Sports Insider by Frank Coppola: Fantasy Focus: Furcal's fantasy owners are left a bit short

July 03, 2008

Fantasy Focus: Furcal's fantasy owners are left a bit short

What started as a glorious season has turned into a disaster for fantasy owners who were counting on Dodgers shortstop Rafael Furcal to provide a spark to their lineups in the second half.

Furcal, out since early May with what was originally diagnosed as simple back spasms, will now miss another two months after undergoing surgery to have a disk in his lower back partially removed.

This is a major blow to fantasy teams, not to mention the Dodgers. Furcal was among the game's hottest hitters at the time of his injury, batting .366 with five homers, 16 RBIs and 34 runs scored in 32 games. His extended absence weakens an already razor-thin crop of shortstops.

Here's hoping that none of you Furcal owners need to turn to Julio Lugo as your stopgap. Good grief.

Covering the bases
* Astros SP Roy Oswalt will have his next start pushed back due to a hip strain, but it doesn't sound like anything serious at this point. Chris Sampson will start in Oswalt's place on Saturday.

* Cubs 3B Aramis Ramirez is expected to rejoin the lineup Thursday after missing three games to attend to family matters in the Dominican Republic. But with Giants star Tim Lincecum on the mound, it might be best to rest A-Ram for another day.

* The Arizona Republic reports that Diamondbacks OF Eric Byrnes may require surgery to repair his injured hamstring.
Byrnes would likely miss the rest of the season if he has surgery, but he is undecided at this point. Byrnes (.209-6-23) has been among the most disappointing players this season.

* Phillies SP Brett Myers, recently optioned to the minors, allowed three runs in five innings Wednesday in his first Triple-A start. It appears that the struggling pitcher will make at least two more starts in the minors before rejoining the Phillies rotation.

* Phillies 1B Ryan Howard hit a three-run homer Wednesday, his 21st, and is now second in the majors with 71 RBIs despite a .219 batting average. The bigger news, however, was that Howard went a whole game without striking out for just the 12th time this season. Wade Boggs, he's not.

The fine line
Grady Sizemore, OF, Indians: 3-for-4, 2 HR, 4 R, 1 SB. It's been a tough year for the Indians, but not for their star center fielder, who is on pace to shatter his previous career high of 28 home runs. Sizemore (21 homers) has gone deep nine times in his last 20 games.

Posted by Frank Coppola at July 3, 2008 01:10 PM

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