4/13 Recap

Red Sox 6, Indians 4
I caught the end of this game, and it was pretty interesting. Joe Borowski looked awful, I can't imagine he's going to be closing for much longer, they're just teed off on him. That said, Rafael Betancourt pitched 1.2 innings, giving up an run, but struck out three. Pick him up now. Lester wasn't very impressive, walking 5, but he's been good enough so no worries on him. The Ortiz Watch is being called off as he had two hits for the first time this year (although the second was a bloop, but I'm giving the guy a break). Manny destroyed the Borowski fastball, he looks solid, especailly if Ortiz does in fact heat up, he could put up old Manny numbers. Crisp lead off and went 2-4 while Ellsbury sat again. At this point he's worth starting. Ellsbury owners, hang tight. This Sox team is going to be very dangerous again.

Blue Jays 3, O's 2
Matt Albers throws 5 innings and gives up 1 run. He only struck out 1 and plays for the O's, I wouldn't consider him. Kevin Millar hit his second homer. Not much to get excited about with him, he's about a .260 15 homer guy at this point, but he's probably worth owning in every league, although hopefully not starting. McGowan was worst than usual, although not terrible. The 10 hits won't be usual, no worries out of him. George Sherrill was funally hit for the first time, but he still managed a save. Every closer is going to get banged up once in a while, so owners should be thrilled he still grabbed the save. He's still among the best in the league.

Tigers 11, Twins 9
How cliche is it that Leyland goes off on the team and then they knock out 16 hits and 11 runs? Everyone in the lineup except Jacque Jones had hits, and 3-8 all had two hits or more. Pudge's homer should have been caught but hit off Span's glove and went over the fence, but they'll take it. No matter how you look at this, it has to be positive that they woke up a little bit. The pen is still a huge concern, but they should be able to outscore a lot of teams. Bonderman still hasn't been too great this year. He's worth owning of course, but he's not the ace that people are hopoing for. My new potential man crush Nick Blackburn wasn't too impressive either. It fine that he got hit around by a Tiger team that woke up a little, but no striking out anyone is concerning, although no walks are nice. Keep an eye on him, but he should be owned. Delmon Young had a nice game, and he already has three SBs. I'm admittedly not a fan, but he has talent. I'd guess he ends up with around 20 steals, 15-20 homers.

Yankees 8, Rays 7
Couple interesting developments in this game. Robby Cano hit a pinch hit bomb, which you can only hope will jump start him. I'm not worried in the least about him, but I'm sure owners would like him to start delivering. It will come. Andy Sonnanstine isn't worth owning. I'm not a fan, and he has been shelled all year. Grab Niemann if you want a Rays pitcher. If you want a nice sleeper, take a look at Morgan Ensberg. I've been hating on Jason Giambi all year, and maybe Ensberg can start stealing some at bats. The home today can only help. Ian Kennedy put in his best start of the year. I like him, he's not as terrible as he's been, although he's most likely to go in the Yankee rotation. I don't need to mention that Evan Logoria is a stud, but now it looks like Nathan Haynes will be getting some decent amount of at bats since they seem to like his defense. If you can afford not much offensive production but want some speed, go get him.

Angels 7, Rangers 4
KRod picked up the save and didn't allow a baserunner. I still don't have a great feel about him. Speier entered before Shields did, and he got hit around some. Shields will probably get the odd save now, although if KRod is out long term, I might lean Speier. This Angels catcher platoon has been pretty great, either are worth owning, although Napoli has more power for sure. Ervin Santana has been very impressive this year. He has great stuff, and it seems like it's coming together. If someone is selling high on him, go see what you can get, it still will be for less than he's worth. Jason Jennings, however, is terrible. I can't imagine he sticks in the Rangers rotation all year.

A's 2, White Sox 1
Greg Smith (?!?) shut down the hot White Sox. I'll admit, I had to look up his first name. He was very impressive tonight. Depending on how deep you're league is, he could be worth a pickup at this point. I'm going to wait for another start before I get him. Buehrle was alright too, a pretty typical solid outing for him. Kurt Suzuki is 4-4, boosting his average to .370. I don't know if he's going to end up even hitting .270, but he's a solid catcher. Seems like there's alot this year, so if you have a crappy guy who's struggling, there's plenty of options. Mark Sweeney went 2-4. He hasn't shown much pop, but I imagine it will come. I'm thinking .270 20 homers for him. Go get him if you need a DH. It would be great if he could qualify at 1B, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen. The usual suspects were at it again for the Sox, although Crede didn't do something for the first time in seemingly forever. Quentin has been cold, and it might be at the wrong time with Owens lurking around at AAA.

Royals 5, M's 1
Zach Greinke might be the best pitcher in the AL right now. For real. He's been just awesome. I would start him against any team and feel confident about it. He's another guy I would try to grab if someone is looking to sell high. He's that good. Jarrod Washburn put in a nice outing but took the tough loss. David DeJesus returned to the lineup and didn't steal any bases. Bring back Joey! And Miguel Olivio continues to rake as a DH. I'm not touching him, but he was always hyped as a hitter so maybe something clicked. Watch this situation.