The Treatment room
Rickie Weeks
Brewers activated 2B Rickie Weeks from the 15-day
disabled list. Weeks will take over the second base
spot; for the time being, it appears that Weeks will
not be slotted in to his usual leadoff spot, as
fill-in Corey Hart has been hitting very well.
Jim Edmonds
Cardinals placed OF Jim Edmonds on the 15-day disabled
list, retroactive to June 16, with a pinched nerve in
his lower back. So Taguchi has been filling the center
field void.
Curt Schilling
Red Sox placed RHP Curt Schilling on the 15-day
disabled list, retroactive to June 19, with right
shoulder tendinitis. In a way it’s a relief to
discover that Schilling is hurt, as now we have an
explanation for his last two poor starts.
Brad Lidge
Astros placed RHP Brad Lidge on the 15-day disabled
list, retroactive to June 16, with a strained left
oblique. Dan Wheeler will close while Lidge spends at
least the next two weeks recovering from the pull
sustained last week.
Mike Sweeney
Royals placed DH Mike Sweeney on the DL retroactive to
June 18th, with a sore right knee. Billy Butler is
replacing him on the roster and figures to see time at
first base and DH. Sweeney is certainly not earning
his $11 million salary, batting just .245 for the
season.
A.J. Burnett
Blue Jays placed RHP A.J. Burnett on the 15-day
disabled list, retroactive to June 12, with a sore
right shoulder. Burnett appears to be on track to
return Thursday the 28th against the Twins.
Rich Harden
Athletics activated RHP Rich Harden from the 15-day
disabled list. The A’s will get Harden regular work in
the pen with an eye towards putting him in the
rotation next month. There’s a chance that he’ll stay
in the pen and take over the closer’s role at some
point, but it probably won’t come to that.
Ramon Hernandez
Orioles activated C Ramon Hernandez from the 15-day
disabled list. Hernandez missed the minimum 15 days
with a groin contusion. Ramon’s return will help to
ease Tejada’s injury.
Kenny Rogers
Tigers activated LHP Kenny Rogers from the 60-day
disabled list. This move came a little earlier than
expected, but Rogers proved he was ready in his first
start back going six shutout innings with five
strikeouts.
Scott Podsednik
White Sox activated outfielder Scott Podsednik from
the 15-day disabled list. With Darin Erstad injured
again, Podsednik will be the regular leadoff man for
at least a couple of weeks.
Mike Jacobs
Marlins activated first baseman Mike Jacobs from the
15-day disabled list. Jacobs ended up missing five
weeks with a fractured right thumb. He’s returning as
the Marlins’ regular first baseman, but Aaron Boone
will get the occasional start over him against
lefties.
Jon Lieber
Phillies placed RHP Jon Lieber on the 15-day disabled
list, retroactive to June 21, with a ruptured tendon
in his right foot. Lieber won’t be back before
September if he returns at all. The Phillies still
have no plans to put Brett Myers back into the
rotation, so they need to trade for a starting
pitcher.
Transactions
Angels call up Kendy Morales from AAA
Angels recalled 1B Kendry Morales from Triple-A Salt
Lake. Morales is 4-for-16 with a homer in two stints
with the Angels this season. He probably won’t be up
for long.
Royals sign John Thompson
Royals signed RHP John Thomson to a one-year contract.
It might have been better for his fantasy value had
Thomson found his way back to the NL, but at least
this gives him a rotation spot right away.
Yankees call up Kei Igawa
Yankees recalled LHP Kei Igawa from Triple-A
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. In his returning start against
the Giants, Igawa went 4.2 innings while striking out
5.
Pirates claim Josh Phelps off waivers
Phelps will likely serve as a pinch-hitter and
occasional first baseman against lefties. He can also
play catcher which makes him especially attractive to
the Pirates, who like to use Ryan Doumit at other
positions.
Devil Rays move Elijah Dukes to AAA
Devil Rays optioned outfielder Elijah Dukes to
Triple-A Durham and placed him on the temporary
inactive list. Dustan Mohr is replacing him and will
claim a bench spot. It appears that Dukes will be
taking some time off, perhaps until the Rays can trade
him. He was hitting .190/.318/.391 in 184 at-bats for
Tampa Bay.
Padres acquire catcher Michael Barrett from the Cubs
for catcher Rob Bowen and outfielder Kyler Burke.
This is a terrible move fantasy-wise for everyone;
Barrett and Bard will now have to share playing time
and Barrett’s replacements in Chicago are only
rosterable in NL-only leagues. Barrett has had a
disappointing year, batting just 251 with 30 RBI. The
outfielder the Cubs acquired is a mid to high-level
prospect that is a long way away from the majors.
WHO’s Hot & Who’s Not
HOT
Corey Hart - Since moving to the leadoff spot vacated
by an injured Rickie Weeks, Hart has been hitting very
well. Last week he batted .423 with 3 HR, 7 RBI and 11
runs scored. Hart also has 14 steals for the season
and is turning into a very good fantasy outfielder.
Carlos Guillen- The Tigers had a very successful
interleague stretch, going 14-4, and Carlos Guillen’s
hot streak was one of the main reasons. Guillen
obviously likes facing NL pitchers. as last week he
hit .476 with 3 HR and 11 RBI.
Alfonso Soriano- While the steals might not be there
yet, Soriano is back on pace to have another huge
power year. He clubbed four last week, one against the
Rangers and one in each game against the White Sox.
Soriano also hit for average and scored runs last
week, batting .480 while scoring six runs. Soriano’s
season batting average now stands at a pleasantly
suprising .310.
NOT
Andruw Jones- Can somebody tell Andruw Jones that in
contract years, players are meant to have career highs
in every stat imaginable? The only stat Jones is on
pace for a career high in is strikeouts. After another
terrible week at the plate (1 hit, 0 runs, 0 RBI)
Jones is now batting under the Mendoza line.
Julio Lugo- Lugo was finally moved from leadoff to 8th
last week but the move didn’t do any good for his bat.
Lugo had no hits, no runs, and no stolen bases last
week. I wouldn’t
be surprised to see Alex Cora get some more playing
time at short.
Jason Kendall- With the announcement that Piazza might
catch some games in the future, you would have
expected Jason Kendall to pick his performance up.
Instead he continued his terrible year and had another
bad week. Kendall had just two hits and scored only
one run last week.
The Week Ahead – Who to pick up and Who to avoid
PICK UP
White Sox- The White Sox play seven games this week
which is always a plus. Another plus is that they play
the seven games against the Royals and the D-Rays. The
D-Rays have the worst team ERA over the last 30 days,
and the Royals have the fifth-worst. This might
finally be the week when the White Sox offense picks
it up.
Boston Red Sox – The Red Sox face one of the easiest
pitching weeks in the history of baseball. They start
the week in Seattle, where they face perennial Cy
Young candidates Jeff Weaver and Ryan Feierabend. The
Sox then come home to face the Ranger trio of Robinson
Tejeda, Kameron Loe and Vicente Padilla.
AVOID
Seattle Mariners- The Mariners, fresh off a Griffey
reunion party, start the week off against the Red Sox
who are the best team in baseball and do not look like
they are ever going to cool down. They then face the
Blue Jays who are playing some very good baseball and
are back to .500. Over the last thirty days, the
Mariners offense has struck out the most in the majors
and their staff has a WHIP of 1.27.