Open Thread: Injury Updates

March 28, 2011 by Mike Axisa 76 Comments

Kevin Millwood made it to Tampa. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

All of the roster and transactions news was posted this afternoon, but Chad Jennings offered up some injury updates as well. Let’s recap it here…

Tonight’s game was canceled because it’s pouring in Tampa, so Curtis Granderson was unable to do his scheduled work this afternoon. “Very close to it, if not on it,” said the center fielder, referring to being ready for Opening Day. Grandy wants to play in a game before Opening Day, but the final game of the Grapefruit League schedule will be played tomorrow afternoon. I guess the good news is that he’s not far off from returning. (Update: John Flaherty says Grandy took batting practice inside and could play in a minor league game tomorrow, weather permitting.)
Once healthy, Pedro Feliciano says he’ll only need “a couple of bullpens” to get himself into game shape.
Chris Dickerson’s hamstring injury is “manageable” and doesn’t seem to be much of an issue.
Frankie Cervelli will be free of his protective walking boot for good tomorrow.

Anyway, that’s it. No game tonight like I said, so you’re going to have to dig around for something else to watch. The only local team in action is the Knicks, who’ve managed to lose nine of their last ten games. Same ol’ Knicks even with Carmelo, eh? You all know what to do, so have at it.

bakekrukow412

No Montero :/
- squishy jello person
  
  Better he plays every day
  - bakekrukow412
    
    Probably right.
Undertaker’s DongKey

My Milkshake brings all the boys to the yard,
cano is the bro

why does Evan Longoria own an AK-47????

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/dailypitch/post/2011/03/evan-longorias-ak-47-among-items-stolen-from-rental-property/1
- http://danielslifka.wordpress.com Jerome S.
  
  That’s so messed up. I know it’s all contrived, but I have such a boyish image of him. It’s strange to imagine him wielding that thing.
- http://twitter.com/Paddock9652 Stratman9652
  
  To hunt down the bastard who stole his cap.
  - Xstar7
    
    +1
- squishy jello person
  
  Because he can
- pete
  
  I don’t know, but it definitely makes me like him less
  - NYinTX
    
    Why? Because he owns a gun? Good thing you don’t know me – I have an arsenal.
    - Mister Delaware
      
      You’re in Texas. Thats like me saying I own shirts.
      - NYinTX
        
        But I’m from New York state originally. The part of the state I lived in had a healthy respect for guns, too.
    - pete
      
      I hate guns and the culture that honors them
      - NYinTX
        
        Guns are a tool like anything else. In the hands of an idiot, even a hammer is dangerous. Besides, respect does not mean honor.
  - FIPster Doofus
    
    Why do you care?
    - Mister Delaware
      
      Not to get into a huge gun debate, but shouldn’t everyone sort of care that a gun that can shoot 11 rounds per second (says google) was kept under poor security and is now unaccounted for?
      - FIPster Doofus
        
        Valid point. But I don’t understand why Longoria’s legal possession of a gun would make one like him less. He’s not breaking any laws.
        
        Mister Delaware
        
        Sure, but the story isn’t that he owned a gun, its that he owned an assault rifle and, apparently, did so pretty irresponsibly.
        
        FIPster Doofus
        
        The only reaction I can conjure up is “Meh.” If in fact the gun wasn’t kept in a safe place, that’s dumb on Longo’s part. Other than that, I couldn’t care less, and it does nothing to change my opinion about him.
        
        Mister Delaware
        
        That’s fine, but I’d suggest you don’t read up on the statistics about stolen guns being used in the crimes so you can maintain that apathy.
        
        FIPster Doofus
        
        I’ve already acknowledged that leaving the gun out in the open is dumb. You don’t even know if Longoria did that, though. You’re just speculating.
        
        Mister Delaware
        
        I’m absolutely speculating and indicated as much below in my response to Mike. But if I’m speculating correctly, its more than simply “dumb” given the potential ramifications.
        
        Mister Delaware
        
        (Not to mention that something being legal doesn’t preclude a individual from making a moral judgment.)
      - http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa
        
        We don’t know any of the details. For all we know it was in a locked closet or something.
        
        Mister Delaware
        
        Sure, and if the gun was locked in a secure closet (or safe) and the robbers cracked the code, Longoria can be absolved. If it wasn’t, he has some culpability.
Craig

So does anyone have an idea as to what torment Cliff Lee will face when the Phillies come back to the Bronx in either a WS or Interleague?
- thumper
  
  losing ;)
Pak

Fantasy talk:
I had my draft last night with school friends, 12 teams, but many many spots.

