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Fantistics Baseball Writer
October 1, 2009 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Michael Young- TEX- Hot- Young has bounced back since returning from his latest bout of hamstring troubles. This has been the first season that he has been seriously impacted by injuries, playing only 133 games so far. Still he has
September 29, 2009 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Juan Pierre- LAN- Cold- With Manny Ramirez out with a sore hamstring and likely to be rested a lot in the last days of the season, Pierre has been getting some playing time. That’s the good news for Pierre owners.
September 24, 2009 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Scott Kazmir- LAA- Hot- Kazmir took the loss against the Yankees last night, but still pitched decently. It was a quality start, with 3 runs allowed on 6 hits and 3 walks while striking out 4 in 6 IP. Since
September 22, 2009 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Joe Blanton- PHI- Stats- A big part of Blanton’s surge after a poor April has been a turnaround in his comparative home and road performances. He has not been effected by the hitter bias at Citizens Bank Park, posting a
September 17, 2009 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Zack Greinke- KC- Stats- Greinke has thrown 4 consecutive quality starts in which he has given up a total of 4 runs, only three earned. There have been three factors that have driven Greinke’s success this year. First is an
September 15, 2009 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Carlos Marmol- CHN- Caution- Marmol picked up his 9th save and has yet to blow an opportunity since his promotion into the closer role, but there are some things that can make you queasy. Half of Marmol’s 14 pitches were
August 20, 2009 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Ivan Rodriguez- TEX- Hot- Pudge’s return to the Rangers was a smashing success at the plate. He went 3-for-4 with a double, RBI and run scored. The crowd was definitely behind him and that may have helped. In the longer
August 18, 2009 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Andy LaRoche- PIT- Hot- The LaRoche Pittsburgh kept after being discovered over their legal limit and having to get rid of one has been improving of late. Not as much as Adam in Atlanta, but certainly better than the .188
August 11, 2009 | article in Player Commentary (973)
John Lannan- WAS- Caution- Imagine there’s no road games. It’s easy if you try. That’s what Lannan wishes was the case as he takes the mound in Atlanta. In the Nation’s Capital, he pitches like a Cy Young candidate, with
August 6, 2009 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Marc Rzepczynski – TOR- Hot- It wasn’t a quality start because he allowed 4 runs in his 6 IP, but everything else about Rzepczynski’s outing was positive. He allowed only 5 hits and walked 1 while striking out 7. This
August 4, 2009 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Johnny Cueto- CIN- Cold- One thing has been contributing greatly to the almost doubling of Cueto’s ERA from 2.17 on June 14th to the 4.06 ERA. That is an inability to keep the baseball from reaching the stands. In his
July 30, 2009 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Joaquin Arias- TEX- Rise Value- Arias was called up to the Rangers yesterday due to the injury to Ian Kinsler. He will serve primarily as a backup middle infielder until Kinsler’s hamstring is better. Arias has seen his stock fall
July 28, 2009 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Adam Wainwright- STL- Caution- Wainwright has performed very well this season but he has been throwing many more pitches than he has done in the past. In his first two seasons as a starter he hit the 110 pitch mark
July 23, 2009 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Jarrod Washburn- SEA- Caution- A couple of things have come together for Washburn in this career (so far) year. One is under his control and one is not. First, Washburn has put together his best K rate EVAR! Second, he
July 21, 2009 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Doug Davis- ARI- Cold- Davis was crushed yesterday, giving up 8 runs on 6 hits and 4 walks in just 2-1/3 IP. Since a run of 4 consecutive starts in which he threw 110 or more pitches he has gone
July 9, 2009 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Alfredo Aceves- NYA- FYI- Aceves takes the mound for a spot start today and will have a limit of about 65 pitches. That may or may not give him enough to stick around for a potential win, but his performance
July 7, 2009 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Casey Kotchman- ATL- Stats- Looking at Kotchman’s Fantistics Player Charts, certain numbers are almost identical between 2008 and so far in 2009. His batting average, singles average and Batting EYE are all just about the same. The thing that kills
July 2, 2009 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Alexei Ramirez- CHA- Injury- Ramirez will be out of today’s game, but it has nothing to do with the beaning he took on Monday. He is apparently fully recovered from that, going 3-for-4 with a run and RBI. Ramirez injured
June 30, 2009 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Dan Haren- ARI- Caution- At this point last season Haren had hit or exceeded the 110 pitch mark twice. So far this year he has done it 5 times. For a pitcher who has exhibited a noted second half fade
June 25, 2009 | article in Preseason Prep (122)
Luke Hochevar- KC- Hot- Hochevar turned in an impressive performance last night, allowing 2 runs on 3 hits and a walk while striking out 4 in 7 IP. This follows up a disaster his last time out, when he gave
June 23, 2009 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Max Scherzer- ARI- Caution- With the Rangers coming to town starting tonight, it’s time to take a quick look at Scherzer’s home/road splits. They are not pretty for someone facing the Texas lineup in his home park, if you have
June 18, 2009 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Joba Chamberlain- NYA- FYI- In 12 starts this year, Joba has walked at least 4 batters 5 times. None of those outings was longer than 6 IP. This indicates some real problems at times locating the strike zone. Joba still
June 16, 2009 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Dave Bush- MIL- Cold- Despite being 29 years old, Bush may still be affected by high pitch count games. He has not thrown a quality start in his last 5 outings, the first of which was a 116-pitch effort. Last
