(1) Find or Fraud? – Sam Fuld.
(2) Travis Hafner already hurt.
(3) Chris Coghlan hurt – what’s his worth?
(4) Carl Crawford – what the hell is going on?
(5) Erik Bedard and Mike McCarthy.
By Ray Flowers
(1) Jose Reyes injured in batting practice. Should be OK.
(2) Nate McLouth still having concussion related symptoms.
(3) Erik Bedard nearing a return to big leagues.
(4) Bengie Molina to be moved to the Rangers?
(5) Clayton Richard has 10 Ks vs. the Rockies.
(6) Mike Gonzalez might be out until All-Star break.
(7) B.J. Upton out with quad injury.
(8) Jair Jurrjens returns for the Braves.
By Ray Flowers
(1) Jacoby Ellsbury to rest for 2 weeks with new fracture.
(2) Nelson Cruz (hamstring) runs bases, hoping to return next Tuesday.
(3) Erik Bedard progressing to late June return?
(4) Ryan Sweeney hitting .322 over the last calendar year. You can read more about this situation at By The Numbers.
(5) Derek Holland (shoulder) to try throwing on Friday.
(6) Omar Vizquel to miss weekend series. He’s been ripping it up at dish.
(7) Todd Wellemeyer to DL but no Madison Bumgarner. Why?
By Ray Flowers
(1) Carlos Zambrano tosses 73 pitches in simulated game. Hopes to return to rotation next week.
(2) Erik Bedard suffered a setback this weekend. Shocking.
(3) Homer Bailey, John Maine placed on the DL with shoulder inflammation.
(4) Mat Latos 0.93 ERA, 0.55 WHIP in his last four starts.
(5) Alfredo Simon hurts hamstring. Orioles may not have to turn to Cla Meredith and Will Ohman in 9th.
(6) Gordon Beckham to remain in the bigs.
(7) Mike Cameron will return to the Red Sox on Tuesday.
(8) With Clint Barmes struggling to hit, Rockies are interested in bring back Kaz Matsui.
By Ray Flowers
(1) Orlando Hudson reportedly agreed to a 1-year deal with the Minnesota Twins. (2) Carlos Marmol agrees to 1-year deal to avoid arbitration with Cubs. (3) Nomar Garciaparra aims to keep on playing. (4) Russell Branyan still a free agent, wanted outlandish money at one point. (5) Erik Bedard looking more and more like he will return to the Mariners.
You can also read more of my thoughts on Carlos Marmol in my Breaking Down piece on him.
Oh, and that bikini picture below? There is no reason for it to be there other than I figured you might like to look at their fine feminine form more than my ugly mug.
By Ray Flowers
(1) The Giants and Tim Lincecum can’t agree on $.
(2) Erik Bedard to stay with Mariners?
(3) Adrian Gonzalez on his way out of San Diego?
(4) Joba Chamberlain – to start or relieve?
(5) Russell Branyan can’t find a home.
(6) Kevin Gregg to Blue Jays – will he close?
By Ray Flowers
This is the most wonderful time of the year. Besides being lyrics from a song, it is also how I feel. I love Halloween, I gussie the place all up with scary sounds, figures, even had a fog machine cranking this year, but I still love the Christmas season the most. I even enjoy, and don’t share this with anyone, hot chocolate and those sappy holiday movies that they play on Lifetime (did I just lose my street cred?).
Before I head out to spend the next couple of days with my extended family, I thought I would list a few things that I hope people in the sports world will either find in their stocking or under their tree come Christmas morning (for those of you who don’t celebrate Christmas, Happy Holidays).
To the San Jose Sharks: Playoff success to avoid a mutiny amongst the fans.
To the 49ers and the Raiders: A winning season. Heck, even an 8-8 mark would be terrific.
To Grady Sizemore, Jose Reyes, Coco Crisp, Erik Bedard, Troy Glaus and Josh Hamilton: A full season of health. If you missed my review of the Glaus to Atlanta signing, click on Glaus Signs With Braves.
To Matt Holliday: I hope your agent, the reviled Scott Boras, can deliver the goods on what he surely promised would be a deal approaching $150 million. Right now it doesn’t seem like anyone has any interest in ponying up dollars that even remotely approach that total.
To Johnny Damon: Another Boras client, I wish him. Heck, I don’t wish him much of anything as he already has a beautiful wife to come home to.
