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.

More technical difficulties uploading pictures.

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)

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.

Tonight was another one of those games where Rays’ pitcher Edwin Jackson teases fantasy players, but I come with a warning, he will only break your heart. Jackson threw seven shutout innings and struck out five, which means he will be added in leagues all over fantasy. Next time out he will give up five runs, and then three runs, and then six runs, and then he will throw a shutout. I certainly don’t endorse picking up Jackson, but he seems to be a guy that owners can’t seem to leave alone.

Edinson Volquez is officially a stud. After another spectacular outing, Volquez raised his record to 6-1 with a 1.12 ERA. Volquez went six, gave up just one run and fanned five. There’s not much left to say about this guy, besides he’s awesome and if you don’t have him, it is too late to try to get him.

Braves rookie Jo-Jo Reyes pitched again tonight after it looked like he would miss a start with a blister-like problem. However, perhaps he should have been skipped in the rotation. Reyes lasted 6.2 innings and gave up five earned runs. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out five, which are nice stats, but this outing has to be deemed a disappointment.

Somehow lifelong reliever Justin Duchscherer has turned himself into a pretty good starter. For the fifth consecutive start Duchscherer gave up two runs or less, and his ERA is just 2.20 ERA. He is even getting a pretty good number of strikeouts (24 Ks in 28 IP). If you have someone underperforming or an injury, Justin looks to be an excellent replacement, but I would be cautious to expect him to be a great fantasy pitcher all year.

Felix Hernandez continues to struggle in 2008. King Felix had an ok outing, but his record fell to 2-4. He went six innings, gave up only two runs and struck out only three while walking five. This is four straight less than effective starts for Hernandez, and perhaps the Felix owner in your league is ripe for a buy low situation. He should start to be very effective in the very near future, so see what you can do to get Felix.

Since he has been one of the most asked about pitchers this year, Fighting Chance has been tracking Zach Greinke all year long. He did not factor in the decision on Tuesday, but Greinke lasted six innings, gave up only two runs and struck out only two. Greinke continues to be impressive as his ERA sits at just 1.93. I have been tabbing Greinke as one of the best sell high candidates for 2008, as you can’t expect him to continue this production.

Paul Byrd is another pitcher that continues to tease fantasy players. Byrd has always struggled to be consistent, and 2008 is no exception. It was another great start Tuesday as he threw seven shutout innings and struck out seven. Do me a favor, stay away from adding Paul Byrd to your roster.

John Maine has been flying under the radar all year, and tonight was yet another start that he gave up two runs or less. In fact, ever since his first start, Maine has not allowed three runs. On Tuesday, Maine went six innings gave up just one earned run and whiffed five. Continue to start Maine, or if you don’t have him, see if you can get him cheap because the lack of name factor.

Twins pitcher Kevin Slowey continued his rocky return from the DL. On Tuesday, Slowey lasted 5.2 innings, gave up just three earned runs and struck out five. This has been much better than his last few starts, although his record fell to 0-3. He has been struggling to go deep into games and keep the runs down, so wait until Slowey puts together a few decent starts before adding him.

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.

Not a full slate of games tonight, so this is going to be a quick Beyond the Boxscore tonight, quick hitters all around.

Pirates starter Zach Duke has actually thrown a few good outings in a row, after six shutout innings on Monday. However, repeat after me…..I will not pick up Zach Duke on my fantasy team, even if I currently own Barry Zito. Say that five times, and you should be safe. Duke had a great second half in his rookie year, and has been basically useless since.

Tim Hudson is putting together another consistent season. After his win Monday, Hudson now sits at 6-2 with a nice 2.54 ERA. Huddy still doesn’t strikeout enough hitters to be considered one of the elite (35 Ks in 56 IP), but he is quietly gotten himself back to a top 20 pitcher.

There were some questions coming into 2008 as to if Fausto Carmona could repeat his 2007 performance. Through the first two weeks in May, the answer is yes. Carmona threw a complete game shutout Monday and improved his record to 4-1. Like Hudson, Carmona isn’t a big strikeout pitcher, in fact he has walked twice as many as he has fanned. However, at just 24 years old he is one of the more desirable pitchers in keeper leagues.

