Fantasy Baseball Advice

I picked up Doug Fister in every league I could.  So, that’s out of the way.  I won’t start him the next time out though and I’m not sure I’ll start him ever.  I may just drop him if I never get a good matchup at home.  At home’s key.  That’s the only place I’d start him.  Last night, his 7 IP, 1 ER, 4 baserunners, 3 Ks performance is his peak.  He pitches to contact and doesn’t K anyone.  He’s similar to Joel Pineiro.  Call him Jo-eh.  If you were the firster to get him off waivers, chuck him into a package trade for someone much more reliable or exciting.  His appeal is limited.  So, yes, I grabbed him to chuck him.  My apologies, Mister Fister.  Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Casey Kotchman – Hit his 2nd homer in as many days.  Going mono y mano with Soriole, Bradley Bergesen.

Franklin Gutierrez – The Big FraGu left the game in the 7th with tightness in his groin.  Ugh-arf!  That’s FraGu backwards (almost).

Conor Jackson – To the DL with a hamstring.  This is probably the best thing to happen to his owners all year.  If you’re struggling to find room for him on the DL, I’ll save you the time.  Drop him in most mixed leagues.

Kelly Johnson – 1-for-4, but Conor Jackson’s hamfret pushes Johnson into the leadoff role.  I like me some Johnson!  Not like that.  C’mon, that’s juvenile.

Gerardo Parra – 1-for-3, and now has a starting job because Conor Jackson’s injury is paying it forward.  Parra has little value outside of NL-Only leagues.  There, he’ll give you very little power and little speed.

Ty Wigginton – I mentioned grabbing him yesterday when he had four homers in the last week.  Today, he has 5.

David Eckstein – He hit a walk-off HR for San Diego.  When pressed for comment, Eckstein said it was his biggest hit since knocking out Soda Popinski.

Clayton Richard – 6 1/3 IP, 1 ER, 8 baserunners, 5 Ks.  He’s not really bad on Ks and he will have an under-4 ERA at home this year.

Brian Fuentes – Scheduled to return from the DL on Wednesday.  He should get the closer role right back.  At least I hope so since I own this doode.

John Lackey – 3 1/3 IP, 8 ER.  A’la Superintendent Chalmers, “Lack-eee!”  Honestly, this might have been Lackey’s alter ego pitching, Lon Jackey.  He pitches like he’s in a horror film.

Mike Cameron – Could miss a few games because he’s got some stones below the belt in the literal instead of colloquial sense.

Jacoby Ellsbury – May end up D’ellsburied after all.  The Sawx played Bill Hall in center yesterday.  How’s that for depth?

Jeremy Hermida – HR yesterday.  Hermida couldn’t get to a ball he should’ve, which started the scoring on Lackey.  Hermida is a poor-man’s Trot Nixon.  Call him Mosey Agnew.

Brad Penny – 7 IP, 2 ER, 9 baserunners, 5 Ks.  He’s actually been one of my best pitchers so far.  Scary, yet true.

Aaron Rowand – Reports are good that Rowand won’t need surgery on his face.  Too bad Willie McGee never received the same good news.

Juan Uribe – Has two homers in the last two games.  He’s one of the streakiest hitters.  Bet he hits at least two more homers this week.

Dontrelle Willis – 6 IP, 2 ER, 6 baserunners, 2 Ks.  He seems like a good guy.  I wish him the best.  I wouldn’t touch him.

Felix Pie – Will miss up to three months with latissimus dorsi muscle injury.  I thought only dolphins had dorsi muscles.  Anyone ever see Felix Pie flinch around a can of tuna?  Eh, guess it’s not important.  I imagine Reimold’s still nursing his Achilles’ because he’s pulling a Kotchman with that thing, but he’s got one less schmohawk to deal with for playing time and he has been hitting cleanup.

Kelly Shoppach – Out for 4-6 weeks with knee surgery.  I had knee surgery once and I wasn’t able to catch for almost two months later.  Actually, that’s a complete lie, but my English Comp teacher once told me to personalize.

