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The “baseball gods” flew into Tampa Bay

Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes, Fantasy Baseball Strategy, Fantasy Baseball Updates, Jesse 1 Response »

Aug 292010

By Jesse West

The term “baseball gods” has been around my entire life. It simply is an expression to try and explain odd occurences on the playing field. Things that defy meaning. Plays that are made that shouldn’t happen. The unknown in baseball. It had to be the work of the “baseball gods”.

Last night in St. Petersburg, the Rays won a game because they were favored by the “baseball gods”. There is no other way to explain it.

Red Sox pitcher Clay Buchholz was cruising with a 1-0 lead into the 7th inning when Evan Longoria led off with a single. A fielders choice put Carlos Pena on first with 1 out.

Now Pena has a bad foot and isn’t runing well. With only two feet away from 1st base with a lead, Buchholz kept throwing over to keep him close. How much closer could he get without standing on the base and having no lead?

And yet, something told Buchholz to throw over there again and the ball ended up in the Rays bullpen in right field while Pena took 3rd base.

So now Matt Joyce hits a fly ball foul to right. J.D. Drew chases it but at the last moment decides he doesn’t want to catch it. Yet he jumps over the bullpen pitching mound, into the chairs, sticks out his glove and the ball ends up caught for an out. Pena had no problem scoring the tying run.

How did that happened? Even Drew can’t explain it.

Meanwhile, the red hot Victor Martinez had 4 hits followed by David Ortiz with 3 hits and they finally managed to muster up a 2nd run.

Now Buchholz, except for the uncanny 7th inning, is still cruising. We go to the 8th and B.J. Upton leads off with a home run and we have a tie game again.

It stays that way going into the last of the 10th inning. Now Dan Johnson steps in hitting .149 on the season and 0-3 on the night. Johnson’s claim to fame was his big pinch hit home run in 2008 against these same Red Sox.

Sure enough, Johnson slams one into the right field stands and the game is over.

The unexplained happen last night at the Trop. It’s as though the “baseball gods” were saying to the Red Sox, “why are you trying to ruin this for the Rays? It’s their season”.

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Braves Acquire Derek Lee

Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes, Fantasy Baseball Strategy, Fantasy Baseball Updates, Jesse, Trades No Responses »

Aug 182010

The Chicago Cubs are cleaning house. The latest player swept out of the windy city is Derek Lee. Lee waived his 10-5 status to join the Braves.

Atlanta keeps wheeling and dealing. They are pulling out all the stops in their quest for the playoffs and beyond. And they may very well be the front runners.

But Derek Lee?

Lee has suffered from a bulging disc in his back all season. He is having an off year. He is closing in on 35 years old. The Braves can only hope he will help.

Yes, Troy Glaus has been slumping and playing injured. But to just dump on Glaus and replace him with another aging, injured player seems ludicrous. I see no improvement for the Braves.

Atlanta can take a chance. They are a solid organization. They always have good minor leaguers ready to come up. It may work for them.

But in the long run, should they make it to the World Series, it won’t be Derek Lee or Troy Glaus who will get them there. For those two players, their time has come and gone.

Jesse West

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Hellickson Poses Problem For Rays

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Aug 182010

By Jesse West

Rookie Jeremy Hellickson of the Tampa Bay Rays has been pitching great, period. This is not a pitcher you want to send back to the minors with a minor league season closing in 2 weeks.

Hellickson is here to stay. The question is, both Jeff Niemann and Wade Davis will be eligible to come off the DL in the next week. What will the Rays do?

One thing they will do is send relief pitcher Mike Ekstrom back to the minors. But all other pitchers are part of the staff. Probably the least effective pitcher on the Rays staff would be Lance Cormier. But he has been part of the team all season and it doesn’t seem likely that they would release him.

Another option is to hold off bringing Wade Davis back until the September callups. But that doesn’t seem likely either as Davis has been pitching well.

Another option is a new injury occurs and that would take care of things.

But one thing is sure, Hellickson is here to stay. Therefore, the Rays have to make a move soon.

Another question is, what do they do with Hellickson when Neimann and Davis return? It is highly unlikely the Rays will go with a 6 man rotation. Hellickson will surely go to the bullpen. But what role will he play there? The Rays bullpen is already solid.

And then Grant Balfour will be returning soon. Talk about being pitching rich! I’ve never known a team to be overloaded as the Rays are.

It will be interesting to see how things turn out, but Hellickson is too good to sit on the bench.

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Time For MVP/Cy Young Considerations

Cy Young Award, Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes, Fantasy Baseball Strategy, Fantasy Baseball Updates, MVP, White Rabbit 1 Response »

Aug 132010

The White Rabbit Speaks

With less than one third of a season to play, it is time to look at the leaders of baseballs’ two major awards, the Cy Young award winners and the Most Valuable players of each league.

The National League has three pitchers standing out above the others. Ubaldo Jimenez has lead the Colorado Rockies all season. He is 17-3, 2.55. He has slowed down a bit but is still a leader for this award. How many wins a pitcher gets is always a major consideration for this award.

Adam Wainwright of the St. Louis Cardinals has been outstanding. He is now tied with Jimenez for wins on the season, going 17-6, 1.99. He seems to be picking up speed rather than slowing down. He is certainly a front runner.

Roy Halladay of the Philadelphia Phillies is still in the race. Roy is 14-8, 2.34. Halladay is the type of pitcher who can pour it on from now to the end of the season. His numbers could very well top the others by seasons’ end.

All three pitchers are playing for contenders. This is also a general consideration for the award. It could come down to which pitcher gets his team into the playoffs.

The American League has six leading contenders for the award.

David Price of the Tampa Bay Rays has surprised many with his season thus far. He is 15-5, 2.84. He wins the big games for the Rays.

C.C. Sabathia of the New York Yankees again is a major contender. He is 15-5, 3.14. He’s known to pitch great down the stretch run. C.C. could pull it off again.

Carl Pavano of the Minnesota Twins is having his best season, going 14-7, 3.28. He shows no signs of slowing down and should finish strong.

Three others still appear to be in the running.

Clay Buchholz of the Boston Red Sox is 13-5, 2.49. Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers is 13-7, 3.72. And Phil Hughes of the New York Yankees is 13-5, 3.92. These pitchers will need some help the rest of the way to have a chance of taking this award.

The MVP award is still wide open in each league.

The Colorado Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez has been outstanding and hot, hitting .322 with 25 homers and 77 rbi’s.

Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto has been carrying the team on his back and is hitting .319 with 28 homers and 77 rbi’s.

And of course, St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols has been picking things up and is now hitting .310 with 28 homers and 84 rbi’s.

The American League has even more contenders.

Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers is showing no signs of slowing down. He is hitting .357 with 24 homers and 78 rbi’s.

Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers is having another outstanding season, hitting .339 with 26 homers and 93 rbi’s.

The Boston Red Sox third baseman Arian “the boomer” Beltre has to be considered. He is hitting .331 with 21 homers and 79 rbi’s. Beltre has been hitting solid and should continue to improve on those numbers.

The New York Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano has been leading the best team in baseball all season. He is hitting .327 with 21 homers and 72 rbi’s.

A darkhorse in the race for MVP may very well be Delmon Young of the Minnesota Twins. Young has been on fire for quite some time now and is hitting .319 with 14 homers and 84 rbi’s. If he continues hot, his numbers should rapidly rise.

The season has a ways to go. Players get hot and cold. Who will rise above it all in the end? It’s your pick now. Who do you think will win these prestigious awards?

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