Friday, June 03, 2005
The Black Cat Under the Ladder
It's a good thing I'm not superstitious, because I leave the country and K-Rod hits the DL, Vlad goes down next, and then the Angels fall to 2nd place. Of course, they did go 8-5 in that stretch (the real problem was that Texas didn't lose the entire duration of my honeymoon!). Still, the Halos are back in a tie for tops in the AL West (you're welcome, er, wait--I'm not superstitious). K-Rod is back as well, and 2 other young Angels (1 you've heard of, the other you haven't) could also be about ready to be a part of your fantasy roster. Plus, we've got a last-minute signing that could alter the franchise, an offense that has scored 7 or more runs in each of its last 4 wins, and e-mail coming out my ears! Sheesh. That's a lot to cover. Let's take it Around the Halo.
Mending Wings: Returns, Returns
We start here, because some of the biggest names on the team reside here. Vlad is running and throwing, but won't swing until next week and still isn't catching toss either. With interleague play coming up in the NL parks, it could be harder to get him in the game with no DH. Scioscia, on the team website, wouldn't rule out a return before the end of the road trip, but a June 13 date looks like a possible target. He's progressing, so be patient. K-Rod is back and while he probably won't go 3 days in a row for a bit (or maybe even back-to-back in some instances), he's pitching pain free and that's a good sign that he'll be 100% as soon as he shakes off the rust. [Insert relaxed smile here.] Scot Shields, even going back to just set up duty, is still very valuable.
I've received a bit of mail concerning the reliability of Escobar's apparent good health and while the fact that he has to have surgery eventually on that elbow (just hopefully not until after the season) makes him a ticking time bomb, it's hard to argue with his first outing back from the DL (5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 7 K, 2 BB). He'll probably go a little further Friday at Boston. He's too good for you to get full value right now and probably worth riding until he breaks anyway (which hopefully won't happen). Keep an eye on him and pray. Also, Macier Izturis looks to begin his AAA rehab as early as Monday with Salt Lake. He's strictly an extreme fringe player for now, but those in deep leagues can take note. Finally, Curtis Pride's wrist injury could be tendonitis. More to follow.
Make It Mac Tonight
Do you remember that silly moon-headed pianist? Well, anyway, Dallas McPherson has gone off in the past week with 4 HR, 9 RBI, and a .370 AVG. D-Mac started slow and up until the last 7 games there were no signs of him warming up much at all. Does this recent stretch signal the beginning of something special? To a degree. Make no mistake--even though he's made contact in 21 of his 27 ABs the last week, he's still walked only 10 times to 37 whiffs, so there won't be many more .370 weeks. Is the power there? Yes. It was waiting to explode. Now, striking out so much will lend to longer slumps for him, but if you're looking for a guy who can club the ball, D-Mac who's still widely available in mixed leagues at a tough position. Take a look in deeper (and keeper) leagues.
Joel Peralta
Who? JP came up a couple of weeks ago when K-Rod hit the DL. Surprisingly, he wasn't sent down to make room for Frankie's return (Chris Bootcheck got that dubious honor). Joel Peralta is a guy who's only gotten looks in 1.9% of AL leagues, but he could really be a help to your fantasy team. No, he doesn't have any Major League experience, but he's 29 and seasoned in the minors. He's got excellent numbers the last 2 years at AA Arkansas and AAA Salt Lake. He keeps the ball in the park and he strikes out plenty of guys with good control. I don't know how long he'll remain with the Halos (it could be a while), but he'd be a very good speculative pickup for a team looking to pick up some Ks with the potential to help the ERA and WHIP. Very easy to get--even in deep leagues.
The 11th Hour, the 59th Minute
In a deal that no one thought would happen, the Angels signed college standout pitcher Jered Weaver to a deal in the final hours of the last day before he was to become eligible for the '05 Draft. The Halos took him 12th overall last year but Scott Boras did his usual job of gumming up the works (and to be fair, that is his job). In the LA Times, Boras did his best to make Weaver sound like a hometown guy who took a discount and was going to try and get by on 4 million at 22 years old. Yeah, that’ll be rough. Look, Weaver's probably going to be great--and he did the right thing. He put himself in a position to start playing baseball now--which is exactly what he should be doing. Despite the posturing Boras did, he lost this negotiation. Hats off to Bill Stoneman on an excellent job.
Uh, Excuse Me, Axl?
