Fantasy Baseball - the Daily Dirt for Monday, 5/25

by Todd Lammi

It was a painful loss for the Tampa Bay Rays, as the blew a 10-0 lead in an 11-10 loss to the Cleveland Indians. The blown lead was the largest in team history. The Rays used four relievers in the ninth inning, the last one being Jason Isringhausen, but none of them could stop the bleeding as the Indians rallied for seven runs to pull out the come from behind win. Rookie David Price, getting the start for the injured Scott Kazmir, displayed the same wildness that had been plaguing him in the minor leagues, as he walked five and allowed four hits in 3 1/3 innings while throwing 100 pitches. He did manage to strike out six and only allowed two runs, but his high pitch count limited his innings. Ryan Garko hit two home runs for the Indians and drove in five runs to pace the Tribe's offense. In other fantasy baseball happenings around the diamond on Monday...

Hitters:

Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira continue to lead the surging New York Yankees offense, as the team pounded out 19 hits in an 11-1 win over the Texas Rangers. A-Rod went 5 for 5 with 4 RBI and Teixeira went 2 for 4 with three runs scored and two RBI.

Who needs Manny Ramirez? The Los Angeles Dodgers pounded out 19 hits en route to a 16-6 pasting of the Colorado Rockies. Matt Kemp, Juan Castro and Juan Pierre each knocked in three runs.

The Chicago White Sox made short work of Ervin Santana, banging out 23 hits on their way to a 17-3 win over the Los Angeles Angels. Jermaine Dye (12), Jim Thome (8) and Paul Konerko (7) all went deep for the White Sox. The lone bright spot for the Angles was the return of Vladimir Guerrero to the line up.

Nelson Cruz hit his 12th home run of the year for the lone score for the Rangers. Cruz has homered 5 times in his last six games while driving in 10 runs. He has now collected an RBI in six consecutive games.

Ryan Howard hit two home runs and drove in three to provide all the offense for the Philadelphia Phillies in a 5-3 loss to the Florida Marlins. Howard now has 12 home runs on the season and 33 RBI.

Jonny Gomes went 3 for 4 with 3 RBI for the Cincinnati Reds in their 8-5 win over the Houston Astros. Gomes is a good pickup in National League only leagues as he should see playing time against left-handed starters.

Adrian Gonzalez hit his 17th home run of the season in the San Diego Padres 9-7 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks in 10 innings. Scott Hairston went 3 for 5 and is now batting .333. With the trade of Jody Gerut to Milwaukee earlier in the week, Hairston should be someone to target if he is still on the waiver wire in your fantasy baseball league.

It took him 100 at bats but Travis Ishikawa finally hit his first home run of the season in the San Francisco Giants 8-2 win over the Atlanta Braves. Ishikawa went 4 for 4 and drove in three runs. He is going to need more games like that if he does not want to lose at bats to recent call up Jesus Guzman.

Freddy Sanchez went 6 for 6 and scored four times to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 10-8 win over the Chicago Cubs. Sanchez drove in three runs and hit his fourth home run of the season.

Pitchers:

Justin Verlander pitched seven shutout innings with eight strikeouts in a 13-1 win over the Kansas City Royals. It marked the sixth consecutive game that Verlander has notched eight or more strikeouts. The outing was the most economical Verlander has been with his pitches all season, making it through seven innings on 96 pitches.

Jeremy Guthrie allowed one run in seven innings with four strikeouts to pitch the Baltimore Orioles past the Toronto Blue Jays 4-1. Guthrie's biggest problem this season has been the home run, allowing 11 in 53 2/3 innings before his start on Monday.

The Milwaukee Brewers defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 1-0 in 10 innings on a RBI single by Bill Hall. Both starting pitchers were superb in the game, with Chris Carpenter tossing eight scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts for the Cardinals, and Yovani Gallardo hurling eight shutout innings for the Brewers with six strikeouts.

Phil Hughes scattered three hits in eight shutout innings to pick up his third win of the season. Hughes struck out six while allowing only one walk to lower his ERA to 5.16.

Brett Anderson allowed one run in six innings with four strikeouts to gain his second win of the season. It marks the second consecutive good start for the rookie who may be on the verge of turning things around for good.

