Kazmir to DL; Price's Turn?

OK, David Price owners. This could be your chance. Scott Kazmir, who has been struggling mightily this season, perhaps has an excuse--the lefty was placed on the DL today with a right quadriceps strain. Whether that fully explains his 7.69 ERA or 1.95 WHIP is debatable, however. The Rays have not yet announced who will make Monday's start, which is Kazmir's turn in the rotation.

I will say this, Tampa Bay. If you don't call up Price now, you're nothing more than a cheap franchise. A bunch of cheap, penny-pinching Scrooges.

Yes, I'd be a little bit bitter since I own Price in two leagues. So do the right thing, Tampa Bay. You don't want to upset the Fantasy Leprechaun.

Carp and Youk Activated

Carp and Youk, sounds like a television sitcom, doesn't it? In any case, Chris Carpenter and Kevin Youkilis have been activated from the DL, and their owners should act accordingly. There's certainly more risk with Carpenter than there is with Youkilis tonight, but Carpenter had looked so great before hurting himself that you almost have to roll with him tonight and see what happens. Carpenter is actually available in 24% of Yahoo leagues, which is idiotic, so be sure he isn't floating out there in your league. If he is, pick him up immediately. As for Youkilis, he had a two-game rehab stint and appears to be just fine. He should be back in all lineups tonight for sure.

Non-Obvious Predictions Revisited

I thought it would be fun to take a look at the article I wrote back on April 3, where I posted some predictions for the upcoming season that were a little bit out on a limb. After all, a column predicting that Albert Pujols would hit .330 isn't exactly showing skill. I'll go over each prediction, and then give a brief discussion of each as to how that prediction is looking right now.

Jason Motte will have more K's than any reliever in baseball...Oops! This one is failing miserably, as Motte's 10 strikeouts only trail leader Jonathan Broxton by 22.

Tommy Hanson will get called up and be inserted into the Atlanta rotation by June 1...Well, there's only 11 days left for that to happen, but even if I miss my deadline, I do think there's a good chance he'll get the call sometime in June. Jo-Jo Reyes hasn't worked out, and Tom Glavine is a setback away from not being able to contribute.

Ian Stewart will be an everyday player for the Rockies by June 1...Looks like I've hit on this one. Stewart was starting a few times a week up until last week, and now he's taken over for the slumping Garret Atkins as the regular third baseman. Atkins will likely be worked back into the mix, but Stewart can still garner starts at second base and the outfield.

Justin Upton will hit more homers than his brother B.J., and it won't be close...So far, so good. Justin has 7 bombs, while B.J. has just 2.

Adam "Don't Call Me Pacman" Jones will steal 25 bases...While Jones is only on pace for about 15 steals, I don't think his owners will complain about what he's doing, considering that he's the 14th-ranked player in Yahoo leagues at the moment.

The catcher that finishes with the most HR's will be Chris Iannetta...I'm in decent position here, as Iannetta's 7 homers are just one behind current leader Bengie Molina.

Cliff Lee won't be able to keep his ERA under 4...I could miss on this one, but there's a long way to go. Lee was dreadful in his first two starts but has been otherwise excellent, and his ERA is all the way down to 2.90 right now. The jury's still out, but barring injury I'd probably have to bet that I'll get this one wrong.

Joey Votto will outproduce Derrek Lee...Piece of cake.

Felix Hernandez will finish with a lower ERA and have more K's than CC Sabathia...This could still happen, although CC has been great of late and Felix has hit a little rough patch. King Felix is 12 K's ahead of CC, but CC's 3.43 ERA is better than Felix's 4.13 mark. I still like my chances on this one.

Alexi Casilla will be the cheapest 20 SB option based on average draft position...Casilla, and I, failed miserably on this one, no question.

Jensen Lewis will finish with at least 10 saves...Even though Lewis only has 1 save so far, this one has a chance. Kerry Wood has an ERA of over 8, and hasn't looked like he did last season at all. And all it takes is a Wood injury for me to possibly hit on this one.

Matt LaPorta will replace Ben Francisco as the Indians' starting LF by the All-Star Break...This one also has a chance. LaPorta has already been called up, and Francisco is sporting a less-than-inspiring .722 OPS in 112 AB's. And with the Indians completely spinning their wheels, they could give LaPorta a starting gig soon, if they are already looking ahead to 2010.

Mike Aviles will outproduce Derek Jeter...I really missed on this one. Injury or no injury for Aviles, this was a flat-out miss.

Billy Butler will hit .300 and hit 20 HR...Butler will need to do a bit better, but his current .285 average and current 3 HR total make it possible for him to hit these numbers. I'm probably more confident he can hit .300 than I am he will reach 20 homers, but it's certainly possible he can reach both, still.

Matt Garza will lead the Tampa Bay staff in wins and ERA...This one certainly has a chance, as Garza has a 3.50 ERA and 4 wins. At the moment, James Shields' ERA is just a fraction lower.

Phil Hughes will throw 100 innings for the Yankees this season...This one is looking dim, since Hughes has thrown 16 2/3 disappointing innings so far with the big club, and since Chien-Ming Wang is about to return to the rotation. Hughes would need another injury by a Yankee starter to have a chance to reach this mark, and he would have to do better than an ERA of over 7.

Nick Swisher will overtake Xavier Nady as the Yankee right fielder...I hit on that one, no doubt, Nady injury or not.

Felix Pie won't hit, and as a result Ty Wigginton will get at least 400 AB's and hit at least 20 HR...So far, this is a yes and no. Pie, indeed, hasn't hit, posting a feeble .203 average in 79 AB's. Wigginton, though, despite totaling 119 AB's (partly due to the Melvin Mora injury earlier in the season), has hit only two homers. There's still time for Ty, but the odds are against him reaching 20 homers at this point.

OK, so that's it. Of the 18 predictions I made, I think you'd have to say I'm faring decently. Of the 18, only 3 have been flat-out misses (Motte, Casilla, and Aviles), and I think I'm in good shape to hit on at least 9 of them. That's a pretty good mark, since these were non-obvious predictions, after all. I'm sure I'll take a look at this again as the season marches on.

Happ In, Park Out

Well, the inevitable has finally happened. Chan Ho Park has been replaced in the Philadelphia starting rotation by J.A. Happ. The two will essentially switch roles, with Park now serving as the long man out of the bullpen, and Happ now serving as the fifth starter.

Happ has been solid out of the bullpen up until this point, with a 2.49 ERA in 21 2/3 innings. He's struck out 17 batters and walked 9, with a 1.06 WHIP. He will not maintain that ERA or WHIP as a starter, but Happ offers a better chance at decent results than Park did. Happ must be owned in all NL-only formats now, and I expect him to perform adequately as a starter. Not great, but adequate. As for Chan Ho, feel free to dump him like a girlfriend that doesn't support your addiction to fantasy baseball.

Delgado To Miss Ten Weeks

Following hip surgery today, the Mets expect Carlos Delgado to miss about 10 weeks, meaning that he could return in early August if all goes well. The slugging first baseman was hitting very well, with a .298-.393-.521 line (good enough for a solid .914 OPS). Delgado should be held onto in every league where DL spots are available.

As to how the Mets will replace him, it appears that Manager Jerry Manuel will go with some combination of Fernando Tatis, Daniel Murphy, and Jeremy Reed at first base. While it's somewhat comical that Jeremy Reed could be playing first base in a major league game--just ask the Dodgers about that--Tatis just saw his NL-only league value solidified for the next 10 weeks. Tatis should start against all lefties for the next 10 weeks and should get some starts against righties, too. Against lefties, it's likely that Tatis and Gary Sheffield will start, leaving one spot in the outfield for Daniel Murphy and Ryan Church to fight over. Against righties, Murphy will likely start at first base more often than not, and Church should be the right fielder, leaving left field to Sheffield, Tatis, and Reed.

Just because Manuel is overrating Sheffield doesn't mean that you should, as a fantasy owner. Leave Sheffield for deep NL-only leagues. Tatis is worth a look in deep NL-only leagues, and the value of Murphy and Church really doesn't change much (they are both NL-only starters). Reed does not have any fantasy value.

As to how Delgado owners should proceed (apart from placing Delgado on your team's DL), the player you should try to pick up on waivers depends on the construction of your team. If you have first base covered, you should try to simply pick up the best available hitter (or, even, the best available pitcher, if you have enough hitting). If you are a little thin at first base with the loss of Delgado for 10 weeks, there are a lot of first basemen that are likely available on your league's waiver wire that are viable options. Those could include...

• Nick Johnson (23% owned in Yahoo leagues): The 70th-ranked player in Yahoo leagues, Johnson is hitting .336, and is on pace for 100 runs and 100 RBI. He should be starting in mixed leagues for as long as he's healthy, which he is at the moment. His value increases in leagues that count OBP/OPS, too (22 walks and a .433 OBP).

• Kendry Morales (32% owned): The switch-hitter is up to 8 HR and 26 RBI for the season, including a 2-HR game last night. Angel fans, this is why the team could afford to trade Casey Kotchman last year.

• Todd Helton (54% owned): If you need an infusion of batting average, Helton's .336 mark could do the trick. And his .894 OPS is nothing to sneeze at, either.
  

• Mike Jacobs (19% owned): A poor-man's Delgado, Jacobs provides raw power numbers at the expense of a solid average (.262 with 8 HR and 22 RBI).
  

• Mark Teahen (36% owned): The versatile player also qualifies at 3B and OF.

• Billy Butler (25% owned): Yet another Royal, Butler offers upside, and his 16 walks and .359 OBP mean he has increased value in leagues that count OBP/OPS.

• Russell Branyan (54% owned): I still expect him to slump, but I couldn't blame you if you wanted to ride the hot hand until it cools.

