Beyond the Boxscore for August 21, 2008
The New York Yankees have decided that they will give the ball to Carl Pavano Saturday when the Yankees face the Orioles. Pavano, in the running for the worst contract in history, hasn’t pitched in a game since April 9, 2007. He has been a disappointment of epic proportions for the Yankees, but it has been injury related. The guy does have some skills, and is pitching for a contract for next season. There is a possibility that he could pitch well down the stretch, hell he’s pitching on 537 days rest! That being said, personally, I wouldn’t touch Carl with a ten foot pole.
From the “Are you really surprised?” department, Sidney Ponson got ROCKED by the Blue Jays on Sunday. He only could get through two innings before allowing seven earned runs and not strike anyone out. The decent story that was Ponson’s success has now traveled down the same road this tale has each time Sir Sidney gets another chance. This guy isn’t a quality major league pitcher, he’s just a below average arm, stay away.
Last piece of Yankee news, I promise. Hideki Matsui returned to the lineup on Tuesday, and connected on his first homer in his return on Thursday. He was dropped in many leagues around fantasy, and check to see if yours was one of them. Although I think Matsui’s skills are going to decline rapidly, chances are there is no one of his caliber available on your waiver wire. If you are looking for some help, Matsui could be a nice piece your playoff picture.
After his latest disaster on Wednesday, Red Sox pitcher Clay Buchholz was finally optioned to the minors, Double-A to be exact. Buchholz lost his last seven decisions, and the majority of them were NOT pretty at all. Buchholz was giving up runs in bunches, and burning the Red Sox bullpen up as he was unable to go deep into games. The young hurler is a big part of the Sox future, but they are battling for a playoff spot, and can’t afford to throw up a guaranteed loss every five days. You can be pretty certain that Clay won’t be starting anymore for Boston this year, so unless you are in a keeper league, it is time to let him go.
Francisco Liriano won for the fourth time in four starts on Wednesday, with another effective, yet unspectacular start. Liriano threw five scoreless innings, walked three and struck out five. Don’t get me wrong, I would take that every day of the week. My only point for those of you who own him, for 2008, don’t expect outings like his rookie year, because they aren’t coming. He has learned to pitch differently this year, and while he will win games, he won’t mow down lineups like he once did.
If you were questioning the return of Brett Myers, it is time to silence those questions. Myers took a huge step on Wednesday as he threw a complete game shutout with nine Ks. He now is officially someone you can count on for the rest of the season, as he hasn’t allowed more than three runs in the six starts he has made since coming back from the minors. Not only that, but he has only walked two batters in those six starts. I’m not sure what they did with him when he was sent down, but whatever it was, it worked.
Former Mets’ prospect Anderson Hernandez was called up with the Washington Nationals to play second base, and for the first two games he has been quite impressive. Now the knock on Hernandez was his offense, so this could just be a fluke, but since 2B is so shallow, he is worth mentioning. In two games, Hernandez is 5-9 with an RBI. He could steal you a few bases, but other than that he is pretty fantasy irrelevant.
It appears you can count on Jensen Lewis being the closer for the Indians as of now. He has four saves since August 8th, and could be effective for the rest of the year. Not sure how he fits into the Indians long term plans as far as next year is concerned. You have to figure they will hit free agency for a closer, as their team leader in saves for 2008 is still Joe Borowski who has……SIX SAVES! That is embarrassing.
Possible Pickups
Jody Gerut continues to hit well for the Pads. On Wednesday he connected on his 13th homer of the season, and got his average above .300. Gerut was once tabbed to be a long term outfielder for the Indians, but injuries an inconsistency got him out of favor. However, Gerut has hit over 20 homers in a partial season before, so this production might not be out of the blue.
Jeff Francis had his second consecutive effective start for the Rockies, as he tries to turn around a season that has just been a nightmare for him. On Wednesday, Francis lasted six innings, allowed just one earned run and struck out four. He wasn’t around for the decision, but it is slightly encouraging to see him pitching decently again.
Chris Dickerson continues to make things happen for the Reds. He collected only one hit on Thursday, but was still able to walk twice. He is batting .344 since being called up after the Adam Dunn trade, and has some speed/power potential worth watching.
Jed Lowrie has really started to make an impact for the Red Sox. In the past ten games, he has raised his average 33 points, driven in nine runs, and may have solidified himself a spot in the lineup for the rest of the season. He won’t excel at homers or steals, but if you are in need of some batting average help, Lowrie could be your man.
House of Pain
Justin Duchscherer has returned to the disabled list with pain in his hip after leaving his start early on Wednesday. Duch was once leading the American League in ERA, but he is winless in his last seven starts, and has had an ERA of 4.43 over that span. You all know that this isn’t a guy that I have been high on all season long, and hopefully you have good replacements for him.
On a positive note, Ryan Church looks like he will return to the Mets’ lineup on Friday, after missing months with symptoms of concussions have kept him out. Church was on pace to have a career season before his injury, so if he was dropped he might be worthy of a pickup. I would tell you to go out and jump on him, but my concern is that the Mets will give him plenty of days off in the next couple of weeks, and he might not be a consistent source of offense if that is the case.
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.
