Fantasy Baseball Advice

Maybe the fuel you need to burn the desire deep in your belly to be a better ballplayer comes from a fresh start. Maybe you need people to tell you you can’t do something before you can do something. Maybe this is how Morgan Freeman really talks and not just in voiceovers. Nyjer Morgan is going to get that fresh start in the city by the bay.  (Green Bay, but whatever.) This throws a bit of a quagmire into the centerfield situation.  If I am indeed using the word ‘quagmire’ correctly.  Roenicke said it’s CarGo Lite’s job to lose.  I think Melvin is lying to us or himself.  Gomez is bad at — hmm, how do I put it?  — baseball.  I think the ABs break down to Morgan getting 350 and CarGo Lite getting 200.  If I had to bet on one, I’d bet on Nyjer.  This doesn’t mean I think he’s terrific either.  He was caught stealing 17 times last year.  That’s A to the Trocious.  Anyway, here’s what else is going on in fantasy baseball:

Roger Bernadina – He’s not at mixed league value yet, but, with the clearing of Morgan, Bernadina now only has to beat Ankiel.  Oh, bee tee dubya, Ankiel’s not good.  I could see Bernadina being one of those guys that goes from not being on anyone’s team to being on everyone’s team by the end of the year.

Mat Latos – Scratched on Saturday due to a sore shoulder, but may not go to the DL.  So far in the Spring Training-thingie-ma-whosie-thing that is going on, Latos has given up 10 earned in 10 innings.  I was not out on a limb when I said you should not draft him in any league this year.  Lots of people were saying this.  If you decided to not heed the words of Grey Albright, Fantasy Master Lothario (Grey Albright, FML), then you probably won’t listen to me now, but you really should try and sell Latos for sixty-five cents on the dollar.  You goofed by drafting him and he’s gonna be dirty, dust balls this year.  At some point in the next two months, you’re gonna have to DL him for 60+ days.  I’m being serious.

Clint Barmes – Out for a month or two with a broken bone in his hand.  Luckily, the Astros have someone who can hit just as well as Barmes with a broken hand, Tommy Manzella.

Tommy Hunter – Will miss over a month with a strained groin.  Looks like we won’t be seeing his O face for a while.  (Speaking of O faces, I hooked up with my first single Mom recently.  All I kept thinking of was Tidwell telling Jerry Maguire not to shoplift the pooty from a single mom.  Okay, that wasn’t all I kept thinking of.  The thing that kept running through my mind was how a child came out of there.  Was like this thing that I had thought of in only one way my whole life suddenly was something else.  Anyhoo!)

Homer Bailey – Will miss two starts on the 15-day DL with a shoulder impingement.  At some point between ranking the top 80 starters and now, I grew sick of Bailey.  Has he ever strung more than three good starts together in his career?  Kinda rhetorical.

Mark Trumbo – Hit his 6th homer of the spring.  You heard it here first, Kendrys is getting Pipp’d out!

Brandon McCarthy – Named the 5th starter in Oakland.  As of right now, not really much here outside of AL-Only leagues.  He could scratch above a 6 K/9 and around a 4.25 ERA if things break right.  Or he could get injured again and be out for the season.  I believe McCarthy is just relieved he wasn’t traded to the Reds.

Aaron Heilman – Was named the D-Backs fifth starter.  I picture he’ll have appeal for match-ups.  For what it’s Wuertz, so far in the spring, Heilman’s been getting emulsified.

Eric Young Jr. – Was optioned to the minor league camp.  All my emoticons are at half-mast.  He’ll come back at some point and do what he was born to do, but for now you have to cut bait.

Mike Leake – Will take over one of the rotation spots freed up by Cueto and Bailey’s DL stints.  As mentioned in the top 80 starters, I’m not a fan of Leake.  No Ks, too many walks.  Maybe in a few years, but right now he’s an avoid like The Noid.

Andrew Cashner – Won the 5th starter spot on the Cubs…er…Silva lost it.  Cashner has nice Ks and is worth an NL-Only flyer, but I’d stay away for now in mixed leagues.  He walks too many people.

Matt Young – Only interesting for those in NL-Only leagues, Young made the team and he has 40 steal speed.  Right now, he’s just depth, but he’s worth keeping an eye on in case McLousy returns to form or if there’s an injury.

Joe Nathan – Will start the season as the closer, but this can change at a moment’s notice.  Keep cuffing Capps. (Alliteration in lieu of wit!)

