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? Um, we’re not experts in this area, but we’re pretty sure elbows inflame for a reason. Unless the elbow belongs to Albert Pujols, it’s probably a safe bet that Sizemore will eventually get shut down or underperform. What to do? Not much you can do, except hope you can at least salvage a pro-rated 20/20 from him (or one of those no HR/surprise SB seasons like D-Wright and BJ Upton). If you can trade him for 80 cents on the dollar (say, Alexis Rios, Granderson, Holliday, etc.), do it in a heartbeat…..Crazy that the most Grady player on the Indians might be Shin-Soo Choo. Anyway, here’s what else we saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Brad Lidge – Threw a bit yesterday and is eyeing June 23rd for his return. My crystal ball says on June 24th, I’ll be responding to comment #24 with, “Hold Madson for now.”
Johan Santana – Rick Peterson, former Mets pitching coach, said he’s heard rumors that Johan is dealing with pain in his surgically repaired knee. And Willie Randolph said he heard a Jerry Manuel-induced charley horse is the root of Reyes’s leg problems.
Pablo Sandoval – 2 HRs yesterday, now has 8 on the year and batting .332. Betcha wish you didn’t give up on him in April. As I said so many times before, put a catcher in your catcher slot and press mute on your brain. Yadier had a hot week! No, random italicized voice, stop with the noise.
Prince Fielder – 2-for-3, 6 RBIs as he hit the first grand slam of his career. Big day for big men yesterday.
Shin-Soo Choo – 2-for-4, 2 steals and a homer. 9 homers and 11 steals on the year. Get on the Shin-Soo Choo choo train!
Travis Hafner – HR yesterday. Hey, maybe he got some HGH eyedrops too.
Mark DeRosa – HR yesterday. Okay, pop quiz, hotshot. Who has more homers V-Mart or DeRosa? Hint, V-Mart has 11.
Torii Hunter – Left the game after colliding with the wall. Last I heard, x-rays were being done. Be crazy if they found some empty whiskey bottles.
John Lackey – 7 IP, 3 ER, 10 Ks. He cruised through five and a third like he was a Monte Carlo. But in the last one and two-thirds, he looked like he was a Yugo. When Andres Torres, career minor leaguer, took him deep in the 7th, Lackey looked out of gas/exhausted (either work for the similes).
Ervin Santana – Will miss one start with a strained muscle in his forearm. Good to hear it’s not his elbow. Bad to hear it’s another part of his arm.
Sean Rodriguez – HR yesterday as he got the start. Hopefully, Scioscia sits him for the next week, then calls back Kendrick. (It’s reverse psychology, just go with it!)
