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Tristan H. Cockcroft

  (11:02 AM)

Good morning everyone! Let's get right to your questions...

Michael (Ciity of Champions, PA )

Lets all say hip hip horray- The Fantasy Football draft kit is finally up!

Tristan H. Cockcroft

  (11:03 AM)

Indeed it is! Don't forget to check it out, if you're a fantasy football fan as well as baseball...

Brian (Pittsburgh)

Morgan a good option for cheap steals?

Tristan H. Cockcroft

  (11:04 AM)

I'd say so. I'm not a huge fan of Nyjer Morgan, no shock since I'm no buyer of light-hitting speedsters in general, but he's got value in terms of steals and perhaps runs, too. He'll play, and I like that at least. Let's just say, though, that at no point do I see him coming close to top-100 status. Let's be realistic.

Donald (Dover)

When do you see Lastings getting the call to PITS?

Tristan H. Cockcroft

  (11:06 AM)

Well, first of all, Lastings Milledge remains sidelined with a broken finger, though all reports are that he's nearing a return from that. I'd expect a low-level rehab stint, maybe in rookie ball, then he'll be sent to the Pirates' Triple-A affiliate. With one or two weeks' solid production, Milledge might get the call immediately after the All-Star break, or maybe by the end of July. I still like the guy's power/speed combo, and think he could offer you an August and September of NL-only/deep-mixed value.

Mike (NY)

johan hurt? he's looked human over the past month

Tristan H. Cockcroft

  (11:08 AM)

It's possible, and there were hints of either that or that he's either tipping his pitches or dealing with issues with his mechanics. But if I had to guess, it's more that when you're the only guy on the team being asked to carry your team to consistent 1-0 or 2-1 victories, you're going to put a heck of a lot of pressure on yourself. I'd call this a prime buy-low chance on Johan Santana, if there were ever one. He'll be fine.

Brad (Denver)

Tristan, I get the feeling James Shields is going to get ripped in Toronto today. Would you start him?

Tristan H. Cockcroft

  (11:10 AM)

Well, I picked the Rays today in Streak for the Cash, so naturally I'm a believer in Shields, who indeed has a far stronger home than road track record. My thinking: He calls a dome his home, and Rogers Centre is, of course, a dome, so he should feel pretty much at home. Sure enough, he has a 3.52 ERA and 0.85 WHIP in his two career starts there.

Tyler (Phoenix)

T - what's for lunch? Thoughts on Carmona? Two solid outings in the minors thus far.

Tristan H. Cockcroft

  (11:12 AM)

Undecided as of yet. Open to suggestions, as always. As for Fausto, you're right, he's looking good in the minors, but it's the low minors, remember. I think he might be a turn or two away from getting another look, and that he's been kept down this long is no surprise to me. You don't send a guy to where the Indians did Carmona unless it's a lengthy project.

Peter (West Orange, NJ)

Looks like the Nats are throwing in the towel for '09 already. Where do you see Dunn heading?

Tristan H. Cockcroft

  (11:13 AM)

Looks more to me like they're aiming to overhaul their outfield, though I see Adam Dunn as the least tradeable part in that outfield because of the two-year, $20-million contract. So to answer your question, I see him going nowhere.

The Antagonist (Center Stage)

Please settle a debate. If Red Sox had held on to 9 run league yesterday, who would have garnered the W (Smoltz only went 4 innings) I say official scorer would have discretion, my friend says first reliever in game would automatically be in line for win.I have a lot riding on this!

Tristan H. Cockcroft

  (11:14 AM)

Official scorer's decision, it's in the rulebook. Your friend has been fooled by the fact that in recent years, so many scorers just get lazy and hand the win to whomever recorded the final out in the fifth inning. Amazing comeback that was, wasn't it?

Commish Question (Charleston, SC)

Need Serious help THC. I have had two complaints in the league regarding a trade. I could use a little advice as to whether to VETO or allow. I am thinking about a possible VETO to keep balance and integrity in the league. Team A gets: Pujols and Kerry Wood...Team B gets:VMart, Tex, Howard, Papelbon, and Matt Cain. Team B is already in first place by a couple of games. League is pretty even.

