Fantasy Baseball: Friday News and Notes

It is Trade Deadline Day!! 

Whether you are a fan or a fantasy owner or both, eyes will be glued to Web pages and televisions as everyone tries to find out who the Pirates will sell off next. The Pittsburgh management came out yesterday to say they were looking to build a championship team that can compete every year. 

Um...guys, did you not have that? 

From the start of last season to now, the Pirates have traded five All-Stars. They have moved closers, starters, and middle relievers all in the name of generating cheaper players and reducing costs. Pittsburgh went from having a chance to compete by ADDING a pitcher or two last season to being the punch line in jokes. 

Say what you will about the Nationals, but they are not selling off left and right. They have not jettisoned players for the sake of doing so. If they trade both Adam Dunn and Josh Willingham, then the statement should be retracted, but not until that point. Pittsburgh is treating it like it is a sport, with Neal Huntington acting like the Chris Wallace of baseball. 

Bob Nutting and Frank Coonelly are running a sham operation, and they need to be relieved of their duties. Pirates fans, take a stand. Refuse to show up, stage a walk out, anything. Your team is being decimated and treated like a Triple-A franchise for the rest of baseball.

It needs to be stopped. 

On to the notes. 

Thursday Rewind

• There are plenty of thoughts on David Ortiz. You will not find them in this post. If there is something to be said, it can be done later. All that should be pointed out here is that he continues to hit well, adding a double and home run yesterday to pace the Red Sox to a win. Ortiz is one of the few Red Sox that have been hitting the ball well since the start of June. He struggled in July, but has hit 12 home runs in the last two months.
• The Orioles trade of George Sherrill opens the door up for another closer in Baltimore. Look for Jim Johnson to get the first crack at the job this season. Johnson is among the best in holds in 2009, and would be a logical fit to slide into the role. Do not be surprised if Baltimore looks in-house in 2010. Koji Uehara was a closer in Japan for most of his career.
• Brandon Webb may elect for surgery after the latest setback in his rehab. Webb will visit the Rangers' team physician to have his ailing shoulder examined. He has been unable to work through some soreness and inflammation in the shoulder, and it has drastically slowed the rehab process. Webb initially believed he would pitch again this season, but owners should not hold out hope.
• Derek Holland looked fantastic last night, but he certainly will put the Texas pitch count methodology to test during his next starts. Holland entered the ninth inning last night having already thrown 103 pitches. He then threw 15 more before being lifted with one out to go in the game. Holland had worked 8.2 innings in total over his last two outings, and threw 20 percent more pitches than he has in any of his last ten outings.
• The Mets have now won five of their last six games after splitting a double-header last night with the Rockies. As a team, the Mets are hitting .309 in the last week, led by David Wright and Luis Castillo, both of whom are north of .450 in the stretch. Jeff Fracoeur, Alex Cora, and Dan Murphy have all pitched in with numbers better than .280. Hitting wins games liks this, and the pitching has not been half bad either.
• Jorge De La Rosa has to be the fantasy surprise of the month. The Rockies starter went 5-0 with a 2.50 ERA for July, and held opponents to fewer than two earned runs in four of his five starts. He has now won his last seven decisions, and eight of his last nine overall. Ride the streak while it lasts.
• Torii Hunter is eligible to come off the disabled list, but do not expect him to be activated in Minnesota. The Angels are going to be cautious about playing him on the turf in his return. It does, though, sound like Hunter is close to returning. Weekly leagues should leave him reserved until we hear otherwise, but daily leagues should look to him some time next week.
• May not be a sexy name, but Rich VandenHurk has thrown three consecutive solid outings for the Marlins. He has 16 strikeouts in 17 innings of work, and has an initial ERA of 2.65. His pitch efficiency has not been spectacular, but he has held down two decent offenses in his last two starts. Deep leagues take note.
• John Grabow is on his way to Chicago, and overall this is not going to have a material fantasy impact other than to preserve wins for starters. Grabow is a left-handed specialist that should not be looked at as a closer in this case. Is he late-inning help? Certainly. Still, the Cubs will dance at the end of the bullpen with Carlos Marmol and Kevin Gregg.

