Ride The Wave

Fantasy baseball is all about riding the wave. Sometimes we paddle out and just wait, and wait, and wait. Other times we start paddling and we time the wave wrong and it just rolls by. But when everything breaks right, when the wave meets the right timing, the result is one heck of a ride. Here are some folks who have hit the wave or missed it through the first quarter of the 2013 baseball season.

Gordon Beckham (hand) will start his rehab this weekend, he hopes, and he should be back by the end of the month. Does anyone care?

Tony Cingrani has a sore shoulder so his next start will be pushed back and potentially skipped. With Johnny Cueto nearing a return, could Cingrani be DL’d or sent to the minors? Certainly possible. Oh, and this is one of the main reasons why I suggested going Tim Lincecum over Cingrani a month ago. We know that Lincecum can make 30 starts, something he has done the last five years. Cingrani? He’s never made 30 starts and we have no idea if he can handle that workload (he’s made 36 starts since the beginning of 2011). You can love those rookies, but as I keep saying, more often than not, they fail to live up to expectations.

Josh Donaldson have a strong start to the season. Donaldson had four more hits Tuesday night and is now hitting .314 on the year. He’s doubled his walk rate from last season, up from 4.8 percent to 10.7 percent, and if he can hold on to those gains that would be huge. He’s also seen his K-rate go down five percent, and when you combine patience with discipline, success follows.

To see how others are evaluating Donaldson and others, don’t forget to go to Fleaflicker.com where you can check out the owned percentages of all your favorite players.

Bryce Harper is dealing with some nausea, but the Nationals continue to insist that Harper did not suffer a concussion when he ran into the wall the other day and these bouts of feeling ill are not concussion related symptoms. I’ve been nauseous this season watching Barry Zito pitching on the road this year with an 11.25 ERA and 2.58 WHIP over three starts. He’s got a 0.55 ERA at home with a 1.03 WHIP in five home starts.

Paul Konerko returns to the lineup after sitting out the last two games to clear his head Wednesday. Through 33 games this season Konerko has been lost with a .214 average and .623 OPS. Konerko has hit at least 22 homers every year since 2004, and he’s had at least 75 RBIs in eight of the last nine seasons. He’s 37, but he should still be able to rebound from this rough start to be productive, even if he’s unable to reach his previous levels of expectation. A .235 BABIP, that mark has been over .300 the past three years, and a 25.5 percent line drive rate which would be a career best, hint at the potential comeback here. It’s also fair to guess that his 8.0 percent HR/F ratio will improve. He’s never had a mark below 12.2 percent in a career that began in 2002.

James Loney check in. He’s leading baseball with a .381 batting average. He’s hitting .391 in May and has shown no signs of slowing down… though of course he will soon. He’s hitting .446 on the road (25-for-56) and .478 against lefties (11-for-23). In his career he has hit .255 against left-handed pitching though he has hit .299 on the road.

Russell Martin had two more hits Tuesday as he returned from a neck issue. In his last nine games Martin has four games with at least two hits. He’s also gone deep four times with eight RBIs in that time as his average has gone from .227 to .273. All of a sudden this guy looks like a hitter again.

Mitch Moreland is hot, hot, hot. He has hits in nine of last 10 games. In five of those games he had two hits. He also ripped three homers in his last two games and has gone deep six times in his last nine games. He’s pumped up his fly ball rate to 45 percent this season, five percent higher than normal, and he’s also sporting an 18.4 percent HR/F ratio, four percent above normal. If he holds on to those gains we could be looking at a 20-25 homer bat this season (he hit 16 and 15 big flies the last two years).

Nikita, starring Maqqie Q, is a pretty good series. Hot babes shooting guys, strong action scenes too. It was re-upped for a fourth season, but in a limited run, so you had better start watching before it moves to DVD.

Carlos Zambrano finally got a big league job when he signed a minor league deal with the Phillies (he had previously agreed to a deal with the independent Long Island Ducks). Can you believe that Big Z is 31 years old? At least he can take the ball whenever a team wants him to. Perhaps a workhorse in the bullpen?

