Homer Bailey was destroyed by the Phillies yesterday. He now has a mere eight strikeouts in 19 2/3s innings pitched. More alarming are the 14 walks he issued. The Reds have no reason not to run him out every 5th day, but fantasy teams focused soley on 2007 do.
Alan Embree blew-up spectacularly in the 9th inning of yesterday's loss the the Indians. Handed a 5-3, Emrbee allowed five runs to lose. The good news for the A's is Huston Street pitched a second consecutive day without reported pain.
Armando Benitez pitched a scoreless 9th in the 3-2 loss to the Pirates. Is that important?
Yankees' reliever Scott Proctor fell to 1-5 after walking in the winning run in the 9th inning of yesterday's loss to the Orioles. After walking Corey Patterson, why wasn't Mariano used? Yes, issuing a walk to Corey patterson is more than enough information to know that Proctor didn't have it.
Imagine if the Tigers had a reliever tearing things up right now. He'd be the hot closer-in-waiting behind the atrocious Todd Jones. Following yesterday's stinker, Jones now sports a 6.23 ERA, 1.71 WHIP with just 16 Ks in 30.1 IP and 14 walks. He's heading towards a Norm Charlton/Shawn Chacon type of closing season.
James Shields ran his streak of starts with 5+ runs allowed to three. With 11 Ks and no walks (his streak of allowing one or fewer walks per start ran to six), the signals are mixed. Is he a buy lower or sell high?
Mets 1B Carlos Delgado went one for five to bring his 2007 average down to .225. His walks are way down, but his contact rates remain unchanged from 2006 (77.5% in 2007 versus 77.0%). His BABIP is .252 versus last season's .276. Is he unlucky or has he lost just enough bat speed that he is no longer an average hitter?
James Loney his his third HR yesterday. With 8 XBH in 34 ABs, he offers the promise of power the Dodgers need. Would he be enough if Betemit continues to offer big-time pop off the bench?
FBB with Eric Karabell at 11AM.
NBA with David Thorpe at noon.
Baseball Prospectus' Nate Silver at 1PM.
Baseball America's Jim Callis at 2PM.
FBB with Ron Shandler at 3PM.
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