If I needed another sign that 2006 was a lost cause for the Red Sox, I got it on Friday when I flipped over my Red Sox wall calendar to reveal Keith Foulke as September’s poster boy. Ugh. Keith Foulke. If only he had been healthy and effective as the closer, then Jonathan Papelbon would have been a starter all year and the Bosox might have had a chance.

But enough about my problems. Let’s talk about the home stretch, shall we?

Taking the Hill

For the Cubbies, the season’s meaning faded away some time ago. The focus is squarely on the future now, and that means auditions for 2007 have started early.

With question marks abounding in the rotation, there’s plenty of opportunity for a young pitcher like Rich Hill to curry favor with the team brain trust. In his past two starts, Hill has been doing just that. Friday afternoon, he hurled seven shutout innings at the post-season aspiring Giants, finally getting scored on in the eighth. All told, his five-hit effort was good enough for win number four on the season and helped the Cubs snap a six-game losing skid.

This fine effort came on the heels of a superb outing last Saturday against another team possibly playoff-bound – the St. Louis Cardinals, whom Hill held to four hits and a run over seven innings in a no-decision.

Hill is now 4-2, 3.52 since the break, making him a suddenly attractive option in mid-sized NL-only leagues, and a name to consider for 2007.

Too Little, too Late

One of the main reasons 2006 was a lost year for the Cubs, and for many fantasy owners as well, was the loss of Derrek Lee for all but 38 games. Heading into action Saturday, Lee had just 135 at-bats after breaking his hand in April (just 10 days after signing a five-year, $65-million extension) and then, just a month after his late-June return, he started having problems with the wrist again. The latest DL stint cost him another five weeks.

Those of you that drafted him as a top three pick in NL-only leagues or as a top 10 selection in mixed leagues, were obviously banking on just a few more than four home runs through August from your main man.

Lee, activated Tuesday, is trying to make up for some lost time. He’s 7-for-16 with three runs, three RBI and a walk in four games since returning to the lineup.

A huge September would provide some consolation to Lee owners, those that have not yet tied a goat to themselves and jumped from the Sears tower, that is. [Editorial note – Spikes Up does not condone the harm of animals, even by frustrated Cubs’ fans.] Lee keeper league owners will simply be using the final month to assess where he’ll fit into their 2007 plans.

Bull Durham

Ray Durham has provided a surprisingly good return for fantasy owners this year. And he’s even (more or less) stayed healthy.

Case in point: he left Thursday night’s game with a mild back strain. In the past, that “minor” injury could have meant a week or two on the sidelines for the fragile Durham. But Friday, despite having a day game after a night game, he was right back in the lineup, though an 0-for-4 showing snapped a five-game hit streak. Durham is on pace to play 140 games and record the most at-bats in a season he’s had since arriving in San Francisco.

Durham doesn’t run the way he once did (just five steals to date), but he has become a much bigger power threat. In fact, he’s already matched his career best with 20 homers and the 81 RBI he’s amassed surpasses the 75 he had in 2000 when he was with the Chisox.

Throw in a BA of over .290 and an OBP of .361 and you’re looking at a second baseman who’s still among probably the best half dozen fantasy performers at his position. Not bad for a guy who barely cracked the 20th round of most mixed league drafts.

Chicago Power Company

With 200 homers through 133 games, the Chicago White Sox not only have matched their entire season total from 2005 (with another 29 games to play), but also lead all of baseball. In fact, the Chisox’s closest AL counterpart, Toronto, has 27 less dingers.

To enjoy a monster year like that, a team needs a couple of guys having career years and everyone else at least holding steady to expected levels of long-ball production. And that’s exactly what the White Sox have gotten. Wherever they’ve had a significant drop off, it’s involved a player not known for his home run exploits anyways. Let’s break down the Chisox’s dinger roll heading into action Friday:

• Jermaine Dye leads the way with 39. He’s enjoying a career year in all facets of the game, and has already shot past his previous homer high by six. A legitimate MVP candidate.
• Jim Thome has stayed healthy for the most part and produced another spectacular season with 36 jacks. That puts him on pace for his fourth year of 45 or more homers.
• Paul Konerko, with 29, is down slightly from last year, but he’s turned into a steady power source and should reach 35 long balls for the third straight season. 
• Joe Crede is enjoying a breakout campaign and has already surpassed his career high by six. He’s on pace for 34 home runs.
• Juan Uribe, with 16, should reach 20 for the second time in his career.
• Tad Iguchi has 14, so he’ll surpass his rookie season total of 15.
• A.J. Pierzynski won’t reach last year’s career high, but he’s on pace for 16, giving him back-to-back seasons of 15+, not too shabby for a catcher – especially one that wields a .300 stick.
• Brian Anderson is headed for nine in his first full season.
• Rob Mackowiak has been reduced to a part-timer, so he has just four homers, a far cry from the 26 he launched over his last two years in the Steel City.
• Alex Cintron also has just four, after hitting eight in 330 at-bats with Arizona last season.
• Scott Podsednik, after going homerless in his first campaign with the White Sox last year, is on pace to hit four.
• Even Pablo Ozuna has gotten into the act, hitting the first two home runs of his five-year career as a part-time player.
• Ross Gload didn’t homer in very limited action last season. This year he has a pair.
• Sandy Alomar, Jr., has managed one, after getting shut out in 2005.
• Chris Widger had just one long ball before getting released last month. He hit four as the back-up catcher in Chicago last year.

Blog Update: If you haven’t yet visited www.RotoRob.com, our new fantasy sports analysis blog, you’ve been missing out on all the fun. On this week’s Podcast, we discussed the Phil Nevin and David Wells deals, talked about Ryan Howard’s chances for an MVP award and then wrapped things up with a fantasy analysis of the September call-ups you should be aware of. In addition to our standard baseball and basketball material, our expert hockey and football writers are posting regular content. Recent baseball posts include a Braves’ fantasy update; fantasy notes on Daniel Cabrera; and updates on a couple of NL middle relievers who might be worth a look.

If you like my columns at CREATiVESPORTS.com, you’ll get more of the same, except with more of an edge and often in more bite-size form. Check it out! www.rotorob.com.

NEXT: Barring my Cherries Jubilee bursting out of control and setting me ablaze, I shall return on September 11.

Comments? Questions? Criticisms or witticisms? You can reach me at rob@creativesports.com if you’d like further information or have a question you’d like me to answer in an upcoming column. Have a suggestion for a column or want to hear analysis about a particular player? Feel free to write. I might even answer!

Rob Blackstien is a freelance writer and the principal of Pen-Ultimate (www.pen-ultimate.ca), a Toronto-based writing and editorial services firm. On weekdays, he writes the Daily Dose and posts fantasy baseball news on Rotoworld, and his baseball work has also appeared on BaseballNotebook.com and the Fantasy Baseball Guide magazine. Position Battles, a basketball column he writes for www.rotoworld.com, also appears on usatoday.com and foxsports.com.