Kuzul

It had been so long since a Brewers starter had gone at least seven innings that it felt like a miracle when Randy Wolf went seven strong innings to defeat the Astros in the 6-1 victory at Miller Park last night.

Wolf had been struggling mightily over his last two starts, with 12 runs allowed to the Cardinals and the Pirates. He also had been walking too many batters, with 25 in just 54.2 innings. Last night, he only had three walks with four Ks and no earned runs.

They need Wolf to be this consistent since they gave him a three-year, $29.75 million contract. He has not lived up to the contract so far, so he will need more starts like this to make GM Doug Melvin look good for signing him. Wolf definitely needs to keep cutting down on the walks in order to have more success.

This also gave the bullpen a much-needed night off after going through every reliever over the weekend. Ryan Braun hit his eighth homer of the year, and Rickie Weeks broke out of a huge slump to go 3-for-5 with a homer, two RBI, and two runs.

Is this something to build on? Brewers fans have to hope so since they have struggled so much at home this year. They have to at least win the series against Houston and then have the Mets this weekend.

They have Chris Narveson on the mound tonight, who has been one of the most consistent starters on the staff, and the Astros have their ace in Roy Oswalt. Oswalt has had the worst run support in the majors with just 2.07 average runs per start. Will Narveson make it three straight wins tonight? We shall see.

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It wasn’t pretty, but rookie reliever John Axford helped the Milwaukee Brewers close out a 4-3 victory against the Minnesota Twins to avoid a series sweep.

Axford was called upon in the ninth because Carlos Villanueva pitched two innings in Saturday’s extra innings game.

Axford got into trouble early when Orlando Hudson hit a lead-off double but was able to strike out Justin Morneau and Michael Cuddyer.

Then Delmon Young hit a seeing-eye single up the middle. Jim Thome pinch-hit for Brendan Harris and was walked to load the bases.

This brought up rookie shortstop, Trevor Plouffe, who was in for the injured J.J. Hardy. Plouffe ended up striking out and Axford had his first save.

An interesting sub-plot was that Trevor Hoffman came on in the eighth inning to set-up Axford and looked like a completely different pitcher.

Pitching coach Rick Peterson must have seen something in Hoffman’s delivery, because he was fooling batters and throwing strikes. He had a clean one-two-three inning and looks like he is coming back to form.

It should be just a matter of time until Hoffman gets back into his groove as the closer. If Peterson has truly fixed the problem then he deserves another shot, but it will take at least a few more clean appearances for him to regain the closer’s job.

Corey Hart continued his power surge with his ninth homer and Prince Fielder continued to heat up at the plate and crushed his seventh of the year. Rookie Marco Estrada, Zach Braddock, and Manny Parra helped the struggling pitching staff hold the Twins to two runs over the first seven innings and may have saved Ken Macha’s job for now.

Their next series is against the struggling Houston Astros, and the Brewers need to sweep them in order to get things going again. We’ll see what happens but this victory was crucial and the pitching staff gets a much needed off day today.

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Over the weekend, owners in two-catcher formats got a new name to ponder: the Brewers’ Jonathan Lucroy.

With Gregg Zaun going on the DL, the Brewers recalled Lucroy, who Baseball America ranked their fifth best prospect heading into the season.

Splitting time between Double and Triple-A, he posted the following line in 2010:

122 At-Bats
.311 Batting Average (38 Hits)
Two Home Runs
16 RBI
16 Runs
Zero Stolen Bases
.349 On-Base Percentage
.418 Slugging Percentage
.350 Batting Average on Balls in Play

For a player with little speed and power, it’s hard to imagine being able to maintain that lofty of a BABIP. Right off the bat, you would have to think that the batting average, which is his one redeeming quality for fantasy owners, is unrealistic.

There is a little bit of an upside, however: He has a tremendous eye at the plate. The 2007 third round draft choice has an 11.3 percent walk rate over his minor league career, compared to a 16.3 percent strikeout rate. Those numbers helped lead to a .298 career minor league average, but again, with a .334 BABIP, it’s unlikely that he can maintain that type of average in the major leagues.

The power appears to be nonexistent. For his minor league career he had just a 39.1 percent fly ball rate. While he hit 20 HR between two levels of Single-A in 2008, he hit just nine at Double-A in 2009 and again was showing little power at the upper levels in 2010.

