Matt Kemp played the hero again for the Dodgers Sunday, as he has so many times this season.

Mired in a skid that had seen them lose two of three to Florida before getting swept in St. Louis, the Dodgers earned a much needed series win by thrashing the Braves 9-1, a victory spurred by Kemp’s tie-breaking three-run dinger in the fifth. With both the Giants and Colorado playing well lately, LA’s lead in the NL West had slipped to seven games.

For the Dodgers’ leading hitter, the homer was the key blast in a 3-for-5 game that featured a career-high tying five RBI.

Heading into 2009, we ranked Kemp as the 10th-best Fantasy outfielder, a status which he has actually surpassed. In fact, there may be only two NL outfielders who have been more valuable so far this season.

Kemp’s consistency this season has really been his calling card – he has not hit lower than .292 in any one month. His walk rate is way up, as he’s already closing in on a career high in that department.

Clearly, Kemp has bounced back nicely from a somewhat disappointing 2008, his first season as a full-time player. And considering he won’t be 25 until next month, there’s still plenty of upside here that his keeper league owners will enjoy in the coming seasons.

Generally, Kemp’s second-half numbers tend to be slightly better so far in his career, so I don’t expect a letdown over the final couple of months.

Our advice: Enjoy the ride.

Pop quiz: who was the second overall pick in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft after Sidney Crosby? How many of you remember that it was Bobby Ryan whom the Anaheim Ducks took with that draft slot?

If you had forgotten that, you wouldn’t be alone and you could certainly be forgiven considering Ryan has spent most of his time as a professional toiling in Portland.

However, it’s not as if the Ducks weren’t high on this kid. In fact, there were a few teams that wanted Ryan added as a throw-in during trade talks, but Anaheim would not part with him. He actually made the team out of training camp this season, but was sent down because of salary cap issues.

However, when Ryan was recalled in late November because of an injury to Francois Beauchemin, the youngster played like he never wanted to see Portland again. And the way things have gone for the odds-on Calder Trophy favourite, Ryan’s not going anywhere for a very long time.

A couple of weeks after his promotion, Ryan had a coming out party when became the first Duck rookie to record a hattrick. Forget about the fact that no Anaheim player had ever recorded a faster hattrick in the 15-year history of the organization; the goal he scored to complete the hattrick was an absolute thing of beauty. Anyone who witnessed that masterpiece was left with the unequivocal knowledge that Bobby Ryan had arrived as a bona fide NHL player.

He caught our eye at the very start of 2009, and we were bang on there as January produced more of the same, with Ryan scoring 11 goals in just 14 games to earn NHL Rookie of the Month honours.

Ryan, who turned 22 last month, hasn’t exactly slowed down. After picking up an assist Tuesday (he also recorded his first NHL fight, a decision he lost to veteran Steve Staois, so was just one goal shy of the Gordie Howe hattrick), Ryan now has two goals and two assists in his last three games. Rookie wall? What’s that?

He leads all rookies in goals (26) and points (51), putting him one point ahead of Chicago’s Kris Vertsteeg for the freshman scoring race. However, given that Ryan has played 13 less games than Versteeg, he’s looking like a lock as Rookie of the Year.

Project out his totals, and you can see how Ryan could be a 40-goal scorer (or more) as soon as next season, a concept Fantasy owners better wrap their heads around pronto. For instance, how is this dude still unowned in about one-fifth of all leagues?

Ryan has a chance to become one of the best U.S.-born players the NHL has ever seen. He’s a tough kid in a power forward’s body who flashes tremendous skill with the soft hands of a natural scorer.

He recently broke Dustin Penner’s Anaheim record for points by a rookie, and given that Ryan is now playing on the Ducks’ top line with Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, there could be plenty more to come over the final five games of the season. In fact, his play has helped resurrect what looked like a lost season for Anaheim as the Ducks are one of the hottest teams in the West, shooting into a playoff spot and currently holding down a share of seventh place. If Anaheim hangs on and gets to the post-season dance, that should cement Ryan’s Calder Trophy credentials.

Okay, I admit it. I dropped the ball on Bill Hall. Heading into the season, I really liked him as a great fantasy option. I mean, jeez, we were talking about a 35-homer hitter with shortstop qualification.

But what a fall from grace Hall has suffered in 2007. He started well enough, homering on Opening Day, but, unfortunately, that wasn’t exactly a portent of things to come, and it’s been downhill since.

There are plenty of excuses to offer up, starting with the fact that in making the transition to another skill position – centrefield – Hall was required to concentrate so much of the defensive aspects of his game, that his offense suffered. Badly. And he knows it.