Brandon Morrow – 7 IP, 1 ER, 5 baserunners, 8 Ks vs. the Royals.  Now they should make him a closer!  I keed.  Morrow should be capable of more performances like this one, but he gets the Rays next and I’m officially more worried about the Rays’ offense than the Sawx’s.

Mike McCoy – 3-for-4, 2 steals.  Hill’s due back soon which will push McCoy to, well, wherever McCoys go when they’re not playing.  In the meantime, McCoy stole 40 bases in Triple-A.  As they say at Razzball, SAGNOF!

Travis Snider – 2-for-5 as he hit his 2nd homer in four games.  I think he might be a year away still, but he could be coming around; don’t sleep on him if he’s out there.

Cliff Lee – Will throw a simulated game on Tuesday.  They should use a Wii for that.

Ike Davis – 2-for-4, 1 RBI and a million New Yawkers thinking this Davis has an idear up der at bat.  If you scroll down, you’ll see a post about him.  Want more, greedy?  Okay.  The Mets announcers (I heart Keith Hernandez) were comparing Davis to John Olerud.  Davis was wearing a batting helmet at the time, but they meant it about his hitting.  Also, they meant it as a compliment, but I took it as insult.  20 homers and a good average?  I’m hoping he develops more power than that.  Either way, you should own Davis for the chance at a breakout.

Jose Reyes – Wanted the day off because of fatigue.  It’s fair after playing three plus games in two days.  Then he got in the game late and continued to do nothing.  We need to remain calm.  He had no time to ramp up to the season.  The thyroid shorted him his Spring Training.  I’m not worried.  If Reyes gets hot, he could carry you for a month.

Craig Stammen – 8 IP, 2 ER, 6 baserunners, 5 Ks.  That Stammen is a real pistil!  What, flower jokes ain’t your thing?  Whatever.  Oh, and Stammen’s a terrible pitcher, nothing’s changed.

Kevin Mench – The Nationals gave him a minor league deal and he’s hitting so far.  If the Nats call him up, I’m booking tickets for Kevin Mench Fathead Poster day when the first 10,000 guests get life-sized posters of Kevin Mench’s head that one can affix to their wall like a giant tapestry or fresco.

Scott Podsednik – Left the team for a family emergency.  The emergency:  give his hot wife a royal f***in’ vs. playing for the f***in’ Royals.

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 2010 fantasy baseball questions regarding their team. We feel this approach will be fresher, more sustainable, and require less energy consumption (for us anyway). The 2010 Red Sox Fantasy Baseball Preview comes courtesy of Troy and Lee over at Fire Brand of the American League.

1) There’s been a lot said/typed/blogged about the Red Sox offense having a little less punch than years past.  Last year, the Red Sox had 3 players above 99 Runs (Pedroia – 115, Bay – 103, Youk – 99) and 3 above 94 RBIs (Bay – 119, Ortiz – 99, Youk – 94).   Do you think any Red Sox will scale those Runs/RBI levels this year?

I don’t think you have to worry about the runs totals.  This Red Sox team is built every season to do one thing better than any other team in baseball: GET ON BASE.  There’s a lot of questions that RBI totals will suffer, but if hitters are reaching base, guys will drive them in.  Remember all those guys Vernon Wells drove in a few seasons ago?  You only get to do that with opportunities.  The Red Sox will have many opportunities.

The Red Sox were 2nd in the league in OBP and 2nd in wOBA.  That 2009 team was a very talented offensive ballclub, even with dysfunction at third base and shortstop for the entire year.   While Jason Varitek had a hot April, he quickly flamed out as well.

After you factor in the regression of the current 2009 holdovers and the additions to the club (Cameron, Beltre, Scutaro), the Red Sox don’t look that much worse offensively.  Is someone going to hit 40 homeruns? Probably not.  But if the top of the order continues to get on base, there’s no reason why Martinez, Youkilis, and Ortiz don’t have enough opportunities to drive in 100 runs a piece.  CHONE projects this Red Sox team to score 5.3 runs per game, good for 858 over the season.  Only 9 runs less than the World Series winning 2007 team that had two prime time 40 HR players.  But the Boston media says our offense is terrible.  I guess I should believe them instead with all the data they have to back up their claims.  Right.

