Closing Time: Robinson Tejeda, here to help
The silly September season often turns into a carnival of small-market bingo, and we'll continue with the Royals theme this morning. Come on down, Robinson Tejeda(notes).
The Royals shifted Tejeda from the bullpen to the rotation three weeks ago and the results have been impressive. He collected his third consecutive win Sunday at Chicago (6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 5 K), working around a blister that popped up in his last turn. His collective numbers in the new role will certainly get your attention: 22.1 IP, 24 K, 0.81 ERA, 0.85 WHIP. And look at that facial hair; surely, that's intimidating some batters.
"He's good," said an impressed A.J. Pierzynski. "The difference was when he was coming out of the bullpen he was throwing 97, 98 mph, now he is 91, 92 and he spots it a lot better and doesn't fall behind too many guys. He's done it [four times] now so it's not a fluke."
Tejeda has some tricky matchups ahead of him – a home date with Minnesota, a road date with the Yanks – but his recent success at least makes us consider him. Head over to the comments and tell us if he's done enough to earn your mixed-league trust over the final two weeks.
• Charlie Manuel just doesn't know how to quit Brad Lidge(notes). The Philly skipper funneled three save chances to Lidge over the last eight days, and fortunately they all came with wiggle room. Lidge handed out five hits and four runs over those three appearances, but nonetheless he walked off the field with the ball in his glove and a save on the record. I'm not optimistic that Lidge will be able to hold the fort down in Florida and Milwaukee over the next week, but my phone doesn't have a connection to the Philadelphia bullpen. How badly did you need those saves?
• Yorvit Torrealba(notes) hasn't hit for any power this year but so what; he's got a .324 average over his last 108 at-bats with decent production numbers over that span (15 runs, 17 RBIs) and he's basically pushed Chris Iannetta(notes) out of the way. Now is the time to give Torrealba some run in deeper groups, as the Rockies play their next nine games at Coors Field.
• We could see some White Sox hurlers get a premature shutdown; it's been discussed with Gavin Floyd(notes) (hip) and there's a case to put Mark Buehrle(notes) on ice a little early, too (here's a Chicago Tribune piece that examines the situation). With all that said, it makes you wonder why the club is risking Jake Peavy(notes) over the last two weeks. Speaking of Peavy, he was dealing with some "general soreness" Sunday, one day after his start against the Royals (video of the turn here), but he says he still expects to go as scheduled on Friday.
• Tuesday night has a full slate of games but there aren't a lot of streamable guys on it. I assume Hiroki Kuroda(notes) isn't free in your mixer, but if you can still grab him for the turn at Washington, please do. Ryan Rowland-Smith(notes) has been good to us of late but I'm leery at Tampa Bay. Anibal Sanchez(notes) has let us down too much recently and even though he's at home, the Phillies are a nasty draw. I'd like to use Johnny Cueto(notes) (flu) at Pittsburgh, but when a pitcher gets off his normal routine, bad things have a way of happening. This is an open ticket, have a look at the card and we can toss this around in the comments.
Injury Blog: With the Rangers sliding quickly out of the wild card race there's less chance Michael Young(notes) (balky hamstring) will be a factor over the final two weeks. I'm not starting him in my most important weekly-lineup league. … Zack Greinke(notes) (elbow) should be good to go Tuesday at home. Boston presents a challenge, but at least he's matched up against Paul Byrd(notes). … Clayton Kershaw(notes) is just about ready to come back from his shoulder injury; take heart that it's to the non-throwing shoulder. He'll probably get a relief appearance early in the week, then look to make a start on the weekend. … Brett Myers(notes) (shoulder) hasn't pitched in over a week and shouldn't be in anyone's roto plans right now. … Kevin Kouzmanoff(notes) (calf) took batting practice Sunday and might have a shot at playing Monday in Pittsburgh. … Tim Wakefield(notes) is scheduled to pitch Monday in Kansas City, but given his age and recurring back and leg issues, we shouldn't assume he'll be well enough to make a second turn this week.
Speed Round: So Milton Bradley's(notes) season ends on the announcement of a team suspension. Like we couldn't see this one coming. … Daisuke Matsuzaka(notes) has shown us one good start and one mediocre start since returning to the Boston rotation (Sunday: 5.1 IP, 8 H, 3 R), and that's not enough to dial him up against the Yanks this week. … Ian Desmond(notes) has started five straight games for the Nationals, in part because they've been creative (three starts at second, one at short, one in right). He's 12-for-32 since the promotion. … It's a good thing the Red Sox got Victor Marinez when they did; Jason Varitek(notes) is hitting .123 since Aug. 1. … Matt Lindstrom(notes) snuck in for a rogue save Saturday in Cincinnati, a one-outer; Leo Nunez(notes) was getting a rest after working in three of the previous four games. The Marlins didn't need their best relievers Sunday, as Sean West(notes) was torched and didn't get out of the fifth inning.
