Jay Bruce owners got their first bit of good news from him as he fractured his wrist. This is like when you’re in a terrible relationship that you can’t get out of because you’re scared to be alone, then the other person comes home and says they’re leaving you. In 12 teams or shallower and non-keeper leagues, I’d remove Jay Bruce from the salamander and chuck him. Even if he comes back, he wasn’t hitting when his wrist bone was connected to his forearm bone. As for keepers, I thought Bruce would be a good sleeper candidate for next year. Now with the nature of his injury, I’m not so sure. If he needs surgery, it’ll be a much longer process. (When this post went to the (Word)presses, they weren’t sure if Bruce needed surgery.) To go out on a limb — something Bruce can’t do so well right now — I’m calling Jay Bruce a top fantasy sleeper for 2011 — when we’ll all be taking flying cars to our draft. Chris Dickerson, who had the start and a steal yesterday, gets an added boost as he’ll see time against righties. That’s until Dusty grows bored of him. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Tim Stauffer – 7 IP, 2 ER on Saturday vs. the Giants. He’s the newest HodgePadre.
Jonathan Sanchez – Last no-hitter for the Giants was John Montefusco. Before picking up Sanchez, think about everyone that picked up Montefusco after his no-hitter. (Okay, there was no such thing as fantasy baseball when Montefusco pitched his, but I think you get my point.) If Sanchez had pitched a two-hitter instead of a no-hitter, would you even be considering him? Things that make you say hmm…
Barry Zito – 4 1/3 IP, 9 ER. As the BBWAA hold a caucus at the All-Star Game about giving Zito’s Cy Young to Pedro Martinez.
John Bowker – 2-for-4, HR yesterday. I promise this is my last Giants player blurb. Bochy is supposedly going to play Bowker every day. Bowker’s proven more than capable in the minors. This year’s Triple-A numbers are 63/17/63/.347/10 with more walks than strikeouts. In NL-Only leagues, you should absolutely grab him. In mixed leagues, I’d wait a few unless you’re absolutely hurting for power.
Jack Hannahan – Joel Hanrahan’s half-brother was traded to the Seattle Mariners. You may ask yourself, why do I need to know this? You don’t. And the days go by, water flowing underground…
Jeff Francoeur – Traded to the Mets for Ryan Church. Maybe the change of scenery is all he needed, but for right now I still think Frenchy’s *pinkie to mouth* toast.
Marc Rzepczynski – 6 IP, 3 ER, 5 Ks, 3 walks. Surprisingly, you can spell Rzepczynski without two BBs, but he can’t pitch without them.
Ryan Church – The recession is hitting everyone, and now the Braves will only carry left-handed scissors. I wouldn’t bother with Church, except on short schedule days when you’re just playing matchups.
James Shields – 6 1/3 IP, 3 ER, 2 Ks. Why can’t he hold a damn lead? Seriously. What the eff? And two Ks? Who are you, Joel Pineiro?
Brett Anderson – Left after four innings because his back stiffened up. A’s are saying he should be fine and Steven Tyler’s saying he’ll be F-I-N-E.
Brandon Inge – 2 HRs yesterday, now has 21 on the year. I guess 35 homers from your catcher slot bores you.
Josh Whitesell – Tony Clark’s release means two things. 1) Josh Whitesell should get the call-up. He’s a decent flier in NL-Only play. 2) The Diamondbacks are now without a center for their pickup basketball games.
Ryan Ludwick – 5-for-9 in the doubleheader and 2 HRs, then robotically walked onto the field saying, “I must kill the Queen.”
Joe Mauer – 0-for-5 as the Twins scored 13. Ticker Tease!
Brooks Conrad – HR yesterday. Has 2 homers since his callup. He’s a poor man’s Dan Uggla. Has some modest pop, no average and Bobby Cox seems content to play him.
Manny Acta – Fired as Nats manager. Guess you can’t fire a whole franchise.
Mike Napoli – HR on Saturday as he plays every day at DH while Vlad figures out why he has Andre Dawson’s knees.
Clay Buchholz – Will start Friday, but the Sawx plan on sending him down right afterwards. I believe them.
Josh Beckett – 9 IP, 0 ER, 7 Ks, only 3 baserunners for his 11th win. He was my preseason AL Cy Young prediction. At the break, picks don’t look awful. (Just ignore any mention of Alfonso Soriano.)
Garrett Jones – Hit his 5th homer yesterday. That’s his fifth homer in 11 games. That includes a three homer weekend. He also has 3 steals while batting .310. What else is in Garrett Jones’s locker? He bats third and there’s really no one on the Pirates to challenge him for that spot if he hits…. Or even if he doesn’t hit.
Ryan Doumit – Returned from the DL. People are clamoring for Doumit like he’s going to save their team. Last year was the outlier. He’s worth a flier because he’s a catcher, but he may only hit 7 homers with a .260 average the rest of the way. Not to mention, he’s injury-prone.
J.P. Howell – 1 1/3 IP, 3 ER. Kazaam!
Yovani Gallardo – 5 IP, 5 ER. Has now thrown 9 walks in the last 10 innings. As I pointed out a few weeks ago, he’s been pitching closer to a 4 ERA than a 3. Trust me, I’m not thrilled either.
Clayton Kershaw – 6 IP, 1 ER, 2 hits, 5 walks. Over the course of 99 and 2/3 innings this year, he’s issued 59 walks. Okay, hotshot, how many more hits than walks has he given up? A) 1-10 B) 11-20 C) 21-30 D) None of the Above E) Colonel Mustard. If you guessed A, you looked up his stats pretty quick, cheater. He’s given up 9 more hits than walks. I don’t feel like doing the research, but has anyone in the history of baseball ever thrown more than 100 innings and had less than 10 more walks than hits while maintaining a sub-3.50 ERA? Betcha Jayson Stark or some doode wearing a bow tie at Elias Sports Bureau knows.
