Josh Hamilton left yesterday’s game with a sore knee. Well, you knew the injury was coming at some point. The good news is he didn’t leave immediately so it couldn’t have been too bad, right? Um, yeah, hopefully. The bad news, he’s a recovering drug addict and as we all learned from Dylan McKay’s battle with drugs on 90210, addicts can’t take pain killers. This banged up knee should serve as a reminder to all of Hamilton’s fantasy baseball owners. He’s not only injury-prone, he doesn’t bounce back that quickly. Maybe it was the years of huffing? Maybe he sold his soul for a bag of rocks? Who knows. But at some point you might lose Hamilton to a more serious injury, don’t rely on him for everything. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Dave Bush – 7 IP, 1 ER. All he does is pitch quality starts!… Actually that’s a complete lie. He had about two years in there where he was unusable. I’m still not going anywhere near him.
A.J. Burnett – Pitched well, but I imagine a quick ten runs of support is psychologically similar to when I drink Tequila. “My bad, officer, I had no idea roof surfing like Teen Wolf was illegal.”
Jay Bruce – Batting seventh last night. Gotta love rookies, right? Well, I told you to sell high on May 31st and, if that didn’t convince you, Karabell told you Bruce would be this year’s Braun.
Alexis Rios – Hit a home run against Arroyo. (Then again Arroyo gave up ten runs in one inning to the Blue Jays. An extremely hard thing to do.)
Reed Johnson – Hit the 15-day DL retroactive to June 18th. This gives Little Patterson a bit of breathing room. Gotta look at Eric Patterson in deep leagues, if you can get past his striking (out) resemblance to Corey).
Ramon Hernandez – Has hit in 6 in the row, 9 out of 10. If you can remember back to March, Ramon (that’s Nomar backwards!) was on a lot of ‘perts’ lists as a sleeper. Well, he’s now getting hot. I don’t think Hernandez is done; I also wouldn’t drop Doumit or better for him.
Mark Buehrle - 1 ER in 8 IP. I spot started Buehrle on one team that lost Wainwright. Worked out okay. I may not start him again, but I felt better about it than last week’s Oliver Perez spot start. Speaking of…
Oliver Perez – He gave up 6 ER to the Giants in a third of an inning on 6/2. Then he pitched well against the Padres and the Rangers. Then he was lit up by the Angels and Mariners. He gets the Yankees next. You can probably find a better spot start.
Shawn Hill – 6 ER in 3 IP. *sitting down* Ouch, that hurts! *trying to sit down again* Ouch, still hurts!
Jonathan Sanchez – Dirty Sanchez doesn’t do him justice. His stuff his so nasty from now on he will be known as Filthy Sanchez.
Ryan Doumit – He returns and hits a home run. Tell me who’s better, Doumit or Soto? Tell me!
Mike Napoli – Crapoli was in a horrific slump before last night’s game. Maybe this breaks him out. Watch him as if your life depends on it. Or at least your crazy aunt’s life. She loves you and her cats!
Kevin Slowey – 7 Ks, 0 ER in 6 IP. I do have a soft spot for Slowey, but for a guy that gives up a lot of home runs, this was a peach matchup. So, for those in Latin America, caveat emptor.
Jeremy Guthrie – I’m glad I didn’t have to send off my strongly worded letter to the Orioles offense about the importance of run support.
Trevor Hoffman – He was Kazaam’d.
Zach Greinke – As many of you already know, I traded Melky Cabrera to my blogmate Rudy Gamble for Zach Greinke. Soon after the trade, Rudy dropped Melky to waivers because of poor production. Last night Greinke K’d 10 on his way to a quality start/win. This is turning into a trade similar to Doyle Alexander for John Smoltz or Jim Fregosi for Nolan Ryan or Valerie Harper for Sandy Duncan. Hey, Rudy, turn on some sad songs and grab a pint of ice cream, cause you’ve been Greinke’d!
sheffield or tulo for longterm value in a util or reserve spot… i know sheff is as fragile as Tom Cruise’s ego but is his upside worth more than speculating tulo’s repeat of last year’s success in the second half?
Grienke’s line for Grey’s team:
70.0 IP, 4 W, 65 K, 4.50 ERA, 1.33 ERA
Those interleague games have definitely made his total lines look respectable.
