Weekly FAAB: Stephen Drew

WAIVER CLAIMS:
Tillman- Chaos
Chavez - Mt.Baker, Chaos
Izturis- Skwirls, Usuals
Doolittle- Usuals
-------------------------------------------
BIDS:
Johnson- Chaos:1
McLouth- Deal:3
Gomez- Usuals:10, Chaos:3
Drew- Liefers:13, Deal:10, Usuals:6,Skwirls:5
------------------------------------------
FAAB remaining: China:66, Liefers:38, Relay:41, Chaos:38, Owls:29, Deal:68, Highlanders:39, Skwirls:8, Troops:71, Mt.Baker:8, Big Sausage:1, Usuals:7

The inter-league trading continues at a blistering pace! Now J.D.'s little brother comes to the AL for the first time, going to the A's.  Getting a starting SS with this kind of talent and pedigree, this late in the season, for only $13 is a pretty good deal. I'd expect Liefers to keep him going forward in 2013. Still, I wouldn't expect much from him statistically this last month.  He's coming off an injury and hasn't exactly been lighting it up so far; worse, Oakland's ridiculous ballpark isn't conducive to breaking him out.    

Weekly FAAB: Nobody Interesting

WAIVER CLAIMS:
Avila- Mt.Baker, Owls, BSP
Laird- Usuals
Scheppers- Mt.Baker
-------------------------------------------
BIDS:
Melancon:Chaos:1
Matroianni- China:1
Patton- China:1
Garcia- Usuals:6, BSP:3
Villanueva- Usuals:4, BSP:2, China:1
Cook- BSP:1
Snyder- Highlanders:1
C.Carter- Owls:11
Farnsworth- Chaos:1
D.Wise- Chaos:1

I guess one could argue that Chris Carter, the once-promising prospect, is interesting.  One team thought so, enough to wager 11% of his FAAB.  I actually considered putting in a bid to put him at CI and benching Middlebrooks (hamstring), but unlike Spinal Tap, I wasn't going to go 11.

Melancon is worth a $1, especially when you consider that bidding on him at auction went to... well, I don't remember but it was into double digits.

Cook is intriguing, of course, after throwing an improbable 79-pitch shutout.  But I don't like his upcoming match-ups, he doesn't strike anybody out (which is what I really need; I'm still 2nd to last in Ks) and I already scooped Franklin Morales.

I do delight in a little schadenfreude at the fact that Roy Oswalt got lit up in his 3rd start.  I missed out on him in FAAB, and then I was scooped by the 1st place team to trade for him!  So forgive me if I gloat a bit about him getting torched by the White Sox last night.  I'm glad I didn't spend my 1st draft pick on a 7.79 ERA and 2.25 WHIP!

Weekly FAAB : Roy Oswalt

WAIVER CLAIMS:
Danks- Troops, Highlanders
Cecil- Relay, Usuals, Mt.Baker, Deal N/D
--------------------------------------------
BIDS:
Oswalt- Mt.Baker:24, Skwirls:21, BSP:18, Deal:15, Relay:11, Owls:7
Archer- Highlanders:9, Relay:7, Deal N/D:5, BSP:5, Skwirls:3, Usuals:3
Norris- Highlanders:11, Usuals:9, Troops:10, Owls:6
F.Morales- Skwirls:5, Deal N/D:4, BSP:2
Axelrod- Deal N/D:6
Griffin- Relay:7, Owls:5, Usuals:3, Chaos:1
--------------------------------------------
FAAB remaining: China:81, Liefers:91, Relay:52, Chaos:36, Owls:65, Deal:83, Highlanders:46, Skwirls:34, Troops:75, Mt.Baker:10, Big Sausage:27, Usuals:69

FINALLY we got to bid on Roy Oswalt.  It seemed like he was coming forever but might never actually arrive, like this Monty Python scene.  He finally arrived with a flourish, getting a W and tallying 6 strikeouts.  I badly need both of those stats, but my FAAB account is like my bank accounts in real life, i.e., not exactly flush.  Nevertheless, I made a fairly aggressive bid of $21 and just missed. 

