Yardbarker: John Danks

AccuScore Closer Report - 7/7

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 18:00:47 -0500

There is a new look to the Closer Report this week with expanded coverage of bullpen situations around baseball and rankings for the top fantasy closers and middle relievers. This week AccuScore analyst looks at the All-Star relievers, and has a problem with the selection of one player in particular. Also, the trade deadline is approaching so which closers could be swapping uniforms in the near future?

MLB Fantasy Minute - Week 14

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 06:31:49 -0500

Screaming Sports' Phil Yoon breaks out his famed MLB Fantasy Minute and breaks down the MLB's top five stories. Low batting average does not mean low fantasy production. Dodgers youngsters are making their case. And is K-Rod a fantasy MVP? Mr. Yoon has all if it covered and much more.

Lee's great, bats suck, bullpen blows up. That's about right Tribe fans

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 00:40:45 -0500

I was at Yankee Stadium tonight, making my Yankee-fan daughter happy by taking her to a game, watching Joba the Great look pretty ordinary and (this was my main focus) watching the out-of-town scoreboard to see what was going on in ChiTown. Am I nuts or what? As I watched the updates being posted, I could tell without any details available at all that the game between the Tribe and the Sox was taking a familiar path. Lee and Danks matching each other inning after inning and the toothless Tribe offense being offensive, as it has been all year. When the Yanks loss to Texas ended, the auxiliary scoreboard at Yankee Stadium showed the Tribe and the Sox tied at 1 in the 9th. It seemed pretty clear to me at that point that after I battled with 50 thousand other New Yorkers to get out of the place, risked 18 fender benders trying to push my way out of the parking lot and drove home to the suburbs, that I would likely turn on my computer to find that one reliever or another had blown the game. I was not disappointed. Tonight it was Joe Borowski, who blew his fourth save in 10 chances this season. The Tribe took the lead in the tenth only to have JoBo give it up (again) in the bottom of the inning. Can the trade deadline get here fast enough? The sooner it does the sooner Borowski will be gone (if someone will take him). Whether gone through trade or simply banished, Borowski must go. There's no obvious choice to replace him, so maybe Wedge spends the last two months of the season holding open auditions. Maybe the closer of the future is on someone else's Triple-A team right now, about to change uniforms without knowing it just yet. Someone - at least one guy - has to be given the shot in the last two months of this year to try to fill the job for next season. If that guy proves not to be on the roster, even after the trading deadline, then some money has to be shelled out to get a real closer. Everyone laughed at the White Sox when they overspent for Scott Linebrink and Octavio Dotel this winter. But why is overpaying for a solid, shut-em-down bullpen considered to be foolish while paying huge bucks for a bat or a starter is seen as a great move by the front office. We've seen it time and time again. You don't win division titles without a solid bullpen and the Tribe's pen is a mess. The first thing to do to fix it so spend the last two months trying to find out if they have someone to close out games next year already on their roster. I don't see anybody, but you've got to try. Back to Joba the Great for a minute. This was my first chance to see him pitch in person, except possibly for one inning of relief late last season. He was anything but great tonight. He couldn't find home plate with a Garmin GPS - having to leave after four innings with his pitch count in the 90s. Joba walked four and gave up five hits and two runs in his four innings. Of his 91 pitches, 49 were strikes and 42 were balls. Not too good. Derek Jeter, my daughter's favorite, got the night off and the Yanks lost of course, so it wasn't the greatest of nights for my daughter. For me, it was a good - if painfully slow - game in which I had no rooting interest.

White Sox Musings!

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 18:46:15 -0500

We all know that the Chicago White Sox were swept by their cross town rivals this past weekend! What most of you don't know (unless you're from Chicago) is that the "cry babies" on the south side couldn't go back to the Cell without having some crass parting words for the Chicago Cubs organization and their fans! Listed below are some parting comments made by Ozzie Guillen & crew before they offically crawled their way back to "The Cell" with their Bibs, Rattlers & Diapers on! Ozzie Guillen: "The rats at Wrigley Field have gotten bigger, they must be lifting weights". A.J. Pierzynski: "Cubs Fans are all idiots". John Danks: "Their Clubhouse smells like someone urinated in it"! Too bad the rest of the organization didn't have a s much class as their GM Kenny Williams! Oh well, I guess they'll NEVER get used to being eternally known as "The Other" team that plays in Chicago. Go Cubs! http://www.letsgodeep.com/ http://www.passitdeep.com/

AL Cy Young Talk in June

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 21:27:59 -0500

We're coming up on the halfway point of the 2008 MLB Season. Which means you're going to have to endure countless meaningless mid-season lists put together by amateurs who have nothing better to talk about. So without further ado...

AL Cy Young

1. Joe Saunders (LAA), 11-3, 3.03 ERA, 49 K's, 101 IP
The obvious question - can Saunders keep it up? I don't see why not. It's not like he's been fooling hitters with nasty stuff, or blowing anything past them. He's just a solid pitcher who attacks the strike zone and pitches to contact. Plus, he's got arguably the best defense in baseball behind him. He may not even break 100 K's this year, but he's got a real shot at 20 W's.

2. Justin Duchscherer (OAK), 8-4, 1.99 ERA, 51 K's, 77 IP
Duchsch is another guy who came out of virtually nowhere. He was best known for his exceptional work out of the Oakland bullpen, and received the occasional spot start. But an 8-4 record with an ERA below 2 suggests he's more than a spot-starter. Is he legit?

3. Cliff Lee (CLE), 10-1, 2.45 ERA, 79 K's, 95.2 IP
Everyone knows about Cliff Lee, after he put together a 5-0 April with a 0.96 ERA. But things are slowing down a bit ERA-wise, posting a 4.18 ERA in June. Still, he's sporting an impressive 2.45 ERA, and the 10-1 record doesn't leave a whole lot to be desired. I just can't get past Lee's earlier seasons where he was anywhere from mediocre to terrible.

