Beyond the Boxscore - Fantasy Baseball News and Notes 06/04/08
Ryan and I often joke that the one guy you never want to hear that your fantasy player is going to see is Dr. James Andrews. Andrews is legendary for performing major surgeries on some of sports biggest stars. Unfortunately for owners of John Smoltz, that’s exactly who will be working at his ailing right shoulder. 
Smoltz is scheduled to have season-ending and maybe career-ending surgery next week. That leaves Rafael Soriano and Manny Acosta to handle save opportunities for the Braves. So far, so bad… Acosta blew up today, giving up four runs and recording only one out. The Braves don’t want to pitch Soriano in back to back games quite yet, so he was given the night off. I would expect him to see the majority of the save chances from here on out. Hanley Ramirez was the one who blasted the go-ahead homer, giving him two for the day and raising his total to 11 for the year. Ramirez also added another steal for good measure. Ramirez and Jose Reyes are head and shoulders the best two young shortstops in the game.
Clayton Kershaw went to the mound again for the Dodgers in search of his first pro win, but came up empty yet again. However, this outing was much more encouraging than his last. The big 20 year old lefty threw 5 innings, allowing 2 runs and striking out 5. Don’t let the 0-2 start fool you, this guy is going to be a stud!
One side effect of the injury to David Ortiz will be then increased playing time for Coco Crisp. On most nights, the Sox are going to find a way to get Coco playing time, and now with the DH spot open, they can shift Manny Ramirez to DH, put Jacoby Ellsbury in left and Crisp in center. If your in search of some steals and he’s available, the inconsistent Crisp may be worth a look. Although Josh Beckett is not pitching like the ace he was last year, he is still putting together a nice season. Don’t be surprised if he has a great second half; if his price is down, go get him.
Wow, Edinson Volquez did it again! I keep expected him to go out there and put up a stinker, after all even the best pitchers have off nights. I’m sure he will, but Volquez owners can enjoy the ride, as long as he keeps this up. On this night Volquez gave up no runs in seven innings of work while striking out 8. That drops his league leading ERA to 1.32 and brings his record to 8-2. Joey Votto continues to put up a somewhat underappreciated rookie year, collecting 2 more doubles and 2 RBI.
Joe Mauer is finally showing some power in his bat, hitting his second homerun in three games. It’s nice to see the power stroke come around a little; fantasy owners keep hoping to get more homeruns out of this guy, and the experts keep predicting they will come, maybe this is the start of that. Mauer is batting .330 and has already won a batting crown, which is extremely rare for a catcher, so maybe we are asking too much. I still think he has 20 HR potential, but he probably won’t get close to that this year.
Injury Notes
Carlos Pena was hit in the hand Tuesday night by a Justin Masterson fastball. The big Rays first baseman went to the DL today after being diagnosed with a broken left index finger. This most likely means more consistent playing time for Eric Hinske. Jorge Posada came off the DL today and was available for the Yanks coming off the bench. He should be in the starting lineup at catcher come tomorrow. If you have him on your DL, get him back in your lineup soon. Moises Alou was available to come off the DL tomorrow, but it’s now looking like he won’t be back until Tuesday of next week.
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