Beyond the Boxscore–Fantasy MLB News and Notes 5/30/08
For those of you who make Fighting Chance Fantasy a daily read, first thank you, but also you knew that one 
of these days that I would be away for a couple days due to the birth of our second daughter. Well, Wednesday night, May 28th at 10:38 pm, we welcomed Morgan Rylee Hallam to our family. It is truly an experience you can never forget, and let me just say, we know her lungs and voicebox work fine! Mom, Dad, and Morgan are all fine, but Mom and Dad are TIRED!
Perhaps the biggest news of the day is that the transition from reliever to starter is complete for Joba Chamberlain. At least the Yankees think so. Chamberlain is set to make his major league debut as a starter this coming Tuesday (with a 65-70 pitch max) against the Blue Jays, and I believe against Roy Halladay. Joba is such a wild card right now because you just don’t know what to expect. Can he possibly be as effective in the starting rotation as he has been in the 8th inning? Well, the answer is definitely not. No starter has ever been as dominant as Joba has been in the bullpen. Can he be a front line starter? I’m not sure yet, but I know a lot of people would answer that question with a yes!
Jay Bruce is amazing! In his first four games Bruce now has eight hits after a 4-5 on Friday night. He is yet to put one over the fence, but he does have three doubles and three RBI already to go with two stolen bases. 
If by some freak incident he is still available in your league, go get him right now! He could have a Ryan Braun type impact, except maybe with a little less power and a little more speed.
Dodgers rookie sensation Clayton Kershaw took one on the chin in his second start. Facing one of the better offenses in the Mets, Kershaw couldn’t get through the fourth inning. He allowed four runs and four walks through 3.2 innings while striking out just two. As I have repeatedly said, rookie pitchers are the most inconsistent group in fantasy baseball. If you commit to owning one, just hum the tune to “mama said there will be days like this” and insert my name instead of mama.
There was another prospect debut that may go overlooked last night. With all the hoopla surrounding Jay Bruce and Clayton Kershaw, keep an eye on the A’s Carlos Gonzalez. Gonzalez was perhaps the biggest part of the trade which sent Dan Haren to the desert. Carlos has the capability to hit 25+ homers and steal 15 bases and could have an impact if he stays in the majors. However, he was called up due to some injuries, so his time in the majors could be limited to however long the injuries last. In his pro debut however, Gonzalez doubled twice so if he proves he belongs perhaps he will stick. This is certainly a guy to watch.
Danny Cabrera continues to be perhaps the most maddening pitcher in the majors. One time he goes out and throws a gem, next time he walks eight guys, and then last night he pitches well again allowing just two runs to the Red Sox over seven innings walking just two. What do you do with this guy? I am committed to leaving him alone because every time I have him he throws the seven walk game, but if you have an injury or ineffective player, perhaps he is worth your time. Just be sure you stock up on the Tums.
Coming into the season I had Russell Martin ranked as the number one catcher in fantasy baseball……and then he goes out in the first two weeks and hits .176. However, since then Martin has gotten back to his usual self. His power is a little down, and he isn’t running too much (four steals), but his average is now 
at .326. It is probably too late to get him on the cheap, but perhaps his owner got discouraged and doesn’t believe he is for real. I expect him to hit .300 with 15 HRs and 13 SBs.
For the fourth time in five starts, Brewers rookie Manny Parra has thrown a great game. Parra raised his record to 3-2 after beating the Astros on Friday. He went six innings, allowed just one run and fanned six. It is getting to the point where you have to give Parra consideration for adding him. He was LIGHTS OUT this spring, and has more than a strikeout an inning capability. Monitor your situation to see if it is worth adding him at this point, although his next start is against the Diamondbacks, not the most favorable opponent.
Perhaps the unluckiest pitcher of the season is the A’s Justin Duchscherer (from here on out “Duch” for short, I’m not going to keep spelling that!) Duch’s ERA is a sparkling 2.27 and somehow he is 4-4! How is that possible? His strikeout rate has also been pretty good, not too far off of one an inning. So the question is, should I pick up Duch? My answer is no, unless it is for the short term. He is a career reliever and has never thrown over 96 innings in a season. There is no way that he can survive the rigors of starting all year and perhaps throwing 185 innings. One of two things must happen. Either the A’s will put him back into the bullpen at some point, or his arm will tire and he will become incredibly ineffective. My guess is the latter.
Injury Notes
Hanley Ramirez was hit by a liner in the thumb yesterday and left the game in the 5th inning. His status for Saturday’s game is unknown, but the x-rays were negative. At most he should miss a couple of games, but I wouldn’t be shocked if he played Saturday. Chone Figgins went back on the disabled list for the second time due to that hamstring injury. The move was made retroactive to May 22, so he has already served nine of the mandatory 15 days that he must miss. The shoulder pain that Travis Hafner is experiencing will put him on the 15 day DL as well. Hafner tried to take some practice swings before the game, but was immediately sent home and will miss the next two weeks. Perhaps this is the reason for his incredibly bad start, so stash him away and hope the rest is what he needs to get back to his slugging form. Red Sox pitcher Diasuke Matsusaka was placed on the 15 day DL after an MRI revealed a slight strain of his rotator cuff. Dice apparently wanted to try to pitch through the injury, but when your team spends that much money on a player and has World Series aspirations, you sit your star pitcher down when he has a slight injury in May. Some good news for once on the injury front, Angels 2B Howie Kendrick returned to the field after missing the past 42 games with a hamstring injury. Howie seems to find the injuries in his first few seasons in the majors, but he is a great hitting talent and if he was dropped in your league pick him up immediately, or if you need a good 2B, see if his owner got fed up with waiting for him and got a better replacement for him. He could possibly available cheap.
As always, your questions (adds, drops, trades) and comments are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours. Don’t forget to check me out at mlbfrontoffice.com on Tuesdays under In The News. Also go to fantasybaseballsearch.com to find me in the Gurus Blog.
Wishing you well on your new addition!!!!