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Kevin Youkilis – I hate to pick on one of my favorite players in the league, but I see a slight decline from his outstanding 2008 season.  He hit .312 with 91 Runs, 168 Hits, 43 Doubles, 29 HRs, and 115 RBI.  The previous two seasons he averaged .283 with 92.5 Runs, 155.5 Hits, 38.5 Doubles, 14.5 HRs, and 77.5 RBI.  I don’t see his Runs, Hits, or Doubles changing much, but I do expect a dip in his average to around .300 and his HRs and RBI to drop to 24 and 100.

Aubrey Huff – Huff exploded last year with a .304 average with 96 Runs, 182 Hits, 48 Doubles, 32 HRs, and 108 RBI.  From 2005-2007 he averaged .269, 65 Runs, 141.7 Hits, 28.3 Doubles, 19.3 HRs, and 76.7 RBI.  His 2003 & 2004 seasons were nearly identical to his 2008 production so last year wasn’t a complete fluke.  That said I expect him to hit .290 with 80 Runs, 170 Hits, 35 Doubles, 25 HRs, and 90 RBI.  Still solid fantasy numbers, but a decline from last year.

Carlos Delgado - Carlos Delgado had an MVP type year for the Mets.  He scored 96 Runs, had 162 Hits, 38 HRs, and 115 RBI.  He hadn’t scored that many Runs or had that many Hits since 2003 when he was a Blue Jay.  His HRs & RBI are nearly identical to what he produced in 2005 & 2006.  If you look at his splits you can see why I’m skeptical:

I think he’ll be closer to his pre-All-Star numbers and hit .270 with 150 Hits, 85 Runs, 30 HRs, and 95 RBI.

Troy Glaus - I don’t know what was more impressive…the 27 HRs and 99 RBI Glaus produced in 2008 or the 151 games he played in.  Either way, I suspect all three will take a dip in ’09 as he recovers from shoulder surgery.  He likely won’t play until May.

Melvin Mora - I hate to pick on the Orioles, but Mora is a guy I see failing to match his ’08 RBI production.  He drove in 104 last year after averaging 76.3 the three previous seasons.  He’s only topped 90 RBI twice in his career.  I expect him to drive in 80 this season.

Jason Giambi - Giambi is back in Oakland.  Hopefully he’s not looking up his old BALCO pals.  He slugged 32 HRs with 96 RBIs for the Yankees.  He’s 38 years old.  I don’t see him matching that production.  If he hit 25 HRs with 75 RBIs, I’d be impressed.

Images courtesy of Icon SMI

Happy Birthday Dukes!

 
Wednesday, August 13th
Raul Ibanez went 4 for 5 with 3 Runs, 2 Doubles, 2 RBI, and a Walk.  Mark Teixeira went 3 for 6 with 2 Runs, 2 HRs, and 3 RBI.  Jim Edmonds (Game 1) had 3 Runs and 3 RBI.  Geovany Soto (Game 1) went 3 for 5 with a Run, a Double, a HR, and 4 RBI.  Troy Glaus went 4 for 4.  Jeff Kent also had 4 Hits.  Vernon Wells hit a Grand Slam.  Daniel Murphy (3 RBI), Omar Infante, Michael Young, Kevin Youkilis (3 Runs), Corey Hart (3 RBI), Nick Markakis, Melvin Mora, David Eckstein, Skip Schumaker, Brad Hawpe, Maicer Izturis, Yuniesky Betancourt, Russell Martin, and Eric Hinske each had 3 Hits.  Delmon Young, Wladimir Balentien and Milton Bradley each had 3 RBI.

Mark Buehrle threw 7 scoreless Innings allowing 5 Hits with 5 Ks to improve to 10-10 with a 3.77 ERA.  C.C. Sabathia gave up 1 Run in 7 Innings with 8 Ks to improve to 7-0 with a 1.55 ERA with the Brewers (13-8, 3.05 overall).  Kevin Slowey gave up 1 Run on 3 Hits in 6 Innings to improve to 9-8 with a 3.94 ERA.  Paul Maholm gave up 2 Runs in 8 Innings to improve to 8-7 with a 3.69 ERA.  David Purcey threw 6 scoreless Innings to improve to 2-3.  Jeremy Guthrie gave up 1 Run on 4 Hits in 7 Innings to improve to 10-8 with a 3.18 ERA.  Andy Sonnastine gave up 2 Runs in 6 Innings with 6 Ks to improve to 12-6.  Braden Looper gave up 1 Earned Run on 5 Hits in 7 Innings to improve to 11-9.  Randy Wolf gave up 2 Runs in 7 Innings to improve to 8-10.  John Maine gave up 1 Hit in 5 scoreless Innings with 6 Ks to improve to 10-7 with a 3.97 ERA.  Brian Stokes threw 4 Innings of scoreless relief.  Rich Harden gave up 2 Hits in 5 scoreless Innings with 5 Ks to improve to 2-1 with a 1.80 ERA with the Cubs (7-2, 2.09 overall).  Ricky Nolasco gave up 2 Runs in 6 Innings with 5 Ks, but got a no-decision.

Thursday, July 17th
David Wright hit a HR and had 4 RBI.  Carlos Delgado and Fernando Tatis each had 3 Hits, a HR, and 3 RBI.  Edwin Encarnacion  went 3 for 5 with 2 Runs, a Double, a HR, and an RBI.  Troy Glaus hit a pair of solo HRs.  Javier Valentin and Chris Iannetta each had 3 RBI.  Marcus Thames and Melvin Mora each had 2 Hits (Double, HR) and 2 RBI.  Gary Sheffield, Jeff Keppinger, Adam LaRoche, and Brandon Inge also had a pair of RBI.

Kyle Lohse gave up 2 Runs in 7 Innings to improve to 12-2 with a 3.35 ERA.  Ubaldo Jimenez gave up 3 Runs on 5 Hits in 7 Innings to improve to 5-9 with a 4.20 ERA.  He’s lowed his ERA from 5.43 on June 6th.  He’s 3-1 in Julyn with a 2.39 ERA.