Pitching Report: Week 20

     While there may be tons of two-start options this week, I am pretty leary about some of the options.  We’ve got a bunch of no-brainers leading the way — guys like Tim Lincecum, CC Sabathia and Justin Verlander to name a few — but then we’ve got a whole mess of unproven talent available.  What’s worse is that there aren’t too many I like.  There are some like maybe Bud Norris or Tommy Hunter that I would opt to go with on a particular day, but my Red Light district is pretty full this week.  Here’s a look at how I see some things…

Green Light Pitchers

1. CC Sabathia — @ OAK;  @ BOS
2. Tim Lincecum — @ CIN;  @ COL
3. A.J. Burnett — @ OAK;  @ BOS
4. Justin Verlander — vs SEA;  @ OAK
5. Felix Hernandez — @ DET;  @ CLE
6. Chris Carpenter — @ LAD;  @ SD
7. Mark Buehrle — vs KC;  vs BAL  **start of the week**
8. Ubaldo Jimenez — @ WAS;  vs SF
9. Derek Lowe — @ NYM;  vs FLA
10. Josh Beckett — @ TOR;  vs NYY
11. Tommy Hanson — vs ARI;  vs FLA
12. Francisco Liriano — @ TEX;  @ KC  **sleeper of the week**
13. Pedro Martinez — vs ARI;  @ NYM

Yellow Light Pitchers

1. Ryan Dempster — @ SD;  @ LAD
2. Max Scherzer — @ ATL;  @ HOU
3. Chad Billingsley — vs STL;  vs CHC
4. Ervin Santana — @ BAL;  @ TOR
5. David Price — vs BAL;  vs TEX
6. Tommy Hunter — vs MIN;  @ TB
7. Livan Hernandez — vs SF;  vs PHI
8. Scott Feldman — vs MIN;  @ TB
9. Kevin Hart — vs MIL;  vs CIN
10. Scott Richmond — vs BOS;  vs LAA
11. Fausto Carmona — vs LAA;  vs SEA
12. Manny Parra — @ PIT;  @ WAS
13. Ted Lilly — @ SD;  @ LAD  **injury watch**
14. Bud Norris — vs FLA;  vs ARI

Red Light Pitchers

1. Ricky Nolasco — @ HOU;  @ ATL  **bust of the week**
2. Jon Garland — @ PHI;  @ HOU
3. Carlos Villanueva — @ PIT;  @ WAS  **super sleeper of the week**
4. Kevin Correia — vs CHC;  vs STL
5. Oliver Perez — vs ATL;  vs PHI
6. David Hernandez — vs LAA;  @ CHW
7. Homer Bailey — vs SF;  @ PIT
8. Carl Pavano — @ TEX;  @ KC
9. Vin Mazzaro — vs NYY;  vs DET
10. Brian Bannister — @ CHW;  vs MIN
11. Trevor Bell — @ CLE;  @ TOR
12. Jeff Weaver — vs STL;  vs CHC
13. Mitchell Boggs — @ LAD;  @ SD
14. Joe Martinez — @ NYM;  @ COL
15. Craig Stammen — vs COL;  vs MIL
16. Cesar Carrillo — vs CHC;  vs STL
17. Jason Berken — @ TB;  @ CHW

Side Notes:

     OK, so with my options for a Start of the Week, it was tough to not pick the easy route.  Guys like Lincecum, Sabathia and Verlander were all prime choices and its nto like you’d bench any of them anyway.  But with my options as limited as they are this week, I went with Mr. Perfect Game himself, Mark Buehrle.  He’s still a guy a lot of people play the matchups with, so I’m giving him my full endorsement to all those doubters out there.  Matchups against K.C. and Baltimore look pretty good in my book and would happily start him this week in any league.

     I’ll confess that it might be a little blind faith that I’m using Francisco Liriano as my Sleeper of the Week and not just red lighting him altogether.  Maybe I’m crazy, but I think he’s still got great stuff and has the opportunity to turn things around after a solid outing against the Royals last week.  I like his matchup against Texas as he’s had success against them in the past and doesn’t need to worry about Ian Kinsler or Nelson Cruz in the lineup this week.  And then, of course, he’s got Kansas City again.  Take a shot on him this week if you’re able.

     I really would have liked to use Josh Beckett as my Bust of the Week this week but instead have gone with Marlins hurler Ricky Nolasco.  Both have bad personal matchups this week, but I feel like Nolasco is going to have a much harder time recovering from his last outing (3 1/3 with 10 ER) than Beckett will have in his performances against division rivals Toronto and New York.  Nolasco doesn’t have great numbers against either Atlanta or Houston and although he bested the Braves a couple starts ago, I think he’s going to struggle this week.

     This is Ted Lilly’s first start back since the injury.  I’m not too keen on throwing him right into the mix for his first outing back, but if he does ok against the Padres and looks solid, then I don’t see why you wouldn’t start him against the Dodgers in L.A.

     Since moving into the rotation, Carlos Villanueva  hasn’t been too bad.  He’s gone 5 innings or more (and by more, I mean 5 1/3 and 5 2/3) and had only one glitch of an inning in those 3 starts.  He’s my Super Sleeper this week as I like his matchups this week against bottom feeding Pitsburgh and Washington and feel like this could be his time.  He’s not going to dazzle or crack the double digit strikeout barrier, but he coul dfare well against both teams and give your squad a little boost.

     And call me crazy, but I like Pedro Martinez this week.  I know he’s still easing his way back into form, but I like his matchups and think he’ll do the Phillies right.