Fantasy Baseball – FAAB Report, Wk.11

Another week, another seven days of frustration. Injuries continue to pound my teams, and a lack of movement in the trade market is starting to get to me now (experts are very hard to deal with. I must have send out 25 trade offers the past week – only one was accepted though there might be an AL LABR deal in the works for next week).

FOR MORE ON COLE, CINGRANI & MYERS SEE- Rounding the Bases: Cole, Cingrani & Myers.

FOR MY THOUGHTS ON PUIG LISTEN HERE.

TOUT WARS (15 team mixed): Yes, my team has woefully underperformed, but I keep fighting the good fight. This weeks moves… I dropped Eric Young who continues to get playing time but just isn’t performing. I tried to get Mr. Blanks but was greatly outspent (my bid was $7). So, I ended up with two start Jacob Turner ($2) to bolster my staff. I also added Eric Stults to help out the staff for $5 as I released Joe Smith. Stults has posted a 3.53 ERA and 1.15 WHIP on the year, and if you haven’t noticed he’s been on a hell of a run the last three weeks – 2.54 ERA, 0.85 WHIP and 21 Ks versus two walks over 28.1 innings.
Notable bids: Kyle Blanks ($21), Gerrit Cole ($9), Hector Santiago ($5), Travis Hafner ($3).

LABR (12 team, AL-only): Didn’t make a single move this week. I keep trying to trade Jacoby Ellsbury for an elite arm, or Nate McLouth for an established one, but I’m having a hard time finding a taker. I’m in third place overall after a second place finish last year, so I’m hungry, but finding that right fit, with the experts, is always tough (hopefully Michael Pineda, who is on my reserve list, will come through). I lead the league with 91 steals, and according to Larry Schechter I’m on pace to set an all-time record for steals (no one else is within 39 steals). Gotta make a move.
Notable bids: Dallas Keuchel ($3), Pedro Ciriaco ($3), Ryan Flaherty ($3), Jose Alvarez ($3)

FSTA (13 team mixed): Fricken Hanley Ramirez just can’t get over the hump, and it’s killing me. I went $221 for Yasiel Puig, an aggressive bid for me, but I was more than doubled there. I was outbid on Kyle Blanks ($37). I ended up with Daniel Descalso ($11) who qualifies at second, short and third base. He’s hitting .413 with 14 RBIs and 12 runs scored the past 19 games. Jared Burton was cast adrift. I also added Dylan Axelrod ($7) at the cost of Edinson Volquez. Dylan has two starts against the Blue Jays and Astros.
Notable bids: Yasiel Puig ($521), Anthony Rendon ($103), Kyle Blanks ($85), Kyle Lohse ($21), Chad Gaudin ($17).

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

SIRIUSXM EXPERTS (12 team mixed): Ubaldo Jimenez ($1) is in, Edinson Volquez is out. Why do I want to punch myself in the face? J.J. Putz, the still injured one, disappears for David Robertson an elite setup arm who could dominate as a closer if anything happened to 430 year old Mariano Rivera. The big move of the week was my $4 add of… Eric Hosmer (Will Venable went bye-bye). Hosmer is hitting .367 in June, but he has only one bomb on the year. Still, he’s got the talent to go on a nice, extended run. I hope.
Notable bids: Yasiel Puig ($52), Luke Gregerson ($5), Scott Van Slyke ($4), Mike Leake ($3), Bartolo Colon ($3).

SIRIUSXM LISTENER LG (11 team mixed): This is the only league with an open waiver-wire. With too many injured players, and no end in sight, I dropped Brandon Morrow for Yan Gomes since my catcher duo isn’t exactly strong (Wellington Castillo is my second). Trying to work the waiver-wire to boost the offense.

K-BAD (12 team mixed): Big news… a trade. I need help on the hill and I had Domonic Brown, you know that pretty solid slugger of the Phillies, to offer up. After sifting through a few blah deals, I settled on one that I think is a big boost (note: dealing in experts leagues is awfully tough. Most think Brown can’t keep this up, and most continue to have faith in pitchers that they drafted early in the year even if they’ve been struggling in a big way to this point of the season). I was able to add Matt Cain in the deal. Looking at his pitching line, and I keep pointing this out when folks ask, the only real difference this season has been his HR/9 mark, and one would think that number should continue to shrink. I made two other moves. I dropped Kevin Gausman for Stults ($17), and I let go Dan Haren – who was replaced by Cain – so I could add Will Middlebrooks. Kevin Youkilis and Hanley Ramirez continue to be in and out of the lineup, so I needed to bolster my CI spot.
Notable bids: Gerrit Cole ($224), Rick Porcello ($75), Tyler Colvin ($50), Kyle Blanks ($44), Carlos Quentin ($37), Mike Leake ($22).

