ng for Messi to quash Betis comeback.Messi had already struck the bar before getting his first goal, a trademark left-footed curler after he

Even when youre a fan of one major league baseball team, it can be difficult to keep track of all the news that surrounds your favorite club on a daily basis.However, when youre a fantasy baseball owner, you have to multiply that effort by 30 in order to be as up to date as possible with each and every club. Its a fools errand that borders on the impossible.Fear not! Were here each and every week to give you a snapshot of whats going on in the world of baseball, with one fantasy takeaway from each of the leagues 30 teams. Think of it as your one-stop shop for the week ahead.Here are the takeaways for this week, as September rosters expand even more quickly than some teams playoff chances start to slip away:Arizona Diamondbacks: Although he went 0-for-3 in his return to action yesterday, it was good to see Chris Herrmann (hamstring) back on the field for the D-backs. The catcher was batting .290 on the season prior to getting hurt on July 16, and even if the banged-up Welington Castillo (shoulder) doesnt have to miss much time, the team should find a way to get his Herrmanns bat in the lineup going forward.Atlanta Braves: Williams Perez was able to get back on the mound for the Braves on Tuesday after having missed three months of action due to a rotator-cuff strain. Thats the good news. The bad news is that he lasted just 2 1/3 innings, giving up six runs on eight hits to the Nationals before getting the hook. Still, health-wise, Perez got through the return in one piece and manager Brian Snitker says the pitcher will remain in the rotation.Baltimore Orioles: Chris Davis left Tuesdays game early after complaining that his left hand didnt feel right. Wed wager that his right hand didnt feel left either. All jokes aside, X-rays showed the slugger was fine and his sitting out Wednesdays game as well was just manager Buck Showalters way of giving Davis two consecutive days off, given the Os day off on Thursday. Davis said the injury has bothered him for most of the season, and was not all that concerned about missing time down the stretch.Boston Red Sox: Outfielder Andrew Benintendi was shagging fly balls in the outfield before the Red Sox game on Tuesday, wearing a custom-made knee brace. The rookie has made phenomenal progress from his knee injury and may be able to return to the Boston lineup as early as next week. Should either of Bostons minor league teams that are currently in the playoffs advance to the next round, Benintendi could join them in order to see some live at-bats before making his big-league return.Chicago Cubs: Has manager Joe Maddon already begun to set up his playoff rotation? It seems like hes using the last few weeks of the regular season to experiment. This weekend, hes flip-flopping Jake Arrieta, who will now pitch on Sunday and John Lackey, who will take the mound on Saturday. Its just to break up Jon Lester and Jake, Maddon said. It was strategical because we could. Lester opens up the weekend series in Houston on Friday.Chicago White Sox: An MRI showed no structural damage in James Shields tight back, amid discussion of a possible September shutdown for the veteran pitcher. Although it now appears as though Shields may indeed make his next start, theres still a good chance it may be his last of 2016, either through a recurrence of the injury, or simply poor performance. Carson Fulmer, whose Triple-A team failed to make the playoffs, could potentially (though unlikely) be recalled to step into the rotation.Cincinnati Reds: Billy Hamilton suffered an oblique injury on Sunday - a bizarre happening, given it occurred on what barely registered as a check swing. The outfielder has already missed three games as a result, and is expected to sit out all weekend as well before being re-evaluated by team doctors. Jose Peraza has been batting leadoff in his stead, and the .524 September batting average has made it easy for the Reds to forget that Hamilton is out.Cleveland Indians: Yan Gomes, out with a shoulder injury since July 17, appears to be in line to be activated when eligible to come off the disabled list on September 16. The catcher was able to get behind the plate for five innings with Triple-A Columbus yesterday, and the plan is for a repeat outing as catcher today. Gomes had been primarily DH-ing in his rehab stint, but showed enough progress throwing the ball to accelerate his progress.Colorado Rockies: Owners of Gerardo Parra should be crossing their fingers that his hamstring injury is not serious. The new Colorado first baseman got hurt in the first inning of Wednesdays game while stretching for a ball during a bang-bang play. For now, the team is hoping its just a tweak, but anything more serious than that might mean Parras 2016 is over. Stephen Cardullo would be the biggest beneficiary of playing time should