Injuries and Oddness

Today I’m feeling a bit sick, so I thought it would be appropriate to spend my column discussing guys who are currently on the DL or on the verge of coming off it. So, let’s get to it.

Just how bad is that injury to the knee of Carlos Beltran? Well it isn’t catastrophic and doesn’t appear like he will need surgery, but at the same time the team is bracing to be without their star for more than just 15 days. “I can also tell you that I’m not gonna tell you that he’s gonna be back within the 15 days,” GM Omar Minaya said. “I said to myself … if we get him back for the second half, after the All-Star Break, I’d sign up for that right now.” Wow. The Mets are only 1.5 games back of the Phillies, but if they are without Beltran for three weeks in addition to the other injuries they have suffered (Jose Reyes is likely out until after the All-Star break with his hamstring injury and Carlos Delgado is likely out until August because of his hip surgery), do they really have much of a shot at the playoffs?

I’ve written it before, but here is it again. Oliver Perez as a reliever makes zero sense. The guys takes forever to “find” himself and locate the strike zone, so I cannot see how bringing him into a game in the 7th inning makes any sense at all since he won’t have time to see what is working etc. Maybe I’m wrong, but if I’m the Mets I start him or leave him in the minors starting until he figures out whatever that ails him with his knee and or mechanics. Nothing else makes sense. Oh maybe one thing does – the Mets could trade him to the Giants for Jonathan Sanchez.

I don’t get something. OK, I don’t get a lot of things, but I really don’t get how the Indians appear to be handling the case of Grady Sizemore. First off, they let him play far too long with that injured elbow when he clearly wasn’t able to do the things we have been used to seeing from him the past four years since when he finally found his way to the DL he was hitting .223 with a .417 SLG, well below his established baselines of .275 and .486. Then they shut him down for roughly three weeks during which time he basically did nothing to allow the inflammation in his elbow to subside (that makes sense). Then, they had the bright idea of simply activating him without a single game in the minors. “I just want to get back on the field,” said Sizemore. Yeah, we all do Grady, but doesn’t it sound like a bad idea to do nothing for three weeks and then immediately return to major league action? Now we get the following trifecta right before game time on Tuesday night from manager Eric Wedge – Sizemore (a) will not be in the lineup every day, at least for the remainder of this week, (b) might spend some time at DH moving forward and (c) will return to hitting second in the order when Asdrubal Cabrera is ready to return from his shoulder injury, likely later this week. Don’t know about you, but seems like some oddness going on in Cleveland to me.

Joey Votto broke his silence and told the media that the reason that he missed time this season was that he was clinically depressed at the loss of his father last August. I wish you all the best Joey, no more jokes about your condition from this corner now that we know the details.

Does everyone know that Kyle Elfrink and I co-host the Fantasy Buffet Mon., Tues., Thurs. and Fri.? The podcast can be heard at Fanball.com each morning from 8-9 AM, PST. Oh yeah, it’s everyday during the week as Wednesday’s when I’m not there the Godfather of fantasy sports, Charlie Wiegert, steps in to take up my co-hosting chair. Each day we talk about everything sports related, obviously with a fantasy slant, as we break down the latest performances and injuries. Come give the show a listen – it’s not just Kyle and me every day, we also bring in a handful of our other correspondents to allow them to given their views on a myriad of topics. It’s good fun, and if I do say so myself, the show usually comes off without a hitch.

By Ray Flowers

A Day in the Life

Today in my survey o’ the world of baseball, we will spend some time detailing a couple of big bats in Chicago, a speedster in Cincinnati and the plight of a first round fantasy stud whose season is teetering on the brink of irrelevance due to injury.

Let me get this straight. Jake Fox hit a blistering .424 with 17 home runs and 51 RBI in just 41 games at Triple-A this season doing his best Rogers Hornsby imitation. He was then called up to the Cubs where he went 5-for-12 (.417). His reward? He was sent back to Triple-A Iowa. With Derrek Lee finally starting to turn things around at first base – he has hit .345 with a .457 OBP in his last 15 games – the Cubs just weren’t able to find any room on the diamond for Fox since they don’t trust his glove at third base. If you are Fox, how disappointed are you right now? You’ve knocked in a run a game and are hitting better than Ted Williams ever did yet you cannot even find a way to convince your team to find a bench spot for you. Don’t know about you, but if that was me I would be calling my agent telling him I want the hell out of there immediately.

The White Sox made a distressing announcement today, though I cannot say that it wasn’t somewhat expected. Carlos Quentin, on the sidelines with plantar fasciitis in his foot, will likely be out until at least the All-Star game. For his part, Quentin stated that the injury isn’t really PF, it’s actually a torn tendon in his left foot. No matter what the actual injury, the bottom line is that Quentin will remain sidelined for at least another month. What this likely means is that potential free agent Jermaine Dye (there is a mutual option for $12 million for 2010), and his 15 home runs will not be traded, that is if the White Sox think they can still contend despite a 27-32 record. The White Sox simply need a big right-handed bat in the middle of the lineup to remain competitive, and with Quentin out, Dye is their best option though Paul Konerko hasn’t been bad at the dish with a .295-8-39 line this season.

