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0The M’s are calling up Trayvon Robinson today. Should be fun for the Dodgers to get a look at their first mistake under Selig. Trayvon’s a high risk/high reward call up which sounds a lot better than Seattle’s low risk/low reward offense. It’s like taking a chance on the next Kurt Cobain or Jimi Hendrix instead of settling on Candlebox. In Triple-A, Trayvon had 26 homers in 416 PAs, which is plate appearances, not how many production assistants Michael Bay had on his last movie. He looks a bit like a Bowden Fluffer. Speed and power and crazy Ks and “athleticism” whatever the eff that means. In AL-Only leagues, you have to jump on him. In some mixed leagues, I like the flyer, as well. You’re looking at a guy that could give you 7-10 steals and some pop in the final two months. (BTW, for all you Real World heads out there, I tried really hard to work an allusion to Shauvon into the title saying Trayvon was the M’s best implant, but I failed you. I will now punish myself by watching back-to-back episodes of My Strange Addiction.) Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Brett Lawrie – I just went over my Lawrie fantasy. I wrote it while impersonating a police officer. BTW, that post is from last week, so if you didn’t get Lawrie in your league, don’t blame me. I gave you ample warning. Ample Warning would also be a great album title.
Travis Snider – Sent down to AAA again. He had a nice stretch in the first half of July but had cooled off since then. He’s a damn tease. If Riccardi was in charge, he’d give him enough time to shine, overpay him, and then trade him to the White Sox or Angels.
Jon Rauch – 1 1/3 IP, 3 ER. Still has an ERA better than Frank Francisco. 4.44 to 4.54. Rauch and Francisco are the new blech. Wouldn’t be surprised to see Snider pluck his wispy, seventeen-strand mustache and try to sneak back onto the club as the closer.
Desmond Jennings – 3-for-6 with his 3rd home run. After the game, he cured cancer, then Roger Ebert gave him a thumbs up.
Evan Longoria – He hit his 16th homer… Yay! He went 1-for-6… Nay!
Shin-Soo Choo – Took batting practice and says he should be able to return in the next two weeks. Considering how he was hitting before the injury, I’m not sure if that’s good news or bad.
Garrett Jones – 2-for-5 after hitting 2 homers two days ago. I’d say he’s going to be in this afternoon’s Buy/Sell, but that’s in the can and I only make addendums for guys by the name of Desmond Jennings.
Carlos Pena – On Wednesday he went 2-for-2, yesterday he hit a home run. Here comes another run from Pena of five homers in seven days or my name isn’t Grey Stallion Albright. You can abbreviate Stallion as St. if you wish.
Geovany Soto – 1-for-4 and his 2nd homer in three days. You realize you’ve made me scared to say anything nice about catchers. I’m like a battered shrimp. The small people, not the crustacean.
Blake DeWitt – 1-for-4 with his 3rd homer. Still holding the title “Choice DeWitt” in my back pocket for when this guy actually hits well.
Rodrigo Lopez – 4 IP, 6 ER. He’s such a peg boy.
Ivan Nova – 7 2/3 IP, 1 ER, 6 baserunners, 10 Ks. He will be in this afternoon’s Buy/Sell. Just keep hitting refresh and it will magically appear.
Eric Chavez – 2-for-4 and played over Eduardo Nunez. I hope this schmohawk doesn’t take time away from Nunez and his thievery corporation.
Justin Masterson – 6 IP, 3 ER, 6 baserunners, 9 Ks vs. the Sawx. You have nuggets the size of Mr. Met’s head if you started Masterson in Fenway.
Carlos Santana – 3-for-4, 3 RBIs and his 16th homer. Sucks if you own him this year and you’re getting his .232 average, but I hope it stays low so he comes at a bit of a discount in 2012. Wouldn’t surprise me to see him hit .280 next year with 20+ homers as he enters his prime years. Hopefully he just avoids duets with Rob Thomas.
Johan Santana – Diagnosed with shoulder fatigue. Shoot it up with some Red Bull! Actually, they should just shut him down. No idea what the Mets are trying to prove by having him pitch for a few weeks in September.
Brandon Belt – Was sent down. This was a great season to stunt a prospect’s progress. Up, down, up, down, up, down…It’s enough to discombobulate Sandy Duncan’s eye.
Omar Infante – Headed to the DL with a fractured middle finger. I’m sure anyone who just went through the trouble of adding him to their fantasy team has a middle finger for him.
