The Red Sox and Marlins met Tuesday night for the first time since 2006. This was significant -- and only in a minor way -- not because it was the first time the two teams met since the fateful Josh Beckett-Hanley Ramirez (and other significant parts) trade, but because it was the first time where we could even begin to evaluate that swap with any historical perspective.
Back then, Ramirez was just a rookie shortstop with plenty of talent and two good months under his belt. Beckett, brought in as the presumptive ace, was struggling with the transition from the NL to the AL East and sported a bloated ERA hovering near 5.00 for a Boston team headed for a mighty fall in the second half.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.
You Oughta Know ... That Chris Carpenter is all the way back. The 2006 NL Cy Young winner has missed almost all of the past two seasons, and a chunk of this one, with injuries, but now he seems to be pitching as well as ever. The Cardinals righty tossed a three-hitter, his first complete game since Sept. 11, 2006, to beat the Reds 3-1 Thursday night.
Carpenter is 4-0 with an 0.71 ERA and a WHIP of 0.63 in six starts so far this year. Afterward, Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said Carpenter should be considered among the game's best.
"I don't think anybody pitching today is better. He's right up there with [Roy] Halladay and the best ones out there. Carp's right there."
MLB Power Rankings:Where MLB FanHouse's editors, writers and bloggers team up to break down the who's who and the what's what in the baseball world.
Sorry for the delay, kiddos, on the Power Rankings. I'm sure you spent the entirety of Wednesday wondering "WHERE IN GOD'S NAME ARE THEY??? WITHOUT THEM I'LL HAVE NOTHING TO BANTER SENSELESSLY ABOUT TO MY CO-WORKERS!!!1" Or something like that. Either way, it's time to debate the worthlessness of your favorite baseball team in numerical form once again. Do enjoy.
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
At least we know Alex Rodriguez will have plenty of help from Yankee Stadium as he makes his way back from hip surgery.
Just ask Johnny Damon, who's suddenly turned into one of the hottest power hitters in baseball after hitting only 17 home runs all of last year. Damon has already knocked seven out this season, including three this month. The Rays joined in on the ball-smashing fun Thursday, launching six homers as a team. So is a trip to Yankee Stadium the same as visiting Arlington now?
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.
You Oughta Know ... That the unthinkable happened to the Dodgers in Thursday.
Having Manny Ramirez suspended? No, that's not unthinkable.
Losing at home to the Nationals? Unthinkable.
The Dodgers went into the game 13-0 at home this year and 21-8 overall, the best record in the majors. The Nationals had the worst record in baseball, 7-18, and had lost their past 10 games at Dodger Stadium.
Forty-four pitchers are throwing twice this week (Monday, April 27th - Sunday, May 3rd). All the games are night games on Monday, so no need to rush. Get your lineups set by 7:00 PM ET for the St. Louis at Atlanta game.
Must Start Dan Haren, Diamondbacks - Tuesday vs CHC (C. Zambrano) and Sunday at MLW (D. Bush) Chad Billingsley, Dodgers - Tuesday at SF (B. Zito) and Sunday vs SD (J. Geer) James Shields, Rays - Tuesday at MIN (F. Liriano) and Sunday vs BOS (B. Penny) Gil Meche, Royals - Tuesday vs TOR (S. Richmond) and Sunday at MIN (S. Baker) Kyle Lohse, Cardinals - Tuesday at ATL (J. Reyes) and Sunday at WAS (J. Lannan) Ted Lilly, Cubs - Monday at ARZ (Y. Petit) and Saturday vs FLA (A. Sanchez)
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 news that probably means a lot more to fantasy baseball players than real baseball fans -- with all due respect to the Pirates and their true fans -- Ryan Doumit is going to miss the next 8-10 weeks. He'll be undergoing wrist surgery and have some pins inserted. As fantasy owners, we must march on and look at how to replace the production of a very solid offensive catcher.
The Daily Jolt is a dose of baseball reality every weekday morning.
This is why you can believe in the Marlins. It is not because Emilio Bonifacio has hit like Babe Ruth in the first week of the season. Nor is it because Hanley Ramirez might secretly be the game's best player, though those things help. It is because they have pitching.
As I scrolled through the latest average draft position report on Mock Draft Central, I started to realize how much I love the entire Marlins rotation to provide stellar value this season. I knew I liked them, but as the numbers currently stand, I love them.
Obviously, let's not get nuts and start taking them in the first round or anything, and there are some more valuable than others. The fact is, though, that each of the five possesses very solid value at this point in draft season.
Once we stumble into the first few weeks of fantasy draft season, we have the luxury of trolling through some average draft position charts (ADP, henceforth). One of the problems is that most of the early-to-mid February drafting is being done by hypothetical fantasy fanatics, so there aren't a ton of skewed averages.
Of course, recently-retired Jeff Kent has found a way to get drafted in 1.6 percent of the leagues on Mock Draft Central (MDC, henceforth), so they're worth a look. We'll use the ADP per position* on MDC for the rest of our analysis here. Most of the guys listed are not to be targeted in shallow to medium-sized leagues, as they are later-round steals for the deepest of fantasy leagues.
The Red Sox and Marlins met Tuesday night for the first time since 2006. This was significant -- and only in a minor way -- not because it was the first time the two teams met since the fateful Josh Beckett-Hanley Ramirez (and other significant parts) trade, but because it was the first time where we could even begin to evaluate that swap with any historical perspective.
Starting Five
MLB Power Rankings
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
Starting Five
Forty-four pitchers are throwing twice this week (Monday, April 27th - Sunday, May 3rd). All the games are night games on Monday, so no need to rush. Get your lineups set by 7:00 PM ET for the St. Louis at Atlanta game.
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
The 
As I scrolled through the latest average draft position report on 
Once we stumble into the first few weeks of fantasy draft season, we have the luxury of trolling through some average draft position charts (
