(1) Johan Santana done for year – shoulder surgery.
(2) Cliff Lee (back) to start on Sunday vs. Yankees.
(3) Josh Johnson (shoulder) will throw on Saturday.
(4) Josh Hamilton showing scant improvement with ribs.
(5) Edinson Volquez back in rotation for Reds.
(6) Justin Upton (shoulder) still sitting.
(7) Former QB Pat White signs with Royals.
By Ray Flowers
(1) Josh Hamilton out of lineup with knee injury.
(2) Alex Rodriguez likely to return on Sunday.
(3) Ray’s call up Jeremy Hellickson and Desmond Jennings.
(4) Ian Kinsler (groin), Lance Berkman (knee) back off DL.
(5) Yovani Gallardo says he is OK despite awful results.
(6) Jason Kendall needs shoulder surgery.
By Ray Flowers
Wednesday is always an odd day. Memories of last weekend are fading, and you’re still days away from heading out on the town with your homies to cause some trouble, so you’re basically just laying in wait for something to happen. What I’m saying is that it’s a no-man’s kinda day. As a result, it’s hardly a shock that there is no real theme with the players I’m going to discuss other than the fact that they have all been performing pretty well of late.
Josh Hamilton is a beast. How crazy good has he been? Since the start of June he has hit .434 with 14 homers and 47 RBI in 49 games. Those are numbers that wind up leading you to the MVP award. Sick.
Matt Garza, who has come a long way since he was a Twins’ rookie wearing a My Little Pony backpack (yeah, that’s him in the photo above), tossed the fifth no-hitter of the season on Monday night. Do you know what the record is for one season? In 1884, yeah it was a totally different game back then I know, there where eight no-hitters (the last time there were five no-hitters in a season was 1991). Moreover, since the Rays’ fell in no-hitters twice this season, they became only the third team in baseball history to be involved in three no-hitters in a single season. The other two teams were the White Sox and the St. Louis Browns — in 1917. As for Garza, he has offered a slight up tick in his performance compared to last season. He is 11-5 and that is great, though his ERA is up a smidge from 3.95 last year to 4.06 this season, while his WHIP is a virtual match (1.26 to 1.24). The only real negative in the fantasy game is that he has seen his K-rate dwindle substantially from 8.38 per nine last season down to 6.78 which is below his 7.19 career mark. If he were to pick up the whiffs we could be looking at a top-25 pitcher the rest of the way.
The single season triple record is 36 by Chief Wilson in 1912. No on in baseball even has nine triples this season.
Brandon Morrow – welcome to the world of fantasy relevance. On May 31st he had a 6.00 ERA and was having a devil of a time throwing strikes. Since that point he has made nine starts going just 3-2, but his ratios have improved dramatically. His WHIP has gone down to 1.29, a big step for a guy who had a 1.58 mark over his first 11 appearances, and his ERA has plummeted down to 3.21. Why the success? He’s maintained his K/9 mark mark with an impressive 9.48 mark but his walk rate has tanked – which in this case is obviously a great thing. After walking 34 batters in his first 57 innings – good for a 5.37 BB/9 mark – he has walked a mere 19 hitters in his last 56 innings leading to a 3.05 mark. Basically he has gone from being Oliver Perez to being a better than big league pitcher in terms of his control. The Blue Jays might limit his workload as the season wears on, and his final season numbers likely won’t look that great, but don’t forget about how good Morrow can be when he’s throwing strikes when you do participate in your draft in 2011.
Javier Vazquez has been a massive letdown this season with a 9-7 record, a 4.54 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. However, should he be viewed that way? He was never going to repeat his performance from last season (15-10, 2.87 ERA, 1.03 WHIP), especially when he went to the AL. Also, his production has been a near match for his work with the Yankees back in 2004 (14-10, 4.91 ERA, 1.29 WHIP). At the same time if you were an astute wheeler and dealer, you may have come out way ahead here. Through six starts this season he was 1-4 with a 8.10 ERA in a truly dreadful start to the year. However, he has been nails since that point going 8-3 with a 3.16 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and a 6.90 K/9 mark. That’s difference making production from the righty. Don’t be afraid to look beyond a player’s season long numbers when you’re trying to figure out his value for the rest of the season.
