After the first day of games there probably are some fantasy baseball managers freaking out about the status of their players. C.C. Sabathia owners are probably fretting about the pitcher’s poor outing against the Boston Red Sox. Sabathia looked like an average pitcher out there and the Boston players were clearly getting solid contact against him. Definitely keep an eye on this as the season progresses. Stephen Strasburg owners are wondering what gives with the 3 strikeouts. To me, I prefer Strasburg reduce his strikeout numbers if it means that he will go further into games. Don’t fret – Strasburg will get his K numbers up. Clayton Kershaw was by far the best fantasy player yesterday. He pitched a complete game shutout, allowing 4 hits. Too bad his offensive numbers didn’t count cause Kershaw hit the game winning homer, too. Speaking of homers, anyone else catch Bryce Harper’s home runs? The phenom turned on two change-ups and crushed them for his first two hits of the season. The Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, Josh Hamilton, Mark Trumbo line-up for the Los Angeles Angels went 2-19 yesterday against the Cincinnati Reds. Justin Verlander, Felix Hernandez, Ian Kennedy and Matt Cain all turned in ace quality starts in their first appearances. Only Cain walked off the mound without a W.
Can someone please explain to me the logic of batting Mike Trout at the top of the Angels lineup? Honestly, can this team not find another batter to take that top spot? Trout should be batting either in the #2 or #3 spot, not the leadoff. I know the guy can run, but his speed is just as useful down in the middle of the batting order as it is at the top. I think the Angels are making a mistake hitting Trout there and if there is regression for this guy’s numbers this year, it’s going to be because of where he is in the lineup – not because of his skill set.
Minnesota Twins rookie Aaron Hicks looked a little lost at the plate going 0-4 with three strikeouts, but Jackie Bradley of the Boston Red Sox looked comfortable and showed his patience at the plate by taking three walks against the New York Yankees. If Bradley keeps this up, it’s going to be hard sending him back down to the minors even when David Ortiz returns.
The Cincinnati Reds took an offensive hit when outfielder Ryan Ludwick dislocated his shoulder yesterday sliding into third base. The Reds have depth on their team but losing Ludwick does impact their offense. This might be good new for those hoping that Billy Hamilton would make an appearence in 2013. The speedster could be called up to take a spot on the major league roster.
Looks like notorious super-agent Scott Boras is going to lose a big name player to rapper-mongol Jay-Z‘s (Sean Carter) new Roc Nation Sports (RNS) company. Robinson Cano is said to be jumping the Boras ship for RNS. Boras is known for getting his massively talented players lucrative contracts by avoiding “hometown discount” contracts. For Cano, Notorious B.I.G. now stands for Notorious Boras Is Gone. It’ll be interesting to see what RNS can get Cano, who is eligible for free agency at the end of this season.
Had a chance to watch Knuckleball! that was directed by Anne Sundberg over the weekend. Great documentary featuring R.A. Dickey and Tim Wakefield. If you haven’t had a chance to watch it, I highly recommend it. It certainly gives you a different perspective of what it takes to pitch at the major league level and the cynicism that exists around knuckleball pitchers.
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Photo Credit: Baseballhotcorner.com
