Friday's Action: Unearned Runs Galore

Carlos Zambrano - 6 2/3 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 7 K. He got into trouble in the 7th by loading the bases, but luckily Marmol came in and got a flyout to end it. Zambrano is still pitching as well as anyone in baseball despite the walks. He also went 2/3 at the plate with an RBI and a R as he continues to help his cause with his hitting.

Ryan Theriot - 2/4, R, SB (15). He's back playing a little more now, and with Cliff Floyd hurting his knee again, the Cubs figure to him at SS, Fontenot at 2B, and DeRosa at RF a decent bit, giving Theriot fringe mixed league value again. If he can continue hitting around .280 in the 2nd spot, his speed will allow him to at least be useful as an injury replacement.

Brad Lidge - 1 IP, 2 K. Lidge made his return back to the Astros bullpen by pitching a perfect 7th inning. Expect him to receive the next save opportunity, but beware that Houston will look to trade him come the deadline. Odds are given his reputation and the chances that he won't be closing, you won't be able to get anything in return for him, so hopefully he'll get you a few saves in the meantime.

Dontrelle Willis - 3 2/3 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 0 K. The fact 5 runs were unearned saved him from turning in a complete disaster. I don't think anyone would fault you for dropping him at this point. He's just not showing any signs of being useful, and he's really driving down his trade value as Florida has been rumored to be shopping him. Perhaps a change of scenery and a new pitching coach will help. Don't get caught up in the name game, but if he does get traded, make sure to keep an eye on him. At the least, don't start him again until he strings together multiple quality outings.

Josh Willingham - 1/4, 3 run HR (12). He was awesome last year with his catcher eligibility, smacking 26 HR with 74 RBI. Considering he's only OF eligible this year, he's not worth having on your team with only a .260 AVG and 13 HR. The 59 RBI are a good number, but that's the only catagory he's truly helping you with.

Dmitri Young - 1/4, 4 RBI. He put himself on the fantasy radar last month, hitting .377 with 3 HR, 13 RBI, and 16 R. He's back on his game again this month, hitting .333 with 1 HR and 10 RBI in 9 games. He continues being a useful injury replacement at 1B, or even a UTIL guy. He's great in a league like mine where we have 2 UTIL hitters.

Shaun Marcum - 6 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 6 K. He didn't pitch quite as well as his numbers indicate here, but it was still a quality outing against the Boston Red Sox and he picked up the win as a result. He continues to have fringe mixed league value during his current run, but like many others before him, don't be afraid to cut bait if he starts struggling, or selectively start him while he's pitching well.

Manny Ramirez - 2/5, 2 R, 3 RBI, HR (12). 2 straight big games. Please, please let him start turning it on in the 2nd half. He's off to a great start so far.

Mark Buehrle - 8 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K. Boned by his offense again. Despite an amazing 2.98 ERA, he only has 6 wins to show for it.

Erik Bedard - 7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K. Another amazing start by Bedard who is absolutely on fire. He had a very rough April by posting a 6.09 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP, allowing 23 ER in the process. He's allowed 23 ER total since April. He's turned himself into an elite AL hurler, leading the league with 156 K in 128 2/3 IP. Not even pitching in the AL East has slown him down as he's seemingly taken yet another step forward this season.

Corey Patterson - 2/3, solo HR (3). After becoming one of the great waiver wire OF's in fantasy baseball last season, he's made himself unusable in fantasy leagues this year due to his .244 AVG and complete lack of run production. He's hitting .317 so far this month, so there's an outside chance he could re-emerge as an option in the 2nd half. Keep an eye on him if you need steals.

Chase Utley - 4/5, 2 R, 3 RBI, HR (16). Stud.

Shane Victorino - 2/4, 2 R, SB (28). He's got his AVG back to .279, and his recent power surge has pushed his season total to 11 HR. Ironically given I just wrote about him, his current season totals and waiver wire eligibility heading into the season make him the 2007 version of the 2006 Corey Patterson.

Roger Clemens - 5 1/3 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, 2 K. Perhaps those back to back 8 inning outings had him gassed, but he turned in a stinker against the Tampa Bay offense. His 6.2 K/9 IP is lower than usual, but given the league switch and his advanced age, it shouldn't be surprising. I think his stats right now, with a 4.20 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP, are probably going to be about what we get from him this year. Like I said when it was announced he was coming back, he made for a great sell high candidate, and he's definitely making those who were able to deal him look quite smart.

