Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.
You Oughta Know ... That Sunday was a good day to steal home in the major leagues. With an assist from Carlos Zambrano, who airmailed a pitch to the backstop as Dewayne Wise attempted to suicide squeeze, Chris Getz was credited with a steal of home in the White Sox's 6-0 victory over the crosstown rival Cubs. Zambrano followed by plunking Wise, pushing the oft-heated interleague rivalry close to fisticuffs.
"I got a good jump and pulled it off," Matthews said. "The key was getting a big lead. They're definitely not expecting it with two strikes. If there was a right-handed hitter up there, I wouldn't have even tried."
These Kids Are Alright is FanHouse's look at minor league prospects who could have a fantasy impact in the near future. Pay attention, we gave you Mat Gamel and Nolan Reimold the day before both were promoted.
The White Sox are scuffling right now, and one of the several reasons is the lack of production from their middle infielders. Chris Getz (.231 average, .590 OPS), Brent Lillibridge (.162, .451) and Jayson Nix (.241, .806, has been playing some outfield) aren't cutting it. Alexei Ramirez has yet to get on track (.215, .527) either, though they should be patient with him. Still, the White Sox have an option -- they can see if Gordon Beckham is ready.
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.
BALTIMORE – "Some days it's gonna work, some days it's not," Chris Getz says.
The diminutive White Sox second baseman – the most unlikely leadoff man in the major leagues this side of Alex Cintron – is coming off a 3-for-5, three-run Wednesday night that helped Chicago stay above .500 and knotted atop the American League Central with – ahem – the Royals.
The night before things didn't work for the South Siders. Jose Contreras was bombed in a loss to the Orioles, his ERA surging to 8.04 and his record falling to 0-3.
The battle for the White Sox starting center field job this spring wasn't exactly epic, but when the dust had finally settled, it was minor-league journeyman Dewayne Wise who had emerged victorious against Brian Anderson and Jerry Owens. And when I say victorious, I mean least harmful.
Wise also won the leadoff job in Ozzie Guillen's lineup, but that role only lasted for two games before Guillen replaced Wise with rookie Chris Getz, which seemed to be working well for Wise. Which is why it's too bad that he's going to miss the next four to six weeks after suffering a Grade 3 seperation of his shoulder while making a diving catch during the fifth inning on Monday.
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.
Barack Obama was on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno last Thursday, getting in hot water after making a remark comparing his bowling ability to the Special Olympics. Obama caught hell for it but apologized.
Of course, as a White Sox fan, Obama isn't alone when it comes to saying politically incorrect things in a public forum. White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen has made an artform out of it, and Guillen wants people to lighten up and get off Obama's back.
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 who loves to mash the ball.The 2008 White Sox led Major League Baseball in home runs with 235. Even though the team lost Nick Swisher, there are still six hitters in this lineup with 25-plus home run potential; three that could easily amass 30-plus. The infield is all shook up headed into the new season. Only Paul Konerko is back in his position from 2008 at first base. Josh Fields will be given the reigns at third base to see if he can finally live up to his potential. Alexei Ramirez will be shifting from second base to shortstop to fill the spot vacated by Orlando Cabrera. The pitching staff lost Javier Vazquez to Atlanta but still has three credible front-line starters. Gavin Floyd and John Danks exploded onto the scene in '08 and Mark Buehrle is as consistent as they come. The White Sox won their division in 2008 and still have the talent to compete again in 2009.
FanHouse continues its 2009 MLB Preview with a look at the Chicago White Sox.
The expectations for the Chicago White Sox weren't very high in 2008. The team was coming off of a dismal 72-90 performance in 2007, following up two consecutive 90-win seasons and they'd lost perhaps their most consistent starter in Jon Garland in a trade for Orlando Cabrera. They also acquired Nick Swisher from the Oakland Athletics, hoping he would be the glue that held the team together.
From now until the regular season begins, Fantasy Flings is where you'll find interesting story lines about your favorite teams from Spring Training. If there is a position battle, a nagging injury, a comeback story or a youngster making a surge for the "big club" we'll let you know the fantasy implications.
Chicago White Sox The buzz around White Sox camp is position battles. Up for grabs is the third base position, center field and second base. Josh Fields and Dayan Viciedo are fighting for third and Fields has the leg up. Both hitters can mash the ball and both play suspect defense; although Fields is improving. Fields worked extensively this off-season at Camp Cora and Cora mentioned that everyone would be shocked with what they see out of Fields this year. He has three hits in six at-bats with two doubles so far this spring. Jayson Nix and his four hits in six at-bats with two doubles seem to be taking over as front-runner for the second base job thought to belong to Chris Getz. DeWayne Wise is being called the "best player this spring" and may be taking the center field job from injured Jerry Owens.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
BALTIMORE – "Some days it's gonna work, some days it's not," 
The battle for the White Sox starting center field job this spring wasn't exactly epic, but when the dust had finally settled, it was minor-league journeyman 
From now until the regular season begins, 