I had 8th pick

My team:
C: Victor Martinez
1b: Adrian Gonzalez
2b: Kelly Johnson
3b: Aramis Ramirez
SS: Yunel Escobar
If: Garret Jones
LF: Josh Hamilton
CF: Brett Gardner
RF: Vladimir Guerrero
OF: Rajai Davis
Util: David Ortiz
Util: Jim Thome

Bench: Russell Martin, Chipper Jones, Marlyn Byrd

Pitching:
SP: Cliff Lee
SP: Justin Verlander
SP:David Price
SP: Carl Pavano
RP: Jonathon Papelbon
RP: Joe Nathan
P: Leo Nunez
P: Brian Fuentes
P: Kerry Wood
Bench: A.J. Burnett, Mike Pelfrey, Jake Westbrook

I know, a lot of spots but whatever. I get to rotate guys in everyday so it’s good.

What do you guys think about my team? 1st place gets around $200
- YankeesJunkie
  
  What type of league is it? Standard 5×5, head to head, etc.
  - Pak
    
    Head to Head
- http://www.yankeeanalysts.com/ Matt Imbrogno
  
  Too many relievers; you should’ve gone w/starters over Nunez, Fuentes, and Wood.
  - Mister Delaware
    
    In a daily change league, good relievers are awesome. I’d rather have 3 guys add up to 6 IP over a week than have Jon Garland pitch once.
http://twitter.com/kschmidt2 Kiersten

Fantasy help.

So this guy in my league hardly has any starters and a ton of closers (we did pitchers as one position, no distinction between relief and starter) and I only have one closer and a ton of starters. He wants to make a trade but I have no idea who to trade and what would be fair.

Starters I have:
King Felix (not trading, obviously)
Hamels
Latos
Cain
Billingsley
Hughes
Bumgarner
Matusz
E. Santana
Cecil

Relievers he has (only saves, no holds):
Marmol
Feliz
Papelbon
Putz
Nathan
Chris Perez
Leo Nunez

Any opinions on what would be a good/fair trade and who of those starters I should be willing to give up?
- http://twitter.com/kschmidt2 Kiersten
  
  Oh and pitchers stats are wins, saves, ERA, K’s and WHIP.
- Pak
  
  Get Feliz for a Santana or a Cecil, high strikeout/innings guy for a high saves guy
- http://youcantpredictbaseball.wordpress.com/ bexarama
  
  Marmol is the best closer you can get there. Putz and Chris Perez (and Nunez too, to an extent) are getting underrated… maybe trade one of your lesser starters for that? Maybe like, Marmol + a lesser reliever for Billingsley or Latos, is that at all fair?
  - boogie down
    
    I Agree that Marmol’s the best of that bunch and that Putz and Perez are being underrated.
    
    Kiersten, I don’t think you should trade any of your top 4 pitchers, as you’re sure to have a pretty dominant rotation with those guys at the helm. Two of Billingsley, Hughes and Bumgarner for two of Putz, Nathan and Perez seems like a good deal to me. I have Nathan on my fantasy team and he’ll share the closer role for much of April before reclaiming it outright, so keep that in mind.
    - http://twitter.com/kschmidt2 Kiersten
      
      Who would you guys recommend me keeping between Matusz and Bumgarner?
      
      My problem is that obviously in real life I don’t value relievers as much as starters, but I have no idea how their value translates in fantasy. Is one good starter a fair trade for 2 decent relievers? Will I be OK with just two closers?
      
      Would something like Santana for Putz and Perez be a fair trade?
      Also, if I pick up 2 for 1 then I have to drop a bench player, which isn’t a big deal, but then I’d have 12 pitchers.
      - http://youcantpredictbaseball.wordpress.com/ bexarama
        
        Bumgarner? I really like Matusz but he’s in a hitters’ park and a rough league. Bumgarner’s team isn’t great with scoring runs but it’s a pretty good team and he’s got a much easier league.
        
