Greetings compatriots of the fantasy baseball type.
It is always kind of nice to have a summer break as I did last week, but it is also fun to get back to the yard, as I did this week.
To tell the truth I am still not totally sure of all the gyrations that occurred during my absence--it is kind of a nice slow culture shock reaclimating from the wilds each year--but there are definitely things that caught my eye.
For example I was watching the Indians and Angels game yesterday via the Cleveland FSN affiliate and during the game the farm team highlights were displayed, and there was John Halama as an ace for AAA Buffalo. I always like Halama, and had him on my teams several times with lots of hope, and, never failed to be disappointed. A guy like Halama should do well at AAA, which is part of the problem. He is one of those people who represent the Peter Principle so well: rising to the level of incompetence. And, I don't mean that as a slam, as Halama has made the majors. But, he is good enough to succeed at AAA, but not quite good enough to succeed at the major league level.
Sigh. Jose Vidro was released by the Mariners over the week. I guess it is extra hard for me to embrace this collapse (.234-2-45 this year with a .274 OBP and OPS of .612) as I have him on a Strat-O-Matic team (last year's stats) and he is among the league leaders in hits, batting average and OBP. Aside from the fact that next year's card will be derelict, Vidro could be a good bat off the bench of a contender. He switch hits, and has a career average of .298 including this off year. Don't cut ties with him yet in a deep league, but don't expect a lot of production, either. For the most part his career is likely over.
On the other hand a bunch of players were given another shot. Like the Yankees Brett Gardner, who will likely get a chance to see some playing time with the demotion of Melky Cabrera (although a return of Hideki Matsui could impact that). But Gardner has a good eye (70 walks to 76 whiffs at AAA this season) and though his previous Yankee totals were negligable (.176-0-8) look for this guy to learn from the demotion a la Detroit's Matt Joyce. And, the players who return from the minors having learned, usually stay.
Ideally the same is true for Cleveland's Asdrubal Cabrera who should get some serious playing time through the rest of the season. Cabrera is talented, and young (22) and struggled this year with a full time job hitting .223-4-23 over 241 at-bats. At Buffalo Cabrera hit .326-15 over 141 at-bats showing like Halama and Joyce and Gardner, he is too good for Triple-A. Whether he is good enough for a full time gig at the Show is the question now. At his age, I am betting Cabrera is.
Looking at a couple of other returns, I scored a Tampa Athletics game last week and saw Rocco Baldelli capture a couple of at-bats. It is timely that the Rays got him back the same week they lost Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria, but Baldelli looked overmatched the at-bats I saw. This is probably to be expected bearing in mind how little playing time he has pulled over the past two years. And, Baldelli is certainly not as strong a roster candidate as a few years back right now, but in a deep AL only, he is still a good bet.
Remember what a hot commodity Florida's Anibal Sanchez was a few years back? Well, he too is back now a rousing 24 years old. Walks are still a problem for Sanchez (20 strike outs to 12 walks over 23 innings) but as he worked his way back up through the minors this year with much better control numbers (35 whiffs to ten walks over 28 innings). I think he will be ok.
I had hopes for Laynce Nix many years back, but like that of Halama I was disappointed. Nix can cut it at the AAA level (this year he is hitting .284-23-60 at Las Vegas) as his career totals of .280-114-475 with 58 swipes over 702 games suggests. .236-29-118 totals over 261 major league games suggest Nix is just filler.
Before I move on to a couple of new names, we need to note that Troy Percival, Todd Jones, Moises Alou, Chris Carpenter, and Aaron Boone all had time on the DL initiated or changed last week. Ouch. Though not a surprise in any case.
Oakland clearly has to do something about third base. Like it or not, Jack Hannahan is not the answer, so expect Cliff Pennington to get some serious playing time. Pennington, 24, rose from AA (.260-0-18 over 204 at bats at Midland, with a .379 OBP) to .297-2-16 over 236 at-bats at Sacramento with a .426 OBP. Pennington has some speed (80 minor league swipes over 377 games) and is not a power threat, but could hit 30 doubles, and, well, Oakland needs to do something about third base. Of course Mark Ellis becomes a free agent, so second base could be Pennington's future as well.
24-year old Clayton Richard is up with the White Sox after delivering some staggering minor league totals this year. At AA Birmingham Richard was 6-6, 2.47 with an 0.97 WHIP and 53 whiffs to 15 walks over 83 innings. At AAA Charlston, Richard was 6-0, 2.45, with an 0.84 WHIP and 53 more strikeouts to just four walks. Richard has struggled some at first, but the White Sox need a little help and in a deeper AL only formats, if you need to take a chance, he is worthy of the risk.
Finally, 26-year old Mitch Maier of the Royals could be good enough to surpass AAA, but whether he can cut it at the major league level is to be seen. Hitting .316-9-41 over 85 games, and .352-0-4 over 17 games with the Royals, there is not enough of a sample. But, those numbers cannot be ignored in any format and the ever transitioning Royals need to play the hot hand.