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Archive for April, 2009

Fantasy Baseball – the Daily Dirt for Wednesday

Posted by Todd Lammi on April 29th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

Travis Hafner of the Cleveland Indians was placed on the 15-day disabled list with soreness in his right shoulder. There is a chance that rookie Matt LaPorta could be recalled for the weekend games if the Cleveland Indians decide they need a jolt of offense. In other news around the fantasy baseball diamond on Wednesday…

Hitters:

Torii Hunter hit his 8th home run of the season and is now hitting .329 on the year. With Vladimir Guerrero out of the lineup, Hunter has become the main RBI man for the Los Angeles Angels as he has driven in runs in 7 of his last 8 games.

Jorge Cantu hit his third home run in two nights giving him six long balls on the season with 18 RBI. Cantu currently leads the National League is slugging percentage at .741.

Carlos Quentin hit his 8th home run of the season and drove in two runs in a Chicago White Sox win. The home run was the first for Quentin in the last 10 days.

Adrian Gonzalez hit two home runs and drove in three runs in a San Diego Padres loss. Gonzalez is now hitting .329 on the season with 19 RBI. It will be interesting to see if the Padres fall out of the race if Gonzalez is moved at the trade deadline.

Nick Swisher is heating up again for the New York Yankees. Swisher hit two home runs and drove in four runs Wednesday. Swisher now has seven home runs on the season and 19 RBI.

Threes were wild for the Minnesota Twins as the top three hitters in their lineup knocked out three hits apiece; Denard Span, Brendan Harris and Justin Morneau. All three are batting over .300 on the season plus Jason Kubel.

Billy Butler went 4 for 5 with four runs scored and four RBI, including his first two home runs of the season.

The Oakland A’s placed both Mark Ellis and Nomar Garciaparra on the disabled list. Eric Patterson was recalled from Triple-A to fill in.

Pitchers:

Zack Greinke’s scoreless inning streak came to an end at 29 when he allowed a run in the first inning against the Toronto Blue Jays. For the game, Greinke allowed two runs in seven innings with eight strikeouts.

Yvoni Gallardo tossed eight scoreless innings with 11 strikeouts and helped his cause by hitting a home run in a 1-0 win. Gallardo’s whip ratio now stands at 0.87.

Johan Santana pitched seven innings, allowing two runs and seven strikeouts in a no decision. He was in line for the win before J.J. Putz allowed two runs in the 8th inning. Santana currently leads the NL in strikeouts with 44 on the year.

Doug Davis hurled seven scoreless innings with seven strikeouts to pick up his second win of the season. The control problems that have occurred the previous two seasons have not surfaced yet in 2009, leaving Davis with a current whip ratio of 1.18.

Joba Chamberlain picked up his first win of the season, allowing one run in seven innings with six strikeouts. His ERA stands at 3.13 but he has been less than dominant with a 13/17 walk to strikeout ratio.

It’s a good thing Edison Volquez reads my website and decided to pick up his performance. Volquez allowed one hit in eight scoreless innings to go with six strikeouts.

Closers:

Carlos Villanueva picked up the save for the Milwaukee Brewers instead of Trevor Hoffman closing back to back games since he just returned from the disabled list.

Huston Street struck out the side in the ninth inning for his second save of the year in place of Manny Corpas who was getting a day off. With Corpas suffering losses in two of his last four appearances, the closer role could change hands once again.

Carlos Marmol returning after missing time with a sore knee did not look 100% in his outing Wednesday. Marmol walked 4 batters in a third of an inning. Of the 22 pitches he threw, only five were for strikes. Kevin Gregg also struggled in a mop up role, walking three and allowing a hit in the eight inning before he was pulled.

Ryan Franklin continues to roll, picking up his 5th save in the last nine days. Jason Motte continues to set up in the 8th inning so if Franklin ever needs a night off, Motte might get that chance.

Julian Tavarez picked up his first save of the year for the Washington Nationals. Kip Wells set him up with a scoreless eighth inning. It is nice to see the Nationals are trying to solve their bullpen woes, trading for Logan Kensing of the Florida Marlins and demoting Jason Bergmann to Triple-A. Kensing currently has a 9.82 ERA for Florida, while Bergmann’s ERA was 3.60.

Fantasy Baseball – the Daily Dirt for Tuesday

Posted by Todd Lammi on April 28th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

Jorge Cantu was a one man wrecking crew for the Florida Marlins, going 3 for 3 with two home runs and 5 RBI, to snap the teams’ seven-game losing streak. Hanley Ramirez missed the game for the Marlins after being hit by a pitch on Monday. Catcher John Baker slid into the third spot in the batting order with Ramirez out and Cameron Maybin was bumped up to the number two hole. In other news around major league baseball on Tuesday…

Hitters:

Colorado Rockies rookie center fielder Dexter Fowler has been named the full time starter by manager Clint Hurdle. The move means that Seth Smith will lose out on the majority of at bats, and Ryan Spillborghs will see a slight reduction in at bats for the days that Smith plays.

