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| Miguel Cabrera hit a home run for the second straight day, his 13th of the season, for the Tigers. |
Our View: Cabrera still has a ways to go with his swing this year, but it's certainly possible for him to reach the 30 and 100 levels since he currently sits at 13 home runs and 50 RBI in what has been a down first half.
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| Brandon Morrow earned his seventh save of the season on Saturday night with a perfect inning against the Tigers. |
Our View: Over his last 11 appearances Morrow hasn't allowed a single run with, get this, one hit and one walk allowed. We thought that level of dominance was reserved for video games.
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| Armando Galarraga tossed six innings of one run ball on Saturday night for the Tigers with two K and three BB against the Mariners.
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Our View: Galarragga hasn't done much of anything other than keeping batters off balance long enough to keep the ball off the sweetspot of the bat keeping the Tigers in almost every game he appears. Who needs Dontrelle Willis with Galarraga pitching like this?
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| R.A. Dickey lasted six innings and used his knuckleball to hold the Tigers to two runs on the night. As often happens with knucklers he struggled with his command walking five batters, but he kept the runs off the board. |
Our View: Dickey isn't someone that should be targeted in anything but the deepest of mixed leagues as his ratios are just slightly below the league average, but he has helped to stabilize a Mariners staff that could use another solid arm in the rotation.
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| Tyler Walker was removed from the Giants versus Dodgers game on Saturday night as he appeared to re-aggravate his a troublesome groin injury. |
Our View: The Giants post-game radio wrap up said that Walker tweaked his knee, but either way he could be headed to the DL as the Giants need arms in the pen right now.
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| Brian Wilson converted his 15th straight save of the year on Saturday night, his 24th overall to lead the National League. |
Our View: Wilson comes in throwing cheese, has the funky flavor saver on his chin and the prerequisite massive tattoos on his arms. Rickey Vaughan would be proud.
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| Aaron Rowand had two hits and an RBI in the Giants 5-2 victory over the Dodgers on Saturday night. |
Our View: After seeing his average dip under .300 for a about a week he is now back up to .303 thanks to a run of seven hits in his last three games for the G-men.
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| Matt Kemp, hitting leadoff for the Dodgers, went 2-for-4 with a run scored for the Dodgers. He was also caught stealing for the fifth time this season. |
Our View: Kemp has been doing a solid job this season at the plate while adding a ton of value with his legs (18 SB). With Juan Pierre out of action for a while, Kemp will run out there every day to continue his development. He could stand to work on cutting down the strikeouts since he has 91 in just 303 AB on the year.
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| Chan Ho Park allowed just one run over six innings in a solid outing against the Giants. Park walked three and struck out seven while allowing just three hits. |
Our View: Park touched 96 mph repeatedly on this night, and he looked tremendous in the no-decision. With the news that Bray Penny is likely to miss at least another two weeks, Park could remain in the starting rotation for a few more turns through the rotation.
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| Barry Zito pitched his most dominating game since become a Giant by striking out 10 Dodgers on his way to his first home victory of the season, 5-2 over the Dodgers. |
Our View: This was Zito's first 10-K effort since 2006, and everyone of the punchouts was on a change up or curveball as he dazzled the Dodgers with an assortment of off-speed pitches that they simply couldn't square up. Believe it or not, over his last three starts Zito has 20 K, six BB and a 3.37 ERA and once again has the look of a pitcher who might actually be able to contribute to a winning fantasy squad.
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| Chone Figgins had three hits on Saturday night breaking a stretch of 2-for-25 since June 25th. |
Our View: Figgins is just trying to get healthy since it's tough enough to play this game when your at 100%. He is line to have a big second half if he can stay out of the doctors office.
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| Vladimir Guerrero had two hits and three RBI for the Angels including his 14th home run of the season. |
Our View: Vlad has struggled a bit of late, but over his last 18 games he has four home runs and is batting .353 to up his average to .288. Expect the hot hitting to continue.
