Rotoprofessor

Some news for everyone to kick off the morning:

• Over at our football site (www.rotoprofessor.com/football), we have our first interview in the Ask the Expert series, speaking Jets football with Erik Boland of New York Newsday.
• Tom Haudricourt of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (click here for the post) Ryan Braun left last night’s Brewers’ game with discomfort.  He said, “After striking out swinging to end the sixth inning, Braun lowered his head in obvious discomfort, walked to the dugout and back to the clubhouse”.  Braun recently returned to the line-up after suffering from an intercostal strain and it certainly would appear likely that he is going to miss some more time.  Owners have got to be extremely nervous that the DL could now be on the horizon.  I’ll have a further update on him later this afternoon, assuming it’s available.
• Greg Maddux is returning to the Dodgers, according to Dylan Hernandez of The Los Angeles Times (click here for the article).  In return, the Padres receive a pair of players to be named later.  It won’t hurt Maddux’ value, though any time a pitcher leaves Petco Park, he risks getting hurt a little bit.  He will have a better offense behind him, however, so that should bring a few increases chances to win.  I would consider it a push for him, so if he already had value in your league, just continue valuing him just the same.
• Justin Duchscherer left his start yesterday after 2.2 innings with a hip problem, according to Sussan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle (click here for the post).  This isn’t the first time he’s had a problem there, as according to Slusser “he first had some hip pain his last start but he’d pitched through it successfully. Then it tightened up on him in between starts”.  It could just be inflammation, but who knows at this point.  I would move him to the bench if you are using him, as it would appear he’s going to miss at least one start, or have it pushed back a few days.
• Chris Carpenter is scheduled to play catch today, and the results from that will influence the return of Adam Wainwright, according to Joe Strauss of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (click here for the article).  Strauss says, “Should Carpenter experience a pain-free session today, the club probably will activate Wainwright for duty in the major-league bullpen”.  Otherwise, Wainwright could end up making another rehab appearance, so he’s ready to start upon his return to the team.  We’ll have to wait and see what today brings for the Cardinals.
• David Murphy hit off a tee, though he has not started running on his sprained knee, according to Anthony Andro of The Star-Telegram (click here for the article).  The original estimate had him out for 2-4 weeks, so it would appear he’s going to be out on the longer side of that scale.  Just leave him on your bench until he’s back and healthy.
• According to Bob Dutton of The Kansas City Star (click here for the article) the Royals have agreed to a contract with Kip Wells, who is expected to be used in the bullpen.  He’s a non-factor for fantasy owners.