Thanks to colleague Ryan Fowler for pinch-blogging last week. My vacation included too much food, two mediocre rounds of golf, too much to drink, not enough beach time, a shabbier-than-expected house, and a beatdown of my kids and my dad at mini-golf. Dad is 78, and the kids are eight and four. I played lefty, so get off my back!

***

With the streaming starter record at 58-40, let's go with the struggling Erik Bedard (owned in 5.8 percent of FOXSports.com leagues) against the Cubs today, and the surprising Jose Quintana (22.3 percent owned) versus the Twins on Tuesday.

On to the news:

• Ian Desmond - fantasy's best shortstop in 2012 - will miss somewhere between two and four weeks due to a torn oblique. As noted in this week's edition of Free Agent Frenzy, look for Steve Lombardozzi to play second base and have value in deep mixed leagues, while Danny Espinosa should gain shortstop eligibility later this week (he's played seven games at the position so far).
• Remember Travis Snider? He hit his first homer of the season on Sunday for the Blue Jays, and projects to be their everyday left fielder at least until Jose Bautista comes off the DL in early August. There's more about Snider in Free Agent Frenzy.
• Marlins 3B Hanley Ramirez has missed three straight games due to an infected cut on his right hand, and his return date is uncertain. It sounds more like a day-to-day issue than a DL thing. See what happens when you punch inanimate objects in anger?
• White Sox SP Gavin Floyd comes off the DL to start tonight against the Twins, so start Floyd if you have him. The Dodgers will activate Chad Billingsley to start tonight as well.
• Due to a couple of trades, Francisco Cordero is now the Astros' closer, while Brett Myers has become a setup man for the White Sox. Sometimes, that's the way the closer cookie crumbles.
• While the Angels take some time to decide if SS Erick Aybar (toe) needs a DL trip, Maicer Izturis will be the team's starting shortstop. Prospect Jean Segura has been called up, and though his future is bright, he doesn't figure to get much playing time right now.
• Yankees OF Nick Swisher (hip flexor) probably won't play until Friday.
• The Mets plan to call up pitching prospect Matt Harvey to start on Thursday at Arizona. Harvey has a 3.68 ERA at Triple A and has averaged more than a strikeout per inning since the start of his pro career in 2011, but don't expect too much too soon. I might grab him in an NL-only league, but that's all.
• Blue Jays SP Brandon Morrow (oblique) appears on target for a late August return.
• Joaquin Benoit got Sunday's save for the Tigers in place of Jose Valverde (back), but Valverde is expected to be ready to go on Tuesday.
• The Rangers are having some rotation issues, with Roy Oswalt (back) scratched tonight, and Colby Lewis (forearm) possibly headed to the DL.
• Mariners 1B Justin Smoak (.578 OPS) is apparently in danger of being demoted to part-time status, if not Triple A (yet).
• Did the Royals and Rockies really swap Jonathan Sanchez for Jeremy Guthrie last week? Gee, it's too bad I wasn't around for that one.
• Roberto Hernandez - who used to call himself Fausto Carmona - could be back with the Indians in a few weeks. If you're looking for a pitcher with a 4.59 ERA who's three years older than we previously thought, this should be good news.
• The Cubs think that SP/trade chip Matt Garza (triceps) should be able to avoid the DL, but his next start might be pushed back a little.
• Braves RP Jonny Venters had a strong outing in his return from the DL on Sunday. I don't care about Venters' 4.19 ERA - I'm still buying on his K and GB rates as a setup man. He's a stud.

See you back here tomorrow morning.