Kuzul

Stock traders know all about the buy low, sell high philosophy.  So do fantasy baseball owners.   

To win in fantasy baseball, you have to get guys on the cheap who turn out to provide a lot of bang for little buck over a short period of time, and then you have to trade those same players away when their values are at their highest points in order to acquire better players who will help you win your league.

Two-plus months into the season there are several hitters and pitchers who are exceeding expectations, and chances are they are not going to keep up their frenetic paces, whether it is because they will get injured, lose their jobs, or come crashing back to earth. 

Here are five players I would trade now before their fantasy values start dropping like afternoon soap operas.  Deal them away for solid fantasy performers before they realize they are playing over their heads, or else wind up stuck with them at the All-Star break when their trade values dry up.  

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There’s no way around it or no easier way to put it.  A lack of offense has resulted in a lack of wins for the San Diego Padres.

It was a welcoming site when Will Venable singled up the middle to put a run on the board in the Padres’ 3-1 loss against the Philadelphia Phillies and Roy Halladay Sunday.  Halladay fanned 14, coming within one out of their third shutout of the Padres during a four-game sweep at PETCO Park.

The Padres have scored just three runs in their last 32 innings and besides scoring five runs in the second game of a doubleheader against the Chicago Cubs Wednesday, the Padres have scored just four runs in their past six games.

It should come as no surprise, then, that the Padres (8-14) are last in the MLB in runs scored (62) and batting average (.214).

To put those numbers into perspective, the Cincinnati Reds have scored 114 runs and the St. Louis Cardinals lead MLB with a .295 team BA.

What is most frustrating about the inept offensive numbers is the production the club is getting out of the pitching staff—without a fully equipped Mat Latos.

In the midst of losing six of their last seven games, the Friars’ staff hasn’t allowed more than four runs in a single game.  On the season, their starting pitching ranks second with 15 quality starts and also have an MLB’s second-best team ERA (2.94).

A prime example of the Padres inefficiency at the plate is the curious case of Dustin Moseley and his 0-3 start.

Moseley has turned in four quality starts, an ERA (1.40) good enough for third best in MLB, but has a 0-3 record to show because the Padres have given him just one run in support.

Aaron Harang (1.87 ERA) has been just as good in his return to his hometown, with a win in each of his starts.  The only difference is the Padres have provided Harang with 19 runs.

The only every day starter batting above .300 is Nick Hundley (.309). As a result, Bud Black has been changing the batting order on his lineup card daily.

The most recent move was the flip-flop of Will Venable (.172) with Cameron Maybin (.260) at the top of the order.  

Besides Maybin and Hundley, no other Padre starter is batting above .250: Jason Bartlett (.242), Orlando Hudson (.229), Chase Headley (.227), Ryan Ludwick (.194). 

Jorge Cantu and Brad Hawpe, who platoon at first base, are batting .145 and 1.04, respectively. 

“We’ve got to keep working, and we’ve got to grind through this,” Padres manager Bud Black told MLB.com.   “We’ve got to keep doing our work in the cage and watching video. We have to keep working our [rear ends] off to get to where we need to be.”

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All eyes were in Arlington Friday night as the Yankees and Rangers kicked off Game 1 of the American League Championship Series.

The Yankees, who had almost a week of rest, sent their ace in CC Sabathia to square off against the Rangers lefty C.J. Wilson in Game 1.

The game quickly started in favor of the Rangers as Sabathia’s control was off from the start of the first inning.

Elvis Andrus walked to lead off the game and Michael Young singled to set up first and third with no outs.

Josh Hamilton then hit a line drive home run to right to quickly put Texas up 3-0. The Rangers fans were on their feet and going crazy following the Hamilton home run.

Sabathia quickly continued to struggle in the first inning, loading the bases for Jorge Cantu with two outs. Sabathia threw a wild pitch that Jorge Posada could not get to and went to the backstop, but Posada got the ball to Sabathia and tagged out Nelson Cruz trying to score to end a very crazy and busy first inning.

Sabathia was able to get through the second and third innings, but ran into more trouble in the fourth inning.

Young doubled to center field, scoring Matt Treanor and Andrus to make the game 5-0 in favor of the Rangers.