Weeks Done

Poor, poor Rickie Weeks, and poor, poor Rickie Weeks owners. The talented yet oft-injured second baseman is out for the season after tearing a tendon sheath in his left wrist, and it's a big loss to the Brewers and to Weeks' fantasy owners. Weeks was hitting .272 with 9 homers, 24 RBI, and 28 runs scored, and he is still the 51st-ranked player overall in Yahoo leagues. It's a huge blow to Weeks' owners in NL-only leagues, and a pretty big one in mixed leagues, too, although in both cases you still should have had a capable backup in tow because of the injury history of Weeks. In one of my Yahoo mixed leagues, I had drafted Alexei Ramirez with the intention of playing him at second base, but with him slumping so badly I picked up Weeks to start there and I was benching Ramirez. Now with Weeks shelved, I waived him and re-acquired Freddy Sanchez (I had waived Sanchez for Weeks in the first place).

Since Weeks is definitely done for the season, he can be dropped in all formats. His injury for the Brewers has fantasy implications for sure. Although Craig Counsell started at second base yesterday and hit leadoff, Manager Ken Macha has indicated that he views Counsell more as a super-utility player and as his top pinch-hitter off the bench, and that he doesn't think the 38-year-old with bad knees could hold up as an everyday guy. (Wise thinking, Mr. Macha.) So expect to see Counsell getting no more than 3 starts per week, which does give him value in NL-only leagues. Casey McGehee also picks up some short-term NL-only value, though I don't think he will be considered as a long-term replacement at the keystone for the Brew Crew.

Mat Gamel is now a must-add in NL-only leagues, and is somebody that mixed leaguers should keep an eye on, too. Gamel has a big-time power bat, and if his defense weren't so bad he probably would have usurped Bill Hall as the starter at third base by now. Even with his subpar defense, the Brewers could go with Gamel at third and shift Hall over to second base, although that would make the Brewer infield defense horrible. But Gamel slugged a 3-run homer yesterday, and was on my Spring Training list of sleeper candidates, so I definitely am a believer in his bat. Hall, by the way, is doing exactly what I thought he would this season. He has a .200 average against right-handed pitchers and a .414 average against lefties. It's not like Hall is a defensive wizard at third, so if Gamel is hitting righties well (which stands to reason, since he's a left-handed hitter), Macha may do the smart thing and install Gamel as his starter at third against righties and play Hall at third against lefties. Then at second base, Macha could try to get by with a combination of Counsell, McGehee, and maybe top prospect Alcides Escobar. Escobar is a defensive whiz at shortstop but the Brewers just shifted him over to second base in AAA, perhaps foreshadowing a move in the big leagues later on.

The bottom line? If you own Weeks, drop him, and keep a very close eye on Gamel. He has the most to gain from the Weeks injury.

Saturday Odds And Ends

Again, a light day of posting for me, but here are some of my thoughts...

• Rich Hill made his first start of the season for the Orioles and came up victorious, tossing 5 2/3 innings of two-run ball. Hill allowed 7 hits and 2 walks, but struck out 6 batters. I did see some highlights of the game, and his curveball looked nasty. Command will be the issue for Hill though, not stuff, so he should not be trusted except in AL-only leagues as a guy with potential at this point. You shouldn't be depending on him at all, but he does have upside, and as such he should be owned in AL-only leagues without question.
  

• Nice job, Shellackey. I give John Lackey that moniker whenever he happens to get lit up, but I call him that today because of an incredibly stupid decision to hit Ian Kinsler with his second pitch, which prompted an immediate ejection. Consider that Kinsler had hit two home runs last night. And consider that Lackey threw the first pitch of his season behind Kinsler. And consider that Lackey was then warned. There is no way on God's green earth that Lackey wasn't trying to hit Kinsler, and I don't care how the Angels will try to spin it. Dumb move, Lackey, and it wasn't exactly what the team needed today; the Rangers beat the Angels 5-3, and the Angels' bullpen ERA was actually lowered in the game, giving up 5 runs in 9 innings. Lackey has an ERA of infinity since Kinsler came around to score, but was not charged with a loss because the Angels scored a run in the top of the first. Mixed leaguers should get Lackey active when he makes his next start, and hope he isn't out to bean people again.

• What an auspicious debut in a Brewer uniform for Trevor Hoffman. Despite not pitching until April 27, Hoffman recorded his 9th save (in as many chances) today. How impressive has he been? He has a perfect 0.00 ERA, a WHIP of 0.30, and in 10 innings he's allowed just 3 hits and walked none, with 9 strikeouts. There could be bumps in the road later, but Hoffman has erased doubts about his effectiveness once coming back from his oblique injury. He has to be considered a solid #2 closer in mixed leagues.

• I hope you took my advice about Juan Pierre. It's now blatantly obvious that he needs to be owned in all leagues when he's an everyday player, but even I didn't think he would be this scalding hot. Pierre had 3 more hits today, scored 3 runs (all of the Dodger runs in the loss), and stole 2 bases. He's now at .406 in 51 at-bats, and he has ascended to the leadoff spot in the order against lefties and righties (with Rafael Furcal sliding to the #2 hole and Orlando Hudson batting third). Pierre is still only owned in 39% of Yahoo leagues. Get on board, people!

Big Poopy

David Ortiz was certainly given a lot of rope by Red Sox skipper Terry Francona. The team was playing fine, and Francona actually was doing the right thing in leaving Ortiz in the #3 spot in the order, because it made sense to try to let the accomplished slugger work through his early funk. But the straw that broke the camel's back came yesterday--in a game yours truly attended, at Angel Stadium--when Ortiz sunk to a new low. In a 12-inning game, Ortiz took the collar, going 0-for-7, and his at-bats were escape hatches for Angel pitchers. Ortiz actually left 12 men on base!

Ortiz is now sporting a feeble .208-.318-.300 line, with just 15 RBI on the season (despite Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia hitting in front of him), and he has not hit a home run in 130 at-bats. That, in combination with his utter failure in yesterday's game, has prompted Francona to bench the DH until Tuesday. Perhaps a few days of watching from the bench will help him, but it's definitely possible that the once-feared slugger is just a shell of his former self. Those in daily leagues will obviously need to reserve him until Tuesday, but honestly, he shouldn't be in fantasy lineups right now the way he's hitting. I couldn't have blamed any of you if you already cut bait with him in mixed leagues, but judging from his owned-percentage in Yahoo leagues (89%), hardly any of you have. If you do own him, you may as well give him one last chance to see what he does after this benching. If he has another terrible week next week, I would start looking at other options in shallow mixed leagues.

Personally, and this is just my opinion, I think Ortiz is pretty much done, at least as a big-time hitter. His wrist injury might have really been bad enough to ensure that he will never be the same. He might not really be 33 (he's from the Dominican Republic, folks, so he could very well be 36-ish), and you never know if he was a performance-enhancing drug user and now he is off the stuff. There's just way too much here for me to think he will ever get it back. There's almost no way you can sell low on Ortiz, either, because nobody will want him right now. But hey, if you can try to pawn him off on the resident Red Sox fan in your league, by all means, give it a shot.

Note To Readers

Just wanted to say that posting will be light until Monday, as I have a lot of things to attend to over the next few days. It's a devastating blow, I know, but I think you all can get on with your lives.

Lee Rolling Along

I still think that Cliff Lee will have a hard time finishing the season with an ERA of under 4, but maybe he will prove me wrong. Lee has really been great over his last 6 starts (all of them have been quality starts, and in 5 of the 6 he's allowed 2 ER or less), and he finally was rewarded with a win today (his first since April 16) after going 7 shutout innings. Lee allowed just 6 hits and a walk today, while fanning 9 batters. Lee has now struck out 42 batters and walked just 13 in 54 innings, and his ERA is all the way down to an even 3. He's obviously pitched better than his 2-5 record would indicate, and perhaps Lee really is a solid top-of-the-rotation type. At the very least, he has erased doubts that he will be a complete bust this season. If you bought low on Lee after his first two starts, you're likely very happy at the results. That said, if you can sell high and somehow get a top-tier starting pitcher in return, feel free to do so.

Memo To Tampa Bay Management

Look, Tampa Bay, I want to like your team, I really do. You have a quirky, fun skipper in Joe Maddon. You reached the World Series last season in an improbable run. You have exciting players like B.J. Upton and Carl Crawford, a big home run threat in Carlos Pena, and solid pitchers like Matt Garza, James Shields, and Scott Kazmir. Plus, you have a legitimate superstar in Evan Longoria. (See, Evan, I didn't even make fun of your name this time.) But you demoted David Price at the start of the season, and now you're paying for this decision big time.

I know, I know. You'll tell me that it was the necessary move because Price needed to work on his pitches in AAA, and that he wasn't ready to be a big league starter every fifth day. I said it was hogwash then, and it's hogwash now. The man chosen to be the fifth starter, Jeff Niemann, has been predictably awful, and what's more, the presumptive fourth starter, Andy Sonnanstine, has been even more hideous. Sonnanstine got lit up for 7 runs in just 2 innings last night, and allowed 9 hits in the 2 frames the Baltimore hitters had the pleasure of seeing him in. Here is a quick look at the numbers being put up by Sonnanstine and Niemann...

• Sonnanstine 1-4 record, 7.27 ERA, 1.85 WHIP; 34 2/3 IP, 21 K, 13 BB
• Niemann 2-3 record, 5.65 ERA, 1.71 WHIP; 28 2/3 IP, 16 K, 18 BB

How much longer is this going to go on, Tampa Bay management? How much longer will you operate like a pathetic small market team, when you claim that you have every intention of putting your best team on the field in an attempt to get back to the World Series? You're telling me that David Price wouldn't pitch better than these two schmucks? (And I mean no offense to Sonnanstine and Niemann as people, but we're talking fantasy baseball here, and from that perspective, these are two schmucks, folks.) It's a slap in the face of every Rays fan that you are continuing to keep Price down just to stall his arbitration clock while running out these two guys for 40% of your team's games.

