Kuzul

On April 30, the Atlanta Braves were sitting at 9-14—fresh off of a nine-game losing streak and five games behind the division-leading New York Mets.

Holding a minus-18 run differential and an offense that could do virtually nothing but draw a walk, the Braves’ outlook on 2010 was bleak to say the best.

Fast forward to Memorial Day (May 31), and the Braves are a half-game up on the Phillies with a plus-45 run differential and appear as if they’ve figured out things on the offensive side of the ball.

Led by Jason Heyward (who holds the fourth highest OPS at 1.019 in BASEBALL and best in the NL) who had a .358/.475/.667 May after taking a more aggressive approach at the advice of Bobby Cox, Martin Prado (the NL hit and OBP leader), and Troy Glaus (the NL RBI leader for the month of May), the Braves capped off the month of May with a six-game winning streak to bring their season’s record to 29-22.

The pitching, as was anticipated heading into 2010, was also spectacular during the Braves’ 20-win month as Tim Hudson (4-0 1.59 ERA in the month of May) and company posted a 3.53 team ERA with 192 total strikeouts.

But, with those impressive stats comes the all important question…is this the REAL Atlanta Braves squad?

Well, I can tell you: I don’t think it is.

The pitching seems to be legit, but it’s going to be hard for Troy Glaus and Jason Heyward to replicate the ridiculous averages they posted and for Glaus and Martin Prado to re-create their 20+ RBI months (especially the latter since he has transitioned to the lead-off role) on a month-in and month-out basis.

But, on the same hand, Chipper Jones and Brian McCann are going to do a little more than, respectively, one home run and 10 RBI they posted in May.

For those reasons, I think it’s fair to postulate that the real identity of the Braves lies somewhere between their identity as the team with multiple sub-.200 hitters, as they were known in April, and the team that was, arguably, the best in the National League for the season’s second month.

My gut tells me it’s closer to the latter, though.

This is a team that should be good-to-go for a divisional/Wild Card fight if the right moves are made (i.e. losing McLouth and shuffling the outfield with some sort of call-up or trade…Ty Wigginton/Luke Scott, anyone?) as long as the staff (which should be bolstered by the return of Jair Jurrjens at some point in June) and bullpen hold up.

Now all they have to do to look “real” is get their fifth starter a W (as Kenshin Kawakami sits at 0-7 on the season)…

And now, a good (albeit unrelated) song.

(This post is also featured on SportsLeak.com)

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You may have heard some rumblings about this Stephen Strasburg guy. Allegedly, he’s pretty good.

Check that: he must be good, as usually the only time a Washington National warrants media attention is in relation to a comedy of errors (cough, cough, Nyjer Morgan , cough, cough).

But from some of the trade proposals I’ve viewed in retaining Strasburg’s services, you would think this guy was the mutant lovechild of Sandy Koufax and Walter Johnson .

Make no mistake, Strasburg’s stats in the minors have been ridiculous (no earned runs in 18.1 innings at the AAA level, 0.89 ERA in eight minor league starts) thus far.

Yet, questions surround the status of the 2009 No. 1 overall pick.

For starters, while rumors and speculation abound, an official debut date for Strasburg has not been indicated by the Major League club.

Another hurdle is Strasburg’s monitored pitch and inning count. Considering Washington invested $15.1 million in his right arm, chances are a fairly-low workload will be non-negotiable.

Additionally, Strasburg’s opposition will be quite formidable, as the NL East has been the most competitive division in baseball in 2010. Yet these influences seem to be lost on the general fantasy public, as stalwarts such as Miguel Cabrera and Evan Longoria have been offered in exchange for young master Strasburg.

Which is why if you own the rights to Strasburg, trade him. Now.

Strasburg has already logged 40 innings this season. The earliest projections have Strasburg in the Washington rotation around June 5, meaning the San Diego State product will make one, possibly two more appearances in the minors.

Using fellow former No. 1 overall David Price ‘s 2009 campaign as a comparison (162.2 innings between AAA and MLB), Strasburg will probably appear in 110 innings or less the remainder of the season. Not exactly the allotment time a fantasy owner strives for from a supposed anchor of a staff.

The Cabrera and Longoria examples were extreme, but it’s not unfathomable that a second or third round selection (think Justin Upton or Robinson Cano ) will be presented in a trade for Strasburg.

Unless your rotation is depleted to the point where you are plugging in the likes of Brian Bannister and Aaron Cook , ship out Strasburg while his demand is high. You may not get the same enjoyment following an Upton or Cano, but your fantasy team will be better off for it.