Ellsbury and Pedroia shouldn’t have a problem topping 100 runs a piece, unless Jacoby makes all the Pink Hats cry and proves his OBP bump was a giant fluke.  If Martinez is spelled enough behind the plate and gets a big chunk of time at 1B/DH, he could do it with enough at bats.  Youk will most likely need a 30+ HR season to eclipse 100 runs, but shouldn’t have a problem leading the RBI charge and driving in 100 on his own.  Losing Bay won’t affect specific player totals as much as Jon Heyman tells us so.

2) Ditto the first question’s opener regarding the Red Sox improved defense.  How much of an impact ERA/WHIP-wise do you think this has for the Sox staff?

Any time a team’s defense improves, you’re only doing the pitching staff a favor.  This is why Scott Kazmir continued being called an “ace” when he had that ridiculous tampa bay defense behind him the past 1.5 years.  It’s the same reason why Jarrod Washburn suddenly became a star with Franklin Gutierrez’s black hole of a glove bailing him out in center…and then he goes to Detriot and goes down in a fiery blaze of nerd rage.

Once the ball touches the bat, the pitcher has been removed from the resultant outcome.  With the exception of the ever confusing antics of Tim Wakefield who seems to be immune to statistical studies and logic like Tom Cruise and the Church of Scientology, the Boston pitching staff should have a slight blanket-drop in their opposing BABIP.  However, the park dimensions still won’t favor flyball pitchers they way Petco or Safeco does.  Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz, both strong ground ball pitchers, should benefit the most from this defensive improvement, and would be the most likely candidates of favorable returns showing up in their ERA and WHIP.

3) Can you gives us the over/under/push on the following:  Ortiz – .260/25 HRs, Beltre .275/15 HRs, Pedroia .307/15 HRs, Youk .280/25 HRs, Jason Veritek .220/7 HRs, Ellsbury 50 SBs.

Ortiz – Push/Over
If Papi gets 600 ABs, I think he still has a shot at 30 HRs.  Even when considering his atrocious first two months, his power numbers came back strong to finish out 2009.  Our colleague Aaron did a piece on this, and I tend to agree with him.  His increasing strikeouts give me pause about the batting average though.

Beltre – Over/Push
I think this is an easy call.  Beltre was walloping 25 HRs in Safeco before he almost neutered himself last year.  While Fenway does reduce homeruns very slightly compared to average, it’s still more favorable for power production than Safeco.  Beltre should get right to 25 HR, doubtful he’ll hit much more than that, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see him add 30-40 Fenway doubles off the wall.  I’d expect a line similar to his 2007 production, maybe a tad higher with the Monster helping his batting average.

Youk – Push/Over
Youk’s increasing strikeout rate tells me two things.  First, he’s more a slave to a fluctuating BABIP, that cruised up to .359 last year.  While it’s not the first time he’s done it, the less I see a player putting balls into play, the more I expect their BABIPs to be closer to the average, regardless of high line drive rates.  I will, however, look at his increasing K rate as him striving to drive more balls out of the park, and expect his HR/FB%, which has increased 3 straight years, to continue to give him 25-30 HR power.  I’ll say this is the year Youk finally hits 30, but not much more.

Pedroia – Over/Push
After a 30 point drop in BABIP from his 2007 and 2008 line, Pedrioa only hit .297 last year.  A 10 point improvement doesn’t seem out of the picture, especially when his drop in BABIP also coincided with a drop in strikeouts.  Less strikeouts means more balls in play, which means more possible “seeing-eye singles”, at least more than you get from a strikeout, which is zero.  15 homeruns seems to be Pedroia best aiming point for homeruns, and I’ll agree with that.  I don’t think he’ll ever have the power potential Robbie Cano has, even without the rocket shoes Yankee Stadium gives left handed batters.

Varitek – Under/Under
Varitek will be lucky if he gets in 50 games.  There’s no reason to put his bat in the lineup, and if you’re giving Victor a break, one of the younger defensive minded catchers in the sox system would be a better bet.  I guess if you have you worry about drafting Varitek in your fantasy league, you’re probably Omar Minaya.  Even if Varitek plays more than he should, I’d steer clear of him anyway.  As much as I love the guy, I don’t want him anywhere near the batter’s box.

