A.J. Burnett, of the Toronto Blue Jays, has been very good since returning from the disabled list on August 12th. Burnett has made eight starts in that stretch, he has posted a 4-1 record and he has lowered his earned run average in all but one of those starts. Burnett is 9-7 with a 3.40 earned run average, 6.2 innings per start, held opponents to a 1.13 WHIP, .203 BAA, and 9.57 K/9. Burnett has been very good this year, but unfortunately he has only been able to make 23 starts to this point. Burnett will start, today, against the New York Yankees.
The Cleveland Indians clinched the American League Central on Sunday afternoon, but there is work still to be done for the Indians. Not only do the Indians have a chance at winning home field advantage through the Playoffs, but they also have a chance of securing the American League CY Young Award for C.C. Sabathia. Sabathia and Josh Beckett, of the Boston Red Sox, may be in one of the tightest races in recent memory. Sabathia will start the Indians next game, on Tuesday, and he will be in search of his 19th win. Beckett already has recorded his 20th win, but the big left-hander has thrown more innings, started more games, walked fewer batters, struck out more batters, and the two pitchers share similar numbers in earned run average, H/9, K/9, and WHIP. They have both had phenomenal years but C.C. needs to win one or maybe two more games to have a shot.
Justin Verlander, of the Detroit Tigers, won his 18th game of the season on Sunday afternoon against the Kansas City Royals. Verlander threw six innings and allowed two runs on five hits and two walks while striking out six. With this performance Verlander is now 18-6 with a 3.68 earned run average, 8.10 K/9, 1.24 WHIP, and an opponent's batting average of .235. Those are good numbers, but he probably won't receive a single CY Young vote thanks to C.C. Sabathia, Josh Beckett, and John Lackey. Verlander should get one more start and it will likely come against the Chicago White Sox next Saturday.
Placido Polanco, of the Detroit Tigers, is putting the finishing touches on a career year in 2007. Polanco went two for four with a run scored on Sunday and that helped to bring his batting average for the season to .342. Polanco has also reached career marks in runs (103), hits (195), doubles (35), runs batted in (65), and OPS (.852). Congratulations if you benefited from this surprising output from Polanco, but don't expect a repeat in 2008.
Grady Sizemore, of the Cleveland Indians, had a very productive day at the plate on Sunday. Sizemore went four for four at the plate with a walk, a run scored, and two runs batted in. Sizemore didn't have an MVP caliber season, like some people thought, but he did have a very good season. With a .276 batting average, 61 extra base hits (including 24 homeruns), 78 runs batted in, and 33 stolen bases Sizemore is an upper echelon fantasy earner. At 25 years old Sizemore should continue to improve and eventually become a premiere player.
