Perry could
be the guy shipped out of town if Vinny Castilla is activated today. Bad news for him, but
I'm hoping you weren't leaning too heavily on his bat anyway. At least he actually made it
through an entire tour in the big leagues without getting hurt which is a personal best
for him. - lblasi
Jefferies,Gregg
DH
Det
04-11
The Tigers
are threatening to give Jeffries some time at 2B, which might actually make him a viable
option as a fantasy player. Check your league's eligibility rules and keep an eye on the
situation. - lblasi
Angels
T
Ana
04-11
Benji Gill
will be the Angels regular shortstop until Gary DiSarcina returns from his thumb injury.
As if the Angels haven't suffered enough...Not much to recommend here, but if you need
ABs, at least he'll provide some. If he hits a homer or two (hey even a blind pig finds an
acorn everyonce in a while) maybe you can pawn him off on somebody. - lblasi
DiFelice,Mike
C
TB
04-11
Ray's manager
Larry Rothchild says his intentions are to work DiFelice into the lineup one or two days
per week this year. That's good news for the DeFelice family for sure, but just how
desparate or you for a catcher? Hopefully not this desparate. - lblasi
Castilla,Vinny
3B
TB
04-11
The buzz is
that Vinny will be activated for today's game with the White Sox. He's missed three weeks
with a rib cage pull. He'll bat sixth and says he's ready. If you have daily activations,
get him in. - lblasi
Schoeneweis,Scott
P
Ana
04-11
A very, very
nice outing for Schoeneweis last night as he tossed a 3-hit shutout at the Jays (a team
that can hit, mind you). He threw 59 strikes in 104 pitches and he kept 19 of the 22 balls
put in play on the ground. The latter is the key stat in this one. Very impressive. The
26-year old soph is 2-0 this year with a 3.00 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. He's walked 4 and
struck out 8. He has induced 29 groud ball outs against 6 flyball outs in his two starts
this year and that's been the biggest factor in his success. Last year his split was
55/37. Is this a breakout? That's hard to tell. He worked in relief last year and he may
be better suited to start. He has 4 pitches and tops out a 92 MPH or so. It's hard to
argue with what we've seen so far. In line with my "day trading" theory on
starters, this guy is the buy of the week. Even in deep leagues he's probably available
and you have to roll the dice to see if he's for real, and how long he'll be for real.
Take a shot and ride it out. You can always cut him next week. As long as he keeps the
ball on the ground at the rate he has been, he'll be successful. - lblasi
Grissom,Marquis
OF
Mil
04-11
Grissom
returned to the Brewers' lineup last night, batted lead off, went 1- for -2 with a double
and drew a walk. - lblasi
Sanchez,Rey
SS
KC
04-11
Sanchez's day
off yesterday was a rest day. There's no problem, expect him back today. - lblasi
Halama,John
P
Sea
04-11
Halama will
work out of the pen as the Mariners start their road trip in Detroit today. The team will
only use their 5th starter slot 3 times this month, the next time will be April 15th, so
Halama will bide his time in the bullpen for a day or two. - lblasi
Thompson,Justin
P
Tex
04-11
Thompson
threw 6 innings in an extended Spring Training game yesterday. He threw 71 pitches and
allowed 2 unearned runs. He's scheduled to make a Class A start on Saturday and is still
on course for a mid-May return - lblasi
Catalanotto,Frank
2B
Tex
04-11
All spring
I've been telling you not to forget Catalanotto when handicapping the Rangers' third base
situation. There was more evidence that Frank is forcing the issue on Sunday when the
Rangers used him at 2B and Luis Alicea at third. I'm not sure why this makes more sense
that Alicea at second and Catalanotto at third, but who's complaining? The best thing
about him is that he already qualifies at second in most leagues. He could very well win
this war for those ABs, at least one way or another. He's a must have on your reserve list
if he's available. - lblasi
Batista,Tony
3B
Tor
04-11
Batista has
rarely been anything but hot or cold in his career, and as of today, he's cold. Tony is
0-for his last 11 with six of those ABs being stikeouts. He'll be glad to see the Rangers
in his rearview mirror as they seemed to have his number. He says he's trying to do to
much. His selectivity at the plate tends to ebb and flow. You just have to ride him out
for now, it could turn on a dime. - lblasi
Gomes,Wayne
RP
Phi
04-11
Gomes (RP)
earned his second save yesterday but he may also have earned the designation of
"co-closer." After the game, Phillies manager Terry Francona spoke in glowing
terms about Gomes and also referred to injured closer Mike Jackson. According to
PhillyBurbs.com, Francona said: "...when Jackson gets back, you'll have two guys you
can count on." - thunt
Pirates
T
Pit
04-11
The Pirates
have reason to expect good things to happen when the Expos come to town. Over the past
four seasons, the Pirates are 14-6 against Montreal at home. Last year Brian Giles (OF)
batted .364 against the Expos with two homers and 11 RBI. Kevin Young batted .368 with 12
RBI. Jason Kendall (C) is a lifetime .368 hitter against Montreal. The Pirates host
Montreal for a three-game series beginning tonight. - thunt
Ward,Daryle
OF
Hou
04-11
Ward (OF)
batted cleanup yesterday and mashed two pitches for his second and third homers of the
season. He was 2-for 4 with three RBI. He's now batting .308. - thunt
Griffey
Jr.,Ken
OF
Cin
04-11
Griffey's
(OF) starting to play like his old self. Yesterday he hit his second homer of the season,
the 400th of his career on his father's 50th birthday. Junior, now 30, is the youngest
player in baseball history to reach the 400-homer mark, beating former record holder
Jimmie Foxx by about 100 days. He also added a sac-fly in the game and a couple of RBI.