Your record is 15-19, Tampa Bay. You are 7.5 games out of first place already in the ultra-competitive AL East, and you now have the Blue Jays to contend with, in addition to the Yankees and Red Sox (whom you trail by 6.5 games, by the way). It is absolutely logical to say that keeping Price down has cost you at least two games in the standings already, and it's only May 12. If the media will not call you out, Andrew Friedman, that's fine, because I'm happy to do it myself. If you care at all about a serious attempt at winning the division again, you'll call Price up within the next 5 days. You can't afford to fall further back.

Oh, and for fantasy owners, if you have Price, hold onto him, because even if the Rays do the boneheaded thing (which is keep him at AAA until early June), he will still be worth it for you after that. If you see Price out there on your league's waiver wire, pick him up. His upside is absolutely that good.

Tuesday Tidbits

Having already touched on the fantasy news involving B.J. Ryan, Scott Downs, and Kevin Youkilis, let's move on to some other relevant Mark Wahlbergs of the day. (That would mean the other relevant happenings of the day, for all of you not keeping up with the gloss.)

• Jimmy Rollins was dropped to the fifth spot in the order tonight, in an effort by Charlie Manuel to do something to try and jump-start him. Shane Victorino will bat leadoff for as long as Rollins doesn't, so he gets a slight boost in fantasy value for the moment. As for J-Roll, he responded tonight with a solid game, peppering the box score with 1's (1-for-3 with one run, one steal, one RBI, and one walk). Rollins may never recapture his 2007 MVP form, but I still think he's a solid buy-low candidate in trades.

• Chien-Ming Wang could be closer to making a return to the Yankees. In a rehab start at AAA today, the Taiwanese right-hander tossed 6 scoreless innings. A few days ago, Yankees GM Brian Cashman stated that it would take more than one rehab start for the Yankees to consider re-inserting Wang into their rotation, but if he is solid again in his next rehab start, and if Phil Hughes struggles with his next start, it's likely that Wang will get the call immediately thereafter. Wang, as long as he's physically sound, is a recommended add in AL-only leagues once he gets the call, though you might want to keep him reserved for his first start to make sure he doesn't pitch like, well, a guy with an ERA of over 30. Don't go anywhere near him in mixed leagues. I'm shocked that Wang is still owned in 33% of Yahoo leagues, which goes to show that a lot of yahoos play in Yahoo leagues.
  

• Poor, poor Manny Acta. I really haven't seen a major league bullpen this horrific since, well, I don't even know, to be honest. Acta basically had no choice but to remove Joel Hanrahan from the closer role earlier in the season when he was getting lit up, but there were no viable alternatives. Julian Tavarez got a crack, and predictably stunk. Kip Wells got a crack, and predictably stunk. Tonight it was Joe Beimel's turn to blow a save and cost the Nationals yet another win (the Nats are actually getting pretty decent hitting and could be 15-16 with a good bullpen right now; instead, they are 10-21). Ultimately, Hanrahan is likely to get his job back and is the only one in the Nats bullpen that I would even consider owning in NL-only leagues. I wouldn't touch any of those other players, even in NL-only leagues.

• Troy Tulowitzki was able to play tonight after his slight quad strain on Sunday and went 2-for-4 with 2 runs scored, so he appears good to go for this week's action. Tulo has been hitting in the #2 hole again lately, so he gets a solid boost in value with that lineup spot. He should be starting in virtually any format.

• Trevor Cahill picked up his second win in as many starts tonight, limiting the Royals to 2 runs in 6 innings. Cahill is now 2-2 with a 3.69 ERA, decent numbers to be sure, and the rookie has actually allowed 2 earned runs or fewer in 6 of his 7 starts this season (he was lit up for 7 runs in 2 2/3 innings by the Rays). Cahill still has terrible peripheral stats though (just 14 K's against 20 walks in 39 innings), so he should only be on AL-only rosters.

• Clayton Kershaw had another shaky outing on the road in a loss to the Phillies tonight, completing 5 innings and allowing 4 runs. Though Kershaw did strike out 5 in the loss, what killed him was a 43-pitch 4th inning. That's right, 43 pitches in a single inning! Other than that taxing inning, Kershaw's pitch count was actually not too bad. Kershaw is too inconsistent to trust in shallow mixed leagues right now, but those in deeper mixed leagues might want to consider rostering him and starting him for his home games at Dodger Stadium. In 3 home starts, Kershaw has allowed just 2 earned runs in 19 innings. On the road in 4 starts, Kershaw has allowed 20 earned runs in 19 innings.

• I hope you didn't have Clayton Richard, Jeremy Sowers, or John Koronka in your lineups today. If you did, you apparently haven't been reading this blog, I'll tell you that!
  

• Give Chan Ho Park credit; with his role in the rotation basically on the line, he has turned in back-to-back solid efforts. Park picked up his first win of the year tonight against his old team, the Dodgers, tossing 6 innings of 2-run ball. Park should only be on non-shallow NL-only rosters, but doesn't make for a bad play for his next start, which will come against the lowly Nationals.
  

Youkilis To DL--Finally

The Red Sox finally placed Kevin Youkilis on the DL before today's game at the Angels, and at the very least it gives his fantasy owners the chance to pick up another player while stashing Youk in a DL spot. The move is retroactive to May 5, so Youkilis will be eligible to return on May 20. Jeff Bailey should continue to see most of the starts at first base for the next week or so, and is not a recommended option in all but deep AL-only leagues.

Most fantasy owners in mixed leagues have at least two first baseman on their roster, if not more, so Youkilis owners will generally have the ability to insert another first baseman into Youkilis' spot if you were starting him at first. Youkilis, though, may have been starting at third base for many of his fantasy owners, and third base is generally a bit more scarce in terms of viable talent. I've gone over possible third base options for fantasy leaguers on waiver wires recently (guys like Mark Reynolds, Mark Teahen, Scott Rolen, Adrian Beltre, Melvin Mora, and Russell Branyan); if you are considering adding a first baseman, here are a list of players below that might be available in mixed leagues...

• Teahen (42% owned in Yahoo leagues): like Youkilis, qualifies at both corner infield spots, but also qualifies in the outfield, too. Is batting an even .300 and bats third in the KC order.

• Nick Johnson (8% owned): He's brittle, we all know that, but we also know that the man can hit when healthy, and get on base. Has solid value in leagues with OBP/OPS. Is hitting .314 with 17 RBI and 19 runs scored.

• Casey Kotchman (12% owned): Recent hot streak has him up to .316; in his last 8 starts, Kotchman has 13 hits and 11 RBI. Might not be a bad idea to ride a hot hand here if you need a one-week stopgap. Kotchman has been very streaky with RBI binges in his young career.
  

• Mike Jacobs (17% owned): Good source of power, with 6 HR and 20 RBI. Won't give you much of anything else, though his current .257 average isn't horrific.

The bottom line is this: if you truly need a first baseman or a third baseman in mixed leagues to add while Youkilis is on the shelf, the above-listed players are the ones you'll want to consider. If you have sufficient depth at those spots, however, now is the time to simply pick up the best available player on your league's waiver wire while you stash Youkilis on the DL for at least a week. Are high-upside guys like David Price, Elijah Dukes, or even Justin Upton available? If so, this is a chance to get them onto your roster and see what happens.

Downs To Keep Closer Role

In a move that is helpful to fantasy owners, if nothing else, Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi came out today and said that when B.J. Ryan returns from the DL, he will not take back the closer role. He basically said that Ryan is aware that with the team playing so well and with Scott Downs doing such a good job right now, that it's best if he serves as a setup man, at least for the immediate future. Translation: Scott Downs is the closer in Toronto unless he screws up.

The immediate effect of this is that Downs needs to be owned in every league now. The Blue Jays, even if they are playing over their heads at the moment, are still a pretty solid team that will provide save opportunities with frequency to their closer. And Downs, perhaps quietly, has been one of the best relievers in baseball since 2007; he posted ERA's of 2.17 and 1.78, respectively, over the last two seasons. And this year he's off to a wonderful start, with a 2.20 ERA and even better peripheral stats than what he's shown in the past...he's struck out 20 batters in 16 1/3 innings with just one walk. And 3 of the 4 earned runs Downs has allowed this season came in his last appearance, a non-save situation. Downs is already owned in 67% of Yahoo leagues, but I expect that number to shoot up once Ricciardi's announcement becomes widespread. I would view Downs as a solid #2 closer in mixed leagues.

As for Ryan, he could still take back the closer role if Downs struggles and if he recaptures his old form, but neither of those things are sure things at all. Ryan should still be owned in most AL-only formats, but if you were holding onto him in mixed leagues, feel free to cut bait.

Monday Musings

There were just 4 games on the slate today, but as always, there is fantasy baseball to discuss! Let's get to it...

• Johan Santana has been simply dominant this season, and is showing absolutely no effects of his early spring arm troubles. Those troubles were why I preferred Tim Lincecum as the #1 pitcher to own entering the season over Santana, but I'd reverse the two if I had to draft right now. It would be nice if the Mets could score some runs for him and stop butchering the ball on the field when he pitches, though. Santana now has a 4-2 record despite an ERA of less than 1 (0.78), and in both of his losses, he gave up nary an earned run. That's right. Nothing, nada, bubkus. Santana owners would obviously rather see a perfect record, but they still should be thrilled that he is on a roll and healthy. As I've also mentioned on this blog, his home ballpark even gives him an added boost this season.