“It’s probably my fault for getting away from my normal workout plan that I usually do to get myself prepared to play every day,” he told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Although he said he wasn’t blaming the move to the outfield, it’s obvious that this has been a factor in his inability to consolidate his breakout 2006 season.

Of course, an injury in early July played a big part. Hall was beginning to roll, recording a 911 OPS in June, but on July 5, he sprained his ankle when he leapt up to try to catch a Ryan Doumit home run, coming down and landing awkwardly. It’s ironic that playing a new position was again behind this woe, a serious sprain that cost him three weeks.

The Brewers actually expected him to be sidelined longer, and maybe he should have been. Since his return, Hall has been rancid. His OPS in a limited July was 699. In August, he’s batting just .200 with a 638 OPS. Since the All-Star break, Hall has been getting on base at a lowly .270 clip – unacceptable by any standards.

Earlier this month, he discovered that his hand positioning had altered from last season, and an adjustment caused him to get hot for about a week. Unfortunately, the recovery was short-lived, and since then, things are getting worse, not better.

Since August 19, Hall is 5-for-25 and he hasn’t homered or driven in a run in any of his last five games.

Last season, Hall emerged as a major revelation for the Brewers, pacing the team in dingers, runs, doubles, triples, RBI and walks. Everything he hit, he seemed to hit hard, with a shocking almost 54 per cent of his hits going for extra bases.

Obviously, his lack of pop (.435 SLG) this year is a major disappointment. But what’s really bringing Hall down is hit lowly .241 BA and .402 SLG against righties, compared to .262/.525 a year ago.

Of equal concern, Hall’s walk rate is down substantially, although as least he’s not whiffing as much either.

Another area of disappointment, from a fantasy perspective, is Hall’s running game, in decline for a couple of seasons. After peaking in 2005 with 18 steals in 24 attempts, he was 8-for-17 last year and is a horrific 3-for-8 this year. Obviously, the ankle is a slight factor here, but that doesn’t explain why he had just three thefts before the injury.

Hall clearly has some serious power potential, as he proved last season. Assuming he can clear the slates for 2008 and throw away a 2007 season filled with distractions, he could be a very nice sleeper on draft day next year.

Today marks the opening of the NBA free agency period and while there may not be any bona fide superstars available, several key players are hitting the market.

Vince Carter, Rashard Lewis and Chauncey Billups are considered the three biggest prizes this season, but the name that intrigues me the most because of what he can bring to the table is Gerald Wallace, especially considering that VC and Mr. Big Shot aren’t expected to be headed anywhere but back to their old teams.

“Crash,” as Wallace is known because of the reckless abandon he brings to the court, is not only a serious stud with across-the-board skills, but he doesn’t turn 25 until later this month, making him a valuable commodity for years to come.

Wallace has foregone a guaranteed salary of $6 million for 2007-08 from the Charlotte Bobcats to see what he can fetch on the open market as an unrestricted free agent. Considering most expect him to be able to land a deal worth at least $10 million per year, it’s a smart move.

Charlotte is hell bent for leather to re-sign him, and will meet with his agent today to talk about what it’s going to take to make that happen. Of course, this is just one of many decisions facing the team this offseason, as we discussed just over a month ago.

But the Bobcats are going to have competition in trying to secure Wallace’s services – probably plenty of it, and given that the latest word is that he’s put his house in Charlotte up on the market, they will have to do one hell of a pitch to get Crash back.

Fans of the Warriors are pushing for their team to make a run at him, and early indications are they might use their trade exception to try to land Wallace. Dallas has also entered the picture as a major player in this sweepstakes. Orlando may also take a run at Wallace.

Although he slipped in some departments from his breakout 2005-06 campaign, Wallace enjoyed a career year last season, especially offensively as he paced the ‘Cats with 18.1 PPG. His rebounding dropped slightly, but he was still the second best rebounder on the club.

An original Bobcat, he was plucked in the 2004 expansion draft after three seasons as a reserve with the Kings, with whom he saw very little action.

Toiling in relative obscurity in Charlotte, Wallace isn’t exactly a household name, but he’s certainly about to break the bank as if he were one. The question is, is Wallace worth $10 million or more per season?

Well, he’s certainly improved offensively since landing in Charlotte, jacking his PPG total in each season, from 11.1 in 2004-05 to over 15 in 2005-06 to 18.1 last season. He may not be a 20-10 man, but he’s pretty darn close. And throw in what Wallace brings in steals and blocks, and you’ve got yourself one hell of a player – especially from a fantasy perspective.

