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Thu Sep 17, 2009 11:40 am EDT

Closing Time: Wieters walks off; umps blow save in Boston

By Andy Behrens

http://a323.yahoofs.com/ymg/ept_sports_fantasy_experts__18/ept_sports_fantasy_experts-243796328-1253189139.jpg?ymTo75BDSat1otAv

In the photo above, Matt Wieters(notes) is surrounded by zealots who seek to place their hands upon him. It happens wherever he goes. That Wigginton-looking fanatic on the right is particularly enthusiastic.

Wieters hit a two-run, opposite-field walkoff on Wednesday, leading Baltimore to a 4-2 win over Tampa Bay. He also gunned down Carl Crawford(notes) twice on stolen base attempts. (Video here. That's just the second time in his career that Crawford has been nailed twice in a game. The second caught-stealing required an almost impossible throw). In his last two games, Wieters is 4-for-7 with two homers and eight RBIs. His average is now .273.

Never mind that Wieters seems to homer the way WNBA players dunk – everything scrapes the wall – or that his first month in the majors was a struggle. You'll get a second helping of hype next year. Join the movement, non-believer. We're a welcoming community.

Please, if you can spare a few minutes, meet us downstairs in the fellowship hall after Closing Time for sandwiches and punch…

http://a323.yahoofs.com/ymg/ept_sports_fantasy_experts__18/ept_sports_fantasy_experts-174573602-1253189171.jpg?ymzo75BDbOCM93SM• While it's true that Brian Fuentes(notes) blew another save on Wednesday, he was also dealing with a mysterious, unconquerable strike zone. Over on the right you'll see every pitch in the game-tying two-out walk to Nick Green(notes) (via MLB's Gameday). Somehow that ninth pitch was called a ball.

Give credit to Green for battling, but…well, he should have struck out looking to end the game. (Video). Fuentes referred to the umpires as "timid" and "scared," and you'll get no argument here.

Mike Scioscia's postgame comments were both spectacular and appropriate:

"What was the count at the end, 3-4 to Green? I thought we had him a couple of times. I was surprised." 

• Huston Street(notes) threw a bullpen session on Wednesday, and he's expected to return to active duty on Sunday. "He understands that his first and possible second outings will not be as the closer," according to the Denver Post's Troy Renck. Interim closer Franklin Morales(notes) had his second straight shaky appearance on Wednesday, allowing three straight singles to begin the ninth. Rafael Betancourt(notes) replaced him, earning a degree-of-difficulty save.

• Roy Oswalt(notes) has mercifully been shut down due to back problems. He's allowed 16 hits and 10 earned runs over his last seven innings while "pitching with a degenerative disk in his back," per the Houston Chronicle. Cut him loose, gamers. He can't help you now.

• The Brewers are "revisiting the idea of shutting down right-hander Yovani Gallardo(notes) for the season," reports Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. The 23-year-old Gallardo is sixth in the N.L. in total pitches thrown (3124) and Milwaukee is 12.0 games behind Colorado in the Wild Card hunt, so the move makes plenty of sense. But that doesn't mean Gallardo himself is satisfied with the plan:

"I don't want to be shut down. I want to finish out the year strong," Gallardo said. "We're trying to find ways to make that happen."

• In other Milwaukee news, shortstop Alcides Escobar(notes) went 4-for-5 against the Cubs, raising his average to .312 after 77 at-bats. The speedy 22-year-old stole a base in his first appearance this year on August 12, but he didn't even attempt another until Sept. 13. Escobar swiped 42 bases in 109 Triple-A games earlier in the year. That's where he'll ultimately contribute, fantasy-wise.  

http://a323.yahoofs.com/ymg/ept_sports_fantasy_experts__18/ept_sports_fantasy_experts-365208523-1253201976.jpg?ym4w.5BD6j2WzPUB• And in former Brewers prospect news, Matt LaPorta(notes) went 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs against the Twins on Wednesday. He's homered five times since being recalled on August 20.  

• Funston would probably want you to know that young Mike Carp(notes) finally homered in the majors. Carp hit .271/.372/.446 with 15 HRs at Triple-A Tacoma this season. He's a person of interest in dynasty formats. 

• Trevor Cahill(notes) one-hit the Rangers over seven innings on Wednesday, recording a season-high seven strikeouts. Cahill has had a nice run over the past month, going 3-0 with 20 Ks in 35 innings since August 16. In that six-game stretch, his WHIP is 1.09 and his ERA is 2.57. 

• Important note here from the AP recap of the Rockies-Giants tilt: "Bochy said he would not tweak his rotation with an off day Thursday. That means reigning Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum(notes) will pitch Sunday in Los Angeles and can only make three more starts, instead of four, if he goes on regular rest the remainder of the season."