The Indians had a doubleheader and their bullpen threw one inning. After Carmona went all the way, Cliff Lee threw nine shutout innings in a ten-inning game against Toronto. Lee was amazing again, as he struck out five and lowered his ERA to a miniscule 0.67. I still say sell high on Lee, but I now suggest to shoot higher for a trade request.

A huge “buy low” candidate is the Reds’ “ace” Aaron Harang. Somehow, Harang has a 3.32 ERA….and is 2-5. Harang has been one of the more consistent pitchers in the majors for the past few years, but has been lost from the media eye in Cincinnati. His ERA is usually in the high 3s, and has won 16 games while striking out over 200 for two consecutive seasons. See if the price tag is low for Harang in your league, he should have a good rest of the season.

We spoke recently about Jeremy Hermida starting to breakout. It isn’t just Hanley Ramirez and Dan Uggla powering the Marlins to the best record in the majors. Hermida is now batting near .310 with four homers and 19 RBI. Hermida always had a world of talent, but couldn’t stay healthy. Is he finally putting it all together? It appears so.

The Rays’ improbable season continued Monday thanks in large part to the seven shutout innings thrown by Matt Garza. Garza is now 2-0 since he returned from the DL, with a 3.86 ERA. He was always one of the top pitching prospects in the Twins’ organization before his trade for Delmon Young, so this could be for real that Garza could win his fair share of games for the suddenly potent Rays.

The time to buy low on Ryan Braun has now officially past. After two home runs on Sunday, Braun followed that up with two more on Monday and now has nine on the year. Another point to prove Braun’s heat is he hasn’t struck out in five consecutive games. He now should be on track to repeat last year’s statistics.

Mariners’ rookie Wladimir Balentien isn’t getting a ton of hits, but he is making the hits he does get count. Balentien hit his fourth homer of the year tonight, although his average is just .244. As with most young players, they will take you on a roller coaster of emotions and it appears Balentien will be no different. He still has plenty of pop in his bat, but will struggle with his consistency.

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

Erik Bedard, SEA - 5/12 vs. TEX (Padilla), 5/18 vs. SD (Estes)

Tim Hudson, ATL - 5/12 vs. PIT, 5/17 (Van Benschoten) vs. OAK (Harden)

Chien-Ming Wang, NYY - 5/12 vs. TB (Jackson), 5/17 vs. NYM (Maine)

Cliff Lee, CLE - 5/12 vs. TOR (Marcum), 5/17 vs. CIN (Harang)

Adam Wainwright, STL - 5/12 vs. MIL (Bush), 5/17 vs. TB (Garza)

Aaron Harang, CIN - 5/12 vs. FLA (Badenhop), 5/17 vs. CLE (Lee)

Gotta Play ‘Em

Roy Oswalt, HOU - 5/12 vs. SF (Zito), 5/17 vs. TEX (Padilla)

Zack Greinke, KC - 5/13 vs. DET (Robertson), 5/18 vs. FLA (Hendrickson)

Brad Penny, LAD - 5/13 vs. MIL (Villanueva), 5/18 vs. LAA (Weaver)

Shaun Marcum, TOR - 5/12 vs. CLE (Lee), 5/17 vs. PHI (Kendrick)

John Maine, NYM - 5/13 vs. WAS (Lannan), 5/18 vs. NYY (Wang)

Matt Cain, SF - 5/13 vs. HOU (Backe), 5/18 vs. CWS (Danks)

Clay Buchholz, BOS - 5/12 vs MIN (Hernandez), 5/18 vs. MIL (Villanueva)

Jered Weaver, LAA - 5/13 vs. CWS (Danks), 5/18 vs. LAD (Penny)

Worthwhile For Two Starts

Mark Buehrle, CWS - 5/12 vs. LAA (Adenhart), 5/17 vs. SF (Zito)

Randy Wolf, SD - 5/12 vs. CHC (Zambrano), 5/17 vs. SEA (Batista)

Jeff Francis, COL - 5/13 vs. ARI (Johnson), 5/18 vs. MIN (Slowey)

John Danks, CWS - 5/13 vs. LAA (Weaver), 5/18 vs. SF (Cain)