My back-up plans were in place, though.  Chris Archer, yet another live arm from the Rays system, has an impressive K rate and I probably should've bid higher on him, but I liked Franklin Morales a bit more.  Rookie pitchers are terribly unpredictable, and I'm playing for the money this year.

Losing out on Oswalt does leave some FAAB in the bank for later, and Morales is racking up the K's himself at a much cheaper price.  The erstwhile set-up man whiffed 8 for his first victory as a starter since 2009, then followed it up with 9 more K's in only 5 innings.  The Boston Globe reports: "Since 1985, the only other Red Sox pitchers to strike out at least eight batters in their first two starts of a season are Roger Clemens (1988) and Pedro Martinez (1998-2000)." 

My other thought is trading for Oswalt, as the 2nd-to-last team in the league had the winning bid. And as I type this, an e-mail came in from him inquiring about my interest. :-) 

Weekly FAAB: Ryan Kalish

WAIVER CLAIMS:
Walden- Owls
Damon- Mt.baker
--------------------------------------------
BIDS:
Pearce- Deal:6, Liefers:5
Grimm- Usuals:8, Chaos:2
Stewart- Troops:1
Snyder-Chaos:1
L.Mendoza-BSP:2, Mt.Baker:1
Kalish- Skwirls:10,Liefers:5, Deal:2
Furbush- Chaos:1
L.Martin- China:6
N.Jones- China:1
--------------------------------------------
FAAB remaining: China:75, Liefers:91, Relay:59, Chaos:36, Owls:65, Deal:89, Highlanders:66, Skwirls:39, Troops:75, Mt.Baker:34, Big Sausage:38, Usuals:69

Very excited this morning to learn I have landed Red Sox OF Ryan Kalish with a bid of $10.  I had targeted him at the auction, but with him on the DL and in the minors, league rules prevented me from dropping the $1 end-of-auction bid.  With his call-up yesterday, I thought long and hard on this FAAB bid -- there's little science or math in it, it's mostly intuition as to what bid "feels right" -- and settled on $10 because it's aggressive enough to land him but low enough to make him a keeper.  Note: He FAAB'd for $22 in 2010 here and Mike Gianella fairly gushed about his potential then.

While he can help my depleted OF now, I think he is keeper material for 2013.  He's actually kind of a stealth stud prospect, with good power (think Trot Nixon) and sneaky speed that he's not afraid to use. He had 10 SB in 2010 with Boston, plus 24 earlier in the minors!  Kalish says he's healthy and he's torn up the minors on his brief rehab assignments.  He made his debut last night with a clutch RBI single that won the game against the Cubs. 

With the return of Ellsbury and Crawford still floating off in the foggy distance, Kalish will get plenty of at-bats.  Even when Cody Ross comes back (perhaps this week?) it will be an ideal platoon situation.  Podsednik (.373 and 5 SB for my $5 so far) has apparently tweaked his groin, so if he goes on the shelf that opens up CF. 

Basically, a potential 20/20 guy for $10.  Not bad!

Roster Review

THE RALLY SKWIRLS
Player	TM	Pos	Sal	Con
Kelly Shoppach	BOS	C	1	Op14
Joe Mauer	MIN	C	29	LT13
Miguel Cabrera	DET	1B	47	Op13
Orlando Hudson	CWS	2B	5	Op14
Asdrubal Cabrera	CLE	SS	23	Op13
Will Middlebrooks	BOS	3B	10	Op14
Chris Parmelee	MIN	1B/3B	5	Op14
Kelly Johnson	TOR	2B/SS	16	Op13
Alejandro De Aza	CWS	OF	1	Op13
Collin Cowgill	OAK	OF	2	Op14
Austin Jackson	DET	OF	22	Op14
Kole Calhoun	ANA	OF	5	Op14
Scott Podsednik	BOS	OF	5	Op14
David Ortiz	BOS	UTIL	14	FA
Jake McGee	TB	RP	2	Op14
Cory Wade	NYY	RP	1	Op14
Jonathan Broxton	KC	RP	8	Op14
Jon Lester	BOS	SP	39	Op14
Clay Buchholz	BOS	SP	13	FA
Scott Diamond	MIN	SP	7	Op14
Matt Thornton	CWS	RP	8	FA
Scott Downs	ANA	RP	1	Op14
Jake Peavy	CWS	SP	12	Op14
Jacoby Ellsbury	BOS	RESER (OF)	20	FA
Cody Ross	BOS	RESER (OF)	12	Op14
Andy Dirks	DET	RESER (OF)	6	Op14
Alexi Ogando	TEX	RESER (RP)	2	Op13
Matt Lindstrom	BAL	RESER (RP)	1	Op14
Dustin McGowan	TOR	RESER (SP)	1	Op14
Brett Cecil	TOR	RESER (SP)	5	Op14
Jose Iglesias	BOS	FARM (SS)	0
Xander Bogaerts	BOS	FARM (SS)	0
Anthony Ranaudo	BOS	FARM (SP)	0
Michael Ynoa	OAK	FARM (SP)	0