Baseball America described him prior to the season by saying:

“He has a good approach and a short swing, squares the ball up and has solid gap power. He has a career .380 on-base percentage and walked more than he struck out in 2009.”

Gap power…that’s just not what you say about a player who possesses a lot of power.

Without the power and with a likely increased strikeout rate (it wouldn’t be a shocking to see it jump to around 20 percent), seeing him hit .300 would be a huge surprise. Even if he were to hit .275 or so, he’s not likely to have the power or run production, should he stay in the lineup, to be anything more then a low-end fantasy option.

As it is, once Zaun returns, it would be surprising to see Lucroy stay with the major league club considering there are concerns surrounding his defense. Even if he were to stay, the other names I discussed when talking about Jorge Posada (click here to view) appears much more appealing at this point.

What about you? Is Lucroy someone who you would consider? Why or why not?

Make sure to check out other recent Scouting Reports:

• Jason Donald
• John Ely

THIS ARTICLE IS ALSO FEATURED ON WWW.ROTOPROFESSOR.COM

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On May 23, 2010 against the Minnesota Twins, Trevor Hoffman pitched game No. 1,000 for his career, coming on during the eighth inning in a 4-3 victory. He became the 14th player in major league history to accomplish this.

We then went back to our daily routines.

For a sport so focused on the milestone stats, it’s interesting to see this one completely slip by. We have 500 home runs, 3,000 hits, 300 wins, and others. Yet, any milestone for games played is not really looked at as any accomplishment. It’s a testament to little more than longevity, right?

Well, let’s take a look.

Of the previous 13 to play in 1,000 games, three are in the Hall of Fame: Dennis Eckersley, Hoyt Wilhelm, and Goose Gossage. The other 10 feature names you’d expect and names you likely have forgotten.

Topping the list is, of course, Jesse Orosco with 1,252. Following are Mike Stanton (1,178), John Franco (1,119), Eckersley (1,071), Wilhelm (1,070), Dan Plesac (1,064), Mike Timlin (1,058), Kent Tekulve (1,050), Jose Mesa and Lee Smith (1,022), Roberto Hernandez (1,010), Michael Jackson (1,005), Gossage (1,002), and now Hoffman.

The list is a tangled web of obvious hall of famers, those that have gotten close (Smith), those who did not get close (Plesac and others), and those who won’t have a chance at it (Mesa).

However, the Hall of Fame has already established how valuable this stat is: it isn’t. Just recently, Orosco, Plesac, and Jackson could not crack the 5 percent threshold. Neither could Tekulve despite a sub-3.00 ERA.

Interestingly enough though, many on this list are recent additions, and have just recently retired. Is this looking to be a continuing development? Will there be more pitchers crossing the mark who aren’t necessarily good, just reliable?

Looking beyond the hall of fame, and instead just looking at the number, it’s certainly possible. After all, Orosco pitched in 65 games in his final major league season despite an ERA over 7.50. So perhaps Hoffman’s games pitched isn’t a symbol of anything but luck and health.

Just about all of those pitchers above were still pitching 60 games when they hit 40, so maybe it means nothing. At the same time, maybe it’s an under-appriciated number, one that shows consistency and reliability, something that is needed more than anything in a bullpen, especially with how dynamic they are.

So, what does the mark mean to you? Sheer luck? Solid pitching? Nothing at all?

In my case, I think it shows a model of consistently good, though not necessarily great, pitching. It’s not a number on the same caliber as the others I noted earlier, far from it, but it can be a second-tier stat that is nice to achieve. After all, everyone but Mesa has a career sub-4.00 ERA, and all pitched until at least 39, so there is some health and luck involved as well.

What does it mean to you though? Something to think about. There won’t be 3,000 hits, 500 home runs, or 300 wins for a while, so let’s enjoy this accomplishment by Trevor Hoffman, even if it means little.

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It has been a while since I’ve written anything in this space. The reason for that is two-fold.

First, I am the proud parent to a new baby boy (he’s a month old today, as a matter of fact)! Second, the team hasn’t exactly given me much in the way of motivation to sit down and really put forth any concerted effort.

