Bang for the buck

Last week, High&Inside - and Low&Outside - filled out the lineup cards of underachieving superstars so far this season. This week, we have compiled a list of some bargain-priced surprises in the National League thus far. Fantasy geeks, take note. (Statistics are through Monday.)

Pos.   Player, teams   Statistics/Salary   

C   Geovany Soto, Cubs   .352, $401,000   

1B   Conor Jackson, D'backs   .333, $419,500   

2B   Dan Uggla, Marlins   .267, $417,000   

SS   Ryan Theriot, Cubs   .322, $428,000   

3B   Kevin Kouzmanoff, Padres   .277, $410,000   

OF   Justin Upton, D'backs   .348, $393,000   

OF   Matt Kemp, Dodgers   .330, $406,000   

OF   Josh Willingham, Marlins   .341, $405,000   

SP   Edinson Volquez, Reds   4-1, 1.27 ERA, $392,500   

RP   Matt Capps, Pirates   2.13 ERA, 6 SVs, $435,500   

Word of the week

Crafty: It's a baseball cliche as old as the veteran lefthander it often is used to describe. After 45-year-old Jamie Moyer pitched the Phillies past the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday, ESPN.com used the adjective again in a headline: "Crafty Moyer leads Phils . . ." Isn't there a fresher term to describe 82-m.p.h.-fastball-throwing relics? How about wily or cunning or . . . [looking through thesaurus]? OK, maybe there isn't.

Better than a grand slam

The best use of a baseball bat came Sunday in Surrey, British Columbia, when a 20-year-old man saved a boy from a pit bull attack, according to the Canadian Press. When Jordan Slezak heard screams coming from a basketball court across from his home, he grabbed a bat, scaled a metal fence barefoot and went Albert Pujols on a dog gnawing on 11-year-old Sean Bajwa's arm.

"I just came right up and gave the dog a quick shot to the head," Slezak said. "At that point, he stopped thrashing the boy's arm, kind of looked up at me, and he wasn't letting go, obviously. So I just came with an overhead shot . . . By the time I hit him in the head the second time, the dog let go."

The boy, who suffered deep wounds to his head, arms and legs, needed more than 100 stitches. The Seattle Mariners sent a scout to British Columbia.

Notable

Barry Zito, demoted to the San Francisco Giants bullpen last week, is returning to the starting rotation without having made any relief appearances. Zito (0-6, 7.53 ERA) will start tonight in Pittsburgh.

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Contact staff writer Jeff McLane at 215-854-4745

or jmclane@phillynews.com.