Weekly FAAB Report: Dice-K

Dice-K is back! FAAB him or wait for Oswalt?

AL-ONLY BIDS (12 Teams; 5x5 Roto)

Matsuzaka- Highlanders:16, BSP:12, Mt.Baker:12, Skwirls:5

I made a modest bid here, hoping maybe the league would either be napping or be afraid of Dice-K's notorious WHIP-killing skills.  I needed the Ks -- he had 8 in only 5 innings in his debut -- but with this tepid bid, I guess I decided I didn't need them that badly.  Side note: He was also on my target list at the end of the auction, but then when the time came, I saw Dustin McGowan sitting there and went that way instead with my $1. I was thinking McGowan would be back sooner than Dice-K. Whoops.

Danks- Mt.Baker:3

Moss- Mt.Baker:4

Brilliantly touted as a prospect by Theo Epstein when he clearly was not, then used as a chip to get Jay Bay from Pittsburgh, I had forgotten all about this guy.  Meanwhile, it is now apparent that 1B for the A's is like some kind of black hole Bermuda Triangle place that attracts (and destroys) marginal Quad-A type hitters.

Mazzaro-Troops:1

I used to think this guy had real potential. I've since been disavowed of this opinion. 

Doolittle- Usuals:2

Blackley- Usuals:2

Wade-Skwirls:1

OK, the thing about Wade is I've been watching him on the waiver wire all year, and he's been good, very good in fact. He's listed 2nd on the ESPN closer chart behind Soriano, and 3rd on the Fangraphs.  I like to speculate on these guys (it's how I ended up with 6 saves from Scott Downs for $1) and with injuries plaguing the post-Mariano bullpen, there's a slim chance he could snag a save or two. Either way, he's K'ing better than a guy an inning (29 in 27) and his WHIP is 0.96, so he shouldn't hurt me while Ogando is on the DL.*

*Yes, this is another reason we like the DH rule! 

Standings thru Sun. Jun. 10
	Rank	Team	Pts
	1	CHAOS	110.5
	2	HIGHLANDR	96.0
	3	MAJLIEFRS	86.0
	4	SKWIRLS	75.0
	5	USUALS	74.0
	6	DEAL/ND	68.0
	7	BIGSGPIZZ	59.0
	8	OWLS	56.0
	9	RELAY	47.0
	10	TROOPS	38.5
	11	MT BAKER	36.5
	12	CHINA	33.5

Weekly FAAB Report: Matsui

Moves 6/4
WAIVER CLAIMS:
Morel - BSP
---------------------------------------------
BIDS:
Matsui- Mt.Baker:21, Owls:7, Deal N/D:6, BSP:3, Chaos:1
Pryor- Usuals:8, Mt.Baker:4, BSP:2
Villareal- Usuals:3
Richards- Mt.Baker:3, BSP:3 (Mt.Baker lower in standings)
LaPorta- BSP:9, Owls:6, Deal N/D:6
Worth- Mt.Baker:2
Chavez- Chaos:1
Ross- Deal N/D:1
Feldman- BSP:1
Kelly- BSP:1


For the first time I think all season, I didn't make any FAAB bids at all.  I did have one slot to fill with Dirks on the DL, but with Austin Jackson due back Tuesday, and not being interested in Matsui, I elected to pass.  There is still Manny and Oswalt on the FAAB horizon, after all.

I find Pryor a very interesting prospect -- likely a future closer -- but I didn't have an open slot for him.

