By Ted Cahill

The dog days of summer are nearly over and we can get down to deciding division battles and wild card spots.

But with little more than a month left in this year’s regular season, players with nagging injuries on teams out of contention may begin to start packing it in. Or probably more accurately, being told to pack it in.

Someone in the Mets’ organization finally woke up to the reality that a game pitched by Johan Santana means a lot more when the team isn’t already 10 games under .500 and he’s now done for the season. Really this should have been done earlier in the year if he’s been experiencing the elbow discomfort that is being reported.

So there’s a possibility that other teams will tell their ailing stars to start the offseason a bit earlier this year or to not bother trying to come back. If you have any of these players on your fantasy teams, watch closely for news and be ready to make a change if you’re still in contention.

•Grady Sizemore, Indians – Sizemore will likely have surgery on in the offseason on his left elbow. He can’t throw well, but his hitting seems to be largely unaffected. Sizemore wants to play through it and so far the Indians have let him, especially now that Trevor Crowe is hurt. If Crowe comes back or Michael Brantley is promoted in September, Sizemore may be finally told to just get the surgery done already.

•Jeff Francoeur, Mets – He’s going to need surgery after the season. Why are the Mets pressing their luck here? As their medical team is increasingly under scrutiny he may just get that done a few weeks early.

•Any Met – Carlos Beltran seems to still want to come back. David Wright really wants to play. Will they be allowed? Wright probably will be, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Beltran is shut down. As for the rest of the team, watch out – who knows what player falls victim next.

•Roy Halladay, Blue Jays – Entirely speculation, but he has struggled for the last month. He could be hurting, or he just might be disappointed he’s still in Toronto. I’d be slightly concerned.

•Rookie pitchers – The Indians have already said they intend to shut down David Huff when he reaches about 160 innings and Oakland has talked about a six-man rotation to ease the innings on their young starters. Other young pitchers around the majors may find that their teams will be cautious with them as well.

•Alfonso Soriano, Cubs – He has an injured left knee and is scheduled for an MRI on the next off day for Chicago. He wants to play, but if the Cubs haven’t improved their position by Sept. 10 they may just shut it down if the MRI isn’t clean.

•Joe Crede, Twins – It’s a little early to declare this team dead in the playoff chase, but things don’t look good. With Crede experiencing “post-surgical changes” in his back and with his past, Minnesota likely won’t be shy in putting him on the shelf.

•Johnny Cueto, Reds – He’s planning on returning Aug. 31. We’ll see how long this lasts. With Aaron Harang and Edinson Volquez already done for the year, Cincinnati might just add Cueto to the list too.

By Ted Cahill

Maybe Dave Duncan is a genius. Maybe the Red Sox gave up on John Smoltz too early. Maybe the Green Monster scared him. Maybe Fenway Park was too small. Maybe pitching in the AL East was just too much for a 42-year old.

Whatever the reason, Smoltz didn’t work out in Boston. But he seems to be off to a good start in St. Louis. Clearly it’s a small sample size, as in one start. But if Smoltz had given the Red Sox five shutout innings every fifth day, he’d still be eating clam chowder.

It would be easy to write off Smoltz’s good debut for St. Louis as a testament to the horrific offense of San Diego, but Smoltz didn’t even pitch well against bad teams in Boston. Baltimore touched him up for 12 runs in 15 innings and Oakland plated five runs on 10 hits.

Smoltz struck out nine Padres, his most since last April. And he did all of this in just 75 pitches. Smoltz isn’t the dominant pitcher he was in the mid-‘90s, but he’s got to be better than what he was in Boston, which was awful.

The concept of picking up a 42-year old pitcher who’s had two and a half good outings all year concerns me. There are better options out there for most of you. I wouldn’t take Smoltz over any of the six pitchers I outlined last week, but he is intriguing.

Smoltz will get another chance against Washington on Saturday. In his Red Sox debut, Smoltz lost to the Nats, allowing five runs in five innings. This time around he might fare better. If he turns in another outing like Sunday’s people will really take notice. If you’re looking for starting pitching, Saturday’s start is an important one, because you might have to move quickly to put in your waiver claim on the former Cy Young winner.

Another debut: Speaking of pitchers getting another chance in the NL, Vicente Padilla makes his Dodgers’ debut Thursday at Colorado. Again I don’t advise you pick him up this week (pitching in Coors Field scares me), but it’s worth watching.

Padilla has eight wins this year and a not-so-great ERA of 4.92, but he’s a serviceable starter. With the Dodgers you can expect him to keep winning and maybe he’ll even behave himself under Joe Torre. In his warm up start in AAA Albuquerque, Padilla struck out five in five innings, allowing two runs.

Also escaping the horrible pitching conditions of Arlington should help lower his ERA. In his career, Padilla has fared better in the NL, cutting almost a full run off his ERA in the senior circuit.

Skidding aces: San Francisco is attempting to return to the playoffs for the first time since losing the World Series in 2002, but their twin aces of Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain are finding it tough going.

