Brian Roberts Sucks! Maybe!
August 22, 2008
Category: Buy Low, Sell High
Guess what time it is? No, not three o’clock. It’s time for this week’s fantasy baseball buy/sell thingiemajig. Dur! As we move closer to the end of the season, I wanted to take this opening section to point out some hard facts. Arod is sleeping with a fifty-year-old lady. Ew! No, wait, that wasn’t what I wanted to point out. I wanted to say it’s now or never. Okay, I said that before, but now it really is. Don’t leave anything on the table. Or put it all on the table. Or whatever that inspirational poster with the guy rappelling a mountain says. If you’re thirty steals out in front of your nearest competition, why are you still starting Brian Roberts? He sucks. He’s not hitting as many home runs as Ty Wiggington. (Okay, he doesn’t suck, because he is hitting for a high average right now. But if you need home runs — big whoop! Or not! Depends on your need.) If you can’t gain any points in saves, why are you carrying seven closers? So my nearest competition can’t get any saves. Oh, well, that actually makes sense. As weird as it is to drop some players (Kinsler!), if they’re not helping you right now, they’re not helping you. You have, like, no time, people! P.O.Y.M.G.S.S. (Put On Your Make Grey Smile Shoes) Anyway, here’s some fantasy baseball players to buy and sell:
BUY
Adam Wainwright - If he stays healthy, he might be the September Cy Young. Unfortunately, it’s a Zelda Rubinstein-sized if. (Which is about a 4′ 11″-sized if.)
Jo-Jo Reyes - Member that Campillo dude. Yeah, Reyes is him minus the innings.
Tom Gorzelanny - Easily could be in the Sell list, because, earlier in the year, he added the third suck in sucky-suck-suck. Since July, he’s been T to the -orrid in the minors at a 2.06 ERA and .91 WHIP. To misquote Wyclef, he’ll be back in September.
Pablo Sandoval - A lot has been made of his weight. Well, there’s a lot there to make of it. Oofa! Let’s just say, if Pablo Sandoval gets a single against the Brewers, leaving him and Prince Fielder both at first, everyone else on the field should shift their weight towards third to avoid a landslide. Might get some starts in front of Benji. He’s got some pizz-op.
Travis Metcalf - Three homers in three starts this week. Could be something, might be nothing. If you’re struggling at corner, you take a flier. He might lose all playing time with Blalock’s return, but as we know from knowing what we know, Blalock will get hurt as soon as he returns.
Juan Salas - Just called up from the minors. Middle relief numbers to make you feel alive with pleasure like a Newport.
Mark Reynolds - The other day I mentioned Reynolds could move to 2nd base when Justin Upton returns. Look at Reynolds’s numbers (77/24/85/.245/8). Now imagine them from a 2nd basemen. That’s almost a top five 2nd basemen and he’s better than Uggla. In keeper leagues, this could be huge.
Alexei Ramirez - As I mentioned in yesterday’s fantasy baseball keeper post, I fell in love with Alexei and I liked it! I hope my girlfriend don’t mind it! (Sorry, that stupid song is still stuck in my head.)
Jeff Kent - Yeah, he’s a douchebag, but he’s been hot since Manny’s come to town. Get involved!
SELL
Clayton Kershaw/Johnny Cueto/Edinson Volquez/Zach Greinke/Jair Jurrjens/Jorge Campillo/Ricky Nolasco/Justin Duchscherer/Mike Pelfrey/Any pitcher that is pitching far too many innings for their arm - I’m not saying you need to drop these guys outright (though I have started dropping a few them. I’m looking at you, Greinke, Campillo and Jurrjens. Also, if I had Dook-sheer, I wouldn’t be expecting anything from him.). You just need to make sure you’re not too reliant on any of them. They might go from usable to having starts skipped in the matter of seconds.
David Price - Could be here by September 1st, might be worth the flier in ‘09, he’s not ready yet.
Ian Kinsler - I know this injury hurt you, but there’s not much time left. You can’t be waiting around for him to return.
Chris Carpenter - You might get more from Tim Redding this year. Okay, bad example. But there still has to be more valuable guys on your waiver wire.
Brandon McCarthy - He’s on his way back to claim a Rangers’ rotation spot. In deep leagues, I could see the flier, but I’m not expecting anything from him. That’s not true. I’m expecting him to suck.
