4/7 Recap

I was watching Nick Blackburn since his last start, and I decided that after today he was worth grabbing. The K's are still there, and he's pitching pretty well in both starts. I had to cut Jeremy Guthrie for it, which I figure is a safe bet. I don't think I would ever feel safe starting Guthrie, and I don't really think he's even going to reach 10 wins. Usually I would have tried to keep Guthrie just because I like having pitching depth, but with my unsettled outfield situation causing me to keep Crisp on the bench and Owens on the DL while I start Broussard, it just didn't work. Next to watch: Dana Eveland.

Baltimore 5, Mariners 4
Man the M's pen is a mess now. Silva did his usual Silva and DCab did the usual DCab, but O'Flaherty sucked for the second straight day. The O's pen looks pretty sharp though, and George Sherrill can easily end up a top closer on the year. Ibanez is a streaky guy, and the streak continues, start him immediately. Ichiro had a rough start to the year, but the homer is a good sign, pretty soon he's going to be over .300 and stay there the whole year. Finally, I like Aubrey Huff a lot, people we're really down on him but he had a great second half and he hit his second homer of the year. Melvin Mora, who also hit his second, I do not like at all. Don't expect his numbers to get better from year to year.

White Sox 7, Twins 4
Vazquez was sharp, and he struggled putting away hitters early in the game and still ended up with 8 K's. I love Javy Vazquez. As you can tell, I'm also big on Nick Blackburn. Some uncharacteristic bad pen work from the Twins blew it for them. Nothing to worry there, just a bad game. The Gomez Watch is still on, as he steals his league leading 5th base. Span can be a cheap source of speed as well while Cuddyer is out, but I don't imagine him having much value the entire year. Joe Crede hits a grand slam, and goes 2-4. He certainly looks healthy. The White Sox look pretty good this year, one of the better offensive teams in the league.

Yankees 6, Rays 1
Mike Mussina shuts down the Rays, another surprising start for him. Back in the day, kids, he used to be a dandy pitcher. I don't think I buy into him yet, but he could easily stay in the rotation all year, with a 4.5 ERA, and 12-15 wins. The Rays we're pretty quiet, except for Jonny Gomes who hit a bomb. I love Jonny Gomes. Joe Maddon doesn't. He should be owned. 30 homers is his upside. Jeter left the game with an injury. I'm a Jeter hater, he's just one of those guys I don't think I would ever own, not only because he's Derek Jeter, but because he's overrated in drafts and would never make it to where I think he could be value. Abreu had a monster game. The Yanks seem to be coming together (notice how it came when Giambi is out of the lineup?)

Angels 6, Indians 4
This was quite a game. First, Torii Hunter hits two homers, including the walkoff grand slam off of Borowski, and a steal to boot. As a Hunter owner, this was the highpoint for my season. Just as notable, is it seems KRod has some serious issues. I'm thinking a DL stint is almost certain. Scot Shields will probably get the first shot at saves, like usual, although he just came off the DL so they may be hesitant to use him in the closer role. Which means Justin Speier would get the nod. Both should be grabbed. Carmona didn't allow an earned run over 6, but the 5/3 K/BB ratio is worrysome. Joe Saunders, who I didn't start, continues to dominate. He needs to be owned, and should start while he's hot. VMart returned behind the plate, and doubled, going 2-4. However, the Angels ran all over him, with 5 different Angels stealing a base, while only Matthews was caught. Definitely a problem for the Indians, but a relief for VMart owners.