• John Lackey threw 5 innings in a AAA rehab start yesterday (allowing 3 runs), and it looks extremely likely that he will be activated by the Angels and start on Friday. Check back for an official announcement, but Lackey should be active in fantasy leagues immediately. We also may see an announcement on a plan for Ervin Santana very soon, so watch for that, too. (I would also activate him immediately once he gets back to the mound for the Halos.)

• Troy Tulowitzki, on a nice run in his last three games (two hits in each of the three games, with 2 homers and 4 RBI), strained a quad late in the game yesterday and it may hold him out of the lineup tomorrow. He should be considered day-to-day and, as such, you'll need to check the lineup tomorrow to see if he's been penciled into it. Despite a relatively slow start, Tulowitzki is actually the 10th-ranked SS in fantasy leagues at the moment, not counting players who actually play other positions who may qualify at SS in certain leagues (such as Michael Young, for example). He should be starting in virtually every format. I still expect a big year from him and believe in his talent.

• Clayton Richard has replaced Jose Contreras in the rotation for the White Sox, and he will get the start tomorrow against the Indians in Cleveland. While Richard is an acceptable add in deep AL-only leagues, I wouldn't go near him in shallow AL-only formats and obviously not in mixed leagues. Even in a deep AL-only league where he's added, I wouldn't start him right away and I'd take a wait-and-see approach. Richard was terrible in 8 starts in the majors last year, and he was terrible this spring, too. At least he's been mediocre in 16 2/3 relief innings so far this season, sporting a 4.32 ERA, but 10 K's against 5 walks and a 1.68 WHIP are nothing to write home about.
  

• Matt Capps was able to complete two bullpen sessions over the weekend without incident, and seems ready to be back on the mound tomorrow, should a save situation arise. Actually, the Pirates may get him out there even if it's not a save chance, just to see if he's really all the way back as quickly as they can. He should be back in fantasy lineups tomorrow.

• Josh Hamilton completed a short rehab assignment tonight and will be activated by the Rangers in time for tomorrow night's game against Seattle. He should be activated by fantasy owners, too; get him into your lineup immediately if you own him. Ron Washington now has to divvy up left field playing time between Marlon Byrd (.308 average and 16 RBI in 107 AB's), Andruw Jones (1.078 OPS in 51 AB's), and David Murphy (just a .207 average in 58 AB's). Byrd should be owned in AL-only leagues, and so should Jones. Murphy is probably going to get the least amount of playing time of the three here, and should only be owned in deep AL-only leagues right now. Expect to see Byrd getting the majority of the at-bats for now, with Jones being worked in more often than Murphy is.

• Free Willy! Willy Taveras came up with a 5-for-5 game tonight that included 4 runs scored, 2 RBI, and a stolen base for good measure. Taveras raised his average from .283 to .315 with the effort, and as such I'm recommending him as a sell-high candidate. Taveras has exceeded expectations so far, not only with the batting average but with his power (his current .414 slugging percentage is 73 points higher than his career average) and also his plate discipline (he has 12 K's and 11 walks, yet for his career he has 338 K's with just 127 walks). Maybe Taveras really has turned a corner, as a proverbial light switch does turn on for players in their age-27 season at times, but I remain skeptical that he can keep this up. That said, he will provide fringe mixed league value for as long as he's healthy, even if he regressed to his career norms, based on his solid run total and stolen base total. He's on a pace to score 128 runs and steal 43 bases, and that...will get it done (as Lakers TV analyst Stu Lantz would tell you). I can't really argue with his 48% owned-percentage in Yahoo leagues.

• Bronson Arroyo is pitching more like Charles Bronson or, perhaps, Bronson Pinchot. Does he have a death wish, or is he trying to be a perfect stranger to goodness for fantasy owners? (That's what you call all-out on the Charles Bronson and Bronson Pinchot references, folks.) Despite moving to 5-2 tonight, Arroyo allowed 5 runs in 7 innings, and his ERA is an ugly 7.02 so far. Need more ghastly stats? OK, fine. Arroyo has a 1.61 WHIP, opposing batters are hitting .317 against him, and he has 23 K's compared to 15 walks in 41 innings. So he's barely striking out a better per two innings. Of the 51 hits he's allowed, 10 of them have left the yard. Don't chase the wins here, even in NL-only leagues. Stay away until he can prove he isn't a total and complete gas can.

• John Koronka is getting the first crack at replacing the injured Anibal Sanchez in the Florida rotation, but if you think Koronka is a good fantasy option, then you might be on crack! Honestly, it's always possible that Koronka could surprise and prove to have decent NL-only value, but I would give him the Charles Manson treatment here. In other words, I wouldn't go anywhere near him for his start tomorrow against the Brewers.
  

• Carlos Delgado could miss the entire week with his nagging hip injury--Jerry Manuel acknowledged that he will be out for at least a few games--and it's possible a DL stint will be necessary. Fernando Tatis should get most or all of the starts at first base for as long as Delgado can't go, and isn't a terrible stopgap option for Delgado owners in NL-only leagues. Tatis is hitting .356 in 45 AB's on the season.
  

Sunday Odds And Ends

I know I haven't posted for a while so let's get to some relevant news...

• By now you know that Aramis Ramirez dislocated his shoulder and will be on the DL for about 8 weeks. In mixed leagues, you'll probably want to roll with your backup at third base, and hopefully, it's a decent alternative. In looking to replace Ramirez on your roster, most of you will look to add another third baseman. The best choices in mixed leagues are the following: Mark Reynolds (57% owned in Yahoo leagues), Mark Teahen (38% owned, and also qualifies at 1B and OF), Scott Rolen (32% owned), Adrian Beltre (57% owned), Melvin Mora (34% owned), and Russell Branyan (53% owned). Reynolds is the best bet to sustain his power production; Teahen offers versatility and some upside; Rolen is a health risk but does look good right now while healthy; Beltre has been terrible so far but could be due for a hot streak; Mora is in a great RBI spot in an underrated Baltimore offense; and Branyan is probably a guy I'd avoid due to his being in the midst of an inevitable slump right now. He has no homers or RBI in his last 6 games, with 10 strikeouts and just 2 walks in that span.

• Notice that I didn't recommend Emilio Bonifacio to Aramis Ramirez owners. After his torrid first week, Bonifacio has gone frigid with the bat. His average has dipped under .250, and he simply looks overmatched against good pitching. Bonifacio should only be owned in NL-only leagues at the moment, and if he keeps playing this poorly, he could be sent down to the minors like his teammate Cameron Maybin.
  

• The Royals finally decided to DL Joakim Soria, hoping that two weeks off will help his ailing shoulder (he had only appeared in 4 games since the middle of April). In the meantime, Juan Cruz should see most of the save chances; feel free to see if he's available if you own Soria in an AL-only league, though Cruz should be rostered in most AL-only leagues. In mixed leagues, Cruz should be widely available and wouldn't be a terrible stopgap option for Soria owners. Check to see if LaTroy Hawkins or Scott Downs is on the wire first, because those would be better options than Cruz.
  

• In another move by the Royals, Sidney Ponson has been banished to the bullpen and the team has recalled Luke Hochevar from the minors to take his place in the rotation. Ponson should not have been anywhere near your fantasy squad, and I can't recommend Hochever even in AL-only leagues, at least not yet. Take a wait-and-see approach on him.
  

• This wasn't a good week for the Ramirez last name. We had the Manny PED suspension; the Aramis injury; and we had Alexei Ramirez continue to flounder. Ozzie Guillen sat him down briefly, saying he wanted to see more purposeful at-bats, and in the two games since the benching Alexei has gone hitless. Mixed leaguers would be wise to bench him for now until he gets out of this funk. He hasn't been completely useless--he does have 6 steals--but if you have a viable alternative to play for now you should do it.
  

• It doesn't seem that long ago that Emmanuel Burriss was in danger of a demotion to the minors. But "Don't Call Me Plaxico" has been on a tear of late, as he's raised his average from .171 on May 1 to his current mark of .287 (he had 4 hits today in an extra-inning win over the Dodgers). Burriss is still best left for NL-only league play, because he gives you absolutely nothing in power or even runs scored (though that could improve a little bit going forward), but he has 9 steals and could be solid in the batting average, hits, and SB departments in NL Roto leagues.

• I advised that Juan Pierre should be starting in most mixed leagues for as long as he's going to be the everyday left fielder for the Dodgers, and he is certainly making me look good in his first 4 starts after the Manny Ramirez suspension. I speculated that Pierre would run often, and sure enough, he has 2 steals over the 4 games (along with 2 caught stealings). But if Pierre can exceed expectations with the batting average, he would be an outstanding fantasy outfielder, especially in Roto leagues. As it is, he should be a safe bet for a .280-.290 average and 2-3 steals a week, solid numbers for fantasy owners. Pierre has his average up to .426 after a 3-hit game today, and he actually hit leadoff with Rafael Furcal sliding down to the #2 hole. While that may not be the usual arrangement going forward, Pierre could get some looks batting leadoff, increasing his value a little bit more. Pierre is 9-for-16 since the Manny suspension, and his owned percentage in Yahoo leagues has shot up to 28% (from 7 percent). You may have to snag him now before he's not widely available, if you need a player with his SB ability and ability to hit for average.

• As I alluded to earlier, there's bad news for Cameron Maybin owners...the young center fielder was demoted to AAA today after a slow start. He can be dropped in mixed leagues, but NL-only leaguers will want to keep him. He could get the call again fairly soon if he rights the ship in the minors, because the team can't seriously want to play Alfredo Amezaga as their regular center fielder for too long. And the recently called-up Chris Coghlan isn't a regular CF option (he's a guy the Marlins will work into the lineup at second base, third base, and in the corner outfield spots at times).
  

