Jake and the Fatman
May 28, 2009
Category: Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes
Carlos Zambrano in his own special way welcomed the Cubs new arrival, Jake Fox, with a shizzfit of epic proportions. Zambrano was ejected for bumping an ump, I especially enjoyed when the ump ejected him and he then ejected the ump. I’m out of order? No, YOU’RE out of order! Somewhere Michael Barrett flinched. Jake Fox can do it all. And, like Tyra Banks would say, he can do it fiercely. His Triple-A numbers are 40/17/50/.423 in 40 games with a .503 OBP. Pretty sick… And that’s sick as in healthy, not sick as in Conor Jackson, Carlos Quentin or Votto. But will Fox get time to do any of it, you ask. Let’s see, Soriano, Hoffpauir, Fuku, FU (Bradley), Derrek Lee and Reed Johnson in four spots. Fox’s only shot for regular playing time is at 3B and there he’d be a butcher. At 1B/OF, maybe he gets 3 starts a week unless D-Lee gets hurt. Though you can call D-Lee “DL” at this point, because he’s been about as reliable as a parachute made of bloomers. As with other rookies, if Fox gets the chance, he could prove successful, so you want to be the one that owns him. If he fails, then you drop him and take a bat to the Gatorade cooler. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Manny Parra – 6 2/3 IP, 3 ER, 12 baserunners and 5 walks with 6 Ks. Unfortunately, this is what Parra do. Until he can get his walks in order, he’s not worth the psoriasis-inducing head scratching.
J.J. Hardy – 3-for-5. Hey, look who decided to make an appearance. He’ll hit .250 and get 20+ homers. If that’s what you need, that’s what he does.
Matt Capps – Said to be returning soon. Be nice to get one save for all the effort I put in to pick up Grabow in every league. Throw Grey a bone here, would ya?
Mat Gamel – 0-for-3. Sticking with the Mat theme, but dropping one T like a bad geisha. Gamel’s 3rd base eligibility made him especially enticing to me as a cornerman. But he’s now making me long for Mark Teahen.
Luke Scott – Returned from the DL and hit a HR. He’ll steal time from Wigginton, which is ironic because they’re basically the same player. It would be like Mark Reynolds losing time to Chris Davis. Tomato-tomahto, Orioles. Find a blahtoon that makes sense to me then we’ll talk.
Nolan Reimold – Game winning homer yesterday. See, Gamel, that’s how you turn lemons into Country Time.
Brett Myers – Left the game with his hip to be flared. Again, he really shouldn’t even be on your team. To avoid future flare-ups, he promises to wear the proper gear when disagreeing with his wife.
Jay Bruce – 2 HRs. Now has 14 homers and only 29 RBIs. Sure would be nice if the Reds put some runners on for him. Maybe Dizzy Votto and his maritime compatriots can get aboard.
B.J. Ryan – For those holding out hope he’s taking over for Downs any moment, he’s given up 4 runs in the last 2 innings. The Blue Jays are paying him a lot of money so they feel compelled to play him. You shouldn’t.
Rick Porcello – 6 IP, 2 ER. His lack of Ks leaves me wanting more, but he’s obviously been decent. And his last name sounds like a delicious pasta sauce!
Josh Anderson – 4-for-5 while batting lead-off and stealing his 10th base. SAGNOF!
Oliver Perez – Jerry Manuel said, Perez will need to be in the minors for at least another start because of “knee problems.” Jerry Manuel needs a bar of soap for some “lying problems.”
Adam Dunn – Hit another HR. Since I traded him for Jose Reyes, he’s hit about five dozen home runs. Kill me now. Thank you.
Derek Holland – 5 IP, 5 ER. Was a terrible matchup, and he gets the Yankees again next time out.
Chien-Ming Wang – Well, lookie-lookie. 2 IP, 2 Ks and zero baserunners. Now let’s see you do it when you don’t have a seven run lead.
Elvis Andrus – I feel like I haven’t mentioned this enough, but where’s the effin’ steals, doode? 6 steals so far is not enough. Let’s go, Elvis, boogie.
Kevin Slowey – I don’t own him in any league, but I gladly would. I like Slowey a lot. But because I don’t own him, I had no idea of something… He’s got 7 Wins?! When did this happen? Some of my teams don’t have 7 Wins. Why am I fielding questions about whether to start this guy or not (when I invariably say start him)? He’s 7-1 with a near-4 ERA. Yeah, I’d start him.
Jered Weaver – Here’s another guy I feel like I keep answering questions about. He has a 2.36 ERA. For criminy sakes, start him.
Adrian Gonzalez – Hit his 18th homer yesterday. Could this be the year we see a 40 homer guy call Petco home? (<–Sounds like something Tim Kurkjian would say while his voice squeaked.)
Bronson Arroyo – Now leads the NL with seven wins. After the game he played on his guitar his new tune, “I May Suck, But My Wins Say It Ain’t True.” Actually, pretty catchy.
Randy Johnson – Goes for win number 300 next week against the Nationals. After he wins that game, I imagine he’ll say something like, “I could’ve won 500 games if they were all this easy.”
Jesse Chavez – 1/3 IP, 2 ER. Somebody got burned yesterday chasing Saves. A’la Nelson Muntz, ha ha!
Joe Nelson – 2 IP, 4 ER. See 1/8 of an inch above.
Ben Zobrist – 2-for-3, and a steal. Even if you just own him while Reyes gets better, it’s something, no?
Ben Francisco – 3-for-5 with a homer. He’s 8-for-9 with 5 homers against Andy Sonnanstine. Maybe he can get glasses made that superimpose Sonnanstine’s jersey on every pitcher.
Russell Branyan – Hit his 11th homer yesterday. In the offseason of 2010, you’ll be looking at first basemen and you’ll think you should draft Branyan because he had 30 homers in 2009. No, you shouldn’t. But you can own him this year.