Too bad he isn’t going to face the NL his next 10 starts.
How many pitcher’s lines look better in interleague play? Well, the majority of interleague pitching lines are looking better than Arroyo who is quoted as saying, “Just one of those days.” Ya think?
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, in the case of O. Perez vs. The Baron, have you reached a verdict?
We have, your honor. We find Oliver Perez…. Sucky.
No matter, though. Signs of life from Alex Rios! This is very good news for my regular league team, even if I just shipped Rios out in RCL. (Meanwhile Sherrill got one of his patented load-the-bases-then-strike-out-everyone-in-sight saves last night.)
Also good news: Holliday heating up! It’s going to be a hot Holliday season!
Also: Doumit. The last time I had a decent-hitting catcher was when I drafted Lance Parrish in the 4th round in 1984. Go Doumit!
Also: Aviles! 2/3, 2R, 1 RBI, 8 RBIs over last week… come fly with me, come fly, come fly away….
Also: O-CAB: 2/5, Run, Ribbie, Swipe. This one’s for you, PorkBurn.
Hopefully CrackPipe isn’t as fragile as a … crack pipe.
Anyhow, I need some collective opinions on next week 2 start opportunities, here are some of the Belly Itchers I am considering:
Wandy- VS LA (Kershaw), @ ATL (Morton)
Clayton- @ HOU (Wandy), @ SF (Cain)
Morton- VS PHI (Kendrick), VS HOU (Wandy)
Gregory Smith- @ ANA (Garland), @ CHW (Floyd)
The other options blow… Zito? Dave Bush? Woooof.
I dropped my crack pipe once… it survived.
…Anyway. Orioles are hitting better as a whole team of late. I’m not surprised to see Ra-Hern doing the same. With Scott, Huff, Millar, Markakis, and B-Rob in front of him – there should be some RBI opportunity, no?
I still don’t understand why Markakis is batting second – he’s the best power guy on the team, I think Trembley hates Greeks…
@ Commie
Doesn’t everyone hate Greeks?
I kid I kid! I love gyros.
@SaltyBiscuits: All of those options make my heart cry.
I’m kind of warming up to Charlie Morton, though I can’t recommend him against Philly. Maybe I just like him because he sounds like someone who came to town to sell our mayor a dirigible. “Mr Morton! Mr Morton! Can this machine really fly?”
Clayton seems unlikely to get torched against either of these teams, though SF seems to be hitting a bit better of late. Dave Bush has broken hearts before and he will again. Zito — Zi-no. Wandy is the definition of yawnstipation.
Am I helping yet?
I’d say Clayton and Smith, though I expect wiser men will disagree.
Meanwhile Ramón Vázquez just keeps on hitting… Anyone buying this yet?
P.S. Can I just say how sad it is that, for Ramon Hernandez, hitting in 6 in a row is considered “getting hot”? Not homering in 6, but just eeking out a hit.
You have to understand my relationship with Ramon Hernandez, who to me is like the high school girlfriend who left the prom with another guy. Or, more accurately, who I invited to the prom year after year, even though every year she’d just sit there and do nothing and not dance until I finally broke up with her, and then she’d dance with someone else, but not particularly well.
I’m surprised there was no mention of JJ Hardy. He’s hit safely in 8 straight batting .356 during that time, with 5 R’s, 1 HR, 6 RBI, and only 3 K’s. I know it’s not setting the world on fire, but JJ can get hot and this may be the beginning of a run. I’ve picked him up since I’ve been juggling SS with Furcal on the DL.
I read somewhere else that Clay Bucholz was coming off the DL soon and was worthy of a pickup. Anyone biting?
@Frank Rizzo: I added Bucky in the RCL. Then again, my pitching staff includes Jerry Garvin and Luis Leal, so I need all the help I can get.
@danimal35: I think Sheff is past his born on date. Tulo may struggle the whole year, but I wouldn’t necessarily turn to Sheff as the replacement.
@Rudy Gamble: Ability to throw it in your face — priceless.
@SaltyBiscuits: Kershaw/punt. If you have to have another one, Morton.
@Commie-tment Issues: He hit two home runs this month and two last month. He’s 31 and pretty boring, not personality-wise, more stat-wise.
