Thursday: Frank's 500th, Biggio's 3000th

Scott Olsen - 6 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 10 K, W (6). He keeps teasing us with something good in most outings, but he hasn't put it all together yet. He still remains one to monitor.

Kevin Gregg - 1 IP, 1 H, 1 K, SV (15). A nice bounce back outing after giving up 2 ER and taking the loss the previous game. He's the unquestioned closer and there's no debate about it anymore.

Joe Blanton - 6 1/3 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 K. His bullpen allowed 2 runners to score along with one other to blow the game for him. Still, this was an impressive outing against the powerful Cleveland lineup.

Dan Johnson - 4/4, solo HR (7). He's all the way down to .269. I sold him high, and I don't remember if I mentioned here, so I apologize if I didn't. I talked him up when he was hitting well, but he was over his head and he just doesn't project to have much power in the majors. If you're still hanging onto him, I'd see if he's about to go on a hot streak and then ride it out, but don't be afraid to cut bait.

Josh Barfield - 2/4, 2 R, 2 SB (8). A popular sleeper at the 2B position heading into the year, but he hasn't panned out at all. He's hitting .266 with 2 HR and 8 SB, so he's not providing fantasy value to what few owners he has left.

Kenny Rogers - 6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K. Well, pick him up if he's still out there. He's pitched very well in his 2 outings since coming back from a blood clot. With the explosive Detroit offense supporting him, he should be a good source of solid ratios and Ws down the stretch.

Gary Sheffield - 1/3, 2 R, 2 RBI, HR (18), SB (10). He's been one of the best OFs in fantasy baseball this year. I had my reservations with him coming off a serious wrist injury and moving to a more pitcher's friendly park, but he's shattered all of that with his tremendous first half.

A.J. Burnett - 4 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 0 BB, 6 K. Not the best outing for Burnett, but with the 6 strikeouts versus 0 walks, he pitched pretty well and just made a couple mistakes within the strikezone. He should be good to go, but there's no question in my mind that if he puts together a couple good starts, trade him. A pitcher with a history of arm problems combined with a team that doesn't take care of their pitchers....bad times for everyone.

Frank Thomas - 2/4, 1 R, 4 RBI, HR (13). Congratulations to Frank Thomas on his 500th HR. In an age of athletes that have taken performance enhancing drugs on their way to big careers, I believe Frank is one of the ones that did it the right way. He's always been a big, strong, power hitter from day 1. A favorite of mine while on the White Sox; he's capped his HOF career by hitting a big career milestone.

Randy Wolf - 6 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 6 BB, 4 K. Another mediocre outing from Randy Wolf. I dumped him in one league in favor of Gallardo, and I'm plenty happy I did. I'm not going to write about him anymore unless he turns it around.

Randy Johnson - 3 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K. Pretty ugly outing from Johnson in his return from the DL. He should be alright heading forward though, although more injury problems are quite possible.

Russell Martin - 3/6, 3 R, 2 RBI, HR (9). He's been as consistent as you can get each month so far this year and he's elevated himself into the elite fantasy catcher catagory.

Jimmy Rollins - 4/6, 2 R, 2 RBI, SB (15). He had a pretty pedestrian May, but he's come back strong, hitting .324 with 4 HR and 5 SB in June.

Chase Utley - 3/5, 2 R, 4 RBI, 2 HR (15), SB (6). He's awesome, isn't he?

Javier Vazquez - 7 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 10 K. His 2nd straight outing only allowing 1 ER. What's next? Probably a disasterous one. Still, his owners have to be loving his overall performance this year as he's exceeding expectations with a 3.95 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP.

Scott Kazmir - 5 1/3 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 9 K. 114 pitches didn't even get him out of the 6th inning as he's continuing to have efficiency and command problems. It's been 3 months now, and I'm wondering if my suggestion to buy low was erroneous. He doesn't seem to be getting any better, and you have to wonder where that 2006 form has gone.

Paul Konerko - 3/5, 2 solo HR (14). 14 HR, 41 RBI, and a .257 AVG. Not what his owners have wanted, but given he's hitting .314 with 7 HR and 15 RBI in June, he's put the awful first 2 months behind him.

Roy Oswalt - 7 IP, 9 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K. A step in the right direction as Oswalt tries to bounce back from a string of 4 mediocre outings.

Troy Tulowitzki - 3/5, 2 R, 1 RBI, HR (8), SB (4). Well, right after I posted that he wasn't doing enough in the HR/SB department, he's gone on a tear, hitting 5 HR and stealing 2 bases in the last 8 games. Ride out the hot streak, and perhaps he's ready to take the next step and become a consistent fantasy option. He's obviously worth adding to find out.

Carlos Lee - 2/6, walkoff GS (15), SB (5). It doesn't get much better than a walkoff grand slam. Lee is hitting .294 with 15 HR, 5 SB, and 66 RBI, so he's doing an excellent job of living up to his draft day position.

Craig Biggio - 5/6, 1 R, 1 RBI. Congrats to Craig Biggio for collecting his 3000th hit last night, capping off what's been a borderline HOF career. With 3000 hits, 413 SBs, and 286 HRs on his resume, and given the fact he spent much of his career catching and playing 2B, I think he has a very legit shot of getting into Cooperstown. He wasn't a dominant force at any given time in his career, but I think he'll eventually make it.