You have to love Tuesdays. The Unveiling of Sports Illustrated’s cover, new movies released to DVD, NHL Playoff Action, Major League Baseball Action, and of course-The Full Court Press. Today we take a look at some fantasy baseball news, and try to bring in some recent insight on the upcoming fantasy football season. As Boxing Referee Mills Lane would say, “Let’s get it on!”
Top Stories:
Weeks out for the season- Rickie Weeks, who is a favorite of Ken Macha, will miss the rest of the season after injuring his wrist. The injury is a torn tendon sheath and will require surgery. Their are many options for the Brewers, who will most likely give the first shot at second to Craig Counsell. Though Ken Macha says that he is not ready to be a big leaguer, Alicides Escobar could get a shot at second base if Doug Melvin and company don’t feel anybody via trade or free agents Ray Durham, Mark Grudzielanek or Damion Easley. Melvin has stated that he plans to get Alcides Escobar some work at second base in AAA just in case, but right now isn’t his time. Rob Neyer of ESPN.com seems to believe the Brewers will call up hot hitting second baseman Herman Iribarren:
Herman Iribarren is playing well in the Pacific Coast League — and yes, Nashville is a proud member of the Pacific Coast League — but he’s not a real prospect (or at least he wasn’t considered one two months ago, when neither Baseball America nor John Sickels ranked Iribarren among the Brewers’ top 30 prospects).
I agree with Neyer. Iribarren was not able to stick around last season after being called up at about this time. Neyer goes on to say that this isn’t that big of a deal, especially with the emergence of Mat Gamel, who hit a home run in his first start as a Major Leaguer last night. I think it would be interesting to see Hall move to second base, where he has played in the past. Fantasy wise, this probably means that either Mike Cameron or Craig Counsell will lead things off. That could boost Counsell’s fantasy value tremendously.
Delgado to miss up to ten weeks- Sometimes I really hate this part of the year, because the injuries continue to flow. Losing Delgado for some owners will now give them a lack of hope, but I say don’t worry. Delgado will miss up to ten weeks for the Mets. Here are some options for you:
1). If you still have plenty of power, go after speed. Juan Pierre is only owned in 55% of leagues and he is on fire. There are plenty of other burners out there; Michael Bourn, Willy Tavaras, Denard Span and Emmanuel Burris to name a few.
2.) You can use Delgado’s loss to your advantage by adding a balanced player to replace him. Most likely Delgado was used in your utility spot, so why not add a Ben Zobrist, who can play all over? Zobrist has seven homers and twenty RBIs. He isn’t a speed demon, but he does also have three steals. The bonus is that he can play at SS or OF. Other guys in this category include: James Loney, Paul Konerko, Yunel Escobar, Elijah Dukes, Pablo Sandoval and Mike Cameron.
3.) If you want to replace Delgado straight up for power, you will not find direct power, but you will find some good replacements. Hank Blalock, Todd Helton, Mike Jacobs, Mat Gamel, and Casey Blake.
Dontrelle gets start number two- The Tigers will send Dontrelle Willis to the mound for start number two today. The Tigers have also called up top outfield prospect Wilkin Ramirez, who is hitting well for the Toledo Mud Hens. This is a good sneak peak at the outfielder, but he won’t stick around long. He is just on the roster until Magglio Ordonez comes back after his wife’s surgery. Dontrelle isn’t really a fantasy watch, but if you have MLB.TV watch this game. Willis will get lit up.
Youkilis goes 0-2 in rehab; Papi in the lineup- No, not alcoholic rehab, but in his first rehab assignment he went 0-2 with a walk at AAA Pawtucket. With the struggle of Big Papi, The Youk could surely be used in the three or four hole for the Red Sox. After taking the weekend off, Big Papi will be back in the lineup today against Toronto. I have faith that Papi is coming out of this slump tonight. Brian Tallett isn’t the best starter in the world, so look out Fenway Park, Papi is going deep!
Vlad Guerrero expected to be back Monday- Vladdy will start a rehab assignment starting on Thursday and could be back on Monday with the parent club. He still won’t be able to field, but he could return to the DH role. The Angels need all the offense they can get to catch up to the Rangers in the West.
Football News:
Brett Favre shoulder injury not immanent- Ok, I’m already sick of this story as are you probably. Not much here besides the fact that it isn’t over just yet for Favre. I think another interesting story here is Mike Vick. Vick is scheduled to get out of jail later this week, and many analysts think that he is going to be on a football roster this season. I personally think that he is going to end up in UFL. John Clayton lists some teams that could be interested in Vick:
Here are some unconfirmed — repeat unconfirmed — possibilities.
1. St. Louis Rams: The Rams are set at quarterback with Marc Bulger, but the organization has someone who knows Vick — general manager Billy Devaney. After being in prison the past two years, Vick can’t be expected to come in and be a regular, every-down player. He’s missed too much time and he just hired a trainer to get him ready for a training camp. Kyle Boller was signed to a one-year contract as a backup quarterback. On paper, the Rams aren’t viewed as a playoff contender. Devaney and new coach Steve Spagnuolo are trying to rebuild the talent base. If Devaney gets the approval of ownership, Vick could be an interesting prospect for the future.
2. Seattle Seahawks: Jim Mora was Vick’s head coach in Atlanta during some of Vick’s best days. Mora is on the record as being one of Vick’s biggest supporters and has kept in touch with him during the past couple of years. Selling Vick’s signing to owner Paul Allen might be tough, though. Allen purchased the Seahawks as a community service to keep the franchise in town. The benevolent owner might not be willing to accept the potentially bad publicity that could come from a Vick signing. The Seahawks are set at quarterback with Matt Hasselbeck and Seneca Wallace. But Vick knows he has a friend in Mora.
3. San Francisco 49ers: Despite their initial denials of interest, the 49ers do make football sense for Vick. Their quarterback situation is as uncertain as any in the league. Shaun Hill has the edge over Alex Smith, but both quarterbacks have a lot to prove. Singletary wants to establish a run-dominated offense built around Frank Gore. No quarterback runs the ball as well as Vick. Even if he would just come on the field in specific packages, Vick could augment San Francisco’s ground attack.
4. New England Patriots: This is an example of a great organization with a head coach (Bill Belichick) who is strong enough to take a gamble on talent. If Belichick is interested, he’d first have to convince his owner, Robert Kraft. That might be tough. Kraft cares about the public image of his franchise. It’s also not known if Kraft could accept Vick’s transgressions. But let’s look at it from the football side. The Dolphins are light years ahead of the rest of the league in running the Wildcat offense. They drafted Pat White in the second round to carry the Wildcat to new levels. Because the Patriots must prepare for the Wildcat, why not bring in Vick, the ultimate Wildcat weapon? The Patriots haven’t reached outside to replace Matt Cassel. If Kraft accepts him, Vick could be an interesting possibility for a few plays per game in New England.
Everyone seems to be on the Patriot bandwagon. I’m not quite sold yet. I don’t see the Patriots having a major desire to run the wildcat offense. Why would they? They have arguably the best quarterback in the National Football League and a now healthy running back.
FanSided