LOS ANGELES ANGELS

Orlando Cabrera, who is batting .248 since the All-Star break, revealed that he has been playing with a sore thumb for over a month.  It seems to be affecting his power and ability to make contact. 

Juan Rivera now has 20 home runs, 67 RBIs and a .301 batting average.  His high G/F ratio of 1.36 suggests the pace of home runs will slow down

Adam Kennedy drew a suspension of four games for charging the mound against Texas on Wednesday night.  Because the Angels are scheduled to face three southpaws in the next four games, Kennedy will forego the appeals process and begin serving his suspension immediately.

Dallas McPherson suffered an injured ribcage in a minor league rehab game.  This should keep him out of the majors for another few weeks.  With Maicer Izturis playing well, he probably won’t even have his starting job back when he returns.

OAKLAND ATHLETICS

The A’s will probably activate Bobby Crosby from the DL today.  Crosby has been out with a lower back strain. 

Mark Ellis has 5 home runs and 24 RBIs since All-Star break.  He needs to recapture the gains he made last year in his contact rate and batting eye for his .224 average to show improvement.

Milton Bradley is having a disappointing season that has been interrupted with a sprained right knee and a strained oblique muscle.  Whether it is the injuries or other factors, Bradley’s skills are either stagnant or regressing.  At age 28, his power should be peaking, yet it is off from what he produced over the previous three seasons.  With a .74 batting, he is exercising good plate patience, but a low contact rate of 81% is keeping a lid on his batting average, currently at .270.

SEATTLE MARINERS

Gil Meche has been hit hard in his last five starts, allowing 22 ER in 20.2 innings.  A loss of control is the biggest culprit in this collapse.  He has allowed 20 walks in those five starts, including 6 in a one-inning disaster start against the Rangers.  He is worth keeping around because he had been pitching so well previous to these starts.  But it is advised to keep him reserved until he pitches a couple of games where he limits the walks.

On the other hand, Joel Pineiro has been bad all year.  His ERA now stands at 6.34.  With a K/9 of 4.3 and a BB/9 of 3.5, it will not get much better.  Shoulder and elbow injuries have taken a toll on his K/9, which resided in the 6.3 to 7.1 range when he had past success.  Avoid him in all formats.

Chris Snelling was activated from the DL.  He will serve primarily as a pinch-hitter, which for the time being leaves him with no fantasy value.

TEXAS RANGERS

Kip Wells went on the DL with a stretched ligament in his foot and could miss anywhere from a month to the rest of the season.  John Koronka was called up and will get the start on Saturday in Detroit.  He is not recommended in any format.

On Wednesday, Adam Eaton pitched a good game at home against the Angels, going 7 innings, allowing 2 ER and 2 walks, while striking out 5.  He is a good play in his next start on the road against the Devil Rays.

Brad Wilkerson finally threw the towel in on a bad season by electing to have shoulder surgery.  Nelson Cruz and Matt Stairs will now platoon in the DH role.  As a right-handed batter, Cruz gets the short end of the stick.  In just 27 AB, he has shown some pop with 2 home runs.  However, he will need to exercise more plate patience and make better contact if he is going to see time against right-handed pitching.

Vincente Padilla was suspended for five games for throwing at Juan Rivera in Tuesday’s game.  If he decides not to appeal and immediately begin serving the suspension, he will miss his start on Sunday at Detroit.  John Rheinecker or Robinson Tejada will be called up for a start.  Neither is recommended in any format.