Fantasy Notes: Good Times Ending for J.J.?
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by RotoRob
Did you happen to catch J.J. Putz’s outing on Saturday? Not only did he serve up a gargantuan grand slam to Josh Fields that pulled the Sox within one, but he wasn’t fooling anyone in this outing. Even the outs were smoked. Now, there’s probably no reason to worry about Putz at all, but with his first blown save coming on August 1, he’s now surrendered five hits (two homers) and four runs over his last four appearances covering 4 1/3 innings. The dude’s been absolutely money this year, so I wouldn’t sweat it, but the fact is that despite his microscopic ERA and WHIP, Putz hasn’t been nearly as dominant this season with more than two strikeouts per nine innings below his 2006 rate. Would I take him? In a heartbeat. But this is something to at least consider, given that he’s already served up two more homers than he did all of last season.
Gavin Floyd took yet another beating on Saturday (four innings, seven hits, seven runs, two homers), a major disappointment after he had tossed six shutout innings in Detroit last weekend. Other than that promising start, Floyd has been roughed up in almost every outing, so it’s really time for the Sox to yank him from the rotation. We were worried about him in spring training, but the team seemed behind him at the time. However, he’s just been too generous with the gopher ball and – when he’s not serving up the long ball – Floyd has been far too easy to run on as well. Jose Contreras was superb in relief of Floyd on Saturday, tossing five goose eggs and earning himself another shot at the rotation on Friday. If he impresses, Floyd will have to be removed from his job, although it should be noted that Contreras’ return to the rotation could be temporary. He’s reportedly cleared waivers, so the Pale Hose are probably just showcasing him for a possible deal before the end of the month. Assuming they can find a sucker…er, buyer for Contreras, then Floyd will likely get yet another chance to stick in the rotation.
Toby Hall has smacked four hits in his last three games to jack his average 27 points up to .230, but man has he ever fallen off the map. After struggling last season until moving to the Dodgers, where he performed quite well down the stretch, Hall has been rendered a complete non-factor this year in the wake of a spring training shoulder injury that knocked him out until mid-May.
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