Thursday Morning Cup of Fantasy

• Joba Chamberlain's next relief appearance could be his last. The Yankees put Ian Kennedy on the DL with a strained muscle in his ribcage and it looks like Joba will take his spot. Good news if you already own him and good news if you can go out and grab him on waivers. Chamberlain is likely already owned in most deep leagues, and that shouldn't change. He should be added in any mixed league with at least 12 teams and is worth a flyer for guys hanging on to borderline starters (Mark Buehrle, Brad Penny). Kennedy could be in trouble. This injury is always tough for pitchers because of the force they put on their midsections. If Chamberlain is successful in the rotation, expect Kennedy's next stop to be AAA.
• Jake Westbrook returned from the DL and was largely effective. He gave up 3 runs in 5 innings, but the key is his location and velocity were good. It's always hard for your first start off the DL. Give him one more, then get him back into your lineups on a regular basis.
• The Roundtable giveth and the Roundtable taketh away. Some good calls and bad calls yesterday. If you started Armando Galarraga, Andy Pettite, JoJo Reyes, or Matt Garza then things worked out pretty well for you. Reyes, despite not getting the win looked very good and only gave up 1 run over 7 while striking out 9. Pettite continued his domination over the Orioles. He basically owns them and is a must start against them. The fact that Garza is owned in so few leagues is just sad at this point. Deep leagues he's a must own and I'd take a chance on him in some 10-team leagues as well. He's pitching better than most people realize and his strikeout and WHIP numbers don't show signs of that changing. My bad if you listened and started Wandy Rodriguez. I didn't follow my own rule of waiting a start when guys come off the DL.
• Important note, Glen Perkins will have his start flipped with Boof Bonser's over the weekend. Why is this important? Because the start by Bonser on Saturday will coincide with Scott Baker's rehab start. If all goes well for Baker, it looks like he'll be taking Bonser's spot as opposed to Perkins. Perkins has pitched well and deserves every chance to let that continue in the rotation. Bonser, meanwhile, has been awful all month and seemed to be the most likely candidate to go.
• The Braves activated Rafael Soriano from the DL. Look for him to step back into the closer role for Atlanta. If you find him on the waivers, worth the add in any format if you need the saves.
• Erik Bedard continued to shut down Boston's bats. Sure, the Red Sox haven't looked good for most of the road trip, but Bedard has their number. David Ortiz still holds the only homerun against him that the team has. Bedard has held the Red Sox to a .167 average, including last night's games. Ortiz and Manny Ramirez are a combined 9 for 42 with 1 homerun. Needless to say, he owns this matchup.
• Kevin Youkilis sat out his second straight game with an injury to the back of his right hand. With the day off today, he should be good for Friday according to reports. That would be a good thing, as he's 6-16 lifetime against Friday starter Daniel Cabrera. Daisuke Matsuzaka had a shoulder exam done, and nothing abnormal was found. Still expect him to miss a start and it would time well with Clay Buchholz return from the DL.
• Pedro Martinez looked good in his rehab start for single-A. He's still on track to pitch June 3. I think he's worth taking a chance on, if only because you have a DL spot open on your roster. You can never have too much pitching. Pedro pitching only ok is better than most guys pitching at their best.

Notes for today's games...Limited slate in baseball today...Dana Eveland should be owned in virtually all formats, but makes an especially good play today. He's already faced the Toronto lineup once and done well. He's lights out at home with a 0.94 ERA and batters hitting .160. He's been almost as good for all of May, with a WHIP just over 1.00, an ERA under 2.00 and batters hitting .194...John Danks has been tough all season and is a good spot start on the road against Tampa. I know their playing well, but Danks has been even harder to hit on the road, with a WHIP of 1.00 in 31 innings and batters hitting .216 against him. He's 2-0 against Tampa for his career and his opponent Edwin Jackson hasn't fared well against Chicago...Jeff Francis should be benched today against Chicago and almost everytime. Derek Lee is 6-6 lifetime with 3 walks against him, not that you would sit him anyway...Need a spot bat today? Scott Podsednik is 7-17 against Jason Marquis...Start all your Mets. Carlos Beltran and Brian Schneider struggle against Brad Penny, but that's it. Penny has been bad against the Mets, worse on the road, and even more horrendous in May. Needless to say, I'm not high on him...Like your star Pirates against Aaron Harang as well. Jason Bay and Xavier Nady especially...Spot starts today? John Lannan, Jorge Campillo, Barry Zito, and Kevin Slowey in that order...Check yesterday's notes for thoughts on Zito and the Giants...

Notes for Friday...Expect Alex Cora to get the start over Julio Lugo, as Cora is 11-23 against Cabrera, vs. Lugo's .158...Greg Maddux is a very different pitcher away from Petco and the Giants regulars hit him well (Aaron Rowand, Bengie Molina)...Tim Redding still makes my list as a good spot start on the road against nearly anyone...Carlos Silva has been bad and the Tigers have his number, all of them...Jered Weaver is a decent play against Toronto...Very surprising that Aaron Cook is still available in 25% of leagues. He should be owned and started against Chicago...

Back as the need arises...