Ken Griffey Jr. - He’s looked like Ken Griffey Sr. all year.
Chris Davis - He’s hitting .211 in August with 2 HRs. Could he have a good September? Perhaps, but he’s a K machine. When I told you to pickup Chris Davis in June, I said, “Adam Dunn struckout 101 times in his last full year of the minors. Chris Davis struckout 150 times.” And that’s me cutting and pasting me! Now if Metcalf keeps hitting and Blalock returns and stays healthy, Davis may sit a few games a week. Sorry, but don’t shoot the messenger.
Huston Street - He’s owned in 83% of ESPN leagues. As usual, I assume 97% of ESPN’ers abandon their team so this ownership number means very little, but let’s assume just 7 people actually play ESPN fantasy baseball and out of those 7, 1 person still has Street on their team. That’s one person too many.
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Tags: Adam Wainwright, Alexei Ramirez, Brandon McCarthy, brian roberts fantasy, brian roberts fantasy baseball, brian roberts sucks, Chris Carpenter, David Price, Ian Kinsler, Jeff Kent, Jo-Jo Reyes, Ken Griffey Jr., Mark Reynolds, Pablo Sandoval, Tom Gorzelanny, Travis Metcalf
August 22nd, 2008 at 12:51 pm
I love a good MR. What is Salas’ role likely to be? I only ask cos I like to get Holds from my MRs.
This post has come out all wrong hasn’t it?
@Steve: Hehe. Yeah, you can get holds, Ks, ERA, WHIP. This guy was the real deal in the minors. His age is a bit of a concern. Not to mention, who knows how old he really is. But grab him. His current 18.00 ERA was the product of Balfour more than him.
*******BTW, peeps, go check out the fantasy roundtable. I grabbed this one as Rudy vacays in Europe. The link is one post down.
August 22nd, 2008 at 1:10 pm
As soon as I’ve stopped running four crappy starters out there each day I’ll go grab him.
August 22nd, 2008 at 1:35 pm
I’m hoping to squeeze another decent start from Kershaw before he rides off into the sunset with his wacky brother Doug
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=MKQEkVoeg4U
Davis has picked it up a lil,but………..
August 22nd, 2008 at 1:36 pm
whos the better spot start for tommorow?
pavana @ orioles
Zito V Padres (THE PADRES)
Miner @ KC
Eveland @ Sea (Cmon)
@Doug Ault: Ha! How do you find these videos?
August 22nd, 2008 at 1:37 pm
Doomsday Scenario: Sandoval rolls one down the first-base line off of CC Sabathia, who then fields the ball and runs to first for the flip to Fielder. That much weight concentrated in one patch of land would likely collapse the Earth’s core.
August 22nd, 2008 at 1:38 pm
@Grey: @Grey:
Way to keep it Razzy while everyone else played the straight man Grey.
Potato glasses?
I couldn’t have thought of that drunk.
August 22nd, 2008 at 1:40 pm
Robinson Cano and Nate Mclouth were dropped today in one of my leagues. Since I will probably be only to get one of them off waivers, which would be the better choice?
August 22nd, 2008 at 1:41 pm
Big Pelf shouldn’t be on the sell list IMO. He aint getting any starts skipped and he has been pretty brilliant since his awful first few months.
He has Mets fans very excited.
Anyhow — here is hoping Wain-o can give me some Win-o’s. Wow that was lame.
Also — What is your take on Kinsler, if he doesn’t go under the knife, he is eligible to return on 9/3. I am thinking of dropping him for Longoria, who seems like a better bet to be healthy and productive from 9/1-9/14 (our playoffs). Thoughts?
August 22nd, 2008 at 1:43 pm
@cruisinkc: I’d go McLouth, he has dropped off quite a bit but I think he has better potential to have some big weeks. Cano hasn’t interested me once this season.. don’t know how he became so bad so quickly.
Then again, I see the world through anti-Yankee lenses and am admittedly very biased against those douchemongrels.
@Delbert Grady: Ha!
@BigFatHippo: That shizz is my invention. Step off!
@cruisinkc: McLouth
@SaltyBiscuits: “With the bullpen struggling to hold a lead and his innings count getting high, Pelfrey could be moved to the bullpen, according to Newsday. “It’s something that we’ve talked about for a while,” general manager Omar Minaya said. “We’re not there yet. If the bullpen is not stabilized, then you’d have to consider that. As a baseball person in this day and age, you’ve got to be creative.”"