Around the Horn: September 18, 2012

(1) Gordon Beckham hot in September. Sign of things to come?

(2) Rob Brantly streaking for Marlins at the dish.

(3) Chase Utley to play 3B for Phillies?

(4) Cliff Lee streaking for Phillies.

(5) Martin Prado scorching with 17 hits in 10 games.

(6) Nate McLouth savior in Baltimore even if no one is noticing (see Fleaflicker)?

(7) Kevin Correia getting it done.

(8) Ike Davis to be dealt by Mets?

By Ray Flowers

Mailbag: May 3, 2011

photo © 2010 Mike LaChance | more info (via: Wylio)

Here are the answer to some of the quick hitters that I received at the BaseballGuys’ Twitter account.

Looking to buy low and sell high. Would you trade Alfonso Soriano and Luke Scott for Carl Crawford or Carlos Gonzalez?
– @cladiusnoster

Everyone is talking about how awful Carl Crawford (.181-1-7-7-4) and Hanley Ramirez (.191-1-11-11-3) have performed but we haven’t heard many roundly criticizing the performance of CarGo (.232-1-14-13-3). It’s really pointless to talk about projections this early in the year so I won’t other than to say Gonzalez is light years from the top-5 performer he was last year (.336-34-117-111-26). Hitting just .143 in 49 road at-bats this year, CarGo still hasn’t figured out how to hit on the road (career: .260/.307/.405). Given his slow start, and his career long struggles on the road you might have to admit that he has no chance to repeat his numbers from last year. Still, both he and Crawford simply have to improve upon what they are doing – they’re far too talented not to. And speaking of Crawford, check this out. Crawford’s .431 OPS for April was the worst month of his career. Here are the yearly lows, for a month of time, for his career.

2010: .683 in August
2009: .708 in April
2008: .655 in July
2007: .660 in June
2006: .695 in April
2005: .683 in May
2004: .706 in August
2003: .553 in April

So the good news with Carl is twofold. First, he’s never had a month remotely as bad as the one he just completed so it doesn’t figure that his performance will continue along these lines. Second, his .708 OPS for the month of April in his career is the worst he has posted for the six full months of the season.

Scott is what he is. The last three years he has bit between 23 and 27 homers, knocked in between 65 and 77 runs and scored 61 to 70 times. Boring but productive. Soriano has been blasting away hitting 11 homers in his first 27 games. Still, he’s hitting only .267 this year, hasn’t hit .285 since 2007 and has just five steals in his last 174 games played. He’s a solid power bat and one with more upside than Scott, but he isn’t going to hit 45 homers this year.

So to answer the question, if I could trade two solid bats in Scott/Soriano and get back an elite level talent like Crawford or Gonzalez I’d do it.

Should I pick up Scott Sizemore to replace Gordon Beckham?
– @ryanmully

Shockingly Carlos Guillen is still on the shelf with a knee injury.
Will Rhymes has hit .221 with a .556 OPS in 68 at-bats.
Second base is a black hole of offense for the Tigers.

Down at Triple-A the Tigers had a guy who was hitting .408 with 15 RBI and 17 runs scored in 23 games. Huh. So what did the brilliant brain trust in Detroit do? They said to themselves ‘maybe we should call up this guy who is hitting like Ty Cobb.’ Hello Scott Sizemore. Considering how amazing he has been at Triple-A and how awful the offense has been in the bigs, it’s shocking it took this long. I’m not just talking about the month of April this year with Sizemore either. In 667 at-bats at Triple-A Sizemore has hit .315 with 19 homers, 85 RBI, 115 runs scored, 19 steals and a .880 OPS. Of course, his numbers in the bigs have failed to impress (.224-3-14-19-3 in 143 at-bats), but those Triple-A numbers are impressive.

