|
| Ibanez hits walk-off home run | Thursday 8/7, 11:37 PM CT |
|
Raul Ibanez hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning against Dan Wheeler of the Rays to send Seattle home victoriously. The Rays chose to pitch to Ibanez even though hitting behind him was Adrian Beltre, who was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts on the evening.
Our View: Ibanez has had quite the August, and in seven games, he has hit three home runs and drove in 16 RBI. Which should put quite the smile on the faces of fantasy owners who have Ibanez in their lineup. |
|
|
| Upton returns, fails to get a hit | Thursday 8/7, 11:32 PM CT |
|
After being benched Wednesday for not hustling, B.J. Upton returned to the lineup and went 0-for-4 in the Rays loss to Seattle.
Our View: Upton may have gotten the message, but it certainly did not help his performance tonight. Despite his disappointing power numbers, Upton has 34 steals and a quality on-base percentage and should be used in all leagues. |
|
|
| Hernandez throws gem | Thursday 8/7, 11:29 PM CT |
|
Felix Hernandez held the Tampa Bay Rays to one run on four hits in eight innings as the Mariners beat the Rays 2-1.
Our View: Hernandez did not get the decision, but he certainly deserved it. Obviously, he is an asset to fantasy owners, and he has not given up more than three earned runs in an outing since May 26. |
|
|
| Sonnanstine shuts down Seattle | Thursday 8/7, 11:26 PM CT |
|
Andy Sonnanstine threw a great game, going 7.1 innings, allowing one run on five hits and striking out four in the Rays loss to Seattle.
Our View: Sonnanstine has a good win total and decent WHIP, but his ERA is a bit high to be utilized in mixed leagues. He is certainly a good option in AL-only leagues, however. |
|
|
| Clemens wants suit to remain in Texas | Thursday 8/7, 11:10 PM CT |
|
Roger Clemens wants his defamation suit against Brian McNamee to remain in Texas instead of New York, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Our View: Clemens has been awful quiet lately, but apparently he plans to go forward with this lawsuit. Surely the theatrics will resume when the thing finally makes it's way to a judge. |
|
|
| Pierzynski fails to get on base | Thursday 8/7, 10:33 PM CT |
|
White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski went 0-for-5 in his team's loss to the Tigers, dropping his batting average to .288.
Our View: Pierzynski is still a valuable fantasy player, especially at catcher. He was hitting well in August, and that should resume in time. |
|
|
| Cabrera 3-for-3 | Thursday 8/7, 10:30 PM CT |
|
Miguel Cabrera had been two for his last fifteen, but he broke through in the Tigers win over Chicago, going 3-for-3 with two walks, a home run, and three RBI.
Our View: Cabrera was the AL Player of the Month in July, and though he frustrated fantasy players for a while, he is finally getting back to his old self. |
|
|
| Vazquez loses tenth | Thursday 8/7, 10:27 PM CT |
|
White Sox pitcher Javier Vazquez lost his tenth game of the season by surrendering five runs in seven innings in a loss to Detroit.
Our View: Vazquez has given up at least three earned runs in every start except one since June. Despite that, his high strikeout totals and passable WHIP make him a solid option for AL-only leagues. |
|
|
| Rodney picks up save | Thursday 8/7, 10:24 PM CT |
|
Tigers reliever Fernando Rodney picked up his second save of the year, going 1.1 innings while striking out two and walking none.
Our View: After four outings in a row giving up at least one run, Rodney has now gone two outings and 4.1 innings allowing no runs, and more importantly, only walking one batter. If he has good control, he can be a solid closer, and useful fantasy asset. |
|
|
| Cano picks up three hits | Thursday 8/7, 10:11 PM CT |
|
Robinson Cano got three hits and raised his average to .266 in the Yankees win over Texas.
Our View: Cano has seen his average climb steadily since he was under .200 as late as the middle of May. But he has returned to provide solid fantasy punch. |
|
|
| Feldman takes another loss | Thursday 8/7, 10:07 PM CT |
|
Scott Feldman pitched well, but picked up his fifth loss of the season as the Yankees downed the Rangers 3-0. Feldman went seven innings, giving up two earned runs while striking out four.
Our View: Feldman has a decent WHIP, but his ERA is too high and he doesn't strike out nearly enough people to warrant fantasy consideration. |
|
|
| Mussina shines again | Thursday 8/7, 10:03 PM CT |
|
Mike Mussina won his 15th game of the season by allowing no earned runs in seven innings while striking out six in New York's 3-0 win over Texas.
