I must say, I'm pretty jealous not owning Michael Pineda in any of my fantasy leagues. While there was some concern his still developing changeup would leave him vulnerable to left-handed hitters, it turns out his fastball is so good, it doesn't really matter. In fact, Pineda's average fastball velocity of 95.5 mph easily leads major league baseball. While he's rarely used his changeup, Pineda's slider has been much more effective than expected, and after an impressive April, the rookie has recorded a 43:8 K:BB ratio over 39.0 innings. He already looks like one of the best pitchers in baseball, and while there's some concern he'll eventually show bigger platoon splits, it's worth noting 49.5 percent of the batters he's faced this year have been left-handers.

This guy's behavior on a flight was clearly crazy, but the passenger's response was equally remarkable.

Check it out, there was a Bigfoot sighting!

After ending April with a .224/.267/.284 line, Mike Morse posted a 1.196 OPS in May. His .403 batting average last month was especially surprising since it came with a 13:1 K:BB ratio, but Morse has hit five homers over the past nine games and is locked in the middle of Washington's order. It's possible the move back to first base has made him more comfortable at the plate, and Adam LaRoche's prognosis over the rest of the season is questionable at best. Morse quietly posted an .870 OPS with 15 homers over 266 at-bats last season, and while his current 34:6 K:BB ratio is ugly, his career BABIP is .348, so his batting average isn't necessarily due for a major crash. To give an indication of how I feel about Morse, I spent $160 of my FAAB on him last week in WCOF (second highest bid was $155, love that).

Now this was an unfortunate and embarrassing situation.

Compelling story about the anthrax killings. 

I have absolutely no clue what to make of Bartolo Colon right now, but his pitching performance has been as impressive as it's been surprising. His 3.26 ERA and 1.10 WHIP is matched by a 62:15 K:BB ratio over 66.1 innings, and this coming while pitching in the AL East. Questions surround the surgery that was performed on Colon's arm, but his average fastball velocity (91.8 mph) is actually below his career mark (albeit 2.7 mph higher than the last time he appeared in the majors in 2009). ZiPs projects a 4.70 ERA over the rest of the year, but that seems high if he keeps his peripherals anywhere close to their current state. More wins should also follow with the help of a Yankees' offense that leads MLB in runs scored. I have to say, I didn't quite see this coming.

This is pretty funny. And the reviews are off the charts!

I question whether this driver was really just texting. But either way, this is pretty crazy.

Dexter Fowler has played plus defense in center field while posting a solid .344 OBP, but with zero homers and just two steals on eight attempts, he's been a disappointment in fantasy leagues. He's on pace to score 97 runs, so he's not completely without value, but what happened to the player who posted a .770 OPS with 27 stolen bases as a 23-year-old two seasons ago? While his poor defense precludes guaranteed playing time, Eric Young Jr. is suddenly someone capable of making an impact in fantasy leagues, especially eligible at second base. After averaging 66 steals from 2006-2009, Young had already racked up 17 SBs while getting caught just once over 160 at-bats at Triple-A this year, and he has three swipes over five games since getting recalled to Colorado. Run scoring typically goes way up during the summer months in Coors Field, and it would be nice to see what Young could do if finally given a real opportunity to play every day.

The headline for this story – "Horse herpes outbreak forces rodeo queens to ride stick ponies" sufficiently sums it up.

The world's first BMX triple backflip.

I'm beginning to think Jonathan Franzen might have a future as a writer.

On May 25, Max Scherzer had a 2.98 ERA. Two starts later, it's at 4.38. That's obviously an extreme case, but it also points out that we are still at the point of the season in which even just two outings can dramatically change a pitcher's overall numbers. Three starts ago Ted Lilly had a 4.83 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. Those numbers are already down to 4.22 and 1.22 – a significant change in the latter over such a brief period of time. While this kind of fluctuation remains evident after a dozen or so starts, the impact is even greater for a reliever for obvious reasons, as Carlos Marmol saw his ERA jump from 1.17 to 3.47 in one outing earlier this week. That type of implosion (six runs, one out) will be felt all season long for a relief pitcher. While Ubaldo Jimenez's ERA is still an ugly 4.98, his complete game shutout Wednesday brought it down nearly a full run (it was 5.86). Pretty crazy that it was also his first win since September 17.

Now that's a pretty compelling piece of evidence. 

This story reminds me of the joke about a husband coming home to inform his wife to get her suitcases out and start packing because he just won the lottery. When she asks where they are going he responds "I don't care where you go, just get the hell out of here."

Johnny Damon has quietly had a pretty good year so far, at least in fantasy terms. His .315 OBP certainly isn't helping the Rays, but he's on pace to finish with 21 homers, 18 steals and 88 RBI. Despite approaching 40 years old, he's 29-for-31 on stolen base attempts dating back to 2009, so while clearly in decline, Damon remains useful in fantasy leagues, although he's hindered by playing in Tropicana Field, which again ranks as one of the five toughest places to hit in all of baseball according to Park Factors. It ranked as the best pitcher's park in MLB in 2010 and hasn't benefitted hitters since 2006. At some point, we may need to factor this into Evan Longoria's fantasy projections.

Warning: Dancing in public will get you arrested.

Here's what happened. And here are the repercussions. Definitely curious for opinions on this.

With Michael Young gaining 2B eligibility, there's now an argument he's a top-five option at the position. He won't rack up homers or steals, but he's currently hitting .335 and is on pace to finish with 106 RBI thanks to regularly hitting third or fourth in Texas' lineup, a situation that should only improve now with Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz healthy. Young ended last year with 21 homers, 99 runs scored and 91 RBI, and it doesn't matter to us he's not nearly as valuable in real life as he is in fantasy leagues. Maybe it's totally meaningless, but it's interesting to note Young has hit .429 while playing in the field and just .266 over 124 at-bats at DH. There's an obvious adjustment period, but don't forget he was highly reluctant to make the switch to begin with.

Check out who Doug Glanville chose as his franchise player.

Well, this was a close call.

An absolute must-read regarding the Long Island Serial Killer.   

I understand the small sample narrative gets beaten to death, and I'm in no way suggesting you shouldn't let what has happened over the first two months of the season affect your evaluations, but realize so much is going to change over the remainder of 2011. I'd obviously prefer to be in first place in my league than last right now, but I'd also caution letting your current standing both overall and categorically become too definitive. Theoretically, a fantasy team comprised of Hanley Ramirez, Evan Longoria, David Wright, Carl Crawford, Dustin Pedroia, Nelson Cruz, Shin-Soo Choo, Joe Mauer and Alex Rios would almost certainly be dead last in their league in batting average. I'd argue that team would finish first in that category by season's end.

Follow me on Twitter.