What's the Buzz? 9/2/06
Owners of Mariano Rivera...don't panic. Reports came out that the closer was being shut down immediately, but didn't say for how long. But manager Joe Torre came out afterwards and said he just wanted to rest him over the weekend. The MRI on Rivera's elbow only showed inflammation; no structural damage. Torre just wants him to cease throwing for a couple of days and see if that takes away the discomfort. We'll see what happens over the next few days, but I don't think you need to bench him for the upcoming scoring period.
Onto the rest of the news...
Congratualtions to Indians call up Kevin Kouzmanoff who hit a grand slam off the first pitch he saw as a major leaguer to help the Tribe beat the Rangers today. He'll have a little bit of value as he fills in for Travis Hafner who is day to day with a bruised hand.
Some good news out of Boston today as the club said it expects David Ortiz back in the lineup by Tuesday. The doctors are saying that they are 97% sure there is nothing wrong with his heart, but won't give him the full 100% until they can track him for a few more days while he resumes baseball activities. Risk/reward here. I say activate him this week.
Also for Boston, it looks like Jonathan Papelbon will be out for about a week while he gets his shoulder examined further. He left his last outing with what was described as a burning sensation in his shoulder. Too high up on the body for an STD, I think. The MRI will be on Monday so we'll know more then, but for this week atleast, it looks like the return of Keith Foulke.
Marlins starter Ricky Nolasco will miss his next scheduled start on Monday due to Hamstring tightness. He's skipping the start altogether, but since he was supposed to be a two-start pitcher this week, we'll still get a game out of him for the upcoming scoring period.
Cubs catcher Michael Barrett is being called day to day after he was hit in the groin with a foul tip. There's a joke in there somewhere, but for all of us that have been hit in that area, we know there's nothing funny about it. He may miss Sunday's game, but he should be fine after that.
I said yesterday that Ty Wigginton will get the at bats once he comes back from the DL and D-Rays manager Joe Maddon backed me up by saying that he doesn't expect to see 1B Travis Lee getting much playing time the rest of the way. Wiggy won't hit like he did before he got hurt, but it's good to know he'll get the opportunity to try. He might be a nice boost for your AL only league stats.
Another boost, maybe for you NL only leaguers, in the offense department is the return of Mets outfielder Cliff Floyd. He went 1 for 3 in his return with a pair of RBI. He should resume left field duties which pushes Endy Chavez over to center to take over for the injured Carlos Beltran. Word is, after a preliminary examination, that after crashing into the fence, Beltran could not bend his knee. There doesn't appear to be any ligament damage, but he should be out for the next few days. We'll keep you posted when we know more.
Unfortunately, Maddon also said he wants to try out Edwin Jackson as the closer by giving him a few opportunitites. Unreal. This closer situation has been a disaster all season long. Now I'm not saying go out and drop Seth McClung in favor of Jackson, but just prepare yourself for a little annoying disappointment.
Speaking of closer situations, it appears that Pirates manager Jim Tracy is going to use Salomon Torres for his temporary closer rather than Matt Capps. We knew it would be a matchup thing but showing concern may be all for naught as Mike Gonzalez is expected back when his 15 days are up.
What are the chances that Tigers 1B Chris Shelton can do with his recent call up what he did at the start of this season in April? Yeah, wishful thinking. He'll get some at bats and may start against some lefties, but Sean Casey, bad hammy and all, still remains the teams first option.
Twins lefty Francisco Liriano threw a successful and pain free 12 minute bullpen session today and will probably throw BP on Wednesday. If all goes well, he could be back at some point this month. Maybe out of the bullpen, but that's where he started this year. This should be fun to watch if the Twins stay in contention here.
Also on the comeback trail is Phillies closer Tom Gordon. He threw another two scoreless innings today and should be activated by Monday or Tuesday. If he's on your bench, get ready to activate him.
While he has not been put on the DL, Cardinals OF Jim Edmonds will not travel with the team on it's upcoming 7 game road trip. We saw this with Mike Matheny earlier in the season, so it doesn't look promising. However, Edmonds has always been a gamer, so maybe after some rest, we'll get to see him for the final two weeks of the season. Not sure if I would count on it though.
Diamondbacks call up Chris Young is looking like a nice pick up in the outfield right now. He's hitting .409 in 22 at bats since coming up and had 5 of the D-Backs RBI today. He could help you down the stretch if he stays hot and will definitely be a solid option in 2007.
Bad news for you Felix Hernandez owners. Following his first career shutout, he will be shut down....for atleast 2 starts. The team doesn't want him to go over 200 innings for the season. He may not miss consecutive starts, but it looks like he'll be out this coming week.
