MLB Fantasy Baseball: Friday News and Notes

Last Night Rewind

• Chipper Jones is likely to miss the rest of the season as he has suffered a torn ACL. Jones had been fielding a routine grounder when he hurt the knee earlier this week. The questions will now begin to be asked if he has played his last game in baseball. While the recovery time would have him ready for Opening Day, he has already discussed walking away from the game.
• Andy Pettitte was scratched from his simulated game after experiencing more tightness in his hip. Pettitte is still rehabbing from a groin injury that sidelined him earlier and did not necessarily consider this to be a setback. Pettitte had been targeting a return around August 21st but that will be pushed back.
• Jonathan Papelbon blew his sixth save of the season last night. Of those blown saves, five have happened on the road. Last night he worked only a third of an inning yet gave up three runs on four hits and a walk. Everything was up in the zone and he had little life on his fastball. Every one of these instances has people clamoring more for Daniel Bard.
• Johan Santana has now not allowed a run in his last two starts, covering 16.1 innings. He has struck out 16 and walked five in that stretch. Santana improved to 7-3 at home this season while allowing batters to hit just .248 in his own park this year.
• Gavin Floyd had his worst outing in his last 10 starts. The Twins roughed him up for six runs on 10 hits and three walks in six innings. Though Floyd found a way to strike out seven batters, he gave up two big home runs. Overall, it was the first time since June 2nd that Floyd allowed more than two earned runs in a start.

Friday Notes

• Bengie Molina will be a solid option behind the plate tonight against Josh Beckett. Molina has a .364 average in 11 at-bats against Beckett. He is your best option in Texas. Michael Young is only 2-for-19, while Vladimir Guerrero is just 9-for-37. Josh Hamilton has limited at-bats, but good numbers in the small sample at 4-for-9.
• James Shields has had some issues against various members of the Orioles. Luke Scott and Nick Markakis are both hitting better than .300 in 27 and 49 at-bats respectively. Adam Jones is the big winner with a .455 mark in 22 trips to the plate. Corey Patterson is only 2-for-22 and Brian Roberts checks in at .240 in 50 at-bats. Shields has surrendered four home runs in 12.1 innings against Baltimore this year.
• Since Jason Bartlett is 5-for-21 against Jeremy Guthrie, you may see Reid Brignac in the lineup. Brignac is 5-for-9 with a home run against Guthrie. B.J. Upton and Carl Crawford are your best options otherwise in this matchup. Evan Longoria is only 3-for-14 against the Baltimore starter.
• Miguel Cabrera is 0-for-15 against Mark Buehrle lifetime. Ryan Raburn is just 3-for-17 against him as well. The good numbers come from Jhonny Peralta and Carlos Guillen, but not one regular with more than 10 at-bats against Buehrle is hitting better than .290 against him. Buehrle is 5-2 at home this season, but batters are hitting .307 against him.
• Paul Konerko rakes against Jeremy Bonderman. In 36 at-bats, he has hit .306 and has slugged five home runs as well. A.J. Pierzynski has an average better than .300 as well. Look to avoid the 3-for-18 of Mark Kotsay. Nothing else stands out for the White Sox in a good or bad manner. Bonderman is 2-3 on the road with a 6.11 ERA in eight starts.
• While you may want to avoid the .240 of Jose Reyes against Cole Hamels, the rest of the Mets have strong numbers against him. David Wright, Angel Pagan, and Luis Castillo are all hitting better than .300 against Hamels. Jeff Francoeur is good to be in the lineup here as well. He checks in at .298 with two home runs in 47 at-bats. Even Carlos Beltran has two home runs and a .292 average in 24 at-bats.
• Jeff Keppinger has gone just 1-for-14 against Ross Ohlendorf, but teammate Hunter Pence is 6-for-16 with a home run. The Pittsburgh starter has just one win on the season and has given up six runs on 12 hits in 8.1 innings over two starts against the Astros this season.
• The Blue Jays certainly have seen their fill of Scott Kazmir over the years, just in a different uniform. While you should look to avoid Jose Molina and Adam Lind (a combined 4-for-23), the rest of the lineup has good numbers against the lefty. Vernon Wells, Aaron Hill, and Lyle Overbay are all hitting better than .300 against him.
• Clayton Richard may have a 4.50 ERA, but he is 2-0 this season with a 1.77 ERA against the Giants in three starts. He has surrendered four runs on 17 hits in 20.1 innings. Still look to use Juan Uribe, as he is 5-for-9 against Richard. Aubrey Huff and Pablo Sandoval are good to go in this one as well.
• Spot Starts: Richard, Gonzalez, Westbrook

Weekend Notes

• Avoid any Cubs not named Marlon Byrd, Alfonso Soriano, or Aramis Ramirez against Chris Carpenter. These three all hit better than .294 against the St. Louis starter. Kosuke Fukudome is only 2-for-13 against him. Carpenter is 9-2 at home this season and is 2-0 in August. His numbers are simply dominant in both those splits. Batters are hitting just .221 against him inside St. Louis.
• In his last 14 innings, Paul Maholm has given up 18 earned runs on 27 hits. Carlos Lee has struggled against Maholm, going just 8-for-41. Hunter Pence is only 8-for-31 and Jeff Keppinger is just 7-for-29. Maholm has allowed only two earned runs in 16 innings against the Astros this season.
• Michael Young is 9-for-20 against Jon Lester. Both Vladimir Guerrero and Josh Hamilton are 4-for-13. Lester picked up his first win since the All-Star break in his last time out and is 6-3 with a 2.74 ERA on the road this season. On the road, batters are hitting only .195 against him this season.
• Jason Kendall and Wilson Betemit could provide a shot in the arm of offense for teams in deeper leagues this Sunday. Kendall is 7-for-14 against A.J. Burnett wihle Betemit is 6-for-18 against him. Alex Gordon has been a nice addition, but he is only 2-for-12 against Burnett. The Yankees pitcher has allowed 11 runs in 11.2 innings pitched in August.
• Kyle Lohse is good enough to return to the rotation on Sunday against the Cubs. Lohse has missed time since May 27th with a forearm injury. Aramis Ramirez will be glad to see him. Ramirez is 7-for-13 with a home run against him. Soriano is 15-for-39 with two home runs against Lohse as well.
• Adrian Gonzalez is only 7-for-33 against Tim Lincecum, and that should be enough to bench him right there. Add in 13 strikeouts and that seals the deal. Ryan Ludwick has struggled as well, going only 1-for-10 against the pitcher.
• Miguel Cabrera should be in your lineup against Freddy Garcia. He is 7-for-18 with three home runs against him. Brandon Inge is hitting just .204 in 54 at-bats against him while Johnny Damon checks in at .232 in 56 at-bats. Jhonny Peralta is at .235 in 17 at-bats and Austin Jackson is just 2-for-10. Leads you to believe that the numbers bear out to start Garcia in a spot role should you need a win in a head-to-head matchup.
• Look to avoid Alex Gonzalez against Vicente Padilla. Gonzalez is 3-for-23 against him but does have two home runs in those three hits. Troy Glaus has struggled as well at only 3-for-14. Padilla is 5-1 in his last eight starts. He struggled in his last outing against the Phillies, but he has allowed two earned runs or less in eight of his last nine starts.
• Spot Starts: Padilla, Mazzaro, Kendrick, Maholm, Talbot