After taking a dive in the standings (falling from 2nd to 5th) this week, thanks solely to my lackluster pitching, I ended up tweaking my roster just a bit. I still lead in all of the batting categories, by a wide margin, but with Gio Gonzalez (WSH) and Brandon Morrow (TOR) posting piss-poor results in their starts this week, I had to do something.
My top 2 SPs have been killing me. The aforementioned Gio Gonzalez was the first pitcher I took off the board during the draft, over Madison Bumgarner (SF), who has been a stud for San Fran out of the gate. So, I'm obviously kicking myself for that. Because, Gio has been so atrocious to start the season, I'm benching this coming week against the Reds. He looks like a different pitcher out there. I've caught a few of his starts on TV and he's both lost velocity and control, which is more than a little disconcerting. And granted, the Reds do have one of the best offenses in the game, but let's just say you're in trouble if you have to bench your ace at any point in the season because of performance. Of course, the season is young and Gio has plenty of time to turn it around, but he's already put me in the hole, and now I have to scramble to dig my way out of it.
And, unfortunately, the 2nd SP I drafted was Johnny Cueto (CIN), who was terrific, until he landed on the DL... for the foreseeable future. He could miss as many as 4 or 5 starts, which is much longer than originally thought. It's a shame too because Cueto's stuff was electric prior to straining his triceps, and my pitching could sure use a jolt right about now (lame pun intended).
Which leads me to my recent moves. My roster as currently constituted:
C - Yadier Molina, STL
C - Russell Martin, PIT
1B - Joey Votto, CIN
2B - Brandon Phillips, CIN
3B - David Wright, NYM
SS - Andrelton Simmons, ATL
MI - Didi Gregorius, ARI
CI - Chase Headley, SD
OF - Giancarlo Stanton, MIA
OF - Justin Upton, ATL
OF - Austin Jackson, DET
OF - Nelson Cruz, TEX
OF - Lorenzo Cain, KC
UT - Chris Davis, BAL
SP - Yovani Gallardo, MIL
SP - Lance Lynn, STL
SP - Wade Miley, ARI
SP - Anibal Sanchez, DET
SP - Kyle Lohse, MIL
SP - Jose Fernandez, MIA
SP - Wandy Rodriguez, PIT
RP - Brandon League, LAD
RP - Edward Mujica, STL
Bench - Gio Gonzalez, WSH
Bench - Johnny Cueto, CIN
Bench - Joel Hanrahan, BOS
Bench - Dan Straily, OAK
Bench - Michael Bourn, CLE
Bench - Erick Aybar, LAA
Trades
-Trade #1: Brandon Morrow (TOR) for Dan Straily (OAK).
To be perfectly honest, I wasn't even sure if my league would allow this. And perhaps I did act a bit hastily, giving up on Morrow so soon, but unlike other struggling pitchers, like David Price (TB) and Matt Cain (SF), Brandon Morrow doesn't exactly have the kind of track record that inspires confidence. I've drafted Morrow in years past where he's been atrocious. And he hasn't just been getting hit to start the season, he's been getting crushed. Granted, he looked good in his first start of the season, but he's pretty much fallen off the map since then. And, while it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if he were to bounce back over his next few starts, I couldn't afford to take the chance. But, then again, it's not like I gave him away for nothing. Straily is a full-fledged stud, and will challenge Tony Cingrani (CIN) for the "fantasy savior" label once he gets the call to the majors. And, given the fact that he already struck out 11 batters in his season debut with the big league club, and has utterly destroyed triple-A since his demotion (posting a 1.42 ERA and striking out 16 batters in 12 innings), I wouldn't be surprised to see him pitching in Oakland any day now. Besides, given Brett Anderson's and Bartolo Colon's injury history, and Jarrod Parker's shaky play as of late, he may not even need to force management's hand. So, he's definitely worth stashing. I'm still kicking myself for not stashing Cingrani. And, Straily has already proven he can have success at the major league level, whereas Cingrani was more or less a shot in the dark.
-Trade #2: Brandon Moss (OAK) for Lorenzo Cain (KC).
