Here is your weekly fantasy update, as all eyes are on Dan Uggla to see if he can keep up his hit streak.

Fantasy Stud of the Week – Prince Fielder, 1B, Brewers

One of the biggest free agents in the coming off-season managed to show his worth this week, helping to push the Brewers to a 4.5 game lead over the Cardinals. Fielder went 12-22 (.545 AVG) with 3 home runs and 10 RBIs. He also managed to score 10 runs, while only striking out a single time. If Fielder manages to keep this hot streak up for another week, the Brewers will most likely have the Central division locked up.
(Honourable mention: J.J. Hardy, SS, Orioles, .455 AVG, 4 HR, 10 RBI)

Fantasy Dud of the Week – Magglio Ordonez, OF, Tigers

The 2007 batting champion was a bleak shadow of his former self this week, going a terrible 1-21 (.053 AVG). He managed only one single throughout the week, accompanied by a sacrifice fly. He drove in 2 runs, and only scored once. Ordonez also managed to strike out 4 times, while only drawing one walk. It was quite a forgettable week for the 6-time all-star.
(Dishonourable mention: Denard Span, OF, Twins, .000 AVG, 0 HR, 0 RBI)

Rookie to watch – Jose Constanza, OF, Braves

Last week’s featured waiver wire player managed to keep up his success, going 9-22 (.409 AVG). Last week’s concerns about his power were dashed, as he managed to hit 2 home runs this week, while driving in 4 runs and scoring 7. He also only struck out twice, while stealing 3 bases. He contributed 2 walks, and having a 1:1 K:BB ratio like he does is a good indicator that he has the plate discipline to stick around in the majors.

Waiver Wire Player of the Week – Reed Johnson, OF, Cubs

The ex-Blue Jay who is famous for eating alive left-handed pitching had a fantastic week, going 11-18, which is good for a whopping .611 AVG. He also hit one home run, and drove in 2 runs, while scoring 6 times. Johnson was putting the ball in play quite often, seeing that he had only a strikeout and no walks. Reed Johnson is only 0.4 % owned in ESPN leagues, meaning that he is almost definitely available within your league. The only concern with Johnson is whether or not he will be getting playing time, but after a week like this, it is almost a guarantee.

With two runners on and no one out, Fielder belted a long ball off Texas Rangers pitcher C.J. Wilson, giving the National League a 3-1 lead.  It was Fielder’s first, last and only hit of the game, but it was an important one as it put the N.L. ahead for good, en route to the 5-1 victory.

There is no telling whether Fielder and the Brewers will benefit from his three-run homer when the National League receives home-field advantage in the World Series, but for now it earned him the All-Star Game MVP and “The Stat Line of the Night” for Tuesday, July 12, 2011.

Not exactly.

Those who were watching Price Fielder’s second round of the State Farm Home Run Derby last night may have noticed one man nearly falling over the outfield railing at Chase Field.  The man was said to be standing on a table attempting to catch a ball during the event when he nearly fell over the railing and onto the ground several feet below.  Fortunately for him, his brother and some friends were ready to make a life saving catch, grabbing him by his arms and legs in an effort to prevent him from taking the disastrous plunge.

Most will tell you that the man jumping into the pool was the best catch from last night’s Derby.  I, on the other hand, would argue that that title belongs to the four men who saved a life last night at Chase Field.

By their very nature, most athletes don’t stand out from one another. By and large, most are physical specimens with short hair and few remarkable characteristics otherwise. These guys aren’t image consultants, they’re athletes, so it stands to reason that most of their efforts are put towards their craft rather than towards maintaining a distinct appearance. However, there are the athletes that break the mold for a wide variety of reasons. \Listed below are 9 such athletes that transcend characterization be it from obesity, looking freakishly like James Blunt, or dying their hair in a desperate (but successful) plea for attention. Let’s get rollin’ with the weirdos.

9. Spud Webb
We’re not going for subtlety here, sports fans. It’s remarkable that someone his height (5’6”) can even see the rim any closer than 20 feet out, let alone become the sensation that he did. Was he a game changer? Absolutely not. But when someone defies the odds for one reason or another, they tend to have their accomplishments magnified, perhaps not in hindsight, but certainly while they are unfolding. (See also: Bo Jackson’s baseball career.)

Perhaps more important than his contributions to his teams was the mold he broke by being the littlest All-Star in the league. He let thousands, if not millions, of up-and-comers know that you didn’t have to be in the 99th percentile of height in high school to have a shot at making the team.