June 11, 2009 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Dioner Navarro- TB- Cold- Navarro was a big part of Tampa Bay’s 2008 World Series run, hitting .295. This season, a combination of bad luck (.198 BHIPx) and hideously poor patience (3 BBs in 173 ABs) have crushed him. After
June 9, 2009 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Stephen Strasburg- WAS- FYI- Matt Wieters? He is so last month. The latest hype machine surrounds Stephen Strasburg, who will officially become property of the Nationals as soon as the Major League Draft gets underway this evening. If you’ve been
June 4, 2009 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Brandon McCarthy- TEX- Hot- McCarthy enters tonight’s start against the Yankees with 3 consecutive quality starts under his belt. His season will e an interesting test of the new philosophy Nolan Ryan and pitching coach Mike Maddux have brought to
June 2, 2009 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Adrian Gonzalez- SD- Great Player- Silly Phillies. They chose to pitch to Gonzalez with no one on in the 6th inning and, naturally, Gonzalez parked one, his 21st of the season. It was only his 6th homer this year at
May 28, 2009 | article in Player Commentary (973)
David Huff- CLE- Rookie- Huff is getting a third start after all. His first two were disasters, as he lasted no longer than 3-2/3 IP in either and gave up at least 6 runs in both. Huff has had uncharacteristic
May 26, 2009 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Andrew Miller- FLA- Caution- Miller is making his first start since throwing a quality start on his 24th birthday. He matched his major league career high of 9 strikeouts in the game, so things are definitely looking up. On the
May 21, 2009 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Kevin Millwood- TEX- Hot- Millwood takes the mound this afternoon in Detroit having thrown quality starts 6 times in his first 8 outings of the year. He has gone at least 7 innings in every one except his last, when
May 19, 2009 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Shairon Martis- WAS- FYI- Martis followed up a 110 pitch outing on May 2nd by allowing 9 hits and walking 2 in 5-1/3 IP the next time out. In his last start, Martis threw 109 pitches, perilously close to the
May 14, 2009 | article in Player Commentary (973)
CC Sabathia- NYA- FYI- Sabathia has thrown more than 110 pitches in 4 of his first 7 starts. He has a track record of being able to handle heavy workloads, even early in the season. The high pitch counts should
May 12, 2009 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Casey Kotchman- ATL- Hot- Kotchman continued his tear, going 2-for-4 with 2 RBI and a run scored. He is now 11-for-26 over the past week with 4 doubles and his first 2 homers of 2009. One concern is that he
May 7, 2009 | article in Baseball Rants (19)
The bombshell came in a text message to my cell phone at 12:09 EDT today. "Manny Ramirez will be suspended 50 games for use of a perfromance-enhancing substance, the league office confirmed on MLB.com." You could have knocked me over
May 7, 2009 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Roy Halladay- TOR- Great Player- Seeing a pitch count of 117 instinctively makes me flinch, but Halladay has a track record of not suffering from heavy workloads. It is the 4th time in 7 starts and third time consecutively that
May 5, 2009 | article in
Carlos Lee- HOU- Hot- Lee is riding a mini-hitting streak of 4 games in which he has hit an even .500. He has added 42 points to his batting average sine the end of April. This is an early example
April 30, 2009 | article in Player Commentary (973)
As we did Tuesday with the NL, today we will be looking at some of the AL hitters with respect to their Singles Average (BHIPx), which can help identify what effect luck may be having on a player’s production. If
April 28, 2009 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Today we will be looking at a lot of the early extreme performances of hitters in the NL through the lens of Singles average (BHIPx). This information is one of the valuable tools you can find in the Player Charts
April 23, 2009 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Carl Crawford- TB- Hot- Crawford added 46 points to his batting average with a 4-for-5 effort in which he scored 3 runs, knocked one in, walked and stole a base. The walk is only his second of the season, as
April 21, 2009 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Jordan Zimmerman- WAS- Rookie- Zimmerman has a nice repertoire of off speed pitches to go with his mid-90s fastball. Despite being forced by the Nationals to throw at least 15 changeups per start last year in order to develop the
April 16, 2009 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Elvis Andrus- TEX- Hot- Andrus is yet another Texas hitter who made mince meat of Baltimore pitching last night. He went 2-for-3 with a triple, 4 runs scored and 1 knocked in. most significantly, though, may have been the 2
April 14, 2009 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Justin Upton- ARI- Cold- The potential is there, but it has certainly not been realized this season. Upton was lifted for a pinch hitter yesterday, after remaining hitless for 2009 in an 0-for-3 game. The strikeouts have been plaguing him,
April 9, 2009 | article in Baseball Rants (19)
I hadn't seen the story of Adenhart's car crash before getting an e-mail from Anthony Perri, our fearless leader at Fantistics. The story stunned me. It was only hours ago, possibly after Adenhart died, that I had written a blurb
April 9, 2009 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Dana Eveland- OAK- Hot- Eveland had very similar numbers to his counterpart on the Angels last night, Nick Adenhart. He gave up 8 hits and 2 walks while striking out 4 in 6 IP. The difference was that Eveland’s Oakland
April 7, 2009 | article in Player Commentary (973)
John Lannan- WAS- Cold- Lannan was a pleasant surprise for the Nats in 2008, posting a 3.91 ERA. If he had been given more support, his 9-15 record would have at least turned around as his Deserved Wins was 7
April 1, 2009 | article in Baseball Rants (19)
Today I went to what is possibly the last spring training game to be held at Fort Lauderdale Stadium. Next year the Orioles are likely headed to Vero Beach or Sarasota, much farther away from my Palm Beach County home.
