L.A. is the last team in the majors to have a losing streak longer than two, and by not doing so until games 98-100, it set a franchise record.
And while the Dodgers' lead in the NL West is still eight games, there are causes for concern. In two losses at St. Louis, Los Angeles has had 20 hits -- but scored just one run. The Dodgers went 2-for-16 with runners in scoring position in those games and had only three extra-base hits, all doubles.
Poppin' out of the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
You hear that, fantasy baseball owners? Josh Hamilton's sole purpose on this Earth is to mess with you. Really, there's no way to over-dramatize the crap he's put fantasy owners through. Initially, he would have been the crown jewel in a dynasty league with minor-leaguers. When those types finally gave up on him, he made the show for the Reds. Then, he started to catch on for the Reds, but couldn't stay healthy. So he goes to the Rangers and puts himself on a record RBI pace, only to significantly slow down in the second half. In 2009, the bona fide elite-level fantasy outfielder has only played 35 games. He's only hitting .240. And he's out until mid-July.
The joke is on us, because the Rangers starting rotation is pretty damn legit right now. After Sunday, the Rangers now sport the fifth-best starter's ERA (4.25) in the American League.
The A's, whose infield has been ravaged by injuries, have acquired former ALCS MVP Adam Kennedy from the Rays for a player to be named. Kennedy, 33, was assigned to Triple-A Sacramento as a paper move because he wasn't expected to arrive in time for Friday's game. He will be with the big league club on Saturday, and he's expected to be in the starting lineup at second base.
Kennedy was hitting .280 at Triple-A Durham. Last year he was the Cardinals everyday second baseman, hitting .280 in 115 games. A veteran of 10 years in the majors, Kennedy is best known for his time with the Angels, from 2000-06. In 2002, he won the MVP of the ALCS. The Angels went on to win the World Series.
Kennedy would provide some insurance for the A's, who have second baseman Mark Ellis, third baseman Eric Chavez and utilityman Nomar Garciaparra on the disabled list.
FanHouse continues its 2009 MLB Preview with a look at the Tampa Bay Rays.
Although they ended up falling short at the end, 2008 was the year of the Rays. After being the butt of jokes for the first 10 years of its existence, Tampa Bay turned an impressive collection of baseball talent into an impressive team, finally assembling a competent bullpen, and utilizing some position shifts to put a much improved defense on the field. With the pieces in place, everything came together, and the Rays increased their win total by 31 games on their way to winning both the AL East and AL pennant.
Fantasy baseball draft season is coming, so you best be prepared by delving through every major player on each team. Fantasy FanHouse is here to help with a quick once-over.
Meet the ... Home of the best hitter in baseball. Yes, I'm proclaiming that Albert Pujols is the modern-day (and real-life) Roy Hobbs. Last year, people counted him as a huge injury-risk and he went out and won the NL MVP. I think we should have all learned by now that this man should never be drafted outside the top five overall picks.
Adam Kennedy isn't happy. He's about to enter the final year of his contract, but considering he's lost his starting job and doubts he'll have a chance to earn it back, he's getting a little nervous about the rest of his career. He took those concerns to Tony La Russa this week and asked for a trade. From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Kennedy said he recently approached La Russa regarding his status and was told by the manager that he no longer rated regular playing time. Kennedy emphasized that he appreciated La Russa's honesty but believes it wrong to hold his career hostage.
"I think if anything, I know how he feels about me," Kennedy said. "We sat down and he told me, 'I'm honestly not going to play you because [Felipe Lopez] can do the job better.' He's been truthful with me. He hasn't lied to me. I respect him for it. I think our relationship is pretty good. Like I said, he makes the moves."
Now, some players would be content to leave it at that and then go sulk in the corner, but not Kennedy. Given a rare start in right field this afternoon, he put an exclamation mark on his request by blasting a grand slam in the first inning, ultimately finishing the game batting 4-for-5 with five RBI. If he hit like this all the time he wouldn't be in the position he is now, but seriously, his timing is impeccable.
