Fantasy Baseball: Tuesday News and Notes

So one area that the space has stayed away from is promoting Web sites within the content itself. This is a deviation from that and is in response to some fantastic customer service received from some great people.

One fantasy football league that this author participates in is a long-term keeper league. The group has been together going on 10 years, and the festivities are getting better each year. This past season, the league took the step of getting a championship trophy done up. In doing so, the designs had to be submitted, history had to be ensured accurate, and donations needed to be obtained.

The site selected was FantasySportsAwards.com. They offered a decent selection and seemed to be one of the more reasonably priced sites available. Unfortunately, the trophy was delivered to the wrong address. The company went above and beyond to track down the box, receive it, and promptly get it back on track.

While the idea of the trophy for this league may seem ridiculous, leagues that go this route should know that FantasySportsAwards.com provided solid work on a decent product and their customer service was fantastic. Despite the problems, the trophy arrived in time for the draft to be displayed in all its appropriate splendor.

Thanks again to all at the company for their help.

On to the notes.

Monday Rewind

• Brad Penny is expected to join the San Francisco Giants and will immediately head into their rotation. Penny was cut loose by the Red Sox, but should take the place of Joe Martinez for the Giants. There is no doubt he can throw the ball, and a National League team in a division he is familiar with could help his value in NL-only formats. By help, that means generate any sort of value.
• It is unlikely that owners can expect much, but it is worth noting that Carlos Beltran is set to begin a rehab assignment. The outfielder is working in the hopes that he will be able to return in the next week to two weeks. Is his impact material? In all likelihood, no. Beltran will need to get a lot of work in with regard to his timing before he is ready to go.
• AL-only leagues are likely the only ones impacted by the Jim Thome move to the Dodgers. Thome is basically a reserve bat off the bench for Los Angeles, as the lineup still has James Loney at first base. Thome has done very little in the infield since leaving the Phillies, and it is likely that he is only going to spell Loney in specific instances. Loney owners should not expect this to take away too much of his value. He should still be in the lineup four out of five games, at least.
• The Dodgers also moved to acquire Jon Garland. This is more informative than it is anything else. Garland is an average pitcher that has performed relatively poorly for the Diamondbacks. While he pitched well in his last outing against the Astros, it came on the heels of allowing nine runs on 21 hits in his previous 11.1 innings of work. Even with a more productive offense, his up-and-down performances keep him nothing more than a spot start in mixed leagues.
• Adam Lind finished off a great week last night. Lind drove in eight runs in the win over the Rangers last night. The performance included his first career grand slam. Lind has been one of the more pleasant surprises in the Toronto lineup, especially given how the team has seemingly mailed it in. For the season, he is hitting .303 with 27 home runs and 89 RBI.
• Andy Pettitte chased perfection last night, not allowing a base runner over his first 6.2 innings of work. Pettitte then lost everything in consecutive hitters. Still, his road numbers this season have been very solid. While just 5-4 with a 4.65 ERA at home, he is 7-2 with a 3.33 ERA on the road.
• The Mariners are expected to get both Ichiro and Adrian Beltre back tonight against the Angels. Ichiro has missed eight games in a row with a calf injury, but has been working out prior to games. Look to get him back in your lineups immediately, as he is seemingly ready to play. As for Beltre, read on below.
• Not many other ways to describe the mastery Joe Saunders continues to display against the Mariners. Saunders improved to 3-0 against the team this season. In 21 innings against Seattle, he has allowed just 10 hits and one run, good for a 0.43 ERA and .145 BAA. Is he streaky? Yes, but he likes facing his own division.
• After having gone one for his last 10, Carlos Guillen broke out in a big way yesterday. The infielder stroked two home runs and grabbed four hits in five at-bats in the loss against the Rays. Guillen has had problems with his shoulder, and is struggling against left-handed pitching this season. Owners that can afford to platoon him only against righties will get to avoid a disaster of a .167 average against southpaws.