Francisco Liriano – 5 IP, 7 ER. Sorry, but if you still own him, you deserved this start.
Eric Young Jr. – 1-for-2 with his fifth steal in the last week. Someone in the comments asked if Young plays when CarGo returns. Good question, but I’d ferry cross that Mersey when it happens.
Matt Holliday – 1-for-3 with his 17th homer as he laughs at my Ethier comparison. If I knew all he needed was me calling him out, I would’ve back in April.
Yadier Molina – Suspended 5 games for bumping the ump. That’s one game for every minute the Molina family takes to do a Chinese fire drill. “Bengie, you were driving!” “I’m getting there, Yadi! I stopped for lunch by the rear bumper.”
David Freese – Hit in the head by a pitch and left the game. MLB.com said it was a changeup. A changeup from what? Morneau or David Wright getting hit in the head? Freese has a mild concussion. My best guess is he’ll miss at least a week.
Kyle Lohse – 3 IP, 3 ER. He definitely regressed. His ERAs per month: 1.64, 2.57, 4.55, 5.53. That looks like one of those Price is Right games.
I just want to say that somehow I missed out on the fact that I could have been calling the Ms/Tigers trade the Fister/Furbush trade this whole time, and somehow I was not aware. I feel like some blame has to fall on Grey. What, you are so in love with pitcher/catcher name combos that you can’t appreciate when Fister/Furbush falls right into your lap?
Also not to be hyperbolic, but Desmond Jennings might be the greatest baseball player that has ever lived.
Drop Espinosa for Lawrie?
Grey:it would be stupid/nuts to start Ubaldo @Texas tonight,right?
@Oilcan Giuseppe: ha, that’s exactly what I came here to ask as well. Part of me thinks maybe he’ll fool a bunch of the Rangers’ hitters since none of them have ever seen him before, but at the same time I could easily see him getting shelled. Definitely curious what Grey thinks.
Also: same question, start or sit tonight: Billingsley @ Arizona?
Longoria is going to be a bargain in drafts next year. He’s been a mess this year, dealing with all kinds of ailments and injuries.
Forgot to add, I think about how if the Rays would be willing to spend the cash in the offseason for Fielder, and believe that team would be set to make a WS run. They’ve got the pitching, they’ve got Longoria, Zobrist, BJ, and Desmond….they could be really good with one more big bat in the lineup.
grey- sweet stache. what are your thoughts on Heyward for next season? I have a substantial lead in HR and RBI and can get him for longoria (who I can’t keep), but I only get to keep heyward for 1 more season. can pick up valencia or Mcghee for 3rd. we keep 10, and my 3 worst keepers would be morrison, lind and neil walker.
Hi Grey. Should I start Worley today @ SF?
Grey–can you please rank at 3B for the rest of the year in a H2H league that penalizes for K’s: Lawrie, Chipper, and Freese? Thank you!
Grey:which is the better p/u this weekend….10 team 8×8 h2h(K’s and K/9)….Nicasio vs WSH or Narveson @ Houston?
@grey
Start j zimm @Col?
Also I have a free pitch slot, spot start Buehrle @Min?
@PepeSilvia: I would definitely steer clear of Bills tonight.two of his last 3 starts were lousy,including getting lit up at home by AZ.I dont have confidence that he will be much better @AZ,one of the best hitters parks in all of baseball.
btw….what do y’think about the question I just posted(Narveson/Nicasio)?
Any chance w/Freese out Poo-Holes can finally get that last game at 3B he needs to be eligable in Yahoo!? I’ve been not so patiently waiting for that!
@Oilcan – my vote goes to Narv @ Houston, I’d start my grannie against HOU at this point
Grey, lets say Strasburg returns for week one of the fantasy playoffs (H2H). Do you start him his first time out?
@Grey Who’s the best chance for saves? Rauch (I have FF as a handcuff), Parnell or Guerra? Kinda of wary of the tattooed one as he get’s roofed a lot! Still, with the addition of Rasmus and Lawrie the Jays should be getting more save opportunities.
@Grey btw dropped Infante for Lawrie before he broke his pinkie. I felt bad but now justified! I have four 2B (Lawrie, Ackley, Kipnis and Sparky!) Yikes!! Lawrie should get 3B eligibility in ESPN in 10 games right?
Bartlett or Furcal as a fill in for JJ?