Maybe I just have something against guys name Brandon? I don't know. But I swung this deal BEFORE Cain's bat exploded this week. The team I traded with was sorely lacking in the 1B department. After finally benching Eric Hosmer (KC), he made me an offer of JJ Putz (ARI) for Chris Davis (BAL), which I obviously declined, before I countered with Cain for Moss, which he accepted. My thinking was, I could use stolen bases more than home runs, and Cain seemed like a pretty well-rounded player of equal value to Moss. And, of course, Cain went on to make me look like a genius, hitting .631 over his last 5 games, scoring 4 runs, knocking in 3 RBIs, hitting 1 HR and stealing 2 bases. So, I think I made the right move. I had Cain ranked higher than Moss in my preseason rankings anyway, so it was pretty much a no-brainer as to who I'd rather have.
-Trade #3: Lance Berkman (TEX) for Wandy Rodriguez (PIT).
This was desperation on my part. I may have been buying high on Wandy, after blanking the Braves for 7 innings upon his return from the DL, but I REALLY need some help with my staff, and Berkman was expendable. Plus, he's been riding the bench way more frequently than I'd like to see. He's basically getting benched against lefties and for interleague games, which should take a nice chunk out of his numbers if the trend continues until seasons' end. And given his age and health, I think it might. Then again, when he does play he hits in the middle of a stacked Rangers lineup. So I have no doubt he will post numbers when he does play. They're just numbers I don't particularly need. I would've liked to get someone a little more dependable than Wandy Rodriguez for him, but he was my only offer. And, with the way my team is structured, he made a lot more sense for me than Berkman did. So there you have it. Hopefully Wandy will stay hot for a while.
Free Agent Signings
-Move #1: Dropped John Jaso (OAK), added Russell Martin (PIT).
After hitting his 7th HR today, it's clear I made a mistake dropping JP Arencibia (TOR) for Tyler Flowers (CWS) to start the season. Admittedly, I was leery of Arencibia all along, given his status as an AVG-killer, but Flowers obviously isn't any better in that department. I was betting that Flowers would stay hotter for longer, and I bet wrong, which became clear only days after adding him (Flowers went hitless for 5 games straight, or something like that, after hitting 3 HRs in 3 games to start the season). So, John Jaso became my stop-gap solution to makeup for my bonehead mistake. And, really, Jaso isn't a bad option for a 2nd catcher, because, if nothing else, he probably won't hurt your AVG. But, a rival owner recently gave up on Russell Martin after his slow start, and he went unclaimed on the waiver wire (I sure as hell wasn't willing to spend a waiver claim on him). Yet, over the last few days since he was dropped, he really started to pickup the pace, going 7 for 12 with 3 runs, 2 RBIs and a HR over his last 4 games. So, I figured I can ride his streak while he's hot, and if he cools off again at some point, Jaso will probably still be there waiting for me in the free agent pool if I need him.
-Move #2: Dropped Zack Cozart (CIN), added Didi Gregorius (ARI).
With Cozart listed as day-to-day after suffering a mild injury, I decided to take a chance on Gregorius. The kid has been excellent since his season debut last week, and should force his way into the starting lineup any time now (if he hasn't already with his most recent effort today). Don't get me wrong, Cozart is a good backup option, and should be good to go this week, since it looks like his injury isn't serious, but I just had to roll the dice on Didi (I have a tendency to do that when it comes to rookies. I blame Ryan Braun. I caught the prospect-bug after adding him out of the free agent pool during his rookie season, and have been taking chances on the latest flavors of the month -- or should I say season? -- ever since. And admittedly, Didi didn't post Braun-like numbers in the minor leagues, but he has improved offensively in recent years, and has started the season red hot, in both the minors & majors. There are a few analysts out there who are reluctant to take a chance on him because of his pedigree (he's always been considered more of a defensive prospect than offensive), but he's only 23 years old, and has the size (6'1 - 185) to hit for some power at an extraordinarily weak position. Of course, so does Cozart. But he's not a shiny new prospect, like Gregorius is. So, we'll see how that one works out. Either way, both are just substitutes for Erick Aybar (LAA) until he returns from the DL, but I hope I'm not making the same mistake with Cozart that I made with JP Arencibia earlier in the season.
+MLB
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