Start ’em: Edwin Encarnacion , Blue Jays. Edwin had quite the series in Arizona,smacking five homers in 11 at-bats, including a three-run HR outburst on Friday. In his first six games since coming off the DL, Encarnacion has 11 RBI.

Sit ’em: B.J. Upton , Rays. Upton has four hits in his last 26 ABs, and is hitting a mere .213 on the season. With Desmond Jennings, a consensus Top Five prospect in baseball, waiting in the wings in Triple-A Durham, Upton may be running out of time to fulfill his promise that made him the second overall pick in the 2002 Draft.

Fantasy Flashback: 1885 John Clarkson . In 1885, John Clarkson started 70 games for the Chicago White Stockings , and in 68 of these contests, threw a complete game.

To give that some context, in 2009 National League pitching staffs compiled 76 complete games COMBINED. Other noteworthy Clarkson achievements in ’85: 53 wins, 623 innings, a 1.85 ERA, and a wicked handlebar mustache.

Waiver Wire Watch: For those of you looking to drop an under-performing player, make your first free-agent pick up a player currently on the DL.

Most leagues have a roster spot for those on the injured list, and by picking up and stashing someone like Jair Jurrjens , you’ll have possible trade material down the line. Furthermore, you can select another player who can contribute immediately, thereby allowing you to pick up two players for the price of one.

Rookie Review: Jaime Garcia, Cardinals. The St. Louis left-hander is 4-2 with a 1.28 ERA in ’10. Garcia has also posted a good K/9IP, with 42 strikeouts in 49.1 innings.

And since we’re on the subject of the Cardinals, has Tony La Russa aged in the last 30 years? I swear, the man is the real-life incarnation of Richard Alpert from “Lost .”

Think I’m full of it?

Here’s La Russa with Chicago circa late 1970s, La Russa with Oakland around 1988, and Tony in the present day .

And in memorial of the series finale of “Lost “, here are my theories to explain this ageless phenomenon.

1) He’s on the same steroid cycles as his Oakland teams from the late ’80s.

2) He a charter member of the Mike Krzyzewski Hair Coloring Club.

3) He’s on the same steroid cycles as his St. Louis teams from the late ’90s.

4) His exposure and proximity towards animals has somehow left him with a superhero-like power against Father Time.

The Week in Jonathon Broxton: Another solid week for the Ox, picking up three more saves to bring his yearly total to ten.

While he did allow a run in three innings of work (proving that no one is perfect), he fanned six batters who had the misfortune of battling the great Brox-bino (thanks to reader Sam for the nickname suggestion after last week’s Babe Ruth /Broxton comparison).

Trade Talk: This is usually the time of the year when owners start to lose favor with underachieving All-Stars. You can possibly capitalize on this opportunity by getting a proven player like Prince Fielder for 85 cents on the dollar.

Don’t offend a fellow owner with an offer like Jorge Cantu for Mark Teixeira , but make it enticing enough where you can pull of a potentially season-swinging steal.

Big League Chew Player of the Week: Ben Zobrist , Rays. The Zorilla has been kicking ass and taking names. Zobrist is 13 for his last 23 with two HRs (doubling as his first two bombs of the season) and seven RBI, helping Tampa Bay win seven of their last eight.

Spit Your Tobacco at: Dustin Pedroia , Red Sox. The 2008 AL MVP is hitting .080 in his last six games for Boston.

You’d think Nyjer Morgan would have this award wrapped up after his hissy-fit contributed to an inside-the-park home run on Saturday, but let’s be honest: it’s Nyjer Morgan.

The only way a dude hitting .259 with the Nationals is getting on TV is with a stunt like that, so if anything, Fantasy Fever applauds Morgan for getting his 15 minutes of fame.

That’s it for today. And in honor of my awkward interaction with a police officer this weekend, our “Dumb and Dumber” Quote of the Week:

Officer: Pullover!

Harry: (showing his sweater) No, it’s a cardigan, but thanks for noticing!

Until next week.

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What I’m Reading

• The Rangers are sticking with Neftali Feliz, Frank Francisco, and their two-closer system for the time being. Good. Because these situations alway pan out favorably.

• Twinjury update: Joe Mauer received some good news about his bruised heel , but J.J. Hardy will be missing a few games with a sore wrist .

• Not quite an “Ankiel-ian” transformation, per se, but the Royals’ mandated switch of Alex Gordon to the outfield is a sign of things to come.