Adam Kennedy – 0-for-8 in the last two days. He was hot for about a week, then he remembered who he was. So my question is, who told my Reyes fill-in that he’s just Adam Kennedy? I had a good thing going, man!
Emilio Bonifacio – 0-for-5, Just doing a friendly check-in on our favorite April 7th pickup.
Dan Uggla – HR yesterday and 5 homers in the last 10 games. Not hitting for much average, but you didn’t expect him to do that anyway.
David Ortiz – Hit sixth again. You know what’s been under reported in all of this? Who’s now hitting third… J.D. Drew. Zoinks!
Khalil Greene – It’s been a bad year for the Silent H’s as Khalil heads to the DL with anxiety disorder. If there’s a bright side to this sad, sad story, maybe the anxiety will cause his ugly-ass hair to fall out.
May 28th, 2009 at 3:40 am
Grey – nice job, as always. Khalil’s anxiety disorder likely caused by hitting way south of Mendoza.
My hope is that Reinhold’s “The one” Baltimore has nothing to lose, his competition seems to be the yawnstipating Luke Scott, he fields better then Gamel or Fox. He has hit 4 dingers for me already. What do you see as realistic projections for him, and will he stick around to achieve them?
BTW, Funston’s Big Board has Mauer #11. Ahead of such stalwarts as Soriano, A-Gonz (all the way down at 33, for some reason.), Beltran, Crawford, Reyes, Tex, Ibanez, Howard… I could go on. If you have Mauer, (which I’m sure you don’t) and Brandon’s in your league, now is the time to sell high.
I have HanRam out again for an undisclosed period of time. Picked up Adam Kennedy today; wondering if Skippy Shoemaker (didn’t he race in the Kentucky Derby few years past) would be a better short term choice. Pickins’ are slim for SS/2B slot.
After Nelson’s razztastic performance, I am officially out of the TB closer sweepstakes, just as I forsake all Nats relievers; as all pretenders have mutiliated my WHIP and ERA. The simple, and only, answer to this mess seems to me to be David Price. He proved in the WS that he can deal with pressure, and his arm gets tired after 3 innings.
As a Met fan, I am praying that Ollie’s “knee problems ” persist all year. I would rather deal with Bro-Duque, who is at least consistently mediocre. Why, or why did Omar sign this head case to a 30 mill contract? He could at least of signed David Lowe with that kind of money.
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May 28th, 2009 at 4:20 am
Bruuuuuuuuuce with a huge game, do i smell a hot streak coming?
30 HR’s this year, write that down…
DIZZY VOTTO! love it… he seems to be seeing straight for now….
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May 28th, 2009 at 4:50 am
for those in a yahoo league…
in my seocndary league, i picked up smoltz early and stashed him on the DL. due to a rash of injuries, i needed the DL spot and waived smoltz. now that the DL spot is free again and smoltz is only a few weeks away, i wanna pick up smoltz and stash him again.
one huge problem, smoltz appears to be nowhere in the player database. name searching. browsing through god knows how many pages of useless pitchers hoping somehow i was misspelling his name. nothing.
anyone else with a similar problem?
i want to email the commish and ask him what’s up, but i don’t wanna key someone in on my smoltzy.
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May 28th, 2009 at 5:09 am
Dear Grey:
For starters, great round-up. Parachute made of bloomers. Wasn’t that an 80s shoe-gazer band?
I have a dilemma. I have 4 OF — Holliday, Dye, Bruce, Pierre — and 3 slots. Right now, all 4 guys are hitting. (I know! Big “problem”!)
Except in my roster roulette, last night I left Bruce and his double donks on the bench. A couple of nights earlier, I started all 4 OFs (one in Util) and benched Dizzy Votto, and he did the double-donk on my bench as well. (I have Votto/Prince for Util/1B.)
Pierre is white-hot, but I’m thinking I have to bench him — I’m only in 8th place in HRs (yet 1st in RBIs — I’m the Bizarro Bruce!) — and I can’t be leaving donks (let alone double-donks) on the bench. At least I know if I bench Pierre I won’t miss a home run.
My question: What Would Grey Do?
p.s. I own Slowey. I’m not sure where the 7 W came from either. But he seems to put this line, or some variation on it, up every start: 7 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K.
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May 28th, 2009 at 5:14 am
Not that Adam Kennedy is, what’s the word … right, “good”, but just thought I’d point out that his hot week-ending 0/4s came against lefty starters. He no like lefties. I’m still gonna spot him against RHPs in my daily moves league for a bit. For some reason …
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May 28th, 2009 at 5:27 am
@ThePoonTycoon: I’m in a Yahoo league and just did a player search for Smoltz and he popped right up for me. Good luck getting it worked out.
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May 28th, 2009 at 5:34 am
Grey,
What do you mean “Let’s go, Elvis?” He’s on nearly a steal per week pace. That’s 25. And if he hits .280 with 10 HR’s, that has to be sufficient for your 23rd rounder, right?
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May 28th, 2009 at 5:39 am
Haha, Kaheel has Joe Dirt hair…….
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May 28th, 2009 at 5:40 am
@Scott: The only Elvis with enough power to hit 10 HRs is (or is not) dead. Elvis is a speed schmohawk. If he hits .280, he should steal 40 bags and score 100 runs easy with his wheels. I was wondering whether the Rangers were strictly station-to-station, but they let Kinsler run on his own…
@Grey: great rundown this morning. I laughed out loud with no one else in the room on more than one occasion.
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May 28th, 2009 at 5:42 am
@Baron Von Vulturewins: Of those, Holliday would be on my bench, but I feel that 10% of my comments on this site are to hate on non-Coors Holliday. However, weirdly enough all of his “power” this year has been against righties (HR every 18 AB’s and 0 in 57 AB’s against lefties with a .263 SLG%).
