Fred Slacks' Fantasy Stats: Aimless Ramblings of the Week

Well sorry folks, this is going to be a shell of the FSFS Aimless Ramblings. If anyone is actually disappointed to see its a shortened version, no worries I'll be back in full force next week. I had a couple questions about possible save stealers in middle relief roles, Ryan Howard, and a question about Ryan Zimmerman, and some other 3B options. If you have any questions this week I'll be sure to address them next week. On to the...er, just a few answers.

Ryan Zimmerman will be fine. He is going through a bit of a rough stretch here but he is still a guy who is going to hit 25 homers and knock in 100 runs. Lately he has made decent contact and has shown some promise of getting out of his slump. His RBI's situation should increase once the Nationals find someone who can take on the number 1 and 2 holes in the lineup. Zimmerman would be helped alot if Lopez can play solid second base and use his speed in the leadoff spot. Also I think if Lastings Millege was moved into the 2 spot Zimm would get some more RBI opportunities. I would rate Zimm a great buy low candidate actually. Another guy at 3B that could be good to get through trade would be Kevin Kouzmanoff. As for pick ups, Angels SS/3B/2B Erick Aybar could be a great stop gap 3B who should maintain good run totals and modest steals. Also injured guys such as Lowell and Wigginton could come off the DL this week and could be a great pick up off the wire, like Aybar, Wigginton offers position flexibility and everyone loves that.

The Mariners pen is sort of a mess. Putz really is one of the best in the league when healthy, and even though he came back and got a save after coming off the DL, he seems to have struggled a bit in a non save situation. I believe the move was just to get him a little extra work. He is still the closer. Mark Lowe was a guy who looked to take over closing duties for a while when Putz was injured but he gave way to Ryan Rowland-Smith. RRS is more of a left specialist than a closer. The guy who I really like is Brandon Morrow. He should be a top of the line setup guy for the rest of this year. He is a power pitcher who should rack up k's. The former first rounder could be on the same level as a guy like Scot Shields.

A few other guys who could get some vulture wins or saves this week. Dan Wheeler of the Rays could get use as the ageless Troy Percival has gotten alot of 9th inning work lately. Also while Trevor Hoffman is fairly entrenched in the closer position, his struggles this year could give way to Heath Bell to pick up some extra closer work. Lastly, if for some reason Jason Isringhausen continues to struggle I would bet the Cardinals would DL him rather than demote him, if that would happen look for Anthony Reyes or more likely Ryan Franklin to get door shutting duties.

Ryan Howard is a beast. Even though he looks about as scary as Shrek right now, he will still be a huge power threat this year. Plus once he gets hot, he should be getting RBI's and Runs in spades with the way Burrell and Utley are playing. Even Jayson Werth has been great in the 2 hole, and Shane Victorino should be back soon in the lead off spot. As for trying to acquire Howard, look at the team who has him and look for that teams needs. Send out a few feeler offers which favor yourself, but not too much. The point is to start a dialogue of trade possibilities rather than trying to make the owner of Howard think you are swindling him. A person will always be more willing to accept a trade if they feel like they had some sort of say in the terms, rather than just accepting something that was offered without countering. Good managers will realize feeler offers and rather than get offended, they will typically send out a similar offer back in their favor. At any rate, any 2nd or 3rd round pick that has performed normally, or any combination of 4th and 5th rounders who have far exceeded expectations should be enough to get the owner of Ryan Howard to think about letting him loose.

Last week Tony, from Toledo, gave his opinion on streaming. For the record I would never stream relievers. Again when looking for relief pitchers looking at how the bullpen has been used of a certain team, is the key. As far as starting pitching streaming, like I said it will work, but I would be willing to bet in that league one of the following were true, A) It was a shallow league. B) No one else was streaming. C)Luck played a big part. D)You probably had great hitting and solid relief pitching in which streaming probably wasn't necessary. Definitely good to hear from you though Tony, keep us posted on the Vote Smart front. Check out Big Dunc for some of Tony's thoughts on his travels throughout the U.S. Its a good read.

Just so you are updated: Ichiro is hitting 28/109. That's good for a .257 Avg.

Be back in full next week, remember ask questions!!!! It makes my post easier.