Fantasy Brewers

The Brewers apparently don't feel content walking down the Cubs in regular fashion (they are only 3 1/2 games back) and have instead decided, according to Tom Haudricourt's Brewers Blog at the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, to trade for C.C. Sabathia.

I just was told by a reliable club source that the Brewers have a deal in place with Cleveland for left-hander C.C. Sabathia, contingent on the paperwork being done and medical records exchanged.

But believe me, folks, that's a deal. All that other stuff is formality.

All I know so far is that top prospect Matt LaPorta is in the deal. I was told two lower-level minor leaguers also are included. The Brewers refused to include another top prospect such as Alcides Escobar or Mat Gamel.

Obviously this is huge news; Sabathia has been the primary name mentioned in all major trade talks over the past few months. Word had not-so-quietly leaked that the Indians were willing to concede this season in the AL Central and look to acquire young talent in exchange for the free agent to be. LaPorta fills that need as he ranks at the top of the Brewers farm system and could be an impact player in Cleveland in the near future. More details as the facts surrounding the trade get released.

Manny Parra has always been a talented young lefthanded arm in the Brewers organization. He has struggled for the early part of this season though, particularly with his walks, and more particularly with his BABIP. As you may recall, I was bullish on Parra's chances earlier this year (although it's taken some time for him to really come around).

Parra's stupidly undervalued right now -- people were sweating him when he got run in the rotation but now that his stats are out of whack (5.40 ERA, 1.85 WHIP), everyone wants to bail on him. Realistically, he's young, so you have to expect him to struggle some, but he's also been unlucky in that he's "allowing" a .361 BABIP so far in 2008. Optimistically too, he's K'ing more than a batter per inning; he needs to get his walks down...

He did not pitch well that week. And frankly, he did not pitch well for several weeks. But four of his last five starts have suddenly been pretty freaking good.

He got shelled at Washington with seven hits and six earned runs -- the fifth start. But in the other four, he has racked up over 25 innings pitched while only allowing three earned runs and striking out 24.

Despite the heat check that the Tampa Bay Rays are on right now, they still suffered some bad news yesterday when shockingly efficient closer Troy Percival injured his hamstring in what was described as a nasty little landing. Nasty enough to get him sent out for an MRI.

That begs the question, who's the new save guy in Tampa? Dan Wheeler would be your likely answer, and if he's not owned, and you need saves, he's an immediate add. If he's already taken, pounce on Al Reyes for a backup. Both guys could see save opps, but Wheeler came in for Percival today and he has the better ratios on the season. Plus, he hasn't been tased at all this season, for whatever that's worth.

In Milwaukee, although nothing is ever made really clear, it does appear as if Salomon Torres has gotten a pretty good grip on the closer's job, picking up three saves and a win over the last week. There's no guarantee that Crazy Joe DaVola Ned Yost will actually stick with him, but for now, he should be getting run in your lineup. And certainly shouldn't be a free agent.

The Braves welcomed back Rafael Soriano on Wednesday while putting Matt Diaz on the disabled list. That's decent news for Soriano's fantasy owners -- of course you want to see him back. The bad news is that John Smoltz is going to close as soon as he is healthy, which could be soon. Start Soriano when he's pitching, but obviously look to trade him if you can.

I've always been one for letting my employer decide when I'm no longer capable of doing my job, but Eric Gagne and Jason Isringhausen apparently feel differently, being "honest" enough to let their managers know they're no longer worthy of the closer role. (Update: Gagne can apparently close again!) Either way, not a lot of confidence. What they did is rare in the sense of being voluntary, but it certainly underlies the basic fantasy notion that saves are easy to come by.

In Milwaukee, if you're looking for saves, you actually love Gagne flip-flopping; Ned Yost will probably go back to the well with him, and you'll have an easier time going after the guy who will probably end up getting the saves. Salomon Torres, Guillermo Mota and David Riske are the official closer by committee. (The reality is they shouldn't have let Francisco Cordero walk, but that's neither here nor there at this point). I've been saying that Riske is my guy since early in the season, but in fairness, he hasn't pitched perfectly. Then again, neither has Torres, so I'm sticking by my guns here and saying Riske ends up with the most saves in the Milwaukee pen this year (unless Yost does something cr-r-r-r-azy and puts Carlos Villanueva in the spot).

The Cardinals end of things appears to be a little more cut and dry, in the sense that Ryan Franklin is the new go-to guy from the bullpen in St. Louis. Russ Springer and Randy Flores are apparently in the mix as well to a degree, but when you look at Springer's walk count -- five! -- since Izzy went down, it's hard to imagine Tony La Russa trusts him. Plus, Franklin is actually locking down the ninth. And the guy you want to grab for your fantasy league.

Milwaukee Brewers third baseman Bill Hall is the kind of player that drives fans – and fantasy owners – crazy. Is he the guy who cranked 35 HR in 2006, or the one who never hit more than 17 HR in any other season? Is he the crusher who swatted four HR by April 9, or the player who has only hit three more since then?