By Ray Flowers
There’s no theme whatsoever to my article today. I just threw everything into a hopper and wrote about the names that fell out. Oh don’t worry, it’s really insightful stuff, there just isn’t a common thread to tie everything together.
Coco Crisp has been activated by the A’s. He hit .590 with five RBI during his rehab work in the minors signaling that his body might finally be right, finally. Still, there are about seven outfielders with the A’s club, so it remains to be seen if he will have a spot in the daily lineup, especially since his skills are so similar to those of Rajai Davis.
Mark DeRosa’s season is over as he will need surgery to repair his injured wrist. In the first year of a $12 million two year contract, DeRosa gave the Giants all of one homer, 10 RBI and 93 at-bats. That’s almost as bad an investment as The Bachelor’s Jake Pavelka made in his lady friend, Vienna Girardi. Oh stop acting like you don’t watch the show – we all know you do.
Josh Hamilton is back, and it appears that he is better than ever before. Josh is hitting .337, has a 16 game hitting streak, and is sporting a .981 OPS. Back in his “breakout” 2008 effort he hit .304 with a .901 OPS. He’s frighteningly talented.
Trevor Hoffman has been awful for most of the year, everyone knows that. However, he has improved tremendously of late and appears on the cusp of reclaiming his 9th inning role. “We kind of talked about that several times today,” manager Ken Macha said. “We’ll see how some things go. That is two good outings in a row, so I’ll talk to him [Thursday] and see how he’s feeling about himself.” If you are a John Axford owner you’ll want to hold on, but make sure Hoffman isn’t on waivers if you play in a deep league.
Jamie Moyer is almost old enough to join AARP as he is 47 years old. Amazingly, he has stuck around long enough to pile up 265 victories. That total places him 10th all-time in victories by a lefty, an it’s also one behind the immortal Bob Feller and three behind Jim Palmer. Need some more info about just how amazing Moyer’s career has been? Since turning 30 he has won 231 games, the sixth most ever from that age to the end of a player’s career. To put that win total in perspective, Roy Oswalt has 142 victories, Tim Hudson 155 and Roy Halladay 156 — in their entire careers.
Buster Posey, everyone’s darling when he was called up, has hit the skids of late with a mere .186 average and a .524 OPS over his last 43 at-bats. His average is still shade over .300 at .303, but his .421 SLG is a pretty pathetic number for a first sacker (the NL average for the position is .458). I know it borders on heresy in some corners, but Posey really needs to pick it up or he could start to lose playing time (he isn’t in the lineup on Tuesday night as Pablo Sandoval is at first with Juan Uribe at third).
Mike Stanton, who I spoke of yesterday in my Around the Horn, June 21st video, deserves to be mentioned again. Here is, in written word, what I spoke of yesterday; you simply cannot have success in the big leagues if you strikeout more than 40 percent of the time. I know it’s a miniscule sample size we’re breaking down with the talented Fish, but 19 whiffs in 43 at-bats gives him a K-rate of 44.2 percent. Chris Davis, basically demoted to the minor because he whiffs too often, owns a K-rate of 34.7 percent in his career. Other noted purveyors of the strikeout follow with their career K-rates in parenthesis: Ryan Howard (32.3), Adam Dunn (32.4), Mark Reynolds (38.2) and Jack Cust (39.1). As you can tell from that list you can be mighty successful in the bigs even if you pile up copious amounts of strikeouts, but if Stanton wants to make his mark this season he’s gonna have to knock like 10 percentage points off his current rate.
By Ray Flowers
(1) Alfonso Soriano to hit 6th for Cubs.
(2) Troy Glaus says his shoulder is doing well.
(3) Josh Hamilton still dealing with sore shoulder.
(4) Miguel Cabrera quits drinking, ready to mash on field.
(5) Jose Reyes plays/runs with positive results for Mets.
(6) Bobby Jenks – what does 2010 hold in store? You can hear my thoughts in the video and augment that with my Breaking Down: Jenks article.
