RotoBuzz -- Fantasy Baseball

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

What's the Buzz? 8/9/06

Well, here we are now 2/3 of the season done. The crazy summer heat and grueling schedule seem to be wearing down some players as everywhere I look, there's injury upon injury. This is not what you want at this time of year. So tough to replace an injured guy at this point in the season. Sometimes you even have to leave a hole in your lineup and hope he's only out for the minimum 15 days. No fun at all and just an outright fantasy nightmare. Try and hang in there.

And now for the injury report...er...um...I mean the news...

So the Dodgers activated Nomar Garciaparra today and the debate began on who to start between Julio Lugo and Wilson Betemit. Tonight Lugo got the call at third pushing the hot hitting Betemit to the bench. Luckily, this debate shouldn't last too long as J.D. Drew left the game today with a strained quad. He'll probably take a seat tomorrow and allow the club to try Lugo out in right. If you own these guys, be careful.....unless you can make daily moves, you might be losing a few games played here and there.
Yankees OF Johnny Damon is being called day to day after he left tonight's game with stiffness in his groin. There's a joke in there somewhere, but I'll be damned if I'm gonna do it. Depending on how Damon feels in the morning, Bernie Williams may see some action in center for a game or two.
The Cardinals may be without 3B Scott Rolen for a game or two as he left today with back spasms. Expect to see Scott Spiezio in the lineup for a game or two, so if you have an alternative to Rolen, you might want to use him.
Brewers 2B Rickie Weeks will undergo season ending wrist surgery sometime in the beginning of next week. Unbelievable that he did it playing around with a bat in the dugout. This is the second year in a row he's had a season ending injury. Last year the thumb, this year the wrist. He's developing quite the reputation for being the guy you don't want to hold onto for the second half. Keeper material? I think not.
The Mets put OF Cliff Floyd on the DL today with tendenitis in his Achilles. It's actually been an ongoing problem all year and he really just needs the two weeks off to relax and get better. He pinch hit last night, so don't expect to see him before the last week in August. Endy Chavez will get the starts in his place, and may actually be worth a look if you need some short term OF help.
The Twins expect to put rookie sensation Francisco Liriano on the DL Thursday with his continued arm troubles. He will have an MRI done immediately as it is unclear whether it is his elbow or his forearm and apparently he hasn't been honest or forthcoming with his injury. The team is calling up Boof Bonser to take his spot in the rotation and pitch on Saturday. I don't recommend Bonser as he'll be getting Toronto and the White Sox his first two outings. Now Matt Garza, on the other hand...he gets to start for the Twins on Friday and I think he is most definitely worth having.
And finally, it looks like it could be the end of the road for one of my hopefuls, Chris Denorfia. The Reds acquired Todd Hollandsworth for either cash or a player to be named later, which means that they need to open up a roster spot for him. With the way the team has been acquiring arms, I don't think they're dropping a pitcher for him. Regardless, neither is worth owning anymore.

Catch you next time...