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spt_AL_NL_Notes.appHeader = "MLB team-by-team notes: Week of May 18";
spt_AL_NL_Notes.appDeck = "Rotoworld.com's Matthew Pouliot breaks down what's happening around MLB each week";
spt_AL_NL_Notes.appFooter = "By Matthew Pouliot";
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It took a Luke Scott (shoulder) injury to get Nolan Reimold to the majors, but the 25-year-old Reimold may get a chance to act as the primary left fielder after Scott returns. He had been terrific both this spring and in Triple-A, and he could provide a big boost against lefties. The Orioles have a 664 OPS against southpaws this year, compared to an 829 mark against righties. That Ty Wigginton has been a complete bust to date should increase the chances that Reimold will stick around. ... George Sherrill has pitched five scoreless innings and earned three saves since the Orioles threatened to go to a committee following his second blown save on May 2. He's safe for now. ... Rich Hill impressed against the Royals in his season debut Saturday, striking out six and walking only two in 5 2/3 innings. He'll likely be inconsistent. Expect him to be of more use in strikeouts and WHIP than in ERA.";
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David Ortiz is getting the entire weekend off following his embarrassing 0-for-7 showing against the Angels on Thursday. He actually hit two balls fairly well in the game, but that's not par for the course: Ortiz can hardly blame his slump on defensive alignments and bad luck. He's not getting around on quality fastballs, and he's not punishing mistake pitches that would have gone for homers in previous seasons. I'm not writing him off as a potential above average DH, but as has been the case since the first week of the season, he has to do a better job of making adjustments. When injuries robbed him of power for a good chunk of 2007, he adjusted and suddenly became one of the AL's top singles and doubles hitters. He's not going to get there again without recovering some bat speed, but neither does he figure to remain this helpless for much longer. ... Daisuke Matsuzaka (shoulder) is expected to return to the rotation on Friday. Justin Masterson will head back to the bullpen. ... Kevin Youkilis (oblique) will come off the DL on Wednesday.";
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Josh Fields and Chris Getz are having terrible months of May, adding two more holes to a White Sox lineup that just isn't good enough to overcome it. With Fields up to 40 strikeouts in 31 games, it's possible that Wilson Betemit will get an extended look at third base. He likely is the better hitter of the two, at least against righties. Dayan Viciedo, who is hitting .256/.270/.376 with 32 strikeouts in Double-A, isn't an option. ... The White Sox are likely to be more patient with Getz, who remains their best option in the second spot in the order. If the White Sox were to go to Gordon Beckham -- and they say they won't -- it might be at shortstop anyway. ... Brian Anderson (oblique) is slated to return from the DL on Tuesday and should go right back into the starting lineup. Unless the White Sox are ready to give up on Brent Lillibridge, Scott Podsednik will be exiled to make room. That's assuming Carlos Quentin (heel) avoids the disabled list and rejoins the lineup Tuesday as hoped.";
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I addressed some possible fixes for the Indians' problems on the blog last week. It looks like we may already be seeing the start of a full-time shift of Jhonny Peralta to third and Asdrubal Cabrera to short. However, Luis Valbuena has yet to step up and force the Indians to play him at second. ... David Huff will be brought up to make his major league debut Sunday against the Rays, replacing Jeremy Sowers. With Scott Lewis (forearm) suffering a setback last week, Huff figures to get every opportunity to establish himself. ... Travis Hafner (shoulder) will return Tuesday. To make room, the Indians will have to demote Matt LaPorta or Ben Francisco or release David Dellucci. LaPorta still appears to be the likeliest candidate to go, but a shakeup probably wouldn't hurt.";
