Blog Entries tagged 'Fantasy'

Price Is Right In Debut

jonlee

For four innings on Monday, Tampa Bay’s David Price looked like he was going to make history. Showing off the stuff that made him the No.1 overall pick in 2007, Price shut down the Orioles allowing no hits in the first four frames. He ended up witha no-decision, but the end result did nothing to diminish just how impressive the big lefty looked in his first career start.

Price’s final line: 5.1 innings, 1 earned run, 4 hits, 3 walks, 3 [...]

Price Gets the Call

jonlee

David Price, the No.1 overall pick in 2007, will make his long-awaited first career start in the major leagues Monday against Baltimore. The 6-foot-6 lefty has made two relief appearances so far for the Rays throwing six innings striking out six while walking none. One of those appearances was a 5.1 inning relief outing against the Yankees in which he allowed two runsincluding one home run. Monday however is his first real shot in the major leagues, and [...]

Two-Start Pitchers

jonlee

It's all about results now in fantasy baseball. Fantasy leagues and playoff match-ups are won based on daily management. Here is a ranking for two-start pitchers that can help you win your league. An extra win here or there and a few strikeouts could give you the edge you need. Stay active. Ground can still be made up this late in the year.

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Brandon Phillips and Other Injuries to Note

jonlee

Brandon Phillips made his last swing of the year count for the Reds Tuesday night. The All-Star second baseman hit the go-ahead single with two outs in the 11th to help Cincinnati beat the Brewers 5-4. That at-bat came at a huge price however as on the pitch before, Phillips broke a finger on an attempted bunt and will miss the rest of the season.

The injury doesn’t matter in the long-run for the Reds; they are 13 games under [...]

Pity Jim Leyland

jonlee

What do the Tigers do now? First they started the season with Todd Jones as the closer hoping they could squeeze out another season of him using Fernando Rodney and Joel Zumaya in higher leverage 7th and 8th inning situations. Instead, Detroit finally got fed up with his poor performances and replaced him with Rodney. Almost immediately after being demoted, Jones went on the disabled list. In his short stint as closer, Rodney blew two saves and wa [...]

Adam Lind Deserves Your Love

jonlee

If you need a hitter, in any format, Toronto outfielder Adam Lind is your man. Most of the chatter and attention around this time of year is centered around who will be traded and how those moves affect player values in fantasy. Lind’s terrific recent performance has gotten lost in the shuffle.

I have promoted Lind since he was called up once again back on June 22, and he has more than delivered. The Blue Jays finally l [...]

Arizona Shores Up Bullpen

jonlee

The Diamondbacks have acquired pitcher Jon Rauch in an attempt to shore up their shaky bullpen. Arizona had seen their relief corps as a strength earlier in the season, but the performances of Brandon Lyon, Chad Qualls, and Toney Pena have dropped off in recent weeks and Juan Cruz and Doug Slaten remain on the disabled list.

Rauch has been solid this season as the closer for the Nationals for most of the season. At 6-foot-11 he is the [...]

Cubs Nab Harden

jonlee

Chicago has responded to Milwuakee's acquisition of C.C. Sabathia by trading for Oakland ace Rich Harden in a six player deal. The Cubs get Harden and reliever Chad Gaudin for pitcher Sean Gallagher, outfielders Matt Murton and Eric Patterson, and minor leaguer John Donaldson.

Sitting four games ahead of the Brewers and 3.5 ahead of the Cardinals entering Wednesday, the Cubs made this bold move that will greatly improve the team provided the oft-injured righty stays healthy.&n [...]

C.C. Sabathia Traded

jonlee

Milwaukee has won the C.C. Sabathia sweepstakes. The Indians and Brewers have agreed to a trade will send the big lefty from the A.L. Central to the N.L. Central in exchange for prospects Matt LaPorta, Rob Bryson, Zach Jackson, and a player to be named. Sabathia is on a tremendous run recently after a bumpy start to the season and instantly becomes one of the best players in the Senior circuit. He has 109 strikeouts (against just 20 walks) in 104 innings with a 2.16 ERA over [...]

Furcal Out 2 Months

jonlee

Dodger shortstop Rafael Furcal will undergo surgery to repair a bulging disc leaving his season (and his team's playoff chances) in doubt. He is expected to miss two months at the minimum, but that means he would be returning in September which leaves precious few games left in the regular season. Los Angeles started Thursday just 1.5 games behind Arizona, and in the West two good weeks could create a comfortable cushion in the standings.

