Fantasy Baseball: Monday News and Notes

If sitting through last night's NBA Finals game does not give you more respect for baseball, nothing will. Officiating changed that game on several fronts.

Now, admittedly yours truly does not enjoy the Lakers because of his Celtics allegiances. So there is no doubt that Lakers fans could come up with similar instances of poor calls as well. 

Still, there should have been a foul called on Kobe Bryant for grabbing Courtney Lee's jersey as he came around the screen on the final play, then Pau Gasol goaltended.

Steve Javie anticipated a foul on Derek Fisher's breakaway in overtime, when there was very little contact. And not one person on that floor (players, coaches, or officials) can tell what is a legal or illegal screen. Not one. 

When a strike zone changes, it does not happen all too often within the game. There is consistency for both teams.

As Bill Simmons has pointed out, the constant shifting of positions by officials makes the game immediately called differently for both teams based on where the official is standing on the floor at the time. 

Baseball is easy. Fair and foul can sometimes be confusing, so can whether or not a pitch is inside or outside. Those calls, though, don't change based upon the time of the game or the location. 

Give me baseball any day of the week. 

On to the notes. 

Weekend Rewind

• Jacoby Ellsbury left Sunday's game against the Rangers with a sprained shoulder sustained after making a remarkable catch in center field. Ellsbury is day-to-day, but there are whispers floating around that he may miss tomorrow night's opener (at least) against the Yankees. Mark Kotsay would likely see some increased time if that were the case, simply because J.D. Drew is still too fragile.
• Sticking with the Red Sox, the question of how long they can continue to pitch Daisuke Matsuzaka has already been floated in the Boston media. Matsuzaka pitched another ugly game. The good news is he did not walk a batter. The bad news is that he gave up five runs on ten hits in five innings, including allowing one to score on another wild pitch. Yes, he generated strike outs, but at what cost? Owners need to sit him if they are not already.
• Matt Wieters sat for the first time since his callup over the weekend. The Baltimore offense was awful against Oakland, and has struggled to score over the course of their entire trip to the West Coast. Wieters will hit, but his 4-for-28 start does have owners worried already. Capitalize on this. Buy low, because some are already going to be impatient, especially if that owner is only carrying the one catcher.
• Tommy Hanson suffered through a rough debut yesterday for Atlanta, falling victim to the home run. Ryan Braun and Mike Cameron greeted him rudely to say the least. Still, there were glimpses of the potential Atlanta sees in the young pitcher. Hanson hit 100mph several times, and showed decent movement on his secondary pitches.
• Jarrod Washburn has only allowed two earned runs in his last 19 innings on the mound. Washburn has done much better outside of his division than he has within it. Keep that in mind, but look to Washburn in deeper leagues with at least 12 teams. His 33 percent ownership gives him solid value as a spot starter in most outings, if nothing else.
• Some might argue that Joe Saunders is regressing to the mean. Four of his last five outings have been simply awful. Excluding his seven-innings performance against Seattle, Saunders has given up 20 earned runs in 23 innings, including six home runs. Even worse, he has walked 13 in his last 28 innings. He still has good outings in him, but it is time to be more cautious.
• Kelvim Escobar's start on Saturday certainly should be viewed as a success. Escobar worked five innings in his first start since 2007, giving up two runs on four hits while striking out five. This is a good building block, and owners should take note of his availability going forward. He was a solid pitcher when healthy.
• Do not fall into the trap regarding Zack Greinke falling apart. The fact that it was the lead story on SportsCenter was pretty sad. Greinke had a bad outing, no doubt about that. Not one pitcher in this league is going to go the full season without a rough outing or two. He will brush this off and be ready to go this week.
• Andre Ethier has been red hot, posting a .370 average in his last seven games. He has three home runs and three doubles in those games. Ethier has at least one hit in nine of his last ten games. He is not widely available, but a few leagues here and there might be able to find him. His numbers are worth starting, especially where many owners are looking to him as an extra outfielder at this point.

