Even when he loses, Brandon Webb is pretty damn good. Webb went seven innings, allowed just three runs and struck out seven. His offense just didn’t show up tonight and his record fell to 9-1. Obviously, Webb is a must start every time out, and is getting to be a shoe in to start the All-Star Game for the National League.

Derek Jeter is a special player whose drive and competitiveness is almost unmatched. A day after being hit on the wrist with a pitch, Jeter played and stole a base and drove in a run. It looks like the Yankee captain is ok, and get him back into your lineup.

Dontrelle Willis has been activated from the disabled list, but he will go to the bullpen for the time being, while Armando Gallaraga will remain in the rotation. I urge all of you to stay away from the D-Train. He is a great example of someone who has a great love for the game, but isn’t a good fantasy option.

Joba Chamberlain pitched two innings tonight in a blowout win against the Orioles, which is weird since they have been so protective of him. Joe Girardi confirmed after the game that they have begun the process of stretching Joba out to put him in the starting rotation. This isn’t a one week process, but he will be starting before the All-Star Break. This guy has some electric stuff, and although he hasn’t been the same dominator as last season, I would try to get him on the cheap right now before the news spreads. He could have a big impact in the rotation.

One guy that Chamberlain won’t be replacing in the rotation is Darrell Rasner, who has been so much more than the Yankees could have hoped for. Rasner went to 3-0 since his recall, after throwing seven shutout innings and striking out six. I don’t see Rasner keeping this up all season long, but if you have an injury or some dead weight, ride the hot hand while Rasner is producing.

Ben Sheets continues to do what he does when he is healthy. Sheets threw his second complete game of the season and improved his record to 5-1 with a win over the Pirates. Sheets allowed just one run and struck out six and now has an ERA under three. I still warn you greatly about Sheets’ inability to remain healthy and not to target him in a trade. If you own Sheets, now is a great time to test his value around your league and see if you can find someone who likes him.

Bartolo Colon did well in his first start of the season as a member of the Boston Red Sox, but I’m not sure that he is a guy that I would target for my team. Colon was a former Cy Young award winner, but that was a few years ago and he has been through a lot since. Colon threw five innings, allowed two runs and struck out four. He is on a team that would lend themselves to getting some wins, but I’m not sure how long he will be in the rotation, and I don’t know if you can expect him to produce well.

Dana Eveland threw his fourth consecutive great start, in fact, it was the best of his career. Eveland threw a complete game on Wednesday, and only allowed a home run to Johnny Gomes and struck out five. Eveland is now 4-3 with a 2.90 ERA for an Oakland team that doesn’t score a ton of runs. Eveland is a great option for the end of your rotation, but you have to expect that ERA to jump up at least a half a run by the end of the season.

The Seattle Mariners sent rookie Jeff Clement back to AAA the other day after his struggles became too much. Clement had only eight hits in 15 games without a home run and only two ribbies. Clement still has a ton of long term talent, especially in keeper leagues, but for now he won’t be able to help you.

Ok, so Derrek Lee hit his 11^th homer of the year today. However, after a blazing start Lee has slowed way down. After the month of April Lee had eight homers, 21 days into May he only has 11. Through the first month of the season, Lee was hitting .364, that average has now dropped to .302. Finally, 23 of his 30 RBI came during the month of April. I believe that Lee will still have a respectable year, but that incredible start had to come to an end.

Boston rookie Jacoby Ellsbury continues to be incredibly impressive. Not only did Ellsbury lead off tonight’s game with a homer, but also had three hits and stole his 19^th base in 20 attempts. It is looking more and more that Ellsbury will give the Red Sox their second consecutive rookie of the year (Pedroia in ’07).

Stephen Drew is really starting to show the hitting ability we all knew he had. Drew has been on a good roll lately and is now hitting near .300. Stephen also hit his 6^th homer of the year as he has started to show a little more power as of late. If for some reason he is still available, definitely go and grab him, if not, see if you can get him on the cheap. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a good second half from Drew.

Geriatric Homer Run Derby—Both Jermaine Dye and Vladimir Guerrero both hit the ball out of the ballpark twice on Wednesday. While Vlad still carries a good deal of fantasy value, I don’t hold much stock at all in Dye. Even after the breakout tonight, Guerrero still only has 6 home runs, so you might be able to get him cheap. I still expect 28-30 HRs from Vlad by the end of the season.

As always, your questions (adds, drops, trades) and comments are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours. Don’t forget to check me out at mlbfrontoffice.com on Tuesdays under In The News. Also go to fantasybaseballsearch.com to find me in the Gurus Blog.

This could be the beginning of a big turnaround for Justin Verlander. After finally having a start worth talking about his last time out, Verlander had his best start of the season on Tuesday to collect just his second win. The Tigers ace lasted six innings, allowed just one run, one walk, and also fanned seven. This is the kind of performance that we were expecting out of Verlander all season long. For those of you who bought low, or exercised extreme patience look like they will start to be rewarded.

Has Daniel Cabrera turned into a must-own pitcher? After giving up just two runs in seven innings to the Yankees, Cabrera improved his record to an incredible (for him, anyway) 5-1. More incredible than his record, he has walked just three batters in his last four starts! It has long been said that if Danny could ever get his control down he has the stuff to be one of the top pitchers in baseball. That may be a little strong but, this is certainly looking like a career year.

Although he isn’t pitching deep into games, the Marlins’ Mark Hendrickson is another guy having a career year. With another strong showing on Tuesday, Hendrickson improved to 6-2 with an ERA under 4.00. I would definitely be trying to sell high if you own Hendrickson, I am waiting for the bottom to fall out of this story. Hendrickson has only had one season in his career that he wasn’t under .500, he’s not breaking out now.

