Elmhurst Pub Roundtable

Fantasy Baseball: Friday News and Notes

noreply@blogger.com (cwhager) — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 17:16:00 +0000

Friday Notes

John Lackey has given up just three runs in 13 innings against the Mariners this season, but the Mariners do have a couple good numbers against him from their regulars. Ichiro is a .306 hitter in 98 at-bats while Chone Figgins is 5-for-11. Franklin Gutierrez is 2-for-18 while Miguel Olivo is only 4-for-26.

David Price has been lit up by the Yankees this season, surrendering 11 runs in 17.1 innings pitched. That's good for a 5.71 ERA and 1.44 WHIP. Price has given up at least four earned runs in four of his last seven outings. Jason Collette noted on Twitter the other day that Price continues to rely more on his fastball over the second half of the season. The bulk of the team has hit him poorly, but both Jeter and Swisher are good to go.

On the other end of the spectrum, C.C. Sabathia has given up just two earned runs in 17 innings against the Rays. Still some good numbers for Tampa. Both Kelly Shoppach and Ben Zobrist check in at .273 while B.J. Upton is a .297 hitter. Evan Longoria is 8-for-24 with three home runs.

Livan Hernandez has been killed on the road this season, posting a 5.69 ERA and 1.72 away from his home park. He has given up nine runs on 25 hits to the Phillies over 19.1 innings against them in 2011. Only Ryan Howard at .242 (but with four home runs in 33 at-bats) and Jimmy Rollins at .222 in 72 at-bats have struggled against Hernandez.

Random stat that should amuse all fantasy owners: Carl Pavano has held Asdrubal Cabrera hitless in 19 at-bats lifetime. The Indians have activated Shin-Soo Choo and he is a .400 hitter against Pavano. Michael Brantley has solid numbers, posting a .333 mark in 21 at-bats.

Cole Hamels is 6-1 in his last 10 starts against Washington. Add in a 2.54 ERA over that stretch and you have a solid matchup for the lefty. Hamels has a 2.29 ERA at home this season and has allowed two or fewer earned runs in his last five starts in Philadelphia. Ryan Zimmerman's .275 mark in 51 at-bats is the best available for Washington.

Avoid Prince Fielder tonight. The Brewers first baseman is hitting .089 with just four hits in 45 at-bats against Paul Maholm. Both Ryan Braun and Corey Hart are good to go here. Not much else to like about the Brewers otherwise here.

Only Josh Willingham has decent numbers against C.J. Wilson. Willingham is 5-for-10 and is the only Oakland player cracking .300 with at least 10 at-bats against Wilson. Kurt Suzuki is 1-for-14 while David DeJesus is only 2-for-15. It gets no better. Avoid your A's here.

Brandon McCarthy could make the duel with Texas interesting. McCarthy has a 1.14 WHIP and 2.39 ERA at home this season. Add to it, McCarthy has given up just four earned runs over his last four starts covering 22 innings of work.

Spot Starts: Minor, Maholm, Lohse

Fantasy Baseball: Monday News and Notes

noreply@blogger.com (cwhager) — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 15:00:00 +0000

Monday Notes

Doubt we will see Jim Thome against Tim Wakefield...at least not in a successful fashion. Thome is 10-for-58 against the knuckleballer lifetime. The numbers are no better for Jason Kubel or Delmon Young. Joe Mauer should be ok as is Denard Span. Wakefield is taking his third shot at win number 200. Hopefully, Francona pulls him after six innings this time...

John Danks was hit hard by the Yankees, but has still allowed two or fewer runs in six of his last seven starts. That and the Orioles are far from the Yankees. Adam Jones has been on a tear, but he is only 1-for-18 against Danks. Matt Wieters is 1-for-12 while Vlad Guerrero is 4-for-24. Markakis and Hardy are fine for this one.

Only Alex Rios hits better than .300 with at least 10 at-bats against Jeremy Guthrie. Juan Pierre though is still 4-for-9 in his efforts. Omar Vizquel likely stays on the bench at 1-for-12 and Alexei Ramirez is only 1-for-16. Both Carlos Quentin and Gordon Beckham have hit .250 against Guthrie in 16 and 12 at-bats respectively.

Hey remember when everyone jumped out of their seat to add Emilio Bonifacio? Guess what? He came back to earth. In fact, he is just three for his last 28 and is only a .118 hitter in 17 at-bats against Derek Lowe. Hanley Ramirez is hitting .538 in 26 at-bats and is by far the best option available against Lowe in this one.

Matt Harrison has been up and down of late, allowing four earned runs in two of his last three outings but less than two earned in four of his last six. Ichiro has struggled, going only 4-for-21 against Harrison. Gutierrez and Figgins have the only other track records and each have four hits in 15 and 14 at-bats respectively.

Scott Baker has a 1.64 ERA over his last five starts covering 27.1 innings pitched. Jacoby Ellsbury and Carl Crawford are your best bets in this one for Boston. Both are hitting better than .400 against the Minnesota starter. Both Pedroia and Youkilis are below .200.

Wandy Rodriguez has been solid in his last two road starts, giving up just three earned runs over 14 innings. Rodriguez has been up and down this year, but the matchup here should work in his favor. Chris Young is 4-for-11, but his are the only numbers that scream to be started in this one.

I will continue to lobby for Tim Stauffer to be started until proven otherwise incorrect. He has had quality starts in nine of his last 10 outings and now has an ERA of 2.96 for the season. Stauffer continues to fly under the radar but is the spot start of the day given his trends. Yes, this means he will blow up, but it is a chance worth taking.

Matt Garza has allowed two earned runs or less and worked seven full innings in four of his last five starts. While he has just win in those outings, he is showing much more progress and has lowered his ERA by a half a run in this stretch. Cubs are on a roll and so is he. Good matchup for him against the Nationals.

Spot Starts: Stauffer, Harrison, Danks

Fantasy Baseball: Wednesday News and Notes

noreply@blogger.com (cwhager) — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 14:02:00 +0000

Wednesday Notes

A.J. Burnett has been decent of late and only Alex Rios has hit better than .300 against him in the past. Paul Konerko is 4-for-15 with two home runs while Adam Dunn is 4-for-16. A.J. Pierzynski should be avoided given his sub-.200 mark in 22 at-bats. Burnett has lost his last three decisions and has only completed the sixth inning once in his last four starts.

Gavin Floud has allowed only two runs in his last 22.1 innings pitched. Nick Swisher, Mark Teixeira, and Andruw Jones are all only 1-for-9 against Floyd and Robinson Cano is just 2-for-16. Curtis Granderson is a .250 hitter in 32 at-bats while Brett Gardner is 4-for-8.

Surprisingly, only Albert Pujols has a decent track record for the Cardinals against Randy Wolf. Pujols is a .323 hitter in 31 at-bats with two home runs. Lance Berkman is 3-for-27, Yadier Molina is 5-for-24, Rafael Furcal is at .211 in 38 at-bats, and Matt Holliday is at .233 in 30 at-bats. Look elsewhere for some offense.

Ichiro has hit .346 against Gio Gonzalez and has the best numbers available to fantasy owners. Look to avoid the 2-for-12 of Franklin Gutierrez. Chone Figgins has struggled as well with a 5-for-20 mark. Gonzalez has lost three of his last four starts and in his last two starts he has surrendered 10 runs in 10 innings.

Aaron Hill has had rough season, but he has hit .273 in 33 at-bats against James Shields and has added four home runs as well. Adam Lind has been solid as well with five home runs and a .306 average in 36 at-bats against Shields. Keep your Blue Jays active in this one as there are no red flags in players that you would be looking to start.

Charlie Morton has decidedly come back to earth. In his last 10 starts, his ERA has risen by a run and a half. He has allowed nine earned runs in his last 9.1 innings in his last two starts. While he has held righties down, lefties simply have hammered him to the tune of .380.

I wrote about this for FantasyPros911.com yesterday and it is just as true here. I do not understand why people are abandoning Tim Stauffer at this point. He has allowed more than three earned runs exactly once in his last 10 outings. In all nine of those starts he completed at least six innings. While just 3-4 at home, he has a 2.88 ERA. Sure Stauffer has struggled with wins because of San Diego's lineup, but he has pitched well.

It might take Tim Wakefield to cool off Asdrubal Cabrera. Wakefield has held him to a 1-for-9 mark. Travis Hafner is worse with a 1-for-12 mark. Wakefield has been up and down, but largely you could blame some of the in-game management. He gave up seven runs against Seattle, but the bulk in the seventh inning when he shouldn't have been in there. Generally, six innings is his limit.

Only once in his last 10 appearances has Brandon Beachy allowed more than three earned runs. In his last two starts, he has allowed one earned run in 13.1 innings of work. Beachy's ERA has moved up and down some, but it is overall BETTER than it was on April 30th. Beachy is only available in 10 percent of leagues, but he should be owned across all leagues.

Spot Starts: Floyd, Stauffer, Wolf

Fantasy Baseball: Tuesday News and Notes

noreply@blogger.com (cwhager) — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 16:10:00 +0000

Tuesday Notes

John Danks is pitching this season nearly exactly in line with his career numbers - no better and no worse. Curtis Granderson has struggled to a 1-for-23 mark against Danks. Robinson Cano is 5-for-10 and Mark Teixeira is 5-for-9. Nick Swisher is not bad either at 4-for-10.

UGLY numbers from the Nationals against Derek Lowe. Only Ryan Zimmerman is hitting better than .300 against Lowe. Jayson Werth is at .250 in 28 at-bats, Ian Desmond is the same in 20 at-bats. Adam LaRoche is 2-for-19 while Michael Morse is 2-for-15. For the season, the Nationals are hitting just .190 against the Atlanta starter.

Ryan Ludwick again has good numbers against a Cubs starter. He is 4-for-9 with two home runs against Randy Wells. Andrew McCutchen is 7-for-13, so you will certainly want to continue to keep him in the lineup. Wells has allowed at least four earned runs in six of his last seven starts. Avoid him at all costs in this one.

You will certainly want to start your Braves against John Lannan. Your regulars have simply raked against the Washington starter. Chipper Jones, Dan Uggla, Martin Prado, and Alex Gonzalez are all hitting better than .300 against him. Lannan has not been able to complete six innings in three of his last four starts, but he has been moderately effective through keeping opponents to three or fewer runs in nine of his last 10 starts overall.

B.J. Upton is just 3-for-17 against Ricky Romero, but he is the only true trouble spot for the Rays against him. Evan Longoria is hitting .364 in 11 at-bats while Ben Zobrist is at .389 in 18. Johnny Damon is the big winner with his 7-for-13 mark. Despite an overall rough July, Romero has posted a 3.05 ERA in his three starts since the break to go with a .203 BAA.

Jose Bautista has owned David Price. Bautista is 8-for-19 with three home runs against the lefty. Unfortunately for Toronto, no one else comes close to that production. In fact, the rest of the team is a combined .186 against him. Only the 4-for-14 of (wait for it) Mike McCoy comes close to being worthy of starting.

Wandy Rodriguez is likely a continuing audition for another team with each start. He has given up just three runs in 14 innings over his last two outings. Joey Votto has the best numbers you will see at .353 in 34 at-bats. Ramon Hernandez has good numbers as well, but avoid the rest of your Reds where possible. Jay Bruce is a disaster at 1-for-23 and it does not get much better from there.

Felix Hernandez is already 2-0 this season with a 1.09 ERA against Oakland. In 24.2 innings of work, the A's have registered just three runs on 13 hits and three walks, good for a .159 average. Only the .323 of David DeJesus and .333 of Kurt Suzuki should be in your lineup for this one. Hernandez has simply been too dominant against them.

Only Justin Upton at .290 in 31 at-bats cracks the .220 mark against Tim Lincecum. The Diamondbacks have out-and-out ugly numbers against the San Francisco ace. Add in the fact that Lincecum has allowed one earned run or less in six of his last seven starts and you have a recipe for disaster. Keep your Diamondbacks on the bench for this one.

Spot Starts: Correia, Danks, Hand

Fantasy Baseball: Monday News and Notes

noreply@blogger.com (cwhager) — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 17:59:00 +0000

Monday Notes

Only three White Sox hit .300 or better against C.C. Sabathia. Look to start Juan Pierre, Gordon Beckham (5-for-14), and Alexei Ramirez (.421 in 19 at-bats). Otherwise, there is little to write home about. In addition to being slowed by injury, Paul Konerko has hit only .224 in 76 at-bats. Carlos Quentin, A.J. Pierzynski, and Adam Dunn all hit below .200 against Sabathia.

Paul Maholm has dominated the Cubs this season, giving up just one run on 12 hits in 23.1 innings against them in 2011. Starlin Castro is still worth starting given his .333 mark and Reed Johnson needs to be in NL-only lineups. He is 8-for-13 against him lifetime!! Otherwise, nothing to drastically avoid, but the Cubs have had no success this year against him to breed any confidence.

Newly-acquired Ryan Ludwick should be thrilled to get to Pittsburgh to face Carlos Zambrano. Ludwick is 9-for-22 (.409) against him. Andrew McCutchen is 5-for-9 while Garrett Jones is 5-for-12. Look to avoid the rest of what you might otherwise start against the Chicago pitcher.

Bud Norris has been roughed up in his last three starts at home. Despite posting a 2.93 ERA in Houston for the entire season, Norris has allowed 11 runs in his last 16.2 innings pitched in his own park. Norris will continue to provide owners strikeouts, but he has been in a rough patch lately and should be benched here. Not to mention a blister issue caused him to be pulled from his last start.

Xavier Nady and Justin Upton should be good to go in this one even against Matt Cain. Both are hitting well above .300 against the San Francisco starter. Kelly Johnson, Miguel Montero, and Chris Young all have at least 20 at-bats against Cain and all three are hitting below .200 against him. Avoid them where you have other options.

Prince Fielder and Corey Hart are your only Brewers hitting at or above .300 against Chris Carpenter. Otherwise, the news is not that good. Jerry Hairston is at .214, Ryan Braun is just 3-for-15, and Casey McGehee is at just .250. Felipe Lopez, surprisingly, is a .292 hitter with two home runs in 24 at-bats against the St. Louis pitcher.