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| Roy Halladay posted another quality start holding the Angels to just two runs over seven innings as he improved to 10-6 on the year. |
Our View: Halladay was at his normal, dominating best yet again tonight as he allowed just one free pass while striking out seven. He is completely locked in right now and has clearly reestablished himself as one of the top-15 hurlers in the game.
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| John Lackey lost his second game of the year on Saturday as he allowed six runs, five earned, to the Blue Jays in six innings. Lackey walked just one while striking out seven in the loss. |
Our View: Lackey had his worst outing of the season on Saturday as he allowed more than three earned runs for the first time in 10 starts. He leaves this outing with a 6-2 record and a 1.93 ERA.
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| Vernon Wells hit his ninth home run of the year and stole just his third base of the season for the Jays. |
Our View: Wells is hitting .296 over his last 12 games during which time he has driven in 11 runs as he continues to round into form since returning to the lineup.
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| Alex Rios had three hits and two RBI, but once again the story was his legs as he swiped three basses on the night off of Mike Napoli and the Angels. |
Our View: Rios, who has 21 SB, has only 29 extra base hits including a terrible total of just four home runs. All the running is somewhat helping to offset the lack of power, but at some point Rios is going to need to pick up the hitting or he will be tagged with the moniker of goat this season.
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| Juan Cruz was removed from the D'backs game on Saturday night due to an undisclosed arm injury. |
Our View: Cruz has been dealing with a troublesome side of late, so perhaps he was overcompensating on this night leading to some issue with his arm. We don't know the severity of the injury, though he could be headed to the DL.
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| Jake Peavy held the D'backs scoreless for seven innings on his way to win number six for the Padres. Peavy allowed just five base runners (three hits, two walks), while striking out six Diamondbacks. |
Our View: Peavy has 26 K in 29 innings since coming back from the DL as his ERA is back down to 2.67. He appears to be all the way back from the arm issues that hampered him, though his somewhat violent delivery still leaves him as someone to monitor closely.
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| Doug Davis held the Padres 2-9 hitters to four hits and no runs through eight innings, but unfortunately for him, Padres leadoff hitter Scott Hairston hit two home runs leading to three RBI to saddle Davis with his fourth loss. |
Our View: Too bad for Davis the lineup includes nine players as he was otherwise pretty masterful when not facing Hairston. This was his fifth straight game of three or fewer earned runs, it's just too bad the D'backs offense has dried up of late leading to just one win in that time.
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| Scott Hairston powered two long balls on Saturday night off Doug Davis as he went on to produce three hits, three RBI and two runs scored. |
Our View: Hairston is hitting only .246, but he has provided just enough offense to wind up playing almost every day until recently when he has lost some playing time to Chase Headley. Perhaps this outing will allow him to recapture some of that work.
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| Jorge De La Rosa improved to 3-4 after allowing three runs in five innings against the Marlins. De La Rosa was a bit erratic allowing six hits and three walks, but he still held on for the win. |
Our View: De La Rosa really needed a positive outing after getting bombed his last time out (six runs, 11 hits over five innings), but he is still nothing more than a pitcher with strikeout stuff that could doom your ratios.
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| Matt Lindstrom pitched a clean inning in his first appearance since June 22nd thanks to two strikeouts. |
Our View: Lindstrom has 21 K but an unhealthy total of 16 BB that have held him back from truly establishing himself at the big league level. The talent is there for a more substantial role, but he has to harness the raw stuff.
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| Cody Ross ripped his 14th home run leading to three hits, two runs and four RBI for the Marlins. |
Our View: Over his last three starts Ross has nine hits and 10 RBI as he has boosted his average to .258. Ross has carved out a niche for himself in the Marlins lineup and doesn't appear to want to give it up anytime soon.
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| Ryan Spilborghs, continuing to take advantage of an injury that is keeping Willy Taveras out of the lineup, went 2-for-4 with three runs scored on Saturday night. |
Our View: Spilborghs has seven runs and six hits in his last two games and is hitting a robust .309 in 178 AB on the year as he continues to provide ample value in NL only leagues.
