Baseball Chatter 04/10

Player Tidbits

    • Yasiel Puig (LAD-OF) had two hits Sunday to bring his average up above .200, it is .205 now. That doesn’t soothe your soul much, I know, but he is hitting the ball harder than any other Dodgers hitter, with an exit velocity averaging 93.6 mph. The whole Dodgers lineup is falling behind in the count, though. They are swinging and missing at the first pitch more than any other team, 65.8 percent of the time.
    • Jakob Junis (KC-SP) is 14 scoreless innings into the season. Monday night wasn’t pretty, he walked two and hit three, count that as five free passes. He still took a no-hitter into the seventh inning.
    • Chris Davis (BAL-OF) broke his bat over his knee yesterday. I hope that helps him get his shit together but he is probably just hurt on top of being crappy.

Closer Carousel

  • Greg Holland (STL-RP) was in no way pitching well in his first appearance as a Cardinal. It’s worse than it sounds too, because after walking his first two batters he allowed a hit to load the bases and then walked in the winning run. That’s right, he blew a four run lead and earned a loss. Only those in head-to-head points leagues can understand the extent of that pain.
  • Astros Manager A.J. Hinch made it clear he has five or six potential closers and could turn to whichever reliever is pitching well at the time to close out games. Ken Giles has given up two runs on six hits through his first four innings to start the season, after he gave up runs in six of seven 2017 postseason games. Just something to keep an eye on.

Injury Inferno

  • Matt Wieters (WAS-C) was activated from the DL this morning
  • Adam Eaton (WAS-OF) was placed on the 10-day disabled list today because of a bone bruise on his ankle. He will be eligible to return April 20 In the meantime, expect to see both Brian Goodwin and Howie Kendrick in the lineup everyday. Goodwin has been batting leadoff.
  • Anthony Rizzo (CHC-1B) will be out for at least 10 days. He says it’s just tightness in his back from sleeping on bad hotel beds. His MRI came back clean. He says he will sleep on the floor? And Rizzo owners can only pray this is the case but in the meantime, expect Ben Zobrist to see extra at-bats in Rizzo’s absence. He is hitting right behind Kris Bryant in the lineup.

Right now Zobrist is swinging as well as anybody on this teamManager Joe Maddon

  • Lorenzo Cain (MIL-OF) has missed the past two days with a strained quad. The Brewers entered the season with too many outfielders anyway. They have a full offensive roster even with Christian Yelich and Cain out. Domingo Santana needs to be marketed to other teams anyway. He is too good to be sitting on the bench when everyone is healthy.
  • Steven Souza Jr. (TB-OF) needed a second MRI, which showed excess fluid around his muscle. He keeps flashing signs of fantasy brilliance, like hitting two home runs in seven at-bats before his injury flared up. He is headed home to deal with a personal matter anyway and is still on track to return April 17
    • Chris Owings is the guy to grab here. He plays right field against left-handed pitchers and also gets time playing second base against righties. Even though Jarrod Dyson is getting in the lineup against right-handed pitchers, he is only batting .150 with one steal through 23 plate appearances. Owings hits in the middle of the lineup while Dyson hits last.
  • Noah Syndergaard (NYM-SP) pitched with blisters Monday night. He says ‘no big deal’ and went six innings with five strikeouts and just one earned run. It’s good to hear that he doesn’t think the blister is an issue, I still say blisters are not cool. And they can last a long time, or get re-injured. Don’t forget, this is the same guy who refused an MRI last year and subsequently missed the season.
  • Wil Myers (SD-OF) was scheduled to return from the disabled list Friday but he will need more recovery time. He has been out since April 2 and has not started throwing. The longer he goes the bigger the chance he will need a rehab assignment. Renfroe has been playing in his absence but he pretty much sucks right now.

Team Stuff

The Orioles made their first ever 1-2-5 double play on Sunday

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