Javier Vazquez has allowed three earned runs or less in seven of his last eight starts. In five of those seven starts, he went at least six innings. While David Wright is a .308 hitter in 13 at-bats against Vazquez, the rest of the New York lineup has had their problems in this one. Look to avoid your Mets where you can here as even Jose Reyes is 4-for-21.

Martin Prado and Chipper Jones should lead the way against Livan Hernandez. Prado is hitting .414 in 29 at-bats against the righty while Jones is at .356 in 73 trips to the plate. McLouth, Hinske, Gonzalez, and Uggla are all hitting south of .215 against Hernandez. Jason Heyward checks in at .286 with two home runs in 14 at-bats. Hernandez has a 3.42 ERA and 1.17 WHIP at home this year.

Jair Jurrjens was lit up by the Nationals in his one outing against them this season. He gave up six runs on eight hits in only five innings. Though there are limited numbers against him for the most part, Ryan Zimmerman is 10-for-27 while Jayson Werth goes the other direction at .190 in 21 at-bats.

Spot Starts: Maholm, Hernandez, Vazquez

Fantasy Baseball: Friday News and Notes

noreply@blogger.com (cwhager) — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 19:16:00 +0000

Friday Notes

Tim Wakefield has seen plenty of the White Sox. Alex Rios has hit just .216 in 51 at-bats against Wakefield while Alexei Ramirez is 2-for-12. A.J. Pierzynski, Carlos Quentin, and Omar Vizquel are all hitting better than .300 against the knuckleballer with Quentin hitting better than .400 against him.

Look to avoid Mark Teixeira against Jeremy Guthrie tonight, as he is only 1-for-18 against the Baltimore starter. Nick Swisher is the bat to have with a .481 mark and three home runs in 27 at-bats. Brett Gardner has limited at-bats but is 5-for-9 against Guthrie. Curtis Granderson is the only other regular hitting better than .300 against Guthrie.

Might want to bench Matt Wieters and his 2-for-19 mark against A.J. Burnett. The bulk of the Orioles you would start have struggled, but look to the 5-for-10 of J.J. Hardy if you need some help on offense tonight. Burnett is 0-2 in four starts this month with a 4.94 ERA in those outings. Be careful in throwing him out there even against Baltimore.

Charlie Morton's ERA has risen by a full run since May 24th, not something to be proud of in the least. His WHIP away from home this season is 1.45, showing a much higher than average strand rate given that his ERA outside of Pittsburgh is still just 3.00. He has stymied the Phillies once before this season, but against Halladay this is a tough matchup.

The Astros have had no luck against Randy Wolf this season. Look to avoid most of them here. Hunter Pence is just 5-for-24 while Carlos Lee is 5-for-29 and Michael Bourn 1-for-13. Clint Barmes is only 2-for-17 himself. Wolf has given up just two runs on eight hits in 17 innings against the Astros so far this season. Does not look good for Houston here.

Those that have seen Matt Garza on the Cardinals have not enjoyed facing him. Matt Holliday is just 2-for-11 while Lance Berkman is 2-for-15. Best bat available for them is Corey Patterson and his 6-for-10 mark. While he has not recorded a decision in his last three starts, he has given up only three runs in that stretch over 21 innings.

Justin Upton is just 2-for-16 against Ted Lilly but his are the only majo numbers to avoid. Kelly Johnson is hitting .353 in 17 at-bats while Chris Young is at .300 in 20. Lilly has been getting hammered of late. In six of his last seven starts he has given up three or more earned runs. He has not completed seven innings in any of those outings.

NL-only owners may like what they could get from some of the Padres against Jason Hammel. Nick Hundley is 7-for-14 while Chase Headley is at .286 in 21 at-bats. Aaron Cunningham is 5-for-8 and may get a start tonight while Everth Cabrera is 5-for-18. Look to avoid Will Venable and his 1-for-15 mark in this one.

Gavin Floyd has given up just one run in his last 15.1 innings pitched over his last two starts. Marco Scutaro is 7-for-12 against Floyd, by far the best numbers the Red Sox have against Floyd. David Ortiz is hitting .350 in 20 at-bats as well. Nothing else to write home about, but only worth avoiding is the 2-for-11 of Kevin Youkilis and the 3-for-15 of Jacoby Ellsbury.

Spot Starts: Stauffer, Collmenter, Bedard

Fantasy Baseball: Friday News and Notes

noreply@blogger.com (cwhager) — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 13:33:00 +0000

Friday Notes

Surprisingly good numbers, overall, for John Lackey against the Mariners. He has held Ichiro to a .298 mark in 98 career at-bats. Jack Cust and Chone Figgins are both good to go. Cust has three home runs to go with a .323 average in 31 at-bats against Lackey while Figgins is 5-for-11. Olivo, Gutierrez, and Kennedy should be kept on the bench for this one.

Carlos Lee rakes against Carlos Zambrano, posting five home runs and a .369 average in 65 at-bats against him. Hunter Pence has had more problems than not, hitting only .219 in 32 at-bats against the Chicago starter. Michael Bourn is likely the only other Astros starter on your radar, and he has hit .273 when Zambrano is on the mound.

Bud Norris on the road is a bad idea. His 4.83 ERA and 1.37 WHIP in 41 road innings. His strikeout numbers are almost as good, with 40 in those 41 innings pitched. Norris has a 4.82 ERA this month and 1.50 WHIP in three starts.

Matt Holliday, Yadier Molina, and Lance Berkman have all had their issues when facing Paul Maholm. Holliday and Berkman are both below .200, though Holliday has two home runs in his three hits against Maholm for his career. Molina not much better, as he hits just .208. Albert Pujols might be in good shape. A .576 average in 33 at-bats would do that for a guy.

Gavin Floyd has been much better on the road than he has at home of late. Floyd has a 1.17 WHIP and 3.36 ERA away from home, giving up three or fewer earned runs in four of his last six starts. Travis Hafner is just 1-for-11 against Floyd but his are the only major numbers to avoid here. Floyd is 5-2 in his last eight starts against the Indians.

David Wright is expected back in the lineup tonight against the Marlins and he is 4-for-11 against Chris Volstad. The Florida starter has pitched relatively well against the Mets in his last five starts. He has a 3.18 ERA in those 28.1 innings to go with 19 strikeouts.

Possible that we see Luke Scott back tonight for the Orioles. Should Baltimore activate him, he is 6-for-15 against Ervin Santana, some of the best numbers that the Orioles have against the Angels starter. Nick Markakis and Adam Jones are good to go. Markakis is hitting .370 with three home runs in 27 at-bats while Jones is 4-for-11.

Avoid Boston catchers tonight against Felix Hernandez. Varitek and Saltalamachhia have combined to go just 5-for-31. Jacoby Ellsbury is red hot, but note that he is just 2-for-14 when facing Hernandez. Adrian Gonzalez and J.D. Drew are the only regulars above .300 and Carl Crawford is hitting .296. Start your other Red Sox as your normally would for this one.

Only Michael Cuddyer and Denard Span have 10 or more at-bats against Max Scherzer. Cuddyer has hit .300 while Span is at .231 in 13 at-bats. Jim Thome is 4-for-8 while Delmon Young is 3-for-8. Scherzer has been lights out in three of his last four and has allowed just three earned runs in his last two starts, which covers 14.2 innings of work.

Spot Starts: Volstad, Luebke, Duensing

Fantasy Baseball: Thursday News and Notes

noreply@blogger.com (cwhager) — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 15:22:00 +0000

Thursday Notes

Only eight games today, but let's hit them...

CC Sabathia has worked into the seventh inning in each of his last ten starts. In his last five, he has allowed just two earned runs in 39.2 innings of work. The Rays have seen plenty of Sabathia and none have struggled too drastically. While you should avoid the 3-for-15 of Casey Kotchman, B.J. Upton has gone 11-for-33 against him with two home runs. The rest of your regular Rays are all in the .270-range and should be played as you normally would.

James Shields have given up just three earned runs in 15 innings this season against the Yankees. Jeter, Cano, and Posada are all hitting better than .300 against Shields, but Curtis Granderson is only 3-for-37. Mark Teixeira is hitting below .200 against the Tampa starter as well. Nick Swisher and Brett Gardner do not crack .235 either.

Ricky Romero has lost his last two starts and given up 11 runs in his last 14.2 innings pitched in his last three starts. Romero though has been solid at home, posting a 2.98 ERA and a .213 BAA. Only Ichiro has faced Romero more than 10 times and has a .385 average in 13 at-bats against him. Franklin Gutierrez and Miguel Olivo are both 3-for-9.

Jered Weaver has won his last six decisions and now has a 1.90 ERA this season overall. The Rangers have had mixed luck against him. Only Elvis Andrus has hit better than .300 against him, posting a .314 mark, but Josh Hamilton is at .296 in 27 at-bats. Adrian Beltre, Julio Borbon, and David Murphy are all below .200 and Nelson Cruz checks in at just .205.

Bobby Abreu has had his problems with C.J. Wilson, going just 2-for-16. Maicer Izturis, Howie Kendrick, and Vernon Wells are all hitting better than .300 against him. Aybar, Callaspo, and Hunter are all good to go in this one against the Texas starter.

Michael Cuddyer has seen Justin Verlander 47 times and is hitting just .191 against him. Alexi Casilla has struggled to a mark below .200 as well. Delmon Young and his .222 mark need to be on the bench as well. Otherwise, the Twins have markedly good numbers against the Detroit ace. Kubel, Mauer, and Span are all hitting better than .340.

Austin Jackson and Magglio Ordonez both have marks better than .360 against Carl Pavano with Ordonez hitting better than .400. Keep far away from Carlos Guillen as he is hitless in 17 at-bats against him. Brandon Inge should be on your bench and Miguel Cabrera hits only .259 against Pavano.

Jason Bartlett and Orlando Hudson have seen plenty of Javier Vazquez. Hudson is at .300 in 20 at-bats while Bartlett is at .257 in 35 at-bats while adding 10 strikeouts. Vazquez has been...better. He has given up three earned runs or less in each of his last five starts. Not saying you want to throw him out there, but the run he is on could help you out today against the Padres.

Rough start last time out for Tommy Hanson, but he has been incredibly solid on the road this season. Hanson has a 1.07 WHIP and 2.62 ERA to go with 61 strikeouts in 55 innings of work. He has already held down the Rockies once this season.

Spot Starts: Niese, Pavano, Vazquez

Fantasy Baseball: Wednesday News and Notes

noreply@blogger.com (cwhager) — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 12:38:00 +0000

Wednesday Notes

Nick Swisher and Derek Jeter are both hitting better than .300 against David Price, and beyond that the options are limited if you are looking to use your Yankees. Jorge Posada likely finds his way to the bench given his 1-for-21 mark. Mark Teixeira is 5-for-25 and Curtis Granderson only 4-for-21. Look to avoid them where you can.

Limited numbers for the Nationals against Brett Myers, but good ones for Ryan Zimmerman. Zimmerman is hitting .351 with two home runs and 14 RBI in 37 at-bats against Myers. Jayson Werth is just 2-for-9 and has the only other numbers worth noting against Myers. The Houston starter has given up 12 runs in his last 16 innings pitched and has lost his last four starts.

Both Carlos Lee and Hunter Pence are hitting better than .330 against Livan Hernandez and need to be in your lineup. Hernandez has been solid at home, but he has been completely miserable on the road. He is 1-7 with a 5.25 ERA when he leaves the ballpark in Washington. Look to start your Astros in this one if you could use a couple hits.

Outside of Miguel Tejada, not one of your Giants hits better than .275 against Clayton Kershaw. Tejada has a .350 mark in 20 at-bats against Kershaw. Pablo Sandoval is just 4-for-22 while Aaron Rowand is 2-for-13 and Andres Torres is 2-for-12. Stay away from this matchup where you can.

Andre Ethier has hit .281 with two home runs in 32 at-bats against Tim Lincecum. These are the best numbers you will see out of the Dodgers. James Loney is 6-for-33 while Matt Kemp is 5-for-23. Lincecum has given up two earned runs or less in five of his last six starts while working at least six innings in those same five starts.

John Danks will make his first start since June 25th tonight against the Royals. Danks was solid before being sidelined with an oblique strain and this is a favorable matchup. Alex Gordon is 1-for-13 while Billy Butler is 4-for-17 against the Chicago starter. At under 40 percent owned, Danks is a solid spot start option in all fantasy leagues today.

Adrian Beltre has raked against Dan Haren, putting up a .457 average with two home runs in 46 at-bats. David Murphy is 4-for-12 and Michael Young hits .279 in 43 at-bats. Look to avoid Ian Kinsler here if possible given his 5-for-22 and Elvis Andrus who is 2-for-13. Haren is 5-3 at home and has a 1.83 ERA in those starts.

There was a fair amount of run-away-and-hide from Jason Vargas after his last start against Texas. Vargas pitches to contact and it has caused him to be feast or famine so far this season. The good has by far outweighed the bad to this point. Giving up now would be tough. He still has a 1.19 WHIP and that has translated to good numbers. Good spot start here.

Yes, Nick Blackburn looked very good his last time out. In his three starts prior, he had surrendered 18 earned runs and three home runs in 13.1 innings of work. The Indians have hammered him. Travis Hafner, Asdrubal Cabrera, Luis Valbuena, and Michael Brantley are all hitting better than .300 and all have at least 14 at-bats against him.

Spot Starts: Vargas, Danks, Tomlin

Fantasy Baseball: Monday News and Notes

noreply@blogger.com (cwhager) — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 16:48:00 +0000

Hopping on a plane to Indy, so only time for the Monday games this morning...

Monday Notes

Tim Wakefield has not seen many of the Orioles that will be in the lineup tonight because of the injuries currently plaguing Baltimore. Nick Markakis has had a lot of problems against the knuckleball, posting just five hits in 27 at-bats. That is only good for a .185 average, but of those five hits, two are home runs. Adam Jones is the only other player with enough at-bats to note, and he is just 3-for-13.

