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Closing Time: Yup, we’re talking about Fernando Rodney again [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: May 22, 2013, 11:51 pm] One day after recording a rocky five-out save, Fernando Rodney took a rough turn against the Jays. So we're back to worrying about him. Or maybe you never stopped worrying. Either way, he's a big, bad-hatted worry. Rodney attempted to protect a one-run lead at Toronto on Wednesday, but Jose Bautista greeted him rudely, with a no-doubt bomb. Tie game. Save blown. Rodney then retired Edwin Encarnacion, but gave up a five-pitch walk to Adam Lind. At that point, Joe Maddon had seen all he needed to see. Joel Peralta entered, recording two quick outs. We're now 18.1 innings into Rodney's season, and he's already blown four save chances, issued 17 walks and allowed three home runs. In 74.1 innings last year, he only blew two saves, walked 15 batters and yielded two homers. Peralta is the clear handcuff in the Rays' bullpen, so get him if you can. He's owned in just 17 percent of Yahoo! leagues, he's pitching well (2.08 ERA, 1.02 WHIP), and he's presumably Plan B. When Plan A is Rodney, Plan B better be good. ⢠Rex Brothers got the nod in the ninth for Colorado, successfully protecting a three-run lead to earn his first save of the season. Matt Belisle handled the eighth for the Rox. Don't make any bold moves for Brothers, because it sounds like Rafael Betancourt's achy groin is not a DL event. Betancourt is expected to return by the weekend. One more piece of Rockies news: Josh Rutledge was demoted to Triple-A, where he probably should have opened the year. (It's a level he skipped.) Rutledge has actually hit better than I'd expected this season ... not that he hit well (.242/.298/.357). We'll see him again. ⢠At this point, we probably need to consider Don Mattingly's managerial status to be day-to-day, after he benched one of his team's most expensive stars, Andre Ethier, and kinda/sorta called out GM Ned Colletti. Here are a few choice quotes from Mattingly, via the LA Times: âFor me, today, Iâm putting out my lineup that I feel is going to be the most competi Over/Under: Hot in Cleveland, Kipnis making case for No. 2 [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: May 22, 2013, 10:53 am] Fantasy is a speculative game. Predict the future, and you look like a genius. Don't, and you're painfully human. Gazing into the crystal ball, here's our view on 10 intriguing over/unders this week. If redrafting today, what second basemen should go after Robinson Cano: Jason Kipnis, Dustin Pedroia, Ben Zobrist, Brandon Philips, Ian Kinsler or OTHER. Dalton â PEDROIA. It makes it easier with Kinsler hurt, and others certainly have a case as well. I know Pedroia has just two home runs, but he currently sports a 11.8 K% and a 13.3 BB%, showing his .333 BA is no fluke. More homers will come. Brandon â PEDROIA. I had Pedroia at No. 2 and Kipnis at No. 3 on my final preseason rankings for second base, and nothing has knocked me off that stance yet. Brad â KIPNIS. After being locked in cold storage for most of April the Indian has thumped the drum in recent weeks slashing a .346-4-13-12-3 line since May 7, the best overall output of any player in Y! fantasy. With his ISO hovering around .235, it would be no surprise if he flirted with 30/30 territory. Son of a Mitch! End of season homers for red-hot Ranger Mitch Moreland 25.5 Brandon â UNDER. I see him finishing right at this number - call it 24-25. His power is always evident in May, but the staying power has been elusive, as his second half slugging percentage has faded each of the past two seasons. Brad â Ever so slightly UNDER. Look, thereâs a great deal to like here â launching pad home environment, solid lineup, friendly spot in the order. Flukes happen, yes, but heâs never been projected to develop into a 30 HR masher. Keep in mind he clubbed just 16 homers over 464 at-bats in 2011. He toes the line and finishes with 25. Scott â I'm going OVER on Moreland: he's in the Age-27 season, handling lefties fine, and finally plays every day. This is what a growth season looks like. Arlington gets juicier as the summer goes along; I'm not sweating his personal history in that regard. (And how dare you Closing Time: Rafael Betancourt headed for MRI; Rex Brothers and Wilton Lopez looming [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: May 22, 2013, 8:14 am] The soul of Closing Time is the bullpen chase, so our logical first step takes us to Colorado. Settle in, Rafael Betancourt owners, and have your copay ready. The Rockies closer has been working through a groin problem for almost a month now, and it forced him out of Tuesday's appearance in the tenth inning. He's scheduled