Roto Front Office

We'll Let this One Slide

We'll forgive Alyssa Milano for not liking fantasy baseball, but unless we had a crush on you in the 80's, don't expect the same treatment.

Link: *touch* 'em all: Baseball Fantasy.

Banged Up First Basemen

It's been a bad couple of days to be a first a baseman.  Ryan Howard hit the DL with a quad injury.  Justin Morneau took a bad throw in the nose, breaking it.  Derrek Lee left Sunday's game with neck spasms.  Here are the implications:

Phillies:  The Phightins have several options to replace Howard.  Greg Dobbs has played well in limited time.  Chris Coste, who had a great rookie year but was in AAA this year anyway, was recalled from Ottawa to take his place.  Since Charlie Manual likes Abraham Nunez's defense at third - it can't be his offense, can it? - Wes Helms could move across the diamond.  Dobbs looks to get most of the time against righthanders, according to MLB.com, so he is an add in NL only formats.  Beware of Coste and Helms/Nunez, however.

Minnesota:  Morneau didn't even leave Saturday's game.  His nose was set on the field and he is 3-for-4 on Sunday night as I write this.  Should he have to miss any time, it would either go to Jeff Cirillo or Michael Cuddyer could slide into the infield.

Chicago Cubs:  It is unknown whether he'll be able to play for a couple days.  Daryle Ward or Mark DeRosa could get the extra playing time.

Other options:  If Dan Johnson is out there, grab him immediately.  Ryan Doumit is hot as well.  Casey Blake has heated up recently.  Any of these players would be good additions in that order:  Johnson, Doumit, Blake.  Blake is very streaky, however, and could be the best short term add. 

Ryan Howard Update

Ryan Howard owners and fans are going to have to wait a while longer for his return to the field.  News just broke that Howard is headed to the disabled list.  Chris Coste will take his place on the roster.

More at Balls, Sticks, & Stuff.

The Range of a Rodin

Last weekend we took a look at starting pitchers who were getting significantly more help from their defenses than we would expect given their strikeout rates, walk rates, etc. and their team's typical defensive efficiency. Today, we'll do the opposite and examine several pitchers who are certainly holding up their end of the bargain while the fielders behind them are doing their best impressions of an Auguste Rodin work.

Greg Maddux is one such example -- his ERA is 3.67 and his FIP ERA is 2.50. Despite allowing very few line drives, only 14%, the Padres defense is performing at approximately the same efficiency as it is for other pitchers on the staff who allow higher line drive rates (line drives are the second hardest ball-in-play type to field, home run being first hardest).

But if Maddux thinks he has it bad, he should ask Paul Maholm of the Pirates.  Sure, his FIP ERA of 4.44 is nothing special, but his real ERA is more than a run higher despite allowing only 12% of balls in play to be line drives.

No one is snake bit the way Aaron Harang is however.  His FIP ERA is and exceptional 2.57, however his true ERA is almost two and a quarter runs higher.  The Reds' gloves only snag 64% of his balls in play.

As was the case with pitchers who were getting more help than expected from their defenses, we can expect these trends to regress to the mean over time.  So, if you own any of these three pitchers, you may want to hang in there, better days may be ahead. 

Peralta on Fire

Since an 0-for-18 slump ended on April 20, Indians shortstop Jhonny Peralta is batting .305 with six homers and 16 RBIs.  After a bad sophomore season, he seems to be getting back on track.  Add him if you need middle infield help.

Zumaya to Miss Three Months

The pop was serious.  Still, you should stash him if you can.  If not, you'll need to look elsewhere to carry a middle reliever.  Maybe Hideki Okajima is still out there in your league.

Carmona Excellent Against O's

Fausto Carmona is going to make it hard to send him down again.  The second-year Indian held the Orioles to only one unearned run on seven hits and a walk.  He struck out two.  He's been very solid and only his questionable status if the other five starters are healthy keeps him from being a must-add at this point.

Rivera Takes Loss

Mariano Rivera fell to 1-3 after giving up a ninth inning homer to Adrian Beltre.  He's an excellent buy-low candidate.  He should put things back together soon.  Get him if you can from a panicking owner.

Alex Gonzalez Hits Two Homers

Alex Gonzalez hit his sixth and seventh homers for Cincinnati.  This is the former Marlin, not the former Blue Jay who retired last year.  He's also hitting over .300 so far.  I wouldn't expect him to keep that up since his career-high is .277 back in 1999.  Ride him while he's hot in NL only formats.

Brian Lawrence to the Mets?

Former Padre Brian Lawrence is close to signing a minor league deal with the Mets.  After a sub-par 2005, he was dealt to the Nationals, but tore up his shoulder.  He tried to comeback with the Rockies this spring, but was released from AAA recently.  Mostly, he'll just added depth to the Norfolk rotation, but he won 37 games from 2002-2004 with San Diego.