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Jonathan Lee

AccuScore Analyst

Twitter @thejonlee

Eddie Guardado got the save Tuesday, and should be picked up universally.  While he isn’t vintage “Everday” Eddie anymore, he has gone 7.2 innings without giving up a run and certainly has been far more effective than Wilson.  Frank Francisco steps into a set-up role, and could see some save opportunities based on match-ups (he is a righty while Guardado is a southpaw). 

• Huston Street blew yet another save Tuesday (0.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 BB), his sixth of the season.  He has the worst save percentage in the AL.  Expect somebody else to get the next save chance, and a full-blown committee approach to follow.  Jerry Blevins and Brad Ziegler are the names to know here.

• Detroit’s bullpen failed once again in a 10-8 14 inning loss to the White Sox.  Kyle Farnsworth gave up another run Tuesday for his second consecutive blown save (he pitched 1.1 innings spanning the 7^th and 8^th).  Joel Zumaya got 2 outs in the 14^th inning but blew his third save allowing 2 hits before a 3-run jack to Nick Swisher.  Fernando Rodney was actually dominant pitching the 10-12 innings striking out 5 batters and allowing just 1 walk.  Not sure how to feel about Rodney given his uneven performances, but it’s nice to see him succeed in any situation.  He still has 0 saves since nominally gaining the closer role though so it’s still wait and see.  He appears to be the only viable option Jim Leyland has left.

• Rookie Adam Jones was finally coming into his own as a hitter, but now he is out four weeks after his injury was revealed to be a broken bone in his left foot.  That would be in the range of mid-September with very little season remaining.  Given how important he will be to the rebuilding process in Baltimore, Jones might not play another inning this season.  Feel free to drop him in all formats (except keepers of course).

• Joba Chamberlain is heading to see the venerable (infamous?) Dr. James Andrews to have his shoulder examined.  Not a good sign.  At the very least, he should miss his next start.

• Edinson Volquez got smacked around again, this time giving up five runs in five innings in an 8-1 loss to Milwaukee.  He struck out just two batters and hasn’t had more than five strikeouts in nine of his last 10 starts.  Not a good sign.  He’s young and talented, but a heavy workload (check the pitch counts) and a huge jump in workload (already more than 100 innings more than 2007) probably mean he is wearing down.  I would try to trade him for 75 cents on the dollar to someone who still believes.  That might not be realistically possible however.

• Despite Eric Wedge saying he prefers Rafael Perez in the middle innings, I have to believe he will get a shot at closing games before the end of this season.  He had a dominant two inning save Monday, and Masa Kobayashi is better at starting fires than putting them out.  Kobayashi even had a reputation as an “adventurous” closer in Japan.  Rafael Betancourt certainly isn’t getting another shot at pitching in the 9^th inning.  Free Rafael Perez!

• Rain delayed the Dodgers and Cardinals several times ruining the starts for Chad Billingsley and Chris Carpenter.  Billingsley pitched well yet again (5 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 6 K) but was tagged with the loss after leaving after a delay.  Carpenter looked better in his second start (5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K) but not close to the dominant 2005-06 version of himself.  Still, it was an encouraging step and he could be a solid fantasy option down the stretch.  He has to be owned just in case he can recapture his vintage form.

• Manny Ramirez might be an even bigger help to the Dodgers off the field.  The slugger has struck up a friendship with struggling centerfielder Andruw Jones in the clubhouse which may get Jones relaxed and ready to hit once again.  Ramirez is batting a mere .625 since joining L.A. but if he can motivate Jones, it would be an even bigger contribution.  Jones actually hit a home run in the 9^th inning to spark a 4 run Dodger rally.  The dinger was just his third of the year.  The Dodgers went on to lose the game in 11 innings, but seeing Jones find his swing (for one at-bat at least) has got to be a wonderful sight for L.A. fans.  The other side to this is that if Jones starts hitting, Juan Pierre will head to the bench.  Pierre is almost useless in real life, but in fantasy he steals bases and scores some runs so this is a situation to keep tabs on.

• There was finally a Jacoby Ellsbury sighting.  The rookie was recently dropped to 9^th in the Boston order, but on Tuesday he responded going 2-4 and stealing 2 bases.  Those were his first steals since the first of July.  He now has 37 swipes on the year.  Ellsbury has started to pop up on waiver wires since most of his value is tied to his speed and average, so if he runs at all in the next few days snap him up or trade for him cheap before his value fully recovers.

• Brandon Morrow will be optioned to Tacoma (AAA) and will begin his conversion to starting pitching a la Joba immediately.  That means the closer role now officially belongs to J.J. Putz once again.  Putz is still having some control issues (2 H, 3 BB, 3 K, and a W Tuesday) coming off of injury so don’t expect the elite numbers from last year, but I certainly like him more than the shaky situations in Detroit, Pittsburgh, Oakland, St.Louis, and Cleveland.

• Fernando Tatis hit two more home runs Tuesday to power the Mets to a win.  He now has nine dingers on the year to go with 33 RBI and a .316 average.  He even threw in 3 stolen bases for good measure.  You have to believe in him now.  He’s even riding an 11-game hitting streak.  His performance this year is more improbable than even Josh Hamilton’s.  Also for the Mets Tuesday, Mike Pelfrey won his 10^th game, and Scott Schoenweis got a one-pitch save after Aaron Heilman allowed 3 runs to the start the 9^th and only got 1 out.  No pitcher is safe in the New York bullpen.  I wouldn’t gamble on any of them, even in an NL-only league.  There is no way to predict who will get saves, and all are at-risk of giving up a big inning.

• The California/Orange County/South of L.A. Angels are the best team in baseball but they were dominated by a Baltimore rookie pitcher.  Chris Waters made his major league debut Tuesday and was absolutely brilliant throwing 8.0 innings allowing just 1 hit, 3 walks, and 0 runs.  Waters was dominant in Double-A this season going 5-0 in 6 starts with a 1.69 ERA.  His .209 BABIP at that level though say his performance was a mirage.  He predictably struggled at Triple-A (when his BABIP bounced back to .324) accruing a 5.70 ERA and 1.56 WHIP so don’t go out and pin all your fantasy hopes and dreams to him.  This was more than likely a one-time fluke.