Not Dunn yet

Don't look now.

Adam Dunn is heating up again.

The Reds' slugger has homered in 4 straight games and driven in 7 runs in that span. Maybe even better news, Dunn has only struck out twice in the last 4, and he's raised his average 18 points (.203 to .221). Sure, Dunn is one of the most worthless sluggers in baseball right now. He'll hit 40 HR and drive in 100 runs, but fantasy owners can't handle the sub-.250 avg. Do I want him on my team? Not really? Would I want to play against him this week in a head-to-head? Not if I can help it.

Livan on the edge

Livan Hernandez threw five perfect innings against the Rockies on Saturday night. Spitting Seeds tells you why now's the perfect time to sell high on the declining right hander.

Carpenter taking steps toward return

If no one in your league has Cardinals SP Chris Carpenter, go get him. He's on the road back to the bigs. After undergoing surgery on his right elbow last season, Carpenter threw a bullpen session today. He's scheduled to throw a simulated game on Tuesday, May 20. Hopefully he'll be on track for maybe a July return, but the club has yet to set an official timetable. He'll be back soon enough and hopefully he'll return to ace form. If you've got an open DL spot, stash him there.

Jay Bruce heats up, Jocketty says, "not so fast"

If you can possibly believe it, Jay Bruce continues to get even hotter at the plate. Wednesday against Scranton, Bruce doubled, tripled, and homered raising his season average to .366. Bruce now has 8 HR, 33 RBI, and 7 SB. Fans who are eager to see Ken Griffey Jr. get booted out of town to make room for Bruce won't like what new GM Walt Jocketty had to say today.

Royals continue dominance of Tigers

As Detroit's 16-24 record might suggest, plenty of teams can say they "own" the Tigers...but perhaps no team is more qualified to make that claim than the Kansas City Royals...thats right, the Royals.

The lowly Tigers made KC rookie Luke Hochever look like Cy Young on Wednesday night. Hochevar's (3-2, 3.94 season ERA) 6 scoreless innings led the Royals to their 5th straight win over Detroit. Hochevar continues to impress as he gains more fantasy value with each passing start.

On the flip side, Tigers' ace Justin Verlander lost despite his best pitching performance in nearly a month (6 IP, 2 ER, 3 K). Maybe this will be a turning point in Verlander's otherwise forgettable season (1-7, 6.05 ERA). Don't give up on Verlander yet. He'll get this thing turned around.

Tribe starting rotation "pitching in"

If you're looking for the best starting rotation in the majors right now, you'd be crazy to look anywhere else but Cleveland. The numbers speak for themselves.

5/9 vs. Tor. - Sabathia - 7 IP, ER, 9 K
5/10 vs. Tor. - Laffey - 7 IP, 0 ER, 2 K
5/12 vs. Tor. - Carmona - 9 IP, 0 ER, 3 K
5/12 vs. Tor. - Lee - 9 IP, 0 ER, 5 K
5/13 vs. Oak. - Byrd - 7.1 IP, 0 ER, 7 K
5/14 vs. Oak - Sabathia - 9 IP, 0 ER, 11 K

Don't rack your brain. I'll do that math. In their last 6 games, Indians starting pitchers have thrown 48.1 innings and allowed just 1 earned run. That's an ERA of 0.18 in the last week. Unbelievable. Obviously they can't keep this up forever, but if you've had any of these guys recently, you've undoubtedly reaped the reward.

Cueto pinch-runs, scores winning run

If you count pitchers' offensive stats in your fantasy league, then you need to seek professional medical help...but if that describes your fantasy league, then you received an unexpected boost from Johnny Cueto on Wednesday night.

Sure, Cueto's arm hasn't been much help to Cincinnati lately (20 ER in last 19.1 IP), but on Wednesday night, his legs won the game. After Mike Lincoln and Francisco Cordero blew a 6-run 9th-inning lead, Dusty Baker put Cueto in to pinch run for David Ross in the bottom of the 10th. He wasn't in there very long. The very next batter, newly recalled Paul Janish, singled home Cueto with the game-winning run.

Comings and Goings

Gagne back at closer, plus lots of injury news/roster moves. Find it all here, here and here, or just try Spitting Seeds in general.

Two closers perfect no more

Tuesday night signaled the end of the 0.00 ERA for two more closers, Mariano Rivera and Brad Lidge. You might have expected the future Hall-of-famer Rivera to 16 innings without allowing a run, but Lidge's 17 inning streak was quite surprising.

Lidge allowed a 9th inning Brian McCann RBI double to end his scoreless season; Lidge still picked up his 10th save. Things weren't as rosy for Rivera. The Yanks' stopper allowed a Gabe Gross 10th inning RBI single that lost the game for the Bronx Bombers.

So nearly a month-and-a-half into the '08 season, there are now only two full-time closers with a clean sheet (0.00 ERA): Mets' Billy Wagner (8 SV) and Royals' Joakim Soria (9 SV).

No, I'm 'Little Pedro'

Johnny C is no longer the diminutive Dominican claiming to be the next Pedro Martinez. Eddie V has taken over as the heir to the throne. The proof is in the numbers. Both ESPN and Spitting Seeds agree.

Tuesday's top tossers

With a bunch of good pitching matchups across the majors tonight, Spitting Seeds lays out the top five for your viewing pleasure.

Kershaw back to the rotation, call-up soon?

