Ross is boss

Ross Ohlendorf throw his best outing in two months as the Pirates ride their big right-hander to a 3-0 victory over the Cubs. Ohlendorf has pitched well in his first full season as a starter, posting a 7-6 record with a 4.41 ERA on a losing team.

Fantasy Impact: Certainly, you can do better than Ohlendorf, but you can also do much, much worse. The young righty continues to pitch well despite his low strike out total. He actually notched eight in seven innings in this one. He's a great low-end rotation option. If you've got him as a 5the or 6th starter, you're exceeding your replacement value.

Not bad, Volstad

After four straight losses and back-to-back flame-outs, Chris Volstad got it back on track against the Yankees in a 6-5 win. Not only did Volstad earn a quality start, he also managed to walk just one and strike out four over six innings. Despite a 4.74 ERA, Volstad's WHIP is a solid 1.28.

Fantasy Impact: Volstad's struggles saw him dropped in numerous fantasy leagues, but he's still an average or above-average starter for the most part. If he's available, grab him, because he won't last long.

Sonnastine hits well, pitches poorly again

A lineup card mistake forced Rays starting pitcher Andy Sonnanstine to bat on Sunday. The Rays submitted a lineup with both Evan Longoria and Ben Zobrist listed at third base, meaning they had no DH. When Ben Zobrist played third to start the game, Indians manager Eric Wedge called the mistake to the attention of the umpiring crew.

"They had two third basemen, so I just wanted to make sure that Zobrist was in the game playing third, and I pointed it out to them after the top half of the first," Wedge said.

The Rays lost their DH position because of the error, meaning
Advertisement
Sonnanstine replaced Longoria in the third spot of the lineup.

That forced Longoria to sit out, leaving Sonnastine in the No. 3 spot in the Rays' order. The pitcher doubled a run in the fourth, going 1-3 for the game, but he didn't pitch well. Sonnanstine allowed five runs in 5 2/3 innings, as his ERA balloons to 7.36

Fantasy Impact: Sonnastine actually won the game to improve to 2-4 on the year. The Rays scored all seven runs without Longoria before he left. Tampa might need to make a decision on Sonnanstine soon, as his struggles certainly cannot be ignored much longer.

Glee for Lee

Cleveland starter Cliff Lee outpitched White Sox ace Mark Buehrle for a 4-0 win, just Lee's second of the season. It was Lee's first victory in nearly a month. Buehrle offered his worst effort of 2009, and it wasn't that bad, save for a pair of homers he allowed to Victor Martinez and Ryan Garko.

Fantasy Impact: Lee's disappointing start to the season leaves him unlikely to regain his 2008 Cy Young numbers, but he's still a solid fantasy option. Last season's breakout prompted overbuying of Lee in 2009, as his average draft position jumped to 64th overall in CBSsports.com fantasy leagues. That pegs Lee as a high-end No. 2 starter in most fantasy leagues, which he is not. Lee is more likely a low-end No. 2 or a No. 3 starter at this point in his career. We lean toward Lee as a No. 3, especially on an Indians team that's mired in last place.

Harang hangs up the Cubs

Aramis Ramirez hit a line drive just inches over his head and Carlos Zambrano's broken bat missed him by just a couple of feet, but otherwise Aaron Harang enjoyed a great day at Wrigley Field. I was there to see him throw seven solid innings on seven-hit baseball. With the wind blowing out to left, Harang kept the ball down. He struck out just two batters, but did not allow an earned run, lowering his ERA to 2.00. Harang improves to 2-2 after a 7-1 Reds win.Harang winds in the sixth inning.
Harang looks in against Micah Hoffpauir on a perfect day for baseball at Wrigley.

Fantasy Impact: Harang proved to be one of the bigger disappointments last season, recording 17 losses. He's well on his way to righting the ship in 2009. We expect a continued return to past form - double-digit wins and No. 2 starter value in fantasy baseball.

Bergesen strong in first start

Spitting Seeds' concerns regarding Orioles rookie starter Brad Bergesen waned a bit after seeing him pitch well Tuesday night for his first major league win. The 23-year-old commands incredible stuff, pitches that bend and dip violently on their way to home plate. Imagine whiffle balls darting and dodging White Sox bats and you get the picture.

Fantasy Impact: Bergesen worked into the sixth, going 5 2/3 innings and striking out four. He's not a strikeout pitcher, according to his minor league stats. He is, however, very poised on the mound as he worked through some difficult circumstances to beat Chicago, 10-3.

We'd recommend taking a flier on him. Actually, we believe a bit more in Baltimore's minor league pitcher of the year. We think Bergesen can stick in the majors. Add him to your pitching staff if you can, and reap the benefits of major league teams having never seen him before.

