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... Best offense in the league. The Rangers are going to score more runs than any other team, and they don't have an over-abundance of star-power. This means their position players are a veritable fantasy goldmine. On the flip-side, though, their pitching staff is atrocious, especially the starters. Needless to say, if you are picking a Texas Ranger on draft day, he'd probably better be on the offensive side of the board.
FanHouse continues its 2009 MLB Preview with a look at the Minnesota Twins.
Last year was supposed to be the season in which the Minnesota Twins finally had to deal with reality. They traded Johan Santana to the Mets because they couldn't afford him any longer, and the heart and soul of the team, Torii Hunter, left for the glitz and glamor of Los Angeles. Then the Twins went out and won 88 games and were one run shy of making the playoffs after losing to the White Sox in a one-game playoff for the Central title. This is just what the Twins do. They defy everyone's expectations but their own, and odds are they're going to do it again this season.
No, no ... this isn't a case of a minor leaguer being traded for maple bats. Nope, the hamburger is question is righty pitcher Mark Hamburger. So yes, Eddie Guardado is worth more than ground beef patties. He's certainly worth more than that to the Twins, who have brought him back for the minor leaguer.
Guardado has had a nice bounce back season for Texas after two injury plagued seasons for the Reds, going 3-3 with a 3.65 ERA, a 1.11 WHIP, 23 holds and four saves. Key is that hitters are batting .220 off of Guardado, while the Twins bullpen is in the lower half of baseball with a .262 BAA. Guardado had recently returned to closing for Texas after the injury to C.J. Wilson, but its obvious that at the age of 37, his value is greater as a set-up guy for a contender than as a closer for a .500 team ... especially at this point, where the only lefty the Twins could bring out of the 'pen these days was Craig Breslow (edit: and Dennys Reyes). So to the Twins, Guardado isn't exactly chopped liver (or chopped steak.)
As you just saw in the previous post from Eazy E, Texas Rangers pitcher C.J. Wilson found himself in a bit of hot water with his manager Ron Washington after tossing the ball to him after giving up a grand slam instead of handing it to him. Little did C.J. realize at the time, but it could be the last time he tosses the ball in frustration to his manager after giving up a homer as the closer for the Rangers.
That's because Wilson was placed on the disabled list with bone spurs in his elbow yesterday, and now Eddie Guardado will be taking over the role.
"Now, being in the ninth inning, there's pressure," Guardado said. "In the eighth, you know there's someone behind you who can pick you up if you do fall. Now, in the ninth, there's nobody behind you, so you have to shut the door."
Guardado, 37, is a closer for the first time since 2006, when he was traded to Cincinnati. He had 36 saves for Seattle in 2005 and compiled 86 for Minnesota in 2002 and 2003.
While right now the plan is for Guardado to only fill in for Wilson while he's on the disabled list, there are some people in Texas who would like this move to be permanent. Wilson has blown four of his 28 save opportunities this season, but more alarming than that are the 35 runs and eight homers he's allowed in 46 1/3 innings of work this season.
On Deck is FanHouse's look at the day's most intriguing baseball matchups
Texas Rangers (19-21) vs. Seattle Mariners (15-25) - 8:05PM Est.
Let's start today's On Deck by taking a trip in the FanHouse Time Machine. We're going to go all the way back to May 8th, 2008. The world was a different place back then. Ok, so the world was really any different as all, as it was just five days ago, but it was sort of exciting!
That was the day when Richie Sexson threw his helmet and charged Kason Gabbard after taking exception to a pitch. Sexson thought that Gabbard's eye-high fastball was meant for his face even though it was over the heart of the plate, and he took umbrage. Of course, had Felix Hernandez not plunked Ian Kinsler earlier in the game after Kinsler homered, none of this would have happened.
Now, here we are five days later, and Gabbard and Hernandez are set to face each other one more time. Will we have an encore?
No matter how good a baseball team is on paper, there's always one factor completely out of a team's control that can derail an entire season: injuries. Already this spring, the injury bug has bitten a lot of teams. It could be argued that it's better to get the injuries out of the way now in the spring while the games don't mean anything, but still, when you're losing a pitcher a day, that can't be a sign of good things to come this season.
Which is exactly what's happening to the Texas Rangers right now, as on Wednesday Eddie Guardado had to leave a game with a bad knee.
Wednesday, it was Eddie Guardado who limped off the mound with soreness in the band of ligaments on the outside of his left knee after facing four hitters in the Rangers' 5-4 win over the Chicago Cubs.