To be fair, in all reality it is the former that has kept me away more than the latter. I can write about my favorite team in the dead of winter when they’re not even playing with no issue. Certainly I have had plenty on my mind during these recent lean days but diapers/bottles/baths/bonding/etc. really chew up my “free” time.

I was going to sit down and write a free-form rant (I even advertised it on my blog’s Twitter account—twitter.com/BrewerNation), but I got busy and calmed down while caring for my little boy that can’t care for himself yet.

That’s kind of a metaphor for the 2010 Milwaukee Brewers so far this year.

I know that the team will tell you that they are maturing and how they don’t want to be seen as the team that other teams love to beat, but if you ask me all they’ve accomplished by toning down their youthful exuberance is rip their own heart out.

They no longer seem to be having fun while playing a fun game. They no longer seem to be enjoying their days at the ballpark which is an enjoyable place. They no longer seem to have that swagger that carried them to a 90-72 record and a postseason playoff berth WAY back in 2008.

Yeah…2008. Remember when CC Sabathia couldn’t be stopped and this team was having fun all summer long, culminating in the picture above? It doesn’t seem that long ago when you think about it outside of sports, but in Major League Baseball so much can change in two short years.

I could list things like that they’ve had three managers since then, or that they’ve burned through four pitching coaches, but the main thing that’s changed from 2008 to 2010 isn’t tangible like that.

It’s the fun.

Let me break it down to you this way. They say that a group takes on the personality and characteristics of its leader. But has there ever been a seemingly more mismatched pairing than Ken Macha and the majority of this Brewers roster?

Macha is admittedly old school. Don’t get me wrong, I like a lot about old school baseball. I like (most of) the unwritten rules. I like drilling a guy for showing up the game. I like a good old-fashioned bench-clearing brawl.

The players, and perhaps it’s mostly a by-product of their median age, are decidedly new school in a lot a ways. The earthquake celebration against San Francisco, Braun and Fielder’s boxing celebration after home runs, the untucking of their jerseys after victories…it all is about having fun.

They never were trying to show anybody up. They were simply trying to enjoy each other and each other’s successes on the field.

But apparently somebody got in the ears of the clubhouse leaders over the off-season and planted a distinctive “knock it off” somewhere in there.

Sure, Braun and Fielder still celebrate home runs and now Fielder and McGehee have even developed a little foot shake routine. And yes, if they were still untucking their jerseys with a 16-26 record, it might seem a touch out of place.

My argument, though, is that once this team stopped having fun this team stopped playing loose. They’ve been uptight, trying to be too perfect (I’m looking at you, pitching staff) and generally almost seem to be playing scared.

Not that they’re afraid of the ball or anything, but they’ve got “what’s going to go wrong tonight?” syndrome.

When you arrive at the ballpark and expect to lose, you generally lose. I’m not saying that any players have told me that they feel this way, or that I’ve heard any of them say it or even imply it. It’s just my feeling as a very interested observer.

Maybe getting Trevor Hoffman fixed will be the spark that this team needs. It can’t be easy when the innings are getting late and you don’t have at least a four-run lead. Hoffman was so maddeningly inconsistent that you almost had to assume failure and be pleasantly surprised if he came through.

Maybe getting healthy will provide the boost that this team needs. When your Opening Day center fielder and right fielder have missed time and 40 percent of your starting rotation has been replaced due to injury or ineffectiveness and your setup man is on the DL and now your starting catcher will miss at least two weeks…

Then again, maybe simply getting a few wins will be the ointment that heals the wounds of so many losses.

If you win, maybe you loosen up. If you loosen up, maybe you win some more. If you win some more, maybe you stay loose and go on a run.

So the question becomes: How do you win to start that chain of probabilities?

My answer to that question sounds simple. In fact, it sounds so simple that one might wonder why it isn’t already happening. It sounds so simple that one might question why it was ever abandoned in the first place.

That answer to the Milwaukee Brewers? Find a way to enjoy the game again.

Untuck those jerseys, watch a few home runs a little too long, pump your fist when you strike out a guy in a key situation on defense, hoot and holler and get the other guy’s dander up, put a target on your back again if you must.

In short…just relax and be yourselves.

You might find out that it’s what’s been missing this whole time.

