BY ADAM RONIS
Cliff Lee is better than Cy Young! Ok, I'm not that crazy, but Lee is certainly the biggest surprise is so far. He threw a three-hit shutout, walked none and struck out nine to improve to 4-0 with a 0.28 ERA. He threw 120 pitches, 80 of which were strikes. The most impressive thing about him so far is his 29/2 K/BB ratio. That translates to success. Keep in mind, the four games have come against the Royals, Twins and A's twice. Still, he has pitched eight innings twice and a complete game and hardly no one goes that far in games anymore regardless of the opponent. It's been a few years since Lee had a good year, but so far, so good. He won't keep this pace up, but he should be owned in all leagues.
Brian Bannister opposed Cliff Lee and pitched well going 6 2/3 innings, allowing four hits, two runs, no walks and struck out four. He's 3-2 with a 2.48 ERA. Where is Ambiroix Burgos again?
San Diego pitcher Chris Young makes me pull my hair and trust me there is a lot of hair to pluck out. If only he could throw more strikes, he could be a top-notch fantasy pitcher. Young threw 121 pitches in seven innings, allowed two hits, one run, walked three and struck out 10 in a 1-0 loss to the Giants. He is very difficult to hit, but he throws too many pitches that force him out of games early and it doesn't help he's on a poor offensive team. Batters hit .206 against him in 2006 and .192 last season. The walks and penchant for injuries keep him from being among the elite.
I told you not to pass over Tim Lincecum because he plays on a putrid offensive team. Again, wins are hard to gauge. Lincecum went 6 1/3 scoreless innings, allowed four hits, walked five and struck out nine. He is 4-0 with a 1.23 ERA.
Joba Chamberlain let in a run? No way. I thought he was untouchable and would win every game if he started. Chamberlain allowed his second earned run of the season when he allowed a game-winning single to Joe Crede. Jermaine Dye left the game with a strained left groin and is day-to-day.
Chad Billingsley struck out 12 in six innings, but he allowed five runs, six hits and two walks to drop to 0-4.
Brandon Lyon pitched a scoreless ninth for his sixth save of the season.
Andruw Jones hit No. 2 for the second straight game and went 1-for-5.
Comments (4)
Hey Adam,
I like the blog. I was curious to how you came up with your fantasy roundtable...if it were just random, or something premeditated. I do a Fantasy Baseball blog for the Poughkeepsie Journal and would love to be part of something like that. Let me know, either way I'll add you to my blogroll. Keep up the good work. Here is my link:
http://pojofantasybaseball.blogspot.com
Adam
A couple of random things...
How long should I stick it out with Chris Snyder? There aren't a lot of alternatives available in my league, so I was leaning towards holding on to him, but I was curious what you thought.
My league doesn't allow us to sign minor leaguers, so I've been scouting two guys in particular - Max Scherzer and Adam Lind. Any idea if or when they'll get the call-up?
I traded DeRosa and Kouzmanoff for Adam Dunn earlier this week and have yet hear the national media comment on the transaction. I'm assuming that's merely an oversight, right?
Hey Mike,
I didn't come up with the roundtable. I was invited to join it.
Andy,
If there is no better alternative, stick it out with Snyder. Not sure how deep the league is, but it sounds like there's no better option. I think Lind will be up soon. As for Scherzer, he is mowing teams down in the minors. It will likely take an injury for him to be called up and with Randy Johnson in Arizona, that's not farfetched. However, Doug Davis should be returning too. Good deal for Dunn. A Newsday reporter will be investigating that deal.