What's the Buzz? 6/5/06
We'll start today with the news in which everyone is most interested...
The MRI came back for Albert Pujols and basically told all of us nothing. There is still no timetable for his return and Albert, himself, did not sound overly optimistic either. Best case scenario looks like an end of June return but it looks more likely that the 4-6 weeks estimate could be more accurate. He'll probably start being shopped if the owner in your league who has him, is in contention for a top 3 finish. I, personally, would not trade him unless it locked me in for first place in a high stakes money league (and it's still a little to early to tell). Even if he is out 6 to 8 weeks, you'll still have him for August and September when a huge offensive burst is most necessary.
In other news...
As expected, it was/is safe to get Carl Crawford back in your lineup. He returned from his strained knee to go 1 for 3 with his 21st stolen base; a good sign that he's healed.
Brewers OF Geoff Jenkins was out today due to lingering effects of a mild concussion he received when Prince Fielder bowled him over in a collision yesterday. Consider him day to day.
Looks like Leo Mazzone has another youngster to ruin as the Orioles have decided to keep Adam Loewen in the rotation sending Bruce Chen into the bullpen. Loewen looked pretty good on the international stage in the WBC, but, then again, so did Erik Bedard.
Baltimore pitching did receive a little boost when the team activated Daniel Cabrera today and watched him throw 5 innings of shutout ball. On the positive, he struck out 9 and only allowed 3 hits. On the negative, he walked 5 and had already thrown over 100 pitches to complete the 5 innings. He gets the Twins next, so maybe he'll be able to build some momentum and string a few good starts together.
Damn you, Corey Patterson...damn you!!!
Tampa Bay OF Rocco Baldelli is a week away from returning to the majors. He's tearing it up in his rehab starts right now hitting well over .400. Today he played in both games of the AAA-Durham game going 7 for 9 with 2 walks and played the OF for all 16 innings of the second game. If for some reason you see him available in your league, pick him up...I just did.
If you were hoping for a big Richard Hidalgo comeback, you can forget it. GM Brian Cashman said they were "pulling the plug." Imagine how bad he looked considering the Yankees have very few healthy bodies left.
As expected, the Pirates put catcher Ryan Doumit on the 15 day DL. Second trip for the rookie backstop...you might want to think about permanently replacing him if he is on your roster. He'll probably just go back to Triple-A when he gets healthy.
More news for the Pirates as manager Jim Tracy has announced that Freddy Sanchez will continue to play third even when Joe Randa is activated from the DL. That's great news for Sanchez owners but keep it in perspective. A prolonged slump will certainly open the door for Randa again whether the Pirates are contending (ha ha ha!!!) or not.
The D'Angelo Jimenez experiment comes to an end in Texas soon. With Ian Kinsler and Mark DeRosa both available, Jimenez became expendable and the Rangers will need a roster spot when they activate Antonio Alfonseca.
A few more ups than downs in the closer world as the Yankees got back Mariano Rivera although it wasn't a save situation, Todd Coffey nailed it down for Cincinnati, and Milwaukee's Derrick Turnbow returned to his old form. Jason Isringhausen unfortunately did not fair so well giving up a 3 run homer to Ken Griffey, Jr. in the 9th tonight.
That's about it for major news today.
Catch you next time...
The MRI came back for Albert Pujols and basically told all of us nothing. There is still no timetable for his return and Albert, himself, did not sound overly optimistic either. Best case scenario looks like an end of June return but it looks more likely that the 4-6 weeks estimate could be more accurate. He'll probably start being shopped if the owner in your league who has him, is in contention for a top 3 finish. I, personally, would not trade him unless it locked me in for first place in a high stakes money league (and it's still a little to early to tell). Even if he is out 6 to 8 weeks, you'll still have him for August and September when a huge offensive burst is most necessary.
In other news...
As expected, it was/is safe to get Carl Crawford back in your lineup. He returned from his strained knee to go 1 for 3 with his 21st stolen base; a good sign that he's healed.
Brewers OF Geoff Jenkins was out today due to lingering effects of a mild concussion he received when Prince Fielder bowled him over in a collision yesterday. Consider him day to day.
Looks like Leo Mazzone has another youngster to ruin as the Orioles have decided to keep Adam Loewen in the rotation sending Bruce Chen into the bullpen. Loewen looked pretty good on the international stage in the WBC, but, then again, so did Erik Bedard.
Baltimore pitching did receive a little boost when the team activated Daniel Cabrera today and watched him throw 5 innings of shutout ball. On the positive, he struck out 9 and only allowed 3 hits. On the negative, he walked 5 and had already thrown over 100 pitches to complete the 5 innings. He gets the Twins next, so maybe he'll be able to build some momentum and string a few good starts together.
Damn you, Corey Patterson...damn you!!!
Tampa Bay OF Rocco Baldelli is a week away from returning to the majors. He's tearing it up in his rehab starts right now hitting well over .400. Today he played in both games of the AAA-Durham game going 7 for 9 with 2 walks and played the OF for all 16 innings of the second game. If for some reason you see him available in your league, pick him up...I just did.
If you were hoping for a big Richard Hidalgo comeback, you can forget it. GM Brian Cashman said they were "pulling the plug." Imagine how bad he looked considering the Yankees have very few healthy bodies left.
As expected, the Pirates put catcher Ryan Doumit on the 15 day DL. Second trip for the rookie backstop...you might want to think about permanently replacing him if he is on your roster. He'll probably just go back to Triple-A when he gets healthy.
More news for the Pirates as manager Jim Tracy has announced that Freddy Sanchez will continue to play third even when Joe Randa is activated from the DL. That's great news for Sanchez owners but keep it in perspective. A prolonged slump will certainly open the door for Randa again whether the Pirates are contending (ha ha ha!!!) or not.
The D'Angelo Jimenez experiment comes to an end in Texas soon. With Ian Kinsler and Mark DeRosa both available, Jimenez became expendable and the Rangers will need a roster spot when they activate Antonio Alfonseca.
A few more ups than downs in the closer world as the Yankees got back Mariano Rivera although it wasn't a save situation, Todd Coffey nailed it down for Cincinnati, and Milwaukee's Derrick Turnbow returned to his old form. Jason Isringhausen unfortunately did not fair so well giving up a 3 run homer to Ken Griffey, Jr. in the 9th tonight.
That's about it for major news today.
Catch you next time...
posted by Howard Bender at
10:48 PM
