Nyjer Morgan was back in the lineup to steal two bases in the first inning, then he left with a broken hand. Bunt, go feet first and get back in there! One of my ‘pert teams was pulling too far away in power, so last week I made a trade for steals and saves. Two categories I usually just play the waiver wire for, but in a 16 team league, it’s slim pickins. I traded Prince Fielder for Heath Bell and Nyjer Morgan. Stab me in my eye! Shove hot coals in my pants! Hot poker my heart! I still won’t miss Prince, but Nyjer’s broken hand… Well, I’d like to write on Nyjer’s cast, “Amputate,” as you should be doing with him on your teams. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Tim Hudson – He’ll be returning on Monday to face the Marlins. The good news, he gets a decent 2 start week next week. The bad news, he wasn’t exactly lights out in rehab. The moderate news, he’s worth a flier in 12 team leagues where you need an extra starter. Just don’t expect him to be anything more than 5 IP, 3 ER.
Ian Kinsler – 2 HRs. Post-All-Star Break, he’s batting .222 with 8 homers and 6 steals. It’s going to be hard to justify a 2nd round pick next year for Kinsler with his propensity for bescumbering your fantasy baseball team in the second half of the season.
Chris Davis – HR yesterday. IDK. W00t? Or BFD U POS? The preceding was brought to you by your 14-year-old nephew’s texting.
A.J. Burnett – 6 IP, 3 ER, 12 Ks. 12 Ks courtesy of the league’s worst (best?) team for Ks, the Rangers. After struggling for a few years with injuries, Burnett’s putting together another 30 start season (barring my jinxing right here). Looking like a solid bet for 175 Ks and a 4.00 ERA next year. That’s nothing to sneeze at, unless you’re allergic to that sorta thing.
Anibal Sanchez – 3 2/3 IP, 2 ER, 11 baserunners vs. the Mets. I tried to push people away from Anibal because of his wont to tie his owners to the WHIPping post.
Chris Coghlan – 3-for-4, 2 HRs yesterday. I can already see people drafting him next year in mixed leagues and then mid-April being bored with him. It’s the trouble with 12/12 outfielders. They look okay on draft day, but when they average 2 homers and 2 steals a month they get real yawnstipating.
Dave Bush – 4 2/3 IP, 5 ER. Bush has a machine head. But it’s not better than the rest.
Randy Wells – 6 1/3 IP, 5 ER, 9 baserunners. To make matters worse, the Cubs should start watching his innings.
Carlos Gonzalez – Was in the lineup, but it was too soon back in the yard and he hurt his knife wound.
Adam LaRoche – HR yesterday. 8 homers and batting .385 in August. Must be after the All-Star Break.
Andy Marte – HR yesterday. Deep league alert! Has an eight game hitting streak with two homers and batting over .400.
Andrew McCutchen – HR yesterday. Now has 9 homers and 15 steals. Unbelievably, I’m starting to get excited about a Pirate for next year. Not just any Pirate, but The Dread Pirate.
Garrett Jones – Robot Jones has not only continued to be productive (though admittedly less so than when he was first called up). He hit his 15th homer yesterday and also has 8 steals. For under 200 at-bats, that’s tremendous. I have my doubts about him doing it over a full season.
Junichi Tazawa – 4 IP, 9 ER. This is the reason I tried to steer people away from Tazawa. I mean, he has a near 7 ERA on the year and 8 walks to 12 Ks. Honestly, if it was for the Sons of Sam Horn hype machine, we wouldn’t even be talking about him. Next year, we’ll reevaluate.
Alex Gonzalez – Has now hit homers in back-to-back games. He’s a terrible hitter. Make no mistake. But hitters hit them in bunches, so he might have some short term value for MI pop.
Jacoby Ellsbury – Left the game with an ankle sprain. He’s day-to-a-few-days.
Brandon Allen – Hit his first major league homer yesterday. He’ll be discussed more in this afternoon’s Buy/Sell. You can’t wait. No, you can’t!
Matt Holliday – HR yesterday. If he stays in the NL, it’ll be interesting to see if everyone drafts him next year like the first half of the year was a blip on the radar because of his Oakcation. The only problem with that, he still only hit 25 homers his last full year in Coors. Then again, maybe the Mets will get him, then no one will think his power will boon.
Albert Pujols – It’s almost like he owns himself in fantasy baseball. He goes 0-for-2, but steals a base just to add some value. This actually wouldn’t be a bad idea. Part of everyone’s salary goes into a fantasy baseball pool. The only caveat is they must draft themselves. Hmm… But maybe that’s gambling. Nevertheless, I love Pujols. Well, that sounded wrong.