Sabathia only lasted four innings, allowed six hits, five runs, walked four and struck out three. In the most simple of terms, Sabathia was terrible on Friday night. He had no command of the strike zone, walked too many batters and if anything was lucky he didn’t leave the game losing at 9-0.

Could this be Texas’ night? It sure looked that way early on, especially because Wilson was pitching very well.

Wilson had the Yankees scoreless for six innings until Robinson Cano hit a solo home run to right off Wilson that made it 5-1.

Brett Gardner led off the top of the eighth inning by hitting the ball to Cantu at first. Cantu went to flip the ball to Wilson to record the out, but Gardner slid head first into first base and beat Wilson’s foot and was now on first to lead off the eighth inning.

That gutsy play by Gardner would be the turning point of the game and the spark to an eighth inning Yankees rally.

Following Gardner’s infield single, Derek Jeter doubled to right field to score Gardner and now the score was 5-2.

Jeter would be the final batter Wilson would see as Ron Washington pulled his starter from the game. Wilson pitched seven innings, allowed six hits, two runs, walked two and struck out four.

Relieving Wilson was veteran left-hander Darren Oliver, who came in and walked Nick Swisher and Mark Teixeira to load the bases for Alex Rodriguez.

Washington pulled Oliver and put in Darren O’Day to face A-Rod. On the very first pitch, A-Rod smashed the ball down the left field line for a base hit that scored Jeter and Swisher and the score was now 5-4 with nobody out.

Washington then went to left-hander Clay Rapada to face Cano, and on his very first pitch, Cano singled to center to score Teixeira and now, the game was tied at 5-5.

Derek Holland replaced Rapada on the mound and Marcus Thames singled to left to score A-Rod and now the Yankees had taken the lead 6-5.

Can you believe that? After the Yankees looked all but dead through seven innings, they strike and strike hard and now have command of the game.

Holland was able to escape the rest of the eighth with no further damage, leaving it a one-run game.

In the bottom of the eighth, Kerry Wood came in and Ian Kinsler led off with a walk.

David Murphy was up trying to look for a rally, but Wood was able to pick off Kinsler trying to lead off first. With that one simple out, any magic Texas had in them seemed to vanish. Wood finished off the rest of the eighth with no problems.

In the bottom of the ninth, Mariano Rivera came in to nail down the save for the Yankees.

Pinch hitting for Cantu, Mitch Moreland singled up the middle to start the inning.

Andrus sacrificed Moreland to second, giving long-time Ranger Young a chance to be a hero.

After a long at-bat, Young struck out for the second out of the ninth inning.

Hamilton grounded out to third to end the game and gave the Yankees a 6-5 Game 1 victory.

Dustin Moseley, who came in to pitch the sixth and seventh innings, got the win for the Yankees. Pitching in relief of Sabathia, Moseley did a great job keeping the game at 5-0 and not allowing Texas to expand their lead.

O’Day took the loss for Texas. He was one of several Texas relievers who was terrible and blew a really good game pitched by Wilson.

For about 80 percent of this game, the Yankees looked like a beaten team in danger of falling behind 1-0.

But the Yankees never gave up. They showed tremendous heart and guts on the field and came alive in that eighth inning, almost hitting and scoring at will against the Rangers bullpen.

In a game the Rangers seemed like they were six outs away from enjoying an easy victory,ends up being a heart-wrenching defeat.

Game two will be on Saturday and will have Phil Hughes going for the Yankees to send it 2-0 back to the Bronx, while the Rangers will have Colby Lewis trying to split the series before heading to New York.

Game One was a huge victory for the Yankees that might end up dictating how this series ends up turning out.

Four down, seven to go until No. 28 for Yankees Universe.

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Today, Andy Pettitte will pitch a bullpen session in Chicago. There are two possible outcomes for this situation.

Good outcome: Pettitte could return in mid-September and be the horse he was before the injury, when was on his way to a Cy Young-type season. 

Bad outcome: He could feel a “pull” in his groin, and the Yankees could be stuck with the pitchers they have, or get someone off waivers.

Needless to say, the Yankees desperately need Pettitte back. With him at full strength, the Bombers could have a dangerous 1-2 punch with him and C.C. Sabathia.

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After losing the first game 3-2, the New York Yankees need to win Tuesday night against the Blue Jays at Rogers Center.

The Tampa Bay Rays have caught up to tie in the standings, and the Boston Red Sox are still very much alive.