Just five days after Dodgers SP prospect Clayton Kershaw was temporarily moved to the bullpen to limit his workload, the Jacksonville Suns star moved back to the rotation last night. Unfortunately, Kershaw wasn't as sharp in his start against Mobile last night (3.1 IP, 5 ER, 3 K) as he had been previously. Still we find it interesting that Kershaw was back in the starting rotation exactly five days before the Dodgers will need a 5th starter. If you recall, we reported last week that May 17 is the target date for Kershaw's call-up. If this last clunker of a start didn't scare away the Dodgers brass, Kershaw could be in line for a call-up soon.

Headley in a holding pattern

Aside from the top-flight prospects fans have been waiting for (Bruce, Kershaw, Bailey), there's another name that could have a big impact on the West coast - once he finally arrives. Last week, it looked like a call-up for Padres OF prospect Chase Headley was just around the corner - this coming after San Diego released veteran centerfielder Jim Edmonds. Now it looks like GM Kevin Towers has changed his tune.

San Diego Union-Tribune columnist Tim Sullivan explains why you better not hold your breath in anticipation of Headley's call-up.

Headley just finished up a week in which he was absolutely on fire (13-for-24 in 5 games). When he finally gets the call-up, Headley should be a jolt to an otherwise dormant Padres lineup. Keep an eye on the latest developments.

We'll keep you posted.

Hanley still handles short

Talk of Hanley Ramirez moving from shortstop to a new position has hung over fantasy owners' heads for the past season plus. Today the issue was addressed on the Florida Marlins' website, and Spitting Seeds breaks down the decision-making...

Hardly worth the wait

If you were one of those owners like me who patiently waited out yet another Rich Harden injury, you might have watched his start Sunday night and wondered, "Was that worth the wait?" Harden's first start back off the DL was a clunker.

5/11 at Tex. - 3.2 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, 5 K

As disappointing as this start was, don't worry; you really read too much into this one start. Before he went on the DL, Harden was outstanding (11 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 15 K). In his Class A rehab start, he was untouchable (6 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 9 K). Its safe to re-activate Harden in any league you're in. Don't be scared off by his sub-par numbers. You can attribute it to lack of stamina, you can attribute it to nerves, you can call it whatever you want.

Its still Rich Harden. He'll be hurt again next week.

Two-start pitchers (5/12-5/19)

Because of Sunday's rain in Chicago, the Cubs pushed ace Carlos Zambrano's scheduled start back a day. That means Zambrano becomes a two-start pitcher for this upcoming fantasy week (5/12-5/19). This likely won't affect your starting lineup because you probably will have Zambrano in there no matter what. Here are a few other pitcher that are scheduled for two starts this week that you might be able to find on your waiver wire.

Vicente Padilla, SP-Tex (vs. Sea, vs. Hou) - The veteran righty has allowed only 1 ER in his last 21.2 IP, lowering his season ERA to just a touch about 3.00. He's still available in about half of fantasy leagues, and his scheduled starts against the light-hitting Mariners (just don't throw near Richie Sexson) and Astros make Padilla a viable option

Mike Mussina, SP-NYY (at TB, vs. NYM) - In case you hadn't noticed, the aged Mike Mussina has won 4 straight starts to run his season record to 5-3. His ERA is still a little lofty at 4.36, so he's available in about 40% of fantasy leagues. He's got a start against the struggling Edwin Jackson and TB, and a start in the Subway Series against John Maine. You gotta think "Moose" will perform well this week.

Belisle rocked again

Cincinnati's Matt Belisle couldn't get through five innings Saturday against the Mets. Could that open the door for another Reds' youngster to jump into the rotation? Spitting Seeds says yes...

No longer banking on Yanks

Once the best source for pitching wins in fantasy ball, the Yankees are now nothing more than a staff full of trouble. There's not much hope for the foreseeable future, and according to Spitting Seeds, it's now necessarily due to their bullet-less young guns...

Y-U-C-Kei Igawa ... and other notes from Friday's games

Friday morning, we at Sliding Shorts previewed Kei Igawa's re-debut with the Bronx Bombers. A much-anticipated start - one the Yankees needed after suffering through a month of Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy. Well things didn't get much better for the pinstripes as "Special Kei" looked just like his old self against the Tigers.

5/9 at Det. - 3 IP, 11 H, 6 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

I guess the good news is he didn't walk anyone, but there's more than enough bad news in that line to last you awhile. As we said Friday morning, you can't read too much into this first start, but be wary. Things could have gotten a lot worse had Jonathan Albaladejo not saved his rear end in the 4th. Needless to say (but I'll say it anyway), Igawa doesn't have much fantasy value at this point.

Guys who DO have fantasy value at this point...

1. Placido Polanco, 2B-Det - He's baaaa-aaaack! You had to know Polanco couldn't stay too cold, too long. The once ice-cold table-setting utility man has raised his season average 140 points in 14 games since April 25th. It safe to say Polanco is back to his old self.

2. James Shields, SP-TB - Tampa Bay's new ace allowed just one base runner in a complete game shutout of the LA Angels. That's Shields' 2nd shutout in his last 3 starts. While thats quite a feat in itself, it'd be all the more impressive had he not had a 7 ER debacle sandwiched in bewteen.

3. Robinson Cano, 2B-NYY - We told you a couple days ago that Robinson Cano made for a great buy-low candidate. Well that time is quickly running out. Get him now or you'll be S.O.L. Cano (2-for-4 tonight vs. Det) has put together a modest 5-game hitting streak, tied for his longest such streak of the year. He's got 2 HR over that span.

4. Jimmy Rollins, SS-Phi - The reigning NL MVP didn't take long to get back in the groove after missing a couple weeks with a sprained ankle. J-Roll homered in his return on Friday night against the Giants. I'd say its safe to get him back in your lineup.