AL SP Notes
August 23, 2012
It’s that day of the week when it’s time to get caught up with all the happenings among American League starting pitchers.
Archive for August, 2012
Bullpen Report: August 22, 2012
• Former closers around the league busted down their manager’s door this week demanding they be returned to ninth-inning duties. Well, maybe that was just the John Axford approach — but hey, it worked. On Tuesday, Ron Roenicke signaled for the “mustached one” out of the pen with two down in the ninth. Axford strolled to the bump and induced a Welington Castillo ground out to earn his 19th save of the season. Milwaukee’s manager called on Axford again on Wednesday to seal a 3-2 victory over the Cubs, and he did just that. The right-hander struck out the side while allowing just one single en route to his 20th save on the year. Axford is available in 20 percent of Yahoo! leagues.
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An Easy Way to Stream for Steals
by Eno Sarris
August 22, 2012
With the end of the season looming, it could be time for you to stream for steals. After all, a directed, focused attack on the leaderboard is all that’s going to work right now. There are categories that you won’t make any headway in. And if steals is one of the categories that is ripe with opportunity, picking the best matchups could net you what you need.
But there’s an easy way and a hard way. As there usually is. But in this case, the easy way may be just as good or better.
Colvin and DeJesus: Better Than a Poke in the Eye
Let’s face it. Sifting through the waiver wire at this point can be an exercise in futility. I mean, if the guy is just sitting out there waiting to be snatched up by anyone desperate enough to have to employ his services for the final month of the season, how good can he really be? There is no “long term” anymore, so it’s time to turn that roster spot into a revolving door and start playing the hot bat. They’re certainly not the be-all, end-all, but here are two that just might be of service for the home stretch. Read the rest of this entry »
Luis Cruz & Johnny Giavotella: Deep League WW
August 22, 2012
It’s never fun when your starting middle infielder goes down and you’re choosing from the crap heap of those no-power, limited speed leftovers. If this has happened to you, it’s your lucky day. Here are a pair of middle infielders who might actually contribute.
Roto Riteup: August 22, 2012
I was going to say something witty to introduce today’s Roto Riteup, but then I was all, like, “nah.”
Bullpen Report: August 21, 2012
• Last night Javier Lopez picked up the save for the Giants recording just the final out after Hanley Ramirez hit a home run off of Sergio Romo. Jeremy Affeldt has had some struggles recently but without any word from manager Bruce Bochy, Affeldt should still be ahead of Lopez in the pecking order, splitting closing duties with Romo.
Stephen Drew: Waiver Wire
Stephen Drew (ESPN: 14 percent owned; Yahoo!: 19 percent owned)
How much venom has been lobbed at Stephen Drew by jilted fantasy owners over the years? Like Francisco Liriano and any number of other fantasy femme fatales, Drew — through no actual fault of his own — seems to have hoodwinked owners over and over again, sometimes baiting them into taking him when they should have passed and sometimes doing the exact opposite.
He broke onto the fantasy scene in his rookie season with a .316/.357/.517 line, then collapsed the next season with a .238/.313/.370 line in his first full year with the Diamondbacks. If that were the totality of his career, Drew would be just another flash in the pan that didn’t work out long term. Instead, here are Drew’s wRC+ by year prior to this year: 115, 72, 107, 88, 113, 89. It’s that up and down motion, his ability to be 13 percent above league average one year and 11 percent under it the next, that has made Drew such a tough player to draft and such a maddening one to own. Read the rest of this entry »
What To Do About the Giants Bullpen
by Eno Sarris
August 21, 2012
Last night, Sergio Romo’s slider wasn’t biting just right. Maybe the release point wasn’t quite right, but whatever happened, he didn’t get a whiff on any of his ten pitches. Since he’s shown a 15+% swinging strike rate over the last couple of years, that’s at least one short of a regular appearance.
But that doesn’t mean that his arsenal didn’t predict the end of the game. In fact, his arsenal, along with those of the two other heads in the Giants’ three-headed closer monster, should help us figure out what to do with the Giants bullpen in fantasy baseball.