Do yourself a favor if you own Hong-Chih Kuo and
have him in your rotation: don't watch him pitch. You will give
yourself a heart attack. Kuo is maddeningly wild at times. This not
only leads to walks, but a decent amount of 3-0, 3-1, 2-0 counts. The
good news is that Kuo has a lot of movement on his fastball, and so
hitters rarely connect solidly even when they know he's behind in the
count and needs to throw a strike. He is a very high-risk, high-reward
pitcher at this point. And well worth rostering. But if you own him,
just turn the channel and check back on the score every few innings.
Your blood pressure will thank me ...
... Speaking of Dodger arms, Jason Schmidt's owners had better hope
that there's an impostor on the mound every time Schmidt throws.
Because if that's really the best he's got to offer, not only is he not
good, it doesn't even look like him out there. Either he is being
rushed back from injury or he's cooked. Neither is good ...
... Garrett Anderson is heading back to the DL? What were the odds? Better than even, I'd bet ...
... Yeah, the Yankees are riding high right
now, but how much better do you think they'd feel if they'd held onto
Carlos Pena instead of Josh Phelps? Pena is absolutely killing the ball
in Tampa. I'm not buying the high average lasting, but the power is
(and always has been) real ...
... Travis Hafner owners were excited to gain first base eligiblity
with him in many leagues last weekend. Problem is, most owners like
some power from their first baseman, and Hafner hasn't had a home run
in June (which, as of this writing, is halfway over already). Where's
the beef? ...
... A.J. Burnett's sore shoulder should
scare the hell out of his owners. The Jays have been working him hard
lately. I thought General Manager J.P. Ricciardi was supposed to be one
of the smart ones. Given Burnett's injury history, he needs to be
treated a bit more gently ...
... If you own
Elijah Dukes, you'd better have a good insurance policy on your bench.
With the latest accusation against Dukes, that he impregnated a 17
year-old in the foster care of his grandmother, he has moved past Carl
Everett in the crazy category. And he'll be passing John Rocker next if
he's not careful ...
... Two speedsters have
been demoted and moved down in their lineups, Juan Pierre in Los
Angeles and Julio Lugo in Boston. It will be interesting to see how
each hitter responds. Remember that Pierre got off to a slow start last
season, and really turned it on in the second half. Of course, the Cubs
didn't have the option of Rafael Furcal in the leadoff spot either. So
they let him play through it. Lugo, on the other hand, got off to a
blazing start before getting traded to Los Angeles and stinking up the
joint. Both have solid track records and are good "buy low" candidates if
you need steals ...
... The Pedro Martinez
countdown is underway. The Mets will be in no hurry to rush him thanks
to the performance of Jorge Sosa ...
... Kevin Kouzmanoff's injury was reportedly nothing to be worried
about, according to the San Diego Padres staff. But now they've called
up third base prospect Chase Headley. I'd be wary here and worry that
The Kouz is heading to the DL if only because I no longer trust almost
any medical information publicly shared by baseball teams. I blame Bill
Belichick for all of this.
Note: Chris will be taking the next three Sundays off as he explores baseball's distant Irish cousin, hurling, up close and personal.