1
5
0Ben Zobrist had a pretty good day yesterday. A double slam and legs and 10 RBIs. Zobrist’s wife, an aspiring singer of Christian pop music, wrote a song about Zobrist’s day called, “The Day The Lord Shined His Lovelight On Ben.” Its B-side is “Here’s The Church, Here’s The Steeple, God’s Fifth Outfielder Is Jason Kubel.” Both are pretty catchy. Kirk Cameron would rock them on his iPod. He’d unironically say, “Holy smokes! These are awesome!” Zobrist had a great day, doesn’t mean he’s the meow’s cat. His value may never be higher if you’re thinking you’d like to trade him. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Casey Kotchman – Hit his first home run of the year as he went Mono y Mano with the pitcher.
Sam Fuld – Led off and went 0-for-9 in the the doubleheader where the Rays scored 21 runs combined. That’s a ticker tease of epic proportions. After the game, a teammate touched Fuld’s shoulder and said, “You’ll get ‘em next time.” and turned away. Fuld responded, “That’s not why I was here. I just wanted to see this team reach its potential.” The befuddled teammate turned around and Fuld was gone.
Edwin Jackson – 4 IP, 6 ER, 9 baserunners, 2 Ks. I saw nothing worthwhile here, but it was against the Yankees, so I’m giving him one more start. That’s it.
Travis Snider – He’s evidently not taking notes in Dwayne Murphy’s class (.181 AVG w/ no power) so the Blue Jays are sending him to detention (aka AAA). The Blue Jay LF will be manned by either SAGNOFs (Patterson, Podesdnik) or a BAGNOG (Brother Ain’t Got No Glove) like Juan Rivera.
Adam Lind – Homer yesterday, now has 3 homers in 3 days. He’s not at 100% in ESPN leagues, but then again Manny’s still owned in 12% of ESPN leagues, so I’m not sure those ownership numbers mean anything.
Alex White – Called up to replace Carrasco in the rotation. Had a hot start in AAA, but his previous year in AA was nothing great. Throws a decent amount of ground balls with good Ks this year, but last year it was just okay Ks (stutterer!). Best case scenario for him is Britton, which is terrific, fabulous, wonderful. His worst case scenario is roofie’ing you and dousing your naughty bits with Sriracha. For now, I wouldn’t go near him outside of AL-Only or deep mixed leagues.
Travis Hafner – Sat out yesterday with a sore ankle. Never hear about sore cankles. Another vote for cankles! I wonder if we can convince Zobrist’s wife to help put together a ‘We Are The World’ for cankles.
Shelley Duncan – Homered then ripped Chief Wahoo’s arm off with a high five.
Grady Sizemore – 2-for-4 with his 4th homer. I’ll be honest, I’m hesitant to buy in. He abused me so many times, I flinch when I watch him. But I’ll Be Honest, Part II: More Honesty, he could hit 25 homers and steal 15 bags.
Fausto Carmona – 7 IP, 2 ER, 7 baserunners, 2 Ks. Is it me or does it seem like he’s pitching well every time out? It’s obviously me because Carmona has an ERA of 5.15. So he is pitching well, but only compared to Gallardo, Edwin Jackson or Liriano. As the Irish Justin Timberlake says, crimey a river!
Joe Mauer – Twins said Mauer wasn’t ready for the start of the season and he can’t resume any baseball activities yet. No spitting, no scratching himself.
Miguel Olivo – Hit cleanup, replacing Kennedy. Will now be known as Miguel Baines Olivo. MBO has 2 homers in the last three games. He hits them in bunches. I’d say he’d be in this afternoon’s Buy/Sell, but he won’t. I’m telling you about him now.
Michael Pineda – 6 IP, 2 ER, 7 baserunners, 9 Ks. Now has an ERA of 2.01 and a WHIP of 1.07. I have one thing to say, it sounds like, I wish I owned him sum wear.
Alexi Ogando – 6 IP, 2 ER, 7 baserunners, 7 Ks. I almost made him a sell for this afternoon’s post because his K-rate (prior to this game) and his xFIP (or ‘What’s an Ex-Fip?’ as Murray Chass calls it) was absurd.
Ian Kinsler – 2-for-4 with his 4th steal as he gets his BUPKIS in order.
Kendrys Morales – With pain lingering when he running, he’s off to see a specialist. Sylvester Stallone?