Tristan H. Cockcroft

  (11:16 AM)

For as much as I like Albert Pujols, that is a heck of a lot in exchange for Albert Pujols. Mark Teixeira and Ryan Howard alone would be too much for him, but I could see the case being made for that. Adding the other parts makes it a rough trade to swallow.

Steve (Boston)

Have 3 going tonight. Kershaw vs Colorado, Hamels vs Atlanta, and Verlander vs Oak. Start all 3? Thanks

Tristan H. Cockcroft

  (11:17 AM)

The one who scares me just a little bit is Clayton Kershaw, because the Rockies are on quite a roll of late. At least it's a home game for him, though, so yes, I'd even keep him active.

Dave (Miami)

Tristan,Am I the only person who thinks there will be no noteworthy deadline trades?

Tristan H. Cockcroft

  (11:20 AM)

Depends what you consider "noteworthy." I think we're going to see a lot more deals of the Mark DeRosa ilk once the July 31 deadline arrives. Finances are tight, and in the Adam Dunn question from earlier, part of the point I was trying to make is a lot of teams might not be able to afford to absorb that contract right now. Of course, another interesting impact of that: I bet more players will slip through waivers after the July 31 deadline than usual. Might not be a hard deadline as much this year. Just a thought.

Bryan (Montclair, NJ)

TRIST! Would you take the over/under on Casey McGhee for this year: .295, 18 HR, 70 RBI, .870 OPS?

Tristan H. Cockcroft

  (11:22 AM)

Tough call. Gut says take the under, but hot as he has been he can easily challenge each of those numbers. Good projection, Bryan! I look at McGehee and see a guy who didn't overwhelm statistically in the minors, but was no slouch, either. So he's not as good as he's showing right now, but he's an underappreciated part. Kind of like what Mike Aviles was to 2008. I could see McGehee having that kind of impact the remainder of the year.

Chuck (NJ)

Veto question. Team A gets Albert Pujols. Team B gets Prince Fielder, free gas for a year, 50% ownership in Time Warner, lunch with Warren Buffet and either Luke Scott or Willy Tavaras. Should this be vetoed?

Tristan H. Cockcroft

  (11:24 AM)

If it was lunch at a buffet, it'd be too much. Otherwise, totally fair deal. Seriously though, people don't like kidding around about trade vetos. I hate them, but let's face it, there are limits.

Tom Rizzo (Jacksonville, FL)

You think matt holiday somehow ends up in the bronx this year? Thus resulting in inflated fantasy value because of the bronx pinball machine the yankees play in?

Tristan H. Cockcroft

  (11:25 AM)

If he did, absolutely his stock would rise tremendously, less because of the ballpark than because of the stacked lineup around him. Re: Yankee Stadium, understand that left-handed hitters are the one at greater advantage. And the point is moot, because I don't see Holliday at all as a viable Yankee target. How many corner outfielder/DHs can they keep on a roster? I think the Yankees might only add a setup man at the trade deadline.

Matt (DC)

Hey Tristan! How bout a big tasty burger? That's what I'm headed for. I need a replacement for Pierre when Manny gets back. Who's the best bet for speed and average from Rowand, Coghlan, Span, Scott Hairston and Chris Young?

Tristan H. Cockcroft

  (11:27 AM)

I have considered this possibility, though the tastiest burger within range of me right now is probably still a good 15 minutes away. Who knows, 30-plus more minutes for me to increase my craving for one! As for a "speed and average" replacement, I think you're pigeon-holing yourself, because Denard Span is your correct answer then. But he's not the best pickup of the bunch; I'd go Chris Young first and Scott Hairston second, though neither offers exactly what you were asking. Make up the needs elsewhere, I'd advise.

Tristan H. Cockcroft (Campus)

I would like to readdress Steve from Boston. I apologize for earlier saying that Kershaw should be started today. Upon further examination, I see that the current Rockies are batting .371 against him. Also, Clayton has a 5.56 ERA during day games. Put him on your bench ... my mistake. Also, I've decided on crab cakes and fig newtons for lunch.

