The Baseball Ticker: Week of May 15, 2006

by Bryan Roth
May 15, 2006

Editor's note: I you have any fantasy baseball questions please send Bryan a message at AHPfantasybaseball@hotmail.com

Two-start pitchers worth starting:
Mike Mussina (5/15 vs. Texas, 5/20 @ New York Mets)
Curt Schilling (5/15 @ Baltimore, 5/21 @ Philadelphia)
Freddy Garcia (5/15 @ Minnesota, 5/20 vs. Chicago Cubs)
Paul Byrd (5/15 vs. Kansas City, 5/20 vs. Pittsburgh)
Tim Hudson (5/16 vs. Florida, 5/21 @ Arizona)
Livan Hernandez (5/16 @ Chicago Cubs, 5/21 vs. Baltimore)
Aaron Harang (5/16 @ Pittsburgh, 5/21 @ Detroit)
Jake Westbrook (5/16 vs. Kansas City, 5/21 vs. Pittsburgh)
Carlos Zambrano (5/16 vs. Washington, 5/21 @ Chicago White Sox)

You make the call:
Chan Ho Park (5/15 @ Arizona, 5/21 @ Seattle)
Taylor Buchholz (5/15 vs. San Francisco, 5/21 vs. Texas)
Josh Johnson 5/15 @ Atlanta, 5/20 @ Tampa Bay)
Miguel Batista (5/15 vs. San Diego, 5/21 vs. Atlanta)
Chris Capuano (5/16 vs. Philadelphia, 5/21 vs. Minnesota)
Jeff Suppan (5/16 vs. New York Mets, 5/21 @ Kansas City)
Tom Glavine (5/16 @ St. Louis, 5/21 vs. New York Yankees)
Felix Hernandez (5/16 @ Oakland, 5/21 vs. San Diego)
Ervin Santana (5/16 vs. Toronto, 5/21 @ Los Angeles Dodgers)
Shawn Chacon (5/16 vs. Texas, 5/21 @ New York Mets)
Brandon McCarthy (5/16 @ Tampa Bay, 5/21 vs. Chicago Cubs)
Dontrelle Willis (5/16 @ Atlanta, 5/21 @ Tampa Bay)

Other two-start pitchers:
Jeremy Affeldt (5/15 @ Cleveland, 5/20 vs. St. Louis)
Scott Baker (5/15 vs. Chicago White Sox, 5/20 @ Milwaukee)
Kyle Davies (5/15 vs. Florida, 5/20 @ Arizona)
Josh Fogg (5/15 vs. Los Angeles Dodgers, 5/16 vs. Toronto)
Matt Cain (5/15 @ Houston, 5/21 @ Oakland)
Rodrigo Lopez (5/15 vs. Boston, 5/21 @ Washington)
Vincente Padilla (5/15 @ New York Yankees, 5/29 @ Houston)
Brett Tomko (5/15 @ Colorado, 5/21 vs. Los Angeles Angels)
Joe Blanton (5/16 vs. Seattle, 5/21 vs. San Francisco)
Scott Elarton (5/16 @ Cleveland, 5/21 vs. St. Louis)
Ted Lilly (5/16 @ Los Angeles Angels, 5/21 @ Colorado)
Kyle Lohse (5/16 @ Detroit, 5/21 @ Milwaukee)
Doug Waechter (5/16 vs. Chicago White Sox, 5/21 vs. Florida)
Nate Robertson (5/16 vs. Minnesota, 5/21 vs. Cincinnati)
Cory Lidle (5/16 @ Milwaukee, 5/21 vs. Boston)
Paul Maholm (5/16 vs. Cincinnati, 5/21 @ Cleveland)

At the hitter’s parks:
At Chase Field in Arizona: Padres (5/15-17) and Braves (5/19-21)
At Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia: Red Sox (5/19-21)
At Coors Field in Colorado: Dodgers (5/15-17) and Blue Jays (5/19-21)
At US Cellular Field in Chicago (AL): Cubs (5/19-21)

Playing seven games this week:
Indians, Braves, Royals, White Sox and Yankees

Ratchet them up!

Khalil Greene (SS, Padres): Greene is proving that he can be among the more valuable shortstops in mixed leagues, as he’s hit seven homes runs, knocked in 24 RBIs and stolen four bases. His past week was just as productive, providing a .296/.345/.593 line with a couple homers to boot. San Diego heads to a hitter’s paradise in Chase Field this week, where Greene is a .366 lifetime hitter.

Jeff Kent (1B/2B, Dodgers): Wait, what is going on here. Has Kent finally started to play? Apparently he has been listening to all the harping I’ve done after hitting four home runs while hitting .333 in his last 24 at-bats. Kent and the Dodgers head to Coors Field this week, so you know there’s a good chance the balls could continue to fly out of the park.