March 24, 2009 | article in Preseason Prep (122)
Stephen Strasburg- WAS- Rookie- Strasburg is not a National yet and can’t officially be one until at least June, when he will be eligible for the draft. The most highly touted college pitcher since maybe ever, Strasburg is about as
March 17, 2009 | article in Preseason Prep (122)
Cole Hamels- PHI- Inj Update- No structural damage was found in Hamels’ elbow. He got an anti-inflammatory injection and should be cleared to throw again tomorrow. Even with that, he is still not a guarantee to be ready on Opening
March 11, 2009 | article in Preseason Prep (122)
Joe Mauer- MIN- Inj Update- Mauer’s MRI of his lower back showed inflammation in the sacroiliac joint. He has been prescribed some heavy duty anti-inflammatories (presumedly not including anything with steroids). Still, Mauer is not going to be participating in
March 5, 2009 | article in Preseason Prep (122)
Alex Rodriguez- NYY- Injury- ARod may end up not playing for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic after all. No, the Dominican doesn’t have a policy barring admitted steroid users from playing for them. An MRI this past
February 25, 2009 | article in Preseason Prep (122)
Boof Bonser- MIN- Inj Update- Bonser’s arthroscopic surgery went very poorly. Actually the surgery went well, it’s the results that were poor. Doctors discovered multiple partial tears of his labrum and rotator cuff. They were repaired, but it puts an
September 20, 2008 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Robinson Cano- NYA- Hot- Cano went 1-for-4 with a homer last night to make him 6-for-10 in his last 3 games, raising his September batting average to .226. Still, this month Cano has only drawn a single walk while striking
September 16, 2008 | article in Player Commentary (973)
J. J. Upton- ARI- Hot- Upton was at it again last night, going 2-for-4 with his second homer in as many games. Since returning from the DL, he is hitting .389 in 13 games. Upton’s strikeout rate has dropped, with
September 11, 2008 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Carlos Gomez- MIN- Hot- Gomez went 2-for-4 and stole his 30th base of the season yesterday. If he had an OBP of higher than .290, Gomez would have a much higher steal total. However, as long as he stays allergic
September 9, 2008 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Greg Maddux- LAN- Cold- Maddux continues his extreme home/road splits even when the road venue is his former home. Pitching in San Diego last night he was touched for 4 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks in 6 IP
September 6, 2008 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Brendon Morrow- SEA- Hot- Morrow was supposed to throw no more than 100 pitches last night, but when he was carrying a no hitter into the late innings, that notion went out the window. Morrow finally gave up a hit
September 4, 2008 | article in Player Commentary (973)
B. J. Upton- TB- Hot- Although his homer total is way down from last season (from 24 to 8), Upton’s has hit 33 doubles, as opposed to 25 in 2007. His Batting EYE has also improved dramatically, from .42 to
September 2, 2008 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Jonathon Niese- NYN- Rookie- The Brewers may not be the best of teams for southpaw Niese to make his major league debut against. Milwaukee is 31-14 against lefties, the best mark in the NL, and are hitting .274 against them
September 1, 2008 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Matt Cain- SF- Cold- Cain’s control problems caught up with him yesterday as he had as many walks and runs allowed (5) as innings pitched. He also gave up 8 hits and struck out 3. Even with only 5 IP,
August 28, 2008 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Fausto Carmona- CLE- Cold- Carmona raised his record to 7-5 last night, pitching the Indians to their 10th straight win. It was not a performance to write home about, though, as he allowed 4 runs on 7 hits and 3
August 26, 2008 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Jordan Schafer- ATL- Idea- Schafer, ranked as the top prospect in the Braves’ system before the season, has rebounded from his HGH suspension and extremely slow July. Last month he batted a weak .228 for AA Mississippi, but is cranking
August 21, 2008 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Kevin Millwood- TEX- Caution- Millwood put in a pleasantly uncharacteristic performance for a Texas pitcher last night, but he needed 113 pitches to get through his complete game. That is a lot for a pitcher who has seen the DL
August 19, 2008 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Willie Harris- WAS- Hot- We may be seeing some regression to the mean in Harris’ performance. Since the All Start Break he is batting .289 with 4 homers and 9 doubles in 114 ABs. In his last 49 games, dating
August 14, 2008 | article in Player Commentary (973)
J. J. Putz- SEA- Cold- Putz had a blown save last night, giving up a game tying homer to Mark Teixeira in the 9th inning. He has not thrown a 1-2-3 inning since July 20th, which was his first game
August 12, 2008 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Brandon Backe- HOU- Hot- Talk about bouncing back. Backe did a 180 degree turn from his last start, when he was charged with 11 runs on 9 hits and 6 walks in 3-1/3 IP. Last night he gave up just
August 9, 2008 | article in
Denard Span- MIN- Hot- Span had his second straight multi-hit game, going 2-for-4 with a walk, 2 stolen bases and 2 runs scored. He has been enjoying a .299 BHIPx, but it would be expected that his would be above
August 7, 2008 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Johnny Damon- NYA- Hot- Damon went 2-for-5 to extend his current hitting streak to 7 games and has hit safely in 12 of his last 13. He has definitely benefited from good luck, with a .290 BHIPx, but he also
August 5, 2008 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Prince Fielder- MIL- Hot- Lost in last night’s brouhaha (or is that a “brewhaha” when it involves Milwaukee?) was Fielder extending his current hitting streak to 8 games, in which he has gone 11-for-28 with 5 homers. He has not