Scott Rolen has only been an ex-Cardinal for 10 days, but don't worry folks, Tony LaRussa has found at least one new player on his team to be mad at. Apparently Adam Kennedy skipped the Cardinals' annual Winter Warmup fan festival.
"I'm disappointed he's not here," La Russa said. "This is a statement we make to our fans: 'Thanks for coming out,' and he's not here.
"In the first three months of the season, his playing time was extensive when he really wasn't productive. I really gave him the benefit of the doubt a lot, to the detriment of a guy like Aaron Miles.
"This year, I don't think we have that margin. Adam is a key guy in that mix so I expect him to return to his winning-player form."
If he doesn't, he'll be publicly executed by LaRussa himself. Okay, probably not, but he may get traded. Luckily for Adam he's not the only focus of Tony's anger right now. Scott Spiezio was late to an autograph session at the same fan festival on Monday, and LaRussa is none to pleased with him about it either.
"That's one dot off his resume," La Russa said. "I don't care what the excuse was, that's not a good way to get started."
Wow, pitchers and catchers haven't even reported yet, and Tony's already getting fired up. At the rate he's going, and with the amount of losses his team is probably going to suffer this season, he'll have been angry with everybody on his team by mid-April.
... because he doesn't think the farm will come through. Here's Tony La Russa's expectations on what the Cardinals will do with their roster next year. From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
La Russa dismisses the notion that the club could try to "go young" next year by flooding the roster with organizational products. A lack of pitching help from Class AAA Memphis this season reinforced his point.
"For 2008, I don't think you can legitimately make this a transition club, where you bring in young guys who pitch and hit. We ain't got that," La Russa said. "If that's true, help has to come through trade or free agency."
The reason why this is relevant is because the Cardinals are going to have to get very creative with their payroll next year. As the P-D points out, the team has $48.5 million committed in players who will miss a good chunk of next season or the entire year -- guys like Chris Carpenter, Mark Mulder, Scott Rolen, Adam Kennedy, and Juan Encarnacion. All told, that's nearly half of the team's projected payroll next year, which is expected to climb at least moderately from this year's $101 million.
The Cardinals are in MLB's 21st largest media market yet have the resources to compete considering they sold greater than 3.5 million tickets this past season. After winning the World Series in 2006, however, they set the bar for expectations awfully high, which doesn't make them completely immune from fan backlash if the team can't show significant progress next season.
I like my friends. Seriously, they're all wonderful people and without them I couldn't handle the high stress world of watching and writing about sports. That said, I don't need to spend all my time with them. They start to get annoying, and I'm sure I start to annoy them. Next thing you know we're breaking chairs over each other's heads because one of us saw that girl first.
Mike Napoli and Jeff Mathis - the complete Angels kiddie catching corps - not only share a job, they share a home state and a bachelor pad.
Call them Mike Mathis or Jeff Napoli. What's the difference?
The two share so much time together that Napoli recently estimated they are with each other 23 hours a day. So what about that other hour? The bathroom. Napoli thankfully confirmed that at least they don't go to the restroom together.
Okay, so they don't go to the bathroom at the same time, but nobody said anything about showering. So let's get that rumor started while we're at it.
The biggest kicker of all this? The man the two young catchers pay rent to is none other than their former teammate Adam Kennedy.
The Angels are just like family. One big, incestuous, shower sharing family.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.
Poppin' out of the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
Fantasy baseball draft season is coming, so you best be prepared by delving through 
Scott Rolen
... because he doesn't think the farm will come through. Here's 
I like my friends. Seriously, they're all wonderful people and without them I couldn't handle the high stress world of watching and writing about sports. That said, I don't need to spend all my time with them. They start to get annoying, and I'm sure I start to annoy them. Next thing you know we're breaking chairs over each other's heads because one of us saw that girl first.