Ellsbury – Over
50+ shouldn’t be a problem for Jacoby.  He could go over 70 again if he actually batted 7th-8^th, but I won’t get into my disdain for Ellsbury in the #1 spot instead of Drew.

4) The Red Sox have 3 starters that are arguably in the top 20 fantasy SPs in Beckett, Lester, and Lackey and two interesting later-round picks in Buchholz and Dice-K.  Whom of this bunch do you think will be the best and worst values based on their expected draft picks?

Lester and Dice-BB, respectively.

I’m still amazed at the lack of Cy Young support Lester got last year, all due to a fluky BABIP-induced April.  If you put his statistics up against the 2009 lines of Sabathia, Verlander, Hernandez, and Halladay, it’s difficult to tell them apart.  I even did it for you a long time ago!

Lester seems to be the last pitcher picked in the tier after Lincecum / Grienke.  I find it surprising.  I always wait on starters anyway, and in a redraft league, he’d be my first target.  His ADP is the end fo the 5^th round right now, which is basically the similar production your paying for those aforementioned players 2 rounds up.  Draft your offense heavy and wait for Jon.  The value you pick up by getting that offensive player in Round 3 instead of Sabathia (Votto!) justifies this enough for me.

I really won’t say much about Dice-BB.  Until a pitcher walks less than 5 batters per nine, he belongs nowhere near anyone’s fantasy team.  You can’t predict him having an ERA anomaly again like 2008, so why waste the draft pick on it? The Casey Kelly-era can’t come soon enough in this town.

5) Jim Rice was one of the more controversial HOF nominees if you define ‘controversy’ by causing the baseball bloggerati and sabermatricians to convulse (me included).  What’s your opinion on his HOF credentials?  What do you think Theo Epstein’s would be?  And if you could swap him out for another more deserving ex-Red Sox player, whom would it be?

A disclaimer: I love Jim Rice.  He was one of my favorite players when I was a kid.  Back when you didn’t need season tickets to sniff Fenway’s gates for less than a 300% markup, my father used to sit us down on the 3rd base line so I could get a good view of him.  He’s outspoken, ballsy, and was a spectacular person, even though he was rough around the edges with the Boston media.  Then again, if I played for the Red Sox, I’d probably react to the CHB the way Rice and Carl Everett did.

As much as I love Jim Rice, I know he’s in that bottom rung of Hall of Famers.  The guys that eventually get in because they’ve been around so long, or because someone says he was a “feared” hitter enough times to make people believe it.

Personally, my Hall of Fame standards are high.  I abhor the thought of a “Hall of Very Good”, but I also understand that in practice enshrinement into the Hall is a subjective matter, and the amount of equations I throw at people won’t change a thing.  At this point, I figure it’s more important to focus on making cases for players who have been unfairly snubbed rather than unfairly enshrined.  Lame cop out? Probably, but it’s not like you can kick someone out of the Hall.  I’d rather not waste my energy complaining about them.

I think my opinion would be the same as Epstein’s.  “For everything Jim Rice did for the Red Sox, we’re happy to see him be honored as a great player in our sport.”  Then I’d cry myself to sleep in my math books, disgusted at my politically correct PR stunt.

If I could/had to swap him out, it’d be for my other favorite player in my younger years, Dwight Evans.  Overall, just as productive at the plate(127 OPS+ to Rice’s 128 OPS+), but an absolutely amazing fielder.  From what I remember, he was Rice at the plate, but played right field with as much skill and grace as JD Drew does, albeit with a much superior mustache than the one Drew sports from time to time.

(Note from Rudy:  Sorry Razzball readers that I went ‘serious’ instead of our usual facetious with the last question.  I just had to ask a Sox fan about Jim Rice’s HOF credentials.)

