Monday, June 30, 2008

Watch the Radar

Here are a few guys you need to keep an eye out and make sure they don't leave your radar.

Andruw Jones of the Braves. He is expected to return after the All-Star break if all goes well. Currently, he is in the minors for a rehab stint. Most owners cut him loose and he should be sitting on the FA list. If you have a spot on your bench or a DL spot go out and grab him and stash him away. If he can live up to his old power and the $18million contract, he could be a steal for the second half.

Chris Carpenter of the Cardinals is recovering from right elbow surgery and should have returned by the All-Star break but has recently hit a snag in his recovery. It seem like the Cardinals are going to take things extremely slow and hope he can come back for the stretch run. If the Cardinals are in a play-off race you will Carpenter back but if they are completely out Carpenter will be a sleeper for the 2009 fantasy season.

Fuentes and Street of the Rockies and A's respectively are both rumoured to be on the trading block. This is terrible news for owners because if they are traded they will most likely turn into set-up men and would destroy all fantasy value. If you have either player I would try to and see if anyone wants to take their services off your hands. Try to sell these guys to another team that is on the bottom of the saves category, don't sell to the competition. Make sure to keep an eye out on this situation.

Moises Alou of the Mets is suppose to return to the lineup in the next week or two but the Mets are going to take extreme caution with this player...he is old and brittle. If you have room on your team try and pick him up because when he is not injured he produces for fantasy owners. He is available in almost all leagues. Take a quick peak on the FA list and see if he is there, if so, take a chance on him.

Richie Sexson of the Mariners is not finding it pleasant due to the fact that rumours are swirling that he is going to be out very soon. So far this season he hasn't produced and many owners have cut ties with him a long time ago. If you look at his stats he is a .284 hitter after the All-Star break and .244 before so if you have a spot on your bench maybe this is the time to grab him and stash him there and see if he gets hot. If he can go on one of his tears he can easily hit 15-20HR's in the second half and still give you the decent AVG (.284) as well. If you are in desperate need of power this guy might be your solution.

Kenny Lofton is still sitting on the side and waiting for a contract to be handed to him. This guy, even at the ripe age of 41, still has something in him to help fantasy owners. Last season, at 40 years of age, he produced 23SB's and hit .296 in 490AB's. Looking at those numbers, I am curious on the reason why he hasn't been dealt a contract. As a veteran he can still produce on the field and hopefully could still help the younger guys out. I have that he is demanding too much money and when his price goes down teams will be there with the paper and pen. Owners, make sure to keep an eye out for Lofton because he can easily put up 10-15SB's in the second of the season while hitting .275.

Barry Bonds is sitting, just like Lofton, without a contract this season. After finishing his legal issues for this year (he has court dates set for 2009) Bonds is waiting for a club to offer him a contract. The problem is no one is willing to go out and sign this homerun king (I use the term loosely) because of what their fans might do. Honestly, I think it is a mistake in not signing him. Bonds is still able to produce as a DH (2007: .276, 28HRs, 66RBIs, 132BBs, 5SBs, and only 54Ks in 340AB's) and would bring a team a left handed bat. If he is signed, ALL fantasy owners should pick him up ASAP.

Rocco Baldelli of the Rays is still trying to make his way back to the Majors after being sidelined with a mitocondrial disorder that cause fatigue in his legs. This guy, if healthy, has the potential to produce 20HRs and 20SB's but the problem is inability to stay healthy. Just keep him in the back of your mind just in case he finds a way to get healthy and stay healthy.

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Davis & Butler

Chris Davis of the Rangers is up in the big leagues after tearing up AA/AAA this year. He had 23HRs and 73RBIs this year. He will find himself in the lineup on a daily basis except when lefties are on the hill. So far, he is 3/8 with 2HR's and 3RBI's. This kid can hit but the only problem is what is going to happen with him when Blalock returns from the DL. If Davis continues to hit he'll be left on the big league team and most likely lose a few at-bats because of Blalock. If have the first waiver priority this kid is worth the pick-up only if you are in need of power. Since he might not be in the bigs for longer than 2 weeks it might not be worth the pick unless, like I said, you are in desperate need of power.

Billy Butler of the Royals is back with the big club and with his big bat fantasy owners should take notice. After being sent to the minors Butler has taken his frustration and anger and turned it into production, going .337AVG with 5HR's in 101AB's. This can hit and since he should be out there on the FA list, go out and grab him.

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Mags

Mr. Ordonez of the Tigers is on the 15Day DL. This is terrible news for owners.

He is hitting .307AVG, 12HR, and 50RBI this year.

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Sunday, June 29, 2008

No Hitter! but...

The title says it all. The game between the Angels and the Dodgers was won by the Dodgers even though they didn't register a hit during the game. The final score was 1-0.

Take a quick look. CLICK HERE for the ESPN video.

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Saturday, June 28, 2008

Coming Home with a Baseball

One of the great things about baseball games is the fact that a fan can leave the game with a souvenir that was actually used during a game. Of course I'm speaking about a game used baseball. Well, some fans are absolutely obsessed with grabbing a ball and some fan has 3,494 and counting.

The following article was written by Pat Graham from the Associated Press.

CLICK HERE.

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Streaky Hitters

Just taking a look at the FA list and here are a few players that might help your team out in the foreseeable future.

Casey Blake - Indians
Jose Bautista - Pirates
Maicer Izturis - Angels
Jody Gerut - Padres
Coco Crisp - Red Sox

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Mulder

Mark Mulder of the Cardinals is back from the DL and will be used primarily against lefties from the bullpen. This is not big fantasy news and shouldn't affect owners but make sure to keep an eye out for this lefty, he is capable of putting together a string of great performances together. Even though his amazing days from the A's is over, when healthy he is capable of pitching well.

He's not worth the add right now but if he does improve his stamina and shows La Russa he can handle starting duties, pick him up in speculation. If he bombs, drop him.

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Matsui

Hideki Matsui of the Yankees is on the DL and may require surgery to repair things in his left knee. During the off-season Matsui had surgery on his right knee and now his left knee is bothering him. According to the team, Masui had his left knee drained and is now going to rest on the DL and see if it gets better but if things don't improve surgery is the last resort.

Owners who have Matsui are disappointed, espeically since he is producing at the plate with a .323AVG, 7HR, and 34RBI. Place him on your DL and see what happens in the next week or so. If things improve be happy it wasn't worse but if things lead to surgery you might lose Godzilla for the rest of the season or at least the majority of it. Time to find a replacement for this player on your roster.

The wire has plenty of players that can hold the fort until Hideki comes back (hopefully).

Look at:
Jim Edmonds
David Dejesus
Russell Branyan
Nick Swisher
Aubrey Huff
Randy Winn

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Friday, June 27, 2008

Kershaw and Bruce

Clayton Kershaw and Jay Bruce both were both called up from the minors this season to a red carpet studded event and there was reason for that. Both players have huge upside and bring their respective clubs, the Dodgers and the Reds, a great future but lately both players are struggling to produce.

Kershaw, remember he is only 20 years old, is 0-2 with a 4.36ERA in 7 starts this season. He is giving owners some nice K/9IP (7.9/9IP) but is not giving owners enough innings at this moment (only pitchimg more than 5.1 innings once). The Dodgers organization is going to protect this young pitcher and I see them shutting him down early when he reaches a specified innings limit, most likely around 140-160IP for the season. Joe Torre is not like the stupid Dusty Baker who ruined the careers of Mark Prior and Kerry Wood by making them throw too many innings too early in their careers. Kershaw will be a fantasy stud but his time is not now. Owners who keep him on their teams because the high K/9IP is worth a spot on all rosters.

Jay Bruce jumped on the scene with huge numbers in his 10-15 games but since then has fallen from the heavens. He is currently being dropped in most leagues and I can see why but I personally as a Jay Bruce owner am going to keep him on my roster for now. You should too! Since the word AVERAGE is what it says it is, it's a average. He was never going to hit .457 for the rest of the season. His current struggles is just a little correction and he should land in the .280 area and hover there for the rest of the season. This kid is not going to bring stud fantasy numbers like Matt Holliday immediately. Learning the pitchers and adjusting to them after they adjust to Bruce is a cat and mous game that I know Bruce will succeed in. So, owners...just hang on tight and realize that this kid is not going to give you monster numbers but in the end he will help you as a 5-tool player. For now, bench him until he starts to show signs of breaking out of his slump. If you can, try and grab him from another owner for cheap.

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Sheffield

Gary Sheffield of the Tigers has returned from the DL and seems to have found his stroke as well. Since his return he has 6hits, 2HR's, 4RBI's and only 2K's all in 13AB's. We all know that Sheffield has one of the quickest and most violent swings in the majors but with his age and injuries to his shoulders the swing is starting to slow just a little. I don't see Sheffield being a huge fantasy player anymore but if you can grab him and place in your OF or UTIL spot as a 3/4th outfielder you'll do just fine. Don't count on Sheffield to bring in a huge 2nd half, don't get me wrong he has the ability to do so but I just don't see a high probability of this happening.

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Rich Harden

Rich Harden of the A's is bringing fantasy owners exactly what they have wanted from this Canadian born pitcher. Owners have watched Harden throw gem after gem this season and for those who have taken a chance and kept him or traded for him are feeling a sense of euphoria right now with his 5-0 start to the season. Last night was nothing new, Harden went 8 innings while allowing 0ER, striking out 11 batters, and bringing his ERA down to 2.15 (which is eye boggling).

Harden has made 9 consecutive starts and his showing everyone around the league that he might finally be over his healthy concerns that seem to have plagued this tremendous talent for his entire career. If owners are feeling a little risky, yes I still say there is risk, try to see if the current owner of Harden might want to send him in a trade and basically take what he has received so far from Harden. I am always afraid to have this guy on my roster because at any given moment he can go on the DL and never return. Maybe this is the year that Harden stays healthy and provides owners a Johan Santana type of fantasy year. I hope so because this kid has the stuff to be a fantasy stud.

