Roto Lunch – July 17
Posted by Rob McQuown on Saturday, July 17, 2010 at 11:02 am
I took my own advice and put Raul Ibanez into the starting lineup against Lilly, and I was right that there were homers, and even lefty homers off of Ted Lilly. But I got into the car after lunch, and the first thing I heard was “Ben Francisco will bat 5th and play left field…” Sorry if anyone else fell into that mistake – I guess I thought Ibanez seemed like a better matchup against Lilly than Charlie Manuel did. Has Bengie Molina reached third base on his triple yet?….
Position Players:
of Jonny Gomes – another lefty on the docket for today.
1b Gaby Sanchez – Livanathon today.
c John Jaso – A.J. Burnett has struggled, and Yankee Stadium is great for hitting. An exceptional play if OBP counts, just a “good” play otherwise.
2b/dh Carlos Guillen – doubleheader today, facing two righties he should be able to succeed against.
ss Starlin Castro – another day game at Wrigley is good. Cole Hamels can be good sometimes, too, but Starlin should do just fine.
1b/of Matt LaPorta – double header today is good, even if one game is against Verlander. Four homers in last 45 AB.
ss/2b/3b Felipe Lopez – Kuroda is tough, so consider F-Lop only as a fallback if you have a hole to fill.
ss/2b/3b/of Omar Infante – Chipper Jones (hamstring) says there is a “50/50 chance” he’ll play Saturday. [rotoworld.com] If anyone can make 50/50 sound like 0/100, it’s the ever-fragile Chipper Jones. With 4 AB against Chris Narveson as the prize, it’s worth watching to see if Omar plays.
c Kurt Suzuki – Bruce Chen can’t keep this up, can he? Suzuki should be renewed with the time off, as he’s one of the most-used catchers in the game.
2b/3b Jayson Nix – Not for teams which need batting average, Nix has shown incredible power for a utility infielder, and has been playing every day lately. The doubleheader today, with a game against the floundering Rick Porcello, should be a good opportunity for another homer.
of Fred Lewis – facing another soft starter. Went 2-for-4 with 2 runs as a recommendee yesterday.
2b/3b Neil Walker
Starting Pitchers:
Borderline: The upside of Edinson Volquez is tremendous, though there’s obviously risk in his first start back, at home, against Colorado.
