Wednesday - Patterson's Stealin', Street's Closin'

Daisuke Matsuzaka - 6 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 5 K. A flatout bad outing from Matsuzaka, although he had been rolling in his previous 4 starts. He's been a frustrating pitcher to own this year. He tends to get blown up too often, which masks how many good starts he's turned in. All in all, he's only had one great month in June (1.59 ERA, 1.09 WHIP) and he's been mediocre to bad in the rest of the months. The biggest problem is the walks...he's on pace for over 80 this season. Still, he's been big in the K department, has 13 wins, and an ERA under 4.00, so he's been a good 3rd starter.

Al Reyes - 1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, SV (18). Reyes hasn't been the same since getting hurt, but odds are he'll do more good than bad for your team. Consider him a solid 3rd closer for your bullpen, if you carry that many. He's a shaky #2 due to his ratios, although his job remains secure.

Carlos Pena - 1/3, 1 R, 3 RBI. He's quietly crashed in the AVG department, all the way down to .263. This is more like the Pena we know. The biggest problem is his power slump, hitting only 1 HR so far this month along with his dreadful .184 AVG. Expect him to hit for more power soon, but you had to know this was coming.

Erik Bedard - 7 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 K. Not even the Yankees can handle the hottest pitcher in fantasy baseball, although the bullpen blew the save, costing him the win. His ERA has dropped all the way down to 2.98, and he's honestly been pitching like Johan Santana since April. There's no pitcher that's been more valuable in that stretch.

Phillip Hughes - 5 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K. A little erratic, but not too bad. Of course, he faced Bedard, so he had no chance anyways.

Alex Rodriguez - 4/4, 1 R, SB (15). The only guy better than Bedard, apparently. He's always been contributing something almost all year long, save the stretch when he was pressing to get his 500th HR.

Corey Patterson - 2/5, 1 R, 2 SB (35). Other than Chone Figgins, there hasn't been a hotter base stealer since the AS break. His horrible start landed him on the waiver wire in many leagues, but his 2nd half turnaround has turned him into a free agent star, just like last year.

Scott Baker - 6 2/3 IP, 8 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K. A bit erratic, but he turned in a fine start yet again. Unfortunately the offense didn't break through until after he left, leaving him with a victory for his efforts. He's been hit hard in two of his past 10 starts, but he's been way more good than bad during that stretch.

Ichiro Suzuki - 2/4, 2 SB (34). Ichiro's quitely been doing his thing, with a .347 AVG and 34 SB on the season. Kick in the fact that he'll be going over 100 R again this year, and he's been one of the best speed threats in fantasy baseball yet again.

Eric Byrnes - 3/5, 2 R, 2 RBI, SB (32). I think I've mentioned him enough for one year. The 32 steals have been a ridiculous return on investment so far given he was probably drafted as your 3rd OF.

Fausto Carmona - 8 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 10 K, W (14). Carmona set a career-high in Ks last night, and pitched great while picking up his 14th win of the season. I stated before that his ERA of 3.16 does not match his 1.24 WHIP, but when he pitches like this, it doesn't matter. He'll need to keep limiting baserunners like that to keep his ERA where it is, however, which is unlikely in the AL.

John Maine - 5 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 8 K, W (13). The win is nice, but again with the walks. He got away with erratic control early on, but he's not getting away with it this time around. He'll need to improve his command to start seeing better results.

Moises Alou - 3/5, 1 R, 3 RBI, HR (8), SB (3). Alou is on fire right now, and while he's healthy hitting in the Mets lineup, he's well worth using in mixed leagues. Pick him up if he's still out there.

Shaun Marcum - 7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, W (10). Riding the hot streak. Loving it. Stay on the bandwagon...he's won his last 5 starts. Maybe Toronto has found a diamond in the rough here. Odds are strong that he'll eventually fade, however.

