Pedro Martinez is the key to the Mets postseason success.

I feel like someone should do a psychological case study about auctioning patterns and behaviors. I had one of my auctions yesterday, and it never ceases to amaze me how easily people can be manipulated and thrown off their game plans with either trash talk, or the enthusiastic commentary from league mates (myself included, of course). I was in the bidding for Rafael Furcal yesterday, and was about to get him fairly undervalued, and then two of the guys, who were not interested, were chiming in with comments of "oh come on, you can't let him get Furcal that cheap!" Sure enough, the bids started flying in, and his price got jacked up 10 additional dollars, and forced me out of the bidding. It works both ways too. When Jake Peavy was called out, there was absolutely zero commentary, and it seemed to me that people kind of froze. He ultimately went for a good 5-6 dollars cheaper than he should have (still kicking myself about that one in the light of day), and I would not be surprised if it was due to the lack of comments from the league.

Turning to some Spring Training numbers, Pedro Martinez made his spring debut with an impressive performance against the Tigers, tossing four scoreless innings, with four hits, one walk, and four strikeouts. Reports indicate that he was in the upper 80's with his velocity, which should be enough for him to pitch as well as he did in 2005 for the Mets. More so than Johan Santana, Pedro is, at least in my eyes, the key to the Mets season. If he can stay healthy all year (I know a HUGE "if"), and give the Mets 200 innings even remotely resembling the old Pedro, I think the Mets run away with the NL East. As far as fantasy goes, Pedro should be a decent #2 starter, with an earned run average under 4.00 and a WHIP below 1.200.

Felix Pie returned to the lineup after missing a few days with testicular torsion.  I don't really have much of a comment here; I just wanted to say testicular torsion. Pie should start in center field for the Cubs, and could be a nice late round value pick – that is, assuming he's finally figured out how to hit major league pitching.

Sticking with the Cubs, we may finally have an answer to the closer question later this week, as the indications are that Sweet Lou is getting closer to a decision. I have a bit of a different perspective than my college Mr. McCullough, as I think it will ultimately be Kerry Wood with the job. From a talent perspective, Carlos Marmol is the choice. From an experience perspective, Bob Howry is the choice. But, this is the Cubs, so you have to disregard rhyme or reason and that is what leads me to Wood as the choice. Don't get me wrong; I think Wood will make a fine closer, and he is certainly an improvement over Ryan Dempster. Still, no matter who gets the job, I would expect more of a committee approach, with nobody getting more than 20 saves. Draft accordingly.

Another thing that fascinates me is how so many players seem to have visa problems that delay their arrival at camp. I don't understand - I'm planning a trip for China this summer, and I already have the paperwork to get my visa. This is your job, one that you are well compensated for. Why have you not filed the paperwork for the visa much further in advance? It just makes no sense to me. For the amount of money players are making, they can have a designated "Visa Assistant" whose only job is to make sure the visa paperwork is filed on time.

I was thinking about Andrew McCutchen the other day, and while I like his skill set, I have to believe that he will fail. And it's simply the curse of Pirate center field draft picks. Think about it: since Andy Van Slyke, some of the following names have been brought up by the Pirates to patrol center field. Jermaine Allensworth (1993 1^st round pick- 2.5 mediocre seasons with the Pirates); Adrian Brown (1992 48^th round draft pick- 6 seasons with the Pirates, only one of which can be considered noteworthy); Tike Redman (1996 5^th round pick- I think everyone has a story of Tike Redman burning them); Chris Duffy (2001 8^th round pick- yes, he's fast, but as they say, you cannot steal first base). I suppose time will tell on Nate McLouth and Nyjer Morgan, two more blazing fast guys who will have to prove their on base skills this season. And so, without any real numbers based justification, I predict that Andrew McCutchen will be a spectacular failure.

Everyone is all over Eugenio Velez these days, the San Francisco infield prospect, and with good reason, as he tears up the Cactus League. Along with many of the other Giant reserves, Velez is extremely fast, and could steal a boatload of bases if given the opportunity. With Rajai Davis and Fred Lewis also on the Giants bench, they may have the fastest backups in the majors. And with Omar Vizquel, Ray Durham, Dave Roberts, and Randy Winn as regulars, it will not be long before all three of these young speedsters see significant playing time.

If you haven't noticed, Matt Diaz has had a monster spring, batting over .400. Diaz entered camp in a battle with prospect Brandon Jones, and facing a potential platoon for 2008. And while Jones has flailed about, and shown himself not quite ready for The Show, Diaz has been raking away. I like Diaz quite a bit this year, and think that a .300 batting average with close to 20 homers is possible.

That will do it for this week's edition. And remember, as of today, Ben Sheets, Nick Johnson, and, John Patterson are all still healthy.