Nick Fruscello: Its time for Fantasy Friday at post-gazette.com and we already have a few baseball questions lined up for this afternoon. Even though fantasy hockey leagues are done, if you want to chat hockey on this Penguins playoff gameday, you're more than welcome.

BronxBombers: I'm having problems with my 2B position. I had Polanco, but he's off to a horrible start. I've dropped him and need a new one, but I wanted to ask you before I picked someone up since we have limited waiver moves. There's Jeff Kent, Aaron Hill, Orlando Hudson, Jose Lopez... nobody really jumps out.

Nick Fruscello: I had Orlando Hudson on my team last year and he had a great first half of the season, but didn't do as well in the second half. So far this year the Hudson Hawk is hitting a respectable .270 with 6 RBI's. Batting third in the D-Backs lineup will make him valuable as long as he can stay there. Kent is too old and plays in Dodger Stadium (bad hitters park). Hill is a good source of runs as long as he's at the top of the order. Lopez is interesting. He has flashes of greatness, but can get into monster slumps at times. If you're feeling risky, get Lopez, if you just want to plug a hole in your in your team, Hudson.

Matt_Morris_Stinks: When is Prince Fielder's power coming back?

Nick Fruscello: I read just this morning that the fans in Milwaukee are begging him to eat a hamburger to get his power back since he has recently become a vegetarian. The homers will come and they'll probably come in bunches. Right now, he's a young guy that is the leader of an up and coming team and he might be pressing a bit right now. Come July, he'll be the NL's starting first baseman.

BronxBombers: Carlos Delgado is off to a good start this year. I already have Fielder as my 1B and Thome as my UTIL spot. Is Delgado worth the pickup, even though I don't really have a spot for him?

Nick Fruscello: Delgado is great insurance for Thome, who always has injury problems. Another thing you could do is platoon them in the UTIL spot. Look to see who each is going to be batting against and then play the player with the more favorable matchup.

Matt_Morris_Stinks: How do you feel about Rick Ankiel?

Nick Fruscello: Last year, when he came back and started hitting homers, I thought to myself, "What a great story. A pitcher that came back as an outfiedler and now he can hit homers". I thought it was a fluke, but he already has 3 homers in 10 games. I really don't have a feel for Ankiel (say that 5 times fast) other than he is a decent power hitter and will probably get around 30-35 HR's this year. Good power hitter and is on waivers in most leagues.

BronxBombers: Nate McLouth and Xavier Nady are off to big starts. Which one of these two would be best as my 3rd OF?

Nick Fruscello: Probably N-Dog. Nady will most likely be traded and serve as a util OF with a contender, kind of like he was with the Mets when they traded him to the Pirates. McLouth looks really good at the plate right now and if he's going to be your 3rd OF, why not? That's a great spot to take risks.

Matt_Morris_Stinks: Once the season progresses, who do you think will be in the home run chase? What about RBI?

Nick Fruscello: In the NL, Fielder will be near the top in both categories. Ryan Howard will probably be the only one challenging Fielder in homers. Matt Holliday, Ryan Braun, Derek Lee and Carlos Lee will be among the leaders in RBI. For the AL, A-Rod will win another HR title. For RBI's, Manny Ramirez will be near the top along with Vlad Guerrero. I also like BJ Upton of the D-Rays to sneak in and get a ton of RBI's this year.

malkin71: Good to see SOMEONE wants to talk hockey there. Smiz and Shelly Anderson ignored a few of my questions earlier this week. Anyways, who are you picking for the finals?

Nick Fruscello: Well I don't think they ignored you, they probably got a ton of questions and didn't have time to answer all of them. I'm with you though, not enough people are excited about the Pens right now. Last week, I said I think its going to be the Habs in the Finals and I still think that may happen with Price as their goalie, but the Pens look like as complete a hockey team as their is right now and would not be suprised to see them get into the Finals. In the West, I like the Wings. Yes, I AM a Wings fan (my son's middle name is Yzerman), but I think they have the easiest path to the Cup and they are a great team. So Wings vs Pens/Habs in the Finals.

malkin71: Is sitting Sydor a good move for the Pens? They brought him in specifically for the Senators who tortured the Penguins last year because we didn't have enough threats from the blueline and they just collapsed their forwards down low.

Nick Fruscello: So far, so good. I don't think they need to have all their defenseman to be able to to move the puck, just enough so the Sens cannot use their forwards as extra defensemen. Gonchar, Whitney, Letang and even Hal Gill are big enough threats from the blueline. Sydor doesn't really fit in right now, but its great to have someone with that experience and talent on the bench if someone gets injured.

Pens_fan: Even though you are a Redwing fan, don't you think the Penquins have a really good chance to win the Stanley Cup with all their talented players?

Nick Fruscello: Absolutely! If I wasn't a Pens fan, I would think they have a great chance at the Cup. They have the makeup of a championship team right now. The only thing I worry about for the Pens is that the team from the West will be a much better defensive team than what they have seen in the Easter Conference.

malkin71: I saw Seth Rorabaugh is going to be doing the Pens chat on Monday. Is that a permanent move or just for this Monday?

Nick Fruscello: I don't know. I'm guessing this is just a one time thing. Seth does a lot of great work on the Empty Netters blog for our site and is as much a hardcore hockey fan as anyone. His chat this Monday should be great. You'll definately get your hockey fill.

Pens_fan: I thought the line of Crosby, Hossa, and Dupuis would have scored more points for us, maybe they should put Crosby and Malkin back on the same line again. What do you think?

Nick Fruscello: No, definately not. Malkin has done a great job with Malone and Sykora all year long and there's no reason to change it now. The Crosby-Hossa-Dupuis line didn't get any points in Game one, but the points will come. Crosby is too talented to be held off the scoresheet for too long.

BronxBombers: I need K's and Jonathan Sanchez of the Giants has the most on my waiver wire. His ERA is bad and he's on a bad team, but beyond that I know nothing about him. Worth the risk?

Nick Fruscello: He had a very good strikeout to walk ratio last year too and had a poor ERA. The only thing Sanchez brings to the table is K's. His ERA and WHIP is bad and playing for the Giants will keep his win total down as well.

Pens_fan: Don't forget the Penquins Pep Rally today at 4:45. Come down and cheer on the Penquins to victory.

Nick Fruscello: That's right. Dan Onorato and Luke Ravenstahl will host a Penguins playoff rally at 4:45 p.m. in the Courtyard at the Allegheny Courthouse

Nick Fruscello: For those of you that haven't signed up for a fantasy baseball league yet, the PG has a weekly baseball challenge where you can compete against yours truly. Just go to http://post-gazettebaseball.pickmanager.com/baseball and sign up.

Nick Fruscello: Lots of good baseball questions and good hockey talk. Who says this isn't a hockey town?? Enjoy the game tonight and I'll see you next Friday!