FanHouse Clint Barmes

Footprints in the Snow is FanHouse's look at the paths to be forged by MLB teams this winter as they look ahead to 2010.

After an awful start to 2009, the Rockies fired Clint Hurdle, promoted Jim Tracy and proceeded to play like the best team in the National League for the rest of the regular season. They lost an exciting playoff series to the eventual NL champion Phillies, but there is no reason to think the Rockies are going away with all their young talent.

In fact, the Rockies are in position to make themselves a candidate to be a dynasty. Seriously. They can move forward with a starting lineup of Todd Helton, Clint Barmes and six proven guys who are 27 or younger. The pitching staff and minor-league talent are equally as impressive. Now it's simply a matter of cultivating their young talent while making sure they don't halt any momentum.

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If you haven't seen it yet, Clint Barmes' catch Sunday afternoon seemed to be one of those things that makes September baseball great. It was a fantastic catch that preserved a slim lead, keeping the Rockies 2 1/2 games up in the NL wild-card race and preventing the Dodgers from clinching the NL West. The play came at such a dramatic juncture that T.J. Simers' column in the Los Angeles Times hinges on it.

The only problem is that Barmes may not have actually caught the ball. On The Denver Post's Rockies blog today, Nick Groke publishes a picture taken by a Post photographer which shows the ball popping out of Barmes' glove as the second baseman falls to the ground and another picture which makes it appear as if the ball is on the ground.

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

You Oughta Know ...
That Zack Greinke is doing everything in his power to win the American League Cy Young Award.

The Royals ace will not get anywhere close to 20 wins, but he did pick up his 16th of the year with seven innings of one-run ball against the Twins. He's now won five straight decisions dating back to Aug. 25 and his ERA is down to 2.06. As pointed out by FanHouse's Jacob Wheatley-Schaller, if Greinke pitches seven shutout innings in his final start of the year next Saturday in Minnesota, he'll finish the year with his ERA under 2.00.

Only one AL pitcher in the last 15 years -- Pedro Martinez in 2000 -- has thrown more than 200 innings in a season and finished with a sub-2.00 ERA

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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.

On Thursday in Philadelphia, one of the game's best pitchers from years past squared off against arguably the game's best pitcher of today. Who would win the battle of old versus new? It turns out fantasy owners were the big winners.

Tim Lincecum struck out 11 batters, which isn't even close to a season high for the kid, and walked one over seven innings while allowing two runs, but all that got him was a loss.

Pedro Martinez, making his fifth start with the Phillies, moved to 3-0 on the strength of a nine-strikeout, no-walk performance. He threw 62 of his 87 pitches for strikes and looked completely dominant after a first-inning homer by Eugenio Velez.

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.

It's been a while since a week of baseball was this sad -- we saw the tragic passings of Nick Adenhart, Harry Kalas and Mark Fidrych. And without waxing too sentimentally, it's the loss of these men that remind us exactly just how little sports matter in the grand scheme of things. RIP, gentlemen. Power rankings (that feel just a tad inconsequential, to be honest) after the jump.

Typically, this would be where I insert some super-awesome quote written by Oliver Stone, just in order to make up for my totally lame title.. One problem: I couldn't find anything that was "family friendly" enough to slot into this post. Instead, how about we break down five different platoon situations that are emerging/have emerged in the early fantasy baseball season. If you've got a particular situation you want examined, hit us on the hip here.

Taylor Teagarden vs. Jarrod Saltalamacchia
Thus far, Teagarden has gotten one start and managed the same number of hits in five at-bats. He's walked once and struck out once, and well, it's pretty obviously Salty's gig ... or is it???

FanHouse continues its 2009 MLB Preview with a look at the Colorado Rockies.

The Colorado Rockies have long been one of the strangest paradigms of Major League Baseball. They seem to thrive on their home park of Coors Field, which provides Rockies hitters with seemingly supernatural power abilities. Of course, as always, that power comes with a price -- it's extremely rare to see a Colorado pitcher provide the team with any sort of successful season.

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 ...
Humidor! Seriously, didn't you hear that Colorado now stores their baseballs in a humidor and Coors Field is no longer a hitter's park? If someone in your league really believes that, just let them. You'll know the truth -- which is that Coors Field bore witness to the third most runs scored and third most home runs in baseball last year. In 2007? Third in runs, fifth in home runs. You can't just negate thin air with a cigar-housing device. It's a hitter's park, and it's consistently one of the most hitter-friendly.

Just a few short hours after I mentioned that Ian Stewart was getting no love from fantasy circles -- or real world circles -- he might suddenly be getting a lot more value in both worlds. With the return of Garrett Atkins, and the continued absence of Clint Barmes, Troy Tulowitzki and about eight other middle infielders, Stewart is getting starts at second base.

Stewart field five ground balls, including a pair of impressive plays in the sixth inning, in Colorado's 7-4 loss to Philadelphia, and finished 1-for-3 with a double. It was Stewart's first career start at second base.

'Is he going to be as athletic as Jonny [Herrera] or Q [Omar Quintanilla]? Probably not," Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said. "They're just a little more nimble. As far as athleticism, he did some nice things in Spring Training. We'll see how it works out. He made plays that were there for him.'

If Stewart can step in and play second, and one would think he could, he would instantly become a tremendous asset to the Rockies on the offensive end. He would also instantly have everyone saying "It took you this long to figure this out?"

Stewart has been -- pun intended -- pining on the bench behind Atkins for some time now and despite no real power option at second, the Rockies decided to develop him in the outfield.

Fantasy Spin: If Stewart is going to start and stick at second for the Rockies, he is a must add. Unless you have Chase Utley and Brandon Phillips or something. He has a ton of power and positional eligibility there would give him the upside of being a pretty stout option for fantasy owners.

As always, the hype machine owns everyone. Two youngsters -- one in Los Angeles and one in a somehow bigger circus scene that is Cincinnati.

Clayton Kershaw, SP, LAD (18,458 Adds) -- Hey, I'm just as guilty as everyone else. A keeper league team I own is sinking quickly, and instead of grabbing someone to shore up this season, I've got a death grip on Kershaw. Joe Torre called him Sandy Koufax. Basically. And if the bullpen doesn't cough up his start, we'd be even hotter on the guy right now. Seasonal leagues should use their first waiver claim to grab him and then sell high. Keeper leagues want to hold if the price is right.

Jay Bruce, OF, CIN (13,017 Adds) -- It seems inevitable that he will stick, right? Well, because Dusty Baker is a fool, there is actually a question. Bruce is a legitimate threat to dominate this season, so he is a moderate buy. He's probably already too hyped (and owned) in your league, so it is tough to get a reasonable price. But if he begins to struggle, pounce on him in a trade offer.

Doug Davis, SP, ARI (3,840 Adds) -- Obviously, Davis returning from cancer was at best a risky proposition for fantasy owners. A great story, sure, but a risky bet. Sadly, he is still a sell high. The return is great, but history tells us he is not going to maintain a decent ERA. I'd use him in matchups for a back of the rotation guy, but don't be fooled by the fascinating nature of his cancer battle. (Heartless, I know.)