FANBALL (13 team mixed): Second place last year, 12 out of 13 this year. Ugh. Big winner this week was Yunel Escobar ($3) as I lost Asdrubal Cabrera to the DL. Eric Stults ($2) makes another appearance at the cost of J.J. Putz.
Notable bids: Nolan Arenado ($6), Rick Porcello ($4), Kyle Blanks ($3), Erasmo Ramirez ($1)

By Ray Flowers

Fantasy Beat – 2 Start Pitchers

This week on “The Fantasy Beat” Justin ‘Fensty’ Fensterman and Trevor Ray talk about two-start pitchers for next week and how to add two-start pitching to your overall fantasy baseball strategy of stream-lining pitchers throughout the season.

Kevin Guasman, Kevin Slowey, Jose Fernandez, Ervin Santana, James Shields, Mike Leake, Dan Straily

LISTEN TO THE AUDIO.

Fantasy Baseball – FAAB Report, Wk.4

Oh those injuries. They can be a killer in fantasy baseball. Unfortunately, they are a fact of life. Injuries will happen. You have to able to adapt and work around that. Truthfully, these 2-3 week fill-in’s you add to your club will go a long way to determining whether or not you are in contention in September. Choose wisely young padawan.

TOUT WARS (15 team mixed): Just so you know that you aren’t the only one dealing with injuries, here are the players on my club that are currently on the disabled list: Zack Greinke, Joel Hanrahan, Cameron Maybin, Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez. And there are only 27 players rostered in this league, so that’s a pretty good chunk of them. So this week I had to make a couple of moves. I added Eric Sogard ($1) to take over for Ruben Tejada since I cannot afford to have a guy who is day-to-day given all my other injuries. I also added Jeremy Guthrie on the hill. I’m not expecting him to remain the hurler has been so far, but I will also note that since he joined the Royals last season, he’s been more effective than he should be (7-3, 3/32 ERA, 1.15 WHIP in 116.2 IP). I also added two start hurler Mike Leake (at home versus the Cubs and on the road versus the Nationals).

Notable bids: Edward Mujica ($19), Wade Davis ($7), Travis Snider ($6) and Jorge De La Rosa ($5).

LABR (12 team, AL-only): Here we go again. With the injuries I mean. Sergio Santos, Jeff Niemann and Michael Pineda are on the DL. I was able to make a move this week to add an arm to cover for Santos. I was the lucky, or unlucky depending how you look at it, winner of Aaron Harang for ($7). I know, I know, but sometimes you have to go for it in leagues that are this deep. With Joe Blanton and Ubaldo Jimenez really struggling, I had to take a shot on another starting arm.

Notable bids: Luis Jimenez ($13), Corey Kluber ($5), Brandon Laird ($4), Oswaldo Arcia ($4) and Allen Webster ($3 though he has since been demoted)

FSTA (13 team mixed): Back up the injury train cause Ray is ready to be the conductor! The following players are on the DL: Hanley Ramirez, Joel Hanrahan, Shaun Marcum, Sean Marshall and Sergio Santos (Kevin Youkilis and Asdrubal Cabrera are both injured too). I added Eric Sogard, noticing a theme here?, for $19. I really would have rather had Eric Young Jr. but I needed the help up the middle more than in the outfield (my bid on EYJ was $18, the same as the winning bid). I also came up short on Mujica (my bid was $77) so I ended up with David Hernandez ($17), and elite setup man who would likely excel if something were to happen to J.J. Putz. By the way, I’m the Putz owner in this league, so I gave myself a bit of a shelter. As I always say, be proactive with middle relievers. This week Hernandez costs less than $20. If Putz were to blow his arm out, he’d likely go for $200 or more next week.

Notable bids: Edward Mujica ($267), Tony Cingrani ($185), Didi Gregorius ($121), Anthony Rendon ($71), Garrett Richards ($56) and Andrew Cashner ($44).