More numbers than you might think for the Red Sox against Brad Bergesen. Biggest one to note is the fact J.D. Drew is 7-for-21 with two home runs. Both Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia are hitting better than .350 against him. Look to avoid Kevin Youkilis if possible given his 2-for-15 mark and note that David Ortiz is just a .227 hitter in 22 at-bats against Bergesen.

While you should start Evan Longoria and his .342 against A.J. Burnett, there is little else to like about the Rays in this one. Johnny Damon is hitting just .179 in 28 at-bats while B.J. Upton is hitting only .220 in 41. Ben Zobrist is just a .231 hitter and Reid Brignac is 2-for-12.

Nate Schierholtz has been red hot of late and is 6-for-16 against Chad Billingsley. Miguel Tejada, Aaron Rowand, and even Mike Fontenot are all hitting better than .345 and all have 17 or more at-bats against him. Both Aubrey Huff and Pablo Sandoval are hitting below .200 and have 24 and 33 at-bats against the Dodgers starter respectively.

The Diamondbacks saw plenty of Randy Wolf when he was with the Dodgers and it was to mixed results. Chris Young and Stephen Drew had their struggles. Young has a .250 average in 24 at-bats while Drew is 2-for-12. Roberts, Upton, Blum, and Blanco all have good marks and should be used as needed in this matchup.

Josh Collmenter threw six innings of shutout ball against the Brewers his last time out. The smell is off the rose a bit for Collmenter, but he has pitched well at home all season. In 32.1 innings at home, he has a WHIP under 1.00 to go with a 2.23 ERA and 21 strikeouts. Good spot start for today given some of the numbers available.

Todd Helton has a .306 average in 49 at-bats against Derek Lowe while Ryan Spilborghs is 5-for-15. These are your only Rockies hitting better than .300 against the Atlanta starter. Lowe has been hit pretty hard in his last six starts so do not let many of the numbers deter you. Start your Rockies as you normally would because of that fact.

Still only 32 percent owned in ESPN leagues, Mark Buehrle deserves more credit than he is being given. Since reaching a high of 4.07 on May 15th, Buehrle has lowered his ERA to 3.42 in his last nine starts and has not allowed more than three earned runs in any of those outings. Melky Cabrera needs to be started given his .600 mark in 20 at-bats and Brayan Pena is 5-for-10. Billy Butler and Mitch Maier should be good here as well.

Spot Starts: Buehrle, Collmenter, Swarzak

Fantasy Baseball: Friday News and Notes

noreply@blogger.com (cwhager) — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 13:26:00 +0000

Friday Notes

A few interesting numbers for the Orioles against Josh Beckett. Derrek Lee is 5-for-9 with two home runs while Adam Jones checks in at .308 in 26 at-bats. Vlad Guerrero hits just .233 against Beckett in his 43 at-bats. Nolan Reimold is hitless in nine trips to the plate while Nick Markakis hits .286 but has 12 strikeouts in 42 at-bats. Beckett is 2-0 at home with a 1.17 ERA in six starts (5 ER over 38.1 IP).

Ty Wiggington is hitting .429 in 21 at-bats against Jason Marquis. Todd Helton adds two home runs in 30 at-bats to go with a .300 average. Marquis has been relatively solid at home but was lit up by the Pirates there his last time out. Overall, he is 4-1 at home with a 3.30 ERA. Not bad numbers if you are in need of a deeper spot play.

Some good numbers for the Braves even against Roy Halladay. Chipper Jones is 5-for-10 with two home runs while Brian McCann is a .353 hitter in 17 at-bats. Dan Uggla has been abysmal, but even he has a .409 average in 22 at-bats against the righty. Avoid the 1-for-14 of Nate McLouth.

Not a large overall sample size, but many of the Rangers regulars have double-digit at-bats against Gio Gonzalez. Adrian Beltre is 7-for-16 with two home runs and Josh Hamilton matches the two home runs to go with a .357 average of his own. David Murphy and Ian Kinsler add averages north of .300 as well. Michael Young's 4-for-19 is the only real trouble spot in this one.

Nothing good to report for Oakland against Texas starter C.J. Wilson. In 82 combined at-bats, the A's have hit a sparkling .146 against Wilson. Landon Powell, Pennington, Suzuki, and DeJesus are all 1-for-12. Hideki Matsui is just 2-for-13 while Coco Crisp has just one hit in eight at-bats.

Any Twins you would start against Gavin Floyd make sense in this one as the regulars all have averages better than .294 against the Chicago starter. Floyd is 4-7 in his last 12 starts against the Twins and in that stretch posts a 4.83 ERA. There are much better options available for fantasy owners than attempting to go down that path.

Ichiro has hit .364 against Ervin Santana, but the rest of the Mariners should be left on your bench for this one. Franklin Gutierrez has hit only .188 and has 11 strikeouts in 32 at-bats. Jack Cust is hitting .200 while Chone Figgins is only 5-for-20. Santana has given up 10 home runs in 72.2 innings at home this season but does have a 3.34 ERA in his own park. He is 6-3 with a 3.09 ERA in his last 14 starts against the Mariners.

Orlando Hudson is the only regular to look to start against Chad Billingsley. Hudson is a .350 hitter in 20 at-bats. Look to avoid Chase Headley who has struck out 10 times in 30 at-bats to go with a .233 average. Hundley, Venable, and Ludwick are all hitting south of .240 against the Dodgers starter.

While I would bench the 3-for-14 of Austin Jackson, the rest of your Tigers need to be in the lineup against Kyle Davies. Ryan Raburn is the big winner at 7-for-14 while Jhonny Peralta checks in at .455 in 22 at-bats. Davies was roughed up by the Rockies and this does not look like a promising start given the volume of .300 average against him that he will face.

Spot Starts: Porcello, Blackburn, Lyles

Weekend Notes

B.J. Upton is only a .205 hitter in 29 at-bats against A.J. Burnett and has struck out 15 times in that stretch. Johnny Damon adds a .200 mark in 25 at-bats while Ben Zobrist is only 6-for-24. Best numbers in this one come from Evan Longoria who is at .371 in 35 at-bats and the .294 of Casey Kotchman. Burnett has lost four of his last six starts and has given up 10 runs in his last 20.1 innings overall.

There is nothing exciting about owning Mark Buehrle, but there is something to be said for his consistency. Buehrle has lowered his ERA over his last 10 starts by nearly half a run and he is keeping his WHIP right around 1.30. He is 4-1 at home with a 2.83 ERA in eight starts this year. Joe Mauer and Jim Thome have really struggled. Mauer is at .224 in 49 at-bats while Thome hits .227 in 22. Michael Cuddyer is the best option with a .344 average and three home runs in 96 at-bats.

A case where numbers are fun to play with. While Chone Figgins has hit just .148 in 27 at-bats against Joel Pineiro, Jack Wilson is 8-for-15 and Josh Bard is 5-for-12. Even Adam Kennedy checks in at .300. Pineiro is only 2-2 at home and holds a 4.40 ERA to go with a .326 BAA.

While the numbers are not a large sample, Tommy Hanson has done well in limited time against the Phillies. Ryan Howard checks in with a home run but is only 2-for-12. Shane Victorino holds the same mark himself. It only gets slightly better with Raul Ibanez and his 3-for-13. Chase Utley is the big winner with a .286 average in 14 at-bats against Hanson.

Ryan Dempster looks to be ready to come back from a back injury that has held him off the mound since June 29th. He was on a role at that time, allowing just seven earned runs in 32.1 innings pitched over five starts. Andrew McCutchen is 6-for-18 against Dempster while Garrett Jones is only 2-for-18. Use Neil Walker and his 6-for-10 mark against the Cubs starter.

Since it is all about Jeter still, know that he hits .315 against James Shields. His teammates do not have as much luck. Mark Teixeira is 6-for-35 (.171) with 13 strikeouts, Curtis Granderson is 3-for-35 (.086) with 11 K's, and Nick Swisher is 5-for-23 (.217) and has gone down on strikes eight times. Jorge Posada is a .333 hitter in 30 at-bats and is your best option outside of Jeter.

The only Royal you will want to start is Billy Butler against Justin Verlander. Butler is hitting .394 with two home runs in 33 at-bats. Otherwise, not much good to report. Alex Gordon is just 4-for-23 and Melky Cabrera only 3-for-17.

Zach Duke saw a fair amount of the Cardinals when he was with the Pirates and it did not really go well. Albert Pujols is hitting .415 against him with four home runs in 41 at-bats. Matt Holliday is at .450 in 20 at-bats with a home run while both Ryan Theriot and Yadier Molina are hitting better than .320 against him. Colby Rasmus has struggled with just two hits in 13 at-bats while Lance Berkman has hit only .231 in 26.

Cole Hamels has struck out 24 Braves in 20 innings against them this season while posting a 1.00 WHIP and 3.15 ERA. Chipper Jones is the only Atlanta regular hitting better than .300 against Hamels that has at least 10 at-bats, though Freddie Freeman is 3-for-9 with a home run. Dan Uggla is 6-for-46 with 14 strikeouts and even Brian McCann is hitting only .261 against him.

Both Bobby Abreu and Torii Hunter hit better than .300 against Felix Hernandez, but avoid your other Angels here. No other regular starter is going to give you an average that creeps over .265 and many have far more than 20 at-bats against the Seattle starter.

Spot Starts: Dempster, Buehrle, Marcum, Maholm

Fantasy Baseball: Thursday News and Notes

noreply@blogger.com (cwhager) — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 13:26:00 +0000

Thursday Notes

When Jack Cust's .290 average is the highest against you, you know you have done some damage against a team. Jered Weaver has that going for him. Ichiro is hitting .262 with a home run in 61 at-bats while both Figgins and Kennedy are 4-for-18. No help from the 3-for-20 of Justin Smoak or the .208 mark of Franklin Gutierrez.

The Cardinals have made it clear that Kyle McClellan will not be moved to the bullpen, but there is not much to like for fantasy owners right now. He has been shelled in each of his last two outings, yielding a combined 10 earned runs in 11 innings of work. McClellan had been good at home, but has been torched in two of his last three starts even there. Since lowering his ERA to 3.11 on May 24th, it has risen better than a full run in his last five starts.

Rickie Weeks and Prince Fielder have done the most damage against Homer Bailey, but the whole team has enjoyed facing him. Weeks is 8-for-15, good for a .533 mark. Fielder checks in at 5-for-14. Even Casey McGehee gets into the act at .333 in 15 at-bats. No concerns about starting your normal Brewers in this matchup.

Though the numbers are slightly limited, Niemann has done a solid job at holding the Yankees in check. Mark Teixeira is only 2-for-11 while Nick Swisher is 2-for-12. Curtis Granderson and Robinson Cano have one and two hits respectively against Niemann, each doing so in 10 at-bats. Jeter's continued quest for 3,000 hits could get a boost given his 5-for-9 mark against the Tampa starter.

Paul Konerko and A.J. Pierzynski are your best options against Carl Pavano. Konerko is hitting .344 in 32 at-bats and adds three home runs to the mix. Pierzynski checks in at .379. Gordon Beckham at .353 in 17 at-bats and Juan Pierre at .333 in 21 are the only other regulars north of .300. Be careful with Alex Rios and Alexei Ramirez. Both have more than 20 at-bats and sub-.240 averages against the righty.

Time for everyone to once agains get excited about Rich Harden. The Oakland starter is ready for his second appearance since returning from the DL. If healthy, he adds strikeouts and nice peripheral numbers. That is a big "if" though. Adrian Beltre is just 2-for-13 against Harden and Michael Young is at .258 in 31 at-bats against the righty.

Aramis Ramirez has raked against Livan Hernandez. Ramirez is a .364 hitter in 33 at-bats against Hernandez and has four home runs to boot. Alfonso Soriano, Reed Johnson, and Marlon Byrd all check in better than .300 against the Washington starter. I still like Hernandez at home. Inclusive of a disaster against the Marlins, he has a 2.70 ERA in his last three starts and two wins to go with it.

Barry Zito has given up just two runs in his last 13 innings, but he is 2-6 in his last 11 starts against the Padres with a 4.76 ERA. At Petco, his ERA is better (3.60) but he is still 1-2 in his last five. Will Venable is 4-for-10 against Zito and is the only regular above .300, but numbers can be deceiving. Ryan Ludwick is not a bad reach play here either.

Spot Starts: Luebke, Miller, Hernandez

Friday Notes

A few interesting numbers for the Orioles against Josh Beckett. Derrek Lee is 5-for-9 with two home runs while Adam Jones checks in at .308 in 26 at-bats. Vlad Guerrero hits just .233 against Beckett in his 43 at-bats. Nolan Reimold is hitless in nine trips to the plate while Nick Markakis hits .286 but has 12 strikeouts in 42 at-bats. Beckett is 2-0 at home with a 1.17 ERA in six starts (5 ER over 38.1 IP).

Ty Wiggington is hitting .429 in 21 at-bats against Jason Marquis. Todd Helton adds two home runs in 30 at-bats to go with a .300 average. Marquis has been relatively solid at home but was lit up by the Pirates there his last time out. Overall, he is 4-1 at home with a 3.30 ERA. Not bad numbers if you are in need of a deeper spot play.

Some good numbers for the Braves even against Roy Halladay. Chipper Jones is 5-for-10 with two home runs while Brian McCann is a .353 hitter in 17 at-bats. Dan Uggla has been abysmal, but even he has a .409 average in 22 at-bats against the righty. Avoid the 1-for-14 of Nate McLouth.

Not a large overall sample size, but many of the Rangers regulars have double-digit at-bats against Gio Gonzalez. Adrian Beltre is 7-for-16 with two home runs and Josh Hamilton matches the two home runs to go with a .357 average of his own. David Murphy and Ian Kinsler add averages north of .300 as well. Michael Young's 4-for-19 is the only real trouble spot in this one.

