ngs here. It says most likely here, not cool, under-the-radar pick t

LOUDON, N.H. -- Team owner Rick Hendrick said he does not think the concussion symptoms that sidelined Dale Earnhardt Jr. are career threatening. Hendrick hoped to have NASCARs most popular driver back in the car next week at the Brickyard.Earnhardt, 41, sat out Sundays race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway because he was not cleared to race. Alex Bowman drove the No. 88 Chevrolet on Sunday.If there was something major wrong, I think (doctors) would have seen it already, Hendrick said. Im very hopeful. Hes very hopeful. I think the doctors want to err on the side of being sure. We want him for a long time.Earnhardt will have more tests early this week. Hendrick Motorsports will likely make a decision on Earnhardts availability on Wednesday.Dale is special to me, take the driving part away, Hendrick said. I just want him to feel good when he gets back in the car. I dont want him to push himself.Four-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon will come out of retirement and drive the 88 next week at Indianapolis Motor Speedway if Earnhardt does not return. Hendrick says Gordon will likely remain in the car should Earnhardt need an extended absence.Gordon was in France when he received the call from Hendrick that he might have to grab his helmet out of storage.I asked him what he was doing next week. He said, `Ill be in Indy, thats one of my appearances, Hendrick said. I said, `Well bring your drivers uniform just in case.Gordon told Hendrick he had to be kidding.Hendrick replied, No, Im serious.Gordon was the obvious choice to pinch-drive in the No. 88 Chevrolet for Earnhardt, his former Hendrick Motorsports teammate, at one of his favorite tracks. Gordon won the last of his record five Brickyard 400 victories in 2014.He retired at the end of last season and called NASCAR races for Fox Sports this season.I dont think it will take Gordon long to get back in the groove, Hendrick said.Hendrick spoke outside the No. 24 hauler, Gordons old car that now belongs to Chase Elliott.Earnhardt told his team last weekend at Kentucky Speedway he wasnt feeling well -- he thought he had severe allergies -- and finished 13th. He felt worse Tuesday and told his team that it needed to at least consider a backup driver for New Hampshire. When medication for allergies and a sinus infection failed, Earnhardt dug deeper and met with a neurological specialist. After further evaluation, it was decided Earnhardt had to sit.He missed two races in 2012 when it was determined he had suffered two concussions in six weeks. Earnhardt was involved in a 22-car wreck in Daytona this month and also wrecked last month at Michigan International Speedway.Earnhardt is winless this season and 13th in the points standings. Because he will not start every race, Earnhardt will need a waiver from NASCAR to compete in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship if he meets other eligibility requirements. NASCAR has never denied a waiver request.Hendrick said he hasnt yet thought about applying for one.Earnhardt, who has 26 career Sprint Cup victories, talked with Hendrick earlier this month about a contract extension. Earnhardt has raced for Hendrick since 2008 and his contract expires in 2017.When they say youre good to go, then hell be back, Hendrick said. Cheap Joe Morgan Jersey . With the first unit struggling of late and Amir Johnson - one of the teams iron men - hobbling on an injured right ankle, Patterson knew he could get the nod in a challenging matchup against one of the leagues up and coming players at his position. Cheap Tony Perez Jersey . LOUIS -- Alexander Steen scored a power-play goal with 59. http://www.cheapredsjerseys.com/?tag=cheap-barry-larkin-jersey . -- On the field, it was business as usual for Jameis Winston and No. Cheap Reds Jerseys . -- Running backs Darren McFadden and Rashad Jennings were back at practice for the Oakland Raiders on Wednesday despite being hampered by hamstring injuries. Cheap Pete Rose Jersey .C. -- Glenn Howard needed an extra end to move into the Masters Grand Slam of Curling final. Only one starter is projected for a Game Score north of 60, but seven others are at 55 to 59, so there wont be a shortage of quality arms on the mound. On the other end, just one is below 45, so not many tomato cans to pick on offensively. There is a game at Coors Field, but two capable arms on the mound could mute the usual offensive explosion in Denver.PitchingEliteRemember when Max Scherzer had a home run problem? Through his first 16 starts, he had an uncharacteristic 3.52 ERA, thanks in large part to 20 homers allowed (1.7 HR/9). But hes allowed just five in the past 11 starts, and unsurprisingly, he has a 2.05 ERA as a result (0.6 HR/9). Oh yeah, he has also logged 10-plus strikeouts in three of his five August starts and in five of the 11 during this run of home run suppression. He also has 25 strikeouts in 21 innings against the Phillies this year.Johnny Cueto is one of 22 starters with at least 13 starts of a 60 or better Game Score this year. Five of the other guys also are pitching Tuesday. Scherzer (19, the