Carlos Quentin returned to play yesterday after taking a two month sabbatical for a foot thingiemaboo-boo. So he DH’d right? Nuh-uh. Oh, Jim Thome? Nope, Ozzie Guillen in his infinitesimal wisdom DH’d Josh Fields in the nine hole. It’s almost like Ozzie’s daring Quentin to stay healthy. Why not give him a hot foot with an M-80? So what can we expect from Quentin for the rest of the season? Best case scenario, has him playing 5 games a week and hitting well (as he did in his rehab assignment). Maybe 15 homers, good RBIs and a .270 average. He’s not going to come without risk. At any point, I’m expecting word that he’ll be out for the year. How’s that for a ringing endorsement? So through one game, Quentin’s 1-for-4 and healthy. Now give us forty-five more games. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Gavin Floyd – 7 IP, 3 ER, 5 baserunners, 7 Ks. Now has an sub-2.50 ERA at home. No one tell him his home is a hitter’s park.
Frank Francisco – Headed to the DL with pneumonia (the P’s silent). C.J. Wilson will take over again. Is it me or has C.J. Wilson been the closer for more of the year than Frank-Frank? Francisco is supposed to return this Sunday as long as he battles pneumonia better than Jim Backus. You are still larger than the cactus…
Nelson Cruz – Didn’t play Monday because of his fractured finger. The Rangers said he’d be able to get back in the lineup. The Rangers lied. I wouldn’t be surprised if this becomes a more serious issue than was originally let on, at least that’s what my thought bubble says.
Jonathan Papelbon – Complained of stomach pain and was vomiting. Perhaps he saw a video of his own dancing. If he misses any time, Saito should get vulture saves. I’d expect Papelbon to be back by Wednesday at the latest.
John Smoltz – 5 2/3 IP, 6 ER. Has alternated between good start and terrible start since he was activated. I’d see if he continues that trend and pitches well next time out while he was parked on my bench.
Jed Lowrie – 0-for-3 and batted ninth. T-minus two days and counting until I cut him from my teams. To paraphrase Meg Ryan talking to Goose, “Hit for me now or I will lose you forever.”
David Murphy – 2-for-4, HR yesterday. If you have the luxury of only playing him when he plays, he can be valuable. Shoot, at this point he’s hitting better than Josh Hamilton.
Jason Schmidt – 5 IP, 3 ER, 8 baserunners. Finally, an NL West starter I can’t get behind. He’s been out too long and his fastball was pretty bleh. In an NL-Only league? Sure. Everywhere else? You can do better/safer/less-Schmidty.
George Sherrill – Supposed to be traded from the Orioles. I think Jim Johnson would step in if Sherrill moves onto a better place. Baez may also enter the picture. Hopefully Orioles fans don’t abandon the franchise if they lose Sherrill and Oscar Salazar in the same week.
Darin Erstad – Headed to the DL. Hopefully you got him out of your weekly lineups about six years ago.
Vladimir Guerrero – Scioscia said, “Vlad would be limited to DH duties when he returns.” I asked, “Why wasn’t he only DH’ing to begin with?” Scioscia said, “The same reason I don’t play Wood.” I said, “Oh.”
Ted Lilly – 4 IP, 7 ER. A lefty vs. the Phillies shouldn’t have looked like any major league team vs. Sidney Ponson. Lilly’s knee must still be bothering him. He might end up on the DL.
Tommy Hanson – 7 IP, 3 ER, 11 Ks. Good to see the Braves call him back up from the minors. (I know why he was demoted; it’s called being facetious. And this is called exposition.)
Yunel Escobar – 2-for-3, Batting .500 since the All-Star break with two homers while alternating between the fifth and six hole.
David Hernandez – 6 IP, 1 ER, 6 baserunners. Don’t pick him up. But he’s thrown three decent– Don’t pick him up.
Nick Markakis – Now has two homers in his last four games. Sparkakis!
Felipe Lopez – 4-for-4 while leading off. He wasn’t originally supposed to start because he couldn’t get to the game in time, so I removed him from my lineups. Then the game was delayed and he started. Sonavabench!
Jorge de la Rosa – 7 IP, 1 ER, 6 Ks. Impressive home start from a pitcher I highlighted in the 2nd half pitcher post.
Kevin Millwood – 6 IP, 2 ER. If you had the cojones to start Millwood at home vs. the Sawx, then you deserved the Win.
Tim Stauffer – 6 IP, 1 ER, 4 Ks. HodgePadre worth owning in 12 team leagues and deeper.
Nick Blackburn – 5 IP, 7 ER, As I said after his last start, which was a complete game, “There’s so many pitchers each week that are potential spot starters, even in deep leagues, that I just don’t want any part of a guy that has 51 Ks in just over 116 innings.” And that’s me quoting me!
Justin Morneau – 3-for-5, 2 HRs as the Twins and A’s combined for 8 home runs. Did Oakland install a dehumidifier?
Jason Giambi – Hit the Disgraceful List as the A’s admitted that Giambi wasn’t the ballplayer they had the first time around. They blamed his lack of backne.
Daric Barton – HR yesterday. Pick him up in all AL-Only leagues and 12 team leagues and deeper if you need a corner man. He may not do much more than he’s done so far in the major leagues (170 games – 78/13/56/.239/3), but he shouldn’t kill you on average and has decent power. If he hits, he will probably keep the job even when Giambi returns.
Matt Holliday – 4-for-5, 2 HRs, 6 RBIs with his grand slam just clearing the outfield fence. Now has 3 homers since the break. Maybe he realized he needs to play well to be a trade target and get the eff out of Oaktown. He should get to 20+ homers and a .300 average. So when you’re going into the break with 8 homers (or Wright +3), there is some room for improvement.
Jonathan Sanchez – 6 IP, 3 ER, 8 Ks. Johnny Vander Meer’s family can now stop following around the Giants.