Tristan H. Cockcroft

  (11:30 AM)

I had crab cakes yesterday. Also, those atats aren't all correct. Rockies are hitting .316 off him this year, not .371. And let's not overlook that Kershaw had a quality start against the Rox in his last start against them, in Coors no less. And in 2008, he was a-OK in day games. My call stands.

Kevin (nashua)

I dropped andy pettite for jair jurrgens is that a good move

Tristan H. Cockcroft

  (11:31 AM)

I think so, but then I trust Jurrjens more from an overall perspective. Andy Pettitte just can't be started at home against any decent offense. He's dominant on the road but mediocre at the team's new home bandbox.

Five Guys (Burgers and Fries)

You will like my tasty burger, Tristan. You will. How much longer until we finally get an answer on Webb? Don't want to drop him until it's "official".

Tristan H. Cockcroft

  (11:32 AM)

I have never eaten at Five Guys in my life, and it's not from a lack of interest, believe me. For one thing, closest one I think is at least 30 minutes away, and that one just opened. Anyway, I think the Brandon Webb news is pretty clear: He's not close to returning and his season looks very much in question. As to when the Diamondbacks make a decision on his season, it's somewhat understandable that they want to take every chance not to send their best starter in for season-ending surgery if they don't have to.

Taylor (Boston)

Should I try and trade King felix for halladay right now?

Tristan H. Cockcroft

  (11:33 AM)

I would make that deal if I could. Roy Halladay is one of the most trustworthy top-five fantasy starters around.

Used to get (Questions Answered)

True or false, the MLB playoffs should have more teams and every series should be a best of 7??? I never understood how they can play twice as many games as the NBA and NHL but half the number of playoff games. Thoughts???

Tristan H. Cockcroft

  (11:35 AM)

False, true. More teams might help increase appeal for some of those lesser teams that rarely ever qualify for the playoffs, but it'd dilute the quality of the postseason, increasing the chances the best team doesn't win. But I absolutely agree that all postseason series should be seven games. Those five-game Division Series are ridiculous.

Confused (Pittsburgh)

Hinske didn't like his playing time with the Pirates, so he moves to the Yankees???? Any value in deep AL league?

Tristan H. Cockcroft

  (11:36 AM)

Well, he's certainly not going to get regular at-bats with the Yankees. I see him getting one start a week at third base on the days A-Rod sits, and maybe 1-2 in right field, and all of these only against right-handers. Hinske won't see the light of day against a lefty, meaning the value I see in him is as an AL-only spot starter if your league has daily transactions. Otherwise, I'm not expecting much.

Tom (Michigan)

Who do you like more for the rest of the year, Jake Fox or Gordon Beckham?

Tristan H. Cockcroft

  (11:37 AM)

Fox. He can rake, and I'd say enough so that the Cubs need to find creative ways to get him into the lineup fairly regularly. But I always want talent over opportunity. Talent creates its own opportunities, most of the time.

Tom Rizzo (Jacksonville, FL)

Speaking of the playoffs. I keep hearing people talking about how the wild card team should only have one home game in the first round. or should play the last 3 on the road. Do you like the format how it is now (besides the 5 game aspect) or would you want to put more of a burden on the wild card team?

Tristan H. Cockcroft

  (11:38 AM)

If it must remain five games then yes, I agree, however, that still doesn't address how you dole out the other Division Series' home games. Those are two division winners facing off.

Tristan und Isolde (Germany)

Rookie Hanson or veteran Smoltz?

Tristan H. Cockcroft

  (11:39 AM)

Good question/comparison. I'm taking Tommy Hanson. I see less of a downside, and that slim downside is the adjustment period of a young pitcher to the majors. As I said in my recent "Out of the Box," Hanson's "adjustment period" seems to be manifesting itself in his walk rate, but his impressive stuff is more than overcoming it and keeping his numbers stable. When that guy puts two and two together...

jeff (st louis)

any chance pujols does the HR derby and it kills his swing?

Tristan H. Cockcroft

  (11:40 AM)

I chuckle a tad at how people panic about the Home Run Derby hurting a slugger. Pick and choose the examples you want to defend it -- Bobby Abreu, David Wright -- but the vast majority of the participants were just fine afterwards.

