Fantasy Baseball

BY ADAM RONIS

Pickups
AL ONLY
Garrett Olson (Orioles), SP: Olson has been solid in his first two starts and he put up good numbers in Triple-A. He might not stay in the rotation long, but pitch him while he is doing well.
Joey Devine (A’s), RP: Devine has pitched very well out of the bullpen and could close if Huston Street got injured. He has a 0.68 ERA and 15/3 K/BB ratio, so he’ll at least help in ERA and WHIP.
Jesse Litsch (Blue Jays), SP: He has exhibited great control so far with seven walks in 40 1/3 innings and is 4-1 with 4.24 ERA. He has allowed seven home runs, though.

NL ONLY
Chris Iannetta (Rockies), C: Iannetta received five straight starts over Yorvit Torrealba the past week. He is batting .345 with three home runs and 14 RBIs.
Blake DeWitt (Dodgers), 3B: DeWitt has been very hot and kept Andy LaRoche in the minors. He could even keep the job when Nomar Garciaparra is healthy, if he ever is.
Ryan Ludwick (Cardinals), OF: He hasn’t played regularly, but he produces every time he does. He has seven home runs and could get more playing time.

BY ADAM RONIS

Corey Patterson's batting average has been dipping at a rapid pace recently, but you can't blame the 0-for-1 to him today. The Red batted out of order in the top of the ninth against the Mets when David Ross hit instead of Patterson. The Mets caught it so, Patterson was hit with an out and Ross got to hit again in his designated spot and he singled. If it can go wrong, it will for the Reds.

Jose Reyes went 3-for-5 with two runs and two steals -- he has 12 on the season. Luis Castillo left the game with left quad soreness. His health is a major concern.

Carlos Beltran could be ready to go on major hot streak. He went 2-for-5 with two runs, a homer and three RBIs.

It was another poor start for Reds starter Johnny Cueto. He went 4 2/3 innings, allowing eight hits, six runs, three walks and struck out five. He is 2-4 with a 5.91 ERA. That's why you should never fall in love with rookies. Almost all experience inconsistency. Don't give up on Cueto, though.

Oliver Perez was very good for five innings before losing it in the sixth. The lead was big enough where it didn't hurt him. He went six innings allowing three hits, three runs, four walks and struck out eight. He is 3-3 with a 4.61 ERA.

Maybe the Mets can take a cue from the Marlins and beat up on the Nationals. Dan Uggla hit two home runs and has 11 homers and 27 RBIs. Scott Olsen wasn't as good as usual, but he bounced back after a rough start. He lasted six innings and allowed six hits, four runs, two walks and struck out one. This was the third time he has faced the Nats this season and he has faced a struggling Brewers offense twice. Sell high!!!

Ervin Santana had his worst start of the season against the Rays. He allowed nine hits and five runs in 5 2/3 innings. He walked just one and struck out seven. He was due for a bad one.

Ryan Ludwick hit his eighth homer. Pick him up while he's hot.

Ryan Braun looks like he is turning it around. He homered twice and has seven homers and 25 RBIs.

Salomon Torres was brought in for the save in a 5-2 game for the Brewers, but was removed and allowed a run. Lefthander Brian Shouse was brought in to get lefty Adam Kennedy out for the final out and the save. Torres, Mota and Shouse will all get chances while Gagne is temporarily sidelined from closing.

Brian Bannister had a good start for the first time in a few starts. He threw eight scoreless innings against an Orioles lineup that looks like a Triple-A one lately.

The Rangers placed Kevin Milwood on the 15-day DL with a strained groin.

Due to cold and rainy weather, Carlos Zambrano and Randy Johnson were scratched from their starts.

BY ADAM RONIS

Eric Gagne has been removed from the closer's role temporarily. Manager Ed Yost said Gagne needs a mental break and said he will mix and match in determining who will become the closer. Guillermo Mota and Salomon Torres will likely get the chances and should be picked up.

