Beyond the Boxscore–Fantasy MLB News and Notes 5/2108

Even when he loses, Brandon Webb is pretty damn good. Webb went seven innings, allowed just three runs and struck out seven. His offense just didn’t show up tonight and his record fell to 9-1. Obviously, Webb is a must start every time out, and is getting to be a shoe in to start the All-Star Game for the National League.

Derek Jeter is a special player whose drive and competitiveness is almost unmatched. A day after being hit on the wrist with a pitch, Jeter played and stole a base and drove in a run. It looks like the Yankee captain is ok, and get him back into your lineup.

Dontrelle Willis has been activated from the disabled list, but he will go to the bullpen for the time being, while Armando Gallaraga will remain in the rotation. I urge all of you to stay away from the D-Train. He is a great example of someone who has a great love for the game, but isn’t a good fantasy option.

Joba Chamberlain pitched two innings tonight in a blowout win against the Orioles, which is weird since they have been so protective of him. Joe Girardi confirmed after the game that they have begun the process of stretching Joba out to put him in the starting rotation. This isn’t a one week process, but he will be starting before the All-Star Break. This guy has some electric stuff, and although he hasn’t been the same dominator as last season, I would try to get him on the cheap right now before the news spreads. He could have a big impact in the rotation.

One guy that Chamberlain won’t be replacing in the rotation is Darrell Rasner, who has been so much more than the Yankees could have hoped for. Rasner went to 3-0 since his recall, after throwing seven shutout innings and striking out six. I don’t see Rasner keeping this up all season long, but if you have an injury or some dead weight, ride the hot hand while Rasner is producing.

Ben Sheets continues to do what he does when he is healthy. Sheets threw his second complete game of the season and improved his record to 5-1 with a win over the Pirates. Sheets allowed just one run and struck out six and now has an ERA under three. I still warn you greatly about Sheets’ inability to remain healthy and not to target him in a trade. If you own Sheets, now is a great time to test his value around your league and see if you can find someone who likes him.

Bartolo Colon did well in his first start of the season as a member of the Boston Red Sox, but I’m not sure that he is a guy that I would target for my team. Colon was a former Cy Young award winner, but that was a few years ago and he has been through a lot since. Colon threw five innings, allowed two runs and struck out four. He is on a team that would lend themselves to getting some wins, but I’m not sure how long he will be in the rotation, and I don’t know if you can expect him to produce well.

Dana Eveland threw his fourth consecutive great start, in fact, it was the best of his career. Eveland threw a complete game on Wednesday, and only allowed a home run to Johnny Gomes and struck out five. Eveland is now 4-3 with a 2.90 ERA for an Oakland team that doesn’t score a ton of runs. Eveland is a great option for the end of your rotation, but you have to expect that ERA to jump up at least a half a run by the end of the season.

The Seattle Mariners sent rookie Jeff Clement back to AAA the other day after his struggles became too much. Clement had only eight hits in 15 games without a home run and only two ribbies. Clement still has a ton of long term talent, especially in keeper leagues, but for now he won’t be able to help you.

Ok, so Derrek Lee hit his 11^th homer of the year today. However, after a blazing start Lee has slowed way down. After the month of April Lee had eight homers, 21 days into May he only has 11. Through the first month of the season, Lee was hitting .364, that average has now dropped to .302. Finally, 23 of his 30 RBI came during the month of April. I believe that Lee will still have a respectable year, but that incredible start had to come to an end.

Boston rookie Jacoby Ellsbury continues to be incredibly impressive. Not only did Ellsbury lead off tonight’s game with a homer, but also had three hits and stole his 19^th base in 20 attempts. It is looking more and more that Ellsbury will give the Red Sox their second consecutive rookie of the year (Pedroia in ’07).

Stephen Drew is really starting to show the hitting ability we all knew he had. Drew has been on a good roll lately and is now hitting near .300. Stephen also hit his 6^th homer of the year as he has started to show a little more power as of late. If for some reason he is still available, definitely go and grab him, if not, see if you can get him on the cheap. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a good second half from Drew.

Geriatric Homer Run Derby—Both Jermaine Dye and Vladimir Guerrero both hit the ball out of the ballpark twice on Wednesday. While Vlad still carries a good deal of fantasy value, I don’t hold much stock at all in Dye. Even after the breakout tonight, Guerrero still only has 6 home runs, so you might be able to get him cheap. I still expect 28-30 HRs from Vlad by the end of the season.