Mark Hendrickson, FLA - 5/13 vs. CIN (Volquez), 5/18 vs. KC (Greinke)

Livan Hernandez, MIN - 5/12 vs. BOS (Buchholz), 5/17 vs. COL (Reynolds)

Kyle Lohse - STL - 5/13 vs. PIT (Maholm), 5/18 vs. TB (Jackson)

Vincente Padilla, TEX - 5/12 vs. SEA (Bedard), 5/18 vs. HOU (Oswalt)

Justin Duchscherer, OAK - 5/13 vs. CLE (Byrd), 5/18 vs. ATL (Jurrjens)

Matt Garza, TB - 5/12 vs. NYY (Pettitte), 5/17 vs. STL (Wainwright)

Getting Desperate

John Lannan, WAS - 5/13 vs. NYM (Maine), 5/18 vs. BAL (Burres)

Barry Zito, SF - 5/12 vs. HOU (Oswalt), 5/17 vs. CWS (Buehrle)

Edwin Jackson, TB - 5/13 vs. NYY (Wang), 5/18 vs. STL (Lohse)

Carlos Villanueva, MIL - 5/13 vs. LAD (Penny), 5/18 vs. BOS (Buchholz)

Kevin Slowey, MIN - 5/13 vs. TOR (Litsch), 5/18 vs. COL (Francis)

Odalis Perez, WAS - 5/12 vs. NYM (Figueroa), 5/17 vs. BAL (Olson)

Kyle Kendrick, PHI - 5/13 vs. ATL (Reyes), 5/18 vs. TOR (Marcum)

Paul Maholm, PIT - 5/13 vs. STL (Lohse), 5/18 vs. CHC (Marquis)

Jason Marquis, CHC - 5/13 vs. SD (Estes), 5/18 vs. PIT (Maholm)

Brandon Backe, HOU - 5/13 vs. SF (Cain), 5/18 vs. TEX (Gabbard)

Dave Bush, MIL - 5/12 vs. STL (Wainwright), 5/17 vs. BOS (Gabbard)

Burke Badenhop, FLA - 5/12 vs. CIN (Harang), 5/17 vs. KC (Bannister)

      Shawn Estes, SD – 5/12 vs. CHC (Marquis), 5/17 vs. SEA (Bedard)

      Kason Gabbard, TEX – 5/12 vs. SEA (Hernandez), 5/17 vs. HOU (Backe)

      Zach Duke, PIT – 5/12 vs. ATL (Jurrjens), 5/17 vs. CHC (Zambrano)

      Jason Marquis, CHC – 5/12 vs. SD (Estes), 5/17 vs. PIT (Maholm)

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.

I want to start tonight by wishing a very Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out there, especially my wonderful mother who has meant so much to my life. And also to my wife, who will be a mother for the second time at any minute. We all owe so much to these women, make sure they know what they mean to you. I know fantasy baseball doesn’t lend itself to too many mothers reading this (although I know of two for sure), but it is something that is important to me.

Reds’ rookie Johnny Cueto is taking a turn for the worse. After electrifying his opponents in Spring Training in the beginning of the season, Cueto has lost four of his last five decisions. Cueto allowed another six runs on Sunday against the Mets, failing to get through the fifth inning. I still wouldn’t advise dropping him, but he has got to be on serious watch if he continues to pitch this way.

Closers in the National League Central are dropping like flies. A day after Jason Isringhausen was removed as Cardinals closer, Eric Gagne was finally removed as the closer of the Brewers. Milwaukee announced that they would employ the dreaded “closer by committee” and the first opportunity went to Salomon Torres, but he had to be removed in the ninth inning before the save went to Bob Shouse. This situation is a mess, and it is hard to say who will be getting saves for the Brewers. More information will come IF it becomes available.

People are always very torn on their opinion on the Mets’ Oliver Perez on how he should be valued. Those who argue against Perez see him as a guy who can’t keep his concentration, walks too many batters, and is prone to the big inning. Those, like me, who like Perez see his electric arm, strikeout rate, home park he pitches in, and offensive ability of the team he plays for, and says if he gets a few breaks he could win 18 games. Today Perez was that good pitcher, and the Mets were that offensive team. Perez went six innings, allowed three runs, and struck out eight to improve his record to 3-3. I can’t really argue against his negatives, but I believe he will be good more often than he will be bad.