Justin Masterson got another spot start for the Red Sox, and again, made the most of his opportunity. Masterson threw 6.2 innings of one run, four hit ball as he collected his first win. He also walked three but struck out five. If there is ever a time where he will be in the Sox rotation for a longer period of time he is worth adding to your rotation, but at this point he won’t see enough starts to be worth it.

Brewers’ rookie Manny Parra threw his second consecutive good start on Tuesday, and might be heading back to the form that had him lighting up Spring Training. Parra threw 5.2 shutout innings while walking only one and striking out six. Parra’s talent was never in question, and now it looks like he is getting past his rookie jitters and is back to throwing the ball. If you have some dead weight, he is worth adding now. If not, give him another start or two to see if this can continue.

Cole Hamels hasn’t allowed a run in 16 innings now after his seven shutout inning performance tonight. Hamels is cementing himself as one of the best pitchers in baseball, and if he can avoid his yearly short trip to the DL, he could be in the mix for the Cy Young Award. Hamels struck out 11 in his seven innings tonight, and now has 65 Ks in 72.1 innings. His price tag may be a little high now after his consecutive great performances, but he is a guy I would try to get on my team as soon as possible via trade.

John Lackey had another impressive start as he looks like he is in midseason form after coming off the disabled list. He has allowed just two runs in his 14 innings, and continues to be one of the more underrated pitchers in fantasy baseball. There should be no reason that he is available in your league, but see what his owner is looking for in return.

Orioles rookie Adam Jones is starting to put it together a little. Jones went 4-5 on Tuesday, and now has 11 hits in his last six games. He still isn’t hitting for the power we expected, but some young players take some time getting out of the box. Jones was the centerpiece of the Erik Bedard trade and has a ton of talent. Unless you need an injury replacement, I wouldn’t add Jones yet. But keep a very close eye on him. If he keeps this up a few more days, grab him. Those of you in keeper leagues, if he’s still out there, I would grab him right away.

With another save chance for C.J. Wilson blown, don’t be surprised if the Rangers turn to Eddie Guardado in the 9th inning. This is not definite right now, so unless you are desperate for saves this is just a situation to watch, not worth action yet.

Injury News

Before we get to the bad news, there is some good news.

Alex Rodriguez returned to the Yankee lineup tonight, but it wasn’t good enough to get them a win, or a significant number of runs. The important thing is that A-Rod is back and get him back into your lineups immediately.

That’s it for good news.

Reigning NL Cy Young Winner Jake Peavy was placed on the DL on Tuesday, and he could be there a while. Peavy is experiencing pain and swelling in his elbow, but it seems they caught this before it got to be a real problem. Peavy had a similar injury a couple of years ago and it cost him four weeks. For right now, that is what I would expect him to miss, so start making alternate plans for him right away.

Is this the explanation for it all? Andruw Jones has torn cartiledge in his knee, which if it involves surgery to repair, will cost him 4-6 weeks. It’s almost nice to find out that Jones is injured, perhaps it is the reason he has been so incredibly terrible this season. I wouldn’t stash Jones unless you have the spot, I would just let him go. The good news about this is that you can now expect the Dodgers outfield to consist of Kemp, Ethier, and Pierre everyday until Jones is ready to return.

Derek Jeter was hit on the wrist with a pitch tonight and left the game immediately. The good news is that the x-rays came back negative. It wouldn’t shock me to see him miss a couple of games, but at least as of now it doesn’t seem like a trip to the disabled list is in his future. The Yanks, and his fantasy owners dodged a huge bullet.

Marlins OF Josh Willingham could miss another month with the herniated disk in his back. This is a shame because it looked like Willingham was on his way to his best season. Continue to keep him stashed and hope he is able to return sooner than this projection.

With the return of Doug Davis on the horizon, it appears that rookie phenom Max Scherzer may be out of a starting job very soon. Davis is expected back early next week, so Scherzer may have made his last start until someone gets hurt again. Fantasy owners are hoping for Randy Johnson’s creaky back to start acting up any minute to keep Scherzer starting games.

As always, your questions (adds, drops, trades) and comments are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours. Don’t forget to check me out at mlbfrontoffice.com on Tuesdays under In The News. Also go to fantasybaseballsearch.com to find me in the Gurus Blog.

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Tonight we get a story that is what makes sports so incredible and makes you want to follow them. For all the arrests, the cheating, the fighting that are in the news, you get a story like what happened at Fenway Park tonight and it gives you a whole new appreciation for not only sports, but the fragility of life. Just under a year and a half ago, Jon Lester was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. Not only did Lester beat the cancer, but he returned to the major leagues. Now tonight, Lester makes history by throwing a no hitter against the Royals. What a feel good story, and a huge congratulations goes out to Jon Lester. That being said, for fantasy purposes, don’t go crazy trading one of the top 10-15 pitchers to acquire him, this is definitely the highlight of his season.

For those of you who have been waiting for Geovany Soto to come back to earth, it is looking like the Cubs catcher is going to be one of the top five catchers in baseball in his rookie year. Soto hit his ninth homer of the season (an inside the parker) and is leading his team in ribeyes. His average is over .315 and it is looking like his fantastic numbers in AAA last season weren’t a fluke, Soto looks like the real deal.

Astros CF Michael Bourn appears to be a unique kind of one-dimensional player. When you hear that term you usually think of home run hitters who do little else. But Bourn’s one dimension is stealing bases. He is hitting for an atrocious average (.200), not much power or RBI. But Bourn can steal bases with the best of them. He has just 31 hits and 19 stolen bases, as he makes the best of the opportunities that he has when he gets on base. If you need steals Bourn is a good option, but he will hurt you in most other categories.