Paul (Chicago)

Jordan Zimmerman or Max Scherzer...and by how much?

Tristan H. Cockcroft

  (11:42 AM)

Neither one will be close to consistent in the win column, but I don't play for wins. And that means it's a needs situation, if you want the K's you want Scherzer and if you want the ratios I'd call Zimmermann the safer bet. I like what Zimmermann has done; he'd be my overall pick of the two, but again, understand my point that if you need K's...

Bernard (Princeton, NJ)

DO you see Jon Lester keeping up this recent pace (last month or so) for the rest of the season? Or should I trade him while he is hot?

Tristan H. Cockcroft

  (11:43 AM)

Yes. And no. I want to be as definitive as possible about that, too.

tom (pa)

lilly for branyan...good trade?

Tristan H. Cockcroft

  (11:44 AM)

I think that's an awful trade and I'm actually one of the bigger believers in Russell Branyan. My thinking on him is that he'll be decent enough as a power source because his playing time is almost entirely secure. But K-prone as he is, he'll be such a drain on your batting average that that'd be an awful return for such a decent pitcher.

Carl (Brooklyn)

Andrus - 4 steals last night! Start of a trend?

Tristan H. Cockcroft

  (11:46 AM)

Exceptional game for the kid, and if you've been attending my chats, you know I'm optimistic about him. I say that was a lot closer to his true potential than the 25-30 steal pace he was on heading up to it. I see Andrus finishing with around a .275-.280 batting average, 40-45 steals and maybe 80 runs. He's got a little more growth potential here, is what I'm saying.

Bernard (Princeton, NJ)

Any chance Milton Bradley gets traded this season?

Tristan H. Cockcroft

  (11:47 AM)

Who would ever want to take on that contract?

john (mass)

THC! Made a trade where I got CCarpenter and gave Nolasco, regretting it right now! which do you like going forward?

Tristan H. Cockcroft

  (11:47 AM)

I like both pitchers, though I'm more of a Chris Carpenter fan. No pitcher is going to be dominant every turn. I think you made a smart deal.

Rahul (Chicago)

Scherzer and Zimmerman have the same K/9 ...

Tristan H. Cockcroft

  (11:48 AM)

Well there you go. Not that I project that remaining the case from today forward -- Scherzer is more the power arm of the two -- but that's a very telling statistic.

Chuck (Hershey)

KFC for THC? Would you drop Thome for Hafner?

Tristan H. Cockcroft

  (11:49 AM)

Isn't it "KGC" now? Still haven't tried it. And no, I would not. Travis Hafner is too injury-prone in my eyes. At least Jim Thome will stay in the lineup regularly for you, and he's got no less offensive potential besides.

BS (MN)

What do I do!!!!???? Pick one for me out of Kubel, Konerko, Jose Lopez, or Rivera for power numbers (HR and RBI).

Tristan H. Cockcroft

  (11:50 AM)

Based on the needs I'm a Jason Kubel guy. Right now Juan Rivera is probably your smarter ride-the-hot-streak type of the bunch, but I think if you're picking for the entire final three months of the season, it's Kubel who will top this list.

Matt (Los Angeles)

Ortiz finishes with ___ HRs and a ____ avg. Well done, Papi.

Tristan H. Cockcroft

  (11:51 AM)

This is more of a guesstimate than a hard calculation, because I could actually run the batting average if I grabbed a spreadsheet to do it. I'll say 27 homers, .255 batting average. Meaning I believe.

Brian (Pittsburgh)

Burgers/dogs or chicken on the 4th?

Tristan H. Cockcroft

  (11:52 AM)

Burgers/dogs, but that's just a staple of mine on the fourth. I'm all about tradition.

Triumph (NY)

Get a salad for lunch, you could use it! I kid, I kid. Seriously tho, whats with Torre batting Kemp 8th and 9th? Will he move him up when Manny returns?

Tristan H. Cockcroft

  (11:53 AM)

Ah, Triumph ... classic. Loved your Star Wars bit. And I don't understand the Matt Kemp thing either. Makes absolutely no sense to me, and heck if I could explain it.