BY ADAM RONIS

The column was bumped from today's paper. Here it is online.

http://www.newsday.com/sports/ny-spfantasy0511,0,5089805.column

BY ADAM RONIS

Ned Yost wasn't ready to remove Eric Gagne from the closer's role after he allowed two runs in a tie game today to take the loss in a 5-3 defeat. But Gagne is making easier for him if it does happen. First Jason Isringhausen and now Gagne. What's going on with these fragile closers?

Gagne said after today's game he doesn't deserve to be the closer right now. What an excellent observation. I guess the thick goggles actually do work. The number back up his proclamation. In 15 2/3 innings, he has allowed 18 hits, 11 walks and has a 6.89 ERA. The opposition is hitting .400. Gagne rolled out the red carpet for Yost to remove him. Salomon Torres and Guillermo Mota could be the candidates to take over.

BY ADAM RONIS

Jose Reyes continues to slump. He went 0-for-4 with a walk and is down to .246. It's a long sample now that he has struggled. It's about 100 games where he has looked mediocre. I'm starting to get concerned. He is mentioned in more detail in tomorrow's fantasy column.

Another player mentioned in tomorrow's column, which features a local flavor this week, is Carlos Beltran. He went 2-for-3 with five RBIs. He will have one of those torrid streaks he is well known for, so hurry up and buy low before he explodes.

Carlos Delgado hit his fifth homer, but I'm still not sold on him for the long haul.

Matt Belisle is 1-3 with a 7.45 ERA. He allowed five earned runs in five innings against the Mets. Homer Bailey's phone should be ringing.....now!!

Johan Santana is 4-2 with a 3.10 ERA, but hasn't been dominating. He went six innings, allowing 10 hits, one walk and struck out five. He is usually a lockdown pitcher in the second half of the season, so he will get better.

Darrell Rasner had another decent start for the Yankees. He went six innings, allowing four hits, two runs one walk and struck out one. He is 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA. He is a decent option in AL-only leagues.

Jeremy Bonderman has been very inconsistent. He allowed five runs and four walks in four innings. He is 2-4 with a 4.80 ERA. I don't trust him.

Ryan Franklin picked up his second save. He is the interim closer, while Jason Isringhausen gets his head straight.

Eric Gagne came into pitch in a 3-3 game in the ninth and allowed three hits, one walk and took the loss. He is 1-2 with a 6.89 ERA. Does he get another vote of confidence?

Alfonso Soriano went 4-for-5 with two runs and an RBI to raise his average to .223. He will break out soon.

Max Scherzer pitched well against the Cubs. In six innings, he allowed five hits, one run -- no earned -- walked one and struck out six. Doug Davis is set to go on a rehab assignment, so unless Randy Johnson gets injured, Scherzer could be headed back to the bullpen unless he overwhelms in his next few starts. He was in line to get the win, but Chad Qualls allowed four runs.

Ryan Howard is hitting .169, but hit his seveth homer. He had a very slow start last season, too.

Tim Linceum doesn't care about pitching on a bad team. It hasn't hurt him at all. He went eight innings and allowed four hits, two runs, one walk and struck out eight against the Phillies. He is 5-1 with a 1.61 ERA.

BY ADAM RONIS

The Blue Jays placed centerfielder Vernon Wells on the 15-day DL with a broken bone in his left wrist after hurting himself trying to make a catch in the sixth inning last night. He is expected to miss as much as two months. Wells was hitting .281 with five home runs and 25 RBIs. Reliever Jeremy Accardo has also been placed on the 15-day DL with a right forearm strain. Armando Benitez and infielder Joe Inglett have been recalled from Triple-A. Brad Wilkerson and Kevin Mench should platoon in rightfield and Alex Rios will move to center.

BY ADAM RONIS

Cardinals closer Jason Isringhausen said he needs a mental break from closing and the team obliged. He has been temporarily removed as the team's closer. He feels fine physically and his velocity isn't down. The team thinks it is his mechanics.