to have an MRI on Wednesday. Players are wired to downplay injuries, and Betancourt is no different. Here's what he told MLB.com. "It's not painful," Betancourt said. "It was feeling weird warming up. I always push a lot from that leg. I came into the game, bounced the first two pitches. Feel like weak. It was getting tight. That's all. "I'm the kind of guy that it's hard for me to come out of the game. But I think it was the right move to do in that situation. [Wednesday] I get an MRI, but I think everything's going to be fine, and we'll go from there." It's novel for Betancourt to hope for the best, but we have to prepare for the worst, just in case. If Betancourt misses any significant time, someone's going to get save chances in his stead. Rex Brothers looks like the first name to consider grabbing, with Wilton Lopez another option. If the numbers were all that mattered, the left-handed Brothers would be a slam-dunk. He's posted a 0.44 ERA and 1.13 WHIP through 22 appearances, with 21 strikeouts against eight walks. The platoon splits haven't bothered him at all; he's actually better against righties (.180 BAA) this year. He looks ready for the ninth if manager Walter Weiss wants to play it that way. Lopez has the "previous closing experience" tag that teams sometimes care about; he picked up 10 handshakes (sorry, they do shake hands) with the Astros last year. His work in 2013 hasn't been at the Brothers level - 3.80 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, three walks, 12 strikeouts - but he's more established and he's right-handed, and sometimes that stuff matters to the men in charge. Brothers is the guy I'd rather have, but it's not my bullpen to manage. Both pl Closing Time: Rafael Betancourt heads for MRI; Dodgers bullpen still in flux; Mike Trout is absurd [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: May 22, 2013, 8:14 am] The soul of Closing Time is the bullpen chase, so our logical first step takes us to Colorado. Settle in, Rafael Betancourt owners, and have your copay ready. The Rockies closer has been working through a groin problem for almost a month now, and it forced him out of Tuesday's appearance in the tenth inning. He's scheduled to have an MRI on Wednesday. Players are wired to downplay injuries, and Betancourt is no different. Here's what he told MLB.com. "It's not painful," Betancourt said. "It was feeling weird warming up. I always push a lot from that leg. I came into the game, bounced the first two pitches. Feel like weak. It was getting tight. That's all. "I'm the kind of guy that it's hard for me to come out of the game. But I think it was the right move to do in that situation. [Wednesday] I get an MRI, but I think everything's going to be fine, and we'll go from there." It's novel for Betancourt to hope for the best, but we have to prepare for the worst, just in case. If Betancourt misses any significant time, someone's going to get save chances in his stead. Rex Brothers looks like the first name to consider grabbing, with Wilton Lopez another option. If the numbers were all that mattered, the left-handed Brothers would be a slam-dunk. He's posted a 0.44 ERA and 1.13 WHIP through 22 appearances, with 21 strikeouts against eight walks. The platoon splits haven't bothered him at all; he's actually better against righties (.180 BAA) this year. He looks ready for the ninth if manager Walter Weiss wants to play it that way. Lopez has the "previous closing experience" tag that teams sometimes care about; he picked up 10 handshakes (sorry, they do shake hands) with the Astros last year. His work in 2013 hasn't been at the Brothers level - 3.80 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, three walks, 12 strikeouts - but he's more established and he's right-handed, and sometimes that stuff matters to the men in charge. Brothers is the guy I'd rather have, but it's not my bullpen to manage. Both pl Mostly MLB Notes: Striking Goldschmidt [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: May 21, 2013, 5:10 pm] I wasnât necessarily down on Paul Goldschmidt entering the year, but he came nowhere near any of my teams, as he was being drafted aggressively, and he played in what I perceived as a loaded first base position. Not only has first base been a huge disappointment in general, but Goldschmidt has quickly developed into a true star I certainly didnât expect, as heâs on pace to finish the season with this line: .329-43-108-130-14. Thatâs a monster no matter what position you play. While Chase Field is a huge advantage on his side, Goldschmidt has actually posted a 1.242 OPS on the road compared to .812 at home, so while the former is bound to drop, the latter is certain to rise as well. Goldschmidtâs 23.0 K% suggests his current batting