Dan (Philadelphia)

I baked you a cake for lunch and I pickled the figs myself. So, what do you think about Slowey? His WHIP and ERA suggest that heâ??s an average fantasy pitcher and he was assaulted in his last start. But still, heâ??s on pace for 20 wins this year. Will his success in the past couple months continue to the seasonâ??s end?

Tristan H. Cockcroft

  (11:56 AM)

Let Smithers try it first. I'm a Kevin Slowey fan. He's a consistent strike thrower, one of the more reliable WHIP guys in baseball, and it's a category I build around. Slowey absolutely could win 20; and I think his ERA will be under four and his WHIP in the 1.25 range come year's end.

jon (ny,ny)

Correia or Feldman for the balance of the year?

Tristan H. Cockcroft

  (11:57 AM)

Kevin Correia, but that's a ballpark thing more than anything else. You match these guys up as much as you can, and both have value, but I see more of them for Correia, being a National Leaguer who calls Petco his home.

Bob (NJ)

Asdrubal Cabrera, I picked him up. 5x5 12 mixed. MI start worthy going foward? Thanks

Tristan H. Cockcroft

  (11:58 AM)

No reason he can't bat in the .280s, score you a healthy number of runs if he continues to lead off, and steal maybe 12-15 bases from today forward. I'd call that a worthwhile AL-only or deep-mixed middle infielder.

Dave (DC)

I'm skipping lunch.Would you trade Markakis for Papelbon if you needed saves? I'd have Braun, McLouth, and Choo as my remaining OFs.

Tristan H. Cockcroft

  (11:59 AM)

If it's not a keeper league and you need the saves, then yes, absolutely. Seems fair to me.

Bob (DC)

One last shot! Strategy question for you. What are you thoughts on dealing for closers? I know everyone talks about how you shouldn't pay for saves, but the people in my league have picked up just about every potential closer and I'm falling back quickly. Thanks!

Tristan H. Cockcroft

  (12:01 PM)

I've got no problem with dealing for saves, so long as you calculate exactly what you think you're going to need in the category and make an appropriate trade to get that exact number of saves. I'll give you an example: In my keeper league the only closer I owned all year was Joakim Soria. Needless to say, by a week or so ago I was in last in the category, 10 behind anyone else. I just dealt for Jonathan Papelbon and Brian Fuentes in separate deals, knowing I not only had to make up those 10, but also all those saves to jump other teams above that. No shame in dealing for saves, just make sure you're cool, calm and most importantly calculated in doing it.

Roy (Verona, NJ)

Chris Davis finishes with ___ HRs and an BA of ____

Tristan H. Cockcroft

  (12:02 PM)

There remains a very real risk Davis won't finish the year with the team, though I call it a slim one considering the Rangers have been this patient with him so far. I'll say 36 homers, but I'd be shocked if the batting average is over .230. I'm saying .224.

Butch (Lord Stanley, PA)

So what is for lunch? Ricky romero or Mazzaro this year?

Tristan H. Cockcroft

  (12:04 PM)

Going with the burger suggestion so far. Craving building. And it's Romero for me. I like what he did early in the year before getting hurt and he's in the midst of a streak of five straight quality starts. I believe in him more talent-wise, too.

Will (The OC)

Giving up on Grady....would Alexei Ramirez be a good gamble?

Tristan H. Cockcroft

  (12:04 PM)

I'd be all over that deal. Heck, I'd throw in a chicken parm sandwich.

Garrett (IA)

I like this game. Zobrist finishes with 30 HRs and a __ BA.

Tristan H. Cockcroft

  (12:06 PM)

If you do and others do, maybe we could do more of them in my next chat! Stop by then and pop some questions into the queue if so. For this one, I'm saying .284 batting average. And I see just under 30 homers, for the record. Meaning he's for real, or at least close to his true pace.

Tristan H. Cockcroft

  (12:07 PM)

OK, time to wrap things up for today. Thanks for all your questions, and sorry if I didn't get to yours. Take care everyone!