By Dalton Del Don
Matt Cain has been dropped by 5,899 teams in Yahoo Leagues. Whaaat?! I’m as frustrated with the 23-year-old as anyone, but these leagues are either as shallow as Paris Hilton, or people are acting a bit rash, no? Cain posted a 23:17 K:BB ratio last April and a 5.28 ERA during the first month of the 2006 season. He’s going to be just fine.
Nick Blackburn is a nice story and the 4:1 K:BB ratio is very good, but few can sustain success with such a low strikeout rate (4.26 K/9 IP). The other shoe will drop.
Even though I was high on him entering last season and typically recommend targeting last year’s scrubs, Travis Hafner scared me entering 2007 and so far, he’s done nothing to ease my concerns. Maybe there wasn’t a hidden injury curtailing his power last year after all, because his slugging has dropped all the way to .394 this season. Considering his strikeouts have increased and his walks decreased, there’s plenty of reason to worry.
Like a butterface, Rickie Weeks’ stats look great until you come across his batting average.
Bengie Molina scored from second base on a single Sunday for the first time in two years. Staying with the Giants, Jonathan Sanchez has to be owned in all deep leagues. He’s likely to be inconsistent and pitches for a terrible team, but the 26 strikeouts in 20 innings means he has to be taken seriously. A career mark of 9.7 K/9 IP is no joke.
I’m going to go ahead and say it. “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” is better than both “Knocked Up” and “Superbad.”
Rafael Furcal looks fantastic this season. He’s taking the opposite approach to his walk year than Andruw Jones did. His bat speed is back, and he’s walking at a greater rate than he ever has before, also chipping in four steals already. All those injuries from last season are officially behind him, and Furcal looks like a top-40 fantasy player.
Julio Lugo, on the other hand, looks dreadful. A decent second half last season (rightfully) gave fantasy owners hope for the 2008 campaign, but he looks as lost as ever, already committing an unacceptable six errors in the field. The Red Sox can’t put up with a poor defending, sub .300 OBP shortstop who is getting caught on 50 percent of his SB attempts much longer.
I’m beginning to think the Lakers got the better end of the Pau Gasol deal.
Typically not a fan of Emo, I simply cannot get “I Will Possess Your Heart” by Death Cab For Cutie out of my head.
Sunday was a microcosm of the current state of Chipper Jones’ career; two more hits raised his MLB-leading average to .458, but he also left the game with a strained quad. Despite turning 36 years old later this week, Jones is currently one of the three best hitters in baseball. It would be interesting to see what he could do with 600 at-bats.
Is it too early to start a Conor Jackson for MVP campaign? I say no.
Randy Wolf is going to be a major fantasy asset for as long as he stays healthy this season. Before an injury derailed him last year, Wolf posted a 71:19 K:BB ratio over 66 innings during April and May, with a 3.40 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. He still walks too many batters to be a big help in the WHIP department, but since Petco really helps his biggest weakness – allowing homers since he gives up so many flyballs – and he’s in baseball’s best division for pitchers, a big season could be in store. However, since he can’t be counted on to stay healthy, he might be an excellent sell-high in 2-3 weeks.
Top-5 Late Night Hosts
1. David Letterman
2. Conan O’Brien
3. Jimmy Kimmel
4. Craig Ferguson
89. Jay Leno
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