Grady Sizemore, already on the DL due to a strained elbow, will be held out of baseball activity for another five days at which time an MRI will be performed to determine whether or not the joint has healed sufficiently to allow him to return to the diamond. Don’t know about you, but I’m thinking that he will eventually need arthroscopic surgery. What is clear is that with nine home runs and seven steals, Sizemore won’t be going 30/30 this season like he did last year, and in fact he may be hard pressed to go 20/20, a total he has reach in each of the past four seasons. Actually Sizemore has hit at least 22 home runs, with at least 22 steals and at least 100 runs in each of the last four seasons, and that is the third longest such streak in baseball history (tied with Carlos Beltran and Barry Bonds). Willie Mays is the all-time leader with six straight seasons from 1955-60 while the second man on the list is Bobby Bonds with a stretch of five-straight years from 1969-1973. As for Beltran, he has eight home runs, seven steals and 34 runs putting him on pace for about 23 home runs, 20 steals and 98 runs, so he’ll need to kick things up a notch himself is he wants to move into a second place tie on the list.

Willy Taveras is 0-for-16 and as a result his average has dropped to .250 on the season. Even worse for a leadoff hitter, his OBP is just .307 which has caused the Reds to drop him to second in the order. “Willy is my leadoff man,” manager Dusty Baker said. “It’s temporary.” Apparently the fact that Taveras is hitting .250 with a .308 OBP over his last 663 ABs dating back to the start of last season doesn’t matter to Baker and the Reds as they seem stuck on the fact that Willy T. has posted 80 steals since the start of last season. That’s great guys, but do you really need someone to tell you that steals are wonderful, but they don’t matter if you don’t get on base enough to be an effective weapon out of the leadoff spot?

By Ray Flowers

Injuries Are Part of the Game

Another day, another top fantasy option has come down with an injury. In fact, you were almost as likely to take a player who has spent time on the DL or on the bench this year with your first round pick as you were likely to draft a healthy player. Just look at how many of the top-15 options heading into the year have dealt with injury.

Miguel Cabrera tweaked a hamstring on Thursday and will be held out of the lineup on Friday though word is that he might be able to pinch-hit if needed. No Cabrera owner can be too upset since their man has hit .354 with 10 home runs, 38 RBI and 34 runs scored so far this season – provided this doesn’t become a DL-type thing.

Hanley Ramirez: He has battled through a variety of injuries all year, and though he is hitting a robust .342, he has only eight home runs and eight steals on the year.

Jose Reyes: The latest news says that his injured calf is now an injured right hamstring tendon. Whether or not that is the same injury and the Mets have kept it under wraps is unknown, but the bottom line is that he is on the DL and the New York Post is reporting that he could miss up to six weeks with the injury. He was hitting only .279 with 11 steals in just 36 games, woeful production for a top-5 pick.

Ryan Braun: Like Hanley, Braun continues to play through a variety of bumps and bruises. Still, he has produced hitting .316 with 10 home runs and 34 RBI, though that pace leaves him barely on pace to produce his third straight 30-100 season. He has only gone deep twice in 19 games which leads me to think he physically ain’t right.

Grady Sizemore: Dude has been lost all year, and now we know why – his elbow is jacked up. Grady hasn’t had surgery on his elbow yet, but it looks like it might be required despite the fact that an MRI didn’t show any structural damage. Sizemore has gone 20/20 in 4-straight year and he could still reach that level since he has nine home runs and seven steals so far provided he doesn’t go under the knife, but his .223 average and .726 OPS show just how awful he has been.

Alex Rodriguez: Had hip surgery and as a result didn’t take the field until May 8th. He is only hitting .250 and doesn’t have a single steal, but he has gone deep seven times with 22 RBI in 26 games.

Josh Hamilton: Like Sizemore, Hamilton may need surgery to fix what ails him. Hamilton is currently on the DL with a strained abdominal muscle. He could be back in two weeks, or he could miss up to two months if he needs surgery. He was hitting only .240 with a .746 OPS though he had drive in 24 runs in 35 games.

Here are some further notes of interest on Friday…

David Ortiz is having his eyes checked since he reported having dry eyes of late. You would think that someone would have checked out his vision a long while ago given his putrid work at the dish this year which includes a .187 average and one home run through 187 ABs. Perhaps some new spectacles will help?

J.J. Putz will be on the shelf for an estimated two months, possibly more, as he will have his elbow operated on to clean some things up. If he comes back as expected, and the team is able to get Billy Wagner back as well, no one will want to face the Mets in September if they can go Putz-Wagner-Francisco Rodriguez in the 7-8-9 innings. I know I wouldn’t.

Brad Penny apparently is on the Braves radar as they look to add some pitching depth. First off, the Red Sox would likely entertain the idea of moving Penny since John Smoltz appears on the cusp or a return to the rotation. The Sox also have Justin Masterson who can start if needed, and don’t forget about Clay Buchholz who continues to toil away in Triple-A simply dominating hitters with his filthy stuff to the tune of a 4-0 record with a 1.74 ERA, 0.76 WHIP and a 4.75 K/BB mark. If you ask me, Penny is the worst option out of those four, so why not move him? If the Braves wanted to add a veteran arm, why didn’t they just hold on to Tom Glavine? For his part, Penny is a very deceiving 5-1 this season thanks to a ton of run support as he has posted a 5.63 ERA, 1.60 WHIP, 5.63 K/9 and a 2.00 K/BB. My disdain for Penny is well chronicled going back a couple of seasons, and nothing I have seen from him this season has changed my mind one bit.

Oh, and one last note. Kyle Elfrink, my co-host on the Fantasy Buffet, our Monday through Friday podcast at Fanball.com, recently did a 1-on-1 interview with the Jets’ running back Leon Washington. Listen for that interview on Monday during the 11AM-12PM time slot that we do the show. You can access the interview at the link posted above on Monday.

By Ray Flowers