We all need a little wonder, so let me pose a question to you after this clunky intro.  Was Matt Cain‘s perfect game the best one game pitching performance in major league history?  I pose that question to you, young prematurely balding man, not to answer.  Remember, I can’t hear you, unless you scream louder than 200 decibels.  I pose this to you to put awe in your heart.  A piece of childhood shoved right into your aorta.  I’m saying, remove your short-sleeved button down shirt, and let me touch your heart with my question.  A 14 K perfect game is kinda hard to top.  I mean, I liked Pedro Martinez body slamming Don Zimmer as much as the next man, but the only pitcher to have 14 Ks in a perfect game was Sandy Koufax and he was coming off a Shabbos.   Yesterday, was pure shock and “Aw crap, why don’t I have him on one single team?!  I love Matt Cain!  Bumgarner, you better throw a 15 K perfecto next time out!”  Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Brandon Belt – 2-for-3 and his 2nd homer in as many games.  There’s gonna be some hot schmotatos mentioned further down this post, even a hot thotato, but Belt is an immediate pick up.  If he’s clicking, he could be a top twelve 1st baseman, like fo’ reals fo’ reals.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Don Mattingly said that Kenley Jansen is now his closer.  His exact words were, “There was a time and a place to put a closer in the setup role and an inferior pitcher in the closer role and that time has past.  I will know try to figure out why I ever shaved my mustache.  Things were much easier when Joe Torre was in the dugout managing the team and not on speed dial.  ‘Ooh, I’m Joe Torre, I take twenty minutes to return a text.’  C’mon, man, I can only ask for a replay review so many times!  I wonder if I can get Paul Sorvino to be my bench coach.  Or Joe Mantegna, he also kinda looks like Torre.”  Jansen will be a $12 Salad in all leagues by July, if not sooner.  Yes, he should be owned in all leagues, if he isn’t already.  Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

Jhoulys Chacin – Went to the Disgraceful List when he refused his assignment to Triple-A.  If you are gonna suck in your first 5 MLB starts of the year, Jhoulys you can do is report to AAA.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Washington Nationals 2010Minor League Review
Overall farm ranking via Baseball America (2010)
2010 (21) | 2009 (21) | 2008 (9) | 2007 (30) | 2006 (24) | 2005 (26) | 2004 (30)

Record of Major and Minor League Teams
MLB: [69 – 93] NL East
AAA: [76 – 67] International League – Syracuse
AA: [77 – 65] Eastern League – Harrisburg
A+: [70 – 69] Carolina League – Potomac
A: [65 – 75] South Atlantic League – Haggerstown
A(ss): [36 – 38] New York Pennsylvania League – Vermont Lake
R: [24 – 32] Gulf League

The Run Down
In the 2009 Nationals Minor League Review, I said, “It wouldn’t be a stretch to see the team win 10 more games this year with a slightly improved rotation.” They did win exactly 10 more games this year, too bad that was still good enough for last place in the NL East.  Jordan Zimmermann’s return from Tommy John surgery was met with losing Stephen Strasburg to the same surgery.  The Nationals have an excessive amount of mediocre pitching in the minors and in the majors as they had no starter who threw 100 innings with a strikeout rate over 6 Ks per nine-innings (e.g.

Please, blog, may I have some more?