The Day in Review

Sadly, WGN isn't bound by law to broadcast all of the Cubs games, so I sit discontent, watching the gamecast offered by Yahoo! (In truth, I prefer ESPN, for those interested). In the meantime, I guess I can check out news across the sport...

Injury News:

• Coco Crisp picked a fight with James Shields, and was promptly ejected. Then, Ellsbury was promptly injured with what is being reported as a strained wrist. He may hit the DL but the Red Sox would like to limit that club.
• Ryan Doumit is back, so Ronny Paulino is headed to the minors. Doumit should catch most of the games and has value for mixed leaguers.
• Vernon Wells is beginning his rehad, but I'm wary of wrist injuries after we saw the diminished numbers Lee put up in 2006 and 2007. Tread softly, or deal him to an enthusiastic outfield seeker.

Notable Performances:

• By now you should have heard that Hamels three-hit the Reds. Also pitching was Homer Bailey, who might have value in spot start situations if he ever half-lives up to his hype as recently as last year.
• B.J. Ryan blew his second consecutive save opportunity, both times getting two outs before yielding the runs. This suggests its a mental thing that he will straighten out rather than related to injury, as he's certainly a risk. Did anyone who saw the tape notice anything indicative?
• In each game of a double-header, Troy Glaus had one hit, both times for a home run.
• Chipper Jones had four hits, one landing in the stands, to bring his average to .418. Pick one: Chipper Jones will hit four hundred, or, Chipper Jones will be a fantasy bust next season.
• I must honestly concede I haven't been following him, but Milton Bradley has been putting up sick stats batting clean up for the Rangers. He's leading the AL among eligible players in OPS, and could be trade bait around the deadline (possibly to the Cubs, though I'm not rooting for it, yet). Still, he should be owned, at least as a bench option, in all leagues.
• Geovany Soto struck out three times, and the whiffing has contributed to his lowering batting average. He doesn't seem to be seeing the ball like he was in the beginning of the season, despite almost matching April's HR totals in May.
• Jeff Kent hit two home runs, but no one should notice. In fact, don't read that last sentence.

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