Parra need to sit.Detroit Tigers: Saturday marks the return of Jordan Zimmermann (neck), who will start for the first time since August 4 when he takes the mound against the Orioles. Although Zimmermanns last rehab start (Monday) was a rocky one in terms of the box score, the pitcher said he was pain-free, feeling great and as strong or if not stronger than I did in April. Keep an eye on this start, and if all goes well, this could be a nice waiver-wire add for the homestretch. Zimmermann is currently owned in only 66.1 percent of ESPN leagues.Houston Astros: The Astros are hoping that Carlos Correa will be back in action on Friday night, assuming that team doctors are satisfied with what they saw in the shortstops shoulder when he was examined yesterday. Alex Bregman shifted over to short, with Yulieski Gurriel manning third base while Correa was out. If the injury does prove to be more than a minor sprain, that positional shift is likely to continue.Kansas City Royals: Salvador Perez got hit on the wrist on Tuesday, and the Royals held their breath all the way through receiving the results of X-rays taken yesterday. Exhale, everyone. Perez has a bruise, and no fracture. Manager Ned Yost believes that Perez will be back in the Royals lineup on Friday, provided that the swelling goes down. If not, either Drew Butera or Tony Cruz could fill in for a day or two, as needed.Los Angeles Angels: Yunel Escobar may be back in the Angels lineup come Friday. The third baseman last played on September 3, when he got hit by a pitch on the hand. He did take both batting and fielding practice before Wednesdays game, so its looking good for a return to action in the upcoming series against the Rangers.Los Angeles Dodgers: Its not looking good for Scott Kazmir, as the rehabbing pitcher was unable to last a full inning for Triple-A Oklahoma City last night. Kazmir threw 33 pitches, walking two, hitting two and serving up a home run. More disturbing were the neck and rib cage issues that accompanied the poor outing. The timetable for a return to the Dodgers seems to be pushed way back now, although owners of Jose De Leon may benefit from this news, as hes likely to remain in the teams rotation.Miami Marlins: Fantasy owners who are counting on Jose Fernandez to give their team a late-season push may not like what Miami manager Don Mattingly has to say about the pitchers September playing time. The team plans to shut Fernandez down should they be eliminated from playoff contention. The tragic number for the Marlins is currently 18, so at least two more starts can likely be counted on, unless the team decides to pull the plug on their post-season early.Milwaukee Brewers: Andrew Susac may not get a lot of playing time for the Brewers in September, but manager Craig Counsell is hoping that just being with the club will help the catchers chances of making Milwaukees roster for 2017. I think (this) will make Spring Training a lot easier for him next year, Counsell said. I feel like we can accomplish something no matter how many games we see him. Martin Maldonado will be up for arbitration after the season, and Manny Pina is the only other catcher (besides Susac) on the 40-man roster.Minnesota Twins: The numbers were great for Trevor Plouffe, hitting .306 with five home runs in his last 12 games. Unfortunately, those games may have been his last with the Twins. The free-agent-to-be strained both his oblique and intercostal muscles during a hard swing on Tuesday and is expected to miss at least two weeks as a result. At that point, if hes not at 100 percent, theres really no reason for him to come back at all, save perhaps for nostalgias sake and a chance for the fans to maybe say goodbye.New York Mets: Rather than talking about Tim Tebow, how about we focus on someone who may actually have some fantasy impact? Robert Gsellman beat the Nationals in his last start, lowering his Mets ERA to 2.87 in the process. New York has managed to turn their season around quickly and should be in the wild-card hunt the rest of the way. Gsellman should continue to start, and potentially twice each against the Braves and Phillies. Ya gotta believe?New York Yankees: His six innings of shutout ball, complete with 11 strikeouts on August 15 against the Blue Jays was easily the highlight of Chad Greens season. That season is now officially at an end, though, as the pitcher has been placed on the 15-day disabled list with a right forearm tendon injury. The good news is that Tommy John surgery, which had been feared, will be avoided as no UCL tear was detected by doctors. Expect a full recovery in time for the spring.Oakland Athletics: With Sean Manaea ready to return next week, the As will move to a six-man rotation the rest of the way, which means we may only see Jharel Cotton a few more times before Oakland calls it a season. In his debut on Wednesday, Cotton threw 6 1/3 innings of two-hit ball before leaving the game to