What's the Buzz? 7/4/06

The 4th of July has come and gone and aside from the Macy's extravaganza here in NYC, the only thing I saw getting lit up was Yankees pitching. Ugh-lee! The Indians smacked around the Bombers with 19 runs on 21 hits, with 6 of those hits being home runs. If you own a bunch of Cleveland hitters, you had a solid fantasy night.

In other news...

The Braves finally activated John Thompson from the DL today only to watch him get beaten up for 5 runs in 3 2/3 innings. He'll need a few more starts before you should think about activating him in your lineup. Lance Cormier was sent to AAA-Richmond to make room for him on the roster.
Consider Dodgers 2B Jeff Kent day to day with a sore left oblique muscle. There's no word on how many days he may need off, so be careful with him in daily move leagues. Ramon Martinez filled in for him tonight and may get the start on Wednesday as well.
Also for the Dodgers, it looks like they're getting desperate for some middle relief help as they brought back Giovanni Carrara to join the pen. Carrara had tried to make the Pirates but failed...you believe that? Failed to make the Pirates bullpen. Yuck!! He had been with AAA-Las Vegas in the meantime sittin gwith a very unimpressive 4.62 ERA in 25 1/3 innings. I'd steer clear of him at all costs.
The Twins don't seem to be so enamored with Boof Bonser anymore as he gave up 4 runs in 3 innings to the Royals tonight. They've been skipping him in the rotation here and there and it doesn't look like he'll pitch again before the All Star Break. If the team decides to send him back to the minors, maybe they'll be smart and bring back Scott Baker from Triple-A. He was, after all, one of their best starters at the beginning of the season.
And speaking of the Twins, catcher Joe Mauer, who received another night off today, is expected to rejoin the starting lineup on Wednesday, according to manager Ron Gardenhire. Mauer has been battling a stomach virus the past few days along with a little hamstring tightness. He should be just fine.
Diamondbacks catcher Johnny Estrada missed today's start with a tweaked groin muscle and is being called day to day. Manage Bob Melvin expects him in the lineup for Wednesday, so it doesn't look like anything to worry about.
The Padres will officially activate OF Dave Roberts from the DL in time to start Wednesday's game. Roberts has been out for a few weeks after bruising his knee crashing into the wall. He should be ready to go and will continue to be a fairly cheap source of stolen bases again.
Jeez!!! Who woke up Juan Uribe?!?
Making his second start since coming off the DL, Nationals pitcher John Patterson allowed 2 runs in 5 innings of work. The team kept him on a very low pitch count, removing him after only 67 pitches, and will probably be extremely cautious with him for the next few weeks, if not the whole season. He left his first start back with "dead arm", so his situation should always be closely monitored.
As expected, the Indians activated OF Jason Michaels for the DL and optioned 1B Ryan Garko back to Triple-A. That was pretty short lived. I thought he'd stay atleast through the All Star Break, but manager Eric Wedge seems to not need him around. This definitely gives a boost to the value of Ben Broussard as he no longer has a staright platoon partner.
Just when you thought it was safe to keep Cliff Floyd active in your lineup, he goes back to being day to day, this time with a mild concussion. In a collision with SS Jose Reyes, Floyd hit the ground hard after being kneed in the head by Reyes. Endy Chavez will probably replace him on Wednesday...Thursday at the most. I saw it and it didn't look that bad.
Speaking of looking bad....careful Mets fans....it's Lima Time!!!!!!
Also day to day is Astros 2B/OF Chris Burke. He sat out another game today with a sprained left foot suffered in a collision on Friday. Look for him to return sometime in the next few days.
With the Phillies being forced to put catcher Sal Fasano on the DL with an inflammation in his left knee, the club has now gone from Mike Lieberthal and Fasano to Carlos Ruiz and Chris Coste. They will ride this until after the Break, and re-evaluate from there.
And just to get your hopes up....all you suckers out there...Ben Sheets may start a rehab assignment this weekend. I'll believe it when I see it, but the Brewers still seem to think that he could be ready shortly after the All Star Break. Hmmm...see Rich Harden.
And finally, the Devil Rays will have to wait for their closer a little longer than they had wanted as Tyler Walker seems to have suffered a setback in his rehab. What's worse is that this setback has just sent him to Dr. James Andrews, and we all know that's never good.

Catch you next time...