Apparently getting 2,000 hits in Japan is a big deal. This is pretty cool stuff. Congrats to Matsui on his impending accomplishment.
Archive for the 'NL Central' Category
Pedro Martinez made his debut for the Phillies Wednesday night, and while he did give up three earned and seven hits in his five innings of work, he showed signs of promise going forward. He also struck out five batters and hit 93 on the radar gun at least once while earning his first W for the Phillies. If he can improve just a little bit from his performance against the Cubs, the Phillies are going to be extremely happy with their new fifth starter.
Oh yeah, and Pedro is also back in form with the media. Always a quote machine, he gave us this gem last night:
“I’ve been there,” he said. “For this club, what I’m lacking right now, I might give them at the end. Experience. A cold-blooded person that doesn’t matter how big the game is. I’m going to stand right there. And if anybody fails, they can always count on the old goat to go out there and kind of stand up. I might do that. I might be able to do that if I’m healthy.
“I’m healthy. And I’m going to improve. Regardless of what happened today, I’m going to improve. I expect to improve, especially with being healthy.”
So I guess a lot hinges on his health?
There was also a very sad chapter to last night’s tilt. While fielding a ball in the fifth inning, Shane Victorino was the victim of some very dangerous and bad fan behavior. Someone in the stands decided it would be a good idea to throw a beer on Victorino as he attempted to catch a fly ball. Credit to Victorino for not letting getting pelted by a full beer stop him from making the snag. Even had he dropped it, the batter would have been called out for fan interference.
There is no place in sports for behavior like that from a fan. What good could possibly come from doing something like that? The batter is going to be called out every single time, and now you have put it into your own team’s head that they have to worry about retaliation down the road. Get a life and grow the hell up.
If you currently own George Sherrill, Scott Downs, Chad Qualls or Francisco Cordero you have to be worried about your status in saves. Any of these guys could get moved over the next two days, and as soon as they do you instantly lose a closer on your roster. So how do you combat this? Simple, handcuff the guy you have with the guy most likely to get his job if he is moved.
If you own Sherrill, look at Jim Johnson. No, Johnson is not setting the world on fire, but he is next in line for saves and does get a few strikeouts over time.
Downs? You obviously need to have him backed up with Jason Frasor. Frasor has bee a bit disappointing in the saves department, as he only has three on the season. Hell, he only has seven since the start of 2005 after nabbing 17 for the Blue Jays in 2004, but this season he is helping out in ERA and WHIP too.
Qualls? Jon Rauch is there for a reason, and that reason will become apparent if they move Qualls. Remember last year, when Rauch was the closer in DC before getting shipped out to Arizona? Yeah, he racked up 17 saves for the Nationals, and will rack up some for ‘Zona if they trade Qualls.
If Cordero gets moved things could be interesting. Dave Weathers is still there, and he is performing well once more. Also pitching well is Arthur Rhodes. Which of these old heads will get the nod? My bet is Weathers, but do not be shocked if Rhodes gets a look or they do a bullpen by committee.
In the first big move before the July 31st non-waiver trade deadline, the St. Louis Cardinals have acquired Matt Holliday from the Oakland A’s. In exchange for Holliday, the Cards will be sending three prospects to Oakland:
Due to time constraints, we can not give you insight into the dudes getting moved for Holliday.
Put Joey Votto back into your active lineup. Dude is back, and after explaining why he has been away from the game he took the field and went 1 – 4 with a single and two strikeouts. It may take him a game or two to get back into raking mode, but we fully expect him to ignite the Reds’ lineup once more. This is great news for Brandon Phillips and Jerry Hairston, and hopefully for Jay Bruce as well.
So why did Votto have to take some time away from the game? As speculated, he has some issues with depression. Best of luck to Votto in dealing with his issues, and we hope that he has turned the corner and is on the road to recovery.
Joey Votto has not laced up his cleats for the Cincinnati Reds since May 29th. He was placed on the 15 day Prior List on May 30th, and can return whenever he is ready. Dude has had one hell of a season so far. He has battled the flu, an inner-ear infection, and some sort of personal issues that finally landed him on the Prior List. While he has been very quiet about what said personal issues are, he does plan on telling the public something in the near future. He also plans on stepping foot back on the baseball diamond very soon as well. Votto is on his way to Sarasota, Florida for a minor league rehab assignment. Sarasota is also where Votto makes his offseason home, so that should help with his “issues” as well.
Before things took a turn for the worse, Votto was killing NL pitching to a tune of a .378 batting average and 1.091 OPS. He has eight homers on the year through 126 at-bats, which equates to a pitcher hanging his head every 16 times Joey steps up to the plate. Throw in his 33 RBIs, 23 Runs and two stolen bases and you have one of the top one baggers in the league at the ripe old age of 25. It is unclear of when he will make it back to the Bigs, but I would expect that he will arrive sometime next week.
For a great read on Votto, check out this Fox Sports column by Jon Paul Morosi.
Don’t look now, but Lance Berkman went 2 for 4 last night with a round tripper to raise his average on the year to a paltry .251. At first glance, Berkman is having a terrible year. I should know, I own him in two of my fantasy leagues. Through 191 at-bats, dude has 11 homers, 33 RBIs, 29 Runs and only a single stolen base. This time last season, he was raking for a .374 average, 18 homers, 52 RBIs, 60 Runs, and 10 stolen bases. Yikes.
So why am I suddenly optimistic about this year’s version of Big Berk? Over the past month we have seen his average go from .184 to .251 while his OPS has risen from .743 to .866. During that same time frame, he has four homers, 15 Runs, 17 RBIs and his lone stolen base of the year. Setting the world on fire? Not exactly, but in order to raise his average and OPS he has hit at a .330/1.008 clip. If Berk can get his wheels going a little bit as well, his season, and our fantasy seasons, could very well be salvaged. If you do not own Berkman, he is a good trade target. Just hope that his current owner remembers April much better than May.
Just one day after I called for the Braves to pull a trade to improve their outfield, they pull the trigger on a deal to acquire Nate McLouth from the Pirates. In exchange, the Braves are sending Charlie Morton, Jeff Locke (rated as the 7th best prospect in Atlanta’s system by Baseball America) and Gorkys Hernandez (4th best prospect, BA). That is quite a price to pay, but we will certainly take it. McLouth is the defending Gold Glove winner in Center, and is a flat out stud.
This increases McLouth’s value in the fantasy world, and gives the Braves a huge boon in the real one. Kudos to Wren on this one.
I do not know how we missed it, or how no one that heard gave us a heads up, but apparently Mat Gamel got the call last week. He pinch hit last Thursday in his first Major League action of the year. It did not go well, as he struck out, but he did get his first start of the year yesterday. In said start, Gamel went 1 – 3 with his first big league homer, three RBIs and a walk.
Those of you who are not new to this blog know that we have been featuring Gamel for about a year now. While it hurts that we somehow missed dude getting called up, it does not take away from the fact that he is a must add right now. Just like we said back on May 6th, Gamel has been called up to serve as DH in Interleague play. Whether or not he sticks after that is the question, and he already made his first error last night. So while it is unclear just how much action he is going to see this week, stash him away immediately.
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