Josh Hamilton is the first guy to 50 RBI this season when he hit his 11^th homer of the year. I can’t see Hamilton keeping this production level up, so if you can get someone that you would normally draft in the first or second round, I would unload Hamilton. If not, you can do so much worse than this guy on your roster. I expect him to finish with 25-28 homers with 100-110 RBI.

How long can Emil Brown keep up this level of success? Well, first off folks, he is 33 years old, most players don’t break out at 33. He has had a couple of seasons of 80 RBI in the past, so he isn’t someone I would just flat out drop while he is putting up good stats, but I would try to work him into some sort of trade where you can replace him with someone more reliable. Don’t shoot too high, I don’t think his trade value is overly high.

Adam Dunn has now homered in five straight games after hitting another on Monday. Dunn now has eleven homers, but is hitting for his usual awful average and is striking out like crazy. Dunn is going to do this season what he always does. He will hit .240, 40 homers, and 90 RBI. You can write it in the books now.

His record once sat at 1-4, but after another win on Monday, Ted Lilly has moved to 5-4 and is looking more like the pitcher we saw in 2007. At its peak, his ERA was nearly 10.00, but now after his latest good start, he is now sitting at an ERA near 5.00. If by chance he is still available, make sure he isn’t by the end of the night.

Brett Myers’ inconsistent season continued today. Myers wasn’t horrible by any stretch, giving up three runs in six innings, but today it was the Phillies who were unable to score any runs. I was asked on the Fantasy Baseball Search Gurus’ Radio show what I thought of Myers, and I said that for all the talent he had, he lacks concentration and focus. He doesn’t seem like the mentally toughest guy in the world, and I think that manifests itself in his struggles. You can have much worse options than Myers in your rotation, but it wouldn’t hurt to have someone on the next level up as well.

As always, your questions (adds, drops, trades) and comments are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours. Don’t forget to check me out at mlbfrontoffice.com on Tuesdays under In The News. Also go to fantasybaseballsearch.com to find me in the Gurus Blog.

No Brainers

Cole Hamels, PHI - 5/20 vs. WAS (Bergmann), 5/25 vs. HOU (Sampson)

John Maine, NYM – 5/20 vs. ATL (N/A), 5/25 vs. COL (De La Rosa)

James Shields, TB - 5/19 vs. OAK (Blanton), 5/25 vs. BAL (Cabrera)

John Lackey, LAA - 5/20 vs. TOR (Halladay), 5/25 vs. CHW (Contreras)

Justin Verlander, DET - 5/20 vs. SEA (Silva), 5/25 vs. MIN (Perkins)

C.C. Sabathia, CLE – 5/19 vs. CHW (Contreras), 5/25 vs. TEX (Mathis)

Gotta Play ‘Em

Chad Billingsley, LAD – 5/19 vs. CIN (Belisle), 5/25 vs. STL (Wellemeyer)

Brett Myers, PHI - 5/19 vs. WAS (Redding), 5/24 vs. HOU (Moehler)

Ted Lilly, CHI - 5/19 vs. HOU (Moehler), 5/25 vs. PIT (Maholm)

Micah Owings, ARI - 5/20 vs. FLA (Hendrickson), 5/25 vs. ATL (Glavine)

Worthwhile For Two Starts

Jon Lester, BOS - 5/20 vs. KC (Hochevar), 5/25 vs. OAK (Blanton)

Luke Hochevar, KC - 5/19 vs. BOS (Lester), 5/24 vs. TOR (Litsch)

Greg Maddux, SD - 5/20 vs. STL (Piniero), 5/25 vs. CIN (Misch)

Joe Blanton, OAK - 5/19 vs. TB (Shields), 5/25 vs. BOS (Lester)

Todd Wellemeyer, STL - 5/19 vs. SD (Ledezma), 5/25 vs. LAD (Billingsley)

Mike Mussina, NYY- 5/20 vs. BAL (Cabrera), 5/25 vs. SEA (Silva)

Daniel Cabrera, BAL - 5/20 vs. NYY (Mussina), 5/24 vs. TB (Shields)

Getting Desperate

Bronson Arroyo, CIN - 5/19 vs. LAD (Penny), 5/24 vs. SD (Ledezma)

Tim Redding, WAS - 5/19 vs. PHI (Myers), 5/25 vs. MIL (Parra)

Manny Parra, MIL - 5/20 vs. PIT (Maholm), 5/25 vs. WAS (Redding)

Tom Glavine, ATL - 5/20 vs. NYM (Maine), 5/25 vs. ARI (Owings)

Jose Contreras, CWS - 5/20 vs. CLE (Sabathia), 5/25 vs. LAA (Lackey)

Boof Bonser, MIN - 5/19 vs. TEX (Feldman), 5/24 vs. DET (Robertson)

Scott Feldman, TEX - 5/19 vs. MIN (Bonser), 5/25 vs. CLE (Lee)

Glen Perkins, MIN - 5/20 vs. TEX (Mathis), 5/25 vs. DET (Verlander)

Chris Sampson, HOU - 5/20 vs. CHC (Dempster), 5/25 vs. PHI (Hamels)

Brian Moehler, HOU - 5/19 vs. CHC (Lilly), 5/24 vs. PHI (Myers)

Patrick Misch, SF - 5/19 vs. COL (De La Rosa), 5/25 vs. FLA (Hendrickson)

Jorge De La Rosa, COL - 5/19 vs. SF (Misch), 5/25 vs. NYM (Maine)

Matt Belisle, CIN - 5/20 vs. LAD (Billingsley), 5/25 vs. SD (Maddux)

Paul Maholm, PIT - 5/20 vs. MIL (Parra), 5/25 vs. CHC (Lilly)

Again, I would like to thank the guys from fantasybaseballsearch.com for having me as a guest on their weekly radio show. They do an hour and a half show every Sunday, and I was lucky enough to make my second appearance. Please check out the show as well as their sites. They are fantasybaseballsearch.com, www.fantasybaseballgenerals.com, and www.junkyardjake.com. Please visit these sites as they are great tools to help your fantasy teams.