Izzy blew his fifth save last night. He is 1-4 with a 7.47 ERA and has blown four of his last seven save opportunities. He leads the NL with 11 saves and is eight away from 300. Ryan Franklin and Russ Springer will split the closing role. Franklin has a 2.00 ERA in 19 games this season. Springer has a 7.50 ERA in six innings.

Fantasy Baseball Sunday Pick'em.
This was started by Mike Muschiano of the Poughkeepsie Journal.
Below is a detailed outline of the logistics. Essentially, 10 bloggers will select a pitcher and hitter every week based on their expectations for how they will perform on Sunday. Here are the rules and order/picks for Week 1:

Rules:

Player Selection:
Rotating Order on a Weekly Basis
No one player can be selected twice
No player in the Yahoo! Big Board can be selected.

Scoring system:
Hitters-
1 point for every base (i.e. single=1 point, double=2 point, etc)
1 point for a run
1point for an RBI
1 point for a SB

Pitchers-
3 points for W
5 points for CG
3 points for SV
1 point for 2IP
-1 point for ER
1 point for K

Here is who get selected and the order they were selected in (both pitcher and hitter are selected at the same time):

Brett Greenfield, Greener on the Other Side- Jair Jurrjens and Adrian Gonzalez
Robert Reed, Baseball Geeks- Ervin Santana and Casey Kotchman
Eric Stashin, Rotoprofessor- Gavin Floyd and Hunter Pence
Jason Collette, Rotojunkie- Andy Sonnanstine and Evan Longoria
Zach Piso, MLB Front Office- Chris Young and Ian Kinsler
Commish, Fantasy Baseball Geeks- Scott Olsen and Derek Jeter
Adam Ronis, Newsday- Oliver Perez and Matt Kemp
Grey, Razzball- Rich Harden and Rick Ankiel
Mike Muschiano, Poughkeepsie Journal- Fausto Carmona and Bobby Abreu
Andrew Martish- Tim Wakefield and Mike Jacobs

**Note: We used the Big Board dated May 5th- Funston updated his Big Board late yesterday after selections were in.**

There are the selections for the first week of the Sunday Pick'em. Check back tomorrow tonight for the results and standings.

BY ADAM RONIS

Matt Cain has been a disappointment, but three poor starts have inflated his totals. Remember, don't analyze numbers after six or seven starts so closely. An 8-run, thee-inning peformance can make the numbers look worse. Cain was pitching well today into the seventh inning, but allowed five runs in 6 1/3 innings. He has had four very good performances this season. He hurt his hamstring in his last start and that could have hindered him. I'd stick with him.

Matt Capps pitched for the third straight day and picked up save No. 8.

Mariano Rivera has yet to allow an earned run this season and picked up save No. 9. He has allowed five hits in 14 innings. Amazing.

Ryan Ludwick hit two home runs and now has seven for the season. He hasn't been playing full-time, but should earn more playing time. He plays mostly against lefties. NL-only league owners should play him.

Chris Ianetta has been playing real well lately and has been starting over Yorvit Torrealba. Ianetta should be owned in NL-only leagues while he is getting time and hot. He is hitting .345.

Brett Myers had another poor outing today against the Diamondbacks. He is 2-3 with a 5.33 ERA. He has allowed 12 home runs, which has been his downfall. His other numbers aren't bad and he still strikes out hitters. Buy low.

Brandon Webb is 8-0 with a 2.41 ERA after a complete game against the Phillies today. He's one of the top fantasy pitchers and one of the most reliable. He threw just 104 pitches.

Kevin Youkilis homered again today. He is batting .313 with seven homers and 27 RBIs. He is a solid fantasy contributor that doesn't get a lot of love.

Justin Verlander had another bad outing today against the Red Sox. His 30/21 K/BB ratio isn't good. I'd be concerned if I owned him.

Jimmy Rollins should be activated tomorrow.