Achievers/Bums - 8/17/08

Sorry for the lack of posts. Donny and I have actually been busy with real life for once. Anyway, this isn't the Lifetime Network - let's talk baseball

Achievers
Melvin Mora - 3B - Baltimore Orioles - 3/4, 1 HR, 4 RBIS - Friday; 5/6, 2 HRs, 6 RBIs - Sunday. Baltimore hasn't seen anything this hot since Babs Johnson walked down the street. With 20 HRs and 91 RBIS, Mora has a chance to match his 2004 career highs (27 HRs, 104 RBIs). Mora is probably not available in your league, but if he is, stick him in your Utility or CI spot until he cools off.

Alex Rios - OF - Toronto Blue Jays - 5/6, 3 Rs, 2 RBIs - Yes, he had five hits. Rios also has only 9 HRs and 54 RBIs. Not exactly the figures for which managers were hoping when they drafted him.

Raul Ibanez - OF - Seattle Mariners - 5/5, 1 RBI - I can't leave out the other guy with 5 hits. Looking over my posts, I am sure that Fantasy Achievers mentions Raul Ibanez more than any other website. Tell your friends.

Andre Ethier - OF - Los Angeles Dodgers - 3/5, 2 HRS, 3 RBIs - Ethier smacked two HRs, including the GW HR in the bottom of the 9th. Ethier is deservedly getting more ABs than Juan Pierre, but Ethier is sitting down enough to make you think twice about leaving him in your line-up. Stay away from Ethier if you have to set your roster weekly, but maybe consider pairing him with Juan Pierre if you have the roster space (and time to sit by your computer 10 minutes before every game, fatty).

Johan Santana - W, 7Ks, CG SHO - Santana goes to 3-0 since the All Star break. You expected more than 11 wins and 148 Ks, but at least Santana is turning it on for the stretch. Santana is still solid, and you might be able to pick him up at a discount next season.

Bums

Josh Beckett - SP - Boston Red Sox - L, 2.1 IP, 8 ERs - The Red Sox have been dealing with injuries to their starting pitching, and it was time for Beckett to stand up and be the stopper for his team. No, not really. Beckett was smacked at home by a Blue Jays' team that is only ahead of the Mariners, Royals and A's in AL runs scored. After going 20-7 with a 3.92 ERA last season, Beckett falls to a paltry 11-9 with a 4.34 ERA. If the Red Sox are going to catch the Blank Rays, they better hope that Beckett was just having an off day.


Washington Nationals - No one cares about the Washington Nationals. Frankly, I don't think that I even do. However, Nationals GM Jim Bowden's desire to acquire as many middle IFs as possible drives me crazy. The Nats traded Luis Ayala to the Mets for SS Anderson Hernandez. Hernandez, who has the name of a Mexican accountant, owns a career MLB batting average of .138, which somehow makes his 2008 AAA batting average of .202 look respectable. While Ayala has frankly stunk this season (1-8, 5.77 ERA), his career numbers entering this season (26-24 with a 2.82 ERA) are pretty decent, on top of the fact that the Mets are a division rival. I don't expect the Mets to give up their top prospect (even though the Mets are the team that traded Scott Kazmir for Victor "I'm Not Carlos" Zambrano), but do the Nationals need another weak hitting 2B/SS? Are the Nats one switch-hitting Dominican away from enacting Bowden's master plan?

Hernandez is now battling other renown sluggers such as of Cristian Guzman, Pete Orr, Ronnie Belliard, Emilo Bonifacio (hitting .239 and 2 SBs with 22Ks in 16 games since being acquired for closer Jon Rauch) for the positions of SS and 2B. Perhaps it is not fair to call Ronnie Belliard a middle IF, as he (and his career .753 OPS) has played 20 games at 1B, splitting time with other sluggers Kory Casto (.495 OPS) and Aaron "Bleeping" Boone (125 HRs in 1,111 games).

Achievers/Bums - Trade Deadline Special

Achievers
Pittsburgh Pirates - Kudos to new Pirates GM Neal Huntington for turning the tide for the Pirates. At this time last year, the Pirates were the laughing stock of MLB. Former GM Dave Littlefield summed up his reign as GM by acquiring washed-up SP Matt Morris and his $9.5 million contract at a time when the Pirates's opening day payroll was $38.5 million (thank you Wikipedia). This season, Huntington has traded veteran players for good young players, capped off by involving himself in the Red Sox-Manny Ramirez soap opera and coming away with four young prospects from two different teams.
For the last few years, Jason Bay has been the centerpiece of the Pirates organization. From 2004-2007, Bay averaged 28.5 HRs and 94 RBIs . Despite Bay's production, the Pirates have failed to have a winning season since 1992. With this trade, the Bucs get a instant OF starter in LH Brandon Moss and a future closer in Craig Hansen from the Sox, and 3B Andy LaRoche (brother of Pirate 1B Adam LaRoche) and RH SP Bryan Morris (2006 1st round pick) from the Dodgers.
When added with their earlier trade of Xavier Nady/Damaso Marte to the Yankees, the Pirates have moved veterans and opened up space for big name prospects like Steve Pearce. This is a good sign for a storied franchise that has been losing for too long.

Los Angeles Dodgers - As the rumors of the Manny trade floated around like a National Exquirer scandal, I was ready to slam the Dodgers. The Dodgers have hurt themselves by burdening their team with overpriced, underperforming veterans like Andruw Jones and Juan Pierre. However, the Dodgers made a shrewd move in acquiring Manny but 1) not trading Matt Kemp or Andre Ethier 2) declining Manny's options, making him a free agent at season's end and 3) getting the Sox to pay for Manny's salary for the rest of the season. The Dodgers get the big bat as a free rental, in addition to picking up draft picks as compensation when Manny hits the free agent market. Andy LaRoche has been the "Next Big Thing" for the Dodgers for last few seasons, but he has yet to step up. LaRoche now gets the change of scenery that he needs, and the Dodgers still have Blake DeWitt for 3B next season. If I were the Dodgers, I would call the Nationals to see if Dmitri Young wants Andruw as a diet buddy.

Florida Marlins - The Marlins win by by not acquiring Manny. In the long run, they will benefit by keeping OF Jeremy Hermida and LH RP Taylor Tankersley. The Marlins are already sixth in scoring runs in the NL (ahead of the Rockies), and it did not look like that they were going to get the sweethart deal that the Dodgers received. In addition, their quiet acquisition of lefty specialist Arthur Rhodes will be helpful in matching up with the Phillies' Ryan Howard and Chase Utley and the Mets' Carlos Delgado in big games.

New York Yankees - Yes, the Yankees made a good trade by getting Ivan Rodriguez for MLB's verision of Russell Crowe. No one really cares.

Bums
Seattle Mariners - While the Mariners were smart not to put out early in the trading process (cough ... Jim Bowden ... cough) , the AL West disappointments overplayed their hand by not moving Raul Ibanez and Jarrod Washburn. The Mariners, to use medical terminology, are old and stinky. Raul Ibanez is going to leave as a free agent, and Jarrod Washburn is .... Jarrdon Washburn. Any prospect from the Yankees or Mets will be more valuable to the Mariners than these guys next April.

Boston Red Sox - The Red Sox made the best of a bad situation, but they have seen this train wreck coming for a long time. The last straw should have been Manny attacking a 64-year old man back in late June, not his phantom knee injury before the Yankees' series. Jason Bay is a very good player, but he goes from playing in the anonymity of Pittsburgh to heat of an AL East division race. In addition, the Sox had to give away a few good prospects and pay out Manny's salary to the Dodgers.

Washington Nationals - No cares about the Nationals except me, but I have to make one last gripe. In a move that I am convinced was made to spite me, the Nationals traded minor league pitcher Jhonny Nunez, who has 90 Ks in 89 IP this season, for another weak hitting IF in Alberto Gonzalez. Gonzalez will have a fight on his hands to take time from sluggers Cristian Guzman, Willie Harris, Ronnie Belliard, Felipe Lopez and the recently acquired Emilo Bonifacio to see who can be the first player to hit two HRs in the same month. At this rate, the Nationals 2009 daily lineup will consist of five second basemen, Ryan Zimmerman, and Austin Kearns ears.