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May 28th, 2009 at 5:47 am
What do you guys think? Vlad + Felipe for Alexei? I’d be dropping Vlad…
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May 28th, 2009 at 5:49 am
it’s funny you say to start Weaver i only start him when he has two starts, i think i may need to rethink that…
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May 28th, 2009 at 5:53 am
@MikeE: Do it, Alexei could out-homer Vlad from here on out.
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May 28th, 2009 at 5:53 am
@Scott: He should have far more than 25 steals with his speed.
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May 28th, 2009 at 5:55 am
@Billy: Dude, that’s crazy…I’ve been not starting offensive players when they face Weaver…he is on point so far this year. He was on my draft list, thanks to Grey, but ironically I took Slowey ahead of him and by the next round he got snatched up.
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May 28th, 2009 at 5:56 am
@ThePoonTycoon: I have Smoltz stashed in two leagues in Yahoo on the DL since the beginning of the year. I can’t tell you why you may be having problems in that regard. I even looked for him in a league where I don’t won him, and he was listed.
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May 28th, 2009 at 5:57 am
@ThePoonTycoon: Poon- I commish a league on Yahoo.
One of the new settings this year when you set up your league was how to manage the player pool for new players.
I believe it game you two options-
1- as Yahoo adds them
2- when added to the ML roster.
We went with option 1. So even though players like Andrew McCutchens and Lars Anderson aren’t on a ML roster yet, they are still available.
If your league was set to option 2, then you may have been able to add Smoltz originally. But in April, the Sox moved him to the 60-day DL, taking him off the 40 man.
If your league is set to option 2, than no one with an NA next to their name will show in the player pool.
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May 28th, 2009 at 6:01 am
Trade proposal….
Keeper league with 2B 3B OBP BB….
Adam Jones for Ryan Zimmerman
Who would you like in this trade?
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May 28th, 2009 at 6:03 am
@Suck My Wieters: @sean: Should is not what I’m talking about. If you expected him to steal 40 from the SS position, he should have been drafted ahead of Ellsbury, but he wasn’t, because he wasn’t expected to steal 40 bases. Maybe he’ll get there when he’s not a 21 year old rookie playing shortstop in the Majors, but I would be happy with what he’s doing at the spot I drafted him. He’s no Hanley.
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May 28th, 2009 at 6:08 am
@mc serch: i know i know, its that darn Weaver name, maybe he could change it?
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May 28th, 2009 at 6:24 am
Regarding starting Slowey… of the 7 wins, I think 1 is against NYY, and another is BOS (last night). Start em up.
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May 28th, 2009 at 6:26 am
@Tony: i’d say bruce easily gets 30 this year. 40 is a distinct possibility.
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May 28th, 2009 at 6:32 am
@Baron Von Vulturewins: pierre would be on my bench. i don’t like trying to play matchups with hitters except in extreme situations, i.e. lefties against randy johnson during his prime (and even then i’d still start a super stud, like bonds, against him). saves an infinite number of headaches and shoulda, woulda, couldas.
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May 28th, 2009 at 6:33 am
My patience with Corey Hart is running short – think he starts hitting anytime soon or is something wrong – anxiety perhaps?
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May 28th, 2009 at 6:34 am
@Hardcore Midget: yeah, that must be it. like i said, it’s my secondary league, and i may drop it after this year due to time contraints, so i’m not 100% brushed up on the details.
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May 28th, 2009 at 6:38 am
@Tony: 30? Try 40+. Bruce is a monster. And his LD% (13.2%) and BABIP (.226) both are way down so his BA is due for a correction
@Scott: It’s really not *that* weird. He has always had that reverse platoon split (a righty who hits rightys better than leftys).
Career vs RHP: .323/.385/.562
Career vs LHP: .294/.383/.484
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May 28th, 2009 at 6:39 am
@ThePoonTycoon: Ya, it might just be a league setting.
Sucks that you can’t get around it to work Smoltz though.
Other guys like Tommy Hanson probably aren’t available either.
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May 28th, 2009 at 6:42 am
how much would you give up to get jose reyes in a keeper league??
i offered the guy jay bay, lind, garza, jurrgens, valverde
for
adamjones, reyes, capps
i dont care about jones anymore…but if i offered him jaybay, what else should i offer to be fair????
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May 28th, 2009 at 6:46 am
@RogerDorn: Maybe Bay, Lind, and an OK pitcher gets it done, if the owner is frustrated with the injury. I probably wouldn’t do it if I were the Reyes owner, but it’s worth a shot.
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May 28th, 2009 at 6:55 am
@ThePoonTycoon: Just one thought – perhaps you are only looking through the list of available players. If someone picked him up, he would only be found if you punch in “All players”.
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May 28th, 2009 at 6:59 am
@scott:
I offered him bay/hardy/garza and he wouldnt do it.
he wanted bay/greinke/bell for reyes/werth/capps
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May 28th, 2009 at 7:00 am
Mat Gamel appears to be getting the opportunity to show what he can do in the Major Leagues. NOTHING
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May 28th, 2009 at 7:09 am
Grey,
Kurkjian would preface that statement about A-Gonz by saying, “I talked to Adrian Gonzalez yesterday, and he told me he hit his 18th homer.”
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May 28th, 2009 at 7:10 am
@RogerDorn: That actually wouldn’t be that bad if Capps’s outlook wasn’t so questionable. He is trying to get another closer for Capps thinking that you may not have heard of his injury and he is worried about Reyes. The best OF in the AL and the best pitcher in baseball so far this season is too much to give up though. Don’t overpay for Reyes, as I am also worried about his health.
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May 28th, 2009 at 7:11 am
@Baron Von Vulturewins: is that a WWGD baron?