Let the demise of Cliff Lee as Cy Young begin. A guy who many have touted as this year’s big pitcher to have, will slowly turn back into the pitcher he has been for the last few years. He lasted just 5.2 innings and allowed five earned runs, striking out only two while taking his first loss of the season. I see Lee winning 14 games with an ERA near 4.00 by the end of the year. He is one player that I certainly would try to sell high on now, as you might be able to get one of the top15 pitchers in the league, but move quickly.

2007 17 game winner Jeff Francis finally picked up his first win of the season on Sunday. Francis had been a victim of poor run support on some days, but he was incredibly awful on others. I believe he will finish the season at around the .500 mark, and is a decent option to pick up if you have someone who is really struggling.

A guy I would work on acquiring is Seattle’s Felix Hernandez. The guy has a ton of talent, is still very young, and has a great strikeout rate. King Felix had a good start Sunday going six innings, allowing two runs and striking out five. Felix has been a bit inconsistent throughout his career, but remember he came up when he was 19. Still under 25, he is more of a veteran now, and I believe he will start being very effective regularly very soon.

Although he is almost eligible to start receiving his social security benefits, Randy Johnson continues to be an effective pitcher when he is healthy enough to take the mound. The Big Unit threw seven shutout innings and struck out five improving his record to 4-1. His ERA is higher than he would like, but at his age, if you can get any contribution from him you should be happy, and he is far exceeding my expectations.

Whenever there is a game that is big to the Mets, it always seems that Oliver Perez pitches well. Not that a game in May is huge in the grand scheme of things, but you know the Mets want to beat the Yanks, especially on national television. And right on cue Perez threw well. Oliver went 7.2 innings, allowed two earned runs and fanned four. You know my thoughts on the guy, although he isn’t the most consistent, he is one that I really like.

Although Zach Greinke continues to pitch well and win, he is starting to allow more hits and runs. In the beginning of the season he was giving up zero or one run. The last few times out it has been two or three. I know what you are thinking, boy that’s really splitting hairs. But I really don’t expect this production to continue, and if you need something to point to for backup, it is that he hasn’t been as dominant later. He is another sell high candidate.

Chris Perez is going to be a name that you will be hearing plenty about in the coming days. Perez is a minor leaguer for the Cardinals who was just called up when Jason Isringhausen was put on the DL. Chris appears to have been the Cards closer in waiting, who may not be waiting anymore. Isringhausen is close to the end of his career, and if Perez pitches well while he is in St. Louis, you might not see Izzy back in the 9^th inning when he is healthy enough to return. I’m not sure that Perez is worth all the hype he has received the past couple days, but if you are looking for a new source of saves, Perez might be closing for the Cardinals within the next few weeks.

Home Run Derby

Light hitting White Sox shortstop Orlando Cabrera hit two baseballs out on Sunday, hopefully the start of a turnaround to a nightmare start of the season for the OC. Cabrera will never lead your team to the top of your game in homers, but it is nice to get this kind of game from an unexpected source. I expect his numbers will improve from the .220 he is currently hitting, just don’t expect this power showing to continue.

Adam Dunn has now homered in four straight games. One of the best home run hitters in the majors, you can pretty much write Adam down for 40 bombs now. You can also probably write him down for a .245 average too, but you didn’t draft him for his ability to take the ball the other way, or hit with two strikes. After a power outage to start the year, Dunn is now where we expected, and you can safely expect him to keep hitting homers.

In the past eight games, Ryan Howard now has four home runs, and is another player who is getting back on track from a tough start to the year. He still is striking out at an alarming rate (64 in 45 games), but at least now he is showing the power that we expect from him. Continue to start Howard (obviously) and expect him to play like the first round pick he was.

Fenway Park was a launching pad between the Red Sox and Brewers, as an amazing eight taters went over the fence. Leading the charge were formerly struggling sluggers Ryan Braun (eight in the last eight games), and David Ortiz (three in the past three games) as it seems both of them are back on track to produce like they did last season. But also leaving the yard was J.J. Hardy, Dustin Pedroia, Prince Fielder, and Kevin Youkilis.

As always, your questions (adds, drops, trades) and comments are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours. Don’t forget to check me out at mlbfrontoffice.com on Tuesdays under In The News. Also go to fantasybaseballsearch.com to find me in the Gurus Blog.

The bullpen situation in Cleveland is an absolute mess. A couple days after removing Rafael Betancourt from the interim closers role while Joe Borowski is out, Masa Kobayashi gave up a TOWERING three run homer to Adam Dunn and blew a save himself. I can’t believe it is possible, but are the Indians (and fantasy players) asking how much longer Joe Borowski will be out? Borowski is one of the more criticized closers in baseball, but we are finding out why he has kept his job for so long.

One start after getting absolutely tattooed, Rich Harden showed flashes of brilliance again Saturday. Harden allowed just one run over seven innings and struck out eight, as he showed why fantasy owners continue to pick him, even though he breaks their hearts with his injuries every season. Hold on to him, until…….

Not too many details yet, but Brad Penny will be scratched from his start on Sunday due to stiffness in his right arm. No news yet to the extent of the injury or when he will pitch again, but it is certain that at least this start will be skipped as the Dodgers will move Derek Lowe up to pitch on Sunday.

For the second consecutive start, Arizona rookie Max Scherzer didn’t allow an earned run, but he wasn’t exactly sharp. Scherzer lasted just five innings, and although he struck out five he walked four and gave up three hits. Overall, not bad at all, but he has been unable to recapture the magic from that first appearance of his career.  Also, Doug Davis is making his way back to the majors following cancer treatment, so Scherzer’s days in the rotation appear to be numbered.

