Time is right to make your move in fantasy baseball

We're coming to the end of April, and it's time to get serious. Your fantasy league is young, but you don't want to get left behind. It's getting clearer which teams are worthy of being in the top half of your league, and which teams are just not getting it done. This means it is time to make some smart moves, and iron out those question marks on your team.

Everyone has strengths and weaknesses: hot starters, poor closers, or great outfielders and a pitiful third baseman, and that's okay. My advice right now is to strive for greatness. That's right, greatness.

There are a lot of hard slots to fill in your line-up. Some of the toughest tend to be second base, shortstops, and third base. These positions offer fewer good players than first base or outfielders. For most teams, at least one, if not all, of these positions is filled by mediocrity. But we're going for gold, here. If you break down the numbers, there's a smaller difference between a mediocre player and a bad player than there is between a mediocre player and a great player.

So, if you have a weakness, exploit it, and try to get a big strength somewhere else. Edgar Renteria is your shortstop and Jose Valentin is your third baseman? Trade them both with a pitcher for Miguel Tejada or Nomar Garciaparra, then pick up the next best third baseman off waivers.

Vinny Castilla may be washed up, but he could get you some hits and RBI every once in a while, and then you'll have Tejada as your shortstop pulling in MVP numbers.

It's also time for you to look at your league and see what can be exploited. In the standings, some categories may be easier for you to score points than others. For example, while RBI come in high numbers and are pretty unpredictable (Toronto second-string catcher Greg Myers had four RBI last night, while Manny Ramirez when four for five with no ribbies), it's a tough race in which to gain much ground.

On the other hand, runs and stolen bases are usually much closer races. A fast lead-off hitter in a good lineup will be scoring a lot of runs. If that's a category where you find yourself in the middle of the pack and need to add a few points, you might want to think about trading for a Johnny Damon or a Ray Durham or even picking up Shannon Stewart.

In fantasy news, Randy Johnson is on the DL, Carlos Beltran is off, and Curt Schilling had an appendectomy, but should only miss one start. The hottest players over the past week are Alfonzo Soriano, Sammy Sosa, Carlos Lee, Carl Everett, Mike Mussina, Jorge Julio, and Tom Glavine.

I doubted Everett's homerun streak would last against the Oakland pitching staff, but he is still hitting, so think about picking him up if he's still a free agent. Look for turn-arounds in the next week from Lance Berkman, Manny Ramirez, Torii Hunter, and Shawn Green. Great players will return to their old form.

The market right now is low for closers. I know I said that you shouldn't care too much about these guys who hardly affect more than one category (saves) but, having closers will keep your innings down. A lot of closers are not looking great lately -- Billy Koch, Troy Percival, and Armando Benitez to name a few. But these guys are still everyday closers and they will get you saves.

So what if Koch's ERA over the past week is 33.75? He pitches so few innings, that it will only modestly affect your team ERA. Figure that closers get in about three or four innings a week, while starters usually get a start and a half, which can be anywhere from eight innings to 14. The worst thing that can happen is a closer picks up a loss for you, and that hurts. But, you have to roll with the bad. These guys may look weak now, but they will be valuable down the road. Closers will eventually become great trade bait. So, if guys are looking to sell closers cheap, buy.

Lastly, don't stress about how your players add up right now in the player rater. It will all balance out. You know who's good, and you know what to do. But don't get lazy and let your team slip away. There's nothing worse in fantasy baseball than having a member of your league throw in the towel before June. There's still plenty of time to make your move. All it takes is a few good decisions and a little bit of luck. Like Yogi said, it ain't over til it's over.