Our View: Mussina continues his surprising season, and he has given up just one earned run in his last 14 innings. |
|
|
| Rolen hits low in order | Thursday 8/7, 9:22 PM CT |
|
Batting in the eight hole, Toronto third baseman Scott Rolen went 1-for-3, scored two runs and drove in two as the Jays beat the A's 6-4.
Our View: Rolen is a shell of what he used to be offensively, and he has nearly no value in fantasy leagues anymore. |
|
|
| Barton homers | Thursday 8/7, 9:20 PM CT |
|
Daric Barton hit his fifth home run of the season, and second if five days in Oakland's loss to Toronto. He wound up going 1-for-3 in the contest.
Our View: Barton has been a great disappointment for fantasy players this year in every way, and despite tonight's hit, he is only batting .120 in the month of August. |
|
|
| Ryan picks up save | Thursday 8/7, 9:17 PM CT |
|
B.J. Ryan picked up his 22nd save of the year in the Blue Jays win over Oakland.
Our View: A bad performance a week ago blew up Ryan's ERA, and he isn't as dominant as he once was, but he is certainly an asset in fantasy baseball. |
|
|
| Duchscherer gives up four | Thursday 8/7, 9:16 PM CT |
|
Justin Duchscherer got a no decision, but allowed four runs in five innings on seven hits and two walks in the A's 6-4 loss to Toronto.
Our View: Duchscherer has now given up 13 runs in his last 18 innings, and his performances have started to wane. He may be undergoing some fatigue and fantasy owners should watch him closely to see if he can rebound. |
|
|
| Defense keeping Fields away | Thursday 8/7, 8:49 PM CT |
|
Josh Fields has not started a game in the month of August, in part because of his poor defensive play, reports WhiteSox.com. "He is still working on it, but we need him to step it up and be better in the field," Chicago manager Ozzie Guillen said.
Our View: His play in the field has been poor, but his offense has not been spectacular either. He has just 22 at-bats, but he is hitting just .182 with no home runs. Stay away from him for now in fantasy leagues. |
|
|
| Holliday has hit in eight straight | Thursday 8/7, 8:16 PM CT |
|
The Colorado Rockies were swept in a doubleheader by Washington, but outfielder Matt Holliday had a nice day, going 1-for-3 with a run scored and a stolen base.
Our View: Holliday has an eight game hitting streak going, and fantasy owners may be surprised to know he now has 16 stolen bases on the season. |
|
|
| Cabrera sits again | Thursday 8/7, 7:22 PM CT |
|
Yankees outfielder Melky Cabrera was not in the starting lineup tonight, the fourth consecutive game he has been on the bench, according to Yankees.com.
Our View: Cabrera was tabbed by many as a breakout player this season, but he is hitting only .242 and his on-base percentage is an awful .298. His fantasy value is minimal. |
|
|
| Wells will start rehab on Friday | Thursday 8/7, 6:37 PM CT |
|
Vernon Wells will start a rehab assignment on Friday in Triple-A, reports the Toronto Star. He could be activated for the Jays weekend series in Boston.
Our View: Wells was having a nice year, with a .287 batting average and 42 RBI. He wasn't supplying quite as much power as fantasy owners would want, hitting just nine home runs, but maybe that will come when he gets back. |
|
|
| Hughes to throw rehab start | Thursday 8/7, 6:14 PM CT |
|
Phil Hughes will throw 60 pitches in a rehab start tonight for Triple-A Scranton, according to the Lower Hudson Journal News. He will make a few more starts after that in order to build his arm strength.
Our View: The injury-prone Hughes was awful in the majors this season, but with Wang out and Pettitte now hurting, he may be able to give the Yankees a lift in September. |
|
|
| Ordonez has poor match-up | Thursday 8/7, 6:06 PM CT |
|
Magglio Ordonez has been hitting the ball very well lately, but he does not have a very good match-up tonight against White Sox hurler Javier Vazquez. Ordonez is just 6-for-29 (.209) and has never drawn a walk against the righthander. He only has one extra base hit off Vazquez, a double, and his slugging percentage is a tiny .241.
Our View: Ordonez probably should not come out of fantasy lineups, just don't expect too much from the slugger tonight. |
|
|
| Gaston will manage Jays in '09 | Thursday 8/7, 5:27 PM CT |
|
Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston will be returning to the team next season, according to the Associated Press.
