Fantasy Baseball: Thursday News and Notes

The week leading up to the trading deadline is always full of excitement...for those who root for a team involved in a pennant race. Any fan of a team selling off assets must dread this week. The few remaining Pirates fans are certainly among that group. The ownership group placed a big fat stamp on this season with their deals yesterday. 

The idea that a team starts the season with Nate McLouth in the lineup and two other potential All-Stars in Jack Wilson and Freddy Sanchez (after trading two stars last year in Xavier Nady and Jason Bay) to end up selling off all of them in a bitter attempt to save dollars is shameful.

Pirates fans should be boycotting that franchise. The sheer idea that they have one of the best parks in baseball and are determined to play a AA-level team is outrageous. 

This is a team with a storied history, a team that gave baseball Roberto Clemente and Willie Stargell. Now, while there is potential in the youth, they have reconciled themselves to another year or two of 60-70 win baseball.

Tampa was able to use their young players to get to a World Series. To do so, they made sure to lock up some of them to long-term contracts. The Pirates do not seem to be doing that. 

Not only have they missed that aspect, the players have seen through the facade. When Wilson and Sanchez turned down contract extensions, they essentially told management that the team is headed in the wrong direction and they want out. The players feel betrayed. 

If the ownership team is not going to invest in the team, they need to go. Start the bandwagon and bang the drums. Get the ownership out, find someone that loves Pittsburgh and wants to restore the team rather than dismantle it.  

The years of Barry Bonds, Bobby Bonilla, Andy Van Slyke and Doug Drabek seem as far away as those of Stargell and Clemente. 

On to the notes. 

Wednesday Rewind

• Prime example why wins are a misleading measure of a pitcher's success can be found in Zack Greinke's July numbers. In five July starts, Greinke was 0-3 but only once allowed more than two earned runs. His ERA in those starts was 2.53 and batters did not exactly tear the cover off the ball against him, hitting just .266. Greinke was a victim of run support and bullpen implosion.
• Cliff Lee will obviously have an immediate impact heading to the Phillies, pitching in a very similar ballpark to what he had in Cleveland. The defense is not much better or worse around the diamond, and pitchers always have an advantage when they have not seen a hitter before. To top it off, the Phillies can score runs! Lee owners should be smiling pretty wide this morning.
• As for the prospects involved for Cleveland, Lou Marson is likely the catcher of the future as the team looks to deal Victor Martinez over the next two days. Kelly Shoppach has not has as much impact with the bat this season as the team would have hoped, and Marson can hit for average if not power. He will get the playing time over Shoppach.
• The trade of Freddy Sanchez to the Giants opens up the door for Delwyn Young at second base. Young has some strong offensive potential, but has been blocked by the All-Star. In NL-only leagues, he should already by owned. In deep mixed leagues (at least 12 teams), Young can provide some power and average down the stretch for teams that need a little help or leagues that require a MI position.
• Brad Penny blew a Fenway start in grand fashion last night, allowing five first inning runs to Oakland. Penny did settle down, but only worked into the sixth inning because of his high early pitch count. His command was spotty at best, but the velocity was still there. Penny was overdue for a rough start, and he remains only a spot play in any mixed league format.
• The Red Sox are going to shuffle David Ortiz, Mike Lowell, Kevin Youkilis, and Adam LaRoche around in their lineup for the time being. Ortiz drew the short straw last night, and is going to be more likely to sit against lefties with LaRoche getting the starts. Lowell drove in five last night, but his hip injury is going to require some days off as well. Youkilis is likely the one of the four assured of the most consistent playing time.
• Clayton Kershaw continues to pitch well. In his last nine starts, he has allowed no earned runs in six, one earned run in one, and two earned runs just twice. He is generating more strikeouts, but continues to play with fire based on his walk rate. Kershaw has walked 65 batters this season in 120.2 innings, averaging nearly five per nine innings. No doubt he is working around them, but there is a good chance for a blow up with these numbers.
• The only issue with Marcus Thames is his playing time. Thames hit his 11th home run of the season last night, and is hitting .294 in July. There should be no doubt that he can hit and hit for power, but he is viewed as a part-time player overall. He draws Cleveland this weekend, a team he is 6-for-12 against this year.  On the road, he still has a .903 OPS to go with his .273 average. Deep leagues could do worse for an extra outfielder.
• Pay some attention to Garrett Anderson. Since the All-Star break, Anderson is 20-for-43, and that include a 10-for-21 over the last seven days. Anderson has homered three twice this week, and was a triple short of the cycle against the Marlins on Wednesday.

