Chris Davis has 42 Ks in 88 ABs. That’s a pace of about 300 Ks. Not sure he gets there, but Mark Reynolds should be worried about his strikeout record. Back when I called Chris Davis a poor man’s Mark Reynolds, everyone and there’s Momma’s boyfriend wanted some Davis action. Back in June of 2008, when Davis was called up, I said, “(It) doesn’t mean he will strikeout 250 times and hit 50 HRs, but it gives you a bit of an idea of what kind of player he is.” Actually, he may strikeout 250 times. And that’s me quoting me linking to me and correcting me! I’m not saying any of this to push people to trade him away, but I think a lot of people thought they were getting a .300 hitter in Davis. He’s not. Average is a bit of a fluky thing, but, with the way Davis is striking out, he’s looking like a .240-.250 hitter. I still think as the weather heats up the homers will be flying, but check your expectations. Anyway, here’s what we saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Grady Sizemore – Sizemore got caught stealing for the 4th time yesterday in 9 tries. Last year he only was caught 5 times out of 44 tries. Grady hasn’t had this much trouble getting to 2nd base since he was a sophomore in high school and was still being ridiculed as Gravy Friesmore. The Cleveland GM Mark Shapiro is one of the more analytical GMs out there – don’t be surprised if they pull the reins in on ol’ Grady, unless he shows he can steal at a 70+% clip.
Eric Bedard – Rudy said this yesterday morning, “Yeah, the Rangers are a bitch to face even when they’re on the road. That said, you shouldn’t bench Bedard. Against the Rangers, he’s good for 7+ Ks”. Rudy must have a way with Canadians because Bedard delivered 7 IP and 7 Ks.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia – Grand slam yesterday. Again, this is why you just put a catcher in there and slowly back away.
Nelson Cruz – 3-for-5, 7th homer. As I’ve said before, I don’t think it stops.
Kenshin Kawakami – He was dropped in my 16 team league. And he stayed on waivers. Sometimes the most significant action is the one not taken. – Grey Albright. (But he might be cribbing that quote and just doesn’t remember. He’s also talking in 3rd person right now.)
Felipe Lopez – Day-to-day with a sore ankle. Hmm… Felimpy?
Julian Tavarez – 1/3 IP, 3 ER. Yeah, I’m done with Tavarez. He can save the next 20 games for the Nats (which would take him to about September) and I’m not picking him up again. Hanrahananan, who also wasn’t great yesterday, might get another shot, but, like most Nats pitchers, if they’re not pitching, they’re the most valuable so Beimel’s looking the best right now.
Jorge Posada – On the DL with a sore hamstring. Posada was heavily discounted in many drafts this year with the assumption he’d miss a lot of time. Figure you drafted him thinking he’d get 4-6 weeks vacation. This is just part of the employment package for a 36-year old catcher…
B.J. Upton – 1-for-4, bringing him to .157 on the season with no homers and 4 RBIs. Yeah, that’s terrible. We wouldn’t be surprised if Joe Maddon shot his shoulder up with cortisone next time he gave him an encouraging pat.
Emmanuel Burriss – Webster stole his 8th base yesterday. It’s not pretty, but it’s three more than Jose Reyes.
Alberto Callaspo – HR yesterday, hitting .379 through 80+ ABs. This is why I was annoyed last year when the Royals were playing Grudzielanek. (Yes, I needed to look up the spelling. Cut me some slack!) So who or what is this Callaspo? He’s a light power and speed middle infielder who should have a decent average. Say Callaspolanco.
Roy Oswalt – Bruised finger forced him out of the game. Said to be day-to-day. He better have an excuse for giving up all of those runs to the Nats.
Gavin Floyd/Kyle Davies – 5 IP, 6 ER and 4 IP, 6 ER, respectively. Hope everyone’s already chucked these two turd sandwiches.
Joba Chamberlain – 5 2/3 IP, 4 ER, 12 Ks. It didn’t start pretty, but it sure did end up that way. With 12 of the last 14 outs coming on strikeouts.
Max Scherzer – Going from Joba to Jobacum, Scherzer threw 6 innings and gave up 2 earned, but he will never win a game.
Jeff Weaver – 5 IP, 1 ER. Outpitched Scherzer, or did he? I think Jered Weaver pulled the ol’ Alex P. Keaton tie switching trick and pitched for his big bro.
Brad Ziegler – Pitched a perfect inning of relief yesterday. Oh, well. I was looking forward to the TV movie of the week with Freddie Prinze Jr. documenting Ziegler’s “flu.”
Josh Greer/Aaron Cook – Both pitched 8 innings, gave up five hits and one run apiece. According to Elias Sports Bureau, this is the first time two pitchers had near-identical pitching lines. Actually, they didn’t say that. But heard in the Elias Sports Bureau office last week was, “For the first time in over a year, Bill in accounting didn’t purposely staple his finger to get out of a board meeting. Instead, he chose to slam his hand into a filing cabinet.”
George Sherrill – The Orioles have been seeking consistency in their pitching and now they have it as their bullpen is as unreliable as their starters. The O’s said they were going to a closer by committee. To get on this closerousel, you need Sherrill, Ray, Johnson and Baez, in that order.
Edinson Volquez – 8 IP, 0 ER. Against a young, free swinging team, Volquez is your man. And he still walked four. As for WWDD? Or “What Would Dusty Do?” After the 7th inning, Volquez had already thrown 100 pitches. Do you bring him out for the 8th inning in a blowout? Of course Dusty Do!
Adam Wainwright – 5 IP, 7 ER. He avoided the wrath of Ibanez, Howard, and Utley (not in the lineup) but couldn’t stop the Flyin’ Hawaiian (HR, 3 RBI ) or J-Werth (HR, 4 RBI ). Still, Wainwright is a must-start everywhere except maybe COL or until LaRussa makes an everyday player out of him.
Curtis Granderson – 9th HR yesterday. Well, la di da! Wasn’t he supposed to do this shizz last year? Guess he never got the memo. I blame the messenger.
Rick Porcello – 7 IP, 0 ER. Was a good matchup for him and he’s good for matchups, so there’s that.
Maggilio Ordonez – Batting .232 on the season. If Ordonez gets hurt, they should replace him with a guy whose last name is Derson. Then they can have the Russian Doll Outfield – Granderson, Anderson, Derson.
