Random Thoughts

"That's just, like uh ...your opinion, man"
Billy Beane plays baseball like a fantasy manager. He just "sold high" on a great but oft injured pitcher in Rich Harden. Beane never seems to lose on a trade or personnel decision. Mark Mulder, Barry Zito, Tim Hudson and Nick Swisher all underperformed following their departure from Oakland (though Hudson did recover a few seasons later). The only exception so far is Dan Haren; however, we have yet to see if he has his annual 2nd half collapse. Last season, Haren started 10-3 with a 2.30 ERA, and he finished post-All Star with 5-6 4.15 ERA. After all of the problems the Cubs had with Mark Prior and Kerry Wood, I cannot understand why they would make this trade. While they did not give up too much (OF Murton and IF/OF Patterson never had a place to play, while Gallagher IMHO has a lot of upside), it seems like an unnecessary move to make.
>>>>
The NL West is the worst division in MLB. After finishing April at 20-8, the D'backs are now 45-46 after getting shut out by my lowly Nationals. Despite a great bullpen and strong starting staff, their offense needs solid LH bat and a leadoff hitter with an OBP higher than Chris Young's .305 OBP. Speaking of terrible offense, if they can win tonight, the punchless Dodgers will be tied for 1st place.
>>>>
Aaron Harang has been sent back to Cincy to get his "forearm" examined. "Forearm" of course being the new PC term for "elbow." While it stinks to see a player get hurt, perhaps Harang owners can take solace in having a reason for his decent into Jose Lima-ness. Of course, Harang never seemed to recover from being used in relief during the Red's 18 inning game against May 25. Oh, that Dusty ....
>>>>
Yes, I am Hiroki Kuroda owner, and, yes, he sat on my bench in my money league on Monday.
>>>>
Justin Duchscherer AKA "The Douchehammer" is your model "sell high" player. Starting this season, he was a thirty year old former reliever with a 21-16 record. Now, he is the leading MLB with a 1.78 ERA after 101 innings. Regardless, any AL pitcher with an ERA under 2.00 this late in the season is impressive. He might be worth the risk to hold,even if just to stream him at home, where he has a 1.23 ERA.
>>>>
The current #1 song is "I Kissed a Girl" by Katy Perry. Ten years ago, it was "The Boy is Mine" by Brandy and Monica (heeeeey). Twenty years ago, it was "The Flame" by Cheap Trick.