The worst thing Adrian Beltre ever did was put together that monster 2004 season with the Dodgers (.334, 48, 121). Granted he made a lot of money because of it and I'm sure his family is thrilled, but he teased fantasy owners into believing he was a superstar in the making. In his first two seasons with Seattle, he's hit .262 and averaged 22 homers and 88 RBIs, which really isn't bad, and he's on pace to hit .267 with 27 homers and 104 runs batted in this year. If you were to remove his 2004 season from his career, Beltre would be performing at his typical pace based on the rest of his career. In fact, if he does reach those lofty numbers this year, it would be his best season in terms of production and his second best in terms of OPS+, and fantasy owners would be rejoicing at his success. It's time to forget 2004 and embrace Beltre for who he is.
Clay Buchholz made his major league debut an impressive one, beating the Angels 8-4 with six solid innings of work, in which he allowed three earned runs on eight hits and three walks while striking out five. Despite his performance, Red Sox manager Terry Francona insisted Buchholz would be heading back to the minors. Buchholz may be back in September, but whether or not he'll get any more starts remains to be seen. Only an injury or a monumental slump by one of Boston's starters will give Buchholz more opportunities at the big league level, at least as a starter. ESPN's Tim Kurkjian predicts Buchholz will be back as a reliever in September. We'll see.
Eric Gagne's horrendous stretch of outings continued last night when he blew a save in his second opportunity since joining the Red Sox. Gagne retired pinch-hitter Reggie Willits after a 13-pitch at-bat to start the top of the ninth inning with the Red Sox clinging to a one-run lead. But Gagne promptly walked pinch-hitter Casey Kotchman, then surrendered hits to the next three batters, including a two-run double to Vlad Guerrero, before "coaxing"Garrett Anderson to line into a double play to end the inning. What should have been a Red Sox win was turned into a 7-5 loss by the brilliant managing of Terry Francona, who was ejected in the ninth for arguing balls and strikes. He should have been ejected for stupidity. Actually it's not all Francona's fault as he used Okajima and Papelbon in the first game of a double header and had neither at his disposal. On the other hand, he brought Papelbon in to close the first game with a three-run lead. Maybe he should have used Gagne in that situation instead. Since joining the Red Sox, Gagne has allowed 10 runs on 14 hits and three walks in six innings for an ERA of 15.00 and a WHIP of 2.83.
Joe Mauer went 0-for-4 last night and extended his hitless streak to seven at-bats, but he's matching his July numbers (.305/.394/.411) almost point for point. He's hitting .309/.400/.364 is 55 August at-bats and though his power numbers are down, his EYE (3.00) this month is way up. He's not enjoying the same success that he had last year, but last season's success had a lot to do with a higher than normal BHIP%. This year, it's closer to typical for Mauer and he's hitting where expected based on his current BHIP% (.272). Despite lower-than-projected numbers, Mauer is showing that he'll be a consistent .300+ hitter with good strike zone judgment during his career. If he ever develops a power stroke, he could become a fantasy god someday.
Carlos Silva tossed his fourth straight quality start last night and is proving to be a solid fantasy starter all of a sudden. Silva went seven strong innings, allowing only one run on five hits and a walk and striking out a season high six and lowered his ERA to 4.17, his best mark since June 28. Silva failed to earn a decision (the game went extra innings), so he remains at 9-12 on the season. In fact, he's won only one of his last four starts, despite posting an ERA of 1.55 in his last 29 innings. I'd be a little concerned with Silva's low K rate-he's fanned only 3.94 batters per 9 IP this season-except that he gets most of his outs on the ground, especially over the last two and a half months, that he can compensate for the lack of strikeouts. He's much better at home than he is on the road, so if you own him you might want to sit him when the Twins are away from the dome.