@Suck My Wieters: zimmerman because of eligibility at 3B, jones probably for the guy who’ll put up better overall numbers…
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May 28th, 2009 at 7:12 am
As a Bruce owner I can tell you, it doesn’t matter if Votto or anyone else gets on….Bruce won’t hit the HR’s with runners on. He’ll wait to hit them when they’re meaningless. When runners are on he K’s. He hits the bombs when he’s leading off the inning.
I just sent Bruce packing in a large trade that included me getting Miggy Cabrera. There’s a guy that hits when runners are on base. Bruce drags you down hitting .225-.250.
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May 28th, 2009 at 7:16 am
@Scott: @Scott: Here’s some further context to my very specific problem.
These are the respective stats of my 4 OF over the last month, with Yahoo! player ranking in parentheses:
Pierre – .408 22R 0HR 19RBI 8SB (#16)
Holliday .293 18R 6HR 17RBI 2SB (#55)
Bruce – .224 18R 9HR 16RBI 3SB (#62)
Dye – .247 18R 7HR 19RBI 0SB (#74)
So as you can see, it’s pretty close. Pierre, the most obvious benching candidate, is actually the most valuable, leading in BA, R, SB and, weirdly, RBIs.
Holliday’s been better than you’d think over the last month, contributing across the board.
Dye’s marginally the worst, but he’s been hot of late (would have hated to miss that 4 RBI night a few days ago).
Bruce is weakest across the board but — double-donk!
I’d try to trade Pierre but he’s a summer rental — no way to know how this shakes out when Manny returns. (He may be playing himself into the permanent lead-off spot, however, the way Furcal’s scuffling.)
Help!
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May 28th, 2009 at 7:23 am
@ThePoonTycoon: That’s unusual. I did similar and stashed him on the DL, but never had to drop him. He’s still there.
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May 28th, 2009 at 7:32 am
With Myers possibly on the DL could Carrasco be called up?
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May 28th, 2009 at 7:32 am
switch Nelson with Howell?
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May 28th, 2009 at 7:36 am
5×5 12-team ML
Starting rotation is Vazquez, Beckett, Jer. Weaver, Harden, Slowey, Lowe and Liriano.
Would you guys sit Liriano for a while and see if he rights the ship? I’m ahead of the innings pace right now so it wouldn’t kill me.
Also, would you try to parlay a couple of those guys (like a Weaver and a Lowe, for instance) for someone like Roy Halladay or Jake Peavy?
I’m looking for ways to consolidate and upgrade a little bit. It seems like Weaver (unreal start) and Lowe (reputation) might have the most trade value (other than Vazquez, who I’m keeping).
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May 28th, 2009 at 7:39 am
@Baron Von Vulturewins: Yeah, you’ve got a dilemma. I feel that you have to play Pierre and I guess Holliday for now and bench Dye or Bruce and close your eyes and hope for the best, unless you get one of those sweet matchups. I guess you can hope Votto gets dizzy again and you can play all 4. Good luck and we’ll see what Grey says, but I wouldn’t think it will be too different.
As for the other comment, as a Dodger guy, every day I see a 5 2 3 3 line from Pierre, I hope that Torre remembers how good Kemp and Ethier were with Manny in the lineup and that Pierre finished in the top 3 in the league in outs made each year from ’03 to ’07. He should not be taking starts away from the others. But, if he’s hitting .400, he should be starting for ANY fantasy team (even that two-team league someone mentioned the other day). I think Furcal will play and hit leadoff when healthy regardless of how well he’s playing, because Juan Castro is his backup and with he and O Dogg, the defense up the middle is the strongest in the league.
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May 28th, 2009 at 7:39 am
I currently have Cristian Guzman at SS and am concerned because he’s so desperate to get on base that he’s taking walks. Should I drop him for Aexei?
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May 28th, 2009 at 7:41 am
i just emailed the commish and told him smoltz isn’t showing up on my player search (i checked, no one has picked him up), and asked if he could put him on my roster in my DL spot. maybe he’ll do it, maybe he’ll say “tough tittie said the kitty” and make me lineup for him when he’s activated.
and yeah, there’s no hanson or even wieters yet, which was curious to me since price was drafted and stashed on a team, but i guess the active roster deal explains that
@Baron Von Vulturewins: pierre’s stats are a bit inflated (.300 avg, lots of runs and steals are legit; .400+ avg and 19 RBIs in a month? not so much). even still, you have to really value his steals to start him over the others imo.
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May 28th, 2009 at 7:41 am
@Eric H.: Yes to both. In my experience, Lowe is underrated by owners in trading/drafting, but if the owners of a Halladay or Peavy are pitching shallow, a 2 for 1 may work.
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May 28th, 2009 at 7:43 am
Give up Iannetta and Miggy for VMart and Youk?
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May 28th, 2009 at 7:50 am
@Dim: I wouldn’t want to trade Cabrera and don’t think VMart is enough of an upgrade over Iannetta to do so.
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May 28th, 2009 at 7:53 am
@Dim: A resounding helllllll no. Miggy, unlike last year, has started hot…..he’s only going to get better. Many HR’s to come.
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May 28th, 2009 at 7:54 am
I traded Weaver a few weeks ago for a DLed Webb. I was sure he wouldn’t be able to keep it up, but he’s proven me wrong so far. ARGHHHHHH!
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May 28th, 2009 at 7:57 am
Shin soo choo or cliff lee?
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May 28th, 2009 at 8:01 am
In honor of Kawakami’s ugly night in San Francisco, I propose a new Glossary term (sort of a variation of a Cleveland Streamer):
Matchup Ninja: A master of illusion who draws you in with a brilliant performance against a good team and then vanishes into thin air when facing one of the weakest offenses in the league.
Ex: I thought I had a sure thing when I picked up Carl Pavano after he held the Red Sox to two runs in his last start, but he turned into a matchup ninja against the White Sox and stabbed me in the back.
