Ryan Dempster hits the DL with a broken toe. No word on how he hurt it, but Cubs fans are blaming Milton Bradley, Milton Bradley’s blaming an Italian Beef sandwich he ate in March but the Italian Beef sandwich refuses to play The Blame Game. Way to take the high road, Italian Beef sandwich! Dempster was at 5-5/4.09/1.37/89 through 105 2/3 innings. Now he’s out until late-July at the earliest. If you have a DL spot, go for it. With a non-arm injury, I wouldn’t be too concerned about Dempster coming back and doing pretty much what he’s been doing so far, which is, well, I just told you. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Mark DeRosa – Went to the DL. It’s a move they were calling “precautionary” and they’re “very optimistic.” They expected him back right after the “All-Star break.” DeRosa wanted to play but the “doctors” “said” “he” “shouldn’t.” Hopefully, his “wrist” will be “fine.” Then it turned out there was a reason they put everything in quotes as it was all lies and he could be out for a month with a torn tendon sheath.
Tony Pena – Traded to the White Sox. The Sox now have four setup men. Guess if they ever have two doubleheaders in one day, they’re set.
Ronald Belisario – Headed for an MRI. Geez, usually Torre can overwork his relievers for at least one season. Luis Vizcaino, Scott Proctor and Ron Villone never needed no stinkin’ MRI.
Jose Reyes – Received a cortisone shot. Supposedly this will push his return back at least another couple of weeks. Though when Upton received a cortisone shot before the playoffs, it was a boost. Guess different body parts react differently to cortisone shots. Glad I didn’t get a cortisone shot in my fingers so I could write the best post ever.
Carlos Beltran – Was seen sharing the same news story as Jose Reyes. He’s also in no rush to return. Guess he doesn’t own himself in multiple leagues like me. If I find out Beltran owns me in a fantasy baseball bloggers league, I’m going on the 60-day DL.
Freddy Sanchez – Has missed five straight games with a back strain. Since this is all about me, let me say this really leaves me with very few options in a deep league where I own Freddy. Get well soon, Dirty Sanchez!
Brandon Phillips – 2 HRs. After his 2nd homer, he pointed into the catcher’s mitt and called the 2nd strikeout for Jay Bruce.
Marc Rzepczynski – 6 IP, 1 ER, 7 Ks, 4 walks. Solid strikeout numbers in the minors, but a bit wild. He averaged over 10 K/9, but over 4 BB/9. And, like your Mom’s cooking, he’s under-seasoned. He’s worth a flier in AL-Only leagues, but I’d avoid him in mixed leagues for now. Oh, and so you can impress your friends, pronounce his last name the same as Kzepczynski, but with an R.
Vladimir Guerrero – For some reason, the Angels had Ron Kovic in the outfield. That didn’t go well. He limped off the field in the 8th inning from discomfort in his knee. If you own him, hope the Angels say it’s only day-to-day, which would be only a 15-day DL trip.
Juan Rivera – 2 HRs, up to 16 HRs. Rivera’s a solid option when healthy and hitting. He’s currently doing both. He’s also 31-years-old and has never hit more than 23 HRs in a season because he never stays healthy. Can he this year? Maybe. Maybe he’s this year’s Ludwick. But even if he stays healthy, he has no speed and goes ice cold for extended stretches, like last year when he hit 6 homers and batted .248 in August and September combined.
Erik Bedard – 4 IP, 2 ER, 8 Ks. On a pitch count, you can’t ask for much better of a start. Looks solid going forward, if he stays healthy. The same was once said of Rickie Weeks.
Franklin Gutierrez – The Big FraGu hit another homer yesterday. Get’m while they’re hot.
Justin Verlander – 6 IP, 3 ER, 11 Ks. I wish I owned a guy that would strikeout 11 in 6 innings. Owned in the non-biblical way.
Pat Burrell – Hit his 4th homer yesterday. Has 20ish more to get.
Jason Bay – HR and 2 steals yesterday. He’s at 20/8 with 71 RBIs. If he gets to 35/15 with 130 RBIs, he’s going in the 2nd round next year. Crazy, right? Want crazier? Just wait until Shaughnessy runs with that story in September. You thought Jim Rice in the Hall was crazy; Bay could win the MVP.
Scott Hairston – HR yesterday. Since Kris Davis went off to the minors, we lost our Reynolds vs. Davis K race, so I have a new one. Hairston vs. Holliday, the HR race. Hairston’s up by 3. Yes, if you traded Holliday for, say, Rollins and picked up Hairston off waivers, you’d be doing better right now. This is you. This is you owning Holliday and doing a double take.
Alfredo Aceves – Will start for Wang on Thursday. So, he goes, what? 60 pitches? Worth grabbing in H2H leagues and AL-Only, but I’m not bothering with him in mixed leagues.
Scott Baker – 3 IP, 5 ER. The troubling aspect (or positive, depending on your POV) is he didn’t give up any homers. Usually if he’s hit hard, it’s because of HRs. Think you can just chalk it up to a tough lineup and him having a bad day.
Barry Zito – 8 1/3 IP, 0 ER, 4 hits vs. the Marlins sans Hanley or Sansley, for those portmanteau lovers out there.
Blake DeWitt – HR yesterday as his Mom, Joyce DeWitt was arrested for a DUI. If only Joba had such fortitude…
David Wright – 0-for-3, batting .050 in July. C’mon, Alex Cora can only do so much.
Kevin Correia – 6 IP, 3 ER, 6 Ks. Eh, it was an okay start. He gets the Giants next, so I’m holding tight for that start.
Luke Scott – HR yesterday and 7 RBIs. He was almost benched in one league of ours. Luckily, Glass Chipper didn’t play.
Garrett Jones – 2-for-3, 2 steals. He’s not a pure steal guy, but he does have 15-steal speed. So it’s a great sign that he’s using that speed, unlike Rasmus, another rookie with 15-steal speed who only has one steal on the year. As mentioned a few days ago, I own Jones.
Grady Sizemore – 2 HRs. I said Sell him! Oh, wait. No, I’m not backing off on that. If he has the slightest setback, the Indians will shut him down faster than you can say Rzepczynski.
Paul Konerko – 3 HRs. Seems like he’s doing for the White Sox what Branyan’s doing for the other side of the plate in Seattle. Has anyone seen them in the same place at the same time? Things that make you say hmm…
Bartolo Colon – Yesterday news said, White Sox GM unsure of Colon’s location. Hey, Kenny, it’s in the large intestine.
