Ahead this Week

Week Ahead: Dare to stream May 18, 2008
By George Winkler

It's time to go streaming. We're not talking about fantasy bass fishing, either, though I hear there's a niche market for that type of advice. No, we're here to discuss the well-known practice of shuffling fringe pitchers in and out of your fantasy lineups on a per-matchup basis.
Why would you do such a thing? Well, the waiver wire in some leagues, i.e. my league, is picked clean of reliable options or pitchers who might turn into such. So, while it's a gamble to look at fringe pitchers, streaming doesn't entail a long-term commitment. It's like how some Hollywood types might approach marriage, only with streaming you don't have to sign a prenuptial agreement.
I'm considering streaming for two reasons. No. 1, I'm far beneath the innings limit in one of my leagues and feel like I have some innings to play with. No. 2, I'm waiting for injured starters like Pedro Martinez to return or ineffective pitchers like Rich Hill to get their acts together. If I can hit on a few calculated risks in the meantime, I think I can weather the storm.
Here's a look at some of the pitchers you could "go streaming" with this week:
Jon Lester, Red Sox. Since a bad start on April 23 against the Angels, Lester has lowered his ERA from 5.40 to 3.95. He has a two-start week against the Royals and A's and might be available in some mixed leagues.
Bronson Arroyo, Reds. This Guitar Hero is always dicey, but he has allowed just one run in his past two starts (15 innings). He has a two-start week at the Dodgers and Padres, which are favorable pitching venues.
Nick Blackburn, Twins. He has had some growing pains, but overall has been good. He's coming off a quality start at Coors Field and faces the Rangers in Minnesota this week.
Braden Looper, Cardinals. A trip to PETCO Park usually is agreeable to pitchers. Looper might be available in your mixed league after coming down to earth a bit (two straight losses) following a hot start.
Carlos Villanueva, Brewers. I wouldn't touch him for today's start at Boston. But later in the week, the Brewers are at Washington, and he's scheduled to go.
Scott Feldman, Rangers. Feldman is limited to the AL-only crowd, but he is a two-start pitcher this week with road matchups against Minnesota and Cleveland. He's coming off three straight quality starts.
CATCHER
Sleeper: Jason Varitek, Red Sox. Varitek has 62 hits in 59 career games against the Royals, including 10 home runs. Kansas City comes to Boston for four games before Boston hits the road for three in Oakland. Stumbler: A.J. Pierzynski, White Sox. Put it on the board, ye ... not this week. Pierzynski has the fourth lowest batting average against lefties among active catchers. Lefties C.C. Sabathia and Aaron Laffey are on the White Sox's schedule, as well as tough righties Ervin Santana and John Lackey.

FIRST BASE/DH
Sleeper: Kevin Millar, Orioles. Millar has a career average of .294 against the Yankees and .312 against the Rays, and Baltimore is on the road to face both teams this week. Millar is hitting a not-too-shabby .288 for his career at Yankee Stadium.Stumbler: Nick Swisher, White Sox. Swisher has one home run in his last 19 games and is batting just .208. It has gotten so bad with Swish that manager Ozzie Guillen gave him a day off Sunday just to clear the cobwebs. Will the rest work? Don't count on it. Swisher is hitting just .212 in his career against the Angels, one of Chicago's opponents this week.

SECOND BASE
Sleeper: Luis Castillo, Mets. Now that Castillo is back from a quad injury, he can finally go to work in May, which is his best month for batting average (.324). He also has a history of success against the Braves (.288) and Rockies (.305), the Mets' opponents this week.Stumbler: Erick Aybar, Angels. In 13 career games against the White Sox, he has a .194 batting average. OK, so that's a small sample size, but Aybar has been worse on the road historically and is coming down from a hot start when his average peaked at .356 on April 22.

THIRD BASE
Sleeper: Akinori Iwamura, Rays. Iwamura has had six multi-hit performances in his past eight games. During this span, his batting average has climbed from .227 to .271. Will three lefties on the Rays' schedule this week slow down the lefty-swinging Iwamura? Not according to his lifetime splits (.309 vs. lefties).Stumbler: Mark Reynolds, Diamondbacks. Reynolds has one home run since April 25, and his average has sunk into the .220s after being as high as .344. His career splits show he is worse on the road and before the All-Star break. Arizona is at Florida and Atlanta this week -- and, yes, it's still not mid-July, though it probably felt that way in parts of the Western U.S this past weekend.

