Fantasy Baseball Advice

In a year where umpires like Joe West and Bill Hohn are doing all they can to show they are far from perfect, Jim Joyce went one step further by having his imperfection blow someone else’s perfection.  It’s like that O. Henry short story where the poor wife cuts off her hair and sells it to buy him a pocket watch accessory and the husband laughs at her bald head.  For all intents and purposes, Armando Galarraga pitched a perfect game yesterday.  The Governor of Michigan is declaring he pitched a perfect game.  Unfortunately for Galarraga, the Governor’s previous proclamations that ‘Detroit is the pearl of the Midwest’ and ‘Kid Rock is STD-free in my book’ were never accepted by the tourism and medical industries so it’s unlikely MLB will honor her request.  Who I really feel bad for?  Harvey Haddix.  Now he has to share his asterisk.  Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Chipper Jones – Glass Chipper left the game with an injury.  Shocker!  No way!  C’mon!

Derek Lowe – 8 IP, 1 ER, 7 baserunners, 7 Ks.  Came into this game with a 4.86 ERA and guess how many wins.  Go ahead, I’ll wait.  Nope, higher.  Higher still.  No, not 30.  Lower.  No, not 29!  Came in with 7 wins.  Now has 8.  While I have guys like Jonathan Sanchez with 3 wins and a 2.90 ERA.  Why can’t I ever get any good Win karma?

Josh Beckett – Will have his rehab slowed for 10 days while they figure out how to fix his delivery.  Probably will push his return date back about three weeks, at least.  If you have room on your DL, I’d continue to hold him since it’s not an injury, it’s a brain fart.

Vladimir Guerrero – Day-to-day as he left practice with a left eye injury and went to the hospital.  Last athlete that happened to was Andre Rison.

Miguel Olivo – Out until Friday with a broken fingernail.  Last athlete to miss time with a broken fingernail was Michelle Wie.

Kevin Gregg – Gaston said Gregg would get off Wednesday.  Maybe he saw he ordered The Spice Channel… Oh, “get off” as in rest.  See, misread that.  If there was any doubt that Gregg’s still the closer, Frasor and Downs did what they could to confirm it yesterday.  Frasor didn’t record an out, walking Upton then Downs gave up a grand slam to Crawford.  It seems appropriate that the less Gregg pitches the better his hold on the closer job becomes.

Kevin Slowey – 7 IP, 1 ER, 6 baserunners, 3 Ks.  Sticking with the Kevin theme, Slowey actually made it out of the 6th inning.  Wonders never cease.  Wasn’t a particularly dominating performance against a poor offense in a pitchers’ park.  He gets the Royals next, so last night’s start might’ve been a ploy for him to build trust so he can crush your hopes and dreams next time out.

David Price – 8 IP, 0 ER, 9 baserunners, 3 Ks.  I see your hot hitting Blue Jays and I raise you an ace in the making.

Daisuke Matsuzaka – 6 2/3 IP, 3 ER, 10 hits, no walks, 7 Ks.  The time before, 8 walks and 1 K.  That Dice-K always finding ways to keep his WHIP obscene.  There’s absolutely no consistency with Dice-K, which makes it impossible for me to recommend him.

Dodgers vs. Diamondbacks – 2 straight games scoreless after nine innings.  I understand the World Cup is right around the corner, but why are they playing soccer?  On Tuesday, Kemp scored in penalty time.  Yesterday, the Dodgers won 1-0 again.  Is it the LA Galaxy vs. the Arizona Borderjumpers?  Next thing you know, LA will be trading for (Gordon) Beckham.

Carlos Monasterios – 5 IP, 0 ER, 2 baserunners, 3 Ks. Worth a look in NL-Only leagues, but he’s a Rule 5 guy and his stuff only looked good yesterday because of the Diamondlacks.

Garret Anderson – 1-for-6 as he bats .157.  Many a great OF has returned to his original city to play his last year or two for another team in the same city.  Babe Ruth playing for the Boston Braves.  Willie Mays for the New York Mets.  Hank Aaron for the Milwaukee Brewers.  Garret Anderson for the Los Angeles Dodgers.  It’s like a Mount Rushmore of outfielders if Teddy Roosevelt were replaced by Chester A. Arthur.

