Interleague Mania (a good read for fantasy players)

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Interleague Mania!



by Tristan H. Cockcroft

Interleague play is here!
Over its 12 years of existence, interleague play has drawn in the fans; the games have seen an increase in attendance each season since 2004. But besides being a fun late-spring spectacle, there are plenty of fantasy ramifications for the upcoming weekend's interleague affairs. Here are a few notes and tidbits to keep in mind:
&#8226 American League teams that visit National League parks lose their DHs, and NL teams that visit AL parks gain designated hitters. As a result, NL pitchers must face one more big-league-level hitter than normal, while AL pitchers get one almost-automatic out, the pitcher.
• AL teams apparently have the advantage; the AL won 149 of 252 interleague games in 2008 and 440 of 756 such contests the past three seasons combined.
Five players most affected by the addition/subtraction of the DH this weekend
Hank Blalock/Chris Davis, Rangers: Both are left-handed, both are in double digits in home runs already and both are batting below .250. Still, they can't both play first base. Expect an unpredictable rotation. My best guess is that the more experienced Blalock will start two of the three games.
Billy Butler, Royals: The Cardinals' rotation is entirely right-handed, and Mike Jacobs, typically Kansas City's DH, has yet to sit a game against a right-hander this season. In fact, Butler has started at first base in just six of the 22 games the Royals have played against right-handers, so Butler might be relegated to pinch-hit duties the entire weekend.
Mat Gamel, Brewers: The Brewers will get the DH in Minnesota, and that's a position this guy was born to play. Gamel tore up Triple-A with a .336 batting average and 1.075 OPS this season, but he also committed eight errors in 33 games for a .918 fielding percentage. If he's not in the lineup as the Milwaukee DH all three games, each expected to be against a righty starter, I'll be shocked.
Gary Sheffield, Mets: Sheff appeared in 225 of his 247 combined games for the Tigers in 2007 and 2008 at DH, so it's only natural that he'll be the Mets' DH this weekend in Boston. He also is plenty familiar with Fenway Park, where he has batted .282 with an .853 OPS in 29 games since 2002.
Matt Stairs, Phillies: That the Yankees will throw two lefties in their three games against Philadelphia might seem to play against Stairs, but he has been the Phillies' most productive bench bat, not to mention the one most suited to DH. He surely will start at least twice, and remember, new Yankee Stadium sure does play in lefty sluggers' favor.
Storylines
Dan Haren returns to Oakland for the first time since his trade by the Athletics following the 2007 season. Haren broke out as a fantasy fixture with a 15-win, 3.07 ERA performance for the Athletics in 2007, helped quite a bit by the pitching-friendly atmosphere of McAfee Coliseum. He was 8-4 with a 2.82 ERA in 17 home starts in his final year in Oakland, and remember, the Athletics can't hit.
Randy Johnson returns to Seattle in pursuit of career win No. 299. Oh, if only the "Big Unit" had defeated the Mets in his most recent start; then he'd be going for his 300th in the city in which he first made a name for himself. But don't make the mistake of saying Johnson is returning to Safeco Field, because that park opened the year after he departed for Houston. He has made three trips to Safeco since, and managed a 1.50 ERA and 0.92 WHIP in those starts.
The defending champion Phillies make the trek up the New Jersey Turnpike for their first visit to new Yankee Stadium. Considering how much the Phillies' rotation has underperformed, this might not be a good thing for anyone but the Yankees' hitters. The three starters scheduled to work for the Phillies during their weekend series have a combined 5.37 ERA, 1.48 WHIP and 23 homers in 21 starts.
Five hitters who seem to love interleague play
Coco Crisp, Royals: Known for his speed, Crisp transforms into a hitter when interleague play rolls around. He has batted .319 (37-for-116) with six home runs to go along with four steals in 31 interleague games the past two seasons.
Adam Dunn, Nationals: Maybe he should have considered hopping over to the AL as a free agent this past winter; he's a .272 hitter (31-for-114) with 12 homers, 23 RBIs and a 1.021 OPS in 33 interleague games the past two seasons.
Corey Hart, Brewers: His OPS in interleague games (.954) is more than 150 points greater than his career OPS (.802), and he has 11 home runs, 28 RBIs, 23 runs scored and four stolen bases in 28 such games the past two years.
Aubrey Huff, Orioles: In his three years with the Orioles, he's a .360 hitter (64-for-178) with nine homers, 30 RBIs and a 1.015 OPS in 48 interleague games, and in his eight-year career, he's a .307 hitter during interleague play.
Derek Jeter, Yankees: One of the 10 best hitters in interleague history with a .335 career average, and it's not all early career performance driven. In '07 and '08, Jeter batted .376 with a 1.045 OPS in 36 interleague contests.
Tristan addressed interleague-play lineups in his Week 7 Fantasy Forecaster. Get the latest at ESPN Fantasy.
 

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