Edwin Encarnacion was placed on the 15-day disabled list by the Cincinnati Reds with a fracture in his wrist. Adam Rosales was recalled from Triple-A and should see time at third base along with Jerry Hairston Jr.

Russell Branyan went 5 for 5 in the second game of the Seattle Mariners doubleheader and is now hitting .358 on the season.

Chone Figgins went 2 for 3 with two runs scored and two stolen bases. The stolen bases were his first in the last 10 days.

Mark DeRosa went 4 for 5, including his fourth home run of the season and scored four runs. He has made his hits count this year, despite batting only .235, he has driven in 17 runs on the season.

Chase Utley continues to reward those fantasy baseball owners that took him in the first round of their drafts with two more home runs on Tuesday. Utley is hitting .357 on the season with 20 RBI.

Alfonso Soriano hit his 7th home run of the season and drove in four runs. The one downside to having a guy with that much power of course is the limitation to his RBI numbers. Soriano only has 14 RBI for the year to go with his seven home runs.

Pitchers:

Felix Hernandez moved to 4-0 with eight innings of shutout work and nine strikeouts. Hernandez took over the American League strikeout lead with 36 now on the season.

Jo-Jo Reyes allowed one run in seven innings with seven strikeouts. His start means that Tommy Hanson will most likely remain in Triple-A for a little longer.

Kyle Lohse continued the magic for another week, tossing six shutout innings with six strikeouts. Lohse is normally a fly ball pitcher, but benefited from getting 10 ground ball outs compared to only two fly outs.

Phil Hughes returned to the major leagues, tossing six shutout innings with six strikeouts. Hughes recently recalled from Triple-A is currently replacing the injured Chien-Ming Wang in the rotation.

Edwin Jackson pitched six shutout innings with four strikeouts. Lucky for his fantasy baseball owners he was gone the inning before the New York Yankees put a 10 spot on the board in the 7th inning.

Wandy Rodriguez hurled seven strong innings, allowing one run with five strikeouts. It marked the fourth time in five starts he has allowed one run or less.

Cole Hamels lost out on a chance for a victory when he left his start in the fifth inning with a sprained ankle after trying to field a bunt. Hamels had went 4 1/3 scoreless innings before leaving the game.

The amazing success story of Scott Richmond continued after moving to 3-0 against the Kansas City Royals. Richmond, a 29-year-old rookie who two seasons ago was pitching in the independent leagues, allowed one run in seven innings with five strikeouts.

Chad Gaudin got the start for the San Diego Padres and tossed five scoreless innings with five strikeouts. He is someone worth grabbing in NL-only leagues pitching in Petco park.

Closers:

Frank Francisco has quietly been one of the more effective closers in the American League so far this season. Francisco picked up his sixth save of the season in six chances for the Texas Rangers Tuesday night. He has allowed only six base runners in 10 2/3 innings on the season.

Brian Fuentes picked up his fourth save of the year but has been less than dominant this season. He has not had a 1-2-3 innings since opening day and allowed a solo home run tonight.

Trevor Hoffman fresh off the disabled list got his first save of the season for the Milwaukee Brewers. Todd Coffey set him up with a scoreless eighth inning.

Joel Hanrahan has been removed as closer of the Washington Nationals. Julian Tavarez and Kip Wells could form part of the closer-by-committee to try and get the job done.

Brad Lidge could be looking at potential time on the disabled list if his right knee does not get better. The pain is in the same knee that he had surgery on twice before the start of the 2008 season. If Lidge has to miss any time, Ryan Madson would take over as closer.

Jose Valverde was place on the 15-day disabled list with a strained calf. LaTroy Hawkins will take over as closer for the next two weeks.

Fantasy Baseball – the Daily Dirt for Monday

Posted by Todd Lammi on April 27th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

Hitters:

Jose Guillen, back from the disabled list with a vengeance, launched two home runs and drove in three runs in a 7-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.

Michael Young hit his 6th home run in the Texas Rangers 6-4 win over the Baltimore Orioles. He will also gain 3B eligibility this week for those fantasy baseball leagues with a 20 game position eligibility requirement.

Raul Ibanez hit home run number six and drove in four runs. Ibanez is a guy I love to own in fantasy baseball. He keeps getting older, but continue to perform year after year. Plus because of age, he usually goes several rounds later in drafts than he should.

Ryan Zimmerman hit two home runs, score three runs and had 3 RBI and is now batting .295 on the season.

Carlos Pena hit home run number nine and drove in three runs for the Tampa Bay Rays. Pena is now up to 24 RBI on the season.

Dexter Fowler stole five (5!!!) bases against the San Diego Padres. As a team, the Colorado Rockies stole eight in the game.

Troy Tulowitzki – it was only two years ago that he was being compared to a young Derek Jeter as a rookie, now Tulowitzki is headed to the bench to try to break him out of a slump. Hopefully this season he won’t splinter any bats in anger.

Pitchers:

Brian Bannister had his second solid outing since being recalled from Triple-A, allowing one run in seven innings for the Royals.