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Dontrelle Willis showed sufficient velocity and command in his season debut to provide some hope for the future, but he's still the obvious choice to go when Jeremy Bonderman (shoulder) is ready to come off the disabled list. Bonderman threw seven innings Saturday in his first rehab start, so he's not far away. Willis will have to put together a couple of gems in his next two starts if he's going to stick as a starter. Only then would the Tigers consider demoting Rick Porcello. ... Magglio Ordonez is slated to miss time this week due to a personal matter ... Carlos Guillen (shoulder, Achilles') is eligible to come off the DL on Wednesday, but it probably won't happen on day one. My guess is that we'll see him back at the beginning of next week.";
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The Royals are going with their top five starters after calling up Luke Hochevar to replace Sidney Ponson, but Hochevar is a No. 3 at best and probably more of a fourth starter right now. ... The struggles of Mike Aviles are being blamed on a forearm issue that's been lingering since spring training. ... If Aviles does go on the DL, it will be Willie Bloomquist and Luis Hernandez at shortstop for Kansas City. ... Joakim Soria (shoulder) hasn't resumed throwing and almost certainly won't return Saturday when eligible.";
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The Angels got Ervin Santana and John Lackey back last week to join a rotation that will also include Joe Saunders, Jered Weaver and Matt Palmer for now. Kelvim Escobar (shoulder) appears to be at least three weeks away, so Palmer will have that much more time to establish himself. He's not a very good bet at all, though. ... Santana didn't show his usual velocity in his return Thursday. He's still pitching with a partially torn elbow ligament, and it may yet be that he'll require Tommy John surgery. ... Vladimir Guerrero (pectoral) is a possibility for the weekend series, but it's more likely that he'll wait until next week to return as the Angels' designated hitter. He's going to eat into the at-bats of Juan Rivera, Mike Napoli, Jeff Mathis and Gary Matthews Jr. Napoli will still be in there the majority of the time, obviously, but not as often as he has been lately.";
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The Twins' handling of 23-year-old Carlos Gomez remains pretty disturbing. He's now started just 17 of the Twins' 37 games, and while he hasn't hit, he hasn't really had much of a chance. Not since April 18-19 (when he went 4-for-6 over two games) has he started on back-to-back days. It'd be one thing if his replacement happened to be performing, but Delmon Young has been pretty awful himself and the Twins have a far better defensive outfield when Gomez is in there. It doesn't even always have to be one or the other: Denard Span and Michael Cuddyer aren't exactly lighting it up with OPSs around 750. Gomez, who is quite likely the game's defensive center fielder, needs to play more. ... Joe Crede, on the shelf with a back issue for the first time this year, is aiming to return Monday.";
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To think, the Yankees are working on a five-game winning streak right now because Ron Gardenhire used Joe Nathan in a four-run game on May 12. Pitching on a fourth straight day, Nathan blew the game against the Bombers on Friday, and he was unavailable Saturday in an 11-inning loss. It also has to be quite a boost for Joe Girardi's ego to know that someone is running a bullpen worse than he is. ... Nick Swisher is just 4-for-40 in May, but luckily for him, he has at least another three weeks before he has to worry about Xavier Nady's return from a damaged elbow ligament. ... The Yankees haven't sent Phil Hughes down yet, so it looks like he'll make one more start this week. Chien-Ming Wang figures to replace him after that, though.";
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Aaron Cunningham's return from a separated shoulder that cost him a month was followed a mere four days later by his promotion from Triple-A to the majors. The A's were simply that desperate for offense, particularly from the right side. Cunningham will start against all lefties and could overtake Travis Buck to become the everyday right fielder. ... The A's never generated a save chance last week, giving us little indication about whether Andrew Bailey has overtaken Brad Ziegler. It could be about to happen. ... Nomar Garciaparra (calf) is set to return. Jack Hannahan hasn't done much of anything, so he figures to go to make room. Nomar is likely to get as much playing time at third as he can handle, but that may be as little as a couple of starts per week.";
