To quote Don Draper of Mad Men, “What is happiness? It’s a moment before you need more happiness.” With the first week of fantasy baseball underway, I’m certain that across the board there are many panic-ready owners looking to shop they’re whole squad. Keep in mind that the season is a long race rather than a sprint. Sit tight on this, whether your team is off to a hot start or a slow one. One bad start from CC Sabathia or Cole Hamels shouldn’t justify moving them for pennies on the dollar. Guys like this are still and should be the cornerstone of many fantasy pitching staffs. That being said, CC Sabathia is known for typical slow starts. You add in a tune-up elbow procedure and decreased velocity of 88-90 mph on his stuff and you have a college baseball team salavating, let along the Boston Red Sox. History tells us that CC Sabathia is very vulnerable in the early part of the season. In 55 April/May starts, he has surrendered a 4.13 ERA in comparison to a 2.86 ERA in the September/October months.
In other news …
Yu Darvish – It’s possible that his name was Americanized from Yutes to Yu on the way over. It’s also possible that he embarrassed a Houston Astros lineup last night going nearly perfecto. Yu notched 14 K’s, 0 BB and 1 Hit allowed.
Dylan Bundy – An MRI on his right elbow has shown no structural damage and he will be shut down from throwing for the next 4 days. He should be fine and climb the ladder, arriving in Baltimore by mid-season. He’ll be kicking ass and taking name in no time.
Elvis Andrus/Jurickson Profar/Ian Kinsler – The Rangers have locked up Andrus for the next 6 years at minimum, and possibly as long as 11 years. Holy Smokes! Look for Andrus to remain at SS, Kinsler to slide to 1B and when the time comes, Profar will take over 2B – this will probably be a mid-season story in the making.
Hyun-Jin Ryu – RYU-KICK – Okay … So I have two videos here to explain what I want from this guy. We all know that asian pitchers only are effective for 2-3 years before they get touched up in a bad way. 1 – I hope this Ryu establishes himself as a real arrogant strikeout Jose Valverde type pitcher and yells Ryu-Kick to the batters he K’s up, and 2 – Does a nice little Valverde/Ryu Kick performance. Watch the videos below and you’ll understand my logic. Ryu gave up 10 Hits and could be a WHIP Killer. Wait for him to settle in before starting.
Matt Weiters – Went 2 for 3 with a bomb, 2 RBI’s and 2 BB. Look for Baltimore to have an awesome year and an offensive explosion from Weiters that has been hyped for many years. No smoke and mirrors here.
Mike Morse – Continued his hot streak which started in Spring Training by hitting 2 Bombs last night. There’s a very real chance that Morse will eclipse the 30 HR mark this season.