Daily Leaders 5/17/11

Bats

1.  Alex Rodriguez, NYY: 2 for 4, 2 HR, 2 RBI, 2 R:  After a nice start to the season, Rodriguez and the Yankees have cooled their jets.  Dropping a couple of A-Bombs on Big Game Jimmy Shields will help to obscure, but not erase, his pitiful May thus far.

2.  ^Brian McCann, ATL; 2 for 2, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 R:  At 4:03pm yesterday, I was despondent after watching Wandy Rodriguez seemingly cruise to a win against me in my primary league.  At 4:10, McCann (my catcher in that same league) pinch hit and promptly homered... (see: Rodriguez, Wandy)

3.  Travis Hafner, CLE; 2 for 4, 2 2B, 3 RBI, R:  Everyone knows that when Pronk plays, Pronk rakes.  He won't reach his 2004-07 numbers, but if he finally plays a full season again, why can't he keep this up?

4.  Carlos Pena, CHC; 2 for 3, HR, 3 RBI, R:  Back to back multi-hit games with a homer for Carlos.  If you're in a league that doesn't count batting average (yes, they exist), he may be worth a look as the weather improves and the ball starts flying out of Wrigley.

5.  Carlos Santana, CLE; 2 for 3, HR, RBI, R:  In his first three games following a day off in 2011, Santana is batting nearly .350 and has hit every one of his six home runs.  In all other games he's hitting .149, so if Manny Acta keeps him fresh, it may keep the Tribe in first place.

Arms 

1.  Francisco Liriano, MIN; 7 IP, 3 H, ER, BB, 9 K, W:  After a shaky performance following his no-hitter two starts ago, Liriano turned in an effort that was actually better than the no-no.  He'll be good when he remembers the object of pitching isn't to walk everyone who comes to the dish, but I doubt that's ever been explained to him.

2.  Wandy Rodriguez, HOU; 8 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 6 K:  (continued from McCann, Brian) ...to steal Wandy's win.  By 4:30 I was on my way to practice with a smile on my face after MCann's second bomb won the game in the 11th.  No win for my opponent, and a double cheese from my player who didn't even start.  33 point swing and I was so hyped I used two leaders' write-ups to gloat about it.

3.   Gio Gonzalez, OAK; 7 IP, H, BB, 7 K, W:  For those of you who didn't notice, Gio was bailed out of his last start by some ungodly weather in Texas.  Instead, after last night he has won three starts in a row and is sporting some excellent fantasy stats, including ERA, WHIP and K/9.

4.  Hiroki Kuroda, LAD; 7.2 IP, 6 H, 2 BB, 7 K, W:  Alright, alright, enough already.  Kuroda hasn't walked more than three batters in any game in 2011, and hasn't allowed a run since getting knocked around by the Mets on May 6.  Maybe he met Kate Hudson or something.

5.  Daniel Hudson, ARI: 7 IP, 8 H, ER, 2 BB, 6 K, W:  Danny, no relation to Kate, didn't get the message that the Padres bats had been on fire coming into last night.  His 4+ ERA may be tough to look at, but his 54:18 K:BB ratio implies that the kid will be just fine.