The M’s are calling up Trayvon Robinson today. Should be fun for the Dodgers to get a look at their first mistake under Selig. Trayvon’s a high risk/high reward call up which sounds a lot better than Seattle’s low risk/low reward offense. It’s like taking a chance on the next Kurt Cobain or Jimi Hendrix instead of settling on Candlebox.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Blake DeWitt
Jose Bautista hit his 39th and 40th home runs last night. As frequent commenter, VinWins, pointed out yesterday, in the Blue Kays last 162 games, Bautista has 50 homers. Okay, I was way off with this guy, but Jose Bautista didn’t see this year coming. His own mother doesn’t recognize him. Every morning he wakes up wondering if the last five months were a dream. This is the craziest home run year since Scooter McGillicuddy blasted 6 homers in 1901 while battling scurvy. Bautista hadn’t hit 30 homers in the past two years combined in twice as many games. His HR/FB% is nearly double his career mark. His fly balls are through the roof, literally. His Isolated Power is near Babe Ruth’s career mark. The HR department thinks Bautista lied on his resume. A mouth enters on the left side of the screen and says, “Im,” a mouth enters on the right side and says, “Probable.” Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Brandon Morrow – 6 IP, 2 ER, 6 baserunners, 12 Ks. Hello, beautiful. I hate AL East pitchers, but I might just own Morrow on all of my teams next year. Right after, I draft Daniel Hudson.
Please, blog, may I have some more?What I never understood about the trading deadline is why wait until the last second to make a trade? Did the Padres really wake up on July 31st and think they suddenly needed a bat? Wasn’t this apparent on April 2nd? I understand you don’t trade for pieces if you’re out of it, but the Padres, for instance, haven’t been out of it all season, unless they assumed they weren’t contending when the season started. Maybe they wouldn’t have got Ryan Ludwick, because the Cards may not have been selling him in April, but they needed someone. Then there’s the other deals that remind me of my friend who buys things just because they are on sale. “Do you really need a 120 count box of chicken bouillon?” “No, but Shop-Rite was selling Chicken Bazillions for only $2.99.” So, in that vein, do you really need Matt Capps when Jon Rauch is serviceable? No, but we’ve been dying to shed these upside prospects and the price was right. Deep thoughts by Grey Albright, I suppose. Anyway, here’s what I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:
Lance Berkman – Traded to the Yankees. This is one of those moves that’s actually better for fantasy. In real baseball, adding Berkman to the Yankees lineup is like adding pecan sandies to a tray of chocolate chip cookies. Hey, if you like a pecan sandie, then go for it. I think you were fine with the chocolate chips. Let’s face it, leaving Houston helps anyone’s value. Berkman goes from between Keppinger and The Glue They Once Called El Caballo to hitting in an All-Star lineup. Hey, Runs and RBIs, nice to see you again. As I mentioned in the comments when the trade went down, A-Rod’s sitting at 16 homers, so don’t expect The Stadium They Built Next To The Stadium That Ruth Built to suddenly add 20 homers to Berkman. He’s still old and struggling. Value goes up, but only so much.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Dan Haren got the win yesterday, but his line was 5 2/3 IP, 3 ER, 11 baserunners and 5 Ks. Did he see his shadow in Spring Training and now think spring w0n’t start until August? Someone inform this young brother it’s the pre-All-Star Break. Ergo, therefore, vise a vie, he’s supposed to be pitching well now. He only has about a month before he turns into summer squash. Right? Well, what if he pitches well in the 2nd half this year? I know, it’s crazy talk from a guy that pees into milk bottles. So far this year, he has his best K-rate of his career. He has the 8th best K-rate in the major leagues. He also has the 2nd best K/BB in all of baseball. Just behind Roy Halladay. At his current rate, Haren would have his worst ERA since his first half year. That shizz doesn’t add up. Striking out people, not walking people and a terrible ERA? I know the 2nd half Boogie Monster scares Haren pretty good, but I think he might be able to fight the 2nd half terrors this year if his luck just evens out a little bit. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Dana Eveland – 5 IP, 3 ER, 8 baserunners, 0 Ks. Has a K:BB ratio of 21:29, which looks like a Roland Emmerich film. Both are terrible, by the way.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Lefty pitchers facing the Rangers this year just lost three Ks a game as righty, Ryan Garko, was added to the roster to spell Chris Davis. Then again, maybe not. If Seattle passed on him for a Kotchman/Sweeney blahtoon, what makes you think he’s going to light it up in Texas?