Edwin Jackson – 9 IP, 0 ER, 6 baserunners, 6 Ks.  Only Dodger player to get a hit on Edwin was Jamey Carroll.  Edwin was featured in the FIP post in March that said you shouldn’t draft him, then he was featured again in the FIP post in May that said he should be better.  Now he’s pitching as he should be?  Well, not quite, but he should still be a 4 ERA guy and he’s over 5.

Gavin Floyd – 2 2/3 IP, 6 ER, 11 baserunners, 1 K vs. the Rangers, not a good road hitting team.  Nothing says I hate your freakin’ guts like a pitcher who pitches well in two straight starts then does this.  This is the kind of start that makes me want to avoid him completely.  Or break his kneecaps.

Paul Konerko – 3-for-4, 4 RBIs and 2 homers to bring his total up to 16.  Feels like he hasn’t hit one in a month.  Cust kayin’.

Wandy Rodriguez – 5 IP, 1 ER, 8 baserunners, 8 Ks.  He needed 115 pitches through 5 innings, so I wouldn’t go as far as saying Wandy is back.  It’s a nice sign in the right direction.  Unfortunately, he gets the Rockies in Coors next, so any forward momentum on the Wandwagon may be short-lived.

Jorge Posada -1-for-3 as he returns from the DL to DH.  Symmetry, I know.  The Great Gazoo will see the majority of the starts behind the plate since Posada still can’t catch.

Robinson Cano – 3-for-4 with his 12th homer.  You know a guy is having a special season when he goes cold, as he did in May, and is still hitting .373 on the year.

Chad Gaudin – The Yankees signed Gaudin.  While it’s understood that a bullpen facing a major crisis would turn to Gaudin, you’d expect the Evil Empire would find someone more fitting like Mephistopheles McMoneybags or Vinnie Yonkers.

Ken Griffey Jr. – Retired today – as in the ‘I’m going to retire and not playing any more’ vs. ‘I’m going to retire to the clubhouse for a nappy-poo.’  He leaves the game as the best all-around CF since Willie Mays, the best all-around ‘Kid’ since Billy, and the best Ken Griffey since Ken Griffey.

John Axford – Got his third save.  As Trevor Hoffman buries his head in the sands of time, Axford is quietly walking away with the closer job.  This thing isn’t figured out just yet, but for now own Axford and Hoffman.

Adrian Gonzalez – 4-for-6, 4 RBIs and his tenth homer.  Would love to see this be the start of one of his crazy homer binge streaks.  That is all.

Clayton Richard – 6 IP, 1 ER, 8 baserunners, 5 Ks.  I joke around about hodgepadres, but you guys (and three girls — hey, ladies!) do realize the Padres have a 2.56 ERA at home, right?  Across all of my teams, I own every single hodgepadre at least once.  Ya’ll should too.

Jose Contreras – 2/3 IP, 1 ER.  The Phillies said Lidge will be returned to the closer role any day now.  Since Contreras came in two consecutive games that were not save situations, I’d say Lidge’s time is very soon.  (BTW, the monthly look at all closers is coming this afternoon.  No, you can’t wait!)

Jayson Werth – 1-for-3 as he hit leadoff.  When reporters asked Charlie Manuel why he batted Werth leadoff, he said, “Look, if I’m going to fall off the turnip truck, I’m going to bring some turnips with me and fashion a turnip gun out of the tailpipe.  And as any good turnip marksman will tell you, you’ve got to fire off a few stray turnips before you’ve hit your target.  Any more root vegetable queries before I hit the showers?”

Ken Griffey Jr. missed a pinch hitting opportunity last week because he was asleep in the clubhouse.  In related news, Grady Sizemore has been sleepwalking through his at-bats.  Maybe Griffey was pooped from his Dick’s Sporting Goods commercial.  If the end is indeed nigh for Griffey, and if nigh is the right archaic word, this could mean an extended leash for Michael Saunders.  He’s a low teen power/speed guy without much average, so the M’s would be going from yawning to yawnstipating.  Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Brad Lidge – Stiffness in his elbow.  In Italian guy straight from Ellis Island terms, that’s notta so good.  The Phils held Contreras to pitch the ninth for the save.  Save vultures, commence vulturing.

Jair Jurrjens – Felt a pop in his hamstring.  Why don’t they call it soda?!  Oh, wait…   With no medical training, I can tell you the three things you want to avoid.  Take out a note pad.  These are kinda important.  1) Feeling a pop anywhere in your body  2) Pains in the chest  3) Being dead.  Medlen’s time in the rotation just got a bit longer.

