FanHouse BrettTomko

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

After Tim Lincecum missed a start, fantasy owners still in the championship race had to have been holding their collective breath. Now is not the time to lose your staff ace. His next start would be a test of his health. Last year's NL Cy Young winner took the hill Monday night against the wild card-leading Rockies, and he passed the test with flying colors. While the 4 free passes were a bit disappointing, Lincecum more than made up for that with a win, 11 strikeouts and just 1 earned run in 7 innings of work. He's back, and he'll be a force the rest of the way (now if only someone could convince him to get a freaking haircut).

NEW YORK – Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman got to 500 saves in different ways.

Rivera, who earned No. 500 on Sunday night as the Yankees defeated the Mets, did it in the New York spotlight, with his biting cut fastball.

Hoffman was in the relative shadows of San Diego with a changeup as his signature.

But they are more alike than they are different.

"They joke around, they have personalities, but when they get locked in, it's a whole different beast," Brett Tomko, who has sat in the bullpen with both men, told FanHouse.

Bad news for anyone headed to Pawtucket tonight to catch Chien-Ming Wang pitch against the Triple-A Red Sox. The Yankees have called the rehabbing starter back to the Bronx, and he'll be in uniform for the Yankees' game against the Phillies on Friday night.

The Yankees have made the move as a precautionary measure in response to the line drive Joba Chamberlain took off his knee in the first inning on Thursday. Alfredo Aceves pitched 3 1/3 innings following Chamberlain's departure, leaving the team short a long man. There's also a chance that Chamberlain may be forced to miss his start on Tuesday night, so Wang could slot into that spot.

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.

FanHouse continues its 2009 MLB Preview with a look at the Kansas City Royals.

The 2008 season was a lot like every other season for the Kansas City Royals lately, with one major exception. They didn't finish in last place of the AL Central. No, that honor went to the Detroit Tigers instead. Still, while fourth place isn't really anything to get excited about in any baseball city other than Pittsburgh, in Kansas City it has bred hope for better things in 2009.

On Deck is FanHouse's look at the day's most intriguing baseball matchups

Boston Red Sox (29-19) vs. Kansas City Royals (21-24) - 7:05PM Est.

Let's take a look at how the first two games of this series have gone for the Kansas City Royals. On Monday they were no-hit by Jon Lester, and on Tuesday they were beaten by rookie Justin Masterson as he picked up the first win of his Major League career.

Today things get no better as the Royals are preparing to uncomfortably bend over an examining table, and get their colon's checked by the Round Mound of...um...Pounds? That's right! Bartolo Colon is back, and he's ready to make his very first start as a member of Red Sox Nation.

Will he be responsible for the Royals leaving Boston walking uncomfortably, or will the Royals come out of their check-up with flying colors and salvage a game in Beantown?

On Deck is FanHouse's look at the day's most intriguing baseball matchups

Kansas City Royals (14-16) vs. Los Angeles Angels (20-13) - 8:10PM Est.

Who the hell needs John Lackey and Kelvim Escobar? It's a question that many Angels fans have probably been asking themselves a bit the last few weeks. I mean, those two were only the two best starters on the Angels staff last year, winning a combined 37 games.

Who needs those 37 wins when you have Joe Saunders and Ervin Santana? Those two have pitched back-to-back all season long, and neither have bothered to try losing a game yet. Yesterday Saunders improved to 6-0 on the year with a win over the Orioles, and today Ervin will try to join his teammate at 6-0.

On Deck is FanHouse's look at the day's most intriguing baseball matchups

St. Louis Cardinals (11-4) vs. Milwaukee Brewers (8-6) - 1:15PM Est.

Okay, a quick raise of hands: How many of you thought that the Cardinals were going to start the season in first place of the NL Central and tied for the best record in all of baseball? LIARS! ALL OF YOU! Nobody saw this coming from the Redbirds, and honestly, I still don't actually believe it's happening. The next thing you'll tell me is that the Marlins are in first place in the NL East, and that the White Sox and Royals are battling atop the AL Central while the Tigers and Indians jockey for position in the basement.

The Cardinals are not only sitting alone atop the division right now, but they're on the cusp of finishing a three-game sweep of the Brewers. They'll be looking to Kyle Lohse to finish the sweep, and considering that Lohse was a pitcher seemingly nobody wanted, and the Cardinals signed out of nothing more than desperation, he's paying off pretty damn nicely for them. He's 2-0 with a 1.04 ERA in three games so far, and didn't give up his first run of the season until his last start against the Giants. He's only 3-3 with a 5.66 ERA in his career against Milwaukee, but in his last three appearances against this current version of the Brew Crew he's 2-0 with a 0.77 ERA.

Manny Parra goes for the Brewers, and although he made two starts against the Cardinals last year he never picked up a decision. He probably wouldn't mind if Prince Fielder ate a cheeseburger or four before the game either, as we still await our favorite vegetarian's first home run of the season.

Most of Trevor Hoffman's peripheral statistics indicate that his career is winding down. He is still the all time saves leader, though, so it was a bit unexpected when he melted down at the end of 2007 and cost the Padres a trip to the postseason. Fortunately for "Hells Bells", Brett Tomko, now in Kansas City, is stepping up and taking some of the credit for his old team's inability to get past the first 163 games.

'I felt bad,' [Tomko] said. 'With a three-to-nothing lead, I feel like if I had rolled through two or three more innings, that game would have been in the bag. Me being me, I felt like I could have done more. I was disappointed. I felt like I let everyone down.'

Don't be so hard on yourself, Brett. You're a tremendous slouch. Now, to his credit, Tomko did post his best month of the season in September, going 2-1 with a 4.61 ERA and a somewhat shocking 26 strikeouts in 27.1 innings.

But, dude, it's not your fault. Repeat after me, Brett: It's. Not. Your. Fault. You were 2-11 (the statistical baselessness of wins doesn't apply here I'm sorry) with a 5.80 ERA when the Dodgers dropped you and the Padres picked you up. Sure, quality starts against the Pirates and Giants were impressive, but if anyone deserves the blame, it's Bud Black for getting greedy and holding Jake Peavy out "for the playoff game" (read: for Game 1 of the NLDS). A quality start is the last thing anyone should have been looking for.