The Scoop

By Dalton Del Don

Zack Greinke currently has a 5.79 ERA, but you don’t need me to tell you he’s pitched far better than that with an accompanying 39:3 K:BB ratio over 28.0 innings. Entering 2011 and before he suffered broken ribs while playing pickup hoops, I debated having Greinke either fourth or fifth (versus Cliff Lee) on my starting pitcher rankings, and after his start to the season, I see no reason why he shouldn’t be currently viewed as such. It’s one thing to note his peripherals as strong, suggesting a correction in ERA, but it’s another to recognize his component stats as possibly the best in baseball, albeit over just a five-start stretch. His 12.5 K/9 ratio is more than 1.5 strikeouts per nine innings more than any other starter, and that’s combined with a 0.96 BB/9 rate! I’m also not too worried about his high BABIP (.370) and HR/FB% (21.1), since throughout his career the former has been around league average (.308) and the latter has been far better than that (8.7%). One year removed from winning the Cy Young in a truly dominant season, don’t underestimate the impact the move to the National League can have on Greinke. Teammate Shaun Marcum was a nice pitcher for the Blue Jays over the past two years, and he himself is in Cy Young contention with the move to the N.L. so far in 2011, as he’s currently sporting a 2.37 ERA and 1.02 WHIP with a 4.1:1 K:BB ratio. Joe Posnanski, who’s one of the best sports writers alive and knows Greinke from his days covering the Royals, suggested Greinke would actually thrive during a pennant race while playing in meaningful games for once, which is counterintuitive to those who point to the pitchers’ past problems with social anxiety disorder. So far, Posnanski hasn’t exactly been proven wrong. Other than Roy Halladay, there’s a pretty strong argument for Greinke as the No. 2 fantasy pitcher moving forward.

This car escape was pretty epic.

This guy wanted to join the mile-high club all by himself.

After an 0-for-4 Wednesday, Alex Rios is hitting .206/.265/.317 on the year, which is about as ugly as it gets. He’s also been caught on nearly half his stolen base attempts (4-for-7), so he’s been one of fantasy baseball’s biggest busts so far in 2011. Rios has always been a difficult player to evaluate, as he’s generally considered overpaid since he hasn’t reached an OPS of .800 since 2007, although he’s gone from a strong right fielder defensively to an average one in center, which makes his production at the plate over the past couple of years much more acceptable. And in fantasy terms, even during his down year in 2009, he produced 17 homers and 24 steals. But there’s no doubt owners expected much more in 2011 (and they used a much higher draft pick) after Rios hit .284 with 21 home runs, 34 stolen bases, 89 runs and 88 RBI last season. Looking deeper, his walk rate is the second best of his career, and his K rate is actually a career-low by a wide margin. Moreover, his line drive percentage is a healthy 20.6%, yet Rios’ BABIP (.219) is nearly 100 points lower than his career rate (.312). According to The Bill James Handbook, U.S. Cellular Field had a HR park index of 179 for right-handed batters last season, which means it was 79% easier to hit home runs there than the rest of the parks in the league, easily leading MLB; it’s also been the most favorable HR hitting park for RHB over the past three years, if you want a bigger sample. Go ahead and target Rios as a buy low.

Randy Savage’s recent death reminded me of this American Gladiators clip, which is a classic.

Was Dennis Rodman one of the best NBA players ever? The study included in this article argues it’s closer than you think.

Acquired from the Giants as part of the Jason Schmidt deal in 2001, Ryan Vogelsong was once considered a decent prospect, but he suffered injuries, wasn’t effective and was eventually designated for assignment by Pittsburgh in 2006. He pitched in Japan before signing a minor league deal with the Phillies last year, and while all other aspects of his performance were pedestrian, he posted a 10.4 K/9 ratio over 33 starts in Triple-A (after recording a 12.1 K/9 rate in Japan the year before). After the Phillies released him, the Giants, who severely lacked pitching deep in their organization (at the time Jeff Suppan was the team’s No. 6 starter) signed him on a flier, and he proceeded to strike out 17 batters over 11.0 innings in Triple-A, earning him the call when Barry Zito went down with a foot injury. Vogelsong’s control, while improved, was still a poor 4.0/9, so that aspect has been a surprise so far during his stint with his former team in 2011 (it’s down to 2.76/9). While the suddenly newfound control may not be sustainable, it’s hard not to like the way Vogelsong has been throwing this season. We could obviously point to Vogelsong’s fortunate BABIP, LOB% and HR/FB%, but then again, the same would be true for any pitcher with a 1.93 ERA. But as a Giants fan (who’s currently in clinical depression regarding Buster Posey), with Vogelsong’s 8.0 K/9 and 2.9:1 K:BB ratios, I hope Zito doesn’t get another start this season.

Roseanne Barr writing a provocative and informative article about the sexist nature of the TV community in Hollywood.

Crazy sad read about sex trafficking in the United States.