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May 28th, 2009 at 8:04 am
@Scott: @ThePoonTycoon: Thanks for weighing in. I have to admit I was kind of hoping Votto’s dizziness would require a DL stint, to relieve my own pain for two weeks. Though, like I said, an abundance of hitters is not the worst problem to have.
If only Bruce faced Wandy Rodriguez (1 for 15 lifetime, 9 Ks) every day, I could bench him for a month.
I have a bad feeling Pierre might be playing his way into an everyday job. Torre’s an old-school, manage-by-feel-not-by-numbers kind of guy — the kind of guy who’d say “I really like the spark he’s given us” as a rationale. I dare say the recently scuffling Ethier would be the odd man out here, with Furcal moving down to 7th or 8th in the lineup.
There’s talk of a Pierre trade, but who wants an aging slap-hitting lead-off guy? The Dodgers didn’t even want him a few weeks ago.
@Zebo: I still think it’s Izzy, Wheeler then Howell. Izzy pitched two clean innings last night. I can’t see a team with only one bullpen lefty making that guy the closer. It just limits your options too much.
@Eric H.: In a 12-team mixed league, I doubt you’ll have much luck trading two good pitchers for one great one. Usually there’s enough decent FA pitching that no one wants to ship a star just to add another arm. You’d be better off pairing a Slowey or Lowe with a hitter and targeting a team with an obvious need.
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May 28th, 2009 at 8:08 am
Given the aforementioned hitter surplus, I’m being opportunistic and going after Miggy. How much is too much to give up in a two-fer?
Prince + Gallardo
Prince + Edwin Jackson
Votto + Dye
Prince + Dye
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May 28th, 2009 at 8:13 am
Grey,
9 owners:
In a league that starts 15 offensive players and 7 SP 3 RP’s. I have Santana, Meche, Liriano, Wainwright, Shields, Bush, Scherzer, Escobar(DL).
With CANTU as my CI,
I’m trying to Ship “Wainwright” for Ryan Zimmerman…
Do I get the better end of this trade?
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May 28th, 2009 at 8:14 am
None of that seems too much for Miggy.
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May 28th, 2009 at 8:22 am
@Baron Von Vulturewins: Prince + Gallardo is too much, but the other 3 seem fair.
Torre did like the Pierre & Furcal at the top last year. I can see a lineup of Pierre, Furcal, Hudson, Manny, Loney, Martin, Kemp, Blake, P on July 4 thinking that he has 2 cleanup hitters at 4 and 8. Don’t think he won’t hit Hudson third, because he will. I think he will put run scorers at the top and run producers at the bottom.
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May 28th, 2009 at 8:22 am
@Billy: I’ve been to plenty of Iron Pigs games this year… Carrasco does not look MLB ready at all. Don’t know what’s happened to him but I think he needs some more work.
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May 28th, 2009 at 8:28 am
@Scott: I haven’t been following the Dodgers all that closely (save Pierre) — what’s with the whole Orlando Hudson hitting 3rd thing? I know he’s got a good avg., but as Seth Meyers might say, “Really, Joe Torre?!? Really?!”
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May 28th, 2009 at 8:28 am
Who has more 5×5 value. Votto or Zimmerman
and what Pitcher do I unload between these pitchers
F-Her, Wainwright, Scherzer
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May 28th, 2009 at 8:40 am
@Baron Von Vulturewins: Haha, nice reference. I don’t know, but he’s hitting .350 with 30 RBI. I don’t know if it’s an age thing, but he doesn’t trust Loney or Kemp there. Not that I do either though. Maybe he’s so used to treating veterans “the way they should be treated.” The quote is from anyone on Baseball Tonight who would also say Oswalt is still a top of the rotation pitcher.
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May 28th, 2009 at 8:40 am
@Scott: In an OBP keeper league, Dizzy Votto, Matt Kemp, and Beltran or Adam Jones, Braun, and Alexei Ramirez?
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May 28th, 2009 at 8:41 am
@Baron Von Vulturewins: i probably wouldn’t do prince+gallardo, but i think gallardo is well on his way to top 10 SP status.
it would be hard to do the jackson deal too if you are a believer, and i’m a believer. i think he has a similar breakout to ervin santana next year.
other 2 deals i’d do.
now if this is a keeper league, i’d consider making all the trades. but i don’t believe in keeping pitchers, and when i have a keeper worthy pitcher i try to trade them in the offseason for picks/better hitting keepers before we have to set our keepers.
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May 28th, 2009 at 8:42 am
@John Doe: seriously? get alexie! Guzman sucks…. .273 career hitter….
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May 28th, 2009 at 8:42 am
@johnny: if you are deciding whether to unload f-her, wainwright, or scherzer as in waive them, then you are in a seriously shallow league. like 8 teams or less shallow.
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May 28th, 2009 at 8:43 am
@johnny: I have the most confidence in Votto’s ability, but Zimm is probably less risky.
Unload is a loaded question. Scherzer will be outperformed by the other two for the rest of the year and is the worst bet to stay healthy. But, if you’re looking to trade, the King may be the best bait.
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May 28th, 2009 at 8:44 am
So Edwin Encarnacion is probably coming off the DL in 2 weeks or so… Anyone still believe in EE? Is he worth dropping Atkins for?
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May 28th, 2009 at 8:44 am
@John Doe: Alexei should not be on the wire.
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May 28th, 2009 at 8:46 am
@Paulie Allnuts: I have Reimold too, and I’m wondering what to expect. If he stays full time he could hit 25 bombs right? 275 25 70, why not?
It does look like they are giving Gamel a shot to prove himself, and so far he hasn’t. But I don’t think 4 games proves he’s not ready. He’s bashed every step of the way, give him another week and I bet he shows some life.
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May 28th, 2009 at 8:52 am
wieters and washburn for Damon?
