The Lineup Card: Chirinos' Cheering Section

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Projected Starters- A look at Thursday's matchups (all times Eastern):

Royals (Danny Duffy - L) vs Rays (Jeff Niemann - R) 12:10
Padres (Cory Luebke - L) vs Mets (Jon Niese - L) 12:10
Rockies (Jhoulys Chacin - R) vs Reds (Johnny Cueto - R) 12:35
A's (Guillermo Moscoso - R) vs Blue Jays (Brad Mills - L) 12:37
Angels (Tyler Chatwood - R) vs Yankees (Bartolo Colon - R) 1:05
Nationals (Jordan Zimmermann - R) vs Cubs (Ryan Dempster - R) 2:20
White Sox (Mark Buerhle - L) vs Orioles (Chris Tillman - R) 7:05
Tigers (Justin Verlander - R) vs Indians (Fausto Carmona - R) 7:05
Brewers (Yovani Gallardo - R) vs Cardinals (Chris Carpenter - R) 8:15
Astros (Brett Myers - R) vs Diamondbacks (Joe Saunders - L) 9:40

Day after Night: KC/TB, SD/NY-M, COL/CIN, OAK/TOR, LA-A/NY-A, WAS/CH-N

Injuries

Day-to-Day

Brayan Pena, C, KC (paternity leave) - will likely return on the weekend
Coco Crisp, OF, OAK (strained calf) - will be back in lineup on the weekend
Justin Smoak, 1B, SEA (thumb) - may not return to lineup until Friday
Scott Feldman, P, TEX (finger-blister) - played catch without incident on Monday
Freddie Freeman, 1B, ATL (forearm) - sore after getting hit by pitch on Tuesday
Tommy Hanson, P, ATL (shoulder) - returning to Atlanta to have shoulder examined in more depth
Aramis Ramirez, 3B, CHI-N (back) - will sit to relieve back spasms
Brandon Phillips, 2B, CIN (elbow) - x-rays revealed no fractures; may miss up to five days
Huston Street, P, COL (chest) - resting for a few days because of soreness below his arm
Hanley Ramirez, SS, FLA (shoulder) - remains day to day despite taking some swings earlier this week
Dee Gordon, SS, LA-N (shoulder) - has tweaked it twice in last four days
Chris Narveson, P, MIL (thumb) - received eight stitches to close a cut and may miss at least one start
Manny Acosta, P, NY-N (finger) - will have an x-ray to determine extent of damage
Placido Polanco, 3B, PHI (sports hernia) - received anti-inflammatory injection; will be examined Friday
Derrek Lee, 1B, PIT (hand) - scratched from Wednesday's lineup with recurring soreness
Orlando Hudson, 2B, SD (groin) - left Tuesday's game with a strain
Carlos Beltran, OF, SF (hand) - likely to rest until weekend
Nate Schierholtz, OF, SF (HIP) - will likely miss a couple of days of game action
Lance Lynn, P, STL (oblique) - strained left oblique in Tuesday's game; likely headed to DL

Players on the DL

J.D. Drew, OF, BOS (shoulder) - may be able to take batting practice on Friday
Bobby Jenks, P, BOS (back, colonscopy) - has left hospital but is a few weeks away from returning
Ramon Castro, C, CHI-A (hand) - now rehabbing injury after having cast and pins removed
Shin-Soo Choo, OF, CLE (thumb) - will be on a rehab assignment for about one week
Grady Sizemore, OF, CLE (knee/sports hernia) - still hasn't resumed baseball activities
Justin Morneau, 1B, MIN (neck) - could be activated from DL on Monday
Sergio Mitre, P, NY-A (shoulder) - will visit Dr. Andrews on Sunday about pinched nerve
Alex Rodriguez, 3B, NY-A (knee) - ran bases on Tuesday; targeting a return next week
Brian Tallet, P, TOR (chest) - expected to throw a simulated game on Thursday
Brian McCann, C, ATL (oblique) - will start rehab assignment on Friday; likely return on Sunday or Monday
Zack Cozart, SS, CIN (elbow) - considering season-ending surgery
Jason Giambi, 1B, COL (quadriceps) - no problems in rehab; should rejoin club on Friday
Jonathan Broxton, P, LA-N (elbow) - throwing again, but may only rejoin club in September
Ike Davis, 1B, NY-N (ankle) - expected to miss the rest of the season
Joe Blanton, P, PHI (elbow) - could require surgery
Alex Presley, OF, PIT (hand) - began rehab assignment of Tuesday
Ernesto Frieri, P, SD (back) - feeling better on Tuesday; awaiting clearance to resume throwing
Pat Burrell, OF, SF (foot) - headed to North Carolina for second opinion on his bone spur
Barry Zito, P, SF (foot) - will make one more rehab start this week before possible return
Stephen Strasburg, P, WAS - makes his next rehab start on Friday at High-A Potomac

Transactions - Players who have been demoted, called up, traded, released, you name it. We'll cover it here.

