Gustavo Chacin out dueled Daisuke at the Roger Centre last night limiting the Red Sox to 1 earned run over 6.2 IP. He allowed 6 hits, including Wily Mo Pena's monstrous third-inning solo homerun, without a walk while striking out 3. Chacin improved to 2-0, 3.75 on the year with the win. I wrote about knowing your starters on Tuesday and if you own Chacin you would know that he was 4-0 vs. the Red Sox last year with a 3.43 ERA and a .218 OBA. They have issues with him. This follows two luke-warm starts against TB and KC where he posted a 4.91 ERA. The O's are next in Baltimore, another team he's had some success against, and his splits from the last two years tell you he's solid on the road.
Brad Wilkerson is stuck in a classic Frisbee catch/throw syndrome. If he's healthy he's not hitting and if he's hitting he's hurt. Last night he hit his 100th career homer, his second of the year, and went 2- for -4. But he came up with a sore knee that may keep him out of today's lineup. After starting the season 3- for 16, Brad has hit in 4 of his last 6 at a .304 clip (7- for -23) with homers in the last two games and 5 Rbi in that stretch. If you have dailies keep in mind that Brad is probably a game-time decision.
Hey Robinson Tejeda is starting to make believers out of people but a little skepticism would be healthy here. He held the White Sox to 1 earned run last night over 7 IP on just 3 hits while striking out 3. He did walk 4 and posted a 4-14 GB/FB split including a homerun, but Robinson improves to 2-1 on the year lowering his ERA to 3.32. The results have been good this year but you can't ignore 91 walks in 178 career IP (4.6/9), a 4.6/9 K rate since coming to the AL, and his 1.2 HR/9 in Texas. Mix that all together in a flyball pitcher and you have a starter with a very thin margin for error. This manifests itself in game logs where you throw 7 shutout innings against the Red Sox, hold the White Sox to 1 run in 7 IP and give up 6 runs to the Rays in 5 IP. The funny thing is that the Rays decided not to wait Tejeda out and they were jumping early in the count. They only drew one walk in that start. Guys like this are Russian roulette. Pay attention, but we aren't recommending any buy-highs on this guy. A market correction is coming. The A's are scheduled next on Sunday.
Days before the A's were planning to issue an Amber Alert on Bobby Crosby's career, there was a sighting last night in Oakland. If the face of 24-mph wins Bobby went 2- for -4 with a three-run homer, a single and a stolen base. He was hitting .167 coming into the game after two star-crossed and injury-filled seasons. A lot of fantasy owners have invested in Bobby over the last two years and they are entitled to some dividends. Let's hope this is a start.
Jered Weaver was less than totally sharp in his 2007 debut against the A's on Tuesday. After posting an 0.82 ERA in 11 IP on a single-A rehab tour Jeff gave up 4 runs, 3 earned in 6 IP on 4 hits, 2 walks and 4 Ks. His line would have looked a lot better if he hadn't given up a three-run homer to Bobby Crosby however. Nothing alarming here, in fact Weaver owners should be a bit encouraged considering the time he's missed this spring. Better things are ahead. Immediately ahead however are the Tigers on Monday. He's cleared for your lineup if you need him.
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