{"id":523077,"date":"2010-04-10T22:29:33","date_gmt":"2010-04-11T02:29:33","guid":{"rendered":"urn:newsml:sports.yahoo,yhoo:20050301:fantasy,article,yhoo-ept_sports_fantasy_experts-233405:1"},"modified":"2010-04-10T22:29:33","modified_gmt":"2010-04-11T02:29:33","slug":"weekly-rundown-francisco-jumps-on-grenade-saves-no-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/523077","title":{"rendered":"Weekly Rundown: Francisco jumps on grenade, saves no one"},"content":{"rendered":"

Known as the Sacagawea of fantasy primers, the Weekly Rundown guides
\nhead-to-head owners through a forest of obscure stats and exploitable
\nmatchups in an attempt to help solve lineup conundrums. While reading,
\nkeep in mind matchups are subject to change due to managerial moves,
\nunforeseen injuries and Mother Nature’s influences. <\/em><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

LEADING OFF<\/strong><\/p>\n

Arlington’s
\nDepartment of Ballpark Security has just raised its threat level from
\norange to
\nred. As a result, new guards have been hired, bullpen chairs bolted down
\n and
\nbox seat patrons warned. No pretzel
\n dog<\/a> feels safe… <\/p>\n

Frank Francisco<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> blew yet another save. <\/p>\n

On Friday, the hotheaded closer failed to hold a three-run
\nlead against the Blue Jays, surrendering three in two-thirds of an inning.
\nSaturday’s encore, this time against Seattle,
\nwas a disastrous carbon-copy. Below is the frightening play-by-play. Franky
\nsupporters are strongly recommended to shield their eyes: <\/p>\n

<\/a>
<\/p>\n

Francisco’s updated ERA (27.00) and WHIP (5.00) is more
\nindicative of a Dirk Nowitzki end game line than anything resembling a
\nreputable stopper. Frankly, it’s appalling. Owners who shelled out sizable coin
\nfor the stopper’s services (The Noise embarrassingly raises his hand) are
\nlikely already wallowing near the basement in two key pitching categories. Yippee
\nSkippy.<\/a><\/p>\n

After the game Ron Washington (We can only assume he has an insatiable urge to be trapped in a "blizzard" right now) was supportive yet veiled when discussing his troubled closer’s latest debacle. From MLB.com<\/a>: <\/p>\n

There could be another save opportunity on Sunday, but it might
\nnot necessarily be Francisco who gets the call. <\/p>\n

"Stay tuned," Washington
\nsaid cryptically. <\/p>\n

Thursday and Saturday had one other thing in common. Neftali Feliz<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> preceded
\nFrancisco to the mound and retired the side in order in the eighth inning. But
\nit would still seem unlikely that Washington
\nwould make a change at closer right now this early in the season. <\/p>\n

"I’d just like to see him get those three outs in the ninth inning, and
\nhe would, too," Washington
\nsaid. "Nobody wants to get those outs worse than Frankie. … He’s our
\ncloser." <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Francisco’s velocity is down a few ticks, but Rangers’ management doesn’t
\nseem concerned. Evidently he’s still rounding into shape. Still, until he can successfully generate outs, wunderkind
\nNeftali Feliz could snag a save opportunity or three in the short-term. <\/p>\n

After a
\nrocky Opening Day, the young flamethrower has relaxed, tossing consecutive scoreless
\ninnings with four strikeouts. Despite his tender age and end-game inexperience,
\nhe clearly has the stuff to develop into a dominating closer. <\/p>\n

Obviously, the torched Ranger, like Mike Gonzalez<\/a>(notes)<\/a>,<\/span> shouldn’t be banished to St. Helena just yet. With his manager’s support, he will be given additional
\nopportunities to right the ship. Still, owner doubt has unquestionably crept in.<\/p>\n

