ESPN

As the end of the 2009 regular season draws near, many fantasy owners -- especially those in keeper leagues -- are already looking ahead to 2010. They're scanning the waiver wire looking for bargains and crunching the salary numbers in their heads, attempting to narrow down the list of players they'd like to hang on to for next season. To them, may we offer a word of advice: Leave the pitchers off your list.

To understand why, you need look no further than Brad Lidge of the Philadelphia Phillies. He was perfect in 2008, saving 41 games in 41 attempts, registering a 1.95 ERA and holding opponents to a paltry .198 batting average. So why wouldn't you want to hold on to this projected top-five reliever?

Well, let's look at how quickly the magic vanished for Lidge. Just one season after being hailed as a hero, the jeers are flying fast and furious. Lidge is 0-8 with a 7.48 ERA. Opposing hitters are knocking the cover off the ball, at a .305 clip.

On Wednesday night, the Florida Marlins scored twice in the ninth inning off the so-called closer, winning in walk-off fashion on a two-out pinch-hit single by Brett Carroll. It was Lidge's 11th blown save of the season, the highest total in the National League since 1998.

After the game, Lidge really had no answers. "It's incredibly frustrating," he said on the team's official Web site. "I'm disappointed. They hit the ball tonight. I'm a little bit at a loss. I'm sure there's some things I can do better."

And there are some things you can do better as a fantasy owner -- don't keep pitchers.

For every Tim Lincecum who follows up a Cy Young season with another outstanding campaign, there's a Brandon Webb who spends most of the year on the disabled list, or a Cole Hamels, who after allowing four runs in seven innings last night, is 10-9 on the year with a 4.11 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP.

It's just not worth it.

Previous editions: Sept. 23: Jenks done for season | Sept. 22: Lee, Ramirez power Cubs

• "How are you going to put your whole leg, your big donkey leg, on the top of the bag?" That's what Orlando Hudson told the Los Angeles Times he asked Adam Dunn after the Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman collided with the relative newcomer to first base Wednesday. Hudson jammed his surgically repaired wrist when he couldn't avoid the "big donkey leg" but seemed in good enough spirits after the game to joke about it, so it's probably not that serious. Consider him day-to-day.

• The San Francisco Giants aren't giving up just yet. Juan Uribe went 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBIs, and raised his average to .359 for September as the Giants beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-2 and pulled within four games of the Colorado Rockies in the NL wild-card race. Jonathan Sanchez held the D-backs scoreless through the first five innings, but faltered a bit in the sixth, charged with two runs and getting pulled after retiring only one batter. Still, he managed to record a win for the first time since Aug. 25.

• Hank Blalock has disappointed in 2009, but at least he seems to be getting hot down the stretch, which might salvage the fantasy playoffs for teams in head-to-head leagues. Blalock went 3-for-5 on Wednesday with a home run and four RBIs against the Oakland Athletics. He's posted a .381 average and eight RBIs in the past week.

• What happened to the Jason Marquis who made the All-Star Game? Since the break, he's just 4-5 with a 4.15 ERA. On Wednesday, he was simply awful, allowing six runs (five earned) and 10 baserunners in only 4 2/3 innings ... to the Padres! Marquis lost for the fourth time in five decisions and is now 15-12 on the year.

• Josh Beckett is still collecting wins, but it wasn't pretty. The Boston Red Sox pitcher allowed 12 hits and a walk in only six innings, but the Kansas City Royals simply couldn't capitalize, managing to score only two runs off Beckett, who improved to 16-6 on the year. David Ortiz went 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs, pretty much outproducing the entire Kansas City lineup by himself.

• "Out of perfection nothing can be made." That quote from Joseph Campbell sums up Mark Buehrle's season in a nutshell. Since his perfect game in July, the Chicago White Sox pitcher is 1-7, including a disastrous Wednesday that saw him give up eight hits and five runs (four earned) in 3 1/3 innings against the Minnesota Twins. In the loss, Jermaine Dye did homer twice, but it wasn't nearly enough.

• The St. Louis Cardinals' John Smoltz -- it's still weird to write that -- and the Houston Astros' Bud Norris went mano a mano Wednesday night, and the kid came out on top. Norris threw six scoreless innings to best Smoltz -- who is nearly twice his age -- 3-0. Smoltz didn't pitch poorly, allowing only two runs through six, and he didn't allow a walk while striking out five. The Cardinals' magic number remains at one.

• Prince Fielder went yard again, hitting his 42nd home run of the year, as the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Chicago Cubs 3-2. Pitcher Chris Narveson struck out a career-high 10 batters in only 5 2/3 innings of work. In 27 second-half innings, Narveson's ERA is 2.00.

• Closing out the season with a vengeance, Joey Votto went 4-for-5 with three runs scored as the Cincinnati Reds crushed the Pittsburgh Pirates 12-2. Votto has hit .522 over the past week, and .368 for the month of September. Even though Homer Bailey did not strike out a single Pirates hitter, he still managed to get through six innings to notch his fourth win in his past five decisions.