Joel Pineiro got the win for the St. Louis Cardinals to go to 4-0. Looking closer at his numbers, 26 1/3 innings, 6 walks, 6 strikeouts and a .303 batting average against does not spell long term success. If you own him, I would be looking to trade him at this point.

Tim Wakefield has the knuckle ball dancing so far this year, tossing seven scoreless innings on Monday with five strikeouts.

Cliff Lee seems to be back on track, tossing eight scoreless innings and has now allowed three runs in his last 20 innings

Justin Verlander tossed seven shutout innings with nine strikeouts to pick up his first win of the season. Keep an eye on his home / road splits when he starts. Currently his ERA on the road is 9.00; at home it is 0.75.

Johnny Cueto is putting together a nice start to the 2009 season. Cueto allowed one run in seven innings with five strikeouts and has now given up two runs in his last 18 2/3 innings.

Dan Haren hurled a complete game shutout, allowing two runs with 10 strikeouts. He has been so dominant this season that allowing two runs in nine innings raised his ERA.

Closers:

Joel Hanrahan blew save number three on the year, allowing three runs in 13 of an inning. It is time for the Washington Nationals to give someone else a shot in that role.

Ryan Madson got his first save of the season in place of Brad Lidge who was out with a sore knee. Lidge is considered to be day to day.

Fantasy Baseball – the Daily Dirt for Sunday

Posted by Todd Lammi on April 26th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

Here are some news and notes regarding injuries as you set your lineup today for the upcoming week. Closer Joakim Soria tested his sore shoulder on Sunday and the Kansas City Royals hope he will be available by mid week. If you own Juan Cruz, this would be the week to play him in attempts to pick up a save or two…..Keep an eye on the Seattle Mariners bullpen as closer Brandon Morrow has some shoulder stiffness. David Aardsma should be active for next week as he could see a save opportunity…..Shawn Hill of the San Diego Padres was placed on the 15-day disabled list with an inflamed elbow. Josh Greer will get the start in his place this week. Because Greer was used in relief of Hill on Saturday, Chad Gaudin could be recalled from Triple-A to start on Tuesday….Chicago White Sox second baseman Chris Getz could land on the disabled list with a fractured bone in his finger so keep him reserved for this upcoming week…..Stephen Drew of the Arizona Diamondbacks was placed on the 15-day DL with a strained hamstring. Augie Ojeda will fill in for Drew…..Milwaukee Brewers closer Trevor Hoffman was activated from the disabled list and should return to the closer role immediately so it should be safe to activate him for this week…..Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Jack Wilson was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained finger. Ramon Vazquez should see time there along with recent call up Brian Bixler…..Shortstop Julio Lugo of the Boston Red Sox will be activated from the disabled list in time to play on Monday and should return to the starting lineup…..Phil Hughes will get the start on Tuesday for the New York Yankees in place of Chien-Ming Wang against the Detroit Tigers…..Although it does not impact games for next week, Diamondbacks starter Brandon Webb will miss at the minimum six more weeks of action worth a right shoulder strain…..In other fantasy baseball news from around the diamond on Sunday…

National League:

Shane Victorino went 2 for 5 with 4 RBI to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a 13-2 win over the Florida Marlins. Jamie Moyer allowed one run in six innings with six strikeouts to pick up his third victory of the season…..Jay Bruce hit two home runs and drive in four runs to power the Cincinnati Reds to an 8-2 win over the Atlanta Braves. Joey Votto added two doubles and three RBI. Micah Owings allowed one run in seven innings with six strikeouts for his first victory of the season…..Rookie Jordan Zimmermann allowed one run in 5 1/3 innings with five strikeouts to help the Washington Nationals defeat the New York Mets 8-1. Jesus Flores hit his second home run of the season and drove in three runs. Austin Kearns added his third long ball of the year. Oliver Perez allowed seven runs in 4 1/3 innings for the Mets and his rotation spot may be in jeopardy…..Ivan Rodriguez hit a solo home run to give the Houston Astros a 3-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. Manny Parra took the loss for Milwaukee and is now 0-3…..Rich Harden allowed two runs in six innings and struck out nine to pitch the Chicago Cubs past the St. Louis Cardinals 10-3. Kosuke Fukudome hit his fourth home run of the season and is now batting .371. Alfonso Soriano added his third stolen base of the year. Rick Ankiel and Yadier Molina each hit their second home run of the season for the Cardinals…..Ryan Spillborghs hit his first home run of the season and drove in three runs in the Colorado Rockies 10-4 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Clint Barmes added his third home run of the year for the Rockies. Clayton Kershaw was hit hard in his second consecutive start, allowing nine runs in 4 2/3 innings…..Adam LaRoche hit two home runs with 4 RBI to lift the Pittsburgh Pirates to an 8-3 victory over the San Diego Padres. Ross Ohlendorf allowed three runs in seven innings to pick up the victory. Jake Peavy had his second straight sub par performance for the Padres, allowing five runs in five innings. Adrian Gonzalez hit his seventh home run of the year for San Diego…..Matt Cain allowed one run in seven innings for the San Francisco Giants, but saw his win blown by closer Brian Wilson who allowed three runs in the ninth innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Pablo Sandoval went 4 for 4 with 3 RBI and his first home run of the year.Justin Upton hit a two-run home run in the ninth inning to send the game to extra frames for the D-Backs.

