(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
Less than a week away from Christmas, plenty of teams are more than willing to open their gifts early. In what follows I’ll touch on a few of the players who have recently decided where they should send their holiday greetings from.
Rick Ankiel: The Nationals took a chance on Monday and signed Rick Ankiel to a 1-year deal worth $1.5 million (there are performance bonuses built in to the deal – reportedly up to $1.25 million). Ankiel will likely battle with Roger Bernadina for playing time in left field, though if Nyjer Morgan doesn’t turn his life around and perform better on the field, the defensively gifted Ankiel could also see time in center field. Ankiel hit .264 with 25 homers in 2008, but over the past two years he has batted a meager .232 with 17 homers. There are plenty of holes in his swing leading to a bushel of strikeouts (once every 3.69 at-bats), but the power is legit. Ankiel has hit a homer every 22.8 at-bats in his career which would equate to 18 homers over the course of 400 at-bats. He’s worth keeping a close eye on in NL-only leagues.
Zack Greinke: I always do what I can to mooch off Ted Carlson, he’s a smart guy and a wonderful writer, so I’m gonna point everyone to his full review of the Greinke to Brewers move in From Blue to Brew. My thoughts? Good for the Brewers. They can now team Greinke with Yovani Gallardo and Shaun Marcum for a fantastic top-3 that rivals the best in the NL. I know I’m gonna hear it from Phillies and Giants fans, so let’s do a side by side comparison of each teams top-3 hurlers based on their 2010 numbers.
Brewers: Zack Greinke, Yovani Gallardo, Shaun Marcum
Phillies: Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt (sorry Cole Hamels)
Giants: Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez
Brewers: 37-29, 3.90 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 8.19 K/9 in 600.1 IP
Phillies: 46-32, 3.04 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 7.96 K/9 in 674.2 IP
Giants: 42-30, 3.22 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 8.77 K/9 in 629 IP
OK, maybe the Brewers threesome didn’t quite matchup, but admit it, it’s a lot closer than you though it would be other than that unsightly ERA, isn’t it?
Austin Kearns: Signed a 1-year deal with the Indians. I joked earlier at the BaseballGuys’ Twitter account that Kearns seems to always fool someone into given him 300 at-bats. Looks like it will be the Indians chance this season. I’m not going to deny that Kearns has some talent, but com on now. He is always hurt and frequently doesn’t contribute much of anything above a replacement level type bat, a fact that can clearly be seen when you place his career slash line (.257/.353/.423) against that of the league during his career (.268/.339/.429).
Ricky Nolasco: The Marlins and Nolasco finally agreed on a deal that will buy out his final two years of arbitration and his first year of free agency. His haul comes to $26.5 million over three years. While that seems like a whole lot of cashola for a guy who has posted ERA’s of 5.06 and 4.51 the past two years, I think it’s a great signing for the Marlins. Some facts that cover the last three years (minimum 480 innings pitched).
(1) Nolasco has allowed 10.99 base runners per nine innings, the 16th best mark in baseball and ahead of guys like Matt Cain (11.07), Jon Danks (11.36), Justin Verlander (11.51) and Clayton Kershaw (11.57).
(2) Nolasco has the seventh best K/9 rate in the game at 8.56, better than Dan Haren (8.53), Josh Johnson (8.51), Zack Greinke (8.37) and Ubaldo Jimenez (8.23).
(3) Nolasco is fourth in baseball with a 4.44 K/BB mark. The major league average the past three years is just 2.07.
So how in the world does he have a 4.31 ERA the past three years? Great question, especially when his FIP mark has been 3.77, 3.35 and 3.86 the past three seasons signifying that he is indeed performing at a very high level. Bad luck maybe?
I’ll tell you this. If you asked me where would I draft a guy with a K/9 rate over 8.50 and a K/BB rate of nearly 4.50, I would tell you top-20 amongst starters for sure. In fact, I’d probably be able to make an argument for at least including that arm in my top-15, and that’s exactly why I think the Marlins did so well here – there just aren’t that many pitchers in baseball of baseball who can post a K/9 mark of 8.50 and a K/BB rate of better than 4.40 to one. In fact, over the last three years there have only been two men who have accomplished that feat – Mr. Nolasco and Mr. Haren.
