Week That Was
The return from the DL of Big Tex, BJ Upton, and
Oliver Perez and Schultz's first half all-stars in this week's Week That Was.
Paul LoDuca:: .
Paul Lo Duca went 0-for-4 in the Mets loss Friday night. That makes the Duke hitless in his last 16 at bats. Not good. Catchers generally wear down in the dog days of summer. Catchers who catch all the time (like LoDuca) are even more likely to wear down and suffer a significant decrease in offensive production. If you own LoDuca, wait for an offensive spurt, brag to your leaguemates about how the Duke is back and sell, sell, sell.
Oliver Perez: Staying with the Mets (as I have been criticized for writing more blurbs about the Yankees),
Oliver Perez will come of the DL on Sunday to face the Reds. Perez looked sharp, striking out 7 in his last rehab outing. This is a serious buying opportunity. Perez has been very strong all year (save a couple of aberrant outings), posting a 3.14 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 85K. Harp about injuries and inconsistency and steal a talented young lefty who could be a centerpiece for your fantasy championship run.
Dontrelle Willis:
Dontrelle Willis continues to struggle mightily. Friday night, the D Train derailed, giving up 8 hits and 8 runs (though some were unearned) and failed to get out of the 4th inning. On the season, Dontrelle has a 4.81 ERA (not good) with a WHIP approaching 1.60. Add in the fact that he walked 83 last year and is on pace to challenge the century mark this year and you have trouble. It is time to cut bait unless you have him cheap, are in a keeper league, and are already out of contention.
Jhonny Peralta:
Jhonny Peralta continued his hot hitting, banging out two hits and scoring two runs Friday night. With over 50 runs and RBI in the first half, Peralta is well on his way to a great fantasy MI year. One more note here – Peralta's success was very predictable to those that pay attention to the small details. At the end of last year, Peralta disclosed he was having trouble picking up the ball and had his vision problem corrected. Now he is doing what hitters need to do – see ball, hit ball, run hard.
Erik Bedard:
Erik Bedard was great Friday night, tossing seven scoreless innings. While he does not get the press that
C.C. Sabathia or
Dan Haren get, Bedard has been just as good. 156 strikeouts in 128 innings is just awesome. Buy if you can. Feel free to pay full price. This guy is worth it.
Mark Teixeira: Texas activated
Mark Teixeira. Big Tex is back from the DL and ready to post great second half numbers as usual. Unfortunately, this means that Wilkerson, Byrd and Sosa will have to share fewer at bats. Hard to figure which of the three is the best bet – all are streaky and prone to low averages (Byrd's current gaudy numbers notwithstanding). I would be hesitant to count on any of the three as a key part of your fantasy team.
B.J. Upton: Tampa Bay activated
B.J. Upton from the DL and installed him as their everyday centerfielder. Good news for the Rays and Upton owners. B.J. should be a solid source of speed and power (look for at least 10 dingers and 15-20 swipes in the second half). Add in the fact that Upton is eligible at 2B, SS and OF in most leagues and you have a very valuable player. Buy.
Felix Pie: In what continues to be a baffling situation (the Cubs outfield),
Felix Pie was sent back to AAA. Frankly, I have never been a big Lou Piniella fan, but his shuffling of players and refusing to set a lineup is out of control. I will admit that Pie should play everyday at AAA. However, you just know they will yo-yo him back to Chicago soon. As of now, it looks like
Jacque Jones and
Angel Pagan will get more time, but who knows.
Salomon Torres: According to reports,
Salomon Torres is likely to be activated from the DL on Monday. This presents a very interesting situation in the Bucs pen. Before getting hurt, Torres had12 saves, but at the expense of a 5.14 ERA and a WHIP over 1.35 (way high for a closer). His replacement,
Matt Capps, on the other hand, has 9 saves with a much more appetizing 2.37 ERA and 1.03 WHIP. Bottom line, the Bucs should stick with the younger, more effective Capps, but you have to assume Torres will steal at least some of the saves. Price and trade accordingly.
Jose Vidro:
Jose Vidro smacked 3 hits out of the gate in Thursday's opener of the second half. Given all of the rumors about
Adam Jones being called up and Vidro being sent to the bench, Jose picked a very good time to have a good game. That said, you should sell immediately. It never made sense to have a slap hitter as a DH. The Mariners have or will shortly realize this and move Vidro to a bench player. Sell.
And last, but not least, this week's Schultz Says: "Before we get to this year's mid-season All-Schultz awards, let's talk about this Tony LaRussa guy in St. Louis for a moment. The whole "This One Counts" philosophy that Major League Baseball has adopted towards the game is supposed to increase interest in the otherwise meaningless exhibition game. Ever since the tie game in 2002, MLB has tried everything short of strippers and explosions to get people to watch and lo and behold, come the 9th inning of this year's game, they got their dream scenario: bases loaded with 2 outs in a one run game;
Francisco Rodriguez, one of the most dominant closers in the past 3 years on the mound and
Albert Pujols, the National League's greatest hitter, coming to the plate. Er, that's what we would have had if baseball's greatest dunderhead wasn't managing the NL squad. After all, this is the same "managerial genius" that pinch hit
Kerry Robinson for Mark McGwire in Game 5 of the 2001 NLDS; a substitution that ignominiously brought McGwire's career to a close. Of course, they lost that game as well.
For the first time in years, there was the potential for an insanely dramatic ending to the All-Star game; one that would have had anyone still watching the game salivating to see a Pujols-K-Rod all-or-nothing matchup. Instead we get to watch
Aaron Rowand weakly pop up to end the game. Tony LaRussa set back baseball backwards by his ass-hatted logic of saving Pujols for a possible extra-inning at-bat. At the very least, send up Pujols and tell him to knock one out of the park or don't come back. If this is the fan's game, give the fans what they want to see! For all the books and laudatory praise written about LaRussa, he sure gives nothing back to the people who enjoy the game.
Only two All-Schultz teams for this mid-season:
The first is the ALL-SIDLER team made up of players who have come out of nowhere to have a significant fantasy impact.
C
Ryan Doumit, PIT - an aging bonus baby, Doumit found the stroke that had everyone salivating years ago. Even better, he doesn't really catch, so he plays everyday -- when his hamstring lets him.
1B Carlos Pena, TB - nearly out of baseball after being release by the Yankees at the end of last season, Pena has rebounded in Tampa Bay with 20 homers and a surprising .288 average. Honorable Mention:
Dmitri Young, WAS.
2B
Kelly Johnson, ATL - while not a complete surprise, Johnson was supposed to platoon not thrive in the Braves' leadoff spot.
Yunel Escobar may be cutting into his playing time though in the second half.
SS
J.J. Hardy, MIL - finally healthy, Hardy has shown legitimate power knocking out 18 and driving in 54 for the surprising Brewers squad.
3B
Casey Blake, CLE - Blake was slated to be the odd man out in the Tribe's lineup but with
Andy Marte faltering, he's stepped in to provide solid power and clutch hitting at the top of the Indians' potent lineup.
OF
Jack Cust, OAK - reclaimed from San Diego's farm system after an injury to
Mike Piazza, Cust has blossomed in what was likely his last chance for big league success.
OF
Eric Byrnes, AZ - he's quietly become a bit of a fantasy monster, .306, 14 HR, 49 RBI, 53 R and 17 steals from someone better known for running into brick walls at high velocity.
OF
Corey Hart, MIL - emerged from the Brewers outfield logjam by displaying speed (16 steals) and power (11 home runs).
SP
Jeremy Guthrie, BAL - the former prize of Cleveland's farm system was left for dead when the Tribe cut him this pre-season. A couple months with Leo Mazzone and he's regained his poise, skill and the ability to strike people out. Honorable Mentions:
John Maine, NYM,
James Shields, TB.
RP
Joakim Soria, KC - the Rule 5 pick emerged to pick up quite a few saves in
Octavio Dotel's absence and may get a few more before the season ended. Honorable Mention:
Al Reyes, TB.
You take some good, you take some bad, you take them both and her you have - not The Facts of Life - the ALL-GIGLI team made of players who haven't provided any return on their high expectations.
C
Jason Kendall, OAK - with Pittsburgh, Kendall was always an outside threat to win a batting title, this year, he's flirted with Mendoza and may be replaced with a Suzuki not named Ichiro.
1B
Carlos Delgado, NYM - amidst a potent Mets lineup, Delgado is hitting .243 with a disappointing 14 home runs. He has shown signs of life lately.
2B
Rickie Weeks, MIL - in a season of breakout years for many of the Brewers young stars, Weeks doesn't seem to be joining in the fun. 5 HR, 19 RBIs and a .221 average aren't getting him confused with Princes and other royalty.
SS
Miguel Tejada, BAL -
Julio Lugo is too easy a target here. Miggy's power has been practically non-existent this year and a broken wrist won't help matters at all. I'll leave the pontificating and speculating as to whether his power drop-off has any relation to HGH to other holier-than-thou pundits.
3B
Garrett Atkins, COL - he may be coming off this list soon but his .259 pre All-Star break average is far from what everyone expected from the Rockies third baseman.
OF
Manny Ramirez - BOS - .287 and 11 HR aren't what people paid a premium dollar for. Then again, it's probably just Manny being Manny.
OF
Bobby Abreu, NYY - many targeted Abreu, who started the season as the Yankees' #3 hitter, as a fantasy monster waiting to happen. 6 HR and a .270 average later and he's become the highest paid singles hitter not named Ichiro.
OF
Vernon Wells, TOR - Wells has been celebrating his 7 year, $126 million dollar contract by taking 2007 off. Honorable Mention: Andruw "contract year" Jones, ATL.
SP the entire Yankees starting rotation -
Chien-Ming Wang has been serviceable but everyone else who's started for the Bronx Bombers this year has gotten hurt or gotten bombed. Optimists can take heart though; it can't get worse. Honorable Mentions:
Bronson Arroyo, CIN;
Jose Contreras, CHW
RP
Mariano Rivera, NYY - through little fault of his own, Rivera has only 11 saves, far off the pace of the Corderos and Papelbons of the world. He's pitched fine, he just hasn't had the opportunities to provide the numbers people paid for.
and just in case my Dad still reads the column: Happy Birthday K. Paul!!!
Response: Really, really good stuff (except the phrase "ass-hatted", but hey, why pick nits).