Clearing The Bases

Baltimore Orioles: The Orioles depth in their starting rotation is certainly being tested. First they had to give Freddy Garcia a start and now with Wei-Yin Chen heading to the DL they will call upon Jair Jurrjens. Jurrjens has fallen a long way since a hot start to the 2011 season and somehow I don’t see the American League as a cure for what ails him…..Anyone else realize that the O’s lead the AL East in runs scored and are third in all of MLB? All this team needs is a true ace.

Boston Red Sox: The Sox are coming back down to Earth after a hot start to the season. They have now lost three series in a row and may be starting to worry about their starting rotation. Jon Lester and Clay Buccholz look good but Ryan Dempster is starting to regress, John Lackey is just someone you hope can keep you in the game at this point in his career, and the team itself doesn’t have any faith in Felix Doubront. The good news for the Sox though is that they will have the cash to find a replacement should they decide to go that route…..Outfielder Shane Victorino was lucky to only have suffered a bruised chest after crashing into the short RF wall at Fenway on Sunday. That didn’t look to good for a while.

Chicago White Sox: Starting pitcher Chris Sale pitched that complete game shutout over the Angels on Sunday night with an abscessed tooth, man that just doesn’t sound good…..The Sox have sat 1B Paul Konerko down now two straight games as they try and give him a couple of mental days off to help him break out of his season long slump…..Chicago is still second to last in MLB in runs scored. This is stunning to me with a team that has a pretty good lineup and plays in a park in which the ball flies out of.

Cleveland Indians: The Indians demoted 3B Lonnie Chisenhall on Tuesday which could have a domino effect on the team. Mark Reynolds will move over to play 3B, a position at which sometimes he struggles, Nick Swisher will play 1B (far from a gold glover there), and Jason Giambi could end up being the primary DH versus right-handers. None of this really matters however, this team can hit, they still need pitching…..They are getting some good SP however as Justin Masterson looks like an ace as he has figured out how to get left-handed hitters out this season and even Ubaldo Jimenez has looked good of late, I mean, even Scott Kazmir is starting to look like his old self. If they can just get something from Trevor Bauer…..

Detroit Tigers: How many fantasy owners were livid that OF Austin Jackson was placed on the DL after the lineup deadline for the week had passed, Andy Dirks gets a boost in his value…..When talking about the best starting staff in the majors, don’t forget to include the Tigers. Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Anibal Sanchez, and Doug Fister can be as good as any teams top four, even Rick Porcello can have his moments…..The Tigers did call up Avisail Garcia who was tearing it up in AAA but may not have an everyday role, especially against RHs.

Houston Astros: To put it nicely, the Astros are a hot mess, and now their best player, 2B Jose Altuve will be lost to the team due to a jaw injury suffered in a collision during the game Monday. Altuve won’t be placed on the DL as his grandmother passed away also so the team placed him on the bereavement list, thus hoping the three to seven days he must remain on that list is enough for him to recover from the injury…..More bad news for the Astros, SP Bud Norris had to leave his start with back spasms, he is their only pitcher worth watching at this point…..We all know how unhappy Nolan Ryan seems to be about his role in the Rangers organization, could he be thinking about a move to Houston now that President and CEO George Postolos has resigned? I know where I’d rather be.

Kansas City Royals: The Royals early season magic seemed to run out in their sweep at the hand of the Yankees over the weekend, not quite ready to play with the big boys just yet…..Although manager Ned Yost won’t confirm, it does look like a platoon is developing between RFs Jeff Francoeur and Jarrod Dyson, and all I can say is it’s about time. I like Francoeur, seems to be one of the good guys in the game, but he really doesn’t have any business being a full-time player at this point in his career.

Los Angeles Angels: Ace Jered Weaver will make at least two starts in AAA before being activated off of the DL according to the team, that would put the best case scenario for a return to the rotation at 6/1…..Shortstop Erik Aybar who has battled a couple of leg injuries so far this season is back in the lineup Tuesday, so is OF Josh Hamilton who had to leave Tuesday’s game early after feeling sick…..Another SP, Tommy Hanson is also out of the lineup, for personal reasons, Barry Enright will start in his absence.

