May 29, 2002
Lilly-Fresh Yanks Continue Bronx Bombing Ways
Well, Ted Lilly is finally getting noticed in the world of
fantasy baseball ... This slow recognition of a reliable young
fantasy asset reminds me of last year's achingly slow move on
Texas 2B-eligible Frank Catalanotto, who damn near went and
won himself a batting title ... Lilly is finally accounted for
in 100% of AL-only leagues, but the 26-year-old lefty is still
available in more than 46% of universe leagues. His hard luck
in run support (2-4 record despite a 2.88 ERA, a ridiculous
0.88 WHIP and 42/13 K/BB ratio in 50 IP) has led to a Player
Rater ranking as the #79/#71/#59 pitcher in
traditional/saber/5x5 leagues.
Mo and Ted's Excellent Adventure
ESPN's Gamer, Brandon Funston, pegged Lilly as, statistically,
"the most average pitcher" in FLB. However, Funston notes,
this is mostly due to the fact that "wins are out of a
pitcher's control. Especially in Lilly's case, where he's
allowed more than three runs in his [seven] starts just once."
Another good read out there right now can be found on
CNNSI.com, where John Donovan outlines the Bronx power surge,
and has reassuring words for Mariano Rivera owners: "The same
people predicting [his] demise ... are the ones who said Roger
Clemens was done five years ago." If you saw Mo's cutter in
Comiskey Tuesday, you know he's okay.
Early Touchdown Holds Up for Thurman
Let's be absolutely clear about this: Mike Thurman had a nice
emergency start Monday, but he's auditioning for a spot in the
Texas or Baltimore rotation. New York's six first-inning runs
were the most in team history for a pitcher making his debut
in pinstripes ... Since May 12, Nick Johnson is hitting
.274/4/16; the Cliff Floyd and Brian Giles rumors should start
ebbing ... Alfonso Soriano is leading the majors in "outs
made" -- pay attention, saber leagues ... Jason Giambi is at
.302/12/35. That didn't take long ... The only positive-value
fantasy catcher in MLB plays in New York, and he ain't named
"Piazza."
Feeling Like '61* All Over Again
The Yankees are leading the majors in runs, SLG, OBP, OPS and
have 18 more homers than the next-closest team ... They are
"on pace" (ugh) to obliterate the team records for both homers
and strikeouts ... 46% of the team's runs have scored on
homers ... Will the power surge continue? Well, nobody outside
of Alfonso Soriano is hitting significantly more homers than
past performance would indicate, the ball carries better in
the Bronx during the summer, and the remaining schedule
against the AL East, where Lilly, Thurman and Sterling
Hitchcock would all be front-four guys on any other team
except Boston, will help.
Probable Starters
May 30: Off Day
May 31: Wells vs. BOS (Lowe)
June 1: Mussina vs. BOS (Arrojo)
June 2: Hitchcock vs. BOS (Castillo)
June 3: Lilly vs. BAL (Erickson)
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Stuck on Band-Aids ...
Andy Pettitte will make another rehab start this weekend,
after cutting his last outing short due to discomfort ...
Ramiro Mendoza flew home to Panama for a family funeral and
will return Friday ... Thurman might get another start, but
Hitchcock is more likely to match up with the Boston lineup
... Orlando Hernandez will be ready to go as soon as his DL
time is up on June 5 ... Yes, it's time to trade David Wells;
his bizarre outburst in the hotel lobby over the weekend is a
bad omen ... Soriano missed Monday's game after falling in the
shower. He was safe.
The Columbus Shuttle
New Columbus manager Stump Merrill, who guided the Yankees to
a 120-155 mark in 1990-1991, met the team in Syracuse Friday
for his debut. Prize lefty Brandon Claussen was torched in a
16-6 loss to the Chiefs, and his misleading ERA finally jumped
a little to 3.15. Claussen is 1-6 with a 1.42 WHIP and has
surrendered eight unearned runs ... Veteran OF Billy McMillon
is the only Clipper in the top 10 of any IL hitting category;
his .340 average ranks #9 ... Check that -- the Drew Henson K
Watch continues, as the former QB leads the IL with 60 whiffs
in just 175 AB ... Former Met phenom Bill Pulsipher was
released.
Observing Memorial Day as Scheduled
Did anyone else notice that the Yankee schedule for the week
leading up to Memorial Day was Red (Sox), White (Sox) and Blue
(Jays)? ... Lilly is ranked ahead of Greg Maddux in all three
versions of the Player Rater ... Although Pedro Martinez is
not scheduled to start against the Yankees this weekend, don't
be surprised if that turns out to be a decoy ... Former Yankee
Ruben Rivera is tearing it up for AA Tulsa, presumably wearing
his own glove ... These columns, updated weekly or as breaking
news warrants, are archived at
http://dellepro.dellhost.com/doherty/sports/ESPN/ or send
questions to RotoYanks@yahoo.com.