Nothing good to report for Oakland against Texas starter C.J. Wilson. In 82 combined at-bats, the A's have hit a sparkling .146 against Wilson. Landon Powell, Pennington, Suzuki, and DeJesus are all 1-for-12. Hideki Matsui is just 2-for-13 while Coco Crisp has just one hit in eight at-bats.

Any Twins you would start against Gavin Floyd make sense in this one as the regulars all have averages better than .294 against the Chicago starter. Floyd is 4-7 in his last 12 starts against the Twins and in that stretch posts a 4.83 ERA. There are much better options available for fantasy owners than attempting to go down that path.

Ichiro has hit .364 against Ervin Santana, but the rest of the Mariners should be left on your bench for this one. Franklin Gutierrez has hit only .188 and has 11 strikeouts in 32 at-bats. Jack Cust is hitting .200 while Chone Figgins is only 5-for-20. Santana has given up 10 home runs in 72.2 innings at home this season but does have a 3.34 ERA in his own park. He is 6-3 with a 3.09 ERA in his last 14 starts against the Mariners.

Orlando Hudson is the only regular to look to start against Chad Billingsley. Hudson is a .350 hitter in 20 at-bats. Look to avoid Chase Headley who has struck out 10 times in 30 at-bats to go with a .233 average. Hundley, Venable, and Ludwick are all hitting south of .240 against the Dodgers starter.

While I would bench the 3-for-14 of Austin Jackson, the rest of your Tigers need to be in the lineup against Kyle Davies. Ryan Raburn is the big winner at 7-for-14 while Jhonny Peralta checks in at .455 in 22 at-bats. Davies was roughed up by the Rockies and this does not look like a promising start given the volume of .300 average against him that he will face.

Spot Starts: Porcello, Blackburn, Lyles

Fantasy Baseball: Wednesday News and Notes

noreply@blogger.com (cwhager) — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 13:36:00 +0000

Wednesday Notes

The Blue Jays have had little to no luck against Tim Wakefield. Aaron Hill would remain the only possible start for this one. Hill is hitting .286 in 35 at-bats against the Boston starter. Otherwise, look to avoid Toronto players where you can. Adam Lind is 2-for-13 while Jose Bautista checks in hitless in nine at-bats.

The Red Sox have LIT UP Ricky Romero. David Ortiz is 10-for-23 while J.D. Drew is even 11-for-22. Scutaro, Youkilis, and Jacoby Ellsbury all check in better than .300 against the lefty in at least 10 at-bats. Dustin Pedroia at .538 in 13 at-bats is the big winner for Boston. Basically, get your Red Sox in the lineup for this one.

Lance Berkman is a .280 hitter with five home runs in 50 at-bats against Bronson Arroyo. Matt Holliday and Skip Schumaker are both better than .300 against the Cincinnati starter while Jon Jay is 4-for-10. Colby Rasmus has two home runs and a .292 average in 24 at-bats. Arroyo may be 4-1 on the road, but he has a 5.72 ERA and .333 BAA in those outings.

Some good numbers from the usual suspects in Philadelphia against Anibal Sanchez. Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard are must starts and Chase Utley is a .464 hitter against him. Placido Polanco is 7-for-15 with two home runs. All good numbers here. Sanchez has struck out 14 Phillies in 13 innings against them this season to go with a 2.77 ERA in that stretch.

Jason Vargas already has four nine-inning, no runs allowed performances this season, all of which have come in his last ten starts and two of them in his last three. The A's have very limited numbers against the Seattle starter, and that should be even more reason to get him on the mound in this one. He is still under 24 percent owned and that means there is value to be had. Spot start of the day here.

Bud Norris has still struck out 110 batters in his 105 innings this season, giving him value in that category every time he steps on the mound. Still, rough numbers on the road, making him a tough start here. Norris has an ERA at 5.29 away from home (nearly three runs worse than at home) and a 1-3 record. McCutchen, Jones, and Neil Walker all hit better than .310 against Norris.

Odd to note that Charlie Morton has had the opposite problem as Norris. He cannot get anyone out at home. Morton is 2-3 at home with a 4.43 ERA (5-1, 3.00 on the road). While Hunter Pence is just 3-for-15, Michael Bourn is at .412 in 17 at-bats and Carlos Lee is 6-for-18.

Jake Westbrook finally put up good numbers in his last outing against Tampa. He had allowed 12 earned runs in his prior 16.1 innings pitched. Westbrook has been torched at home, posting an ERA over 6.00 in eight starts there this season. No major numbers to report in this one that could be of help, but Brandon Phillips is 4-for-9.

Geovany Soto is 7-for-11 with a home run and five RBI against Washington starter and former teammate Tom Gorzelanny. Aramis Ramirez is 2-for-17 while Alfonso Soriano has struggled to a .222 mark in 18 at-bats against him as well.

Spot Starts: Wakefield, Vargas, Hughes (first start off the DL, widely available)

Thursday Notes

When Jack Cust's .290 average is the highest against you, you know you have done some damage against a team. Jered Weaver has that going for him. Ichiro is hitting .262 with a home run in 61 at-bats while both Figgins and Kennedy are 4-for-18. No help from the 3-for-20 of Justin Smoak or the .208 mark of Franklin Gutierrez.

The Cardinals have made it clear that Kyle McClellan will not be moved to the bullpen, but there is not much to like for fantasy owners right now. He has been shelled in each of his last two outings, yielding a combined 10 earned runs in 11 innings of work. McClellan had been good at home, but has been torched in two of his last three starts even there. Since lowering his ERA to 3.11 on May 24th, it has risen better than a full run in his last five starts.

Rickie Weeks and Prince Fielder have done the most damage against Homer Bailey, but the whole team has enjoyed facing him. Weeks is 8-for-15, good for a .533 mark. Fielder checks in at 5-for-14. Even Casey McGehee gets into the act at .333 in 15 at-bats. No concerns about starting your normal Brewers in this matchup.

Though the numbers are slightly limited, Niemann has done a solid job at holding the Yankees in check. Mark Teixeira is only 2-for-11 while Nick Swisher is 2-for-12. Curtis Granderson and Robinson Cano have one and two hits respectively against Niemann, each doing so in 10 at-bats. Jeter's continued quest for 3,000 hits could get a boost given his 5-for-9 mark against the Tampa starter.
Paul Konerko and A.J. Pierzynski are your best options against Carl Pavano. Konerko is hitting .344 in 32 at-bats and adds three home runs to the mix. Pierzynski checks in at .379. Gordon Beckham at .353 in 17 at-bats and Juan Pierre at .333 in 21 are the only other regulars north of .300. Be careful with Alex Rios and Alexei Ramirez. Both have more than 20 at-bats and sub-.240 averages against the righty.

Time for everyone to once agains get excited about Rich Harden. The Oakland starter is ready for his second appearance since returning from the DL. If healthy, he adds strikeouts and nice peripheral numbers. That is a big "if" though. Adrian Beltre is just 2-for-13 against Harden and Michael Young is at .258 in 31 at-bats against the righty.

Aramis Ramirez has raked against Livan Hernandez. Ramirez is a .364 hitter in 33 at-bats against Hernandez and has four home runs to boot. Alfonso Soriano, Reed Johnson, and Marlon Byrd all check in better than .300 against the Washington starter. I still like Hernandez at home. Inclusive of a disaster against the Marlins, he has a 2.70 ERA in his last three starts and two wins to go with it.

Barry Zito has given up just two runs in his last 13 innings, but he is 2-6 in his last 11 starts against the Padres with a 4.76 ERA. At Petco, his ERA is better (3.60) but he is still 1-2 in his last five. Will Venable is 4-for-10 against Zito and is the only regular above .300, but numbers can be deceiving. Ryan Ludwick is not a bad reach play here either.

Spot Starts: Luebke, Miller, Hernandez

Fantasy Baseball: Tuesday News and Notes

noreply@blogger.com (cwhager) — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 13:32:00 +0000

Tuesday Notes

Jon Lester is sporting a 2.35 ERA over his last four starts, having not allowed more than three earned runs in a start during that stretch. He dominated Toronto in his last time out, allowing just one run over eight innings. Corey Patterson could see action here, as he is a .389 hitter against Lester in 18 at-bats. Jose Molina is 5-for-15 and John McDonald checks in at .294. Aaron Hill is a pathetic 2-for-32. You likely have better options for most of your Blue Jays.

As ugly as he has been, there is likely a spot in the lineup for Darnell McDonald and his "fun with small sample size" 5-for-7 mark against Brett Cecil. Odds are Josh Reddick grabs a seat, but it should be the 2-for-10 of J.D. Drew. David Ortiz is just 2-for-12, but Marco Scutaro is 5-for-9. Kevin Youkilis is 4-for-10, but not likely available tonight after leaving yesterday's game.

In 25 June innings, Wandy Rodriguez gave up only five earned runs (1.80 ERA) while putting up a 1.20 WHIP. Matt Diaz has hit .300 against Rodriguez in 20 at-bats and Lyle Overbay is 5-for-12. Otherwise, not much to report. Look to avoid the 2-for-11 of Andrew McCutchen and the 1-for-10 of Garrett Jones.

Jeff Karstens was as effective as Rodriguez in June, posting a 1.52 ERA in 41.1 innings of work to support his 3-0 record. He has a 1.08 WHIP for the season, not something likely sustainable but it does make him an interesting spot play here. Hunter Pence is 5-for-13 (.385), while Carlos Lee is 4-for-14.

There are some questions surrounding Jhoulys Chacin and if he is fully healthy. He is experiencing tightness in his right forearm and it did push his start back to today. This should make daily league owners tentative, especially in head-to-head formats. Chacin had been dominant in his three starts prior to his last outing against the Cubs, but take note and be cautious.

Remember that Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez were both taken out of games this weekend and should be avoided tonight. Ryan Spilborghs is 5-for-15 against Derek Lowe and Todd Helton has raked against him at .319 in 47 at-bats. Jason Giambi is no slouch at .281 and adds three home runs in 32 at-bats against Lowe.

Chris Volstad has a 5.24 ERA in his last 11 starts against the Phillies and he was hammered his last time out against them. Raul Ibanez, Jimmy Rollins, and Carlos Ruiz all have at least 20 at-bats and hit better than .400 against him. Ryan Howard is the big winner, posting a .500 average and seven home runs in 24 at-bats against the Florida starter. In other words, start your Phillies.

Not the prettiest of numbers for the Diamondbacks against Randy Wolf. Only Chris Young at .286 and Henry Blanco (??) at .364 have at least 10 at-bats and an average above .214 against the Milwaukee starter. Look for other options where you have them available for this one.

David DeJesus has the best numbers against Felix Hernandez available for Oakland. The outfielder is a .345 hitter with one home run in 29 at-bats. Both Kurt Suzuki and Cliff Pennington are 6-for-21. Coco Crisp is only 5-for-25 while Hideki Matsui is a .207 hitter against the Seattle starter. Obviously, no way you bench Hernandez.

Spot Starts: Karstens, Stauffer, Wolf

Wednesday Notes

The Blue Jays have had little to no luck against Tim Wakefield. Aaron Hill would remain the only possible start for this one. Hill is hitting .286 in 35 at-bats against the Boston starter. Otherwise, look to avoid Toronto players where you can. Adam Lind is 2-for-13 while Jose Bautista checks in hitless in nine at-bats.

The Red Sox have LIT UP Ricky Romero. David Ortiz is 10-for-23 while J.D. Drew is even 11-for-22. Scutaro, Youkilis, and Jacoby Ellsbury all check in better than .300 against the lefty in at least 10 at-bats. Dustin Pedroia at .538 in 13 at-bats is the big winner for Boston. Basically, get your Red Sox in the lineup for this one.

Lance Berkman is a .280 hitter with five home runs in 50 at-bats against Bronson Arroyo. Matt Holliday and Skip Schumaker are both better than .300 against the Cincinnati starter while Jon Jay is 4-for-10. Colby Rasmus has two home runs and a .292 average in 24 at-bats. Arroyo may be 4-1 on the road, but he has a 5.72 ERA and .333 BAA in those outings.

Some good numbers from the usual suspects in Philadelphia against Anibal Sanchez. Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard are must starts and Chase Utley is a .464 hitter against him. Placido Polanco is 7-for-15 with two home runs. All good numbers here. Sanchez has struck out 14 Phillies in 13 innings against them this season to go with a 2.77 ERA in that stretch.

Jason Vargas already has four nine-inning, no runs allowed performances this season, all of which have come in his last ten starts and two of them in his last three. The A's have very limited numbers against the Seattle starter, and that should be even more reason to get him on the mound in this one. He is still under 24 percent owned and that means there is value to be had. Spot start of the day here.

Bud Norris has still struck out 110 batters in his 105 innings this season, giving him value in that category every time he steps on the mound. Still, rough numbers on the road, making him a tough start here. Norris has an ERA at 5.29 away from home (nearly three runs worse than at home) and a 1-3 record. McCutchen, Jones, and Neil Walker all hit better than .310 against Norris.

Odd to note that Charlie Morton has had the opposite problem as Norris. He cannot get anyone out at home. Morton is 2-3 at home with a 4.43 ERA (5-1, 3.00 on the road). While Hunter Pence is just 3-for-15, Michael Bourn is at .412 in 17 at-bats and Carlos Lee is 6-for-18.

Jake Westbrook finally put up good numbers in his last outing against Tampa. He had allowed 12 earned runs in his prior 16.1 innings pitched. Westbrook has been torched at home, posting an ERA over 6.00 in eight starts there this season. No major numbers to report in this one that could be of help, but Brandon Phillips is 4-for-9.

Geovany Soto is 7-for-11 with a home run and five RBI against Washington starter and former teammate Tom Gorzelanny. Aramis Ramirez is 2-for-17 while Alfonso Soriano has struggled to a .222 mark in 18 at-bats against him as well.

