You have to be impressed with the job
Ron Gardenhire is doing this year with the Twins. When they traded
Johan Santana to the Mets for all those prospects, everyone thought it would be a rebuilding year in the Twin Cities. But not so fast, here it is August 24th, and the Twins lead the AL Central over the White Sox by a half game. Their young arms are the heart of the team:
Scott Baker, Kevin Slowey, Francisco Liriano, Nick Blackburn, and
Glen Perkins can all give you a quality start whenever they take the mound. It will be an interesting race the rest of the year, and who is not looking forward to that potential Tampa Bay Rays-Minnesota Twins matchup in this year's ALCS? I bet Fox Sports isn't.
Injuries:
Alex Gordon (3B, KC) - Will miss the rest of the season with a torn calf muscle. His second season will end no better than his first, so he will go into next year with quite a bit of tarnish on his one-time-"can't miss" image.
Justin Duchscherer (SP, OAK) - Went on the 15-day DL with a strained right hip.
George Sherrill (SP, BAL) - On the DL with left shoulder inflammation.
Ian Kinsler (2B, TEX) - Went on the DL with a hernia and is out indefinitely.
Who's Hot:
Jermaine Dye (OF, CHW) - He has 31 HRs and 81 RBIs for the season.
AJ Burnett (SP, TOR) - Now leads the AL in strikeouts with 178.
Xavier Nady (OF, NYY) - Hitting .327 since coming over to the Yankees.
Who's Not:
Julio Lugo (SS, BAL) - Reinjured his quadriceps and may miss the rest of the season.
Jeremy Sowers (SP, CLE) - ERA is back up to 5.95 for the season.
Fantasy Studs (Last 7 Days):
1. Raul Ibanez (OF, SEA) - Remains hot as he went 13-27, a .481 clip.
2. Mike Aviles (SS, KC) - Hit .480 by going 12-25.
3. Glen Perkins (SP, MIN) - Went 2-0 with a 2.57 ERA.
Fantasy Duds (Last 7 Days):
1. Jason Giambi (1B, NYY) - He has 76 RBIs for the season but could easily be over 100 in the middle of that Yankee lineup.
2. Wladimir Balentien (OF, SEA) - Only batted .231, going 6-26. It's called on-the-job learning for the rookie.
Got a fantasy question you would like answered in my column? Send it to me via
e-mail at mikek@creativesports.com. Until next week, I wish you the best of luck.