The Arizona Fall League is chock-full of young prospects looking to make their mark. Desert Diaries is your twice-weekly look at which of these up-and-comers could make a fantasy baseball splash in 2010.
It looks as if there will be a changing of the guard in Baltimore. Melvin Mora, who has 1,323 hits and 158 home runs during his ten year tenure with the Orioles, has been told that his $8 million option will not be picked up. Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun says that the Orioles will look into a number of options at third base this off-season. They'll even consider Josh Bell, who's faring well in the Arizona Fall League.
LOS ANGELES – Any comparison between the Dodgers and Phillies has to start at the end.
The end of the game, that is.
One of the axioms of baseball is that good bullpens win in October. That would no doubt help explain why the Phillies won the World Series last year, when they were led by Brad Lidge capping a perfect season of ninth innings. This time around, though, it is the Dodgers who have the lights-out bullpen, a group with two All-Star closers, and the Phillies who have, well, good memories and all the optimism they can muster.
LOS ANGELES -- Early in Joe Torre's storied managing career, when he wasn't quite sure about the intricacies of managing October baseball, veteran bench coach Don Zimmer instilled in him one of the key differences between the regular season and the playoffs.
You pull your starters early.
"I usually have the starter decide his own fate, but Don Zimmer taught me that this postseason stuff is all about not being patient, and doing what you feel you need to do at the time you need to do it," Torre said.
While some people around Major League Baseball are losing their jobs for failing to win games, others around the league are being rewarded for their success. The Los Angeles Dodgers are getting ready to make their third appearance in the postseason in the last four years, and it looks like the man who is in charge of putting the team together is about to be rewarded for it.
There's word out of Los Angeles that the team has begun negotiating with general manager Ned Colletti about signing a long-term contract extension with the team. Colletti is currently working under a deal that includes a mutual option for 2010, and now the Dodgers would like that to last a bit longer.
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
Apologies for the lack of R.R. yesterday, but we're hitting you with a special extended trade edition today to make up for it. There's been a lot of activity over the past few days, especially with top pitching commodities like Cliff Lee, Jarrod Washburn and George Sherrill. We've also seen a pair of Pittsburgh starters head outta town and two prized minor-league prospects change locations. Time to break it all down from a fantasy perspective.
Giving their bullpen a needed boost, the Dodgers have acquired left-handed reliever George Sherrill from the Orioles, a major league source told FanHouse.
The Dodgers have been seeking pitching help, especially in relief with Ronald Belisario and Will Ohman on the disabled list. L.A. starters average the second fewest innings per game in the NL. Manager Joe Torre has made 322 pitching changes, third-most in the league, and has asked a reliever to go more than an inning 90 times, by far the most in the NL.
Sherrill, 32, was 20-for-23 in save chances with Baltimore, compiling a 2.40 ERA and .219 average allowed. Over his past 31 appearances, he has a 1.47 ERA with 30 strikeouts and 10 walks in 30 2/3 innings. He is not eligible for free agency until after the 2011 season.
One of the more popular discussions over the past few weeks has been what to do with Jimmy Rollins, whether you own him or not. We've spoken about him on a small scale in one of our recent Cram Sessions, but the topic deserves so much more.
I didn't want to trust just my opinion, so I asked the Fanhouse fantasy baseball crew to chime in on the following question:
Jimmy Rollins, a late first-or early second-round draft pick, is batting .229 with seven home runs and 16 stolen bases as we watch the All-Star Game tonight. However, over the past week he's batting .304 with five stolen bases. Most of us agree that Rollins is a superb buy- low candidate, but what would you give up right now to get him?
Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.
The most remarkable thing about this season as we hit the not-halfway halfway point of the All-Star break isn't Albert Pujols' RBI total. Or Zack Greinke's ERA. Or the PED suspension of one of the game's biggest stars.
It's the standings. And they not only reflect the season so far, they give us a clue as to the weeks head leading up to the non-waiver trade deadline.
The Phillies and Dodgers are the only first-place team with a lead of more than 2 1/2 games. And 21 of the 30 teams are within 7 1/2 games of a playoff spot: nine of 14 in the AL and 12 of 16 in the NL.
SEATTLE -- Erik Bedard faced Baltimore for the first time Tuesday since the Orioles dealt him to the Mariners to be the final piece of their American League West championship puzzle. Only it has hardly worked out that way. The Mariners, along with Bedard, have struggled mightily since the deal, while the Orioles revamped their farm system and added two productive major leaguers in the deal.
A deal hasn't helped a team more since the Dallas Cowboys practically won three Super Bowls by trading Herschel Walker to Minnesota 20 years ago. Bedard was able to exact a semblance of revenge and some pride for bruised Seattle with 6 1/3 innings of one-run ball. He struck out seven and walked three in an 8-2 Mariners win.
This was dominant Bedard with his curveball snapping and fastball crisp. This Bedard hasn't been seen much in Seattle. And the question is whether the Mariners will ever get any real value out of Bedard, a free agent at season's end and likely to bolt elsewhere.
It's always nice to know how secure a closer's job is and who's next in line if somebody loses their 9th inning job. The Closer Report will give you that info. And if that wasn't good enough, we'll rank the closers from top to bottom.
As you'll see, Heath Bell has taken over the top spot on this edition of The Closer Report. A few big-name, top-of-the-charts closers from years past have fallen off quite a bit. How weird is it to see Brad Lidge near the bottom of the closer rankings and Joe Nathan stuck in the middle?
The Arizona Fall League is chock-full of young prospects looking to make their mark. Desert Diaries is your twice-weekly look at which of these up-and-comers could make a fantasy baseball splash in 2010.
LOS ANGELES -- Early in 
While some people around Major League 
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
Giving their bullpen a needed boost, the Dodgers have acquired left-handed reliever 
One of the more popular discussions over the past few weeks has been what to do with Jimmy Rollins, whether you own him or not. We've spoken about him on a small scale in one of our recent 
SEATTLE -- 
