Fantasy Baseball Tonight: Apr. 16

The New York Yankees finally opened their brand new ballpark today, and according to the reviews that I heard on the radio today, the place is spectacular.  It seemed like they got every detail just right, and truly what else would you expect from the richest franchise in sports. 

As much as we often pound on the Yankees and their free spending ways, but you can’t argue with the fact that they almost always do everything first class and top shelf.  They take care of their players and their fans, and do their best to give everyone the best experience possible.

Unfortunately for the Bronx Bombers, they got bombed in their new palace. CC Sabathia threw the first pitch in the new building, and then he went on to throw 121 more over just 5.2 innings. 

Sabathia was wildly effective today, as he only allowed one run in his start, but he walked five guys in under six innings. That is now 10 walks in 17.2 innings against 10 strikeouts. Is there a concern with Sabathia? His second start was fantastic, but the other two have been average or worse.

I have spoken about this before that my concern is the number of innings that he has thrown recently, particularly last year where the Brewers basically threw him every chance they got to try to make the playoffs.

Sabathia has been a workhorse throughout his career, so he SHOULD be OK, but in the back of your mind you have to consider his recent past.

Sabathia’s opponent was Cliff Lee who finally looked like the 2008 version of himself on Thursday. Lee ruined the festivities by allowing just one run over six innings and striking out four. He still walked three, which was the one thing he was able to stay away from in his award winning season last year. 

He walked just 34 in 223 innings in ‘08, while after today he already has walked nine hitters in only 16 innings. I’m still not buying that he will duplicated last season. I think 15 wins will be his max.

Robinson Cano continued his torrid start with another three hit game. He is looking like he has his stroke back from a few years ago and should be a solid contributor to your team in 2008. He is now hitting .421 on the young season and has already driven in seven runs in the first 11 games.

Cano is capable of hitting well over .300 and could drive in 80 runs.  He most likely won’t reach 20 home runs, but he should be in the ballpark.

Cody Ross was a popular sleeper heading into the season due to the fact that he hit 22 homers last season, but he has gotten off to a terrible start.  Perhaps today is the first day in the rest of that season, as he went 3-for-3 with a homer and four RBI. 

I am not a believer in Ross, and I think that you should definitely leave him in free agency, where I am sure he currently resides in your league. He strikes out too much, and I just don’t see him reaching that 20 home run plateau again.

Marlins’ starter Anibal Sanchez is starting to open some eyes like the rest of his teammates in the Florida rotation. Sanchez made his second consecutive quality start, as he gave up just two runs over six runs and struck out two. He was a little wild as he walked three players, but his ERA after two starts is just 1.64.

If you remember this kid threw a no hitter in his rookie year, but has had some injury trouble in recent past. So far Sanchez is looking good, and could be a nice addition to the end of your rotation.

Jeff Francoeur continues to try to find the form that made him a hot commodity in his rookie season, and so far so good for Frenchy. Since that first go around, Francoeur watched his power decrease in his second season, and then his entire game fell apart in 2008 which also led to his demotion to the minors.

I was reminded by a trusted friend that Francoeur has implemented a more open stance in 2009 to help him be a more effective hitter. Is this change in approach enough to get him back into fantasy owners hearts? We shall see, so far he has gotten one or more hits in every game except one.

Like Francoeur, Pirates speedy outfielder Nyjer Morgan has gotten a hit in every game but one. With his three hits on Monday, Morgan is now hitting .400 early on in 2009, with his second double and second triple of the season, not to mention he has driven in right runs already.

Morgan has the ability to break the 30 steal plateau, and could still be available in your league.

Ryan Franklin saved his second game of the season today against the Cubs. Like I said the other day, I think Franklin will hold on to the job until he proves he is incapable (which could be any day). 

Chris Perez is back with the team, but La Russa likes to give one guy a chance, and so far Franklin is two for two. It is a fluid situation however, and if it is possible I would stay away from all of them.

Heath Bell saved his fifth game of the season for the Padres, including his second against the Mets this week. Bell is THE definition of a guy who you should sell high on.  Did YOU expect the Padres to start 7-3?  Did you expect them to win more than 15 games all season long? 

Ok, maybe that is an exaggeration. Now while I think Bell is a fine closer, I think the Padres will realize that they truly do stink and the save opportunities will get fewer and farther between.

See if you can move Bell for a quality closer on a team that actually might win more than 70 games. Joe Nathan only has one save so far. That would be a MAJOR steal if you can pull that off.  But there are people in every fantasy league that freaks out over getting off to a slow start.

Ok, so it wasn’t nearly as bad as his first start, but Rays’ fifth starter Jeff Niemann took the loss again after allowing two runs over six innings while striking out three.  C’mon Jeff, tell them you want to go to the bullpen, us fantasy players are still waiting for David Price.

