Yahoo Fantasy loves this guy! They have a featured story on him daily.
Closing Time: They're not booing ... unless Corey Patterson is up
By Matt Romig
Here's a quick rundown of Jay Bruce's first big league at bat:
Announced to a standing ovation
Receives a "Bruuuuuuuuuuuuce" serenade.
Walks on four pitches.
Ok now that's respect.
Some quick facts about the game that officially ushered in the Jay Bruce era in Cincinnati:
-He hit second between Jerry Hairston Jr. and Ken Griffey Jr. Note that manager Dusty Baker says that "right now" the third spot belongs to Junior. Figure that slot is Bruce's shortly after Griffey hits No. 600 and gets traded.
-He picked up a pair of singles, both to the opposite field, one off righty starter Ian Snell and one off lefty reliever Damaso Marte.
-His seventh-inning double short-hopped the right field wall to give him his final line: 3 AB, 3 H, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, SB. Not bad. Better than projected, even.
-One nitpick: His stolen base came on the back end of a double steal and wouldn't even be in the books if Jose Bautista hadn't bobbled the throw.
As of Sunday, Bruce was owned in about 20 percent of Yahoo! leagues. That figure should be closer to, say, 100 percent. Before you accuse the Arcade of overreacting to a splashy debut, please remember that the buy order was already in place before Tuesday's first pitch.
If there was a downside to the Bruce love-fest, it was the fact that Scott Hatteberg and not Corey Patterson got his walking papers to make room for Bruce. Reds fans let Patterson hear it when he popped out as a pinch hitter in the fifth inning.
• Bruce's counterpart in the two-hole, Pittsburgh's Jack Wilson, went 3-for-6 in his first start since April 3. Wilson hit .356 with eight homers and 31 RBIs in 55 post-All Star games a year ago and considering how bad things have gone in the shortstop pool this season, is at least worth considering in deeper formats. Adam LaRoche homered and had his seventh multi-hit effort in 10 games.
• Turns out it wasn't back or hip pain that sidelined Daisuke Matsuzaka after four innings Tuesday. It was shoulder fatigue and it looks like Dice-K will miss a start. Justin Masterson could benefit from an extended recuperation.
• Ian Stewart started at second base for the Rockies Tuesday, went 1-for-3 batting sixth and didn't commit an error in his first big league start at the position. This guy was an intriguing pickup (video) as a corner infielder. Second base eligibility would be huge for the 23-year-old who had 12 homers and 43 RBIs in 46 games at Triple-A this season.
• Travis Hafner didn't play Monday or Tuesday and the struggling Indians slugger will sit out Wednesday as well. The disabled list remains a possibility but for now Cleveland classifies the shoulder injury as day-to-day.
• In better news for the Tribe, Aaron Laffey improved to 3-3 and lowered his ERA to 1.50 with six strong innings against the White Sox. Tuesday's start actually broke a string of four straight starts in which Laffey had completed seven innings. The 23-year-old lefty hasn't walked more than two batters in any of his six starts.
If you can find St. Lucie on a map, tomorrow might be a good time to visit. Wednesday's Vero Beach-St. Lucie game will feature Pedro Martinez on a rehab start facing former No. 1 overall pick David Price. You all know Pedro and Price has been discussed a bit here
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