Return of the Francona and Thursday’s Box Scores

Terry Francona received a standing ovation as he returned to Fenway as the manager of the first place Cleveland Indians. Chris Davis hit his MLB leading 15th home run. But Miguel Cabrera stays on his heels by swatting number 14. Manny Machado stayed hot by adding three doubles.

Joey Bats is Alive, Alive, ALIVE!

The Toronto Blue Jays scored just 4 runs in a win over the Tampa Bay Rays but Jose Bautista's 4 hits and 4 RBI would be all Toronto needed.  Bautista scored Anthony Gose on a single in the 1st inning, homered in the 4th and in the 9th off Fernando Rodney to force extras.  He then drove in the game winning run in the 10th on a single to right, scoring Colby Rasmus.  Jose has raised his average from .224 to .275 in just 10 games with 4 home runs and 10 RBI.  He is 6 of his last 7 and Toronto is 6-4 during his breakout. 

Michael Crabtree Tears Achilles

The San Francisco 49ers best wide receiver has torn his Achilles tendon, and will most likely miss at least the first 6 weeks of the season.  That pretty much makes him undraftable this summer in fantasy football redraft leagues.  This also makes Colin Kaepernick just slightly less valuable, as he and Crabtree really developed great chemistry last season.  This boosts Anquan Boldin's value as well as Mario Manningham, should he find himself healthy enough to play on a weekly basis.  Vernon Davis was pretty disappointing last season, but this could be huge in his return to fantasy greatness.  Maybe even a guy like A.J. Jenkins bursts onto the scene this season.  Make sure you keep an eye on the 49ers offense this offseason as they should no longer ignored in fantasy drafts!

Cleveland Cavaliers Win the NBA Lottery

For the second time in three season, the Cleveland Cavaliers will select #1 in the NBA Draft.  Cleveland had a 15.6% chance of winning the lottery and did so, beating out the Orland Magic who had a 25% chance, and ended up with the second pick.  The Washington Wizards had just a 3.5% chance and ended up with the third pick.

The NBA Draft is always fun to mess around with especially when a team moves up like the Washington Wizards did! This year the draft is loaded with big guys, kind of like the NFL draft, while sprinkling in some very talented guards and forwards. The following draft selections are based on team needs.

Let us know if you feel a team has different needs and who you would draft instead!

With the first pick, in the 2013 NBA Draft, the Cleveland Cavaliers select:

Patrick Corbin Is Pitching In Stealth Mode

Patrick Corbin who most casual baseball fans have never heard of is now 7-0 to start the year with a 1.44 ERA, slightly below the league leader Clayton Kershaw. The lefty is 7-0 with 2 no decisions, and the Diamondbacks are 9-0 in games he has started. In his 9 starts, he has allowed 2 runs twice, 1 run four times and 0 runs twice. With all the talk about young pitchers such as Matt Harvey and Shelby Miller, Corbin has been able to fly under the radar and continues to shut down each lineup he faces.

We want Moore. Like, you really like it. You want Moore

Matt Moore moved to 8-0 in 9 starts this season as the Rays swept the Orioles this weekend at Camden Yards.  Moore lasted 7 innings and allowed a single run to score while striking out 3 Birds.  Luke Scott and Matt Joyce provided enough pop to give Matt the W.  Moore lowered his ERA to 2.29 and his WHIP is now just 1.09 with opponents hitting .175 against him.  The 23 year old lefty made it past the 6th inning for just the 3rd time this season.  Fernando Rodney picked up his 8th save.

Slugfest at Coors Field

The Colorado Rockies hosted the San Francisco Giants this weekend for a 4 game series and both teams took advantage of the thin air.  The two teams combined for 50 runs with the Rockies scoring 10 runs in both games 2 and 3.  San Fran scored 8 and 9 runs over games 1 and 2, and were shut out in the series finale on Sunday.  The Rockies won 3 of 4.

Ryan Howard Watch - MRI on Knee

The Philadelphia Phillies could be without first base slugger Ryan Howard for a while if an MRI on his left knee returns bad news.  After a nice April, in which Howard hit .284, Howard has been struggling in May to the tune of .179.  He hit 3 home runs in 95 April ABs, and hit 3 long balls in just 56 May turns at bat, but has has struck out just 2 less times in May than April.  Michael Young shifted to first base last night as Freddy Galvis manned the hot corner.  Galvis is an intriguing option if Howard goes down, but more so in the deeper leagues. 

Ian Kinsler - 15 Day DL - Intercostal Strain

The Texas Rangers placed 2B Ian Kinsler on the 15-Day DL with an Intercostal Strain.  Kinsler was having a nice season, hitting .302 with 7 home runs and 20 RBI.  The Rangers called up top prospect Jurickson Profar to fill in and he is a must own in all league formats.  Profar had 17 ABs with the Rangers last season and managed just 3 hits (2 doubles) but Profar had 40 hits in 37 AAA games this season, scoring 27 times and has 13 XBH.

Other options to replace Kinsler: Jedd Gyorko, Neil Walker, Danny Espinosa, Kelly Johnson, and Omar Infante.

Fantasy Baseball Week 8 - Preferred Pitching Matchups

The Minnesota Twins will lose their DH for the first 3 days of this week when they travel to Atlanta.  Ryan Doumit might play some outfield which means Oswaldo Arcia or Aaron Hicks might get a day off.  Also Joe Mauer could be get a day off in favor of Doumit.