OUR FANHOUSE TOOLBAR INTEGRATES THE LATEST SPORTS NEWS INTO YOUR WEB BROWSER AND INSTALLS IN SECONDS.
YOU CAN DOWNLOAD THE TOOLBAR HERE.

FanHouse FelixHernandez

Latest FelixHernandez Stories

Starting Five: Washington Won't Be Only Century City

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

You Oughta Know ...
One team has 100 defeats, two more could follow -- and there could even be a record-tying four 100-loss teams.

The Nationals on Thursday fell to 52-100 with their 7-6 loss to the Dodgers. And the Pirates are 56-95 after a 4-1 defeat at the hands of the Reds.

Anyone want to bet Pittsburgh -- 3-23 since Aug. 28 -- goes better than 6-5 in its final three series against Los Angeles, Chicago and Cincinnati?
More Coverage: Scoreboard | Standings | Statistics

Roto Rush: Ubaldo Jimenez Emerges as Real-Life and Fantasy Ace

Ubaldo JimenezPoppin' 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.

Report: Mariners Nixed Blockbuster Deal

Felix Hernandez Adrian GonzalezAccording to Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times, there was a trade in the works which would have been the biggest deadline deal in recent memory. It was no secret the Red Sox were interested in Adrian Gonzalez, and there were some rumors circulating that they also coveted Felix Hernandez. They ended up trading for Victor Martinez, but that was -- according to Baker -- only because a three-team blockbuster deal was vetoed by Seattle Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik.

The proposed deal? The Red Sox would have received King Felix by bringing in the Padres as a third team. The Mariners would have received Gonzalez, Clay Buchholz and two other prospects from the Red Sox. The Padres would have gotten back upwards of four top-notch prospects along with Brandon Morrow.

Starting Five: Buchholz Returns to Majors for Successful Cameo

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

You Oughta Know ...
That Clay Buchholz did exactly what the Red Sox wanted him to do, but still earned a ticket right back to Triple-A after doing it. The Red Sox, whose rotation is set, gave Buchholz the ball on Friday night as a reward for his successful comeback this year at Triple-A. The plan all along was for him to get one start and go back down, and that's what happened after he gave up one run in 5 2/3 innings in a victory over Toronto.

It was Buchholz's first big league game since last August, when he was demoted after a seven-game losing streak. This year at Triple-A, he was 7-2 with a 2.36 ERA, earning the brief promotion.
"Considering the circumstances and everything, I thought he had poise, I thought he had good stuff," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. "He attacked with his fastball, he threw his changeup, he threw his breaking ball. He commanded the game. It's really gratifying for us. We've heard all the reports and we've seen him work but then to see him do it tonight was a lot of fun for us."

More Coverage: Scoreboard | Standings | Statistics

MLB Power Rankings: Week 13


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.

It's a funny thing, sometimes, to see how Power Rankings shape up over the course of the season. Just like when we started the year, there are a number of teams from one particular division sitting atop the rankings. Of course, there are plenty of surprises -- WHERE DID THE FREAKING GIANTS AND ROCKIES COME FROM?? -- and some other interesting stuff, like the fact that the Mets and Cubs just haven't been that good, which we discussed on the inaugural BaseCast recently.

Starting Five: Defending Champs Tumbling Hard

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

You Oughta Know ...
That the Phillies are grateful to be in the NL East.

The division got out-scored 37-7 on Friday as the AL East swept in interleague play. And it's only the rest of the division's mediocrity keeping Philadelphia in first by a half-game.

After their 11th loss in 13 games, 6-1 to the Blue Jays as Ricky Romero didn't allow a hit in the first six innings, the Phillies held a team meeting.
More Coverage: Scoreboard | Standings | Statistics

MLB Power Rankings: Week 7


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.


While it's entirely possible the Blue Jays do hit a snag, isn't it about time columnists across the internet stopped doing Can the Blue Jays Really Keep This Up? pieces by now? I've seen at least 10 in the past three weeks. There are almost as many The Rangers Are For Real posts. The discrepancy in the media's faith in those two is likely due to the divisions in which the teams reside, but seven weeks isn't a small sample. At some point, you have to start giving credit where it's due.

Fantasy Week 7: Two-Start Pitchers

There are some pretty good two-start pitchers going in week seven of the fantasy baseball season. Chad Billingsley and Dan Haren lead the list of "Must Start" pitchers, while I'm not sure which option would be riskier between Dontrelle Willis and Tim Redding this week.

There are 47 two-start pitchers in all and you'll need to lock your lineup by 1:07 PM ET on Monday as that's first pitch between the White Sox and Blue Jays.

Must Start
Dan Haren , Diamondbacks - Monday at FLA (R. Nolasco) and Saturday at OAK (J. Outman)
Derek Lowe , Braves - Monday vs COL (J. Marquis) and Saturday vs TOR (S. Richmond)
Jair Jurrjens , Braves - Tuesday vs COL (J. Hammel) and Sunday vs TOR (B. Tallet)

Don't Call Me 'Pacman,' Dawg

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

Every year in fantasy baseball there are a number of players whose hype exceeds reasonable expectations, because so many freaking people have them tagged as a "breakout." Peter Gammons may have been the first to tag Adam Jones with such a label, but it caught on quickly, and he was a popular fantasy draft selection. (Note that this also applies to my homie Chris Davis, who I think might hit 40 taters, but who was wickedly overvalued coming into drafts. More on this in a second.)

And the man that wants no part of being called "Pacman" -- for obvious reasons -- is suddenly flat-out destroying opposing pitching. Jones was always considered a "five-tool" prospect, with power and speed potential, not to mention just being a great baseball player.

Roto Rush: Theriot's a Power Hitter Now

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

When you drafted Ryan Theriot as your shortstop or middle infielder, you were doing so for average, runs and steals. You were planning on getting no power from him, and rightfully so. Entering 2009 he had only 7 career home runs in over 1,400 major league at-bats. He only hit 5 home runs in 2,048 career minor league at-bats. At 29 years old, why would he all of a sudden develop power?

Featured Writers

Featured Voices