Ervin Santana has now struggled in two consecutive starts. Santana has seen his ERA go up almost an entire run in just two starts, as he gave up four runs over six innings and striking out five. Santana took his first loss of the season on Saturday, and he is someone that I would look to sell high before he has a few more starts like this.

Aaron Harang had one of his typical starts, and of course, the Reds didn’t score the runs in time for him to get a win. Harang went seven, allowed just one run, one walk, and struck out five but left in a tie game. The Reds would win on a walk off homer by Adam Dunn, so Harang’s record will still sit at 2-5. He is a player that I would be targeting cheap if I were looking for starting pitching.

Red Sox starter Daisuke Matsusaka ran his record to a perfect 7-0 with another impressive start on Saturday. Dice didn’t allow an earned run over 6.2 innings, and struck out six, lowering his season ERA to 2.15. He has taken his game to the next level this season, and is starting to prove what all the hype was about last season. He obviously isn’t going to finish the season 25-1, so you have to expect at least a little drop in production, but it appears that Matsusaka is going to have a top 15 starter kind of year.

After three great starts in succession, it appeared that Matt Garza had it all put together. Well, Garza took one on the chin Saturday against St. Louis. In just 4.1 innings, Garza allowed six runs, walked two and only fanned one. He is still a young pitcher, and I always preach with pitchers under 25 you are going to have your fair share of starts like this. But be patient with Garza, he was one of the best pitching prospects in recent years.

One day after hitting homer number seven and eight, Alfonso Soriano went 5-5 today and hit dingers number nine and ten. Soriano is now hitting .295 and is the hottest hitter in baseball. Look for Soriano to finish the year between 35-38 homers and 93-97 ribbies as he gets back to a feared fantasy player. He isn’t stealing bases like he used to, but his power still makes him valuable.

Although he is hitting for a good average and swiping some bases, Corey Hart has been a mild disappointment to his fantasy owners with his lack of power. Hart connected on just his second homer of the season on Saturday, and hopefully this will start a little chain reaction of power. You don’t expect him to hit 35 out of the yard or anything, but we were projecting 20-25. He is hitting .301 and has stolen seven bases, so he isn’t a wasted pick, but his owners would like to see him showing a little more pop, he could be available cheap.

The knock on Albert Pujols coming into the season (besides the elbow injury) was that he had no one hitting behind him that struck any fear into the opposing pitcher to stop them from pitching around Albert. Well, the Cardinals may have found that protection in Ryan Ludwick. With two more bombs on Saturday, that is now six for Ludwick in the past ten games to go with RBI. He isn’t a young guy, so this production might be a fluke, but if you can pick up a guy batting over .330 with ten homers you gotta grab him now.

As always, your questions (adds, drops, trades) and comments are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours. Don’t forget to check me out at mlbfrontoffice.com on Tuesdays under In The News. Also go to fantasybaseballsearch.com to find me in the Gurus Blog.

No Brainers

Jake Peavy, SD—5/19 vs. STL (Wellemeyer); 5/24 vs. CIN (Arroyo)

Josh Beckett, BOS—5/18 vs. MIL (Villanueva); 5/23 vs. OAK (Harden)

Felix Hernandez, SEA—5/18 vs. SD (Estes); 5/24 vs. NYY (Wang)

Chien-Ming Wang, NYY—5/18 vs. NYM (Perez); 5/24 vs. SEA (Hernandez)

Cliff Lee, CLE—5/18 vs. CIN (Volquez); 5/24 vs. TEX (Feldman)

Edinson Volquez, CIN—5/18 vs. CLE (Lee); 5/23 vs. SD (Estes)

Gotta Start ‘Em

John Maine, NYM—5/20 vs. ATL (Glavine); 5/24 vs. COL (Francis)

Matt Cain, SF—5/18 vs. CHW (Danks); 5/24 vs. FLA (Hendrickson)

Shaun Marcum, TOR—5/18 vs. PHI (Kendrick); 5/24 vs. KC (Hochevar)

Zach Greinke, KC—5/18 vs. FLA (Hendrickson); 5/23 vs. TOR (Burnett)

Brad Penny, LAD—5/18 vs. LAA (Weaver); 5/23 vs. STL (Wainwright)

Jered Weaver, LAA—5/18 vs. LAD (Penny); 5/24 vs. CWS (Danks)

Brett Myers, PHI—5/19 vs. WAS (Redding); 5/24 vs. HOU (Moehler)

Randy Johnson, ARI—5/18 vs. DET (Robertson); 5/24 vs. ATL (Glavine)

Derek Lowe, LAD—5/19 vs. CIN (Arroyo); 5/24 vs. STL (Lohse)

Oliver Perez, NYM—5/18 vs. NYY (Wang); 5/23 vs. COL (Reynolds)

Worth Two Starts

John Danks, CWS—5/18 vs. SF (Cain); 5/24 vs. LAA (Weaver)

Mark Hendrickson, FLA—5/18 vs. KC (Greinke); 5/24 vs. SF (Cain)

Jeff Francis, COL—5/18 vs. MIN (Slowey); 5/24 vs. NYM (Maine)

Justin Duchscherer, OAK—5/18 vs. ATL (Reyes); 5/24 vs. BOS (TBA)

Bronson Arroyo, CIN—5/19 vs. LAD (Lowe); 5/24 vs. SD (Peavy)

Tom Glavine, NYM—5/20 vs. NYM (Maine); 5/24 vs. ARI (Johnson)

Jeremy Guthrie, BAL—5/18 vs. WAS (Lannan); 5/23 vs. TB (Garza)

Kyle Lohse, STL—5/18 vs. TB (Jackson); 5/24 vs. LAD (Lowe)