SIRIUSXM EXPERTS (12 team mixed): Hanley Ramirez was going to be my ace at shortstop this season. For now, that plan is on hold. Luckily I have Martin Prado to fill in (he’s shortstop eligible in this league… even though he didn’t play 20 games there last season). With Andrelton Simmons struggling, I felt like I needed to do something up the middle. Luckily, Neil Walker was released, a huge mistake if you ask me. I likely overspent to get him, $37 of my $100, but I think he’s a top-10 second base option and with my weakness up the middle, I went for it.

Notable bids: Andrew Bailey ($24), Edward Mujica ($16), Carlos Marmol ($7), John Buck ($5) and Ross Detwiler ($5).

SIRIUSXM LISTENER LG (11 team mixed): This is the only league with an open waiver-wire, and I need it with the following fellas on the DL: Michael Saunders, Ryan Zimmerman, Jose Reyes and Joel Hanrahan. Oh, I also had Cameron Maybin hit the DL this past week, and with all the injuries I have, and the chance that his wrist issue keeps him out longer than 15 days, I felt like I had to make a move so I moved on from Maybin for Will Venable (I would like to hold Maybin in an ideal world, but I just have too many injuries right now to do that). I was also quick to the waiver-wire last Monday as I added Edward Mujica to bolster my bullpen.

K-BAD (12 team mixed): Chris Getz is hitting under .250 and hadn’t stolen a base. Time to drop him (he was added cause Hanley Ramirez was DL’d then his MI replacement, Gordon Beckham, was also placed on the DL). I added Eric Sogard for $12 (out of $1,000. I bid $14 on Crawford, but as you can see another was more sold on the hot start than I was. I still think this hot start is just a hot start. Don’t love the skills). I wasn’t able to get Mujica (my bid was $77), but I rostered Joaquin Benoit instead ($42). Didn’t have room for Drew Smyly, but I really wish I did since it wouldn’t surprise me at all to see him inserted into that Tigers’ rotation soon since Rick Porcello continues to stink.

Notable bids: Anthony Rendon ($188), Tony Cingrani ($160), Edward Mujica ($133), Peter Bourjos ($100), Brandon Crawford ($50).

FANBALL (13 team mixed): In this $100 FAAB league, I failed to get Andrew Bailey ($17), but I was able to emerge with Edward Mujica ($16). Might turn out for the best cause I’m not certain Bailey is going to keep the closing job once Joel Hanrahan is healthy. I wasn’t getting much out of Kelly Johnson up the middle so I took the plunge on rookie/potential phenom Anthony Rendon ($4). Rendon doesn’t have much power to speak of, but he’s got an excellent approach and cap rap liners out with the best of them. It remains to be seen how long he will be in the daily lineup. He’s got two weeks, with Ryan Zimmerman on the DL, to prove he belongs.

Notable bids: Andrew Bailey ($25), Brandon Crawford ($9), Chris Johnson ($9), Lucas Duda ($5).

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

By Ray Flowers

Daily Joust: The Weekend Ahead

It’s Friday, and that means a couple of things. One, it’s about time to cut loose and have some fun. Two, I’ll be giving some plays for Friday and Saturday that would seem to be in prime position to succeed.

HITTERS – FRIDAY

John Buck vs. Cliff Lee: Buck has been awful this year but in his last six games he has three homers and seven RBI. He’s also got a matchup that he has had success in given that he has hit .317 with three homers an a 1.001 OPS over 41 at-bats against the one time ace lefty.

Ryan Roberts vs. Randy Wolf: Roberts isn’t exactly tearing it up, but with Josh Bell demoted he has a shot to reclaim a daily role with the club. He hit a homer in his last game and Friday he faces Wold who he has produced seven hits in 15 at-bats against (.467 with one homer). By the way, don’t start Wolf Friday. He’s allowed a .329/.391/.574 slash line to the current D’backs roster in 155 at-bats.

B.J. Upton vs. Justin Verlander: You know the term ‘playing with fire?’ Here we go with that. Upton has been in a terrible slump that has led to one hit in six games, and he faces arguably the best pitcher in baseball. Still, the numbers suggest it’s not as bad as it seems as Upton has eight hits, including a homer, in 18 at-bats against Verlander leading to a .444 average and five RBIs (Hideki Matsui has also had some success hitting .333 in 24 at-bats).

PITCHERS – FRIDAY

Ross Detwiler vs. Braves: He hasn’t had much success against the Braves in his career with a 3.80 ERA and 1.61 WHIP over 23.2 innings, but his numbers this season against everyone look impressive (3.09 ERA, 1.21 WHIP). Plus, he’s been locked in for the month of June with a 1.10 ERA and 0.98 WHIP over 16.1 innings.