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Brandon Morrow was in no shape to close right away after coming off the disabled list, but the Mariners didn't figure that out until after he lost two games. He's in middle relief now, and he should be placed on a schedule that guarantees him regular work. He'll get his job back, but there's no reason for it to happen before the end of the month. David Aardsma will get the save chances for now. ... The Mariners seem open to giving Ronny Cedeno a chance to take over at shortstop, but they'd still prefer to see Yuniesky Betancourt step up and run away with the job. Betancourt homered Saturday, so odds are that he'll be in the lineup for the next several days. ... Erik Bedard shouldn't need to miss more than the one start to recover from his mild hamstring problem.";
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It looks like B.J. Upton's finally found his stroke. With any luck, he'll be an elite outfielder the rest of the way. ... Troy Percival is still the Rays' closer, but it looks like the team will try to get him more work when the save chances aren't there and also play matchups in the ninth from time to time. That's what they did Saturday, with Joe Nelson surprisingly getting the call ninth against the Indians. Nelson hasn't been any good this year, but he is tough on lefties and that convinced manager Joe Maddon that he was the right choice to close. It worked out well enough. ... Pat Burrell (neck) could be ready to go on Monday.";
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C.J. Wilson will be the man in the ninth for the Rangers for at least the next week with Frank Francisco on the shelf due to biceps tendinitis. He's ... Andruw Jones is still sporting an OPS over 1000, but he's been held out of two of the last three games with Josh Hamilton back. One would think the Rangers would commit to him until he gave them a reason to stop playing him, but it hasn't happened yet and there's nothing more Jones can do about it. He isn't at all likely to hit for average while playing three times per week, so expect that OPS to keep tumbling. As solid as a player as Marlon Byrd has been for Texas, it'd still make a lot of sense to bench him and get Andruw into the lineup.";
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Robert Ray figured to be the starter bumped from the rotation to make room for Romero or Casey Janssen (shoulder), but then he pitched eight strong innings for his first major league win Saturday against the White Sox. He's still unlikely to prove to be a long-term option. My guess is that the Jays' best rotation would include Romero, Janssen, Jesse Litsch and Brett Cecil along with Roy Halladay. Scott Richmond should eventually reveal himself to be a Triple-A pitcher, and while Brian Tallet has proven to be a nice stopgap, there's not a lot of upside there. ... B.J. Ryan returned from the DL and pitched a hitless inning in his first appearance back. He'll have to prove himself in a setup role before getting another chance to close. So far, the Jays haven't really missed having Scott Downs available in the seventh and eighth.";
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I don't care very much about A.J. Hinch's lack of managerial experience, but I'm not impressed with the lineup choices he's made since replacing Bob Melvin in Arizona. Going with Miguel Montero over Chris Snyder at catcher is a downgrade. Snyder is still playing against lefties and Montero does have somewhat better career numbers against righties, but Snyder is the better overall player and shouldn't be limited to two starts per week. Giving Geraldo Parra a look with Conor Jackson on the DL was definitely the right move, but there's no reason for all of his playing time to come as Chris Young's expense. Young is Arizona's best defensive outfielder, and he shouldn't be taking a backseat to Eric Byrnes against right-handers. It looks like Hinch has already bailed on his other experiment, which was using Josh Whitesell as his primary first baseman. Perhaps Jackson will move back to first when he returns, allowing Parra to keep his spot in the outfield. ... Parra will likely start against all righties while he's hot. The 22-year-old isn't Young's equal in center, but he's adequate there and he should prove to be very good in left. That may be his long-term position in Arizona.";
