Fantasy Baseball: Wednesday News and Notes

Nothing can be more exciting and ridiculous than a bench-clearing brawl in baseball. No one ever really seems to know what is going to happen. 

Will a player karate kick the catcher to get a head start? Will the pitcher throw the ball at the charging batter? Is a helmet going to be tossed? And these questions are before the batter even gets close to getting out to the mound.

Once a player reaches the mound, all bets are off. Pig piles, eye gouging, body slams, right hooks, anything goes in a baseball brawl.  

Hockey fights are very planned out, and seemingly choreographed. The two players discuss it, talk some trash, say something about the other guy's mother and then the gloves come off. Other guys tend to stay out of the way, and even the referees just let it happen. 

In baseball, the fight is instigated by a pitcher throwing at a hitter. The hitter deems it intentional and heads towards the mound. Do the other players let it happen? No. In fact, the catcher's job is to stop the batter from getting there entirely.

Mo Vaughn made a living at first base through tackling opposing hitters heading toward the mound. 

Then the bullpens empty. These guys do not know what to do. They come down, stand around, and just want to feel a part of the whole thing. 

Fans get excited, but the pile in the middle of the field looks a little sad. Fact is, until the benches do clear, the hitter goes out 1-on-9. Not the greatest of odds. Almost like taking a knife to a gun fight. 

Still, baseball fans almost enjoy them too much, and usually because you just never know when a guy is going to snap. The best part is when the guy that snaps is considered the crazy guy on the team. 

Thanks, Kevin Youkilis. You showed what a crazy guy does when charging a mound. 

On to the notes. 

Tuesday Rewind

• It is safe to say that owners should expect a suspension for both Rick Porcello and Kevin Youkilis. Porcello threw at two hitters last night, hitting one, to make up for the one batter hit by Boston first-time starter Junichi Tazawa. Porcello likely misses a start with a five-game suspension. Safe bet that Youkilis is gone for three games himself for charging the mound.
• Miguel Cabrera did have to leave last night's game after being hit by Tazawa in the hand. Nothing about the injury is known at this point, but it is possible that Cabrera grabs a seat for tonight's game. Watch early reports to see if there is anything serious, but that does not seem to be the case now.
• The New York Daily News is reporting that Billy Wagner will return for the Mets on Sunday. Wagner had surgery that ended his season at about this time last year, and it is the first piece of good news that the Mets have received since this year began. Unlikely, obviously, that Wagner moves to be a closer, but holds leagues should take note.
• Ian Kinsler has been out since July 28 with a strained hamstring, but he will begin a two-game rehab assignment on Wednesday in hopes of returning to the team over the weekend. Kinsler has hit just .242 this season, but is still showing considerable pop in his bat with more than 20 home runs. Expect him to be in uniform when Boston comes to town.
• As expected, Aramis Ramirez will miss the entire series against the Phillies after receiving a cortisone shot in his shoulder. The Cubs will look to see how he responds to the treatment before determining another course of action. The shoulder has been bothering Ramirez more over the last week and kept him out of the lineup over the weekend.
• The Padres had an offensive breakout against the Brewers, pounding out 22 hits. The team was paced by a six-hit effort from Adrian Gonzalez. Gonzalez added three RBI to the effort as well. Will Venable hit his sixth home run in his last 11 games, adding three RBI to his performance as well.
• Scott Rolen has been placed on the DL with concussion symptoms that will not go away. The Reds were able to activate Chris Dickerson to take Rolen's place on the roster. Dickerson responded with a couple hits last night, providing some much needed offense for the sputtering team.
• Ervin Santana has now thrown 12 consecutive scoreless innings after his nine-inning effort last night. Santana was able to overcome his struggles at home, and appears to be heading in a better direction. Tampa has been swinging well, and Santana simply shut them down. Deep leagues may still be able to find Santana around if they need a reserve pitcher.
• Jason Bartlett is simply tearing it up in the leadoff spot for the Rays. In 53 at-bats, Bartlett is hitting .353 at the top of the order. Imagine if the Rays had decided to do this slightly earlier in the season. His work this season has to have him near the top of the waiver-wire pickups. Bartlett is hitting .427 with runners in scoring position this year and .336 overall.

Wednesday Notes

• Placido Polanco has hit just .190, and Curtis Granderson is only 2-for-11 against Josh Beckett. The Boston starter has not allowed a run in his last two outings, and is 7-0 at home this season to go with a 2.58 ERA. Beckett is the Boston stopper, and his opponent BAA of .206 at home shows that.
• 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.
• Jon Garland has been miserable at home this season. The Arizona pitcher has gone 3-5 this season with a 6.16 ERA and .310 BAA. Look to grab Jeff Francoeur in this one. He is 5-for-8 against Garland in his career with a home run. Your regular Mets will otherwise still be good plays.
• 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.
• While Joe Crede should be back in the lineup for the Twins today, he is just 1-for-13 against Brian Bannister. Look to avoid Jason Kubel against the lefty as well. Kubel has gone 3-for-17 against him. Bannister's road numbers are better than his home, but even deep-league owners would be playing with fire in this one.
• 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.
• The White Sox will likely look to have Mark Kotsay and Jim Thome in the lineup against Felix Hernandez. Kotsay is 6-for-14, and Thome is 5-for-8. The big help for Thome is that three of his five hits have been for home runs. The lefty should be in all AL-only lineups for certain in this one, and mixed leagues could steal a home run out of this matchup.
• 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.
• 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.
• Spot Starts: Tommy Hunter, Kevin Correia, Ubaldo Jimenez

Thursday Notes

• Gil Meche will return to the mound for the Twins on Thursday. Meche has been suffering from back problems that have largely limited him this season. He is expected to be held between 90 and 100 pitches, so no major limitation in that regard. Start your normal Twins, but note that Joe Crede, Jason Kubel, and Denard Span have really struggled. Michael Cuddyer on the other hand is 7-for-13.
• Jack Wilson and Adrian Beltre have had no luck against C.C. Sabathia. Beltre has gone 0-for-10 while Wilson is only moderately better at 2-for-15. In a pinch, look for Kenji Johjima, as he is 5-for-8 against Sabathia. Sabathia pitched well in last start against Boston, but has been roughed up in his last two road outings.
• Paul Maholm on the road is a very different pitcher than the one who takes the mound at home. Maholm is 3-4 with a 5.79 ERA and .303 BAA in his road outings this year. Colorado is not likely to be kind to him. He gave up five runs on eight hits in five innings during his last time out in Denver this season.
• Victor Martinez has seen a fair amount of Justin Verlander. In 39 at-bats, the catcher has hit .278 with four home runs and nine RBI. The Tigers starter has not been very effective on the road, posting a 4.68 ERA in 13 starts away from home this season.
• Continue to avoid Bronson Arroyo at home, even against the Nationals. Arroyo's numbers have simply been awful in Cincinnati. He is 5-6 with a 4.71 ERA this season inside his own ballpark. He has given up at least three runs in each of his last four total outings, posting an ERA of 5.00 in that time.
• Spot Starts: Clay Buchholz, Jason Marquis, Carl Pavano

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.