Well...

not the debut I was expecting from Lincecum. But how much does he look like Cameron from Ferris Bueller's Day Off? Seriously!

After giving up the 0-2 curveball for a homerun to the powerful Shane Victorino and then striking out Utley, Howard & Burrell, I thought he was going to cruise through the rest of the game. That was not the case. His fastball was explosive, but he wasn't locating it and his big overhand curveball wasn't as big as I was expecting. There wasn't that much movement in his fastball either, so placement is that much more important. I'm looking forward to seeing him in Colorado on Friday night. Unfortunately, even though there isn't that much to prove in the minors, another poor outing and he could sent back down as Ortiz will probably be ready to go.

Was anyone else uncomfortable with the Bonds black/white talk during the broadcast? I wish color wouldn't get brought into this homerun chase. I think if it was McGwire approaching the greatest baseball record of all time, the same "cheating" issues would be brought up. I don't feel that this is about color, but rather "did he cheat?"

My next injury prediction is...

Carlos Zambrano. As many of you noticed, I predicted the DL stint for Schmidt last month. It was pretty obvious that there was something wrong when his fastball was topping out at 84MPH, so I can't pat myself on the back too much. But I watched Zambrano pitch yesterday afternoon, and I've never seen him drop his arm angle as much as he did yesterday. In previous years he would occasionally throw 3/4 or sidearm to throw off the hitter, but now he is doing it every pitch. I think he is overcompensating for some kind of arm injury. I gave some guy who commented on my website some grief for calling Zambrano a "huge injury risk" before the season started, but I now believe that he is a risk going forward. If you get a decent trade offer for him, I would seriously consider moving him.

The "Tim"e has come...

Lincecum makes his debut in front of a national audience Sunday night on ESPN. I can't wait! I've already picked him up in all my leagues and I hope you did too. I actually got a trade offer for him today in my FBE "expert's" league. Get him into your starting lineups ASAP.

In my NL Only league I picked up Chris Sampson and Ryan Doumit. I saw Sampson pitch last week and he has solid stuff. Not spectacular, but solid. I feel like he could put up a sub 4.00 ERA with double digit wins. He's also a guy that was originally started as a position player and was moved to pitcher within the last few years which may mean that he is a low injury risk. Doumit is a guy that I've had my eye on for awhile. Since he was called up to replace back-up catcher Cota, he has catcher eligibility in my league so I grabbed him last night and replaced the slumping Iannetta (I still like Iannetta long-term, and he has been showing signs of life lately). PIT will continue to get Doumit into the lineup everyday if he continues to hit this way.

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. I haven't watched a ton of baseball and with so many slumps and injuries to my teams, I've been disenchanted. Those of you that know me know that's not easy to do. Lincecum getting called up and Carpenter hopefully making his way back might just be the sparks I needed.

More thoughts...

Schmidt on the DL with shoulder inflammation...

Snell continues his domination. If you watched him Monday night, you know why I've been pounding the table on this guy since January. This guy has electric stuff.

Tim Lincecum! If you guys didn't take my advice on Snell in your drafts, please take it on Lincecum. PICK HIM UP NOW! Another brilliant outing in AAA last night: 6.2IP, No Runs, 3H, 11K, (0.00ERA). This guy will get called up shortly. Zito, Cain, Lincecum, Lowry not a bad front four...

Speaking of Cain last night, what a shame. Pitched 7IP, No Runs, 7K, 2H, 3BB. But got a loss because his bullpen gave up 5R in 1 inning. This kid is special. His fastball is explosive. He will probably be a top 5 pitcher drafted in NL leagues next year.

Billingsley. Pitched two solid innings of relief last night. If you pull out the disastrous inning of relief at SF on 4/8, his numbers have been good. If he is available in your leagues, I'd pick him up and stash him away on your reserve roster. Tomko won't hold on to the rotation spot for long.

Tom Gorzellany- Saw him pitch a couple of times last year and he looked OK. He's off to a great start and he's a guy you might want to add, as I notice he is still very available in leagues.

Schmidt looked...

hurt last night. There is no way Schmidt is 100% right now. His fastball hit 87MPH once, but mostly it sat in around 84MPH with his change-up around 78MPH. Wouldn't be surprised if some news comes out in the next few days.

Diamondbacks did it again. This team is as fun to watch as last year's Marlins, but better.

What is going on with Pujols? He looked brutal in his at bats last night. Swinging at pitches he would have never swung at last year. Just doesn't seem like a Pujols-type slump...

Random thoughts...

Been disenchanted with FB lately. It seems like every player that is currently struggling is on my team. I know, I know, its a marathon not a sprint. Its just not that much fun when you're already this far behind.

I want to catch everybody up on some pitchers that I've watched recently:

Greg Maddux 4/11 vs. SF - Vintage Maddux! The cut-fastball was looking great. I'm still very surprised he's only owned in 75% of CBS Sportsline leagues. Strikeout numbers are solid too.

Micah Owings - Has been a popular add so far this season. He's off to a nice start, but I watched him against CIN on Wednesday and I wasn't impressed. I wouldn't be surprised if he develops some elbow issues as he was constantly dropping his arm angle. I could be wrong here, but I don't see him sticking with the club.

Chuck James - I watched some of his game on Wednesday. I have him in a couple of my leagues and I'm very happy with his success, I just don't know how he's doing it with only two pitches. Granted he is throwing his slider more often to left-handers so hopefully he will feel more comfortable using it with righties soon. I'm just not sure if his success is sustainable without that third pitch.

Oliver Perez - Man was he brutal Wednesday. Wasted talent here. I wouldn't start him in any of your leagues until he can throw strikes consistently.

Tim Lincecum - Add this guy to all of your leagues NOW. He pitched 7 innings for Fresno last night, no earned runs and 9 strikeouts. I've been saying it all pre-season, it won't be long until he is dominating MLB.

Mike Pelfrey - Debuting tonight against the lowly Nationals. Should dominate.

Felix Hernandez - I don't normally comment too much on AL baseball, but I couldn't help but changing the station to the SEA/BOS game the other night. I'm not sure if I have ever seen a curveball as nasty as his. Mix that in with a 99MPH fastball (which he was still hitting on the radar gun in the 7th), and this guy could contend with Santana for this years Cy Young. Love the swagger too.

Predictions...

If anyone is interested in my (or other FBE writer) predictions for MLB 2007, take a look at the Sweet Lou's predictathon:

http://www.alltimebaseball.net/Predictathon_Standings.htm