Tuesday Tidbits

While your bank account would be looking nice right about now if you had placed a bet on the Dodgers in their first 11 games at Chavez Ravine, let's take a look at some tidbits for today...

• Jorge Posada felt his hamstring "grab" in last night's game (according to Joe Girardi), and the veteran catcher has been placed on the 15-Day DL. Posada was off to a great start so his owners will just have to DL him and either go with their backup, or pick up the best available catcher on the wire. John Baker is still available in 72% of Yahoo leagues and would be a solid fill-in. For what it's worth, this doesn't appear to be a major hamstring injury and Posada should only be out for 2-3 weeks.
  

• Baltimore Manager Dave Trembley indicated that he wants to keep Danys Baez in his current role, as a middle man or setup guy, so we can take him out of consideration to pick up saves in the current Oriole closer-by-committee situation. We're left with a triumvirate of George Sherrill/Chris Ray/Jim Johnson. Not exactly imposing, I know.
  

• Joining Posada on the 15-Day DL today is Carlos Guillen. Guillen is off to a dreadful .200 start, and perhaps his balky shoulder is to blame for that. But I'd be a little concerned if I were a Guillen owner. He hasn't really driven the ball since 2007 and his slugging percentage in 90 AB's this season is just .244. I know optimists may point to the shoulder injury but I'm losing confidence in Guillen, at least as a mixed league asset going forward. It helps that he qualifies at three positions in most leagues (1B, 3B, and OF), but he profiles more as a middle infielder now than a corner infielder or outfielder. You obviously have to DL Guillen in AL-only formats, and you should do the same if you have a DL spot available in a mixed league, too. But if you don't, in mixed leagues, I'd look for a better option.
  

• Matt Capps, who has been roughed up in his last three appearances, is going to be out until at least this weekend due to what the Pirates are calling "minor discomfort" in his right elbow. You never want to hear the words "discomfort" and "elbow" in the same sentence, but at least Capps' velocity has not been an issue. Mixed leaguers will want to bench Capps until at least Friday and go with one of their bench options in his place.
  

• Kevin Youkilis is going to miss tonight's game against the Yankees with continuing pain in his lower back, after having to leave last night's game early, so his owners will want to get him out of their lineup for tonight. So if you're reading this and it's before 7PM EST, go do that! Right now! This is likely a day-to-day thing, so Youk owners will need to keep checking for updates.

• It's going to be Randy Wells that gets the call on Friday, starting for the Cubs in place of Carlos Zambrano. Going against a solid Brew Crew offense, Wells is not a recommended option in NL-only leagues. Take a wait-and-see approach before considering him; he may only be up for a couple of starts, anyway, since Carlos Zambrano may only miss two weeks.
  

• Both John Lackey and Ervin Santana could re-join the Angel rotation next week, which certainly would be welcome news to both the Angels and for Lackey and Santana owners. In some cases I might recommend keeping a starter that's coming off a long layoff reserved for their first start or two, but these guys have enough talent that I'd just roll with them right away.
  

• Speaking of Angel hurlers, Joe Saunders' 2009 is looking quite similar to his 2008, at least so far. Saunders was solid again last night in beating the A's, and he now has a 4-1 record, 3.29 ERA, and a 1.20 WHIP. Sure, he's only struck out 16 batters in 38 1/3 innings, but you weren't drafting Saunders for strikeouts. Last year Saunders had a 3.41 ERA, a 1.21 WHIP, and a .253 batting average-against. This year he's at 3.29/1.20/.252, which is almost identical to last season. I...DENTICAL! (Kudos to those that recognize the My Cousin Vinny reference there.) I still say Saunders' ERA will end up in the low-to-mid 4's this season, so selling high to an Angel fan would be a good idea.
  

• Rick Ankiel channeled Jack Nicholson from A Few Good Men last night--you want me on that wall, you need me on that wall--but thankfully it looks like the pitcher-turned-outfielder has avoided a serious injury. The Cardinals haven't announced anything yet as far as how much time he'll miss, but a few games off appear certain, and a DL stint is certainly a possibility (two weeks off could suit his head well at this point). Colby Rasmus is the beneficiary of Ankiel missing time, so NL-only leaguers will want to get Rasmus active for as long as Ankiel is out.