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Trevor Hoffman is the all time leader in saves with 596 (as of May 21, 2010) in 18 seasons. 

After playing for the San Diego Padres for a long time, Hoffman was acquired by the Milwaukee Brewers before the 2009 season.

In 2009, Hoffman excelled as a closer with the second lowest season ERA of his career with 1.83—saving 37 games to add to his resume. It seemed like this guy was a machine, and his career would never end.

But Hoffman’s 2010 season has been miserable.

As a quarter of the season is over, Trevor’s ERA has ballooned up to 13.15 to tag along with three losses. His record last year for the entire season contained only two losses (and no, he does not have a reasonable amount of saves with five).

Hoffman is at the age of 42. He is aging—and too quickly.

Hoffman is now testing the Brewers patience. 

How long can the Brewers stick with Trevor as a closer—or even keep him on the roster?

Can this be the final year for No. 51?

If it is, it was once heck of a career. 

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It was the bottom of the ninth, and manager Ken Macha was faced with a very difficult decision on who to bring out to close it out.

The Brewers had a 4-3 lead, and Trevor Hoffman was unavailable due to work on his mechanics.

Macha brought out their best reliever to date: Carlos Villanueva. Villanueva got Ronny Cedeno to fly out but then hit Ryan Doumit.

Luckily he was able to get Delwyn Young to ground into a double play to close it out. He got the only save thus far that was by a reliever other than Hoffman.

One has to wonder, will Macha stick with Villanueva, or will he have the guts to go back to Hoffman once he has worked on his “mechanics?”

Unless Villanueva implodes, I would think Macha has to stick with him. No matter what Hoffman may say, he can’t go back to Hoffman right now.

Villanueva just had a clean ninth inning, something Hoffman hasn’t done since he closed out the Padres weeks ago. How do you not stick with him?

Another positive from last night was another quality start from Chris Narveson. Narveson has been a bright spot in a struggling Brewers rotation.

He has been their second most consistent starter after ace Yovani Gallardo. He has a 4.24 ERA in May with a 3-1 record, 22 strikeouts, and only eight walks.

Also, rookie John Axford threw two scoreless innings in the seventh and the eight to give the bullpen some much needed rest. Axford looks to be a major part of the bullpen for the near future. He throws heat and can do something not too many of their relievers could do: throw clean innings.

Macha decided to shake things up a little last night as he decided to bat Prince Fielder third and Ryan Braun fourth. It didn’t really do much as Prince went 1-for-4 and Braun went hitless. Macha will probably stick with it though since they won their first in 10 games.

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Trevor Hoffman has now blown more saves than he did all of last year, but yesterday was the worst of the worst.

Coming in to protect a three-run lead, Hoffman could not even record an out. He looked like he was throwing batting practice to the Cincinnati Reds in the 5-4 loss.

Hoffman is having his worst season yet and a change has to be made.

With veteran LaTroy Hawkins on the DL, one has to wonder to whom manager Ken Macha will turn now that Hoffman is out of the picture.

Carlos Villanueva seems like the ideal candidate since the Brewers’ other options, like Todd Coffey and Mitch Stetter, are not having good seasons so far.

Macha needs to make the change to save his job. If he brings Hoffman out one more time to save the game, he might get fired on the spot.

Hoffman spoiled a gem pitched by rookie Marco Estrada, in relief of Manny Parra.

As Tom Haurdicourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel suggests, Hoffman needs to go to Macha’s office and suggest he be removed from the closer’s role. If you are done or struggling, you should admit it and make the call yourself to make the manager feel better.

It’s tough telling the all-time saves leader that he’s officially done, but the guy is 42 years old and must say goodbye to his career as a closer. It’s a shame that this is what it has come down to, considering how brilliant he was last year (1.83 ERA), but a change has to be made.

With his atrocious ERA this year, no manager would have confidence running Hoffman out there for every save opportunity.

Villanueva needs to get the next save opportunity, whenever that may be, considering how bad the team is playing right now.

Is it too early to throw in the towel on the Milwaukee Brewers? Maybe. But this is an awful ball club right now and there is no hope in sight.

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The Milwaukee Brewers’ eighth straight loss—a 5-4 heart-breaker to the division-leading Cincinnati Reds—has many fans calling for manager Ken Macha’s head.