July 31, 2008 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Arthur Rhodes- SEA- Cold- Rhodes showed a lack of control in more ways than one during his appearance against the Rangers last night. Besides the angry flare up that got him ejected, he also tossed a ball in the direction
July 29, 2008 | article in Player Commentary (973)
C. C. Sabathia- MIL- Caution- Yesterday’s 124-pitch effort is the third time this month Sabathia has cracked the 120 pitch mark. Even though he does not have a trend of ill effects from lengthy outings, that kind of workload is
July 26, 2008 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Jack Hannahan- OAK- Hot- Hannahan went 2-for-3 with a double and 2 RBI last night against the Rangers, making him 6-for-17 in his last 5 games with a homer, 2 doubles, 6 RBI, and 3 runs scored. We may be
July 24, 2008 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Casey Kotchman- LAA- Hot- Maybe Kotchman is a Fantistics subscriber and read Monday’s blurb about him needing more patience at the plate. Only once yesterday did he swing at a first pitch and went 5-for-5. In 3 of his at
July 22, 2008 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Chan Ho Park- LAN- Rise Value- Park’s shift in role to setup man and second closer option boosts his value, particularly in leagues that count holds. Maybe I am still bitter about his Texas years, being a Rangers’ fan, but
July 12, 2008 | article in
Nick Markakis- BAL- Hot- Markakis may have ended his 17-game hitting streak last night, but that didn’t keep him off the bases, as he walked 3 times, raising his OBP to an even .400. It also brought his Batting EYE
July 10, 2008 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Mark Grudzielanek- KC- Hot- Grudzielanek seems to like to collect his hits in bunches. In his last 10 games he has recorded 3 or more hits 3 times, including last night’s 3-for-4 effort and has raised his average to .319.
July 8, 2008 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Ricky Nolasco- FLA- Hot- Nolasco’s strikeout and walk rates are close to his 2006 numbers. His K/IP number is .74 this season and was .71 then. His BB/IP rate is .26 now and was .29 then. Does the slight improvement
July 3, 2008 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Joe Borowski- CLE- Drop Value- Indications are that Borowski will no longer be the anointed closer after manager Eric Wedge and his coaching staff emerge from a scheduled meeting today in which they will discuss personnel matters. The big question
July 1, 2008 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Prince Fielder- MIL- Cold- Fielder was 1-for-3 last night, but that made him still just 2-for-27 on the Brewers’ current road trip. Overall, Fielder has some severe home/road splits, hitting .311 with 13 homers in 135 ABs in Milwaukee and
June 28, 2008 | article in Player Commentary (973)
George Sherrill- BAL- Caution- Sherrill is entering uncharted territory as far as his usage is concerned. Last season he pitched in 73 games but accumulated only 45-2/3 IP. Sherrill threw only 724 pitches all year, only throwing 20 or more
June 26, 2008 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Ervin Santana- LAA- Injury- Santana had only walked 23 batters in 102-1/3 IP before last night’s start against the Nationals in Washington. He was uncharacteristically wild in the Nation’s Capital, allowing a season-high 5 free passes. There may be an
June 24, 2008 | article in Player Commentary (973)
San Diego- SD- Idea- Here is one of those marginal situations that comes up every so often that you keep in the back of your mind to try to get just a little edge when needed. The Padres have allowed
June 19, 2008 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Jeremy Guthrie- BAL- Hot- Guthrie bounced back from his worst start of the year the last time out to record his best start of the year last night. He held the Astros to 1 run over 8 innings, allowing 3
June 17, 2008 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Miguel Tejada- HOU- Cold- Since May 24th, Tejada has lost 38 points off his batting average and is now hitting an even .300 for the season. In that span he has gone 14-for-73 with 4 homers, 6 RBI and 10
June 12, 2008 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Mike Aviles- KC- Idea- Mike Aviles hit the double digit mark in steals in 3 of his 5 minor league seasons before 2008. After watching the Royals against the Rangers the last couple of nights, it looks like he might
June 10, 2008 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Edinson Volquez- CIN- Hot- Volquez was uncharacteristically wild, throwing 44 of his 101 pitches for balls and walking 5 in 6 IP. In a measure of how good his season has been so far, his 3 earned runs allowed is
June 5, 2008 | article in
B. J. Upton- TB- Cold- Upton said something naughty to umpire Paul Emmel in the 8th inning and was given the rest of the game off to think about what he had said. Having struck out for the third time
June 3, 2008 | article in
Jay Bruce- CIN- Hot- Although Bruce is a Red, he has become the New Black. The hottest player in baseball added another homer to his total and went 2-for-4 last night. When 2-for-4 lowers your batting average to .577, you
May 31, 2008 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Alexi Casilla- MIN- Hot- Casilla has been on fire since being inserted in the lineup to fill injury holes. He is hitting .340 with 12 RBI and 7 runs in 12 games. A major factor in Casilla’s success has been
May 29, 2008 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Jamey Carroll- CLE- Hot- Carroll went 2-for-3 yesterday to extend his current hitting streak to 6 games. In that span he has gone 8-for-20 and raised his batting average from .172 to .231. Carroll’s Batting EYE has declined during the
May 27, 2008 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Michael Bourn- HOU- Hot- Despite going 0-for-4 on Sunday, Bourn has to be considered on a roll. Even without benefit of a base hit, he scored, collected an RBI and stole a base. Over his last 5 games Bourn has