Wallace has endured his share of injuries in recent years, definitely a result of his no-holds-barred play, but he remained relatively healthy this season, setting a career high with 72 games played. He also enjoyed career bests in MPG, APG (2.6) and double-doubles (16). Wallace’s perimeter game developed somewhat (32.5 per cent with 39 three-pointers made), he improved his FT shooting – traditionally his weakness – to 69.1 per cent. While he slipped from 2.5 steals and 2.1 blocks in 05-06 to 2.0 and 1.0 last year, 2006-07 still marked the best overall season of Crash’s career.

And best of all, he improved as the season wore on. After a sluggish first half (16 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 1.89 SPG, 0.87 BPG and 2.1 APG), Wallace was huge after the break (21.7 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 2.19 SPG, 1.11 BPG, 3.3 APG). He did his best work in April, exploding for 24.1 PPG, 9.1 RPG and 3.14 SPG.

If the ‘Cats can retain Crash – and, as discussed, they plan to do their darndest to make it happen – they’ll have a solid, young team with a great chance of making the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.

Put Wallace alongside Emeka Okafor, Sean May, Raymond Felton and the just-acquired Jason Richardson and you’ve got yourself one serious starting five. Crash playing alongside J-Rich could present some major matchup issues for opponents.

The bench — with Walter Herrmann, Matt Carroll (assuming he re-signs), first round pick Jared Dudley and last year’s top choice, Adam Morrison, who should be much better after a somewhat disappointing rookie season – is pretty impressive as well. In a weak Eastern Conference, this team could make some serious gains.

Step one, of course, will be getting Crash back in the fold.

Let the bidding begin.

On Sunday, Saito gave up just one run over 5 2/3 innings to lead Waseda University to its first national collegiate championship in over 30 years. He scattered seven hits and fanned six while starting for the second time in as many days.

For his efforts, Saito was named tournament MVP, becoming the first freshman to ever take home the honours. Saito first gained prominence last year when he propelled Waseda Jitsugyo to a national high school championship.

An article I read today in the Columbus Dispatch, while not quite qualifying for our traditional ‘What the Hell Ever Happened to’.’ series, interested me enough that I thought I’d recount the tale of Robin Jennings.

To set the stage, does anyone remember Jennings, an outfielder/first baseman who, despite his low draft status, rose to become a Southern League All-Star in 1995 and the 10th best prospect for the Cubs in 1996?

Now 35, Jennings is back in organized baseball with the Nationals organization, playing professionally for the first time since 2003.

The chances of him making it back to the majors are pretty slim, but according to Triple-A Columbus manager John Stearns, Jennings was the best hitter in the minor league camp for the Nats this spring ‘ good enough for him to land a minor league job at Double-A. The team would have actually preferred to place him at Triple-A, but there were too many candidates and not enough roster spots.

Let’s recap his career and how he wound up back in professional baseball.

Taken in the 33rd round in 1991 by the Cubs, Jennings rose through the team’s minor league system fairly quickly, really arriving as a serious prospect after his All-Star season at Double-A in 1995 when he hit .296 with 71 runs, 51 extra-base hits and 79 RBI in 490 at-bats with a strong batting eye (44 walks/61 strikeouts).

The following year, he was even better in a half-season at Triple-A, mashing 18 homers and driving in 56 runs with a fine 880 OPS in 86 games. That earned him his first taste of big-league ball, 31 games with the Cubs down the stretch in 1996.

Injuries stalled his career over the next three years, as Jennings saw action in just 14 games with the Cubs over that stretch before the team let him walk as a free agent.

He signed a minor league deal with the Twinkies in the fall of 1999 and despite an excellent run with their Triple-A team (91 games, 70 runs, 11 homers, 61 RBI, 35 walks, 45 strikeouts, .310/.371/.536), Jennings never got the call and was released on July 25, 2000. The Reds grabbed him a few days later and he mashed his way to a 1050 OPS thanks to five homers good for 27 RBI in 32 games for Cincy’s Triple-A team. Yet his reward for that six-week barrage was to be released.

That winter, Jennings signed with the A’s, and spent 20 games in the majors with Oakland in 2001 before getting dealt to Colorado in July for Ron Gant. He appeared in all of one game as a Rockie and two weeks and change later was again involved in a trade, this time getting sent with Todd Walker back to Cincy for Alex Ochoa.

And then came Jennings’ last hurrah as a big leaguer. In 27 games with the Reds, he hit very well (.286), a performance highlighted by a career day in which he drove in seven runs in a game.

He’s never been back to the Show since.

In 2002 and 2003, Jennings remained with the Reds, playing in Double-A and Triple-A before a shoulder injury that would have required him to miss the entire 2004 season prompted him to throw in the towel and call it a career.

At least, that is, until this winter, when the itch returned. Jennings was filming an instructional hitting video as part of his job with a strength and conditioning company and he suddenly rediscovered his love of the game. So off he headed to try out for the Nationals, and he was good enough to land a minor league gig at Double-A.

