First Impressions

I'm back. Sorry for the extended break. An unexpected vacation and busy start to the season has slightly derailed the blog, but no worries. I'm ready to get back into it. I thought I'd start by taking a look at a few of the early season story lines after the first two weeks.

Injured Starting Pitchers - It started with John Lackey and Ervin Santana, but more recently Dice-K, Webb and Carpenter have joined them on the injured list. Webb is the biggest name and while his injury does not sound serious, it's always worrisome when your ace has any arm trouble. Lackey and Santana should be back in a month or so along with John Smoltz who is progressing nicely in his rehab. I'd grab any of these guys and stash them if I could. Dice-K and Carpenter just went on the DL today and both are cause for concern. Dice-K has what's called arm fatigue, most likely from pitching in the WBC, but he hasn't look sharp and it could be more serious. I'd be concerned. I'd also be slightly concerned with Carpenter. He looked really good in the spring and had a superb first outing as well. This looks like it could keep him out for a while, but hopefully he can bounce right back and continue his amazing return to dominance.

Early Surprises - Like every season, there are guys who start off hot almost out of nowhere. Brandon Inge, Nick Swisher, Nyjer Morgan and even Marco Scutaro have blazed out of the gate. Obviously these guys can't keep up their pace, but most of these guys do have skills. I'd grab every one of them and ride the hot streak. Just be ready to dump them when the slump comes and more than likely it will come.

Early Disappointments - There are too many to list, but the first 3 rounds are littered with guys that haven't gotten on track yet. From Ryan Braun to Jimmy Rollins to Jose Reyes to Mark Teixera to Lance Berkman to Prince Fielder. Not to mention Arod and Ichiro with their injuries. Please be patient with these guys. These guys will hit and you don't want to be the guy to trade them away. Now, in some leagues guys might be getting nervous already, so if there's a hint that you can steal one of these top hitters away, go for it.

It is still early. I like to give my team until at least May 1 before making major changes. That doesn't mean you don't swap that struggling bench player or grab a SP with a good matchup. Just don't overhaul your roster just yet. It's a long season and things will even out.