CORY’S PICKS

Outman @
Hunter

Willis @ Bergesen
(not sold on Dontrelle yet)

Wakefield @
Janssen

Richard @
Bannister

***Billingsley @
***Lilly

Detwiler @ Happ
(ditch on both, but both are interesting for gamblers)

***Cueto @
Looper

***Jurrjens @
Garland

SIANO’S PICKS

CORY’S PICKS

***Halladay @ R.
Hill

***Porcello @
Davies

***Bedard @
Cahill

Sonnanstine @
Huff

***Burnett @ Holland (Holland
has been impressive, but vs. the Yankees? Not yet)

Dice-K @
***Slowey

Floyd @ ***Jered
Weaver

Wellemeyer @ Parra
(both if you love to gamble, neither if you have a weak
stomach)

***Duke @ ***Zambrano
(Duke is on a roll, Cubs are erratic)

Kershaw @ Jimenez
(Kershaw too unpredictable to trust in Coors)

Badenhop @
***Myers

Paulino @
Arroyo

***Zimmermann @
***Johan

***Peavy @
Buckner

***Kawakami @ ***R.
Johnson

Siano says:

I
would have said pitch on Ubaldo but he has had major trouble with
LAD.

I
pitch Dice-K

Arroyo
coming off gem I roll the dice.

                                                      
Hey Guys,

Tons to discuss on today’s podcast.  It’s been one injury after the other over the past few days with Kazmir, Percival, Iannetta and Quentin all going down and Phillips trying to play through a broken finger.  Initial X-rays on Matt Capps came back negative but we should know more about him tomorrow.  I like to think of Memorial Day as a good time to really examine your team and figure out the strengths and weaknesses.  There’s now enough of a sample size to make an accurate assessment, but these injuries tend to throw everything off.  Now is the point where everyone should seriously consider trades, especially those of you who have one or more key players sidelined.

-Zach

RAYS PLACE KAZMIR, PERCIVAL ON 15-DAY DL;

RECALL BRIGNAC, THAYER FROM DURHAM

ST. PETERSBURG, FL—The Tampa Bay Rays have placed left-handed pitcher Scott Kazmir on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to May 21, with a right quadriceps strain.  The Rays also placed right-handed relief pitcher Troy Percival on the 15-day DL with right shoulder tendinitis.  To replace them on the roster, infielder Reid Brignac and right-handed relief pitcher Dale Thayer have been recalled from Durham (AAA) and will be active for tonight’s game at Florida.

Brignac, 23, was hitting .291 (41-141) for Durham with three home runs, 15 RBI, 13 doubles, 24 runs scored and two stolen bases.  He played in 36 games, 32 at shortstop and four at second base.  Brignac made his major league debut last season and played in four games at shortstop, including two starts.  Entering this season he was named the Best Defensive Shortstop in the International League and the No. 4 prospect in the Rays organization by Baseball America.

Thayer, 28, is added to the active major league roster for the first time of his seven-year career.  He leads the Bulls bullpen with six saves and a 0.93 ERA (19.1-IP, 2-ER) over 16 appearances.  In 341 career minor league appearances, he is 26-16 with 138 saves, a 2.27 ERA (393.1-IP, 99-ER) and 403 strikeouts.  Thayer was originally added to the Rays 40-man roster on November 20, and was acquired in 2006 as the player to be named in the trade that sent Russell Branyan to the San Diego Padres.  The Padres signed him as a non-drafted free agent out of Chico State in California.

Kazmir, 25, is 4-4 with a 7.69 ERA (45.2-IP, 39-ER) in nine starts this season.  After beginning the year by going 3-1 with a 3.97 ERA over his first four starts, he has compiled a 1-3 record with an 11.35 ERA in the five starts since.  His 19.2 pitches per inning pitched are the most in the majors.  Although he is the youngest member of the starting rotation, he is the longest tenured Rays pitcher and is the club’s all-time leader with 51 victories, 764.1 innings pitched, 815 strikeouts, 132 starts and a 3.79 ERA.

Percival, 39, is 0-1 this year with a team-high six saves and a 6.35 ERA over 14 appearances.  His 358 career saves rank eighth on the all-time list and fourth among active pitchers.  He led the Rays with 28 saves last season despite three separate stints on the disabled list.  The four-time All-Star is one of four pitchers to record seven straight 30-save seasons (1998-2004).  He has held opponents to a lifetime .188 batting avg., lowest of any pitcher in major league history with 400 or more appearances.  

The TORONTO BLUE JAYS have recalled RHP CASEY JANSSEN & INF JOE INGLETT effective today May 22. LHP RICKY ROMERO will be recalled in time to make his scheduled start on Tuesday May 26 in Baltimore. OF TRAVIS SNIDER, LHP BRETT CECIL & RHP BOBBY RAY have all been optioned to Las Vegas of the Pacific Coast League (AAA).

JANSSEN, 27, has made five minor league starts between Dunedin (A) and New Hampshire (AA) this season, posting a 0.76 ERA, with five walks and 17 strikeouts in 23.2 innings. The Huntington Beach, California resident last pitched in the majors in 2007, spending 2008 rehabbing a torn labrum. In 89 career games (17 starts), he has recorded an 8-13 record with a 3.89 ERA. The 6’4, 210 pound right-hander will start at Atlanta tomorrow.

ROMERO, 24, is 2-0 with a 1.71 ERA after three starts this season, his first in the major leagues, prior to suffering an oblique strain. The 6-0, 210 lb, left-hander, has since made three minor league starts, going 0-1 with a 6.91 ERA at three levels. Romero won his major league debut on April 9^th over the Detroit Tigers (6.0IP, 7H, 2ER, 2BB, 5K).   Ricky was the Blue Jays first round selection, sixth overall in the 2005 first year player draft.

INGLETT, 30, has been limited to seven games at Las Vegas (AAA) due to a hamstring pull. In his 29 at-bats, is hitting .310 with one double. The Copley, Ohio resident appeared in 109 games last season with the Blue Jays, posting a .297 average with 3 homeruns and 39 RBI.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________-

I guess home is where the heart is for Jake Peavy. This helps keep his value strong. Not that he would stink in Chicago but him not wanting to be there, going from cozy Petco to The Cell and the cushy NL West lineups to some decent hitters in the Central added up to not wanting to take the chance for Peavy owners. He still will get dealt but at least you bought some time. May 22nd and July 22nd are two different worlds for a player, the closer you get to the end of the season the better it is for your family. Peavy has some time left on that deal he signed so if he wants to go somewhere it might as well be somewhere he can stay a few more years, I can’t blame him on this one, it’s not like he is going to a first place team………Siano

***NOTE  I’m putting a bunch of the blog questions from the last few days on the list of questions for tonight’s Sirius/XM show.  Even though some have already been answered by one of us, it’ll be interesting to hear the different (or similar) opinions.

-Zach

SIANO’S PICKS

***Millwood @
***Jackson

***Blackburn @
Colon

Pavano @
***Greinke

Braden @
***Garza

Eaton @
***Chamberlain

Ray @
***Lester

***Saundo @ ***Bedard  *Bedard needs to avoid the red hot bat of Torii Hunter!!!

Blanton @
Owings

Cook @
Medlen

Snell @ Cabrera *back to avoiding Snell

***Scherzer @ Miller  *Scherzer is showing signs of consistency, needs to get
more Ks.

Suppan @
***Oswalt

Marshall @
***Wainwright

***Lincecum @
Correia