I’d go for Longoria.
August 22nd, 2008 at 1:50 pm
@SaltyBiscuits:
Let me guess, you’re a Sawx fan.
I pride myself on going a whole year without a Yankee, Cub or Red Sox player on my roster. Oh yeah, I added Lowrie but he doesn’t count cause I like him.
August 22nd, 2008 at 1:54 pm
If there are any major leaguers left with the nic “Mookie” grab em
August 22nd, 2008 at 2:13 pm
@Grey: Pelfrey will not be moved to the bullpen. I would bet my life on it.
His last start, a complete game 3 hitter, gave him 12 wins and the most of any Mets pitcher (no, I don’t think wins are a valuable gauge of pitcher success, but I think in this case it means something). He can consistently eat innings and has been pretty spectacular of late.
The whole “we might use Maine, Pelfrey or Perez as a reliever” schpeel was solely motivation to the rest of the bullpen to get their shit together. Since Wagner went down, the Mets are 13-5 and the bullpen hasn’t really been terrible enough to warrant screwing with your winningest pitcher.
Now, as far as innings pitched, Pelfrey is on pace to throw 199 IP, compared to 154 IP last year (split between AAA and ML). I think that is close enough to the “no more than 30 innings than the previous year” guideline most ML clubs follow with their young pitchers. The dude is 6′7″ and that frame combined with his hard sinker will eventually translate into quick effective innings and a very large workload.
It is pennant race time, and the Mets don’t have another capable starting pitcher in the wings. If you move Pelfrey to the bullpen, you’ve created an even larger whole than you plugged up.
@BigFatHippo: Mets fan, as if you couldn’t see from my knob-slobbing a “couple centimeters above” as Dr. Grey likes to say
August 22nd, 2008 at 2:19 pm
BTW if they do move Pelfrey to the bullpen, I know this amazing all-you-can eat Crow buffet down the street and I will definitely be stopping by for a meal.
@SaltyBiscuits: Decent enough argument. He’s still not a starter I’d want to trust. Due to WHIP, BBs and lack of Ks.
August 22nd, 2008 at 2:40 pm
@SaltyBiscuits:
Shoulda seen that, Dur (as Grey likes to say also)
Interestingly enough, I have no Mets on my team either. Though my RCL bullpen is loaded with Met carcasses.
August 22nd, 2008 at 3:07 pm
@Grey: Fair enough, but for the sake of argument, his stats were ruined in April and May and have since been very solid.
On May 26th, his ERA was a lofty 5.33. Since then he has sported ERA of 3.17, not to mention the Mets are 13-3 in his last 16 starts since May 26th.
Analysis: He keeps the Mets in a position to win, has the ability to pitch a gem every time he takes the mound and has earned the confidence of not only his teammates but also Mets fans, which isn’t a very easy thing to do.
Additional Analysis: I am a gigantic Mets homer, the most decorated member of the Big Pelf fanclub and have way too much free time.
@SaltyBiscuits: Fair enough. Now onto a separate Mets note, is it me or has Mex gotten old and fat in the last three months?
August 22nd, 2008 at 3:22 pm
@Grey: I think Mex got old and fat about 15 years ago. He is the goofiest, most scatterbrained color-man in MLB broadcasting.
And can’t forget his remarkable comment from 2006 when the Mets were on the road in San Diego after seeing a female member of the Padres training staff.
“Who is the girl in the dugout, with the long hair?”
“What’s going on here? You have got to be kidding me. Only player personnel in the dugout.”
“I won’t say that women belong in the kitchen, but they don’t belong in the dugout.”
“You know I am only teasing. I love you gals out there — always have.”
Those are exact quotes. Hysterical.
@SaltyBiscuits: Mex’s genius. I think the Mets are one of the best announcing teams in baseball. (That’s teams, not solo guys like Scully.) Mex reminds me of when I was growing up with Rizzuto — the off-topic off-color color man. A role underutilized in today’s announcing booths.
