Fantasy Baseball: Tuesday News and Notes

Last Night Rewind

• Brandon Inge was removed from last night's game after being hit on the hand by a pitch. X-rays determined that the hand had been broken and Inge will be sidelined four to six weeks. Add in the fact that Scott Rolen is out as well with a hamstring injury and we have a need for some third base fill-ins. Gordon Beckham is available in 35 percent of leagues and is 17 for his last 34 with two home runs and eight RBI. Kevin Kouzmanoff is more widely available and is 11 for his last 35 (.314) with a home runs and eight RBI. Look at Omar Infante as well given his 17 for 37 mark over the last two weeks with a home run and four RBIs.
• Some good injury news for owners as Troy Tulowitzki is nearing a return to the Colorado lineup. He will begin a rehab assignment on Wednesday and the Rockies plan to activate him after he spends about a week fine tuning his swing and getting into the flow of baseball. The Rockies are targeting a July 28th date for his return.
• Daisuke Matsuzaka recorded his second win in a row. He worked 6.2 innings this past outing and was much more efficient with his pitches. In fact, he has been able to get through his last 12.2 innings on 177 pitches. Not fantastic, but certainly better than where he has been. Matsuzaka can still give you a heart attack on the mound, but he has allowed just 16 hits and six walks while striking out 15 in 17.2 July innings.
• Ubaldo Jimenez was likely due for a rough patch, and he certainly has found it of late. Jimenez gave up four earned runs last night to the Marlins and has now surrendered four or more earned runs in four of his last five starts. Considering he gave up a total of seven earned runs over the first two months of the season, you could call this balancing out.
• Justin Morneau is still feeling the effects of the concussion he suffered on July 7th. While he starts days off well, he regresses over the course of the day according to Twins manager Ron Gardenhire. It is likely he sits out at least another week of games, making a return more likely for the beginning of August than the end of July.

Tuesday Notes

• While Dave Bush fell in his last outing, it was certainly not because of poor pitching. Bush allowed only two runs over six innings, making it six consecutive starts where he has allowed two or fewer earned runs. Bush is 2-0 against the Pirates this season with a 1.35 ERA and .091 BAA. With the way he is pitching right now, he is a tremendous spot start.
• When you allow 13 earned runs in your last 7.2 innings, there is no good reason to be started by a fantasy owner. Such is the case for Tim Wakefield. The big Oakland bats have good numbers against Wakefield as well, compounding the problem. Jack Cust is 10-for-22 while Kurt Suzuki is 6-for-15. Gabe Gross is 5-for-15 and Mark Ellis is 9-for-27.
• Matt Garza has had the number of the Orioles this season, posting a 2-0 record and 1.13 ERA. Garza has allowed just 10 hits and five walks while striking out 14 in 16 innings pitched. Look to avoid the 4-for-28 of Nick Markakis and Luke Scott's 1-for-16. Adam Jones at 6-for-18 and Miguel Tejada at 6-for-16 are worth the starts.
• Kevin Slowey has had an ugly go of it in his last two starts, giving up 10 runs on 19 hits in his last 9.1 innings. Despite being 2-0 against the Indians this season, starting him here would be a huge risk for those in tight head-to-head battles. Jhonny Peralta is only 4-for-20 against Slowey though Travis Hafner is 6-for-16 with two home runs.
• Some ugly numbers for the Dodgers against Tim Lincecum. Matt Kemp is 2-for-13 while Casey Blake and Russell Martin are a combined 0-for-23. Rafael Furcal is 3-for-14 and James Loney checks in at 4-for-20. Net-net, no good reason to start a Dodgers player if you do not have to.
• Jamie Moyer has had back-to-back ugly outings, giving up 13 runs in his last 8.1 innings and surrendering five home runs in the process. We could very well see Randy Winn in the lineup for this one. Winn is 10-for-25 with a home run against Moyer lifetime. Albert Pujols checks in at only 2-for-10 against Moyer. Just sayin'.
• The Astros have shown good numbers against Ryan Dempster. Only the .259 of Lance Berkman sticks out, and even he has four home runs in 54 at-bats. Carlos Lee, Hunter Pence, Jeff Keppinger, and Michael Bourn are all hitting better than .300 against Dempster.
• This game does not bode well for Sean O'Sullivan against the Yankees. O'Sullivan is being thrown into the start after spending some time in Triple-A getting stretched out to do so. Unfortunately, he is not quite there yet according to reports. With Scott Kazmir on the DL, the Angels had very few options available. Start all your Yankees.
• Ignore the 1-2 mark for Chris Carpenter in July and focus on the 7-2 mark that he posts at home. Carpenter has held batters to a .234 average in his own ballpark and is 3-1 in his last five starts there. His loss came in a disaster of an outing against the Brewers.
• Spot Starts: Leake, Hunter, Bush

Wednesday Notes

• While Javier Vazquez is 0-2 against the Angels this season, both his losses came early in the season prior to his run of impressive starts. Vazquez is sporting a 2.77 ERA and a sub-1.00 WHIP in the last month. Still start Bobby Abreu. Abreu has 10 home runs in 76 at-bats against Vazquez to go with a .316 average.
• Zach Duke is 0-2 against the Brewers this season, allowing 14 earned runs on 16 hits in just nine innings of work. The big guns of Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder do a lot of the damage. Braun is 6-for-14 with two home runs while Fielder is 10-for-31 with two home runs as well.
• Barry Zito may not have a win against the Dodgers this year, but he has allowed just three earned runs in 13.1 innings against them. Look to avoid the 1-for-20 of James Loney and the 5-for-23 of Andre Ethier is not much better. Matt Kemp, Rafael Furcal, and Jamey Carroll are your best bets in this one. All three are hitting better than .320 with Kemp checking in at .457.
• Ted Lilly has allowed 17 runs in his last 17.1 innings over his last three starts. In his last six starts, he is just 1-3 and has seen his ERA rise by nearly a full run since the beginning of June. Look to avoid Lance Berkman, who is just 3-for-26 against Lilly. Carlos Lee is just 8-for-35 when facing the lefty.
• Gavin Floyd had an ugly outing that only resulted in one earned run his last time out. He only threw 61 of his 100 pitches for strikes, but managed to escape. His struggles have all come on the road this season, and he draws another road outing in this one. Look to use Jose Lopez and his 7-for-19 mark against Floyd. Ichiro is a .474 hitter in 19 at-bats against Floyd as well.
• Spot Starts: Niese, Hammel, Gonzalez