Our View: Gaston has Toronto playing above .500 since he took over. Unfortunately for them, it's not nearly good enough to be in the A.L. East race, though they are just 7.5 games out in the wild card race. |
|
|
| Blalock hopes to be back for Boston | Thursday 8/7, 3:59 PM CT |
|
Hank Blalock, who remains on the DL with right shoulder inflammation, hopes to be back with the Rangers when they head to Boston to battle the Red Sox next week, according to the Star-Telegram. He said, "My swing feels good, I feel strong, and my body feels good."
Our View: He hit off a tee Wednesday, and is eligible to be activated Wednesday. |
|
|
| Ellison recalled | Thursday 8/7, 3:53 PM CT |
|
Jason Ellison has been recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma, according to the Star-Telegram. The team placed David Murphy on the 15-day DL as the corresponding move.
Our View: Murphy is out 2-4 weeks, and Ellison will see action in his place in right field. The team preferred him over John Mayberry, as Ellison provides more speed, which is needed with Milton Bradley also out of action. Ellison is worth a look in AL-only leagues right now. |
|
|
| Abreu wants to remain in New York | Thursday 8/7, 3:42 PM CT |
|
Bobby Abreu, who will become a free agent following the 2008 campaign, would like to remain with the Yankees, according to MLB.com. He said, "I'm a free agent at the end of the year, so you understand how that is. Here is where I want to be, but we still have this season to play. There's still a long time before we talk about that. Things have been great here. I really like it. This is a team that's always in competition for the playoffs and it seems like you always have the opportunity to make it to the World Series. You can't find that everywhere."
Our View: Abreu can still play at a high level, and is among the most consistent players currently on the Yankees' roster. The 34-year-old will keep his fingers crossed that he can re-sign after this season, and finish his career in pinstripes. |
|
|
| Rays claim Bradford off waivers | Thursday 8/7, 1:45 PM CT |
|
The Rays have claimed reliever Chad Bradford off waivers from the Orioles, according to ESPN. The Rays will send a player to be named to the Orioles at a later time.
Our View: The 33-year-old only allowed 11 earned runs over 40.1 innings with Baltimore this season, and held a 1.19 WHIP. He will be a favorable addition to the Rays' bullpen, but only holds fantasy value in deeper leagues that use middle men. |
|
|
| Donnelly called up | Thursday 8/7, 12:48 PM CT |
|
Brendan Donnelly has been called up from Triple-A Buffalo, according to the Akron Beacon Journal. Matt Ginter has been placed on the 15-day DL as the adjoining move.
Our View: Donnelly is trying to bounce back from Tommy John surgery, and is worth a look in deeper AL-only leagues that use middle men, as he racked up 15 strikeouts over 20.2 innings in 2007, with a 1.16 WHIP. |
|
|
| Phillies not interested in Garcia | Thursday 8/7, 12:16 PM CT |
|
The Phillies are not interested in re-signing Freddy Garcia after watching him work out in front of several teams earlier in the week, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Assistant GM Ruben Amaro Jr. said, "He's got a ways to go. For us, I don't think we believe that he's a guy that could help us this year. He threw OK. The feeling is that he's going to come back, but he probably couldn't help us in September."
Our View: Amaro's comments are not encouraging, and Garcia should not be counted on to make a solid impact as a fantasy hurler when he joins a club later this season. |
|
|
| Ray not expected back this season | Thursday 8/7, 11:34 AM CT |
|
Chris Ray who is slowly recovering from right elbow surgery, does not expect to return to the Orioles this season, according to the Baltimore Sun.
Our View: He could be cleared to pitch in a couple of games in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League in a couple of weeks, but the team does not see the benefit of having him pitch in Baltimore for a week or two in September. |
|
|
| Crawford feeling much better | Thursday 8/7, 10:56 AM CT |
|
Carl Crawford has missed three straight games, but noted that his sore left hamstring is now feeling much better, according to the St. Petersburg Times. He said, "I feel strong enough to go full speed. That was the reason we wanted to rest these three days so I can play at full speed and not have to worry about playing at like 70 percent."
Our View: Manager Joe Maddon indicated that Crawford may return to the Rays' lineup Thursday against Seattle. |
|
|
| Suzuki is hot | Thursday 8/7, 10:15 AM CT |
|
Ichiro Suzuki stretched his hitting streak to 12 games with a single against the Twins Wednesday, according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. He is batting .401 over the streak, with seven multi-hit efforts.