average should drop a decent amount, but the power is for real, and heâs the favorite to lead first basemen in steals. Even if itâs obviously unsustainable, itâs worth pointing out just how terrific heâs been this year when batting with runners in scoring position, as heâs hitting .421/.457/.895 with five homers and 24 RBI over 38 at-bats. He also has 10 home runs over 81 at-bats with runners on base. One final Goldschmidt quirky small sample stat â heâs hit .529/.550/1.471 with five homers over 17 at-bats against Tim Lincecum in his career. Thatâs right, he has a 1.417 slugging percentage against the former two-time Cy Young award winner. I regret missing the boat with Goldschmidt in 2013, and come next year, he might very well be a unanimous first round fantasy pick. This âhome runâ trot is among the best ever. This Ian Kinsler slide wasnât ideal. I almost never do this nor recommend it, but I added Justin Masterson in the beginning of the year because I was impressed by his stuff watching him on TV. The obligatory Iâm not a scout, but I did stay at a Holliday Inn Express last night comment needs to be said (the thing that jumped out to me was not only above average velocity with his fastball and slid Farm Report: Kevin Gausman builds case for call-up [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: May 21, 2013, 10:17 am] Back in the off-season, when everyone published their 2013 prospect lists, Dylan Bundy was the Baltimore pitcher who received the most buzz, by far. Bundy was rated as the game's No. 2 overall prospect by both Baseball America and MLB.com, behind only Jurickson Profar, and No. 4 by Baseball Prospectus. He's a huge talent, no doubt. Bundy has yet to throw a pitch this season, however, as he's been sidelined with elbow discomfort. He received a platelet rich plasma injection in late-April and he'll be shelved until June. He won't help fantasy owners anytime soon. But the O's have another young right-hander in the system, well-regarded by scouts, putting up impressive numbers in the high minors. Kevin Gausman entered the season not far behind Bundy in the prospect ranks â No. 26 at BA, 36 at MLB, 13 at BP â and he's off to a terrific start at Double-A Bowie. He was brilliant in his most recent start at Trenton on Friday, pitching 6.0 innings, allowing four hits and one run, recording 10 Ks. For the season, the 22-year-old has a WHIP of 1.06, an ERA of 3.11, and he's whiffed 49 batters in 46.1 innings while issuing only five walks. Over Gausman's last five starts, his ratios are obscene: 1.78 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 9.20 K/9, 6.20 K/BB. Interested? If you're involved in a moderately deep league, you should be. Gausman features a high-90s fastball, a slider, and a change that earns glowing reviews. He was the No. 4 pick in the 2012 MLB Draft out of LSU, and it wouldn't be much of a surprise if he made a splash in the second-half with the O's. Just check the tape... There's a lot to like here. Gausman is more than your standard-issue hard-thrower. In the clip above, note the Wiffle-quality movement of the off-speed stuff. We have no reason to believe a Gausman call-up is imminent, but the O's apparently won't require a stop at Triple-A before he joins the big league club. This from the Baltimore Sun: âWhat did we do with Manny Machado last year?â [Dan] Duquette said, re Farm Report: O’s prospect Kevin Gausman building case for call-up [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: May 21, 2013, 10:17 am] Back in the off-season, when everyone published their 2013 prospect lists, Dylan Bundy was the Baltimore pitcher who received the most buzz, by far. Bundy was rated as the game's No. 2 overall prospect by both Baseball America and MLB.com, behind only Jurickson Profar, and No. 4 by Baseball Prospectus. He's a huge talent, no doubt. Bundy has yet to throw a pitch this season, however, as he's been sidelined with elbow discomfort. He received a platelet rich plasma injection in late-April and he'll be shelved until June. He won't help fantasy owners anytime soon. But the O's have another young right-hander in the system, well-regarded by scouts, putting up impressive numbers in the high minors. Kevin Gausman entered the season not far behind Bundy in the prospect ranks â No. 26 at BA, 36 at MLB, 13 at BP â and he's off to a terrific start at Double-A Bowie. He was brilliant in his most recent start at Trenton on Friday, pitching 6.0 innings, allowing four hits and one run, recording 10 Ks. For the season, the 22-year-old has a WHIP of 1.06, an ERA of 3.11, and he's whiffed 49 batters in 46.1 innings while issuing only five walks. Over Gausman's last five starts, his ratios are obscene: 1.78 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 