May 22, 2008 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Jack Cust- OAK- Hot- The pendulum has swung wildly in Cust’s favor. His .212 BHIPx at the end of April was probably not going to last, but it has soared to .286 over the last 3 weeks, meaning that it
May 20, 2008 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Bronson Arroyo- CIN- Cold- After two solid starts, Arroyo regressed in a big way, allowing 9 hits and 3 walks in 5 IP that led to 5 runs (3 earned). It could be a matter of fatigue as he had
May 17, 2008 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Josh Hamilton- TEX- Hot- Hamilton led the way for a Texas offensive onslaught last night, going 5-for-5 with 2 homers, a triple, a walk, 5 RBI, and 4 runs scored. The 13 total bases was one short of a franchise
May 15, 2008 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Daniel Cabrera- BAL- Hot- Is Cabrera finally for real? He pitched his 7th straight quality start, raising his record to 4-1, allowing 3 runs on 10 hit in 7 IP while striking out 3 and walking NONE. Of his 103
May 13, 2008 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Nelson Figueroa- NYN- Cold- Figueroa was pounded by the Nationals yesterday, allowing 6 runs (4 earned) on 5 this and 5 walks in 5 IP while striking out 4. The walks continue a pattern of control problems for Figueroa, who
May 8, 2008 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Nick Markakis- BAL- Hot- Since his last multi-hit game on May 2nd, Markakis had been in a 1-for-15 slump that had shaved 28 points from his batting average, dropping it from .284 to .256. He got half of that back
May 6, 2008 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Scott Podsednik- COL- Hot- Sure, he went 0-for-4 last night and lost 35 points off his batting average to go from .343 to .308, but Podsednik is showing signs of bouncing back from an essentially lost 2007 season. His average
May 1, 2008 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Alex Rios- TOR- Cold- Rios, after an 0-for-3 game yesterday, still has some solid leadoff hitter numbers (.306 average, .386 OBP). Lurking below the surface, though, is a BHIPx of .339 (through Sunday) propping that number up. Rios has gone
April 29, 2008 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Gregor Blanco- ATL- Rise Value- Blanco has been getting increased playing time as a result of his hot bat. However, his .364 average is getting some major assistance from a huge .478 BHIPx. His .78 Batting EYE is very close
April 24, 2008 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Justin Masterson- BOS- Rookie- Last season, Masterson had an interesting stat line. He split the season between Class A Lancaster, tossing 96 innings, and AA Portland, where he threw 58. Masterson’s raw totals of both walks and strikeouts were very
April 22, 2008 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Mark Hendrickson- FLA- Hot- Hendrickson ran his record to 4-1 by allowing 3 earned runs on 8 hits and a walk in 8 IP against the Pirates. Cinderella has staved off midnight once again. A lot of factors point towards
April 17, 2008 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Jim Thome- CHW- Hot-Those in Chicago who have been calling for Thome’s head need to subscribe to Fantistics (heck, for that matter everybody needs to subscribe to Fantistics- tell your friends, relatives and neighbors!). If they did, they could look
April 15, 2008 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Mark Teixeira- ATL- Stats- A good part of Teixeira’s slow start can be placed at the foot of an uncharacteristically horrid .136 batting average against lefties. Normally, the switch hitter does far better against them than against righties (splits of
April 10, 2008 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Jason Bulger- LAA- Rise Value- With KRod nursing a sprained ankle, someone else will have to handle the save situations for the Angels until he is ready to return. Manager Mike Scioscia has said he would use the dreaded “closer
April 8, 2008 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Pat Burrell- PHI- Hot- Burrell smacked 2 of the 4 Philadelphia homers yesterday, giving him a total of 3 in this young season. His overall 2-for-4 at the plate raised his average to .435. Burrell tends to be a fast
April 1, 2008 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Kosuke Fukodome- CHN- Hot- The optimist would look at Fukodome’s Major League debut and go, “Wow! What a great game!” The pessimist would see the 3-for-3 with a walk effort (that was a triple short of a cycle) and say,
March 19, 2008 | article in Preseason Prep (122)
Luis Mendoza- TEX- Although he won’t make his first major league start of the year until April 12th, when the Rangers first need a fifth starter, but he has pretty much sewed up that role. Yesterday he held the A’s
March 12, 2008 | article in Preseason Prep (122)
Kyle McClellan- STL- McClellan seemed to benefit from the Tommy John surgery he underwent in 2005. His fastball went from the upper 80s to 94 mph heat with movement. Last year the Cardinals converted him from a starter to a
March 5, 2008 | article in Preseason Prep (122)
Chris Carpenter- STL- Preseason- Carpenter’s lost season was the second time in 5 years he has been out an entire year (I’m not counting his 6 innings in 2007). His 2005 and 2006 were superb, with sub-3.00 ERAs. However, he
February 29, 2008 | article in Preseason Prep (122)
Jason Jennings- TEX- As a Rangers fan, I get used to things like having the big pitcher signing of the offseason being a player who is coming off a serious injury. I just have to remember Chan Ho Park and
September 27, 2007 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Scott Kazmir- TB- FYI- Kazmir's arm has not fallen off...yet. Since manager Joe Maddon has seemed to be watching the young pitcher's workload more closely (only 3 starts over 110 pitches in the second half), maybe damage will be dodged.