8. John Daly
While Mr. Webb is an inspirational story, Mr. Daly is decidedly…not. He’s got a haircut that even Larry Bird can make fun of, he makes Kirby Puckett look lean, and he wears outfits that suggest Stevie Wonder may or may not be his personal shopper. He’s tacky and trashy, but ever since making a name for himself at Crooked Stick in Indianapolis in the PGA Championship, he’s helped chisel away at the seemingly impenetrable brick wall that kept golf so elitist for so long. Granted, Tiger Woods may have done more of the heavy lifting, especially in the arena of race, but Daly demonstrated that you didn’t have to end your name with a suffix to be relevant in the PGA. I would say that he represents the everyman, but that would really be selling the everyman short. Body by Fritos.

7. Dennis Rodman
Nowadays, in the age of Artest and league-mandated tattoos, Rodman wouldn’t turn too many heads, but his emergence on the tail end of the “short shorts” era had so many people talking about his image that Sports Illustrated had to run a famously myopic cover that ignored the hype and focused solely on what made him such a great rebounder. Granted, Ben Wallace didn’t get that same treatment, so perhaps dying red ribbons into your hair at a time no one else was wasn’t the worst marketing strategy.

Rodman was a workout fiend, as his body clearly shows, but the tats and green hair made him stand out like Waldo in a crowd. Sadly, since the later years of his career, Rodman has let art dictate life, acting in a manner that a douchey guy with too many tattoos and green hair is expected to. But during his prime, he was able to weave image and effort into a spectacular package.

6. Chris Andersen
This guy gives me a migraine in a way that few professional athletes are capable of. Guys that look like the illegitimate son of Biff Tannen from Back to the Future aren’t supposed to be game changers in a division series. Especially not when they’re rocking faux-hawks and tats that make them look like an anthropomorphized Ed Hardy shirt.

While it may not be an appearance issue, the fact that he is a recovering addict also warrants mentioning. (Side note: If you are a professional athlete with addiction issues, please don’t play in New Orleans. That’s like a recovering stripper moving to Tampa.) In an era when every player is rocking sleeve tats, Andersen still manages to stand out, which is a testament to…something.

5. Prince Fielder
Despite being only 4’2, the younger Fielder tips the scales at a whopping 735 pounds. Okay, that’s an exaggeration. I think. He’s listed at 5’10”, 285, which probably keeps you on the sidelines of most professional sports, save for the PBA. What’s even more remarkable about this height-weight ratio is that it still exists after he has been a vegetarian for over two years. Is ham technically a vegetable?

Nonetheless, the guy’s a star trapped in a Devito-esque body. Even by baseball standards, the guy is fat, but he gets it done, so let’s appreciate his accomplishments and try not to get hypnotized by the jiggles when we watch him run.

4. Danica Patrick
By my own admission, I’m testing the limits of the word “athlete” when I include a race-car driver in the mix, but the lack of convention in having a woman join the ranks of both the Indy and Nascar circuits compels me to toss her into the discussion, even if it means I take a few liberties. She has the pedigree to be competitive, as she’s shown over her racing career, and I don’t think I need to dissect how exactly she differs from the other drivers. But I will anyway. She’s the hottest driver making the rounds today. (Sorry, Jeff Gordon.)

3. Steve Nash
He’s roughly 6’3”, so while he towers over most, he still looks like Sprout to the rest of the NBA’s Jolly Green Giant. Add in floppy hair, a whispy frame, and an inability to dunk, and you’ve got a guy that shouldn’t be starting point guard for Rice, let alone a 2-time MVP. Even more miraculous is the fact that he has bedded both Nelly Furtado and Elizabeth Hurley, a fact that I often bring up and will continue to bring up until someone gives me a satisfactory answer as to how this could happen.

Nash looks like he would be way more comfortable strumming an acoustic guitar and discussing the crushing pain of life at a Peet’s Coffee than he would feeding no-look passes to Amare, but here we are anyway.

2. Butterbean
By far the least accomplished entry on this list, Butterbean would have been just a morbidly obese boxer had he not so heartily embraced the image and run with the name “Butterbean,” which is probably the least flattering nickname in sports, save for “The Big Unit.” Standing at a respectable 5’ 11.5” and a much less respectable 442 pounds, Butterbean, nee “Eric Esch”, looks more like King Hippo incarnate from “Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out” than he does an athlete of any sort.