As teammate Chris Michalek said, “He came to camp in shape. It’s not like he was sitting around eating cheeseburgers and taking naps.” Oh, damn. So that’s what I’ve been doing wrong.

Jennings recorded a decent 790 OPS in 22 Double-A games before getting a promotion to Triple-A to replace the injured Larry Broadway. Even though he’s picked up the pace a bit lately with six RBI in the last 10 games, Jennings is only batting .230 through 30 games and 100 at-bats, so it’s not as if he’s putting himself on the map for a call up to the majors. While he offers some nice left-handed pop, Jennings struggles mightily against southpaws, and, in fact, he could very well be headed back to Double-A once Broadway returns. And that, perhaps, may again make him decide to call it a day.

Still, I find it more than just a little ironic that he’s outlived all the players that he was traded with or for. Gant is long gone; Walker looks to be finished after the A’s released him last month and Ochoa was cut from from the PaSox last month. Yet Jennings plays on.

Jamie Moyer has been roughed up in his last two starts, including last night, when he endured the worst bitch slapping he’s had as a Phillie, courtesy of the Jays.

It’s pretty well time to stick a fork in him right?

Uh, not so fast.

This 44-year-old lefty has been defying the odds with a fastball that can barely break a pane of glass since the Cubs drafted him in the sixth round way back in 1984. Why stop now?

Obviously the Phillies still think he’s got plenty left in the tank. After arriving in a late-season deal from Seattle last year, Moyer really got the job done, winning five times in eight starts including a 4-1 September that helped get the Phils back in the Wild Card race, even though the team seemingly raised the white flag with its moves earlier in the season.

Based on that performance, we corrected assumed that they would want the crafty southpaw back this year. What we didn’t expect was that they would want him for two more years. But sure, enough, Philly handed him $10.5 million in October for another two years of service.

Despite last night’s brutal start, Philadelphia’s faith in Moyer has been justified. He had pitched seven straight quality starts to open the campaign, and prior to last night, had a 12-4 record as a Philly, a run that included going at least six innings 15 times in 16 starts.

This doesn’t sound like a pitcher on his last legs. In fact, it’s just the opposite. Moyer’s name must be included in any discussion of the true workhorses in the game. He’s pitched at least 200 innings in six straight years and eight of the last nine. The only active pitcher with a longer streak is Livan Hernandez, who has done it seven straight times.

That kind of durability is a rare commodity is this age of peanut brittle pitchers. So what if he’s old enough to have gone to Woodstock? Who cares that he started the Geritol Bowl a week and a half ago against Randy Johnson? (By the way, it’s worth noting that this was the first time those two squared off since September 21, 1989 ‘ the longest gap between two starters facing each other in major league history.)

Saturday’s slaughter at the hands of the Jays ‘ 3 1/3 innings, eight hits and seven runs ‘ marked his shortest outing since Moyer pitched just 2 1/3 innings against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium on May 11, 2005. The last time he gave up seven earned runs in a game? Last July, against Boston.

Actually, it could have been worse last night. Moyer managed to avoid one of his greatest nemeses. Because the game was in a National League park, normal Toronto DH Frank Thomas was given the day off. Good thing, considering the Big Hurt has inflicted plenty of pain on Moyer over the years (.356, six homers, 13 RBI).

Obviously, you just need to keep Moyer away from those AL East teams.

Moyer is a definite NL-only league asset, and has some appeal in deeper mixed leagues. He’s proved he’s still capable of going out there and baffling teams. On April 19, he took a shutout into the ninth inning against the Nats (okay, so perhaps I could shut out the Nats too), and 10 days later he had a no-hitter through 6 2/3 innings against a decidedly better offense in Florida.

I’m definitely concerned that he’s given up six homers in the last three starts after yielding just one dinger over his first six starts, but Moyer’s track record for making adjustments leads me to believe he’ll be able to stem that trend soon enough.

When he came to Philly, Moyer was given a mutual option for 2007 as part of the deal. Many expected that he’d crumble taken out of the pitcher’s paradise that is Safeco Field. After all, his ERA at home the past three years was 3.89 vs. 5.45 on the road. Moving to the bandbox that is Citizen’s Bank Park would be disastrous for him, right?

Again, not so fast.

What we failed to include in our assessments was just how good this guy is at making adjustments. Going from a great pitcher’s park to a fantastic hitter’s park? No problem. Just start getting more ground balls. As basic as it sounds, that’s exactly what Moyer did. As a Mariner last year, he got 209 ground balls outs to 233 fly ball outs. That kind of ratio would have killed him in Philly, so just like that, he made a massive adjustment. In his eight starts as a Phillie last year, the ratio was 83 ground ball outs against 51 fly ball outs.