$9 for LaPorta?  Really?  If ever there was a poster child for the Quad-A guy, he's it. 

RALLY SKWIRLS
Current overall position: 4th
Remaining FAAB $50

Weekly FAAB Report: Podsednik

Q.Berry- China:5, Skwirls:5, Mt.Baker:2
Marson- Chaos:1
W.Smith- Mt.Baker:2
J.Diaz- Mt.Baker:2
Calhoun- Skwirls:5
Podsednik- Skwirls:5
Hudson- Skwirls:5, China:4, Highlanders:1
Flowers_ Liefers:2
Quintana- Highlanders:4
Sutton- Highlanders:1

A couple years ago during my first season in AL-only, seemingly washed up OF Scott Podsednik was reacquired by the White Sox.  Pods was coming off a terrible season in Colorado (.253 with only 12 steals), which followed a terrible season with the White Sox (.243 with only 12 steals). 

When he came available for bid early in the season, one of my league-mates ponied up $30 in FAAB for him! 

The rest of the league was stunned and confused.  In fact, I think his was the only bid. There was some snickering, but he had the last laugh: the 33-year-old Scotty Pods went on to a 7 HR / 48 RBI / 30 SB / .304 comeback year.

In 2010, he hit .310 and stole another 30 bases, this time for the Royals.  But the next season he was bouncing around again, ending up with the Dodgers.  Like my roto league, nobody in MLB seemed to think this aging 30-something speedster had anything left. 

All but given up for dead this season, he considered retirement as he languished in the minors for the Phillies. But then the Red Sox came calling, desperate for somebody, anybody, who could play CF. 

And so he's back, and this time, I wasn't about to let him sneak by me.  I wasn't going to risk the $1, but I put in a modest $5 bid, hoping I was the only one who remembered just how valuable Pods can be.  Funnily enough, not even the owner who famously bid $30 was interested this time around.  Seems like nobody believes in this guy, which as a Sox fan and a roto guy positively desperate for steals, suits me just fine. 

Weekly FAAB Report

WAIVER CLAIMS:
Benoit - BSP, Usuals
--------------------------------
BIDS:
Lin- Owls:5
Phelps- Owls:1
Nix- Chaos:1
Y.Gomes- Owls:15, Usuals:7, Skwirls:5
Walters - Relay:3

Weekly FAAB Report

WAIVER CLAIMS:
Quintero - Deal N/D
----------------------------------
BIDS:
Pettite- Chaos:31, BSP:26, Owls:21, Mt.Baker:6
McAllister- Usuals:2, Chaos:1, Mt.Baker:1
Tolleson- Deal N/D:1
Snyder- Relay:9, Chaos:1
Nava- Relay:10, Chaos:1
Avery- Mt.Baker:3
Mastrovianni- Mt.Baker:1
Iwakuma- Mt.Baker:1
L.Perez- BSP:1
Diamond- Skwirls:7, BSP:4
Cowgill- Skwirls:2, Mt.Baker:1
B.Hall- Chaos:1

Weekly FAAB Report

WAIVER CLAIMS:
Barton- Troops, BSP (Troops lower in standings)
----------------------------------
BIDS:
Burton- Mt. Baker:2
Frieri- Mt. Baker:1, Usuals:1, Chaos:1
Taylor- Mt.Baker:4, Chaos:1
Damon- BSP:29, Owls:25, Chaos:15, Deal N/D:5
Stewart- Troops:1
Santiago - Troops:1
Gimenez- Highlanders:1
Rhymes- Highlanders:1, Chaos:1
Dotel- Chaos:1
Kelly- Chaos:1
Inge- China:2, Deal N/D:2
Dozier- BSP:9, Deal N/D:3, Skwirls:3
Peralta - China:1

The Will Middlebrooks Era Begins

Roster moves
5/4/2012     SKWIRLS     Will Middlebrooks     farm     act.
5/4/2012     SKWIRLS     Daric Barton               act.     waiv.

Yep, and I gave him a 2-year $10 contract immediately.  Honestly, I actually don't expect anything from Youk this year and he may be traded this year (Oakland?) or leave as a free agent next year, leaving the door wide open for Middlebrooks.