His BA is inching up, though it's still a pathetic .138. - thunt
Guthrie,Mark
RP
ChN
04-11
Guthrie (RP)
remains hot. He has pitched just over five innings this season without giving up a hit.
Yesterday, he earned a win by pitching a perfect ninth inning against the Braves. His
season ERA is 1.69 and dropping. - thunt
Caminiti,Ken
3B
Hou
04-11
Astros
manager Gerry Hunsicker said Caminiti (3B) is probably out of action until at least
Friday. Caminiti has a hamstring pull. Bill Spiers started at third base yesterday. - thunt
Dipoto,Jerry
RP
Col
04-11
Dipoto (RP)
could return to action any day. He has been getting some rehab work in at Triple-A
Colorado Springs. His was eligible to come off the DL a couple of days ago. The Rockies
are not likely to wait much longer. Manager Buddy Bell is eager to strengthen the bullpen,
now that the team is playing in the thin air of Coors Field. - thunt
Rivera,Ruben
OF
SD
04-11
The Padres
expect Rivera (OF) to be back in the lineup today. Rivera has been sidelined with a sore
ankle. - thunt
Rockies
T
Col
04-11
Jeff Manto's
days are numbered. And the numbers don't get very high. The Denver Post reports that he
will likely be sent down to Triple-A Colorado Springs as soon as Jerry Dipoto (RP) returns
to action. Manto was the last player to win a spot on the roster in spring training, so
he's likely to be the first one to be sent down. - thunt
Tatis,Fernando
3B
StL
04-11
Tatis (3B),
who had been rested for a day with sore knees, played yesterday but only for six innings.
He was taken out to give his knees a little more rest. It appears that he'll be fine. - thunt
Finley,Steve
OF
Ari
04-11
You want hot?
Finley was 2-for-5 yesterday and that brought his batting average DOWN. Of course, it
didn't come down that much. He's batting .414. Yesterday he hit a solo homer, his third of
the year, and added a stolen base. All that while also playing superbly in center field
before a hostile San Diego crowd. - thunt
Karchner,Matt
RP
ChN
04-11
The Cubs sent
Karchner (RP) down to AAA Iowa yesterday and filled he roster spot by recalling Ruben
Quevedo (RP). - thunt
Edmonds,Jim
OF
StL
04-11
I freely
admit it: I was skeptical that "oft-injured" Edmonds (OF) was going to be much
of an asset to a Cardinals team full of oft-injured outfielders. So far in the early
going, it looks like I was wrong. I freely admit that (and I want some credit for being
able to admit - freely - when I've been wrong). Edmonds went 4-for-4 yesterday with a
walk, two doubles, a stolen base (his second) and a run scored. His season batting average
is now .455. - thunt
Nunez,Vladimir
P
Fla
04-11
Nunez was
cold yesterday. (How cold was he?) About 34 degrees at gametime. (I'm talkin' COLD.) Look,
Nunez was raised in Cuba, played his first big league ball for Arizona and now plays for a
team in Florida. There's no way he's going to stand up to the cold of springtime in
Milwaukee. (Mid-July in Florida will be a better test of his abilities.) He allowed four
runs on three hits and four walks in just under five innings yesterday. His season ERA
stands at 9.00. - thunt
Rodriguez,Henry
OF
ChN
04-11
When Griffey,
McGwire and Sosa are slumping it's easy to overlook the struggles of Rodriguez (OF). But
now that those superstars seem to be climbing out of their ruts, it's a good time to ask:
"What's going on with Henry?" Rodriguez was 0-for-3 against the Braves
yesterday. That means he has just three hits in 28 at-bats this year - a .107 BA. But his
situation is even worse than that. He has no homers, no RBIs only one walk and a strikeout
total of 13. At least he didn't add to that strikeout number yesterday. He hit the ball to
the outfield three times - once pretty deep. - thunt
Wilson,Preston
OF
Fla
04-11
Wilson (OF)
has an eight-game hitting streak in the regular season. He's now batting .333 after
managing just a .192 BA in the spring. - thunt
Hamilton,Darryl
OF
NYN
04-11
Hamilton (OF)
does NOT have a stress fracture in his sprained left foot. At least that's what one doctor
says. The Mets are waiting for a second doctor to turn in his opinion. Hamilton does have
a sprained foot as well as an arthritic toe. Still, the team plans to have him back April
22, when he's eligible to come off the DL. - thunt
Galarraga,
Andres
1B
Atl
04-11
If you had
faith that Galarraga (1B) would be able to bounce back from a season lost to cancer
treatments, you are being rewarded. Galarraga hit his fourth homer of the season with a