9.20 K/9, 6.20 K/BB. Interested? If you're involved in a moderately deep league, you should be. Gausman features a high-90s fastball, a slider, and a change that earns glowing reviews. He was the No. 4 pick in the 2012 MLB Draft out of LSU, and it wouldn't be much of a surprise if he made a splash in the second-half with the O's. Just check the tape... There's a lot to like here. Gausman is more than your standard-issue hard-thrower. In the clip above, note the Wiffle-quality movement of the off-speed stuff. We have no reason to believe a Gausman call-up is imminent, but the O's apparently won't require a stop at Triple-A before he joins the big league club. This from the Baltimore Sun: âWhat did we do with Manny Machado last year?â [Dan] Duquette said, re Closing Time: Jim Johnson blows another; Patrick Corbin laughs at gravity [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: May 21, 2013, 6:59 am] Into the middle of May, Jim Johnson was untouchable, on a streak of 35 consecutive saves. Fast forward a week and he's a struggling closer looking for a break. That's life in the ninth inning. It's time for an audit in Baltimore. Johnson suffered a couple of blown saves last week, mostly death by a thousand cuts (with one homer mixed in). His squandered opportunity from Monday came on one pitch, a plate-centered fastball that Travis Hafner deposited into the Oriole Park seats in left-center field. Baltimore eventually lost the game in ten innings, its sixth straight defeat. "We will figure it out," Johnson told the team's official site. "I'll figure it out. There's no other option." Orioles manager Buck Showalter quickly gave Johnson a vote of confidence after Monday's loss. "Come back tomorrow and watch it again, he was one pitch away," Showalter said to Orioles.com. "Jimmy's a very consistent human being. Professional and a great teammate. We didn't do enough to win tonight. ... It's frustrating for him, but he wasn't the only one who could come out of this game a little frustrated." Johnson's velocity was fine against the Yanks and he opened the appearance strongly, throwing two fastballs past Robinson Cano. Eventually Cano was retired on a harmless ground out, but Johnson fell behind Hafner 3-1 before the game-altering homer. Johnson narrowly missed on the preceding pitch; inconsistent command has been his biggest issue during this slump. If you feel the need to hedge against Johnson, Darren O'Day seems like a good place to start. O'Day has been a primary bridge to Johnson this year and carries a 1.74 ERA and 1.16 WHIP over 20.2 innings (nine walks, 22 strikeouts). The submariner is more effective against right-handed batters, but it's not like the platoon advantage crushes him (.242/.299/.413 for his career). The boys over at Delta House love him. A couple of recycled starters, righty Tommy Hunter (1.54/0.81) and lefty Brian Matusz (2.65/0.65), are also throwi Where does Ubaldo Jimenez go from here? [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: May 20, 2013, 5:16 pm] In the middle of April I spent a decent chunk of one Closing Time documenting why Ubaldo Jimenez was a waste of fantasy space. This didn't sit too well with many of the readers, who openly wondered why it was worth discussing in the first place. Ultimately, I accepted you were right. We moved the Jimenez file to the storage area and everyone moved on. And now, shockingly enough, we have to discuss Jimenez again. That's what you get with this enigma. Just when we thought we were out, we get pulled back in. Jimenez has been terrific over his last four starts, collecting three wins and posting a snappy 1.90 ERA. He's walked just eight batters over 23.2 innings and he's struck out 29. There's been a little batted-ball fortune here (.259), but nothing crazy. It's been a moderate slate of opponents: two favorable ones (Royals, Mariners) and two difficult ones (Tigers, Mariners). Jimenez outpitched Justin Verlander in the Motown turn. Here's some zesty Jimenez video from the win over Seattle. Okay, Ubaldo, where's this coming from? We know it's not velocity related; his readouts haven't changed much from April to May. Here's what he said to Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer on Saturday (Hoynes with the Q, Jimenez with the A): Q: What are you doing this year that you were unable to do last year? A: I've been repeating my delivery with every pitch. Last year when I threw one pitch, I couldn't do the same thing on the next one. That's why I couldn't throw a strike. I couldn't be around the strike zone. I couldn't execute my pitches. Q: Is there one thing that you corrected in your delivery that's made the biggest difference? A: I can't say there's only one thing. I had way too many things to improve. My mechanics