Edwin Jackson, TB—5/18 vs. STL (Lohse); 5/24 vs. BAL (TBA)

Luke Hochevar, KC—5/29 vs. BOS (TBA); 5/24 vs. TOR (Marcum)

Jo-Jo Reyes, ATL—5/18 vs. OAK (Duscscherer); 5/23 vs. ARI (Gonzalez)

Getting Desperate

Nate Robertson, DET—5/18 vs. ARI (Johnson); 5/24 vs. MIN (Bonser)

John Lannan, WAS—5/18 vs. BAL (Guthrie); 5/24 vs. MIL (Villanueva)

Boof Bonser, MIN—5/19 vs. TEX (Feldman); 5/24 vs. DET (Robertson)

Kevin Slowey, MIN—5/18 vs. COL (Francis); 5/23 vs. DET (Gallaraga)

Kyle Kendrick, PHI—5/18 vs. TOR (Marcum); 5/23 vs. HOU (Backe)

Jason Marquis, CHC—5/18 vs. PIT (Dumatrait); 5/24 vs. PIT (Dumatrait)

Brandon Backe, HOU—5/18 vs. TEX (Gabbard); 5/23 vs. PHI (Kendrick)

Carlos Villanueva, MIL—5/28 vs. BOS (Beckett); 5/24 vs. WAS (Lannan)

Kason Gabbard, TEX—5/18 vs. HOU (Backe); 5/23 vs. CLE (Carmona)

Scott Feldman, TEX—5/19 vs. MIN (Bonser); 5/24 vs. CLE (Lee)

Phil Dumatrait, PIT—5/18 vs. CHC (Marquis); 5/24 vs. CHC (Marquis)

Shawn Estes, SD—5/18 vs. SEA (Hernandez); 5/23 vs. CIN (Volquez)

Brian Moehler, HOU—5/19 vs. CHC (Lilly); 5/24 vs. PHI (Myers)

It has been an offensive night tonight, with baseballs leaving ballparks all over the country.

By the 5^th inning of tonight’s game, Phillies CF Jayson Werth had three home runs and eight RBI tying the franchise record for runs batted in within a single game. Werth has been a decent player to have at the end of your roster, but tonight someone will grab him and start to play him daily. He is ok as an injury replacement, or an occasional play, but I wouldn’t want to have to have him in my lineup daily. Before this explosion he had six homers in 33 games while hitting .272. Not bad, but not great. If you happen to own Werth, I would try to throw his name in some trade talks and see if you can take advantage of this guy’s career night.

Alfonso Soriano is hot, red hot. With his two home runs on Friday, Soriano now has five dingers in his last five games, with 10 RBI during that time. Is this the signal of the end of his season starting slump? The Cubs, and his fantasy owners sure hope so. After going 40/40 in 2006, Soriano took a pretty good sized step back in 2007. He struggled to start the season in 2008, but if this is any indication, Soriano could be back to first round pick production.

The third guy to hit two or more over the wall is the American League RBI leader Josh Hamilton. Hamilton homered in the third and the fourth inning on his way to a 5-5 night as he raised his RBI total to 49. In his second season back from a hiatus from baseball due to drug addictions, it appears that Hamilton is now ready to realize the potential that made him one of the brightest prospects before his lifestyle forced him from the game. He obviously can’t keep this pace up or he will finish with close to 200 ribbies, but he will hit 30 HRs and drive in 120 as long as he stays healthy.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia has been struggling since his recall to the majors, but he did take his first ball out of the park on Friday. Salty is hitting just under .200 and four batted in over ten games. Salty also most likely has catcher eligibility in your league, which makes him a sleeper candidate if the catcher you drafted isn’t living up to expectations. He isn’t playing every day, but if he goes on a little hot streak, Salty will be in the lineup on most occasions.

Dan Uggla is playing out of his mind lately. Uggla hit his seventh homer in his last ten games, and has his average up to .313. Uggla also has 14 RBI over that span. He has never had his average this high, and is due to have a dry spell. Take this opportunity to see if you can land one of the top few options at second base.

After being a fantasy darling in his first two years in the league, Jason Bay fell off the fantasy map in 2007. In 2008, he is trying to regain the form that made him the National League ROY. Bay hit his ninth homer of the year on Friday, and has his average at .271. He still isn’t back to the status that he once held, but Bay is back to being a top 20 outfielder.

Rockies outfielder Matt Holliday missed Friday’s game with some tightness in his back. Manager Clint Hurdle made a point to say that the injury was nothing serious, and he was only out due to precautionary reasons. It is possible that he will miss another game, but this is nothing that will cost him any significant time.

Not all the news concerns the guys with the bats, there were some great pitching performances as well.

Looking for a sleeper closer in the second half of the year, keep an eye on the A’s Joey Devine. Once the closer in waiting for the Braves during John Smoltz reign, Devine is now an important part of Oakland’s bullpen. Devine’s ERA is at a ridiculous 0.55, and he has allowed just one earned run in 14 appearances, striking out 22 batters in just 17 innings. If anything were to happen to Huston Street, Devine should be the next in line given his performance this season.

Johnny Cueto continues to drive his owners crazy with his inconsistency. However, his performance on Friday was a step in the positive direction. Cueto lasted six innings, allowed three runs, and whiffed seven. He didn’t factor in the decision, but continues his good start, bad start routine. Unfortunately for those of you who have Cueto, if he keeps following this pattern, his next time out will be bad.

Francisco Liriano is showing some improvements in AAA ball. Liriano had his longest outing since going down to the minors, when he went eight innings, gave up three runs, walked just one batter and struck out four. He has continued to last longer into games, walk less guys, and give up fewer runs. This doesn’t mean that his return is imminent, but it at least means that he is making progress, and all is not lost with one of the most exciting prospects in recent memory.