Chan Ho Park: The 37 year old righty is likely done as a big league pitcher after signing a deal with the Orix Buffaloes of Japan. Park, who once allowed two grand slams to Fernando Tatis in one inning (April 23, 1999), would retire from the big leagues with 124 victories and 1,715 strikeouts in just under 2,000 innings (1993). Hopefully he will be content pitching closer to his homeland of Korea.
By Ray Flowers
(1) David DeJesus out for the year with injured thumb.
(2) It’s true, Brian Roberts is back.
(3) Carl Crawford returns to the starting lineup.
(4) Justin Masterson could be shut down in September.
(5) Rangers could get Rich Harden and Derek Holland back soon.
(6) J.A. Happ to return to Phillies because of injury to Jamie Moyer.
(7) The Royals have recalled Alex Gordon. Should you care? Read Five Questions to find out (there is also more in that piece about Roberts return and what to do with Happ).
By Ray Flowers
(1) Angels deal for Alberto Callaspo, give up Sean O’Sullivan and William Smith. Rick Ankiel activated.
(2) Jamie Moyer has sprained UCL (grade 2), might need TJ Surgery.
(3) Roy Oswalt, Dan Haren, Brett Myers, Ted Lilly on the block.
(4) Edison Volquez lit up by Nationals.
(5) Josh Johnson, 13-straight starts two or fewer earned runs.
(6) Bobby Jenks removed from closers role.
(7) Brian Roberts could return as early as Friday.
(8) Jacoby Ellsbury takes BP.
By Ray Flowers
There’s no theme to my madness today. I’m just going with a stream of consciousness vibe here as I get ready to run around the block, lift some weights, and watch the Sharks hopefully move to a 3-0 lead over the Red Wings.
* Rick Ankiel was placed on the DL today, retroactive to May 3rd, with a strained right quadriceps muscle. He will be replaced on the active roster by Kila Ka’aihue. Of course, the Royals blew this one by giving Ankiel two pinch hitting at-bats on Saturday and Sunday after holding him out of the starting lineup since April 24th. This is yet another reason why the Royals fail to ever win (poor roster management). If you don’t know who KK is, he is a slugging first basemen who has an OPS over 1.000 this year in Triple-A. What position did the Royals just say they wanted Alex Gordon to learn? They also said they wanted Gordon to pick up an outfielder’s glove, so I won’t lambast them for that decision.
Since I’m on a role I might as well keep going with Royals talk. Mike Aviles has been called up from the minors and will start in place of Yuniesky Betancourt on Tuesday. Aviles hit .284 in some limited work at Triple-A this year, and the dude can flat out hit (he owns a .293 career mark in 540 at-bats with the Royals). Betancourt started out hot but he’s hit only .240 over his last 50 at-bats, and his defense has slipped in recent years as well. Aviles certainly could lock down the starting job at short if he starts out hot, so make sure he isn’t floating on waivers in your AL-only league.
* Kyle Blanks update: he still can’t hit. He has 18 strikeouts in his last 29 at-bats leading to an inconcionable K-rate of 44.4 percent on the year. He is so lost that it’s to the point that the team must send him to Triple-A since he is a walking disaster right now.
* Watching Tim Lincecum vs. the Marlins right now. He just struck out Cameron Maybin on a poor swing before getting Chris Coghlan to swing over a pitch by about 18 inches. He then gave up a hit to Hanley Ramirez before punching out Jorge Cantu for three Ks in the first inning. Dude is just amazing.
* Vin Mazzaro will replace Justin Duchscherer for one start. That is if you believe that Duke’s hip will respond quickly to the cortisone shot he just got. Don’t consider me to be one of those that believes that will happen. That means Mazzaro is a must add in AL-only leagues. He didn’t look great after a hot start last year, but a spot it the rotation is a spot in the rotation.