Apparently, it’s just that simple for Moyer. No wonder he’s been at it for 22 big league seasons and is signed through for a 23rd.

I was doing one of my thousands of daily Google searches and I stumbled upon a blast from the past: Beau Hale.

Taken 14th overall in the 2000 draft, Hale is symptomatic of an era when the Orioles struggled badly to draft and develop homegrown talent.

He enjoyed a decent pro debut, but even in his first season, the arm troubles began. Hale was middling at best in 2002, and then came arm issues serious enough for him to miss two full years.

Hale returned in 2005, pitching mostly out of the bullpen at High-A, but he was clearly not back to full strength. Last season, however, he enjoyed some very nice success and made it back to Double-A for the first time since 2002, earning Baltimore’s Minor League Comeback Player of the Year honours for his efforts.

Now 28, it’s hard to imagine Hale ever becoming more than a middle reliever, and it was rather disappointing to discover that he’s not in the O’s big league camp. But given that the O’s signed a large number of minor league pitchers this offseason, it’s reasonable to assume he was lost in the shuffle and wound up in minor league camp instead.

The former Longhorn carried on his success from 2006 into the fall when he married his college sweetheart.

Given how far Hale has had to come to battle back and his one-time stud prospect status, there are a lot of O’s followers who would love to see him one day get a chance at Camden Yards. If he can duplicate his success from last season, he should at least earn his first taste of Triple-A action if nothing else.

And why not? A 22-year-old kid who just belted 30 homers, drove in almost 140 runs and hit .304 is sure going to garner attention.

The problem was, he wasn’t actually 22.

When baseball’s AgeGate ensued (a crack down on the liberties being taken with international players’ ages), it was revealed that Silvestre was born in 1976, not 1978 as long assumed.

The feats he accomplished at High-A were actually done at the age of 24 — significantly affecting his prospect status. It just took a couple of years before that came to light.

By then, Silvestre had pretty much weeded himself out of the mix with his performance. He was never able to make the leap to Double-A with any success.

The story of Juan Silvestre should serve as a cautionary tale for prospect followers in Fantasy keeper leagues. It’s so important to look beyond the numbers. And while it’s easy in retrospect to see the warning signs that Silvestre wasn’t going to cut it, the reality is we had no reason to suspect his birthdate was pure fiction. We also had no reason to wonder how a kid that was just 5′11″, 180 pounds was capable of mashing 30 homers. Now, I have no cause to suggest that Silvestre had “a little extra boost” to help him put up such prodigious power totals, but history has taught us to wonder, if nothing else.

At any rate, poor strike zone judgment that was evident as far back as Low-A (22 walks, 98 strikeouts in 1998 in the Midwest League) was going to doom him at the higher levels. And right on cue, Silvestre’s line in his first taste of Double A (.228/.270/.328) told us plenty.

It also told the Mariners plenty, and by next season, Silvestre was in the Rangers’ organization. He lasted just one year in the Texas system, batting .146 in 96 at-bats at Double-A Tulsa, and that was it for Silvestre’s run at organized ball. The following season, he played briefly with Bangor of the Independant Northeast League, but a .224 BA and no homers in almost 100 at-bats spelled the end of his diamond days.

We also explore the demise of Frank Robinson and how before his firing he endangered several key members of his bullpen.

Get all this and more in this week’s Spikes Up.

The National League’s worst team committed six errors on Tuesday night, fell behind 7-0, yet somehow pulled out a win. The club’s improbable 9-8 win over the Dodgers gave Chicago something it hasn’t had since the middle of August ‘ back-to-back wins.

Surely, that must be a sign the team could yet finish this forgettable season on a high note. In between winning streaks, after all, a 3-18 streak plummeted the Cubbies below even Pittsburgh for the basement of the NL Central.

The pitching staff has once again been decimated by injuries. Only the lowly Devil Rays have scored less runs in all of baseball. There’s not much to hang your hat on. But let’s try anyways.

For starters, Derrek Lee is back. No, he has not delivered even a small fraction of what you expected when you took him in all likelihood with a top 10 pick this year. NL-only leagues probably grabbed him as high as third given his dominating 2005 season.

But with six RBI in the past two games, Lee looks like he plans on trying to make up for lost time. Monday he crushed two balls with the kind of authority he hasn’t shown all season. His 18th career multi-homer game and first in over a year suggests Lee is still a force to be reckoned with.

The big question is what kind of value will Lee have heading into 2007? After signing a huge five-year deal before this season, he’ll be stuck in Chicago for several seasons, for better or for worse.

