Fantasy Baseball: Wednesday News and Notes

There are times that when I put up these articles, I can't help but laugh. Often it's because of the result of some of my selections. Some of you will attest to my man-crush on Dana Eveland last year, and how well that worked out for many of us.

Yesterday, though, it was because of my brother. We play in one of the same leagues together with a bunch of our friends. I posted the article and within 20 minutes my brother had gone and picked up Kendry Morales for his outfield.

With that kind of turn around time, I may have to start burying bad advice in here just so I can keep my edge going in that league. Kidding...I'll take him down anyway.

Side note, my condolences to Blake Griffin and his family. No one should have to endure years of playing for Mike Dunleavy.

On to the notes.

Tuesday Rewind

• I don't know how else to classify the performance of Joel Pineiro other than mystifying. He threw a complete game shutout last night on under 100 pitches. Let's not get overly excited here as fantasy owners. Pineiro has been lit up by the Cubs in the past, and is nothing more than a spot-start option at best. That's true even in NL-only formats.
• Quick note on when I talk about benching stars. Usually, I'll only mention star players as warning flags. In most cases, owners don't have true replacements for these guys. I like to throw it out as a friendly warning. It may work out if you have another player mentioned that is riding a good streak or has decent numbers against that day’s starting pitcher.
• It's a shame that you can't specifically rely on a knuckleball pitcher each time out. Tim Wakefield was solid over eight innings last night, giving up just a home run to Kevin Millar in earning a 2-1 win in the process. Wakefield is an AL-only roster player, but still just hits mixed leagues as a fringe starter. He's on a roll, though, and when that happens he usually makes a solid start.
• The bad Felix Hernandez showed up against the Angels last night. Hernandez, overall, has struggled against his own division. He doesn't pitch well in Arlington, and has now dropped to 3-5 with an ERA over 5.20 in his last 13 starts against the Angels. Something to keep in your back pocket.
• So if Barry Zito ever gets some run support, he might be in line for a good season. Zito went eight full innings yesterday, giving up just five hits and two earned runs to the Padres. Zito sits at 1-4 with a 3.62 ERA, and has become, at the very least, a spot starter in all formats. Even if you play matchups, he's tough to beat right now.
• Cliff Lee got hosed out of another win thanks to the Cleveland bullpen. Amazing how his ERA has dropped to under 3.00 and we all (including me) were in a frenzy earlier this year regarding his rough start. Lee has turned it around and is only underperforming in the win column. In that regard, there isn't much that can be done.
• Mark Teixeira has completely turned it around since the return of Alex Rodriguez. Why? He's seeing better pitches! That has totally changed the lineup for New York and made Teix a much better player. The 3-4 combination there is going to be the best in baseball all season. That window to buy low on Teixeira? Yup, closed for business.
• Want to talk about potentially tough decisions? Jeremy Bonderman will be coming back to the Tigers rotation sooner rather than later. While Armando Galarraga has struggled, there is no doubt his place in the rotation is safe. Dontrelle Willis looked solid in his return to the mound last night, and would be the only candidate to go outside of Rick Porcello. Bonderman may need to work his velocity and start out of the bullpen, but one of these two will get the boot.
• Dave Bush continued to pitch well against the Astros. His struggles at "The Juicebox" weren't evident last night, and his control was solid after the first inning. He continues to bring a few more strikeouts to the party without sacrificing his WHIP or walk rates. While he's still more of a play at home, it's good to see a nice road outing, and that's something owners should take note of.
• Yesterday's Results: Wins-Zito, Palmer, Hernandez; Losses-Garland, Martis (Season: 101-74-6)