Which 1 of these weekly 2-start options do you like best for next week:
Marcum vs PIT (Morton), @ STL (Jackson)
Baker vs BOS (Miller), @ CLE (Masterson)
Capuano vs SD (?), @ ARI (Marquis)
And do you like any 2 of them enough to consider benching single start Hamels vs WAS (Hernandez)?
@Oilcan Giuseppe: actually it looks like Nicasio is starting today so unless you’re in a league where you can do same-day pickup-and-play, you’re unfortunately out of luck with him. I think I’d stay away from Narveson too unless you’re pretty hard up for counting stats. He’s a much worse pitcher away from Milwaukee, and even in his last start at home vs. Houston (and this was even AFTER they traded Pence & Bourn) he had a pretty mediocre line.
I think Lawrie is gonna struggle a bit out of the gate. Hope I am wrong. His numbers are fantastic this year, but how much of that is due to playing in a notorious hitter’s league?
If he hits .200 with 3 homers and a K% of 30, I think I would still be obliged to keep him.
Surely hoping this is Ryan Braun or Evan Longoria though.
In a keeper league, just traded pence, elvis and cj wilson for panda, quentin, krispie and balfour (holds league)…how did I do? Need power if its close enough to come down to needs
LOVE the title! My 93 year old aunt still sells that stuff.
Anyway – Krispie or Stubbs for the ROS?
Also, would you rather have Arencibia or Bourjos for spot starts? Yes, I know you hate owning 2 catchers, but I have JP and Napoli and needed someone to fill in for Konerko, so I picked up JP and he hit pretty well so I don’t really want to drop him yet.
11 team NL league. I have to cut either Desmond or Wigginton? Which one will more productive during the stretch?
To piggyback on Howard — Lawrie or Kipnis, short term and long term.
I started Masterson yesterday and it’s true that my junk is frequently referred to as big Johnny and the twins. But my brain has been compared to that of the salamander many times.
Just for the ROS, who would you prefer:
Anibal, Latos, Holland, Danks, Ogando, Luebke, Fister in the rear, Cecil, Collmenter?
Pick one if you could. I have Anibal. The remaining guys are FAs.
Is Jesus Montero worth slotting into a utility spot when he’s called up?
And I have a question about rookies. Many times when you write about one, you say, “If you’re in a keeper, he should be owned in your league already.”
What type of parameters do you have in mind when you say “keeper league” in those blurbs? Do you have a no-limit keeper in mind where you can hold onto the player forever?A limited keeper?
Grey – 10 team h2h, please be patient with my question and don’t leave me Far Behind. Our pitching lines this week:
Me: 45 IP, 4 W, 41 K’s, 4.14 ERA, 1.27 WHIP
Him: 17 IP, 1 W, 12 K’s, 5.19 ERA, 1.33 WHIP
Remaining starts for me: Tim Hudson @NYM, C-Bills @ ARI, Anibal vs. STL, & Ian Kennedy vs. LAD. He has Kershaw @ ARI, Hanson @ NYM, and Morrow @ BAL.
I normally wouldn’t start Bills or Sanchez tonight, but given that he is likely to materially improve his ratios with those matchups…should I roll the dice with one or both of them? And yes, had I listened to you and dropped Liriano I wouldn’t be asking this question (<—has been rectified). Thanks as always.
@Wilsonian:
am i correct in believing that this is about your 8 team league ?
how else could all those arms be FA’s ??
to answer your question , i’d pick them all , at times .
and if that meant dropping anibal , i’d do that also .
Is there anyone else in the Bluejays bullpen worth speculating on in the hope of chasing saves? So glad I don’t own the current 2 co-suckers, I mean co-closers anywhere.
What can I expect from Roy Oswalt for the rest of the season?
Hi Grey –
20-team redraft roto league here. My SPs include Liriano and Nicasio. The names available include Maholm, Collmenter, Ivan Nova, Charlie Morton, and Joe Saunders. Would you drop Liriano or Nicasio or both for any of the available FAs?
(Maholm is on waivers but he wouldn’t be on my roster until after his start vs. SD tomorrow)
Who is a better spot starter tomorrow… Alex Cobb vs Oak, Joe Saunders vs LAD, Jon Niese vs ATL, or Paul Maholm vs. SD?