Ryan Braun – He was removed after getting plunked on the elbow.  And someone has to pay Eric Plunk a nickel.  Not it!  Braun’s day-to-day, which is better than week-to-week and much better than minute-to-minute.  Fine line, friends.  Fine line.

Manny Corpas – 1 IP, 4 ER.  I’ve set some kind for record of picking up new closers only to watch them club me over the head with my trust.  It’s taken me longer to put together furniture from Ikea than for Corpas to suck.

Huston Street – Will begin rehab on Thursday.  Aw, maybe only two more weeks of Manny Corpas.  So sad. /sarcasm

Eric Young Jr. – Jim Tracy knows Clint Barmes.  He knows Melvin Mora.  Why doesn’t he know Eric Young Jr.?  Just send him back to the minors if you’re not going to play him.  I hate you, Jim Tracy.

Miguel Olivo – Only 4 hits in his last 34 at-bats.  The not so good Olivo that’s played in the majors for the last 7 years is starting to rear its ugly head.  Bring back Iannetta!

Troy Tulowitzki – MRI showed nothing major so Tulo should be back in the next couple of days.  Tulo legit 2 quit.

Tommy Hanson – 8 IP, 0 ER, 5 baserunners, 8 Ks, now has a 2.30 ERA on the year.  When I avoided him in the preseason, I said I might regret not owning him.  And that’s me paraphrasing my regret!

Chipper Jones – Glass Chipper has an aggravated right groin.  That’ll teach him to pay so much attention to his left groin.  Stop neglecting your right groin, it’s aggravated!

Jason Heyward – Yesterday, he tested his groin.  Hey now!  Heyward hopes to play Tuesday, which is today for 98% of our readers.  Thanks, Google Analytics!

Carlos Gomez – To the DL with a left rotator cuff strain.  Jody Gerut should see starts, but Jim Edmonds probably will.  Why?  Because the Brewers want people time traveling from the year 2000 to feel at home when they see Edmonds.

John Jaso – 3-for-5 as John Jaso Jingleheimer Schmidt bats .350 on the year.

Chad Billingsley – 5 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 7 baserunners (4 BBs), 7 Ks.  Now has three decent starts in his last four.  Yes, it’s only three decent starts in his last 6, but I’m cherrypicking stats here, leave me alone.

Brandon Morrow – 1 2/3 IP, 6 ER.  Damn those hodgepodjays and their sexy upside!

Aaron Hill – 0-for-4, batting .190 on the year with 2 homers.  Yup.

Brennan Boesch – 2-for-3, 3 RBIs as he bats near .400 in the last week.  Should be playing for at least another two weeks, until Guillen returns.  Worth a look in deep mixed leagues for a part-time replacement.

Ivan Rodriguez – 4-for-4 as he bats .393 on the year.  Yeah, that makes sense.

Luis Atilano – 5 1/3 IP, 0 ER, 7 baserunners, 5 Ks.  Now has 12 walks to 11 strikeouts.  That’s an avoid.

Miguel Batista – The poet laureate of the major leagues notched a save in Capps’ stead.  Capps had pitched two consecutive days.  Don’t matter, just don’t bite on Batista.  And what’s a mention of Batista without Castro…

Starlin Castro – 0-for-2, 3 errors.  Cubs fans blamed the third one on Bartman.

On his way to The Stadium That Jane Fonda Didn’t Receive In The Divorce Settlement, Jason Heyward ordered his chariot driver to the side of the road so he could wrestle a wildebeest.  Suicide mission or pregame ritual?  Doesn’t matter.  With nary a scuff to his gladiator sandals, he escaped unharmed.  With the wildebeest head shipped off to PETA, Heyward arrived at the game, went 2-for-5 and hit a home run.  No doubt, he is the greatest player since RBI Baseball’s Darrell Evans.  After the game, Heyward said, “What game?  I was commissioned by Al Gore to form cloud cover.”  Consider Heyward a 80/20/80/.280/10 guy.  If someone offers you better than that, take it.  If you’re in a league where someone gives you a top 50 player for him, you’re in a sucker league.  And you better beat those suckers.  Remember, Jordan Schafer hit a home run on Opening Day last year.  Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Nate McLouth – Hitting eighth.  He did hit .010 in the preseason, but I think Cox comes around on him.  Could be a nice buy low situation.  Then again, I’m not a huge fan of McLousy, so I need to stop touting him.

