How fast will Royals' SP Brian Bannister disappear from free agent pools after yesterday's gem? He threw seven shut-out innings with no BBs against the powerful Tigers' line-up for the victory. I already own him (and was fortunate to have started him), but I was expecting it to blow-up at any time - the peril of having a SP going against the Tigers. (For those interested in learning why Bannister has become a sabre-fave, read this three-part interveiw he gave to Tim Dierkes at MLB Trade Rumors.)
Brewers' OF Corey Hart stole two bases yesterday. He was drafted with the expectation of 20+ so that felt good to see. I was more interested in C Jason Kendall's swipe. A return to 10 SB is all he would need to make him a "valuable" fantasy catcher.
Who was worried about Red Sox DH Dave Ortiz's 0-11 start? (Besides me who also has Travis Buck's 0-14 to work through.) Have no fear, he went 2-4 with a HR off lefty Alan Embree. I wasn't worried about Ortiz, but Buck's start perturbs - no walks.
In the same game, A's right-hander Rich Harden threw five shut-out innings and struck out six more Red Sox batters. My gut reaction was, "Damn! I should have gone an extra buck," but my rational one was, "Sell high." Which is it?
Astros' closer Jose Valverde had a two-inning save agains the Padres last night. The team plays a day game today. I assume Valverde will not pitch today and that provides fantasy teams with the chance to see who the Astros back-up closer is - assuming also, the Astros have a save opportunity.
The Pirates started C Ryan Doumit and batted him 6th. This was something that new manager John Russell signaled all Spring. Glad to see reading all those Pirates boxscores paid off in usable fantasy intelligence.