        I have just started this whole fantasy thing too so I have no idea what fair trades are. Santana for Putz/Perez seems fair to me, but I don’t know much. Who’s on your bench/your normal team so I could offer advice on who to drop?
        
        http://twitter.com/kschmidt2 Kiersten
        
        I have Montero on my bench, so I’d probably drop him and just snatch him up if I can when he’s called up. Which I’ll probably know before anyone else in my league since I check RAB like 15 times a day.
        
        boogie down
        
        I actually did something similar: I dropped Montero, after drafting him with my final pick, in favor of Denard Span. Keeping an eye on his AAA production and RAB should make a preemptive pickup somewhat easy.
      - boogie down
        
        You shouldn’t value relievers highly in fantasy. As your league’s scoring structure is set up, a reliever’s greatest value will come almost exclusively from his ability to provide saves. This renders excellent set-up men like Hong-Chi Kuo and Mike Adams effectively useless in fantasy. (Adams may become an attractive mid-season pickup if/when Heath Bell is traded)
        
        Fantasy experts often advise players not to pay for saves, i.e. draft a stud closer relatively high. I agree with that logic b/c the amount of innings a closer throws isn’t enough to significantly alter your staff’s overall ERA or WHIP, even if he’s below average (think Matt Lindstrom).
        
        Though you’d be OK with only 2 closers, I suggest you get a third, assuming that’s what most people have. With too few relievers, your rate stats stand to worsen, as you’ll have added innings from presumably lesser starters (since you’ll always hold onto better ones). However, more starters means more gross W’s and K’s.
        
        Weigh the win and K capabilities of your frontline, never-gonna-trade-em starters against those of your opponents’. If you match up favorably, and I think you will, acquire a reliever. Even if you get a reliever who’s merely average but can get saves (think Kevin Gregg), he won’t hurt your rate stats as much as a similar starter simply because the reliever pitches fewer innings.
        
        Lastly, don’t go 2 for 1, because then you’ll have too many pitchers and not enough position players manning the bench. If you could get Santana for Putz or Perez, I think that you’ll still have made an excellent trade, considering the rest of your staff.
        
        Hope this helps.
        
        boogie down
        
        Oops, in the face of “[y]ou shouldn’t value relievers highly in fantasy,” I think I need to explain my rationale behind saying Santana for Putz/Perez is good. As your staff is pretty damn good, a lesser starter for a legitimately good reliever, straight up, is a fine trade. Regardless, you should look to replace a couple of the pitchers you have with position players, be it through trade or FA.
        
        However, if you can pull a 2 for 1 trade and then use your surplus pitching to acquire some position-player depth, you’ll have done a thoroughly good job of improving your whole team.
        
        http://twitter.com/kschmidt2 Kiersten
        
        Thanks. This all really helps a lot. I think I’ll offer him Santana for one of the relievers.
NC Yankee Fan

my fantasy team
Mixed 12 Team League
Hr, RBI, SV, K’s, AVG, WHIP etc…
C Brian McCann
1B Adrian Gonzalez
2B Dan Uggla
3B Jose Bautista
SS Ian Desmond
OF Chris Young
OF Ben Zobrist
OF Nick Swisher
Util Prince Fielder
Util Brian Roberts
BN Jorge Posada
BN Jesus Montero
BN Magglio Ordonez
BN Scott Rolen
BN Tyler Colvin

SP Justin Verlander
SP Francisco Liriano
RP Johnathan Broxton
RP Rafael Soriano
P Jaime Garcia
P Tim Hudson
P A.J. Burnett
P Javier Vazquez

What do you guys think?
Chose 10th Overall.
- http://www.yankeeanalysts.com/ Matt Imbrogno
  
  Not enough pitchers; see if you can get someone to buy high on Bautista for a starter.
  - NC Yankee Fan
    
    Some guy took Halladay and Sabathia with two of top 3 picks
  - NC Yankee Fan
    
    Just offered Bautista and Burnett for Price and Infante
http://www.yankeeanalysts.com/ Matt Imbrogno

I hate the Rangers even more right now.
- Tom Zig
  
  NY or Texas?
  - http://www.yankeeanalysts.com/ Matt Imbrogno
    
    Texas. Ogando is getting to start, but Feliz isn’t.
http://youcantpredictbaseball.wordpress.com/ bexarama

Here is my 20-team league team so you can all laugh at it:
C Brian McCann
1B Prince Fielder
2B Ben Zobrist
SS Elvis Andrus
3B Dan Johnson (lol)
OF Jason Heyward, Juan Pierre, JD Drew
UTIL/BN Juan Uribe, Sean Rodriguez, Ryan Doumit, Johnny Damon, Kosuke Fukudome

SP Jered Weaver
SP Ricky Romero
RP Craig Kimbrel
RP Mike Adams
P Travis Wood, Brett Cecil, Joel Peralta, Jeremy Guthrie, Phil Coke, Brandon McCarthy