How often in this league does your #1 draft pick come up a month after you pick him?  I mean, talk about instant payoff!

Weekly FAAB Report

BIDS:
Eldred- Owls:15, Highlanders:3
R.Cook- BSP:2
Byrd- Skwirls:20
Dyson- China:2
Below- CHina:8, BSP:3
Collins- CHina:2
R.Hill - Deal N/D:2
O'Day- Mt.Baker:2
L.Anderson- Chaos:1
Chavez- Highlanders:1

Weekly FAAB Report

BIDS:
Jeffress- Mt.Baker:2
Strop- Relay:1
Phelps- Big Sausage:1
Downs- Skwirls:2
Tazawa- Usuals:1
Maier- Relay:2
Janssen- Liefers:4
Mathis - Liefers:1

Oh no! Jaco!

Just a couple weeks into the season, and it's already been an eventful year with some interesting storylines. 

But clearly the top story is Jacoby Ellsbury going down with a shoulder injury, which looked like it hurt a lot.  His shoulder is "subluxed" as opposed to completely dislocated, so that could be good news, but if there's a labral tear, as ESPN's Stephania Bell points out, it's tantamount to full dislocation.  

In his last season at $20, he was supposed to be the centerpiece of my Rally Skwirls.  Now, he could be out til the All-Star game, or if he has surgery, he could be out all year.  This is devastating to the Red Sox, myself as a fan, and my AL-only roto team. 

Lacking any actual timeline at this time, it's may seem difficult to decide whether to try to replace him for a couple months or the entire season, i.e., I could try to trade for a David Murphy ($12) type at a minimal investment, or pull out all the stops and look for a Alex Gordon/Josh Hamilton stud.  But really, if you're in my boat, you have to assume the worst.  Ellsbury's Value Over Replacement Player (VORP) last year was 69.2, which really puts some pressure on the RP part of VORP.  

This past week I put in a $1 bid for the immortal Clete Thomas.  And didn't win him.  I'm not sure if that's good news or bad news.  But this week I will make an aggressive bid for Johnny Damon, who has just finally signed with Cleveland.  If that doesn't work out, I think it'll be time for a panic trade.

Other than that, the team is off to a good start and is sitting in the final money slot in 4th place.   

Weekly FAAB Report

Cobb- Deal N/D:3, Highlanders:3 (Deal N/D lower in standings)
Quintero- Sausage:3
Wilk- Sausage:6
Herrera- Liefers:1
Wheeler- Liefers:1
Repko- Relay:7
Swarzak- Relay:3
F.Morales- Skwirls:1
E.Ramirez- Mt.Baker:1
Thomas- Chaos:2, Skwirls:1

Weekly FAAB Report

Santiago- Chaos:22, Big Sausage:12, Skwirls:7
Paulino- Troops:10
Laird- Mt.Baker:5
F.Cordero: Deal N/D:3
McGee- Skwirls:2
Feldman- Usuals:1
Godfrey- Big Sausage:1
Lindstrom- Skwirls:1
A.Jones- Troops:10, Usuals:6, Deal N/D:3, Chaos:2
Beaven- Mt.Baker:7, Big Sausage:2
J.Williams- Owls:1
N.Johnson- Troops:1, Skwirls:1 (Troops lower in standings)
Francisco- Usuals:4
Seager- Highlanders:4
Hammels- Relay:4
Izturis- Relay:2

Auction Recap: Part 1 The Pitcher Chase

Having kept the maximum 10 players at $166 (highest keeper total in the league), I knew I had limited funds to fill out the remaining 15 slots on my roster. 

I toyed with the idea of going for Pujols or Fielder, which paired with Miggy Cabrera would give me 2 beasts. But I couldn't make the numbers work on that Star-Star-and-Scrubs plan.  But feeling good about my offense with Miggy, Ellsbury, Papi, etc., I decided my top priority was a #1/2/3 starter, preferably a big-K guy.  My second priority was to get a closer at auction. I budgeted $29 for the starter and $11 for the 2nd-tier closer.

