Of course, you've heard by now that Dallas Braden of the Oakland A's threw a perfect game on Sunday against the first-place Tampa Bay Rays.
Fantasy owners are now fighting over Braden in free agency in many leagues; the A's starter wasn't overwhelmingly popular before the season or in most drafts. Considering Oakland's offense, it's understandable that owners would have reservations in drafting a control pitcher in the Bay.
But after Sunday it's a different story. Braden's the man.
Or is he?
Many analysts have compared Braden's perfecto to the one thrown by White Sox ace Mark Buehrle last year for more reasons than just the fact that each victimized the Rays. The two pitchers have similar styles and approach to the game in a nearly-identical way. Earlier this year, FantasyKnuckleheads' own Ray Tannock talked about Braden's fantasy value.
So if we continue those comparisons and look at how Buehrle, and many other no-hitter throwing pitchers, do after throwing the career-defining game, now would be the best time to DUMP Braden.
Last year, after his perfect game on July 23, Buehrle struggled down the stretch. Yes, the White Sox had a miserable stretch as a team, but Buehrle was certainly not himself in the wake of his great game. After the perfect game, Buehrle ended the 2009 season allowing 42 earned runs in 79 innings, and limped home with a 2-7 record.
While the season's first no-hitter pitcher, Ubaldo Jimenez, continues to dominate lineups all over the National League, it's more likely that you could see a similar stat line from Braden in the aftermath of his perfect game as we saw from Buehrle last year.
If you own Braden, congrats (if you started him Sunday). Now consider trading him.