Ryan Doumit – Snyder might have to open the season on the DL, so Doumit could see everyday ABs.  I’d say he could run with the job, but that would likely injure him too.  Maybe he can walk with the job.

Brad Lidge – Will open the season on the DL due to shoulder pain.  Shocker!  Exclamation Point Police, “That’s sarcastic, we get it.  A period would’ve conveyed the same.”  I’d grab Madson and hope he can suppress his Cuddle Boy tendencies.  Contreras, the AARP Man of the Year, could also see save chances.  Charlie Manuel said, “I’ve had more closers than a dog has fleas.  Now watch as I smash my thumb with a hammer so I forget about my toothache.”  BTW, Charlie Manuel’s old timey-isms made their way to the fantasy baseball team name generator.

Donnie Murphy – Looks like the Marlins went an entirely different way than I thought they would.  Bonifacio will be the super futility man and Donnie Murphy, who sounds like a Boston police officer — C’mon, Murph!  We ain’t causing no harm! — will be the 3rd baseman.  He’s useless in all leagues that needs things like hitting and whatnot.

Yunesky Maya – Sent down to Triple-A.  When Riggleman was asked why he chose Gorzelanny and not Maya, he said, “We’re trying to tire the opposing coach when filling out the scorecard.”

Chris Dickerson – Weird move by the Brew Crew to trade Dickerson to the Yankees for Mitre.  Unfortunately, any sneaky sleeper value Dickerson once had goes out the window.  He’s not the type of player the Yankees give any significant playing time to, i.e., he’s a good player with no name recognition.

Bronson Arroyo – Has mono.  Too bad his guitar playing is in stereo.

In opposite world, news that Andrew Bailey hurt himself comes as a complete shock.  Here’s what I said in the top 20 closers for 2011 fantasy baseball, “Is it me or is this the news once a month for him, “Andrew Bailey has been cleared to start throwing.”  Hey, Bailey, throw already!”  And that’s me quoting me!  Unfortunately, when Bailey is cleared to start throwing he leaves games with tightness in his forearm.  Wouldn’t be surprised to hear Bailey will miss the season for more surgery as he’s off to see Dr. Freeze.  Justin Duchscherer, Rich Harden and Andrew Bailey board your cross country flight, do you get off and wait for the next one knowing that something bad is bound to happen?  I do.   I take no pleasure in watching Bailey go down; less pleasure in watching Balfour or Fuentes take over.  In leagues where we had the option, we grabbed Fuentes because he has a lengthier closer resume, assuming the Sciosciapath isn’t listed as a reference.  Fuentes could get 35 saves this year.  Would surprise me as much as Bailey’s injury.  Anyway, here’s some other news for fantasy baseball:

Neftali Feliz – Now he wants to be the starter.  And I wanna be the King of Hawaii and wear a coconut bra.  Things don’t always work out the way you want them.  It’s worth grabbing Ogando or O’Day.  Rudy thinks Ogando has better upside; I say O’Day is otay.  You can go with this or you can go with that.  The choice is yours.

Drew Storen – The Nats keep saying they want to go to a closer by committee.  Which is nudge, nudge, wink, wink for, “Storen, pull away with the job!”  Unfortunately, Storen’s nudge, nudge, wink, wink translator was locked up for being within 250 feet of a high school.  If you have room, Clippard is a decent handcuff.

Casey Blake – What, no more closing news?  That’s some bullshizz!  Blake has a sore back.  He’s old; these things happen.  He probably also wakes up 7 times a night to pee.  You shouldn’t be drafting Blake anyway, unless your league has a rule that you must own one player with a wife killer surname.

Mike Morse – I write a post about how you should ignore spring training numbers on Friday then people get excited about Morse hitting five homers in nine games on Monday.  Chris Shelton called, he wants his home runs back.  If there’s any sort of blahtoon in the Nats outfield, Morse is sitting vs. righties.  That kills his value.  If Morse gets 550 ABs, he could hit 24 homers with no speed and a .280 average.  But that ‘if’ has its own zoning project that is currently getting gentrified.  In NL-Only leagues, I’d definitely own him.  In mixed leagues under 15 teams, you’re taking a flyer that is probably going to bore you.

