Alex Rios has been claimed by the Chicago White Sox, and the Blue Jays basically said, "hey, he's yours!" So, how does Rios' value change? I would say it definitely takes a hit unless there is an injury on the Sox. Carlos Quentin, Scott Podsednik and Jermaine Dye man the White Sox outfield, and Jim Thome is entrenched as the DH. So, who is the odd man out? Rios? Podsednik? I think right now the Sox are kind of surprised they got him for absolutely nothing and now must find a way to get playing time for all those guys. I'm not sure I would drop him, but I would certainly sit him on the bench until you find out how the playing time shakes out.
Pedro Martinez will be back in the majors on Wednesday against the Cubs. Jaime Moyer has been moved to the bullpen, which should have been done a while ago. Pedro's last two solid starts were against the Netherlands in the World Baseball Classic and the minor league rehab starts. Not exactly anything that instills confidence in me. I wouldn't touch Pedro with a ten foot pole. The last time he was in the majors he got tattooed like a bunch of rebellious teenagers. Chicago is slumping right now, but I still wouldn't touch Martinez.
Chad Billingsley is going to be skipped from his Wednesday start and will hope to avoid the DL with his hamstring injury. Not too much else to say on this one, watch for further updates to see if he will be back next Monday.
Leo Nunez picked up another save tonight for the Marlins, but it was Matt Lindstrom who started the ninth inning. Manager Fredi Gonzalez has said that Lindstrom would get the job back "eventually, but he didn't know when". Well, Lindstrom crapped the bed in his first attempt back in the 9th, although it wasn't a save situation. He made it one for Nunez, and he had to clean up after him. Is this going to make it a longer time for Lindstrom to get his job back? WILL he get his job back? Nunez has been great in the closers role, so he deserves to keep getting the chances. I wish they would just tell us who is the closer, I have both Marlins relievers in FOUR leagues and they are taking up roster spots that I could use on others! C'mon Fish, make up your mind!!!
Johnny Cueto injured his hip running the bases tonight, and will be re-evaluated on Tuesday. If he is going to miss any significant time, I would let him go, but if he is going to make his next start, I would continue to hold him on your roster. He was once 8-4, but is now 8-9. Cueto has talent, he has just been in an incredible slump.
Geovany Soto had his first hit since returning from his latest stint on the Disabled List and he made the most of it with his ninth home run of the year. Soto has been one of the biggest disappointments in fantasy this year, and his owners are praying that he will be back on track now and will finish the season strong. I'll believe it when I see it.
Outside of that one start where he allowed eleven runs (tough to forget, I know), Gio Gonzalez has pitched pretty well. He ran his record to 4-2 as he shut down the Orioles over six innings with just one walk and striking out five. That is now two straight starts that he hasn't allowed a run, and he has struck out 26 batters in his last four outings. I still don't quite trust him yet, but Gonzalez was a high ranking prospect, so this could be for real.
Troy Tulowitzki had his best career game today as he hit for the cycle and drove in seven runs. Tulowitzki is putting those couple years of disappointment behind him, and is now ranking among the top few shortstops in baseball. I know this isn't breaking news, but just wanted to give credit where credit is due.
Jorge De La Rosa bounced back nicely from his last outing in which he gave up seven runs. De La Rosa pitched into the eighth inning, allowed just one run and struck out eleven. That is now six of his last seven starts in which he has allowed two runs or less, and he now has more strikeouts than innings pitched. If he is available in your league, please make sure he isn't much longer.
Don’t forget to send me an email about the football email list. Much like in baseball if I find breaking news I will shoot out a quick email to you so you can hopefully make a move before your competition. Put football mailing list in the subject line to fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com.
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As always, your comments and questions are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours. Also, don’t miss the “Fantasy Baseball Tonight” podcast four nights a week from Monday-Thursday. The Big Show on Wednesday is co-hosted by Todd Farino of fantasybaseballsearch.com, RC Rizza of junkyardjake.com and myself, Ryan Hallam at fightingchancefantasy.com. To hear the show go to www.blogtalkradio.com/the_true_guru. You can also hear me weekly on the Tuesday Night show. Join me with Jeff Mans every Tuesday night at 10pm EST for all the the info and craziness we can pack into one hour. A can’t miss if you plan on winning your league.