Bottom line for fantasy owners. Harden can pitch and if you have the stomach to deal with the DL issues go out and try to find his services from another owner. Please don't try and give up too much for him because the injury risk is too high. If you can grab him for like 85/90 cents to the dollar you will have a good chance of taking some huge leaps in your pitching categories.

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Thursday, June 26, 2008

ERA/WHIP Help

Now that we are a few months into the season it is time to really think about positioning and where you are with respect to averages (ERA/WHIP). These two categories are two that can easily get out of hand and if you are not careful you will find yourself on the bottom and unable to get yourself up.

After piling on 700-800 innings it will get harder and harder to change your ERA/WHIP in a positive way. So, as I suggested before go out and grab a few RP who are giving owners high K's, low ERA/WHIP, and grabbing a few vulture saves.

Below are some pitchers who fall in this category. By putting some of these guys in your daily lineup for 2 weeks you will most likely see a difference in your ERA/WHIP.

Joey Devine - A's
Scott Downs - Blue Jays
Taylor Buchholz - Rockies
Grant Balfour - Rays
Chad Durbin - Phillies
Scott Linebrink - White Sox

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Percival and Kobayashi

Troy Percival of the Rays is the closer but it may change soon. Apparently, the Rays are saying there is no injury to Percival at this time but the trip to the mound by the trainer during his last outing is not a good sign, especially since he just spent time on the DL. Make sure to monitor this situation closely and if you do have room, go out and grab Dan Wheeler just to hedge your bets. This goes for everyone, owners and non-owners of Percival.

Masa Kobayashi of the Indians continues to shine with 2 saves in his last 6 outings. With Borowski being Borowski, owners should be a little worried that Kobayashi might take over as the full time closer. Just like Wheeler, owners should grab Kobayashi in speculation that there might be a change in closers.

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Bush and Stults

Dave Bush of the Brewers is throwing inspired ball right now and should be considered for a spot on your fantasy roster. In his last 3 games he has allowed a total of 5ER's in 21IP. Even though he as an ERA in the high 4's (almost touching 5) he should be considered for a 4th to 5th spot in your rotation, especially if he is pitching against a weak opponent.

Eric Stults of the Dodgers has impressed in his first two starts of the season. He is 2-0 with a 0.60ERA. Okay, he won't keep his ERA at 0.60 but you should consider him right now because he is hot. Over his career in the minor he is not that impressive of a pitcher but it seems like everyone has their day in the sun. If you are in dieing need of pitching make sure to take a look at this pitcher.

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Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Pitchers to Watch

Here are a few pitchers that owners should take a look at in favourable match-ups.

Vincente Padilla - Rangers
Jeff Francis - Rockies
Mike Pelfrey - Mets
Jered Weaver - Angels
Ubaldo Jimenez - Rockies

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Bedard/King Felix

There is good news and bad news for the Mariners.

Bad news first, Erik Bedard will miss his next start on Wednesday due to back spasms. This is terrible news for owners who drafted him in the early rounds expecting a repeat of 2007. So far this season, he has disappointed owners with inconsistent pitching and, of course, the injuries. In my eyes, the injuries are all linked to each other. Injuries seem to change his mechanics which leads to more stress to another area. Just hope this back spasm thing doesn't last too long or leads to more pain in other areas of the body. I am assuming the Mariners are going to take this slowly and try to get him back healthly just in case they want to trade him before the July 31 deadline.

Good news, King Felix will not miss his next start because of a strained left ankle. Owners should breathe a sigh of relief.

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Zumaya, Guardado, Gagne

Joel Zumaya of the Tigers is back and with his 100MPH heat, he should be on all fantasy rosters for his ability to give owners huge strikeout totals. See if he is out there on the wire.

Eddie Guardado of the Rangers is still pitching and has shown that he can still do it at his age. This former closer has the ability to close when given the chance and with the problems in the Texas bullpen owners should grab Guardado just in case there is a change in closers. With CJ Wilson holding the closers role at the moment, owners who have Wilson should hedge your bets with Guardado.

Eric Gagne of the Brewers is going to return after finishing a rehab stint in the minors. When he returns he is not going to the closer, Torres holds that role, but since the Brewers are paying him $10million for his services, don't expect the Brewers to make a switch the second Torres falters. Currently, I have Gagne and I'm going to stash him on my bench to see if he can return and provide some quality innings, I don't enjoy him pitching 0.1 innings and giving up 5ER's.

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DL Returnees

Eric Byrnes of the Diamondbacks returned from the DL on Monday and went 0-5. Owners who dropped him because of his injury should take a chance and pick him up if they have room on their roster. In 2007, he stole 50 bags, hit 21HR's, 83RBI's, all with a .286AVG. This was his career year and owners who drafted him thinking he was going to repeat those numbers are on some wacky tobacky. By looking at his career totals, when he is injury free, he can hit 20HR's and steal 15-20bags. So far this season he has struggled at the plate and on the base paths but if you can take a chance, he could provide huge returns in the second half.

Gary Sheffield of the Tigers is recovering from a strained left oblique. In a rehab start he went 1-3 with a HR on Sunday. Just like Byrnes, this guy is worth the pick-up and if he goes back to normal production, which I believe he will, he will give owners a great boost in power numbers for the rest of the season. The only problem I see is his ability to stay healthy. He is really piling on the years and if the Tigers don't treat him well with off-days Sheffield and his bat might not be able to stay in the lineup. He deserves a spot on all rosters but if he struggles, cut him.

Clint Barmes of the Rockies made his return last night and went 1-4. Again, this guy should be on all fantasy rosters but be warned, his playing time might not be guarenteed. With the hot bat of Jeff Baker Barmes needs to prove he is able to make contact and get on base regularly. Before his DL stint, Barmes was hitting .340+ and was showing tons of confidence at the plate. Lets see if he can continue his productive hitting. Owners, make sure to have this guy on your roster.

Josh Willingham of the Marlins is expected to return to the lineup on Tuesday. After a long DL, lasting almost 2 months, this hot swinging LF'er is about to make his return. Owners, who had him for the first month were greeted with great numbers. Don't expect Willingham to continue hitting .341 but do expect him to have 15-20 more HR's the rest of the way.

Jeff Keppinger of the Reds returned to the lineup with a 1-4 performance against the Yankees. Before going on the DL he was putting up nice numbers for owners, .324 with 3HR's, and 2SB's. This production is great coming from a SS. Owners, I would suggest leaving him on your bench to see how comfortable he feels being back in the lineup. If he hits coming out the gate, put him back into your lineup.

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Monday, June 23, 2008

Lester/Lincecum/Wolf

Jon Lester of the Red Sox, after throwing a no-hitter, is now dominating hitters. In his past 10 starts he has dropped his ERA from 4.31 to 3.18 and is 5-1. This pitcher should be on all rosters.

Tim Lincecum of the Giants is in a little rut at the moment. In his past two starts he has given up 9ER's in 12 innings of work. But a good sign is he is still striking batters out, 11K's in 12IP. Owners, don't worry about Lincecum because he was bound for a little bump in the road. Did you really expect this kid to have a 1.99ERA for the entire season. Expect a few more poor outings scattered throughout the rest of the year. As long as he is pitching expect around 8-9K's/9IP. If you don't have his services, see if you the owner is willing to part with Lincecum. The worse response you can get is no.

Randy Wolf of the Padres has put together 7 great starts in his past 8 games. In those great starts he has allowed no more than 3ER's in at least 6 innings of work. But owners should be smiling and feel a little gitty over his strikeout numbers. In those 7 starts he has 45K's in 45.1 innings of work. Wolf has always been a streaky pitcher and this is the perfect time to grab him. His high strikeout totals is a great indication he has his A-game. He should be available in most leagues. See if he is out there and grab him as a starter but if he falls apart, just drop him again.

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Tex and Fielder

Mark Teixeira of the Braves just went off with 3HR in his last game. Even though his season has been a disappointment for fantasy owners but you need to remember that Tex is a second half wonder. If you are not an owner of Tex see if you can grab Tex from another owner as a buy low opportunity.

Prince Fielder of the Brewers seems to have found his HR swing after a very slow start to the season. After hitting 2HR's in his last game and 6HR's in his last 10 games. He is on pace for a 34HR season which is far from his 50HR season of 2007 but owners should not expect him to have another 50HR season. Owners should expect him to hit HR's in the high 30's and maybe even in the low 40's. This kid can hit but owners, don't expect him to hit 50 every season.

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Lind and Clement

Adam Lind of the Blue Jays and Jeff Clement of the Mariners both hit their first home runs of the season last night. Both players are highly touted prospects within their respective organizations.

Lind was called up from AAA after Marcum was placed on the DL. He was hitting .328, 6HR, 50RBI's in 189AB's. This kid can hit if he is given the chance.

Clement was called up from AAA and was hitting .337, 14HR, 43RBI all in 172AB's. After being sent down earlier this year Clement found his swing and it has translated into a 2nd chance at the big leagues. He is suppose to be the starting C for the Mariners, especially since Johjima is tearing up the bench lately, so look for Clement to fill some stats for you in the C position (as long as he gets accustomed to big league pitching).

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The Struggling Jay Bruce

After exploding onto the scene with the Reds, Jay Bruce seems to have come back to earth. There was no way fantasy owners could expect Bruce to continue hitting .400 for the rest of the season since no one has done that since Mr. Ted Williams did so in in 1953 with a .407AVG. If you are an owner of Bruce and are kind of angry because he is not producing huge numbers you must be stupid, this kid is not going to hit .400.

