Ryan Madson finally took over for Brad Lidge. This was only about three months in the making and after six separate endorsements by Manuel saying Lidge is their closer. Ah fanabla, what a headache. Ever since Brett Myers returned from his MMA training, fantasy baseballers (that’s you!) seem ready to put Myers in the closer role. That would be too easy, right? Right. No, Madson’s the first guy to grab and maybe Myers sees time here and there. I’d grab both of them, unless you have a bleeding ulcer, then I’d stay away. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Scott Feldman – 7 IP, 0 ER, 5 Ks and leads the AL with 16 wins. Shoot me now. Seriously. Shoot me and Randy Wolf while you’re at it.
Marlon Byrd – 9 for his last 14 with 2 homers and 7 RBIs. He was having problems with kidney stones prior to this outburst, by I guess that problem passed. (Pun point for Grey.) Oh, and he’s single-handedly winning H2H leagues.
Francisco Liriano – Activated from the Disgraceful List and sent to the bullpen. He still has no value.
Jake Peavy – Supposedly, he should be ready to go against the Mariners next week. Was this whole elbow thing a ploy to face an NL-type offense? BTW, the White Sox pulled the plug on this season already, why are they trying to get Peavy back in there?
John Maine – Will return for this Sunday’s game vs. the Phils. He’ll be limited to around 70 pitches which will, uh, limit his value.
Ian Kinsler/Chris Davis/Nelson Cruz – Because we all love a nice bit of schadenfreude, I present to you, frequent commenter, Zombie, “For those who revel in others’ misfortune, I present a Trifecta Ticker Tease as the Rangers wallop the Tribe today 10-0. Those of us who own Kinsler, Davis, AND Cruz have returned from lunch, eagerly check the boxscore and see a combined 2 for 14, 0 RBI, 0 HR, 0 SB, and one goddamn Run…. The lone run only seems to punctuate the dearth of any additional production! And for all you Esteban German owners out there, you deserve his 5 for 5 day, you bastards.”
Felipe Lopez – HR yesterday. Now on pace for 10 homers and 7 steals. Somewhere, Crapolanco smiles.
Bobby Scales – Ran head first into a wall, went down for a minute or two, then played a few more innings before being lifted for Sam Fuld. Fuld, indeed.
Huston Street – Unable to return until early next week, according to Rockies pitching coach, Bob Apodaca. I love that name.
Justin Maxwell – 3-for-5, 1 steal. Could have some cheap speed for deep leagues, but he misses being a legitimate major leaguer by that much.
Carl Pavano – 7 1/3 IP, 1 ER. Now has 4 starts in a row where he’s been completely digestible. He gets the Indians next.
Rafael Soriano – 1/3 IP, 2 ER as he blew the save. Member when his ERA was around 1.50, like, a month and a half ago? Yeah, me too. Now it’s near 3.
Wandy Rodriguez – 7 IP, 1 ER, 6 Ks. And it rolls on.
Carlos Delgado/Jose Reyes – Both said they want to return in the last two weeks of the season. The Mets will just need to win 25 of their remaining 12 games to clinch a playoff berth.
Randy Wolf – Had his start scratched with a tweaked elbow. Sounds like an excuse to rest him as they head towards the playoffs. Kuroda will take his start.
James Loney – HR yesterday. Now has two in three games, while batting near .400 for the last week.
Scott Podsednik – 4-for-7 with a steal. He’s been a top 30 outfielder this year and the most valuable White Sox hitter this year. Cust kayin’.
Carlos Gonzalez – 1-for-5 with a steal. Now has 11 homers and 12 steals in 211 at-bats. Prepare for an offseason barrage of fantasy baseball ‘perts telling you you have to own him next year and causing his value to skyrocket.
Jose Lopez – 3-for-4, HR yesterday. Now has 3 homers in 5 games while batting near .500.
Krispie Young – Hit another homer yesterday. Now has five in 4 games. I’m sure we’ll see him again in Friday’s Buy/Sell.
Adam Wainwright – 7 IP, 0 ER, 6 Ks with his 18th win. He wins the Cy Young, right? Not rhetorical. Seriously, he does, right?
Matt Holliday – Left the game with a bruised knee. He said he should be good by the Cards next game as long as he never has to play in Oakland again.
Albert Pujols – 2 HRs yesterday. After the 2nd homer, Pujols’s BFF Lugo jumped around like Pujols called the shot beforehand in the dugout. So this got me thinking, and maybe I’m just devious, but if you were a random baseball player in the playoffs, let’s say Casey Blake, wouldn’t you have your teammate pretend you called a homer? Beforehand, Casey Blake and Orlando Hudson make a deal. If Blake hits a homer, Hudson will jump around in the dugout screaming, “He called it!” Like Fox Sports wouldn’t run with this story and suddenly Casey Blake would be the star of the World Series, get endorsements — Hi, I’m Casey Blake, this is a Sprint phone and I called it. — and he would get a huge contract. Casey Blake would be synonymous with clutch. Oh my God, I’m Scott Boras.
