Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
For the most of past two seasons, Aaron Rowand has been a thorn in the collective sides of his fantasy owners. In the middle of May, his batting average even dipped down to .214 (he also only had 2 homers at the time). Starting May 10, though, Rowand has been mashing. In that 21-game span, he's hitting .378 with 4 home runs and 12 RBI. He's also accrued 10 doubles and scored 18 runs in that time.
From the Windup is Matt Snyder's extended look at some aspect of America's pastime each Thursday.
I think we can all agree that it's far too early to start voting upon who the best 2009 players are when it's only the middle of May. That being said, there are certainly some shining stars at this point who deserve some props. Plus, Major League Baseball recently released their All-Star ballots for our voting pleasure -- we vote on who will start the All-Star Game. If that's not important, I don't know what is. Let's take a gander.
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.
What a zany week for a pair of pitchers with amazing stories: Zack Greinke is America's favorite story right now, somehow managing to be hotter than Twitter. (And if Oprah starts doing him too, I'm just quitting. And I mean everything.) Meanwhile, Rick Ankiel (you may hear word of this "podcast" we're doing about him, but that's because I'm shameless like that), a former star on the mound as well, nearly decapitates himself running into an outfield wall. And yet, life goes on. Just like our Power Rankings.
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
After a terrible first week, Texas first baseman Chris Davis was one of the hot topics of concern in fantasy baseball circles. My colleague Matt Snyder recently tried to put those fears to rest in Slump or Suck, and right on cue, Davis went ahead and smashed them with his bat.
I always love good redemption stories and the surprises they bring for fantasy owners. But through just one week of the season, looks can be deceiving ... or hints of something entirely palpable. The dilemma with rotisserie league outcasts like Bedard and Hafner is you're dealing with this nagging birdie in the back of your mind telling you this can't be real.
Facing an Opening Day matchup against Toronto ace Roy Halladay, Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander had to figure it would take a stellar effort to notch his team a road victory.
Verlander delivered -- for a whole two batters.
Detroit's No. 1 starter opened the game by striking out Marco Scutaro looking and inducing a weak Aaron Hill groundout. He then proceeded to walk Alex Rios, setting off a four-run, two-out rally by Toronto that doomed Detroit just moments after the first pitch. Even with Halladay turning in a sub-standard effort, the Blue Jays had more than enough, taking a 12-5 decision.
Given the impact CC Sabathia had for the Milwaukee Brewers after they acquired him last July, and given the haul of prospects Cleveland got in return, it might make sense for the Toronto Blue Jays to shop their ace this summer. Toronto figures to be in the bottom two in the rough AL East, and Halladay makes $14.25 million this year.
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... Most disappointing team of 2008. This goes for real and for fantasy. Nearly the entire team was a massive bust last year -- I said nearly, because the man in the picture to the right was immune in fantasy -- as the team finished in last place. They've made some changes, and the players coming back need to just play better.
FanHouse continues its 2009 MLB Preview with a look at the Detroit Tigers.
A preseason favorite to win the pennant a year ago, the Tigers collapsed under the weight of unreal expectations. Trading for Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis was supposed to put this team over the top, but in hindsight Detroit's lineup, while potent, was never as good as it looked on paper and the pitching and defense ranked among the worst in the league.
It's only been a couple of days since the smoke cleared and Detroit's last-place finish was cemented in stone, but already the team is making moves to prepare for next year. Without making a single roster move they significantly upgraded their defense by announcing that Brandon Inge, a Gold Glove-caliber fielder, would return to third base, mercifully ending the Carlos Guillen experiment. Guillen, who's been shifted from shortstop to first to third in the past year, is now expected to take over in left field.
Inge's return to the hot corner won't be the only change to the left side of the infield -- Dave Dombrowski also announced Monday that Edgar Renteria's 2009 option would not be picked up. Given Renteria's struggles at the plate (84 OPS+) and the field, this was a no-brainer, especially when you consider the Red Sox are the ones on the hook for Renteria's $3 million buyout.
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
Facing an Opening Day matchup against Toronto ace 
Every Sunday MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in 
Fantasy baseball draft season is coming, so you best be prepared by delving through 
It's only been a couple of days since the smoke cleared and Detroit's last-place finish was cemented in stone, but already the team is making moves to prepare for next year. Without making a single roster move they significantly upgraded their defense by announcing that 
