Nate Robertson $1.
Robertson had a nice year in 2006 where his peripherals simply didn't match his ERA/WHIP. Sure enough, he came crashing back down to Earth in 2007. In 2008, he's getting lit up like a pinball machine, and while it looks like he's recovered a little bit in May, his K/IP is way down and he's lucky not to have given up more HR given his sub-one G/F rate. Robertson can muddle through certain match-ups - and his start versus the Mariners this week might be one of them - but he's a poor risk, even in A.L.-only leagues.
Sidney Ponson $1.
In the interest of fairness, I searched and searched the Internets to try and find a story about why the hell Sid Ponson's been effective this year. All I could find was the typical rah-rah b.s. about how Ponson is working fast and throwing the ball around the plate and trying to make the hitters hit him. That really hasn't worked so far for Ponson, and I suspect a time will come when the league will catch up to him, he won't throw up a 2.63 G/F ratio, and life will return to normal. I wouldn't step on this ride for fear I'd get struck by lightning, run over by an elephant, and then shot into outer space in a cannon. He's got the white-hot Tampa Bay Rays and Scott Kazmir on tap tomorrow. Head for cover.
Jeremy Reed $1.
Reed's getting some playing time on the crashing and burning Mariners, Jose Vidro to contend with at DH and the possibility of temporarily supplanting Wladimir Balentien and his 21 whiffs in 60 AB against righties. Reed was putting up his best numbers at AAA Tacoma since his stellar half a season at AA Birmingham in 2003 that put him on the map as a prospect in the first place. The downside is that Reed's 26 and not a prospect anymore. He's certainly worth the flier, in other words, but as James Doohan was fond of saying, I can't werk miracles, Cap'n.
Alberto Gonzalez $1.
Derek Jeter's mild injury looks even milder as of this writing, so Gonzalez will continue to rot on the bench and serve as insurance to Jeter and Robinson Cano. He looks like organizational filler to me, and the deep pocketed Yankees will look to do better if they can via trade. He should not be owned.
Edwar Ramirez $1.
Kudos to Joe Girardi for shedding Joe Torre's Achilles heel of mistrusting young relievers. With Joba Chamerblain moving to the rotation sooner rather than later, Ramirez has a good chance of leapfrogging goldbricking vets Kyle Farnsworth and LaTroy Hawkins and becoming Mariano Rivera's primary set-up. A nice $1 pick-up in deep leagues.
Marcus Thames. Claimed by 10th, 7th and 3rd place teams.
Thames continues to feast on left-handed pitchers, so he's worth owning in deep A.L.-only leagues. He should be your last option on your roster, and he's mostly a power play. He still might hurt your BA, even in a limited role.
Jesse Carlson. Claimed by 6th place team.
Carlson looked far more valuable a few weeks ago. With B.J. Ryan looking healthy, and Scott Downs looking like John Gibbons' back-up when Ryan can't go, Carlson is an iffy choice.
Shelley Duncan. Claimed by 3rd place team.
Duncan won't play much as long as Jason Giambi stays hot. The Yankees will probably try to upgrade on Duncan via trade later in the year. Still, Duncan is like Thames: a low level power option in A.L. only leagues.
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