Yesterday, Andy LaRoche made a last ditch effort for some of his parents’ love. He went 5-for-5, with 2 homers, 4 Runs and 6 RBIs. He had his best month of the season in September and he’ll still be 26 next year. I might actually own Pirate players next year. Weird! BTW, the Pirates were playing in their final home game of the year in what has been a miserable decade season. With this last opportunity for the Pirates to give their fans something to cheer about, the 3rd base coach put the brakes on LaRoche as he rounded 2nd heading to third on a long double. Who cares right? LaRoche needed a triple for the cycle! Wait, it gets better. Zach Duke is cruising for the entire game. Runs into slight trouble in the 9th inning, but the Pirates have an 11-1 lead. So what does the manager do with two outs, the never fear-inducing Blake DeWitt at-bat and Duke dealing with a very reasonable 103 pitch count? He lifts Duke rather than let him get the complete game. The Pirates deserve contraction. /rant Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Hiroki Kuroda – 4 IP, 10 baserunners, 3 ER and 7 runs total. As he provided a Ticker Shock.
Garrett Jones – HR and steal yesterday as he went 2-for-5. On the season, he’s sitting at 21 homers and 10 steals with a .305 average. That’s in 292 at-bats. I think Robot Jones might officially be overrated next year, unless everyone thinks he’ll be overrated which could make him underrated or just rated. Hard to say. If I had to guess, I think people will assume he’s a fluke and he’ll go later than he should.
Josh Beckett – Scratched from his start vs. the Jays. I wouldn’t wait around to see if he starts again this season if you need starters. Chances are the Sawx throw him for only a few innings as a tuneup for the playoffs, if they throw him at all.
Brett Gardner – Gardner, Melky, Hinske, Shelley “I Will High Five You So Hard Your Momma Feels It” Duncan, Miranda-Something-Or-Other, Ramiro Pena and Cervelli. What is the Yankees lineup a day after clinching? Yes, that’s right. We would’ve also accepted, what the Yankees lineup would’ve l0oked like all year if they had the same injuries as the Mets? For fantasy baseball purposes, this isn’t great that your Yanks are sitting, but I don’t think Girardi is going to want them rusty so the regulars should see at least 4 games this week.
Jair Jurrjens – 7 IP, 0 ER, 3 Ks. With only one start left on the year, his ERA is 2.61. Zoinks! Of course, I’d love for him to strikeout more guys, but it’s hard to argue with his year. Of course, he’s no Wandwagon. But who is?
Anibal Sanchez – 5 IP, 3 ER, 8 walks and that’s why I wouldn’t ever start him.
John Danks – 9 IP, 1 ER, 7 Ks. Every time I think I’m done with Danks (last game 6 IP, 7 ER), he pulls me back in with a start like this. I’m warning you now, I’m going to like him again next year.
Cole Hamels – 6 2/3 IP, 6 ER. Damn you, Verducci Effect.
Miguel Tejada – 4-for-5 as he had his second 4 hit game in three days while batting over .500 in the last week. At 13 homers, 5 steals and a .313 average, he’s been one of the biggest surprises this year for me. Since those numbers aren’t that overwhelming, you can imagine how much I expected of him this year.
Gabe Kapler – HR yesterday. Now that’s how you break a fast.
Grant Balfour – Got the save yesterday because when the bottle stopped spinning it was pointing at him.
Ervin Santana – 9 IP, 0 ER, 2 Ks as the Angels win the West. Count on most of the Angels lineup sitting or phoning it in tomorrow. That’s a slight endorsement for the Rangers starter tomorrow, Feldman.
Edwin Encarnacion – 2-for-3, 3 Runs and a RBI when he was replaced by Millar. No word if he left because of a serious injury or just to emphasis how scary it is that I care what happened to him.
Colby Rasmus – This video was shot exactly 500 yards from Colby Rasmus. If you think that is bad, you should see the one for Chris Davis. It’s just a guy singing honkytonk at a Dallas bar and striking out with every woman he tries to serenade.