Jeremy Accardo - 1 IP, 1 H, SV (23). He's allowed 2 ER since July 6th, so he's on a serious role again and has reclaimed a large amount of job security in the process. It looks like the rough spot was just an ERA correction that he was due for, as he's now sitting at 2.32 on the year. His 47 K in 50 1/3 IP is solid, but the 20 BB are not. His command has been much better lately, however.

Tim Hudson - 8 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, W (14). Hudson has won 4 straight starts and 8 of his last 10 as he's settled into the same sort of groove that he was in earlier this season. He's on quite a roll, and the improved offensive support helped by the acquisition of Teixeira is definitely a big part of his very nice win total.

Joel Piniero - 7 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K. His velocity has improved with his return to the rotation (a bit backwards), and the switch to the NL has helped as well. He's turned in 2 strong outings in a row, but I wouldn't use him in mixed leagues until he proves himself a bit more. If the velocity stays up, he could be a nice NL pitcher down the stretch. Keep an eye on him...he had quite a bit of potential in Seattle years ago before injuries struck.

Yovani Gallardo - 5 2/3 IP, 9 H, 7 ER, 1 BB, 6 K. He just needs to cut down on the hits...the K:BB ratio was obviously solid last night. He's going through a tough rookie patch, so as long as he's not hurt, he'll bounce back just like Lincecum did.

Albert Pujols - 2/5, 1 R, 1 RBI, HR (25). He hasn't been the fantasy monster per usual this year, but he's turning in another fine year regardless. He's been bothered by several nagging injuries so far along the way, so that might explain a "down year" by his standards.

Ted Lilly - 5 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 5 K. The start of the game was delayed by rain, and when it finally started, the pitching on both sides was horrible. Lilly had been on fire prior to this, so this is just a bump in the road on a night when the offenses went nuts.

Josh Hamilton - 1/1, 1 R, 2 RBI, HR (15). I have no idea why the Reds are platooning him right now, benching him against lefties. He's a young player that needs to develop, so the Reds need to be giving him consistent playing time. I really question his mixed league value if he's not in there every day, but he obviously has legit power. If you're using him, keep an eye on whether or not he's active when the lineups are released.

Aramis Ramirez - 2/4, 1 R, 1 RBI, HR (18). That cortizone shot definitely has him feeling better. 2 HRs in a row, so he's definitely feeling fine.

Gil Meche - 6 1/3 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K. Are you seriously still using him?

Ian Kinsler - 2/4, 2 R, 1 RBI, HR (15). Kinsler is hitting .311 with 1 HR, 7 RBI, 12 R, and 4 SB in 14 games this month. Pick him up if someone gave up on him, which is likely the case. He probably has a solid finish left in him as he remains a quality fantasy 2B when healthy.

Chris Young - 6 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K. That's much better. Young was back in form last night after struggling in his first start back after going on the DL. He apparently feels fine, so continue using him. With a 1.93 ERA, however, it has nowhere to go but up.

Mark Buehrle - 7 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 4 K. Not one of his finer performances, but he stranded baserunners and turned in a quality outing. Unfortunately the offense let him down again, keeping him at 9 wins on the season despite a 3.36 ERA.

Joe Blanton - 7 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, W (10). June Joe Blanton returned, at least for last night. Hopefully he'll get things turned around and give his remaining owners a solid rest of the season.

Huston Street - 1 IP, 3 K, SV (10). Welcome back to the closer's role, Huston. He and Embree switched roles last night, and given Embree allowed 2 ER and Street turned in a perfect inning, you can bet that this will be the bullpen arrangement the rest of the season. This seems a bit weird given how good Embree was closing, but Street is the team's closer and the switch happened a bit sooner than expected.

Brad Penny - 6 IP, 10 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, W (14). Well, this makes up for the no-decision Penny received last time out despite 7 shutout innings. He was hittable, but limited the damaged and picked up the win.

Russell Martin - 2/4, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 HR (14). Didn't I just get done saying that he was slumping? Well this is a nice way to prove me wrong.