Please, blog, may I have some more?Justin Upton left yesterday’s game with a sprained ankle. It’s obviously not easy carrying around millions of fantasy baseballers’ hopes and dreams. He hurt his ankle while stealing second, then he advanced to third and scored one batter later. I liked Upton 1.0 better, which came with customizable speed and power but no hustle. The good news is Upton wasn’t removed until after scoring, so it doesn’t sound serious. Just precautionary. It’s an exhibition, after all. You know, like when Kenny Mayne ran Daisy Fuentes for Jerry O’Connell in the 2005 Celebrity Softball game. Anyway, here’s some more news in fantasy baseball:
Dustin Pedroia – Left wrist sprain. It’s spraining, men! That’ll teach Pedroia to try and open the pickle jar all by himself. This actually worries me more than the Upton sprain. Injured wrists are tricky for, ya know, hitting. He’s scheduled to take BP on Thursday so hopefully it’s very minor and the pain doesn’t have to, doesn’t have to, doesn’t have to let it linger.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Ryan Dempster hits the DL with a broken toe. No word on how he hurt it, but Cubs fans are blaming Milton Bradley, Milton Bradley’s blaming an Italian Beef sandwich he ate in March but the Italian Beef sandwich refuses to play The Blame Game. Way to take the high road, Italian Beef sandwich! Dempster was at 5-5/4.09/1.37/89 through 105 2/3 innings. Now he’s out until late-July at the earliest. If you have a DL spot, go for it. With a non-arm injury, I wouldn’t be too concerned about Dempster coming back and doing pretty much what he’s been doing so far, which is, well, I just told you. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Mark DeRosa – Went to the DL. It’s a move they were calling “precautionary” and they’re “very optimistic.” They expected him back right after the “All-Star break.” DeRosa wanted to play but the “doctors” “said” “he” “shouldn’t.” Hopefully, his “wrist” will be “fine.” Then it turned out there was a reason they put everything in quotes as it was all lies and he could be out for a month with a torn tendon sheath.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Vernon Wells was primed for his ‘every 3rd year’ routine, but now he’s strained the same hamstring he hurt last year that caused him to miss 50+ games. Word out of Blue Jay camp is he’ll miss at least 4 weeks. A broken-down VW isn’t going to help your team go anywhere. Just forget about the 30/100/.300/10 guy and think of him as that 20/80/.270/5 guy. Hate to say it, but he’s a lot closer to Aaron Rowand than an elite fantasy OF. The best thing to come out of Vernon’s hammy injury is Adam Lind and Travis Snider could see more time. Anyway, here’s some other things going on during spring training that effect 2009 fantasy baseball:
Garrett Anderson – GA signed with the Braves. This does nothing for his value. And prior to this, he had no value. You do the math!
Please, blog, may I have some more?We at Razzball realize that exporting our views across the country has damaging consequences on the blogosphere. To help make amends, we are reaching out to leading team blogs and featuring their locally blogged answers to pressing 2009 fantasy baseball questions regarding their team.
Please, blog, may I have some more?We’ve already gone over the top 10 for 2009 fantasy baseball and top 20 for 2009 fantasy baseball. Other positions’ top 20 lists can be found under 2009 fantasy baseball rankings. Now here we are with the top 20 2nd basemen for 2009 fantasy baseball.
Please, blog, may I have some more?
