Our weekly digest of everything fantasy baseball. Facts don't lie and The Lineup is full of 'em. Projections for the week of Sept. 16- Sept. 22. Stats through Sept. 14:



Colorado Rockies, OF
Stats: .320 AVG, 6 HR, 10 RBI, 9 R, 2 SB
Comment: Slammed two HR on Tuesday as he tries to make his case for NL MVP.

Boston Red Sox, DH
Stats: .455 AVG, 4 HR, 8 RBI, 7 R, 0 SB
Comment: Even in a "disappointing" season for fantasy owners, Ortiz still drilled a game-winning 2-run HR on Wednesday against Tampa Bay.

Chicago White Sox, DH
Stats: .318 AVG, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 5 R, 0 SB
Comment: With a home run on Wednesday, Thome is now just one long-ball away from the 500 club.


Tampa Bay Devil Rays, SP
Stats:1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 10 SO
Comment: Dominated the Red Sox on Monday. Big surprise there.

Minnesota Twins, SP
Stats:1-0, 1.29 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 10 SO
Comment: With Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Erik Bedard out, Santana is trying to cement his selection for another Cy Young award.

New York Mets, RP
Stats: 0-0, 4 SV, 0.00 ERA, 0.20 WHIP, 6 SO
Comment: Wagner has bounced back nicely from his horrific blown save against the Philadelphia Phillies on August 30.



San Diego Padres, 1B
Stats: .080 AVG, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 2 R, 0 SB
Comment: Loves having outfielder Milton Bradley hit in front of him, but he has been battling injury and ineffective of late.

New York Yankees, SS
Stats: .105 AVG, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 1 R, 0 SB
Comment: Knee injury seems to really be bothering him as he has had a tough time in September.

Toronto Blue Jays, OF
Stats: .148 AVG, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 0 R, 0 SB
Comment: Keeper league owners take heed: Wells is scheduled to have surgery to remove a cyst from his shoulder in the off-season.


St. Louis Cardinals, SP
Stats: 0-0, 16.20 ERA, 2.70 WHIP, 2 SO
Comment: Endured his shortest outing since July 21st. Before this week, he had not allowed an earned run in 14 innings.

Texas Rangers, SP
Stats:0-1, 10.50 ERA, 2.00 WHIP, 7 SO
Comment: Blasted by the Oakland Athletics earlier this week in a rough start. Seems like an eternity since he was the AL ERA leader.

Boston Red Sox, SP
Stats: 0-0, 21.00 ERA, 3.33 WHIP, 4 SO
Comment: Has allowed 13 ER in his last 6.2 innings and has not pitched past the fourth inning in his last two starts.


San Francisco Giants, C
Comment: : One of the few bright spots on the Giants roster, Molina has been a huge asset to fantasy owners since the beginning of August: .315 AVG, 9 HR, 27 RBI, 16 R, 0 SB in 35 games.

Pittsburgh Pirates, C
Comment: Enjoying a sweet September so far: .405 AVG, 1 HR, 9 RBI, 12 R, 0 SB in 13 games.

Arizona Diamondbacks, 1B
Comment: Noticeably better at home this year: .302 AVG, 7 HR, 28 RBI, 29 R, 1 SB in 59 games.

Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 1B
Comment: Fantasy owners were worried about his production tailing off late in the season, but check out his September numbers: .302 AVG, 6 HR, 18 RBI, 9 R, 0 SB in 12 games.

Cleveland Indians, 2B
Comment: Josh who? Cabrera has shined since taking over full-time for the pathetic Barfield. He's hitting well over .300 and scoring runs.

Boston Red Sox, 2B
Comment: Nice production in the second-half from the second base position: .333 AVG, 4 HR, 24 RBI, 42 R, 4 SB in 55 games.

San Diego Padres, SS
Comment: One of the most up-and-down players in baseball is on the good side of a streak this September: .341 AVG, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 8 R, 0 SB in 11 games.

Cincinnati Reds, SS
Comment: With Alex Gonzalez battling injury (again), Keppinger will likely get more playing time this week.

Seattle Mariners, 3B
Comment: Stats are a lot better on the road this season: .295 AVG, 15 HR, 50 RBI, 40 R, 3 SB in 65 games.

Baltimore Orioles, 3B
Comment: Solid play this week based on season numbers versus the Yankees (.400 AVG, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 7 R, 2 SB in nine games) and Rangers (.300 AVG, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 1 R, 0 SB in four games).