September 20, 2007 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Shannon Stewart- OAK- FYI- There was a scoring change in Tuesday's game. Maybe. On mlb.com, there is an item in the A's notes saying that a Jose Guillen error was changed to a Stewart double, giving Stewart 21 doubles for
September 20, 2007 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Shannon Stewart- OAK- FYI- There was a scoring change in Tuesday's game. Maybe. On mlb.com, there is an item in the A's notes saying that a Jose Guillen error was changed to a Stewart double, giving Stewart 21 doubles for
September 20, 2007 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Shannon Stewart- OAK- FYI- There was a scoring change in Tuesday's game. Maybe. On mlb.com, there is an item in the A's notes saying that a Jose Guillen error was changed to a Stewart double, giving Stewart 21 doubles for
September 18, 2007 | article in Player Commentary (973)
David Wells- LAN- Idea- Does Wells deserve a large guaranteed contract, as he says he does, because he "take[s] the ball every five days"? Probably not, and especially not if you are a fantasy owner. Wells will be turning 45
September 15, 2007 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Ben Sheets- MIL- Cold- Sheets' performances have gotten worse each time out since he returned from the DL. From his first time out, when he went 6 IP and allowed 1 run, he has slipped to lasting just 3 IP
September 13, 2007 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Garret Anderson- LAA- Hot- After knocking in at least 1 run in 12 straight games, Anderson went three games without an RBI. He made up for it yesterday, collecting 5 RBI as he went 3-for-6 with a double and homer.
September 11, 2007 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Oliver Perez- NYN- Hot- Perez continues to throw the way the Pirates thought he would after what was expected to be a breakout season in 2004. Unfortunately for them, Perez is now a Met and his third quality start in
September 6, 2007 | article in
Joe Saunders- LAA- Cold- There's no place like home and Saunders would like to be no place like home, based on how he pitches at Angel Stadium. His splits are extreme. After giving up 4 runs on 7 hits and
September 4, 2007 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Esteban Loaiza- LAN- Hot- Loaiza tossed a quality start in his first outing for the Dodgers, allowing 3 runs on 9 hits and a walk in 7 IP while striking out 3. It was a solid, if not spectacular, start.
September 1, 2007 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Carlos Villanueva- MIL- Rise Value- With the spate of injuries striking Milwaukee's starters, Villanueva will probably get the start on Tuesday. He performed very well in his recent stint in the minors (3.24 ERA, 0.48 WHIP, 9 Ks in 8-1/3
August 28, 2007 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Ryan Church- WAS- Rise Value- With Wily Mo Pena sidelined by injury, Church should get some increased playing time. He has not performed poorly recently, hitting .273 over his last 14 games with 3 homers in 44 at bats. That's
August 25, 2007 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Radhames Liz- BAL- Rookie- The Orioles are calling up Radhames Liz to make his major league debut today. Liz dominated the Carolina League last year, with a 2.82 ERA and 95 Ks in 83 IP at Frederick. Once he was
August 23, 2007 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Howie Kendrick- LAA- Hot- Kendrick went 2-for-4 against the Yankees last night, making him an impressive 8-for-12 since returning from the DL. Encouragingly, Kendrick has walked once, but has yet to strike out since coming back. Getting his Batting EYE
August 23, 2007 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Howie Kendrick- LAA- Hot- Kendrick went 2-for-4 against the Yankees last night, making him an impressive 8-for-12 since returning from the DL. Encouragingly, Kendrick has walked once, but has yet to strike out since coming back. Getting his Batting EYE
August 21, 2007 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Carlos Zambrano- CHN- Caution- Watch Zambrano's Thursday start closely. Not only will he be going on short rest, but he will not be paired with Koyie Hill, who had become his personal catcher. Zambrano and Hill had become an effective
August 19, 2007 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Sean Marshall- CHN- Caution- Maybe it is fatigue catching up with Marshall, but despite putting up mostly decent numbers in his start yesterday (5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 BB) there are a couple of others that stand out.
August 16, 2007 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Jamie Walker- BAL- Cold- Walker had the chance to record his first save of the month yesterday as he entered the game with 1 out in the 9th and the Orioles ahead by 3 with two men on. He retired
August 14, 2007 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Jeff Kent- LAN- Cold- For the 5th consecutive game, Kent failed to get a hit and is 1-for-23 since returning to the lineup from a strained hamstring. He has gone from the penthouse to the outhouse, as Kent was on
August 11, 2007 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Jay Gibbons- BAL- Inj- Gibbons has finally admitted that his poor performance this season is a result of injury. He was not precise as to what exactly the injury is, but it involves inflammation of the shoulder and may require
August 9, 2007 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Dustin Moseley- LAA- Cold- Despite getting roughed up by the Red Sox (6 runs on 10 hits and a walk while recording 1 K in 4-2/3 IP), manager Mike Scioscia says he is going to stay with Moseley in the
August 7, 2007 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Rich Hill- CHN- Hot- Yesterday Hill went 7 innings and gave up only 1 run on 3 hits and 2 walks while striking out 6. Unfortunately he was a victim of lack of support, as he has been many times
August 2, 2007 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Eric O'Flaherty- SEA- Hot- Although he sounds like the subject of a Clancy Brothers ballad, O'Flaherty is a left handed reliever who has had a knack for being in the right place at the right time. Last night he threw
July 31, 2007 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Ron Mahay- TEX- Trade- Although his 2.77 ERA and K/9 of 7.38 look nice, Mahay has little fantasy value even after being traded to the Braves. His WHIP of 1.38 and BB/9 ratio of 4.85 are mediocre. Combine that with