* Two pitchers going in opposite directions with health. Jair Jurrjens probably won’t make his start on Saturday because of a strained hamstring. He injured the hammy last Thursday and still isn’t ready to thrown in the pen (Kris Medlen could pick up the start). Carlos Silva, dealing with a wrist issue, didn’t need a cortisone shot in his wrist so he will make a start for the Cubs on Friday instead of needing another day of rest. I still want Jurrjens every time over Silva despite these health revelations – and I don’t even love Jurrjens which tells you all you need to know about my thoughts on Silva.
* Lincecum started the second inning punching out Dan Uggla on a 94 mph at the knees. He didn’t even get a swing off. Same thing just happened to John Baker.
For more of my thoughts on some things that shook out on Tuesday give Around the Horn a read where I discuss Jeff Clement, Austin Jackson, Chris Davis, Juan Pierre and the Phillies’ bullpen (Ryan Madson will miss at least eight weeks after having surgery to repair the toe he broke kicking a chair last week).
By Ray Flowers
Around the Horn we go, and I’ll break down the following topics in today’s video.
(1) Ben Sheets still wants $8 million. (2) Chase Utley to get more time off? (3) Rick Ankiel signs with Royals. (4) Jim Thome still looking for team. (5) Carlos Delgado’s hip an issue. (6) Johnny Damon still searching. (7) Miguel Tejada to play third base for Orioles.
By Ray Flowers
Continuing my basically week long rant against the world and “the man,” I wanted to voice some continued frustration at the plight of one of my baseball team’s, the one that I have rostered in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship (NFBC). For those of you who haven’t ever played, it’s a nationwide event with a grand prize of $100,000. Leagues are 15 teams, 5 x 5 scoring, with 30 spots on each roster, and we use a FAAB bidding process with no trading allowed. Because of the depth of the rosters, help off of waivers is often tough to find, so sometimes you have to just sit a struggling player on your bench and hope he comes around as there may not be any better options left to pick up off waivers. Here are a few specific gripes I have with my club which currently sits in 8th place (last year we finished one run, that’s right, one run, out of first place in my 15-team league, so I was obviously already frustrated with this league even before I drafted my team for 2009. By the way, I co-manage the team with Fanball big-wig Ryan Houston).
Dan Haren has been utterly spectacular at fourth in the NL in ERA (2.42), first in WHIP (0.86), third in innings pitched (78) and he has been the toughest starter in the league to hit with a .201 batting average against. Thanks to the suck-ass D’backs offense however, he is just 4-4 through 11 starts which is one of the main reasons our team is 14th in the league in wins. Another reason for this fact is that Joba Chamberlain has just three victories in 10 starts despite a 3.71 ERA for the Yankees. Toss in the work of Jered Weaver who has been spectacular (5-2, 2.26 ERA, 1.00 WHIP), and those three guys have pitched 207 innings, a full seasons worth, while producing a 2.70 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP, all the while producing only a 12-7 record. For a little historical perspective, do you know how many pitchers have posted an ERA below 2.75 with a WHIP below 1.05 only to win 12 or fewer games in a season of at least 162 innings since 2000? Try one by Ben Sheets in 2004 (he went 12-14 with a 2.70 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP.
On offense, we needed power late as we had a ton of batting average potential (guys like Albert Pujols, Ichiro, Michael Young and Placido Polanco) so we took a shot at three guys who we thought should produce something along the lines of about 90 home runs while hitting .250 in Jim Thome, Jason Giambi and Rick Ankiel. Giambi has gone deep the past two days, but the trio has so far underperformed that I almost threw a Nerf football at the television last night out of frustration. Combined, they have hit .231 with 19 home runs and 70 RBI in 419 at-bats. Great job guys.
To be fair, we’ve certainly had a few things work out.
Our first pick, Albert Pujols, has once again been magnificent with his .343-16-45-42-7 line.
