Beyond the Boxscore–Fantasy MLB News and Notes 5/6/08

What’s the deal with Joba this year? After being nearly perfect in 2007, Chamberlain has looked like quite the mortal pitcher in 2008. Joba gave up a three run homer to David Dellucci of all people to take his second loss of the season already. You couldn’t have expected Chamberlain to be as dominant as he was last year over an entire season, but right now he has to be classified as a disappointment this year.

White Sox pitcher Gavin Floyd was two outs from making history. Floyd carried a no hitter through 8.1 innings, until a Joe Mauer double broke it up. This is a great accomplishment for any pitcher, especially for one as young as Floyd, but I still can’t recommend you adding him to your roster, even with his 2.50 ERA. I really don’t see Gavin having a consistent season, and I expect this good start to fade away.

Angels prospect Nick Adenhart had his second start of his major league career, and although it was better than his first, it still wasn’t near what we would expect from someone with so much potential. Adenhart again had control problems as he walked five batters in just 4.1 innings. He only gave up three runs this time out, but this is far from what was expected when he came to the majors. You can’t add him to your roster right now, but if he does throw a quality outing, that is the time to give him some consideration.

Someone who has been worth adding to your team is Braves rookie Jair Jurrjens. A major piece of the trade that sent Edgar Renteria to Detroit, Jurrjens has been worth giving up a quality middle infielder. Jair improved his record to 4-2 after giving up just one run over six inning, while punching out eight. It is far too late to add him to your roster if you are in any kind of league where someone pays attention, but perhaps he is owned by someone looking to sell high. Don’t give up the farm though, I’m not sure how long to expect this to continue.

Lance Berkman and Chipper Jones appear to be battling for the early season MVP. Berkman had five hits on Tuesday, including two doubles, and two stolen bases. Berkman is now hitting .353 with 13 doubles, ten homers, and 32 RBI. He obviously can’t keep this pace up, but it looks like Berkman will dwarf his numbers from 2007, and was a bargain for his owners on draft day.

This is not any news that should effect anyone who reads this site, but Barry Zito will return to the Giants’ rotation on Wednesday. Continue to watch his results and laugh.

Has Eric Hinske made himself into a player that needs to be owned in fantasy leagues? It is looking more and more like that is the case each day. Hinske hasn’t been a full time player in over three years, but in 2008 he is making the most of each start that he is given. Hinske hit his seventh homer and stole his third base of the season Tuesday, and raided his average to .289. You want him no higher than your utility spot, but you can ride the hot hand as long as it lasts, or a better idea is to try to sell him while he is performing.

Rays pitcher Andy Sonnastine won his fourth straight decision tonight as he attempts to solidify himself in the Rays’ rotation. Although he wasn’t as impressive has he has been on the other starts during his streak, he was good enough to win. Sonnanstine went six innings, but gave up four runs and whiffed just two. His ERA is over four, so that doesn’t bode well for him keeping his statistics at this level.

A popular addition, especially from those of you who have been emailing me has been Jonathan Sanchez from San Francisco. Well, tonight was one of those proverbial “bumps in the road” that almost all young pitchers endure. Sanchez allowed seven runs over just 4.1 innings. Now as much as I have deemed him a sell high candidate, I don’t believe that this one bad outing should change your mind if you are a Sanchez fan. He still kept his strikeout ratio high as he did strike out four in four innings, although I don’t think he will win more than 10-11 games, I see a downswing in numbers in Sanchez future.

Quick Hitters

David Ortiz homered for the second consecutive day, and drove in a run for the fourth consecutive day. Ortiz has raised his batting average over 100 points since he hit bottom in his slump, and now looks like he will be back terrorizing AL pitching immediately.

The incredible season of Nate McLouth continued. I keep wating for the bottom to drop out, but he continues to pound the baseball all over the park.  McLouth had three more hits, raising his average to .333 including his eighth and ninth home runs, which brought his season RBI total to 28.  He is a must start every week.

