What's the Buzz? 7/28/06
So it was the calm before the storm. Little bit of action out there with the Milwaukee Brewers being the big dealers today. They filled their semi-vacant third base job by picking up David Bell from the Phillies in exchange for righty relief prospect Wilfrido Laureano. Bell isn't the most dazzling of third basemen and his average is never anything to write home about, but along with Jeff Cirillo, they should form a servicable platoon. Fantasy-wise, they both take a hit in value with the bigger drop going in Bell's value. As for their earlier trade with the Rangers, everyone pretty much knew that the Brewers were going to trade Carlos Lee after they offered him a 4 year contract when he was asking for 5. I'll leave the fantasy analysis alone as it's been discussed earlier in the day, but I do have one thing to say about it. Texas got itself a nice insurance policy in case they can't/don't sign Lee during the offseason. However they got the Brewers to throw in Nelson Cruz in that deal was genius.
In another deal tonight, the Braves sent infielder Wilson Betemit to the Dodgers for some added relief help, Danys Baez, and some insurance depth with Willy Aybar. I guess the injury to Chipper Jones tonight wasn't as serious as it was originally made out to be (currently being called day to day with a strained oblique), otherwise I don't see how the Braves make this deal right now. This trade sort of works out for fantasy owners as Betemit will regularly play third base in place of the injured Bill Mueller and Aybar goes on to play in Atlanta for as long as Chipper's out. Baez' value remains the same as he will provide some 7th and 8th inning set-up for new Braves close Bob Wickman. Betemit could be an interesting pickup in NL-only leagues.
And one last little tweak deal found the Nationals trading reliever Mike Stanton to the Giants for pitching prospect Shairon Martis. Nothing really of fantasy worthiness, but worth mentioning as the Giants look to shore up their bullpen as they make a push for the division. Too bad they're trying it with Stanton.
In other news today...
While the Brewers are wheeling and dealing, they also have a slight concern with 2B Rickie Weeks. It looks like he could end up on the DL with inflammation in his wrist, an injury that has been bothering him for some time now. With the acquisition of Bell, the Brewers could make this move to keep on the safe side with a youngster like Weeks. Bell would play third while Cirillo moves over to second to platoon with the newly acquired Tony Graffanino. In order to make room for all this player movement onto their roster, the team put reliever Jose Capellan on the DL with a right shoulder strain. We now see why he wasn't being considered an option for saves this past week.
White Sox 1B Paul Konerko is being called day to day with a bruised shin. He fouled it off himself, but should be fine in a day or two. Ross Gload will probably start tomorrow, but Konerko should be back after that.
Welcome to the bigs, Andy Marte!!!! I think we can chalk up tonight's 0 for 3 with an error to first day jitters. If you're looking for help at the corner, Marte is a smart pickup. The Indians will start his at third regularly and he should produce nicely over the next 2 months. Buh-bye Aaron Boone.
It looks like the Dodgers will be without Jeff Kent for a little while longer as he has been slow to recover from his latest injury, a strained oblique. He'll probably miss anywhere from another 10 to 14 days. With the trade of Aybar and Betemit over at third, the team will probably have to go with Cesar Izturis at second being backed up by Ramon Martinez.
The Blue Jays happily welcomed outfielder Alex Rios back from the DL today. He returned the warm feelings with a 2 for 4 performance with 2 RBI, 1 run scored and a stolen base. If he keeps this up he's going to help the other Jays catch fire again. He would also solidify himself as a bona fide keeper in a lot of leagues.
And for the Mets, Pedro Martinez is back finally. He went 6 innings with 4 ER, but actually pitched a decent game. The runs he gave up were all in the first inning and he then settled down. He was kept on a tight pitch count (only 77 thrown) and his K's were down from normal (just 2 tonight), but the Mets still have to be happy with most of what they saw. They still need to trade for Barry Zito if they really want to push for the World Series title. It's a win now mentality in New York, so sacrificing Lastings Milledge isn't that bad of a price to pay; in my opinion, that is.
