Welcome to Week 11. We have another round of Interleague play scheduled for later this week. These National League Teams all pick up a DH this week: Pirates,
Padres, Dodgers, Cubs, Marlins, Rockies, Braves and Nationals. From this list, guys like Luis Gonzalez, Reed Johnson, Josh Anderson, and Ryan Spilborghs could see extra AB's. On the AL Side, the Yankees, Oakland, Kansas City, Minnesota, Texas, and Boston all lose the DH. So, Jason Giambi, Coco Crisp, Jack Cust and Frank Catalanatto will see less AB's this week.
Sports Buff Contest
I would recommend these two start pitchers in the Sports Buff contest.
1.Cliff Lee($33) - DET Away, SD Home
2.Jose Contreras($35) - MIN Home, COL Home
3.Randy Johnson($45) - PIT Away, KC Home
4.Edinson Volquez($33) FLA Away, BOS Home
5.Matt Cain($36) - WAS Away, OAK Home
6.Josh Beckett($54) - BAL Home, CIN Away
7.Tim Lincecum($45) - COL Away, OAK Home
8.Clayton Kershaw($33) - SD Away, DET Away
9.Micah Owings ($31) - NYM Away, KC Home
10.John Maine($44) - ARZ Home, TEX Home
I personally like Volquez, Lee and Contreras.
CDM Diamond Challenge
I would recommend these two start pitchers in the CDM Challenge.(Dollar amount in Millions)
1.Cliff Lee($750) - DET Away, SD Home
2.Jose Contreras($850) - MIN Home, COL Home
3.Edinson Volquez($400) FLA Away, BOS Home
4.Josh Beckett($1240) - BAL Home, CIN Away
5.Tim Lincecum($880) - COL Away, OAK Home
6.Micah Owings ($630) - NYM Away, KC Home
Team Schedules
Seven Games - Arizona, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Chicago White Sox, Detroit, Florida, Kansas City, Minnesota, New York Yankees, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Washington.
Everybody else plays six games.
Injuries
1. Jeremy Bonderman(SP DET) - He will miss the rest of the Season due to surgery for a blood clot.
2. John Smoltz(SP ATL) - Smoltz will undergo season ending shoulder surgery. This is a big blow to the Braves, and we hope this true warrior decides to come back.
3. Adam Wainwright(SP STL) - Has a strained finger on his right hand and will miss his turn in the rotation.
4. Jake Westbrook(SP CLE) - Will have season ending Tommy John surgery.
5. Ryan Zimmerman(3B WAS) - He is out indefinitely with a shoulder injury that will eventually require surgery.
6. Carlos Pena(1B TB) - Pena is out till late June with a broken left index finger.
7. David Ortiz(DH BOS) - Out till Mid-July with a wrist injury.
8. Ryan Freel(OF CIN) - Hamstring injury has him on the DL indefinitely.
Players on the Rise
1. Armando Galarraga(SP DET) - Returns to the Tigers rotation with the injurty to Jeremy Bonderman.
2. Manny Ramirez(OF BOS) - Picking up the slack for Big Papi, Manny is hitting .303 with 14 HR's.
3. Milton Bradley(OF TEX) - Hitting .338 with 14 HR's and 43 RBI's.
4. Johnny Damon(OF NYY) - Had a six hit game this week and average is up to .326
5. Ryan Ludwick(OF STL) - Has come out of nowhere to hit 14 HR's and drive in 46 runs on the season.
Players on the Decline
1. Carlos Delgado(1B NYM) - Struggles continue as a .237 BA and 27 RBI's are not what the Mets need from their starting first baseman.
2. Rickie Weeks(2B MIL) - Weeks is hitting only .210 for the season.
3. Lastings Milledge(OF WAS) - Hitting only .241 with 3 HR's.
Got a fantasy question you would like answered in my column? Send it to me via
e-mail at mikek@creativesports.com. Until next week, I wish you the best of
luck.