Friday Lineup Card: For Bell The Bell Tolls

This article is part of our The Lineup Card series.

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Friday's Starters

Cubs (Paul Maholm – L) at Phillies (Roy Halladay – R), 7:05
Athletics (Brandon McCarthy – R) at Orioles (Jake Arrieta – R), 7:05
Angels (Jered Weaver – R) at Indians (Justin Masterson – R), 7:05
Tigers (Justin Verlander – R) at Yankees (Ivan Nova – R), 7:05
Mariners (Blake Beavan – R) at Blue Jays (Ricky Romero – L), 7:07
Astros (Wandy Rodriguez – L) at Reds (Mike Leake – R), 7:10
Diamondbacks (Joe Saunders – L) at Marlins (Carlos Zambrano – R), 7:10
Pirates (A.J. Burnett – R) at Braves (Tommy Hanson – R), 7:35
Rays (James Shields – R) at Rangers (Matt Harrison – L), 8:05
Royals (Everett Teaford – L) at Twins (Carl Pavano – R), 8:10
Red Sox (Dan Bard – R) at White Sox (John Danks – L), 8:10
Brewers (Yovani Gallardo – R) at Cardinals (Jake Westbrook – R), 8:15
Mets (Chris Schwinden – R) at Rockies (Drew Pomeranz – L), 8:40
Nationals (Ross Detwiler – L) at Dodgers (Clayton Kershaw – L), 10:10
Padres (Cory Luebke – L) at Giants (Eric Hacker – R), 10:15

Day Game After Night Game: None

Injuries

Day-to-Day

Ryan Zimmerman, 3B, WAS (shoulder) – Out again Thursday and may need second cortisone shot
Javy Guerra, RP, LAD (face) – Seems none the worse for wear after taking a liner to the jaw
Shin-Soo Choo, OF, CLE (hamstring) – Out Thursday
Jim Johnson, RP, BAL (illness) – Hospitalized with bacterial infection; could be out Friday
Nick Swisher, OF, NYY (leg) – Doesn't expect to miss time
Danny Duffy, SP, KC (elbow) – Being skipped Friday with tightness
Nolan Reimold, OF, BAL (neck) – Back in Thursday
Chris Parmelee, 1B, MIN (head) – Apparently not concussed
Cody Ross, OF, BOS (knee) – Out Thursday after being removed Wednesday
Jesse Crain, RP, CHW (oblique) – Side session scheduled for Thursday; could still be DLed
Luke Hughes, 2B, OAK (illness) – Out Wednesday; looking to return Friday
Kyle Weiland, SP, HOU (shoulder) – Scratched for Friday; returning to Houston to see team doc
Shane Robinson, OF, STL (personal) – Wife giving birth; won't be gone long
Aaron Harang, SP, LAD (foot) – Has a bone bruise from fouling a ball off himself
Juan Rivera, OF, LAD (hamstring) – Out Wednesday; possible, but iffy for Friday

Disabled List

Carl Crawford, OF, BOS (wrist/elbow) – Expected to miss three more months due to elbow
Lance Berkman, OF, STL (calf) – Seems on schedule to return after minimum time
Dan Hudson, SP, AZ (shoulder) – Won't throw a bullpen 'til May 7, so not back 'til late May at least
Grady Sizemore, OF, CLE (back) – Running and playing catch; June return possibly possible
Mike Pelfrey, SP, NYM (elbow) – Will see Dr. Andrews on Friday; TJ surgery likely
Doug Fister, SP, DET (ribs) – Threw 50-pitch bullpen Thursday
Allen Craig, OF, STL (knee) – En route to Triple-A for last few rehab games
Lorenzo Cain, OF, KC (groin) – Had a setback; out another month yet
Zach Britton, SP, BAL (shoulder) – Will throw first bullpen since plasma treatment Friday
Kyle Waldrop, RP, MIN (elbow) – Threw sliders Wednesday for first time since going on DL
Rich Hill, RP, BOS (elbow) – Could rejoin team this weekend
Todd Coffey, RP, LAD (knee) – Poor in rehab outing Wednesday
Freddy Sanchez, 2B, SF (shoulder) – Had a setback; what else is new
Nick Masset, RP, CIN (shoulder) – MRI showed he's not fully healed yet; could be out into June
Miguel Cairo, 3B, CIN (hamstring) – Improving, but no timetable announced
Justin De Fratus, RP, PHI (elbow) – Shut down for a month after aggravating injury
Andrew Miller, RP, BOS (hamstring) – Had a rough rehab inning Wednesday

Transactions

Placed on DL

Micah Owings, RP, SD

Optioned to Triple-A

Zach Putnam, RP, COL
Adam Wilk, SP, DET
Thad Weber, RP, DET
Jared Hughes, RP, PIT

Called Up

Luke Putkonen, RP, DET
Brayan Villarreal, RP, DET
Dale Thayer, RP, SD
Brad Eldred, 1B, DET

Released

Brandon Inge, 3B, DET

Closer Watch

Marlins – Heath Bell was responsible for the most egregious ninth-inning disasters on Thursday, a day of egregious ninth-inning disasters. He got two outs and threw 46 – forty-six! – pitches in the ninth inning against the Mets, walking four batters and then giving up a game-winning single by Kirk Nieuwenhuis – no cheapie, as this one went to the wall in right field. Bell has been an absolute disaster early on in Miami, blowing three of five save chances. His ERA is 9.53. His WHIP is 2.82. There's not necessarily a natural successor to Bell, though, especially with other members of the bullpen struggling, and his big contract is going to make the Marlins give him a shot to right the ship. If you want to hedge your bets, though, Steve Cishek is probably the way to go.

Reds – Sean Marshall blew his first save on Thursday, giving up a three-run homer to Angel Pagan to send Cincy to a loss. One muffed opportunity isn't going to be enough to loosen his grip on the job.

Angels – Jordan Walden also blew his first save Thursday, giving up a two-run homer to Brandon Allen of the Rays without recording an out. It was just his second save opportunity, though, thanks to Anaheim struggling as a whole – offense, starting pitching, relief pitching, nothing's going right in Disneyland. There's been no indication Walden's job is in jeopardy.

Recommended Pickup

Henry Rodriguez, RP, WAS – Speaking of closers, Rodriguez seems to be the save play in Washington, as he's closed out the last three save situations for the Nationals, with the exception of Tom Gorzelanny's three-inning save Wednesday. The kid's been a classic closer-in-waiting, cranking his fastball out at 98 – on average. But now, thanks to Drew Storen's injury and Brad Lidge's ineffectiveness, Rodriguez appears to be poised to take over the majority of save chances in the first half of the season.

Other Recent Recommendations:Tony Campana, Devin Mesoraco, Jarrod Parker, Jason Hammel, Francisco Cordero

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Draft Street Lineup

C – Alex Avila, DET ($5,308)
1B – Prince Fielder, DET ($7,256)
2B – Omar Infante, MIA ($6,878)
3B – David Wright, NYM ($7,137)
SS – Jimmy Rollins, PHI ($4,852)
OF – Matt Kemp, LAD ($12,152)
OF – J.D. Martinez, HOU ($7,953)
OF – Carlos Beltran, STL ($7,666)
U – Adrian Gonzalez, BOS ($7,223)
U – Dayan Viciedo, CHW ($2,789)
SP – Cory Luebke, SD ($14,164)
SP – Brandon McCarthy, OAK ($10,151)
RP – Craig Kimbrel, ATL ($3,180)
P – Jonathan Papelbon, PHI ($2,931)

Total: 99,640

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