Spot Starts: Wakefield, Vargas, Hughes (first start off the DL, widely available)

Fantasy Baseball: Tuesday News and Notes

noreply@blogger.com (cwhager) — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 14:06:00 +0000

Tuesday Notes

Look to avoid Miguel Tejada and his 4-for-18 mark against Doug Davis. Otherwise, there are a few Giants with some good numbers here. Pablo Sandoval is a .429 hitter in 21 at-bats while Cody Ross checks in at .353. Aaron Rowand's numbers are not bad, showing a .281 average and six walks in 32 at-bats. Davis overall is not a start to look at, even in a reach.

Barry Zito will come back from the DL to start the second game of the double-header against the Cubs. It will probably be his only one for a while as the Giants are expected to move him into a bullpen role. Alfonso Soriano has had no luck against the lefty, striking out 14 times and hitting just .146 in 41 at-bats. Aramis Ramirez is 4-for-10 with a home run and Carlos Pena is 6-for-19 with two.

While it is never really a GOOD idea to start players that are facing a pitcher who has given up just one earned run in his last 33 innings, Adrian Gonzalez may still be the right choice against Cliff Lee. Gonzalez is 7-for-10 against him overall. Dustin Pedroia and Marco Scutaro both hit better than .300 against Lee as well. Remember, it is very likely David Ortiz is out again.

Curtis Granderson has had his struggles with Zack Greinke, going only 6-for-37 and adding 10 strikeouts. Nick Swisher, Mark Teixeira, Robinson Cano, Alex Rodriguez, and Brett Gardner are all hitting better than .300 against the Milwaukee starter. Cano and Teixeira are hitting north of .400. While Greinke has been good, might be a spot to sit him down here.

Do not judge Clayton Richard by the wins and losses at home. Richard has a 2.25 ERA in his home ballpark and batters are hitting only .224 against him to boot. He has to be considered one of the best spot starts available in any league by the numbers. Grab him for this outing against the Royals.

Ted Lilly has given up 11 earned runs in his last 10 innings pitched and allowed three home runs in his last time out. The Twins, though, are hitting just .249 against lefties this season with an OBP that barely rises above .300. The .312 OBP is good for 25th in all of baseball. While Lilly has struggled, this is a good place for him to get on track.

Josh Beckett will take the ball today for the first time in better than a week. Beckett has done relatively well against the Phillies. You will want to start Chase Utley, who is hitting .320 with two home runs in 25 at-bats, and Ryan Howard, who checks in at 4-for-13. Jimmy Rollins checks in at only .255 while Placido Polanco is only 4-for-24.

Kyle Lohse has watched his ERA rise nearly a run over the month of June as he has given up 15 earned runs in his last four starts covering 24.2 innings. Derrek Lee is hitting .391 in 23 at-bats with two home runs. Vladimir Guerrero and J.J. Hardy are both hitting at least .300 as well.

Spot Starts: Richard, Correia, Marquis

Wednesday Notes

Todd Helton is hitting .417 against Ryan Dempster. Helton has added three home runs against him in 24 at-bats. Troy Tulowitzki is just 2-for-9 while Carlos Gonzalez is 5-for-9. Seth Smith has four hits in 11 at-bats himself. Dempster has struck out 30 in 29.1 innings this month but does have a 1.50 WHIP in this stretch.

Ichiro checks in at .381 against Derek Lowe while teammate Adam Kennedy is in at .325. Ichiro has not struck out in 21 at-bats against the Atlanta starter. Tough numbers for Miguel Olivo and Jack Wilson, both hitting below .200 while Chone Figgins checks in at .261.

Very few reasons to sit anyone against John Lackey given how effectively he has pitched lately. That said, Placido Polanco is hitting .174 in 23 at-bats against him. Limited numbers for most of your other Phillies. Keep Raul Ibanez active and start the rest of your Phillies as you normally would here.

A.J. Burnett has had struggles off and on this month. While he has struck out 29 in 32 innings, he has a 4.50 ERA and a 2-3 record to show for his efforts. Three outings have been strong, but the other two have been complete disasters. Milwaukee should be a decent place for him to get turned around, but the fact he has given up five home runs this month makes it a tough play beyond the strikeout potential.

Jorge Posada is 7-for-18 with four home runs against Shaun Marcum, so get him active in this one as you would think the Yankees would find a spot for him here. Robinson Cano is at 5-for-14. Look to avoid Nick Swisher and his 2-for-12 mark and note that Alex Rodriguez is only 5-for-20 but does have two home runs against Marcum.

Spot Starts: Stauffer, Carrasco, Worley

Stories from Cooperstown

noreply@blogger.com (cwhager) — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 17:25:00 +0000

Shaking hands with one of the greats, Bob Feller

Each year for now the last eight years (with last year being my lone exception), a friend of mine and I have made the jaunt to Cooperstown for Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Weekend. To many of my buddies from college, it is boring. Baseball, though, is in my blood. My parents claim I could hit a baseball before I could fully walk. Through college, I played actively in many leagues, facing some impressive pitchers that are now throwing in the majors (not necessarily successfully, but faced them).

Cooperstown allows a fan to experience the game in a new light with many of their childhood heroes. Better still, it yields some fantastic stories as a result. For baseball, it is home. As one of the 2010 inductees stated, "Baseball fans need to come to Cooperstown. This is home. You have to touch home."

Many of these have appeared on my blog, but none for a couple years. I wanted to show what a fan can experience by making this trek. I encourage everyone to do it at least once. If you do, you will be hooked and be back again.

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In 2007, my best friend and I got in to town on Friday. After dropping our things off, we went into town. Some wandering and unnecessary purchases later, we made our way to T.J.'s Place for dinner. It is the one place we hit consistently every year. On the way, lining Main Street in Cooperstown are tables filled with former ballplayers signing autographs.

Directly in front of the restaurant behind a table we found Paul Blair, Vida Blue, Duke Snider, and Goose Gossage. Eclectic group, but a pretty impressive arrangement. We went inside to sit down and a Yankees game was on television. Staunch Red Sox fans that we are, we made the necessary noises of derision and settled in to hopefully watch them lose.

After we order, in comes Gossage with a friend. The two are seated literally at the table right next to us. Now, this was prior to Gossage being inducted but interesting none the less. Still, the two of us (both in our mid-20's) were relatively starstruck by the reliever sitting there. Many argue he was the best in the game and with good reason. He should have been inducted before Bruce Sutter in my opinion. It took us to the point that we nearly did not speak for five minutes.

I could not tell you if Gossage picked up on it or something completely different, but he turns to us and starts talking about the game. We talked for an hour about Jorge Posada's game-calling ability, the player he would most want to brush back, and if he would get into the Hall. Gossage was personable and outgoing; he just wanted to talk about the game.

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Getting a drink in Cooperstown is both easy and hard. Easy because there is really only one bar. Hard because there is really only one bar. Several years ago now, I think 2008, the Negro Leagues inducted a group of their all-time greats into the Hall of Fame. At the same time, a fantastic book called The Black Aces was put out, commemorating the best African American pitchers many have seen.

One player profiled in that book was Vida Blue. Blue pre-dates my time but I was told by many that he was a character both on and off the field. My friend bought the book and had it signed, but I had taken a pass. He confirmed that Blue was doing nothing but busting on the guys he was with and joking with those walking past. Neither of us thought much of it until we went for a drink later that night.

Several beers in, Blue walks into the bar. Nothing flashy or showy, but he made an immediate impression. As the beers started to flow around the bar, Blue took everyone in and made them feel like his long-lost friend. He signed shirts, jerseys, hats, whatever. Pictures were not a problem.

As I sat on the side of the bar no more than 15 feet from him, there was a darts challenge issues. I stepped up to the plate after three or four others failed. Blue was a relentless competitor. Trash talk flying, he beat me soundly. Sure, may not have done better than the others, but I would rather lose to Vida Blue than take a win against anyone else in that bar!

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Late on a Friday night, a friend of mine stood with me in a store on Main Street in Cooperstown. I could not tell you what we were after, but it was literally only the two of us and the remaining staff in the building. That was about it. The town shuts down early, and many people had left the village for the night.

As we wandered the racks, we see the clerks shut the door as a man and his wife walked in. We both thought it was curious, but kept about our business because we knew there was at least a half hour until the store closed. At one point, I look up and over the rack and notice who the man is. My friend realizes at nearly exactly the same time: Lou Brock.

Maybe you have to know my friend to understand how he approached the next few minutes, but the story works regardless.

We paid for our purchases, but before we walk out the door, my friend calls out, "Hey, Lou...Ernie Broglio and Bobby Shantz?" (In reference to one of the worst trades in the history of baseball that sent Brock to the Cardinals).

Brock smiles, chuckles, and simply says, "Yea, man, Ernie Broglio. I just couldn't throw a curveball."

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Two years ago, there was just one other person in the group of merry men that made the trip to Cooperstown. Still, it made for the best of the years that the journey has been made. Saturday is usually just an exciting day in the village. People have arrived for the weekend, and the streets start to fill.

After taking in one of the ball games and touring the Hall-of-Fame itself, my friend and I made our way out of the village for dinner. Cooperstown does not have a lot in the way of real restaurants, and steak is on very few of the menus. You have to search for that.

We arrived at the restaurant and sat down to order our meals. About 20 minutes into the dinner, my friend points out someone sitting in the back corner of the restaurant. There was a group of four men sitting down and it took virtually no time for me to recognize the one my friend had meant me to see: Carlton Fisk.

You have to understand something. While 1975 pre-dates when my parents were blessed with my presence, Fisk has always resonated as the best catcher in the game in my house. My father would bust out tapes to show his toughness, reference that he could hit and call a game, and had me study Fisk’s footwork.

As long as it is possible to remember, there have been just two numbers that have been on the back of jerseys I played in, No. 27 and No. 5 (seven minus two). That takes care of high school, college, and several amateur leagues.

As the group wrapped up their dinner, my friend encouraged me to go over and at least try to shake his hand. With some prodding, I made my way over. Fisk is an imposing figure. His hands are the size of a catcher's mitt and he looks like an imposing guy. Still, he saw no issue in spending a few minutes with me in a largely empty restaurant.

It is rare we get this close to those we idolize as children. When the idol lives up to expectations, it is all the more special. Five minutes of his time is something that this writer will not soon forget, and it is impossible to thank him enough

Fantasy Baseball: Monday News and Notes

noreply@blogger.com (cwhager) — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 15:58:00 +0000

Monday Notes

Grady Sizemore has the best numbers you will see against A.J. Burnett. He is 5-for-12 with a home run against him. Otherwise, not much to be exicited about. Shin-Soo Choo is just 2-for-11 while both Orlanda Cabrera and Jack Hannahan check in at .250. Austin Kearns has struggled to a 1-for-9 mark.

Casey McGehee and Mark Kotsay are both at .300 while Rickie Weeks checks in at .290 against Ryan Dempster. Ryan Braun though has had his struggles, as he has hit just .184 in 38 at-bats with two home runs against the Chicago starter. Prince Fielder is at .250 in 36 at-bats while Corey Hart has fallen to .152 in 33. Check this out though - Dempster is 11-1 in his last 14 starts with a 2.72 ERA against Milwaukee.

Aramis Ramirez has had his problems with Randy Wolf, posting just five hits in 27 at-bats. Geovany Soto is solid here. He has a .318 average and three home runs in 22 at-bats. Wolf gave up nine hits in six innings against the Cubs earlier this season and has a 4.38 ERA away from home this season.

Ichiro broke out of his slump somewhat this weekend, but he is just a .255 hitter in 51 at-bats against Dan Haren. The numbers overall for the Mariners against Haren are pedestrian. Jack Cust is 2-for-10, Jack Wilson is 1-for-12, and both Adam Kennedy and Chone Figgins are at .273. Franklin Gutierrez is only 1-for-9. The numbers to use? Brendan Ryan is 5-for-13.

Jason Vargas is 4-1 in his last eight starts. He had two solid starts this past week after giving up 11 runs in 7.2 innings in the two prior starts. None of your regular Angels crack .300 against Vargas. Torii Hunter is only 3-for-17 while Howie Kendrick is only 4-for-21. Like Vargas as a start option today based on the numbers here.

Wandy Rodriguez returns from the DL tonight, so weekly owners should look to get him activated. Rodriguez dominated Atlanta in his last start against them, allowing no runs on five hits over eight innings. Dan Uggla is 3-for-18 against the Houston starter and Brian McCann is 0-for-8. Look to avoid the 2-for-23 of Alex Gonzalez as well. May see David Ross tonight given McCann's numbers. Ross is at .300 in 20 at-bats.

Your regular Astros are good to go against Derek Lowe. Carlos Lee is at .390 in 41 at-bats against Lowe. Pence missed his first game of the season this weekend with a back injury but is riding a 22-game hit streak to go with a 5-for-12 mark against Lowe. Michael Bourn is at .375 in 16 at-bats. All good things coming here.

Angel Pagan and Carlos Beltran are both hitting .400 or better against Paul Maholm. Beltran adds two home runs in his 17 at-bats against him. Jose Reyes is no slouch either, hitting .364 in 22 at-bats. Maholm was roughed up in his only outing against them this season, giving up six runs on eight hits in 5.2 innings against them.

Spot Starts: Vargas, Dempster

Tuesday Notes

Evan Longoria has raked against Tim Wakefield, going 6-for-13 against him. Johnny Damon is at .313 with four home runs in 64 at-bats as well. Ben Zobrist and B.J. Upton have struggled. Zobrist is 1-for-10 while Upton is at .233 in 30 at-bats. Wakefield is 1-3 with a 7.27 ERA in his last five outings at Tropicana Field.

Look to avoid Kevin Youkilis against James Shields. Youkilis is just 3-for-31 and has 10 strikeouts against Shields. Both Jason Varitek and Jacoby Ellsbury are well below .200 against Shields as well. Dustin Pedroia has the best numbers against Shields, posting a .433 mark in 30 at-bats. David Ortiz is at .364 with three home runs in 33 at-bats.

Chris Coghlan and Omar Infante are your best options against Cole Hamels. Coghlan is 7-for-17 while Infante is at .314 in 35 at-bats. Hamels struggles garnering decisions against the Marlins. He is 2-5 in his last 12 starts against the Marlins but does have a 3.50 ERA in those outings against them.