 Wednesday Notes

• Ervin Santana looked really good at Safeco last season. Santana went 2-0 with a 1.77 ERA in his starts there. Given Seattle's offensive struggles, this start should build upon what he put out against the Red Sox last time out. Figure that Seattle only hits .212 against Santana as a team, and you have a decent matchup here.
• Need some strikeouts? Javier Vazquez is No. 1 in the National League, registering 67 through his last start. That's right, he has more than Johan Santana. Problem? He's 0-3 at home with a 5.20 ERA. It's largely because of back-to-back rough outings against the Cardinals and Mets, but something to watch. The Rockies don't hit like that, and this could be where he rebounds a bit at home.
• Skip Schumaker is still widely available as a second base option, and his numbers against Ryan Dempster are solid enough to make him a good play here. He's gone 10-for-24 against Dempster in his career. He doesn't have tremendous upside, but you could do worse at second base. The Cardinals have held Dempster winless in two starts against him this season, pushing his ERA over 4.00 in his last five starts against them.
• I'm pulling back on Jamie Moyer today. While his numbers have been good on the road in the past, we aren't seeing anything positive to this point in the season home or away to justify the play. Righties are simply killing him, hitting .365 with a 1.038 OPS, nearly mirroring his overall numbers on the road to this point.
• Corey Hart is one of the better options the Brewers have today, as he's hitting .435 in 23 at-bats against Wandy Rodriguez. Especially at home, though, there shouldn't be a second thought in starting Rodriguez. Keep riding the hot hand here.
• Keep riding the Mark Teahan train today. Teahan is a .417 hitter against Fausto Carmona. Most of your other Royals are plays as normal. Teahan is a fringe play in most leagues that should be grabbed in times like this when matchups are favorable.
• I'm not a fan of Orlando Hudson (1-for-16) or Russell Martin (2-for-15) against Livan Hernandez, but there isn't any other Dodger that I wouldn't play here. You can even make a case for starting both of these guys based on how they have been playing recently. With Orlando Hudson leaving last night's game though with an injury, this might be a good day to give him some time off for the Dodgers anyway.
• Scott Kazmir has earned the right to be reserved until we see some marked improvement in his efficiency. He's given up 22 runs in his last 18 innings, and needs to be benched until he can get things together. Regardless of facing Oakland or not, I'm not ready to gamble that things are going to be alright until I see something that will lead me down that path.
• I'm not completely concerned over Gil Meche, but I'd keep him down against Cleveland. Meche is playing with mechanics and changing his routine in the middle of a season. That doesn't normally play out well initially.
• Spot Starts: Brett Cecil, Paul Maholm, Jeff Weaver
• Keep on the Bench: Fausto Carmona, Scott Kazmir

Thursday Notes

• Given Jon Lester's struggles, there is plenty of reason to keep him on the bench. Yet, Lester knows he has to right the ship, and he's pitched well against all Blue Jays not named Alex Rios. I'm not against using him or sitting him in either case, and personally I'm giving him a shot at home to get it done here.
• I talk about riding hot streaks a lot. Here's one that makes me nervous: Jeff Suppan's team is 5-1 in his last six starts, and Suppan is coming off of an impressive seven-inning outing. He's given up just 12 earned in his last six starts after two disasters to start the season. While Geoff Blum (.538) and Lance Berkman (.412) are must-starts, I'm actually looking at Suppan as a potential spot play in deep mixed or NL-only formats.
• Joe Saunders is 5-1 in his last seven starts against the Mariners. This season, he already has had one impressive outing against them. Given that he's 2-0 with a 2.19 ERA at Safeco, you have to like the looks of this start for him as well. We're getting there guys, he's now 70 percent owned! Grab him while you can.
• Without the numbers of Aramis Ramirez, Adam Wainwright's performances against the Cubs become much better. Ramirez has hit over .400 against Wainwright. Losing him makes this a much more effective start for the Cardinals. I'm liking him here more than usual, and since he's just 1-3 against the Cubs with an ERA over six, it's worth a mention in this case.
• Since he doesn't strike many out, and he struggles on the road, Nick Blackburn doesn't have much value to owners on the road against Chicago. He already has suffered one loss against them, and is coming off an outing where his command was questionable at best. Keep him down in this one, despite Chicago's run of bad luck on offense.
• Spot Starts: Ian Snell, Edwin Jackson, Dallas Braden (Saunders no longer qualifies)

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