• The Braves currently employ a guy with one of the coolest baseball names around—Jair Jurrjens. Unfortunately, due to several nagging injuries his next start has been pushed back to Saturday . And thanks to a pesky abductor muscle, Yunel Escobar has been placed on the 15-day DL .

• To semi-quote George Costanza, “He’s back, BABY!” Yes, Kevin Millar is back . And not just with any old team. Millar has re-signed (yes, he’s played there before) with the St. Paul Saints of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball. Yup.

What I Think About It

Rangers’ Closers

The Rangers’ closer job has Feliz’s name written all over it. But right now, in manager Ron Washington’s eyes, the 22-year-old isn’t ready to take on the position full-time.

“He’s young, and he’s got to learn how to do this. At some point he’s going to learn about himself. He’s doing something he’s never done before,” Washington said, according to the Dallas Morning News.

In the meantime, Feliz will share duties with Francisco who, despite a recent string of six straight scoreless appearances, has surrendered nine earned runs in just over 11 innings of work this season.

I know plenty of Rangers fans.

None of them are confident or satisfied with Francisco touching the ninth inning.

Feliz hasn’t been untouchable this season, but his electric arsenal, once honed, will drive hitters crazy.

But until then, he has to share crunch time outs with Frankie, which I’d think would have to make for some awkward interactions.

I wouldn’t dare think of what would happen if Jonathan Papelbon and Daniel Bard shared the role.

It wouldn’t be pretty .

Twinjuries

Believe it or not, this whole foot injury business might end up with Joe Mauer raking in one “heel” of a profit.

I should probably stop using that joke.

It’s all good news for the Twins right now.

They’re still winning despite Joe’s absence.

Mauer isn’t as hurt as he could have been, had it been a bone bruise instead of a soft tissue bruise.

He’s in talks with Nike about a special, more cushioned pair of cleats designed to aide him in his return, which will be totally marketable to kids for the organization.

And J.J. Hardy played the hero last night. Luckily, Hardy didn’t break his wrist sliding into third on his ninth-inning triple.

But he’s still out today and likely for a few more games, which Minnesota will probably still win.

Main point, though?

2010 just feels like the Twins’ year.

Alex Gordon

And here I was thinking I was done talking about Alex Gordon for the rest of the year.

First off, I’d like everyone to check out his Facebook page again.

He’s up to 15 fans now and I have inside information that I am solely responsible for his sudden boost in popularity.

You’re welcome, Alex.

Now, it’ll be interesting to see how he fares as an outfielder. As long as he is coordinated enough to catch fly balls and throw them back to the infield, I believe this could work.

Since his struggles were mainly offensive, I think Gordon has gotten to the point where he doesn’t know what to do in order to remedy his glaring bat issues.

Luckily, he’ll be concentrating mainly on learning a new position and figuring out the best way to make himself useful to the organization.

It’s inexplicable, but sometimes parts of a player’s game come back to them when they least expect it, or when they are distracted by another challenge—such as a position change.

I’m not saying it’s likely, as his MLB ship may have sailed right around the time the Royals drafted him, but I can’t rule it out.

That being said, the influx of major league talent is rapidly increasing with scouts now using a global comb to find the best talent.

Look for players increasing their versatility in the coming decade.  This way, they can avoid situations where moving to another position out of necessity could be a career ending move.

Jair Jurrjens/Yunel Escobar

Jurrjens might be getting exactly what he needs: A step back to getting healthy, and getting over some minor nuisances that have kept him from staying consistent.

It’s only a few days of extra rest, but as a fellow sore-hammy patient (from the 30 minute walk I took yesterday), I know these situations are no fun.

Although Atlanta sits in last place in the NL East, the luxury of early-May is that nobody is really “out of the running” in any division—yet.

They have the time to give him a few days and let him cope before his start on Saturday.

Unfortunately for Yunel Escobar, his recovery time will require a DL stint.

But—in the meantime, replacement Omar Infante has produced, and this might give Escobar a chance to clear his head and focus on struggles at the plate.

Kevin Millar

I fully expect this kind of press conference to take place once the mainstream media picks up wind of Millar’s continued career.

I don’t think Millar will ever be back in the majors as a player. But seriously, wouldn’t he make the greatest bench coach?

Now that he’s a member of the prestigious Independent League, he can go one of two ways. He can play for a year, realize that it’s time, and retire into the sunset.

Or he can go the “Ricky Henderson Way.”

Thankfully, I think Millar knows better than to teeter back and forth on retirement for the better part of a decade.

I do, however, fully expect him to dress like this .

PD

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