Fantasy Baseball: Tuesday News and Notes

It is tough to decide. Can Ozzie Guillen not get out of his own way or is it the fault of baseball? 

Major League Baseball is looking in to comments made by Guillen regarding retaliation for his players being hit by opposing pitchers. Guillen made his comments largely after receiving three plunkings against the Indians, none of which he believed to be intentional. That last piece is the key to this issue. 

Guillen does not think the Indians went out of their way to take out any of his players. In fact, his statements indicate that he simply feels Cleveland pitching does not know how to throw to the inner half of the plate. Still, he goes out of his way to make sure everyone knows that his team is not going to stand for it. 

Umm...Ozzie? It seems pretty obvious that if you wanted to defend your players that there were no warnings issued after the first or second batter was hit anyway. Could you have directed a pitcher out there to make the point? 

Now, baseball is addressing these comments. There will be few out there that will disagree that umpires police these situations very poorly. If a player on one team gets hit, often times they warn both benches before the other team gets their "free shot." Umpires should let the tit for tat go, issue the warnings, and then be done with it. 

Other times, they throw people out too quickly without understanding the game situation. This is when they deem pitches intentional that in no way would make sense to be.  

Now, though, should a player on the White Sox get hit, would it not make sense for the umpires to IMMEDIATELY issue warnings? Guillen's comments state that he would go two for every one of his players that is hit. Umpires will likely have read these comments and know the context of what they could be dealing with. 

It would be completely logical for them to head everything off and cost the White Sox additional pitchers. In fact, because of the inflammatory statements, a situation could get more out of control than not if the umpires do not take immediate control. Should this happen in game one of a series, it would make for an interesting set. 

On to the notes. 

Monday Rewind

• The Phillies announced that Pedro Martinez will take the ball on Wednesday against the Cubs in place of Jamie Moyer. For now, Moyer will go to the bullpen. NL-only leagues, specifically, should take note of Martinez. After the Cubs, his schedule is relatively favorable. Leagues with 14 teams or deep 12-team leagues should look to Martinez as at least a reserve as well. His velocity during rehab was solid and he pitched effectively.
• Alex Rios is heading to the White Sox. The Blue Jays placed Rios on waivers and Chicago made the claim. They assume his salary, and Toronto gets nothing in return. The White Sox, suddenly, have a crowded outfield. They will likely rotate the four outfielders along with Jim Thome in four spots. With Carlos Quentin's injury history, the spotty past success of Scott Podesednik, as well as the 5-for-30 start to August for Jermaine Dye, an injection of offense will help Chicago. Even with Rios' struggles this season. Read Keith Law's take here.
• Chad Billingsley will miss his start this turn through the rotation with a hamstring injury. Billingsley was originally scheduled to go on Wednesday, but tightness in the injury will force him to be skipped. No replacement has been announced, but expect Jeff Weaver to get a shot at it.
• Mat Latos is experiencing issues with a sore wrist that will cause his Thursday start to be pushed back to Friday. Nothing seems to be of major concern, but the Padres are certainly going to be careful with the prospect. There are sites reporting that it could only be another start or two before San Diego decides to restrict his innings and shut him down.
• Aramis Ramirez could be headed for another stint on the DL. Ramirez is scheduled to go visit team doctors in Chicago to get a feeling for the shoulder injury that has sidelined him the last few days. A cortisone shot is likely the first course of treatment, and that means the earliest he is likely available is Thursday or Friday.
• One outburst can still make a difference in the season for some players. Troy Tulowitzki hit for the cycle last night, going 5-for-5. In doing so, he doubled his number of hits from the last six games and raised his average 10 points to .276. Tulo has started August at a .281 clip, and is hitting .429 against the Pirates this season.
• Jorge De La Rosa did it again yesterday. The Rockies starter worked into the eighth inning and struck out 11 hitters along the way. De La Rosa has had one bump in the road over his last eight starts. Excluding his outing against the Phillies, he has allowed three runs or less in seven consecutive outings.
• An MRI revealed no significant damage to the back of Carlos Zambrano. The pitcher was placed on the DL with the pain, and received an epidural to help deliver the baby that should get him back under the 280 mark. Zambrano is looking to return from the DL on August 23rd.
• Anyone else taking limited note of the 12.2 consecutive scoreless innings thrown by Gio Gonzalez? The Oakland starter scattered seven hits and a walk in shutting down the Orioles last night. Gonzalez has now allowed just four earned runs in 24.2 innings since his disaster against Minnesota.