Neither Lincecum nor Cain has won in three weeks, a stat so unbelievable I had to double check it myself. Cain actually hasn’t won in the month of August and Lincecum has gone since August 1 without a victory. They aren’t pitching poorly, combined they are only 0-3 with a 3.31 ERA. Cain even threw nine shutout innings, but came away with a no decision.

For owners of either pitcher, this shouldn’t really be cause for concern. At the start of the season no one expected the Giants to actually support these guys, so it was assumed wins would be hard to come by. But all the San Francisco fans out there should probably be freaking out. There is no way this team makes it to October if Lincecum and Cain continue to go four or five starts between wins.

Pitcher Pickup of the Week: Jonathan Sanchez, Giants
Since announcing his return to the Giants’ starting rotation with a no-hitter, Sanchez has pitched very well. He’s 4-2 with a 2.90 ERA in eight starts. As always, Sanchez’s problems have come from poor command, but even that seems to be coming around. He’s probably going to walk three or four hitters a game, but manages to work around that by limiting opponents to a .161 average.

This week he’ll start against Arizona Wednesday at home. This season he has pitched excellently against the Diamondbacks, allowing just one run in 13 1/3 innings. He’s also struck out 10 hitters, but walked 11 (seven in one game). The start also comes in AT&T Park, where Sanchez has been great this year, posting a 3.63 ERA and 50 strikeouts to just 22 walks in 53 innings.

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 12:00

by Steven Iñiguez Ruiz

Kyle Blanks’ walk-off three-run home run last night versus the Cubs may have cost closer Kevin Gregg his job but more importantly may have highlighted a tremendous talent at third base for the Padres and fantast owners looking for RBI production, Kevin Kouzmanoff who was intentionally walked the at bat before Blanks’ blast. Kouzmanoff is hitting .345 with 19 H in 55 AB, is hitting .471 with RISP in the month of August, and is ranked 8th amongst 3B in the MLB in RBIs with 68 runs knocked in. The .260 avg may discourage some from picking up the corner infielder, but sweet Lou knew not to take a risk with the man with the hot stick; even though it cost him the game anyways.
Kevin Kouzmanoff (SD – 3B)
Avg HR RBI R SB
.260 15 68 42 1
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By Ted Cahill

The trading deadline has passed in just about every baseball league, fantasy or otherwise.

So since you can no longer try to rip off your fellow owners for pitching I’ll give you six pitchers I like for the remaining six weeks of the season. All the pitchers on my list are available in at least 80 percent of ESPN leagues and all but one is up for grabs in at least 65 percent of Yahoo! leagues.

I feel like this is a good time to mention the track record with this year’s Pitcher Pickups of the Week. So far I’ve advised seven pitchers who have made 11 starts. Combined they’re 6-3 with a 2.49 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. They’ve thrown 72 1/3 innings, striking out 35 batters.

As a comparison, CC Sabathia has made 10 starts in the same time frame, going 7-3 with a 3.54 ERA. So my group hasn’t done too bad considering they were all available in at least 60 percent of all leagues and plenty could have been picked up in more than 90 percent.

But enough of my bragging, here are the pitchers I like for the stretch run.

Jeff Niemann, Rays

Formerly a Pickup of the Week, I’m now in it for the long haul. He’s a former first-round pick who has really saved the Rays pitching staff this year since the much higher-profile rookie pitcher hasn’t performed as expected for Tampa Bay.

Since shutting out Oakland July 10, Niemann is 3-1 with a 3.32 ERA. In 43 1/3 innings the right-hander has struck out 35 hitters and opponents are hitting .244 off him. And all of that with a high BABIP of .296. Things might get even better for Niemann.

Aaron Laffey, Indians

Like I said last week, Laffey’s a favorite of mine and has been for a while. However, he’s also pitching like an ace since the All-Star Break. As a bonus, he’s basically out to secure a spot in next year’s rotation, instead of having to compete for it during Spring Training.

In his last five starts, the left-hander is 4-1 with a 2.03 ERA and 18 strikeouts. He’s a sinker-baller, so don’t expect many punch outs, but he has a knack for getting out of trouble and has good control.

Barry Zito, Giants

No, he’s not the pitcher that won 23 games in 2002, but he’s coming around. Zito has always been a second-half pitcher. In his career, Zito is 73-38 with a 3.45 ERA after the break. And for once, the left-hander is pitching for a contender.

Lately, Zito has been pretty efficient. In his last five starts, Zito is 3-1 with a 2.73 ERA. His nasty curveball is striking hitters out again, to a tune of almost one an inning. I expect him to turn it on even more as the playoffs get closer.

Tommy Hunter, Rangers

My friend and I were recently perusing the Texas which now includes names such as Dustin Nippert and Derek Holland. Really it was no surprise that the only pitcher we really knew much about was Kevin Millwood; this is the Rangers after all. But then we remembered you can no longer take that attitude with this team.