American League:

Aaron Laffey allowed two runs in 6 1/3 innings to pitch he Cleveland Indians past the Minnesota Twins 4-1. Carlos Gomez continues to disappoint for the Minnesota Twins, going 0 for 2 on Sunday, dropping his average to .195. Gomez has not stolen a base since he stole two back on April 11…..The top three hitters atop the Baltimore Orioles lineup remain on fire as they combined for 6 RBI in the Baltimore Orioles 8-5 defeat of the Texas Rangers. Brian Roberts (.372) hit his second home run of the season and Adam Jones (.348) added his third with 3 RBI. Nick Markakis (.389) added two RBI giving him 21 for the season. Chris Davis and Hank Blalock each hit home run number five for the Rangers…..Roy Halladay picked up his 4th win of the season in the Toronto Blue Jays 4-3 win over the Chicago White Sox. Halladay allowed three runs in seven innings with six strikeouts. Scott Downs picked up his second save of the season. Alexei Ramirez stole his third base of the year for the White Sox…..Armando Galarraga allowed one run in six innings with seven strikeouts in the Detroit Tigers 3-2 win over the Kansas City Royals. Brandon Inge hit his seventh home run of the season and Josh Anderson stole his sixth base of the year for the Tigers. Mike Aviles hit his first home run of the year for the Royals…..Jered Weaver hurled seven scoreless innings to lead the Los Angeles Angels to a 8-0 shutout of the Seattle Mariners. Howie Kendrick went 3 for 5 with 4 RBI and his second home run of the season and Juan Rivera added his first long ball of the year for the Angels. Dana Eveland allowed one run in five innings in the Oakland Athletics 7-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. Catcher Kurt Suzuki drove in three runs for the A’s. Andy Sonnanstine allowed seven runs in four innings for the Rays and could be in danger of losing his rotation spot once David Price is recalled from Triple-A.

Fantasy Baseball – the Daily Dirt for Saturday

Posted by Todd Lammi on April 25th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

The Detroit Tigers used three home runs to defeat the Kansas City Royals 9-1. Curtis Granderson hit his fourth home run of the week and sixth of the season to pace the offense. Magglio Ordonez added his first home run of the year, as did Gerald Laird. Josh Anderson stole his fifth base of the year for Tigers. Relief pitcher Joel Zumaya was activated from the disabled list and threw a scoreless innings for Detroit. Outfielder Jose Guillen was activated from the 15-day disabled list by the Royals. In other fantasy baseball news from around the diamond on Saturday…

American League:

Jason Giambi and Travis Buck each hit their first home run of the season to lift the Oakland Athletics over the Tampa Bay Rays 5-2. Dallas Braden allowed one run in 5 2/3 innings to pick up the win…..It was not a pretty day for your fantasy baseball staff if you had a starting pitcher in the New York Yankees – Boston Red Sox game. Both Josh Beckett and A.J. Burnett allowed eight earned runs in the Red Sox 16-11 victory. Jason Varitek and Mike Lowell each hit home run number four on the season for the Red Sox. Robinson Cano hit two home runs and drove in five runs for the Yankees…..Ian Kinsler hit two home runs and drove in three in the Texas Rangers 6-5 win over the Baltimore Orioles. Chris Davis chipped in with his fourth home run of the season. Ty Wigginton hit his first home run of the year for the Orioles…..Alexei Ramirez hit his first home run of the season and drove in five runs in the Chicago White Sox 10-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. Jermaine Dye added his 5th home run of the year. Mark Buehrle picked up the win and is now 3-0 with a 3.00 ERA….Kevin Slowey allowed one run in eight innings with seven strikeouts to pick up his third win of the year in a 7-1 defeat of the Cleveland Indians. Jason Kubel hit two home runs for the Twins and Joe Crede hit his second home run of the season. Catcher Joe Mauer should be ready to return to action within the next 1-2 weeks. Victor Martinez went 3 for 4 for the Indians and is now hitting .405 on the season.

National League:

Yunel Escobar and ChipperJones each hit home runs and drove in four runs apiece in the Atlanta Braves 10-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds. Derek Lowe picked up the win allowing two runs in seven innings with eight strikeouts. Braves catcher Brian McCann was placed on the 15-day disabled list with an eye infection….The New York Mets, aided by four unearned runs defeated the Washington Nationals 8-2. Carlos Beltran went 3 for 5 with his first stolen base of the year and is now batting .415. The Nationals have now allowed 12 unearned runs in 16 games this season…..Albert Pujols hit a grand slam and new 5th starter Mitchell Boggs tossed 5 2/3 shutout innings to power the St. Louis Cardinals to a 8-2 win over the Chicago Cubs. Cubs relief pitcher Carlos Marmol is expected to miss the next four to five days of action with a knee strain….The Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Florida Marlins 6-4 in 10 innings. Leo Nunez was given the chance to close for the Marlins in the 9th inning, but allowed a run to send the game to extra frames. Matt Lindstrom was unavailable to close after throwing 38 pitches the previous night. Ryan Howard his his third home run of the year for the Phillies. Jorge Cantu (3) and Dan Uggla (4) each went deep for the Marlins. Chris Volstad allowed two runs in seven innings with six strikeouts for Florida…..Russell Martin drove in four runs in the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-5 win over the Colorado Rockies. Ramon Troncoso picked up the rare four inning save. Rafael Furcal swiped two bases for the Dodgers. Garrett Atkins hit his third home run of the year for the Rockies…..Prince Fielder hit two home runs and drove in three runs to lead the Milwaukee Brewers to a 9-8 win over the Houston Astros. Bill Hall added his second home run of the season and drove in four runs. Closer Trevor Hoffman is expected to be activated from the disabled list tomorrow for the Brewers. Carlos Lee hit his fifth home run of the season for the Astros…..The San Francisco Giants used two RBI from Randy Winn and Edgar Renteria to defeat the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-3. Eric Byrnes (3) and Justin Upton (1) each hit home runs for the D-Backs.

Fantasy Baseball – the Daily Dirt for Friday

Posted by Todd Lammi on April 24th, 2009

by Todd Lammi

Fours and threes were wild in the National League on Friday night as three games ended in that exact score. Unfortunately for the Florida Marlins, closer Matt Lindstrom was wild as well, allowing four hits, three walks and seven runs in the ninth inning, in their 7-3 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies. Shane Victorino hit a two-out grand slam to give the Phillies the lead in the ninth inning and Chase Utley tacked on an insurance run with his fifth home run of the year. The loss cost Marlins starter Josh Johnson a win. Johnson tossed seven scoreless innings while striking out eight Phillies. Dan Uggla hit his third home run of the year for the Fish. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Friday…

National League:

Adam Wainwright allowed one earned run in seven innings with six strikeouts, but got a no decision in the St. Louis Cardinals 4-3 win over the Chicago Cubs. Ryan Franklin picked up his fifth save of the season. Albert Pujols stole his third base of the year. Ryan Dempster allowed three runs in six innings with six strikeouts for the Cubs…..Javier Vazquez allowed one run in six innings with nine strikeouts to get his second win of the season in the Atlanta Braves 4-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds. Jeff Francoeur hit his second home run of the year. Braves outfielder Garret Anderson was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained quadriceps muscle. Brandon Jones was recalled from Triple-A. Edison Volquez had control issues for the Reds, walking seven in five innings and allowing three runs…..Johan Santana struck out 10 in six innings to pick up his third win of the year for the New York Mets in a 4-3 win over the Washington Nationals. Jesus Flores and Nick Johnson each hit their first home run of the year for the Nationals…..Yvoni Gallardo picked up a complete game 5-2 win at the expense of the Houston Astros. Gallardo struck out seven without walking a batter. Rickie Weeks hit his third home run of the year for Milwaukee. Carlos Lee hit home run number four for the Astros…..Tim Lincecum looks back on track after striking out 12 in eight innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Bengie Molina hit his third home run of the season and Edgar Renteria hit his second for the Giants.

American League:

Zack Greinke is making it look way too easy this season for the Kansas City Royals. Greinke ran his scoreless innings streak to 29 with a complete game 6-1 win over the Detroit Tigers. Greinke struck out 10 while allowing only three hits. Mark Teahen hit his second home run of the year for the Royals. Closer Joakim Soria will be shutdown over the weekend with a sore shoulder. Juan Cruz could see a save opportunity or two while Soria is out….. Nick Blackburn allowed one run in seven innings to pick up his first win of the season in the Minnesota Twins 5-1 win over the Cleveland Indians. Justin Mourneau hit his fourth home run of the year for the Twins…..Michael Young hit a two-run home run in the top of the nith inning to lift the Texas Rangers to a 5-4 win over the Baltimore Orioles. Hank Blalock added his fourth home run of the season for the Rangers. Brian Roberts hit his first home run of the year for the Orioles…..The Toronto Blue Jays knocked out 21 hits en route to a 14-0 victory over the Chicago White Sox. Aaron Hill drove in three runs and Vernon Wells added two RBI. Brian Tallet hurled 5 2/3 scoreless innings to pick up the win…..Kevin Youkilis hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 11th inning to give the Boston Red Sox a 5-4 win over the New York Yankees. Jason Bay hit his fourth home run and Jacob Ellsbury stole his 7th base of the year for Boston. Injured shortstop Julio Lugo is expected to jon the Red Sox next week assuming his games in Triple-A go well over the weekend. The Yankees placed Chien-Ming Wang on the disabled list. Look for Phil Hughes who I wrote about earlier this week to possibly be recalled to start in Wang’s place next week…..Scott Kazmir threw six shutout innings for the Tampa Bay Rays in their win over the Oakland A’s. Carlos Pena hit two home runs and drove in four runs.

Fantasy Baseball – the Daily Dirt for Thursday

Posted by Todd Lammi on April 23rd, 2009

by Todd Lammi

Albert Pujols went 3 for 4 with two home runs and 3 RBI in the St. Louis Cardinals 12-8 victory over the New York Mets. Rick Ankiel added his first home run of the year for the Cardinals. Kyle Lohse picked up the win and is now 3-0 on the season, but he may miss his next start. Lohse is scheduled to have an MRI on his knee after injuring it while covering first base in the fifth inning. Carlos Beltran hit his second home run of the year for the Mets. In other fantasy baseball news from around the diamond on Thursday…

National League:

Chad Billingsley pitched 7 1/3 scoreless innings to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 2-0 win over the Houston Astros. Billingsley struck out five and lowered his ERA to 2.05 on the season. Wandy Rodriguez allowed one run in six innings in the loss for the Astros. Michael Bourn stole his third base of the year for Houston…..Milwaukee Brewers starter Dave Bush took a no-hitter into the eight inning before allowing a hit in a 6-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. Ryan Braun hit his 4th home run of the season and is now batting .327. Phillies starter Cole Hamels left the game after getting hit in his pitching shoulder by a Prince Fielder line drive…..Joey Votto went 4 for 5 with his 3rd home run of the season in the Cincinnati Reds 7-1 win over the Chicago Cubs. Aaron Harang threw seven shutout innings to pick up the victory.

American League:

Grady Sizemore hit a three-run home run to give the Cleveland Indians a 5-2 win over the Kansas City Royals. Shin-Soo Choo picked up his third stolen base of the year. Gil Meche took the loss for the Royals, allowing three runs in 7 1/3 innings with seven strikeouts…..Felix Hernandez tossed seven shutout innings for the Seattle Mariners in a 1-0 defeat of the Tampa Bay Rays. Ichiro Suzuki stole his second base of the year. James Shields took the loss for the Rays, allowing one run in 7 1/3 innings with four strikeouts…..Adam Eaton allowed two runs in 7 1/3 innings with nine strikeouts (no, that is not a typo, he really struck out 9) in a 6-2 win over the Chicago White Sox….The Toronto Blue Jays hit three home runs in their 5-2 defeat of the Texas Rangers. Lyle Overbay (3), Vernon Wells (3) and Armando Rios (1) all went deep for the Blue Jays. Scott Richmond allowed two runs in six innings with eight strikeouts to get the “w”. With B.J. Ryan on the 15-day disabled list, Scott Downs picked up his first save of the year. Downs will see the majority of save opportunities while Ryan is out of action according to manager Cito Gaston. Rookie Ricky Romero was also placed on the 15 day DL with a strained oblique muscle.

Fantasy Baseball – the Daily Dirt for Wednesday

Posted by Todd Lammi on April 22nd, 2009

by Todd Lammi

Tim Wakefield of the Boston Red Sox pitched his second consecutive complete game, albeit it a rain-shortened seven-inning one, in a 10-1 win over the Minnesota Twins. Kevin Youkilis hit his fourth home run of the year for the Red Sox and Mike Lowell hit his third. Scott Baker of the Twins was roughed up again in his second start back from the disabled list. I would recommend benching Baker in all fantasy baseball formats until he strings a couple of good starts together. Same goes for Francisco Liriano, who was pounded in the second game of the double header for seven runs in four innings in a 7-3 loss to the Red Sox. Justim Mourneau hit his third home run of the year for the Twins . In other fantasy baseball happenings around the diamond on Wednesday….

American League:

Melky Cabrera hit two home runs, including a two-run home run in the bottom of the 14th inning to give the New York Yankees a 9-7 win over the Oakland Athletics. Derek Jeter added his fourth long ball of the season for the Yankees. Kurt Suzuki conitnues to be the lone hot A’s hitter. Suzuki hit his first home run of the season and drove in three runs…..John Danks allowed one run in seven innings to lead the Chicago White Sox to an 8-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. Jim Thome hit his fourth home run of the year and Josh Fields hit his first. Alexei Ramirez and Chris Getz each stole their second base of the season for the White Sox. Luke Scott of the Orioles hit his third home run of the season…..Brian Bannister, just recalled from Triple-A on Tuesday, threw six shutout innings to lift the Kansas City Royals to a 2-0 victory over the Cleveland Indians. Grady Sizemore stole his third base of the year for the Tribe. It is telling how bad the Cleveland Indians bullpen has been that Cliff Lee had to throw 122 pitches in the third week of the season. Lee went eight innings, allowing two runs with five strikeouts…..The Toronto Blue Jays defeated the Texas Rangers 8-7 in 11 innings. Rod Barajas hit two home runs and drove in four runs. B.J. Ryan blew the save for the Blue Jays, allowing three runs in the ninth inning. Michael Young hit his fourth home run for the Rangers.

National League:

Braden Looper pitched six shutout innings to give the Milwaukee Brewers a 3-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. Todd Coffey picked up his second save of the season. J.J. Hardy hit his third home run of the year for Milwaukee. Jason Werth hit his second home run of the season for the Phillies…..Paul Maholm of the Pittsburgh Pirates improved to 3-0 with a 7-4 win over the Florida Marlins. Nyjer Morgan stole two bases to give him six on the season. Emilio Bonifacio stole his 5th base for the Marlins……Dan Haren took matters into his own hands by throwing seven shutout innings with nine strikeouts to help the Arizona Diamondbacks defeat the Colorado Rockies 2-0. Haren had received only one run of support in his previous three starts. Ryan Spillborghs went 4 for 5 for Colorado and stole his first base of the season……The San Francisco Giants defeated the San Diego Padres 1-0 in 10 innings. Chris Young and Barry Zito mirrored starts by tossing seven shutout innings. Emmaanuel Burriss stole his fourth base of the year for the Giants…..The Washington Nationals bullpen failed them again, walking in the winning run in the top of the ninth inning in a 1-0 loss to the Atlanta Braves. Jair Jurrjens threw 7 2/3 scoreless innings for the Braves. Rafael Soriano picked up his second save of the season instead of Mike Gonzalez, who pitched the eighth inning. John Lannan threw seven shutout innings for the Nationals…..Johnny Cueto tossed seven scoreless innings to lead the Cincinnati Reds to a 3-0 win over the Chicago Cubs. Jay Bruce hit his third home run for the Reds. Ted Lilly allowed no earned runs in seven innings for the Cubs, while striking out two…..Lance Berkman hit a two-run home run in the eighth inning to propel the Houston Astros to a 6-5 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Hunter Pence also hit his fourth home run for the Astros. For the Dodgers, Manny Ramirez (4), Andre Ethier (5) and Casey Blake (4) all went deep. LaTroy Hawkins got the save in place of Jose Valverde, who was out with a bruised ankle and pulled calf muscle…..Joel Piniero went to 3-0 after allowing two runs in eight innings in the St. Louis Cardinals 5-2 win over the New York Mets. Ryan Franklin picked up his fourth save of the year.

Fantasy Baseball Minor League Report – week 3

Posted by Todd Lammi on April 22nd, 2009

by Todd Lammi

With all of the hype surrounding up and coming fantasy baseball players in the minor leagues, it is easy to forget about the once hot prospects that fizzled in their first go round in the major leagues.

Such is the case for a guy like Phil Hughes, now pitching for the Scranton-Wilkes Barre Yankees in Triple-A. Hughes picked up his third win of the season Wednesday night and his ERA now stands at 1.86. In 19 1/3 innings of work, he has walked only three and struck out 19. Also in the same boat as Hughes, Ian Kennedy has a 2.00 ERA with 21 strikeouts in 18 innings. Another player to watch on that same team is 22-year-old outfielder Austin Jackson. Jackson is off to an early hot start, batting .424 with four stolen bases.

Besides Tommy Hanson, the Gwinnett Braves (AAA) have another starting pitcher to keep an eye on, Kris Medlen. Medlen, 22, started his career as a relief pitcher before moving into the rotation for part of the season in Double-A last year. So far in Triple-A, he has a 1.32 ERA with 16 strikeouts in 13 2/3 innings with only one walk allowed.

Carlos Gonzalez of the Colorado Springs Sky Sox (Rockies), has not displayed much power yet with only one home run in 52 at bats, but he does lead the team with 16 RBI. Teammate Eric Young (2B) has nine stolen bases on the early season.

First basemen Gaby Sanchez is hitting .327 for the New Orleans Zephyrs (Marlins) with one home run and nine RBI.

Mat Gamel has been on fire for the Nashville Sounds (Brewers), with five home runs and 19 RBI in only 48 at bats. The downside is that he is still struggling defensively with five errors on the season. Teammate Alcides Escobar (SS) is hitting .271 with six stolen bases. Catcher Angel Salome is off to a slow start batting .188 with four RBI.

Fernando Martinez of the Buffalo Bisons (Mets) is hitting .291 with one home run and seven RBI. Even though it seems like he has been around for a few years, he is still only 20 years old.

Kyle Blanks of the Portland Beavers (Padres) is batting .340 with two home runs and 11 RBI.

The Pawtucket Paw Sox (Red Sox) have several pitchers of note in Triple-A. Michael Bowden is 3-0 with a 0.64 ERA. Bowden has struck out 15 in 14 innings on the season. Teammate Clay Bucholz has a 3.12 ERA after two starts. Relief pitcher Daniel Bard has 16 strikeouts in nine innings.

Anthony Swarzak of the Rochester Red Wings (Twins) has a 0.82 ERA after two starts with nine strikeouts in 11 innings.

Mike Carp of the Tacoma Rainiers (Mariners) is hitting .304 with three home runs and nine RBI. Teammate Jeff Clement (C) has gotten off to a slow start, batting .175 on the season.

Fantasy Baseball – the Daily Dirt for Tuesday

Posted by Todd Lammi on April 22nd, 2009

by Todd Lammi

Ryan Doumit of the Pittsburgh Pirates was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a fractured bone in his right wrist and will miss 8-10 weeks of action. Jason Jaramillo figures to see the majority of at bats as the new starting catcher. Robinzon Diaz was recalled from Triple-A and will serve as the backup…..Jed Lowrie of the Boston Red Sox underwent surgery on his left wrist and will be out six to eight weeks. Nick Green will continue to start until Julio Lugo retruns from his injury….Good news for Xavier Nady owners as he will not need to undergo surgery on his right elbow. Instead he is expected to miss four to six weeks with a partial ligament tear. The downside is even when he comes back, he does not have a spot to play assuming Nick Swisher continues to hit like he has the early part of the season…..Ryan Freel of the Baltimore Orioles was placed on the 15-day disabled list after getting hit in the head on a pickoff throw Monday. He should be ready to return the first day he is eligible….. Joey Devine of the Oakland A’s will miss the rest of the season after undergoing right elbow surgery. In other fantasy baseball happenings around the diamond on Tuesday…

National League:

Rick Ankiel went 3 for 5 and drove in the game winning run for the St. Louis Cardinals in their 6-4 win over the New York Mets. Ryan Franklin picked up his third save of the year. Manager Tony La Russa indicated that Mitchell Boggs would be replacing recent call up P.J. Walters as the 5th starter in the Cardinals rotation going forward. ….Adam Dunn hit his 4th home run of the year to help the Washington Nationals defeat the Atlanta Braves 4-3. After all of the bullpen moves by the Nationals on Sunday, Joel Hanrahan still received the save opportunity and converted it, despite allowing two base runners in the ninth inning……Pedro Feliz went 3 for 4 with 3 RBI and his first home run of the year in the Philadelphia Phillies 11-4 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. Ryan Braun went 5 for 5 for the Brewers with two home runs…..Freddy Sanchez hit his second home run of the year to give the Pittsburgh Pirates a 3-2 win over the Florida Marlins. Jeff Karstens allowed one run in six innings with three strikeouts. Cameron Maybin hit his first home run of the season for the Marlins…..Rich Harden struck out eight in six innings and allowed two runs to pitch the Chicago Cubs past the Cincinnati Reds 7-2. Aramis Ramirez went 3 for 5 with 3 RBI to lead the Cubs on offense and has now driven in eight runs in his last three games. Jay Bruce hit his second home run of the season for the Reds…..Carlos Lee hit his third home run of the year for the Houston Astros in their 8-5 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Jose Valverde picked up his first save of the season with a scoreless ninth inning. Manny Ramirez hit home run number three on the season for the Dodgers…..Todd Helton went 3 for 5, including his first home run of the year in the Colorado Rockies 9-6 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. Manny Corpas picked up his first save of the season for the Rockies. Rockies starter Franklin Morales left the game before the start of the third inning with a strained pitching shoulder. Mark Reynolds hit home run number four on the season for the D-Backs…..Matt Cain allowed two runs in six innings to lead the San Francisco Giants to a 8-3 victory over the San Diego Padres. Edgar Renteria hit his first home run of the season and drove in five runs.

American League:

Aubrey Huff hit two home runs and drove in four runs in the Baltimore Orioles 10-3 defeat of the Chicago White Sox. Nick Markakis went 4 for 4 for the Orioles and scored three runs. Alexei Ramirez stole his first base of the season for White Sox, but is still batting only .159 on the season…..Grady Sizemore and Victor Martinez each hit home run number five on the year to propel the Cleveland Indians to a 8-7 win over the Kasnas City Royals. Aaron Laffey allowed one run in seven innings to pick up the victory. David DeJesus hit his second home run of the season for the Royals and drove in three runs…..Johnny Damon hit his second home run of the year for the New York Yankees and Andy Pettite allowed two runs in seven innings to lift the Yankees over the Oakland Athletics 5-3. Brett Gardner stole his fourth base of the year for the Yankees. Kurt Suzuki went 4 for 4 for the A’s and is now hitting .327 on the season…..Ian Kinsler hit his 5th home run and Nelson Cruz his 6th to lead the Texas Rangers to a 5-4 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. Aaron Hill continued his power surge for the Blue Jays hitting his 5th home run of the season. Roy Halladay took the loss for the Blue Jays allowing five runs in eight innings, while striking out nine…..Jarrod Washburn improved to 3-0 by hurling seven stroing innings in the Seattle Mariners 4-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. Washburn allowed two runs and struck out nine. Brandon Morrow picked up his fourth save of the season…..Torii Hunter hit his 5th home run of the season in the Los Angeles Angels 4-3 win over the Detroit Tigers. Jered Weaver, who did not factor into the decision for the Angels, allowed three runs in seven innings with six strikeouts. Brandon Wood was recalled from Triple-A but don’t rush out to pick him yet. Manager Mike Sciosia stated that Wood could be sent back to Triple-A later in the week. If you currently own Wood in your fantasy baseball league, I would keep him reserved for now. Curtis Granderson hit two home runs for the Detroit Tigers.