In his past 10 games, Bruce has cooled off considerably by hitting .176 which has dropped his average to .302. Don't worry, Bruce should find his stroke again and with so few at-bats he could easily go back up to .330 in a matter of games. This highly touted prospect is here to stay and when he starts to rake again you won't even remember this little slump ever happened.

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Saturday, June 21, 2008

Marcum/Halladay

Shaun Marcum of the Jays was placed on the 15-Day DL with a right elbow strain. So far this season Marcum has shown he can handle big league hitters and this DL stint is brutal for owners because he has given owners great numbers. With a 2.65ERA, 86K, 27BB, and 1.00WHIP all in 98.2 innings. Adam Lind was called up to replace Marcum on the roster. Lind has been hitting AAA pitching this season.

Roy Halladay of the Jays is feeling no ill-effects from a line drive to head during his last outing. Owners should be happy because Halladay is an ace pitcher and any time on the DL would hurt fantasy owners.

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A Few Notes...

Coco Crisp of the Red Sox is rumoured to be on the trading block and with his limited playing time, 177AB's, he has put together a decent season (.260AVG, 5HR, 22RBI, and 12SB). Owners should welcome a trade because he would get full time playing time in his new home. More time, hopefully, more stats.

James Loney of the Dodgers has enjoyed good season in which he has hit .306AVG, 6HR, 36RBI, and 2SB. Over his past 10 games he has raised his average from .287 to .306. As long as his playing time is not cut, owners should enjoy a breakout season by Loney.

Troy Tulowitzky of the Rockies is back in the starting lineup after returning from an injury to his quad. After a terrible start to the season Tulo is looking for a chance to prove his 2007 stats were not a fluke. In his return he went 0-4 with a K. Owners, I would wait a few games to see if he is back to normal and hitting again.

Clint Barmes of the Rockies is still in a rehab stint and is not fairing too well. He has gone 1-8 and is struggling to find his swing. Hopefully for owners, the more time he spends down in his rehab stint the quicker his swing comes back. When he returns, he will most likely return as the starting 2B.

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Cito Gaston


Cito Gaston is back leading the Blue Jays after back-to-back world series wins in 92/93. I hope the Jays can compete and make the AL East an ultra-competitive division with a exciting race for the wild card and division title.

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Curt Schilling

Curt Schilling of the Red Sox had surgery which will end his season and perhaps his career.

From a fantasy this is great news. He was never going to be the dominating pitcher was but he was still serviceable on fantasy rosters. The great news is the situation is now complete so owners can now cut ties and free a spot on rosters and that DL spot for someone else. Also, for owners of Lester, Masterson, and Buchholz this means one less person to worry about when competing for a rotation spot. At this point, Lester and Masterson will be the ones who see time on the mound unless Buchholz finds a way to pitch himself back into contention, I woundn't see why not.

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Daisuke

Daisuke of the Red Sox last ONE inning in a start against the Cardinals. In his return the Cardinals welcomed him back with an explosion of offense which was capitalized with a grand slam by Troy Glaus. In total, Daisuke allowed 7ER's in a one out performance.

Owners, don't worry too much about this performance since he was out of action for a little bit. Things will hopefully turn out well. I am saying this because you never know if there is a problem still in his arm and if he is still suffering from something or if he re-injured his arm. Looking back at the Smoltz situation, yes it is completely different, we saw Smoltz come back and than only having to leave again to have season ending surgery. Look for reports in the coming days to see if he is suffering from anything.

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The Big Z

Carlos Zambrano of the Cubs is now on the 15-Day DL with a strained right shoulder. This is good news, yes there is good news, because it was not anything structural which would cause the ace of the Cubs rotation to miss a lengthy period of time on the DL. Expect Zambrano back after the 15 days.

Owners, this isn't too much to worry over except for the fact it might turn into something serious but at this point it doesn't seem likely he will miss more than the allotted 15 days. If are in search of a pitcher I would usually suggest the player who is replacing the injured player but in this case, Sean Marshall, a lefty pitcher won't do you any good.

This is a good time to attack some of your categories. Lower you ERA/WHIP by picking up some RP. Remember, I always preach this, try to lower your ERA/WHIP before you pitch too many innings since it is easier to move the ERA/WHIP numbers now compared to September and August.

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Thursday, June 19, 2008

Under/Over paid players

An interesting article about overpaid and underpaid players in the MLB by Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports.

CLICK HERE

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Soriano/Gonzalez

Rafael Soriano of the Braves is expected to return to the bullpen June 21 if there are no more setbacks from having inflammation in his right elbow. But in his return he might have to share closing duties with the return of Mike Gonzalez from the DL. Gonzalez earned the save in last nights game against the Rangers.

Both Gonzalez should be owned immediately.

Since both pitchers are returning from the DL, coach Cox will use them lightly, which will see them share the closing duties.

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Tulo/Barmes

Troy Tulowitzky and Clint Barmes of the Rockies are playing in AAA for conditioning/rehab and will be back with the Rockies within the next week, if all goes well. This is great news for owners who have had to live without the services of Tulo and Barmes, even though Tulo was awful during the start of the season. Owners are hoping Tulo can come back and provide some pop as a middle infielder and go back to his 2007 stats where he hit .291 with 24HR's and 99RBI's. On the other hand, Barmes was tearing things up at the plate just before he went on the DL and owners should put him back into your rosters because he should provide some decent pop as a 2nd baseman.

If you look at the Rockies lineup (Holliday, Atkins, Hawpe, and Helton) you can see that adding Tulo and Barmes should produce some fireworks. This group of 6 can light up opposing pitchers in a hurry.

Take a quick look on the FA list and see if Tulo or Barmes are sitting there. If so, grab them.

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Wednesday, June 18, 2008

DL Info...again

It seems like everyday there is an injury that causes fantasy owners headaches. Today, news has come out that Penny, Colon, Konerko, and maybe even Kiroda are linked to the DL.

Paul Konerko of the White Sox was placed on the DL for the first time in his entire career. He has a left oblique strain and will most likely be out for the duration of the 15 days that is allotted. The DL stint was retroactive to June 15 so he should be back within 2 weeks. Owners, this isn't a huge blow to your fantasy stats because Konerko is not producing his usual 30+HR pace. Hopefully, this DL stint will revive his body and his mind but in my eyes you are not going to be getting huige production from here on out. All of the critical stats are well below his career averages in AVG, OBP, SLG, and OPS. All signs point to a player in decline. If you have a DL spot, place him there but don't expect him to come back and win the power categories for you.

Brad Penny of the Dodgers has tendinitis and will, as reported by the Dodgers, be out for the DL stint and no more. The organization is stating that all he needs is some rest and he will come back strong. His ERA, WHIP, and BAA are the highest in his career. All signs are pointing to an off-season but with a guy like Penny, his ability to get hot and carry the Dodgers and your fantasy team is very likely. He can easily pitch 9-12 quality starts that will boost your fantasy stats tremendously. Keep him on your team and make sure make note of his injury updates.

Bartolo Colon of the Red Sox was placed on the DL with back stiffness. He injured his back swining in an inter-leauge game. This hitting by pitchers is really killing the AL teams, first Wang and now Colon. I am not saying Colon is as important as Wang but an injury is an injury. Owners of Colon should cut ties with this pitcher if you are in need of a roster spot. Colon has value but not enough for you to keep him on your bench.

Hiroki Kuroda of the Dodgers is not on the DL but he has felt some discomfort in his shoulder. The Dodgers have sent him back to LA to get things checked out. Make sure to keep an eye out on his condition. Kuroda is not a fantasy roster impact player like Johan but he does give you some quality innings. He should be your 4-5 starter in your rotation. More info will be posted when it is available.

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Download Day - Japanese

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Download Day - English

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Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Reed Johnson

Reed Johnson of the Cubs burned his old team the Blue Jays on the weekend and should be on fantasy radars and most likely their rosters. This utility player seems to have a spot for the immediate future because of the Soriano injury. Reed is not a pretty player who will come out and flash some great baseball talent but he will grind and battle his way through a game. With a powerful lineup, Reed fist nicely into it due to his .290AVG, .350OBP and his ability to steal a hand full of runs, he is a viable fantasy option at this point.

So far, he is hitting .267AVG, 3HR, 31RBI, 31R, and 4SB.

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Trouble in the Big Apple

Chien-Ming Wang of the Yankees who was injured running the bases in an inter-league game was diagnosed with a partially torn tendon in his foot. He will be sidelined until at least September. If you are in a keeper league you might think about keeping him but if you are in a non-keeper drop him immediately and try and fill the roster spot immediately with a worth while replacement. This is a huge blow for both fantasy owners and the Yankees, Wang was their most consistent pitcher in the past two years by winning 19 games in each of those two season.

In my eyes this hurts but it should not destroy your team. Looking at Wang's stats, he isn't a fantasy stud like Johan, Sabathia, Webb, and even the likes of Haren because Wang does not strike anyone out. His ability to give owners wins is great but if Wang was your number one starter in your rotation your team probably had holes that have now been revealed especially relating to your rotation. For owners, the best thing to do now is stay calm and go to your standings and see what you need to do to move up and start to target those categories.


In other Big Apple related news, the New York Mets have fired their coach Willie Randolph. After a unimaginable collapse last year to the Phillies, the struggles have continued into the 2008 season. Even after adding the great Johan Santana to their rotation the Mets have flat lined and it has cost them their coach. If you want to read more about the firing go to ESPN/Yahoo/TSN.ca or and of your favourite channels.

From a fantasy angle, this might help out the Mets and fantasy owners who have players from the Mets. I do not have actual raw data but from what I seem to remember and see, teams seem to have a short burst after a firing so look for players from the Mets to have a short increase in production in the next week. If you happen to have Wright, Reyes, Santana, and Beltran you might see a spike in numbers because of a new direction/philosophy in the clubhouse. If this actual works, Omar Minaya might have a winning ball club that goes on a long hot streak that might carry them to the world series, okay, I'm being a little optimistic there.

