Tuesday Tidbits

Took a look at Tuesday's pitching matchups... still on the lookout for a good one. The best one I can spy has Carlos Zambrano going for the Cubs, opposed by Edwin Jackson of the Tigers. Zambrano is four and two on the year with a 3.44 ERA and almost a two to one strikeout to walk ratio (59 to 31). Zambrano has started to turn it on of late and has always been a fun pitcher to watch. His temper is always an issue if he gets squeezed early on.

Jackson has been one of the biggest surprises of the season. A relative cast-off from the AL Champion Tampa Bay Rays team of last year (traded for Matt Joyce), Jackson has been great for Detroit. He has a six and four record with a 2.39 ERA. He already has 72 strike outs on the season in only 94.1 innings pitched. He had 108 all of last year in 183.1 innings. Jackson has yet to have a truly bad outing so far this season and doesn't look like he will any time soon. He has spotting his fast ball consistently and seems to work with much more confidence.

The edge in this matchup goes to Jackson. Believe it or not the young righty really has the tools to succeed.

Other things to watch out for on Tuesday night...

Chien Ming Wang continues to try and right his season. Dean Balsamini of the Staten Island Advance asks whether or not Wang can be a stopper for the Bombers tonight. Wang looked good in his two relief appearances a couple of weeks back but has been limited in his starts in returning to the rotation. Wang will face highly touted Braves rookie Tommy Hanson. Hanson has pitched well in last two starts, winning both and giving up just two earned runs in eleven and two-thirds. Advantage Hanson and the Braves.

It will be interesting to see how the Mets handle Carlos Beltran going on the DL. He headed to the DL with what was being described as worsening bone bruise. He joins John Maine, Ollie Perez, Carlos Delgado, Jose Reyes, and others on the Mets disabled list. Tim Redding did his part last night to pick up the slack. If the Mets can continue to keep the red-hot Albert Pujols at bay, then they might have a swinging chance tonight when their ace (tongue planted firmly in cheek here) Livan Hernandez faces Dave Duncan's latest reclamation project, Joel Piniero.

The Rockies continue their series with the Angels tonight in Anaheim. Aaron Cook got Colorado (and one of my fantasy teams) off to good start last night in an 11 to one thrashing of the Halos. Cook went seven giving up three hits and one earned run for the win. He improved to seven and three on the year. Matt Palmer picked up his first loss of the season, going just four and two-thirds and giving up six runs, all earned. Ubaldo Jiminez faces off against Sean O'Sullivan with first pitch at 10:05 EDT.

Fantasy Tidbit for Tuesday

Keep an eye on the trio of Wang, Joba Chamberlain, and Phil Hughes. If Wang pitches well and Joba falters, you will see increased (as if there wasn't already a dull roar) calls for him to move back to the pen. If Wang falters, Hughes will be the flavor of the week for Bombers fans. Hughes could be (and probably already is this late in the season) a great bench stashee right now. Keep him on your roster and wait for this whole thing to shake out. He could be (and should be in this humble scribes opinion) in the rotation before the All Star break if things break in his favor.