With more outfielders than G-Unit feuds, we take it to the top 60 outfielders for 2010 fantasy baseball.  These guys may seem like they’re not worth the effort, but remember last year Adam Jones, Nelson Cruz and Justin Upton were found here.  As with the other 2010 fantasy baseball rankings, where tiers start and stop are mentioned and my projections.  Anyway, here’s the top 60 outfielders for 2010 fantasy baseball:

41. Michael Cuddyer – This is a new tier.  This tier goes from here to Kubel.  I call this tier, “Yawnstipating power outfielders.”  Cuddyer probably could’ve/should’ve/Elliott Gould’ve ranked higher than this, but I think he had a career year that won’t be repeated.  A career year that I went over in the top 20 1st basemen for 2010 fantasy baseball, where you’ll also find his projections.

42. Brad Hawpe – Maybe it’s just me but Brad Hawpe screams a platoon player to me.  A platoon player that only plays the 1st half of the year? Ah, cute, random italicized voice.  No, he shouldn’t play vs. lefties.  Also, watch out if he’s shipped out of Coors.  (An idea that has me foaming at the mouth.  Well, that and my Diet Coke and Mentos diet.)  2010 Projections:  70/25/85/.280

43. Jason Kubel – I liked Kubel going into 2009.  He’s more or less the same this year, but the only difference is how people are perceiving him.  Kubel had value when he was a last round draft pick.  There’s no value when you have to draft him like he’s actually going to stay on your team.  Trust me, he won’t.  2010 Projections:  70/25/85/.285

44. Vernon Wells – He had wrist surgery in November.  Blech.  I’m really only ranking him because I don’t want people to ask me if I forgot him.  I didn’t, but you should.  2010 Projections:  65/17/75/.265/10

45. Corey Hart – This is a new tier.  This tier goes from here to Snider.  I call this tier, “Back into outfielders that I would draft.”  Hart will be 28 in March and 2009 was a lost season; he battled injuries for almost two months.  His declining HR/FB is cause for some alarm, so he doesn’t come without risk.  But when you’re choosing between Kubel or Wells or Hart, I trust you’ll make the right choice.  2010 Projections:  75/20/80/.260/17

46. Dexter Fowler – I went over my Fowler fantasy already.  2010 Projections:  85/10/55/.285/35

47. Colby Rasmus – I went over him in a Colby Rasmus sleeper post.  2010 Projections:  85/17/65/.265/14

48. Travis Snider – I’m randy on Travis.  As long as the Blue Jays don’t Kemp him all season and move him up the order then he could be in for a huge breakout.  There was also a Travis Snider sleeper post.  2010 Projections:  70/27/85/.265/3

49. Drew Stubbs – This is a new tier.  This tier goes from here to Brantley.  I call this tier, “Upside speed picks to make Ron LeFlore proud.”  I’ll like Stubbs more when he definitely has the job in center.  Though, even with the job, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him lose time to other outfielders, especially if Taveras is still there.  Stubbs also has a problem with Ks.  2010 Projections:  80/7/50/.255/35

50. Michael Brantley – It’s the Riverdance guy!  This ranking is really contingent on playing time and the speed he offers.  Don’t expect much else.  2010 Projections: 55/5/65/.275/30

51. Elijah Dukes – This is a new tier.  This tier goes from here to The Big FraGu.  I call this tier, “Your back’s against the wall and you really need upside.” Last year was the first time in his career that Dukes didn’t have any trouble with the law.  He also didn’t hit.  Let’s hope in 2010 he catches manslaughter charges and hits 25 homers.  2010 Projections:  75/17/80/.270/15 <– optimistic but whatever

52. Chase Headley - I like him way better at 3rd base.  In fact, I already went over him there at the top 20 3rd basemen for 2010 fantasy baseball post.

53. Chris Coghlan – Looking at Coghlan’s numbers, he looks like a cheap Denard Dawg.  That’s neither a compliment nor an insult.  To put that in overused slang terms, it is what it is.  Coghlan just needs to show more of that speed he showed in the minors.  Would I want Coghlan in my outfield?  Not unless I had a lot of speed and power on my team and felt I needed average and Runs.  2010 Projections:  100/10/55/.310/15

54. Franklin Gutierrez – The Big FraGu probably gets more pub on Razzball than he should because of his most excellent nickname.  His ceiling is what he did last year, but he could do it again.  2010 Projections:  60/15/75/.270/13