@chata: oh yeah, small league. These dudes aren’t available in my 16 Teamer (although Cecil was until I picked him up last week). I’m kind of thinking of dropping him and just streaming that slot with any one of those guys. The rest of my staff is strong, so I don’t think it would be an issue. I’ve got Verlander, Lincecum, Hamels, Beachy, D.Hudson, RickRo and Anibal.
How would you guys rank these pitchers?
Wandy, Jaime Garcia, Hellickson
thanks, nation
@Michael: Grey’s been on that since day one of Fister/Furbush. Search the comments to this post: http://razzball.com/lawrie-is-no-stooge/
You are correct about Jennings. Not hyperbolic in the slightest.
@Michael: I’ll take all blame.
@Buge Hoobs: Sure
@Oilcan Giuseppe: Yes
@PepeSilvia: Start Bills.
@Frank Rizzo: Yup
@schlitzy: I think Heyward will be fine.
@ernie: Yes
@joecoz: You did.
@Oilcan Giuseppe: Narveson
@MattW: Buehrle
@MattTruss223: Possible
@JLS: Yes
@Howard: Guerra is the closer. Yup…
@Jangle: Furcal
@Chris: Marcum…No
@papasmurf: He’ll be fine, eventually. Might have some growing pains.
@Adam: Eh
@Wilsonian: Ha…Stubbs
@Wilsonian: Bourjos
@Rob: Cut Desmond
@Dick Smothers: Kipnis
@Dr Hocker: HA!
@Wilsonian: Danks
@Eddy: Geez, I gotta qualify my hypothetical keeper league too? Emoticon. Say 12 team dynasty… Eh on Montero, guess it depends.
@I-Man: Start Bills.
@TheNewGuy: Eh
@Tom the Niner: Same Oswalt we saw earlier this year.
@Enrique: Nova over Liriano
@Tom the Niner: Cobb
@Ghostface Przybilla: Wandy, Hell…
@Grey
Who would you prefer rest of season (h2h):
Andrus or Jeter?
Phillips, Ackley or Lawrie?
@Grey:
Heh, all right. It’s that I start panicking when a rookie is called up, but I have no space in my 12-team league keeper and I’m screaming to myself ,”BUT GREY SAID HE NEEDS TO BE OWNED NAO!” But since you mention you usually imply dynasty, I understand it now.
I do a three-year keeper where it’s hard to get excited over, say, Hosmer’s or Moustakas’ first 2-3 years of production as opposed to having them 5-6 years in a dynasty and reaping the rewards from their prime years.
Thanks for clarifying!
@Grey: thanks brah. It’s going to be tough to let JP go. I may shed a single tear.
On the SP question, do you agree with chata in that I could essentially own all of those pitchers and stream the living hell out of them for the ROS?
From the bits and pieces I’ve seen, it appears that 1/3 of My Strange Addiction is about pica. It’s like the thinking man’s Fear Factor.
Speaking of RW… you catch Rivals this week? If so, let me know and we’ll chat in the buy/sell.
would you rather have kipnis or lawrie in 12team mixer?
Rauch, D.Hernandez, Venters, or Sale? Have Kimbrel and Walden now.
I meant which other reliever (Rauch, Francisco aside) is worth speculating on for saves in the Jays pen. Didn’t realise though Francisco’s been pretty good recently and it looks to be his gig to lose.
Do you see Hamilton having a big finish to the season? Pretty mediocre home run total for him so far, but I need homers and RBIs and was thinking of offering McCutchy for him…worth it?
peavy @ kc, pelfry vs sd + @ ari, or hochevar @ tb + @ cws?
sorry if this is a repost. couldn’t find my first 2 tries.
@ChiliDavisConCarne: Andrus, Phllips
@Eddy: Yeah, it’s hard to say any one thing about all leagues, so I generalize a little. No problem.
@Wilsonian: Yup
@Awesomus Maximus: It’s a terrible show, MSA. I did watch The Challenge.
@charlie batch: Kipnis
@Wilsonian: Rauch for saves…
@TheNewGuy: It’s a toss up on those two. I don’t see it, but it could happen re: Hamilton.
@Grey: 6×6 H2H. Got offered Cliff Lee and A-Rod for Uggla and Jurrjens. Good deal?
Marcum and Feliz or King Felix? (12 team, standard 5×5).
I also have Cordero and Santos.
Thanks dude.
Follow-up question (aka forgot to ask this as part of my last question).
Again, 12 team league , standard 5×5. Trading Marcum and a closer for Felix. He really wants Feliz. I want to give Cordero. That’s the only thing holding this up.
