John Halpin's Fantasy Sports Blog
by: john_halpin
Morning Baseball Update: Closer Issues in Milwaukee, St. Louis
May 12, 2008 | 3:20AM | report this

Greetings from Charlotte, where an entire city anxiously awaits Dontrelle Willis' rehab start tonight.

Who's off: Orioles, Royals, Tigers, A's, Phillies, Rockies, Diamondbacks, Dodgers

First pitch: The Braves and Pirates start their doubleheader at 12:35 p.m. ET, while the Blue Jays and Indians get their twinbill going at 4:05. Here's the full schedule.

Pitcher to start: Over the weekend, Carlos Silva went into the blog's loss column, though he wasn't a complete disaster. Andrew Miller made me look smart Saturday, and hot pickup Jair Jurrjens (46.9 percent owned) had his Sunday start rained out. Let's stay with Jurrjens today, as he's scheduled to start the opener against the Pirates.

On to the news:

  • This isn't a surprise: Eric Gagne is getting a "mental break" from his closing duties with the Brewers, and as someone who owns Gagne on a couple of teams, I'll admit to needing a mental break from his save-blowing as well. Manager Ned Yost says he'll let matchups dictate the saves, and he proved that Sunday by letting lefty specialist Brian Shouse close things out. A couple of stories have suggested that the Brewers think Gagne's got a mechanical flaw, and unless someone steps up and dominates the ninth inning over the next few weeks, assume that he'll get his job back at some point. I'm hanging onto Gagne.
  • That Cards-Brewers series wasn't closer-friendly, as Jason Isringhausen lost his role before pummeling a TV in Tony LaRussa's office. The team is pretty clear about this being a temporary situation as well. LaRussa's says he'll use a committee approach for the time being, with Russ Springer and Ryan Franklin leading the way.
  • In case you weren't paying attention, Phillies SS Jimmy Rollins returned over the weekend, getting three hits with a homer Friday but going hitless Saturday and Sunday.
  • The Blue Jays will be without CF Vernon Wells for 6-8 weeks with a fractured wrist, and setup man Jeremy Accardo will miss four weeks with his strained forearm. A Brad Wilkerson/Kevin Mench right field platoon will fill Wells' spot in the lineup, so try to contain your excitement. Shannon Stewart is apparently going to keep losing playing time, too.
  • The Padres cut OF Jim Edmonds over the weekend. Jody Gerut played center field in all three games against the Rockies, but that can't be a permanent solution. Chase Headley will probably be up at some point, but that would still leave the Pads without a natural center fielder.
  • Kevin Millwood is on the DL for the Rangers with a groin injury. He says he'll only miss two weeks. Thank goodness they have the red-hot Sidney Ponson ... oops, scratch that.
  • Rich Harden obviously forgot that he's supposed to dominate and tease us in the brief active periods between his DL stints.
  • Manny Ramirez missed last night's game with a sore hamstring. No big deal.
  • 2B Brian Roberts (bruised foot) should return Tuesday for the Orioles, but C Ramon Hernandez's left wrist is causing some worry.
  • The Angels placed 3B Chone Figgins on the DL, where 2B Howie Kendrick apparently enjoys it so much that he's decided to buy a house and take up permanent residence. When John Lackey starts Wednesday, he's going to be pretty surprised when there are only two infielders behind him, like one of those old-school fast-pitch softball teams.
  • Do you own Braves 2B Kelly Johnson? If so, there's a headline on the Braves' site ("Johnson losing at-bats to Infante") that you might want to check out.
  • Francisco Liriano had a pretty good start Saturday in Triple A. Hey, it's something, right? Stop feeling sorry for yourself if you drafted him.
  • Mets 2B Luis Castillo might miss tonight's game with a strained quad.
  • After his hot start, Cincinnati's Johnny Cueto has definitely turned into a pumpkin, huh?
  • Sean Gallagher is going to get another start for the Cubs. Rich Hill K'd eight batters in 5 2/3 scoreless innings in Triple A Saturday, and if he keeps that up he'll be back soon.

See you tomorrow.

Add a comment  
 
« Continue reading John Halpin's Fantasy Sports Blog
ABOUT ME


john_halpin
BASEBALL SCHEDULE

I'll be on a Monday through Friday schedule through the season. Expect the blog to be updated by 8 a.m. ET on most days.

Feedback, including links to items you think I should include in this blog, is always welcome at jhalpin37@gma
il.com. Thanks.

Time stamping is done in Pacific Time.