Monday's Action

Barry Zito - 6 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 5 K. Much like Dontrelle Willis the night before, Zito was able to avoid the excessive baserunners by pitching out of jams to pick up his 6th W of the season. He won't get lucky like this very often, but his owners will take it.

James Shields - 7 1/3 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K. If only John Buck hadn't been in the lineup, huh? His only blemishes were two solo HRs by Buck, and he continues his outstanding breakthrough season.

Gil Meche - 6 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 Ks. Another quality outing from Meche, who's turned in 10 quality starts in 13 outings so far this year. He's been an excellent late draft/waiver wire starter this season, but unfortunately due to the terrible KC offense, he only has 3 Ws to show for his 3.00 ERA.

Carlos Pena - He smacked his 12th HR this year last night. With his .313 AVG, 31 RBIs, and 26 Rs, he's been quite the fantasy performer this year. He's always had legit power, but that .313 AVG is way above what he'll likely end the year at. Given his propensity to go cold for long periods of time, he's a great sell high candidate.

Tim Hudson - 6 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 5 K. Not a great outing from Hudson, but the Florida lineup is pretty tough, so it wasn't against a powderpuff offense. His 3.09 ERA is closer to what he'll likely end the year at as opposed to the low 2.00 ERA he was sporting for quite a while.

Armando Benitez/Kevin Gregg - Benitez with a scoreless 8th, and Gregg with the save. Gregg did give up a solo HR, but he got the job done and is still the favorite for saves.

Paul Konerko - Dropped to the 6th spot in the lineup, and he responded with a 3/4 night with a HR. He's due to get hot for an extended period of time, so he still remains a quality buy-low guy. A Pena for Konerko trade might go over well, with the Konerko side very likely winning out over the rest of the year. In fact, I need some hitting help in one league and will try throwing an offer out there.

Jon Garland - 8 1/3 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K. I give up on him. Everytime I think he's going one way, he goes back the other. A good start for him against a quality offense.

Derek Lowe - 7 2/3 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 6 K. Wow, talk about bad luck. He took a no hitter into the 7th, but unfortunately all his baserunners scored on him leaving him with a subpar ERA for the outing.

Jonathan Broxton - He nailed down his first save of the year, but had a rocky inning allowing 2 hits and a BB with no Ks. He likely had the first save jitters, so expect him to settle down and be a dominant closer while Saito is out injured.

Jason Marquis - 5 1/3 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K. Marquis pitched around baserunners for most of this outing, but got lucky and only allowed 1 ER. His cinderella season is slowly screeching to a hault, and I fully expect his 2.84 ERA to continue its ascent. Now might be the last time you can get something quality in return for him.

David Bush - 6 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 3 K. A forgotten man after a horrible start, but he again pitched well and was burned by a bad ERA. He remains a good bounceback candidate, and is likely on the waiver wire in your league. He seems doomed for an ERA around 4.00, but I think he'll give enough help in the other catagories to be a worthy 5th starter for your fantasy team.

Alfonso Soriano - As soon as I trade him, he gets hot. I should have seen this coming. Homered in his 3rd straight game last night, going 5/5 with 2 Rs and 3 RBIs on the evening. I'm still quite happy I got Carlos Beltran in return for him, though.

Torii Hunter - He continues his career year, hitting his 12 HR and adding his 46th RBI. His .306 AVG would easily be a career high, so I still expect him to experience a slight regression, but his power is for real. Hopefully this will be the first time since 2003 where he plays 150+ games.

Boof Bonser - 5 1/3 IP, 12 H, 6 ER, 0 BB, 1 K. He'll have outings like this from time to time with his WHIP problems when he's not able to pitch around all those baserunners. He still remains a quality 5th starter.

Jered Weaver - 7 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K. A nice bounceback outing after a tough start against Seattle last time out. He's a solid middle rotation starter.

David Ortiz - Hit his 10th HR last night, ending his almost month-long HR slump. If his legs are back healthy again, expect the power to return as well. Currently at .333, he's on pace to set a career high in AVG.

Dan Haren - 7 2/3 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 9 K. Another outstanding effort, this time against one of MLB's best offenses. He continues to be more than impressive as his true breakthrough season continues in amazing fashion.

Alan Embree - Blew his first save last night, giving up 4 Hs and 2 ER in 1 1/3 IP. After 4 straight save opportunities, he still has solid job security with Duchscherer and Street out hurt.

Felix Hernandez - 5 2/3 IP, 11 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 5 K. If you haven't started to already, he's a must-bench until he gets himself straightened out. He has completely lost the progress he was making prior to his elbow and back injuries. Hopefully for everyone involved, he's just pitching through back soreness and not something more serious.

Erik Bedard - 6 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 7 K. Another quality outing, but the bullpen blew it for him last night. He's defintely back to 2nd half 2006 form.

Ichiro Suzuki - 3/5 last night, raising his AVG to .333. He also added his 5th HR. He's been as hot as any hitter in baseball over the past month.