He’s obviously no longer a top 10 pick in mixed leagues, but with four homers, 13 RBI and a BA of almost .310 so far in September, Lee looks like he could be a 2007 sleeper. That seems ridiculous, of course. The thought that a top 10 player could fly under anyone’s radar is crazy. But plenty of owners will fixate on his lost season and pick someone else.

Don’t play that game. Whatever you do, do not let Lee fall below the 25th pick in next season’s draft. If he’s still on the draft board and you pass on him with a late second-rounder or early third rounder, you’ll be sorry.

The Giants have been among baseball’s most inconsistent, difficult to assess teams this season. They’re in the race, they’re not. They’re back in it. Maddening for fans and prognasticators alike.

Between July 23 and August 13, a 3-16 run made San Francisco the worst team in baseball and left them nine games under .500 and in dead last in the NL West, seven and a half games behind division leader Los Angeles and six and a half out in the Wild Card race. It looked like you could stick a syringe, so to speak, in the Giants’ season.

Since then, however, led by a rejuvenated Barry Bonds and a scorching Ray Durham, the Giants have been baseball’s best team with a 17-7 mark. San Francisco’s great run has it back over .500 at 71-70, sitting a mere four games behind the Dodgers in the West, but more importantly, only two and a half back of NL Wild Card leading San Diego, with just Philly between the two Western rivals.

Now San Francisco has the advantage of controlling its own destiny by going head to head with the Padres this weekend at AT&T Park. The Giants rode Matt Cain’s excellent effort Friday to take the opener 4-0, for their fifth straight win over San Diego and 10th in the last 11 tries. And this afternoon, San Francisco sends its ace, Jason Schmidt, to the mound as it seeks its first six-game winning streak over the Padres in 11 years, but more importantly looks to shave San Diego’s tenuous Wild Card lead.

That brings us to Schmidt and the (quite buried) purpose of this missive. Schmidt, 11-8, 3.39, has had a nice comeback season as he sort of settles in between 2004’s dominance and 2005’s disappointment.

Notwithstanding his last outing (eight hits, three runs over seven innings), Schmidt has not looked sharp of late. He was absolutely rolling in the first half — especially in May and June — but a 4.62 ERA since the break is disconcerting.

So which Schmidt will show up this afternoon? Well, he’s been middling against the Padres; 1-1 this year, and 11-9, 4.76 in 26 career starts, so that’s no indication.

The 33-year-old righty is 7-1, 3.14 at home (vs. 4-7, 3.65 on the road), so that’s a big advantage, right? But, wait. This is an afternoon game and Schmidt is far worse in day games (2-3, 4.15) than he is under the lights (9-5, 2.90). Again, inconclusive.

Whichever Schmidt takes the mound today — staff ace or middling starter — there’s no denying what a great recovery he’s made after a 2005 season (4.40) that seemed to suggest he was no longer among the NL’s elite pitchers.

While he has not been able to duplicate his Cy Young-type 2004 showing, there’s nothing wrong with these stats: Schmidt is fifth in the NL in holding opponents to a .234 mark; sixth in ERA; sixth in complete games; and he’s also in the top 10 in strikeouts and WHIP (despite 69 walks, which is also a top 10 total).

He’s aleady thrown more innings than he did in 2005 when he struggled with some health issues, and while his strikeout rate (7.49 Ks per nine) has dropped for a second straight year (again, suggesting a reduction in dominance levels). Schmidt has improved his ability to record outs quicker in the count and to get through innings with less work. He’s also shown much better command in 2006 compared to last year.

Schmidt has morphed into a bit more of a flyball pitcher over the last couple of years but, thanks to an extent to his home park, this has not manifested itself into a home run problem.

Of course, fantasy owners may need to be concerned about his long-term results should this be a trend. Remember that Schmidt is a free agent after the season, and there’s a good chance he will land elsewhere, and — depending on where that is — it could have a huge impact on his 2007 fantasy value.

Well, here’s one that in all likelihood is on your AL-only league’s waiver wire, and certainly is if you play in a mixed league.

The question is, how does a starting pitcher make the All-Star game in a season when his ERA is the worst of his career, he has a WHIP of 1.55 and he’s allowing his opponents to hit over .300 against him?

Simple. When you play for the Kansas City Royals, with those numbers, you are an All-Star. And that’s how Mark Redman will go down as a 2006 All-Star, regardless of the fact he’s a mediocre pitcher at the best of times who is suffering through the worst year of his career.

Redman rode one good, well-timed month to his selection. He went 5-0, 3.74 in June, at a time when All-Star selectors were paying the most attention, and that’s why a pitcher with 60 Ks against 52 walks is an “All-Star.”

Redman has actually garned fantasy attention in AL-only leagues this week, after throwing a five-hit shutout against the Twins on Tuesday. So that means you want him active this afternoon against the White Sox, right? Uh, no.

