What's the Buzz? 7/20/06
So, to me, the big news of the day has to be the trade between the Indians and the Braves. In a straight up deal, the Braves get closer Bob Wickman in exchange for minor league catcher Max Ramirez. Great deal for the Braves here, great deal. They gave up nothing. I won't steal Elliot's thunder for Monday's article, but it has to be discussed here a little. NL-only leaguers should probably try and pick up Wickman as he will immediately take over the closer's job in Atlanta, sending Kenny Ray back to set-up duties. For AL-only leaguers, Fausto Carmona is the pickup to make. Word out of Cleveland is that he will take over as the team's new go to guy for finishing games.
In other news today...
Apparently, Nationals pitcher John Patterson's surgery was a success. I'd go into details, but I'd need to look up a bunch of stuff on WebMD before I could give a full evaluation. Long story short, they went in, poked around, moved this, moved that, decompressed the nerve, and Patterson seems to be doing well. They said he could feasibly come back this year, but unless the Nationals are contending for the wild card, why bother? Better safe than sorry...let him wait until 2007.
Also, as expected, the Nationals put Of Jose Guillen on the 15 day DL with elbow soreness. Talk about bad timing. It's goin gto be nearly impossible for the team to trade him now before the deadline. Either way, this puts Austin Kearns in right field and Alex Escobar gets first shot at the starting center field job. Luis Matos will hang around as the 4th outfielder.
While Joe Borowski is being shopped around the league, Marlins manager Joe Girardi is auditioning new closers. While he's got two possible candidates in Logan Kensing and Taylor Tankersley, neither seems to be out-shining the other. The evil committee word sounds like the likely solution.
On the rehab front, Yankees left fielder Hideki Matsui was told that the bones fused together perfectly and he may be able to start batting practice in a few days. If an August 15 return date becomes more likely, and it looks like it may well be, the Yankees could remove themselves from an awful lot of trade speculation.
Speaking of rehabbing Yankees, push the clock back on Octavio Dotel. He was supposed to make one last rehab appearance and be called up this weekend, but he suffered a setback today when he experienced soreness in his triceps after his session. He'll be re-evaluated on Friday and a decision will be made then.
If you thought Diamondbacks' OF Luis Gonzalez was losing value in fantasy leagues before, wait til you see him now. Hot shot prospect Carlos Quentin has been called up and is already hitting. The two players could end up in a platoon in Arizon'a outfield. Atleast until Gonzo is shipped out somewhere.
After failing in the Houston bullpen since being bumped from the rotation, Wandy Rodriguez has been optioned to the minors today. Overall, it's better for Rodriguez as he will get to pitch more consistently and on the 5 day rest of normal starters. He can compete for a job again next season. But, if the Astros are in need of another starter later on, Rodriguez should be the first one called upon.
Tigers OF Craig Monroe is being called day to day after suffering a hamstring injury in today's game. Manager jim Leyland says he should only miss a couple of days, so it doesn't sound too serious. What does sound serious is that we could be seeing the return of "The Meat Hook". Rumor has it that Dmitri Young could come off the DL this weekend to take over DH duties.
As expected, the Red Sox officially put Tim Wakefield on the DL with a stress fracture in one of his ribs. He should miss 3 or 4 weeks and they've already used a lot of that minor league depth with guys such as Jon Lester and Kyle Snyder. While Kason Gabbard is a possibility, I still think the Sox will look to make a deal.
Anyone know the over/under on the number of innings Mark Prior will pitch on Friday? How about on the number of runs he gives up? How about the number of days before he goes back on the DL with another injury? Careful with this guy. Doesn't matter if he has a great outing or not...he is not someone to rely on.
And finally, does anyone still think the Blue Jays could even remotely contend with the current state of their clubhouse? Check out this article in the Toronto Star for the latest on the soap opera. What a joke!!!
Catch you next time...
In other news today...
Apparently, Nationals pitcher John Patterson's surgery was a success. I'd go into details, but I'd need to look up a bunch of stuff on WebMD before I could give a full evaluation. Long story short, they went in, poked around, moved this, moved that, decompressed the nerve, and Patterson seems to be doing well. They said he could feasibly come back this year, but unless the Nationals are contending for the wild card, why bother? Better safe than sorry...let him wait until 2007.
Also, as expected, the Nationals put Of Jose Guillen on the 15 day DL with elbow soreness. Talk about bad timing. It's goin gto be nearly impossible for the team to trade him now before the deadline. Either way, this puts Austin Kearns in right field and Alex Escobar gets first shot at the starting center field job. Luis Matos will hang around as the 4th outfielder.
While Joe Borowski is being shopped around the league, Marlins manager Joe Girardi is auditioning new closers. While he's got two possible candidates in Logan Kensing and Taylor Tankersley, neither seems to be out-shining the other. The evil committee word sounds like the likely solution.
On the rehab front, Yankees left fielder Hideki Matsui was told that the bones fused together perfectly and he may be able to start batting practice in a few days. If an August 15 return date becomes more likely, and it looks like it may well be, the Yankees could remove themselves from an awful lot of trade speculation.
Speaking of rehabbing Yankees, push the clock back on Octavio Dotel. He was supposed to make one last rehab appearance and be called up this weekend, but he suffered a setback today when he experienced soreness in his triceps after his session. He'll be re-evaluated on Friday and a decision will be made then.
If you thought Diamondbacks' OF Luis Gonzalez was losing value in fantasy leagues before, wait til you see him now. Hot shot prospect Carlos Quentin has been called up and is already hitting. The two players could end up in a platoon in Arizon'a outfield. Atleast until Gonzo is shipped out somewhere.
After failing in the Houston bullpen since being bumped from the rotation, Wandy Rodriguez has been optioned to the minors today. Overall, it's better for Rodriguez as he will get to pitch more consistently and on the 5 day rest of normal starters. He can compete for a job again next season. But, if the Astros are in need of another starter later on, Rodriguez should be the first one called upon.
Tigers OF Craig Monroe is being called day to day after suffering a hamstring injury in today's game. Manager jim Leyland says he should only miss a couple of days, so it doesn't sound too serious. What does sound serious is that we could be seeing the return of "The Meat Hook". Rumor has it that Dmitri Young could come off the DL this weekend to take over DH duties.
As expected, the Red Sox officially put Tim Wakefield on the DL with a stress fracture in one of his ribs. He should miss 3 or 4 weeks and they've already used a lot of that minor league depth with guys such as Jon Lester and Kyle Snyder. While Kason Gabbard is a possibility, I still think the Sox will look to make a deal.
Anyone know the over/under on the number of innings Mark Prior will pitch on Friday? How about on the number of runs he gives up? How about the number of days before he goes back on the DL with another injury? Careful with this guy. Doesn't matter if he has a great outing or not...he is not someone to rely on.
And finally, does anyone still think the Blue Jays could even remotely contend with the current state of their clubhouse? Check out this article in the Toronto Star for the latest on the soap opera. What a joke!!!
Catch you next time...
posted by Howard Bender at
10:58 PM
