By JIMMY D / Penguins in Finals, new closer in Cleveland? | Jimmy's archive

Those precocious Penguins. Too young to make the Finals, experts opined. Their defence is too thin, others chimed in.

Well, the opining and chiming has stopped and the Pens are four wins from carrying the Stanley Cup around the ice and chanting “We’re No. 1!”

Which, of course, makes all you hockey poolies who picked Pens pretty damn happy. It sets up a potentially glam final (presuming Detroit closes out Dallas and does not blow a 3-0 series lead) that should make Mr. Bettman and the league beancounters happy.

As for fantasy beancounters, seven of the top 11 scorers as of Monday were Red Wings or Penguins, which makes for some interesting competition in playoff points pools.

For Pittsburgh, it has been a different combination every night – sometimes Sid Crosby, sometimes Evgeni Malkin and against the Flyers, it was Marian Hossa and Jordan Staal.

For Detroit, it’s been a steady diet of Datsyuk Casserole and Zetterberg Stew. Niklas Knonwall has proven he is a long-term fantasy option and part-time fantasy contributors Johan Franzen and Jiri Hudler have earned kudos –and future respect – for their production under pressure.

Messy Masa situation in Cleveland

The Indians began the year with designs on the AL Central title and with Joe Borowski holding the closer hammer in the bullpen. One case of strained triceps and a failed Rafael Betancourt experiment later, Japanese chucker Masa Kobayashi has emerged as a legitimate fantasy consideration.

He earned two saves last week and just when Jimmy was prepared to anoint him waiver-wire-worthy, he blew Saturday’s game in spectacular fashion. Borowski could be back this week (check the injury situation this week) but keep an eye on Kobayashi.

Red-hot Reds prospect

Baseball poolies in keeper leagues know plenty about Jay Bruce, but the casual fantasy baseball player should learn now before he shows up on everyone’s radar.

The consensus top minor-league prospect is killing AAA pitching (and stealing bases) and is headed for Cincinnati soon. During a 10-game stretch ending last week, he was hitting .611, raising his International League-leading average to .366.

The problem for the tall left-handed hitter is big-name, big-contract outfielders in Adam Dunn and Ken Griffey, jr. There were rumours of a Griffey-back-to-Seattle transaction, but that doesn’t appear close and Griffey can veto any move. Dunn isn’t hitting for any average, but has been hitting for power. However, it’s not exactly panic time for any of the contending teams looking to trade.

Much like the Ryan Howard situation of several years ago when the big-league-ready 1B couldn’t get out of AAA because of Jim Thome’s big contract, Bruce could remain stuck in the minors longer than needed. Howard escaped the minors for half a season, won the Rookie of the Year and then followed it up with an MVP season.

Watch for any trade rumour activity out of Cincy.

Chipper and Lance

Neither Chipper Jones nor Lance Berkman were considered locks to help your fantasy roster heading into 2008. Both came in with injury and slump baggage that left them with asterisks or question marks beside their names on your draft lists.

The question marks should still be there, but for a different reason – as in, how the hell are they doing this and can they keep it up?

Chipper was hitting .410 as of Monday with 11 HRs and 32 RBIs. He was second in hits with 64. Berkman was hitting a paltry .399, leading the leading the majors by a mile in slugging percentage with a Ruthian .804 and led the league in hits and HRs (16) and was second with 44 RBIs. For good measure, he had ripped off eight bags!

Werth a look

Jayson Werth hopped up on your fantasy radar last week with a 3-HR, 8-RBI night against the Blue Jays, a game you might have watched on the tube. But is Philly’s Werth worth serious fantasy consideration?

He hasn’t shown himself to be a consistent fantasy producer. In his past 10 games, he was hitless in six games and had multiple-hit games in the other four (including his eruption against Toronto). He had a smoking 10-for-23 stretch in late April as proof of his streakiness.

Catch him during a hot streak and you have lightning in a bottle, but projecting those streaks is the tough part.

Stay busy and stay lucky.

Jimmy D
jpoole@herald.ca