By Ray Flowers
Vladimir Guerrero has signed what appears to be a 1-year, $5-$6 million deal with the Texas Rangers (there is also said to be a mutual option for 2011). Was it a good move for the Rangers?
By Ray Flowers
The outfield is the land of multi-category producing titans. The 2009 season was no different, though some of the men that were expected to provide those efforts failed to do so. In what follows I will discuss my top-10 list from the 2009 Fanball Annual Guide that was on newsstands prior to the start of the 2009 season, and briefly hit on how each players season turned out.
To read previous positional reviews click on the following link:
1. Grady Sizemore
2. Carlos Beltran
3. Josh Hamilton
4. Ryan Braun
5. Ichiro Suzuki
6. Carl Crawford
7. Manny Ramirez
8. Matt Holliday
9. Alex Rios
10. B.J. Upton
Sizemore was derailed by injury, chiefly a strained elbow that required surgery (he also had hernia surgery). His performance simply killed teams that drafted him in the first round (.248-18-64-73-13) with all his 5×5 numbers being five year lows as he appeared in a mere 106 games.
Beltran has a lost season like so many other Mets. The chief injury was a bone bruise in his leg, more specifically his knee. As a result he appeared in just 81 games though he was exceedingly effective in his half season of work hitting a robust .325 with 10 homers, 48 RBI, 50 runs and 11 steals. Clearly he was on pace for a special season, but alas, injuries ruined his effort.
Hamilton had a bummer of a season that he kicked off with a wild bender during spring training that was kept under wraps (as a recovering addict, this was especially damaging news). I never thought he would repeat the 130 RBI, but I thought the 30-HR pop was certainly legit. Injuries limited him to just 89 games as he hit 10 homers with 54 RBI and a .741 OPS, only .160 points below his 2008 mark. Has a ton to prove in ’10.
Braun was a flat out stud and seems certain to be a top-5 selection in 2010 in almost every draft. Not only did he lead the NL with 203 hits, Braun also socked 32 long balls, drove in 114 runs, hit .320 and stole 20 bases. Not many have a legit shot at hitting .333 while going 20/20.
Suzuki started slowly due to injury, but you would never have known it if you looked at his final numbers that included 225 hits and a .352 average. Amazingly, the sorry Mariners only knocked him in 88 times on the year, and his steal total of 26 was actually a career worst, though no one should complain when you hit .352.
Crawford was an outright beast hitting .305 with 15 homers, 68 RBI, 96 runs and a career best 60-steals. Only one AL player bettered that steals total – Jacoby Ellsbury with 70, and he scored two less runs, hit only eight homers, and batted four points lower at .301.
Ramirez was suspended for 50 games for performance enhancing drugs, and with that his season was a bust. At the time of his suspension he was doing his best Albert Pujols impersonation hitting .355 with a 1.156 OPS through 36 games, but he returned to his a mere .255 with only 10 homers and 34 RBI in 68 games.
Holliday was, as I wrote prior to the start of last season in the aforementioned magazine, terrific. “He won’t be the Coors version of Holliday, but he should still be near the elite.” Compare his 2008 performance in Coors (.321-25-88-107-28) to his 2009 work in Oakland and St. Louis (.313-24-109-94-14). Seems like I hit this one out of the park.
Rios was an unmitigated disaster. Simply atrocious. Though he nearly went 20/20 (17 homers, 24 steals), he hit a paltry .247 with only 17 homers and 71 RBI. After his trade to the White Sox he apparently forgot how to play baseball as 41 games in Chicago netted a .199 average, nine RBI and 11 runs scored. Pathetic.
B.J. was the wrong Upton to place on the list. B.J. floundered to a .241 average with 11 homers, 55 RBI, 79 runs and 42 steals, while younger brother Justin simply tore it up in the desert on his way to hitting .300 with 26 homers, 86 RBI, 84 runs and 20 steals.
By Ray Flowers
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
We all have questions. Some relate to what to wear or what to do with that snooty boss, while others are directed toward what type of libation they will be sipping on when the day ends? Alas, this is a baseball blog, so the questions we will answer here pertain to the diamond.
I am in a keeper league where I can keep up to 5 players.
