Fantasy tidbit: Why to let others draft SP first

A stats-free fantasy baseball draft tidbit for you, reminding you why you let someone else pay for pitching in the first few rounds: They are both fragile and unpredictable. Within the last two weeks, we've seen injuries to three aces, many of whom were typically drafted in the first 6 rounds.

• Rays ace Kazmir likely to start season on DL
• Angels ace John Lackey out 3 to 4 weeks with strained right triceps
• Red Sox pitcher Beckett likely to miss trip to Japan because of back

And then there's the "rest" of the pitchers:

• The Angels are now set to open the season without their No. 1 and No. 2 starters, John Lackey and Kelvim Escobar
• Barry Zito's fastball is being clocked in the low 80s. Barry Zito has faced 67 hitters and hasn't generated a single strikeout. He has allowed 10 walks, 21 hits, four homers and a 14.92 ERA. Keep in mind that he has six years remaining in his current contract.
• There aren't major concerns about Erik Bedard, but he hasn't pitched well this spring either, surrendering 21 hits and five walks while striking out seven in 13 innings, for a 9.69 ERA
• Curt Schilling placed on 60-day disabled list by the Red Sox

And just because we're discussing pitchers and their injuries, here's a great graphic/explanation about Tommy John Surgery. If the link doesn't work right (it's a pop-up flash file), go here and check for the link on the right-hand side called "How the Tommy John surgery works".