• Brett Cecil is trying to be the best athlete in sports with the last name of Cecil since former NFL safety Chuck Cecil. Cecil has had a very auspicious beginning to the season, as the lefty has allowed a mere earned run in his first two starts. He went 8 shutout innings against the A's today in picking up the victory. He is now 1-0 with a 0.64 ERA, and he's struck out 12 batters in 14 innings, with a 0.93 WHIP. When the Toronto rotation gets fully healthy, Cecil very well could remain (over Brian Tallet), so Cecil is a worthy AL-only play at the moment and mixed leaguers should have him on their watch lists.
  

• This doesn't really have fantasy implications, but I'm mentioning this anyway...kudos to Bobby Cox for how he handled his bullpen in today's win over the Phillies. Usual closer Mike Gonzalez was called into the game to pitch the 8th inning, because lefties Ryan Howard, Raul Ibanez, and Matt Stairs were due up. Gonzalez got through the inning, and then Cox had Rafael Soriano pitch the 9th inning for the save. Gonzalez is still the clear closer, so his fantasy owners don't need to panic, but this was the right baseball move, and something you almost never see anymore. Bravo, Bobby.

• Jimmy Rollins is now batting .195 after an 0-for-5 day today. His OPS is at an incredibly feeble .499, and he's been a major bust thus far. So what's my advice here? Buy low. There's just too much talent here for Rollins not to rebound, and he's healthy, so there's no injury to worry about here. He's going to pick it up, and you'll be glad you swung a trade for him if you didn't give up a big piece of your team to do it. I can't see his Andruw Jones-like season (I speak of the 2008 Andruw Jones) continuing for much longer.
  

• I mentioned that Jeff Weaver was an accepetable NL-only play today at home against the Giants, and he was OK, but not great, going 5 innings and allowing 3 runs in a no-decision. The good news was that he only allowed 3 hits, but he issued 4 walks and had just 2 strikeouts. I don't recommend Weaver in his next start, which will come on Saturday on the road at Florida.
  

Thursday Notes

I'll admit I'm still a little bit in shock over the Manny Ramirez suspension, but the show must go on, and certainly there is a lot to discuss for fantasy owners other than the latest installment of Manny being Manny. And isn't it ironic--don't ya think--that Alex Rodriguez will enter the stage on the very next day after Manny left it? I know Alanis Morissette would agree with me. While A-Rod owners will want to get their guy active for tomorrow's game, let's get to the rest of the fantasy-relevant happenings of the day.

I hate to say I told you so, Cleveland, but Jeremy Sowers got lit up today (5 IP, 7 ER, and just one strikeout). Despite Aaron Laffey's three innings of relief that resulted in a save yesterday, the logic of putting your second-best starting pitcher in the bullpen--and yes, that's what Laffey is on that Cleveland staff at the moment--and replacing him in the rotation with a guy that isn't very good is just plain dumb and reeks of extreme desperation. It's an even less logical decision than if the Yankees put Joba Chamberlain in their bullpen, because the Indians are short on starters and relievers. They basically tried to shore up one leak, but they just sprung another. I can't recommend Sowers except in the right matchup in AL-only leagues (such as a game in a pitcher's park against a bad offense), and I would definitely hold onto Laffey in AL-only formats, because he'll be back in the rotation soon enough, I can almost guarantee you. You just saw what happened to Bob Melvin, Eric Wedge. I have a feeling you're going to be next, quite frankly.

I wrote a small post on Juan Pierre earlier today, and tonight he showed why he should be on all mixed league rosters for the next 50 games. I wrote that Pierre should be good for 2-3 steals per week, and, sure enough, he stole a base tonight (along with going 2-for-4). Since he's been mostly riding the pine, you have to figure that he is going to run at every opportunity right now, because he has fresh legs and he probably wants to prove a point (if not to the Dodgers, then to another team that might view him as an acquisition via trade). Plus, as I've said many times on this blog, Joe Torre is a manager that likes to give the green light to his speed players on the bases. Pierre isn't likely to score 30-35 runs in the next 50 games since he won't be in the leadoff spot (except on days that Rafael Furcal gets a rest, which is about once a week), but he could score about 25 runs and steal about 20 bases in the next 50 games.

And by the way, if you think my steals prediction is too high for Pierre, the Fantasy Leprechaun has some statistical evidence for you. In 2007, Pierre's last year as a regular, he played in all 162 games, had 668 AB's, and stole 64 bases. Last year, despite just 375 AB's in a part-time role, he swiped 40 bases, which means he actually ran at a more frenetic pace than in 2007. The 668 AB's in 162 games works out to 4.12 AB's per game (I'm using that because this is the last year his at-bats were on a regular, everyday basis, which is what he will have in the next 50 games); since he's not leading off, we can call it an even 4 AB's per game for him in the next 50 games. That means he should get about 200 AB's over the next 50 games; and 200 is 53% of 375 (his AB total from last year), so 53% of 40 steals (his SB total last year) is 21.3 steals. So there you go. What I'm trying to tell you, basically, is that if you pick up Pierre, it will be like owning a player that would hit around .300 and steal 65-70 bases if he played a full season. A poor man's Carl Crawford for nearly 1/3 of a season, if you will (and there's always the chance he remains a starter after early July, either if the Manny story doesn't go away or if Pierre gets traded). Unless you get docked points for each time Pierre hits a grounder back to the pitcher, Pierre is a must-add in mixed leagues. Jump on board if you need to add stolen bases to your team's mix.

A day after big brother Jeff picked up a win, Jered Weaver did the same tonight, and did so even more impressively. The younger Weaver pitched his first complete-game in the big leagues, and the only blemish in his 9 innings of 3-hit, 1-run ball was a solo homer to Aaron Hill. Weaver fanned 8 batters without issuing a single walk, too. He now holds a 3-1 record, 2.66 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, and a solid 31-9 K-BB ratio in 40 2/3 innings. Last year Weaver should have done better than his 4.33 ERA, considering his 1.28 WHIP and .254 batting average against. If he pitches like he did last year, he probably would end up with an ERA of about half-a-run lower this season; with some improvement, we could be looking at an ERA of 3.5 or so. My best guess is an ERA of about 3.75 for Weaver this season, with a WHIP of about 1.20 and 150 K's in 200 innings, numbers that are surely mixed league-worthy. I can't see Weaver as being an ace for fantasy owners, though, so feel free to try to sell high after his great effort tonight.

The Yankee starting catchers are dropping like flies. After losing Jorge Posada to a hamstring injury, the Bombers are going to have to deal with his replacement, Jose Molina, also being shelved. Molina came up with a quad injury tonight and is expected to be placed on the DL tomorrow. This means that the team is going to be forced to call up Kevin Cash to share time with the recently called-up Francisco Cervelli, and neither of these two should be anywhere near your fantasy squad. It should also be interesting to see how this affects the Yankee starting pitchers.

Speaking of the Yankees, the latest game at Bandbox Field saw 8 home runs hit between the home team and the Rays, and the point bears repeating: you need to upgrade all the hitters in games there and downgrade all the pitchers. Mariano Rivera even gave up two home runs tonight, and that happens about as often as a Saturday Night Live re-run showing a moment of comic genius from Horatio Sanz. (Go ahead, think about that one for a moment.) While I wouldn't get up in arms over Rivera's struggles in the past week--his ERA is still under 4, he has struck out 17 batters in 11 1/3 innings with no walks, and he's only blown one save--it is a bit disconcerting that he has now allowed 4 home runs on the young season. How many did he give up all of last year? Four. How many did he give up in 2007? Four. It's also a little troubling that Joe Girardi said after the game that his surgically-repaired right shoulder has been bothering him a little bit. Again, though, since he is striking out batters with great frequency, I would tend to give the great Rivera the benefit of the doubt here, at least for now. Don't panic, Rivera owners, even if he needs to miss a few games or if he requires a DL stint (although a DL stint could be disastrous for that Yankee bullpen).

If you would have told me at the start of the season that a pitching matchup of Brian Bannister and Jarrod Washburn would see one earned run in a combined 13 innings between the two, I would have said you were crazy, or perhaps smoking the hippie lettuce. But that's exactly what happened today, as Bannister improved to 3-0 with 6 shutout innings, lowering his ERA to 1.48 on the season. Washburn allowed just one earned run in 7 innings, lowering his ERA to 2.68, although he suffered the hard-luck loss to drop to 3-2 on the season. Bannister even struck out 7 batters, while Washburn fanned 5. I don't know how this is happening for both pitchers--especially for Bannister--and I implore you to try to sell high on both of these guys while you have the chance. Again, especially on Bannister. Washburn could actually have decent AL-only league value this season. I don't expect Bannister to. I know Bannister had a good 2007 campaign, but I simply don't see it for him. If you're able to get a serviceable piece in a trade for Bannister, you'll thank me later, because he'll get shelled eventually, and it will probably be sooner rather than later.

Another Royal, Coco Crisp, is having a solid start to the season despite a .238 average through 28 games. Crisp has drawn 21 walks (against 14 K's), for an OBP of .367, and that's the biggest reason he's scored 22 runs. He's also making his hits count, as 14 of his 25 hits have gone for extra-bases. He's doing well in the SB department, too, as he stole his fifth base of the year tonight. Crisp is on a pace to score well over 100 runs and to steal about 30 bases, and as a Crisp owner in an AL-only league, I'd certainly take both of those numbers. It's also likely that Crisp's current .238 average will rise into the .270 range by season's end, at least. Crisp warrants consideration in all but shallow mixed leagues (he's available in 70% of Yahoo leagues), and his AL-only value is Bob Seger-esque. Like a rock.