Tuesday Notes

• There are cases of two extremes in the Rays' lineup against Jon Lester. Jason Bartlett is 8-for-16 against the Boston lefty while B.J. Upton is sitting at just 5-for-23 in his career against Lester. Otherwise, look to use your Rays as you normally would. Tampa has roughed up Lester in his three outings against him. He is 0-2 with an 8.22 ERA in 15.1 innings of work.
• The trade of Scott Kazmir means that Andy Sonnanstine will get the ball for the Rays in the opener of the series against the Red Sox. Expect Mike Lowell to be in the lineup for this one, as he is 7-for-17 against Sonnanstine. It could be that Kevin Youkilis gets the night off with his 3-for-15 mark.
• NL-only leagues should take note of the steals Jason Kendall has grabbed of late. He is hitting .316 in his last six games and has stolen four bases. He is also the best option against Cardinals starter Joel Pineiro. Kendall is 10-for-37, good for a .270 mark against Pineiro. Otherwise, there is not much to like about any Brewers in this one. Pineiro has been tough at home, posting a 2.39 ERA in 11 starts this season.
• At-bats might not be many, but Luke Scott is 5-for-10 against A.J. Burnett in his career. Otherwise, there are not many bright spots in the Orioles lineup for this one. Play your stars as you normally would, but do not reach deep in the lineup here.
• Keep your normal Twins active against John Danks. The regulars in the lineup have hit Danks well, with the likes of Justin Morneau, Joe Mauer, and Jason Kubel well above .300. Michael Cuddyer is over .400 in his trips to the plate. Avoid the likes of Denard Span and company in this one, as the lineup goes sour very quickly outside of these four hitters.
• Despite some rough outings in his last three, Edwin Jackson is still 6-1 at home this season. Jackson has given up nine earned runs in his last 18.1 innings of work, but two of those starts have come on the road. Do not lose faith in Jackson, but continue to understand that he is either feast or famine.
• His opponent for this matchup will be Carlos Carrasco. Carrasco was acquired in the trade for Cliff Lee and has gone 5-1 in the minors sense the deal. The call up likely means he is in the rotation the rest of the way. While his stuff has not been dominant, keeper leagues and AL-only formats could get some use from him.
• Jorge De La Rosa will get the start for the Rockies, as the team will use the off day Monday to pitch him on normal rest. After the last Josh Fogg episode, who could blame them? De La Rosa has had two rough outings in his last five, but the Mets' lineup should pose less of a problem than the hot bats he faced in Philadelphia and San Francisco. Continue to use him in these favorable matchups.
• The Mariners have not had much to show in their at-bats against Ervin Santana. Santana has held Franklin Gutierrez to a 1-for-13 mark, and Jose Lopez is only a .222 hitter in 36 at-bats. It is likely that Adrian Beltre will be ready to come off the DL, but he is just a .216 hitter against Santana.
• Spot Starts: Clayton Richard, Randy Wells, Tim Hudson.

Wednesday Notes

• It seems to have been mentioned several times this season, but it is worth bringing up again. Matt Garza has owned the Red Sox lineup. Only Jacoby Ellsbury has put up an average over .300 against Garza in players with at least 10 at-bats. Look to avoid as much of this lineup as you can.
• Teams get to Zach Duke on the road. While he has put up 10 wins this season, only three have come away from home. Batters are hitting over .300 against him on the road, and his ERA has climbed to 4.15. Brandon Phillips is just 2-for-18 against Duke, but he is the only red flag in this matchup.
• If a team is going to hit Felix Hernandez, it is going to be the Angels. Chone Figgins and Juan Rivera have struggled against Hernandez, with Rivera having only one hit to show in 15 at-bats. Howie Kendrick is just 2-for-18 as well. Still, even with these numbers, the Angels are hitting .289 as a team against the Mariners' ace. Hernandez has given up 17 hits in 12.1 innings of work this season against the Angels.
• Stephen Drew has the big numbers against Chad Billingsley. Drew is a .400 hitter in 30 at-bats against Billingsley. No major drawbacks to playing your remaining Diamondbacks in this one, but nothing outstanding either. The Dodgers starter threw six innings of shutout ball against them in his only other appearance this season.
• Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer have had some major problems against Mark Buehrle. The two are hitting .204 and .230, respectively, in their at-bats against the lefty. Otherwise, nearly every Twins regular is going to be above .300 in this one. Buehrle has been hit hard by the Twins this season, posting a 5.87 ERA and a 2-2 record in four starts this season. Beware when putting him in your lineup.
• Spot Starts: Kevin Correia, Ubaldo Jimenez, Tommy Hunter.

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.