Minnesota Twins: First baseman Justin Morneau isn’t showing much in the power department but he is hitting at a .375 clip in his last 12 games…..Outfielder Josh Willingham is dealing with a sore wrist. Really don’t like it when hitters have wrist, hand, or finger injuries, this always seems to sap their power…..How are the Twins 18-17 with that starting pitching staff?

New York Yankees: Was trying to figure out what the Yankees were going to do now that OF Curtis Granderson has been activated off the DL. With Granderson, Brett Gardner, Ichiro Suzuki, Vernon Wells, and Travis Hafner, they would seem to have five guys available for four spots. Well Hafner took care of that in the short term. He will be out at least a couple of games with a sore right shoulder, an MRI will determine if he will miss much more time than that…..If you haven’t heard by now, RP Joba Chamberlain admonished closer Mariano Rivera who politely asked him to tone it down a bit as Joba was talking extremely loudly to a group of relatives while Mo was giving an interview, good to see that Joba just doesn’t get it. Really have a hard time believing he is back with the team next season, think the NYY are tired of his act, time to move on. Certainly didn’t help matters any when Joba didn’t apologize, stating he wouldn’t change a thing. He’s either stubborn or stupid.

Oakland Athletics: Outfielder Coco Crisp who was having a good start to the season before injuring his hamstring could be ready to play as soon as Wednesday…..Another OF Yoenis Cespedes, who had to leave the game early Monday due to an illness, is back in the lineup Tuesday. The A’s are a much better team with Cespedes in the lineup than without. They really need him to stay healthy and play 150+ games, but this may not be that year…..Yet another OF, Chris Young, could be ready to join the team this week also, there are going to be some playing time issues in what is a very crowded OF in Oakland…..Starting Pitcher Brett Anderson, he who is immensely talented but can never stay healthy, should return to the rotation Friday.

Seattle Mariners: Ace SP Felix Hernandez had to leave the game against the NYY in the 7th inning Tuesday due to what looks like a tweak in his lower half. Hernandez did have a slight collision with NYY 1B Lyle Overbay while trying to cover first, this didn’t seem to be a big thing, but he was shaking his leg afterwards…..When do the Mariners finally give up on 1B Justin Smoak? It really is time to move on…..Another youngster, C Jesus Montero is also having his problems. He can’t catch, the Mariners seem to know that now, and with the glut of OF/DH types they have on the team, there really is no place for Montero right now. Doesn’t help any that he has not hit a lick so far this season. With SP Michael Pineda looking to return to the NYY rotation in early summer, you have to wonder if Seattle and not the Yankees would like a redo on that trade.

Tampa Bay Rays: Outfielder Desmond Jennings who had missed a couple of games due to a groin injury returned to the lineup Tuesday…..In the strange but true department, SP David Price needed eye drops because allergies had made it difficult to impossible for him to pick up signs, I’m sure opposing batters are just thrilled to hear that Price couldn’t see all that well…..Fantasy owners had to be flipping out last week as SP Jeremy Hellickson managed to blow a 7-0 and 6-2 lead in his two starts.

Texas Rangers: Catcher A.J. Pierzynski will more than likely come off the DL the first day he is eligible, next Tuesday…..Apparently 1B Mitch Moreland has gotten the message that his job could be in jeopardy if his play doesn’t pick up, he hit his seventh HR of the season Monday…..Starting pitcher Martin Perez was activated off the DL and immediately optioned to AA, he will have to work his way back into the Rangers rotation.

Toronto Blue Jays: Things may finally be stabilizing for Toronto as they have won three straight, they also received good news when it was announced that SS Jose Reyes may be able to return to the team in a little over a month…..Relief pitcher Sergio Santos however had to undergo surgery for bone chips and will be lost for another six weeks…..SP Josh Johnson will begin a rehab assignment shortly and should be back the first week in June…..Outfielder Melky Cabrera won’t miss any games but is undergoing tests to find out why his legs feel “heavy”.

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