Happily for me, there were plenty of top-end starters to choose from.  CC Sabbathia?  Went for $38.  Dan Haren? $39.  David Price?  Love him, but he went for $38.  CJ Wilson?  $35.  See a trend here?  I really wanted Justin Verlander, and somehow the bidding petered out at $38, but I wasn't able to pull the trigger, thinking that it was already way over my budget.  Immediately after the computer voice said "Sold," I started swearing and pounding the table, knowing I let the Cy Young winner go for a dollar less than Dan Haren.  Clearly I had to adjust my budget.  King Felix went for $37.  Hell, even Yu Darvish went for $31 while I sat on the sidelines hoping for the SP bargain.  So when Jon Lester was nominated, I jumped all in and rode the bidding all the way to... you guessed it: $39.  (Interestingly, both CC and Lester went for the same prices they went for last year.) 

No bargain, but I had secured the 15+ wins and 200 Ks I needed.

As for a closer, there were far fewer pickings.  Capps went for $11, but I didn't really like him.  Balfour went for $14.  When Bailey's price became $21, and his injury became known, I knew Melancon would go for more than the $4 or $5 I had him penciled in at.  When he hit $12, I bowed out.  This sucks, I thought.  Bard, perhaps the league's best closer who won't be closing, went for $11 -- $3 less than I had him last year -- but as a mediocre starter or a set-up guy, and with a very limited budget since I spent $39 on Lester, I couldn't justify it.  Finally, Broxton came up as my last hope, and bidding stalled at my $8 bid.  Thank friggin' god. 

To paraphrase Supertramp: "Not much of a closer, but he's the only one I got." 

Meet the 2012 Rally Skwirls

ALL CAPS: KEEPER
*Long-term contract

Position      Player            $alary
C                MAUER         29*
C                Shoppach         1
1B              Barton              1
2B              JOHNSON     16
SS              ASDRUBAL  23
3B              MIGGY          47
CI               Parmalee         5

MI              Punto               1
OF              DE AZA         1
OF              ELLSBURY  20
OF              Ross               12
OF              Sweeney          1
OF              Dirks               6
DH             ORTIZ            14

Pitchers
SP              BUCHHOLZ      13
SP              HELLICKSON    1
SP              OGANDO            2
SP              McGowan            1
SP              LESTER             39
SP              PEAVY               12
SP              Cecil                     5
RP              Broxton                8
RP              Sipp                      1

Fresh Meat / Deat Meat: Part Deux

Wow-wee wow-wee wow-wow!  A couple weeks ago I blogged that if Prince Fielder were to somehow see his way clear to sign with an American League team (and let's face it, he's got the body of a DH already), then my mind would "boggle" at the possibilities.  Well, consider me boggled.

As a Miguel Cabrera owner, the move has a couple of implications right off the not-so-proverbial bat.  They're already talking about moving Miggy to 3B; this is a much tougher position to fill fantasy-wise, so that's a plus.  And they're thinking about hitting Miggy in the 3 hole, with Fielder behind him cleaning up; this can only mean he's going to see more good pitches.

Can Prince hit 51 homers for the Tigers like his dad Cecil did in 1990? 

Fresh Meat/Dead Meat: Part the Seconde

FRESH MEAT:

SP Yu Darvish (Japan --> TEX)  Is he Dice-K or Nomo or Kuroda or something else entirely?  

SP Hiroki Kuroda  (LAD-NYY) With Pineda, I kinda like the Yankees starting pitching. Weird, right?

RP Francisco Cordero (CIN --> TOR) But apparently not to close. Don't buy it. 

1B  Carlos Pena (CHC --> TAM)  What's Theo got against this guy? Cut him in Boston after a cup of coffee, the let him go in Chicago.  He's yet another intriguing option at the CI slot after all the elite 1B go at auction. 

OF  Cody Ross (SF --> BOS)  Ross + Sweeney > JD Drew + Reddick?  Hmmm.... Doubt it.  But look for Kalish to take over RF after the All-Star break. 

DEAD MEAT:

C  Jorge Posada (NYY --> Retirement)  Bye-bye Tiny Head.  Bye-bye Big Bat.  They won't be jamming you inside anymore.  Hip-hip-Jorge!

OF Juan Pierre  (CHI --> PHI)   Good riddance. He was a thorn in my side all year.