Friday Notes

• Aaron Cook's last two rough outings have each come at home. On the road, he is 6-2 with a 3.41 ERA this season. He is not going to help your WHIP, as he pitches to a fair amount of contact, but he can provide wins and ERA help for teams that are looking for one late in the week.
• 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.
• Fausto Carmona is going to take the ball in place of Cliff Lee for the Indians. Carmona has been relegated to the low-minors in order to get back any sense of command and velocity that he once had with Cleveland. He has been better in Triple-A, but this is a situation to avoid. While Marcus Thames is 0-for-12, Curtis Granderson has hit .444 in 27 at-bats. The rest of your Tigers are good plays as well.
• 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.
• Cliff Lee is 2-0 in his career against the Giants, and that is really all there is to go on overall. Look to avoid Randy Winn, as he is only 2-for-19, but otherwise you should start your Giants as you normally would. Pitchers tend to have an advantage over hitters in the first time around, and Lee should be able to use that.
• 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.
• Hopefully, owners are not putting much stock in the nine wins that Braden Looper has put together this season. It has been nothing but one heart attack start after another. Looper has struggled with Adrian Gonzalez, who is 6-for-12 with two home runs against the Brewers starter. Batters have hit .296 against Looper on the road, and his ERA is over 5.00 away from home.
• 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: Cook, Lannan, Ross Ohlendorf, Nick Blackburn

Weekend Notes

• Luke Scott is 7-for-13 with two home runs against Boston starter on Saturday, Josh Beckett. Melvin Mora and Adam Jones have both struggled against Beckett, but start your other Orioles as you normally would in this one, as most have decent numbers. Beckett did give up five runs over seven innings in his last outing against Baltimore.
• Albert Pujols continues to struggle against Wandy Rodriguez. Pujols is just 3-for-23 against the Astros starter. Not many Cardinals have decent numbers here. Yadier Molina and Rick Ankiel have both had some tough luck. Look to Mark DeRosa and Ryan Ludwick as the best options for the Cardinals.
• Michael Young is a .354 hitter against Felix Hernandez, but he is as good as it gets for Texas. Josh Hamilton is 2-for-18, Ian Kinsler is at .182 in 33 at-bats, Marlon Byrd is 3-for-14, and Nelson Cruz is 4-for-19. With how well Hernandez has pitched, be wary when inserting Rangers in your lineup.
• Randy Wolf struggled in his last outing, but only two Braves have any sort of record against him. Chipper Jones should be active with his .341 mark, and Matt Diaz is 5-for-8 in limited time. Wolf still has not given up more than three earned runs in his last six starts and has held opponents to a .236 average away from home this season.
• Be careful putting Rick Porcello into the lineup in the game this Saturday. Porcello has given up at least four earned runs in his last four starts, and has not made it through the sixth inning in any of those starts. In total, Porcello has yielded 30 hits in his last 18.2 innings.
• Look to Jermaine Dye against C.C. Sabathia in the matchup on Sunday. Dye has hit .302 in 43 at-bats against Sabathia. Otherwise, it looks pretty bleak for the White Sox lineup against the lefty. Paul Konerko, Jim Thome, and A.J. Pierzynski are all below .200 against Sabathia.
• Owners should have a Plan B for Roy Oswalt on Sunday. Oswalt did receive an injection in his lower back to clear up some inflammation, but it is very likely that his start is pushed back. Daily league owners should be certain to check for updates on his status over the weekend. That would disappoint Mark DeRosa and Pujols, both of whom rake against Oswalt.
• Look to avoid Nelson Cruz, who is just 1-for-12 against Jarrod Washburn. The only question will be if Washburn is still in a Mariners uniform to make the pitch come Sunday. The rest of the Rangers have decent numbers against Washburn, but that is no reason to reserve the lefty in this one. Washburn has not given up more than one earned run in his last five start.
• Jhonny Peralta and Asdrubal Cabrera should be sat down against Armando Galarraga. Peralta is 3-for-20 while Cabrera is 3-for-18. Grady Sizemore and Shin-Soo Choo both have hit well against the Tigers starter.
• Raul Ibanez has hit only .170 against Barry Zito for his career. Jimmy Rollins has gone 4-for-10, and is really the only major player with any track record against Zito. The Giants pitcher has put together three decent outings in a row, but two have been against the Pirates.
• Spot Starts: Kevin Correia, Paul Maholm, Wolf, Ubaldo Jimenez, Brett Cecil

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.