Ryan Vogelsong – 5 2/3 IP, 2 ER, 6 baserunners, 8 Ks. The Giants love Vogelsong in a Sting-like way. First, there was the tantric, never-quite-orgasmic prospect years (2000-2001). Second, they set him free, shipping him off to sea (the Pirates) like a message in a bottle. Third, he came back (which I think is the point of the ‘If You Love Somebody Set Them Free’ song otherwise it makes little sense, right?) older and wiser, having pitched in the minors and Japan for the past 5 years. All that said, he has a career ERA of 5.77 and WHIP of 1.577. Pick him up only if you’re the King of Pain.
Ryan Zimmerman – Played catch yesterday and Mark Zuckerman, from CSN Washington, said Zimmerman “won’t be back for awhile.” But they fail to mention that it was a lovely father-son moment.
Roger Bernadina – Whatever, the Nats are stoopid.
Nick Swisher – 3-for-4, 4 RBIs and his first homer. I didn’t like Swisher in the preseason and this was his first good game, but if someone grew tired of his shenanigans I’d grab him to see if he’s about to get hot.
Brett Gardner – 2-for-3, 3 runs and the slam & legs. Now if he could only pitch for my fantasy teams…
Ryan Dempster – 1/3 IP, 7 ER. Abe Froman may be the sausage king of Chicago but Ryan takes a sausage in the Dempster like a king.
Let’s not forget EEGNOG (Edwin Encarnacion Got No Glove) at 3B!
…and this is my colleague, Arnold “The Running Man” Schwarzenegger. He will be sitting in.
Ken Drys can hit and play 1st. Let him use one of those walkers with the tennis balls on the legs to round the bases.
Kendrys can stay on the DL as long as he wants. My team is sitting pretty with him on the DL and I don’t want to drop anyone at the moment.
Oh, and Grey or Rudy or whoever else, what are your thoughts on Delmon Young? Think he comes back and gets back to being his old self?
I feel like I need to make a joke about Bananas.
Berkman might’ve been worth a mention =)
@Grey Two 20 team keepers, dropping Bernadina for a) Trumbo b) Minor or should I hold? I can play the Trumbo in b minor!
Rios for Putz (1 of 5 RP’s)?
10/4/17/1/.432 – Single day stat line against my team yesterday, on a short day. Is that a record?
@Craigo: Try this: 13/5/21/2/.341! Or even better: 14/3/23/3/.545.
What to do with Dempster?
‘morning Grey. Two questions:
Who do you like more as a spot starter for tomorrow between Wolf (@ HOU/Wandy) or Beachy (vs. STL/Westbrook)?
Also, you’d rather have Baker than Liriano going forward, correct?
These are both in a 14-team roto league.
Thanks!
Wow! Talk about buy low, just traded Ellsbury for Crawford.
Grey:
Getting impatient with Torii Hunter. Swap him out for teammate Peter Bourjos?
“I am the calf
I am the ankle
I’m the same thickness bottom to top, I am the cankle.
There’s a choice I’m makin’
I’m wearing low cut socks
It’s so there’s more cankle to see
For you and me.”
by Julianna Zobrist
Hi Grey!
What’s wrong with the Dread Pirate?
I play in a YaHOO! 12 team 6×6 H2H NaCLMDMAATV42 League, or something like that…
Anythehoo, I was excited to have been able to draft him. I was sad the other day when I benched Krispie, 2 HRs and, like, 50 RBIs, and the DP got nada. Though not as sad as the guy in my League who benched Zobrist yesterday (hee hee.) I’ve got Krispie, Stubbs, Berkman (riding the lightning!), and Raburn to cover the outfield until the DP feels better. It’s not like I’m going to drop him (Yahoo won’t let me anyhow) and I’m one of 4 people who’ve stuck with Raburn all this time, so there’s that. I guess this isn’t really a question and I’m only really looking for some words of encouragement and maybe a Grape Nehi.
Take it easy and thanks for making spurt coffee through my nose every morning!
Grey…. what do you think about giving up Nolasco for Alex Gordon?….10 team h2h 8×8 keeper league.I need XBH and RBI,and am already loaded w/ high k/9 SP’s Price,Felix,Ubaldo….Gordon has burned me before,Im just not sure if Im ready to commit.
Grey/All : Just got offered 2 deals in keeper league.
1)Jonny Sanchez for Adam Lind and Farnsworth
2) Youk for Lester…..only prob is Youk is a 16th round keeper where as Lester who is a second would be tossed back to the dogs next year
I currently have Youk, Kendrick,Berkman diddling in and out at first and Kuo, Marmol, Hanrahan and Feliz as closers.