August 22nd, 2008 at 3:53 pm
Wats up with Randy Winn being unowned. In my 12 team head to head league which is suprisingly active (10 out of 12 people), he’s never been unowned. Since he’s pretty consistent should I pick him up when Mora or Wigginton cool down? I mean… look at his stats and their almost identical to Carl Crawford’s before he went on the DL and Winn barely gets any attention. I guess its mainly because he plays for the Giants
August 22nd, 2008 at 3:56 pm
i meant unowned in the 2nd sentence. owned*
August 22nd, 2008 at 3:58 pm
Howie Kendrick or Robinson Cano the rest of the year?
@wassup: Winn gets little attention because he’s old and what he’s doing is perceived as being the ceiling with no upside. He’s worth being owned, and has been as good as Crawford, but that’s more an indictment on Crawford than a compliment for Winn. He’s basically Johnny Damon with less runs.
@cruisinkc: Cano
August 22nd, 2008 at 4:57 pm
Would you run Hannibal Sanchez out tonight against Dbacks? I was needing strikeouts but am surprisingly good this week in era/whip in my h2h and don’t want to spoil it with the young blood. Holla!
August 22nd, 2008 at 6:03 pm
Whats your predictions for Lincecums start today? Just wondering.. i got a feeling he will have one hell of an outing especially against a bad offense in the padres. My reasonable prediction is 8 inn., 4 hits, 2 walks, 1 er, 10 K’s but i wouldnt be suprised if he exceeds my predictions. Wat bout yall , wat yall think
August 22nd, 2008 at 6:16 pm
One pitcher you forgot to mention Danks. Some other “perts” listed him in a list of pithers younger than 25 that could be risky at the end or get rested for playoffs. Is he risky?
August 22nd, 2008 at 6:28 pm
What’s the over/under for inning that Harang pukes? It better happen since I got killed standing by him since the latest DL and tonight I sat him.
August 22nd, 2008 at 7:00 pm
Is it time to fish or cut bait with Wells? My outfield is pretty loaded in a league and I am ready to drop him since he has been pretty yawnstipating after he banged back on the scene after his DL stint.
August 22nd, 2008 at 7:24 pm
Gorzelanny against the brewers tomorrow? I know he’s a buy, but is he safe to start right out of the gate?
August 22nd, 2008 at 7:50 pm
Impressive escape in the 5th for Harang! Was that the corner we’re looking for?
August 22nd, 2008 at 8:16 pm
Carmona and Harang pitched identical games today… who would you prefer for the remainder of the season (or at least the week starting 9/8, in which I think they both have 2 starts)?
@SoS: Sorry, man. I went out this afternoon into the night. Hope you did what was right.
@wassup: I’d put Danks in that list of risky pitchers as well. That’s not to say they will all breakdown and be awful, but you need to watch them.
Lincecum ended up pitching pretty well, huh?
@BSA: I’d cut bait on Wells.
@chuck: Wouldn’t start him right out of the gate in any league.
@royce!: I’d prefer Harang.
August 23rd, 2008 at 2:40 am
@Grey: Need Ks on Sunday:
Davis v Florida
Padilla v Cleveland
Meyer @ Seattle
Reyes @ Texas
That’s my rough order of preference - what say you? I already have Wolf, JoJo and Cueto going.
Hey-soos - is this what it’s come down to?
August 23rd, 2008 at 3:44 am
Thanks Grey, I actually cut bait with Wells and replaced him with new drug Harang - the pitcher I just can’t quit. Bench him in RCL and drop him in another and look at that night! Gawd this game can be tough.
August 23rd, 2008 at 6:51 am
Do you like Harang better than Parra the rest of the way Grey?
And also…
I have Bruce in an OF spot, Davis and Kouz platooning at Util and Matsui still not activated off my DL yet…Is there any guys you can think of that might be out there that you’d prefer in my 3rd OF/Util spots?
Thanks!
August 23rd, 2008 at 6:54 am
By the way, i’m 0.5 out in the pennant race for my money league! So every decision is crucial!
@Steve: I’d agree with that order, but I’d move Meyer below Reyes.
@BSA: Yeah, Harang at Coors didn’t seem like the matchup to get back on board for.
@Joe: I’d want Harang. So you want more guys to platoon? Kouz has been good in the 2nd half and Davis/Bruce have their moments. Those seem fine, but if you want me to tell you to drop one for someone else, I need to know names of some guys on your waivers.