Carlos Zambrano – 1 1/3 IP, 8 ER.  In all fairness, he gave up five bloop singles… And two bloop 450 foot homers.

Derek Lowe – 6 IP, 5 ER and the Win.  I don’t like Lowe this year; this start did nothing to change my mind.

Shaun Marcum – Had a no-hitter through 6 and a third until Nelson Cruz said I am more than an All-Star replacement.  Marcum’s one of those pitchers I’d be all over if he played in the NL.  In Toronto, s’okay.

Jason Frasor – 1/3 IP, 2 ER as he blew the save.  He has guys behind him that can fill-in, but the Jays are playing for nothing.  So it’s six of one, half dozen of another for how long Frasor’s closer leash will be.  I’m not grabbing Downs or Gregg yet, but one more blown save and that could change.

Adam Lind – HR yesterday.  One down, 34 more to go.

Travis Snider – 0-for-4, 3 Ks.  There will be quite a few of these type of days.  He can still hit plenty of homers too.  The bugaboo is he’s batting 9th.

Mike Napoli – Didn’t start yesterday.  Napoli is why the Ron Popeil method of setting and forgetting your catcher was invented.  Napoli doesn’t play every game, it’s how Scioscia do.

Carlos Gomez – 4-for-5, steal and a homer.  Gomez hit 2nd yesterday.  I mentioned in the comments that he could be this year’s Emilio Bonifacio.  What I mean is a guy that steals 4 bases in one week, everyone adds him then by the third week of the season people wish he’d die by falling in front of a marching band that tramples him.  Doesn’t mean I wouldn’t add him early, just don’t drop anyone you’ll regret.

Carlos Gonzalez – It’s an 8-for-10 day for CarGoes. Gonzalez was also thrown out by about a foot trying to steal.  Good to see him running, be nicer to see him getting better jumps.

Seth Smith – 0-for-4, 3 strikeouts.  Fowler owners and lispers rejoice.

Huston Street – Received good news that there wasn’t nothing seriously wrong with his shoulder.  Except that he can’t pitch.

Dan Haren – 7 IP, 1 ER.  I’m guessing it’s before the All-Star Break.  Hey, look, it is!

Mark Reynolds – HR yesterday.  Reynolds isn’t ready to relinquish the Mini-Donkey title just yet.  Mini-Donkeys are stubborn.

Ian Stewart – HR yesterday.  In a land of men and Mini-Donkeys, there was one Mini-Donkey who was smaller than all others, but his heart and home runs were bigger.  His name was Ian Stewart and he’s Mini-Mini Donkey.

Mark Kotsay – Announcers were talking him up as a professional hitter that “adds flexibility.”  I don’t know but his wife makes me stiff.

Mike Jacobs – 0-for-4 as he hit cleanup.  I get the whole righty-lefty thing, but Mike Jacobs can barely cleanup his locker.

David Wright – HR yesterday.  After last year, his owners will take any power signs, but this homer was a fortunate, well-placed blast that was just around the pole.  Or as they call it in New York, The Pesci Pole.

Jose Reyes – Stole two bases in his rehab game.  It won’t be long now, ya’ll.

Casey Kotchman – 2-for-4, 4 RBIs.  As expected, he hit third against a righty.  For those that aren’t hip to handiness, there’s a lot more righties.  If you can find someone to get into your lineup when the Mariners face lefties, it could be worth it.

Garrett Jones – 2 HRs yesterday.  As our fantasy football contributor, Mark, said yesterday, “Robot Jones just fulfilled one of his 3 laws.”

Delmon Young – 2-for-4, HR yesterday.  Deep leagues obviously need to react quicker than other leagues.  Who knows, Young is still, well, young at 24 and he was once a big time prospect.

Roy Halladay – 7 IP, 1 ER, 9 Ks.  What’s a bigger joke?  Halladay vs. the Nats or Lannan vs. the Phils.

Placido Polanco – 3-for-5, 6 RBIs, grand slam. That was a month’s worth of Feliz.  Spanish pun intended.

Ian Desmond – 0-for-2 as he hit 8th.  Willie Harris went 0-for-4 from the two hole.  While Desmond needs to hit to stay on the field, Willie Harris should not be batting 2nd.

Ryan Franklin – 1 IP, 2 ER.  Kazaam!