Guardado's injury isn't likely to be serious, but he's still another Rangers pitcher who's battling through pain right now. On Tuesday it was Vicente Padilla who had to leave a start against the White Sox after pulling an ass muscle (which is better than ass fissures, I guess), and the Rangers found out they'll be without Brandon McCarthy for up to a month the other day. Throw those injuries on the pile along with Kevin Millwood's (Millwood injured!? I'm shocked!) sore hammy, Joaquin Benoit's tired arm, and C.J. Wilson's biceps tendinitis and you have one very large and mediocre pile.
On the bright side, the Rangers don't exactly have a strong pitching staff to begin with, so maybe not having those guys around will only help the team.
It's an ironic nickname these days, as Eddie Guardado missed the first few months of the '07 season after having his elbow ligament replaced. But the Texas Rangers are hoping that he becomes "Every Day Eddie" again, or at least "Steady Eddie" (or some other cliche involving a word that rhymes with Eddie) as they've signed the former all-star closer to a one year deal.
He can make $1.5 million in bonuses based on games and an additional $2.5 million in bonuses based on games finished.
Oh, the dreaded "games finished" incentive ... the same one that the Red Sox agreed to compensate Eric Gagne for after getting him from Texas before Gagne stumbled down the stretch for the Sox. It probably means that there's at least some thought in making Guardado the closer for Texas in '08. Coming back from that surgery though (not to mention he's 37), he may have a better shot at the $1.5 million for appearances.
It's not exactly a surprise, but the Reds said today that they're going to pick up Adam Dunn's $13 million option for 2008. It's a hefty price tag for a guy that's not the most popular player in Cincinnati, but 40-homer, .900 OPS guys don't just grow on trees. Plus, at least they can trade him if they can't extend him. From C. Trent Rosecrans' blog:
And, yet another note. Apparently Adam Dunn is off fishing and out of cell phone range, so you'll not be hearing from him today. I've left voice mails for everyone, will keep you updated.
Just talked to Wayne. Nothing too exciting.
Asked Wayne if there had been any talks of an extension for Dunn: "Not at this point, right now we picked up this option, but I'm open-minded going forward."
The Reds also picked up options on Scott Hatteberg and Javier LopezJavier Valentin (must still have the playoffs on the brain), while declining Eddie Guardado's. Of course, those guys aren't as interesting as Dunn. I'd imagine that for the rest of the winter, talk will swirl around whether the Reds are planning on signing Dunn to an extension or trading him.
Hey Mariners fans, it appears that you guys aren't the only ones who don't like your manager. Apparently some of Mike Hargrove's former players aren't exactly big fans either. Eddie Guardado wasn't shy about letting Grover know it either.
Hargrove, the Mariners manager, and Guardado, Hargrove's former closer now with Cincinnati, saw each other on the way into Safeco Field on Friday. Hargrove extended his hand, but Guardado refused it.
What ensued was a nearly half-hour conversation that had been a long time coming for Guardado, who was traded from the Mariners to the Reds last July after losing his job to J.J. Putz.
The issue between the two stems from last season before Guardado was traded to Cincinnati. Guardado had been the Mariners closer until Hargrove demoted him in May of last season in favor of Putz. According to Guardado, Hargrove told him it was a temporary move and that he'd have his job back once he got his stuff together.
Guardado never got his job back, and that's why he still held a grudge to this weekend.
Through the years, the historic landmark has become known as much for its comfortable rooms and scenic surroundings as it has for its alleged paranormal amenities - from faucets turning on themselves to the unidentified ghostly couple appearing in the top tower.
[Mariners catcher Miguel] Olivo said he has never seen anything odd at the Vinoy, but a few of his Seattle Mariners teammates were spooked a few years ago by strange noises and sightings. "Eddie Guardardo was so scared, he left the hotel,'' Olivo said.
I'm sure Guardado appreciates being outed, Miguel. But at least Everyday Eddie can take solace in the fact that he's not the only one spooked. Numerous other players have spoken up over the years, and Pirates strength coordinator Frank Velasquez and Reds reliever Scott Williamson in particular both swear they've seen a ghost in their room -- their accounts can be found in this preview of the upcoming book Haunted Baseball, which has a whole chapter dedicated to The Vinoy.
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. 
No, no ... this isn't a case of a minor leaguer being 
As you just saw in 
No matter how good a baseball team is on paper, there's always one factor completely out of a team's control that can derail an entire season: injuries. Already this spring, the injury bug has bitten a lot of teams. It could be argued that it's better to get the injuries out of the way now in the spring while the games don't mean anything, but still, when you're losing a pitcher a day, that can't be a sign of good things to come this season.
It's an ironic nickname these days, as 
It's not exactly a surprise, but the Reds said today that they're going to pick up 
Hey 
Remember how we told you that 
