Chris Tillman‘s line yesterday was nothing to sneeze at — 6 IP, 5 ER, 10 baserunners — more like gag. Sometimes it takes one to get roofied before you fully understand what rookie pitchers can do to you. I point the rookie pitchers out. They have upside — hey, look at Happ, he’s been good — but I haven’t owned one since Hochevar. I love rookie hitters though. As mentioned before, rookie hitters go 0-for-20, you drop them — no harm, no foul. You get a Tillman start and you end up walking like you were just jumping hurdles. So that brings me to, Brian Matusz. He’s been dazzling in Double-A. As with most young pitchers, he’ll probably be limited on his pitch count/innings, so I wouldn’t expect more than 8-10 starts. Then throw in the fact that he’ll have tough matchups and you should proceed with caution, but worth a flier in 12 team leagues? Sure, if expectations are in check. Or you can do like I did when I pulled the ol’ “You gotta use your waiver claim, sucker” trick with Matusz. Let me explain the unfortunately named “You gotta use your waiver claim, sucker” trick. I rushed out and grabbed Matusz off waivers, then the next day I dropped him so someone (<– the sucker) uses their waiver claim to get roofied. Ah, yes. That stings. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Zach Greinke – 5 IP, 6 ER, 9 Ks, 13 baserunners. For the first time in a long time, I’m actually interested in who will win the AL Cy Young. Sorry, just being a normal baseball fan there. Won’t let it happen again.
Justin Verlander – 8 IP, 5 ER, 8 Ks, 10 baserunners. Will see Greinke there at the AL Cy Young finish line.
Willy Aybar – 2 HRs. I looked at him on waivers in one of my leagues on Sunday, but his playing time is so erratic I decided against it. Sonavawaivers!
Scott Kazmir – 6 IP, 3 ER, 5 Ks. I’ll take this start every time out from Kazmir. Whether I get it is a whole different thing.
Edinson Volquez – Out until 2011 with Tommy John surgery. During the preseason, I said to avoid Volquez. Can’t blame me. Blame Dusty.
Adrian Beltre – His return is earmarked for Tuesday. If you find yourself salivating at the thought of Beltre’s return, you might be a St. Bernard.
Andrew McCutchen – The Dread Pirate hit 3 HRs on Sunday. One homer yesterday. Tomorrow, The Dread Pirate cures scurvy.
Carlos Marmol – Got the save yesterday because Gregg has a tired arm. Somehow a tired arm is worse than when an arm falls to sleep. Weird!
Mat Latos – 7 IP, 2 ER vs. the Braves. Maybe the Braves are *pinkie to mouth* Latos intolerant.
Will Venable – There couldn’t be a more yawnstipating outfielder, but the Padres hit him third yesterday and he’s been hot (3 homers in his last five games, almost .350 in his last 7 games.). If he reminds you of Hairston, then lambda! (Lambda is the Greek letter for wavelength. When someone says something you are thinking, you say lambda. In other words, you’re on the same wavelength. The girls love it…. Really, really nerdy girls.)
Elijah Dukes – 2-for-4 as he continues to start every day. If you’re reading this while you’re standing, sit down. I want to talk to you. After you’ve been burned a few times, I know it’s hard to trust again. I’ve been there. But this isn’t a trust exercise. Dukes doesn’t need to catch your falling body. Stop using stall statements such as, “I’ll pick him up when he gets hot.” Those are counterproductive, friend. Pick him up now, if you need outfield help.
Aaron Harang – 7 1/3 IP, 4 ER, 10 Ks. Maybe I’m a strikeout whore (as I pimp myself out for saves), but I’ll take 10 Ks with 4 earned. By Harang, I’ll take it and like it.
Brett Anderson – 7 2/3 IP, 2 ER, 8 Ks. Other than two starts vs. the Sawx and the Yanks, when he should’ve been benched anyway, he’s been dominant since his last start of June. He gets the Royals next.
Matt Cain – 8 IP, 4 ER, but took the loss. He’ll be in this afternoon’s post about FIP. You can hardly wait. Yes, you can.
C.J. Wilson – 1/3 IP, 3 ER. That killed my day yesterday. Total staff inflection. I guess it’s one way to get Frank Frank back in the closer role.
Neftali Feliz – 2 IP, 4 Ks. His name sounds like an Aztec God… Neftali, from the town of Velocity, the creator of Ks… He looked unhittable last night. Will be fun to see him start next year. Until then…
Melvin Mora – Upset with a lack of playing time, he lashed out at manager, Dave Trembley. So Trembley asked Mora to make out the lineup card for yesterday’s game and Mora benched himself in favor of Wigginton.
Miguel Montero – 2-for-5, HR yesterday. Hey, maybe Hinch got the memo to bench Snyder indefinitely, though I’m suspicious.
Dan Haren – 7 IP, 5 ER vs. the Mets. Is it bad that I took this as a good 2nd half Haren start? Yeah, probably. Can’t someone sneak into his house and turn the calenders back two months?
Mark Reynolds – The Mini-Donkey show is hot! Yesterday, 2 homers for the Mini-Donkey, one to the opposite field in Metco. As frequent commenter, Elijah, pointed out, Reynolds has 4 ding-dongs at Metco. That’s one off the lead for all of Metco, including Mets. Reynolds is also only two behind Pujols for the NL league. That’s 32 salamis. (Yes, my attempt was to try and cover all possible Google searches for “donkey show is hot” + ding-dongs + salamis + “behind Pujols.” Welcome, Google Searcher! We won’t judge you here.)
