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Since the dawn of time, fantasy baseball writers have used puns to title their blog posts. This is a tradition carried over from the olden thymes, eons ago when man pulped trees to create very delicate flat wisps, upon which etchings and scrawlings of every day activities where thenceforth transcribed. Even the title phrase of Bible is a pun. Jesus Christ would shorten the term "imbibe" to "bibe," when he was discussing his need to attend an early afternoon Pizza Hut buffet. "Judas," he would say to his BFF, "Let us stalk two-footedly to The Hut, we must bibe the garlic bread before the Romans go on lunch break." If the so-called great book revels in the puns, then let us not believe ourselves to be above the practice.

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See all of today’s starting lineups

# MLB Starting Lineups For Thu 8/21
ATH | BAL | BOS | CHC | COL | HOU | KC | LAD | MIL | MIN | NYM | NYY | SD | SF | STL | TB | TEX | WSH | ARI | ATL | CHW | CIN | CLE | DET | LAA | MIA | OAK | PHI | PIT | SEA | TOR
What is up party people? Since we last convened, we learned Jung Hoo Lee would undergo season ending surgery to repair his injured shoulder. I had high hopes for him and hope that he can come back strong next season. While his injury sucks, all injuries suck and you hate to see anyone have their season cut short, it has opened the door for Luis Matos to get a shot at everyday at bats in the majors. So far he has taken that opportunity and run away with it. All he's done since being called up is bat over .320 with 2 bombs and a whopping 18 RBIs in only 40 at bats. Yes, 11 of those delicious RBIs came in back to back games but the early returns are very encouraging. It's easy to forget that he just turned 22 this year so he should grow into his skills especially in the power department. I've seen enough to want him on my squad. With his contact abilities, he has the potential to be a points league star.
Phillies RHP George Klassen (22, A) was not particularly effective as a college pitcher, posting ERAs of 5.72 and 14.09 in his two seasons as a Golden Gopher in Minnesota. Nonetheless, he showed enough plus stuff for the Phillies to select him in the sixth round of the 2023 draft. When he started generating hype this spring as a pitch-lab find for Philadelphia, I was skeptical because it’s hard to just hand-wave those kinds of outcomes. Plus, 22-year-old college pitchers should fare well against Low-A hitters. Even so, Klassen’s gone full Pickle Rick this year. His 0.33 ERA, 0.67 WHIP and 34.3 percent strikeout-minus-walk rate are eye-popping numbers that suggest he’s already graduated from that level, skills wise. He might be in High-A right now if not for a short trip to the injured list. His three-pix mix now includes a four-seam fastball at about 98, a cutter at ~90 and a curveball at ~86; all three play as plus. 

Sometimes when a player is called up they find instant success like Jared Jones. And others, despite a great track record, experience a few growing pains as they adjust to the MLB level. Gavin Stone was shelled early and often during 2023 in his first taste of the majors despite finishing 2022 as the Dodgers’ Minor League Pitcher of the Year; that dream season across AA/AAA he finished with a sub-2.00 ERA and a 12+ K/9. Please, blog, may I have some more?

As we approach Memorial Day and the week eight recap of the Razzball Commenter Leagues our leagues standings have stabilized a bit.  Those teams who got out to 30 point leads at the end of April have drifted back to the pack (hopefully) and even those teams who were sitting in last place (I had a few of those) have chipped away at the deficit (though not as much as I’d like).  Please, blog, may I have some more?