Los Angeles Dodgers, OF
Comment: Putting up some decent stats on the road in 2007: .294 AVG, 4 HR, 25 RBI, 23 R, 0 SB in 221 at-bats.

New York Mets, OF
Comment: Expect pretty good play this week thanks to his season numbers versus the Nationals (.351 AVG, 0 HR, 3 RBI, 6 R, 2 SB in 11 games) and Marlins (.303 AVG, 0 HR, 5 RBI, 5 R, 0 SB in eight games).

Seattle Mariners, OF
Comment: Since the beginning of August, Ibanez has been scorching: .355 AVG, 11 HR, 33 RBI, 23 R, 0 SB in 39 games.

Washington Nationals, OF
Comment: Swinging a hot bat this month: .354 AVG, 4 HR, 9 RBI, 11 R, 2 SB in 12 games.

Milwaukee Brewers, SP
Comment: Gets two starts this week and has been making batters look silly in his past three outings, allowing just two earned runs in 20 innings pitched with 19 strikeouts.

Pittsburgh Pirates, SP
Comment: Expect strong play this week as he has had career success against San Diego (1-1, 3.00 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 5 SO in 12 IP) and Chicago (2-1, 0.82 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 15 SO in 22 IP).

Seattle Mariners, SP
Comment: The King flat-out owns Oakland in his career, including three starts against them this season: 3-0, 0.39 ERA, 0.78 WHIP, 21 SO in 23 IP.

St. Louis Cardinals, SP
Comment:In his young career, Wainwright has been very impressive against both the Phillies (2-0, 1.20 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 9 SO in 15 IP) and Astros (2-0, 2.22 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 22 SO in 28.1 IP).


Seattle Mariners, C
Comment:Just like his team, Johjima is coming apart in September: .212 AVG, 0 HR, 4 RBI, 2 R, 0 SB in 11 games.

Minnesota Twins, C
Comment: Useless in September (.267 AVG, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 2 R, 0 SB in five games) and it makes one wonder if Mauer’s magical 2006 will ever be topped or repeated?

Florida Marlins, 1B
Comment: Not getting it done against division rival Braves (.231 AVG, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 2 R, 0 SB in seven games) and Mets (.182 AVG, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 3 R, 0 SB in eight games).

Toronto Blue Jays, 1B
Comment: Atrocious September numbers: .156 AVG, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 1 R, 0 SB in 12 games. He's usually at least good for a solid batting average, but not this season.

San Diego Padres, 2B
Comment: Back on the major-league roster off the DL, but he should remain off fantasy rosters.

Chicago White Sox, 2B
Comment: Poor play from Richar on the road this year: .194 AVG, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 14 R, 1 SB in 20 games.

Toronto Blue Jays, SS
Comment: Great defensive player, but has not cut it against Boston (.237 AVG, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 2 R, 1 SB in 12 games) and New York (.222 AVG, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 5 R, 2 SB in 13 games).

Colorado Rockies, SS
Comment: Great in the second-half, but has had trouble against the Padres (.205 AVG, 0 HR, 4 RBI, 5 R, 1 SB in 11 games) and Dodgers (.237 AVG, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 2 R, 0 SB in 10 games).

Detroit Tigers, 3B
Comment: Utterly horrific numbers this year against the Indians (.132 AVG, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 2 R, 1 SB in 11 games) and Royals (.096 AVG, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 6 R, 0 SB in 14 games).

Washington Nationals, 3B
Comment: Does not get a vote of confidence this week based on this season's numbers against the Mets (.255 AVG, 0 HR, 3 RBI, 3 R, 0 SB in 12 games) and Phillies (.217 AVG, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 4 R, 0 SB in 11 games).

Minnesota Twins, OF
Comment: So far this season, September is shaping up to be his worst month: .191 AVG, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 4 R, 0 SB in 12 games.

Florida Marlins, OF
Comment: Batting just .192 against the Marlins and Braves, with no hits against Atlanta all season.

Chicago Cubs, OF
Comment: Awful in 2007 versus Cincinnati (.250 AVG, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 3 R, 0 SB in eight games) and Pittsburgh (.143 AVG, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 R, 0 SB in five games).

Atlanta Braves, OF
Comment: Batting just .194 at home. Home! Talk about tanking in your contract year.

