Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.There's an awful, awful fantasy baseball stigma that's attached to players who struggle in April and May. See: Papi, Big. Although his is much worse because he's a bulky DH declining swiftly; additionally, he's not a pitcher with the potential to be labeled "inconsistent" or "a slow starter."
Like, say, you know, CC Sabathia. Or Cole Hamels. Or Dontrelle Willis. Okay, scratch that last one -- he's just kind of
Willis was probably the biggest surprise. He was a two-start pitcher this week, but one you were unlikely to start because of all his struggles. If you did, he rewarded you with 100 pitches over 6 1/3 innings, 5 K's and no earned. Not. Too. Shabby.
Speaking of which, Hamels finally looked sharp again, picking up his second win of the season as the Phillies knocked off the Reds, 4-3. Hamels went six and allowed three, but he struck out seven. He'll come back around, I promise, and he's still a good trade target, too.
And then there was the suddenly white-hot-kind-of-early Sabathia, who won in his third straight start, holding the O's to three hits over seven innings (one run) while fanning seven as well.
To sum up: this is why you don't panic early. Oh, and on Dontrelle, I'm not drinking that Kool-Aid even if he did pitch against the mighty Rangers lineup. They're free-swinging enough to warrant a tough night against a pitcher most of them haven't ever seen who happens to have a really funky delivery.
If you can get someone to purchase high on him, I say you make a play. But he's certainly worth holding on to if no one's interested, at least for the perceived name value and his potential to pitch like he did Tuesday night.
Bits From the Box Scores
• Not to repeat Snyder from the last edition, but there's another reason why Sabathia is having an easy time picking up wins in the Bronx: my preseason MVP choice, Mark Teixeira, is destroying the ball, and hit another homer (11 now) Tuesday night. Not hurting him? Alex Rodriguez's return and subsequent destructive stretch as well. It's funny, too, because A-Rod now looks like a pretty ridiculous value pick in most leagues already, and he might actually end up being a low-priced keeper for some people.
• As my good friend Enrico noted on Twitter Tuesday night, Jimmy Rollins fought back from a tough count and laced a big double for the Phils in their aforementioned win over the Reds. He's starting to creep towards respectability, so if you have any interest in trading for him, now would be a pretty good time.
• Jay Bruce has 12 home runs. That is all.
• Of course, Colby Rasmus hit his fourth tater of the year. If he's not owned in a keeper league of yours, I would ask you, "Why the *%$^ not?" And then I would tell you to pick him up. It's not like he's destroying the ball, but he seems to -- for such a highly-touted guy with an awesome name -- been somewhat forgotten with the heavy influx of prospects in the bigs right now.
• Some people refer to Tim Wakefield as a "borderline starter" which is fine, I guess, except the guy is just a freaking fantasy anchor; he picks up wins, he posts a respectable ERA and he never destroys you. Just highly underrated.
• Barry Zito lost Tuesday night. Not a huge shock, really, but he did throw up the always annoying CGL (complete game loss) while running his record to 1-4. I'm not going to say that there's any excuse to use Barry Zito, but, well, he's been, um, respectable this year. Heath Bell, meanwhile, would be a fantasy behemoth if he played on a decent team.
• People earning saves from Tuesday night: Jonathan Papelbon (11), Brad Lidge (8), Chad Qualls (9), Trevor Hoffman (10). I don't need to tell you where those guys got drafted or point out how much it would have cost you in auction money to get the first two vs. the latter two, right? You see why targeting saves is worthless, right? K. Just checking. Thx.
The Afflicted: I don't feel like being negative, so I'm just going to point out that Chris Carpenter is starting Wednesday night. I don't care for the Cardinals, particularly, but it's kind of nice to see a guy with his story and his injury history return to the mound (again) and pitch well. Plus, I like it when the Cubs aren't the best team in their division. Oh, what the hell -- I'll be negative too. Orlando Hudson is day-to-day with a shoulder bruise. Yes, the Dodgers seem locked for some bad karma. Or something.
Lineup Lock Time: It looked like 7pm might be a nice time slot for Brinson to fire out a (very) late Roto Rush. But NO, some jerkstores had to play an early game -- first pitch is at 5:10 PM ET, Arizona vs. Florida. (I'd say "boo" but there's nothing wrong with more baseball.)
Wednesday's Ace in the Hole: Jonathan Sanchez. Holy gulp of terror, Batman. There's nothing to suggest that Sanchez will be good here -- he's been awful all season and his road splits are worse than his home splits (go figure, right?). But he'll be in Petco and he's actually -- WHIP aside -- been decent against the Padres for his career. I'm banking on a quality start with seven K's.
