Beyond the Boxscore Weekend Edition - 8/22-8/24
Aaron Harang was finally able to get back into the win column on Friday, as he threw six shutout innings and struck out four batters as he raised his nightmare season’s record to 4-13. The Harangatang, as one of my most loyal readers likes to call him, won his first game since June 13th, and even though he had a quality outing, I can’t recommend picking him up at this point. If, by chance, he would throw another good start, then I would consider the guy who has won 32 games over the past two seasons.
Robinson Cano had himself quite a weekend against the Orioles. Cano went 7-12 with two homers and three driven in, as he got his season batting average up to .269. About a month ago, I predicted that he would get his average up to .300 by the end of the season, but it is looking like he will have to have a monster September for that to happen. Hopefully for his owners, that will happen.
Dustin Pedroia continues his scorching August. Since Friday, Pedroia has been 3-11 with a homer and six RBI as the Red Sox took two of three from the Blue Jays. That was Pedroia’s 14th homer of the season, as he is crushing his statistics from last season when he hit only eight. He’s got a shot at 17 homers for the season, and perhaps he can get as high as 20 in 2009.
Fausto Carmona had a pretty solid outing on Friday, as he looks to get back on the track that had him win 19 games in 2007. Carmona threw six shutout innings and struck out five batters, but still walked three. Walks have been Carmona’s achille’s heel this year, as he has gone from 19 wins in 2007, to just six so far in 2008. That is two quality starts in a row, but I am still unconvinced that he will be successful for the rest of the season.
Dave Bush is a pitcher that might be able to fill in a blank for you for the rest of this season if you are in need of some pitching. He won his third straight start on Friday, as he beat the Pirates by allowing just three earned runs over seven innings. Bush is not a guy who gets a ton of strikeouts (92 Ks in 146 IP), but he and the Brewers are hot, and he could get you some cheap wins down the stretch against the right matchup.
The nice story that is Rocco Baldelli’s return is now getting even better as he is producing some decent stats for the Rays. Baldelli had four hits over the weekend, including two homers, but he is not playing with enough consistency for you to pick up. He has plenty of talent, but due to his condition, I don’t see him becoming fantasy relevant because of his need for consistent time off.
Adam Wainwright made a triumphant return to the mound on Friday for the Cardinals, as they crushed the Braves 18-3. Of course it is easy to pitch with that kind of cushion, but since he hadn’t pitched since June 7th, this was a very encouraging start. Wainwright threw six innings, allowed just one run and struck out four. Feel free to get him back in your lineup and count on some good stats from the Cardinals ace for the remainder of the year as they try to catch the Wild Card leading Brewers.
If he is still available, you need to take a LONG look at Chris Dickerson from Cincinnati, and if you are in a keeper league, grab him right away. He has taken over as the everyday left fielder since the trade of Adam Dunn, and Dickerson has just been hitting and running since he was put in the lineup. Dickerson had four hits over the weekend, including two homers and four runs driven in. He is hitting .319 and has also stolen three bases in just the 11 games he has played in the bigs.
It is probably too late for you to pick up Ian Stewart from the Rockies, but if not, you need him on your team. Again, if you are in a keeper league, this guy is having a great end of the season, and will be a starter for Colorado in 2009. He had eight more hits over the weekend, and is now hitting .314, which is great considering he was hitting .228 when he was called back up at the middle of July. He has been blocked in the Majors by Todd Helton and Garrett Atkins, but I am very confident that one of them will not be with the Rockies in 2009.
Can the A’s Daric Barton only play effective baseball when the late season callups come around? After scorching the baseball when he came up in September last season, Barton was absolutely horrific in the beginning of the year until the A’s were forced to ship him to the minors. Well, now he’s back again, and he had five hits over the weekend. I would stay away from him, but in 2007, he started playing on September 10th and hit .347 with four homers and eight RBI. I don’t see him doing that again, and I would wait until I saw much more than three days of a hot streak.
Clayton Kershaw had a tough start on Saturday, although in his defense, it was against the powerful Phillies, and his opponent was one of the best, Cole Hamels. Kershaw is now 2-4 after allowing six runs in just four innings, although he did strike out five. For the rest of the season, Kershaw is certainly worth a roster spot, but I would watch his matchup to see if I would start him. Against NY, Philly, Cubs, Brewers, and perhaps the Cardinals I might sit him. The rest of the National League is kind of offensively challenged and I would probably throw him out there. Next season, he should be ready to rock.
Carl Pavano had a pretty good return for the Pavano List, I mean disabled list as he beat the Orioles on Saturday. Now let’s not act like he threw a no hitter, but for a guy who has barely pitched in four years it was pretty good. Pavano gave up three runs over five innings and struck out five. I would not pick him up unless I saw him throw two more good starts, and in all honesty, you don’t even know for sure that he will get the ball again on his next turn. Phil Hughes is due to return from the Pavano List soon himself, and you have to believe that the Yankees will give him starts in September.
Ryan Church returned for the New York Mets over the weekend, and got right back to hitting. Church played Friday and Saturday before getting the day off Sunday and was 3-7 with an RBI. Church will also most likely be looking at a decent amount of time off for the rest of the season, as I am sure that the Mets would like him to be healthy if they make the postseason. Activate him if you have been holding him on your DL.
Yusmeiro Petit continues to pitch well since being put in the rotation by the Diamondbacks. Petit raised his record to 3-3 as he shut down the Marlins, allowing just a single run over six innings with six strikeouts. He isn’t an overpowering pitcher, and usually doesn’t get a ton of strikeouts. The D-Backs will win a pretty good amount of wins in the last five weeks, and if Petit keeps pitching the way he has, he could be a decent source of wins down the stretch.
Anthony Reyes pitched another great game for the Indians since he came over in a trade from the Cardinals. Reyes hasn’t allowed more than two earned runs in his five starts for the Tribe, and Sunday was no different. Reyes threw seven innings, allowed just one run and struck out four. He won’t strikeout 10 or 12 batters in a game ever, but he is still fairly effective. He was buried in the doghouse in St. Louis, but has been given new life since going to Cleveland. He was always one of the higher ranking prospects for the Cards, so this great pitching could definitely continue.
Johnny Cueto was having a great outing as he hadn’t allowed a hit through three innings, but had to leave the game with a right triceps injury. No word yet on the severity of the injury, but the later we get in the season, there is less and less motivation for teams out of contention to rush their players back.
John Maine has a bone spur in his shoulder, and could possibly have thrown his last pitch for the Mets this season. Maine is still scheduled to pitch his next turn on Friday, but apparently the team did approach him about shutting it down. He, of course, refused and wanted to give it a few days before any decision like that was made. My guess is that this news of Maine shutting it down will come before his next start on Friday, as he really hasn’t been giving the Mets much lately anyway. He wouldn’t be someone that they would start in a game if they made the postseason anyway, so I would expect they would shut him down for the season at some point this week.
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