What’s your thoughts on the deal or really deal as Im not a fan of #2?
I have Alexei Ramirez and Desmond, and today, Rios and Jeter were dropped. Do I drop Ramirez or Desmond for Rios or Jeter?
“Ryan Dempster – 1/3 IP, 7 ER. Abe Froman may be the sausage king of Chicago but Ryan takes a sausage in the Dempster like a king.” Best line in Razzball history. Made me spit out my morning coffee laughing!!!
No more waiting around for Dempster. He’s a pile of worthless.
My Zobrist for his Youk?
@Grey: My pitching is a mess. If I offer Alex Gordon, should a target Kuroda or Garza for quality starts?
Kyle McClellan – Was that a bump in the road, or is everyone catching on to the fact that he’s an RP in SP clothes?
Joel Piniero – I’ve stashed him on my DL all year in a deep mixed league, but all my starters are doing well, should I just drop him?
@Mr. Rickey: Definitely.
Regarding Dempster, there needs to be a glossary term for a struggling veteran you trade for in a ‘buy low’ deal, who then takes a steaming dump on your team.
/Also a Cubs fan.
//He ruined my night.
@Grey: 12 team mixed and growing impatient with Pedro Alvarez. Should I drop him for Freese? I’m tempted, man. What do you think? Cut bait on Pedro or hold out for a few more weeks? Thanks in advance!
Gardner got dropped in my 10 team H2H league, should I drop Tabata for him? My offense:
C: Wieters
1B: Votto
2B: Phillips
SS: Andrus
3B: Reynolds
OF: Holliday
OF: Pence
OF: Krispie
UT: Dunn
UT: Lind
BN: Tabata
Guh, what to do with E. Jackson in a 16 Team H2H Keeper?
These are the available arms:
McDonald, Lewis (just hit waivers), Richard, Bailey, Narveson, Garland, Correia, and more crizzap…
Now that I look at this, it looks like I gotta ride out the E.Jax storm.
Shiksa!
@Eddie: also a Cubs fan. Got offered him for Boggs in the RCL. I told myself, “if he gets a quality start, do it!” Obviously, we know how that turned out…I don’t want him on my fantasy team or my real team.
Sending some props for the great wordplay/analysis. Good work.
Here’s to D.Hudson realigning to his FIP.
Am I missing something with Bernadina? His minor league numbers are crap, except he steals bases. Sounds like a rich mans Rajai Davis to me. Just sayin’.
Open to the floor. I have Berkman in a pair of deep and competitive money leagues and want to test the waters and see what I can get. I’m riding high early, so I can take on some buy low guys in hopes of long-term production. Who would be some reasonable targets?
Who wins this trade?
I get Mauer, Halladay, Garza, Alex Gordon, League, Aardsma
for
Carlos Santana, Lester, Josh Johnson, Pineda, Brian Wilson.
Also if you take away Pineda and Gordon from the trade, how does that change it?
Guys available: Bumgarner, Britton, Wolf, Colon, Tomlin.
Guys I can potentially drop for them: Narveson, Harang, Volquez, Jackson.
Should I make a move, and if so, which one(s)?
Thanks, as always.
@Evan I don’t like that trade at all. If you’re pitching rich I wouldn’t waste a deal for a catcher as the centerpeice. What are your needs?
@scalez: Depends on positional desires, I think. Are there any spots in particular that you’d really like to upgrade?
@Danks Nugs: Not really. Pitching is top class. Just fishing. Would probably like to add a donkeycorn and maybe a 2B if Figgins doesn’t get turned on.
@Grey Which side do you like better? J Upton or Crawford? Gotta think that Crawford can only get better, right?
I’m going to pickup brett garner from free agency and need to drop one out of my 3 1B’s… Billy Butler, Freddie Freeman, or Gaby Sanchez. Who would you drop?
How long should I ride out Lowrie until I pick up Figgins? I do have Hill on the DL, but I may bench him when he comes off it.
Non-keeper league, would you rather own Vernon Wells or Des Jennings? Thanks for any input.
Grey– no mention about David Cooper’s call up in Toronto? Could be a gem in AL only leagues. He almost made the team out of spring training this year and is a former #1 pick. Do you see him getting AB’s?
I got Dempster in a 14 team H2H league with only 20 transactions a year. Do I dump him and pick up someone who is unproven or just sit him on the bench for a couple starts to see if he can come back at all.