The Franklin Mint was at it again tonight; Ryan Franklin notched his 9th save in as many chances with remarkable ease. He merely needed 9 pitches to retire the side in order, with one strikeout. His ERA is still a perfect 0.00, and I actually think I'd be more confident owning Franklin than I would Brian Fuentes. While that may seem obvious to some, three weeks ago that would have been an insane statement. I've bumped Franklin up to high-end #2 closer status, and he actually has the upside for 40 saves this year considering the team he plays for.

I advised to buy low on Matt Holliday a few days ago while his numbers still looked feeble, and he smashed a three-run homer today, his fourth home run in his last 10 games. Holliday is only batting .233, but in his last 10 games he has 10 RBI to go along with the 4 homers. He's up to 4 homers and 20 RBI on the season, which puts him on a pace to hit about 25 homers and to have about 120 RBI (remember that he missed a couple of games due to illness early in the season). Continue to view Holliday as a #2 OF in mixed leagues and target him in trades.

Are you looking for a catcher to add, Jorge Posada owners? If you don't see an obvious choice on the waiver wire, perhaps you should consider Ramon Hernandez, who is 76% available in Yahoo leagues. Hernandez's .280 average looks empty, considering that he has just one home run, 8 RBI, and 6 runs scored, but a closer look reveals a guy really locked in lately. Hernandez was batting .175 on April 22, but since then he has had multi-hit games in 6 of his last 11 starts, and recorded at least one hit in 10 of those 11 starts. (He was 2-for-3 today.) Hernandez is a pretty decent hitter, and on a hot streak, and in a home ballpark conducive to hitters, so he's a recommended add for Posada owners searching for options in mixed leagues.

Alexei Ramirez has temporarily been benched in favor of Jayson Nix at shortstop for the White Sox, and Nix had a home run in today's win over the Tigers. Ramirez has started the season about as badly as possible, but don't overreact if you own him and waive him. He still has six steals on the season, and eventually he will start hitting. There aren't going to be solid waiver wire options at shortstop or second base that have even close to his upside. Just be patient with him, stash him on your bench until Guillen puts him back into the lineup, and roll with him once he gets going again. I had been benching Ramirez in one of my leagues at second base in favor of Freddy Sanchez (and now I just picked up Rickie Weeks and waived Sanchez; Weeks shouldn't be available in mixed leagues, but he was in this league), and I will just play Weeks for as long as Ramirez remains benched and/or ineffective. Hopefully, you have a decent alternative at shortstop or second base for Ramirez.

Pierre Gets His Shot

In a correlation to the Manny Ramirez suspension, Juan Pierre is the most immediate beneficiary. Pierre, doomed to a fourth outfielder role that saw him accumulate only 31 at-bats before today, will now be the everyday left fielder until early July, barring a trade. To say that the downgrade from a real baseball perspective from Ramirez to Pierre is a small one is an obvious understatement, but Pierre has fantasy value, and fantasy owners should not forget about him. To those that drafted him in NL-only leagues, good for you, because you now have a starting-caliber mixed league outfielder for the next 50 games.

I talked about this over a month ago, when I stated that Juan Pierre was a possible sleeper candidate because all he needed was an opportunity to play to be a mixed league player. He now has this opportunity. If he does what he usually does, which is hit in the neighborhood of .300 with a lot of steals, he's not only going to be helping his fantasy owners, but he will be more valuable to other teams to acquire via trade. In other words, he could be a starter for more than just 50 games. There's also the possibility that Manny won't play for the Dodgers again; we don't have all of the details yet in this story, so you never know.

The bottom line is that Pierre is now a recommended add in mixed leagues. He's likely to bat 8th in the order most games, so temper your expectations for runs scored, but expect close to a .300 average and about one steal per three games played (or 2-3 steals per week). Owners in need of a stolen base infusion would do well to snatch up Pierre.

Manny Being Manny

Wow.

Wow.

Wow.

By now you all know about today's bombshell that Manny Ramirez has been suspended for 50 games. It's been reported that the positive test was triggered by a women's fertility drug--you know, because men do that sort of thing all the time. It's certainly a huge blow not only to the Dodgers, but to Manny's fantasy owners. There's basically nothing you can do as a Ramirez owner but have him as a bench player until July 3. You can't DL him, and you can't waive him. That's right, you can't waive him. If you're concerned with trying to win a fantasy league, you can't let go of a player this good. It sucks, but you have no choice but to hold onto him until he comes back.

Wow.

Niese To Get The Call For The Mets

The Mets have decided not to start 40-year-old Ken Takahashi on Friday in Oliver Perez's place, after all. Instead, the team will call up Jon Niese, the young lefty, and he will be given the ball for the start. Perez, instead of moving to the bullpen, will go to the 15-Day DL, which allows him to basically rest up for a couple of weeks.

I had said that Takahashi was actually not a terrible play in NL-only leagues for this start because of the home ballpark (Citi Field) and the opponent (the Pirates), and I'm going to say the same about Niese. Hopefully you have better alternatives, but if you are in a deeper NL-only league and/or are desperate for a spot play, Niese is worth a roll of the dice on Friday.

Wednesday Game Notes

The Dodgers still can't lose at home, and apparently Aaron Laffey was the tonic that the Cleveland bullpen needed. While the Indians will likely regret that move as soon as Jeremy Sowers gets lit up, here's what I have on the brain after today's play...

Justin Upton blasted two more home runs tonight, and the talented young slugger led the D'backs to a 3-1 win over the Friars in San Diego. The fact that he could hit two homers in cavernous PETCO Park is quite a feat, and shows how locked in Upton has been since his slow start. Upton was actually batting in the #3 hole tonight, so at least I will give Bob Melvin some credit for coming around quickly enough to avoid curtailing a possible breakout season from Upton. Upton has a 13-game hitting streak now, during which he's batting .378, and the streak has his season average up to a very respectable .284; even more important is the .918 OPS. Fantasy owners are taking notice, as Upton is now up to 57% owned in Yahoo leagues. Unless your outfield is stacked, find a place for Upton on your bench, at worst. His talent is off-the-charts.

Jake Peavy gave up one of those homers to Upton, and took the loss, but Peavy has pitched like the Jake Peavy of old in his last two starts. Tonight Peavy went 7 innings and allowed just 4 hits and 3 walks, while striking out 12 batters. This comes on the heels of 8 shutout innings against the Dodgers (a game that the Padres still lost, by the way). He has 52 K's against 17 walks on the season, a solid ratio, and his ERA is down to an easier-to-stomach 4.27 (with a good 1.21 WHIP). The home-run ball is what's hurting him; he's allowed 5 already. The peripherals suggest that Peavy's ERA will continue to decline, and the 20 K's in his last two starts are easing my early-season concerns about him.

Troy Percival, a closer that I think is a prime candidate to either get hurt or get shelled this season, has come out of the gate strong, at least. Percival notched his fifth save of the season tonight, and in doing so, lowered his ERA to 2.08. He hasn't given up a run in his last 8 appearances. But Percival isn't blowing anybody away, with 4 K's compared to 3 walks in 8 2/3 innings. This isn't vintage Troy Percival, folks, and my advice to you, if you own him, is to sell! He's still an injury risk or a disastrous appearance waiting to happen.

J.J. Hardy was at it again tonight. Hardy had a 2-for-4 game at the dish, with a home run and 3 RBI, and that means that in the four games since Hardy took a sabbatical on the bench, he's gone 7-for-14 with a home run, 8 RBI, and 4 runs scored. I said this yesterday, but you have to get Hardy back into your lineup while he's on a hot streak like this. Hardy is a notoriously streaky hitter, and you have to ride the hot hand when you have the chance.

The great start to the season for Ryan Franklin continued tonight, as the Franklin Mint moved to a perfect 8-for-8 in save chances. Franklin's stellar numbers include a perfect 0 .00 ERA and 0.49 WHIP, and the 10 K's in 12 1/3 innings aren't too shabby, either. There could certainly be a few bumps in the road later in the season, but Franklin has an extremely strong hold on the closer role and should be viewed as a high-end #2 closer going forward. And in a Jason Motte update, the fireballing righty pitched the 8th inning tonight and recorded his sixth hold of the year, so he still has value in NL-only leagues or in mixed leagues that reward holds. Motte has not been scored upon in his last 10 appearances, and his ERA is down to 3.55, too. Nice to see one of my sleeper picks actually pitching well, after about as bad a start as you could have.

Todd Helton has been sizzling at the plate lately, and after a 3-for-4 game tonight that included a double and a home run, he's batting .360 with 3 homers and 17 RBI. His OPS is at a nice .929 clip, also. Helton is obviously never going to be the superstar player he once was, but that doesn't mean he can't be useful for fantasy owners. I think we can agree that last year was a lost year due to injury, but as recently as 2007 Helton hit .320 with 17 homers, 91 RBI, and a .928 OPS. The OPS this season is basically the same as in his 2007 campaign, and the home run pace is about the same, too. He appears to be relatively healthy and, as such, he can probably hit .300 in his sleep with a solid OPS. A season similar to his 2007 campaign is realistic, though with more injury risk.

Helton has legitimate mixed league value in leagues that reward OPS, but most fantasy owners aren't coming along yet (he's owned in just 20% of Yahoo leagues, although that is up 7% from last week). I said this before the season, and I'll say it again: Helton will be better than James Loney this season on a per-game basis. Loney is owned in 66% of Yahoo leagues, which doesn't make sense to me. Loney shouldn't be starting for you in a mixed league at first base, and he's a mediocre utility option and backup. Loney certainly won't kill you, but there's just no upside, and he's eminently replaceable. I'd much rather own Helton, because if Helton were to go down, you could go to the waiver wire and find a guy that can produce like James Loney.