Jason Heyward – Missed two games with back stiffness.  Weird, I get stiffness when I watch him play.  What, too much?  Oh, sorry, Prudey McPrudestein.  I’m not worried about Heyward.  It’s spring training, players have nagging shizz that teams want to baby because these games mean nothing.  He’s good, you’re good, we’re good.

Ian Stewart – About to return from a strained MCL.  (A strained 1150?  Doode, get out of the Middle Ages!)  Stewart will DH out of the gate and then hit against righties once the season starts.  I’m really starting to think Stewart’s not going to be a full-time player, which hurts his and Wigginton’s value.  Really need one to get ghost chili hot and make the other obsolete.

Zach Duke – Broken hand, which gives Diamondback fans two months to enjoy a non-Zach Duke rotation.  This leaves Armando Galarraga, Uncle Barry Enright and Aaron Heilman set to go into the Octagon for the final rotation spots with Heilman probably getting eye gouged.

Johan Santana – Someone in the always-entertaining Mets organization said Johan won’t pitch this year.  Johan said someone in the Mets organization is lying.  I believe Johan, but that still doesn’t mean he’s pitching this year.  If he has one setback and the Mets do their usual Mr. Bungle in the NL East, there’s no rush to bring him back.

Chris Dickerson – Left the game after running into the now-slimmed down Sandoval.  This is like when George “The Animal” Steele used to chew off the turnbuckle.  Don’t run into Sandoval without the padding!

When Jim Edmonds was a trending topic on Twitter, I figured he died. Turns out he was just taking the Casino Bus to Cincy, though that might be a riverboat.  Edmonds will continue to be a part-timer, gaining no value.  Maybe one day he’ll garner 25% of a HOF vote and the interwebs will go abuzz with the travesty of it all.  But Jim Rice is in!  This is worst than season two of Lost!  Chris Dickerson goes to the Brewers, but you knew that.  You have the internet or you wouldn’t be reading this.  Dickerson is currently on the DL.  I like him.  In a career 401 ABs, Chris Dickerson has 8 homers and 19 steals with a .277 average and a .369 OBP.  In Triple-A this year, he had 3 homers and 6 steals in 43 ABs.  I say the Brewers should play him, but I don’t make those decisions.  Who is playing?  Lorenzo Cain.  In 331 ABs in Triple-A, Cain had 26 steals and a .402 OBP with a .317 average.  Yes, and thank you.  Carlos Gomez is due back at some point too, but he’s not good at, you know, baseball.  My guess is Cain and Dickerson, when healthy, will see some sort of platoon.  I’d grab Cain right now for speed, then wait to see how this dumbo pot gets stirred.  Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Drew Stubbs – If you thought his playing time would be squeezed by just sucking on the suckhole, you ain’t seen nothing yet.  Edmonds will definitely take time from Stubbs.  Heisey’s a better batter too (say that fast 45 times).  BTW, Stubbs and Carlos Gomez should be on the same team.  Unfortunately, it’s a track team, not a baseball one.

Travis Wood – Sent to Triple-A.  You’re probably thinking this was to somehow limit his innings.  Pssh to you.  Wood was going to miss a start with off days, so he’s going to take a start in Triple-A then return for his next start in the majors.  See, so he’s going to throw more innings.  Don’t feel like you have to drop him because he was demoted.  Wood said, “I’ll be right back,” a’la Matthew Lillard in Scream, then Dusty hacked off his arm.

Mike Leake – 3 2/3 IP, 6 ER.  I told you to lose him about a month ago.  Now you’ve been Pwnson’d.

Krispie Young – Hit his 20th Krispie fly to become the first player to get to 20/20 on the year.  Love Krispie, but he really shouldn’t be leading off.

Jacoby Ellsbury – He hit ninth and stole 4 bases.  I say hit him 12th and let’s get 7 steals.

Chris Carter – 0-for-3 as he played in the Outer Limits of left field.  Wait, wrong sci-fi show.  He could be an average nightmare, but if you’re giving him a shot, you need to give him more than one game.

Mike Minor – 6 IP, 3 ER, 6 baserunners, 5 Ks.  Pitched well, just had some real bad luck with bloop hits.  I know, it’s hard to factor bad luck into your fantasy standings, but I’d hold Minor for now.

Jason Heyward – 2-for-4 with his first homer since June 17th.  Pretty illustrative of how great a prospect can be and still not provide terrific fantasy value.

Alfredo Simon – 1/3 IP, 1 ER as he blew his 4th game.  Shutdown Sauce is trying to point Showalter in the direction of Mike G.  Now let’s see if he thinks he’s got game. (That was a triple-double pun.)

