Fantasy Headlines

Bye Bye Billy
05/30/2008
BY Aaron Gleeman

LATEST FANTASY BASEBALL HEADLINES



If you haven't yet seen the footage Mariah Carey throwing out the first pitch at a game in Japan this week, do yourself a big favor and check out the video. Seriously, it'll make your day for about a dozen different reasons. While you consider how tough it must be to throw a strike in gigantic high heels and short shorts, here are some notes from around baseball .
Billy Butler was one of my favorite breakout candidates heading into the season, but his inability to show any power convinced the Royals that he needs more time at Triple-A. It's an odd move on a number of levels, because Kansas City is in last place, Butler hit .263 with a solid strikeout-to-walk ratio despite the lack of pop, and the 22-year-old seemingly has nothing left to prove in the minors after hitting .336/.416/.561 in 369 career games down on the farm. Last season Alex Gordon got off to a much worse start than Butler, hitting just .185 through the end of May, but the Royals showed patience and he hit .275/.320/.461 over the final four months. Butler would have been capable of a similar turnaround, but instead he'll go beat up on Triple-A pitchers while mediocre bats like Ross Gload and Joey Gathright pick up additional playing time. Butler remains an excellent long-term bet, so keeper leaguers should be looking to buy low. While Butler managing just one homer got him sent back to Triple-A, Delmon Young failing to homer even once through 52 games merely got him benched Thursday. Young has been a mess both offensively and defensively, making several huge mistakes in left field this week while in the midst of a 1-for-23 slump at the plate. Not only is his .258/.319/.328 hitting line slightly worse than Butler's .263/.330/.339 mark, Butler beat him by 70 points of OPS last season. Minnesota traded Matt Garza and Jason Bartlett to get Young from the Rays and spent the winter talking him up as the replacement for Torii Hunter's power in the middle of the lineup, so they likely have too much invested in him quickly turning things around to even consider a return to the minors. Meanwhile, Garza is 4-1 with a 3.78 ERA in Tampa Bay after striking out 10 batters over eight innings of two-run ball Wednesday against the Rangers.
Frank Thomas has hit .319/.417/.516 in 28 games since signing with the A's, but making the Blue Jays look foolish for cutting him loose will now be put on hold by a strained quadriceps that sent him to the disabled list Thursday. To replace Thomas on the roster, the A's activated Eric Chavez from the DL earlier than expected, apparently feeling that he's healthy enough after going 11-for-30 (.367) with two homers during a nine-game minor-league rehab assignment. Chavez is slated to be worked back into the defensive mix gradually, starting two games at third base and then shifting to designated hitter for one game. Along with Chavez, Mike Sweeney also figures to see action at DH while Thomas is out. For now Travis Buck will remain in the minors, but he'll be a natural call-up if Chavez stays healthy enough to consistently man the hot corner and Thomas looks likely to miss significant time. Buck is hitting .345 in 23 games at Triple-A. Troy Percival appeared to have suffered a severe injury Wednesday when he collapsed on the mound after throwing a pitch, but an MRI revealed no more than a strained hamstring. He's been placed on the disabled list, but team president Andrew Friedman indicated Thursday that Percival will be able to return after the minimum 15 days. Dan Wheeler is now the favorite for saves in Tampa Bay, although Al Reyes could also work his way into the ninth-inning mix. Jarrod Washburn whined publicly about Kenji Johjima's pitch-calling, so Jamie Burke caught him last week against Detroit and Washburn coughed up nine runs. He was so bad that the Mariners are now skipping Washburn's scheduled start against the Tigers this weekend, instead pushing him back to face the Angels next week. Even that reportedly didn't sit well with him, because Washburn apparently isn't comfortable pitching after another left-hander in the rotation.To recap: Washburn talked the team into replacing Johjima with Burke as his catcher, the rotation is being juggled to provide him with more favorable matchups, and he's not pleased with having to follow fellow southpaw Erik Bedard. Meanwhile, Washburn sports a 6.54 ERA and has gone 20-35 since signing a four-year, $37.5 million deal with the Mariners. His average fastball velocity is down to 86.9 miles per hour and he's thrown nearly 50 percent non-fastballs so far this season.AL Quick Hits: Jorge Posada (shoulder) wasn't able to make throws during Thursday's extended spring training game, likely pushing his expected return next week back a couple days . Carlos Gomez was caught stealing twice Thurssday, but went 4-for-5 at the plate . Jesse Litsch tossed a complete-game shutout Saturday versus the Royals and turned in seven more scoreless frames Thursday against the A's, finishing May at 4-0 with a 2.08 ERA . Seattle is said to be interested in Scott Hatteberg, who could format a natural platoon at first base with Richie Sexson . Willy Aybar returned from the disabled list Thursday, but lost the starting job at third base to Evan Longoria a long time ago . Aaron Hill left Thursday's game in the seventh inning following a collision with David Eckstein . Jason Bartlett swiped three bases Thursday after totaling seven steals through 49 games . Manager Jim Leyland said Wednesday that Curtis Granderson will be in the lineup against left-handers more often going forward despite an ugly .203/.264/.362 career line against them.NL Quick Hits: An MRI exam Thursday revealed that Matt Diaz has a partially torn PCL in his left knee, which likely means 4-6 weeks on the sidelines . Manager Bud Black said Thursday that Jake Peavy (elbow) could return from the disabled list without a minor-league rehab assignment, but first he'll have to avoid a setback during Sunday's scheduled mound session . Brad Penny went 4-2 with a 2.89 ERA in April, but after Thursday's loss to the Mets he ends May at 1-4 with an 8.82 ERA . Ryan Zimmerman (shoulder) sat out a fourth straight game Thursday and his return timetable remains unclear . Starting Thursday for the first time since racking up nine strikeouts in four shutout innings of relief last week, Aaron Harang lasted just four innings against the Pirates while allowing six runs on 10 hits . David Wright went deep twice Thursday, putting him on a 35-homer, 125-RBI pace! through 52 games . According to the Miami Herald, Josh Willingham (back) "is still a long way from returning" . Manager Joe Torre indicated Wednesday that Andy LaRoche could be on the verge of being called up from Triple-A.