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Monday, June 16, 2008

Fantasy Notes to Consider

George Sherrill of the Orioles has blown a save and earned a loss in his past two appearances. After a strong start to the season, 22SV's with a 2.73ERA, Sherrill is slowly falling apart by showing some weaknesses. Owners who have Sherrill, me included, should really consider if he is worthy of a spot on your roster. I AM NOT telling you to drop him but maybe try and package him in a deal to help in other areas. The reason I am starting to think about shipping him out and not the struggling Billy Wagner is because Wagner has proven he can last throughout an entire season while recovering from little bumps. Sherrill on the other hand has not completed a full season as a closer and has never completed more than 45 innings, which he is closing on very quickly (he has 31 innings so far). Go to your standings and see if the last place owner in saves has something you are in need of and start some trade negotiations.

Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers only lasted 4 innings in his latest outing but looking on the bright side he only allowed 2H's, 2BB's, while striking out 2 in a 0ER outing. For owners who used a first waiver priority on this kid, don't panic just yet. Even though he isn't providing the huge K's you expected, he is still giving you a nice K rate 7.87/9IP, just keep putting him out there and when the confidence really kicks in and he starts to dominate it'll all be worth it.

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Wang and Headley

Wang of the Yankees sprained his right ankle while running the bases during an inter-league game against the Astros. I find this kind of stuff funny because shouldn't batting and running the bases be basic baseball skills that have been acquired throughout the years of playing baseball as a child? I know pitchers in the AL are use to pitching and only pitching but come on...these guys are apparently professional athletes, running around the bases shouldn't get you injured. Especially when these AL pitchers aren't even going full out when doing the hitting/base running. I guess the saying, "We're not athletes, we're baseball players" does seem to have some truth. BUT for fantasy news, Wang is expected to miss his next start but with a sprain things could change overnight but the Yanks will be overly cautious with their ace.

Chase Headley of the Padres was called up and will be playing the big leagues. His AAA-Portland numbers (.305, 14HR, 40RBI's) are worthy of a pick-up. In most leagues Headley is already available on the FA list so you won't even have to use your waiver priority on him. He will not be playing full-time in left field but if he does show some pop in his bat like his AAA numbers, expect him to be the daily starting LF. This prospect does not have the big time name brand like Kershaw or Bruce but this young and highly touted prospect can help your fantasy team if you need some pop in your batting categories.

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Sunday, June 15, 2008

ERA, AVG, WHIP

The 2008 fantasy baseball season is now into its third month. This is the time to really make sure you are going to be able to compete for a fantasy championship come September. The categories that you should really be worried about are the ones which calculate averages. For example WHIP, ERA, and AVG. It is simple mathematics when it comes to this categories because of the fact after pitching 1000 innings it is very hard for you to move your ERA in you favour unless you put together a few great starts. But if you pay attention to your categories now it won't be as hard to improve your stats.

If you are in need of help in the above stats make sure to do it immediately because if you leave them to solve themselves you find yourself looking up in the standings come Aug/Sept.

Improving the ERA/WHIP is very easy at this stage in time. Go to your FA list and see if there are some middle relievers out there that have low ERA/WHIP, trust me there are tons of guys out there that can help you.

Search for these guys Casilia, Johnson, Byrdak, Beilmel, and Buchholz. The have all pitched a minimum of 19 innings and all have an ERA lower than 1.56 and have a WHIP lower than 1.50.

Instead of throwing starters out there, unless they are your aces, go out and grab these relievers to lower your ERA/WHIP and maybe even grab a few vulture wins while they are at it. Keep these guys in for a week or two and see where you are with your ERA and WHIP.

The more attention you pay to your categories now the more likely you'll be holding a championship banner in the air. Okay, most leagues don't have banners but you get bragging rights!

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Livan and Liriano

Owners who have Francisco Liriano or who those who have Liriano on the wire he might be coming back to the majors soon. His velocity and control is back and the only thing keeping him from moving back into the rotation is a pitched named Livan Hernandez but after throwing back to back 7ER run performances the chances of Livan staying in the rotation is slim.

Lirano was expected to make a strong impact on fantasy rosters during the second half of the season after coming back from Tommy John Surgery. Make sure to grab Liriano now and stash him on your bench because this minor league stint is almost over.

As long as Liriano can keep his velocity and his control in check he will have absolutely electric numbers for you as an owner. As I just mentioned, make sure to have his services for the second half of the season.

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Speed Demon

Willy Taveras of the Rockies stole FIVE bases in a 2-0 victory over the White Sox. Willy went 2-4 with a BB. So far this season, Taveras has been a disappointment because of his poor AVG and OBP. His SB's are on track for a career high. His current career high in SB's is 34 and he is already at 29 for the season.

Owners who have Taveras, most have dropped him, should really consider if he should be on your fantasy roster. His inability to get on base and his terrible average is destroying his value. If you can afford a low average and need steals this is the guy you can live with. On the other side, if you need SB's and he's available on the wire go out and grab him to see if you can get some SB's and climb back into competition in that category.

This speedster does have some upside because his numbers in the past few years have been very good. He is a career .287 hitter and has averaged 33SB's every year with a .333OBP. If he can hit .290-.300 the rest of the way, he could easily be a sleep for the second half of the season, if we can even classify him as a sleeper.

After this 5SB outburst, I can almost guarantee owners will be flocking to the wire to pick him up.

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More DL Stints

Moises Alou of the Mets is back on the DL after playing ONE game. In the fantasy world his stats are absolutely off the charts but the problem is he is never on the field because he spends every freakin' day on the DL. I picked up him up hoping that he could provide me another 150-200AB's for the rest of the season because he usually puts up a .310AVG, 10HR's, 60RBI's, and 1/2SB's. Now he is back on the DL it is absolutely over. I dropped him but if he is still available when he comes back off the DL I will try and pick him up again. This guy is worth it. But for now, drop him.


JJ Putz of the Mariners was placed on the DL because of numbness in his pitching arm. At this point in time Putz is looking towards a return before the all-star break. Owners should be a little worried at this point in time because of his injuries so far this season. This is extremely disappointing because most owners drafted Putz as their number 1 closer and did so early in the draft. Look for Morrow, Batista, and Smith to grab the saves while Putz is away. The Mariner's coach was reported as saying he will use a bullpen by committee approach.

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Fantasy Baseball is Frustrating!

It is inevitable during every season I get absolutely fed up with fantasy baseball and if I didn’t love my MacBook Pro, I would take my computer and toss it across the room in absolute frustration. Let me try to explain to you my frustration, I know for a fact many owners out there in the fantasy world are going through the same situation as myself.

Currently, the league that is frustrating me the most is a league which is made up of friends and friends of friends. The level of talent and knowledge of fantasy baseball ranges from low to high so there in lies the problem I mentioned above. The low level talented fantasy players don’t understand the world of fantasy baseball and how to win. What frustrates me the most is with the area of trading players. When I begin trading negotiations by writing on the message board that I have some players to trade I usually get nothing as a bite in return, unless it’s a trade offer that is so clearly in their favour that I would be absolutely asking for a last place finish. It is pretty clear that these guys want to make a trade where they benefit and I suffer. Looking at the situation I think most of the guys in the league are more afraid of making a bad trade that comes back to haunt them but no one has the ability to predict the future and if they did have this ability they surely wouldn’t be wasting their time with a fantasy baseball league which has no prize except bragging rights for the next year.

Going back to the actual trade negotiations. It is like waking up one morning and not being able to check your fantasy roster because the internet is out...it is out of my mind frustrating. All I get in trade negotiations is guys who want to take my best players and give me their “best players” which happens to be some guy who has a 5 game hitting streak for my proven year in and year out players like Carlos Lee or Derek Jeter. I always follow the philosophy of everyone is available to be traded from my team as long as I get the right value in return. In the end they basically want to get something for nothing. Does this even happen in the real world?

Another point I want to make is why people trade in the first place. You trade in fantasy baseball to improve your team, that is the bottom line. So, looking back, I guess you can say my league members are trading using the right mindset, improving their team by giving me a scrub for a proven fantasy baseball stud. But, if you think like my league members do, you will never be able to make a trade. Before even making a trade it is a wise idea to look at your team, with an unbias eye, and see where you need help and where you are strong. In my case I was at the top or near the top in pitching catgeories (SV, K’s, ERA, and WHIP) but I was weak in plenty of hitting categories especially the power ones (HR and RBI). As, an educated owner would do I wanted to find teams that were in need of saves and that had some power. There were plenty of teams who fit this build. I immediately started to send out offers...I got nothing but rejected trades, nothing new here. After a few more attempts are making a trade I came to the conclusion I would have to deal Lincecum/Wagner/Lyon for a guy named Nate McClouth. Can I say f*cking frustrating. These guys, apparently, want to win but they don’t want to do anything about it. I can’t stand these guys and which makes it worse, when I ask them about trading and wanting to win, they tell me they do and that my offers are unfair. I usually just clock the close button on the MSN Messenger window when they say this so I don’t tell them they are complete waste of time when it comes to my fantasy knowledge. Yes, I know I sound a little full of myself but it is true, I know more about fantasy baseball then they do.

If you look back at the teams who have won the fantasy championship or just looking at the final standings you will see that I am always in the top 3 and I always compete year in and year out. So, why should these guys in the league ever look at how I manage my teams and maybe do something similar to me compared to their petty little tactics of trying to steal players from me.