After his worst outing and first loss, Scott Olsen bounced back in a big way, as he nearly threw a complete game shutout. Olsen fell just one out short and whiffed eight hitters and his ERA now sits at 2.22. I would try to sell Olsen high right away, as he has shown inability to stay consistent throughout his major league career.

Aaron Harang is the biggest buy low pitcher in the league right now. Since the Reds have been unable to score him runs, Harang fell to 1-5 tonight. But his ERA is just over 3.00, and he has nearly a strikeout an inning. It is just a matter of time before the wins start coming for Harang as well.

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.

Beyond the Boxscore–Fantasy MLB News and Notes 4/30/08

Welcome to the Bigs!

The Mariners sent both of their top prospects to the field tonight as they promotoed both Wladimir Balentien and Jeff Clement. Balentien started in right field, had a homer and three RBI in his debut. Clement didn’t start but came in to replace Johjima and did have a single in his only plate appearance. Balentien strikes out a lot but has had 22-25 HRs in each of the past three years in the minors, so if you need an outfielder, he may be worth the look. Clement has C eligibility in CBS leagues, but not in Yahoo. He did catch when he came into the game, so that should bring him a little closer to gaining C eligibility in all leagues.

It was also announced in Atlanta that hot prospect Jo-Jo Reyes will be called to the majors to start on Saturday and will be placed in the number four spot in the rotation. With injuries to John Smoltz, and the never ending injury to Mike Hampton, Reyes might get a long look to see if he is ready to stay in the majors. He did start ten games in the majors last year, and not only was his ERA over six, but he walked more guys than he struck out. However, he was crushing in AAA this year, so it will be interesting to see which Jo-Jo makes the trip to Atlanta.

It didn’t take Diamondbacks phenom Max Scherzer much time to make an impact in the majors. One day after not allowing a hit and striking out seven in 4.1 innings, it was announced that Scherzer will be headed into the rotation and will make his first major league start on Monday. Will the D-Backs baby him like so many other teams have done with their prized pitching prospects, or will they behave like the Tigers did with Justin Verlander, and just let him pitch? That is the $64,000 question when deciding if you want to add Scherzer.

After struggling in two straight starts, the Cincinnati Reds have decided to give rookie pitcher Johnny Cueto a couple more days between his starts. Cueto will now be starting on Tuesday, instead of Sunday, possibly costing some of you his two start status for next week. This could be just what Johnny needs to get his head back in the game.

Injury News

John Smoltz went on the 15 day DL with an injured right shoulder, but that isn’t the news of the day. Smoltz could be headed back to the bullpen as the Braves closer. Manager Bobby Cox didn’t squash the rumor when asked about it, but it does make some sense with the injury to his shoulder, maybe it is best for Smoltz to pitch hard, but limit the number of innings he throws. I’ll keep you informed on this situation as more details become available.

Alfonso Soriano will be coming off the DL tomorrow, May 1^st , after sustaining an injury apparently while doing his signature hop when he catches the ball. The Cubs have said that Soriano will continue to lead off when he comes back. Plug ‘em back in people!

Yankees struggling starter Phil Hughes was placed on the DL with a strained right oblique muscle. This could be a tricky injury for the young pitcher, as you really use your obliques when pitching. This came into the news kind of unexpectedly, so I will pass along more news as it becomes available.

Nationals closer Chad Cordero will miss the next four to six weeks with a tear in the muscle in his right shoulder. This gives those of you who vultured Jon Rauch off the wire some more time with the big guy closing games for you. Consider Rauch a low end closer, but he will be closing games none the less.

Travis Hafner has been benched but it’s hard to say right now how long it will last. Pronk is 2-16 in recent games, and manager Eric Wedge didn’t say how long it would last, but my guess is a fairly short amount of time.

