Major League Baseball announced the winners of its prestigious awards this week; now, FanHouse is following suit. We voted on winners in five categories (MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year, Draft Day Bargain, Draft Day Bust), the results of which are revealed below. Remember, this awards show deals strictly in fantasy baseball. I'll also throw in a few awards I'm personally doling out for performances that made the 2009 season what it was.
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 Florida Marlins finished second in the NL East, six games behind the Philadelphia Phillies and were in the thick of the wild-card race up until the final weeks of the season. When you think of the bright, young pitching staff in Florida anchored by Josh Johnson and featuring Ricky Nolasco and Chris Volstad, you reason that the Marlins finished well in 2009 because of their hurlers. That notion is actually a fallacy -- only Johnson finished with an ERA under 4.00 among the starters who compiled at least 25 starts. The Marlins stayed in the race because of their hitting, plain and simple. Three hitters -- Dan Uggla, Hanley Ramirez and Cody Ross -- bopped 24 or more home runs, and as a team the Marlins finished fifth in the National League in runs scored.
The landscape in Miami might change a lot this offseason. Florida has already shipped under-performing Jeremy Hermida to Boston and many expect Uggla to be exchanged soon for a multitude of cheap, young players.
MLB awards season continued on Thursday afternoon as the league announced the winners of the 2009 Silver Sluggers, which go to the players voted the best hitters at their position in each league. The award is voted on by managers and coaches from throughout the league who are allowed to vote for anybody that's not on their team.
While there are some familiar faces on the list in each league, there are also some that aren't so familiar. Find out who's adding some hardware to their trophy case after the jump.
But besides his fine season -- 89 runs scored, 96 RBI, .823 OPS -- Abreu seems to have passed on his patience at the plate to the rest of his Angels teammates.
"He's got the younger players understanding patience isn't a bad thing," Chone Figgins told FanHouse. "It's not about not being aggressive, but being patient, getting a pitch to hit. There's nothing wrong with being 1-1 and hitting, or 1-2, or 2-2.
"It's not something simple to do, but I think we did a good job of it in spring training and have tried to bring it into the season and have so far done a good job."
From the Windup is Matt Snyder's weekly, extended look at some aspect of America's pastime.
As I look ahead to the MLB playoffs, I'm faced with the fact that my beloved Cubbies aren't going to be competing. Being a devout baseball fan, though, there's no way I'm not watching the postseason. Without a horse in the race, I'm forced to focus instead on individuals, and there are always plenty of reasons to watch certain players. Thus, I'm going to list 10 players I'm looking forward to watching and five players I wish I could come October.
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 main drama happened on Heinz Field last night, there was plenty of drama to be found in Washington D.C. No, President Obama didn't sign a health plan into law. But the Phillies entered the ninth inning down six and ended up losing by one after having the tying run on third base with only one out. Let's see how we got there.
Joe Blanton has been fantastic this year, and he entered the game with a 3.80 ERA and a 136/43 K/BB ratio in 166 innings. That's why it was surprising to see him perform so terribly in Thursday's game, where he gave up eight runs in less than five innings of work. The big blow came in the fifth inning, when Blanton gave up two homers to hitters at very different points in their careers.
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 Rays left their magic in 2008.
Fading Tampa Bay wasted a dazzling major league debut by Wade Davis, who allowed one run and struck out nine over seven innings, in a crushing 5-3 loss to the Tigers.
Davis' pitching helped the Rays carry a 3-1 lead into the ninth inning, but then the bullpen came unraveled. Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon used five relievers in the ninth, three of whom -- Grant Balfour, J.P. Howell and Russ Springer -- failed to record an out in succession.
While injuries were the main topic, we spoke about other topics, too. We talked a little about a potential platoon situation for Lance Berkman in Houston and we threw out a handful of household names that most fantasy owners should be dumping at this point.
There's bad blood in the Florida Marlins clubhouse, and it couldn't be between two worse people if the team wants to continue its dark horse run at a playoff spot. Hanley Ramirez and Dan Uggla got into a shouting match in front of reporters on Wednesday afternoon, forcing the Marlins to have a team meeting and close the clubhouse.
At issue was the way Ramirez asked out of Tuesday night's game because of a hamstring injury. He was talking to reporters, telling them he felt "10 percent" healthy, but said he was planning to take the field against the Braves on Wednesday because of the way his teammates reacted to what happened the night before.
Uggla overheard what Ramirez was saying and that's when the fur started flying.
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 we get our heaping of box score browsing, let's look at a related subject: The fantasy baseball stretch run. With the annual ushering in of September baseball, we see roster changes galore. Not only are there call-ups with the legal expansion of rosters, but players with seemingly minor injuries are shut down on teams who have fallen out of the race. You also have younger players being given an audition for 2010, or being shut down so the team doesn't overwork them in their first season of increased workload. If you are in the thick of things in your fantasy baseball race, now is not the time to use a laissez-faire approach.
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.
MLB awards season continued on Thursday afternoon as the league announced the winners of the 2009 Silver Sluggers, which go to the players voted the best hitters at their position in each league. The award is voted on by managers and coaches from throughout the league who are allowed to vote for anybody that's not on their team.
Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.
From the Windup is Matt Snyder's weekly, extended look at some aspect of America's pastime.
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.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action with a quick nod to what is ahead.
There's bad blood in the Florida Marlins clubhouse, and it couldn't be between two worse people if the team wants to continue its dark horse run at a playoff spot. Hanley Ramirez and Dan Uggla got into a shouting match in front of reporters on Wednesday afternoon, forcing the Marlins to have a team meeting and close the clubhouse. 
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.