The embattled Brewers skipper is being criticized for his understated (read: boring) demeanor and methodical, analytical approach to leading the team. 

Macha is certainly anything but flamboyant, but are the Brewers’ early season struggles really his fault?  Let’s examine.

Upgrading a pitching staff that was 15th in ERA in the National League (and 27th in all of baseball) was general manager Doug Melvin’s top offseason priority, as evidenced by the hiring of new pitching coach Rick Peterson and the acquisition of free agent left-handers Randy Wolf and Doug Davis and right-handed setup man LaTroy Hawkins. 

Melvin also took care of business at home, re-signing all-star closer (and all-time saves leader) Trevor Hoffman and the recently dependable Claudio Vargas and Carlos Villanueva. 

So how has that worked out so far?

Doug Davis is 1-4 with a 7.56 ERA and is headed to the disabled list with chest inflammation. 

Hawkins is also on the DL, but not before going 0-3 with a 9.26 ERA. 

Vargas has struggled out of the gates with an 8.04 ERA. 

Trevor Hoffman has been downright atrocious: 1-3 with five blown saves (as many as he had in all of 2009) and a gaudy 13.15 ERA.

Randy Wolf has been decent, but underwhelming with a 3-3 record and an ERA of 4.66.

Meanwhile, Villanueva’s 3.05 ERA in 19 appearances is one of the few bright spots in an awful Brewers bullpen.

How about offense? To their credit, the Brewers are putting runs on the board. 

The team is sixth in RBI and runs scored, third in home runs, fifth in slugging percentage, and sixth in team batting average. 

Despite these solid team numbers, Prince Fielder has been struggling (by his lofty standards anyway), creating a critical power outage in the middle of the lineup. 

The young Brewers slugger has produced only six home runs (fourth most on the team) and 17 RBI (fifth most on the team) while striking out 39 times—second only to the free swinging Rickie Weeks. 

As good as the Brewers have been at the plate, they have been equally ineffective in the field. 

As a team, the Brewers have committed 30 errors already (third most in the NL) and are 14th overall in fielding percentage. 

Alcides Escobar, Casey McGehee, and Rickie Weeks are leading Milwaukee’s futile fielding charge, committing 18 of these 30 errors.

In the standings, Milwaukee is 15-24 after 39 games. 

The team is already eight games out of first place and nine games under .500—bad news for a team expected, at least by their fans, to contend in the National League Central—and even worse news for Macha.

So, is this all Macha’s fault? Probably not. But either way, the fans want blood.

If the Brewers don’t start winning soon, it may just be Ken Macha’s blood they get.

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Today’s edition of Fantasy Baseball Insiders Tonight features not one, but two games scored by the Insider himself…

Game No. 26 – Minnesota Twins vs. Toronto Blue Jays

• Blue Jays’ starter Shaun Marcum continued his impressive comeback from Tommy John surgery, limiting the Twins to one run on five hits and two walks in seven strong innings Tuesday afternoon. Despite Minnesota’s best efforts, Marcum continually worked out of trouble to preserve his big lead.

Through nine starts (62 innings) this season, Marcum is 3-1 with a 2.61 ERA and 0.97 WHIP. His low walk rate (2.03) compliments his fastball/changeup combo well, though his BABIP and xFIP  suggest a slight regression in the near future.

He’s not exactly a sell-high option, as Marcum is still a very good pitcher despite a small trace of luck thus far. It’s worth noting, however, that the 28-year-old has yet to face division foes New York or Tampa Bay this season.

• Marcum’s counterpart, Carl Pavano , has been equally good this season, allowing just seven walks in 46 1/3 innings (1.36 BB/9) before Tuesday’s game. For the fourth time this season, Pavano didn’t issue any free passes in a game. Instead, the Blue Jays torched him for six runs on 10 hits in just four innings of work.

Tuesday was just the second time in eight starts this season that Pavano allowed more than two runs in a game. Despite the pounding from a red-hot Toronto lineup, Pavano’s ERA and WHIP stand at 4.11 and 1.21, respectively. 

The 34-year-old’s peripherals support his solid performance thus far, but Pavano faces two tough opponents (Milwaukee and Texas) in his next two starts.

