MLB Fantasy Baseball: Tuesday News and Notes

Are you as curious as I am as to when we will start a set of notes without discussing an injury? It's getting borderline crazy. But, we have to do what we have to do. So let's get to it.

• Roy Oswalt looked fantastic yesterday, striking out nine over six innings and only allowing one run. The bad news? Oswalt left the game with a strained hip. He isn't due to start again until Saturday, but a strained hip abductor in his left leg will make it hard for him to get the required power he needs, and it will likely hurt each time he lands. A missed start is certainly likely.
• Felix Hernandez was placed on the DL with his sprained left ankle. Hernandez was originally scheduled to start on Sunday but was pushed back to Tuesday to give the ankle more time. The Mariners have decided to be cautious, and that's probably the best call in this case. There shouldn't be any long-term impact from this one.
• Jhonny Peralta is still available in five percent of leagues. That's likely because of his batting average more than anything else. Peralta, up until 10 games ago, was sitting at .231. In his last 10, he's raised that 26 points, up to .257. His last seven games show numbers of .393/1/5. I would certainly rather own Peralta than Khalil Greene or Stephen Drew.
• We saw it with Hudson/Zito/Mulder, and now we're seeing it with Harden/Duchscherer/Smith. The A's know how to scout pitching. Even when you're looking at a poor offense, the peripheral stats on the pitching staff are enough to warrant them consideration in all formats. WHIP, strikeouts, and ERA all play a major part in winning you weeks and categories. Greg Smith four-hit the Angels last night, looking simply over-powering at times. I'd own any and all of these three in virtually all formats. At worst, especially at home, they all should be given spot-starts.
• I'm going to stop trying to figure out Kyle Lohse. From a numbers point-of-view, he should have been destroyed last night. Yet, he outduels John Maine, who, by the numbers, should have dominated last night. It's why they don't play the games on paper. Lohse is beyond hit or miss right now. His stats overall are very solid, and he's a good NL-only pitcher. His make-up as a contact pitcher that has never had this type of success makes me nervous as a fantasy owner.
• Paul Maholm held down the Reds lefty bats. Jay Bruce, Joey Votto, and Adam Dunn were all hitless, and Griffey's home run came off reliever Matt Capps. Maholm isn't a guy to necessarily start, but he should make you adjust your lineup and take out any left-handed hitters you might have facing him. After all, they are hitting just .164 against him.
• The Dodgers, rather than sending someone down or the bullpen, plan on using a six-man rotation when Hiroki Kuroda comes back tomorrow night. Joe Torre may be one of the greatest managers of all-time, but he's certainly made another questionable pitching decision. The NL West is a winnable division, and I wouldn't want to limit Chad Billingsley's starts in any manner. This is supposed to last until the All-Star break, but that's enough for me to second-guess.
• Staying with the Dodgers, Juan Pierre is headed for the disabled list with a sprained MCL. Another Dodger goes down, making anyone that pitches against them look better and better. With Pierre, Furcal, Jones, and Garciaparra (I'm sure I'm missing someone) all hurt, pitching around any offensive threat becomes much easier. Keep this in mind when looking for pitching on waivers.
• Other injury and comeback news: Mark Mulder pitched a scoreless inning of relief last night in his first appearance in what feels like a decade. He wants to start, but let's settle for health. Aramis Ramirez will miss the next three games for the Cubs with a family matter in the Dominican. He should be back for the weekend. Chipper Jones is headed to the DL, adjust lineups accordingly.
• Last injury note, I hope. Miguel Cabrera left last night's game with a hip injury. He's listed as day-to-day. I'd have him out of the lineup tonight if I needed the stats immediately. I'd watch this situation. It means more playing time for Marcus Thames, in all likelihood, who cracked his 15th home run of the season last night and is becoming a reliable add in virtually all formats. He's a great add right now, given the Tigers' current injuries.

Notes for today's games:

• The Brewers pitch well at home, but not as much on the road. Dave Bush showed that last night, and, despite his success against Atlanta, Jeff Suppan hasn't been much better. At Chase Field though, since 2005, Suppan sports an ERA of 2.04 in three starts. His splits this season make him a risky play, but I'd reconsider any Diamondbacks I had better options for, especially Chris Young, Conor Jackson, and Eric Byrnes.
• Randy Johnson, however, has owned the Brewers' better bats. He's not a bad play for strikeouts alone. Mike Cameron and Gabe Kapler both belong on the bench, as they are well below .100 against Johnson.
• Tonight, Seattle will have an all-hands approach to the Blue Jays. Ryan Rowland-Smith will get the start and go as long as he can. You should want all your regular Blue Jays in the lineup as a result. And, as much as I didn't like Jesse Litsch yesterday, his chances for a win just went way up without Felix Hernandez on the mound.
• Bobby Crosby is 1-17 against Ervin Santana. Eric Chavez handles the bat against him pretty well, but he's the only guy on Oakland that does. In two appearances, Santana has an ERA of 1.38 and BAA of .220.
• Zach Duke has struggled on the road, but lefties are still only hitting .218 against him. He's easier to hit than Maholm, but not by much. The same rules apply here, but I'd start Adam Dunn, who is 5-9 against Duke.
• Manny Ramirez is 5-8 against Matt Garza, but he's the only Red Sox with good numbers. Lowell (2-9), Pedroia (1-8), Youkilis (1-8), and Casey (1-8) all struggle. Garza has good numbers at home and pitched well against them in Tampa last time out.
• Justin Morneau is only 8-36 against Nate Robertson, but four of those hits are home runs. The Twins haven't been great against Robertson, but the 6.36 road ERA he sports make all your normal Twins good plays. Don't worry about his being a lefty and wanting to play conservative; left-handed hitters are hitting .313 against him this season.
• You don't normally need a reason to play every Yankee in the lineup, but Kevin Millwood's 5.25 road ERA in eight games certainly pads the argument.
• No concerns regarding Joba Chamberlain or Edinson Volquez. Cliff Lee, though, sports a .298 BAA when he faces the White Sox. He hasn't faced them this season, but this is a road start against a hot team. Proceed with caution.
• Spot starts today? Scott Baker, Radhames Liz, Todd Wellemeyer, and John Danks.

Notes for Wednesday:

• Nick Blackburn has done most of his damage at home and makes a solid play against an injury-filled Detroit team.
• Joe Saunders has looked very good all season, and he's held the A's to a .211 BAA. Most of his troubles have come at home, but I'll trust the fact he pitched eight shutout innings against Oakland last time out, and the A's struggles more than the home numbers here.
• Dana Eveland is actually NOT a good play. I know, I'm shocked too. Eveland is just 2-3 on the road with a 4.05 ERA.
• Hiroki Kuroda will be back from the DL. While I do enjoy Kuroda, I don't trust the pitcher in his first start off the DL. Stay away from this one, especially with a hot-hitting Astros team.
• Tomorrow could be a good place to use Micah Owings. He's much better at home, and he goes up against Seth McLung, who has struggled on the road. If you still have Owings on your roster, this is a good play. If not, don't reach for the spot-start just yet. He pitched better in his last outing, but make him do it again.
• If you don't play Adam Eaton at home, don't play him on the road. The Braves hit .366 against him as a team. Jorge Campillo, though, is a good start.
• I shouldn't have to say it, but Randy Wolf on the road is bad news.
• Early spot start calls, go with Blackburn, Campillo, Ricky Nolasco, and Gil Meche.

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