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.
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