Translation…inter-division games can kill a team’s chances for playoff berth, so the Yankees cannot lose this series for starters.

The Blue Jays are making things difficult against all AL East teams. Toronto is not making the playoffs this season, but in any other division, my bet is circumstances would be different.

In all honesty, handing the ball to RHP Dustin Moseley is risky because he brings no stability on the mound.

Moseley has fared better because Yankees bats have backed him by scoring runs. This will be essential once again, as Moseley is no match for the home-run hitting Blue Jays.

Toronto’s Jose Bautista has demolished the Yankees in 2010, hitting six homers and 12 RBI with a .511 on-base percentage. Against Moseley, the slugger is 0 and 4, striking-out once and walking one time as well.

Still, Moseley in his last start against Toronto gave up nine hits, five earned runs, two home-runs, walked one, managed two strikeouts and a game ERA of 6.14.

Moseley has made five starts since Andy Pettitte hit the DL, pitched 29 innings, allowing 16 earned runs, seven home runs, with 14 strikeouts and 10 walks.

Problem is Moseley has only had three strikeouts, while allowing four home runs and eight hits in his latest two outings.

The Blue Jays are countering with LHP Mark Rzepczynski, who is even more inexperienced than Moseley, making his fifth start for Toronto.

Rzepczynski is 1-1 over four starts in 2010. He mirrors Moseley with a ERA of 4.76.

On the season, in 22.2 innings pitched he’s allowed 12 earned runs, two home runs, but has struck out 19 batters.

His last start was awful as Rzepczynski has zero strike-outs, giving up 5 hits, with three runs scoring before getting pulled in the fourth inning.

Yankees need to watch for Rzepczynski’s change-up, as that is his strongest pitch but only if he can execute it.

PREDICTION

Yankees need to run on base-pads against Blue Jays catcher Jose Molina. This is not easy, but the Yankees know Molina and the Blue Jays don’t focus on runners as much as they should.

Hint: Brett Gardner can cause chaos.

With Derek Jeter back in the line-up, the Yankees will win 6-1.

Moseley will get the win over Rzepczynski, but this is a close call.

Yankees know how to win when they need to, and this is against any team.

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The performance by Dustin Moseley last night against the Boston Red Sox reminded me of test taking.

Remember when you would study weeks in advance for a big test and when it came down to actually completing said test, your mind would go blank? Remember those tests when you crammed to study the night before, keeping the information fresh while also not allowing you to over think it?

Generally, those tests results come back showing some success. That’s exactly the result Yankees starter Dustin Moseley got last night in the Yankees 7-2 win over Boston.

Expected starter A.J. Burnett was scratched due to tightness in his back. The Yankees sounded the alarm and Moseley came firing.

With just 24 hours notice, Moseley would be making an emergency start. A start that would be televised nationally on ESPN against the Boston Red Sox.

Moseley stayed at the stadium late Saturday and arrived early Sunday to go through scouting reports and watch tape of Boston hitters. What result did Moseley get from this last minute test? How bout a standing ovation from the Yankee Stadium crowd!

Moseley would go 6^1/3 innings on Sunday, giving up just two runs. He was sensational both with his arm and glove. Moseley made a trio of very nice defensive plays to help himself.

Continue this article at Double G Sports.

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Yankees manager Joe Girardi was impressed enough to say he may have found a replacement in the starting rotation until Andy Pettitte returns from injury.

Who will be taking Pettitte’s spot? Dustin Moseley, who did just enough to earn another start after throwing six innings of one run ball in his first start since last April. The righty has battled back through an arm and hip surgery.

While he said he “felt calm from the get-go,” Moseley admitted he may have been trying too hard in the first inning.

That’s really the only time he got in a jam. In what could have developed into a disaster, the pitcher got out of a bases loaded situation and allowed just the one run.

After the first inning, Moseley calmed down and gave the Yankees all they could ask for. He would go six innings, giving up just that one run on four hits.

In all, 55 of his 83 pitches were strikes, as Moseley showed confidence and attacked the strike zone all night. His next start will come Tuesday at Yankee Stadium against the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Yankees have been linked to some starting pitchers as the trade deadline approaches, but this quality start by Moseley may make them think twice. Their focus is likely more on the bullpen.

Continue this article for more Yankees notes at Double G Sports .

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