Ty Wigginton – 2-for-4 with a homer.  Now has five 2-hit games in his last ten with two homers.

Edwin Jackson – 6 IP, 1 ER, 7 baserunners, 7 Ks.  He just needed a league change.  Twice.  No, not really.  This was vs. the Suckie-O’s.  I still wouldn’t touch Edwin.

Brennan Boesch – 1-for-2 with his 2nd homer in 4 games.  He didn’t even start yesterday (or on Saturday), but with the homer he may start to see more time.  I’m not grabbing Boesch again yet, but I’m watching him.

David Price – 5 IP, 2 ER, 9 baserunners, 9 Ks with his 15th win.  Prepare for Keith Law vs. the BBWAA, Part II:  Rick Reilly Voted For Who?

Jeff Niemann – Niemann’s off to the DL with a shoulder strain.  Must have been hard shouldering that huge difference in his xFIP and ERA.

Wade Davis – Also to the DL as he contracted the same dreaded shoulder strain.  I blame the rhesus monkey.

Jeremy Hellickson – As I predicted yesterday, Hellickson will start today’s game.  I’m Nostradumbass!  The over/under for the number of starts Hellickson sees is 4.

Carlos Zambrano – 5 IP, 2 ER, 11 baserunners (7 BBs), 3 Ks.  Cubs should now be able to trade him for Milton Bradley.

Carlos Silva – Underwent successful heart surgery to fix his abnormal heartbeat.  Hopefully his heartbeat isn’t the musical act at the artery block party.

Mike Napoli – The Angels home run leader sat out his 4th of the last 5 games because of the lineup scribblings of the Sciosciapath.

Chris Johnson – 2-for-4, 2 Runs and 3 RBIs.  He’s hitting .356 with 5 homers and 2 steals in 160 ABs since his call-up.  You’re being silly if you don’t own him at this point.

Ryan Braun - Out with a strained wrist and was seen wearing a splint.  Splendid, Splinter.  He’s listed as day-to-day and I wish I could say a few days off will make everything better, but I’m concerned.

Trevor Hoffman – 1 IP, 3 ER.  I have a new AC/DC song for him to enter to, Blech in Blech.

When doctors said Aaron Harang is going to have a useless part of his body removed, everyone in the Reds clubhouse thought the same thing, “What is Willy Taveras doing in Harang’s body?”  If Dusty were a doctor, he would left Harang’s appendix in a few more innings.  The appendectomy will force Harang to the DL for the rest of the season.  Too bad, the Reds just traded for Rolen and things were really starting to come together.  Feel free to cut Harang.  He’s done-zo.  Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Chris Dickerson – Headed to the DL with a whatever-you-don’t-care.  What you do care about, the Reds might call up Chris Heisey.  He’ll be talked about in the afternoon post where I break down the potential September call-ups.

Adam Jones – He hurt his back while swinging the bat.  He’s been terrible so far in August and now it sounds like he’ll be missing a few games at least.  Cue an awkward dancing Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner and Danny Devito and turn on the Billy Ocean…

Scott Downs – Returns from the DL on Monday.  Will he be the closer?  Here’s what Gaston said, “I’m not sure about closing. I’m not sure about that. We’ll see how it goes. If he got here tomorrow and I said we’re going to stick him in the closer’s spot right away, I’m not sure if that’s fair to him either.”  That is both wishy and washy.

Mark Reynolds – DNP with a 100-degree temperature.  Get well soon, Mini Donkey!

Carlos Gonzalez – Out for up to a week after he cut his hand while cutting a piece of steak.  Can’t they get Spilborghs to cut up his meat for him?  After Barmes’s vension accident a few years ago, maybe the Rockies should go vegetarian during the summer months.  Or only use chopsticks.  Crab rangoon is delicious!

Seth Smith – With CarGo’s inability to handle a knife, Smith might see some short term time.  He also has 2 homers in the last three games.

Ubaldo Jimenez – 8 IP, 2 ER, 9 Ks.  If you owned only Rockie pitchers, you’d probably be doing better than you are in your leagues.  Zoinks!

Fausto Carmona – 7 IP, 1 ER, 8 Ks.  He’s actually had a full month of decent starts.  Not great, decent.  Check your modifiers, Razzball reader.

