Fantasy Baseball: Tuesday News and Notes

Opening day had a little bit of everything. Sure, rain halted a few matchups, and there was plenty of rust to be had across some teams, but baseball is definitely back.  

My only question. Since the Pirates beat the Cardinals, and the Pirates lost to Manatee Community College, does that mean MCC could beat the Cardinals? No? Just checking. 

Let's take a look at what went down yesterday.

• Cliff Lee continued a horrid spring with a rough opener against the Rangers. Lee gave up 10 hits and seven runs in just five innings of work. I'll be the first to say that we can't judge based on one outing, but let's raise the red flag to at least half mast and monitor the rest of Lee's April closely.
• Speaking of the one-game mantra, C.C. Sabathia had another rough April outing. Why another? The loss drops his record in April to 4-5 since 2006 and raised opponent's batting average against him to over .300. He just doesn't like the cold really.
• There's some good youth in Toronto. Adam Lind, who will be getting regular at-bats going forward, drove in six runs and knocked a home run in the opener to start the season. Travis Snider hit his first of the season as well. Lind is a deep league extra, but I like what he can bring to the table in regular at-bats. Snider, as has been discussed, could be a fantastic rookie.
• Some interesting notes I picked up on Twitter yesterday were mainly on lineups. Interesting to see both Matt Kemp and Chris Davis hitting seventh. In L.A., Andre Ethier hit fourth, followed by Russell Martin, James Loney, then Kemp. Kemp's power and speed still make him valuable, but the spot in the lineup is odd.
• Chris Davis batting behind Hank Blalock and Marlon Byrd likely won't last long. Davis will produce, Blalock will get hurt, and Byrd is a nice role player. Davis is going to be a stud. It might take some time for him to prove his worth, but don't expect him this low for long.
• Joe Saunders has picked up right where he left off last season, stifling the Oakland lineup for his first win of the season. Sure, he doesn't strike out many hitters, but he does throw strikes and doesn't walk many. May not be a stud, but he does make a nice AL-only and deep league play.
• Here's a number: 30,000. That's the number of people that added Emilio Bonifacio yesterday in Yahoo! leagues. About that many went after Jordan Schafer Sunday night. Look, I loved watching these guys the last two days as much as anyone, but one game isn't going to make their season. There are going to be growing pains. Sure, you don't want to miss out on the youth, but let's not overreact here. If you jumped on these guys, you need to be prepared to be patient and live with some downturns.
• The first bump in the road of closers was hit yesterday. Jason Motte was roughed up by the Pirates in the ninth inning. The Cardinals have options, but don't think La Russa will pull the plug after one game.
• Paul Maholm, on the other side of that matchup, pitched well. He gave up just one earned run in six-and-two-thirds innings. There weren't many strikeouts in this one, but the stat line looks solid. Seriously, grab him if you feel your pitching is thin.
• Don't read much into Mark Reynolds not getting the start yesterday for Arizona. Chad Tracy owned Aaron Cook. Reynolds will be back in the lineup today.
• You might have expected Aaron Cook to struggle after the points made here regarding the Diamondbacks numbers against him, but I doubt anyone expected Brandon Webb to struggle as well. Relax, he'll be fine.

Notes for Tuesday

• We have some makeup games today. Those of you interested in the Boston weather, they should get the game in fine. It's looking solid outside right now.
• The Rays haven't done too badly against Josh Beckett overall. Akinori Iwamura, Jason Bartlett, and Evan Longoria have all had more than 12 at-bats and are all hitting over .300 against Boston's starter. I'd avoid Pat Burrell today. He's 6-for-35 against Beckett with ten strikeouts. Dioner Navarro isn't any better, checking in at 3-for-19. Historically, Beckett is strong in April, as batters have hit just .212 against him in the last three years.
• Just because it's a day later, it doesn't make it any less true...Worst play of the day? Kevin Youkilis is 0-for-17 against James Shields in his career. Your remaining Red Sox will be fine against Tampa, should they get the game
• Mark Buehrle is 7-2 in his last 13 games against the Royals. There are still some solid plays, as Mark Teahan is hitting .419, Billy Butler .350, and Coco Crisp .382. I'd keep those three active in my lineups, but would certainly be starting Buehrle at home.
• Nick Blackburn doesn't have much of a track record against the Mariners, but he did pitch well at home last season. Blackburn went 8-3 at the Metrodome and had an ERA under 3.00. As a spot play, he's a favorite today.
• Not quite sure what to make of Bedard today. He struggled even staying on the mound during the spring, as he looked to build up some stamina. Justin Morneau is 8-for-16 against Bedard, and the Twins lineup on the whole has done well against him in the past. If you can keep him down, watch him for a start or two before inserting him to your rotation.
• I'd have Wandy Rodriguez in my lineup today. While Derrek Lee and Ryan Theriot have raked against him, other Cubs regulars are all below .225 against the Astros starter. Rodriguez will generate strikeouts, and he has a lot of upside in the start today.
• While some of it has been tough luck, Ryan Dempster was just 1-3 against the Astros last season. All the Astros regulars have numbers that would keep them in any lineup outside of Kaz Matsui, who is just 1-for-9 against Dempster.
• If we're getting the Ubaldo Jimenez that was around after the All-Star break last season, I'll start him regardless of the opponent. Remember, even though he's facing Dan Haren, we can't predict wins necessarily. Jimenez has had success and pitches well on the road. The peripheral stats will be there even if a win isn't necessarily in the cards.
• Spot Starts: Blackburn, Jimenez, and Rodriguez
• Keep on the Bench: Jeff Suppan, Kyle Lohse, Jamie Moyer

Notes for Wednesday

• Scott Kamir is just 4-6 in his last ten decisions against the Red Sox. During that time, the ERA has climbed well over 4.00. He hasn't enjoyed Fenway Park recently either.
• As much as I like Chien-Ming Wang to come back strong from the injury that sidelined him most of last season, the Orioles hit .319 against him as a team in 119 at-bats. All your regulars should be active in the lineup in this one.
• I'd start almost anyone against Carlos Silva, and you should too. Silva was an unmitigated disaster last season, and his work has been miserable at home or on the road. Keep that in mind, and get all your Twins in the lineup to face him.
• Yovani Gallardo spent his time sidelined last season with an ACL injury. His return here shouldn't hold you back from starting him. The spring numbers got better with each outing, and I like the matchup against the Giants to get him going.
• I tended to over-buy Dana Eveland last season, and I'm not really sure why. At home, he made a decent play. On the road, like tomorrow, he struggles. Eveland went 3-6 on the road last season with a 5.64 ERA and 0-2 against the Angels with a 6.06 ERA. I'd keep him down.
• The Pirates hit just .205 against Todd Wellemeyer in 2008, as Wellemeyer went 3-0 against them. He's not very widely owned, and makes a decent spot play if you're looking to jumpstart your wins. I'll take him all day against Zach Duke.
• Get all your Rockies in the lineup against Doug Davis. Davis hasn't had much success against them, and the Rockies have hit well over .300 against him as a team. I like those numbers as a Rockies owner.
• Spot Starts: Wellemeyer, Kevin Slowey, Nick Adenhart, and Chris Volstad.

Collin Hager writes The Elmhurst Pub Blog. You can get your fantasy questions answered by sending an email to [e-mail]. He's also on Twitter @TheRoundtable.