Achievers/Bums - Weekend Edition

Achievers
Bobby Abreu - OF - New York Yankees - Yes, I am aware of Xavier Nady's big day. However, the big story for me has been the reemergence of Bobby Abreu since the All Star break. Since the second half began, Abreu has a line of .387/5/17 with two SBs. He can help you with average, runs and stolen bases. If you need help in any of these categories, try to pick up Abreu before your trading deadline.

Hiroki Kuroda - SP - Los Angeles Dodgers - For all I know, Hiroki Kuroda could be an awful person. He could litter, steal candy from children or wear tights. However, I do know one thing about Kuroda - he pitches pretty well at Dodger Stadium. After his victory on Saturday, Kuroda's record at home stands at 4-1 with a 3.29 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP. If you have space on your roster, he might be worth holding onto, but remember that he is Mr. Hyde on the road (2-7, 5.25 ERA).

Matt Holliday - OF - Colorado Rockies - Holliday hit three home runs over Saturday and Sunday against the Marlins. While Holliday hitting home runs is no big news, it is notable that he did so on the road. Holliday is a great beneficiary of playing in Colorado (.365/81/294 in Colorado - .280/42/166 everywhere else). As he is a pending free agent after the 2009 season, there is a chance that Holliday will be shopped in the offseason. If you are in a keeper format and out of contention for winning your league , this might be the time to think about moving Holliday. You can trade Holliday his highest value and not worry about him moving away from Colorado.

Ricky Nolasco - SP - Florida Marlins - Nolasco capped an impressive week with 13 Ks against the Rockies. If you pitched Nolasco in a HTH format this week, you received a win, 21 Ks, a 3.21 ERA and a o.79 WHIP. Nolasco has recovered from his elbow problems that plagued him in 2007.

Joel Hanrahan - RP - Washington Nationals - Hanrahan got his first save as the Nats closer. While he will not be dominant, as my pal Donny points out, a save is a save is save. Hanrahan might still be available on your waiver wire, and he is a great pick-up if you currently have either ...

Bums

Kyle Farnsworth/Fernando Rodney - RP - Detroit Tigers - Newly acquired Kyle Farnsworth blew the lead in the 8th by giving up three runs on three hits. After Curtis Granderson tied the game with a HR in the top of the ninth, and Miguel Cabera hit a HR in the top of the 10th to give the Tigers the lead, Rodney added his contribution by giving up two runs with three walks, including the game winning bases loaded BB to Carlos Pena.
The Tigers bullpen is a mess, and there does not appear to be a savior in sight. I would recommend dropping Rodney immediately, but keep Farnsworth on the bench for now, if you have a roster spot.

Jeremy Hermida - OF - Florida Marlins - I like Jeremy Hermida, and I think that he will be a good player in the long run for the Marlins. However, Hermida earned the dubious golden sombrero on Sunday, going 0-4 with four Ks. If you are in a league that factors Ks, you know the glorious feeling of looking at the negative four points and wondering what Rob Deer is doing right now.

Elijah Dukes - OF - Washington Nationals - While Elijah Dukes has met a good deal of the Nationals expectations for this season (for instance, he has not threatened to kill anyone), he still finds a way to make headlines for not doing anything good. First, he was benched from the starting lineup on Saturday for showing up late at the ball park. Then, he sat out on Sunday due to an injury to his leg from hitting himself with his own bat (maybe his leg was pregnant). While his antics and injuries will be an continued distraction, Dukes is a must own in NL Only leagues, and a worthwhile risk in deeper mixed leagues. Before he missed 19 games with an injured knee in early July, Duke hit six HRs and stole seven bases over 32 games in June and July. When healthy and/or out of jail, Dukes will hit third in a very soft Nats' lineup.

Phil Mickelson - LH -WGC-Bridgestone Invitational -Of course, anyone who wins over the next few months will have an asterisk as the guy who won without playing against Tiger. Phil Mickelson won't have that problem this week after completely falling apart on the 17th hole. Of course, this criticism is coming from a guy who sharted himself when he earned his first double-boogey two weeks ago.

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.