To Brandon Morrow: I hope Santa brings you a heaping helping of control for the holiday. I’m still shocked that the Mariners gave up you so easily. You can read my analysis of the trade in The Other Deal.
To the New York Yankees: I wish you — well my mother told me if I didn’t have something nice to say then I shouldn’t say it, and in the spirit of the season I’m gonna stick to that. I will list a few of my “Tweets” from the Baseball Guys’ Twitter Page that should make what I think pretty obvious.
“Yankees payroll last season was $220 mil, $77.8 mil MORE than any other club. In fact, MORE than 11 other teams payrolls!”
“Yankees only team to pay luxury tax in 2009 – $25.7 mil. They have paid all seven years of existence, $174 of $190 raised overall.”
To the San Francisco Giants: I wish you a heart like the Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz. Hell, I wish that you also had courage like the Cowardly Lion and a brain like the Scarecrow. Are you really going to just sit there knowing full well that your offense is putrid and do nothing to improve it? Newsflash, 2-years and $12 million for Mark DeRosa likely won’t be enough for a guy who thinks he is worth 3/$30 (even if he isn’t worth that). Do something big will ya Giants? Wait, wasn’t I supposed to keep this positive? Sorry for slipping.
To Garrett Atkins: I wish a return to prominence from the one-time borderline star. I’m not talking a return to his previously phat totals (.329-29-130-117 in 2006), but a nice .285-25-85 season would be great.
To Justin Duchscherer: I wish him peace. I hope he returns to prominence on the field, be it as a reliever or a starter, and I hope he got the help he needed to deal with his clinical depression. In fact, I wish the same for Joey Votto who also dealt with some tough times after losing his father.
At this time of year it’s good to remember what is truly important in life. Homers and shutouts are great, but it’s people that truly matter. So give thanks, wish someone a happy holiday season, and don’t be afraid to extend a helping hand to someone who might need it. Tis’ the season to be jolly remember?
BREAKING DOWN MATT CAPPS TO NATS
By Ray Flowers
Now that I’ve worked through my turkey induced coma (not that I’m complaining mind you), I thought it would be wise to take a look around the landscape of major league baseball and give my thoughts on a few of the players who are rumored to be on the move either through trades or by signing with a new team do to their free agent status.
Orlando Cabrera: With the recent signing of other shortstops to decent sized deals, you would have to think that Cabrera is in line for at least a nice two year deal. Hell, Jack Wilson got 2-years and $10 million from the Mariners. Wilson is a fine defensive player, but he can’t hold Cabrera’s jock as an offensive weapon. Consider that Cabrera has hit at least .281 with 83 runs and 171 hits in each of his last four seasons. Wilson? He has hit .281 twice in his career, has never scored more than 82 runs and has only once eclipsed 171 hits in his nine years. How could Cabrera not get at least $10 mil armed with those facts?
Jermaine Dye: Jermaine has socked at least 27 homers with 78 or more RBI in each of the last five seasons. However, he will be 36 in January and hit a pathetic .179 with seven homers over his final 212 ABs causing a lot of teams some trepidation. Dye has attempted to rectify that feeling by offering to play first base to increase his versatility on the field, and it might be working. Rumors are swirling that he could end up in Texas or sign on the dotted with the Orioles, Giants, Mets or Braves. He still has 25 homer pop, but he might find it difficult to put up big time totals outside of the hitters’ haven that is U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago.
Roy Halladay: The biggest name on the market, every day seems to bring a new rumor (he has most often been linked to the Red Sox, Angels and Yankees – of course). What seems obvious is that the Jays are almost certain to move him and that the return will be plentiful for one of the top-5 hurlers in the game.
Matt Holliday: The top hitter on the market, Holliday appears rather content to go to the club that offers him the most loot – hardly and oddity considering that Scott Boras is his agent. He will break the bank with a flooring of $100 million merely being enough to get a conversation started.
Edwin Jackson: Coming off a career season (13-9, 3.62 ERA, 1.26 WHIP), Jackson’s name has been mentioned in a series of potential deals since the season ended. The Tigers need to cut payroll, Detroit has been especially hard hit with the economic downturn, and it looks like Jackson is their most moveable chip. It might also have something to do with his second half implosion (5.07 ERA, 1.53 WHIP, .290 BAA). Buyer beware here – we may look back on ’09 as a career best effort.