Francisco Liriano was much better in his third start than in his previous two, but he still fell to 0-3. He allowed just one earned run over six innings, walked just one, and struck out five.

I got an email wondering if Liriano is still a concern, or were his struggles just early season inconsistencies?  I don’t believe you will see similar numbers to that unbelievable rookie season, but I think that he will win 13-15 games this year.

Josh Fields is off to a great start at third base for the White Sox as he tries to hold down this job all season long. Fields has been with the big club before and has shown good power, but has struck out a ton and has been incredibly inconsistent.

Fields hit second today for the Pale Hose, and had three hits raising his average to an impressive .355. 

He has yet to connect on his first homer yet, but does have a double and two triples. He still has Dayan Viciedo in the minor leagues behind him, but if you have an injury or need a hot player, perhaps Fields can be a player for you for a while.

Aaron Hill had concussion troubles last season, and many forgot about the great year he had for a second baseman in 2007.

Well, do yourself a favor and check those numbers out, because more and more I think that will be where he ends up in 2009. Hill had three more hits on Monday raising his average to .380 and drove in his 12 run of the year. Obviously the average will come down, but for a second baseman he could have an impact.

Injury News

Geovany Soto returned to the Cubs lineup today, and although he went 0-for-4 with two whiffs.  Soto is now hitting an impressive .077 on the season, but he will start hitting again any day. Keep him in your lineup.

Also, if you have someone like Mike Napoli who is off to a great start, but doesn’t even play every day, perhaps the Soto owner was frustrated with his poor start and injury.

Alex Gordon will undergo hip surgery, and miss the next six to nine weeks. He has a cartilage tear in his hip and is going to the same doctor that performed Alex Rodriguez surgery.  It isn’t the same injury, so I’m not sure how that fact is relevant, but I just thought I would throw that out there.

Put the disappointing Gordon on your DL, and hope when he comes back he will give you what you hoped for.

Xavier Nady was placed on the DL, but now there are rumors that he MIGHT not miss the whole season. Nady supposedly felt better than he did when he first suffered the injury, and is going to undergo more tests. 

This is Nady’s contract year so the last thing he wants is to miss the entire year when he is playing for a contract.  Hopefully you didn’t just dump Nady on the off chance he might be able to return this year.

Kenji Johjima was placed on the 15-day DL today which might have excited fantasy owners, but hot prospect Jeff Clement was NOT promoted this time. Clement is only 1-for-19 to start the season in the minors, and will have to improve to get a chance to be in Seattle.

Vladimir Guerrero has a strained pectoral muscle and has left the Angels road trip to see a specialist to find out exactly how severe the injury is and how much time he might miss. Apparently, he has had discomfort since before the season even started.  This is just the latest in a string of injuries for Guerrero, and he is obviously on the downswing of his career.

Finally, the football world will never quite be the same with the announcement of the retirement of John Madden. 

Madden has been the voice of the NFL for as long as I have been watching football and it will be weird not to be hearing him in the 2009 season.  I have to believe that his decision has something to do with the recent passing of Harry Kalas, as Madden is also in his 70s. 

I agree with his decision.  At his age, you have worked your fair share. Enjoy your golden years with your family and friends.  I have been critical of Madden in recent years, as I thought he sometimes focuses on which guy’s butt is sweating the most over the actual game going on, but Madden is an icon. 

Not only is he a Hall of Fame broadcaster, but he was an incredible Super Bowl winning coach as well. Video game players can only hope that the games that he gives his image, voice, and name to will continue to be a yearly fixture.  I think I own every Madden game since 1991.

Thank you John Madden for making football fun to watch, as well as teaching me an incredible amount about the game.  Your contributions will be felt for a long time.

Not sure I agree with the choice of replacing him with Cris Collinsworth, but hey, it’s football, we will still watch it. Outside of Dan Dierdorff, I would have rather had anyone but Collinsworth.  Everyone should have a turducken tomorrow in respect.

As always, your comments and questions are welcome at [e-mail]. I guarantee a response within 18 hours. Also, don’t miss “The Fantasy Baseball Gurus Show” every Wednesday night at 10pm EST on Blog Talk Radio.

The show is co-hosted by Todd Farino of fantasybaseballsearch.com, RC Rizza of junkyardjake.com and myself, Ryan Hallam at fightingchancefantasy.com.  To hear the show go to www.blogtalkradio.com/the_true_guru. 

The Fantasy Baseball Scouting Report is also back!  Join me with Jeff Mans every Tuesday night at 10 PM EST for all the news, free agent pickups, minor leaguers, and injuries.  A can’t miss if you plan on winning your league. 

I also just met the people over at Baseball Trade Rumors and I invite you to visit their site.   They have a page for rumors for every major league team, constant updates on the latest rumors, interactive polls, and overall some great content.