A few solid numbers from the Cubs against Yovani Gallardo. Starlin Castro is 5-for-12 while Aramis Ramirez is 6-for-13. Even Kosuke Fukudome is 5-for-15 here. Look to avoid the 2-for-12 of Tyler Colvin. Gallardo was roughed up in his outing against the Cubs earlier this season but has performed against them, going 3-2 in his last seven.

Michael Brantley is 7-for-13 against Justin Verlander, some of the best numbers you will see in all of baseball against the Detroit starter. Orlando Cabrera is the only other Cleveland starter hitting better than .300 against Verlander. Shin-Soo Choo and Grady Sizemore are both hitting below .240. Look to avoid them if possible.

Alexi Casilla is red hot and has hit Gavin Floyd relatively well, posting a .300 mark in 10 at-bats. Struggles otherwise for your Twins here. Justin Morneau is only at .231 in 26 at-bats but does have two home runs. Michael Cuddyer is at .258 while Delmon Young at .261. Floyd is 4-6 in his last 11 starts with a 4.84 ERA against Minnesota.

Stephen Drew and Xavier Nady are your best options against Matt Cain. Drew is at .344 with three home runs in 32 at-bats while Nady is 5-for-14. Justin Upton checks in just north of .300 as well. Kelly Johnson, Chris Young, and Miguel Montero are all hitting below .200 against the San Francisco starter.

After four straight defeats, Jered Weaver has been solid in his last four starts. In those he has given up just six earned runs in 30.2 innings pitched. Jack Cust at 9-for-29 is your best option and your only Seattle player hitting better than .300 against Weaver. Ichiro has really struggled, hitting only .246 in 57 at-bats against him. Gutierrez and Figgins are no better here.

As good as the Mets have been against Derek Lowe, they have been as poor against Jair Jurrjens. Carlos Beltran is only 2-for-19 while Angel Pagan is 2-for-27. Both Jose Reyes and Jason Bay have only three hits in 20 and 15 at-bats respectively. Willie Harris at 7-for-14 and Dan Murphy at 7-for-21 are your best bets for this one.

Do not get cute and start Chris Volstad against the Phillies. Raul Ibanez, Jimmy Rollins, Carlos Ruiz, Wilson Valdez, and Ryan Howard are all hitting better than .400 against him lifetime. Each has at least 12 at-bats against him to boot. Shane Victorino and Chase Utley have struggled, hitting .205 and .200 respectively against Volstad.

Spot Starts: Villanueva, Collmenter, Karstens

Fantasy Baseball: Friday News and Notes

noreply@blogger.com (cwhager) — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 15:29:00 +0000

Friday Notes

I continue to be concerned on Clay Buchholz and his back injury. The Red Sox pushed him back so he missed the series against New York but he will pitch tonight against Toronto. Adam Lind and Aaron Hill have hit Buchholz well. Lind is at .346 with two home runs in 26 at-bats while Hill is at .296 with a home run in 27 at-bats. Avoid Corey Patterson and note that Jose Bautista is only 5-for-19.

Fausto Carmona has been destroyed in his last five starts, giving up 27 runs in his last 31 innings pitched. That about says it all. Curtis Granderson is at .444 in 36 at-bats with a couple home runs. Both Mark Teixeira and Robinson Cano are both hitting better than .400 against him as well. Rodriguez, Jeter, and Swisher are hitting better than .300. In other words, bench Carmona.

The Brewers are relatively solid overall against Kyle Lohse. Ryan Braun is at .333 while Casey McGehee is at .308. Prince Fielder is only a .261 hitter, but more surprisingly does not have a home run in 23 at-bats. Rickie Weeks is at .250 in 24 at-bats. Look to avoid Corey Hart completely as he is only 1-for-12 against Lohse.

Andre Ethier and James Loney are the only Dodgers worth starting in this one. Ethier is 6-for-11 while Kemp is 6-for-18. Both and the 3-for-10 of Casey Blake are your only Dodgers better than .300 against Jhoulys Chacin. Look to avoid Juan Uribe at 0-for-12 and Matt Kemp at 3-for-20.

Billingsley gave up just one run in seven innings while recording a win against the Rockies his last time out, but he did give up 11 hits. Todd Helton is 10-for-23 against him lifetime while Carlos Gonzalez is 4-for-9. Seth Smith is the only major red flag at 3-for-14 unless you planned on starting Chris Iannetta. Billingsley is 3-3 in his last seven starts against Colorado with a 4.20 ERA.

The poor numbers Tim Hudson is seeing on the road cannot be stressed strongly enough. After getting shelled by the Mets, he is no 2-3 with a 6.14 ERA away from home this season, 3.50 runs worse than his home ERA. Carlos Lee is a .379 hitter in 29 at-bats and Jeff Keppinger is 5-for-10 against Hudson lifetime. Hudson is solid, but the road numbers should have you think twice in head-to-head leagues where ERA and WHIP are close.

Only Alex Gordon and Chris Getz are hitting better than .231 and have more than 10 at-bats against Ervin Santana. Gordon is at .286 in 21 at-bats while Chris Getz is at .444 in 18 at-bats. Billy Butler is only hitting .231 in 26 at-bats, but he does have three home runs against him. Avoid your Royals where you can in this one.

Charlie Morton has not allowed more than two earned runs in any of his last five starts, continuing to be one of the better starters that no one is looking at. Some of it is luck because he is walking too many hitters (31 in 75 innings), but riding the wave right now makes sense.

Spot Starts: Morton, Marquis, Rodriguez

Weekend Notes

John Lackey was lit up like a Christmas tree during his last outing against the Blue Jays prior to his DL stint. Even with that, the Blue Jays struggle against him. Start the 5-for-9 of Yunel Escobar while Adam Lind has the same average of .556 with 10 hits in 18 at-bats. Rajai Davis is hitting .381 in 21 at-bats. Otherwise, look to avoid your Blue Jays based on track record.

The Rays have already seen Jeremy Guthrie three times this season, so the numbers are starting to pile up. Guthrie has given up 10 runs against them in 21 innings pitched but seven did come in one outing. Johnny Damon is the only red flag at .191 in 47 at-bats. The rest of your Rays are good to go in this one. Start them as you normally would.

David Price has given up a total of four runs in his last 22 innings pitched in his last three starts. Nick Markakis, Matt Wieters, and Vlad Guerrero are all hitting .300 or better against Price with Markakis holding the best numbers. Otherwise look to avoid your Orioles where possible. The numbers simply are not good enough to reach for.

Nothing pretty from the Rockies against Ted Lilly. Only Carlos Gonzalez at 4-for-9 has numbers worth entertaining. Tulowitzki is 3-for-19 while Ryan Spilborghs is 1-for-17 and Chris Iannetta only 3-for-13. With the numbers here, do not reach if you can avoid it.

Elvis Andrus and Adrian Beltre are your best bets against Scott Baker. Beltre is at .360 with a home run in 25 at-bats while Adnrus is 4-for-11. Small sample, but Nelson Cruz is 3-for-6 with two home runs in his at-bats against Baker. Josh Hamilton is only 2-for-14 and David Murphy just 2-for-13. Michael Young is not great, but nothing to bench here.

While Aramis Ramirez is hitting just .247 against Roy Oswalt, he does have five home runs in 73 at-bats. Geovany Soto is hitting .400 in 15 at-bats against him. Look to avoid Kosuke Fukudome who is only 2-for-19 against him. Oswalt is 1-2 at home but has continued to post a solid 3.24 ERA. He was 1-1 against the Cubs last season as well.

The Braves that have faced Brett Myers have all pounded him. Brian McCann, Dan Uggla, Martin Prado, Chipper Jones, and Alex Gonzalez are all hitting better than .300 against him. Uggla has five home runs in 42 at-bats to go with 14 RBI and a .333 average in 42 at-bats. McCann and Jones each have a home run in 39 and 38 at-bats respectively to go with their .300 marks.

Ubaldo Jimenez dominated the Dodgers his last time out, going all nine innings while allowing just four hits and no runs. Matt Kemp is at .306 against Jimenez and his are the best numbers available to you. Andre Ethier is only 10-for-40 while Casey Blake is 5-for-25. Avoid James Loney, who is hitting below .200 against the Colorado starter.

Miguel Cabrera is 8-for-17 against Felix Hernandez, by far the best numbers you will see from the Tigers in this one. Jhonny Peralta, though is no slouch, hitting .317 against the Seattle ace. Otherwise, look to avoid your Tigers here.

Spot Starts: Westbrook, Chatwood, Stauffer, Richard, Pineiro

Fantasy Baseball: Tuesday News and Notes

noreply@blogger.com (cwhager) — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 14:34:00 +0000

Tuesday Notes

While Derek Jeter is hitting .316 against Jon Lester, there are no other Yankees that have decent numbers against the lefty. Rodriguez is just at .208 in 29 at-bats, Teixeira is at .222 in 27 at-bats, and Cano is at .235 in 34 at-bats. Nothing good at all to see there. Jorge Posada and Nick Swisher simply add to the problems. Avoid your Yankees where you have better options.

Kevin Correia has been bad at home, posting a 5.47 ERA that is more than two runs higher than his season mark of 3.40. Add to that, there are no great concerns outside of the .234 of Stephen Drew in the Arizona lineup against him. Gerardo Parra is better than .400 in 22 at-bats while Justin Upton is at .351 in 37 at-bats. Overall, no other concerns and start them as normal here.

The Reds enjoyed what they saw from Doug Davis when he was with the Brewers, so no reason that should necessarily change in a Cubs uniform. Avoid Scott Rolen, who is hitting just .238 in 21 at-bats against Davis, but that is the only problem spot. Brandon Phillips is hitting .421 in 21 at-bats and Edgar Renteria is 8-for-18. Start them all here.

Edinson Volquez returns to the rotation tonight for the Reds against the Cubs. Kosuke Fukudome has drastically struggled against Volquez, going just 1-for-13. Only Aramis Ramirez has double-digit at-bats against him otherwise, hitting .308 in 13 at-bats.

How about this number: Asdrubal Cabrera is 10-for-18 against Francisco Liriano. Otherwise, avoid your Indians here. Shin-Soo Choo is 3-for-13 while Grady Sizemore is 3-for-22. Matt LaPorta is struggling against the lefty as well, posting only one hit in 10 at-bats.

Chase Headley has the only numbers worth mentioning against Ubaldo Jimenez. Headley is 6-for-18 against the Colorado pitcher. Jimenez has just one win in his last 10 starts, but he has been filthy on the road this season. While just 1-1 in four starts, batters are hitting .098 against him and he sports a 1.93 ERA in those outings.

Jake Westbrook has won his last three decisions and has posted a 2.45 ERA in his last four starts that covers 25.2 innings pitched. Westbrook is not a strikeout pitcher, but his groundball methods are certainly working for him of late. Only Carlos Lee has a track record against the St. Louis starter, and he is hitting .412 in 34 at-bats against him.

Chris Coghlan is only 2-for-15 against Tommy Hanson while Gaby Sanchez is at .286 in 14 at-bats. Mike Stanton is your best option, posting four hits in nine at-bats. Hanson has been solid on the road this season, posting a 1.14 WHIP and 3.41 ERA in 29 innings of work away from home.

Spot Starts: Westbrook, Humber, Stauffer

Wednesday Notes

The knuckleball has been more kind to the Yankees than not. Derek Jeter has faced Tim Wakefield 108 times and is hitting .287 against him. Alex Rodriguez has been up 85 times against him and hits .271 but adds seven home runs as well. Cano hits better than .300 and has four home runs in 46 at-bats while Granderson is better than .300 as well. Posada and Swisher should be on your bench.

With J.D. Drew struggling against A.J. Burnett, it is possible we see Mike Cameron in the outfield. Cameron is hitting .333 in 12 at-bats against Burnett. Ellsbury, Pedroia, and Crawford are all better than .300 against the New York starter. Troubles for Kevin Youkilis, who hits just .258, and Jed Lowrie, who is only 2-for-12 against him.

Brian McCann and Chipper Jones have raked against Ricky Nolasco. Jones has four home runs and a .452 average against him in 31 at-bats while McCann has six home runs and a .368 average against him in 38 at-bats. Nolasco gave up five earned over five innings and added two home runs against him for good measure during his last outing against the Braves.

While Blake Dewitt is a .316 hitter in 19 at-bats against Bronson Arroyo, the rest of the Cubs have had no luck against him. Starlin Castro is hitless in eight at-bats while Tyler Colvin is just 1-for-12. Aramis Ramirez has the most at-bats and some of the worst numbers, hitting just .188 in 48 at-bats. Like this as a start for Arroyo here.

Bud Norris did not give up an earned run in his start against the Cardinals at home despite getting knocked around in a loss against them on the road. Norris' home splits make this a good start for him as do his numbers against the Cardinals. He still has 79 strikeouts in 73 innings this season and will garner those numbers regardless. Only Yadier Molina at .333 and Ryan Theriot at 4-for-10 check in better than .250 against Norris. That includes Pujols and Berkman.

Spot Starts: Norris, Arroyo, Lowe

Fantasy Baseball: Friday News and Notes

noreply@blogger.com (cwhager) — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 13:59:00 +0000

Friday Notes

After racking up six wins to start the season, Jered Weaver has gone winless in his last six starts. In his last two, he has pitched much better, giving up just one earned over the last 16 innings in that stretch. Curtis Granderson and Robinson Cano are your best options against him, both hitting .400 or better in a combined 29 at-bats. Russell Martin's 7-for-19 is solid as well, as is Alex Rodriguez's 5-for-15. Avoid the rest of your Yankees, specifically Jeter and Posada who are both below .200 against Weaver.

Would you really start Josh Thole against anyone? He is 5-for-11 against Derek Lowe, so this would be the spot to give it a go. Dan Murphy and Scott Hairston are your other decent options. Carlos Beltran has had his problems with Lowe, hitting just .216 against him in 38 at-bats. Jason Bay is worse at 0-for-15 while Angel Pagan is 5-for-21.

