In the
close-to-immortal words of Paul Simon, “Where have you gone Joe Mauer, a fantasy owner turns his
lonely eyes to you.” It was not long ago that Mauer was considered a premier
catcher, someone on the cusp of being a 20-homer, 20-steal candidate who hit
for a high average — an ultimate fantasy catcher. He has since been passed by Victor Martinez, Russell Martin, Brian McCann, and Geovany Soto. You could even make a case for more powerful options
like Ryan Doumit and A.J. Pierzynski.
So what happened
to Mauer? The average and eye are still there, as he’s hitting .331 and has a
.404 OBP, both right in line with his career numbers. His home run totals rose
each year from 2004 to 2006 and many expected that growth to continue as he
matured. His total this year: ZERO. And what do you get when you add his steals
total to his home run total? ZERO. After averaging nine steals a year in his
first three years his many leg injuries have caught up with him. He’s only
attempted one steal on the year.
Mauer is a
catcher that will give you a very good average, but that’s about it. If your
league uses OBP then he adds a little extra for you. However, don’t expect the
power or speed anymore. He didn’t hit for power in the minors and simply hasn’t
developed it in the majors. He also didn’t steal bases in the minors, and his
many injuries seem to have taken that option away altogether.
Elsewhere...
* Mark
Teixeira went
3-for-3 to bring his average up to .261. He’s continued his trend of slow
starts by hitting only five homers and collecting a .772 OPS for the year. He
had a decent April, but has swooned in May — .188/.339/.292. He should bounce
back soon and cruise with his typical sickening second-half numbers.
* In an attempt to break out of his
season-long slumber, Edgar Renteria
went 4-for-4 with a homer and five RBI. He’ll probably show flashes of power,
but don’t expect it to continue. More concerning is his one steal in just one
attempt from a guy who consistently swipes double digit steals.
* Daniel
Cabrera has now
allowed zero walks in his last two starts and only has three in his past four
starts. After his seven inning, two run performance last night, he has a 3.48
ERA and 1.17 WHIP. Is it possible he’s finally put it all together? I’m still
leery.
* Hunter
Pence went 3-for-4
with a home run and has now hit safely in 19 of his last 21 games. He’s hitting
.358 in May with an OPS of 1.018. He struggled through April but those
struggles appear to be a thing of the past.
* Mike
Mussina’s string of
good starts came to a screeching halt last night. He allowed seven runs in just
two-thirds of an inning. Only one of the runs was earned, but he still gave up
five hits and two walks in his short stint.
* With Doug Davis expected to return to the Diamondback rotation on
Friday, Max Scherzer will be the odd
man out. If you have the bench room, keep him on your roster. He’ll get another
shot when there’s another injury.
* Mike
Cameron went
3-for-4 with a home run, giving him five in his 18 games this season. Cameron
is doing what he’s always done — combining a low average with good power
numbers. He only has one steal, but expect that total to increase.
* Chad
Billingsley threw
seven scoreless innings and has now allowed just seven earned runs over his
last five starts. His ERA is now down to 3.76, but his plethora of walks has
given him a 1.41 WHIP. If he can continue to strike out guys at such a high
rate (10.2 K/9), he should be able to maintain an ERA under four.
* Andruw
Jones could miss at
least four weeks with a knee injury. Joe Torre must be heaving a sigh of relief
knowing he finally has an excuse to sit him.
* The Yankees got A-Rod back only to see Derek
Jeter leave the game after getting hit on the hand. The X-rays were
negative so he’s listed as day-to-day.
* Ryan
Church suffered his
second concussion of the year last night. He’s been a nice surprise this season
and hopefully this will not be a lasting problem.
* Josh
Willingham is
expected to miss at least another four weeks with a herniated disc.
QuickTIPS
Spot-start
candidate:
Jon Garland
at Toronto. Garland is 9-2 with a 4.15 ERA in 89 IP against the Jays. He’s only
allowed four runs in his last three starts.
Avoid:
Jonathon Sanchez at Colorado. In his young career Sanchez has a 6.89
ERA against the Rocks. He also has more walks than K’s.
QuickTIP Results
I said start:
Joel Pineiro - L, 5.2 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 3 BB, 7 K
I said avoid:
Aaron Cook
- L, 7 IP, 4 ER, 10 H, 0 BB, 3 K
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