Our league has a position for C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, LF, RF, CF and UTL. Our scoring system includes- hits, Runs, HR, RBI, K, SB and fielding percentages. Can you please let me know who you would keep from the list below?
Geovany Soto, Justin Morneau, Robinson Cano, David Wright, Hanley Ramirez, Matt Holliday, Grady Sizemore, Josh Hamilton
Bench- Carlos Beltran and Ryan Doumit
* I have great SP’s but I do not ever keep pitchers.
I traded throughout the year to get David Wright, Sizemore and Hamilton. My original thought is to keep Ramirez, Wright, Sizemore, Morneau and Hamilton. I like to keep younger players since it is a keeper league but I hate to lose Holliday.
– Bryan
What a club. That is just about the most awesome compilation of talent any league has either seen. Either (a) your pitching is atrocious, (b) you made some very astute deals, or (c) there are only six teams in your league. Here are my thoughts on who I would keep, in reverse order.
5 – Justin Morneau
How many fantasy gamers would complain about a guy who owns a career .285 mark and has produced at least 84 runs and 111 RBI in 4-straight years? If he keeps up his current pace he will make it 4-straight years.
4 – Grady Sizemore
It was either Grady or Carlos Beltran. If both were healthy they would both be up for consideration, 20/20 seasons just aren’t that easy to find. Still, with the breakdown of players in your lineup per position (LF, CF, RF), I can’t suggest keeping both since they both play CF. With Morneau as the UT there is only room for one of the CF’s on your club. Sizemore does strike out a ton, but given that he is younger he is the choice here.
3 – Matt Holliday
Hitting .636 as a Cardinal and .380 since July first, Holliday has his overall numbers up to .297-11-57-54-13 this season. What that means is that despite an abysmal start that he has a shot of a 20/20 season with a .300 batting average. Also, if he signs long-term with the Cards, hitting next to Pujols for the next five or whatever years, they have a word for that and it’s Yahtzee! Holliday may not be a 35-140 guy, but I could easily see a .300-30-100-100-15 season next year in St. Louis, can’t you? Not may left fielders in baseball can rival that.
2 – David Wright
A completely up and down season. Some will see the paltry six home runs, I see the 21 steals. Some will see the .218 July average, I see the .318 overall mark. The bottom line is that the home run dip is an anomaly, no way that a guy who owns a HR/F rate of 14 percent in his career can reasonably be expected to continue along his current 6.1 percent rate.
1 – Hanley Ramirez
The second most consistent player in the game? He won’t score 115 runs for the fourth straight season, and he won’t steal 30 bases for a fourth straight year either, but when you are hitting .348, are on pace for a 20/20 effort and play shortstop, your still a flat out stud.
David Price and Aaron Harang are killing me. Jonathan Sanchez is available. So are Joe Blanton and John Lannan. Drop either/both, and if so, who should I pick up?
– Jim
David Price: 3-4 with a 5.60 ERA and a 1.72 WHIP, Price has been a disaster. He does have a 9.17 K/9 mark, but with a 5.60 BB/9 mark he just hasn’t been able to have success or go deep into games.
Aaron Harang: Over his last six starts Harang is 0-4 with a 5.88 ERA. Moreover, he has lost his last seven decisions to drop his overall mark to 5-11. His 7.80 K/9 mark is strong, as is his 3.67 K/BB mark, but too many homers (1.35 per nine) and an inability to get hitters out (.298 BAA) have been hugely detrimental to his overall performance.
Jonathan Sanchez: Tossed a no-hitter and was added in ever league he was available. However, he hasn’t been remotely solid since with a 6.55 ERA and three homers allowed in his last two starts. Overall he continues to be plagued by an inordinate amount of walks (5.12 per nine) which negates his strikeouts (9.23 K/9) and leads to poor overall performance (4.92 ERA, 1.47 WHIP).
Joe Blanton: Though he is 7-4 with a 4.11 ERA on the year, Blanton has won his last three decisions and has allowed just four runs in those four outings (1.21 ERA). Overall, his K/9 rate is way up at 7.76, leading to a strong 3.00 K/BB mark.