most in MLB) is of course there, as well as?Cole Hamels (14), Drew Pomeranz, Kyle Hendricks?and J.A. Happ (13). Well get to the rest in a minute. Only one of Cuetos has come against the Diamondbacks, but he has logged at least seven innings in all three starts and has twice logged nine strikeouts against them. Hes not a premier strikeout pitcher every start out, but hes still one of the very best pitchers in baseball.SolidI just gave love to Hamels, Hendricks, Happ, and Pomeranz for their number of 60+ Game Score outings, but theyre not quite elite-level options start in and start out. Hamels 1.23 WHIP is hardly bad, but it doesnt completely jibe with his American League-best 2.67 ERA. His 84 percent left on base rate is a driving force behind his success, despite the WHIP. This isnt a Hamels is going to collapse sort of warning, just some insight into why hes not viewed as elite right now, in spite of the gaudy ERA. Hes still a great option.Hendricks leads all of baseball with his 2.19 ERA, and his 1.00 WHIP fully supports it, but both his LOB rate and BABIP are far and away career bests, at 81 percent and .247, respectively. He is no doubt contributing to both with the way he is pitching, but neither metric is stable at those levels on a start-to-start basis. Meanwhile, his 8.0 K/9 is solid but doesnt offer the protection of Scherzers 11.2 or even Pomeranzs 9.9 on days when youre BABIP is unlucky or you fail to strand a runner or two you normally would, so Hendricks winds up just short of elite.Its a total hypothetical, so I cant say for sure, but Happ going into Baltimore is probably the only reason I didnt slot him in the top section. He has had all the makings of an elite arm for large parts of this season, especially since July 1: 2.26 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 70 Ks and a 5.0 K:BB ratio in 55? innings.Pomeranz allowed five earned runs in two of his first starts with Boston, which of course sent the fans into a tizzy, especially since theyre convinced that 18-year old Anderson Espinoza will be the next Pedro in short order (they traded the top pitching prospect for Pomeranz). Those who jumped ship early have likely missed his August, during which he has allowed just eight earned runs (2.40 ERA) with 31 strikeouts in 30 innings. The Rays have been baseballs worst team against lefties since mid-June and Im not sure a second look (6 IP/2 ER/10 Ks on Aug. 25) at Pomeranz is what they want.Why isnt Masahiro Tanaka getting attention? Most of us were expecting him to succumb to Tommy John surgery at some point, but instead he is having a fantastic season. His strikeouts are down, which certainly takes some juice out of his fantasy production, but his 3.11 ERA and 1.07 WHIP are both top flight. In a year when homers have jumped across the league, hes toting a career-best 0.9 HR/9 rate.Thats only a bit better than the 1.2 league average, but if Id have told you that homers were going to skyrocket across the league, youd have gone running from Tanaka, who allowed a 1.2 HR/9 in 2014-15. He has a 2.82 ERA and 0.98 WHIP since the break, with 49 strikeouts and just six walks. The Royals are no longer the impossible-to-strikeout team of the past two years, either.Oh no! Zack Greinke has a 7.84 ERA in August, he must be the worst! Eight of the 18 earned runs he has allowed came in one disastrous outing against the Red Sox in Boston. He lasted just 1? innings and allowed as many homers as he had strikeouts (three). A wobbly last inning (to end with 6 IP/4 ER) against Atlanta, of all teams, is the only thing keeping him from quality starts in each of his other three August outings.Julio Teheran hasnt been great in two starts off the disabled listed, but even at his best, notching a win -- a key to DFS success -- remains elusive. Hes just 3-9 this year with the Braves, despite a strong rebound from his 2015 campaign. He has a 3.15 ERA and 1.03 WHIP but far too little to show for it. Facing another bottom-feeder such as the Padres is as good an opportunity as any for that fourth win -- if youve been looking for a spot to use Teheran, this is it.StreamersThe story of James Paxtons season has been improved mechanics that have yielded more velocity and fewer walks. Hits were an issue, though. Through his first nine starts, he allowed 12.1 hits per nine innings, so despite some flashes of excellence, he still had just a 4.56 ERA. The .391 BABIP in that time certainly points to some bad luck, but he also allowed a lot of hard contact, so this wasnt just happening to him.Hed found some control but needed more command. In short, control is throwing strikes, while command is throwing quality strikes. Things are improving, though. After allowing 7+ hits in seven of those first nine starts, he has done so just once in his past five starts, en routte to a 2.dddddddddddd16 ERA and 0.87 WHIP in 33? IP. He has a .258 BABIP and his soft-contact rate (as calculated by Fangraphs) is up from 9 percent to 17 percent.Jake Odorizzi is at best a contrarian play on Tuesday and its all because he has to face the Red Sox. Yes, he just dropped a 7 IP/1 ER gem against them his last time out, but now hes going to Fenway, and it just