@scalez
It’s a ROTO league and my team is definitely pitching rich, I’m probably not going to accept the deal since Gordon for Pineda in that deal is buying super high, but my fantasy team is struggling on the offense side. The guy I’m trading with’s team is the opposite…
here’s a link to my team:
http://games.espn.go.com/flb/clubhouse?leagueId=87067&teamId=9&seasonId=2011
Love Dempster’s Ferris reference.
12 team roto, 4 OF
Damon or Francoeur
Leake or Zambrano
Thanks
I hear that my #1 pick Longoria will be back on Tuesday.
I’m starting to ponder who to drop.
The nominees are:
Bourjous
Reynolds
Smoak
Who you think?
I mean granted I’m going to drop off soon since I’m not actually the best player in fantasy baseball, but I will give myself a little love because I’m only 2 years removed from a season where I had a .907 OPS with 25 HRs in 136 games, and before that I was a beast for 9 straight years.
I’m just sayin, I could be pretty good this year.
@SwaggerJackers: alex gordon was offered to my buddy for Verlander by some quack in our league…. lol just for reference…. you’re more in the ballpark than him.
@Atherton32: Keep Dump but bench. That’s what i’m doing.
ALright pick 2 out of the three for my 4/5 starters next week
Pineda at home vs Tex
FLoyd at sea
hudson @ col
pineda flyod right?
As amazing as it sounds, he’s actually getting worse. My team ERA’s ballooned up to 5.60 after last night. I punted him for the shirt thief Leake. Criminals are welcomed. Dumpsters not.
The last go around has been brutal. Dempster, Narveson, Harrison, Oswalt, Latos, then Dempster again. I’ve never had a stretch like that before. Comes right as the offense is showing signs of waking up.
Keeping Morales was a major faux pas… to say the least.
Season already over. I guess it’s better than losing the title in the final week. Hope to make some trades with contending teams to help me next year.
Well, I guess that hold on Snider advice is moot now. What an anchor that guy has been on my team. Glad to cast him off, as it were.
He is replaced by the Sandsman. I don’t know if that’s the answer, but Bourjos was already picked up by someone (grrr!), so it was about the best I could do.
It really sucks to see your buddy’s team, currently perched atop the standings, get a luckbox 10 RBI day from Zobrist. I think my entire team has 10 RBIs this week!
Can someone explain to me why Zobrist didn’t get a pitch to the earhole? Am I the only man left in America who believes that it’s ok to take out your frustrations over others’ success by attempting to knock their blocks off?!
I’m gonna just guess that the Twins are a bunch of “people with female sex organs”.
Any of the commenters out there have a chance to actually watch Dempster for his starts this year? Does it look like he is just off on his mechanics (e.g.) so that he could fix it and return to being effective, or does it look like he’s just lost it? I have read that his velocity is fine, and his problems have been a combination of control issues (esp. last night) and unlucky HR/FB %, but without seeing him myself all I see are his terrible stats befouling my fantasy team. Like many other commenters, I am on the fence between dropping him and holding him on my bench to see if he can figure it out. It would be helpful to hear from anyone who has watched him this year to give their considered thougths.
@Lob Ball: I got sick of Reynolds strikeouts a week ago and let him hit the waiver wire.
@JoeC: and after all of our bitching and fighting preseason, we both had to make the same move yesterday…Snider for Sands. It’s like the world is coming full circle.
Grey,
Wow, real pathos in that Fuld blurb – loved it!
@Rabbit: I saw him pitch against the D-Backs. I thought his mechanics looked unchanged, but his problem was location. I wouldn’t drop him yet. You do have to consider that five of his starts were in Wrigley, Coors and Chase.
@Eddie: Dumpster gave you the Stats Splats?
@scalez: You might be able to make a run at a Weeks or a Walker, or perhaps a combo of a Hill or Espinosa with a closer…or something like that.
God I hate Fausto. Only throws well when he’s not on my team. When I have him, I he shits the bed. Can’t take the pressure of playing on a winner.
Everytime I look at my starting pitchers and see both Liriano AND Gallardo there I want to vomit. It’s bad enough I have to leave one pitching spot benched and play wait and see, but right now I don’t think I can trust either of them. Can’t justify dumping them yet either. Maybe give them until mid-June and if no recovery in sight dump or what?