QUICK HITTERS (tidbits from
\nSaturday’s slate): <\/strong>Magglio Ordonez<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> is rapidly becoming fantasy relevant once
\nagain after clubbing his second homer in three days. He’s now 10-for-21 on the
\nyoung season with four RBI…AL hitters continue to be intimidated by Jon Rauch’s<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span>
\n6-foot-11 frame and trailer-rad neck tattoo. He’s now a perfect 4-for-4 in save
\nopportunities…Bat cancer Willy Taveras<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> could actually be the answer in right for
\nthe Nationals. The speedster, a potential source of cheap speed, collected two
\nhits and four RBI against the Mets. Keep close tabs on him deep leaguers…Aaron
\nHarang<\/a>(notes)<\/a>,<\/span> arguably the unluckiest starter in the bigs over the past two seasons,
\nshined in a no decision versus the Cubs, racking a 7:0 K:BB split over seven
\ninnings. He allowed three runs. In the same game, Carlos Zambrano<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> rebounded
\nwith a 3 ER, 9 K effort over seven strong…St.
\n Louis’ Jamie Garcia is a name to watch closely in
\n12-team and deeper formats. The rookie surrendered just one earned over six
\ninnings (5:3 K:BB) earning the W in Sausageland. Based on his minor league
\ntrack-record, he could become a valuable K source. Dave Duncan is a genius…Gaby
\nSanchez<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> cracked his first career homer, a three-run jack off woeful Vicente
\nPadilla<\/a>(notes)<\/a>.<\/span> He’s quietly been productive collecting five hits in 16 at-bats (four
\nfor extra bases) and four RBI. It won’t be long before he’s relevant in 12-team
\nmixed formats…The Butler bump has turned Rick Ankiel<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> into a ball-crushing
\nmonster. The outfielder has notched six hits and four RBI in his past two
\ngames. He could amass a surprising RBI total hitting behind the Ass-O-Meter…Finally,
\nLance Berkman<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> is targeting April 20 for his season debut<\/a>. The Big Puma’s deteriorating
\nbat will provide little hope for the dreadful ‘Stros. Where’s Dickie Thon when
\nyou need him most?  <\/p>\n

DOUBLE DIPPERS<\/strong><\/p>\n

For stream conscious owners
\n who want to push the innings-pitched envelope this is the list for you.
\n Run support, ballpark factors, historical and recent trends, opposing
\noffenses, opposing SPs, managerial tendencies and meteorological
\ninfluences are painstakingly taken into account to give you the top
\ndouble dippers of each week.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/a>
<\/p>\n

Other AL Double Dippers<\/strong>: Justin Duchscherer<\/a>(notes)<\/a>,<\/span> Oak (at Sea, Bal), Brian Tallet<\/a>(notes)<\/a>,<\/span> Tor (ChW, LAA), Jeremy Guthrie<\/a>(notes)<\/a>,<\/span> Bal (TB, at Oak)<\/p>\n

<\/a>
<\/strong><\/p>\n

Other NL Double Dippers:<\/strong> Ross Ohlendorf<\/a>(notes)<\/a>,<\/span> Pit (at SF, Cin), Nate Robertson<\/a>(notes)<\/a>,<\/span> Fla (Cin, at Phi, Greg Smith<\/a>(notes)<\/a>,<\/span> Col (NYM, at Atl)<\/p>\n

FEAST OR FAMINE?   <\/strong><\/p>\n

Torn between two
\nstat-similar infielders this week? Use the pitching and hitting staff
\nsorters below to help you decide whether or not Adam LaRoche<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/a> or Carl Pavano<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/a> is fantasy feast or famine.
\nStats are for games played through April 9:<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/a>
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Known as the Sacagawea of fantasy primers, the Weekly Rundown guides head-to-head owners through a forest of obscure stats and exploitable matchups in an attempt to help solve lineup conundrums. While reading, keep in mind matchups are subject to change due to managerial moves, unforeseen injuries and Mother Nature’s influences. LEADING OFF Arlington’s Department of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5446,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-523077","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/523077","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5446"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=523077"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/523077\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=523077"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=523077"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=523077"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}