The Day in Review

Cubs won, Brewers lost, I'm happy. I've also ostracized an entire team's fans with my blatant dislike for a franchise.

Injury News:

• George Sherrill hit the DL, and the O's have to be regretting not dealing him at the deadline when his value was at a peak.
• Kinsler is opting to avoid surgery, but this probably only nets him a week or so of play before the season's rapidly approaching finale.

Notable Performances:

• Rich Harden struck out ten, walking none in seven innings of scoreless ball.
• AJ Burnett struck out thirteen in eight innings of one-run ball, netting him his sixteenth win of the season. Does that total surprise anyone else?
• Matt Joyce had two homers as the Tigers rolled over the Rangers.
• Sean Gallagher gave up ten runs in five innings, and I'm done recommending him until next year. He was on my roster too, if you were hurt by the spot start.
• Kevin Slowey, on the other side of the matchup, struck out twelve over seven innings of one-run ball.
• Ian Snell struck out eight in seven scoreless, and those kind of performances are what the Buccos need if their young offense is going to be relevant. Gorzo would need a turn around also.

That's what you need to know about the day.

The Underrated, Part II

Well, I have some free time and wanted to offer a few more names into the discussion, mostly do I could point out that, thus far, there has been no discussion. You guys need to step it up and add a comment or two, it's good practice for next season and coming up with your own hypotheses is the only way to get ahead of the rest of your league. Think about it like this--if everyone has access to the same information, and you fail to expand upon that information, you have no chance at a competitive edge. Granted, posting your original thoughts nullifies the innovation... but, we don't have enough readers (yet) to make that a major concern.

• Cliff Lee: 12 (unlisted)
  
• Justin Duchscherer: 38 (unlisted)
  
• Ryan Dempster: 39 (209)
  
• Rich Harden: 50 (187)
  
• Ervin Santana: 55 (unlisted)
  
• Edinson Volquez: 59 (unlisted)
  
• Mike Mussina: 78 (unlisted)
  
• John Danks: 91 (unlisted)
  
• Armando Galarraga: 94 (unlisted)
  
• Joe Saunders: 99 (unlisted)
  

Yes, this means that you could field a seven man rotation of Cliff Lee, Justin Duchscherer, Ervin Santana, Edinson Volquez, Mike Mussina, John Danks, and Joe Saunders without investing a single draft pick. Anyone notice anything in common among these guys. I'll start the conversation with the idea of "post-hype sleepers" but it doesn't describe everyone.

The Day in Review

Boy am I glad I didn't draft Derek Anderson in my most recent fantasy football draft...

Injury News

• Ryan Braun hurt himself swinging in the sixth inning for Milwaukee. I don't know what else to say, really.
• Justin Duchscherer left Monday's game with hip pain - after his great first half, though, he's fallen off lately.
• Ian Kinsler has a sports hernia, which will likely end his outstanding season. Rotoworld said that he could "face surgery" and at first I thought this meant he needed surgery on his face, so I'm still trying to recover from that grammatical misunderstanding.

Notable Performances

• I am so tired of reporting on CC Sabathia. Consider this me not reporting that he had another complete game with 9 K's, and went 2-for-3 at the plate.
• Nick Swisher hit his 18th homer tonight - was I the only one who expected more from him? Carlos Quentin, by contrast, hit his 35th. Wow.
• Curtis Granderson drove in 4 for Detroit and Gary Sheffield added a HR.
• Aubrey Huff has 27 home runs - there's one I really didn't know. Jason Bay bested him with 2 HR tonight, though. Did you know Bay has hit .348 since going to Boston? I honestly thought he'd be the opposite.
• Adam LaRoche hit a 2-run HR for Pittsburgh as he continues to be good enough in the second half to keep through his awful first halves.

That's what you need to know about the day.

The Underrated

Here goes... Every year someone comes out of nowhere to lead fantasy baseball squads to the top of their league. Those of us in competitive leagues know that the Josh Hamilton's of the world are probably hyped names come draft day, representing the Funstonian "sleeper" of the year. If you drafted Hamilton (or counterdrafted him, as Pete did in both leagues we share, only to realize how much he should listen to me), you are probably having a fine season. But there are other names that somehow slip in the draft boards only to provide a ton of value off the waiver wire. I would like to list all the guys I think are underrated, and later in the week we will try to explain why each of us has given such players the cold shoulder at some point. Some of these guys continue to be underappreciated, while a few have been touted, though few to the real talent that they've displayed thus far.