@Danks Nugs: re: a deal for Berkman. I sent him and Carlos Santana for Dunn. I already had Wieters, so I didn’t need Santana. And while Dunn is hot garbage right now, I’m figuring when it gets a little warmer in Chicago, he’s going to have a 15 HR month.
@3FingersBrown: both he and I shit the bed. Not together. That would be gross.
@Grey: With Zim still on the DL, and Callaspo cooled off considerably, am a deranged to subject myself to Brandon Wood? My RCL team is tanking badly and I’m in need of power like in that Lox song.
Eff you Nick Swisher. Schmohawk. Just dropped him yesterday. Still think his numbers will be more of the type he had with the sox a couple of years ago. Meathead.
Thoughts on todays starters
Dice K vs seattle anyone?
Chacin vs pitt?
Marcum vs houston?
leaning towards starting all 3. Hope they don’t take a dumpster on me.
@Rabbit: I’ve seen him his last two starts and I saw him in his first outing of the season. In his first outing, he looked fine, control hitting 91. Against the Dodgers, he looked less fine but still okay. Nothing we haven’t seen before. It was a crazily windy day and everything that went in the air went out the park. Troubling results, but I wasn’t worried enough to bench him as he’s always been prone to bad inning or two. Last night was different, total meltdown in every single area of pitching. No point going into detail. It was even worse than April 09 when his daughter was ill, maybe there is something off the field we don’t know about as he appears healthy though he didn’t hit 90 last night. WORST thing was he threw a slow fastball right down the heart of the plate with Drew at 0-2 and the bases loaded. I couldn’t believe it. He’s still got too much upside (200ks with sub-4 era and 1.30 whip that doesn’t kill you) to drop. I’m going to sit him for the next three starts and see how he goes. If they go well and the one after that is easy I’ll trhow him again.
I’m gonna roll with Randy Wolf if I can find someone to drop. Jennings? I heard he may not be called up until mid-July now. (non-keeper)
Hey Grey, happy friday.
Who’s the better bench option in an OBP and Triples league? Daniel Murphy, Mitch Moreland, Matt Joyce, Mark Trumboner, Derek Lee, Sean Rodriguez?
FWIW Prado is my 2b and i traded away zobrist, so I’m kinda smarting at 2b. Prety solid elsewhere though. Cheers.
Apologies if this has already been shared, but i found this analysis and presentation of Mariano’s dominance pretty impressive:
http://video.nytimes.com/video/2010/06/30/sports/1247468158551/how-mariano-rivera-dominates-hitters.html?scp=2&sq=mariano%20rivera&st=cse
I grew tired of trying to setttle on 2b options (beckham, espinosa, lowrie, etc) so I packaged Sizemore (already strong in OF) and Gordon (Longoria coming back) for Weeks. Do you guys think this is a classic sell high or did I give up too much?
I know a lot of others must be trying to sell Gordon, I was unsuccessful in one for one offers…
@Dad:
Good stuff, thanks for sharing!
@Grey: In a league that uses OBP instead of AVG and also counts offensive K’s against I have Mauer wasting away on the DL. Who do you like as a fill in until he returns:
Hundley, Conger, Ruiz, Ramos, Yadier
Grey, hey.
I have to choose two back-end starters from among: Travis Wood, Beachy, Pineda, dlR, or Masterson. Which two would you take?
Thanks.
Side A: Liriano, Aardsma
Side B: Edwin Jackson, Colby Lewis
Which side?
@ big red
side A
Anyone have thoughts on the wisdom of starting Arrieta tonight against the Sox (who haven’t scored more than 3 runs in over a week)?
@Rabbit: I saw the Drew grand slam. It was an 0-2 pitch and he threw an 89 mph meatball on the inner part of the plate. Missed the catcher’s glove (positioned off the plate low and in) and right in Drew’s wheelhouse. Horrible pitch on 0-2.
I might regret dropping him, but getting bombed every start, there’s more to it than just variance and blaming the high HR/flyball ratio. There’s a reason flyballs are flying out –> hitters are crushing the ball against him. And he’s been bombed every single start.
Tyson Ross or McClellan?
@GTS: Or Leake?
Whom do you prefer for a spot-start tomorrow?
Hammel v. PIT
O-Sullivan v. MIN
Alex White v. DET
After the game Zobrist was quoted as saying “Now I know what it’s like to be Sam Fuld”
@Grey: Love the Carmona blurb…the 2 K’s in 7 IP kinda sums him up to me: doesn’t miss enough bats, pitches well in 2 of 3 starts, gives up 10 ER in the third. Could win 15+ games but at what cost?