Moving back to third base gave Hall more fantasy value this year – in theory, at least. It turns out that, at least for NL-only leagues, the outfield is possibly shallower than third base. Regardless, owners who cackled with glee at the way Hall burst out of the gates are singing a decidedly different tune right now. Hall is batting just .217 and has not shown much plate discipline, adding only 12 walks the whole season.

So, what's the story here? Is Hall going to be a drag on your batting and/or on-base average, and even if that's the case, is he going to be able to justify it with quality power statistics?

Deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep breaths, Brewers fans and fantasy owners. Yovani Gallardo is headed to the 15 day disabled list with a torn ACL that he suffered during yesterday's game against the Cubs. And 15 days is something you might be praying for in a few hours/days when the team makes the call on whether or not he'll have surgery.

Because real life is a bear, I was not able to watch the game. Fortunately, we have video after the jump -- the commerical is only eight seconds long. And as Snyds was able to watch the game, because he makes millions off of TGSOE, he relayed that after the ridiculous fall that Gallardo took, he never hit more than 85 mph on the gun, 78 with offspeed stuff. Yeah, that's right. He went back out on the mound after this.

As noted by Lackey and E, respectively, there are things happening in the Brewers' rotation this week. Yovani Gallardo is on the way in (right now, actually) and Ben Sheets might be on the way out. Milwaukee is a stout offensive team, so you absolutely want to be concerned for who is manning their rotation from a fantasy perspective.

Yovani Gallardo
Gallardo whiffed batters at an 8+ K/9 last year but has not pitched, until today, in 2008. This means he might be undervalued already. No question about it though -- if he's available, you go pick him up ASAP. He needs to cut down on his walks and fly balls allowed from 2007, but he has all the skills to be a future ace and a dominant fantasy pitcher, as shown by his one earned run against the Reds in his first start back last night, before Eric Gag-ned it.

Ben Sheets
Even after experiencing tightness in his right triceps, Sheets is sitting quite pretty at 3-0, with 24 K's in 28 innings and a ridiculous 0.96 ERA and 0.64 WHIP. He's as much Mike Tyson as he is Glass Joe (he also has a .183 BABIP, fwiw), so you have to think about dealing him if you get someone interested, particularly in a 2:1 to upgrade. It's probably best, especially in H2H leagues, to sit him this week as his status is up in the air.

Manny Parra
Parra's stupidly undervalued right now -- people were sweating him when he got run in the rotation but now that his stats are out of whack (5.40 ERA, 1.85 WHIP), everyone wants to bail on him. Realistically, he's young, so you have to expect him to struggle some, but he's also been unlucky in that he's "allowing" a .361 BABIP so far in 2008. Optimistically too, he's K'ing more than a batter per inning; he needs to get his walks down but he's a great two start option with the Cards and Marlins on tap this week.

Major League Mongering will look at players rumored to be on the move between now and the July 31st pseudo-trade-deadline.

Why does this need to happen? It's pretty simple really. Jermaine Dye is in the last season of his contract, and the White Sox need to make some changes if they're going to compete for the AL Central again anytime soon. There's also the fact that Dye has become distant from the rest of the team ever since the White Sox gave Mark Buehrle a contract extension.

He wants to know why the team hasn't talked to him about an extension, and it's because they want to trade him.

The Dodgers need some power in their lineup, and though Dye has struggled this season, his bat has start to come to life again since the break. He's hitting .367 with 4 home runs and 7 RBI in his last seven games and looks to be on the verge of busting out of his slump.

Also the change of scenery would probably do Dye well. I'm sure he feels unappreciated in Chicago where he won a World Series MVP in 2005, and was the team's best player last season. Getting a fresh start on the west coast could be exactly what he needs.

Major League Mongering will look at players rumored to be on the move between now and the July 31st pseudo-trade-deadline.

Why does this need to happen? Because Reggie Sanders is 39 years old and in the last year of a two-year contract. I mean, seriously, the Royals are in the middle of a youth movement, have been vying for the worst record in the league since Opening Day, and are still giving at-bats to someone five years shy of middle aged?

Besides, it's no secret that Sanders wants to be dealt to the Red Sox -- in fact, he's outright campaigning for it. From the Boston Herald:

"No, not at all," Sanders said when asked if he would be adverse to a trade to the Red Sox. "It's a great group of guys over there. I have never played there, but I have felt like I have just because of the way they embrace everybody."

Sanders has relished his role of elder statesman on this ultra-youthful Royals team for the past 1 1/2 seasons. But he also has heard about the euphoria that can come with playing in Boston from his friend Curt Schilling. And there is also the prospect of making a fourth World Series appearance.

"I think so," Sanders said when asked if the Red Sox would be among the teams at the top of his list, if traded. "(Schilling) is probably over there trying to make it happen right now."

Sanders certainly wouldn't be anything more than a fourth outfielder for the Sox, but it's not like he's racking up the playing time in KC -- he's played in just 18 games, missing two and a half months with a torn hamstring.