Clearing The Bases

Baltimore Orioles: The Orioles sent down SP Jake Arrieta to AAA after another subpar performance on Monday. Arrieta has good stuff but doesn’t seem to have figured out how to control it within the strike zone…..Speaking of SPs, Dylan Bundy is going to get a second opinion from Dr. James Andrews about his ailing elbow. This is generally never a good sign…..I love what manager Buck Showalter said to New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan regarding the Ravens inability to play a home game on the first Thursday in September. I do believe the Orioles are wrong in this, not that the owe the NFL or the Ravens anything, but what a day it would be for Baltimore fans to have the O’s play in the afternoon and the Ravens go that night, but Ryan has no business opening up his big mouth. He has his own problems to worry about.

Boston Red Sox: Good to see things getting back to normal in Boston, at least as normal as can be, after the bombing…..Now the Sox need to get their starting pitching in check. John Lackey is expected to return Sunday versus the Houston Astros, not the greatest test on the planet, but the Sox are thrilled to get him back in the rotation, especially after his replacement, Alfredo Aceves, was lit up for 8 runs, 7 earned in just over 3 innings Tuesday…..Some are complaining about the Boston decision to sit DH David Ortiz so often in the early going. Relax people, baseball is a long season, better to sit him now and have him healthy in August then to push to far to fast and lose him for a chunk of the year.

Chicago White Sox: Outfielder Dayan Viciedo had to be placed on the DL with an oblique injury. These injuries can be tricky as it can be extremely tough to tell if a player is completely healed from the injury until he swings violently again…..Dylan Axelrod has had two impressive outings in a row and could be a sneaky pickup in fantasy leagues, especially AL only ones.

Cleveland Indians: The Indians and SS Asdrubal Cabrera got lucky when an unfortunate spill resulted only in a wrist contusion and not something much more serious…..Starting pitcher Brett Myers was sent to the DL with a slight tear in his UCL. Sounds more serious than it is right now and he is expected to begin throwing again in about two weeks, not that it really matters though as he has been pretty awful so far this season, addition by subtraction anyone.

Detroit Tigers: So the closer carousel comes full circle in Detroit, Jose Valverde is expected to return to the role as early as Wednesday, the team also called up Bruce Rondon who will take the spot of Octavio Dotel who was placed on the DL with an elbow issue…..Starting pitcher Rick Porcello may be playing on borrowed time if he doesn’t start to pitch better. The Tigers do have Drew Smyly just waiting to take his chances in the rotation and he certainly can’t do much worse at this point in time.

Houston Astros: Outfielder Justin Maxwell who is mired in a prolonged slump had to leave the game early Tuesday after getting hit in the hand with a pitch…..The Astros announced that they have no plans on trading SP Bud Norris. Yeah, we’ll see if that tune changes by the deadline…..Outfielder Rick Ankiel has nine hits on the season, five of them HRs. That would seem to be the definition of all or nothing…..If you were worried about Ankiel’s roster spot once Fernando Martinez returned from the DL, well now you don’t have to, J.D. Martinez was placed on the DL to open up a spot.

Kansas City Royals: Pretty impressive double-header sweep by the Royals over the Red Sox on Sunday, perhaps this team is growing up a little faster than expected…..Is it time to start to worry about 1B Eric Hosmer? His GB/FB ratio is extremely low for someone who is expected to be a power hitter…..We all knew that the addition of James Shields would be a boon to the rotation, but Ervin Santana could be equally as important if he can continue to pitch this well all season…..Any thoughts of Greg Holland losing his closing role can be put to bed for now, not only did he have a really good weekend, but his closest competition, Kelvin Herrera did not.

Los Angeles Angels: Anyone who has seen 1B Albert Pujols play has to think a DL stint is in his future. They will have to DH him for the remainder of the season. He has plantar fasciitis, and the problem with that injury is, two weeks rest is not enough time for it to heal. Two months may not be enough either…..SS Erick Aybar should be ready to return at some point in the next week…..Tommy Hanson will miss his start Wednesday, not because of an injury, but because he had to be placed on the bereavement list, Jerome Williams will start in his place.

Minnesota Twins: One of the Twins top offensive prospects, Oswaldo Arcia, hit his first career HR on Tuesday. Still not sure what the Twins will do over the course of the season with Arcia as either Ryan Doumit or Chris Palmelee would have to sit in his stead…..I know we have spoken about this before, but still have to wonder why Minnesota didn’t put a retractable dome on top of Target Field. Looks like they may play quite a few doubleheaders this season.

New York Yankees: On the injury front for the Yankees. Best case scenario for SS Derek Jeter is a return after the ASB, pretty much the same as for 3B Alex Rodriguez. Outfielder Curtis Granderson looks like a mid-May return. He needs to strengthen his arm and get some ABs, probably 50-70 between simulated and AAA games. First baseman Mark Teixeira is still experiencing some stiffness in his wrist but his timetable is probably mid-May as well…..I’m sure you have all heard now about 2B Robinson Cano’s link to the PED scandal. Perhaps it was just his charity’s employee and it had nothing to do with him, but his best friend in baseball, Toronto OF Melky Cabrera, plus teammates Alex Rodriguez and Francisco Cervelli have all been connected here. Where there is smoke, there is generally fire.

Oakland Athletics: The A’s received some good news about SP Brett Anderson, it doesn’t look like he will miss a start after turning his ankle the last time he pitched, and with his injury history, that’s no small feat…..Outfielder Yoenis Cespedes will be back with the team Sunday, the first day he is eligible to come off the DL…..A’s also have to be encouraged about Jarrod Parker’s last start, we much better than his previous ones, perhaps he just got off to a slow start.

Seattle Mariners: Looking back at the C Jesus Montero for SP Michael Pineda deal, neither team may have gotten when they wanted. Montero is off to a slow start again and it is painfully obvious that he is a DH in the making, not exactly what you wanted when you traded away a top pitcher like Pineda, but then again Pineda’s shoulder surgery probably eliminates any chances of him becoming a future ace. Guess it all evened out in the end…..For those fantasy owners who were worrying about 3B Kyle Seagar, relax, he looks really good of late.

Tampa Bay Rays: David Price may have taken the loss Tuesday versus the Yankees, but he looked much better in this start than in his first three, this could be the beginning of a nice run for Price…..One SP who isn’t having any problems is Matt Moore, outside of the HR on a hanging curve he allowed to NYY 2B Robinson Cano, he was unhittable Monday. He’s going to have a Cy Young type season…..Think it’s safe to say after another poor outing by RP Fernando Rodney on Tuesday that the Rays hate the World Baseball Classic. There was some noise during the WBC that Tampa was unhappy with how often the Dominican Republic was using Rodney, and those fears have been realized as he is having a poor start to the season.

Texas Rangers: Starting Pitcher Matt Harrison underwent back surgery Tuesday, he is expected to return after the ASB…..Martin Perez is ready to begin a rehab assignment next week, but even if he gets through three or four starts without any problems, he may not be a lock to get back in the rotation, Justin Grimm and Nick Tepesch have pitched pretty well in his absence.

Toronto Blue Jays: Good news and bad news for SP R.A. Dickey. The good, he was able to make his start Tuesday after having to be removed early from his last one with neck and back stiffness. The bad, he got off to a rough start allowing four early runs and took the loss…..Watching SP Brandon Morrow the other night, he does not look like the same pitcher. He didn’t have overpowering stuff and looked like he was aiming the ball rather than just letting it fly.

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