55. Carlos Guillen – This is a new tier.  This tier goes from here to Mags.  I call this tier, “Old guys with no upside.”  Listen — or read as the case probably is — a lot of these guys will probably outperform some of the guys above, but that doesn’t mean I’d necessarily want them on all teams.  I tend to go for steady performers in the early slots of the draft, then I take fliers later on.  But if you have an outfield of, say, Justin Upton and Adam Jones, I could see taking Carlos Guillen to balance upside with stability.  As for Guillen, he was injury-prone when he was young.  Now he’s 35 years old.  Oy.  2010 Projections:  75/15/70/.285/6

56. Ryan Ludwick – Wait, wasn’t Ludwick in a promising tier last year? Yeah, and now he’s  in an over-the-hill one.  2010 Projections:  60/24/85/.270/3

57. J.D. Drew – He’s actually stayed relatively healthy recently and the numbers have been pretty yawnstipating.  Hopefully, his brother, Stephen, can step it up Michael Voltaggio-style and help Mother Drew choose a favorite.  2010 Projections:  75/20/85/.275

58. Milton Bradley – He has the inverse Elijah Dukes thing going on.  When he’s good, he’s good, when he’s bad, he’s so bad.  (<–That would mean the exact opposite if you were to hear it in an R&B song.)  2010 Projections:  65/16/70/.280/5

59. Mike Cameron – Went over Mike Cameron for fantasy when he was signed by the Sawx.  2010 Projections:  70/20/85/.245/14

60. Magglio Ordonez – You can pretty much tell how stodgy a fantasy baseball site is by where they rank Magglio.  CBS has him 49th.  Barring his insane BABIP year of ’07, he hasn’t really been great since 2002 and now has been below average and down right bad the last two years, respectively.  He’s AARP Mags.  2010 Projections:  75/15/95/.310

With ace-of-the-staff years dating back to 2002, Roy Halladay was the franchise.  Well, the Blue Jays front office gave the Blue Jays fans the kanye shrug.  While most pitchers go from good to great or great to mindblowing in the NL, Halladay will have to deal with Citizens Bank.  He doesn’t have much history to go on there, but it obviously favors hitters more than Rogers Centre, where Halladay had a 3.23 career ERA.  I think we can nullify that park disadvantage with all the weaker lineups and the pitchers he’ll get to face.  In his career interleague play, he has a 17-8 record, 3.02 ERA. 1.14 WHIP and 165 Ks in 220 and a third innings.  Sounds like a solid projection for Halladay’s 2010, just add twenty more Ks.  Anyway, here’s some more deals that went down yesterday and what they mean for 2010 fantasy baseball:

Cliff Lee – Heads to the Mariners.  If there’s one place a pitcher shouldn’t mind going, it’s Safeco.  (Safeco, Petco, Metco… Throw out the humidor and just rename the park Coorsco.)  Lee benefited from his move to the NL (though his ERA says different), but it wasn’t like he was languishing in the AL prior to the trade.  With the Indians last year through July, his ERA was 3.14.  His K-rate in the NL last year bumped up his overall strikeouts, so we shouldn’t expect more than a 7 K/9.  Still good for a mid-3 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 160 Ks with the Mariners.

John Lackey – Heads to Bahston.  Now Boston reporters can misspell his name Larkey and it would be pronounced the same way.  If only his first name were Nomar, then it would sound like no malarkey.  Larkey will be immediately overrated in 2010 fantasy baseball drafts.  He hasn’t been able to get over 200 innings since 2007 and his K-rate has been dropping for a few years now.  For those out there that say he’ll now get more wins, the Angels weren’t exactly a 50 win team and he’s had only 12 and 11 wins the last two years, respectively.  In 2010, I’d put him down for a high-3 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 130 Ks in 165 innings.