Beckham has been one of the bigger fantasy disappointments this season. He’s failed to hit for average (.214) or for power (two homers and five doubles leading to a .320 SLG), isn’t getting on base (.268) and has an abysmal .588 OPS. Maybe it’s time to admit something that most don’t want to admit – Beckham simply isn’t ready to be a difference maker. In 925 big league at bats he’s hit .255 with a .324 OBP and a .405 SLG. The league average since he began his career are .262/.330/.415. That’s right, he hasn’t even been big league average in any of those three measures. Add in the fact that he has just 25 homers and only 12 steals, and this might be one of those situations where your eyes were bigger than your stomach (you know what I’m talking about those of you that always super size everything). Over his last 547 at-bats he’s produced a 5×5 line of .258-11-59-72-5. That’s passable but nothing more.

I’m gonna go out on a limb and say I’d take a shot on Sizemore. He may not be able to transition his Triple-A success to the bigs, and he may not even be starting in three weeks, but there is no question that he is swinging a better bat right now.

I’m starting to lose patience with Austin Jackson. Do you think he’s going to get back on track any time soon?
– @caldevil3219

We’re still on this? Jackson was lucky last year leading baseball with a .396 BABIP. I wrote, probably 13 times this offseason, that there was no way he would be able to sustain that level. Toss in his huge K-rate, it was 27.5 percent, and there was no chance he was gonna hit better than .290 again. This year his average is down at .188 because (a) his BABIP has fallen to .282 and (b) because his K-rate is through the roof at 35.7 percent. Things should improve, in fact by a lot if he doesn’t end up being sent to Triple-A, but there was never a truly realistic shot that he would improve upon his 5×5 numbers from last season.

Thoughts on Ian Stewart for his return to Colorado?
– @gmanesq

It’s funny. Everyone hated Stewart two weeks ago and now everyone want’s to add him because he’s back with the Rockies. Here’s what I see.

(1) Stewart killed it at Triple-A hitting .406 with three homers and 13 RBI in 10 games. That’s what he should do though against the inferior competition.

(2) Stewart had only two hits in 28 at-bats with the Rockies to start the year. You say ‘small sample size” and I agree. Still, the guy has hit .241 in almost 1,150 at-bats in the bigs, so clearly he’s never going to help you in that category.

(3) The guy is a whiff machine. In his career he’s struck out in nearly a third of his at-bats (32.3 percent). You can be Adam Dunn and have success doing that or you can be Mark Reynolds and struggle miserably.

Stewart is what he has always been and what he will always be. When he runs into one the ball will fly into the cheap seats. Unfortunately, he’ll never hit for enough of an average to be an elite option at the hot corner. With Todd Helton playing well at first base, there is a bit of squeeze or at-bats in the infield. If Jose Lopez remembers how to hit, and Ty Wigginton regains his health, it’s not at all certain that Stewart will play every day. Stewart is a fine NL-only option, but he had better be nothing more than your backup third basemen in mixed leagues at the moment.

Ray Flowers can be heard daily on Sirius/XM Radio on The Fantasy Drive, 5-8 PM Eastern, on Sirius 211 and XM 147 (the stations change to XM87 and Sirius210 on Wednesday).

Around the Horn: April 21, 2011

(1) Ryan Braun signs massive contract extension.

(2) Logan Morrison likely headed to the DL with a foot injury.

(3) Gordon Beckham, Brent Morel really struggling.

(4) Ryan Zimmerman (abdominal strain) unlikely to return next Tuesday.

(5) Brandon Morrow off DL – will start Saturday.

(6) Bartolo Colon looks good in first start.

(7) Willie Bloomquist starting to slow.

By Ray Flowers

Undervalued Performers for 2011

Photo by Debra Roby

Which player who is currently flying a bit under the radar has a chance to be a top-50 performer this season?

I asked some of the brightest minds in the industry. Here are their thoughts.

