Week 15 waivers - Part Duex

Thanks to the quirky scheduling around that All Star game thing going on tonight, we have a multi-session, single week waiver period.  I am not going to beat around the bush, if you havent already, check out Kyler's live blog from last night with my not so live comments thrown in for shits and giggles.  A couple things before we get started, Kevin (Huckleberries) is openly promoting that Brandon Moss is available for a pitcher.  The post is on the actual league home page in Yahoo.  If there is anyone interested, let him know. I think the Kevin is trying to help Moss fill his life long dream of being owned by every single team in the Tater Tot league at some point of the 2014 season.
Secondly, the comments on all of the injured players on John's team have prompted a name change on his behalf.  He will now be known as "Keep it on the DL" on the Yahoo page, but I am fairly confident that he just couldnt fit in the actual name "Keep it on the Dingleberried Labia" because it was over the character allotment.  As such, on the blog that team will now be known and the Dingleberries (not to be confused with the Huckleberries).  Also, my wife sent me this picture and told me to use it in the blog, and, as anyone with a wife knows, you should usually do what your wife says unless its crazy.  That picture is John in approximately what looks like 1978 preparing for his Prom.  I dig the bowtie, but it is super weird for me to not see like 5 to 10 inches of beard on that face.  Also, whats with the random blue discs on the wall?  Aliens?
On to the player movement! 

TRADE!!!
Dingleberries get SP Mark Buehrle, SP James Shields
UCCMA gets 1b Freddie Freeman

I know that Uncle Jimmy had been looking for a 1b from anyone who would talk to him since he dumped Eric Hosmer back in May.  In Freeman he gets a 25 year old who is one of the top 10 fantasy 1bs this year.  It is a trade that works both for the right now and for the future (and really, Uncle Jimmy pretty much has just the future to look forward to...the present isnt lookin all that great for the Garfunkel Haters.  I am not sure if John knew that his pitching staff was going to implode, but him knowing that is the only reason this trade would have made any sense.  Buehrle has been great so far, but he is a 35 year old with over 3000 innings pitched on his arm and he strikes out a batter about every other inning.  In the last 30 days his WHIP has balooned to 1.42 and he has only 3 quality starts.  Shields is a 33 year old who has been solid this season, but unremarkably so.  He isnt striking out a ton of batters and his ERA and WHIP are in the gray area that seperates starters from fill-ins.  With both pitchers on the wrong side of 30, there is little long term upside here for John.  That being said, with Beckett and Tanaka going down, John needed 2 starting pitchers and this trade (which was made before the injuries) fills those spots and allows John to move Albert PooHoles into the starting 8.

3b, OF Chris Coghlan - $5 - Les Moles - Drop OF Eric Young

Fundamentals as FUN

Happy Trails EYJr, I cant imagine that we will be seeing you again.  Coghlan, on the other hand, we might be seeing a lot of.  Coghlan was a 1st round pick in 2006 and hit the Bigs in 2009 with the Marlins.  He won the NL rookie of the year award with a 321/390/460 line with 46 extra base hits in 128 games.  He struggled mightily in 2010 and 2011 before bottoming out in 2012 with a 140/212/183 slash in 105 plate appearances.  He came to the Cubbies as a free agent this past offseason with a chance to make the rooster for the Big League talent starved North Siders.  He has started 16 of the last 17 games and is hitting 435/509/804 in 56 July plate appeareances.  He isnt that good, but with a solid roster spot and regular playing time, there is no reason he cant be the player he was in 2009, which is plenty useful for any fantasy league.

OF Kold Calhoun - $5 - MBHB - Drop SP/RP Tom Koehler
I dont know what it is with LA Angels, but I cannot seem to stop wanting to pick up the ones I already dropped.  Everything I loved about Calhoun before the season, the contact/power combo, the favorable spot in a good lineup, the occasional stolen base...all of it is still there, it was just shadowed by the injury he suffered right as he started hitting his stride.  Since coming back from that injury, he has been en fuego, bringing his season line to 295/356/521 and he hits leadoff in front of Mike Trout, Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton.  I think that I could score 75 runs hitting in front of that trio.  I am all aboard the KOOOOOOOOOOLE TRAIN!

SP Jose Quintana - $4 - UCCMA - No Drop
Uncle Jimmy picked up Quintana with the open roster spot from the trade mentioned above.  Quintana is actually in the same tier of pitchers as Shields (slightly below Buehrle based on what has already happened this year), but profiles as better long term because he is only 25 years old.  Quintana has struggled in the win department despite 15 quality starts because the ChiSox bullpen is so terrible that Tire Fire Frieri would be an upgrade to most of their current arms.

