Cleveland Indians must stay grounded in pitching philosophy
Masterson of ground domain
Derek Lowe ranked second among qualifying 2011 MLB starting pitchers in ground-ball percentage. Breakout arm Justin Masterson and erratic righty Fausto Carmona came in at seventh and eighth in the majors, respectively.
Ubaldo Jimenez has hovered around 50 percent his entire career and can easily reach that mark again - along with the elite flashes he displayed in the first half of 2010 - with health and some mechanical readjustments. Potential rotation member Jeanmar Gomez likes to burn worms, as well.
Three of MLB's top eight grounder inducers from the past campaign will have to rely on the Cleveland Indians' young and/or shaky infield in a park that's already generally pitcher-friendly and homer-suppressing. Hmm. Tap your mouse here for more »
Count me among Jim Thome’s homies
How can you not cheer for Thome?
"Jim Thome just hit the quietest 600th homer in MLB history." (Ugh, a quote lede. Forgive me, Jack.)
Full disclosure: That Thome blurb graced my Facebook wall Monday. Come on, we all plagiarize ourselves. If John Fogerty did it, then it's OK with me.
The Walled statement got some Likes, but it also demands a Repeat button. Tap your mouse here for more »
These fantasy baseball dudes abide
In honor of today's Phish- and Dead-infused quasi-holiday, let's gain some brownie points with everyone's favorite cinematic puffer and tie the room together with some early-season fantasy baseball burners.
These Lebowskis are dudes, not paraquats.
They abide. Tap your mouse here for more »
Fantasy Baseball Player Prospecting 2010: Jordan Brown, Cleveland Indians
Brown's mitt troubles Tribe a bit
Jordan Brown was called up by the Cleveland Indians on July 31 to take time in the outfield and at designated hitter with Travis Hafner (shoulder) on the DL. In his first eight games, Brown, a first baseman and outfielder, is 7-for-27 with four doubles, one RBI and four runs scored.
In 272 at-bats for Triple-A Columbus, the 26-year-old hit .309 with six homers and 63 RBIs, along with a serviceable .344 on-base percentage and a .474 slugging percentage. Brown hit .381 with 14 RBIs in the 10 games prior to his MLB arrival.
Tap your mouse here for more »
Fantasy baseball: Trade deadline shakes up saves
After an earlier flurry of trade action, some saves will now be changing hands after the passing of the 2010 deadline:
Pirates ship Octavio Dotel, plan to split CL duties
The Pittsburgh Pirates have traded CL Octavio Dotel to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for SP James McDonald and minor league OF Andrew Lambo, according to MLB Network's Jon Heyman.
Pirates RPs Joel Hanrahan and Evan Meek are expected to split closing duties, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
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Fantasy baseball: early trade deadline roundup
Some of the early action from the 2010 trade deadline and more:
Ryan Ludwick to Padres, Jake Westbrook to Cardinals
The San Diego Padres have acquired OF Ryan Ludwick from the St. Louis Cardinals in a three-team deal which also involved the Cleveland Indians, according to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The Cardinals received SP Jake Westbrook from the Indians while P Nick Greenwood went from the Padres to the Indians. Tap your mouse here for more »
Cleveland Indians' Shin-Soo Choo placed on DL
The Cleveland Indians have placed OF Shin-Soo Choo (thumb) on the 15-day disabled list because of a sprained right thumb, according to MLB.com's John Barone. The move is retroactive to Saturday, July 3, and he could be sidelined until September.
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Fausto Carmona and my Faustian fantasy baseball pact
I rolled the dice at Pick 229 (Round 20) of our K-BAL draft, taking the enigma that is the Cleveland Indians' Fausto Carmona. I was gambling that at least a hint of his 2007 season would come back.
Heck, with the pitching staff at the bottom of my roster in that league, I dove into a Faustian pact - err, I mean Faustoian. Tap your mouse here for more »
2010 MLB Predictions: Mark 'em down
KFFL Baseball is abuzz right now.
We're pumping out updates in projections and news for those of you still drafting. Nicholas Minnix just came back from his mixed Tout Wars draft.
I have the Blog Wars draft tomorrow night and finished my FSWA Industry Insiders' League draft last night. Tap your mouse here for more »
Fantasy Baseball: Riffing on Carlos Santana
Those who read me know I like to draft catchers late after building up elsewhere.
This handful of loyal browsers also knows, however, that I usually avoid chasing hyped youngsters.
In our KFFL Fantasy Baseball Analysis Draft - the K-BAD - I accomplished the first goal by taking Bengie Molina in Round 16. For the price, it wasn't a bad decision, declining skills and all. Tap your mouse here for more »
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