FanHouse BobbyAbreu

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."

Josh Beckett's non-pitch at the head of Bobby Abreu will cost him a start for the Red Sox.

(Unless, as usual, he appeals.)

Major League Baseball on Tuesday suspended Beckett six games -- even though he wasn't tossed from Sunday's game at the Los Angeles Angels.

Because of the brouhaha that followed, resulting somewhat from Beckett's not being punished at the time, Angels hitting coach Mickey Hatcher has been suspended for one game, and Angels manager Mike Scioscia and players Torii Hunter and Justin Speier were fined.

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- A series full of drama and emotion got a little more entertaining today, when Josh Beckett whistled a ball past Bobby Abreu's head, inciting a bench-clearing incident that resulted in four Angels getting ejected.

Even after it was all over and the Angels had pulled out another dramatic 5-4 victory, taking two of three in the series, there were some unhappy folks in the winning clubhouse.

"That was as flagrant as anything I've seen in this game, and it's unfortunate," said manager Mike Scioscia, who had to watch the last eight innings of the game on television after he got the boot.

On Sunday the Angels broke some news to Gary Matthews Jr. that most outside observers could see coming. Matthews Jr. was told he's going to be the team's fifth outfielder/DH on the depth chart behind Torii Hunter, Vladimir Guerrero, Bobby Abreu, and Juan Rivera. Matthews looked better this spring, coming off of knee surgery, and was hitting .258 with two homers and nine runs driven in, and more importantly, he looked to be at full speed while running the bases.

So he was hoping that his recovery and decent performance would be enough to get him some playing time this season, but it won't be. After he was told the news, Matthews wasn't exactly happy about it and asked the team if he could leave for 24 hours to cool off.

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...
Team about to win about 15 less games this season. Teams in their division have closed the gap on the Angels, who are aging in some spots and not yet developed at others. The biggest factor to consider in fantasy is how many less games their starting pitchers will likely win.

FanHouse continues its 2009 MLB Preview with a look at the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

When the Angels acquired Mark Teixeira last July, it was thought by many to be a bold move by a team not content to simply be 10,000 games ahead of the Rangers in the West and cruising toward the playoffs. Teixeira was supposed to be the player that was going to push them past the Red Sox and on to the World Series.

Whoops.

It wasn't always pretty, but the U.S. got off to a much better start in the World Baseball Classic than it did last time around, hanging on for a 6-5 victory over a feisty Canadian squad on the strength of home runs by Adam Dunn, Kevin Youkilis and Brian McCann.

Sunday night, Team USA and starting pitcher Roy Oswalt are staring in the face of a much tougher test. Venezuela, which handled an overmatched Italy squad with ease Saturday and features a number of major league stars including Francisco Rodriguez, Felix Hernandez, Miguel Cabrera and Bobby Abreu, awaits, with the winner clinching a spot in the next round. If all that isn't enough to get your pulse pounding, then maybe the political implications will.

Either way, join us after the jump at 8PM ET as the MLB FanHouse crew takes you from first pitch to final out.

We've covered the Rangers, the Mariners, and the Athletics, but no look at the AL West would be complete without the team that actually won the West, the California Angels of Anaheim by way of Los Angeles. You may remember them from their playoff loss during every year in baseball history, or from the Disney movie where they are only good when helped by selfless dead people.

Today's Dugout is after the jump. You may need a Babel fish.

When Manny Ramirez finally signed with the Dodgers, Juan Pierre was, once again, out of a starting job. The skinny speedster is now relegated to bench duty, despite that lofty (read: ridiculously bad) contract the Dodgers gave him prior to the 2007 season.

Pierre, being a competitor, wants to pursue a trade on his own so he can start every day. He asked the Dodgers for their permission. They, obviously, granted it. I'm sure they are excited he wants out so badly, but there's no way that contract is going to be taken on by any team in these economic times. Luckily, Pierre's no dummy.

Yet another Type A free agent has finally signed a contract with a team for 2009 after spending weeks negotiating. Dodgers fans, I'm sorry to report that it's not Manny Ramirez. He's still spending his time being insulted by the fact that the Dodgers only want to give him $25 million this year.

Instead it's shortstop Orlando Cabrera, who has finally agreed to a deal with the Oakland Athletics, signing a contract for one year and $4 million on Monday afternoon.