Fantasy Baseball: Monday News and Notes

The feud between Francisco Rodriguez and Brian Bruney is borderline ridiculous. In case you missed it over the weekend, Bruney called out Rodriguez for his antics on the mound following a save. 

Bruney called Rodriguez's act "tired" and "embarrassing." Rodriguez then confronted Bruney by the batting cages, screaming at the injured reliever. 

If you ask me (and you did, right?) all these antics by every pitcher should stop. Bruney speaks out against Rodriguez, but his teammate Joba Chamberlain has done a fantastic job irritating most of the league, to the point Aubrey Huff imitated him after a home run. 

Jonathan Papelbon pumps his fist and acts like he won the World Series after every save. It all seems completely unnecessary. 

The emotion is a good thing, but not every time out needs that type of edge. The game would be better if they all toned it down a notch. 

On to the notes. 

Weekend Rewind

• After nearly ending up with the White Sox, Jake Peavy will now end up sitting down for the next month letting a tendon in his ankle heal. Peavy struggled with the injury over his last several outings, culminating in needing to put together a completely gritty performance in his last outing. There are some short-term solutions available, but none will equal Peavy-like production. Examine Edwin Jackson and even Ubaldo Jimenez, both of whom are putting together impressive seasons. Jimenez is more widely available than Jackson.
• Jimmy Rollinscame through with one hit in the entire series against the Red Sox, continuing his trek as the biggest bust of all shortstops drafted. Rollins had a decent series against the Mets, but had gone only 2-for-16 against the Dodgers and then added a 1-for-15 effort against Boston over the weekend. Since being put back in the leadoff spot, he is 2-for-19. The good news for some owners? Jason Bartlett will be activated this week.
• Cliff Lee simply dominated the St. Louis lineup last night, taking a no-hitter into the eighth inning. There were many owners that did not take kindly to Lee's first two starts of the season. Lee improved to 12-2 in interleague play, and his losing record on the season is far from indicative of how he has pitched.
• You can safely assume that the Blue Jays are glad to be rid of the Marlins. Florida has now swept them twice at Toronto since interleague play began. The Marlins simply have owned the Blue Jays in their prior appearances, adding a sweep in Florida as well. The team improved to 15-7 against left-handed starters.
• Sticking with Toronto, this has been a tough run for Vernon Wells. He has not hit a home run since Boxing Day. Wells is mired in a 137 at-bat home run drought and checks in with just four hits in his last 33 at-bats. The Blue Jays have done a lot to help get him right, shuffling the lineup and looking to take some pressure off of the outfielder, but it has not worked to this point.
• Several items that did not make sense over the weekend had owners scratching their heads. Among them was Matt Kemp hitting ninth against the Rangers. Kemp has done nothing but produce, and even came up with a big home run while in Arlington, but the nine spot makes it harder for him to produce stats outside his own production. Curious to see if this plays out further in other American League stadiums for the Dodgers outfielder.
• Daisuke Matsuzaka again looked lost. After throwing just 14 pitches in the first inning, Matsuzaka waited out a 95-minute rain delay and started the second inning. After throwing over 85 pitches, Matsuzaka managed to completely let the Phillies back into the game and was pulled before even being considered to start the fifth inning. Nothing is working for him right now. With a fastball checking in at only 92 right now, he cannot make mistakes up in the zone. That is what he is doing, and those mistakes are landing on the other side of the fence.
• The first comments made after the Yankees game by Johan Santana were to eliminate speculation that he is hurt. Santana was completely destroyed, giving up nine runs and not working through four innings. There has been speculation that Santana did not have the velocity in his last outing. Stay tuned.
• Manny Parra was sent down by the Brewers over the weekend after suffering four miserable starts in his last five. Parra had been able to pitch decently at home, but his six run effort in less than two innings on Sunday gave the Brewers little choice. Additionally, Milwaukee has the ability to use a four-man rotation while keeping everyone on normal rest based on the way their schedule breaks for the next few weeks.
• Howie Kendrick was sent down to AAA over the weekend, after posting a .231 average through June 12. Kendrick needs to find his swing before the Angels can look to put him back into the lineup. How long that takes will determine how long he is in the minors. There are some hot-hitting options available to help owners out. Look to Jose Lopez (about 25 percent available), who is hitting .346 with four home runs in the last two weeks. Other options include Ian Stewart, Placido Polanco, and Alberto Callaspo.
• Need some pitching help this week? Kevin Millwood has been pitching very well and gets two starts this week, one at home and one on the road against the Giants. Two decent matchups. Gil Meche has been red-hot and gets two starts this week as well. Tim Wakefield is very tough at home, and gets two starts there this week against Florida and Atlanta.
• Be careful with teams adding and losing the DH this week, especially based on how players hit lefties or righties. Adam Lind does not hit lefties as well as he does righties, and that may mean less time this week in the outfield based on how matchups line up. They draw two lefties in John Lannan and Ross Detwiler, but these guys are not the hardest to hit, especially Lannan. The Indians will hit the road for three, and that likely means no Travis Hafner for AL-only owners, the same is true for Jim Thome owners and the White Sox.