Question is, does it really matter? We’re not talking the difference between Brian Wilson and Jason Isringhausen here. Will Feliz be that much more valuable or are these three guys just about the same for ROS? I mean, they’re just closers, right? Am I just being stubborn or should I insist on one of the other guys.
Thanks dude… again.
Abreu vs Bourjos
Furcal vs Lawrie
Goldschmidt vs Lawrie
By the way, I can’t feel glad enough that I finally dropped Liriano. I was overjoyed to watch someone burn a waiver claim on him, only to have Bourjos (picked him up while dropping Liriano) score two runs and drive in a run off him.
Which one of these doesn’t belong?
I can play 2 of the 3 today. Trumbo has been clubbing the ball and Vargas
has given up a bunch of HR’s to righties. Bruce is coming on a bit
and is overdue for a big game (at Wrigley doesn’t hurt). Youkilis has
been pretty consistent but Colon is tough on righties.
Mark Trumbo vs. Vargas
Jay Bruce @ Dempster
Kevin Youkilis vs. Colon
My gut says to sit Trumbo even though he’s been very good lately.
But I could be persuaded otherwise.
@jack: Pelfrey
@RC: Solid… Could bite you in the ass.
@L-Boogie: Good
@L-Boogie: Doesn’t matter. Feliz isn’t that great.
@Feeding the Abscess: Bourjos, Lawrie, Furcal… Nice…
@DHill Dragons: Sit Bruce… Could go with Trumbo if you’re really feeling it.
@ Grey:
I have not started Liriano, but now am finally dropping my 4th round pick…thanks Grey….cough, cough….hahaha! JK….you are money 9 out of 10 times yo!
Need to pick up a hitter or two to fill in to up AVG, RBI & SB, in that order:
Please rank for those needs from here on out:
Desmond Jennings
Freddie Freeman
Jason Bourgeois
Jeter
Trumbo
You da man Grey! Thanks!
Who would have thought after Jay Bruce’s torrid May that after 100+ games
he and Mark Trumbo would be having identical seasons?
Jay Bruce
.266 BA
395 AB
20 2B
2 3B
21 HR
63 RBI
7 SB
Mark Trumbo
.255 BA
365 AB
20 2B
1 3B
21 HR
62 RBI
8 SB
I own both of them and was surprised to notice this after looking at their stats today.
@Grey:
If you’ve got Weaver (v.SEA) and Niemann (v.OAK) going today and you’re trying to preserve a very slim ERA and WHIP lead, Dempster should be benched today, correct?
Or is the opposite where BECAUSE you have two guys that can clean up a mess, you should start him?
@DHill Dragons:
that’s amazing. got a feeling that people are gonna let trumbo slip in drafts next year too.
@DHill Dragons:
Wow, that’s pretty insane. And he’s still less than 50% owned in Yahoo if I’m not mistaken.
To throw a wet blanket on Trumbo, dude does have a sub .300 OBP. Decent chance he’ll be a little rusty next year.
Jason Werth.
Turning a corner or trade him while he’s sorta hot?
Thanks dude.
Keeper question -
Would you give up your ’12 3rd rder in a 15 team 5×5 roto league to keep Kinsler? My other hitting keepers/pick losses will be Bautista/2nd rder, Morrison/16th, and Gordon/18th. We’ll be picking our keepers in the early OS.
I don’t know.. I can’t help but feel a little underwhelmed by Kinsler, even though he’s been healthy all year.
Fangraphs’ final projected line on him is .245/101/22/62/27. Very Krispie-like, minor positional scarcity aside.
@kR Express: Trumbo, Jennings…
@DHill Dragons: Interesting…
@Eddy: Bench him.
@Feeding the Abscess: Scioscia will probably bench him anyway.
@L-Boogie: Turning corner…
@Darren: So around the 45th pick? I’d keep him.
@Feeding the Abscess: Also a decent chance that he’ll get more selective as he matures as a hitter as in drawing more walks and striking out a little less.
@Grey:
Yeah, somewhere in the 31-45 range. Draft position for next year is randomized, but will be set prior to assigning keeper statuses.
If I end up with an early 3rd rd pick, I’m gonna be put in a very tough spot.
@Darren: Do you have a better option? Can you just not keep another player?
*****THERE’S A NEW POST FOR FOLLOWUPS.*******