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| Matt Holliday led the Rockies to their 5th straight victory on Saturday night with two hits, two runs and four RBI. One of the hits was his 13th home run of the year. |
Our View: In his last 11 games Holliday has 17 hits including three home runs, 12 RBI and 10 runs scored as he continues to be one of the most valuable sluggers in the fantasy game.
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| Like counterpoint Kevin Slowey, Aaron Laffey was far from his best on Saturday night allowing five hits, four walks and four runs over five innings. |
Our View: Laffey has now allowed nine runs over his last two starts covering 10 innings, and he has walked seven while striking out eight in that time. Given his lack of swing and miss stuff he needs to have pinpoint control to be effective, and he hasn't of late.
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| Kevin Slowey wasn't anywhere near his best on Saturday but he still held on long enough to pick up his sixth win of the year. Slowey had six strikeouts in the effort, but he gave up five runs in six innings on the hill. |
Our View: Slowey has won his last four decisions and four of his last five starts. Over his last four outings, he has 20 K, four BB with a 2.00 ERA.
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| Grady Sizemore had two more hits on Saturday night, one of them being his 22nd home run of the year for the Indians in their 9-6 loss to the Twins. |
Our View: Did you realize that the 22 home runs Sizemore has hit lead the AL? If only those hitting behind him would pick up the slack and start knocking him in once in a while, we would be talking about a top-10 fantasy season for this offensive force.
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| Joe Mauer walked three times, scored three runs and hit his fourth home run of the year for the Twins. |
Our View: Mauer has pushed his average up to .325 while he has managed to scored 54 runs thank to a OBP above .410. The power may not be ideal, but it's tough to complain about anything this guy is doing right now.
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| Grant Balfour picked up his third save of the season on Saturday night by picking up two strikeouts in a scoreless inning against the Royals. |
Our View: One night its Balfour, the other it's Dan Wheeler. At this point we would give the slight edge to Balfour, but it's really a bit difficult to discern.
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| Jerry Hairston Jr. scored the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning for the Reds. Hairston went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and his 14th steal of the year on the night. |
Our View: What an out of nowhere performance this guy is showering on his owners. There is zero reason to think that Hariston will be able to maintain the pace that has him hitting .341 with 14 steals, but even if that is that is the case he has been a tremendous asset this year.
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| Francisco Cordero blew his fourth save of the year on Saturday, but his offense bailed him out leading to his fourth victory of the year. |
Our View: Cordero has two saves and a win this week giving him a tone of value for those using him in head to head matchups. He should continue to serve as a top-10 closer the rest of the year.
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| Josh Fogg allowed just one run over six innings in a masterful job stepping in for Aaron Harang. Fogg allowed just one walk and six hits over the six innings with only one K. |
Our View: Fogg would appear to have pitched himself back into the Reds plans moving foward with this effort, though he could still be sent back to the minors if the team deems Harang to be healthy enough for his next start.
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| Tim Redding allowed just one run over six innings against the Reds, but he was still left without a win or loss in his ninth straight no-decision. |
Our View: Redding lowered his ERA to 4.06 in this outing, though he allowed eight hits in six innings leaving him with 108 hits allowed in 108 innings this season. Redding has been solid for most of the year, even if his record fails to reflect that fact.
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| David DeJesus lost his 16-game hitting streak on Saturday night as he went 0-for-4 against the Rays to finish the night hitting .316. |
Our View: When the streak started DeJesus was hitting .294. Over the past 17 games he scored 14 runs and firmly reestablished himself as the teams leadoff hitter.
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| Ben Zobrist hit a solo home run on Saturday night, the third straight game he has accomplished that feat for the Rays. |
Our View: Of course, games two and three in the streak were separated by nine days as he spent some time in the minors. Due to the injury to Jason Bartlett he figures to receive a fair amount of playing time the next two weeks.