Los Angeles Angels, SP
Comment: Poor career track record versus the Mariners (5-9, 4.86 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 89 SO in 116.2 IP) and Devil Rays (6-7, 5.62 ERA, 1.64 WHIP, 91 SO in 96 IP).

Toronto Blue Jays, SP
Comment: Has been lit up by the Yankees this season: 0-2, 6.06 ERA, 1.47 WHP, 12 SO in 16.1 IP.

Toronto Blue Jays, SP
Comment: Lackluster career numbers against Boston (1-1, 6.75 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 6 SO in 8 IP) and New York (2-1, 4.55 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 22 SO in 27.2 IP).

Milwaukee Brewers, SP
Comment: Appalling lifetime stats against the Atlanta Braves: 0-3, 9.22 ERA, 1.83 WHIP, 9 SO in 13.2 IP.


Starbonell is UPDATE! Major League Baseball Editor.

45 Pitches that Texas Rangers SP Brandon McCarthy will be limited to in his start on Saturday as he continues his return from injury. Believe it or not, he was actually limited to just 35 pitches in his previous start.

16 Consecutive scoreless innings New York Yankees RP Joba Chamberlain pitched to start his major-league career, setting a franchise record. The streak was snapped on Wednesday when Toronto scored an unearned run.

6 Games, this season, in which Boston Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell has had four or more hits.

1 Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Chris Young is the first rookie in MLB history to record 30 home runs and 25 stolen bases.


Oakland Athletics, 1B
Comment: With the Athletics out of playoff contention, Oakland has an opportunity to get a good long look at 21-year old Daric Barton, who is going to get plenty of at-bats this season as they assess his possible role in 2008. Acquired from St. Louis in the Mark Mulder trade of 2004, Barton made his debut on Monday, walking twice and getting two hits, including a double. He also recorded his first major-league league steal on Wednesday. Barton has even been moved to the No. 2 spot in the lineup — a vote of confidence from the team. While you may have not heard a ton about Barton, he is a great talent that warrants attention for fantasy owners suffering inconsistencies or injuries at first base.


Cleveland looks like they are going to coast to the AL Central pennant, but don't forget their 2005 collapse (when they were swept in the last series of the year by the Chicago White Sox, costing them a playoff spot). After enduring a brutal August, the Tigers have come back strong in September, although they are currently losing the season series 6-9. But with DH/OF Gary Sheffield back in their lineup, Detroit's offense could reel off runs with ease like earlier in the season. The Tigers are sending Kenny Rogers, Justin Verlander and Nate Robertson to the mound while Cleveland will counter with Jake Westbrook, Aaron Laffey and C.C. Sabathia.

 ALFONSECA HEAD HUNTS

• The Lineup: Sept. 8-14 2007
• The Lineup: Sept. 1-7 2007
• The Lineup: Aug. 25-31 2007
The Lineup: Aug. 18-24 2007
• The Lineup: Aug. 11-17 2007
• The Lineup: Aug. 4-10 2007
• The Lineup: July 28-Aug. 3 2007
• The Lineup: July 21-27 2007
• The Lineup: July 14-20 2007
• The Lineup: July 7-14 2007
• The Lineup: June 30-July 6, 2007
• The Lineup: June 24-30, 2007
• The Lineup: June 17-23, 2007
• The Lineup: June 10-16, 2007
• The Lineup: June 3-9, 2007
• The Lineup: May 27-June 2, 2007
• The Lineup: May 21-27, 2007
• The Lineup: May 14-20, 2007
• The Lineup: May 7-13, 2007
• The Lineup: April 30-May 6, 2007
• The Lineup: April 23-29, 2007
• The Lineup: April 16-22, 2007
• The Lineup: April 9-15, 2007
• The Lineup: April 2-8, 2007
• The Lineup: March 26-April 1, 2007
• The Lineup: March 19-25, 2007
• The Lineup: March 12-18, 2007
• The Lineup: March 5-11, 2007
• The Lineup: Feb. 26-March 4, 2007
• The Lineup: Feb. 19-25, 2007
• The Lineup: Feb. 12-18, 2007
• The Lineup: Feb. 5-11, 2007
• The Lineup: Jan. 29-Feb. 4, 2007
• The Lineup: Jan. 22-28, 2007
• The Lineup: Jan. 15-21, 2007
• The Lineup: Jan. 8-14, 2007
• The Lineup: Jan. 1-7, 2007