Like many of its readers, Atomic Sports Media's contributors are addicted to fantasy sports. 

A few weeks back, columnist James Ludes started a fantasy baseball league for his fellow ASM contributors.  Ten men entered, only one will win.

Like many default leagues, the "ASM All-Stars" league is playing head-to-head weekly matchups. 

Unlike many default leagues, the league includes holds for pitchers and sacrifice hits for batters.  The lost art of middle relief could play a major factor for the first time in fantasy history!

For a review of our draft, click here.

Below are questions and answers to many burning questions every fantasy baseball general manager has coming into the season.  Hopefully the experts at ASM can help you find quality answers. 

That is, of course, unless you take advice from Jon Bellwood (he knows nothing about baseball). 

John McCabe took the liberty of asking me three questions after I grilled him.  My Q&A is first.

Jonathan Bentz, ASM senior editor:

1. What player did you want the most that you couldn't get?

I was really hoping Zac Duke would slide to me somewhere in the draft.  He was selected by Josh Binstock one pick ahead of me, no. 144 overall, and that really stung. 

I probably should have taken him earlier, but my starting pitching was already looking pretty good at that point.  I had already drafted Johan Santana, Freddy Garcia, and Tim Hudson before losing out on Duke.  I would have taken him as a steal if Binstock hadn't beaten me to the click.

Duke saved my fantasy pitching staffs in 2005 with eight wins and a Roger Clemens-like ERA.  This season, I have a feeling he will hurt my team because he isn't on any of them.  He's going to be really big.

2. Picking up Ken Griffey, Jr is always a risky move (since he is made of glass). Were you hoping he has a healthy year and produces like his days in Seattle?

Of course I'm hoping Griffey returns to his glory days with Seattle.  If that is the case, I will have drafted a league MVP-caliber player in round ten of the draft!  In all seriousness though, I took him where I did because I thought he was the most attractive outfield option at pick no. 96. 

More likely, however, is that Griff will take a couple trips to the 15-day DL.  As far as production, he can still finish hitting around 30 homers and driving in between 70 and 90 runs.  Lucky for me, I drafted Chad Tracy and Torii Hunter to pick up the slack in case Griff's hammy explodes.    

3. You picked Mike Gonzalez as your third relief pitcher. While Billy Wagner and Eric Gagne are nice picks, why didn't you go after a more established RP when you had the chance?

I went with Gonzo in round 15 because there really wasn't a notable third reliever (who closes) at that point in the draft.  I did pass on Chris Reitsma (drafted in round 17) and Mike MacDougal (20), but I have a feeling both of those guys are on a short leash.   

On top of carrying a nice slider and fastball combo, Gonzo should get a lot of opportunities to get saves... especially if the Pirates pitching staff is as good as advertised.

John McCabe, ASM Managing Editor:

1. Most experts have devalued Alfonso Soriano now that he's playing in Washington (a notorious pitcher's park) and with his recent frustration over moving to the outfield.  Despite this criticism, you took him in the second round (no. 15).  Please defend this pick many might see as jumping the gun.  

Soriano is a multiple offensive threat - homers and steals. I figured if he was out there, I would take him despite all the bad press. I may have jumped the gun a bit by selecting him as my second pick, but my gut tells me that Washington will trade him to a team that needs a power hitting second baseman and he will thrive. Soriano was a crap shoot, but one I had to take.

2. You took Francisco Rodriguez as the first closer in the draft.  What made him more attractive to you than Mariano Rivera or Brad Lidge?  

My thinking here was I have two fantasy teams and I didn't want to duplicate my roster. I have Brad Lidge and Wagner as my closers on my first team. Rivera is a stud, but I wanted to take a chance on K-Rod. He has strong numbers (91 Ks and 45 Saves). One draft rag that I read on K-Rod says he may have a break-out year. Another crap shoot here.

3. Look over the draft board and name the best pick another GM made, from any round of the draft (either a surprise pick you think will work out, or a sleeper you wanted but waited too long for, etc.).  

I can't say there was one pick that was "best" but, I would have to say Zeke Smith had the best overall draft of anyone. His team is loaded and balanced. He obviously did his homework.

Josh Binstock, ASM columnist:

1.  Who on your roster are you expecting to be the biggest surprise this season? Why?

I am really depending on surprises rather than repeats of last year's performances. I have two young starters in Scott Kazmir and Zach Duke.  Kazmir showed signs of being a legitimate ace last season, and Duke was phenomenal after his call-up. Unfortunately they play for bad teams, so they are both big "ifs".

As far as offense, I have a couple other young guys who showed they can really produce in limited time.  Prince Fielder and Clint Barmes both put up impressive numbers in a small sampling of action.