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May 28th, 2009 at 8:55 am
@Scott: Yeah, sometimes I feel like Baseball Tonight is being beamed to my TV from 2004. “The Jays offense should get a big boost once Scott Rolen returns…few pitchers can match the grit of Roy Oswalt… and that Jim Edmonds is a real gamer…”
@ThePoonTycoon: Not a keeper league. I lurv Gallardo (had him past three years) but Jackson I can part with. I have the luxury of a 5-man rotation that’s Peavy, C-Bills, Gallardo, Slowey, Jackson*. Of course, the moment I trade one, two will go down to injury.
*Thankfully, I managed to tank my ERA with a few judicious spot-start ass-whuppings from Kawakami, Jorge De La Rosa and Phil Hughes.
@IowaCubs: I wouldn’t drop Atkins for EE. Though I understand that Atkins by now is like a three-day old bag of garbage — you just want to get it out of the house. Now.
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May 28th, 2009 at 8:58 am
@ThePoonTycoon:
I would offer either of them in a trade for Votto or Zimmerman.
I just sent the offer over to him. Wainwright or Scherzer for Votto or Zimmerman, and he said it’s a fair trade, but NO WAY
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@Paulie Allnuts: Thanks! Hanley’s due back Friday, last I heard. Lowe would’ve made way too much sense.
@Baron Von Vulturewins: If you can’t trade Pierre while he has value, I’d look to trade Holliday. He probably has the most perceived value compared to actuality. (Though I do know you traded for him already. So not sure how that will play.)
@LM: Ah… You’re right. He’s not good and even further not good there.
@Scott: Guy has 40-50 steal speed. 20-25 is unacceptable.
@BigFatHippo: Ha!
@Mr. Rickey: He’s very streaky.
@Swass: Ha! Very true.
@Billy: I hope so, but don’t think so.
@Zebo: Sure
@John Doe: I’d want Alexei.
@Maitland: Lee
@Dingo: It’s okay, not crazy about it.
@johnny: I’d prefer Zimmerman, but it seems like your team needs Wainwright more.
@boyle: I’d want Damon.
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May 28th, 2009 at 9:01 am
Drop Parra for Chrisby?
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May 28th, 2009 at 9:01 am
Throw beckett in a dome, on turf, vs. Mauer and Morneua today? Or Haren tonight? I only need like 7 more innings to fulfill my innings…
OR BOTH?
Hole in one….. OR TWO BOB…..?!
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May 28th, 2009 at 9:06 am
So who plays more, Fox or Gamel?
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May 28th, 2009 at 9:06 am
@Tony: At this point wouldn’t you go Haren evertyime regardless?
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May 28th, 2009 at 9:08 am
@Grey: I’m busy trying to work out a Miggy trade right now, which will no doubt require a few pieces shipped the other way…
Another slight “problem” is that I have no glaring need right now (I’m in 4th, about 5 points out of first — ready to make my move, like Mine That Bird). I’ve got 5 solid starters I like. I’ve got an infield of Prince/Phillips/Alexei/Wright and Weiters the Wonder Boy at C. I could use some better relievers but I HATE TRADING FOR SAVES. (Current pen: Frank-Frank, Capps, Hanrahan, Wheeler.) I’m certainly not anxious to trade Dye for, say, Qualls.
But maybe some kind of Prince/Votto/Dye/EJackson combo platter, as outlined above, brings back Miggy.
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May 28th, 2009 at 9:15 am
Hey Grey, excellent rundown.
I know he’s unspectacular right now, but will Andy LaRoche be making the list of daily notables anytime soon? He’s been known for his power, and he’s been doing all the other things right lately, so I figure it’s just a matter of time til he starts hitting them out, right?
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May 28th, 2009 at 9:23 am
@bpasinko: yeah i’m for sure starting Haren tonight, its pretty much should I start Beckett… I’m losing K’s to the guy, tied in HR’s, smashing him in everything else, I can afford both of them taking a loss and giving up to 10 runs combined… The only way i could screw myself is if haren and becket BOTH got blasted… the wins and QS’s if i could get them would nail down a huge win this week for me…. just down know if its worth it… depends what this guy i’m playing does after i throw my guys, in our league its customary to get your 32 innings in and Bench your pitchers, he still needs like 10-12 innings i think….
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May 28th, 2009 at 9:23 am
@willclarkismyhero: Gamel plays more. Like Grey said above, something would have to happen to DLee for Fox to get playing time. He’ll start a game or two against lefties and he’ll likely DH in interleague.
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May 28th, 2009 at 9:27 am
@IowaCubs: Or Soriano is moved to 2B and Fox to LF.
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@cubbies299: Krispie, sure.
@Baron Von Vulturewins: Ooh… If you could somehow pull off Phillips, Wieters and Dye for Miggy. Me would likey. Or Phillips and Dye straight up, or is that shooting the rooster?
@Tom: Are you a relative? When he does something worthwhile or sparks my fancy, I’ll write about him. He should be better than his brother, so he does have some promise.
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May 28th, 2009 at 9:34 am
Who wins in a trade of Adam Jones for Zack Greinke?
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May 28th, 2009 at 9:36 am
@TonyC: greinke IMO
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May 28th, 2009 at 9:38 am
@Grey: What, you don’t like Phillips? Wouldn’t I rather trade an excess OF than a 2B that I would then have to replace?
@TonyC: Greinke and it’s not close.
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May 28th, 2009 at 9:38 am
@TonyC: Greinke.
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May 28th, 2009 at 9:42 am
man everything in Becketts splits say don’t throw him vs. MIN today….?
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@Baron Von Vulturewins: Just worried about this hairline fracture in his thumb.
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May 28th, 2009 at 9:47 am
i’m seeing the twins line up today vs. Beckett is a career .333, he’s been horrible away this year, although his last 4 starts have been solid vs. pretty good teams, NYY, NYM, and TB…. and throw in another good start vs. SEA
ughhh i just hate to throw him and get bombizzled….
