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| Hank Blalock unexpectedly started at DH and not first base on Wednesday night but it was just done as a precaution and not because of any physical setback, according to MLB.com. "I made sure before I decided to come back that my hand was ready, and it hasn't given me any problems," Blalock said. |
Our View: In the three rehab games Blalock went 2-for-7 with three walks. What remains to be seen is what the club will do with rookie first baseman Chris Davis who has produced six home runs and 13 RBI in just 17 games. Will the club keep him around as a backup, or will they send him back to the minor leagues? Stay tuned.
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| Carlos Pena begins the second half with 14 home runs and 47 RBI, a woeful pace for a guy who hit 46 home runs with 121 RBI last season. |
Our View: Pena has hit four home runs with 16 RBI over the last 18 games, but it's clear that last season will likely end up being a career best effort. Pena could still hit 30 home runs this season which would be a nice round number for a guy who has been injured and slumping for a majority of the season.
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| Kyle Farnsworth has settled into a setup role in the Yankees lineup quite well since Joba Chamberlain was placed in the rotation posting a 2.30 ERA and 1.15 WHIP over his last 17 appearances. |
Our View: Farnsworth certainly has the stuff to dominate hitters in any given appearance, but he has long had a troubling trend of doing the absolute worst thing at the absolute worst time. Lately, he has avoided those costly errors, and his production has been tremendous for those who have him rostered in leagues that count holds.
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| Over his last seven starts Jarrod Washburn has only two wins but he has allowed more than three earned runs only once in that time for the Mariners. |
Our View: Washburn certainly isn't likely to add much in the ratio categories, and his K total has never been anything to write home about either, but he is on a decent role of late which makes him worthy of starting in AL only leagues.
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| Kurt Suzuki hit only .213 in May causing many owners to panic, but since then he has rebounded in a big way hitting .325 over his last 36 games. |
Our View: Suzuki continues to be extremely inconsistent at the dish, and though his numbers since June 1st are great, he is hitting just .244 with only one RBI over his last 13 games. He isn't a top flight option, but he looks like a solid catcher two moving forward.
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| Jesse Litsch started the year on fire going 7-1 with a 3.18 ERA for the Jays, but since then he has fallen on tough times going just 1-5 with a 5.52 ERA, according to Yahoo Sports. “I’m going to sit down over the break and try to analyze it and figure stuff out." |
Our View: Litsch, here is the problem - your stuff isn't that good so unless you hit your spots the results will be uneven. Litsch strikes out less than five batters per nine innings, so if not for an amazingly low BB/9 of 1.39, his production would be much worse. He is a lower tier option in mixed leagues at best, nothing more.
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| Delmon Young is hitting a solid .286 on the year, but the shocking lack of power, he has only 17 doubles and just three home runs, has marked him as one of the most disappointing hitters in the fantasy game. |
Our View: Young has hit .321 since the start of June with all three of his home runs and 10 doubles over those 33 games, so he has been useful of late. However, he has stopped running with only one steal in that time, so he will need to keep up the swing to overcome the lack of stolen base success.
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| Justin Verlander still has a poor ERA (4.15) though his WHIP (1.27) is actually below his career mark of 1.29 as he is 3-0 with a 2.81 ERA and 1.13 WHIP over his last four starts. |
Our View: Since the start of June, Verlander has produced a 5-1 record with a 2.71 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP putting behind him the whispers that he was injured. He appears primed to continue the role he is currently on the rest of the way.
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| Mike Aviles has more than ably replaced the struggling Tony Pena at the shortstop position as he has hit .317 in his 139 AB this season with 21 runs and 21 RBI in 35 games of action. |
Our View: With numbers like that not only is Aviles a tremendous option in AL only leagues, he has actually played himself into consideration in deep mixed leagues as well. If you are a Tony Pena owner who is holding out hope of a rebound, well, he may never get the chance with Aviles hitting like this.
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| Rafael Betancourt has been a huge disappointment for the Indians in the first half as he has failed to remotely approach his production of last season, according to The Plain Dealer. |
Our View: Betancourt has failed to live up to expectations including allowing right handers to bat .315 leading to a 6.00 ERA, while permitting seven of 14 inherited runners to score. The "stuff" is still there for an extended run of success, but there has been little consistency to speak of this season.