Ryan Boyer, Rotoworld.com
Twitter: @RyanPBoyerMLB
Derek Holland, LHP, Rangers
Top-50 might be stretching it a bit, but a guy I really like to take a big step forward this season is Derek Holland. The Rangers’ No. 2 prospect in 2009 in what was at the time an absolutely loaded farm system, Holland dealt with some shoulder inflammation last season, but when he was healthy, he struck out nearly a batter per inning for Texas and was simply dominant at Triple-A (1.87 ERA over 11 starts). The Rangers are looking for someone to pick up the slack with Cliff Lee gone, and I think a likely scenario is Holland being that guy and Neftali Feliz staying in the bullpen. This 24-year-old has the upside to be one of the better lefties in the AL in short order.

Jason Collette, BaseballProspectus.com and Rotowire.com
Twitter: @jasoncollette
Edwin Encarnacion, 1B/DH, Toronto
Encarnacion has a breakout power year in limited playing time in 2010. Despite being in the league for what seems like forever, he is just 28 years old and now can focus mainly on his hitting as he is not going to be asked to do much in the field this year other than play some first base against the tough lefties (okay, maybe the not-so-tough lefties, too) that Adam Lind struggles against. Maybe this is more the fan in me than the analyst, but I like Encarnacion’s chances of hitting 30 home runs in 2011 more than I like Jose Bautista’s chance at 40. I have Edwin pegged as one of the few players to increase their homer totals by 10 or more from this past season as I think his plate skills, playing time, and the end of his defensive butchery at third base all converge into his true breakout season.

Patrick Daugherty, Rotoworld.com
Twitter: @pat3537
Gio Gonzalez, SP, A’s
Overshadowed by Trevor Cahill’s out-of-nowhere Cy Young run and Dallas Braden’s perfect game last season, it was easy not to notice that Gio Gonzalez notched a SO/9 of over seven and a half while posting improved peripherals across the board. Still just 25 and getting markedly better each year, don’t be surprised if he’s the Athletic that makes a serious run at the Cy Young this season – and ends up anchoring your fantasy pitching staff.

Cory Elfrink, SI.com contributor
Jason Bay, OF, Mets
From 2005-2009, Jason Bay averaged 31 home runs, 103 RBI, 101 runs, and 12 steals while batting .279. His first season hitting in Citi Field, much like David Wright’s first season there, was a disaster. Not only did he appear in just 95 games – largely due to a concussion – but even when he did suit up, he delivered production far below expectations. Heading into 2011, Bay is not exactly being ignored in drafts as his ADP is firmly in the top-150. However, he seems like a fallback option on everyone’s board. I would say there are less than 25 hitters in the game capable of producing what Bay averaged for the five-season stretch heading into last season. A player like Troy Tulowitzki plays a premium position, no doubt. He’s also going in the top-10, if not the top-5, of most drafts. Yet his projections are in line with Bay’s averages from 2005-09. In other words, don’t be surprised if Bay comfortably finishes among the top-50 fantasy players in 2011.

Kyle Elfrink, The Drive, SiriusXM Radio
Gordon Beckham, 2B, White Sox
In the second half of his second season, he posted a .285/.336/.459 slash line which was right in line with his 2009 season. He’s still only 24 and he finally gets to stick at one position (he was drafted as a shortstop, brought up as a third baseman, and handled second base duties last year). He should be charged with nothing but second base this year. His steals could hit double-digits, and if that happens you have a rarity at second base – a .280 hitter with double-digit homers, double-digit steals and an OPS of near .800. He’s a guy that you can get outside the top-175 with a chance at sniffing the top-50.

Ray Flowers, BaseballGuys.com
The Drive, SiriusXM Radio
Rotowire.com
Twitter: @baseballguys
Cameron Maybin, OF, Padres
A “post hype sleeper,” there was a point a few years ago that Maybin was on everyone’s lips as a “must have,” but those times have faded as his performance in the bigs has been poor to date. Still, Maybin has been highly effective at Triple-A the past two years (he has hit .325-7-62-65-13 in just 115 games at Triple-A), and it looks like he will be given every chance to play on a daily basis for the Padres. Given that opportunity, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that he could evolve into a Mike Cameron type who could go 20/20, albeit with a mediocre average, as early as this season, and don’t forget that he is only 23 years old.