Jonathan Sanchez, subject to some trade rumors earlier in the week, allowed two runs in five innings with six strikeouts to earn his second win of the year.

John Maine allowed one run in six innings with four strikeouts to get his fourth win of the season. Despite his 4.18 ERA he continues to be bothered by walks. With a 30 to 36 walk to strikeout ratio, Maine is on pace for 108 walks this season which would be a career high.

Closers:

Jonathan Papelbon picked up his 12th save of the season, but it marked back-to-back games that he surrendered two runs and a home run.

Francisco Rodriguez (back spasms) returned to action for the New York Mets and picked up his 13th save of the season.

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Fantasy Baseball - the Daily Dirt for Sunday

by Todd Lammi

Cameron Maybin was sent to Triple-A by the Florida Marlins. He will get a chance to play every day and rebuild his confidence after being rushed to the major leagues last season by the Detroit Tigers and by the Marlins this year. Maybin needs to work on reducing his strikeout rate, after fanning 31 times in 84 at bats this season. In other fantasy baseball news from around the diamond on Sunday...

Hitters:

Albert Pujols hit his 12th home run of the season, scored three runs and stole his fifth base.

Jay Bruce hit his 10th home run of the season, giving him four home runs in his last five games. His batting average has been hovering in the .260 range for most of the season, because of his inability to hit lefties so far, as he holds a .172 average against southpaws.

Jose Reyes went 2 for 4 and stole his 10th base of the season. Reyes started picking up the pace on the base paths this past week, stealing six bases in seven games.

Nate McLouth hit his fifth home run of the season, and has been one of the few offensive bright spots for the Pittsburgh Pirates this year. McLouth is hitting .292 with 22 RBI for the year.

Johnny Damon hit a three-run home run, his 9th of the season to power the New York Yankees to a 5-3 win. Damon is batting .314 on the year with 25 RBI.

Hank Blalock hit two solo home runs giving him nine on the season. He is now batting .257 with 21 RBI.

Alfonso Soriano hit a two-run home run, his 10th of the season to go along with 20 RBI.

The Chicago Cubs seem content going with Aaron Miles at second base (.205 avg.) and Mike Fontenot (.229) at third base with Aramis Ramirez sidelined. Recently acquired Ryan Freel pinch hit on Sunday.

The Houston Astros had multiple offensive stars on Sunday. Carlos Lee went 3 for 4 with 4 RBI and his 6th home run of the season. Miguel Tejada went 3 for 5 with 4 RBI and his second home run of the year and Ivan Rodriguez went 4 for 3 and knocked out his fourth home run of the season.

Armando Rios went 2 for 4 with 3 RBI and his third home run of the year. Cito Gaston and Gene Tenace have done a great job with the Toronto Blue Jays hitters since taking over last June. The Blue Jays had six hitters batting over .300 in their lineup on Sunday.

Juan Pierre went 3 for 5 and stole his third base of the season for the Los Angeles Dodgers. With Manny Ramirez now sidelined the next two months, Pierre is a good source of runs scored and stolen bases.

Adam Dunn went 3 for 5 with 3 RBI including two home runs, numbers 10 & 11 on the season. Dunn is now hitting .311 with 28 RBI. Teammate Josh Willingham also added two home runs for the Washington Nationals.

Chipper Jones left Sunday's game in the seventh inning with a sore elbow and is considered day to day.

Pitchers:

Kenshin Kawakami picked up his second win of the season, allowing two runs in six innings with six strikeouts.

Rick Porcello picked up win number three on the season, allowing one run in five innings with five strikeouts. Despite his inconsistencies from start to start, he still sports a respectable 4.28 EAR and 1.31 whip ratio on the season.

Rookie Brett Cecil tossed eight shutout innings, allowing five hits with six strikeouts to pick up his first win of the season.

Nick Blackburn pitched seven shutout innings with six strikeouts, olny to see his win blown by the Minnesota Twins bullpen in the 8th inning.

Matt Garza allowed three runs in seven innings with six strikeouts in a no decision. He has now allowed five runs in his last 22 2/3 innings.

Luke Hochevar was recalled from Triple-A to replace Sidney Ponson in the rotation and will start on Tuesday for the Kansas City Royals.

Bryan Augenstien is expected to be recalled from AA to start for the Arizona Diamondbacks against the Cincinnati Reds. Augenstein is 5-0 with a 0.78 ERA, with 31 strikeouts in 34 2/3 innings.

