose 45 games in the regular season.  Personally, I think the Celtics started looking past the Hawks once they went up two games to none.  So far, in this series the Celtics have been playing the roles of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.  The Celtics were the best team in the league on road this season but for some reason they can’t buy a win on the road in the playoffs.  Now the series is heading back to Boston all tied up, and for the second year in a row, the team with the best regular season record could be bounced out of the playoffs in the first round.  On Sunday, Celtics fans should be worried about losing in game 7, the Celtics have only lost one playoff series when they have led 2-0 and it was to the Hawks.  I predict a Celtics victory in game seven, but it is not going to be the same kind of game that we saw in the first three home playoff games (92-88 final)

Yovani Gallardo is headed to the DL because of another knee problem, and it could leave the Milwaukee Brewers in a bad way for a while.  Gallardo re-joined the team in mid-April after having surgery to repair some torn cartilage in his left knee and now he has torn a ligament in his right knee.  Dave Bush will likely get nod while Gallardo is on the DL.  Bush has started three games this season, but is 0-3 with a 6.75 ERA.  With Ben Sheets having arm problems and Gallardo looking at missing several months with this injury, the Brewers may be in need of a starting pitcher fast.  For the time being, fantasy owners should avoid Bush until he proves that he can pitch effectively.  This new injury to Gallardo will hurt his fantasy trade value, and unless you are in a keeper league, avoid him at all cost.  Fantasy owners in a keeper league may be able to pick up Gallardo cheap from an owner looking get some now help.

Max Scherzer made his major league debut this week and boy was it a great one.  Scherzer needed just four and a third innings to prove that he is ready for the big leagues.  In his four plus innings of work Scherzer managed to strike out 7 batters and did not allow a single batter to reach base.  On Monday, Scherzer is expected to make his first start as a big leaguer, and fantasy wise this could be a good to time to put him in your fantasy lineup.  Scherzer will be facing the very powerful offense of the Philadelphia Phillies, but he is also facing one of the freest swinging team in the majors.  Look for Scherzer to actually allow a hit or two, but also watch for him to strikeout a lot of batters.  Scherzer will have a solid rookie year, and with his K potential through the roof, he could be a fantasy sleeper.  Max Scherzer should finish the year with a 12-6 record and post an ERA somewhere in the mid-fours range.

One player that had an absolutely amazing start to the season is Chase Utley.  In the month and two days that has gone by, Utley has hit .364 with 12 home runs and 25 RBI.  It has become very clear who the best hitting second baseman in the MLB is, and he is light years ahead of the rest.  In one month, Utley has hit more than half of his previous seasons totals and is proving to the world that his 32 home runs in 2006 was no fluke.  Currently, Utley is on pace to hit .364 with 64 home runs and 135 RBI.  It is obvious that he will not be capable of keeping up that kind of hitting, but look for him to finish the year with a .320 average, 30 plus home runs, and 120 RBI.  Fantasy owners should look to keep Utley no matter what, unless a ridiculously lopsided offer for him comes in. 

Earlier this week the San Francisco Giants announced that they would be sending their $126 million ace Barry Zito to the bullpen to try and figure out what the hell is wrong with him.  So far this season Zito is 0-6 with a 7.53 ERA.  If Zito is unable to prove that he is capable of pitching at a Major League level then he could end up with the label of “The Worst Free Agent Signing in History”.  Since leaving the friendly confines of Oakland he is 11-19 with a 6.03 ERA.  If Zito is still on your fantasy roster slap yourself for me and then drop him to the unwanted garbage list.  If you feel the need to keep Zito, then place him on your bench and forget about him.  There is a very slim chance that Zito find a way to stop pitching like a Tee-Ball pitcher, but I think that I have a better chance of winning the “Powerball”.

[Ed. Note- For more on what’s wrong with Barry Zito, check out this article over at THT]