with Chris from Atlanta

League 17

Week #4

Home! I feel like Jayson Werth as he was digging down deep for that extra burst of energy to reach home on his inside the parker earlier this week. Until last night, I spent eight of the past nine nights away; driven 1,750 miles across five states in ten days; and, stayed in five different Hampton Inns. I’m running on empty. That would be excuse enough to phone the article in this week. But I’m going to man-up and knock this one out. So, crack open the lid of your favorite frosty beverage and enjoy! I’m knocking back a Smithwick’s.

Corpas out, Fuentes in

Manny Corpas is the first closer to lose his job due to a managerial decision and not an injury (some would argue that Borowski was the first). When you blow three out of your last four save opportunities, the decision becomes an easy one to make. Replacing Corpas is Brian Fuentes, who I think should have been the closer from day one of the 2008 season.

Fuentes was the closer from 2005 through July of 2007, when he strained his left lat. In fact, Fuentes was an All-Star in those same three years and would have played in the 2007 All Star game if he hadn’t gotten injured. You are not supposed to lose your job because of an injury.

Hopefully, you were smart and picked up Fuentes in your draft or early in the season. If you own Corpas and didn’t back him up with Fuentes, shame on you. You are in a bad position now. It is going to take a significant chain of events for Corpas to get the job back. Corpas owners may want to start looking to trade for a closer.

Tigers open can of ‘whoop-ass’ on Rangers

The once struggling Tigers appear to have shaken off the rust and are now ready to put up the numbers everyone thought they would. Detroit sat at 7-13 when Texas came to town on Tuesday. The Tigers swept the three game series and outscored Texas 37-10. Even better news was that Curtis Granderson returned to the lineup and went 3 for 8 with 4 runs, 3 RBIs, and his first HR. If Detroit’s pitching can come around, the AL Central could be theirs for the taking.

Tigers to switch Guillen and Cabrera

The other big news to come out of Motown was that Carlos Guillen and Miguel Cabrera will be switching positions. Guillen will be moving to third while Cabrera will take over at first. This is huge for Guillen, as once he hits the GP minimum for your league, he will have eligibility at three positions. Next year, he will lose the SS eligibility.

Moving Cabrera to first doesn’t really help you out that much. You should already have a solid option at first. If you have someone weak at CI, you could slide your current 1B to CI and put Cabrera at 1B. This would create an opening at 3B, which is very deep this year. It all depends on whether the CI you would be benching is better or worse than whomever you would put in at third.

Is Nix nixed?

All signs point to Clint Barmes taking over at second for the Rockies. He has started seven of the last eight games for Colorado. He’s batting .333 with 2 HRs and 9 RBIs. Barmes was a strong shortstop prospect in the Rockies system and had been blocked by Troy Tulowitzki. Nix is only hitting .128 with 0 HRs and 2 RBIs. If you need some help at MI, I would suggest picking up Barmes. He is also a good Monday/Thursday option.

Big Hurt returns to Oakland

Last week I mentioned that Frank Thomas shouldn’t stay unemployed for long, and I was right. In 2006, he hit 39 HRs and knocked in 114 RBIs for Oakland, while batting .270 in 466 at bats. I doubt he reaches those numbers again, but 25-30 HRs and 85-90 RBIs isn’t out of the question. Of course, you will have to put up with his abysmal batting average.

The odd man out might be Mike Sweeney. Oakland manager, Bob Geren, has named Thomas the everyday DH, with Sweeney backing up Daric Barton at first and DH’ing occasionally. This will surely cut back on Sweeney’s at bats. Drop Sweeny if you had him on your roster, and pick up Thomas.

Red Sox outfield getting interesting

Coco Crisp missed a few games this week with a sore hamstring, so the spotlight fell on Jacoby Ellsbury. Ellsbury responded by going .379 (11 for 29) with 2 HRs, 4 RBIs, 4 SBs, and 11 runs in seven games. Crisp went 2 for 4 with 2 SBs when he returned to the lineup on Thursday. The stolen bases seem to indicate that the hamstring is not bothering Crisp anymore. As long as J.D. Drew is a Red Sox, there will always be chances for both Ellsbury and Crisp to be in the lineup.

There has also been talk about trading Crisp, but with Bobby Kielty out 4-6 weeks with a hand injury, Boston may not want to trade Crisp. This is a tough situation if you have Ellsbury or Crisp. Crisp was getting most of the playing time before his hamstring injury. Will that continue after Ellsbury’s impressive week? We will have to wait and see.