David Longnecker, KFFL.com
Nick Markakis, OF, Orioles
After Nick Markakis posted a line of .300/23/112 and stole 18 bases in 2007, he appeared to be on the brink of fantasy stardom as a multi-category stud. He’s yet to arrive there, but I expect Markakis to return to his former glory in 2011. He’s simply far too talented to post his best career season at the age of 23. Now 27 and under far less pressure to reproduce his former numbers and to produce due to a revamped lineup, Markakis is primed to be a top-50 fantasy player. It’s not too much to expect Markakis to produce 20 home runs, 100 RBI, 100 runs, 12 steals and an average north of .300 in 2011. Even if he falls short of that, he’s going to be a great bargain considering his ADP.

David Rogers, Frozenotes.com
Twitter: @Frozennotes
Nick Markakis, OF, Orioles
A personal favorite of mine, Markakis has a pretty quiet season last year swatting just 12 homers while driving in a mere 60 runs. However, though his stats weren’t overwhelming, he still maintained a solid .297 average. This season there’s a lot to get excited about concerning the Baltimore offense. Assuming injuries and current health concerns don’t flare up, the Orioles will feature a formidable lineup, top to bottom. The additions of Vladimir Guerrero, Derrek Lee, J.J. Hardy and Mark Reynolds should give Markakis a boost this season.

Seth Trachtman
Jesus Montero, C, Yankees
Plenty of people are talking about Montero this spring, especially after Francisco Cervelli’s injury, but few are expecting much of significance from him. However, Cervelli’s injury all but guarantees Montero will break camp with the major league club, and the Yankees will give their prized prospect playing time no matter where he resides. It also helps that Russell Martin hasn’t produced in two years, and Jorge Posada’s bat speed is precipitously slowing. Consider that Montero already has a full season of Triple-A under his belt, and against much more advanced competition at age 20 he hit .289-21-75 in 453 at-bats last season.  The only reason to send Montero down again is to work on his defense, but the Yankees have reportedly been thrilled with his progress after losing a few pounds. Not many catchers produce offensively this early in their careers, but even fewer do what he did at age 20 in the International League. Montero is currently being drafted among the lower tier of second catchers in mixed leagues, but he’s more than capable of being a top five catcher now — or better.

Charlie Wiegert, Godfatheroffantasysports.com
Grady Sizemore, OF Cleveland
After four consecutive 20-20 years, and a 30-30 year in 2008, Sizemore has been curtailed by injuries the last two seasons, making him an easy person to forget. The guy is only 28, and should be going into the prime of his career, which once made him a fantasy top-10 pick. Sizemore is working through his rehab program after undergoing microfracture surgery on his left knee in June, and it’s unlikely he’ll be ready for the start of the season, more reason most owners will ignore him. He went early in the 8th round of our recent FSTA Experts league draft to Roto Experts, a bit earlier than I expected. I was hoping to get him in the 10-11 round area, which would make his risk vs reward a better option. After 130 picks, he was worth taking in my opinion, but at the 100 pick mark, outfielders like Nick Markakis, Chris Young and Curtis Granderson were still available.

Editors Note: Charlie got his man when he took Grady Sizemore in a recent draft held amongst the former Fanball Crew.

Around the Horn: August 11, 2010

(1) Giants trade for Mike Fontenot.

(2) Curtis Granderson to revamp swing.

(3) Ryan Braun (wrist) takes swings in the cage.

(4) Gordon Beckham (groin) back in lineup.

(5) Placido Polanco will try to play through elbow injury.

(6) Astros have trouble in the 9th inning.

(7) Matt Kemp out of the Lineup Again. Should you be concerned?

By Ray Flowers

Morrow Makes History – Sort Of

Brandon Morrow Strikes Out 17

Out of the cornfields he strode to the mound, his right arm smoldering after warming up in the bullpen. He took the mound, pulled his cap low across his eyes, reared back, and began to dismantle the opposition with some of the filthiest stuff the game is ever seen. He was untouchable, throwing strikes at will. For 8.2 innings not one batter could pick up a hit as Ray after Ray returned to the dugout with his head held low. Evan Longoria broke up the no-hitter with a grounder to the right side of the infield to break up the no-no in the ninth, a mere out from history. Undaunted, the flame throwing righty struck out Dan Johnson on his 137th pitch to end the one hitter. All told the California native struck out 17 batters, walked two batters, allowed just that single hit and obviously didn’t allow a run.