And then again, here is my team in a 4-team league:
C Victor Martinez
1B Joey Votto
2B Dan Uggla
SS Hanley Ramirez
3B David Wright
IF Justin Morneau
OF Matt Holliday, Jason Heyward, Andre Ethier, Colby Rasmus
UTIL Mike Stanton, Pedro Alvarez
BN Brett Gardner, Jorge Posada, Brandon Phillips, Casey McGehee

SP Cliff Lee, Justin Verlander, CC Sabathia, Max Scherzer
RP Joakim Soria, Carlos Marmol, John Axford, Jeremy Hellickson
P John Danks, Colby Lewis, Aroldis Chapman

I also drafted Andy >_>
- NC Yankee Fan
  
  Maybe a lack of power on 20 team league team.
  I would trade excess pitching like a Brett Cecil for power.
- http://www.yankeeanalysts.com/ Matt Imbrogno
  
  20 teamer: Awesome C/1B. Rest of the infield? Not so much. OF is okay w/Heyward and Drew, just gotta hope for health.
  
  And here’s the eventual champion of that four team league, FIP to be Square:
  
  C-Mauer
  1B-Pujols
  2B-Weeks
  3B-Zimmerman
  SS-Reyes
  OF-Braun
  OF-Choo
  OF-Bruce
  OF-Granderson
  UTIL-Rios
  UTIL-Abreu
  BN-Jeter
  
  SP-Felix
  SP-Johnson
  SP-Hamels
  SP-Price
  RP-Wilson
  RP-Bell
  RP-Thornton
  RP-Nathan
  P: Gallardo, Latos, Billingsley, Anderson, W. Rodriguez, Carpenter, Morrow
  - http://youcantpredictbaseball.wordpress.com/ bexarama
    
    20 teamer: Awesome C/1B. Rest of the infield? Not so much
    
    Yeah you don’t have to tell me. I’ll just hope Andrus magically develops 15 HR power and steals a bunch of bases and scores a lot of runs, Zobrist bounces back, and Dan Johnson… um… I’ll play him when the Yankees and Red Sox play the Rays………
    
    OF is okay w/Heyward and Drew, just gotta hope for health.
    Yeah :( I have like 75 OFs but they all seem to have health issues :/
    - http://www.yankeeanalysts.com/ Matt Imbrogno
      
      Zobrist should bounce back, and Andrus should hit for a good average and steal a metric fuckton of bases.
    - Mister Delaware
      
      I love Dan Johnson this year. Will bet 10 RAB dollars that he goes over 25 HRs and has an OBP of atleast .355 thus making him pretty solid overall and a huge bargain at $1MM per.
      - http://youcantpredictbaseball.wordpress.com/ bexarama
        
        That’d be really nice, by the time I chose my 3B crap was left and I figured at least he had some okay upside.
Tom Zig

BringBackScottyProc of RAB Conference League South, 20 team league

C: Joe Mauer
1B: Luke Scott
2B: Kelly Johnson
SS: Starlin Castro
3B: Alex Rodriguez
OF: Travis Snider
OF: Marlon Byrd
OF: Andres Torres
Util: Jim Jam Mash Taters
Util: Russel Branyan
BN: Ty Wiggington
BN: Pat Burrell
BN: Eric Hosmer

SP: Justin Verlander
SP: Dan Haren
RP: Kevin Gregg
RP: Octavio Dotel
P: Carlos Zambrano
P: John Danks
P: Jason Hammel
BN: Chris Narveson
BN: Juan Gutierrez
BN: Matt Lindstrom
- http://youcantpredictbaseball.wordpress.com/ bexarama
  
  I might be down to trade a pitcher for Branyan or Thome.
- YankeesJunkie
  
  I don’t like how one of your two pitchers are not in the NL, but at least you chose two very good AL pitchers, one being in a huge park. Also Hosmer won’t make an impact on the Royals until at least the second half if that with Kila and Butler.
  - http://www.twitter.com/tomzig Tom Zig
    
    Well I grabbed Hosmer off of Free agency because I noticed that all other young guys were being snapped up already.
    
