Torii Swelling was almost the title, but with a groin injury… Well, you get the problem. So Torii Hunter got guillotined in the Sell post last week and now seems to be headed to the DL. Let them eat cake! So what to do with the blue state Hunter and his pesky groin? DL him when the Angels do. Can’t do much else now. You shouldn’t sell him for 3 pairs of socks and a Megadeth vinyl record. Hunter should return in a few weeks. Luckily, with the All-Star Break, he’ll get a few extra days to recover where he’s not missing any games. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Geovany Soto – Should’ve mentioned this the other day, but I’m only half-cyborg so sometimes I miss things. Soto’s bothered by an oblique injury (vague!). Hill should get all the starts prior to the break, then Jake “I am the Fatman” Fox could get starts at catcher after the break, if Soto needs a DL stint. Right now, it sounds like that will be in order. (Speaking of which, whenever you see a broken vending machine, walk up to it and scream, “No, you’re out of order!” People love that.)
Pedro Martinez – Sounds like he’s going to the Phillies. In his last 48 starts, he has a 4.74 ERA and that was in a pitchers’ park. On the other hand, he has been solid for Ks even as his career winds down. On the third hand, he gave up 19 homers in 109 innings last year. Oy. I would grab him in an NL-Only league to see if there’s a spark left from the midget era, but I’d hold off in mixed leagues.
David Price – 6 IP, 1 ER, 7 Ks. I was going to put him on the Buy/Sell for this afternoon, but I think that window has now officially closed. Eh, maybe he’ll be in the Buy/Sell anyway. Post time decision.
Roy Halladay – 7 IP, 3 ER. Aw, poor Halladay owners, he only threw 119 pitches and K’d 8. Please, I’ll take that every time out from my starters. I’m looking at you, Shields!
Francisco Liriano – 5 1/3 IP, 3 ER, 9 baserunners. A commenter thanked me for telling them to sit Liriano yesterday. And I said something to the effect, “Yeah, but it’s not great you can’t start him either.” And that’s me potentially misquoting myself! It’s really not a great place to be, damned if you start him, damned if you drop him. He is the poison pill.
Joel Pineiro – 9 IP, 1 ER, 5 Ks, 3 baserunners. This schmohawk is having an incredible year and he’s only owned in 10% of ESPN leagues (though 75% of ESPN leagues are abandoned). I understand everyone’s hestitation, but at some point you just gotta say what the eff, right? Then again, he has 48 Ks in 115 1/3 innings. As much as I sound like a madman right now, I’d grab Pineiro in mixed leagues.
Manny Parra – 7 IP, 0 ER, 7 Ks and only one walk. Must… Stop… Self… From… Picking… Him… Up.
Rafael Furcal – 3-for-5 yesterday and over .400 in the last week. About time he started getting hot. Now hopefully he doesn’t get hurt in the midst of this streak.
Randy Wolf – 6 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 11 earned runs of support to give Wolf his first Win since May 28th. If only Michael Jackson could’ve seen it…
Everth Cabrera – 0-for-3, as EverCab committed his 4th error in 24 games. I have an idea. Maybe the Padres can trade for Gamel and they can kick the ball to each other. (BTW, EverCab is the creation of frequent commenter, Tom. When he said, “EverCab sounds like the name of a crappy band I should have started in Junior High.”)
Nelson Cruz – Sitting so Ron Washington can play the hot hand. As another frequent commenter, Mr. Baseball said, “At least Torre would bat Cruz 8th.”
Freddy Sanchez – About a week ago, Rudy said to me Freddy Sanchez would probably get traded. I shrugged, so? Sure enough, Rudy was right. Dirty Sanchez may get moved. I’m still kinda bored by the storyline, but his value might change slightly. My guess is Freddy Sanchez would not be a number three hitter on a contender. Shoot, he may not even be a starter. Though he could end up somewhere and bat 2nd. Whatevs.
Lance Berkman – 2-for-4 with a homer. Batting .400 in July after a solid June. On May 1st, I said Berkman’s a great buy when he was hitting something like .160. He’s now hitting .277. Look at the names on that Buy/Sell. Prescient, snitches!
Jayson Werth – Hit his 20th homer yesterday then tagged Chris Jericho.
Jorge Cantu – As the Marlins hit around Arizona’s Johnny Wholestaff, Cantu finally hit a homer. His first since June 3rd. Welcome back from your slumpcation.
Edwin Encarnacion – HR yesterday. And having the 2nd best year for an Edwin! No, he’s not better than Stewart or Blalock, but he’s worth a spot if you’re hurting at corner.
Jay Bruce – Dusty’s benching him to clear his head. Citing how well it’s worked for Mags (it didn’t) and Rollins (it kinda worked). Interesting how in May/June all the rage was to miss games because of dizziness. Now everyone’s clearing their head.
