Let’s see how I did the past week. Maybe the week off allowed me to make better decisions. But then again, I may have been operating on too little sleep to make sense. So let’s take a look at them.

• Josh Willingham - hit .250 with 4 runs scored, 2 RBI and 1 stolen base. Certainly did not foresee the stolen base, but hey that was a nice surprise. I think his performance this week was very serviceable. Keep an eye on him in coming weeks as he is quietly becoming a solid source of production.
• Geoff Jenkins - Hitting only .235 was not all that good, but a homerun and 3 hits on Sunday made it feel a bit better. Like I said, this player is extremely streaky. coming into last week he was hitting very well. This past week, not so good.
• Ryan Theriot - This is one player that you should keep on your roster, because he will be a run machine. It looks like that he will remain in the leadoff spot even after Derrek Lee returns. Theriot’s 6 runs scored last week is a good indication of what he can do, and he even picked up a stolen base this past week.

2 Start pitchers

• James Shields - In typical Tampa Bay fashion, Shields pitched very well this past week, but was unable to get any wins. However, a 2.40 ERA, .93 WHIP, and 13 strikeouts should have eased the pain of no wins. this was a solid pick for the past week.
• Tim Wakefield - OK, the rain messed up him having 2 starts this week. It was his second start that was going to make him a good pick for the 2 starts. Detroit got to him in his only start this past week, but in typical Wakefield fashion, he battled out for 7 innings. So one quality start with acceptable stats gives this pick an OK rating.
• Greg Maddux - A dominating start against the Reds, and then a crappy start against the Mariners. His outing against the Reds was a complete game masterpiece.  This once again proves that when a pitcher throws a complete game he should be avoided for his next 2 starts.

avoid pitcher

• Jason Marquis - I hate to blow my own horn, ok, no I don’t. I said last week to not take Marquis, because of his matchups and the fact that he had a high pitch count, complete game in his last outing. So what did he do the next two starts from last week? Only 11 innings pitched and a 7.35 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, and only 5 strikeouts.

The next 2 starts after a complete game almost always seem to be mediocre at best. Keep a close eye on that type of situation. It is a rarely looked at facet to fantasy baseball.