Nick Fruscello: Welcome to Fantasy Friday! Its fantasy hockey finals time in most leagues and now is when you need your players playing their best. Now is the time to do whatever it takes to win more categories than the other guy. Jagr was my first round pick this year (yeah, I know) and he's been awful for most of the year, but if he can play well now, all is forgiven. Just to show you how close these playoff games can be in the other semi-finals matchup last week, the one seed beat the four seed through the tie breaker system. The one seed had a better goals against average by 0.08 and a better save percentage by .003. It can't get much closer than that. If you have any questions for me going into this critical final week let me know and I'd be happy to help you out.

stillers: I'm in my fantasy hockey finals and need goalie help after Carey Price ruined my GAA on Monday. There's slim pickens out there now.

Nick Fruscello: Yeah, Price is on my team as well and he messed things up right off the bat for me too. I've been pulling in goalies off the street to try and fix it up again. I don't know how many good manager you have in your league, but you may want to check for Erik Ersberg of the LA Kings. Yeah, I know, he's a goalie for a last place team, however he has shown A LOT of promise over the past month. He has a 1.97 GAA and a .941 save percentage. Those are monster numbers for a guy that could be on your waiver wire. Other goalies you could look for are Fredrik Norrena of Columbus, they have a soft schedule ahead and Wade Dubielewicz of the Islanders who has shown me over the past month that he deserves serious consideration as a starter somewhere.

stillers: Is Conklin going to get anymore starts this year?

Nick Fruscello: Conklin will probably get another start before the end of the season and it will most likely be one of those back to back Rangers games coming up this weekend. Unless the Pens get into a position where they don't have anything to play for, Fleury will still get the lionshare of the starts, giving Conklin almost no fantasy value.

stillers: Head to Head playoff matchups are always close and tough to win. You said you win alot so do you have a strategy to winning more often than not?

Nick Fruscello: Well obviously having a great team from the start is a big advantage, but even with that you can have a difficult time winning your matchup. One of the strategies I use during the playoffs is the "There is no tomorrow" strategy. I have a couple spots on my roster that are rent a player spots. I'll pick up Jeff Carter, then drop him for Sergei Samsonov the next day. Then pick up Sean Avery for him the day after that. Whatever fills your roster. Put guys in your lineup. If you're losing and your number one pick won't play the rest of the week, drop him and pick up someone else. All that matters is having more points than the other guy when its all said and done.

BronxBombers: I have an injury at my second base position. I'm trying to decide on Dustin Pedroia or Placido Polanco. What's your take?

Nick Fruscello: My take is that you're in a good spot. Both are pretty solid and unless your original 2nd baseman was Chase Utley, you'll have a fill in as good if not better than your original. Both are really good on base guys, they'll rack up a lot of runs and help your batting average. I would go with Polanco only because he's been having a better spring that Pedroia. Both are almost identical so you really can't lose.

BronxBombers: I have Matt Capps as my 3rd closer but I'm thinking of dropping him for Kerry Wood. Good idea?

Nick Fruscello: If Wood can stay healthy and that's a big IF, I think he'll really excel at the closer position. The Cubs will without a doubt, win more games than the Buccos giving Wood more save opportunities. There's a good chance the K-Kid will be in the top 3 in saves in the NL.

BronxBombers: Michael Young just hit the waiver wire in my league and I want to snatch him up, but I already have Miguel Tejada at SS. Should I drop Tejada for Young?

Nick Fruscello: Ohhhhh tough one. Young has consistenly been one of the best contact hitters in the league over the past few years and playing in the Rangers hitter friendly park is helping him too. Tejada is a former AL MVP and I think he will really do well with his new team the Astros. Tejada will have close to 30 HR's and over 100 RBI's, while Young will bat over 300, get over 100 runs and get close to 100 RBI's. Basically its down to what you want. Power or consistency

BronxBombers: Is Richie Sexson going to have a bounc back season or is he done?

