The Scoop

By Dalton Del Don – Senior Writer

Imagine trying to fill out your All-Star ballot for the NL’s starting shortstop – Jose Reyes, J.J. Hardy, Hanley Ramirez, Jimmy Rollins and Edgar Renteria – someone’s getting shafted.

According to ESPN.com, nearly 60 percent of all baseball players who have tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs have been from the Dominican Republic.

Jason Kendall has two extra-base hits this season. One since Opening Day! At his current pace, he would take home the title of the weakest post-dead-ball-era hitter in the history of the game. Please, please tell me Oakland can find a way to get both Mike Piazza and Jack Cust’s bats in the lineup when healthy.

In his first 12 innings, Yankees rookie Matt DeSalvo didn’t strike out a batter, the longest non-K streak by a pitcher making his debut in the majors in nearly 30 years.

So, I guess Dontrelle Willis just isn’t a very good pitcher. Not only does he have spotty command, but he’s also surrendered nine homers in 63 innings this year. That is not a very good combination, and April is always his best month of the season to boot.

I’ve mentioned this before, but it certainly bears repeating: Ervin Santana’s home/road splits are truly amazing. For this season – 3-1, 2.33 ERA, 1.15 WHIP at home vs. 0-4, 7.86 ERA, 1.97 WHIP on the road. For his career – 22-6, 3.00 ERA, 1.14 WHIP at home vs. 9-15, 6.69 ERA, 1.60 WHIP on the road. In a way, this makes him even more valuable for fantasy purposes, at least for those in daily leagues. You know exactly what you are getting. Sure, he’s only going to provide about 110 innings opposed to 220, but those 110 are going to be top-10 starter type numbers.

If you look up “post-hype sleeper” in the dictionary, Carlos Pena’s picture would currently show up. After failing to live up to the hype, and then not given opportunities, Pena is quietly having the best season of his career. While the Tampa Bay lineup is crowded, if Pena keeps hitting .307/.374/.604, he’ll become a mainstay. I think he’s worth adding in all formats, as Ron Shandler says, once a player displays a skill, he never loses it. Pena has some pop.

Put a fork in Rich Harden, he’s done.

Meet Anthony Reyes – the new David Bush. Obviously, St. Louis’ poor defensive and offensive play has contributed to the 0-7 record, but Reyes’ high ERA (5.84) isn’t a complete fluke despite the impressive peripherals. The 1.23 WHIP and 2.7/1 K/BB ratio are great and all, but sometimes those stats can be misleading. Reyes holds opponents to a .196 batting average against with the bases empty; when pitching out of the stretch, that number jumps to .319. With two outs and RISP, he allows batters to hit .389 against him. I’m not going to drop him or anything, but Reyes’ disappointing numbers don’t just stem from bad luck. In fact, his BABIP is .272, so if anything, he’s actually been lucky this year.