The Wire

By Buck Davidson Allen Iverson, Philadelphia 76ers: Iverson’s Yahoo! ownership jumped from around 30 per cent to almost 80 per cent last week, and hopefully Wire Troll readers hopped on that train before it left the station – on its way back to Philly, Philly, Philly. The Answer is slated to make his debut M...

By Buck Davidson Without Louis Williams to direct traffic, the 76ers have a big hole in their backcourt. Welcome to the Week Six edition of The Wire Troll. We hope our American readers had a peaceful Thanksgiving, and we’re thinking that your last bite of turkey tetrazzini probably exhausted your poultry f...

By Buck Davidson Jason Williams, Orlando Magic: Nelson figures to be on the shelf for most – if not all – of December, leaving the door open for the veteran Williams to post big-time numbers. White Chocolate’s upside is limited, as he’s not much of a scorer and just turned 34 years old – but he should hand out en...

By Buck Davidson Ben Wallace, Detroit Pistons: No, this isn’t the NBA Seniors Division Report — Wallace has awakened the echoes of bygone days this season, averaging 9.5 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 1.5 steals through eight games. He looks like the Big Ben of old (minus the hair), but just like Old School Ben, New S...

By Buck Davidson Larry Hughes, New York Knicks: Hughes will remain in the Knicks’ starting lineup for the immediate future, at least according to head coach Mike D’Antoni. Hughes has stepped into the void created by the absence of Robinson, who’s expected to miss up to two weeks with a sprained ankle, but t...

By Buck Davidson Shelden Williams, Boston Celtics: Those same deep league owners should keep an eye on Williams; the Celts figure to be on the good end of a lot of blowouts this season, and Williams looks to be in line to rack up plenty of garbage time minutes. It may not be quality time, but Fantasy owners won’...

By Chris Wassel Right Wing Justin Williams, Los Angeles Kings: Say it with m: When is the injury going to come? That is perpetually the question with Mr. Williams. Nine points in nine games is great, but let us have a little fun with the following list of injuries. Yes, we go next level here. Thank you TSN.

By Tim McLeod Chris Perez, RP, Cleveland Indians: He hasn’t allowed an earned run since July 7 and the scoreless streak has now reached 20 2/3 IP. For those that questioned the Mark DeRosa trade the answers are starting to look very positive for the Tribe.

By Tim McLeod Sergio Mitre, SP, New York Yankees: 6 1/3 IP of one-hit ball Saturday against the White Sox should guarantee his roster spot for at least another week. Michael Aubrey, 1B, Baltimore Orioles: One last chance for the former top prospect to show he belongs.

By Tim McLeod Miguel Montero, C, Arizona Diamondbacks: The injury to Chris Snyder opened the door and Montero has stepped through it in a huge way. In his past 10 games, the 26-year-old is hitting .390, with five long balls and 13 RBI. It appears that he has staked a solid claim to the position and will get the...

By Tim McLeod Brad Bergesen, SP, Baltimore Orioles: In four of his past six starts, Bergesen has allowed no free passes. In his past five starts, he’s also allowing less than a hit per inning. Hmm, maybe the kid’s found a recipe for success? He’s currently sporting a 4-2 record with a 3.79 ERA. This 23-year-o...

By Tim McLeod John Smoltz, SP, Boston Red Sox: It’s quickly becoming decision time for the Boston Red Sox. Smoltz is currently at Triple-A Pawtucket and his 30-day rehab assignment is coming to an end June 19. Daisuke Matsuzaka and Brad Penny are both struggling badly and after five rehab starts, Smoltz...

By Tim McLeod J.J. Putz, New York Mets, RP: K-Rod’s lower back spasms have thrust Putz into the closer role for the Mets. I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see Rodriguez hit the DL, making this a bit longer opportunity for Putz than just the day-to-day variety. For those Fantasy teams that are needing a boost i...

By Tim McLeod Chris Tillman, Baltimore Orioles, SP: The 21-year-old Tillman is off to a stellar start for the Triple-A Norfolk Tides. Currently, he’s 4-0 with a 2.03 ERA and 37 strikeouts in only 31 IP. He is the future “ace” of the starting rotation (although Brian Matusz isn’t far behind him) and the Orio...

By Tim McLeod David Aardsma, Seattle Mariners, RP: Now here’s something completely new. Brandon Morrow has been placed on the 15-day DL with forearm tightness and looks to be out for at least the next week or two. Surprise, surprise! If you’re looking for save opportunities in the interim, Aardsma is cu...

By Tim McLeod Despite the fact he hasn’t become the superstar we expected, we’d still rather own Delmon Young than Brandon Wood. Dear RotoRob,

By Tim McLeod It has truly been a rough start for catchers. Who would have thought that six of the seven top-ranked catchers would be either be struggling or hurt just three weeks into the 2009 campaign? This past week has seen both Ryan Doumit and Brian McCann added to the DL. Joe Mauer has yet to start a game...

By Tim McLeod Who will be this year’s Ervin Santana — a difference maker plucked from the wire. Welcome to the 2009 version of the RotoRob waiver wire, The Wire Troll. Over the course of the next six months we’ll try to examine some of those potential hidden gems that can be difference makers to your fantasy...

By Herija Green We like rookie Roy Hibbert as a deep sleeper in the second half for the Pacers. (Michael Conroy) Centres Roy Hibbert, Indiana Pacers: The Georgetown alum hasn’t exactly set the league on fire during his inaugural campaign, but he is averaging 8.4 points and 3.8 rebounds per game in five Febru...

