Given the plum matchup of the Nationals for his first Sawx start, John Smoltz turned the opportunity into prunes with a 4-run 1st inning. But then he started shaking off the rust and gave up only 1 ER and 3 hits in the next 4 innings.
Please, blog, may I have some more?
Author: Grey / Rudy
Grey Albright and Rudy Gamble are the co-founders of Razzball and occasionally co-write posts to share quality time with one another.
Read some of Grey / Rudy's 87 posts
The only thing more strained than Raul Ibanez’s patience for skeptics is his left groin as the Phillies placed him on the 15 day DL. You don’t own Ibanez for his wheels so this isn’t as troubling as Jose Reyes with a bad hammy or Willy Taveras with an allergy to getting on base. Stick him on the DL and hopefully he comes back in 15 days with an unstrained groin. As for his Philly replacement John Mayberry Jr, think Rickie Sexson. Lots of power but huge holes in his swing. He might jack a few HRs before the league figures him out but we’d only recommend him for NL-only leagues and the power-desperate in deep mixed leagues. Anyway, here’s what else we saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Tommy Hanson – 6 IP, 0 ER. With only two Ks vs.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Here’s a monthly look at where my teams are and some moves I’ve made. I know it’s boring as crizzap to read about other people’s teams, so I’ll keep it midget-sized. Though my league updates aren’t completely a case of narcissism gone wild (which would make a great show. Clear skin to win! Show your mirror!). Perhaps you can gleam something from my team updates on what you can be doing in your league. Or maybe not. Anyway, here’s my fantasy baseball team updates:
15 Team, mixed league, 5×5; host: Tim of RotoRob, Currently in 1st place, 12 points in front.
Please, blog, may I have some more?A two-week vacation did ol’ Grady’s elbow just dandy. The inflammation Grady Sizemore has been feeling all year has subsided and there’s no need for now to resort to arthroscopic surgery. That has to be a relief to fantasy baseballers who drafted G-Sizzle with their 1st pick. So should there be concern that his elbow troubles will reappear?
Please, blog, may I have some more?Brandon Morrow has changed his mind once again, deciding that his decision in the offseason to be a starter after relieving last year was a better idea than his decision in April to return to closing. It’s already June and it’ll take him at least a month or so to stretch out his arm. Could he put together a great 10 game stretch to finish the year? Potentially, but maybe he’ll decide he wants to play shortstop instead. We’re so tired of him changing his mind that we’re going to pretend like we’re monologue writers for The Tonight Show rather than debate his merits….
Please, blog, may I have some more?Tommy Hanson was called up by the Braves yesterday. His numbers: 66 1/3 IP, 90 Ks, 0.86 WHIP, 1.49 ERA in Triple A. Hello, beautiful, may I interest you in this Sutter Home White Zinfandel? It’ll go lovely with your 90/17 K/BB ratio. How about some honey mustard pretzels to go with your 12.2 K/9 ratio? Ah, yes, those were some great times when you dominated in the Arizona Fall League with a .63 ERA in just over 28 innings. Chuckle, chuckle… Yes, those were the best prospects in baseball and you held them to 10 hits and 49 Ks. But can he dominate in the majors? Much has been made of rookie pitchers at this site. More often than not, they drop a roofie in your box of wine and do unthinkable things to your Forbidden City. Hanson seems like he can handle his own in the big leagues, but remember in Double A he was great, but not insane with a 3.03/1.13/114 and a 10.5 K/9 in 98 IP. If Hanson comes out and dominates on Saturday, his value will go through the roof. If he stumbles, you might get stuck with Cueto of ’08. Rookie pitchers are very risky. If you need a hitter, Hanson’s trade value might be at its peak. Now if you need pitching and you can handle the risk, Hanson can provide the reward. In a keeper, obviously you hold him tight like your Grandma holds her bucket of quarters in Atlantic City. Anyway, here’s what else we saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Nate McLouth – Traded to the Braves. This doesn’t do much for his value. Cox can’t even sit lefties against lefties anymore because the Braves lineup is basically all lefties. McLouth’s a 25/25 guy with a so-so average. However, this opens the door for… Wait for it… It’s coming… Okay, here it is…
Andrew McCutchen – The Pirates fleet-footed centerfielder (no, he doesn’t have ships for feet). I picked him up in one 15 team league. He was just dissected last week in our Scouting the Unknown. Best case scenario is .280/25 steals with maybe 5 homers. He’s Dexter Fowler, ya’ll! I’d pick him up in 12 team leagues unless you’re bloated with steals, but, really, who ever has too many steals? Remember though, if you pick him up, you might have to watch Pirates highlights.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Travis Hafner is coming back. We’re picking him up for our UTIL slot right now…in our 40 team mixed league. Brett Myers, who has been a marginal mixed league starter since returning from a bullpen stint 2 years back, may be out for the year with the latest – or should we say hippest – new injury….the torn labrum in the hip. It’s the new oblique. We had him on the risky list this year, but thought his elbow would be the first to go after throwing so many sliders last year. If any Phillie pitcher was going to get a new hip, we would’ve bet Jamie Moyer. (Incidentally, he’s also first on our list of most likely Phillie pitchers to get a new gall bladder.) Anyway, here’s what else we saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Grady Sizemore – [sarcasm] Huge game for Grady as he went 1-for-3 with no runs or RBIs or steals. Watch out now!
