Only American League games on Friday. If you just can’t get enough of the designated hitter experiment (or big-market teams), this is your lucky day!

Yankees at Indians, 2:00 p.m. PT — Andy Pettitte has the postseason experience (18-6, 4.08 ERA over 34 starts), but Fausto Carmona has been a monster in ‘07. One relative weakness of Carmona is his record against left-handed batters. Granted, most pitchers would kill for a .275/.333/.377 line against anyone, but if you’re looking for something that the Yankees might be able to exploit, this is as good a bet as any. Pettitte, meanwhile, stumbled down …read more

Well, technically Jake Peavy and Andy Pettitte have been named Pitchers of the Month for August. It’s just that they get a sweet high-definition TV for their efforts. Like I always say: If there’s one thing a millionaire needs, it’s someone handing them a high-definition TV that they couldn’t possibly afford on their own.
Oops, sorry ’bout that; we’re congratulating the players, not mocking the system. My bad.
Peavy, who has never received a single Cy Young award vote, appears to be the National League’s leading candidate this year. No matter how you break down his numbers, there just aren’t any weaknesses. …read more

Wednesday. The middle of the week. Humpday. Halfway between there and here. Eh, you get the point. Some good games on tap today…
American League

Indians at Tigers, 4:05 p.m. PT — Just a half-game separates these AL Central rivals. Paul Byrd vs Justin Verlander looks like a mismatch, and I suppose it is. Byrd, though, is a crafty veteran with freakish control (18 walks in 143 IP). Verlander’s ERA is 4.89 in seven starts since the All-Star break. Detroit’s offense is crazy good — Magglio Ordonez is a legit MVP candidate, Gary Sheffield is having a monster year (including 20 SB …read more

There really aren’t any good pitching matchups on Sunday. Probably the best are Boof Bonser vs Jered Weaver at Anaheim (11:05 a.m. PT), and Jake Peavy vs Bronson Arroyo at Cincinnati (10:15 a.m. PT). If you like offense, might I suggest Jeff Weaver vs John Danks at Chicago (11:05 a.m. PT), or Claudio Vargas vs Woody Williams at Houston (11:05 a.m. PT).
Looking for games with the biggest playoff implications? Try the Yankees at Indians (Andy Pettitte vs Jake Westbrook, 10:05 a.m. PT), or Braves at Phillies (Buddy Carlyle vs Jamie Moyer, 5:05 p.m. PT).
Enjoy…

With future Hall of Fame right-hander Roger Clemens expected to start for the Yankees on Monday in Chicago, only one question remains: Will it matter?
To the current records…
Red Sox: 36-15
Tigers (WC): 30-21
Yankees: 21-29
Boston leads the American League East, while Detroit is the front-runner in the wild card race. (I know, it’s crazy to talk about the wild card in May, but bear with me.)
If the Red Sox play .500 ball (eh, .495 ball) the rest of the way, they’ll win 91 games. The Yankees would need to win 71 of their final 112 games (.634 winning percentage) to overtake Boston. …read more