Closers:

Rafael Soriano picked up his third save of the season with Mike Gonzalez working the 8th inning. I don't think it was a permanent closer change as the Phillies had left-handed hitters Ryan Howard, Raul Ibanez and Matt Stairs up in the 8th inning to hit and I think Boby Cox feels confident that either Gonzalez or Soriano could close as needed.

Ryan Franklin blew his first save of the season, giving up home runs in the ninth inning to Jerry Hairston and pitcher Micah Owings.

Brandon Morrow, in his first appearance since April 23rd, allowed one run and loaded the bases in the ninth inning before getting Brendan Harris to ground out to preserve the save.

Huston Street picked up his fourth save of the season, and has not allowed a run in his last seven appearances.

Joakim Soria was placed on the disabled list by the Kansas City Royals with a strained rotator cuff. Juan Cruz will take over as closer while Soria is out of action.

Minor Leagues:

Tommy Hanson had his longest outing of the season, pitching eight innings with nine strikeouts. He did allow three home runs but they were all solo shots.

Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched four scoreless innings, allowing four hits and two walks, but did not strike out a batter. There is a chance he could be recalled by the Boston Red Sox to start next weekend.

John Lackey allowed three runs in five innings with five strikeouts and could be ready to return to the Los Angeles Angels rotation by the weekend.

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Fantasy Baseball - the Daily Dirt for Saturday

by Todd Lammi

Zack Greinke extended his scoreless inning streak to 20, as he threw a complete game shutout against the Texas Rangers, striking out 10 batters, in a 2-0 victory. Greinke has now struck out 26 in only 20 innings on the season. Kevin Millwood got the loss, as he also threw a complete game with three strikeouts. His one mistake was a two-run home run given up to Miguel Olivo in the seventh inning. Rangers top pitching prospect Derek Holland was recalled from Triple-A and will initially pitch out of the bullpen. In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Saturday...

American League:

The Cleveland Indians set a major league record, scoring 14 runs in the second innings, as they pounded the New York Yankees 22-4. The Indians hit six home runs, led by Grady Sizemore (4), Victor Martinez (4) and Travis Hafner (4). Chien-Ming Wang had another poor outing for the Yankees, allowing eight runs in 1 1/3 innings. Wang's ERA now stands at 34.50, after giving up run totals of 7,8 and 8 in his three starts..... Carlos Quentin hit his 6th home run and Paul Konerko his 3rd as the Chicago White Sox defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 8-3. The control problems that Rays starter Scott Kazmir had at the end of last season resurfaced today, as he walked six in four innings. Carl Crawford stole base number four for the Rays.....Kevin Youkilis hit his 3rd home run of the season and drove in four runs in a 6-4 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. Shortstop Jed Lowrie on the 15-day DL with is headed to Arizona to get a second opinion on his sprained left wrist, as it may require surgery.....Jason Kubel continues to rake for the Minnesota Twins, going 4 for 5 with 2 RBI in a 9-2 win over the Los Angeles Angels. Kevin Slowey allowed two runs in seven innings with five strikeouts to pick up the win. Bobby Abreu stole base number six and Chone Figgins base number seven for the Angels.....Edwin Jackson tossed 7 2/3 shutout innings with six strikeouts to lead the Detroit Tigers over the Seattle Mariners 2-0. Fernando Rodney picked up his 3rd save of the year. Erik Bedard had a strong outing for the Mariners, allowing two runs in six innings with eight strikeouts. ....Lyle Overbay hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the 12th inning to give the Toronto Blue Jays a 4-2 win over the Oakland Athletics. Rookie starter Trevor Cahill for the A's has a 2.60 ERA, and is holding batters to a .197 average, but his lack of control is holding him back from pitching deeper into ballgames. Cahill currently has a 13/5 walk to strikeout ratio.

