2nd half for Dye, Vazquez, Bagwell, Biggio, Cedeno?

[MHersh]

If you look at the last several years, all these guys have been solid players. Unfortunately, this year, they are all struggling. Any suggestions on who to cut and who to keep?

Also thoughts on Carlos Lee, he just became available in my league.

[Arlo]

I think Dye will improve a bit, but he won't approach the numbers we had come to expect. If I had to guess, I'd estimate an average of .280 in the second half with good but not great power.

I'm not too worried about Vazquez. I think he was carrying too much of a burden for too long. Now, his pitch counts are down, Colon is in the fold, and all signs look pretty good.

Bagwell's been looking a little better lately; don't give up on him yet.

Biggio has also been on a mini hot streak. In fact, the whole Astros ballclub may well improve in the second half. Nonetheless, I'd temper my expectations for Biggio - his best days are behind him. He'll still be adequate, but if you can cash in on his name, do so.

I'm not at all optimistic about Cedeno. Just consider that his last walk came in early June. For a player who should be providing you with steals, that's a pretty damning stat. It's always possible that he'll break out of his prolonged slump, but I'd rather let somebody else worry about him.

With Lee, what you see is basically what you get. However, if he really does keep hitting third in the order, that could help his numbers significantly. He's worth a flyer at this point.