• Four Blue Jays went yard on Tuesday, though none were more encouraging than Aaron Hill ’s three-run blast in the sixth. Fantasy managers expected Hill’s power numbers to regress from last season, but they didn’t expect his average (.175 through Tuesday) to drop so far. In fairness to Hill, he has suffered from a ridiculously unlucky .184 BABIP.

Despite this, Hill continues to take walks (14.8 percent BB rate) and make good contact . Expect the 28-year-old to rebound from his rough start and finish the 2010 season with around 20 homers and a .280 average.

Game No. 27 – Anaheim Angels vs. Texas Rangers

• Tuesday night’s matchup between the Angels and Rangers figured to be a rare pitcher’s duel in Arlington, as Jered Weaver (2.47 ERA) opposed C.J. Wilson (1.48 ERA).

• Weaver made it through the first two innings unscathed before allowing a two-run homer to Michael Young in the bottom of the third. Vladimir Guerrero went yard off Weaver to lead off the fourth, continuing his torrid pace to start the season. Anaheim’s offensive explosion in the top half of the fourth, however, lined Weaver up for his fifth win of the season.

After retiring two of the first three batters he faced in the fifth, Weaver allowed another two-run homer (this one to Ian Kinsler ). Next came two consecutive singles off the bats of Vlad and Josh Hamilton , chasing Weaver after 111 pitches in 4 2/3 innings.

Reliever Trevor Bell then yielded a two-run double to Nelson Cruz, leaving Weaver with the following line: 4 2/3 innings, nine hits, seven runs, three walks and one strikeout; by far his worst start of the season.

Despite the pounding he took, Weaver’s stellar K/9, BB/9, BABIP and xFIP all support his strong start this season. While it appears the 27-year-old is establishing himself as a fantasy ace, it’s worth noting his history of early-season success and post-All-Star Break failures.

• C.J. Wilson has been even better Weaver thus far, posting a quality start in each of his seven outings this season. His favorable BABIP and unsustainable left on-base percentage , however, tells a different story.

Wilson’s luck finally caught up with him Tuesday night, as the converted reliever lasted just 4 1/3 innings, allowing seven runs on seven hits and a walk. Even after Tuesday night’s slug fest, Wilson’s ERA and WHIP sit at 2.55 and 1.15, respectively. He’ll get the Cubs on Sunday.

• Elvis Andrus continued his early-season tear, going 3-for-5 with three runs out of the Rangers’ leadoff spot. The 21-year-old has displayed an advanced batter’s eye (14.8 walk rate , 17.4 percent o-swing rate ) in addition to being an excellent contact hitter (86.3 contact rate ). Andrus’ inflated BABIP , however, suggests his .331 batting average is probably a fluke.

• Michael Young went 3-for-4 with a homer and three RBI Tuesday night. Now batting .298 on the season, the 33-year-old Young has 24 runs, four homers and 25 RBI. Batting in the two hole in front of Kinsler, Vlad, Hamilton and Cruz, Young should have no problem scoring 100 runs while pushing for 20 homers this season.

Other notes from around the league:

HITTERS

Hitter of the day: Michael Young (3-for-4, R, HR, 3 RBI)

• Joey Votto continues to dominate opposing pitchers as he went 3-for-5 with a homer and two RBI against the Brewers on Tuesday. Through 39 games this season, Votto is batting .308 with 25 runs, nine homers, 27 RBI and four steals.

This equates to a 162-game pace of 104 runs, 37 homers, 112 RBI and 17 steals. Perhaps the scariest part is that Votto’s current BABIP and HR/FB rate aren’t too far off of his career totals. The 26-year-old is making a strong case for top-20 player status.

• Carlos Quentin recorded his second three-hit day in the last four games on Tuesday while scoring once and knocking in two. Quentin’s struggles thus far (.200 batting average though 33 games) can be blamed on his lowly BABIP .

Despite this, the 27-year-old remains on a 19-homer, 105-RBI 550-at-bat pace. If you can afford to bench the slumping Quentin until he regains his stroke, he is an excellent buy-low candidate.