Chipper Jones May Be Headed to DL

jonlee

Here are some injury notes on some key players in baseball this week. Fantasy players should pay close attention because some of the biggest names will be spending some extended time on the bench:

• Chipper Jones has already missed 8 games, and now he looks headed to the DL. Jones has avoided the disabled list all season despite a nagging hamstring injury, but now he may also miss the All-Star game despite hitting .394 for the [...]

Outfielders Return

jonlee

Three top fantasy outfielders in the pre-season, who have missed significant time this season, all returned to active duty this week. Josh Willingham missed almost two full months, but returned on Tuesday and hit fourth for the Marlins. Eric Byrnes came back Monday from hamstring injuries, and has hit leadoff in his past two games. Gary Sheffield returned to to DH duties on Tuesday and made an auspicious return, hitting a home run.

All three were considering great fant [...]

Speculating for Saves

jonlee

Fantasy owners looking for saves have a few new options becoming available soon, they just might have to wait awhile, and do some speculating. Mike Gonzalez is obviously the first choice currently available. He was activated on Wednesday, and got a save the same day. Rafael Soriano is on the disabled list for the second time this season with elbow problems and can’t be considered reliable. Gonzalez himself is coming off Tommy John surgery, but he is the close [...]

Cut to the Chase

jonlee

One of the last ready-made major league prospects has finally been brought up to the bigs. San Diego’s Chase Headley joined the team over the weekend, and will likely join the lineup Tuesday against the Yankees. The Padres are starved for run production and power (outside of Adrian Gonzalez who is having a monster year) and Headley certainly will help. A switch-hitter, he has hit 13 home runs, 40 RBI, and 34XBH at Triple-A this year with a .305 aver [...]

Putz Injured

jonlee

Mariners closer J.J. Putz was brought on Wednesday to close out a win for Felix Hernandez. Putz walked Joe Inglett, threw three pitches to Vernon Wells, then was removed with an apparent arm injury. It appeared to be his elbow, but nothing was definite. Brandon Morrow came on and recorded his first career save striking out two batters. Seattle ended up winning 2-1, but the bigger concern is Putz's health. He missed a lot of time earlier in the year with an oblique injury but this cou [...]

Rockies Finally Getting Healthy

jonlee

Colorado has fallen on hard times just a year after winning the National League and reaching their first World Series in franchise history. It has called into question whether the 2007 season was just a fluke, but to be fair the team has suffered through an inordinate amount of injuries to many of their key players. They are just now finally becoming whole, and while they currently sit in last place (10 games out of first) nobody has run away from the pack out West. A [...]

Season, and Maybe Career, Over for Smoltz

jonlee

John Smoltz’s comeback lasted just one inning as the 41-year old right-hander elected to undergo season-ending shoulder surgery on Wednesday. Smoltz has had four previous operations on his elbow, and this injury could finally be the one that pushes him towards retirement.

"I've pulled off a lot of miracles," said Smoltz. "I probably shouldn't have played this long. I'm looking forward to seeing if I can e [...]

Angels Dealing With Injuries

jonlee

Thew news gets worse for Los Angeles. The Angels lost Chone Figgins after just one game after being activated, and may require another trip to the DL. Shortstop Eric Aybar, who had taken control of the shortstop position, injured his right pinky diving for a groundball in the first inning against Toronto on Tuesday. He may require a trip to the DL.

There he would join fellow infielder Howie Kendrick who has been out for over a month with a strained hamstring. Kendrick has frust [...]

Jarrod Washburn Closer?

jonlee

Yes Jarrod Washburn got the save on Wednesday. No, he is not the closer in Seattle. With all the bullpen craziness going on in the majors lately it would be reasonable to assume that this was just part of the trend. Instead, it is completely the opposite.

Seattle beat Baltimore in 12 innings, and in doing so completely depleted its bullpen which necessitated the use of Washburn in a relief role. After starter Carlos Silva exited after 6.1 s [...]

Clayton Kershaw Not Quite Ready

jonlee

Those fan and fantasy owners eagerly awaiting the debut of wunderkind lefty Clayton Kershaw will have to wait, at least for a little while. With Esteban Loaiza on the DL the Dodgers need a fifth starter on Saturday, and lined up Kershaw at Double-A Jacksonville so he would be ready to pitch on normal rest. Instead, the phenom gave up five runs on five hits (and two wild pitches) in just 3.1 innings. Dodger manager Joe Torre doesn’t think the kid is quite ready. [...]