Randy

Winn

He started as the team’s DH and went 1-for-5 in the Mariners’ 7-3 victory over the Angels last evening.

Winn, who was hit by a John Lackey pitch, should be considered day-to-day.

Winn, a switch-hitter with speed, does fit very well behind Ichiro, as evidenced by his .414 start.

If the two teams talk, Brandon Backe’s name figures to come up. The Astros could be smart to sell high with him.

''He’s got more plate appearances than anybody on the team,’' manager Bob Melvin said. ''So I’m not going to worry about him. We’ll be careful with him and get him in there when he’s ready.’'

He was hitting .234 on June 5th and is now batting .286. A .329 hot stretch (76-for-231) can do wonders for your BA. Considering his improved hitting and his capacity to steal bases, Winn is still a solid fantasy asset despite the mess in Seattle.

The Giants salvaged one game in a home series against Colorado. Winn is 5-for-12 in three games as the Giants’ center fielder.

Winn is hitting .303 with eight runs scored in nine games as a Giant. Still, the club is 4-5 during that time and currently stands 8 1/2 games back of the NL West-leading Padres.

He was the first Giant to acheive the feat since Jeff Kent in 1999. From a fantasy perspective, it was a pretty unproductive cycle, as he had just the one RBI and two runs scored. Winn is batting .319 with three homers in 13 games for the Giants. He had six homers in 102 games for Seattle.

The homer was his eighth. For the most part, Winn has been the same player this year as he was in 2003, 2004 and the first half of 2005. That’s not bad, but he hasn’t been the fantasy outfielder we thought he might be when it seemed Felipe Alou was committed to batting him third in front of Barry Bonds. The one truly disappointing thing is that he’s just 3-for-9 in steal attempts. Winn averaged 22.5 steals the past four years.