seems too risky to bet on him taming that beastly offense in back-to-back starts. Hell certainly have low usage rates, and he has a very talented arm, so hes a good B-lineup, against-the-grain pick.Despite the volatility and outright unpredictability of the win, its probably the biggest reason that Jerad Eickhoff is down here and had serious consideration for the Avoid category (which is actually blank today, with no one Im flat-out running from that you might normally consider). As mentioned earlier, his Phillies draw Scherzer, which puts substantial burden on Eickhoff, if he wants to continue his streak of wins, currently at three. The pitcher win is an incredibly stupid stat when you really think about it, but its important for our game and, as such, quality pitchers on poor teams are often passed over.HittingCan you remember the last time there was a game at Coors and neither team drew better than a 5 overall? Rich Hill and Tyler Anderson are two quality lefties who could certainly mitigate the effects of Denvers thin air, but I was still surprised to see such low offensive numbers. The Dodgers have been one of the worst teams against lefties all year, especially over the past three months, when only the Rays have been worse. The Rockies dont look as bad from a raw number standpoint, such as OPS, but when you adjust it to the ballpark, as in wRC+, they sit just 25th in the league. I cant say Id be willing to use either Hill or Anderson in DFS, but maybe Im not full-on Coors stacking here.The Cardinals earn the only 10 ranking of the day with a date against Wily Peralta, he of the 5.87 ERA through 89 innings this year. His futility isnt the only reason for the high ranking, though. The Cards have the top offense in the National League by both OPS and the aforementioned wRC+, trailing only the Red Sox and Orioles.They are missing one of their big standouts against righties --?Aledmys Diaz (.937 OPS) -- but they still have Matt Carpenter (.995), Brandon Moss (.975) and Jedd Gyorko (.881) ready to punish Peralta. Jeremy Hazelbaker was an early-season story before getting sent out in mid-June, but he has returned with a .935 OPS in 61 PA since his recall. He could be a good budget option to offset a high-priced arm or someone at Coors.The Reds, Tigers, and Braves project well against Jered Weaver, Anthony Ranaudo?and Edwin Jackson, three guys who all have ERAs north of 5.00 and WHIPs over 1.50. All three are righties, but dont think you can only use lefties against them. Righties have OPS totals better than .900 against Weaver and Ranaudo, while theyre approaching that mark against Jackson (.887). All options are in play against the trio.Joey Votto headlines the Reds attack, but you might like Billy Hamilton?too, who has finally added some hitting to go with his insane stolen base totals. Not ready to pony up for Miguel Cabrera? Look at Ian Kinsler or the Martinezes -- Victor and J.D. -- for the Tigers. Ryan Schimpf is hardly a headlining name like those others, but hes playing like them lately. He has a 1.010 OPS against righties in 192 plate appearances, with 14 of his 16 total homers. Alex Dickerson is another new power bat making some noise for the Padres. Seven of his eight homers are against righties, en route to an .806 OPS.Twins righties draw the second-best rating of any unit for Tuesday, behind only the 10 for Cardinals lefties. Noted home run yielder?Josh Tomlin is finally paying the price for the long balls in August with a 10.80 ERA and just one start of at least five innings. His 3.43 ERA never matched the 1.9 HR/9 he had through his first 19 starts, so any sort of BABIP trouble was going to be exponentially worse for him than it would for most starters. Going from .262 BABIP through those first 19 to .349 in August has sunk him.He has always had a reverse platoon split, which is why righties get the better rating and makes Miguel Sano and Brian Dozier the most appealing options on the team. I wouldnt sleep on lefty Max Kepler, though. Id be more interested in Joe Mauer if he wasnt stuck at first. Tomlin certainly helps anyones power, but there are just too many great options at first.Oakland only draws a four rating, and McHugh has a solid 54 projected Game Score, but I might look to the As for some off-the-beaten-path picks. They wont get much attention on a full slate, but Khris Davis, Danny Valencia, Stephen Vogt?and Ryon Healy are all intriguing against the Astros righty.Most likely to go yard: Mark TrumboIll admit it, I didnt buy into Trumbo earlier this year, because weve seen fast starts out of him in the past only to watch a seemingly inevitable June swoon that carried over throughout the rest of the summer. He might need to connect against a reliever, with just a .642 OPS against lefties, but dont get it twisted, as his .252 ISO says the pop is still there against southpaws.Most likely to swipe a bag: Billy HamiltonCmon, lets not complicate things here. It says most likely here, not cool, under-the-radar pick that you can impress your friends with, so yes, Im taking the MLB leaders in homers (Trumbo above) and steals this week. As I mentioned earlier, Hamilton is actually hitting more of late too. H