Fantasy Baseball: Monday News and Notes

The last two weeks in the Boston area have sought to make up for the fact that there was no summer in June and July. The humidity levels are out of control, making it very hard to live anywhere without air conditioning. The mornings are not bad, but by the afternoon the heat has picked up with incredible intensity. 

The air has simply been dead, giving no wind at all. Which means it becomes all the more unbearable to even open up a window to attempt to get a breeze. All that does is let the heat come right in to wherever you are. 

Nowhere will this be more evident than in the car being driven by this writer today. Why you might ask? Nothing says fun like getting the heat and the humidity like having the air conditioning in your car give out. So today, following the writing of these notes, dealerships in the surrounding area will be getting phone calls. 

On to the notes. 

Weekend Rewind

• The weekend gave us more than one scary incident. David Wright and Hiroki Kuroda took fastballs to the head over the weekend. Wright has been placed on the 15-day DL, but it has been said that his missing the remainder of the season could be a possibility. Much will depend on how the next set of tests comes out for the third baseman. Owners should be looking to Mike Lowell, Gordon Beckham, Jhonny Peralta for some short-term help. All three are around 50 percent available.
• Kuroda's injury has much less fantasy impact because of the depth in pitching, but the pitcher's health should be the major concern. Kuroda was released from the hospital and was allowed to fly home with the team. He still has some symptoms from the hit, and is not likely headed for the mound in the near-term.
• Hideki Matsui sat out yesterday after having his swollen knee drained. He is likely to miss at least one more game with the injury. Matsui has been severely limited this season in terms of availability, being used exclusively as the DH. This injury is not going to make that any better.
• Torii Hunter returned over the weekend after an extended stay on the DL with a groin injury. Hunter keyed the winning rally yesterday by driving in the go-ahead run in the 13th inning yesterday. He will need some time to get his legs underneath him, but this was a good sign for Hunter owners, who should get him back in the lineup going forward.
• Nelson Cruz was placed on the DL before the weekend started, but is eligible to come off on Wednesday. Cruz suffered a setback with the ankle injury while running the bases, but does not think there will be a problem coming back mid-week. Cruz will play in two rehab games on Monday and Tuesday before joining the Rangers on Wednesday.
• The Randy Wolf bandwagon is going to get full quickly at this point, but still some good seats available. Wolf went 7.2 innings yesterday, striking out 10 hitters while giving up only three earned runs. Wolf has worked at least six full innings in each of his last 10 starts, and has given up more than three earned ones just once. At 45 percent owned, he can still be found in many formats.
• Aaron Laffey is not going to be the sexiest name on waivers, but owners should note that he has won four of his last five starts, holding opponents to seven earned runs over 32 innings of work. Laffey gave up three earned yesterday to the Twins, dodging control problems through double-play help. Still, in AL-only and 12-team deep mixed leagues, Laffey can help.
• Ian Kinsler returned strong this weekend. After not playing in a game after July 28th, Kinsler came back to go 4-for-6 against the Red Sox with two home runs on Saturday and Sunday. It is certainly safe to say that those looking to use Kinsler this week should have no concerns in getting him back into their lineup.
• Weird to hear Carlos Zambrano say anything about his abs at all, but the pitcher feels he needs to strengthen (or find) them. He is scheduled to throw a rehab outing against Peoria on Thursday and will do a side session tomorrow to get ready for that. Zambrano has been on the DL after having issues with his back.

Monday Notes

• Mark Buehrle pitched much better against the Mariners than in his previous three starts following his perfect game. Now, the White Sox starter gets a Royals team that he largely owns. Buehrle is 6-0 in his last 10 starts against the Royals at home. This season in total, he is 1-0 against them with a 2.46 ERA.
• For Kansas City, it all depends on which Brian Bannister shows up. If you get the one that has shut down Tampa and Boston on the road, that is a good thing. The guy that got lit up by Houston and Minnesota, though, not so much. Bannister was roughed up on the road against the White Sox last time he went to Chicago, and outside of the 4-for-22 mark put up by Paul Konerko, the White Sox have looked good against him.
• While it may look like that you can get to A.J. Burnett on the road, do not be so certain. Over his last five road outings, Burnett has allowed 10 runs over 31.1 innings of work, good for a 2.89 ERA. That alone is much better than the 4.02 mark seen for the season. Factor in that seven of those runs came in 4.2 innings against the White Sox, and the ERA drops to 1.03. By the way, he is facing Oakland.
• Carlos Villanueva has had two decent outings in August, but all three of his starts have been short and against poor offenses. Pittsburgh qualifies as a sub-par offense, but the potential for a bad outing here is amplified by the small number of starts Villanueva has under his belt this season. Look to get some Pirates in your lineup.
• Livan Hernandez has seen a fair amount of the Giants and has not enjoyed it. While owners could do better than the .250 of Randy Winn, Aaron Rowand is 7-for-15, Pablo Sandoval is 4-for-11, and Edgar Renteria is 13-for-36. All would make decent plays for such a light Monday of games.
• Ted Lillywill make his return to the rotation today for the Cubs. While the lefty has struggled dramatically on the road when compared to his home numbers, Lilly draws a road matchup with the Pirates. If you need the start, this does not work out to be a bad matchup. Still, because of the splits and the injury, if you have the luxury to avoid him it would be best.
• Francisco Liriano draws a solid-hitting Texas team on the road. Yes, he looked good against the Royals, but Kansas City does not score runs against anyone. Texas has been playing good baseball, and Liriano is 3-6 on the road with a 6.01 ERA for the season. Look elsewhere.
• The numbers put up by Baltimore far outweigh the last decent start by Ervin Santana. The Orioles you will see in the lineup largely are over .300 against the Angels starter. Look to Aubrey Huff in this one if you could use a quick boost. Huff is 7-for-17 against Santana in his career. Even Ty Wiggington is 4-for-9 against Santana.
• Spot Starts: Tommy Hunter, Kevin Correia

Tuesday Notes

• Do not shy away from your Blue Jays simply because Josh Beckett is on the mound. The Jays have actually hit the Red Sox starter reasonably well. Vernon Wells, Lyle Overbay, and Aaron Hill all have at least 20 at-bats against Beckett and all are above .300 in those appearances.
• With Gary Sheffield back in the lineup again for the Mets, make sure to start him against Derek Lowe. Sheffield is 9-for-19 with two home runs against Lowe. Otherwise, there is not much offense to be found against the Atlanta starter. Avoid as many as you can, especially given the new injury to Wright.
• At home, David Price is a completely different pitcher than he is on the road. Inside Tampa, he is 5-1 with a 2.72 ERA and .219 BAA. Given those numbers, and the fact that the Orioles have not seen much of him, this is another good chance for Price to pitch well. Good spot option here.
• Gil Meche was not outstanding in his return to the mound, but he pitched well enough against the Twins to get the win. The White Sox have not been overpowering against him, so deep leagues may want to give this a look. Certainly start Alex Rios. He is 11-for-19 agianst Meche. Jermaine Dye is just at .238, but play all others as your normally would.
• It is not often anyone recommends reaching for Pirates to start, but look to get Andrew McCutchen, Ryan Doumit, Garrett Jones, and Lastings Milledge into your lineup against Manny Parra. The stats are just bad. Couple that with a strong 7-2 mark and 3.18 home ERA for Ross Ohlendorf, and you have yourself a good spot start matchup.
• Spot Starts: Ohlendorf, Pedro Martinez, Scott Feldman

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.