In his last start against Chicago, August 14, Redman lasted just 3 2/3 innings and was rocked for 10 hits and eight runs. In 12 career appearances (10 of them starts) against the White Sox, Redman is 3-4, 5.59.

Before that gem on Tuesday, Redman had absolutely struggled in August, so it’s hard to believe he’s suddenly useful again, not without seeing some longer-term results first.

One thing I find amazing is that Redman was actually a discussed trade commodity at the deadline, as several teams, the Jays among them, sought to add the veteran lefty for their playoff push.

In retrospect, how bad do you think the Royals wish they had rid themselves of Redman and his $4.5-million salary? Redman is a free agent after this season, and something tells me he won’t have much luck matching the three-year, $11-million deal that Oakland gave him.

He was in the midst of a season that would include his first taste of not only Triple-A, but a 21-game major league trial; a year that would be highlighted by recognition as the Reds’ Minor Leaguer of the Year and national exposure for hitting the game-winning home run in the Futures Game.

Indeed, after that dominating Double-A performance (.310, 19 homers, 11 steals) before his promotion to Triple-A , Smitherman looked like a can’t-miss prospect and serious keeper league selection.

Well, plenty can change in three years because since then, Smitherman has not returned to the majors. In fact, this season, he hasn’t even played above Double-A ball as his career has spiralled into a serious mode of regression.

In 2004, Smitherman was decent, if unspectular, in his first full year of Triple-A, recording a 760 OPS and scoring 55 runs with 35 doubles and 10 homers, but just five steals in 129 games. Last year, however, he struggled in Triple-A (605 OPS in 40 games) and had to be sent back down to Double-A where in 86 games he was better (865 OPS), but still not as good as he was in that breakout 2003 campaign.

Somewhat surprisingly, the Reds tired of their 23rd round pick from 2000, cutting Smitherman free this spring. The 6′4″, 235-pounder caught on in the Padres’ organization, and has spent the season at Double-A Mobile.

Has the change in scenery helped? Hell, no.

Smitherman has struggled badly this year, with just an 825 OPS through 79 games. At this point, if he has even a three-year run as a fourth or fifth major league outfielder, that would be surprising. Smitherman turns 28 on Friday and is batting just .176 over his last 10 games, so he certainly does not look ready to even head back to Triple-A.

Smitherman is a good illustration of how a very fine-looking prospect can suddenly become an organizational player after slipping off track for just a year or two. When you’re picking prospects to line your keeper league system with, you need to beat the bushes hard to weed out the Stephen Smithermans from the Joe Mauers of the world.

After driving in a ridiculous 144 runs last year, Teixeira looked like a shell of himself this season, producing a mere 49 runs batted in over 350 at-bats prior to the All-Star break.

Then, the real Teixeira emerged. The Ranger first baseman has been on fire since the break, driving in 23 runs in just 107 at-bats. He’s already matched his first-half home run output with nine and he’s walked 30 times to move into sixth place in the AL in that department.

Teixeira has traditionally been a better second-half player, but never to this extreme. After batting .275/.353/.445 in the first half, he’s .327/.471/.626 in the second half (his 1097 OPS since the break tops the American League). It’s not as if Teixeira’s slowing down either, as evidenced by a .364 mark in the past week.

This kind of run is not unprecedented by Teixeira, but it seems more shocking and sudden now when compared to his substandard first-half performance. Last year, he hit .315 with 18 homers and 71 RBI after the break. In fact, over the past three years, no one in baseball has more second-half RBI than Teixeira.

If you’re a Teixeira owner, sit back and enjoy the ride. You know at the very least he’ll be in the lineup every day as he has for 403 straight games now — the second-longest streak in Ranger history and second-longest active streak in baseball.

Chris Michalak, a 35-year-old veteran just brought up yesterday from Triple-A when Kent Mercker landed on the DL, threw 6.2 innings of three-hit, one-run ball to help the Reds hold off Philadelphia and ultimately earn a massive victory that allowed the club to maintain its tenuous Wild Card lead and stop the Phils from pulling within one game of them.

Despite being thrown right into a playoff-type environment, Michalak was able to win his first game since 2001. “It makes all the years in the minors and all the hard work worthwhile,” he said.

Michalak, originally taken by Oakland with the 349th pick of the 1993 draft, has been with 11 different organizations, not including three stints with Arizona and two with the Rangers. Obviously, he is well versed on living out of a suitcase. Michalak last appeared in the majors in 2002 with Texas, but this season he was enjoying his finest Triple-A campaign, going 9-5, 2.99 with 61 strikeouts at Louisville to earn the call.

