FanHouse CaseyBlake

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

Yes, the Dodgers' solar system revolves around Manny Ramirez. He's their star on the field and their main attraction.

But they wouldn't have Ramirez, nor many of the players who carried the team in his absence, were it not for a farm system that has been remarkably productive.

"It's nice that management kept us all here," ace Chad Billingsley told FanHouse. "There's some teams that maybe just start trading guys away. And believing in us, that's a huge thing."

In the 2002-03 drafts, Los Angeles took Russell Martin, James Loney, Jonathan Broxton, Matt Kemp and Billingsley. Those five players made their big league debuts within an 11-month span, from July 2005 to June 2006.

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

It was only a matter of time. As much as people want to talk about the New York pressure and how you can't continue to look at his career's worth of slow-starting seasons, all we had to do was be patient and wait for the inevitable stat correction when it came to Mark Teixeira. Now, we're right in the middle of it. In his last six games, Teixeira is hitting .458 with 3 home runs, 11 RBI and a 1.458 OPS. Low and behold, he's on pace for 42 bombs and 119 RBI.

Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.

You Oughta Know ...
That closer Brian Wilson was perhaps the only one in the Giants clubhouse not happy after their 7-5, 13-inning victory over the Dodgers on Sunday. Wilson blew a save opportunity in the 12th and then got the win, but what really had him upset was a photo of Dodgers' third baseman Casey Blake, seemingly mocking Wilson's traditional post-game crossed-arm salute (right).

Blake had homered off Wilson to tie the game, and then was caught in a photo in the Dodgers dugout with his arms crossed. A friend of Wilson's sent the photo to his cell phone, and when Wilson showed it to reporters after the game, he was tight-lipped. Wilson said the symbol has to do with his faith and is also a sign to his late father.

Blake had already left the Dodgers clubhouse by the time Giants beat writers got to the Dodgers clubhouse to get his reaction.

The Giants and Dodgers don't play again until August, but Wilson isn't likely to forget.

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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 ...
Eventual landing spot for Manny Ramirez. Seriously, it's going to happen sooner or later, so we'll just assume it's already happened for the purposes of this post. Obviously, if he either signs elsewhere (unlikely) or sits out this season (as unlikely as the holier than thou media embracing A-Rod), we'll have to re-fantasy-spin the entire offense. He's that important to the lineup.

All winter we've been sitting by and waiting for the Dodgers and Manny Ramirez to finally come to terms on a contract to keep the dreadlocked one in Los Angeles, but yet, here we are on February 20 with teams in spring training and Manny is still a free agent. The thing is, while most people have paid attention to Manny as a top free agent without a home, there have been a whole slew of other Type A guys sitting on their hands waiting for a phone call.

One of those guys was second baseman Orlando Hudson, who has no doubt suffered due to a bad economy and a newfound commitment to the draft by teams across baseball. Well, since they have nothing better to do with their time while waiting for Manny, the Dodgers have decided they don't need that draft pick, and signed Hudson this afternoon.

From the Windup is FanHouse's extended look at a particular portion of America's pastime.

Michael Young's time with the Texas Rangers has been punctuated by him making personal sacrifices to help better the team. After years as a good second baseman for the team with both the stick and the glove, he didn't have a problem when he was asked to move to shortstop in the wake of the Alex Rodriguez trade and the subsequent arrival of Alfonso Soriano. Sure, Young's offensive numbers didn't quite stand out at short quite like they did at second base, but it was about the team, not Michael Young

Since his move he's won a Gold Glove and has been named to the AL All-Star team five times. Well, now the Rangers would like him to make another sacrifice and move from shortstop to third base so they can make room for prospect Elvis Andrus. Only this time Young isn't down, and he's told the Rangers he's stood all he can stand and that he can't stand no more. He wants to be traded.

So where are the Rangers going to send him?

Our MLB editor files dispatches from the Winter Meetings in Las Vegas in Notes From Sin City.

Joe Torre's admiration for veteran players like Bernie Williams in his years with the Yankees is almost legendary, so it should come as no surprise that, as the Dodgers try to navigate through an offseason of expansive upheaval, Torre is placing a big emphasis on veteran players.

Torre raved about the apparent signings of infielders Mark Loretta and Casey Blake for that reason, and the value he places on experience quickly bled over into a discussion about pitching.

