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No need to tell these numbers to Chris Carpenter and Jaime Garcia, they probably know them already. (Now's the time to brush up on your Spanglish.)
Carpenter picked up his seventh loss of the year Friday at home against Kansas City, though it wasn't a terrible effort. He worked eight innings, allowed four earned runs, walked one, struck out seven. Carpenter was a touch sharper in his two prior home turns, allowing just four runs over 14 innings (two no-decisions).
If we ignore wins and losses for a second (they're driven by a lot of random things, and elements out of a pitcher's control), Carpenter has been solid at home this year (3.26 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 41 strikeouts in 47 innings). His biggest problems have come on the road, where he's carrying a 5.57 ERA and a 1.51 WHIP.
Garcia's splits break down this way: he's Cy Young at home (0.46, 0.67 WHIP) and Matt Young on the road (5.36/1.62). The road numbers were bloated by one Coors Field mess, of course, but Garcia's career follows the same path (1.70 and 1.05 in St. Louis, 4.44/1.53 in other cities).
In the case of Carpenter, it's time to consider him a home-only pitcher until things settle down. Okay, maybe you use him at San Diego if you can, but otherwise I'm putting him on house arrest for the foreseeable future. Garcia's current skills make him more trustable for his road starts, but he's far from an automatic guy right now. When he takes the mound at Cincinnati, Colorado, Arizona or Philadelphia, I'm sliding him to the bench in any daily league. The Cardinals don't play another road game until June 28 and they have two extended homestands to enjoy in July, so players in weekly leagues should consider the schedule before starting a St. Louis frontman.
•*There are a lot of things we eventually need to see from Charlie Blackmon. Will he hit on the road? Will he learn how to handle an off-speed pitch? Will he ever draw a walk? But those worries can wait for another time: the Noise-endorsed Blackmon simply can't be stopped at Coors Field these days. Blackmon's 4-2-4-2 line was one of the Colorado highlights as the Rockies plastered Rick Porcello and the Tigers on Friday. Blackmon's ownership level is still light at 13 percent; open your mind (and your roster) to the Reggie Cleveland All-Star.
Second baseman Chris Nelson is another Rockie of interest, the latest No. 2 hitter in the Jim Tracy merry-go-round. Nelson's off to a .306 start (with a .510 slugging) through his 15 games, though he's walked just twice and his numbers aren't much on the road. He's got a little speed (two steals) and a little pop (three-run homer Friday), and best of all, he's out there if you want to kick the tires (one-percent owned in Yahoo). I can't promise you Tracy won't fall in love with a different second baseman, but maybe this former blue-chip prospect will find his way at age 25.
•*The Dustin Ackley debut was ordinary at the plate (an infield single, three batted-ball outs) but he earned some props for a nifty double-play in the top of the eighth (remember, Ackley is still learning how to play second base). It seems a little silly for the Mariners to slot Ackley in the No. 7 position right away — his batting eye is one of his most-developed skills — but I suppose they don't want to put too much pressure on the kid right away. For Saturday, he'll take his hacks against Philly right-handed Vance Worley.
Adam Kennedy will become Seattle's super-utility guy now that Ackley is in town, playing 3-4 different positions. The Mariners need all the offense they can get; if that were my club, I'd play Kennedy over Chone Figgins at third base.
•*We're still waiting for the pop to arrive with Brett Wallace, but there's nothing wrong with his on-base skills. He's hitting .325 for June with an eye-popping 13 walks, but only four of his hits are for extra bases. That's how you get to a .325/.491/.425 slash for the month. Wallace probably should be batting second in the Houston lineup (forget his speed, the OBP skills are what matter), but Brad Mills, traditional manager that he is, slots Wallace sixth in the current version of the order. I take it Mills isn't excited for the Moneyball premiere.
•*Carl Crawford left Friday's game early with a mild hamstring strain; the Olde Towne Team went on to score 10 runs without his help. The Red Sox have no reason to push Crawford here, so look for him to be limited (if not rested entirely) for the balance of the weekend. Jed Lowrie (shoulder) also went on the DL as expected, which makes Marco Scutaro a middle infielder to consider in deeper pools. The Boston undertow is a wonderful thing, even if you're hitting in the bottom third of the order as Scutaro will be. The Red Sox also received good news on Jonathan Papelbon's status (his suspension dropped from three games to two) and Clay Buchholz's back (the club is more optimistic that he can avoid the DL).
•*The Orioles didn't get a lot of production for their 18 hits in Washington: just four Birds crossed the plate in a Beltway defeat. Blame it on the men who didn't participate in the hit parade; J.J. Hardy, Luke Scott and Hall of Fame designee Matt Wieters combined to go 0-for-14 (Wieters also stranded six runners). Perhaps you're ready to open your heart back up to Derrek Lee; he went 5-for-5 with four singles and a double.
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Images courtesy Associated Press (Carpenter/Hamels), Cocktails & Dreams (DC)