FanHouse AndruwJones

Federal authorities have asked seven Major League Baseball players -- Greg Maddux, Bernie Williams, Johnny Damon, J.D. Drew, Andruw Jones, Carlos Pena and Jay Bell -- to return millions of dollars that they received from investor R. Allen Stanford as part of a payout in his alleged Ponzi scheme, according to a report in the Washington Times.

The players -- all clients of Scott Boras -- did not commit any wrongdoing, but, as early investors in the Stanford Financial Group, are believed to have received dividends from Stanford financed by investors that came after.

Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.

The only downside of the NBA playoffs is that I feel like I miss some baseball that I would normally get to see. But with the Lakers (sigh) crowned champs now, both Kobe Bryant and I -- he was at the stadium, I was pantsless in my apartment, natch -- got the chance to watch the Angels and Dodgers go to civil war on Sunday Night Baseball.

And what I was treated to was a very impressive showing from my current favorite mancrush, Clayton Kershaw. You might know him as the "next Sandy Koufax" if you're a real devote, but more than likely, you know him as the "inconsistent southpaw who has yet to really flourish in the Dodgers rotation."

OAKLAND -- Rangers hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo has a thing for fixer-uppers.

In 2007, the Rangers signed Sammy Sosa out of his one-year retirement and coaxed another 21 homers out of him.

In 2008, the Rangers got Milton Bradley after he had spent most of the previous year on the disabled list, and Bradley became an All-Star.

Now, the Rangers have Andruw Jones, a former MVP-caliber player who was run out of Los Angeles after a disastrous year. A month into the season, Jones seems to have rediscovered at least a part of his game.

SAN FRANCISCO -- You don't have to hang around the Rockies for very long to get the feeling that Dexter Fowler is just about to blow up. In a good way.

By all accounts, Fowler just needs to meet his offensive potential and get the right publicity, and he could one day be one of those players who attain "face of the game" status.

Before you dismiss that as hyperbole, listen to Todd Helton.

Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.

Matt Garza is one of those talented pitchers that novice owners probably lost patience with quickly. And if they did, they were watching Thursday's spectacular performance kicking themselves. Garza, who had struggled with his command through his first four starts, took a perfect game bid into the seventh inning against the Red Sox and finished with a line worthy of adulation: 7 2/3 innings, 10 strikeouts, 1 hit, 1 walk, no runs. Has he turned the corner that quickly?

Chris Davis was everyone's sweetheart in fantasy baseball draft season, and rightfully so. As a 22 year-old last year, the slugger burst onto the scene with 17 home runs and 55 RBI in only a half season. His power numbers in the minors provided us with plenty of evidence that this wasn't a fluke. Instead, through six games and 25 plate appearances, Davis has reached base only three times. He's only accrued 1 hit in 22 at-bats. So with that paltry .045 batting average, his owners have been rewarded with 0 home runs and 0 RBI.

Is this a bad omen? Does Davis really suck, or is he simply in an early season swoon?

Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.

There were a bunch of eye-opening performances scattered throughout Thursday's games, but none bigger than the seven one-hit innings hurled by Chris Carpenter. The 33-year-old hadn't won a game for the Cardinals since the 2006 World Series, yet there he was, striking out seven Pirates and needing just 92 pitches to get through his day of work. Is Carpenter already back to fantasy ace status, or was this just the stinkin' Bucs making him look good?

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.

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Best offense in the league. The Rangers are going to score more runs than any other team, and they don't have an over-abundance of star-power. This means their position players are a veritable fantasy goldmine. On the flip-side, though, their pitching staff is atrocious, especially the starters. Needless to say, if you are picking a Texas Ranger on draft day, he'd probably better be on the offensive side of the board.

The picture to the right deserves a Pulitzer nomination.

Today, The Dugout continues its month-long series of team previews by visiting the Dodgers' team chat room. Perhaps more importantly, we're resurrecting the personality of everyone's favorite Fauknerian man-child Dugout character. Wait, maybe he's the second favorite. Wait, how many Faulknerian man-children does The Dugout have? I'm guessing at least a hundred, but Manny's up there.

Fresh Prince fans, your Dugout is after the jump.

The Daily Jolt is a dose of baseball reality every weekday morning.

They are forgotten men this time of year -- especially with the surprisingly entertaining World Baseball Classic and the daily drama surrounding Alex Rodriguez to distract us. But while most of us yawn indifferently at Spring Training games and count down toward Opening Day, they have something to prove. They are the veterans coming off of a lost season in 2008 (because of injury or otherwise).

And for them, spring games are about re-establishing confidence in their own abilities and instilling renewed faith in those abilities in the decision-makers on their teams.