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| Zack Greinke worked six solid innings but was outpitched by Andy Sonnanstine as he lost for the fifth time this year. Greinke allowed just two runs in six innings with seven K, but Sonnanstine allowed no runs. |
Our View: Greinke has only two wins in his last seven appearances, though the good news is that he stopped a disturbing trend of allowing the long ball after permitting nine in his last six starts.
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| Andy Sonnanstine pitched seven shutout innings against the Royals on Saturday in his 10th victory of the season for the Rays. The Royals only managed to produce five hits and draw a single walk on the evening. |
Our View: Sonnanstine was at his best tonight, and though the majority of his numbers are great, he keeps the Rays in the game more often than not and gives the offense a chance to earn him a "W."
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| Jamie Moyer failed to secure his eighth victory of the season on Saturday night though he held the Mets to three runs over 6.2 innings. |
Our View: That's five straight outings for Moyer of three or fewer runs allowed as he continues to give his club a chance to win every time he takes the hill, something he has been able to do since roughly the Jurassic age.
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| Ryan Howard socked his 23rd home run of the season on Saturday leading to three RBI to give him 76 on the year. |
Our View: Care to hazard a guess as to what Howard did in the two AB where he didn't hit a home run? If you need us to tell you, then you just haven't been paying attention. He has 119 K in 88 games in case you were wondering.
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| Damion Easley had a big night on Saturday with three hits, two runs scored and an RBI for the Mets out of the five hole. |
Our View: That's seven games with a hit for Easley who is hitting .458 in that time (11-for-24). With the injury to Luis Castillo, Easley figures to see a substantial amount of playing time the next coupe of weeks.
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| Brian Roberts returned to the lineup on Saturday night, and in his familiar leadoff role he went 2-for-4 with a runs scored. |
Our View: Roberts, rumored to be headed to Chicago all preseason, has continued to be a productive force all year for the Orioles with 54 runs and 22 SB for the Birds.
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| Ian Kinsler had another in a series of big nights this season on Saturday with two hits, one his 14th home run, two RBI and two runs scored for the Rangers. Thanks to his current 17-game hitting streak, Kinler's average is up to .328. |
Our View: Kinlser is on pace for right around 25 HR, 100 RBI, 140 runs, 40 SB and 55 doubles, a simply astounding pace for a hitter in just his third season in the majors, let alone one that calls second base home.
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| Casey Janssen, who is recovering from surgery to repair a torn labrum in his shoulder in late March, will meet with doctors to determine if he can begin a throwing program with the target of returning to action next season, according to MLB.com. |
Our View: Janssen still has a long road and recovery path to follow, but it appears that in the early going, things are progressing nicely.
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| Ryan Church was removed from the Mets game on Saturday night after complaining of dizziness, according to the New York Post. |
Our View: Church, who has suffered two concussions this year, had recently returned from more than three weeks on the DL. Given the flack that the Mets took for allowing him to play earlier on, and the fact that Church clearly isn't right, it would be a shocker if he wasn't shutdown at least until after the All-Start break, and possibly much longer.
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| Elijah Dukes may have severely injured his right knee after crashing into a wall while make a catch, according to the Associated Press. |
Our View: Dukes needed to be carted off the field after writhing in pain holding his knee. It appears that he will be headed to the DL after this injury, too bad considering he was hitting .325 with five home runs and five SB over his last 20 games. It remains to be seen who will fill in if he is indeed out for a while, but on this night Willie Harris replaced him in left field.
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| Brian Burres picked up a no-decision on Saturday after allowing nine hits, a walk, and three runs to the Rangers in 5.2 innings. |
Our View: Burress is what we call, in technical language, an average pitcher. You can do a whole lot better if you are trying to win something.
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| C.J. Wilson struck out the side on Saturday on his way to earning his 20th save of the season for the Rangers. |
Our View: Wilson has six saves in his last seven appearances during which time he has permitted but a single run thanks to just two walks against eight strikeouts. Like most pitchers, if he throws strikes, he figures to have success.
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| Brian McCann went deep for his 15th home run of the year for the Braves. |
Our View: McCann is on pace for a tremendous season as he is currently hitting .298-15-48 as he is threatening to match his power production from 2006 (24 HR, 93 RBI).