Sorry folks...no hope of the defecting Cubans having any kind of impact on your fantasy teams this year. Next year, on the other hand...
And finally, was that Brewers manager Ned Yost who said that he still wanted Derrick Turnbow to return to the closers role even after acquiring Francisco Cordero? I thought so. A glimmer of hope? Maybe even a little more than that. Thanks for the good wishes, boys. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it!!
In another deal tonight, the Braves sent infielder Wilson Betemit to the Dodgers for some added relief help, Danys Baez, and some insurance depth with Willy Aybar. I guess the injury to Chipper Jones tonight wasn't as serious as it was originally made out to be (currently being called day to day with a strained oblique), otherwise I don't see how the Braves make this deal right now. This trade sort of works out for fantasy owners as Betemit will regularly play third base in place of the injured Bill Mueller and Aybar goes on to play in Atlanta for as long as Chipper's out. Baez' value remains the same as he will provide some 7th and 8th inning set-up for new Braves close Bob Wickman. Betemit could be an interesting pickup in NL-only leagues.
And one last little tweak deal found the Nationals trading reliever Mike Stanton to the Giants for pitching prospect Shairon Martis. Nothing really of fantasy worthiness, but worth mentioning as the Giants look to shore up their bullpen as they make a push for the division. Too bad they're trying it with Stanton.
In other news today...
While the Brewers are wheeling and dealing, they also have a slight concern with 2B Rickie Weeks. It looks like he could end up on the DL with inflammation in his wrist, an injury that has been bothering him for some time now. With the acquisition of Bell, the Brewers could make this move to keep on the safe side with a youngster like Weeks. Bell would play third while Cirillo moves over to second to platoon with the newly acquired Tony Graffanino. In order to make room for all this player movement onto their roster, the team put reliever Jose Capellan on the DL with a right shoulder strain. We now see why he wasn't being considered an option for saves this past week.
White Sox 1B Paul Konerko is being called day to day with a bruised shin. He fouled it off himself, but should be fine in a day or two. Ross Gload will probably start tomorrow, but Konerko should be back after that.
Welcome to the bigs, Andy Marte!!!! I think we can chalk up tonight's 0 for 3 with an error to first day jitters. If you're looking for help at the corner, Marte is a smart pickup. The Indians will start his at third regularly and he should produce nicely over the next 2 months. Buh-bye Aaron Boone.
It looks like the Dodgers will be without Jeff Kent for a little while longer as he has been slow to recover from his latest injury, a strained oblique. He'll probably miss anywhere from another 10 to 14 days. With the trade of Aybar and Betemit over at third, the team will probably have to go with Cesar Izturis at second being backed up by Ramon Martinez.
The Blue Jays happily welcomed outfielder Alex Rios back from the DL today. He returned the warm feelings with a 2 for 4 performance with 2 RBI, 1 run scored and a stolen base. If he keeps this up he's going to help the other Jays catch fire again. He would also solidify himself as a bona fide keeper in a lot of leagues.
And for the Mets, Pedro Martinez is back finally. He went 6 innings with 4 ER, but actually pitched a decent game. The runs he gave up were all in the first inning and he then settled down. He was kept on a tight pitch count (only 77 thrown) and his K's were down from normal (just 2 tonight), but the Mets still have to be happy with most of what they saw. They still need to trade for Barry Zito if they really want to push for the World Series title. It's a win now mentality in New York, so sacrificing Lastings Milledge isn't that bad of a price to pay; in my opinion, that is.
Sorry folks...no hope of the defecting Cubans having any kind of impact on your fantasy teams this year. Next year, on the other hand...
And finally, was that Brewers manager Ned Yost who said that he still wanted Derrick Turnbow to return to the closers role even after acquiring Francisco Cordero? I thought so. A glimmer of hope? Maybe even a little more than that. Thanks for the good wishes, boys. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it!!
posted by Howard Bender at
10:46 PM