Michael Taylor – When I was deciding who would get a 2010 fantasy baseball rookie post, I looked at Michael Taylor.  He fell short because I couldn’t figure out what value he was going to have on the Phillies.  There was just no room for him in the outfield.  No longer a problem.  Taylor heads to the Jays.  Lind slots into the DH spot and Taylor goes into left.  Or someone can just make Vernon Wells glue.  Taylor will be 24 in a few days  — go to Benihana for your birthday, they give you free pineapple chunks — and he has done all he needs to do in the minors.  Last year split between Double and Triple A, Taylor went 20/21 with a .320/.395/.549 line.  It’s not far fetched to think he could be an early front runner for the 2011 AL ROY award and a 15/15 candidate.  Assuming Taylor’s penciled into the the lead-off spot, I’d give him a projection of 85/12/60/.280/15 with upside from there.  Definitely worth owning in leagues 12 team and deeper.

Phillippe Aumont – Stephen went over the Phillippe Aumont fantasy.  He goes to Philly.  Or, more appropriately, Philli.  (For those keeping score at home, Phils get Halladay, the M’s top pitching prospect, Aumont, and Tyson Gillies — more on him in a second.  M’s get Lee.  Jays get D’Arnaud, Taylor and the Phils top pitching prospect, Kyle Drabek and/or Happ.  As of press time, this wasn’t all entirely clear.)  Aumont will be given the opportunity to make the club as bullpen help, but probably won’t be up until midseason at the earliest.  He has no clear cut path to the Phils closer job yet.  But wait until Lidge pitches.

Tyson Gillies – Elias Sports Bureau said there’s more L’s in this trade than any other trade in the history of baseball.  Actually, they didn’t say that; they’re in the Antilles on vacation.  As mentioned above, Gillies heads to the Phils.  Gillies fantasy prospects were broken down already.  He’s at least a year away unless the Phils are hit by major injuries.

Travis D’Arnaud – Sent from the Phils.  He’s still at least a year or two away, but he could be the catcher of the future for the Jays.  The catcher of the present is…

John Buck – Evidently, they’re replacing a real cowboy (Doc Halladay) with one of the midnight variety.  Buck has some cheap pop and nothing else for AL-Only leagues.

Mike Cameron – Signs with Boston and signals that the Sawx are done waiting for Bay or Holliday.  Then again, they have four competent outfielders when most clubs don’t have two so they could still stuff their cheeks with a few more acorns.  Cameron’s presence will be no present for Jeremy Hermida.  See what I did there?  Hermida’s value takes the biggest hit.  He could end up doing nothing but platooning against tough righties.  That’s assuming J.D. Drew stays healthy and, as they said in China in the 1400s, assuming makes an ass out of you and Ming. Cameron hasn’t stolen 20+ bases since ’06 and at 37 he probably won’t get there again.  He’ll likely bat at the bottom of the order, which will help with RBIs.  He’s a decent 5th outfielder in 12 team leagues for teams that need assurance over upside.

Hideki Matsui – To the Angels.  In his youth, Hideki came to be called Godzilla because of monstrous homers and acne.  Well, he’s still got the acne.  I’d avoid him in fantasy as much for his yawnstipating numbers as for his Utility-only eligibility.

Jason Kendall – Royals get him for two years.  Much like a Ken doll, Kendall has no bat.

Zack Greinke won his 16th game yesterday pretty much the same way he won his other 15.  In September, he has a .35 ERA.  That’s two earned runs through 26 innings.  Okay, recent-history lesson aside.  The question I’ve been thinking on a lot lately is where will he be drafted next year.  I think it’s fair to assume he’s moved in front of Johan and Sabathia.  Webb and Peavy hit speedbumps this year and Halladay’s been his usual dominating self, but he never seems to get the fantasy love.  I mean, Halladay was better than everyone last year but wasn’t drafted in front of them this year either.  So that leaves Greinke and Lincecum.  Lincecum’s proven; he’s a top 2nd round pick.  So is Greinke a 2nd to 3rd rounder?  On one hand, it seems implausible to me that Greinke’s going to go that early (this might be because I don’t draft pitchers that early).  On the other hand, he’s earned it.  Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Psyche!  Before we jump into the roundup, and, oh, we will be jumping, Rudy updated the master standings.  With 114 points out of 120, Mowses is parting the rest of you Razzballers with his cane and giant beard.  Unfortunately, he has no shot at 120 points.  Damn.  We hoped with 9 leagues that one would get 120.  How many leagues do we need to have to foster a perfect season?  We feel like Mr. Burns did when those monkeys he had pounding away at typewriters were only able to manage, “It was the best of times, it was the blurst of times.”  Anyway, roundup time…

Shawn Camp – Got the save yesterday.  Probably a combination of Frasor working two innings the day before, Downs being, well, down and the Blue Jays not having a lead until the tail end of the 8th inning when Camp was already warming up.

