LestersLegends.com

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Vance Worley owners in Yahoo! leagues may have received a little shock when they saw a red NA next to his name. That was due to the fact that he was sent down to Triple-A. No it wasn’t a demotion, but a strategic move to keep the 23-year on his schedule. He is expected to start for the Phillies coming out of the break on Friday against the Mets.
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Worley ended the first half 4-1 with a 2.20 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. Of his eight starts, five were quality one and another saw him yield just one run over five innings. He took the hill twice last year for the Phillies, allowing two runs in ten innings as a starter. Impressive numbers for any rookie, but the fact that he has been able to hold his own with the quartet of Phillies’ aces is equally as impressive.
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The fact that Worley has been so dominant should come somewhat as a surprise. He was 1-3 with a 3.77 ERA for Triple-A Lehigh Valley last year. In Double-A he was 9-4 with a 3.20 ERA. Solid numbers, but in no way an indication of a player that would have a 2.03 ERA in the big leagues after 62 innings.
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Some of it is luck. He has faced weaker lineups the majority of his starts. The exception being Boston and Cincinnati, who he managed to have a combined 3.00 ERA against. He also has a relatively low BABIP at .259.
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So should you keep trotting Worley out there? Why not? Until he gives you a reason to bench him, I wouldn’t do so. I wouldn’t fault you for shying away from starting him against the tough offenses, but he has pitched to well to not use him in most situations.
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Also check out:

• Should Ted Lilly Owners Jump Ship?
• Can Garrett Jones Continue to Produce?
• Fantasy Baseball Free Agent Pool – 2011 RBI Guys Vol. 6
• Fantasy Baseball Free Agent Pool – 2011 Strikeout Kings Vol. 6
• Fantasy Baseball Free Agent Pool – 2011 Run Scorers Vol. 6

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Philadelphia Phillies closer Brad Lidge is hurt again. This time it’s his shoulder. The severity of the injury is not known now, but he will start the season on the disabled list. If you are hungry for saves, snag Ryan Madson. He had five saves last year to go along with a 2.55 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, and 64 strikeouts in 53 innings. Jose Contreras can also be useful while Lidge is out. He had four saves, a 3.34 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, and 57 strikeouts in 56-2/3 innings last year.

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After averaging 46.7 home runs and 141 runs batted from 2007-2009, not factoring his ridiculous 58 HR, 149 RBI 2006 season, Howard hit just 31 HRs last year with 108 RBI. While those are still solid numbers, they clearly aren’t the type of numbers that made him a star.
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I know he was limited to 143 games and 550 at bats because of a sprained ankle, but his slugging percentage (.505) and OPS (.858) were career lows. He hit a home run every 17.7 at bats, which is a far cry from his career 12.8 mark. Could this be the beginning of a downward trend?
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I say “not so fast”. He’s only 31 years old. If he were a few years older, I would be very concerned with his power drop, but he’s still plenty young to mash with the best of him. Plus, it’s not like his HR total was in the high thirties and low forties. He hit between 45 and 58 HRs the four previous seasons. He had between 136 and 149 RBI. Those are ridiculous numbers.
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While Jayson Werth is gone,  Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins have a chance to be in the lineup a ton more this year. J-Roll was limited to 88 games and Utley was limited to 115. Losing two dynamic players like them will have an adverse effect on your RBI total.
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If you look at the monthly breakdown of Howard’s numbers, you’ll see he had just one bad month, which came in August. He was limited to just one HR and four RBI. Every other month, Howard had at least 16 RBI, including three with 20+.
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If you want Howard, it’s going to cost you. His average draft position, according to Mock Draft Central, is 16. That’s a decent risk considering how deep the first base position is. That said, there aren’t many players with legitimate 50  HR, 140 RBI potential.
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I don’t think Howard is on the decline yet. I think he rebounds this year and hits 40+ HR with 120+ RBI. What’s your take?
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Also check out:

• 2011 Fantasy Baseball Profiles
• 2011 Fantasy First Basemen Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy Second Basemen Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy Third Basemen Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy Shortstop Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy Catcher Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy Outfielder Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy Starting Pitcher Rankings
• 2011 Fantasy Closer Rankings

Image from Sports Illustrated

While the NFL is dealing with Lawrence Taylor’s legal issues and Minnesota courts ruling that the Williams wall will have to serve four games in the StarCaps fiasco, Major League Baseball lost another Hall of Famer. At 83 Robin Roberts was a far cry from a Whiz Kid, but still owned the hearts of Phillies fans.

Roberts was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1976. He was named to seven consecutive All-Star games and won the 1952 Major League Player of the Year, the 1952 & 1955 TSN NL Pitcher of the Year, and the 1962 Lou Gehrig Memorial Award.

He ranked 28th on the all-time wins list with 286. The workhorse pitcher ranked 21st on the all-time innings pitched list with 4688-2/3 innings, including leading the league five consecutive years (’51-’56). He also ranked 40th in strikeouts (2357), 20th in starts (609), 38th in complete games (305), 29th in shutouts (45), and the dubious distinction of allowing more HRs (505) than any other pitcher.

Even after his retirement he remained one of the most beloved sports figures in Philadelphia. My condolences go out to his family and friends, the Phillies, and all of his fans.

Stats from baseball-reference.com.

Like two ships passing in the night closer Brad Lidge returned from the DL as his fill-in Ryan Madson lands on the DL with a broken toe. Any questions as to whether they would ease Lidge back into the closer role or work as a closer by committee were put to rest thanks to Madson’s injury.

If you drafted Lidge, feel free to get him back in your lineup. If you grabbed Madson for the short-term saves, there are a couple of options out there.

Evan Meek, Pittsburgh Pirates – Picked up his first save last night. He sports a 0.60 ERA (compared to closer Octavio Dotel’s 10.61). Dotel got the vote of confidence, but I can imagine his leash only goes so far. Even if Meek doesn’t win over the gig anytime soon, he can help you with Ks, ERA, WHIP, and the occasional surprise save or win.

Carlos Villanueva, Milwaukee Brewers – Trevor Hoffman is an institution, but the foundation is giving way as evidenced by his  13.00 ERA. Villanueva has yet to pick up a save, but has not allowed a run yet either. He also has 15 Ks in 12 innings. LaTroy Hawkins could get the call if Hoffman is replaced, but he’s not much better with a 7.71 ERA.