Lincecum keeps smoking, Wainwright returns in style and Willie Harris powers up. All that and more in this week's Week That Was.
Tim Lincecum: Tim Lincecum continued his dominant ways, upping his record to 14-3 with his win yesterday over San Diego. Yes, it was San Diego, but given the anemic offense behind him, 14 wins is just plain awesome. With his 2.48 ERA and filthy stuff, Lincecum has proven that he will be a star for years to come. If you need a horse to ride down the stretch, Tim is your man. If you need an anchor for your keeper team, Tim is also your man. With Lincecum, Cain, Sanchez and crew, the Giants could be pretty good if they could hit. Who was that guy who wore number 25 and carried that offense and why isn't he playing?
Yadier Molina: Yadier Molina went 4-5 with four RBI yesterday as the Cardinals spanked Atlanta 18-3 (yes, it does look more like a football score). I think it is safe to say that the youngest Molina has arrived and is now, and will continue to be, the best of the catching Molina brothers. Yadier is hitting .308 and is a classic example of how both catchers and young players develop. First, it takes young catchers a number of years to hit their peak offensively. Why is this? Well, they have so much extra work to do in learning the pitching staff, learning all of the hitters around the league, learning the most demanding defensive position, etc., that they cannot concentrate on offense as much as other players. Second, hitters who make the show at the young age of 22 or 23 often do not hit their stride until 25 or 26. Molina, at 26 is having an eminently predictable break out year. Remember this story in evaluating young hitters with a few seasons under their belt when preparing for your 2009 draft.
Adam Wainwright: Adam Wainwright came off the shelf looking good this week. Wainwright held the Braves to one earned run over six innings. With an ERA of just 3.04, a pitching coach in Dave Duncan who will get the most out of him, and a history of pitching in big games, Wainwright is a good bet to produce the rest of the way. Buy. (Note - did anyone see that Joel Pineiro pitched three innings to get the save? Bonus for those of us who need saves, but ominous for those counting on Joel to keep starting).
Mark Ellis: According to reports, Mark Ellis left the game yesterday complaining of right shoulder pain. Given his history of shoulder issues and the fact that the A's are way out of contention, there is a good chance that Cubbie import Eric Patterson will finally get a chance to show what he can (or cannot) do. For those who need speed, E.Patt could be a nice find. For those counting on Ellis, you are at risk. Stay tuned.
Luis Ayala: Luis Ayala is the latest to walk through that ever revolving door that is the Mets closer job. Ayala held a three run lead last night to notch his first save as a Met. Is he the closer now? This writer thinks not. A 5.49 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP are hardly the stuff of effective closers. Aaron Heilman, who pitched the 8th inning, has been solid in the last few weeks. It is more likely that after Santana threw 125 pitches over 7 innings, Manuel thought Heilman matched up better than Ayala against the hitters coming up in the 8th inning. I cannot prove that, but it makes sense (at least to me and I am the one at the keyboard [readers, insert email smiley wink here].
Alex Gordon: According to reports, Alex Gordon has a torn quadriceps muscle. It looks like the KC 3B is going to miss the rest of the year. In his second season in the show, Gordon had very pedestrian numbers - especially for a player given so much hype --.254, 14 homers, 51 RBI. Given that he is only 24, never played a game at AAA and is on an offensively challenged team, Gordon's mediocre numbers are hardly surprising. Once again, it is important to remember that most players who make the show early (in Gordon's case at 22) are not likely to hit their stride right away. Next year, at the age of 25 with two full years under his belt, Gordon will likely take a nice step forward.
Willie Harris: Willie Harris blasted two dingers yesterday against the Cubbies to up is dinger total to 12. Yes, Willie Harris has 12 dingers. If you go to your dictionary and look up "Sell High" you will see a picture of Willie Harris with a big bold warning that says "the fantasy sports surgeon general has determined that holding Harris and betting on similar production can be very detrimental to your fantasy pennant hopes." You get the point.
Sports
J.D. Drew: According to reports out of Beantown, J.D. Drew has a herniated disk in his back. Take it from me, herniated disks, when they act up, are painful and make even the simplest activities difficult, to say nothing of trying to turn on a major league fastball. Drew, with a history of back problems, will likely have real issues down the stretch. Even if he stays on the field, the likelihood of him generating any power numbers is now slim indeed.
Ryan Church: In a nice human interest story, but one overblown for fantasy purposes, the Mets activated Ryan Church from DL this week, marking his latest attempt to return from multiple concussions. Church is worth activating in deep NL leagues, but given his health issues, the fact that the Mets will continue to give Murphy, Evans, Tatis and Chavez time, and the fact that Church hit only .272 in his only full season, the odds of strong production down the stretch are long indeed.
Kei Igawa: When your team is desperate for wins and brings back a pitcher like Carl Pavano, who has not pitched regularly in years and is baseball's version of humpty dumpty (except the Yankees hope that all the kings horses and all the kings men could put Pavano together again), you have to know that well, you're not good. That is the story of Kei Igawa. Note: Here is one question that stumps me - which was a worse move - $40 Million for Pavano or $46 Million for Igawa. Hmmm, given the atrocity of both, that is sort of like trying to calculate the square root of pi. There is no answer.
And last but not least, Schultz Says: "Balky backs seem to be the topic du jour this week with Ryan Braun's spinal column receiving the most scrutiny. For the last couple weeks he's been battling an intercostal strain (ribs) and now his back has been acting up. After trying to heal it with rest, circumstances require Braun to return to the Brewers lineup and play at less than 100%. This poses a bit of a conundrum as Braun exists in the realm of players who have to be in your lineup if he's in Milwaukee's. Given the randomness of when back injuries act up and to what extent they hinder someone, it's hard to predict whether a hobbled Braun is better than the average replacement. Unless his problems disappear, I would expect his power numbers to tally off slightly and forget about getting that random stolen base. Only bench him if you are playing a league of four in which your other outfielders are Manny, Hamilton, Quentin and Sizemore.
J.D. Drew's back is also acting up on him. If you own him and complain, smack yourself. Drew is one of the flakier roto-investments and getting 19 HRs, 64 RBI and 78 runs is more than you had a right to expect. I wouldn't expect Drew to rush back to the field: he's never shown much in the way of toughness and his lack of competitive fire has dogged him his entire career. His absence from the lineup will give Jacoby Ellsbury a chance to work through his problems and if he can, he could put up some surprising September numbers.
Last Sunday, Johan Santana pitched a complete game, 3 hit shutout against the Pirates. After the game, he was asked about coming back out for the 9th inning and said that he had too protect a 3 run lead was too close to trust to his horrible bullpen. Well, at least that's what he would have said if he had no class. I bring you this tale of fantasy as an excuse to point out that Santana is in the midst of his traditional late summer surge and the low win totals are belying how well he's been pitching lately. Hopefully, you didn't bail on Santana due to his decreasing strikeout totals and trade him below value.
One football note, if you come anywhere near Willis McGahee this year - start getting exciting for the AFL season cause you will have already blown the 2008 FFL season.
Response: As Judge Chaimberlain Haller said to Vinny Gambini, "that is a surprising lucid, well thought out [column]". Nice work.
