I Hate Injuries....On Mondays

In my non-keeper league (Team Cool HWIP), rosters lock for the week ten minutes before the first game on Monday. Last Tuesday I had two of my players, Nelson Cruz and Brett Anderson (my best hitter and pitcher, respectively, to date) hit the disabled list on Tuesday. Would it have been too much for their teams to make these transactions on Sunday? Or Monday morning? If I had known that Anderson would go on the DL, then I would have put Ian Kennedy in for him who pitched eight strong innings with seven strikeouts and got a win. All would have been huge for me. If Cruz, who had been battling hamstring issues for ten days, had gone on the DL twenty-four hours earlier, then I could have inserted Martin Prado into my lineup. I understand Prado is no Cruz, but I would have added an extra twenty-five at bats, five runs and two runs batted in to my season totals. Every single everything counts. So while you might think that playing with a couple of dead spots for a week is not the end of the world, I would disagree and tell you that I will remember this in October if I finish in second place by two points and an extra win and five strikeouts are the difference.

Fortunately, both of these players have relatively optimistic outlooks. Cruz, who was dealing with this hamstring issue on and off for a week or so before he hit the DL, is already running and taking batting practice and will be ready to return to action on or around his first day of eligibility, May 12th. Anderson's a little more tricky. When he left his start last Saturday, he claimed he had a cramp in his forearm and would make his next start. The A's officially called it a flexor strain in his forearm and put him on the DL three days later, which scared me to death. Reports are that the A's are just being super cautious with their young lefty ace and he should miss about four weeks total (one down, three to go), which means he should start throwing in about 7-10 days and then make a rehab start or two before returning. I am hoping for a Memorial Day-ish return.

Even while playing these two dead spots I was able to tread water and only lost a few spots in the standings over the week. Some guys picked up the slack (Adam LaRoche, Kelly Johnson, Hiroki Kuroda) while some continue to struggle badly (Aramis Ramirez, Brandon Phillips). The strugglers are seasoned vets who I have absolutely no worries about and within the next four to six weeks will have people hitting themselves for doubting them.

I had a strong start to the week last night with a big performance from Scotty Baker (7 ip, 3 ER, 6 K, W) and some contributions from all hitters (Kevin Youkilis homer and three runs, Adam LaRoche with a two RBI double, Denard Span with a two run triple) on a light scheduling night. I am currently at 103 points, about 27 out of first. My goal is to get up to 110 by the end of the week. Eventually that first place team will fall to the pack and the top three teams will battle in the 110-120 range. Assuming I can get Cruz and Anderson back relatively soon and then stay relatively healthy throughout, I have no reason to believe I won't be one of those teams. My team is built for the marathon. When healthy I do not have one non-catching weakness on offense (just picked up my fourth catcher of the year this week, Miguel Olivo with fiver homers and a steal so far - keep it up Miggy!!). I do not think i will dominate any one category, but I believe I can be fifth best or better in every category, which gives me a floor of 110 points. Pitching can be perceived as a weakness on paper, I guess. Especially with Anderson out. But I think Cole Hamels, who is pitching much better than his numbers indicate, will get back to ace status sooner rather than later. I think Kuroda and Kevin Slowey are such underrated, solid back of the rotation guys who will finish with sub-four ERA's, minuscule WHIP's due to their inherent pinpoint control, and fifteen plus wins due to playing on above average teams. Scott Baker, last night notwithstanding, is off to his usual slow start but he will find his groove (maybe last night was the start?) and settle in as a nice number three.

One random note from my keeper league where waivers run only once a week and we do a blind bidding auction process where every team has $35 to spend throughout the season, meaning there is a maximum of 35 add/drops you can make. Due to the limited transaction number, long term contracts, and no DL spots, there are some good players on the waiver wire and you need to weigh the pros and cons of cutting ties with certain guys. Last night I think I made what could be a big move. I picked up Erik Bedard, who had shoulder surgery last August and is due back at the end of this month. I cut Jason Hammel, who I had at $2 signed through 2011, so next year $1 of his salary will count against my salary cap. That part sucks, but I can take a $1 hit, especially for the upside that Bedard brings to the table. He is the classic "when he is healthy...." guy. If I can get eighty innings out of this guy I will be happy, because they will come with eighty plus strikeouts and good ratios.

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