• These three Friday probables are all in play for fantasy purposes, and they're all available in at least 70 percent of Yahoo! PLUS leagues: Tim Stauffer(notes) at Pittsburgh (23 percent-owned), Brian Duensing(notes) vs. Detroit (30 percent) and Rick VandenHurk(notes) at Cincinnati (four percent). We shouldn't need to tell streamers how useful the left-handed Duensing has been. He's 3-0 in his six starts for Minnesota this season with 28 Ks and 10 walks in 36 innings. 

---

Photos via AP Images 

Related: Closing Time, Fantasy Baseball

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55 Comments

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  1. Buck
    1. Posted by Buck Thu Sep 17, 2009 12:03 pm EDT

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    loved all the wieters hype back in march...you convinced a hell of a lot of sheep to waste a draft pick a year early on this guy, which I appreciate. well done. almost as good as evans telling people to bench romo in week 1. keep it coming!
  2. treythewop
    2. Posted by treythewop Thu Sep 17, 2009 12:06 pm EDT

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    In the Fuentes situation there was also a check swing that should have been a strike that would have ended the game, but it was ruled he didnt swing....Fuentes (and my fantasy team) got jipped twice
  3. Carl R
    3. Posted by Carl R Thu Sep 17, 2009 12:20 pm EDT

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    Yeah, i'm with Buck on this one. I don't deny he's a fantasy superstar in the making, but I haven't seen anything to make me think this guy is going to validate a top 100 pick next year, his power is still in the development stages, has no speed and hits near the bottom of the order. So the only reason to draft him is if he's gonna hit .300, and you can wait till the later rounds for that. But please go ahead and hype him to death so people waste high picks on him.
  4. urbanlegendsrg
    4. Posted by urbanlegendsrg Thu Sep 17, 2009 12:20 pm EDT

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    its a free column people... You dont need to rely on someone else advice. Your head is always responsible for wherever your ass sits down...So use it.
  5. Lee Majors
    5. Posted by Lee Majors Thu Sep 17, 2009 12:25 pm EDT

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    That's a two-point deduction for Buck.
  6. golfnooch2000
    6. Posted by golfnooch2000 Thu Sep 17, 2009 12:35 pm EDT

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    re: green/fuentes...watch the vid and freeze the frames. The ump made the right call(s). He held his bat, fouled off the next few, the next few were clearly balls, and that last one ended up below the knees with the catcher trying to frame it back upwards. If the catcher really thought that was a solid strike, he would have held it there.
  7. The Fresh One
    7. Posted by The Fresh One Thu Sep 17, 2009 12:37 pm EDT

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    I was going to post a comment earlier, but CT wasn't done. Now I forgot what I was going to post. Probably something about streaming Gavin Floyd and him getting lit up by the worst offensive team in the majors. He's on my list now. Yeah, THAT list.
    Hopefully this kid Davis I streamed today can make up for Floyd. Apparently Floyd doesn't realize that it's the semi-finals of my fantasy league.
  8. AgentUtah
    8. Posted by AgentUtah Thu Sep 17, 2009 12:39 pm EDT

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    Closing Time! Good to see you. But come on - two points deducted from Buck after he DIDN'T use his spot to say "First!"
    You can find a non-Mauer catcher at a good price (what was ADP for Sandoval, Molina, Pierzynski this season?), so I'm sure we'll have a nice raging debate next preseason about what to do with Wieters. The O's need to add a power-hitting corner infielder in the offseason, though. That would be a big help.
  9. titan126126
    9. Posted by titan126126 Thu Sep 17, 2009 12:43 pm EDT

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    Where the hell are the sandwiches and punch?,
  10. Carl R
    10. Posted by Carl R Thu Sep 17, 2009 12:43 pm EDT

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    Not relying on other's advice, only stating my opinion. You don't draft a catcher in the top 100 picks unless you think he's gonna go .280+/80/20/80 as a floor, not a ceiling, am I right? If you're not getting someone that's a premium player at the position, it's not worth doing, and the only of those numbers I see Wieters eclipsing is .280+ and maybe 80+ RBI if he gets bumped up to 5th or 6th in the order, and there's probably 4 or 5 catchers that should go ahead of him, if not more.
  11. Lee Majors
    11. Posted by Lee Majors Thu Sep 17, 2009 12:45 pm EDT

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    The highest I actually drafted Wieters was at pick No. 99, in a dynasty league. It's a head-to-head format where I have a playoff bye. Wieters is starting for me at catcher. Here's his line this week: 4 R, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 0 SB, .538 OBP, 1.200 SLG.
    That was a wasted pick? It was not difficult to manage around his absence. I reject your anti-Wieters craziness.
  12. Lee Majors
    12. Posted by Lee Majors Thu Sep 17, 2009 12:50 pm EDT

