The daily grind 5-1
by Brad JohnsonMay 01, 2012
The Daily Grind provides daily match-up advice based on my every morning waiver wire search. I welcome advice to help make this column more effective. Ownership rates are from Yahoo!
Today's grind
Jonathan Niese's ownership is up to 55 percent, but he's the only streaming option approaching attractive today. Edinson Volquez is playable, but he's owned at a 50 percent clip. Felix Doubront against the A's might be the sneaky pick for the day.
Lefty masher Shelley Duncan faces Chris Sale.
Tony Campana has been finding his way onto my rosters. I saw someone on Twitter comp his tale to Sam Fuld's and that seems reasonable. Ride the wave and collect the steals until they dry up.
Luke Scott's employment rate is up another point to 37 percent. He's facing Hector Noesi today so snag him in any format. I'm starting him in a 10-team, shallow-roster league.
Ryan Sweeney's feasted on righties this year and faces Jarrod Parker today.
A Brian Matusz' start should also mean an Andruw Jones start.
Tomorrow's grind
It's yet another shallow match-up day. A.J. Burnett faces the Cardinals tomorrow and he's only 27 percent owned. Don't expect a win as the Pirates offense has been surprisingly futile.
Philip Humber's back on the drawing board. His post-perfect game implosion has his ownership rate down to 32 percent. He faces the Indians tomorrow and should be owned in most formats.
I was surprised to find that Daniel Bard is only 38 percent owned. That's getting into the territory where the recommendation probably isn't helping my readers, but the guy is a good pitcher and should be owned. He'll run into his share of bumps along the way, but he faces the lowly A's tomorrow.
A trio of base thieves have good match-ups tomorrow. Rajai Davis might start if his wrist is feeling better. Campana faces righty Homer Bailey. Carlos Gomez draws Cory Luebke, which is a tough match-up but at least we know he'll start.
Sweeney and Josh Reddick both have somewhat favorable match-ups. They're morphing into daily recommendations.
Eventually I'll get to graduate Scott. He faces righty Blake Blake Beavan tomorrow.
Reliever watch
Brandon League blew his second save, but he's still one of the most secure closers in the game.
Brad Lidge had surgery to repair a hernia. The Nationals' closer situation is unsettled with Henry Rodriguez the top man. He's never shown high leverage ability in the majors while teammate Tyler Clippard has, so the situation could be fluid. Clippard's had past difficulties in a ninth inning role, but as we saw with Ryan Madson last year, those can disappear suddenly.
Yesterday’s results
R.A. Dickey had a solid outing: 6 IP, 6 K, 4.50 ERA, 0.83 WHIP
If you gritted your teeth for Randy Wolf, at least you got a win out of it. You also got some ugly peripherals: 5 IP, 3 K, 5.40 ERA, 2.40 WHIP
They're still sticking with the straight platoon in Milwaukee. Gomez did not start and was later caught stealing as a pinch runner.
Chris Denorfia had a good game but his teammates didn't support him. He went 2-for-3 with two walks yet still did not score or drive in a run.
Good day for Marlon Byrd. He went 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBI. His average is creeping toward the Mendoza line.
Reddick rounded out a good day for my hitters. He went 2-for-4 with a home run, one run, three RBI, and a walk.
Follow Brad on Twitter @baseballAteam. Email him at pitchin432 AT Yahoo.com
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