Erik Bedard- BAL- Caution- Jim Palmer and Gary Thorne, the Orioles' announcers, were discussing whether Bedard should have been left in as long as he was. This was during the 7th inning, as he was giving up 2 of the 7 hits he would allow. Bedard's pitch count edged over 110 and would end up at 116. Their conclusion was the manager Sam Perlozzo did the right thing in letting Bedard finish out the inning. His next start will help tell whether Thorne and Palmer were correct.
Lenny DiNardo- OAK- Rise Value- On Tuesday, DiNardo relieved starter Colby Lewis and actually pitched more innings out of the bullpen than Lewis had managed as the starter. Now DiNardo will be taking Lewis' place as the 5th starter in the A's rotation. His miniscule 1.83 Era has been assisted by a low .237 BHIP. His BB/9 ratio of 1.83 also seems a little on the extreme side, but is closer to what one would expect from his minor league numbers (3.16) than was his 4.62 with the Red Sox in an injury-plagued 2006. In fact, durability is DiNardo's question mark. He has the potential to be a solid starter, but always seems to get an injury that limits his availability. We'll see if he can stay healthy with the A's.
Colby Lewis- OAK- Drop Value- Lewis is staying with the big club after being called up this past week. However, he is being shifted to the bullpen and may be there permanently. "We're going to see how it goes. He has a pretty powerful arm," manager Bob Geren said. "If he has to get three or four batters out, he might let it go, knowing he going to pitch one inning. ... That could be a good role for him, one or two innings." That will limit his possible fantasy value.
Roy Halladay- TOR- Inj Update- Halladay threw 65 pitches without incident in his simulated game yesterday. He said he wanted to see how he felt today before thinking aboot (some Canadian lingo there) a return date, but this is definite progress.
Brandon McCarthy- TEX- Inj- McCarthy had to leave the game after the second inning due to a Helter Skelter injury ("I got blisters on me fingers"). His right middle finger was the problem and could explain his meltdown in the second inning when he was charged with 4 runs on a hit and 4 walks. The Rangers say that McCarthy is not expected to miss his next start, but supposedly the finger looked pretty bad, so don't be surprised if that gets changed.
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