July 28, 2007 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Texas Rangers- TEX- Trade- The fire sale has begun in the Metroplex. The Rangers received minor league catcher Max Ramirez from the Indians in exchange for Kenny Lofton. Ramirez has potential with the bat, as shown by his .303 average
July 26, 2007 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Chris Ray- BAL- Inj Update- Reading between the lines of what's coming out of Baltimore, don't expect Ray to be back this season. He is not going to be even picking up a baseball for the next three weeks and
July 24, 2007 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Chad Billingsley- LAN- Hot- Billingsley, besides having the most preppie sounding name in the majors, now has his first complete game to his credit. He was far more efficient than his last start, when he needed 113 pitches to get
July 19, 2007 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Bartolo Colon- LAA- Cold- The former Cy Young Award winner is not coming anywhere near that level of performance this year. After last night's subpar performance (5 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 4 BB, 7 K) Colon has thrown only
July 17, 2007 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Chris Young- ARI- Hot- For the first time since the middle part of May, Young has consecutive multi-hit games. He followed up a 2-for-2 effort Sunday (in which he entered the game as part of a double switch) with a
July 14, 2007 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Erik Bedard- BAL- Hot- Bedard's first start after the All Star break was a good sign, particularly the 7 Ks in 7 IP. He is throwing fewer pitches per inning than he did last year, so fatigue may not be
July 8, 2007 | article in Baseball Rants (19)
If all teams maintain their current winning percentages there will be no teams that either win or lose 100 games. Did the last collective bargaining agreement usher in an era of parity or were all the cries of "there are
July 5, 2007 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Scott Kazmir- TB- Caution- So maybe I'm a day late and maybe I'm a voice cryinhg in the wilderness, but once again it looks like mismanagement of Scott Kazmir is leading him closer to the day when he will blow
July 3, 2007 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Brandon Webb- ARI- Cold- Something is going on with Webb. Maybe he is having some fatigue issues. Earlier in the season he had a few starts where his pitch count reached above 110. He didn't seem to have any carryover
June 30, 2007 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Chris Ray- BAL- Drop Value- Ray may finally have pitched himself out of the closer role in Baltimore, at least as far as being the sole closer goes. "It would be nice if we could get him out of some
June 28, 2007 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Jered Weaver- LAA- Hot- Weaver seemed fully recovered from the various maladies (sore shoulder, strep throat) that have affected him over the past few weeks. He held KC to just 1 run on 5 hits and a walk while striking
June 26, 2007 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Justin Germano- SD- Hot- Germano had another strong start, although he ended up with no decision. He gave up 2 runs on 3 hits and a walk while striking out 4 in 6 IP. Only once in 9 starts has
June 19, 2007 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Brad Penny- LAD- Hot- In 14 starts this season, Penny has only twice failed to throw the quality variety. There is a good chance that he will make it 13 of 15 tonight in Toronto. After that things are going
June 16, 2007 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Aubrey Huff- BAL- Hot- Huff went 3-for-4 to extend his current hitting streak to 10 games. It has not been one of those empty streaks, with a lot of 1-for-4 or 1-for-5 games, as he has 6 multi-hit games in
June 14, 2007 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Orlando Cabrera- LAA- Hot- Here it is Flag Day and Cabrera has a higher batting average than teammate Vlad Guerrero. Who'd a thunk it? In the past 4 games he is an astounding 9-for-19, which increased his average to .339.
June 12, 2007 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Randy Wolf- LAD- Cold- Although Wolf got a quality start yesterday, it was by the most minimal of standards (3 runs allowed in 6 IP, on 9 hits, no walks, and 3 strikeouts). Over his last 3 starts, Wolf has
June 7, 2007 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Torii Hunter- MIN- Cold- The road has not been a friendly place for Hunter lately. During the just-completed 6-game road trip he went 3-for-20 with 2 runs and 2 RBI (the product of 2 solo homers). This brought Hunter's home/road
June 5, 2007 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Randy Johnson- ARI- FYI- The Big Unit is set to take the mound tonight against the Giants. Despite his recent dominating performances, there are reasons for concern. First, of course, are the physical issues. Johnson's back was starting to stiffen
May 31, 2007 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Gary Matthews- LAA- Hot- Matthews is continuing to show that, so far, the Angels were not out of their minds for signing him after what was thought to be a career year in Texas. With 206 at bats so far
May 29, 2007 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Jason Schmidt- LAN- FYI- There are a couple of odd things going on with Schmidt's rehab start tomorrow. First, he is heading to Class A without facing live hitters since being put on the DL. That is very rare. Second,
May 26, 2007 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Erik Bedard- BAL- Caution- Jim Palmer and Gary Thorne, the Orioles' announcers, were discussing whether Bedard should have been left in as long as he was. This was during the 7th inning, as he was giving up 2 of the
May 24, 2007 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Bartolo Colon- LAA- Cold- For only the second time this season Colon failed to record a quality start. He lost his first game of 2007 by giving up 6 runs on 10 hits and 2 walks while striking out 2
May 22, 2007 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Carlos Quentin- ARI- Hot- Quentin's luck may be turning around. Heading into the weekend his BHIP was an extremely low .161. It is likely to have gone up when the next update appears on his Fantistical Player Charts. Since Friday,
May 15, 2007 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Brett Tomko- LAN- Cold- When Tomko pitched a quality start against the Marlins in his previous appearance before last night, it was the first time this season that his ERA was lower after he pitched than when he took the