an ovation after 102 pitches. His catcher, Stephen Vogt, was duly impressed, He was amazing, really good. He was locating, getting weak contact, making pitches when he needed to in big spots. Dynasty leaguers, take note - and others, file the name away for 2017.Philadelphia Phillies: Maikel Franco had played in every Phillies game since July 24 prior to sitting out yesterdays game due to a jammed thumb. Manager Pete Mackanin said that his third baseman was available for pinch-hit duties, but he ultimately opted not to use him, leading to speculation Franco might still need a day or two more before being able to return to action.Pittsburgh Pirates: Starling Marte is dealing with back spasms, and has missed the last two games for the Pirates due to the problem. The outfielder has had multiple nagging injuries over the course of the season, but in spite of the varied bumps and bruises, has missed just nine games. In his last 12 starts, Marte has hit .340 with a pair of home runs, so as soon as hes back in Pittsburghs lineup, he should also return to yours.St. Louis Cardinals: Matt Holliday is not yet prepared to give up on a 2016 return, and in fact, hes amping up his efforts to do so. Doctors have given Holliday permission to resume baseball activities, following a screw being inserted in his thumb on August 17. For now, the Cardinals are eyeballing two-to-three weeks of recovery time before Holliday can get back on the field.San Diego Padres: An erratic season may have come to a premature end for Jarred Cosart. The winless pitcher this season, acquired by the Padres in a deadline deal, strained his right groin and hamstring while covering first on a grounder. He was pulled from Wednesdays start after just 3 1/3 innings and may subsequently be shut down for the season. Manager Andy Green didnt have an answer when asked who might replace Cosart in his rotation: We dont really have a wealth of starters banging on the door to get here right now.San Francisco Giants: Denard Span is just 1-for-24 since August 30, part of the reason manager Bruce Bochy has given his outfielder the last two games off. Bochy says Span is also still dealing with soreness in his knee from getting hit by a pitch on August 28. However, the plan is to play Span in all three games this weekend, in the hope that this little breather will rectify all that ails him.Seattle Mariners: Manager Scott Servais was pretty clear as to how he planned to handle the fact he currently has three corner outfielders for just two lineups spots. I do think we owe an opportunity to find out what Ben Gamel can do. So hes going to play... It doesnt mean hes going to play every day, but I want to try to get him in there and see what weve got. Gamel, however, is hitting just .063 in his first 16 at-bats, so with Seattle still not out of the wild-card chase, dont write off Nori Aoki and Seth Smith just yet.Tampa Bay Rays: Matt Duffy has officially been shut down by the Rays, and the shortstop will undergo surgery on his left Achilles later this week. Brad Miller and Nick Franklin will likely split time at the position the rest of the month, as the organization declined to add either Tim Beckham or Taylor Motter to the teams expanded roster.Texas Rangers: Colby Lewis hasnt pitched for the Rangers since June 21. However, Lewis was undefeated entering his start that day - a game in which he lost 8-2 and suffered a strained lat muscle that sent him to the DL. Sunday marks Lewis return to the Rangers rotation, as hell start against the Angels. Manager Jeff Banister said he may decide to go with a six-man rotation for now, though he may ultimately opt to skip A.J. Griffin if he continues to struggle.Toronto Blue Jays: If you see a few extra starts going forward from Dioner Navarro, dont be surprised. In addition to the likelihood of Navarro catching on Friday when Marco Estrada is on the mound, Russell Martin is also dealing with some knee issues. Martin says hes fine behind the plate, but has been experiencing pain when swinging the bat - so much so, that he had to be pulled for a pinch-hitter on Wednesday.Washington Nationals: Stephen Strasburgs return form the disabled list lasted just 42 pitches. Whether or not well see him again this season now hinges on an MRI, scheduled to take place today on his right elbow. Were hoping its something minor, manager Dusty Baker said after the game, but given Strasburgs injury history, were not sure that hope is warranted here. Stay tuned.Stitched Jazz Jerseys . Scott Kazmir allowed four hits in seven shutout innings, Michael Brantley hit a two-run homer in a three-run first inning and the Indians maintained their hold on an AL wild-card spot with a 4-1 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday night. Fake Jazz Jerseys . The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling "puts an end to my dreams of being a top player," the 27-year-old Troicki said in a statement. "I worked my