runner on in the fourth inning yesterday against the Cubs. He also smacked a first inning
double. The 2-for-4 day gave him a .333 batting average to date. - thunt
Leiter,Al
P
NYN
04-11
Leiter (P)
threw 35 pitches yesterday and was not bothered at all by the strained groin muscle that
kept him out of action Saturday. He should be ready to go Friday. - thunt
Durazo,Erubiel
1B
Ari
04-11
Durazo (1B)
rediscovered his 1999 swing yesterday against San Diego. He went 3-for-4 at the plate with
two home runs (left-center and right-center) and four RBI. He scored twice, walked once
and struck out once. Durazo and nearly everyone else in the D-Backs lineup contributed to
Todd Stottlemyre's (P) successful effort to win one for his dad, who's battling cancer. - thunt
Ligtenberg,Kerry
RP
Atl
04-11
Ligtenberg
(RP) was looking pretty hot recently. He converted on two save opps, allowing just one hit
and no runs in two innings of work. But you can cool off pretty quickly playing in Chicago
with a gametime temp of 39 degrees and a gusty wind blowing in from Lake Michigan. Coming
into the game with one on and one out in the ninth inning and the Braves ahead 3-0,
Ligtenberg walked Glenallen Hill (OF) and gave up a three-run homer to Shane Andrews (3B).
Before he was pulled from the game, Ligtenberg also allowed a single to Damon Buford (OF),
who eventually scored the winning run. The line on Ligtenberg was 0 (that's a zero)
innings pitched, 3 earned runs, 1 walk, a loss and a blown save. Oh, and his ERA rose a
bit as well - from a 0.00 at the start of the game to a hefty 13.50. Ligtenberg, who
missed the 1999 season after elbow surgery, is not nearly as bad as he looked yesterday.
But it now seems clear that he is also not nearly as good as he looked in his other two
appearances. - thunt
Cirillo,Jeff
3B
Col
04-11
Cirillo (3B)
was back in the lineup yesterday for the season opener at Coors. He missed a couple of
games with a thumb injury, and has been bothered by a sore quadriceps since the start of
the season. Yesterday he was 2-for-3 at the plate with a couple of doubles (Does he ever
hit anything else?) and two walks. - thunt
Millwood,Kevin
P
Atl
04-11
Millwood (P)
shut out the Cubs for seven innings, allowing just six hits and a walk and striking out
six. His season ERA came down to 4.09. Unfortunately, the Atlanta bullpen couldn't hold a
3-0 lead, and Millwood was cheated out of a win. - thunt
McGwire,Mark
1B
StL
04-11
McGwire (1B)
launched his third homer in three games yesterday, a two-run shot in the first inning. He
was just 1-for-5 at the plate, causing his BA to slide a bit to .267. But you didn't draft
him for his batting average, did you? - thunt
Bell, Rob
P
Cin
04-11
Good news for
those of you who picked up young Bell (P): Reds manager Jack McKeon decided not to reset
his starting rotation after Thursday's off day. Instead Bell will be given another start
on Friday and the other starters will simply have an extra day of rest between starts. If
McKeon had not adjusted his plans, Bell would not have started again before April 22. Bell
allowed just one earned run in seven innings of work in his first major league start on
Saturday. - thunt
Casey,Sean
1B
Cin
04-11
According to
the Cincinnati Post, Casey should be ready to take some live batting practice this
weekend. He is scheduled to begin hitting off a tee on Friday. Casey is eligible to come
off the DL in a week, but it might be a bit longer than that. He has a broken bone in his
right thumb and was fitted with a removable cast. - thunt
Reds
T
Cin
04-11
Norm Charlton
(RP), recently released by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, has signed a minor league contract
with the Reds. He has been assigned to Triple-A Louisville. Don't know what role he might
have with the big league club, aside from providing another link to its past. Charlton was
previously with the Reds (along with Rob Dibble and Randy Myers) from 1988 to 1992. - thunt
Mieske,Matt
OF
Hou
04-11
Mieske (OF)
is eligible to come off the DL on Thursday. He has been resting a lower back strain. His
return would mean the Astros would have to drop one of their existing outfielders - Glen
Barker is a candidate - or trim back to two catchers. - thunt
Yankees
T
NYA
04-11
Today's home
opener has been moved to tomorrow to avoid some bad weather. David Cone will go for the
Yankees tomorrow and Darren Oliver for the Rangers. Today's game will be played in August.
