Stars und Sternchen! » has led the league in at-bats for three

There was a time, not so long ago, when shortstop was a glamour position in the majors, but its not quite in that spot right now. Even the best options comes with some question marks. The Dodgers Hanley Ramirez may be the best option, though hes played fewer than 100 games twice in the past three seasons. Even with durability questions, and the likelihood that he wont match last years .345 batting average, Ramirez offers five-category potential if hes healthy. In the same vein, Colorados Troy Tulowitzki has led all shortstops in home runs (122), RBI (401) and batting average (.304) over the past five seasons, but he comes with injury concerns, having missed 210 games in the past four seasons. A healthy Tulowitzki might be just as dangerous as Ramirez, offering more power but less speed; its just a matter of whether he will play more than 140 games -- something hes done twice in the past six seasons. Injuries have also plagued Torontos Jose Reyes but, when healthy, his average and stolen base numbers are impressive. Trouble for Reyes is that, over the past five years, hes missed 262 games, so it requires a leap of faith to make him your starting shortstop, knowing that hes had such trouble staying healthy. If the top guys are injury risks, they still offer a track record that isnt present with some of the younger options at shortstop. Washingtons Ian Desmond, Milwaukees Jean Segura, Texas Elvis Andrus and Oaklands Jed Lowrie may be the best of that group. Desmond is coming off back-to-back 20-20 (HR-SB) seasons, while hitting .286 and, given his relative health, he might be more appealing than some of the more experienced shortstops. Segura had a terrific season as a first-time starter and, at 24, ought to be on his career ascent, but temper some of the enthusiasm from last year when he hit .325 with an .849 OPS before the All-Star break and .241 with a .583 OPS after the break. He also had 44 steals, and that speed shouldnt go away, but beware the bat (at least a little). Andrus offers no power, but hitting at the top of the Rangers order has helped him scored 432 runs and steal 165 bases, both totals leading shortstops over the past five seasons. Lowrie, who turns 30 in April, was a full-time starter for the first time last season and he had a productive year (15 HR, 75 RBI, .290 AVG, 80 R), but thats a 30-year-old with a limited track record as an everyday player, so he might slide somewhat on draft day. If you want to play for potential, Red Sox rookie Xander Bogaerts would be the most interesting name. He was fine in 50 plate appearances late last season, but hes a premium prospect who had an .862 OPS in four minor-league seasons. Seattles Brad Miller played half of last season in the bigs, showing some power and speed and, after a .925 OPS in three minor-league seasons, Miller comes with expectations that he will provide offence. If youre late to the shortstop game, Asdrubal Cabrera, J.J. Hardy, and Alexei Ramirez arent glamourous options, but they are adequate and the Cubs Starlin Castro could be a value play coming off a terrible season. Castro has led the league in at-bats for three years running, so he can be a major difference-maker, provided he hits better than last years .245 mark. Among other young shortstops to consider, Atlantas Andrelton Simmons showed some pop last year, with 17 homers. San Diegos Everth Cabrera and Houstons Jonathan Villar are both outstanding stolen base threats, though Cabrera is coming off a PED suspension and Villar still has to show that he can hit enough to contribute more than just 40-plus steals. Finally, Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter is playing in his final season and, as terrific as Jeter has been throughout his career, hes no better than a middle-infield option in most leagues at this point. If he turns back the clock, like he did in 2012 when he hit .316 and scored 99 runs, then Jeter could be more valuable, but its not the most likely outcome for a 40-year-old who missed nearly all of last season due to injury. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. Cheap Colorado Rockies Jerseys . -- Rodney Stuckey scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half, and the Detroit Pistons beat the New York Knicks for the first time in eight meetings, 92-86 on Tuesday night. Cheap MLB Jerseys Authentic . They actually finished with a better record in ‘07 than they did in ‘06 but only marginally, going from 61 victories to 66. http://www.cheaprockiesjerseys.com/ . -- Athletics manager Bob Melvin is already starting to run out of superlatives to describe Scott Kazmir. Wholesale Rockies Jerseys .Y. - Alex Smith and the Kansas City Chiefs didnt flinch in the face of adversity. Cheap MLB Jerseys . You can catch all of the action LIVE on TSN2 at 6pm et/3pm pt. The Heat reached that mark Saturday night when they ruined the Philadelphia 76ers home opener.SOUTHAMPTON, England - Second-half goals from Yaya Toure, Frank Lampard and Gael Clichy gave 10-man Manchester City a 3-0 victory against Southampton in the Premier League at St. Marys on Sunday.Despite the emphatic nature of the scoreline, City was made to work hard for victory without ever being truly threatened by Southampton, which started the game second in the table after securing eight wins from 12 matches to start the season.But its encounter with the Premier League champion starts a challenging run of fixtures for Ronald Koemans team.Next up for Southampton its Arsenal and Manchester United, with games against Everton and Chelsea following in December and the Southampton manager said his side was shown how good they need to be to maintain their impressive form for the entire season.If I look at my players, two or three reached the level of what they can show, Koeman said. It was not good enough today. They showed us the difference. Chelsea and Manchester City are the two strongest teams in the Premier League. You have to be good to get a result and we were not good enough.City started the game with greater attacking intent, and should have had a penalty in controversial circumstances after nine minutes.As Sergio Aguero weaved into the penalty area, Southampton captain Jose Fonte slid recklessly into the City attacker and sent him tumbling. However, referee Mike Jones booked Aguero for diving rather than pointing to the penalty spot.Television replays suggested that was the wrong decision, explaining why Aguero was incredulous at being booked.The referee made a mistake, City manager Manuel Pellegrini said. I was absolutely sure that Sergio never dived. He does not try to cheat the referee.City controlled the first 20 minutes but it was Southampton that should have taken the lead with its first notable attempt at Joe Harts goal.The England keeper parried Graziano Pelles flick from a deep cross before diving low to his right to palm away the rebound from Steven Davis and rising quickly again to smother any opportunity Dusan Tadic could have had from a narroww angle.ddddddddddddBut the home side was fortunate not to fall behind on the half-hour mark when Stevan Jovetic struck at goal following a swift City counter attack. The ball somehow found its way through the legs of Fraser Forster, but defender Toby Alderweireld rushed behind his goalkeeper and cleared the shot off the line.The second half began in the same attacking manner that inexplicably yielded a goalless opening 45.Alderweireld and Tadic both went close from long range for Southampton, before Aguero drifted into Southamptons penalty area and laid the ball off to Toure to fire a low, deflected shot past Forster in the 51st.City looked to consolidate its position almost immediately by replacing Jovetic with James Milner and it appeared to be more comfortable for it, stifling Southamptons attacking energy and enjoying more possession in the oppositions half.But in the 74th the game turned.Jesus Navas blazed across goal from inside the area after seizing upon a loose pass from Victor Wanyama, and Southampton launched a quick attack, which was abruptly ended when Eliaquim Mangala barged over substitute Shane Long.The defender had earlier been booked for a foul on Tadic, and referee Jones duly showed him his second yellow, leaving City with ten men.But Southampton barely had time to make the extra man count.Koemans side poured forward searching for a leveller when in the 80th, City launched a counter attack through Milner, who picked out fellow substitute Frank Lampard to fire clinically beyond Forster from the edge of the area to make the three points safe.Southampton still searched for a goal to get back into the game, but that approach played into Citys plan to hit the opposition on the counter.As another Southampton attack faded into Citys stern defence, Aguero picked up possession and raced down the left before threading an enticing ball across the six yard area for Clichy to convert.Im very pleased because I think we beat a strong team, Pellegrini said. Southampton have the best defence in the Premier League and also they attack very well. 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