Taking Notice: Week 5

During a week in which we saw ManRam go down for 50 games for 'post-roidal' doping, A-Fraud returning to the Yankees lineup, and Junior Varsity (Justin Verlander) pitch like he belongs on Varsity, Brian "Wild Thing" McCann was just happy to finally see, again. Kurt Rambis, Jr., your Atlanta faithful missed you! Lots of shake-ups going on this week in fantasy baseball. Big things poppin', as we like to say here on our weekly rundown, Taking Notice: Week Five edition.


...From Around the League:

• It was a nip and tuck contest all week between Yuri Sucart M.D. and How Bout 'Dem (Bubble) 'Boys as the battle waged on late into Sunday afternoon. Sucart, who was down 8-3-4 as late as Friday, came back to win 8-5-2 against a game team of Boys from the (Bubble). I said "game", not "gay". It appears the 'Boys have fallen on hard times of late losing their last three contests. But the positive to take away here is that two-thirds of the outfield have yet to really get it going this season: Grady Sizemore and Corey Hart. It's just a matter of time before things turn around. Sucart, meanwhile, is a perfect 5-0.
• Let's rewind the season back three weeks. An undefeated (Bubble) 'Boys was set to face a winless Lincecum Honor. My, how fortunes have changed in just three weeks. 'Cum Honor has since reeled off three straight, including a victory over Fantasy Filipinos this week. Led by Albert Pujols and the resurgent Brandon Phillips, and relatively obscure starters like Matt Harrison and Brian Tallet (who?), 'Cum Honor continues to ride Free Agent hot hands to victory.
• The 'Frisco Switchhitters came on like gangbusters to cap off a very nice offensive weekend against the Fast and the Bi-Curious. In the final three days, the Switchhitters tallied 65 Total Bases to surpass Bi-Curious and, ultimately, to lead the league in Week 5 with 135. I'm too lazy to look it up, but I am fairly certain that is a new league record for most TBs in a week.
• It was only a matter of time before Ryan Braun and Nick Sparkakis blew up in the same week for Jonny Gomes' Wife. Together, they combined for 14 runs, 6 HRs and 18 ribbies. As a team, Inspect Her Gadget produced an anemic 23 runs, 4 HRs and 21 RBIs. When two players nearly equal or better an entire team's offensive output, it is safe to say that it wasn't in the cards for Gadget in Week 5.
• Though their team name lacks creativity, Team Longhorns certainly did not lack any offense this week against Laminated Wood. The return of Alex Rodriguez could not propel the Wood past a robust Longhorn team that featured 10 hitters who had a .300 BA or better on the week.
• Frederick Le Keys had one of those monster weeks where you sit back, kick your feet up, click refresh on the Team page and someone new homers, steals a base, or drives in runs. Gotta love the ebb and flows of fantasy baseball, and baseball, in general. Unfortunately for Gangsta Nation, it was mostly consternation as the offense and pitching let them down for a third straight week.

Raking:

• Monsieur Hanley Ramirez was simply sensational in Week 5. By the way, in the ever-hilarious battle of '-Ram' nicknames, HanRam is far and away the best since ManRam sounds so penetrable and HorRam [Horacio Ramirez] is just plain silly. But, I digress. Hanley's all-around game is something to be admired as he scored 9 runs, raked 3 HRs, and stole 3 bases .
  
• I have waited all season long for Johnny Damon to make this list. These cavemen photos weren't going to magically appear on my blog by themselves, ya know. Seems like Damon has two of these hot streaks every season where he catapults his average by around 60 points and pokes 4 or 5 homers. It comes in such a small bunch that it fails to help their fantasy owners in any significant way. It is a crime that this keeps happening year after year cause he's simply not as good a hitter as his year-end stats indicate. But enough hatin', here's to Johnny Damon's hot wife!
• I heard Ryan Braun quit school because of recess. This kid ain't playin, folks! Braun was born to hit a baseball, and is slowly making a case to be a top 3 fantasy pick next year. Already in his third full season in the majors, he has never gone more than 15 at bats without getting a hit. Think about that! His biggest slump was an 0 for 14 streak (or approx. 3 games) last summer. That is the type of consistency you want out of your offensive studs. You don't want hitters that are prone to go into week- or month-long slumps. Braun smacked 3 homers and knocked in 10 RBIs in Week 5 and is sporting a slick .857 SLG% in May.
  