2. ASM Senior Editor John McCabe has stated that Zeke Smith's team is the best in the league after the draft. I, however, could see a strong case made for your team. Defend my logic, but at the same time tell me some things you like about Zeke's team  

I am very confident going into the season.  I've got guys with power (Mark Teixera, Hank Blalock, Carlos Beltran), guys with phenomenal speed (Carl Crawford, Rafael Furcal, Marcus Giles), and most of my team hits for a good average.  I love my starting pitching, and I expect a huge season from Roy Halladay, a bounceback season from Barry Zito, and another steady season from Mark Mulder. My relievers are not great, but they all rack up saves (Joe Nathan, Derrick Turnbow, Armando Benitez).

3.  While all of your bases seem to be covered, is there one player you passed on somewhere in the draft you would rather have on your squad? Who and why?

I missed out on Torii Hunter, who looks poised for a big year. The guy hits for a pretty good average, good power and great base-stealing speed. I think he was taken one pick before me, so I took Jonny Gomes instead.

Jon Bellwood, ASM International Motor Sports columnist:

1. Many of your infielders are coming off their worst statistical season due to injury or inconsistent performance.  Who do you expect to have the best "comeback" season: Todd Helton, Javy Lopez, Edgar Renteria, or Carlos Guillen?

I live in England and have absolutely no clue about baseball.  I don't know who is good or bad.  I just let the thing autopick without making any changes to see what it would throw up.

2.  Like a few other teams in our league, you loaded up on talent at deep positions (OF, 1B, SP) in the beginning of the draft, and filled in at thin positions (C, 2B, SS) towards the end.  Was this a draft strategy?  Explain.

If you want to take the comedic, "Englishman takes random players" angle thats cool.  Could possible make a point that if I beat someone, though, they've got to be pretty damn bad!

3. Did you have trouble picking between Alex Rodriguez and Albert Pujols, truly the top two players in fantasy baseball.  What advantages do you see in A-Rod over Pujols?

The only player from baseball I know is Alex Rodriguez.  I am still wondering if any of my team members are any good aside from Rodriguez.

Zeke Smith, ASM columnist:

1. ASM President John McCabe has publicly stated you drafted the best all-around team. Do you second that statement? If yes, why? If no, who do you think drafted the best all-around team after looking at the draft board?

Everyone going into the season believes their team has the best shot to win, otherwise why did you draft the guys you did? So yeah, I'll second the statement. I think I have the best team right now because looking at my guys, I have some good balance and a lot of dependable players.  Tons of people get burned in fantasy by going after players that are poised for "breakout" seasons or are on the rise and then they don't pan out.  Everyone wants Felix Hernandez already, but I'll go ahead and pick a pitcher who's had back-to-back 15 win seasons over someone with more promise.

2. Who is one player you felt lucky to draft where he fell? If you could take a do-over, who would that be?

The one guy I felt like I was really fortunate to get where I did was Eric Chavez in round seven.  I am very familiar with his struggles last year because I was someone who had him on multiple teams but his numbers were very solid the second half of the year and the A's will have a good lineup around him so I don't expect a repeat of last year's start.  I mean, here's a guy who went in the third round of the many expert drafts and he fell to me in the late sixties in our draft.  I have to be happy about that.

As far as do-overs go, I might not have loaded up on starting pitching as much as I did.  You look at everything, position by position, and there are certain positions where the upper echelon of players seemingly has a huge gap over the lower tier guys.  These are positions like catcher, second base, and reliever, and I sort of wish I had gone after those positions earlier to get some premium players in those slots.  I did manage to get what I believe to be steals at those positions in addition to the best RP out there, Mariano Rivera, so I salvaged things alright I suppose.

3. Any fear that there might be a lack of power on your squad after David Ortiz and Aramis Ramirez? 
 

Lack of power could potentially be a problem, I suppose, but you have to look at your team top to bottom instead of just loading up on big numbers guys.  Aramis and Big Papi are going to carry my team in those categories, but beyond that I have five other guys who hit over 20 home runs last year and could certainly hit more this year.  With several of my guys due for a power boost and several others due for a dropoff (Andruw Jones), things will end up even for the year.  Don't get sucked in by big numbers, but draft a whole team.  I'm not really concerned about the perceived lack of power on my team.

Nick Kanios, ASM staff writer:

1. Which of the following players on your roster will have the best "comeback" year? Barry Bonds, Jason Schmidt, or Kerry Wood. Why?

Kerry Wood I'm extremly worried about, I drafted him because I completely ignored the save category, and he counts as a relief pitcher.  I am expecting him to spend the majority of the season on the DL. 

Schmidt I'm very confident about, last year he was bothered by injury the entire season, the two seasons prior he was a Cy Young candidate, and I expect that type of year from him again. 

For Bonds: 100 games, a .310 average, and 30-35 home runs.