were all over the place. I was wide open too much, I was leaning too much to the back, my arm was showing too much. But I got it together. Q: What's the biggest difference between this year and last year? A: This year I go to the mound and just think about ge Late Night Fantasy Chat: 10:15 pm [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: May 19, 2013, 5:02 pm] It's the middle of May and we've got plenty to talk about. Jurickson Profar's promotion. Doug Fister's college days. Derek Holland's OPS. As usual, we'll do it in chat fashion. I'll provide the polls, you provide the beverages, everyone bring something silly. In Michael Scott's lingo, this is a win-win-win. Headed for a magazine mock, so you're on your own for a while. Re-convene at 10:15 pm ET. <a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=506f33969f" mce_href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=506f33969f" >Late Night Fantasy Chat</a> Fantasy alert: Jurickson Profar in Arlington; add wherever you can [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: May 19, 2013, 1:33 pm] On Sunday afternoon, Buster Olney broke the news that Rangers prospect Jurickson Profar â rated by many as baseball's top prospect â had arrived in Arlington. This is an actionable fantasy event, you guys. Add Profar where you can, then return here for additional details. GO. MAKE THE ADD. SHOO. Profar is presumably in town as a replacement for the injured Ian Kinsler (ribs), who's being evaluated for a possible trip to the DL. While Profar didn't race out to a huge start at Round Rock this season â he hit just .231/.355/.410 in April â he's been on a tear lately. He's hitting .415 over his last 10 games, he homered twice on Saturday, and he's raised his slash to .278/.370/.438. Not bad for a 20-year-old at Triple-A. He's swiped six bags in seven attempts so far this year, too, and he's walked nearly as often as he's struck out (21 BB, 24 Ks). Yes, we all understand that it's the PCL and he's a kid, plus he'll have no guaranteed spot in the Texas lineup when Kinsler returns (probably soon). There are issues here, no doubt. We can make no guarantees with Profar. Everyone understands that 20-year-olds sometimes fail. Blah-blah-temper-expectations-blah-blah-losing-advice-blah. (There, satisfied with the caveats? Great.) Still, Profar is a flier worth taking, based purely on talent and ceiling. In a few years, if Profar reaches his potential, you'll be drafting him in the first half of the first round. Take a shot today. He's available in 84 percent of Yahoo! leagues as of this writing, so most of you can buy the lottery ticket. Fantasy alert: Jurickson Profar gets the call as Ian Kinsler hits the DL [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: May 19, 2013, 1:33 pm] On Sunday afternoon, Buster Olney broke the news that Rangers prospect Jurickson Profar â rated by many as baseball's top prospect â had arrived in Arlington. Profar has since been promoted to the big league roster, with Ian Kinsler (ribs) hitting the 15-day disabled list. This is an actionable fantasy event, you guys. Add Profar where you can, then return here for additional details. GO. MAKE THE ADD. SHOO. Profar didn't race out to a huge start at Round Rock this season â he hit just .231/.355/.410 in April â but he's been on a tear lately. He's hitting .415 over his last 10 games, he homered twice on Saturday, and he's raised his slash to .278/.370/.438. Not bad for a 20-year-old at Triple-A. He's swiped six bags in seven attempts so far this year, too, and he's walked nearly as often as he's struck out (21 BB, 24 Ks). Yes, we all understand that Profar is just a kid, and it's only the PCL. Plus he'll have no guaranteed spot in the Texas lineup when Kinsler returns (probably soon). There are issues here, no doubt. We can make no guarantees with Profar. Everyone should understand that 20-year-olds sometimes fail. Blah-blah-temper-expectations-blah-blah-losing-advice-blah. (There, satisfied with the caveats? Great.) Still, Profar is a flier worth taking, based purely on talent and ceiling. In a few years, if Profar reaches his potential, you'll be drafting him in the first half of the first round. Take a shot today. He's available in 84 percent of Yahoo! leagues as of this writing, so most of you can buy the lottery ticket. First Down: Sizing up Stafford, Gronk’s soap opera and ‘Felony and Ivory’ [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: May 19, 2013, 8:09 am] In every corner of the sports universe hard-to-explain anomalies push the boundaries of flukiness, crazy events that leave eyewitnesses with jaws dropped. Fantasy football is no exception. From Jerome Harrisonâs trampling of Kansas City Week 14 2009 to Billy Volekâs unforgettable two-game