Ryan Doumit had two home runs on Wednesday, which were his first two of the year. He has been doing respectable since coming off the DL, but hadn't been hitting for any extra bases. He had 15 homers in just over 110 games last season, so he has good pop for a catcher and there should be more where this is coming from. He could pop out ten more before the season is over, or at least get to ten, so if you have an underperforming catcher and Doumit is available, I wouldn't hestitate to make the move.
OK, that's enough. I've been fighting it. I don't want to advise starting Garrett Jones of the Pirates, but at this point how can you sit him? He homered AGAIN this afternoon and now has nine in just 17 games. Now with trade of Adam LaRoche, Jones will likely be playing first base most days for Pittsburgh. Obviously, he can't keep this pace up, but you have ride the hot hand while it lasts. I would suggest waiting until he takes an Ofer for two or three days before removing him from your starting lineup
Ryan Theriot seems to be a popular fantasy middle infielder, but I'm not really sure why. OK, he is hitting .300, but he offers little else. I guess his 36 RBI from a middle infielder isn't bad, he should approach 60, but he doesn't hit for enough power or steal enough bases. Sure, he stole three today, bringing his season total to 13. But he also had five in the first month of the season. So that means in May, June, and most of July, he recorded five steals. That isn't enough for me. Unless you are in a deep league or have injuries in your middle, I wouldn't keep Theriot on the roster.
Jaime Moyer was pretty poor again today, and continued his good start/bad start kind of pattern. When they are bad, they are pretty bad. On Wednesday, Moyer allowed four earned runs over five innings, walked three and struck out three. His ERA now sits at 5.65 for the year, and somehow he has nine wins. He had won five straight starts before today, but in two of those he had allowed six and four runs. I wouldn't trust Moyer to start for me unless he was facing maybe the Mets (right now), Nats, or Pads. Even then I would have my reservations.
Armando Galarraga might not have gotten the win tonight, but he at least seems like he has turned a corner and might go back to being the guy we thought he would be when the season started. Galarraga allowed just one run over 7. 1 innings and struck out eight. Three of the last four times he has taken the mound he has allowed just one run, and he has 23 Ks over 26 innings. If he is still out there, I would certainly give Galarraga a look. He is pitching better and the Tigers are actually competing this season.
Trevor Cahill had one of the best starts of his young career, but it is pretty easy to pitch (so they say, not that I have) when your team scores 12 runs in the first two innings. Cahill allowed just one run over seven innings and struck out four. In his previous four starts he had only pitched through the fifth inning once and walked 12 guys. Someday this guy will be an absolute stud, but it isn't going to be 2009. He is going to give you his fair share of good starts, but there will be plenty of inconsistency sprinkled in along the way.
Ricky Nolasco pitched beautifully again and is now 5-1 since returning from a demotion to the minor leagues. Nolasco allowed only two hits over 6.1 innings and struck out ten. He is on a major hot streak, and should be a reliable pitcher for the remainder of the season. He has also struck out at least five in eight straight starts. If you were lucky enough to pick him up when he was sent down, congratulations. If not, I'm sure his value is too high to try to trade for him now.
Orioles rookie Jason Berken stunk out loud again today versus the Yankees, and dominoes are starting to fall into place for a possible call up for prospect Chris Tillman. Berken is now 1-8 with an ERA north of 6.50 and hasn't won since his first start. Tillman, on the other hand, is rocking in AAA and was apparently scratched from his start in the minors tonight. Right now he is on tap to pitch tomorrow, but there doesn't seem to be any reason why he didn't make that start. Is a promotion to Baltimore coming soon? Perhaps. If you are out of it in a keeper league, grab Tillman on speculation. If you are in it still, you have to wait. In 17 starts this season he is 8-5 with a 2.42 ERA with 95 Ks in 93 innings.
As always, your comments and questions are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours. Also, don't miss the "Fantasy Baseball Tonight" podcast four nights a week from Monday-Thursday. The Big Show on Wednesday is co-hosted by Todd Farino of fantasybaseballsearch.com, RC Rizza of junkyardjake.com and myself, Ryan Hallam at fightingchancefantasy.com. To hear the show go to www.blogtalkradio.com/the_true_guru. You can also hear me weekly on the Tuesday Night show. Join me with Jeff Mans every Tuesday night at 10pm EST for all the the info and craziness we can pack into one hour. A can't miss if you plan on winning your league.
