Curtis Granderson is destroying the ball since his return from the DL. Granderson hit his 5th homer in just his 11th game back healthy. He is hitting .317 and also stole his first base of the season. Most impressive so far from Granderson is that he has walked nine times, while striking out just six. This is a marked improvement from a guy who has fanned 315 times in the past two years. He’s too hot to trade for right now, and if you have him, you’ve got a big smile on your face.
Speaking of hot, when the hell is Chipper Jones going to come back to earth? With a 3-6 game on Sunday, Chipper is hitting .425 on the year. This isn’t the first week anymore people, for this guy to still be hitting over .400 after five weeks of the season is insane. If I owned Chipper, I would be trying to find the highest bidder in my league and deal him off. There’s NO way he can possibly keep this up, and his value will never be higher. He also has nine homers and has driven in 27.
Roy Halladay finally got some support from his teammates. Maybe the key is for him to be successful is to not throw a complete game, as he is 1-3 when he goes all the way. Halladay was great on Sunday, going 7.1 innings giving up just one earned and whiffing seven. Halladay is still one of the AL’s elite pitchers, and if he stays healthy will win 15 games.
Travis Hafner’s cold streak has now lasted over a year. After a disappointing 2007, Pronk has not picked it up in 2008. After another 0-3 on Sunday, Hafner’s batting average now sits at .209. He is still driving in runs at a decent pace, he does have 17 ribs, but his power has declined as he only has hit three out. The opposite of Granderson, he is too cold to trade right now, and if you have him you are pretty pissed.
Indians’ rookie Aaron Laffey was better in his second start than he was in his first. Laffey lasted seven innings, didn’t give up an earned run and fanned five. However, the unearned run he allowed pinned him with his second loss. He has been decent at worst in both starts, but he is now 0-2. He is still worth keeping an eye on, if he throws a good start or two you might want to think of making a move to get him.
Yankees’ rookie pitcher Ian Kennedy was sent down to Triple A following his latest disappointing start. That is now both of the young pitchers the Yanks were counting on either being hurt or demoted in just five weeks. This gave an opportunity to Darrell Rasner who was ripping up the minors, who made the most of his opportunity. He gave up a two run shot in the first inning, but that was all. Rasner went six and struck out four, while not walking a batter. Let him throw one more good start before heading to the wire to get him, but this is just what the Yankees needed.
Eric Gagne blew his fifth save of the season today, with the game tying run scoring on a bases loaded walk. Gagne’s contract will make it so he needs to be completely awful for a good stretch of time before he will be replaced. However, if you have him, I would do anything I could to make sure he was on someone else’s roster soon.
Injury Notes
Dodgers’ 3B Andy LaRoche was activated from the disabled list and sent to AAA Las Vegas. LaRoche will most likely need a few weeks in the minors to prove that he is ready to return to the big team, and he also needs to hope that fill-in starter Blake DeWitt hasn’t done enough to prove that he deserves some at-bats in Los Angeles.
Rays ace Scott Kazmir did indeed throw his first start of the regular season today and although he wasn’t good, he wasn’t embarrassing either. Kazmir only lasted four innings, gave up three earned, walked three and whiffed five. Whenever a pitcher misses that much time due to injury, you should never expect too much in his first start back. If his elbow is indeed healthy, Kaz should be all right in the very near future.
Although this isn’t his first start back, Ben Sheets just belongs in the injury section of this article. He wasn’t great either on Sunday, but if it wasn’t for Eric Gagne’s fifth blown save, Sheets would have gone to 5-0. His line doesn’t get you excited though, as he gave up four runs in 6.1 innings and struck out six. His season ERA still sits at just 2.29, which is still good enough for you to find a taker on a trade before he has his yearly bad injury.
Aramis Ramirez wrist was still too swollen for him to play on Sunday. He was still a little sore, but from the sounds of it he could be back by the end of the week. Nothing I read suggested that he might be headed to the disabled list, which is great new for Aramis owners.
Big Papi sat out Sunday with tightness in his right knee. He initially missed two games before playing five straight, and then missing again on Sunday. This doesn’t seem like an injury that will cost him a big chunk of time, but it may linger for a while and could cost him a game or two a week for a little while. Ortiz said he would be back in the lineup on Monday.
Ian Kinsler missed his second straight game Sunday with tightness in his hamstrings. Both manager Ron Washington and Kinsler both have said that this is a short term injury, and if it was an important game, Kinsler would be in there.
Dontrelle Willis reinjured his knee in his final rehab start, and it will be longer before he is able to rejoin the team. This shouldn’t be overly important news, as Willis has shown recently that he is no longer worthy to be a member of a fantasy rotation unless you have had wicked injury problems.
Quick Hitters
Marlins’ rookie Andrew Miller continues to do just enough to stay in the majors. Each time it seems like the next bad start will land him at Triple-A, Miller goes out and throws well. Sunday it was a two-run in six inning start, while striking out four. Miller’s ERA is still almost seven, so I don’t recommend you owning him right now, but if he was able to put a couple more good starts together, I could change my tune.
Athletics’ starter Greg Smith continues to have a surprising start to the year. Smith has yet to give up more than three runs in any of his six starts, and Sunday was his best start yet. Smith lasted six, gave up just one run and struck out a career high ten batters. Smith is a two start pitcher this week, and is now worth starting every week until he starts to cool down.
After Mike Lowell had an amazing season in 2007, now Kevin Youkilis is having a great 2008. Youk hit his third homer on Sunday, drove in four runs to bring his total to 20, and is hitting .310. Youkilis is a definite sell high candidate, but is on pace to have his best year as a pro.
Reds rookie 1B Joey Votto continues to get the majority of the starts, and he is making it tough for Dusty Baker to keep him out of the lineup. Votto has 14 ribeyes in limited starts this year, and he is hitting .294. Votto has 20/20 potential, and may realize that potential as soon as 2008.
As always, your questions about your team (adds, drops, trades, etc) and comments are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee an answer within 18 hours.