And finally, September Sleeper Scott Baker today against the Yankees? 5 innings, 2 hits, 1 earned run in a rain shortened victory. Maybe a few more K's the next time huh? He should get the Tigers his next time out.
Busy Labor Day Weekend here, but I'll try and stay on top of things.
Catch you next time...
Onto the rest of the news...
Congratualtions to Indians call up Kevin Kouzmanoff who hit a grand slam off the first pitch he saw as a major leaguer to help the Tribe beat the Rangers today. He'll have a little bit of value as he fills in for Travis Hafner who is day to day with a bruised hand.
Some good news out of Boston today as the club said it expects David Ortiz back in the lineup by Tuesday. The doctors are saying that they are 97% sure there is nothing wrong with his heart, but won't give him the full 100% until they can track him for a few more days while he resumes baseball activities. Risk/reward here. I say activate him this week.
Also for Boston, it looks like Jonathan Papelbon will be out for about a week while he gets his shoulder examined further. He left his last outing with what was described as a burning sensation in his shoulder. Too high up on the body for an STD, I think. The MRI will be on Monday so we'll know more then, but for this week atleast, it looks like the return of Keith Foulke.
Marlins starter Ricky Nolasco will miss his next scheduled start on Monday due to Hamstring tightness. He's skipping the start altogether, but since he was supposed to be a two-start pitcher this week, we'll still get a game out of him for the upcoming scoring period.
Cubs catcher Michael Barrett is being called day to day after he was hit in the groin with a foul tip. There's a joke in there somewhere, but for all of us that have been hit in that area, we know there's nothing funny about it. He may miss Sunday's game, but he should be fine after that.
I said yesterday that Ty Wigginton will get the at bats once he comes back from the DL and D-Rays manager Joe Maddon backed me up by saying that he doesn't expect to see 1B Travis Lee getting much playing time the rest of the way. Wiggy won't hit like he did before he got hurt, but it's good to know he'll get the opportunity to try. He might be a nice boost for your AL only league stats.
Another boost, maybe for you NL only leaguers, in the offense department is the return of Mets outfielder Cliff Floyd. He went 1 for 3 in his return with a pair of RBI. He should resume left field duties which pushes Endy Chavez over to center to take over for the injured Carlos Beltran. Word is, after a preliminary examination, that after crashing into the fence, Beltran could not bend his knee. There doesn't appear to be any ligament damage, but he should be out for the next few days. We'll keep you posted when we know more.
Unfortunately, Maddon also said he wants to try out Edwin Jackson as the closer by giving him a few opportunitites. Unreal. This closer situation has been a disaster all season long. Now I'm not saying go out and drop Seth McClung in favor of Jackson, but just prepare yourself for a little annoying disappointment.
Speaking of closer situations, it appears that Pirates manager Jim Tracy is going to use Salomon Torres for his temporary closer rather than Matt Capps. We knew it would be a matchup thing but showing concern may be all for naught as Mike Gonzalez is expected back when his 15 days are up.
What are the chances that Tigers 1B Chris Shelton can do with his recent call up what he did at the start of this season in April? Yeah, wishful thinking. He'll get some at bats and may start against some lefties, but Sean Casey, bad hammy and all, still remains the teams first option.
Twins lefty Francisco Liriano threw a successful and pain free 12 minute bullpen session today and will probably throw BP on Wednesday. If all goes well, he could be back at some point this month. Maybe out of the bullpen, but that's where he started this year. This should be fun to watch if the Twins stay in contention here.
Also on the comeback trail is Phillies closer Tom Gordon. He threw another two scoreless innings today and should be activated by Monday or Tuesday. If he's on your bench, get ready to activate him.
While he has not been put on the DL, Cardinals OF Jim Edmonds will not travel with the team on it's upcoming 7 game road trip. We saw this with Mike Matheny earlier in the season, so it doesn't look promising. However, Edmonds has always been a gamer, so maybe after some rest, we'll get to see him for the final two weeks of the season. Not sure if I would count on it though.
Diamondbacks call up Chris Young is looking like a nice pick up in the outfield right now. He's hitting .409 in 22 at bats since coming up and had 5 of the D-Backs RBI today. He could help you down the stretch if he stays hot and will definitely be a solid option in 2007.
Bad news for you Felix Hernandez owners. Following his first career shutout, he will be shut down....for atleast 2 starts. The team doesn't want him to go over 200 innings for the season. He may not miss consecutive starts, but it looks like he'll be out this coming week.
And finally, September Sleeper Scott Baker today against the Yankees? 5 innings, 2 hits, 1 earned run in a rain shortened victory. Maybe a few more K's the next time huh? He should get the Tigers his next time out.
Busy Labor Day Weekend here, but I'll try and stay on top of things.
Catch you next time...
posted by Howard Bender at
10:34 PM
