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Chase Utley’s hitting streak was thisclose to being over tonight, as he stepped to the plate in the eighth inning, having gone 0-for-4 in his previous at-bats. It was a high-scoring game with the Phillies up over the St. Louis Cardinals at that point, 11-7, and Utley can thank his teammates and their mashing of the Cardinals pitchers for allowing him to get extra at-bats to extend the streak. And the fifth at-bat for Utley in the eighth was a somewhat controversial one too. At least for several minutes.
Click to continue reading Chase Utley Watch: 34 Games
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American League Fantasy Notes: A.L. Central
Posted by Tom Massimo Categories: Editorial, Fantasy, MLB,
CHICAGO WHITE SOX
Joe Crede hit his 23nd home run on Tuesday Night surpassing a career high set last year. His 22 doubles is one more than all of 2005’s output. Crede’s 90% contact rate, a good 5% to 7% above his usual numbers, has now held up for over a half-season. Sustaining it over that long of a time frame means it could legitimately represent a skill growth. At 28 years old, he is at the right age for his power to be peaking. The numbers show that Crede is making better contact and hitting the ball harder. Stay with him, a 30 home run, 100 RBI season is easily within reach.
A.J. Pierzynski’s .320 batting average is over his head. His strong 88% contact rate is within his career levels, but a poor batting eye of .37 and a lack of speed or power should bring his average down 20 to 30 points.
Jim Thome has sat out three straight games with a sore right wrist and back spasms. The back spasms are more worrisome as he has had problems in that area before. He is considered day to day.
Click to continue reading American League Fantasy Notes: A.L. Central
Detroit Tigers Carlos Guillen Hits For The Cycle
Posted by Dennis Velasco Categories: Athletes, Kudos, MLB, News,
The Tigers Carlos Guillen went 4-for-5 against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays with each hit being a different type - a single, double, triple, and a home run - which qualifies for the rare “cycle” of hits. Guillen’s efforts were part of a 10-4 drubbing by the Tigers over the D-Rays, a win that matches the number of wins the Tigers had all last season (71).
Click to continue reading Detroit Tigers Carlos Guillen Hits For The Cycle
Two Key Players To Pennant Contenders Lost
Posted by Dennis Velasco Categories: Editorial, Injuries, MLB, News,
The N.L. East leading New York Mets and the A.L. East leading Boston Red Sox both lost major keys to their success, whether it be from hard statistics or intangibles that brought the team together, they are both worse off than they were a couple of days ago.
The New York Mets lost middle reliever extraordinaire, Duaner Sanchez, for the season after a taxicab accident near the team’s hotel in Florida on Sunday night. This is actually the second year in a row that a New York Mets pitcher was involved in a taxicab accident with Tom Glavine getting in one last season. In any case, because of the accident, the Mets were forced to trade starting RF Xavier Nady to the Pittsburgh Pirates for 41 year old, Roberto Hernandez, and the once dominating, but now a mysterious failure, Oliver Perez.
Click to continue reading Two Key Players To Pennant Contenders Lost
Well, it didn’t take Phillies 2B Chase Utley long at all to extend his hitting streak to 33 games. In the top of the first inning, on an 0-1 count Utley singled up the middle to centerfield against the St. Louis Cardinals Jeff Suppan. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the streak is tied for the ninth-longest in NL history with Rogers Hornsby (1922) and George Davis (1893).
Click to continue reading Chase Utley Watch: 33 Games
The “chase” is still on for Philadelphia Phillies 2B Chase Utley and every sportswriter is using that “chase” pun the world over. In any case, Utley extended his hitting streak to 32 games on Monday afternoon, hitting a single in the sixth inning.
Click to continue reading Chase Utley Watch: 32 Games And Counting
The non-waiver trading deadline for MLB came and went and here’s what went down:
- Los Angeles Dodgers get Julio Lugo; Tampa Bay Devil Rays get minor-league 3B Joel Guzman and OF Sergio Pedroza.
- Los Angeles Dodgers get RHP Greg Maddux; Chicago Cubs get SS/3B Cesar Izturis.