stretch with the Titans in 2004 to an entire offseason week where neither Kenny Britt or Titus Young are incarcerated, unforeseen occurrences happen all the time, changing previously conceived notions about a particular player or team. Take Detroitâs Matthew Stafford. Last year, the former No. 1 pick was the definition of 'gunslinger.' Blessed with the game's finest target (Calvin Johnson), immersed in a pass-first offense and placed in numerous come-from-behind situations, the passer shattered Drew Bledsoe's single-season attempts record, firing an unreal 727 passes. Strangely, despite the high pitch-count, he found the end-zone a mere 20 times, the lowest number for a quarterback with at least 640 attempts in NFL history. Head-scratching. Inefficiency partially explains Staffordâs stunning underachievement. At times, he resembled Tim Tebow, overthrowing open receivers on simple 15-yard slants. Overall, he shaved nearly 3.7 points off his completion percentage from 2011 (63.5 to 59.8), a sophomore slump two years late. His red-zone production was equally underwhelming, evidenced in his three percentage point decline from the previous year (50.0 to 47.0). But Stafford isnât entirely to blame. During his bizarre voyage, several uncontrollable events also denoted why his TD total lagged. On numerous occasions an invisible sinkhole swallowed Johnson whole near the goal-line. At least a handful of times, Megatron was stopped inside the five, maddening outcomes which padded the stats of Mikel Leshoure and not Stafford. Due to the dip in production â his 22.8 points per game mark ranked 10th among QBs â those whoâve accepted last yearâs stats as the gospel view Staffor Closing Time: Eric Chavez turns back the clock; Adam LaRoche springs forward [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: May 18, 2013, 9:31 am] It's a casual Friday. All bullets, all the time. ⢠The Arizona at Miami game got out of hand quickly, as the Snakes posted six runs in the first three innings and turned the game into a rout. Paul Goldschmidt clocked a couple of homers, because that's what Goldschmidts do, and I'd like to burn every nice thing I said about Kevin Slowey this spring. But let's try to find an actionable item here. Say hello to Arizona's cleanup man, Eric Chavez. The veteran lefty swinger filled the box score nicely, with three singles and a homer over five trips. Chavez knocked in two runs and is slashing .337/.398/.584 on the year. He's still a useful player at age 35, worthy of a fantasy audit. A decade ago, the Chavez story was much different. He was one of the superstars on the Oakland juggernaut of the early 2000s, one of the players Moneyball more or less ignored so we could all learn to appreciate Scott Hatteberg. Chavez offered a nifty mix of power and patience, and he also bagged six Gold Gloves in a row. Durability wasn't an issue back then, as Chavez logged 151 games or more in five of six seasons. Alas, the wave broke in Chavez's late 20s, when his body began to betray him. He missed a month of time in 2006 and things got progressively worse; from 2007-2010, he never played in more than 90 games. A career on a possible Hall of Fame trajectory quickly spiraled out of control. Mixed leaguers probably didn't pay a lot of attention to Chavez's stealth comeback in 2012, when he homered 16 times in 278 at-bats for the Yankees. It was a speciality role all the way, as Chavez rarely played against left-handed pitching. That's more or less the playbook the Diamondbacks are using this year; Chavez only has 10 at-bats against lefties, and he probably wouldn't be on the field if not for the Aaron Hill injury and the trickle-down roster effect. I'm streaming Chavez in a few medium and deep mixers these days, appreciating the production and his eligibility at both corners. Hill is unl Maddon: ‘I’m not running away from Fernando. We’ll get him right’ [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: May 17, 2013, 10:58 am] So Fernando Rodney was not exactly at his best against the Red Sox on Thursday night. Asked to protect a two-run ninth-inning lead, Rodney immediately issued a pair of free passes. Nine of the first 11 pitches he threw were non-strikes. He eventually loaded the bases via walk, then gave up a two-out, three-run double to Will Middlebrooks. And then he walked Jarrod Saltalamacchia, just to prove the first three BBs weren't flukes. Rodney's final fantasy line was a big steaming mess... Yup, you're reading those ratios correctly: 40.50, 7.50. Some of us are hurting today. Thursday's blown save was Rodney's third of the season in just 10 chances. In his 15.1 innings so far, he's already issued as many walks (15) as he did in 76 appearances last year. Velocity isn't a problem for Fernando â he hit 