4. Roy Halladay (TOR), 8-6, 2.90 ERA, 93 K's, 114.2 IP
This dude is a workhorse. The record is solid, nothing great - but it's the IP that make Halladay so valuable for the Blue Jays. In fact, all you really need to know is that he's on pace for 10 complete games this year.

5. Felix Hernandez (SEA), 6-5, 2.87 ERA, 91 K's, 103.1 IP
The record isn't all that great, but it's not his fault the Mariners have no offense. Everything else about King Felix looks great - the 2.87 ERA, and 91 K's. He's had some lingering health issues, though, including a collision at the plate today.

6. Ervin Santana (LAA), 9-3, 3.17 ERA, 91 K's, 102.1 IP
Ervin's finally tapped into some of that magic, the magic that had fans and scouts drooling over the young righthander. Despite struggling for a couple years, Santana has done more than hold his own in the Angels rotation. Can he keep it up? He's got nasty stuff, so I say he does.

7. Shaun Marcum (TOR), 5-4, 2.65 ERA, 86 K's, 98.2 IP
Another "out-of-nowhere" guy, Marcum is arguably the best pitcher on the Blue Jay's staff in 2008. The record isn't all that great, but if he can keep his ERA around where it is and continue to strike guys out at his current rate, he should see upwards of 14 or 15 wins if the Jays can get their bats going.

8. John Danks (CHW), 4-4, 2.80 ERA, 66 K's, 86.2 IP
Here's another guy that won't win the Cy Young because of his record. But the ERA is great, and the K's are solid. Above all, though, I need to mention that the Rangers had him. And traded him. Just like they did with Chris Young to the Padres, and Edinson Volquez to the Reds. And, yet, the Texas rotation is led by Vincente Padilla. (In fact, Danks probably belongs in the "honorable mentions" below, but I couldn't help but take a cheap shot at the Rangers.)

For one reason or another, these guys don't make the Cy Young list - mostly because of missed time due to injury. Still, they deserve notice: Scott Kazmir (6-3, 2.03 ERA, 68 K's, 62 IP), C.C. Sabathia (5-8, 4.06 ERA, 107 K's, 106.1 IP), John Lackey (4-1, 1.73 ERA, 39 K's, 52 IP), Rich Harden (4-0, 2.44 ERA, 72 K's, 59 IP)

Putting together these lists takes more time and effort than I thought, so I'll leave the MVP, Rookie of the Year, and Closer awards, as well as all the NL awards, for another time.

White Sox at Cubs open game thread

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 16:30:58 -0500

B-REF PREVIEW | GAMEDAY | WEATHER | ACB CHAT ROOM John Danks vs. Cubs hitters: N/A Ted Lilly vs. White Sox hitters: .285/.358/.538 in 130 at-bats When and Where: 1:20, CSN Chicago Lilly only faced the White Sox once last year. He got the win and threw 7 innings allowing 6 hits and 3 earned runs. Danks is having a really good season and the Cubs have never seen him so don't expect them to get off to a quick start. Sure would be nice to win this one. Wind blowing straight out to CF at 10 mph.

The 10 Best Post-Hype Prospects for Fantasy Baseball...

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 18:44:40 -0500

A post-hype prospect is someone in his second, third or fourth year who has yet to produce at the level that was expected of him when he made the league. Because of this, these super talented prospects go from over-valued to under-valued, and are now sleepers ready to break out and help your team down the stretch run.

Pretty In Pink: Swisher, Danks, and Hall to Dye Facial Hair

Tue, 06 May 2008 14:21:19 -0500

It was announced today that Chicago White Sox players Nick Swisher, John Danks and Toby Hall will dye their facial hair pink in honor of Mother's Day and support of Breast Cancer awareness tomorrow (Weds., May 7).

AccuScore: Waiver Wire Wonders

Fri, 02 May 2008 12:44:12 -0500

Players on the waiver wire are often met with unfair criticism. AccuScore fantasy expert Tim Williams takes a look at some Waiver Wire Wonders like LaRoche and Gutierrez who mostly do good, but are punished to the waiver wire because of one weakness.

Surprises at the Quarter-Point

Thu, 01 May 2008 22:21:14 -0500

It's hard to believe, but we're already at the quarter point of the 2008 baseball season. So let's see where things stand...

MLB Roundup... Uniform Praise

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 16:08:49 -0500

MLB Roundup examines Jersey-Gate. Who nearly jinxed the New York Yankees and how did "Roundup" put the hex on Baseball Tonight? J.J. and the Bleacher Report have their finger on the pulse of the Chicago White Sox. And Tout Wars continues, but how is Jeff Ma's team doing? All that and more on MLB Roundup!

Week 5 Diamond Waiver Wire Gems

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 10:55:41 -0500

Another one of FIO's weekly baseball articles, staff writer Tim Hays gives you some waiver wire players who you should be paying attention to. Whether you're streaming guys at a position or need a fill-in due to injury, these are the players to look at for a pick-up.

Top Pick Ups On the Mound: 4/23

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 06:08:06 -0500

We look around at some of the most added pitchers in fantasy and decide if they are worth an add or someone to avoid.

Fantasy Baseball Weekly All-Star Team & Awards - Week 3

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 18:08:00 -0500

We give out some awards for the best performances in the week that that was in fantasy baseball and name our all-star team highlighting the top players at each position. Check out the FSE All-Star Team & Awards at the end of every fantasy week!

Players to Pick Up Right Now

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:14:17 -0500

There are several generally unowned players in fantasy (both hitters and pitchers) that can help your team right now and in the future. Here are some hot pick-ups to consider adding in fantasy baseball this week.