Vacation

Well, I just got back from vacation and plan to post on almost a daily basis now. I've gone a while without posting anything, so most of the news I've caught up on when I returned is outdated. At any rate, here's a few random notes:

Henry Owens: Owens has secured the job as the Marlins closer for the forseeable future. He's sporting a solid ERA, WHIP, and a decent K rate, but he HAS to cut down on his walks to maintain success. He's gone 3/4 appearances without walking anyone, so hopefully that's a sign of continued success.

Howie Kendrick: Ouch, I lost my starting 2B on both teams due to a broken finger suffered on a HBP. He'll probably be out for about another month. It's too late to make suggestions to most people, but luckily I had B.J. Upton stashed on one team, and I beat my league on the other team to Kelly Johnson to replace him.

Jim Thome: Strained his rib cage, tried to come back too early, and re-injured it. This time the White Sox are putting him on the DL to give him proper time to heal. Unfortunately us owners will be without his services for the week. I'd look to guys like Aaron Rowand, Chris B. Young (if someone dropped him after his slow start), and Conor Jackson to replace Thome for a few weeks. Wily Mo Pena is also an option while Coco Crisp is hurting.

Felix Hernandez: His owners can breathe a temporary sigh of relief as the King will return on Friday. I would NOT use him in this start for 3 combined reasons: he's coming back from an arm injury, he'll be on a pitch count, and he'll be facing the Yankees. There's absolutely no upside to using him in his first start back unless you like to play russian roulette for fun.

Mike Mussina: He's scheduled to return this week as well, on Thursday in Texas. Considering he hasn't pitched in 20+ days, I wouldn't use him either, even if Texas as a whole is slumping on offense.

Mark Teixeira: Man, he's been frustrating to own the past two years, hasn't he? He's off to another slow start, although had 2 games in a row with a HR followed by 2 hitless games.

Albert Pujols, Alfonso Soriano, Ryan Howard, David Wright, Carlos Zambrano, Erik Bedard, etc: It's April, people. If these guys had 2 normal months followed by their first month of production buried in the middle of the season, trust me, you wouldn't notice. Patience. Slow starts are always more noticeable in the stat lines than a random month of slumping in the middle of the season. Soriano specifically is of note since he twinged his hammy 2 weeks ago or so, but he's already stolen a base since then and has several doubles, so he looks fine. Contact owners of these players and see what type of patience they have with them.

John Maine: Shop him and sell high. He won't maintain this type of performance all season long, obviously, and if you have a Mets fan or someone that believes he's now an elite pitcher and will value him as such in a trade, then make a deal. Now don't get me wrong, he looks like a quality starter and will be a helpful fantasy asset, but his numbers will regress and it's better if you don't have him on your team when that happens. He should still post a mid 3 ERA, great WHIP, and both solid K numbers and wins. If you can get an established stud in a deal back for him, do it.

B.J. Upton: Wow, what a start for this super prospect. If you're in a redraft league, sell high. His all-around game will provide nice fantasy value, but he's hitting way over his head right now with a .365 average. He's posted 27 Ks in 22 games, and that's atrocious. I expect his contact rate to go up, but it won't be til after a slump brings his average down. In a keeper league, you gotta stay pat and hope he posts power numbers and steals while his average comes back down.

Chris B. Young: He had a solid contact rate while his AVG was so low, and the results are starting to show up for this kid. It looks like he's turned the corner and I believe he's a good buy-low candidate, although the 2 HR game last night won't help your cause. He's great as a 3rd OF.

Jeff Francouer: 9 walks already? Crazy! The posterboy of impatience is turning a corner in his young career regarding plate patience, and he's currently hitting .300 as a result. Now I don't know if he'll keep the average up that high, but a progression to at least the .280 range is definitely possible if he keeps this up. Kudos to those of you who drafted him as it appears he won't be a downer on your batting average.

Brandon Webb: Speaking of walks, his are getting annoying. 19 already this season, which would pro-rate to over 100 on the season. After 2 seasons of 59 and 50 walks and great results thanks to this, a month of abhoration is the more likely scenario here. Let's hope that's the case or his ERA plunge won't continue. Aside from that, however, he's pitched very well over his last 3 outings to overcome a rocky start.