That pitcher is Brandon Morrow.

The strikeouts, one off the Blue Jays team record, were a surprise, but at the same time time Morrow does lead baseball with a 10.67 K/9 mark. He usually struggles with control, his BB/9 mark is 4.03, but clearly we saw yesterday what can happen when he locks in his pitches. Can he continue to throw strikes? That’s a good/open question. There is also the issue of how his arm will rebound from a career-high pitch total. Brandon has only two other games this season with as many as 110 pitches, so the hope is that this big pitch total from yesterday doesn’t weigh him down moving forward. I wouldn’t be shocked to see the Blue Jays have him skip a start, or at best to severely limit his pitch totals the next few times out.

Closer Changes?

It’s that time of year for bullpens. There are a handful of teams that just might be making changes to the backend of their bullpens.

Florida Marlins: Leo Nunez has a 2.91 ERA, 49 Ks and a 4.08 K/BB mark in 46.1 innings. Those numbers are all strong. However, he has blown each of his last two chances and is 26-for-33 in converting saves on the year. Moreover, he has allowed six runs in his last three innings and seven in 5.2 innings. The team hasn’t said they will make a move, but it might be closing in changing things up in the ninth inning. “For now, he’s our closer, but if he doesn’t make an adjustment, we may have to explore other options — maybe do a closer by committee,” Marlins’ manager Edwin Rodriguez said.

Milwaukee Brewers: Trevor Hoffman is three saves from 600, so the Brewers have an interest in helping him to make history before the year is over. He has pitched really well of late – 1.42 ERA over his last 19 appearances – so well in fact that he is now the co-closer with John Axford. “The thing with Hoffman is he’s earned his way back to saving games,” manager Ken Macha said. “That’s not to eliminate Axford from doing things, too, because he’s done nothing to write his name out.” Hoffman’s value goes up, Axford’s obviously goes down.

Washington Nationals: Drew Storen, the Nats closer of the future, isn’t quite ready to take over the closer reigns right now. “”For me, he is kind of a work in progress,” manager Jim Riggleman said. “He is showing flashes of a really fine guy at the back end of the bullpen — closer potentially.” Look for Storen, Sean Burnett and Tyler Clippard to share work in the 9th inning until one emerges.

Injury Notes

Andrew Bailey (rib/side) will likely miss at least another week more.

Daric Barton (shoulder) was forced from the game on Sunday. It is unclear if he will require a DL stint.

Gordon Beckham (groin) might end up missing a few days, though the injury isn’t thought to be serious.

A.J. Burnett (back) should be able to make his next start on Tuesday.

Eric Chavez (back/neck) is considering retirement.

Dustin Pedroia (foot) hopes he can return in about 10 days.

Alex Gordon (heel) says he is improving. Will continue to play through it.

Carlos Guillen (calf) has been activated from the DL.

Kyle Lohse (forearm) will make at least one more start in the minors.

Kris Medlen (elbow) will wait one more week before deciding if he needs Tommy John surgery.

Alex Rodriguez (shin) returned to action on Sunday for the Yankees.

Jason Varitek (foot) took BP on Sunday. There is still no timetable for his return.

Vernon Wells (toe) will undergo more tests on Monday after he injured his toe making a wonderful catch on Sunday trying to help Morrow to a no-hitter.

Jack Wilson (hand) had a fall at home and broke the fifth metacarpal bone in his right hand. He’ll be placed on the DL.

Notable Transactions

The Braves purchased the contract of Mike Minor.

The Giants will promote Emmanuel Burriss on Monday.

The Mariners will promote Chris Woodward on Monday.

The Orioles sent Troy Patton to the minors.

The Phillies sent John Mayberry to minors.