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Rather than stick with Jo-Jo Reyes until Tom Glavine (shoulder) comes off the DL, the Braves have chosen to try Kris Medlen. They weren't going to recall Tommy Hanson, only to send him down in three weeks. Medlen can act as the fifth starter now and maybe head to the bullpen once Glavine is activated. ... Jeff Francouer leads the Braves in RBI, but he's still been awful with a .272 OBP and a .371 slugging percentage. And it's not even like he's on pace to drive in 100 runs: 19 in 36 games projects to 86 for the full season. The Braves seem sure to stick with him and hope for the best; with three below average regulars in the outfield, they wouldn't seem to have much choice. It just makes no sense at all to me that they haven't given Omar Infante even one start there all year.";
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Sean Marshall clearly earned his rotation spot during spring training and allowed three runs or fewer in four of his five starts even while dealing with an irregular workload, yet now he could be sent to the pen anyway. Randy Wells is the likely choice to be the Cubs' fifth starter after Carlos Zambrano returns to the rotation on Friday. Marshall will get one more start Thursday to try to influence the decision. ... The Cubs are standing by Kevin Gregg even after Saturday's outing took his ERA up to 6.06. Gregg has always walked too many batters, and he hasn't been nearly as tough to hit as usual this year while continuing to deal with knee problems. At this point, he probably isn't even the Cubs' second-best reliever. ... Geovany Soto might finally be finding his stroke with a homer and a double in his last four games.";
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Laynce Nix has taken over as the Reds' left fielder against right-handers thanks to a well-timed hot streak, but the strikeouts are going to be a major problem in time. He's already up to 22 in 68 at-bats this year, and his 20- or 25-homer power isn't enough to overcome his complete lack of on-base skills. It'd be a bad sign for the Reds if he's still playing fairly regularly come the All-Star break. ... The Reds won't make the same mistake they did last year with Aaron Harang and let Micah Owings make his next start on short rest after a long relief outing in an extra-inning game. Owings, who pitched 5 2/3 innings on three days' rest Saturday, figures to be backed up to Thursday. ... Edinson Volquez (back) and Joey Votto (dizziness) probably have to be kept active this week barring some bad news Monday morning.";
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The Rockies still aren't using anything close to a set lineup, and with the team now 14-22, Clint Hurdle's decisions are rightfully coming into question. Dexter Fowler's role has grown, even though he's struggling, with Seth Smith has seen his playing time reduced, even though he's excelled. The Rockies are going with defense over offense in the outfield, yet Ian Stewart is now getting time at second base at Clint Barmes' expense. Garrett Atkins has been the Rockies' worst regular, but he's still a fixture. Chris Iannetta has been right there with Brad Hawpe as the team's best hitter of late, yet he's still hitting seventh and eighth. Hurdle needs to start better utilizing his productive players if he wants to remain employed.";
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The Marlins are coming off a 1-5 week filled with bizarre choices. Like playing the game's worst offensive third baseman in left field so that Wes Helms could be the game's worst defensive third baseman for a day. Like batting Cody Ross eighth against a left-hander and hitting Jeremy Hermida there against a right-hander. Like giving John Koronka a second start after he showed nothing in the first one. Like letting Kiko Calero, coming off a year and a half of shoulder problems, mop up on Sunday even though he already leads the team in relief innings this year. Remember that when he lands on the disabled list. ... We'll see if Sunday's meaningless grand slam against the dreadful Guillermo Mota helps Ross, who should lose playing time to Alejandro De Aza in center field. Ross is only in the majors because of his ability to hit lefties, and De Aza could offer a mildly more productive bat against righties and increased range in the outfield. ... Josh Johnson is expected to start Tuesday despite some shoulder weakness in his last outing.";
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spt_AL_NL_Notes[i-1].body = "
Wandy Rodriguez has gone 52 innings without allowing a homer. Roy Oswalt has allowed 10 in 50 innings. Just two years ago, Oswalt pitched 212 innings and gave up a total of 14. Oswalt owners can take solace in the face that the right-hander had a 5.43 ERA on this date a year ago and still finished the season at 3.54. However, it's doubtful that he has that kind of rebound in him again. Something closer to 11 wins and an ERA around 4.00 over the rest of the season would be a far more realistic expectation. ... The rotation juggling figures to continue, but probably not this week. The Astros are expected to have Brandon Backe (intercostal) make two more rehab starts before making him the replacement for Felipe Paulino.";