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| Hank Blalock, making what was hoped to be his third and final rehab appearance at Double-A Frisco, was in the lineup at DH and not first base as originally planned, according to the Star Telegram. |
Our View: No word yet on what the reason was for the switch, but it can't be taken as a positive that he was unable to play in the field. Stay tuned for an update.
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| Matt Brown and reliever Kevin Jepsen were both named to the Olympic team on Wednesday, according to the Orange County Register. |
Our View: Brown is a mere 1-for-13 with seven K with the big league club this season, though he has been tearing it up in Triple-A with a .326-20-62 line in just 83 games. For his part, Jensen had 11 saves at Single-A before being promoted to Double-A where he is 0-2 with two saves including a 2.76 ERA.
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| Whether or not George Sherrill remains with the Orioles the rest of the year is in question, according to the Baltimore Sun. The Sun speculated that Sherrill could be moved, possibly to the Dodgers, now that Takashi Saito is out of action for at least six weeks. |
Our View: Rumors like this one are bound to make the rounds between now and the trading deadline, and it wouldn't be a shock to see the Dodgers pick up a more experienced arm to team with newly anointed closer Jonathan Broxton at the back end of the Dodgers pen.
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| D.J. Carrasco does indeed have one option left meaning that he could be sent down when the team chooses to activate Bobby Jenks, according to the Chicago Tribune. |
Our View: The Sox had originally thought that Carrasco was out of options meaning that they would have had to expose him to waivers if they made a move, but now they can safely farm him out without a worry. The team hasn't made the final decision with D.J. as they are still considering sending out Adam Russell instead.
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| The Brewers might be in the market to add a left handed bat if third baseman Russell Branyan continues to struggle at the plate, according to MLB.com. |
Our View: Branyan has 11 home runs in just 106 AB, but he also has 37 K, a career long concern. Since a hot start his bat has cooled considerably producing a mere .125 average and .419 OPS over his last 32 AB. Even if the team doesn't acquire a new bat they might be alright considering that Bill Hall is hitting .448 over his last 29 AB to boost his average up to .234.
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| Updating a previous report, it now appears that David Ortiz (wrist) will play four games with the Pawtucket Sox starting tonight, according to the Providence Journal. |
Our View: We can't say we are shocked to see this after seeing Ortiz swinging in batting practice at the All-Star game. Ortiz should return, barring a setback, within 7-10 days.
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| Matt LaPorta, recently involved in the big CC Sabathia deal, has been named to the United States Olympic baseball team, according to Baseball America. |
Our View: Another big name that was tabbed for the squad was the Cardinals Colby Rasmus. Click on the link above to view the whole squad.
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| Francisco Liriano will be back with the Twins soon. The team just isn't sure yet what role he'll fill. Manager Ron Gardenhire has been adamant that when Liriano returns to Minnesota it will be as a starter, but assistant GM Rob Antony said the team will discuss the possibility of the lefty pitching out of the bullpen, according to the Pioneer Press. Liriano hasn't allowed a run in his past three starts for Triple-A Rochester. |
Our View: The more likely scenario has the Twins sending Livan Hernandez to the bullpen and inserting Francisco into the rotation. He should be up with the club soon.
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| Johnny Damon could hit off a tee on Friday and is hoping to rejoin the team sometime late next week, according to the AP. Damon is out with an injured left shoulder. "Friday could be a big day," Damon said. "It feels a lot better today. It feels much better not doing the drills." |
Our View: This is the first DL stint of Damon's career. He had been scheduled to hit off a tee Monday, but that was moved back after he experienced soreness.
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| The original plan was for David Ortiz to play in two rehab games for Triple-A Pawtucket on Friday and Saturday before resting on Sunday. He would then go to Double-A Portland for three more games, according to the Providence Journal. But Big Papi has expressed a desire to play through the weekend, and manager Terry Francona said that could happen. |
Our View: If all goes well, Ortiz could be back with the Sox by next weekend.