I’ve been in a H2H points league for years and every time I see a schmohawk like this, I remember I owned Jon Garland in like 2005; in a league where you get ten points for a win, I used him in a game where he won and I got 2.5 total points – he stuck around for the 5 IP because the White Sox killed the other team worse than Garland got killed.
I think I’ll pass unless I somehow become clairvoyant and can identify when to avoid that third start.
@Eddy – I’d take anyone v. PIT right now.
@hideousmutants:
The White Sox return home to face Arrieta in the Cell – that sounds like a potential slump buster to me. I wouldn’t want any part of that whether they are slumping or not.
Zobrist is a hold for me right now. None of the guys in my league is going to just hand over their star players because Zo had 1 historical day. In a H2H league he was money. I was down 4-6 going into yesterday getting very little offense, now I’m up 6-3. I’ll hold onto Zobrist. It may be signs of more good to come, especially with Longoria coming back. Zo’s numbers have been solid for a couple weeks now, not including BA.
I’m quite pleased with the output of my 9th round 2b right now.
@Mr. Rickey: instantaneously
To make room for Greinke coming off the DL, drop Holland or Narveson? W, L and QS all count.
@Deeeeez Nuts:
I think you gave up too much. Sizemore looks great so far. I believe Gordon will be a very solid option this year in a UTL spot. I’m not a big Weeks fan–burned in the past with health issues. Good luck either way!
@Hideousmutants:
Worth the risk in an H2H, but I’d bench him in roto.
@Wilsonian: Heh. I actually dropped Snider a couple days ago (disregarding Grey’s advice! Sorry, Grey!). Couldn’t take the chance that I’d be left picking among the scrap heap if Sands got picked up by someone else. Literally cringed when I saw someone pick up Bourjos.
I also dropped McClellan yesterday to pick up Bedard. Mickey C’s has been good for me as far as getting 4 Wins is concerned, but his WHIP was high before last night, which indicated to me that he was getting a bit lucky in ERA land. After last night’s performance against toothless Houston, it looks like my anticipatory drop was correct. The best part is that some other owner used a waiver claim to pick up McClellan! So I got something out of dropping him!
I must say, it’s really weird to not be in 1st place in my main league. Last year, I was in 1st from the 4th week on. Currently I’m in 3rd, but man, I might as well be in 13th! All I taste are ashes in my mouth.
My how success spoils you!
Rios looks awful, his swing is all arms. I’m thinking about dropping him for Coghlan, go for it or hold? 7×7 head to head with ops, ks
Fantastic post, Grey! The title “Spirits in the Material World” crossed my mind when reading the Fuld blurb.
Real quick, just got offered BJ Upton for my Oswalt in a 16 team roto keeper league, do I take it? Need steals and have Grienke coming back but not completely sold on Upton’s mild resurgence.
Alexei Ramirez (vs. Arietta) or The Dreaded Pirate (vs. Chacin) as a Utility play tonight? I’m leaning toward the Pirate, and although he’s been slumping, he’s due for a 3 hit, 2 run, 1 SB game.
@Grey:
You starting to worry about Morneau a lil bit? I mean my only choice now is to weather the storm, or is it? Do I ship him now before he’s on my roster at year’s end with 12 dongs (as Annabelle Chong laughs at the absurdity of a mere 12 dongs)?
@Fellow CarGo owners or anyone else who would care to answer:
Which OF’s would you rather have (aside from Braun) in lieu of CarGo from this point moving forward? Or if you’d like to give me a couple non-OF’s that I might be surprised about, I have 3 other good OF’s so that would help too. e.g. Youkilis, not Pujols.
Thanks for the love and support.
For what it’s worth—-I’ve dropped Dempster in all my leagues. Unless you’re N.L. only or in a deep, deep mixer there are way better options out there. (Plus I stream as an H2H strategy) You listening Liriano–you’re next punk-ass!! Who’s still holding on to Dempster, and why?
does Zorilla win an award for making the quickest buy-low-to-sell-high transition?
@The Ghost of Doc Ellis:
Sadly, the prediction that the Dread Pirate will produce Carl Crawford-like numbers is proving true…
Ricky Romero. Got burned at Fenway. Will he get burned again tonight at Yankee Stadium? Start or bench?
@Stophe: yeah,carl had his chances yesterday to show sighns of a breakout and screwed them up,i just traded him and gordon for a much needed verlander in a 8 team league where there is still crisp on waivers
What no mention of Berkman’s night? How Fox News of you.