Monday Notes

• Andy Pettitte has scattered two good outings against plenty of average to below-average starts. While he has put up two one-run efforts going back to the beginning of May, he also has posted five outings where he has allowed four or more runs in that same time. His back has certainly been an issue, and the Rays have put up good numbers against him. He has given up better than a hit per inning against them in two starts this year, and eight earned runs in 13.1 innings.
• Look to avoid Robinson Cano and Nick Swisher against Andy Sonnanstine. Neither are hitting over .200 against the Tampa starter. All other regular Yankees should be good to keep in the lineup for this matchup.
• Armando Galarraga looked better in his last outing against Boston, allowing three runs on six hits over seven innings. That said, he has not allowed fewer than three earned runs in a start since April 26. The White Sox hammered him last time out, and Galarraga has not necessarily given enough of an indication that he should be started, especially on the road.
• Jeremy Bonderman will get the ball in the second game of the double-header against the White Sox. Interesting that he will be on the same schedule as Galarraga coming into the next start of the month. He should get two starts this week, but his velocity is not quite back yet based on his rehab work. Mixed leagues should hold off until they see what Bonderman has to offer.
• Magglio Ordonez and Brandon Inge have both struggled against Jose Contreras. Ordonez has struggled against almost everyone, and should be held out based on his lack of power in addition to the .213 average against Contreras. No other concerns regarding Tigers starters in that game. It is likely that the two play in the early game regardless, making it hard to avoid using them because of how most sites work.
• Jake Peavy is scheduled to make his start on Monday despite an upper-respiratory infection that caused him to leave his last start early. Peavy has pitched well individually against Arizona, not allowing any hitter he will see to hit above .240 against him with the exception of Miguel Montero. While Peavy struggles against the Diamondbacks on the road, he has been very good against them inside Petco.
• Zach Duke has not been extraordinarily lucky in terms of his actual stats, but he certainly has in terms of his personal numbers. Duke's control has been outstanding so far this season, posting a WHIP of 1.13 in 2009. Batters are hitting just .254 against him for the season. His BABIP is .270 this season, nearly 50 points below his career average and 60 points below his 2008 numbers. Ride it while you can, but just be wary.
• Josh Outman continues to impress. The A's starter has not given up more than three runs in any start this season, and is 2-0 at home in four starts this season. Outman has been strong enough to be owned in all AL-only formats as well as deeper mixed leagues. The Twins have struggled on offense, and this represents another favorable matchup for Outman. With lefties hitting just .128 against him, do not look to use anyone unnecessarily.
• While Jason Marquis has recorded seven wins this season, it has been through dancing with fire. His 4.10 ERA makes the seven wins a scary proposition for the fantasy owner to take on. The Cardinals have decent numbers against him based on his time with the Cubs, so keep a conservative eye.
• Spot Starts: Josh Outman, Andy Sonnanstine
• Keep on the Bench: Andy Pettitte

Tuesday Notes

• It is a tough proposition for Yankees owners. Josh Beckett has been nothing short of dominant in his last four starts, including an impressive performance against the Tigers last week. The regular Yankees starters have all hit him well, most over .300. Start them as usual, but temper expectations based on how Beckett has been throwing of late.
• Look to avoid any Padres starter not named Adrian Gonzalez against Chad Billingsley. Gonzalez is over .300 in 29 at-bats, but the rest of the Padres have struggled. Most with enough at-bats to look at are under .200. Sit them all down.
• Expect Jeff Keppinger to be in the lineup against Ted Lilly. Keppinger is a .350 hitter in 20 at-bats, including a home run. Ivan Rodriguez is 6-for-22, but does have three home runs in those six hits. The Astros, otherwise, have struggled against the lefty starter.
• Mark Teahan and John Buck have both pounded Cliff Lee in the past. Teahan has hit .366 in 41 at-bats with two home runs and 12 RBI. Buck checks in at .353 with three home runs and six RBI in 34 at-bats. Look to use Jose Guillen as well. Not that there is a reason to sit Lee while he is pitching so well, but certainly look to use these Royals based on track record.
• Since it was mentioned how well Mark Buehrle has pitched at home, he has suffered two rough outings. The Tigers pose as much of a threat, if not more. Looking at the stats, the numbers are not in favor of the White Sox starter. While Miguel Cabrera may be 0-for-9, Ordonez is 15-for-33, and Placido Polanco checks in at .406 in his appearances.
• Spot Starts: Braden Looper, Jordan Zimmermann, Ross Ohlendorf.

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.