OF Carlos Quentin (CHI --> SD)  Banished to where home runs and home run hitters go to die.  

SP  Jeff Francis (KC --> CIN)

SP  AJ Burnett (NYY --> PIT)  As a Sox fan, I'll miss him.

SP  Mark Guthrie (BAL --> COL)  The worst #1 starter in the AL is gone.     

SS Marco Scutaro (BOS --> COL)  Salary dump of a $6-mil starting SS? Still don't get this one, but look for Jose "Iggy" Iglesias to take over SS after the all-star break.

Dead Meat / Fresh Meat 2012

Fresh AL-Only Meat! Droool, droool...

Because it's difficult information to find at this
early stage, I like to review the transactions so far and see who has switched leagues.  I call this segment Dead Meat/Fresh Meat.  If an AL player has moved to the NL via trade, free agency, or waivers, he's Dead Meat to us.  Vice versa, if he's coming to the AL, he's Fresh Meat.

Note: 2013 will make the entire roster of the Houston Astros Fresh Meat!  Imagine the deeper waiver pools!  Ahhhh... so luxurious!  But I digress....

Obviously, the biggest addition to the league so far is Mr. Albert Pujols.  While my wife snickers every time somebody says his name (Poo-holes), this development is definitely not something to laugh about, unless its with delirious joy.  The AL is now positively loaded with high-impact 1B, with the Junior Circuit successfully importing Adrian Gonzalez last year and Miguel Cabrera before that.

Will Cecil Fielder follow suit?  The mind boggles!

Bank on Pujols getting high $40s salary in your league this season -- maybe even $50+ -- which will cause a cascade effect and create bargains in the 2nd and 3rd tier first-basemen.

Fresh Meat:

1B Albert Pujols (STL --> LAA)   Drooooool.

MI Jamey Carroll (LAD --> MIN) 

OF Ben Francisco (PHI --> TOR)  #4 OF, could prove useful.

C Gerald Laird (STL --> DET)

C Chris Ianetta (COL -- LAA)  This is a very intriguing development at catcher. 

C Ryan Doumit (PIT --> MIN)  Backing up Mauer could mean substantial ABs.

SP Jonathan Sanchez (SF --> KC)  Intriguing as buy-low innings-eating starter.

SP Dana Eveland (LAD --> BAL)  

SP Jason Marquis (WAS --> MIN)  Better than Slowey.  

SP Brad Peacock (WAS --> OAK)  Rookie prospect traded for Gio G. 

RP Mark Melancon (HOU --> BOS)  Sleeper for saves?

RP Octavio Dotel (STL --> DET)  Never stays any one place for long, does he? 


Dead Meat:

C Jake Fox (BAL --> PIT) 

SS Yannico Navarro (KC --> PIT) 

SS Jack Wilson (SEA --> ATL)   

SS Cesar Izturis (BAL --> MIL)  Good riddance to all 3 spaghetti-batted infielders. 

MI Jed Lowrie (BOS --> HOU)  Good luck Jed! 

OF Melky Cabrera (KC --> SF)  A sleeper surprise in '11, now he's gone.

OF Travis Buck (CLE --> HOU)  

OF Jason Kubel (MIN --> ARZ) 

OF Michael Cuddyer (MIN--> COL)  Wait, aren't they the same guy?  

OF  David DeJesus (OAK --> CHC)  With him and JD Drew gone, who will I waste my #5 OF $$ on?

SP Mark Buehrle (CHI --> MIA) K's will go up in NL, from not-quite passable to barely passable. 

SP Mark Bedard (BOS --> PIT)  We hardly knew ye in Boston.

SP Gio Gonzalez (OAK --> WSH)  What is it with all the lefties going to the NL? 

SP Trevor Cahill (OAK --> ARZ)  A-Rod can torment him no more. 

SP Tyler Chatwood (LAA --> COL) 

SP Kevin Slowey (MIN --> COL) 

RP Andy Sonnanstine (TAM --> CHC)

RP Craig Breslow (OAK --> ARZ)

RP Frank Francisco (TOR --> NYM)  Francisco now fights for saves with Rauch in New York. 

RP Jon Rauch (TOR --> NYM)  Rauch now fights for saves with Francisco in New York.