• To Luke Scott , the baseball must look like a watermelon right now. On Tuesday night, Scott went 2-for-2 with two walks and two solo homers – both off of Zack Greinke. Since the start of May, Scott is batting .355 (16-for-45) with seven homers and 12 RBI. Now if the Orioles could just get somebody on base in front of him…

• Kurt Suzuki came through for the Athletics in his third game since returning from the DL, going 3-for-5 with two runs and two RBI Tuesday night against the Mariners. Expect the 26-year-old catcher to continue to build on his 2009 breakout campaign.

• Carlos Lee is finally showing signs of breaking free from his early-season slump, as the Astros’ slugger went 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBI Tuesday night. The long ball was his second in three games. Lee is now batting .201 with a ridiculously-low BABIP this season. (For more on Lee’s slow start, click here .)

PITCHERS

Pitcher of the day: Josh Johnson (W, 7 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 9 K)

• Josh Johnson continues to dominate opposing batters, as the 6-foot-7/250-pound right-hander tossed seven shutout innings against the Diamondbacks Tuesday night. He allowed just two hits and a pair of walks while fanning nine. Through nine starts (57 innings) this season, the 26-year-old boasts a 2.68 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 63/18 K/BB ratio.

• Homer Bailey followed up his four-hit shutout of the Pirates last week with another strong outing against a more formidable Milwaukee lineup on Tuesday. Bailey scattered four hits in seven innings while allowing two runs and two walks.

Although it seems like Bailey has been around forever, the Reds’ starter is still just 24 years old. As his strikeouts continue to pile up and his walk rate continues to decline, Bailey becomes more intriguing. He’ll get Cleveland and Houston in his next two starts.

• Who would’ve thought that through six and a half weeks, Carlos Silva would have the same record (5-0) as Tim Lincecum. Hopefully nobody, but that’s the case after Silva limited the Rockies to two runs on six hits and a walk in six innings Tuesday night. Through eight starts, the 31-year-old boasts a 3.35 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and a stellar walk rate of 1.86.

Silva’s strand rate is a tad bit high and his BABIP is slightly below-average. Even so, his xFIP  suggests a regression in the near future. Silva will get the Rangers this weekend, a matchup that doesn’t bode well for him.

RELIEVERS

• Trevor Hoffman blew his fifth save of the season Tuesday, this one with a two-run ninth-inning lead against the Reds. The all-time saves leader has now allowed at least one run to score in eight of his 14 appearances this season, and his ERA has ballooned to 13.15.

After the game, Brewers’ manager Ken Macha vowed to speak with pitching coach Rick Peterson before making a decision on whether to remove Hoffman from the closer’s role.

Nothing is official yet, but Carlos Villanueva is the likely replacement should Hoffman be relieved of his ninth-inning duties. If you’re desperate for saves, Villanueva is worth a speculative look.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE: FANTASY BASEBALL INSIDERS

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Fantasy Baseball Insiders Tonight updates:

• 5/17: Is Aramis Ramirez Finally Turning The Corner?
• 5/16: What’s Wrong With Diamondbacks’ Pitcher Dan Haren?
• 5/13: How Good Is Rangers’ Pitcher C.J. Wilson?
• 5/12: How Good Is Rangers’ Pitcher Derek Holland?
• 5/10: Who The Heck Is Brennan Boesch?

More from the Fantasy Baseball Insiders’ Inbox:

• Week 7 Spot-Starters: Leake, Sheets, Holland or Chacin?
• Trade Astros’ Carlos Lee for Blue Jays’ Vernon Wells?

More 2010 Fantasy Baseball Insiders Player Projections:

• Mat Latos
• Cole Hamels
• Livan Hernandez
• Mike Pelfrey
• Delmon Young
• Drew Stubbs
• Nolan Reimold
• Jay Bruce
• Geovany Soto
• B.J. Upton
• Shin-Soo Choo
• Matt Wieters

More from Fantasy Baseball Insiders:

• Phillies’ Closer Brad Lidge to Visit Team Doctor, Who Will Replace Him?
• What’s Wrong With Josh Beckett?
• Padres’ Kyle Blanks, Reds’ Drew Stubbs Headline 2010 All-Breakout Team

Fantasy Baseball Insiders’ Prospect Report:

• Does Rangers’ Justin Smoak Have Fantasy Value in 2010?
• Does Mets’ Ike Davis Have Fantasy Value in 2010?

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com