Chris Carpenter – 6 IP, 2 ER, 3 Ks.  Rudy and I both agree that we wouldn’t own Carpenter this year.

Albert Pujols – 4-for-5, 2 HRs.  Poo-Holes is spitting fire.

Colby Rasmus – 2-for-4, HR.  Really wish I got him in a league this year.  I have a feeling it’s going to be his coming out party.  Maybe he’ll announce it in The Advocate.

Drew Stubbs – 2-for-2, didn’t get the start, but was brought in to face the lefty Reyes.  If Dusty’s only playing Stubbs vs. lefties, it kills his value.  Worse, I think all the Reds’ outfielders — aside from Bruce — are looking at 350-400 ABs.  That’s Gomes, Dickerson and Stubbs.

Joey Votto – 3-for-5, HR yesterday.  It was a good day, Ice Cube.

Zach Greinke – 6 IP, 1 ER, 4 Ks.  Over/under for Greinke’s no decisions this year?  16? 17 maybe?

Justin Verlander – 5 IP, 4 ER, 6 Ks.  Same thing every year for Verlander.  April early showers, bring May flowers.

Cameron Maybin – 0-for-4, 3 Ks.  It’s no embarrassment to be overmatched by Johan, even Johan 2.0, but Maybin looked completely lost.  My bigger problem with Maybin is he only has 20 steal speed.  He’s not a burner.

Gaby Sanchez – 2-for-4 with a double.  Yeah, not that exciting but I own him, so you’re gonna have to occasionally hear about him.

Ken Griffey Jr. – You see this Dick’s Sporting Goods commercial with Griffey running around the store?  Is this commercial from 1993?  Griffey strained his hamstring somewhere in aisle #5.

Mark Buehrle – 7 IP, 4 baserunners.  After Buehrle made one of the best plays by a pitcher ever, The Hawk, the White Sox announcer, said Buehrle’s had a storybook career.  Can’t wait for the movie.  The Mark Buehrle Story starring Michael Rappaport.

Carlos Quentin – No wonder he’s always getting hurt, I watched him get hit by pitches twice that he should’ve easily avoided.  He has the reaction time of Robert De Niro in Awakenings.

Guess what time it is? No, not three o’clock. It’s time for this week’s fantasy baseball buy/sell thingiemajig. Dur! As we move closer to the end of the season, I wanted to take this opening section to point out some hard facts. Arod is sleeping with a fifty-year-old lady. Ew! No, wait, that wasn’t what I wanted to point out. I wanted to say it’s now or never. Okay, I said that before, but now it really is. Don’t leave anything on the table. Or put it all on the table. Or whatever that inspirational poster with the guy rappelling a mountain says. If you’re thirty steals out in front of your nearest competition, why are you still starting Brian Roberts? He sucks. He’s not hitting as many home runs as Ty Wiggington. (Okay, he doesn’t suck, because he is hitting for a high average right now. But if you need home runs — big whoop! Or not! Depends on your need.) If you can’t gain any points in saves, why are you carrying seven closers? So my nearest competition can’t get any saves. Oh, well, that actually makes sense. As weird as it is to drop some players (Kinsler!), if they’re not helping you right now, they’re not helping you. You have, like, no time, people! P.O.Y.M.G.S.S. (Put On Your Make Grey Smile Shoes) Anyway, here’s some fantasy baseball players to buy and sell:

BUY

Adam Wainwright – If he stays healthy, he might be the September Cy Young. Unfortunately, it’s a Zelda Rubinstein-sized if. (Which is about a 4′ 11″-sized if.)

Jo-Jo Reyes – Member that Campillo dude. Yeah, Reyes is him minus the innings.

Tom Gorzelanny – Easily could be in the Sell list, because, earlier in the year, he added the third suck in sucky-suck-suck. Since July, he’s been T to the -orrid in the minors at a 2.06 ERA and .91 WHIP. To misquote Wyclef, he’ll be back in September.

Pablo Sandoval – A lot has been made of his weight. Well, there’s a lot there to make of it. Oofa! Let’s just say, if Pablo Sandoval gets a single against the Brewers, leaving him and Prince Fielder both at first, everyone else on the field should shift their weight towards third to avoid a landslide. Might get some starts in front of Benji. He’s got some pizz-op.

Travis Metcalf – Three homers in three starts this week. Could be something, might be nothing. If you’re struggling at corner, you take a flier. He might lose all playing time with Blalock’s return, but as we know from knowing what we know, Blalock will get hurt as soon as he returns.

