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Jeff Gordon

Mid-Season Maladies

July 5, 2007 3:36pm CDT

The All-Star break can't come soon enough for some very prominent fantasy baseball commodities.

The wear and tear of the 162-game marathon has claimed some of the biggest names in baseball. They need the midseason mini-vacation to rest their injuries and recharge for the second half.

Alex Rodriguez, one of fantasy MVPs to this point of the season, is a prime example. His nagging strained hamstring knocked him out of the lineup. He could also miss the All-Star Game and could even end up on the disabled list.

After hitting spectacularly for most of June – he had a .406 batting average, nine doubles, nine homers, 34 RBI and a .500 on-base percentage for the month – A-Rod fell into a 0-for-19 downturn.

Yankees manager Joe Torre hopes Rodriguez takes it easy at the Midsummer Classic.

"I think if it gets to the All-Star break and he feels that not playing is more of a benefit and if we feel the same way, we'll talk to him," Torre said. "I don't think it'll keep him from going there obviously, because that's something that he's proud of and he should be and I think it's an obligation he has to the people who voted him in. But, I think we'll wait and see through the weekend what it's like."

Here are some key players to keep an eye on:

John Smoltz, SP, Braves: He has gamely pitched through shoulder discomfort for much of the season, insisting he was suffering just the usual fatigue and soreness. But he will sit out one start for the Braves, skip the All-Star Game and then try to pitch again with a 12-day rest.

"I think he's going to be fine," manager Bobby Cox said. "He should be fine at the tail end of the rotation after the All-Star break."

Still, fantasy GMs should think twice about dealing for Smoltz for the stretch run.

Randy Johnson, SP, Diamondbacks: The looming break made it easier for Arizona to put him on the disabled list, again, due to his herniated disk. This nagging condition has limited him to 10 starts this season and thrust 22-year-old Yusmeiro Petit into the D'Backs rotation.

Jermaine Dye, OF, White Sox: He came back from his quadriceps strain, staving off a trip to the disabled list. But was that a good idea? He immediately fell into a 0-for-12 slide. That reduced his value as a trade chip for real-life Chicago GM Kenny Williams, who may hold a fire sale before the end of the month.

"That's part of the game and part of the business," Dye said of the swirling trade rumors. "We just try to continue to play and give 100 percent. Until you get called into the office, this is where you play."

Randy Wolf, SP, Dodgers: With the LA rotation battered by injuries, he battled on with a stiff pitching shoulder and won nine games. But he left his last start after just three innings and agreed to shut down.

"Going into yesterday, it was the worst it's been," Wolf said. "I really haven't thrown 100 innings since 2004, so it could be the result of that. There's a level of frustration because I know there's probably nobody in the world that does more shoulder exercises than me."

Curt Schilling, SP, Red Sox: The break comes at a good time for him, too. Shoulder fatigue led to a precipitous decline in his fastball velocity. He insists his problem isn't serious, but he won't come off the disabled list until later this month.

He is scheduled to miss at least his first start after the All-Star Game. Schilling hasn't pitched since June 18 and he won't resume throwing off the mound until some time after the break.

"The idea is to build him up," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. "Not wait the time we did and then kind of artificially feel good for a couple of days and then go backwards. He'll fight us the whole way, and we'll do what we think is right because we need him. We want him desperately to be the guy that, when he takes that mound, you know what you're getting and you can match up with anybody in the league."

Al Reyes, RP, Devil Rays: This closer was one of the great first-half fantasy success stories. Unfortunately, he has suffered a rotator cuff strain (uh oh) and went onto the 15-day disabled list. The team hopes the All-Star break will buy him some additional time to heal without missing games.

Like Smoltz, Johnson, Wolf and Schilling, Reyes becomes an iffy commodity for the second half. Shoulder and back injuries are much more disconcerting than a hamstring or quadriceps injury.

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