Paying the price at draft tables for Dan Uggla after he came off a season in which he produced career-highs in batting average, on-base percentage, home runs and RBI probably wasn’t the best move, although the only real concern was a fall in BA. That’s come to fruition, but his owners can’t be blamed for not expecting a drop this precipitous. Uggla is actually striking out at a significantly lower rate than at any point of his career since his rookie season, so while his LD% and IFFB% are both up, his .197 BABIP is especially perplexing when you consider his GB% is a career-high, and his FB% and HR/FB% are both career-lows. Put differently, expect all this batted ball noise to even out. He’s another strong buy-low candidate who’s very likely to see an unusual set of eight weeks change in his favor over the rest of 2011.

I had no idea what a “Tiger Mom” was, but this setup is pretty funny.

Interesting story about a man who was cured of HIV.

I have no idea what to make of Jarrod Saltalamacchia, who continues to show poor plate discipline and has ugly overall numbers this season despite it being his fifth in the league. But he now has four homers over his past six games with a 2:3 K:BB ratio over that stretch. It’s probably meaningless, but as a former top prospect playing an extremely shallow fantasy position, he’s worth a flier. Salty hit 11 homers over 308 at-bats as a 22-year-old during his first stint in the minors, but he’s never really validated his worth as a top prospect since then. Still, clearly scouts have seen tools of a future star, and he now has the benefit of hitting in Fenway Park and in Boston’s lineup. Might as well see if this recent outburst is a sign of things to come for the 26-year-old who’s just now surpassing 900 career ABs at a position that typically develops slower.

This first person view of the Joplin tornado features almost zero visual footage, but that makes their ordeal no less terrifying.

A truly inspiring story regarding conjoined twins.

A few thoughts on some closing situations: Frank Francisco is still probably the best pitcher in the Blue Jays’ pen, but with a 6.23 ERA and with plenty of competition, his job as closer is in jeopardy. He should obviously not be dropped, but in deeper leagues, Jon Rauch should also be owned along with Jason Frasor and Octavio Dotel. Frasor has been the team’s best reliever this season and would likely get the next closing opportunity if lefties were due up, while Dotel, who has struck out 17 batters over 12.1 innings, would possibly get the next save chance against a right-handed heavy lineup…The Dodgers’ bullpen situation might be an even bigger crap shoot, since it involves more unknowns. An area that projected as a strength before the season started, Los Angeles has had to place Jonathan Broxton, Hong-Chih Kuo and Vicente Padilla on the disabled list. Kenley Jansen has a ridiculous K rate, but an equally crazy walk rate and is seemingly unready to be trusted in such a role. Mike MacDougal has a career 4.81 BB/9 ratio. Matt Guerrier is an option, but he’s uninspiring and took the loss Wednesday. Enter Javy Guerra and Rubby De La Rosa? My guess is one of those two will have the most value moving forward. No clue which one…Matt Capps is dealing with forearm soreness, which is rarely a good sign, but there doesn’t appear to be a viable alternative in Minnesota. Although I do think Joe Nathan is the Twins’ reliever to own during the second half of the season.

Pretty legit comeback in a race.

I’m a Werner Herzog fan to begin with, and this interview only reinforced that.

Closers continued: Kevin Gregg deserves credit for the career he’s made for himself as a closer over the past five years, but he’s currently sporting a 1.64 WHIP thanks largely to 13 walks over 18.1 innings. That type of control will be especially problematic in the A.L. East, and while Koji Uehara is a very real injury risk, he’s clearly the team’s best reliever (and also best used one inning at a time), so I’d give him about even odds to lead Baltimore in saves from here on out…Francisco Rodriguez has been fantastic this season, and while his crazy contract provisions make him a prime trade candidate for the Mets, it also makes him undesirable to potential buyers, unless they are willing to make him a setup man, which could lead to a poisonous situation. Either way, Jason Isringhausen is an NL-only league stash…The Cardinals’ bullpen has been as volatile as it gets, but Fernando Salas clearly is the guy to own now and from here on out. I dropped him in both Yahoo F&F and my home league, naturally…Aroldis Chapman being a threat to Francisco Cordero’s job seems like such a distant memory…Also, remember when some considered the Rays’ bullpen a weakness before the season? I won’t go into details (you can ask any Tigers fan for verification), but let’s all try to remember this example of just how fickle relief pitching is.

I try to include mostly sophisticated links, but sometimes, a good old-fashioned “fail” deserves a look, especially when the recorder gives us a Mario laugh.

To further my proclamation of only using sophisticated links, I give you a man found chained to a box of sand in a life raft.

Closers, Part 3: What is wrong with Joakim Soria and Neftali Feliz? Both have seen their fastball velocity dip about 1.5 mph, but that hardly explains the sudden lack of control. Dave Cameron mentioned this stat over at Fangraphs last week, and it’s only gotten crazier since then. Feliz has faced 31 right-handed batters this year. He’s posted a 0:11 K:BB ratio against them. Please read that again. This only reinforces just how truly special Mariano Rivera’s career has been. There’s only one fantasy closer who can be compared right now, and that’s Jonathan Papelbon, who has posted an ERA under 2.35 in five of the past six years since he took over closing duties (and his peripherals remained strong during his down year in 2010). With his K rate, there’s an argument he should currently be viewed as the No. 1 fantasy closer. More saves, and likely plenty of them, are sure to follow.

Follow me on Twitter.