Welcome Back! Thursday In Review

I get broken in slowly with only a handful of games last night. It was nice to have something to watch again...I can only take so much bad TV.

Roy Halladay - 5 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, 2 K. He's still struggling. He used to be an automatic start every time out, but don't let his history force you into starting him without thinking about it. He's proving that he's not on his game right now, but as I wrote in my buy low column, he's too good when healthy not to turn it around sometime soon. If you own him, I wouldn't start him against teams like the Red Sox, Yankees, and Tigers unless he gives you a reason to.

Alex Rios - 3/4, solo HR (18). With a .299 AVG, he's not quite hitting at the same pace he was last year before getting hurt, but he's developed more power with 18 HR and also has kicked in 9 SB. I had him pegged at 25/15 heading into the season, and while my SB total is about on par, he's surprised us all by heading towards a 30 HR season. He should remain a solid 2nd tier fantasy OF for the next several years as he's finally arrived at age 26.

Manny Ramirez - 2/4, 1 R, 3 RBI. The start of a big 2nd half? I sure hope so.

David Ortiz - 3/5, 2 R, 2 RBI. A nice game last night, but Ortiz has revealed that he has a torn meniscus in his right knee. He suffered the injury at some point during last season, but he said it's bothering him more this season. His .319 AVG is great, but his power is well down as he's only hit 14 HR so far this year. Unfortunately surgery is the only way to fix this issue, so I believe owners are in for a down year from Big Papi, at least in the power department. He also fouled a ball of his bad knee last night, so hopefully he'll play tonight.

Jon Garland - 7 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, W (7). Garland keeps pumping out quality starts, and has been very good outside of the blowup in his last outing. Like I've said before, the stats just don't match up here, but he is what he is and he's worth using. The bullpen did their best to blow it, giving up 5 runs in the 9th until Jenks was called upon to get the last out, but they held on and Garland picked up his 7th win.

Jeremy Guthrie - 3 2/3 IP, 9 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 3 K. You knew it was coming. Shockingly, this is his first non-quality start since he moved into the rotation in May, which is extremely impressive. Unfortunately, I believe he's going to have more bad outings like this from here on out as teams figure him out. I'm not going to overreact to one start, so for those of you not looking to sell high (or if you just can't sell high with him), let's just treat this as the one bad start he's had so far.

Jim Thome - 2/4, solo HR (15). He's hitting like he's finally recovered from his back injury. If he puts together a nice hot streak (which he's been doing since before the AS break), and if your team is in contention, I still suggest trying to move him for a player less likely to break down for your stretch run. I'm not saying he'll definitely get hurt, but given the issues he battles each year and his "old" age, probability says he'll run into more health issues, even as just a DH.

Jermaine Dye - 3/5, 2 R, 2 RBI, HR (13). Hopefully he's finally healthy. The White Sox could really use a hot streak out of him as they look to deal him. Considering that he's a veteran player, he'll most likely be dealt to a team in contention, which means moving to a better offense. US Cellular is a great HR park, but other than that changing, a trade will likely increase his fantasy value a bit. Nothing to write home about, however. His health is more important, but he's worth using again if you've been reserving him. In fact, he's not a bad buy low guy with the horrible numbers and the fact he's coming off an injury if you're looking for a lower end OF to fill out your roster.

Andy Pettitte - 5 2/3 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, W (5). He's still struggling out there, although this does qualify as progress, even if it was against Tampa Bay. If he's healthy, he'll continue to get better, although I think his ERA will hover around 4.00 the rest of the season.

James Shields - 6 IP, 9 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 2 K. The Yankees were not a good matchup for him, and I had him benched last night. I'm very happy I did with this line, although he always pitches deep into ballgames and doesn't get completely blown up. The HR has been his problem...he's allowed at least 2 in 4 of his last 7 starts. This is the 5th time in 6 starts he's allowed 4 ER or more, but I think he'll settle down. Just don't use him in those tough AL East matchups.

Bobby Abreu - 3/4, 1 R, 3 RBI, HR (6). Let's hope, for once and for all, that he's finally getting hot and is ready to redeem his miserable first half. He's hitting a scorching .483 this month, so the stats say that he's ready to turn this thing around.

Brendan Harris - 2/4, 2 R. Harris continues to be a nice mixed league option at SS as he's hitting .313 with 8 HR, 39 RBI, 42 R, and 3 SB. His AVG is real nice, and while he's not great in any other catagory, he hits 3rd for the Rays behind Iwamura and Crawford, so he should have plenty of RBI chances.

Bronson Arroyo - 7 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 K. It seems like he's back on track. While he won't repeat the success he had last year for most of the season, I think he's redeemed himself back into a worthy spot in your mixed league rotation. That's not a bad line against a very good Mets offense.

Orlando Hernandez - 6 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 7 K, W (5). He's cruising right along being a very solid mixed league pitcher along the way.

Chad Gaudin - 4 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 5 BB, 2 K. I said those walks were going to hurt him. Given his poor performance recently, it wouldn't be a bad idea to look for a different pitcher on the waiver wire such as Bronson Arroyo, or his opposition last night, Scott Baker.

Scott Baker - 6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K. That's 4 good starts in his last 5 outings. I'd be tempted to pick him up in mixed leagues at this point since he might have finally figured things out. He has the talent to be a fairly solid end-of-the-rotation starter that you use in the right matchups.

Michael Cuddyer - 4/4, 1 R, 1 RBI. It's a shame that all those hits didn't parlay into more fantasy help, but his owners will take the 4 hit performance.

Andrew Miller - 5 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K. He wasn't efficient last night, but he's continuing to pitch well enough to be worth starting in mixed leagues, especially with the powerful Detroit offense supporting him. They didn't get it done for him last night, but they will more times than not.

Felix Hernandez - 6 1/3 IP, 10 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K. A little generous with the hits, but another solid performance from Hernandez last night, especially against the great Detroit offense. I'd plug him in against all but elite teams now as he's finally re-established quality mixed league value.

J.J. Putz - 1 IP, 1 H, 1 K, SV (25). He got his bad outing out of the way in the AS game and is continuing his reign as the top performance fantasy closer of 2007.