@Carns:
I would love to get my hands on Holiday and or fielder right about now. But remember, you’d be selling low on Cargo, thus diminishing your expected bounty in return. Personally I’d wait unless blown away by an offer…ex: Cargo for Holiday and Kinsler. Good luck bro.
P.S. You may want to target another underpreformer/undervalued player in Crawford in a deal…?
@DrEasy: Ha!
@BigRedLatrine: Ha!
@Flunkie: Forget him for now.
@Howard: Trumbo
@Craigo: It’s fair.
@Enrique: Wolf, Liriano…
@tourinct: Nice
@Rob: Sure
@Codyjorge: Ha!
@The Ghost of Doc Ellis: He’ll be fine, it’s just a slump.
@24hourjack: It’s fair. I’d take Gordon.
@Mr2Bits: 1′s fair, I wouldn’t do 2.
@RonWashington’sStache: Desmond for Jeter
@CheezWhit: That was Rudy.
@Mr. Rickey: I’d take Youk.
@SwaggerJackers: Kuroda
@mj: Kyle’s not good. Drop Joel.
@papafrog: Sure
@weas: Nope
@T-BZA: Thanks! I’d love that for Hudson.
@Boston Fans Are Stoopid: At least he’s got some upside, what’s Ankiel doing? Making long throws?
@Evan: Lester side.
@ujoh: Jackson…Bumgarner
@Howard: Upton
@Cheeeeeeze: Freeman
@Eddy: I’d go with Figgy.
@Eng: Wells for now.
@Kevin: Gonna go over him in this afternoon’s Buy/Sell.
@DogHat: Frenchy, Leake
@Lob Ball: Smoak
@poop: Sit Hudson
@papasmurf: Ouch
@JoeC: Ha!
@3FingersBrown: Ha!
@Chupacabra: Gotta give them a little more time. They won’t get to June being this bad, they’ll end up being on the DIsgraceful List before that.
@3FingersBrown: Nah, I just dropped Callaspo in one league.
@paddyman: All three
@Eng: Go for it
@shibboleth: Trumbo
@Dad: Cool, will look later.
@Deeeeeeez Nuts: Could go either way.
@bobbo: Ramos
@fyodor: Wood, Beachy…
@BigRedLatrine: A
@hideousmutants: Eh
@GTS: Ross
@Eddy: White
@Zorilla: Ha!
@crews: Thanks! I’d avoid him.
@Steve Stevenson: Holland
@bogbert: Thanks!
@Carns: Yup…Totally concerned. Rudy isn’t though, fwiw.
@Dr. Stats: Ha!
@xopchipili: Ha…Yup
@Stophe: I’d sit him.
@Jeter’s On Roids: Ha!
@2 Yutes: Pirate
@SpoilerAlert: I’d want Upton.
@Wilsonian: hey man, reposting this from #26:
Guh, what to do with E. Jackson in a 16 Team H2H Keeper?
These are the available arms:
Bedard, McDonald, Lewis (just hit waivers), Richard, Bailey, Narveson, Garland, Correia, and more crizzap…
Now that I look at this, it looks like I gotta ride out the E.Jax storm.
@ Grey & Everyone
Start them today?
Baker @ KC/Chen?
Wood vs. Fla/Vasquez?
I just got offered Vernon Wells for Fuld in a redraft league. Over the course of the season that should work out in my favor, right? Or is Wells cooked and Fuld headed for stardom?
@Grey: 12-team mixed league. I’m in 2nd place, 4 points back of 1st. I’m in 1st in every pitching category, but lack power, especially OF. I’ve managed to stay at the top this long with Hanley but am getting worried. I also have WAY too many top SP (Haren, Hamels, Billingsley, Anderson) along with potential turn-arounds (Liriano & EJax) and upsiders (Norris, Colon and Baker).
What do you think of packing Hanley and Haren for Bautista (OF elig.), Choo and BJ Upton?
I would move Castro to SS from MI and try to steal Utley to stash and grab someone in the meantime (Alcides Escobar) off waivers.
Bautista, Choo and Upton would be replacing Patterson, Sands and Bradley at OF (very weak, I know).
Too much? My only concern is Choo and Upton aren’t huge power upgrades and I have plenty of steals.
Thanks in advance
@grey-would you rather have alex gordon, hunter pence, and evis andrus or carl crawford, and stephen drew?
