Pujols-VMart- Putz-Sori Ouch!
Alou, VMart, Soriano and Prince Albert all hit the DL, but
Troy Percival and Schultz are back. That and more in this week's Week That Was.
Troy Percival: The (no Devil) Rays activated closer
Troy Percival from the DL and put
Al Reyes on the DL in his place. You can assume that Percival will resume his role as closer and that
Dan Wheeler will return to setup man. Of course, if you have Percival, get him in your lineup. However, I also advocate keeping Wheeler. First of all, Percival will get dinged up again. Second, how many of you cannot use a pitcher with an ERA around 2.00, a WHIP around 1.00 and who will get some saves to boot? Actually, I will go further and say that now is the time to trade for Wheeler.
Moises Alou: It looks like
Moises Alou lasted only 6 innings before landing back on the DL. Frankly, while I hate to see anyone get hurt, I have no sympathy for the Mets or fantasy owners who drafted Alou. There was no doubt he would miss very substantial time this year. Both the Mets and Alou's fantasy owners should do the same thing – find a replacement. One thing to keep in mind here: If you are in an NL league, this injury increases the possibility that a big name bat will come to the Mets – maybe from the NL and maybe a guy who has already hit 762 homers. Either way, there is more reason for NL fantasy owners to save their FAAB money.
J.J. Putz: Seattle put
J.J. Putz on the DL this week with an elbow problem. It is kind of odd how last spring everyone expected him to break down and he was great. This spring, he was on top off the AL closer draft boards and has disappointed. Hard to predict these things some times. Anyway, enough nonsense!
Brandon Morrow is now a hot commodity. He will take over the closer role and will be valuable in all formats. Be careful not to break that bank though until you see how long Putz will be on the shelf.
Livan Hernandez:
Livan Hernandez was just awful again this week, giving up seven runs in just three innings against the Indians. Just what the Cleveland bat doctor ordered. I cannot even write how bad Livan has been. If you owned him during his hot start, good for you. If you have kept him active this long, shame on you. Water finds its level and hittable aging pitcher are, well, hittable. Full disclosure – Livan is one of the prime reasons Rick Wolf and I may well go first to worst in LABR-AL. So, like my mother always said – do as I say, not as I do (at least as far as bad pitchers are concerned).
Victor Martinez: In a devastating injury that could mean the end of the Tribe season,
Victor Martinez will undergo surgery on his right elbow and could miss two months. Frankly, given how important he is to their future, it is possible they will be careful and hold him back even longer.
Kelly Shoppach will get the nod for Cleveland. Here is the strategy there – go get Shoppach now, ride out the inevitable hitting streak (because the guy does have talent), then trade him at the top of his value before he tires from the dog days of summer workload that will be new to him.
Albert Pujols: St. Louis put
Albert Pujols on the 15-day disabled list with a calf problem (at least it was not the rumored bad elbow). According to reports, Pujols will miss least three weeks or more. The buying opportunity here is
Chris Duncan. He will get substantial time and will hit for power. His value is at its lowest after a recent demotion. Buy!
Billy Wagner: In a run eerily reminiscent of the collapse of 2007,
Billy Wagner blew his third save opportunity in a row Thursday. If you own Wagner, you have no choice but to hold. Frankly, he has been very good so far this year. However, he is getting up in age, is slight for a power pitcher, and is playing for a team in a funk. Wait for Wagner to have a couple of good outings and start fielding offers. The odds of a rough second half for the other sandman are increasing rapidly.
Alfonso Soriano: In a bad break both literally and figuratively, the cubbies lost
Alfonso Soriano for what could be as long as 6 weeks with a fractured knuckle on his left hand. The challenge for fantasy players will be to predict what the unpredictable Sweet Lou will do. He could move DeRosa to LF and use Cedeno or Fontenot at 2b. He could move
Reed Johnson to LF and play
Jim Edmonds more. Or, he could do what he did Thursday and play
Eric Patterson in left field. Patterson has speed and talent. If he gets off to a hot start in this trip to the Windy City, he could make a fine fantasy find (say that ten times fast).
Jacque Jones: Florida cut bait on
Jacque Jones after he continued his non-hitting ways. This whole thing is just puzzling. This guy hit 280+ over the last two years and was a consistent power hitter against RHP for quite a while. If you have
Jacque Jones, throw him on reserve, but it will take some serious luck for him to be a productive fantasy player again this year. Hey wait, if the Mets are willing to gamble on
Trot Nixon, which they did this week, why not Jones? Possible.
Randy Wolf:
Randy Wolf was sharp again Wednesday, giving up only one run in seven innings, while striking out nine. Wolf is a quality lefty who is far enough removed from injury to be a solid starter the rest of the way. Plus, he pitches in a great park in Petco. One word of warning here – Wolf could get dealt by the lowly Pods to a contender. That is good for wins, but could be very bad for ballpark effect. Stay tuned.
And finally, this from the baron of the bottom of page -- Schultz Says: "Ah hiatuses are fun. Like a college friend of mine used to say, "nah ha ha, I am pressed and ready to go." I'm not sure what he meant back then and I'm still not sure many years later. Either way, Schultz has returned.
Jason Michaels has managed to thrive since crossing the river to the Pirates. When the Indians acquired him a couple years back, he was handed a golden opportunity to become the everyday player the Phillies thought he could be . . . and he did nothing with the chance. Since moving into the Pirates lineup, he's once again found his stroke and is driving in whatever runs Freddie Sanchez won't. In the months where help is hard to find, you could do worse than Michaels.
The Diamondbacks put a damper on the hopes of all
Max Scherzer owners by sending the rookie back to the minor leagues. This poses a tough problem for those owners who got Scherzer cheap or gambled on him long before his fantastic debut where he struck out seven while retiring his first 13 batters. The kid is fantastically talented, so if you can afford to stash him away and wait out his time in the minors, Scherzer should be back later this year. Even sooner if the DBacks staff suffers an injury. The last thing you want to do is cut him loose and watch someone else grab him cheap.
It's Father's Day this Sunday. So Happy Birthday to all you fathers out there.
Response: "nah ha ha"? I don't even want to know. As to the baseball analysis, I am not sure I would invest a whole lot in
Jason Michaels as he will probably cool off. Once he does, and once the Pirates start playing for next year as the so often do,
Steven Pearce,
Nyjer Morgan, etc. will grab the outfield playing time.
Like Schultz says – Happy Fathers Day!