Hunter is a name worth knowing. Since the break, he’s 4-1 with a 2.20 ERA. He has a WHIP just south of one and has pitched very well against contenders like Boston and Detroit. Of the young Rangers’ starters, he’s the one I’m most impressed by.

Joe Blanton, Phillies

I’ve already put a Ranger on the list, so why not toss a Phillie on here too? Yeah, the ballpark is awful, but Blanton isn’t. Like Zito, this former A is much better in the second half, compiling a 26-16 record with a 3.92 ERA.

This season, Blanton is pitching decently at home, though 15 home runs in 78 innings is an awful lot. But the right-hander is hot, going 3-2 with a 1.79 ERA since the start of July. I wouldn’t worry about the lack of wins, he plays for Philadelphia, that ERA is more than enough reason for me to pick him up.

Brett Cecil, Blue Jays

As if this list needed another rookie. Cecil, the third rookie pitcher to catch my eye, might be the least sure thing of the group. I liked him enough two weeks ago to make him the Pickup of the Week and he thanked me by getting hurt in the fifth inning of his start against Baltimore.

But provided he’s healthy (and all indications point that way) all the reasons I liked him then still apply. Even with that subpar outing, Cecil is 3-0 with a 2.01 ERA in his last five starts. Before the injury he hadn’t failed to last at least six innings and was striking out almost one an inning. He’s still for real.

Pitcher Pickup of the Week: Manny Parra, Brewers

Any pitcher on a five game winning streak with Pittsburgh and Washington in his sights is someone I like. This week Parra will look to extend his streak, going on the road to do so.

He’s already beaten the Nationals on the streak, though he allowed five runs in six innings. Parra also struck out seven in that outing. Historically he doesn’t pitch very well away from Miller Park, but like everything else with Parra it’s truly a mixed bag. In his only start in Pittsburgh, Parra threw 5 2/3 shutout innings for a win, but in Washington he allowed six runs in 4 1/3 innings. He’s not perfect, but I feel pretty good about Parra.

Morales 3 for 4 in Angels win

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 12:00

by Steven Iñiguez Ruiz

Angels’ outfielder Kendry Morales continued his hot streak last night, going 3 for 4 night including two homers and 3 RBI in an 8–7 win over Tampa. After a huge July where he batted .326 with 7 HR and driving in 20 RBI, Morales picked up his average from .280 on the first of July to .298 on the 11 of August and continues the trend with a .364 Avg, picking up 12 hits in his last 33 at-bats so far this month. He has driven in 75 runs this season and is second only to Bobby Abreu (77) in RBI production amongst the Angels while leading the team with 25 homeruns. As he makes himself up the RBI rankings -7th amongst MLB OF- fantasy owners looking for an everyday OF need to act fast before Morales is no longer a free agent.

Kendry Morales (Laa – 1B/OF)
Avg HR RBI R SB
.298 25 75 55 1
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By Ted Cahill

The White Sox and general manager Kenny Williams did it again.

Less than two weeks after dealing for injured ace Jake Peavy, the White Sox claimed Alex Rios off waivers from Toronto outfielder Alex Rios, buying his contract. The Rios acquisition is the typical high-risk, high-reward deal that leaves the more conservative baseball executives scratching their heads.

But for fantasy owners, this trade is a major headache. Rios joins an outfield that previously looked pretty set with Carlos Quentin in left field, Scott Podsednik in center and Jermaine Dye in right.

Seemingly, the easy move to make would be Rios playing right field and Dye moving to DH. That isn’t an option with Jim Thome and his 21 home runs and 69 RBI occupying that spot, leaving manager Ozzie Guillen a big task in filling out a lineup card every night.

Removing Podsednik from the lineup might make sense, given his defensive limitations, but then who would lead off? Alexi Ramirez hasn’t hit all that well this year and rookie Gordon Beckham would unlikely to be asked to move into the high-pressure role. The White Sox have also been reenergized by Podsednik’s presence in the lineup and he has more speed than anyone else on the team.

Quentin could be the odd man out, but he has hit much better lately. Since July 31 Quentin is hitting .375 with two home runs and eight RBI.

The big loser in the trade appears to be Dye, who after a good first half hasn’t hit in a month. Dye is hitting .161 with four home runs and 12 RBI in the last four weeks; though his BABIP indicates he has been unlucky. There is also speculation that this deal means the White Sox will not pick up their end of Dye’s mutual option for 2010.

Taking Dye out of the lineup would enable Guillen to do just about anything he wanted to with his outfield, since Podsednik, Quentin and Rios all play two outfield positions.

What seems to be clear now is that Guillen will not have a regular lineup. If you own any Chicago outfielder or Thome, checking lineups daily is now a requirement. As Guillen becomes more comfortable with all his toys, a pattern may develop or a possible platoon. But most likely it will be a guessing game for fantasy owners until the end of the season.