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| Chris Sampson took advantage of a start picked up due to injury to Roy Oswalt, and he used the chance well in his fourth victory of the season. Sampson allowed a mere two hits, and no walks, in holding the Braves to one run over five innings. |
Our View: Sampson could remain in the rotation depending on whether or not Oswalt finds himself on the DL, but counting on Sampson is akin to playing with fireworks - eventually you are going to get burned.
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| Jo-Jo Reyes fell to 3-7 on Saturday by allowing four tuns to the Astros in 4.1 innings. Reyes allowed six hits and three walks while only striking out two. |
Our View: Reyes has now lost three straight decisions and six of his last seven. He still is maintaining average ratios (4.40 ERA, 1.43 WHIP), but those clearly aren't numbers you should be running out there each week.
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| Mark Loretta had a big night on Saturday with three doubles, leading to four RBI, in the Astros 6-1 victory over the Braves. |
Our View: Loretta continues to be a useful spare part in NL only leagues where his ability to hit for average and to play multiple positions is a big bonus.
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| Gavin Floyd picked up his 10th win of the season on Saturday by holding the Athletics scoreless over 7.1 innings. |
Our View: Floyd is 6-1 in his last seven decisions and he continues to have a high level of success for a guy who is barely striking out six batters per nine innings. The ratios don't figure to hold up, but it's obvious that Floyd has been a difference maker so far.
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| Greg Smith had another rough outing on Saturday as he was tagged with his seventh loss do to four runs in five innings against the White Sox. |
Our View: Smith only gave up five hits on the night but he walked six batters for the second time in five starts. Over his last seven starts Smith has allowed one run three times and four or more in the other four starts. The ERA continues to creep up for the rookie (3.62), and it still has a ways to go to match his overall level of production.
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| Alexei Ramirez was caught stealing for the third time this season on Saturday night, but it was his only foible in a 3-for-3 effort with two runs scored and an RBI. |
Our View: Ramirez started the year slowly, but he has clearly made Juan Uribe expendable with his production at the plate making him an asset in deep mixed leagues.
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| Ryan Sweeney had two hits, scored a run, knocked one in and stole his seventh base of the season on Saturday night for the Athletics. |
Our View: Sweeney battled for playing time early on, and through injury of late, and he is producing a fine season hitting .298 with those seven steals. The power still isn't there with only two longballs, but he has certainly been an asset in AL only leagues.
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| Nate McLouth returned to the lineup on Saturday after a bout with the stomach flu, but he went 0-for-4 dropping his average to .278. |
Our View: McLouth is hitting .203 with just one home run over his last 16 games as the early season gravy train has almost completely dried up. He wasn't that good, and he isn't this bad, so look for his production to normalize in the coming weeks.
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| Eric Gagne was the beneficiary of offense on Saturday as he worked a scoreless ninth inning and then watched his teammates score the winning run off the Pirates to give him his second victory of the season. |
Our View: Gagne has now appeared twice without allowing a run since returning from injury, and with the Brewers struggles in the pen there could be some consideration of moving Gagne back into the closers role soon.
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| Dave Bush dazzled the Pirates for eight innings allowing just one run without walking a single batter in a seven strikeout no-decision. |
Our View: This is the third time in four starts that Bush has allowed a single earned run, and over his last nine starts he has walked just nine batters as his WHIP is down to 1.22. If he is still on waivers in your league, he probably shouldn't be.
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| Paul Maholm pitched eight excellent innings on Saturday though he picked up a no-decision after engaging in a pitching battle with David Bush. Both pitchers went eight innings and allowed just a single run, with Maholm walking one and striking out six. |
Our View: Maholm continues to bring his ERA down with his fourth straight quality start for the Pirates (4.05). He still comes with some risk as he doesn't have a true "out pitch", but he is on a solid roll right now.