If you have Yankees or Rangers and do daily transactions, then get 'em out for today. - lblasi
Veras,Wilton
3B
Bos
04-11
Veras was
recalled by the Sox for today's home opener. He'll replace John Valentin in the lineup
while he's on the DL and get the lion's share of those ABs. Veras has been Major
League-capable for about a year now, but has been buried behind Valentin. It seems like
he's been around forever but he's only 22. The jury is somewhat split on Veras.
Supporters, most notably Peter Gammons see a monster in the making, but other are seeing
holes. He's a throw-back of sorts. He's a free swinger and a moderate defensive player.
His long term success depends on whether his power has another gear. Right now he's a
line-drive hitter who can struggle for extended streaks. He needs to become more
selective, like most young hitters, and he needs to get on base more. For the time being
you should claim him if available, especially if you own Valentin, because he has a high
ceiling and some MLB experience to draw on, and because Valentin's absence could be
extended. If he puts it all together he could be a real steal, but at the very least he'll
give you some moderately productive ABs. - lblasi
Gonzalez,Juan
OF
Det
04-11
The Tigers
will open their home schedule tonight, but they don't know whether or not Gonzalez will be
able to play. His sore right hamstring still has some swelling and his status for tonight
is probably a game time decision. - lblasi
Pettitte,Andy
P
NYA
04-11
Pettitte
skipped his customary between-starts throwing session Sunday. He had some problems with a
sore back after his last start on Friday, but says he's OK. Of course in his next sentence
he said he wouldn't know until he started throwing again. Flip-flop-flip. Athlete-speak.
Starters are creatures of habit. They don't deviate unless they have to. This same type of
deal was the first crack in the Curt Schilling dam last year. I don't think Pettitte has
any major problem, especially since it's back and not arm or shoulder, but it's probably
worse than he is letting on and this is somthing to keep in mind if you have daily
transactions. The good news is that with today's game already canceled, he gets an extra
day to get the kinks out. - lblasi
Lofton,Kenny
OF
Cle
04-11
Indians
Manager Charlie Manuel intended to give Lofton the night off last night but apparently all
he could talk him into was a night at DH. Jacob Cruz started in CF in Lofton's place. The
Indians will continue to try to rest Lofton occasionally, probably with mixed success. - lblasi
Alvarez,Wilson
P
TB
04-11
Alvarez had a
good throwing session on Sunday and is shooting for an extended Spring Training gig by the
end of the week. Two or three rehab starts, beginning this weekend, would put him on pace
for a late April, early May return. - lblasi
Bottalico,Ricky
RP
KC
04-11
Query me this
Batman...when is a win for your pitcher not a good thing? Well, when that pitcher is one
of your closers, because that usually means they blew a save, as Bottalico did yesterday
against the Twins. Bottalico gave up a two-run dong to Jaques Jones in the 9th. Luckily,
the Royals scored in the bottom of the inning so he at least got the win out of it. Ricky
is battling a sore knee, but whether that's a factor or not, his hold on the closer role
bears close scrutiny. Jose Santiago might be a good hedge for Bottalico owners if
available. - lblasi
Guillen,Jose
OF
TB
04-11
It appears
that Guillen will be ready to come off the DL, from his shoulder injury on Wednesday, his
first day eligible. Now what we don't know is what he's coming back to. It's doubtful it
will be 4 major league ABs a day, and it's even questionable whether he stays with the
Rays or drops down to AAA. We'll all find out Wednesday I guess. - lblasi
Thomas,Frank
1B
ChA
04-11
Wow, Big Hurt
owners must be a bit jeeped after his big week. Thomas was 15 for 28 (.535) with 2 HRs and
8 Rbi in week #1 with a 1.449 OPS...let me say it again....Wow! One week does not make a
player, but that sure looked like the old Thomas. - lblasi
