MLB Waiver Wire Hustle

I’ve been away for a little bit and I’m sorry about that. You missed me though, didn’t you? It’s ok to admit that you cried, while being huddled in the corner of your house. I mean, I don’t blame you, I missed me too. It will be difficult to do one of these every week for a long baseball season but I hadn’t intended on this much time between posts. With that out of the way, let’s talk baseball.

Cleveland is still in 1^st in their division with one of the best records in baseball. I thought they might drop off but they’ve kept it up. My Reds have dropped to .500 and the Cardinals have taken over 1^st place. On a side note, I pay extra for a sports package so I can watch the Reds’ games. Earlier this week, I’m watching and the picture and sound were messing up constantly and it made the game unwatchable. I called my cable company and they said there were no problems in my area and that it must just be me. Not only did my tv go out, but I lost phone and internet too. At least the tech support guy was nice enough to look up the Reds score online for me. The next day, I found out that all of my neighbors lost service so it was a problem in my area. I was supposed to have a tech guy come out but they called and said they’d try to get someone out but that it might take another day. The next day, someone came out and said that another guy would be out later that day. A neighbor asked why that person wasn’t there now, he replied that they send him out first (for whatever reason) and then he sends out the repairman.  Once that guy finally arrived, it was a quick fix but I ended up missing three games.

I realized how spoiled we are during that time. I got a lot of yardwork done that had been put off for waaaay too long. And I rented some movies but I really missed getting to watch the games and highlights each night. Now I know that I can survive a three-day outage but if it were to go any longer than that, I think I might lose a little of my sanity.

It was unfortunate that Buster Posey got hurt recently and blame has been thrown on both sides. I’ll hope that there was no intention to hurt him but anytime there is a collision at the plate, there’s going to be a chance of injury. You just want the injury to be as small as possible if there’s going to be one. Posey’s turned out to be a bad one but at least he got hurt trying to help the team. It always sucks to read about an important player getting injured playing Guitar Hero or something stupid.

I think I’ve gone on long enough so let’s get to the list for this week.

Allen Craig (2B/OF, Cardinals) – With some injuries to the team, Craig is getting a lot more starts. He’s played at 2B and in the outfield so you’ll have some options with him. In the last seven days, he’s hitting .429 with a home run, 5 RBI, 4 doubles and 5 runs scored.

Aaron Crow (RP, Royals) – Joakim Soria lost the closer job after blowing three saves in a row. He may get his job back eventually but Crow will close for now. In 28 innings, Crow has 29 K’s and a 1.61 ERA. The Royals have been a better team this year and Crow should be able to grab a few saves while Soria tries to get his job back.

Brian Matusz (SP, Orioles) – Matusz would have been drafted fairly high this season but was hurt. He just made his season debut and allowed one run on four hits in 5.2 innings. He should be allowed to stay in for more innings soon but he’s a talented pitcher that will be picked up quickly if he has another good outing or two.

Bartolo Colon (SP, Yankees) – I wasn’t sure what the Yankees would get from Colon when they signed him but when he’s healthy, and on, he’s a nice pitcher. He’s 3-3 this season and a few outs from his 4^th win as I type. In his previous start, he threw a complete game shutout. I wouldn’t expect many more of those but on the Yankees, he’ll always have a shot at a win.

Eric Young Jr. (2B/OF, Rockies) – Young Jr. can be up and down but the Rockies need steals and he can give them that. In 8 games this season, he’s batting .258 but that was at .296 before the most recent game. He’s scored 3 runs and knocked in 3 runs but he already has 3 stolen bases. As long as he can keep the batting average respectable, they’ll be giving him the green light to run.

Ryan Ludwick (OF, Padres) – Ludwick got off to a terrible start, batting .181 for awhile but since May 10^th, he’s raised it up to .257. He’s hit safely in his last 7 games with 7 RBI and batting just under .500 during that stretch. He’s bound to cool off but if you need some outfield help, use him while he’s hot.

Jonathan Lucroy (C, Brewers) – Some owners are in need of catching help thanks to some injuries. Lucroy has been pretty impressive. He’s batting .292 with 6 home runs, 26 RBI and 17 runs scored. If he can stay anywhere near this, he’ll end up being one of the better catchers this season.

Adam Jones (OF, Orioles) – Jones is another guy that got off to a very slow start this season. I drafted him but after some early needs, and his cold start, I had to drop him. But he’s picked things up nicely. Now, he’s up to a .299 batting average with 7 home runs, 31 RBI, 28 runs scored and 5 stolen bases. I’m sure he was drafted in nearly every league and some owners may have hid him on their bench until now, but he may be available in some leagues.

Corey Patterson (OF, Blue Jays) – Patterson seems to get hot for awhile every year and then cools off. But he’s been pretty consistent this season. He’s batting .292 with 5 home runs, 28 RBI, 32 runs scored and 7 stolen bases. He’s been even hotter over the last week, hitting .346 with 6 runs, 7 RBI and 2 home runs.

Alexi Ogando (SP/RP, Rangers) – Ogando has pitched very well this season.  He has 11 starts and is 6-0 with a 2.20 ERA. In 73.2 innings, he’s struck out 53 and only has 16 walks. With that Rangers’ offense, he’ll have a good chance at a win each night out.

Anibal Sanchez (SP, Marlins) – The Marlins are grooming some good starting pitchers.  Sanchez is 5-1 this season with a 2.97 ERA. In 78.2 innings, he’s struck out 79 and only walked 24. His last outing was a little rocky, giving up 5 runs, but his team rallied back to keep him from taking a loss.

I’ll leave you with a few great defensive plays. The Adam Jones catch is recent but the Brandon Phillips play happened a few weeks ago. I had meant to write about that one on its’ own but didn’t have the time so I’m just going to throw it in here. It’s too impressive to leave out.

Buster Posey Injury Video

-Charlie Hustle