Shannon Stewart- OAK- FYI- There was a scoring change in Tuesday's game. Maybe. On mlb.com, there is an item in the A's notes saying that a Jose Guillen error was changed to a Stewart double, giving Stewart 21 doubles for the season. I can't find any corroboration for this, not even on mlb.com. I couldn't locate the alleged original error, or any play that put Stewart at second base on either Monday or Tuesday and his double total is still listed as 20 this morning on all the stat sites I looked at. If you have Stewart, maybe you can convince your commissioner/stats keeper to add a hit for him, but it might take some digging to find more proof.
Brian Burres- BAL- Hot- Burres followed up his 7 shutout innings in his last start with another strong performance. He allowed 2 runs in 7-1/3 IP on 5 hits and 3 walks while striking out 7. Baltimore only scored 1 run, so Burres took a loss, but he is in the mix for a rotation spot in 2008.
Mariano Rivera- NYA- FYI- Rivera picked up his 30th save of the season yesterday, but it didn't come easy. He gave up a hit and walked 2, the second time in 3 outings he has done that. Rivera got out of the jam without giving up a run, unlike on Sunday, but he might just be getting a little tired.
Brian Bannister- KC- Cold- For the second time in three starts, Bannister got hammered. The White Sox touched him for 6 runs on 8 hits and a walk in 5 IP. As was the case two starts previously, when he allowed 7 runs to the Yankees, homers were Bannister's downfall. In both starts, he gave up 3 long balls. Including his 4 AAA start at the beginning of the season, Bannister is up to 185 IP, more than he has ever pitched before in a single year, so fatigue may be a factor. He is still a candidate for AL Rookie of the Year, but his final performances may not be up to his standards of earlier in the season.
Ervin Santana- LAA- Hot- Santana threw a gem yesterday, allowing 1 run on 6 hits and 2 walks in 6-1/3 IP while striking out 10. It was at home and Santana has some extreme splits this season. His ERA in Anaheim is 3.27 and his record is 6-4. On the road, it's a completely different story. Santana's ERA is 8.33 and he only has a 1-9 record. His last road appearance was 3 scoreless innings of relief on September 14th, so that is a good sign that Santana has regained a productive slider, which was his problem pitch. However, it's not enough to pronounce him fit and valuable for 2008.
There are over 100 player news blurbs posted in the member area each morning, members can read the rest of today's player news by clicking here link:www.fantistics.com/baseball00/. Not a member? Join today link:www.fantistics.com/join/join.php3
