Monday, June 11, 2007

Sunday: Miller's Big League Return, A-Rod And Pujols En Fuego

Andrew Miller - 5 1/3 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 5 K. A very tough matchup for him in his return to the big leagues, but he pitched well despite a shaky 1st inning. He should continue to improve if he stays in the rotation, and he'll probably be a fantasy asset. I'd add him in all leagues if you have a starter you want to drop.

Tom Glavine - 4 1/3 IP, 11 H, 9 ER, 2 BB, 2 K. Thank God he pitches in the NL...there would be a lot more of these if he didn't. As is, he's still a decent back of the rotation starter given the offense he plays for, even if he doesn't K a lot of people.

David Wright - The power is back, and hopefully you at least made an effort to buy low when I suggested it. He's up to 12 HRs, and this should be the first year he hits over 30. His AVG is at .279 current, and I think he'll bring that up some as well.

Carlos Beltran - Back to back games with SBs show that his banged up knee is healthy and he's ready to roll.

Alex Rodriguez - Remember May? I don't. Remember April? The 2nd coming might be on the way. He has 5 HR, 18 RBI, 8 R, and a SB in the past 8 games.

Bobby Abreu - Another surging Yankee. I wasn't sure if he was done as a productive ballplayer, but I look stupid for even mentioning it. 4/4 with 4 R, 3 RBI, and a SB last night, and he's now hitting .500 in the month of June. Expect him to stay hot for a while and his year stats to begin resembling what you expect from him. The 30 HR power is probably gone, but he should start hitting a few more HRs as well.

Andrew Sonnanstine - 7 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 10 K. This is an anomaly start from him, according to his minor league resume. He should settle in as a decent starting pitcher, but he doesn't have the kind of upside that makes outings like this somewhat regular.

Kevin Gregg - 1 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 0 K. The nightmare outings from us fantasy owners...when closers are entered into non-closing situations. Nothing to worry about, just annoying.

C.C. Sabathia - 9 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K. With a line like this, you expect a victory. Not last night, though. Suckage.

Aaron Harang - 7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 10 K. See above. The latest chapter in the best selling novel "When Offenses Suck Ass".

Jason Hirsh - 9 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K. Back to back strong outings, albeit it against weaker offenses. Still, a sign of hope for a good young pitcher who slumped badly in May.

Erik Bedard - 5 IP, 9 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 8 K. He's lucky to hold Colorado to only two earned runs given he allowed 12 baserunners, but he hasn't allowed more than 3 ER since late April.

Mark Buerhle - 8 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K. A great outing for career win #100. Congrats, Mark!

Bobby Jenks - Picked up his 17th save last night. He's quietly having a great season, posting a 2.59 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, and 23 K in 24 1/3 IP.

Paul Konerko - He went 3/4 with his 9th HR, 2 RBI, and 2 R last night. He's continuing to slowly shake his slump, and he can still be had at a discount. He's raised his AVG by 28 points his last 7 games, so he's definitely seeing the ball better.

Ryan Howard - Hit his 12th HR last night, but struck out his other 4 times up. He's easily been the biggest 1st round bust this year, posting a .237 AVG and only scoring 22 runs. His power is obviously fine, but all those Ks (56 in 152 AB) are definitely impacting his AVG now. I expect him to hit for a better AVG from here on out, but probably not above .280.

Boof Bonser - 5 IP, 9 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K. Another substandard outing, especially considering it was against the Nationals, but he still picked up the W. He just isn't going to be kind to your WHIP this year.

Jered Weaver - 3 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 0 K. Obviously from his stat line he wasn't close to his best last night, and he left after injuring his back. I would assume this is a minor issue and he'll make his next start, but I'll post if I'm wrong.

Albert Pujols - 2/3 with 2 HR and 5 RBI yesterday. Yup, he's back. Plus, he's on pace to hit 40 HRs for the season now. Everyone who bought low due to his extended slump early in the season got the best player in fantasy baseball at a large discount. I'm smiling, for sure.

Matt Cain - 8 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 8 K. His best effort in quite a while, although he still walked 3. He got boned by his offense though, taking the loss.

Felix Hernandez - 6 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 6 K. Finally, an outing to build off of. All those runs came on a solo HR and a 2 R HR in the 4th inning. Granted this was an outing in a great pitcher's park against a sub-par offense, but this is still a step in the right direction.

Chris Young (P) - 6 2/3 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 K. Not at his best last night, but he wasn't even that bad in his worst outing since late April.

Roy Halladay - 7 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2 K. A nice bounceback outing after a disaster his last time on the mound. My speculation that something was bothering him again appears to be incorrect, although his jeckyl/hyde routine this year has been very frustrating for his owners. Perhaps you should use this outing and try to get another ace in return for him.

Jason Schmidt - 4 IP, 9 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 3 K. Speaking of jeckyl/hyde routines, he just went the wrong way with it. I'd suggest trying to get something for his name and getting rid of him. It appears he's going to be a problem all year, and perhaps someone in your league thinks otherwise. Find him, if he exists.

Troy Glaus - He had been quiet for a while, but his 2 HRs last night, taking him to 10 on the season. He's still hitting .293, which is very surprising given his .255 career AVG. Given he has SS eligibility in Yahoo leagues this year, he's been extremely valuable.

Russell Martin - Stole his 10th base last night. That's obscene for a catcher. Nice.

Daisuke Matsuzaka - 6 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 9 K. Unfortunately he took the loss, but he turned in a nice outing outside of the walks. He's brought his walk rate down over the past month, but these 4 BB performances are definitely out of character given he never had control issues in Japan. Perhaps he's trying to be a little too fine with the strike zone sometimes.

Randy Johnson - 6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 9 K. Another very strong outing from Johnson, this time against an elite Boston offense. He's definitely on top of his game now, and all his owners should enjoy him the rest of the year. He might have another DL stint in him given his age, but he should be a great fantasy pitcher while healthy.

Ted Lilly - 2/3 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K. The situation last night was complete bullshit. Lilly went after the head of Edgar Renteria, the 3rd hitter up in the inning, hitting him around the collarbone area just underneath his face. Lilly was obviously retaliating for Soriano being pegged by Hudson the night before, but unlike Hudson, he was tossed from the game. Now I understand that the umpires wanted to keep order, especially as the dugouts emptied onto the field, but to toss Lilly was ridiculous. It was obvious that Lilly hit Renteria on purpose, just like it was obvious that Hudson hit Soriano on purpose last night, yet the two situations were treated differently. Both benches should have been warned, but given what happened the night before, Lilly should have been warned and not tossed. What a joke.

Kelly Johnson - Smacked his 8th HR last night. He's currently hitting .286 with 45 R, 35 RBI, and 5 SB. He's continuing his fine breakout season.

David Bush - 4 1/3 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K. Unfortunately he didn't build off of last outing, and I can't suggest owning him currently. He just hasn't put it together yet, but he's still worth keeping an eye on.

Francisco Cordero - 2 nights, 2 blown saves. Well he had to come back to Earth sometime. This one wasn't nearly as bad, with 2 singles and a stolen base doing him in. He'll be fine.

Prince Fielder - Not to be too outdone by Alex Rodriguez, he bombed a 2 run HR last night, his 23rd, leaving him 1 HR behind A-Rod for the major league lead.

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