Berkmans 2 HRs help Cards sweep Orioles (AP)

Playing in a ballpark known as a haven for hitters, Lance Berkman hit a couple of drives that would have cleared the wall in just about any stadium in the country. Berkman had his 29th career two-homer game, Jon Jay hit a three-run shot, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Baltimore Orioles 9-6 on [...]

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Astros end home skid at 8, blank Rangers (AP)

Wandy Rodriguez pitched so well Thursday night, the struggling Houston Astros were able to relax and have some fun. Jason Michaels homered and drove in three runs and Rodriguez and three relievers combined on a four-hitter as the Astros snapped an eight-game home losing streak with a 7-0 win over the Texas Rangers.

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Derek Jeter to Start Rehab in Trenton on Monday

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Yankees Get Colon Back Before Subway Series

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Always A Second Half Team, Astros Win 7-0

The Astros needed a new beginning, that's the only way I can explain it. Tonight's game marked the official beginning of the second half of Houston's season, and they started it off with a bang.

This win probably has no implications on the rest of the season, and it's still likely that the Astros are going to end up with baseball's worst record and the #1 draft pick next June. However, it was nice to see Wandy Rodriguez pitch very well while Carlos Lee starts turning things around.

With Wandy's name coming up in some recent trade rumors, his start tonight certainly helped his trade value. He only surrendered four hits in his seven scoreless innings, and he also induced three double plays by keeping his fastball down in the zone. He seemed to control his curveball relatively well, and he has really impressed since returning from the DL on June 13th. Three of his last four outings have been of the scoreless variety, and he's pitching like we all knew he could. David did a great job earlier today highlighting some potential deals with the Tigers, and I think Wandy could be a real nice starter for a playoff contender in need of pitching.

Carlos Lee hit another home run tonight, and I honestly can't even remember the last time he went deep in consecutive games. His average is still hovering around .270, but he has driven in seven runs in the last seven games. He even drew a couple of walks tonight. Is there any chance that he's playing well in hopes of getting traded before the deadline? Seattle and Oakland could use a power bat anywhere in their lineup, but I'm sure we would need to eat a ton of Carlos' contract before even discussing a deal with another team.

David Carpenter made his major league debut in the eighth, and he threw a perfect frame with a strikeout as well. His fastball command was a little shaky, but he was hitting about 94 on the radar gun.

We didn't need a ninth-inning comeback to win this one, and it was nice not having to worry about the outcome late in the game. This weekend should be exciting with the Red Sox coming to town, and I just hope we don't get embarrassed.

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Astros snap 8-game home skid (AP)

Jason Michaels homered and drove in three runs and Wandy Rodriguez and three relievers combined on a four-hitter as the Houston Astros snapped an eight-game home losing streak with a 7-0 win over the Texas Rangers on Thursday night. Carlos Lee homered for the second straight day in the fourth inning and Chris Johnson drove [...]

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Playing the Name Game: Who's Who

This edition of "Playing the Name Game" is the third time this season I'll be comparing nameless player's statistics  and hopefully opening your eyes a little bit to how name recognition (and sometimes the lack thereof) can skew the realm of fantasy baseball ownership. This time I'm going to hold back all of the player's names until the end. NOTE: All stats quoted are from games played through June 29th, 2011.

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Let's jump right into the game by comparing the statistics (5x5 style) of a pair of outfielders in Scenario A:

• Player A: .258 BA, 35 R, 10 HR, 51 RBI, 1 SB
• Player B: .282 BA, 42 R, 11 HR, 53 RBI, 3 SB

Player A is owned in 67.5% of ESPN leagues and just 39% of Yahoo! leagues while Player B is owned in 100% of ESPN leagues and 84% of Yahoo! leagues. Are the 24 points in batting average, seven runs, two RBI and two stolen bases really worth such a discrepancy in ownership numbers? Here's a hint to guessing their names: neither player's home park would be consider hitter-friendly.

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Let's take a look at another pair of outfielders producing similar stats in Scenario B:

• Player A: .262 BA, 51 R, 8 HR, 32 RBI, 5 SB
• Player B: .264 BA, 25 R, 8 HR, 29 RBI, 3 SB

Again, pretty similar except for the large discrepancy in runs scored. How could that be explained? What if I told you Player A has had 279 at-bats while Player B has only had 148 at-bats? So, very similar numbers in half the at-bats, except for runs. Player A cost you an ADP of 104.1 while it's safe to say Player B was virtually undrafted. Now let's take a look at ownership numbers. Player A (99.6% E; 86% Y!); Player B (8% E; 5% Y!). Here's a hint to narrow down who they are: both players are on different contending teams in the NL Central.

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Enough with outfielder comparisons for the moment. Check out these pair of first basemen in Scenario C:

• Player A: .173 BA, 20 R, 7 HR, 29 RBI, 0 SB
• Player B: .217 BA, 17 R, 7 HR, 21 RBI, 0 SB

Ugh, why would anyone want to own either of these players with nearly half a season in the books? Fantasy owners got the memo about Player B and have avoided ownership to the tune of 0.4% in ESPN leagues and 1% of Yahoo! leagues. Quite the head-scratcher, though, that Player A is still owned in 83.3% of ESPN leagues and 79% of Yahoo! leagues. Oh right, Player A cost you an ADP of 37.3.

