The daily grind 4-23

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

Not a good slate of available starters today. Bartolo Colon is over-owned (53 percent of leagues) but he does have a nice match-up against the White Sox today. Chris Capuano might give you decent numbers against the Braves. Their offense has cooled slightly over the past few days. I’m staying away from him personally.

Lots of good hitters available today. Gerardo Parra and Jason Kubel face Kyle Kendrick. He struggles against lefty hitters. The Blue Jays face Bruce Chen, which means Rajai Davis will likely start over Eric Thames. The Red Sox are facing Jason Marquis. That should mean a Ryan Sweeney start, but the Marlon Byrd trade complicates things. I still think Sweeney will start.

Tomorrow’s grind

It’s looking pretty ugly for pitchers. Tom Milone faces the White Sox and is only 7 percent owned. You can try Randy Wolf versus the Astros if you feel like rolling the dice. He’s only 5 percent owned thanks to an ERA above 8.00.

TDG regulars Gerardo Parra and Jason Kubel are set to face righty Vance Worley. The Red Sox face Nick Blackburn, which might mean another start for Sweeney. Again, Byrd complicates things until his role becomes defined. Eric Thames will hit against Tommy Hunter.

Reliever watch

Sergio Santos is out with shoulder soreness, opening the door for Francisco Cordero. I’m not expecting great numbers from Cordero, but it looks like he’ll be secure at least for awhile. He earned his first save of the year yesterday.

I mentioned him yesterday, but Jon Rauch is a good pickup for those desperate for saves.

Yesterday’s results

I could have sworn I picked Parra yesterday, but I did not. He hit a grand slam. My actual picks did nothing particularly noteworthy.

Danny Duffy didn’t survive the tough match-up yesterday. He got in trouble with walks, which is what happens on days he struggles. The good news is that yesterday’s line will make him easier to buy: 4.2 IP, 5 K, 7.71 ERA, 2.14 WHIP

Joe Blanton’s effort was plagued by errors, one of which was his own. 6 IP, 2 K, 4.50 ERA, 1.50 WHIP

Tyson Ross did the best of my picks. He earned the win on his birthday to go with: 6.2 IP, 4 K, 1.35 ERA, 1.35 WHIP

Jesus Guzman went 0-for-1 as a pinch hitter. He sat in favor of Mark Kotsay.

Will Venable was 1-for-4 with a run scored.

Yonder Alonso laid an egg. 0-for-4

Josh Reddick did his best impression of Alonso but added a walk to his 0-for-4 afternoon.