Brian Duensing vs. Royals: This is one of those shot in the dark calls based totally on history and pretty much nothing else. Brian D. has made only one start this year so he isn’t likely to go deep into this game, and his last outing was unsuccessful (4 ER in 2 IP). Still, history says he makes for a nice play against the Royals: 6-2, 2.98 ERA over 57.1 innings.

Mike Leake vs. Giants: Leake has killed it in June with a 2.97 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 4.50 K/BB ratio (though he’s only gone 1-0, great job Reds). The negative? He faces Matt Cain.

HITTERS – SATURDAY

Wilson Betemit vs. Josh Tomlin: Three things make this move make sense. (1) Betemit is 7-for-17 with two homers and four RBI against Tomlin. (2) Betemit has been hot in June hitting .383 with a 1.008 OPS in 60 at-bats. (3) Tomlin has been awful in June with a 6.75 ERA, 1.80 WHIP and 10 Ks in 26.2 innings.

Joe Mauer vs. Luke Hochevar: Just seeing this matchup should interest you, even if you had no idea about their history versus one another. Given that Mauer is hitting .450 with a .577 OBP against Hochevar in 26 plate appearances, it’s lock and load time with the star hitting catcher.

Placido Polanco vs. Mark Buehrle: Normally Polanco would be the last guy to pay any attention at all too since all he does is produce singles. Still, you simply cannot overlook his massive career efforts against the Miami lefty. In 41 career at-bats Polanco has, get this, 18 hits leading to a .439 batting average against Buehrle.

PITCHERS – SATURDAY

Michael Fiers vs. D’backs: He’s looked pretty darn good this season for the Brew Crew with 31 Ks and just five walks over 33.1 innings. That will play in any league. He’s also working on a 2.70 ERA and 1.11 WHIP, not to mention that he has allowed just one run over his last 15.1 innings.

Mat Latos vs. Giants: He gets the weak link of the Giants staff in Barry Zito, and he’s also dominated the club from San Fran in 10 career starts with a 2.35 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 4.00 K/BB ratio.

Rick Porcello vs. Tampa Bay: His season has been an uneven one, what else is new, but he’s looked pretty locked in over his last two starts permitting three runs over 13 innings. He’s also going to be facing a club that he ha had success against in three career starts. Over 20 innings Rick P. has 17 Ks and has issued only five free passes leading to a 3.15 ERA and 1.05 WHIP.

CONTESTS

DailyJoust allows you the chance to play daily fantasy baseball, choose a team today an another one tomorrow if you want, all the while giving you the chance to make some real money. To sign up for any game with DailyJoust simply click on the link just provided. DJ has redesigned things to help you navigate the games, and let me tell you, consider me impressed. It looks pretty darn sharp – don’t you think?

By Ray Flowers 

SWIP: 2012 – Starters

Following the simple methodology of WHIP (walks + hits divided by innings pitched), I invented a new measure of a pitchers dominance called SWIP (it must be the mad scientist in me), in order to better understand which pitchers may possess the skills necessary to have success on a big league hill. Never heard of SWIP you say? Well I’m about to change that.

PART I – WHAT IS SWIP?

S- Strikeouts (abbreviated as K)
W- Walks (abbreviated as BB)
IP- Innings Pitched

Numerically speaking, the formula for SWIP works along the same lines as WHIP. SWIP is determined by the following equation:

Strikeouts minus Walks divided by Innings Pitched equals SWIP.

SWIP = (K – BB) / IP

Another way to look at this is to say that for each positive result, the recording of an out in the form of a strikeout, the pitcher receives a (+1). For each negative encounter, in the form of a walk, he receives a (-1). Simple enough right? Here is an example of how you can figure out SWIP so you can see what I’m talking about (and yes, it really is as simple as it sounds).

EXAMPLE

Mike Leake had 118 Ks and 38 BBs in 167.2 IP in 2011.
(118-38) / 167.2
80 / 167.2
0.48 SWIP

Leake’s SWIP for the 2011 season was therefore 0.48.

Though SWIP is recorded in the same manner as WHIP, the way to read the results is slightly different. Whereas the lower the WHIP the better one has performed, SWIP works in the opposite direction: the higher the SWIP the better (it should also be pointed out that there are some limitations to SWIP).

Here is a rough estimate of what the results mean to help you to put things in perspective, a key if you will.

