Fantasy Notes: Moose Tracks
- Stop the presses. The Yankees finally got some good news about their pitching staff when Mike Mussina made a successful return last night. Pitching in his first game since straining a hammy on April 11, Moose lasted five innings and gave up just four hits and a run, fanning three and walking none to earn win No. 1 on the season. He tossed 64 pitches — 49 for strikes and looks to be ready to get in a groove. His early season numbers have been skewed by a bad first start and the DL stint, so if you can bag Mussina on the cheap, now could be your last chance. The Yanks, by the way, have quickly smartened up since I called them out last week. They swept the day-night doubleheader against Texas and wound up taking every game of the three-game set. Those three straight wins matches the team’s season high and it’s the first time all year the Pinstripers have held their opposition to three runs or less in three consecutive games.
- Andy Pettitte pitched well in the opener, bouncing back after a rough start against the Bosox last weekend to earn a no-decision for his solid six-inning outing. I love the fact that Dandy Andy has given up over two earned runs just once in his six starts and he seems less hittable this year (35 hits in 36 innings). Now, here’s where I get worried that his sweet 3.00 ERA won’t be long for this world. Pettitte’s K rate is down dramatically (just 5.75 per nine), but of even greater concern is his command with just a 1.35 K/BB ratio. That scares me and it should scare you too if you own the veteran southpaw.
- So the Yanks have now climbed out of the AL East cellar. Want more evidence they are getting their act together? Mariano Rivera saved both games of the twin bill. Perhaps we can now shut up with the annual ‘What’s wrong with Mo?’ articles. It’s the fifth time in his career he’s saved more than one game in a day, the first since September 29, 2004. Yeah, he had some trouble in the nightcap and a questionable call on the double play to end it helped things along, but Rivera pitched a 1-2-3 ninth in the opener and now has three saves in five tries, all in his last three appearances. Don’t worry about Mo. I’m not.
- Ah yeah, you’ve got to love the major fluctuations you see in relievers’ ERAs this early in the same. Case in point: Chris Reistma was rolling along with a 1.23 mark, but he’s been burned for four earned runs in his last two outings, including last night’s gopher ball that Manny Ramirez stood and admired as it sailed into the right field bleachers to give the Bosox an 8-7 win over Seattle. Suddenly his ERA has shot up to 4.36. Reistma’s been better than he was last year in Atlanta (like that’s a hard thing to accomplish), but for a guy who was talked about as someone who would have value when J.J. Putz was injured in spring training, he’s been no hell yet.
By RotoRob
This entry was posted
on Friday, May 4th, 2007 at 9:13 pm and is filed under BASEBALL, Fantasy Notes, RotoRob.
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