David Ortiz (DH-BOS) - Monday David Ortiz denied a report in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune that he is playing with an injured left wrist. Ortiz was 0- for -4 against the Royals with 4 strikeouts on Sunday and he didn't look that good. Although it has gotten to the point where Terry Francona admitted he toyed with the idea of given Ortiz the day off on Monday a rib injury to Jacoby Ellsbury postponed, for the moment, a move on the Red Sox DH. Ortiz was 1- for -4 on Monday with 2 Ks, his lone hit an RBI double that could have been caught. Ortiz has huge holes right now and can be overpowered. He's close to helpless vs. left handed pitching (.212 BA last year with a .298 OBP) but Francona will go to the mat with him. You don't have to however. Only time will tell if David has another phoenix-like resurrection left him this year. He's certainly doesn't look any more lost than he did last April. Still, you should be stashing him on reserve until he shows a pulse.
Jake Peavy (SP-CHW) - Jake Peavy gave up 7 runs in 5.2 IP in his second start of the year against the Blue Jays on Monday in Toronto. Jake gave up 8 hits, 2 HRs and 3 walks while striking out 2. It's too early to file this under a move to the American League but Jake's first two starts are a bit unsettling. Of particular interest is his 5.9 K/9 which is startlingly below his 9.0 career rate and Peavy said himself that he didn't have the stuff to get people out last night. All of this indicates that the issues here run a bit deeper than a little early season house keeping. This is worth watching but we aren't ready to sound alarm bells quite yet.
Nelson Cruz (OF-TEX) - Nelson Cruz is simply getting harder and harder to ignore. One of the game's more underrated sluggers, Cruz has kicked off the season with 5 HRs in 7 games including yesterday's game-winning two-run jack off of former teammate Jamey Wright in the 10th inning of the Rangers win over the Tribe. Cruz finished 2- for -4 with a HR and triple and 2 RBI on the day. He leads the league with 5 HRs, and 8 of his 11 hits this year have gone for extra bases. Cruz hit 33 HRs last year but drove in just 76 runs and hit just .260. Both columns should see improvement this year. Cruz was limited somewhat by a .278 BHIP% last year and with just a little more luck this year Cruz could start to get the recognition he is earning as one of the AL's least well known stars. It's way too early to draw any conclusions but to this point Cruz is making contact and lifting the ball at unprecedented rates. If this continues, we could be looking the baseball equivalent of nuclear fission here. Enjoy the ride for as long at it lasts.
Jon Lester (SP-BOS) - There are times when Jon Lester can do a pretty good Dice-K impersonation. There are days when Lester will nibble and forget that he can overpower batters. In Jon's formative years efficiency was a hurdle and he struggled to work deep into games and the key stat in Lester's starts was pitch count more often than not. Lester needed 107 pitches to get 15 outs against the Twins on Monday. He was knocked around for 9 hits and 4 earned over 15 and he walked 2 in the first inning and 3 overall. This just happens occasionally and once he gets off the rails early in a start it is sometimes hard for Lester to pull it back together, especially on the road. Nothing to worry about and Lester remains a solid play in his second start this week against the Rays on Sunday.
Brian Roberts (2B BAL) - Brian Roberts was placed on the 15-day DL on Monday with a strained ab which also raised enough havoc with his balky back that he received an epidural injection. The club performed an MRI yesterday which showed there was no further structural damage to his herniated disc. That's the good news. Still, Roberts will rest for 4-5 days before resuming any baseball activities. In the long run this may be a benefit as Roberts will be able to give his back a chance to calm a bit while he rehabs his abdominal strain. In the short term Roberts will miss at least the 15-day minimum and you can reasonably expect he will be out longer than that. Develop a short term alternative if you don't have one on your roster. It's time to make a claim although a recent rash of injuries to 2Bs is going to drain what little of an FA pool there is in most leagues. Julio Lugo and Ty Wigginton will likely share the load with Lugo getting the bulk of the time. Lugo started at second yesterday and batted 8th. Felix Pie moved to lead off Monday but Adam Jones will likely fill the role when Pie sits.
