Today's featured shit

Todd Helton is still someone to think about, even if he doesn’t have power anymore.
Michael Bourn was never able to get on base, but it seems so far that he has figured it out. If you need stolen bases, he’s worth considering.
I was one of many who drafted and then released Ramon Hernandez after his awful start. Well, his batting average is back up to .261, and maybe he’ll stick after all. He does play half his games in a hitters park.
Another guy I dropped early on was Johnny Cueto. I’m willing to admit a mistake, and the nice thing was that no one else picked him up. Check whether he is available in your league.
Don’t look now, but Scott Richmond is 4-0 with a 2.67 ERA and 1.22 WHIP.

David Aardsma will be the closer while Brandon Morrow is on the DL.
Kendry Morales is worth a look. There’s generally someone on your team that hasn’t worked out, and now’s a good time to move him. For me, it was Mike Jacobs.

Gary Matthews Jr. is getting another chance. The shakeout from Vladimir Guerrero being injured has resulted in more Matthews at-bats.
You’re a month into the year, and some patterns are surely emerging. A common problem for fantasy owners is drafting good pitchers on bad teams. The result of course is that you’re doing well in WHIP, strikeouts and, to a lesser extent, ERA. But where are the wins? Oh well, you can just grab some pitchers from top tier teams, right? Sometimes. It seems that every league has the guy who picks every starter from the top tier teams in baseball, because if wins are all a real team needs, then wins are all his fantasy team needs too. So then you have to find good starting pitchers on average teams. Bronson Arroyo is a good choice. Somehow, he wins.
Mike Fontenot is a good depth guy for your roster who simply can’t hit only .250 all season.

With Brendan Ryan on the DL, Brian Barden will get the at-bats.
Julian Tavarez is now the closer in Washington, but Joe Beimel may still be the guy when he comes off the DL.
Melky Cabrera is the starter in center field, not Brett Gardner.

Destroy! Destroy! LaTroy Hawkins is closing again! With Jose Valverde on the DL, the man unrelated to Hersey is going to gascan the Astros even farther down the standings.
Despite his truly awesome name, Joel Hanrahan has lost the closer’s job in Washington. Kip Wells of all people and Julian Tavarez will share the role, but when Joe Beimel comes off the DL, he likely will get the job.

Outside of his control, Brian Bannister has looked good so far this year. He’s a good risk, especially in leagues that don’t have IP caps.

Jesus Flores is another .300-hitting catcher that nobody has heard of. He’s only 24 and has not yet been consistent as a hitter, but it would make sense that he could finally be putting it together, especially because he plays in such a low-profile city.

That’s it for today.

Zach Duke really should have had another complete game yesterday, but the point here is that if you need a starting pitcher, it’s likely that he’s available in your league. He is a good complement for a Josh Beckett, who will get you wins but will get knocked around a lot.
Randy Winn is actually a good fantasy player. He is predictable and not very sexy. Even though he is off to a slow start, he is enough of a professional that he will turn it around. It’s time to grab him.
Gerald Laird is hitting .340. Have you noticed? He’ll get 400 at-bats this season, and out of your catcher, that’s fine if 135 hits are going to come along with them.
Jose Guillen is back and is likely available in your league. Overpaid he may be, he will still put up respectable numbers for your team.

Doug Davis can fill in for you in a pinch. His value may never be lower. His record is suckier than it should be because of poor run support, and he got rocked last night. Even though it was by the Giants, he’s usually pretty good. If you want a riskier pick with more upside, check out Tigers rookie Rick Porcello. He got knocked around a bit yesterday, but his WHIP is still quite good. If he can keep the ball in the park, his other numbers will fall in line with it.
With Garret Anderson on the DL, Brandon Jones will take over as the starter.

David Purcey can strike them out, but he can walk them too. Is he another Daniel Cabrera? One would hope not. If you need to take a risk, go ahead, because at least he will get you K’s. Another guy to think about is Jeremy Guthrie. He doesn’t walk or strike out as many guys, but he also is a bit more proven. Braden Looper is a slightly better option, although he has WHIP issues too. Want someone else? John Lannan has the best stuff of these guys, but he pitches for Washington so wins will be hard to come by. The Nationals actually have a lot of pitching, but they can’t hit outside of Adam Dunn and Elijah Dukes.
Jim Thome is tough because in most leagues he can only play in your Utility spot, but if you need power and don’t have a lot of options, he should be available in your league. He is also good in leagues that count walks. And why do you end up needing a guy like this? Because you have guys like Chris Getz. This second baseman does everything except hit home runs and is worth taking a look at. Once you get to the end of April, the stats start to shake out, and guys that are still hitting .300 become harder to find.
Todd Coffey has taken over for Carlos Villanueva as closer, but there’s not much you can do with this because Trevor Hoffman returns this weekend.
Kurt Suzuki hit a home run yesterday, but it was in Yankee Stadium, where everyone hits them. He hits for average, but that’s about it. Still, he is a catcher, and that’s likely more production than you’re getting from who you have now.