FanHouse Brett Gardner

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

Before David Price took the mound Thursday, he said he was looking to rediscover his missing edge. "I just haven't had that edge, haven't had that mentality when I was out there," said Price. "I have to get back to the same way I was last year, the same way that got me to this point..."

For one night, at least, the 23-year-old lefty found what he was looking for.

NEW YORK – Yankees center fielder Brett Gardner was taken off the field on a cart Thursday after slamming into the fence on a fine running catch.

Fortunately, the Yankees said after the game that Gardner only had the wind knocked out of him. He was traveling with the club to Florida and no medical tests were scheduled.

A rookie speedster batting .277, Gardner chased down a long eighth-inning drive by Washington's Austin Kearns. After Gardner made the catch, his back seemed to hit where the wall is divided between fence and plexiglass that allows the bullpen to see field. He crumpled to the ground and was immediately tended to.

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.

NEW YORK -- You pretty much have to hate your offense to bring your infield in with the score tied 0-0 in the bottom of the second inning and the other team's No. 9 hitter at the plate. But while Bob Geren obviously wouldn't admit to such dramatic motivation, that is what he did Tuesday night against the Yankees. And he did cite his team's offensive struggles as the reason for the move.

"The way we've been scoring runs, we just wanted to not give up a weak run right there with the 9-hitter up," the Oakland A's manager said after his team's 5-3 loss at Yankee Stadium.

Just Geren's luck, the A's gave up two runs right there as Brett Gardner grounded a single past second baseman Mark Ellis. And just like that, Oakland was staring up a hill. And these A's don't have what it takes to do the climbing.

We all know that chicks dig the long ball, but in today's day and age fantasy baseball owners want speed to go along with home run potential. It's crazy to think that you're going to find any hitters on the waiver wire with 20/20 potential for 2009. So, let's do Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine a favor and forget about the long ball and focus on five hitters who can help you rack up some stolen bases for your fantasy squad.

Every Sunday MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.

Roy Halladay isn't going anywhere.

Unless, of course, he is.

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.

MLB Power Rankings: Where we care what you've done for us lately when we break down the who's who and the what's what in the baseball world each week.

We're almost there. You can smell it in the air, can't you? That's right ... the NHL playoffs! Ha. I kid, of course. No one actually watches hockey (if it even exists). But people do get amped up for baseball, and the season is upon us. So, in that vein, we've got our final installment of preseason power rankings ready for your digestion. Play ball.

We just concluded our fantasy draft here at Fanhouse. I have to say that I like what I did here.

It's a 12-team, rotisserie mixed-league using standard 5X5 scoring categories and rosters that include two catchers, a first baseman, a second baseman, a shortstop, a third baseman, a corner infielder, a middle infielder, five outfielders, a utility hitter, nine pitchers and three bench players.

Here's the Extra Base Knox team:

Round 1(3) - Albert Pujols, Cardinals - Wright and Hanley Ramirez went with the first two picks. Pujols is the best remaining player so I went with him. I'll take his massive offense in four of the five categories and smile all the way.

Round 2(22) - Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners - I made a tough decision here between him and Justin Morneau. I love Ichiro's speed and great batting average. With such high batting averages from my first two picks, I should be able to grab a big home run hitter with a low average later in the draft if I choose.

Round 3(27) - Carl Crawford, Rays - I didn't go power, I went speed again. Crawford plus Ichiro will pretty much guarantee my team is near the top in stolen bases.

FanHouse completes its 2009 MLB Preview with a look at the New York Yankees.

When they signed A.J. Burnett, CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira for a combined $423.5 million in December, the Yankees opened the door to criticism that they were just trying to use their revenue advantage to bludgeon the opposition. The team did use a heavy hand, but they aren't deserving of criticism.

As Spring Training wanes and teams prepare to head north, or maybe west, the players who have been locked in heated position battles will be given news as to whether they've done enough to earn the starting job they've worked so hard to win.

Over the weekend, news was given to a handful of players. Let's take a look at how winning or losing a position battle will effect their fantasy values.

Brett Gardner, Yankees - After an impressive spring where he's hit .385 with two doubles, two triples and three home runs, the Yankees have given the starting center field job to Gardner. The 25-year-old Gardner will bat ninth in the Yankees lineup and look to use his speed whenever possible. He was 5 for 7 in stolen base attempts in Grapefruit League action and as a starter, Gardner possesses 30-plus stolen base potential. He's draftable in all formats now and should be grabbed from most free agent pools as well.