Charlie!

Let's Go Rays!

There are many teams to root for, but perhaps none more than the low budget Tampa Bay Rays.

The Milestone

Watching the Yanks/Jays game right now. A couple things to note before I get to A.J. Burnett.

1. Phil Hughes looks filthy. Curve ball is moving.

2. Notice how Jeter and A-Rod are out. People playing in the finals with those guys on the roster must love that the Yanks are officially eliminated.

On to the reason that I am tempted to post something for the first time in a while. A.J. Burnett tonight would be taken out of this game in the 7th inning in virtually every other start. He was over 100 pitches after that time. He has a history of arm problems and generally the Blue Jays have done a good deal to protect him. Tonight was different as Burnett went 117 pitches. What made it different?

Well first of all Burnett is probably not going to be back with the Blue Jays. J.P. Riccardi has said he would like to resign him, but after the last 6 weeks of the season other than CC Sabathia, Burnett appears to be the most sought after free agent (I'm going to guess that Scott Boras will not turn sentimental on us and exercise the out clause) on the market. Thus, much like the Brewers have driven CC into the ground since trading him, the Jays had nothing to lose by dangling his arm for another inning.

Second, is the milestone issue. With 18 wins heading into the start and with the Jays not leading the game Burnett needed to stay in to get his 19th. If he got his 19th he would have had the option according to Cito Gaston to start on 3 days rest Sunday and get his 20th. So he came back out. And when the Jays didn't have the lead in the 9th inning it appeared that after 117 pitches Burnett still wasn't done. Gaston was really just being classy and brought in Jessie Carlson and let the fans give Burnett one last Canadian cheer.

The issue at this time of the year is interesting and certainly debatable. For anyone who argues the numbers don't matter to these guys, you are lying. Numbers bring contracts and ultimately dollars. Sure, I believe that John Elway wanted to win when he had reached the end and that Karl Malone signed with the Lakers to get a chance at the ring. But that is AFTER these guys have already had their best years and contracts behind them. Just goes to show that sometimes fantasy managers and their players are pulling for one another.

Loving September

Last night was great excitement. Perhaps I was the only person not drawn to the NFL after 4:00 and perhaps it was a result of my Patriots hopes being crushed, but fantasy baseball had all the drama in my heart of a real baseball playoff game. I know how Hilary Clinton feels having won in West Virginia after watching Elijah Dukes put me ahead in the 14th inning of a meaningless Braves/Nats game.

Dukes was a player I just added to my team ten days ago and he's a guy who if you want to start talking about keepers has me really excited. Depending on your league format you might have keepers based on the round a player was drafted in or if they were claimed off of free agency. If you do a league based on when players were drafted Elijah Dukes stock has risen significantly.

Dukes had always been a highly regarded prospect when he was drafted back in 2002 by Tampa Bay (think about a Carl Crawford, BJ Upton, and Elijah Dukes outfield - yikes that would have been scarey). Now he may have finally put his troubled off the field problems behind him and is ready to be that great player everyone thought he could be. He is still just 24 years old and is playing in a market that will protect his "baggage" as he continues to mature. With 10 home runs and 13 steals in only 226 at bats he can easily put together Corey Hart or Nick Markakis numbers if he stays healthy next year.

If you weren't quick enough to snag Dukes up, here are some other outfielders to think about in terms of going from unappreciated to a rising fantasy star:

Nate McLouth: He will need some lineup protection without Xavier Nady and Jason Bay next season, but 100 runs and a 20/20 season is great from a guy who was supposed to platoon at the start of the season.

Lastings Milledge: Dukes teammate has also put the past behind - though his problems were more on the field with the Mets. He also has had the top prospect tag next to him and also had a breakout year of sorts and should not go far from the cleanup spot next season.

Andre Ethier: I'm just going to go ahead and stick a fork in Andruw Jones. Ethier has had the best month of his fine breakout season in September much like Matt Holliday did back in 2005 and could be a huge run scoring threat if the Dodgers resign Manny Ramirez in the offseason.

Carlos Quentin: Don't let the wrist thing fool you, this guy is a great hitter and will be next season. Arizona GM Josh Byrnes has done some great things, but he should not be let off the hook for giving up the AL MVP for 4 months for nothing. Unlike Ryan Ludwick, Quentin's season was not a fluke - he's young and has always had potential. Ludwick is old and more likely to be a Chumbawamba type player rather than a career guy.

Need a Pitching Punch?

Brandon Morrow was fantastic last night. I went back and forth on whether to start a guy who had an ERA of 5.01 at AAA Tacoma. By the time I reached the conclusion that I shouldn't start him, I was helpless at the movies without any internet access. Needless to say 'Tropic Thunder' might have saved one of my seasons.

Morrow was fantastic throwing his slider, curve, changeup and mid 90s fastball in any count to keep the Yankees off balance. In the end Joe Girardi called on pinch hitter Wilson Betemit to do something that Jose Molina couldn't do with a tree trunk sized bat - make contact. Despite throwing 106 pitches he proved to be equally as effective in his first start as he was as a reliever earlier this season. He's worth starting from here on out. Here are some other fellows to watch out for.

Jonathan Sanchez: For matchup leagues looking for a strikeout boost at the last minute he is a perfect pick up. He won't pitch until 4:05 Eastern time which will enable you to see where you are in terms of Ks and Wins versus ERA and WHIP. He also pitched real well coming off the DL his last time out in Coors Field and faces the lowly Pirates.

Johnny Cueto: Cueto is antother guy who will give you a ton of Ks and has been dropped by a lot of managers after being taken out of his last start after just 3 innings. He will face the struggling Cubs whom he has been impressive against in 3 prior starts this season.

Jeff Francis: With 4 straight quality starts a guy who was on fire at this time last season, has seemingly found his groove again after a lengthy stint on the DL. He certainly won't get the Ks that some of these other guys will, but he will be able to throw more pitches given that Cueto and Sanchez were injured more recently.

Shaun Marcum: He is back in the rotation and still has great overall numbers on the season. He is the most capable of putting together in all around fantastic game, but his stats seem to be trending in the other direction as opposed to the other guys on this list.

Playoffs!

I saw an advertisement yesterday for the "there's only one October" campaign. They mentioned how pitching can be so nasty during the playoffs for some odd reason. It got me thinking to how the platform for traditional stats changes during September too.

Think about it. This week in my league we have the two lower seeds beating the higher seeds. Teams that are out of it are starting to give prospects a look. Teams (ok just the Angels) that have locked up the division and a home series are resting stars. The contending teams are relying on their stud pitchers more.

Basically what to take from all of this is that changes are happening more rapidly now than they would have say a month or two ago when all teams had the responsibility to give equal effort and play among their best players. Now that has changed and if you can get the young guys like David Price or the veterans with something to play for like Jim Thome you have to do it because they are more apt to perform for you versus say Jake Peavy who's team is really just hoping to have him healthy next year.

If on the other hand your league (like mine) locks roster moves for the postseason then I hope you had planned for this moment two weeks ago. Otherwise you'll have changed your lineup for 20 weeks only to come up short at the most crucial time against a manager that you were better than for 20 out of 22 weeks. It is a shame, but that's the beauty of fantasy baseball.