Nick Fruscello: He's been a good HR hitter getting around 40 each year until last year. He said that his injuries affected his game last year and that he's healthy again now. Playing in monsterous Safeco Field will prevent him from hitting well over 40 homers, but I do think he'll have a bounce back season, it just may not be as big a bounce back as you're hoping. I figure around 35 HR's, 110 RBI's and that's of course, if he stays healthy.

Carnegie: How do you feel A. Pujols will perform this year?

Nick Fruscello: I'm not real high on Pujols this year. He has virtually no lineup around him, which means pitchers will never give him anything good to hit. Plus, his elbow is going to bother him all year long. Troy Glaus will probably bat behind him, which may help him a bit, but really the Cardinals don't have anyone to get on base ahead of him. Pujols will get 30 HR's, maybe and around 100 RBI's. Not a bad season, but not a Pujols type season.

Carnegie: What is the story with Kenny Lofton?

Nick Fruscello: Well right now, he's unemployed. He recently turned down a one year deal with the Devil Rays because they weren't offering enough. I don't know how much he thinks he's worth, but the best part of his game is his speed and he's going to turn 41 this year. He should be glad anyone has any interest in him at this point.

theWellHungarian: who should I start as my 4th OF, Felix Pie or Jacoby Ellsbury?

Nick Fruscello: I would take Ellsbury for sure. Pie is batting way below the mendoza line against lefties and Ellsbury is a much better all around hitter.

malkin71: How did you do in your semi-finals matchup?

Nick Fruscello: I won 8-0 and I'm currently leading in the finals 4-3.

ROID_RAGE: A-Rod or Holliday?

Nick Fruscello: A-Rod. There's nobody out there who is as consistently good as him. Having said that, Holliday will have monster season playing at Coors Field for years to come. A-Rod this year, but Holliday isn't too far behind.

ROID_RAGE: who's your sleeper fantasy baseballer for this year?

Nick Fruscello: Wow, I'm gonna have to think about this one. Last year, my sleeper pick was BJ Upton and he panned out pretty good. This year I have a couple. Miguel Tejada is getting no attention in drafts this year and that will be a mistake. He should have great numbers playing at Enron Fi... I mean, Minute Maid park, plus the NL central has a lot of hitter friendly parks that will help his numbers. Also, I like Bily Butler of the Royals. Yes, I said the Royals. They play in the AL central. Seriously. He has a lot of potential to get around 30-35 HR's and get around 120 RBI's. Last year, he had 51 RBI's in 87 games and that was in his first year.

ROID_RAGE: If I'm going to pick a Bucco for the sake of picking a Bucco, who should I go with?

Nick Fruscello: The Pirate Parrot... he'll be the only member of the organization that won't be batting under .200

ROID_RAGE: In one of the fantasy leagues I'm in, my buddies and I worked in a 100 point bonus if one of of players gets busted for steriods during the regular season. That being said, who should I go with to be more likely to receive the aforementioned bonus?

Nick Fruscello: HA! That's pretty good. Well David Ortiz would be my pick. He went from a 20 HR guy to a 50 HR guy in a couple years. Seems kind of odd, don't you think?

BronxBombers: I'm in this HR derby league where only homers count and Jack Cust is out there. I know this guy has monster power, but is he worth it and do you think he'll stay with the big club?

Nick Fruscello: I read the other day that in 59% of his at bats, he either walked, struck out or hit a homerun. That's mind boggling! He struck out 4 times in the Tokoyo opener and probably will end up with over 150 the way he goes, but at the same time, if HR's is your game, he'll get over 30 as long as the A's can put up with his K's.

Carnegie: You do an excellent job. How do you know all this stuff?

Nick Fruscello: Thanks! I actually do A LOT of reading. Every expert's reviews of players, scouting reports, stats, etc. I'm just a source that crunches all of that information into one place.

Nick Fruscello: Great chat everyone. Hope to see you all back here next week!!