Can Darrell Rasner keep winning?

Week 7 of the 2008 baseball season brings with it a couple of mileposts, all of which begins with a celebration of Mother’s Day, which several teams are celebrating by having their players hit with pink bats. I’m wondering if the genius that thought up this promotion really thought it through. Just exactly who is going to get a thrill out of watching overpaid athletes swing at baseballs with a large, pink, wooden phallus anyway? But I digress. During this coming week, we will reach the first quarter pole of the season, with many teams crossing the 40 games played mark. Week 7 ends with the first inter-league weekend of the season, this one featuring many of the big regional rivalries like the two NY teams battling for back page bragging rights, or the Orioles vs. Nationals tilt for supremacy in the Nation’s capitol. We also have Cleveland vs. Cincinnati for top dog in Ohio, the Astros vs. Rangers in the Lone Star state series, and this week’s featured weekend series, with the Dodgers and Angels fighting to be best loved in LA. The important thing to remember this week is that AL teams playing in NL parks will not have their DH in the lineup in most cases. A perfect example of this would be Travis Hafner of the Indians. They play in Cincinnati, so Hafner will likely be benched. Given how poorly he’s been hitting of late, that should not hurt too much. A complete list of AL teams playing inter-league games in NL parks is on the Fantasy Tips page of this article (the link is at the bottom, on the right). Finally, if you have fantasy baseball questions of any kind, suggestions, or comments, please feel free to post them in the Fantasy Baseball Forum. I promise a reply within 24 hours.

Series of the Week – Weekday Edition – New York Yankees vs. Tampa Bay Rays

It is hard to believe that after 35 games or so, the Rays are in second place in the AL East, just 2 ½ games behind the Red Sox. What is more surprising is that the Yankees are in fourth place, 4 ½ games behind the Sox. The Rays are definitely a team on its way up in terms of talent and competition. While everyone expected them to be better this season, the fact that they are still in second place, a feat accomplished largely without their ace pitcher Scott Kazmir, means that they are finally good enough to actually compete in the AL East. They could even be good enough to win the Wild Card slot this season, as their hitting, pitching, and even their defense has improved dramatically this season.

The Yankees are merely treading water at this point in the season. They currently have more payroll sitting on the DL than several teams have on their entire roster. The loss of Jorge Posada and Alex Rodriguez to injury means that playing time is going to wash outs like Morgan Ensberg and Wilson Betemit. Players like Jason Giambi and Robinson Cano are off to a terrible start, and the Yankees are relying on Hideki Matsui and Johnny Damon to carry the team through this period until A-Rod and Posada return. They are also having issues within the starting rotation, with their young pitchers struggling (Ian Kennedy) or injured (Philip Hughes), the organization’s lack of depth has been exposed in that we are seeing Kei Igawa and Darrell Rasner, back for another go at the big leagues despite the fact that they both completely washed out last season.

The Rays and Yankees have met for six games already this season, with the Yanks winning four of the games. Yankee pitchers have a 4.67 ERA against the Rays, while the Rays’ pitchers have a 4.85 ERA against the Yankees. The pitchers scheduled for this series are Chien-Ming Wang vs. Matt Garza in the opener Monday, Mike Mussina vs. Edwin Jackson on Tuesday, Igawa vs. Jamie Shields on Wednesday, and Rasner vs. Kazmir on Thursday.

Hitters to watch in this series include Hideki Matsui, who has hit Rays pitching at a .360 clip this season, with three home runs, and seven RBI in their first six games. Morgan Ensberg (.333), Bobby Abreu (.304), and Derek Jeter (.304) have also hit the Rays hard this season. For the Rays, keep an eye on Jonny Gomes (.455, 2 HR), Cliff Floyd (.375), and Eric Hinske (.333) as all have been hitting Yankee pitching well this season.

Series of the Week – Weekend Edition – LA Dodgers vs. LA Angels of Anaheim

Last season, these two teams met for six games, and the Angels embarrassed the Dodgers by winning five of the six meetings. Both teams are considered to be legitimate contenders in their respective divisions. The Angels are easily the best team in the AL West, and will not get a lot of competition from the likes of the Texas Rangers and Seattle Mariners. The Oakland A’s are making a stand early, but they are a very young team that has been surprisingly good, but will not likely hold up over the long haul. The Dodgers may have it a little tougher in the NL West, with very stiff competition coming from the Arizona Diamondbacks, currently the team with the best record in baseball, although they have lost 6 of their last 10 games and are subject to the occasional swoon.

The Dodgers team ERA against the Angels last season was a dreadful 5.47. While Angels’ pitchers were simply dominating against the Dodgers, with a team ERA of 1.70 and a 1.13 WHIP. The pitchers scheduled for this series starting Friday are Ervin Santana vs. Hiroki Kuroda, Hong-Chi Kuo vs. John Lackey on Saturday, while Sunday will feature Jered Weaver vs. Brad Penny. If Lackey does indeed make his start, it will be his first of the 2008 season. He has been on the DL since spring training with a sore shoulder.

Hitters to keep an eye in this series from the Dodgers include Rafael Furcal, who had a .292 batting average against the Halos last season, and Andre Ethier who batted .286 against them last season. Both players are off to hot starts this season, with Furcal batting a robust .366 and Ethier at .291. The Angels hitters to watch include Casey Kotchman (.315, 6 HR), Torii Hunter (289, 5 HR), and Mike Napoli (8 HR). Last season, Kotchman hit the Dodgers at a .438 clip playing in five games.