Weekend M.A.S.H. Recap

Good Monday to you all!

Let's discuss some of the haps over the weekend.  Unfortunately, it was a weekend where many fantasy owners saw their hopes dashed by injuries.  Before we get into it, though, I wanted to take a moment and thank everyone for joining me at The Johnny Archive Fantasy Baseball Show on Sunday at BlogTalkRadio.com. It was one of the better shows recently, since I was finally physically healthy and we had a lot of active listeners.  I want to thank Lenny Melnick for calling in and talking baseball with us.

This is my first year doing a podcast and it seems every week I learn something new.  It has been so cool to realize that I am building a solid core of listerners who are devoted, knowledgeable and are doing a great job of getting the word out about the show.  I was prepared for the show to take a drop in numbers some when we moved into August and football began to get more national media attention.  But I am amazed and thrilled to state that not only has the show not lost listeners, we've actually continued to grow steadily, as we have all year.

I just wanted to say "thank you" to everyone who takes the time to read this blog and listen to my podcast.  You'd probably be surprised to know how much time I spend doing both, and at this point without any financial compensation.  But just knowing people are interested and benefitting from what I have to say is payment enough.  Obviously, at some point it would be great to be able to figure out a way to get some income from all the time and effort I put into fantasy sports.  However, it's pretty cool knowing that I enjoy this so much that I would indeed, literally, do it for free.

Okay, on to baseball...

Carlos Lee, outfielder for the Astros, was lost for the year when he was hit in the hand by Bronson Arroyo.  He suffered a broken pinky finger which has to be a serious blow to a ton of fantasy owners out there.  Probably the hardest type of player to get this time of year is a power bat.  Replacing Lee's production via the free-agent market is not likely and even if your trade deadline hasn't passed, getting a thumper like Lee will be almost impossible to acquire.

Not only do the 'Stros lose his bat, which is one of the most consistant sources of the power in the game, but I think Lee was a great clubhouse guy this year.  Many times I observed him in the dugout laughing and joking with teammates.  He was also a fan favorite, so this is a big-time loss to the entire organization.

Orlando Hudson was also lost for the season on a freak base-stealing play in which the "O-dog" collided with the base runner and broke his wrist.  This is probably a more substantial real baseball injury then it is a fantasy baseball blow because you can find a middle-infielder with a little speed/pop on the free-agent list.  It'll be interesting to see how the pitching staff of the Snakes copes with the loss of the captain of the infield, especially ground ball pitchers like Brandon Webb and Dan Haren.

Carl Crawford, the speedy outfielder for the upstart Tampa Bay Rays was placed on the DL with a hand injury.  He said he heard a pop and feels it is a ligament injury of some sort.  He'll undergo a battery of tests this week to deteremine exactly what the diagnosis is and how long he'll be out.  Crawford wasn't having his best season before the injury, but now it doesn't look like he'll get an opportunity to turn it around with a September hot streak.  There are a few speed burners available in most leagues, but not the caliber of Crawford, of course.

Some key pitchers also fell victim to injuries this weekend.  The White Sox lost Jose Contreras for the season with a ruptured achilles.  He had just come off the DL before the game with an unrelated injury, so the thinking that Contreras would be a big part of the rotation down the stretch was dashed and now the White Sox will need to find another arm.

The St. Louis Cardinals saw their long-time ace Cris Carpenter, who had just returned from the DL a couple of weeks ago, leave the Sunday Night game against the Cubs with what is being described as a mild forearm strain.  Carp' had displayed in his previous starts that he was close to returning to the dominant form he had prior to major surgery in 2007.  His next start was scheduled to be in Cincinnati, but I doubt that will happen and even if he were to make it, I highly suggest fantasy owners stay clear of that start.  Frankly, this time of the year -- especially in 1-year leagues -- it's not worth the trouble to take risks with pitchers who are possibly/probably injured.

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I have increased my lead back to 23 points in the Fantasy 411 Ron Cey Listener League, which makes me feel a little better as the lead had been reduced to 10 points a few weeks ago.  It's still far from over, but I have a little bit of breathing room.

In the JAIL league, I'm up by 14.5 points, but there have been several teams making a serious run at me.  Keith Wire and the 'Lollygaggers are 2nd, but the big mover this week was Kris Hatfield and the Selling Used Carrillos who jumped up to 3rd when he gained 10.5 points for the week!  Joe Lano and David Miller are still in the thick of things, though they both lost ground this week.  If you want a darkhorse to keep an eye on, look no further then John Page and the PBR Streetgang, who gained 3 points this week, and continues to move on up the standings.  The last 6-7 weeks are going to be very challenging for all of us, but it should be interesting and fun!

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Tomorrow night, I will co-hosting a fantasy football podcast of a fantasy football draft at BlogTalkRadio.com.  I'm a member of the expert fantasy football league run by Todd "The True Guru" Farino and the public is encouraged to follow the draft over at MockDraftCentral.com, as well as listening to the podcast live as it unfolds. 

Also, a week from tonight we will doing the JAIL Fantasy Football League draft live at BlogTalkRadio.com.  Cruise on by the Friday Night Football podcast for more details or to catch the archive version of past shows.

Okay, that's a wrap.  Have a great rest of your day!

-Johnny Archive