Ben Sheets: Floating out there after missing last year do to arm surgery. The Mets and Orioles appear to be the most interested in the moment, though many teams would bite at the right price (just as they would with Erik Bedard). It remains to be seen just what Sheets has left, but he posted a 3.09 ERA and a 1.15 ERA in 198.1 innings in 2008 and is one mighty intriguing option as a short-term, discounted pickup.
Marco Scutaro: Marco will not be back with the Blue Jays who seemed intent on moving on since the season concluded. To that end, they signed defensively gifted but offensively ineffective John MacDonald to a 2-year, $3 million deal. They then entered the free agent market and picked up Alex Gonzalez on a 1-year, $2.75 million deal. Gonzalez is also a fine defensive shortstop, and though he has some pop and offers more offense than MacDonald, he hit only .238 with 41 RBI for the Red Sox and Reds last season. I have no idea what Scutaro will eventually sign for, but seems to me that the Blue Jays could have offered him $4.25 a year (what they paid to the other two) on a multi year deal and had a chance to bring back a guy who, in the very least, will dwarf the others in his ability to get on base (he had a .379 OBP last year).
Billy Wagner: It looks like multiple teams are throwing their hats into the Wagner sweepstakes. This is hardly a shock given his track record and success last season when he returned from Tommy John surgery to post a 1.72 ERA while racking up 26 punchouts in a mere 15.2 innings. He could end up as a dominating setup man or a 1-year closer depending on who he signs with. The 38 year old still deserves serious consideration on draft day.
By Ray Flowers
I’m sitting here watching the Rays and the Red Sox go at it, so I thought, what the heck, I would sprinkle in a little Bo Sox news in today’s piece. For those of you who dislike the Red Sox since the seem to dominate everything baseball in the national media, that is when they aren’t talking about the Yankees, I’ll also touch on a handful of guys that have been or could be relied upon in league specific scenarios the rest of the season.
Anyone see that Clint Barmes is 2-for-40 of late? I’ve been one of the lucky ones who took a chance on him when there was likely no one else left to fill a middle infield role late on draft day, but this most recent run of ineffectiveness is what happens when you own a career BB/K mark of 0.27 (it’s 0.25 this year).
Truly shocking news of the day: Erik Bedard’s season my be over. He will have an MRI on his shoulder on Friday to attempt to discern what is causing him trouble when he tries to throw. Seattle Times beat writer Geoff Baker offered his view – “if I was a betting man, which I’m not, I’d say the odds are better than even that he’s thrown his final pitch of 2009. We’ll see.” Like I said, I’m just shocked (notice the panic on my face. OK, you can’t see my face, but if you could all you would see would be a look of reservation as I would expect nothing less from Bedard).
Chad Gaudin continues to define the “boom-or-bust” attitude that many of us are forced to rely on in the fantasy game. With 105 Ks in 105.1 innings everyone can see the potential, and if often seduces us like the power of the Dark Side pulled in Darth Vader. Over the past two outings we have seen the depths of what can happen with this hurler as he has allowed 13 runs in five innings on the hill, though don’t worry, his ERA has only gone up only 0.56 runs to 5.13 as four of those runs were unearned. Still, who does this guy think he is, Oliver Perez?
Esteban German was recalled by the Rangers on Wednesday, and that should excite those of you in AL-only leagues. It’s unclear how much playing time he will pick up, but with Ian Kinsler on the DL, German might get a chance to post a few at-bats, at least in the short-term. German, who owns a .277 career batting average in major league action (nearly 950 ABs), was hitting .322 with 62 runs, 58 RBI and 33 steals in 101 games at Triple-A. In fact, look at how great he has been in his last two stops in Triple-A (this year and 2005): .317-9-126-165-76 in 862 ABs. He might be one of those AAAA players, but his speed and ability to produce in the average category should net him a shot to contribute in AL-only leagues.
Daisuke Matsuzaka blasted the Red Sox in an interview with a Japanese writer in which he basically blamed the Red Sox for all his struggles, and world hunger I believe (OK, maybe not). Given the rash of negative press he received for basically blaming the Red Sox for his struggles (his basic contention was that the club didn’t allow him to train as he had in Japan which resulted in injury and ineffectiveness), he backpedaled on Wednesday saying amongst other things that “It was not my intention to make the meeting public or to criticize the Red Sox.” So what are we to make of this statement? “If I’m forced to continue to train in this environment, I may no longer be able to pitch like I did in Japan,” Matsuzaka said. “”The only reason why I managed to win games during the first and second years (in the U.S.) was because I used the savings of the shoulder I built up in Japan.” Was he misquoted? I got no problem at all with someone calling anyone out be it a coach, player or organization, but be h-o-n-e-s-t about what you said. This comes off as extremely week Dice-K, and I hardly think it will help to mollify those who felt offended at his comments from July 28th.
