Poor Tyler Clippard. It seems everyone wants Drew Storen to be the closer in Washington, Clip is merely a place filler who’s done so well in Storen’s absence (3.22 ERA, 32 SVs) that they didn’t have the heart to take it from him. But it seems even Clippard is ready for Storen to be closer. Nationals Manager Davey Johnson announced yesterday that Clippard and Drew Storen would share the closing duties and Clippard responded like any true closer would, by imploding in the ninth to the tune of 0.2 IP, 3 R, 2ER. He did it for Drew! He also spoiled Edwin Jackson‘s gem in the process, too (8.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 Ks). So he’s in everyone’s dog house right about now. Wouldn’t drop him just yet, but Tyler has a 7.04 ERA with 3 losses in September and he might need some time to recharge. If you’ve been storing Drew Storen all year, you, sir, are a very patient owner and you are finally being rewarded. If he is not owned, I’d grab him. Despite what the title suggests, he probably can’t “save” your season at this point, but he’s likely to get the next few save opportunities for the Nats over the last few games of the season. In other words, if you need saves pick up Drew Storen!
Here’s what else happened in fantasy baseball Friday night:
Chris Carpenter – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 2 Ks. Made his 2012 debut about 5 and a half months late. Carp showed some rust in the outing in his first try back, but pitched well enough allowing just five hits. He was in line for the win but Darwin Barney spoiled his day with the game tying homer in the ninth. I’d take a flier on Carpenter if he’s still out there. He gets the Astros next Wednesday and that’s reason enough!
Darwin Barney – 2-for-5 with a 2-run HR and 3 RBIs. He’s been a hot schmotato in September batting .348 with 11 runs. He won’t offer much in the way of power or speed, but if you need a hot bat Barney loves you and me right now.
Ben Zobrist – 2-for-3 with his 18th HR. Have I mentioned I want him to play shortstop full time for my fantasy team next year? Because I do — I’m a sucker for a 20-15 guy. They Rays exploded for 12 runs as they make a run for the wild card. Jose Molina also homered and even Evan Longoria had 3 hits, so you know the Rays are in the zone.
Adam LaRoche – 1-for-4 with his 31st HR. Would you believe he’s the 6th ranked 1st baseman for 2012? No? Forget it then.
Adrian Gonzalez – 1-for-5. What a miserable trade this was for both sides. A-Gone has just up and left, he’s batting .244 since the trade with 1 HR and 16 RBIs. Josh Beckett has performed slightly better, but has only managed one win in 5 starts.
Kenley Jansen – 1.0 IP, 1 K. Pitched his first game since experiencing heart trouble. He came in the 7th inning of this one which is meh. Brandon League got the save last night (his fourth), but I bet Jansen gets the next one. Actually, I’m counting on it.
Bronson Arroyo – 8.0 IP, ER, 4 Ks. Can a guy get some run support? Bronson drowned his sorrows post game by whipping out the ol’ gee-tar.
Matt Wieters – 2-for-4 with 3 RBIs. I always own Wieters, dating all the way back to when I fell in love with him when he was Chuck Norris. It’s probably because he always ends strong and I forget how mediocre he is for the first 4 months of the season. But I guess it’s always good to have a hot bat for the playoffs. Here’s to drafting and overpaying for him next year!
Pedro Ciriaco – 2-for-4 with a run and a RBI. He’s cooled off a bit, but should be owned by now for the simple fact that he plays ALL the positions (yay eligibility). Heck, the Red Sox might be better off right now if he was playing all the positions.
Jon Lester– 7.0 IP, 8 H, 4 ER and his 13th loss. Jonny Lestah could be a good candidate for a nice comeback year in 2013, but there’s no way I’m drafting him.
Jim Johnson – 1.0 IP, 46th save. Jim Johnson leads the league. It’s finally happening!
Chase Utley – 1-for-3 with the slam and legs special, a 2-run bomb. You know he gets the senior early bird special, too. But he likes his legs soft boiled.
C.C. Sabathia – 8.0 IP, 0 ER, 11 Ks. Jarrod Parker (8.0 IP, 1 ER, 7 Ks) was almost as good but really Sabathia had his winning night ruined by Rafael Soriano (1.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 BBs), who gave up a game tying homer to Brandon Moss. Russell Martin fired back with a walk off homer in the 10th off Sean Doolittle, but by that point C.C. already wasn’t speaking with anyone anymore.
Ichiro – 2-for-3 with a SB. Batting .413 in September with 7 SBs and 4 straight multi-hit games. Who would have thought Ichiro would be such a boost for NY in the stretch. Oh yeah, Brian Cashman did.
Justin Upton – 2-for-4 with 3 runs and 2 SBs. Extended his hitting streak to 8 games. Where were you 2 months ago when I traded you for 60 cents on the dollar!
Wade Miley – 6.0 IP, 10 H, 5 ER, 4 Ks and his 16th win. Luckily for him, the Colorado pitching was that much worse while Miley was prepared for The Climb over the Rockies, the 15 runs of support probably helped, too.
Wilin Rosario – 3-for-5 with his 67th RBI. I’m willing to go out on a limb for Wilin and draft him earlyish next year. In fact, now that I think about it, I should draft the Colorado catcher every year.
Chris Nelson – 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI. Batting .429 over the past 7 days, playing his next week of games at Coors field and he was featured in Grey’s BUY column. What is, three good reasons to pick up Chris Nelson?
Chris Johnson – 2-f0r-6 with his 15th HR. Speaking of hot Chris’s. This one’s got ten hits in his past five games. You know the drill.
Pablo Sandoval – 3-for-3 with a 3-run HR, his 12th. His 5th HR in the past three games! In H2H leagues, he’s probably winning your fantasy league right now. Panda attributes his recent power surge to his new weight watchers protein bars that Melky Cabrera recommended. They taste like real chocolate and peanut butter! #indulge
David Murphy – 3-for-3 with his 14th HR and 3 RBIs. I have always loved me some David Murphy. And with Josh Hamilton set to sit out this weekend because he can’t see how much your fantasy team needs him, Murphy could be a nice play if he’s available.
Hisashi Iwakuma – 7.0 IP, 3 ER, 4 Ks and his 7th win. And he did it against the Mighty Rangers. Sure they were without Adrian Beltre and J-Hammies, but how is this guy owned in less than 20% of ESPN leagues!? Now’s your last chance to own a piece.
Ervin Santana – 7.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 11 Ks. Oh, hello there. 11 Ks? You shouldn’t have. Ervin will surely get drafted too early next year and will likely be a free agent in your league by May. But every so often, he goes and does this.
Mike Trout – 2-for-3 with his 28th HR. This is quite possibly the last blurb where I get to cover one Mr. Michael Trout. Mike, it’s been a wild ride. And I couldn’t have done it without you. (Literally, you carried us). The Man. The Myth. The Fish. The Legend. What an insanely incredible year you had. I know you’ll go too quick for me to draft you next year (what with your 5 tools and all) and I’m OK with that now. I just need you to know you were quite the catch. And I’m glad the wise old Catatafish introduced you to baseball. One more time for old time’s sake: Ohhhhhh, you make me want to TROUT! Throw my hands up and TROUT, Come on now! Hey Hey Hey Hey!
Good Luck in the finals! I hope all your fantasy teams win equally so everyone is happy. Ties all around! Huzzah!
