Baseball

I find it kind of funny that Dontrelle Willis is now in the minors, considering that Cliff Lee was sent down last season. It just demonstrates how much of a crap shoot fantasy pitching can be year in and year out. Congrats to Lee though, its an amazing story.

No way I am targeting him in drafts next season though. I figure the odds of him repeating this seasons line are less than 25%, and you are going to have to overpay to get the guy, so .. .. pass.

50 games for an amphetamine means this was the third time he was busted, correct? This is the minor league program so I could be wrong. I Googled it but there is not a lot out there on the minor league program. I know Mike Cameron got caught twice, and he did 25 days his second time around, so 50 games should mean this is the third positive .. I believe.

I figure over the next two or three seasons, there will be a bunch of players getting handed these kind of suspensions as two and three time offenders. The players only get tested a couple of times each season, and the first failure is kept private. Of course once you pee positive, you get tested even more.

Predicting who will get busted is impossible, but I wouldn't be surprised to see a run of infielders. Call it a gut feeling.

162 games is a grind.

the dreaded platoon in Wrigley ....

MLB.com "These guys want to stay in the lineup? Swing the bats," Piniella said. "The opportunity is there for a kid like Hoffpauir. Reed Johnson gave us a spark earlier, and we're going to give him a chance and see what he does. We'll mix and match. "We've got to start scoring some runs on a little more consistent basis than we have in the past week," he said. "Then we have to get our rotation set and get our bullpen set. Let me tell you, when it rains, it pours. Well, it's pouring right now."

"You look at [Micah Hoffpauir's] production at Triple-A, and he obviously deserves an opportunity," Piniella said. "We did the same thing with Soto last year. We came to the conclusion that he would be our No. 1 catcher this year, and it's worked quite well. Hoffpauir, we're giving him an opportunity now to get some at-bats and stay in the lineup and see what he can do. It's up to him. "We could use a lift offensively," Piniella continued. "I took Kosuke Fukudome out today and Jim Edmonds, but there are other people struggling, too.

MLB.com "We've come a long way in a short period of time," Dodgers manager Joe Torre said. "I think we have to certainly keep in perspective how quickly it can get away from us. This game's all about momentum, and [losing] eight in a row is a tough pill to swallow, but the fact that we turned it around and against good pitchers, it tells us a lot about what we're capable of.

I hate it when this happens, when MLB teams aren't really concerned with the disabled list. Since rosters are expanded in September for the playoff push, and to give minor leaguers a "look", the disabled list can become pretty much useless for fantasy purposes, and it could really screw you over for a roster spot or two.

its probably okay to let Kevin Gregg go now. Even if Gregg somehow makes it back with say a week and a half to go, that roster spot will be better served for something else down the stretch. Unless of course you totally desperate for saves, then maybe ..  other wise, I say cut the cord. 

after much deliberation,[none] I'll predict that the MVP will be Fransisco Rodriguez.

Dustin Pedroia's name will get the most play by the world wide leader of course, and they will host an hour long special on why he didn't win, but Fransisco has earned this hardware.

MVP for Fransisco, and then give the CY young to Cliff Lee, just to toss everybody for a loop.

If you had that on your scorecard in April, you are a liar.

Daydream bereaver? -- The Hardball Times

With the arrival and early mashing of Blue Jays’ uber prospect Travis Snider, it’s hard not to wonder if he’s ready for the big time. Granted, we’re dealing with a minuscule sample size at the major league level and let’s not forget that the Jays had a late season call-up in Adam Lind in 2006 when the 22-year-old batted .367/.415/.600 in 16 games only to need a lot more seasoning. Snider will be 21 next season and it’s not unheard of for players to be major league ready at that age.

Why do all these baseball doctors live in the south?

A couple of weeks back, Josh Beckett went to visit Dr Andrews in Alabama. There is no baseball in Alabama, or Tennessee for that matter. Some minor league teams, i guess, but obviously nothing professional. How odd. And it is not like they are centrally located or anything. Maybe Tennessee, but Alabama?

The White Sox will use Uribe the rest of the season at third, but it wouldn't be a bad idea to add Josh Fields to your watch list, and check the game logs daily just in case Fields strings together some AB's, and gets hot. Ozzie needs all the offense he can get. Which is really sad to say with the likes of Paul Konerko, Jim Thome and Nick Swisher already on the roster. <!--break-->

Daily Herald | Crede could be lost for the season

"I'm not going to count (on) Crede for a long time," Guillen said. "He's going to have a second opinion on his back. I don't expect him to be back anytime soon. I have be honest with you because I'm tired of people asking me the same question about Joe. Joe is not going to be with us, and I don't expect him to be back in the season."

Crede, who had back surgery in June of 2007, batted just .174 (4-for-23) after coming off the DL in late August.

"I tip my hat to Joe Crede," Guillen said. "He was playing with a lot of pain and we could see him playing with pain. We could see the way he was moving. He couldn't take anymore. He did everything in his power to help this ballclub, and unfortunately that happened."