In our inaugural East Windup Chronicle fantasy league the team run by yours truly, the Ulsan Fish Hooks, recently nabbed Dodger phenom Clayton Kershaw with the No. 1 waiver pick. It’s not an understatement to say Jackson Broder (No. 2 waiver pick) was crushed. After a two week surge that saw his team climb from second to last into the Top 5, his Stinky Tofu team has now slipped back to ninth place.

But good news in the form of David Price could be headed Jackson’s way later in the year. In just his second start as a pro Price faced off against a rehabbing Pedro Martinez who was blown away by the 22-year-old lefty out of Vanderbilt, who retired the first 13 hitters he faced.

“He’s amazing, that kid. He’s amazing,” Martinez said. “That kid is very mature for his time in [the pros] and very talented. Oh, my God. God bless him and keep him healthy.”

Jackson sure hopes so.

“That kid did a hell of a job of throwing first-pitch strikes and pounding the strike zone and jamming hitters,” Martinez said. “I was watching that. He did it like a big leaguer. He had such a command. Right there, I’m challenging you. I’m going to do what I gotta do without any fear. That’s the kind of talent you love to see.”

Atop the EWC leaderboard it Ted  Walker’s Bloomington Rosters, who, lead by unreal starts by Lance Berkman and Kevin Youkilis, leaped out to a huge lead at one point reached some 30-odd points (the league is roto/20 teams). However injuries to Jake Peavy and Dice-K have brought the Rosters back to Earth and Ted’s lead over the Megalopolis Minions, a team led by Edinson Vólquez and Shaun Marcum, is now just 13.5 pts.

Dan, who runs the MyKBO  site is in 3rd (167.5 pts), followed by Blue Snakes (154 pts.). I don’t know the owner of Blue Snakes personally, but his story pix show up in my Google reader frequently — and I like those. I’ve been riding an Adam Dunn hot streak from 10th to 5th (151 pts.), followed by the Essex Mets (145.5 pts.) who just got very dangerous with the callup of Jay Bruce to go alongside Albert Pujols and Chipper Jones. Simon Currie’s Tokyo Topless is in 7th (144 pts.), followed by Boston Consigliere (136 pts.), Jackson (134.5 pts.)  and the daily name-changing Lookout Tofu I Own U (120 pts.), a team not interested in winning the league, but rather an owner who will stop at nothing until Jackson is crying and begging for mercy on the floor of the comments section.

Two of the bottom five teams are managed by MLB scouts — proof that sometimes life just isn’t all about scouting fantasies, and that scouting fantasy is about more than the bodies of young boys..it’s more about what those boys, as men, become, and more specifically, the numbers that come out of them.

Not sure where I’m going with that line. It’s late.

It’s also interesting to note that the 1st place Rosters had the 20th pick in the draft. The No. 1 picking team (Toronto Sluggers) is currently in 17th place. Guess losing A-Rod will do that to your team.

A reminder, for anyone still reading this far, that the Top 10 teams in the league will be eligible to join a 12 team EWC keeper league starting next year. My idea is to keep the 20-team league going each year, with the Top 2 finishers moving on to expansion franchises in the keeper league. The point being…they’ll be plenty of spots open next year.