Play ‘em or Pine ‘em

Just a couple more weeks guy.

Yeah, I know that the season is almost over.  But have you looked at your standings lately?  I mean really looked?  In my leagues there are several points that could come down to the last day.  That one run, that one RBI that one SB could be huge at the end of September.  Do you really want to look back and know that if you had only paid a little more attention for a little while longer that you could have won?  No, I didn’t think so.  So wake up!  Suck it up and play the matchups.  Here ya’ go.

Play ‘em

“Hey meat, grab a bat!”

Batters

     Fred Lewis, OF  SF–  If you own Lewis, you have surely been disappointed lately.  He hasn’t been getting as many ABs as we would like, that that SB production has dropped off.  It sucks.  But this week should see a little of a resurgence with the lineup of pitchers Lewis will face.   He has a track record against five starters he faces this week, and he is hitting over .300 against all five.  Hopefully Lewis will get it going quickly.

When power is shown, it must be respected

     Mark Tehean, OF KC –  Mark doesn’t hit a ton of home runs.  In fact he only has 44 of them for his career.  So when he is due to face a couple pitchers he has shown power against in the past, take notice.  That he does this week.  His batting averages against this week’s starters are pretty good too, so put him in your lineup and ride the (brief) power surge.

     Gary Matthews, OF LAA–  While he hasn’t been playing every day, his hitting certainly is making a case to do so.  With a batting average well over .400 for the last week, he is seeing the ball very well.  He hasn’t faced several of the pitchers he will see this week, but when you are seeing the ball well that doesn’t matter as much.  He does get to face some pitchers that I believe suck (Pavano, Aceves, Rowland-Smith), so if I had him, I’d start him. 

Pitchers

     Brian Bannister, SP KC –  While Bannister has been struggling in the wins department, his pitching hasn’t been all that bad.  His owners are going to focus on the 10 ER he gave up in one inning against the Yankees, but let it go man.  Other than that one start, he hasn’t let up more than 4 ER in his last 4 starts, and hasn’t let up more hits than innings in any of those four.  His first start comes against the Twins against which he has a sterling 3-0 record with a career 2.00 ERA.  His second start is against the Indians.  Equally impressive is his 2-1 record with a 1.33 ERA against them.  Put him in and get ready to see better numbers.

Blackburn wont burn you

     Nick Blackburn, SP MIN –  He is not owned or active in many leagues, but he should be this week.  His first start comes against the Royals (a fairly pathetic team).  His 1.64 ERA against them is enough to make me want him to start for me.  His second start comes against Baltimore (another fairly pathetic team).  He hasn’t faced them before, but I am betting he does well.  He hasn’t been walking many, he hasn’t been letting up many runs, and has had some hard luck in the wins department.  He should rebound nicely this week.

     Jessie Litch, SP TOR–  While this recomendation makes me nervous, I am going to do it anyway.  His numbers against the two teams he will face this week are good.  Against the White Sox he has a 1-0 record with a 2.45 ERA, and against the Red Sox he is 4-1 with a 3.58 ERA.  Both teams are good and in a playoff hunt, but the numbers are the numbers.  Hey, his name rhymes with “pitch” so he has to be good.

Pine ‘em

“No mas, chico.  No mas.”

Batters

Does Japan need to do a recall?

Kosuke Fukudome, OF  CHC–  What a difference a half of a season makes, huh?  The Japanese import went from solid outfielder (.279-7-36-8) in the first half to part-time garbage (.223-2-18-3) here in the second.  He ’s been losing playing time at a fairly rapid rate and unless he turns it around (and the Cubbies do as well), Pinella has no problem keeping him on the bench.  What’s worse is that the upcoming schedule doesn’t bode well for a rebound.  Division rivals St. Louis and Houston seem to have the answers for Fukudome as all of the starters (save for Brandon Backe) seem to have his number.  He’s got an empty .286 average against Kyle Lohse and a sub-.200 vs. everyone else.  If you have a better option, use it.  There’s really no telling how much PT he’ll see this week.

Skip Schumaker, OF  STL–  While Schumaker has maintained his status as one of the more pleasant surprises in baseball this season, this week looks like a rough patch for him.  He hasn’t hit well against Chicago at all this season (.200-2-4-1 in 35 AB) and actually hasn’t gotten his average above the Mendoza line against any of the Cub starters he’s facing this week.  After that he goes up against Pittsburgh, and while they’re far from being a powerhouse club, they could give Skip some fits.  He doesn’t hit Paul Maholm well at all and he’s never faced Jeff Karstens who seem sto have been rejuvenated in the NL.  Hopefully you’ve got a little bit of depth to work with.

Could be a rough 3 weeks ahead

Dioner Navarro, C  TB–  Another important week for the Rays as they meet up again with division rivals, the Red Sox and the Yankees.  It’d be nice if they’re #1 backstop could help anchor them, but Navarro seems to have his difficulties with both clubs.  Against Boston he’s only hitting .171 in 41 AB, and of the starters he’ll be facing, the best he hits is Jon Lester (.200  ugh!).  After that, he takes on his former club, and while he hits Mike Mussina pretty well, he seems to struggle against inferior talent like Sidney Ponson and (gulp!) Carl Pavano.  With any luck for Tampa, he’ll turn it around, but I’m not betting the farm on it. 

Pitchers

Dana Eveland, SP  OAK–  The Oakland lefty’s return to the majors has been pretty rocky as of late, grabbing only 1 win in his last 6 outings and sporting a 7.11 ERA.  This week looks to bring you more of the same as he takes on both Detroit and Texas, and he hasn’t looked good against either club.  As a matter of fact, against each of them, he’s sporting an ERA in the mid-6.00 range.  The A’s are in full on rebuilding, so don’t expect much support.  Keep Eveland far from your lineup unless, of course, your startegy is to increase your ratios.

Yup. He blows.

Aaron Cook, SP  COL–  This one here could get personal, as I own Cook and have happily cast him aside to the bench this week, despite his 2 start status.  After a disastrous August (5.93 ERA) and a worse start to September (didn’t even make it out of the 4th inning in his last start), Cook has been killing his owners.  So much so that despite his last outing against the Braves (7 IP, 1 ER), he still can’t be trusted.  Overall he’s got a 4.89 ERA against them, and if he continues on this path, it could get worse.  After that , he comes home to face the Manny Ramirez and the suddenly rebounding Dodgers.  He looked ok against them earlier in the year, but with a 5-5 career record with a 4.18 ERA against them, I’m not too optimistic that today’s Aaron Cook will find success.

Ryan Dempster, SP  CHC–  It’s hard to trust any of the Cubs during this late-season collapse, and keeping Dempster in your lineup for this week could be a little dangerous.  He’s looked less than spectacular in his last 2 outings, and this week, he’s a 2 start pitcher against teams where his success has been very limited.  He gets the Cards first where he’s sporting a 5-5 record with an ERA of 4.89.  After that, it’s the Astros.  The Astros you say!!  Well that shouldn’t be too tough, right?  How about a career 4-10 record with a career 4.50 ERA?  Sure they’re not the Astros of old without Carlos Lee, but do you want to take that chance with a championship on the line?  Me neither.