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How about a trio of first basemen with similar numbers up for comparison in Scenario D?:

• Player A: .297 BA, 33 R, 6 HR, 34 RBI, 1 SB
• Player B: .272 BA, 33 R, 9 HR, 34 RBI, 2 SB
• Player C: .306 BA, 34 R, 9 HR, 34 RBI, 0 SB

Okay, now we're talking. These three are virtually the same player, right? Wrong. Ownership levels are all over the place. Player A is owned in 100% of ESPN leagues and 90% of Yahoo! leagues while Player B is owned in just 43.3% of ESPN leagues and 30% of Yahoo! leagues and lastly, Player C is 91.9% owned in ESPN leagues and 53% of Yahoo! leagues. Over the last 15 days, Player B has three home runs while the other two combined have none.

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Lastly, let's compare a pair of young catchers with a ton of potential but I wonder if that potential is another year away from being realized after looking at Scenario E:

• Player A: .226 BA, 36 R, 11 HR, 36 RBI, 3 SB
• Player B: .226 BA, 24 R, 11 HR, 35 RBI, 0 SB

Again, other than runs scored and a few bonus steals, these catchers are providing nearly the same level of offense to a fantasy team. Both players are 25 years old but the perception of each is quite different. Player A has only played 2/3rds of his games at catcher and the other 1/3rd at first base and owned in 100% of ESPN leagues and 95% of Yahoo! leagues while Player B has caught nearly the same amount of games but stuck in a perceived 60/40 split of time with a veteran catcher and owned in 50.9% of ESPN leagues and 52% of Yahoo! leagues.

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Enough with the player comparisons already, right? Let's get to revealing the player's names after the break.
**********

Scenario A reveals Player A as Ryan Ludwick and Player B as Carlos Beltran. If a Ludwick owner sent you a straight up trade proposal for Beltran, you'd probably call him every name in the book and mock him for even trying. With the trade deadline approaching, one wonders if Ludwick could find his way out of PETCO and into a full-time job in a hitter's park, would more owners be willing to own him.

Scenario B reveals Player A to be Colby Rasmus and Player B as Chris Heisey. Heisey is probably only owned as much as he is due to his recent three-homer game and will be an interesting player to watch over the second half of the season and into next year's drafts while Rasmus seems to be regressing in his third full season in the majors.

Scenario C reveals Player A as the bewildering Adam Dunn and Player B as the underwhelming Juan Miranda. Dunn was expected to light up the Chicago nights with his power while Mirana was being groomed as the first baseman of the near future. Neither has done much to live up to the hype but owners of Dunn as sort of stuck due to the high level of investment.

Scenario D reveals Player A as Billy Butler, Player B as Freddie Freeman and Player C as Todd Helton. This is another case of perception. Everyone keeps wanting Butler to be the player he should be but what has he done to warrant such? He's currently the 23rd-ranked player with first base eligibility, behind Helton at 19 and one ahead of Freeman at 24th.

Scenario E reveals Player A to be Carlos Santana and Player B as J. P. Arencibia. Santana burst on the scene last season and Arencibia was a sleeper pick this Spring. I understand why Santana is owned in virtually all leagues but left wondering why more owners aren't willing to invest in Arencibia.

These scenarios are helpful, in my mind, because fantasy baseball is about accumulating the most numbers and trying to win your league. If you are in this game to own your favorite players (I'm talking to you, "Chicago Cubs" owner), you're probably not going to win very often and no amount of logic is going to convince you that name recognition has its pro and cons.

We're nearly at the All-Star game, the unofficial halfway point of the season, and now is the time to start evaluating what it's going to take to get you into a position to win your league for money or bragging rights. Keeper and dynasty leagues complicate things because it's much harder to cut and run on someone simply having an off year. Make wise decision but do so based in the reality of the numbers, not just the player's name.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This article was written with the support and encouragement of the guys over at Infield Chatter Sports Blog. Be sure to check them out on Twitter and Facebook, too.

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Berkman HRs power Cards to sweep of Os (AP)

Lance Berkman homered twice, Jon Jay hit a three-run shot, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Baltimore Orioles 9-6 on Thursday night to complete a three-game sweep. The Cardinals never trailed in the series and outscored Baltimore 20-9. In the finale, St. Louis built an 8-0 lead in the fourth inning and coasted to [...]

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Dodgers: Some staff paychecks bounced (AP)

The Los Angeles Dodgers says paychecks for some part-time game day staffers bounced, but not because the team didn’t have enough money to cover them. Dodgers spokesman Josh Rawitch said Thursday that when the team filed for bankruptcy, its accounts were frozen for 48 hours. Some security guards and ushers found their paychecks had bounced.

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Bucs end 8-year interleague road drought (AP)

Jeff Karstens capped a brilliant June with another strong start, Brandon Wood hit a two-run homer and the Pittsburgh Pirates won their first interleague road series since 2003, beating the Toronto Blue Jays 6-2 on Thursday night. The Pirates had lost 17 straight interleague series away from home since taking two of three at Tampa [...]

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