By Herija Green Ramon Sessions, Milwaukee Bucks: What the hell is going on in Milwaukee? With Luke Ridnour joining Michael Redd and Bogut on the injured list, Sessions becomes a focal point of the Buck offense — so much so that he dropped 44 points and 12 assists on the Pistons on Saturday. Fantasy owners wi...

By Herija Green Names we mentioned last week that have done nothing to diminish our enthusiasm: Milwaukee’s Ramon Sessions (15.5 PPG, 2.8 RPG and 4.5 APG in four games without Michael Redd), Toronto’s Anthony Parker (hit double digits in scoring in each of the final 10 games in January) and Charlotte’s Raj...

By Herija Green Centres Greg Oden – While he’s still experiencing some growing pains in his first season on the court, Oden showed exactly what he is capable of with his 24-point, 15-rebound performance on Jan. 19 - he also sandwiched a pair of six-block efforts on either side of his work against Milwaukee....

By Herija Green Louis Williams, Philadelphia 76ers: A quick start from Williams swiftly gave way to a forgettable eight-game run in which he failed to reach double figures. However, he has picked things up since then, scoring 13 or more points in eight of his last 10 games and is the team’s No. 3 scorer this m...

By Herija Green Steve Blake, Portland Trail Blazers: The University of Maryland product is quietly playing big minutes and producing quality totals, reaching double figures in eight of his last 10 games. His assist numbers have also bumped up a bit recently, but he’s not doing enough in that category fo...

Chris Wilcox has been a major disappointment so far, and was someone I had dump in the early going. Sure, a knee injury didn’t help matters, but Wilcox is back now, and is starting to gain traction. Saturday, he recorded his first double-double of the year, scoring 10 points in the fourth quar...

By Herija Green I made mention of Aaron Brooks last week, and I’m doing it again today. He has incredible speed and can reach the basket at will. He’s not contributing much more than points right now, but there’s enough there to consider stashing him…OK, I admit it, I giggled a little when Keyon Dooling said h...

By Herija Green Marquis Daniels, Indiana Pacers: The absence of Mike Dunleavy has opened up playing time for Daniels, who has shown more in the first four games of ‘08-09 than he did in the last four seasons. He has notched two double-doubles in his past three games and is currently second on the team with 8.0...

By Tim McLeod John Danks, Chicago White Sox: The 23-year-old lefty currently has White Sox fans saying “Brandon who?” Acquired from the Rangers for Brandon McCarthy in February, Danks managed a huge improvement in virtually all categories in his sophomore season. In 187 IP, he put together an 11-9 re...

With Tim McLeod taking a well-deserved vacation from his disability leave (hey, eating chocolate chip cookies all day is hard work), RotoRob takes over the crafting of The Wire Troll for the next couple of weeks. Being much less fortified with Kathy’s delicious baked goods than Tim gener...

By Tim McLeod George Sherrill, Baltimore, RP: Sherrill is currently rostered in only 45 per cent of all leagues over at CBS. That would mean that almost half of all leagues are going to be missing out once he returns from that left shoulder inflammation, which is tentatively slated for next week. In the ev...

By Tim McLeod Chris Ray, Baltimore, RP: Okay he’s probably not going to see any action this year, but he is the Orioles closer of both the past and the future. The Orioles have repeatedly said they have no interest in rushing Ray back into the Baltimore lineup, and are working towards a healthy return for S...

By Tim McLeod Shin-Soo Choo, Cleveland, OF: Every time I see the name Shin-Soo Choo, it brings me back to that unbelievable 2004 season at Double-A San Antonio. Choo managed 15 homers, 84 RBI, and 40 — yes, 40 – stolen bases as a 21-year-old at Double-A. Injuries over the past three seasons have certainly t...

By Tim McLeod Jason Kubel, Minnesota, OF: Kubel is surprisingly owned by a mere 35 per cent of all teams playing in CBS leagues. He’s having a year many of us thought he was capable of with 16 homers and 58 RBI, and has particularly heated up in his last ten games, with three homers and ten RBI. Michael Cuddyer...

By Tim McLeod Melvin Mora, Baltimore, 3B: Since the break, Mora has been on fire. In the past month, he has hit five homers and driven in 25 while batting .310. He is also currently available in about 50 per cent of all leagues. If Mora is still sitting on waivers in your league add him. In deeper formats, ride the...

By Tim McLeod Jonathan Broxton, Los Angeles Dodgers, RP: The injury to Takashi Saito (a sprained ligament in his right elbow) will leave the Dodger closer sidelined until at least September. The 24-year-old Broxton has been the closer-in-waiting seemingly forever and now he finally has that opport...

Masahide Kobayashi, Cleveland, RP: Way back in mid-May, we mentioned Kobayashi for the first time and made the observation that Manager Eric Wedge would be returning Joe Borowski to the closer role upon his return from the DL. But the larger question was for how long? How about until July 3...

Brandon Jones, Atlanta, OF: Matt Diaz’s injury has opened the door for the recently promoted Jones, one of the Braves’ top prospects. He enjoyed a big weekend, going 5-for-8, with four runs, two RBI, a double, a home run and a walk. Obviously, I’m not expecting him to sustain anything near th...

By Tim McLeod Well I survived my travels south this past week and it’s now time to get back into the swing of things. Thanks to RotoRob for picking up the slack last week while I was enjoying some quality time with my auction league mates. We had tickets for a game last Saturday in Springfield, MO., home [...]