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    Ball four to Green is clearly a strike, c'mon.
    OK, Buck can have one point back on appeal for not saying "First." You make an excellent point.
    The main point of this year's catcher primer, if I recall correctly, was that the high draft picks at the position rarely justify their ADPs.
  13. Lee Majors
    13. Posted by Lee Majors Thu Sep 17, 2009 12:51 pm EDT

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    Sandwiches and punch are on page two of comments. We're not there yet.
  14. norrisou
    14. Posted by norrisou Thu Sep 17, 2009 1:06 pm EDT

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    Why are these comment sections so screwy? I need answers.
  15. norrisou
    15. Posted by norrisou Thu Sep 17, 2009 1:09 pm EDT

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    Honestly, people have been double, triple, even quadruple posting. Nothing can be done? I swear if I click "Next" or "Last" and it just sends me back to the top of the first page one more time, I'm going to whine and complain worse than I am right now.
  16. showell6483
    16. Posted by showell6483 Thu Sep 17, 2009 1:17 pm EDT

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    Not only should the check swing have been a strike as well as the fourth ball being above the knees, but what about the lack of effort by Rivera on the blooper to end the game? He pulled up when he shouold have laid out for the ball. What did he have to lose? If he catches the ball, the game goes to extra innings--if he doesn't, what did he lose? The ball fell in when he didn't even try to make the catch.
  17. Wahoo34
    17. Posted by Wahoo34 Thu Sep 17, 2009 1:18 pm EDT

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    Hey Andy -
    Do Brandon and Brad know that they are still playing baseball??
    Also, when do you think Matt Romig will ever again grace our Yahoo pages with an article??
  18. norrisou
    18. Posted by norrisou Thu Sep 17, 2009 1:27 pm EDT

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    Yeah possibly worse than the ball 4 call was Rivera's complete lack of effort on the bloop. He pulled up on his last 3 or 4 steps and he still was within arm's length had he dove. Pathetic.
  19. Katraine H
    19. Posted by Katraine H Thu Sep 17, 2009 1:29 pm EDT

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    From the pitchfx for the game the ump had been alternately calling the "ball four" pitch to Green a ball and a strike all night, so at least he was consistently inconsistent. Or something.
  20. turkina525
    20. Posted by turkina525 Thu Sep 17, 2009 1:35 pm EDT

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    Okay, after watching the AB, I hafta say - wth was Mike Napoli thinking? He just kept calling for those high fastballs - even after it was clear that Green had it timed! They were the same speed, with mostly the same break...doesn't fuentes have ANY secondary pitches? Change speeds, change eye level..do SOMETHING!
    I hate the red sox, and pitch #9 in that AB was a terrible call, but Napoli/Fuentes lost that game.
  21. Buck
    21. Posted by Buck Thu Sep 17, 2009 1:37 pm EDT

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    behrens, one point deduction for you for using a dynasty league as an example when your advice is written for "standard leagues." i stand by my opinion that wieters was overvalued in most drafts back in march and was dropped in many year-to-year leagues
  22. Ryan
    22. Posted by Ryan Thu Sep 17, 2009 1:40 pm EDT

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    Look at the jealousy oozing from Markakis in that pic! If looks could kill, he wouldn't even be able to put a dent in the invisible forcefield surrounding The One.
    I have Wieters in my Dynasy league...I told all the owners that proposing any sort of trade for him would be an exercise in futility. I'm going to the Baltimore game at the Rogers Centre on Tuesday, right behind home plate baby!
  23. Marty McFly
    23. Posted by Marty McFly Thu Sep 17, 2009 1:46 pm EDT

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    This week in my h2h semifinal matchup... I had Franklin Morales rostered and my opponent had Jorge De La Rosa. Could that game have gone any worse for me?
    I'm just putting this out there because I want the fantasy community to feel sorry for me and cheer on my team.
  24. Lee Majors
    24. Posted by Lee Majors Thu Sep 17, 2009 1:50 pm EDT

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    You don't have the authority to deduct points! Give it back!
    No, that just happened to be the format where I drafted him earliest. My standard line on Wieters early in the year was that in head-to-head leagues, you had to look at end-of-season value. That meant the early trip to the minors was a non-issue, and could be managed around.
  25. Carl R
    25. Posted by Carl R Thu Sep 17, 2009 1:53 pm EDT

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    So he had a good week. He's also had lots of bad ones, as he's been very streaky this year and probably will be until he really settles in. Of course he's a good pick in keeper and dynasty leagues, because as I said in my first comment, I don't deny that he is a future fantasy superstar. I just don't see it happening next year, that's all. I'd gladly take him in the 150-200 range, because I think he'll go about .300/60/15/60, which is a useful line from a catcher, but I think he'll be too overvalued to fall that far. I'll just take Miguel Montero in the same range instead.

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