Scott Kazmir - 6 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 7 K, W (6). Again with the walks. Those who walked down the plank and started him came back unscathed, but it was definitely a lucky outing against the strong Yankees offense. He's still not showing any signs of fixing his command issues.

Aaron Harang - 6 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 8 K, W (10). Another good outing from Harang against the Mets, although the Mets have really been struggling on offense for a while now. Still, Harang pitched pretty well and his owners should be very pleased with the results.

John Maine - 4 2/3 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 3 K. Luckily 3 of the runs were unearned as he gave up 7 in total. This was just a flatout bad outing from Maine and nothing to be worried about.

Brandon Phillips - 3/5, 2 R, 6 RBI, GS (18). He's continuing to be the 2nd best fantasy 2B in baseball by adding his 2nd grand slam of the season. He's finally put all that potential together and is producing like the great ballplayer many thought he would become.

Lastings Milledge - 1/4, 2 run HR (1). Milledge hasn't done anything special since being called up, so I wouldn't pick him up or activate him until he gets hot, if he does while up. As I stated before, he'll get ample playing time while Alou is on the DL.

Ian Snell - 5 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 K. Like Willis and Maine before him, 3 unearned runs saved his outing from being a disaster. Unlike Willis, this is an isolated bad outing and not something to worry about.

Tim Hudson - 7 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, W (9). Pretty much exactly what owners were hoping for with a matchup against the Pirates.

Brian McCann - 3/4, 2 R, 4 RBI, 2 HR (11). McCann's really heating up after 2 bad months. He's hitting .296 this month with 4 HR and 12 RBI in 9 games. Let's hope he goes on the same 2nd half tear that he did last year.

Jeff Francis - 5 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, W (9). Bad ratios, but solid K numbers and he got the win. It's a real concern that he's given up 6 ER in 3 of his last 4 starts. I'd evaluate his next matchup before starting him.

Troy Tulowitski - 2/4, 2 R, 2 RBI, HR (10). He's really turned himself into a nice mixed league SS since a rough April. He's establishing himself in this league and I think he's a quality starting SS moving forward.

Ryan Braun - 2/4, 2 R, 4 RBI, 2 HR (13). He's good.

Johan Santana - 7 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, W (11). I'm not sure why teams bother fielding an offense against him once June and July roll around.

Joe Nathan - 2/3 IP, 1 H, SV (18). Remember when I complained about the hits he allowed in an outing which he gave up 3 more? Since then he's pitched 8 2/3 IP allowing 1 H, 0 BB, and striking out 10. He's back on top of his game as one of baseball's elite closers.

Greg Maddux - 4 IP, 9 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 1 K. Maddux is really struggling, allowing 15 ER in his last 15 1/3 IP. HIs overall numbers make him look like a poor bet in mixed leagues, but odds are he'll figure out his struggles and resume being a fringe starter.

Jeremy Bonderman - 7 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, W (10). Another great start from Bonderman who improves to an impressive 10-1 on the year.

Adrian Beltre - 3/4, solo HR (14). Beltre continues his scorching July, hitting .447 with 4 HR and 14 RBI in 11 games. Much like Matsui before him, he's alternating poor and great months, so hopefully he'll remain a bit more consistent with this hot streak and close this year strong.

Kelvim Escobar - 8 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K. He's bounced right back from that shelling at Baltimore with 2 straight 1 ER performances. He's been one of the best late round pitchers in all of fantasy baseball this season, so we can all pray for continued health.

Kevin Millwood - 7 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 7 K. Mixed leaguers really need to pay attention to Milwood now. That's 5 straight quality starts as it seems like he's shaken the injury bug that's plagued him throughout most of this year. If you have a hole in your rotation, give him strong consideration.

Chad Billingsley - 6 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, W (6). Another mixed league starter that should start receiving some attention. He had a very good rookie year, but was demoted to the bullpen to start the year for some unknown reason. Talk to Grady Little about that one as he's hardly been known as an intelligent manager. Regardless, those with holes in their rotation should give him consideration. He's a very good young pitcher with solid K potential, playing for a good team, and he has a solid bullpen behind him. His command will come and go, but he should be able to make up for that with more good performances than bad.

Matt Cain - 5 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K. Another blah outing from Cain who's not showing signs of returning to the dominant form he flashed to close last year. Owners should stick with him though as things figure to get better as the year wears on.