• Carlos Quentin: 6 (unlisted)
• Ryan Ludwick: 8 (unlisted)
• Kevin Youkilis: 20 (177)
• Aubrey Huff: 22 (unlisted)
• Dustin Pedroia: 29 (168)
• Nate McClouth: 30 (192)
• Xavier Nady: 51 (185)
• Melvin Mora: 57 (unlisted)
• Mark Reynolds: 61 (unlisted)
• Milton Bradley: 69 (227)
• Jorge Cantu: 71 (unlisted)
• Randy Winn: 87 (220)

The first number represents the players current rank, while the second is their average draft position ("unlisted" implies they weren't drafted in enough leagues to make the cut as far as ESPN was concerned). I think I notice some obvious similarities between a number of the players, but I'd like to see you're thoughts first. Comment away, and I'll join the discussion once I feel I can bias the direction.

The Day in Review

Well, Santana is still dominant. His complete game shutout of the Pirates doesn't qualify as a surprising performance from a marginal player, though I think it does go to show how much he'd like to have the Twins bullpen back.

Injury News:

• Rickie Weeks sprained his thumb and Rotoworld believes the injury will send him to the DL. Ray Durham picks up some value over those fifteen days.

Notable Performances:

• Reed Johnson went 4-5 with 2 doubles and 3 RBI. He played in place of Edmonds, but will likely see increased playing time in place of Kosuke Fukudome given his extended slump. If so, he will be a solid add in deeper formats. Dempster struck out ten in the game.
• Brian Bannister gave up ten runs in the first inning. After a great start to the season, he's really collapsed.
• Melvin Mora had two homers in a 5-6, 6 RBI night. He's really having a great season and is of the "underrated" type that we will discuss this week.
• Tim Lincecum struck out ten, and I'm convinced he will be the next "Johan Santana" for the following five years. Of course, the Giants need to add some offense.
• Josh Beckett got tagged for eight runs in barely more than two innings in a game that saw Alex Rios hit four doubles.
• Raul Ibanez went 5-5, and his average sits just shy of .300.

That's what you need to know about the day.

Strategic Spot Starters: Week Edition

I've changed my plans in order to attend the Mets-Pirates game today, and I have a question for you guys. Has Santana lost his dominance? I'm going to the game simply to see who I've considered the best pitcher of my fantasy baseball (and Major League baseball) interest, though it occurred to me that his title could change as soon as next year. Which pitcher should go off the board first next season? Here's a list of which pitchers should come off the free agency list first this week.

Sunday: Mike Mussina at Kansas City is your standard spot start, so hopefully those who missed out on the last segment recognized him early (Is he owned in all leagues, by the way?). Gio Gonzalez faces the team from which he was nurtured, and since it's in Oakland he has a chance to make them regret the move. Clayton Kershaw, the other fantasy phenom, goes up againstthe  Milwaukee free swingers, and he'll face non-ace Jeff Suppan, the lesser option in the matchup.

Monday: Nick Blackburn, one of my favorite, goes up against Oakland in a good start to the week. Jon Garland faces the races, who are twentieth in team offense when facing a righty. Mark Buehrle against Seattle in a conventional plug.

Tuesday: Joe Blanton against Washington - conventional plug. So is Ricky Nolasco against the Giants and Kevin Slowey against the A's. Slowey will get Sean Gallagher, and so I'm not sure who to expect the win from. I'm hesitant to recommend starting both because I've seen game between young talents to keep pace with eachother, so you'll either get 14 innings of 3 run ball of 14 innings of 10 run ball. Darrell Rasner against the Blue Jays is an option in deeper leagues, though his career numbers against the team aren't lights out.

Wednesday: Scott Olsen gets San Francisco, and is a guy who could help down the stretch who might be available. Manny Parra at home against Houston is a good bet, though they were the first team he had lost to at Wrigley North (take that, Brewer fans). He's been shaky lately and the 1.49 WHIP is a lot uglier than you'd want, so I still consider him a spot starter.

Thursday: There is not one option. This hasn't happened before, but not one of my "spot starter" watch list is the probable to pitch. Any suggestions?

The Day in Review

Hey all, this is actually Zach (I'm on Pete's username because he happens to be logged on the computer I'm using, and I'm too lazy to logout). I just got back from vacation, and had expected to have internet access. Since that didn't turnout, you guys got no posts, so I feel pretty bad. But I'll acclimate by doing a day in review.

Injury News:

• Jonathon Sanchez's strained shoulder has sent him to the DL. We argued where he fit into our rankings, and we were right... unfortunately.
• Tom Glavine will have surgery, possibly ending his career but definitely ending the season.

Notable Performances:

• Justin Verlander didn't give up an earned run. He gave up two unearned runs, but, it's a start.
• Matt Holliday stole two bases, and will exceed at least twenty (he's already at 19). Will he be overrated or underrated next season?
• Pedro Martinez had a second great outing. He is playing on the team I'm facing this week, and I made a great trade moving him to that team a long time ago in a deal for Markakis. I guess it should come back to hurt me.
• Albert Pujols had two homers, bringing his total to 26.

