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MLB.com has reported that Oakland Athletics closer Huston Street has been placed on the 15 day disabled list. Prompted by an irritated ulnar nerve, the move is retroactive to May 13th.

Considering the injury is centered around Street’s throwing-arm elbow, expect the A’s to proceed with caution in bringing him back.

Coupled with the hip injury of next-in-line closer Justin Duchscherer, where a disabled list stint is not a far-fetched possiblity, Street’s injury is particularly problematic for fantasy owners.

If you are desperate for saves, or are a Street owner, take a flier on Kiko Calero. While Calero’s line for the young season is not particularly impressive (16.1 IP, 5.51 ERA) his BB/K ratio is solid at 12 K’s/3 BB’s. You can expect his ERA to drop with more work as his highest ERA during his 4 year career has been 3.41.

With a respectable starting staff, led by the under appreciated Dan Haren, Calero could be in line for multiple save opportunities in his stint as closer. Should he falter early Joe Kennedy, Jay Marshall or perhaps Alan Embree could garner some save opportunities.

Other Closer Notes
Blue Jays reliever Jeremy Accardo has been named closer. His permanent closer status coupled with continued scoreless inning streak and impressive pitching line make him a must pick-up in all league formats.

If you are the owner of any current White Sox player, I’m sure you’re thinking when this power outage will be over.  Konerko, Crede, Dye, all have averages around .200 with little power so far this year.  Konerko hit 2 homers this week and Crede hit one as well.  Dye had to come down to earth after that monster season a year ago.  If you have any of these cats, be patient, they’ll come around.

All the hype surrounding the Red Sox rotation was DiceK, maybe Schilling, but the most consistent and best pitcher has to be Josh Beckett.  He recorded his major league leading 7th  win last night in dominating fashion.  His first pitch of the game was promptly deposited in the OF seats by AlexRios, but settled in and beat the Jays.  If healthy, he can be a guy who can be a streak stopper during the prime of this career.

I have to mention that Barry Bonds hit number 745 last night to move within 10 of the record.   There’s no doubt he is going to break the record, and whether you like him or not, he is an extraordianry talent we may not see again.

Tom Glavine keeps plugging away.  7IP 1 ER and 5K’s last night to improve to 4-1.  I know I was guilty 2 years ago of putting him on the waiver wire and happy to do so.  He has come back to become a solid starter in mixed league.  Until then…

Ryan Howard was given a rest until Friday at the earliest by manager Charlie Manuel. It is nothing serious, just some aches and pains and the Phills just want to make sure he is 100% and not a reoccuring injury. For those who have him, this is a tough decision to make a roster move. Hopefully you have a bench player to fill in until the weekend.

Another young superstar is hurting, only he landed on the DL. Joe Mauer suffered a strained quad and will be out for a couple weeks. With the catcher position being thin, I wouldnt necessarily be looking for trade offers to replace him, but a free agent pick up should tide your team over until he returns.

For my 2 cents on the Clemens signing. Clemens is one of those “if you had 1 pitcher for 1 game” type guys. Fierce, hardnosed, and a great clubhouse guys. I think this is a perfect fit for right now in his career. The Yanks genuinely wanted him back and he wanted to come back. The blank check helped also, but this will make the AL East very interesting this summer and not a runaway as it was turning out to be. I stand by my prediction and say the BoSox still win the division, but not until the final week of the season.

By the way, Clemens says he’ll prepare as if his first start will be around the end of May, 1st of June. I’ll leave you with this, guess who and where the Yanks play on June 1st. Until then…

In a bizarre, but somewhat expected, move Roger Clemens addressed Yankee Stadium in the 7th inning.

The YES Network is reporting they will have an interview with Clemens before the end of the game.

No reports on money have been made. Nor is a timetable for his return available.

From the fantasy perspective, go get him if he is available. The seemingly ageless Clemens is a strikeout and ERA machine sure to help any fantasy team, especially with some run support from a uber-solid Yankees lineup.

Quick….who is tied with Johan Santana for the most strikeouts?

Yup….James Shields of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Surprisingly owned in ONLY 66% of ESPN fantasy baseball leagues.

Shields’ season-line thus far: 43.1 IP, 3W, 9BB, 45K’s, 3.74 ERA, 1.02 WHIP.

Last night Shields proved his mettle against the solid Twins lineup. The highlight being working out of a 5th inning bases-loaded jam.

Faced with bases-loaded and no outs Shields was looking at Joe Mauer in the batters box and Justin Morneau in the on-deck circle. Not a great situation for any pitcher. Seeking a DP ball, Shields managed to strikeout Mauer and coaxed a DP groundball out from Morneau.

(ED: thanks for the correction Cork)

If he is still on the waiver-wire in your league…you know what to do.

