Miguel Cabrera's bat has awakened this past week. He is on his way towards .325/25/125.

The NBA started its’ playoffs today at noon, when the Cleveland Cavaliers took on the Washington Wizards.  This is a new rivalry to the NBA, but the two teams have played each other in the playoffs each of the last three seasons, including 07-08.  Today, the Cavs, LeBron James, proved to the Wizards once again that he is not overrated, by scoring 32 points in the 93-86 win over the Wizards.  Other game leaders were; Antawn Jamison with 19 rebounds, and Deshawn Stevenson, Delonte West, and Daniel Gibson all added five assists each.  Heading into the fourth quarter, the Cavs trailed 69-65, but they made yet another late game comeback, (they had 28 regular season 4^th quarter comebacks) and won despite horrible free throw shooting in the last couple of minutes.  Watch for the Cavs to win the series five games.

Just like Maverick in “Top Gun”, Yankees pitcher Kyle Farnsworth will get into some trouble for buzzing the tower.  Farnsworth will be suspended for three games, and fined for throwing a 97 MPH fastball behind the head of Red Sox slugger Manny Ramirez.  I think MLB made the right move suspending Farnsworth. It sends a strong message that they will not tolerate pitchers headhunting a batter simply because he hits their team well.  Personally, I don’t think a three game suspension is enough.  Josh Beckett never retaliated in the next inning, but Yankees hitters better be ready for a plunking in the next series, and they can thank Farnsworth for it.

In the early going of the baseball season, there is only one player that has hit safely in every single game.  Nate McLouth, has gotten a hit in 17 straight games and is batting .384, with three home runs and 15 RBI.  Right now, he is hitting in the leadoff spot, but at some point the Pirates have to consider moving him down in the order to put him in a spot where he can drive in more runs for the team.  The speedy outfield is a must-start in every format of fantasy baseball and is a threat to hit 20 or more home runs and steal 20 bases, as it looks like he is going to get 500 or more at-bats this season.

When the Seattle Mariners picked up Carlos Silva in the off-season, they knew that he would eat up a lot of innings, but they did not expect him to come out of the gate with a 3-0 record and a 2.79 ERA.  In past years, he has proven to be susceptible to the home run ball and that has not really changed much. (3 HR allowed in 3 starts) However, he is limiting how many runs score when he does serve one up because of his 1.14 WHIP.  Fantasy owners should check the waiver wire for Silva since he is only owned in 14.6 percent of the leagues on ESPN.  Silva will not provide a huge strikeout boost, but right now he is pitching well enough to get your team some wins and lower your team’s ERA and WHIP.

The Florida Marlins are off to a great start this season, but none of their success has come from the bat of Dan Uggla.  So far this season, Uggla is hitting a putrid .167 with two home runs and six RBI.  Thanks to the surprising play of first baseman Mike Jacobs, the Marlins have been able to withstand the slow start from their number two hitter.  Uggla is in danger of being moved down in the lineup, and hitting behind the pitcher for a game might be the slap in the face he needs to get going.  I am not saying that he will hit in the nine hole, but seriously, look at his hitting for a moment, and you will understand where I am coming from.  Fantasy owners should not give up on Uggla yet since it is still April, but some owners may be able to pick him up in a cheap trade from a disgruntled owner.  When it comes to Jacobs, the time is now for owners to sell him for something while he is hot.  Once he goes cold, there is no telling when he will hit like this again.  So far this season, Jacobs is batting .295 with six home runs and 12 RBI.

After getting off to a pretty slow start in Detroit, Miguel Cabrera has awoken and gone on a hot streak.  In the last seven days, Cabrera is hitting .407 with two home runs and 10 RBI.  The rest of the team has started slow too, but the hard-hitting third baseman is supposed to be the missing piece that the Tigers did not have last year.  So far this season, Cabrera is batting .283 with three home runs and 12 RBI.  Cabrera is a must- have, must-start fantasy third baseman, and will bat .325 with 35 home runs and 125 RBI by season’s end.

I am out of time for this week, so be ready for more NBA playoff talk, MLB player updates, and the UFC will make its return to The Grumble next week.