The Day in Review

John Smoltz, one of the most underappreciated fantasy ace, notched his 3,000 strikeout tonight and I for one feel privileged to see him play. He's still an injury risk, but less so than many starters (Kazmir, Bedard, any pitcher on my Yahoo! team) and if he's pitching this well now I don't see any reason to doubt him due to his age through the rest of the season. Who was injured?

Injury News

• Speculation continues as to whether A-Rod will avoid a DL stint. At this point, its the difference of a week, since it will be retroactive and it seems the Yankees will handle as they did with Jeter's early season woes. 
• Jake Westbrook hit the DL today, but because the injury wasn't noticed in a game its expected to be minor. If Aaron Laffey is called up, try to spot the start against Seattle or Kansas City, but not the Yankees.
• I'm starting to lose faith in Beckett's ability to stay healthy. Something about the huge workload last season should have tipped fantasy owners, though I must admit I was duped.
• Rotoworld makes an astute point about Pujols's inning at second--if his shoulder was healthy, he would be at third. More on this later...

Notable Performances

• Sabathia pitched a gem, lowering his ERA to 10.13. How often do you hear that about any pitcher? I haven't seen the footage, but if his arm is coming through the slot a couple inches higher, then he should be his usual self.
• Ted Lilly is the second Cub (the other being Rich Hill) to find himself finally. 
• Jacoby Ellsbury had two homeruns tonight, and while I think he has the talent to be a big leaguer for years to come, I expect a two-dinger night is going to be a rarity. 
• The Indians put up 15 points and Pronks went 0-4. This kind of thing happens (remember Michael Young 0-RBI'ing in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre last year?) but it's still disappointing. 

That's what you need to know about the day.