Arizona pitcher Micah Owings did the impossible tonight. Ok, that’s a little dramatic. First, the D-Backs used a pitcher as a pinch hitter, what are they thinking, right? Wrong, starting pitcher Micah Owings went deep to make their manager look like a genius. Not a lot of fantasy relevance, but an interesting story nonetheless

The Dodgers announced that they might play catcher Russell Martin at third base some to give him a break from behind the mound, and to keep his bat in the lineup. He didn’t start at third, but when Blake DeWitt was lifted in a double switch, Martin ended the game at third. Obviously if you have Martin, you don’t need to use him a third. Catching talent is so thin, you wouldn’t dream to use Martin anywhere else, but the flexibility is nice once he gains 3B eligibility.

Dodgers’ second year starter Chad Billingsley finally showed what we thought to expect on Wednesday. He went seven innings, gave up just one run and struck out eight. I think he will right his ship sometime soon and begin pitching effectively, so if you have some excess baggage on your staff, find a spot for Chad

After a surprising 12-12 year as a starter last year, Braden Looper is doing it again for the Cards. Looper improved his record to 4-1 after giving up just two runs over six innings and striking out four. I only recommend looking at Looper for those who are absolutely desperate for pitching, but if he does just what he did last year, some of you would be happy with that at the end of your rotations.

Carlos Gomez and Willy Taveras both stole their league leading 11^th bases of the year. Taveras stole three on the night to get to that number, but they are both running very well to open the season. If you need SBs, obviously either of these guys would be someone to target.

I wouldn’t call him Jack Cust, but Rick Ankiel is apparently going to be another streaky slugger. After his average had dropped to .248, Ankiel had three hits for the second consecutive game, and appears to be about to go on one of his hot streaks. He has eight hits and five RBI in his last three games.

Cliff Lee went to an improbable 5-0 after giving up three runs over six innings and fanning three. He is a serious sell high candidate right now. He might have a good year, but his value will never be higher, so if you own him see what you can get for him.

Atlanta rookie Jair Jurrjens continued his great start to the season. Although he didn’t factor in the decision, Jurrjens was great again on Wednesday, going seven strong innings, in which he gave up just one run and struckout three. Even better for Jair’s owners is that he didn’t walk a batter. If he happens to be available still in your league, it is time to pick him up.

Possible middle infield fill in Placido Polanco may be breaking out of his slump to begin the season. After a great fantasy season for a second baseman last year, Polanco came into the year really struggling. But after tonight, Polanco has ten hits in his last four games, and has driven in five runs. If you have an injury to your middle infield or drafted crap at that position, consider turning to Polanco.

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.

Beyond the Boxscore–Fantasy MLB News and Notes 4/20/08 Hochevar, Big Papi, Dodgers Outfield, Injury Report, and more

Yankees 3B Alex Rodriguez left the game today with a quadricps injury. He said he felt it in his swing, and then as he ran down the baseline, he felt a “twinge.” Rodriguez has been an incredibly durable player throughout his career, so it is tough to gauge how long this might keep him out of action. Complicating matters further, his wife is about to give birth to a child which would most likely keep him out of action a couple of days. Although there has been no definite reports, it wouldn’t surprise me to see A-Rod miss a few games as a precaution while he visits that classy wife of his in the hospital. She will be a very good mother, who doesn’t need a mother who would wear a shirt that said f#!k you across the back? Remember that last year? Disgusting.

The big news of the day was the promotion in Kansas City of SP Luke Hochevar. Fighting Chance Fantasy was all over the breaking news, giving you a crack at adding him to your roster before your competition got to him. I was very excited about his potential, and picked him up in three different leagues. And then he got shelled. Hochevar cruised for 3.2 innings, before getting in trouble with two out in the fourth, when a 1-1 game quickly turned into a 5-1 game. That is the other problem with young pitchers, if they don’t walk everybody, they are prone to the big inning. However, I’m not coming off the bandwagon just yet. Hochevar will start again Friday against the Indians, and let’s hope for better results.