Matt Tuiasosopo – HR yesterday.  Not much else to say, just wanted to write his last name.

Patrick Misch – 9 IP, 0 ER, 2 Ks.  Game before he gave up 8 earned in 1 1/3 innings.  Okay then.

Carlos Quentin – HRs in back-to-back games this weekend as he showed a glimpse of the player he was before you wanted to kill him.

Daniel Hudson -  6 IP, 2 ER, 4 Ks, 5 BBs.  If only BBs stood for Brian Benben sightings.  (1st Dream On reference of the day.  There will be another one this afternoon.  If you can guess this afternoon’s reference prior to posting, I will buy dinner for you and your family at Friendly’s.  *fast, hard to understand voice*  Offer available online only.  Offer applies to contiguous 48 states.  “Family” includes you and one other person.  No cousins or nephews.  Dinner includes a Fishamajig sandwich and a Fribble.  Winner must pay tax and gratuity.)

Mariano Rivera – Got the save yesterday as ESPN reported the Yanks clinched.  I wouldn’t be surprised if Hughes gets a save this week.

Chris Tillman – 2 IP, 6 ER.  In one of my leagues, I reached 179 starts the other day, so of course I threw eight starts on Sunday.  Damn you, Tillman.  I hate being roofied.

Matt LaPorta – HR yesterday and he’s batting over .400 in the last week.  Andy Marte is even starting to hit (.467 over the last week with a homer) as the Indians have the best record for the last three days, tied with three other teams.  Small victories, Tribe fans, small victories.

Asdrubal Cabrera – 4-for-5, 3 RBIs as he finishes up a decent year (79/6/68/.308/17).  Yes, it’s only decent because it’s at shortstop.  Alcides Escobar, Elvis Andrus and EverCab should make shortstop a bit more interesting next year, but not that much.  Asdrubal’s only 23 so I’ll be mildly touting him again next year.

Nick Markakis – Hit a homer on Friday after I put the reverse kavorka on him in Friday’s Buy/Sell.  It was his only hit this weekend (1-for-11).  (David Wright went 1-for-10 and sat out Sunday.  Maybe you can have a 2nd Place Finish But Still Owned David Wright trophy made.)

Edwin Jackson – 7 IP, 5 ER.  He’s had an August (4.45 ERA) and September (4.78 ERA) to forget, but you didn’t think he’d even have an April or May or June or July to remember, so don’t hate on him too hard as uncool people who are trying to sound cool would say.

Ryan Madson – 1 1/3 IP, 0 ER as he got the save.  I’d say Madson’s going to get every Phillie save this week, but every time I say that Lidge reappears to blow a save.

Mike Cameron – Has hit a homer in the past two games that he’s started.  This isn’t a “Hey, look at Cameron” thing as much as a “Hey, Gerut’s playing time is getting pinched by Cameron and Hart” thing.  I know, just when you thought you couldn’t dislike Hart any more.

Francisco Liriano – 1 2/3 IP, 3 ER.  After the game, Liriano asked for a reversal of his surgery — “I want Johnny Tom surgery!”

Orlando Cabrera – 3-for-5 yesterday, batting near .400 over the last week.  If you need a shortstop, here ya go.

Randy Choate – Entered a losing game in the 8th, then Lance Cormier got the save as Maddon played match-ups.  The Rays’ closerousel is anyone’s guess for saves.

Huston Street – In case you missed it last week, Street is the closer.  To prove it to everyone, he went two innings for the save yesterday.

Derrek Lee – Out three games now with a sore neck.  He’s been dealing with this issue most of the season, but this latest flareup was caused when Angel Guzman gave him a celebratory tap on the helmet after a home run Lee scored on.  Similar thing happened to Kaz Matsui last year when Berkman patted his ass after a homer.