Monday Notes

• Only two games on the schedule today, so very light in terms of total value. Still, spot start options are available. Carl Pavano takes the ball for Cleveland at home against Milwaukee. Yes, his last start was frightening. His start against Kansas City was his worst since the middle of April. He is still 3-2 in his last six and 6-2 in his last nine starts.
• Barry Zito will also take the ball today, drawing the Angels. It would likely be foolish to expect Vladimir Guerrero to start in the field based on his knees anyway, but the .212 average against Zito will do more to keep him on the bench than injuries. Zito has been very effective against the Angels lineup, with the exception of the 7-for-22 of Robb Quinlan. Of those seven hits, three are home runs. Zito comes out as a favorable start in this one.
• Most of your regular Angels are barely above .200 against Zito. From Torii Hunter to Chone Figgins, to Gary Matthews, Jr., to Juan Rivera, there is not a good number to really be found. In a league where you have positional limits, this is a decent day to look to reserve these players.
• John Lackey has certainly had his struggles so far this season, and it does not look to get any easier against the Giants. Look to use both Randy Winn and Aaron Rowand in this one, as they have good numbers here. Rowand is 6-for-11 against Lackey in his career and Winn is a .286 hitter.
• Dave Bush is a tougher option today, although widely available. Bush has given up six home runs in 33 road innings and 15 overall this season. On top of that, the Brewers starter has been dealing with swelling in his forearm. It looks like he should be able to make his start, but he has allowed 12 earned runs in his last 15 innings. He has to be the third option of the spot starts today.
• Spot Starts: Look to use both Pavano and Zito today, with Bush a distant third.
• Keep on the Bench: The way Lackey has been pitching, it is tough to start him. Look to avoid him if you can, especially this early in the week.

Tuesday Notes

• In his last 28.2 innings, Felix Hernandez has given up just three earned runs. He has been nothing short of dominant, and gets to throw in a pitcher's park against the Padres. With the struggles of Adrian Gonzalez, as he is one for his last 14, the Padres offense does not pose much of a threat. Add to that, Hernandez is very tough to hit on the road.
• Glen Perkins will return to the Minnesota rotation tomorrow against the Pirates. It is always good for Twins starters to return at home, simply because they all seem to pitch so well there overall. Perkins was 1-1 at home in five starts with a 3.57 ERA prior to his injury.
• It can be hard to ignore the results of a given month, but that may be the best way to look at Jonathan Sanchez. Sanchez has had major issues pitching on the road, and both of his June starts have been away from home. He draws the Angels at home, where he is 2-0 in five starts this season.
• The Astros have seen a fair amount of Kevin Millwood, but the only starter with decent numbers is Lance Berkman. He checks in at 8-for-24 with a home run against the Rangers starter. Otherwise, many Astros hover around the Mendoza line. If you can avoid Miguel Tejada and Ivan Rodriguez, look to do so. Neither are above .200.
• While you may not see Thome against the Cubs this week, Paul Konerko does have decent numbers against Carlos Zambrano. Konerko checks in with four home runs in 22 at-bats to go with a .318 average. Certainly could provide an early power boost for owners in deeper leagues.
• Spot Starts: Gil Meche, Kevin Millwood, Paul Maholm

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.