Our ninth round selection, Joe Mauer, has been flipping awesome. We did this draft in late March, and at the time no one knew what to expect from Mauer – there were even whispers about surgery and potentially missing half the season. But we felt that we could no longer pass on him in the ninth round, and he has rewarded that faith with a month and a half that none of us have ever seen from a catcher as he is batting .436 with 12 home runs, 35 RBI and 32 runs through just 31 games.
And finally, our 30th and final round pick, Marco Scutaro, who we took for his versatility (2B, SS, 3B) which can be huge in a league as deep as this one, is hitting .298 with five home runs, five steals, and 43 runs scored in 55 games. Not a bad number 436 pick eh?
Baseball is a marathon, not a sprint, we all know that. So let’s hope our guys all have a strong finishing kick and we can hang close enough for it to matter once we hit the month of September.
By Ray Flowers
Today I’m going with some short hitting, somewhat irreverent comments about a handful of players around the diamond. So, giddy-up.
Ryan Braun got yet another MRI, this one on his sore back. There is nothing structurally wrong with his body according to the test, so the hope is that he will be able to work through the aches and pains. There is no truth to the rumor that Braun’s body functions like a giant magnet after all his early season tests.
Chris Carpenter played catch on Monday. Whoopie. You know you are an injured mess when that is news. I played catch with my buddies son over the weekend. I called the San Francisco Chronicle to tell them, but they told me they didn’t have any more space on the front page to make a note. In all seriousness, Carpenter should throw off the mound this weekend, or something like that, so he is still weeks away from a possible return.
Now we know where he gets his addictions. According to an Associated Press report, Joba Chamberlain’s mother has been arrested for selling methamphetamine to an undercover cop. Man the Yankees are a mess. The only shot Joba has to avoid this becoming a nation-wide story is if the book on A-Rod takes away the press. You gotta think that Joba, for one, is glad A-Rod is his teammate right now as the A-Rod story will likely be the lead story for ESPN for probably the next, oh I don’t know, 113 days?
Tom Glavine threw off the mound on Monday and said that his left shoulder felt fine. He will likely throw another session later in the week and then will likely need a couple of minor league outings before being considered for a spot in the Braves rotation. Out of the big-3 that the Braves used to boast (including John Smoltz), how is it that Greg Maddux is the only one not trying to continue his pitching career?
David Ortiz hit a couple of line drives last night off of Phil Hughes. He still hasn’t gone deep this year (99 at-bats), but he looked pretty locked last night. He may have just turned the corner. Speaking of Hughes, how is it that a guy that throws that hard, with some decent movement as well, just can’t seem to lock it in. Maybe it’s because he wears number 65. I know the Yankees have a lot of retired numbers that are unavailable, but Hughes, you aren’t on the ice wearing skates, so pick a baseball number.
Oliver Perez will remain with the Mets and work on his control issues in the bullpen. Why? When you walk 21 batters in 21.2 innings you don’t deserve to be paid for your work, let alone rewarded with first class meals, flights and hotels in “The Show”. Man, I wish I was left-handed.
Carlos Zambrano has indeed been placed on the DL with his hamstring injury. I’m only surprised he didn’t end up on the DL earlier in the year with some sort of oblique strain considering how hard he swings the lumber. Speaking of that, who is the best hitter amongst pitchers? The list may not be limited to Zambrano and Micah Owings, but they are certainly both near the top. Here are the career numbers for each.
Zambrano: .240-17-49-55 in 512 ABs. He also has 182 K and six walks.
M. Owings: .315-5-23-17 in 130 ABs. He also has 43 K and seven walks.
Man that Owings can hit can’t he? In fact, if we get a little crazy and extrapolate his level of production over 500-AB, we end up with a batting line that any fantasy leaguer in the world would take in their outfield: .315-19-88-65 with a .894 OPS. Could we see a Rick Ankiel conversion here from the hill to the field if Owings can’t find his grove on the mound? After all, he does owns one rather average pitching line in his 279.2 inning career with a 4.96 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 6.56 K/9 and a 2.00 K/BB mark. Speaking of Ankiel, that sure was scary last night when he face planted into that wall. Thank goodness he’s OK, though he might still end up on the DL just to make sure everything is alright.
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.