Rich Harden made his much anticipated return to the mound Sunday, but he did not come through for those who have been so patient with him. Harden could only get through 3.2 innings and allowed five runs. I wouldn’t advise go sending Harden to the waiver wire, not yet at least. As long as he is healthy, keep Harden on your roster, at least until he gets hurt again. He is an immensely talented guy, he just can’t stay on the mound. If you have been this patient, wait until he starts again.

To replace the struggling Rich Hill, the Cubs called up Sean Gallagher, and let’s just say, Rich Hill could have done that! Gallagher only lasted 4.1 innings, gave up four runs, and struck out six. I would want to see at least one quality start before I thought about adding Gallagher to my roster.

Ervin Santana has been nearly perfect all season long, and we here at Fighting Chance have just been waiting for him to falter. And boy did he falter. Santana gave up five runs in 5.2 innings, but didn’t figure in the decision. While I believe that Santana will have a pretty good season, trust me, this isn’t the last time that we will see a terrible outing like Sunday. To me, he is one of the biggest sell high candidates of 2008.

“Mr. Almost A No Hitter” Gavin Floyd did not get so close to the no hitter on Sunday. In fact, Floyd didn’t even see the fifth inning today. He allowed five runs over 3.2 innings and didn’t record a strikeout. Floyd has been a good story this year, but he is still wildly inconsistent. No runs here, five runs there, no runs again, three runs over there. At the bottom of your rotation, he’s not a bad guy to have, but he is just too up and down for me to advise depending on him too much.

The Angels finally placed Chone Figgins on the disabled list with his strained hamstring. The move was retroactive to May 4^th (the day after the last time he played),which means he is eligible to return on May 19^th. The Angels are hopeful that he will be able to return on that day.

Francisco Liriano has been better in the minors, but still has a long road in his return to the majors.  On Saturday he allowed just two runs over six innings with five strikeouts.  This isn’t going to be a quick fix for Liriano, but this is at least encouraging for those of us who are holding on to him while he is in the minors.

Royals starter Brian Bannister came into 2008 with a lot of expectations on him, and up to this point he has been a mild disappointment. On Sunday, he showed what he is capable of. Bannister went eight shutout innings while striking out five. He was viewed as one of the big sleepers coming into the year, but he is looking like he will be slightly more than a .500 pitcher.

Impressive Performances

Ryan Braun is starting to look like the guy who won the 2007 NL ROY. Braun hit homers number six and seven on Sunday, and now has his batting average up to .281. He is not stealing bases like he did last year (he has only one), but if you can get the power numbers he put up last year, you still would have to be happy with his production.

After hitting two more homers on Sunday, Marlins 2B Dan Uggla now has seven homers in his last nine games. He also has 14 RBI during that stretch and has raised his average by over 30 points.

Another Marlin, Jeremy Hermida could possibly be on a hot streak that has been projected of him for years. Hermida has seven hits in his last five games to get his average over .300. He also hit his third homer of the year, and perhaps if he can stay on the field he can start to realize the potential that he has. A couple more good games, and you should hit the waiver wire for him.

A whopping disappointment, Carlos Beltran, had a game that could possibly get him out of the season long slump he has been in. Beltran had two hits, including his third homer, and raised his season average to .240. You probably spent a pretty high draft pick on Beltran, and you have to be hoping that this is the game that he starts to turn it around.

Rays OF Carl Crawford had himself a great Sunday. Crawford had three hits, including his third homer and also stole two bases (his 11^th and 12^th of the year). You most likely spent either a first round or early second round pick on Crawford, and theses are the kind of games you have been waiting for. Crawford has been decently consistent, but you’ve got to be hoping for a little more.

Finally, I got some gas today and I am appalled at the $3.85/gallon price that I paid. I’m not going to get into my political views, as this is not the place, but it is insane the amount that gas has gone up in the past 6-8 weeks. So, my question is, I want to know for those who read this and care to answer, where are you from and what is the gas price in your area?