Saw this pic posted over at DeadSpin and thought we could have some fun with it…

Caption This Photo

Did you drop Brett Myers when Charlie Manuel moved him to the bullpen? Sprint back to the waiver wire and hope he is still available.

MLB.com is reporting that closer Tom Gordon will have his shoulder examined by team doctors. Manuel stated that the pain is similar to what he experienced last season, which led to a DL stint for Gordon.

Gordon’s age and recent injury status immediately makes Myers a must-add player, if he happens to be available in your league, with some long-term value as a closer.

Since moving to the bullpen Myers has been stellar. Allowing only 1 run while racking up 11k’s. The Phillies are also showing signs of life of late, 6-4 for their last ten and despite a slow start are still contenders.

Other Notes:
Blue Jays Closer Role Still in Question
The Blue Jays gave Jason Frasor the closer role and he has not impressed. Keep a close eye on the situation and if he registers another blown save take a chance on Jeremy Accardo. Accardo has been solid of late and could snatch some saves in the near future.

Need Some Starters?
Take a long look at the Rangers Robinson Tejeda (RP eligible in some leagues) and the smoking hot Jason Marquis. Many of of have been burned by Marquis in the past, but he pitching very well. He won’t offer much help with K’s, but the ERA, WHIP and W’s certainly will!

If it was only for 7 innings last night, the Yankees were thinking maybe, just maybe the ship is turning. Super prospect Phil Hughes is cruising along. Some in the Bronx actually were thinking no hitter once he hit the 7th inning. Then it happened. Hughes left the game with a strained hamstring, seems like its in the water these days, and will miss 4-6 weeks. The good news is they found out this kid can pitch at this level, but they need solid outings now. Mike Mussina is due back this week, but this has to be dissapointing.

I keep looking at the NL Central standings and keep thinking the Brewers are going to fade and it has not been happening. Considering no other team is over .500, maybe this division isn’t as good as we thought. We have a lot of baseball left, but the Brewers?

Seems we never talk about the NL West, and there is some very good baseball being played on the west coast. This may be the most exciting division in all of baseball. There are no less than 4 teams with winning records, making this a very interesting race throughout the season.

I think its obvious that ARod woul dbe MVP for April. If you remember a few columns ago, I mentioned Todd Helton. This guy just keeps amazing me with what he does at the plate. He is 1st in OBP in the NL and hitting .385. His power days are over, but he has shown enough to warrant that if you can get him cheap from another owner, I would seriously consider acquiring him, he will lift your team Average and be an asset. Heres a side stat to show you what plate discipline he has and the ability to find his pitch. He has been struck out 6 times and get this, has managed to walk to first 25 times. That is no fluke either. Over a career, he has to have the best BB/K ratio in the history of the game. Until then…

Chone Figgins will be in the lineup today when the Angels open a series in Kansas City. He missed a month with a hand injury from Spring Training. He went 3-6 in his rehab assignments over the weekend and should be good to go.

If you have been reading this column you know how high I have been on John Maine. Yesterday he threw another gem to collect his 4th win. He went 7 innings, no runs with 8K’s. His ERA dropped to 1.35. The Mets needed someone to step up until Pedro comes back, this gives them 3 nice options when he does return.

Small schedule today, some aces going in favorable situations. Peavy, Halladay, Webb and Hudsin all pitch tonight in games they’ll be favored in. Should be a good night for these guys. Until then…

Breaking news out of Oakland, Randy Moss, pending a physical, has agreed to restructure his contract and become a member of the New England Patriots. This has to be good news for a guy who wanted out of the mess that is the Raiders and go to a 3 time champion with Tom Brady. I don’t see him being that elite receiver anymore, but his stock has risen quite dramatically in my book.

Speaking of the draft, if you are a Browns fan and someone told you that Joe Thomas and Brady Quinn would both wear Browns colors, I think you’d be ecstatic. It cost Cleveland their 1st round pick in 2008, but so what. They got the guy they wanted as well as a franchise tackle who will be around for a long time.

Detroit was willing to trade the 2nd overall pick, but the asking price was way too steep. Dallas and Jerry Jones called and the Lions wanted to swap firsts, the Cowboys second and third rounder this year, and oh by the way, throw in DeMarcus Ware and Calvin is all yours. No wonder Tampa is sitting on Gaines Adams and emploring that fake smile you only see in family pictures.

What was Miami thinking taking Ted Ginn at number 9. You can’t tell me that he wouldn’t have been available late 1st round. To me, Ginn could develop nicely into a number 1 receiver, but he needs to become a polished receiver, something he was not able to become at the college level. He never ran routes very well and got by with his blazing speed all year. Like I said, he can and probably will become a number 1 wideout, but a bit of a stretch at 9.

There are many storylines at the draft, too mention to mention. I welcome all comments on how your favorite teams did or didn’t do.