The Hook

Two Start Pitchers - May 14 - May 20

Let's Play Two will be something we'll be doing every Saturday throughout the year which will be highlighting all pitchers projected to make two starts in the upcoming fantasy week, running Monday through Sunday each week. This can be a particularly useful tool for those of you either in leagues that use weekly transactions and for those of you in head to head leagues. To play along, we'll select a starter from each league and keep track of our statistics based on our Start of the Week. All home games are in CAPS.

American League

Erik Bedard - Toronto, Washington
Daisuke Matsuzaka - DETROIT, ATLANTA
Tim Wakefield - DETROIT, ATLANTA
John Danks - NEW YORK YANKEES, Chicago Cubs
Paul Byrd - MINNESOTA, CINCINNATI
Nate Robertson - Boston, ST. LOUIS
Justin Verlander - Boston, ST. LOUIS
Gil Meche - Oakland, Colorado
Brian Bannister - Oakland, Colorado
Jered Weaver - Texas, LOS ANGELES
Kelvim Escobar - Seattle, LOS ANGELES
Ramon Ortiz - Cleveland, Milwaukee
Mike Mussina - Chicago White Sox, New York Mets
Dan Haren - KANSAS CITY, SAN FRANCISCO
Joe Kennedy - KANSAS CITY, SAN FRANCISCO
Felix Hernandez - LOS ANGELES ANGELS, SAN DIEGO
James Shields - TEXAS, FLORIDA
Kevin Millwood - LOS ANGELES ANGELS, Houston
Robinson Tejeda - Tampa Bay, Houston
Tomo Ohka - BALTIMORE, Philadelphia

Start of the Week

Rather than completely playing the past performance card this week, we're going to ride a hot hand who is facing two mediocre offenses. Dan Haren has allowed three runs or less in each of his starts since Opening Day (when he allowed four unearned runs), and he'll be facing two bottom-feeding offenses in the Royals (26th in runs scored) and Giants (19th).

Last Week's Selection: Andy Pettitte - 1-1, 14.1 IP, 16 H, 3 BB, 3 R, 3 ER, 6 K

On the Year: 3-4, 37.2 IP, 47 H, 12 BB, 21 R, 20 ER, 21 K (4.77 ERA, 1.56 WHIP)... finally a step in the right direction...
National League

Randy Johnson - Colorado, Pittsburgh
John Smoltz - Washington, Boston
Tim Hudson - Washington, Boston
Jason Marquis - New York Mets, CHICAGO WHITE SOX
Carlos Zambrano - New York Mets, CHICAGO WHITE SOX
Matt Belisle - San Diego, Cleveland
Aaron Harang - San Diego, Cleveland
Jason Hirsh - ARIZONA, KANSAS CITY
Dontrelle Willis - Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay
Sergio Mitre - Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay
Woody Williams - SAN FRANCISCO, TEXAS
Brett Tomko - ST. LOUIS, Los Angeles Angels
Dave Bush - Philadelphia, MINNESOTA
Claudio Vargas - Philadelphia, MINNESOTA
Tom Glavine - CHICAGO CUBS, NEW YORK YANKEES
John Maine - CHICAGO CUBS, NEW YORK YANKEES
Adam Eaton - MILWAUKEE, TORONTO
Jamie Moyer - MILWAUKEE, TORONTO
Tom Gorzelanny - FLORIDA, ARIZONA
Paul Maholm - FLORIDA, ARIZONA
Greg Maddux - CINCINNATI, Seattle
Matt Morris - Houston, Oakland
Brad Thompson - Los Angeles, Detroit
Jason Bergmann - ATLANTA, BALTIMORE
Jerome Williams - ATLANTA, BALTIMORE

Start of the Week

Greg Maddux has beaten up a lot of teams in his Hall of Fame career, but there are few that he's dominated so thoroughly as he did Cincinnati last season. With the Cubs and Dodgers in 2006, The Professor won each of his five starts against the Reds last season, allowing just a 2.40 ERA and 0.90 WHIP in the process. Maddux has faced the Seattle Mariners just once in his entire career, but he should be able to take solace in the fact that they're currently 24th in the majors in runs scored this season.

Last Week's Selection: Roy Oswalt - 2-0, 13.0 IP, 14 H, 3 BB, 5 R, 5 ER, 12 K

On the Year: 6-2, 78.0 IP, 48 H, 28 BB, 19 R, 18 ER, 59 K (2.08 ERA, 0.97 WHIP)

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