Jhonny Peralta – HR yesterday as he bats near .400 over the last week.  Let me pull out my lukewarm endorsement…. If you really need an MI, what the hey?

Matt Diaz – 4-for-4 yesterday.  It’s Dye-as.  Usually only hits lefties, currently hitting everyone.

Pedro Martinez – 6 IP, 4 ER, 5 Ks.  I swear, I keep thinking to myself he’s going 5 IP, 3 ER or 6 IP, 4 ER.  I’m like the quiet psychic.  This Fall on Fox, turn up the volume and watch as he solves mysteries while speaking just above a whisper… Robert Carlyle is The Quiet Psychic.

Angel Pagan – 2 HRs yesterday.  See, there is a reason he was nominated for the Henry Aaron Award!

Jayson Werth – Hit his 29th homer yesterday.  You gotta love when your third outfielder pans out.  I know the feeling, I own Raul Ibanez on a few teams. (Though he’s been cold lately.)  Third outfielders panning out make me horny!  *Awkward silence at Razzball.com*  Did Grey just say third outfielders… Yeah, that’s what I thought.

Ricky Nolasco – 4 1/3 IP, 4 ER, 12 baserunners.  Here’s the deal, Nolasco.  And I’m gonna break it down to you real simple like Jeff Foxworthy.  One terrible game like the stinker vs. the Astros when you gave up 10 earned runs in just over three innings.  That’s forgivable because you came back and pitched a complete game the next game.  But when you follow that up with another stinker, you become unpredictable and harder to start.  Thanks for listening, Nolasco.  I’m glad we had this talk.

Alcides Escobar – Hit his first homer yesterday.  After he crossed home, I screamed at the TV, “I have guys to hit homers.  Steal a frickin’ base, doode!”

Adam Dunn – Hit his 33rd homer yesterday.  If he doesn’t get to 40, Stephen Hawking will press a button on his Speak & Spell and blow up the Earth.  Just so you know what we’re up against.

Drew Stubbs – He looks so lost at the plate, it’s kinda comical.  Still has speed, will have bumps.

Homer Bailey – 7 IP, 1 ER.  I’m glad he pitched a good game… Actually, I don’t care.  What am I, his hypenate nephew-slash-personal assistant?  No, I’m not.  He gets the Dodgers next.  Blech.

Scott Feldman – 7 IP, 0 ER, 11 Ks.  Easily his best start of the year.  I still can’t get fully behind starting him, but if you need to take some risk, then go for it.

Bud Norris – 1 IP, 6 ER as he roofied his owners.  When thinking about starting a rookie, see Example A:  Norris’s line.

Jake Fox – 4-for-4, HR yesterday.  Can an AL team trade for him this winter?  Please.  I’d like to own him in the fantasy, but non-Biblical way.

Ryan Dempster – 7 IP, 4 baserunners, 0 ER, 5 Ks.  Right side of the brain, Dempster beat the NL-best Dodgers yesterday.  Left side of the brain, Dempster lost to the Padres last time out.  So his next start vs. the Mets is a good thing or a bad thing?  Damn conflicting sides of the brain!

John Smoltz – 5 IP, 0 ER, 3 baserunners and 9 Ks vs. Padres.  If only the Red Sox played in Petco…  Smoltz gets the Nats next time out.  I’d roll the dice for another start, then reevaluate.

Jack Cust – 2 HRs yesterday.  Cust is hitting near .500 in the last week with three homers.  Few hitters get as streaky as Cust (though A-Rod comes close right after he gets out of the salon and has his frosted tips done).

Oh, they’re not just bad.  Nah, I outdid even myself this time.  On this drafternoon, I picked a team that is near-perfectly awful.  They simultaneously suck and blow.  On a scale of one to ten, they’re a negative seven.  I did the math!  Somehow I managed to get a team where not one hitter projects for more than twelve home runs.  If someone in the Royals brass gets wind of my drafting skills, I may get a job!  If you think I’m being facetious (which was recently outlawed in Madagascar), shame on you.  And shame on this team!  I took part in a fantasy baseball draft this past Saturday to pick the worst fantasy baseball team.  And I think I done did it.  My co-conspirators in this were:

Roto Rob
Tirico Suave
Drunk Jays Fans
Fantasy Baseball Cafe
Fantasy Pros 911
Hire Jim Essian
Sharapova’s Thigh
Fantasy Baseball Geeks
Beyond the Box Score

Come with me as I take out the trash:

Random thoughts about various rounds of the draft:

ROUND 1 – I had my eye on Ronnie Belliard like only Mrs. Belliard could ever know.  He’s eligible at 1st!  Need I continue?  Okay, he’s on the Nats.  Should I go on?  His K rate has been going up.  More?  He’s also eligible at 3rd.  All right, one more thing.  He’s projected for 400 ABs and 11 home runs.  Bleh, and thank you.