Our View: Ichiro is on track following a disappointing first half of the season, and is back to being a must-start as a fantasy outfielder. |
|
|
| Batista dropped from rotation | Thursday 8/7, 10:10 AM CT |
|
Miguel Batista has been dropped from the Mariners' starting rotation and will not make his scheduled start on Saturday, according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
Our View: He lasted just three innings in his last start Monday, and was the 14th time in 19 starts that he failed to reach six innings. Over 94 innings, he holds a dismal 6.80 ERA and 1.95 WHIP. The team did not make a decision, but the source indicates that the most likely candidate to start Saturday is former reliever Ryan Rowland-Smith.
|
|
|
| Aardsma nearing return | Thursday 8/7, 9:00 AM CT |
|
David Aardsma, who is nursing a strained right groin, is nearing his return to Boston's bullpen, according to the Boston Globe. He threw an inning in Pawtucket Tuesday night and is likely to be activated from the DL for this weekend's series against the White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field.
Our View: Aardsma doesn't have any saves, but claimed three wins for the Sox this season in relief, and has 41 strikeouts over 39.1 innings, with 12 earned runs allowed. He should continue his role as a solid fantasy middle reliever for deeper AL-only leagues when he returns. |
|
|
| Youkilis has right hand contusion | Thursday 8/7, 8:54 AM CT |
|
Kevin Youkilis is officially listed as having a right hand contusion, according to the Boston Globe. Manager Terry Francona said, "A pretty good bruise. The good news is that there's no break. By the time I got out there, it was already turning black. I think the trainers think there's a decent chance he'll play Friday. So that's good news. It sounds like it's a matter of a day or two, as opposed to something that looked like it had a chance to be bad."
Our View: With today's day off, Youkilis will get treatment, both ice and heat, before it's decided whether he'll be ready for Friday's game in Chicago against the White Sox.
|
|
|
| Izturis sits out fifth game | Thursday 8/7, 8:49 AM CT |
|
Maicer Izturis sat out his fifth straight game Wednesday due to a sprained thumb, but manager Mike Sciosca said he was available if needed, according to the LA Times.
Our View: Izturis will be back when he feels ready, and is not expected to land on the DL. He is a decent speed option in larger AL-only leagues as he has 10 stolen bases, with 12 doubles, and two triples. |
|
|
| Pridie named player of month | Thursday 8/7, 8:12 AM CT |
|
Jason Pridie was named the Twins' minor league player of the month for July, according to the Star Tribune. He batted .330 with seven homers and 19 RBI over the month.
Our View: If he continues to hit this well, he could potentially find himself on Minnesota' bench at September call-ups, to provide a boost in the pennant race. |
|
|
| Cuddyer goes 1-for-3 in rehab game | Thursday 8/7, 8:05 AM CT |
|
Michael Cuddyer, who is recovering from a strained tendon in his left index finger, went 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored in Wednesday's rehab outing with Triple-A Rochester, according to the Star Tribune. That was the first contest of a double-header, and he went 0-for-3 in the second game.
Our View: Barring a setback, Cuddyer is expected to return to the Twins in time for the start of a three-game set against the Yankees on Monday.
|
|
|
| Foulke throws in rehab | Thursday 8/7, 7:02 AM CT |
|
Keith Foulke, who is recovering from right shoulder inflammation, allowed three hits and three runs in two innings at Triple-A Sacramento on Wednesday, according to the SF Chronicle.
Our View: He surrendered two home runs, and has allowed three homers, over three innings on his current rehab assignment, which is now likely to be extended. Foulke is a low-end reliever and is not worth waiting for as a fantasy performer. |
|
Crushing hits. Explosive separation. Hail Mary bombs to streaking receivers. For that and fantasy analysis for all things football turn to Owners Edge NFL every week on your way to the championship.
Power-plays. Goals. Fights. Great glove saves. If you are looking to augment your NHL experience with some of the most innovative fantasy hockey analysis on the Internet, then turn to Owners Edge NHL.
Outlet passes. Jumpers from downtown. Alley-oops leading to thunderous jams that bring the crowd to their feet are all part of the NBA experience leading to our analysis of the hardwood at Owners Edge NBA.
The hush at the tee box is followed by the sweat sound of metal on ball as someone in the gallery yells out 'you da man!' At Owners Edge PGA we bring refinement, analysis and passion to the sport of golf.
The smell of burning rubber. The thrill of unmitigated speed coming out of the turn. The visceral exhilaration of a pile up. At Owners Edge NASCAR we make the pit stop so you don't have to on race day.