.90 and Up: Excellent season. Hall of Fame level.
.70 to .89:  An all-star performance. Worthy of Cy Young consideration.
.50 to .69:  Borderline all-star to decent starting pitcher. A guy you’d like to have on your staff.
.35 to .50:  A guy who should be nothing more than the 3rd or 4th starter with his club.
.20 to .34:  His major league days are likely numbered.
Below .20: Minor leaguer in training.

Let’s take a look at how all major league hurlers performed in 2011.

34,448 Strikeouts
15,018 Walks
43,527.1 IP

So in order to find out the major league average for SWIP during the 2011 season we simply plug the numbers into our simple equation.

SWIP = (K – BB) / IP
(34448-15018) / 43527.1
19470 / 43527.1
0.4473
SWIP = 0.45

Last year’s 0.45 mark is a major league best in the 21st century as the rate keeps inching upward.

2011: 0.45 SWIP
2010: 0.43 SWIP
2009: 0.39 SWIP
2008: 0.38 SWIP
2007: 0.37 SWIP
2006: 0.37 SWIP
2005: 0.36 SWIP
2004: 0.36 SWIP
2003: 0.34 SWIP
2002: 0.35 SWIP
2001: 0.38 SWIP
2000: 0.30 SWIP

Here are some notes on the pitchers who tossed at least 160-innings last year.

Here are the leaders for the 2011 season (minimum 162 innings)

0.91 – Zack Greinke
An elite K-arm last season, Greinke led all starting pitchers with a 10.54 K/9 mark, and he walked about a batter fewer, per nine innings, than the average big league arm (2.36 BB/9).

0.84 – Cliff Lee
When you strikeout more than a batter per inning (9.12 per nine), and walk only 1.62 per nine, you are an elite performer.

0.83 – Clayton Kershaw
Massive Ks are his calling card, and last season he walked a mere 2.08 batters per nine.

0.79 – Roy Halladay
Concerns about his velocity in spring notwithstanding, the guy just doesn’t beat himself (1.35 walks per nine).

0.75 – Justin Verlander
Huge arm, huge K totals and a better than expected walk rate (2.04 per nine).

0.71 – Yovani Gallardo, CC Sabathia, Madison Bumgarner
A young K artist, the most consistent lefty in the game, and a young lefty from the NL West.

Some names that stood out, for good or bad.

0.62 – Tim Lincecum
A four year low in K/9 coupled with a four year high in BB/9 has his SWIP headed in the wrong direction.

0.56 – Ted Lilly
Always overlooked on draft day. Lilly simply goes out, doesn’t beat himself, and always seems to strike out more batter than people realize.

0.52 – Gio Gonzalez, Matt Cain
Two young arms who ply their trade in the Bay Area. Gio G is the higher upside K artist, but Cain’s ability to walk fewer batters has them tied in this measure.

0.43 – Edwin Jackson
What a shock. Edwin Jackson being average at something (recall that the big league average was 0.45 in 2011).

0.25 – Ivan Nova
I wrote about Nova in this Player Profile. SWIP speaks to the concern I expressed there.

0.24 – Jeremy Hellickson
I wrote about Hellickson in this Player Profile. SWIP speaks to the concern I expressed there.

Tomorrow I’ll discuss those pitchers who didn’t throw than 160 innings in 2011, and I’ll also have the entire list of hurlers who threw at least 40 innings ranked by their SWIP marks.

To sign up for your baseball league this year make sure you check out Fleaflicker.

By Ray Flowers

Around the Horn: August 11, 2011

(1) Alex Rodriguez to start minor league work Friday – return next week likely.

(2) Dee Gordon to DL – in comes Jamey Carrol.

(3) Rafael Furcal not exactly tearing it up.

(4) Waiver-wire adds, pitchers: R.A. Dickey, Mike Leake, John Lannan.

(5) Waiver-wire adds, hitters: Will Venable, Jose Constanza, Mike Carp, Juan Rivera, Rick Ankiel.

(6) Dan Uggla up to 31 games with hitting streak.

By Ray Flowers

Around the Horn: August 10, 2010

(1) Ryan Braun’s wrist an issue.

(2) The Mike Gonzalez situation explained.

(3) Jose Guillen on NL West contenders minds.

(4) Brandon Morrow to have next start moved back until Tuesday as I predicted would happen on Monday in Morrow Makes History – Sort Of.

(5) Mike Leake could lose starting spot to Homer Bailey.