Called Up

Garrett Richards, P, LAA
Henry Sosa, P, HOU
Henderson Alvarez, P, TOR
Travis Wood, P, CIN
Arodys Vizcaino, P, ATL
Salvador Perez, C, KC
Edgar Goinzalez, P, COL
Reid Brignac, SS, TB

Sent Down

Horacio Ramirez, P, LAA
Rodarrick Jones, OF, PIT
Tyler Glasnow, P, PIT
Alex Hinshaw, P, SF (outright release)
Ian Stewart, 3B, COL
David Purcey, P, DET (outright release)
Scott Proctor, P, ATL (outright release)
Kyle Davies, P, KC (outright release)

Placed on DL

Scott Baker, P, MINN (right flexor strain)
Logan Ondrusek, P, CIN (retroactive to Aug 8 - strained right forearm)
Andres Blanco, SS, TEX (lower back inflammation)
Francisco Rodriguez, P, LA-A (transferred to 60 day DL)
Justin Ruggiano, OF, TB (retroactive to Aug 7 - left knee bursitis)
Matt Lidstrom, P, COL (nerve injury in upper right arm)

Activated from DL

Alexi Ogando, P, TEX

Signed

Carter Capps, P, SEA
Kevin Millwood, P, COL

Closer Watch

LA Angels- The Angels continue to give the ball to rookie closer Jordan Walden, who registered his 26th save of the season in Tuesday's win at New York. That and his 2.74 ERA, along with a .217 opposing batting average is the good news. However, he has also blown seven saves. He will have to improve that success rate to hold onto the closer job into next season.

Atlanta - Rookie fireballer Craig Kimbrell converted his 36th save in 41 opportunities earlier this week and continues to pile up other impressive numbers. He has pitched to a tidy 1.87 ERA over 57.2 innings pitched (in 59 appearances). He has an amassed 89 strikeouts and held opponents to a minuscule .170 batting average. While his walk total (23 free passes) seems a bit high, it is a tolerable blemish in the arsenal of this powerful young arm.

Colorado - With the weary arm of Huston Street (29 saves in 32 opportunities) causing him to sit for at least a few days, some other relievers will be in line for some late-game heroics. Veteran righty Rafael Betancourt registered his first save of the year with a perfect inning of work against the Reds on Tuesday night to position himself for any more upcoming opportunities. He's been in this temporary role throughout his career and now has 20 career saves.

Chicago White Sox- Sergio Santos is yet another young gun who is making a name for himself as a closer early in his career. With his save on Tuesday night, he now has preserved 24 wins in 27 attempts. Santos has held opponents to a puny .161 batting average, surrendering only 27 hits in 48.2 innings of work. He has also piled up an impressive 65 strikeouts along the way to cement his position at the back of this bullpen.

Arizona - J.J. Putz has turned back the clock to the best years of his career as a closer (2006 and 2007) to reprise his status as an effective closer in converting 27 of 31 save opportunities this season. Injuries and ineffective over the previous three seasons took him out of the closer role with the White Sox, Mets and Mariners but he is back in the groove this season. All of his numbers are impressive enough (.220 opponent batting average, only 10 walks, 37 strikeouts and a 1.07 WHIP in 40.1 innings pitched) are indicative of a closer who has a tight grip on the job in Arizona.

Recommended Pickup

Robinson Chirinos, C, TB - The Rays have turned to one of their top prospects to fill the role of every day catcher after watching John Jaso deal with nagging injuries and Kelly Shoppach struggling mightily on offense (a second straight year with a batting average less than .200) as well as being weak defensively. Chirinos has responded to the challenge by producing seven hits in 16 at bats in his last six games played. His on base percentage of .340 in his first 45 at bats is a tremendous upgrade over his veteran peers thus far and you can bet that the Rays will pin their hopes on him the rest of the way in 2011.

Other recent recommendations: Kyle Blanks, SD, Garrett Jones, OF, PIT, Jose Altuve, 2B, HOU, Dexter Fowler, OF, COL

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Draft Street Lineup

C - Ramon Hernandez, $5,665 (check lineups to make sure he plays)
1B - Albert Pujols, $8,684
2B - Kelly Johnson, $4,618
3B - Jose Bautista, $8,976
SS - Derek Jeter, $6,845
OF - Desmond Jennings, $8,539
OF - Justin Upton, $8,392
OF - Chris Young, $5,985
UTIL - Miguel Cabrera, $7,460
UTIL - Michael Morse, $7,474
SP - Jeff Niemann, $11,663
SP - Johnny Cueto, $11,519
RP - J.J. Putz, $2,384
P - Francisco Cordero, $1,698

Total: $99,902

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