Matt Lindstrom hits the DL with a sore elbow and should be out at least 6 weeks. He’s fine to drop if you don’t have DL room, since he may not be the closer when/if he returns. Rudy and I were talking over IM when the news of Matt Lindstrom hitting the DL broke. We looked at the options. Dan Meyer or Leo Nunez? Meyer is a lefty that has been handling righties well this year. Nunez has posted ERAs of 3.18, 3.77, 6.43 in the first three months of the season and he just hurt his ankle on Tuesday. We went with Meyer on all of our teams. At worst, we have a guy who has pitched well. A few hours later, Nunez said his ankle was fine. If I had to do it over again, I would’ve went with Nunez because he’s probably first in line for saves. SAGNOF, after all. I’m holding Meyer for now just to see how this plays out. So far, it’s played out with Meyer getting the first save. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Edinson Volquez – Almost a month after heading to the DL, Edinson has elbow inflammation. This is obviously terrible news for his owners. An arm setback after almost of a month hiatus usually means he’s not coming back for a while.
Homer Bailey – Should get the call on Saturday. That call goes like this, “Hey, Dusty here.” “This is Homer.” “Simpson?” “Bailey.” “What’s up, Homer Bailey?” “You called me.” “Oh.” Dusty puts down the phone at this point and makes Harang throw 200 warmup pitches. Then Homer hears in the background Dusty telling Paul Janish to hang up the phone. Bailey’s worth grabbing in NL-Only leagues. I wouldn’t trust him in mixed leagues shallower than 15 team. He’s fubar’d too many opportunities at this point to run out and grab him. And if you do grab him, don’t start him.
Jonny Gomes – HR yesterday as he fills in for Beltran on three of our teams. (The “our” is for Rudy.)
Aaron Hill/Adam Lind – Both homered, 16th and 15th, respectively. I feel like I answer lots of trade questions about getting rid of these guys. Why does everyone want to lose them? Afraid of happiness? They’re solid. Rios or Hill? Hill. Lind or Markakis? Markakis, but not really by much and Lind can out perform him. 30/100 is nothing to sneeze at. Unless you’re allergic to productive outfielders.
Brad Lidge – Should return today, I’d hold Ryan Madson for the time being, because Lidge has been ready to pitch in 28 games so far this year and has a 7.27 ERA.
Kenshin Kawakami – Was hit with a linedrive to the side of his neck. Should be fine, according to his doctors that are located over the *pinkie to mouth* Throbs Neck Bridge.
Evan Longoria – Left with moans over his hammy. He said he’ll be back by Thursday.
Pat Burrell – Hit his 2nd homer of the year. 2nd homer? That’s awful. Hopefully, he hasn’t been clogging up too many of your teams. The good news is if he’s on waivers he gets very hot for stretches. Could hit 10 homers in the next month.
Matt Garza – 8 IP, 1 ER, 7 Ks vs. Phils. Last two starts, he couldn’t get through the 6th inning and gave up 4 and 3 runs, respectively. When Garza pitches, you know you’re going to get something. What something is a whole different ballgame.
Joe Blanton – 7 IP, 2 ER, 10 Ks. Yeah, and I had Wolf going all over the place giving up five runs to the White Sox. Fantasy Baseball, Aggravating you for over twenty years.
Rich Harden – 5 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 3 Ks, 4 walks. I’ve never been a fan of Harden. But I wasn’t a fan of the when-healthy-extremely-effective Rich Harden. Who is this Rich Harden? This isn’t him.
David Ortiz – HR yesterday. I’m willing to admit it, he’s back. Now you’re still up against a guy who has no position eligibility. That kills your team’s flexibility. You see a hot hitter on waivers? With Ortiz at UTIL, you’ll have no place to put him.
Grady Sizemore – 2nd game back, first homer. Great sign! Then again, he hit a homer the day before he went on the DL. Damn you, half empty glass.
Zach Duke – 6 IP, 1 ER. Has a 3.09 ERA on the year. Zoinks!
Adam LaRoche – 3-for-4, 11th homer, 2nd steal, 1 cat saved from a burning building.
Nick Evans – HR yesterday as he got the start at first. Makes sense for the Mets to give the kid starts over Tatis, not sure if he’ll continue to start over Murphy though. He may find himself in a platoon of sorts and hurting his breakout potential. He does have solid pop and a decent eye. Other than NL-Only keepers, it’s a bit early to be looking at him.
Ricky Nolasco – 7 IP, 0 ER, 7 Ks. I won’t go as far to say he’s fully back, but I will say he seems fully back. Modified!
Nick Blackburn – 8 IP, 3 ER, 12 baserunners, 2 Ks. 41 Ks/26 BBs on the year with a 3.11 ERA. You are a statistical anomaly!
Miguel Olivo – Another homer yesterday. Has something like 20 homers this month.
Josh Fields – 2 HRs yesterday. That’s one homer for each start he’s had in the last ten days.
Gavin Floyd – 6 IP, 1 ER. I hope someone’s riding this wave so I can live vicariously, because I don’t own him in any league. (<–Not by choice.)
Frank Francisco – Being eased back into the closer role. They ease much longer and he’s going to be back on the DL before he gets another save.
Brandon Morrow – Threw 2 innings three starts ago, 3 innings two starts ago, then 4 innings one start ago. Guess how many yesterday? Yup, 5. Anyone want some action on how many he’s going to throw next time out?
Vladimir Guerrero – Hit his 2nd homer yesterday. Now only two behind the Subaru pace car of Abreu.
Everth Cabrera – Newest shortstop-schmohawk-SAGNOF guy. Definitely worth a flier if you need steals.
Vicente Padilla – After a typical start, after a 7 IP, 1 ER start.