Since this is a keeper league some of my league member think that just because they were a keeper from last year that they will be a keeper this year. Every year is a new year filled with new chances and opportunities. When I asked if one of their players was available, Alex Rios, his response was, “He is a keeper and I would expect a keeper in return.” What the hell does that mean? The guy was hitting nothing except air and was finding himself walking to the batters box and walking right back. This same guy needed saves and well, I offered him closers...still no deal. This keeper deal even goes deeper than just trades. Guys in my league are always looking to the future and always hoping to win in the future, well, it might be a good idea to look in the present and finally win a championship for once. Why play this fantasy thing if you are always going to finish bottom 3 and hoping a prospect is going to pan out. It is just not fun if you play like this. I will trade all my best guys to win a championship EVERY SINGLE YEAR. I don’t care who they are, if it can make me the champion at the end of the year, I will do it!

The owners in this league are friends I have known for almost 15 years of my life. This is why I know the next part. These guys don’t want to look stupid and make a trade that finds a way to backfire for example an injury or something random that most would call life. Before making a deal, you look at the stats, trends, and every piece of information available to you but in the end it’s all luck after that. If you make a trade and it is justifiable when the deal was made there is nothing else you can do.

What makes trading players even harder is the fact everyone in this league, except me, thinks their players are the best players in this entire world. Come on, just because they are on your roster does not mean they are great players. Another difficult thing to overcome is the fact they think all my players are crap but for some odd reason if I drop one of my players they immediately pick them up off waivers, crap players? I think not! This is so frustrating that in one year I offered to trade for Chris Carpenter (before his injuries) and the owner wouldn’t deal unless I packaged 3 of my best hitters, I basically told him to screw off. Okay, I said more then just that. The next year I had Carpenter and I wanted to trade him to the same owner but he offered me nothing in return except for a scrub hitter who was off to a hot start. Nothing had changed about Carpenter except he was a year older and wiser. Proof, my friends are complete retards when it comes to fantasy baseball.

This little rant has taken up some of my time and I think it is time for me to stop and return to doing something more interesting. The lesson here is don’t go out and try to steal players in fantasy baseball, it makes you look stupid and it also ruins the league. Go out and trade to improve your team, not to rip other teams off. Make sure to enjoy fantasy baseball and try to win, if you are content with finishing bottom 3 then I honestly don’t know what to say to you except, why the f*ck do you even bother signing up for a fantasy league.

My friends don’t know I have this blog but if you are reading please smarten up and realize that you are going about this the wrong way. I’ll see you guys when I look down on you when I’m at the top of the league.

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Friday, June 13, 2008

Wagner Time

Last night Billy Wagner blew his 3rd consecutive save opportunity. In a previous post I suggested that this wasn't a problem and there is nothing to worry about and I'm going to stick with this. Wagner is just going through a tough spot in the season and in my eyes, this is a stat correction. Wagner was not going to stay at a 0.36ERA, which is where he was at before the 3 consecutive blown saves.

His career ERA is 2.40 and his current ERA is 2.33 so he is diverting back to his career average. As long as he doesn't have any physical pain he should overcome this stretch of trouble on the mound.

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Huge DL Day

Alfonso Soriano of the Cubs was officially placed on the DL. He will be out for 6-8 weeks but he does hope he'll be back sooner.

Albert Pujols of the Cardinals will be gone for 3 weeks.

Victor Martinez of the Indians is out for 6-8 weeks after going through surgery on his elbow.

Josh Barfield of the Indians, who was just called up, was placed on the 15-Day DL.


With all these injuries, except Barfield, you are going to be in some trouble. These three big time players are all fantasy studs so how should you fill in these spots. Look at your current needs with respect to stats and pick one stat that you need help in. This will be your stat category where you should focus on with picking up someone to replace your DL player. With all these important players heading for the DL this is the time where your season will go down the drain or for your to tread water until reinforcements comes. Just focus on one category at a time and you should be able to keep afloat until these guys come back.

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Thursday, June 12, 2008

Hitters

It was a pretty bad day for hitters.

Albert Pujols of the Cardinals will be out for 3 weeks with a calf injury. Chris Duncan was called up and will take over for Pujols. This is a huge blow. Just hope he can recover and come back 100%.

Alfonso Soriano of the Cubs can't buy a break (no pun intended). He was hit on his hand and broke it. He will be out for 6 weeks maybe longer. Can't swing a bat without a hand. This is terrible news since owners lost him earlier this year and after his return he was absolutely scorching hot with the bat.

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Pitchers

BJ Ryan of the Blue Jays was ejected from the game last night after arguing balls and strikes. Of course this isn't the big news. Ryan gave up an ER which gave the lead to the Mariners and resulted in a Jays loss. This is the 3rd loss for Ryan in the past 5 appearances. With Ryan looking very normal and hittable, look to Scott Downs for more save opportunities. With Ryan's surgery repaired arm there just might be some problems or complications which is hurting his delivery and location.

Shaun Marcum of the Jays is doing very well on the mound as of late. In his last 5 starts he has given up a total of 5ER's over a span of 28.1 innings. Incredible. Pick him up if he is available.

Tom Glavine of the Braves is the on DL for the second time this season and for the second time in his entire career. I think the days of Glavine and Smoltz is over. Forget Glavine and drop him.

Billy Wagner of the Mets blew his second consecutive save opportunity last night by giving up 2ER's. As long as there is no physical pain/injury this won't be a problem. Wagner with all his experience will get out of this rut.

JJ Putz of the Mariners left the game with a sore right elbow. This is bad news for Putz owners. If you have Putz, go out and grab Morrow and/or Rowland-Smith.

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Wednesday, June 11, 2008

DL/Injury Player Updates

Albert Pujols of the Cardinals was helped off the field in the 7th inning with a strained left calf. Earlier in the game, Pujols hit his 16th HR of the season. More information will be available tomorrow.

Jake Peavy of the Padres will return to the mound from the DL on Thursday.

Chad Cordero of the Nationals is 2-3 weeks ago from returning to the lineup and when he returns, according to the Nationals coach, he will be the once again close games. This will move Jon Rauch, who is doing a great job filling in for Cordero, back into a set-up role. Owners, if you have room, try and grab Chad Cordero from the wire and stash him on your bench.

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Troubled Starters

Dontrelle Willis of the Tigers was optioned down to A-Lakeland and for me it wasn't soon enough. Willis has been horrible this entire season, albeit it being short season for him. Unless he finds something down in A-Lakeland he is an afterthought in the fantasy world.

Homer Bailey of the Reds was hit hard by the Cardinals in 3.2 innings of work. He gave up 8 hits and 5ER's while walking 3 and only striking out 2. Owners who have Bailey should be a little concerned because of the high walk rate and as mentioned in a previous post he is going to face some strong lineups in the near future. If you are not in a keeper league, this guy is someone you should be looking to for the second half of the season when he faces opponents who are less likely to hit him hard.

Daniel Cabrera of the Orioles seems to have reverted back to his old self of late. In his last two starts he has given up 15H's and 12ER's in only 11 innings of work. I would see if someone would like to take him off your hands in a trade or just bench him for his next start and see if he bounces back. If he does not bounce back...drop him.

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Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Street and Fuentes

Closers Huston Street of the A's and Brian Fuentes of the Rockies have been rumoured to be on the trade block and the possible destination would be New York. For owners who have any or both of these guys, which I do, this is troubling news. If one of them or even both are traded to New York, they would lose complete value since the closer, Mariano Rivera, is not going anywhere. Both Street and/or Fuentes would be middle/set-up men for Rivera.

Owners, if you have Street or Fuentes start to shop them around and see if they garner any attention and if they do, see if the trade will benefit you. For now, just make sure to take note of this rumour because as with all "rumours" they are just that...rumours.

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Tulo

Troy Tulowitzky of the Rockies who is on the DL with a torn tendon in his quad was scheduled to be back after the all-start break but seems to have healed extremely quickly. He is scheduled to start a minor league rehab stint on Tuesday which should last around 10 games and if finishes the rehab stint with no problems he could be back in the Rockies lineup in 2 weeks.

For owners this is great news but in his return, owners are hoping the 2007 Tulo returns who hit 24HR's, 99RBI's, and batted .291 instead of his current .152AVG, 1HR, and 11RBI season.

If he is on the FA list, go out and grab him NOW!

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Ken Griffey Jr.


Ken Griffey Jr. of the Reds hit his 600th HR last night in the 1st inning off Mark Hendrickson.

After starting his career in the Mariners organization Griffey moved to the national league and seemed to be on his way to hitting 700-800 homers until injuries found a way to kill his seasons in 2001-2003 and slowly ruined his run at home run immortality. We can only look back and think, only if he was healthy and how many home runs could he have hit.

Congratulations Ken Griffey Jr.!!!!!!

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Harden and Mussina

Rich Harden of the A's is showing everyone in the world what kind of pitcher he can be when he is healthy and able to pitch. He just threw his 6th straight start and was dominating as usual going 6innings with 9K's and only allowing 3ER's. I am still not sold on this guy and will suggest everyone to try and sell high on him. He has never completed a season without going on the DL. If you have a deep hitting team you can afford to take a chance on Harden but if you are dying in the hitting area, Harden can grab you a high price bat that will help you. Keeping or trading Harden is a decision you have to make due to your personal circumstance. For me, I would trade him no matter what and get something more predictable in return.

Mike Mussina of the Yankees is throwing very well lately. In his past 10 starts he has 8 wins, 1 loss, and 1 no decision. That is some ace like numbers. In those 10 games he has pitched 55 innings, allowed only 19ER's, struck out 35 batters, and only walked 8. Do I smell contract year?

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Random Notes

Josh Barfield of the Indians was called up and will be the regular starting 2nd baseman. AL-Only league owners should grab this guy because he will give you some decent stats and with AL-only leagues players are hard to come by that are full time players and who give positive returns.

