4/18 Recap

Last night at about 4:30 a.m. I thought I was going to die. My bed was shaking, I figured the world was ending. Turns out it was an earthquake, so now I have officially survived an earthquake. Nearly as earth shattering was that David Ortiz hit a grand slam. I've been hard on the guy, and probably not helping him out of his funk since I know he's a reader, but this can only help. It just must be a big relief off his shoulders, expect things to start falling into place for him now.

O's 8, Yankees 2
Someone needs to tell these O's they're supposed to be terrible. If you look at their lineup, it's not overwhelming for sure, but it's surprisingly balanced from top to bottom. The won't win anything this year, or even finish in third, but they're not as bad as everyone thought they'd be. The pitching is the big problem for them. DCab pitched well today, but I doubt anyone was starting him against the Yankees. I still don't like him on the year, he's just going to be way too inconsistent, probably to ever use. On the other hand, Phil Hughes has not been good at all this year. He's not in any jeopardy of losing a rotation spot yet, but don't be surprised if he does. His lack of K's is the troubling part for him.

Red Sox 11, Rangers 3
DiceK improved to 4-0. He hasn't been particularly awesome this year, but he's been good enough each time out. Jed Lowrie played short and was 2-3 with a double. This could get interesting if he starts playing short more. Julio Lugo doesn't seem to have too many fans in Boston, so it's possible Lowrie could play a bigger role. Might be worth a grab on speculation. Jacoby Ellsbury finally had a decent game going 1-2, three runs and an RBI. The three walks were the important part. I haven't heard anything about a Crisp return, but I imagine when he's back he still gets most of the at bats for a while. Hank Blalock wasn't even sure for this weekend, but he looked alright tonight going 2-4 with a homer. Ben Broussard has really struggled after I hyped him for a while. He could be in jeopardy of losing play time.

Tigers 8, Blue Jays 4
Well I think my Tigers win tag kind of lost it's funny. This is the type of stuff we expected out of them all year and I only see them getting better. Kenny Rogers wasn't particularly impressive, but I think people got him with the idea of spot starts anyways, and that's all he shoul be used for. David Purcey pulled a Dontrelle in his first start of the year. No value there. Jeremy Accardo has been Sabathiaesque this year. I think he safe to drop, I don't even know if he would be getting the rare non-Ryan save chances with the way he's been pitching.

White Sox 9, Rays 2
The Jeff Niemann party is over. Don't say I didn't warn you. He's not worth starting in his last start against the Yankees either. The big contract for Evan Longoria means that there's no reason to send him down now. Dan Johnson being claimed is an interesting move. They really hate Jonny Gomes. Haynes and Hinske should all get less play time too. Johnson is worth a look, go pick him up. The other news is the Jerry Owens is going down to AAA. Can't say I disagree with this move from a real life standpoint, it just kinda suck as an Owens owner. I don't feel comfortable cutting him, because he will offer tons of speed, and he will be up at one point or another this year.

Indians 4, Twins 0
This Cliff Lee stuff is getting out of control. He's been absolutely dominant. I wish I could say ther was a flaw in his stats at all, but 8 innings, 8 Ks, 1 BB, 2 H is about as good as it gets. That said, he's pitched against the A's and Twins so far, so don't get too nuts. Either way, he's probably worth starting just about the rest of the year. Frankie Liriano has been awful, and expectedly so. See if you can't get him cheap. He's not going to dominate this year, but he'll only get better as the year progresses. But really, he's no better than a 3 or even 4 starter in fantasy this year. Casey Blake homered, I'm a fan like I mentioned the other day. He's always good for 20 homers and should hit .270 ish. Pretty good numbers.

Angels 5, M's 4
Saundrs pitched pretty well again. I'm starting him for the near future. KRod tried to lose the game but Torii Hunter pulled in a Richie Sexson bomb, which would have been his third of the game. People hate Sexson, but he has the ability to hit 30-40 homers every year. KRod is not right, and I'll keep saying this until he goes on the DL for a while. It's coming. Hunter had three doubles after getting in a car accident. He's been pretty great this year, and with Kotchman playing pretty well it's really changed the makeup of the lineup. RA Dickey got hit pretty hard. You have to love knuckleballers, but in fantasy that's generally a bad idea. You just don't know what you'll get out of them.

A's 13, Royals 2
Brian Bannister finally struggled. It was coming, but he's still a pretty good bet this year. Chad Gaudin on the other had, was great for the first time this year. He'll be worth owning, but but be a stud or anything. Interesting to see Kurt Suzuki at the top of the lineup. I don't think he stucks there, but it only helps his value. Emily Brown and Ryan Sweeney both were 3-5. Can't say either are great bets, but for deep leagues they could find their way into some play time. I think Brown is the better bet this year. Hideo Nomo is officially the Darko of the MLB now and I couldn't be happier about it.