@Baron Von Vulturewins: Ramon hit a HR last week.
@Frank Rizzo: You can do worse than Hardy, Ramon Vazquez for instance.
@Grey: Drop Josh Willingham for Filthy Sanchez? I need most of the offensive categories, but I also need some pitching Ks.
@Zebo: Isn’t there someone else you can drop?
Milton Bradley for Alex Rios. Team getting Bradley is in last place in AVG, HR, and RBI.
what’s the consensus?
@Grey:
C: Doumit
1B: CoJacks, Ortiz
2B: Phillips, Cano
SS: Yunel, Aviles
3B: Wright
OF: Guillen, Jacoby, Markakis, Hunter
Util: Willingham
SP: Verlander, Harang, Hudson, E. Santana, Kazmir
RP: Delcarmen, Broxton, Mike Gonzalez, Hoffman (ouch), F Cordero, Torres
I am thinking along your line of logic, when in doubt, drop the lowest MR on the Totem pole, but right now, I am 3rd worst in holds, but only 5 holds behind 2nd place, and I feel Bosox will win a bunch of games, and Delcarmen is gonna be right there.
Also, what is up with David Wright’s SB totals? The guy had 35 last year, and that’s why I drafted him 5th overall, now he is on pace for 20 SB!!!!
@Baron – I’m the guy who was the other side of the Sherrill/Rios trade. Maybe it’s one of those deals that actually helps both teams. I had a 28.5 point bounce leaping at of last place to 11th, now a mere 44.5 points out of first, thanks in large part to Rios. Glad you enjoyed that easy Sherrill save.
@Grey – I love your Hamilton/90210 analysis. You can’t find that on the World Wide Leader.
@everybody – in my Yahoo money league, Helton is killing me. I’m thinking about moving Carlos Guillen to first, Jeter out of Util, and picking up Elijah Dukes to form a platoon with Nady at Util, while dumping Helton. Thoughts? Yes, I’ve tried to trade either Guillen or Jeter for someone decent but so far I can’t even get Kevin Slowey for either one of them. Seriously screwed up league.
@Zebo:
Holds are easier to find than SP who can pitch to 3 categories. Plus, Willingham will be nice in the middle of that lineup… Delcarman? Aviles? Hell, even Guillen. I’d take Willy and Sanchez over any combination of the three.
@ Zebo:
I’d ditch Gonza. I think once Soriano comes back fully, he’ll take it away. The better of the two pitchers in ATL in my opinion. Plus you look like you’re set on save with Torres, F-Cord, and Hoffman will throw a couple in there.
@everyone: I am offering Hoffman for Gutherie. Think it’s fair, think it will be accepted? The other team’s last in saves. Or I could offer Cordero.
C: Doumit
1B: CoJacks, Ortiz
2B: Phillips, Cano
SS: Yunel, Aviles
3B: Wright
OF: Guillen, Jacoby, Markakis, Hunter
Util: Willingham
SP: Verlander, Harang, Hudson, E. Santana, Kazmir
RP: Delcarmen, Broxton, Mike Gonzalez, Hoffman (ouch), F Cordero, Torres
Stay the hell away from EriKK Patterson, a.K.a lil’ KKorey. He was bad in AAA and he’s going to be worse in the bigs.
Doumit makes me sad. I dropped him sorta by accident earlier in the year when he was on the DL. That sent him to waivers where I had the #3 priority. The #1 guy snagged him and I’ve been farting in my beer ever since.
Soto’s better. Deal with it. Not really, but pretend you agree with me.
@Russ: Don’t trade for Bradley.
@Zebo: I agree with RT.
@Bob: I think it’s time to move away from Helton.
@IowaCubs: Waiting to see how long to strike a nerve with some Soto talk.
Question: Is Giambi and Joba too much to give up for Adrian Gonzalez or not enough?
@everyone: Commie-tment Issues has a good point, I am contemplating dropping Gonzalez for Jonathan Sanchez. But one more thing I want to ask, does Bobby Cox’ closer management style erode the values of all his closers? Is Soriano really coming back? I thought he was done as far as this year goes.
@Rizzo: It might be enough for a Yankees fan. Not sure a rational human being would go for it, but it would be worth a try.