Tuesday Notes

• Roy Oswalt is set to get the ball today after missing two turns with a lower-back injury. Oswalt threw a bullpen session over the weekend and responded well. Owners should be glad he starts on the road. Oswalt is 4-2 with a 3.30 ERA away from home. Batters are hitting just .220 against him on the road as opposed to .280 at home.
• The Royals have limited numbers against Nick Blackburn. Still, expect to see Miguel Olivo in the lineup, as he is 5-for-10 against Blackburn. Mark Teahen would be a decent play as well in this one. Blackburn is 5-0 at home this season and sports a 2.95 ERA in those starts.
• Jose Lopez has the only good track record against John Danks of all the Mariners starters. Franklin Gutierrez, who himself has been red hot, is just 3-for-17 against the Chicago starter and Ichiro checks in at 2-for-11. Danks does have problems on the road, posting a 4.42 ERA, but has given up only seven earned runs in his last 27 road innings.
• The Red Sox will have Junichi Tazawa taking John Smoltz's turn in the rotation on Tuesday. Tazawa was thrown into the fire against the Yankees over the weekend. He looked alright in one inning, but did have several balls hit hard against him. Tazawa's command and location will be the major issue. He is young, and this should not be a spot start to pursue in the short term.
• Be careful with David Price. Yes, his last two outings have translated to solid results, but both have come at home. Price is still 0-3 on the road this season in six starts with an 8.20 ERA. In his last three starts, Price has lasted just 10.1 innings and given up 16 earned runs away from home.
• Matt Diaz has gone 6-for-13 against John Lannan, and most of the Braves have had decent success against the Washington starter. Keep as many available as you can. While Lannan has pitched well, his best work has come at home. Lannan is 3-7 on the road with a 5.62 ERA in 2009.
• Ervin Santana has been roughed up this season, and has given up less than four earned runs only twice in his last ten starts. One of those starts was against Oakland, and therefore does not really count. Santana is 0-4 at home with a 12.30 ERA in six starts, and the Rays lineup has largely hammered the pitcher.
• Look to get Randy Winn in your lineup against Randy Wolf. Winn is 7-for-19 against the Dodgers starter. Use your other Giants as you normally would. There are no major red flags that would have you sitting any of your regulars in this one.
• J.A. Happ gets to keep his spot in the rotation for now, and owners should be thrilled. Happ remains only 50 percent owned, but has given up more than three earned runs only twice in his last ten starts. In nine of those outings, he has completed the sixth inning and in six of them he has gone seven or more. Happ is 4-1 on the road this season with a 1.72 ERA.
• Spot Starts: Rick Porcello, Blackburn, J.A. Happ

Wednesday Notes

• A.J. Burnett has not had a lot of appearances against his former team, but Marco Scutaro has five hits in 16 at-bats against him. Otherwise, there is very little to go on. AL-only owners should avoid Kevin Millar and Lyle Overbay. The two are a combined 5-for-36.
• There is talk that Francisco Liriano could be headed out of the rotation, but right now he is slated to start against the Royals on Wednesday. While owners may want to avoid the 1-for-14 of Yuniesky Betancourt, there are not other concerns with any Royals starters. Given the .291 BAA that Liriano has posted at home with his 1-5 record and 5.06 ERA, the Royals lineup is not a bad reach play. Look to Mark Teahen and Billy Butler specifically.
• Mark Buehrle has struggled since losing his perfect innings streak. In fact, he has given up 17 earned runs in his last 13.1 innings, covering three starts. That takes owners back to the Denard Span single against the Twins. While Adrian Beltre and Jack Wilson have struggled drastically, Franklin Gutierrez and Ichiro have pounded Buehrle.
• Chris Carpenter has been scary good, and no hitter in the Cincinnati lineup with double-digit at-bats has hit better than the .214 of Brandon Phillips. Carpenter is 6-1 at home this season with a 1.62 ERA and he has gone 2-0 against the Reds with a 1.13 ERA in 16 innings of work.
• Even with aces, there are going to be certain hitters that can just hit them well. Orlando Hudson has gone 7-for-15 against Tim Lincecum and Juan Pierre is 5-for-11. It is POSSIBLE that Pierre gets the call over the 0-for-7 of Matt Kemp, but certainly make sure to start Hudson against the Giants.
• Spot Starts: Tommy Hunter, Kevin Correia, Ubaldo Jimenez

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.