FANTASY BASEBALL NEWS

05/29/2008

BY Aaron Gleeman

LATEST FANTASY BASEBALL HEADLINES

Sure, Carlos Guillen will make $10 million this year and gets to play baseball for a living, but he also has a job that encourages his boss to literally alert the media when "he's got hemorrhoids so bad." That was my favorite part of manager Jim Leyland's quote Tuesday when explaining why Guillen was limited to designated hitter duties, and he added that the Tigers' third baseman "has been playing with hemorrhoids that probably need to be lanced" and "can hardly move."Guillen was a popular topic across all forms of media Wednesday and was then absent from the Tigers' lineup against the Angels, guaranteeing another batch of hemorrhoid-related updates from the local newspaper scribes. Aside from professional athlete, is there another job where having medical problems like hemorrhoids (Guillen) or anal fissures (Kaz Matsui) more or less requires a person's boss to give daily updates to reporters? If so, hopefully they're making $10 million too. While the world learns far more than it wanted to know about Guillen, here are some other notes from around baseball .* Pedro Martinez had a successful minor-league rehab start Wednesday at Single-A, allowing two runs over six innings while striking out six, walking none, and giving up four hits. Martinez threw 82 pitches, so barring a setback he appears to be on track to rejoin the Mets' rotation with a start Tuesday against the Giants. "I'm really excited," Martinez said. "I know the team really needs a little bit of a pat on the back and I hope my presence will make a difference for them."* With Paul Lo Duca and Johnny Estrada on the disabled list Jesus Flores has made the most of his first real chance at regular playing time behind the plate in Washington. After holding his own while playing sparingly as a Rule 5 pickup last season, Flores is now staking claim to the starting job even once Lo Duca returns next month. He went 2-for-4 with a grand slam Wednesday and is hitting .344/.420/.590 with 11 extra-base hits and 14 RBIs through 20 games.General manager Jim Bowden hinted earlier this month that Flores may keep the gig regardless of Lo Duca's health status, and by going 9-for-23 (.391) with a homer, three doubles, and seven RBIs over the past week he's improved his stock even further. Flores hit .266/.335/.487 with 21 homers at high Single-A as a 21-year-old in 2006 before his timetable was rushed by the Rule 5 selection and a 23-year-old catcher with a .757 OPS in 98 big-league games has a nice future.* Travis Hafner saw his OPS drop 260 points last season and has hit just .217/.326/.360 this year, so Wednesday's news that he's received two cortisone shots for a sore shoulder made plenty of sense. Hafner revealed that he's been playing through soreness and weakness in the shoulder all season, which helps explain his lack of power and overall struggles. He hasn't played since Sunday, so a trip to the disabled list seems likely and would open up at-bats for Michael Aubrey.* Left for dead after hitting just .236/.356/.433 last season while being limited to 83 games, Jason Giambi is quietly putting together a strong comeback. He smacked his 11th! homer o f the season Wednesday and is now hitting .244/.393/.556 through 44 games. A .244 batting average limits Giambi's fantasy value, but his .949 OPS ranks fourth in the league behind only Milton Bradley, Carlos Quentin, and Josh Hamilton, and he's on pace for 40 homers, 100 RBIs, and 85 runs.* One thing that has separated Rich Harden from Mark Prior throughout their similarly lengthy injury histories is that Harden has always pitched well whenever he's healthy enough to take the mound. Prior went 1-6 with a! 7.21 ERA in 2006, but Harden has never ceased being a dominant pitcher between trips to the disabled list. He held the Blue Jays to one run over seven innings in a tough-luck no-decision Wednesday, giving him a 2.60 ERA and 41 strikeouts in 34.2 innings.* Adam Miller emerged as an elite prospect in 2006, posting a 2.75 ERA and 157-to-43 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 154 innings at Double-A as a 21-year-old. Unfortunately, he was limited to 65.1 innings last year because of finger and elbow injuries, and recently underwent surgery to reattach the flexor tendon in the middle finger of his right hand. The bad news is that Miller will likely miss the remainder of the season. The good news is that he'll still be just 24 years old next season. AL Quick Hits: Daisuke Matsuzaka (shoulder) has avoided the disabled list so far, but will most likely miss at least one start and is scheduled to undergo an MRI . Manager John McLaren said Wednesday that Brandon Morrow is unlikely to move into the rotation this season . Boof Bonser is 6-17 with a 6.02 ERA over his last 30 starts and looks bullpen bound once Scott Baker (groin) comes back next week . With Gregg Zaun (elbow) heading to the DL, Rod Barajas will get most of Toronto's starts behind the plate for at least two weeks . Jake Westbrook (ribs) started Wednesday against the White Sox after sitting out more than a month, allowing three runs over five innings . Rocco Baldelli (leg) worked out prior to Tuesday's game and said afterward that he's still hoping to play this season . Erik Bedard shut out the Red Sox for seven innings Wednesday in his best start since joining the Mariners . Andy Marte is receiving increased playing time so that the Indians can evaluate him in preparation for the roster crunch created by Shin-Soo Choo's (shoulder) impending return.NL Quick Hits: Rafael Soriano (shoulder) returned from the disabled list Wednesday, potentially giving him a brief window for saves until John Smoltz (shoulder) comes off the shelf . Jake Peavy (elbow) said Tuesday that he hopes to rejoin the Padres' rotation this weekend, but that looks unlikely given that he hasn't even thrown off a mound yet . Jay Bruce followed up his huge debut with another impressive effort Wednesday and has four walks in two games after coaxing a total of eight non-intentional walks in 49 games at Triple-A . Meanwhile, perhaps fearing that manager Dusty Baker would be tempted to start him over Bruce, the Reds sent Corey Patterson to the minors Wednesday . Matt Holliday (hamstring) said Tuesday that he's hoping to return from the DL when eligible on June 10 . Carlos Zambrano tossed eight innings of one-run ball Wednesday versus the Dodgers, but threw 130 pitches . Tom Gorzelanny couldn't make it out of the first inning Wednesday, coughing up six runs to the Reds while his ERA ballooned to 7.38.