Another Mission in the Balkans/ Pitching Woes

I made it out of Africa and contacted my boss, we'll call him "Y," who was able to roll me over on a project in the Balkans. I was put in charge of a modest personal security operation for ArchDuke Richard Lingk, the Bosnian Minister of Interior Development, and his wife, the Dutchess of Nyborg. The Duke comes from Bosnian royalty, and is revered and respected by his countrymen, many of whom believe he has magical powers. The Duke and Dutchess live in a sprawling medieval castle called "Mountainview." I manage a dozen or so guards in securing Mountainview's perimeter, and then I work as the personal bodyguard of the Duke and Dutchess when they go into town. My old friend Ricky Roma is second in command among the body guards, and we work with Fredo, the screw-up son of the Duke and Dutchess. Some mercenaries find the Balkans to be pretty hairy at times, and indeed I had a rough go in Srebrenica, but I have found the atmosphere around Mountainview to be pretty laid back, and it is a welcome respite from bloody Africa. And I don't apologize for what I did in Srebenica- that's my life and I make no apologies- the whole operation was a mess from the start, and most of the time you couldn't even tell who you were killing- but you just had to fire and forget. And I think we all died a little in that damn war.


Beaucholic Mountainview

But onto Major League Baseball. And it is about that time of the year in fantasy baseball when good pitching legitimately becomes hard to find. The guys having career years (Jon Garland, Brett Myers, John Patterson, Erik Bedard, Bruce Chen etc) all been gobbled up, and it is risky to grab remaining pitchers off the waiver wire because they can single-handedly ruin your team ERA and WHIP with a "Moyer-esque" outing.

THE GOOD
There are some good pitchers left- you just have to look...
1) Cliff Lee- Cleveland- this once-promising oyung pitcher has had a bunch of good starts this year, and has pitched well against some stacked AL lineups (Angels, WhiteSox, and Rangers)
2) Chris Young- Texas- the big man is quickly developing into a stud- if he's a free-agent in your league, grab him
3) Mark Redman- Pittsburgh- he'll help your team ERA and WHIP, but don't rely on him for wins or Ks
4) Josh Fogg- Pittsburgh- has been pitching very well lately, riding a 3-game win streak into the weekend. Fogg went seven strong on Wednesday evening and gave up only two runs
5) Chris Capuono- Milwaukee- he is developing into a good pitcher but is still prone to implosion.
6) Horacio Ramirez- Atlanta-a poor man's Mark Redman ...hmm...that doesn't sound very good

THE BANGED UP
Injuries were the primary reason the following became waiver wire fodder
1) Tony Armas Jr- Washington- dealt with many injuries throughout his young career, but will be throwing in a pitcher's park
2) Jaret Wright- New York (Junior Circuit)- terrible start, but maybe he pitches well when he comes back
3) David Wells- Boston- Was starting to pitch well before he got hurt


THE UGLY
The following are decent pitchers who got off to terrible starts and may have been cut by their original owners
1) Jake Westbrook- Cleveland- look at his numbers- four quality starts yet he has an ERA of 6.69 -maybe he'll get it all together
2) Nick Lowery- San Fransisco- transitioning well from NFL kicker to pitcher, he had a slow start but may be coming around
3) Randy Wolf- Philadelphia- this lefty has always been a bit inconsistent, but so far this year he has just been bad
4) Zack Grienke- Kansas City- pitching very, very well this year despite his record (0-4)
5) Ryan Drese- Texas- vowed to be the Rangers ace at the out-set of the season, but he is a far cry from that