The Dodgers designated for assignment Garret Anderson and purchased the contract of Jay Gibbons.

The Tigers sent Will Rhymes to the minors when they activated Carlos Guillen.

The Nationals sent Collin Balester to the minors and recalled Jason Marquis.

Prospect Watch

The Athletics will call up Chris Carter, and Jeff Larish for that matter, on Monday. Carter has 27 bombs and 89 RBI at Triple-A this season, and those numbers go along nicely with his totals of the last two years: 38 HRs, 104 RBI and 28 HRs, 115 RBI last year. The kid can slug it, and with the injury to Daric Barton, Carter just might get the chance to play every day in Oakland.

By Ray Flowers

Around the Horn: June 10, 2010

(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

Around the Horn: May24, 2010

(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

I’m Still on the Case

I know that the NFL is ramping up to a fever pitch, and that NCAA football is also up and running, but that doesn’t mean I can turn my back on the game of baseball that I love. I will certainly touch on football in the coming weeks, though I promise to only touch on the NFL game (something about the atmosphere of college football just rubs me the wrong way – perhaps it has something to do with the fact that there are about 39 college football games on television from sunrise to sunset on Saturday’s while I only get one baseball game because of MLB’s stupid contract with the networks). With that, here are some of my thoughts as we head into the opening weekend of the NFL season with tons of baseball to still be played.

Gordon Beckham is a pretty darn good hitter with an opposite field stroke that reminds me of Derek Jeter. If we remove his first 23 games this season Beckham is hitting .277 with 39 RBI and 34 runs scored in 61 games, a pace that would net him a season of 96 RBI and 84 runs over 150 contests. That’s pretty good when you toss in something like 15 steals.

Josh Hamilton had yet another cortisone shot on Friday, this one in his back. As a result, he will likely miss another week of action. Not to make light of a serious situation, but Hamilton might be able to get a bit of a high off of all the drugs he has been forced to take for his bumps and bruises this year (so yes, I did make light of the situation with my snarky comment). Still, through it all Hamilton has put up a pace that would lead to 18 home runs, 88 RBI, 77 runs and 14 steals if he maintained his current work over the 156 games he played last year. That is a far cry from the 32 HR, 130 RBI, 98 run effort he posted last year, but with all the starts and stops it certainly isn’t an awful pace (though that likely isn’t a sentiment shared by those who took him with their first or second pick this season). Look for Julio Borbon to continue to be in the starting lineup in Hamilton’s absence.

J.A. Happ, who by the way pronounces his first name “Jay” and not “J – A,” may miss a third straight start because of continuing issues with his right oblique. Jamie Moyer will continue to fill in proving once again that you can never have enough starting pitcher. As for Happ, it remains to be seen if missing this time late in the year will cause voters to turn in another direction when it comes time to vote on the NL Rookie of the Year award. After all, Happ has posted the sixth best ERA in the NL (2.77), while his 1.18 WHIP is good enough for 10th in the Senior Circuit, so he certainly has a pretty good case to be in the mix for the award.

Rich Harden needed 104 pitches to make it through just four innings on Friday against the Reds. He allowed but a single run and just two hits, but he walked five while striking out six and the Cubs were forced to remove him from the game. I watched the game and I tell you what – that guy can fling the baseball. If he could simply stay healthy there is no way he wouldn’t be a top-10 SP, but injuries and frequent bouts with controlling the strike zone continue to hinder what could be an extremely impressive career.

Since I obviously have a love of “H’s” today, I should direct everyone to a recent article I wrote titled What’s Wrong With Me? where I break down why Cole Hamels has struggled this season compared to the level of production he offered last season. As a lay it out in the piece there hasn’t been near as much difference this year as you likely think.

So that’s it. I’m gonna get ready to get my groove on tonight. Yeah you know what I mean. I’m gonna fire up the microwave, pop in a Jane Monheit CD, and crawl under a blanket on the couch. What, you thought I was going to leave my house and go trolling for single ladies on Friday night?

By Ray Flowers