Hey now, it’s Monday. Roto Riteup readers should enjoy this YouTube video if they’d like to perk themselves up with a laugh, and don’t worry, it’s safe for work.

On today’s agenda:
1. Yusmeiro Petit to start today
2. Wilson Ramos to return this weekend
3. Jimmy Rollins’ bounceback year?
4. Mariners rid themselves of Abraham Almonte
5. The Fruitful Five

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Episode 115

The latest episode of The Sleeper and the Bust is now live! Jason Collette and Nick Minnix discuss players on the mend, players breaking down, changes in starting rotation, 2-start pitchers, and of course, closer craziness.

As usual, don’t hesitate to tweet us any fantasy questions you have that we may answer on our next episode.

You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the feed.

Thanks to Ian Miller aka Teen Archer, for the new intro music. Approximately 67 minutes of joyous analysis.  

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• John Axford did not pitch well today. Because of this, the Indians did not win a baseball game. While Twitter may imply otherwise, the mustachioed man hadn’t been scored upon in about three weeks, so the implosions aren’t a regular occurrence. Yet. Unfortunately, Axford has seen a steep decline in his punchout rate over the last three years. It corresponds to a fairly noticeable decrease in velocity, which seems to be at its worst this season. These facts, combined with his notoriously iffy control, have pushed his SIERA to 4.48. That would represent the highest mark of The Ax Man’s career and continues a four-year trend of worsening performance. Not cool, John. While his AL-leading nine saves likely give him some additional job security, Read the rest of this entry »

Seriously, Jake Arrieta – fresh off the DL – struck out seven Cardinals over five and a third shutout innings. Yesterday’s stack of Matt Adams, Matt Carpenter, and Allen Craig were supposed to face off against a rusty, not very good Arrieta. They weren’t supposed to run into a buzzsaw.

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Today being Star Wars Day gives me a weak pretense to give you some links to things I find fun. This time it is the cast returning to their previous roles. The films, toys and books set in the “Star Wars” universe all played a major part in my childhood. I’ll always have a soft spot for playing “X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter” on the computer and fond memories of playing with my Star Wars Micro Machines.

On today’s agenda:
1. Several outfielders to the disabled list
2. A new starter in Toronto?
3. Juan Lagares, starting center fielder
4. The Daily Five

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Agenda

1. Double Park Factors
2. Sunday Sauce
3. Monday Plays
4. Table

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Ah, it’s Saturday again. Saturdays are awesome because: A) most of us are off from work, and B) there’s baseball for the majority of the afternoon and night. Unfortunately, Saturdays can also be a pain – although, usually less so than Sundays – because rosters lock a little earlier. So if a player or two ends up having the day off, your chances of winning any money dip a great deal. Baseball giveth, and it taketh away.

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Agenda

1. Playing the numbers – the hot hand
2. Today
3. Tomorrow
4. ToTable

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Happy Lumpy Rug Day! According to some sources this really is a thing. According to other sources, sometimes a rug can really tie a room together (warning: language).

On today’s agenda:
1. Jason Kipnis to the disabled list
2. The Los Angeles Dodgers rotating rotation
3. Thoughts on Travis Wood
4. The Daily Five

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Yesterday we discussed four players who passed the eye test. In other words, my amateur scouting opinion is in agreement with their early season numbers. In the hands of an amateur, the eye test can only take us so far; data is still going to be king. Even so, there is value in knowing how a player looks on the field. Chris Coste was briefly quite good, but he never passed anybody’s eye test. So when he went from 33-year-old stud to 34-year-old dud, nobody was surprised.

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