Ted Williams hit a HR in his last AB. John Elway won his 2nd straight Super Bowl in his last start. Chipper Jones eschewed a standing ovation in favor of a reclining operation. Sometimes you don’t appreciate greatness until it hits the DL. In between all the injuries, Chipper Jones has had one of the top 5 careers for a 3rd basemen in WAR (behind only Schmidt, Eddie Mathews, Boggs and Brett). Fairly well, Glass Chipper, keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars while trying not to pull any ligaments. Omar Infante should now play every day for the rest of the year even after Prado returns. He’s a solid average contributor and… Well… Uh… Yeah, average. That’s it. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Freddie Freeman – Frank Wren says the injury to Chipper doesn’t change Freeman’s timetable. Glaus’ inability to hit anything other than weak grounders to the shortstop could change that timetable though. Right now, I don’t think we see Freeman until September. Stay tuned! Or not. Your choice.
Jonathan Papelbon – 1/3 IP, 3 ER. I’m already dreading the ongoing storyline of 2011 that will lead to questions like this, “Grey, when will Bard take over the closer job? When will Papelbon get traded? How do you get your mustache so full?”
Jed Lowrie – 1-for-3 with his 1st homer. He’ll be in this afternoon’s Buy/Sell. I’m still waiting for Chacin from last week?! He didn’t get called up like he was supposed to so there was no reason to mention him in the Buy/Sell, random italicized voice. You’re lucky I’m forgiving.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia – 2-for-4. Salty’s bachia. He’ll be backing up V-Mart primarily, but in two catcher or AL-Only leagues I’d try some Salty. Just make sure no one seasons the plate right before you.
Bobby Jenks – Left the game with a bad back. Weird, cause he looks like he’s in such good shape. I think Rubenesque is the term. Putz and Thornton are the pickups, in that order. Though it could easily go the other way.
Matt Cain – 6 IP, 3 ER, 9 baserunners, 9 Ks. I know it’s of little consolation but he was unlucky in the first inning to give up 2 of those runs. Then again, he’s been lucky for two years straight so I guess it’s only fair.
Pat Burrell – 2 HRs, 5 RBIs. You know this’ll only encourage Brian Sabean to sign more over the hill players. He must be stewing about missing out on Jim Edmonds.
Pablo Sandoval – 2-for-4 with a homer. The Panda’s hitting almost .400 in the last week on something other than a scale.
Casey McGehee – 4-for-4, 3 RBIs with his 18th homer. This is what Rudy said to me on IM yesterday, “I wish we got McGehee on more teams. You and your freakin’ Headley.” Only he didn’t use the word freakin’.
Stephen Drew – Hit his 2nd homer in as many games. This guy’s about two years overdue for a hot streak. Could surprise with a big final month and a half. Though, technically, it wouldn’t be that surprising since I’m pointing it out. Neverthehoo!
Shane Victorino – Activated from the DL and that makes the 2010 Domonic obsolete. In keepers, hold tight. In redraft leagues, you gotta let Brown go.
Carlos Ruiz – 3-for-5, 3 RBIs. He’s been hitting the ball well in the last ten days. I gotta fess up, I haven’t mentioned Ruiz because I know the mention of any hot hitting catcher leads to a cacophony of “Should I drop Napoli for ______?”
Ryan Howard – Says he should be able to return at or around August 17th. Hopefully everyone’s got their infieluenza shot.
Jonathan Broxton – Gave up three earned runs and recorded no outs. This is the kind of outing that loses closers their job. I seriously doubt if he gets the next save chance. I’m not sure if he’ll be officially replaced or if he’s just given a rest from closing. I think it’ll be the latter, but you never know. I’d grab Octavio Dotel everywhere, in the non-perverse way.
Jeanmar Gomez – 6 IP, 1 ER, 6 baserunners, 3 Ks. Jeanmar, may I ask if you’re Flemish? Why do you ask? Because saying your name makes me hock up phlegm.
Michael Brantley – 4-for-5 with a steal and 9-for-24 with a homer since his recall. Could be a cheap source of steals. SAGNOF!
Jason Kubel – Yesterday, he hit his 6th homer since the All-Star break. Member when I ranked him crazy high in my 2nd half rankings? I don’t want to say I told ya so, but isn’t the essence of the ‘I told ya so’ said by saying ‘I don’t want to say I told ya so.’
Kevin Slowey – Will start on Sunday vs. the A’s. I’m not sure if that’s the good news or the bad news.
Ryan Ludwick – It’s actually pretty interesting how hitters get hot, I talk about them for about a week then they go cold and there’s a new batch. Maybe it’s only interesting to me. If you’ve been following since Monday, you already know what Ludwick did yesterday. *SPOILER ALERT* It’s the same thing he’s done three times this week.
Jon Garland – 6 IP, 0 ER, 5 baserunners, 5 Ks. I know the first rule of Razzball is you do not talk about Razzball, but if you were ever to explain a hodgepadre to someone. Here’s an easy way. Garland’s Away ERA is 4.52. In Petco, 2.69.
Jose Reyes – 2-for-4, 2 steals. Everyone else is catching charges so Reyes decided to start stealing.
Johan Santana – 9 IP, 0 ER, 6 baserunners, 10 Ks. Clearly he’s as good at picking apart a lineup as he is at getting picked out of a lineup.
Hisabobby Takafelicianell – The Mets bullpen is in tatters… Shattered. Key syllable is shat. Will the closer be Brother Rob or Disco Bobby Parnell? Feliciano just cut his hair and is no longer interesting. Hisanori is a fun name to say, but does Manuel go there? Don’t know. Do the Mets even get a save? Hard to say. I grabbed Hisanori and Parnell, then I dropped Parnell and grabbed Feliciano. Then I dropped Feliciano, took a steam, had dinner and benched Hisanori. Now, I’m exhausted.
Francisco Rodriguez – To the restricted list and could be out for a few days or longer. Mets fans are just upset he isn’t married to Omar Minaya’s daughter.