D-Train, Dontrelle Willis, of the Tigers was terrible in his 2nd start starting rotation after returning from the DL. For owners who are hoping for D-Train of 2005 where he went 22-10, well keep dreaming. This pitcher has fallen and seems to be staying on the ground. Only keep him on your team if you want a high ERA and a last place finish in your fantasy teams.

Adrian Beltre of the Mariners is struggling and has dropped his average to .226 after an 0-5 night against the Blue Jays. He currently has 13HR's and is on pace for 20-25 but owners who have him as their 3rd baseman must be disappointed in his terrible average. Do not drop him because he does have value. If you have an extra spot on the bench maybe bench him for now and see if he can get out of the slump he currently sits in.

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DL Information

Rickie Weeks of the Brewers was placed on the 15-Day DL with a sprained left knee. For fantasy owners who have stuck through his terrible season hope this stint on the DL will give him time to rest and come back strong. Owners, don't keep him on your bench unless you have room.

Jerry Hairston Jr of the Reds, who is doing well this year, has fractured his left thumb and will be placed on the 15-Day DL. This is painful for owners since he is hitting .336AVG with 1HR, 14RBI, and 12SB's. Keep him on your bench or your DL.

Chipper Jones of the Braves has a small tear and had some bleeding his right quad. As I have preached in the past, Jones is the type of player that will get injured throughout the year and if you have a chance try to sell high on this player. So far he has continued to hit and is batting .410AVG but if he does go on the DL it isn't the worst thing that could happen. Losing him for 15 days now instead of severely injuring his quad and being out for the rest of the season is what owners should be hoping for.

Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals was placed on the 15-Day DL with a sprained right middle finger. He is 6-3, with a 3.14ERA, 62K's, and 20BB's all in 91.2 innings. He will be back so just wait this injury out. This is a fantasy pitcher that will continue to help you throughout the rest of the season.

Eric Gagne of the Brewers will return soon but he will not see the closing duties when he does come back. S. Torres is currently the closer and Gagne will have to earn his way back while Torres has to lose his job. Owners who have kept Gagne, keep him only if you have room. With his struggles and the lack of a closers role, his value is almost at zero. The only reason I am talking about him is his ability to earn the closers role back. Keep a close eye on this situation as it unfolds.

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Hot Bats

Mark Reynolds of the Diamondbacks is showing power over the past 10 games and increasing his average from .233 to .259 over that span. He has 13 hits, 5HR's and 10RBI's. This 3B is in his 2nd year in the bigs and seems to have the ability to hit 25HR's and hit .275AVG over the span of a year. See if he is on the wire and if he is...grab him.

Jose Guillen of the Royals continues to rake with another HR last night. In his past 10 he has 16 hits, which includes 5HR's. He started slow this year but seems to have picked it up.

Nick Swisher of the White Sox has hit a pair of homers and seems to have found his stroke, as mentioned in a previous post.

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Monday, June 9, 2008

Guillen/Swisher/Chavez

Jose Guillen of the Royals seems to have found his swing of late. Too bad for me, I dropped him a while back. In his past 10 games he has 15 hits (4HR's) and 11RBI's while adding in 1SB. For owners who stuck through his terrible slump this is some nice reward...finally!

Nick Swisher of the White Sox seems to have found his swing after a terrible start to the year. In his past 10 games he has 10H's with 1HR. Hopefully he has turned things around and will heat as the summer heat arrives and lives up to his potential of 20HR's/70-85RBI's.

Eric Chavez of the A's is swinging the hot bat after being activated from the DL. Since his return, 8 games, he has 10H's which includes 1HR and is batting .313. It seems like his surgeries on his back and shoulders are not bothering him. As I mentioned in a previous post, this is a guy who could be an absolute steal if he produces his former numbers of 20+HR's and 70-90RBI's.

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Soriano and Gonzalez

Rafael Soriano of the Braves seems to still be suffering from tendinitis in his pitching elbow which kept him from pitching in the 9th inning of last nights game. This seems like a roller-coaster ride with Soriano because of the good/bad news. First he is the closer, then he goes on the DL, then Smoltz is the closer, then Smoltz is out for the season so Soriano is back as the closer, now Soriano seems to be injured again. This is tough news for Soriano owners. But you have to keep him on your roster because of his potential for saves.

If you have a spot, try and pick up Mike Gonzalez of the Braves. He is coming back from Tommy John Surgery and should be activated from the DL some time next week. Bobby Cox, manager of the Braves, has stated Mike will get chances at the closing duties when he returns.

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Masterson and Bedard

Justin Masterson of the Red Sox earned his 3rd win of the season by beating the lowly Mariners. Masterson pitched 6 innings allowing only 3H's, 1ER, and striking out 4. It seems like the Red Sox have someone to fill in holes whenever someone goes down with injury. This kid should be owned so go out and grab him now!

Erik Bedard of the Mariners did not earn the loss against the Red Sox and for owners, like myself, are very happy with what they saw in his performance. Even though he only pitched 5 innings, Bedard left the game allowing only 2H's, 1ER, and striking out 5. For owners, hopefully Bedard can turn things around and be more consistent.

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Wells and Rios

Vernon Wells of the Blue Jays is back in the lineup and this is great news for everyone who owns Wells and also Alex Rios. Rios has been in a terrible slump and I attribute some of his struggles at the plate to Wells being on the DL. With Wells back in the lineup, Rios is hitting lead-off and this is good news for owners who need steals but bad for RBI production. But at this point, owners don't care as long as he gets out of his slump.

See if there is an owner out there that is willing to part with Rios for a bargain price, if there is an owner out there who does make the deal as soon as possible.

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Davis and Scherzer

Doug Davis of the Diamondbacks just threw another great *sarcasm* outing by going 3.2 innings and allowing 5ER's. This is absolutely great news for Scherzer owners who might see Davis switch spots with Scherzer being inserted into the starting rotation.

I'm assuming no one owns Davis and if you do it better be in a deep deep NL-only league. For Scherzer owners, the clock is ticking away on Davis and his time in the rotation unless he miraculously turns things around.

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Winn and Molina

Randy Winn and Bengie Molina of the Giants are both swinging the hot bat.

Winn, since May 2, has hit safely in every game but 5 and has raised his average from .261 to .301 over that span. In his past 10 games he has 6 multi-hit games. Winn is a streaky hitter and with his ability to sprinkle a few SB's and HR's give owners a nice option for the immediate future. Winn should be owned in all leagues.

Molina, since May 2, has raised his average from .283 to .332 and has been a huge surprise in the fantasy world so far this year. With the top five catchers (Posada, Martin, V-mart, Mauer, and McCann) not all producing in fantasy land, Molina was an absolute steal in drafts--so far. I would tell you to grab Molina but he's gone in all league formats. For owners, keep him and don't trade him unless you get a big return because he should get all the opportunities in the world batting 4th in the Giants lineup to pick up RBI's, as long as he continue to hits.

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Armando Galarraga

Armando Galarraga of the Tigers, who is filling in for Bonderman, earned his 5th win of the season by defeating the Indians with 5.2IP, 4H's, 2ER's, 2BB's, and 4K's. Since Bonderman is likely out for the season, Galarraga will be tossing more innings in the upcoming future.

Owners, this is a good pick-up to add to your pitching staff as a 4th-5th starter. If he does poorly drop him but for now you should ride his fine pitching.

2008 stats - 58.1IP, 24ER's, 26BB's, 39K's, and a 3.70ERA.

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Sunday, June 8, 2008

Saturday Night Notes

Andy Pettitte of the Yankees had a horrendous start going 6.2 innings and allowing 10ER's on 10H's. That was a brutal start which bumped his ERA from 4.21 to 4.99 in one game, ouch! At least the Yankees won.

Johnny Damon of the Yankees had a nice night. He went 6-6 with a 1R, 1 double, 4RBI's, and a stolen base. In his past 10 games he has raised his average from .288 to .326. This 6-6 outing raised his average 18 points alone.

Joakim Soria of the Royals blew his first save of the season allowing 2ER's. Don't worry about Soria and his job security, it is still his to lose.

Jorge Cantu of the Marlins just homered for the 3rd time in two games. He went 3-5 and added a double and 2Runs to the HR. Uggla isn't the only Marlin who is swinging the hot bat right now.

Delmon Young of the Twins, who is famous for tossing a bat at an umpire, finally hit his first home run of the season on his 233AB. That was a long drought. Owners who drafted Young did not expect him to take this long to take one yard. This kid seems to be struggling mightily at the plate and for owners the slump was too long. Most owners seem to have cut Young from their lineups and rightfully they did. Unless he gets hot in a hurry, this kid will be a free agent for the rest of the season in fantasy land.

Brad Hawpe of the Rockies hit his second home run in as many games since returning from the DL. This is a great sign for owners who stuck with Hawpe and for those of you who picked him up hoping his 2007 stats would start to kick in, well you might have been rewarded.

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Eric Gagne

Struggling closer Eric Gagne of the Brewers is expected to return to the bullpen within a week according to his coach Ned Yost. For owners who have stuck with Gagne after struggling in 2008 you might be rewarded with Gagne's return. The problem here is Salomon Torres, he is currently filling in as the Brewer's closer and he is doing a great job going 5.2 innings dating back to May 20 without allowing an ER. In that span he has allowed 2H's, 1BB, and has struck out 4 batters while recording 5 saves and 1 win.

With sports you don't lose your job from getting injured but with Torres holding down the fort and Gagne not showing any sort of command and ability to close out games, Gagne may be left pitching in the 7th and 8th innings. I would keep Gagne and see if he ultimately does fall back into the closers role but in my opinion Torres has earned it.

Owners, having Gagne and Torres both on your team won't hurt.

