4/14 Recap

I spent most of the day at a Ralph Nader press conference. Let's just say that if there was a fantasy political league, I'm not buying Nader except in really deep leagues.

White Sox 4, A's 1
John Danks throws 7.2 shutout innings, striking out 4. He's one of those guys that is highly touted but was rushed. He's only 23, and he's still probably a year or two away from fulfilling some potential, but he showed a nice glimmer of what could come today. On the season he has a 8/7 K/BB ratio, so there's still room for improvement, but I imagine a number of leagues will already have him picked up, he's good for some Ks at least. Dana Eveland was getting a lot of buzz to this point, and turned in by far his worst outing of the year. In all honesty, he was pitching over his head, but still worth owning at this point. Carlos Quentin was cold, and hit a three run homer today, so he might be coming back a little.

Angels 7, Rangers 4
Millwood and Moseley weren't too great, with Moseley turning in another very poor start. Feel free to drop him now, he's been terrible. David Murphy has been quiet but had a nice game going 2-3 with a steal. I like him still. Aybar and Mathis are still hot for the Angels. With word that Posada is getting worse, Mathis is my next in line. KRod is still pitching pretty shakey, although he didn't give up a run or a hit. The two walks are troubling, but the 2 Ks are enouraging. This is two straight days Speier entered before Shields, so it looks like it's pretty sure Shields gets any save opps. Chone Figgins is on fire right now, which he's capable of. After last year, many people, like me, weren't sure he could repeat his average. We'll so far so good. I think I'd rather have him than Ichiro.

M's 11, Royals 6
The M's middle infield combined for 7 RBIs and there was a Hideo Nomo appearance, so everyone went home happy. As far as the M's middle infield, both are underrated I think. Nothing to get too excited about, but both solid contributers. I think I like Betancourt more than Lopez for fantasy purposes, but given that Lopez is hitting in the two spot, he's probably the better bet. Bad bets are John Bale and Miguel Batista. Don't own either. Tony Pena Jr. isn't anything to get excited about either, although he stole his second base and raised his aver to .132 after going 2-4. I should mention David DeJesus had a nice game, but I hate him.

Blue Jays 11, O's 3
Shaun Marcum is awesome, enough said. I don't have a list in mind, but I'd guess he's a top 10 pitcher in the AL right now. The entire Jays offense exploded, if John McDonald got a hit, everyone for the Jays would have had a hit. I think it should be noted that Aaron Hill is officially for real now. Traschel's days should be numbered, there's just no reason for him to be destroyed when they could have someone younger and cheaper being destroyed. Adam Jones is hitting well lately, hitting his first homer of the year. I'm still thinking .260, 15 for him, although potentially 20 steals.

Red Sox 5, Indians 3
I had all but written off Paul Byrd and he goes out and throws a gem. I think this is more of an outlier. I'm not expecting much at all out of him, but he does play for the Indians, so he could be owned. Wakefield was typical Wakefield, he could pitch forever. Crisp lead off, although Ellsbury played right. All the sudden Jacoby's average is up to .280, although Crisp is still at .325. At this point, both need to be owned, but it looks like Crisp will get more play time. Jed Lowerie made his debut. While he will probably be a player in the future, he's not going to get enough time to be worth owning. I think Casey gets most of the at bats until Lowell is back. Franklin Gutierrez stole two bases and went 1-3, so there's still hope for him. If he was dropped, grab him fast. With Borowski on the DL, Betancourt has to get the first shot at saves, so if somehow he's still out there, get him now. It's worth a look at Perez too.

Tigers 6, Twins 5
I hate how the Tigers responded after Leyland yelled at them. It's just silly. The heart of the order all hit homers today, including Sheffield and Cabrera, who have been dealing with injuries. This team could become a force and fast. Granderson is expected in the week, so this could just be the start of things. Scott Baker pitched well, only giving up 5 hits, but 3 of them were homers. Nate Robertson hasn't been too great this year, but encouraging is his 5/1 K/BB. Both are worth owning, and Baker should be considered against Byrd and the Indians next time out. Craig Monroe is breaking hearts everywhere by doing well, although hopefully Gardenhire lilkes Kubel more than Maddon likes Gomes.

Yankees 5, Rays 3
After Edwin Jackson dominated last time out, he put togehter a pretty mediocre start. Inconsistency will follow him this year, so pick the starts carefully. Andy Pettitte, however, is good. The whole HGH thing hurt him on draft day, but he is consistent and worth a start every week. Jeter looks fine coming back from an injury, and Matsui keeps hitting to surprise. Giambi still sucks, so Ensberg looks like a nicer sleeper by the day. Longoria didn't get a hit, but he was hitting in the 5 sport. Looks like they believe in him. Obviously his value recieves a nice boost if he can stick there. Jason Bartlett has struggled so far, but I really like the guy if they can stick with him, and I don't know why they wouldn't. Mariano Rivera picks up his 5th save. One of these years he's going to fall apart. But it's not this year.