Thursday Notes

• With Matt Kemp having gone 0-for-7 against Kyle Lohse and Juan Pierre sitting at 6-for-12, it is possible we see Pierre in the lineup for this one. May not be to replace Kemp, but it would be a logical fit. Careful with Casey Blake, as he is only hitting .237 in 38 at-bats against Lohse.
• Derrek Lee is only 3-for-33 against Russ Ortiz. That is right, three hits against Ortiz. Does not make a whole lot of sense, but the stats do not lie. Your usual Cubs make good plays otherwise, and there should be no concerns in starting them. Another good matchup for Koyie Hill. Though limited, he is 4-for-7 against Ortiz.
• It has not been completely pretty for Luke Hochevar, but he has not lost since his start on June 18th. He has had a rough outing or two, but has given up just three earned runs over his last 13.1 innings. Hochevar has struggled on the road, having gone 2-2 with a 6.75 ERA in five starts.
• Great stat from ESPN on this one: Jorge De La Rosa was 0-6 and had a 5.43 ERA on May 31st. He has gone 8-1 in the nine starts since with 55 strikeouts to 21 walks in 56.1 innings. He gets a struggling Mets team, and is sporting a .244 BAA on the road. Look to him for the spot start.
• NL-only leagues should take a look at Ross Gload today against Javier Vazquez. Gload has 10 hits in 25 at-bats against the Braves starter, but is the only Marlins player with much of a track record. Given how well Vazquez has thrown this season, do not reach for Marlins that you would not otherwise play beyond Gload.
• Orlando Cabrera is 6-for-13 against Jon Lester, and is the only Oakland starter to consider in this one. Bobby Crosby and Jack Cust have each gone 1-for-11, and Mark Ellis is just 2-for-12. Lester has been nearly unhittable in July and is averaging 8.5 strikeouts per nine innings.
• Gavin Floyd has been very tough at home, having gone 4-2 with a 2.70 ERA for the season. Floyd has given up eight earned runs in his last five starts at home, covering 34.2 innings. The Yankees have not seen much of Floyd, but the White Sox starter knows how to pitch to lefties, keeping them to a .224 average in 2009.
• Owners might want to look away from Jim Thome against Andy Pettitte. Thome has put up zero home runs in 25 at-bats against the Yankees starter, and has hit just .240. Start all others as you normally would, specifically Paul Konerko. Konerko has hit .367 in his time against Pettitte.
• If you are going to look to use Jonathan Sanchez, at home is the place to do so. Sanchez is 3-1 at home with a 3.27 ERA in ten games there this season. Batters are only hitting .217 against him in San Francisco, and just .133 against him for the month of July (granted, slightly skewed by a no-hitter).
• Spot Starts: De La Rosa, Brad Bergesen, Kyle Lohse

Friday Notes

• Look to avoid Kevin Youkilis and Mike Lowell against Jeremy Guthrie. Youkilis is only 4-for-22 while Lowell checks in at 3-for-20. The rest of the Red Sox have decent enough numbers to be used as you normally would. This is likely a spot we see Adam LaRoche in the lineup for one of the two. Guthrie has historically pitched well against the Red Sox.
• Edwin Jackson has thrown the ball well all season, and has pitched well against the Indians to boot. Jackson has held Grady Sizemore down to 3-for-17 and Victor Martinez to 3-for-14. Jackson is 2-0 against Cleveland this season with a 0.64 ERA in 14 innings. On the road, he has posted a 2.35 ERA in 11 starts.
• Vicente Padilla missed his start on Tuesday, but is scheduled to start on Friday against the Mariners. Not very good news for most Mariners. While Ichiro has hit .526 against him in 38 at-bats, Jose Lopez and Russell Branyan have struggled, as have Ken Griffey and Kenji Johjima. Look to new guy Jack Wilson, who is 5-for-12 against Padilla.
• Fantasy baseball is all about "what have you done for me lately." That being the case, take a look at John Lannan's last 10 starts. He has only once allowed more than three earned runs and six times has held opponents to two runs or less. Lannan is not the greatest of pitchers, but he can help teams in deeper leagues. The Pirates have no one left, not a bad spot to use him.
• Yadier Molina and Ryan Ludwick have both only gone 2-for-11 against Brian Moehler. Need a couple hits? Julio Lugo has gone 7-for-19 against the Astros starter and is not a bad start in deeper leagues. Otherwise, your normal Cardinals should be good to go. While Moehler is 5-1 on the road, it is largely due to run support.
• Spot Starts: Aaron Cook, Lannan, Nick Blackburn

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.