Friday Fantasy Baseball News and Notes

• In case you missed it, the major players involved were Coco Crisp, Johnny Gomes, Carl Crawford, and James Shields. The latter two are the only ones that likely have any material fantasy impact. Crawford threw several cheap shots, and I didn't think he was that kind of guy. Once MLB gets their hands on that tape, expect at least a five game suspension to be handed out. Shields will likely get five games as well, which basically equates to one start. All will appeal any suspension, so there will be minimal impact next week to your lineups.
• Jacoby Ellsbury left the game with what is being called a sprained wrist. He's day-to-day right now and the Red Sox feel he will likely be available next week. He's out of the lineup today for certain, and I'd plan your weekend lineup without him as well. We'll check back in as we start to learn more. Ellsbury is scheduled for tests today.
• Manny Ramirez has rasied his average 20 points during an 11-game hit streak. He's hit five homeruns in that time, and he is seeing the ball very well. You can always tell how Manny is going by how much he hits the other way. He's doing that very well right now. Unfortunately, he left last night's game with a hamstring injury. The Red Sox feel he will still likely be available to DH tonight.
• The Reds continue to struggle with left-handed pitching. Cole Hamels threw a complete game, three hitter yesterday. He also held Jay Bruce hitless for the second day in a row. Just a simple coming back to earth a bit for Bruce. He won't face many elite lefties like this, but when he does, it's probably worth holding him back in the short-term if you have a better option. Homer Bailey didn't pitch poorly in the loss, allowing only two earned runs on four hits.
• Milton Bradley is absolutely on fire. His last six games have produced five home runs, 10 RBI, and a .409 average. His teammate, Michael Young, is in the midst of a 21-game hitting streak. Young's last seven games show stats of .500/1/7 in 32 at-bats.
• Interesting developments in the Blue Jays-Yankees game yesterday. First, B.J. Ryan blew another save. He's going to still be the closer in Toronto, but expect Scott Downs to see a few more opportunities in order to get Ryan fully healthy. Next, we have Kyle Farnsworth. I hope the Yankees enjoy him as an eighth-inning guy. Yes, that's the Red Sox fan in me talking, because this has no fantasy impact. But Chien-Ming Wang does. Wang couldn't get through the fifth inning yesterday, and has had a fair amount of trouble with the Blue Jays over the course of his career. He also walked four more batters. Walks don't work well for contact pitchers, and Wang is proving that. He still makes a good play against Oakland next time out.
• Scott Baker's return to the rotation was pretty good. Baker went five innings, giving up two earned runs. Better, he was able to get to 99 pitches. Sure, you don't want that many pitches over only five innings, but it's a good sign as far as his ability to throw on his leg. He's good to start next time out. My bad on Garrett Olson, who dominated the Twins lineup.
• Time to take a good look at the Tim Redding bandwagon. Redding went five-and-one-third innings yesterday, giving up six runs on nine hits and a walk. Not good numbers, and this was at home. Redding is a better matchup play than anything. If you're going to own a Nationals pitcher, Jason Bergmann is more the way t

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