Rotoman

ESPN.com: MLB – Done deal: Hillenbrand heads to D-Backs for Kim

If you haven’t noticed, Kim has pitched real well this year as a starter. Only his record looks bad, and that’s because the Diamondbacks don’t hit.

I think the Red Sox did real well in this one. Hillenbrand, despite his deficiencies, isn’t a stiff. But he isn’t going to change the tone of Arizona’s attack.

In single leagues go after both these guys aggressively. Are either an all-in FAAB play? Probably not, because either could struggle. But getting a productive player now is very much more useful than getting him at the end of August.

The Seattle Times: Garcia denies off-field rumors

Interesting stuff that suggest Garcia isn’t a wimp, but may be a playboy. I’m not buying it. The talk after he started to struggle last year was that he was afraid to throw his hard stuff, and spent too much time being too clever.

This story opens up other possibilities, but I’ll stick with the cleverness angle.

Tribnet.com – Sports/Mariners

Dave Boling, up in Tacoma, seems to think that Freddy Garcia just isn’t motivated enough to fix what’s ailing him. He suggests four likely explanations, but then rejects one (he’s tipping his pitches) almost immediately.

The other three: Got big contract and went slacker. Got unmotivated because Mariners argued he didn’t deserve big raise. Got into slump and isn’t dedicated enough to work his way out of it.

Boling argues that the problem isn’t physical because Garcia’s velocity hasn’t taken a hit. And maybe that’s so. But does that really leave “he just doesn’t care” as the only option?

Boling knows Garcia way better than I do, and his story is as much about the way the other M’s might be handling this. But I do think it’s possible for Garcia to want to do well, to work hard to do well, and still not do well.

Not that his good intentions help me any. Garcia and Buehrle are killing me. Get motivated guys!

ESPN.com: MLB – Rock bottom: Mets might lose Piazza for season

It occurs to me that nothing helps Steve Phillips as much as his best players going down with injuries. Mo Vaughn at this point didn’t help him, but losing Mike Piazza for a significant time lowers expectations and makes it harder to blame Phillips for the rather goofy decisions he made putting this team together.

If I owned Piazza I would cling to the hope that Phillips is lowering expectations so that his time just might exceed them. Though that’s unlikely.

MLB.com Fantasy; Ask Rotoman

This week’s model, with discussions about Ichiro and Bernie, Teixeira and LeCroy, Russ Ortiz and Mark Mulder, and what to do if your team stinks.

Major League Baseball News: Piazza

Piazza could miss the whole season, it says here, though no one knows, it says, how long he’ll be out, really.

There’s not much for Piazza owners to do but hold on tight. At least it didn’t happen while he was catching.

ESPN.com: MLB – With lumber in a slumber, White Sox fire hitting coach

Remember when Daryle Ward was going to be the next big slugger? Just like dear ol’ dad. It’s pretty hard to judge the work of a hitting coach, but all it takes is one Jerry Manuel quote (see the story) to make you sure that Gary may not have been able to fix Daryle’s problems, or Joe Crede’s, but the problem in Chicago is the manager.

ESPN.com – MLB – Box Score: Rangers beat Yanks again

I’ve gotten lots of email questions lately asking what the chances are for this or that pitcher to do well in a particular game. This is a gambling question, and I suppose it would help me to check the betting line before I answered.

But the answer I give is pretty stock. The best pitchers having the best years sometimes don’t win half their starts, and the games they do win aren’t always the best one’s they pitched. Avoid bad and even mediocre pitchers against good offensive teams, especially on the road.

All of which explains why I didn’t activate Ismael Valdes and John Thompson this week against the Yankees (Pettitte and Mussina) in Yankee Stadium. I own both Yankee pitchers, too, Wrong!

When things go wrong, there sometimes doesn’t seem to be any way to stop them.

ESPN.com – MLB – Box Score: Buehrle Bombed

One of the runs was unearned, thank goodness for small blessings.

He faced 22 batters and struck out none. And the deceptively good ERA is good no more..

Ask Rotoman’s Message Board

This message unleashed a torrent of debate about an awful lot of interesting fantasy baseball topics, including the value of steals, NY bias, and Bernie Williams’ shoulders.

Messages expire pretty quickly on this message board system, so if you’re curious check it out soon.