John Lannan: 5-2 in his last seven decisions, only once in his last 11 starts has Lannan allowed more than three earned runs. That’s an amazingly consistent run of production is it not? The guy doesn’t strike anyone out (3.65 K/9), and therefore his K/BB is awful (1.34), but that sinker of his just keeps on diving leading to a 1.70 G/F rate which has led to all his success.
If you aren’t in a keeper league, Price just doesn’t hold much value right now. As for Harang, too many loses in a row have thrown his value into a tailspin, and Blanton owns the same skill set right now while being on a hot streak. I would drop both pitchers and replace them with Blanton and Lannan, and honestly, I can’t believe I just typed that sentence.
By Ray Flowers
Today I’ll delve into the mystery of where the human race came from. Alright, I’m just blowing smoke as I have no desire to put half of my readers to sleep in the first paragraph (according to a recent survey, they usually don’t start snoring until the third paragraph). Instead, I’ll just touch on a few of the interesting stories that caught my fancy in the last 24 hours in the world of baseball. Hey, we don’t all have to be astrophysicists.
Coco Crisp is likely done for the year as his troublesome shoulder injury will require surgery. Apparently his labrum is torn. You have to respect a guy for trying to play through injury, but sometimes you just have to do what’s best for the team, and that isn’t continuing to go out there if you are hitting .228. Who will take over in center? Apparently the answer to that trivia question is Mitch Maier. The Royals first round draft pick in 2003, shouldn’t Maier have a better line than .253/.312/.313 in his career with that pedigree? Always amazes me when guys have a higher OBP than SLG, and Maier is awfully close in his 198 career at-bats.
Josh Hamilton, I got a lot of respect for that man. Not only has he beaten back his addictions, he continues to be a great role model for those people out there that need someone to turn to when the going gets tough. I also have to say, that since turning his life around, has he done anything wrong? Continuing to do the right thing, he said on Tuesday that he would likely turn down an invitation to the All-Star game even if he was voted into the mid-summer’s classic by the fans (he is currently third in the outfield in fan voting). “The best thing would be to decline going and let somebody else take that spot. Obviously if I stayed up there in the voting, I appreciate the fans doing what they’ve done.” Now it is debatable if Hamilton will be able to play by the time of the game or not as he is still working his way back from a torn abdominal muscle, but I’d like to think that he is letting everyone know his intentions so that the fans will end up choosing someone more deserving of being named to the team. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
Do you ever wonder to yourself just how pathetic some people’s lives are? I mean really, who sets up those spamming programs to fill your email box up with this crap? I especially like the ones that come from “your own address” with a title like “sexy ladies in your town want you.” What, did I somehow forget that I sent myself a note about sexy women who want to get down when I was at that brothel last weekend? Come up with a better scam than that people.
Did you catch the continuing antics of Manny Ramirez last night? Manny told the media he would not be doing any interviews until his return to the Dodgers on July 3rd. “I ain’t talking today, baby,” he declared. “Write what you want.” That lasted all of what, an hour? After warming up for the game Manny sat down with the press and talked, well, sort of. “I’m not talking about [performance enhancing drugs] anymore,” he said. “I already said what I’m going to say. I’m here to do my rehab…” Uh Manny, no one wants to talk to you for any reason other than to get your take on your suspension, so if you aren’t going to discuss it just do us all a favor and keep your mouth shut. The man is Picasso with a bat in his hands but an utter buffoon everywhere else.
Another nail in the coffin of Sammy Sosa perhaps? On Tuesday all-time Cub great Ryne Sandberg told ESPN radio that Sosa does not belong in the Hall of Fame. “Part of being in the Hall of Fame, they use the word integrity in describing a Hall of Famer, in the logo of the Hall of Fame, and I think there are going to be quite a few players that are not going to get in.” I’m getting a bit sick of all of this. I won’t launch into a diatribe at this time, but before we all get on that high horse to judge people, why don’t we look back into the past and consider some of the men already in the Hall of Fame. It doesn’t take any digging at all to find spousal abusers, alcoholics, drug users, racists, bigots – you name the vice and there are probably a handful of men already enshrined in the Hall that gave into it. It’s so nice to know that in the 21st century we have evolved so completely that we are now in position to be morally superior and pass judgment on everyone else.
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.
