Daisuke Matsuzaka returned from his bout of Terriblitis to pitch effectively vs. the Angels. 6 IP, 6 baserunners, 5 Ks. He almost looked as good as when he won the MVP of the World Baseball Classic. Ah, yes, Selig, it’s a brilliant idea. We’re a global game now. Next time I’m in Italy, my paisans and I will talk all about baseball over our Chianti. I’m not a huge fan of Dice-K (the walks), but he was solid in his rehab stint and he does get the Orioles next. That’s not a terrible match up. I wouldn’t own him, but we can still get along if you do. One love! Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Jake Peavy – The on again, on again, then off again, then briefly on, then briefly off, then on again comeback is on again for Saturday vs. the Royals.
Victor Martinez – Here’s an SAT question for you. Martinez left the club for “personal reasons.” Grey knows what it means when his girlfriend takes off a day from work for “personal reasons.” So this means that Martinez left the club because of what?
Michael Young – He kept saying he would return on Friday. Then he returned yesterday. Then he was lifted for a pinch hitter after one at-bat. See what happens to liars. He now says he really will be back this Friday. Mmm-hmm.
Andy Pettitte – Will miss a start with a sore shoulder. I wouldn’t be surprised if most of the Yankee team has a “sore shoulder” on and off for the next few weeks as they gear up for the playoffs.
Carlos Marmol – Piniella calls Marmol the closer for 2010. With the amount of walks Marmol gives up, I don’t think Piniella should cancel the Milk of Magnesia bulk order just yet.
Tommy Hanson – 7 IP, 6 baserunners, 8 Ks and his 10th Win. He has a 2.65 ERA on the year with nearly a K/IP. He far exceeded my expectations for him or, really, any rookie pitcher.
Adam LaRoche – 4-for-4, 2 HRs yesterday. Maybe if LaRoche starts playing in Venezuela in the winter, then by April he’ll think it’s the All-Star Break.
Matt Wieters – 3-for-4, 5 RBIs and a homer yesterday. For everyone’s sake, hope he doesn’t have a great final three weeks, so people partially forget about him next year.
Geovany Soto – 2-for-5, 3 RBIs and a homer. Speaking of catchers who drove you mad this year, Soto’s been hot in September, hitting over .350.
Yovani Gallardo – 5 1/3 IP, 7 ER, 12 baserunners. YoGa, why do you stress me? I would’ve totally accepted him getting scratched before this game rather than this start.
Robinson Tejada – 5 IP, 1 ER, 5 Ks. He was highlighted in yesterday’s post about borderline starters. You scroll down. Also, it’s Ta-HEY-duh not Tay-HA-duh, but both are from Baní, Dominican Republic. You think in Baní there’s a lot of people saying, “Is it hey or ha?”
Miguel Olivo – Hit his 20th homer yesterday. He gets so incredibly hot when he’s actually hitting the ball and not striking out. I wouldn’t be surprised if Olivo hits 5 more homers in the next two weeks.
Magglio Ordonez – Went 0-for-3 with a strikeout, but the 3 at-bats will mean he’ll make $18 million next year. Just in case you wanted a reason to run into traffic.
Travis Snider – 2 HRs yesterday. See about 4 1/2 inches above under Wieters for why we don’t want Snider to get too hot. Unless, I guess, if you own him. But that’s just selfish. Think about us!
Nick Swisher – 6 for his last 13 with a homer as he hits over .300 in September.
Cliff Lee – The Adverb threw a shutout with 9 Ks vs. the Nationals.
David Ortiz – HR yesterday. I don’t own him, so, honestly, I don’t pay too much attention to how poor Ortiz is hitting on a day-to-day basis. But, with that said, he’s batting .233. When he bats, the opposing team should move the left side of the infield into the dugout.
Roy Oswalt – 5 IP, 4 ER, 3 Ks vs. the Reds. Charlie Hough wearing a Wolverine Mechanical Claw from Toys R Us could strike out 3 Reds.
Kaz Matsui – HR yesterday and has 4 steals in the last week. I’m guessing here, but I betcha he’s going to be in Friday’s Buy/Sell.
Heath Bell – 1 IP, 2 ER and the Bell has tolled every time in his last three appearances, giving up 7 runs. Meanwhile, Grey notices Luke Gregerson has 15 consecutive scoreless innings dating back a month.
Barry Zito – 7 IP, 2 ER, 9 Ks. He gets the Diamondbacks next. Not a terrible start, but he’ll be facing Haren.
Chipper Jones – Guess what? Glass Chipper’s out for a few more days, might be longer. Punt!
Carlos Beltran – 5-for-20, 1 homer, 2 RBIs, 0 steals and he’s sat out three games since his return. Cust kayin’.
Francisco Rodriguez – Left the club to be with his wife as she gave birth. This would’ve been so much easier if he would’ve just knocked up Aaron Hill’s wife.