Mark Buehrle has only lost once in his last five decisions but was hit hard by Detroit earlier this year. Still, he is 4-1 with a 3.30 ERA against them in his last seven starts. Victor Martinez is a .333 hitter in 66 at-bats against him while Jhonny Peralta checks in at .284 in 74 at-bats. Look to avoid the 2-for-20 of Miguel Cabrera and Brandon Inge at .237 is no better.

Matt Cain has given up nine runs in 11.2 innings pitched this season against the Rockies, not a good mark. Ryan Spilborghs, Chris Iannetta, and Troy Tulowitzki are your only regulars better than .300 against Cain. Carlos Gonzalez has had his problems, going only 3-for-25 and Seth Smith is only 1-for-18. Avoid most your Rockies where possible.

There should be mild concern over Clay Buchholz though it does appear he will start against Oakland. Buchholz had a stiff back on Sunday and says he has felt it throughout the season at various points. He has allowed three or fewer runs in each of his last six starts and has not picked up a loss in any of those outings. Only the 6-for-16 of Hideki Matsui and 4-for-9 of Mark Ellis stand out as numbers to start.

Cole Hamels has been dominant on the road, posting a 0.94 WHIP and 2.31 ERA in 35 innings pitched away from home thus far. Matt Diaz has the most at-bats against Hamels, hitting .286 with a home run in 35 at-bats. Andrew McCutchen is 3-for-9 with a home run while Garrett Jones is 2-for-10. No other numbers have any relevance.

Albert Pujols is hitting .319 with six home runs in 47 at-bats against Ryan Dempster, but his numbers are only second-best. Skip Schumaker is hitting .450 in 18 at-bats against the Chicago starter. Lance Berkman has four home runs in 55 at-bats, but just a .255 average to go with 17 strikeouts. Dempster is 3-2 in his last 10 starts against the Cardinals.

Mitch Maier and Billy Butler have both looked good against Carl Pavano. Maier is a .313 hitter in 18 at-bats but Butler just mashes. He is hitting .457 with two home runs in 35 at-bats against the Minnesota starter. Avoid the 3-for-19 of Alex Gordon in this one.

It should not matter how young a pitcher is. If you have a 1.49 ERA and have not allowed more than two earned runs in a start over your last 10 outings, you need to be started. Josh Collmenter is doing just that. Do yourself a favor and start him today.

Spot Starts: Collmenter, Nicasio, Duffy

Weekend Notes

Aramis Ramirez is 7-for-15 and Geovany Soto 3-for-10 against Saturday starter Kyle Lohse. Look to avoid Kosuke Fukudome in this one given his 3-for-14 mark. With what owners normally get from Carlos Pena, his .258 average in 31 at-bats is actually a good mark. Lohse is 0-3 with an ERA over 8.00 in his last six starts against the Cubs.

A.J. Pierzynski and Carlos Quentin are your only White Sox regulars better than .300 against Justin Verlander. Quentin has eight hits in 21 at-bats while Pierzynski adds three home runs in 52. Juan Pierre is not a bad bet either at 4-for-14. Otherwise, given Verlander's dominance of late as well as the numbers, you will want to avoid the bulk of your White Sox.

Maicer Izturis is one of those guys that comes as a surprise here. He is 5-for-10 against C.C. Sabathia lifetime. Torii Hunter is at .294 in 68 at-bats and adds three home runs. Bobby Abreu with limited at-bats, but is 3-for-9 against him. Sabathia is slightly more hittable on the road with a 1.34 ERA away from home, but his ERA still falls at 2.53, so it is not THAT much better.

Ricky Romero has allowed four runs in his last four starts, covering 29.2 innings. That says dominance. Start Vlad Guerrero against him though. Vlad is 8-for-13 against him! Good numbers from Nick Markakis and Adam Jones as well, both hitting better than .300. Matt Wieters has struggled at 2-for-13 and Luke Scott is only 1-for-12.

Struggles of late for Luke Hochevar, who has given up 11 runs in his last 12 innings pitched. Minnesota, though has had their problems with him. While Alexi Casilla is 4-for-10, Denard Span is 3-for-22 and Justin Morneau just 2-for-11. Delmon Young is 3-for-18 as well. The second-best mark is the .250 in 20 at-bats for Michael Cuddyer. Hochevar is 3-2 in his last eight starts against Minnesota.

John Lackey will take the ball as he comes off the DL on Sunday. The A's have seen plenty of him. Daric Barton and Ryan Sweeney are the only regulars with averages better than .300 against Lackey. Look to avoid Cliff Pennington and his 1-for14. Kurt Suzuki and Coco Crisp are both hitting below .200 against Lackey.

Worth noting that Tim Hudson's road ERA this season is 5.33 and he gives up a hit an inning to go with it. Angel Pagan is 7-for-15 against Hudson, putting up the best numbers on the team. Carlos Beltran has four home runs in 70 at-bats to go with a .357 average. Jason Bay adds a 5-for-15 mark as well.

Plenty of numbers from the Yankees against Ervin Santana. Derek Jeter is at .357 with four home runs in 31 at-bats. Both Robinson Cano and Russell Martin are better than .300 as well. Struggles come from Posada, Swisher, and Gardner. Avoid them where possible. Otherwise, start your Yankees as you normally would.

Kosuke Fukudome is just 2-for-20 against Chris Carpenter. Geovany Soto's .250 in 12 at-bats is not impressive, but it is the only other concern. Otherwise, the Cubs have relatively solid numbers against the St. Louis starter. Keep them active.

Lance Berkman is hitting just .155 in 71 at-bats against Carlos Zambrano while Yadier Molina is at just .211 in 28 at-bats. No major concerns otherwise for your Cardinals.

Spot Starts: Hochevar, Lohse, Lyles, Dickey

Fantasy Baseball: Thursday News and Notes

noreply@blogger.com (cwhager) — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 13:24:00 +0000

Thursday Notes

Check out Bud Norris' road splits before starting him against the Padres. Norris is 0-3 on the road with a 6.55 ERA in four starts. He has allowed batters to hit .330 against him in those starts. He certainly still has strikeout numbers worth starting, fanning 26 in 22 road innings. This is Petco Park, which is slightly different than most of his road starts, but tough none the less.

Ichiro is a .367 hitter in 30 at-bats against James Shields and he is not the only one with good numbers against the Tampa starter. Chone Figgins is 10-for-27, showing good numbers despite recent struggles. Franklin Gutierrez and Miguel Olivo are both better than .300 against him as well. Jack Cust and Adam Kennedy are your only trouble spots.

Johnny Damon owns Felix Hernandez, posting a .563 average in 16 at-bats. Look to see Casey Kotchman in the lineup as well given his 5-for-14 marks. B.J. Upton though is only 1-for-18 and Ben Zobrist is only 2-for-12.

Both Carlos Beltran and Angel Pagan are worth starting against Paul Maholm. Pagan is 5-for-12 with a home run while Beltran is 6-for-14 with a home run as well. Maholm may be 1-3 on the road, but batters are hitting just .218 against him outside of his home park.

Spot Starts: Maholm, Stauffer, Swarzak

Friday Notes

After racking up six wins to start the season, Jered Weaver has gone winless in his last six starts. In his last two, he has pitched much better, giving up just one earned over the last 16 innings in that stretch. Curtis Granderson and Robinson Cano are your best options against him, both hitting .400 or better in a combined 29 at-bats. Russell Martin's 7-for-19 is solid as well, as is Alex Rodriguez's 5-for-15. Avoid the rest of your Yankees, specifically Jeter and Posada who are both below .200 against Weaver.

Would you really start Josh Thole against anyone? He is 5-for-11 against Derek Lowe, so this would be the spot to give it a go. Dan Murphy and Scott Hairston are your other decent options. Carlos Beltran has had his problems with Lowe, hitting just .216 against him in 38 at-bats. Jason Bay is worse at 0-for-15 while Angel Pagan is 5-for-21.

Mark Buehrle has only lost once in his last five decisions but was hit hard by Detroit earlier this year. Still, he is 4-1 with a 3.30 ERA against them in his last seven starts. Victor Martinez is a .333 hitter in 66 at-bats against him while Jhonny Peralta checks in at .284 in 74 at-bats. Look to avoid the 2-for-20 of Miguel Cabrera and Brandon Inge at .237 is no better.

Matt Cain has given up nine runs in 11.2 innings pitched this season against the Rockies, not a good mark. Ryan Spilborghs, Chris Iannetta, and Troy Tulowitzki are your only regulars better than .300 against Cain. Carlos Gonzalez has had his problems, going only 3-for-25 and Seth Smith is only 1-for-18. Avoid most your Rockies where possible.

There should be mild concern over Clay Buchholz though it does appear he will start against Oakland. Buchholz had a stiff back on Sunday and says he has felt it throughout the season at various points. He has allowed three or fewer runs in each of his last six starts and has not picked up a loss in any of those outings. Only the 6-for-16 of Hideki Matsui and 4-for-9 of Mark Ellis stand out as numbers to start.

Spot Starts: Collmenter, Nicasio, Duffy

Fantasy Baseball: Wednesday News and Notes

noreply@blogger.com (cwhager) — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 12:52:00 +0000

Wednesday Notes

Raul Ibanez is a .550 hitter in 20 at-bats against John Lannan. He adds two home runs in that stretch as well. Placido Polanco is at 6-for-12 himself with Chase Utley checking in at .440 in 25 at-bats. Tough numbers include the 5-for-30 of Ryan Howard, though he does have two home runs, and the 3-for-16 of Wilson Valdez. Jimmy Rollins is a .265 hitter in 34 trips to the plate.

Good numbers from many of the Tigers against Scott Baker. Austin Jackson is 5-for-11 while Victor Martinez, Ramon Santiago, and Miguel Cabrera are all hitting better than .300. Brandon Inge has struggled to a .214 mark in 42 at-bats. Ryan Raburn is just 2-for-10 while Jhonny Peralta is at .255 in 47 at-bats.

Only Matt Kemp has stand-out numbers against Ubaldo Jimenez. Kemp has seen Jimenez 32 times and has hit .344 with a home run against him. No other Dodgers regular cracks .300 against him. James Loney at .175 in 40 at-bats is your worst option, but Casey Blake at .238 in 21 is not much better. Avoid your Dodgers where possible.

Jon Garland has been hit pretty hard by the Rockies, especially Carlos Gonzalez. Gonzalez is 11-for-18, good for a .611 mark. Todd Helton is 5-for-10 and Dexter Fowler is 4-for-10. Only trouble spot is 2-for-22 of Jason Giambi. Otherwise, play your Rockies as you normally would in this matchup.

Rough numbers for many of the Red Sox against Gavin Floyd. Carl Crawford is an interesting option. Though only 2-for-8 against Floyd, both hits are home runs. Both J.D. Drew and Dustin Pedroia have 14 at-bats against him but hit .143 and .214 respectively against him. Even Jacoby Ellsbury is only 2-for-11. The .294 of David Ortiz is your best option in this one.

Avoid Michael Cuddyer and his 2-for-19 mark against Rick Porcello in this one. Delmon Young is 6-for-17 against the Detroit starter and while Denard Span is 7-for-18. Best numbers come from Jason Kubel, who is a .500 hitter in 22 at-bats against Porcello. Porcello may just be 3-3 in his last eight starts against the Twins, but he has just a 2.66 ERA in that stretch.

Many know that I am a big Clayton Richard supporter, but that just does not add up today. Richard's road numbers this season have been bad. He does have both his wins away from home, but he also has a 6.00 ERA and a 1.55 WHIP. This should spell good numbers for your Braves today.

Some good and some bad for the A's against A.J. Burnett. Look to avoid Coco Crisp, Hideki Matsui, and David DeJesus as all are well below .200 against the New York starter. Kurt Suzuki is 6-for-18 against Burnett while Daric Barton and Ryan Sweeney are both better than .300 as well.

Spot Starts: Porcello, Leake, Matusz

Thursday Notes

Check out Bud Norris' road splits before starting him against the Padres. Norris is 0-3 on the road with a 6.55 ERA in four starts. He has allowed batters to hit .330 against him in those starts. He certainly still has strikeout numbers worth starting, fanning 26 in 22 road innings. This is Petco Park, which is slightly different than most of his road starts, but tough none the less.

Ichiro is a .367 hitter in 30 at-bats against James Shields and he is not the only one with good numbers against the Tampa starter. Chone Figgins is 10-for-27, showing good numbers despite recent struggles. Franklin Gutierrez and Miguel Olivo are both better than .300 against him as well. Jack Cust and Adam Kennedy are your only trouble spots.

Johnny Damon owns Felix Hernandez, posting a .563 average in 16 at-bats. Look to see Casey Kotchman in the lineup as well given his 5-for-14 marks. B.J. Upton though is only 1-for-18 and Ben Zobrist is only 2-for-12.

Both Carlos Beltran and Angel Pagan are worth starting against Paul Maholm. Pagan is 5-for-12 with a home run while Beltran is 6-for-14 with a home run as well. Maholm may be 1-3 on the road, but batters are hitting just .218 against him outside of his home park.

Spot Starts: Maholm, Swarzak, Stauffer

Fantasy Baseball: Friday News and Notes

noreply@blogger.com (cwhager) — Fri, 27 May 2011 13:34:00 +0000

Friday Notes

Another good matchup for Jason Bay given his numbers against Roy Oswalt. Bay is 11-for-31 against Oswalt and Carlos Beltran is a .375 hitter in 24 at-bats. Scott Hairston has the same number of at-bats as Beltran, but is just hitting .125 against him.

Chris Young and Stephen Drew are your best bets against Brett Myers. Drew is 4-for-9 while Young is 3-for-10. Otherwise, nothing good to report on this one. Kelly Johnson has really struggled, hitting .154 in 26 at-bats. Xavier Nady is 3-for-14 for his efforts.

Look for Corey Patterson to be in the lineup for Toronto against Mark Buehrle. Patterson is a .350 hitter in 20 at-bats against him. Jose Molina is at .333 in 18 while Rajai Davis is at .273 in 11. Those are the best numbers you will find. Struggles come from Aaron Hill and his 3-for-18. Jose Bautista is 4-for-16.