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

Carlos Zambrano, CHC - 5/11 vs. ARI (Johnson), 5/16 vs. PIT (Duke)

Ervin Santana, LAA - 5/11 vs. TB (Sonnanstine), 5/17 vs. LAD (Kuroda)

Gotta Play ‘Em

Scott Olsen, FLA - 5/11 vs. WAS (Hill), 5/16 vs. KC (Tomko)

A.J. Burnett, TOR - 5/11 vs. CLE (Carmona) , 5/16 vs. PHI (Moyer)

Gavin Floyd, CWS - 5/11 vs. SEA (Batista), 5/16 vs. SF (Sanchez)

Andy Pettitte, NYY - 5/11 vs. DET (Robertson), 5/16 vs. NYM (O. Perez)

Jair Jurrjens, ATL - 5/11 vs. PIT (Duke), 5/16 vs. OAK (Eveland)

Oliver Perez, NYM - 5/11 vs. CIN (Cueto), 5/16 vs. NYY (Pettitte)

Fausto Carmona, CLE - 5/11 vs. TOR (Burnett), 5/16 vs. CIN (Arroyo)

Chris Young, SD - 5/11 vs. COL (Reynolds) , 5/16 vs. SEA (Washburn)

Johnny Cueto, CIN - 5/11 vs. NYM (O. Perez), 5/16 vs. CLE (C. Lee)

Worthwhile For Two Starts

Rich Harden, OAK - 5/11 vs. TEX (Ponson), 5/17 vs. ATL (Hudson)

Brian Bannister, KC - 5/11 vs. BAL (Burres), 5/17 vs. FLA (Badenhop)

Jonathan Sanchez, SF - 5/11 vs. PHI (Eaton), 5/16 vs. CHW (Floyd)

Randy Johnson,ARI - 5/11 vs. CHC (Zambrano), 5/17 vs. DET (Robertson)

Hiroki Kuroda, LAD - 5/11 vs. HOU (Chacon), 5/17 vs LAA (Santana)

Matt Garza, TB – 5/12 vs. NYY (Wang), 5/18 vs. STL (Wainwright)

Andy Sonnanstine, TB - 5/11 vs. LAA (Santana), 5/16 vs. STL (Looper)

Getting Desperate

Zach Duke, PIT - 5/11 vs. ATL (Jurrjens), 5/16 vs. CHC (Zambrano)

Shawn Hill, WAS - 5/11 vs. FLA (Olsen), 5/16 vs. BAL (Trachsel)

Braden Looper, STL - 5/11 vs. MIL (Suppan), 5/16 vs. TB (Sonnanstine)

Tim Wakefield, BOS - 5/11 vs. MIN (Blackburn), 5/17 vs. MIL (Bush)

Nate Robertson, DET - 5/11 vs. NYY (Pettitte), 5/17 vs. ARI (Johnson)

Greg Reynolds, COL - 5/11 vs. SD (Young), 5/17 vs. MIN (Hernandez)

Sidney Ponson, TEX - 5/11 vs. OAK (Harden), 5/17 vs. HOU (Oswalt)

Nick Blackburn, MIN - 5/11 vs. BOS (Wakefield), 5/16 vs. COL (Jiminez)

Shawn Chacon, HOU - 5/11 vs. LAD (Kuroda), 5/16 vs. TEX (Millwood)

Jeff Suppan, MIL - 5/11 vs. STL (Looper), 5/16 vs. BOS (Matsusaka)

Adam Eaton, PHI - 5/11 vs. SF (Sanchez), 5/17 vs. TOR (Marcum)

Miguel Batista, SEA - 5/11 vs. CWS (Floyd), 5/17 vs. SD (Wolf)

Nick Adenhart, LAA – 5/12 vs. CWS (Buehrle), 5/18 vs. LAD (Loiaza)

Phil Dumatrait, PIT – 5/12 vs. ATL (Hudson), 5/18 vs. CHC (Marquis)

Burke Badenhop, FLA – 5/12 vs. CIN (Harang), 5/18 vs. (Bannister)

Dave Bush, MIL –5/12 vs. STL (Wainwright), 5/18 vs. BOS (Wakefield)

Odalis Perez, WAS – 5/12 vs. NYM (Figueroa), 5/18 vs. BAL (Olson)

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