Saturday's Ballgames

Roger Clemens - 6 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 7 K. A successful return for Clemens. I should have started him given he was facing Pittsburgh, but I played it safe and left him on the bench. Could have used the win. This was a great offense for him to face in his first start back. The Pirates are horrible at getting on base, and they aren't a patient bunch. Clemens is going to have to show better fastball command, and he'll need a pitch other than his splitter working to retire better hitters. His splitter was downright nasty though.

Jason Jennings - 7 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K. Another emerging waiver option as a starter? Since returning from an elbow injury, he's posted a 2.70 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, and 23 K in 30 IP. He posted a very solid 3.78 pitching for Colorado last year, but his 142 K/85 BB ratio and 1.37 WHIP wasn't good. I wouldn't pick him up and start him in mixed leagues, but he might be worth stashing if your rotation is a mess.

Jon Garland - 7 IP, 8 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K. Another solid outing from Garland. He's given up exactly 1 ER in 4 of his last 6 appearances. That 33 K / 26 BB ratio is just so ugly though...

Dan Wheeler/Brad Lidge - Both had been worked hard recently, so they received a well-deserved day off as Chad Qualls finished the game off. No need to pick him up.

Dan Haren - 7 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K. Just another day at the office for Haren. He has a 1.58 ERA through the middle of June. That's impressive.

Barry Zito - 4 IP, 9 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 K. His former teammates obviously know how to approach him. This was his worst outing in 3 weeks, so there's no cause for concern.

Bobby Crosby - Well, after my push to pick him up last month, he's been brutal. I've had to deal with it too since there's nobody better in my league at SS to pick up. 3/5 with a solo HR and 2 R last night, so let's hope this is the start of another hot streak. He's too talented when healthy to keep hitting like crap.

Oliver Perez - 5 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 5 BB, 4 K. I actually had him benched for this one, and I'm glad I did. He was due for a tough outing, and sure enough it came against the great Detroit offense. He got knocked around by possibly the best offense in the majors, so it's nothing too alarming.

Jeremy Bonderman - 6 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 0 BB, 4 K. Bonderman was due for a rough outing too, and his also came against an elite offense. What's good was that his WHIP wasn't bad, and he got the win, so owners won't be too upset.

Brian Roberts - He was dealing with a bit a leg pain which led to a cutdown in the stolen base attempts, but he's apparently feeling much better after stealing two bags on Saturday.

James Shields - 7 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 9 K. He's pitching as well as anything not named Dan Haren right now. I think he's due for regression as he hasn't faced the Red Sox, Yankees, or Blue Jays yet, so his schedule has been quite soft given he pitches in the AL East. I think that without a dominant fastball or solid 3rd pitch, he'll have some troubles against the more powerful lineups. If you can get an established stud in return for him, I'd suggest doing it before he starts to face those lineups more consistently.

Tim Hudson - 2 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 1 K. Any respect I had for Hudson went out the window after he threw at Soriano's head with the first pitch of the ballgame. Given Soriano had lit the Braves up for 3 HRs the night before, it was obivously intentional. In a very nice turn of poetic justice, he was hit hard by the Cubs, and then also by a line drive that hit him in the shin in the 3rd inning, causing him to leave the game. I don't normally like when players get hurt, but I couldn't help but feel a bit of satisfaction after it happened to Hudson 2 innings after he went head hunting. Hey Atlanta - here's an idea: Soriano is a free swinger. Don't throw so many pitches over the damn plate, and don't throw at his head after he crushes them when you do. He just had a bruised leg, so he's probably fine.

Edgar Renteria - He continues to be one of the best draft day bargains at the SS position, hitting his 9th HR last night and going 3/5 with 2 R and 4 RBI to raise his AVG to .322.

Jhonny Peralta - The other great draft day bargain at the SS position. Peralta hit his 12th HR last night, and went 2/5 to push his AVG to .293. He's definitely bounced back after a miserable sophomore season.

Ken Griffey Jr. - Smashed his 15th HR last night. Gotta love the resurgent season from Griffey this year. The move to RF has seemingly helped him stay healthy this year.

Jon Lieber - 9 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 11 K. Talk about a studly spot starting performance, if you used him for this. Hats off to you if you did.

Gil Meche - 7 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 8 K. A solid outing against a tough offense. He continues to have a very solid year in everything but the Wins column.

Johan Santana - 7 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K. I'm sure his owners were infuriorated that their top pick lost to the lowly Nationals, but he pitched well and just made one mistake to Ryan Zimmerman which led to all 3 runs allowed.

Erwin Santana - 6 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K. His best road start this year. He could turn himself into a viable fantasy option if he can figure out why he pitches so poorly on the road, but it'll take more than just this outing to convince his owners.

Chone Figgins - He continues to tear up the basepathes, swiping 2 more to give him 13 SBs on the season. He's yanked his AVG all the way up to .254 with the 4/6 performance Saturday night, and is again looking like an elite option at 2B.

Ben Sheets - 7 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K. Thanks to Francisco Cordero's 9th inning meltdown, he didn't pick up the Win despite 7 shutout innings. He's pitching like an ace again after injuries the past two seasons, and a slow start this year.

Francisco Cordero - 2/3 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 BS. You knew he was due for a blown save, and unfortunately it came in a very ugly fashion and at the expense of all Ben Sheets owners.

Stephen Drew - That's 2 HRs and 8 RBI in the past 7 games. Perhaps he's finally ready to break out and start flashing the potential that made him a popular SS sleeper for this season.

J.J. Putz - He continues to be the most valuable closer drafted this year, especially given the discount on him that many owners received after having elbow problems in the spring. He's posted 17 saves with a 1.27 ERA and 0.58 WHIP.

Derek Lowe - 9 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K. But yet he took the loss. Bad luck and bad offense here. He's been very solid as a back of the rotation starter for fantasy teams though, and his 6 K/9 IP isn't horrible.

Casey Janssen - Picked up a save, but don't read anything into this. Accardo had worked a lot recently and needed a day off, although this could cement Janssen as the top setup guy for Accardo. He's posted a 1.09 ERA and 1.03 WHIP, but only has 12 Ks in 33 IP.