entire life for it, and it has been taken away from me in one afternoon by a doctor I didnt know," said Troicki, whose ranking peaked at No. https://www.cheapjazzonline.com/ . Oaklands loss to Seattle clinched the ALs best record for the Red Sox with one day to spare in the regular season. "I think everybody was kind of watching," catcher David Ross said. "Demp (Ryan Dempster) came out before he went to the bullpen and was just yelling that they lost. Utah Jazz Pro Shop . Ouellette, from Montreal, already has three Olympic gold medals since joining the team in 1999. Custom Utah Jazz Jerseys . Paul Pierce couldnt believe he missed at the end. Young scored a season-high 26 points to spark a huge effort from the leagues most productive bench, and Los Angeles beat the Brooklyn Nets 99-94 on Wednesday night after blowing a 27-point lead.BARCELONA, Spain -- Luis Suarez scored a hat trick and Lionel Messi added two more goals as Barcelona started its Spanish league title defense in style by routing Real Betis 6-2 on Saturday.Suarez, who led scoring in La Liga with 40 goals last season, helped to put the result beyond doubt before halftime and struck twice afterward to complete the demolition.Even better for the Catalan club, Messi destroyed any hopes of title rivals that a difficult summer could have affected his game.Messi was found guilty in June of tax fraud in Spain -- he is appealing -- and lost another Copa America final with Argentina. But he was his normal brilliant self at Camp Nou.With the score at 1-1, Messi restored Barcelonas lead for good in the 37th minute with his first of two unstoppable strikes from the edge of the area. He was just as impressive as a playmaker, taking part in setting up three more goals.(Messi) is incredible. He is the best player in the world, Suarez said. You have to enjoy playing with a player like that.Sevilla also scored six goals but in a much closer 6-4 thrilling win over Espanyol for its first victory under manager Jorge Sampaoli after losses in the UEFA Super Cup and Spanish Super Cup.In Barcelona, Arda Turan had put the hosts ahead before Betis striker Ruben Castro equalized with the first of two goals.Barcelonas biggest title rivals play their opening matches on Sunday, when Real Madrid visits Real Sociedad and Atletico Madrid hosts the promoted Alaves.For Suarez, the six-goal performance against Betis was a message that Barcelona is still the team to beat.Barca is always the favorite, Suarez said. Todays game was to show why we have been the champion in recent seasons.Before kickoff, Messi and Andres Iniesta received the trophy for last seasons title.After Iniesta, who is recovering from a leg injury, returned to the stands, Messi got down to helping Barcelona make its first step toward a third straight league crown.Messi needed six minutes to catch Betis defense off-balance with a cross-field pass to Jordi Alba, who then found Turan to sidefoot in his assist.Turan continuedd to make the most of Neymars Olympic duty for Brazil by scoring his third goal in as many matches.dddddddddddd Turan scored twice to help win the Spanish Super Cup this week, and has meshed well with Messi and Suarez up front.Turan is talented and can play both as midfielder and forward, and now, on top of that, he is scoring goals, Barcelona coach Luis Enrique said. He is more integrated and happy.The other big benefactor of the lopsided win was Sergi Roberto. The versatile Roberto has been tapped to replace the big boots of Dani Alves on the right side of the defense. He excelled against Betis with passes for Messi and Suarez to score their first goals.Castro pulled Betis level in the 21st with a free kick that goalkeeper Claudio Bravo couldnt keep out in what could be his last match for Barcelona. Barcelona sports director Robert Fernandez said after the match that the club had reached a deal in principle to sell Bravo to Manchester City.But it didnt take long for Messi to quash Betis comeback.Messi had already struck the bar before getting his first goal, a trademark left-footed curler after he had received the ball from Roberto.Suarez made it 3-1 just before halftime when Messi played Roberto clear on the right. The Uruguay striker rolled Robertos pass off the far post and into the net.Barcelona increased its dominance after halftime as Messi led a counterattack that ended with him finding Suarez all alone to push in the ball in the 55th.Two minutes later Messi rifled a low strike past Adan, who then could do nothing to reach Suarezs free kick that sailed just inside the post in the 82nd.As a fan, I enjoy Messi, I cant deny it said Betis coach Gus Poyet. But when you are playing against him, you dont want him to play so well.Betis Castro scored the last goal of the match.Striker Luciano Vietto netted twice for Sevilla against a visiting Espanyol side which was in its first match under coach Quique Sanchez Flores.Elsewhere, Villarreal drew 1-1 at Granada. ' ' '