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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.