In this corner — BJ Upton. In that corner — expectations. Should be TKO with BJ clobbering expectations. Not sure what happened on the way to September, but he hasn’t been right all season. Maybe he’s hiding an injury. But that was last season’s excuse. This season he was supposed to make good on his cortisone-induced playoffs show that had every classy waitress in Tampa standing at attention from their chest. Well, didn’t happen. I still think there’s time and I’m excited about him next year (again!). But until then, he’s now dealing with an ankle sprain. I’m sure he comes back. But at what? 87.7 percent? You need 100% from this schmohawk. Oh, and at 100%, he’s given you 2 homers and 8 steals with a near-.220 average since July 1st. If there’s better options, I’d consider looking elsewhere. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Franklin Morales – Huston Street made it to September without an injury. Mazel tov, my friends in Brooklyn. It was a deed no one thought Street capable of in March. Now he’s suffering from an arm issue. Rafael Betancourt’s the righty, Franklin Morales is the lefty. When in doubt, I go with the righty. But the Rockies obviously got word that Betancourt is a Cuddle Boy, so they’re calling Morales the closer.
Jarrod Washburn – You guys had a good run. Okay, it wasn’t that good. But it’s over now. He’s sucking on the suckhole and the Tigers are skipping him in the rotation.
Carlos Torres – 7IP, 0 ER, 6 Ks. He has a decent amount of Ks in the minors. I’m not saying to grab him everywhere, but in some deeper leagues, I could see it where you need Ks because batters won’t be familiar with him. He also walks a ton of guys, so be very careful. He’s capable of a Spud from Trainspotting type defecation.
Michael Brantley – First steal (and caught stealing). Nice to see him running. He should continue to do so. If not, we have people we can talk to to get him running again. *wink wink* *nudge nudge* *hand under armpit making farting noises*
Fausto Carmona – 6 1/3 IP, 3 ER, 9 baserunners as he tied his owners to the WHIPping post.
John Smoltz – 6 IP, 4 ER. Six innings and four earned is the line you get when you take a pitcher who shouldn’t go more than five innings more than five innings. Or maybe he decided to tip his pitches again. In fairness, Lugo bobbled a ball that should have been a double play then the wheels came off.
Jorge Posada – 4-for-5 and his 20th homer yesterday, while batting .288 on the season. The Jetstream may be doing wonders, but he’s going into territory where he may be overrated next season.
Alfredo Aceves – Middle man who won his 10th game of the season yesterday. Randy Wolf has 29 starts, 110 extra innings and 9 Wins. Cust kayin’.
Cameron Maybin – 2-for-3 yesterday as he started, while Hermida deals with a strained intercostal (isn’t that a highway in Florida?). Maybin should see time this weekend.
Marc Rzepczynski – Shutdown for the season. And just when I figured out how to spell his last name.
Pedro Martinez – 7 IP, 1 ER, 9 Ks. Okay, never saw this game coming, but still a very solid effort sans dwarf.
Casey McGehee – Now has three homers in the last four games. He’ll be discussed in this afternoon’s Buy/Sell. You lucky you!
Jon Garland – 7 IP, 2 ER, 6 Ks vs. his old team, the Diamondbacks. So this is what other pitchers were talking about!
Orlando Hudson – Losing time to Ronnie Belliard. Ouch.
Mark Reynolds – 1-for-4 with 3 Ks. He now has 11 Ks in the last five games. Obviously, I have much love for Reynolds this year, but this is the kind of stretch I worry about happening that would give me pause next year when people are going to be drafting him in the top 50 players overall. When he was priced at an average draft pick of 175, it was much more reasonable. Though I hope he turns it around and finishes this season strong so no one’s scared away for next year. Muahahahahaha…
Hanley Ramirez – Missed another game because of his strained hamstring. Then Uggla called him a faker.
Carlos Beltran – Hopes to return next week. Wait until he sees what the Mets have done with the team!
Angel Pagan – 3-for-4 yesterday, hitting near .400 over the last week with one homer and one steal. Maybe Pagan made a deal with the devil. (Pun point for Grey.)
Clint Barmes – Hit his 22nd homer. Bar-MESS has 5 hits in his last ten games and two homers. 18 hits in August and he had 7 homers. He’s a Jesse Barfield-Marcus Thames hybrid, the Barmes.