National League:

Ian Snell threw seven shutout innings to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates over the Atlanta Braves 10-0. Outfielder Craig Monroe hit two home runs and drove in six runs for the Pirates. One thing to keep in mind when projecting fantasy baseball stats is the change in position coaches. New pitching coach Joe Kerrigan seems to have a done a good job early on of making improvements in multiple Pirate pitchers. Heading into Saturday's games, the Pirates led the major leagues in ERA. Jo-Jo Reyes did not fare well in his first start for the Braves, allowing five runs in 5 2/3 innings. Chipper Jones missed his 4th straight game with a bruised thumb.....Jeremy Hermida was a one man show for the Florida Marlins, vaulting the Marlins past the Washington Nationals in extra innings 9-6. Hermida hit a two-run home run off closer Joel Hanrahan in the ninth inning to tie the game at 6-6 and then hit a three-run home run in the 11th inning for the win. Austin Kearns hit a grand slam for the Nationals.....Johan Santana threw seven shutout innings with seven strikeouts to pitch the New York Mets past the Milwaukee Brewers 1-0. Yvoni Gallardo of the Brewers matched him pitch for pitch, tossing six shutout innings with seven strikeouts.....Aramis Ramirez hit a two-run home run in the 11th inning to lead the Chicago Cubs over the St. Louis Cardinals 7-5. Any questions about either bullpen seemed to be answered in this game. Carlos Marmol who had been unscored upon this season, pitched the seventh inning with Kevin Gregg throwing innings 8 and 9. For the Cardinals, Jason Motte pitched inning 7, Ryan Franklin innings 8-9 and Chris Perez inning 10.....The Los Angeles Dodgers got two home runs each from Manny Ramirez and Andre Ethier to defeat the Colorado Rockies 9-5. Chad Billingsley moved to 3-0 on the season with six strikeouts in six innings. Those of you in NL only fantasy baseball leagues looking for relief pitchers with good numbers should check out Ronald Belisario of the Dodgers. Belisario has allowed one run in 8 2/3 innings with 12 strikeouts.....San Francisco Giants starter Tim Lincecum flashed his 2008 form, throwing eight shutout innings with 13 strikeouts against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Doug Davis of the D-Backs matched him with eight scoreless innings and six strikeouts. Outfielder Chris Young won the game for Arizona in the 9th inning with a two-run double.....Wandy Rodriguez threw seven shutout innings with 10 strikeouts to pace the Houston Astros to a 7-0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds. Michael Bourn and Hunter Pence each stole their second base of the season for the Astros.....Kevin Kouzmanoff hit a tie-breaking three-run home run off of closer Brad Lidge in the 9th inning to power the San Diego Padres past the Philadelphia Phillies 8-5. Adrian Gonzalez hit his 4th home run for the Padres. Raul Ibanez (4), Ryan Howard (2) and Chase Utley (3) all went deep for the Phillies.

For all of the latest fantasy baseball news and analysis, head to http://fantasybaseballtools.com.

Fantasy Baseball - The Daily Dirt for Thursday

by Todd Lammi

The injury bug continues to strike down players in Major League Baseball as several more players will be out of action for awhile. Kansas City Royals third basemen Alex Gordon will miss potentially two plus months after he undergoes hip surgery on Friday. Vladimir Guerrero of the Los Angeles Angels will be out of action with a strained pectoral muscle. Guerrero will meet with doctors upon returning to Los Angeles to determine a time frame for his return. Catcher Kenji Johjima of the Seattle Mariners was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained hamstring. Yunel Escobar of the Atlanta Braves will miss 3 to 4 games with a strained abdominal muscle. In other fantasy baseball news from around the diamond on Thursday...

National League:

Anibal Sanchez pitched the Florida Marlins past the Atlanta Braves 6-2. Sanchez allowed two runs in six innings. Cody Ross hit his first home run for the Marlins. Emilio Bonifacio struck out three times in five at bats and has now struck out seven times in his last 11 at bats. Jordan Schafer of the Atlanta Braves went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts and has now struck out 10 times in his last 15 at bats.....Hunter Pence hit his third home run for the Houston Astros and Lance Berkman his second in a 6-3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. LaTroy Hawkins got the save, pitching in place of Jose Valverde who was out with back soreness.....Chris Duncan and Brian Barden each hit their second home runs of the year to give the St. Louis Cardinals a 7-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs. Ryan Franklin picked up his second save of the year. Sean Marshall got his first start of the year for the Cubs, allowing three runs in five innings. Kosuke Fukudome hit his third home run for the Cubs and Ryan Theriot stole his third base of the season.....Break out the bubbly, the Washington Nationals picked up their first win of the year, 8-2 over the Philadelphia Phillies. Adam Dunn hit his third home run for the Nationals and Elijah Dukes his second. Jimmy Rollins went 0 for 3 for the Phillies and is now hitting .111.....Chase Headley went 4 for 4 for the San Diego Padres with 3 RBI to help defeat the New York Mets 6-5. Heath Bell picked up his 5th save of the year for the Padres. Carlos Delgado hit his third home run for the Mets.

