4/30 Recap

The big news is that Jeff Clement and Wladimir Balentien got called up. While I'll ignore the stupid timing of it, it makes the M's a much better team. Balentien homered, he's hot right now, and definitely worth a start. He's going to start in right, while Clement should DH and catch every now and then. That said, Clement is the better option over the course of the year, especially if you can play him at catcher (and especially if you own Posada like me.) He has great plate patience and should hit for a high average with pop. That said, both are must adds.

Twins 4, White Sox 3
Nick Blackburn pitched well again. He's been solid this year, but I feel like he can't keep it up. Still, he should be owned in every league. Carlos Gomez has struggled but whenever I think he's about to get bumped down in the lineup or sent back to AAA, he comes through with a big game. Today he had three hits and stole his 11th base. He's going to lead the AL in steals if he stays up and in the leadoff spot. Carlos Quentin is sick right now. He hit his AL leading 7th homer. He hasn't proven he can stay healthy for a year, but he has proven he can hit this month.

Rays 8, O's 1
Andy Sonnanstine is going to be frutrating this year it looks like. I don't trust him, but he keeps mixing in these good starts with rough starts. Think a better DCab. Eric Hinske looks pretty legit now. I'm thinking 20-25 homers with a .270 average. He's been a nice steal. I haven't said much about BJ Upton this year, but that's just because he's doing what's expected of him. There should have been some concerns about him repeating last year, and so far there's no reason to think he won't. Same with Pena. He's been pretty cold, but he's been battling injuries, he's fine. Gabe Gross finally did something, going 1-3 with his first RBI. So far he's done a nice job of robbing Johnny Gomes of play time and nothing else.

Red Sox 2, Jays 1
Dice K was pretty great, and Dustin McGowan basically matched him until he gave up an Ortiz homer in the 7th. This is bigger news for McGowan because he had such a rough start last time out, walking 7. He only walked one today while striking out five. Both are must starts. I mentioned Ortiz homering, and I think it's pretty safe to say he's going to be fine. You may want to consider selling on him if you are worried about lingering knee issues, but he's going to be a beast as long as he's healthy. Adam Lind finally got a hit, maybe that will help start him going a little bit. Ellsbury missed another game, but he's still going to get the bulk of the at bats. With Drew out too, Crisp will get some regular play time.

Indians 8, M's 3
Cliff Lee won again. This was his worst outing, and there will be worse yet, but he still looks great going forward. I've been hyping Franklin Gutierrez, and he's keeps hitting. It might be too late to steal him. I would expect Jose Vidro and his .211 average with no power to be hitting the bench pretty soon. After Garko sat yesterday, Hafner sat today. Not a bad idea to give the struggling hitters a rest. Garko returned to go 0-1, but drew a walk and scored two runs. No strikeouts is a step in the right direction. Ichiro has been awful. That could be an interesting buy low guy, even if you can get him for 90% of his value, it's probably worth it. Kenji Johjima is going to keep playing, especially after signing the contract extention, but don't be surprised if he loses time behind the plate to Clement. I wouldn't panic with Kenji though.

Tigers 6, Yankees 2
Placido Polanco hit two homers (for real) and he continues his hot streak. He's going to be above .300 before you know it. Jeremy Bonderman threw his best game of the year, but still thre only 57% of his pitches for strikes. Essentially he got lucky. Control will be his main concern all year it looks like. Jason Giambi is a terrible, terrible baseball player. Robby Cano looks like one too. The interesting thing about Cano is he doesn't walk, so if he struggles, he really struggles. He'll come around. Phil Hughes hit the DL, and I don't imagine to hear from him for a while. They'll probably want to give him some time on rehab starts to get himself fixed up a little. Rasner will probably be called up and is worth a look.

Rangers 11, Royals 9
Kevin Millwood threw 6 innings of one run ball before giving up a DeJesus homer and ended up allowing 5 ER. Brian Bannister, however, was much worse, allowing 7 ER over 3. You had to know he was going to get hit sooner or later. Five Rangers in total homered. Besides the usual suspects, Boggs, Murphy, and Laird took one deep. Boggs won't get enough play time to be worth using, but I'm a Murphy fan. Laird isn't going to be outstanding, but he's a servicable catcher. Duran is an interesting option for those without ARod and Blalock. I'd go with him over Ensberg right now.

Angels 6, A's 1
The magic continues and Ervin Santana threw 6.2 shutout innings. He's a stud. Dana Eveland has been pretty great this year, but you had to know he was going to get hit eventually. He gave up 6 ER over 5.1 but at least he struck out 5. He's worth starting against matchups. Casey Kotchman keeps raking, even against lefties. He's a top 5 1B this year for sure. Torii Hunter hasn't homered in 18 games, but he's still contributing at least. I've said it before, but Juan Rivera is a great hitter if given a chance, but with this team, I don't think he will. If Garrett Anderson keeps struggling, he could get a shot which would be great.