What's the Buzz? 3/8/06
So round 1 continues in the World Baseball Classic and oh no! I mean O, Canada! I'm not really sure, but I guess it's a pretty big upset. It's really hard to get worked up about this tournament. While I am proud to be and American, I can't say I'd be upset if the U.S. doesn't make the 2nd round. Atleast Johnny Damon and Chase Utley would just go back to their Spring Training facilities. They are the last of my protects in my keeper league to be involved in this thing.
So should we get to the game? What's really to say? Adam Stern was a stud -- both in the field and at the plate. Justin Morneau and Jason Bay both had multi-hit games as well. For the U.S., it's simple....Dontrelle Willis looked bad, Al Leiter looked worse, the defense all around was horrible and the only bright spot was Jason Varitek and his grand slam. Too much else has to happen before determining Round 2 so I'll just hold my breath. Fantasy wise though, with the exception of Stern and Leiter, I'd be happy with any of the others. Willis may not reach his average in wins, but all figure to have solid impacts on your roster.
Mexico vs. South Africa? I was going to give out some solid props in this one but then I saw I was going to have to praise Jorge Cantu (again, pronounced "can't do") and his 3-4, HR performance. So forget it. I'll give a nod to Vinny Castilla and Adrian Gonzalez but that's it. Aside from those three, there really are no impact players.....if you can call these three "impact players".
Freddy Garcia, Carlos Silva, Rafael Betancourt and Francisco Rodriguez combined to 2 hit powerhouse (insert sarcasm here) Italy en route to a 6-0 victory. Miguel Cabrera continued to impress with a solo shot and 2 RBI. Bobby Abreu and Victor Martinez both joined the party with 2 hits apiece. Garcia and Silva should fare well, although I favor the latter. Betancourt's been a sleeper for 3 years so who knows and the other guys are all 1st tier players at their positions.
With the exception of Panama's Bruce Chen looking less then stellar against Cuba, there are really no fantasy notes in this game -- unless we hear of some last minute defections. The only excitement out of it was that there are whispers about how Cuba is very anxious to beat the U.S. in the next round. All the more reason I don't want to see some of my guys advance. Who needs the risk of injury here?
And finally, Puerto Rico beat up on the Netherlands, 8-3. Joel Piniero looked sharp and Ivan Rodriguez, Carlos Beltran, and Javy Lopez had HRs. Luis Matos chipped in with a pair of doubles. For the Netherlands, Andruw Jones came up with only a walk in 4 ABs. Piniero is always a nice choice for your roster. He won't dazzle, but he will always fare well in Wins, ERA and WHIP.
In real Spring Training news...
2B Brian Roberts saw his first live BP action today. It still doesn't look like he will be 100% by opening day, but he will contribute mightily once he starts up this season.
The Padres 2B competititon is heating up as expected starter Mark Bellhorn sees that even his hot spring may not be able to stop Josh Barfield. Barfield is looking real good so far and the Padres are high on him as their 2B of the future.
Like the little annoying pink bunny in the commercials, Jamie Moyer keeps going and going and going...He will be the Mariners Opening Day starter.
Yankees catcher Jorge Posada continues his hot spring....look for him to bounce back a little this season. You won't get his old numbers, but you'll definitely get better than last year's.
Former Red and current Pirate Sean Casey got beaned today by the Red's Mike Gosling. Hmm...any idea if money changed hands in the Cincy clubhouse after?
David Wells continues to earn my admiration by, once again, calling for Bud Selig's resignation.
And The Diamondbacks have traded infielder Alex Cintron to the White Sox for pitcher Jeff Bajenaru. Cintron will end up the primary backup to Tadahito Iguchi and Juan Uribe, which is a shame as I had hoped to see the speedy Pablo Ozuna to do a little more this year.
Fantasy baseball drafts are starting to happen as we near Opening Day. If you have any thoughts or questions, you can either post as a comment here or you can email me at hbender26@yahoo.com
Catch you next time...
So should we get to the game? What's really to say? Adam Stern was a stud -- both in the field and at the plate. Justin Morneau and Jason Bay both had multi-hit games as well. For the U.S., it's simple....Dontrelle Willis looked bad, Al Leiter looked worse, the defense all around was horrible and the only bright spot was Jason Varitek and his grand slam. Too much else has to happen before determining Round 2 so I'll just hold my breath. Fantasy wise though, with the exception of Stern and Leiter, I'd be happy with any of the others. Willis may not reach his average in wins, but all figure to have solid impacts on your roster.
Mexico vs. South Africa? I was going to give out some solid props in this one but then I saw I was going to have to praise Jorge Cantu (again, pronounced "can't do") and his 3-4, HR performance. So forget it. I'll give a nod to Vinny Castilla and Adrian Gonzalez but that's it. Aside from those three, there really are no impact players.....if you can call these three "impact players".
Freddy Garcia, Carlos Silva, Rafael Betancourt and Francisco Rodriguez combined to 2 hit powerhouse (insert sarcasm here) Italy en route to a 6-0 victory. Miguel Cabrera continued to impress with a solo shot and 2 RBI. Bobby Abreu and Victor Martinez both joined the party with 2 hits apiece. Garcia and Silva should fare well, although I favor the latter. Betancourt's been a sleeper for 3 years so who knows and the other guys are all 1st tier players at their positions.
With the exception of Panama's Bruce Chen looking less then stellar against Cuba, there are really no fantasy notes in this game -- unless we hear of some last minute defections. The only excitement out of it was that there are whispers about how Cuba is very anxious to beat the U.S. in the next round. All the more reason I don't want to see some of my guys advance. Who needs the risk of injury here?
And finally, Puerto Rico beat up on the Netherlands, 8-3. Joel Piniero looked sharp and Ivan Rodriguez, Carlos Beltran, and Javy Lopez had HRs. Luis Matos chipped in with a pair of doubles. For the Netherlands, Andruw Jones came up with only a walk in 4 ABs. Piniero is always a nice choice for your roster. He won't dazzle, but he will always fare well in Wins, ERA and WHIP.
In real Spring Training news...
2B Brian Roberts saw his first live BP action today. It still doesn't look like he will be 100% by opening day, but he will contribute mightily once he starts up this season.
The Padres 2B competititon is heating up as expected starter Mark Bellhorn sees that even his hot spring may not be able to stop Josh Barfield. Barfield is looking real good so far and the Padres are high on him as their 2B of the future.
Like the little annoying pink bunny in the commercials, Jamie Moyer keeps going and going and going...He will be the Mariners Opening Day starter.
Yankees catcher Jorge Posada continues his hot spring....look for him to bounce back a little this season. You won't get his old numbers, but you'll definitely get better than last year's.
Former Red and current Pirate Sean Casey got beaned today by the Red's Mike Gosling. Hmm...any idea if money changed hands in the Cincy clubhouse after?
David Wells continues to earn my admiration by, once again, calling for Bud Selig's resignation.
And The Diamondbacks have traded infielder Alex Cintron to the White Sox for pitcher Jeff Bajenaru. Cintron will end up the primary backup to Tadahito Iguchi and Juan Uribe, which is a shame as I had hoped to see the speedy Pablo Ozuna to do a little more this year.
Fantasy baseball drafts are starting to happen as we near Opening Day. If you have any thoughts or questions, you can either post as a comment here or you can email me at hbender26@yahoo.com
Catch you next time...
posted by Howard Bender at
11:42 PM
