MLB Fantasy Baseball: Thursday News and Notes

We here at the 'Table are still in a state of shock that Nomar remembered how to hit a home run, let alone that he hit it in the ninth inning to help secure first place for the Dodgers. Everyone should be careful today, as Nomar producing could be the seventh sign of the apocalypse. Scary really. Before it gets too weird, let's get to the notes: 

• A strained oblique muscle has landed Mike Lowell on the DL for 15 days. Lowell strained his right oblique, which should be easier to deal with than his left, but is still awkward. The Sox have no timetable for his return here, and this is the type of injury that can linger for two or three weeks. Kevin Youkilis will move over to third for the time being, with Sean Casey getting the bulk of time at first. Rumor has it that Rich Aurilia and Kevin Millar are targets outside the organization, while Chris Carter and Jeff Bailey would be the internal candidates.
• Carl Crawford opted for surgery on his hand, which effectively ends his regular season and his fantasy relevance. If you have the DL spot, and want to be safe, hang on to him. Otherwise, time to look for another outfielder to fill that hole. Evan Longoria is going to be out long enough that the Rays are also making a push for Rich Aurilia. With the Sox behind them in the standings, the Rays would have to wait to see if he got past Boston before they could make any move.
• Mark Buehrle dominated Kansas City again yesterday. Buehrle is now 18-8 in his career against the Royals and is a must start against them under all circumstances. Yesterday, the lefty went seven innings, only giving up five hits and no runs. As predicted, Billy Butler (two hits) and Mark Teahan (one hit) were the only real sources of any fantasy relevance for Kansas City.
• Justin Duchscherer has lost his last three decisions, and hasn't had a win in his last five starts. Don't blame the pitching, though. While "The Duke" hasn't been as dominant as he was prior to the break, he's only really been shelled once (eight earned in six innings against Texas). He still leads the AL in WHIP at 0.99 and is second in ERA at 2.59. Those stats are solid no matter how you look at it.
• Randy Wolf just loves the home cooking. He's taken his home magic to Houston, where he continues to be stellar, as long as the jersey is white. He improved to 7-4 at home and dropped his ERA inside friendly confines to 2.91. His next start will be on the road, so let him sit that one out.
• Daniel Murphy should start getting some consideration in NL-only formats and deeper, mixed leagues. Murphy is 14-30 since being called up on Aug. 2. He's added two home runs and eight RBI to the .467 average. In deep leagues, where Crawford is no longer an option, Murphy deserves a look. Always good to ride the hot hand. He's listed at third in many leagues, but has already played eight games in left field.
• Derek Jeter sat out yesterday after fouling a ball off his foot on Tuesday night. This shouldn't be considered a major setback, simply a bump in the road. Watch lineups early, but expect him to be in for the weekend.
• Paul Maholm improved to 6-1 at home for the season, with a dominating outing against the Reds. Maholm went eight innings, didn't walk a batter, and gave up just two runs on seven hits. His season WHIP is now at 1.24, and at home, batters are now hitting just .249. He will struggle to get wins because he is playing on an offensively-challenged team, but the other stats will make up for it.
• Wladimir Balentien hasn't exactly been the call-up stud that many hoped he would be early on, but the numbers in August have been very good, compared to where he started. Balentien is hitting .273 for the month and added his second home run last night to give the Mariners the win. He's certainly a player that will see time the rest of the season, because of the Mariners location in the standings, and is worth a shot if you have the roster spot or can use him in a keeper format.

Notes for today's games:

• Had a few people (mainly disgruntled Phillies fans) email about the lack of love for Brett Myers. When you look at the totals, 1-6 on the road is still 1-6 on the road. The ERA over six is still bad, and his last four starts just haven't really been against stud-type offenses. Jeff Kent and Juan Pierre have owned him, and the Dodgers young players are all hitting over .300 at home (Kemp, Ethier, Martin). In four starts against the Dodgers since 2005, Myers has posted a 4.79 ERA, and that number is 5.27 at Dodger Stadium.
• Greg Maddux won't be getting the start against Ben Sheets today, that honor will go to Jake Peavy now. Sheets is still the better play because of the park and the offense he will be facing.
• Three other starters have been pushed or scratched today. Jesse Litsch will get the ball for Toronto to give Roy Halladay an extra day of rest and allow him to pitch against Boston on Friday. Litsch has been awful on the road for most of the season, posting a 5.37 ERA and a 4-5 record. He hasn't been pitching for Toronto (having been sent to AAA), so keep all Tigers active. Vicente Padilla has also been scratched from his start against Boston today. His replacement, Tommy Hunter, has no track record against Boston, meaning he'll probably pitch like Cy Young.
• Finally, Aaron Cook has been pushed back in favor of Glendon Rusch. I'd love to tell you there's a good reason for this, but it's limited. He did have one good outing against the Diamondbacks when he was with San Diego, but that was in Petco, not in Colorado. Keep all Diamondbacks active.
• Dan Haren has had two rough outings in August, but that's no reason to be concerned enough to bench a top pitcher. His ERA for the season is still 3.00 and he pitched well in his only other appearance against the Rockies. With batters hitting just .228 against him, he's still a good option.
• Oliver Perez has been lights-out against lefties, holding them to a .168 average. He's been just as tough on all hitters for his two starts in August, posting a .213 BAA and an ERA of 2.77. He was hit hard by Washington in his only start against them, but this is not the same team. Keep him active.
• Johnny Cueto has been a mess on the road, and Ian Snell has not had good success against the Reds. From an offensive standpoint, anyone on both of these teams will make solid plays.
• Spot-start calls? The 'Table is always a fan of Hiroki Kuroda. Others for today would be Armando Galarraga and Scott Olsen.

Notes for Friday:

• The Red Sox have not hit Roy Halladay well, but J.D. Drew and Kevin Youkilis have posted the best numbers. Youkilis is a .361 hitter against Halladay, while Drew hits over .417. Otherwise, keep Halladay active as you normally would. He might not get the win, but he will provide other stats for your team.
• The Yankees have been good at home and get the Royals, who have not played well at Yankee Stadium in several years. Andy Pettitte hasn't been stellar in two outings against the Royals, but has been good enough to record a 1-0 record. Keep him active. Johnny Damon is just 3-24 against Gil Meche, look for other options here.
• Matt Garza has not been good on the road and is facing a strong offense in Texas. Texas does nothing but put up runs. Garza has posted a 5.37 ERA on the road to go with a 3-5 record. If you have better options, reserve him in Arlington.
• Carlos Silva is pitching on the road against a hot Minnesota team and facing a solid pitcher in Francisco Liriano. Get all your Twins in the lineup; Silva can't get anyone out at this point.
• We've been high on Manny Parra for a while now, but, on the road, Parra has a 5.00 ERA. Stats are skewed because of his early season struggles. In a pitcher's park like Dodger Stadium, Parra is a gamble still, but a decent one to take. He's given up eight earned runs in his last 27 innings on the road, six of which were in one outing against Cincinnati.
• Jamie Moyer has been good on the road and gets to pitch in a pitcher's park with Petco. Both he and Greg Maddux are decent options. Maddux has allowed just a .228 BAA at home and .200 in his two August starts. He's posted a 2.73 ERA in Petco. Keep him active.
• Early spot start calls? Go with Moyer, Maddux, Parra, and Jair Jurrjens.

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