Lots to chew on in last night Great Adventure between the Jays and Rays but Roy Halladay's pitching line is what stands out to most fanatsy owenrs. Eight runs allowed, 7 earned, on 12 hits, a walk and one K in 3.1 IP. Yikes. I don't know which is scarier to look at there ... the 12 hits or the 1 K. I'd say that we have to cut him some slack in his second start since missing 19 days due to an appendectomy, but he handled the White Sox pretty well (7 IP, 0 runs, 6 hits, 7 Ks) in his first start back. Going back before the surgery he's now allowed double digit hits in 3 of his last 4 starts. I'm not quite ready to start worrying about the fact that his 220 IP in 2006 was his highest total by far since 2003 (he bounced back from that 266 IP to post a 4.20 ERA in 21 starts in 2004), but I think some kind of vague uneasiness is perfectly acceptable here.
Andy Sonnanstine was roughed up a bit in his MLB debut at the Rogers Centre last night. He allowed 6 earned runs in 7 IP on 8 hits without a walk while striking out 5. Command is his calling card so the zero walks are not a shocker, and his 5 K is just about where he should settle in the majors, but the Jays didn't find him too hard to figure out last night and that is what you worry about with Andy. His stuff is not overpowering. Check out Prospect Central for a complete workup on Andy. The Marlins are next and that is not the worst possible option if you need it this week.
Former Fisher Cat Adam Lind was 3- for -4 last night with his 8th double and 6th HR, good for 5 Rbi on the night He now has strung together 3 multiple-hit games in which he's 7- for -11 with a HR and 8 Rbi. He's up to .248 as a result and 6 HRs isn't chopped liver. He's starting to find his feet but at this point it's still better that he is a reserve for you. Adam needs to draw more walks (6.6 BB%) and get himself in better hitters counts and he needs to elevate the ball a bit more to make use of his power. That all having been said, he's a good young hitter to have stuffed in your pocket, especially in AL-only leagues. He has the potential to become a solid producer.
The Red Sox tried to pass Lenny DiNardo through waivers right before spring training this year to open a roster slot for J.D. Drew. The A's claimed him and last night Lenny shutdown his old teammates with 6 shutout IP in which he allowed just 2 hits. Normally when I tell you that a starter walked 6 hitters and strike out one, you'd think it was a long night, but Lenny did what you have do to make that work. He threw 12 ground balls and the Red Sox grounded into 5 (count 'em) double plays on the night, 4 served up by DiNardo. Lenny improves to 2-2 on the year and lowers his ERA to 1.45. In his three starts he's allowed 1 run in 16 IP on 7 hits, 9 walks and 6 Ks. Lenny has a tendency to walk a lot of guys (3.6/9 career), although 6 is a lot even for him. Lenny has been hittable too, (.298 OBA career) at least until this year (.212). That OBA should start to creep up towards his baseline as we go forward and as a result he needs to be very effective with his sinker, as he was last night. He'll finish the week with the Giants and is aimed at facing Matt Cain which may not be the most favorable matchup on the board.
J.D. Drew got the night off to think about the 4- for -35 skid he finds himself in over his last 10 games. Frankly, he hasn't looked that good. J.D. is looking lost right now but he is prone to such streaks and it's not time to abandon ship. His K rate and BB rate are both almost exactly where they were last season. He's not elevating the ball (1.7 GB ratio as opposed to 1.2 career) and he's carrying a .270 BHIP% as opposed to a .318 career. He'll be fine and the hits will begin to fall. It's too bad he returned for this road trip, he could use some regular ABs in the Back Bay to snap out of this. J.D. still hasn't learned how to use the wall at Fenway. He will, and when he does, he will begin to generate some significant value. Given his injury history you should have figured some insurance for him into your roster already and you should be filing a claim for now, until J.D. shows a pulse.
Tyler Clippard improved to 3-1, 3.60 on the year as the Yankees beat the White Sox in Chicago last night. Clippard went 5 IP, allowing just 1 run on 5 hits and 3 walks while striking out 4. He needed 89 pitches to get that far so it wasn't exactly an efficient outing. This is an issue. He needed 98 pitches to get 15 outs against the Jays in his last start. He threw 95 pitches in 6 IP in his first starts and 76 in 4 IP in his second start. Those high pitch counts are the result of 11 walks in 20 IP (4.9/9). He's striking out an ok 6.3/9 but his last of command and efficiency, combined with his 0.57 GB ratio and the resulting 1.8/9 HR rate makes him too volatile for most fantasy lineups right now.