May 12, 2007 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Julian Tavarez- BOS- Cold- The conversion back to starter is not going well for Tavarez. Baltimore hammered him for 5 runs on 10 hits last night as his record fell to 1-4. The problem for Tavarez has not been strictly
May 10, 2007 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Sammy Sosa- TEX- Caution- Sosa's name surfaced in connection with George Mitchell's steroids investigation, as did teammate Jerry Hairston's. There seems to be a focus on Baltimore Orioles past and present (thin Rafael Palmeiro) and Sosa is one of the
May 8, 2007 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Brad Penny- LAN- Hot- Penny absolutely dominated the Marlins, striking out 14 Fish while holding them scoreless through 7 innings on 5 hits and no walks. This ran his record to 4-0 and lowered his ERA to 1.39. Penny has
May 3, 2007 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Kevin Millwood- TEX- Inj- Millwood is penciled in for the first game of today's doubleheader, but may not be able to go. Word came late last night that he tweaked his hamstring and will be evaluated before the game to
May 1, 2007 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Mike Gonzalez- ATL- Rise Value- With Bob Wickman out, Gonzalez is one of two Braves who will be sharing the save opportunities. The other is Rafael Soriano. There was no save opportunity last night, as Atlanta won with a walkoff
April 28, 2007 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Steve Trachsel- BAL- Caution- The 2 runs and 5 this allowed in 5-2/3 innings yesterday was not too bad, but some other numbers in Trachsel's loss to the Indians are worrisome. His workload was stretched a bit farther than you'd
April 26, 2007 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Bartolo Colon- LAA- Inj Update- The Angels pushed back the decision on whether Colon will start until literally the last minute. They will wait and see how he does in his pre-game warm-ups before deciding whether he will pitch. Colon's
April 24, 2007 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Luis Gonzalez- LAN- Hot- Gonzalez is riding a 5-game hitting streak in which he has gone 6-for-15 to bring his batting average back up to .317. So far this season he has recorded an astounding Batting EYE of 1.80. Of
April 19, 2007 | article in
Trot Nixon- CLE- FYI- The Indians are using Nixon very sparingly, trying not to expose him as much and hoping to keep the injury bug away. Part of the handling of Nixon will be to avoid playing him in the
April 17, 2007 | article in
Brad Penny- LAN- Hot- Penny ran his record to 3-0 and dropped his ERA to 0.89 by holding the Diamondbacks to 1 run on 5 hits and 3 walks in 7 innings of work. Penny's WHIP of 1.23, while solid,
April 12, 2007 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Mark Buehrle- CHA- Idea- If any of you are A's fans, maybe you want to give Bob Geren a gift subscription to Fantistics. We noted after his last start that Buehrle has problems when hitters jump on his first pitches.
April 10, 2007 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Ian Snell- PIT- Hot- Snell owns a WHIP of 0.92, an ERA of 2.08 and has struck out 14 in 13 IP in 2 starts this season. So, what's his record? 0-1. It just goes to show you can't have
April 7, 2007 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Justin Verlander- DET- Hot- Verlander is doing his best to quiet concerns from a shaky start to spring training. In his last exhibition outing, he tossed five scoreless innings. In his first start since the games started to count, he
April 5, 2007 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Francisco Rodriguez- LAA- Inj- K-Rod's uncharacteristically shaky performance (1 run on 2 hits and a walk in the 9th inning) was attributed to sinus trouble resulting from the change of climate from dry Arizona to more humid southern California. "I'm
April 3, 2007 | article in Player Commentary (973)
Alberto Callaspo-ARI- Idea- All of the cool kids have a "super utility"player nowadays and Callaspo is slated to be the Diamondbacks version of Chone Figgins (that would be the "play a lot of positions"Figgins and not the "fractured two fingers"Figgins).
March 26, 2007 | article in Preseason Prep (122)
Internet problems forced me to post this late, but hopefully some of you still see it. Even if Freddy Sanchez starts the season on the DL, he will only miss the first week. It seems as if the debate within
March 14, 2007 | article in Preseason Prep (122)
Sammy Sosa continues his march to nail down a spot on the Texas roster. After going 2-for-3 in yesterday's game, Sosa is hitting .464 with 2 homers, 2 doubles, a triple and 6 RBI. At this point it looks like
March 12, 2007 | article in Preseason Prep (122)
With all the controversy swirling around Gary Matthews, Jr. it seems like the Rangers may have really done the right thing in letting him walk. Looking through some old reference material (I knew there was a reason I saved those
March 7, 2007 | article in Preseason Prep (122)
One of the benefits of living in south Florida is the availability of spring training games. Yesterday morning I saw in the paper that the Marlins were going to put 200 tickets on sale for that day's game against the
March 5, 2007 | article in Preseason Prep (122)
Sure, plenty of attention has been focused on Alfonso Soriano since he signed with the Cubs. It's possible, though, that he may actually be underhyped. After a 2006 season in which he hit .277 with 46 homers and 41

Paul Sauberer joins us for his forth season as a Fantistics writer. Paul is a diehard fantasy baseball fan with political aspirations. Paul's earliest baseball memories are of the expansion Senators in the 1960s and his father buying him an entire box of 1969 Topps baseball cards. The Senators are no longer and the cards are definitely no longer in mint condition, but Paul's love of baseball continues. He transferred allegiance to the Orioles after the Senators left town and enjoyed the glorious times of the Birds in the 1970s. During that time, he also discovered table top baseball games (before "Rotisserie" meant anything outside of something to do with food) and that has led to decades of crunching numbers and following major league performances. Paul reacquainted himself with the Senators, now the Texas Rangers, while going to college in Texas and remains a Rangers' fan today, even after living on Long Island for 14 years with his wife and two children. Paul knows his baseball!

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