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| Ryan Church scored another three runs on Sunday night and now has crossed home plate 34 times in 40 games played with the Mets. Church also knocked in two runs to up his total to 32 on the year thanks in part to his ninth home run of the season. |
Our View: Church has been spectacular in the early going, and in fact, he has been the Mets most consistent bat all year long.
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| Jose Reyes is slowly starting to recapture his previous level of performance as he went 2-for-5 with three RBI and a run scored on Sunday. |
Our View: Reyes is still hitting just .267 and getting on base roughly a third of the time, a number that simply must increase to previous levels if Reyes is to ignite the Mets order, and it would be nice to see him run a bit more too since he has only two SB in his last 12 games.
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| Hideki Matsui had the Yankees only two RBI on Sunday night thanks to his sixth home run of the season. |
Our View: Tonight's home run was a majestic blast for Matsui who has been more of a small ball type hitter for most of the first quarter of the season. He sure turned on that high fastball tonight and blasted it into the night though.
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| Oliver Perez gave the Mets a great outing on Sunday as he allowed just three hits, two walks and two runs over 7.2 innings in his fourth victory of the season. |
Our View: Perez once against struggled at times with the strike one, but overall this was the type of performance that the Mets, and his fantasy owners, will take every time out.
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| Chien-Ming Wang hung around long enough to have a tough night as the Mets were able to get to him for seven runs in 7.2 innings of work. Wang walked three and had only one K on the night. |
Our View: This was one of those nights were a couple of the ground balls he induced just found the holes. Still, tonights reversal of his K/BB ratio is a sign that needs to be monitored going forward. After this outing, his ERA rests at a more reasonable 3.51.
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| Felix Hernandez earned a no-decision on Sunday despite limiting the Padres to two runs over six innings. He walked one, struck out five and was only scored on when Adrian Gonzalez touched him for a 2-run home run. |
Our View: King Felix dealt with some calf cramps on the afternoon, but it didn't seem to affect him adversely. At this point, we would expect him to make his next start against the Yankees.
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| Shawn Estes held the Mariners to just a single earned run over 6.1 innings on Sunday in a no-decision. |
Our View: With Mark Prior's return pushed back, Estes could be the Padres #5 starter for the foreseeable future after a second straight strong start. However, Estes just doesn't have the arsenal to keep this up, so be wary of counting on anything other than up and down performances.
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| Brian Giles continued his hot hitting on Sunday with three more hits to give him a .307 average on the year. That makes 12 hits in his last four games. |
Our View: Giles still isn't producing any runs, but his average and OBP (.400), are certainly top notch. The problem is that the team just hasn't been hitting leaving Giles stranded more often than not.
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| Ichiro Suzuki stole two bases on Sunday to become the Mariners all-time leader in swipes. He also had a hit and scored a run. |
Our View: Ichiro is hitting a very un-Ichiro .280 through 45 games, but given the fact that he has stolen 20 bases already it really doesn't matter for the moment. Ichiro hasn't stolen 50 bases since his rookie season of 2001, but he is easily on pace to surpass that mark this year.
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| Jose Lopez had three RBI on Sunday to push his season total to 24 from the second base position for the Mariners. |
Our View: Lopez, who hit third today, is batting .307 on the year and has done a great job putting the bat on the ball with only 11 K. However, he swings at everything as evidenced by his five walks, so he will likely need to improve that eye if he wants to keep his average around the .300 mark.
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| Miguel Cabrera continues to limp along at a snails pace for him as he went 1-for-4 on Sunday to drop his average to .270. |
Our View: So much for the vaunted Tigers attack. You know things are going bad when one of the best hitters in baseball is barely performing at a replacement level. Target Cabrera and see if you can convince his owner to move him your way.
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| Mired in a terrible slump, he was just 1-for-21 entering Sunday, Mark Reynolds went 3-for-4 with two runs scored. |
Our View: Reynolds also stole his fifth base, and other than a poor .233 average, the rest of his batting line looks quite strong for an after thought in most mixed leagues (seven home runs, 28 RBI and 28 runs scored).
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| Chris Young knocked in three runs on Sunday and went 1-for-3 at the plate for the Diamondbacks. |
Our View: Young continues to be a productive bat in the Mike Cameron mold as a low average, power hitting outfielder. What is missing now are the steals as he has only three on the year.
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| Nate Robertson allowed 11 baserunners over 5.2 innings in his fifth loss of the season on Sunday. Robertson struck out five but balanced out that positive with four walks. |
Our View: Is there a more average pitcher in baseball who gets a regular turn in the rotation? The only team that Nate should be on are those in AL Only leagues and even in that situation you need to be smart and spot start him in good matchups.
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| Randy Johnson had his best outing of the season on Sunday as he held the Tigers scoreless over seven innings to pick up his fourth win against a lone loss. |
Our View: What set today's effort apart from others this season was the fact the he controlled the strike zone throwing 67 of 98 pitches for strikes and walking only one batter. RJ is proving that if physically right, he can still be a very solid major league pitcher.
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| Carlos Quentin had another in a long line of strong outings on Sunday as he blasted a deep home run on a 2-for-5 day. |
Our View: Quentin looks like a monster at the plate this season almost as if his body is now possessed by someone other than the slug we saw on the field last year with the D'backs.
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| Jose Castillo had two hits, two runs, and two RBI for the Giants on Sunday in his new spot in the order, second. |
Our View: Castillo has only two home runs on the year, but one of his hits today was a double, his 15th of the year. Whether or not he remains in the two-hole is up in the air, but what is known is that he is swinging a hot bat with 11 hits in his last 23 AB (.478).
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| Orlando Cabrera went deep twice on Sunday from the leadoff spot as he accrued two runs and three RBI against the Giants. |
Our View: Cabrera entered the game hitting just .220, and with today's outing he doubled his home run total. Cabrera is likely due an extended hot streak given his anemic performance so far, perhaps today will be the springboard for that effort.
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| John Danks wasn't involved in the decision on Sunday but he still had a quality start as the Giants got to him for only three runs over six innings. Danks allowed six hits, three walks and struck out three. |
Our View: This was the first time in seven starts that Danks allowed more than two earned runs, and amazing run of consistency for a pitcher who had a 5.50 ERA last season. As good as he has been so far, Danks will likely regress when a few more of those flyballs leave the yard, unless he can continue to throw strikes and limit his walks.
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| Pitching in a non-save situation, Brian Wilson looked awful on Sunday allowing four runs while getting just two outs as his ERA skyrocketed to 5.09. |
Our View: So many closers fail to come up big when they aren't going for the save which leads to a simple question: aren't three outs, three outs, and if so, why do so many fireman simply start fires when there isn't a chance for a save?
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| Matt Cain had a no-hitter through 4.1 innings before it all came crashing down as he allowed six hits, including four home runs, on his was to permitting six runs to cross the plate on Sunday. Cain also struck out six batters in the no-decision. |
Our View: Cain was gliding along until seemingly everyone on the White Sox started hitting home runs. For once Cain got run support but he was unable to capitalize on it.
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| Juan Pierre had a hit, a run and a SB from his customary leadoff spot for the Dodgers on Sunday. |
Our View: Pierre is up to 16 SB and is clearly on pace for his customary 50 steals even though he has been in and out of the lineup so far this year. In a related note, Andruw Jones went 0-for-4 with three K and is hitting .167.
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| Derek Lowe had another poor outing on Sunday as he was tagged for seven runs in just five innings to lose to the Angels. |
Our View: Lowe has now gone five starts without a victory, he has three loses in that time. Even worse, over those five games his ERA is a whopping 8.55. Find a spot on your bench for him until he straightens things out.
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| Jered Weaver held his brothers old team, the Dodgers, to two runs over 5.1 innings on Sunday. Weaver earned his third victory in the game thanks in part to seven strikeouts. |
Our View: Weaver has now allowed just two earned runs over his last 12.2 innings after getting shelled for eight runs against the Royals in his previous start. He appears to be fully healthy, so if he can just stay that way, his ERA should continue to tumble.
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| Torii Hunter had another solid day of the Angels on Sunday with two hits, two RBI and a run scored against cross town rivals, the Dodgers. |
Our View: Hunter continues to be an enigma at the plate as he is hitting .292 though he has only one home run since April 8th, a span of 35 games.
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| Mike Napoli went deep twice for the Angels on Sunday as he pushed five runners across the plate for the Angels. |
Our View: Who cares if Naploli is hitting .258 when the big fella has 10 bombs and 23 RBI on the season in just 89 AB. Think what kind of damage he could do with 450 AB.
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| Rick Ankiel will not be placed on the DL due to his injured right shoulder as the team will give him a couple of days of rest instead, according to MLB.com. "He can't swing 100 percent when it's aggravated, so we're going to try to get him well," manager Tony La Russa said. |
Our View: The good news is that it isn't his throwing shoulder, the bad news is that it's his lead arm on his swing. Look for the team to go with Chris Duncan, Ryan Ludwick and Skip Schumaker until Ankiel returns, hopefully within about a weeks time.
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| John Smoltz threw on Saturday but he was still uncertain how his shoulder was doing on Sunday and said he likely wouldn't know until he throws again, according to MLB.com. |
Our View: Smoltz did say that he still has some discomfort in his shoulder, but he also stated that he felt he would be back within two weeks. Hopefully, that will be the case, but stay tuned for updates.
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| Jorge Posada caught his first bullpen session on Sunday in his attempt to come back from an injured shoulder, according to MLB.com. Posada also made a series of throws from 90 feet. |
Our View: There is still no target date for Posada, but considering how much time he has missed, one would be safe to assume that he will have to spend some time in the minors regaining his stroke.
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| Steve Trachsel, who has had his last two starts skipped as the result of multiple off days, knows he will start one of the team's two games against the Rays this weekend, according to the Baltimore Sun. |
Our View: This news means Trachsel will have gone at least two weeks between starts, but that's what happens when you are one of the worst starting pitchers in baseball. Do yourself a favor, and dump Trachsel if he is still is on your squad because he isn't likely to do anything but help your competition by sinking your teams ratios.
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| Lance Berkman had two hits on Sunday to push his hitting streak to 17-games. He is currently batting .399 with 16 home runs on the year. |
Our View: Berkman is off to such an amazing start that he appears to be making a run at the Triple Crown. Not bad for a guy who may not have even been a top-5 first baseman according to many heading into the season.
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| Miguel Tejada had another three hits on Sunday while scoring two runs and knocking one in for the Astros. |
Our View: Tejada hasn't hit a home run in 15 games, but how do you find fault with a shortstop who has 33 RBI, 34 runs and a .344 average?
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| Michael Bourn was re-inserted back into the leadoff spot on Sunday and he responded by picking up two hits in four AB to leave him with a .192 average. He was also caught stealing twice in the game. |
Our View: So all it took was a couple of hits to get Bourn thrown back to the top of the order? Cecil Cooper might be a good guy, but this is a simply horrific decision. Bourn is one of the five worst everyday hitters in the game this year and his only value is in through the stolen base. It's almost criminal for a leadoff hitter on such a potent offense to have scored 18 runs in 41 games.
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| Brandon Boggs went 0-for-4 on Sunday to drop his average to .246, this after it was at .385 after his first 39 AB. |
Our View: Boggs has only two hits in his last 30 AB and one would have to think he is in danger of losing playing time or possibly being sent back to the minors if he doesn't snap out of this funk, and pronto.
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| Brandon Backe allowed no walks and just five hits over 6.1 innings to run his record to 3-5 on the year. Backe allowed two home runs that led the three runs he allowed. |
Our View: Backe has made 10 starts, some middling, but he has allowed more than four runs just once giving the Astros a chance to win. He isn't great, but a healthy arm is producing some decent work.
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| Milton Bradley had only one hit on Sunday but it was his eighth home run of the season for the Rangers. |
Our View: Bradly has been producing runs at a feverish clip of late with five home runs in his last nine games leading to 11 RBI. As long as he can stay healthy and avoid blowing his stack, he could be on his way to the all-star game.
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| Ryan Howard blasted his 10th home run of the season on Sunday for the Phillies, and with two hits he is now batting .191 on the year. |
Our View: Of course, Howard still had a strikeout on the afternoon, but this was his fourth home run over the last eight games as his bat is slowly starting to heat up. Now might be the last chance to acquire him on the cheap.
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| B.J. Ryan allowed a home run to Pat Burrell but that didn't stop him from converting his 9th save of the season for the Jays. This was the first run allowed by Ryan in 14 innings. |
Our View: It wasn't pretty, but he got the job done for the ninth straight time to start the year.
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| Chase Utley went 1-for-5 and is now four for his last 23 (.174) for the Phillies. |
Our View: Utley is hitting .306 with 14 home runs, so its not like we are going to listen to anyone gripe about his past week. This is nothing more than a period of normalization, and Utley should start hitting the ball with authority again very soon.
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| Roy Halladay came out of the bullpen for his first relief effort since July 22, 2001 as he pitched 2.1 innings in a game delayed by rain. Halladay was his typical dominating self allowing just one hit with no walks. |
Our View: The ultimate teammate, this outing will likely cause the Jays to move back Halladay's next start, previously scheduled for Tuesday, until Saturday.
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| Shaun Marcum allowed two runs in a single inning of action on a Ryan Howard home run in a game that was delayed because of rain. All three outs he recorded were by the strikeout. |
Our View: There are already rumors swirling that Marcum could start on Tuesday for the Jays given the fact that he threw only 22 pitches on this day which would put him in line to start twice on the week.
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| Lyle Overbay had a pinch hit, three run homer for the Jays to lead the squad to a 6-5 victory over the Phillies. |
Our View: Overbay hasn't been able to find much consistency this season, a year after he was derailed by injury. Overbay is getting on base at over a .370 clip, but he has only two home runs and 10 extra base hits in 45 games, scant production for a corner infielder.
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| Jeff Clement was sent back to Triple-A Tacoma on Sunday after batting .167 with 20 K in 48 AB for the Mariners, according to MLB.com. "That's probably the most disappointing thing, is that I didn't just stick to what had made me successful before," said Clement. |
Our View: The Mariners will likely turn to power-hitting stud Jose Vidro to fill the DH role for the time being. Oh yeah, Vidro is hitting .207 with two home runs in 116 AB. Is that type of production worthy of a starting spot over one of the team's best young hitters?
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| Jake Westbrook had a decent start on Sunday for Single-A Lake County as he held the Lexington Legends to one run over 3.1 innings, according to Minor League Baseball.com. Westbrook permitted three hits and a walk while striking out four. |
Our View: Westbrook is hopeful of returning by the end of the month, and this outing is a good step toward making that hope a reality.
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| Matt Harrison, one of the players that came to Texas in the Mark Teixeira trade, tossed a seven inning complete game no-hitter for Double-A Frisco. |
Our View: Harrison walked an amazing total of six batters but held San Antonio without a hit to run his record to 3-1 with a 3.15 ERA.
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| Like fellow injured hurler Joel Zumaya, Fernando Rodney has been cleared to throw batting practice on his way back from shoulder tendinitis, according to MLB.com. "They won't go out for rehab until they're absolutely, 100 percent ready," manager Jim Leyland said. "When you do that, the clock starts ticking. I have no idea when that's going to be." |
Our View: The Tigers will welcome back Rodney with open arms when he is ready, but as you just read, we don't really have a time line as to when that might happen.
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| Joel Zumaya, coming off of shoulder surgery, has progressed to the point that he will throw batting practice early in the coming week, according to MLB.com. |
Our View: Zumaya is still a long way away from contributing in Detroit, but he continues to progress quicker than expected and appears to be on pace to be a substantial contributor in the second half of the season.
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| Lastings Milledge was drilled with a pitch the other night but he played on Sunday, albeit ineffectively, going 0-for-4. |
Our View: Milledge is now hitting .234 with just a single home run in 158 AB. What happened to the 20/20 player we were supposed to see this year? He just hasn't shown up yet.
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| Cristian Guzman hit his fourth home run of the season on Sunday on his way to two hits, a run and and RBI. |
Our View: Guzman continues to hit at a near .300 clip while scoring a lot of runs, he has 30, but he no longer runs (two SB), and he certainly isn't a long ball threat, meaning he is a really nothing more than a depth player except in NL Only leagues.
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| Adam Jones went 1-for-3 with a run scored for the Orioles on Sunday in their 2-1 loss to the Nationals. |
Our View: Jones has failed, miserably, to perform at anywhere near the level that was hoped for this year (.241-2-11-14-4). Still he has played solid defense and the team is committed to him, so don't look for him to be removed from the lineup anytime soon.
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| Nick Markakis had an 0-for-4 day on Sunday and in the process his batting average dipped to just .260. |
Our View: Through roughly a quarter of the season Markakis is right on pace with the power numbers (30-100), though his average is lagging behind. Still, he is working the count and getting on base with a near .400 OBP, so look for the hits to start falling soon.
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| Jeremy Guthrie lost to the Nationals on Sunday though he pitched extremely well holding the opposition to just one run over seven innings. |
Our View: Guthrie allowed just a solo home run to Christian Guzman, and in fact he allowed just eight base runners on the afternoon.
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| Jon Rauch continues to post excellent numbers from the closers spot for the Nationals and he picked up his 10th save of the year on Sunday. |
Our View: Rauch lowered his ERA to 2.49 and now has 19 K in 21.2 IP, numbers that haven't been seen out of a Nationals closer in a couple of years. Rauch is well on his way to being this years Kevin Gregg, or a pitcher that comes out of nowhere to post 30+ saves.
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| Despite two rain delays, John Lannan was able to improve to 4-4 on the year as he held the Orioles to just one run on Sunday. Lannan allowed four hits and a walk leading to just one run over seven innings. |
Our View: Through nine starts Lannan continues to defy the odds with a 3.86 ERA despite too many walks and a low strikeout rate. Chances are that the dam will spring a leak at some point, that is unless he is the new Tom Glavine.
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| Justin Morneau went deep for his eight home run, and he had two RBI against the Rockies on Sunday. |
Our View: Morneau continues to be just about the only long ball threat in the Twins lineup as Delmon Young, Michael Cuddyer and Joe Mauer have a combined total of one home run. How is that possible?
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| Delmon Young had two hits on Sunday and now has seven hits over his last three games to push his average to .287. |
Our View: Young has been a terrible disappointment this season going 164 AB without a single home run, so unless he pushes that average up to .350, he better start jacking some long balls.
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| Willy Taveras didn't have a hit on Sunday, but he still managed to steal two bases and score a run for the Rockies. |
Our View: Taveras is hitting only .234 with 18 SB, and the truth is that his barely .300 OBP means that the Rockies would actually be better served going with Scott Podsednik who is hitting .283 with a .387 OBP and six steals in just 53 AB.
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| Todd Helton finally displayed some of the old pop on Sunday as he went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI for the Rockies. |
Our View: Helton has been a major disappointment so far with only a .269 average and three home runs coming into Sunday, but he is just too good a hitter to continue to struggle like this. Keep that in mind if you need some help at first base as this is a good time to buy low on the all-star.
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| Kevin Slowey fell to 0-4 as he lost his fourth start of the year on Sunday. Slowey didn't pitch badly as he allowed seven hits and one walk over 5.2 innings, but he was victimized by two long balls. |
Our View: Slowey has now allowed six home runs in just 19.2 innings, which is why his ERA is high (5.49), despite a strong WHIP (1.17). He should remain a low end starting option until the Twins have their full compliment of starting pitchers.
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| Jeff Francis picked up his first win of the season in his ninth start as he held the Twins to two runs over 6.1 innings. Francis allowed six hits and two walks while picking up seven strikeouts. |
Our View: Now that's what you paid a mid-round selection for. Francis is likely on waivers in some mixed leagues due to his terrible work this year, and while one start does not make a man, he has looked a bit better of late if you remove his last start where he got bombed. If you need help, and he's available, you might give Francis a shot.
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| Ben Zobrist had two hits, scored a run, and stole his first base of the season for the Rays from the shortstop position. |
Our View: Jason Bartlett and Akinori Iwamura seem entrenched in the lineup up the middle, but Zobrist should get enough work here and there to have some value in deep AL Only leagues.
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| Dioner Navarro went 1-for-4 on Sunday and finished the game with a .368 batting average. |
Our View: Admit it, you hadn't realized he was hitting that well did you? Navarro hit .355 in 31 AB in April and is now hitting .346 in 52 AB in May. He may offer little in the power categories, but there may not be a better number two catcher to roll with right now.
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| Edwin Jackson struggled all afternoon walking four and allowing six hits in 5.1 innings, but he limited the Cardinals to just one earned run in a no-decision. |
Our View: Jackson picked up seven strikeouts on the day despite all the base runners, and continues to be an effective hurler despite some uneven game-to-game performances.
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| Chris Perez picked up his first big league win on Sunday as he pitched a scoreless ninth inning against the Rays. |
Our View: Perez entered the game with the score tied 4-4, pitched his inning, and then watched the Red Birds score in the bottom of the inning. Ryan Franklin is clearly the top option in the pen at the moment, but Perez could be moving up the pecking order very quickly.
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| Despite dealing with an injured shoulder, Kyle Lohse managed to have himself a nice game on Sunday as he limited the Rays to two earned runs over six innings. Lohse stuck out five and didn't walk a single batter. |
Our View: A nice outing for those of you who left Lohse in the lineup today. Still, after allowing 19 earned runs in his last three starts prior to today, we hope that you had other options to turn to today despite the solid start.
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| Ryan Ludwick did it again on Sunday as he stroked his 11th home run of the season for the Cardinals on Sunday. |
Our View: With Rick Ankiel out of the lineup, Ludwick batted cleanup behind Albert Pujols. If it wasn't a certainly already, it appears that Ludwick will start no matter who is on the hill given his massive run of success, a position obviously strengthened in the short-term due to Ankiel's injury.
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| Carlos Villanueva was hit hard yet again as the Red Sox piled up six runs, five earned, in four innings. Carlos fell to 2-5. |
Our View: Villanueava has allowed five or more earned runs in three of his last four outings, and those might be Jeff Weaver's footsteps you hear in the background.
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| Josh Beckett picked up his fifth win of the season on Sunday despite allowing six runs in seven innings against the Brewers. Beckett had nine strikeouts but allowed four home runs. |
Our View: Beckett has been dogged by home runs in the past, so today's effort was a bit troubling. Through eight starts Beckett owns a 4.67 ERA which speaks to his inconsistent performance thus far.
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| Continuing his white hot hitting, Ryan Braun went deep twice on Sunday on his way to four RBI. |
Our View: Just think, Braun was hitting .257 on May 9th before this run which has included eight home runs and a .363 batting average over his last eight games. So much for those early season struggles. The Brewers showed him the money, and Braun has shown opposing pitchers his bat.
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| Dustin Pedroia is now hitting .307 thanks to a 3-for-4 day on Sunday. Pedroia also scored three runs with two RBI against the Brewers. |
Our View: Pedroia has been basically the same hitter he was last year, which marks him as a great middle infield play for those of you looking for runs and batting average.
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| Kevin Youkilis hit his ninth home run of the season on Sunday and he went 3-for-5 and is now hitting .329. |
Our View: Youkilis continues to be an amazing mid-round bargain this year as his totals stack up against almost all first basemen in baseball (.329-9-33). Don't count on a 30 homer season for Youkilis, but he just might knock in 100 runs.
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