Fantasy Baseball: Tuesday News and Notes

Quite the long weekend! I took to the links yesterday with some friends and family for an annual golf tournament that has been put together. What I love about golf is when you come home, people always ask how you did, or something to that effect. 

My brother and I have come up with the universal answer for average golfers everywhere: "It was a great day to be out there." Doesn't tell them what happened, all you have to admit to is that the weather was good. 

It's the safest way to go. Especially if you golf like I do. 

Let's get to the notes. 

Monday Rewind

• Jonathan Papelbon failed to nail down a one-two-three save again yesterday, giving up a gigantic home run to Joe Mauer. Papelbon hasn't had a one-two-three save since May 19, and only has four of those innings this season. His velocity is slightly down (VERY slightly) from last season, but location seems to be the bigger issue.
• While Mike Lowell has put together back-to-back impressive days at the plate, don't expect him to be in the lineup tonight. Amalie Benjamin of The Boston Globe has indicated the team will give him the night off, pushing Kevin Youkilis to third again and Jeff Bailey at first. It's also likely David Ortiz is moved down to fifth or sixth in the order.
• Chris Carpenter looked outstanding yesterday, throwing eight shutout innings. Carpenter wasn't able to get the win, since St. Louis didn't score, but his 10 strikeouts and only two hits allowed were impressive. Nothing to be concerned about with him so long as he's able to stay healthy. Always a big question.
• Matt Capps left yesterday's game after being hit by a line drive off the bat of Geovany Soto. Capps left holding his arm, and was taken for x-rays. Results have not been made available to this point, but the situation didn't look good. Expect him to be sidelined at least a few days.
• Vladimir Guerrero returned to the Angels lineup yesterday, after missing time with a strained pectoral muscle. Guerrero went 0-for-4 in his return, and has nowhere to go but up from here. Simply a disaster of a night for the Angels, overall. Not much you can read into it other than he was back and available.
• Jamie Moyer fell to the Marlins for only the second time in his last 14 starts. Moyer continues his problems from 2008 in pitching at home. Even favorable matchups are giving him overall issues. He's been good for a long time, but he's not even able to help teams in these favorable matchup situations right now.
• Akinori Iwamura will miss the rest of the season as a result of the take out slide from this weekend. Iwamura tore a ligament in his left knee. With second base continually getting thinner (with injuries to Iwamura and Weeks), owners should look at Asdrubal Cabrera (30 percent available) or Freddy Sanchez (50 percent) first. Other options are Skip Schumaker, who is hitting .299 with three home runs, or Alberto Callaspo, who checks in at .309 with two home runs. Both are very widely available.
• The Mets are having multiple injury problems, and it could lead them to put Jose Reyes on the DL this week. Reyes is still having issues with his legs that caused him to miss the entire weekend series with Boston. Given the performances they're receiving at short, Reyes could be better than what they have going for them.
• Mark Buehrle's recent performances at home should have you considering benching his opponents. Prior to this weekend, Buehrle was 12-1 in his last 13 home starts. His no-decision this weekend was still an impressive overall performance, as he spent a fair amount of time working out of trouble and scattering 12 hits.
• Results: Season - 112-81-9

Tuesday Notes

• Roy Oswalt has struggled most of the season, but the Reds usually help him get on track Oswalt is 23-1 in his career against Cincinnati. You have to like his chances of putting together a solid outing against a team he dominates in this manner.
• While Nick Swisher has had some recent struggles, he's a .400 career hitter against Kevin Millwood. The Yankees, as a team, are hitting .310 against the Rangers starter. With how well they are hitting the ball, looking to Millwood in this instance isn't likely going to help owners.
• While it's likely that you have no better options, it's worth noting that Jimmy Rollins is just 1-for-11 against Florida starter Andrew Miller. Ryan Howard is no better, checking in at just 1-for-10. Shane Victorino, though, has been solid. He's posted five hits in his 11 at-bats against Miller, including two home runs.
• Josh Willingham is 6-for-15 against Livan Hernandez. While the Nationals outfielder has run very hot and cold, he's getting more regular playing time. In NL-only leagues, he's a decent matchup play here. Austin Kearns does him one better, though, going 12-for-27 with two home runs. The only regular on the Nationals to be concerned with would be Adam Dunn, just 2-for-17 against Hernandez.
• Sometimes you have to look at the numbers, even when something might tell you otherwise. Jeff Suppan is pitching well. Better, Suppan owns the Cardinals. He's 5-0 with an ERA under 2.00 in his last six starts against them. He hasn't allowed more than three earned runs in his last six starts. Weird stuff, but good to know.
• His opponent, Adam Wainwright, was the tough luck loser to Suppan last time out. Wainwright has thrown back-to-back solid outings, allowing just two earned runs, seven hits, and three walks in his last 16.2 innings. He hasn't had good road outings this season, and batters are hitting 60 points higher on the road than at home against him. I'll take the guy that has had the two solid outings in a row. Especially where Corey Hart, J.J. Hardy, Prince Fielder, and Bill Hall are all under .227 against him.
• Ian Snell's control has been much better in his last three outings, but the Cubs just seem to hit him hard. With an 0-4 road record, Snell could be more than what the Cubs need to get their offense back on track.
• The lack of faith in Joe Saunders continues to bother me. Saunders has six wins and a 3.17 ERA to go with a 1.16 WHIP. Is all this likely to stay this way? The WHIP could go up slightly, but this is a guy with a career ERA under 4.00 in 73 starts. At just 77 percent owned still, we need to give this guy more credit.
• Be careful using Jarrod Washburn tonight. While he is still scheduled to start, a knee ailment is likely to limit his pitches and, potentially, his effectiveness. Washburn has been a pleasant surprise, but the Mariners aren't giving anything on this one. He's already had the start pushed back once with the injury.
• Spot Starts: Jeff Suppan, Edwin Jackson, Ricky Romero
• Keep on the Bench: Kevin Millwood, Jon Lester (need to see something from the guy)

Notes for Wednesday

• You don't need to be told to start Roy Halladay, but maybe knowing that Melvin Mora has hit .303 against him in 66 at-bats helps. No concerns over Aubrey Huff or Brian Roberts. Ty Wiggington could be a sneaky play, as he's a .318 hitter against Halladay.
• Keep throwing Ubaldo Jimenez out there at home, right? Not so fast. Jimenez has had a lot of problems with the Dodgers this season. In two starts, he's only gone a total of eight innings and given up 13 runs. His other starts this season have all been good, just not against Los Angeles. Think twice here.
• Unless you were starting Darin Erstad or Geof Blum, every Astros starter is worth playing against Bronson Arroyo. Even factoring in that those two have averages of .217 and .182 respectively, the Astros have a .294 average against Arroyo collectively. When you add in Arroyo's struggles at home, the math works in the favor of Houston.
• Given the fact that outside of one start against Pittsburgh he's been horrible, let's keep Gavin Floyd on the bench on the road. The Angels are starting to get healthy, and the fact that Floyd has only had one decent outing in his last six should throw up caution flags. Not the right time here.
• Manny Parra is quickly becoming a home/road play. At home, batters have hit just .179 against him, as opposed to .317 on the road. He's beaten the Cardinals once already this season, and holds an ERA under 3.75 in six starts against them for his career. Not a bad option in this one.
• Spot Starts: Parra, Rick Porcello, Trevor Cahill

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.