Ervin Santana had his best outing since June 5th. On Thursday, Santana threw eight great innings, allowed just one run and struck out four. His ERA for the season is still at 6.70, but I know many of you still have hope given the stats that he put up in 2008. He should improve on his first half, but I don't expect him to pitch in the second half like he did last year. With two wins on July 16th, he could get up to eight wins.
Cliff Lee teased his owners again tonight. Lee went the distance, allowed just one run, didn't walk a batter and struck out six. He really has been pitching better than his 5-9 record would indicate. His ERA is a more than respectable 3.31, even if his WHIP is a little higher than you would like at 1.36. His strikeouts are right about where they usually are (99 in 136 innings), so it is the fact that his team stinks that explains his record. If he gets hot, he could win 12 or 13 games, so if you have Lee, keep throwing him out there every five days.
Rich Harden had the kind of outing that we had become accustomed to him having in his career on Thursday. Harden threw six shutout innings, allowed just three hits and struck out seven. His record is now back to .500, but his other stats are just pedestrian. I don't think that I would seek out a trade for Harden because I just don't know what to expect going forward. My head tells me he has to improve, but my eyes tell me he has been little more than average this season.
Derrek Lee is really starting to make me nuts now. I always like to write about how over rated he is, but lately he has been on an incredible hot streak that apparently took no break during the All-Star festivities. Lee came out of the break with three hits and his 18th homer of the year. Barring injury he has a shot at 30 home runs, a total he hasn't hit since 2005. I would still look to sell high on Lee for a guy like Joey Votto, but if you want to hold on to him he looks fairly strong.
Homer Bailey was more like the Bailey that I expected. I felt like a prostitute having to say that he might be worth a roster spot a couple weeks ago, but now he is back to normal. Bailey gave up seven runs over 5.1 innings, walked four and struck out three. He isn't going to be consistent, I had a quick brain fart there. Stay away from Bailey, he just won't pan out. I know he was a top prospect, but they just all don't pan out.
Edwin Encarnacion has done better than I anticipated coming back from the DL, but I am still not a big fan. He has had one hit or more in every game but two since July 3rd, and tonight he had three hits including his second home run this month. He has driven in seven runs this month, but they all came in two games. As a bench guy to have in case of injury I like Edwin, but I would not want him in my everyday lineup.
Chad Gaudin continues to get great strikeout numbers, but being on the Padres, that limits his fantasy value. Against the Rockies on Thursday, Gaudin allowed just one earned run, and struck out eight over five innings. He is strictly a one category pitcher. His ERA is nearly 5.00, his WHIP is over 1.40 and he only has four wins, but he has 93 strikeouts in 87 innings. If you need Ks, grab Gaudin, but beware he will hurt your other pitching categories.
Jaime Moyer was awesome tonight, but don't fall into that trap. Sure, his record looks good at 9-6, but his ERA is over 5.50 and his WHIP is over 1.40. Add that together with very few strikeouts and the fact that he plays in a hitters' park, and I would not own Jaime Moyer. Unless you are in a 16-20 team league or an NL-only league, there MUST be better options.
The neverending rain here in New York threatened another softball game on Thursday, but we were able to get an official game in between the rain, thunder, and lightning. We led off the game with five runs in the first inning, which I had an RBI double right down the third base line. A nice liner that got past the third baseman. I walked the second time up, before popping out to fairly deep right as I continue to experiment with hitting to the opposite field. All in all, 1-2 with a walk, an RBI, and two runs scored. I also tagged up on a pop fly to the first baseman. It was a lazy fly that kind of had him spun around and I was pretty sure he wouldn't expect me to run. It would have been a very close play if the throw was good and the 3B was able to field the ball. Luckily he tried to catch me more than the ball and I was able to get my foot on the bag before he could corral the ball. We had a rain out game on Sunday which I will recap on Friday.
As always, your comments and questions are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours. Also, don't miss the "Fantasy Baseball Tonight" podcast four nights a week from Monday-Thursday. The Big Show on Wednesday is co-hosted by Todd Farino of fantasybaseballsearch.com, RC Rizza of junkyardjake.com and myself, Ryan Hallam at fightingchancefantasy.com. To hear the show go to www.blogtalkradio.com/the_true_guru. You can also hear me weekly on the Tuesday Night show. Join me with Jeff Mans every Tuesday night at 10pm EST for all the the info and craziness we can pack into one hour. A can't miss if you plan on winning your league.