SHORTSTOP
Sleeper: Orlando Cabrera, White Sox. Last season's .301 batting average was a career high for Cabrera. While we didn't expect him to repeat that, we didn't think he'd be hitting in the low .200s, either. This is a gut feeling, but a matchup later this week with his former team, the Angels, could get him going.Stumbler: Cristian Guzman, Nationals. A career .264 hitter can't keep hanging around .300 like Guzman is doing these days. This is the reverse gut feeling I had with Cabrera -- in other words, either I just got skinnier or added some junk to my backside.

OUTFIELD
Sleeper: Ben Francisco, Indians. Francisco hit his first home run on Saturday against the Reds and is batting .375 since his call-up on May 6. He's young and unproven, but go ahead and ride the hot hand while he has it -- this is especially true for those of you in AL-only leagues.Stumbler: Juan Pierre, Dodgers. In 58 career games against the Cardinals, Pierre has been successful on only four of eight stolen-base attempts. One reason is Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina, who leads the majors over the past four seasons in percentage of attempted basestealers thrown out. Los Angles plays St. Louis and Cincinnati this week.

STARTING PITCHER
Sleeper: Mike Mussina, Yankees. All the talk in preseason was about the youngsters on the Yankees staff, but it has been the old guy who has gotten the job done. Mussina gets the Orioles and Mariners this week, and both teams are in the bottom one-third in the majors in batting average.Stumbler: Andrew Miller, Marlins. He has been up and down, so it was no surprise to see him struggle against the Royals after dominating the Nationals. Arizona brings a lot more firepower than those two teams, so once again it's not Miller time this week.

RELIEF PITCHER
Sleeper: Troy Percival, Rays. Is it time to sell high? You bet. But not before you get another solid week out of Percival as Tampa Bay takes on Baltimore and Oakland.Stumbler: C.J. Wilson, Rangers. Manager Ron Washington said Wilson was still the team's closer even after Eddie Guardado got a save last week. That's known in the biz as the dreaded "vote of confidence," and usually it's followed up by a change.

FAVORABLE SCHEDULES
Red Sox pitchers: Kansas City is near the bottom in the majors in runs scored, and the A's are in the same boat when it comes to home runs. Plus, Boston has seven games this week, giving Jonathan Papelbon extra chances for appearances.Brewers hitters: Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder and Co. get to face the Pirates and Nationals, two of the majors' worst teams in staff ERA.Twins hitters: The Rangers and Tigers are bottom-feeders in team ERA, and Minnesota gets seven games against them. Justin Morneau has hit well versus both teams, too.
UNFAVORABLE SCHEDULES

Cardinals hitters: A trip to the West Coast includes unfavorable parks (PETCO Park, Dodger Stadium) and matchups with top-of-rotation pitchers (Jake Peavy, Greg Maddux, Chris Young, Brad Penny -- if healthy -- Derek Lowe and Chad Billingsley).Mariners pitchers: The Tigers and Yankees haven't hit full stride yet, but their lineups are still formidable-looking. Plus, Seattle will be on the road for all six games.Royals hitters: Despite having seven games this week, Kansas City has a tough road trip. The Blue Jays are among the majors' leaders in staff ERA, and the Red Sox will throw Josh Beckett and Daisuke Matsuzaka at the Royals in a four-game set at Fenway.

TWO-START PITCHERS


AL: Josh Beckett, Joe Blanton, Boof Bonser, Paul Byrd*, Daniel Cabrera*, Jose Contreras, Scott Feldman, Roy Halladay*, Luke Hochevar, John Lackey, Jon Lester, Gil Meche, Mike Mussina, Glen Perkins, James Shields, Carlos Silva*, Justin Verlander.

NL: Bronson Arroyo, Matt Belisle, Chad Billingsley*, Jorge De La Rosa, Tom Glavine, Cole Hamels, Mark Hendrickson, Ted Lilly, Greg Maddux, Paul Maholm, Patrick Misch, Brian Moehler*, Brett Myers, Micah Owings, Manny Parra, Brad Penny*, Tim Redding, Chris Sampson, Claudio Vargas, Todd Wellemeyer.