Felipe Lopez (2B/SS, Reds): Lopez surpassed his 2005 total of stolen bases after picking up his 16th of the 2006 season this past week and is hitting .520 over that span. It’s safe to say that this could be a career year for Lopez, especially playing in the powerful Reds lineup. He gets to face a weak Pittsburgh pitching staff early in the week, so expect a few runs early on and the hitting to continue.

Casey Blake (3B/RF, Indians): Speaking of career seasons, Blake is currently hitting .368 on the year, which is more than 100 points higher than his career .263 average. It looks like he’s going to stay hot for the time being and consider that Blake is a strong first half hitter, especially on June where he owns a career .307 average. The best is yet to come for Blake owners.

Dave Roberts (OF, Padres): It seems that every time I turn on Baseball Tonight and see a box score for the Padres, Roberts has stolen another base. The speedster swiped eight bags this past week and hit .423. He’s not got 14 stolen bases on the season and it looks like he’ll continue to get the green light when he’s on.

Freddy Garcia (SP, White Sox): In his last three starts he’s 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA and is a perfect 3-0 against his second opponent this week, the Cubs. He also faces the Twins to start the week so two wins isn’t out of the realm of possibility.

Jake Westbrook (SP, Indians): He’s facing the Royals and Pirates this week at home. In theory, it doesn’t get much easier.

Brandon McCarthy (SP, White Sox): McCarthy is finally going to step into the starter’s role this week because of Jose Contreras’ injury problems. On the season he’s struck out 11 and walked only four in 19 innings and will face teams who have only seen him once before. A high K total could be in store for McCarthy, but if he gives up some runs don’t be surprised, he’s currently sporting a 5.21 ERA.

Aaron Harang (SP, Reds): Can you actually bet against any of the Reds pitchers right now aside from Dave Williams? Harang has already won five games and struck out 50 batters. He’s pitching at Pittsburgh and Detroit, which are modest match-ups, but I’m not picking against him yet.

Chan Ho Park (SP, Padres): Park has surprised me this season, has he’s kept his ERA under check (3.57) and hasn’t been too awful overall. This week he’s got two extremes at Arizona, where he owns a career 6.66 ERA and then at Seattle, where he’s got a lifetime 1.54 ERA with a 4-1 record. Take your pick on the Diamondbacks game, but he’s a must-start against the Mariners.

Ratchet them down!

Chone Figgins (2B/3B/OF, Angels): Figgins has hit a wall lately, as he’s hitting .160 in his last 25 at-bats and has only two stolen bases in that span. His average is down to .260 on the year, which is rough for a .289 lifetime hitter. He’s facing Roy Halladay and the Blue Jays before heading to the pitcher’s paradise that is Dodger Stadium this week.

Jimmy Rollins (SS, Phillies): Rollins faces two teams who’s pitchers seem to own him this week - the Brewers and the Red Sox. Combine that with his 3-for-21 skid and it’s a case to bench him.

Paul Konerko (1B, White Sox): You may be surprised at Konerko’s production recently, but don’t be. He’s a career .225 hitter in May, easily his worst month of the year. If you’ve got other options, use them, but make sure to plug this guy have in when June comes around - he’s hit .299 in that month.

Eric Chavez (3B, A’s): He missed most of the week with a bacterial infection and is hitless in his last 10 ABs. Keep an eye on him this week as his sickness has easily been affecting his play as of late.

Richie Sexson (1B, Mariners): What a bust Sexson is turning out to be. In his last 15 games he’s hitting .130 with just one home run and 14 strikeouts. He’s pulling a serious Jeff Kent in 2006.

Dontrelle Willis (SP, Marlins): Speaking of which, you can’t get much lower than Willis, who was second in Cy Young voting last year and is 1-4 on the season. His ERA is just under 10.00 in his last four starts. You probably can’t trade him, so just ride this out and hope for the best.

Matt Cain (SP, Giants): Wasn’t there talk about Cain walking away with the Rookie of the Year honors before the season? Oh how the mighty have fallen. He’s 1-5 with a 7.04 ERA. That, and he’s got to pitch twice this week at Houston and Oakland. Sit him.

Chris Reitsma (RP, Braves): The curtain might be closing on Atlanta’s closer, as he’s got a 10.50 ERA and 2.00 WHIP in his last five appearances. This might be the time to pick up Oscar Villarreal.

Randy Johnson (SP, Yankees): If you didn’t see his start against the Red Sox this week, Johnson looked awful. He’s finally showing his age and here’s the biggest telltale sign - he’s already walked 14 batters in just eight starts, which is one-third of his walks from last season. He’s also struck out only 32 batters. He’s pitching against the Rangers and Mets this week, two very good lineups.

Jeff Weaver (SP, Angels): The transition to the AL West has been rough for Weaver, who is 0-3 with a 8.44 ERA in his last three starts. He’s pitching against Seattle this week, a team that roughed him up for five runs and nine hits in six innings last week.

If you have any fantasy baseball questions please send Bryan a message at AHPfantasybaseball@hotmail.com