Is Jed Lowrie going to stick with the Red Sox in this callup? The answer is most likely no, but he certainly is making a strong case for himself. Lowrie hit two doubles today and drove in his fifth run in just his third major league game. He is now batting .417 and even if he doesn’t stick around this time, he is certainly putting the pressure on Julio Lugo to perform this year. Lowrie is also filling in at third base while Mike Lowell is on the DL.

David Ortiz has raised his batting average 49 points in the last three days. Big Papi also drove in a run for the third consecutive day, as he looks like he is batting his way out of this season beginning funk. Even though it was a weak homer, that grand slam Friday night was just what the doctor ordered. Ortiz was 2-4 on Sunday, and should be back on track to put up gaudy fantasy numbers again in 2008.

He has been pegged as a problem child, but Marlins’ hurler Scott Olsen is off to a flying start. Olsen improved to 3-0 after allowing just one run over seven innings with three strikeouts. The potential has always been there, but it has been his attitude that has gotten him in trouble in previous years. Olsen could be quite the sleeper if he can keep up this type of production, and should find his way on to a roster in your league after today’s performance.

Four guys hit two home runs today around the majors. In Philly, Mr. Super-Awesome Chase Utley continued his barrage of statistics going deep in the first, and again in the fifth. He is now batting .342, took over the ML HR league lead with his eighth, and has 17 RBI. Not much more you can say, he is one of the best. Hanley Ramirez further proved he was worthy of that high draft pick, as he hit his fourth and fifth homers of the season. After stealing three bases in the last two days, Ramirez decided to flex his muscles on Sunday. He has now driven in 14 runs, and is hitting .366. Hanley does it all, and is proving himself as one of the top two or three guys in fantasy baseball at age 24. After committing an error that put his team behind, Edwin Encarnacion knew he had to make up for it with his bat. Edwin did just that as he started the rally against Eric Gagne that would give the Reds the win in 10 innings. Encarnacion also hit one in the fifth inning to bring his season total to four. He has been a little bit of a disappointment to fantasy owners who thought he might break out this year, perhaps this will be a starting point to an improvement in his production. The Pirates catcher Ryan Doumit finishes this group of double tater guys. He still isn’t seeing everyday at bats over Ronny Paulino, but is making his case for that. With his two solo shots today, Doumit is now hitting .320 to Paulino’s .240, but it is Paulino’s defense that continues to keep him in the lineup. Monitor this situation if you have a crappy catcher. Doumit has some offensive potential, so if he starts playing everyday, he is worth a look.

The Dodgers outfield situation is probably the most frustrating situation in fantasy baseball in 2008. Andruw Jones, Matt Kemp, Andre Eithier, and Juan Pierre all want to play everyday, however this isn’t beer league softball, there is no shortfielder. The funny thing is, the one guy who is struggling the most, Jones, is the one who almost never sits. But I suppose a $100 million contract will help your PT. The other three are all hitting over .280, while Jones flounders at .169. Let us all thank Scott Boras for negotiating another huge contract for a guy who just doesn’t produce like he should. If you own one of these four guys, you have to hold on to them, they all have too much potential to be cut. This isn’t the holy thing to do, but all you can do is root for an injury to one of the other guys who aren’t on your team.

Injury News

Reigning NL MVP Jimmy Rollins has hit the DL for the first time in his career. A day after actually getting an at bat in a game, Rollins and the Phillies decided that they needed to sit him for two weeks, and bring up someone that they knew would be able to play. Rollins was having a good start to the season, and this is a blow to his fantasy owners. All you can do is wait two weeks, and plug him back into your lineup then. For those who don’t own him, is he available cheap in your league?

It was a bad day for quad injuries. Similar to A-Rod, Chipper Jones left Sunday’s game with the same injury as he tried to leg out a double. Apparently Larry injured the quad on April 9th and has been playing with some pain. Bobby Cox was quoted as saying that he is questionable for Monday night, but it isn’t something that will keep him out for long. Those of you with daily transactions might want to bench him Monday, and then see what happens from there.