ROUND 2 – It was between Chone Fuggums and Lousy Castillo.  Had to go with the more shallow position of 3rd base.  Fuggums will probably get 500 ABs, and, I don’t know, 4 HRs.  Not a bad guy for the Not Corner.

ROUND 3 – And Lousy Castillo makes it back to me.  Projected for 487 ABs and… Wait for it… Here it comes… Hold on, I have an itch… All right, here it is… Zero home runs!  WTF?  How is that even possible?

ROUND 4 – Okay, I’ve waited on crappy outfielders long enough.  Skip Suckmaker, you’re mine!  Thank you, LaRussa.

ROUND 5 – I’m actually worried about my Runs at this point.  No, I didn’t just drink some Mexican water.  So to clog up my tailpipe, I select Erick Aybar.  He’s projected for less than 50 Runs and over 400 ABs.  Later I will add his Brother in Razzball Charms.

ROUND 6 – One thing I really notice about drafting craptacular players, everyone has a different draft sheet.  It’s like you got ten owners together that have all been in solitary confinement for the last six months.  Everyone knows who’s crappy, but nobody knows which order anyone else is going to take them, so guys last longer than you think they will.  Without further ado, Brian Schneider.

ROUND 7 – And because no one knows when anyone is drafting a player, you (or at least I) want to fill up your (my) Utility spot with another catcher that I know will rack up the ABs and little else — Yadier Molina.

ROUND 8 – Super futility man, Willie Aybar.

ROUND 9 – Finally, I take a pitcher.  Not just any pitcher, but a pitcher worthy of a Razzball Spotlight, Gorilla Ponson.

ROUND 10 – B. Giles because anyone who’s ever played any level of baseball can put up his stats.

ROUND 11 – Travis Ishikawa.  Everyone loses a job on your fantasy Razzball team, so backups are very helpful and Giants hitters are even more so.  Worst case scenario, Ishikawa and Belliard will make a nice blahtoon.

ROUND 12 – Vicente Padilla, probably my riskiest pick so far.  He can’t make it out of May with a job, can he?

ROUND 13 – Endy Chavez.  Nicest thing anyone can ever say about a guy on your Fantasy Razzball team, “He’s a great fielder!”

ROUND  14 – DeWayne Wise. Ozzie’s crazy enough to give him 500 ABs, but he’s not crazy enough to lead him off, is he?

ROUND 15 – Having played this league last year, I knew anyone I took on the pitching side would lose their job sooner than later if I was playing right.  With his 150th pick, Grey selects Danys Baez, a leading candidate for an Orioles rotation spot.  You heard me right, non-Orioles fans.  Baez might be an Orioles starter this year.  How’s dem apples?  Delicious!

ROUND 16 – Mark Buerhle.  Tried to balance all of the starters I was going to lose with a guy who can give me 200 lame innings.  There’s a chance I bench him until he gets cold.

ROUND 17 – Matt Harrison.  Okay, I’m a sucker for sucky Texas pitchers.

ROUND 18 – Jamie Moyer.  Another innings eater-slash-guy you can’t believe is still a major league starter.

ROUND 19/20 – Chris Dickerson and Gerald Laird.   Dickerson’s a K machine, but he’s the only guy on my entire team with any downside.  I’ll be honest.  I might be patroling the waiver wire for a Dickerson replacement.  As for Laird, it’s really hard to resist taking an extra catcher.  They’re all so good!

ROUND 23/24 – Jesse Litsch and Mike Pelfrey.  Some of you may be sad to see these guys here because you have them on your regular fantasy teams.  Let’s just say, I’m hoping these guys stay healthy because they could be in for an awfully wonderful year.

ROUND 25/26/27 – Kevin Frandsen and Cristian Guzman and Gabe Gross.  Not sure how this crapfecta lasted this long, but I just had to back up some of my other guys that are sure to lose playing time.  Actually, if I played my cards right, some of them might have lost playing time already.  Razztastic!