@Frank Rizzo: Adrian Gonzalez is a bit safer than Giambi but giving up Joba too seems unnecessary for that slight upgrade.
@Zebo: You can’t trade one of your closers?
That’s funny. Bob thinks it’s a lopsided trade for A Gonz and Grey doesn’t think it’s worth it. How good is A Gonz anyway?
I wondered about that slight upgrade too. How does Giambi compare if he stays healthy all year? His HR pace is unreal when you realize how many fewer AB’s he’s had than others. His numbers from the past were silly for HR’s and RBI.
@ Zebo: Try to package Gonzo with someone and move him for an upgrade instead of just dropping him, first. It’ll open up a spot for Sanchez and upgrade a position. That’s if you think Sanchez will survive the waivers while you try to deal.
@everyone: I just bought myself time by dumping Delcarmen (using Grey’s philosophy) while I try to move my closers. No one will trade for Gonzelez because of his injuries the past two years. But I think Cordero and Hoffman will both have value, though Hoffman has less. I think I will stay with Torres, since that team will get a lot of low score wins, and they seem to want to use Backne in a set up role, even if it’s at least just for now. I just offered Hoffman for Gutherie straight to a team with only single digit saves (could that team be punting saves?) I am also thinking about packaging one of the closers with a hot bat like Guillen to get something.
@Frank Rizzo: A Gonz is younger, better batting average, presumably healthier. Giambi better lineup, better ballpark. I like Gonz better, but by how much? By Joba’s worth? Seems to be too much and I think Joba should be sold, but I think Joba’s perceived value is more than that trade. Though it is very close.
@Grey: Okay, well, Soto’s better looking.
@Frank Rizzo: A Gonz is top five 1B this year. He’s in the prime of his career and he hits at Petco. It’s unreal to think what his numbers would be like if he played for the Reds. I suppose some regression is coming, but he’s been great this year.
@Zebo: Good move.
@Grey: Ahh… perceived value. Damn you, perceived value!
@Zebo
Absolutely. There aren’t that many pitchers I’d start ahead of Jonny right now. I’ve had him all year and although it was vogue to dump him during one tiny rough stretch, he’s a monster.
7 wins, 96 K’s in 95 IP, 3.98 ERA and 1.39 WHIP. In the past month he’s been getting better.
@Bob: Agreed. And like I said, I’m Rios-invested elsewhere, so I’m cheering him on. I’ve never been of the school of “For a trade to be successful, the guy I shipped out must suck indefinitely.” If I gave away something I could afford, and got something I needed, I am happy.
@Grey: You and your “facts.”
@Zebo: Don’t ditch MGonzo yet. Rafael Soriano is no lock to come back at all. Persistent elbow pain is to pitchers as persistent groin pain is to professional groin stretchers.
@Russ: Don’t do this. Go look at Milton Bradley’s career stats. You will become frightened. Also, Rios is heating up. Embrace him!
@Frank Rizzo: I agree with Grey though I do think AGonzo is a decent trade target, if you can get him for Giambi + x. And I say this as someone who traded AGonzo away earlier (for Lackey, and I needed SP, so I’m happy).
Don’t forget AGonzo is a) young and b) former first overall pick. So he has skills. Another leap forward — i.e. 35-40 HRs, 120 RBIs — is not out of the question. He did go into a long ugly slump around this time last year, but so far he’s shown no signs of a repeat. And Giambi is no stranger to long ugly slumps.
@IowaCubs: Doumit and I just got married in California. Mazel tov!
@everyone: This is so anal-retentive, but I just thought I’d point out that, if you click on the little arrow under someone’s name in their comment, you’ll get one of those “@ so-and-so” links. Like this:
@knighttown:
Which is useful, ’cause then if you want to see what comment someone’s responding to, you just click and it will take you there. Rather than, say, typing in “@ Zebo” or whatever.
Wow, I’m annoying myself now.
@IowaCubs: For a taste of what AGonzo might do outside of Petco, look at his home/road splits from last year: 20 HRs on the road, 10 at home. In a hitter’s park, 45 total would be easily in reach.
This year he’s closer though: 12 road, 9 home.
@Baron Von Vulturewins:
That is neat. Can I rant on catchers for a moment with all this Doumit/Soto stuff. If it’s possible, catching alone may cost me my pool this year.