Now to the good news on the injury front. Brewers stud pitcher Yovani Gallardo was great in his first start off the DL. Gallardo went seven, gave up just one run and fanned four. Unfortunately, his team couldn’t score for him today, so he ended up with a no decision, but this was a good reward for his owners that were patient as they waited for him to come off the DL. Put him back on your active roster immediately, and expect big things from Yovani in 2008.

Rays hurler Matt Garza pitched a minor league game today and was pronounced ready to rejoin the rotation. Garza gave up four runs and eight hits in just 3.2 innings, but manager Joe Madden said he would pitch Friday against the Red Sox. He wasn’t off to a good start before the injury, so be cautious on expecting too much from him right away. If he is truly healthy, he could make an impact for the rest of the season.

Astros 2B Kaz Matsui returned to the lineup over the weekend, and if you are in desperate need of middle infield, he could be a good option. After batting near .300 and stealing 30+ bases in just over 100 games in 2007, Matsui might not run as much for Houston, but that tiny ballpark means his power numbers could be a little better.

Further away is Cardinals pitcher Mark Mulder. Mulder threw six shutout innings for the Cardinals AA affiliate, and is supposed to make his third rehab start on Friday. Tony LaRussa has said Mulder will need two more starts before he can prove that he is ready to rejoin the rotation. Mulder is so far away from the time in his career when he was effective, I don’t know how much you can expect from him. But if these two surgeries finally fixed whatever has been ailing him for the last few years, maybe he can return to the pitcher he once was.

Although it wasn’t due to injury, Joba Chamberlain returned to the Yankees bullpen today after tending to his ailing father. Joba didn’t retire a batter, gave up two hits and a run. He has been incredibly effective again this season, and as long as he is right mentally, he should continue to be an effective 8th inning guy, before he gets placed into the rotation at some point in 2008.

Quick Hitters

One day after he trashed the organization, Frank Thomas and the Blue Jays came to a “mutual agreement” to part ways, and the Big Hurt was cut. If you have the roster room, it is ok to stash him, I’m sure some team will scoop him up as their DH. But if you have a shallow roster, it is time to cut him loose.

The best pitcher that gets no fantasy love, Aaron Harang was incredible again. Harang gave up just one run over eight innings, and fanned eight. He gets blown up every fifth or sixth start, but the other outings Harang is just awesome. A low ERA, high strikeouts, and now that the Reds are supposed to start to compete, maybe he can top 15 wins.

Yanks bulldog Andy Pettitte threw a gem on Sunday as he threw seven shutout innings and whiffed five. Considering his rocky offseason, it is more incredible that Pettitte hasn’t allowed more than three runs in any start. Continue to ride Pettitte’s great start, as he should continue to produce as he has for the last 10 years.

Young starter John Danks has had a great start to the season. Outside of one complete stinker, Danks hasn’t allowed more than one run in three of his four starts. Danks threw seven innings of one run ball, fanning eight. Once a member of the Rangers’ DVD trio of pitching prospects, it appears that the change in scenery is what Danks needed. If you need a starter, Danks should be available in your league.

Another young starter, Jair Jurrjens has been a great surprise for the Braves. Jurrjens went seven and struck out eight as he shut down the Dodgers. He has given up two runs or less in three of his four starts and has struck out a decent number of batters as well. Keep an eye on this guy, and if he has one more good start, he is worthy of a roster spot.

A final great appearance by a young pitcher, Dana Eveland continues to surprise and is now sitting at 2-1 with a sub 2.00 ERA. Eveland is still walking guys a little more than you would like to see, but he has been incredibly effective, and if he is still available, see if you can find a spot for him.

If John Bowker could play the Cardinals everyday, and get regular at-bats, he could be the next Albert Pujols. Bowker his his third homer of the season on Sunday, all against St. Louis, and has made the most of the playing time that has been given to him. I don’t think he is worth an add until he gets everyday at-bats.

As always, your questions (adds, drops, trades, etc) and comments are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours.