What's the Buzz? 6/6/06
So rather than go see the remake of the Omen tonight, I took in the Yankeees/Red Sox game. Such a great game to go to. A surprising pitching duel between Chien-Ming Wang and David Pauley, home runs from David Ortiz and Bernie Williams, and after a few singles and a pair of walks, the Yankees found themselves up 2-1 in the 8th inning. Enter Kyles Farnsworth (insert dramatic music). After a fly out from Mark Loretta and a surprising strike out from Ortiz, the stage was set as Manny Ramirez stepped into the box. He swung at the second pitch and launched the ball straight out to left-center. It had the height; it had the distance. But then a running and leaping rookie, Melky Cabrera, reached up and pulled it back from over the fence, landing hard on the ground with glove up in the air. The stadium erupted. What a catch!!! In the ninth, it took Mariano Rivera 4 pitches to close it out. The video highlights from ESPN are worth it.
in other news...
The Mets received a momentary sigh of relief as x-rays came back negative for both Cliff Floyd and Jose Reyes. Floyd left tonight's game in the first inning, being helped off the field, with what is being called a sprained ankle. Reyes was scratched from tonight's game altogether with a sprained wrist he suffered the other day. It appears that Floyd is a more likely DL candidate than Reyes is, but you should stay on top of this to make sure.
As expected, the Rangers designated D'Angelo Jimenez for assignment as they activated reliever Antonio Alfonseca. It doesn't look good for a return to the majors, so Jimenez shouldn't even be on your mind at all.
After a moderately successful rehab start for AAA-Salt Lake, it looks like the Angels will activate Bartolo Colon in time to start Sunday against the Mariners. He'll probably be a decent start. The problem for the Angels now is they have 6 starters for 5 rotation spots. A decision will need to be made soon, but it looks like if a Weaver is on his way out, it would be Jeff and not Jered.
The Devil Rays activated OF Rocco Baldelli today and optioned Joey Gathright to AAA-Durham. I thought this might be in a few days, but why wait? The big decision is where he'll play. During his rehab games he played right field but he is obviously a candidate to play center. If he plays right, then Damon Hollins will have more value as he becomes the only option in center. Ty Wigginton would probably then start replacing Travis Lee at first. If Baldelli plays center, then Wigginton and Hollins most likely platoon in right. This should all be settled after a few games.
They also activated 2B Jorge Cantu from the disabled list and he went 0-4 in his return. Perhaps you should keep him reserved until he can string a few good at bats together.
As the Braves continue to look for another option to Chris Reitsma as the closer, Kevin Ray picked up his third save with a perfect ninth. He is the front runner to replace Reitsma, but nothing is settled yet. He might be worth a look over Oscar Villareal.
Diamondbacks reliever Jason Grimsley jumped into the steroids fray as he admitted to using performance enhancing drugs, particularly HGH, which he supposedly had delivered to his home in Arizona. He also then outed some people and re-iterated the whole amphetamines/"greenies" usage in the majors. Funny how guys like Grimsley, Alex Sanchez and Marvin Bernard took all this stuff and still managed to be no better than average ballplayers. This has no fantasy impact at all....right now...atleast until details from Grimsley's comments are published.
The Reds got goos news when the x-rays on 3B Edwin Encarnacion came back negative after he left tonight's game in the 5th inning. He's day to day with a sprained ankle. Rich Aurilia should get a few days in now until Encarnacion comes back.
The Giants activated OF Moises Alou tonight which means that Steve Finley goes back to bench duty. It was fun while it lasted...now you have to look for someone else on the waiver wire.
Don't get too excited but word out of Oakland has the A's activating Esteban Loaiza from the DL to start Thursday's game. Best to leave him inactive for now as he was a disaster to start the year.
The A's also activated OF Milton Bradley from the DL, but he did not play tonight. Look for him to return for Wednesday's contest.
The Phillies activated Cole Hamels from the DL and got to watch him grab his frist win as he went 5 2/3 innings allowing only one run on 3 hits and 2 walks. The lack of strikeouts was disturbing, only 2, but they'll come. Arizona is on a hot streak right now so keeping their hitters in check was big for the rookie.
Speaking of the D-Backs, they had to scratch Juan Cruz from his start tonight due to shoulder soreness. They say he'll start Wednesday so maybe it's not serious. The team activated Russ Ortiz from the DL and gave him the ball tonight. He went 5 giving up 3 ER but he did have 7 K's, so it was a respectable first day back.
Good news for the Astros as Roger Clemens took one step closer to his June 22 return as he went 3 innings allowing 1 run in his Single-A start. He'll make 2 more starts in the minors and should be ready to go after that.
Bad news for the Astros as they placed Roy Oswalt on the 15 day DL with back stiffness. The move was retroactive to May 30, so he will be available to come back on the 14th of June. He's not missing a whole lot of time...atleast that's what we think...for now...
A pretty average return for Chris Carpenter as he was activated to pitch against the Reds tonight. He went 5 innings allowing 3 runs, but with 9 hits and 2 walks. The 5 strikeouts were solid, but he should be monitored closely to see how he feels after tonight.
Also for the Cardinals, OF Larry Bigbie was put on the DL for an umbilical hernia that was apparently stolen from Jim Edmonds.
If you didn't give up on Cubs 1B Derrek Lee, then you got some good news today. He may still be more than 2 weeks away, but he's starting batting practice with the next 3 to 5 days. He'll take a little time to readjust, but he should still produce some decent numbers for the season.
And finally, it was the baseball draft today, if you didn't know. I'll be doing a separate article to discuss some of the picks, but for now, congratulations to RHP Luke Hochevar who was the # 1 overall pick today by the Royals.
Catch you next time...
in other news...
The Mets received a momentary sigh of relief as x-rays came back negative for both Cliff Floyd and Jose Reyes. Floyd left tonight's game in the first inning, being helped off the field, with what is being called a sprained ankle. Reyes was scratched from tonight's game altogether with a sprained wrist he suffered the other day. It appears that Floyd is a more likely DL candidate than Reyes is, but you should stay on top of this to make sure.
As expected, the Rangers designated D'Angelo Jimenez for assignment as they activated reliever Antonio Alfonseca. It doesn't look good for a return to the majors, so Jimenez shouldn't even be on your mind at all.
After a moderately successful rehab start for AAA-Salt Lake, it looks like the Angels will activate Bartolo Colon in time to start Sunday against the Mariners. He'll probably be a decent start. The problem for the Angels now is they have 6 starters for 5 rotation spots. A decision will need to be made soon, but it looks like if a Weaver is on his way out, it would be Jeff and not Jered.
The Devil Rays activated OF Rocco Baldelli today and optioned Joey Gathright to AAA-Durham. I thought this might be in a few days, but why wait? The big decision is where he'll play. During his rehab games he played right field but he is obviously a candidate to play center. If he plays right, then Damon Hollins will have more value as he becomes the only option in center. Ty Wigginton would probably then start replacing Travis Lee at first. If Baldelli plays center, then Wigginton and Hollins most likely platoon in right. This should all be settled after a few games.
They also activated 2B Jorge Cantu from the disabled list and he went 0-4 in his return. Perhaps you should keep him reserved until he can string a few good at bats together.
As the Braves continue to look for another option to Chris Reitsma as the closer, Kevin Ray picked up his third save with a perfect ninth. He is the front runner to replace Reitsma, but nothing is settled yet. He might be worth a look over Oscar Villareal.
Diamondbacks reliever Jason Grimsley jumped into the steroids fray as he admitted to using performance enhancing drugs, particularly HGH, which he supposedly had delivered to his home in Arizona. He also then outed some people and re-iterated the whole amphetamines/"greenies" usage in the majors. Funny how guys like Grimsley, Alex Sanchez and Marvin Bernard took all this stuff and still managed to be no better than average ballplayers. This has no fantasy impact at all....right now...atleast until details from Grimsley's comments are published.
The Reds got goos news when the x-rays on 3B Edwin Encarnacion came back negative after he left tonight's game in the 5th inning. He's day to day with a sprained ankle. Rich Aurilia should get a few days in now until Encarnacion comes back.
The Giants activated OF Moises Alou tonight which means that Steve Finley goes back to bench duty. It was fun while it lasted...now you have to look for someone else on the waiver wire.
Don't get too excited but word out of Oakland has the A's activating Esteban Loaiza from the DL to start Thursday's game. Best to leave him inactive for now as he was a disaster to start the year.
The A's also activated OF Milton Bradley from the DL, but he did not play tonight. Look for him to return for Wednesday's contest.
The Phillies activated Cole Hamels from the DL and got to watch him grab his frist win as he went 5 2/3 innings allowing only one run on 3 hits and 2 walks. The lack of strikeouts was disturbing, only 2, but they'll come. Arizona is on a hot streak right now so keeping their hitters in check was big for the rookie.
Speaking of the D-Backs, they had to scratch Juan Cruz from his start tonight due to shoulder soreness. They say he'll start Wednesday so maybe it's not serious. The team activated Russ Ortiz from the DL and gave him the ball tonight. He went 5 giving up 3 ER but he did have 7 K's, so it was a respectable first day back.
Good news for the Astros as Roger Clemens took one step closer to his June 22 return as he went 3 innings allowing 1 run in his Single-A start. He'll make 2 more starts in the minors and should be ready to go after that.
Bad news for the Astros as they placed Roy Oswalt on the 15 day DL with back stiffness. The move was retroactive to May 30, so he will be available to come back on the 14th of June. He's not missing a whole lot of time...atleast that's what we think...for now...
A pretty average return for Chris Carpenter as he was activated to pitch against the Reds tonight. He went 5 innings allowing 3 runs, but with 9 hits and 2 walks. The 5 strikeouts were solid, but he should be monitored closely to see how he feels after tonight.
Also for the Cardinals, OF Larry Bigbie was put on the DL for an umbilical hernia that was apparently stolen from Jim Edmonds.
If you didn't give up on Cubs 1B Derrek Lee, then you got some good news today. He may still be more than 2 weeks away, but he's starting batting practice with the next 3 to 5 days. He'll take a little time to readjust, but he should still produce some decent numbers for the season.
And finally, it was the baseball draft today, if you didn't know. I'll be doing a separate article to discuss some of the picks, but for now, congratulations to RHP Luke Hochevar who was the # 1 overall pick today by the Royals.
Catch you next time...
posted by Howard Bender at
10:34 PM