COMMENTS: The Dodgers acquire a great offensive shortstop in Lugo who should get on base and allow hitters such as J.D. Drew and when healthy, Jeff Kent and Nomar Garciaparra to knock him in. Rafael Furcal and Lugo should form a dangerous 1-2 punch at the top of the order. Concerning Maddux, he’s a Hall of Fame pitcher that just may have enough in his tank to get down in L.A.
- New York Mets get RHP Roberto Hernandez and LHP Oliver Perez; Pittsburgh Pirates get OF Xavier Nady.
COMMENTS: This was a necessary move for the Mets as 8th inning specialist Duaner Sanchez was in a taxi cab accident over the weekend and could possibly be out for the season. Hernandez pitched well with the Mets last year and must be happy to be back with the contenders. Perez is an interesting addition as he is still young and it was only two years ago when he dominated the N.L. It’ll be interesting to see what pitching coach Rick Petersen can do with him.
Click to continue reading MLB Deadline Trades
Greg Maddux Heads West To The L.A. Dodgers
Posted by Dennis Velasco Categories: Editorial, MLB, News, Trades,
Greg Maddux started his MLB career with the Chicago Cubs and many thought in the twilight of his career, he was going to retire with the Cubs. Guess not. The Cubs sent Maddux out west to the Los Angeles Dodgers, who sent back SS Cesar Izturis. Maddux needed to waive a no-trade clause and gladly did because it would help the Cubs future. Whether or not the trade helps the Cubs, is something that is yet to be determined. But how will it affect Maddux and the Dodgers?
Click to continue reading Greg Maddux Heads West To The L.A. Dodgers
American League Fantasy Notes: A.L. East
Posted by Tom Massimo Categories: Editorial, MLB, News, Trades,
NEW YORK YANKEES
The Yankees pulled off a blockbuster trade acquiring right-fielder Bobby Abreu and starting pitcher Corey Lidle for four minor leaguers. Abreu’s presence will put an end to the right-field platoon of Bernie Williams and Aaron Guiel.
Abreu’s power is down from the previous two seasons and moving to Yankee Stadium will not help, as Citizens Bank Park is much better for lefty swinging power. He is still stealing bases, going 20 for 24 in that department. His contact rate of 75% is down from his usual 77% to 80%, but he making up for it with a higher than usual batting eye of 1.09, so there is some upside to his .277 batting average. He will see an increase in RBI opportunities.
Lidle is posting a career high K/9 of 7.04 this season and an acceptable 2.8 BB/9. His high 4.74 ERA is mainly the product of 19 home runs, which easily puts him on pace for a career high. With a 1.57 G/F ratio, the home runs will probably slow down and moving from Citizens Bank Park to Yankee Stadium will help. Pitching for a better team, Lidle could be a cheap source for some wins without doing too much damage to your ERA or WHIP.
Despite a lack of power, Melky Cabrera is proving to be a useful fantasy outfielder with a .278 batting average and 8 steals in 10 attempts. With a strong contact rate of 90% and batting eye of 1.12 there is some potential batting average upside. The 13 doubles and 2 triples hint at some power potential, but with a G/F ratio of 1.72 it won’t happen this year.
Andy Phillips is having a rough month of July batting .165, bringing his average down from .290 to .239. Phillips’ poor plate patience, .24 batting eye, and contact rate of 79% means that his average will likely stay in this area. With Abreu on board, Jason Giambi will DH less, with Bernie Williams and Aaron Guiel picking up AB there, severely cutting into Phillips playing time. He should not be owned in any format.
Click to continue reading American League Fantasy Notes: A.L. East
If you haven’t noticed, Philadelphia Phillies 2B Chase Utley has hit in a month’s worth of games in a row. With a single in the sixth inning of the second game of the Phillies vs. Florida Marlins’ double-dip tonight, Utley extended his consecutive games with a hit to 31, which is the longest in the majors this season. The first record Utley should be aiming to break is the Phillies longest streak of 38 held by teammate and double play partner, Jimmy Rollins, who accomplished the feat at the end of the 2005 season and the early part of this season. After the organization record comes the Yankee Clipper, Joe Dimaggio’s record of 56 consecutive games with a hit.
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