Warm weather, barbeques, NBA Playoffs, and a full slate of baseball games are several traditions that Americans enjoy during Memorial Day as we remember those who died fighting for our country. It also marks the final week of May baseball.
For the last three weeks, the Fantasy Sharks team experienced a slight upswing, especially offensively. The bats have been more consistent with Jose Bautista and Nelson Cruz heating up. We moved up to ninth place, and even enjoyed eighth place for a few hours. The most obvious weakness of my team is pitching as I am ranked near the bottom in earned run average, walks and hits per innings pitched, and strikeouts.
With Rafael Dolis losing the Chicago Cubs’ closer job, my only transaction this week was picking up his likely replacement, James Russell. Once I catch up in the pitching ranks, I will start three closers again, but for now I need all the innings I can get!
Check out several key players affecting this last week.
Roy Halladay – Halladay only managed eight total innings this week. After getting rocked by the Washington Nationals, Halladay could only manage two innings while allowing four runs against St Louis on Sunday. His early exit has been attributed to right shoulder stiffness and he is expected to see a doctor. Halladay has been one of the most durable aces, as his last disabled list trip was in 2005. Owners may have to count him out this week and will be crossing their fingers for an optimistic diagnosis from the doctor.
Alfonso Soriano – The veteran slugger experienced a slow start after an impressive spring training. However, Soriano was raking this week with three long balls and raised his average to .272. Although the Chicago Cubs have been struggling to score runs this year, Soriano has served as one of the team’s bright spots. If he is unowned, grab him in all deep leagues and consider riding this streak in shallow leagues.
Nelson Cruz – Whoa! Cruz was one of the quieter Texas bats this year, but is recently showing signs of life. Cruz knocked around Toronto on Friday for eight runs batted in, and tallied three home runs for the week. He also stole his third base of the season, which will hopefully be a positive sign for more to come. Keep him active in all leagues.
Adam Wainwright – After a rough April, Wainwright is beginning to show consistency. In this two starts last week, the St. Louis Cardinals ace threw a total of 15 innings with 11 strikeouts and only one earned run. He battled San Diego and Philadelphia, which are not exactly mighty offenses, but this is still encouraging. He should have another strong outing this week at Houston.
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