Monday Musings

Some thoughts for your reading pleasure after a light day and night on the diamond...

• Quick, raise your hands, how many of you thought that Jason Marquis would have 8 wins before the All-Star Break? Okay, now that nobody put their hands up, I can get to writing that Marquis ran his record to 8-4 today after besting the Cardinals with 6 2/3 innings of two-run ball. Marquis' ERA is actually a very respectable 3.98, as well. If you think that he will end the season with an ERA of under 4, however, you are probably smoking the hippie lettuce (this assuming Marquis doesn't get injured before the inevitable funk happens). If you can get something at all for Marquis via trade, explore your options, because he is more likely to blow up than Mike Matusow.
  

• Miguel Cabrera still hasn't been able to collect a single hit since he injured his hamstring, and he went 0-for-7 in the two games he played in today against the White Sox. You might think that it's a good sign that he was able to start both games, but Cabrera is not even close to 100 percent right now. It's doubtful that you are in a position to sit Cabrera if he is playing, but if you are in a shallow mixed league and have viable bench options, I wouldn't have a problem with sitting him for a little while. I just don't think he's right, and he may need to sit for a few days for his leg to allow for him to drive the ball. He looks like his swing is just all arms up there right now. You're in first place, Jim Leyland. Let the man rest for a few days.
  

• Alexei Ramirez is slowly but surely heating up at the dish. For the first time in what seems like the entire season, Ramirez now has his average up over .250 after going 5-for-9 with 3 runs and an RBI (on his fifth HR of the year) in the doubleheader today. Actually, his average now sits at .261, which is hardly embarrassing. I hope you had patience with him, because his talent is now coming to the forefront. Ramirez has actually been the 7th-best fantasy SS in Yahoo leagues in the last month, and if you break it down further, he's the 3rd-best if you only count everyday shortstops. He failed to get down a bunt in the 8th inning of the first game, but that's not what the guy's skill set is (you might want to take note of that, Ozzie Guillen). Start Ramirez with confidence going forward.

• There were four more Yankee home runs in Bandbox Field tonight, with Mark Teixeira, Johnny Damon, Derek Jeter, and Nick Swisher each going yard once. You are a crazy person if you don't start your Yankees in their home games. Seriously. And if in doubt with visiting players, you should give them the nod and start them, too. Especially switch-hitters or lefties. Watching games there almost makes me want to grab a bat and see what I could do.
  

• Break up the Oakland Athletics! The A's have now won seven games in a row after Josh Outman ran his record to 4-0 tonight by tossing 6 innings and allowing 3 runs (on just 4 hits and 2 walks, while fanning 7 batters). Outman's ERA went up a bit, but still stands at a very solid 3.17, and this marked the seventh time in eight starts that Outman has tossed a quality start. That kind of consistency deserves a spot on mixed league staffs, and he's only owned in 24% of Yahoo leagues. That should change, people. Along with the 4-0 record and 3.17 ERA, Outman has 49 K's in 59 2/3 innings, along with an outstanding 1.17 WHIP. Yes, he's young, but you have to recognize a hot pitcher when you see one. I picked up Randy Wells a week ago in one league, and although I'm certainly not regretting that move, Outman is basically pitching like Wells, except Outman is actually recording victories (while the Cub bullpen keeps squandering wins for Wells).
  

• Speaking of the A's, it's pretty obvious that Andrew Bailey is the clear-cut closer, and that Brad Ziegler will pitch in a setup role going forward. It's best for the team, and it's also best for fantasy owners. Bailey has basically done what many observers thought Joey Devine would do before the season started, and that's wrestle the closer gig away from Ziegler. Nobody should be shocked; as I've written a few times, Ziegler simply doesn't profile to be a closer. Bailey has rock-solid stuff (he's whiffed 44 batters in 37 1/3 innings), and should be viewed as a pretty decent #2 closer going forward. I don't expect him to sustain the exceptional numbers he's putting up so far (1.93 ERA and 0.91 WHIP to go along with 4 wins and 5 saves), because you have to figure that the young hurler will have some bumps in the road, but I think he's legit and likely to hold the job for the rest of the year. Only owned in 59% of Yahoo leagues, there is opportunity in plenty of leagues for you to grab Bailey. He's the 38th-ranked pitcher in Yahoo formats, for crying out loud! He has to be owned in all formats.

• If Jake Peavy had struggled tonight, it would have been time to worry, but the right-hander threw 7 innings for a win against a horrible Arizona lineup, allowing just 2 earned runs and striking out 8 batters. I say that it was a horrible lineup he was facing because, well, Arizona's offense isn't that good to begin with, and the D'backs didn't have either of their two best hitters in the starting lineup (Justin Upton due to tweaking his shoulder, and Mark Reynolds for some reason, though he did appear as a pinch-hitter). The big thing tonight was that Peavy was fine physically, so you should have confidence starting him going forward.

• There's Zack Greinke, and then on the opposite end of the spectrum, we have Jon Garland. I really, really hope you don't own him, as he is the perfect example of how a bad pitcher can hurt your fantasy squad. You'd be better off not starting anybody in a roster slot instead of using Garland, and I am not joking when I say that. Garland gave up 6 runs in 6 2/3 innings against a weak San Diego lineup tonight, and this was at PETCO Park, no less. He walked Adrian Gonzalez three times (he had 5 walks in total), and he allowed Kevin Kouzmanoff, he of the .224 average and .619 OPS, to make him pay (Kouzmanoff drove in 4 of the 6 runs). You might want to cover your eyes for this, but here is what Garland has done this season so far: 5.61 ERA, 1.65 WHIP, 69 IP, 28 K, 32 BB. Despite the fact that Garland has actually recorded six quality starts so far, he's a disaster because he doesn't strike out anybody, and his stuff is so bad that when he gets hit, he just gets lit up. His Yahoo ranking--wait for it--is 1,259. And that's just among pitchers. For some perspective on that, Jason Schmidt's ranking is 552.