Griffin's value should steadily climb as the mercury rises (USAT)

One down. One second. One twist. In an instant, an ironclad commodity's value can sink to seemingly irrecoverable depths, a victim felled by mangled tissue and bone.

At this point on the calender one year ago, Minnesotans expressed cautious optimism. Their heart and soul, Adrian Peterson, then roughly 15 weeks removed from a complete knee makeover, sprinted, cut and jumped on top of large obstacles with few limitations, an exhibition widely thought impossible not long before. At Memorial Day cookouts his captivating display triggered numerous owner questions. What's his true worth? Would you take on the risk? There's no way he'll contribute immediately, right?

The rest of the story still blows the mind. Peterson, quite possibly an alien life-form conceived on Krypton, not only beat the odds, he choke-slammed them, improbably falling just nine yards shy of Eric Dickerson's single-season rushing record. His subsequent 19.7 points per game average, which easily set the pace among RBs, remains astonishing, a resounding victory for modern sports medicine and the human will.

Now with burgers again sizzling on backyard grills, Fantasyland's attention is focused on another once cherished producer faced with similar skepticism, Robert Griffin III.

Closer down (USAT)Jim Henderson has been so dominant this year, there's been little reason to discuss him. He's allowed just two runs over 19.2 outstanding innings, with five walks against 23 strikeouts. He's 9-for-9 in save chances. The Brewers bullpen has been an open and shut case for a while.

And then on Friday night, Pandora's box swung open again.

Henderson was called upon to close out a 2-1 victory over Pittsburgh but his body didn't cooperate. He suffered a right hamstring strain in the ninth and was forced out of the game. "I don't think it's just going to be a day," manager Ron Roenicke told the team's official site.

Francisco Rodriguez inherited Friday's chippie, throwing two pitches, recording one out and shaking many hands. But the Brewers may not have one dedicated closer while Henderson gets hale. Let's go back to Brewers.com for the 411:

If Henderson does miss time, Roenicke said he likely wouldn't count on one pitcher to take over the closer's role. The Brewers have three other pitchers with closer experience on the roster: John Axford, left-hander Michael Gonzalez and Rodriguez.

"I don't know if we want to go with just one person in particular," Roenicke said. "We may look at the matchups and see what they are every night. If there are a couple lefties coming up, we may leave one of our left-handers in there."

K-Rod has only been back with the team for a couple of weeks; he was nothing special in 78 appearances last year (4.38/1.33). But it's interesting to see him summoned into Fridays' spot over a rested John Axford. If I had just one spin to take on a speculative play, I'm using it on Rodriguez. K-Rod is owned in 10 percent of Yahoo! leagues, while Axford trades at 35 percent.

• Has John Lackey pushed his way back into the circle of trust? He had little trouble shutting down the surging Cleveland offense Friday, allowing just one unearned run over seven terrific innings (2 H, 3 BB, 8 K). Lackey has a strikeout per inning and almost four punchouts for every walk in 2013, validating stats. And when batters do make contact against him, they're rapping the ball on the ground 53.6 percent of the time.

The "best shape of his life" meme gets plenty of dismissive waves every spring, but let's not be stubborn about it: when an athlete trims down and takes his craft more seriously, it's a good thing. Lackey came to camp in terrific condition

Minus Crabtree, Kapernick and Gore should pound away (USAT)

Pads, helmets, handoffs. For football fans longing for the NFL's return, this week's OTAs scratched an insatiable itch.

On this week's hard-hitting program, Brad Evans and Andy Behrens reacted to Michael Crabtree's premature demise, went to war over perpetual underachiever Ryan Mathews, project ballyhooed right-hander Kevin Gausman and pinpointed when Francisco Liriano's 'Fransucko' side will bubble to the surface.

Too busy prepping the grill? No problem. Listen to the replays below:

LISTEN TO HOUR 1 HERE (NFL)

LISTEN TO HOUR 2 HERE (NFL/MLB)

We're seriously having the Liriano discussion again? (USAT Images)

In his three starts for the Pirates this season, Francisco Liriano has pitched a total of 18.0 innings, earning three wins, allowing just two runs and striking out 25 batters. Fine work. Laudable. Hope they're selling thousands of LIRIANO 47 jerseys at PNC.

But you guys need to stop adding him in fantasy. Seriously, stop it. Cease. No more.