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spt_AL_NL_Notes[i-1].body = "
Thanks to everyone below him, Rafael Furcal has scored 23 runs in 34 games. However, he's hitting just .233/.290/.293 and he's been thrown out on two of his five steal attempts. That he's coming off a season ruined by back woes makes his ability to bounce back from this much more of a question mark. Additional singles are probably on the way, but it's appearing more and more unlikely that he'll produce his usual decent power numbers. ... Eric Stults could miss his start Wednesday due to a thumb injury. Jeff Weaver would replace him.";
spt_AL_NL_Notes[i++] = new Array("","Milwaukee","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/msnbc/Components/Art/SPORTS/LOGOS/MLB/Brewers2.gif","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "", "", "100", "100", "", "", "", "", "");
spt_AL_NL_Notes[i-1].body = "
He wouldn't be Rickie Weeks if things didn't come crashing down just when it looked like he might be breaking through. The second baseman will see a specialist because of the left wrist injury he suffered Sunday, and it appears quite likely that he'll land on the DL. Craig Counsell figures to replace him as the second baseman and leadoff man against right-handers. Ideally, the Brewers would have a righty to platoon with him. However, likely callup Hernan Iribarren is another lefty. Alcides Escobar is hitting just .252/.313/.349 at Nashville, so he should stay in Triple-A. ... Mat Gamel hasn't gotten a start since his callup, suggesting that his stay could be rather brief. It'd be too much of a downgrade defensively to move Bill Hall to second and play Gamel at third.";
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spt_AL_NL_Notes[i-1].body = "
If Jose Reyes (calf) was really a candidate to play Monday, then shouldn't he have been the choice to come in Sunday after Alex Cora got hurt? Surely, the Mets wouldn't have turned to Fernando Tatis at shortstop in a winnable game if Reyes was 24 hours away from returning to the starting lineup. ... Carlos Delgado is out indefinitely because of his hip injury, leading the speculation that the Mets will eventually trade for a first baseman. In the meantime, it continues to sound like the team will go to Daniel Murphy at first and Gary Sheffield in left. Tatis, though, has been hitting like a first baseman from the moment that the Mets called him up a year ago. It certainly makes sense to stick with him until he gives them a reason not to. It's not like Sheffield has outhit him at any point since the beginning of 2008. ... Tim Redding is replacing Jon Niese in the rotation and making his Mets debut Monday against the Dodgers.";
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spt_AL_NL_Notes[i-1].body = "
Brad Lidge still looks like he's pitching hurt, and the Phillies still appear not to care. Lidge has gotten the ball in every save situation, and he's converted two in a row while snapping a streak of six straight appearances in which he gave up at least one run. He's been allowed to pitch four days in a row, so if his arm hasn't yet joined in his knee in being a problem, maybe it will soon. ... Chan Ho Park was effective in his previous two starts, but his rotation spot should again be in doubt after he gave up five runs in 1 1/3 innings against the Nationals on Sunday. J.A. Happ would prove to be an upgrade if given the chance, and with J.C. Romero now just a couple of weeks away from returning from his 50-game suspension, the Phillies may be more open to moving the left-hander out of the pen.";
spt_AL_NL_Notes[i++] = new Array("","Pittsburgh","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/msnbc/Components/Art/SPORTS/LOGOS/MLB/pirates.gif","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "", "", "100", "100", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
spt_AL_NL_Notes[i-1].body = "