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| The Milwaukee Brewers continue to pursue C.C. Sabathia, but according to a report on ESPN they haven't yet offered a package of players strong enough to entice the Indians. |
Our View: Matt LaPorta would likely be at the center of any deal, but the Brewers have apparently trying to fill in around him with a couple of lesser prospects instead of another blue chipper. If the Brewers cannot work out a deal, the Phillies, Dodgers and Rays appear to still be in on the action according to Buster Olney.
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| Erik Bedard has had a largely ineffective campaign in his first year in Seattle, and there is growing concern that there might be a physical reason for that, according to the Seattle Times. "I don't think he's really totally feeling right, with whatever was happening before -- hip, back and all that," manager Jim Riggleman said. "He may be pitching a lot more than he should." |
Our View: Just what the team was looking for in their attempts to move the unhappy Bedard. No specific diagnosis was given, but the fact that Bedard continues to fail to go deep into games could easily lead one to surmise that he is indeed operating at less than 100%.
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| Brad Penny will not return from his injured shoulder before the All-Start break, according to MLB.com. Penny had to be removed from a simulated game on Saturday as his shoulder began to bother him yet again. "He stopped himself. He felt something in the back of the shoulder," said manager Joe Torre. "He didn't do anything on that particular pitch, but all of a sudden something was weird." |
Our View: The team will send him for an exam on Monday, and while no one seemed overly concerned that this setback was major, it just goes to show you that Penny isn't someone that should be counted on to return to form quickly. Regardless, he is out until after the All-Star break.
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| John Maine was forced from his start on Saturday night with an injury to his non-pitching arm, an apparent forearm cramp, according to the MLB.com. |
Our View: This is the second time Maine has been bothered by cramps this year (the other date was April 26th). Someone tell the guy to drink a bottle of Gatorade on days he pitches.
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| Jarrod Saltalamacchia was removed from the Rangers game on Saturday after a sixth inning at-bat during which he strained his groin, according to the Star Telegram. |
Our View: The team is putting on a brave face saying that this is nothing more than a day-to-day type injury, but only time will tell. Max Ramirez figures to start in Jarrod's place on Sunday after entering the game on Saturday night.
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| Carlos Beltran could be move up to second in the batting order as manager Jerry Manuel is locking for a way to spark some life into his offense, according to MLB.com. "It's a strong consideration if his bat doesn't liven up quickly," Manuel said. |
Our View: With Luis Castillo on the DL, the team went with Ryan Church in the spot on Saturday, but the team has to figure out what to do with the slumping Beltran who's average has fallen to .262 with only two hits in his last 28 AB.
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| Jose Guillen got into what is being described as a "heated" argument with pitching coach Bob McLure, according to the Star Tribune. No punches were thrown in the incident, but things got heated with Guillen toss a couple of chairs before going face-to-face with the coach. |
Our View: Guillen has always had a me-first attitude that has often gotten him into trouble with teammates and coaches. Hopefully this will blow over, and given that the confrontation didn't become physical, he may not even face any team discipline for the outburst.
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| Ty Wigginton's versatility came into play yet again on Saturday as he was placed in the leadoff role for the Astros, according to MLB.com. "I loved leading off in college. I led off regularly my junior year -- at least 30, 40 games," Wigginton said. |
Our View: This move was made because the Astros are facing a lefty tonight, and there was no word that this would become a long-term decision. However, given that his OBP is a full .080 points better than leadoff man Michael Bourn (.360 to .280), it doesn't take a genius to figure out that this move makes sense for a lineup struggling to score runs.
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| Rafael Soriano threw two bullpen sessions in the past week and reported no discomfort in his continually sore elbow, according to MLB.com. |
Our View: Fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice... Soriano has started and stopped about as many times as a jackhammer knocking out an old sidewalk this year. Continue to monitor his progress, but it is patently obvious that he just isn't an arm that you can count on.
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| Anibal Sanchez continues to rehab from right shoulder surgery, and he is progressing well, according to the Palm Beach Post. Sanchez's next start will be at Single-A on Tuesday, and he is on schedule to return to the majors on August 1st. |
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