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.
Since the moment they were swept out of the 2007 NLCS, the Diamondbacks have been waiting. Waiting on their impressive collection of young talent. Waiting on their dynamic rotation duo of Dan Haren and Brandon Webb to deliver a playoff spot. Waiting for everything to come together.
It hasn't happened yet. Arizona was passed by the Dodgers in late 2008 after holding the NL West lead for much of the season. Then, this past year -- one filled with calamity, including a major shoulder injury to Webb that limited him to one start -- saw the Diamondbacks dip all the way to last place.
Arizona is still waiting. There is still promising young talent on hand, including the terrific Justin Upton. There is still hope. It's just tempered by all the work that needs to be done to get the Diamondbacks back in contention.
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
Who knew there was a hulking slugger waiting to bust out of Joe Mauer? After hitting his eighth jack in just 72 at-bats and driving in six RBI, the Twins catcher is putting all concerns to rest. Heck, he hit nine totalhome runs in 536 at-bats last season. So the "ailing" back is just fine, thank you very much, but is the power sustainable?
MLB Power Rankings:Where MLB FanHouse's editors, writers and bloggers team up to break down the who's who and the what's what in the baseball world.
Let me put this simply: you want no part of being No. 1 in the FanHouse MLB Power Rankings. It just brings discord, losing and possibly suspensions to your baseball team. Such was the case with the white-hot Dodgers and Manny Ramirez, who now have to deal with a 50 game-ban of their star slugger. Who's doomed this week? Let's just say that no one would be too shocked if they weren't there again next Wednesday.
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.
HAVE YOU HEARD? YANKEE STADIUM HAS A WIND TUNNEL!!! Does it matter/is it real? Probably not. In fact, it might actually be on the other end of the spectrum of importance when compared to MLB Power Rankings. This week, we welcome another brand new No. 1 at the top of our rankings, although, all spoiler alerts aside, it's from the same division as last week! Debate the quality of your team, after the jump.
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
Cole Hamels, Brandon Webb, Tim Lincecum and CC Sabathia owners eat your heart out. Relative unknowns -- and likely undrafted in nearly all mixed fantasy leagues -- Ricky Romero and Glen Perkins are straight dealing right now. And after three outings each, it's time to start wondering if the quick starts are not flukey.
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???
Diamondbacks outfielder Eric Byrnes is slowly making his comeback from his battle with hamstring injuries. He played in a minor league game on Sunday and went three for five with a stolen base. He even seems to have his speed back.
He said he was clocked in 4.18 seconds running out a ground ball to first. He said he regularly was timed at 4.2 before he was hurt.
Just where Byrnes - in the second year of a three-year, $30 million contract - would play is another problem. The Diamondbacks' outfield is set with Conor Jackson in left, Chris Young in center and Justin Upton in right. Melvin has talked about Byrnes relieving all three at times.
The worrisome part of that quote is that Melvin seems to have Byrnes slated as the 4th outfielder. That's fine, and probably a good place for him coming back from injury, but it seems that fantasy GM's participating in mock drafts over at Mock Draft Central are picking Byrnes in the 13th round with an average draft position of 155.69.
FanHouse continues its 2009 MLB Preview with a look at the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Diamondbacks began 2008 white-hot and were considered a legitimate World Series contender, storming out to record 12 games over .500 on May 18. They then proceeded to slap together two straight sub-.500 months, managing a 22-33 record in May and June, scoring just 90 runs in the latter monht.
When the Dodgers finally acquired Manny Ramirez, well, things snowballed and Arizona suddenly found itself out of the playoffs altogether.
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.
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
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, 