B.J. Ryan suffered the same fate as he did when he was a Blue Jay. He failed to perform and was released, this time by the Cubs. Apparently his injuries have robbed him of about five mph off his fastball, he usually works in the 86 mph range at this point, and he just doesn’t possess the type of stuff/control that would allow him to be successful at that level. I wish him luck, but unless some rest makes the difference, we may never see him in the big leagues again.
By Ray Flowers
Is there something in the water today? I’m being serious. There are a few rather off stories in the news today, and while a couple of them have nothing to do with baseball, I just couldn’t resist writing about them today.
Even if you aren’t a hockey fan, you just have to love the passion that Alexander Ovechkin shows on a nightly basis. Not just the passion mind you, but the unimaginable skills as well. If you haven’t seen The Greatest Goal Ever Scored watch it, and make sure you watch the slow-mo replay – it will blow your mind. In addition to his on ice exploits (he has won the league MVP award the past two years), you have to love, and I mean LOVE what he recently said when interviewed by a Russian journalist.
Question: How do you prepare for the game? Is it true that you can’t have sex before the match?
OVECHKIN: Sex really helps, actually.
Question: Is that before or after the match?
OVECHKIN: Before and after.
As my college Ted Carlson said when he read this report – he shoots, he scores!
One of the classicest of all classic statements — ever.
(And yes, I know I made up that word).
Football player Charles Rogers, the wide receiver who was taken second overall in the 2003 NFL Entry Draft, was a complete and total bust – probably one of the top-5 in the history of the league. The second player taken in the country out of Michigan State went on to record 36 receptions, 440 yards and four touchdowns in his three year NFL career. What happened? Were the talent evaluators that far off? Was Rogers lazy? Well, turns out that one of the main reasons was that Rogers was “high”, and I don’t mean happy, pretty much every single day of his NFL career. In a recent interview Rogers admitted that he smoked marijuana almost every day while he was an NFL player. So let’s review. (1) A potentially lucrative career filled with ladies, fame, fortune went up in smoke. (2) Rogers was so stupid, and I mean absolutely devoid of intelligence, that he actually smoked himself out of the NFL. (3) Where was the NFL and their drug testing when all of this was going on? Steroids are bad because you are “cheating,” but no one cares if you do illegal drugs as long as you don’t use them to build muscle? Do you get it? I don’t.
Back to some baseball.
Erik Bedard was looking good in his rehab work raising hope that he would be able to contribute soon. Alas, he threw 25 pitches in the bullpen on Tuesday and his shoulder started barking again. Face it. The guy is the AL’s version of Rich Harden – dominant when on, though that occurs about as often as a full moon. Bedard should be on the Mets, he would fit right in.
Jason Giambi continues to await a return from his quad injury. Hitting just .193 on the year, there is no truth to the rumor that Giambi hurt himself while pulling on his magical golden thong.
Bobby Jenks is back in the hospital with kidney stones. I’ve fortunately never had them, but I’ve heard they are about as much fun as trying to hit a Tim Lincecum fastball with a fungo bat in 22 degree weather while wearing shorts and a flip flops. I wish you well Mr. Jenks. Hurry back.
By Ray Flowers
The FSWA winner of the Best Baseball Series of 2011, BaseballGuys.com is the only source you will need for your fantasy baseball knowledge. OK, you might need other sources, but BaseballGuys.com should be on your daily list of must reads for the insights an analysis it provides on the world of baseball.
The co-host of The Drive on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio (Sirius 210, XM 87: M-F at 5-8 PM EDT), Ray has spent years squirreled away studying the inner workings of the fantasy game to the detriment of his personal life. Specializing in baseball, football and hockey, some consider him an expert in all three. Ray's work can also be found as feature writer for: Fantasy Alarm, Rotoinfo, Rotowire and Sports Illustrated.
You can contact Ray through e-mail at fantasyfandom@yahoo(dot)com or on Twitter.