Orioles prospect Garrett Olson is off to a 3-0 start to 2008. Olson beat the Nationals giving up three runs over five innings and striking out three. I wouldn’t go running to the waiver wire to grab Olson, but if you have a short term injury, he could be a decent fill-in.

The FIRST PLACE Tampa Bay Rays got another strong performance from young Andy Sonnanstine. Sonnanstine threw eight great innings against the St. Louis Cardinals as he ran his record to 6-1. His record might be a little misleading, seeing that his ERA is 4.67 but he was terrific Friday. Sonnanstine allowed just one run and struck out three against the Cardinals, as the Rays went to eight games over .500. I envision the number of runs that Sonnanstine has been giving up will catch up to his win-loss record, but for now ride the hot hand if you can’t find a taker in a trade.

Marlins’ pitcher Andrew Miller had a shaky outing, but not one of the horrible ones he had been having in the beginning of the season. Miller pitched five innings and allowed four runs (only two were earned), and struck out six. It is a slight step back, but Miller has certainly been pitching better in May than he did in April. He is a decent end of the rotation starter, with the potential to be the second or third best guy on your staff.

As always, your questions (adds, drops, trades) and comments are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours. Don’t forget to check me out at mlbfrontoffice.com on Tuesdays under In The News. Also go to fantasybaseballsearch.com to find me in the Gurus Blog.

Most of the news tonight involves starting pitching, but we do have a segment of unexpected hitters.

For the first time since April 19^th, Andruw Jones hit a home run. I know a lot of us had reservations about Mr. Jones coming into the season because of the way he struggled last year, but I never thought he would fall this far. In 38 games, Jones is hitting just .182 with only seven RBI. He is completely unownable at this point, and shouldn’t be picked up after this either. You can’t touch Jones until he is over the .200 mark and more than five homers.

A surprise in a good way continues to be Nate McLouth. No matter how many times I keep saying that he can’t keep it up, McLouth doesn’t miss a beat. He is still hitting over .300, and he swatted his 11^th homer of the year on Thursday. Not to mention his 33 RBI are among the league leaders. It is now over six weeks into the season, so it can’t be a total shock if McLouth’s production doesn’t take a dive off a cliff, but I still can’t see him hitting 30 long balls either.

One last quick tidbit under the unexpected header. After taking three of four from the New York Yankees, the Tampa Bay Rays continue to be in first place in the AL East at seven games over .500. On the flip side, the Yankees are now two games south of .500 and in last place in the division. I’m sure it won’t continue this way, but it is nice to see some of the bottom feeders having something to get excited about.

Starting Pitching Notes

Speaking of the Yankees, they wanted to give Ian Kennedy another chance after the total disaster that is Kei Igawa. Well, things didn’t go according to plan again for the Bronx Bombers. You knew right away that it wasn’t going to be a good day for Kennedy when he gave up a home run to the first batter he faced, light hitting Akinori Iwamura. It didn’t get much better from there. Kennedy lasted five innings, allowed five runs while striking out three. Continue to not even think of adding Kennedy.

Kennedy’s opponent was the hot hurler Scott Kazmir. Kazmir threw six shutout innings while striking out three. It is a shame that Kazmir seems to be hurt every year. He has the talent to be a top 20 pitcher.

Phillies starter Cole Hamels went the distance on Thursday, as he continues to show that he is a top 15 starter already. Hamels struck out six, and now has 54 in 65 innings. Cole has an ERA under three, and is one of the top pitchers at the age of 24.

Dodgers’ youngster Chad Billingsley continued to turn the awful start he got his season off to around, and picked up his third win of the year on Thursday. This was three of his last four starts that Billingsley allowed just one earned run, and he struck out four. After starting out 0-4, Chad took his record to 3-5 after today’s victory. He certainly is worth strongly considering to add to your lineup right away.

Brewers ace Ben Sheets continues to keep himself healthy, but right now he just isn’t being productive. This was four consecutive starts that Sheets has allowed three runs or more, as his ERA has gone up to 3.25, up from 0.96 before this run of bad starts. While he’s healthy, Sheets is a must start, but like I have been preaching all season, if you can move Sheets, please do so right away.

Indians’ rookie Aaron Laffey is proving that he belongs in the majors every time he takes the mound. For the third consecutive outing, Laffey failed to give up an earned run. Laffey was kind of cast aside after his first start of the year, but he has been lights out since then and certainly belongs on your roster in all league types at this point.

Ryan Dempster seems to be much more effective as a starter rather than a reliever. Dempster is now 5-1 as he has allowed more than three runs only once all season, and set his career high for strikeouts in a game with 12. As a closer, Dempster was a guy that was definitely worth owning, but he always made getting those three outs an adventure. He has proven to be a much more settled pitcher when he is starting the game.

Just when it seemed safe to write Mets’ pitcher Mike Pelfrey into oblivion, he comes out and throws a gem. Pelfrey went 7.2 innings, gave up just one run and fanned four. The Mets’ rewarded their young hurler with absolutely no run support, and he got hung with his fourth loss of the year. I still wouldn’t own Pelfrey on any of my teams. I still need to see some consistency before I would want him pitching for my team.

As always, your questions (adds, drops, trades) and comments are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours. Don’t forget to check me out at mlbfrontoffice.com on Tuesdays under In The News. Also go to fantasybaseballsearch.com to find me in the Gurus Blog.

His fantasy demise was written in the first two weeks of the season, but now C.C. Sabathia is making all of you without patience with their stars pay for your quick hooks. Sabathia threw an absolute gem tonight, a complete game shutout with 11 strikeouts. That is now four of his last five starts that he has allowed one run or less. He is obviously back to the form that won him the AL Cy Young award last year and is a must start every time out. Further proof that fantasy championships aren’t won and lost in the first two weeks.