Juan Salas – Just called up from the minors. Middle relief numbers to make you feel alive with pleasure like a Newport.

Mark Reynolds – The other day I mentioned Reynolds could move to 2nd base when Justin Upton returns. Look at Reynolds’s numbers (77/24/85/.245/8). Now imagine them from a 2nd basemen. That’s almost a top five 2nd basemen and he’s better than Uggla. In keeper leagues, this could be huge.

Alexei Ramirez – As I mentioned in yesterday’s fantasy baseball keeper post, I fell in love with Alexei and I liked it! I hope my girlfriend don’t mind it! (Sorry, that stupid song is still stuck in my head.)

Jeff Kent – Yeah, he’s a douchebag, but he’s been hot since Manny’s come to town. Get involved!

SELL

Clayton Kershaw/Johnny Cueto/Edinson Volquez/Zach Greinke/Jair Jurrjens/Jorge Campillo/Ricky Nolasco/Justin Duchscherer/Mike Pelfrey/Any pitcher that is pitching far too many innings for their arm – I’m not saying you need to drop these guys outright (though I have started dropping a few them. I’m looking at you, Greinke, Campillo and Jurrjens. Also, if I had Dook-sheer, I wouldn’t be expecting anything from him.). You just need to make sure you’re not too reliant on any of them. They might go from usable to having starts skipped in the matter of seconds.

David Price – Could be here by September 1st, might be worth the flier in ’09, he’s not ready yet.

Ian Kinsler – I know this injury hurt you, but there’s not much time left. You can’t be waiting around for him to return.

Chris Carpenter – You might get more from Tim Redding this year. Okay, bad example. But there still has to be more valuable guys on your waiver wire.

Brandon McCarthy – He’s on his way back to claim a Rangers’ rotation spot. In deep leagues, I could see the flier, but I’m not expecting anything from him. That’s not true. I’m expecting him to suck.

Ken Griffey Jr. – He’s looked like Ken Griffey Sr. all year.

Chris Davis – He’s hitting .211 in August with 2 HRs. Could he have a good September? Perhaps, but he’s a K machine. When I told you to pickup Chris Davis in June, I said, “Adam Dunn struckout 101 times in his last full year of the minors. Chris Davis struckout 150 times.” And that’s me cutting and pasting me! Now if Metcalf keeps hitting and Blalock returns and stays healthy, Davis may sit a few games a week. Sorry, but don’t shoot the messenger.

Huston Street – He’s owned in 83% of ESPN leagues. As usual, I assume 97% of ESPN’ers abandon their team so this ownership number means very little, but let’s assume just 7 people actually play ESPN fantasy baseball and out of those 7, 1 person still has Street on their team. That’s one person too many.

We realize that exporting our views across the country has damaging consequences on the blogosphere.

To help remedy this, we will try to occasionally feature locally blogged advice/insights/humor/etc. that will be fresher, more sustainable, and require less energy consumption (for us anyway).

Send tips to info@razzball.com. Enjoy…

Camden Chat and Oriole Post vent and illuminate on ESPN’s blinding love for the Yanks and Sawx. Can’t the Worldwide Leader give the O’s some love?

River Ave Blues uses box score results vs. hype to justify all the excitement over Joba moving to the starting rotation. What is up with these bloggers? Look away people. A true journalist relies simply on intonation and hyperbole. Here is how it’s done. (nice Sports Hernia post on the audio)

Redleg Nation teases us with news that a Jay Bruce is imminent. Check out the post comments – no surprise they want Corey Patterson out the door. More surprising to see the fans ready to say goodbye to Griffey. When Griffey hits his 600th HR, they should give him the hamstring from a cadaver.

Lone Star Ball commits a felony in Texas by inferring that Nolan Ryan might be wrong about something. The concern is that Nolan Ryan has never developed players before and his edict that their minor league pitchers will throw more pitches per game might be detrimental. My POV – no need to worry. Anytime you have a decent pitching prospect, you trade them anyway (Chris Young, John Denks, Edinson Volquez)…

Surviving Grady covers Bartolo Colon’s first start and shows a clip of umpire Tom Hallion going Enrico Palazzo on Colon’s first strikeout of the night. Guess it’s just Hallion being Hallion. Nice catch by announcer Jerry Rummy…I mean Ginny Remy….I mean Jerry Remy.