-I wasted a second round pick on V-Mart.
-Now he’s taking up a DL spot for me which leaves me with 3 for 2 (Putz just sitting idle)
-Picked up Rod Barajas
-Sobered up and dropped Rod Barajas
-Picked up the “red-hot” Miguel Olivo
-He retired or something and got 10 AB’s in the 2 weeks I had him
-Picked up Jarred Salta-somehting-or-other
-Started him yesterday, went o-fer.
-Dropped him and picked up Ramon Hernandez…honestly, only because he was mentioned in today’s blog.
YTD summary, ZERO HR’s from catchers this year.
@Baron Von Vulturewins: I had no idea people didn’t know about the arrow thing. BTW, That was a very solid rant you just had there.
@knighttown: That was an even better rant.
@knighttown: You might have to suck it up and trade for a catcher. Not a star, but someone decent. This position can be a huge sucking black hole.
To this day I refuse to waste a first 5 round pick on any catcher (why go after VMart’s 20 donks and 80 ribbies in the second round when FA OFs do that for free all time time?) but I also can no longer stomach waste products like Ramon Hernandez in the 18th.
Anyway, I had Doumit, dropped him, got him back when he got dropped when he was on the DL, and am now happy like clam. Maybe you should try to trade for Mauer or even Miguel Olivo if you have to. Just someone you can plug in and forget about it.
That said, Ramon will get hot for little stretches. But he is dead to me.
@Grey: Any thoughts on Daryl Thompson? He pitched pretty well at Yankee Stadium and threw in the 94-95 range? Also someone dropped Oliver Perez in my league, I kno hes very streaky and unpredictable but is he worth a claim just to see what he does?
Hola, me llamo Brian Fuentes.
When do I get traded?
(I am thinking of making a preemptive strike and picking up Taylor Bucholz).
@SaltyBiscuits: I’ve had Buchholz for over a month now…hes done very good. Why not boost your ERA/WHIP/K’s while you have a possible closer also. Grab him.
@wakeNbake: Pass on Perez. Take a flier on Thompson.
@SaltyBiscuits: Not sure about the trade, but Buchholz has been solid anyway, so if you have room grab him.
@SaltyBiscuits: Tomorrow.
@wakeNbake: Well, I’m playing in a H2H points league that puts heavy emphasis on counting stats (wins & saves each worth 10 points, a perfect inning with a K = 3 pts) so setup men have basically 0 value in this format.
@Colorado Rockies: Fo’ Real? Don’t mean to sound like a jackass, but do you have a source?
Wait a second, is this Dan O’Dowd surfing the Razzcaverns? If so, could you please trade Matt Holliday to the Mets for.. oh, I don’t know, Moises? Any interest in 4 years of Luis Castillo?
@SaltyBiscuits: Please don’t trade Holliday to the Mets, lest he be infected by the disease that’s turned the whole team into limp noodles.
Kraft’s new Spicy Chipotle Malaise! Now spread all over the Mets!
@SaltyBiscuits: At the risk of contradicting the Colorado Rockies themselves, I think Fuentes will get traded but not for awhile. Teams traditionally wait until midnight on trade day to ship closers, mostly to jack up their prices. See Gagne, Eric.
Think Clay Buchholz is back in the rotation any time soon, hes been pitching well in AAA.
Recently made a trade…. I gave up Rios,Tejada and Hamels for Rollins,Harang and Torii Hunter…what ya think?
@Mike: It’s always dangerous to come for the post-trade analysis.
This seems like a reasonable swap, though I don’t love it. Let’s break it down:
Tejada Harang
Rios >/= Hunter
I think if Rios emerges from the darkness, this will look like a bad trade for you in hindsight. Then again, you got the best player (Rollins) so you can’t feel too bad.
@Baron Von Vulturewins: yeah my thinking was that I win with Rollins over Tejada, plus I have Ryan Howard which is nice to have with Rollins. I still like Rios, although look at Hunter and Rios numbers over the past 3 or 4 years, Hunter is more consistent and hits in a much better lineup. However if Rios comes out of the Fantasy Baseball Abyss Ill give Rios an edge over Hunter but not by much. I obviously lose with Hamels for Harang but Harang still puts up K’s and hes not as bad as he’s been. Look at what this trade makes my lineup look like.