Please, blog, may I have some more?Matt Wieters was finally called up by the Orioles. We know what you’re all thinking – how could they give up on Gregg Zaun so quickly? Don’t the Orioles brass have the intestinal fortitude to withstand the hype surrounding this ‘phenom’ when they’ve got the ultimate journeyman? Evidently not. So how has Wieters been spending his near two months in AAA detention? He’s been awesome…ly average. .285 average. 5 HRs. 30 Ks in 137 ABs. There’s little doubt that Wieters will be an excellent hitter for years to come (see his .350+ average b/w A and AA last year) but those AAA numbers are more likely what you’ll get from him in 2009. Think .285 with 12 HRs. He could prove us wrong and you can do worse than bet on hitting upside at Catcher. Just don’t overpay for it. Anyway, here’s what else we saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Jason Bartlett – Another day, another injury to a Rays middle infielder. Yesterday, it was Iwamura. Now Bartlett goes on the DL with a sprained ankle that he hurt while practicing his dismount from the statistical stratosphere (.373 AVG!). Reid Brignac, who has been hyped for a while, will replace him.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Carlos Delgado might as well enjoy a Cocktail or two as he’s the latest member of the new hip injury (double entendre) – the torn labrum. It took A-Rod two months to come back from this and he’s younger, in better shape, and a bigger poser (not sure how the 3rd point is relevant, just felt like saying it). If you drafted Delgado, you’ve got to just let him go. No use clogging up a DL slot except if you’re in a real deep league. Forget the Mets replacements for now – Tatis, Murphy, Kranepool, etc – as none of them have 1B eligibility. Hopefully you have another player for the 1B slot and can just grab the best 1B/3B available for cornerman. Anyway, here’s what else we saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Rickie Weeks – Weeks’s out-for-the-seasony is epidemic, ya’ll. Hardy likes to hit 2nd and Hart or Counsell would make sense in the leadoff spot. If Gamel plays 3rd, Counsell or Hall would be play 2nd. Hall would get a nice boost in value if he gains 2nd base eligibility, which is to say he would go from no value to some value in deep leagues. This Weeks injury should be a wake up call for all Blalock owners. One day he’s hitting homers, the next day he has a root canal that sidelines him indefinitely. Okay, Weeks, Nomar and Baldelli offer you a ride, but the catch is you can’t wear your seatbelt, do you accept the ride?
Please, blog, may I have some more?The Orioles love their ex-Cubbies so they decided to sample some of their Pecan’t Pie rather than just hand the LF job to Nolan Reimold. As with most of these rookies, a lot depends on starting jobs. And Reimold doesn’t have one. Yet. So who’s blocking Reimold? Luke Scott? Who are you, Luke Scott? A 30-something prospect? Luke Scott must’ve called Matt Stairs for advice on how to prolong a major league career that should’ve ended years ago. Go to the DL, Luke. (He’s not there yet, but maybe if we all hold our breath. What Razzballers want, Razzballers get!) Then there’s Felix Pee-ay, who is crap-ay. He was hurt in yesterday’s game. Not to mention, many think his ship has already come and gone for prospect status. If Reimold emerges from this O’s left fielder mess, he’s a slugger who we think could hit for power without costing you too much in the average department. The nice thing about Reimold compared to a rookie pitcher — say, I don’t know, Hochevar!
Please, blog, may I have some more?