Matt Capps has done a fine job this season closing out games for the Washington Nationals. Not only was it somewhat of a surprise bounce back season, but it made for a huge fantasy value for owners able to snag him on the cheap.
Now, a deal is reported as done and Capps is a member of the Minnesota Twins.
Stephen Strasburg needed one start to show the world that he was absolutely worth all the hype he got going back to his senior season at San Diego State. As time marched on from that moment his jersey became the most popular seller in the game, Cooperstown came calling, and David Letterman had him recite the top ten. The only thing that was ecohed against Strasburg were the four words that haunt him and the Nationals now: If he stays healthy.
Have you heard all these Roy Oswalt to Philly rumors? Well, finally, after days of speculation and waiting for Oswalt to waive his no-trade clause, the Phillies and Astros have finalized a deal that will send the former Astro ace to Philadelphia for J.A. Happ and Prospects.
19-year-old Tyler Skaggs was dealt to the Diamondbacks as part of the recent trade that sent Dan Haren to the Angels. While Joe Saunders was the “big name” in the deal, Skaggs may turn out to be the gem of the package.
Many big-time fantasy baseball names have missed time this season and it seems like injuries have compiled of late. Let's take a look at some of the recent comings and goings from the disabled list.
I received a tweet the other day asking for my top five keepers for next season. Honestly, that had not been something that was on my mind just yet, but it is a relevant question for teams looking to rebuild for 2011. How I understand the question, the goal is to basically come up with the top five players in next year's draft since we're talking about 2011 and not 2012 and so on. So, for today's drill were going to focus on the top five players for 2011 and disregard long-term values --though striving to find players in or entering their prime is part of this equation anyway-- as not every keeper league allows for players to be kept long term. However, in the coming days I'll be dwelling into long-term values as well.
When I got back into town last night, my friend picked me up from the airport and informed me of a trade that had just gone down between the Angels and Diamondbacks. Dan Haren had been sent to the Angels in exchange for starting pitchers Joe Saunders, Tyler Skaggs, Patrick Corbin and reliever Rafael Rodriguez.
There has been plenty analysis of the trade today and I'll leave that to the likes of Kieth Law. Instead, I'll just say that the Angels essentially stole Dan Haren away from the D-Backs and you should follow suit if his fantasy owner is still fretting over a 4.60 ERA and bad career second half numbers.
This article was submitted by Dave from Goose Joak.
Seasoned fantasy baseball players will tell you that pitchers are harder to forecast than hitters.There are many reasons, but chief among them:
1.Pitchers progress in a less linear fashion than hitters.So predicting a breakout season is tougher.
2.Pitchers are subject to more severe injury problems than hitters.
A Common Question
Therefore it is imperative in most leagues that you scour the waiver wire for talent.In doing so, I find myself asking some of the same questions over and over.For instance:
Pitcher x (somebody like Tom Gorzelanny, perhaps) has a career ERA of 4.50.Suddenly they’ve put up 3 quality starts in a row and are pitching better than they ever have in their career.Is it time to buy?
It feels like we face this question all the time.Just this year we have cases like Dallas Braden, Carl Pavano, Ian Kennedy, Ricky Romero, Brett Cecil, Tom Gorzelanny, Randy Wells, Kris Medlen, Gio Gonzalez, Doug Fister…the list goes on and on.One way we tend to evaluate this choice, particularly on sites like FB365, is by looking at xFIP.
If your DL is overloaded and are searching for the right guy to cut, perhaps this list will help.
1. Justin Morneau – He is getting closer to returning to the Twins. Concussions are nothing new for Morneau which is obviously concerning, but he is making progress. Morneau has always been a better first half player, so the time on the DL is doubly bad news for his owners. Still, he was an MVP candidate prior to going on the DL and a bad half for him is a good half for many.
2. Dustin Pedroia – Pedroia will be arriving soon for the Red Sox and before his injury was starting to crush the ball. Relative to the other players on the list, his injury shouldn’t linger. He will only get better each day.
Our first guest writer this week is Zach Sanders, who writes for RotoGraphs (a division of FanGraphs.com).
During a chat at FanGraphs last Friday, a reader posed an interesting question. The reader asked me to rank the Blue Jays starting staff based on their value as keepers. It got me thinking, so, without further ado...
Bloguin is the revolutionary blog network specifically focused on helping bloggers get the most out of their websites. We're currently working on building a large network of online communities and hope to expand our blogging coverage to include a wide range of topics.
Advertisers
The Bloguin Network allows advertisers to promote their products and services to our ever-growing number of visitors. We offer both site-specific ad placements as well as the ability to run a network-wide campaign. If you're interested in working with Bloguin to meet your advertising needs, please contact us.
Bloggers Wanted
The Bloguin Network is always looking to expand. We're specifically looking for blogs in the sports, entertainment, and video games field, but are open to adding any type of quality site. If you're a blogger and interested in joining our network, please fill out our application form.
The Bloguin Login
The Bloguin Login gives you full access to everything our network has to offer. Your name and password will work for each and every one of our sites. Signing up is simple, and will allow you to post in all our forums, create member blogs, and access other cool features! What are you waiting for? Create an Account!
This article was submitted by Dave from 
Bloguin is the revolutionary blog network specifically focused on helping bloggers get the most out of their websites. We're currently working on building a large network of online communities and hope to expand our blogging coverage to include a wide range of topics. 
The Bloguin Network allows advertisers to promote their products and services to our ever-growing number of visitors. We offer both site-specific ad placements as well as the ability to run a network-wide campaign. If you're interested in working with Bloguin to meet your advertising needs, please contact us.
The Bloguin Network is always looking to expand. We're specifically looking for blogs in the sports, entertainment, and video games field, but are open to adding any type of quality site. If you're a blogger and interested in joining our network, please fill out our application form.
The Bloguin Login gives you full access to everything our network has to offer. Your name and password will work for each and every one of our sites. Signing up is simple, and will allow you to post in all our forums, create member blogs, and access other cool features! What are you waiting for? Create an Account! 