100 on the gun against Boston â but location certainly is. For now, however, his role seems safe. Here are a few of manager Joe Maddon's post-game comments, via the Tampa Bay Times: "I don't have any solid answers," Maddon said. "We've discussed different things with him, trying to get him to replicate what he had been doing last year more closely, and I think he has. I thought we had worked through it and all of a sudden this bit us tonight. "I'm not really concerned yet. I'm not running away from Fernando. We'll get him right." Rodney had indeed converted his three prior save opportunities, with flair: 3.0 IP, 0 H, 2 BB, 7 Ks. He threw 35 pitches in Thursday's loss, we should note, so it's possible we could see a rogue save for Joel Peralta on Friday. If you're speculating on potential replacements, Peralta is the priority add â he's had the eighth inning role, and he's been lights-out (1.96 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 20 Ks, 18.1 IP). We'll get through this difficult hour together, Fernando owners. Stay strong. *fires imaginary arrow* Freak Show Friday: Rebooting the mission at 8 PM ET, 5 PM PT [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: May 17, 2013, 8:29 am] Over the course of roughly 45 days, it's stunning how different the fantasy landscape appears. Alleged franchise cornerstones Matt Kemp, Albert Pujols, Josh Hamilton and R.A. Dickey, once thought to be indispensable, have underachieved. Meanwhile, afterthoughts Manny Machado, Starling Marte, Jean Segura and Shelby Miller, who were nothing more than late-round Hail Marys, are keeping many in contention. On this week's insightful program, Brad Evans and Brandon Funston are redrafting the season, fearlessly forecasting what slow/hot starts in Fantasyland will continue. Also on this week's program, we'll chat bloodied Bryce Harper, Vernon Wells' sudden versatility, the Dodgers bullpen and fantasy football mock trends. Pushing the panic button? Don't fret. Here's how YOU can join the circus: Call: 800.777.2907 Tweet: @YFreakShow Watch the ball. Track it down. But don't slam into the fence. The FREAKS are about to take the air: LISTEN LIVE TO THE FANTASY FREAK SHOW HERE The Fantasy Freak Show Podcast: Gronk talk, gaga for Goldy and selling Zim [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: May 17, 2013, 8:29 am] Over the course of roughly 45 days, it's stunning how different the fantasy landscape appears. Alleged franchise cornerstones Matt Kemp, Albert Pujols, Josh Hamilton and R.A. Dickey, once thought to be indispensable, have underachieved. Meanwhile, afterthoughts Manny Machado, Starling Marte, Jean Segura and Shelby Miller, who were nothing more than late-round Hail Marys, are keeping many in contention. On this week's insightful program, Brad Evans and Brandon Funston redrafted the season, fearlessly forecasting what slow/hot starts in Fantasyland will continue. Also on this week's program, we chatted bloodied Bryce Harper, Vernon Wells' sudden versatility, the Dodgers bullpen and fantasy football mock trends. Too busy exercising your liver? No problem. Listen to the replays below: LISTEN TO HOUR 1 (MLB/NFL) LISTEN TO HOUR 2 (MLB) Closing Time: Cishek struggles, Murphy ablaze, Moreland still raking [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: May 16, 2013, 11:56 pm] So Thursday's slate played out pretty much the way we all expected. Aroldis Chapman blew a save against the Marlins, Justin Verlander gave up eight runs and couldn't escape the third, and, of course, Francisco Liriano struck out seven batters in an easy win. Baseball, you guys. Almost too predictable. Why they even play the games, I don't really know. We're heading straight to the bullets, because nothing makes sense just now... ⢠Stay ready, Mike Dunn. Steve Cishek took an extra-inning loss on Thursday (following the Chapman blown save), giving up three hits, two walks and three runs to the Reds. He struck out no one, raising his ERA to 5.40 and his WHIP to 1.44. Most of the damage was inflicted in his second inning of work, so he has a valid excuse. Cishek hasn't actually been terrible in recent appearances, so he'll probably retain his job. Probably. But Mike Dunn should stay ready, just in case. ⢠Here's a 458-foot Travis Snider homer, hit clean out of PNC and into the water. Please enjoy. Snider went 3-for-5 against Milwaukee, driving in three runs and swiping a bag. I'm starting Snider in an NL-only league, but I won't give a hard sell to mixed gamers quite yet. Just know that he's out there, hitting competently. ⢠We had a glitch-in-the-matrix moment in St. Louis, when Daniel Murphy's sixth-inning double somehow traveled through the right field wall. Yup, through the wall, not over it. Check the highlight right here. Not