MLB Fantasy Baseball: Thursday News and Notes

With right around three weeks to go in the real season, the first team has finally clinched a playoff spot. The Angels have played solid baseball all season, but they certainly got the advantage of playing in one of the weakest divisions in baseball, rivaled only by their NL counterpart. If I could only get myself to believe that the Angels would be legit in October...

On to the notes.

• Ivan Rodriguez and Torii Hunter were both suspended two games for their roles in the bench-clearing brawl the other night in Anaheim. Both began serving their suspensions yesterday, meaning they will have one more game to get through. Adjust lineups accordingly to reflect them being out.
• The Cardinals have lost a trio of players for a few games. Troy Glaus underwent an MRI and received a second cortisone injection in his ailing right shoulder. Glaus is going to miss a "handful" of games in order to recover from the injury. Rick Ankiel still is struggling with a lingering abdominal injury that has forced him out of center field and in to left field. Tony La Russa isn't sure how much Ankiel will play the rest of the season. Kyle Lohse dropped the appeal of his five-game suspension and started serving it last night. He'll miss a turn in the rotation.
• Sticking with the Cardinals, Chris Carpenter has been listed as unavailable, but is likely going to work out of the bullpen upon his return. There are rumors flying that Chris Perez may not be the closer at the end of the season, and Carpenter may take that job. Keep an eye on the situation.
• Brett Myers finally took a loss at home. The Phillies pitcher still managed to pitch into the eighth inning, but he did give up four runs in the process. Myers suffered his first loss in his last five starts, and only his second since returning from the minors. He gets the Braves next Tuesday, and still should be considered a top option for that start.
• Roy Halladay had one of his worst outings against a team that he normally has pitched well against. Mark Buehrle was that much better. Buehrle looked strong at home, again, going into the eighth, while allowing just one run on seven hits. At home, he's one of the best in baseball.
• I'm going to continue to harp on this, regardless as to if it's the playoffs. Kelly Shoppach is only 48 percent owned and is in the middle of one of the better offensive seasons for catchers. Shoppach homered twice last night, giving him 19 this season to go with a .271 AVG. No, he's not driving in many runs, but his other numbers are better than you'll get out of most of the league's catchers. He's had less time to do it, too.
• Got a question yesterday as to what to do with Ryan Howard in a keeper format. The short answer is, you have to hang on to a guy that has 42 home runs this season. The caveat to that, though, is that you need to be able to handle a low average and lots of strikeouts. In a league that counts strikeouts against you, Howard is much less valuable than in a standard 5x5 league.
• Kevin Slowey has been dominant at home, and last night was no exception. He improved to 7-4 at home, and 3-0 against the Royals. The Twins' pitchers haven't been given much love, with the exception of deeper leagues. All of them make solid spot-starters, especially in the confines of the Metrodome.
• The Mets offense got back clicking again. While the team had been winning, we hadn't seen a performance like last night's in a while. David Wright—he who was wrongly blamed for last September's collapse—had four hits, and Carlos Beltran added three more. Even Fernando Tatis has three hits. The only exception was Carlos Delgado, who continues to struggle both at home and against Odalis Perez.

Notes for Thursday

• Roy Oswalt has not allowed more than three runs in his last seven outings and has allowed zero in three of those starts. He's been hot, and he draws a struggling Pittsburgh team with not many of the same faces he's used to seeing. Nate McLouth and Adam LaRoche are solid plays, but not much else beyond that. Jack Wilson could be good for a hit or two though. If it helps, the Astros have owned Zach Duke.
• Gavin Floyd has won his last five decisions and is 9-2 at home this season. He's been especially tough on righties, holding them to a .214 average on the season. Shaun Marcum's success has largely come at home, where he holds opponents under .200. On the road, not so much. He's just as tough on righties as Floyd and was solid in his only outing against the White Sox.
• The Angels changed course late yesterday and have put Jered Weaver on the mound to open the series against the Mariners. No concerns here on Lackey. With having clinched the division, the Angels are going to take the time to setup their rotation how they want it to look and give players some time off. Weaver, for his part, hasn't looked good against many of the Seattle hitters. Keep Raul Ibanez active, and look to use Kenji Johjima. Not only is he hitting .421 in his last five games, but he's a .318 hitter against Weaver. Adrian Beltre remains the only concern, checking in at .240.
• Zach Duke has been awful on the road and does not have good numbers against any Astros regular. He pitched well against them in his one outing this year, but that was in Pittsburgh. Since 2005, he's just 1-3 against Pittsburgh, with an ERA over four in those starts.
• Matt Cain has owned the Padres in every sense of the word. As a team, they are hitting just .185 against the Giants starter, led by the .229 AVG of Adrian Gonzalez. If you have other options for all Padres, they should be used.
• Rich Harden has had just one rough outing since his trade to the Cubs. While he hasn't faced the Cardinals, being on the road hasn't phased him this season, as his 4-2 record would indicate. He's well rested, and I don't feel his injury should be a reason not to start him against the Cards tonight.
• While 2-1 against the Cubs, Todd Wellemeyer has posted a 4.23 ERA against them in three starts. Normally, he's a good play, but the matchup here doesn't dictate a quality start is very likely at this point. Keep him reserved.
• Spot Starts: Brendan Morrow, Jair Jurrjens, and, if necessary, Zach Jackson.

Notes for Friday

• The Yankees have decided to shuffle their rotation around and use Sidney Ponson on Friday against Matt Garza. This doesn't necessarily change how we feel about Garza, but it does give him a better shot for a win. Garza struggles on the road to the point that he really should be held back. He's 4-6 on the road with a 4.43 ERA.
• Manny Parra isn't the best start available, but he may make you think twice about starting left-handed hitters on the Phils. Parra has held them to a .217 AVG this season. He's been giving owners five or six innings of work for the most part. I'd hold off on him here, especially going against Hamels.
• Scott Baker remains one of my favorite plays, mainly because many leagues don't seem to want to give this guy his due. Baker has been nothing if not consistent all season long. He's had some rough lucky, as shown by seven no-decisions in his last 10 starts. That doesn't mean he can't add value, as is evidenced by his solid WHIP and low BAA.
• The Blue Jays haven't been great against Tim Wakefield, but they haven't been bad either. 4-for-13 seems to be the magic number, as three Blue Jays have that record against him. Alex Rios doesn't have a solid average, but has hit three home runs against him in 36 at-bats. Wake has struggled since his return from the DL. Avoid him if you can.
• Paul Maholm is 1-1 against St. Louis this season, but 6-2 at home overall. While your regular Cardinals are going to be good plays, Maholm has been a consistent starter for the second-half of the season. Those looking for peripheral stats could certainly do worse than Maholm.
• Jhonny Peralta, Ryan Garko, and Asdrubal Cabrera are all solid against Gil Meche. Grady Sizemore checks in at just .200 in 30 at-bats. Meche did beat the Indians last time out, but the numbers aren't in his favor overall.
• Justin Verlander has had five cracks against the White Sox and come up 1-4 with a 6.09 ERA. His last three outings overall have just been awful. I wouldn't start him in my fantasy playoffs. Even if it's a good outing, the risk outweighs the reward here. Nick Swisher and Orlando Cabrera would be the only White Sox to hold off on.
• Jonathan Sanchez is winless in his last nine starts. He has pitched well against lefties, holding them to a .215 AVG for the season, but he is just 6-6 on the road with a 4.72 ERA. Your Padres starters should be good to go. I wouldn't go reaching for them, but normal plays are always good.
• Spot Starts: Scott Olsen, Scott Baker, and Paul Maholm.

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