2. You drafted many rookies and sophomores (Jeff Francoeur, Matt Cain, Garrett Atkins, Mike Jacobs), is there any concern on your part that the risk could be greater than the reward with these guys?  

I definately reached with Francoeur and Cain.  Francouer is definately prone to a sophmore slump, but watching him in spring training the ability is definately there.  He has great raw power and is a tremendous athelete.  I definately expect close to 30 home runs with Jeff. 

Cain I'm very confident in, he has tremendous stuff, he reminds me of a young Kevin Brown.  His 96 MPH fast ball has insane movement.  I expect him to have a monster year, especially SBC park. 

Atkins, looking back, wasn't that good of a pick.  I like the fact he can play 3b. if injuries happen in the outfield I can move Miguel Cabrerra out there.  I tried to get my bench as versitale as possible.  Atkins does play in Coors field though, and was tremenous at home.  I beleive he hit 330 there last year.  With another year under his belt, I think he can continue to improve. 

Jacobs I took toward the end of the draft, so I feel he was a steal.  He was regarded as one of the top minor leaguers a year ago, and when called up showed flashes.  He's going to play in Floridia, even if he struggles they are going to give him every chance to succede.  I think in the second half of the season he will find his way in my starting lineup, and will be a much better player then Atkins.  Jacobs was definately worth the risk.

3. Was Barry Bonds a steal to you at pick #88 or was he still a risk? What are you expecting from him production wise this season?

I think no. 88 overall was a steal for Barry Bonds.  He can still hit.  When he plays he is going to get a ton of walks and homeruns.  Will he play a full season?  Defintaely not.  And there is a chance he gets hurt and misses most-all of it.  But, with 88th overall, look at who else was available.  Very few people with the upside Bonds has.  If it doesn't work out, it was worth the risk.  When playing fantasy sports, I find its much better to swing for the fences then go with safe picks.

James Ludes, ASM columnist:

1. Was Roger Clemens (no. 154) in your plans at all going into the draft, or was this an autodraft situation? What do you plan to do with him now that you have him? 

Roger "Jesus" Clemens was an autodraft selection. I'm really on the fence as to what to do with him. He's kind of the baseball equivilent of Ricky Williams in fantasy ball now. If he comes out, he'll certainly have an ERA under 2.50 and strikeout more than hewalks. But can I wait until May, June, July- whatever he decides. As a fan and fantasy owner, I think it should be mandatory for everyone to go out like The Bus- forget Clemens and Favre.

2. Taking two injury-prone players like Prior and Garciaparra is always a risk in fantasy. Do you have any contingency plans in mind should they both go on the shelf?

Luckily we have two DL spots if Prior or Garciaparra go down. I can fill their shoes with a warm-blooded body. I'm a die-hard White Sox fan and cannot stand Prior. Autopick dropped the ball for me on that pick. He's available ladies and gentlemen...anyone who wants Glass Joe, make an offer.

3. Who on your roster will provide the biggest surprise in 2006? Why do you think it will be that person?

Nomaaa is also, ironically, my answer to question three. I think he's going to be happier and healthier out West. I think he's my surprise and will flash a little of the old Nomar in the batter's box. I think that Pudge Rodriguez's power numbers will be up from last year too!

Josh Ellis, ASM columnist:

1. You passed on Chase Utley (clearly your favorite player) with picks ten and eleven.  Did you consider taking him or expect him to fall back to no. 30?  Were you dissappointed you didn't get him?

Chase is by far my favorite player. He has an overall rank of about 26-29 and it was just not practical for me to take him at such a high spot as the tenth or eleventh pick.  He was around until two picks before I chose in the 3rd round so I wa hopeful my favorite player would reach me then.  Unfortunatly he was taken and I chose Jorge Cantu instead.  Cantu is a supurb second baseman and a great alternative. 

2. Which player were you most surprised to draft where you drafted him: Bartolo Colon (no. 71), Jason Giambi (no. 110), or Mike Mussina (no. 191)?  Why?

By far Jason Giambi at no. 110.  He had a great season in limited time last year and theres really no indications why he couldnt put up all-star like numbers again.  Other people may have been scared off by his steroid alligations but hey, if hes using them, it can only help my team.

3. What position do you think is the most important in fantasy baseball?  Why? 

I think the most important position in fantasy baseball is second base or shortstop. At those positions there aren't many five tool guys.  The difference between the top two or three middle infielders from the rest is vastly greater then the difference between the top two or three outfielders and ones that are 20-30 players lower.

Jonathan Bentz will graduate in May from West Virginia University on the four year plan (don't tell anyone, it'll kill his image).  He has been a stringer and wire contributor for the Associated Press since 2003, covering WVU and other sports in North Central West Virginia.  He bleeds BLUE and GOLD, and wants to be the next Theo Epstein...without the Yale Law degree. You can reach him at jonathan.bentz@atomicsportsmedia.com.