Belisle sent to minors, relief: Right-hander Matt Belisle is headed back to the minors and back to the bullpen. The Reds sent Belisle to Triple-A Louisville on Thursday to pitch in relief, a role he had two years ago. Right-hander Josh Fogg moves back into the rotation and will start Saturday against Atlanta. The Reds also activated left-hander Kent Mercker off the 15-day disabled list. The 40-year-old reliever had been sidelined since May 9 with a sore back. Fogg piled up a 13.09 ERA in his three starts, earning a demotion to the bullpen on April 19. As a long reliever, he went 15 days without appearing in a game. Fogg has made seven relief appearances, giving up nine earned runs in 14 innings. Neither Baker nor Fogg knows what to expect from him on Saturday because he hasn't thrown many pitches out of the bullpen. "I've always had a pretty resilient arm," Fogg said. "I don't think I'll throw 115 pitches, but I'll try to be efficient to stay out there as long as I can." (Updated 05/29/2008).
Injury Report
No information available at this time (Updated 7/26/08).
Fantasy Analysis
Belisle was in the competition for the final spot in the rotation during spring training, until a sore forearm sidelined him the final week. He came off the DL on April 21 and went 1-4 with a 7.28 earned run average in six starts. The 27-year-old pitcher has been one of the organization's enigmas. He tends to do well in the early innings, then come apart when hitters face him a second time in the game. He also lets one mistake lead to a series of them. "He throws strikes," manager Dusty Baker said. "He has guts and he has determination. The trouble here a little bit was the second and third time through the order. As a reliever, you won't get to that second and third time around." Asked how Belisle took the news, Baker said, "He wasn't happy about it. You don't expect him to be happy about it. He knows he's just got to get it done." Cut and ignore Belisle in all Fantasy leagues right now. A Triple-A middle reliever is just not worth owning. (Updated 05/29/2008).
No information available at this time.
Belisle sent to minors, relief: Right-hander Matt Belisle is headed back to the minors and back to the bullpen. The Reds sent Belisle to Triple-A Louisville on Thursday to pitch in relief, a role he had two years ago. Right-hander Josh Fogg moves back into the rotation and will start Saturday against Atlanta. The Reds also activated left-hander Kent Mercker off the 15-day disabled list. The 40-year-old reliever had been sidelined since May 9 with a sore back. Fogg piled up a 13.09 ERA in his three starts, earning a demotion to the bullpen on April 19. As a long reliever, he went 15 days without appearing in a game. Fogg has made seven relief appearances, giving up nine earned runs in 14 innings. Neither Baker nor Fogg knows what to expect from him on Saturday because he hasn't thrown many pitches out of the bullpen. "I've always had a pretty resilient arm," Fogg said. "I don't think I'll throw 115 pitches, but I'll try to be efficient to stay out there as long as I can." (Updated 05/29/2008).
Injury Report
No information available at this time (Updated 7/26/08).
Fantasy Analysis
Belisle was in the competition for the final spot in the rotation during spring training, until a sore forearm sidelined him the final week. He came off the DL on April 21 and went 1-4 with a 7.28 earned run average in six starts. The 27-year-old pitcher has been one of the organization's enigmas. He tends to do well in the early innings, then come apart when hitters face him a second time in the game. He also lets one mistake lead to a series of them. "He throws strikes," manager Dusty Baker said. "He has guts and he has determination. The trouble here a little bit was the second and third time through the order. As a reliever, you won't get to that second and third time around." Asked how Belisle took the news, Baker said, "He wasn't happy about it. You don't expect him to be happy about it. He knows he's just got to get it done." Cut and ignore Belisle in all Fantasy leagues right now. A Triple-A middle reliever is just not worth owning. (Updated 05/29/2008).
= probable start
