Before this Roto Riteup gets too far underway, this was hands down the biggest announcement from yesterday.

• It was confirmed Albert Pujols underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee last week. The Los Angeles Angels claim that it was “a minor cleanup surgery” and that Pujols will be ready for spring training. Per wOBA and wRC+, Pujols is on a five year slide. Despite this trend and the surgery, Pujols still figures to be a pillar of any fantasy squad. If anything, I think natural aging is the cause of any decline. And of course, Pujols’ worst year of his career in 2012 was “only” 30 home runs, 105 RBI’s with a .285 batting average. As far as re-draft leagues go, proceed as usual.
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Yes, you did read that title correctly! I know it’s early, but once you have some coffee in you, let the full gravity of this hit you! My esteemed colleague and I are back with off season Roto Riteup coverage on every Tuesday and Friday, and today we came out swinging (hooray for pop-punk!). Rather than report on the previous day’s fantasy happenings and recent trends and hot streaks, the off season RR will consist of more stories and less stats. Obviously.
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Today marks the last day of the fantasy baseball season. To those of you who are in the finals of a head-to-head league or are in a neck and neck race in a roto league, I wish you the best of luck.

• Someone who I feel is consistently under-rated — even by me — is Denard Span. He had a two hit game yesterday afternoon and now his average sits at .285 on the season. He has also stolen 17 bases and while his runs scored is lower than I’d like from a lead-off hitter, he still makes for a useful fantasy cog. Cheap steals and average? Where do I sign? I can usually count on Span being available to grab after a draft, and he is available right now in 87% of Yahoo! leagues and 80% of ESPN leagues.
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If my writing seems (extra), blame it on the fact that I am watching my A’s tangle against the Texas Rangers. Call me crazy (call me maybe. Hey, I still like that song. It’s so dang catchy ), but I’m looking forward to seeing my A’s sweep the Rangers and win the West. And yes, I’m writing this while the game is still in the third inning.

• You know that song that goes “I’m trying to find the way to describe this girl without being disrespectful?” Well, I’m trying to find words to describe Jonathan Lucroy without being over the top. As I’m sure you all know by now, I tend to punt the catcher spot(s) in favor of streaming them as the season goes on. I picked up Lucroy in two leagues about a little more than a month ago and I haven’t stopped playing him yet. His ownership rate in both Yahoo! and ESPN is finally above the 50% threshold, so it seems as though others have taken note as well. Lucroy powered his 16th 12th home run of the season yesterday and those home runs have come in less than 400 plate appearances. Looking ahead to next season I sincerely think about drafting him as my #1 catcher and merely streaming my #2 spot.
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With apologies to the dear reader(s), I have been quite ill for the past few days. That being said, a pack of wild Kate Uptons couldn’t keep me away from the last three days of baseball action.

• If it seems like I just wrote about Brett Lawrie hitting a home run, it’s because I did. That being said, Lawrie hit another home run yesterday during his three hit game and he boosted his slugging over .400 for the season. It is a far cry from the .580 SLG that he displayed in 2011, but as previously stated, I’m still high on him for 2013.
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Today’s Roto Riteup is being unofficially sponsored by the Magic Hat IPA that I’m currently enjoying.

• As far as injury concerns go, Chris Iannetta was pulled from yesterday’s game in the eighth inning due to leg cramps. Since the first of September, Iannetta has started 23 games — all of which have been at catcher. The Angels travel to Texas to play the Rangers today and of course don’t have a scheduled off day until a potential play off situation. I expect the Angels to announce that Iannetta will receive at least one day off. He isn’t owned in a ton of leagues however, so you should be able to proceed as per usual when setting your roster.
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Is it just me, or will the combination of the stretch run of baseball and fantasy baseball making life extra stressful? I am fully aware that I’m probably too old to care so much about baseball, but I do care this much.

• It took an 0-for-32 stretch, but Josh Reddick finally got a pair of hits in last night’s game against the Texas Rangers. Reddick has been a great surprise for not only A’s fans but also fantasy owners. His 29 home runs, 79 RBI’s and 11 stolen bases have made him a legitimate fantasy cornerstone. Only his batting average is lacking to make him a five category threat. Thinking ahead to next season, I’d expect Reddick to be drafted alongside upper shelf talent instead of being available on the waiver wire like this season.
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Since I linked to a My Little Pony video earlier in the month, and just yesterday I posted a link to a Calvin and Hobbes related things, I figured why not combine the two? Here is a lovely crossover from someone who is much more talented than myself.

• I’m okay with writing about Jon Jay twice in a one week span if you are. Jay went 2-for-5 in yesterday’s win over the Houston Astros and he even stole a base to boot. He just keeps hitting. He is owned in 53% of ESPN leagues now but still just 25% of Yahoo! leagues. We’re all aware of the different computations each site uses to calculate ownership, but Jay should be owned in 80% of all leagues by now.

• At this point I’ve given up trying to comprehend how A.J. Pierzynski is hitting all of these home runs. He hit his 27th long ball of the year yesterday and now has nine more home runs than his previous single season high. His ISO now stands at an incredible .230; almost 70 points higher than his previous best season. Writing this off as an aberration is the route that I’m going to take with this 35-year old catcher.
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Today is National Comic Book Day! In honor of that, here is a link to the primary comic influence in my life: Calvin and Hobbes. The amount of hours that I spent reading, re-reading and thinking about this comic in my youth can’t be measured. Without being hyperbolic at all, it is safe to say that Bill Watterson was one the primary architects of my imagination and writing.

• Eric Chavez clubbed his 14th home run of the season last night during his 3-for-4 day. All told that brings him up to 14 on the season — his most since his days in an Oakland A’s uniform. He has appeared at both first and third base this year and has proven to be a small asset in very deep mixed leagues or AL-only formats. He only has 300 or so plate appearances, but his overall line is a very respectable .284/.341/.487. Chavez is owned in less than 5% of both ESPN and Yahoo! leagues.
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Today’s Roto Riteup is dedicated to that awkward moment (that happens to me at least five times a day) when all of your co-workers are asking you for fantasy football advice, and you say only write about baseball.

• Even before last night’s excellent 3-for4 game with a steal, Carlos Gomez has been turning it on as of late. His past week’s worth of games has him hitting at a .294 clip with two steals. He is up to 35 steals on the year, but has just 66 runs to show for them. His poor OBP is what really drives down his stolen base opportunities, and his walk rate his lowest since his 2008 season. For the short term, Gomez has the speed that can help push you to winning the stolen base category and thus he deserves to be owned. He is available in about half of all ESPN leagues and over 60% of Yahoo! leagues.
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