As always, your questions (adds, drops, trades) and comments are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours. Don’t forget to check me out at mlbfrontoffice.com on Tuesdays under In The News. Also go to fantasybaseballsearch.com to find me in the Gurus Blog.

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 4/21/08

Today was the seventh consecutive start for Jacoby Ellsbury for the Boston Red Sox. He has brought a spark to the Sox offense, and stole two bases for the second consecutive day, and now has eight on the season. Ellsbury came into the season as someone that I expected to make a big fantasy impact (especially on the basepaths), and this recent outburst shows what he is capable of if Boston stops trotting Coco Crisp out there every few days. If by some chance he is still available in your league, Jacoby has shown enough to warrant a place on a roster in every fantasy league.

Another young Red Sox player and reigning AL Rookie of the Year, Dustin Pedroia, is following up last year with another good season. With his two hits on Monday, Pedroia pulled into a three way tie for the league lead in hits with Chone Figgins and teammate Kevin Youkilis. Pedroia hit his eighth double and drove in his 11^th run Monday, and is proving that little guys can produce too. Have you ever seen anyone swing the bat as hard as Pedroia?

OK, I don’t want this to sound like a Red Sox only blog, but Clay Buchholz had a great outing on Patriots’ Day and is looking like he will be a solid contributor to the rotation this season. Buchholz threw six shutout innings and struck out six as he completed the sweep of the Rangers. After throwing a no hitter in his second career start, it looked like Buchholz was one the fast track to superstardom, and although he looks like he will still be good, it maybe too soon to anoint him the king just yet.

It appears that Yankees’ new owner Hank Steinbrenner will follow in the footsteps of his father. He has been opening his mouth, and spitting out ignorance ever since he took over for dear old dad. Hank’s newest junk was that Joba Chamberlain has to be placed into the rotation, and he said “There is no question about it, you don’t have a guy with a 100-mile-per-hour fastball and keep him as a set-up guy. You just don’t do that. You have to be an idiot to do that.” Yankees GM Brian Cashman apparently thinks he should stay in the setup role. We shall see in the near future who wins out on this one, but it appears that Joba will be moved to the rotation sooner rather than later.

Rangers OF Josh Hamilton is following up his solid return to baseball in 2007 with a great start to 2008. Hamilton hit two more doubles and ran his RBI total to 19. The former number one pick (and crackhead) is certainly looking like he is set to start to live up to the potential he left behind so many years ago. Hamilton came into the season as one of the sleepers for 2008, and I believe he will continue to produce at a good rate.

Rockies 2B Clint Barmes has now apparently taken over the starting job from Jayson Nix. Barmes started for the sixth consecutive game Monday, and has had at least two hits in all but four games. Considering he was the talk of the town in fantasy just a few years back, it is possible that Barmes could keep this hot streak continue, but I don’t expect that he will keep this going all season long.

Coming into the season, Russell Martin was in the discussion as the number one catcher in fantasy. So far in 2008, he has yet to live up to that ranking. After homering on Sunday, Martin went 3-3 on Monday with a double and two singles. Those of you who used a high pick on Martin, stay patient, he will perform up to last year’s statistics.

Astros’ CF Michael Bourn is taking both end of the spectrum on a fanatsy league. On one hand, he is leading the league in steals with 13 after two more on Monday night. Unfortunately for his owners, he is currently hitting .216. Those of you who have him strictly for his steal capabilities should be happy, but the rest of his numbers leave something to be desired. If you NEED steals, grab Bourn, but if there’s a close second option, you might want to add Bourn right now.

As the Tigers continue to win games, their offense continues to get well. Now on Monday there is some more good news as Miguel Cabrera filled in a first base, and for those of you whose leagues who only require one game for eligibility, Miggy now plays first.

One of my favorite players, Eric Byrnes hit his third homer of the season. Byrnes should be good for another 20/40 year, and if things go right, maybe 25/40. Byrnes isn’t happy unless he goes home dirty, and is a role model of how to actually play the game. Expect one or two good more years out of Byrnes before his production starts to drop off.

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

I will also be starting up an idea with waht the prospects who are still in AAA are doing. I will follow ten hitters and ten pitchers. If there is someone specific you would like covered, please leave it below.

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.