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May 28th, 2009 at 9:49 am
@Suck My Wieters: If that happens, I will refuse to watch Cubs’ games for a week. The defensive dropoff from Soriano to Fox in left and Fontenot to Soriano at 2B would be much worse than the negligible gain you would have in the offense.
Fox sits on the bench.
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May 28th, 2009 at 9:50 am
@Grey: Cool. Never was a fan of the LaBROches before, but A-Ram’s shoulder has forced me to befriend the little bro that plays 3B.
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May 28th, 2009 at 10:00 am
@TonyC: Adam Jones. His Average should come down a bit, but steals could go up. I think everything will stay about the same with him, maybe HRs down slightly. ERA and whip should go up on Greinke.
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May 28th, 2009 at 10:00 am
@IowaCubs: What does defense matter if we cant score runs? Its worth a shot, and in my opinion wouldn’t be as bad as you think. Soriano was pretty bad there during his career as a 2B but the Cubs can manage. OF can be taught a lot easier than the infield can.
Are you telling me you wouldn’t take Dunn on the Cubs, playing LF? If Fox hits anywhere close to what he did in the minors, the positives will outweigh the negatives.
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May 28th, 2009 at 10:00 am
@Grey: Hairline fracture, hairline schmacture!
That’s what’s funny about my team: Simultaneously overstocked, yet packed with broken-thumbed, infected-ear, limpy, gimpy, dizzy guys about to fall down the clubhouse stairs at any moment. My kingdom for one guy to go on the DL!
p.s. “shooting the rooster”? Never heard this phrase before. Isn’t that something Layne Staley used to do with his extra heroin?*
*Trick question! There’s no such thing as “extra heroin”!
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May 28th, 2009 at 10:04 am
@Maitland: It’s true that Greinke won’t end the season at 0.84 ERA etc (or wherever he is now) but he could wind up in the top five most valuable players at year’s end. Not pitchers. Players.
Think 22W, 2.20 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, and 240 Ks.
I’m even inflating the ERA a bit because I know no one’s going to buy 1.85 — though I think that’s possible too.
This isn’t Cliff Lee Redux. Greinke is a prodigy, and everything’s clicking. This is going to be a season for the ages.
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May 28th, 2009 at 10:11 am
Cueto or Ed. Jackson for Zimmerman? Or Cueto or Ed. Jackson for Markakis?
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May 28th, 2009 at 10:17 am
@Euroalien: Don’t think either get it done for Zimm and definitely not Markakis, but I would rather lose Edwin.
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May 28th, 2009 at 10:18 am
@Euroalien: If I was a Zimmerman or Markakis owner, I would be interested in either of those, or both together for that matter.
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May 28th, 2009 at 10:22 am
@mgeoffriau: Blech. Should read, “would NOT be interested in either of those….”
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May 28th, 2009 at 10:22 am
@Baron Von Vulturewins: I agree on the season for the ages. Boy am I kicking myself for trading him straight up after 4 starts for Peavy in a keeper league. My keeper rotation of Lincecum, Billingsley, and Peavy would look that much better!
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May 28th, 2009 at 10:30 am
@bobbo: I would suggest not trading Greinke at all this year unless you get a top-5 offensive player back, i.e. Miggy, Wright, Hanley, possibly Kinsler. As good as Greinke’s been, his perceived value is still too low to get a fair return — witness how many people here ask about trading him. (You don’t see many people saying “What should I get back for Johan Santana?”, yet Greinke will outperform Santana this year.)
If you have him, keep him. Enjoy the ride. It’s going to be a good one.
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@Baron Von Vulturewins: I just made up shoot the rooster — awesome, right?
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May 28th, 2009 at 10:37 am
Bartlett going DL for 2 weeks, with nothing much in FA pool, which out of Barmes/Brignac option would be adequate rental for next 2 weeks?
i don’t need lots of AB, but rather good ratio stats here & there, like good help across the board.
damn you Bochy/Sabean, sending down my Guzman!!
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May 28th, 2009 at 10:37 am
@Baron Von Vulturewins: Yeah, I *did* have him. After 4 starts I said “he can’t keep this up” and moved him for a slow-starting Peavy. At the time I thought it was a pretty damn good deal. 6 starts, 4 wins, 7ER, and 45K later I’m not feeling as good!
I am enjoying the Ibanez, Mauer, and Adam Jones ride though! (damn you Jimmy Rollins and BJ Upton for holding me back)
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May 28th, 2009 at 10:46 am
I think Votto has got a new nickname – The Dizzy V
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@Elbert: I’d just go with Barmes.
@Stephen: I like it, but I hope he stops being dizzy soon so his name gets dated very quickly.
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May 28th, 2009 at 10:50 am
Did anyone else get a chance to watch Holland pitch against the Yankees last night? His command definitely needs some work, but some of his stuff was electric. He made some pretty good hitters look pretty silly at times.
I love what Nolan Ryan is bringing to that team and maybe we can start trusting them some more (when they are on the road)!
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May 28th, 2009 at 10:59 am
Drop Grabow and stash Morrow or Hanson?
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May 28th, 2009 at 11:03 am
Am I crazy for considering offering Lester for Hanrahan or George Sherrill? I don’t like the way he’s pitching and I’m scared of the AL East. I’ve already been negged offering him for Lidge, Vazquez, and Lackey. I’ve got offers out for Scott Downs, Soria, and Francisco. I am considering lowering my expectations even further and targeting absolutely junk closers like Kevin Gregg and Fernando Rodney and am wondering if I should even go for the absolute bottom of the barrel, which would be Hanrahan (not touching TB).
My reasoning is that at least they’ll only give me one inning of suck, and could potentially contribute saves which is a lot more than Lester is bringing to the table, which is nothing.