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| The Tigers optioned Clete Thomas to Triple-A Toledo Wednesday. The move was made to clear a roster spot for Magglio Ordonez, who will be activated from the DL Thursday. |
Our View: Thomas has held his own in his time in the bigs, but he'll likely continue to shuffle back and forth between Triple-A and Detroit.
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| Magglio Ordonez will be activated from the DL before Thursday's game against the Orioles, according to SportsTicker. Mags has been on the DL since June 29 with a pulled oblique. Clete Thomas was optioned to Triple-A Toledo to clear a roster spot. |
Our View: Oblique injuries tend to linger, so hopefully Ordonez doesn't get re-injured.
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| Roy Halladay told the Globe and Mail that Toronto fans don't have to worry about him leaving. "They [the fans] shouldn't be worried I'm leaving," he said. "There's no chance if I have anything to say about it that I'm going anywhere. I can understand maybe disappointment with the way we're going. But as long as it's up to me, I'm staying." Halladay is under contract through 2010 and would be interested to extend his deal over the offseason. |
Our View: The Jays would be nuts to trade the rock of their rotation, especially since he's making below-market value.
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| San Francisco Chronicle writer Vlae Kershner believes the writing is on the wall for Mark Ellis' trade from Oakland. Ellis will be a free agent after the season, and the team has drafted second baseman Jemile Weeks and traded for second baseman/outfielder Eric Patterson. |
Our View: Ellis wants to sign a long-term deal with Oakland, but he would likely command $6-7 million per year over at least three years, a deal that the A's probably would be unwilling to do.
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| The asking price for Xavier Nady appears to be extraordinarily high right now, according to ESPN's Buster Olney. Rival executives have a sense that the Pirates are not going to lower their demands before the trade deadline. |
Our View: The Pirates are obviously going nowhere, and Nady will be arbitration-eligible this winter, so you can bet the team will do what they can to deal him.
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| Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd is said to be quietly asking around about a potential trade involving Matt Holliday, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. One of the first calls O'Dowd made was reportedly to the Mets, with the deal also including Willy Taveras and involving Carlos Beltran and top prospect Fernando Martinez. Understandably, though, that deal was shot down by the Mets, and any trade between the two clubs seems like a longshot. |
Our View: The Red Sox, Yankees and Angels, among others, are also reportedly kicking the tires on Holliday.
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| David Ortiz took batting practice before the All-Star game and said he is ready to begin his rehab assignment, according to the Boston Herald. He will play for Triple-A Pawtucket on Thursday. "I think we've been right on all the time how we feel (about Ortiz's diagnosis)," said manager Terry Francona. "If he does what he's supposed to, he's going to be fine. It's not to say he's not going to feel it because there's a difference between feeling it and hurting it." |
Our View: Big Papi, who is coming back from a left wrist injury, will probably need at least a week's worth of rehab action before returning to Boston's lineup.
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| Hank Blalock 0-for-2 with two walks in his rehab game Tuesday with Double-A Frisco. This was the second of what is supposed to be three rehab games for Blalock, who is coming back from a wrist injury. |
Our View: Blalock will play first when he returns to the Rangers lineup, meaning Chris Davis is likely to be sent down even though he's hit six homers in 58 at-bats. If he has no setbacks, he should be back Friday.
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| The Marlins have asked Detroit about the availability of Ivan Rodriguez, but the Tigers told them the veteran wasn't available, according to the Miami Herald. However, if the Tigers should fall out of contention, the pending free agent could be dealt. |
Our View: Pudge would certainly be an upgrade to the Marlins' catching situation, and he of course has played in Florida before, having won a championship with them in 2003.
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| Former Mets clubhouse attendant and steroid distributor Kirk Radomski provided the government with shipping receipts for packages of HGH he sent to the home of Roger Clemens, according to the New York Daily News. "He found a receipt, and from what I'm told, he's turned it over to the feds. I don't think there's any question of its validity," said Richard Emery, the lawyer for former Clemens trainer Brian McNamee. |
Our View: If the receipts can be used to help prove Clemens committed perjury, this is bad news for those concerned about his freedom. The only baseball he may be playing soon is for the Texas Penal League.
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