Can't hit Hampton

Astros starter Mike Hampton looked strong in a 4-1 win at Pittsburgh. Hampton allowed just four hits over six innings and struck out eight. He's 1-1 on the year.

Fantasy Impact: Tough to give advice on Hampton. Flip a coin -- heads, you pick him up off the waiver wire; tails, you don't. He's really an unknown at this point of his career having thrown 147 1/3 innings since 2005. He's 37 this year, and he hasn't put together a great season of pitching since 1999. That's ten years ago. Still, if your staff is hurting for a wild card, call us crazy, but Hampton might fill a void. The Astros are hoping so.

Cain able

Giants pitcher Matt Cain finally got some run support, and the Giants starter turned in a strong performance in beating the Milwaukee Brewers 7-1. Cain's line for the night: 7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K

Fantasy Impact: With Tim Lincecum and Randy Johnson ahead of him in the rotation, Cain can settle in and dominate as an extremely capable third starter. Cain's run-support problem left him last in the league in terms of opportunities to win in 2008 and has cost him considerably in fantasy circles. He's good enough to become a fantasy ace if things line up the right way.

Carpenter carves up Bucs

Chris Carpenter looked like his old dominant self Thursday afternoon in a 2-1 Cardinals win over Pittsburgh. Carpenter carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning, striking out seven while yielding just three base runners. He fired 61 strikes in 92 pitches.

Fantasy Impact: A very sturdy first step for Carpenter, whose talent no one doubts. Whether he can hold up after multiple injuries is the concern. Enjoy the fantasy fun while it lasts, but this might also be a statement that the Cardinals' ace is back.

Morales wins, gets demoted

Rockies starter Franklin Morales tossed six innings of one-run baseball to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 9-2 but then got shipped back to the Minors. The Rockies wouldn't use their fifth starter for a while in the Majors and want to keep him on schedule that guarantees more starts.

Fantasy Impact: Good fifth starters are tough to come by, because most of them become number fours. If Morales strings together a series of performances like Wednesday, he won't be bouncing back an fourth from Triple-A. Reserve him if you have roster space.

South Koreans wide awake for Mexico

So much for the jet lag. After Japan shutout Cuba, 6-0, South Korea turns around and thumps Mexico, 8-2 in San Diego. Now the Asian Pool A winners, who played each other just six days ago in Tokyo, square off to determine the first qualifier out of Pool 1 for the final round of the World Baseball Classic.

Three solo home runs paced South Korea, which defeated Japan 1-0 and lost to Japan 14-2 in the first round.

Japan downs Cuba

In a rematch of their 2006 championship game, Japan defeats Cuba, 6-0. This is no surprise considering Daisuke Matsuzaka started for the Japanese against Aroldis Chapman. Japan is now in control of Pool 1.

Cuba wins Pool B

Cuba's 16-4 Pool B throttling of Mexico gives them the pool title and a consolation prize moving forward: they're forced to play Japan in the second round's Pool 1. That's a rematch of the 2006 World Baseball Classic final, a game Japan won. Mexico faces South Korea, the Pool A Champions, who lost their two game matchup with Japan with a 14-3 aggregate score. They won the pool title, however, 1-0.

USA, Australia roll

Team USA poured it on with an eight-run sixth inning to blow by Venezuela, 15-6 and clinch a spot in round two of the World Baseball Classic. Kevin Youkilis and Adam Dunn each launched their second home run of the tournament.

The USA now waits for Canada, Italy and Venezuela to sort out which one vies for the top seed from Pool C. I'm going to go with Venezuela out of those three.

Australia, meanwhile, beat up on an MLB-laden Mexico lineup, 17-7 in Mexico City. The Aussies piled up 22 hits, scored 13 runs after the fourth inning, and scored at least three runs in five different innings. They get Cuba in the winners bracket of Pool B.

I'm going with Cuba in that one.

Phils win game one

A fairly well-played World Series opener goes to the Phillies, 3-2. I'm impressed with Chase Utley and Carl Crawford, lefties hitting home runs against tough left-handed pitchers.

As Eric Young said on ESPN, "Cole Hamels was dealin'." He allowed just five hits and two earned runs in seven innings, striking out five on his way to victory. Scott Kazmir gave up one more run and threw eight more pitches in one fewer inning of work. It was Hamels domination of the Rays that earned Philly the victory.

Brad Lidge continued his dominance in the Phillies closer role, whiffing Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria to start the 9th, and then getting Crawford to foul out to third. He was dealin', too.