Filthy:

• Joe Saunders improved to 5-1 on the season after picking up two more wins in Week 5. Was the 2008 version of Joe Saunders the real Joe Saunders? Do I enjoy typing the name, Joe Saunders? The answers to these questions are all probably 'Yes'. The Angels lefty, whose hometown is Springfield, VA, and pitched at Virginia Tech, has some fairly impressive numbers thus far. He's improving upon his K/BB rate from last year and opponents are only hitting .230 off him (the major league average is .262). That is damn solid for a starter.
• Brett Cecil. Who? Yeah, I had to look him up, too. He threw 14 innings of 1 run ball and struck out 12 batters since getting the call up a two weeks ago when Ricky Romero went on the DL. He is a Maryland product and I am a bit surprised that I hadn't heard about this Cecil kid before, which leads me to believe he wasn't hyped as a highschooler. I'm not buying Cecil. He simply hasn't played very good competition in Oakland or Cleveland and Romero is due back in a week or so, which severely limits his opportunities. I'd much rather take a flyer on, say, a Luke Hochevar or a Tommy Hanson.
  
• Eric Stults sounds like a guy who'd be just as likely to fix your carburetor as he would pitching nine inning of shut out ball against the San Francisco Baseball Giants. But, that's exactly what he did and why he tops our list in Week 5. Nine strong innings along with no walks or runs will get you recognized, even if his peripherals (K rates, BB rates, and Ground Ball to Fly Ball ratio) are underwhelming. Still, I'll pass on Stults and wait for him to blow up on another owner.
  
• I assume Brian Tallet's last name is pronounced, "Tal-LETT", and not, "Tal-LAY", thereby making him somewhat more palatable. Like Stults, this guy's peripherals aren't great. He has a 4.95 ERA on the season so that should tell you all you need to know. But he did have a stellar Week 5, pitching 14 innings while only giving up 6 total hits and 4 runs.
• Time to Manny up and eat my crow for calling out Justin Verlander in my troubling pitcher's article two weeks ago. I said, at the time, that he was not locating very well and his pitch counts were getting a tad suspect. Looks like I was wrong and he's settled down nicely in his past 3 starts, combinging for 23 innings, 3 Wins and 31 Ks. I'm liking what I'm seeing out of him (I happened to watch part of the Cleveland v. Detroit game last Thursday). He's always had terrific velocity but I was suprised to see his command on the curve. He was dominant against the Indians, but then again, so was Brett Cecil last week. Take it for what it's worth.
  

Good Eye:

• Matt Harrison (TEX - SP): Picked up by Lincecum Honor on May 8. Harrison tossed a complete game shutout against the Pale Hose on Friday, and he did it in a particularly good hitter's park.
  
• Billy Butler (KC - 1B): Picked up by Inspect Her Gadget on May 7. The hefty Butler is 8 for 15 since getting the call up from Free Agency. He's been on a tear since the last days of April and is finally showing the promise of being the #2 overall pick in the 2005 draft.
  
• Juan Cruz (KC - CL): Picked up by Frederick Keys on May 10. Joakim Soria goes on the DL for 15 days and Cruz is the next in line. Prospecting on saves is never a bad thing.
• Andrew Bailey (OAK - CL): Picked up by Yuri Sucart M.D. on May 7. The rotating door of closers never stop in Oakland and it appears Andrew Bailey is going to be given a look as Brad Ziegler tries to resuscitate himself back in to form following a respiratory ailment.
  

Power Rankings (as of May 10, 2009):

Inspect Her Gadget takes the biggest tumble while Lincecum Honor has found his stroke. Now feast your eyes on this: