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| Maicer Izturis has been filling the void at the top of the Angels' order nicely over the last week. Izturis homered to lead off the game Friday, and it was actually the first time in six games that he didn't have multiple hits. |
Our View: Izturis will move down in the order when Chone Figgins returns, but he should retain the starting job at short.
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| X-rays on Michael Young's left ring finger revealed a break at the tip of the finger. However, Young says that he will play tomorrow, according to the Dallas Morning News. |
Our View: It's great that Young wants to get back out there so soon, but we'll reserve judgment until we receive word from a member of the coaching staff.
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| Daisuke Matsuzaka will throw off flat ground Saturday, according to the AP. Dice-K has been on the disabled list since May 30 with a rotator cuff strain. |
Our View: Dice-K is coming to come off the DL when he's eligible on June 14th.
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| Aaron Hill missed his seventh straight game Friday due to a concussion, according to the AP. Hill is still suffering lightheadedness and headaches. |
Our View: Look for the Jays to DL Hill soon, as it sounds like he's not coming back soon unless he experiences a breakthrough.
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| Vernon Wells could be back by the middle of next week, manager John Gibbons told the AP. Wells, who is working his way back from a fractured left wrist, went 2-for-4 with four RBI at Single-A Dunedin Thursday in his first rehab game. |
Our View: Wells is on track to return well ahead of schedule. Here's hoping he doesn't have a setback over the next couple days.
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| Chone Figgins ran the bases for the second time Friday and "didn't feel anything," according to MLB.com. "There was no pain today," Figgins said. "It felt good. Tuesday when I ran [in Seattle] it felt a little sore -- sometimes when I ran." Manager Mike Scioscia said Figgins wasn't quite ready to play in rehab games but thinks that could happen "early next week -- and he'll probably start at [Class A] Rancho [Cucamonga], since it's closer." Figgins is coming back from a right hamstring injury. |
Our View: The Halos haven't been missing Figgy lately with Maicer Izturis' play, but they'll certainly welcome the speedster back to the lineup.
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| B.J. Upton had a home run and two steals while scoring three runs in Tampa's win over Texas Friday. |
Our View: Upton now has 20 steals already on the year after swiping 22 bags all of last season. The home runs are down (he has just three so far), but Upton is giving his owners value in other ways.
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| Scott Kazmir allowed two runs on six hits while striking out six over eight innings Friday to pick up his sixth win. His ERA now sits at 1.40 and WHIP at 0.91 after seven starts. |
Our View: Kaz is tied for the team lead with six wins despite missing the first month of the season.
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| Jeremy Bonderman went to see a doctor Friday after reporting some discomfort around his right shoulder, according to CBSsports.com. Two club sources told CBS that he would be checked for a possible circulation problem in the shoulder. The Tigers have yet to comment directly on the Bonderman, but the righty isn't expected to make his scheduled start Sunday and will likely be placed on the DL. |
Our View: The Tigers were trying to figure out how to keep both Dontrelle Willis and Armando Galarraga in the rotation, but now it looks like they won't have to worry about it. We'll let you know the results of Bonderman's exam when we get them.
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| Joe Crede had four hits, including a pair of solo homers, in Chicago's 10-6 win Friday. |
Our View: Crede was a forgotten man in drafts this spring but is putting together a nice offensive season, with a .286 average, 12 homers and 33 RBI.
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| Alexi Casilla had another big night for the Twins Friday, picking up a pair of hits, including his third homer of the year. Casilla has five hits over the last two nights and is riding a nine-game hitting streak. |
Our View: Casilla continues to be an underrated fantasy performer. He's now hitting .347 with three homers, 18 RBI and two steals over 21 games.
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| Nick Markakis was 4-for-4 with a run scored and RBI in the Orioles' 6-5 come from behind win over the Blue Jays Friday. |
Our View: Markakis was in a bit of a funk there for a while, but he's snapped out of it in a big way. He is riding a 10-game hitting streak and has multiple hits in six of those contests.
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| Darrell Rasner was a tough luck loser Friday, allowing just two runs on nine hits while striking out four over eight innings in a 2-1 loss to Kansas City. |
Our View: Rasner has been terrific in five of six starts for the Yanks, as he's making a case to stay in the rotation permanently.
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| Mike Aviles started for the Royals on Friday night at shortstop and responded with a pair of doubles and a run scored in three at-bats. |
Our View: For whatever reason the Royals won't give Aviles a shot at regular playing time, but perhaps that will change after tonight's performance.
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| Kyle Davies had an impressive performance Friday night, holding the Yankees to one run over 6 2/3 innings while allowing seven hits and a walk with three strikeouts. |
Our View: Davies has allowed only two runs in his first two starts, but we would suggest you not buy high on him now.
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| Felix Hernandez had his second straight stellar performance Friday, holding the Red Sox scoreless over six innings while allowing six hits and three walks with five strikeouts. |
Our View: King Felix went through a stretch where he lost five straight decisions, but he's gone 2-0 with 13 scoreless frames over his last two starts.
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| Joe Borowski picked up his fifth save Friday in the Tribe's win over Detroit. The closer has notched three saves and has yet to allow a run in five appearances since returning from a triceps injury. |
Our View: Borowski's job is very safe right now, but as we all know, he can blow up at any time and change that.
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| Frank Thomas is back in his home in Las Vegas rehabbing from his right quad injury, and the A's expect Thomas to be in Sin City for about another week, according to the AP. Thomas has a physical therapist he works with in Las Vegas. "He's going to be there a while," manager Bob Geren said. "We want to make sure it's healthy, period." The Big Hurt isn't yet ready to begin hitting again. |
Our View: The A's have interleague games coming up, so Thomas wasn't going to play in NL parks, anyway. It sounds like he'll be back before too long, though.
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| The Indians have received a diagnosis from Dr. Lewis Yocum regarding Jake Westbrook's ailing pitching elbow, but they're not going to tell anyone what it is until Saturday. "I will confirm that Jake saw Dr. Lewis Yocum on Friday," said GM Mark Shapiro in the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "I will confirm the we have a clear diagnosis of his elbow. We will not say any more until Saturday." |
Our View: The fact that the Tribe is delaying an announcement on this leads us to believe the injury might be pretty serious. We'll let you know tomorrow what Westbrook's situation is.
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| Gerald Laird got his first career start at third base Friday. |
Our View: Laird is a pretty good athlete, as he's played the outfield a few times in his career. It remains to be seen how he'll handle the hot corner, but we're betting manager Ron Washington wasn't thrilled to pencil his name in at the position.
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| Michael Young was scratched from the lineup Friday due to a bruised left ring finger, according to the AP. Ramon Vazquez, the Rangers' regular third baseman, got the start at shortstop, with catcher Gerald Laird got his first career start at third base. |
Our View: No word yet on the severity of Young's injury. We'll let you know when we have more info.
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| The Tigers recalled Brent Clevlen from Triple-A Toledo Friday. Clevlen was raking at Triple-A, putting up a .324-13-55 line. |
Our View: Clevlen is worth a look in AL-only play, though he doesn't figure to play a ton.
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| The Rangers reinstated Vicente Padilla from bereavement leave Friday. He will start tonight against the Rays. |
Our View: Aside from his ugly WHIP (1.45), Padilla has been a nice fantasy performer this season, with a 7-2 record, 3.67 ERA and 54 Ks.
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| The Red Sox optioned Chris Carter to Triple-A Pawtucket Friday. Carter picked up two hits in his three at-bats with the club. |
Our View: The Sox needed another outfielder, so Brandon Moss was recalled.
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| Coco Crisp has appealed the seven-game suspension he received for his involvement in Thursday's brawl with Tampa Bay, according to the AP. |
Our View: This isn't a surprise, given that Jacoby Ellsbury is injured. We'll see if he eventually drops the appeal.
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| Jason Giambi is back in the lineup Friday after missing a couple games with a sore left foot. |
Our View: Wilson Betemit, who homered in both games filling in for Giambi, returns to the bench.
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| The Rangers have cut ties with Sidney Ponson for what GM Jon Daniels calls "disrespectful and adverse reactions to situations unbecoming of teammates," according to the Dallas Morning News. |
Our View: It's not clear yet what Ponson did, but he has a history of a volatile temper and rubbing his teammates the wrong way. He was 4-1 with a 3.88 ERA in nine starts, but his 1.56 WHIP and 4.0 K/9 rate suggested he was due for a fall back to reality.
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| Curt Schilling threw 35 pitches off the Fenway Park bullpen mound Friday. That's 10 more than he threw on Wednesday, the first time he's been on the hill since being shut down with biceps degeneration. "Getting on the mound in the bullpen, regardless of the pitch count, was the stage. I'm waiting for the next stage now," Schilling said. "We'll increase the pitch count with a couple more bullpens, then I'll throw a pregame warmup bullpen and throw 15 pitches for an inning to hitters. The next [outing] would be a bullpen, then 15-pitch innings. Then you have to look at the calendar and see where we're at." |
Our View: Schilling's next step is to pitch live batting practice, which will be followed by a rehab assignment. Things seem to be going well so far, but he's still a long ways away.
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| Jorge Posada got through his first game in over a month on Thursday. His reward? A day off Friday. "He did fine," manager Joe Girardi said on MLB.com. "It's just that it was one of our patented four-hour games." Girardi went on to say: "I think for the next couple of weeks, you're not going to see him play four or five days in a row, but I think we'll get by that." |
Our View: It makes sense that the Yanks will be easing Posada back into things, even though his fantasy owners probably won't like it.
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| Sean Casey has been suspended for three games for his involvement in Thursday's brawl with Tampa Bay. |
Our View: Casey and the Rays' Akinori Iwamura received the lightest suspensions of those involved.
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| Jon Lester has been suspended five games by MLB for his involvement in Thursday's fracas with the Rays. |
Our View: Lester will have his next start pushed back a day.
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| MLB suspended Coco Crisp seven games for his involvement in Thursday's brawl with Tampa Bay. |
Our View: We'll let you know if Crisp decides to appeal. He probably will, at least initially, given Jacoby Ellsbury's injury.
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| James Shields was suspended six games by MLB for his involvement in Thursday's brawl with the Red Sox. |
Our View: Shields won't miss a start, he'll instead just have his next one pushed back. This is good news for his owners, because he could have easily gotten more given that he admitted to throwing at Coco Crisp.
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| MLB suspended Edwin Jackson five games for his involvement in Thursday's altercation with the Red Sox. |
Our View: Jackson should just have his next start pushed back, so this news doesn't hurt his owners too badly.
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| Akinori Iwamura was suspended three games by MLB for his involvement in Thursday's fight with the Red Sox. |
Our View: Willy Aybar should handle the second base duties while Aki is out.
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| MLB suspended Jonny Gomes five games for his involvement in the brawl with the Red Sox on Thursday. |
Our View: We're a little surprised he didn't get more. Gomes probably won't appeal and will begin serving the suspension right away.
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| Major League Baseball has suspended Carl Crawford for four games or his role in the fracas during Thursday's game with the Red Sox. |
Our View: This seems to be a little harsh. We expect Crawford to appeal and continue to play. Justin Ruggiano will likely pick up some starts when Crawford begins to serve the suspension.
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| The Yankees recalled Dan Giese from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Friday. Giese allowed a run in 3 2/3 innings earlier this week in his first appearance with the Yanks. |
Our View: Giese was just optioned back to Triple-A Wednesday, but he can return without the customary 10-day waiting period because he is replacing the injured Chris Britton.
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| The Yankees placed Chris Britton on the DL Friday with a pulled ribcage muscle, according to MLB.com. Britton suffered the injury when he was warming up on Thursday. "We shut him down when he was warming up last night," manager Joe Girardi said. "He called and we had to shut him down." Dan Giese was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to replace Britton on the roster. |
Our View: Ribcage injuries tend to linger, so Britton could be sidelined for a while.
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| The Boston Globe reports that Red Sox skipper Terry Francona said outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury is not in the lineup for tonight's game visiting Seattle. |
Our View: The center fielder had a second MRI this morning that came back negative. While the injury doesn't look serious, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Ellsbury sit this weekend.
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| The Tampa Tribune reports that the word from MLB is that suspensions for that the bench clearing brawl between the Rays and Sox may come down today. After watching the brouhaha -- Jonny Gomes was the most active and easily the most aggressive. |
Our View: He is sure to get the worst of the leagues paddling for his involvement.
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| The Tigers purchased the contract of Michael Hollimon from Triple-A Toledo to take the place of utility infielder Ramon Santiago, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Friday. |
Our View: Hollimon hit .250 with 12 home runs, 11 doubles and 21 RBIs in 184 at-bats in Toledo. He becomes a person of interest in AL-only formats.
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| Sean Gallagher gets his sixth start of the season tonight, and his second on the road. He's 3-0 with a 3.52 ERA in four home starts and has yet to win away from Wrigley Field. Skipper Lou Piniella said he sees a different pitcher this year and told MLB.com it was because of the 30 pounds Gallagher lost in the offseason. |
Our View: The Cubs right-hander is holding opponents to a .167 average with runners in scoring position and two outs, which is huge for any pitcher, but especially a rookie.
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| There are plenty of Jays fans and fantasy owners monitoring the rehab progress of Vernon Wells and it seems he's somewhat a medical miracle, this according to Slam Sports. Wells, who fractured his left wrist May 9, is close to returning and far ahead of of his original schedule. Last night he began a rehab assignment with class-A Dunedin, just four weeks since the injury. The initial report was that he would be lost for six to eight weeks. "He could be back the middle of next week if all goes well," manager John Gibbons said yesterday. "I didn't expect him to do anything for six weeks." |
Our View: Wells could return as early as Fantasy Week 11. The more conservative approach for owners would be to reinsert him into the starting lineup for Week 12.
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| Updating an earlier report on Matt Holliday's rehab assignment in Triple-A Colorado Springs, the slugger could return as early as Tuesday and begin Fantasy Week 10 with the club, this according to the Denver Post. |
Our View: Holliday's rehab work was delayed until today because of bad weather. Holliday plans to test his strained hamstring for three Triple-A games, and if everything goes according to schedule, rejoin the Rockies on Tuesday.
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| According to SI.com, Joe Mauer, who hit his first two home runs of the season this week, has changed his batting strategy. "Not anything too drastic, but I'm trying a couple of things to help, just taking a chance on some pitches," the Twins' catcher said Thursday. |
Our View: The report suggested that Mauer is essentially going to guess more and take some chances. He said he will look for a particular pitch rather than attacking the entire hitting zone. Both of Mauer's homers came on inside pitches, the latest wasn't even close to being a strike.
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| The Boston Herald reports that Dr. Thomas Graham, who is collaborating with the Red Sox on the treatment of David Ortiz' injured wrist, has examined the slugger’s MRI results and the news is good.
Graham believes there is a “high percentage chance” that Ortiz will be able to avoid surgery.
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Our View: Neither Graham nor the Red Sox will commit to a timetable for Ortiz’ return, but the injury is being compared to that of Pat Burrell's, an ailment that will take at least a month of recovery time. This is best-case scenario according to the report.
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| The continuing drama between the Red Sox and the Rays took a twist on Thursday night when pitcher James Shields, ejected after he hit, and then fought, Coco Crisp in the second inning, showed no remorse nor denied that he was trying to hit Crisp, this according to the Providence Journal.
“I’m all about protecting my players,” he said. “I think what (Crisp) did (Wednesday) was an absolutely dirty move, bush league and not supposed to be in the professional game of baseball. I’m out there to protect my players no matter what the cost is." |
Our View: The cost is more significant for the Rays than to the Red Sox. Losing Shields for one or two starts is much more damaging than losing Crisp for 4-10 games.
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