Daily TIPS: Wednesday's Recap

This weekend brings the first round of interleague games. When interleague play first started, it was an interesting novelty that provided a diversion from the typical games. However, its time has passed. The hyped up regional rivalries don’t provide nearly the entertainment they were supposed to, and the other games are really nothing special anymore. If you’re a Braves fan, do you really care about the A’s coming to town? Or will the Royals trip to Florida really bring in any more fans? 

But while it’s not that exciting for me personally, it does bring up some issues in the fantasy world. As AL teams trek to NL parks, the DH slot becomes obsolete. Who’s going to miss out the most? 

- Travis Hafner should get the whole weekend off. He’s been so bad this year that he could use the time off, and he certainly wouldn’t help defensively at first.

- Frank Thomas, see above.

- Expect Matt Stairs to find playing time at either RF or LF over Kevin Mench or Brad Wilkerson.

- Cliff Floyd is back from injury and hitting well, but will probably see a lot of bench time this weekend.

- Jim Thome and Paul Konerko have struggled this year and both are expected them to split time at first this weekend, with Konerko probably getting more of the AB’s with two lefties starting.

If you can make daily transactions in your league, plan your lineup accordingly.

Elsewhere...

* The Indians’ pitching staff continues to amaze. C.C. Sabathia threw a complete game shutout, striking out 11 in the process. That extends the scoreless streak for Indians’ starters to 43.1 innings. Sabathia’s slow start is far behind him now as he’s allowed just six runs in his last five outings, striking out 43 and walking just eight in those games.

* John Lackey made is 2008 debut in fine fashion last night — 7 IP, 1 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 4 K. If you haven’t done so already, get him activated in all leagues. He appears to be ready to resume his ace status.

* Chipper Jones went 2-for-4 with a homer and is now batting .418 on the year. At age 36, he’s proving that he’s not washed up in any way. However, if you can sell high on him now — and I’m talking first round talent high — it’s not a bad idea. He’s not going to hit .400 with an OPS over 1.100 for the year.

* Is it time to believe in Daniel Cabrera? Over his last three starts he’s walked only three batters while striking out 16. He’s shown flashes like this before, so be weary. However, it’s tough to overlook a high strikeout performer like him if he’s finally putting it all together.

* Jose Contreras is quietly putting together a fine season. He allowed just one run in seven innings last night while picking up the win. His ERA is 3.35 and his WHIP is 1.19. He’s also gone at least six innings in every start but his first one and hasn’t allowed more than four runs in any start. This type of consistency is valuable to have on your team, yet Contreras is unowned in many leagues. If you’re looking to replace a recently injured pitcher like Clay Buchholz, take a look at Contreras.

* Alfonso Soriano went 2-for-5 with his sixth HR. He now has 10 hits in his last 19 at-bats and has homered in three straight, bringing his average up to .250 and his SLG up to .472.

* Rookie Jeff Clement went 2-for-4 with a double and a triple. He’s struggled since being called up, but is recently showing signs of life with four hits in his last three games. He’s getting his chance to play and was a hitting machine in the minors… so he could make for a good second catcher option.

* Todd Wellmeyer continues to put up good starts — W, 7 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 5 K. He has a 3.11 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, and a better than 2:1 K/BB rate. If he’s available in deeper leagues, get him while you still can.

* Scott Downs picked up his fifth save and his second in his last three games. B.J. Ryan was most likely getting the night off after pitching the last two games. If you can handcuff Downs to Ryan, that would be a smart move as it seems that the Jays are going to be cautious with Ryan throughout the year. Downs could finish with 10-15 saves if this pace continues. However, if you don’t have Ryan, I wouldn’t suggest picking up Downs as his save opportunities will be difficult to predict.

* If you happen to own Jarrod Washburn (not many do) and had him in your lineup, he gave you a bonus save yesterday. Washburn picked up the save by pitching a scoreless twelfth inning. J.J. Putz had already been used in the tenth and eleventh innings.

* Clay Buchholz has been placed on the DL after breaking a fingernail. Justin Masterson will most likely replace him in the rotation.

* Jeff Keppinger is headed to the DL with a broken kneecap. He has been a great help in the batting average category but will miss four to six weeks.

* Ryan Doumit is expected to miss at least four weeks with his broken thumb.

QuickTIPS

Spot-start candidate:
Joel Pineiro vs Pittsburgh. Pineiro has pitched well lately and expect that to continue against a Bucs team he has a lifetime 1.74 ERA against. 

Avoid:
Aaron Cook at Arizona. Cook has a career 5.09 ERA against the Dbacks and has nearly as many walks as K’s. 

QuickTIP Results 

I said start:
Ted Lilly - W, 6 IP, 4 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 11K 

I said avoid:
Daniel Cabrera - W, 7 IP, 3 ER, 10 H, 0 BB, 3 K
James Shields - L, 7.1 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 6 K