SS Erick Aybar - $4 - UCCMA - Drop SS Jean Segura
Segura is currently in the Dominican dealing with the death of his 9 month old son.  I have been hard on him this year, but I simply cannot imagine what he is dealing with.  In fact, I wonder if having to live so far from his son was one of the reasons his play had suffered this year.  I know that I get cranky if I dont see my girls every day.  I cannot imagine going months at a time without seeing them.  My heart goes out to him.  Aybar has quietly been the 5th best fantasy SS option this year.  He is hitting a modest 283/320/411 but he has 47R 50RBI and 11SB in that loaded Angels lineup. He is a monumental upgrade over what Uncle Jimmy has been running out as SS every week.

C/1b/3b Carlos Santana - $3 - MBHB - Drop C Miguel Montero

He knows someone up there.

Montero was named an All Star game injury replacement on Sunday.  He has been spectacular so far this year and I very well could be regretting this move like I have the Devin MesoHornyraco move from a few weeks ago.  But Santana's potential is just too much for me to let him sit out there on the wire.  After an absolutely terrible start, Santana is finally reminding people why he was one of the consensus top 5 catchers coming into this year.  In the past 30 days, Santana is the 4th best catcher in fantasy, which I obviously believe will continue as the summer months pass.  Also, I cannot not have the ability to make terrible music jokes every week.

2b Arismendy Alcantara - $3 - UCCMA - Drop 1b Kendrys Morales

Jim believes he can fly...woooo.

Uncle Jimmy's collection of Cubs prospects continues...only this one is actually in the Bigs and contributing.  Originally expected to be a short term call up to fill in for Darwin Barney while Barney was on paternity leave, Alcantara went on a tear coming into the All Star break that featured a homer, a steal and 5 RBIs in 5 games.  Alcantara has 3 multihit games including a 4 for 5 in his second MLB game.  If the Cubs were smart (which for once I actually believe they are), they will leave Alcantara in the Bigs and let him start the rest of the season and deal Barney for 50 cents on the dollar.  With Castro, Baez and now Addison Russell at shortstop, the Cubs need to find out if Alcantara can handle the keystone before they move one of the others to 2b.  If he can, seeing one of the 3 as a CF prospect would add another dimension to the Cubs future.  I mean, I can dream big about an infield that goes Baez, Castro, Alcantara and Rizzo around the horn with Jorge Soler or Kyle Schwarber (hitting 408/483/748 with 8 HRs across rookie and A ball in his first 105 professional PAs), Russell and Bryant in the OF.

RP Ken Giles - $2 - UCCMA - Drop RP Jean Machi
Make that 4 moves for Uncle Jimmy this week.  Turns out, Jean Machi was one of Jimmy's 99 problems.  When I saw the waivers this morning, I have to admit, I had no idea who Ken Giles was.  I am still not entirely sure, but I think that he is Marcus and Brian's illegitimate third cousin twice removed.  He also has an arsenal of wipe out stuff (18K in 14 ip) and he doesnt appear to walk many (3 so far) and teams dont seem to be able to hit him (.149 avg against).  He may very well be the successor to Jonathon Papelboner as the Phillies closer if the Phils are able to deal Papsmear to a contender.  That said, he is a reliever...so...yeah.

This is apparently called the Grant Balfour Rage Gnome.  It
actually exists and was a give away at an A's game.

RP Grant Balfour - $1 - Les Moles - Drop RP Brett Cecil
RP Jonathon Broxton - $1 - Les Moles - Drop RP Will Smith
Dropping the Fresh Prince and the RecSpecs on the same day, Tom?  Thats cold.  I mean, whats cooler than being cool?  In Broxton and Balfour, Tom gets two formerly great relievers who are headed in opposite directions.  Broxton has carved out a nice role for himself as a bridge to Aroldis Chapman.  He no longer has the big K totals, but he has learned to keep hitters off balance and still doesnt walk a ton (for a RP) and he almost never gives up HRs.  Balfour has remained a highly used part of the Tampa bullpen despite losing his closer job to Jake McGee, but he has lost all semblance of control this year and that will always leave him vulnerable to blow ups like last Friday when he gave up 3 runs on 5 baserunners and only got 1 out.