In an unrelated, but still wildly entertaining note, I learned during my research of this dashing gentleman that he lost his first MMA bout in 2003 to a 150-pound Japanese fighter, which for some reason conjures up the image of a Chihuahua taking down an elephant.

1. Joakim Noah
We saved the token stoner spot for last, as these guys seem to always look out of place in athletics, even if they’re developing a respectable career, as Noah is. He edges out Kyle Orton in this category, and would have possibly lost to Ricky Williams, if Williams didn’t look so much like an athletic beast. Throughout the history of sport, ponytails have been wildly antithetical to the values that most athletes hold. In day-to-day life, a ponytail says “I don’t care”, which is not a value one would put much of a premium on in the world of competitive sports. Polamalu gets a pass here, as I believe he keeps his hair long for religious reasons. Noah keeps his long cause he still goes to bong shops.

With two outs in the top of the ninth inning and the score 17-4, Prince Fielder was at the plate just looking to get out of this nightmare of a game.  Earlier in the game, Manny Ramirez was hit by a pitch, and Dodgers pitcher Guillermo Mota was out for revenge, despite what the scoreboard displayed.

His first pitch to Fielder ran right inside and plunked him on the hip.  Mota was immediately ejected and Ramon Troncoso, who was warming up in the bullpen, came in to record the final out.  Once that happened, Fielder charged down the dugout steps and headed straight for the Dodgers clubhouse:

He knew the location of the Dodgers clubhouse because it’s near a weight room used by visitors, so Fielder hustled past fans and reporters toward the door, yelling obscenities. A number of his teammates caught up with Fielder in time to usher him back to the visitor’s side. [MLB.com]

I guess it isn’t just the Dodgers fans who are getting themselves into trouble these days with opposing teams.

It would have been great to see (or at least hear) what would have happened had Fielder made it to Mota.  It may have looked something like this.  In case you don’t remember, that is the same Guillermo Mota who beaned Mike Piazza a few years back, then ran away as a crazy-eyed Piazza chased him around the park.

There is no telling whether any discipline will be handed down from the league as a result of this incident, but you would have to believe that they will look closely into the actions of the Dodgers and manager Joe Torre.  After all, what is a pitcher doing warming up in the ninth inning with two outs?  Seems like someone was getting ready in case their pitcher got ejected.

Hat Tip – [MLB.com]

The TPS crew was out enjoying a Thursday night at Wegz Stadium Bar in Maple, Ontario, and during our time there we often take a moment to read the ticker for the latest updates in the sporting world.  While doing so, we noticed a rather odd comment made following the score between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Cincinnati Reds:

“Prince Fielder Smashes Three-run Jack Off Homer Bailey In Third Inning”

We understand what the phrase is intended to say, but you would think that those who post such things up on the ticker would re-read the phrase out loud to themselves.  Well I guess that wasn’t the case, but heck, there is nothing wrong with hitting a “jack off homer” these days.

I would expect more of those to be hit at Dodger Stadium while Denise Milani is in the crowd.  What better way to flatter such a woman than by showing off such a powerful stroke.

Fielder not only hit the most home runs throughout the competition, but he also hit the longest.  That one soared a total distance of 503 feet, traveling well over the fence in right-center field.  For good measures he also hit the second londest ball of the night a total of 497 feet.  At the end of the night, Fielder launcher 23 homers an average distance of 439 feet, earning himself the championship as well as “The Stat Line Of The Night” for Monday, July 13th, 2009.

Now we will see if Prince Fielder translates last night’s performance into a strong second half of the season.  He currently sits at 22 total home runs, but will hope that the derby jinx does not fall over him.  With the Milwaukee Brewers sitting just 2.5 games back of top spot in the NL Central, a drop in Fielder’s production is not something they can afford to see.

The Cubs had a 4 run (6-2) lead on the Brewers as first baseman Price Fielder stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded and a chance to tie the game with a grand slam.  Fielder connected on a pitch and as soon as it left the bat there was no doubt that it was gone.  But right fielder Reed Johnson had his eye on the ball and robbed Prince Fielder from the grand slam as the ball flew over the fence.  After the catch Prince saluted Johnson on the amazing grab.

”I’ve never robbed a homer before,” Johnson told reporters. ”I told him (Fielder) at first the next inning, ‘I know you don’t want to hear this, but that’s the first time I’ve ever done that.”’

So if you thought Reed Johnson’s catch against the Washington Nationals last year was amazing then you have seen nothing yet, take a look.

Reed Johnson’s Amazing Catch Against The Brewers