Beyond the Boxscore–Fantasy MLB News and Notes 7/31/08; Trade Deadline Edition
OK, it’s trade deadline day, let’s take a look at the ramifications of some of the trades before we get into tonight’s action.
Ken Griffey Jr was traded to the White Sox for minor leaguer Danny Richar and middle reliever Nick Masset. Masset hasn’t been anything worth talking about this season in relief for the Sox. He is 1-0 with a 4.63 ERA and will most likely never been mentioned on this site again. Danny Richar is a second baseman who has spent some time with the Sox in the bigs last year, but with Brandon Phillips at second for the Reds, his value remains basically at zero. Griffey goes to a bigger ballpark, but will have more protection in the lineup with the Sox than he did with the Reds. And perhaps with a shot at the playoffs, maybe Junior will get a new found lease on his career and step up his production. I doubt it, but anything is possible. He remains a nice bench player, or perhaps your fourth outfielder.
The big news of the day is that Manny Ramirez was traded to the Dodgers, let’s take a look at all three teams involved and how they are effected.
Red Sox: they got rid of a guy who was apparently all of a sudden actually unhappy in Boston, and got a pretty decent player for him back. Bay won’t replace Manny’s offense, but he is a better defensive player (not like that is saying much), and has a chance to play for a winner for the first time. By traveling to a better team and hitting in a far superior lineup, I believe that Jason Bay’s value just went up by a decent margin. He is a lock fpr 30 HRs and 100 RBI
Dodgers: can’t say I completely understand this move for them. They already have a crowded outfield with Andre Eithier, Matt Kemp, Andruw Jones, and Juan Pierre. Now the logjam gets bigger by throwing in Manny. That being said, I can understand the move since two of those four guys have been very disappointing, however, they are the two with the big contracts. Manny will certainly play everyday, and his value doesn’t change much. I think this hurts the value of the other four outfielders, especially Kemp and Eithier since they are likely to lose some playing time.
Pirates: can’t think of too many other times I have said this, but the Pirates made a GREAT trade. Not sure how they got four prospects for Jason Bay, but they pulled it off. From Boston they got Brandon Moss, who figures to be in the mix for the starting LF job after the departure of Bay. In just 34 games with the Sox this year, Moss hit .295 with two homers and 11 RBI. He has struck out 25 times, so that is a little disturbing. And Craig Hansen who was slated to be Boston’s closer of the future until Jonathan Papelbon closed the door on that idea. Hansen has struggled in ithe times the Red Sox have brought him to the big leagues, but he certainly has great stuff. And with the Pirates trading Damaso Marte the other day, perhaps Hansen works into the closing situation for Pittsburgh. From LA, they got minor league pitcher Bryan Morris who is fantasy irrelevant, and Andy LaRoche, who should slide ride into their starting 3B job. LaRoche has been a big time prospect for the Dodgers for several years, but has struggled so far in the majors. He has a ton of offensive potential, so in keeper leagues, I would grab LaRoche right away if you have the spot and ability to keep him long term.
Ryan Zimmerman was hit on the hand with a pitch tonight and left the game after scoring a run. However, he was replaced in the next inning. X-rays were taken and thankfully he was hit by Kyle Kendrick who my two year old throws as hard as, and they were negative, He is listed as day-to-day. Expect him to miss a few days if not more, so get him on your bench for tomorrow if you have daily transactions.
Padres SS Khalil Greene will likely miss the rest of the season after punching something in frustration and breaking his hand. When will these idiot athletes learn to control their emotions if it gets to the point of punching something with the force enough to break something? Can’t they just throw something really hard? I often throw the remote control when I’m mad. Only thing that breaks is the remote. This isn’t earth shattering fantasy news, as Greene was a major disappointment, but if you have him, time for him to go.
The Cubs have gotten more than they could have expected out of Rich Harden. He was fabulous again tonight in completing a four game sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers. Harden gave up just one run over seven innings and struck out nine. The nine strikeout total barely breaks his streak of ten strikeout games since coming to the Cubs at three. He has pitched like the ace we have all been waiting for this year, but his owners have to hold their breath every time he takes the mound.
top the presses, but Mike Hampton got through his second start without being injured! Now, he didn’t pitch well, but at least he isn’t on the DL. I wouldn’t touch him with a ten foot pole in any circumstance, but it is good to see the guy out there again. He lasted five innings against the Cardinals, gave up four runs, walked four and didn’t strike anybody out. Do not pick up Mike Hampton.
Anibal (isn’t that Luke Skywalker’s dad?) Sanchez made his first start since May 2, 2007, and will get a win. Of course, the Marlins scored 12 runs at this point, but Sanchez pitched pretty well. He allowed just two runs over 5.2 innings, and struck out four against a good hitting Rockies team. Sanchez could be a nice sleeper down the stretch, but be careful since he is just coming back from serious injury. However, with the way he pitched tonight and Josh Johnson’s performances, it appears that the Marlins know when to bring back their pitchers.
Another possible sleeper as the season hits its final third is the Angels Juan Rivera. This is a guy who hit 23 homers in 2006, before breaking his leg and missing most of last year. He has been getting more regular playing time lately and is making the most of it. Rivera hit his third homer this week on Thursday, and has six RBI over that span. Not a guy I am recommending picking up right now, but definitely one to monitor.
As you all know I do blog for a couple of other sites, and a couple weeks ago I did some second half predictions on both mlbfrontoffice.com (under In The News), and fantasybaseballsearch.com. Well, on the Fantasy Baseball Search, one of my predictions was that Grady Sizemore would go 40/40. I also admitted on the Fantasy Baseball Gurus show that I cohost on Wednesday nights at 9pm EST, that I really didn’t feel overly confident with that one. Tonight, Sizemore sits at 27 homers and 26 steals. It is possible, but a bit of a long shot.
Just a quick announcement about the site. Due to the fact that I REALLY need to get football rankings published on the site, there will be no more Beyond the Boxscore until I get these rankings finished, or at least the WRs and TEs. So chances are if you come to the site tomorrow looking for the article it won’t be there. I made this decision because a lot of you are starting to email football questions, plus with the baseball trade deadline come and gone, that also marks the deadline for trades for some of your leagues as well. I will still be checking my email very regularly, so don’t hesitate to email me with any questions or commment. My email is still fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com, or if you like, ryan@fightingchancefantasy.com.
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, and listen to The True Gurus Show every Wednesday night at 9 pm. I am now a cohost on that show. To hear the best analysis on who to add/drop, your opportunity to call in and ask questions, and more don’t miss The Fantasy Baseball Scouting Report, every Tuesday night at 10. For more information on these shows and others like them, go to fantasygurusnetwork.com.
