FanHouse Derek Lowe

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.

The Atlanta Braves were alive in the wild-card race late in the season due to a powerful pitching rotation that featured six viable starting candidates (at least there were six at the end of the season). The Braves ranked third in the National League in team ERA with a 3.57 mark and had two 15-game winners in Derek Lowe and Javier Vazquez. They also ranked fourth in team batting average and sixth in runs scored even without a true cleanup hitter in the lineup.

If you examine their bullpen you'll also find two relievers who were in the top five in strikeouts among relief pitchers -- Mike Gonzalez with 90 and Rafael Soriano with 102. These relievers shared the closing duties for most of the season and each had ERA's below three to finish the year.

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On the free-agent market, all the focus has been on John Lackey. On the trade market, the talk has been about Roy Halladay. The consolation prize for teams seeking a top-flight arm may come out of Atlanta.

The Braves have two of their top starters on the block, Derek Lowe and Javier Vazquez, and there's little doubt that at least one of those two pitchers will be moved, according to multiple major league sources. With strong resumes for both, there should be teams lined up for their services.

One source said that the Braves intend to move one of the two pitchers, and who goes will depend on the offers they receive.

You probably want to be spared the cheesy "home is where the heart is" stuff, but to Tim Hudson that sentiment apparently carries a lot of weight. Hudson, who grew up about 100 miles away from Atlanta in Phenix City, Ala. has once again given the Atlanta Braves a hometown discount. It all comes down to two parties wanting to continue a mutually beneficial relationship.

"I wanted to be back and they (Braves) wanted me back", Hudson told local sports-talk radio station 680 the Fan this morning. "Sometimes you have to tell your agent that I'm happy here and you work for me."

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.

Don't blame yourself if you didn't see a big line coming from Trevor Cahill. Coming off a three-inning, three-run game in Chicago, Cahill had to travel to Texas to take on a pretty good offense. On Wednesday, this offense was without Michael Young and Josh Hamilton, but that still left the hot Julio Borbon (.323 BA coming into the game) and Elvis Andrus (coming off a 16-game hitting streak), stars Ian Kinsler and Nelson Cruz, and other players that have been hot over the course of September.

As Tim Hudson continues to build up toward his pre-injury strength, the Braves can look to the offseason with a dilemma: Which of their six starting pitchers should be playing elsewhere in 2010. Hudson has a $12 million option, and in order for the Braves to afford to pay that, they'd likely have to trade one of the other starters. Tommy Hanson and Jair Jurrjens aren't going anywhere, and it's doubtful the Braves could convince someone to take on Derek Lowe's massive contract.

Thus, the likely candidates -- should the Braves decide they need to shed salary and keep Hudson -- would be Kenshin Kawakami and Javier Vazquez.

The Atlanta Braves have too many good starting pitchers.

It's a problem that every major league team wishes they had. The Washington Nationals just signed the most hyped college baseball player in decades because their rotation is a laughingstock. Heck, the Los Angeles Dodgers have the best team ERA in baseball and they don't even have a clue who their fifth starter should be.

Tim Hudson, surgically repaired right elbow and all, has returned to the Braves rotation. On Tuesday he made his first appearance in over a year, and his five-strikeout performance was good enough to earn him the win and force serious questions on Bobby Cox about his starting rotation. Everyone wants to know what the Braves will do now that they have six quality starting pitchers.

From the Windup is Matt Snyder's extended look at some aspect of America's pastime each Thursday.

Every Hot Stove season, each team reshapes its roster in an attempt to better themselves. After each transaction, whether a free agent acquisition, trade or something else, writers and bloggers everywhere provide knee-jerk reactions on each particular move. Though the majority of the analysis is educated, it's still just conjecture. Today, we'll take the long view and look back at some of the maneuvering this past offseason and see how it played out on the field.

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

Heading into the season, the signs were there that the Rockies' 25-year-old right-handed starter Ubaldo Jimenez was ready for a breakout campaign. The only question was his occasional lack of command, which reared its ugly head in April (he started the season 1-3 with a 7.58 ERA and 2.11 WHIP). Since then, though, Jimenez has actually been one of the best hurlers in baseball and he's been even hotter for the past month.

ATLANTA -- Nobody has ever argued the fact that Bobby Cox is a smart baseball guy. But how could he have known that the Braves bats would come alive like this?

Sitting in his office after Thursday night's game, a game which marked the return of baseball from the All-Star break and the return of Jeff Francoeur to Atlanta, in a Mets uniform, Cox said, "I think the hitting you're going to see in the second half is a lot better than the first half."

If you include Thursday's game, the Braves have scored 24 runs in their four games since the break, all against the Mets. They've also averaged 10.25 hits per game and hit six home runs in their three victories (and one loss) against New York.

"I looked at the schedule and I think we have 35 games in the second half between the Mets, Phillies and the Marlins." said Derek Lowe who pitched in Thursday's 5-3 win.

It's not a pretty week to be trolling the waiver wire for two-start pitchers. Forty-four in all throw twice in fantasy week 16 and 66% of those are risky picks. All 29 of the risky picks won't turn out bad. Guys like John Smoltz and Andy Pettitte could turns things around and excel. But, all in all, stick with the safer one-start pitchers this week and hedge your bets for next week.

First pitch tonight is at 7:05 PM ET. Make sure to get your rosters set prior to that.

Must Start
Tommy Hanson, Braves - Monday vs SF (J. Sanchez) and Saturday at MLW (Y. Gallardo)
Derek Lowe, Braves - Tuesday vs SF (R. Sadowski) and Sunday at MLW (M. Burns)
Ted Lilly, Cubs - Monday at PHI (R. Lopez) and Sunday vs CIN (M. Owings)
Cliff Lee, Indians - Tuesday at TOR (B. Cecil) and Sunday at SEA (G. Olson)
Nick Blackburn, Twins - Monday at OAK (G. Gonzalez) and Saturday at LAA (S. O'Sullivan)
Kevin Millwood, Rangers - Monday vs BOS (J. Smoltz) and Sunday at KC (S. Ponson)