There were some good expectations that Indians’ 1B Ryan Garko would develop into an everyday force at the plate in ’08. Unfortunately that hasn’t been the case so far this season. However, Garko has now homered in two consecutive games after his bomb on Wednesday, and could be a sign that he is back on track and could be a good fantasy performer this year. Keep an eye on him over the weekend and see if this trend continues.

Last night we wrote about Edwin Jackson teasing fantasy owners into false hope that he could remain consistent. Tonight’s teaser is Danny Cabrera. I have to admit, even I am falling for the tease a little this time. After going the distance in his last start, Cabrera threw seven strong innings, allowing just one run and whiffing three. Most impressive is that Cabrera has only walked one batter in his last two starts combined. I’m not ready to say add him yet, but he is 4-1 with an ERA under 4. One more good start, and perhaps I might be willing to change my mind.

Another pitcher in Baltimore is having an incredible season. Closer George Sherrill is second in the majors after picking up his 15^th save on Wednesday. If you read my position rankings in the beginning of the year, I did like Sherrill as an option at closer, but my reasoning for selling him high has more to do with his team than his talent. The Orioles are currently two games over .500, thus giving Sherrill a good number of save chances. I really expect the O’s to go in the crapper anytime now, they aren’t this good and therefore Sherrill’s chances will be fewer and farther between in the future. Now’s the time to see if you can turn him into a more reliable fantasy closer on a team that wins some games.

Is it truly possible, has Mike Mussina won five consecutive starts? One of my favorite targets, Mussina has been pitching great in ’08. Mussina hasn’t given up more than three runs since April 17^th, and shockingly has turned himself into a serviceable starter. I plead with you to try to package him in some sort of trade if you own him, there’s got to be a Yankee fan in your league who is buying into this. I can’t believe this will continue.

Royals rookie Luke Hochevar is now starting to look like he belongs. In his five starts he has given up two runs or less in three of them, and has now run his record to 3-2 after six shutout innings on Wednesday with five strikeouts. He is fanning batters at a little better rate than was expected (24 in 28 IP), and looks like he will be in KC to stay.

Another rookie, Manny Parra of Milwaukee, finally threw a pretty good game. Parra had his longest outing of the year (6.2 innings) and gave up just one earned run. The bullpen blew the lead for him so it didn’t lead to a win, but perhaps this could be the first step towards him regaining the form that made him a highly sought after player in the Spring. Do not add him yet, but keep an eye on his next couple starts.

Phillies starter Brett Myers continues to struggle with consistency. Myers had another horrible outing, two starts after throwing a gem. Myers couldn’t get out of the fifth inning and gave up six runs. I don’t suggest dropping him outright, but I would gauge interest around the league in him and take the best offer you can get right now. Not tonight since he just got bombed, but over the weekend, see if you can get anyone to give you something for Myers. His name alone might make it possible to get something for him.

A possible sell high candidate is the Red Sox 3B Mike Lowell. With a homer on Wednesday, Lowell now has four in the past ten games, while his average sits at .273. Lowell had a career year in 2007, and with this hot streak in 2008, you might be able to get a good deal of value for Lowell from someone in your league.

Another miracle from off the scrap heap seems to be happening in St. Louis. Somehow, pitching coach Dave Duncan has made Todd Wellemeyer into a better than average fantasy starter. Wellemeyer raised his record to 4-1 on Wednesday, with seven innings of two-hit, one-run ball. Wellemeyer has been so much more than you could have hoped for, and while he continues to pitch like this, keep him on your active roster.

Nats 3B Ryan Zimmerman may be heating up again. He homered for the second consecutive day, and fantasy owners are hoping that this is the start of something much, much bigger. Now, I wouldn’t expect 35 homers from Zim, but his average should be near .300, and I would look for 25-28 HRs by the end of the year.

With a grand slam in the 8^th inning, Carlos Quentin continues to lead the American League in home runs. Quentin is quickly turning into one of the biggest bargains from Draft Day, as he was most likely selected at the very end of your draft, if he was picked at all. He was always a good prospect for the D-Backs, so this has a very good chance of lasting all season.

Although he had an injured ankle, which may have been responsible for his inconsistency, Micah Owings looks like he is back on track. Owings threw six shutout innings while striking out five. Perhaps more surprising than his good start, Owings was actually 0-3 at the plate dropping his average to .370! Owings is a good option in all leagues, and at age 25 looks like he is ready to put it all together for Arizona.

Even when he pitches well, Justin Verlander can’t get a win. In one of his best starts of the year, Verlander pitched six innings, allowed just two earned runs and struck out just three. Verlander fell to 1-7 and is one of the biggest disappointments in fantasy in 2008. This is not a guy you drop, however, just keep throwing him out there and hope that he figures it out. He is way too talented to be doing this bad.

John Lackey made his return from the DL on Wednesday, and the results were as good as you could have hoped for. Lackey lasted seven innings in his first start of the year, allowed just one earned run and whiffed four. If someone had a brain failure and dropped Lackey, go get him right away, but I seriously doubt that happened. Lackey is one of the more underrated pitchers in fantasy baseball, and hopefully he is fully recovered from his injury.

Boston rookie Clay Buchholz landed on the DL with a broken fingernail. The Sox will most likely call up Justin Masterson to take Buchholz spot in the rotation, so give him a look if you need a replacement for Clay. This doesn’t sound like an injury that should cost him more than the 15 days that are required when going to the disabled list, so just transfer Buchholz to your injury spot.

As always, your questions (adds, drops, trades) and comments are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours. Don’t forget to check me out at mlbfrontoffice.com on Tuesdays under In The News. Also go to fantasybaseballsearch.com to find me in the Gurus Blog.