C-A.J
1B-Howard
2B-Kinsler
3B-Aramis
SS-Jimmy
OF1-Lance Berkman
OF2-Markakis
OF3-Crawford
Util1-Hunter
Util2-Fred Lewis or Mike Aviles (Platoon)
….pretty serious no?
@Baron Von Vulturewins: My little symbols didn’t work out there. But you get the gist.
That’s a good looking lineup!
You’re not recommending a spot-start for Ollie this weekend against the Skankees, but he’s 4-1 with a 2.88 career ERA against them…he pretty much owns these guys, it might not be a terrible bet…
@Mike: VIVA MIKE AVILES!!!!!!!!!!!
Mike Gonzalez picks up another save! More importantly, he gets his second straight save op…
would u guys start Oswalt against Texas tonight? No Josh Hamilton tonight I think… so thats a plus.
@wakeNbake: I wouldn’t start Roy Oswalt against the men’s amatuer baseball team I play for, which is currently 0-12. (It is our rookie season, still getting rust off, give us a break. I went 2-4 with a 1B, 2B and 3 RBIs last week, huzzah).
@SaltyBiscuits: Are you SS eligible? I could use you on one of my teams. Are you in the Yahoo! database yet?
@RotoDish: I’m not recommending O. Perez ever. That shizz is at your own risk.
@SaltyBiscuits: @Baron Von Vulturewins: There’s no way he’s in the Yahoo database. Maybe CBS.
@Baron Von Vulturewins: @Grey: Actually, I would be eligible at 3B and SS. Working on SP eligibility (gotta get some consistency with the deuce, I can break a nice one off once in a while but it isn’t game ready).
@RotoDish: Oliver Perez along with the entire Mets franchise is SHIT!! Ollie will get shitted on when he plays the Yankees. S-H-I-T-T-E-D ON!!!!!!!
Josh Hamilton and Robinson Cano for Brandon Phillips and Alfonso Soriano?
My friend in my league just recently made this trade and was receiveing the Hamilton side, he thought he was robbing the other team…..I just dont see it tho, if you ask me he lost in this move. I kno Cano usually has a good second half but he is losing in SB big time in this move. I say unless Cano goes crazy he lost. How do you guys view this move?
@JR: of course, when I start Mike Gonzo, he coughs up 2 home runs in non save op. When I benched him, he gets save, with 2 Ks.
@Zebo
Yeah, he’s C.J. Gonzalez.
@wakeNbake: Lots of variables (biggest one is how well does Soriano recover), but I’d take the Phillips/Soriano side and I don’t particularly like them.
I’ve got Doumit and Soto, and I’ve got Renteria at short. I offered Soto and Renteria for Carlos Guillen. Good move?
@emayetee: I think you can get more than Guillen. Say Furcal, but it’s a decent deal.
Spot start Garza @ Florida tomorrow?
@cruisinkc: Sure, I would.
@SaltyBiscuits: I can also break a nice deuce off once in awhile, especially if I’ve been eating my fibre. But I don’t think that will help anyone in fantasy baseball.
How do you feel about using J.P Howell as a MR guy? He has good numbers as he gets wins. 49.2IP/ 6W/ 45K’s/ 2.90 ERA/ 1.09 WHIP
@wakeNbake: Definitely worth owning.
Any time table on Wainwright’s return? before/ after All-Star break…I havent heard anything on him
@Mike: Think the word on the street is late July. *****Take followup questions to the Rios post****
There is no Rios post?
I have a feeling there will be
“Tell me who’s better, Doumit or Soto?”
Soto. He’s had the worst luck of any hitter I can remember seeing. Five home runs knocked down by the wind, line drives hit right at fielders about once a game, robbed of hits almost nightly–twice on Tuesday in fact.
Id take Soto over Doumit, Soto plays for a better team and is in a much better lineup
Yeah still no Rios post . . . I’m confused/puzzled/befuddled/p0rked.
@p0rk burn: ****It’s there now. I thought I posted it right before I went to bed. Instead I must’ve saved it.
Another highlight reel play by Crede robbing Soto on Saturday.
It’s almost a daily occurrence.