Fantasy Baseball: Thursday News and Notes

If a Red Sox fan tells you they feel good about this series against the Yankees, they are lying to you. Any team that goes out to sign Paul Byrd does not feel good about their pitching staff. Plain and simple fact really. 

The signing of Byrd is an indication that the Red Sox are not confident in the return of Daisuke Matsuzaka, the arm of John Smoltz, or the calf/back of Tim Wakefield. Forget what happened in the first few games of the season series with New York; the Red Sox are a team in desperation mode. 

The jeers will be loud tonight for David Ortiz, and the question as to if he will be able to handle it should be asked. The outfield will be in shambles, the bullpen is depleted, and the offense is relatively stagnant. 

This time, Boston, the park you enter will feel decidedly different. 

On to the notes. 

Wednesday Rewind

• As mentioned, the Red Sox signed Byrd to a minor league deal. Byrd went 4-2 with the team last season when he was picked up around the trade deadline. The team expects him to be ready right around the time rosters expand. It is possible that Byrd becomes a long relief man, something the Sox are missing since the trade of Justin Masterson.
• Jason Bay will be out of the Boston lineup at least tonight and tomorrow. Bay had missed a couple games over the weekend and early this week as a result of a hamstring injury. He was removed from the game last night in the eighth inning after re-aggravating the injury. Look for Rocco Baldelli to see a little bit of time to start the series.
• Erik Bedard will have another MRI done on his shoulder. Bedard missed most of last season with a shoulder injury, and has done very much the same this season. He has been on the DL since July 26, but this discomfort does not appear to be as severe according to the Mariners. Still, you can stash him on the DL if you have a spot, but cut him otherwise.
• Pedro Martinez looked good in his rehab outing in AA last night. Martinez struck out 11 hitters while working six full innings. Nine of the first 12 outs were recorded by way of the strikeout. No statements yet as to if this was his last outing before joining the Phillies, but it certainly shows some progress.
• J.A. Happ continued to impress, throwing a complete game shutout last night against the Rockies. Happ allowed just four hits and struck out ten hitters, including the last batter of the game. The Phillies have some decisions to make with the potential addition of Martinez to the rotation, and Happ is making it hard to take him out. He is now 4-1 at home this season with a 3.77 ERA.
• Johnny Damon is now riding a five-game hitting streak. He has multiple hits in four of his last five games, and has hit a home run in each of the last two. Damon struggled through July, but continues to hit well at home. He has posted a .293 average inside Yankee Stadium. Struggles have come against Boston, though, as he is only hitting .235 against them in 2009.
• Justin Upton was removed from last night's game after straining an oblique muscle while trying to steal a base. Upton hurt his oblique last season and missed 43 games, so this is certainly a situation that owners should pat attention to.
• Say what you will about Jim Thome, but deep leagues could do worse than keeping the slugger on their bench or in a reserve role. Thome hit two home runs last night, giving him 20 on the season. Stats do not lie, and Thome has now hit 20 home runs in every season but one since 1994. Consistency is something that owners enjoy.
• Kyle Lohse's struggles on the road continue. Lohse was not able to get through the third inning, as he gave up five runs and seven hits while walking two more. He falls to 0-4 on the road this season, posting a 6.56 ERA and .300 BAA. Nothing about his road numbers should make owners feel comfortable or confident when starting him outside of St. Louis.

Thursday Notes

• Aaron Cook has pitched well on the road this season, going 6-2 with a 3.47 ERA away from Colorado. As good as those numbers have been, the Phillies have hit him well. The usual suspects are certainly good starts, as Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, and Jimmy Rollins are all well above .300 against Cook.
• The Minnesota starters are best avoided on the road, and Nick Blackburn is no exception. Blackburn has posted a 4.58 ERA away from home this season, allowing batters to hit .292 against him. The Indians lineup has hit him relatively well, and there are no flags to throw up against Blackburn at home.
• Prior to his injury, Ervin Santana was absolutely hammered by the White Sox. Unfortunately for Santana, his stats have not exactly been better since he returned. Santana has given up at least four earned runs in five of his six starts since July 3. The White Sox have not put together much history, but these numbers combined with his 4.28 road ERA do not make this a good start for owners looking for wins.
• Joba Chamberlain will get the ball for the Yankees against the Red Sox in New York. The Yankees are concerned about keeping his innings workload down as much as they can, so he is working on some extra rest. Look to avoid J.D. Drew as he is 0-for-13 against Chamberlain. The rest of your starters should be fine.
• Derek Lowe has actually faced some of the hitters on his old team enough to generate some history. Unfortunately, many would not be in the lineup anyway. Do not expect to see the .158 of Juan Pierre get a start, nor will the Dodgers likely look to the bench and Mark Loretta. Orlando Hudson, Casey Blake, and Rafael Furcal, though, are all above .300 in at least 12 at-bats against Lowe.
• Look to use Matt Diaz, Adam LaRoche, and, of course, Chipper Jones against Randy Wolf. Diaz has gone 5-for-10 against Wolf, and LaRoche is sitting at .286 with a home run. Wolf continues to struggle picking up wins, but his peripheral stats are certainly worth picking up for owners that need some help in WHIP and ERA.
• Rick Porcello picked up a win against Cleveland over the weekend after working eight solid innings. Prior to that outing, he had given up 19 earned runs in 18.2 innings. Porcello has an ERA of 5.13 at home this season, and lefties are hitting .300 against him overall.
• Chris Volstad had been living dangerously based on the number of walks he had issued, but pitched much better his last time out. He has pitched well on the road this season, going 5-3 with a 3.78 ERA and .246 BAA. Volstad has picked up a win against the Nats this season in two starts.
• Adrian Gonzalez sat down Tuesday, but should be back in the lineup regularly going forward. He has, though, struggled against Livan Hernandez. Gonzalez has gone just 5-for-22 against the pitcher, but does have three home runs. The best play is Kevin Kouzmanoff, who has gone 4-for-12 with two home runs.
• Spot Starts: Wolf, Trevor Cahill, David Hernandez

Friday Notes

• The Red Sox have had mixed results against A.J. Burnett. It is likely that Rocco Baldelli is in the lineup with Jason Bay sidelined, but he is just 2-for-13 against Burnett. Mike Lowell has gone just 4-for-20. Keep David Ortiz and Kevin Youkilis around, and J.D. Drew has hit .300.
• The Twins have largely hit Armando Galarraga well. Most of the regular lineup is hovering at or above .300. Galarraga has had problems this season, allowing batters to hit .279 against him overall. At home, he is just 3-4 with a 4.52 ERA. Add to that, he has given up at least four runs in three of his last four outings.
• Outside of Jhonny Peralta, there is not much in terms of offense for the Indians against Mark Buehrle. While Peralta has hit .283 with two home runs in 53 at-bats, Grady Sizemore and Travis Hafner are both at .220 in over 50 at-bats. Sizemore has four home runs in 59 trips to the plate, but has not produced beyond the home runs.
• Joe Saunders has faced the Rangers twice this season and been hit hard both times. In nine total innings, he has given up 15 runs on 14 hits. The Rangers have lit him up for seven home runs. These two losses and to the 4.63 ERA he has had against the Rangers since 2006. Start your Rangers, avoid Saunders.
• Paul Maholm has some decent home splits. He has a 3-2 record to go with a 3.62 ERA and .265 BAA. The Cardinals, though, have enjoyed facing him. While Ryan Ludwick is just 2-for-14 and Yadier Molina is 2-for-12, the rest of the Cardinals starters should be in your lineup against Maholm.
• Spot Starts: Ricky Romero, Ubaldo Jimenez, Kevin Correia

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.