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Saturday, June 7, 2008

Jonathan Sanchez

Jonathan Sanchez of the Giants just threw 7 innings of shut out ball against the Nationals and yes I know how bad the Nationals are. But taking a looking at Sanzhez's stats show he's doing it against all teams. Over his last 4 starts, not including the one against the Nationals, he has pitched at least 6 innings and has allowed only 2ER's in each of those games. Sprinkling in 25K's, 12BB's, 1HR, and all of this in 26 innings.

Owners, this is a pitcher you should consider picking up and using because he seems to have found a groove. With Lincecum doing his thing and Matt Cain slowly turning things around, Sanchez is quietly becoming a fantasy option.

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Out for The Season

Jake Westbrook of the Indians will have surgery on his right elbow which will cause him to miss the rest of the season. For fantasy owners, this isn't a big blow but it does hurt since he was your 3rd starter in most fantasy lineups. For AL-only owners, this is a big blow because of the scarcity of quality players in this kind of format. Obviously, he should be dropped.

Jeremy Bonderman of the Tigers will most likely miss the rest of the season due to a medical procedure to due with a blood clot. Bonderman went under the knife after the removal of the blood clot and into an angioplasty. There is no time schedule for his return and owners should just drop him from your lineups unless you have a DL spot. Keep him in the DL spot until more news surfaces or if someone else on your team, knock on wood, gets injured.

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Alou

Moises Alou of the Mets did not make his return from the DL on his scheduled day of eligibility but the good news is there is a good chance that he will be activated from the DL on Tuesday. There have been reports that he will be activated on Sunday but, as mentioned above, Tuesday is more likely.

Owners who know Alou know that he is pushing the age limits but even so he is still productive when he is in the lineup. The problem with Alou is he is always injured but for fantasy owners who have an extra bench spot or have the ability to rotate players in and out should consider Alou. In some of my leagues, Alou was dropped and is sitting on the free agent wire and I of course picked him up a few days ago anticipating his return. Like Brad Hawpe, this should be a steal if he can come back and stay healthy and produce like his normal self.

Take a chance on him and if he lands on the DL again, just drop him.

You should see a hitter who can provide .300AVG, 10-15HR's, 60-70RBI's, and 1-3SB's if he can stay healthy. Too bad he isn't in the AL where he could DH.

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Posada / Hawpe

Since returning from the DL, Jorge Posada of the Yankess has left off where all owners were expecting from this stud catcher. In 10 AB's he has 3H's, 1HR, 2RBIS's, and 2BB's. To owners who have Posada, like me, enjoy his services. He should be plugged back into your lineup RIGHT NOW.

As of right now, Brad Hawpe of the Rockies has hit HR's in back to back games since returning from the DL. At the moment, the Rockies are in the 3rd inning. Maybe Hawpe will provide some more production for owners. Hopefully, this is a sign of Hawpe going back to his 2007 pace and has left his 2008 struggles behind. For owners in leagues where Hawpe was dropped because of his struggles and his injury, go out and grab him. It might turn out to be a steal.

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Kuroda

After a disastrous start against the Mets in his last outing (6ER's in 2.2IP) Kuroda of the Dodgers bounced back with a commanding and confidance boosting complete game shut-out of the Cubs at home. Kuroda allowed 4 hits and stuck out 11 batters in 112 pitches. This was a little out of the normal, the K's, because he has never stuck out more than 5 batters in a game this year.

Owners, as I have always preached with Kuroda, make some offers and see if some other owner will take him. I don't believe he is going to maintain a high value for the entire season. I think he will tire under the workload in the major leagues and the fact he doesn't strike people out in high numbers is bothersome in my eyes. He is very hittable and when the national league teams get a second chance seeing him, I think they will start to hit him and give owners nothing in return.

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Friday, June 6, 2008

Nate McLouth

For those who have been lucky to have McLouth of the Pirates on their rosters for his amazing start to the 2008 season have seen his stats dry up of late. Well, too be honest owners who didn't sell high on this guy should be kicking themselves. This is a typical guy who has a quick start to the season and then will slowly go back to his career averages. Nate is a career .264 hitter who, in his 4th season, has only touched double digit home run once (not including this year). So, don't expect McLouth to give you 35HR's out of the blue and bat around .310AVG as well. With most fantasy players, you need to understand the fact that people usually don't go out and have monster starts and sustain it throughout the season.

For owners, if you have McLouth, try and sell this guy right now to someone who might believe he is going to give them more production in the near future. Also, for owners who don't have him and the current first place team does have him, just realize that you are going to slowly creep up on them in the standings after he falls apart.

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Fight Night Suspensions

Please adjust your lineups accordingly.

Red Sox

Coco Crisp - 7 games
Jon Lester - 5 games
Sean Casey - 3 games

Rays
James Shields - 6 games
Jonny Gomes - 5 games
Edwin Jackson - 5 games
Carl Crawford - 4 games
Akinori Iwamura - 3 games

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Fantasy Notes

Brad Hawpe of the Rockies was activated from the DL and will resume his daily duties immediately. After a slow start to the season (.231, 3HR's, and 17RBI's) Hawpe is looking to bounce back after a breakout 2007 season where he hit .291, 29HR's, and 116RBI's. After a slow start in 2007 he continually picked it up as the summer heat set in. Owners, I recommend holding Hawpe on the bench for a few games until he finds his stroke. With Holliday coming back form injury and Atkins in the lineup Hawpe should hopefully find his groove.

Sidney Ponson of the Rangers was optioned to AAA after "disrespecting players and player personnel" in the locker room. This is kind of disappointing because of his number so far. They haven't been jaw dropping but they have added value to fantasy teams. I guess it is time to completely drop him off your rosters. If you want to be over cautious, you should wait it out to see if someone wants to pick him off waivers, which I highly doubt. It will take another 2 or so weeks for this to all settle out.

Michael Young of the Rangers missed a game due to a bruised ring finger. Currently, Young is on a 21 game hitting streak and is a great SS in all fantasy leagues. This finger issue was reported as not being too serious so owners shouldn't worry just yet.

Barry Bonds is going to trial and the media frenzy will begin on March 2, 2009 and does not have to appear in court until February of 2009. So, fantasy owners, if you have a spot on your roster you might want to grab Bonds just in case he does find a new home on a baseball team since his legal issues have completely cleared up. Looking at Bonds' stats, you can see he won't be hitting you 70HR's a year but he still adds value to any lineup. With his ability to bat with a high average because of his high walk rate, owners should keep their eye open with developments within the Bonds' camp. If he can get 250-300AB's he can realistically produce 15-20HR's, 60-70RBI's, with a .275-.285AVG. Not too shabby.

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Fight Night

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MLB Draft Results

MLB is having their marathon draft and here is the link for everything you need to know about who was drafted, CLICK HERE.

For those of you who are in deep keepers leagues this is a great time to see who is going to be the next stud arriving on the scene like Jay Bruce.

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Saito

It seems that the aging Saito of the Dodgers is showing some holes, albeit small ones, in his pitching. Saito has blown a save and earned a loss in his past 3 outings. This is not big news since it wasn't anything huge like 5ER's in one inning but owners should still have Broxton as insurance. Broxton and Saito as a combo provides help in all pitching categories.

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Myers

Brett Myers of the Phillies seems to have turned things around after a disastrous start to the season. In his past two starts he has pitched 15.1 innings and has allowed only 4ER's while striking out 19. This is what owners were expecting from Myers on draft day. I would try and pick him up as soon as possible before someone else notices his past two starts.

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BJ Ryan

BJ Ryan of the Blue Jays seems to have hit a rough patch in his past 2 save chances. He has blown both saves and earned the loss while allowing 5ER's over 1.1 innings. For those who own Ryan make sure to grab Scottie Downs because he has been the 2nd closer in the Jays bullpen because the Jays were easing Ryan back into his duties after tommy john surgery.

With Ryan showing some holes in his game, the Jays are hoping this has nothing to do with injury but just some poor pitches and some timely hitting by their opponents.

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Bruuuuuuuuuuceeee

Jay Bruce is 0-8 in his past 2 games. What is this world coming to?!?!?! ;)

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Wang

Wang of the Yankees has absolutely fallen apart in his last 4 starts. In his first 9 starts Wang had a 2.90ERA and over his past 4 starts his ERA has ballooned to 4.57ERA.

Wang's last 4 starts - 23.2IP, 23ER's, 14BB's, and a measly 11K's.

Wang seems to provide the wins but doesn't offer much more than that. I have never been a fan of Wang because of his low strikeout rate. Obviously, this is a bad time to try and trade him so I guess you should wait it out. But looking on the bright side, he does pitch for the Yankees and even if he does allow 5-7 ER's the Yankees can easily provide enough run support for Wang to get a win.

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Back in The Saddle

Albert Pujols and Jorge Posada both returned to their respective lineups after.

Albert of the Cardinals has hit two home runs in his past 3 games (3 at-bats) and seems to be fine after hurting his calf. This is great news for owners because the Cardinals are now wasting time and putting him straight on the DL. If he was really hurt, the Cardinals wouldn't take the chance with their superstar and trotting him out there.

Jorge of the Yankees returned to the lineup after an extended period on the DL with a sore shoulder. Posada went 1-3 with a BB. Owners should be ecstatic with his return.

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Thursday, June 5, 2008

Big Albert

Albert Pujols of the Cardinals was not in the starting lineup on Wednesday due to a tight calf. At this time there is nothing to worry about since it is not an injury to his elbow which caused him to drop in the opening draft. Just wait for more information about his injury and sit tight.

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Carlos Pena

After a career season in 2007, Carlos Pena of the Rays came into 2008 with high expectations and so far has delivered with 11HR's and 35RBI's even though he has a .227AVG. But now Pena has landed himself on the 15-Day DL with a fractured left index finger. For owners this isn't great news but nothing that is going to devastate your team because, hopefully, you didn't revolve your team around him. Keep him on your DL and hope he returns quickly and the finger doesn't hold him back from hitting for the season.