Thank you again for the well wishes concerning my wedding. Some of you had some very kind and thoughtful things to say (who said fantasy baseball geeks are all statistics and no emotion?). Amongst those e-mails with advice ranging from "always cherish your wife and your time together" to "get married in the offseason, dork" were plenty of actual fantasy questions, of which I will try to answer as quickly as I can. I hope you'll be patient as I catch up--there were a lot of them. My computer actually stopped taking e-mails about halfway through my absence and began piling your queries in my desk chair. Axl, Slash, and I appreciate your patience. Huge 7-game stretch coming up--2 division leaders (BOS, ATL). Should be a lot of fun. For the Angels, Matt Allen--ESPN.
Mending Wings: Returns, Returns
We start here, because some of the biggest names on the team reside here. Vlad is running and throwing, but won't swing until next week and still isn't catching toss either. With interleague play coming up in the NL parks, it could be harder to get him in the game with no DH. Scioscia, on the team website, wouldn't rule out a return before the end of the road trip, but a June 13 date looks like a possible target. He's progressing, so be patient. K-Rod is back and while he probably won't go 3 days in a row for a bit (or maybe even back-to-back in some instances), he's pitching pain free and that's a good sign that he'll be 100% as soon as he shakes off the rust. [Insert relaxed smile here.] Scot Shields, even going back to just set up duty, is still very valuable.
I've received a bit of mail concerning the reliability of Escobar's apparent good health and while the fact that he has to have surgery eventually on that elbow (just hopefully not until after the season) makes him a ticking time bomb, it's hard to argue with his first outing back from the DL (5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 7 K, 2 BB). He'll probably go a little further Friday at Boston. He's too good for you to get full value right now and probably worth riding until he breaks anyway (which hopefully won't happen). Keep an eye on him and pray. Also, Macier Izturis looks to begin his AAA rehab as early as Monday with Salt Lake. He's strictly an extreme fringe player for now, but those in deep leagues can take note. Finally, Curtis Pride's wrist injury could be tendonitis. More to follow.
Make It Mac Tonight
Do you remember that silly moon-headed pianist? Well, anyway, Dallas McPherson has gone off in the past week with 4 HR, 9 RBI, and a .370 AVG. D-Mac started slow and up until the last 7 games there were no signs of him warming up much at all. Does this recent stretch signal the beginning of something special? To a degree. Make no mistake--even though he's made contact in 21 of his 27 ABs the last week, he's still walked only 10 times to 37 whiffs, so there won't be many more .370 weeks. Is the power there? Yes. It was waiting to explode. Now, striking out so much will lend to longer slumps for him, but if you're looking for a guy who can club the ball, D-Mac who's still widely available in mixed leagues at a tough position. Take a look in deeper (and keeper) leagues.
Joel Peralta
Who? JP came up a couple of weeks ago when K-Rod hit the DL. Surprisingly, he wasn't sent down to make room for Frankie's return (Chris Bootcheck got that dubious honor). Joel Peralta is a guy who's only gotten looks in 1.9% of AL leagues, but he could really be a help to your fantasy team. No, he doesn't have any Major League experience, but he's 29 and seasoned in the minors. He's got excellent numbers the last 2 years at AA Arkansas and AAA Salt Lake. He keeps the ball in the park and he strikes out plenty of guys with good control. I don't know how long he'll remain with the Halos (it could be a while), but he'd be a very good speculative pickup for a team looking to pick up some Ks with the potential to help the ERA and WHIP. Very easy to get--even in deep leagues.
The 11th Hour, the 59th Minute
In a deal that no one thought would happen, the Angels signed college standout pitcher Jered Weaver to a deal in the final hours of the last day before he was to become eligible for the '05 Draft. The Halos took him 12th overall last year but Scott Boras did his usual job of gumming up the works (and to be fair, that is his job). In the LA Times, Boras did his best to make Weaver sound like a hometown guy who took a discount and was going to try and get by on 4 million at 22 years old. Yeah, that’ll be rough. Look, Weaver's probably going to be great--and he did the right thing. He put himself in a position to start playing baseball now--which is exactly what he should be doing. Despite the posturing Boras did, he lost this negotiation. Hats off to Bill Stoneman on an excellent job.
Uh, Excuse Me, Axl?
Thank you again for the well wishes concerning my wedding. Some of you had some very kind and thoughtful things to say (who said fantasy baseball geeks are all statistics and no emotion?). Amongst those e-mails with advice ranging from "always cherish your wife and your time together" to "get married in the offseason, dork" were plenty of actual fantasy questions, of which I will try to answer as quickly as I can. I hope you'll be patient as I catch up--there were a lot of them. My computer actually stopped taking e-mails about halfway through my absence and began piling your queries in my desk chair. Axl, Slash, and I appreciate your patience. Huge 7-game stretch coming up--2 division leaders (BOS, ATL). Should be a lot of fun. For the Angels, Matt Allen--ESPN.