American League:

The Cleveland Indians spoiled the New York Yankees home opener in their new stadium with a 10-2 win. Grady Sizemore and Victor Martinez each hit their third home run for the Indians. Cliff Lee got the win, allowing one run in six innings..... John Danks tossed six innings of one run ball with eight strikeouts to help lead the Chicago White Sox to a 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. Jermaine Dye hit his third home run for the White Sox. The Rays continue to run wild on the bases as Jason Bartlett stole two bases and Akinori Iwamura and Carl Crawford each stole one. Carlos Pena hit his 5th home run of the season.....Toronto Blue Jays starter Roy Halladay became the first to three wins in a victory over the Minnesota Twins. Halladay tossed seven innings of one run ball with eight strikeouts. Marco Scutaro hit his third home run for the Blue Jays. Francisco Liriano was much better in his third start of the season allowing one run in six innings with five strikeouts.

To get more fantasy baseball news and analysis, head to http://fantasybaseballtools.com.

Fantasy Baseball - The Daily Dirt from Thursday

by Todd Lammi

One thing to keep an eye on for fantasy baseball owners playing in an National League only league where you lose a player if he is traded. The Milwaukee Brewers staff is pretty bad outside of Yovani Gallardo. One transaction the Brewers made late in spring was to claim first basemen Joe Koshansky and send him to AAA. With Brad Nelson already on the roster, I think Milwaukee is preparing themselves early for the possibility of dealing Prince Fielder later this year. In other fantasy baseball happenings around the diamond on Thursday...

National League:

NL only league players in deeper leagues should look to put in a free agent claim on Darnell McDonald of the Cincinnati Reds. McDonald looks to be the man against left-handed pitching in left field for the Reds. McDonald got his second start of the season on Thursday. Joey Votto continues to rake, hitting his second home run of the season. He is justifying his high draft status early on this year.....Chris Carpenter turned in a gem for the St. Louis Cardinals. He seems to be back to his form from 2006 but beware the injury risk still lingers going forward. Dennis Reyes got the save for the Cardinals as the Pittsburgh Pirates had lefties Nate McLouth and Ryan Doumit up to bat in the ninth inning, so don't rush to grab Reyes from the waiver wire assuming that he is the new closer.Ramon Vazquez got another start at third base for the Pirates over Andy LaRoche.....All the speed the Los Angeles Dodgers have and Orlando Hudson leads the team with three stolen bases? Hudson's previous high was 10 in 2007. So far so good for Heath Bell of the San Diego Padres, now 2 for 2 in saves. Jody Gerut sat the bench again for the Padres with a lefty on the mound for the Dodgers.....Matt Cain got a win in his first start of the year for the San Francisco Giants. I think the Giants are the sleeper team in the National League West. Their offense does not look intimidating on paper but they seem to have a bunch of professional hitters that will put runs together this season.

American League:

In a battle of rookie starters, Ricky Romero of the Toronto Blue Jays outpitched Rick Porcello of the Detroit Tigers. Adam Lind hit his second home run of the season for the Blue Jays. He should be good for 20-25 home runs this season and out of the 5th spot in the lineup should be able to drive in 90+ runs.....Brandon Morrow of the Seattle Mariners was much better in his second save attempt shutting the door on the Minnesota Twins. Even though Glen Perkins got the loss, I like him in AL only leagues as a back half of a fantasy baseball rotation.....Lots of firsts for the New York Yankees on Thursday. First win in the new uniform for A.J. Burnett, first home run of the season for Mark Teixeira and first stolen base of the season for Brett Gardner.....Evan Longoria hit his second home run of the season for the Tampa Bay Rays. I had said in an earlier post that I expect him to battle David Wright and A-Rod for the first third basemen chosen in fantasy basbeall drafts next season. Jason Varitek hit his second home run for the Red Sox. He will provide a little bit of power from the catcher position for your fantasy team but be prepared to offset his low batting average.....Good starts from both Kyle Davies and John Danks in the Kansas City - Chicago game. Coco Crisp sent the Royals home a winner with his home run off of Bobby Jenks in the ninth inning. Alex Gordon stole his first base of the season for the Royals.....Andruw Jones got his first start of the season for the Texas Rangers and they decide to hit him cleanup? Mmmm, just saying, if a guy is good enough to hit cleanup when he plays, either he should be playing more or the manager is hitting him in the wrong spot in the lineup.