Tom Gorzelanny has obviously made progress with his command since his surprising early-spring demotion. Why risk a setback by calling him to take on a completely unfamiliar relief role? 136 of Gorzelanny's 138 professional appearances have been starts. If he was going to be called up, it should have been to replace Jeff Karstens as the fifth starter. Karstens is hardly embarrassing himself, but there just isn't any upside with him and the Pirates have lost five of his six starts. ... Delmon Young got a couple of starts over the weekend with Nyjer Morgan (hamstring) down and had a two hits in both games. Unfortunately for him, Brandon Moss has also gotten hot, with five straight multihit games. Expectations are that Morgan will be ready to play early in the week, so there will only be one outfield spot available most days. Craig Monroe and Eric Hinske figure to receive even less playing time.";
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spt_AL_NL_Notes[i-1].body = "
Chris Carpenter will make his return from a strained oblique Wednesday without going on a rehab assignment. ... Rick Ankiel (head) is also due back on Wednesday, but Colby Rasmus will keep playing regularly now than Ryan Ludwick (hamstring) is on the disabled list. ... Todd Wellemeyer indicated that his problems were mechanical in nature, but it's time to start wondering whether he's dealing with an injury. He's never going to be confused for Greg Maddux, but his lack of command is becoming more of an issue with every start.";
spt_AL_NL_Notes[i++] = new Array("","San Diego","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/msnbc/Components/Art/SPORTS/LOGOS/MLB/Padres2.gif","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "", "", "100", "100", "", "", "", "", "");
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Adrian Gonzalez is currently on pace for 64 homers and 13 doubles. That'd be one for the history books. ... After such a promising start, it's been a tough year for the Padres' bullpen sleepers. Duaner Sanchez and Edwin Moreno were both bounced last week. Besides closer Heath Bell, only Edward Mujica and Cla Meredith have sub-4.00 ERAs. ... Josh Wilson should play over Chris Burke most of the time with Luis Rodriguez (ankle) set to miss the next two weeks. Burke might be the better hitter of the two, but he's not much of a shortstop.";
spt_AL_NL_Notes[i++] = new Array("","San Francisco","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/msnbc/Components/Art/SPORTS/LOGOS/MLB/giants.gif","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "", "", "100", "100", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
spt_AL_NL_Notes[i-1].body = "
I wish I had pointed it out then, but Matt Cain's win in his first start of the year put him over .500 for the first time since 2006. He's now 4-1 with a 2.65 ERA, indicating that this might be the long-awaited breakout season. However, he has a 34/25 K/BB ratio in 51 innings. His .241 average against and 1.35 WHIP are both worse than his career averages, and he's even giving up more homers than usual, with six in eight starts. The difference is that he's stopped being his own worst enemy. For a month and a half, he's avoided leadoff walks and big innings. However, that the league is hitting just .111 off him with RISP is quite the fluke. I'd be open to selling high in fantasy leagues, but at the same time, I wouldn't go out of my way to shop him. ... Edgar Renteria remains a DL candidate because of his strained hamstring. Juan Uribe was filling in, but since he's now on the bereavement list, the Giants have turned to Kevin Frandsen.";
spt_AL_NL_Notes[i++] = new Array("","Washington","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/msnbc/Components/Art/SPORTS/LOGOS/MLB/tz100_WANationalLogo.gif","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "", "", "100", "100", "", "", "", "", "");
spt_AL_NL_Notes[i-1].body = "
With no one else stepping forward, the Nationals have returned Joel Hanrahan to the closer's role. He has a 2.45 ERA and a 9/1 K/BB ratio for the month, so go ahead and give him another try if he was dropped in your league. ... Scott Olsen's sore shoulder has led to Ross Detwiler getting the call to make his major league debut on Monday. However, it may be one and done for the 2007 first-round pick. Craig Stammen was more deserving of the opportunity, yet he had just pitched Friday. Stammen, a 25-year-old with a 1.80 ERA in seven Triple-A starts, could be called up later in the week. NL-only leaguers should take a wait-and-see approach with both youngsters. ... Elijah Dukes' setback with a hamstring injury on Sunday has his status up in the air. That Austin Kearns (hand) is also hurting increases the chances that Dukes will land on the DL, since the Nats would surely prefer not to have to play two men short. Willie Harris is due to receive extra at-bats this week.";
// END editorial data