Fantasy Baseball: Pitchers Outlook - Japan

March 21, 2008 @ 08:27:39

By Bryce McRae
Edited by Cory J. Bonini

Table: Do Not Bench

Player	Pos	Team
Daisuke Matsuzaka	SP	BOS
Huston Street	CL	OAK
Jonathan Papelbon	CL	BOS

Great Plays

Jon Lester, Starting Pitcher, Boston Red Sox

Opponent	Games	Advantage	Home, 2007	Away, 2007
at Oakland Athletics	2	N/A	--	4.72

Lester will be given a start in Japan due to the injury to starter Josh Beckett (back). Lester was sidelined for the first half last year but came on strong down the stretch. In five September starts, Lester picked up two wins and posted a 3.34 ERA. Lester has had some success against the Athletics in his two-year career. He has faced them twice, earning no-decisions both times but recorded 12 strikeouts in 9 1/3 innings pitched. The Athletics also had the fourth-worst offense in the American League last year, which should help Lester's chances this week.

Joe Blanton, Starting Pitcher, Oakland Athletics

Opponent	Games	Advantage	Home, 2007	Away, 2007
vs. Boston Red Sox	2	N/A	--	5.11

Blanton takes over from Dan Haren as the new ace of the Athletics staff. He stepped up last year by winning 14 games and posting an ERA of 3.95. However, he was not helped by a 4.89 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP last year. He will have to do better than that against the Red Sox offense, which was third in the American League last year. Blanton has had some success with the Red Sox hitters over his career. In five starts against them he has gone 2-1 with a 3.58 ERA, a 1.35 WHIP. However, he is not a great strikeout pitcher with just 17 in that stretch.

Solid Choices

Hideki Okajima, Relief Pitcher, Boston Red Sox

Opponent	Games	Advantage	Home, 2007	Away, 2007
at Oakland Athletics	2	N/A	--	2.16

Living in Daisuke Matsuzaka's shadow, Okajima was able to put up outstanding numbers last year, especially in the first half. Prior to the All-Star break, Okajima allowed just four earned runs over 43 1/3 innings and had a WHIP of 0.83. While that increased a little over the second half of the season, Okajima still finished with an ERA of 2.22 and a WHIP of 0.97. With just 3 1/3 innings against the Athletics, it might not be a huge sample size, but Okajima did allow just one walk and one hit in that time.

Manny Delcarmen, Relief Pitcher, Boston Red Sox

Opponent	Games	Advantage	Home, 2007	Away, 2007
at Oakland Athletics	2	N/A	--	1.88

Delcarmen was one of the reason's why the team had an American League-leading 3.87 ERA last year. He only appeared in 10 games in the first half of the season, but with a 1.69 ERA and a 0.84 WHIP, he increased his workload over the second half. In the final month of the season, Delcarmen appeared in 12 games, posting a 1.59 ERA and a 0.79 WHIP. Delcarmen has pitched well against the Athletics in his career with a 1.35 ERA and seven strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings, although his 1.35 WHIP leaves a little to be desired.

Others to Consider

Rich Harden, Starting Pitcher, Oakland Athletics

Opponent	Games	Advantage	Home, 2007	Away, 2007
vs. Boston Red Sox	2	N/A	--	0.00

Perhaps the most frustrating pitcher in baseball, Harden will attempt to stay healthy for a full season for the second time in baseball. When he is on he can be one of the most dominating pitchers in the American League, as shown by the 2.53 ERA and 1.06 WHIP he sported in 2005. However, he has made just 13 starts over the past two seasons and seems to spend most of his time either rehabbing or re-injuring himself. Boston might not be the best team for Harden to face; however, as he has 17.61 ERA against them in two career starts.

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Bryce McRae
Bryce McRae is a Managing Editor with KFFL and has been involved in fantasy sports since 1999. He joined KFFL as a volunteer writer in March 2005 before becoming a Hot off the Wire Analyst in March 2006. He began working in his current capacity in September 2008. His work has appeared on fantasy sports sites such as Yahoo! and CBS Sportsline as well as in print. He graduated from the University of British Columbia in 2008 with a B.A. in History and U.S. Studies.

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