It’s getting down to crunch time in the fantasy MLS world and decisions are becoming more and more important.

With teams hitting their bye weeks, you can’t afford to slip up or else you’ll drop out of the contenders pack and join me in the pile of broken fantasy MLS dreams.

Luckily, SBI fantasy soccer correspondent Casey Cannon is here to give you his weekly take on the Fantasy MLS game. Here is his report:

By CASEY CANNON

Hello and Welcome to the Soccer by Ives Fantasy Corner – now with 90% fewer ticks!  Every week I dig through statistics, news, and rumors to provide the reader with the kind of fantasy advice that only professional s’more maker can provide.  I write this Monday night before the official injury reports come out, so don’t be grumpy if I tell you to pick a hurt player.  For information on MLS Fantasy Football go to http://fantasy.mlsnet.com/.

I hear the games last week were exciting to watch.  I have to depend on second hand accounts, because last week was the first time in years that I missed an entire week of MLS action.  No TV, no internet and nowhere near a stadium.  Now back from the great wooded north, join me as I review last weeks picks.

I picked LA for three players again.  The big three LA players combined earned nearly as many points as the mighty Kenny Cooper.  Not horrible points, but not stellar, so only half credit for me.  My other pick three choice, Chicago, got a 1-0 win.  That elation is tempered by my advice to avoid San Jose.  The Earthquakes gave home fans something to cheer about, scoring three goals and stealing a win in the 90^th min. 

On the individual side my goalie pick Jon Busch earned good points, and Edson Buddle scored a goal once again earning his value label. Meanwhile overpriced Laurent Robert overachieved earning 4 points with a pair of shots on goals, enough to prove me wrong for a week.   For last week then, I went 3.5/6.  This week the pickings are slim with only eight teams playing. I am going to recommend a quarter of those teams, and choose one to avoid.

Team suggestions

Take Three – New England.  At home against a team that has trouble scoring.  Ralston and friends should be able to crack the Fire defense for at least one goal, and that is all this match will need. The one caveat: watch out for injuries from the SuperLiga game Tuesday.  A grinding death match of a game that goes to PK’s on Tuesday also nullifies this pick. 

Take Three – DC United.  United goes on the road to New York.  Checking my notes from the last time the Red Bulls played a league game… they are not very good.  Go with the two obvious choices from DC United, and fill in your favorite third player.

Avoid – Toronto.  Down one defender and one playmaking midfielder, this goal starved team goes up into the mountains to play Colorado.    They may score a random goal – they are playing the Rapids after all – but I can’t imagine much will go well for the Maple Leafs on this trip.

Two Up, Two Down

Two up, Two down will be back next week after I deal with some technical difficulties.

Player suggestions

Keeper – Matt Reis.  Arrrgh.  The schedule forces me to ignore the spreadsheet again.  As I mentioned above I prefer New England at home over the Fire.  My spreadsheet says Busch has 3.3 points per game on Reis; however, in Reis seems more likely to get the shut out. So once again I am recommending taking a lower ranked player in Reis.  As for Coundoul, I have no faith in that team.  So far the rapids exemplify the random aspect of the “any given day” mentality.

Value – Jamie Moreno.  This United player earns nine points a game for only 238,000.  This by far the best value on the spreadsheet this week.  Third overall on the spreadsheet this week I would take Moreno for double the price.

Overpriced – Carlos Marinelli.  As we dig through the available players this week looking for that diamond amongst the hacks, the name of this Wizard mid comes up.  Let me point out that he only earns 1.4 points per game for his 362,000 cost.  Even in a week where there will only be 80 starting field players, Marinelli only beats eight of them.  Take one of the other 71 players and try to enjoy the game.

In closing let me share a better lucky than good moment.  Last week I meant to drop Blanco.  I knew he was benched yet somehow I didn’t actually make the change on Thursday.  Sunday night, I was stunned to see he was still on my roster.  Blanco of course earned me zero points.  The player I meant to pick up as a replacement: Amado Guevara.  One red card later, I am pretty happy with that non-pick. 

Stop by next week when I will review some defensive players of note