(6) Rich Harden to have start pushed back at least until Sunday.

(7) Gil Meche hopes to return to bullpen this season.

(8) Nyjer Morgan’s hip is an issue.

By Ray Flowers

Around the Diamond

I went to the dentist today. (1) Who would ever want to spend their day with their fingers in someone’s mouth? (2) I hate the dentist – though who doesn’t? (3) At least if they are gonna make me go and inflict copious amounts of pain on me they could have some eye candy for me to look at, right? Only seems fair to me.

With each passing outing I grow more and more fond of this Mike Leake kid. He skipped the minors completely after being the 8th overall selection in the 2009 Entry Draft, and that looked like a major faux pas when he walked 12 batters in his first two big league starts. Well, consider those worries completely alleviated. Leake has gone at least six innings in each of his 10 starts, and nine times the outings have been of the “quality” variety as he has lowered his ERA to 2.45 on the year. Oh yeah, and the walks, they are no longer a problem as he has walked all of 13 batters in his last eight appearances.

The Braves are 16-4 since May 10th as they have made up 7.5 games in the standings. You didn’t make the mistake of thinking they wouldn’t be in the mix this year, did you?

The Brewers went 9-0 against the Marlins in 1998. Since then they are 30-48 in the matchup.

Speaking of the Brewers, Corey Hart is blazing hot right now with 10 homers and 21 RBI over his last 16 games. Hart also has a fantastic .800 SLG in that time as he is averaging one blast every 6.50 at-bats, though there are also some rather odd numbers to be found such as his .299 OBP and the fact that he’s only scored two runs when he didn’t knock himself in with a dinger.

I know it sounds crazy, but Aaron Heilman is the best reliever the D’backs have going right now. It’s not inconceivable that he could get a few chances in the ninth inning thanks to his 3.38 ERA and 1.17 WHIP, numbers that blow doors on Chad Qualls (7.64 and 2.09) and Juan Gutierrez (10.00 and 1.72).

How disappointing was that Giants/Rockies game on Monday? Ubaldo Jimenez was once again spectacular with a complete game four hit shutout, but Tim Lincecum failed to step up as he allowed five walks and four runs (three earned) before being pulled after 121 pitches and just 5.2 innings. The Giants desperately need Lincecum to figure out what ails him – possibly issues range from blisters to a mechanical glitch – or they’ll have no chance to compete in the NL West. As for Jimenez, he tossed 130 pitches on Monday and is third in baseball in pitches thrown (1,218) behind Justin Verlander (1,243) and Roy Halladay (1,220). Verlander has three 120-pitch outings, Halladay two and Jimenez four by the way. All bear close watching as they are throwing an awful lot of pitches right now. One last note on Jimenez. If he were to allow 19 runs in his next start and not record a single out he was still have an ERA below 2.95. That’s truly amazing.

Alex Rodriguez hit his 20th grand slam on Monday to move into third place all-time in salami’s behind the Iron Horse, Lou Gehrig (23), and the Iron Head, Manny Ramirez (21). A-Rod hit .250 with two homers in April, but he was the same old A-Rod in May hitting five bombs while knocking in 27 runners in 27 games played. He also hit a fine .330 on the month.

I just started watching the series 24 for the first time on DVD. Don’t know how people waited an entire week to watch the next episode. And yes, I find Nina attractive.

Grady Sizemore was transferred from the 15 day DL to the 60 day DL meaning that in a best case scenario he would return a couple of weeks after the All-Star game. He might still need more extensive surgery than what is currently planned, the doctors won’t know until they get in there, so there is a chance that he might end up missing the rest of the season.

Overall batters are hitting.215 this season against Justin Verlander. However, they seem to be able get to him before he settles in as evidenced by his .370 batting average against in the first inning. After that, they have no shot.

By Ray Flowers

Around the Horn: May20, 2010

(1) Jacoby Ellsbury, Mike Cameron appear on track to return by next week.

(2) Giants to call up Eric Hacker instead of Madison Bumgarner?

(3) Ian Snell into Mariners rotation in place of RRS.

(4) Tommy Hanson allows eight runs – ERA goes from 2.88 to 4.18.

(5) Mike Leake hurls 7th quality start in eight outings.

(6) Jorge Posada to DL. Will be replaced by Francisco Cervelli.

(7) Mike Gonzalez faces batters.

(8) Kerry Wood’s epic struggles.

By Ray Flowers