Footprints in the Snow is FanHouse's look at the paths to be forged by MLB teams this winter as they look ahead to 2010.
The Atlanta Braves were alive in the wild-card race late in the season due to a powerful pitching rotation that featured six viable starting candidates (at least there were six at the end of the season). The Braves ranked third in the National League in team ERA with a 3.57 mark and had two 15-game winners in Derek Lowe and Javier Vazquez. They also ranked fourth in team batting average and sixth in runs scored even without a true cleanup hitter in the lineup.
If you examine their bullpen you'll also find two relievers who were in the top five in strikeouts among relief pitchers -- Mike Gonzalez with 90 and Rafael Soriano with 102. These relievers shared the closing duties for most of the season and each had ERA's below three to finish the year.
For a number of major league teams Mondays and Thursdays are travel days. Every Wednesday and Sunday, Fantasy Fill-Ins finds guys who should be widely available on the waiver wire and can step in for the day, helping you gain ground or hold off the pack.
There are only seven games on Thursday, meaning over half of the major-league teams are off. Finding five fill-in players wasn't easy, but if it was everyone would do it.
Chris Coghlan, Marlins - Whispers around baseball have Coghlan as a dark-horse candidate for the National League Rookie of the Year award. I'm not sure there's enough name recognition for him to take home the hardware, but there's no reason why he shouldn't be helping your fantasy baseball team. He's batting .359 over the last month and .379 during the last week. He's only owned in 41% of leagues so grab him to fill in on Thursday and keep him around afterward. He's just that good.
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
It's rare that I lead Roto Rush with news not from the field, but this saga is too good to pass up.
Jake Peavy, newly acquired by the Chicago White Sox, on Thursday declared himself ready to start. He said that pitching Saturday in New York would be fine by him.
The Sox, on the other hand, feel Peavy needs one more Triple-A rehab start before he's ready for major league action. That final rehab start will happen for the Charlotte Knights on Saturday. If all goes well...
We're at the point in most fantasy baseball leagues where the trade deadline has passed, so to make any kind of roster moves you need to rely solely on the waiver wire. But, that's not a bad thing. There's still lots of talent to be had.
In Tuesday night's version of the Fantasy Baseball Cram Session, Tom Herrera and I talked about finding different categories in rotisserie-style scoring where you can gain ground on the teams ahead of you. We focus on saves, stolen bases, wins and home runs and give you a number of players on the waiver wire who could help your team make up some of the difference between you and the guy(s) ahead of you in the standings. Listen to the podcast after the jump.
Categorically Speaking is designed specifically for Rotisserie GMs. The information is great for all fantasy baseball formats, but for those of you who could use some help bolstering a specific roto category, this is for you. We're going to pay close attention to players who might be readily available on your waiver wire or who you might target in non-blockbuster trade talks.
I was truly amazed when I looked at the list of top home run hitters over the past 14 days. There were two things that took me by surprise. The first was the man at the top of the list and the second was that three of the top eight power threats over the past two weeks are widely available in fantasy baseball leagues.
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
Eugenio Velez (pronounce the first name: ay-ooh-HEY-nee-o) is a relative unknown major league baseball player. He's currently gaining playing time for the San Francisco Giants without having an actual starting job. He fights for playing time at second base (against Freddy Sanchez), left field (against Nate Schierholtz and Fred Lewis) and right field (against Randy Winn). Lately, though, Velez has been playing pretty much everyday, and swinging a hot bat. The question is, can it continue?
You see, when it comes to marquee names like Pedro, the expectations are always a bit unrealistic. It would be nice if legends could harness the same stuff at age 37, but that's just not the way it goes. In fact, the Martinez we saw in his season debut Wednesday wasn't all that impressive from a fantasy perspective.
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
In 2005, Tom Gorzelanny pitched in the majors for the first time. He was just 22. Two years later, he went 14-10 with a 3.88 ERA -- logging more than 200 innings in 32 starts for the hapless Pittsburgh Pirates. He did allow too many hits, but he was only 25 years old, so it appeared he would settle in as an anchor for the ever-rebuilding Pirates.
Instead, he had a disastrous past two seasons and had been relegated to the minors. Last week, Gorzelanny was traded to the Cubs, and Tuesday night he passed his Cubs debut with flying colors.
The other night in Pittsburgh, where the city really is named after William Pitt and not its pits-of-the-world baseball franchise, a phenom named Andrew McCutchen hit three home runs. He joined a trio of titanic names in Pirates history -- Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell and Ralph Kiner -- among those who have achieved the feat. It's the sort of drop-dead brilliance envisioned when they summoned the dreadlocked stud from the minors in June.
"He's got tremendous bat speed and the ability to drive the ball," said his manager, John Russell.
Boston was finally able to come to terms with Cleveland on a deal and secure Victor Martinez, a player they've wanted to bring into the fold for a while. In the deal, the Indians will be receiving three pitchers: Justin Masterson, Nick Hagadone, and Brian Price. For a team whose main concern was to trim payroll, this is an excellent group of arms to add to the organization. This move will definitely impact the fantasy world, and we'll attempt to sift through the aftermath now.
Footprints in the Snow is FanHouse's look at the paths to be forged by MLB teams this winter as they look ahead to 2010.
For a number of major league teams Mondays and Thursdays are travel days. Every Wednesday and Sunday, 
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
We're at the point in most 
Categorically Speaking
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
The other night in Pittsburgh, where the city really is named after William Pitt and not its pits-of-the-world baseball franchise, a phenom named 
Boston was finally able to come to terms with Cleveland on a deal and secure 
