The daily grind 6-29
by Brad JohnsonJune 29, 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
Ross Detwiler is set to face the Braves. It's not a drool-worthy match-up, but it's playable.
Bud Norris is coming off the disabled list to face the Cubs today. He's 44 percent owned but does have some nice upside.
Michael Saunders against Aaron Cook could be a nice opportunity.
Similarly, Daniel Nava versus Hector Noesi is friendly. Nava is not guaranteed to start but probably will.
I'm hoping that the Rockies will get Tyler Colvin in the lineup again. Yesterday he played in place of Michael Cuddyer. The Rockies face Jason Marquis.
Let Ben Revere slap a couple hits against Luis Mendoza.
Tomorrow's grind
You could try J.A. Happ against the Cubs. It's not an inspired match-up, but the few Cubs hitters who are "feared" also happen to be left-handed.
The Diamondbacks and Brewers are hosting the regression special—Wade Miley against Michael Fiers. Both lineups are solid enough that I'd avoid the two despite their sub-3.00 ERAs.
The high-risk, high-reward option of the day is Christian Friedrich versus the Padres.
Craig Gentry will get in there to face Tommy Milone. On the other side of that match-up, Seth Smith will get a shot at Justin Grimm.
The Twins and Royals are having a doubleheader, so snatch up Revere and Ryan Doumit for the double game.
Reliever watch
David Robertson blew the save yesterday in a mid-inning appearance.
Rafael Betancourt got touched up for a solo home run by Bryce Harper. That was Betancourt's fourth blown save. Now may be a good time to look to trade the veteran, not because of performance, but because the Rockies are fairly likely to trade him to a team where he may be the setup man. The flip side to that is he could also get a major upgrade.
Yesterday’s results
If you found Trevor Bauer, his debut was uninspired: 4 IP, 3 K, 4.50 ERA, 2.00 WHIP
Wei-Yin Chen was similarly lacking in inspiration: 6.1 IP, 3 K, 8.53 ERA, 1.42 WHIP
Smith has been popular around here lately, but he was 0-for-4 with one RBI and a sombrero (three strike outs).
David Murphy went 2-for-3 with two RBIs.
Pedro Alvarez took out his whoopin' stick. He went 1-for-3 with a home run, one run, one RBI, and one walk.
Alex Presley had one walk off the bench. It would seem the Pirates have temporarily given up on him.
Tyler Moore was 1-for-4 with one run and one walk.
Follow Brad on Twitter @baseballAteam. Email him at pitchin432 AT Yahoo.com
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