Sanders Says: Gomes, Astros, Marky Rzep

• If you’re a fantasy owner of Jim Thome, don’t be.
• My Jonny Gomes pickup in my fantasy league is really looking good after he went 3-for-4 with 3 runs scored in his first day on my roster. Thank you, Jonny!
• Mark Rzepcinski (close enough) of the Toronto Blue Jays has been an interesting starter this year. He gets ground balls, strikes batters out without walking an insane amount, but still gives up more runs than I would think.
• The Nationals and Padres played each other last night, and so did the Royals and A’s. Could there be two worst matchups?
• The Astros trotted out two relievers last night I had never heard of before. That never happens.

Sanders Says: Fantasy Football

Taking a break from the usual baseball junk this morning, to show off a fantasy team I drafted last night co-owned by reader “Buffman”. Just to set the stage, it’s a fairly standard ESPN league, with 0.5 PPR and 6 pts per TD. Here is the roster:

QB – Peyton Manning

RB – Tomlinson

RB – McFadden

WR – Wes Welker

WR – Eddie Royal

TE – Tony Gonzalez

WR/TE – Donald Driver

RB/WR – Larry Johnson

K – Nate Kaeding

DEF – CHI Bears

BEN – Kevin Boss

BEN – David Garrard

BEN – Kevin Curtis

BEN – NYJ DEF

BEN – Cadillac Williams

Not bad, eh? Let me know your thoughts.

Sanders Says: Burnett, LaRoche, Kuo

• A.J. Burnett struck out 12 last night in only six innings of work. Whose a better #2 starter: Cliff Lee or A.J. Burnett? I’d probably have to go with Burnett, but neither is bad to have at #2 in a playoff series.
• Javy Vazquez is just dominant this year. Great pickup by the Braves. Don’t know if I can say that enough,
• Adam LaRoche’s .385/.473/.679 line in August is insane. I thought he’d hit better in the second half, but that is ridiculous.
• Getting Hong-Chih Kuo back in late July is really an underated move by the Dodgers. He and Sherrill might be the best 1-2 lefty punch in the game. Can you think of one better?

Sanders Says: Greinke, Cubs, Rafael Soriano

• Zack Greinke pulled ahead in the Cy Young race, going 8 innings and striking out 15. He’s only 12-8, but we all know W-L record is a pile of crap anyway.
• Adam Wainwright and Wandy Rodriguez had an epic duel last night, Wainwright did not allow a run through 8 innings, and Wandy allowed the only run of the night in 7 innings. Not a bad game to watch if you are a fan of either of those teams.
• You know how I know that the Cubs are not making the playoffs? Carlos Zambrano was out pitched by Garrett Mock as the Nationals clobbered the Cubs 15-6.
• Rafael Soriano struck out all three batters he faced last night. He’s good. Remember when the Mariners traded him for Horacio Ramirez? I sure do, and it haunts me every night. Screw you, Bill Bavasi.

Sanders Says: Smoltz, Yankees, Red Sox

• John Smoltz struck out 9 batters in five innings of work in his Cards debut yesterday. He also struck out 7 in a row at one point. His stuff looked good, although he got away with hanging a couple balls because he was playing the Padres, but overall it was a nice perfomance for him.
• CC does not look good in the gray Yanks unis.
• The home plate ump in the Yanks/Sox game had a very suspect strike zone. He called alot of outside strikes to right handed hitters. As far as 5 inches off the plate. Still, he’s no Jim Joyce.
• Joe Morgan is against stats so much, he doesn’t even know his on SB%. In case you were wondering, Joe, it’s 80.9%.
• Eric Bruntlett is one lucky man.

Sanders Says: Moore, Sheffield, Wagner

• I would have written a post to go along with Jonathan’s on JP Riccardi, but we all know Dayton Moore (Royals GM) is an idiot and an horrible GM, so it would have just been stating the obvious.
• I think Sheffield won’t be with the Mets by the end of the season. Just a feeling.
• Bill Wagner came back from injury last night, striking out two in his first inning of the year. Might have more to come on this topic later. Might.

Sanders Says: Blanks, Pujols, Strasburg

• Kyle Blanks hit a inside the park homer yesterday. All 285 pounds of him.
• In a video game simulation, Albert Pujols retired at age 33. Chances of that happening? Zero.
• Jonathan Broxton’s giant butt helped strikeout two hitters and nail down a four out save.
• Word is that Strasburg is probably not going to play at all this season. Still, I expect to see him in September.

Sanders Says: Adrian Beltre

In case you didn’t hear this all over twitter last night, Adrian Beltre is on the DL with a torn testicle. You heard me, a torn testicle. 

I feel really sorry for him, and can’t imagine the pain he is going through. He kept playing through the injury (including extra frames), so he really toughed it out. Props to him.

He made need surgery, and could miss the rest of the year.

Sanders Says: Schoeneweis, Jackson, Draft Picks

• The news about Scotty S. going on the DL with depression is really, really sad. I almost don’t know what to say. It’s been rough for him, so he deserves some time off to deal with his issues in private. Best of luck to you.
• I want to know more about Tazawa’s pitch (slider). Now!
• The only time I’ve gotten to watch Edwin Jackson this year, I was not impressed. His slider was sad, and he needs another pitch.
• When will we hear about another big name draft pick sign? Probably not till the deadline, which is a baseball phenomenon. I wish they would just sign and get it over with. No need to be so greedy.

Sanders Says: Latos, Angels, Scherzer, Dodgers

• In case you didn’t catch it on twitter, the Padres plan to shut down starter Mat Latos in September. They may also go to a 6-man rotation, that may/may not include Latos. I really like Latos, and think he has a bright future ahead of him. The team won’t contend, so shutting him down isn’t all that big of a deal. Just make sure he keeps working in the bullpen.
• The Angels ran all over the White Sox, stealing 4 bases on Ramon Castro. Chone Figgins had 2 of those swipes, helping to lead my fantasy team to glory.
• Max Scherzer struggled against the Pirates, giving up 5 earned in 5.1 innings. I still think he should be a closer, as his motion and stuff make him more reliable in the bullpen.
• The way that Joe Torre makes the Dodgers lineup confuses me. They have a wierd offensive combo, so I’m not sure what I’d do, but it gets me thinking each night.