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Did that really go out?
It's the home runs like this that Vlad hits, that makes a baseball fan like me truly appreciate how strong these guys are. It seems like he has a solid 10 home runs like this where he just takes a golf swing and somehow manages to get it to leave the yard. The Vladamir Guerrero-Texas Ranger experiment looks like it's paying off in a big way. People forget that Vlad had a 49 game hitting streak as an Angel against the Rangers. So since they couldn't beat him, the Rangers joined him and it's paying off. He seems to have resurrected his career when people said he was done in Anaheim. He's hitting .345 with 8 HR and 32 RBI, and that Ranger offense is absolutely scary. It's very possible that team scores 850+ runs with the hitters and speed that team has. Another interesting tidbit: tonight Vlad became the 31st person in baseball history to hit a home run against all 32 teams.
Pirate Pride
I make this my 2nd headline because in my quick hitters last night, I said to watch Roy Halladay do work on the Pittsburgh Pirates. Although he is on my fantasy team, it was a pleasant surprise to see the Pirates squeak out a rather impressive victory. The Pirates pitchers out-dueled Halladay, and they manufactured 2 runs, which was enough for them to get the win. Halladay's 132 pitches were tied for the most thrown this season, and it's amazing that almost every time Halladay takes the bump for the Phils, it's a day off for the bullpen.
Yankee's Blow It This Time
Well Marcus Thames goes from hero last night to zero tonight. He dropped a relatively routine fly-ball which would have kept 2 runs off the board for the Yankees. Then 2 batters later with the game tied Jeremy Hermida hits a fly ball to left. I was ready to watch the Yankee's head into the bottom of the 9th with the game tied, but for some reason, Randy Winn must have been standing 4 feet behind Derek Jeter, as the opposite field hit flew way over his head and the Red Sox win the game. It's amazing that the Yankees outfield was the one to blow the game, when the Red Sox outfield has been getting most of the attention for being so atrocious. That outfield will be much improved when Jacoby Ellsbury comes off the DL, most likely by the end of the weekend. The Red Sox offense has started to heat up, with the help of David Ortiz and J.D. Drew being hot in May. Kevin Youkilis has also been getting on base 1 of 2 plate appearances in May, which is just absurd. A lot of fantasy analysts are down on Ortiz, but I think he's definitely own-able in 10 and 12 team mixed leagues. He looks like he's healthy and is able to catch up to some of the fastballs that he couldn't hit in the first 2 months last year.
How Could I Not Talk About the Reds?
Well, I'll start by saying that I own Trevor Hoffman in my most important league, and he will not be on the starting roster for The Naturals tomorrow. It's hard to have faith in Hoffman anymore, and while I think Brewers manager Ken Macha is trying to stick with Hoffman until he gets save 600, it's just not a good idea. You can't keep coughing up games for sentimental purposes, even though Hoffman is at 596. I don't think it's a question that Carlos Villenueva is the guy for the job. Todd Coffey is the only other logical candidate to take over the closing duties in Milwaukee, but Villenueva has been so much better this year. He has great strikeout and walk rates, he's inducing a ton of groundballs and hitters are batting below .200 against him.
That being said, how about them Reds? What resiliency, eh!?! I know I can't go one day without mentioning this team on my blog, but another great start by Homer Bailey which kept the Reds around to make their comeback in the 9th. They are among the hottest teams in baseball, and retain a half game lead over the Cards in the NL Central.
Why can nobody on the west coast hit?
Not to detract from the pitching in the NL West, but how are these games so low scoring all the time? The pitching, especially in the NL West, is absolutely fascinating to watch. These teams all are phenomenal defensively: Only 1 team of the 10 in the NL and AL West is not in the top 20 in team fielding percentage, which I think is a pretty amazing stat. The Dodgers bats are starting to get things together despite Ethier going on the DL today for his broken pinkie. Their pitching has also started to return to form. I think the 2 horse race for the NL West between the Dodgers and the Rockies will begin shortly. I can't see the Padres and the Giants maintaining this start, solely because their pitching can't stay this good the whole season. The AL West offenses are a little better, but they don't have pitching their National League counterparts in the West have. It's looking more and more like the division will be the Rangers to lose with that great offense.
Just a quick thought for the Mariners offense. I know he's established as their lead-off man, but Don Wakamatsu needs to hit Ichiro second and Figgins lead-off. Ichiro is easily one of the best pure hitters in the league, and if you bat Figgins lead-off, then that enables more RBI opportunities for your best contact hitter. If Figgins gets out, then Ichiro's just leading off with one out. Just a quick thought.
Fantasy Time
- It's time to drop Dexter Fowler in all leagues except NL only. Jim Tracy seems like he wants to stick with Seth Smith. While I'm a little baffled by the move, I think you can't hope Fowler will get back in the lineup if one of the Rockies outfielders gets hurt.
- Shaun Marcum is legit. I know he's only at 3 wins after today's performance, but he struck out both Mauer and Morneau, two tough lefties who dominate righties. That's obviously not the only justification, but he's looking like he's healthy and pitching to contact. Pitching to contact is good when you have the 4th best defense in the AL behind you. And that Jays offense looks somewhat legit, so there's your run support.m
- Zach Greinke owners are probably furious. I would be too if I just couldn't get a win despite having a 2.72 ERA in 59 and 2/3 innings work. His 1-4 record despite great numbers is infuriating, and another reason Quality Starts are a better fantasy category than wins in my opinion.
- I think Juan Pierre only weighs 92 pounds. That dude is tiny. No wonder he has 18 steals so far this season. If you need cheap speed, he's available in a lot of leagues.
- Carlos Lee may have hit the furthest foul ball I've ever seen in his 3rd AB tonight. He looks like he's getting over those April woes one at bat at a time. I think he will be great the rest of this season, the lone bright spot in an otherwise terrible offense sans Berkman and Pence. Also, how could you not like a guy whose nickname is the horse.
- David Price became the winningest pitcher in the AL thus far with his stellar 6 innings of 4 hit ball today. Despite walking 3 he looked like he has found a nice groove, striking out 5. The only word of caution is that his flyball rate seems a little too high, and some of those balls will leave the yard with all the games against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium, the Red Sox, and teams like the Rangers in their hitter-friendly park. He's a guy I'd sell high on if you can get great value for him, top tier starting or top 50 player value if you have significant hitting needs to fill.
That's all for today, everybody have a great day. Please tell your friends and please sign up as a follower and leave comments, positive or negative feedback is much appreciated. Be well.
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