quite your standard-issue ground-rule double. Murphy is blisteringly hot right now, we should note. He went 4-for-4 on Thursday afternoon, and he's 11-for-20 over his last five games. Murphy is owned in just 47 percent of Yahoo! leagues, eligible at multiple positions (1B-2B). AND HE CAN HIT BALLS THROUGH WALLS. How can you leave a guy like that unowned? You can't. Ike Davis went 0-for-5 with four Ks from the clean-up spot, by the way, lowering his season average to .157. He's now hitless in his last 22 at-bats. Manager Terry Collins h Shuffle Up: Manny Machado, ahead of schedule [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: May 16, 2013, 7:42 pm] Here are your Shuffle Up corners for the month of May. Dig into them, think about them, disagree with them. I'll be back with commentary later tonight. Normal rules apply, of course. We're trying to project 5x5 value to come; what's happened to this point is an audition, not a mandate. Players at the same price are considered even. Don't worry about the prices in a vacuum - what matters is how the players relate to one another. Your intelligent and respectful disagreement is always welcome. Please remember the golden rule of shuffling: a player doesn't gain (or lose) 15-20 percent of value simply because he's on your roster. Courtesy injury ranks are at the bottom. I won't debate those (I'm generally not as shiny, happy and optimistic about injury comebacks) but everything else is in play. Make the jump, have a look around. $34 Miguel Cabrera $31 Prince Fielder $30 Joey Votto $30 Evan Longoria $28 David Wright $28 Paul Goldschmidt $27 Adrian Beltre $27 Edwin Encarnacion $26 Albert Pujols $23 Anthony Rizzo $22 Chris Davis $21 Allen Craig $21 Billy Butler $21 Mark Trumbo $20 Manny Machado $19 Pablo Sandoval $19 Ryan Zimmerman $19 Freddie Freeman $19 Chase Headley $19 David Ortiz $18 Aramis Ramirez $17 Adrian Gonzalez $17 Martin Prado $16 Mark Reynolds $14 Kyle Seager $14 Nick Swisher $14 Matt Carpenter $14 Justin Morneau $14 Lance Berkman $13 Todd Frazier $12 Josh Donaldson $12 Garrett Jones $12 Mitch Moreland $11 Ryan Howard $11 Paul Konerko $11 Michael Young $11 Eric Hosmer $11 Adam LaRoche $11 Brandon Moss $11 Nolan Arenado $11 Kendrys Morales $9 Brett Lawrie $9 Marco Scutaro $9 Pedro Alvarez $9 James Loney $9 Brandon Belt $9 Chris Johnson $9 Jedd Gyorko $8 Adam Dunn $8 Daniel Murphy $8 Chris Carter $8 Yonder Alonso $7 Will Middlebrooks $7 Mike Moustakas $7 Ike Davis $7 Trevor Plouffe $5 Yuniesky Betancourt $4 David Freese $4 Dustin Ackley $4 Adam Lind $4 Eric Chavez $3 Juan Francisco $3 Carlos Pena $3 Gaby Sanchez $2 Marwin Gonzalez $2 Matt Adams $2 Lyle Ov Closing Time: The music stops for Ryan Vogelsong [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: May 16, 2013, 9:13 am] For all the jagged numbers tied to Ryan Vogelsong this season, the number that surprises me most is 45 - his percent ownership in the Yahoo! game. I'm all for patience to a point, but eventually we hit a spot where it's time to accept a crummy start is probably a crummy season. I'm at that conclusion with Vogelsong now. The batting practice tour landed in the YYZ for Wednesday's play and it was a mess from the start. Vogelsong went just two innings, allowing six hits and eight runs over 80 pitches. Two balls left the park. The Giants defense sabotaged Vogelsong, mind you, committing a couple of first-inning errors, but there was no positive spin from this outing. Vogelsong's ERA is 8.06 for the year, his WHIP 1.84. Before we look at the secondary numbers, remember one inescapable fact: outlier stats always come with outlier peripherals. Any pitcher with a glittering ERA is going to look like the lottery winner in the under-the-hood areas, and the opposite applies when someone is struggling. Of course Vogelsong's BABIP is inflated (.369), and of course his HR/FB rate is crazy high (21.6 percent). That said, the hit rate isn't all flares and bloops - batters have a zesty 25 percent line drive rate against Vogelsong. And his swinging strike rate has fallen to 6.4 percent. If you want to view home runs as a random fly-ball lottery, you might take heart in Vogelsong's xFIP being a less-penal 4.41. For my money, this is a good reason to pick another ERA estimator. The straight version of FIP spits out a 6.09 number, while tERA suggests 6.59. I'm not looking for a reason to excuse meatball artists getting crushed for mistakes and hittable pitches. Vogelsong's fastball is also lagging in 2013, checking in at 89.6 mph (a notable drop from his 90.8 last year and 91.4 in 2011). For a finesse pitcher who needs to be precise with location, any velocity dip has to be taken seriously. And keep in mind Vogelsong turns 36 in July. The Giants are talking about skipping Vogelsong in |