Rough numbers for the Angels against Scott Baker. Howie Kendrick is 1-for-11 while Bobby Abreu is 1-for-10. Torii Hunter has no hits in seven at-bats against his former teammate. Alberto Callaspo is a .273 hitter in 18 at-bats while Erick Aybar is 4-for-9. Baker has given up 12 earned runs in his last 15.1 innings pitched over three starts.

Jhonny Peralta has been red-hot, but is hitting only .190 against Tim Wakefield in 21 at-bats. Otherwise, all good things to report for your Tigers. Victor Martinez and Ramon Santiago are both hitting better than .400 against him. Miguel Cabrera is just at .250, but fewer at-bats to base the judgement on. Wakefield was solid last time out and is 3-0 in his last four starts with a 2.43 ERA against the Tigers.

Doug Davis has some history against the Pirates thanks to his days with the Brewers. Matt Diaz will likely be on the bench given his 1-for-10 mark against him. Nothing really good to report. Ryan Doumit has had his struggles, hitting .143 in 14 at-bats. Garrett Jones is also only 1-for-9. Davis is 2-1 in his last four starts against the Pirates with a 4.18 ERA.

Tonight would not be a good night to get cute and add Jack Cust to your lineup. He is only 2-for-19 against A.J. Burnett. Ichiro, though, is a .444 hitter in 18 at-bats while Chone Figgins steps in at .400 in 15 at-bats. Might be a sneaky play to use Franklin Gutierrez. Though he has limited at-bats against Burnett, he is 4-for-8 in those trips.

Yadier Molina and Matt Holliday are both at .300 in 10 at-bats against Ubaldo Jimenez and Lance Berkman adds a .308 mark in 13 times up. Albert Pujols though has struggled to a 2-for-12 mark. Ryan Theriot and Colby Rasmus are both decent plays, hitting around .280 against the Colorado starter. The Cardinals have a combined 102 at-bats against Jimenez and a total of zero home runs against him.

Surprisingly limited numbers for the Dodgers against Javier Vazquez considering how long Vazquez has been in the National League in various stints. Probably see Dioner Navarro behind the plate as he hits .267 against Vazquez while Rod Barajas is just 2-for-19. Rafael Furcal would look to still be a good play as well at .286 in better than 40 at-bats. Start your other Dodgers as normal. Vazquez scares no one at this point.

Spot Starts: Wakefield, Correia, Westbrook

Weekend Notes

Are Jeff Baker and Reed Johnson really mentioned in a fantasy article? Indeed. Baker is 7-for-14 against Pittsburgh starter Paul Maholm while Johnson is 7-for-11. Starlin Castro is 5-for-11 himself and no concerns with Aramis Ramirez. Alfonso Soriano does have four home runs in 31 at-bats against Maholm, but only a .258 average. Maholm is 2-2 in his last five starts at Wrigley field, posting a 7.57 ERA for his efforts.

Only Carlos Lee stands out as a major concern against Zach Duke and Arizona. Lee is a .241 hitter with no home runs in 29 at-bats. Look to use Clint Barnes in this one. Barnes is 7-for-13 lifetime against Duke. Bill Hall could be a nice play given his .355 average and three home runs in 31 at-bats. Duke is 3-2 in his last five starts against the Astros with a 2.51 ERA.

Likely you will see Scott Hairston in the lineup for the Mets against Cole Hamels. Hairston is a .353 hitter in 17 at-bats with three home runs to boot. Jose Reyes checks in at .294 while Carlos Beltran is at .303. In Beltran's 33 at-bats, he adds three home runs as well. Worth noting that Hamels is just 1-7 in his last nine starts with a 4.33 ERA against the Mets. Leave him be.

Brandon Phillips is only 1-for-11 against Derek Lowe, and most of his teammates have not fared much better. Look to avoid Edgar Renteria and Ramon Hernandez in this one as well. Scott Rolen is a .300 hitter, so he should be good to go here.

Check out Bud Norris' home numbers. In 40 innings pitched, he has a 1.10 WHIP and 2.25 ERA to go with 43 strikeouts. Basically, the numbers are very solid when he pitches in his own ballpark. He has struggled lately, but two of those rough starts came on the road while the bulk of his trouble against the Mets at home came when he worked into the eighth inning (gave up three in the eighth as opposed to just one in the first seven).

Andrew McCutchen, Ronny Cedeno, and Chris Snyder are your only Pirates hitting better than .300 against Ryan Dempster. Looks like we should see Snyder behind the plate given Doumit is only 4-for-22 against the Chicago starter. Garrett Jones has struggled as well, going just 2-for-15. Dempster is 3-4 in his last nine starts against the Pirates with a 5.24 ERA.

John Danks has had his problems on the road this season. Forget that his team has given him virtually no run support and just look at the numbers. He is 0-5 on the road with a 4.78 ERA away from home while batters are hitting .311 against him. Look to avoid him in this one simply given those numbers. Not a good matchup against Ricky Romero either.

Dan Haren has done a solid job holding the bulk of the Minnesota lineup at bay. Delmon Young is only 3-for-15 while Justin Morneau checks in at 4-for-17. Michael Cuddyer is only 4-for-21. Jason Kubel is 3-for-9 with a home run while Jim Thome is 6-for-13 with 2 home runs.

Spot Starts: Maholm, Duke, Villanueva, Collmenter, Britton, Gorzellany

Fantasy Baesball: Thursday News and Notes

noreply@blogger.com (cwhager) — Thu, 26 May 2011 14:58:00 +0000

Thursday Notes

Look to avoid Kurt Suzuki and Kevin Kouzmanoff specifically against Joel Pineiro. Suzuki is 1-for-13 while Kouzmanoff is 3-for-21. Some rough numbers come form Daric Barton who is 1-for-14. Otherwise, good offense can come out of the matchup for Oakland. Ellis, Crisp, and DeJesus all are hitting far better than .300 against him. Hideki Matsui even measures up at .294. Rough matchup for Pineiro today with this going against him.

Torii Hunter is at .455 against Brett Anderson in 11 at-bats. Bobby Abreu has hit .286 in 14 at-bats and his numbers are the second best on the team. Look to avoid Erick Aybar and his 0-for-10 mark as well as the struggles of Howie Kendrick and his .214 average in 14 at-bats.

Jason Bay has five home runs and 16 RBI to go with a .341 average in 41 at-bats against Carlos Zambrano. Needs to be started today! Carlos Beltran and others should be down. Beltran is 3-for-18 while Jose Reyes is at .238 in 21 at-bats. If you were starting Ronny Paulino, he is 1-for-19 and Willie Harris is 4-for-24. Zambrano is 2-2 with a 3.71 ERA in his last six starts against the Mets.

Decent numbers for some of your Reds even against Cliff Lee. Scott Rolen is 8-for-17 and leads the charge. Brandon Phillips adds a .333 average in 15 at-bats. Even Miguel Cairo is at .417 in 12 at-bats. Look to avoid Edgar Renteria and Jonny Gomes. Gomes specifically is just 2-for-25 against Lee. Doubtful he will be in the lineup.

Quick hit here, but look to start Melky Cabrera against Jeremy Guthrie. Cabrera is 10-for-23 (.435) against Guthrie.

Anibal Sanchez has been filthy in his last three starts, giving up a total of three earned runs over 22 innings pitched. He has a 2.05 ERA for May and a 0.99 WHIP to boot. Look for Aaron Rowand in the lineup today though. He is 6-for-10 against Sanchez lifetime.

Spot Starts: Vogelsong, Moretensen

Friday Notes

Another good matchup for Jason Bay given his numbers against Roy Oswalt. Bay is 11-for-31 against Oswalt and Carlos Beltran is a .375 hitter in 24 at-bats. Scott Hairston has the same number of at-bats as Beltran, but is just hitting .125 against him.

Chris Young and Stephen Drew are your best bets against Brett Myers. Drew is 4-for-9 while Young is 3-for-10. Otherwise, nothing good to report on this one. Kelly Johnson has really struggled, hitting .154 in 26 at-bats. Xavier Nady is 3-for-14 for his efforts.

Look for Corey Patterson to be in the lineup for Toronto against Mark Buehrle. Patterson is a .350 hitter in 20 at-bats against him. Jose Molina is at .333 in 18 while Rajai Davis is at .273 in 11. Those are the best numbers you will find. Struggles come from Aaron Hill and his 3-for-18. Jose Bautista is 4-for-16.

Rough numbers for the Angels against Scott Baker. Howie Kendrick is 1-for-11 while Bobby Abreu is 1-for-10. Torii Hunter has no hits in seven at-bats against his former teammate. Alberto Callaspo is a .273 hitter in 18 at-bats while Erick Aybar is 4-for-9. Baker has given up 12 earned runs in his last 15.1 innings pitched over three starts.

Jhonny Peralta has been red-hot, but is hitting only .190 against Tim Wakefield in 21 at-bats. Otherwise, all good things to report for your Tigers. Victor Martinez and Ramon Santiago are both hitting better than .400 against him. Miguel Cabrera is just at .250, but fewer at-bats to base the judgement on. Wakefield was solid last time out and is 3-0 in his last four starts with a 2.43 ERA against the Tigers.

Spot Starts: Wakefield, Correia, Westbrook

Fantasy Baseball: Tuesday News and Notes

noreply@blogger.com (cwhager) — Tue, 24 May 2011 14:50:00 +0000

Tuesday Notes

Nothing pretty for the Blue Jays against C.C. Sabathia. As hot as Jose Bautista has been, he is 0-for-11 against the lefty. Aaron Hill and Rajai Davis are a combined 5-for-44, each sharing 22 of those at-bats. Only Jayson Nix at 3-for-10 is hitting at least .300 and he is the only player on the Blue Jays with at least 10 at-bats hitting better than .275.

Look to avoid David DeJesus tonight as he is just 2-for-18 against Dan Haren. Hideki Matsui and Mark Ellis both struggle as well. Good numbers from Coco Crisp and Kevin Kouzmanoff. Kouzmanoff is a .321 hitter with three home runs in 28 at-bats. Crisp is 5-for-14, good for a .357 mark. Haren allowed just one unearned run against the A's in his start earlier this season against them.

In nine starts this season, Doug Fister has allowed two or fewer runs seven times. When he blows up, though, he blows up. The two bad outings saw him allow a combined 10 earned runs in 12.2 innings. Worth noting that while only Denard Span has cracked 10 at-bats against him on the Twins, the small samples are still interesting. Delmon Young is 4-for-9 and Span is 3-for-10. Even Michael Cuddyer is 3-for-8. There are pieces to choose from here.

Jhoulys Chacin has been good all season, but is even better at home. His 2.70 ERA on the road is lowered to 1.80 in his own park (counterintuitive, don't you think?). Justin Upton is 0-for-10 against Chacin while Chris Young is only 2-for-13. Stephen Drew has good numbers at 4-for-12. Start your other Diamondbacks as normal.

Josh Beckett was taken out of his last start with a stiff neck but is scheduled to make his start today. Asdrubal Cabrera is 4-for-10 against him and Shin-Soo Choo checks in at .308 in 13 at-bats. Orlando Cabrera has struggled to a .239 mark in 44 at-bats while Adam Everett is no better, hitting just .214 against him.

Since his start on April 28th ballooned his ERA to nearly 9.50, Ryan Dempster has been able to lower his mark by three full runs with a 3.50 ERA for the month of May. He has won three of his last four outings and has given up only four earned runs in his last 13 innings pitched at home. Jason Bay is just 2-for-13 against him but Carlos Beltran is 6-for-9.

Only a couple rough numbers for the Cardinals against San Diego starter Aaron Harang. The team saw plenty of him while Harang was with the Reds. Look to avoid the 2-for-21 of Matt Holliday and Yadier Molina is just at .206 in 34 at-bats. No other concerns for you in this one. Start your Cardinals as normal as Harang is 2-7 in his last nine starts with a 4.88 ERA against them.

Not much of a strikeout pitcher, but Charlie Morton's numbers at home have been solid. He has just a 1.74 ERA in his own ballpark. While the Braves are not a fantastic matchup and going against Jair Jurrjens makes it worse, he needs to be owned more widely than he currently is. Especially for home pitching matchups.

Spot Starts: McClellan, Fister, Morton

Wednesday Notes

Ryan Sweeney, Cliff Pennington, and David DeJesus have simply raked against Ervin Santana. All are hitting better than .400 against him with Sweeney leading the way at .529 in 17 at-bats. Kurt Suzuki has struggled to 3-for-27 while Mark Ellis is at .229 in 48 at-bats. Otherwise, look to start your A's as you normally would in this one.

Erick Aybar, Alberto Callaspo, and Howie Kendrick are your best bets against Trevor Cahill. Aybar is at .294 in 17 at-bats. Both Callaspo and Kendrick are better than .300, going a combined 9-for-28. Torii Hunter and Bobby Abreu have both struggled, going just .214 and .143 respectively in 14 at-bats a piece.

Jason Hammel has been lit up at home, posting a 5.17 ERA while allowing 32 hits in 31.1 innings. Gerardo Parra and Kelly Johnson are both better than .300 and are your best options against the Colorado starter in this one. Tough numbers otherwise. Stephen Drew is 3-for-13 while Justin Upton is 2-for-12.

Jon Lester dominated Cleveland his last time out, posting seven shutout innings in his effort. Jack Hannahan is 6-for-12 against Lester and needs to be started at least in AL-only formats. Orlando Cabrera at .333 in 18 at-bats is the only other number worth noting. Shin-Soo Choo is 0-for-9 and Asdrubal Cabrera just 1-for-8.

UGLY numbers for the Astros against Ted Lilly. Hunter Pence is at .188 in 32 at-bats while Michael Bourn is 1-for-11. Carlos Lee is barely better with a .256 mark in 43 at-bats. Bill Hall is 2-for-17 while Jason Michaels is 3-for-13.

Spot Starts: Garcia, McDonald