Owners, I have never been a fan of this guy and this is the prototypical player I always sell high on and grab some value from idiot owners who think he will continue to hit 40+ HR's every year starting in his 7th year in the bigs. This is ridiculous!

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Smoltz and the Braves

Well, he's back, he's gone, he's back, and now he's gone again. John Smoltz of the Braves is going under the knife to try to and repair his ailing shoulder and this time it will cost him the rest of the season. Smoltz, after coming back from the DL and blowing his first save, woke up the next morning and felt discomfort in his shoulder and was unavailable to close the next game. This is terrible news for Smoltz owners because of his ability to dominate and give you great accounting numbers that are needed to win a fantasy championship.

As I mentioned in a previous post, CLICK HERE, I suggested owners to sell high on this pitcher because of his age and he was absolutely lights out at the start of the season. Owners need to really understand the concept of selling high and getting a huge return for someone who most likely won't keep up their current pace.

Now, looking at the bullpen situation for the Braves, you can easily see the value for R. Soriano has, again, gone sky high. The ones who dropped Soriano should kick themselves in their ass because he will get the majority of the save opportunities in the 9th for the Braves. M. Acosta will see the set-up duties but also see the occasional save opportunity.

Too bad for Smoltz owners and the season ending surgery.

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Wednesday, June 4, 2008

MLB First Round Projections

For all those people out there in dynasty leagues where you are allowed to draft the rights to high schoolers/college kids this is a great column for you. It outlines some high profile players who are expected to be drafted in the first round of the upcoming MLB Draft.

Also, for those of you who are in keeper leagues that aren't into the drafting of college kids or anyone who isn't available on FA list but are interested in the future, take a look here and jot some names down.

For the column by Yahoo! columnist Steve Henson CLICK HERE.

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Bedard

Erik Bedard of the Mariners is starting to throw like Oliver Perez of the Mets, both inconsistent from start to start. After a break out season in 2007 Bedard was traded from the Orioles to the Mariners for 5 players and at this moment, it seems like the Orioles made the right decision.

In his latest flop he went 3.1 innings while allowing 4ER's, 7H's, 3BB's, and only mustering 1K! This is not what fantasy owners drafted him for. Even with his poor play and inconsistency, Bedard is a legitimate starting rotation pitcher in all fantasy formats. So owners, you will just have to live with it for now.

By looking at his stats from his career, he seems to heat up as the summer warms up but then begins to cool in August and September. Owners, just hope he turns things around and puts together 5-7 quality starts.

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DL Info

Jake Westbrook of the Indians is headed for the DL with inflammation in his right elbow. Owners should drop and cut this guy because he's not going to do anything for your team. Go out and grab a bat or a hot starter.

Ryan Zimmerman of the Nationals is on the 15-Day DL with a small tear in his left shoulder. After having strong years in 06/07 Zimmerman was expected to carry a heavy load in a poor lineup and produce .275/22HR's/100RBI's for owners but instead has come out of the gates this slowly and he now find himself on the DL. Owners, keep him on your team unless you can find a way to add him as a sweetener in a deal.

Posada of the Yankees is expected to return on Thursday. This is great news for owners!

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Joba/Pedro

Last night we had two pitcher making important scheduled starts, one Joba Chamberlain of the Yankees and two Pedro Martinez of the Mets. Joba making his major league debut as a starter and Pedro coming back from the DL.

Joba didn't fair so well during his start only lasting 2.1 innings while walking 4 and striking out 3. Joba was pulled after pitching 62 pitches because he was on a pitch limit. Owners who have Job shouldn't be too impressed with the results but I wouldn't worry about it right now since he has the raw talent which comes with a devastating 100MPH fastball which topped out at 101MPH last night on the stadium radar. For the immediate future, don't worry about Joba.

Pedro had a great return to the mound pitching 6 innings striking out 3 and allowing 3ER's for the victory. If Pedro is still on the wire, go out and grab him. His ability to strike people out may be gone but his smartness on the mound will help him overcome the loss of velocity. As long as he can stay healthy Pedro is worth a spot on all rosters.

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Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Homer Bailey

Another highly touted prospect in the Reds organization, who has already played in the majors, is about to make a start for them this week. Homey Bailey was called up from AAA-Louisville and will start on Thursday against the Phillies. For owners of Bailey be sure to be prepared for a rough ride in the near future, he has the Phillies, Reds, Yanks, and Cardinals all teams who have pop in their lineups.

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Big Papi

David Ortiz of the Red Sox will be placed on the 15-Day DL with a partially torn tendon in his left wrist. This is devastating news for owners because of his surge of almost 60 points in his batting average this month. According to the Red Sox they are unsure on how long he will be out. This is never good news. But with a torn tendon in his wrist this sounds like a relatively long stint on the DL and if he does have surgery it might take 4-6 weeks and worse case scenario the season.

It is impossible to replace such a bat in any fantasy lineup but for the unlucky who have lost his services, try and find some hot bats off the wire, yes I know how that will be. If you are absolutely dying for power you will have to deal some pitching for hitting. If you are hurting in both categories, it might be time to think ahead to the future.

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Posada

Jorge Posada of the Yankees is expected to return to the catchers position by the end of this week. This is great news for owners who have lost his services for the past 4-5 weeks due to a sore throwing shoulder. As I have stated before, catchers, let me rephrase that, good catchers are hard to find that can contribute to your fantasy roster.

I can't wait to get Posada back into my lineup.

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HR Streaks

It isn't too normal for guys to have consecutive games where they hit home runs so for all owners of Chase Utley, Jay Bruce, and Manny Ramirez enjoy their current HR streaks.

Utley - 5 game HR streak (7HR's in last 8 games).
Bruce - 3 game HR streak (.577AVG since his major league debut, 7 games).
Manny - 3 game HR streak (4 HR's in last 6 games).


Absolutely amazing production coming from these three guys. If you happen to have all three on your team, all I can say is thank the fantasy gods!

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Smoltz

After returning from the DL to work out of the bullpen, John Smoltz of the Braves blew his save chance in his first game back. With news coming out that Smoltz will throw from a different arm angle just to reduce any pain while throwing should concern owners. Even though Smoltz has been known to change his wind up and his arm angle from time to time to adjust to injuries which have seemed to hit his aging body.

For owners of Rafael Soriano make sure to keep him your daily lineup because Bobby Cox has come out and told everyone will be closing by committee so expect Soriano to receive some save opportunities until one of them takes the job.

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Saves in Review for June 2

The Usual Suspects
Lidge (14), Sherrill (18), Nathan (15), Torres (6), Capps (11), F.Rod (22), and Wood (15).

Stupid BS
Gregg (3) with 1ER
Smoltz (1) with 2ER

I think I will stop writing this post everyday unless there is some news of a closer who might lose his closers role. I think it is getting pointless for me to post about closers who continually get saves night in and night out.

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Monday, June 2, 2008

Joba

Joba Chamberlain of the Yankees will make his debut as a starter on Tuesday against the Toronto Blue Jays. The Yankees have placed a 65-70 pitch limit on his young hard throwing arm. For owners who drafted Chamberlain and kept him you will have a chance to see if Joba can add to your stat categories especially the K column.

With the Yankees absolutely crying for help and staring up at division leaders, the Rays and Red Sox, this change was almost written on the wall. In my opinion, I prefer Chamberlain coming out of the bullpen and throwing 2 innings a game and striking out 2-4 batters. I am not completely sold on his ability to start games just yet. Just have to wait and see.

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Doug Davis/Max Scherzer

Doug Davis is the one guy who is holding Max Scherzer from the starting rotation. For owners of Scherzer, make sure to keep him on your roster because, as we know, Davis is not the greatest of pitchers and if Davis falters, the Diamondbacks will not hesitate to put Davis in the bullpen and place the hard throwing young arm of Scherzer on the mound to start.

For owners who have Scherzer don't deal him but for the ones who don't own him, try and see if you can grab him from another owner in a deal.

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Mark Prior

For most fantasy owners Mark Prior is a complete after thought. But for some idiots like me, I have always kept an eye out for Prior because of his potential to carry your pitching staff when healthy. Prior will not pitch in 2008 after opting for surgery to his right shoulder which may in fact end his career. It is absolutely sad how a promising pitcher has to sit on the sidelines and watch instead of throwing on the mound in front of his fans.

I hope Prior has successful surgery and finds a way to pitch and stay healthy. He is only 27 and if he can find a way to stay healthy he still has the chance to spend 5-7 more years in the bigs.

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Barajas

Catchers are hard to find in any fantasy format but when they do it can add that one surge of power that can propel you into fantasy euphoria. Rod Barahas of the Blue Jays is swinging the hot bat. In his past 10 games Barajas has 10H's, 2HR's, 8RBI's, and has raised his average by 25 points to .298. Ride the ship when it is going well and bail when it starts to sink. This is a great catcher to buy into right now but it won't last. Enjoy his stats until they dry up.

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Keep on Raking

Chase Utley of the Phillies is unconscious right now!!!! He just hit his 4th straight HR in as many games. Add to this he has 6 HR's in his past 7 games and 17RBI's. I can't even begin to explain how valuable Utley is to any fantasy roster. Just be glad he is on your roster and not someone elses. He is absolutely amazing!

Josh Hamilton of the Rangers is continuing his sweet swing with another HR last night. He has 3HR's in his last 5 games while batting in 10. It seems like his off-field troubles have been solved and fantasy owners who found him and have him on their rosters should be glad he stopped doing lines and started raking. The only problem I see with Hamilton is he has never competed a full season so he might start to lose steam as the season goes on. But at this moment, enjoy his sweet swing and the top spot in your fantasy leagues.

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