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.
Considering the Cubs were probably the most disappointing team in baseball in 2009, they definitely have their work cut out for them this offseason in order to return to being a legitimate contender. I guess Cubs fans should take solace in the fact that a winning season was considered a colossal failure -- after all, they have had a winning record in three consecutive seasons for the first time since the Nixon administration now. It's simply a sign that the bar has been raised in Wrigleyville. No longer content to play "lovable losers," Lou Piniella's Cubs are determined to win it all. New owner and lifelong Cubs fan Tom Ricketts has guaranteed the Cubs will win a World Series under his watch.
After altering the best Cubs team since 1945, general manager Jim Hendry has to find a way to get some of that magic back in 2010. He'll have to start by unloading one of the biggest mistakes of his career.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action with a quick nod to what is ahead.
You Oughta Know ... That when we told you a few weeks ago that the Braves were just about dead, we might have been a bit premature. Led by Javier Vazquez's third complete game of the season, the Braves beat the Nationals, 4-1, winning their fourth game in a row and 12th out of the past 14.
The Braves are still 3 1/2 behind the Rockies in the wild-card race (and mathematically alive in the NL East, believe it or not), but they do have at least one thing in their favor. They play the Nationals six more times in their final nine games, with the other three against Florida.
In Friday's game, Vazquez added another line to his under-appreciated resume. He is 10-2 since July 7. He has 15 victories this season. The only pitcher to win at least 10 games every year since 2000, Vazquez is second only to Randy Johnson in strikeouts in the decade.
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.
Before the season started, I was rough on Derrek Lee. I named him the biggest bust on the Cubs for this coming season and included him on the list of "five guys to lose" your fantasy league. I even predicted Mike Fontenot would hit more home runs than Mr. Lee. Obviously, it sounds outlandish now, in hindsight, as Lee clubbed his 35th home run Tuesday night. In the process, he established a new career high in RBI with 109. His OPS is the second-highest it's ever been -- trailing only his insane 2005 season when he did an Albert Pujols impersonation.
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.
The Phillies weren't expecting much when they signed Pedro Martinez right around mid-season. Well, let me rephrase and say the Phillies weren't expecting this much.
On Sunday, Martinez pitched eight scoreless innings and struck out seven while walking two. But those aren't his most amazing numbers. When Martinez pitches the Phillies are a perfect 7-0. Think about that. Every time Pedro runs out there to take the mound the Phillies win.
As the baseball calendar winds down, it's becoming more and more obvious that the Chicago Cubs will not be able to get themselves back into the 2009 wild-card race. As the Cubs were many people's pick to win the National League pennant or even the World Series this year, there's a fair amount of post-mortem analysis already surrounding the Cubbies.
That's not limited to newspaper writers and bloggers, either. Derrek Lee is jumping in on the action, telling the Chicago Sun-Times that "[The Cubs] just haven't played well," and that they could contend in 2010 with basically the same roster if they would just go ahead and, you know, play a little better.
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.
While the majority of the American workforce got a day off on Labor Day, some major league hitters were getting their power stroke on in a big way. With only 11 games on the docket, four players left the yard twice in one game: Derrek Lee, Billy Butler, Mark Teixeira and Juan Uribe. The fantasy fallout isn't huge, save for one; Lee's having a resurgence, Butler a breakout campaign and Teixeira an MVP-caliber season. Uribe, though ... that's news.
WASHINGTON -- Maybe the Cubs just needed a break. Maybe they needed to get third baseman Aramis Ramirez healthy and Derrek Lee rolling. Or maybe they just really needed a trip to the nation's capital to face everyone's favorite doormat, the 26-62 Nationals.
Chicago is lucky to be where it is, in fourth place in the NL Central, but only 3 1/2 games behind the first-place Cardinals, and on the first day after the All-Star break the Cubs looked like they had every intention of taking advantage of their good fortune.
"Do I feel this team will be able to make a run? How about a fast walk," manager Lou Piniella cracked when asked to assess his team's chances heading into the second half of the season.
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
No, I didn't lose a bet to Matt Snyder (although he is running roughshod over our fantasy league right now) and he hasn't stolen my log in information to write favorable posts about the Chicago Cubs. I feel it's just necessary to expound a bit about what's been happening on the north side lately.
The Cubs won their second game in a row and made it back to .500 on Thursday. They did so with a scoring barrage led by Derrek Lee. If Lee's two home runs on Thursday weren't enough foreshadowing for a breakout, imagine that we're only two games into July and Lee already has three homers and nine RBI. He had six homers and 20 RBI in June. Is Lee a 30-home run player again?
Earlier this week, I joined up with Andrew Johnson and Will Brinson on the inaugural BaseCast to discuss the Cubs' unbelievably disappointing start to the 2009 season. To conclude the segment, I was asked if the Cubs can get things straightened out and win the division. I said that was an easy answer because of the word choice. Of course they can. Had the question been "will they?" I would have said no.
Just two days later, there are plenty of reasons on the horizon to believe they can head into the All-Star break not only in thick of things in the NL Central, but atop it. Wouldn't that be a weird sight -- seeing the Cubs in first place after such a disastrous first half.
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
Adam LaRoche, he of the longest swing in the majors, is starting to heat up. In the last 9 games, he's hit .387 with 3 home runs, 5 RBI, 4 runs, 2 doubles, a .444 on-base percentage and 1.186 OPS. If his career history is any indicator, we can expect things to continue along this pace.
It's just that he's starting things up a bit early. In LaRoche's career, he's been two different players per season. Just look at his splits. He's a decent hitter with good power in through June. From July on, though, he's a good hitter with great power.
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.
Starting Five
As the baseball calendar winds down, it's becoming more and more obvious that the 
Poppin' out of the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
WASHINGTON -- Maybe the Cubs just needed a break. Maybe they needed to get third baseman 
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
Earlier this week, I 
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
