Jake Peavy was walking off the field before the trainers even got to him. On a scale of bad signs, that’s around a 9. That’s on a scale of 1 to 8. The good news is it’s not his arm. It’s his dorsi muscle. Peavy’s a dolphin? Put down your noisemakers, it’s not that good of news. To paraphrase Ludacris, “Peavy back bad, Peavy not good… Peavy back don’t do stuff that yo’ back do… (Repeat chorus 17 times.)” Daniel Hudson, rocking a 3.47 ERA in a hitters’ park in the minors, could get the call if Peavy needs a DL stint. You know that guy you see when you search for Tim Hudson on the waiver wire? That’s him! He has more than a K/IP in the minors, though his control is iffy at times. He’s worth a pick up in AL-Only or deep mixed keeper leagues. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Aaron Harang – Headed to the DL with back spasms. Dusty said, “If he dies, he dies,” while wrapped in a Reds flag.
Yovani Gallardo – To the DL with an oblique strain. Won’t be back until the end of the month as YoGa tries to get stretched out. Namaste.
Brad Penny – I faintly remember him pitching this year. He was good, wasn’t he? He was shut down during a simulated game, experiencing more soreness. Can’t Dave Duncan rub his hands together and touch the pain?
Felipe Lopez – 2-for-5 with a homer as he hits near .450 in the last week. Or “For Fiddy,” if you’re sending a care package to the G-Unit.
Ryan Franklin – 1/3 IP, 6 ER. Ouch… Wait, what? Oh. Ow.
Edwin Encarnacion – 3-for-4 with a homer. All he does is hit (when he’s first called up then disappears into oblivion).
Delmon Young – 3-for-3. Now hitting over .400 in July after a .320 June. Know what would be nice? If he were batting higher than 8th.
Carl Pavano – 6 1/3 IP, 6 ER, 8 baserunners, 2 Ks. That, sir, is no line from a man with a mustache. Shave immediately!
Joe Mauer – 1-for-4 with his 4th homer. His homer totals from 2005 to 2009 were: 9, 13, 7, 9, 28. Does one number look off? Yeah, well how come you didn’t listen when February Grey told you that?
Clayton Richard – 6 IP, 5 ER, 13 baserunners, 6 Ks. Thursday’s afternoon post was going to be about how Clay-T Richard, along with a bunch of other SPs, were pitching over their head. Consider this a preview.
Mat Latos – Here’s Bud Black for the last three months. Latos won’t be limited, won’t be limited, won’t be limited, then yesterday he said he’d probably be limited.
Ryan Zimmerman – 3-for-4 with 2 homers after he took the better part of June off. I missed your touch, Black Keys.
Jayson Nix – Hit his 4th homer in the last four games. If you’re struggling to catch a spark at MI, I’d grab Nix and ride the heat.
Johan Santana – 9 IP, 6 baserunners, 5 Ks and a homer. This year Johan has one homer every 30 ABs. Jason Bay has a homer every 50 ABs. Cust kayin’.
Jose Reyes – 2-for-4 as he returned to action. He was running hard, not favoring any side (back?) pain.
Matt Diaz – 3-for-5. It’s Dye-as. Lefty killer. Anyone who’s read this site for a long time knows that I’ve always liked Diaz as a platoon outfielder. (Play him against his strong side, sit vs. weak side. Rinse, repeat.)
Wandy Rodriguez – 7 IP, 1 ER, 6 baserunners, 10 Ks. For a while, it was touch and go while it looked like Brian Moehler was ghost riding the Wandwagon, but now it looks like he’s back.
Carlos Lee – Hit a homer yesterday along with Lance Berkman. Must’ve been throwback night at The Juicebox. Did Jeff Bagwell throw out the first pitch underhanded because of a hurt shoulder?
Jeff Niemann – 6 IP, 0 ER, 7 baserunners, 5 Ks. He shouldn’t be pitching this well. If you’ve heard that before, it’s because I’ve written it before.
Kosuke Fukudome – Hit his 2nd homer in 2 games. Here’s what I wrote yesterday, “…he gets crazy hot for a week or two at a time.” And that’s me copying and pasting me!
Aramis Ramirez – 2-for-4, 4 RBIs and 2 homers. Too bad anyone in their right mind has either dropped or benched him by now.
Aaron Heilman – 1 IP, 2 ER. I’d say Kazaam!, but Kirk Gibson went into a press conference the other day fist pumping and said, “I have no idea who the closer is. Maybe it’s Qualls, maybe it’s that lady in the front row of all the games that had me sign her breast. These things haven’t been decided yet.” I think Qualls gets first look, then Front Row Lady.
Alex Rodriguez – 2-for-3 with 2 homers. On pace for 120 RBIs, less than 30 homers and like no steals. Feels like he still hasn’t had one crazy hot streak, so he can easily bump up his numbers to 35 homers and 10 steals. In other words, same shizz, different year.
Jose Guillen – Left the game with an injury, probably will head to the DL. Maybe the Royals can now trade him for Mike Jacobs.
Wilson Betemit – 3-for-4 and his 4th homer in 19 games. The Royals are playing him, as they should. You should consider it too.
Jhoulys Chacin – 3 IP, 4 ER in middle relief as he makes room for de la Rosa, who’s due back this Friday. In NL-Only leagues and deep keepers, I’d hold Yo-lease with his nasty K/9.
Chris Iannetta – Now has 3 homers in his last six games. Unfortunately, those six games are separated by 11 days. From the files of Sad, But True: Iannetta has only one less homer than Wieters.
Seth Smith – 3-for-4 with his 12th homer. Putting together a nice year as long as you sit him vs. lefties. Ooh, I know! Trade Matt Diaz to the Rockies and let him platoon with Smith.
Vicente Padilla – After a typical start, after a 6 2/3 IP, 2 ER, 9 Ks start.
Matt Kemp – 2-for-5 with a home run and two steals. Or as it’s more commonly known, a slam & legs.
Alex Rios – 1-for-3 with a home run. I told you to sell him at the very end of May. In June, 2 homers and 5 steals with a .297 average. In July, 1 homer and 1 steal with a .176 average. So 3 homers and 6 steals with a .280 average. I think we can agree there’s guys with less name value giving you the same.
Madison Bumgarner – 8 IP, 0 ER, 6 baserunners, 5 Ks vs. the Brewers who have only scored three runs in the last three games. Mad-Bum’s pitching better than I thought he would. I’d absolutely grab him in mixed leagues, but you run the risk of getting roofied at any point.
Miguel Cabrera – Hit his 21st homer as he took a late hit off The Sauce. Alfredo, that is.
Armando Galarraga – Sent to the minors. I wonder if he’ll drive his Corvette.
Felix Pie – 2-for-6 in his return to the lineup. So what’s to like about Pie? Well, the weird guy in the overalls at The Home Depot is not the only one who’s toolsy. Pie is a speed and power combo guy. He’s just not quite that powerful or that, um, speedful. In AL-Only and deep mixed leagues, I’d take a flyer.
Chris Tillman – Should replace the DL’d Millwood. Tillman started 4 games earlier this year and gave up 14 earned runs in 15 innings with his worst start coming in San Fran. I wouldn’t pick up Tillman with your team.
Nick Markakis – 5 HRs, 2 SBs on the year. Evidently, he’s a hypochondriakakis and gleaned from Luke Scott and Brian Roberts that hitting HRs and stealing bases leads to injuries.
Kevin Youkilis – Left the game with ankle pain after clearing the plate with his foot. The last Red Sox that got hurt clearing the plate was Sam Horn who pulled his abdomen partaking in a pie-eating contest.