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May 28th, 2009 at 11:06 am
@I’m Keith Hernandez: Hanson if you’re not DESPERATE for saves.
@anon: Crazy maybe, who am I to judge? I wouldn’t make that offer or really trade for any closers unless you are giving away a useless piece of your roster. I would just wait for the next setup guy to be named the closer of some team.
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May 28th, 2009 at 11:07 am
@bobbo: I think that when you have hot guys like Ibanez and Mauer, you actually want some cold guys as well — so that when the hot guys cool off, hopefully Rollo and BJ can pick up the slack. Remember, a cold April often means a hot August!
As for Greinke, Peavy’s a noble return. At least you didn’t trade him for Bonifacio and Kyle Davies.
re: Holland: I feel like “His command definitely needs some work, but some of his stuff was electric” could describe every single hot young rookie-nookie pitcher from that last five years.
@Grey: Nice! I will definitely try to get that into circulation with my peeps.
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May 28th, 2009 at 11:08 am
@anon: There is probably like a 25% chance you can grab a closer like that off the wire via someone sucking, injury, or trades soon (Street looking good for other teams). I’d ride the wave with Lester, he’ll turn it around at least enough to not trade for an eh closer. If you could get Nathan and need some saves that’s fine, but nothing lower than elite I’d say.
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May 28th, 2009 at 11:12 am
@Grey: Oh me too. I have him on my team and missed his 2 homer game. Dizzy V may need to stay even if he isn’t dizzy anymore. Kinda like Pudge has stuck.
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May 28th, 2009 at 11:12 am
@Baron Von Vulturewins: I think Greinke will wind up right around 2.50 for ERA. Which is part of the reason why I’d want Jones.
If he goes out and gives up 5 ERs in a game and then comes back the next with 7 IP 0-1 ERs or whatever…then maybe I’d buy him. Right now, he’s on an incredible roll. I just would want to see how he responds to getting beat up in a game before saying he’ll have a season for the ages or even that he’ll outperform Santana.
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May 28th, 2009 at 11:14 am
I can do one better than Bruce: Adrian Gonzalez has managed to hit 18 HRs and has only 34 RBIs!
Other kings of the solo HR: Chipper (3 of 4 were solo), Blalock (7 of 11). All I had to do was check my own roster! Ranking 4th in HR, yet 9th in RBI in my league.
Then we have the case of high AVG leadoff hitter with low R totals (again, just consulting my own roster): Ichiro is batting .343 but only has 16 R (1 R in the past 7 games, despite hitting 18/30). It’s as if his teammates hate him so much they strand him on the bases on purpose so they can practice convoluted handshakes in the dugout while he watches from afar.
To end my rant: yesterday I started Dice-K, Rich Hill and Zimmermannnn while I sat AJ Burnett. See the problem? It’s official: I’m now punting both ERA and WHIP. Excuse me while I go pick up Hochevar now.
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May 28th, 2009 at 11:14 am
@Baron Von Vulturewins: a cold april equals a hot august baron? is that like april showers bring may flowers haha….
i agree tho, you dont want everyone hot at once, then when they swoon your team nose dives….
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May 28th, 2009 at 11:18 am
is a guy named Swarzak really blanking the red sox right now? and he’s walked 3 guysssss? WOW give my beckett some support dammit!!!!
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May 28th, 2009 at 11:19 am
@Maitland: Couldn’t you say a similar thing with Jones, he’s not a .300 hitter, when he has a hitting slump how will he respond?
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May 28th, 2009 at 11:21 am
@Tony: You jinxed him! Varitek with a HR.
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May 28th, 2009 at 11:22 am
@DrEasy: YESSSS that was a double reverse jinx there….. may the swarzak be with you…
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May 28th, 2009 at 11:23 am
@DrEasy: Now lets get him a couple more runs so i can get a win and a QS….
god i hate rooting for the red sox being an Indians fan, but fantasy baseball does that to people!
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May 28th, 2009 at 11:27 am
@Tony:
Don’t think of it as rooting for the Red Sox, think of it as rooting against the Twins.
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May 28th, 2009 at 11:29 am
@Tony: And can they get the Cleveland – Tampa game going again already? My Sizemore has one hit so far, it’s not something that happens every day.
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May 28th, 2009 at 11:36 am
I have Reimold, Gamel, and Dukes in a 14-Team mixed rotisserie, and have to get rid of one when Dukes comes off the DL. Need power. Who do I dump?
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@I’m Keith Hernandez: Stash Hanson.
@Panti Jose: Lose Gamel.
*********There’s a new post for followups for me. Merci.*******
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May 28th, 2009 at 11:40 am
@Panti Jose: 1st see if gamel stays up or not,but if reimold keeps hitting he should be playing,gotta go with starters in that deep a league
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May 28th, 2009 at 11:48 am
Anybody, who do you like and by how much….Todd Helton and Jered Weaver or Alex Rios without worrying about team needs.
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May 28th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
@bpasinko: Absolutely. I think Jones will have his average go down a bit, but I do think steals will go up and he’ll continue to get runs/rbi batting in the #2 spot.
I generally prefer hitters over pitchers. So, both have played above where they were drafted, but it hasn’t been a shock. I see them kind of similar and would prefer the hitter given that choice.
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May 28th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
Grey, I’ve read about how I’m NOT supposed to fall for the two-fer and deal a great player for two good players. But I don’t know how to pull it off successfully the other way around. I have a lot of OF and SP depth for a 12 team league.
If I can get, say Howard, for Cruz and Beckett, do I do it? Or Cruz and F-Her?
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May 28th, 2009 at 1:54 pm
My team is still last in average.
A guy in my league needs steals badly and wants Ellsbury in the worst way. I know Longoria is due for a regression (rZips has him only hitting ~275 for the rest of the season), but I was thinking of offering Reynolds and Ellsbury for him. Is that even worthwhile? Would he do it?
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