I sang Randy Johnson's praises in his last start, but tonight he got pummeled, to the tune of 7 runs in 5 2/3 innings. And in an extreme rarity, he failed to record a strikeout for just the fifth start of his career. I'm not too deterred, though, because the start tonight came in Denver, and bad outings at Coors Field are just bound to happen. Don't lose confidence in Johnson because of a bad start in Denver. If he gets shelled again in his next start, then some worry is acceptable, but I don't think that will happen. Continue to roll with him.

Wednesday Injury News

Just a few injury-related tidbits for today...

• Matt Capps will likely return to the Pirates and be available for Saturday's game, barring setbacks. The plan is for him to play catch tomorrow (doesn't that sound so Little League-esque), then throw off a mound on Friday, in preparation for Saturday. Capps owners will want to check for updates, but tentatively plan on having him back on Saturday.
  

• Travis Hafner got good news from Dr. James Andrews today when he visited the famed surgeon in Alabama. According to Andrews, the shoulder soreness that Hafner is experiencing is nothing more than residual soreness from the surgery he had, and he thinks that Hafner should be able to resume baseball activities around the time he's eligible to come off the DL, which is May 14. Hafner owners, exhale, at least for the moment.
  

• Derrek Lee was out of the lineup for today's game due to the bulging disc injury he has in his neck; recall that the same injury kept Lee out of the lineup for two games last week. Lee could miss another game or two, and even though he says he won't end up on the DL, you never know. Lee owners in leagues with daily moves should tentatively have him out of their lineups for tomorrow at this point, but you'll want to check back to make sure.
  

• Brett Anderson is going to miss his scheduled start on Saturday against Toronto, due to a blister on his finger, but the good news is that this shouldn't require a DL stint and he's likely to just miss the one turn in the rotation. Sean Gallagher will try to smash watermelons in Anderson's place on Saturday, though he is not a good option against the red-hot Blue Jay offense.
  

Tuesday Notes

Today featured four games that went into extra innings, and amazingly, one of them still isn't over (the Astros and Nationals will resume a suspended game in the bottom of the 11th inning on July 9). The Dodgers still can't be defeated at home, and the Indians are still a big disappointment. Here's what's on my mind after the games today...

Could we actually have two Weavers be fantasy-relevant again this season? Jeff Weaver was excellent in his first start in the big leagues since 2007, going 5 innings and allowing just one run, while fanning 6 batters. Weaver was on a pitch count (he ended up throwing 85 pitches), which is why he only went the 5 innings. I wrote on May 1 that I think Weaver could be a decent play in NL-only leagues at home, and as such I'm going to recommend him again on Sunday for his next start (at home against an anemic San Francisco lineup). I can understand skepticism on Weaver--I really can--but the pitcher I have seen in two appearances has good velocity, good movement, and good location.

Weaver's teammate, Jonathan Broxton, made sure that Weaver would get the win tonight, as he fanned two batters in a perfect 9th inning, notching his 8th save of the season. Broxton, as a reliever, is trying to match what Zack Greinke is doing as a starter, since Broxton is the #1 ranked closer in Yahoo leagues at the moment (with Greinke the Great as the #1 ranked starter). While Broxton is technically 8-for-9 in save chances because he allowed an inherited runner to score in an 8th inning appearance last week that tied the game, his ERA and WHIP total are barely above 1.00, an incredible number. He's fanned 25 batters in just 14 innings, which is scary-good, and to put into perspective how dominant he has been in that category, the next-highest total for a closer is 20 K's by Scott Downs, and he isn't even likely to remain a closer all year. (The next-highest after that is 16 K's by Francisco Rodriguez.) It's quite possible Broxton will finish as the #1 fantasy closer this season, because of his dominance in the strikeout category.

Last year didn't work out for Erik Bedard and the Mariners, but 2009 is not 2008 for the talented lefty. Bedard twirled yet another outstanding performance tonight, going 7 innings and allowing just one run on 7 hits, with 7 K's (and zero walks). Despite the no-decision, his fantasy owners have to be giddy over his sparkling ERA, which now stands at 2.37, and his K-BB ratio, which is 39-6 in 38 innings. His WHIP is at 1.05, as well. His owners would like to see better than a 2-1 record with those numbers, but that's nitpicking. It appears that the only thing that could derail Bedard is an injury, because he is fully back in terms of stuff. It's unlikely you could get fair value for Bedard in a trade since other owners know he is prone to injuries, so my best advice is to just hold onto him and enjoy the benefits. Unless you're able to sell legitimately high, don't do it. Bedard is going to be a fantasy ace for as long as he's healthy, and maybe since he didn't throw a lot of innings last year he will be more apt to hold up this year.

Vicente Padilla was actually even more brilliant than Bedard tonight, as the right-hander threw 8 innings of one-hit ball in an unfortunate no-decision for him. He allowed merely an unearned run and 3 walks, while striking out four batters. Padilla is a roller-coaster and is not a recommended option, however, except in AL-only leagues, and I wouldn't even feel too great about owning him in AL-only formats. He's just as apt to get hammered in his next outing. Even with the 8 innings of no earned runs tonight, his ERA is still at a high 5.71 figure. If you do happen to own him, feel free to shop him to an owner after his great effort tonight.

Maybe Ken Macha did the right thing by sitting J.J. Hardy down for a couple of games over the weekend, because he's come out this week and had two solid games. On Monday Hardy went 1-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI, and tonight he was even better, going a perfect 3-for-3 with a run scored and 4 RBI. As I said, mixed leaguers shouldn't give up on Hardy, and, in fact, you should get him back into your lineups while he's hot. Hardy is known for being a streaky hitter, and he may have a hot month of May. As the holder of a .195 average at the moment, Hardy is also a perfect buy-low candidate.

Adam Wainwright carried a 2.74 ERA into his start against the Phillies tonight, and the numbers suggested he was lucky to have it, considering his less-than-impressive 25-18 K-BB ratio. So even though Wainwright only walked two hitters today and had 5 K's, it can't come as a shock that he gave up 7 earned runs in 6 innings against the Phillies, taking his ERA up to 4.08. The luck had to run out at some point. I actually take some encouragement in the fact that he only walked two hitters tonight, and most nights Wainwright won't be facing a lineup as powerful as the one Philadelphia trots out every night. The stuff is there for Wainwright; he just needs to do a better job harnessing it. Be patient with him, mixed leaguers.

Josh Beckett bounced back nicely today in defeating the Yankees at Bandbox Field--formerly known as the new Yankee Stadium--as he went 6 innings and gave up 3 runs (all on a 3-run homer to Johnny Damon in the 1st inning). He struck out 5 and walked just one. Normally I'd be a little concerned about the 10 hits he allowed (this is actually the third straight start in which Beckett has allowed exactly 10 hits), but, again, I'll excuse that since he was pitching in a park with less outfield space than my PONY league field when I was 14 years old, at least to right field. (No joke, folks.) Beckett's fastball looks electric, and he just needs to iron out his command issues. Feel free to buy low on Beckett if you can.

Speaking of Damon, he already looks like he's trying to open up his hips and loft fly balls to that short porch in right field at Bandbox Field. He's up to 6 homers already, and 5 of them have come at home. Damon, usually a solid bet for about 15-20 homers, now has to be considered a 25-30 HR threat in this park. And as I mentioned when I initially saw the park, you have to upgrade all of the Yankee hitters (and downgrade the Yankee starting pitchers a little bit, too). And if you have bench players on your squad that have games at Yankee Stadium--err, Bandbox Field--you might want to consider starting them if there isn't much of a gap between your bench guy and your starter at a certain position, especially for left-handed batters.

Beckett's counterpart tonight, Joba Chamberlain, took the loss, but he showed why he is a big league starter, despite what the multitude of brain-dead baseball analysts will have you believe. Chamberlain allowed 4 runs in the first inning (the big blow coming courtesy of a 3-run homer by Jason Bay, on a ball to left field that would've been a routine out in most parks), but from there was sensational. His final line was 5 2/3 innings pitched, 4 ER, 6 hits, 2 walks, and a whopping 12 strikeouts. After a very slow start, Chamberlain now has a decent 29-15 K-BB ratio in 28 2/3 innings. His ERA is at a decent 3.77, also.

In nearly 100 career innings as a starter, Chamberlain's ERA is barely above 3 and he has struck out more than a batter per inning. Why is it so hard for TV analysts to understand that this man is not just a legitimate starting pitcher in the big leagues, but a damned good one? It is not his fault that the Yankee bullpen isn't good other than Mariano Rivera. Somebody in the Yankee organization better realize that the team made a decision to make him a starter and they need to go with it. Yet another switch mid-season from starting-to-relieving, or vice versa, could have adverse effects on his arm, and you'd literally have to be an idiot to not think that. You'd also be an idiot to think that a pitcher could possibly have more value as a setup man than as a starting pitcher; this isn't even about making him a closer, a la Jonathan Papelbon.

Steve Phillips, idiot, I'm talking to you!

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.
  

Greinke The Great

Zack Greinke is going to get his own post after each start he makes, until further notice. Dude is untouchable right now! The stuff is just filthy good, and the fact that he can go from 95 MPH to 75 MPH, with command, is almost unfair. It's like watching Eric Gagne in his 2002-2004 heyday with the Dodgers, except that Greinke is doing this over 9 innings, not one. Last night Greinke tossed yet another complete-game shutout, with 10 K's and zero walks. He is now 6-0 with a truly microscopic 0.40 ERA. His WHIP stands at 0.84. He has 54 K's in 45 innings. He's walked just 8 batters. In his three complete games, he has yet to allow an earned run, and he's struck out 10 batters in each of the three. How many has he walked in the three complete games? One.