To get more fantasy baseball news and commentary, go to http://fantasybaseballtools.com

Fantasy Baseball - The Daily Dirt from Wednesday

by Todd Lammi

Very sad news today in the world of sports today as Los Angeles Angels rookie starting pitcher Nick Adenhart was killed in a car accident Thursday morning. Adenhart, 22, was the starting pitcher against the Oakland Athletics last night and had thrown six shutout innings.

In other fantasy baseball news around the diamond on Wednesday...

American League:

Derek Jeter went yard for the New York Yankees who are still looking for their first win of the season. Koji Uehara was solid in his first start for the Baltimore Orioles, but where are the strikeouts?....Zach Miner got the win for the Detroit Tigers thanks in part to Brandon Inge, who hit his third home run of the season. Did I mention that he hits better as an infielder? Miguel Cabrera hit two home runs for the Tigers. I expect a monster season from Cabrera this season as he should league the American League in rbi.....Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria both went deep for the Tampa Bay Rays. Nice to see Rocco Baldeill make it back, as he started in right field for the Boston Red Sox.....Fausto Carmona, err, not a good start with the Cleveland Indians. Nelson Cruz for the Texas Rangers hit two home runs and stole a base. Elvis Andrus even chipped in with a home run; that is pure gravy if you own him....Kevin Slowey got the win for the Minnesota Twins, although his line was not that pretty. Denard Span has put his awful spring behind him and is off to a good start in week one, slugging his first home run of the season.....Zack Greinke looked sharp for the Kansas City Royals as did Gavin Floyd for the Chicago White Sox. Note on Gavin Floyd, his strikeouts were up in spring training and in his first start, this may be the season he kicks up his strikeout rate up a notch.

National League:

The Florida Marlins continued to roll. Emilio Bonifacio stole his fourth base of the season. Chris Volstad struck out 7 in 5 innings of work. Closer Matt Lindstrom looked shaky, loading the bases with one out before getting out of the jam. Elijah Dukes got his first start of the year in center field over Lastings Milledge for the Washington Nationals.....If you had game three in the Chipper Jones injury pool, you are a winner as Chipper sat with a bruised left thumb. Jordan Schafer hit his second home run of the season. Don't get too excited thinking he is going to hit 30+ home runs, his career high in the minor leagues was 10. Dexter Fowler got the start in center field for the Colorado Rockies and hit his first home run in the major leagues. Manager Clint Hurdle said Fowler will see time against left-handed pitching and some right handers so I see Fowler getting 300-350 at bats.....New year, different result for Edison Volquez as he struggled against the New York Mets. I see some downside to Volquez who had a stellar year last year. Downside as in not likely to repeat last year's numbers because they were just too good. There is always some regression to the mean.....Alfonso Soriano stole his frst base of the year for the Chicago Cubs. Jeff Keppinger got the start at 3b for the Houston Astros. He is a good free agent pickup in NL only leagues as he should see time against left-handed starters. How bad is the Astros staff that Russ Ortiz is on it?....David Freese got the start at 3b for the St. Louis Cardinals as manager Tony La Russa tries to set a major league record for having a different starting third basemen for every game of the season. Zach Duke who had a respectable spring for the Pittsburgh Pirates had a good first start.....Rule 5 pick Everth Cabrera got the start at shortstop for the San Diego Padres. I like Cabrera in NL only leagues as he has a chance to steal 15-20 bases this season in a reserve role. The best reliever in the National League (sorry K-Rod) Jonathan Broxton got his second save of the season for the Los Angeles Dodgers.....Yovani Gallardo (love him!) got the first win of the year for the Milwaukee Brewers. Gallardo should be good for close to 200 strikeouts this season health permitting.

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