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Congratulations to the newest members of the Baseball Hall of Fame, Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, Frank Thomas, Tony LaRussa, Joe Torre, and Bobby Cox. With that in mind, check out this story on some of the more ridiculous games in Greg Maddux's career.
Jon Lester: The New Hot Commodity?
With his impending free agency and an organization looking at selling even more pieces at the deadline, the rumor mill is now pushing out potential landing spots for free agent-to-be Jon Lester. One of the more unique rumors to come out yesterday involved another high-priced player in Matt Kemp, as a potential trade was being discussed involving the both of them. Who knows how much money the Dodgers would have to send back to the Sox with Kemp in a trade like that, but if this comes to pass in some shape or form, it opens up all sorts of potential fantasy options including playing time potentially for Joc Pederson. We'll see where Lester is come Thursday night, but right now it really could be anyone's guess.
The Resurgence of Carlos Santana
Apparently playing Kansas City does Carlos Santana well. During the three game series, he hit five home runs total after adding two more on Sunday, and is now up to 20 on the season. He appears to have finally righted himself, hitting .308 with 6 home runs in June and is at .289 with another six in July. It's possible at this point that Santana could reach 30 home runs, which would be a new career high. Don't let the overall numbers fool you, he's hitting like a top 5 option at catcher and has been for a couple months now.
The Ongoing Drama Within Houston
Honestly, I don't know what to make of the drama that continues to come out of Houston.
Appel's fast track causing Astros' clubhouse uproar http://t.co/duFsVFH2qH
— Jose de Jesus Ortiz (@OrtizKicks) July 27, 2014
The team had Appel throw a bullpen session on his way to his promotion to AA Corpus Christi, and had him do so at the stadium? I'm not entirely sure what the players are hoping for here. He's pitched very poorly this year, and I get the issue with how a poor performer being promoted instead of other players who have performed well looks. To be honest, I'm amazed at this point that these players have reached a point where they are sniping at the front office in this manner so blatantly. I'm not entirely sure what happens in Houston, whether Jeff Luhnow gets to keep his job after the season, but it's becoming abundantly clear that the environment there overall is getting pretty toxic, and he may not survive all these ongoing crises.
Howard Homers, Changes No Opinions
Amid rumors that Ryan Howard might be platooned going forward, he connected for his 16th home run of the season on Sunday against Arizona. However, at this point, he's also not showing a platoon split really, hitting for more power against righties but still a poor average. I don't know what the Phillies do at this point, but he's no longer a particularly valid fantasy option except in deep formats.
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