FANTASY BASEBALL PSYCHIC Maiden Voyage -- Webb or Franklin?

Hello boys and girls and welcome to Opening Day 2010!

While watching the Yanks - Red Sox game I am finally biting the bullet and publishing our first blog -- something the Psychic and I have been talking about for some time.

The Psychic is a real psychic -- and my better half -- and I am a multiple fantasy baseball championship winner (both points and head to head).

I can only hope our advice will help and entertain. By the way, if you are a member of the NYNY Fantasy League, please stop reading NOW...because you'll get all my secrets and that will make it harder for me to trounce you.

Topic #1: The health of Brandon Webb

The psychic says, "I see him in a purple uniform."

I say, "Yes, dear. The Diamondbacks uniforms used to be purple."

"And now he wears...red?"

"Yes."

"He's got shoulder problems."

She's right there. He just got a cortisone shot the other day as he recovers from shoulder problem (he had a cleanup six months ago) that has kept him on the DL for a full year now.

I should know; I drafted him in Round Three last year, and he got shelled on Opening Day and then he and his 13.50 ERA went on the DL for the rest of the year.

"Do you think he'll recover?" I ask.

She furrows her brow and closes her eyes. This is a common expression when she is giving me fantasy advice from the great beyond.

"Yes," she says. "He'll always have issues, but he'll be back this year and he'll be good."

"Should I trade Ryan Franklin for him?" That's the overachieving Cardinals closer, whom I think is a good sell-high candidate.

She looks like she's bitten into a sour citrus fruit. "Ooh, yes. I don't like Ryan Franklin at all."

"He's not going to be great this year, is he?"

"No."

So I do it. I had been offered Max Scherzer, whom I like, for Franklin, but felt like I wanted more upside. Webb could do nothing, or he could give me half a year to three quarters of a year of Cy Young-caliber performance.

I relieve Webb's panicked owner of his burden and say goodbye to Franklin and his 38 saves, hoping my balls-to-the-wall strategy will work again this year, hoping the Psychic is right (as she usually is, about 70% of the time I've noticed).

So here is our first BOLD PREDICTION of 2010:

WEBB GOOD (eventually)

FRANKLIN BAD (also eventually; his ratios indicate he can't keep up what he did last year).

You heard it here first...and I put my money where my Psychic is, making my second trade of the year before the season even started (the first one was Mark Reynolds for Tulo, since I know you're dying to know).

Thanks for reading. See you later this week on...

FANTASY BASEBALL PSYCHIC!!