The Zach Attack (USAT)

Cleveland's surge to the top of the AL Central standings has been primarily fueled by offense. The Indians piled up 12 runs and 16 hits in Thursday's romp at Boston, and for the year they're second in runs scored, trailing only Detroit. The Tribe continues to get on base (fourth in OBP) and knock down the walls (first in homers and slugging). Keep your pitchers away from these guys.

The pitching hasn't been nearly as sharp, posting a 4.07 ERA (19th in the majors). But let's take a second to appreciate Thursday's winning pitcher, emerging 25-year old Zach McAllister.

McAllister scored his fourth win of the year at Fenway and it was, curiously enough, his worst outing of the season (5 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 5 K). A captain of consistency, McAllister has allowed three runs or less in all nine of his turns, fashioning a 2.89 ERA and 1.21 WHIP. His strikeout rate is nothing special this year (6.27/9), a dip from his 2012 clip, but he's collecting 2.73 whiffs for every walk. McAllister isn't going to beat himself, you have to beat him.

No place to hide, Fernando (Getty)

One day after recording a rocky five-out save, Fernando Rodney took a rough turn against the Jays. So we're back to worrying about him. Or maybe you never stopped worrying. Either way, he's a big, bad-hatted worry.

Rodney attempted to protect a one-run lead at Toronto on Wednesday, but Jose Bautista greeted him rudely, with a no-doubt bomb. Tie game. Save blown. Rodney then retired Edwin Encarnacion, but gave up a five-pitch walk to Adam Lind. At that point, Joe Maddon had seen all he needed to see. Joel Peralta entered, recording two quick outs.

We're now 18.1 innings into Rodney's season, and he's already blown four save chances, issued 17 walks and allowed three home runs. In 74.1 innings last year, he only blew two saves, walked 15 batters and yielded two homers.

Peralta is the clear handcuff in the Rays' bullpen, so get him if you can. He's owned in just 17 percent of Yahoo! leagues, he's pitching well (2.08 ERA, 1.02 WHIP), and he's presumably Plan B.

When Plan A is Rodney, Plan B better be good.

Kipnis may own eye-popping numbers by year's end. (USAT)

Fantasy is a speculative game. Predict the future, and you look like a genius. Don't, and you're painfully human. Gazing into the crystal ball, here's our view on 10 intriguing over/unders this week.

If redrafting today, what second basemen should go after Robinson Cano: Jason Kipnis, Dustin Pedroia, Ben Zobrist, Brandon Philips, Ian Kinsler or OTHER.

Dalton – PEDROIA. It makes it easier with Kinsler hurt, and others certainly have a case as well. I know Pedroia has just two home runs, but he currently sports a 11.8 K% and a 13.3 BB%, showing his .333 BA is no fluke. More homers will come.

Brandon – PEDROIA. I had Pedroia at No. 2 and Kipnis at No. 3 on my final preseason rankings for second base, and nothing has knocked me off that stance yet.

Brad – KIPNIS. After being locked in cold storage for most of April the Indian has thumped the drum in recent weeks slashing a .346-4-13-12-3 line since May 7, the best overall output of any player in Y! fantasy. With his ISO hovering around .235, it would be no surprise if he flirted with 30/30 territory.

Oedipus Rex (USAT)

The soul of Closing Time is the bullpen chase, so our logical first step takes us to Colorado. Settle in, Rafael Betancourt owners, and have your copay ready.

The Rockies closer has been working through a groin problem for almost a month now, and it forced him out of Tuesday's appearance in the tenth inning. He's scheduled to have an MRI on Wednesday.

Players are wired to downplay injuries, and Betancourt is no different. Here's what he told MLB.com.

"It's not painful," Betancourt said. "It was feeling weird warming up. I always push a lot from that leg. I came into the game, bounced the first two pitches. Feel like weak. It was getting tight. That's all.

"I'm the kind of guy that it's hard for me to come out of the game. But I think it was the right move to do in that situation. [Wednesday] I get an MRI, but I think everything's going to be fine, and we'll go from there."

It's novel for Betancourt to hope for the best, but we have to prepare for the worst, just in case. If Betancourt misses any significant time, someone's going to get save chances in his stead. Rex Brothers looks like the first name to consider grabbing, with Wilton Lopez and Matt Belisle two other options.

If the numbers were all that mattered, the left-handed Brothers would be a slam-dunk. He's posted a 0.44 ERA and 1.13 WHIP through 22 appearances, with 21 strikeouts against eight walks. The platoon splits haven't bothered him at all; he's actually better against righties (.180 BAA) this year. He looks ready for the ninth if manager Walter Weiss wants to play it that way.