    Pineda, M. perez, Brandon Belt, Montero, Ackley are all gone.
NC Yankee Fan

Pitching is weak, trade Branyan for a pitcher or outfielder
boogie down

My 2nd and final FBB draft — 12-team league w/ the following categories:

Hitting: R, H, HR, RBI, SB, BB, K, AVG, OPS, XBH
Pitching: W, L, CG, SHO, SV, ER, K, ERA, WHIP, K/BB, QS
*weekly minimum of 30 IP*

Team Name: Hole Camels

Roster:
C Matt Wieters
1B Victor Martinez
2B Kelly Johnson
3B A-Rod (lean, mean, odd-year A-Rod)
SS Starlin Castro
OF Jason Heyward
OF Delmon Young
OF Adam Jones
UTIL Adam Lind
UTIL Travis Snider
Bench: Ryan Raburn, Manny Ramirez, Jim Thome, Logan Morrison, Edwin Encarnacion

SP Roy Halladay
SP Cole Hamels
RP Kevin Gregg
RP Brandon League
P Tommy Hanson
P Wandy Rodriguez
P Jhoulys Chacin
P Brian Matusz
Bench: Hong-Chih Kuo
(Everyone else in the league is also utilizing only two RP)
- YankeesJunkie
  
  One of the things other than not being more statistically inclined for the RAB league is the min innings only being 10. You could easily win ERA, WHIP, and SVs with relievers alone and spot start your good starters against poor teams. Not saying it is full proof, but I feel the limit is too low.
  - boogie down
    
    Yeah, my buddy is the Commissioner of my other league and he had originally set the minimum innings requirement to 7. I told him to up it to 25 to avoid exactly what you just said. Otherwise, why not get three excellent pitchers and load up on relievers. That way, you’d not only steal ERA, WHIP, and SVs without a problem, but you stand a chance of being competitive in categories that are starter driven, like W’s and K’s. Obviously, you’d need 3 knockout aces, but with the pitching depth available, they’re not overly difficult to acquire. During weeks where they’re pitching well, multiple outings by 2, or all 3, could give you a shot at nabbing a win in W’s and/or K’s.
Cecala

I was proposed a trade

I give up: Jose Reyes
I get: Alcedes Escobar, Andres Torres, Ted Lilly

Right now my outfield is pretty stacked with Jay Bruce, Rasmus, Stanton, Cuddyer, Hart,Soriano, Dejesus, and Hall if he plays OF.

I think its a bad trade on my part.
- http://danielslifka.wordpress.com Jerome S.
  
  don’t do it. reyes has huge upside.
- FIPster Doofus
  
  I definitely wouldn’t do it were I you.
YankeesJunkie

I am starting a 20 team league on ESPN. Unlike the other official RAB leagues this is totally based off metric weighting. It is a 20 team league and the draft is on Wednesday at 730 EST. It will be head to head competition on a weekly basis with all 20 teams in a single division. Hope to see you guys and gals there.

Link: http://games.espn.go.com/flb/tools/join?leagueId=229055
Password: Yankees
RubaDoob

my fantasy team in a 10 team league, i had the 8th pick

c- weiters
1b- cabrera
2b- phillips
ss- drew
ss/2b- castro
1b/3b- dunn
of- soriano,snider,choo,markakis,fowler
util- mcgehee
bench- c. jones, y. molina,r. martin, freese, f. sanchez

p- king felix
p- price
p- oswalt
p- morrow
p- romero
p- wolf
p- davis
p-buehrle
rp- soria

how’d i do?
bonestock94

Not to beat a dead horse but LOL at all the people that now like Longoria less for owning an AK47. The law-abiding gun owners in this country aren’t the problem…
- http://twitter.com/steveh_mandaura Steve H
  
  Try to ban the AK I got 10 of em stashed with a case of hand grenades!
  
  /Bodycount’d
- http://www.twitter.com/tomzig Tom Zig
  
  Yeah I mean it was legally owned, so who cares?
  
  I also highly doubt it was a fully automatic AK. If it was a semi-auto, then he probably didn’t even need a permit for it.
Camilo Gerardo

10 team league. it’s been awhile, but it looked quality to me with guys like quentin and beltran who could make a big return. pitchers are all green, eh. didn’t know lidge was messed up, but saves is just one point out of 15 h2h

C- Santana
1b- Teixeira
2b- Phillips
3b- Bautista
SS- Hanley Ramirez
of- Kemp
of- Markakis
of- Quentin
Util- Torii Hunter
bn- Beltran, Alvarez

SP- Price
sp- Latos
sp- Cain
sp- Hughes
rp- Hellickson Sp/rp
rp- Aardsma
bn- Lidge, Nolasco, MadBum