Cincinnati was forced to virtually empty the bullpen (even using yesterday’s starter Elizardo Ramirez in relief) on Friday night in a 14-inning marathon, so Michalak’s performance was all the more vital when Ramirez could only last an inning and a third before relief was needed.

If the Reds do in fact hold on and win the Wild Card or perhaps even take the Central division outright, a gritty performance by an aging journeyman lefty one August afternoon could very well prove to be one of the turning points.

You can get the complete scoop on Pat the Bat here.

Kent originally was hurt one month ago yesterday and he missed six games heading into the All-Star break. When he returned on July 13, Kent was clearly scuffling, going just 3-for-16 in five games before he admitted that the pain was getting worse.

The Dodgers put him on the DL on July 18, meaning he was eligible to be activated Wednesday. A solid workout on Tuesday led to speculation that he’d be back in the lineup this weekend, but yesterday Kent and the team nixed that idea, saying they planned to be extra cautious given his previous setback upon returning too early. Apparently, Kent finds tying his shoes painful at this point. Hello? Velcro laces, anyone?

Now when Kent finally does get back in action, he’ll find his second base spot occupied by newcomer Julio Lugo. And there’s no way the Dodgers want Kent exposed to the grind of middle infield right away, so where can he play? Currently, first baseman Nomar Garciaparra is also on the DL and is eligible to come off Wednesday, but he won’t be back that quick. So it looks like Kent may have to man first for a while.

Kent, ever the (cough, cough) consummate team player, has resisted such a move before. But now — if he wants to play — he may have to suck it up and move over to first. Once Kent proves healthy enough to return to second, Lugo will shift over to third base and send another newcomer, Wilson Betemit, to the bench.

It will interesting to see whether Kent accepts the temporary move or starts whining like a primadonna. Either way, thanks to some astutute deadline deals, the Dodgers have plenty of infield options.

This is the task assigned to the 23-year-old Aybar, acquired less than a week ago from the LA Dodgers in a deal that sent Wilson Betemit out west. Of course, the very day the deal went down, so did third baseman Chipper Jones, reaggravating his oblique injury and forcing the Braves to put their backup in.

Unfortunately, Betemit was that backup.

And so the spotlight fell to a kid with just over 200 career at-bats, who was asked to help keep the Braves afloat at a time when the team is clinging for life, trying desperately to work their way back into the playoff race.

All Aybar’s done is bat .385 with a .467 OBP and play steady defense in his first three games with Atlanta, before taking an 0-for-4 today as the Braves tried in vain to complete a three-game sweep in Pittsburgh.

Atlanta has a tendency to trust young players and it proved it again by inserted Aybar at the top of the order. Marcus Giles, who’s openly discussed his disdain for batting leadoff, has been shifted back to his more customary second spot in the order, and that could be the tonic for him turning his sub-par season around.

Since joining the Braves, the switch-hitting Aybar has fared much better from the right side to date, batting 5-for-9 while going hitless as a lefty, but that’s an abberation. Aybar tends to show almost no platoon split, exactly what you love to see from a switch hitter.

He’s a very difficult hitter to strike out and has a tremendous batting eye, with 1.31 walks to every strikeout in his career to date. Aybar won’t chase pitches, rare for such a young hitter, and he tends to be a good situational hitter (.324 with runners in scoring position after batting .471 last year; .333 when there’s two outs in that situation).

The Braves are impressed with the young Aybar in the early going, but it’s doubtful his long-term future will be as a lead-off hitter. The organization sees him batting lower in the order down the road.

In fantasy leagues, Aybar is being scooped up real quickly in NL-only leagues, so grab him fast. He’s even started to get plucked in very, very deep mixed leagues.

Once Jones returns, expect Aybar to fill the main utility role that Betemit handled previously.

Burke slugged 20 homers this year for his Ooltewah, Ten., high school, becoming the first player to reach that plateau in state high school baseball play since 1998, when current Mariner outfielder Jeremy Reed turned the trick. That feat cinched it: Burke was to become an outfielder as a professional.

The stellar season (he hit .459 with 59 RBI and 55 runs) also earned him recognition by being named to the 2006 EA Sports All-America High School Baseball Team as an outfielder.

Taken as a sandwich pick, 35th overall by San Diego, Burke passed up a chance to go to Vanderbilt by signing with the Padres.

After signing in mid-June, Burke was assigned to the Padres’ Rookie level team in the Arizona League. He got off to a fast start, hitting safely in seven of his first eight pro games, but has struggled somewhat since then.

The 18-year-old has scored 15 runs in 19 games and 76 at-bats, but has managed just one dinger with only five RBI. Burke has drawn 10 walks, but fanned 25 times, so he clearly has plenty of work ahead of him. However, given his pedrigree, Burke is someone that keeper league owners will want to track.