"You need somebody to lead the way," said Torre. "If you do have that one guy that they can follow to take the pressure off the young guys and stop a losing streak, it makes life easier."

Chad Billingsley, who is only 24, has the most major league experience of all the starting pitchers on Los Angeles' big league roster. That's not exactly the type of veteran leadership Torre is talking about.

It's no secret that the Twins are looking for a third baseman. They've been rumored to be after free agent Casey Blake for awhile, but at this point it seems as though those talks have broken down, and they're turning their sights to a familiar target:

The Twins badly want a third baseman and will now step up efforts to get one, including conversations with the Mariners for Adrian Beltre. Minnesota inquired about Beltre last summer, but felt the asking price was too high given the salary they would have had to take on. That salary is now down to $12 million for the 2009 season instead of the $17 million it would have cost to get him last July. Don't forget, the M's want players back in return as well.

Beltre is a far superior player to Blake, and would be a huge upgrade for Minnesota at third. He's only a slightly above average hitter for his position, but is a fantastic defender, one of the best in the league.

In the Seattle Times article linked above, Geoff Baker mentions Michael Cuddyer as the possible centerpiece of the package going back to Seattle. That's reasonable enough -- the Mariners could use a corner bat or three -- but you have to wonder if they'd prefer someone more conducive to their stage in the rebuilding process, such as one of Minnesota's many young pitchers.

For the Twins, even though they'd have to give up a few players and pay Beltre's $12MM contract in 2008, their backup plan may actually be superior to their original one; you know pretty much what you're getting with one year of Beltre, while guaranteeing Blake three years would've been a significant gamble.

It's Game 7 of the NBA Finals at the Staples Center. The Lakers have all the momentum after winning Games 5 and 6 against Boston to tie up the series. But as the players are lining up for the National Anthem, something is wrong -- where's Kobe Bryant?

He's bound and gagged in your beach house because you, in a desperate attempt to get the Dodgers to trade you, kidnapped him to sabotage the Lakers' chances. Sure enough, the Celtics win Game 7 on the road to complete their back-to-back title run, at which point you announce to the press that Bryant is locked in your house, safe and sound, but away from the game because you kidnapped him.

The entire Lakers-crazed city of Los Angeles is furious at you, as fans are turning over cars and setting fire to Dodger Stadium. Ned Colletti releases a statement after the game:

"This is not the kind of athlete we want representing our city."

Yes! You're gone! You get to go to another contender to ride them on your back to the World Series!

The next day it's announced that you've been traded -- to the Cincinnati Reds for Johnny Cueto and a ton of prospects. The Dodgers agree to pay the rest of your salary so that the Reds would agree to take you, keeping you away from a contender. Your new team is 30 games behind the division lead.

That October, you are watching the Dodgers in the World Series. Casey Blake is at bat with the bases loaded, down by three, against Jonathan Papelbon. Blake whiffs against your former teammate and the Dodgers lose the Series. You're a bit sullen as you think to yourself, "Man, I would have hit a grand slam."

In the spring of 2009, you've become resigned to your fate as a member of the Cincinnati Reds, and you open a Skyline Chili franchise with your new teammate, Andruw Jones.

THE END.

(Not sure how you got here? Start Choose Your Own Adventure: Manny Being Choosey in Free Agency from the beginning.)

Underwear on the flagpole? Yeah, that would get you traded. So you try it during an early June game against Arizona, with your Dodgers ten games out in the division.

As Jose Lima is singing the anthem, the crowd is looking towards where Old Glory used to be, but in its place are a pair of boxers with a happy face on the front and "Wednesday" stitched on the back. The crowd roars while the Dodger dugout is trying to contain its laughter.

After the game, you expect a steamed Colletti to barge into the office to tell you to pack your bags. Instead, he's giving his take on the situation to the local media (and to TMZ.com):

"This just shows that Manny is always thinking of ways to bring the lockerroom together, and that's why we gave him the money we did. I think this is the kind of thing that can bring a team together and create camaraderie in tough times like this. I think that this will have a very positive impact down the road. Now all I have to do is trade for Casey Blake again and we're solid."

Your plan is foiled.

THE END.

(Not sure how you got here? Start Choose Your Own Adventure: Manny Being Choosey in Free Agency from the beginning.)