@Enrique: Even if Wells is not cooked (which I think he is), you can sell much higher on Fuld right now.
Any reason why J. Zimmerman isn’t striking anyone out this year?
Gotta start Anderson at home vs. Texas tomorrow right?
please pick a util (keeper league): Gordon, Adam Jones, Smoak, D. Brown. thanks!
Speaking of Pineda, how long is this ride going to last? I’m thinking about offering him up in a combo trade where I’d get Cain back in return. Cain’s the much better choice in roto is he not?
Liriano just dropped in my 14-team H2H league.
Would you drop Chacin or Zimmermann for him?
@rizzo, If you can get Cain, that would be huge, Pineda has no major league experience and I can see him start to break down later as the innings wear on him. Cain is the better roto choice because of the certainty of him pitching in September…….and the history of being solid.
@grey I got Tomlin, Leake, and Beachy with Rajai coming off the DL in a league that does Quality Starts and 1500 innings, any thoughts on how you would rank these three
I had flashbacks of my benching of Billingsley last week so I decided to stick to my guns and start Dempster. I figured he was due to turn things around, terrible strand rate, unlucky HR/FB%, BABIP is insane so I throw him against the K-happy DBacks. Awesome!
That first paragraph was hilarious
I was perusing the FanGraphs WAR leaderboards and I was quite surprised to find that Matt Garza was tied for second with 1.6 WAR (Weaver is first with 1.7). It’s hard to think that someone who is 0-3 with a 4.11 ERA has been that valuable to their team. But then I was stunned when I looked at his peripherals.
Besides his outstanding 12.03 K/9 (which should regress eventually the high-8s), Garza has a ridiculous 1.25 FIP and 1.94 xFIP. We feared him because the move to the Wrigley would give him a bad case of gopheritis, but he has yet to give up a HR! He has an astronomical .414 BABIP (career .290) and a 60% LOB% (career 73% career). In addition his LD% is way above his career norm.
I honestly did not know how unlucky he has been getting, and I suggest you guys buy low on him. That’s exactly what I’m going to do now.
@weas:
You’re team looks a lot like my roster in my 18 Teamer. How are you dealing with Dunn/Reynolds/Lind? I have all 4 including Phillips.
@Wilsonian: I’d hold.
@Alejandro: Yup
@Enrique: I’d avoid Wells.
@Harley: Sounds like it works for you.
@Martin: Crawford
@Kevin: It’s just a month.
@Pooch: Yup
@trick dad: Jones
@frank rizzo: Cain is much better.
@rvde: Zimmermann
@Garvey’s Illegitimate child: Beachy, Leake…
@Tom Emanski: Thanks!
@Eddy: Yeah, saw that yesterday. He’s been crazy unlucky.
Liriano owners may want to keep an eye on this:
“Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said Kevin Slowey (shoulder) wasn’t immediately activated because he’ll be stretched out to 75 pitches in case he has to replace Francisco Liriano in the rotation.
We’re not surprised Gardenhire is thinking this, but it’s a little surprising that he came out and said it. Perhaps he just wants to light a fire under Liriano, who has posted a 9.13 ERA through his first four starts. Slowey appears to be totally recovered from his shoulder ailment, and he’s slated to throw 45 pitches in his next rehab outing. He’ll need at least one more after that to get up to 75.”
@Eddy: Blech
*******THERE’S A NEW POST FOR FOLLOWUPS.******
@Wilsonian:
re : comment # 62
that’s a terrible deal for you .
at the very least , if you were hell-bent on acquiring dunn , you could have waited another week , or two , to continue to ride out berkman’s hot streak
(dunn , like most chicagoans , will benefit by warmer weather , but he’s still
trying to figure out how to cope with not taking the field everyday).
plus , i don’t understand your rationale for including santana in the deal .
the next time that you look in your wallet and discover that you have 2 twenty dollar bills , but you only need one , could you send the other to my address , please ?
cust kayin’ my opinion .
Ryan Vogelsong ??
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfI_HT39eeM
Part of White’s relative crappiness last year might have been due to the Indians taking away his splitter, his main out pitch (http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/prospect-hot-sheet/2011/2611613.html) to force him to focus on developing his slider.
@Grey
Any suggestions for a pitching category to balance my H2H league when I add “long throws” next year? I keed. Keep up the great work!
@Grey
I need to either drop C. Zambrano or A.J. Burnett. My league uses W’s, ERA, and K’s for SP’s. Thoughts on which one will be more productive throughout the remainder of the season?