Don Visco is on vacation this week, having wanted to get a early jump on the lines for Transformers, so I will be filling in here for your reading enjoyment. What we will be doing here today is running through each team in the American League with either a look at who is hot and not for the team or, in a few places, looking at some news and notes of interest.
Sounds like fun, doesn’t it?
American League East
Baltimore Orioles
Hot: Can Jeremy Guthrie sue the Orioles for lack of support? In the last 30 days, Guthrie has made six starts with a 2.16 ERA and a ridiculous strikeout-to-walk ratio of 37:5 in 45 1/3 innings. Yet, despite that domination, Guthrie won just one and lost one. This is embarrassing – if they cannot find a way to win these games, how can they expect to win any games?
Not: Remember how Ramon Hernandez used to considered a great offensive catcher, which is why the Orioles went so hard after him? Well, that day is done, as he is hitting just .195 over the last thirty days, with one home run, eight RBI, and six runs in 41 at-bats.
Boston Red Sox
Hot: Much has been made of J.D. Drew being a disappointment this year, but he certainly was not one last month, as he was the offensive leader of the club in home runs, RBI, and runs scored for the month of June for the Red Sox.
Not: June was not kind to Tim Wakefield, though, as he was just 3-3 with an ERA of 6.00 in his six starts. The knuckleball was certainly was knuckling for him as opponents hit a robust .281 against him.
New York Yankees
The offense of the Yankees essentially lives and dies based on how Alex Rodriguez is doing, so everyone in the Bronx was holding their collective breaths when he left Monday night’s name with a sore hamstring. A-Rod will be okay, although he might be sore for a few days, but the Yankees have to feel better knowing that they will not lose their best player for an extended period of time.
Staying on the injury front, Phil Hughes is close to tossing live batting practice after having made a pair of bullpen sessions without any setbacks. Hughes is still a little ways off though, likely not until close to the end of July to early August. Even then, though, expecting much out of him in terms of fantasy contributions is likely a mistake.
Tampa Bay Devil Rays
With the Rays having lost 16 of their last 19 after having gotten so close to .500 and respectability, they really cannot take more bad news, but since they are the Rays, the only news is bad news. B.J. Upton was supposed to be eligible to come off the disabled list today, but it now looks like he will not be back until Friday at the earliest. Upton had an issue with stiffness on Sunday, causing him to miss Monday’s game, and the Rays will not bring Upton up until he can play back-to-back games. In other words, Friday could easily become next Monday, or even later.
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Globe and Mail is reporting that there are forces within the Blue Jays organization pushing for the disposal of A.J. Burnett. Yes, Burnett has had injury problems with the team, but this most recent return to the disabled list is due more to the ineptitude of the Blue Jays in rushing him back from the DL. This team has shown on multiple occasions that the front office is inept and that their medical department has serious issues, and I would be more than happy to get traded if I were Burnett.
What could the Jays get for Burnett? The Blue Jays will likely have one of the few quality arms on the market if they do make Burnett available, but the Blue Jays have repeatedly shown throughout the J.P. Ricciardi era that they are unable to come out ahead in a trade. More often, the Jays tip their hand, show their need and weakness, and are taken advantage of as a result. The Brewers can certainly attest to having taken advantage of Ricciardi and Co. on a couple of occasions.
In other words, the Blue Jays might move him, but do not expect them to get value.