That's what you need to know about the day.

The Day in Review

I think I need to change the days in review to Zach does every day the Cubs win, and Zach does every day the Cubs lose. 

Injury News

• Chris Carpenter is back on the shelf with shoulder trouble only 3 starts after returning from Tommy John surgery. 

Notable Performances

• Melvin Mora paced Baltimore, going 3-for-4 with 4 RBI and 2 R.
• Cliff Lee, mentioned as a Cy Young candidate on ESPN, won his 17th game this year with a complete game, striking out six.
• Randy Winn made me look good with a homer as part of a 4-for-4 night.
• Brandon Webb one-upped Cliff Lee by grabbing his 18th victory. He only threw eight innings, though.
• Me: "Zambrano has 12 RBI this year." Zach: "I know, he has more than Henry Blanco."

I think that's what you need to know about the day.

The Day in Review

I got nothing.

Injury News

• Brad Penny has returned to the LA DL (does that look funny to anyone else?) with right shoulder inflammation. It's the same reason he was on the DL earlier in the year and there's no reports yet on his MRI. 
• Troy Percival is definitely oft-injured this year - he's day-to-day for the battered Tampa Bay Rays after spraining his right knee. Another DL stint is possible.
• Chris Young, the San Diego pitcher, hit the DL with a strained right forearm, and he sounds like he wants to call it a lost season and start on next year. I can't blame him, especially because the Padres have been abysmal for much of this season (only Washington and Seattle have fewer wins). 

Notable Performances

• Mark Kotsay had a 5-for-5 cycle tonight, the first for Atlanta in 21 years. This doesn't make him fantasy-relevant, of course, but it's neat for baseball lovers.
• Jim Thome, Paul Konerko, Alexei Ramirez, and Juan Uribe hit 4 straight homers for the White Sox. This may be the first time all year we've heard from any of these players.
• Randy Winn, who has nice career second-half numbers if you're looking to replace Carlos Lee, went 2-for-4 and drove in 2 runs as the Giants lost to the Astros.
• Carlos Pena hit another home run tonight. I don't know that we've ever mentioned this, but his post-Break OPS is 100 points higher than his pre-Break numbers. It's probably too late to get him, but he's had a very nice August after his terrible start this year. 30 homers is very possible; it would be a disappointment to those who drafted him early but I think it's about what should have been expected from him at the outset.
• Ryan Ludwick (OPS-ing 1.178 in August) drove in all three runs for St. Louis tonight. After what looked like a fall-off in June, he continues to hit the cover off the ball for the Cardinals.

This is so much information, I think it makes up for the lack of a post today. Look for spot starters to show up tomorrow. That's what you need to know about the day.

The Day in Review

Micheal Phelps, Russia and Georgia - there's so much to distract me from baseball right now. Still, I'll do my best to focus tonight.

Injury News

• Joel Zumaya is on the DL, and if you listen to Jim Leyland talk about the injury, he probably is done for the year. Maybe next year he can finally wrench the closer's job from Todd Jones.
• I almost wrote Kevin Jones instead of Todd Jones. Too much fantasy football draft prep. 
• We reported Mike Lowell's injury yesterday - today's developments have him on the DL for Boston. Sean Casey picks up playing time with Kevin Youkilis shifting across the diamond in Lowell's absence.

Notable Performances

• Kevin Slowey continues to pitch well - tonight he gave up 3 hits and 1 ER in six innings. He's had a very up-and-down year (check out his game log on Yahoo!, it includes two CG shutouts), so he's still kind of risky for spot starts.
• Spot starter Mark Buehrle rewarded owners with 7 shutout innings and five strikeouts in a ChiSox win. Andy Sonnanstine had six K's in six innings; the game was tied as I wrote this. Joe Blanton had the lead but had given up 4 earned already.
• Aubrey Huff hit his 25th homer and drove in 2 runs for Baltimore.
• Paul Maholm's ridiculous pitching continues with another 8-inning victory against the depleted Reds tonight.
• Vernon Wells hit a grand slam - he has 7 RBI in 4 games since returning from the DL four days ago.
• The Mets beat up on the Nats, 12-0, in what could be a preview of some September games that will win fantasy championships.
• Since I'm posting on games in progress, CC Sabathia still could get the CG as I write this, though he's up to 77 pitches after 5 innings so it seems unlikely. 

Fun fact from ESPN today: The only team other than the Cubs today to win both games of a doubleheader by 8 runs is... the Cubs, in 1908, the last year they won the World Series. Karma? That's what you need to know about the day.