Seriously, I'm running out of superlatives to describe how amazing Greinke has been. His stuff is incredible and he's making hitters look foolish at the plate. And for those thinking that he's dominating bad offenses, it's actually quite the opposite. He's beaten the White Sox twice, Cleveland, Detroit, Toronto, and Texas. And the Texas win was at Texas, and it was one of the complete game-shutouts.

I just can't bring myself to advise fantasy owners to sell high on Greinke. If you own him, thank the heavens above and roll with him. The only pitchers I would rather own are Tim Lincecum and Johan Santana, and those owners wouldn't trade either of them for Greinke anyway. I'd rather own Greinke over Roy Halladay, and I love Doc Halladay. I'm a fan of Zack, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. It's a great story, consideirng how anxiety issues almost took him out of baseball a couple of years ago. As always, I would never let emotion cloud my judgment of anybody, but this guy is the real deal.

Oliver Perez Banished To Bullpen

The Mets have decided to keep Oliver Perez with the big club, rather than sending him down to the minors or coming up with an injury and putting him on the DL. Perez will work out of the bullpen for the time being, and he'll probably stay there until he shows improved velocity and gets results. That could take a long time, based on what we've seen so far. I'm certainly happy that I didn't keep Perez in my NL-only keeper league.

Ken Takahashi will get the start on Friday in Perez's place, and while it's certainly difficult for me to recommend a 40-year-old pitcher with 2 2/3 innings pitched in his career in the U.S. big leagues (all of them within the past week), NL-only leaguers could consider him as an OK spot-start option, since the start will be at home in the pitcher's paradise that is Citi Field, plus it comes against the Pirates, not a great offense at all. Beyond that, I'd look at Takahashi on a start-to-start basis. If he struggles, the team could eventually turn to Tim Redding, who is scheduled to make a rehab start in AAA tomorrow. Redding is likely to be activated and placed in the Met bullpen after that, so he's an option if Takahashi falters. Another option would be Jon Niese, currently in the minors.

Big Z To The DL

Well, as I speculated this morning, it turns out that Carlos Zambrano is going to spend a stint on the DL due to his injured left hamstring. Perhaps the ultra-competitive Zambrano should not have bunted for a base and ran at full speed to leg it out. Regardless, this injury is going to cost Big Z at least two weeks, and maybe three. His owners will have to stash him on the DL for the time being.

As for how the Cubs will handle replacing him in the rotation, Jeff Samardzija is not an option--he'll be kept in the bullpen. The team will likely call up one of two minor leaguers, Randy Wells or Jose Ascanio. Either of those two would be gambles in NL-only leagues, so I'd take a wait-and-see approach there.

Sherrill Now In Committee Situation?

Well, that was relatively fast. After George Sherrill blew his second save chance of the season on Saturday, Orioles Manager Dave Trembley announced that his closer would be based on a "day by day" decision going forward. If it seems like Sherrill hasn't been as bad as a lot of other closers so far this season, you'd be right, since he's saved 4 games out of 6 chances. It just shows how tenuous his job was going into the season, which was a correct call made by yours truly and many other prognosticators in the fantasy world.

So how should fantasy owners proceed? Well, if you own Sherrill in a shallow mixed league, one in which other closers are available on the wire (maybe a guy like Fernando Rodney or Huston Street), I'd make that switch. If you own him in a deeper mixed league, one in which there aren't other closers available, you might as well stick with Sherrill for the time being, since he will still get some save chances. Long-term, Chris Ray is still the likely choice to end up as the Baltimore closer, but for the short-term it's not just Ray who benefits here. In fact, Ray may be behind Danys Baez and Jim Johnson right now for save chances, because Ray is holding a 7.56 ERA and horrible 2.16 WHIP (which included giving up 2 runs and 3 hits in his last appearance). Baez has probably been the best Oriole reliever (2.63 ERA and 0.80 WHIP), and Johnson has been solid too (2.70 ERA, 1.30 WHIP). Ray is the one of these to own long-term, and I wouldn't trust Baez or Johnson despite their early success. I wouldn't trust Ray right now, either, based on his early struggles, but he has the ability to turn it around at some point.

Monday Musings

Just a few things that fantasy owners might be talking about as we start a new week of action on the diamond...

• Sunday's rainout for the Phillies could be a blessing for Cole Hamels owners, because it allows the team to push his next start back to this coming Friday, so the lefty gets a couple of extra days to heal from his ankle injury. Hamels has certainly not given his owners much so far, but maybe the fact that he didn't throw many innings in April will prove to help him going forward.

• Carlos Zambrano picked up the win yesterday, but perhaps at a cost for his fantasy owners. Big Z strained his hamstring while running to first base in the bottom of the 5th inning, and his scheduled start for this Friday is in serious question at this point. The team will await MRI results before making a decision, but fantasy owners should probably operate under the assumption that he won't make the start. I'd speculate that a DL stint is likely, also.
  

• Chad Billingsley's value may not get much higher after his 5-0, 2.21 ERA, 42 K start to the season (in 40 2/3 innings). I expect Billingsley to be really good all year, but if you could trade him now to a Dodger fan, and get a guy like Roy Halladay in return, I'd make that deal. Keep in mind that Billingsley has faced the Padres and Giants twice each. Again, I'm not saying Billingsley is going to regress a ton, but he won't be this good, either.
  

• Gil Meche wasn't great yesterday in picking up the win (6 IP, 4 ER), but the fact that he was able to get through his start without incident after his previous start, where he was removed due to lower back stiffness, is encouraging. Continue to view Meche as a solid #3 or #4 mixed league starter and hope that the back problem was just a bump in the road.

• Scott Baker is a good buy-low candidate, folks. When you have a guy with his talent sitting at 0-4 with a 9.15 ERA, what you have is an opportunity. He was charged with 5 runs in 6 innings yesterday, but he deserved far better--he had a no-hitter through 6 innings, and then gave up 3 homers in a row and then 2 hits after that before being removed, and both of those runners came around to score after he was out. Bad luck is partially to blame for his poor start, and his K-BB ratio is very good (16 K's against 5 walks in 20 2/3 IP). Trust the Leprechaunian instincts on this one. Buy low.
  

• Speaking of buy-lows, Ricky Nolasco falls under that category. The man with the 95 MPH fastball and power slider took another loss yesterday, the big blow a grand salami off the bat of Derrek Lee, and his ERA now stands at 7.02. Nolasco has yet to throw a quality start this season. Still, fantasy owners should recall that Nolasco had a poor April last year, too, and his K-BB ratio is 27 to 9, so at least he isn't walking people all over the place. Bad luck is partially to blame for Nolasco, as it is Baker, and Nolasco has the ability to be a #2 starter for fantasy owners. Buy low!

• Dexter Fowler, Carl Crawford is not impressed! So much so that Crawford felt the need to swipe 6 bags yesterday, tying a modern major league record, and Crawford now has a ridiculous 17 steals so far on the year. He could break his career-best of 59 steals, set in 2004. There's still no power to speak of (just 40 total bases on 33 hits, and no homers), but fantasy owners will take it if he hits over .300 (he's at .317 now) with close to 100 runs and more than 60 steals. I don't think the power will ever come for Mommie Dearest, but there's nothing wrong with a .300 hitting, run-scoring, 60-SB player for fantasy owners.

• Kyle Lohse owners can't be happy that his scheduled start Sunday was going to be against the lowly Nationals, but it was rained out, and that now he has to go up against the powerful Phillies lineup today instead. However, I'd keep Lohse active in all formats, because he does get the Phillies in St. Louis, on his home field, and as I've chronicled, Lohse is excellent at home. A bad start from Lohse is certainly possible against this lineup, but I'd roll with him, given his home track record and the excellent start his team is off to.

• Atta boy, Justin! Justin Upton, despite Bob Melvin's best efforts to hurt his production early, is now up to 4 homers and 12 RBI after belting another homer yesterday. He's up to .268, too, with the batting average. His 19 hits have gone for 35 total bases. His brother, B.J., has zero homers. Before the season I wrote that Justin would hit more homers than B.J., and that "it won't be close." So far, so good.

• Shout it from the rooftops...Barry Zito has an ERA of under 4! I thought I'd never write that this year, but after 7 scoreless innings against the Rockies yesterday, Zito has his ERA at 3.99, and he's now tossed three quality starts in a row. I remain very skeptical, but Zito's NL-only league value is climbing.
  

Take A Ride On The Calle

Fantasy owners may want to take a ride on the calle (calle--street--get it?), as Huston Street is back in as Colorado's closer. Manny Corpas just hasn't been good at all, and it opened the door for Street to take back the job he started the season with. Corpas is actually in danger of being demoted to the minors after he took the loss today (in the 10th inning, allowing the only run of the game to score), which leaves his record at 0-3 with a 6.75 ERA and 1.88 WHIP. Street's ERA is high also (6.10), but he's had 4 scoreless appearances in a row, including one save in that span.

Since Corpas appears lost right now, Street's job is a little bit more safe than it was going into the season. Corpas isn't breathing down his neck at this point. As such, we can now consider Street a low-end #2 closer option, rather than a 50/50 guy, basically. He's still not a great option--I actually think LaTroy Hawkins will be comparable to Street in the next month--but at least he's a closer with a little bit of job security now. As for Corpas, he can be dropped in mixed leagues and he's not a great play in NL-only formats, either.

Incidentally, don't you always love seeing the phrase "he can be safely dropped in mixed leagues" in relation to fantasy baseball? As opposed to what...he can be dangerously dropped in mixed leagues? But I digress.