RADIO
I’m trying my best not to sing the chorus of Randy Travis’s “I Told You So”, but if you didn’t take my advice two weeks ago to dump Ryan Braun and get what you could out of him, well... I told you so. I know a guy who got Josh Hamilton for Braun the day before the news of his season-ending ban hit the internet. Sure, Hamilton is having a horrible season so far, but he’s much better than a dude who is barred from stepping onto the field. Speaking of Braun, even Zack Greinke put in his two cents about his former teammate. And here is a story the Brewers likely hope few people read.
Does anybody feel sorry for the Yankees or Alex Rodriguez? Me neither. Moving on…..
My son and I visited Cooperstown last weekend and then drove to Boston, where we toured Fenway Park (#1 on my Bucket List) on Tuesday morning and caught the Red Sox game against the Rays that evening. What an awesome experience! Screw the beach. A baseball-themed vacation is the way to go! And to add to an already exciting day, Fox Sports writer Jason Whitlock gave me a shout-out to his 150,000 Twitter followers because of this article I wrote about him. My Twitter followers increased more than 500% in a mere two hours. I even got a few emails from former Ohio State fullback Vaughn Broadnax out of the deal. If that was my fifteen minutes, it couldn’t have happened in a better venue.
The City of Brotherly Love just tossed nearly $60 million-worth of hospitality in the lap of Cuban righty Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez (not to be confused with Baltimore’s Miguel Gonzalez, who is probably the better option the rest of the way). Not much is known about the young hurler, but scouts were excited by his stuff, as were, evidently, the Phillies. He’ll be a hot commodity when Yahoo adds him to the waiver wire. Keep your eyes peeled.
In case you weren’t aware, Josh Johnson is horrible. I’ve held on long enough, but it’s time to cut bait. I suggest you do the same, unless you play in a league where highest ERA wins. Curtis Granderson is on track to rejoin the Yankees, a team with a major power outage, late next week. Anybody want to start a pool on when he’ll go on the DL next? Ryan Ludwick has been out since injuring his shoulder (and later undergoing labrum surgery) sliding into third base on Opening Day. The Reds, and some fantasy teams, will certainly welcome his services come August. He’s currently rehabbing in Dayton and is 5% owned, so be on the lookout for a bargain in a few weeks. Last call for Brandon Beachy. He’s expected to be in the Braves lineup as soon as Monday to take Tim Hudson’s spot in the rotation. Beachy is only 41% owned in the Yahoo game. This number will double soon. Act fast.
It looks like Jenrry Mejia Is going to stick around in the Mets' rotation as a sixth starter to give Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler extra rest and allow them to avoid being shut down late in the season. Innings limits can bite your fantasy team, especially those where two-start pitchers rule the roost. It looks like Harvey may only have a couple of weeks left this season where he has two starts the same week.
Since we’re on the topic of Mejias, if you find yourself watching ABC’s Celebrity Wife Swap on Sunday, take notice of the gorgeous wife of Gerardo Mejia (aka, Rico Suave). Her maiden name is Kathy Eicher and she was a year behind me at Ironton High School in the mid-‘80s. She was also Miss West Virginia in 1989 and is a very talented writer. Check her blog out here.
In closing, I’d like to give a special shout-out to Wheelersburg, Ohio graduate Derek Moore. You don’t know his name yet, but you might someday. The 6’2” righty pitched his entire high school career for his hometown Pirates without suffering a loss (36-0) on teams that won back-to-back state championships (’12 & ’13). Those are very impressive stats in my book.