August 23rd, 2008 at 12:38 pm
been holding onto marcum all season but now i need somebody to replace him…i don’t wanna stream pitchers and my k’s are golden; i have six closers; could use some help in ratio’s (WHIP in particular or WHIPip)
some availables:
Meche
Looper
Bush
Josh Johnson
Petit
Moehler
Moyer
Malholm
also, my six closers are pretty much scrubs: Gregg, Ryan, Guardado, Capps, Ziegler, Wheeler which one do i drop for the above starter since my max starting RP’s is 5?
Thanks
August 23rd, 2008 at 12:38 pm
Kinsler was one of my 5 keepers… So it hurts because I have to keep him on my roster. But Ian Steward was available and so far he’s been a good replacement.
And I wouldn’t “Buy” Jo Jo Reyes (or any Braves player).
@danimal35: I’d drop Wheeler. Go with Bush, Meche, Looper, Petit, Johnson, Maholm, punt, in that order.
@Ashley: Ian Stewart has been hot and can’t hurt the power numbers too bad. You might find yourself missing on some speed. That’s fair about a Braves pitcher, but some leagues are deep enough where I would look at Jo-Jo.
August 23rd, 2008 at 5:44 pm
grey im down in era this week 2.13 to 2.09 and i need one more starter to have a rediculous game….
who if any?
kuroda @ phi
Dan Meyer @ Sea
Rogers @ KC
Looper V Atl
or i can try and rely on relievers (wheeler, soria, lewis)
August 23rd, 2008 at 8:05 pm
whoa mama
August 23rd, 2008 at 8:30 pm
F’in Wells on my bench based on latest performance. Ding dong!!
August 23rd, 2008 at 8:44 pm
Hey I got Nolasco & Sabathia starting tomorrow, but not sure if I should start E. Santana as well….he has 3 stars and had 2 ER against them last game. Main reason I don’t want to start him is because my IP is going to go up alot after tomorrow although I’m only at probably +6 after tonights 11IP
@BSA: Sonavabench!
@Nick: I think you should start Ervin tomorrow, it’s a good matchup for him.
August 24th, 2008 at 9:57 am
Take your pick. Jensen Lewis or Chris Perez taking in account job security and save opportunites. Im thinking about dropping perez for jensen. whats your take
@wassup: Perez
August 24th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
Cueto gone after three? Anyone know why or has Dusty begun watching IP and pitch count here in August?
@BSA: From Sportsline, “Cueto left the same with a right triceps injury and Nick Masset came on in relief to start the 4th. He gives up a lead-off walk, but he is left stranded at 1st when the inning ended.”
August 24th, 2008 at 3:13 pm
you would still take perez even though he only has 5 games this week and jensen lewis plays against favorable teams in detroit and seattle. Who will get more opportunities this week
@wassup: Hmm… I guess for this week only, I could see going for Lewis.
August 24th, 2008 at 4:49 pm
Love the site. I know I saw the question asked before but don’t know if I saw an answer; Is there a site like this for Fantasy Football?
@dan: Sadly there’s only one Grey. <–Hey, that’s me!
Honestly, I don’t know football so I don’t know.
August 24th, 2008 at 4:58 pm
@Grey: Hey Grey - any chance you could scoot over to the forums and take a look at my lineup question? many thanks in anticipation…
August 24th, 2008 at 5:02 pm
Buy Jo Jo Reyes? Sell Ricky Nolasco?
Go write for Yahoo!, they could use more advice like this.
=P
@Ashley: Ha! I was telling people to grab Nolasco two months ago. Besides, I said watch their innings, I didn’t tell you to drop him out right.
August 24th, 2008 at 5:38 pm
Is Denard Span a fluke or is this fool fo-real? He’s been killin it for the last month and I think he’s better than Gomez. He has power, average and lightweight stealing. Should I pick him over Polanco?
@wassup: He’s a solid leadoff hitter. Good OBP, and light speed/power, like you said. I like him over Polanco.
August 24th, 2008 at 6:22 pm
“Buy” Mike Cameron?
I added him yesterday and he had a nice debut for me. 5/5, hr, 2 rbi, sb.
Now I’m going to expect that every game. Since I lost Kinsler, Cameron can hopefully be a decent source for stolen bases.
@Ashley: I pegged him as a Carlos Lee replacement two weeks ago, and have discussed him off and on for months as a guy I like.